Andrea Pender ~~ Three Years In Waiting...

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

It was 3 years ago about this very minute of the afternoon when Larry Pender called me from his cell phone. He was enroute to the hospital because he had received the horrific news by phone that Andrea (his daughter~~ a senior in high school) had been involved in a terrible car accident after school. Larry called asking for our prayer support. I immediately put the request out on my internet prayer chain, made phone calls, and tried to spread the word so that a lot of people would be praying even as Larry made the trip to DCH. (I believe Teri was in Tuscaloosa at the time because of her job.) And today, three years later, Andrea still lies upon a bed, in a comatose state due to the extreme extent of the injury to her brain stem in the wreck.

How has God used this event in Andrea's life to speak to my heart (and surely to the hearts of countless others) as we have prayed for Andrea... to wake up, to be whole, to resume her life as a vibrant Christian young woman?

First, it reminds me of how urgent it is that we take care of the matter of salvation. God's Word says that none of us can boast ourselves of tomorrow~~ we have no guarantee that we will wake up in the morning or still be whole at the end of the day. And that brings about the urgent need to tell others that the Son of God came to seek and to save. All of mankind is headed toward that appointment with death. What state we are in spiritually depends on how we respond to God's call.

Secondly, I am reminded to never take others for granted. Having given up both of my parents to death, I know that this life isn't forever, but it is so easy to get caught up in our everyday lives and to take friends and family for granted ~~ to even not love them appropriately at times. I cannot do that for who knows when God may call someone home from my circle of friends or from our family because life-changing events (illness, accident, death) occur each and every day.

Thirdly, I have I have been reminded that our health is definitely a gift from God. We take it for granted but truly shouldn't. Injury or illness can come upon any of us at any given moment. I thank God for the good health that I enjoy today and can only trust Him regarding tomorrow.

Another thing I have learned is that we truly must labor for the Master while we have the strength and opportunity to do so. Andrea is a Christian woman and was active in her church and very involved at her Christian school. She was a worker and a witness for Christ. For three years, she hasn't been able to be about her Father's business. I let so many opportunities slip by instead of seizing them and making a difference. I must work for one way or another, my night is coming.

Another thing I have learned is that Larry and Teri Pender are faithful folks. This road has to be so very long and so very painful. To see their lovely Andrea lay there like a Sleeping Beauty for three years is unfathomable to me, yet their faith remains strong and they have a witness for Christ as they continue to wait and to pray. Life's troubles and trials will certainly come our way. We don't have to like them but we have no choice but to go through them. We do have a choice as to HOW we will go through them. We can go through them in faith, trusting God for every turn and every bump in the road (hanging on by our toenails at times) or we can turn our backs on God and try to muddle through life's trials on our own. Having watched Larry and Teri, I know they continue on this journey alongside Andrea with their eyes on the Lord. As they pray and watch and remain hopeful that Andrea will wake up, they keep their vigil bathed in prayer and that keeps their faith intact~~ trusting Him to do His best in Andrea's life.

It can't have been an easy three years. It must be so difficult some days~~ no, most days. But I believe they are touching countless other lives as they have touched mine. Their faith and trust in the Lord has spoken volumes to me. As they start the 4th year of this journey, I pray that Andrea will wake up before the sun sets. But if that doesn't happen, I shall continue to pray for her, for her parents, and for God to continue to get the glory from what He is doing in Andrea's life.

For those who might want to look at Andrea's website and keep up with Larry's weekly updates, here is the URL: http://www.flinthill.net/update_on_andrea_pender.html

Andrea.... I close with the verse I posted at the beginning: Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. I can't wait to spend eternity with you ~~ because you~~ and all of us ~~ will be more alive there than we ever were in this life. I remain in prayer for you, dear girl.

Love to you,
Susan D.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR AMY

Matthew 10:37 ... and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Happy 32nd Birthday to our Amy Marie. 32 years ago right now, she was just 5 hours old, and her Daddy and I were already totally smitten with her. Our love and appreciation for Amy has only grown through the years. As parents, we pour so much of ourselves into our children. After all, they are an extension of us~~ a miraculous combination of mother and daddy. It is such an easy and natural thing to love your child. There are verses in God's Word that teach us that our love even for our children cannot exceed the love that we have for Jesus Christ. Of course, as Christian parents we totally understand that concept for Christ must have the place of supremacy in our hearts and in our lives. Amy is as special to me today as she was 32 years ago when I first held her in my arms and marveled at her loveliness. I thank God that we are not only mother and daughter but that we are sisters in Christ and friends.

