#Discussion Question 1

If KellyJo were pregnant again and they needed ideas for names what would you choose or come up with comment below your pick for a GIRL and a BOY

KELLY JO IS NOT PREGNANT

Voting 2012

We recently attended a fund raiser for State Rep Jeremy Faison, District 11 (http://www.jeremyfaison.com/). The children had such a fun time playing with the other children, racing on haybells, and grilling out. we have been priviledged to meet so many wonderful people through Zach's connections in politics. We appreciate Faison's stand for conservative values, and we feel especially blessed to know other politicians who want to make a difference in our country!

We ae praying that the polls will be full of people who care about this nation and who want to see "God" added back to the plea, "God Bless America!" Christian Coalition of America has voter guides available for 2012 to help inform the public about the various candidates' stands and about their past voting records (http://cc.org/prayandvote). Let's fulfill our responsibility as Americans and VOTE!

Kelly Jo Turns 46

Happy 46th Birthday, Kelly Jo Bates!Born On October 26th.Did you know that Kelly was actually born Lisa Jo? She would only answer to Kelly Jo, so they legally changed her name when she was six and she's been Kelly Jo ever since.

Isaiah Turns 8

4 Days Ago was Isaiah's Bates 8th Birthday!He is The 14th Child of Gil&Kelly Jo Bates and also The 7th Son of Gil&Kelly Jo Bates!Happy Birthday Isaiah!

A New Phase of Life

We embarked upon an exciting new adventure with the blessings and encouragement of our dear pastor, Jack Gwinn. Pastor Gwinn has been such an incredible inspiration to us these past 4 years. He has a long legacy of faithful service as pastor. He has served in West Virginia and Peoria, Illinois through the years, but God knew we needed his example and leadership in Knoxville at Still Waters Baptist Church. His testimony and life example helped us step out of our comfort zone to plant a church close to our home.

About 18 years ago, Gil walked a little church aisle one Sunday morning when our first pastor, Mark Williams, preached a message: "Vessels of Honor." Gil told the Lord that morning that he would preach whenever the Lord opened the doors of opportunity. Gil has never asked to speak anywhere, but over the years on occasion  God has allowed him to preach at various churches. In recent years, several families approached asking if God had been directing Gil to pastor a church. It's certainly easier to "attend" church, so we hid from the idea of such a huge responsibility and undertaking. Nonetheless, Gil began speaking to Pastor Gwinn about the tugging at his heart. God has a way of prompting and prodding us to do something that we are in no ways capable of doing on our own! Pastor Gwinn, with his typical exhorting mannerisms, said, "Boy, hurry up and get to work! And make sure you start the services on time! Don't be late!"

Three weeks ago, with the generous help of our loving Still Waters Baptist Church family we met at the brand new Bible Baptist Church for our very first service! We are temporarily meeting in the conference room of Holiday Inn Express in Clinton, Tn., but we know God has a wonderful future in store for us... through the mountain top experiences and through the valleys!

We've already seen His hand of provision in so many ways! Our Still Waters Church family and Pastor Gwinn donated our keyboard! Pastor Mike Samples of New Testament Baptist donated 100 hymnals! With mixed emotions of leaving our precious friends at Still Waters, we rejoice through our tears to see God faithfully walk us hand in hand, as little children, on this very new step of faith. 

Katie Turns 12

Today is Katie Bates 12th Birthday!Born on October 5th 2000,She is the 11th Child of Gil&Kelly Jo Bates!Happy Birthday Katie Grace Bates!

Judson Turns 2

Judson Wyatt Bates Born September 15th 2010 is The 18th Child of Gil&Kelly Bates.Judson Has 18 Other Siblings.Happy Birthday Judson Wyatt Bates!

Rain or Shine

God often puts a song in our hearts during times of joy... and also during times of sorrow... during the storms of life, or during the sunny days!

    We recently rejoiced to discover we were expecting a new baby, but several weeks later, our joy turned to tears as a visit to the doctor showed that our little one had died around the 7th week.

    We have experienced 3 other misscarriages, and each time we chose a name that would remind us of a hymn that we could sing during our times of sadness. (Jewels was named after the hymn, "Precious Jewels." Jubilee was named after the Scripture song, "This is the Year of Jubilee." Zion was named after thehymn, "We're Marching to Zion.")

