Sweet By and By

In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
John 14:2

In 1868, a pharmacist named Sanford Fillmore Bennett, 31, was filling prescriptions and handling sales at his apothecary in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. His friend Joseph Webster entered the store. Joseph was a local musician, vocalist, violinist, and amateur composer who suffered from periods of depression. The two men had occasionally collaborated on hymns and songs, Sanford writing the words and Joseph the music.

On this particular day, Joseph was unusually blue and his face was long. Looking up, Sanford asked, "What is the matter now?"

"It's no matter," Joseph replied, "it will be all right by and by."

An idea for a hymn hit Sanford like a flash of sunlight. Sitting at his desk, he began writing as fast as he could. The words came almost instantly. Two customers entered the drugstore, but no attempt was made to assist them- Sanford was too absorbed in his poem- so they sallied over to the stove and visited with Joseph. Finally, Sanford rose and joined them, handling a sheet of paper to his friend.

"Here is your prescription, Joe," he said. "I hope it works." Webster read the words aloud:

There's a land that is fairer than day,

And by faith we can see it afar;

For the Father waits over the way,

To prepare us a dwelling place there.

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

In the sweet by and by,

We shall meet on that beautiful shore.

Instantly a tune suggested itself, and Joseph jotted down some notes. Picking up his fiddle, he played his melody over a time or two, then said to the others, "We four make a good male quartet. Let's try the new song and see how it sounds."

As "Sweet By and By" was being sung for the first time, another customer, R. R. Crosby, entered the store.
Gentlemen," he said, "I never heard that song before but it is immortal."

He was right. For over a hundred years we've been singing an immortal hymn that was written in less than thirty minutes in a drugstore.

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

Jamaica: Part Two

Part Two...

On Saturday, the day after we got there, we took the day to relax and adjust our bodies to the temperature there on the island. We went to the local Hi-Lo (kind of like a Wal-Mart) to buy snacks and drinks. My family and some friends went up on top of a mountain to take some pictures. Some people also use this day to take naps, go to the straw market, play card games, or go across the road to snorkel in the Caribbean.

Let's go shoppin'!

Yes, it is chicken feet. This is one delicacy I have yet to try in Jamaica. Maybe next year...

$299.00 for a burger?! Yep! In J money...;P

In Jamaica, you have to be prepared to "go with the flow" of things. No problem, mon!

No Diet Coke...just Coke Light....

You can't read the label very well on this bottle, but it is an Aloe Vera drink. They said that it was quite good! ;D

On top of the mountain, enjoying the view.

The view that were are blessed to enjoy from our motel.

Another one from our motel.....

This year, the police were on the move! All four of our vans got stopped sometime during the week. Some got stopped a couple of times! All for speeding (long story and alot of miscommunication). Here Daddy and one of our elders from church are talking to a policeman after being asked to get out of the vans that they were driving.

Some of our group went snorkeling and were able to enjoy this lovely sight that day. The Jamaican man even stuck a knife in the puffer fish and drained the water out of it! Yuck!


To be continued.....

Someone Worth Dying For

Amazing song....

P.S. You might want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and pause the background music to the blog...

Jamaica: Part One

I know, I know. About time, huh?! Well, here are some of the pictures from our fabulous mission trip to the beautiful island, Jamaica. There are so many pictures I will probably do it in parts....;P

Arriving at the Atlanta airport

We're so excited!

Me....the chaperone....:D

In Jamaica. YAY! Starting the 2 1/2 wait for the four vans to arrive and pick us up. No problem, mon!

We had to get a flip flop picture! ;P

A semi-group shot

In Daddy's van, on our way to the motel....WORN OUT!! But ready for the adventures that awaited us...

Our home away from home...the Casa...


More to come...

Your Front Yard

Chad Eastham explains it something like this in the book guys like girls who..........

Have you ever had to mow the grass in your front yard? Isn't it strange to think that people stop moving the grass at an imaginary line that separates their yard from the next? It's called boundary. You can't see it, but it's there. have you ever given thought to what a boundary actually is? What does that term mean to you when you think of it? And besides that, what purpose does it actually serve?

Well, in the case of your front yard or your bedroom door, it serves as a line. It's almost like a property line, isn't it? There is a different kind of line too, and this one is yours. It distinguishes what is your property and what is not. It's pretty noticeable when someone has crossed over into our own personal space. Someone puts their hand somewhere that you don't feel comfortable with, maybe they put their face too close to yours, or maybe they start asking questions that are too private and you don't want to answer them. Usually we don't like it when people invade our personal space, and we need to show people the line that they have to stop at. Like a front door, people need to knock on the door and get permission before they are allowed to see what's inside. These are our boundaries, and they usually serve two functions.

The first function is to define who you are. They are a notice to yourself and others about what you like and don't like, what you will accept and what you won't, what we like and what we hate. Boundaries tell people how far or close we want them to be. These boundaries exist ALL the time and are usually easier to notice after people cross them.

