Show Us Your Life (my church)

I love to read Kellys Korner's blog. She does a "Show Us Your Life Post" from time to time and I've never participated, but this time, I want to. I LOVE MY CHURCH!



My family and I attend Southside Baptist Church in Warner Robins, GA. We are an Air Force family and feel that the very most important thing we can do upon a PCS (military move) is to find a good church home, become involved, and serve within it. We sure hit the "jackpot" with this one! God has always blessed us with placing us just where we need to be and we trust he always will. We are Baptist so of course our beliefs and doctrine align with a Baptist Church. We have an amazing pastor who preaches the inerrant word of God. Our entire staff is wonderful! Everyone is so welcoming, friendly, and I feel geniunely caring. Nathan and I love our Life Group (Sunday school class) and we are very involved within it. We've only lived here 9 months, but in that 9 months we have made some of the most amazing, life-long connections with people in that Life Group. SSBC has an active membership of around 2700 people and meets in three regular scheduled services (even one is on Saturday night), but I can attest to the fact that a church is only as big/huge as one makes it! My advice to anyone is to join a small group, become involved in those types of ministries before you say a church is "too" huge.

We have a wonderful music ministry. We are blessed to have a couple lead our music, along with many talented musicians each service. Our music minister and his wife have performed and worked in the contemporary Christian music field professionally. One worked with Chris Tomlin and the other toured with Mark Lowery and the Gaithers.

Nathan and I lead in our children's program that meets Sunday evenings, particularly directing the Sparks section of the club (ages K-2nd). We have been involved in AWANA for going on 7 years now. We feel very partial to this ministry and that is another thing that helps us decide upon which churches to visit when we have to move. I love AWANA and have seen real testimony on how this particular ministry brings entire families closer to Christ. I'm passionate about AWANA! My boys love AWANA too and there's nothing better than hearing your own children quote scripture that they have hidden in their heart...some they even learned years ago in AWANA!





One of the most important things for us is finding a place of worship where our own children can learn about God and feel comfortable. This church has THE BEST Children's Ministry I've ever seen. Our Children's Pastor is awesome! SSBC's Fusion ministry does a virtue each month and focusea on learning what it takes to master that virtue in a godly, Christ-centered way. It's alot of fun too! Each month our Children's Pastor and his staff come up with a creative, fun video to show the children each week. And what is SUPER AMAZING is that this video (along with other learning material and skits) is also shown at my boy's (PUBLIC) elementary school once a month! Now they have the be "careful" what they can say of course, but with God's hand upon it, the message is being heard loud and clear among those students. I can't say enough of how I love this ministry. I found out last week that these virtue lessons and videos are shared among hundreds of churches around the country. They are all produced at Southside and shared at no cost! Now that is awesome!!



Here is an example of one of SSBC Fusion's virtue videos that they produce each month. You have to see it for yourself. My boys say Pastor Drew did even better than Justin Beiber! :) This one features the virtue of respect. Some others they have done are kindness, courage, responsibility, uniqueness, initiative, and several others.



If you are ever in Warner Robins, GA (home to Robins AFB), please visit SSBC.

Friday Favorites (a little early)

These are some of my favorite things today: I love Lisa Leonard Designs. I do not have any of her pieces. I do have a couple of necklaces from The Vintage Pearl, which I do love (and Erin's an Okie girl!) . But something about this bracelet... I just love it. And want it. Maybe for Mother's Day. I think I would put Nathan, Jonathan, and Seth on it.

I'm trying to decide on bedding for our "new" guest room. Things have slowed down on the finishing of our bonus room (thanks to the sheetrockers), but that's ok. I really don't have a deadline...well my mother and father in law, brother and sister in law, other brother in law, and little nephew come in May. Then my mom comes in June so I really want it done by then. I want green...and like I said, something girly. :)

It's certainly no surprise of how much I love John Mayer. I love his music I should say and have each and everyone of his songs downloaded on Itunes. I saw this print on a website the other day (sorry I can't give credit like I should!) and I want it. The lyrics are from "Daughters". Of course it really wouldn't make sense for ME, but it would for Nate. Like maybe he could hang it in his office! ;) Yeah right...

OK. Seriously. These are the best towels EVER! I promise. They are from Kohl's and are the quick dry weave. My sister in law had them when we visited her last month and oh my goodness. I went to Kohl's that night, with her, in Conway to buy some right then! I am stocking up each time I get a 30 percent off coupon. They are worth every penny though...most of the time they are around $8 0r $9 each for the bath towels. And then with the coupon...great deal!