    We asked God to help us choose a fitting name for this little one, and at the same time to restore gladness to our hearts. We chose the name "Sunny" after the hymn "There is Sunshine in My Soul." The 4th verse says:

"There is gladness in my soul today, and hope and praise and love,

For blessings which He gives me now, for joys 'laid up' above." 

He has chosen to give us 4 little joys "laid up" in Heaven, that one day we will see and know! Through tears and sorrow, we still sing, "There is Sunshine in My Soul!"

Some of our children sang "God wants to Hear You Sing," to remind us to turn to Him in both the good times and the bad.

Credit:Gil&Kelly Jo Bates

Facebook Group

I Have Started a Fan Group for the Bates Family,Anybody is free to Join The Group! ~Emme

https://www.facebook.com/groups/300496016724666/

Nathan Turns 19

Today is Nathan's 19th Birthday!Born Kenneth Nathaniel Bates,Also Born on August 29th 1993 Congrats on your 19th Birthday! 

#UBOA Season Finale

If you haven't seen all the "United Bates of America" episode's Better Catch Up! The Season Finale of "United Bates of America" is this Upcoming Monday at The same Time. 

*Next Weeks's Posted Under Showtimes Tab in Blog*

Callie-Anna Turns 3

Happy 3rd Birthday Callie-Anna Rose Bates!Callie's Birthday was on August 2nd and she is the 17th Child of Gil&Kelly Jo Bates!Callie-Anna is the most adorable, most innocent looking little angel…but underneath that sweet grin is a mischievous little adventurer waiting to get into trouble! She keeps us all on our toes and adds sheer delight to our days! Happy Birthday Callie!

Josie Turns 13

Happy 13th Birthday Josie Kellyn Bates! Josie is the 10th child of Gil&Kelly Jo Bates and was born August 4th, Josie is all smiles, all the time! She loves to read and read and read. Most girls’ pocket books are filled with all sorts of goodies, but Josie’s is packed with mysteries! Her love for reading helps her to also be a diligent student in her schoolwork.Happy Birthday Josie!

Down Home Gospel

Erin's new CD "Down Home Gospel" is finally finished! We are so grateful to the many people who helped make this project possible! Andy Leftwich did an incredible job accompanying on the fiddle.

Erin headed for Nashville with a few siblings to meet Andy and his wife, Rachel. After Wednesday night church, they selected the songs for the Cd and briefly practiced them together. They began recording early Thursday morning, and finished late Friday night. It sounded like they had played together for years, even though they had only ran through the songs a handful of times.

Down Home Gospel is quite a change from her previous Cd, Merciful and Mighty, which has a more majestic sound in comparison to this CD’s upbeat, hand clapping & foot stomping, Southern Gospel appeal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRZKwkOsk3I&feature=player_embedded



CREDIT:Gil&Kelly Jo Bates

United Bates of America

Here is the link to TLC's page for the Bates new show:United Bates of America
http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/united-bates-of-america

Happy 20th Birthday William Lawson!

Happy Birthday Lawson! Lawson is the 4th Child of Gil&Kelly Bates,Born July 27th! To Me Lawson is Just like his Father in a way, His Father owns his own Tree Company and Lawson a Mowing Service their very alike in different ways! Anyway Happy 20th Birthday Lawson!

New Web Design

We are so grateful for the many friends who have helped us with our website these past few years. Josh Duggar designed our first website, then later turned it over to Steve Medlen and Robert Staddon of Abundant Designs (www.abundantdesigns.com). Robert has graciously managed the site for us for several years.

We have been working on updating the website these past few months. Stephen Troell (www.troellfamily.com) and Greg Howlett (www.greghowlett.com) have redesigned the site and have labored for many hours on our behalf. Greg is currently is teaching us the “How To’s” of posting updates and adding photos, as he manages the site.

In the process of transferring all of the information, we have not been able to post comments made during the last few weeks. We would love the opportunity to post these, if you could take the time to redo them. Thank you for your patience and God Bless!

Greg Howlett and family

Stephen Troell and family

CREDIT: Gil&Kelly Bates

New Look on The Bates Family Website!

