"For it is the GOD WHO commanded LIGHT to shine out of darkness, WHO has shone in our hearts to give the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of GOD in the face of JESUS CHRIST.We now have this LIGHT shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great TREASURE. This makes it clear that our great power is from GOD, not from ourselves." II Cor. 4:6-7
Dear Praying Friends and Family,
This past Sunday, the LORD blessed me to go see "Smoky Mountain CHRISTmas," at Murphy Hill Baptist Church in Toney, Al. After our CHRISTmas musical at First Baptist last month, we had two weeks off from playing. The LORD worked it out where this performance was on one of those Sundays. I love the Smoky Mountains and the title intrigued me when i saw it on the internet. I got a little lost finding the church, but thankfully arrived before the play/choir singing started. When i walked into the sanctuary, it was a very nice sanctuary but quite a bit smaller than our church. I was surprised that there weren't more people there for the performance, most of the folks were sitting in the middle with plenty of seats on both sides of the aisles. I slipped into the inner row of the outer pews and begin acclimating myself to my surroundings. To the left of me was a drum set, and a young man with red hair was playing along with the songs we were singing. He wasn't playing loudly, just very pleasantly, keeping rhythm with the music. There was a young man also playing bass guitar up on the platform, playing along with the piano. I looked and to the right of the platform, was a small choir, maybe 15 -20 people. I say small because at FBC, our choir is much larger, though compared to some churches, our choir would be small. It wasn't long before the hymns were sung, and the play began. Up on the platform, there were sheets strung across the stage to make for a wall, and there was a window, door, table, and bench and CHRISTmas tree. It was very simple, and the choir sang CHRISTmas hymns set to "Mountain Music," during different parts of the play.
The story was about a young couple who had recently lost their child. The pastor came to the couple's house on CHRISTmas Eve and asked if an orphan girl who recently lost her parents could come and stay with them over CHRISTmas, as was the practice of the church to place orphans in homes over CHRISTmas. Somewhat reluctantly, the couple took the child in, and as the story progressed, the LORD opened the Mother's heart to love the child as her own, and they ended up adopting her. It was a simple play, a simple story, a simple choir, filled with the anointing of the HOLY SPIRIT to bring the message of GOD's love to us. HE loved us so much HE gave HIS one and only SON that we might be forgiven of all our sins and be adopted by HIM to be HIS child forever for all those who believe in HIM.
"For GOD so loved the world that HE gave HIS only SON that whosoever believeth in HIM shall not perish but have everlasting life. For GOD did not send HIS SON into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through HIM might be saved." John 3:16-17
"He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will" Ephesians 1:5
The story also challenged us to open our hearts to those the LORD wants to share HIS love through us even in the midst of our own sorrow and suffering...GOD can use us to be a blessing to others. After the play was over, i waited in line to speak to some of the cast. I met a mother and her daughter who were there from Kennesaw, Georgia, and attended one of the biggest Baptist churches in the country with 14,000 members. Some of their relatives were in the play and they were attending it for the second time... I thought that was really neat. The young red headed drummer turned out to be the "Daddy," in the play, and his brother who played bass guitar, was the "preacher" in the play. The "preacher," looked funny with his oversize sports coat on with converse tennis shoes...
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| Preacher with his tennis shoes on, Dad, orphan no longer,and Mom |
The real preacher of Murphy Hill Baptsits said something about those shoes, afterwards, that he was going to have to get him some shoes like that to preach in:). I talked to the drummer boy, who turned out to be a college student studying mechanical engineering. He had only been playing a few months in his church and told me his brother played bass guitar. They had just recently started going to that church. It blessed me to see these young men, serving the LORD by using their talents to play and taking part in the play at church. We talked a little while, and i asked him about school, and i told him he did a really good job of playing. It was then he told me he had only been playing a short time and that he was nervous about playing in front of folks, but he was really enjoying it. He was a real blessing to me, that young man, and i didn't realize it at the time, but the LORD used that Sunday service to really encourage my heart in the place the LORD has me serving HIM. One thing i came away realizing it doesn't matter how big or how small your church is, how elaborate or how simple the efforts we make to share CHRIST...if HE is in the midst of it, HIS power is there to work in the hearts of those who are there, whether it is to worship HIM, to encourage us or others, to draw the lost to HIM. Whatever need we have, HE is at work in the midst of HIS people. Last Sunday, HE worked in my heart...
