We carved our pumpkin yesterday! It has become a yearly memory maker for us to get out the official pumpkin carving utensils and go to work to create an unbelievable masterpiece. Obviously, my wife Merideth is the one that does all the stenciling and cutting out (the kids seem to like moms designs better than dads). I guess my designs are just too boring and conventional. Merideth goes all out with the 3D designs, and I am just a plain ole, mouth, triangle nose and eyes guy.

My big job is cutting a hole in the top and cleaning out all of the yucky stuff. I am good at that, and the kids seem to like this process as well. They all like getting their hands dirty as well as picking out the seeds. Some how, there always seems to be a food fight with the yucky insides! It only takes me looking away for a second before Caleb has got the yucky stuff and is putting it in either Anna's or Abbie's hair, and the fight is on.

The grande finale is always when the design is done and we place a candle in the middle, light it, then put the lid on. We all turn off the light and look at our newly carved pumpkin and marvel at how it looks after completion.

You know, after recieving Christ, we have the "light of the world" living within us. Just as that pumpkin is lit and others see that magnificant design, God's light in us should be very noticable by others living around us. The Bible says that, "We are a city on a hill that cannot be hidden." How bright is your light today? What do others see when they look at you? Are they reminded of Christ's love by experiencing your light?

As you drive around and see carved pumpkins this holiday season, may you be reminded that if you are a believer, you should let God's light shine through you so that others will see the love of Christ and glorify the Father in Heaven.

Last Friday after picking up my son, Caleb, from preschool, we stopped by the feed store to pick up some vegatable seeds so we could go back home and plant a small garden for the fall.  I love to work with my hands, and I have always planted a garden because I enjoy it as well as being able to partake of the fruits of my labor (I like to eat). 

When Caleb and I got home, the first thing we had to do before we began tilling the ground was run the sprinklers over the area we were going to plant. After a sufficient soaking, we went to tilling the ground, pulling weeds as well as putting down some fertilizer to give the seeds some nutrients and building beds to plant the seeds on. One of Calebs favorite things to do is to plant the seeds, so when the time was right and he got my approval, away he went scattering the beds with mustard seeds.  We finished planting the garden that day but we couldn’t wait until the seeds would begin to sprout.
 
When I walked out to the garden area this morning I was presently surprised to see the little mustard plants that were coming up.  As I reflected, those seeds would have never sprouted if the ground would not have been watered, tilled, weeds pulled, fertilizer put out and the seeds planted. It took work... intentional work.
 
It reminded me of the important responsibility that we have as believers to be gardeners. When was the last time you planted any seeds?
 
 Speaking of planting seeds, what a special time last night at our fall fellowship!  In addition to the food and fun, we had the priviledge to baptize four children who had made decisions to be followers of Christ!
 
 Jesus said, “let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matt. 19:14
 
Be a gardener …work the soil and plant seeds and leave the growth to God.
 
The bible says,
 
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” 1 Cor. 3:7-8
 
Have an awesome week!
 

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth."

-Psalm 127:4

Babies. Babies! Babies!!! The next time you visit someone in a hospital, stop at the baby nursery and take a peep at the newborns lined up like little puffer bellies all in a row. Fat ones, skinny ones, short ones, tall ones. Ten fingers. Ten toes. Some dark, some fair. Some pink. Some pale. Some with tons of hair on their wrinkly heads, and some with no hair at all. A few cherubs sleeping peacefully while others are raising the roof, madder than wet hens (those would have been mine) because they were thrust, not too gingerly, from a comfortable, cushy room, pronounced "womb" and plopped into a cold, noisy place called earth. But, TaDah! They are here! When we don't have them, we long for them. But once they've made their appearance, we're not sure what to do with them. Still, these little munchkins are to be congratulated. They made the journey into this sorry world all in one piece, and believe me, they are not about to let you forget it. So, let the music begin.

Speaking of music, the other afternoon I visited a friend who had just given birth to a bouncing baby boy. Again, I'm at the window, enamored with the wonder of it all. As I watched the squawking, arms flailing, and feet kicking group of little ones, I asked the Lord to give me a glimpse of the scene through His eyes. What is their heritage? How about tomorrow? Next week? Next month? Next year? Where will life take them? Will they be loved and cared for? Will they come to a knkowledge of Jesus Christ as teir Lord and Savior, or even be afforded the opportunity to hear the good news of the gospel? Will the crying ever stop?

