If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Clickherefor more information, or to find an upcoming event near you! Now is the time to book an event for 2024!
It was such a joy, recently, to share with the wonderful women of Blackshear, Georgia, at Emmanuel Baptist Church’s women’s Christmas banquet, Starry Night. And, what a heartwarming delight to fellowship with dear friends (Pastor) Mike and Andrea Stone again.
My husband and I arrived in Blackshear Thursday night after a blessedly uneventful drive in. On Friday, we met Andrea and event coordinator, Yvonne, along with a few other church members, for lunch at a “homey” little bistro called J. Leonard’s on Main.
Friday night’s banquet was a delicious meal at Blackshear’s charming Train Depot. Each table was stunningly decorated by various EBC ladies.
Yvonne warmly welcomed us and guided us———————-Olivia provided our lovely special music. through the evening as emcee.
The topic of my keynote devotional was The Women of Christmas. We looked at the stories of Elizabeth, Anna, and Mary in Luke 1-2, examining these sisters’ godly character and how they serve as examples to us as Christian women today. (No audio or video is available, but we used my notes for the evening to record a similar episode of A Word Fitly Spoken, also titled The Women of Christmas.)
The planning committee graciously gave me a wonderful gift bag from Ganas Pecan Co. in nearby Waycross, Georgia. Oh my! So delicious. And I almost can’t wait to take down my Christmas towels and display this cute cloth in my kitchen.
The ladies all seemed to have an enjoyable evening of food, fun, and fellowship.
The lovely evening was all too brief, and we said our goodbyes and headed back to the hotel. I was so glad Mike was able to stop by for a visit after a day of deer hunting. He is such a dear brother.
Scott Lesley, Michelle Lesley, Mike Stone
Before leaving the next morning, I was able to squeeze in breakfast with Andrea and our friend Hayley. Sisterly fellowship time is so special.
Hayley, Michelle, Andrea
On our way back home we were able to stop in northern Florida to visit some old family friends and the lake.
It’s hard to see, but there’s a heron back there!
Date palm
It was such a wonderful weekend with the ladies of Emmanuel Baptist, Blackshear. Thanks so much to Mike, Andrea, Yvonne, and all the other brothers and sisters of EBC who made us feel right at home and worked so hard to host a fantastic banquet. If you’re ever in the area and need a good church to visit, make plans to spend the Lord’s Day with these wonderful brothers and sisters.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information, or to find an upcoming event near you!
Photo Credits
Many thanks to all of the attendees who took or shared many of the event photos above. You may assume that if I’m in the picture or if it’s a good quality photo that I didn’t take it. The remaining photos were shot by me.
For me, part of the reason Christmas is the “most wonderful time of the year” is the music. There are the old favorites as well as some great new songs that have come out over the years. Unfortunately, there are some stinkers out there, too.
In December 2014, I published my first collection of the aforementioned “stinkers,” Top 10 Worst Christmas Songs of All Time. It instantly became an annual Christmas favorite, with readers suggesting more awful songs to add to the list every year, leading to volumes 2 and 3 of Top 10 Worst.
This year, rather than adding a volume 4, I’ve decided to compile volumes 1-3 here in one list and just keep adding Christmas songs you love to hate every year (Could there possibly be any more?). And, while I can’t imagine why you would want it, if you need a playlist of all of these horrid songs, here you go: The Worst Christmas Songs of All Time.
Everybody has her own taste, so the songs that give you the Christmas crazies are probably different from the ones that get on my nerves, but, here, in no particular order, are my (and your!) picks for the worst Christmas songs of all time.
1. The Christmas Shoes– Hi, we’re going to write a song that’s a blatant attempt at emotional manipulation, and then if you say you don’t like it, people will think you’re heartless. Merry Christmas.
2. Last Christmas– Really? We have to listen to co-dependent whining about a break up in a Christmas song? And from Wham?
3. Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer– This has such a catchy tune. It’s too bad the family in this song belongs on a reality TV show.
4. Same Old Lang Syne– This is my pick for the absolute worst “Christmas” song (it really has nothing to do with Christmas) of all time. The only good thing I can say about this is, at least the people in the song didn’t actually have an affair. It’s bleak, it’s immoral, it’s depressing, and it’s the same four bars of melody over. and. over. and. over.
