ReynoldsRap, the BLOG

Friends from Alabama

2010-09-06T11:09:00.000-04:00

This past weekend (Labor Day), we were very excited that our friends Jackie Allen and Cindy Colee from AL came up to visit. We took them with us to visit the "Isom Days" festival, and we had a great time. Thanks for coming to see us!

Colorado Rockies

2010-09-06T10:57:00.000-04:00

Last week I was privileged beyond measure to be able to go on a elk hunting/camping trip to the Uncompahgre National Forest in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. While I did not buy an elk tag (archery season and my shoulder would not cooperate), I had a great time sitting around the fire, walking the aspen forests, basking in the beauty of God's creation, eating the best "hunting camp cooking" I have ever had, fellowship-ing with old friends and getting to know new ones.

Many thanks to those who made it possible (financially) for me to go and MANY, MANY thanks to Rachael and Heather for "holding down the fort" at home so I could go. I came back refreshed, rejuvenated and with a whole new perspective on life, love and ministry. It was a great week.

Friends from home

2010-03-22T11:53:00.000-04:00

What a great weekend we had! The Mays Family (Matt, Wendy, Audrey and Luke) came for a visit this past weekend. They had not been to the Campus in nearly 6 years, so it was a joy to show them around and for them to see all that God has accomplished since we have been here. We also enjoyed touring around the area - we went and saw the elk in Knott County, visited Yoders (Mennonite bulk food store and bakery), went hiking at The Breaks Interstate Park (www.BreaksPark.com) and enjoyed church together. They just left out this morning and we just can't get over how nice the visit was and how encouraged we are to have had them here for the weekend. "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them who bring good news." Thanks for coming guys, and come again soon!!

Good to be home...

2010-02-27T13:29:00.000-05:00

Well, after a 3,000+ mile journey over the course of two weeks, we can say emphatically that "there is no place like home". We always enjoy the travel that comes as a big part of what we do, but the best part of going away is still coming home.

The journey started this time with a trip to Shocco Springs in Talladega, AL for the Baptist Builders Round-table. This was a great opportunity for renewing friendships, making new friends and learning a lot about how to be good stewards of the construction and renovation projects the Lord has given us to do. From there, it was on to the Equestrian Ministry International semi-annual conference, this time hosted by the White Oak Conference Center in Winnsboro, SC. Once again, renewing friendships, making new ones, and learning more about opportunities for Equestrian Ministry. Another purpose of this conference was to sense the Lord's direction on someone to come to the Campus to be our Equestrian Ministry Director. Nothing is firm at all, but some great contacts were made and we are praying in earnest that this ministry will soon be able to get off the ground.

After a couple of nights at home, it was time to head to Asheville, NC for Missions Forum 2010. This is an annual event where mission pastors and mission leaders from all over come together to learn from each other and from mission leaders around the world. The focus is on strategic mission planning (like Acts 1:8 strategy) and missions partnership. It was a joy to have our pastor, Brother Mike Caudill, his wife Alice and her mom along with us, along with Josh and Marti Feltner, fellow MSC missionaries from Knott County to attend the conference too! And, as always, what a joy it was to renew friendships and make new ones! Is there a recurring theme here? :-)

After one night at home, it was time for all three of us (Rachael, Heather and I) to pack pack up (just swapped dirty clothes for clean) and head out for Montgomery. This was to be a very quick "down and back" trip, with no real time for visiting much. We left on Thursday afternoon so we could stop off and eat supper with Austin and a couple of his friends (Sean and Tyler) at a local Mexican restaurant. It was great to see Austin and catch up with him, and we also enjoyed visiting with Sean and Tyler. Austin got a haircut that kinda surprised us, but it looked great on him. The next morning we headed for Montgomery.

Rachael's Aunt Marilyn was visiting with her parents, so we stayed with the Pouncey's in Wetumpka this trip. Friday night we went and met Rachael's folks and aunt at Red Lobster (Earl's treat! thanks!) and had a great visit. On Saturday we got to relax a bit with the Pouncey's and Jamie worked on a slide show for Sunday while Rachael made a quick trip in to Montgomery for some shopping. On Sunday morning we had a blast visiting with our home church, Thorington Road Baptist and sharing in the morning worship service. Rachael and Heather treated us to a duet of Casting Crowns' new song "Always Enough" and did a great job. Brother Wade brought a great message from Hosea about the importance of faithfulness in our covenant relationship with God. An awesome Sunday morning!

Sunday afternoon we got a quick nap and then packed up to head home. On Sunday evening we got to visit with our "other" church home at Mountain View Baptist in Wetumpka, and share briefly in the evening services there. It was so good to see so many friends, even some that came just to see us! How very blessed we are! After church, we were "on the road again", headed home. Our intention was to drive as far as we could (all the way if possible), and we actually made it as far as SC before we had "gone as far as we could go". We got a good night's rest and finished our journey home on Monday morning.

We have almost recovered now, and we're certainly glad to be sleeping in our own beds. Max, Rolex and Spices all say to tell you "hey" from KY. It will be nice to not have to "stare through the windshield" for a while, but we hope to head back to AL in April so we can spend more time visiting with friends and family, and I am sure there will be some trips to visit in churches in the next few months. Take care, and may God bless you richly.

"As long as we've no place to go..."

2010-01-30T10:29:00.000-05:00

Actually, we did. We were supposed to be headed down to the Greenville, SC area today to speak in a church tomorrow, but the storm kinda changed our plans. While we got about 7 inches of snow here at the Campus, with 4wd that normally would not have kept us home. But with the higher mountain gaps we would have had to have crossed getting between one and two feet, and with the Greenville area getting socked in with ice, there was no point in even trying. We'll reschedule for next weekend and hope the snow that is supposed to come then will not be so bad.

Turns out to be a nice day to sit by the window, drink coffee and watch the snow fall. I mean, as long as we've no place to go...

NY, NY!

2010-01-11T09:57:00.005-05:00

New York, New York!

2010-01-11T00:26:00.001-05:00

Year End Update

2010-01-10T23:40:00.001-05:00

The month of December was quite the month for us. Austin finished his exams and made it home from NGU just in time to repack his bags as the Reynolds Family headed out for New York City! You see, two and a half years ago, for Austin's 16th birthday, we decided to let him decide where we should go for our family vacation with our four free plane tickets. He picked Seattle, WA and we had a great time. Well, in December Heather turned 16 and once again, we had enough Delta miles for 4 more free plane tickets. This time it was Heather's turn to pick and she decided we should all go to NYC.

We browsed the internet making our "wish list" of places to go and things to see, and then watched good "training films" like On the Town and White Christmas. You can understand On the Town, but why White Christmas? Well, because we were blessed with tickets to go see it on the night of Heather's birthday - on broadway!! How cool is that? We also went to the top of the Empire State Building, rode the Staten Island Ferry past the Statue of Liberty at sunset, ate lunch at Mr. Tangs on Mott Street in Chinatown, went to Coney Island and the original Nathan's Hotdogs, toured Carnegie Hall, took a carriage ride through Central Park, and even got pretty good at getting around on the subway and bus!! Of course, we saw and did many other things, but those were some of the highlights. We also attended Sunday morning services at Brooklyn Tabernacle and went back one evening to see their Christmas cantata.

While there we got to spend time with our dear friends, Jimmy and Bernice, and their wonderful kids Janice and Jaime! Jimmy retired from the NYPD the same month I retired in Montgomery, and he was a great tour guide. Bernice is an elementary school principal, so she is a hero in our eyes! Jimmy and Bernice joined us for White Christmas, they all met us at Katz's Deli for pastrami on rye and potato knishes, and then had us over to their house for a wonderful family meal the night before we came home.

Oh, speaking of coming home... wow, what a trip that was! Back in October, we had booked our flight to go from Tri-Cities Airport near Bristol to Atlanta and on to Laguardia in NY, with the return flight going through the same airports. A couple of weeks after we booked, we got an email from Delta saying they had to change our return flight to go through Cincinnati, with a 6 hour layover. Well, beggars can't be choosers they say, so we were still just glad to have the free tickets. We arrived in Cincinnati a little late because our flight leaving NY was delayed, but we still had 5 hours to kill. We went and had a nice leisurely supper, found our gate, and settled in for the wait, no problem.

After a while we got thirsty for some Starbucks (our closest one in KY is 2 hours away) and so I headed back to the concourse where we had seen it. When I got back, I noticed they were no longer scrolling our flight number on the board over the desk. Hmmm... Rachael and the kids said that there had not been any announcements, and there were only a couple of people in line at the counter, so I wasn't overly concerned. I casually walked over, but as I got closer I could tell that the guy at the counter was being given instructions on getting to a hotel and to come back in the morning for "standby". Not a good sign. Sure enough, not only was OUR flight cancelled, but so had just about all flights in and out of anywhere near the eastern KY, eastern TN, western NC area. The issue...? SNOW STORM

I motioned for Rachael and the kids to come over and off they went to try to rent a 4wd vehicle to drive home while I waited my turn to ask for our luggage to be sent to the claim area. By the time I ran to catch up with the family, there was a ton of people in line behind me. Just in time. We were able to rent the last 4wd vehicle they had (thank you, Lord) and we hopped in our Toyota Rav4 and headed south. We made good time on the interstate, but what a mess there was on the parkway! What is normally a 3 1/2 hour drive was a little over 7 hours that night, but the Lord sent us two trucks and then a snow plow to follow and got us home safely. We had no power (for a couple of days), but we were home in our own beds!! I took the rental to the airport in TN the next day, and I lost count after 100 of all the vehicles wrecked, stuck and abandoned in the snow. No doubt in our minds that God's grace and mercy got us home.

That snow storm on December 18th started the coldest, snowiest winter that this area has seen in many years. We are still "in it", so to speak (low of 12 tonight and more snow tomorrow), but by Thursday it is supposed to hit 40!!! HEAT WAVE! We have been blessed thoughout this time to not have any significant problems with the cold and snow and ice, and we are sure that God's mercy is the reason.

After our travels, we were quite ready to stay home for a while, and that's what we did for Christmas. Rachael's folks, Earl and Jan, came up for Christmas this year and it was very good to have them here. I DID notice that they waited until the power came back on before they came. :-) The week after Christmas we were blessed with the Mountain View Baptist Youth Retreat and a trip to the Creation Museum. We also were able to take them to see the elk herd, went horseback riding and toured the Kentucky Coal Museum in Benham. Great week!

As Mountain View pulled out on New Year's Day, Austin was not far behind them. He wasn't headed to school, though, he was headed way down south to attend Passion 2010 in Atlanta with some friends from school. He had a great time and said the conference was great. We were so glad he was able to be a part of this.

Well, it's hard to believe that 2009 is completely in the books now. As our pastor said this morning, this is 2010 and we have never been here before. It's a new day and many opportunities lie ahead. May we all look for opportunities (and take advantage of them!) to be involved in building the Lord's Kingdom even more than ever before. Until the whole world hears...

