OUR FAMILY CHRISTMAS

 We had our family Christmas this morning. It was a blast! Maggie (our dog) got doggie cookies, clothes and toys. I know, sounds silly but shes one of our family members. Lyndsie got a toy Pomeranian, silverware for college, Elf and Eclipse movie and an IPhone. She was so excited about the phone. Ethan got a Xbox controller with games, DS games, toy cars and motorcycles and his favorite gift, a 4-wheeler. He so so excited. He said; Thank you for the 4-wheeler. I know you must have worked hard for it. We gave Ethan clues to find his big gift. We put an envelope on the tree that said he had to go to one of the cottages to find his next clue. After he found that one he had to go to the gym and then to the park for more clues. He eventually ended up at the garage with an envelope on the door that contained a key. He had to unlock the door to see what his gift was. It was so much fun. Finding all the clues to get to the gift was a blast! Lyndsie and me were freezing by the time we got to the gift though. We will spend Christmas morning with the Senior Boys and they will get to open their gifts. We are looking forward to that as well. I have posted some pictures of our family Christmas. You can go to the album to see them all. Hope you all have a beautiful Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Love you all!

WE HAD OUR FAMILY CHRISTMAS THIS MORNING. WE HAD SUCH A GREAT TIME. LYNDSIE LOVED HER I-PHONE AND ETHAN LOVED HIS FOUR WHEELER. GARY GOT A FISHING POLE TO GO FISHING WITH ETHAN AND I CAN'T A CAMERA TO MAKE IT EASIER TO KEEP EVERYONE UPDATED ON WHATS GOING ON. :) I WILL HAVE PICTURES POSTED THIS AFTERNOON SO BE SURE AND DROP BACK BY. MERRY CHRISTMAS!
LOVE, THE ROCHESTER'S

....THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL!

My family is celebrating the Christmas holiday in the morning because we will be on duty with the boys for Christmas. Traditionally we let the kids open one gift on Christmas eve. Since today is "our" Christmas eve we let Lyndsie and Ethan open one gift. The gift Ethan picked out to open turned out to be a new Bible with his name on it. He is very proud of it. The gift Lyndsie opened is one that we picked for her to open because it was a toy Pomeranian puppy and I didn't know where to hide it for the night. Lyndsie loves her! (Name yet to be determined. She is taking suggestions.) She has been begging for a pom for two years. Tomorrow we will get up and have Christmas with our kids and then Saturday we will have Christmas with the Senior Boys. I know the kids will be grateful for everything they get. I just wanted to say Thank you Lord. I am so thankful for the greatest gift of all. I know that I will love everything my husband and kids got me for Christmas, but my salvation is the gift that I will cherish the forever. I am so thankful that God gave me an eternal gift. The gift of going to heaven for eternity. You don't have to beg for it and you don't have to wish that you had it. All you have to do is ask God, believe and it will be given to you. Such an easy way to get the greatest gift of all. Thank you Lord for loving me enough to hang on that cross and suffer for my sins so that I may spend eternity with my Heavenly Father.

I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST AND I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME. THE LIFE I LIVE IN THE BODY, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME. I DO NOT SET ASIDE THE GRACE OF GOD, FOR IF RIGHTEOUSNESS COULD BE GAINED THROUGH THE LAW, CHRIST DIED FOR NOTHING.  
                                                        GALATIANS 2:20-21

                                                                   

I HAVE A DADDY......

 I have a daddy who loves me so,

who holds my hand and helps me grow.

I have a daddy who sees me cry,

and teaches me when I ask why.

I have a daddy who sees all my faults,

and yet he loves me at all costs.

I have a daddy who lives in my soul,

I carry him where ever I go.

But when I'm unable to stand and on bended knees,

that's when I know my daddy is carrying me.

I have a daddy who will never abandon me,

because my daddy died for my eternity.
                                                               By: Denise Rochester

                                      

Gary and I have had some struggles recently. We prayed for clear guidance on what God wants for us. Without a doubt, we know that he wants us in this ministry. We pray daily for God to take the Devil out of the way and bring unity to all of those who are taking care of the kids. We are here for the kids and here to serve God. When I prayed and did my Bible study I knew God was speaking directly to me. He was telling me this is what he wants for my life. I know that God's work is not always supposed to be easy. I just pray that we are able to focus only on what God wants for our lives, for his children and how we can please him. I know that my father is always going to guide me along the way. I know that my father will never give up on me. He has promised that to me. He is one daddy that will never leave his children.

                   

But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power will rest in me. That is why for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

                                                                       2 Corinthians 12:9-10

                                            (...Then is Christ revealed in my life!)

Think about this abbreviation: A.S.A.P.
A new meaning..Always Say A Prayer!

