FUEL beach retreat

I'm not gonna lie....we are still recuperating from all of our travels. On the 17th of July we loaded up 6 vehicles with teenagers, leaders & lots of food, luggage and plans and headed to the beach for a week long retreat. I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible the week was! God showed up and changed many of these kids lives. Our week revolved around FIGHTING THE TIDE. Each day we spent 3 hours in worship and prayer and had a different topic to discuss with the kids! Fighting the current of the world with our hearts, minds, mouths and our eyes & ears. On Wednesday when talking about our mouths, the Spirit really came and touched the hearts of our kids. It was incredible. The kids response was amazing. The reconciliation, the chains were being broken within the heart and mind, the life giving words that they were speaking to one another and that the leaders were able to share with the kids....it left us speechless. The kids were just as speechless. You could feel the Spirit of God in that place and you could see the change that occurred in our kids. 

Personally, the week was one that was so very different for me. I have been a pastor's wife for 8 years now. I know how camp goes, the expectations for me, how to fill in the gaps..the list goes on. BUT this was the first year that I balanced being a momma and a pastor's wife and it was a bit TOUGH! Hope you can handle a little transparency.  I struggled with how to maintain all that I have done in previous years, knowing that through serving those students, I was serving Christ. I had such a hard time not being able to do all that I knew I had done years before. BUT, the Lord revealed to me that I was doing EXACTLY what I was supposed to do. By serving my son and loving him, I was and continue to serve Christ by prioritizing time and energy for him, and sometimes that means things in my life change. It was so nice to make it through the week. It was hard, but God showed up and it was an amazing week with incredible students.

Group at the PUTT PUTT

We started the week out watching the miracle of the sun and being reminded of God's mercies that are new each and every day!

our sweet family

our little sailor

today..

he...

 is....

 NiNe ...

mOnThS...

old!

AMAZING. ABSOLUTELY. AMAZING.

Monkey See...Monkey do

We all know that children mimic what they see. It's so evident all over the place. I see it all the time in youth ministry. Kids whose parents have deep meaningful relationships with Christ also have more spirit led attitudes. Kids whose parents seem to be "Sunday Christians" also seem to have little desire to grow in God's word independent of force or manipulation.

I was slammed in the face with the fact that Channing already is a part of this "monkey see, monkey do" society. We were at my Aunt's house the other day (another event in June that I actually forgot) & she offered him a little play guitar that was in her building. His reaction was similar to that of a kid who loves lollipops! He reached for it & held on & wouldn't let go.

He sees his daddy with one all the time. Literally, one sits in the living room everyday & not many days go by that John isn't playing a guitar. He's sees him with it and wants to mimic that behavior.

Daily I am blessed with the sounds of a little 9 month old following in his daddy's footsteps with songs and praises! What a joy it is. I wish I could freeze time sometimes as he "sings" and plays.

It also brings you to a place of reflection....what do I need to remove that Channing or others might be imitating because they see it in me? Makes Ephesians 5:1 more real......"Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children."

Where did it go???

June came and went before I feel like I was even able to blink my eyes. In reality, we were so stinkin' busy that I'm not sure I had time to blink very much. We started out June at the beach with the Berry family & our sweet friends the Hardins. Those were the only pics I got posted during the month of June. One thing I didn't get to include was our ride on the ferry from Southport to Fort Fisher. It was such a fun little adventure for us & Channing loved being on the ferry.

 This was the beginning of crawling at the beach, which he would master before too long. My sweet little 8 month old is crawling like crazy now & can go anywhere & everywhere!

 Riding the ferry! He loved watching the water move & the birds fly.

We came home for two days and had our last FUEL with the student ministry before the summer started.

We had to say goodbye to sweet Kathy & Teresa, who have been such faithful volunteers in FUEL! They will definitely be MISSED!

Channing & Daddy enjoyed the water slide!

The next morning we headed back down to Carolina Beach with our SENIORS. We wanted to do something that they would remember. Usually John would buy the students a really nice study bible that can range from $80-100, but all these kids had been with us the entire time we have been here and we knew that they had a WORD that they use & really didn't need another one, so we loaded them up & took them on a trip to invest some time into them as they embark on a new adventure! It's been such a privilege to see these young people grow & mature in their faith! So glad some of them will be sticking around!

Such an amazing group of students who we know God is going to use. So thankful that at least three of these guys will be around next year to SERVE in FUEL!

After we returned with the Seniors we had a day to recoup & go to church to worship & then headed out with the 6th & 7th graders for their annual retreat to Boone, NC! We enjoyed a couple days of cool mountain air, hiking (some of them had NEVER done this before) & some great Bible study about loving God with all our heart, soul, mind & strength! Luke 10:27

They loved the big hike of 6 miles to Hunt Fish Falls!

