Get The Kleenex Ready

Oh What A Sweet Sound

Thought everyone would enjoy these audio clips of our kids. These were recorded on August 7, the day after we got full custody.

Morgan singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (with a little help from Mommy)

Justin singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Morgan singing Row Row Row Your Boat

Justin singing Row Row Row Your Boat

Bubba says "Hey"

An Update On The Family

Well, it's been over a month and a half since our court date and my last blog entry, so I thought I should give everyone an update.

The kids are wonderful! Everyday we thank God for blessing us with these three beautiful children. We are hopeful that someday in the near future we will be able to adopt Shane, Justin and Morgan. But for now, we are just glad to have full custody and have them living with us all the time. Thank you all again for your prayers.

Speaking of prayers, we've had a huge answer to a prayer request I mentioned in my last post. I asked everyone to pray that God would provide the resources we will need to raise these three children. Well, God heard your prayers and provided a full-time job for Stephanie with the Calhoun County Sheriff's Office. This job is nearly twice the hourly pay she received working at the church, and double the hours. Add to that the wonderful benefits that go along with a job in county government, and you can see why we are rejoicing.

Here's a picture of all three children taken this past summer. Shane is thirteen and in the eigth grade. Justin is four and Morgan is two. Once again, you can see why we are rejoicing. They are beautiful kids!

Please continue to lift us all up in your prayers. God continues to bless us. To Him be glory!

A Great Day!

Yesterday was a wonderful day for the Lambert family. We ended up settling before the court proceedings began, and we got everything we had hoped for:

-Full custody of the children.
-Visitation for the grandparents and siblings, but on our terms.

To put it succinctly, all of your prayers and ours were answered yesterday. We thank all of you who have supported us with your prayers and words of encouragement. God has definitely been at work in this.

For nearly two years, these three children, Shane, Justin and Morgan, have been a part of our family. Even though there were many months last year when they weren't allowed to live with us, there was never a day when we gave up hope. For a long time, it was hard to see God's hand in all of this, but we never quit trusting Him. We knew that He is sovereign and that He had a plan even though we couldn't see it at the time. We were constantly reminded of that old quote: "When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart."

We know that folks who've never met us have been praying for our family, and someday we will thank you in person (although it may not be this side of heaven). We've received cards from as far away as Ohio from people who were lifting us up to the Lord. WE HAVE FELT YOUR PRAYERS! We will forever be grateful for all of you, known and unknown. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

As you celebrate with us, let me be a little selfish and ask you to please keep praying. Pray that we will be the godly parents that these children need. Pray that God will bless our home. Pray that God will provide the resources we are going to need to raise three children. And pray about the fact that one day in the near future we hope to adopt them.

God has blessed us above and beyond what we could have ever hoped for. To Him be glory!

Fantastic VBS!

Game Day Central wrapped up last night and what a tremendous success it was. Our attendance was outstanding every night, and the children brought in over $300 for missions. There were also life-changing decisions made last night at the commencement service. Samantha Mote prayed to receive Christ just before the service, and three other children talked with Koy afterwards and were also saved. God is so good!

Thanks to all the workers who volunteered their time and energy to help make this the best Vacation Bible School we've had in recent memory.

Hope to see everyone at church on Wednesday night.

Bro. Shane

One Month Away

Well, the court date is now just one month away. We are so grateful for all of our friends and family who are joining with us in prayer about this. Please keep praying! We have needed and felt your prayers, and we will need them even more over the next several weeks. No matter what, God is in control and we will praise Him regardless of what happens. One thing we've learned over the past 2 years (OK, we already knew it, but He's proven it to us time and time again) is that God is sovereign.

We're getting prepared for Bible School at EFBC this week. Game Day Central begins on Monday, July 9. I believe this year's VBS will be the best one we've had in my five years at Eulaton. Please keep this in your prayers, as well.

