Trip to California

Last week we flew to San Jose for Sis. Blanche Shoemake's "going home service". It was a beautiful service and we were so glad we could be there. I thank God for my friends and family! I also thank Him for the promise of HEAVEN! You can see there are a lot of smiles, but the reason we can smile during the "sad times" is because we know that someday we will see our loved ones again! "Won't we have a time when we get over yonder!" We also enjoyed visiting with Ronda and Nathan. We stayed with them and got to see Nathaniel, Matt and Danelle. It's always good being with them!

I just wanted to say hello to everyone and let you know I will be blogging again, soon. I've been very busy and haven't hardly turned on the computer this week. I hope everyone is doing good. See you soon....

Tagged!

I was tagged by Ronda, my sister, so I did it because I HAD to! LOL!

“A to Z Meme”

A -Available or Single? NEITHER! Married 34 years and still on our honeymoon!

B- Best Friend - Wendell, my husband. I've loved him since I was 12.

C- Cake or Pie - Cake. I love dense, heavy cakes or muffins.

D- Drink of Choice - Diet Coke!

E- Essential Item - my Bible - I find any answer I need in the pages of this Book.

F- Favorite Color - Emerald Green

G- Gummi Bears or Worms - I don't like either one!

H- Hometown - Fresno, CA

I- Indulgence - Hot fudge sunday from Braum's

J-January or February - January! It's the beginning of a NEW YEAR!

K- Kids - Two incredible sons! Both in the ministry.

L- Life isn't complete without - God, family and friends. (relationship)

M- Marriage date - September 15

N- Number of siblings - 3 (one brother, 2 sisters)

O- Oranges or Apples - Oranges

P- Phobias/Fears - Flying in a plane! I'd rather have my feet on the ground.

Q- Favorite Quote - "I cannot fail for there are those who trust me."

R- Reasons to smile - God has been so good to me and I have FOUR beautiful granddaughters!

S- Season(ing) - Season - Fall; Seasoning - Salt! Not too many things taste good without it.

T- Tag Three - Mandy, 'Dubya' Lynn, Christina

U- Unknown fact about me - If it's unknown...I'm sure not going to tell it!

V- Vegetarian or Oppressor of Animals - I'm not real crazy about meat, but not totally vegetarian.

W- Worst habit - Maybe this is the "unknown fact"?

X- X-rays or Ultrasounds - I do not want either, but have had both.

Y- Your favorite foods - Mexican, especially MY tacos!

Z- Zodiac - Taurus, but does it really matter?

Ok....Mandy, 'Dubya', and Christina it's your turn!

Home

We're HOME! Thank the Lord for safe flights. It was bumpy a few times and I nearly squeezed my husbands arm off, but it got smoother and wasn't too bad. We got the news about Sis. Barbara being in the hospital and headed there as soon as we got home. I hugged her and she asked me how I was doing, then said, "It's alright. It's alright." Please keep her and the family in your prayers. Those who are not part of our church, would you please pray for all of us. We need your prayers! Thank you and God bless you all.

A Wonderful Time In Lake Charles, LA

It has been a very busy week, but also very enjoyable. We left last Monday headed to Lake Charles, LA to preach for Bro. Rick Treece. We had not been to the church in 30 years! Jonathan was just 2 years old when we were there last. Now, that can make you feel "old" if you think about it very long. LOL! We arrived there on Tuesday afternoon, unloaded the car at the motel, and about an hour later we received a call from Elder Sis. Treece saying her and Bro. Treece would like to take us out for dinner. What a treat to get to be with them for a time of fellowship and talking about "old times". Sis. Treece can remember more than you can believe! It was so much fun talking to her, because she knows so much history about friends and family! In 1976 we were in Lake Charles for about three months with Bro. and Sis. Treece and we enjoyed being there helping in the church. It was one of life's highlights that we look back to with a lot of fond memories. Bro. Treece had trained coon dogs and he taught Jonathan to "howl" like a coon dog! It was so cute and everyone at the church remembered him doing that. We were surprised that a lot of people remembered us being there and to see so many saints of God still living for the Lord blessed us. They have a great church! Their worship is so heart-felt, and they still love the preaching! The presence of God is so strong when you are there in service. Bro. Rick Treece, pastor of the church, and Diane, his wife are gracious hosts. We had so much fun visiting with them. We didn't have to do one thing for ourselves. They picked us up when it was time to eat, took me to a couple stores that I needed to go to, showed us the new property where they are going to be building a new church real soon, took us to Cameron, LA where Hurricane Rita came through and wiped out the whole town, showed us wild alligators along the road, and when we were finished touring for the day, took us back to the motel so we could get ready for church, then, picked us up for church! They treated us like we were special. It's so nice being with "long-time friends" and enjoying each others company. We also enjoyed seeing Paula and Russell (Treece's daughter and her husband). They are a great couple! There are some people in life you never forget and the Treece family are such people. Thank the Lord for true Christian friends that you can have fun with and when you leave you feel you have been with some of God's CHOSEN people!