New ministry newsletter

2009-12-04T18:00:00.000-05:00

For those interested, the latest version of The Calvary Compass, our ministry newsletter, is now posted on the website (http://www.calvarycampus.org/) and available for reading online. The paper version should be back from the printer and mailed out sometime next week.

What a great Thanksgiving!

2009-11-29T16:08:00.000-05:00

What a great Thanksgiving Weekend we have had! Austin got in from school on Tuesday evening and we had dinner together as a family for the first time in quite a while. Wednesday and Thursday were spent relaxing, talking and enjoying good food together and (of course) helping Austin get caught up on his laundry. On Friday afternoon some good friends from Greenville, SC arrived to visit for the weekend and we had a great time with them.

On Saturday we drove over to The Stables at Creekside Glen (Meridzo Equestrian Ministry) to help unload 200+ bales of Coastal Bermuda and to get 20 bales to help feed Rolex and Spices. More good food and fellowship last night was followed up with a great worship service this morning, including another "hit the nail on the head" sermon from Brother Mike. Our friends are now headed home to SC, Austin is headed back to school, Heather is practicing her piano, Rachael is napping, and we'll head out shortly for choir practice and evening church. How blessed indeed we are - our cup overflows.

North Greenville U. Family Weekend

2009-09-15T22:43:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we got to go down to North Greenville to visit with Austin during their "Family Weekend". We had a great time, and Rachael's parents even drive up for the festivities. Friday night was prime dinner followed by worship led by "Joyful Sound" and then some skits by ActII, both are BSU groups on campus. Saturday we had a great parent's session, brunch in the dining hall, visited a gun shop in Greenville that Austin had been wanting to check out, and even stopped by for a visit at the UpCountry History Museum (which was pretty kewl).

After that we went back to the Campus and played some pool in the student center, and then headed over to the stadium for our "Low Country Boil Supper" (shrimp, sausage, corn, potatoes, chicken, etc) and to watch the Crusaders play Wesley College. Grandpa wore his Methodist hat with his NGU t-shirt, but he behaved and we didn't get tossed out or anything. :-) Sunday morning we worshipped together on Campus and then Sunday dinner in the dining hall. It was a great weekend and very good to see Austin doing so well.

Before we headed back, we made a stop at Campbell's Covered Bridge, just a few miles from the Campus. This is the only covered bridge left standing in South Carolina. It was quite nice - cool in the shade and quiet stream flowing. Nice ending to a nice weekend.

Austin in the museum

One of several 'ministry' statues on Campus...Christ washing Peter's feet

Beautiful stained glass adorning the main entrance to the football stadium

Heather at the covered bridge

Austin coming to Sunday AM worship

Austin the 'pool shark'

The family after Sunday worship

Smell the roses

2009-09-08T20:51:00.004-04:00

Having been here in Kentucky for 5 1/2 years, we have learned to appreciate a lot of new favorite things. It's funny how your perspective and priorities can change so subtly that you aren't aware of it at the time, but in ways that can be quite profound. One of our new "favorites" is our new favorite time of the day.

Regardless of how busy the days are and what important things have to be done, and the myriad of places to go and people to see, one of the things that remains constant...every evening we feed the horses. Yes, we do know that you don't have to feed horses every day, especially in the summer, but it's a great way to "keep 'em comin' to the barn", if you know what I mean. We also give them supplements they need through their feed as well. Anyway, so every day we feed horses. Rain, heat, sunshine, thunderstorm, late at night, snow or ice (yes we do get that), and extreme cold aside, regardless of the weather or how tired we are, we feed horses.

Even though it is a chore in a sense, we find ourselves looking forward to it most days and lingering for a while at the fence after they are fed almost every day. There's just something very special about a 1,500 pound bundle of affection rubbing their nose on you and hanging their neck around your shoulder and leaning closer so you'll scratch the top of their head. They love to be loved on, and we love to do it. Tonight was no exception, but as we were walking away I couldn't help but notice the picture I was seeing. I didn't have a good camera with me, but I did have my phone, so here it is. Hope you enjoy the picture and hope you have moments like this in your life. Not necessarily with horses, but here's to stopping to smell the roses.

New Chapter

2009-08-15T12:52:00.004-04:00

We have started a new chapter in our lives. Austin is now a Freshman at North Greenville University in Tigerville, SC. We moved him into his dorm room yesterday morning, ate lunch together in the "caf", picked up a couple of last minute items at the campus bookstore and then went to a parent/student meeting. After the meeting, we drove back over to the dorm and said our goodbyes, admitedly with a few tears shed.

While we are excited for him and looking forward to the opportunities the future holds, we are still missing him already. Pray with us that the Lord will do great things in this new chapter in his life.

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Phillipians 1:3-6

Chuggin' along...

2009-07-22T00:30:00.003-04:00

It really HAS been almost a month since I have updated. For that I apologize. I did have my shoulder surgery on July 9th and was home that night and into therapy the next day. Dr. Visk got the bone spurs scraped out of the AC joint and found that there was actually no tearing or visible damage to the rotator cuff or any tendons or ligaments. PTL! He did find, however, that at some unknown point in the past (years ago), I had broken my collar bone and there were bone fragments floating around in there and he cleaned that out was well. I am doing fine, although I find myself wishing I was already 100% back to health and strength and endurance. Ha. The Lord has a sense of humor.

We are all doing great, continuing to enjoy some great mission teams and seeing the Lord do some pretty amazing things in and through them. Austin is down to just 23 days until time for us to move him into the dorm for freshman orientation at North Greenville University. He has met (over the phone) his roomate and he sounds like a really nice guy. Austin is certainly excited and looking forward to going off to school, but also has some first-time jitters. Heather is still enjoying seeing old friends on the mission teams and making new ones as well. Rachael is holding us all together with her superior juggling skills.

We hope this finds you doing well and making a difference in your neck of the woods.

Here we go again... God is still on His throne!

2009-06-26T13:26:00.002-04:00

When I started this blog a year and a half ago, the intention was to make it like a daily journal (or at least a couple of times a week), where anyone who wanted to could kinda look over my shoulder and see what was going on with our family and what the Lord was teaching us. I never imagined that it would turn into a medical journal! LOL

Indeed, it is time for more surgery. Some of you may know that I have been having problems with my right shoulder since around Christmas, but may not know that it has gotten progressively worse in the last month and a half or so. When I went down to Spartanburg in May for my kidney surgery check-up, I stopped in to see my orthopedic doctor, who gave me a cortisone shot and said that it might “hold me” until the summer was over. Unfortunately it hasn’t. I have an arthritic bone spur in my AC joint, creating an “impingement”, which will tear the rotator cuff if left alone. So, on July 9th, I will have arthroscopic surgery (outpatient) to correct this.

The doctor says I will only have to take it easy for a week or so, but that I will pretty much be out of doing any “hard labor” for six weeks or more. As you can imagine, this will insure I will finish out my summer “sabbatical” from working with mission teams here.

I wish I could tell you that I knew the significance and deeper meaning of this one, but right now I am just accepting that that Lord is saying “I said… sit down!” Once again, I find myself saying that I know God is able, that He is walking through the fire with us, and that we submit our lives for His glory. Let’s keep our eyes on the Father as we wait to see where He leads next. To God be the glory, great things He has done!

Still living one day at a time with eternity in view,
Jamie

2009-06-15T10:20:00.002-04:00

Wow, it's hard to believe it has been so long since I last updated the blog. We have been so busy I didn't even realize... Things are going very well, we have already had 4 great mission teams in and out, lots of progress on several projects, 2 kids saved in VBS and and we now have a great team here this week from Rockford, IL doing VBS at 2 churches. Pray for us! LOL :-)

Thank you so much for your encouragement, cards and emails and most especially for your prayers throughout my cancer diagnosis, surgery and recovery. I am now about 90% recovered from the surgery and feeling better every day. Most days I do pretty good at following the doctor's and Rachael's orders, but you know how it is when things need to be done. I go back in November for another CT scan and blood work, but only as a precaution to insure I am still cancer free. We are blessed beyond measure to have God as our Physician and Provider, and you as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Many blessings to you and yours!

Quick Update

2009-05-22T11:09:00.003-04:00

Things are going well this week, just crazy busy as always. We had a great time visiting with Tabernacle Baptist in Pelzer, SC on Sunday and even discovered we had been praying for their pastor for the last two years, but had not made the connection that he was their pastor until we got there! How "small world" is that?! He is doing great and we are looking forward to their visit to the Campus in July and seeing what the Lord will do.

Austin got registered on Saturday at NGU, and he is really starting to get excited about starting school in the Fall. Rachael and I are wondering where the time went. After 18 years, our buddy is going to be moving into the dorm in 83 days. When did THAT happen?

We were able to get The Calvary Compass (our ministry newsletter) in the mail on Tuesday, so if you have not recieved it by now it probably means we do not have you on our mailing list. If you would like to be, just shoot me an email with your snail mail address and we will get it out to you. If you would like, you can also read it online at www.CalvaryCampus.org

We are going to try to get our garden planted this weekend, so hopefully we haven't waited too late. (Here's a couple of pictures of Austin doing the last round of tilling yesterday.) After the temps (low 40's) we had a few nights ago, maybe it's OK. Many blessings! Have a great day!

Updates and such

2009-05-16T11:07:00.004-04:00

Well friends, we are delighted to tell you that my 3-week checkup Thursday went great! Dr. Kinard said I am progressing fine (not as slowly as I thought), and that I am right on schedule for where I should be recovery-wise. He did say that he missed the fact (when I was still in the hospital) on my path report that it was indeed a stage-3 tumor, but he said even that was good news in that it was a HUGE blessing that this stage-3 cancer was caught and removed before it could get outside the kidney. God is sooo good! My next visit will be in November for a CT scan and blood work, just to make sure everything is still as it should be. Praise Him, Praise Him, tell of His excellent greatness! Sing, oh earth, His wonderful love proclaim!

Yesterday we were at the orthopedic doctor for my right shoulder. Yes, I am falling apart at the seams...LOL. Even this was great news in that the problem is my AC joint (where the collar bone meets the shoulder) and he gave me a steroid shot in the joint and he said that should clear it up. If not, he will need to go in and scrape away some of the rough stuff in the joint, so pray with me that the steroid shot will be all the cure that's needed.

Right now I am sitting with Heather and Rachael in Einstein's Cafe, across the street from North Greenville University while Austin is going through placement testing and pre-registration. We walked around the Campus for a bit and even bought a NGU coffee cup in the bookstore, so now we are enjoying a cafe mocha and free wi-fi. Thank you all so much for your prayers, notes of encouragement, emails, cards and everything. I am blessed beyond measure with the best family, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ. My cup indeed runneth over!

Tomorrow we will be at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Pelzer, SC. A mission team from their church will be coming to the Campus this summer and we will be sharing the ministry slide show with them during Sunday School and I will be preaching in the morning worship service. After lunch at the church we will be headed back home. Pray with us that we can be an encouragement to the folks at Tabernacle and that the Lord will give me the right words to say from His Word. Pray also that we will have safe travel home. We love you all! Many blessings to you and yours!