Amy, I am so so (as Jaden would say!) proud of the woman that you are. Christian/wife/mother/principal... you wear so many hats and wear them all well. Thanks to your dear Brian for inviting your Dad and me to go on a double-date for your birthday dinner tonight. It was such a blessing to sit and have a quiet 90 minutes together in the restaurant~~ we don't get much talk time for sure. Happy Birthday and may God grant you many, many more.

Love you much (but I love God more),
Mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BRIAN

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

Richard and I have the BEST son-in-law, and we kid Brian a lot about being our favorite son-in-law (the joke being that he is our ONLY son-in-law!)

Brian is very special for so many reasons. #1) He loves the Lord and seeks to live by His Word. #2) He loves our Amy and is a wonderful husband to her. #3) He loves his children (our GRANDchildren!) and is a Godly father. We couldn't ask for anything more, but there is something else. Brian is more friend than son-in-law. He especially enjoys Richard's friendship (he probably endures his mother-in-law more than anything else!) and we enjoy our family times with Brian in the family circle. One of my favorite things that happens every now and then is that when Amy has an evening meeting at school and prefers to stay there instead of coming home and back again, it is a particular joy of mine to prepare dinner for Brian and the kids. I just enjoy letting him know that we love him for him who he is and not just because he is Amy's husband!

Brian is 33 years old today. He is a faithful servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and is a faithful family man. Professionally, the Lord has blessed him richly~~ he is the director of advertising for the ministry here which is a HUGE job. Again, he is a fine son-in-law (our favorite!), and we wish Brian a very happy 33rd birthday!

Birthday Blessings to Brian from Mom and Dad D.
11-26-07

Happy Veterans Day to My Favorite Vet...

I didn't know Richard when he served in the United States Army in 1970-72. He was already a college graduate and working for Arthur Andersen in Birmingham when his draft number was called up. Richard served 2 years at Ft. Monmouth, NJ. He was a Specialist 5th Class teaching electronics ~~ fixed cyphony repair was his MOS. It was upon Richard's discharge and return to his home church in Brookwood, AL where my dad was the new pastor that we eventually met.

I wish I had known Richard during his 2 years in the Army so that I could have prayed for him, but God orchestrated it otherwise. I'm just so very proud of Richard for his service to our Country and proud to be his wife!!

This fun picture of Richard in his Army uniform was taken as part of Grandson Joshua's 6th birthday party in April 2005. :)

Update on Chip ~~ His First Week in the New Ministry

2 Corinthians 9:12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;

Chip began his new ministry at Capshaw Baptist Church in Harvest, AL (Huntsville area) as Associate Pastor for Students on Thursday, November 1. He has now completed his first week of ministry and from all accounts received, he had a great week and is enjoying his new place of service. We look forward to visiting him in Huntsville as soon as we are able so that we can check out his church and see some of what is happening there. Just today, Chip started a blog which will run concurrent with what he will be preaching/teaching on Wednesday nights. If you want to check it out, here's the URL: http://storyline24.blogspot.com/ The church has a website as well. That URL is www.capshaw.org. We are excited for Chip and pray God's richest blessings upon him as he serves at Capshaw.

To Forgive or Not Forgive ~~ That is the Question...

In conversing with folks online, a most frequent topic is that of living our Christian lives, learning what Christ would have us do, and sharing our concerns and questions as we seek God's will. The following question was posed to me today. I researched my Bible and presented a Biblical response as best I could....

I have a question for you. If someone is really doing wrong (sinning), it affects you and those close to you, the person does not ask you for forgiveness and you do not forgive them of your own accord, would you be out of fellowship with God? Can you maintain your walk with the Lord while not forgiving, even if you don't have feelings of a grudge, just that "done with them" feeling?

That's a very important question as this sort of thing comes up frequently throughout life. A person continually sins and their sinning affects us. Do we have to forgive or can we just slough it off and try to pretend that it doesn't bother us ~~ even to the point of we don't care one way or the other?

What is forgiveness? It is simply choosing not to hold their sin against them. They don't necessarily have to change a thing, but we forgive ~~ choose not to hold that sin against them.

The opposite of that would be that of giving them over to Satan and having that "I'm done with you" feeling ~~ not caring one little whit about their sin and it's spiritual consequences in their life.

Just think, it might be our forgiveness ~~ telling them that their sin is hurting us but that we forgive them and are praying for them ~~ their seeing that magnitude of Christlikeness displayed in our lives ~~ that would convict them and bring them to the point of asking God's forgiveness and to stop their sinning.

