Idea...

So, cousin Amy had a great idea recently, and she and I decided to get some feedback on it. 

Here's the pitch:
Next summer on Memorial Day Weekend, we'd like to have a family mission trip.  We are thinking somewhere nearby, like New Orleans, so that more people can be involved.  We don't have a game plan yet, but there are lots of options, including Target House or finding a small church that wouldn't be able to do their own VBS and doing a mini-VBS for them.  Any ideas are welcome, but right now we are most interested in finding out who would be willing or interested in getting involved.  I know this seems early for planning, but the sooner we get the date cemented, the more likely more people can be involved. 

So, leave a comment here or give us a call and let us know what you think.  Or, use Facebook or email to let us know what you think.  Primarily we're just sending out feelers right now.  This isn't limited to just the Smith Family.  Check with the Kings, the McKays, the Murphys, the Martins, the Guerrys and the Thomases and anyone else I've left out.  The more the merrier!  Also, the date isn't cemented, but we thought more people may be able to get involved then since most of us would have that Monday or Friday off of work. 

Personally, I think this would be a great idea and a great way for us to build relationships with others and within the family.  What do ya'll think?

Off topic...

On the way to work this morning I heard something that jarred me.  Granted, it's off topic slightly from my prior posts, but I thought I would share it anyway.  I've always heard that if you don't reach a person for Christ prior to their 18th birthday, there is only a 36% chance that they will become a Christian after that time.  I thought that was stirring, however that statistic has changed drastically since I last heard it. 

Josh McDowell was on the radio with Rick and Bubba this morning and the new stats are shocking.  If a person is not converted prior to their 12th birthday, there is only a 4% chance they will ever be converted after that age.  Wow!  That puts the scope of things into perspective.  Basically, teaching children's choir is more important than I realized.  So is working with the youth, volunteering to help with Vacation Bible School and just mentoring the youth and children in our churches and communities in general.  Sadly enough, most kids never see their parents even open a Bible, and with that example, they don't stand a chance unless someone else takes a risk.  What can I do today to give a child a chance?  What can you do?

John Riley's highchair...

Bad weather update

Good morning all!  We have had some concern expressed about the rash of bad weather we had over the weekend and wanted to let everyone know (especially those that are out of state and not familiar with the areas that were hit) that we are doing fine.  The tornados were mainly to the north of us, though we were under a warning for a short period of time.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected; as of this morning the death toll was at 10, but the damage and destruction is unbelieveable from the reports I've seen.  Please keep the areas hit in your prayers as we finish out this week. 

Crib Bedding

Keeping in Touch

I never imagined it would be like this, keeping in touch that is. Growing up, my nearest family aside from my immediate family members, lived next door and most of my other family members were in the same community or no more than 30 minutes or so away. Of course there were exceptions to that rule, but in general we were all in pretty close proximity to each other. After getting married, we are now faced with having the nearest family members an hour and a half drive away and some very important family members 10 hours away or even overseas. Thus, this blog. While I am already the Hattiesburg Budget Meals Examiner (if you haven't already, click that link and subscribe to my posts), and some of you have been keeping up with me through that endeavor, I do not have the ability (or desire) to put anything personal on that blog - to keep ya'll updated, if you will. So, with this new addition coming into our lives and missing communication link, I've decided to start blogging here and keep everyone updated. Hopefully, we'll be posting pictures and videos for those across the ocean and across the state to view at their own leisure. We don't want anyone to miss out on anything, and while we wish you were all next door, we know that's not possible right now. So, until it is, enjoy these posts, leave a comment or shoot and email, and behave!

Love ya'll.