"Revival Continues"

A few weeks ago we had the privilege of preaching in Ranger, TX. I wrote about the little guy that made me happy by his statement, "Sometimes I crack myself up", but I haven't had a chance to write about being with Pastor and Sis. Gunstanson.We had a lovely time with them. Prior to that Sunday we had never had the opportunity to be around the Gunstanson's, except for Youth Camps and Camp Meeting. At those times everyone is hurrying here and there taking care of "duties" and we don't have a chance to "talk", so we looked forward to being with them in church and having Sunday dinner with them.

While sitting in the adult Sunday School class I looked at the familiar surroundings. We had been in the Ranger church many times through the years so we felt very much at home. As I looked around I noticed a sign hanging at the front of the church, and liked it! It said, "Revival Continues". I loved the positive statement of revival! But, what caught my attention was the couple sitting by the sign. What I saw spoke volumes to my heart!Bro. and Sis. Barnhill have been in the Ranger UPC church for as long as I can remember. They have been faithful through the years and have been friends to every Pastor and his family who have been there. They have helped raise Pastor's children, including our own granddaughters, Savanna and Scarlet. During the seven years Jonathan and Brenda were in Ranger as the Pastor they could count on Bro. and Sis. Barnhill to help them with the girls at any time. The Barnhills have stood by every Pastor and been an encouragement to them along with all the other saints. I have great gratitude for these lovely people. So, as I sat there looking at that sign and looking at the couple who was sitting in their familiar pew, my mind started working.

The reason REVIVAL CONTINUES in any church...is because there is a Pastor who loves his people and the work of God, and there are FAITHFUL SAINTS who love God, their Pastor, and their church! They have given their lives to keeping the doors of their church open year after year. They have supported their Pastor through the years, standing with him through every situation with love and support. They love each other and want to see the lost come to know Jesus. They never get tired of living for God. God, is their LIFE! They know when things do not seem to be going "right", they take it to the Lord on their knees, praying until the windows of Heaven open and God's blessings are once again poured out on their church! Yes...REVIVAL CONTINUES because faithful saints and men of God who work together to see it happen!

Bro. and Sis. Gunstanson...thank you for inviting us back to a very special place and allowing us to worship with you. You are doing a wonderful job leading your church into Continued Revival. The worship and praise, the depth of prayer, and the presence of God we felt while there in Sunday Worship will not be forgotten. You were a blessing to us!

Conroe Weekend

This weekend we were blessed to be in Conroe with Kent and Tracie Smith and their great church! We had a wonderful time from the moment we arrived. The Smith's wanted us to be in Conroe in time for dinner, so we made it and we are so glad we did. They picked us up at the hotel then took us to The Woodlands to eat. We had a wonderfully delicious meal while we sat outside by the river. It was a beautiful evening and we thoroughly enjoyed it. After we finished eating we walked over to Starbuck's, but they didn't have "cold drinks" so we left and went to another one. They are people after my own heart! LOL! My family has a "thing" about going from restaurant to restaurant just to get something we didn't get at the last one we were at, and of course to spend time together! So, Saturday evening we did the same thing with the Smith's and went to another Starbuck's. This time they had exactly what we were looking for. Of course, I didn't have any idea of what I wanted, because I had never found anything that I was crazy about at Starbuck's! Now...don't go pick up that stone and throw it at me just because I may be a little "behind the times"...give me a chance to say...I FOUND WHAT I LIKE! "STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM"! It was delicious and I drank every last drop of it.

Sunday services were great! The presence of God was in our midst and people were hungry for Him and the Word. The anointing was there and my husband PREACHED!!!! On Sunday morning while he was preaching the electricity went off and we were left in the "dark"! We teased him about "blowing the lights out" with his preaching! :) He just kept preaching and the lights and P.A. system came back on and all was well. I don't know for sure how many we baptized. I do know at least one received the Holy Ghost! Since February this wonderful church has had over 100 people baptized and a lot of them have received the Holy Ghost! You could safely say, "Conroe United Pentecostal Church" is in a time of "harvest". God has been blessing these wonderful people and rewarding them for their labor.

Sis. Smith loves Outreach and her bus children! I was so happy to drive up just as she was getting off of her "bus route" Sunday morning. I had to get a picture of her. She was beaming! Her excitement about her ministry was definitely felt. I loved seeing her eyes light up with excitement!

