Southern Baptist Convention Wrap-Up

(This is going to be a very general wrap-up of what our family enjoyed outside the business of the convention.)

One of my favorite things to do is get to know others in the ministry and their families. This year we had several of our ministry friends staying in the same hotel where we could hang out together. Two of the families had their kids with them and so the kids had hang out time too. It was a wonderful time!

Katherine and Sebastian enjoyed their time at the kids camp provided by the SBC. Every time we picked them up we heard about Dexter, the puppet, and what they learned from Dexter. Katherine & Sebastian had a blast at kid's camp, and I was very thankful to those who made kid's camp possible. What a great thing for the kids and parents too!

We enjoyed our time with friends and having the opportunity to represent Trinity Baptist Church of Valliant, Oklahoma, at the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting.

National Corvette Museum Pictures

This next one was for Uncle Dean & Grandpa Homer!

Katherine's always ready to pose for a picture. I LOVE that girl!


This one is my favorite. He's too cute!

Home

We made it back to our home after being gone for 17 days! We had a blast and I promise to get some pictures and video up this week of our many adventures; however, this quick update & photo will have to do for now.

Thanks for your patience.

Quick Rundown

If you follow me on twitter or facebook then you already know our family is in Orlando, Florida. We began our drive about 10 PM Wednesday, June 9th. We made it all the way to Little Rock, Arkansas, before we stopped to sleep. When we woke Thursday we thought we would drive all the way to our hotel in Muncie, Indiana, but when we called to check on an adding a night to our reservation we discovered all hotels in that area were booked. At that point we decided not to be in a hurry and ended up spending the night in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where the National Corvette Museum just happens to be. And you guessed it, we visited the museum on Friday morning before we started our drive to Anderson/Muncie, Indiana.

Friday night was the rehearsal and dinner, which went really well and was fun. There was a family celebration/party after the dinner, but we opted out and headed back to our hotel. On Saturday the day was filled with getting ready for and enjoying the wedding. All went very smoothly.

We were back on the road after attending part of the dinner reception. We drove out of Muncie, Indiana, at 6:18PM headed to Orlando. Wes drove all night while the kids and I slept. I drove some on Sunday before Wes took over again and drove us into Orlando around 2:30PM.

We met up with some friends at our hotel and went over to the convention center around 6PM. I checked the kids into the kids program where they enjoyed several activities including a HUGE jump house while Wes and I attended part of the evening pastor's conference. Later we enjoyed a nice, but late dinner at Cattlemen's.

Well, that's a run down of what we've done so far. Katherine did take a few pictures at the Corvette Museum and I'll try to get those up later this evening. Currently I must get ready and head over to the convention center, so my kids can enjoy the kids camp activities again. They can't wait!

And so it begins...

Our family is headed to Anderson, Indiana, where we will attend the wedding of Angela Neal to Glen Posthuma. We are excited to see Glen, Wes's cousin, and Angela unite in marriage and spend some time celebrating with family.

After the wedding we will load back into our Ford Expedition and drive to Orlando, Florida, for the Southern Baptist Convention. We are looking forward to arriving in Orlando and spending several days sharing in the business of the convention, while reconnecting with friends who minister all over the country.

On Thursday, June 17th, our family will drive to Naples, Florida, to spend the weekend with Wes's grandparents, Verne & Joanne Kenney. We haven't seen them in 8 years and we're really excited for this opportunity.

As you can see our family will be traveling a LOT over the next two weeks, and we would appreciate your prayers for safe travel and nice vacation. I hope to blog some while we're gone, but if I don't please understand I'll have plenty of fun stories and pictures when I get back.

Why?

(I began this post last week and left it in the editing folder, because I wasn't sure I wanted to share it. After talking with a friend I decided to go ahead and share my thoughts with you.)

*Why do we Christians shy away from praying aloud when in a group?
*Why do we Christians go running to the Lord in prayer when something bad happens, and when all is going fairly well a prayer is never offered?
*Why do we Christians look for feel good sermons or music rather than biblical theology?
* Why don't we Christians pour out our problems to our Heavenly Father instead of our friends?
* Why don't we Christians open our bibles and share from the Word of God when a friend, coworker, or family member begins to share what's happening in their life & wants our advice?
*Why do I blog about spiritual concepts instead of sharing scripture?

Could the answers to several of these questions be:
We Christians (I) do not spend enough time in the Word of God and are still spiritual children or young adults? Yes, I think that's the answer.

Will we (I) be willing to change and begin maturing?
Yes, I desire to be constantly growing. I don't want to be stagnant in my walk with the Lord. I desire to know my Lord and Savior better everyday, and I desire for my family, friends, and strangers to see Christ in my life.

More Saddle Ridge Ranch

Saddle Ridge Ranch

It was a one day vacation bible school on Saturday, June 5th. There were 28 kids and 15 adults who enjoyed a HOT, but fun filled day of Roundin' Up Questions & Drivin' Home Answers on Saddle Ridge Ranch!

Check out some of the highlights...

Still, My Soul Be Still (video)

Tonight the song "Still, My Soul Be Still" by the Getty's is on weighing heavy on my mind.



Still my soul be still
And do not fear
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow
God is at your side
No longer dread
The fires of unexpected sorrow

God You are my God
And I will trust in You and not be shaken
Lord of peace renew
A steadfast spirit with me
To rest in You alone

Still my soul be still
Do not be moved
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows
Hold onto His ways
With shield of faith
Against temptations flaming arrows

Still my soul be still
Do not forsake
The Truth you learned in the beginning
Wait upon the Lord

And hope will rise As stars appear when day is dimming

(My original post from January on this song is here.)

June, Already?

The month of June is always a busy month for our family.
Here is a list of some of the events we have going on this month...

* Vacation Bible School at Trinity Baptist Church of Valliant, OK, on Friday & Saturday June 4-5.

* Wedding of Angela Neal & Glen Posthuma on June 12th in Anderson, Indiana.

* Pastor's Conference & Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, Florida, June 13th-16th.

*Vacation at Verne Sr. & Joanne Kenney's in Naples, Florida, for several days after the convention.

That list doesn't include all the preparations that must be done before any of those events either. Yes, June is a VERY busy month for our family, but I'm just thankful we have the opportunity to do each one of these things.

Oh, and it looks like we'll be traveling again in July, but that's a whole different post! :-)