A week already...

Well Christmas came and went so fast. It's hard to believe it was almost a week ago and I sit here still pondering it. It really was a great few days. Actually it's been a great December and I kinda hate to see it end. Christmas Eve was a special day. It was low key which is how I like it. We enjoyed lunch with the boys and then some coffee at our fave coffee place, Due South. The church service was meaningful with the message and doing communion with our church family. Family dinner to follow was a sweet time and Brooklynn got to open her very first Christmas present. Since it was Christmas Eve,it was pjs of course then 

the whole crowd did their sleepover in one room. Our kids have done this as long as I remember and it seems that no matter how big the fam gets they make room and make it happen. 

Christmas Day was a bit more hurried than I usually like but it was a great day!! Lots of gift giving, receiving, and the usual lovely chaos. Our little one got into the swing of things quickly and made her way through it all. We hosted dinner again and it was perfect having so much family gathered together. To know that each of these family members are Jesus lovers and followers, of course we are praying that all over Brooklynn daily, is the greatest gift and blessing. To know that no matter what, we won't be separated for long on this earth or after. What Christ did for us is the reason we have Christmas to celebrate every day! 

Here's a few pics if you're interested...

Monday Morning Perspective

We wrapped up James chapter 4 yesterday with a powerful and challenging message going into this new year. We saw how dangerous it can be to go about making our own plans and leaving God out. Too many of us practice practical atheism which means we may be believers in Christ but we live our lives as if He doesn't exist. 

We were challenged to realize how short life is no matter how many years we may live. It's like a mist. We are all terminal and no one can guarantee what this next year, even the next moment, may bring. Therefore, whatever God has placed on our hearts to do and calling us to do, do it now, pull the trigger!!

I loved the way Eddie closed this message by reminding us that there is a sin of omission that is worse than any sin of commission and that's not receiving the gift of salvation that Jesus offers. He's forgiven and will forgive all sins that  we commit if we confess, but the sin to not receive Christ will keep us separated from Him for all of eternity. 

In this new year, if He already resides in our life but doesn't preside, I'm praying we will offer every area of our life to Him and let Him have complete control. I'm also thankful for the one in the service yesterday who gave her heart to Jesus and started that journey with Him. What a great way to begin a new year! Happy New Year to you and yours. I pray that 2015 will be filled with ways you see Him at work and experience His presence.  

Best time of year, no doubt about it

If I counted right, and I had to go back to my calendar to check, we attended 10 Christmas parties/events/get togethers since Dec 1st. This week all of that calmed down a bit and we flooded the time with family stuff. Most, if not all, centered around a table and actually included all of us. If you know us, you know as many of us as there are and as busy and different as our schedules can be, that's quite an accomplishment. This crew loves gathering around a table whether it's filled with food or it's all about the coffee. We incorporated that when we were a family of 3, not the coffee haha but the table, and haven't stopped yet. Our table has just gotten larger as has our family. Love me some table conversation whether we are surrounded by food or coffee. It's all good!! The Leopards love both! 

I remember when all four children were young, most days were high energy, as you can imagine, but it went to another level at Christmas. I'm happy to say the energy is still there. It's channelled a bit differently, but it's there. And with the newest member of the family seeing her first Christmas this year, we have gotten that kid energy back as she enjoys all the lights and yes the food! She was born to the right bunch. 

Our family's prayer for you and your family is that His presence would be greater priority than wrapped presents, and also that you enjoy the presence of family and friends who bring so much joy to our lives all year!  

We are so thankful for so much that we were all scratching our heads this year not really knowing what gift to ask for. God has been so good allowing us to be together and serve our Fairview family. We've had struggles with the health of family members and walking through some difficult places with friends, old and new. We've grown tired and weary at times and had some "once in a lifetime" experiences. It's been a great Christmas season as well as a great year! And really no matter what, the most important thing is that, unto us a child has been born. A Savior, He is Christ the Lord!! Merry Christmas!! A few pics to enjoy...

Just one of those dinners we enjoyed! And yes that's the head of the table as well as the family now 😊

First Christmas 

Downtown time

My fave tree in the house. My grandmother made everything on it!

Christmas is coming

It's been a month filled to overflowing with more!! More parties. More food. More buying. More stress. More places to go. More people to see. More things to do. The list seems endless. But one week from today it will be over. The "stuff" of Christmas will be anyway. We can however choose to make every day Christmas. That just means focusing on Christ every day. Celebrating Him every day. Allowing Him to be who His is in our individual lives evey day. He is Lord whether we acknowledge Him only during this season or we choose to do it every day. 

Last night was the last of our Christmas parties. It was the one for the homeless of Greenville downtown. Coats and gloves and socks were lavished on them. Justin and Jessica Broome and others served and ministered, not just last night but they do it year round. Justin shared the Word. Many received that hope. Others chose not to. Many were grateful for what they received. Others were not. Many were satisfied with what they received. Others wanted more. That's not just the attitude of homeless people. That's many times the attitude of many, including myself. Tis the season of more. 

Praying this morning as we get closer and closer to Christmas that the days will be slow and sweet. That we would savor each one. That we would be grateful for all Jesus has done for us and continues to do for a sometimes ungrateful people who feel entitled for whatever reason...self included. Let's choose gratitude. Let's choose thankfulness. Let's actually smile when we say Merry Christmas. Let's look for ways to serve others rather than serve ourselves. Let's edify others rather than find nitpicky things to complain about. It will make your Christmas merrier and merrier for those around you. May the only more we want at Christmas and every day be more and more of Jesus and His presence. Not what He gives but more of who He is. Merry Christmas!!

