Three Years Ago....Now Look What God Has Done.

Three years ago when Tammy started W.O.W. god had given her a vision of what she was to do. I have seen this group grow from 7 ladies to what we are today. Not only do we have Wings of Worship but also Called To Silence and Driven To Destiny which is going to be the newest addition to W.O.W. There are only a few of us that are from the original core group. Others have moved on to other things god has for them. We have had some new people join and to see the excitement on their faces and soaking everything up like a sponge is refreshing. God has assembled us from all walks of life and abilities. We are not like any other dance ministry out there. God takes what we have and uses to his glory and purpose.

Who knew three years ago what this ministry would do or who it would touch. We have only scratched the surface of what god has in store for us. I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am to be apart of what god is doing and in awe of how he uses someone like me who has no special ability or talent but a heart to worship. That's really what are group is about. We each have a heart of worship and we live it out everyday. I am blessed to know each of the ladies and guys that are apart of this ministry and call each of them sister and brother. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we step into the next phase of what god has for us.

Suffering The Consequences

Recently I have been reflecting back on some of the choices and decisions I have made and have found that I did not always make the right ones. I have had to suffer some consequences for a few of those wrong ones I have made. I didn't ask god why I was going thru some of the things that I was because he led me back to the time when I made those choices and said I gave you a free will to choose as you will. Sometimes we want to blame god or even the devil for the things that we go thru. When really its just us suffering the consequences for the choices we made. There are times that god doesn't have us go thru the consequences but that doesn't mean its ok for us to continue to make the wrong choices. He wants us to learn from it and grow in him. If we never suffer the consequences then how will we ever be able to testify of gods love, mercy, and grace that he has given to us. If you find that you continue to keep making the same bad choices then its time to ask god what it is you need to do to change that pattern of thinking. We have to constantly renew our minds so that we have the mind of Christ. Not to say I will never make another bad decision but that I will always strive to do his will. In every choice I make I want to be sure that I am in line with the word of god and that I follow the path he has laid out for me. If we never suffer the consequences how will we ever learn to make the right choices and let god show us the right way.

I Blinked And She Was Grown

As a mom we strive to raise our children the best we know how to do. I have raised both my girls to be godly women and tried to instill in them the love of god and to listen to god and follow what he has planned for their life. It seems only yesterday that I held Natalie for the first time in the hospital and I remember thinking thank you god for this precious gift that you have allowed me to look after. She is a beautiful girl and is very smart and I know that god will use her in ways that she would never think of. She has many talents and I know that god will have her use them for his glory. Natalie has for many years been writing here own poetry, stories, and has been trying to finish a book. She has many more talents that are too numerous to say, but I know that god will put them to use. As parents sometimes we cant wait for our kids to grow up and to become adults, but then when the time finally comes we wish that we still had more time with them being young. Natalie graduated High School this past Wednesday and I was very proud of her for accomplishing that. Their are many kids these days who do not and I am glad that she did well in school and actually liked it as well. My sister and I were trying to video tape and take pictures and at one point her and I started to cry because we both realized at that point she was no longer my little girl. I blinked and she was grown. Thats what it is a blink of an eye with our children. Natalie I love you and I am very proud of you.

My Life Is So Much Richer

I have to say this has definitely been a week to remember. As you all know my dad had quad heart bypass surgery this past Tuesday. He is doing great now and his recovery is moving along very well. I want to thank everyone for their prayers and phone calls to check on me and my family. I may not have alot of money but god has definitely made my life richer with the people he has surrounded me with. I go to the greatest church ever and the staff and people I go to church with are such a blessing. The phone calls and prayers over the phone was so awesome and I cant thank everyone enough. Kendra was the one who kept me grounded thru this. She may not think what she did was significant but she was a blessing and I love very much for all she did. God has brought me through some very difficult times and he has never let me down and this time was no different. He was there with me through it all. So no matter what it is you face in life know that god is always there with you even when you may not feel like he is there.

