ARCHIVE GALLERY

March 2008

March 4, 2008

After a great week of Randy booking concerts and the kids and I attacking school projects, we headed into the weekend with our sights set on a ton of great opportunity for ministry.

Saturday was spent with the CrossPoint Nazarene Church worship team.  One leg of our ministry that is developing quietly is the Worship Workshop.  Because we love to encourage the Church and we love worship music, it has been quite natural to help worship teams with various issues such as blending, styles of music, sound system problems and of course, concentrating on the tool of music for worship. 

The morning was used to focus on the band and blending the sound.  Randy does a great job at listening and offering suggestions without stepping on toes.  This band really works together well and we were so blessed to notice the lack of egos!  They cared for one another lovingly and tried new things easily, stating their preferences along the way.  After a quick catered lunch, we studied the Word to get the right picture of music within the Bible.  So often, we elevate music to such a level that we worship it, instead of the Creator who created it to worship Him!  This is the time when we focus on true worship (anything we do that pleases God) and specific issues of the heart.  Pride, ego, preferences versus conviction, and an ungrateful heart all get in the way of worship.  So, we encourage the team to take a good look at what is going on in their lives individually and then challenge them to notice how they interact as a corporate unit.  This team is a wonderful example of a group of people who just want to worship and don’t really have a “pecking order.”  The last part of the day is spent with vocalists and helping them to connect with the congregation.  Randy and I avoid doing songs that we really don’t know well because it gets in the way of heart worship.  When we are not confident with the music, we have to concentrate so hard on what we are doing musically, it becomes tougher for us to worship. The CrossPoint Team was a pleasure to work with and we just loved investing in them.

From there we went to the Hoyt’s house for dinner and fellowship before heading out to our Sunday A.M. destination.  As we were leaving, the kids were invited to spend the night with the Garcia family and spend Sunday with them.  The Nazarene denomination has a district talent competition for kids every year and Kennedie and Kadison were invited to participate.  The kid’s choir was singing at CrossPoint that next morning and so, if they stayed, they, too, could sing in the choir.  (They had already attended a practice earlier on Saturday.)

After leaving the kids we drove about an hour and got to the church very late.  We unloaded and set up the equipment before falling into bed. 

Sunday morning came early, but what an awesome service the Lord gave to us.  An older gentleman had been through a very difficult health crisis and The Living Hope Church of The Nazarene had prayed for him faithfully for the last year or so.  He was there to give his testimony and we were thankful to hear it as well.  When he finished, we led worship and gave our testimonies for about an hour.  It was a great time together and we were blessed to be there.

After a wonderful lunch with Pastor Dave Carlson, his family and friends, we decided to call the Wichita Falls church and check in with the pastor before making the two and a half hour trip.  The weather had turned bad and high winds were whipping with expected snow fall.  We all decided to postpone the concert until the end of March.  Thankful that we didn’t have to drive all those miles in high wind (the RV doesn’t like that!) we headed to the Garcia’s for pizza and to pick up the kids.  What a great day we all had serving…the kids did well and enjoyed themselves immensely.  Hope yours was wonderful, too. 

March 11, 2008

Saturday was the kid’s district talent competition for the Nazarene denomination.  They were kind enough to let our kids participate in the activities and both Kennedie and Kadison were very into it!  Kennedie sang a solo (The chorus, “As For Me and My House”) and Kadison entered an art project while both were in dramas and the choir.  Individually they both received a gold rating and KC received first place for his drawing.  The choir and dramas all got gold which means the kids all get dollar bills instead of trophies. KC walked away with $10.00 and Kennedie got a little bit less.  The cash prizes are nice because it costs the church less…if kids don’t show up, they do not end up with left over trophies or medals.  The zone competition (the next to follow) gives medals and both of kids participated in that last year.  Because of this year’s schedule, the kids will not be able to compete at Lubbock, Texas (we will be in Florida.)  We have already been “schooled” on the art of booking concerts in Texas around the Lubbock competition!  Not only were our kids quite disappointed, the CrossPoint Church kids were not happy with Mr. and Mrs. Brown!! 