Our new worship times began this past Sunday and believe it or not, nobody showed up for worship at ten till eleven. I fully expected to see somebody come walking through the church doors an hour late like you often do when we change the clocks in the spring. But everybody remembered. Well, unless somebody walked in for Sunday School at 9:45 and found out it was time for worship. If that happened, nobody has admitted it yet. Our new Sunday morning worship times are:

-Sunday School...8:45
-Morning Worship...10:00

Our radio broadcast is now recorded and played one week late, so if you missed this last Sunday's service you can listen to it when you get out of church this Sunday.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope to see all on Sunday. The building where the church meets will look a little different on Sunday as VBS decorations will be up, but don't let that alarm you. Never forget, the church is not a building; the church is you and me.

Bro. Shane

Update On The Kids

For those following our attempt to get full custody of Shane, Justin and Morgan, a trial date has been set for August 6. This is a month later than we had expected, and awfully close to the first day of school, but at least we now have a date. Please keep this matter in your prayers.

Thank you!

Bro. Shane

Farewell To Dr. Falwell

Stephanie and I are deeply saddened by the loss of our good friend, Dr. Jerry Falwell. Our prayers and thoughts are with his family, the members of Thomas Road Baptist Church, and the students and faculty at Liberty University. Although we know that they will carry on the works he began, his passing leaves a huge void in Lynchburg, Virginia and in the hearts of all those who knew and loved him.

I first met Dr. Falwell in 1998 at a Super Conference at Liberty. I'll never forget the experience because I almost killed myself as I went to shake his hand. I was stepping forward onto what I thought were some bleachers in the Vine's Center and my foot found no solid ground. I grabbed hold of my friend Johnny Carr at the last second and managed to avoid falling some 30 feet to the floor. Needless to say, it was not the way I wanted to introduce myself to this giant of Christian conservatism.

Dr. Falwell was very gracious and acted as if nothing had happened. He glanced down at my name tag, reached out to shake my hand and said in that deep, booming voice of his, "Brother Shane." We talked for just a few seconds and I don't really remember what either one of us said after that. I guess I was just too humiliated (and relieved) to make a mental note at that moment.

Two years later, I accepted a position with the Department of Residence Life at Liberty University and moved to Lynchburg to enroll in seminary. It was while there that I got to know Dr. Falwell and what kind of person he truly was. Although I have always had great respect for him, I never could have imagined what he was really like when the TV cameras were turned off and he was just "Doc" (as some of his friends and associates referred to him).

He was incredibly kind. And he was very funny. Quite different from the way he has been portrayed over the years by the mainstream media. To hear what some are saying about him today, you would have thought he was worse than Osama Bin Ladin. It's unfortunate that many people's memories of Dr. Jerry Falwell will not be positive ones. If they could have only met the man and gotten to know him, they would be singing a very different tune today.

Although he is best known as the founder of the Moral Majority, here are a couple of his accomplishments you don't hear much about:

-The Liberty Godparent Home, which takes in unwed pregnant girls and cares for them through the birth. They also assist in finding parents to adopt the baby if that's the route the birth mother chooses to go. Here's an example of a man who not only preached against abortion, he put actions behind his words.

-The Elim Home for Alcoholics, which has a phenomenally high success rate in helping people stay clean and sober.

Although two of his greatest accomplishments, you seldom hear about these organizations because Dr. Falwell didn't start these ministries for personal gain. He did it because he passionately loved Jesus and he compassionately loved people. He was truly a champion for Christ.

I'll never forget my time spent at Liberty. Not only did I get to meet Dr. Falwell while I was there, I also met the woman that I would spend the rest of my life with.

Stephanie Middleton was the secretary to the Dean of Men at Liberty and also a regular soloist at Thomas Road Baptist Church. My friend Johnny Carr (remember, he's the one who helped save my life) introduced me to Stephanie and we quickly fell in love with one another. We've been married now for six and a half years and she is, other than being born again, the best thing that has ever happened to me (that's two I owe you, Johnny). It was an honor to have Dr. Falwell and Stephanie's boss, Dean Emerick, officiate at our wedding.