SEEKING GOD'S WILL

We are always seeking God's will for our lives. We know that God is not a God of confusion but we sure do seem to be second guessing ourselves a lot. We really had a rough day yesterday with a couple of the kids. We didn't get much sleep and exhaustion almost took us down. Some of the kids don't know how to control their anger or their emotions and so they don't make good choices all the time. Kind of like me, I don't always make good choices. The kids do "dumb" things sometimes seeking attention from anyone that they can get it from. So we were up really late last night trying to help one of them make better decisions for his life. Sometimes it's easier just to walk away and hope the situation gets better but God always gives me the strength to endure what the ministry throws at us. I am always praying that the decisions I make are God's will. Even us grown ups are not so good at making good decisions some times so how can we expect kids to make them all the time. We can't. We can only hope that we are leading by example so that they can grow in God's will. I have watched one of our new Christian's change right before my eye's. It has been such a blessing to see this kid change his walk of violence to a walk with Jesus. He actually tried to be a mentor to our troubled kid today. He took the initiative to go in and talk to this young man and let him know that there are other ways to control your emotions than the ones that this child chose. I was so proud of him for trying to teach this kid a different way of life. We were just doing the same thing for him 2 months ago. Have you ever heard of the phrase "pass it on"? Well I was very happy to see that this kid is passing it on. Passing on the love of Jesus! He is proud of his salvation and is starting to witness to others. Please pray for the kids to continue to grow in their faith and for those who don't know the Lord, that they will come to know him. Please pray for Gary and I to continue to grow in God's will and for him to always supply us with what we need to be a good leader for these kids. Please pray that we are always seeking God's will. Love you guys and I am so glad you are here with me helping me. You are God's missionary by praying for us. Thank you for that. 


I WILL PRAY WITH THE SPIRIT, AND I WILL PRAY WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO; I WILL SING WITH THE SPIRIT, AND I WILL SING WITH THE UNDERSTANDING ALSO.
                                                                      1 CORINTHIANS 14:14 

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS...MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WE LOVE YOU ALL AND APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR US. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS. HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR! REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, FOR WITHOUT GOD, THERE WOULD BE NO SEASON.GOD BLESS YOU ALL. WITH ALL OUR LOVE, THE ROCHESTER'S

TRANS-SYBERIAN ORCHESTRA.... REVIEW FROM ABC BOYS

We are very busy this week. We have our senior boys and 3 of the small boys in our cottage this week. It's a little crazy to say the least. The older boys get used to being by themselves and the younger boys don't like being told what to do. We have had a couple that have wanted to run away but they ended up deciding that staying here would be the best choice.I'm glad because it's mighty cold outside. We took them to the TSO concert. They all did a great job with their behavior. The smaller boys didn't move during the whole show, and it was 3 hours long. The music was awesome and the light effects was fantastic!If you weren't in the Christmas spirit when you got there I'm sure you were when you left. It was the first time I had seen it and I will want to go back and see it again I'm sure.Thanks to our activities director that worked so hard to get us the tickets. Thanks to the generous person that bought the ticket's that allowed us to go. Thanks to Mr. Perry for taking us and buying us a Burger afterwards. We all had so much fun and appreciate all the hard work that went in to getting us there. The experience was awesome!!!!

AND DID I HAPPEN TO MENTION I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND IN THE WORLD. HE IS SO GOOD AT BEING MY LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. LOVE YOU BUNCHES GARY!

BUSY BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

BAH....HUMM....BUGG!

Guess what? 8 days till Christmas! I know...you needed someone to tell you that, right? Ethan is so excited he can't hardly wait. I am a little excited for him too. He has been a little upset because all the kids here got "all their Christmas presents" and he has had to wait. I told him good things come to those who wait. Try telling that to a 7 year old  some time. It doesn't go over well. Tomorrow we are going with some of the kids to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. We can't wait! It is going to be so much fun. I have never seen it and I sure am looking forward to it.  Gary and Ethan are in the gym right now playing basketball with  a new kid to the program. The new guy seems to be adjusting well, but missing his friends. I kind of know how he feels. I miss my friends too, and my mom and my sisters and...and...and. But I know that we are exactly where God wants us to be. We love the kid's and we hope we are helping them in some small way. We have a few boys that are at the movies tonight and I'm sitting here watching one jam on guitar hero. We did have 2 kid's get to go home today with family. I will miss them. They are good kids. It was sad to see them go but I am glad they are with their family. I asked them to pray hard and make good choices in their life. I asked them to go home and let their friends see that they met Jesus here! Please pray for them to make good choices and be strong to stand against Satan, because we all know that's easier said than done. Thank you for all your prayers. Our support group is awesome and we love you all for it. God bless each and every one of you. Now get back to your shopping. It's the last weekend before Christmas!