Monday Morning Perspective

Trash talk is a part of sports on the field between players of opposing teams and has become a bigger than should be part of conversations between fans that pours over into social media which takes it to an entirely new level. However, James tells us in chapter 4 verses 11 and 12 that there's no place for it in the church even though from  time to time it finds its way there.

Too often gossip and slander, judging others and being unmerciful, find their way into churches among church family members. In this message in our Live It series, James addresses these problems. We looked at reasons not to judge and how we are to go directly to someone when we have an issue with them. We saw that when we judge others we basically set ourselves up on God's throne and render a verdict. 

We were challenged to look at ourselves because so often we get caught up in the  same sin we judge others over. We also can never know someone else's heart, even our own for that matter, so we don't know motives and we never have all the facts. Only God can read the heart and He has all the facts to render a sound judgment. 

I love how my husband closed challenging us to never lose the wonder and awe of our salvation. Those who remember, are the ones who are most merciful. It helps us remember where we were and how merciful God has been to us. 

The illustration at the end was on point. We can either accept Him now as our Savior or stand before Him later as our Judge. 

Remember December

If we are not careful, December will be gone almost as quickly as it arrived and  it will be one big, busy blur! It's December 3rd and we have already had 2 Christmas events. Yes, 2 in 3 days and more to come! Thankfully those two have been fun and stress free but I know if I'm not careful, even those can take their toll by month end. Based on my fall, I remember the toll that busy and stress can take and I'm determined not to go into January the way I went into October. This time of year is glorious to me! I love everything about it. How can you beat being out at night and seeing all the lights. It's magical! 

I find myself asking God to multiply my time, but it's usually to get more done or squeeze more things into an already jammed schedule. I know the importance of pacing myself, I just don't always do it. 

There's many stress causers all year, but they seem especially present during the holiday season. Things such as overspending, not enough sleep, bad eating habits, cramming the calendar. Add to that missing loved ones, family issues, job stress, and on and on I could go. I'm amazed the times I ask God for rest, but I go to bed late and get up early. I ask God for discipline in my life as I eat more and more junk and skip my gym time. I ask Him to multiply my time but I don't spend it with Him. Actually I've found the only time He multiplies my time is when He is priority in my use of time. The only way I've found to combat these things is being intentional daily, almost moment to moment, in prioritizing my time with Jesus and focusing on the most important and yes sometimes that means saying no to other things or to people as much as I hate doing that. I have to be ok with not buying and giving as much as I'd like. I refuse to compete with gift giving and gift receiving. I have to be ok when things don't seem to be as perfect as I would like when it comes to gifts, decorations or parties. I have to tell my type A, everything is supposed to be a certain way and look a certain way and planned out with every detail cared for self, that it's really not about all that!! What it is about is resting in the fact that Jesus took on flesh and dwelt among us. It's about the fact that He came to redeem and remove chains that from time to time we keep putting back on ourselves especially at Christmas time. It's the fact that it's not only about the stable but it's also about the cross. And it's about the fact that He will come back! And if He comes back at Christmas, which I think would be really cool, I don't want to be frazzled and weary from doing everything but celebrating His birth! 

So if I seem frazzled when you see me, call me on it. I need the accountability. If I say no to a request, please understand and grace me. If I fail to give the perfect gift or not enough gifts, forgive me. God gave one gift, His Son, perfect in every way and more than enough!! 

For into us is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 and He will save His people from their sins. Matt 1:21

Monday Morning Perspective

Sunday was a great day at Fairview. Great crowd even with many traveling over Thanksgiving. The worship center and lobby was beautiful as our decorators had put their touch of Christmas everywhere. Love seeing the band all on the stage together. And I was one who noticed the lights dimming, but I like it that way! I don't love darkness in our culture, but I like it during worship 😊. 

Great message from James 4! So many thought provoking questions my husband challenged us with. Here are a few of them...

...are you as close to God as you want to be?

...are you living for God in a way that provokes satan and causes him to oppose you?

...repentance involves change. Are we sorry enough over our sin to change?

...how do we respond when others come to us criticizing or complaining about things?

...where are you today? Are you doing things today that 10 years ago you would never have done? 

Love how Eddie wrapped it up by talking about the darkness of our culture. So often we don't even realize how dark it's getting. Darkness is not dispelled by screaming at it. Darkness is dispelled by light. It happens when God's people shine the light. Let's shine the light wherever we go. Christmas is an easy time of the year to do that with numerous opportunities. Happy Monday to all!!

Thanksgiving from Numbers 11

I know Numbers 11 seems like an odd place to receive a word on thanksgiving but not if you read it and ponder it. I was there this morning and it spoke so many things over me. I probably need to read this chapter every single day. 

In Numbers 11 we see how faithful God had been in providing food for the people to eat but that wasn't enough for them. They began to want a different food. They began to think back to what they had in Egypt and missed it. Of course they had forgotten what they had to endure. That's how we are so often when we look back. We only remember the good and not the consequences and tjhe problems. Interesting how God was angry with the people because they complained to one another. He wasn't angry with Moses who came to Him with his complaints. Always go to God! He's the only one who has the power to do something about our circumstances anyway. 