After the competition ended, about 30 of us headed to a great burger joint for dinner.  While there, the girls “came up with a plan” and we ended up leaving KC with the Garcia’s for the night and taking three of Kennedie’s girlfriends with us for the night!  To spend the night in the RV…a kid’s dream.  KC was thrilled to go with Paul and Tammy Garcia (who he just loves and are very good friends of ours) and we were thankful to have an opportunity for Kennedie to have a slumber party.  But, before leaving, Paul, who is a physician, took us over to his office and gave the kids physicals that they will need for summer camp in California.  He also flushed out my ears…I have been having problems with them for a year and he froze a weird bump on my arm (he told me what it was, but I wasn’t really listening!)  I cannot tell you how good it felt to have all of that done.  Because we don’t have a permanent residence, things like doctor’s appointments become a challenge.  So, Dr. Paul blessed us with his knowledge and services, a true gift that would have cost us plenty (with no health insurance as of yet.)  We cannot describe the amount of times that the Lord has provided for us through others who probably do not realize how our faith grows through their gift.   We are challenged to trust God, not only in the “big things” like provision and health, but the “little things” like competitions and slumber parties.  As we are getting a grasp on the fact that God cares for us in big and little ways…we trust Him all the more.  It is really quite exciting to see how He will meet the need.

Two girls in the bunks and two girls on the couch worked just fine.  After painting fingernails and polishing toes, popcorn and half of a movie, they were out!  Not bad at all!  Sunday morning went quite smoothly getting ready for church, even with setting up the equipment.  We were at Grand Prairie Nazarene Church and took the worship time to encourage the body.  The senior pastor was on vacation, so the youth pastor was given the opportunity to preach.  He did a good job of challenging the church and we enjoyed meeting these wonderful people.  From there, we went to lunch with four little girls who were so excited to be together.  The three of them were picked up at Panda Express and Randy, Kennedie and I made our way to the evening concert.

We had the pleasure of worshipping with Burleson Church of the Nazarene and Pastor Alton Ashby.  The congregation was a little lower than it was the last couple of times when we were there, but that was okay with us.  Pastor Ashby felt bad, but most churches seem to go through different seasons at one point or another. It is our honor to encourage our brothers and sisters whether it is 20 or 2000!  (Actually, one concert had 9 of us…including our family of 4!) Every time we are with the Ashby’s, we come away thankful for servants who are quite faithful.  They encourage us and always welcome us with open arms.  Pastor scheduled a concert for next year already.  We are so blessed for annual ministry.  After a quick snack after church with my Aunt Jeannie and Cousin Mel who came to the service, we picked up KC from the Garcia’s and headed back to the Myer’s house where we were parking for the month.  What a full weekend!    

March 18, 2008

Our week was filled with fellowship as we were with quite a few of the families from CrossPoint Church.  Even so, there were more people that we just did not have time to get with, but we look forward to next year!  Pastor Danny and Drenna Dyer are such wonderful hosts and they took incredible care of us while in Texas.  They certainly go beyond the call of duty out of their love for the Lord.  Saying goodbye to them fuels us to return! 

We were even invited to spend the evening with the Preissler family from Flower Mound, Texas.  Scott works at Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth and he invited us to attend a 100^th year celebration for the school.  It was a great party that ended with an enormous fireworks show!  Saturday was spent packing up and saying some goodbyes.  We had one last dinner with the Garcia family and said our “thank you’s” to Don and Bernice Myers for letting us park on their property for a month.  What a perfect place to be!

