Lesson Learned

For many years I have been involved with children's ministry at church. One thing I have learned from teaching children is that you never know what they are going to say and that I learn as much from them as they do from me. A few Wednesday nights ago, my lesson was based on this familiar scripture in Ephesians:


26 Go ahead and be angry. You do well to be angry — but don't use your anger as fuel for revenge. And don't stay angry. Don't go to bed angry. (from THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language © 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved.).

This seemed like a simple enough lesson. One of my helper's and I staged a skit where we pretended to get into an argument in front of the kids. We even yelled at each other and called each other names (don't worry, we didn't curse). We really had most of the kids fooled and Katie Beth was about to get upset. We finally explained to the kids that we were showing them an example. We talked about how we can get angry and not sin. I used an example of how I had been cut off in traffic earlier that day and I could have let my temper get the best of me, but I didn't. It was a good lesson for "the kids". Little did I know what I would be faced with the next day.

The very next day, Danny was visiting someone at a hospital in Memphis. He was inside the hospital about 25 minutes. When he returned to the parking garage the truck he had driven was gone. It had been stolen from the top floor of the parking garage around 11:30 AM in the morning. The truck that was stolen had been my father's truck. My Dad bought this Mark III Chevrolet Silverado in 1992. The truck was somewhat of a hobby for Daddy. He was always adding extra accessories and kept it in mint condition. Daddy literally drove the truck to and from work and it only had 67,000 miles on it when it was stolen. His desire had been to give it to one of his grandsons. Daddy died in 2007 and this past summer my Mom let us start driving the truck. The plan was for my son, Josh, to get the truck when he turned 16 in December.

When Danny called me to tell me the truck had been stolen, my inital response was shock. Luckily, I was in Memphis about 20 minutes away. My next reaction was sadness. As you can imagine I began to cry as I realized we would most likely never see Daddy's truck again and that whoever this thief was didn't just steal a vehicle but stole a precious memory from me and my family. Then I thought about my son, Josh, who was already bursting with pride that in just a few short months he was going to get "Papaw's truck". That's when I got mad. I wasn't just a little miffed or angry-- because now I realized how this would disappoint Josh. I was more than just mad... I was MAMA MAD.

There was a nice security guard at the hospital that was more than helpful. However, we had to wait over an hour for a police officer. When he did arrive, my temper was starting to boil. He took down the facts and was very aloof and proceeded to tell us that this particular model of a truck was "one of the most easiest to steal".  I was just about to give the officer a piece of my mind, when Ephesians 4:26 immediately popped in my mind. Less than 24 hours earlier, I had talked to the children about how sometimes it is okay to get angry but we don't have to sin. While I am mad that someone stole Daddy's truck, I realize that Jesus died for that thief, just like he died for me. I pray that we get the truck back, but I pray that whoever took it will somehow come to the knowledge of Jesus as His personal Savior.

I also have reminded myself that God sees the big picture in my life, while I only get to see little snapshots at a time. Perhaps someone in my family would have been hurt in a terrible wreck in the truck. We don't know the why, just that God is in control and we must trust Him.

Here is a picture of the truck, which was known around town as "Big Man's" truck. Big Man was my Daddy's nickname. I included a picture of him so you can see how he got his name (smile).

 My sister sent a local news station an email and they decided to do a human interest story. I appreciate Danny for representing our family (I did not want to be on the news). If you are interested in seeing the news coverage you can click one of the following links.

http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=11144652


http://www.wmctv.com/global/story.asp?s=11180127
 
 
I pray that you have a wonderful and blessed week, and that you don't have to get angry. But remember, be angry and sin not!

Caleb Senior 2010

Well, it's been a very busy week in our home. We have just finished a wonderful revival, but this week has been wild to say the least. It seems as though there have been multiple school projects and other activities. Sometimes it feels like going to work is almost a break! (jk). With all of the busyness, I have not had time to blog for a few days. I have however had several ideas of things I want to blog about, so stay tuned!