5. Must Have Been Old Santa Claus– “Happy ho, ho, ho to you.” Four. million. times. Kill me. Kill me now.
6. Baby, It’s Cold Outside– Because nothing says “Merry Christmas” like attempted date rape by a drink drugging letch.1
7. Santa Baby– They could have named this song “Sugar Daddy” or “Implied Sexual Favors in Exchange for Obscenely Expensive Gifts.” Same thing.
8. Mistletoe– I’m just going to make a rule right here, right now: no Christmas songs that force middle-aged people to go to Urban Dictionary to understand the lyrics. My kids had to explain to me what “shawty” means. Apparently, it’s similar to a “bae.”
9. Do They Know It’s Christmas?– Stop having Christmasy fun RIGHT NOW. Just STOP IT. Don’t you know there are people starving in Africa, you soulless oaf? And, seriously, who puts the word “doom” in a Christmas song?
10. Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s Christmas Canon– It pains me to list this one because I love TSO, I love children’s choirs, I love Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and I love the idea of trying to Christmas it up. But I would rather eat a ten year old fruitcake than listen to this.
11. Please, Daddy, Don’t Get Drunk this Christmas – I can just picture the artistic meetings that took place on this one: “We need a new Christmas song for your next album, John. Any ideas?” “How about a potential domestic violence case set to country music? That’ll fill everybody’s heart with Christmas cheer!”
12. Dominick the Donkey– Dear Italy, Please stick with what you do best – food and opera.
13. Happy X-Mas, War is Over (So This Is Christmas) – Excuse me, but I think you’re looking for Woodstock. Go back several decades and hang a left.
14. I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas– Why not? I wanted a monkey for Christmas when I was a kid. I stand in solidarity with this kid and every other kid who wanted a ridiculous animal for Christmas and never got one. (To be honest, I think this song is kinda cute {be sure to catch grown-up Gayla singing it at the end of the video}. I include it on behalf of all my readers who said it’s driving them to the loony bin.)
15. Hard Candy Christmas – Maybe I’ll wallpaper my bathroom. Maybe I’ll get a mohawk. Maybe I’ll eat cold Spaghettios right out of the can. MAKE👏UP👏YOUR👏MIND👏
16. Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time – There’s good 80’s synthesizer and there’s bad 80’s synthesizer. I’ll let you guess which one earned this song a spot on the list.
17. White Winter Hymnal – “It’s lyrically fairly meaningless.” That’s what the songwriter had to say about this song. Dude, lemme ‘splain you something about songwriting. When you have a cool piece of music like this, don’t waste it on meaningless lyrics. Collaborate with a good writer and make it an awesome song with meaning. (Let me also take this opportunity for my annual reminder: Pentatonix is not a Christian group, regardless of the songs they record. According to Pride magazine, “Two of Pentatonix’s members, Scott Hoying and Mitch Grassi, are openly gay, and the group vocally supports the LGBT community.”)
18. Driving Home for Christmas – This song is the musical equivalent of driving across west Texas. And by that, I mean – monotonous. (Sorry west Texas, but you know it’s true.) At least he didn’t regale us with the number of each mile marker as he passed it. Thank the Lord for small favors.
19. I’m Gettin’ Nuttin for Christmas – Quick! Somebody get the rod of correction – this kid is out of control! Cute, but not your best work, Shirl.
20. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Kid witnesses Mom stepping out on Dad and is traumatized for life. Just one more reason not to lie to your kids about Santa Claus. (Tell them it’s Dad, ladies, and you can kiss him all you want! :0)
21. All I Want for Christmas Is You – I don’t know what kind of deal Mariah Carey made with every single one of the eleventy two million FM stations in the country to play this song every time anyone turns her radio on between November and January, but it was a doozy. Are you hearing it in your sleep yet? Is your dog singing the doo-wop parts?
(Full disclosure – This one made the list because you overwhelmingly demanded it. I actually dig it. It’s exactly the kind of mid-’50’s – early ’60’s flavor I love. Just not every time I turn around. Please don’t hate me. :0)
22. Mary, Did You Know? – I know, I know, some of y’all are going to unfollow me over this one. You love this song. I did too … the first nine thousand times I heard it or had to sing it in choir. And I think that’s probably the main reason so many of my followers requested that I put this one on the list. It’s been beaten to death like a too-stiff meringue.
Did she know? Did she not know? Let’s settle that argument once and for all.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy would one day walk on water? No.
