Tuesday, December 7, 2010

gifts r free

I am picturing Christmas with my family! I can already smell the home cooked food coming from the kitchen, and I can practically hear the kids playing pool in the basement. The holiday hustle, suitcases, Mom's pumpkin pies and finally the gifts. I can see us already. The family has grown from six to eighteen. Lots of gifts will be given with love! I can see myself right now. Me with my checkbook. Making little donations--paybacks to all those family members who graced me with Christmas "gifts."

Now that sounds ridiculous, doesn't it. Don't worry. I am not really planning on writing checks to pay everyone back for my Christmas presents!! I guess if I did, it wouldn't be a free gift huh?

That is exactly what some people try to do to God. "Thanks God for the free gift of heaven. Thanks for dying on the cross, but it just wasn't quite enough. Somehow your blood isn't strong enough, perfect enough or sufficient enough to get me all the way to heaven, so I am just going to pay you back in little installments of being really good so that I can earn a little bit of heaven or at least hold on to it."

We can't be good enough to get to heaven. That is why Jesus paid our way when He died on the cross. You have to be perfect you know, and Jesus is the only One who is perfect. Trusting Him to get us there is the only way!!

I have heard people say that they trust Christ to get them to heaven, but if they did something really bad, they would go to hell. No way. It's either a free gift or it's not. It does not depend on what we do.

You could never be good enough to get to heaven, and you could never be bad enough to get kicked out once God has saved you! His blood is that strong!

So if we can't tell people to be good to get to heaven, how do we get people to be good? God is strong enough and able enough to do that. That is why He lives in our hearts and draws people to Himself. We live for God because we love Him. We do what is right because we want rewards that come with obedience. We please Him because we want His best for our lives and we don't want to miss out on all that He has in store for us. But we don't live for him because we fear hell, for we are held closely in the arms of the God who is mighty and able to save us and to keep us saved! Put away your checkbook. No need to write payback checks of good works. You are safe my friend! Now live for Him because you love Him.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

"It is not the critic who counts."

My brother became an Ironman last year in Louisville. I had the privilege of cheering him on for almost 17 hours as he swam 2 miles, biked 112 miles and then ran a full 26 mile marathon. It was one of the most inspiring things I have seen in my lifetime. People reached deeper than they ever thought they could reach to prove something they never knew they could do. We watched as a blind man crossed the finish line. We saw men and women in their 70's finish before 20 year olds. Human determination shed light on many things that day and affected my thoughts, not only on sports, but on life in general. My brother has written a book that is in the process of being published. It is about an ordinary person training for the Ironman, while managing all of the other important things in life, like being a great husband and dad. It is a book about Ironman training details and a book about determination in general. I am currently reading his manuscript and--this is coming from someone who doesn't like to read-- I am finding it hard to put down.

While reading, I came across this quote from Theodore Roosevelt:

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory or defeat."

Maybe you are in ministry and you are being criticized by those who have never done the brave thing you are doing. Take heart! "It is not the critic who counts." No one has walked the road you are walking and no one has the vision God has given to you. Do not be discouraged. Keep pressing forward.

You may have been told that you will never do great things, that you will never be loved, or that you are destined for failure as those who came before you. There is a God who says that you "can do all things through Christ" who gives you strength. Do not quit. Set your eyes on the goal and let God do His amazing work in your life! You have got what it takes.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

guest writer emily morgan

Today I have a guest writer, one of my dear friends, Emily Morgan. Emily is wife to Tony Morgan and mother to four wonderful kids! She is a self-proclaimed minimalist, a simplifier, and mostly a follower of Christ. Here is Emily's paraphrase of Proverbs 31, as it might relate to women in 2010.