The second purpose that they serve is to protect you. Basically they tend to help keep the negative stuff away, and to attract the good stuff more naturally. Have you ever heard the saying "If you don't know what you stand for, you might fall for anything"? Well, it works like that here too. Boundaries are there to protect your reputation, your body, your and other people's feelings, and your most valuable asset: your heart. How many girls have you known who have exposed their bodies and their hearts in the wrong way or to the wrong person? When you don't have these boundaries, you are much more likely to expose yourself to harsh elements. Just as a coat is a boundary between your skin and cold weather, your personal boundaries protect the innermost (and sometimes outermost) parts of who you are.

"Look Miss."

"Look Miss."

Those are the words I heard. His eyes were pleading for appreciation and praise of his artwork he had just completed. There in the classroom, on the island of Jamaica, I tried to give that little boy the biggest smile as I said to him, "Oh! How beautiful! You did a fabulous job!" He then walked away, his color project in hand, with a smile on his little boy face. As the coloring session continued, and as I used every color in the rainbow to help those kindergartners complete their pictures of clusters of grapes, every word of praise that we said made them a little more thrilled of what they had accomplished.

Are our words words that will build up and encourage? Or are they words that will tear down and destroy? For me, it can be easy just to say what pops into my head. I don't know about you, but I am going to try my hardest to watch what I say and try to encourage others in what they do... Who knows, it might be the only compliment and word of encouragement that person hears today...

The Desk in the Theater: what are the messages being relayed?

This is a article that I read in Kaio Magazine that was written by Mr. Chuck Webster. I thought it was some pretty powerful stuff! (I know the summer is not just beginning....it is just ending...just play along with me, okay? ;)

As summer begins, millions of young people are putting their books and pencils down and relaxing for a couple of months. You're going to give your brain cells a few weeks off and take a break from class or will you?

Truth is, you'll keep learning, but not from lectures or books. instead of sitting at a desk in a classroom, many of you will be reclined in a nice, comfortable seat with popcorn in your lap. We're talking about movies, of course, and below are some lessons you should watch out for.

Most summer movies include lots of stuff blowing up: cars, buildings, aliens, even people. in fact, moviegoers will probably see hundreds of people die this summer, all from their reclined theater seat.

There's a subtle lesson in all this devastation: violence fixes many problems. Someone in your way? Shoot him. Need a big distraction? Detonate a bomb or two and destroy some buildings. And of course while everything's blowing up and people are dying, throw in a couple of funny one-liners from the movie's main star. And just like that, all the problems are gone.

As Christians, we should remember that God takes "no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11), and He hates anger and what it produces (Colossians 3:5). Should we laugh at what makes God sad? We'll never kill anyone, but are we becoming desensitized to the destruction of human life? Do we get a thrill out of death and carnage?

But violence isn't the only subject taught in movies 101, of course. See if you can guess this movie: Bad guy hurts nice guy's special someone. Nice guy discovers he's got an incredible talent for hurting people who've messed with people he loves. Nice guy beats up and eventually kills bad guy, and everyone is happy again. Did you guess it? (Take your pick of many of this summer's movies).

The message is clear: vengeance justifies doing almost anything we want to do. Did someone hurt you? Get him back. Make him pay. Make sure everybody knows not to mess with you. You hurt me, and I'll hurt you back. Sound familiar?

Contrast that with the Bible: "Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also" (Jesus, Matthew 5:39). "Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'" (Paul, Romans 12:19). What do those verses say about most of today's movies?

But not all movies are shoot-em-up, get-'em-back thrillers, and when it comes to guy-girl relationships, one thing will almost always happen: the guy and the girl will hook up one night, and they won't be married (to each other, at least). The message about sex will be that the biblical teaching of abstinence before marriage is an outdated principle that nobody honors anymore. How many of this summer's movie romances will be consistent with Hebrews 13:4? "Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous." As Christians, we need to remember the importance of honoring God's standard of morality, not Hollywood's.


School's out, but learning continues. Because one of our culture's most powerful classrooms is the theater, listen carefully, and absorb only those lessons that are consistent with God's will.

Courageous - In Theaters September 30

Courageous - In Theaters September 30

his shoes were to small

It was Monday night. The second night of the gospel meeting. The sister and I were standing on the front porch of Highgate Church of Christ, helping to welcome the members and visitors to the Lord's church.

Two young boys walked up to us. We smiled and started a conversation with them. One only had a pair of black socks on his feet, so the sister playfully asked him where his shoes were, not expecting the answer she would receive. The other boy, his cousin, answered for him, almost to quiet to hear, "They to small."

"They were to small." It tore my heart out. I started thinking of all my pairs of shoes at home... Here I was, on a mission trip, with three pairs of shoes I had brought on the trip alone, and this little boy was walking around in his little black socks.