…would calm a storm with His hand? No.
There are no Old Testament prophecies which predicted that the Messiah would walk on water or calm a storm.
If Mary knew her Bible (and if you’ll check the cross-references to the Magnificat, it certainly seems she did), she most likely knew the Messiah (i.e. her “baby boy”) would do these things. However, she wasn’t omniscient and wouldn’t have known the specific timing or circumstances surrounding these healings and resurrections.
Everything else in the song (He would deliver her, He is Lord of all Creation, etc.) is either stated or implied in Old Testament prophecy about the Messiah (which Mary would probably have known), in Gabriel’s announcements to Mary and Joseph, or both.
So, yeah, except for the walking on water and calming the storm parts, she knew.
Debate over.
23. The Little Drummer Boy (Carol of the Drum) – You just know some man came up with the idea for this song, right? No mother in her right mind who’s just given birth – even Mary – would welcome some kid banging on a drum with the little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay. You would think that … but you would be wrong, because this song was written by one Katherine Kennicott Davis. I guess her kids were heavy sleepers.
(If you actually like drums, just not the song, check out this drumline version that partly drowns out the song. And, did you know they made a kids’ movie out of this cacophonous carol?)
24. Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (the Bruce Springsteen version)– He sees you when you sing flat. He knows when you’re off key. He’s only leaving coal for you – naughty, naughty, naughty.
25. Do You Hear What I Hear? – Is the tail of the star as big as a kite, or as long as a kite’s tail? If the song had a voice as big as the sea, how could the shepherd boy help but hear it? In fact, how could he even hear the lamb asking him the question? And wouldn’t a talking lamb be more impressive than a song with the volume on high? How does a shepherd get an audience with the king? And why would he suggest silver and gold for a freezing baby instead of blankets or a nice snow suit? (Guess that’s why he’s a shepherd, not a king.)
I have questions.
26. The Cherry Tree Carol – This is called “writing under the influence,” kids. Mary’s a queen, Joseph’s got anger management issues, and Jesus speaks while in utero. Uh huh. Don’t tell me chemicals weren’t involved in that composition.
27. My Favorite Things – THIS IS NOT A CHRISTMAS SONG. You can put jingle bells behind it all the livelong day and it will still. never. be. a. Christmas. song. N-E-V-E-R. Only Julie Andrews is allowed to sing this song, and only in war-torn Austria. Did I mention it’s not a Christmas song? I said what I said.
28. Mary Was the First One to Carry the Gospel – Everything about this song is great but the hook. That is just 🤢.
This is why we can’t have nice things, fellow Southern gospel lovers.
29. The Most Inconvenient Christmas – Oh no. NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNO. Are you KIDDING me? These guys are professing Christians and they churn out this theological cataclysm? When something is “inconvenient,” that means it clashes with our previous plans, or it’s difficult to get done, or it doesn’t fit with our timetable, or we had to go out of our way to do it. And because of all that, it’s an unpleasant task that we’re reluctant to do.
Say it with me, sisters: NOTHING IS “INCONVENIENT” TO GOD. Nothing. He is the God who upholds the universe by the word of His power. He is omnipotent, omniscient, everlasting to everlasting, God Almighty, King of kings and Lord of lords who spoke all of Creation into existence. Sending His only Son into the world to live a perfect life and die a horrible, agonizing, bloody death for your sin and for mine was not “inconvenient” for God. It was His plan from eternity past. And it wasn’t difficult for Him. And He didn’t do it begrudgingly or reluctantly. He did it because He loves you that much, and He rightfully loves His own glory even more.
I’ve been an Oak Ridge Boys fan since I was a kid, but this is one of the most offensive songs I’ve ever heard. It impugns the very nature and character of God. It’s the Reckless Love of country Christmas music.
30. I Never Knew the Meaning of Christmas – I hate to break it to you guys, but you still don’t know the meaning of Christmas.
Dear Santa- Please bring these boys a Bible for Christmas.
31. Christmas Time Is Here– I have loved A Charlie Brown Christmas since I was a child, and the lyrics of the song are great, but this 1960’s piano lounge slow jazz is the musical equivalent of a 6 year old engulfed in ennui whining, “I’m boooooooooooooooored,” on a grey, drizzly winter day. It’s minor. It’s dissonant. It makes me want to open the back door and toss a kid out into a snow bank head first.
