Confessions of a Church Brat

I need to start off by saying that I am not the person you need to be sitting with if it is somber, sad, people are being 'peopley' or boring.  I really do not know what gets in me, but one thing I know, laughing at a funeral isn't the place to be laughing so hard you shake. Sitting at a Thanksgiving table while someone is praying isn't the time either.  And for good measure, I will throw in that sitting in church while your mom is talking/preaching isn't a good time either. I just need to say that if you are easily offended at any of these things, you may want to skip my story! SO MY CHURCH (BRAT) STORY begins This story goes back at least 15+ years ago around Mother's Day, so I was well into adulthood lol.   My mom was speaking at a Mother's  Day service/dinner.  She told me and my sister, Debbi, that "all she wanted for Mother's Day was for us to go with her to the meeting."  So, I am thinking, we can skip the gifts, right, this is all you w...

My mom & dad were God-called evangelists that were gifted in so many ways.  Evangelism, prayer, faith, and healing to name a few.  They loved to preach, so we would be in revival night after night after night.  Sometimes in the same place and sometimes we just kept moving.   For a church brat, growing up in church just becomes part of your life, and sometimes....sometimes....you forget where you are.  This is one of those times! SO MY CHURCH (BRAT) STORY begins: You have to know that these were the revivals that started around 7:30-8:00pm (to let the room cool down some from the heat of the day) and if you were lucky ( sorry blessed ) you would be out by 1:00am.  As a teen, sometimes I got bored (everyone can relate to that, right ?). But, I knew better than to act like I was bored - my mom had eagle eyes that could see for miles! She could zone in across the room and I could feel her eyes on me.  So, for the most part, I tried to be attentive an...

  I grew up in the era of huge tent revivals! So, being the God-called evangelists my dad and mom were, we had a huge gospel tent.  It took days to put that thing up! It was not a good look for a young teenage girl to have sweat dripping off of every inch of her body, hair soaked with sweat, and the heat so bad you just wanted to melt, helping to put up a gospel tent in the middle of a field. Even with help, it was still hours of work, hundreds of chairs, putting up and wrapping the stage, setting up equipment in 1000 degree weather.   But the meetings were always exciting and hoppin', lol! SO MY CHURCH (BRAT) STORY begins: We were in Maryland in a tent revival.  It was so hot, but people came from miles around to experience the revival under the tent. T he services usually started around 8pm to allow the heat to calm down under the tent. But did it ever really  get any cooler?  I am going to say -- no! lol    My oldest sister, Debbi, played ...

Proverbs 17:22  –  A joyful heart is good medicine, But a broken spirit dries up the bones.   Laughter is the best medicine – the Bible tells me so!             Hi, my name is Wendy Smith, and I have a confession to make --- I AM A CHURCH BRAT !    I cannot remember a time that church wasn’t my life! If you know me, you know that I am definitely the epitome of a “ church brat .” If Webster had a definition you would see my picture!  I have stories from growing up in church that will make you laugh until you cry!  No joke.     I live in the wild, wonderful, beautiful Bible belt region of West Virginia.  I am married to the love of my life, George, and we live nestled in a small, close-knit community that is the absolute best!   We do not have any children, but we love our furbabies. We adopted Gracie, a sheltie, at 2 years old, and now she is 8, and Layla, a border collie, we ado...

You have to know a little of my background to get the image of what I am about to tell you in your head!  My life was "tough"! Lol, I was the middle child of 5 plus being a daughter of pastors/evangelists. It had its fun and insane moments! Definitely interesting!! We traveled a lot - a whole lot!  My dad was always the driver of an 8 passenger van that was filled with kids, a B3 Hammond organ, drum set, bass guitar with an amp, plus whatever person decided to ride along with their stuff.  Dad, as the driver, got to decide when we stopped for a restroom break or to eat.  Well, I always had to stop for a potty break. Dad did not like to stop when it was not on his schedule.  If you know me, you know I can be relentless. He would eventually give in.   SO MY CHURCH (BRAT) STORY begins: My family and I were coming back from a revival in Maryland. It was around 2 or 3am.  I woke up, and of course, I had to have a restroom break.  In my defense, we ha...