Let Me Introduce you to College Basketball

The family got a special treat last night. The people who smoked our ham for Thanksgiving gave us tickets to last night's MSU game vs. Utah! It is really cool to live in a town that is just small enough, but big enough to have many avenues of entertainment at your fingertips. The seats were VERY high, but it was neat to be at the new arena and the kids seemed to enjoy it! It would have been better if we would have won, but well, maybe next time?

Thankful is a state of mind

Today was a difficult day, full of a wide range of emotions. It was good to see family. I always look forward to that. But the fact that my dad wasn't there was always in the back of my mind, reminding me of the last three months. Then, we get the news of Cynthia Fry's passing, and I'm sad all over again. Thanksgiving last year is also the last time we saw Travis' dad alive. It has been a tough year for us, but even after all of that, I can remind myself of how much God loves me. I am learning from all of this. I feel stronger because of the adversity in my life. Of course, I miss my dad. Just like the Fry's are going to miss Cynthia. But my God loves me and He has a way of taking care of me and working things out that I don't understand. But I trust Him. Also something I am learning, more and more everyday. Still I am thankful for my husband, my family, my church, my friends, and most of all, a God that cares for me.

Cynthia Fry has passed away

Please pray for the Fry family. Cynthia passed away today. She has been sick for many years from Lupus, but recently began a battle with cancer. Even though she has had this fight for a long time, she has never let it get her down. She was always seen with a smile, and I never heard her complain. Her family, church, and friends came first in her life, surpassed only by her love for God. She was a wonderful example of a Godly woman and we will surely miss her. She is leaving behind her husband, Gary, our Executive Director of Missouri, and 3 children, Katy, who is a junior in High School and two other married children, Thad and his wife Laura, and Jessica and her husband Mark. My heart breaks for them all, and I pray that God will comfort them in the days and months to come.

I Can't Put this one Down!

I hesitate to write this because I am not finished with the book, but I am so excited (?) about it! I know this may not be news for some of you, but to me, it is. I have been reading Frank Peretti's "This Present Darkness", and whoa! It's all about the spiritual world and the battle between the forces of Good and Evil. My mom tried to get me to read it years ago when it first came out, but I just could never get into it. I think that God was just waiting for the right time for me to read it, because now I can totally see all sorts of this kind of stuff! I am a little over half way through the book, and very excited to see how it all works out! I will keep you informed!

Cynthia Fry

I have a special prayer request for everybody. My friend, Cynthia Fry, is in the hospital. She has not been healthy for a long time. She has battled Lupus for years, and recently she has been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. She had surgery, and they thought they got it all. But, she still was not feeling very well and last week , they put her back in the hospital. There is still cancer and it is in her abdomen. She is very weak and in a lot of pain. They are hoping to start oral chemotherapy soon. They just are waiting on some lab results. Just please pray for her and her husband, Gary. They are going to need it.

Windermere 2008

We attended the Youth Retreat at Windermere this weekend. This was Tyler's first year to be old enough to go so he was really excited about going. Our speaker was Zane Black (he was awesome!!) and our worship band was Rush of Fools! Enough said! It was very cold, but nobody seemed to care. Zane spent a lot of time talking about his personal testimony and sharing with the kids how God has used him. I think Tyler really enjoyed hearing him speak. We bought his book for Tyler. And Rush of Fools did an awesome job leading the kids into worship and also teaching them a few new songs! I was sad that I was taking Tyler to his first Youth (not Children's) activity, but I was glad that it was such a good experience for him!

(I am having trouble getting the pics I want on here...I will keep trying, but this is all I can get for now!)

Finding Myself

I was listening to the radio the other day and came in on the last little bit of what I think was a radio preacher. I was barely paying attention but I heard a statement that was something to the effect of, "The more I tried to find myself, the more I disappeared." Now not hearing anymore of what the man was talking about, I can't really expound on what HE was saying, but that struck me as interesting so I've been thinking about what it COULD mean. This is what I have figured....if we are in this search for ourselves, what we stand for, what's important to us, how we fit into our family, how we relate to others.....if we are Christians, then the more we search for ourselves, the more we SHOULD disappear and God become more evident in our lives, He becomes the star of the show. God, that is my prayer today.