3 weeks and headed for a check-up

2009-05-12T16:04:00.003-04:00

Today marks three weeks since my surgery and I am happy to say I am feeling better each day. Well, I can't exactly say that I sense a noticeable improvement every day, but progress is certainly being made. I have taken advantage of this time to catch up on all the "sitting down" things that I never seemed to have time for before.

Late last night I finished the newest edition of our ministry newsletter and it is at the printer and will hopefully be in the mail by Thursday. It is also posted on the ministry website, www.CalvaryCampus.org if you would like to read it online. Thanks to the invaluable help of Austin, the calendar on the website is also updated to reflect all the goings-on that are in the weeks and months ahead. I have also begun to catch back up with the ministry blog, and should be up-to-date with that by Thursday also.

We will be headed back to SC Thursday. I have my post-surgery check-up with Dr. Kinard on Thursday, another doctor's appointment on Friday, Austin will be attending pre-registration at North Greenville University on Saturday (including placement testing), and we will be visiting with Tabernacle Baptist Church in Belton, SC on Sunday. It sounds like a lot, so please pray with us that I won't overdo it and that the Lord will give us plenty of rest inbetween each of the appointments. Pray with us also for Gil and Debbie as they remain here to take care of the Campus, and horses, and dog, and cat and... well, you get the idea.

Please also know that we are very grateful for your continued prayers as I recover. When Dr. Kinard said that recovery would take 4-6 weeks, I really thought I would be farther along at this point in time than I am. Hopefully we will find out on Thursday that everything is right on schedule. As always, we continue to rest in the Lord.

2 weeks out and holding

2009-05-05T17:35:00.003-04:00

Yes, it was just two weeks ago today that I was taking a nap on a table at Spartanburg Regional. In some ways it seems like much longer and in some ways it seems like it was just a few days ago.

I continue to get a little bit better each day, although most days I don't really notice any improvement over the day immediately prior. We continue to be amazed at how your prayers and the Lord's strength have sustained us. I am still spending most of the day on the couch, although I have found that it helps tremendously to go lay down for a short time a couple of times a day. Last Friday I was way too energetic and spent too much time on my feet and sitting in a hard backed chair. I certainly paid for it the next day...I could barely move, and was not able to spend any time outside during Kid's Day. I thought I had been doing good until I woke up Saturday morning! LOL

It has been raining here off and on for over a week now, and they are calling for more rain every day this week. The cooler temps are nice, but that grass sure will be a bear to cut (for Gil) when it finally does quit raining. A local ministry passed on a tremendous blessing to us last week that had been given to them, but they could not use. It is one of those string trimmer lawnmower things...like the DR Trimmer Mower you see on TV. It's not self-propelled, but it sure does the work on weeds and trimming along the fence line. Gil has already been out there with it a couple of times and says it's great. I'm looking forward to getting back up to speed so I can get MY turn on it, too.

Rachael's folks headed home yesterday and we are sad to see them go. What a great help they have been and we have really enjoyed having them here. They "forgot" a couple of things, so maybe they will have to come back soon to get them.

Hey, don't forget (especially us guys) what this coming Sunday is! Make this Mother's Day the most special one ever.

Many blessings to you and yours!

Taking it easy...

2009-05-01T12:55:00.003-04:00

Well, I am now officially 10 days out from surgery and feeling a little better every day. My typical day right now is spent mostly on the couch, with either the computer or mail or thank you notes in my lap to keep me occupied. I have discovered that Rachael wears a great nurse's cap, but she is swapping it out more and more with the old police captain's hat. I guess you could say I have heard "While you are sitting there..." more than once in the last several days, but I have to admit, I don't really mind. I'm just glad to be able to, if you know what I mean.

I try to get up every hour or so and make a few laps between the front of the apartment and the back, and then 2 or 3 times a day I'll wander out on the Campus as far as I dare for a short walk. It feels good to move around and I can sure tell when I have waited too long inbetween. I am hoping to make it to church Sunday, but I just don't know right now. As much as I want to see everyone and hear Bro. Mike preach, I don't want to get too frisky too soon. Dr. Kinard made it pretty clear that how well I behave myself will be the biggest determing factor to the length and effectiveness of my recovery.

Tomorrow (weather permitting) is the Letcher County Kid's Day here on Campus. There will be free food, pony rides, fire truck rides, train rides, inflatables, racing pigs (a 1st in Letcher County) and a petting zoo. We have hosted this event for the past 4 years and attendance is usually about 400-600. A team from Ivy Creek Baptist in Buford, GA will be here in a few minutes to help us with this event, and we are SO GLAD they are coming. It will be great to have the help and I don't think we would make it without them this year, since I am obviously useless. It will be hard not to be involved, but just another lesson in the "it's not about you, Jamie" lesson series that God has been taking me through.

Hope this finds you healthy and happy, and making a bigger differnce with your life today than you did yesterday. Many blessings to you and yours!!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig!!

2009-04-28T13:37:00.003-04:00

As I write this I am sitting in my favorite spot on our couch at HOME, with the windows open and blowing a cool breeze across the room at HOME, having slept in our own bed at HOME, having had supper with all of my family at HOME. Do you see a trend in this post? YES, we are finally at HOME, having departed Spartanburg late yesterday morning and arriving here just in time for supper. It is so good to be at home and be back with the kids!

I'll be spending the next few days mixing rest and relaxation with going through mail and email, and then moving on to working on the desperately late next edition of our ministry newsletter. Also during this time the doctor said I needed to work in a little "light exercise", so I could not resist the beautiful weather today and got out to help Heather get her garden in. Think this is what he meant? (PS Please note the pajama bottoms and slippers...I may be a little slow, but not THAT slow! LOL)

The next day

2009-04-26T20:42:00.004-04:00

Today has been restful and quiet. We are hoping to get to head home to KY tomorrow, just have one last thing to check on with Dr. Kinard in the morning. We are SO missing Austin and Heather and SO ready to be home. Pray with us that God woould work it out that we can.

Thought you might enjoy seeing a couple of pictures from last week. The week before my surgery, our church (1st Baptist, Hindman) was doing the church directory photo thing, and although we just had some family pictures done, we went anyway so we could be a part pf the directory. After the pictures were done we had decided we did not want to waste all our dressing up, so we went in to Hazard to have Rachael's (belated) birthday dinner at Applebees. We had a great dinner and it was an enjoyable evening. In spite of myself, don't I have a great family?!?

Released from the hospital...now THAT'S an update!

2009-04-25T16:27:00.003-04:00

Well, I guess you could consider this our last “surgery update”, as I have been released from the hospital and am now resting comfortably at the Smith’s home. Since Rachael last updated you yesterday, I made several more “trecs” around the track on the 3rd floor, Dr. Kinard came in yesterday afternoon and gave us the pathology report, which was great, and assured us that now all I have to worry about is getting over the surgery. This morning Dr. Atkins came in gave the final “OK” and we started packing to leave. By 1:00 his afternoon we were headed down the elevator. Best elevator ride I’ve had in years! LOL

Of course there’s still a few “housekeeping details”, like getting the staples out next week (which we can do in KY), and going back in a couple of weeks to see Dr. Kinard. Other than that, I’ll just have to get a CT scan or MRI in 6 months and 12 months and so on. This really has been an amazing journey, and while it’s certainly not over, I have to admit that I‘m glad we’re on the downhill side of it.

Many, many, many thanks for the phone calls, cards, letters, flowers, etc. While they weren’t expected, they certainly brightened up the last few days. Most especially we want to thank you for your prayers. We sensed constantly that we were being lifted up to the Lord continuously. So many times over the last few weeks and especially the last several days there have been occasions where things took just the right turn at just the right moment. We thank you so much for your prayers.

Just a little over four weeks ago when this all started, I wrote in this blog that the Lord had led me to a particular passage. Just to help me keep things in perspective, I’d like to share that with you again. It’s found in Psalm 39…

“LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

As I said that day, God has given me a new window to look through. He has given me the glorious blessing of being reminded once again that this life is Oh, so short. Whether we have 5, 20 or even 60 more years to live…or maybe just a few more minutes…how will we spend it? Will we make a greater difference with the rest of our lives than we have up until now?

The Lord has indeed made me to know my end and how utterly frail I am. From day one until now and for all time… Our hope is in the Lord. We rest in Him.

Surgery Update #4

2009-04-24T16:36:00.001-04:00

Lots of progress since we last talked. Dr. Kinard came in yesterday while I was napping at the Smith’s house and talked more with Jamie. He checked him over said he was progressing well and doing fine. I think he hinted that Jamie needed to do more walking, because when I got back Jamie was ready to take a lap. He didn’t quite make it all the way around last night, but he did this morning.

Dr Dunn came by last night right before we went to sleep. Dr. Dunn is the doctor who did the colonoscopy back in February and referred us to Dr. Kinard when we knew that Jamie would need a urologist. He is a great Christian man and has checked in on Jamie’s progress through Dr. Kinard several times and even stopped by to see Jamie right before his surgery in the holding area. Last night he was checking to see if we needed anything and even offered for us to stay at his lake house after Jamie got out of the hospital if we were not able to go all the way home. How sweet is that?!

Last night was kinda rough, with Jamie waking up about 3am with pretty bad pain and nausea. We got some meds in him and we both got back to sleep about 4:30 and slept pretty good until about 7:30 this morning. Dr. Kinard hasn’t been in yet this morning, so I am headed back to the Smith’s for a shower and a nap.

Thanks for your continued prayers… trust me, we are very aware that we are being lifted up to the Father. Don’t forget to pray for Austin and Heather back at the Campus with my parents, Jan and Earl Heath, and also Gil and Debbie Tomas. We appreciate them “holding the fort down” while we are away. Pray also for the RCDA (Rural Church Development Alliance) Men’s Retreat and Campout going on at the Campus tonight and tomorrow. Many blessings to you and yours!

Surgery Update #3

2009-04-23T12:57:00.000-04:00

Well, this is the morning update – turned into noon update.  I have to admit, last night was not the most restful night we’ve ever had. Many trips to the restroom, but at least he’s getting his exercise. I’m going to go hide out at friends house to get a nap this afternoon. Dr. Kinard came in this morning and said that all of the lab work on the remaining kidney looked great. I didn’t realize that the remaining kidney will actually grow somewhat to compensate for the loss of the removed kidney. Everything else is looking good, just a matter now of going through the motions of taking his walks and working through the soreness and resting. Dr. Kinard said Saturday or Sunday we should be able to head home. Thanks so much for your continued prayers.

Surgery Update #2

2009-04-22T19:43:00.001-04:00

We’re watching Gunsmoke right now. Well, at least I am. I don’t know why Jamie’s not up to a lot of action yet. He is doing very well today; just felt a little nauseated a couple of times. The doctor came in early this morning and was able to talk to both of us. Jamie really didn’t remember things from yesterday. Of course, I normally don’t remember much the first time either. He felt that everything went very well, and we’re just waiting on the pathology reports to come back to determine the type and stage of the cancer.