Going to IKEA...

and I'm thinking of getting this furniture for our new guest room. I love the white and I've never really been able to get white since I don't have a girl. I love IKEA because it's so cheap and I love the simplicity of this. Can't wait to go on Thursday!

A little look at my class

Here's my sweet little Pre-K class. I just noticed that one of my students, is missing out of the photo...see his leg on the end. I love my kids. They are all so sweet! Seriously, they are all sweet. I don't have any behavior problems or crazy issues. It's rare, but true. Of course, I hope I'm not jinxing myself! ha! We just have a few weeks left of school!

This is the bulletin board I did for this month. I'm going to start photographing each time I do a new bulletin board so I can use the ideas in the future. I've always said I was going to do that and I forget! I had a cute cute one for Jan and Feb and of course forgot to take pictures.

Make them! Yummy Jalapeno Appetizers

I didn't get my own photo of these awesome stuffed jalapeno appetizers that I made on Saturday because I had dinner guests and didn't want them all to think I was nuts! ha! But I did a search and "the best mom on the block blog" did so I'm referencing her just so you know what they look like. :)

But just trust me, you need to make these the next time you need a yummy appetizer/finger food, etc. They are SO good. Now, I make the Pioneer Woman's stuffed jalapeno things and they are wonderful, but these are even better!

Stuffed Jalapenos

Ingredients:

14 large jalapenos, sliced once lengthwise, and "cleaned out"/seeded

1lb ground breakfast sausage (I like Jimmy Dean's)

8oz cream cheese

1 cup parmesan cheese (not the powdery kind, the shredded kind)

Cook sausage completely and drain. Add cheeses and cook on low just until mixed thoroughly. Spoon sausage mixture into each jalapeno. Put on baking sheet and bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

My Papaw Walker is in Heaven

I just got home from attending my Papaw Walker's funeral in Arkansas. I can't even begin to put in words what this man means to me. He lived a wonderful, godly life and was/is my biggest Christian influence. I'm so glad he's not in pain and is in Heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. I'll miss him everyday until we meet again.

Rev. J.L. Walker


Rev. J.L. Walker, age 86, a resident of De Queen, died Monday, March 7, 2011 at his home.

He was born October 4, 1924 in Ganns, Oklahoma. He was retired from the Sevier County Road Department and was the pastor of the First Assembly of God Church in Horatio for 55 years.

Rev. Walker was preceded in death by his parents, Roy and Anna Norton Walker; and his first wife, Thelma Walker.

He is survived by his wife, Irma Young Walters Walker of De Queen; four sons and three daughters-in-law, Ronnie and Donna Walker of Richlands, Virginia, Donnie Ray and Mildred Walker of Horatio, Arkansas, Rickie Walker of Lockesburg and Rufus and Vanessa Walker of Lonoke, Arkansas; six daughters and five sons-in-law, Debbie and Tim Brotherton of De Queen, Judy and Jim Wilson of Rayne, Louisiana, Kelley and Tony Johnson of De Queen, Stephanie Stokes of Rowlett, Texas, Emily and Howard Covington of De Queen and Sandra and Chuck Zebrowski of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas; one brother, Carl Walker of Modesto, California; 17 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Funeral Services for Rev. J.L. Walker will be held at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 9, 2011 in the De Queen Assembly of God Church with Rev. Bobby Johnson officiating. Burial will follow in the Horatio Cemetery, under the direction of Wilkerson Funeral Home in De Queen.

The family will receive friends from 5:00-8:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 8th at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to the Teen Challenge c/o Horatio Assembly of God Church., P.O. Box 703, Horatio, AR 71842.

House Tour

Well I'm finally posting some photos of my house after we are all moved in...we've lived here for 8 months. There are still things I want to do, but that's always the case...it's a cycle, but I love to decorate so...

Here is my kitchen and breakfast room. I don't know if I mentioned on here before, but since our home was built while we were still living in LA, we couldn't monitor the progress of the construction. Our floor plan that we chose, had the breakfast room "kicked out" a bit more...with a door on the side, making room for two windows on either side of our living room by the fireplace. When we came to GA, the framers hadn't "kicked out" that breakfast area and it was too late (already sheetrock, insulation, brick, etc). I was heartbroken and can even remember lying in the hotel bed crying about it. I even wanted to get out of the contract...which we probably could have, but didn't REALLY want to (deep down). We met with our builder the next day and he gave us some really good comps and upgrades and apologized profusely. He really is a good builder. Anyway...so the breakfast room is TINY...it really should be more of a hearth room, but that isn't functional for our family. I don't like having our back door on the other side of the fireplace. You'll see in the living room pictures.

Another view of the kitchen.

