Camp adventure #2 ahead..

Off to camp again...
Tomorrow morning we head out to camp adventure #2... this time the camp is about 5 1/2 hours away.. so I hope to get a good nap on the road since we are heading out at about 7 a.m.!

It's a boys' camp this week, and my dear husband is the speaker! So I will fulfill my role as the "speaker's wife." I have just started to learn about this role in the last couple of years or so and haven't had a whole lot of practice yet, so I'm just going to try to encourage my husband, smile at him during his messages, and help with whatever else needs to be done around camp.

Hope you all are having a good weekend!

Through the valley...

I've heard this song "Mountain of God" by Third Day numerous times, but as I listened to it again today, the lyrics just hit me right where I'm at and encouraged me so much.

It's amazing how the Lord has just brought songs and verses to my mind just when I need to hear or read them.

I hope it is an encouragement to you as well, that He is with us through every step of life's journey, whether we are in the midst of a dark valley or on the mountain tops.

Thought that I was all alone

Broken and afraid

But You were there with me

Yes, You were there with me

And I didn’t even know

That I had lost my way

But You were there with me

Yes, You were there with me

‘Til You opened up my eyes I never knew

That I couldn’t ever make it

Without You

Even though the journey’s long

And I know the road is hard

Well, the One who’s gone before me

He will help me carry on

After all that I’ve been through

Now I realize the truth

That I must go through the valley

To stand upon the mountain of God

As I travel on the road

That You have lead me down

You are here with me

Yes, You are here with me

I have need for nothing more

Oh, now that I have found

That You are here with me

Yes, You are here with me

I confess from time to time

I lose my way

But You are always there

To bring me back again

Sometimes I think of where it is I’ve come from

And the things I’ve left behind

But of all I’ve had, what I possessed

Nothing can quite compare

With what’s in front of me

With what’s in front of me

Back from the mountain...and some thoughts along the way

We are back from camp and are (mostly) caught up on sleep.. it's amazing how exhausting a week of camp-counseling can be!

A few highlights from the week:

• Quality time spent listening to God's Word taught--challenging both campers and counselors alike to live our lives for the Lord.


• The theme of the week was "Narnia" --so each evening lesson was focused on the spiritual applications of the movies.

• At least one person accepted Christ as their Savior last week!


• Great times of getting to know and bonding with the teens in our cabins and on our teams.

• My team (ORANGE) got 2nd place in the week's competition; Tony's team (BLUE) got 3rd place.


• Our cabin showed their "appreciation" for us by t.p.ing our beds!

• Despite much thick fog and rain, we were still able to go on with the activities as planned.

• No tick bites and just a few mosquito bites!


• I had a great co-counselor to work with (April)

• Catching up with my sweet friend Rachel on the last day of camp

To be completely honest, the week started out very difficult for me...at one point I asked, "Lord, how can I be a counselor and help and encourage these girls, when I myself am going through so much?" I was feeling very alone and really having a hard time being there--for the first time since Alethia Joy passed away, I was in an environment for an extended period of time where most people around me had no idea what Tony and I have been through. I was missing my baby girl so much.

I contacted some close friends and family and asked them to pray for me.. and I know their prayers (and the prayers of others as well) helped tremendously. The Lord showed me that "His strength is perfect when my strength is gone."

Throughout the rest of the week, many of the girls in our cabin shared with us openly and honestly about many of the struggles and pain that they are facing back home. One night during chapel, we watched a portion of "The Passion of the Christ" along with scenes from "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" showing the tremendous suffering and pain that Christ paid for us on the cross and the allegory of Aslan representing Christ.

It just hit me how incredible the price was that Jesus paid for us, as the sins of billions of people were laid upon Him and as His Father turned His face away from Him while He carried our sins.

The pain, suffering, and trials that each of us endure in this life do not even compare to that of Christ on the cross. I should have been the one on that cross! He took MY PLACE!

And though we cannot comprehend or understand what Christ is doing in and through us through our trials, He will ultimately receive the glory and the victory!

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (Romans 8:18)

As I read in a devotional book this week,

"Even when the world seems to be trembling beneath my feet,

I must seek protection from the One who cannot be moved."

"You and I need to interpret our circumstances by His love, not interpret His love by our circumstances." (A. G. Lotz)

Headed off to camp...

Tomorrow morning we are heading up to our first adventure/trip of the summer---counseling at a teen camp, which just happens to be located on the side of a mountain!

It's beautiful up there, and we're looking forward to a week filled with seeing old friends, meeting new ones, hearing some great messages from a speaker who just happens to be one of my former college professors, awesome praise and worship times, many opportunities to minister to the teenagers in our cabins, camp food (Tony is really excited about this...I'm not sure if I am quite as enthusiastic...) and some intense activity and game times.
Things we (mostly me) are hoping to AVOID would be...tick bites, mosquito bites, spiders and snakes of any kind, and sun burns. (Yes, I do realize that all of these things are part of camp...I can hope, though, can't I??)