We’ve had just the right amount of visitors today, nothing overwhelming. Jamie’s “stash” now includes a Get Well Dad balloon from the kids, a large, beautiful Peace Lily, a get well balloon that sings, a basket full of goodies (chips, candy bars, lollipops) that I’m going to save for myself since he can’t have any. His loss will be my gain, literally. LOL

My parents got here yesterday afternoon before Jamie went to surgery. It’s been a couple of months since we’ve seen them, so they were a welcome sight. They took me and the kids to dinner to a Chinese restaurant (we don’t get much of that type of food). After they brought me back to the hospital, they took the kids with them to enjoy a restful night at a nice hotel. They all came by this morning to hug and kiss on us, then left out for Kentucky.

I actually started working on this earlier in the day, but we’ve had a few visitors and other things, so it is now a little after 6:00 PM. I’m headed to our “home away from home” for a shower and then back for another night here. Thank you so much for all your prayers. We know that we are firmly in the grip of an awesome Heavenly Father, and we also sense very dramatically that many people are lifting us to Him. We are so amazed at how this situation continues to be orchestrated by God and continues to bring Him glory.

We love you all!

Rachael and Jamie

Surgery Update #1

2009-04-21T23:17:00.001-04:00

Well it has been a long day, but it has been full of many blessings. Due to some other surgeries that took a little longer than expected, Jamie's 1 PM surgery didn't happen until 4 PM. Dr. Kinard said that everything went extremely well and Jamie will be in the hospital for about 4-5 days. He did say that when he got in to the kidney area to take the tumor out, that part of the tumor was all the way inside of the kidney, and larger than expected, so he had to take the whole kidney out.

Praise the Lord that He gave us two kidneys! Jamie is doing very well tonight. Of course, the pain medication is making him speak a little funny. This time he does have an excuse for mumbling. LOL The kids and I are were also blessed with many people coming to visit and some surprise visits as well. Thank you for the phone calls and the many prayers. The Lord's presence has been felt all through this procedure. Thank you all for lifting us up in prayer.

Resting in the Lord

2009-04-21T09:06:00.003-04:00

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

Phillipians 1
3I thank my God every time I remember you. 4In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
7It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. 8God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, 11filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Jude 1
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
24 Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— 25to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

We trust in the name of the LORD our God

2009-04-19T22:54:00.005-04:00

If you are new to our family blog, we say Welcome.

To catch you up on the latest news, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer a little over 3 weeks ago. I will be having surgery on Tuesday to remove either the tumor and surrounding tissue, or possibly the whole kidney. The doctors expect that I will be in the hospital 4-5 days and then be able to come home (to the Campus), for 4-6 weeks recovery. The surgery is expected to be curative, with no need for any further treatments.

The surgery will be on Tuesday, April 21, 1:00 PM at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg, SC. It is expected to take about 3 hours and Rachael will have my laptop with her and will update this blog once I am out of surgery and in a room. Rachael's parents will meet us in Spartanburg on Tuesday and will bring the kids back home (to the Campus), probably on Wednesday morning and stay with them until we return. Rachael will be staying with friends in Spartanburg. Many thanks to so many people in the Spartanburg/Greenville area who have offered so much assistance. The Campus will be well taken care of by Gil and Debbie Thomas.

Thank you all for your friendship, your support and most especially for your prayers. God is good, He is faithful and He is worthy of all our trust. We are resting quietly and confidently in Him.

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He answers him from His holy heaven with the saving power of His right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:6-7

A couple of changes

2009-04-17T18:12:00.003-04:00

Yesterday a friend was asking if there was some way he could get an email when we updated the blog. I told him there was, but then I got on here today and realized that this feature was not enabled. SOOOO....it is now. If you want to be notified when the blog is updated, just scroll down to the bottom of this page and you will see a place where you can sign up to "follow" this blog. Otherwise, you are certainly welcome to just keep checking in at your convenience.

I also went ahead and enabled another feature where you can email a particular post to someone if you want. Just look for the little envelope at the bottom of each post and click on it and follow the instructions. Simple as that. Thanks much for your continued prayers! Blessings to you and yours!

Into each life, some rain must fall...

2009-04-15T10:17:00.009-04:00

I drove down to Spartanburg, SC Monday for a meeting that night with a mission team from there, and yesterday morning I had my pre-op appointment to draw blood, etc. I was headed back yesterday afternoon in a hard rain near Unicoi, TN when a car hydroplaned into me. We tangled with each other and the concrete median divider several times and then came to rest up against (and him on) the concrete divider.

Both vehicles were totaled and the driver of the other car was taken to the hospital with neck pain, but other than that, we were not hurt. (Please pray for the other driver, initials are D.S.) I have not heard from the insurance company yet, but I am sure (and so was the wrecker driver) that they won't go to the expense of fixing a '99 with 150,00 miles, although I wish they would.

The Lord really protected both of us. It seems that He is saying that He is not finished with me yet, but I have to admit that I wish He would communicate that message in gentler ways... :-) I was reminded by a friend that maybe this IS the gentler way, so I am being grateful for His gentler ways. :-)

Anyway, I was in our big Ford pick-up truck (we call it the "white whale"), so the upside was that it was big and heavy enough to protect me and the downside is that this was our only means of hauling construction materials, horse trailers, etc. for the ministry. I know that the Lord would not call us to do this work and then fail to provide what we need to get it done, so we will be watching to see how He will do take care of this new need. He certainly has never let us down.

Rachael and the kids came and got me from Erwin, TN where the truck was towed and we enjoyed a relaxing supper at one of our favorite spots, Bob Evans in Johnson City. We got back home around 10:00 last night and fed the horses and headed to bed. It was very good to be back home. Thank you all so much for your continued prayers. There is no doubt in my mind that some of you were praying yesterday around 2:00 pm. "The effective prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

How did all this start...?

2009-04-13T10:23:00.002-04:00

Several people have asked how I knew to go to the doctor and/or how all this was discovered. The answer is...God. Really.

Back before Christmas I started having an occasional mild burning pain sensation in the left side of my abdomen. It kept up for a couple of weeks and I went to the doctor here, thinking I had a hernia. He said it was not a hernia, but if it kept up I needed to get a colonoscopy. It did, so I called some friends in Spartanburg, SC and got referred to a great Christian doctor down there. He did the colonoscopy in February - found and removed two polyps, one pre-cancerous, but no big deal for somebody my age. He said if the pain kept up, I needed to get a CT scan, as it seemed like I might have a small incision hernia from my reflux surgery in '97.

I went to see a good friend here in KY (that is in our SS class) and he sent me for the CT. It came back and showed no reason for the pain in my left front, but showed a small spot on my right kidney.

He sent me for an MRI, which basicallly confirmed that I had a small spot on my right kidney. He said I needed to see a Urologost. I called the doctor's office in SC that had done my colonoscopy and told them I wanted a referral to a doctor "just like him". He referred me to Dr. Harry Kinard, a top Urologist in SC and an outstanding Christian man. By the way, google 'Andrew Kinard', (his son) and CMA awards and you'll see what kind of family this is.

We were going to be in Spartanburg for a missions conference so I made an appt to see Dr. Kinard that week. He thought it was probably a benign cyst, but said we can find out easy enough with an ultra-sound. He sent me straight from his office that afternoon, and by the time I got through with that, it was after 5pm. I was headed back to the conference when he called my cell phone (he had stayed in his office to hear the results). He was very compassionate, and very reassuring when he told me that it was definetly cancer and I needed to come back the next day for a better CT.

I did, and the following week I had to go back for an IVP, which confirmed the type (renal cell carcinoma vs. transitional cell carcinoma). It may sound weird, but really the only "bad news" in all of this has been when they decided they could not do the surgery laproscopically and would have to do it with a traditional large incision, meaning more hospital time and longer recovery.

By the way - the burning pain that started all this...? Gone. Haven't had it in about 3 weeks, about the time I got the diagnosis. Maybe the Lord was just pinching me and saying "Go to the doctor." I also have not had a single "symptom" of the cancer. No pain, no nothing. God really is good, He really is faithful and He really is worthy of our trust. We have seen His hand in all this from the very beginning, and He has blessed us with a peace that really has passed all comprehension. We rest in Him.

As the Hebrew boys said so many years ago, our God is able to deliver and we believe He that will. But if not, know this...we will not bow our knee to the fear and panic that Satan wants to bring into our lives. And, one way or another, God will get the glory...and THAT is what it's all about.

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

2009-04-13T00:27:00.003-04:00

What a glorious day of worship and fellowship today was! We are so thankful for the wonderful church family that God has blessed us with here, along with so many wonderful Christian friends from many churches in the area.

We had a group here on the Campus this weekend (Eastern KY Regional Deaf Revival) and we stopped by to visit with them at the Alumni Dining Hall when we got back from church. They were finishing up their conference and lunch, but they were gracious enough to take the time snap a picture of us. Many blessings to you and yours.

I will be headed down to SC Monday afternoon to be prepared for my pre-op visit on Tuesday morning. While there I will be meeting with two different Church mission groups about future trips to the Campus. Thanks so much for your continued prayers and love and support. We are still...

Living one day a time, with eternity in view, and giving God the praise and glory for it all! Blessings to you and yours!

The end result

2009-04-12T23:41:00.004-04:00

We have one last blog for the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. What a great story of faith this is and what a great example of how God doesn't just allow us to go through the fiery trials, He walks with us through them. But we need to note and remember the end result of the story. No, I am not talking about the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the furnace. I am talking about the fact that God got the glory.

"Then Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...for no other god can save in this way.'" Daniel 3:28a, 29b

The important thing is not that they were delivered from the furnace. God was ABLE to rescue and He did. But He still would have been good and faithful and trustworthy even if He had not. The important end result of this story, it should be in all of our lives, is that GOD GETS THE GLORY.

4 in the fire

2009-04-08T12:59:00.003-04:00

I was reminded yesterday of another of my favorite parts of the story of the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were not alone.

Daniel 3

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."

God does not abandon us. Jesus told us that He would never leave us. In the words of an old Imperials song; "He didn't bring us this far, to leave us. He didn't teach us to swim, to let us drown. He didn't build his home in us, to move away. He didn't lift us up, to let us down."

An awareness of God's presence in our lives is never so sweet as it is when we are thrown into the fiery furnace. May you find His presence very real in your life today.

God is able

2009-04-06T13:27:00.003-04:00

Several people have asked that we share what we learn as we take this journey, and we are glad to do that. No one goes through any circumstance solely for their own personal benefit.

As I said before, we have seen God’s hand in this from the very beginning and have been able to rest in the knowledge that He was orchestrating every step. He has given us a peace about the “c” word that really goes beyond our comprehension. Even before we knew what the treatment options would be and what the prognosis would be (90% 5-year survival), God had already given us a peace and quiet confidence that regardless of our circumstances or outcomes, everything really was going to be OK.