CHRISTMAS AT ABC HOMES

Ethan, our son

Gary and Ethan

Chase, son of house parent's Cindy and Chuck

Jesse, student of college program

Cindy~house parent, Jesse and Carrie, my niece

Chase

Ethan

Gary and David~house parent's

                       Community room decorated for Christmas dinner

We had our big Christmas party. It was a blast! The community hall was all decorated for dinner and our guest. It was so beautiful. I have posted a few pictures to this story, but you will need to go to the photo album to see all the pictures of the party that we posted. (It's the link to the right under pages, marked Christmas in Monticello) Due to privacy issues, we are not able to show picture's of the kids in the program.  The first thing we did was in the foyer of the administration building. Our director told the kids the Christmas story. It was really sweet watching everyone listening so attentively. We went and ate dinner. We had ham, turkey and all the trimmings. It was delicious. Thanks to our cook and her elves that helped make it all possible. Then we were sang a song from some staff members.  It was really sweet. They made their own words up to an " ABC Home Christmas, is the only Christmas for me." They did a really good job. We all had a great time. After dinner we started going cottage to cottage to watch the kids open their gifts. They started opening their gifts and were so excited with what they got. There were Xbox's, digital camera's, play stations, video games, Snuggies, shoe's and a little bit of everything else. We visited from cottage to cottage to see what everyone was getting. It was so much fun! The little kids had gotten Nintendo DS' and they were mesmerized by them. One had gotten a paper jam guitar and he was jamming! We went over to the girls cottage and they were opening their gifts. They had gotten camera's, make-up, perfume and all those things that make us girls beautiful. The boy's were enjoying playing their video games and it was fun to see them all excited and already sharing what they had gotten. I realized that this was one big happy family! We had visitors from town and teacher's that came to watch the kids open their gifts. It was really nice to have them at the party. They got to see a little about what it's like living here. I hope they enjoyed their visit. Walking from cottage to cottage in the night, watching the Christmas lights flicker, it was such a beautiful night. I know God must have been smiling watching his children so happy. I think this party pretty much wrapped up the kids Christmas season. Some will get to go home and visit family and other's will be here with us on Christmas morning. We will get up with them then and they will have a few more gift's to open. It's a very busy season, but worth every sleepless moment. Thank you to all that give and to those who pray to make this ministry possible. God Bless you and Merry Christmas!

GOD IS SO GOOD! HOW AWESOME IS MY GOD!

                              Picture taken by my daughter, Lyndsie

THE CHRISTMAS SHOES....Size 13

 I received the most wonderful blessing today. When Gary and I moved to Monticello 3 months ago every time we went into town we would see this older man walking. (He's probably in his late 70's) Every time we go to town we see him walking down the road and we always wondered who he was and where he was going. We asked around a few times and was told by various people that he's been walking a long time. It's his only transportation. I would see him walking around the parking lot at Sonic picking up change off the ground and just wondered what his story was. Well, today Gary and I  was sitting at a local restaurant eating breakfast and I turned behind me (for some unknown reason) and there he was again, I seen the older gentlemen leaving the restaurant. I looked down at his feet and his shoe's were literally falling apart at the seams. I said; Gary, that man walks every where he goes and he has no shoe's to keep his feet warm. I wonder if he will let us buy him a pair of shoe's. We asked the waitress if she knew what his story was. The waitress said that he was very poor. She said he walks to the restaurant often and they feed him breakfast on the house. She said that he had been hit by a car recently trying to cross the street but was doing good. He had lost his wife to cancer about 2 years ago and he lives about 45 miles from Monticello but walks (or hitches a ride) to Monticello EVERYDAY!  My heart broke into a million pieces. Gary and I left the restaurant and drove down the street and stopped when we seen the man walking. Gary got out of the truck and said: My name is Gary and I would love to buy you a pair of shoe's for Christmas. The gentleman kindly accepted, after Gary let him know we just wanted to buy him a pair of shoes, then the gentleman got into our truck. While we were in the truck we asked him why he walked every where. He said he didn't have much money. He lived on social security and he didn't have much income from that. He said what I get just pays my bills and so I walk because that's what I can afford to do. We took him to the store and let him pick out his shoe's. He was so excited! He picked out one pair and then seen another that he liked. He said; I don't need to try them on. I know I wear a size 13 and these will fit. We said, Well please try them on and make sure they are comfortable to walk in. He took off his old shoe's and said; "I don't need these anymore, you can throw them away." He tried on his new shoes and of course they fit. He said; "See, I wear a size 13 and thats what these are. They feel good." He just smiled. It was such a sweet smile. His sock's were stained and dirty so we bought him a bag of sock's to go with his new shoes. He walked out of the store wearing his new shoes and socks. He said; " I have good days and bad days. I never know what kind of day I'm going to have until it's over. Today it looks like I'm going to have a good day." I felt the spirit of God just fill my heart with love for this man. We gave him some money for his pocket and he walked away with his new shoes and a sack holding his new socks. Before he left we asked him his name and if he was saved. He said; " I am saved. I know I'm going to heaven. My name is Mr. Carpenter."  My first thought was Jesus was a carpenter. :)  I am in no way bragging about what Gary and I did. We did it because we felt God asking us to do it and we felt love for this man. I just wanted to share this story with you. Gary and I experienced our own "Christmas shoe" story. And I am so thankful that God let us do this. I will remember the Shoes for Mr. Carpenter for the rest of my life. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU.....JESUS LOVES YOU!

Dear Santa......

