When Pastor Tim Mims asked if a few friends might come stand with the two new believers and show that they will support them in their decision to follow Christ, thirty-three teens flooded from their pews! I was blown away by their show of support!

Benjy and a few of the men from Pine Grove sang as a quartet one night. We love it when God’s people use their talents. Great job guys! The choir also did an outstanding job. We would love to take them on the road with us.

The revival was real and visible at Pine Grove last week. It was a joy to worship with the congregation there, and to SEE the Holy Spirit change lives. What an encouragement!

On His Exciting Journey,

The original pics that were taken for the 2007 Cover Me With Mercy CD cover were too grainy because of some florescent lighting, so at the last minute, I had to take pics of Benjy in our back yard! If you could see the rest of the pic, you’d see him standing on underbrush and you’d see a rusty old fence just behind him. This is not an attractive part of our yard, but it made some really great pics!

On His Exciting Journey,

Benjy had the privilege of leading the praise services at Roseland Park Baptist Church last Sunday while Bro. Marty Stone was taking a well deserved vacation. It was a joy to be with the congregation at Roseland Park again. We became very close to this congregation when Benjy served there 2008, while they searched for a new music minister. It was also a blessing to hear Bro. Jimmy Albritton preach again. It’s been a while since we served with him, and as expected, his sermons were outstanding.

Any of you who know me personally, know how much I love to study God’s Word. By nature I am a question asker and researcher, and God’s Word is my favorite subject. I also love the company of God’s people, so I have been blessed by this collection of women from Harmony Baptist Church, who are currently studying what the Bible teaches us about God’s personality, His attributes. We are using A.W. Tozer‘s excellent book, The Knowledge Of The Holy, as our guide. If you haven’t read this book, I recommend you get a copy of it. It is very insightful and well written.

Because I’m participating in a women’s Bible study, McKenzie and I didn’t go back to Roseland Park with Benjy Sunday evening, we went to Harmony, and I’m glad I did, because I was blessed by more than just the Bible study! Pastor Braque Cutrer often sets aside the Sunday evening sermon and arranges to have someone give a testimony of how God has been working in their life. Last Sunday, we heard this precious lady speak about how God has carried her through some very difficult times of dealing with a rare lung disease. Only a few weeks ago, she was so low she couldn’t walk or take care of herself. But Sunday, she stood strong in the pulpit and praised God for all He is doing in her life. Don’t you just LOVE to see God in action!

On His Exciting Journey,

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you …

Happy BIRTHDAY, dear Benjy …

Happy birthday to you!

Blow out the candles!

Because it was an ice cream cake we decided to just go with 4 candles, instead of the full 47 … it made the job of blowing them all out easier too!

Benjy and I had celebrated with a nice steak dinner over the weekend, but I decided to save the cake until Benjy got home from work on Monday so McKenzie could join us. She was at Student Life Camp 2010 with the youth from Harmony Baptist Church until Monday afternoon.

On His Exciting Journey,

Under the leadership of Bro. Kevin Jackson, youth pastor of Harmony Baptist Church, McKenzie and friends loaded up the van and headed out to Student Life Camp early last Friday.

One of the chaperons sent us several pics over the course of the weekend. As you can tell from this pic, McKenzie really enjoyed herself! Student Life has several camp locations. This one is at Perdido Beach, Florida, and McKenzie said the rooms were very comfortable and they had a fantastic view of the beach.

On the ride home, the girls claimed the back seat and started training for the wildly popular Cookie Olympics. From what I understand, you have to perfect the skill of placing a mini-cookie on your nose, flip it off, and catch it with your mouth.

Apparently, all that Olympic training wiped them out!

McKenzie really enjoyed Student Life Camp this year. She came home telling us about the songs she enjoyed, the sermons she heard, and the way she saw the Lord working in the lives of some of our own group. This trip was a blessing to her, and Benjy and I want to thank the leadership of Harmony Baptist for the efforts they put in to planning and chaperoning this trip, and we also want to thank the congregation for praying for our kids while they traveled, as well as for offsetting some of the expenses of the camp. You have made a rich investment in the lives of these young people.

On His Exciting Journey,

Benjy and Bro. Bob McNatt visiting after the morning service.

Benjy was invited by Pastor Gary Killen to preach the AM and PM services at Goodyear Baptist Church last weekend while the pastor enjoyed a camping trip in the beauty (and low humidity!) of the Smokey Mountains. As many of you know, Benjy has been filing in as music minister at Goodyear Baptist when his schedule permits, but he enjoyed this opportunity to minister through preaching to that congregation.

It was a very full day at Goodyear, as they have recently added a 5:00pm Praise Service, which includes a praise band and a short devotion, just before the regular evening service. I can’t think of many times that Benjy has had the opportunity to preach three sermons in one day, but he really enjoyed it, and he’s already looking forward to his next opportunity to fill the pulpit.

On His Exciting Journey,

McKenzie with Ms. Becky, the VBS director at Union.

McKenzie enjoyed working with the music program for VBS this summer at Union Baptist Church, our home church. Ms. Becky and Ms. Vanessa did a great job coordinating and directing all the activities that make this summer program so successful. It’s a big undertaking, but I know they would both say it’s worth it because of the children who committed their lives to Jesus as a result of this ministry.

