Carlton and Jenny

Wow!  It’s been a while since we have updated this site.  Many changes have taken place in our lives.  First, I am no longer working at the bank.  I am now a Technology Integration Specialist at Murray State University.  The title sounds really important, but all I do is teach teachers how to use technology in their classrooms.  Second, Carlton has resigned his position at Kirksey.  It was a difficult decision, but we are looking forward to what the LORD has for us next.  Third, we have left the country and moved back to Murray.  I am enjoying the close commute to work and the convenience of living in town.  Forth, Carlton is planning on returning to school this winter.  He will be taking classes at Southern Seminary.
The past couple months have been a difficult time for us, but the LORD has been faithful. “May the Lamb who was slain receive the full reward of His suffering!”

Jenny and I are still pastoring in Kirksey. As the spring is springing we are reminded that it is “God’s greeting card to us” or at least that’s what our church sign says. However, our sign is not as bad as others in the community like, “God answers knee mail” or “There’s no air conditioning in Hell”.

If you don’t know Jenny and I have a thing for bad church signs. We love to make fun of them as often as possible. Sometimes, we get to make fun of our own. It’s just one of the perks of being a pastor.

Jenny is working at Regions Bank in Murray. She likes the bankers hours. I’d rather her be at home but money is a necessity therefore so is work.

I am still preaching, teaching, evangelizing, administrating, leading and visiting. I really do enjoy pastoring even though it can be very difficult. God has richly blessed us and we are so thankful.

It’s evidently been quite a while since we have updated our page but I can think of no better way to end our hiatus than to wish my wife a happy birthday.  So here goes, “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JENNY, I LOVE YOU!”

What a sweet thought to know and have the assurance that when we pass from this life that we are in the presence of Jesus. Last night at around 12:30 my Grandfather breathed a deep breath with his children around him and in the next moment he was present with Christ.

There are many thoughts that have crowded my mind over the past few hours. I have many great memories of grandpa Gene. He always had a joke or a funny comment to make about everything. Before I met Carlton he was always giving me helpful tips on how to find a boyfriend like putting a little honey on my lips or wearing a little Ben Gay. The thing that I am most thankful for, however, is Grandpa’s faithfulness to Christ. Grandpa was a man concerned about the salvation of others. I have heard my dad tell many stories of my Grandpa witnessing to people around him.

The most treasured memory that I have of my grandpa happened about two years ago. He was in the ICU at Herrin Hospital after having hip surgery and then some problems with his heart. Grandpa didn’t have a living will and the there had been some discussion about what should be done if his heart were to stop or if there were more complications. My dad asked Grandpa what he wanted to do in that situation and I will never for get what he said. He said “I know that I’m going to heaven from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet and I’m ready to go.” In that moment I remember thinking how blessed I was to have a grandpa who had been faithful for so many years. Assurance like that only comes from truly knowing Christ. His life of devotion to his savior has forever impacted mine.
In this time of sadness there is also great joy. My grandpa is in the presence of Jesus, where he has wanted to be for a long time.

We are down to our last night of VBS.  We have really enjoyed ministering to the kids of Kirksey but boy does it make you tired!  I have been kind of a floater and doing odd jobs, I get lots of breaks.  However, Jenny and Brittany(my sister) have been team teaching first and second graders all week, they get NO breaks.

In spite of weariness, Jenny has been a trooper and has loved her class.   It is so wonderful to have a spouse that loves the Lord and has a passion to impact the lives of others.  I am thankful everyday for her.

On another note, please pray for Jenny and I as next week we take a 9 mile canoe ride down the Buffalo River in Tennessee.  I have already been told that, “You will fall out of your canoe.  One way or the other.”  So, I’m taking three changes of clothes.  1 to wear, 1 for the assailants to find and get wet, and one to hide so I can have dry clothes on the way home.

In His Grace

Neither one of us can believe it but after the whirlwind of a wedding and honeymoon life here in Kirksey is finally starting to shape up and settle down. Jenny is working away at the KATE office and I am spending most of my days studying or visiting church members.