My son, who is 7 years old, wrote a letter to Santa at school. This is what it said:
Dear Santa, What I want for Christmas is for people to know about Jesus. Oh, and you can get me a game for my Xbox 360 if you want.
Your Jolly Friend,
Ethan

I was very proud to see that what he was most concerned about was everyone getting to know Jesus. He asked for that above everything else. Now Santa is not real as we all know, but Jesus is. What's one thing you would ask Jesus for? Please click on the comment link below and let me know. I would love to read them.
I have learned living here at ABC home, that the one thing I would ask for would be for all the mom's and dad's to be accountable and take care of their children, so no one else has to. These kids want to be home. They love their families. We did have a great party last night and the kids seemed to have a great time. Our new kid was a little emotional. It is still so new to him and I'm sure he misses his family. I will have our story of the party and some pics posted hopefully tomorrow. God bless you all. Get your shopping finished. Only 9 days left  until Christmas!!!

AND SHE SHALL BRING FORTH A SON, AND THOU SHALT CALL HIS NAME JESUS: FOR HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS.
                                               ST. MATTHEW 1:21

IT'S OUR CAMPUS CHRISTMAS PARTY TONIGHT!

     Nothing more precious than to always have your mother praying for you! (My moms hands dipped in candle wax.)
                               

The kids are so excited. Today is Christmas for them. We have our campus wide Christmas party tonight! A lot of the kid's sponsors are coming to have dinner with us and watch the kids open their gifts. It should be a lot of fun. Hopefully,  I will have pictures uploaded of the party very soon. I can't wait to share the experience with you. So have a great day and God Bless you! WE LOVE YOU'LL VERY MUCH AND APPRECIATE YOUR CONTINUED PRAYERS!!!

It's Jesus' Birthday...How will you celebrate his birth?

He came and died for our sins so that we may spend eternity with him. I can't wait! I know my daddy is standing there saying; Call them home. I need to hug from my darlin. I can't wait to give my daddy and my Creator the biggest hug! I love them so much! What is your name for your Savior?
Lord of Lords                                 Redeemer
                Savior          Counselor                "I am"
Messiah                    Creator              Beginning and the end

              Perfecter                                 Sovereign
Immanuel                       Imperishable              God
      Faithful                                Forgiving                                   Almighty

             Awesome                       Christ                 Jehovah

Sovereign                 Light of the World                       Ruler           Restorer

          Alpha and Omega             Maker                Majestic

 King                     Judge                      Keeper      

I know I have forgotten to name many gracious names for our Lord and Savior. Maybe I forgot to name your favorite. I know he is the "I am" of everything. He is my 
JESUS! 
He is my everything and he is what keeps me going. Let's celebrate the birth and the coming back of Jesus. Please click on the "comment link" below and type in your favorite name for our Almighty God. I would love to hear them. Love you guys, thanks for the continued prayers and God Bless you!

I think this verse shows how Awesome our God is:

"SO I SAY TO YOU: ASK AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU; SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND; KNOCK AND THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED TO YOU. FOR EVERYONE WHO ASKS RECEIVES; HE WHO SEEKS FINDS; AND TO HIM WHO KNOCKS, THE DOOR WILL BE OPENED.
                                                         LUKE 11:9-10
                      
                       

           

WHAT A WEEKEND!

OK. I'm up and running again and have so much to talk about. We had a party yesterday that a very dear lady in Monticello gave the us. Please pray for her. She has had the loss of her husband and grandson this year but still was a warrior for Jesus and came to give these kids Christmas gifts. She bought them pizza, gave gifts and gave them some spending money. Just call her Ms. B and I'm sure she would appreciate your prayers. So guess what?? We had to take the boys shopping again and let them spend their money! They had fun and I suppose we did too. They love money but is seems to burn a hole in their pocket. Today Calvary Baptist came and gave them a pizza party and we hung out with their kids for a while. It was a lot of fun as well. This afternoon we took the boys back to town to let them finish spending their money. I think I have had enough Christmas shopping! The boys have been awesome though. They did spend some of their money on other people. Someone asked me about the girls today. I would like to say that the girls are doing great. They had a wonderful time at the parties and I know a few of them took their money and got their nails done. They looked really pretty. They are all doing well. Lots of smiles. We did get a new boy admitted to the program on Friday. He is really nice and seemed to have a good time at the parties as well. He gets along really well with the other boys and is really friendly and fun to talk to. I told him I thought he would love it here. He just smiled. Please pray for him and all the other kids here. Christmas is hard because most of them don't get to go home to spend it with their family. Please pray for me to. This will be the first year EVER that I will not get to spend Christmas with my family. I know it will be hard for me. Even though I will be with the boys I have grown to love, I will miss my mom and everyone else. God Bless you all and Merry Christmas!

CHRISTMAS...CHRISTMAS...WE ALL LOVE CHRISTMAS!!

I'm on a borrowed computer. That's OK though. I'm getting a new one hooked up as we speak. I hope to be up and running by tonight. Just wanted to let everyone know that all is well. We have gotten a new kid in the group and he is blending in very well. We had a Christmas party yesterday and one today. Our big Christmas party when everyone on campus opens their gifts will be Tuesday night. I will let you know how that goes. I can't wait to tell you everything that has been going on the past couple of days. Hope to catch you up by tomorrow afternoon. Love you all and God bless you!