A quality woman is a found treasure and is better to have than all the world's riches and fame.
Her husband gives her freedom to be all God created her to be and has no reason to doubt her commitment.
She respects him and supports who he is through every season of life.
She seeks out modest and durable clothing for her family and keeps it current and wearable.
She fills her pantry and refrigerator with a variety of nutritious foods.
She wakes with time to prepare breakfast and plan the day's other meals and events.
She invests in time-saving tools and is able to give time to others.
She starts her day with a plan, confident in her ability to manage her household.
Her time and effort in meeting her family's needs pays eternal rewards, and she works long hours.
She creates a home where all who enter are nourished, encouraged, and feel safe.
She doesn't overextend herself in time or money and is able to give generously to those who need help.
She is prepared for whatever may come with appropriate clothing for her family, food in the pantry, and supplies on hand.
She dresses modestly and current.
She tends to, but doesn't obsess about her appearance.
Her husband is able to pursue an honest career and have influence in his community.
She spends her money wisely, buying only what she needs and having surplus for others.
She is assertive in her role as home manager and is prepared for the future because her priorities are right.
When she speaks, she exudes wisdom and encouragement.
She commands a respect.
She knows her family's business and won't succumb to time-wasters.
Her children honor and obey her.
Her husband recognizes her for all that she is.
"Many women can do great things, but I wouldn't want to do this life with anyone else."
Charm is fleeting and youthful beauty is soon replaced with wrinkles and gray hair,
But a woman who loves God and others will be admired by all.
She is being all that God created her to be.
Celebrate and imitate her life!

Saturday, November 6, 2010

living things

When our youngest son, Zach was in elementary school, he brought home a science paper that interested me. The title of the paper was "Living Things Grow and Change."

I knew that to be true not only in science, but in life as well. Are you growing and changing? Is your church growing and changing? Most people do not like change, but unless we are dying out, we will be growing somehow and changing as well.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

emotions that dictate

I will never forget the day that a lady from our church called the house to let Brian know that she thought he had lost his spiritual passion! She said that he had not teared up in a while during his messages! Another dear friend accused Brian of not being passionate enough, observing he didn't raise his hands while he was singing. Emotional people often gage their own spirituality and the spirituality of others by their outward emotions. Others wear their emotions all over themselves and subject us all to their roller coaster world. I am learning that true faith is ALLOWING GOD TO BE IN CONTROL OF THE DAY TO DAY WITHOUT EMOTIONAL HIGHS AND LOWS. Remain a steady stream of faith and godliness through the good days and the bad, while allowing God to develop a depth in your life. This Christian life is not a sprint, but rather a distance race. Emotions are a wonderful God-given thing! Just think how boring a football game would be without emotions! How would a romance thrive with no emotion? How could we relate to God without emotions? The key is keeping our emotions from dictating our choices, and not letting our emotions overtake wisdom in our lives. And for our sweet emotional friends that thought Brian was void of passion? They like others, have hopped from church to church looking for the emotional high. May those who come behind us see in us the balance of emotion that Jesus showed us in His life here on earth!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

margin

If we had a word of the month, this month's word would probably be MARGIN. What is margin? It is the EXTRA SPACE. When you read a book, there is a margin around each page. If there were no margin, the words would be written up to the very very end of the page, the last letter almost hanging off the end of the paper. All books need a margin; and so do we. We need extra space in our lives to move, to make choices with our time, our finances and our emotions. Too many times I feel like the words of my days are crowding against the edges of the pages in my life, and I find myself with no margin, no room to breathe.

So how can I create margin in my life, and how can I make time for relationships that I value the most? I am learning that in order to re-customize the typeset for my life's pages, I need to allocate some empty space for nothing. I can value peace by not overcommitting. Oftentimes, by going to bed earlier, we can find more margin in the beginning of our day. Dr Richard Swenson, in his book, Margin, speaks of the epidemic of stress and suggests that we can find margin in contentment, simplicity, balance and rest.

I used to pride myself in the fact that all of my words were written on all of my pages to the very end with no margin. Now, I am keenly aware that I want my life to be more than one crowded article. I want it to be a volume of well-written depth with MARGIN.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

my shower chandelier




This is the candle chandelier in my shower! A couple years ago, I spent the night at my Aunt Ginny's house. I had not been there in a long long time. When I pulled back the shower curtain, to my surprise, I saw a beautiful candle chandelier! I decided that one day I would find the perfect deal on the perfect chandelier to hang in MY shower! And I did. $36. I love getting cool ideas from other people; and most of all, I love a bargain!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

valuable mentor lessons

I was talking with my friend, Cindy, about mentors and women who have mentored us through the years. I have never had an official mentor and I don't think she has either. It was interesting to me that she began to tell me about some friendships she had valued and specific things she had learned from different people through the years.

Sometimes I feel a void in our society when it comes to mentoring--learning from others who are going through life with you, or are a couple steps ahead of you in life. Perhaps we are supposed to all pretend we have it altogether, as though we do not need to learn from others. In truth, we all need other people in our lives. I know I do. I have never been THIS route before.

