Eleven From 0'Eleven

I thought I'd pick out 11 things 
from 2011 that stuck out to me 
- good, bad or indifferent. 
Here are mine in no particular order.
What's yours? 


1. Youth Convention in Tallahassee. Dance Party in the foyer. Hotel desks at midnight with Cynthia demanding a room that was previously booked. Peer pressure to pass vehicles on back roads. Lunch with the Corey Evan band. Sanctuary floor bouncing and swaying. Fire pits and rapping in the parking lot. Compelled By Love. 


2. Pastors Wives Retreat in Nashville. Spending quality time with some ladies I love. Meeting other ladies I never dreamed I'd be chatting with. Hugs from Lori, Brandi & Jess. Sharing dolphin feeding stories from St Andrews State Park with Lisa Young. Crashing in a room with Steph & Liz. Feeling like dying during Mission Impossible. Leaving my babies with my husband. Flying alone for the first time ever. Created bonds that I believe will last a lifetime. Knowing as a Pastors Wife I am not alone. 


3. Launching of Show Some Love. My husband has a heart for community, plain and simple. What better way to reach our community than by showing love through selfless acts of kindness. He launched a one-week-event God laid on his heart that we will hopefully continue until our bodies won't allow. Kitchen table creative meetings. Painting parking lots of businesses. Bagging lunches for the homeless. Pregnancy Resource Center window washing. School campus lawn cleanup. Rescue Mission lunches. Blitzing neighborhoods. Thank you cards to teachers. Tallying hours: 850. 

4. Being the Camp Directors at West Florida Youth Camp for the first time, ironically during our last camp in West Florida. Popping golf cart tires at midnight. Sneaking drinks to my girls in their dorm. Watching our interns work their tails off. Mud pit belly flop judging. Room inspections. Bribes. Late nights. Early mornings. Sitting back and watching God move. Epic.


5. Announcing to our leadership team from the past 8 years that we were moving. 

Dressed up. Catered dinner. Speaking the words "There is a season for everything" ... Then the breath leaving my body as my husband proceeded with the rest of the sentence. Prayers for every person and passing of the baton to those who would entrust it. Run With It. 

6. Both My Babies Starting Public School. Easton began in January due to his speech. Half days without my mancub. Rip my heart out :( But it was an amazing move. Autumn began public school in August. She has a desire to learn way more than she ever did when I was homeschooling. I have a feeling she doesn't put up as much of a fight with her teachers at school! She lets her light shine so bright and we pray that she is a breath of fresh air to those whose don't know Christ. 


7. Buying a new home, in our new home. As we made the decision to move to South Carolina, we also decided it was time to put down some roots. No more apartment walls and rental homes. We can paint what we want, change what we want. A yard, a community with kids and friendly neighbors. Room for guest. Room to entertain. A sense of settling in.  South Carolina is now our new home :) 


8. Hearing My Husband Speak at District Council. I mean, I LOVE to hear my husband speak. He's one of my favorite preachers. But hearing him speak about honor to a room full of pastors, most of which have given the majority of their lives to the ministry, was amazing. I sat there so privileged to be married to this man. He leads well. He follows well. I love his communication skills, I love his heart, and I love his integrity. He really does practice what he preaches folks. I live with him, I know! 


9. Eastons First Big Boy Hair Cut. We had just moved to South Carolina. My sinuses were acting up and I was unable to even get out of bed. My sweet husband offered to take E for a haircut so that his bangs in his eyes didn't cause permanent damage :) Sure, no big deal; He'd had a haircut before. But before my husband left the house I vaguely remember him saying "Are you okay with anything?" I guess my answer was yes. Because all of his long, blonde locks were gone when they returned. I cried. I was upset. And now I think he's a handsome little man. He's not a baby anymore! 


10. Speaking At My First Womens Retreat. I was scared spitless. Like, seriously. I didn't think I was gonna be able to swallow because my mouth was so dry. But it ended up to be a sweet day in the Lord. There's something about empowering women to share their story. To open up and be vulnerable. You never know what someone else may be battling. Your story could unlock a whole new world for them. There is power in your story! (And getting to help my mom decorate a tea table in black & hot pink was just icing on the cake!)  

11. Autumn Got Asked For Her Phone Number. By a boy. Her response: well, there was no response. She turned and walked away from the boy and didn't even give him an answer :) Her dad & I talked with her about more appropriate responses. But honestly, I was okay with the ignoring approach at this point in life! She's ten. Sheesh! 

And ending on a serious note ... 