Jenny is finding out that she is a GREAT cook and I am finding out that she needs to quit practicing or I’ll be bigger than D.L.Moody within the year.  I have found out that I enjoy pastoring more than I ever thought I would (even though I always wanted to pastor).   We both found out that a full bed is really small, so we remedied that.  More than these things though we have found that God’s graciousness toward His Children far surpasses what we had previously thought.  We have been the recipients of God’s good pleasure so often in the past several months that it almost scares me to think that He could grant us more.
God has been gracious to us and we want to publicly thank Him for His goodness.  He is Worthy.  However, in addition to God, we also want to thank everyone who came, helped, stood up with us or even prayed about our wedding.  We are so blessed to have so many friends and family members who love the Lord.  We are thankful for each and everyone of you.

Here are directions to the wedding. It is being held at Immanuel Baptist Church in Benton, IL. It starts at 2pm with a reception following in the Family Life Center of the Church.

I hope that you all will make it and help us celebrate our marriage.

As of Sunday, Carlton is officially the pastor of Kirksey Baptist Church in Kirksey, KY.
We are moving to the country!!!

The LORD has done an amazing work in our hearts for the people of this church. The first night Carlton preached there we both knew that we wanted to stay. I have never been in a place where there was such a sweet fellowship among the people. We are very excited about what the LORD is going to do there.

Please keep us in your prayers. While we are very excited to be there we are also very scared. Leading this church is not something that Carlton takes lightly. There is a lot of newness happening in our lives over the next few weeks. We love you all.

Jenny

Jenny and I have been attached at the hip since early January when she moved to Murray. During the last 3.5 months we have been virtually inseparable. However, this past week was very different. Jenny’s job at Murray State takes off for Spring Break when the students do. In light of this Jenny traveled home on Wednesday to stay at home for a few days to wrap up some wedding details.

To be honest, neither one of us thought that it would be very hard to be away for a short period of time. However, we found out that it was hard to function without one another. I think what we experienced for the first time is that when God binds two hearts together for marriage that they really do become one person. Our wedding is not until June but the Lord has already knit us together closely and the result of that is oneness.

Bro. Ricky Cunningham always talks about marriage in this sense. He says that men and women are created differently and the goal of marriage is not sameness but oneness. Oneness is when we come together and our differences make us closer not farther apart. I have been praying that God would do this in our relationship and cause our differences to bind us closer together.

A prime example of this is that I am SUPER analytical and Jenny is not. When we both come home from a worship service I may ask, “What did you think about the service tonight.” Jenny will probably respond with, “It was good.” To me this is not a good nor sufficient answer. My mind is so analytical that I want to know WHY the service was good. I want her to tell me about the music, worship, prayer time, sermon, lights, atmosphere, temperature, the little old lady sitting in front of her, and what she learned. However, I have realized that Jenny takes things in as a whole. Her mind is not analytical and she doesn’t look at everything in detail. This is not wrong it’s just different than me. So to her the service was simply, “good.” To be honest, this really frustrated me at first. However, I believe that her ability to look at the whole picture is a gift to me from God and will be greatly needed in the pastorate.

The more I think about her generalness and how it affects me I can rejoice because I can see its great benefits. The problem with being super analytical is that you will ALWAYS find something wrong no matter what you are analyzing, especially if it’s church. Many times I can’t enjoy what’s going on around me simply because I can see flaws in even the most minuscule details. Being one with Jenny causes me to take my eyes off of the details when they need to be, look at the whole picture and notice it’s beauty instead of the bad stroke in the bottom left hand corner that no one else even notices.

I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Lord for Jenny and how he has made her to balance me. It is my prayer that we will continue in oneness and God will grant us grace. I also pray that he won’t keep her away so long next time!

For His Glory,

Carlton

What a crazy month we have had! I never thought life could be so busy. Since we have been engaged we have been gone every weekend to my parents, Carlton’s parents, and bridal expos. I have spent a lot of my time thinking about flowers, dresses, and decorations. I never realized that planning a wedding was so much work! We have a lot accomplished, but we still have a lot of planning to go.

During this month we also had the infamous meeting of the parents for the first time. It went really well much to our surprise. All parties behaved and conducted themselves in a manner acceptable by most social standards. We were very happy with the outcome of the meeting. In all seriousness, we are very fortunate to have such wonderful parents. We are both gaining wonderful in-laws.

In the middle of all this craziness, God is continuing to bless our lives. I am realizing more and more everyday what an amazing, wonderful gift God has given me in Carlton. I am excited for the wedding, but even more excited about our marriage and spending the rest of my life with this amazing, Godly man.