Delicious!

Though everyone viewed in this posting is my friend, several attend my monthly prayer group and like my friends in our In Line With the Word home team, each of these people is so very special to me. I love them all and wanted you to have a chance to get to know them a little bit.

Several years ago 'Lighthouse Prayer' groups were started up at our church. So on the first Monday of each month, I put on a pot of coffee and at about 7:00 am the cars start pulling into the driveway. After welcomes and hugs almost everyone makes her way into the kitchen for a cup of coffee before heading to her favorite spot in the living room. I know what you're thinking! 7:00 in the morning? Though, we've had to deal with some slipping and sliding because of snow or icy weather or a very rare Monday holiday, we all agree it works for us like a charm. The core group averages 4 to 5 people and though we're small in number, we make up for it with God's grace and the Holy Spirit. We pray and praise God through the good times and the bad! It's what draws us together.

Every few months or so, we get together for Food, Fun and Fellowship. It provides a perfect opportunity for our families to gather to spend some time breaking bread, catching up and strengthening our bonds of friendship. Sunday, we gathered for a cookout at my house. Though it was 90* and humid, we were blessed with lots of shade and lots of great food.

Charlie did the grilling and as always did a great job. While he isn't YET an official member of our prayer group or home team, he is a great host and makes everyone who enters our home feel very welcome. Thanks honey for that.

We were all excited about our very special 'guests' Ed and Cindy.
Though Cindy was under the weather and had to remain home
resting, Ed enjoyed a great afternoon and fit right in.
I apologize for not having any photos of Ed but I forgot

to have him sign a permission form. Just kidding.
I'm surely working to correct this oversight!

Meet Jeanne & Ted Gaudet! Congratulations to Jeanne on
becoming a licensed Minister!

Brenda & Wally Abbott: Brenda heads up the Meals
Ministry , Wally serves as an Usher.

Tyler is Brenda & Wally's first born son. He's a great young man
who was simply worn out after lots of fun time.


Bradley is adventorous . Check out his moves on the Rip Stick!


While the adults sat outside enjoying the shady back yard,
the youngsters found their very own place to crash and
cool off in the screen porch.

That's where we find Liz and her brother Nick! They came
along with their grandparents Donna & Ralph.

Ralph was my designated photographer, so we don't
have his picture but meet Donna. She's on the left
of this picture. Donna & Ralph work in the
Media Ministries working the cameras and sound booth.

Marguerite & Dave Blomquist joined us. We don't get to spend time

with Dave very often so it was great having a chance to get to know him

better. Dave, my husband Charlie (pictured) and Ed enjoyed

discussing hunting, politics, heavy equipment and so much more.
Marguerite does the 'card' ministry for the Women's
Ministry.

Last but not least meet the Benoit family: Renee is wife & mom.
She also serves as the Deacon Board Secretary.

Husband & Dad Tony
Tony does the sound board in the Media Ministries

And their son Cody who didn't stop moving very much. What a great day!

When Cody did stop for a bit he, too, found the screen porch

to catch his breath and cool off.

Our afternoon was wonderful fun but we eventually had to say our 'goodbye's

until our next get together. So let me leave it with ....

Until we meet again , Sal

P.S. God is so good to us. Many years ago I taught in our local
middle school and had both Renee
and Brenda as students. We had lost touch and
God brought us back into one anothers lives.
How gracious and generous He is!

It's Unanimous

We are in agreement! We won't take a month off again! All month long, the comments heard over and over again from everyone in our In Line With The Word home team were that we really missed our Tuesday night get together . So, it's official we are back on track! Vacation is over! While a couple of our members are away for the balance of the Summer, the rest of the team is excited to be participating in a study called Prophetic Mysteries Revealed . It's a 5 week DVD series taught by Pastor John Hagee.

Here's an overview.........

There are prophetic mysteries that have been revealed that make the future very clear. In these uncertain times, many are wondering, "What in the world is going on?" "What is happening to America and what is in the future?"

Moses stated in Deuteronomy 29:29, "The secret things belong unto the Lord our God but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever..."

The prophetic Word of God tells us clearly and precisely what is going to happen to America and the world in the immediate future. There is no reason for fear or worry! God is in complete control and is permitting this worldwide situation for His own plan and purpose.

In this exciting and informative series, Pastor Hagee charts the future far more clearly than the world can possibly see or imagine.