In a split second, God was saying, "Just as I knew you before the foundation of the world, and just as I had my hand on you while you were in your mother's womb, I knew these little ones, and I held them in my hand, also." My thoughts raced to the passage in Deuteronomy 30:19, "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore, choose life that both you and your seed may live."

Moms and Dads, these years of birthing babies and building families can be the most blessed and at the same time, the most exhausting days of your life. Each season of life has its compensations, and this season of new beginnings is no exception. It is more precious than gold. You are setting these little lives for eternity. So, handle them with care. Our God is a generational God. What you bring to the table from day one, and seeds that you so faithfully in Jesus' name, will not be returned empty, but will pay in spiritual dividends for generations to come, and will bring a harvest that promises to last throughout eternity. WOW! Can it get any better than that?

I have to admit that Godly parenting might seem like a tall order, but don't let that frighten you. Remember, you are not alone. And neither are your babies. Our loving Father carries your children in His heart just as He carries you in His heart. And His mercy hovers over your offspring, just as the mercy of God, through Jesus, covers you in every aspect of life. "The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear Him, and His righteousness unto His children's children." Psalm 103:17

Speak the Word over your babies. Give them Jesus, cover them in prayer, then trust God to give the rest. While raising children might be a new experience for you, it isn't new to God. He has been in the business of establishing and blessing families since the beginning of time. So, He's the expert. Call on Him! Run to Him! Listen for His voice. Obey Him. Be at rest as you hear Him say, "Follow me. I know what I am doing! I have it all planned out. Plans to take care of you, not abandon you. Plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me and pray to me, I will listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed." Jeremiah 29:11-13. (The Message) As I said before, can it get any better than that?

"Thy children shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace of thy children."
-Isaiah 54:13

"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth."
-Psalm 127:4

Be Blessed!

-Dorothy Huffman

Don't forget about our Fall Festival this Sunday night from 5:00-7:30 pm. We will be meeting at the home of Wayne Smith instead of at Wildwood Middle School. Please bring lawn chairs so we will all have a place to sit. For more info and to RSVP, go to the Fall Festival page here.

Abbie was out of school yesterday, so when Caleb finished up pre-K at 11:30, we all loaded up the van (looking like the Beverly Hillbillies) and headed down to Tampa to the Lowery Zoo.  I would love to take credit for the idea but leave it to my wife Merideth to have secured that kudo.  My intentions are good but she seems to always beat me to the punch in creating those memorable moments. However, I must say that I did gain some serious points for my two day camp out several weeks ago.  Even though it was only 100 ft from the back door, we were technically "IN THE WOODS", and it was definitely a memory maker. The kids had a blast, and I was left blowing up my air mattress every couple of hours which they thought was hilarious.  Thankfully, I had prewired the tent for electricity by running a line from the house which allowed me most of the comforts of home including an electric air pump which helped me blow that crazy mattress up in one minute instead of thirty minutes.  It was definitely a memory maker!!!

Can you believe that our brains are actually storehouses for memories?  How many times, as an adult, have you had a moment where a certain memory of the past was triggered by a specific smell or hear a special song and it reminds us of a past experience whether good or bad?  It happens to me all the time.  As parents, we are in charge of memory making for our children.  What kind of memories are you making?  As we affect the taste buds of this next generation, are we giving them a taste for convienience, entertainment, comfort or are we helping them develop a hunger for the things of God as we create those memories?

As parents, we must be purposeful in creating memories that are intentional in passing faith on to the next generation.  What will you next memory maker be?

The psalmist said ,

"Listen, dear friends, to God's truth, bend your ears to what I tell you. 
   I'm chewing on the morsel of a proverb; 
      I'll let you in on the sweet old truths, 
   Stories we heard from our fathers, 
      counsel we learned at our mother's knee. 
   We're not keeping this to ourselves, 
      we're passing it along to the next generation— 
   God's fame and fortune, 
      the marvelous things he has done." 

Psalm 78:1-4 (The Message)

An easy memory maker this week will be to join us for our Fall Fellowship this next Sunday night, Oct. 28th from 5:-7:30 pm.  Go to the Fall Fellowship page for more details.  Hope to see you there!

Blessings.

It was the excitement and anticipation of the cooler weather this past weekend that drove me to pull out the camping equipment and set up camp for the kids.  We worked diligently Friday afternoon to get things set up and ready. Caleb and I started the fire early in the afternoon to have it ready in time to cook hamburgers over the fire pit as well as have a perfect fire for the making of SMORE'S! It was a great time in the good ole outdoors. I guess I need to confess to you that we set the tent up in the woods close enough to the house so I could run an electric line out to the tent for lights and other amenities (for the kids of course). I just have to remind myself that we are making memories one step at a time.

