new blog September 26, 2008
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We have switched back to blogger and have found a new home at www.holdenfamilyexperience.blogspot.com
Check it out!
AIR! September 23, 2008
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Praise!!! The air is fixed! YIPEE!!!
~Hello Fall!~ September 22, 2008
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FALL IS FINALLY HERE!!!
We are so excited! Jesse and I both love this season and can’t wait to see all the changes that it will bring!
We had a great weekend…with nothing really planned…It WAS GREAT! We did yardwork, sat on our front porch (something we never take time to do) took long naps and took a long walk around the neighborhood. The weather was so nice. It was a great weekend to enjoy the outdoors.
This Friday we we are headed to Nascar speedpark in Sevierville with around 60+ preteens. Mountain Dew will be in our future I am sure of it 
It should be alot of fun and will be our first outing with all our new 5th graders. We are quickly getting to know one another and wow…this class is a spunky one for sure.
Jess and I are planning to spend the rest of the weekend in Pigeon Forge for a little time away. Is it funny how a couple of days away can make a such a difference? We both are looking forward to the holidays this year and spending time with family. This year has been such a busy one for our family. When you are both in ministry, the weekends are usually not open to traveling and that has made it hard to spend alot of time with Jesse’s parents. The cool thing is that they understand what it’s like and you both cherish the time you do have that much more! Please continue to pray for Richard and Terry as they do have a serious potential buyer for their house in Canton. This would be a huge blessing/relief for them. God is doing such great things at their church in Dalton. It would be great if they could both move there really settle into the community. Yesterday Richard baptized 14 people and two new people made decisions. God is doing a great work and we are hearing awesome stories about it.
Thank you for your prayers as we continue to make tough decisions about fertility treatments. God is closing and opening doors and we rejoice to see His plan continue to unfold. So many of you have encouraged and blessed us during this time. We can’t tell you enough how much you mean to us. We are so blessed to have your support. For those of you looking for great resources to encourage others on this journey you need to go to www.sarahs-laughter.com. What a blessing this site has already been to me. There are real stories and testimonies…daily devotionals and I think they even have a support line if you need to just talk to someone or share a prayer request. Check it out.
Finally…I wanted to share a verse with you that seems to fit so well right now with all that is changing and happening around us. Hebrews 13:8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” No matter who is elected president, if the stock market crashes, what color the leaves on the trees are…my Jesus will remain steadfast and unchanging. May that truth ground you today as you encounter this crazy, constantly changing world. We love you and Happy Harvest/Fall!
P.S. Fireproof comes out in theaters on Friday…this would be a great date night movie! From the makers of Facing the Giants… www.fireproofthemovie.com
Les
just gotta say… September 16, 2008
Posted by lesli in praise, updates.1 comment so far
My sweet husband has lost at least 20 pds over the past 3 months and I couldn’t be more proud of the changes I see in him!!! I have lost some too, but not nearly as much. I am learning a ton of things about my eating habits and realizing that I was way too dependent on food for lots of reasons. Through a Bible study called The Lord’s Table through Setting Captives Free we are both seeing God teach us so much about ourselves and it has been an amazing process. Props to E & BJ for sharing this great study with us!
SO….great job babe and thanks for being my accountability partner!
perfect timing September 15, 2008
Posted by lesli in infertility journey, praise, updates.4 comments
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Ecclesiates 3:11
Isn’t it funny how God always does things at exactly the right time? I mean He knows exactly how and where we are and when we will need things. This weekend has been just like that. Here are just a couple of things….First, our air went out this weekend at the house. And…it looks like we are not going to be able to fix it ourselves. So, what happens weather-wise this week? A cool-down…THANK YOU JESUS. Next, we found out that we are not pregnant this month over the weekend….what starts tonight? The infertility group…THANK YOU JESUS. I could go on with more stuff that happened where God had us at the right time and the right place. AMAZING.
So, thank you for all your prayers. We are excited about getting to the end of this phase of our journey and hopeful that God may have other doors for us to go through to raise children. His plan for our family is better than anything we could have ever even considered. We will be going back to the dr. at the end of the week to start a combination cycle of two different kinds of medicines that will hopefully increase our odds. It means more shots for me, but this won’t last forever, right? So things will move pretty quickly this next round and then over the next few months we will likely be at a crossroads. I think we are both ready to see what God has next if these treatments aren’t successful. I know it will be part of His perfect plan.
Hope you are having a great week and seeing God put you right where you should be in whatever circumstances you are facing. HE is the perfect planner!!!
Les
this weekend August 29, 2008
Posted by lesli in infertility journey, praise, updates.3 comments
This morning I got a great report from Dr. Harris. This cycle our chance of having twins is about 10%. The more eggs you have that are ready the higher the chance for multiples. So, we have been given our directions for the weekend Jesse will be giving me my injection tonight and that drug really forces you to ovulate in 36 hours. So there is no guesswork in the ovulation game. Pretty cool huh? The next 5 months will be our very best chance at conception since my surgery to remove my endometriosis. I just finished up my first round of clomid since the surgery this week and now it is up to Jesus to do what only He can do!
