picture: early days of west ridge :)

These were the early days of West Ridge Church. Wow, God has done amazing things, and we love to give him the credit for all of that, seeing as we could have never pulled off the life change he has orchestrated in so many, including ourselves!! What a joy it was to celebrate 15 years with all the wonderful people of West Ridge! And can you tailgate?! Dogs with cool shirts, the Big Egg grill, groups watching the games on TV, vendors, people just connecting, kids playing, No program! Fans wearing their team jerseys, cars decorated, cooking sausages, families, friends, lots of corn hole, and unbelievable fire works!

And fifteen years ago? The conversation before we ever moved here that we would never ever compromise integrity. That we wanted to be a part of something that only God could do. God coming through when we were desperate, almost always at the last minute. God drawing people to himself.  4 pioneering families. 47 people in a core group. A little elementary school. A move to a high school. A godly woman who wanted her property to go to a church. Volunteers that exceed expectations. Blessings and heartaches. Loving people. A tiny country in Africa. Water saving lives. Helping other people start churches.  Risk. Growing older with my best friend. Watching God develop my boys into men. God answering prayer. Still desperate for him to come through. Believing he always will.

Books I Don't Read

I typically read books to learn something or to become a better person.  I am not really a pleasure reader. I usually wait for the movie! But...I just read two books I MUST write about because they were awesome. Quite similar, in fact, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and Savannah To Sweetwater by Doris English both were riveting.

Being historical fiction, Savannah To Sweetwater is the story of loss and love in a pre-civil war setting. Political conflict and unrest coupled with spiritual enlightenment make the mysteries of Sweetwater a Georgia plantation favorite!

Redeeming Love is an early American novel of the less modern Biblical character Hosea and his wayward wife. It is a true picture of grace, and the challenge of learning to identify and accept real love.

I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone! As novel readers would say, "The books were better than a movie."