After church we went to P.F. Chang's to eat and it was so GOOD! We get hungry for good Chinese food here in Lufkin, so it was a real treat to eat some of our favorite food. Trent, Calah and Redonia went with us and we had a fun time. LOL! My husband loves to tease and have fun and he was doing his part in teasing Redonia. She was a good sport and he got quite a few smiles out of her. "Thanks Redonia for having fun with us! :) By the way, I didn't get ONE picture of you! I could not believe it when I got home and did not have ONE!"

As I have mentioned, this church has been in a season of harvest and they have worked very hard during this time. Sunday nights service was for the "tired saints of God". We had a great time of worship and praise led by Trent. He does a good job! There is no way to tell you everything that happened in this service, but just let me say that it was filled with the "refreshing rain" from God. There was such peace and strength in the service! Wendell and I sang some old songs and the people seemed to really enjoy it. I'm glad they did! Wendell then preached another anointed message, but this time the lights stayed on. LOL! I got to enjoy playing the organ for awhile. I enjoyed it so much. It gave the musicians a break and gave them some time to "get a touch from God" without having the responsibility of "keeping things going". I was glad to relieve them for awhile. I could go on and on about the services, but I will stop here and just say...thank the Lord for being with us in church!

After the service we were invited to the Smith's home. It reminded me of our home, and I got a little "homesick" to have a house again. I haven't had that feeling since moving to Lufkin, but I did this time. I have enjoyed living in our motorhome and will keep on enjoying it, I just "missed my home" for a moment. Tracie prepared some delicious food and we had a great time sitting around and relaxing in their home.

I hope I've covered most everything. I tried at least 4 times to get a slide show ready today, but things kept happening to it! I'm later getting this post done than I wanted to be, but I finally got a slide show done tonight! Thank you, Kent and Tracie Smith for a wonderful weekend! We will not forget your love and hospitality to us!

Bobby and Elaine - Vidor, TX

A few weeks ago we were invited to minister at Bobby and Elaine Edwards church in Vidor. Bobby and Elaine have been our friends for many years. Elaine and I go WAY back when we were teenagers and she travelled with Bro. and Sis. A.D. Spears. They came to California and preached revivals, and several of those revivals was at my Dad's church in Fresno, CA. I was 14 when I first met Elaine, and she had her 18th birthday while there! Now, you know "the rest of the story". LOL!

At church the other night we were there when they announced they are going to be "GRANDPARENTS"! YES! We are so excited for them. This being their first grandchild to be born I want to welcome them to the "World of Crazy People!" There is nothing like being a grandpa/grandma! CONGRATULATIONS YOU CRAZY OLD PEOPLE! LOL!
Elaine even had her say about it! I don't know why she couldn't just stand up there and say "nothing"! LOL! EVERYONE was so excited and of course had to give them a "standing ovation"!After church we met Jonathan and his family and the The Wilbanks to eat and visit. We had a great time!

The "girls" table: Brenda, Renee Wilbanks, Elaine Edwards, and Jan (Elaine's sister)
The "men's" table: Bro. W. Elms, Bro. Jonathan Elms, Bro. Wilbanks, Bro. Edwards, Bro. Lamar Edwards
Our "Little Sweethearts" table: Savanna and ScarletWe sure had a nice time with everyone...Friends, Family and God...it can't get much better than that.

Copperas Cove Weekend

Last weekend we were privileged to be in Copperas Cove with Pastor and Sis. Donny Hendrick. They treated us so very kind and we felt a real bond of friendship with them. They have an incredible church and we felt totally at home! The worship, unity, singing, and their open arms made us think of Life Tabernacle, Wichita Falls. Of course, we are very fond of Life Tabernacle since we spent 24 years of our life there as Pastor. When the Pentecostals of Copperas Cove started singing and worshipping I felt I was close to heaven. Their response to the the messages my husband preached was wonderful, and we had great altar services! One thing that REALLY made me "feel at home" was when their choir got up to sing. They sang just one song and it was "Total Praise"! That song has been one of my favorites that the Life Tabernacle Sanctuary Choir did. I almost couldn't believe my ears when they started off! God knows exactly what we need and when we need it! I had a friend write me this week and tell me she was praying for me so that I would "feel at home wherever we may go to minister". God answered her prayer this past weekend. We were so happy when Bro. Hendrick came to my husband and asked us to come back for THIS weekend!!! So, this Sunday morning and Sunday night we will once again be in Copperas Cove with the saints of God there. We are looking for great things to happen!!!

Bro. and Sis. Knight are the former pastors of this wonderful church. They are still there enjoying the "fruit of their labor" and we enjoyed visiting with them. They have a lot to be proud of and they are thankful the work continues to flourish. Another thing that made me feel at home was when Bro. Knight introduced the choir. He said, "Now, I want you to worship with the best choir in town...The Copperas Cove Sanctuary Choir"! It sounded so much like my husband when he would introduce our awesome choir. I know I probably sound a "little homesick", but you just have to understand "where I'm coming from". I have my "times" of really missing "home". If you've ever "been there", then you understand.