If that person is a professing Christian and is continually sinning, there is the Christian responsibility of taking 2 or 3 witnesses to that person for the sole purpose of pointing out their sin so that they can repent and make things right ~~ with God and with others.

If the person is an unbeliever, then certainly we have the responsibility of going to them and trying to lead them to Christ. They can't quit their sinning w/o His power in their lives anyway.

I looked through my Bible online and couldn't come up with any verse that says we can pick and choose whom to forgive and whom not to forgive. If fact, Mark 11:26 points out that if we do not forgive others that God won't forgive us. That's pretty straightforward. It appears to me that we don't have a choice when it comes down to deciding if we have the choice of forgiving or not forgiving others. Read Matt 6:14-15 as printed below. Neither of those verses are opened ended ~~ they are not questions but are statements of fact.

MY CONFESSION: I have tried the "done with them" approach and find that it builds up several layers of sin in my own heart:

#1) I have feelings of superiority in thinking that I know they are sinning and I am too big to let it bother me. That is false humility and pride for surely their sin does affect me.
#2) It is a lie to think that I can just totally ignore it and that their continuing sin does not affect me spiritually.
#3) It fosters a root of bitterness in my heart that they are continuing to sin and affect me personally.
#4 It produces a hard heart in me for it is totally unChristian to "just be done" with anyone who is sinning. (And goodness knows that I still struggle with sin myself!)

Here are some verses I found that helped me come to the conclusion that we must forgive others.

Mt 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mt 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Mt 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Mt 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
Mr 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Lu 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

Matthew 18:15 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
18 Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

The bottom line: The question was "would you be out of fellowship with God for not forgiving?" I believe the verses indicate that we have no choice but to forgive. So yes~~ to be unforgiving would be disobedience (sin) on our part, and that disobedience (sin) would cause us to be out of fellowship with God.

I hope this helped you. And believe me, the Bible Study I did on this was good for my own heart for I struggle with those same questions at times. I know I went in circles and repeated myself but trust you can glean something from this.

Love you,
Susan

AFTER THE FACT: I went out online to see what others may have posted regarding this question and came across an article that was beneficial to me. You can check it out at http://aboundingjoy.com/blog/?cat=7

A Salute To Our Troops With An Open Letter by Ben Stein

Ecc 3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

A friend recently shared with me a piece written by Ben Stein and suggested that I put it on my blog, which I thought was a great idea. I do so as a salute to those who are serving in our armed forces to keep us safe and to keep us free.

Richard and I know two young women who are currently serving our Country. One is our former campus daughter, Elise. She is currently in her first phase of marine training at Parris Island, SC. Here is an except from a letter we received last week:

"Thank you for your letter. It brought a ray of sunshine to my somewhat cloudy day. Things here in boot camp are really tough, but I am learning to just take it as it comes and give it my all. We are constantly learning new things from martial arts, swimming, rappelling, shooting and also a lot of USMC history. Sometimes it's hard to keep up because of all the information that gets thrown at us all at once. I can't wait till graduation! I graduate December 7th and I get 10 days of leave and 28 days of recruiters assistance. Since I've been here, I think I have become even closer to God. They allow us to attend church on Sundays and we get 10 minutes of devotions time every night. I've never appreciated God more than I do now. I'm really glad I came here, especially since it has strengthened my faith. Well, I've gotta go now. Tell all the campus daughters I said hi!! :) Love much, Elise (a.k.a. RCT Gerard)"

And another is a young woman named Lacy who is the sister of a friend of ours. Lacy is on her way to Iraq. Here is the email I just received from Trish (our friend and Lacy's sister) which told that Lacy is leaving for Iraq this very Tuesday morning:

Hello Prayer Warriors! Please be in prayer for my sister Lacy as she is being deployed to Iraq on Tuesday. She reports to the base at 5 AM Monday morning. Her deployment is to be for 60 days. This past week Ted Nugent came to see them at the base. He told them that he is proud to be an American and thanked them for serving our country. For those of you who have not met her, she is the short one standing in front of him.

As Veteran's Day approaches, may we never forget those who have served. And every day, may we pray for those who are currently serving to preserve and protect our freedoms. And now for this well written and very convicting letter written by Ben Stein....

Ben Stein, Open Letter
02/02/2007

Dear Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, National Guard, Reservists, in Iraq, in the Middle East theater, in Afghanistan, in the area near Afghanistan, in any base anywhere in the world, and your families:

Let me tell you about why you guys own about 90 percent of the backbone in the whole world right now and should be happy with yourselves and proud of whom you are.

