Greetings from Ponte Vedra, Florida

The weather is here!  Wish you were beautiful!

(My favorite post card greeting)

Fishing with Kevin Flaver

We had the most wonderful day!  It began early as we met at the dock at 7:30am for our half day of fishing with Kevin Flaver.  Kevin is a local fisherman/outdoorsman here in Jacksonville, FL who has a weekly radio and TV show. (www.outdoorsshow.com)  The weather was absolutely beautiful and we could not have had a better day!  We actually caught fish.  There were a few fish that we could not picture here on the blog.  The largest fish of the day...one I caught....did not get photographed!  The photographer (Pastor Johnny) didn't quite know how to work the camera!  Isn't that a coincidence?  It was a 4 lb. Puppy Drum!  However, I got him back because one of the fish he caught was so small it kept falling through the net!  Picture #1 is a 2.5 lb. Red Fish that Johnny caught...the second picture is a 1.5 lb. Spanish Mackerel that I caught but you cannot tell that I am running from the fish!  It kept slipping out of Kevin's hands and it had teeth!!  Picture #3 is Johnny holding the last fish of the day that I caught(1 lb. Puppy Drum), but I let Johnny hold it.  It was caught with the 'last shrimp' in the bucket.  (We were fishing with live shrimp)  I just wonder how much Johnny paid Kevin to make me think that was really the last shrimp in the boat!  Johnny and I had a great time, but he was definitely ready to go back to shore.  We all know who the real fisherman in the family is!  Not Mr. A.D.D.!  Johnny and I then had a great lunch at a quaint little waterfront seafood restaurant before Johnny's appointment to feed his addiction...the spa... and mine...shopping!  Then, without a nap, we headed for a movie...Indiana Jones...(don't waste your time) but the popcorn was good!  Room service was even better!

Cute slideshow!

For a great blessing and to see one of the cutest families in the world, go to Joy Wilson's new blogspot.  Joy is a sweet friend of ours who also happens to be a fabulous photographer!  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the slideshow and be sure to turn on the sound!

www.joywilson-photography.blogspot.com

www.joywilsonphotography.com

Happy Memorial Day 2008!

Johnny reflecting on those who gave their lives for the freedom of our great country!  A beautiful day at the Florida beaches to celebrate the holiday.   Seriously, we do want to thank those who have sacrificed the ultimate for us....their lives.  I am sure that every family has had someone who was killed in service to our country.  My mother's brother, Wade, was killed in WWII.  Even though I never knew him, my mother did and I honor him and his memory today along with all others.

School's Out!!

Finally!  School is officially out for the summer!  However, not all children were excited about not being able to go back to school and Hopie was one of them!  She was sad that she would not be going back to school on Monday!  Hollie and Pete are even looking at a private school for her and we are praying that if it is the right place for her that the Lord will let them know by her being accepted to the school.  It seems like a great place for her to continue her education, so we'll see!

Congratulations to Katie and Carson!  They attend Cherokee Christian School.  Katie completed the fourth grade and Carson the third grade with straight A's for the entire year!  Wow!  Way to go K & C!  How did they get so smart?

Another couple of Addie quips and quotes:  Her teacher's name was Miss Valerie and Addie called her Miss Ballerina!  One of her latest movies was "Princess Diaries".  Addie called it "Princess Diarrhea"  until some smart little person told her different!  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!  

Lindsey Allen....The Soon to be Bride!

Fun! Fun!  Deanna hosted Lindsey's shower at her house last night in the 'garden' and it was so much fun!  We had a great time and the weather was fantastic for an outdoor party.  She received a lot of great gifts and we enjoyed visiting with friends...July 12th will be here before we know it! Mr. and Mrs. Taylor Dorner???  Sounds strange!

(This cute cake was made by Sugar Plum Visions in Marietta...the best cake in Georgia! Tell Jamie that Janet and Hollie sent you!  You must taste her cakes to appreciate sugar worth eating!)

Can Baptists Dance?

Some Can and Some Can't!  But Katie Can!!  Cute, Cute, Cute!  Katie is such a doll no matter what she is doing!  Her dance class went to the Oaks Assisted Living Center to perform.  The people were very appreciative to see them dance.

Israel 2008 - Day 7

Day 7:  Even thought it is time to go home, we are leaving with mixed emotions.  We are happy to be headed home, but at the same time do not want to leave such a wonderful place we have come to love and have a deeper appreciation for.  One of the last places we visited was the place believed to be the area where the disciples met with Jesus in the Upper Room.  I have pictured our dear friends we will certainly miss:  Yuval Shemesh, our beloved tour guide and our sweet, kind bus driver, Zion.  Shalom, Israel!

