Heritage Church, Texarkana

I cannot even tell how much I love our church....ok...I'll try!! We've been a part of Heritage for 9 years. When we first visited, the church was brand new. Within a couple of months, I remember being able to sit in the Sunday morning service and name each person. Since then we have grown to 3 services on Sunday mornings!!! I still strive to at least be able to recall names...but I miss the target on some attempts. Haha.
I'm so grateful to our church staff and for the calling that each of them have to serve...to make our church run so smoothly and efficiently! Our goal is to make church comfortable for the unchurched. In that attempt, it's a very casual environment! We have simplified all of our ministries to make them specific to the goal of reaching the unchurched. Our numbers have grown so much over the past decade that it is necessary for our facilities to expand as the congregation does! So...our church has diligently sought God's plan and a new facility is in the works!! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in the decades to come!!
Sunday morning was great, as Bro Tim Montgomery finished the series "Men of Valor"!! If you've not met Tim Montgomery, you are missing out!! He is so down to earth and can Preach the word like WOW!!! I really am speechless when it comes to describing him. Lol
Sunday was the groundbreaking ceremony...complete with NOW( Night of Worship) and fireworks!!
I cannot begin to tell you of the talent that our praise team has...ok...I'll try ;).
Kale Magness, Connie Magness, David Magness and Justin Magness...Casey Lauterbach...Stephen Dumas...Whitney Burt... Jolena Hays...Cullen Murray...David Farren...Katelyn...oh my these people made the house rock in praise by using their spiritual gifts!! It took a lot of preparation and practicing...and I'm sure that playing and singing for a solid hour wasn't easy. And the sound and light crew made it look like a concert!!
I am truly blessed to be part of something so amazing!!

Heritage Church skate party

We had 125 In attendance at the skate "kidventure" party last night!!! Our church is so alive and it excites me every week!!!!! I can't say enough good things about the leadership that God has placed in our church!!! Amazing!!!

Robyn Wright took this picture...and sent it to me!  Paige LOVED walking around the rink!  It was nice since it was only HBC people there...so I didn't have to worry about her getting run over ;)

Tonya Byrd, our children's director, in the big skate, surrounded by the kiddos!

Karrie, Trenton and Madilyn...skating!!

She would stop for a moment and dance and clap to the music!

Trenton!

Vertical

Trace participated in our church youth group's "Vertical Weekend"... Vertical meaning the direction between God and us!! They got to stay in host homes and worship together! They were taught to be Radical in their everyday walk... To let Christ shine through in their lives, so that everyone can see a difference in them! On Sunday the youth and the youth interns led our entire worship service... It was incredible to see how God has blessed these kids with the spiritual gifts and ability to shine in front of 1000+ people in our 3 services! A huge thanks goes out to David and Meredith Farren, the interns, college mentors, and the host homes! And all the small groups who fed our kids!

Streamline Youth Ministry

This picture might give you a glimpse of what you see on an average Wed. night of "Streamline" at Heritage Church, Texarkana....but I feel compelled to venture out and paint a more vivid picture for you guys!!

Imagine, if you will...
*hundreds of youth gathered worshipping our Creator!
*arms raised in praise...voices raised even higher, singing praise to our Father!
*friendships that will last forever b/c of the ground on which it stands! 
*a group that calls each other "family" b/c that's how they honestly feel!
*friends hugging each other...friends praying together...friends crying together...friends sticking up for each other!
*student after student being baptized, after stating their testimony
*students leading prayer...students leading worship...students involved in dramatization...
*a youth minister(David Farren) whom has a heart for our youth...and leading them to Christ!  A leader that goes above and beyond the call to go to each school in our area EVERY week to have lunch with our students.  a youth minister who has a direct vision from God and teaches what HE has put on his heart!
*a young lady that stood up for a friend that was being bullied....but in the end, he still felt hopeless and committed suicide.  a young lady that has plans to start an "anti-bullying campaign" b/c God has placed it on her heart to do so!...so that she might find a way to help others that are being bullied...and to stop those that do bully....and to teach others that "Sticks and Stones may break my bones...but words hurt even more!"
...and I'm sure once I press "Publish Post" and lie my head on my pillow to rest tonight, I will think of other things that I should've added to this list.  But in the end...I know you catch my drift.  This is not a Heritage Baptist Church thing....it's not a Texarkana thing...it's not a youth group thing...it's a GOD thing.  There is a revolution going on right now in the lives of our youth....I praise HIM that my son is a part of it.  I'm so very thankful for our church leadership and pray very often for each one!