The biggest lesson I got from all of this is this...dissatisfaction comes when I begin to think about what I want and don't have instead of all that I do have. They had forgotten all that God had already done for them and what He promised to do. Every morning these people experienced a miracle but it wasn't good enough for them any more. Last night at lifegroup Stephen mentioned that we say God doesnt still do miracles. But He does! We are just focused on other things to notice. That's so true. 

My sweet mom has Alzheimer's. All she has is the moment and thankfully she enjoys the moment, most of the time.  You can spend hours with her and leave and she won't remember you being there but while you're there she loves it. That's been so convicting to me. So often I can have most of my family around but feel bad for the one that's missing. I've determined in my mind and heart to stop that. He has blessed us at this particular season to have all of our children living close. But they're all either in ministry or called to it so who knows how long this season will last. It's extra sweet because for too long either because of ministry or college we have been scattered. I've determined that for however long it lasts and whomever I get to enjoy at the moment that's going to be enough. Nothing's better than everyone all together in one place laughing and talking and enjoying the same moment, but that can't be my "be all end all" of joy. 

Hebrews 12:28-29 says, Therefore since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." When our focus is on God and we are living a life of thanksgiving, nothing can shake us. He is our foundation and He is a firm foundation. This life isn't all we have. We have all of eternity to look forward to. I'm especially thankful that all of my family is saved. We may at another season of time be separated and even now for days or for certain times for certain things, but we will spend all of eternity together and that my friends is all we need to have a Happy Thanksgiving. If you have someone on your heart that you want to spend all of eternity with and you're unsure if that's possible now, the greatest thing you can do this holiday season is share Jesus with them and pray God will make that a reality. And for those who have gone before us to heaven and we miss them terribly especially at this time of year, rest in the fact that this is only for a short time compared to all of eternity. I hope as you gather around your table or tables at Thanksgiving you and yours can focus on all that God has already done and all that He has promised He will still do. He is forever faithful! Happy Thanksgiving!!

Monday Morning Perspective

The weather might have been cold, rainy, and dreary, but it wasn't that way in the house at Fairview! And despite the weather, the crowd was great!!

We sang a few of my favorite worship songs and my hubs was back preaching. Huge shoutout to Pastor Chet for bringing an amazing message last week that continued to challenge me throughout the week. We are a blessed church, may we never forget that or take it for granted. 

We jumped into James 4 as we continued our series Live It. I'm sure this one as well will be one I'm thinking on a lot this week. 

We were confronted with the fact about what causes our fussing and fighting whether it be in our homes, schools, jobs, or church. All of it can be traced back to our own selfish desires. We get caught up in our own way rather than His way. Many times we don't care how we go about getting something we want, we just want it and will do whatever it takes to get it. 

We were challenged to look at our motives behind the things we ask for.  We maintain so much allegiance to this world system and many times what we ask for is for us and not for the kingdom. It's a dangerous thing to even flirt with this world. It's spiritual adultery. 

We were encouraged by realizing that no one is too far gone. It doesn't matter what our circumstances are or where we've been, God can save us, redeem us and give us another chance. Love that he shared about his new friend he made on his trip, Bill Murray who was the son of Madelyn Murray Ohair. He became a Christian in his 30s and continues at 68 to make an incredible difference for the kingdom. God can do amazing things no matter where we find ourselves and He can reach the ones we are tempted to give up on. 

Why do we have to wait?!

I can't begin to tell you how many times we were asked that by our children. I can't begin to tell you how many times we've asked God that same question!! I've heard that word a lot lately in different conversations pertaining to different things. I've read it in scripture lately. It keeps popping up. Usually that means God has a message in that. I don't like to wait any more than anyone else but learning to wait says so much about our character and maturity. No one likes it. No one wants to do it. But we all must learn to do it. And it's definitely a learning thing at every age and none of us ever perfects it. 

Eddie and I dated long distance for most of our dating life together. We lived in different cities and then he was off playing ball. We had lots of waiting to do in between times of seeing each other. It wasn't easy but it prepared both of us for some things later in life. And it's not only the young who have to wait. We waited for many months recently between the time we first felt God was going to move us and the time He showed us when and where. And it wasn't easy! But it was rich!! 

Our married kids are waiting to buy a house. God closes doors and they wait. And it's not fun! 

Singles want to know why they should wait for sex until married. That's no fun! But God says wait. And I've never talked to a young girl who regretted waiting but have talked to many with regrets who didn't. Gods way is perfect!

Many times we rush head long into things, relationships, ministry opportunities, job opportunities, good things but not always what we are called to. We fail to wait and pray. We get over our head. We miss a better opportunity. We miss the relationship God intended for us. 

I've seen so many try so hard to make something work because it seemed like it should. One of my girls dated a godly young man at one point. For every reason it should've worked but it didn't. God had something better for both. And then sometimes the timing is just wrong but if it's meant to be God will make it be. And it's always better for Him to do it than for us to manipulate it into being. I heard sharie king say recently that she kept hearing God say "wait" in a relationship decision. But she didn't. And then you have to deal with that decision. 

We talked at lifegroup last night about Jesus commanded the disciples to return to Jerusalem and wait for the Holy Spirit. Thankfully they did. They never could've endured what was ahead in their own power. 

I was in exodus 32 this morning. The people grew tired of waiting on Moses to return so they took matters in their own hands and built their own idol and boy was God angry. Should've waited.  I'm 

so guilty of running at the speed of my

own choosing and just ask God to 

bless it. What I need to be doing is 

stop running and start waiting. 