Israel 2008 - Day 6

Day 6:  We're almost home!  Today has been another great day in the land of Israel, but so far our most tiring!  We started out early in line for the security check to visit the Temple Mount area and the Western Wall. (Pictures #1 & #2)  Part of our group is pictured overlooking the town of Bethlehem while singing the famous Christmas song of that city. (Pictures #5 & #6) Josh Garcia who works with Newsong, and his father, Nap Garcia from Jacksonville, FL., (Picture #3) have been with us this week and have had a great time.  It has been nice to see a father and son enjoy themselves so much.  Picture #4 is one of our favorite signs in all of Israel.  Johnny believes this sign is what is keeping many of our churches in America from growing and being what they should be!  It hangs outside the Church of the Nations in Jerusalem.  One more day of touring and we're headed home.

Closing out Day 5

Closing out Day 5.....As if we had not had enough!  A group of us went to see a great Israeli and Arab Folklore show called "Jerusalem of Gold".  Lots of singing and dancing...great show. Good night, we are going to bed!

Israel 2008 - Day 5

Day 5:  The Highlight of the Day....The Garden Tomb....It really was empty!!  Here is Johnny pictured standing outside the empty tomb....next, the place of the skull where Jesus was crucified.  Can you see it?  And...Newsong sings Can't Keep a Good Man Down and Arise My Love at our communion service in the garden of the 'empty' tomb area.  Then, the beautiful city of Jerusalem!  An Awesome Day!  (more later....)

 

Israel 2008 - Day 4

Day 4: This is Johnny's day to take pictures and blog the news of the day!  Pic. #1:  Let me introduce you to Linda and Buddy Wood.  They became our friends through Scott and Millie.  Buddy owns a large shrimping business in St. Joe, Fl. and through the years we have really come to love them.

Pic. #2:

It was around the year of Johnny's birth that some of the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in cave #4.  these continue to serve as God's way of authenticating His word.  This cave is located in the community of Qumran.  Pic. #3:  Cheryl, Sandy and Kim are three of the Cistren that are traveling with us to the Holy Land.  On an earlier trip here, I asked the question:  "If the men had been the ones to retrieve the water, would it have been called the brethren?"!  Pic. #4: When Johnny married them not long ago, they were both dressed in white.  How do you like their black mud suits in the Dead Sea? Brad and Joy Wilson are one fine couple.   Pic. #5:  Roy and Sue Miller have meant a great deal to us for over 21 years now.  Roy was on the pulpit committee that called us to FBCW.  Note the number 7 on the door which reminds me of why our ministry has been so encouraging all these years.  Roy and Sue are #7s in our book which speaks of perfection and maturity.  This is what makes Woodstock so great!  Pic. #6:  Allen Taylor serves as our minister of education.  No one in the SBC has a greater love, knowledge and passion for Bible Study.  What a joy it is serving with this dear brother.

Israel 2008 - Day 3

Day 3:  Today we began our day with an incredible time of baptizing in the Jordan River.  There were about 7 people with us who had never been scripturally baptized and they got their first in the 'mighty' Jordan!  Billy Goodwin baptized two of his children and his son-in-law, Eddie Carswell baptized his son Stephen and Pastor Tim Anderson from Alabama who is along with us baptized several of his church members.  This is always a highlight of our trips to Israel.

Israel 2008 - Day 2

Day 2:   Wow! Another great day in Israel.  The first picture is on the Mount of Beatitudes where Johnny preached a passionate sermon in a great place of remembrance.  The next two pictures were taken on the Sea of Galilee which is one of my favorite places to visit since we KNOW that is definitely the Sea of Galilee and not a 'traditional' site!  Look soon for Day 3....we are in the process of Day 3!

Israel 2008 - Day 1

Day One:  Exciting to say the least.  Highlights:  Caesarea by the Mediterranean Sea(picture #1), Mount Carmel and Nazareth (Johnny preaching overlooking part of Nazareth in picture #2).  The weather is hot and beautiful!

Well, I Did It Again!

Well, I did it again!  I made it to everything I intended and it was a great weekend!  Hope's party was just over the top!  She had a great time and I am sure she is still talking about it...especially the clowns who were just the best!  The 'ride' was just a little bit much but not too much for my special little Hopie!  That was a real hit with the kids and adults.  

I would post more pictures, BUT, I dropped my camera and broke it!  I have terrible camera luck!  So!  You'll have to view Hollie and Deanna's links to see more pics!  

After the party, I headed for Lindsey's graduation and it was great!  She was such a cute little graduate!  However, the moment every child waits for....her name to be called and walk across the stage...she declined that part!  She was hungry and of course, we went to her favorite place..Golden Corral!  Nevetherless, they will send her diploma in the mail anyway.  It was a fun time.