Bro. and Sis. David Carrington from Dumas, TX are retired and are now living in Copperas Cove. Sis. Hendrick is their daugher, so they moved there to be "close to the kids". They invited us to their home for "food and fellowship" after church Sunday night. It sure brought back "old memories"! We have eaten many meals in the Carrington's home. We had a lot of "catching up" to do, since we had preached some of our first revivals for them MANY years ago. I was "expecting" our first child, Jonathan, and Sis. Carrington was "expecting" Nathan! We took a picture "back to back" and it was quite "a sight to behold"! LOL! We have a lot of "funny memories" with the Carrington's, and Bro. Carrington remembers almost every detail. You can imagine the "walk down memory lane" that we enjoyed with them. By the way...that was memories from 1973! WOW! It's not MY age that bothers me, it's everybody else's! By the way, Sis. Hendrick was only 11 years old when I first met her!!!! If I look a little more "gray" and a little more "old" when you see me, now you know why! LOL!

Friday night we will be in Corsicana for a "section-wide rally". (Section 8) My husband is preaching it. Saturday morning I will be speaking at the "Section 8 Ladies Day" there in Corsicana. If you happen to be "near" please stop by and see us. The more the merrier!!!

Catch Up Time

This week has been a week that we have enjoyed so much!

Wendell preached a men's rally in Cleburne, TX last Saturday, so we had the opportunity to be in church at Andrew and Mandy's on Sunday morning. We were also happy to see Todd and Julie, Madison and Mason!!! They had been at the Junior Bible Quizzing Tournament in Longview and stopped by to be in church at Balch Springs. We got to have lunch with them before we all parted ways. It was so good being with some of "our kids". Todd use to stay at the house with the boys when they were young. We always felt very comfortable knowing he was there with them, so we "adopted him" as one of our sons! Seeing them made us very happy, and then when it was all over I was a little sad. There's nothing like being with those we've loved for so many years!
Of course, it was wonderful seeing Andrew and Mandy and two of our "sweethearts"! Alayna tried her best to get us to stay longer. Ahhh...it was almost more than this grandma could take! She "blocked" the apartment door... ...then, Ashlyn joined her in "blocking" the door to the Armada on my side.It was so sweet!

When we got home things were swiftly "back to normal". Wendell went to the office and me to the motorhome. I just had a little nagging emptiness in my heart. I guess you can say, I was lonely!

Thursday, Wendell and I went to eat a bite of lunch at Logan's. He had gone out to the car ahead of me, and as I was walking across the parking lot I looked up and saw a van going by and as it passed I read, "LIFE TABERNACLE"! About that time I hear a horn honk, and then saw the big smile of CURTIS SHAHAN, and as PASSED ON BY...he WAVED! I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES, AND SURE COULDN'T BELIEVE THEY DIDN'T STOP AND AT LEAST SAY "HI"!!!!! :) I figured out real fast WHY they didn't, (Due to a LOT of highway construction there was really no place to turn around, and they missed the drive-way to Logan's) but we still would have LOVED seeing all of them! Bro. Elms was disappointed that they didn't stop, too. I hope they enjoyed their trip to Deweyville where Darrell Orange was having a "Wild Game Supper", but NEXT TIME you BETTER STOP!!! :)

When Wendell came home from the office, he told me Bro. Frankens from Homer had called and was inviting us to be in service with them, because Missionary John Hemus was there and he had told Bro. Frankens we were "good friends". We were so happy to have the opportunity to see our friend once again. He had preached for us in Wichita Falls, and we had enjoyed having him and the family very much. They were some of those people you just "connect" with. As we were winding things up to get ready for church, the phone rang and it was Chris Isom from "home" calling! We were so happy to hear from Bro. Chris!!! He was in Lufkin for the evening and wanted to meet us for supper. Of course, we wanted to go eat with him! So, we met him, had supper, and invited him to go with us to church. He wanted to go, especially since he had missed Wednesday nights service at home. He was ready to be in church! We all enjoyed the service in Homer with Bro. and Sis. Frankens and Bro. Hemus! We even found out after church that Bro. Hemus plays the guitar VERY WELL! Bro. and Sis. Hemus have a church in Liverpool, England and they are experiencing great revival! Many souls are coming to God and they are so excited about what God is doing for them. I wish Sis. Hemus could have been with him, but she was not able to be there. Maybe next time we will get to see her, too. She's such a sweet lady!