Rewards

You know how you feel after you have done a hard day's work and you are just sitting in your favorite chair? That feeling that you are sinking deeper and deeper into the chair? I kinda feel that way right now! We just got back from taking a group to the Convoy of Hope. It's not like working ALL DAY, but you do feel this sense of working hard!

We had a great time! We hadn't been as a church for a while, and so we were all ready to go! Our Troop 4:20 group also joined the adults as a part of our MOBILE week. We took 15 kids and 7 adults! We got a lot of stuff done after and hour and a half of work. I was very proud of the kids and all the things they accomplished. They worked together and didn't cause a bit of trouble! They were awesome! And they seemed to be having a great time. Most of the kids that were there had never been before, so we were proud to be able to introduce them to Convoy of Hope!

One of the things we have always done after being at Convoy of Hope was to go to Braum's for some ice cream. The adults look forward to the fellowship and of course, the kids were all about THE ICE CREAM! You know, it's nice to have a reward like ice cream after you've worked so hard, but I think everyone there tonight saw the bigger reward...helping others and working

together! It was a great night!

Ok, I am very excited. In every church I've ever been in, there has always been some kind of ladies group. Whether it be Ladies Auxiliary or a small Bible study, it was always a great outlet for me. Since there hasn't been one at our church for a while, I have tried my best to become involved in our District Ladies Auxiliary. But now, we are starting a ladies group at our church!!! This IS NOT Ladies Auxiliary. This is just a group of ladies of like mind and spirit, getting together to study the Bible and develop our relationships. We are going to do a study on FEAR. We are going to learn how Satan uses our fears to keep us from our full potential for the Lord. He does not want us to discover our untapped power and tools, so we are going to do just that, learn how to overcome our fears, so Satan doesn't have that stronghold on us anymore!! How exciting! We will meet on Tuesdays, as of now, in different ladies homes. Come if you'd like, you don't have to be a member of our church to come! Just let me know and I will tell you where to go this week! God is working! Great things are going to happen through this group of women; come and be a part!

I Gave in to Temptation

As some of you may know, Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love pretty much everything about it. Even the crowded mall doesn't bother me much. So, this also translates into me wanting to decorate my house way too early. Travis will never let me forget the first year for Christmas that we were in a real house and went out and bought a big tree....I wanted to set it up as soon as we got home, which, he says, was still in October! Anyway, for the last few years, I have fought temptation to do things before I was "suppose" to. A couple of weeks ago, we went to Silver Dollar City and they were playing Christmas music, everything had lights and decorations on it, but it was like 70 degrees and not very inspiring! Then with the recent cold blasts, it has been different. We took a trip to the mall, decorated, of course, and stepped outside to lights and a nip in the air. That was all I needed! I immediately checked out our schedule for the next few weeks to decide when we would have time to set everything up! It just so happens that this weekend was the only one that we didn't have that much to do. So, Thursday we brought everything up from the basement, and we also went out and bought everybody's new ornament for this year. Then, Friday, Travis and I spent the day in Branson shopping and looking around. We came home after the kids got out of school and set up the tree! I have to admit that it looks pretty good! But, do me a favor, take a look at the pic of the tree and see if you spot what's driving me crazy!!!! Well, the kids are pretty excited about getting the rest of the stuff up and in place. But I am not going to get in too big of a hurry to put the outside stuff up that I forget to enjoy Thanksgiving!!!

Troop 4:20 update

Since the last time I posted on our Wednesday night group, we have had an Headquarters week, which means Party!!! This is the time that we celebrate all the wonderful things God has done for us this month! This was a sad week because our friend, Alesha Jones, was moving back to West Plains, and this was her last night with us!!! :( But we also had the largest group yet with 21 kids!!!

This past week, was a little different. Everyone showed up expecting to be Mobile, but I caught them by surprise! I had switched the Mobile and Army week and we studied the Armor of God instead. I also explained to them that we will be Mobile next week on Tuesday with the adults from the church as we will be taking one big group to volunteer at Convoy of Hope! They were all very excited and ready to go!

So, Don't forget.....Tuesday, 6:30-8pm Convoy of Hope
Wednesday, no regular Troop 4:20 meeting!