One more funny story: Just before my groomsmen and I were about to walk into the church, Dr. Falwell spoke up in that booming voice and said, "Alright, men, check your fly." That was the first time my dad had ever met Dr. Falwell, and needless to say it was the last thing he expected to hear from him. To this day, Dad still gets a chuckle every time he recalls that moment.

I have been truly blessed in that I was able to meet two of my spiritual heroes before they went home to be with the Lord. In September of 2004, I attended the Adrian Rogers Pastor Training Institute and spent three days up close and personal with Dr. Rogers. I was fortunate enough to be seated at his table for lunch and for the dinner banquet held on the same day. Just to be able to ask him questions and soak up his responses was an incredible privilege. I was so saddened to hear, just a little over a year later, that Dr. Adrian Rogers had passed away. But I was also thankful that I had the opportunity to meet him this side of heaven.

And now we've lost Dr. Falwell. Two giants of the Christian faith in less than two years. I know that they were just men, but sometimes we look at these larger than life leaders and it seems like they will live forever. Yesterday was a reminder that, as the Bible tells us, it is appointed for all men to die once. And I believe Dr. Jerry Falwell heard Jesus say Tuesday morning, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

Goodbye Doc. I'll miss you.

God's Blessings

We had a great time during revival services last week. Bro. Mike Owens did an outstanding job preaching just the kind of messages we were in need of hearing. It was a time of refreshing, renewal and encouragement for me. One of the best parts of the week was on Tuesday night when people all over our sanctuary stood to give testimonies about Eulaton First Baptist. It was a great reminder of all the things that are right in our church.

Mother's Day at EFBC was also a tremendous blessing. Our crowd was great and the baby and child dedication was, as always, a precious time in the life of our church. We've got some beautiful little ones here at Eulaton. It was also wonderful to be able to honor mothers, and we had a lot of them in attendance yesterday. I hope you all had a fabulous day.

Another blessing I want to mention for those who don't know: Stephanie and I were granted temporary custody of Shane, Justin and Morgan last week. A court date will be set for late June or early July to consider where the children will be placed on a more permanent basis. Until then, they are ours legally and hopefully will continue to be for as long as we all shall live. Please be in prayer about this, and we will keep you posted about what's going on.

One more thing: Have you read The Lambert Commentary yet? This is a new blog I've started to express my opinions on things that are going on in the world. You may not agree with me on everything, and that's OK. My goal is just to get people thinking. All I ask is that you read it with an open mind, and let me know what you think in the "Comments" section of the blog. I'll publish your comments whether you agree with me or if you want to bite my head off. Just keep it clean and respectful; that's all I ask. You can access this blog by clicking the link on the right.

As was mentioned Sunday, we have a very important regular business meeting this Wednesday night. If you want to have a say in some pretty big decisions in the life of our church, I urge you to be here for this meeting at 6 p.m. I hope to see you here.

Great Sunday

We had a great day at church this past Sunday, including one saved after the morning service was over. We are looking forward to a great spring revival beginning this week with Pastor Mike Owens from Leatherwood Baptist Church. Sunday services will be at their usual times: 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday nights we will meet at 7 p.m. Remember, the best way to get people to come is a one-on-one invitation. Please be spreading the word.

I've posted my second column on The Lambert Commentary if you're interested in taking a look. It's about global warming:

http://www.thelambertcommentary.blogspot.com/

I've decided to publish these weekly editorials on Tuesday mornings instead of on Mondays. Sorry for those who checked in yesterday. Let me know what you think.

Bro. Shane

New Blog

After much prayerful thought, I've decided to start a separate blog to comment weekly on current issues in the news. I realize that some may scoff at the idea of me creating a new blog when I've hardly been able to keep this one updated. This is, however, something that I believe the Lord has led me to do.

