{"id":23934,"date":"2025-06-12T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/tullahoma\/?p=23934"},"modified":"2025-06-10T19:42:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T19:42:19","slug":"the-rice-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/tullahoma\/the-rice-family\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rice Family: Loving people, always"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cIN WHATEVER we\u2019re doing, whether it\u2019s at church, at home, our neighbors, ball, or whatever it may be, we just try to love on people,\u201d Renea Rice said. And that goal captures the essence of the Rice family. Rice serves teens and young adults with Tullahoma City school buses and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). Her husband, Matthew, serves daily in his work as a Murfreesboro police officer. They and their three kids are a tight-knit family, and a wonderful example of the Tullahoma community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew and Renea were high school sweethearts. They started dating in 2007, when she was 16 and he was 18, and married in 2013. In the first few years of their marriage, they went through infertility and a tragic miscarriage, but the experience only drew them closer together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe just trust the Lord in whatever he may hand us,\u201d Renea said. \u201cWhatever he lets come our way, we know it\u2019s gone through his hands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now their kids \u2014 twins in kindergarten, and a 3-year-old \u2014 are as much a part of the family\u2019s service mindset as Renea and Matthew. Aside from teaching them about faith and the service God calls for, Renea said they try to serve where the kids can participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe try to do things that we can involve them in, like cooking a meal for somebody that\u2019s just had a baby, or somebody that\u2019s sick, or doing yard work for somebody,\u201d Renea said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Photography by Ashleigh Newnes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The family also loves to spend time together and with friends. They love hiking, riding bikes, and taking walks \u2014 anything that involves playing outside. They are also very involved with their church, Grace Baptist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While her family is her most significant investment, FCA is a close second. There, she volunteers as a character coachfor the Motlow softball team and the Tullahoma High School girls basketball team. There, she said, she does life with the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a devotional, read scripture, and see how God loves us and how we can be like Him more,\u201d Renea said. \u201cFor Motlow \u2026 we\u2019ll take a meal either before, during, or after the games. So we feed them; we feed them physically, and we feed them spiritually.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew and Renea\u2019s 11 years of marriage haven\u2019t been without struggle or hardship, but Renea said their success as a couple and as members of the community comes from their focus on God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you have Him as the center of your marriage and the center of your family, He gives His peace,\u201d Renea said. \u201cIt\u2019s a peace that passes all understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Renea said that the Rice family tries its best to love Jesus and love people through everything. They are dedicated to serving others in good times and bad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat is our family motto,\u201d Renea said. \u201cAs for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.\u201d GN<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIN WHATEVER we\u2019re doing, whether it\u2019s at church, at home, our neighbors, ball, or whatever it may be, we just try to love on people,\u201d Renea Rice said. And that goal captures the essence of the Rice family. Rice serves teens and young adults with Tullahoma City school buses and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":23937,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Rice Family: Loving people, always - Tullahoma, TN Good News Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/tullahoma\/the-rice-family\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Rice Family: Loving people, always - Tullahoma, TN Good News Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cIN WHATEVER we\u2019re doing, whether it\u2019s at church, at home, our neighbors, ball, or whatever it may be, we just try to love on people,\u201d Renea Rice said. 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