Don't you just love that smile...?

We have a new camera, thanks to a generous gift from a sweet lady in SC. We had been needing to replace the old one for a while, so the timing was perfect. One of the things that the new camera allows us to do is zoom in a lot closer and faster than we have ever been able to do before. This is a really kewl thing for me, as I love to take face close-ups of people, especially when they aren't expecting it. This was my favorite picture today. Don't you just love that smile...?

New back porch

Mountain View Baptist is here and they are working hard at building a new back porch for the Apartment Building. It's already taking shape and they have only had one day at it. We finished the framework for the deck today and tomorrow we will start on the roof. The picture is of me helping Casey tear out the old porch. We hope to be able to use the old porch to make a "run-in" shelter for the horses out in the pasture.

Good to be home...again

Yes, we were home for a whole day, and then Sunday we were off again to Spartanburg to pick up the kids. They had great time, but for some reason seemed a little tired...? Can't imagaine why. :-) They really had a blast, but I think they were ready to head home. We spent the night with some good friends (Gerry and Teena Smith), and then after a great home-cooked breakfast we headed to the Campus.

We arrived home in time to welcome our friends and mission partners, Mountain View Baptist Church from Wetumpka, AL. They are here this week to re-do the back porch on the Staff Apartment Building. The old "shed roof" was adequate, but with a new deck, new roof and screened in, it will really enhance and expand the usable living space of the whole apartment building. Not hugely important right now (although it will be a great place for the kids to play), as the Staff here grows and more people are living in this building, it will be more important with each new personnel addition. But not only are these guys doing a lot of work, they will be a great encouragement to us ( as always) as we work and fellowship together.

Well, it's been a long weekend and the alarm clock will be sounding off pretty early tomorrow, so I better hit the sack.

Staring through the windshield

Rachael and I are back home now, after spending what felt like two whole days staring through the windshield. After we dropped the kids off in Spartanburg on Thursday, we drove 3 hours over to Knoxville. Some of you know Lonnie and Belinda Riley and their son, Brian. Brian was involved in a bad accident on Wednesday and was flown to UT Medical Center in Knoxville.

We arrived in Knoxville Thursday night too late to go by the hospital, but we spent the night and went by yesterday morning. Brian was doing amazingly well, depsite the seriousness of his injuries, and we got to spend some time with Lonnie and Belinda and their family. We then drove the 3 1/2 hours back to the Campus and it sure was good to be home. We have a few things to get done today, but it looks like we will have one relaxing day before we get back in the car to drive back to Spbg to pick up the kids.

Hope your Saturday is relaxing, too. Have a great day! :-)

Off to fall retreat

Yesterday we dropped off our most precious possessions (Austin and Heather) at Southside Baptist in Spartanburg, SC for them to go with their youth group on a Fall Retreat to the beach. This is a great opportunity for them to fellowship with their friends in this group and to have some "away" time. As you can imagine, between home-schooling and living and working "on-Campus", they get more than their share of "adult time", and could really use some time just to spend with their friends and hear from God's Word from somebody besides mom and dad. Pray with us that they will all have a great time and that mom and dad won't exerience too much "empty nest" syndrome while they are gone. :-)

View from the front porch...

Yes, this is the view from our front porch. Before we moved here, we promised ourselves that no matter how long God allowed us to live in the mountains, that we would never lose the awe of their beauty and granduer. Everywhere we went for those first several months, we were constantly telling each other "Oooo, look at that!". But, as you can imagine... after time we got to the point that we didn't notice as often. Then one day, we were driving somewhere and one of the kids pointed at a pretty view. I looked up and before I knew it, I was thinking; "Yeah...seen that before". I caught myself and I looked up again. Yes it was a pretty view. I had forgotten to appreciate it. When we got back home that day, I went out on the front porch and looked across the yard at the mountain on the other side of Rockhouse Creek. I just stood there, looking for a while...

Not only had I forgotten to notice and appreciate the beauty in God's creation, I had also lost an appreciation for the opportunity He has given us here. We have a new lease on life. As we used to say when we were kids playing kickball, we get a do-over! God has chosen to take us off the shelf and put us to service in His glorious Kingdom of Light! What an awesome privilege!

Every once in a while we need to stop what we are "doing", and just go take a look at the view from the front porch...

Rain, rain, don't go away...

What a beautifully dreary day it is here! No, I haven't "lost it". It's raining! SWEET! We have had such hot, dry weather for so long, and now it has been raining fairly steady since yesterday afternoon. How refreshing it is for us, the earth, the horses... God's love is like that, too. When we are so dry spiritually, He sends His mercy and grace. Actually it's been there all along, He just reminds us that He is still there, refreshing us with His presence. What a beautiful day!

The first "real" post

Well, I got to thinking about it and realized that I can't really call this a blog if I don't put anything on here about what's going on with us. We are finally getting some rain here, as we speak, after the driest summer and fall that anybody can remember. Of course, this is no different than most of the country, but we are thankful to God for sending us some rain.

We have had a great fall with mission teams coming in on a regular basis and with us traveling around to speak in different churches. This has been the busiest fall we have had since we moved here, but the funny thing is that it's not because we finally have heat in the admin building. We haven't even needed it yet. :-) The picture is us on a visit with our good friends, Mitch and Christy Schumacher, who are fellow Alabamians-moved-to-Kentuckians.

We will have a team here next week from Alabama that has been here so many times we have almost lost count. Mountain View Baptist from Wetumpka, AL will be here and they will completely rebuild the back porch, deck and roof framing on the Staff Apartment Building! What a blessing that will be. One of our other regular groups and more of our closest friends, Ivy Creek Baptist from Buford, GA will be here the week after that to put on the metal roof, screen in the covered part of the deck and install siding and gutters. Finally, we will have a nice place for Staff families, guests and visitors to relax and recreate on the back part of the building.

But, enough of Calvary Campus, how about some family news... Heather and Austin will be going on a Fall Retreat to the beach this weekend with one of our partner churches, Austin is taking driver's ed (pay your insurance up!), Rolex and Fred are doing great, we had a super visit from Rachael's parents last week, the Robinson's baby is here (Westin, 8lbs1oz, Oct 2), and Max still hasn't learned not to bark like a mad dog whenever someone knocks on the door (or just walks by). I will be heading down to Alabama next weekend for the TRBC Men's Retreat, Rachael gets to serve Jury Duty next month, my seminary extension class is going well, my Uncle Jim/Aunt Brenda and my mom are going to come up for a visit at Thanksgiving and we will all be in Mtgy for a few days after Christmas.

Wow, I just caught you up through Christmas... now, what will I write about tomorrow?

New Blog for the Reynolds Family

Yes, that's right; I have finally taken the plunge into the cyberworld of blogs! I have been putting this off for quite some time, but I have finally admitted to myself that it is time. I think I may actually be able to find more time to update this than the struggles I have had with keeping our family website, http://www.reynoldsrap.com/, updated. So, we will try this out and I certainly relish input and suggestions. Please give me a reasonable amount of time (like a few months) before lambasting me too bad. :-) Ok, here we go...