After writing my last post (Finally Some Good News), I felt like there might be a better forum for these types of commentaries. Therefore, I have created The Lambert Commentary, which can be accessed at:

http://thelambertcommentary.blogspot.com/

I have since moved the comments of my previous post to this new blog (and I've edited and expanded them slightly). It is my hope to update this new blog every Monday. If you see something there that you feel is worthy of passing along to others, please do so. And please leave your comments. I want to know what others are thinking.

In the meantime, I will continue to use the Pastor's Blog to keep folks informed on what is going on at EFBC. OK, continue might not have been the best word to use. I will begin to keep folks informed about what's going on at EFBC.

Which reminds me, don't forget our Spring Revival is less than two weeks away: May 6-9 with Pastor Mike Owens.

Finally Some Good News

I've moved the contents of this post to a new blog. To read it, follow this link:

http://thelambertcommentary.blogspot.com/2007/04/finally-some-good-news.html

For an explanation, please see the post entitled New Blog.

I've Been Put To Shame

OK, I admit it. I'm now the worst offender among my small group of blogging friends when it comes to updating. My buddy Jeff has updated his blog in the last week; twice in two days to be exact. That leaves me with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

It's kind of like when I was growing up, we would always pass by a certain family's house on the way to church. They were wonderful friends and fellow church members, so for privacy purposes, we'll just call them the Doe family. Most Sundays we'd always see their car in the carport and know that, just like every other Sunday, they were going to be late again. But on those rare occasions when we would pass by and see that their car was already gone, my mom would exclaim, "Oh Shane, we're running really late. The Doe's have already left for church!"

And today I kind of feel like my mom used to feel when the Doe's would beat us to church. Jeff, you've put me to shame. I've actually considered resigning from the blogosphere, but then I thought, "who would notice given my recent track record?" So rather than cut and run, I've decided to write this post and ask for forgiveness from those few who actually have kept checking in the hopes that I had updated. I'm sure you've come to expect nothing new, but I thank you for continuing to come back.

I actually have quite a bit that I need to blog about, and I will be posting something new in a day or two to kind of catch up.

In the meantime, please keep the families of the shooting victims and everybody at Virginia Tech in your prayers. What a horrific, senseless act of violence.

In spite of this, I hope everyone is having a great week.

Bro. Shane

Great Start To A New Year

2007 is off to an incredible start at Eulaton First Baptist Church! How wonderful to see a soul saved in our first Sunday service of the new year! It was also great the following week to see this new believer and his wife come forward and join Eulaton First Baptist Church. We are excited to have Randy and Janet McGinnis as the newest additions to EFBC. Please be in prayer for Randy, as he left Tuesday for a 3-week business trip to Germany. We look forward to baptizing him when he returns in February.

AWANA kicked back off for the new year on January 7, and this new ministry continues to be a blessing for our church. We've experienced a 1000% increase in our Sunday night children's attendance! That's not a typo, you read it right: 1000%. Our Sunday night children's average was 3 before AWANA; now it is 30. To God be the glory!

I truly believe 2007 will be the best year EFBC has experienced in a long, long time. I'm incredibly optimistic about what God has in store for us as we serve Him here together in the new year. Please keep our church in your prayers. We can do everything that we can possibly do as believers, but if God's not in it, our efforts are in vain. If we'll bathe everything we do in prayer, I know we're going to see God do some awesome things in the coming days.

One thing I'm very excited about is what's coming up on Wednesday night, January 31. That night, we'll be showing the movie Facing The Giants. If you haven't yet seen this movie, all I can say to you is, "YOU'VE GOTTA SEE IT!" If you've already seen it, then you're probably like me and can't wait to see it again (and I've already seen it twice). This is a great opportunity for you to invite your friends and family to church, particularly those who don't know the Lord. Also, if you know someone who's depressed, discouraged, or just facing some really tough times in their life, you need to bring them to see Facing The Giants. We'll meet in the sanctuary and the movie will begin at 6 p.m.

Hope to see everyone at church this Sunday.

Bro. Shane