32. A Marshmallow World– This is another one I added simply due to reader demand, but I really think y’all are wrong on this one. This is a cute song. Who doesn’t love marshmallows, whipped cream, and sugar dates with your sweetie? (“People who live in Wisconsin and spend their winters shoveling those mounds of marshmallows off the driveway, Michelle!”)
33. Grown Up Christmas List– “…and my greatest desire is world peace,” you can almost hear the beauty pageant contestant gushing. My grown up Christmas list includes a new toaster and a gift certificate for having my carpets cleaned. Am I supposed to feel guilty about that?
(I’m posting the Amy Grant version because it gets extra “worst” points for the schmaltzy synthesizer and tug-at-your-heartstrings kiddies with candles, but also because, as she’s a professing Believer who – among other things – is perversion-affirming, I wanted to let you know, if you didn’t already, Amy is one to be avoided.)
34. Redneck 12 Days of Christmas– I’m all for tacky and twangy, but … yeah, that’s just annoying.
35. Dogs Barking Jingle Bells– I wouldn’t want to listen to it more than once every few years, but I just think this one is funny. Listed by popular demand. (Plus, when you search for this song on YouTube, you wind up with a bunch of hilarious videos of animals “singing” Christmas songs.)
Agree? Disagree? What do you think is the worst Christmas song of all time?
1(Baby, It’s Cold Outside was added to my original article Top 10 Worst Christmas Songs of All Time in 2014, long before the #MeToo movement, and long before the explanation of what the composer of Baby, It’s Cold Outside purportedly meant by it was in general circulation. My brief evaluation of this song is based solely on the impression I was left with by the lyrics, much the same way people have taken umbrage with Reckless Love based on the lyrics alone, despite Corey Asbury’s explanation of what he supposedly meant when he wrote it. I am not a liberal, a feminist, or on the #MeToo bandwagon. I’m confident my track record bears this out, and I’m appalled by accusations to the contrary based solely on my one sentence reaction to this song.)
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Clickherefor more information, or to find an upcoming event near you! Now is the time to book an event for 2024!
What a pleasure it was to fellowship with the wonderful women of Lindale, Texas, and the surrounding area at First Baptist Church’sGrowing in the Word women’s conference in November. FBC’s pastor Tom Buck and his wife, Jennifer are dear friends, so it was great to get to see them again.
When an event is only a few hours away from home, my husband, Scott, usually drives me. We took a nice, leisurely drive into Lindale.
It’s sugar cane season in south Louisiana. We used to serve a church that sat pretty much in the middle of a bunch of cane fields. I miss driving through them.
Stopping at Billy’s (think of it as a small, Cajun Buc-ee’s) when we’re in the area is always a treat. A girl’s got to have her crawfish pie!
We arrived Friday afternoon to get settled into the hotel, and were greeted by these lovely hostess gifts. This gorgeous cutting/charcuterie board is from Gum Creek Cutting Boards. They have been on my Holy Holidays list of Christian-owned businesses for a couple of years now, and they do beautiful work. (I almost want to hang it on the wall as art instead of using it!) The little thingies that look like marshmallows are actually aromatherapy shower steamers – kind of like bath bombs, but for the shower.
Tom and Jen took us out for an amazing dinner of Texas barbecue, and then this happened.
I had the peanut butter fudge. Which one looks good to you?
Saturday morning, it was conference time. (No audio/video available.) FBC has an amazing and versatile multi-purpose space across the street from the church, and it was perfectly suited for the conference.
My husband dropped me off so he could go do manly stuff elsewhere, and the ladies had a brief time of fellowship and breakfast before things got kicked off.
Saddle up, listeners. :0)
Sonya did a marvelous job as our emcee, and Lydia was a great worship leader!
Our first teaching session was Holy Mothers (and others) of God’s Word. We took a look at several women of Scripture and how they exemplified holiness to us. God gave us some superb examples in women like Anna, Naomi, Mary and Martha, and others, and we would do well to follow in their footsteps.
After a short break, it was time for Practical Holiness. It’s one thing to talk about holiness. It’s another thing to do holiness at 9:13 a.m. on a Tuesday when you’re at work or taking care of your family. How do we live lives of holiness every day?
Lunch time! The conference team put out a lovely spread of chicken salad croissants a charcuterie platter and other goodies.
When we reassembled, we switched gears from holiness to hospitality.