Uh Oh

Hey,
Bad news. Internet at the home is down right now, but Denise says that as soon as it's back up and running you will get a full update about the Christmas party and the kids. Sorry.
God bless you

A TIME TO GO HOME

Two of our kids was told by a Judge this week they can go home. They are very excited. I pray that they will make good choices when they return back to their home. Please pray for them daily that God will give them strength not to give in to worldly things. We are also having a Christmas party today. The kids are very excited for that as well. I will let you know how every thing goes. God Bless you and hope you have a great day!

PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU, MY PEACE I GIVE UNTO YOU: NOT AS THE WORLD GIVETH, GIVE I UNTO YOU. LET NOT YOUR HEART BE TROUBLED, NEITHER LET IT BE AFRAID.
                                                                       ST. JOHN 14:27

PLAN OF SALVATION

FOR ALL HAVE SINNED, AND COME SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD.   Romans 3:23
(Pray and admit to God that you are a sinner)

WHILE WE WERE YET SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US.    Romans 5:8
(Believe that Christ died on the cross to save you from your sins)

WE WERE THEREFORE BURIED WITH HIM THROUGH BAPTISM.   Romans 6:1
(Believe that Christ was resurrected from death after dying for your sins)

WASH ME, AND I SHALL BE WHITER THAN SNOW.     Psalm 51:7
(Follow up you salvation with baptism to cleanse you of your sins and have a right relationship with God)

BE FAITHFUL UNTIL  DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE CROWN OF LIFE.
Revelation 2:10
(After being saved, live for Jesus. In everything you do, do it in God's name and he will reward every faithful believer with an eternal home in Heaven with him. What a reward!)

    PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO THE VERY BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG FOR A SURVEY

GIVE GOD PRAISE AND HONOR FOR WHO HE IS....

  Enough said

THE 3 HEAVEN'S....ARE YOU READY? HE'S COMING!

I was just looking out the window thanking God for a beautiful day. I was looking at the blue sky and how pretty it is today. It reminded me of a study we did with Bro. Larry at Crystal Hill Baptist on the 3 Heaven's. We were studying it in the book of Genesis. The first heaven is the atmospheric heaven. It is seen in the day. The second Heaven is the Cosmic Heaven, seen at night. The third Heaven is Glory Heaven, Beulah Land. Can you imagine if it's this beautiful on earth today, how beautiful eternity with our Heavenly Father is going to be. I can't wait....oh the day to when the trumpet sounds. I pray you are ready because HE IS COMING!

LISTEN, I TELL YOU A MYSTERY: WE WILL NOT ALL SLEEP, BUT WE WILL ALL BE CHANGED-
IN A FLASH, IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE, AT THE LAST TRUMPET. FOR THE TRUMPET WILL SOUND, THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED IMPERISHABLE, AND WE WILL BE CHANGED.
                                                        1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-52

SHOP, SHOP....SHOP TILL YOU DROP!

I have not had any time off work. Yesterday was the first day I was able to make it to Little Rock and Christmas shop for my kids. I had a good time with my mom and my daughter and finally got alot of shopping done. I'm not quite finished but I'm alot closer than before. I hope all of you are having fun shopping and remember why you are shopping for gifts. Jesus loves you and we do too!
                 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

MY TESTIMONY....THIS IS WHY I'M HERE.

Why am I here? I asked myself that question when I was battling with some issues and missing my family. Why am I here? My son is having a hard time and misses his friends. This ministry is so difficult at times. But I'm here because God sent me here. He did not say; Denise, because you are working for me, I'm going to give you the easiest ministry I have to give.  He said; Go Denise. This is where I want you to serve me. You will struggle and you will face criticism but stay strong in your faith for I will be with you.  The mountain will be tough to climb at times but do not give up, I will be holding the rope at the other end. That is why I'm here. My walk for the Lord started when I was 13 years old. I was raised by a father who also served the Lord. He was a Baptist pastor and raised us up in church. When the church door was open, we were there. I remember laying on the Pugh crying because I had an ear infection and my daddy made me go to church. Now, I can thank him for that. One Sunday I heard my dad preach a sermon on Jesus coming back to get his children in this Hugh cloud. Well, I was on the school bus on my way home from school. Back then (I know...I had to walk up hill both ways and a gallon of gas was 37 cents) the school bus did not stop at each driveway. It would stop at every 3rd driveway or so and then you would walk back to your house. Well this particular day we were on the bus and  I looked out the window and seen this Hugh cloud forming over the bus. (Now I know it was a rain storm) I went in to panic mode. Oh my goodness! God is coming, and I'm not saved and he's going to leave me behind. Well, that bus could not reach my house fast enough. I got off the bus and ran back to my house crying and said; Daddy, Jesus is coming and I'm not saved!  I'm going to be left behind and I want to go to heaven. My daddy took me in his room and we knelt by his bed and that is when I came to know Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. That was the most precious gift my daddy could have ever shown me. At the feet of Jesus was a life of eternity with my God. Well, I could not wait to get to school the next day and tell everyone about my Jesus. I was witnessing to everyone in the cafeteria. One girl came to know Christ in that cafeteria that day. :) I wished I could learn how to keep that fire. I am working on that within myself. "SET MY SOUL ON FIRE LORD!" Through the years I did stray from that rugged cross a time or two. Thank the good Lord he is a forgiving God. I was able to come back to him and ask forgiveness for what I'd done and God welcomed me back into his arms. Now I'm here at ABC Homes to help someone else do the same thing. God has really been impressing upon my heart to share his word and get it out there that it's OK that you have strayed. He just wants you to ask forgiveness of your sins and come back to him. I don't know who this is for, or who God is using me to talk to, but I know you are reading this and you know who you are....and so does God. God loves you so much and is waiting for you to call upon his name. He is the "I am", the Lord of all, the creator, the forgiver, the merciful Lord and Savior and he loves you. He forgave me after all I had done and he still continues to forgive me for my mistakes everyday. Thank you Lord for your forgiving mercy. I am here to help you and I am here to help these kids. God is here to help me and he will provide me with strength and guidance to do what he needs me to do. I am here because God asked me to be here. Listen to what God has to say to you and no matter what he is calling you to do, go. Go and do what God ask of you and you will find peace like you've never known before. We love you and pray for you. God bless you always.