As I listened to Cindy, I was re-affirming myself that I too had been given valuable lessons from meaningful people in my life, men and women who had taught me life lessons through their actions, whether they ever knew it or not.

Dr. Ken Beal taught me that I can just RELAX and let God live His life through me.

Peg Estes taught me to PRAY and WAIT, not to get ahead of God, but watch Him work out the details.
Peg also taught me that you can have WILD, CRAZY BOYS that do wild and crazy things and love God at the same time, and you as a mom can be cool with that :)

Jane Randlett taught me that the best thing I can do as a pastor's wife is to just BE MYSELF.

Macel Falwell taught me that in the face of criticism or popularity, joy or grief, FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, and family is where you should invest the best part of you, no matter what other people think.

I am learning from Emily Morgan that, knowing I can't be all things to all people, NATURALLY OCCURRING and guilt free friendships or ministry relationships are most impacting and real.

I am learning from watching Brian that PEOPLE NEED LEADERSHIP. You can be a strong leader and remain humble, kind and authentic, something I was not sure was possible. To not lead would be to miss out on who you were created to be.

Janet Hunt taught me that people love to receive gifts.

These are a few. What about you? Do you have mentors in your life?

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

fly envy



Brian went skydiving! As a part of our series at West Ridge called "One Month To Live," Brian wanted to cross something off of his bucket list. It was so amazing to watch; now the boys and I want to do it!

Sunday, August 8, 2010

maybe with powdered milk, and maybe not

I remember my parents bringing us all into the living room. They told us we were out of money and that we needed to pray that God would come through for us. We prayed fervently with faith that if Mom and Dad said God would help us, then He would. When I was very little, I spilled the gallon of milk from the top shelf of the refrigerator and Mom cried. It was the only real milk we could afford for a long time. Because I spilled it, we had to drink powdered milk. We had discount lunches and government cheese in high school and shopped yard sales for 98% of our clothing. My parents drove the family car from the time I was in 3rd grade until I was a junior in college. Through these years, I loved life; I developed meaningful relationship skills and a faith in God that would shape my future and strengthen me at the core of my being.

How did this happen? My parents were determined to raise up leaders who would do right and love God. We had to experience for ourselves that God would take care of us, and keep His promises. We had to learn that prayer moves the heart of God and that, at all cost, pleasing Him would bring about blessings.

I remember the $100 bill wrapped around Dad's car door handle, mysteriously specific answered prayers, free "damaged" cans of food with no labels. It's sortof fun to open up cans, not knowing what you are about to eat for dinner! I remember going to McDonalds with our last $10. I remember my sister saying that she was not sure God cared about us, and the next day, all 4 of us kids were given a $500 savings bond. Twice a year the $17.50 interest checks reminded us that God would provide for our needs.

Seeing the faithfulness of God first hand in those formative years and knowing for certain that He would not fail us, proved to be instrumental in our faith as adults. When we started West Ridge Church, I had no doubt that God would provide each of our needs in His perfect timing. This journey of God's provision has shed light on past questions, however, as a parent, I have new questions. I want my boys to have an unshakable faith in God, yet we are not drinking powdered milk. My boys do not have to depend on God for daily needs like we did. So then, how will they develop a first hand faith? The answer, I am learning, is that God will allow different things in the lives of people to bring them to total dependence on Himself. Sometimes, those things are painful and out of our control. It is a challenge for us as parents to allow God to work in the lives of our kids. Sometimes I want to throw character building out the window and forget about that far away bigger picture! I would rather slap a few people on my way to rescue my boys from the difficulties that they must experience. BUT I must allow God to make Himself known to them as healer, rescuer, provider and promise keeper. While we encourage, train, love and support, God has to become THEIR GOD. He is the One who authored the manual of their lives and plans to give them a hope and a future--a future I cannot dictate--and would not want to. For He will do His best work in their lives, maybe with powdered milk, and maybe not.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

can i have your attention please?

When I was growing up, we had to learn to take turns talking at the dinner table. Because there were 6 people in our family, it seemed like forever before I got to "tell" my big story for the day. When my turn finally came (drum roll), what I had to say did not seem very important. Sometimes I just wanted to say, "Forget it. It's not that funny, and it's not a big deal."