Hospitality: Welcoming Others as Christ Welcomes Us was first on the agenda. Hospitality doesn’t mean having twelve people over for a fancy dinner on fine china. It’s a posture of heart that welcomes others in because Christ first welcomed us.
Our final session was Practicing Hospitality. We had studied what the Bible teaches about hospitality in our first session, but how should we go about putting it into practice?
During the course of the conference, there were several drawings for door prizes. I thought the planning team organized it in a really fun way. At registration, each lady received five slips of paper with her name on them and she could place them in the baskets for the various prizes as she liked – all of them in one basket, one each in five different baskets or some other split of her choice.
Our hearts were full and it was all over but the picture taking.
It was so fantastic to see my sisters Sonya and Jen again. I love the family of God.❤️
Thanks so much to Tracy and Ky for taking us out for a farewell dinner at this fun place. They had Monte Cristo sandwiches, one of my faves!
A heartwarming ending to an outstanding weekend – we stayed over and worshiped with the saints at FBC Lindale on Sunday. Tom is an excellent expositor.
It was such a wonderful weekend with the ladies of First Baptist, Lindale. Thanks so much to Tom and Jen and all the other brothers and sisters of FBC for making us feel right at home. Thanks also to all the men and women who worked so hard to host a fantastic conference, and extended such warm hospitality to us. If you’re ever in the area and need a good church to visit, make plans to spend the Lord’s Day with these wonderful brothers and sisters.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information, or to find an upcoming event near you!
Photo Credits
Many thanks to all of the conference attendees who took or shared many of the photos above. You may assume that if I’m in the picture or if it’s a good quality photo that I didn’t take it. The remaining photos were shot by me.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Clickherefor more information, or to find an upcoming event near you! Now is the time to book an event for 2024!
It brought me such joy, recently, to share with another great group of ladies at the Jesus Camp, Nantucket Women’s Retreat on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Conferences are super for reaching out to women in your community and surrounding areas, but retreats provide an intimate atmosphere that’s conducive to both formal instruction and informal, one on one discipleship. And we had plenty of time and space for both! Many thanks to Darcy Creech Marelli for opening up her lovely homes and hosting this biannual time of refreshing for women from all over the country this past October.
Last year when I spoke at JCNWR, it was just a couple of months prior to my 30th wedding anniversary, so my husband and I decided to drive to the retreat and treat ourselves to a “working second honeymoon,” visiting some fun “touristy” places on the way back home. We had such a great time, we decided to do it again this year.
How it started…
How it ended.
It’s two full days of driving from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Hyannis, Massachusetts, and things were off to a great start. Our hotel in Virginia the first night was free due to some rewards points I’d forgotten I had.
The second night, when we arrived at our inn in Hyannis, we checked in and discovered that, for whatever reason, they had upgraded us for free to a room with a bay view.
As we unloaded our luggage in the parking lot and prepared to head to our room, I heard a man’s voice calling out a greeting to me in French. (Brothers, can I just say, unless you want to completely terrify a woman you don’t know, never call out to her in a dark parking lot – in French or otherwise.) It turns out he was from Baton Rouge, too, had seen our Louisiana license plate, and was glad to see some home folks. (We ran into an oddly inordinate number of people from Louisiana, or with close ties to Louisiana, in Massachusetts this year.)
The lakeside view from our motel room.
I’ll never tire of the sights that welcome me to Nantucket as I arrive on the ferry…
Wednesday night, the ladies began to arrive. We shared a delicious dinner, and then had the opportunity to hear everyone’s “two minute testimony”. Our backgrounds varied from those of us who were born and raised in church and came to know Christ at an early age to those who had survived abuse, or walked on the wild side, or were involved in heretical church backgrounds before coming to Christ later in life. There is no such thing as a “boring” testimony. Every new birth in Jesus is a miracle of His mercy and grace.
This year, I taught a four lesson series on the topic of suffering. (No audio or video available.) Suffering is something we will all eventually experience, and God’s Word has so much to teach us about how to endure and respond to it in a biblical way.
Thursday’s teaching started with Christ, the Suffering Servant, discussing Christ’s suffering as the lens through which we view our own suffering.
We rounded out our instructional time with The Theology of Suffering, examining some common “Christian” misconceptions about suffering, and what the Bible actually teaches. Each session was followed by a time of Q&A and discussion groups.