Please pray for during this weekend. God has brought us to this place again and we truly desire to trust Him with all the details. We are asking God to bring life…as HE is the creator and designer of every single human life throughout history. Ask Him to do what only HE can do! Pray we don’t get discouraged and that we would lean on God’s Word and not be led by our emotions.
Thank you so much for your encouragement and for your prayers! To those of you who are trying…don’t give up! I know it can be really tough, but you are not alone and God wants to grow your faith and bring you closer to Him! To those of you who are mommies…never take for granted the blessing of fertility in your marriage. We pray you will see your children for exactly what they are…an amazing gift! I hope we can all encourage each other to see God’s plan for families and to allow Him to design each one!
Hope and love to all the ladies, wives and mommies!!!
Les
knox co. school tragedy August 21, 2008
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Today we lost a student in an act of violence at Central High School. Just last night Jesse talked to the preteens about going back to school and some of the things you will face there like peer pressure, bad language, etc. Today a high school student faced a gun and then death.
Please pray for the victim’s familly, the suspect and his family and all the students and faculty at Central High School. Now more than ever I feel the urgency of what we do in student ministry. We try to point them to Jesus and then lead them into a growing relationship with Him so they can be ready to face eternity.
so much good stuff! August 18, 2008
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Sometimes God just shows off and you can’t get over all the awesome things he does! So much is going on this month and Jess and I both are just so in awe of what God is doing all around us. First…the construction is finally done at church and it looks amazing. Here is a shot of the outside.
Here are a couple of the new lobby…beautiful!
You can’t miss the celebration service we are having next Sunday. I am so excited about how God is going to use the new space! Second…amazing worship times. YES, I have said AMAZING like 100 times, but that is exactly what it is The past two Sundays worship times have really been special. God is really moving and the choir and orchestra have never sounded better. AND…the WALK starts back a week from Wed.! Everyone is buzzing about it and everyone I talk too can’t wait for it to begin! Come and join us at the World’s Fair Park amphitheater at 8pm on 8-27. There will be free bbq!
On the family front we are excited that my step-dad just retired from 35 years at Norfolk Southern as a railroad engineer. He is officially done with that chapter of his life and will now be busier than ever as mom always has a list of stuff around the house for them to work on! AND…he is a handy man pro. So, we will always have plenty of jobs for him to do at our house!!! Callie also has plenty to do now in her new job as manager at a Liquid Hwy in SC. She loves the flexible schedule and is doing great. AND, my nephew James did great with his surgery! He recovered quick and is doing great! Thanks for your prayers for him! Here is a pic of him with his new glasses that he had to get a month or so ago!
In preteen world we are excited to go and share with Macedonia BC in GA this Saturday. Jesse, me, Jennifer, Jessica & Katie will all be going down this weekend to speak to the youth at their Disiciple Now weekend. We are really anxious to meet everyone and share SOH will the girls~! Also, our new preteen class is so awesome! Our first ELEVATE went really well and we couldn’t be more thankful for what God is doing. Here is one of the pictures we are going to use in our new welcome video that we are going to use on Wed. nights! They turned out great!
We hope you and your family are doing well and that you are finding joy in watching God do great things all around you! We love you!
New little followers August 11, 2008
Posted by lesli in praise, preteen, updates.2 comments
Yesterday we had around 40 new fifth graders in Preteen! As I sat there at the welcome desk I snapped a picture of each of them. Some were very excited, others quiet and many were just plain scared! But I got a smile out of almost all of them and I can’t wait to put them all on CD so I can start learning their names! Every year at this time Jesse and I are both sad and excited to say goodbye to our 6th graders and welcome our new 5th grade class.
In a birthday card yesterday a friend of mine referred to the preteens as the “little followers” and man that really stuck with me. They are small in size, but disciples none the less. I can’t get over the amazing chance to be a part of shaping their spiritual walk in this short little space of time that we have them in preteen ministry. These “little followers” are what God has called me and Jesse to pour our lives into. Though he hasn’t blessed us with biological children, we are certainly blessed to get this chance to love and cherish these precious little people. What a gift!
As I saw my old 6th grade class yesterday in the service and talked with them about how their new class went, I was reminded once again of how short the time we have them is. Many of them I really just started bonding with over the past few months. Now they are in Middle School and facing even greater challenges. I also ran into some girls from our very first preteen class who are now Freshman this year and I just can’t believe it! Some of them will be serving on Wed. nights with us! It has all came full circle. Now they want a chance to serve. We continue to pray that they will live out their faith and that they fall more and more in love with Jesus.
We also had a great time hanging out with our preteen leadership yesterday. We all went to my favorite place to eat, WASABI!!!! We feel so blessed to have such a great team and we all are really excited about this upcoming year. Danielle & TC Chambers will be starting this week as our new worship team leaders and we are praising the Lord for them. Seeing God bring them was a huge answer to our prayers. God has been so faithful.
Don’t miss this August 5, 2008
Posted by lesli in inspiration, updates.2 comments
Tomorrow (8.6) Good Morning America will air an interview with Steven Curtis Chapman and the family about the death of their daughter, Maria, this past May. It should run at 7am. Please pray that God will use it in a great way for His glory!!! Go to link below for more details. Love SCC and his entire family…praying for great ministry opportunities to come from this.