THOUGH HE BRINGS GRIEF, HE WILL SHOW COMPASSION,
SO GREAT IS HIS UNFAILING LOVE. FOR HE DOES NOT WILLINGLY
BRING AFFLICTION OR GRIEF TO THE CHILDREN OF MEN.
                            LAMENTATIONS 3:32-33

BE THE "ONE"

Photo taken by our daughter, Lyndsie

We serve an awesome God. He takes some of the smallest things and turns them in to big beautiful things. Gary and I came to this ministry together hoping to touch just one child's life. Hoping to make a difference. We prayed that if one kid grew up and thought about what he was taught here, and made a change in his life to be different and to be a man of God, then we did what God asked us to come and do. It only takes one person standing alone to make a difference in someones life. That person could be you.  And it's not just Gary and me. It's all of the house parents here working together to make a difference. It's the office staff, the tutor, the cook, the sponsors, the counselor's as well as all the other people working for the children. You could go out tomorrow and find a life to touch, and it makes you feel wonderful inside just knowing you helped that ONE person. The boys took their money and went shopping at Wal-Mart tonight. The ideal was for them to buy their friends and family gifts. I automatically knew that they were going to try and swindle something for themselves. Boy was I wrong. These boys tried to stretch their money as far as it would go so they could get each one they loved something special. I thought, they get it. They really get it! It touched my heart to know that they were so eager to give. I hope the ones receiving the gifts will understand how much thought and love went into them. These guys are great boys and have compassion and love for others. God has something special planned for each of them I'm sure. I hope at least one walks away knowing his life has been changed for the good... forever. They have already shown that is is possible by the love they have for others, and it only takes one to make a difference.
FYI: Never take a van full of teenagers to Wal-Mart to shop! :)   

IN EVERYTHING I DID, I SHOWED YOU THAT BY THIS KIND OF HARD WORK WE MUST HELP THE WEAK, REMEMBERING THE WORDS THE LORD JESUS HIMSELF SAID: 'IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.'
                                                                    ACTS 20:35

DASH AWAY, DASH AWAY DASH AWAY ALL.....

OK. 8 BOYS HAVE MAD MONEY AND ARE ON THEIR WAY TO WAL-MART TO SHOP FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS. IF YOU LIVE NEARBY YOU MIGHT WANT TO SKIP YOUR TRIP TO WAL-MART TONIGHT.
TEENAGE BOYS, WAL-MART AND MONEY CAN'T BE A GOOD THING! :]
ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY DON'T GET TO GO VERY OFTEN. SECURITY WILL BE WATHCHING THEM CRAZY KIDS LIKE HAWKS I'M SURE AND ONLY BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY EXCITED AND VERY HAPPY TO HAVE MONEY IN THEIR POCKETS!
PRAY FOR THE US HOUSE PARENTS TAKEN THE JOYFUL GIVERS OUT SHOPPING.
LOVE YOU GUYS. I WILL LET YOU KNOW HOW THIS ONE TURNS OUT.....
IF I MAKE IT BACK SANE. :)

HELLO MONDAY!

Well we made it through another busy weekend. It was a wonderful weekend though. We had a Christmas party with Geyer Springs Baptist and that started the Christmas season off great! Tonight we are taking the boys Christmas shopping. They have been given money to go and buy gifts for their friends and family. It should be fun taking a bunch of teenage boys shopping. I didn't even know teenage boys like to shop! It will be interesting to see how this one turns out. I'm curious to see what they buy and who they buy it for. I will let you know how that works out. Please be in prayer for one of our house parents nieces. Her niece had a car wreck and is in critical condition. Hopefully we will find out more today on her condition but we pray everything works out well. We have a couple of kids who have court dates in the next few days. They are really looking forward to the possibility of going on. Please pray that the judge will seek God's will and make the right decisions for these kids. It's nice to see them reunited with their family but not if they are going back to the situation they came from. I pray that the moms and dads realize that their kids are more important than anything else in life. If I could change one thing in the world, it would be to give moms and dads hearts for God and their children only. Wow wouldn't that make the world a nicer place. One day, when we get to heaven we will know true peace and these kids will never have to cry again. They will never hurt nor feel sorrow. They will never be taken from home again. We all will have an eternal home with God. What an awesome day that will be! God Bless you all and I hope you have a great Monday.