A few days after the diagnosis was confirmed, I took a fresh look at a familiar passage. In Daniel, chapter three, we find the story of 3 Hebrew young men, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who had been carried off from Judah into Babylon. You may remember them better by the names they were given once there; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar had made a golden image 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, and ordered everyone in the land to bow down and worship it. Of course, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused, and were summarily brought before the King and given an ultimatum. Bow or die. Their answer to this command is one of the greatest passages of Scripture.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

You know the rest of the story…God miraculously saves them from the fire that is so hot the soldiers who throw them in are reduced to crispy critters in seconds. But that’s not the necessarily the best part of the story. The best part of the story is the confidence and boldness that God gives them to answer the king with such faith. There is no doubt that not only were they sure that God was ABLE to save them from the fire, but they also believed that He WOULD save them from the fire. But they added, as an addendum; But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

We know that God is ABLE to eradicate cancer from my body; and we also believe that He will. But we want everyone to know that even if He does not, we will not bow down to the fear and panic Satan wants to see in our lives. If God was faithful and good and trustworthy from eternity past (and He was), then He is still just as faithful and good and trustworthy today. God can and will walk us through this in a way that will bring Him glory, and hopefully will be an encouragement to many. May God bless you richly today as you press into Him.

As for me and my house – we serve the Lord.

God is still on His throne

2009-03-27T14:25:00.002-04:00

Well, I never thought I would be writing a post like this, but here it is. To cut to the chase, this past week I was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma) in my right kidney. I will have surgery to remove the tumor (or possibly the kidney) on April 21st at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center in Spartanburg, SC. The doctors are convinced that the cancer is confined to the kidney and that this surgery will be curative.

While the “natural” thing to do would be to focus on the negativity of this news, I can’t help but to marvel at how we have seen the Lord’s hand all the way throughout this entire process and in every aspect. The fact that this type of cancer is rarely caught so early, the placement in our path of 3 different outstanding Christian doctors who are well known and admired in their fields, to how this has already created numerous opportunities to witness and tell of God’s goodness… while it might seem on the surface to be “bad news”, we know that God is in control, that He is still worthy of our trust and that He is still faithful.

I’m not a “point and read” theology kind of person…where you just flop open a Bible and point your finger and that’s supposed to be what God is telling you. But yesterday morning, as I was waiting to go through my last test to see exactly what kind of cancer it is, I sensed a prompting of the Holy Spirit to look at Psalm 39. No, most of the time you will not find me reading my Bible in a waiting room, but I was sure that I “heard” right. I exited my email and flipped over to the Bible application on my cell phone and scrolled to Psalm 39. This is what it says in verses 4-7:

4 “LORD, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am. 5 Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah 6 Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, and does not know who will gather them. 7 “And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.

God has given me a new window to look through. He has given me the glorious blessing of being reminded once again that this life is Oh, so short. Whether we have 5, 20 or even 60 more years to live…or maybe just a few more minutes…how will we spend it? Will you make a greater difference with the rest of your life than you have up until now?

We do ask for your prayers over these next few days and weeks. Pray first and foremost that God will be glorified in every situation and in our personal lives and testimony. Pray that God would give us opportunities to declare His glorious Name. And pray that God would confirm, strengthen and establish us as He guides us through these troubled waters.

Many blessings to you and yours!

Horse buddies

2009-03-11T19:11:00.007-04:00

Yesterday when I was working with the team up at the Nehemiah Dorm, I noticed that Spices and Rolex were standing side by side under Rolex's favorite tree, taking a nap. Nobody had a camera, so I got a picture with my cell phone (hence the quality). About 10 minutes later I noticed that Spices had layed down, so I got another picture. About 5 minutes later Rolex had layed down too, so I got another picture. They layed there together like that for a while longer, and then they were up and off again, walking and grazing. Peas in a pod, like they've been friends for years. :-)

New Family Pictures

2009-02-26T08:33:00.008-05:00

Our home church, Thorington Road Baptist, is doing a new church directory and we were so excited! Not only will it be great to get a bird's eye view of all our friends and new folks who have joined the church that we haven't met yet, but we were glad to be able to be a part and get a new family picture made. (We haven't had a professional portrait done since...well, it's been at least 5 or 6 years.)

But, alas, the appointments were all over with before we could arrive in Mtgy so we decided we would just go get one done anyway. While were were in Mtgy, we went to Wal-Mart (we're on a budget you know) and the young lady that was working there did a fantastic job. Or at least we think so. So, here they are, the 2009 Reynolds Family Portraits.

Snow pictures...better late than never

2009-02-18T11:40:00.017-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we got one of the best snows we have had here. We got out and had some fun in it, and got some pictures, but hadn't had a chance to get them on here. Since things are starting to warm up and we may not get another snow that good, we thought we'd go ahead and share them with you. Better late than never...

Happy Heather

2009-02-03T09:29:00.003-05:00

Weekend before last, our good friends Scott and Lamar came up for the weekend to do some work in the gym. While they were here, Lamar (who has owned and ridden horses all his life), got Rolex out in the round pen and started working with him. His patience and gentleness paid off, and before the sun set that afternoon, he had Heather atop Rolex in the round pen.

Now this may not seem like a big deal to you, but for us it was monumental. We had been wanting for Heather to be able to ride Rolex ever since we got him, but we had not really had all the ingredients in place at the same time - the time and opportunity combined with someone who was able to make that connection with Rolex and Heather.

Being a Thoroughbred, Rolex is rather...shall we say high-spirited, and he's also not really an "anybody saddle and ride" kind of horse either. But not only are we able to continue working with Rolex now at this very elementary level, but we have now also made a great connection with our new friends who are the equestrian ministry folks at a local camp ministry. She is willing to teach and work with Heather, and work with Rolex, and we expect that Heather will now get to come full circle with becoming a full-fledged horsewoman. Truly a "Happy Heather"...

Happy Snow Day!

2009-01-19T13:49:00.004-05:00

Well, it wasn't exactly a blizzard... more like a 1/2 inch dusting. But we still enjoyed waking up to see snow this norning. It also wasn't enough to get the kids out of school or me out of work, but we did sleep in a little and Rachael made pancakes for breakfast(whole wheat so I could have one), so it was kinda like a Saturday. Hope your day is going well! Blessings!

Good friends

2008-12-09T08:35:00.002-05:00

Rachael and the kids and I are so blessed beyond measure with dear friends. Blanchard Box is one of the most encouraging, enthusuastic and positive-minded people we have ever known. He always lifts us up, even when we are trying to encourage or help him. God bless you brother!

Still looking...

2008-12-06T11:59:00.002-05:00

We made another "college tour" trip this week. This time it was to North Greenville University, just north of Greenville, SC. Heather and Rachael stayed home this trip and Austin and I drove down and back in a day. NGU is a great school and we really liked the atmosphere and strong Christian emphasis. I have to admit that we also really liked the possibility that Austin may be able to get a full tuition scholarship because of us being MSC Missionaries with NAMB. Austin still hasn't decided for sure, so we are still looking. Pray for him next Saturday (12/13) as he will be re-taking the ACT to see if he can improve on his score for better academic scholarship opportunities.

We MISS Family Robinson

2008-12-06T11:30:00.002-05:00

On the way back from Alabama last month we stopped off for a visit with our dear friends, the Robinsons, in southern GA. It was so good to see them and to see how much the kids had grown in just a few short months. Westin was looking good too, but he decided to take a nap when we took this picture by their "new" house. :-) You can go to their family blog at http://www.justgottalaugh.blogspot.com/ to see how you can help them get in it soon by purchasing hand-painted canvasses by Kitty.

Fast track to AL and back

2008-11-24T08:06:00.004-05:00

Well, it's official. Thanks to our good friends Gil and Debbie, and Paul who made the journey from AL to KY, we actually made a very quick trip to Montgomery and back. We had not been down south since February, so we were a little past due. We had time for a short visit with family, visited with our home church Thorington Road Baptist (http://www.thoringtonroadbaptist.org/) on Sunday AM and our "second home church" Mountain View Baptist (http://www.mvbaptist.info/) on Sunday PM, Rachael had a yearly check-up and Jamie took in part of the Alabama Baptist Pastor's Conference and State Convention Annual Meeting.

The next thing we knew, we were on our way back to KY and it felt like we had just gotten there. If we missed seeing you, we are sorry, but as you can tell, it really was a "down and back" kind of trip. We hope to come back for a little longer visit in January or February and maybe we can see you then. Meanwhile, just know that the road between here and yon goes both ways and you are welcome to come see us as well. Call us and "we'll leave a light on for ya."

Making the rounds

2008-11-13T13:01:00.002-05:00

Our next stop on the "check out some colleges" tour was Alice Lloyd College in neighboring Knott County. This is a small (600 students) Christian school that is actually one of only 6 work-study colleges left in the country. Austin liked the closeness to home and church, and the atmosphere of a smaller campus. No strong feelings one way or another yet, so we have a few more schools to check out. We'll keep you posted.

Best of Friends

2008-11-10T22:46:00.002-05:00

As we walk through this life, there are those people who make a lasting impact on your life. Our good friends, Jeff and Louann and Keith and Brenda (and their families) have done just that. Thanks guys and gals for a great visit and wonderful fellowship. You are the best!

Apples and sunsets

2008-10-31T11:44:00.003-04:00

You have probably heard the saying "The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." That is certainly the case between me and Heather. While unfortunately she inherited some of my weaknesses, she also inherited some good things from both sides of the family. One is her love of photographing beautiful scenery. I have no idea how many pretty pictures she has taken, just this last week, but I am sure it's very many. Nothing wrong with that. I like to take pictures like that myself...always have.

This past week when I took the mission team up to see the elk, she wanted to go, but could not because of a prior comittment. As we were leaving the mountain top I looked out the side window and noticed something that I just couldn't pass up. The guys were ready to get going and go warm up and eat supper, but I stopped the truck one more time so I could "take a picture for Heather". I knew she would love it. Personally, I think it was worth it...

Elkview Road

2008-10-30T07:27:00.002-04:00

Yes, once again we have visited Elkview Road in Knott County and had a great time watching these magnificent animals. We counted around 50 last night, although it certainly looked like more than that. This was my favorite picture from the evening.

Prayer Request

2008-10-20T10:27:00.001-04:00

We are much closer than we were on getting the gym opened back up. Please pray with us that the State Fire Marshall will come today (or early this week) and be lenient on what has to be done before we can open the gym.

Looking up...

2008-10-14T09:46:00.002-04:00

Last week we had a great group of guys from Roebuck (SC) Baptist that came and got started on a new ceiling in the gym. The original plan was to just patch, but as you can see from the picture, the new plan is to cover the entire ceiling. They got one section finished and it looks great! Thanks guys! Now who wants to do the other 5 sections...? :-)

Mountain Heritage

2008-10-02T09:20:00.006-04:00

As you may know, the first couple of years we were here, we hosted a Fall Festival here on Campus. Last year the team that was coming to help us do that (Ivy Creek Baptist - Buford, GA) could only come on the same weekend that the town of Whitesburg was having their Mountain Heritage Festival. Not wanting to try to compete with that, we decided to try having a booth at Mountain Heritage instead. We gave away popcorn and bottled water and had spin art and bead bracelets for the kids. We had a great time and said that we wanted to try it again.

