Church remodels house family thought it could never live in again

By Amanda Greene
Amanda.Greene@StarNewsOnline

Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 8:19 p.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 8:19 p.m.

Amy King sat in her family’s Pine Valley driveway, dreading going inside. Her husband Aaron King and daughters Micah, 7, and Noel, 5, waited in the car with her. It was Nov. 3, Aaron’s birthday.

Just two months before, their 2-month-old son Ari had died of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) inside the house. Before that, Amy had suffered six miscarriages and a stillbirth.

Ari’s death made resuming life in that home too difficult. Since then, the family had lived with Amy’s parents in their Kure Beach home, while members of their church, Cornerstone Baptist, where Aaron is an associate pastor, volunteered to renovate the Kings’ house.

At first the church members were just going to re-paint the nursery. Then they found water leaks in the kitchen, buckling floors in the bathroom, a 30-year-old HVAC unit and rotten garage door.

So, instead of just giving the nursery a new look, they carried out a complete home makeover.

“When I did walk in, I was amazed,” Amy said, adding that she loves the open kitchen with its granite countertops and cubed glass backsplash.

“We saw that the sofa and the mirror in the living room were the same, and that was a pretty much it,” Aaron added. “What can we say to all that work? Thank you?”

“They knew they couldn’t take away the pain,” Amy added, through tears, “but they’ve made it easier to bear.”

Senior pastor Daniel Gillespie likened the effort to the HGTV series “Extreme Makeover.”

“We are called to love one another and care for one another,” Gillespie said. “This was an opportunity for the people to honor Aaron and love Amy.”

Church members worked for two months, sometimes until midnight, taking some rooms down to the studs. They put in all new floors and new paint in every room. They installed new cabinets and counter tops in the kitchen. They revamped bathrooms and provided a new bunk bed for the girls and bedroom set for their parents. The group converted the nursery into a play room, with a flower mural.

Forty people spent a total of 2,000 hours on the project.

The Kings’ next-door neighbors, the Taylors, watched the crowds come and go with astonishment.

“We never saw anything like it,” said Rose Ann Taylor.

Church member Pam Bourgeois joined the effort to decorate the house anew.

“Only God can take away grief like that,” she said. “To see the expression on her face when she saw it the first time and knowing I had not seen a smile on her face in so long was worth it.”

But the church’s giving wasn’t isolated to the house. After Ari’s death, one of Aaron’s friends continued Micah and Noel’s homeschooling. Friends took the girls to soccer and gymnastics lessons. And when the Kings returned, the freezer, cupboards and refrigerator were full of food.

“I tend to think that part of the pain of this life is to pry the hands of God’s children off of this life so they’re ready to be with him,” Aaron said. “My wife’s still hurting, but our God is good through this.”

After being back in their home for two weeks, the King girls are making new memories, filling up their chalkboard in the playroom with doodles. Slowly, their home is becoming a space to heal.

“We’re so grateful,” Aaron said. “With a thousand tongues and a thousand years we couldn’t express how thankful we are.”

Amanda Greene: 343-2365

On Twitter.com: @iwritereligion

How the Pill acts as an Abortifacient

What I Am Thankful For...

My family

One of the things I am most thank for is my family. If I did not have my family then I do not where I would be. I was adopted into this family and I have never questioned why. I know that God put me here so that I could learn to love Him and to love my Daddy and become the young lady that God wants me to be. My family has been given to me to teach me things.

Here are some of things that my family have taught me.

My Daddy has taught me to love God and to love God's word.

My Mom has taught me how to cook, clean, sew and how to be a young lady.

My older sister, Nicole, has taught me how to write poems and stories. She has a love for stars and I have a love for stars, just like her.

My older brother has taught me never to give up, to trust God and tell yourself you can do it with God's help and with a good attitude .

My other older sister, Alicia, has taught me to be to be patient, kind and not to get angry very quickly.

I love all the things I have learned from my family and hope to learn much more.

I know that I do not tell my family how much I appreciate all the things that they have taught me and all the things that they have done for me. So this thanksgiving I am going to make a list of all the things that they have taught me and then read it to them Thanksgiving day. You can do this too and maybe make a difference in your family.

I think that people have forgoten what Thanksgiving is about .They just think too much about the big feast and good times with friends. When it should be about thanking God for all He has done and thank God for the people that traveled a long way and suffered much, just so we can worship God freely.