My oldest son is a high school senior. Just typing this makes me feel so old! It seems like just yesterday I was a senior. Even though graduation is not until May, we are already busy with many senior year activities. Tonight Danny and I worked on his senior ad for the yearbook. I went through many photo albums and scrapbooks to find the "perfect photos". Well, you guessed it, to Mama they're all perfect! He did give me free reign to choose the pictures I wanted as long as I did not put any "embarrassing" pictures in the ad. Well, I assumed this meant, no naked baby pictures, but to a teenage boy it could mean many other things. So I just used my best judgement. Below are some of the pictures that I chose. I must say I was a bit misty-eyed. I think Danny was too, but he didn't let it show. I can already tell that I will need to start stockpiling the Kleenexes before May!


The first picture is Caleb at 6 weeks and the next picture is one of his senior portraits. It just seems like yesterday I dressed him in that little Disney outfit.

In the following picture, you will notice that Caleb has lined up his toy lions on the coffee table. Caleb loved the movie, The Lion King, and his favorite toys were his lions. This picture is extra sweet because he is wearing one of his Papaw's (my Dad's) signature hats. I looked high and low until I found this picture. I finally remembered that it was in a scrapbook.

Caleb has always liked to read comic books. He is about 10 or 11 in this picture. You might not can tell from this picture, but he is playing with his ear. That has been a habit of his since he was a baby.

I had to include a picture of Caleb with Josh and Katie Beth. In fact, there are many pictures of him with Josh since they are only 16 months apart. It was hard to choose from so many pictures, but these are especially sweet to me. Katie Beth is wearing a dress that my Grandma Marie made for my sister, Tobye, when she was two. Tobye wore it in a Valentine Contest at church (she won too, my sister was one cutie patootie!). As you can see, Katie Beth wore it well too!

Okay, now I am no longer misty-eyed, but on the verge of bawling (Mama hormones!). We are so proud of Caleb. God has blessed us with a wonderful Christian young man that desires to do His will. He has a dry sense of humor and is good-natured. He plays the saxophone on our praise and worship team at church and is active in the youth group.  He is earnestly praying for direction as he chooses a career path. Please remember him in your prayers. Pray for me too, that I make it through this year!

Tomorrow night is our high school Homecoming. I hope to catch some good pictures. Have a great weekend!

Another Blogger in the House!!!

I started my blog, last week, and Katie Beth has been wanting her own ever since. I kept telling
her to let me learn more about blogging and then maybe in a "few weeks" I would let her have

her own blog. Well, here it is--only 8 days since I started my blog-- and guess what we've spent
 the night doing? You guessed it, Katie has a blog. Next thing you know, I'll have to help Danny,
 Josh, or Caleb (they'll probably just stick to facebooking). While I love Facebook, you can't personalize and make it your own like you can on a blog--that's the girly-girl coming out in me.

If you would like to check out Katie Beth's blog, click on over to

http://katiebethskorner.blogspot.com/

I am sure she would love for you to stop by!

A Special Day!!!!!

This Sunday our church family honored our family with a special Pastor's Appreciation Day. From the moment we walked into the church this morning, we were surprised. While we knew there would be a guest speaker today, we didn't know who it would be. I was so happy when I walked in this morning and saw Dr. L.V. Rigney and Sister Rigney. This couple served as my pastor for most of my life, and they have been our mentors in the ministry. We were honored that they would come to make our day special. Brother Rigney delivered a great sermon and Sister Rigney blessed the church with a special song. I have always loved hearing Sister Rigney sing and it was an honor to accompany her on the piano (it was like old times!)

We were also proud to have our mothers in church with us this Sunday (it was also Grandparents' Day). My cousin, Laura, was also able to be in service with us. Below is a picture of my Mom and Laura. Somehow I didn't get a picture of Danny's mom today (so sorry!)

