- Fun Summer Dates - Rance and I have enjoyed some fun date nights this summer! We love to eat, be outside, and just talk about our DADDY. I think about the time period in my life when the Lord starting changing my heart on relationships, dating, marriage, the role of a Godly wife, and the role of a Godly husband. I will not forget how my standard for everything changed. It became God's standard. But what did that look like? The world was showing me something entirely different, yet I knew God's Word to be true and I knew He wouldn't talk about the Ephesians 5 husband if he did not exist. Every relationship I was in - NO PEACE. I was to the point that I was 100% okay with being single for the rest of my life instead of married and miserable. In fact, the word marriage scared me to the core. My husband had to love the Lord more than me and more than himself. My husband had to be a leader. My husband must be seeking after God's heart daily. My husband had to be so in love with Jesus and whose every heart beat was for Christ. In other words, my husband's number one passion had to be Jesus Christ. These were not options. These were without question. Few thought he existed sometimes I even thought he didn't but I did NOT care. I did not go places 'looking for my husband' and I certainly did not plan on meeting him in Trinidad. I will never get over the sovereignty of God. I will never get over His hand in everything. I will never get over how RELENTLESS He is for my heart and for your heart. I just went on a rampage but all that to say - the Lord exceeded my standard for a husband. I cannot fathom marriage being more abundant, yet it gets more abundant everyday (that's the character of my Father). I cannot imagine if I had settled. I cannot imagine walking in day to day life without a man who is captiviated by the Lord, who craves the Word of God daily, who labors in prayer and begs for wisdom to be poured out onto him and our family daily. To say I'm thankful is an understatement. God's grace is beyond measure. His love cannot be fathomed. Yet He allows me to experience a glimpse of that love daily through my marriage. Christ loved His bride (the church) SO MUCH that He gave Himself up for her. The way God designed marriage is absolutely beautiful. It would not be possible without two people willing to die to self every single day. Rance and I are not perfect people but we serve a perfect God!
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| Dinner date on the Nantahala River |
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| River's End |
- Revelation Skit - Last week, Rance and I took a group of teenagers to see the Revelation skit in Andrews. To say this is one of the most amazing skits ever is the truth. The skit is a part of Snowbird's camp throughout the summer and it's every Thursday night. I had no idea until I came to Robbinsville that such incredible summer Christian camps existed. Teenagers from all over the United States come to be poured into, loved on and grow in their relationship with the Lord. Back to the skit - it is based on the book of Revelation in the Bible and it is powerful. It creates a clear picture of how real Satan is, how deceiving he is and how well he knows the Word of God. It shows the end times and several martyrs that refuse to DENY Jesus no matter the cost. It portrays just how real heaven and hell is. The best part? JESUS! When He comes riding in on His white horse and crushes Satan which WILL happen one day. I pray that you have trusted in Jesus - who He is and what He did.
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| Sweet Lily and I! *She LOVES a crowd of people* |
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| Rance & Hamilton |
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| Katie, Hamilton & Lindy |
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| Rance lovin' on Lily! I love her facial expressions! |
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| Kelly, Lily & I |
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| The Trammel's & The Shuler's Tacey, me, Faith, Desta & Rance |
- Mountain Trails - You would NOT believe the trails behind our house people. I am talking miles and miles and miles of trails that go up and up and up! Last Friday night Rance and I decided to do a little exploring and we went to the very peak.
- Whisper Mountain ShinDig - First of all, Whisper Mountain is a beautiful place/Christian ministry that offers youth camps, retreats, etc in Robbinsville. You can learn more about it here. Every summer, teenagers from all over the United States come to Whisper Mountain to work for the summer as a camp counselor. We love having the staff here over the summer and getting to know each of them is a blessing. Since Rance teaches the college aged Sunday school class at our church, we got to know the whisper mountain staff incredibly well this summer (they are a part of our church on Sundays!). I love how the Lord formed bonds among staff members and us that I will cherish forever. It is so encouraging to see teenagers truly on fire for Jesus and sold out for the Father's plan to love God, serve others & make disciples. Last Saturday night, we had them all over to our house since they will all be departing soon to go back home to where they are from. I am convinced I was blessed this night probably more than anyone at our house. I observed and watched everyone interacting and I was overwhelmed with joy. I watched a part of them playing guitar and just singing praises to the Lord. I watched a group of them just randomly grab hands and pray for something God put on their heart. I watched no gossip, no drama, no cat fats...simply God's people coming together and fellowshipping in His name. I was blessed beyond measure.
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| There is always food when you come to our house! |
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| Heyyyy Rance! |
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Kaleigh - One of the Whisper Mountain camp counselors and I bonded in a super special way at the beginning of the summer. It did not take long for me to realize she is just as crazy as me. We have VERY similar personalities and so we instantly bonded. Over the summer, I got to know Kaleigh more & more and to see her maturity in Christ at 19 years old is simply fascinating. Her inner beauty is out of this world. She reminds me so much of myself a few years ago when it comes to relationships & marriage. As I mentioned above, I was scared to the core of getting married and didn't think I ever would. Kaleigh is the same. She has such a high standard set for her husband and she will be blessed for that! What caught Rance's attention during one of our conversations was the fact that Kaleigh's dad has always been a leader in her home. I thank God for men who fulfill their calling as a husband & a father!
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| oh lil Frank! |
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| Here we go... |
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| Take two... |
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| We're pretty much the same. |
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| Melissa & I She will be leaving for Africa for a year very soon! Be praying for her! |
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| That might be the highest leg kick yet!!! Meet Aaron also - his love for the Lord ROCKS! |
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| Extremely jealous of their musical talent! Meet Charley & Jeremy (whom all of you have met before on here) |
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| Cornhole & ladder golf never get old! |
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| Worshipping our KING! Kyle, Katie, Hamilton, Jeremy & Chris (Please notice my dear sweet Kaleigh in the background) |
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| HAHAHA! Aaron is about 3x the size of lil Frank! |
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| Pastor Noah & Jennifer taking it all in! |
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| Chelsea & Emily Chelsea has such a sweet spirit at ALL times and Emily is ALWAYS full of smiles & laughter |
I could go on and on about the memories we made with the Whisper Mountain staff this summer but I'll leave it at this - there is something so special and a fellowship that cannot be explained when a body of believers come together in one accord!
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