Halloween 2011

Wow...I wonder how many blog posts will have "that" creative title?!! HA  Oh, well...it's late and my brain is not quite functioning on full capacity...so..Halloween it is :)

Heritage Family Festival, Sunday, Oct 30, 2011
With Paige being our little red-head, I knew immediately what I'd like for her to be for Halloween this year...PEBBLES FLINTSTONE!!  My grandfather, JD Samuels, always watched the Flintstones...it's a memory that I have of him that I'll never forget.  He didn't care of kids were around or not, he loved the comedy that was portrayed in the cartoon....and he would cackle. Wow...just sitting here....I can  hear his laughter!!
So....now that I had Pebbles' costume chosen...and I knew we had volunteered to do a trunk at "Trunk r Treat"...who better for me to be, than WILMA! I tried to get Jamie to be Fred...but that wasn't going to happen.  But hey...he did wear an orange shirt...does that count?!  ok...sure ;)  I"m sure it wasn't a conscious thought when he wore the shirt...but we'll give him credit anyway!!
Marci wanted to be Taylor Swift...and the costume kinda "fell together" by great friends giving us this and that...and by the time we got to the event...well...it kinda "fell apart".  You see, Marci is her own person, with her own way of thinking...wardrobe is always an issue.  And so this night was like any other...the dress was scratchy...the wig was REALLY scratchy...the Guitar had "Barbie" written on it, which in her eyes was deemed as "babyish"...and I didn't EVEN mention her wearing SOCKS with the boots.  Heaven forbid!  "Socks" is a dirty word in our house...she has always always hated socks.  In fact, when "flip flop weather" is over, I cringe! haha  But...as I look back to how I sweated Trace's 1st Halloween, when he screamed over the monkey outfit, and made for a horrible night, I have learned to pick my battles...and well...Taylor Swift ended up looking like a glorified Marci in a dress and boots...but that was jusssst fine :)
Trace said he was "too old" for Halloween this year...but at the last minute, his friend talked him into wearing some military gear.  And who was he to argue over a way to get free candy...so he obliged!
We teamed up with friends, Mandi Cruz and her son Harrison...aka "Betty and Bam Bam" Rubble to create a "Bedrock" trunk.  Trace made our signs for us that said "The Flintstones" and "The Rubbles"...he was so proud of himself and I was proud to have them as part of our trunk...even IF the
"Flintstones" wasn't spelled correctly.  Hey, again...don't sweat the small stuff, right? :)
So...Heritage Church bought $1K worth of candy and it was gone within the first 45 minutes.  They went and got more...and we still ran out!  We ended up shutting down Bedrock an hour early.  It was guesstimated that there were 2000 people on our campus!! What an outreach to our community!  We must pray that the environment we created, full of fun, will entice them to visit our church, if they don't have a church family!

Taylor Swift

Pebbles Flintstone

Wilma let her hair down! haha  Actually, you can't tell it, but I put red die in it...it just didn't take well!  and Since I'm no good at hair...I was waiting on a friend to do my "up-do" at church ;)

THIS is my "glorified Marci" that I was referring to above...and her friend,  Allie Forand!  Aren't they gorgeous?!

...and here's the "up-do"...I can honestly say I've never had my hair in a bun before...but there's a 1st time for everything, eh?

Betty and BamBam :)

I adore their expressions...

Mandi (aka Betty) carved this "Yabba Dabba DOO" pumpkin...how creative! 

yabba dabba BOO.... ya'll know I'm a sucker for  play on words and puns...so this was SO down my alley!

Here's FRED...in his modern stone age attire :)

Can you see the LINES of people down the row of trunks...they were as far as the eye could see!

Betty is manning our trunk!

This is our "Small Group"...they set up a trunk too...they outdid themselves...they were the "Fishers of Men"...and set up a boat and tents and a campfire out of carved pumkins.  It was more rocking than Bedrock!! ;)

Look at the campfire...is that not awesome?!

Judy and Craig

Craig had a fishing line attached to some candy and when kids would bend down to pick it up, he would reel in the line...it was funny each and every time...it never got old!

Daniel made the kids "fish" for their own candy

THere's Patti and her son, Michael

Paige and her friend Paizley took a stroll around the festival

 I was REALLY keeping my fingers crossed that since we'd done the Fall Festival last night, the kids wouldn't beg to go "Trick OR Treating"...well...I was wrong.  We've not been in several years, b/c usually the Fall Fest falls on Halloween night and we use that as an alternative.  So, after work tonight, I got the kids ready and we went around to a few houses in the neighborhood.  We got home, bathed and Marci was in bed by 7:30...does that tell you how long we stayed out?  Marci lost her other front tooth tonight...so all she wants for Christmas is her 2 front teeth.   :)  The tooth fairy is on her way...better get to bed myself!

Trace really didn't want his picture taken...I promised him I wouldn't post it on facebook...but I didn't promise I would n't blog about it! :)

Trace and his friend, Ty

"Trick or Treat"...