The entire service was so well-planned and special. The Praise Team chose our favorite hymns and several people spoke and said sweet things that made us cry a little and laugh a little. The church blessed us with a love offering and a trip for me and Danny to Eureka Springs! I am so excited. Danny has never seen the Passion Play. We plan to go in October. I am sure that will be another blog entry.

After service, the ladies had prepared a delicious meal with the most wonderful desserts you can imagine. I know that the ladies worked long and hard to plan and prepare the meal. The fellowship hall was decorated in purple (Danny and I love purple!). At the center of the dessert table was a chocolate Razorback cake. If you read my last blog entry, you know that my husband loves the Razorbacks. Well, he also LOVES chocolate, so he was literally in "Hog Heaven".

 

It was a wonderful day with our family and church family! If you had a special part in this day, thank you so much. You made us feel so special!!! A special thanks to Sister Sherry for playing photographer all day.

I hope you all have a great week!

Happy 40th Birthday to My Hubby!!!!

Last Friday, my husband, Danny, celebrated his 40th birthday. Like most men, he doesn't like us to make a fuss over him on his birthday, but he always makes ours so special that we wanted to do something a little extra for this milestone birthday. Instead of celebrating just one day, we had sort of a "Danny Festival" that lasted all Labor Day weekend.

After I made him his favorite cookies and  a big supper of fried chicken (you know preachers love chicken!), we went to the high school football game. This year our oldest son, Caleb,  is a senior and plays saxophone in the band. Our younger son, Josh, is a sophomore and is on the football team. While I enjoy watching my kids, I am not much of a sports fan. However, Danny, loves sports, so it was fitting that the opening game of the season would just happen to be on his birthday. Before the game, Katie Beth gave her Daddy a ball cap with the high school's colors and mascot. Caleb & Josh gave him a wooden sign that reads, "Touchdown Arkansas", and I gave him a Razorback watch. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am married to a die-hard Razorback fan. He's been known to be called, "Dan, Dan, the Razorback Man". After the game, Mom & Tobye came by with sweet cards ( and some moolah!).

Monday was Labor Day, so we were able to meet our families for some Mexican food which is his favorite (besides my chicken, of course!). It was a quick trip but we had a nice time eating with his Mom and Dad, my Mom and sister, and our nephew, Austin.

The birthday "boy" sporting the obligatory sombrero and eating fried ice cream!

             Danny's dad picking up the tab for dinner! (God has blessed me with great in-laws!)

Danny with Josh, Caleb, Katie Beth, & Austin. I love this picture!

Danny being silly. I tried to find a number "40" but couldn't find one.

                                     Danny's Mom, Barbara, my sister, Tobye, and my Mom, Jeanette.

We had a lot of fun celebrating. I hope we made Danny feel special. I love you, Honey!

A special thank you to those of you who have left nice comments about my blog.

My First Blog

For quite some time now, I have been thinking about journaling by blogging. I follow a few other blogs and my 10 year-old daugher, Katie Beth, suggested that I create my own. Since this was her idea, I let her create the name for this blog. I guess it is no suprise that she would choose, "I-Tonya", since "I-Carly" is one of her favorite television shows.

I am married to a pastor and am the proud mother of 3 children: Caleb (17), Joshua (15), and Katie Beth (10). Between band, football, dance, and church our household is a whirlwind of activities, but I would not change it for anything in the world. I know that all too soon they will grow up and leave home.

I have been a nurse for 19 years, with the majority of those years working in oncology or hospice. Three years ago, I joined the nursing faculty at a community college, and have found nursing education to be a rewarding career. Not only is it rewarding, it works well with my busy schedule. I continue to work once in a while for a hospice agency in Memphis, Tennesse.

God has blessed me not only with wonderful children, but he picked out for me a special man who is my best friend and "completes" me. We celebrated his 40th birthday a few days ago (I celebrated mine in June) and this evening we will be able to meet our families for dinner who live about an hour away.

Since I am new to the "blogging world", it may take me a few times before I get pictures posted. Please be patient with me.

Happy Labor Day and God Bless!