Heart to Heart with Bobbye & Tonilee

Our Trip to Nashville and the NRB

Hi...

We have had a busy couple of months. Lots happening with Daily Disciples as the year has taken off. We just returned from Nashville, TN, one of my favorite places in the US. I lived there for 10 years and had not been back in a while. We attended the National Religious Broadcasters convention (NRB) at the Opryland Hotel. This was our second time going to this convention and we were much more prepared this time around. Last year was a bit overwhelming...I will spare you my personal insights but suffice it to say that certain aspects of Christian business can raise a few eyebrows. This year we had several meetings, talked to the station managers that host our radio programs, and spent a full day with the Women in Christian Media. We were blessed to hear amazing women of God (Kay Arthur, Janet Parshall, June Hunt, Joni Erickson Tada, Thelma Wells) share their hearts for the Lord and how they are praying for revival across our nation. We realized that there is a hunger for the truth of God's Word but there are few who are actually fighting for the freedom to keep our Christian voices. We are living in perilous times...do we realize how serious things are getting? The mainstream media is slowly choking and drowning our voice of truth. Janet's message was powerful and alarming. Praise God she is speaking truth on her radio program and in the nation's capitol.

Overall, we left NRB inspired to keep teaching, speaking, preaching and voicing the Word of God and its application to our daily lives. We are thankful for the support and encouragement from those of you who support our radio programs, website, videos, daily devotionals, Bible studies and women's events. These are all ministry outlets that get the gospel of Jesus Christ out to the world. We hear from people all over the world who are hurting and struggling. Even if they know Jesus, they still are struggling to walk with Him daily, especially in the trials of life.

We are gong to Ventura Missionary Church in Ventura, CA on March 28th. We would love to see you there. We will keep you posted with all that is going on...we love you and pray for you. Stay in touch!

Bobbye 

What a Weekend!

Well, it has been a busy time for me and TL here lately. To all of you ladies who attended the conference on June 2, we send a big "God bless you!" and big hugs to each of you. It was a great day, in more ways than we could describe or try to explain. Thanks to Mary James and Suzanne Harper for their awesome praise and worship sets. And thanks to our sweet friends who were brave enough to get up and share their personal testimonies. The response was extremely positive and heartfelt. We truly love you all. Our team did an amazing job of organizing and overseeing this event and they are ready to move on to the next one. The one message that seemed overwhelmingly apparent is that women need each other and want to find friendships together. By the end of the day, it was as if the entire group had somehow bonded together. Wherever the Lord sends us, we know there will be women waiting to come and be together in the presence of the Lord.We will keep you posted as to when and where we will be next.

Finish this sentence: "I Praise the Lord for __________"

Through emails, blogs, letters and in-person comments, we receive awesome testimonials and praise reports from many of you each week. There is something within each of us that desires to share what the Lord is doing in our lives. We want to encourage you to keep sharing with us but we also want to provide a forum for those testimonies and praise reports to be shared with others. We all need to speak forth the goodness of God and encourage others with the comfort we have received (2 Cor. 1:3). So, we would like to hear from you. Just respond to this blog with your comments on how you would finish this sentence, "I praise the Lord for...." Take a moment and give God praise for something specific He has done in your life. We will be collecting these through various channels including this weblog (emails, letters, personal comments) and will selet a few to read at our upcoming conference on June 2nd. Our women's conferences have a new segment of time dedicated to sharing these types of personal testimonies. Send us your praise reports or brief testimonials and if you are attending the conferece in person, let us know. We want to hear from you. The world needs to hear us praising the Lord with every breath! Hallelujah!                         Bobbye & Tonilee

Buddy, my tough dog!

If you have heard any of my teachings over the past few years, then you have probably heard of my dog, Buddy. He is a Bassett hound, a real tough guy. Buddy has been raised in southern California with a life of luxury, for dogs that is. I picked him up in Trenton, TN when he was 7 weeks old and flew him out to San Diego. From the moment I brought him home, he was a stinker. He took over our home within a couple of days and we have never been the same, almost 7 years later. Though hound dogs are not known to be agressive (and certainly not Bassett hounds), Buddy is quite ferocious behind the door. And when the door bell rings or someone knocks, he can bark and growl with the best of them. At first, I thought he would make a great guard dog but soon realized that the moment the door opened, he was either licking their shoes or running to the bedroom. I remember the time he charged out the door after something only to step on a twig and come running back inside (he has a thing about foreign objects and noises). Yep, he's tough! Nonetheless, he stole my heart as a puppy and still owns a good part of it to this day. I prayed before I found Buddy and the Lord provided. I have prayed for him many times since then, through his mishaps and injuries. I have seen God's character displayed through animals my whole life but even Buddy has taught me so much more about God's love and kindness. If you have a pet, give them some extra love today and remember to thank God for them. They are truly gifts from heaven. (See my "Bud-bud" in the photo section.)

Can you take a picture?

Women, some of us are really missing out! Last night at Bible Study, I brought my camera. As the women came into the study, I randomly asked them if they were comfortable taking some pictures. I couldn't believe all the "no"s. Sincere, kind, honest NOs! I asked all kinds of women--- an eye doctor, an artist, a paralegal, a sound technician, even a woman who takes pictures of houses for appraisals. All of them did not know how to take a quality picture of other women with a camera that had a zoom lens. I can understand why a lot of women are hesitant with the computer, I can understand not wanting to figure out an ipod, but a camera? A camera should be like a microwave to a woman. Quick, easy, and beneficial to the whole family. Pictures help us to remember events and stages of our lives. Pictures of our family and friends remind us of God's faithfulness in the past to be able to have hope in His faithfulness in the present. The cameras today are easy! They auto focus and they give you cheat sheet boxes inside the lens to help you get the subject in the center of the camera. Rob and I bought Bobbye a camera with an automatic zoom for her birthday in September and she is already great at it. Last night, she lectured about the fruit of the Spirit and used John 15 (the vine) as her main text. During her teaching, she used power point to show us some of the pictures she took of her new grape vines. We all loved it. I will have her post a picture of the baby grapes and of Buddy for you too. The dog has even learned to smile and pose!  Any way, the point is...when God says that He promises us "life and life abundantly," it means that sometimes we have to stop and smell the roses in our lives and sometimes we have to take a picture that says a thousand words. Mother's Day is coming up. My suggestion is that you ask for a camera with a zoom lens. If you bring it to the study, we will teach you how to use it.