This trip is another bittersweet time in our lives as we think back on last year's camp... I had just found out that I was pregnant with Alethia Joy. Just a few months ago, we had anticipated bringing our baby with us for her first experience at camp. Life is definitely not, in any way, how we had anticipated it to be.

But God can still use us, if we have willing hearts, and that is our hope and prayer for this week.

We would really appreciate your prayers for a good, safe week, for the teens to have open hearts to what God has to teach them, for the Lord's guidance and wisdom for those of us counseling, directing, and speaking...and for His protection (both spiritually and physically).

Tidbits of Truth

I just started reading a book called When God & Grief Meet by Lynn Eib, and I wanted to share a few things that have stood out to me and have spoken to my heart...

"When God and grief meet, His power, peace, and presence are bigger and more real than our uncertainties, sorrow, and loneliness."

"Healing from a deep loss is not about recovery and returning to 'the way things were.' Rather, it's about allowing ourselves to keep on changing and becoming, amidst the pain." (Robert Zucker)

We choose whether to allow God to change and teach us in the midst of the pain.

Psalm 119:28, "My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word!"

Psalm 94:19, "When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul."

So.. I said I would let you all know how the sky-dive (watching) went... but our weekend plans changed when I woke up in the middle of the night on Friday with the beginnings of a yucky stomach bug.
Not fun, to say the least. So I spent almost all of Saturday in bed instead of having fun with friends.
It actually ended up turning out okay in the end, because the weather never cooperated for our friend to jump, so her trip ended up being a disappointment. I'm feeling much better today and have finally been able to eat a little bit of "real" food, as opposed to crackers and Sprite.
It was not a great way to start out my summer vacation, but I'm so thankful that the "bug" didn't last long.

Summer has begun!

I am happy to report that I am now officially done with school for the year!
Our last teacher work day was today and it feels so good to be done.
We have a busy summer ahead of us with lots of traveling, and I'm sure my 8 weeks of summer break will go way too quickly.
Our summer plans have definitely changed since February...4 1/2 months ago, I was anticipating how fun it would be to spend the summer cherishing extra special time with our baby girl and taking our new little one to new places.
Instead, this summer feels much like the last one... just the two of us. But we will always hold our precious baby in our hearts and, because of Christ's work in us, our marriage has grown stronger and our love for each other has grown deeper through it all.

Tomorrow we are going with a couple from church to see our friend Pam go sky-diving!
That will be a new experience...I'll let you know how it goes.

Have a good weekend!

4 months

4 months have passed since our baby girl was born and ushered into the safe arms of Jesus.

We miss her with all our hearts.

Every day I wonder what she would have looked like.

I think about how vastly different our lives would be right now.

God is truly teaching us that He carries us in our griefs, in our sorrows, and in this trial, the most difficult thing we've ever had to experience in our lives.

I cling to the verses from Isaiah 43:1-3a,

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,

and the flame shall not consume you.

For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."

We truly are passing through the waters and walking through fire in a way right now, but God has promised to be with us through it all!

This lyrics of this song were written by Angie Smith, the wife of a singer from the group Selah, after their baby girl was also ushered into the arms of Jesus in much the same way as Alli Joy.

I Will Carry You


There were photographs I wanted to take
Things I wanted to show you
Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes
Who could love you like this?


People say that I am brave but I'm not
Truth is I'm barely hanging on
But there's a greater story
Written long before me
Because He loves you like this


So I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years

I will carry you
All my life
And I will praise the One Who's chosen me
To carry you


Such a short time
Such a long road
All this madness
But I know
That the silence
Has brought me to His voice

And He says...

I've shown her photographs of time beginning
Walked her through the parted seas
Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes
Who could love her like this?


I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All your life

And I will praise the One Who's chosen Me
To carry you

Baby Alethia Joy, I will carry you in my heart for the rest of my life.

I can't wait to see you again in Heaven one day.

The Lord provides...again!

Tony just informed me that he has been chosen to receive a $1,250 grant/scholarship for seminary students pursuing their Masters of Divinity!
Up to this point, we haven't been able to benefit from any of the scholarships that are offered because most of them only pertain to students who attend a Southern Baptist church (since the seminary is by denomination Southern Baptist, but many of the students--including us--are not).

We are so thankful once again for the Lord's provision!
Praise Him with us!

The Lord provides!

Throughout the last several months, Tony and I have been discussing our need to purchase a different car...particularly one with air conditioning that works (in these hot southern summers!) and with lower mileage that would last us at least a few years.

God has shown us yet again how perfect His timing is--we are so glad that we hadn't purchased a vehicle yet, because this one was GIVEN to us!

The a/c works great, and the mileage is 65,000 miles less than our previous vehicle. It will be great for all of our summer travels.

What a huge blessing. We are so thankful for His continual provision!