SO TRUE!!

Beyond Borders

What is Beyond Borders??

Beyond Borders a group consisting of 3 different churches of 3 different denominations that have put their differences in beliefs aside for one purpose The Children. We all believe theres one way to Heaven and thats through Jesus Christ Gods Son. Every Wednesday Night We come together to Worship. Children of all ages come We have a live band after worship We head to class for our bible lesson after that dinner is provided. Then the children are taken home. It is a wonderful feeling to know We can put our differences aside and come together in unity for the children. Satan will try in every way to destroy this your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Last Friday night We had a night just for our youth We had music and testimonies as well as pizza and games These pictures were taken that friday.

Food Bank!!!!

 Every month on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday We volunteer at a food Bank that is held in Martin City at there Head Start building. Here are some pictures. This is a awesome way to help those in need!!

A Challenge

 Just today I learned October 15th is Baby Loss Awareness Day. I have never lost a child but I have friends who have and I think this is Awesome. They do different things each year to honor and remember the babies. This year this is what they did  

	October 15th is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day across the world. We would like to invite you to take part in the global 'Wave of Light'. Simply light a candle at 7pm and leave it burning for at least 1 hour to join us in remembering all babies that have died during pregnancy, at, during or after birth.
	This can be done individually or in a group, at home or in a communal space. Wherever you do this, you will be joining a global wave of light in memory of all the babies who lit up our lives for such a short time.

 I challenge each of you to pray for those who have lost a baby whether recently or years ago and next October check out this website and if its lighting a candle again for 1 hour I challenge you to participate and take that time to pray for the families.
http://www.babyloss-awareness.org

Surprise Surprise Surprise!!

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. So I decided we should have a meal after church for Lee. I asked the woman suggestions on when or if they had any other ideas. They said that sounded great. Then Becky said can we do it next week because Me and Steve will be gone after that (they leave for the winter). So thats how we got our date it was settled October 9th it was.  We needed to let him know we were having a meal so he wouldnt think anything was up when he saw us carrying in food. So we told him We were having a dinner for Becky and Steves last sunday. Everything worked out perfect. He was very surprised and We had a very emotional service. Many people spoke and of course I think We all Cried. The children were already planning on singing So some of the pictures were of that.  We are so lucky to have Lee and Joy and there kids here with us. They do so much and it felt great to in just a small way give a little back. All in all the day it  was a GREAT success Everyone left full and happy. Keeping a secret and planning a event in a short amount of time is and was very stressful but it was so worth it. I will definitely do it again :)

                                                                      

                                               Where would we be without these two??

                        Thanks Steve and Becky for bringing the cake to your own party haha

                                                                           Card Table :)

                                          Group hug for Joy She almost got knocked down

                                                              Group hug for Lee

                                                                     Becky Speaking

                                                                      D  speaking

                                                                         Fay speaking

                                                                             Flowers

                                                           Happy/overwhelmed tears

                                                                      Poem for Joy

                                                      Laying hands on Lee and Joy

                                                                  A poem for Lee

                                                                       Lisa Speaking

                                                          Praying for Lee and Joy

                                                                   A hug from Tabby

                                                                 Reading the poems

                                                                         Kids singing

My Sunday School Class

When we got here Joy asked me while she was gone (on vacation)  to teach her sunday school class. When Joy came back she asked me if I would like to keep teaching it. I said ok but to be honest I was not the least bit excited. Now after 3 months Im not sure I'd give it back. Those kids have helped me so much. Whether its seeing them learn stories that they couldnt tell me when I first started or just if im having a bad morning making me laugh. It feels good to know that you are planting seeds that will hopefully change their lives one day. I have learned each childs personality in such a short time, and I love each of them. Who knew stories I have known my whole life and simply little activities Would change my life. I pray that  the simply  things I plan each week are making a difference in those 6 little lives.

God is Good All The Time!!!!

Well We have been here awhile now and everythings been great Two other people were playing with us on Sunday mornings and it seemed like We didnt have a care in the world. Well finally I can see the devil moving I wondered where he'd been guess he had some other people to bother. We are fine and We know with Jesus We can overcome all these things but please continue to pray for us. Dont wanna mention anything specific but We can see the devil moving in a couple different situations and its frustrating because Sometimes it makes you feel helpless. But Pray can change things so please keep the prayers coming!!

    Onto happier things  ( I'm not gonna give the Devil the satisfaction of making this post all about him)  Journey has recovered fine from her surgery and is wild as ever. We were heading into Mcdonalds last week  and saw Mandy (the lady who gave us Talley) She was so happy to see us and said she had been worrying about him and had been fighting the urge to text me. Of course I told her to text anytime and showed her some pictures and told her some stories. So she left feeling alot better. Also DO NOT order the sweet tea from Mcdonalds here thinking because its another Mcdonalds it will be the same as the sweet tea back home It is definitely not I wanted to cry when I took a sip. Jeremy and I laughed the other day about how we used to say Athens had no good resturants and now We miss everyone of them! The stage in the sanctuary is complete Jeremy just has to work on the wiring. They are working on the sound room and hopefully next we can get carpet. Everything looks really good and everyone seems to like it. Wednesday night We ordered Pizza from PizzaHut It was great to have a  break from having to cook. The kids were excited too and ate better than they usually do But were extra wild Must have been a full moon lol
    God has many ways of showing us he cares. Sometimes We dont notice because they are small things We probably dont even think about but I noticed one this week and wanted to share

 There is a couple big things of flowers all down in front of the church And in one of the ones in front of our apartment Lee threw in a few sunflower seeds He figured they would not bloom before the cold weather got here and killed them. So one day when I was talking to God i asked Him if at all possible if He could let at least one of those sunflowers bloom before they died.