Another "Angel" Taken Home

This morning Sis. Bobbie Shoemake called and told us of the passing of Sis. Blanche Shoemake. My heart is saddened to know another precious friend has gone on to her reward. Sis. Shoemake was a beautiful lady! "Pure gold" are the words my husband used to describe her. Please keep the Shoemake family and church in your prayers. God bless you all!

Travelling

The last two weeks have been very busy for us, so I want to catch you up on where we've been. Last week we took a few days and ran to Beaumont to see Jonathan, Brenda and the girls, and see the "field" the Lord has moved them to. I had already been, but my husband had not. It was good for us to be with them and be able to tour The Apostolic Church. We also went to service on Tuesday night and enjoyed the presence of the Lord in the service. The church is doing wonderful and they are loving their Pastor and family. It's always good hearing Jonathan preach. We do not get to hear him very often and this was a treat. After spending several days with them we then went back to Lufkin to be at the TBC Graduation. Kyle was so happy to be finished with college and ready to be home for awhile. We were happy to be there with him to celebrate his accomplishments. We got to visit with friends which is always refreshing. We went home for Sunday (as I have already reported below). We had great church on the weekend, then on Monday afternoon we left for Lake Charles, LA to preach for Pastor Rick Treece. (I will report on this later) On our way down to Lake Charles we stopped in Beaumont to eat lunch with the family again. Isn't it funny how "Beaumont" has become a part of my vocabulary? Ron and Debbie Alomar (Brenda's parents) are there visiting. They have recently moved from California to Jackson, TN where Donald and Bridgett are pastoring, so now they are only 10 hours away from Brenda. It was good seeing them, again. Now, we are in Lake Charles. I will write about being here later. I hope you all have a great week!!

I really hope no one gets tired of reading about my family, friends and church, but they are my life, so I guess I'll keep talking about them. If it wasn't for these wonderful people "life wouldn't be near as much fun"! I love you all! May the Lord keep you, guide you, and be near you in everything you do. Until He comes...I will always be thankful for my family, friends, and church.

Wonderful Mother's Day and Birthday

I had a wonderful Mother's Day and birthday! My church really surprised me and I just wanted to share a few photos with my "blog friends". I had gone to Texas Women's Conference in Lufkin and even went shopping, which is very UN-usual for me. I do not like to shop (really) but gave into the pleading of Brenda to go to one dress shop with her....so....I did. I found the dress I wanted, but didn't buy it. In conversation with some of my ladies at the conference they asked me if I had gone shopping. I told them I had and found a dress I wanted, but didn't buy it. Well, to make a long story short, they surprised me with it for Mother's Day and Birthday! I was totally shocked! Then on Sunday night they presented me with a basket full of wonderful shower gels, lotion, candle, etc. from Bath and Body. I couldn't believe it! THANK YOU again to my wonderful church for loving me. I love you more than I can say!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

To my two lovely sisters and in remembrance of a beautiful Mother, I wish you both a Happy Mother's Day. You both are so beautiful and I've been privleged to have you as sisters. I know there are a lot of "sisters" who do not have the relationship that we do and I am thankful for the "friendship" we get to enjoy with each other. There are times we laugh together and we do that rather well, and there are times we cry together. The "crying times" are getting further apart, and I am glad of that. Then, there are times we just sit and relax and not have to say anything and we know what we're all thinking without a word spoken. That's when just a "look" can either throw us into long periods of laughter, or giggles, (if we're in church or someplace we would try to keep our composure). Most of the time we laugh instead of cry, even if we're suppose to be serious. Some may not understand what we're laughing at, and that's okay, because when we have each other that's all that matters at the moment. As I write, I get tickled just thinking about these times. Of course, we had a great teacher in Mother. She's the one that taught us to not take life too seriously. I want you both to know that I treasure your friendship and love. You're wonderful and I love you!
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to my two "super-cali-fragi-listic-expe-ali-do-cious" DAUGHTERS!