There's been many times I haven't listened to that voice say "wait" and sure wish I had. There have been many times I'm so glad I obeyed and waited. We can't force God's hand. We may be able to wear people down but we will never wear Him down. He can out wait us. And if we choose to not wait on Him we will sacrifice so much that He has for us!!  We all need to learn how to better listen and how to better wait. He's a good God. He's not holding out on us! But His ways and His timing are perfect. 

There's so many things He can show us as we wait. So many lessons to learn and heartache to avoid. It's hard to do in this fast pace culture. We want it all now. As I look back, as hard as it was to make my kids wait for things because I loved them and wanted to give it all to them, it would have eventually destroyed them.  One of the best lessons we teach our children is to wait. It's one of the hardest lessons. And it's easier when they learn that young, for themselves and for all of those that come into relationship with them down the road. Slow down. Be still before Him. Trust Him. He has your good in mind. 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him." Isaiah 30:18 

Monday Morning Perspective

Another amazing Sunday at Fairview! I love being excited about church and seeing others excited as well and there's so much to be excited about!! 

My man brought a great message from the Word, James 3, and from his heart! I echo all of it! We feel so blessed to be here and amazed at what God does when you follow Him and His wisdom and uncommon sense over worldly wisdom and common sense. Common sense would've kept us out of His will with all the blessings He had waiting for us! We love our church family!!

If you haven't figured it out yet, the message was on two kinds of wisdom, worldly and heavenly. We saw that worldly wisdom is centered around ourselves and our own agenda and selfish ambition. Heavenly wisdom doesn't come naturally and you don't inherit it. Worldy wisdom says crown yourself. Godly wisdom says crucify self. We must die daily to our own agenda  and make decisions and function according to godly wisdom and Gods agenda. Great truth spoken in this message that challenged us as we strive to be more like Jesus in our every day life. 

Monday Morning Perspective

Yesterday was a blessed day at Fairview. Our church family came in great numbers with lots of energy! Visitors were everywhere which is always great! Everywhere I looked I saw crowds of young college students and young adults! I saw senior adults encouraging others and welcoming people! Our Holy Grounds crew was slammed serving up that coffee on such a cold morning! Just an amazing sight when you take a step back and just look and take in all that God is doing! 

The service started with our student pastor Hux baptizing 4 students! That gave me goosebumps and tears! Seeing students take their next step in discipleship is overwhelming in a good way!! And then my husband brought a powerful word on a powerful muscle, the tongue. James 3 speaks volumes about our tongue, the good, the bad and the ugly! 

The way we talk not only says so much about our spiritual maturity but if we have problems controlling our tongue, we probably have problems in other areas of our life requiring discipline. And as we heard, the tongue takes the heat for what we say, but it's really a heart matter. It reveals our true condition. 

The tongue also can speak life to people who are hurting. When we don't use it to spread gossip, tell lies, or slander it can be used for much good to encourage others and refresh others! According to scripture it's impossible to love and praise God and hate and curse our brother!

I love my husband's personal words of being hurt by words and his own conviction. Keeping it real helps others to see that we all struggle and we can all be hurt greatly by the words of others!

I'm loving this walk through James. What a powerful, relevant word to all of us! Let's all take careful note of our words this week. Not only what we say but how we say it and the words we write as well. Invite someone next week, James gets better every week. Don't let that neighbor or coworker, that teammate or classmate miss out!! Invite them, or better yet, bring them with you!!

Doing battle God's way and paying attention

It's been quite a month. It's consisted of hours sitting before the Lord which has been good but it's involved some hard work. It's been about healing and fighting the Enemy. It's been nerve wracking and at times exhilarating.

The problem is I spent most of September exhausted. I went into October exhausted. Satan always attacks when we are most tired and vulnerable. He attacks via our mind many times at least he does to me. And my mind can go crazy on me when I give in to it. He's crafty and creative but he doesn't have to be when we fall for the same things. We make his job easy at times. He attacks at our  points of weakness but also at our points of strength because we don't always pray over those areas enough. And nothing with him ever makes sense but somehow he can make it so that it makes perfect sense. Does that make sense?!

For me walking through some of this  God has shown me that whether I'm right about something or not, I need to pay attention to red flags. He's shown me that He's in complete control. As Satan continues mind games with me, God continues drawing me closer to Himself. God uses it to build my faith and reclaim my focus. He uses all that Satan throws at me to hurl me into a pit, to bring good by showing me things I needed to be aware of and pay attention to. He was turning it for good before I ever realized the attack was on. Satan will never warn us. He's out to destroy us. He sets traps. God waves the red flag to warn us and we had better pay attention. 

God was constantly asking me, "do you seriously think there's anything I can't handle?"  I knew there wasn't. 

It took fasting for 2 and 1/2 days, hours with my face in the Word, praying and journaling to just begin to feel like my head was above the water. One day I told Him, "I'm not moving until I get some peace". 3 and 1/2 hours later I got up. I was back the next morning for another 3 hours. It took blocking out all other voices to lean in and just listen for His. Every morning I still get up and have to put on that helmet of salvation to guard my mind. Some mornings I still get up with the elephant on my chest and I have to seek out those new mercies. God is never absent. He shows up every morning. He's working to draw us in, to empower us, to show us His faithfulness. It's always worth doing the work with Him. Satan wants us to give in, to quit. I'm still fighting or rather letting God continue to fight him on my behalf. 

I'm so thankful for Jeremiah 5:22. It says, "I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannnot cross it."