New Wheels

Well, my mom made a new step this week! Let me back up to say this...back in the spring of this year, my dad traded in my mom's paid for, very fuel efficient, very cute Volkswagon Beetle for a huge monstrous GMC Savannah Conversion Van. He had very good reason. He had started singing on the road again and the van was soooo made for travelling, with two t.v.s, leather captains chairs, and plenty of leg room! Well, I don't know if you know my mom, but she's only about 5 ft tall and this van is huge! so, one of her immediate wishes was to trade the van in for a much smaller car. This week that happened! After much research and driving up and down the lots in town, she found a Pontiac Vibe that she really likes. It even has a sun roof, to keep it from looking like a grandma car! Good job, mom!

Nightmares and Demon Barbers

Travis and I got brave last night and finally watched "Sweeney Todd" last night. Whoa! Let me tell you, we had friends telling us that it was a little messy, but that still didn't prepare us! I liked the story overall, but it did kinda mess with my dreams! And, who knew Johnny Depp could sing!?

God is so cool. Bruce Wilkinson said something recently that was kinda a "duh" statement, but still when you see it actually becoming true, it's just, well, cool. The theory is that when we pray for something that God has already asked us to do, HE WILL ANSWER. So, lately we have been praying for all sorts of direction in our life and in the life of our church. Over the last few days, we have seen God moving and directing in great and wonderful ways! I am excited about where this is going to take us. We had an "all church town meeting" Sunday night. We prepared ourselves for a lot of frank discussion about the church, its ministry, and the enemy, Satan, who will try and keep us from doing what's right. It was great conversation, and gave us much incite. Satan, watch out, our church is waking up!

The Battle's Not Mine

I have been in a really weird place lately. It's kinda like watching a scary movie. You want the thrill of being frightened, but the anticipation is awful! I, more than ever, want a true, genuine, alive relationship with God. I want to see Him moving and working in my life on a regular basis. That is a very exciting thing. The thing that is not so wonderful is the feeling of being exposed, raw, and sometimes unprotected. Not by God, but not having this wall put up by myself. Of course, it's more comfortable sometimes, but I don't want to go back to the other way of living! It's the same thing that keeps you watching the scary movie even though you know what's behind the door. We don't know what's behind the door, but God does. And we do know, that He wants only the very best for us. I am not used to living an exposed life. I have also realized that I like to control certain things. When I am in control, I decide what "jumps out" at me. But, you know, I have to come to discover that they are not nearly as rewarding and life changing as when I leave the control up to God. "His ways are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts". Lord, keep changing me. I also know that when God moves on you to grow and change, then Satan perks up and takes notice. I, alone, am not strong enough to fight that battle, but I know that God, living in and through me, has already won, and that is the only strength I need!

Trunk or Treat 2008

This Halloween our church sponsored a Trunk or Treat! We had a great time and really enjoyed all of the children and their families who came by! In an event like this it's really hard to figure out how many people were there, but we know we gave away all of our hotdogs and there was a constant flow of people in and out! Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible! I can't stop without telling that we also had a contest for the best decorated vehicle. The guests voted, and my van won! I made it up to be a "Hippie Van" complete with flowers and beaded lamps! It was a really fun time!

Ozark Judgement House

Wednesday night (the 29th) was a "Surgical" night for our Troop 4:20 group. I thought it would be fun and fitting to take them to Ozark to the Judgement House! We took 6 middle schoolers there and had a good time! It was the general opinion that the "hell room" freaked us all out! Next week, Headquarters week!

Wilder presents...ELECTION 2008!

Abby had a school program on October 28th. They all did such a great job! The program was all about the elections coming up. It was very impressive all the information that they knew!!! There was one point that I felt they may be more informed about all the candidates than I did!!! The music was great and very enjoyable! We even made the evening news! Good job, Abby!

Happy Birthday, MOM!

My mom had a birthday on October 21st! We all got together to have cake and ice cream and show her a little love! This birthday was hard for her, so I hope just being around family made it a little easier. My mom is a special lady and I am looking forward to many more birthdays with her. Continue to pray for her as she adjusts to life without my dad.