Holidays

Last Bloom of the Season!




I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary on Thanksgiving Day. We decided to celebrate by going to Gatlinburg, TN. We had a great time. We rode the tram up to Ober Gatlinburg then we walked around in Gutenberg and looked in a lot of shops on Tuesday night. The lights were beautiful! We visited Cades Cove and walked to a waterfall on Wednesday. We saw several deer and bear on the way back to our hotel. We returned home for Thanksgiving festivities with the family on Thursday morning. We had a great time of fellowship, food, and games.





Christmas is rapidly approaching. We put up our Christmas tree this week. The girls were anxious to get it up this year since we didn't get to decorate for Christmas last year since we were in the process of moving. We are actually having our very first Christmas party tomorrow. It is an associational Christmas party for Pastors and Pastors Wives. Our children's choir will be providing the entertainment. Kristen and Sarah are both singing in the choir. I can't wait to hear their Christmas concert. I have only heard bits and pieces of it. I'm sure it will be great. They will be performing the concert again in a couple of weeks for the entire church.





I hope everyone has a Blessed Christmas and remember Christ is Christmas. Without Him there wouldn't be a Christmas or a reason to give presents. The presents we give at Christmas symbolize the gift that God gave us long ago when He sent His Son to a lowly manger and to later die on the cross to save us. None of us are truly worthy of God's forgiveness but by grace we can be saved. All of us should remember to thank God for the ultimate gift, JESUS.

Land Between the Lakes

We had a great time visiting Land Between the Lakes last weekend. Here are a few pics.

Hello Everyone!

Kristen went to the doctor for the final time on Friday! Her arm is healing nicely. We are so glad that she is better now. She has gotten most of the strength back in her arm. She worked really hard so she wouldn't have to do any physical therapy. She is so happy that she doesn't have to go back to the doctor. Pray for me though. I broke my big toe Friday night and it really hurts! I'm a big girl and I'll survive. I was actually able to get a shoe on long enough to go to church today, but it really hurt.

It is staying busy around here. Our church is beginning an expansion project this week. We are opening up some Sunday School classrooms in the rear of the sanctuary to add some extra seating. We are all really excited. It will take between 2 and 3 weeks to complete the project. We are really excited about what God is doing at McEwen First Baptist. As a church we have been through a lot this past year. Satan has really tried hard to get in but we aren't letting him! Everytime God is about to do something big Satan tries to stop it. We have made it past the smoke clouds and have come through the fight with smiles on our faces and prayers on our lips. God had truly provided.

This Wednesday night we will be packaging Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse. We all get together to pack, wrap and pray over the boxes before they are sent off. The children really enjoy being involved in this. They write letters to the boy or girl and place it in the box. We actually had a letter sent back to on of our girls from India! She was so surprised.

Next Sunday we will be having the Community Thanksgiving Service at our church. It has been several years since it has been at our church. Last year it was at Christ Community Church. Jonathan preached the sermon. All of the attending churches have an opportunity to sing before the sermon. Our choir is going to sing a song or two. There are usually several choirs that sing. We always have a wonderful time. It's a time that, no matter what denomination we are, we can get together and worship The One True God.

Well, as some of you may know, Jonathan and I will be married 15 years on Nov. 27th. We are so blessed to have one another. I love him more than I did yesterday and will continue to love him more and more until the day that I die. He is my best friend and I am his. We have been through a lot in the last 15 years. God has seen us through many difficult times. He has also blessed us in so many ways. We are going on a little trip to Pigeon Forge for our anniversary. We are excited. We haven't ever done anything like this before. The girls will be staying at Jonathan's parents house. We'll come back Thanksgiving morning and spend Thanksgiving with the family. We have a wonderful family.

To all of you in GA. We miss you. Please remember to pray for us daily, we need it. We hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! We love you all!

