flood in northwest atlanta

The devastation from the flood in the northwest part of Atlanta has been unbelievable. The crazy thing is that many people who are not affected personally, have no idea that others have lost basically everything. I am so proud to be a part of a church that is reaching out to help people! West Ridge Church is partnering with many relief organizations to provide help and relief to victims of the flood. School has been out all week because the water is unsafe. Our prayers are with the people who are going through this rough time!

changing questions about heaven

When I was little and my parents told me about heaven, my question was, "Are their bathrooms in heaven?" Although I still like knowing there is a good bathroom nearby, my questions about heaven have changed. Whatever our thoughts and concerns may be at a certain time in our life, God is very much understanding of that. He cares about all the little things that occupy our thoughts. Now that I am in my forties, I am thinking about crazy things like not wanting wrinkles, wishing I had more energy, not wanting any regrets or wasted time. So, now my thoughts about heaven include these kinds of things:

When I get to heaven, I can eat incredible food and not get fat.
I can exercise and run (or fly or transport or something) because I want to, not because I have to.
I will not be separated from my family by long distances.
I will have an amazingly toned and perfect body. yippee!
My face will not have wrinkles or sags.
No bad hair days. Can you imagine that?
No long crazy lines to wait in.
No frustrating people.
No guilt. No allergy shots! No running out of time.
No obsolete technology. No misunderstandings.
Everyday will be a great day all the way around.

And I probably won't think about all of this stuff because I will be so focused on what is really important--Jesus!
I am glad that in the here and now, aging makes us think differently about the future and about heaven. I heard my great aunt say that she couldn't wait to get to heaven because all of her friends and family were there. Who knows? If I don't get there first, I may feel the same way one day.

welcome to the morgans!!!

We are really excited about having Tony Morgan on our staff at West Ridge! We are just as excited about his wife, Emily and their four kids!! Please pray about the sell of their house and their smooth transition to Georgia.

j group in our house!

This past Wednesday, we started the North Paulding High School journey group for freshmen at our house! It was great. We had 33 freshmen plus leaders. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and watched four football players eat bananas with panty hose on their face :) A little ping pong. A little air hockey. And a plan to influence North Paulding for Christ this year. We have some great kids and leaders in this group; and we're looking forward to seeing God do great things!!

happy birthday brian!

Brian is 44, and I get to write about him today! There are so many things I love about Brian; I will share a few of them.
He makes me laugh--still. I just like being with him all the time. I never get sick of him.
He shares his day off with me :) and says it's my day off too. He is very unselfish.
He is a great dad. He tells our boys that they've got what it takes.
He is authentic. He is the same person at home that he is on a stage.
As our church has grown, Brian's role has changed into more of a visionary/leader/CEO, but he still has a pastor's heart that really cares for people.
He has great legs.
He is remarkably clean. He definitely flosses his teeth more than almost anyone I know.
His laugh is contagious. I love to hear him around his brother Kevin. I know he's getting a good dose of laughter.
He runs and works out; he has always been a healthy eater.
He is a risk taker, and is not afraid of change.
He has genetically transferred the love of baseball to our boys.
He is a driven, passionate leader, and he strives to do things with excellence.
We have the same personality type. (ENFJ)
Growing up in a flower shop family, he has a green thumb; he buys me flowers and arranges them.
He is great with directions. (He bought me a GPS because I am directionally challenged :)
He loves God and remains faithful.
Brian, I love you more each year! You were worth waiting for! Happy birthday!

meet me in the hallway

This is the first week of "back to school," and so I am trying a new idea with the boys. We made prayer lists together. These are short lists of prayer request for Monday-Friday. When we wake up in the morning, we are all getting our lists and our God time books (whatever we each happen to be reading) and we are meeting in the hallway! We only spend 6-8 minutes, but both boys have said that they value doing this.

This summer we talked about the Lord's prayer and how it is a model for us to pray. We talked about saying more to God than, "Thank you for a good day. Help us to have a good day tomorrow." We decided that we would praise, thank, confess, forgive, and ask like Jesus did in His prayer to His heavenly Father. Because we took the time to think about it and write it down in advance, we do not have to THINK early in the morning. We just pray for the things on our list for that day. We all made our own lists, but our lists include such things as family, sports, our president, Israel, the boys' future wives and children, hurting friends, wisdom, understanding, purity, our sponsored kids in Africa, college, etc.

I don't know how long this will last, but I am certainly enjoying it for now!

shoe bargain

I bought a pair of $56 shoes for $11.

That's what I'm talking about. :)