You are Not Alone

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6 

People hurt us.


They do things that pierce us to our core. They say things that break our confidences. People overlook things that leave us feeling hurt and alone and broken.


But He is there.


In our times of rawness, aloneness, and bitter pain He draws near and will not leave! What a relief. People will fail...the Lord will not!

Hiding His Word in Young Hearts

In the Oak Leaf Kids Preschool environments each month, preschoolers learn a new memory verse. One of my favorite things is to have a 3 year old run up to me and recite (with hand motions, of course) their memory verse. 

Even at the early age of 2 or 3, children can begin to learn truths about their Heavenly Father. This early memorization does not turn up void. Psalm 119:11 says,  "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." How absolutely valuable it is to help our young ones to learn His words. Each month, preschoolers take home a new memory verse card and parents are encouraged to help their child learn this at home.

The curriculum that we utilize in the Oak Leaf Kids environments is called First Look from the reThink group. We want, by the time a child is five years old, to believe: God Made Me, God Loves Me, and Jesus Wants to be My Friend Forever.

Some of the verses preschoolers have been learning are:

            “Let the little children come to me.” Luke 18:16, NIV

            “God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.” John 3:16, GNT

“My God will meet all your needs.” Philippians 4:19, NIrV

“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid.” Deuteronomy 31:6, NLT

“Nothing can separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:39, NIrV

“God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9, NLT

Each year that a preschooler comes to church, they have the opportunity to learn 12 verses. Most preschoolers spend about 3 years in the Desert & Jungle...thats 36 verses of scripture learned before entering kindergarten! 

What we're watching

Our remote most frequently stops on these shows:

• House Hunters
• House Hunters International
• Property Virgins
• Pawn Stars
• American Pickers
• Sarah Palin's Alaska
• If Walls Could Talk
• Cash and Cari
• House Crashers
• Deadliest Catch

i wonder what this says about us?

i. love. him. :)

I absolutely, wholeheartedly, undeniably love my husband Mike.

I love his sense of humor. He always makes me laugh.

He has an amazing work ethic.

He inspires me.

He loves and seeks God.

He loves his family intensely.

I've witnessed God do amazing things in his life.

He always believes that someone can do and be better...he does not settle for mediocre.

Mike doesn't ride the bandwagon. He's not afraid of being his own person.

I love how he loves our kids.

Mike loves our church and whole-heartedly loves serving there weekly.

He loves people.

He's spontaneous and encourages me to live without a plan sometimes :)

I fit in his hugs just right.

God has been building our marriage piece by piece since the beginning, and I look forward to each new day.  I am thrilled that we are going to grow old together.

The Blitz

Something that I have carried from my childhood into my life with a family now, is the Blitz-a rapid, everyone pitches in, cleaning frenzy, that lasts for a short amount of time.

I have many memories of Scott-family blitzes, with my parents setting the egg timer for 5 or 10 minute spans, where we all ran around the house picking up every possible thing that was out of place.

Today, with the active lives of my family, sometimes our house gets out of control (insert shock and surprise). Yet everyone in the house knows what it means when we call for a blitz and everyone chips in. Mail and papers get sorted, shoes get picked up, books find homes on shelves, blankets and pillows neatly return to the couches, dishes get loaded into the dishwasher, virtually every surface gets tidied up.

This isn't about cleaning as much as it is about everybody chipping in and picking up. At a quick pace, a great impact can be made...perfect for a family on the go.

Inviting

Oak Leaf Church is having a pull-out-all-the-stops kind of weekend. Every environment of the church will have special elements. The message will be gospel-heavy. And church-wide there is a great emphasis for everyone to invite, invite, invite.

Even our youngest kids talked about the importance of inviting people to church so they can learn about God and how much He loves them. Sunday in the Oak Leaf Kids preschool environments, preschoolers each came up with a name of someone they want to come to church, and leaders wrote these names on orange circles.

Oak Leaf staff and leaders are praying over these names this week.

"Charlene the Bubble Queen": Cultivating Imagination

Having a creative imagination is important.