Friday, session 1 was Rejoicing in God’s Promises During Suffering. Though suffering can be difficult and painful, God has made so many good promises to us and given us ample reason to rejoice, even in the most challenging circumstances.
Our second session was The Christian’s Response to Suffering. We always want to be sure we’re responding to suffering in a godly way, whether it’s our own suffering or we’re ministering to someone else.
Both teaching sessions were again followed by Q&A and discussion groups. All of the ladies were very gracious and receptive, and we had many edifying moments of discipleship.
Of course, there’s always time for food, fellowship, and fun! The ladies enjoyed working out, chatting around the dinner table, relaxing in the pool and hot tub, and trips into town and to the beach.
No, this is not yoga.
Nope, still not yoga.
Retreat swag! Darcy kindly provided these resources and gifts for retreat attendees, and gave me a special treat of honey from High Point’s hive!
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye. It was a wonderful time of fellowship in the Lord, and I’m looking forward to going back next year! Many thanks to Darcy and her assistant, Otilia, who worked so hard to host a great retreat, took care of all my needs, and made me feel so welcome.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information.
I was starving when I got off the ferry and onto the mainland, so we stopped at a trendy local restaurant for a late lunch before hitting the road for a few fun stops on the way home.
Fish tacos, New England style. Every Louisiana woman who travels knows to carry Tony’s in her purse. Sometimes, when you’re away from home, ya just gotta kick it up a notch! :0)
First on our itinerary was Dayton, Ohio, so we headed west.
I keep hoping to visit New York City one of these days. Last year, this is as close as we got.
This year we got a little closer. We actually drove through the city on the interstate. Here are the sights we saw (pretty thrilling, huh?):
We got in early enough to spend a couple of hours at the museum before it closed. Next on the agenda was Skyline Chili for supper. I was first introduced to the idea of eating chili on top of spaghetti noodles a few years ago on Twitter. To which I promptly said, “Gross. How could anybody ruin chili that way?”. But my Ohio followers swear by it, and there was a Skyline Chili practically across the street from our hotel, so I thought, why not give it a try? Besides, I love sampling the local fare when I travel. I ordered it “4 Way” (noodles, chili, beans, and cheese).
The verdict? I love you, Ohio, but my initial reaction to chili spaghetti was spot on for me. It’s just not my cup of tea. Sorry.
We spent the next day seeing the rest of the NMUSAF. To me, a plane is a plane (Don’t tell my husband I said that! :0), and there must have been hundreds of them, but even for someone like me, there were plenty of things to hold my interest, and I highly recommend that you visit if you get the opportunity. I’ve been to a lot of great museums, including the Smithsonian, and the NMUSAF is definitely one of the best. And not only that, admission and parking are both free, it’s open 7 days a week, and the grounds are lovely as well. If you love planes, plan to spend a few days. It’s huge.
One of the planes I enjoyed seeing was the C-47. This is the plane my grandfather flew during WWII, back when the Air Force was still the Army Air Corps.
There was a very sad exhibit on the Holocaust.
Disney lent its art and artists to a number of planes and units.
Major General Claire Lee Chenault was a long time Louisiana resident and former LSU student who formed and led the very successful American Volunteer Group – the Flying Tigers – during WWII.
Other exhibits I enjoyed included: walking through the “Air Force Ones” of Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy (the one that flew his body back to Washington after the assassination), a giant, floor to ceiling quilt commemorating Air Force bases that have closed, the evolution of the Air Force song, and Ham’s – the first chimp in space – uniform and simulator. Ham was trained at Holloman AFB, not far from where I grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Before planes were invented, the military gave ballooning a try…
A memo about ballooning written by Abraham Lincoln (original).
Ham’s simulator
Because M*A*S*H, that’s why.
The beautiful grounds…
We finished up the Air Force museum early enough to drive on to our next destination, just an hour away – northern Kentucky.
After a good night’s sleep, we headed for the Creation Museum! What a joy to be in a museum having anything to do with science and hear a biblical perspective on it instead of having to consciously ignore all the evolution stuff (or correct it to your children). And all of the exhibits were so gospel-centered! We watched two brief 3D movies- one on the six days of Creation, the other, a Genesis through Revelation presentation of the gospel. There was also a small exhibit from the Museum of the Bible, which we hope to visit next year. It was too cold to spend much time outside, and the animals in the zoo seemed to agree, so we didn’t see many of them. When we got done with the museum, we took a quick look-see at downtown Cincinnati (it reminded us a lot of downtown New Orleans) and saw Paycor Stadium, where the Cincinnati Bengals play.