Brenda and Mandy you are both beautiful, inside and out! I am so blessed to have you as my "daughters"! You are like my own and if I would have had girls I would have wanted them to be "just like you". God saw that I needed you in my life and gave you to me and I love you so much! Thank you for marrying Jonathan and Andrew. God perfectly matched you to them. Thank you for being the beautiful example of what a wife should be. I've watched you through the years, and I couldn't be more proud of you! Then, you are awesome MOTHER'S! I have total confidence in the way you are leading your daughters. Savanna, Scarlet, Alayna and Ashlyn are blessed to have mother's like you. THANK YOU for being a Godly example to them and leading them "in the way they ought to go"! I LOVE YOU!

And to all my friends.....HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! You are special to me and I don't know what I would do without you. God bless you! I LOVE YOU!

Andrew Keith Elms.....Our Son!

Tonight Andrew preached and did an INCREDIBLE job! His title was, "And Jesus Stood Still". For those of you who do not know our youngest son, all I can say is YOU REALLY OUGHT TO MEET HIM! What a great man he is! Yes, he is great in stature, 6' 5"....200 and "none of your business" pounds. (like Daddy use to say), but more than his size, he is a wonderful person. He is big in stature, but his heart is just as big. God has been using him in ministry to the young people of our church, and he and Mandy are making a difference in their lives. He also taught our "Keenagers Class" (one of our adult classes) for a month and I was told that he did a fantastic job! I've heard this same report from different people. Andrew, God is using you and your preaching has definitely grown into a powerful ministry. We are blessed to have you and Mandy here with us and want you to know we have all the confidence in the world in your walk with God. I love you......Mom

His Presence

"When I come into His presence I humble myself, I lift up both my hands and I begin to worship Him. I worship Him. When I come into His presence I humble myself remembering what He's done, the victories He's won so I praise Him. I praise Him! For all He's done for me...redeemed and set me free. And because, just because He's God."

After a stressful day, today....I walked into my house and was ready to be out of the rat-race of life when all of a sudden the words to this song came to my heart and I felt His presence! I do not have to wonder what it was like when the "glory cloud" filled the sanctuary and the priests of the Old Testament walked into God's presence, because I have experienced the presence of God many times throughout my life. When I was down, depressed, worried, tired, stressed, sick, anxious...whatever the situation...God brought to mind the things He has done and I could once again worship Him. There are deserts in life that we go through. Sometimes they last a day, a week, a month, a year, or even several years. During these times God will come to us in the most unexpected way. I opened my mail box today and had a card from a lady I do not know and it read, "Sis. Elms, you do not know me but, I wanted to let you know I am praying for you today. You are precious in HIS eyes. May God bless you special this day!....signed....Sister in Christ." I was so thankful for this note. A lady from another city felt to send me a card and I opened it on a day that I really needed it! Don't get worried....I'm okay. Just needed a little reassurance that everything would be alright .......and it is.

Remember Me

I received this from Charlene, a lady in my church. It is very touching and I thought it would do us all good to see it. Let's pray for our President and our troops like never before. We need God to help us through these last days, and give our President strength and wisdom to do what is right for our beautiful country, America. We also need to ask God for His protection on all those who are fighting for our freedoms. They need our support. God Bless America!

Friendship Sunday

Sunday was a wonderful day for Life Tabernacle! After our morning service we stayed at the church and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and all the fixin's to go with them. After a good lunch with friends and family that had been invited we had a day of FUN! We had 5 bouncers for the youngest to the adults, and everyone had a blast on them. There was a good game of basketball played and the guys really enjoyed that. We even had JUMP ROPE, the "old fashion" game! Who would have ever thought it would have been the thing everyone wanted to do? LOL! It was so much fun. I know I keep saying "fun", but how else do you describe a great time with friends? I wanted to get this slideshow on today so everyone could enjoy Friendship Sunday again. We had a wonderful time! I took a lot of pictures and this slideshow will be a long one, but I promise you will enjoy it. :) Enjoy!

Last Weekend

I'm just now getting around to writing about last weekend when our friends, Ronnie and Jerry Ann Guidroz were with us. If you have never been with these wonderful people you are missing out on knowing some of the finest people alive. They are so kind, loving, caring, unselfish, and hospitable! When you have been with them for awhile you know you have been with people who really love God and you. Bro. Guidroz blessed our church with two great messages. Sunday morning he preached "The Spell of the Cross" and Sunday night he preached a masterpiece entitled, "We Don't Need More Money...We Just Need God to Bless What We've Got". He has a unique way of presenting the Word of God and we always enjoy his messages. Sis. Guidroz spoke in PrimeLIFE, my Sunday School class. She did a wonderful job of presenting Jesus and making us WANT to have "A Heart Like God's Heart". We were all touched with the sincerity of her words. You could feel God's heart as she spoke. We got to have lunch with them before they left on Monday. I hated to see them go, but I knew I couldn't keep them here. They are very busy doing the Lord's work, so they had to leave. Thank you Bro. and Sis. Guidroz for coming to Wichita Falls and blessing all of us with your ministry.