God Never Lets Me Down And He Never Will

This has been a week that I never expected to have. It was rough week at work just because we had alot to do and it was hot, but I found out some news that I never expected to hear. My mother called me on Thursday and told me that my dad had a stress test done and they found some damage at the bottom of his heart. They wanted him to go for a heart cauterization on Friday morning so they could see exactly what it was. When they looked at it they said that he has blocked arteries that has caused the blood flow to this heart to be very slow. It has caused him over time to be very short of breath and not to be able to do things like he wants to. My dad and I have had some issues in past because of my stupidity at a younger age of not wanting to listen (I get that from him by the way) to him and caused us to fight alot. I love my dad very much and have grown so much closer to him and my mom after I became a parent myself. They have so much wisdom to give and have taken alot of it to heart. Its never easy to see your parents sick and getting older. I know that god has my dad in his hands no matter the outcome. He is to have surgery Tuesday morning and they will do a quadruple bypass surgery. He said that either the Dr will be able to fix it or he will get to go home to heaven that much sooner. He is right about that, but it is still hard to see him have to go thru all of this. God has blessed me with such a great circle of friends that I appreciate more than I could ever tell them. They have been lifting my dad up in prayer and my family and are there when I need them. God has never let me down and he never will. Its never an easy thing to go thru seeing a loved one go thru a sickness of any kind, but knowing god is in control gives me the peace that I need to get thru it all. Just keep my dad and family in prayer. No matter the outcome of what happens my dad will be fine either way. I would rather him be here with me and healthy, but if it is his time to go I know he will be in heaven with the father and that gives me all the peace and joy that I could ever need. Love ya Pop!

The Door Was Opened Unexpectedly

As many of you know I have been without a job since October of last year. When that happened I prayed that god would shut every door that I was to walk into except for the one he had purposed for me to walk through. I have always kept a positive outlook on not having a job this long. I have had my private moments where I was asking god how long do I have to wait, but he reminded me that I am to wait on him. I knew that in his timing I would have the right one. I have been diligent in looking but til now nothing had come about so I waited. Last Thursday I put an application online to a company and then left a message on their machine on Thursday and Friday both. I called back yesterday someone answered the phone told them who I was and why I was calling. They said the position had already been filled. I didn't let that discourage me I just thanked god for another door that had closed that I wasn't to go through, so I thought. This morning I received a phone call from the very man that told me the position had been filled and he asked if I was still interested in it. He then proceeded to tell me all about the information I needed to know about the job. Now if any of you have ever applied to a temporary agency before you all know that they do not send you to a place sight unseen they make you come in fill out all the paperwork check you background and make you take a drug test. It didn't happen that way for me. It had to be the Favor of God (FOG). He said that he wanted me if I had time today to go to the place where I was to be working and meet the Warehouse Manager. I said sure that I had time today to meet him there. This is just does not happen with temp agencies. I got off the phone thanking god for his favor and the job that he brought to me. Now keep in mind I hadn't been told I had the job but in my spirit I knew that this was the one he had for me. I met Greg at the Warehouse and he took me aside before introducing me to Tom the Warehouse Manager and was asking me a few questions. He was impressed at the work experience I had and that I had worked at UPS before and was a frontline Supervisor there. He had worked for UPS for 11yrs himself the last two years he was there he worked in Human Resources. So he knew what type of person it took to be a supervisor and that impressed him. I had a chance to speak to Tom and he was telling me about the position and then asked if I had any questions for him and I said no I don't. He said well are you interested in the position and can you start tomorrow morning at 9am? I said yes I am interested and I will be here in the morning. At that moment I felt this heavy burden be lifted off of me. I knew at that moment that god had placed me there. I want to encourage those of you out there that may not have a job or it maybe that your waiting on an answer from god about something. Don't ever get discouraged or give up. You hold fast and wait on god and do all that you know you can do but leave the rest to god. His timing is different than ours and he knows what is best for us. God knew what I needed and at the time I needed it.

The Words We Speak Into Peoples Lives

I recently had a good friend of mine to move away to another state. When he and I had met I was unaware of the problems he was facing in his life. I got too quickly involved with him and soon learned that there were some things that he needed to work out and to get his life straight. We did not date anymore after that but have remained good friends and I tried to be there when he needed to talk to me. He had an opportunity to move to another state with his job so he took it and wanted a fresh start. He is working on getting the mess he left behind straightened out and putting it behind him. He said to me "Barb your a special lady and you have opened my eyes to alot of the things that I have been doing and I want to thank you for that". Sometimes we don't know the influence we have on other people. I know I didn't realize the impact I had made in his life. I am just me and try to live my life the way I know god would want me to. I never knew how much he listened to what I said until that moment. There were times we would talk for hours by text or he would call me when he was having a rough time. I didn't always have an answer for him but I would listen and pray about it. The words that come out of our mouths should never tear someone down but always help to build them up. If there is something that needs to be said then you do it with love and respect. I will miss him very much and he and I will always be friends and I pray for him everyday that god will help him on his road ahead. Please keep him in your prayers.