It was a dazzlingly hot day here in Rancho Mirage today. I did small errands like going to the bank to pay my mortgage, finding a new bed at a price I can afford, practicing driving with my new 5 wood, paying bills for about two hours. I spoke for a long time to a woman who is going through a nasty child custody fight. I got e-mails from a woman who was fired today from her job for not paying attention. I read about multi-billion- dollar mergers in Europe, Asia, and the Mideast. I noticed how overweight I am, for the millionth time. In other words, I did a lot of nothing.

Like every other American who is not in the armed forces family, I basically just rearranged the deck chairs on the Titanic in my trivial, self-important, meaningless way.

Above all, I talked to a friend of more than forty-three years who told me he thought his life had no meaning because all he did was count his money. And, friends in the armed forces, this is the story of all of America today. We are doing nothing but treading water while you guys carry on the life or death struggle against worldwide militant Islamic terrorism. Our lives are about nothing: paying bills, going to humdrum jobs, waiting until we can go to sleep and then do it all again. Our most vivid issues are trivia compared with what you do every day, every minute, every second.

Oprah Winfrey talks a lot about "meaning" in life For her, "meaning" is dieting and then having her photo on the cover of her magazine every single month (surely a new world record for egomania). This is not "meaning."

Meaning is doing for others.

Meaning is risking your life for hers.

Meaning is putting your bodies and families' peace of mind on the line to defeat some of the most evil, sick killers the world has ever known.

Meaning is leaving the comfort of home to fight to make sure that there still will be a home for your family and for your nation and for free men and women everywhere.

Look, soldiers and Marines and sailors and airmen and Coast Guardsmen, there are six billion people in this world. The whole fate of this world turns on what you people, 1.4 million, more or less, do every day. The fate of mankind depends on what about 2/100 of one percent of the people in this world do every day and you are those people. And joining you is every policeman, fireman, and Emergency Medical Technician in the country, also holding back the tide of chaos.

Do you know how important you are? Do you know how indispensable you are? Do you know how humbly grateful any of us who has a head on his shoulders is to you? Do you know that if you never do another thing in your lives, you will always still be heroes? That we could live without Hollywood or Wall Street or the NFL, but we cannot live for a week without you?

We are on our knees to you and we bless and pray for you every moment.
And Oprah Winfrey, if she were a size two, would not have one millionth of your importance, and all of the Wall Street billionaires will never mean what the least of you do, and if Barry Bonds hits hundreds of home runs it would not mean as much as you going on one patrol or driving one truck to the Baghdad airport.

You are everything to us, as we go through our little days, and you are in the prayers of the nation and of every decent man and woman on the planet. That's who you are and what you mean. I hope you know that.

Love,
Ben Stein

The Place, The People, and The Purpose

Isaiah 61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.


It was a wonderful time at the Ladies Retreat on Friday night and Saturday. I'd like to share with you the Three P's of how God worked in my heart.

The Place..... The retreat was held at The Palms of Destin Resort. It was a beautiful condo with lots of amenities. It was quiet and serene and afforded us a wonderful atmosphere for drawing closer to the Lord.

The People... About 100 ladies from our church attended the Retreat. There were girls just out of college up to ladies in their 70's with the majoring of ladies being the young set in their 30's and 40's. I enjoyed seeing so many ladies whom I know and then meeting and making some new acquaintances during the retreat. It was a blessing to hear our guest speaker, Debbie Morris as well as our own church member Dee P. Tracy, our pastor's wife, did an excellent job of emceeing the retreat. The ladies who led the singing, played the keyboard, and sang specials were all used of God to draw my heart closer to Him. Of course I so much enjoyed staying with 5 of my dear friends. Sandra, Ann, Lucille, Peggy, and Regina were all used of God to encourage as well as challenge me in my Christian life. The pic is of them on the balcony of our 3-bedroom condo.

The Purpose... The purpose of the retreat was to come apart from our everyday busy lives to be able to focus on God's Word, draw closer to Him, and of course to have some fun time together as sisters-in-Christ. The Theme of the Retreat was "The Secret Garden." The sessions were designed to help us retreat back to the Secret Garden of knowing Christ in a very real and intimate way. It's amazing how easy it is to relegate Him to a backseat in our lives. The Retreat helped me to re-focus as a Christian. It all worked together for good in my heart... the messages from our guest speaker, the fun stuff we did as a group, the meals shared, and the wonderful fellowship and time of sharing with my friends in our room. I'm so glad I was able to attend and know I would go again in a heartbeat, the Lord willing!!