If you feel like I did and at times still do, and you think the waves are about to take you under, know that He will never let them prevail no matter how loud they seem to roar in your head! He is faithful!! 

Monday Morning Perspective

I never fail to be amazed at how God works. When Jesus is lifted up, He really does draw people unto Himself. Hearing how He uses my husband's message every week, is a highlight of ministry. To know that lives are being changed and hungry people are being fed and many are striving to live out their faith is exciting. 

Eddie brought an amazing message from James 2 as we continued our series from James, Live It! He challenged us to not have a dead faith or a demonic faith but a dynamic faith. We need to be difference makers in our community to the continents! And I would agree with the one who said it was one of the greatest gospel presentations/invitations at the end! We just need to be a people who are meeting and engaging with the lost and bring them to church so they can hear the good news and experience the life change that a relationship with Jesus brings! Don't be silent! Talk up Jesus! He will never disappoint you or make you sorry that you pointed others to Him!

FAVORite things for fall

 I have had about 3 weeks of feeling buried under some heavy stuff and today I need to lift my head for a bit and have some fun. So if you'll oblige me a moment just to share a few of my FAVORite, that's for you Favor girls, things for the fall. 

First of all I love pumpkins so these are across my dining room table...

I love to decorate with these but do not like to eat them. However, my dad and Justin love them so I decorate with them and they eat them...

I bought this candle warmer and love the smell of pumpkin pie burning! 

What has become my most FAVORite the last few mornings is my dining room fireplace. It's been so cold so when I sit there to study it gets things pretty toasty! 

I would show you a pic of my fave creamer for that morning coffee but I finished it this morn...pumpkin spice. 

The next two aren't really fall but I discovered them this fall so here they are...

These are fave drug store buys at the moment. 

The fall has brought lots of fun as my gorgeous man and I got to go to the mountains for a getaway. That was a blast. Our Saturdays have been filled with football games and tailgating food most of which we got to share with the whole fam so having the house full all fall has been great!  

And to wrap it up, here I am with my FAVORite person not just for the fall but for every season every year...

Feel free to share your fall FAVORites!

Monday Morning Perspective

One of those blogging moments I wish my vocabulary was much larger than it is. I just don't know the words to share that I felt as my husband was preaching that message. I felt an all encompassing presence of the Holy Spirit. I was convicted. I was challenged. I was motivated. I felt burdened and at the same time full of hope. That word from our pastor on James 2:1-13 was one we all need to hear. I can't imagine anyone not being motivated in some way to look deep within and feel God put His finger tenderly on a spot within us and be grateful for His grace! 

Eddie was right when he said too often favoritism happens in the church. We look at the rich man and see how he can help us. We look at the poor man and see that he may need our help. Favoritism is always inconsistent with the life and teachings of Jesus, it's inconsistent with the character of God and with the royal law. 

I love Eddie's emphasis on greeters and ushers and the important role they play in the church. My favorite part today happened after the service. We had probably 3 families and 1 lady who have been visiting that told us how well they have been treated at Fairview every week that they've visited. One told us they were probably spoken to 20 times from the parking lot to the worship center. THAT is how we love people together, ALL people! And visitors keep coming back! 

Monday Morning Perspective

I have to say one of my favorite things to hear is when people say that the message from Sunday was for them. Or they say how timely it was and helped them through that week with situations and circumstances they faced. That tells me it's taking affect and having an affect. That people are trying to live out what they've been taught through the message is where it's at. That's exciting and that's why those of us in ministry do what we do. It's encouraging and gives us the strength to persevere. 

Yesterday's message was what the book of James really is all about. It's about living it out. We were asked to reflect on whether we truly welcome the Word into our life. It's like a mirror that reveals adjustments that we need to make. Many do away with the Word because it reveals things that need to be changed and we don't like that. A problem with our quiet time is that we rush trough and just glance at the Word and then we forget.  We so often think that Christian maturity is how much knowledge we have when in fact character is. Robes, rites, and rituals are not the important things. Caring for people in the church and community is what's important. Love His Word. Learn His Word. Live His Word. My husband nailed it...again!!

Monday Morning Perspective

Powerful message yesterday by my husband on temptation! We looked at verses 13-15 in James chapter 1. Eddie pointed out how, being a people who love to pass the buck and blame others, we do that with our sin instead of taking responsibility. However, it's our own evil desires that lead us astray. 

I love how Eddie pointed out that enticed means to bait a hook and the purpose of the bait is to appeal to our appetite and to hide the hook. Satan knows what tempts us. He studies us. and as he pointed out, for some of us, any old worm will do but for others he has to be more sophisticated. We must learn to see the hook behind the bait. We must learn to see the consequences to our choices and the direction that sin will lead us. Learn to look past the bait!! 

Eddie encouraged us by sharing some of his own story and showing us how we can overcome temptation. Every time we overcome we gain one on the devil. We become stronger. We learn when we fail too but too often there are consequences that we must pay for a very long time. 

Great word! Great day in His house with His people! Now it's Monday and time to be the church wherever He has planted us for this season. 

Favor Our City

I wanted to take a sec and give you a brief look into last Thursday evening as many of our Favor girls ventured out on the town to 6 different restaurants. The purpose of all events is to reach out to others and sweet fellowship is just the byproduct and there was lots of both that night. Some at our restaurant brought friends and the manager asked what this was all about so we had the opportunity to share some favor with him. We also gave gifts, along with a great tip of course, to our waitresses. Some waitresses at other restaurants shared some prayer needs. God placed some off the most perfect women at those places who were going through the exact same thing so some ministering took place that only God Himself could have orchestrated. 

