Monday, January 15, 2007

THE Weekend

Whew! Glad to have that weekend under my belt. Jennifer came in for the extended weekend which provided me an opportunity to introduce her to Amy's family. To say that it was incredibly difficut would be a massive understatement, but the Barnards were so gracious. I knew they would be. (Note: Please pray for them as I can't imagine the pain and emotions they are experiencing.)

Jennifer also got the chance to come to church with me which was great. I have to say that it felt like an out of body experience for the most part because for the first seven years of my ministry the only girl who ever walked through the doors with me was Ame. And to have someone else on Sunday and to know so many people were "observing" our every move was too weird to put into words. I can only hope that next time won't be so akward. But overall I was totally impressed with my church family. I knew they would love on Jennifer and they did. They're great!

14 comments:

drmacab97 said...

We've been praying for this weekend and will continue to pray for everyone involved. David, Mary & Cara Bondurant :)

gretchenhs said...

Wish I could have been there for extra support! Glad it went well Chad!
The Barnard's are awesome people for sure!

Anonymous said...

Let us all give PRAISE TO OUR LORD. Hugs, Love and prayers to ALL.

Anonymous said...

Chad,
I am sorry that I missed meeting Jennifer. She will just have to come back again real soon.
I am glad that everything went well at Antioch. No matter what has been said, everyone just wants you and Emrie to be happy and loved.

I know that is what Amy and the entire Barnard family wants too. (smile)

God Bless! We Love All the Doerrs and the Barnards!!!! (You are all in our thoughts, hearts, and prayers)

Glenda and Family

Lonnie said...

Do I still get to sing my songs and do "the robot" or the "running man"?

Anonymous said...

May I just second the motion on the "whew, glad that is over". As Chad's parents, we felt caught in the middle of a crossroad. We want nothing more than for Chad and Emrie to find a person to build a family with. On the other hand, there is no where I feel sadder about the loss of Amy than at AMCC where she was so vibrant and alive. Don & I talked afterwards that it may have looked to some like we were betraying our love for her and the Barnard family by showing our support for Chad and Jennifer by attending and sitting with Jennifer......May it NEVER BE SAID THERE ARE ONLY TWO SIDES TO THIS VERY COMPLICATED AND HURTFUL STORY. We love Amy and each of her family as our own family, and it HURT knowing full well how hard this is on them. However, as I have got to know Jennifer and how Chad feels about her, I felt she deserved our support. It is not easy under any circumstance to be the new kid on the block, but knowing this is the church where Amy was born and raised in, I am sure it felt like being the only striped fish in a tank of solid orange ones!

I have lost people in my life, my mom when I was 12 yrs. old, my sweet younger brother when he was only 18; but I can honestly say the pain of loosing Amy has been harder for a lot of reasons. First of all, it shook my faith in prayer for a short period of time. Satan uses your pain and sorrow to deceitfully place doubts in your head. However, I hung on for dear life, knowing in my heart God's word is the ONLY UNCHANGING guide to get me thru this journey called life, and I dug in and looked up scriptures on prayer and told satan just to "get behind me!"

Again, it is the word of God that is getting Don & I thru the current situation. I am 100% sure that Chad starts every single day in prayer (you may think I just say that because I am his Mom, no I have seen his written daily journal laying around on his desk, and NO I have NOT read it, but I have flipped thru the pages just enough to see each day is dated and each day is spent writing down his prayer requests to the Lord) So I have to believe Chad has been and continues to seek the Lord's will and only the Lord's will for he and Emrie's life. Did it ever occur to anyone that we may very well be seeing the Lord's plan unfold right before our very eyes? I won't say Chad has never made mistakes in his decision making, that would really sound like a mom! But, he has always been wise and carefully calculated pretty much the cost of every decision and he TRULY PUTS HIS TRUST IN THE LORD TO HELP HIM WITH THESE MAJOR DECISIONS. So although Don & I felt our share of uncomfortableness Sunday at AMCC, we left feeling a sense that although Chad chooses to wear his heart on his sleeve and put these posts on the worldwide web......it is ultimately in the Lord Jesus Christ's hands, and that gives his Dad & I great comfort.

Anonymous said...

I didnt get to meet Jennifer, but see everything worked out...it always does...... Your face was sure bright and glowing Sunday...Next time I'm just going to walk up and introduce myself too her..:)

Violet Love said...

This is too Chads mom, I too lost my faith in Prayer when we lost our son to cancer 5 years ago..didnt care if I ever stepped inside a church again..that was in 2001..it is now 2007 and nine months ago we moved back to Ky..from Fl..we were invited to AMCC. by our son Lonnie and our daughter-in-law Cathy and we have been here ever since..It was hard for me at first..I carried resentment for a long time..but time heals...

Anonymous said...

From your mom's comments she seems to be on the defense. I don't know if everyone is getting the full story, from the looks of the blog comments everything seems so positive, but from your mom's comments there must have been more to everything that has been said to be on the opposite side of the fence.

Anonymous said...

I am glad the weekend went well. But I would still like to sing and do my break dancing.

Anonymous said...

Lonnie, just picturing you break dancing will make me smile all day!

Anonymous said...

I am soo glad things went well! I am sorry that Stephen and I weren't there to meet Jennifer! We can't wait to meet her when she comes back!I totally understand why you wanted it over with. The first time is always the hardest. Know that even though we are new to the church our family's belssings and love are with you!
Heidi Coghill

ck said...

Chad,
I was on your mailing list as things unfolded and my heart broke for you as it did.

I know moving forward as you are has to be one of the hardest things you've had to do.

Know that I'm still praying for you.

Anonymous said...

Chad,
I am glad to see that you are starting to move on in life. Just because you move forward does not mean that you have forgotten your past. I never had the opportunity to meat Amy, but I am sure she set the bar pretty darn high. So it is actually because of Amy's loss that you know what you are looking to find. Good Luck brother.