The program averaged 176 children daily, and McKenzie tells me that the kids seemed to enjoy the music more this year than they have in years past … even the older kids participated. I don’t know if it was the cowboy theme, or if the music was more energetic, but it was great to watch the enthusiasm of the kids as they performed for family and friends Friday evening.

On His Exciting Journey,

Bro. R.T. Buckley and Bro. Jerry Grubbs, leading the services.

Under the leadership of interim pastor R.T. Buckley, First Baptist Nicholson hosted a special weekend of ministry to the men of Nicholson community. Bro. R.T. has a heart for encouraging and strengthening men to be the spiritual leader of their family.

Benjy was asked to give a short devotion to the men on Saturday evening, and afterwards they enjoyed a meal and a time of fellowship. On Sunday morning Benjy spoke to the congregation, specifically to the men, about being a faithful man and a friend of God. He was also privileged to sing a couple songs with Bro. Jerry Grubbs, who is filling in as music minister, and Bro. Jeff … I apologize for not remembering his last name.

There was also a men’s choir before the morning service, and as you can see the stage was filled with men of all ages. What a blessing it was to see the little one, standing there holding his book and following the example of the others! This should serve as a reminder of the power of our influence. Lord, help us to be careful to set a strong example of humility and faithfulness.

On His Exciting Journey,

May we recognize and honor the presence of the Holy One this Christmas season.

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with each other, and the LORD listened to what they said. In His presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared Him and always thought about the honor of His name, (Malachi 3:16 NLT).

What Kind of List Does God Keep?

The world tells the fanciful story of jolly old St. Nick keeping a list of those who are naughty and nice, but Scripture gives the true account of God keeping some lists of His own …

• The Book of Remembrance, with the names of those who enjoy talking about God, and who are careful to honor His name, Malachi 3:16.
• The Book of Tears, where God keeps track of the sorrows of His people, Psa 56:8.
• The Book of Our Days, where our lifespan is recorded, Psa 139:16.
• The Book of Life, where our works are recorded. We will be judged according to the works listed in this book, Rev 20:12.

Please take some time to consider what is being recorded in Heaven about your life.

Our Winter Wonderland Experience

The pics in the collage above were made in March of this year, when we had the pleasure of spending a couple weeks in a winter wonderland with our Canadian family (brothers and sisters in Christ).

Benjy and I had our 25th wedding anniversary in Sept. 2008, and we chose to celebrate it by vacationing in the beautiful Pacific North West (British Columbia, Canada). We went during their short summer season and enjoyed the beautiful mountains, waterfalls, trails, and lakes, but we were told that we HAD to return during the winter season to experience the beauty of a world of white. I must say, it was a sight to behold! Our Deep South eyes have certainly never seen anything like it, and words and pictures can only partially convey the beauty of that experience.

On His Exciting Journey,

McKenzie did a beautiful job singing Joseph’s Lullaby at Goodyear Baptist Church last Sunday. She will be singing it again next week as part of the youth Christmas drama at Unity Baptist Church, where she was invited to play the role of “Ancient Mary” in a play that compares the ancient story of Jesus’ birth to a modern day couple who are expecting a special child of their own.

Goodyear is currently without a music minister, and Pastor Garry Killen has asked Benjy to fill in for them any time he has a Sunday available. Winter is the slow season for our ministry, so this offer worked well for us, and Benjy has served there several Sundays during the last couple months.

With approximately 100 appointments, 2009 has been our busiest year ever!

This year we have:

• Worshiped with congregations in revival
• Ministered to families grieving at funerals
• Sung praises at family reunions
• Given testimony at praise services
• Celebrated homecomings
• Served at Bible conferences
• Ministered to widows
• Performed concerts
• Given devotions at women’s conferences
• Led music at the state evangelism conference
• Acted in church plays
• Sung at a banquet for Gideons and Pastors
• Delivered food and flowers to the sick
• AND we have eaten LOTS of good cooking with our brothers and sisters in Christ

One thing we have learned for sure … if you make yourself available and usable (through an obedient lifestyle), God will give you plenty to do.

We couldn’t be happier than we are right now, serving the Lord as a ministry family, encouraging and edifying His people, and introducing the lost to Him as often as He provides an opportunity. If you haven’t determined your place of ministry, we encourage you to spend some time praying (maybe even fasting) and seeking His guidance concerning the work He has planned for you. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” Ephesians 2:10.

Coming Up Next

McKenzie will be singing Joseph’s Lullaby at West Union Baptist Church this Sunday, Dec. 13, in the 10:30am service. And as I mentioned earlier, she will be performing in the youth Christmas drama at Unity Baptist. The play starts at 7:00pm and there will be refreshments afterwords.

Benjy will be leading music for both services at Goodyear Baptist this Sunday, and he will be singing several Christmas songs at Morton Church of God in Morton, MS, next Sunday. His brother Randy Rigney pastors that congregation, and they have a big Christmas celebration planned for the evening service.

On His Exciting Journey,