As we were breaking down camp, I was reminded that it seems to be easier setting up camp than breaking it down.  Everyone was willing to help set up, but it seemed that as the pegs were being pulled from the ground and camping stuff being put away, the kids got busy thinking about other things.

May we be faithful servants of the Lord, not content with just setting up our heavenly home, but playing hard till the final bell rings.  It is so easy to be distracted and disengaged by lessor things.

Our Savior is coming back one day.  What are you doing in preparation for His return? What opportunities of ministry will the Father allow us to see this week?  Will we seize those opportunities to demonstrate the love of Christ?

The writer of Hebrews said, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith...."

Enjoy your day for this is the day that they Lord hath made!

One of my favorite Christian artists is Paul Baloche. He has written songs like "Open the Eyes of My Heart", "Above All", "Your Name", and "Hosanna". On September 18th, Paul released his newest album, "Our God Saves", and it is a must have!

Some of my favorite tracks are "Hallelujah to My King" (we sang this Sunday night), "God Most High", "You Gave Your Life Away", and "Rock of Ages You Will Stand". If you love listening to music that makes much of God and who He is, you'll love this album. Click the album art above to get it on iTunes and also check out the link below for videos of Paul telling the stories of some of the songs.

What a mighty God we serve! We are about to celebrate 2 very hard and exciting years of marriage on Monday. In our short marriage we have owned 2 houses, Grace has had 4 different teaching jobs, and I’ve had 3, we moved from Florida to North Carolina to live with my parents for a month, drove from North Carolina to South Carolina for our jobs until we moved into our home in Gaffney, SC. There have been so many changes, it makes my head hurt to try and put all of it in order. We had 2 mortgage payments for exactly one year and oh yea, we had a baby during all of that!

I kept hearing God during all of that tell me that if I was faithful, He would bless us. He sure did, in a way I could not have imagined. I became the head basketball coach at Limestone College today and I am only 30 years old. God did something today that was so supernatural, I cannot even begin to take credit for it. Perseverence is such an amazing thing. It does lead to character and to character hope and hope does not disappoint. You know who else doesn’t disappoint? God, He never lets me down and actually the more it looks like He is letting me down, if I will just hang in there with Him, He blesses me in ways that blow my mind.

This past year was one of the hardest of my short Christian life, but the most rewarding. There were so many opportunities to doubt and to question His timing, but He showed me that those were also opportunities to do the opposite, like be still and know that He is God. Trials have a way of revealing things and making faith real or lack there of. To understand that the God of the Universe really is with me no matter how high I go up, or low I go down. He is a friend and He loves me no matter where I go and I can cling to His Word and His promises.

During this past year I spent a lot of time reading about the Israelites leaving Egypt and how they wandered in the wilderness for so long and eventually died out there. What is crazy is that what they wanted for themselves, God wanted for them, but they kept getting in the way. They kept trying to do God’s business instead of being about His business. They wanted to be God and decide when it was the right time for them to enter the Promised Land, and when it didn’t happen when they wanted, they made the mistake of grumbling, whining, complaining, and ultimately rejecting God Almighty for man made idols. Over and over I heard, if You hear my voice, don’t harden Your hearts like you did in the rebellion. God allowed me and Grace to go through the valley not for the valley itself, but for the experience so He could prepare us for the mountain.

For every dream or promise there has to be a change in us so we don’t destroy the promise once we get it. I truly believe that Jesus gives us direct instruction for how to walk through the wilderness, the posture we need to have and the attitude we need to have when He tells us in John 15 that He is the vine and that we are the branches. No branch can survive without the vine and we cannot survive without Him, but along with that comes a great promise. That if I stay in Him and give Him control of my branch and just stay connected to the vine, than my branch will flourish and grow into all that I was destined for. He is the gardener and He will prune me, He will get rid of everything that hurts me and holds me back.

Translation... 4 short years ago, I decided that I needed a vine. I was tired of my life and I decided to give it away. It has been very hard on many occasions not to try and take it back, but I promised Him I would trust Him and trust His love for me. In 2003, I was a JV head coach and varsity assistant at Leesburg High School, with no girlfriend and no prospects of a girlfriend. All I had was my life and my new best friend, Jesus Christ. I made a commitment that He knew better than me and He could do whatever He wanted with my life, because He knew me better than I knew myself. I didn’t know if He would take away coaching or ever bring me a wife. Well in 4 short years, I have a beautiful wife of 2 years today, a beautiful almost 5 month old baby girl, I have been a head coach in high school, and now I am a head coach in college.

