A Baby Shower for Lily Mei!

No, not Lily Grace, Lily Mei! On Saturday, the 17th of March, we were blessed to be able to host a baby shower for Steve and Monica, members of our Athens FCC. Steve and Monica will be traveling soon to bring Lily Mei home to be with her forever family, and we couldn't be happier for them.

Now, this wasn't just your usual baby shower (not to take anything away from those joyous events, mind you), this was a full blown celebration. Complete with moms, grandmoms, kids, and dads. What? Dads? That's right, I said Dads. And not just Steve. Why, there must have been 20 of them. OK, ok maybe not that many, but certainly more than you'd see at your typical baby shower. Now some of us Dads have a better understanding of what goes on at one of these things. Unless, of course, the ladies tricked us and left out some things. Hmm. Come to think of it, we didn't play any games at all? I thought games were supposed to be played. Oh, that's right. We Dads weren't here for the games, we were here to watch after all the children while the Moms talked, had cake, punch, and other treats. But we did get to watch while Steve and Monica opened all the presents. One dad was overheard to say to another "When do they get to the tools and gadgets part?" Er, I don't think they have that part at a baby shower, you're thinking of a wedding shower.

"Ooh, I like it. What is it?"

Well, anyway it was great to see all the members of the Athens FCC and to get to spend time with the little ones while the Moms took a break for chatting and celebrating. Mary Beth even took to calling me "Uncle" Jerry. How cool is that?

We pray for Steve and Monica as they take the next step in their journey. And we look forward to hearing from them as they experience that wonderful moment when God places in their lives a little girl who promises to bring more blessings than anyone can imagine. "I can only imagine what it will be like, when I look into your eyes, I can only imagine." We will keep them in our prayers and thoughts as we wait patiently for that day when they return home with Lily Mei. Oh what an awesome God we serve!

A Gaggle of Girls - Our Version of the Red Couch!

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace

Amanda's Spring Dance

And Lily's first night away from home!

Lily Grace spent her first full night away from home last Saturday night. We went to Birmingham and didn't figure to get home till after midnight, so we made plans for her to spend the night with Memaw and Papaw. I won't say how many times we called Memaw, but suffice it to say that Memaw had to remind Connie that she'd raised a few kids in her day and was pretty sure she knew how to do it!

Most of the time our posts here are about Lily Grace. Of course, the reason for that is that she will be able one day to read these stories and relive some fond memories. But, through the grace of God, we have also been blessed with having two other special "daughters" in our lives, Amanda and Emily. Twin sisters with a passion for God that is indescribable. Amanda is finishing up her degree in Dance at Birmingham Southern, while Emily is studying to be a nurse at Calhoun and working at Huntsville Hospital. Both of them have a heart for worship that is simply inspiring and contagious. They are wonderful big sisters for Austin and Lily Grace. When we talk, often it is about how God is working in our lives.

So, this past Saturday night, Amanda was to have her last performance at Birmingham Southern. Not only that, but her parents and our dear friends came down from Illinois to watch. So, we loaded up everyone except Lily Grace and went to Birmingham to watch Amanda dance. Emily came, as did Amanda's boyfriend Will (along with many from his family). Lily's Aunt Tracie and her boys also came with us. We counted that Amanda had 28 people come to see her dance! And as usual, the performance was beautiful.

Now, speaking of how God is working in our lives, a few years ago, if you'd asked me to go to a ballet or dance performance, well let's just say the chances of that would be very slim. You would be more likely to find me at a baseball game or football game. I still do those with Austin, but we've been to see Amanda dance three times in the past year and we've really enjoyed it each time. The grace and beauty with which the dancers interpret the songs is awesome. It's like listening to a great song and seeing it unfold before you in 3D. There is this one girl in Amanda's class who is from Korea and is awesome. We once observed her dance solo an entire number on the tips of her toes! Elegant! Amanda has several parts usally, but not just dancing. As part of their education, they participate in costumes, choreographing, and all the other things that we don't think about or just take for granted. They work for weeks or even months to get everything just right. And it's really enjoyable to see when they finish their work.

But the coolest part of the evening to us was getting to see Emily and Amanda and their mother and father all at the same time. A family created by God and loved by Him! I'm kicking myself for not getting a picture of that! I'm sorry Maurice and Tammy, just wasn't thinking - it was late! But I did get this funny shot of Will as he waited patiently for Amanda to hug everyone else before getting to him. Poor Will!

