We have so much to be thankful for that I don’t even know where to begin. First, and foremost, I am so thankful for my heavenly, Abba Father, God. He loves us so much more than we can imagine. I am forever grateful and in love with Him. I love Jesus, His Son, too, Who came to earth, experienced every temptation that we do, lived a perfect life, and then not only gave up that very life so that you and I can live eternally, but when He left this earth, He didn’t leave us alone on earth to fend for ourselves, but left us with a special Helper----Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit teaches me things everyday. Holy Spirit empowers me to be all that God created me to be. Praise God for that, because I can’t do it on my own! Thank You, God for the Trinity!!!
I am so thankful for the incredible family that God gave me. I was birthed by two wonderful parents, and if that wasn’t good enough, I have been graced by extra parents along the way (my step parents, past and present). My sister and brother and their families are such a blessing to us, too! Then, it just gets “gooder”, for God grafted me into my husband’s family, too. God definitely knew what He was doing, when He chose Clay Childress to be my husband. He is an excellent man of God, husband and father. He is my best friend, and we have so much fun together, and love to serve the Lord together. The gifts and talents that God gave us, compliment each other, and we balance each other out, on the rough edges, too. Then, God entrusted Clay & I with two wonderful children, Britt and Amber. Britt married a beautiful woman, Merrida, and God again grafted another family member into our lives. GO GOD! We love our kids and are so thankful for them. They are wonderful---all three of them! Britt and Merrida moved to Nashville, TN, in August and are happy there and doing very well. Britt is the Department Manager in the Guitar Department of Guitar Center there. Merrida is working in Marketing in a business downtown and doing an excellent job, too. Amber, graduated from college this past May and moved to Washington DC in July. She is loving it there. She works for a law firm (across the street from the White House). Ambs is back at National Community Church and loves the Body of Christ that God has her in there.
In March of this past year, Clay and I began attending Lamesa Christian Fellowship. We are again so blessed to be grafted into such a loving and gifted family. We are having a ball serving God there and working with such an incredible team to advance God’s Kingdom together. Our pastor, Dr. Gwen Aldridge, challenges every member to be all that God has created them to be, and to use the talents, gifts and abilities that God givev each one of us to bring God glory. Clay and I are serving on the Worship Team there and love coming into God’s presence and getting to lead others there too. It is awesome!
In August of this year, Clay went to a local doctor, for an ear infection. While there, the doctor decided to run some screening labwork, and when Clay’s PSA (prostate blood labwork) came back 25.78 (normal for Clay should have been 2), sent us to a urologist. That urologist did an exam and then a biopsy, and the doctor’s report came back that Clay had prostate cancer in 8 of 12 cores, with a Gleason score of 7 (meaning that it grows fast and spreads easily). That very next Sunday, as we began to worship in the house of God, Clay, stood on the platform, and told everyone that the doctor’s report was that he had prostate cancer, but He believed the report of the Lord, and it said that HE IS HEALED! Our church, friends, and family rallied around us and stood with us in the gap as we cried out to God to manifest His healing in Clay. What a beautiful picture of the Body of Christ coming together on behalf of a friend and family member. We love all of you! We also know that healing comes, and only God, our Maker, chooses how He will execute it. Clay had a bone scan and a CT Scan of the abdomen and pelvis. They were all clear!!! Praise God! We saw the urologist again, a few weeks before surgery. Clay had them re-run the PSA, because Clay wanted to make sure that surgery was needed. Clay’s PSA had come down to 6.3. GO GOD! On October 4th, Clay had robotic surgery to remove the prostate. The doctor came out and told us that he felt he had removed all the cancer and that we were just waiting on the pathological reports to come back and the follow-up PSA a month after surgery to see if we needed any radiation or chemo treatments. WOO HOO!!! The path reports came back good and then a month later, the PSA = 0, meaning that Clay doesn’t have any rogue prostate cells growing anywhere in his body. He is cancer-free! GOD HEALS EVEN TODAY! Praise God!!!
Now, if that wasn’t enough to be thankful for this year, God is gifting us with the most incredible cotton harvest we have ever had in our 26 years of marriage. GO GOD! And, I have to tell you that what we all see and are experiencing in the physical, God is doing and about to do in a greater measure, in the Spirit- realm. There is about to be an explosion of the Spirit and harvest of souls like no one has ever experienced on this earth. And we get to be a part of that! WOW! I am so thankful that God created us to be a part of His Work for such a time as this!
I also thank God for our wonderful friends that He gave us. You are all so awesome and bless us so much! Thank you for being you!!!
HAVE A HAPPY, BLESSED, SAFE & SUPERNATURAL THANKSGIVING ! ! !
God's love & mine,
Nonnie
aka Lauren