The Glass Wall

My office at home has several windows in it and I love the light and the view to the outside. There are lots of birds that fly around our house, swooping in and out from rooftop to eaves. The other day, I looked outside the window directly in front of my desk and discovered a dead bird lying on the sidewalk. I then noticed a spot on my window that bore witness to what had happened to the bird. He obviously flew straight into the window at full speed, not knowing or seeing the glass wall before him. Though he had eyes, he did not see. I thought of how the Lord has given us eyes and wants us to see. The glass represents a realm that is invisible to us but none the less is still very real. Something to chew on...I have thought about that bird a lot and praying for spiritual eyes to see through the glass. Bobbye

"My battery is dead!"

As I was waiting on TL to come over, my phone rang. It was TL telling me that her "battery is dead." I thought she was talking about her cell phone, but instead it was her car battery. She was at home, running late, the kids needed to get to school, she and I had a breakfast meeting with someone...and her battery was dead. Thankfully, Laura (a good friend of ours) lives not far from her, so she was coming over to give her a "jump." I immediately began to ask questions...as one could imagine. How exactly are you two going to do this? Will her car fit in your garage? Do you know which cable connectors to place where on the battery? TL's answers were semi-positive but I had my doubts. We agreed that Emilee would call me when Laura arrived. I received that call within about 10 minutes and tried to walk them through the steps of how to jump start a car. It was quite comical to be listening on my end of their escapade. Screams, shrieks and hearty laughs were mostly what I heard. In the end, the car started and we all said, "Praise the Lord!" God is so good. About 2 weeks ago, a girl in our Bible study needed a jump...her battery was dead. TL, Laura and I were all there to help her out. The Lord had prepared us all even for this particular morning. Had we not stayed to help this other girl, we would not have known how to do it for ourselves. Isn't God good? He even prepares us to handle those dead batteries. God bless! Bobbye

A Big Thank You!

Today was a special day for Tonilee and myself as we spoke at her mom's Community Bible Study (CBS) class. As they have been studying the gospel of John, we were given the blessing of getting to teach on John chapter 17. What a great chapter on love, unity and giving glory to God! And the ladies were simply wonderful! To be honest, I was sincerely impressed with their hearts for service, represented in that group of women. Tonilee's mom, Cheryl, is not only a gifted teacher of the Word, but also a leader of godly women. We joked about her enthusiasm and energy, and the fruit is undeniable. Thanks to all of you great ladies at the CBS class in Rancho Bernado, CA for giving us such a blessing in return! To God be the glory. We hope to see you all again soon. Bobbye

Great Events

My husband had a conference in Phoenix so I (TL) decided to tag along. Rob flew out first and I followed a day behind. I had kids' stuff to do that took priority to waiting on Rob get out of meetings. But finally, I got myself to the airport and took a window seat on the plane. The man sitting in my row on the aisle was heading to Florida to watch the final 4 basketball tournament with an estimated 80,000 others. This man must have been a basketball player himself because he could put away his jacket in the overhead bin while remaining seated. That was very impressive to watch. In the seat next to me, there was a very husky man who was heading to Detroit. He won a radio contest to watch a wrestling match held in the Lion's Football stadium. This event had an estimated attendance of 60,000 people. The numbers were impressive and boy, both men were so excited. Of course, they were polite enough to ask me where I was heading. I told them and I told them that I was excited to celebrate Easter. (You could imagine what they were thinking). But I continued by sharing about the Easter service that Miles McPherson is having at the Charger's Stadium. LT is giving his testimony and I am praying that this event is packed with thousands also! The man in the middle seat told me that he heard about it too and would think about going. I am so thankful that the things of the Lord are for everyone. God's events don't exclude anyone; He died for all. It doesn't matter your shape, size, or what large events you enjoy to attend. All the earthly pleasures are great but nothing satisfies the deep longing of the soul but Jesus. I pray that this Easter, people are as excited to attend the greatest event ever. The resurrection day of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has given us victory over death. His event is eternally fixed in the heavens and we get to celebrate it on earth. God is good and we all know that His team wins every time!

We Girls Love (need) to Talk!

My 8th grade daughter is in Washington, D.C. this week with her class. This time last year, my son went on this same trip. I cannot help but compare the differences between them. Robby was gone for a week and I barely heard from him. It was the "out of sight, out of mind" kind of thing. But, Emilee is the opposite extreme. I receive text messages throughout the day, detailing much of her moments and experiences. It has reminded me of how God made us, male and female, and how we are very different, especially when it comes to communication. We women love to talk and we need to talk, regardless of who is listening. As we finished our bible study this morning, women were still hanging out and talking for over an hour after it was over. Bobbye and I have realized that part of what Daily Disciples offers is that sense of community for women, a place to share their thoughts, feelings or just stuff in their lives. We not only can talk to each other, but we also spend time talking to the Lord...together. Come join us in person or share your feedback on this blog page. We would love to talk to you! Tonilee