To all of you on the Outer Banks. We love you and miss you all sooooooo much. We do love it here but sometimes we find ourselves longing for the coast once again. We miss seeing all of you every week. The only thing that we don't miss is the mosquitoes! I hope all of you are doing well. Have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas!

Until Next Time,
Beth

Finally!

Hello everyone! We are all doing fine here. We are staying very busy this time of year. Last night our youth group went to a Barlow Girl in concert in Clarksville, TN. They had a great time. Jonathan and I went as two of the chaparones. There were also two other singers, Jimmy Needham and Brooke Barrettsmith. They were good also. All three groups gave fantastic testimonies that really touched a lot of hearts.

We are gearing up for the block party at our church next Friday night. We expect several hundred kids to come through our doors for treats, games and a bag supper. Last year we had a lot of fun. It's a great witnessing opportunity.

I can't believe that it is almost the end of the year. Time flies by so fast when you are busy. We are having our monthly couples night this Saturday. Our theme for this month is Italian. A friend and I started this ministry about four months ago. It has been a lot of fun. We get together once a month and eat dinner and play games. Every month we have a different theme. Last month was Hawaiian Luau and next month is Goin' Country. I can't wait for that one. They are all add a dish meals where everyone will bring their favorite recipe that pertains to the theme of that month. We also have some of the teens taking care of the kids in another room. They eat, play games and do crafts. This has allowed the members of the church to really get to know one another better and become friends with those who you don't have time to really get to know just by seeing them once or twice a week. We have also had a lot of visitors attend, which is great.

Kristen has had her cast off for one week now. Her arm was really stiff to begin with but she has been exercising and it is slowly getting stronger. She has to wear a brace for four weeks anytime she goes out of the house and can't be involved in any sports for awhile. She really had a hard time the day her cast was removed. Actually, she almost passed out. It really scared me. She had not seen her arm in 7 weeks and the moment the cast came off and she looked at her arm she remembered how she had last seen it. (That wasn't a good memory considering her arm was bent the wrong way.) She had to lay down for a few minutes with a wet cloth on her head. After that she was better. I was just to glad to see a straight arm again. She is ok with her arm now and she's working to build the muscles back up so she doesn't have to go to any physical therapy.

Well, I'll go for now. Oh, one more thing. Pray for me in the coming months. I have decided to do a Christmas play again this year. I told everyone to remind me to never do that again after last years play but I guess the memories have grown dim because I volunteered to take the task on again. It's just me in a room full of kids. No one else has volunteered to help me. Hopefully me and all of the kids will make it through in one piece. No, really I have a group of talented kids that begged to do a play again this year so we're doing one. I refuse to turn down kids that really have their hearts set on having a play. Last year was the first year our church has had a play in a long time and everyone loved it.

Until next time..........

Beth

Praise and Prayer

We are all doing well. I hope everyone enjoyed the first day of Autumn yesterday. I'll be glad when it really begins to feel like Autumn. It is one of my favorite times of the year.

We had a good service on Sunday. We had an amazing thing happen Sunday afternoon. Kristen and Sarah were outside playing with a couple of friends and one of the little girls started asking about God. She said that she felt like God had been calling to her. This little girl had visited our church for the first time that morning. (She lives in our neighborhood.) Kristen began to tell her about what Jesus did for us and by the end of the conversation Kristen led this little girl to the Lord. It was amazing. Kristen had never done that before and she said that it made her feel really good inside. Oh, the simple faith of a child. Don't you just wish we as adults could have that same simple faith. Instead we question and try to find scientific reasons for everything. Pray for the little girl, her name is Summer. I don't think either of her parents are Christians, which will make it very hard on her.

We took Kristen back to the Dr. yesterday. Everything went well. I got a chance to look at her x-rays for the first time. Both bones are healing but need more time to be healed enough to remove the cast. We will go back in three weeks to have some more x-rays and he thinks that he will be able to remove the cast then. By that time, she will have been wearing a cast for 7 weeks. Her arm isn't really hurting anymore like it was. Only occasionally she'll have a little pain. Thank you for all of your prayers.

