Happy 4th Ya'll

Hope all ya'll have a safe and happy 4th. We won't be doing much....ain't that great!! I've got a boston butt in the crock pot. Probably make some BBQ and maybe some rice.....just keeping it simple. Michelle has to work, and Rob got attacked by a pit bull last week. He was inspecting a house, and the dog had broke a chain. He's ok, but had to get stitches, and right now he's real sore. I just hope there's no nerve damage. He's really taking it well. He said he was just thankful it was him and not a child. At 6'2" he was barely able to fight the dog off, and it probably would have killed a small child. Even at 35, I still worry about him. I guess our kids will always be our "kids", no matter what age. Anyway, just a quiet 4th for us.....Praise God.

Don't think we'll accept the praise band positions. After hours and hours of prayer, God showed us last weekend that He just didn't want us to serve in that capacity. For those who don't know, Jackie and I have always felt a calling to help those struggling with drugs and alcohol. Well, last week something happened that truly showed us, and answered our prayers. Jackie went to the local store for a few items and for a visit. When he got there, the owners were completely franic....there sons were just picked up for drug related charges. He was able to witness to these folks and provide comfort and encouragement and resources for help....something he couldn't have done if we had accepted this position. He would have been involved with the praise band and wouldn't have even been available to go to the store nor would have had a reason. I know a lot of people don't understand our calling, but that's ok. WE know what we are supposed to do. We will help in anyway we can until this church can get this thing off the ground.....if they will accept that, but right now, we're just needed somewhere else. The saved don't need saving ;)

Thanks to all ya'll who have sent me comments on this issue and who have been lifting us up in prayer. It wasn't an easy decision. We both love music so much. And, I guess, there's still that thing in the back of our minds that the only way to help is through a church. God's just trying to get us out of the box.

Love all ya'll,

What Gives Me Peace

Thanks to all my friends who have been praying with me for our decision for the praise band opportunity. Just to let you know, we haven't made one. It seems like the opposition is really getting in the way. This church is in the middle of a battle between people wanting to keep it traditional and people wanting to go contemporary. It concerns us that we're stepping right in the middle. But, then again, is this what God wants? Please continue with us to lift this opportunity up in prayer and stay in God's will.

In the meantime, when I need a place to go for peace, I go out on the back porch and look at all of God's work. He's really blessed me with a simple, peaceful backyard that I thought I'd share with all ya'll. We've planted tomatoes, squash, cukes, peppers, basil, oregano, lavender, hummingbird vine....all kinds of things. It's not much, but it's everything to me....all the stuff I love. Most of it was free. Stuff from the dump (we call it the "Mall") or stuff that people we know were gonna throw away. And stuff from the barn we don't use anymore since the horses left. The old pots came from my dear Aunt Evelyn's house in Greenville (now in assistant living). Those have been there ever since I can remember. The garden angel came from my sister-in-law's house in Charlotte...she was gonna throw it away. And, oh yeah, yes, that's a "redneck hot tub". We took an old watering trough from the barn that we didn't need anymore and turned it into a "spa". Believe it or not, it really brings relief on those 100 degree plus days. Gives a new meaning to that word we use so often......SIMPLiFY :)

Ya'll come see us!!

Love all ya'll,
Vic

Decisions...decisions

Got a call yesterday from a friend who asked if Jackie and I were interested in heading up a praise team at her church. This is the third request for this in the past few months, so I'm beginning to think this is really what God wants us to do. The first time, the guy never really followed up on it after we were asked. The second time, it was a new church opening in Columbia (about 50 miles away) and the preacher asked us with only a few days to get the thing together and we just really didn't have time. You know, it's so fascinating to sit back and see how the Lord works. This church has been trying to launch a praise team with their own church members, and right now, their drummer was injured and their keyboard player can no longer play due to some physical problems. Find this very interesting, being Jackie plays drums and I play keyboard.

Now Jackie has continued to play professionally in a local band, but I haven't played out since The Sonlight Festival last July 28. Almost a year to the day. I remember the scripture, 2 Peter 3:8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. So, I've been in almost constant prayer about this opportunity.

Without going into a lot of detail, we have been so devastated from the last time we did this. We started a youth praise band a few years ago at our church, with a few of the teens, and God used us to build this to do a "Jammin for Jesus" concert that absolutely packed the house. For some reason, right after this, the preacher shut it down. The kids were a whole lot more disappointed than we were. The only reason we could think of was that service drew more people and won more souls to Christ than his services did. What a shame. Does it really matter who does it if the end result is the same?

At any rate, since that time, we haven't really had a church "home". God seemed to use the music to send the people to us that He wanted us to reach. But now I'm reminded of the scripture Ecclesiastes 3:1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Maybe this is our new season. It seems like every reason why we turned down the other opportunities has been resolved. This guy is calling and really showing his interest. We're not under any specific deadline to make this happen. It's here in town, maybe 5 miles away (which is a big plus with the gas situation). And it's a paying position. Not that money really matters, but it does help with me being retired and to cover the expenses that sometimes comes with this. It seems as though God has worked everything out...all we have to do is accept.

So, remember us in ya'll's prayers. We're supposed to meet tonight.

Love Ya'll,
Vic