As great as my parents were, they couldn't give us each all of their attention all of the time. It's really cool to realize that we actually have all of God's attention all of the time. I catch myself thinking that He must be busy spinning the universe or something, as though He cannot multi-task! He is listening to me and thinking about me all the time. What I have to say to Him is never unimportant, even if it is no big deal. After all, talking about those silly little things is what makes us close to people. That must be one of the things that makes us closer to God--talking about life and the (drum roll) little things in our day. Glad we have His attention all the time!

Sunday, July 25, 2010

time with the family :)

We got to spend a little vacation time away and now we are so ready to be home! It was great to have my whole family together. My brother and his family moved back to the states from Japan! Brian and the boys and I had a little time to relax. It is hard to believe that school starts in 11 days! This weekend is the Community Makeover. 80 churches involved in the northwest Atlanta area. Tonight is the celebration where thousands of people will come together for a huge worship service. How cool that God is doing great things in so many different places!

Monday, June 28, 2010

a balancing act

The month of June is baseball almost every single day. (up to 3 games in some days.) With two boys playing summer ball, i am actually running up the stairs with 20 minutes to shower and get ready for the next event. What am I learning? I am learning to not talk about anything too serious or controversial, as our emotions are hanging on a thin string right now! We are trying to make our home a safe place for each other as we are close to the finish line of several things! I am also learning why people go out and buy their 16 year-olds a car. It is because they have driven them all over the state for 16 years. Yes, I am going to be looking for an inexpensive car for Taylor to share in my taxi duties!!! And I am ready for vacation :)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

thoughts on RUSH CAMP

Did you know that 80% of people who make decisions for Christ do so before they are 18? That is why RUSH camp in unbelievably valuable!

With a group of 470, I know there were some parents and grandparents at home praying not only for safety at the beach, but for God to do something powerful in the life of their teenager. Your kids were so much on our hearts and I want you to know that we were praying with you. God showed up in an incredible way. For those of you who do not get to be a part of it, I want you to know how powerful and life-changing camp was, and is every year! Not only is it a beach trip with a ton of fun, but God is glorified and worshipped; and students are quite transparent as they process truth from God's Word in a life-altering way.

Having your kids be AWAY FROM YOU for five days is one of the most healthy things you can do for them. It causes kids to have to make decisions for themselves, wear their own sunscreen--or they sunburn :) manage their own money, think about God and MAKE HIM THEIR OWN, manage their time, develop INSTANT FRIENDSHIPS, and think for themselves. Let your kids grow up. Send them to camp!!!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

don't quit!

This has been a challenging year for both of my boys. Specifically sports from football to baseball have thrown numerous hurdles our way :) Zach and I were talking the other night about difficulties we face in life; and I shared with him something that I am learning. Things will rarely be fair and oftentimes, life will not go your way; but the people who become really great will somehow pull themselves up out of the crap and move forward! Do not ever ever quit. With God's grace plow ahead and do not give up. I heard a great man say that what determines a man's greatness is what it takes to discourage him. Everyone faces difficulty; but the ones who rise to the top are those who purpose to never quit.

Sunday, May 9, 2010

mom

Today, on Mothers Day, I want to list some things I really appreciate about my mom.

Mom has always been a huge supporter of my Dad and his dreams.
Although she is a school teacher, all she REALLY wanted to be was a mother, and we benefitted greatly from that!
Mom sacrificed and stayed at home with us when we were in school. For that I will be eternally grateful.
She is so dang organized that I was shocked to find out for myself how difficult motherhood actually is.
She loves to sing!! I am so glad that she finally has a huge choir to sing with.
She is a natural teacher and a very good one.
After giving birth to me, she weighed less than she did before she was pregnant. She wore her tiny clothes home from the hospital--so unfair! I most certainly did not take after her in that respect!
She has dimples, wavy hair, dark eyebrows and everyone in her family has blue eyes.
When I was growing up, I would wash the dishes and she would rinse them. She always washed the last big pot for me :)
I never ever hear her complain.
She loves to tap dance! And she loves the beach.
She and Dad aspired to raise up leaders and trained us that way.
She always did what she thought was right even if it was difficult to do.
She played with us when we were growing up and let us build tents and stores all over her living room.
I have watched her, an only child, after losing both of her parents at an early age, depend on God to fill that gap.
She can eat a serious amount of movie popcorn!
She is beautiful inside and out.
She has never thought that she deserves anything, but she deserves the world!
I love you, MOM!