Getting outside the walls and doing things outside the box is what Favor is about. Being out in our community and hearing hurts and struggles from people gives us hearts of compassion and opportunities to share with them where we find our source of hope. Again He takes ordinary things that we plan and He raises the bar to a whole new level! 

If you weren't able to be with us I sure hope you can be the next time. I heard from some that they hadn't had a girls night out in a long long time. As women it's just hard to make that time for ourselves. Believe me, it will happen again and you do not want to miss it. 

Here's just a few pics I had from the night. Enjoy...

Monday Morning Perspective

I love it when worship seems to rise to a new level and yesterday was one of those times. Our band was energized and powerful! Ashley Blevins killed Forever by Kari Jobe. I was exhausted, a good exhausted! 

Then my husband brought an amazing word from James as we continued our Live It series! Some of my favorite and most challenging points...

...if you're where you need to be spiritually, you can handle where you are materially. 

...we must quit caring what "they" say and think and believe what God says!

...we exist to glorify God and make disciples who make disciples. 

...people bringing people who in turn bring people to church, is what makes a Sunday successful!

...disciples who are developing and devoted followers of Jesus will reproduce. 

I love being part of a church where people are excited and encouraging one another in the journey of faith! I love that we love coming together as church to grow and serve and then going out to be the church wherever God has placed us. Being the church in our homes and communities throughout the week is what it's about. 

I'm praying for my grands...

This is a post I've been piecing together. Yesterday I actually put the pieces together but was just sitting on it. So strange that last night at our lifegroup our sharing was wrapped around these very things.  Changes that make us uncomfortable, that bring out the best and worst in us. Hearing from others that feel much like the things I had written, makes me go ahead and post this this morning. You may agree. You may disagree. But it's worth the conversation I believe. Therefore here goes...Times change. Sometimes more quickly than we want or like. Some are good. Some are bad. Sometimes, it just is what it is. Churches change. Church is different now than when I was a kid and it's very different from when my parents were kids. Again some good... I actually love today's church. I loved it when I was a kid. I believe I'll love it in the future from what little I can grasp of the direction it's headed. I can tell you the change I love a lot. It seems like the younger generation now is much less interested n sitting around talking and more interested in doing. They seem to really "get it" when it comes to church.  Now I'm a HUGE believer in bible study and classes that teach us. I lead women's ministry and bible studies are a huge part of that. But I've told my bible study classes and discipleship classes that I've led through the years that if all we do is fill our heads with information and what we know doesn't filter down into what we do, it's all pointless. The point of knowing scripture is to live it and share it. Some of us have sat in enough classes and under enough teaching to have earned a dozen PHDs but it's not being lived out. We have sat through countless sermons and discipleship classes on how to share our faith but we've never done it. We've suffered anxiety and perhaps cried over lost friends, family members or associates, but we've never opened our mouth to talk to them about Jesus. At some point our being discipled needs to turn into discipling others. We know what to do we just don't do it. My generation seems much more content with sitting and soaking, loving on programs and traditions, being entertained, than the one I see coming up. I've worked with high school and college age students for years now teaching and discipling them and I see a fresh passion to turn what they know into action. Most of us need to stay out of their way and let em at it.  I heard someone say that when Bobby Bowden was asked if kids had changed a lot since he first started coaching and he said no, the parents have. We want the school to teach them but we don't support the teacher when our angel messes up. We want the government to protect them until society needs to be protected from them. And we want the church to entertain them and program them to death and disciple them because we don't want to do that ourselves. That change in parenting has come quickly unfortunately!

So all that to say this...this is what I pray for my sweet grand girl Brooklynn and all my grands to come...

I pray that they receive Jesus while they're young and live every day for Him.

I pray that they would desire godly wisdom over intellect and knowledge. 

I pray that the things of God would be their passion and desire and they would pursue Christ rather than worldly affections. 

I pray that they would study God's Word more than their school work. 

I pray that as they participate in sports,the arts or whatever that it would only be a platform to share JESUS and not to glorify themselves.

I pray that they would be discipled by parents willing to spend time with them and teach them right rather than relying on church workers and ministers to disciple them. 

I pray they have parents who want to be with them and hang with them instead of wanting to find a place for them to go and hang with others. 

I pray that they will learn about missions because they experience mom and dad telling the waitress and the barista and the dry cleaning man about their need for Jesus as they go to those places rather than a class at church. 

I want them to have on the field training next to a mom and dad and witness first hand how to be the church, again, rather than sitting in a room hearing about it. I don't want sitting and soaking to be their idea of what church is. Therefore I hope they spend less time at church and more time being the church. 

I'm so encouraged as I see the young ones rising up to take their place in the church to lead. I'm extremely encouraged as I sit and listen to them talk about how buildings and property don't matter to them in terms of church. People matter. The church is people not programs and buildings. They don't want to sit in an office with nice furniture. They'd rather be in the local coffee shop interacting with people. They are all about relationships. Like one said last night, "you can meet a stranger and share salvation with them and get a convert but you won't get a disciple that way. You make disciples through building relationships with people and walking alongside them, investing in them". 

Change may be painful. It may push us out of our comfort zone a bit. But Jesus won't stay in the comfort zone and He hasn't called us to stay there. The Christian life isn't about being comfortable. It's about being uncomfortable. It's about allowing our plans to be interrupted for the sake of others. Most of us have been comfortable way too long. It's time to change. 