Until next time!

Memorial Service

The memorial service went well. It was very sad but joyous at the same time. It was truly a celebration service. Three were saved at the end of the service. Please continue to be in prayer for David and the kids. Now that everything is settling down and relatives are going home, things are really going to be hard on them all. Please also pray for us that we will be able to minister to them in the way that they need right now. Thank you all for your prayers.
Also, be in prayer for Kristen. She goes back to the Dr. on Monday to have some more x-rays.

Pray

Please pray for the Hodges Family. Our cousin David, went upstairs and found his wife in the floor of their bedroom. She was dead when he found her. We will have to wait a few weeks to receive a cause of death. Please be in prayer for this family. Teressa was only 44 years old. They have two children. Kaylee is 14 and Dylan is 3 1/2. They are really in shock right now. Thankfully they live within 15 miles of our house, so we have been able to be with them some.
Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Beth

We have been taking pictures this week for a church directory. I thought I'd put a couple of updated pics on here since we haven't had a family portrait done in about 6 years. Enjoy!

Praise the Lord!

I just wanted to leave a quick note tonight. At least 50 people received Christ tonight. We won't know the exact number until after the group emails us copies of the decision cards. We had a big group there. It wasn't quiet as many as we expected but we had a lot of people. There were around 100 people that responded to the altar call and everyone of the counselors that I spoke to said that they had all spoken to 4 or more people that gave their lives to Christ. Praise the Lord. I think we all left floating on clouds. We are very tired but happy. Well, I think it's time for bed now. I'll type again soon. This is the girls and a friend with Seventh Day Slumber!

Beth

Concert

Hello again everyone! This is the weekend of the concert. Please be in prayer for us during this time. We will be setting up the stage and all of the electrical stuff tonight starting at 4pm. The doors will open to begin seating at 5pm on Saturday and the concert will start at 6pm. Please pray that everyone will be safe and that no one will get hurt during the concert and most importantly that many will be saved. I know that God already knows who will be there and that He is already working on their hearts. We are praying that this is just the beginning of a wonderful revival here in McEwen, TN.



This is an exciting time in the life of McEwen First Baptist. We are nearly bursting at the seams. Some Sundays we have to set out chairs. We are currently looking at options to open up some Sunday School rooms in the back that will enable us to increase the capacity of the sanctuary. We are also considering some other options for the near future. Please pray that we make the right decisions in this area.



School will be starting soon. We have prayed and prayed and believe that we are being led to homeschool again this year. We take it one year at a time. I am prepared to teach until God tells me otherwise. The girls are happy with homeschooling and its results and so am I. Caitlin starts high school this year so please keep me in your prayers. Kristen will be in 5th grade this year and Sarah will be in 1st.



The girls are so happy here. They have a lot of friends here. They are constantly going over to friends houses or inviting friends here. About a week ago Caitlin went to her first teen gathering. A young man at our church was having a bonfire before school started again and he invited a lot of his friends from school and church. Caitlin was tickled to be invited and she had a great time. Caitlin will be turning 15 in Feb. I can't believe it. Watch out drivers because here comes Caitlin! Ha, Ha!



Caitlin has grown into a beautiful young lady. She is smart. She still loves to read. She loves to draw and can draw most anything. She will be grown up before we know it. She loves to debate with people about anything. She has some very strong beliefs and can be very stubborn. I don't know where she gets that from!



Kristen is, well, Kristen. She seems to be growing up so fast. Well, all of them seem to be growing up too fast for me. Kristen loves to sing and write songs. She is a hard worker and will do just about any job that you give her. She loves to cook.



Sarah is just as funny as she's always been. She always has a smile and a joke for you. She likes to laugh and have a good time. She loves to sing and dance. She is my baby. I can't believe that she's 6!