You see, last fall, the LORD gave me the opportunity to start playing the drums at our church when our drummer, Andrew McCartney headed off to Tuscaloosa to go to school. I was struggling with my health, and was hoping as the days went by to get to feeling a lot better, but as the LORD would have it, i had a rough fall and i think i got to feeling worse as the days went by. Somehow, HE strengthened me to play, week in and week out, even when i had to stay in the car during Sunday School, because i was too anxious to attend class and the perfume bothered me more than it had been. Somehow, HE strengthened me to practice and play in our own "An Athens CHRISTMAS," even though i was trying different things for my adrenals and thyroid, had to make a trip to Texas to help me calm down after Thanksgiving and reacted to the medicines both nights of our performance. It was really hard and not so fun...and to be honest i was ready to give up playing the drums. Somehow, after going to "Smoky Mountain CHRISTmas," the LORD used that church service to renew my strength and desire to serve HIM in the place HE has given me. HE reminded me what a privilege it is to "play my drum for HIM," in the place HE has allowed me to serve HIM. Last night we had our first choir practice since the "Athens CHRISTmas," and i found my strength and my zeal renewed to begin the new year. My health issues are still there, though the anxiety is better, and i would ask you to pray for me, as i depend on the LORD to play for HIM and use the talents HE has blessed me with..."My grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness," II Cor. 12:9 and "I can do all things through CHRIST who strengthens me."Phil. 4:13 Last night, our organist had written something on the white board that goes something like this..."If you really want to do something you will find a way...if you don't, you will find an excuse." I really want to play as long as the LORD gives me the strength and the desire...thank you for your prayers for me. I read this in JESUS Calling by Sarah Young and it really encouraged me that GOD is in the midst of my weakness when i want to be stronger on my own:
You can achieve the victorious life through living in deep dependence on Me. People usually associate victory with success: not falling or stumbling, not making mistakes. But those who are successful in their own strength tend to go their own way, forgetting about Me. It is through problems and failure, weakness and neediness that you learn to rely on Me.
True dependence is not simply asking Me to bless what you have decided to do. It is coming to Me with an open mind and heart, inviting Me to plant My desires within you. I may infuse within you a dream that seems far beyond your reach. You know that in yourself you cannot achieve such a goal. Thus begins your journey of profound reliance on Me. It is a faith-walk, taken one step at a time, leaning on Me as much as you need. This is not a path of continual success but of multiple failures. However, each failure is followed by a growth spurt, nourished by increased reliance on Me. Enjoy the blessedness of a victorious life, through deepening your dependence on Me.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; HE delivers them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
—Psalm 34:17–18
For we walk by faith, not by sight. II Cor. 5:7- http://bit.ly/eF5kSq
This CHRISTmas was kind of a blur to me...seems like it came and went, and i was hanging on at times to get through it. I don't like to be that way about celebrating our SAVIOR's birth, and i know a large part of the reason i felt that way, is because of the way i have been feeling physically. I didn't get a lot of things "done," i would like to have, and among those is sending out CHRISTmas cards...i think i sent out a handful before CHRISTmas, and then gave some out on CHRISTmas Day to my family who means so much to me. If you sent me a card this year, thank you so very much. Several of you did, and i appreciate them so very much. I love seeing the pictures of your family, and hearing of GOD's faithfulness in your lives. Thank you for sharing those with our family and know how very much we appreciate you and your love towards us now and through the years. Your friendship means so much to us and we thank GOD for you.