See here's the door. Also, I really want to do something with my mantle. I'm not a fan (AT ALL) of having my TV mounted above the fireplace, but I didn't win that arguement so...what to do what to do?

Another view of the living room. I love my new curtains in the breakfast room, but I think with the very patterned recliner in the living room, it's a little busy. We love that chair though so it isn't going anywhere...maybe I can reposition it???

Another view of the kitchen and breakfast room/great room.

It is SO hard to get good angles for photos. This is my formal dining room that is on the other side of my kitchen. (see Max lying in his favorite spot?)

This is the view coming out of the formal dining looking toward a hallway that leads to a guest suite/bathroom, laundry, and garage.

Our stairway. Upstairs, we have the boy's bedrooms, their bathroom, a little computer area, and the bonus room that isn't finished. Yet. We are starting on that this month! Yippee!!

In that long hallway that leads to the guest room, etc...I had a little halltree built. It's great! It holds two baskets, one for each boy and then hooks above for their coats, backpacks, AWANA bags, etc.

Ok, since we didn't have the builder finish the bonus room, we didn't have a multi-purpose room for my scrapbooking, the boy's Wii TV...and we didn't have room for Jonathan's piano. SO...all this stuff is in our guest room for now. But like I said, we are finishing our bonus room in the next month and all this stuff will go up there and we can have a real guest room. I can't wait to decorate it!

Another view of that room...we have a sofa in there for watching TV/playing the Wii.

Another view of that room...my scrapbook desk (I put all my other supplies in the closet since it really is a bedroom) that I hardly use anymore. :( I want that to change.

And this is the guest bathroom. It's a full bath and I love that shower curtain. I got it at Target.

The vanity/mirror in the guest bath.

The view to the door from the living room. Our house plan called for two of those little tiny side door/window thingys and we did have time to do away with that...sometimes I'm glad, sometimes I'm not. I wanted double doors, but it's uncommon here where we live.

The boy's toilet and shower. I know this isn't an important thing to share, but I love that picture! I got it at Hobby Lobby. It says, "Dare to go Far".

And this is the boy's vanity area...it's separate from the tub and toilet. I love that they each have their own sink...now I know who to blame for globs of toothpaste and for not rinsing it out properly!

This is our computer nook. It's at the top of our stairway (goodness I have to do something with all those cords! Ack!). Mostly the boys use this computer. On the other side is a black bookshelf that holds all, well most of the boy's books.

I love this wall art from PB Kids. I got it for Jonathan...he thinks it's a bit babyish, but I don't.

Jonathan's bed. I got his bedding at PB Kids and I love it! Again, I couldn't get a good angle for a good photo. And I"m just realizing I didn't even get a picture of Seth's room.

Back downstairs. This is our master bath.

My sink.

Nathan's sink.

See, I have "loud" bedding. I got it at Steinmart and wanna know the main reason I got it??? Because it has fleur de lis on it! Ha! Now I really want something a bit more airy and...I don't know the word, more fresh and not so busy. Maybe because the weather is getting warmer? Maybe I could alternate? ;) This seems ok when it's colder.

Another view of our bedroom.

And this is where I want my little access chair to go.

I need a chair

I'm in the market for a new accent chair for my bedroom. Nathan watches alot of his recorded shows in our bedroom, lots of times during the day/evening...like before I want my beautifully made bed messed up! Anyway, it would be great to have a "smallish" accent type chair to go in there. Here are some that I like...so far. All these chairs are around or under $200 at Overstock.com and Ikea. I definitely don't want to spend anymore than that. I have to be careful of the fabric because I have very loud bedding.

I wish I was more adventurous and crafty...I'd scope out our local Goodwill or check out Craig's list. I know I could save alot of money.

The BEST Chocolate cake

I love this cake! My neighbor, who is also doing WW shared this with me and I could not believe the ingredients when she told me what was in it. The cake has 16 servings and each serving has 3 points. Not sure about calories, fat content, etc. The cake is super moist and so "chocolatey"! I guess you could make it even more decadent and eye pleasing for serving if you sprinkled each piece with powdered sugar.

Triple Chocolate Cake

Here are the ingredients:
1 dark chocolate cake mix
1 small box sugar free, instant chocolate pudding
1 small box sugar free, instant white chocolate pudding
1 cup apple sauce
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup egg beaters
3/4 cup chocolate chips (I use the mini ones)

Mix all the ingredients together, except the chocolate chips just like you would according to the directions on the cake mix.

Add the chocolate chips and mix well.

Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray, like Pam and then pour into the pan...it will be this high, but it won't cook over. I'm pretty sure...it never has for me. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.

Invert bundt pan and remove cake onto a plate. YUM!