I thank God that He gave me a family that loves God and hope you will thank God for your your family this Thanks giving.

Daddy

My older sister Nicole

Mommy

Brother

Alicia

Happy Veteran's day (Mom's computer was down, so we couldn't put this on last week)

Our Dad.

The sign Hannah and I made.
(you can click on the photo to make it bigger, so you can read it)

Our Grandpa Noa.

Our Brother.

A few days before Veterans Day, Hannah and I made a surprise for our Dad.
We made a sign that said Happy Veterans Day on it.
He really liked it!

My Dad, both my Grandpas, and my Brother are veteran's.

I want to thank all of our veteran's for serving our country!

Candle Making

Here we are getting the supplies out...plenty of bees wax and wicking and a rack to dry them on

Here is Ralph trying to cut the wax loaf with a knife...Let's try a hack saw...OK, lets go with the chisel and mallet then!

Tying weights onto the wicking so you get straight candles (thank you West Ladies for the tip)

Wow, this smells soooooo good.

Melting the wax

Alicia dipping

Hannah's turn to dip

Ralph even tried his hand at dipping

Here they are after 4 or 5 dips

After drying for several hours, here is the finished product, not bad for our first try. We are looking forward to doing this again. We have a long way to go. My goal is 400 candles. (we made 24 the first time)

Why Should We Memorize Scripture?

by John Piper

Let Him Hear

by Henry Morris, Ph.D.

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." (Revelation 3:22)

This is the final exhortation in Christ's letters to His seven representative churches. It is the seventh such exhortation, one addressed to each church, so must be unusually important. The emphasis, obviously, is not merely hearing with the physical ear, but hearing with an obedient heart.

Such hearing is necessary first of all for saving faith, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Jesus said: "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24).

In our day, however, probably more than in any previous age, there is a cacophony of voices of all kinds that are seeking listeners. In fact, Jesus Himself cautioned: "Take heed what ye hear" (Mark 4:24). There are multitudes of false teachers today--evolutionary humanists, religious liberals, "New Age" mystics, and others--all very articulate and often winsome, but speaking false doctrine. "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).

It is important not only to hear the right words, but also to hear the right way. "Take heed therefore how ye hear," also said Jesus (Luke 8:18). Even if we hear the pure Word of God, it will accomplish nothing of value in our lives unless we hear with due reverence. "To this man will I look, even to him that . . . trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:2). And we must also hear with faith. "For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it" (Hebrews 4:2). He that hath an ear, therefore, let him hear with reverent faith the true Word of God. HMM

What are practical ways to involve and teach your preschoolers during your family devotional times

"We will never have meaningful family worship if we don’t unplug. Christianity is in many ways a quiet, contemplative, meditative, religion. Listening to God’s word requires concentration and discipline. Singing biblical, theologically driven songs requires paying attention. Prevailing in prayer requires perseverance. How do we expect this from children whose entire religious foundation is built upon entertainment? Ironically, one of the most important things small children learn in family worship is the discipline of ‘sitting through’ something that is not necessarily entertaining."

To read this entire article, go to Voddie Baucham Ministries.

Who Is Really Conducting the "Child Abuse"?

"We have noticed in recent times, secularists increasingly using the term child abuse as an accusation against Christians teaching their children the Bible, creation, and so on. Famous atheist/evolutionist Richard Dawkins uses that term, and so do others of the “new atheists.” Obviously, one of their ploys is that ‘if you throw enough mud, after a while some of it will stick.” These people also accuse AiG of child abuse. I have numerous quotes of these secularists accusing us of such because children come to the Creation Museum and are exposed to anti-evolution and pro-Bible teachings (that go contrary to what is taught in almost all government-run schools)."

To read the remainder of this article by Ken Ham, go to Answers In Genesis.

Planned Parenthood director quits after watching abortion ultrasound

"After eight years working at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas, including two years as its director, Abby Johnson suddenly decided that she could no longer participate in abortions. What pushed Johnson out was both an ultrasound of an abortion and a renewed emphasis on the cash-generating business in the failing economy. After being told to deemphasize prevention and market for abortions, Johnson finally had enough:..."

To read the remainder of this article go to Hot Air blog.

We must pray that more abortion doctors and directors turn from their evil ways and turn their hearts to God. What a wonderful praise!!