- A Time To Say Thank You For Those Who Have Invested in Our Lives
I read an article earlier this week that reminded me of something i like to do, either at Thanksgiving, or at CHRISTmas when i can get my thoughts together, to write and thank those who have meant so much to us and who have invested in our lives. Today i had some quiet time while Johnny and Hannah Beth were at work, and I sat down and wrote some thank you's to those who have invested so much in my life and the life of my family. Those included our parents foremost, those who have been faithful to pray for our family, those who have encouraged me spiritually and taught me the WORD of GOD faithfully, and those who have worked to provide for our needs. We have so much to be grateful for.
The letter written by Doug Phillips, www.visionforum.com ( a great website for encouraging the family in the LORD) was a great encouragement to me not only to remind me to thank those the LORD has used to show us HIS grace and favor, but also to remind us of GOD's faithfulness throughout 2011, and to remind us to forgive those who we need to forgive as CHRIST has so freely forgiven us. If this latest journey with my health has taught me anything, it is more how very much that JESUS loves me, and how much HE has forgiven me...how can i not forgive those who trespass against me? I hope you will take time to read this letter by Doug Phillips http://www.
Last week we were blessed to have my sis and her husband stay with us a couple of days, and we enjoyed a time of sweet fellowship together. It is such a blessing to me to see how the LORD is blessing my sis and her family after she has struggled for many years. The LORD brought her a wonderful husband a couple of years ago who is growing leaps and bounds in the LORD. For a long while, he was looking for a job while doing some work over an hour away from where they lived, and GOD blessed him with a very good job at a Toyota plant in Mississippi and they have offered him to be an assistant manager. My sis and her husband are building a house on a lake, and my brother in law is involved with Ray Pritchard's mission organization http://keepbelieving.com/. My brother in law is planning to go to China sometime on a mission trip with this group. It is a real blessing to hear this humble man speak of the things of the LORD. He hasn't been a CHRISTian too many years, but his walk with the LORD is sweet and he is wise in the ways of the LORD.
- REAL GIRL MAGAZINE- A new online magazine to encourage teenage girls...or girls of any age!
My niece, my sister's daughter, has had a dream for several years of writing a magazine for teenage girls to encourage them in their walks with CHRIST. This week, the LORD brought that dream to fruition, and http://www.realgirlmag.com/
- WONDERFUL WEEKEND for WOMEN http://www.
thefirstfamily.org/?calendars= wonderful-weekend-for-women- march-9-10-2012
Last year, i had the wonderful opportunity to go to the "Wonderful Weekend for Women" in Columbia, Tn at First Baptist Columbia. It was really a special time getting to see some dear old friends, the Dawson's and getting to be a part of some great singing and teaching. It was a very special time getting to hear Tim Tebow's Mom share last year, and a lady called Tammy Trent, www.tammytrent.com who had a powerful testimony and could sing and dance like nobody's business. GOD made her to dance! This year Nicole C. Mullen, www.nicolecmullen.com is going to be there, along with Lisa Walker, www.lisaharper.net and Kelly Minter www.kellyminter.com. I am not familiar with the later two women, but Nicole C. Mullen has been one of our favorite CHRISTian singers for several years. Nicole too has a special heart for young girls and she has a club called "Baby Girls Club" http://babygirlsclub.com
- READ THROUGH THE BIBLE...Daily Bible Reading Plans
Each year for the past several years, GOD has blessed me to read through HIS WORD. Our children have read through GOD's WORD several times as they were growing up, and it is a real blessing. Each year, as i read, the LORD has me in a different place in my journey with HIM, and HIS WORD speaks to me differently in different places because it is the LIVING WORD. I want to encourage you to jump on board and read through the Bible this year. If you haven't ever done it...there are several Daily Bible's you can purchase at your local CHRISTian bookstore...my favorite is the MacArthur Daily Bible. You can purchase it at www.gty.org too. Nancy Leigh Demoss has several plans on her website for reading through the Bible, some are for a year, some are for reading in through in a longer amount of time, like two years. You can check those out here:
Bible reading plans: http://www.
