The Virus..it's on my mind so it is in my blog today.....

I'm not a happy camper.  I don't like the corono virus and what is has done to my life.  I haven't lost anyone to the virus but have a relative in the front lines battle with it.  I also know of a couple of families it is affecting.

And I don't know who to be mad at for making it.  I want someone to be mad at, because this  is not going to be pretty when we come out the other side of this chaos.  It is ugly right now.  Ir is a very contagious virus that  is flooding our world, and if we had not put in place some restrictions when this country did,  it would be spreading and growing like a like wildfire here in the USA.  

Some have reckoned our fight against the spread of this virus as a war.  I can believe we are at war.  And we are in this together....and that includes the whole world. We are at war with a deadly human enemy with no gun,  it does not resemble us, nor does it discriminate.  It will hop on our backs without being seen, and pick us off one by one. But it has found the wrong group of people to pick on when it picked the United States of America.

People in the USA  know about this virus stuff, people in the USA know how to make cars and turn plants around to make respirators, people in the USA  normally fight with guns, ships, and big bombs, and people in the USA who know how to "get it done" are kickin this smart #@s virus out the door and gonna stomp it out!

But that is just the beginning. After the virus has been defeated, there will need to be a reclaiming of our lives and many will have to  realize life as we knew it  will never be the same.....but it will be our lives.Who knows how long this phase will last but it will require patience and guidance.  The next reclaiming phase will be to reclaim our countries, our economies, our trust in one another, and our spirit of mercy and love, and our desire to be truthful among all nations.  

And the last phase of this battle will be to reclaim the hope of our hearts and tor let every soul know that they are special in the good days and  bad.   And we need to  bow our knee to the Creator of this great earth on which we live, and ask Him to give us another chance.  But we have to be willing to learn from this chaos and remind our children of how we have changed.  It will be up to them to determine if the change has been for the better of our world or not. 

In this year of 2020, it will be up to us to let those who follow us decide if the vision we implemented was clearly a good one or a blurry one at best.  I was raised to know Gods love for us and his forgiveness, and his faithfulness.  so I am going to put my faith and trust in Him.  He has been here since the beginning and will be here until the end

Dear LORD, I don't like this 'social distancing' .  You know i am a social person.  I feel cooped up and can relate some to Noah and being on the ark for 40 days and night!  IT seems everyone is focused on the TV Watching TV is fun for some, but not so much for me.  Show  me where I can be your light in this world.  And please  give an over=abundance of wisdom to those in authority.Let me be bold and courageous in the days ahead.  And help us to give you all the thanks for everything you do for us!  Amen

Psalm 25:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 He guides the humble in what is right
    and teaches them his way.

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Judy Hensley 3/31/2020

Every once in awhile,

When  you meet someone like the  man  I am going to tell you about you might

say "that guy has a gift of teaching young  people! " But I don't think you could imagine that this person who you are so impressed with, would deliver your daughter's eulogy within 6 years of knowing him.  I would like to tell you about one such person and how they impacted my life and the life of my daughter, Carol.  You probably don't know this person  unless you attend my church, North Ridge Community Church and happen to have met the family pastor there for the last 5 years or so.  The man I am speaking of is Johnny Byrd.

Johnny and Cooper

Actually Johnny and the Hensley family go back farther than that, to around 2009 at another church. The church was a new launch and we knew many of the people starting out with the church.  One Sunday we found out who the 'new youth pastors' were going to be.  One of the young men was Johnny. He and another young man would be "tag-teaming" the youth pastor duties.  And I don't know why but the person introducing them was poking fun of Johnny's name.  Weird, isn't it , the things you remember some days?

Well it didn't take long for our daughter to be a youth regular and she got to interact with Johnny quite a bit.  This interaction continued even after she was out of the youth department and had gotten married.  (more on that to come)

We felt completely at ease with Johnny in the role of youth pastor and he eventually was the primary youth pastor/leader.  He and his wife took Carol and Cooper under their wings, and they always had a great time doing things with all the youth.   I will always be grateful  for her to have had such a godly and personal friendship with Johnny and his wife at such a crucial time in her life.

The first time I knew that Johnny Byrd was a special person was when he called me one day around lunch and said he wanted to tell me something before I heard it from anyone else.  The news he relayed to me was that he had resigned from being the youth pastor at the church we were attending at the time.  I sat and cried on the phone as he told me this.  I told him that I knew Carol and Cooper would be devastated.  He assured me that he would try and keep up with them and still be there for them if needed.  There are not many 20 something year old youth pastors  who care about their youth and their parents like Johnny does.