Note: I was walking out of the garage this week and a florist drove up in my drive-way with a delivery, so I went to see what it was. The Guidroz had sent a beautiful arrangement to us with a "thank you" note. That was so sweet and we appreciate their thoughtfulness.

Tribute to My Friend, Linda Shahan

I am writing this post with a heavy heart tonight, because last night at about 8:35 the Lord chose to take one of my friends home to be with Him. Sis. Shahan has been a beautiful example of a true Christian and a lady who loved to be involved in whatever ministry she found to work in. She lived the scripture, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." When she saw that a ministry was missing in the church she would start it! She had a passion for the things of God that was amazing. She also loved to have fun! When she laughed it was contagious. One year we were snow skiing and you could hear her laughing all over the mountain. I hear her laughter ringing in my ears as I write this. I will miss her more than I can express. I do not understand why she had to go away from us, but I trust God in His decision. He walked along the "garden of life" and picked another one of His most beautiful roses and heaven will be more beautiful because of her presence. I will meet you in the morning, my friend. Meet me in front of the throne, because I'm sure, not too far away from me will be Bro. Elms, Bro. Shahan, Todd, Julie K, Madison, Mason, Curtis, Julie Dawn, Kelsey, and Wesley! We WILL be there!

Alayna

I know, I know! I need to post something, but I haven't had a chance. I will try and get a new post on tomorrow sometime. I hope everyone is having a great week. Ours has been full and running over with busyness, but maybe someday it will slow down. Is there any hope in that? I thought life would slow down when I didn't have children at home, but it has just gotten faster, and faster, and faster! Whew! I sometimes want to yell...."STOP THE WORLD AND LET ME OFF"! LOL! Anyway, I still hope you all are having a great week. I can say this....God is GOOD! He never changes! He's our strength!

Note: I guess I just wrote a new post, huh? LOL!

Beaumont Visit

After being with the Mathews on Sunday, when we got back to the hotel we received a call from Jonathan saying he was having to take Brenda to Emergency at the hospital because she was so sick. So, on Monday morning I left for Beaumont and Andrew came to Ft. Worth and picked up his Dad. I definitely HAD to go check on Brenda and help her. I was so upset thinking about them being in a new place, and the girls not knowing very many people, yet, and I just couldn't stay away. I called Brenda and told her I was on my way and she was so happy! When I arrived she looked like she was feeling better and she said, "Mom, as soon as you told me you were coming a miracle took place and I started feeling better!" Well, I know exactly how that is when you're sick and you want your Mom around. No matter how old you are...when you're sick it is wonderful when "Mom" shows up!! I was so glad she was feeling better and we got a lot of the house decorated so they could feel at home. Brenda and Jonathan were very thankful for my help. I enjoyed being in church with them on Tuesday night and meeting some of the saints there. The girls were just so cute and we had so much fun. They definitely kept me entertained!! LOL! I took some pictures, but not enough! :) Savanna wanted to "pose" for the camera, so she did, and Scarlet had to follow "sissy". It was so funny!

Special Weekend With Mathews

There has been so much going on this week and I haven't had a chance to read emails, or blog, because I had no access to the internet. Last Sunday we were in Ft. Worth with Clarence and Madge Mathews at their church. We had a great time in service. Sis. Madge shocked me with how well she plays the keyboard. She also leads the choir as she plays. I was impressed! They definitely sang from their hearts and it was so good!! Bro. Clarence is a wonderful Pastor and led the service with passion. Brandon played the drums and did a great job and Erin sung in the choir. The family is very talented and a blessing to all who know them. Madge was so thoughtful and had the choir sing a song that Clarence had the lead on, because she knew how much we love to hear him sing. Of course, Bro. Elms preached a wonderful message and it was used by God to touch many hearts. After a lunch with the leaders of the church we went back to the church for a Leaders Meeting. Bro. Elms talked about the right attitude as a leader. We had a wonderful time. I even caught "Pastor Mathews" jumping on a PO-GO Stick! LOL! He was having a good time with some of the boys in the church parking lot and I just happened to catch him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHARON!


Sharon is a loyal friend, one who does not seek recognition, but gives unselfishly, never expecting anything in return! I have known Sharon for 30 years and she has always been the same. She is a friend who follows after the footsteps of Jesus and stays by your side when others may walk away. Sharon, I love you and am very blessed to call you "FRIEND". Thank you for your love and friendship.