Whatever plan you decide upon, you will be blessed as you set aside 15 minutes or so a day to spend with the LORD in HIS love letter to us, reading, studying, meditating and praying over the rich truths inside. Some passages are like dessert reading through the Bible, and some are like turnip greens...you just "eat it" because it's good for you, but it's amazing how GOD's living WORD transforms our lives. My husband got saved reading the Living Translation of the Bible in his bedroom that his Mom had brought home from an apartment building she was living in and working at...thank the LORD for that WORD that brought salvation to my husband's soul as GOD used it to convict him of his sins as he read through the gospels.
My baby girl and me had the blessed privilege of going to Nashville today and spending the day together just the two of us. I had been wanting to go to Fork's Drum Closet www.forksdrumcloset.com and look at the Djembe's (an African drum that i read tonight is known as a "healing drum,"), and my snare drum needed some repair work done. We found the store without any problem and i had a great time trying out the different models of Djembe's and bought one!
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| My new Djembe...thank you, LORD! |
We were about to leave the store when the young man who waited on us asked if we had seen the rest of the store...the fun part. No, i said, and he showed us into a large room where there were tons of drums and drumsets. He said feel free to try them out, so Hannah Beth waited patiently while Mom had fun trying out different drum sets. I told Johnny when i got home, i didn't like any of them better than the one he got me for my birthday a few years ago...a Yamaha entry level set, but it sounds good, and i am so thankful for it. I never dreamed i would have the opportunity to play where i am playing now at church. Hannah Beth and i also visited the American Picker's (she and her Daddy love to watch that show together) store, http://www.antiquearchaeology.com/ while we were in Nashville and walked around the shops downtown.
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| Hannah Beth writing on Boot at "Picker's" Store |
It was a really special day with my daughter and i thank the LORD for the strength and health and means to spend time together like that. Little by little HE is restoring my health and i am so thankful.
After thinking about what i wrote, i felt led to use the song, "Little Drummer Boy," cause it's one of my favorites since i was a little girl when i first started banging on my older brother Joe's drum set. He was the real drummer in the family and played for the University of Alabama's "Million Dollar" Band. I'm more like the "Smoky Mountain CHRISTmas," just very simple and plain, but oh what a privilege to "play my drum for HIM." I hope you can take time to watch this video of "Little Drummer Boy."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZvjPCcHI4g, and be encouraged to use your gifts for HIM whatever they may be.
I love you and thank you so much for taking time to read this email. What a joy to hear from different ones of you week to week...you encourage my heart and bless me when you let me know something the LORD has used me to write has spoken to your heart. Thank you for taken time to bless me with your words and your prayers for me and my loved ones. Sure do ask for your continued prayers for me and my family...we need HIM every hour, every minute as your family does. Please remember our parents in your prayers...my Mom is still hurting from a fall she took on CHRISTmas Day, and Johnny's Mom is having some health issues that she will know more about later this month. GOD seems to be leading in a new direction in some areas in our lives and i will be able to share more about that next week. Please pray for wisdom and guidance for some upcoming decisions. So thankful we have one more week with Hannah Beth at home before she heads back to Mobile and her second semester of nursing school where she will doing clinicals in psychiatric nursing and labor and delivery. She is excited about them both! We have enjoyed having her home so much over the holidays . I love you and thank GOD for you...
With all HIS love,
mitzi
The McKamey's, www.mckameysonline.com will be in concert, Sat. night Jan. 14, 2012, at 7:00 p.m. at Seven Mile Post Church of CHRIST seven miles west of Athens off of Hwy 72. This group is so full of the LORD's power, and they lift HIM up and encourage your heart in every song they sing. LORD willing, i hope to be there, and hope that you can come too and be blessed.
"Others may do a greater work,
but you have your part to do;
and no one in all GOD's heritage,
can do it so well as you."
-Streams in the Desert, Jan. 7
"We're on a pilgrim road. It's rough and steep, and it winds uphill to the very end. We can lift up our eyes and see the unseen: a Celestial City, a light, a welcome, and an ineffable face. And that makes a difference in how we go about aging." Elisabeth Elliot, www.elisabethelliot.org
"These all...confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland." Hebrews 11:13,14
"Where Joy and Sorrow Meet"
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