You know what though?  God had plans that we were not aware of at the time, and it wasn't long before Johnny and his wife were attending church where we had just started attending as well.  At Northridge Community Church (in the first campus years, Brad Olin was the youth pastor. ) It was not hard for Carol to make friends with the young people there and also with the leader and his wife (Brad and Amber).  She and Cooper went on a mission trip to Atlanta with that youth  group, and I think it really impacted both of them.

 It wasn't long before our main campus had secured  a building to be remodeled and become the second campus in Johnson City.  We decided we would start attending this second campus because we knew the new campus pastor, Chris Miller from many years back.  No one is counting are they?  Good, then I will go on.....

Well, God in his wisdom and goodness, and just mind blowing wisdom would provide, Johnny Byrd, the family pastor position at the campus we were attending.  So we were back together again and very happy to have these 2 godly men that would serve in leadership positions as we remodelled a used bowling alley into a church!

  During this time, Carol graduated from high school, and she and Cooper felt that their relationship was growing and they got married the summer after she graduated and moved to Gatlinburg TN to start their own business.  They just thought they were getting away from everyone else (not really) because Johnny Byrd had a part time job in Gatlinburg on the weekends so that he could be at church on Sundays for the youth.  So when he was on his weekend job, he would usually see Carol or Cooper, depending on their schedule of who was working that weekend.  He could also take an occasional item to them  and saving us shipping costs!  So thanks you to Johnny for serving in a dual function for us at that time.

 Carol never got to see the 'new  church campus' we were working on.  She died in a tragic incident at their workplace on February 27, 2013. She had not been feeling well and passed out and fell head-long into a glass display case and a big piece of glass severed her aorta.  She and Cooper had only been married 7 months when this happened.  We were devastated, and so was our church family and many other organizations.  But so many of our friends, family and church covered us in prayer and love, and somehow we made it  through this unthinkable tragedy.

 Johnny had a group of grieving youth to try and console and yet he gave a beautiful eulogy at Carol's Celebration of life on Mar 3, 2013. He did an amazing job telling all the people who came to the service, just what an amazing young person she was.  I can never thank him enough for the kind words he shared that day about our daughter.  You could tell that they had a special bond and that is why I am writing about him here.

I have heard Johnny tell his own 'God Story' and at a time in his life when he needed someone to give him hope his youth leader was able to help him find his purpose in life.  I thank God that his path crossed Carol and Cooper's lives and let them know that God always was in control, but Momma still wanted to know how they were doing!

Well , a couple of weeks ago, Johnny gave me news about a new opportunity for him, and I cried again.  But this time there is good news in what he told me:  He will still be at one of our campuses, just not ours., as a campus pastor. It is taking me a while to process this but I can see how God has been moving in his life up to this point.  Johnny is going to be a campus pastor  at the  Springbrook campus beginning late March/early April of this year!  When I stop to think about Johnny's life --I can see how faithful he is to his God and how God has been investing in Johnny Byrd's life. The only advise I can give to Johnny is just stay goofy, give your worries to  the LORD, and keep letting God lead you and mold you into the man he wants you to be.....in this church...at this time...for His glory!

 

I will be praying for you and your family Johnny.  

And know that I love you friend,

  Judy Hensley
2/25/2020

Sometimes it helps to be reminded of the Truth in life.   These are words that a man spoke at my church this past month.  They really resonated with me.  I needed them, and thought I would share them with you.  I hope they will encourage you as you go about your life.  Thank you Justin Ciralsky for speaking these to all that were there that morning in July 2019.

Let me tell you who you are……

You're strong and mighty in Christ. 

You have the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwelling within you. 

You are a weapon of righteousness in a dark world.

You are not your past. 

You are not what you did. 

You are not what they think you are. 

You are who God says you are. 

He says you're redeemed, He says you are FREE!.

 You are not a hostage to your unhealthy thoughts.

  The weapons that you fight with are not the weapons of this world. 

They have the power to demolish strongholds. 

  You have the word of God guiding your steps.

Worry is not your master. 

You trust in God, 

his peace guards your heart, guards your minds 

and guards your souls, in Christ Jesus. 

You have not been given a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and of love and of a sound mind.

  The Lord is your helper. 

You will not be afraid.

You are not a slave to your habits. 

You are not a prisoner to an addiction. 

You've been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the Kingdom of God's light.

 You are empowered, 

you are called, 

you are chosen, 

you are the masterpiece of God created in Christ Jesus to do good works

  which God prepared in advance for you to do.

God will bless you abundantly, so that in all things, at all times,having all that you need,

 you can bring him glory.

  God is for you, 

And God is with you.

  No weapon formed against you will prosper.

  Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Not angels,

not demons, 

not the present nor the past

not any weapon will separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Step into the truth, you are who God says you are. Amen. Go in peace!