CBS: Letting your little light shine....

I have the joyous pleasure every Tuesday to participate in something so wonderful, so heart warming, so uplifting and so beautiful it makes my heart smile from here to Kalamazoo.  CBS.  No, NOT the tv station (heaven forbid, lol!), Community Bible Study.  I joined CBS almost 8yrs ago.  I started because my life was falling apart.  My dad had just died suddenly of a massive heart attack (2wks before they were going to be here for Christmas). We were trying to sell the house (9/11 had just happened), my husband was living an hour away (we only saw him one day a week) and I was raising 3 little kids (two babies) all by myself.  Life was a living hell.

I needed help.  I needed "Him", God, Jesus.  Him.  The only way I knew how to survive was to find Him.  The only way I knew how to find Him was to attend a Bible study.  There had to be answers there, right?  Right :D  Not only did I find Him, I found an unbelievable support group in women that loved the Lord and sought after Him with their whole hearts.  Women that went through even greater tragedy than I had but continued to serve Him with their entire being.  Woman who can cut a joke and roll on the floor laughing one minute and then turn around and speak immeasurable praises and thanksgiving to Him, praying for the deepest needs of loved ones, crying out to Him for each other.  This is where I was meant to be.  Always, every year.  This is where EVERYONE needs to be.

I joined the leadership part of CBS I guess about 6yrs ago.  This is my "core group".  And I have the best one ;) (insert inside joke here).  CBS runs during the school year and breaks when public schools break, all holidays and during summer.  Even though we "officially" take breaks, we still get to see each other in the summer with a luncheon once a month, we get to have a beautiful Christmas dinner with each other every year, and this year we even did something extra special.  We had a fall fellowship.  We made special designs in pumpkins, baked and decorated cookies and played games.

The goal of this was to celebrate friendship and God's changing of the season. Since my family doesn't set up for Halloween, I wasn't too certain if I wanted to carve anything and if I did, what in the world would I do, lol!  He reminded me that He is the light of the world and that others needed to know that.  I decided to google scriptures on "light".  When I read John 8:12, I knew what I would do.

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said,

“I am the light of the world.

Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

These women are such a testimony to me.  They love with a love that is so deep and so real.  They love, sharing in each others joy or sadness, making it their own.  What a beautiful gift He gave me.  Not just in His word, but in His women.  I love you all from the deepest depths of my heart.  Thank you for all you have been for me over the years.  Thank you for being willing vessels and "letting your little lights shine"!

Even the dog had fun, lol!!!

Cookies.... YUM!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVED the collaborated efforts on this fairytale/cinderella pumpkin!  Sooooo cute!!!  She used an apple corer and melon baller to make the polka dots.

Unfortunately my design didn't hold up to the test of time.  It ended up full of toothpicks holding it together, lol!  I tried :(

What a cute idea!  Just carving a design on the outside layer.  I think this would have been a better idea for mine.

"Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin.

God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes

All the dirt off of you.

He opens you up, touches you deep inside.

He scoops out all of the yucky stuff, including

The seeds of doubt, hate, and greed.

Then He carves you a new smiling face and

Puts his light inside you

For all the world to see."

His glory and a dose of brotherly love...

I've been in a church since before I was even born.  Being a part of several different ones has been a growing experience.  I've been a part of some because I attended with my parents and it was more "their" church than mine.  I've attended some while away at college.  I've been at some because I worked in the daycare.  I've had relationship with many different wonderful people.  I have to say though, I have recently found something that I never knew I was missing.

Love.  Brotherly love.  A love so accepting, so joyful, so amazing that it blew my mind.

We are currently attending "the BIG church" here in our area.  There has been much criticism of big screens and programs, coffee shops and bookstores.  Yes, I agree that we can have a consumer mentality and it can and does filter into our churches.  That makes me sad.  Because of this fact, when God called us to relocate (after several years of fighting with Him we finally listened) we determined that "the BIG church" was going to be the LAST place we went to.  We didn't want our hearts to be swayed by the big screens, programs, coffee shop and bookstore.  It's amazing to me how God uses everything we do for His glory.  Even when we rebel and choose not to listen to Him.

While some churches may grow large because of these things, I realized something.  They didn't start that way.  Something was different, they must have done something right in the beginning.  The day we walked in the doors at Hill Country Fellowship, we knew something was different.  We had visited almost every church in our area, even one as far as Johnson City (fabulous people but just didn't feel that was where we were called to be).  For the most part, there seems to be a lingering sadness here in Marble Falls.  The Spirit seems hindered.  We can't say, "this is why!", but we can feel it in our spirit.  Something isn't right.  Maybe it's a spirit of oppression.
The enemy has somehow infiltrated and people don't realize it. This is not the case at Hill Country.