If you go To The Bates Family Website they have a new Look! Here's a Link:http://gilbatesfamily.com/default.aspx

*There Look is all new, Humble and Beautiful Check Them Out!*

Bates Show Update

Bates Family Show Update:
The show will premier on Monday August 13 at 9 PM EST/10 PM CST on TLC.The show will run for 8 half-an-hour episodes.The name of the Show will be called United Bates of America. I will post a sneak peek of the show on our page
~BatesFamilyFanPage

Bates Show Sneak Peek
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Ftlc.howstuffworks.com%2Ftv%2Fother-shows%2Fvideos%2Funited-bates-of-america-first-look.htm&h=vAQH4OfCCAQFMlsUaZlZl_nk-gvSE3xe8SR2V30bpHbbvwQ&enc=AZOxKAnxx-TeIl8H3AmjOPZ6HhCpPiGPSh-omB0qgbnIRjPnDSt2FcQamsrKebyxUUHohl7BH8a6nvMFAYHvYShf

Post Update

I just want to let everyone know that everything we post here photos or information on/about The Bates Family is in credit to Gil&Kelly Bates and their family I may not post that in each and every post but I do take that in mind and I am against Plagiarism 

Courtship Update

Many have asked for an update on Zach and Sarah’s courtship that was announced last June. After prayer, Sarah decided to end the courtship several months after it began. We have not posted any updates or answered any comments about it until now, in order to give both Zach and Sarah time to heal.

Any parting of a relationship causes pain, and although we would love to avoid heartaches in life, it is through these very trying times that character and faith often grow. For Zach, it has been a time of learning, thinking, and drawing closer to Christ.

Zach is grateful that he and Sarah hadn’t chosen the traditional path of dating, since it protected them from wrong goals and further pain. The three main goals of their courtship were 1. to maintain purity, 2. to discover if they were the right life partners for marriage, and 3. to honor God first and foremost in their relationship. In that sense, their courtship was a success, as they achieved each of these goals.

Although the relationship did not progress into engagement and marriage, their time together was focused on strengthening their walk with the Lord, and therefore ended in friendship. Zach is grateful for having developed a relationship with Sarah and her family. He has learned valuable insights from the example of their family harmony and love for God. In spite of the pain of parting, he is full of memories and experiences that have encouraged him, strengthened him, challenged him, and humbled him. He can appreciate the growth that has taken place in his life as a result of these circumstances. 

Thank each of you for your prayers and thoughtfulness!

Independence Day

As our nation celebrates its birthday this Independence Day, I hope you will take time to reflect with your family about some of the lives of the great men who helped fight for the freedom we enjoy today. I hope you’ll recognize the principles our nation was founded on, and I hope you’ll say a prayer of “Thanks” to God for the protection He has given.

Happy 4th of July!

Some of the resources we enjoy for learning more about our history are available from Wallbuilders with David Barton (http://shop.wallbuilders.com/):

• America’s Godly Heritage DVD

• American Heritage DVD Series

• Drive Thru History – Patriots Penn and Freedom Trail DVD

Fathers Day Reminder

I’ve heard others say that a mother has the most difficult and most important job in the world… I’m not so sure! I know I wouldn’t be able to trade places with my husband in fulfilling his role as Dad! Decisions are hard for me; pressure is hard for me to cope with; bills are a nightmare… I’m just not cut out to carry the load that he does so well!

I’m so grateful and so blessed to be by his side and to watch the example he sets for his children! To all the Dads who are trying to be Godly leaders in the home, may God grant you strength and wisdom as you continue to love, lead, serve, provide for, protect, and teach your little ones!! May this poem be a reminder to you to slow down and enjoy the role God has so graciously given you!

Father’s Day Reminder

As decisions and responsibilities loom about,

You may be faced with fears and doubt.

You may be too pre-occupied

To feel that hand upon your side.

You may be tired and need a nap

When little ones climb onto your lap.

You may have bills that reach the sky,

And work that keeps on piling high.

You may have many important duties

Clouding your vision of family beauties:

Like toothless smiles and bandaged knees,

Like children hanging from the trees,

Like broken bikes and a messy room,

Like hand picked flowers and weeds that bloom.

