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