Careful what you ask for! :-)

This year's booth was a HUGE success. Yes, we gave away bottled water and popcorn (about 4 times as much as last year), but we also had coloring books and crayons, free Bibles, spin art and... ta da! CRAZY HAIR! Yes, CRAZY HAIR! Now if you are like I was, and don't know what that is, I'll include a picture below. Basically it amounts to a crazy hairdoo made with everything from colored ribbons to hair-sprayed color to glitter to baloons to tiki umbrellas to... well, you get the idea. This was a huge success. The ladies from Ivy Creek were swamped from the moment they opened for hairdoo's each day until the festival closed that night. Folks were lined up and waited patiently so that they could sport their own personally and uniquely created "doo".

One of the ladies that works on the committe to organize the festival said she had never seen anything like it and begged Ivy Creek to come back next year! She said the Festival had the best atmsophere she had ever seen and said she felt it was because of the spirit and attitude of the folks in the Calvary Campus booth! I think we have a long running egagement in the works.

All of this was wonderful, but it was not the primary purpose we had the booth. All the give-away stuff was intended to help everyone have a good time - yes, but also to help get the word out about all the things that are going on at Calvary Campus and all the different ministry opportunities. We also took prayer requests and even had the opportunity to pray with folks right then and there. What a great weekend this was. Thanks so much to the folks from Ivy Creek and everyone else who helped make the Calvary Campus booth a success. Pray with us that the seeds that were planted through the Bibles given away, the coloring books, the prayer times, words of encouragement spoken and many other ways will reap a bountiful harvest in people's lives.

View from our front porch

2008-10-02T09:06:00.004-04:00

Yes, Fall has arrived. The leaves are turning, the air is crisp (at the moment-43 degrees), and we've only had to cut the grass once in the last 2 1/2 weeks. Every time the seasons change I have a new favorite, it seems (although Spring really is my personal #1). I love this time of the year, when a campfire is about the best thing you can do with your leisure time, a fleece pullover feels really good and stew or chili "hits the spot" better than anything. We hope you are enjoying this time of year and remembering the Creator who made it all and made it possible for us to enjoy it. Have a great day!

Really?!?!

2008-09-13T16:50:00.003-04:00

It's hard to belive, but it has been 17 1/2 years since we brought a 4lb baby boy home from the hospital. Austin is a Senior this year and the task is upon us (mostly him) to decide where he will be going to college next year. This last week we drove over to The University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, KY and got "the tour". We all really enjoyed it and were duly impressed. We have 2-3 other schools that are in the initial consideration phase, so pray with us that the Lord's leading will be clear to Austin and us and that He will make a way.

New Friends

2008-09-13T16:38:00.003-04:00

One of the greatest joys that we have experienced since moving to KY has been how the Lord has brought so many new and wonderful friends into our lives. Back in July we were introduced to a couple from SC, Gil and Debbie Thomas. They have been sensing for some time that the Lord may be moving them into doing some kind of ministry, but just have not been sure of where that would be or what that would look like. Gil's background is in construction and operating heavy equipment and both of them have been very involved in missions and missions leadership for some time. Last week they came and spent a week with us here at the Campus, praying and seeking God's will.

Praise the Lord, they will be back Monday or Tuesday of next week and at this point in time, we are not sure how long they will stay. We do know that it looks like they will be spending a lot of time at the Campus in the next few months, helping out with construction and renovation and different ministry activities and events. Pray with us and them as we all seek God's will for our lives and the ministry here.

The Greater Work

2008-08-18T15:41:00.003-04:00

Many years ago, the author of "My Utmost for His Highest", Oswald Chambers, wrote these words:

"Prayer does not prepare us for the greater works. Prayer is the greater work."

We subscribe to this wholeheartedly. We often remind folks that while they may not be intimately acquainted with our daily needs, challenges and issues, the great God that they lift us up to is. He alone is aware of all these things (even better than we are ourselves), and He alone is able to meet those needs, conquer those challenges and deal with those issues.

We thank you for lifting us up to the Father. We pray for you as well. Thanks also to the ladies of Sandy Springs Baptist for prayer-walking the Campus while you were here. May we all be engaged daily in The Greater Work.

Kentucky Elk

2008-08-09T23:52:00.002-04:00

You may know that the state of Kentucky has been repopulating the mountain areas with elk for the past several years. The herd is healthy and doing very well and is estimated to be around 6,000 in number. This past Thursday night, our good friend and neighbor and Lieutenant with Kentucky Game and Fish, Frank Campbell, took us and the team from Walton, KY up to an elk viewing area in Knott County, about 35 minutes from the Campus. Homer Pigman with Kentucky Game and Fish also came and drove several folks in the group.

We drove around the area for a few minutes and saw a couple of elk from a great distance and then Frank took us to another spot where we saw at least 58 elk! It was so awesome to be able to watch these gorgeous animals in this wild habitat. There was a great mix of bulls, cows and loads of calves and even Frank commented on how great this particular herd was looking. We sat and watched them until almost dark, enjoying the cool mountaintop breeze and the beautiful sunset. It was an evening we won’t soon forget. Come visit us and we’ll be glad to take you up and try to find some elk.

New stalls

2008-07-14T09:19:00.007-04:00

While our dream has long been to be able to have an equestrian ministry here, there are several things that needed to take place before that can happen. One was the need for additional horse stalls. While the barn that we have is great, it was a dairy barn, and all the floors are concrete and the ceiling is just high enough for people and cows. Casey built a great stall for Rolex, and we were able to make a stall in the dairy barn for Fred (since he is vertically challenged), but that was basically all the room we had.

A few weeks ago a friend of ours who owns a septic service and sand/gravel business offered the services of a backhoe/front end loader for the day and he was able to grade the pad for extending the barn, and dig a french drain culvert to pull the water away from the existing barn and new pad. With the help of some great mission teams (1st Evangelical Free, Rockford, IL; Forks of Elkhorn Baptist, Frankfort, KY; and Calvary Church, St. Peters, MO) we are now well on our way to having a total of six full-sized horse stalls! We still have to get the rest of the roof on and finish the walls and doors, but we are certainly well down the road toward completion.

Thanks so much to everyone involved! Now if whoever the Lord is calling to be the Equestrian Ministry Director would just go ahead and answer the call...

View from the top of Pine Mountain

2008-07-05T13:38:00.004-04:00

On July 4th, we were able to go over to Shekinah Village (http://www.meridzo.org/) and have a great cookout and afternoon of relaxation. On the way back, we stopped off at one of the lookouts on top of Pine Mountain and we were reminded of just how much we enjoy living here. I decided it was time to venture into the world of putting videos on the blog, and so, with Austin's technical expertise and assistance, here it is. Enjoy...

Out of the comfort zone

2008-06-23T12:47:00.003-04:00

A lot of people know that my comfort zone has long included only those places I can go with my feet on terra firma. Yes, I have this thing with heights. I don't really like 'em. I know that many of the places you can go "up there" really are safe, but I just have this lack of balance thing going on when I can see lots of air between me and the ground. Needless to say, when Bill asked for the 3rd time out of four mission trips about painting the barn roof (which badly needed to be done), I was once again reluctant to pursue this goal. He was determined that it would be done, and since I was the only available help, I had to elect myself as his assistant.

Two days later the roof was painted and I was actually walking around on that roof with some degree of confidence. I have to admit though, that as much as I was pleased with how it looked, I was equally plased to have it over and done with, even though it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Isn't that how it is when the Lord asks us to do something that is outside our comfort zone? We are comfortable with out feet on the ground, but that's not how roofs get painted. What is he asking of you today? Go on... climb the ladder.

Happy 18 Years!

2008-06-10T09:18:00.006-04:00

Yes, yesterday was our 18th wedding anniversary. Sometimes it's hard to imagine that it has been that long since we were wed. The Lord has been so faithful and we have grown so much... we have grown together and grown in our relationship with Him. Thank you Lord for 18 wonderful years.

This was our 5th time to celebrate our annivesary here on the Campus, but only the first time that we weren't crazy-busy with mission teams, etc. Austin and Heather cooked and served us a delicious dinner, complete with candle-light, soft music and flowers on the table. Of course it was the romance food of all times - spaghetti!

We finished out our "date night" by watching the classic John Wayne movie, The Fighting Seebees with the kids. Not your idea of a date? Well, it was a wonderful evening for us.

Best Friends Forever...

2008-05-24T13:42:00.006-04:00

Yes, we got back from our trip to D.C. and the next day was a happy/sad one. Happy, because we are excited about what the Lord has in store for the Robinsons in this next phase of their lives, but sad because we are parting company with 8 of the best friends we have ever had. As they begin their new adventure, we wish them all the happiness and richest blessings of the Lord. We love you guys and miss you much already!

"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington"

2008-05-18T18:00:00.009-04:00

A few months ago we got "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" on our NetFlix rotation. If you have never seen this movie, please do. It was wonderful. Anyway, as I was watching the movie it kinda reminded me that "someday" I would love for us to be able to go see all these places that we have read about and heard about and seen pictures of all our lives. Someday...

Well, the "someday" has arrived for the Reynolds Family! Rachael's parents asked Rachael a few weeks later if we would like to go on vacation with them to Wahington DC. Well, of course we would, but we certainly can't afford it. Well, what if we paid for it?

Let me give you a hint...don't ever offer a free vacation to a missionary unless you really mean it, because, chances are, they will take you up on it. And of course we did.

So, here we are in Washington DC. We have seen 3 of the Smithsonians, most of the monuments, the International Spy Museum, Arlington Cemetary and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and taken nearly 1,000 pictures! We have had a great time and we aren't even going home yet. The first of this week still holds the Capital, the White House, The Library of Congress... Well, you get the idea. Below you will find a few pictures.

Please don't misunderstand this post, we certainly aren't bragging. We just wanted you to know about the opportunity we had to "get away" one last time before the summer started and to be thrilled and motivated by all the sights and sounds and experiences of our great nation's capital...all due to the graciousness and generosity of Rachael's parents, Earl and Jan Heath. (Thanks also to the Robinsons for holding the fort down at the Campus!)

We hope and pray you are doing well, and we look forward to seeing or hearing from you soon.

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T17:06:00.007-04:00

For Mother's Day, Rachael's sister, Catherine and her son Brian came up for a weekend visit, along with Rachael's parents, Earl and Jan. We all went to church together this morning, which was really great, and we even managed to talk a friend into taking a few pictures.

The first picture is all of us together, and the second is of Catherine and Brian.

Next is a picture of all the ladies together... all that beauty in one place. :-)

The next picture is us at dinner, and the last is all the men together.

i AM smiling...