Our 2011 was filled with some of the best and some of the hardest moments of our lives. 

As we transitioned from Student Pastors in Panama City to Student&Young Adult Pastors in South Carolina, we left so much of our hearts in Florida. When you pour your life into something, that tends to happen. 

Our God is faithful to continually fill our hearts as we make South Carolina our new home. 

We ask for and covet your prayers as we enter into this new year with a desire to see lost souls come to Christ. To see our children be more in love with Him. And for our lives to honor Him in all that we do. 

Happy 2012! 

Pour It Out

We had our first leader meeting in our new home this week. As fun and exciting as it is, starting over with a whole new crew can be a little bit tough at times. They are learning us, We are learning them. 


Despite all newness, despite all learning curves, one thing remains. We are all struggling to figure each other out for one purpose. To glorify and lift up the name of Christ. We desire to see students and young adults come to have a relationship with the Jesus who has saved our souls. Our passion is to disciple those who are hungry to know more of Him. 


At the end of our meeting, we asked one of our worship leaders to lead us in a song so we could end our night together in prayer. 


So often times we ask for God to open the heavens and for Him to pour out His love on us. 
We ask Him to swing open the floodgates of Heaven and let His mighty power rush over us. 
And as much as I desire that, and often times ask for it, I had a different view during our short worship time together this week.


As our group of leaders were sitting around our living room, seeking His face, lifting His name. 
I simply saw the roof lifted off of our house, as if God were peaking in on what we were doing.
Like he honed in for a split second on just our home and our small worship time.
A soft spotlight was shining not into our home, but out of our home.  
Because we were sending our love to Him. 
Pouring our love out on Him. 


God was simply watching His children praise Him, thank Him, and worship Him. 
I am thankful for a God who does not demand us to worship Him, but He delights in it. 
And I'm thankful He cares enough to take time to speak to me right where I needed it. 


I am so hopeful for this new journey we are on. 
And I know God is watching us and He is delighting in what is happening! 

Psalm 95:6,7

Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For HE is our God.  

Bliss.

We now live where the seasons change
a little more than we are used to. 

So today my kids had their first official leaf fight. 

It was bliss watching them laugh 
as they threw things at each other.

Oh, to be a kid again. 

Our 2011 Life Word

My husband and I normally have a word for the coming year. 
As 2010 was ending and 2011 was beginning my husband was assured that our word for 2011 was #Favor. 


Little did we know what God had in store for us. 


Let me brag a little bit on my God. 
These things may not mean much to you personally, but God knows my heart and meets me right where I am.


#1 
We moved into an apartment when we moved to SC. There just wasn't enough time to find a home and close on it before we moved. I was kind of bummed about this. UNTIL my daughter has found friends in the complex and made instant connections. And I mean good friends. Most of them are Hindu. My daughter has invited them all to church with her. On Halloween week, one of her friends were allowed to go to church with her. Since then, this friend said she has been singing a song in her head all the time that she heard during our youth service. This same little girl told Autumn that she can't be a Christian right now (her parents, again, are devout Hindus) but when she is older she wants to be a Christian. WOW AUTUMN! She's fulfilling the great commission! 


#2 
The first few weeks we were here, there were times I wanted to grab my children and run back to Panama City. My Easton became a huge deal breaker for me. He has adjusted to the transition of moving very well. But the transition of unfamiliar people is a whole different story. Easton has a speech/learning development delay. Along with that comes some temperament issues, some OCD tendencies we don't always understand, and some irritability. If he doesn't know you, he doesn't not only ignore you, he will declare "NO" loudly while you are trying to talk to him. There are many other things he does that normal 4 years olds don't do. So, I wanted to high tail it back to a place of familiarity where everyone has been with Easton since birth ... They know him, his traits, the way he works, don't get offended, love him regardless, etc. 


Last Tuesday night I began to SPECIFICALLY pray for my boy. Not just "heal him", but specific. My prayer was much more detailed than this, but this was part of it: "God, help my boy to begin to speak with clarity. Help him to respond properly when people speak to him. Help his social skills to begin to develop normally". 


As I sit here through tears, can I tell you that last Wednesday night God came through FAST. As we walked through the youth room doors on his way to class, my son began to go "hey girl" and "hey dude" when he saw people as they were walking by. After church he walked into the youth room and was dancing during worship with the guys. He was running around with them and playing. The only time he started crying was when I made him leave to go home!! Wow. 