After lunch, we went 2 hours away to the Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. for a PASS South race that Jake and Deanna's car was running it.  It was a great track.  One of the best tracks we have been to.  The car was running great!  We qualified 6th.  The top 10 cars draw for repositioning and Justin drew the pole!  It was fantastic!  We led the race for quite a few laps.  A caution was thrown.....they always do double file restarts and the guy beside us jumped the restart and took the lead!  We stayed in second for quite a while until the tire went flat!  The pit crew did a great job changing the tire and we didn't even loose a lap!  Came right back to fourth place until more tire issues and to make a long race short....finished 7th.  A top 10 is always good, but the car was really better than that!  A fun night at the races!  Can't wait until the next one!  But first, I have to have Mother's Day and go to Israel!

Rode back all night on the bus and made it home at 7:00am to go to church. (After having Bill stop at Wal-Mart at 11:00pm so I could buy a new camera!) Katie's dance recital was Saturday so Johnny represented us and went to the recital.  He said he was so very cute, of course.  She had spent the night with him so we went to the 9:30 service together.  She is just so precious and so much fun.

Mother's Day lunch at the Georgian Club was special with Hollie, Pete the girls and Johnny. Katie was still with us since Deanna, Jake and Carson had not made it back yet from the race.

The short afternoon was spent packing for our Israel trip!  I am so excited to be going.  I hope to be able to post some pics soon from the Land of our Lord!  

How will I ever do it all?

This week will be a very busy one leading up to what will be a whirlwind of a weekend!  It will begin on Friday night with Hope's birthday party here at our house....she is turning 7!  Can you believe it?  I will then leave on the tour bus and travel through the night to Liberty University in Lynchburg to attend my niece, Lindsey's, graduation.  After the ceremony and hopefully lunch, we will drive a little over an hour to the Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Va. for one of the PASS South races that Jake and Deanna's car will be running in.  After the race, we will drive through the night to get back home for Sunday morning services and Mother's Day lunch.  THEN, we will leave around 6:30pm for the airport to catch a plane to ISRAEL!  I am really, really looking forward to going back.  If you will remember, it was this week one year ago that we were there for three days and received word that we needed to go back to the U.S. because my Daddy was not doing well.  We got a flight that night and arrived just in time to have a good but brief visit with him just before he slipped into a coma and died the next day.  Israel will be a bittersweet time of remembrance.

See you in the morning, Ms. Shirley!

Monday night will be the celebration of the home going of my sweet friend, Mrs. Homer (Shirley) Lindsay.  Her late husband was the pastor for many, many years of the great First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida.  Mrs. Lindsay was the perfect example of not only a godly woman, but the perfect example of what a mother, grandmother and wife of a pastor should be like.  She has been a great inspiration to me for over 25 years since I first met her.  Our last conversation was in January at the Pastor's conference when Johnny went to preach for that annual event.  We had a very long visit and she was insisting that I plan a time to go to Jacksonville and stay with her in her home.  I regret that I never did take the time to take her up on such a sweet, kind invitation but I will never forget her kindness toward me and her forever admiration of my preacher husband that she loved to hear preach.  

Just a few weeks ago after the Mega Metro Conference in Orlando, a group of us pastor's wives was discussing the upcoming convention and specifically the annual luncheon for the minister's wives.  I told the ladies that I had intended for several years to nominate Mrs. Lindsay for the Dawson Award that is given to an outstanding wife of a minister each year.  Those ladies all conferred and we made a call to put in our nomination for her for next year since it was too late for the 2008 conference.  Another example of waiting until it is too late!  Mrs. Shirley Lindsay is my nominee for the Minister's Wife of the Century!

Our prayers are with my sweet friend, Peggy, another outstanding minister's wife, in the death of her wonderful mother, Mrs. Shirley Lindsay.

Happy Birthday, Debra!

Wednesday is our sweet friend, Debra Swims' birthday so Johnny and I took her along with Chase and Bre to lunch after church to have an early celebration since Chase would be going back to school tomorrow and not be here for her birthday.  (This will be her first since Mike's death which you know will be very hard.)  Happy Birthday Debra!  You are loved!

April 28th - April 30th...Jubilee and Senior Choir Tour

This was a great few days with the Senior Adults at the Jubliee Conference in Myrtle Beach and the FBCW Senior Adult Choir Tour better known as the "Solid Gold" Singers!  They sang at the conference and churches in Conway, SC and Wilmington, NC.  We were in Wilmington only for the day, but it was great to get to see one of my little nieces and both nephews.  They are so precious and I really miss them.