One day when there’s no noise or mess,

No extra bills, no dolls to dress,

No games to play, no bikes to fix,

No doctor visits, no scrapes or nicks,

No whining or fussing about a chore,

Just you alone to bother for…

Here’s just one thought to reflect upon:

One day those treasures will all be gone.

So don’t forget to take the time

To listen to each joke or rhyme,

To notice each new work of art,

To read a book or play a part,

To give a few more hugs each day,

To bow your head and humbly pray,

To spend each moment as it were last,

Because we know, they grow so fast!

Fathers Day!

Today we celebrate fathers day in recognition of all the fathers in the world,also Mr.Gil Bates who gave his wife their first son and also 18 other beautiful blessings+3 Angels all from the lord!

Gil&Kelly

May God Bless all the Fathers on this Day!

Bates Reality Show Update

The Bates show has been pushed back to August instead of June. It is supposed to air on August 13th on TLC, but it hasn't been finalized yet. 

Bates Family Fan Page Social Networking

As of Today Bates Family Fan Page is now both on Facebook & Twitter (Including Blogger!) So Make sure to Like Us on Facebook,Subscribe To our Blog(Here on Blogger!) and To follow Us on Twitter!

Facebook-https://www.facebook.com/pages/Bates-Family-Fan-Page/193615540757795?ref=tn_tnmn 

Twitter-https://twitter.com/#!/BatesFamilyPage

God Bless!

South Haven

We recently visited one of our favorite churches, South Haven Baptist Church in Springfield, TN, where the children were able to share in song and Gil was able to preach.

Pastor Gagliano has been a wonderful influence in our children’s’ lives, as we have downloaded and have listened to many of his sermons! He is preaching a tremendous series on the family, available on the church website (http://www.southhavenbaptist.org/shbc/home ).

One of the things that impresses us most about Pastor Gagliano’s message is the fruit seen in his children’s lives. Each of them (or their spouses) serve in fulltime ministry positions and love the Lord. May God help us draw wisdom from other families like these as we strive to raise our children with a heart for God!

Gone To Glory

On this Memorial Day weekend, my family gathered around the bedside of my brother. We had much to celebrate! Most of his family travelled to see him. We knew he was dying, and we all longed to see him again. It was the first time we had all been able to be together in a while, and we had some exciting family additions to share: My sister Beth had a precious boy (Braylon), and my niece Angel and her husband Travis adopted two adorable twin girls (Kenna and Alayna). God allowed Chip to see and hold his two grandbabies!

Chip had been placed on hospice care last Thanksgiving. With heavy hearts we watched his strength slowly deteriorate. But God answered the many years of prayer of his sweet wife Brenda, one morning when Chip prayed and asked God to save him after having a nightmare about how he would spend eternity. I rejoiced, but so longed to see the fruit of his new life in Christ, and God granted that prayer aswell. For over two months, Chip’s changed life radiated forth and encouraged us all. His family read his Bible with him, and his whole conversation changed! The night before he died he looked at Brenda and said,”We need to be doing something spiritual.” So Brenda read him verses and sang hymns to him through the night, then he went to be with the Lord early on the morning of May 30th.

Chip’s memory will be forever planted in my heart. He was my older brother that spoiled me, and I adored him! As an older child he asked for a wagon one Christmas. Mom told him he was too old for a wagon, then she learned his motive. He wanted the wagon to pull me around as a baby. Since I was colicky, Mom said most days she would bundle me up in that little red wagon and Chip would pull me around for hours! He was a loving brother, and I will miss him immeasurably… But I must thank God for Chip’s salvation and for allowing us to have this special family time together before his homecoming!

Music

Erin recently had the opportunity to meet and interview with pianist Greg Howlett, whom she has long admired. Erin uses Greg’s teaching materials to assist her in giving piano instruction to her students, and our whole family enjoys listening to his incredible CDs.

Alyssa and Tori travelled with Erin to the interview in Atlanta. Greg kept the girls thoroughly amused with his fun sense of humor. I don’t know how Greg and Erin kept straight faces during the filming, with the two giggle boxes (Alyssa & Tori) on the side lines erupting in laughter! Greg is posting portions of his interview on his website (where his CDs are also available): http://greghowlett.com/