The 5 weeks cover: Can You Trust Bible Prophecy?,The Danger of Self Deception, The Signs Of Bible Prophecy ( 2 ), The Coming New World Order.

We hope that you are enjoying our blog. It's our privilege to share with you what our home team is up to. I apologize for not having any photos posted but am having technical difficulties! I'm working on getting the problem solved and hope that you will check in later!

Sally

Service: Where We Have a Blast Serving Jesus

Our Home team had so much fun serving at VBS (Vacation Bible School) that we wanted to share it with you and to encourage YOU to find your very own ways of serving.

You'll see lots of familiar faces, since most of our Home Team participated. What FUN!

Kim and her chief assistant Laurie, take a minute to review all of their plans, in preparing for another exciting VBS (Vacation Bible School).

Service is what we saw in action every day in God's Big Back Yard. Enjoy a little tour of our exciting week, as seen through the perspective of the Kindergarten Lady Bugs.


What a Welcome we received every morning. Mrs. Kim and Mr. Jay make sure that our Special Registration stations are clearly identified. They were already 'serving'.


We had our very own curb service as our team of Youth Guides made sure that every Lady Bug received his/her passport.

The God's Big Back Yard team even had it's very own youth photographer Hannah to have a record of the exciting , and fun filled week we all enjoyed.

We began each day at the Community Corner where we met , heard and learned from our very special guests.

This lady visited us from Loaves & Fishes , a food pantry in our area that collects food to help feed people in our neighborhood and community. Some people need help to feed their own families. Every day, our donations this VBS were non-perishable food supplies and we collected lots, and lots. It was very exciting for us all to be able to serve families needing help.

Mrs. Alice and Vi told us all about the Prayer Shawl Ministry. They make crocheted or quilted lap blankets , shawls , chemo caps and slippers for friends who are sick and need something special to help make them more comfortable. While they sew or crochet , they pray for the people who will receive their very special gifts. What a wonderful way of serving others and sharing the love of Jesus!

Some of our Lady Bug class even got to try on a cap! We laughed and giggled! What fun!

Firefighter John told us all about how Firefighters serve their neighbors. He told us all about his gear and we even timed him to see how fast he could get his special pants, coat and fire helmet on. He was really fast. It only took him 35 seconds. As a firefighter he rides on a firetruck to accidents and fires. He helps and serves his neighbors.

Mrs. Joann helps people in our community learn how to speak English (ESL) so that they can pay their bills, do their shopping, talk to the teachers of their children, attend church and understand their doctors. She was very excited about being able to serve others.

Miss Caitlin talked to us about serving Jesus. She told us about a missions trip that she had gone on and that her younger brother is in the Ukraine on a missions trip right now. We learned that our mission field is in our own homes, neighborhoods, community and yes, perhaps on the other side of the world. Miss Caitlin and her brother are young, so we learned that we can serve Jesus no matter what our age might be.

Our next stop every day was "It's Your Serve".


Check out all of those hands on our 'Serving Tree'. Each represents the ways that we all served others during the week. We made lots of people happy, especially our Moms and Dads and served Jesus at the same time.

Every class had different color green hands. It made it fun to look up at the tree and to be able to find our very own Lady Bugs serving hands. Mrs. Kim & Laurie thought of everything.

Our next stop was to the Backyard Bible room .


We met several people from the Bible like Miriam who took care of her brother Moses; Four Men who took their friend to Jesus; a Samaritan man who helped an injured man; Zacchaeus pictured up in the tree, who met Jesus and decided to help his community; and Peter and John who served Jesus by showing His love and power to others.

As you can imagine, all of this excitement can make any Lady Bug really hungry. Mrs. Mindy had her very own Snack Shack ready for us. We just followed the wonderful smells wafting through the halls.

Mrs. Mindy made sure that we enjoyed lots of yummy treats every day at snack time. I'm sure that every Lady Bug probably had a personal favorite treat! Mine was everything chocolate!

The Lady Bugs had our own Craft Corner. It was our very own special room. Mrs. Geri and her team had lots of crafts ready for us. We painted flower pots and even got to glue jewels onto them. We put soil in them and planted flowers too.

The bigger kids had much bigger and harder crafts than we did, but they also had lots of helpers serving them. Mrs. Geri has a great team working and serving with her.

After working so hard, we were ready for Recreation to run, play and just have fun. Check out a few of our games.