NOW WE KNOW THAT IF THE EARTHLY TENT WE LIVE IN IS DESTROYED,
WE HAVE A BUILDING FROM GOD, AN ETERNAL HOUSE IN HEAVEN,
NOT BUILT BY HUMAN HANDS.
                                                                  2 CORINTHIANS 5:1

A SOLDIER FOR CHRIST!

Today one of our boys was baptized. It was really great to watch this young man be baptized for Christ after knowing what he was into before he became saved. The preacher asked what his favorite verse in the Bible was and he recited about 6 verses from Psalms. I was very proud to know that he had been reading his Bible. It has been a great experience here watching the kids grow in their faith, watching some come out of their comfort zone and do things they would not normally do around strangers. It's hard for some of them to reach out because they have been rejected so much. But, we know one person who will never reject us. Jesus Christ our personal Savior!

I DELIGHT GREATLY IN THE LORD;
MY SOUL REJOICES IN MY GOD. FOR HE
HAS CLOTHED ME WITH GARMENTS OF
SALVATION AND ARRAYED ME IN A ROBE
OF RIGHTEOUSNESS,...
                               ISAIAH 61:10

CHRISTMAS WITH GEYER SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH

Geyer Springs Baptist came today. They had 3 big vans and several cars full of kid's that wanted to spend some time with the kids here. The praise and worship team from Geyer Springs were these beautiful bright eyes girls and boys that had the voice of angels. They sang Christmas carols and put on a puppet show. It was really a lot of fun. They brought each of the kids Christmas gifts and it was so much fun watching them open up all their gifts. Ethan got a fishing pole and fishing tackle from a kid named Riley. He can't wait to go fishing! Riley hung out with Ethan and watched him open his gifts. I think it was just as much fun for Riley as it was for Ethan.  He also got a sleeping bag, guitar strings and picks. Several of the kids got fishing poles, Bibles with names engraved, jackets, scooters and comforters for their beds. They were all so excited! Geyer Springs served us cookies and drinks during the party. It was a great time. I am so thankful that these God loving people devoted their time and money to ABC Homes. They made our kids feel special and started the Christmas season off with a blast! Thank you for everything Geyer Springs. God bless you always!

HELLO CHRISTMAS!

We are really busy today. Our boys are working in the prayer garden pulling weeds and trimming hedges. We have Geyer Springs Baptist Church coming for a Christmas party today. I hope to have picture's posted later. Hope everyone has a blessed day and you all get lots of shopping done for Christmas.

Love you all!

HAVE YOU CHOSEN YOUR PATH?

 Photo taken by my daughter, Lyndsie

Sometimes we wonder if we are on the  path that God wants us on. A lot of times once we are on the right path, we stray away and become of the world again. Not a loss of salvation, just a temptation from the devil. The devil is waiting to grab us in our weakest moments. Pray for Satan to get behind you! God wants what is best for us. We have to pray daily that we are on the right path for God and doing his will  in our lives. We have to pray that he will keep us strong to serve him. If God has asked you to serve him and you refuse to follow his commands, he can make your life miserable. (As I'm sure some of you know) Is this a reason to follow God...so you won't be miserable? Maybe, but my reason is more because I wish to please my Savior. I wish for peace in my life and I want to make my Heavenly Father happy and proud of me. I want God to know that I am on the path to please him. Does that mean I'm not going to mess up, and will always follow God's will for my life? No. It simply means that I will pray for his guidance and pray that he clearly shows me his will for my life. God is not a God of confusion. I know decisions I have made in the past that I thought God was asking me to do, turned out to be things that I had wanted for my life, and it was not God's will. I know friends that once worked to please God, and now have made that wrong turn on the path and have gone back to worldly things to make them happy. Are they happy? No. They are very miserable and don't understand why. Some of the kids here may not have chose their path. Their parent's may have chosen it for them. Does that mean they can't turn to God to help them get on the right path? No. God is always there to guide them step by step. God is an awesome God. He truly wants us to be happy. I know I have made my Lord cry tears over me when I turned to the world looking for happiness. Thank the good Lord he is a forgiving God who picked me up off my knee's and walked me back down the path of righteousness. If you need help please feel free to email me or call a pastor. The path is easy to find. God seeks you. He loves you and he is waiting for you to come back to him. All you have to do is ask. If he needs to he will carry you in his arms down his path,  and he won't put you down until your strong enough to stand. A promise from God!