Tonight we were privileged to be Denison, TX with David and Kay Gilbert as they celebrated 30 Years as Pastor of Truth Tabernacle! Bro. Bobby Edwards preached a wonderful message and definitely ministered to my husband and I.The Edwards are wonderful friends!

We got to visit with Bobby Stanley a few minutes, but missed Glenda!She's in North Carolina with her kids and granddaughter. I know she is having a wonderful time!

Presbyter Bob Myre was there. Bob and Donna are wonderful! Donna couldn't be with him, so for his picture he posed with an "imaginary Donna"! LOL!There were more friends who attended: David and Sandra Myer, Virgil and Nancy Cornwell, and many others. There is no way for me to remember everyone that was there, so just let me say...We all had a wonderful time being together!!!

Also, Darren and Ginger....ya'll did a fabulous job putting together a great celebration for your parents! We love you!

The week is not over, and there's more good things ahead. I think I will go to sleep, so I can enjoy some more FUN!

Palestine Weekend and a Question

This weekend we were in Palestine with Bro. and Sis. Shiflet. There's something about these folks that is wonderful, and it makes you "want to be around them". They are true Christians and portray that in their love for God and people. My husband has spoken of Bro. Shiflet a lot through the years, but this was the first time I had the opportunity to be around him and Sis. Shiflet. I agree with my husband on what wonderful people they are!

Sunday morning we had a great time in the presence of God. Sunday evening I was unable to go because of sickness, which I was very upset over, but Wendell said they had a "blow out service"! It is so refreshing to be with those of "like precious faith", and to know you are among people that are SOLD OUT!

Since I was sick, I did not get a picture of all of us after church, and forgot to have my husband take the camera Sunday night, so I missed out on that one. :( I did snap a picture of Bro. Shiftlet in the pulpit Sunday morning.

I went to the doctor this afternoon, at the insistence of my husband, and found out "I'm going to live after all"! LOL! Really, she said I have an upper respiratory infection, gave me a shot, and said I will be better within 24-48 hours. That's what $94 will get you these days! LOL! But, I'm glad I went so I can enjoy Thanksgiving holidays.

Here's a question that has been going over and over in my mind for many years:

"I wonder what I can do to help carry the load of the ministers and wives who have unsaved children?"

There is nothing more disturbing to me than to think one of our sons would not be living for God! I am THANKFUL that they are both living for God, and BLESSED because God has chosen to use them to pastor churches, feed the "sheep", and reach the lost. I know I'm abundantly blessed in so many ways, yet my heart is saddened. I have friends and family in the ministry whose children are "wandering in Egypt" and have not made their way "HOME"! God, what can I do to help carry the burden for these "prodigal children"?

I was talking to a friend many years ago and said, "I can't stand the thought of going to church and not seeing my children there, because they are not living for God. I know you and your wife are thankful for what God is doing in your church, but EVERYTIME you go to church, look across the crowd, and do not see _________, you've got to have a heavy heart. EVERYTIME the door opens for that "late comer" to walk in, you must be looking for them. I just can't imagine the disappointment when it's not." He looked at me and said, "It's terrible!" There was a sadness in my friends eyes that I will never get away from!

If you are a preacher or preacher's wife who is reading my comments today, please know that you are not forgotten in the "anguish of your soul"! I do not know all of the preacher's kids who are not living for God, but I do pray they will COME HOME and it will be SOON! Please let me know if I can help "carry your burden" in any way. God bless you as you labor in His vineyard. Your reward will be GREAT!

Backslidden preacher's kid! IF you happen upon my blog and read this post, PLEASE KNOW you are being prayed for. You will never get away from the love of God and those who love you. I hope you will wake up and come back home where you belong. I love you....and I'm praying for you!

Those of you who will join me in praying...let's pray and see God work miracles in the lives of "our" backslidden children! If you happen to know a preacher and his wife who has an unsaved child, let them know you are praying for them.

One more thought...

When someone loses a loved one in death a lot of times people are afraid to say anything to them about the one who is gone. Maybe they don't know what to say, and maybe they're afraid you will be upset. Let me say, I find it a real JOY when someone remembers my parents or brother. I love it when that person walks up and tells me a memory they have of them. Somehow it makes them seem ALIVE again!

Why did I mention this? Because sometimes we tend to be afraid to "mention a lost loved one" to those who love them the most! We must remember "these children are still loved" and it would do their parents good to know we have "thought" about those closest to them.

That was just a thought.....thank you for listening to my heart.