Monday Morning Perspective

Wisdom! That was the focus of yesterday's message from James as we looked at 1:5-8. We saw that wisdom is not intelligence. We know that some with high IQs don't always make smart decisions. We saw that wisdom is not knowledge as very well informed people don't always make good decisions. And we know that wisdom is not common sense. God's wisdom is uncommon sense many times. 

We need to want something higher than intelligence, knowledge, or common sense. We need godly wisdom. We seem to get places fast but they're the wrong places. Godly wisdom gets us to the right places. We don't need to look to Oprah and Dr. Phil for advice. We need to go to the source of wisdom who is God alone. 

We looked at the mystery of wisdom. So often we think God won't answer us.  Maybe it's not that He won't answer. Maybe it's that we don't believe. We doubt. We look at the circumstances of our life. We lose focus. We get busy doing everything except that one thing God has called us to. We are a double-minded people torn between desiring the world and desiring God alone. 

When it comes to big decisions, we shouldn't be asking whether it's what we want or if it's a good career move or if it's where we want to go or live or do. The only question that matters is, how can God get the most glory and His kingdom benefit the most? That's all that matters. So...when you're the Zoad in the road and don't know which way to go, remember it's not about common sense or the best business decision. It's about His glory. For when it's all said and done, all that matters is what is done for His kingdom!!

Worship was amazing!! The message was too good that I couldn't write fast enough!! And the best is always having families join with our church family who want to serve and be a part of all God is doing at Fairview!! There's more exciting things to come. Share with others so they can come be a part as well!!

Monday Morning Perspective

Yesterday the energy level was high in worship! I love those times and thankfully we have many of them at Fairview! Our band was ON and loved the music choices! My man was in the zone as we kicked off our study through the book of James, LIVE IT. This is gonna be sooooo good!! 

Eddie dissected the first 4 verses as we looked at how we are Transformed by Trials.

A few of my favorite quotes...

...James is known as old camel knees because of callouses on his knees from praying but his book tells us what to do when we get off of our knees. 

...God seldom uses someone greatly until they've been tested greatly, maybe even broken. 

...many times what we consider gain, Jesus considers loss and what Jesus considers gain, we count as a loss. 

I'm so excited about this series. It's so practical! It's definitely going to challenge us and convict us so get ready! Check it out online if you missed it. 

A Different Monday Morning Perspective

Normally MMP is a recap of my husband's message on Sunday. However,  he has been in Cuba all week so he had our student pastor, also our sweet son-n-law preach. I know I'm biased but he's wonderful and filled in perfectly! What an amazing message on God's love! It was extremely challenging as he made us think about what truly motivates us. The reminder that the Enemy is fine with our gathering together as a church, but true impact comes when our faith steps outside the church. When we begin to see people as Jesus does and love and serve, then we will make a difference. His mission wasn't to make us good, it was to make us alive. 

I left that early service and headed to a nearby church where my son Stephen had been invited to preach. I'm so thankful for pastors who are willing to give young ones opportunities! What an incredible blessing! Stephen preached a great message on living explicitly Christian lives and being intentional in our walk with Jesus! People should know who we are and who's we are. When we truly experience Jesus, we will tell others. Jesus positioned Himself for ministry opportunities and had honest conversations with people. We need to be about the same thing! 

I also got to go with Stephen later that day as he shared with some of our children at Fairview about his summer in Atlanta. I was amazed at two things. One, how well our kids listened and grasped all he told them as they responded back when prompted. Two, what an amazing job Stephen did at taking what he learned at presenting it on a level they could understand. He shared with them about what living intentionally for Jesus means and how they can invest in people even at their young age at school or on their teams or wherever. He also shared with them how important it is to invite their friends to church and their church activities and then they can see an increase not only in numbers but how Jesus is growing them in their faith. We could all use the four Is...intentional, invest, invite, increase, in our everyday journey. 

It was an incredibly full Sunday in every way. Actually, this Monday morning, I'm still full!! 

30 years

September 1st 2014! My man and I have been married 30 years. What a bunch we are 30 years later.  As my sweet daughter Chrissie said, "that's a long time!"  She is right!! It's a very long time. At times it seems like we just got married. Then I look at my kids and a granddaughter and reality hits that we've done a lot of life! We've been at this a long time!  It's somewhat overwhelming. I wonder how it happened so fast! I wonder why God has blessed so much! 

Marriage isn't easy, but it's more than worth the effort. It's been the greatest, most rewarding, thrilling, joy-giving, heart wrenching, worth every tear, worth every laugh kind of adventure I ever hoped it would be. We are so different now than we were at 19 and 25 when we made all those promises that I'm sure we thought we understood but really probably didn't have a clue. We've grown. We've changed. But no matter what, we kept loving. We kept believing. We kept trusting. Mostly in God, but also in each other. I tell young ones all the time who are dating, you need to date at least 2 years. Why? Because the 1st year is about concealing. We put our best out there. We are always on guard trying to impress and sometimes not really being honest about who we are and what we want. The 2nd year is about revealing. We let our guard down. We are more ourselves. We relax. That's the one you're going to marry. Be sure. He's not always kind and she's not always sweet. He has bad days and she can be moody. He gets stressed and it comes out in all sorts of ways. She gets aggravated and jealous and maybe even nags. Just be sure. There are worse things than waiting or being alone and that's being with the wrong one. Be very sure. 

