Missions

 

  

Last Sunday we had a wonderful missionary that came and shared at our church. I wrote this on my facebook after the service.... ' Being in ministry for over 30 years some Sundays stick out in your mind... today was one of them! Everything went perfect, the music was great, most of our folks were there & we were challenged & encouraged by our missionary Darrell Blatchley.... and our church gave BIG to this ministry that works with thousands of kids & their families weekly in the Philippines! While I was helping with the offering I just started weeping at how God had touched hearts & our church so faithfully responded! That has never happened to me while helping with the book work/finances of the church. I LOVE

how our little country church gives to missions especially to orphans and kids at risk! Grace Church of Zephyrhills Fl We are still just blown away & grateful'

Our church gave last Sunday almost the same amount in the offering as what was given in the whole YEAR before we came to the church! It was incredible....check after check giving to reach the lost....I could not control the tears. It was an incredible experience to see people respond to missions like that! We do not have millionaires in our church just folks who understand what the mission of the church is...reaching the lost. I don't share this to boast but to encourage you to give to reach and help others. See the picture of our sweet little church? Most of our members are 50 plus years old. They may not physically be able to go and personally reach the orphans, the homeless, but they can give and they can pray for the ones who can!

You can learn about Darrell and Sandy Blatchley at Family Circus is their website- they reach thousands weekly on a small island in the Philippines.

Then this past week Shad went and represented the Clanton family at our denominations' biannual meeting in Orlando. We also have Fine Arts for the youth during that time. Jon and I did not feel comfortable taking Sam and Sarah out in such a public arena yet because of Covid. So Shad stayed with our friend and partied as only a pastor's kid can during a church meeting LOL Everyone knows Shad LOL He went to the PK reception for pastor's kids and won a prize in a game called "you know you're a PK.... " he said "you know you're a PK if the first rated R movie you see is "The Passion of the Christ"

He brought me home some books one was "Born to Give" by David Grant. Last night I'd planned to go to bed once he got home but....I stayed up and read this book from cover to cover. It was easy to read and interesting. I know David Grant (he doesn't know me lol) He is a career missionary and I've heard him speak many times over the years. He was raised a lot like me although I wasn't a preacher's kid. The book encouraged me to focus even more on missions. In the book David talks about many people I was blessed to know like some of my professors at SEU and some older missionaries that we were privileged to spend some time together many years ago. I recommended this book to my friends on facebook and said I felt like I got saved and called to the missions field after reading this book LOL It made me wish I was younger and had more time ahead of me. But we all have to bloom where we are planted. And I'm pretty planted right now LOL

Born to Give by David Grant (you can order it) 

I want to share a song with you that I just love....  Honestly for a long time I just rolled my eyes at a lot of the new christian music but lately I've started loving some of them and have introduced then to our church.  I think this has become our theme song.  This song has a Celtic with a hymn type of sound- love it! 

ALMOST HOME listen to it!  

By Matt Boswell and Matt Papa

Just think as christians we have one job...if we could just focus on eternity then nothing else would matter much to us.  Have you ever, just for a second had a quick understanding of eternity?  It's happened to me a few times, it was like I caught this tiny glimpse and in my heart I understood eternity to some degree for that moment but then the moment was gone.  We really do "just see in part through a glass darkly" now....but there's coming a day when we will understand.  I want to do all I can to ensure others are there with me!  

BTW we have another missionary coming this Sunday....