Jonathan is very excited and enthusiastic right now. Times have not always been as good as they are now but God never guaranteed pie in the sky did He? Life is sometimes hard being a Pastor but it can also be a very rewarding thing being a Pastor.

I have been busy getting ready for school to start. I still love to read but I find my reading time is limited these days. I really like it here, if my family is happy then I'm happy. Sometimes we miss the people in NC so bad but we know that God led us to come here.


Well, now that I've hopefully caught you up on everyone, I guess I'll wind it up for now.

News From TN

Things are going great here. There is excitement in the air! Everyone is getting excited about the upcoming concert. Calls are starting to come in from people that are wanting more info. Our "Sound and Lighting Guy" is really going all out. He has got lights that move with the music and all sorts of cool gadgets. I think he has about 5 sets of different kinds of lights for the show. We had to build our own stage to meet the qualifications of the band and get things ready to be set up by Friday afternoon. I think we have about everything we need now, including a 17000 pound generator. People are asking how a church our size is able to do this project. I have one answer for them. GOD!!!! We have a great God don't we? I am always amazed at the work He does. We have put posters out everywhere in the surrounding counties. Please pray that many will come and that many will be saved.


We brought Kristen and Sarah down to Jonathan's parents house on Saturday. They will be spending a week there. Caitlin spent a week there a while back and had a great time. I hope everyone in GA enjoys their visit while we are here missing them. Sarah has never been away this long so I hope she does okay. I think she was a little nervous and excited all at the same time when we told her good-bye on Saturday afternoon.

We had a good day Sunday. Two people were saved during the morning service. Last week we had two people baptized. One was a man that had been saved in the hospital awhile back and the other one was a boy that had been saved during VBS.

I can't believe that another school year is about to begin. Caitlin is in high school this year, Kristen is in 5th grade, and Sarah is in 1st. I can't believe they are growing up so fast. They will be grown before we know it. Time Flies. It will be the end of the year again before we know it.

Trip Out West

I have added a slideshow of our trip out west. We went through Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. We visited a lot of places and saw a lot of sites which include Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, and several different indian villages and cliff dwellings. The pictures close to the end of the slideshow of the cross and statues surrounding the cross are in Texas. It was just on the side of the interstate. We really enjoyed it and we were glad that we decided to stop there. The tombstone in memory of all aborted children was really touching. We are already planning at trip a couple of years from now for the north west. I hope all of you enjoy the pictures.

Hello Everyone!

Hello from TN! I have decided to start a blog so everyone can keep up with "The Witts". We have been in Tn for a year now. We love it here. The people here are so loving and kind. We have had our share of hard times this past year but we have also had some great breakthroughs. We are very glad that God called us to this area. We are exactly where we should be and we hope to remain here for a long time.

Well, we have had a busy summer. Jonathan graduated, finally, and we just got back from our celebration trip out west. We were gone about two weeks. We had a great time. My mother went with us and between all of our cameras I think we took about 3000 pictures. You read right, I said 3000. I'll try to post a few of them on here soon. We went so many different places. One of the sites we visited was the Grand Canyon. It was beautiful. We spent the day there and stayed to see the sun set. It was amazing!

I would like for all of you to pray for us and the church over the next few weeks. We are about to attempt something that has never been attempted in the city of McEwen. We are putting on a concert on August 9th. The group is a popular group and a lot of the youth probably know them. It is the group called "Seventh Day Slumber". I haven't heard them before but I do know that they are a contemporary rock band and they are a Dove award nominee. We are really aiming at the younger generation but everyone is welcome. If one person comes to know the Lord through this then it will all be worth it. We have the backing of the TN Drug Alliance and the local sherriff's office. The group has a great testimony. The church is really excited. We are expecting around 2000 people. Please pray that God will open the eyes of all there and that if anyone isn't saved that they will be before they leave.

Well, I'll type again soon. I hope all of you have a great day tomorrow.