Noah…
Original letter written by Hudson Taylor.
Found a great book in the gift shop!
I spy somebody I know on p. 36!
The final stop on our trip was the Ark Encounter, which we thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend, along with the Creation Museum. My favorite part was the exhibit with all the Noah storybooks that explained how harmful the “kiddiefication” of the Noahic narrative is. We also got to meet Ronda, a follower who has been such a faithful supporter of my ministry and A Word Fitly Spoken. Ronda works at the Ark, and was so kind and gracious to meet us and give us a behind the scenes tour of the hydroponic gardens and greenhouses in her department, where decorative plants as well as plants that feed the animals in the petting zoo are grown and maintained. Thank you, Ronda!
I couldn’t stop laughing at snack bars and…
…a TV room on the ark.
I got to meet Ken Ham! (Or a reasonable facsimile thereof.)
Thanks for everything, Ronda!
This trip was such a blessing. We are most grateful to God for providing it for us!
Photo Credits
Thank you to all the retreat attendees who generously shared many of the photos you see above in the retreat section.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Clickherefor more information, or to find an upcoming event near you! Now is the time to book an event for 2024!
What a pleasure it was to fellowship with the wonderful women of Opelousas, Louisiana, at First Baptist Church’sSeek to Serve women’s conference. Believe it or not, after nearly seven years of traveling and speaking at women’s events, this was my very first event in my home state of Louisiana. It was quite surreal to teach a conference while still sleeping in my own bed at night!
A nice, early morning drive put me at FBCO in plenty of time to meet some of the ladies and get settled before the conference started.
Check in time was warm and welcoming, thanks to April, our conference organizer, and her team.
A hostess basket (complete with that beautiful flour sack towel in the background) was an unbelievably kind gesture since I was only there for the day!
The fall-themed decor was just charming…
The conference team offered up a tempting spread, and breakfast was a hit!
Conference time!
No conference audio/video is available for this event, however, I taught the same two sessions on biblical womanhood at this conference earlier in the year, if you’d like to watch.
We all moved into the sanctuary, and Amy and Lance led us in some worship songs.
Our first session was God’s Design for Biblical Womanhood. Womanhood is special and unique. Womanhood – not a cheap knockoff of manhood – is something God values and wants women to display in the world, the church, and the family.
After session 1, we took a quick break, then kicked off the next portion of the conference with some fun door prizes.
Walking in Biblical Womanhood was our second teaching session of the day. Everybody wants to change the world, but nobody wants to change the diapers. God’s plan for most of us is to change the diapers, get the groceries, make the meals. We fight back against feminism by standing – right where God has placed us – and living each day faithfully.
All of that teaching and learning can make a girl hungry, and in the heart of Cajun country, that means crawfish and chicken pasta for lunch. (I would have taken a picture of mine, but I had already inhaled it by the time I thought about it. You don’t mess with Cajun women when it comes to food!)
Adorable (and tasty!) pumpkin cookies and cake balls!
We finished out the day with a Q&A session with lots of insightful questions from these sharp and eager ladies. One of the topics we discussed was the need for older women to disciple and train younger women, as we’re commanded to in Titus 2:3-5. It was such a joy to have a few older women step up – on the spot! – and offer their wisdom and time to disciple some of the younger women!
We wrapped things up with more door prizes and worship…
…and a fun time of photos and fellowship!
It was such a wonderful weekend with the ladies of First Baptist, Opelousas. Thanks so much to April and Pastor Joel and his wife, Angie, for making me feel right at home. Thanks also to all the men and women of FBC who worked so hard to host a fantastic conference, and extended such warm hospitality to me. If you’re ever in the area and need a good church to visit, make plans to spend the Lord’s Day with these wonderful brothers and sisters.
If your church or organization is ever in need of a speaker for a women’s event, I’d love to come share with your ladies as well. Click here for more information, or to find an upcoming event near you!
Photo Credits
Many thanks to April and other conference attendees who took or shared many of the photos above. You may assume that if I’m in the picture or if it’s a good quality photo that I didn’t take it. The remaining photos were shot by me.