Channing loved the hiking too!

Daddy's day was in there, too! We celebrated with John. What an awesome dad he is to Channing!

This is a picture of my sweet boys & VBS! Yes, we threw VBS into JUNE too!!!!  Last count was 184 kids & 80+ volunteers! It was an awesome week of learning that NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE with GOD!!!

 

Channing already follows in daddy's footsteps in his love for music. This little guitar is his absolute favorite toy! One day we were leaving for VBS & he was terribly upset. The only thing that made him stop was the guitar! It came along with us & he played it during the music....just like daddy! Kids really do mimic what they see!

Our FUEL band, led worship for VBS & gave us an amazing night of worship during June!I love these kids & that they use their gifts & talents for the Lord. Their commitment & dedication exceeds that of many adults. It's amazing to see how enthusiastic they are about worshiping their God & King!

 During June our sweet 22 pound little boy moved to his BIG BOY car seat!

So, as you can see, we had AN UNBELIEVABLE month of JUNE! We're so blessed to be apart of all God has us doing right now! It's amazing what all you can accomplish when you are walking with him! Though we stumble, fall & fail at times, his GRACE is definitely sufficient for all we need.

the first of many...

Our summer is CA-RA-ZY! Last week we started it off with another first...the BEACH!!! Chan Chan loved it! I'm so thankful that he adores the water. I haven't had time to edit the bazillion pics that I took & won't have time for a bit because we are headed back to the beach tomorrow the Seniors from the youth group. We'll be home a day to do laundry & worship at church & then will head to Boone, NC with the new 6th graders! Should be loads of fun! I'm so thankful for a precious, precious son that is so laid back and relaxed. I know I couldn't do this with just ANY kid! I seriously have counted my blessings so much! He did so well as we were hanging out at the beach with the family (more pics of that to come b/c I haven't had time to get them all loaded & edited) and then with friends! Such a great first memory of the beach!

 Our sweet friends, the Hardins!

 John has been dreaming of doing this just like his dad did with him when he was small.

 The best $ I've ever spent! Channing took 2+ hour naps on the beach while momma soaked up the sun!



new adventures...

Channing got to go swimming & camping recently. He LOVES the water and has already gone under quite a few times.  He doesn't fuss or anything. It was so important to John that Channing love the water, because he loves it and when summer comes around we are in it alot. He's been to the lake and in the pool we have in the back yard and doesn't mind either one at all. I do think he likes the lake the best, because he can motor around in his float as he wishes because his feet can touch. He's quite independent.  We are very excited to be taking him to the beach this week to add another first to the list. We are loving having all these new experiences with him. It's so much fun for us & him! We feel so blessed to be his parents. Enjoy the pics of our adventures.

Happy Birthday...

HAPPY 31st BIRTHDAY to my precious JBERRY! Though I wasn't even born, I was so blessed 31 years ago and had no idea. John has been one of the biggest blessings of my life! He has taught me so much about life. There are so many things that I love about John, but here are a few.... 

He LOVES JESUS! This is a picture of him leading our students in worship. Can I just tell you that he has taught me so much about the Lord & how he loves. I have personally seen him grown in his own walk with the Lord. Not to many years ago John wouldn't have  gotten on a stage to lead others in worship before our King & now he loves it. His heart and passion is to encourage families to take up a responsibility for the spiritual growth of their children. John has a passion that isn't like everyone elses. He has an ability to follow the leadership of the holy spirit and doesn't feel the need to have the approval of people over the approval of Christ. Man, I adore that about him!

He LOVES life & never takes anything too seriously! I'm still taking lessons in that area. If I get too serious, I'm likely to see a silly face like the one up above. SCARY, huh?

 He LOVES me. He has shown me an unconditional love like I've never experienced in my life on this earth and it has really helped me have a better understand of just how much greater the love of the Lord is for me. I feel so blessed to have called him husband for almost 8 years. 

He LOVES this boy! Man, does he love being a daddy. I will never, ever, ever forget the joy on this mans face on the day that I was blessed to tell him that he was going to be a daddy. And then the look on his face when he helped our doctor deliver Channing. I seriously thought the man was going to turn cartwheels right in the delivery room. And then the last Saturday when Channing said "DADA", the look on his face was once again priceless. I'm so glad that he's Channing's daddy because he has so many amazing qualities, gifts & talents to share with him. I can't wait to share the joy of growing our family together throughout the years.

So, Happy Birthday my precious JBerry. I LOVE YOU so much. You are so much more wonderful than I could ever write on this blog or on a thousand blogs! I love each and every day with you.