                                                                                                                                                                                                      

 God is Good All the Time!!!!!

I dont know what happen guys but all my pictures turned into explamation marks :/ I have fixed a few but some I havent got to yet and some of the older post i dont even have the pictures anymore :( ill take off asap I do good to find time to keep this updated and then my pictures mess up. Oh well Jeremy thinks blogging is silly I told him it helps me vent I mean this way i can get everything off my chest to all my friends at once and not have to tell the story over and over :) He still thinks its silly. I still LOVE it :) Not a lot going on here The stage is built more pictures to come It looks really great Hopefully Carpet soon and the sound room. Please continue to pray for us here at Canyon Baptist We are so happy to have more room and a better looking place to worship but what we really want is for it to be full. We want to grow so we can reach more lost people. Please pray for unity and strength to love one another despite our differences. This should be a prayer we pray for all churches. God made us all unique and gave us all our own gifts Lets pray that God will help us recognize our gifts and use them for his glory. If we work alone we may make a small difference But if we can only learn to work together think of the big difference we can make. 

Change Can be a good thing :)

Here at Canyon Baptist this is a very exciting time for us!! We are building a new and bigger stage, building a sound room, We got new and improved sound equipment, and we are flipping the sanctury around and will have up to 30 more seats this way!! We also are beginning to look at carpets and compare prices. I have only been here since July but to those who have been here forever looking at carpet is the most exciting part since they had to rip theres up when they redid some of the floor a couple years ago. I'll post pictures as we go :)
                                                                   
                                                              Stage in process of being built          

                                                                       Stage done :)

 

                                                                                Before

                                                                             Before

                                                                                

                                                              

Just a update

So we've been here 2 months and are pretty much adjusted to our routines. Of course at the same time every week seems to be different Stuff always comes up spare of the moment. But we are still very happy here. Here is our schedule


 Sunday
- Sunday Morning- Our group(which consist of Jeremy playing guitar, Me singing, A guy from here named Wolf playing guitar, and his son Jacob playing bass) We do 3 songs and invitation. I teach sunday school for k-4th.

-Sunday night (while the weathers warm) we have our service at Lion Lake so we take all our stuff and meet there We build a fire and after service have smores :) We do 4 songs at the lake.


Monday
-We try to let monday be our off day sometimes that works out and sometimes it doesnt



Tuesday
-The 2nd and 4th tuesday of every month We work at the local food bank from 7am-12pm

- Tuesday night at 6 we have bible study We eat at 6 then the bible study starts at 7. I help prepare whatever meal we decide to have that night, and clean up afterwards.

Wednesday
-Wednesday nights We have Beyond Borders at Canyon Elementary School I help prepare the meal here at the church for that and then transport it to the school. I also help Joy with the 1st grade and under class.

Thursday
-We go get Wolf and Jacob and come to the church and practice for Sunday morning and night service.

Friday
-We go get Wolf and Jacob again and come to the church and practice for Sunday morning and night service.

Saturday
-saturday is a normally running around like crazy people day I make sure i have everything together for my sunday school class (I normally study thru the week)

- We make sure we have the lyric for all our songs for our projector screen We make sure all the song books are put out. and just last minute things like that for sunday

Through the week I try to make time to keep in touch with family but it can be difficult ecspecially with the 2 hour time difference. We are doing great and loving our new life here.




We do make time for some silly things!!

Life as We knew it.

    Beautiful 3 bedroom 2 bath house in town but country setting. Two reliable cars. I stayed home and took care of the house and our animals (which were like our kids) while Jeremy worked. I never missed my favorite shows. We went to the movies and out with friends alot. On saturdays Jeremy always had to work so I would always hang with my Mom (who is my best friend)  we would go to Crackel Barrel and eat and then head to my mamaws. You never knew who would be there. We'd visit for hours we were always surrounded by family and We laughed till we cried.  Saturday night I'd meet Jeremy at our church to practice with the praise team for the next days services. We always practiced hard but had fun too and before it was over with we normally had some new inside jokes and lots of memories.
    Everythings different now. Why you might ask?? Because one day God said go and although we were afraid We said ok. There were days We wanted to change our minds. There were times I cried my eyes out. And as I gave each animal to new homes as I handed each one of what I considered my babies to complete strangers I thought my heart would stop beating. As I packed up the last few boxes of stuff from my house A house I thought id spend forever in. A house I had already picked a room out to be a nursery in when the time came and having to finally realize and deal with the fact that it will more than likely never be my Childs home. Sitting in church our last  Sunday I thought Id never make it thru but somehow I did. Telling my parents and family bye I knew id never make it without having a breakdown but I did. As I took one last walk through a completely empty house I thought id collapse against a wall and sob but I didnt
Why you might ask? Because someone was holding my hand As I clutched Jeremys hand till my knuckles turned white someone was holding both of us. See God never leaves us. He's always there. When I handed each stranger my pet he was patting me on the back. When I was packing up my house he was talking to me to keep my mind off things. When I said Goodbye and hugged each family member He was in each hug too. And as I was saddened because my child wouldnt have the nursery I had in mind for it He reminded me its not about the childs room or even the house its the life you give that child in the house.
     Yes life as We knew it is over but our hope is that because we touched someones life here in Hungry Horse, Montana someone else can say Life as they knew it is over.