My parents culivated the imagination God gifted me with. My mom constantly filled my mind with stories that were woven with fantasy, love, and adventure. I have one particular story, that my mom and a 3 or 4 year old me, put down on paper, about a girl Charlene, who followed a trail of floating bubbles and tinkling music to discover a land of fairies who made her queen.

With a creative imagination, one is never bored. There's always a mystery to solve, an adventure to be had, or a story to unravel.

Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy are all imaginary beings. I believed in them as a child and discovered their true identities at an average age, yet harbor no scars or ill-will having been "duped" by my parents.

As children of God, we are apart of the most wonderful adventure! I think a healthy imagination can aid in one's faith. Faith is descibed in Hebrews 11:1 as: "being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." For me, having a strong imagination helped me with my faith, especially when it was new.

I encourage parents, especially in the high-tech, plug your kids in, go-go-go society that we are caught up in, to take the time to let yours and your child's imaginations run. It may seem awkward to let the rules and rigidity of life go. Here's a few suggestions to get you started:

• lay in the grass with your child and find shapes in the clouds
• read "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis
• take walks in the woods and catch falling leaves
• construct a fairy house out of elements of nature 
• play house
• get out a board game and let your child make up the rules
• read the Bible with your child
• fingerpaint
• start telling a story and let your child fill in the details

Let your imagination go!

Something BIG is coming....

...and it's happening November 7th.

The Big Day happens November 7th at Oak Leaf Church and we're pulling out all the stops to plan a special day that no one will want to miss.

So, mark your calendars, change your travel plans, invite your friends and your kids friends.

Be there!

I love fall

Being from Massachusetts, nothing compares to a New England Autumn. Although somewhat different in Georgia, I still am able to experience some of these things. Here's a few reasons why fall is my favorite season:

• The great contrast between the warm sun and the cool air
• Sweaters, jeans, scarves, and corduroy 
• Decorating with pumpkins, gourds, hay bales, mums, and Indian Corn
• The colors of orange, brown, red, and yellow.
• The sound of dry leaves rustling
• The smell of a woodfire
• Apple orchards, apple pie, and apple crisp
• Leaf-peeping in the hill-towns 

I Support The Man Games (and I'm not a man)

I'm not a guy, but if I were (or if I could effectively disguise myself like one) I would not want to miss The Man Games. 

The first-annual Man Games is a competition of manliness put on by Oak Leaf Church to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Bartow County on October 24th. 

With competitions like a Burger Grill-off, Strongest Man, and Texas Hold-em Tournament  - there's sure to be something for everyone. Plus, there's cash prizes! 

This event is planned and executed by men, for men...there's nothing frilly about it. Guys, you don't want to miss it!

Super!

In Oak Leaf Church's preschool program, we use the First Look curriculum from Rethink and absolutely love it!

During the month of October, we've got a super-exciting theme of SUPERHEROES!

Preschoolers will learn that the Bible is full of extraordinary people who, with God's help, did some very heroic things. We'll learn how Elijah, Rahab, Esther and others knew that they could count on our awesome God.

And because our God is so awesome and we can always count on Him, we'll talk about how we can be superheroes too and make a difference in the lives of people around us.

As a super-special element to the month, each preschooler will receive a superhero cape this weekend! They'll take the capes home and with their parents help, look for ways that they can be superheroes. What kid doesn't love a super cape?!

In order to give each preschooler a cape, I had an amazing team of talented people donate their time to create capes for our preschoolers at both campus'. These women sure did deliver! They brought all kinds of tools and machines and banged out 96 capes in just 3 hours! I am so thankful for the talents God disperses throughout His Kingdom.

I can't wait to see dozens of super-kids at Oak Leaf this weekend!

No small jobs...

Recently, as I grumbled silently about having to replace yet another trash bag in one of the preschool rooms, I was convicted by the Holy Spirit:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23, 24b

I wasn't replacing the trash bag just because someone else forgot too. I had the opportunity to glorify God through this task, and I blew it. How often in life do we focus on the things that "someone else" should be doing and completely missing the chance to serve others.

