A quick trip...

My parents, Daddy Mac and Mimi, were able to come up for a couple of days last week. They came for Emmie's birthday party. They can't come to all of the grandkids birthday parties, but want to try to come to at least one - soo this was Emmie's turn. It was a whirlwind of a trip - they flat wore us out! We went shopping at Sam's the first day and then went for a well-check for all 4 children that afternoon! (What was I thinking? That in itself is a blog post.)

Here are some pictures of the visit:

Ellerie getting a bath...

Her crazy hair after her bath ... maybe going to have curly hair?

The girls...

The 'Macs' ... Daddy Mac and Calvin Mac

Cuddlin'

Reading Books

All the Barber Grandkids...

Happy Birthday Emmie!

Sweet Emmie turned 5 on August 26... and she has been celebrating for a couple of weeks. Her cousins couldn't come to her Chick-Fil-A party so we had a get-together at Granny's a week earlier. Last Friday, she had a party at Chick-Fil-A with most of our church family (we're a small church plant, so yes, almost the entire church was there)! Daddy Mac and Mimi were able to drive up from GA to be a part of the festivities and PawPaw and Granny came as well.

Emmie has grown up so much this last year. She had such a kind heart and spirit and loves to ask questions. Her favorite TV shows are Home Cookin With Paula Deen and Rachel Ray. She loves to play 'Mommy' to her babies and color creative pictures. She got a new Bitty Baby for her birthday so her first one would have a sister (although she can't have anyore sisters - had to nip that in the bud). She then informed me that she would have to get 2 babies dressed every morning! She exclaimed to me, "Mommy, that's going to be CRAZY!" Don't I know it?

Here are some pics:

Opening presents with the VA cousins.

Pink cupakes with the VA cousins.

Belle birthday cake at Chick Fil A

Presents with the church family

Mommy and her Bitty Babies

Happy Birthday sweet girl! We love you and are thankful for the joy and endless laughter you bring to our life!

What you need to read today...

Since it's busy around here getting ready for a birthday and company...

You need to hop on over to Justin Taylor's blog and read "$3 Worth of Gospel, Please." My heart is convicted ... may my heart be changed...

And read this blog post about a Mom's 'quiet time' ...

Enjoy!

Good Doctrine

Today I read an article by John Piper, entitle "Good Doctrine Makes Better (Teenage) Saints." I challenge you to read the entire thing. Here is a small teaser: "even though growing a church by serious teaching of biblical truth may be harder and slower, it does bear more radical fruit than less doctrinally serious strategies of growth. "

My husband and I were involved in Youth Ministry for many years and are saddened by what we saw and still see among many youth 'ministries.' There is such a push to 'entertain, entertain, entertain.' The prevailing attitude is that the Bible seems boring so we need to step it up; the Gospel doesn't seem relevant so we'll just share the good part (Jesus died for you); we have to make it fun for the youth to want to be here... and the list goes on.

Don't get me wrong, it's not the games are wrong, or that food is off-limits, or that the Body shouldn't have fun, but what should be the focus? Doctrine is what usually gets pushed aside when ministries focus on 'bringing them in' by various measures... and at what cost? Well, it could be the cost of their soul.

So what do we do? According to Piper, we should "work our heinies off teaching and preaching and modeling the Truth. And resist an entertainment model for youth ministry. And cultivate a joyfully blood-earnest atmosphere for worship. And call for our youth and our retirees to go risk their lives somewhere for the risen King Jesus. This is where serious truth-driven ministry takes us."

Enough said!

Baby Ellerie

Bold for the Lord

My oldest son, Coleman, has grown so much the last couple of years, physically and emotionally. He has slowly become more and more comfortable in new situations and around new people. I remember his toddler days when he was scared of new people - like the

Wal-Mart sticker guy! In fact, Coleman would growl at him when we walked in the store and I would fly by and say, "no stickers today, thank you though!" I am glad those days are gone and it is so neat to see the sweet young boy he has become. An example of this growth happend just today ...

This week Coleman and Emmie are attending VBS at Granny's church. Today I got an email from a friend with this picture attached. She said, "Hey guys, Coleman volunteered to pray today at VBS. He hopped up on stage in front of several hundred kids and leaders and led us in prayer. I know the picture is blurry, but the moment was brief, and I did not want to miss it. Jenn, you would have been proud of him, he didn't seem nervous at all."

I am sooo proud of him and continue to pray that he will always be bold for the Lord! Thank you Jesus for this glimpse of Your grace in Coleman's life!

Sisters

Sweet Baby Girl!

Sweet Sisters!