Sunday, May 2, 2010

creek

The boys have been playing in the creek this weekend!
Yesterday they found 2 snakes, a turtle and a frog!
I love it when they get that outside time! Yea spring!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

it's nice to be understood

I really like to be understood. In fact, it really bothers me when I mean one thing and someone thinks I mean something else. I started thinking about it and realized that probably the most misunderstood Person is God. That makes me feel sad for Him. By misunderstood, I mean that He is so cool, and He wants to be close to us; but people misconstrue His thoughts. I think it is in our human nature to misunderstand Him and to think that He is always upset at us. Most people believe that He is rarely happy about us and that He has lots of impossible hoops for us to jump through. In truth, like any good dad or any good friend, He wants to give us the very best! I guess that's one reason that in Proverbs, He tells us to seek understanding. I bet He likes to be understood too :)

Monday, April 12, 2010

someone pays a price

Many years ago, I attended a large conference for women. The music was wonderful and just to be in a huge room with 20,000 women worshipping God was an experience in itself. I do not remember what the speakers talked about that day, but I clearly remember what I took home from that conference. I took home with me the decision that I did not desire to be one of those famous conference speakers! Before, I had thought it would be cool to speak to a ton of people and share words of wisdom with the multitudes; but after hearing what these women had been through, I had changed my mind. These famous speakers seemed to have paid a huge price for their audience. They had experienced a magnitude of loss and grief that, not only was shocking to me, but was clearly the very reason that they had so much influence and so much to share. I decided that day that I would just like to be little me, enjoying my family and taking advantage of the little opportunities of influence God brought my way, for I do not desire the tragic road to fame.

With all glory being given to God, we know that anything good is a gift from Him. Any success is because of grace, and not because of anyone's skill or influence. However, with that in mind, I have come to understand that when you see something that is great, successful or influential, you can know that someone has paid a price for it. If a family is close, and everyone in that family loves God and has successful marriages, someone has sacrificed for that to happen. If a business is growing and multiplying, someone has paid a price for its success.

The road to influence is a costly road. The pathway to success is lined with unadvertised hardship. The blessing of it all is that, when God calls us to go down a path, He is the One who gives us grace to endure the difficulties and the peace to enjoy the blessings. He alone knows where the roads of our lives will lead, but we can be at rest in His will, focusing on the path He has laid out for us!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

meeting Truett Cathy


Yesterday, we had the incredible opportunity to meet Truett Cathy, the 89 year-old founder of ChicFil-A. As their company used our church building for a conference for their team leaders, we had the pleasure of gleaning a piece of wisdom from this very humble, yet successful business man. ChicFil-A serves chicken to 37 states in 1500 restaurants. Here are some quotes from Truett Cathy:

"Courtesy is very cheap, but it pays great dividends."

"Sometimes success is disguised as hard work."

"If you can conceive it and believe it, you can achieve it."

"Have a lot of 'want to.' I believe you can do anything if you want to."

"If you will help enough people get what they want out of life, you will wind up getting what you want out of life."

"Listen when your children are ready to talk, not when you are ready to talk."

He said he was planning on living to be 100 years old because "very few people die after 100 years old." :)

"Protect your name." Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches."

"Time is the most valuable gift you can give someone."

Monday, March 22, 2010

buffalo's

Zach's baseball team filmed a commercial for Buffalo's Southwest Cafe. The commercial should air locally before each Braves game! For being in the commercial, all of the players got an all-u-can-eat buffet and a $25 gift card. So, last night, Zach took us to dinner!!

Monday, March 15, 2010

fels-naptha!!!

oh my gosh! i am so excited about a stain remover! that is very sad, isn't it!? ok, i am the worst stain remover ever. when my boys were little and i couldn't get a stain out of their clothes, i just threw them away. now they both play baseball, and guess what color their baseball pants are? white :) i have tried everything, but this week, some baseball moms recommended FELS-NAPTHA. it is a 100 year old bar of soap that you find in the laundry aisle and rub on stains. wet the clothes first. rub lots of the soap bar on the stain and wash! i really wish i had a before and after picture. it was amazing!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

tulips

The tulips I planted are just peeking out! Yea!!
Come on, springtime, do your thing :)

Saturday, March 6, 2010

forgiveness in light of ignorance

Sometimes people hurt us with things they say or do. Sometimes those people do not know the whole story, and they probably never will. How can we forgive people when they throw us under the bus? When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He asked the Heavenly Father to forgive those people that were killing him because they didn't know what they were doing. They did not know the whole story, yet Jesus forgave them.