Some tasks just seem "beneath us." We argue that our talents and skills are designed for something great. We are much more effective as teachers or designers or leaders.

But it's in those humbling tasks like taking out the trash, wiping runny noses, changing diapers, and refilling the goldfish containers that we have to serve Jesus.

Do you see those tasks as opportunities or annoyances?

One Link at a Time

One morning, as I was getting ready, I went to my jewelry drawer and pulled out my silver cross necklace. Unfortunately, the previous night I had taken it off in the dark, and rather than placing it gently in it's place, I just tossed it into the drawer. So as I stood there with it in my hand, a tangled mess of fine, silver chain, I grumbled...the thought of untangling it was overwhelming. I didn't have the time or patience to gently handle each link of the chain, tracing it's path around, over, and under the cross and itself.

Sigh, but I wanted to wear it. So, bit-by-bit, I carefully untangled the chain. It was slow, patient work. I had to focus on each link. Yet as each tangle freed, I felt a bit of relief, joy and pleasure in growing closer to the end. When the last few links of chain unwound and the necklace was clasped around my neck, I was pleased that I had stuck with it and was given these thoughts...

How often do we feel overwhelmed and burdened? Are there things or people that you need to invest in that seem to need more time and patience than you want to give? Does the burden to "go and make disciples of all nations" seem overwhelming and great?

Most things in life, when looked at in whole, are overwhelming. But just like untangling the necklace, we need to take that overwhelming task and deal with it bit-by-bit, one small step at a time.

Investing in someone may seem like an unlikely thing for you when looked at as a big picture. By breaking it down into one conversation, one friendly cup of coffee, one meal at a time, you'll soon find the goal is right around the corner.

Many small acts add up...what are you tackling?

12 Things About Me

Here's a few random things about me...

• Throughout jr high & high school, I was the goalie for the field hockey team. I wore a tartan plaid kilt, massive leather pads, and was constantly covered in bruises.
• I know how to bait a hook and gut a fish.
• I can braid a mean french braid.
• I took my SATs in a hockey rink...and did quite poorly. I'm blaming it on the environment ;)
• My sister and I once gave my parents such a hard time because they dragged us on a family outing, only to discover how interesting and fun Battleship Cove was.
• I gave birth both of my children without pain meds...and am quite proud of it!
• While on a missions trip to Costa Rica, I hid homemade goat cheese in my bag because it tasted awful to me, but I did not want to offend my host family.
• I love a good, cleansing cry...after, it's like a weight has been lifted.
• I had a purple "boom box" with a double cassette player and shoulder strap. My sister had a pink one. Mine was bigger.
• I sprained my ankle running down a mountain at summer camp one year.
• My first real job was working at The Sugarloaf Frostie, serving soft-serve ice cream.
• I once dreamed of being a fighter-jet pilot.

Journey Group

Also known as a Small Group or Cell Group...whatever you may call it, having a core group of people to surround yourself with and "do life" together is essential for spiritual, emotional & personal growth.

My husband & I are part of a Journey Group. Eight couples meet regularly on Thursday nights to discuss a recently preached, sermon related topic. We are on different steps of our walk with Jesus. We talk about faith, marriage, parenting, politics and what God's word has to say about such topics. Sometimes we debate and disagree. We pray for each other. We are challenged and grown in our personal faith. It is a completely safe environment.

But it's also what happens outside of the parameters of the Thursday night "Journey Group" that makes this group so special, so valuable, so crucial to my relationship with God and with others. These people are my family...the body of Christ. We share in the experiences of life together. We barbecue together. We swim together. We celebrate birthdays together. We bring our kids and pass on the importance of being a part of Christ's family to them. We love to laugh.

I know that I can call upon my Journey Group in times of trouble and they will be there. I trust these people and know I can speak openly and honestly to them and will not be judged. My children have a handful of adults who they can go to for any reason.

Our group is not closed. We invite people to join us at any time. We are established and held together by Jesus and by the life that we receive as a blessing from seeking after Him.

I hope that everyone can have this sort of blessing in their lives. I love my family, my Journey Group.