Many times during this short journey, it didn’t look like He was with me or that He was faithful and at those moments I had a choice, I could believe what satan was telling me or I could choose to have faith in the Word of God and what God has told me. Over and over in the book of Psalms, it says that God heard their cry for help and saved them and I know that God has heard our cry for help and is in the process of saving us. What a mighty God we serve, He never lets me down. The scarier my circumstances look, the tighter I hold on to Him and His Word and at the end of the day Word, His Word always wins in the end. What a brilliant teacher He is! God is so good, and I consider myself so lucky and blessed to know Him. And You know what? He knows me, too!

(Brandon and Grace Scott are very close friends or ours, and it has been exciting to watch them grow together in their faith. Both of them use their places of work and influence on young people to share the love of Christ with them. We are considering Brandon and Grace as Heritage Missionaries in South Carolina. Please pray for their family as they take on this new position of leadership.)

Here's a picture we put together to use as our desktop picture on our computers. If you like it... download it by clicking it!

1 John 4:7-21

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us ..." (v.10)

When we perceive how much God loves us, an amazing effect is produced in our personalities -- we begin to love like Him. We cannot help it. Love -- agape love -- is not the fruit of labor; it is a response. When we stand at the foot of Calvary, the place where the love of God is fully focused and caught up, the scales drop from our eyes and our own love flames in response. We love Him because He first loved us.

Teresa of Avila tells how one day, going into her private room, she noticed a picture of our Lord being scourged before His crucifixion. She must have seen it hundreds of times, but in that moment of revelation she saw it as she had never seen it before. She saw God suffering -- suffering for love and suffering for her. The revelation sent her to her knees sobbing in pain and wonder, and when she arose, she was a changed woman. The revelation of Calvary's love was the great divide in her life. She said that she arose with a sense of "unpayable debt" and went out to share God's realized love with others.

Don't try to manufacture love. Linger in the shadow of the Cross. The love of God finds its most burning expression there. Meditate on it. Contemplate it. Remember that heaven knows no higher strategy for begetting love in mortal hearts than by granting us a vision of how much we are loved, a vision strong enough to evoke a response in our hearts -- and by that answering love begotten in us by the Holy Spirit, we are freed and purged and saved.

Prayer:
Gracious Father, I see that before I can love, I must comprehend how much I am loved. Help me be aware that in my heart I have the most aggressive Lover in the universe. I am eternally grateful. Amen.

For Further Study:
Rom. 5:1-8; Jer. 31:3; Eph. 2:4-5; 1 John 3:1
1. How has God demonstrated His love for us?
2. What kind of love is God's love?

(Today's devotional comes from CrossWalk.com and is a section from Every Day Light written by Selwyn Hughes.)

Monk & Neagle released their newest album on September 18th, and it is a must have!

"Telling these stories is front and center for Monk & Neagle, an acoustic-pop duo that sprang to life organically in Amarillo, TX out of a 12-year friendship between Trent Monk and Michael Neagle. Now back with their sophomore album release, The Twenty-First Time—its first on Reunion Records—Monk & Neagle deliver a storyteller's delight, full of deep spiritual conviction, high-octane fun, passionate imagination, and sincere, heartfelt worship. A road-worthy soundtrack for life from start to finish, The Twenty-First Time beckons you to listen and follow."


Check out this great album on iTunes!

Well, the first soccer game ended with us waving the white flag of surrender! It is so funny watching the kids running around, pulling grass, holding hands, hugging, and having a good time.  I was trying to remember back when I was four and what it was like.....staying focused--I still can't stay focused!

As i watched the kids, not knowing that much about soccer, I did learn that each player has a different position on the field as well as different responsibilities while playing as a team. When one person scores, the team benefits. When a shot is blocked, it is a block for the team.  Isn't that like the body of Christ!  The Father has gifted us in so many different ways yet we are one body and there is one Lord. We don't  have to feel isolated in our work or all alone because part of His body; the church! We are all on the same team!

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12:27, that as believers "We are the body of Christ and each one of us is part of it."  What a great encouragement!  Use your gifts this week to build up God's church. I am glad that we are on the winning team!