When we finally decided to visit, the minute we walked in, there was a feeling of such joy and peace that there was no denying it.  We came back and conveniently they were having a baptism that evening at a local lakeside pavilion.  We decided to attend to see more of what this place was about.  There was food, drink, merriment and JOY everywhere we looked.  It felt like one big family.  We were still guarded because of the criticism we had heard of BIG churches so we were reserved in our "acceptance" of it.  Were we ever wrong.  When a church has 42 baptisms in ONE night and has even more a few weeks later, they are doing something right.  Time after time, we heard testimony about how the love of this place, and the people attending had changed their lives.  I really had to search my heart.  I was wrong.  Repentance was in order.

The interesting thing... this wasn't all of it :)  Jumping in and getting to know people is usually a hard thing for us.  People probably think I'm VERY outgoing and feel totally comfortable in a room of strangers.  Not so.  I shrink back a lot and struggle with "introducing" myself and coming up with "small talk".  My family struggles with this even more than I do (well, maybe not Emily, lol!).  After a while I will open up and then it seems that will pave the way for my truly quiet husband to talk... a little.  He's never really gotten involved much and seems to mostly hang in the background.  Not this time :)  It's like seeing someone blossom!

Greg actually started attending a men's morning, EARLY morning, Bible study at HCF.  He had only been a few times (2-3?) and already men were approaching him and greeting him, BEAR hugging him, genuinely thrilled to see him.  Like a long lost brother they finally found.  It wasn't a "I gotta get you to stay here, so I MUST make you feel loved" kind of approach.  It was real!  This is only the tip of the iceberg but I will leave it here. Until the next time.


There was a heart in a sea of many, many searched out that heart, grabbed it, loved it and showed it Christ.
To God be the glory and praises to Him for TRUE brotherly love!

Heavenly gates and a friend named Carolann...

I have an amazing friend. She is full of spunk and laughter, hugs and I love yous. Her name is Carolann. I met Carolann when I first moved to the Hill Country from Albuquerque 10yrs ago at the end of this month. I started attending a woman's Bible study through one of the first churches we visited. While we ended up somewhere else for a little over a year I still attended this same Bible study. I found myself to be the only youngin' of the group. :) This group of precious ladies were so willing to help me with my then 1yr old, 3yr old and 6yr old. They loved on them, encouraged me, loved on them, loved on me.... They were a rock for me through some very difficult times.


Carolann was part of this group. She had several physical conditions that didn't allow her to come every time but she did whenever she could. Through out the years I would visit with her a little here and there, but our relationship really started to grow the most about 3yrs ago. She become an adoptive mama. I became an adopted daughter. We would talk about shopping and would even manage to go a few times. See, Carolann still couldn't do much away from home. We would visit numerous times at her home or at church. Talk many times on the phone and try to do things together as much as she was able. Every time I was done spending time with her, I was in awe of how joyful she could be in spite of the many surgeries and difficulties she faced. She carried joy with her. Everywhere.


My precious friend, Carolann doesn't have to be frustrated over dentures that would never fit right, not being able to drive herself somewhere, words that would escape her though her mind went a mile a minute, or surgery after surgery, after surgery. This last week, she went into the hospital again and this time they told her that there wasn't any more they could do. We know that our Jesus is the one with the final say, and He told her that it was ok to come on home. They placed her in hospice and only a few days later, she did exactly as He told her.  She went home. I was blessed to be able to see her the morning she passed away, but that isn't how I will remember her. My memory of her smile and laugh will always carry me to a rememberance of how great our God is and perfect is His plan.


It's a strange thing this time. Death. I'm reminded of 1 Corinthians 15:55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?"  Yes, there is a part of me that carries with it a sadness for the selfish fact that I won't see my friend for a while but it's not like the sadness I've encountered so many times before. Unfortunately I've seen death far too much. This time is different. Not because the situation is different or the friend is different. I think I understand that verse more this time than I ever have before. There is no sting. She's with my Jesus and she WON'T hurt EVER again! Just having that new heavenly body has got to be INCREDIBLE for her! What rejoicing is goin' on up in there!!! With her rejoicing, how can I mourn? She went through soooo much on this earth and still gave God glory and praised Him all the time. What a gorgeous example she was for me and so many others.


Thank you Carolann. For your friendship, your hugs, your laughter, your stories, your phone calls, your visits, but most of all, thank you for loving Him the way you do.