There will always be ignorant people. Some ignorant people are vendictive and some of them are just sweetly ignorant. Nevertheless, even though it is difficult, we can choose to forgive them. Why? Because God is a forgiver, and we want to be like He is.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

powdered doughnuts

i'm sure you are familiar with the love languages. different things make certain people feel very much loved. well, i would like to add my own love language--the way i feel loved by God. it's called "God hears my prayers and lets me find great bargains!" cute :) really, i'm not kidding. here is an example:

tonight we are having about 60 kids over for our weekly high school journey group (that's another blog post!) i still have some snacks to cover, and so i prayed SPECIFICALLY as i walked into this little discount bakery store, and the first thing i saw was two huge carts of powdered doughnuts in bags for $1. then i went to kroger and found 2 liter pepsi for $1. you may think this is a coincidence, but it's not. i know that i prayed and i know that God heard me and answered my prayer. sometimes when i feel like He is far away, i remember that he cares about even those little things that really matter to me. He doesn't just care about my soul. He cares about me and my day. that's my personal love language!

Friday, February 19, 2010

free sample massage

A Chinese lady grabbed me a few days ago in the middle of the mall and literally dragged me to her massage chair for what she called a "free sample" massage. It was so amazing that Brian bought me the 10 minute massage. Before we knew it, all four of us had enjoyed mini massages in the middle of the mall. The boys thought that was the best thing ever! The next time you are shopping and walking carefree, beware of the free samples!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

i read a new phrase today:

FAITH MAKES THINGS POSSIBLE........NOT EASY.

Monday, February 1, 2010

i don't want to share my stickers

Brian had the incredible opportunity to meet the little girl that we sponsor with Compassion International. Of all the amazing things going on in Burkina Faso, meeting Fatimata has been one of the many highlights of his trip! Before Brian left, I went to Target and got Fatimata some really cool stuff. It is like God just let me find tremendous bargains on little shirts and toys for a dollar or two. Because Fatimata has a twin sister, I bought some things in two's so she could share. I specifically bought a big page of tiny stickers and told Brian that these were for Fatimata to share with all the other Compassion girls.

I received a text from Brian when he met Fatimata. He put a sticker on her arm and on her sister's arm. The text said, "Fatimata is not very excited about sharing her stickers."

Isn't that funny?! What Fatimata didn't know at the time, was that she had been given a great blow-her-mind package that was far better than the little stickers she was hoarding! Sometimes we are like that, aren't we?! Tightly clutching what we think we own, when God, in His graciousness, has so much more for us that we have just not yet seen. I want to be gracious because God is gracious, and I want Fatimata to understand His grace and the joy of receiving and giving!!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

happy times :)

I heard about a survey of people who were really sad or depressed. Although TV, food and alcohol seemed to help some people a little, guess what lifted peoples' spirits the most? Looking at their own family picture albums of all the fun things they had done together. :) Cool huh?

Friday, January 8, 2010

new series at wrc

Brian is starting a new series on relationships Sunday at West Ridge. It is called the Naked Truth.
We are deeply burdened for marriages, and have never before seen such devastation in families.
This is not only true for West Ridge; but all over our country there is a sweeping epidemic of relationship
problems, many of them leading to affairs. It is our hope that families can become healthy in 2010!
You can view the series each week at westridge.com.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

great verse

my mom emailed me this verse. i love it:

"..pray hard and long. pray for your brothers and sisters. keep your eyes open.
keep each others' spirits up so that no one falls behind."
ephesians 6:18 (the message)

Monday, January 4, 2010

coin jar

Recently, I got a glass jar and made a little sign and wrote "Melting Pot" on it. I thought it would be fun to save our change and go as a family to the Melting Pot restaurant. It is a fondue experience, a little pricey, but would make for a good family memory. So we filled the jar up two times and went! Now we are filling up the jar for our next cool restaurant :)

Friday, January 1, 2010

happy new year!

2010. Will you call it two thousand ten or twenty ten? I'm thinking twenty ten.

Hope it's a good one for you!