Please keep Emily and Amanda in your prayers as they finish their education and begin the next phase of their lives. Amanda will finish in May. She has auditioned for several dance companies, but may decide to continue her education in graduate school. Emily still has another year to go. She's taking Lily Grace to "Play Hospital" tomorrow at Calhoun Community College. Maybe that'll be a good warmup for next week's doctor appointment with the dermitologist.

As for Lily Grace and how she did at Memaw's. Just fine. No problem. I'll have my bath now, Papaw. Please draw the water. Move over Papaw. Me and Memaw are sleeping in this bed! I'll have eggs and bacon for breakfast in the morning. She's not bossy, just a little outspoken!

Love,
Jerry, Connie, Austin, Lily Grace, Amanda, and Emily (and Poor Will)
Green, Party of Seven this Day

Who Am I?

That the Lord of All the Earth Would Care to Know My Name?



How awesome is it that the Lord of all the earth really cares about each of us in a way that no one else can? That He not only cares for me, but has plans for me, plans that serve His purpose and not my own. That if I'm obedient to those plans, He will pour out His blessings on me in such a mighty way that I can only stand in awe!

We have seen this and experienced this every day since we began following His plan for our lives. Before that, even though we sometimes experienced great happiness in the events of our lives, it was only fleeting. That's because there was no joy in that happiness. Just a temporary feel good moment in time. Once God began drawing us back to Him through his awesome servant, and our only son Austin, we began to see, little by little, the joy that He had planned for us. But, being the know it all that I am (was?), I figured I could do anything and everything on my own. I didn't need anyone else's help (I'm still not fully over this affliction!). But God was always there, waiting in the background, for us to realize that it was His plan that was being executed, not ours. What an amazing gentleman! That he would make plans for us and then not get upset with us when we refused them. When we tried to do it our way. Instead, He just waits patiently for us to turn to Him.

Jerry's Team "The Rockets" (You had to know that my boys would be called the Rockets!)

And when we do, boy does he pour out the blessings! In our case, we have been allowed to see things and experience things that we couldn't even imagine. Working with children though various ministries at church and in the community. God has placed certain children and parents into our lives to serve His purpose, woven into a complex plan that affects our lives and theirs to His Glory! There's a reason for each and every one of them. He taught us to love them and privileged us to be loved by them. Thank you God for that blessing!

We have been honored to lead children's church, to take kids camping, to church camp, and just spend time with them. He's also given us the opportunity to work with kids in the community though baseball, coaching and at one time administering the entire league (over 1200 kids) for Limestone County. Each team had its purpose and each person was a part of God's plan for every other person that was part of the team. Through this opportunity, we were given many opportunities to be a positive witness for our Lord Jesus. I'm proud that I think we did a good job in this regard and left the position with many friends who have no doubt about where we stand in matters of worship (oops, I better go back and re-read Ephesians chapter 2).

Finally, we have been honored to help minister to 100 to 175 kids a year at Isom's Chapel through the Upward Basketball and Cheerleading Ministry. I've coached, Connie's coached, and Austin's played for several years now. We celebrated our season this past Friday night with a huge Awards ceremony, complete with a clown (not me) who had an awesome way of sharing the Lord's plan with the children and their parents (and us too). The night was somewhat of a mixed emotion for me, personally, as Austin was too sick to attend. Throughout the season, Austin had the job to announce each player for every game each week as they ran through the tunnel and onto the court. Austin would have loud music playing and would make a big deal out of each one. He wanted to do this Friday night one last time, but was too sick. (We've both been very sick for about a month, that's why this blog hasn't been updated much lately). But on the positive side, we were privileged to know tha at least 10 people came to know the Jesus I love that night and dedicated their lives to Him. And that is why we work so hard in the Upward Ministry.

BTW, Lily Grace loved spending every Saturday at the gym. She even learned to say "baacketball." She thought she was the center of the universe, sometimes wandering onto the court during a game or practice and just looking at the players as if to say "Here I am, notice me!" She even helped me with a few halftime devotions. We were so proud to be able to share this "little blessing" with our Upward friends.

"A Little Early Suntan on the Nose?" No, not exactly. Connie and Lily were racing to the mailbox and well, let's just say there was an accident. The details escape me right now.

Love,

Jerry, Connie, Austin, and Lily Grace