Randy surprised the kids and I with the gift of a lifetime (at least to us!)  He decided to have our dog, Sammy, shipped to us from Detroit to Texas.  Sammy lives with my folks and we sort of share him, although they have had him mostly for the past two years.  Well, the past month, we have been especially homesick for Sam.  During one phone call to my parents, we heard Sammy barking on the speaker-phone.  Kennedie and Kadison immediately began to cry and I totally understood.  Not sure of the cost of shipping, we found it wasn’t as bad as we expected and worth every penny.  We cannot replace (nor should we try) everything that the kids have to sacrifice by living in the RV, and they get much more in return.  We can’t even count the benefits!  But, still, we really missed our dog!  So, he flew Northwest Airlines and we surprised the kids with their very best friend!  It has been the best time in the RV and really has made it very homey.  He goes into his kennel really well and the weather has been perfect for having him.  We have to consider the temperature being too hot or cold for Sammy and it has been just right.  What a great memory we will always cherish…seeing our kid’s faces as we told them who was coming to visit!  He will stay with us until we pass through lower Michigan the end of April.

Sunday morning we worshipped with Denton Church of the Nazarene and Pastor Bernie and Peggy Burnside.  They meet in a warehouse while waiting for city permission to begin building their new facility.  What strikes me about this body is that their youth seem to really pay attention in the service…more than usual.  I have no idea what it is typically like there, but it has impressed me both times we have worshipped with them.

What a great church with very loving people and they have supported our ministry very generously. Thank you, again!

We left Applebee’s after a good lunch with the Burnsides and headed to Wichita Falls, Texas, almost in Oklahoma!  As Randy drove, I slept on the couch the whole way and was quite rested when we got there.  I honestly have no idea how he makes it through a busy Sunday without a nap!  Pastor Todd and Anna Derbyshire pastor the University Park Church of the Nazarene while raising their nine children.  Not only so, Anna is almost due with their tenth child!  What a blessed couple they are…and their kids were very well behaved and helpful.  The day before, they married off their oldest daughter with a huge wedding that, as we were told, was quite grand.  So, both Pastor Todd and Anna were tired as they had just come through this gala event.  So, it worked out perfectly for us to be there on this night to give them a rest.  If you remember from my previous journal, this was the church that we rescheduled because of high winds…the Lord had this planned.

At the end of the service, Pastor Todd asked Randy to play a classical piece and I sat in the back praying for him as I know that he had nothing specifically prepared.  He did very well, although he would probably tell you differently.  The worship was so uplifting to us…imagine how much the Lord enjoyed it?!  We look forward to returning to this congregation and meeting the tenth Derbyshire! 

We have found that www.weather.com is our friend!  We saw that terrible weather was headed our way, so we immediately headed southeast to get as close to the Louisiana line as we could.  We made it all the way to Tyler, Texas and stopped in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night.  We were sad to say goodbye to Texas, but excited to serve the Lord in Florida.  Have a great week!

March 25, 2008

We used the week to drive from Texas to Florida, although we could have made it much quicker.  Being with so many people is absolutely wonderful and can be exhausting at the same time.  So, it was a nice break for just our family.  We kind of took our spring break from school this week instead of after Easter…the blessing of homeschooling!  We ended up beating the terrible weather, but stayed parked in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for all of Tuesday and Wednesday due to high winds.  A terrible storm with tornado watches came Wednesday night and we felt safer to bunk up in a hotel.  That was the only time that the RV just wasn’t adequate to handle the weather we were in.   It helps to have the mindset that, if bad comes to worse, we can always go to a hotel.   

We arrived at Harvest Field Community Church in Parrish, Florida, on Saturday afternoon to meet with Pastor Terry and Bonnie Cary.  We know them through the Evangelical Church Alliance, where Randy serves as a board member.  We set up the equipment, grabbed some dinner with the Cary’s and then headed back to the church to get ready for Easter morning. 

We love meeting congregations for the first time and experiencing the culture of their specific body.  Every church is a little different from the next and the variety is quite nice, as long as the essentials of believing the inerrant Word are intact.  Harvest Field Community Church welcomed us lovingly and participated in worship with us for a wonderful Easter Celebration.  Finishing the service with communion, we fellowshipped with the congregation afterwards and everyone headed home for their Easter feasts.  We went to Pastor Terry and Bonnie’s home for a wonderful dinner and lots of stories about alligators (you don’t even want to know!) 

We pray that your celebration of our risen Lord was fantastic and focused on him!  As we thanked Him for coming out of the tomb, we were reminded of just how blessed we are….

He is risen!  He is risen indeed!