Breaking Boards

Christopher broke his first boards in karate class!  We are so proud...

Birthday Tea

For my 38th birthday which was on the 13th, I made a raw cheesecake (above) for a birthday cake, and I was treated to a special tea party by Anna Jean. We made the guys come, too. Real tea! Barry's Irish Breakfast Tea...very strong.

Our rule for the tea party was that everyone had to wear a hat and gloves. This is what the boys came-up with... Huh.

Things I Learned in My 37th Year:

Friends will sometimes break your heart, but Jesus never will.

Children grow-up entirely too quickly.

No matter how I try, I will NEVER catch-up on my scrapbooks!

It's possible to eat really healthy food and not crave the other kind as much.

I have the most awesome husband on Earth.

God's Word never ever quits being relevant to the situations I find myself in.

There are a lot of lonely people in the park who just want someone to talk to.

Little boys will never cease to amaze me with how they can stain their clothes and get holes in their pants.

Clough Pike Baptist is an extremely generous congregation when it comes to caring for the poor.

It is possible for even my husband to tire of conservative politics.

A hot bath or an hour at the piano can cure absolutely anything.

Given enough encouragement, a 4-year old can hike 5 miles through the Great Smoky Mountains and still have energy at the end.

There are some great Christian leaders and their families living among us who suffer perscution and injustice every day, and we should lift them up.

Dillard's has the best sales. Hands down.

Laundry clones itself at night. Dirty dishes clone themselves during the day. Children's homework clones itself at bedtime.

There is nothing to watch on TV anymore.

I will never tire of taking pictures of my kids. (Although they will.)

Jesus loves me, and He has a great plan for my family!

(Then again, I already knew quite a lot of that, didn't I????)

Little John's Big Sleepover

Friday was John's very first sleepover (the boys assure me that they have sleepovers, NOT slumber parties), with his friend Gabe. On the way to dropping him off at the Curringtons', I asked John if he thought he would get homesick. John said, "No, Mommy. This is good practice for when I have to go away from home to be a missionary." Sniff, sniff.

More Life!

Clough began a new evangelism and discipleship strategy in April called More Life. It was written by Bobby Welch (who also wrote the FAITH Sunday School Evangelism Strategy) and is used exclusively by the Tennesse Baptist Convention. Tim was blessed that Bobby gave Tim permission to try this new strategy, and we are excited to see its results!

Below, Larry Harrell and Ralph Farmer practice their outline. Ralph (right) is pretending to be a devout Catholic, and Larry is attempting to lead him to the Lord.

Living Lord's Supper

Ralph Farmer (in the totally black cloak, middle) of our church wrote a dramatic portrayal of the Lord's Supper, which we performed recently. It was different than anything I had ever seen. Scott Mahan played Jesus (middle, white cloak with blue stripes) and the other men of the church portrayed his disciples. My favorite part was when Jesus went from disciple to disciple washing their feet.

Everyone who attended seemed to enjoy the experience.

Being The Preacher's Wife

Why I Love Being A Preacher's Wife

by Kara Barnette

Because they let my family take the leftovers home from the church dinners. We sometimes eat off the leftovers for a whole week after a good church supper!

Because being the preacher's wife at church is like being at Cheers: I go to a place every week where everybody knows my name, and they're always glad I came.

Because even though we're in the North, the hospitality committee makes sweet tea at all their fellowships so that my Southern family will feel at home.

Because Larry Harrell gives my family eggs from his chickens whenever we want them.

Because I always have a seat reserved right up front. Tim calls it "The blessed spout where the glory comes out." :)

Because unlike other women, I never have to fuss at my husband to get him to wear a tie on Sundays.

Because in 22 states, being the preacher's wife gets you a discount on your bill at restaurants.

Because I love the look of shock and awe on the faces of unchurched people in the community when they see that I am a preacher's wife, but I do not have my grey hair up in a bun nor always carry a little white Bible with me, and that my favorite clothes are not long denim skirts but Levi's 515's.

Because the way I see it, in Heaven we will serve Jesus non-stop. So being in full-time Christian ministry is the closest anyone on Earth could ever get to being in Heaven.

Because my pastor is really hot, and he holds my hand and walks me home every Sunday.

Psalm 37

A few days ago, a friend gave me a great passage from Romans to think about that perfectly addressed my life and encouraged me. I am going to return the favor and post a passage from Psalms that will hopefully speak to his situation, my own, and anyone else's who might be reading:

"Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart's desires. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday."

Psalm 37:3-6 HCSB

God is SO GOOD!!!
-Kara

Little Hiker Girl

Tim and I were absolutely amazed during our time in the Smokies by how great little 4-year old Anna did hiking! She kept right up with us, and Daddy didn't have to carry her on his shoulders a single time the whole week (like he used to when she was younger).

Go-Karts

I guess I don't need to worry about my two someday teenage sons tearing-up the roads when they get their drivers' licenses. Watch in the bottom video how they're the two slowest kids on the track! Tim says they drive like little old women. :)

Easter Sunday at Clough

Nothing excites Tim quite as much as doing baptisms on Easter Sunday. This year, he had three, praise the Lord!

The theme of this year's Easter seemed to be 'unorthodox Easter hats.' Above and below were a few of my favorites.