SHOW MY YOUR WAYS, O LORD, TEACH ME YOUR PATHS;
GUIDE ME IN YOUR TRUTH AND TEACH ME,
FOR YOU ARE GOD MY SAVIOR,
AND MY HOPE IS IN YOU ALL DAY LONG.
                               PSALM 25:4-5

GOD BLESSED US....AGAIN! A TRUE CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

We have been looking a couple of months for our son a 4-wheeler for Christmas. We could not afford to spend much on one but wanted one that would start when he wanted to ride it. (I know...not really possible.) I started looking on Craigslist and seen one for $875.00. Well I called him and talked to him and then told the nice man that I would have my husband call him later that day. Gary called him and they talked for a while and learned a few things about each other. The nice man said he would let us have the 4-wheeler for $700.00. A deal right? Well it gets better. He told us to call him the next day at noon and he would be home for us to come look at it. Gary called him today and he told Gary that God had really impressed it upon his heart to sell us the 4-wheeler for $300.00! (That was money that he had put in to it)It's a nice size 4-wheeler and runs great! He said he just ask that when we are done with it, we pass it on. Well, I won't name his name because some people prefer to give in silence. I will say that he goes to East Union Baptist Church in Hensley, AR. If you are looking for a church that is God led, check this church out. And I want to thank him so much for what he did for us. It was a true Christmas miracle and reaffirmed that we are serving exactly where God wants us to serve. God bless you always!

TIME FOR PRAYER

We finished our week with the little ones this morning. We are pretty tired. Those little guys can wear you out! It was a good week though. It was hard but very rewarding. We serve such an awesome God and I hope he is pleased with what we do. Gary and I are spending extra time in prayer with something that God has laid on our hearts. We want to please our Holy Father and we want to do what he ask of us. Please continue to pray for us and the ministry. Your prayers make our work for God possible.

DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, BUT IN EVERYTHING, BY PRAYER AND
PETITION, WITH THANKSGIVING, PRESENT YOUR REQUESTS TO GOD.
AND THE PEACE OF GOD, WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING,
WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS.
                                                                         PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

MY BEAUTIFUL KIDS

TWO OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL KIDS I KNOW. I CAN'T HELP IT THAT THEIR MINE!

OUR SOTO SO FUN TRIP

ALL THE PICTURES OF SOTO ARE UPLOADED SO YOU CAN SEE GOD'S BEAUTIFUL CREATION. CLICK ON THE ALBUM AND VIEW THE PICS. WE HAD A GREAT TIME AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH YOU. GOD IS GOOD...ALL THE TIME!!

WE SHOULD ALL TAKE LESSON'S FROM A CHILD SOME TIMES

Last night I was getting my 7 year old son Ethan ready for bed. He said; Mom I love you. And I don't just love you cause your nice. I love you cause your you and we have to love people for who they are!
                 That's the kind of love God has for us.

                              John 3:16

I LOVE YOU LORD!

I LOVE YOU LORD AND I LIFT MY VOICE TO WORSHIP YOU...OH MY SOUL REJOICE.
I hope this song sticks in your head all day. I have been singing it all morning. God bless you all. Love ya!

FREE: FUN KIDS-WILL DELIVER!

We survived another night with the little one's. I'm not sure how though. I'm just kidding. Last night was a little better than the night before and we are hoping tonight will go even better than last night. The boy's came home from school and did their home work and then they went to the gym for some recreational time. You know....get out some energy time!! :-)
When Gary and our activity director got to they gym they found out someone had broken in and stole some things. The mean people had pushed the air conditioner out of the window and broke the lock off of the door. They stole several of the kid's games and left cigarette ashes all over the floor. I just don't get it. Some people have no conscious. We have people coming here and volunteering their time to work and replace broken things, and then you have people coming in at night and tearing things apart. I pray these people will feel conviction and not be able to rest when they lay down every night, until they ask God for his mercy and forgiveness. They need some Jesus! After coming back from the gym the boy's went to the parade down town. Good thing: they had a really good time. Bad thing: someone tossed them a bag full of candy! Come on people what were you thinking??? They all came in the house running and screaming and bouncing off the walls. It's really quite funny if you think about a bunch of little boy's running around in circles screaming. It reminds me of that movie that Arnold Schwarzenegger played in where he opened a babysitting business in his home. Yep, that's my life this week. Ethan has not left our room in 2 nights. He said; Mom why do they scream sooo much!! Now that's funny if you think about it because he usually is the one who is hyper and running around in circles.
We had the boy's get their shower's and then told them it was bed time. They don't like bed time! We finally got every one in their rooms and the light's out and one starts screaming; "I want Sponge Bob!" O my goodness. He screamed and cried 10 minutes for SPONGE BOB!
I opened his door (the second time) and said Sponge Bob went to sleep and now it's your turn. Well, he eventually quit crying and screaming and went to sleep. Now I know my mom is reading this and laughing at my life right now. But seriously, it has been laughable. Although we have had some hyper moments and my hair is turning gray fast, the boy's are really sweet when they want to be. I read one a story last night before bed and he laughed all the way through the story. It was really nice to hear him laugh. It made me smile. I'm glad that we can give these children some laughter and are able to see them smile. God is good and he will deliver us in all we do to please him. Please pray for these children. God is counting on them for the future to help deliver his people.

HELP US, O GOD OUR SAVIOR, FOR THE GLORY OF YOUR NAME;
DELIVER US AND FORGIVE OUR SINS FOR YOUR NAME'S SAKE.
                            PSALM 79:9