2008-04-28T23:11:00.003-04:00

Yes, as you can tell, we went for it at one of those silly "old timey" picture places. Rachael and I had always wanted to do it and the kids were game, so the next thing we knew, we were putting on the costumes and doing our best not to laugh while he took the picture. We took several poses and bought a couple and the guy was nice enough to give us the extra poses on my flash drive that I happened to have in my pocket. Really a nice day over all. We were on our way back from speaking at a church in western NC and decided to come home through Cherokee, NC and Gatlinburg. One last "hurrah" before the summer "rush hour" hits us. Times of family relax and enjoy time are few and far between so we try to take advantage of it when we can.

Up, up and away...

2008-04-02T20:02:00.002-04:00

There's no picture to go with this blog as I am currently sitting in the Atlanta airport, waiting for a connecting flight home. My day began today at 3:30 AM and will end somewhere around midnight thirty. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. Although I admit it has been a long day, it was well worth it. A very dear friend of ours in Montgomery passed away Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer. I had the Delta miles to get a "free" flight (you still have to pay a small fee), and it just seemed like the right thing to do. I jumped online Monday after we found out the funeral arragengements, and a miracle occurred.

The Lord worked it out where, not only did I get the flights I needed to make the "down and back" trip, but it only took the minimum number of miles to redeem to get the tickets. Dear friends picked me up at the airport, we squeezed in a visit to the hospital to a friend recovering from a motorcycle accident, they bought me lunch, we went to the funeral, and they deposited me back at the airport in plenty of time to catch the first leg of my flight home. What little "trouble" the day was, was inconsequential to being able to hug my buddy and tell him how sorry I was that his sweet wife was gone. She is completely healed now, standing whole in the presence of Christ our Savior. Up, up, and away...

Happy "day after" Easter!

2008-03-24T15:34:00.003-04:00

SNOW AGAIN?!?

I’m sure glad that I listened to the wise person who said “Don’t put up your winter clothes until after Easter”. Well, Easter was yesterday and as you can tell by the picture, it looks like we’ll need to keep out the winter clothes for a little bit longer.

The forecast called for snow last week while our mission team from Texas was here. Although the team may have been a little disappointed that we didn’t get any snow, they were excited to see all of the kids who showed up for the after school Kid’s Club. The Lord provided most of the days with plenty of sunshine for all the activities to be held outside. He provided a little rain one day, but it didn’t stop all of the fun inside. Between games, Bible stories, crafts, snacks and more games, all the kids seemed to have had a great week. I know we did.

With the help of Pastor Bruce, we were also able to do several home visits to some home-bound elderly. As it often seems to turn out, the Lord used them to bless us. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed being able to hear about them and their families. I learned a lot about “who is related to whom?” Making home visits was something that I considered way out of my “Comfort Zone”, but once again, the Lord gave me courage to do it. I look forward to visiting again. (It didn’t hurt at all.)

I hope that the Lord will place it upon your heart to do something today that you normally would feel is out of your “Comfort Zone”. I’m sure you will be blessed richly for your obedience to Him.

Rachael

Happy Easter!

2008-03-24T15:27:00.002-04:00

We hope you had a joyous celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! We did. Part of our celebration was three arrangements of flowers that Rachael's parents sent us, the Robinsons and the Hawkins. As you can tell, they were gorgeous.

Good shape for an older model

2008-03-01T09:24:00.002-05:00

No, I am not talking about myself. I am talking about Austin's "new" truck. A couple of weeks ago Austin and I were running right on time for an appointment when we spotted this little Ford Ranger being driven into the Food City with a For Sale sign in the window. I told Austin that if it was still there when we came back, we would have to check it out. A couple of hours later when we came out, it was still there and we stopped to take a look. It almost seemed too good to be true, because if the odometer was correct (67k) and the condition of the body and interior were good indicators of what kind of shape it was in, it was a remarkable deal, especially for an '84 model.

We called the number on the window, and long story short, three days later we were exchanging cash and the title. The price was...well, let's put it this way; we were able to make the purchase without putting any undue strain on our budget, which isn't exactly overflowing with extra cash waiting to be spent.

We realize that this probably won't be a vehicle Austin can depend on for a really long time or lots of long trips, but for a first vehicle (that we can afford the insurance for), we think it fits the situation perfectly. This was a great deal, and we are surely thankful that it came into our path and the Lord blessed us in this way. Keep on truckin' Austin!

Happy Valentines Day!

2008-02-14T09:52:00.009-05:00

18 years ago this week I got down on one knee and asked the prettiest and sweetest girl in the world if she would consider spending the rest of her life with me. She said 'yes' and we have been together ever since. I didn't deserve her then, and I still don't, but God gave her to me anyway. The picture to the left is from a couple of years after we married at a convention we attended.

Our two wonderful children and thousands of cherished memories are the result of our marriage.

The picture to the right is from a banquet we attended in February '04, right before we made the move to Kentucky. Both pictures are of a thorn and a rose :-)

We are looking forward to many more years together as we walk through this life hand-in-hand.

Happy Valentines Day sweetheart!

The Before and After

2008-02-13T17:38:00.005-05:00

Last month Heather went for her regular orthodontist appointment. Things were going like usual, with the assistant replacing the wires and rubber bands. The Doctor came in to check things out and then dropped a bomb. "It looks like you will be ready for us to take these off next month." WOW! After almost three years it was time for Heather's braces to come off?!? You can just imagine how excited we all were for Heather, but not nearly as excited as she was for herself.

We didn't share the news with anyone, because we didn't want Heather to have to explain it to everyone if something happened and they weren't able to take them off for some reason. But now, as you can see, the proof of the pudding is in the smile. Needless to say, Heather's first request was that we have corn-on-the-cob for supper. She'll probably spend the next few days experimenting with apples (without slicing), fresh carrots, popcorn and a few other things. Congratulations Heather! Your smile is as gorgeous as ever!

Off again...

2008-02-08T08:25:00.000-05:00

Yes, we are off again, this time to a missions conference in South Carolina. Please pray for us as we travel that the Lord would bless us with safety. Pray that we would have opportunities to be a blessing to those we come in contact with this weekend, from the gas station attendant to the waitress, to thos we talk with at the conference. Pray that God would continue to help us see what He is doing around us so that we can join Him in it, and pray that as we share at the conference that He would use us to help others see and hear the call that God has placed on their life.

Thanks so much for your comittment to pray for us. Know that we lift you up daily as well. God bless and have a great weekend!

I'm BACK!

2008-01-22T12:26:00.000-05:00

Wow, that's a new record for me! I haven't posted anything here since last year! Actually, it has been 22 days! I have to tell you, though, things really have been a little hectic. Between travel to churches and keeping up with what has to be done here at the Campus on a regular basis, things have been pretty busy.

We enjoyed our "down and back" trip to Montgomery, even though we were only able to stay for about a day and half. Our time with our home church, Thorington Road (http://www.thoringtonroadbaptist.org/), was a great blessing for us. Thank you all so much!

The next few weeks should give us some more time to get things done around here, with just a few speaking times and a couple of missions conferences and a couple of teams. Mission teams will start coming back pretty regularly in the middle of March and then before you know it, summer will be here.

Hope you are doing well. Let us hear from you when you get a chance!

Cooking with Grandma

2007-12-31T10:33:00.000-05:00

We are so glad that the kids have always enjoyed cooking, and one of the best ways to enjoy cooking is to do it with Grandma. Here the kids are making a homemade apple pie (they also made sweet potato, pumkin and cherry) with their Grandma.

Letcher County Roots

2007-12-29T10:35:00.001-05:00

Some of you know that my Mom was born and raised in Letcher County, where we now live and serve. We had actually committed to coming here before we realized that her hometown of Jenkins was in Letcher County. So, in a manner of speaking, coming here was like coming home. We have been here now for 3 1/2 years and it is certainly home to us.

For Christmas, we were able to find a blanket for my Mom that depicts scenes from Letcher County. The top picture is the old Jenkins High School, where she graduated. The 3rd picture down the left side is Blackey Presbyterian Church, which is about two miles from the Campus and where the wedding in "Coal Miner's Daughter" was filmed. And, of course, Pine Mountain is right in the center. My Mom will be able to warm herself with scenes from her "home place". It just seemed like the perfect Christmas gift.

We wish you a Merry Christmas...

2007-12-28T18:51:00.000-05:00

Hope you had a good one. Ours was great! On Christmas Eve the Robinsons invited us over for the traditional turkey/dressing dinner, along with the Weiss Family. The food was fantastic, but the fellowship was even better. The kids made the deserts and we sat and talked for hours. It was a great evening. After dinner we fed the herd (Rolex and Fred) and then did our traditional Christmas Evening with the Christmas Story from Luke 2, singing Christmas carols with just the tree lights on, and then the kids opened one present. It was a great evening.

Christmas Morning dawned as a beautiful day, and after opening presents and eating breakfast, we enjoyed spending the day with each other quietly at home. Our wish and prayer for you is that the coming year will be Christ-filled and the best year you have ever had. May God bless you richly!

A Shelter in the time of storm

2007-12-21T08:53:00.000-05:00

As you may know, we have a couple of horses (actually - a horse, Rolex, and a pony, Fred) here on the Campus and hope to eventually have an Equestrian Ministry. Being able to offer riding lessons, trail rides from the Campus up into the mountains behind us, and special equestrian events, is something we are lookng forward to doing. While we are praying and working toward that goal, we still need to take care of the horses we already have. We have been needing a "run-in" shelter out in the pasture so that we don't have to put Rolex and Fred up in their stalls every time the weather turns bad. Casey and I have been working on that that this week, along with help from Gunner. We finished it yesterday afternoon, just in time for some cold, all-night rain. Austin came up and took some pictures of the finished product, although Casey said the only picture he wanted was one of the horses using it (after all that work!). :-)

A shelter in the time of storm... no wonder the psalmist used that illustration in describing our awesome and mighty God. He never promised that we wouldn't go through storms... just that He would shelter us and be with us through them, and that during the storm (and all other times) we could trust and rest in Him.

1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."
Psalm 91:1-2

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2007-12-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

The last few days for us have been filled with wonderful Christmas-time activities. Heather and Rachael did some decorating, we got our tree up and decorated, the Christmas cards are getting taped up all over, the Nativity Scene is in place. We even played some Christmas music. What a joyous time of celebrating Christ's birth we have been having.

Last Saturday night, we enjoyed a great Christmas party at Joe and Olivia's house, and Free Indeed was even there to bless us with a few songs in addition to all the caroling we did. The food was fantastic! Many thanks to Joe and Olivia and all the folks that helped make it such a wonderful evening!

Monday afternoon a group of ladies came up from Southside Baptist in Spartanburg to do a Christmas party at our nursing home in Whitesburg. They did a wonderful job and everyone had a great time. We even caroled up and down the halls for all the residents who could not come to the party. These ladies then took us and the Robinsons out to eat at the Pine Mountian Grill. I have to admit I fully enjoyed my baby back ribs! Thanks ladies! After supper we headed back to the house and there we found out once again just how wonderful our God is and how wonderful His people are. Two Sunday School Classes from Southside "adopted" us and the Robinsons and lavished (and I do mean lavished!) us with food, gifts, gift cards and love! Our cup ran over! How blessed we are to have family like all the wonderful folks at Southside!