Vacation??? I think not!!!

Must have sleep!!!! 6 am got up and got ready to go to Food bank 7am-12pm worked at food bank. We did however slip in some fun We had lunch with Bill and Becky and Steve and Becky. Came home around 1:30ish and practiced playing my bass. I can now play Amazing Grace on top string but hey its progress. 3:30pm starting cooking for bible study tonight. Bible study from 6pm-8pm Now time for bed. Did I mention I could not sleep last night so im going on maybe 4-5 hours. Who was it who said Jeremy and I were on vacation??!!!
   Despite all this did I mention We love it here and wouldnt have it any other way. Trust me following the Lord and his will for your life is the best thing you'll ever do. God is so good!!! :)

Tuesday Night Bible Study and Wednesdays Beyond Borders

On Tuesday nights at Canyon  Baptist We have bible study. We eat at 6 then have a message from 7-8. I know what some of you are thinking ugh another day at church good grief but I dont feel that way at all. Wednesday Nights We go to Canyon Elementary School (which is no longer being used as a school) to have our service for the kids. We are  3 different churches of 3 different denominations who come together for one purpose THE CHILDREN. We call it Beyond Borders. We have a worship band that play some songs and then the kids head to there classes after class We eat. Since wednesdays are for the kids tuesdays are for the adults. I help Joy with the food for both services. Jeremy and I feel very at home at Canyon Baptist. I know God truly wants us here, and We will not leave until God tells us too. If we were to leave now I can not even begin to tell you how sad I would be or how much I would miss Canyon Baptist and the people who make up this church. Crazy as it may seem I love them already. We have some great friends here. Dont get me wrong we have Great friends at home that We miss very much and We miss Oak Grove Baptist too. But We feel at home here too a place we had never ever been and yet We packed up and moved here Why?? Because God said to and thats good enough for me. Not long ago I would have done anything to have a child of my own but it wasnt Gods plan because God had much bigger plans for us. Which were coming to Montana I didnt understand then but now I do see in a way I have kids lots of them They come in by the bus loads on Wednesday nights at Canyon Elementary. Always  rememeber Gods ways always end up being better than what we had planned :)

Montana So far/ Deliverer, Provider, and friend

Well Tomorrow We will have been here a month. I am truly amazing myself although I have cried some and said "I just wanna go home" I am unbelieveably happy. I love it here and Jeremy feels the same way. There is not a doubt in my mind its because so many people are praying for us back home and here. The first time i stepped in Canyon Baptist Church I felt God. The holy spirit was there that very first sunday and has been ever since. If you told me or any of my family that I would ever stand on stage and sing they would say are you sure we are talking about the same Stephanie. If you knew me back in high school you wouldnt let me on a church stage but thats what is so beautiful about God He can take us at our lowest and turn us into something wonderful for his glory and thats what he did for me. Praise the Lord for his Love, Mercy, and Forgivness. Because without it  where would we be?? I mean truly think about it. He loves the unlovable. He will be our healer our provider and our friend but so many times we wont let him Why?? Why are we turning Jesus away. Why is he a last resort?? I was saved when I was 10 but I strayed. I wasnt the girl God wanted me to be and as I got older I was far from the woman He wanted me to be. I was a bad person. And when I finally turned my life back over to him around age 19 I carried the shame for a long time. But God didnt want that See when He forgives He whips the slate clean. I dont have to go around with a ball and chain attached to me. Dont you want your slate to be whipped clean today???  Because all you gotta do is ask and you shall receive God made it that easy. He loves you and He makes to make you that something beautiful that you were always meant to be. Will you let him today??  Sorry for ranting but God laid this on my heart.

God is so Good

I been really worried lately about how we are going to make it money wise in Montana. I have been so stressed out and even wondering if were doing the right thing. I know the devil has me doubting our decision to go. I cant imagine what all he is planning to throw in our path to try to stop us and its scary. I am a worrier anyway and I have had a few anxiety attacks and now as I worry about getting us moved out and leaving everything I know and love sometimes the fear seems unbearable. I told Jeremy the other night if I need to get a job in Montana I will. He has taken care of me here and worked and id take care of us there. I have prayed and prayed that God will work out the money part. But I havent given the worry to him and as I sit here today a verse just all of a sudden popped into my mind and I know its Gods answer to me.
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.   Isaiah 41:10

I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!