Our Theme Song for the Retreat was "In the Garden." That song is special to me anyway as it was sung at both my mother-in-law's and father-in-law's funerals. I was blessed to read what was printed in our program regarding the words of the first verse and thought I'd share those thoughts here....

"I come to the garden alone" ~~ Matthew 6:6
This verse brings to mind the idea of a secret or private place that you can go and spend time with the Lord. Do you have a special place that you can go to every day to spend time with the Lord? Where is it? What makes that place special? Are there things that draw you to that place?

"While the dew is still on the roses;" ~~ Psalm 5:3, Psalm 63:1
These verses indicate a need to get up early to have a special time with the Lord. Do you get up early?Do you give God the first part of your day or is He just mingled in with the rest of your busy schedule? Some people would say they do better spending time with God at night because they are more alert. Consider this thought: a thing is more precious if it is gained through sacrifice. If an early quiet time with the Lord is a struggle, will it not be sweeter once you have done it?

"And the voice I hear, falling on my ear," ~~ John 10:4-5, 27
The sheep recognizes the voice of the Shepherd because the sheep stays close to the Shepherd. The sheep listens attentively for the voice of the shepherd, and it is not led astray by another. Are we so in tune with the Father that we recognize His voice and leading right away? Do you doubt when you hear or do you know the Father so well that you can recognize it immediately?" I John 4:1 tells us to "...try the spirits whether they are of God." Are you aware of deceivers who would try to lead you astray?

"The Son of God discloses." ~~~ John 20:14-15
Can you just imagine being there in the garden weeping because the One that you love is dead and His body has disappeared? Oh what joy when He says your name! You recognize His voice and are consumed with the fact that He has revealed Himself to you. Do you know that tender love of the Savior? Have you heard him call out your name and speak to you? Is your relationship with God close enough that you hear His voice?

"And He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known." ~~Genesis 3:8-9; I John 1:3-4; Revelation 3:20

God came looking for Adam and Eve in the Garden. God desires that we have fellowship with Him. He comes to us and waits for us to enter into that place of fellowship. In order to have sweet fellowship with God, we must first come to God with a clean heart. I John 1:9 tells us to confess our sins and we will receive forgiveness. Are there things in your life that are keeping you from having sweet fellowship with God? Take a moment and do a little inventory of your heart to see any hindrances. Confess those to God. Then ask God to help you to have communion with Him.

I thank God for the privilege of attending the retreat as it was used to bring me back into the secret garden where my heart was reigned in and refocused on JESUS.

Blessings afterwards..... riding home with my daughter Amy, but first, we went shopping in San Destin together. Being just the two of us, we enjoyed a lot of mother-daughter conversation all of the way home. No one would believe how little time we are able to spend together ~~ especially with just the two of us. It was the "treat" of the retreat!!

And then coming home to my sweet Richard. In the past 6 years of living in Pensacola, we have probably not spent more than 5 nights apart. I missed him!! While I was away, he did a couple of neat things for me..... one of which was to do our laundry. That was totally unexpected and a real sweet blessing. :) I thank God for His blessings on all fronts!!

The Wedding~~ Jason and Rachel

Matthew 19:6~~ Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.


Jason H. was wed to Rachel L. on Saturday, October 27. It was a lovely outdoor wedding on the Bay. Here is a picture of Jason and Rachel with the family. L-R: Joey (Wayne's and Rita's son), Wayne, and Rita (Nita's sister), Terry holding Sara-Grace (Beau's and Michelle's daughter), Bride Rachel, Annika (Jason's daughter), Groom Jason, Nita, Jaeden (Beau's and Michelle's son), Michelle (sister of the groom), Beau (Michelle's husband), and Bruce (Rita's son) with his wife and their two young children. Remember to double-click the picture to see a nice large view of it!

Saw this on the Indiana Church Website...

Farewell to Chip Dean

October 21, 2007

Sunday, Oct 21st, was the last day for our youth pastor, Chip Dean who follows God's call for him to serve at Capshaw Baptist Church in Huntsville, Al.

We appreciate the past 3 1/2 years Chip has not only led our youth, but led us in the current transition between senior pastors. We also appreciate his willingness to stay beyond the time we asked of him when he graduated seminary. In fact, Chip has had the longest tenure of any youth pastor here at Harrison Hills. Thank you Chip for serving Jesus here at HHBC.