I was in awe of how easy my night was. If you have never been a parent to a learning delayed child, you might not know what I'm talking about. And although this "ease" took me by surprise, it wasn't until Thursday that I realized what had happened. I felt God just simply say "I heard you, baby". You see, He is my father and He delights in me! He heard my cries. 


#3 
We have been on a home search since June of this year. Long story short, we found a new home for $59,000 less than the amount it cost the builder to build it. Builders do subdivisions in phases here. The house we found was the last one for sale in the 4th phase and they could not move on to the 5th phase until this last house was sold. Coincidence that it went on the market the same week we went with a realtor? Coincidence that there was already a contract on the home and somehow it "didn't work out"! NO!!! We sign and move in to our new home Thanksgiving week. THANK YOU JESUS! 


#4 
Along with a new home comes a whole new set of concerns for my kids. Change of schools, moving away from friends. etc. Well, as we were visiting our new home last week, Autumn was sitting in the drive way. Along walks over a girl who looks Autumns age. She introduced herself and just happens to be the same age as Autumn, just happens to go to the school Autumn will be transferring to, and just happens to live directly across the street. Autumn has an instant friend who can't wait for her to move in!


I could go on, and on, and on. 
Seriously. It's all in my journal. 
From small things like finding Eastons favorite shoes clearanced out; to big things like our refrigerator being over half off the day we went to buy it. 


Autumn tells us when we talk about good things in our life "don't brag, Mom!" But I feel in this case, God deserves all the honor. 


Cause I'm here to tell you that it's nothing about Cory and I that is causing all these things to fall into place. It is totally the #Favor of God. 

"For you. Oh Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as a shield" Psalm 5:12


Do you have a "Life Word" that God has put in your spirit recently? 

At The Zoo

You know the smell. 
It's definitely not funnel cakes and cotton candy. 
It's more like hay and animal waste. 
You guessed it, we spent a day at Riverbanks Zoo. 
And it was AMAZING. 
(Yes, even despite the smell of poo!) 

    

    

Autumn said "Look, I'm planking on the Lion." Oh my :)

Give It Regardless

Regardless whether you voted for him or not, 
have honor and call him President Obama. 


Regardless whether your teacher is your favorite, 
have honor and call them Mrs. ____ or Mr._________.

Regardless whether they are younger or older than you, 

have honor and call them Pastor ______. 

(1 Timothy 5:17 Those who deal with affairs of the church are worthy of double honor, especially those who preach and teach.) 

Regardless of your like or dislike of your parents right now, 
have honor and answer with Yes/No Ma'am and Yes/No Sir.
(Ephesians 6:2 Children are to give honor, value and dignity to their parents and God promises to bless you.)


I have a righteous anger that overcomes me when people have a lack of honor for those who have been placed in certain positions. 


Respect is earned, but honor is to be freely given. 

Bummer Mom Moment

If you know me well, you know that my childrens 
birthdays are exciting to me for more than 
just the fact that they are turning another year older. 


I LOVE their birthday parties. 
It's two of the highlights of my year. 
I start months in advance getting stuff together. 
I buy doodads and stash them for goody bags. 
I google party ideas to go along with the theme. 
It's a fun shin-dig ... if I do say so myself. 


I think I make it such a big deal, 
because throughout the year, 
my kids share Mom and Dad with so many. 
So, when their birthday comes around, 
we make the focus solely on Autumn or Easton. 
They invite their big brothers & big sisters, 
their grandparents, their friends, aunts & uncles, 
pastoral staff ... You name it, they are there. 
And A & E are the center of attention. 


I knew when we were making the move in ministry this summer, that we would be away from blood family and created family for Eastons birthday this year. 


I knew that we would only be in South Carolina 
for six weeks when Eastons birthday rolled around. And I guess I ignored it all till this week. Six weeks is hardly enough time to learn Eastons teachers names, let alone the kids in his class. 


So, Cory and I decided to invite a few of Eastons buddies that we do know to a local party place. And then have them come swimming. 
Good idea, right? 


Yes. 
Except as I was buying all 6, yes 6, 
of the party favors today I had a small meltdown. 


I'm gonna miss the hype. 
I'm gonna miss the prep.
I'm gonna miss the family. 
I'm gonna miss the hoopla. 
I'm even gonna miss the clean up. 
A messy house is a sign that a good time has been had. 


(Granted, my kids probably don't care about 
their parties near as much as I do.           
It's probably more of a big deal to me than it is to them. 

And I have no doubt that we're gonna have 

a bang up party with our small crew this year. )

But for today, 
I'm having a Bummer Mom Moment. 


You ever have one of those?