For me, it can be so easy to take the little things, like shoes, for granted. How many times have we had to go to church without shoes? If you're like me, you have so many shoes you could wear two or three different pairs a day. Having the privilege of visiting the country of Jamaica gives me the opportunity to see just how blessed I am. We have so much!

Next time we want to complain of the way our shoes may not go with our outfit, or how much we might have paid for them, think of the boy who only had socks to wear to church. Thank God for the clothes and shoes that you have to wear together, and thank Him for the money you have to buy that new pair of shoes.

When you count your shoes, count your many blessings that you do have.

The Chick-fil-A Song

My favorite song for my favorite fast food restaurant... My pleasure! ;)

Note: You might want to scroll down and pause the background music.

The Ninety and Nine

And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

Matthew 18:13

Evangelist D.L. Moody enlisted Ira Sankey as the song leader and soloist at his great campaigns. The two became a renowned duo; but unfortunately, within a few years Sankey's magnificent voice was ruined by overuse. Later in life, exhausted and facing blindness, he was invited by Dr. J.H. Kellogg (of Kellogg's cereal fame) to Battle Creek, Michigan, for convalescence. There Sankey finished a long-anticipated book of hymn stories. But a fire destroyed his manuscript and all his notes. He rewrote the book as well as memory would allow, and there we find the story of "The Ninety and Nine."

In 1874, Moody and Sankey had just finished a series of meetings in Glascow. At the station in route to Edinburgh, Sankey picked up a penny newspaper, hoping for news from America. Aboard the train, he perused the paper, finding in it a poem by a woman named Elizabeth C.Clephane.

Sankey wrote:

I called Mr. Moody's attention to it, and he asked me to read it to him. This I proceeded to do with all the vin and energy at my command. After I finished I looked at Moody to see what the effect had been, only to discover he had not heard a word, so absorbed was he in a letter he had received. I cut out the poem and placed it in my musical scrapbook.

At the meeting on the second day, the subject was the Good Shepherd. At the conclusion Moody turned to me with the question: "have you a solo appropriate for this subject with which to close?" I was troubled to know what to do. At this moment I seemed to hear a voice saying: "Sing the hymn you found on the train!" But I thought this impossible, as no music had been written for it. Placing the newspaper slip on the organ, I lifted my heart in prayer, struck the key of A flat, and began to sing.

Note by note the tune was given, which has not been changed from that day to this. Mr. Moody was greatly moved. He came to where I was seated and said, 'Sankey, where did you get this hymn? I've never heard the like of it in my life.' Moved to tears, I replied, 'Mr. Moody, that's the hymn I read to you yesterday on the train, which you did not hear.' 

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

Making a Joyful Noise with the Voice

I LOVE to sing. Singing makes me feel....well...I can't even describe how singing makes me feel. When we are with our friends, that is what we like to do. We don't go to the mall. We don't go to see the newest Harry Potter movie. And we don't even go to Waffle House to hang out all night (not that those are awful things, we just don't do them ;). Our most favorite thing to do is invite as many friends who want and are able to come, throw a lasagna in the oven (ahead of time, of course ;P), and then gather in the living room and just sing...for hours. There is nothing like acappella singing and harmonizing with eachother...there's just not.

One night, while in Jamaica, me, the sister, and two of our girl friends gathered in one of our rooms and just started singing to our God. Just random devo songs or hymns that popped into our heads, blending our alto and soprano voices. Even though the majority of our group had gone to bed, there the four of us sat, worshipping and praising our Lord.

One of my favorite things to do...ever.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Today is this guy's 50-something birthday (No, I'm not tellin' his age! ;)

He is:

My hero

A fabulous Daddy and Husband to Mom

Our provider

An elder in the Lord's church
Lover of all kinds of old cars and can tell you the make and model by just looking at it

A faithful Alabama Football fan

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!

Alaphabet Photo: Daisies

Daises
I think daisies are so cute... I just couldn't stop taking pictures of them! =)




                                 

Are You Happy?

While we were in Jamaica, a guy in our group asked me, kind of randomly, "Do you laugh all the time?" In which I answered, chuckling a bit, "Is there something wrong with laughing?" Needless to say, I was quite amused with the question. "Yes, I guess I do laugh quite a bit."

You know, that question really got me to thinking...do we display a countenance of joyfulness or do we appear to be grumpy and unhappy to others around us? Whether that young man meant the comment to be a compliment or not, I considered it to be one of the greatest complements anyone could ever pay me. Sometimes, it can be hard, especially for me, to be cheerful all the time. But, when we share that beautiful smile with others, and maybe a few words about Jesus, we might just make that person's day...not to mention, maybe make the world a happier place.

Alphabet Photo: Callaway Gardens

Callaway Gardens...is one of our favorite places EVER! The gardens are beautiful, but our most favorite thing to do there is to ride bikes....all 7 miles worth! We love it when friends are able to join us on our adventures through the gardens.

More Beautiful You