About three and a half years ago a friend from the ball park invited us to go to church. We had been in and out of church for years, and we didn't take her up on the offer.
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| My 5 Children at the Beach |
Not long after a guy Jason worked with invited us to Wednesday Night supper at his church, we decided to take him up on it and went. Funny thing when we got there it was the same church the other friend invited us to and didn't go. For me it was a sign we should go back. We did and became regulars on Wednesday night.
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| Aden - Football |
We came some on Sunday morning but like a lot of people we wanted our Sundays to sleep and well do really nothing! We came and went taking a month off here and there when we were busy. Then on Easter 2009 we decided we should join the church and become apart of the family. I intended to become more active and I failed a lot of things got in my way. Things that a lot of people say, school, work, health issues.
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| Madalyn - Softball |
Then the doctor told us to keep Haleigh at the house so we just stopped going, it was easier that way. The summer of 2010 again we were busy with ball and it took all I had just to get out of bed on Sundays.
Then I got my wake up call. A lot of people do not understand how you can go from not going to church and living wrong to totally turning your life around in one moment for me it was just that, and my son made me understand that I was not teaching my kids about Jesus and if I didn't who would, I knew a lot but they didn't.
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| Collin being baptized at Church Fall 2010 |
My son Collin asked me to take him to church because he wanted to be saved and go to heaven! My 4 year old asked what's heaven? I do not think i have ever cried so much in my life. How did I let this happen, how did he not know, well because I never told him, and I never put him in Sunday school long enough for him to learn from anyone else either. It really made me sick to my stomach.
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| Landon playing at the park |
I decided we would go to church every chance we had, but because my children needed it, I was solid in my faith and didn't need to go but would for them. Then something else happened I realized I was not as solid as I thought I didn't know near what I thought and in Aug 2010 I realized I needed to be in church for me just as much as for my children, I needed a church family, people who shared my faith, people to worship the lord with, people to grow in faith with, people who love is and who we love back.
I found all of that at Airport Blvd. Baptist Church. That is our home, they are our family, I feel like I am in my own living room there, there is no show boating, no upping one another, just love and praise and worship for the lord!
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| Haleigh doing her "mad face" |
Today they held a luncheon and listened to me talk and cry about Haleigh and they asked questions and I now have a new understanding of just how much we mean to them and how much they mean to us. We are doing some fund raising at church and some of these people have some great ideas! Somethings I had never thought of, others that we have talked about before. I never thought I would need help and I never thought I would stand in front of the church and talk about Haleigh, then again I never thought I would have 5 kids either!
I love my church family and I hope everyone reading this has what I have at their church, if you don't or you don't have a church home, I invite you to mine. We would love to have you. I think of my church as a marriage of some sort, your there in good times and bad you stick through it for the love of God through the shared faith you have in Jesus Christ. If that is missing in your life, because I know a year ago it was missing in mine and I didn't even know it, come and join us, I will be there you can sit with me, I promise you will not walk away disappointed.
We have a few other fund raisers coming up too. Chicken for Haleigh is this coming Tuesday night at Zaxby's on springhill Ave. From 5PM to 7PM we get 10% of all sales between those times ONLY at that store. We are also this close to bring done with our long awaited cook book. We are hoping to have enough ads that we will make 100% profit from them! We have done so well I have a calm that has come over me. Even with the ever rising has prices, we have made enough to cover the next 2 surgeries, the one coming this fall, and then the one that will follow next winter! Our family would have never been able to raise that much with out the help of all of our extended family and friends! Thank you so much!!