We got our very own rides.


Some really fun races!

Fun!

Fun!


So much fun!

We all had to learn our Theme Song and our very own special Class song.

Melody and Harmony made the Music so much fun. They are alive, alert, awake and enthusiastic for sure!

All week long we practiced and practiced so that we could put on a special show for our parents .

All of our hard work paid off. We sounded great and our parents loved the show.

We went outside afterward and enjoyed a delicious Cookout. The food was good, but my favorite was the brownies and ice cream.




Lots and lots of people stayed outside to enjoy a nice sunny afternoon together.

Our very own Brian & Chip manned the grills and served us all!

Did you have fun ? I think this little girlie girl is giving us 2 thumbs up!

So, when asked "Did we have a blast serving Jesus? Do we have fun serving Jesus? The answer most surely is......

This is the Reason Why

Before you go any farther...please know that this is my opinion...my story...not that of our small group...ok...now you can begin.

Freedom. Freedom to serve God. Freedom to speak omy mind. Freedom to go anywhere I want. Freedom to work. Freedom to have children. Freedom to marry who I love. Freedom to vote.

Freedom.

I learned as a small child why I have freedom. I spent every Memorial Day, July 4th and Veteran's Day celebrating our freedom and remembering those who have fought so bravely for it. I was raised in a patriotic family. My dad and mom both served in the Air Force, my grandfather and uncles served in the Navy, my Aunt Sue in the Army as a nurse, my brother was in the Navy. I'm not talking a few years, I'm talking career military people. I come from a long family history of men and women who sacrificed for the love of country.

Somewhere through the years, I have forgotten to spend time remembering all those men and women who gave of themselves, their lives, and their families to protect America.

Sunday morning we had a phenomenal and emotional service where we honored those who have served and are still serving our country. It was amazing to see all the men and women of our church and community march in formation while a young soldier bellowed out the marching orders. It brought tears to my eyes and a flood of memories.

And it was on Sunday that God revealed to me that I was being selfish. I have been worrying about my son who is serving God on a 6 week missions trip this summer in the Ukraine. I've been missing him. And then I looked over and saw her. The mother of this amazing young man.
You guessed it. Kim. Her son, Doug, is serving God and country in Afghanistan on a 6 month tour of duty. That's his summer vacation. He spent his holiday weekend literally fighting for my freedom. He didn't get to go to a parade, watch fireworks, hear the Pops in Boston, attend a family barbeque.

Doug and his buddies have endured many difficult trials while serving in Afghanistan. They put their lives on the line each and every day. Kim shares his letters with our small group. I have heard her voice tremble as she tells us of the reality of war, the dangers her son is in daily. So forgive me for being selfish about missing my child. He's safe. He sleeps well each night. He's protected.

And thank you Doug! It's because you are willing to step up and sacrifice your life that I was able to enjoy my 4th of July. Thank you to all the men and women of our Armed Forces, past and present for your sacrifice. It's because of all of you that I enjoy my...

Freedom.

I remain....Free....to be In Line With The Word!.

What An Amazing Weekend

Our small group celebrated July 4th together at Kim and Chip's home. We had a great day of fun, fellowship and tons of food. Here are some pics from the day. We were grateful for the sunshine and all the other friends that were there as well. We were excited to see Eric come by and visit.

Mindy, Edna and Doris (Kim's mom) have a great conversation right before Mindy starts "manning" the grill. She's a great cook...indoors or outdoors!

Brian, Chip and Chip's dad spent the afternoon socializing as well...

Melinda and Edna posing for a picture...
We've added another member to our Witness Protection Plan... Who are thosed masked people??

Sally...taking an opportunity to be a guest and not the hostess.
Melinda and Laurie...

And while Mike was soaking up the rays...

Kim was cleaning up the kitchen... with a smile on her face.

Thanks Caitlin for taking pictures and getting the average age to 55!

Until next time.... we remain In Line With the Word.

PRAYER NEEDED!!!

Our group had a great 4th of July weekend and we will be posting about that soon. In the meantime...PLEASE be praying for little 5 year old Kate. Click on the link below and read her story. This family needs prayer NOW!!!

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mcraekate

Gotta Check This Out !!!

So our friend and Amy Marshall's sister, Judy, has a wonderful blog. You gotta check out her blog before Monday. You don't want to miss this opportunity to support some missionary friends!!!

Just click on the link in our blog list.