Our hope and prayer is that you are enjoying this season of celebration and reflection. How blessed we are to be recipients of God's lavish grace! Merry, merry Christmas!

Happy Birthday Heather!

2007-12-17T09:13:00.001-05:00

Yes, our "little girl" is growing up. Quite the young lady, she turned 14 last week amid joyous celebration. Monday night we took her our for dinner at Applebees and a movie. She knew what most of her presents were (she helped pick them out), but we did get to surprise her a little bit. By the way, her choice and delight was to make and decorate her own cake. As our "artsy-craftsy" girl, we think she did a great job. She got a lot of that gene from her Grandma (Jan Heath), whose birthday was the next day. Happy Birthday to you, too, Grandma!

Dad and Son time

2007-12-15T12:28:00.000-05:00

OK, OK, I know it's been a couple of weeks since I "blogged". Things get kinda busy sometimes, you know? The day after I bloggged last, Casey and I went over to Lynch for a ministry training seminar. That night we finished packing, I took a nap and then about 1 AM Austin and I headed out for a week of deer hunting and spending father/son time in Alabama. Doug Crouse and Doug Kenerly were generous in letting us spend a week hunting at the hunting club I used to be a member of with them. Doug Crouse was very gracious in letting Austin and I stay in his camper on the hunting club property all week. Austin was not able to get his first deer, but we still had a great time together. Staying busy with ministry and travel and school, we don't often get that opportunity. It was a good week. Thanks to the hospitality of Rachael's parents, Earl and Jan Heath, Austin and I were able to run into town for showers during the week and a good night's sleep the night before we left.

Ealy Sunday morning Austin and I headed to Pelham, GA to First Baptist Church. Our good friend and former police chaplain in Montgomery, Kim Grueser, has been pastoring this church for 7 years. He and his wife Diane have accepted a call for him to pastor Pittsburg, PA Baptist Church, which will put him back "home". This was his last service at 1st Pelham and they honored him Sunday with a dinner and clebration of his ministry. It was a privilege and honor for us to participate in this celebration. We wish Kim and Diane godspeed and God's richest blessings in their new ministry adventure.

We got back home in plenty of time for a joyous celebration of Heather's 14th birthday (can you believe it?!?), but more about that in another post. Time to go help decorate the tree. :-)

Family pictures, wind, fuel pump, etc...

2007-12-02T20:28:00.001-05:00

Yesterday afternoon the Robinsons asked if we would take a family picture for them today before we all headed out to church. Of course we said yes, but then this morning, with everyone in their Sunday best, the weather decided not to cooperate and sent one of the windiest days we have seen. Needless to say, the girls' hair just did not want to cooperate. We still managed to get a few pictures made and hopefully they found one they could use. In the meantime, we decided to give it a try ourselves, and they snapped one of us during one of the brief moments of less wind.

This week was a busy one, again. No rest for the weary, they say. Casey and I headed down to GA for a funeral on Wednesday. The 14 year old son of a member of one of our very supportive mission teams was killed in a hunting accident over Thanksgiving weekend and the service was on Wednesday. We wanted to go down to show our support for him and the rest of the church. Our plan was to come back that same evening, but the fuel pump on our car decided to quit on us and left us "stranded" in GA. We were hardly stranded, though. Our friends at that church took great care of us... feeding us, putting us up for the night, and a mechanic in the church even replaced the fuel pump at no charge! Wow!

Although the circumstances that neccessitated our trip were horrible, it was a great time of fellowship and seeing God's provision once again in our lives. Speaking of God's provision, on Saturday we all travelled over to Lynch, KY, where a mission team from Union County, SC had prepared a wonderful time of celebrating Christ's birth. They brought food and games for the kids, and each family there was "adopted" by a church or family from SC. They brought presents and we got to "have Christmas" with a wonderful couple from SC. Ricky and Nikki are now our dear friends and brother and sister in Christ. We were excited to see how God is working in their lives and so overwhelmed by how they blessed us in this way.

This next week looks to be another busy one, with ministry training for me and Casey, and a deer hunting trip for me and Austin. Hope you have a great week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, I know, Thanksgiving was actually 3 days ago, but this is the first chance I've had to post since then. My Mom, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Brenda and their grandson Daniel came and spent Thanksgiving with us here at the Campus. We had one of the best meals ever and got to spend lots of time catching up and reminiscing. Friday afternoon we drove over to Jenkins as my Mom and Uncle Jim showed us their old stomping grounds and lots of where things "used to be". We kept heading east to The Breaks park on the other side of Elkhorn City, and enjoyed the Christmas lights there. Yesterday was a little bit quieter, with the ladies going over to a new scrap-booking store on Hwy 15, then we all went out to dinner in Hazard and back here to watch the Iron Bowl. All-in-all it was a great weekend and a great time to spend time with our family. They are headed home today (Sunday), so if you read this post today please pray with us for their safe travel back home to Montgomery.

Autumn leaves, Jesus doesn't

2007-11-20T09:41:00.000-05:00

What a great weekend this was! We were so excited to have 6 college students from 1st Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL here at the Campus. They got in Friday night and spent the weekend helping us rake the 80 gazillion leaves that have fallen thus far. They all worked hard and had a great time, and they are even talking about when they can come back! Thanks guys and gals for all your help, but thanks especially for your friendship and fellowship in the Lord. We are looking forward to seeing what God will do in all of your lives as you continue to trust in Him.

Brrrr....

2007-11-17T23:13:00.000-05:00

I think it's probably safe to put away the shorts and sandals for a few months. Winter seems to have officially come upon us here. Last night was one of the hardest frosts we have had this year and the temps this morning were quite chilly. We have team of awesome college students from 1st Baptist Church in Montgomery, AL here this weekend. We started off the day by unloading 50 bales of hay for the horses that some great folks from North Carolina graciously donated. We spent the rest of the day raking about a gazillion leaves, meaning we are about 10% done with leaf raking for the Fall/Winter. By noon almost everyone had shed their heavier coats for sweatshirts and sweaters, but the chill returned with the setting of the sun.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day to be outside and enjoy the beauty of God's creation. The trees, the wind, the mountains, the sunshine, the stars at night and the clear blue skies.... they all sing in chorus of how great and awesome He is. The day came to a close in one of my favorite ways... a campfire under the stars. And you know what? He'll wake us up tomorrow morning with new mercies. Sleep well friend, and enjoy a great Lord's Day tomorrow.

Out with the old, in with the new...

2007-11-12T17:21:00.000-05:00

This weekend we enjoyed the fellowship and hard work of a great group of guys from Southside Baptist. They are in the final stages of the renovation of the Pastor Resource and Study Center. This weekend they were installing the new bookcases, desks and cabinets that they have custom built to go in the room. The top of the bookshelves that will go under the windows will be level with the bottom of the windows, so the old window sills had to go. While it's exciting to think about the new use and ministry of this room, it's also neat to think about how long this Campus, this building, and this room, have been used for God's glory. May it serve the people of the mountians for many years to come.

I am in Elizabethtown, KY for the annual meeting of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. I am looking forward to 2 days of great preaching, super worship, renewing old friendships and making new ones. And on Wednesday I will look forward even more to being back home with my family.

My favorite season is...

2007-11-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

Yes, you can certainly look around the Campus and see that Fall has arrived - in the form of millions of leaves all over the ground. While that does mean a lot of raking and blowing, I still enjoy this time of year. I think my "favorite season" has become whatever season is arriving or has arrived in the past two months. My "least favorite" must be whatver season has been around for the last several months and I have grown tired of. Isn't that a hoot? As humans, we get so easily and quickly tired of whatever blessing is right in front of us...so forgetful. I am glad that the Bible says that His "mercies are new every morning".

" The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:23-24

Grateful for what's right in front of us. What a concept. Our little Welch pony, Fred, finally got a visit from a ferrier yesterday. We have had such a hard time finding a ferrier that can come on a regular basis and keep his feet trimmed. We think we may have finally found someone (actually the Lord sent him to us) that can come often enough to get Fred's feet back into shape. We are grateful for Darryl.

Yesterday, we unloaded a trailer load of desks and chairs that were donated to the Campus by My Office Products in Spartanburg, SC. We are so grateful for our new desks and chairs.

This morning there was a knock at the door and Annie (4) and Josie (3) were there with a plate of four homemade Rice Krispy Treats for us. We are so grateful for a family like the Robinsons, we are not only like-minded and kindred spirits, but are such a loving and sweet family as well.

Tomorrow I will be driving down to SC to pick up the bookshelves and cabinets that will go in the Pastor Resource and Study Center. We are so grateful for ministry partners like Southside Baptist.

Let's spend the day being grateful for what's right in front of us.

Home again, home again, jiggety jig...

2007-11-06T08:14:00.000-05:00

It is always good to travel. It is always great to see folks you haven't seen in a while. It is always fantastic to get back home again. :-)

I pulled back into the Campus last night about 8:30 pm and it sure was good to be home. I had a great weekend - the Men's Retreat, the AMRBC Concert Saturday night, great fellowship in Sunday School, wonderful worship and preaching in church, dinner with Rachael's foks Sunday night, chillin' with all the guys at Keith's house.... all of that was part of a super weekend. But there's just no substitute for warm hugs and "welcome home" from your own sweet wife and kids.

Rachael and the kids had a good weekend, too. While Austin had an all-day Saturday class as part of his Driver's Ed class, Rachael and Heather spent the day shopping. Sunday they visited at First Baptist, Hindman, and on Monday Austin finally got to make it to an eye doctor's appointment for some new glasses.

Now to catch up on some email and phone calls and "to-do" list and...

Many thanks

2007-11-04T00:53:00.000-04:00

Many thanks to our good friend and pastor, DJ Horton, his wife, Laurel, and their wonderful church, Anderson Mill Road Baptist from Spartanburg, SC. DJ has been a great encouragement to us and our home church many times over the last several years, but never so much as in the last few months. This weekend was no exception.

The TRBC Men's Retreat was this weekend at Lay Lake and DJ spoke from from 1 Peter and encouraged and challenged everyone there. His church choir and orchestra and other church members traveled down for a great time of fellowship, music and time in the Word. Tomorrow we will share another great service of worship, praise and preaching. Many thanks to DJ and the host of friends at AMRBC. You all are "da bomb"!

Thanks guys!

2007-11-02T06:44:00.000-04:00

The guys from Mountain View just pulled out and I will be shortly behind them, headed down south. They did a fantastic job with the back porch and deck, and I am sure that their investment will pay off for many years to come. I am headed down for our home church's Men's Retreat. Rachael and the kids will be staying here. Pray for safety as we all travel today.

Pray that I would be more like Jesus. 1 John 1:9

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

2007-10-31T00:14:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-30T22:21:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-29T23:18:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-27T09:57:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-26T07:32:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-10-24T11:30:00.000-04:00

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...

2007-10-24T11:15:00.000-04:00

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

2007-10-23T17:28:00.001-04:00

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

2007-10-23T16:27:00.000-04:00

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...