I love my husband. Probably more importantly at times, I like him. We are different in some of our likes and we don't always agree. We react differently to things and our personalities differ in ways. But we have lots of things in common and we love hanging together. I love talking to him and I love being quiet with him. Mostly I love that he's led our kids to love Jesus and he's shown them what serving Jesus through serving His church looks like. And they all desire to do that. It's been said that if you raise your kids to just love the church then one day they'll want to run it and control it. If you raise them to love Jesus they'll love His church and want to serve it. 

30 years! Sounds like a long time! It is! And it's been good! Not perfect. But good!

Monday Morning Perspective

Posting a day early again...😘

Sunday was a great day at Fairview!! How exciting to see so many come together to worship! Jesus never fails to show Himself glorious when we focus on Him and praise Him with everything we've got. I think we have the best team I've ever known working together to make sure that Jesus is worshipped and magnified every Sunday. What a blessing to be serving alongside each one of them. 

My man wrapped this series in a beautiful package as he encouraged us in our walk of faith. He pointed out that our greatest desire should be to please God. Our rewards are in heaven not here on earth. No one may ever notice what we do and how we serve here, but nothing gets past the all seeing eyes of God! 

I loved this series. It was encouraging but also motivating. It sure motivated me to look through the eyes of what is eternal and to share with as many people as possible the good news if the gospel. Time available to do that is growing short. If it's God's desire that all be saved and none should perish, that should be our greatest desire too and that desire must turn to action as we share with others the reality of dying without Christ.

Next series, Live It, based on the book of James!! Starts in 2 weeks. Get excited!!

Favor

Hi everybody! This post will be very similar to the video we are attaching but I wanted to write too in case some can't pull up the video. 

I'm so excited about kicking off our women's ministry at Fairview! We have named it Favor and I want to tell you why. I've been praying over a name for us for over a year now.  Everything I thought of, God would just bring me back to Favor. I did a lot of research on that word. The Hebrew is sa ah. It means to gaze steadily with interest. God's favor is when God fixes His gaze upon you, the very details of your life. I'm asking you all, who doesn't want that? I sure do! I pray His favor on my family, my church, and of course on my own life. I know that God is the One who chooses where He will show it, but I believe that we can align ourselves in such a way that we can receive it. It means that we walk in obedience to His Word. We walk humbly before Him. 

Our verse is Psalm 67:1-2. It says, May God be gracious to us and bless us. Look on us with favor so that Your way may be known on earth, your salvation among the nations. His favor is not about us. It's about Him, His glory! Favor is a ministry for women but it's not about women. It's about Jesus. It's going to be a tool we use to reach women for Him. Also, I want you to know that good times don't mean we have His favor and bad times don't mean we don't.  Through some of our hardest days in life and ministry we have felt God's favor. That's true as you look throughout His Word. He showed favor on different people and many times they were in difficult circumstances. 

I want you to know that we are not a social club or event group. We are a ministry under Fairview and under the authority of our pastor. We have the same vision as our church. 

I also want you to know that we will be multi-generational. As we plan events, we want to plan things that our youngest teens will enjoy as well as our adult women. That means our events may look a bit different. They may not look like what you're used to or what the church down the street is doing. And every event will be outreach oriented, meaning they will be planned with the mindset of inviting women who may give an event a try when they won't yet try a Sunday morning. 

We also are working with our discipleship pastor to offer women's bible studies. I will use this blog to do devotions or some encouragement through His Word that you can comment on and encourage others. We will use the blog to give information for upcoming events. You can give your email on the blog so that as soon as a post goes up, you will be emailed. Missy will be linking the blog to the church website for easy access. We have a Facebook page you can join. We want Missy in our office to have your email so that we can send you updates and info. We just want you to stay informed and get involved. 

September 7,2014 will be our Favor day at church. That just means that we will have a table where you can sign up for our first event coming in September (all info coming soon), buy or order a Tshirt or hoodie. We will be taking money for the Beth Moore conference here in Greenville in July. Those tickets will be ordered September 15th. 

As you can tell so much is going on and I believe God is showing His favor over us at 

Fairview. We have a great team of women on our Favor team who are praying and working hard. They have hearts that want to serve God and girls and I'm so thankful for them. They may need some help in carrying out their tasks so if you want to help them or serve with them please step up. I will list their names for you at the bottom. Please pray for all of us and as always pray for our church, staff and leadership! It's a joy to serve you. I love His church at Fairview!!

Favor Team...

Dawn Leopard

Jane Hawkins

Chrissie Hux

Jenny Williams

JoHannah Joines

Andrea Culpepper

Angie Culpepper

Ann Rainey

Candy Holliday

Patty Miller

Kristy Harris

Andrea Lowery

Monday Morning Perspective

Sunday was super at Fairview! Worship was powerful and the message was rich in passion and content. 

We looked at Satan's Superman, the anti-Christ. We looked at passages in Mark, Daniel and 2 Thessalonians and Revelation. A few highlights...

1. So many passages point to Jesus' return and people still won't believe it's accurate. 

2. The unholy trinity takes over during the tribulation...devil, anti-Christ, false prophets. 

3. We saw what and who is holding him back. 

4. Satan has had his man throughout history just to be ready since he doesn't know the time. 

5. Where will the anti-Christ come from?

6. We will have a front row seat as the same voice that created the world will speak again and destroy satan. 

7. Where will America be in all of this? Scripture says all nations will be against Israel. Are our leaders already tiring of supporting them?

This could all happen at any time. Are we ready? Are our family and friends ready? Will we step up and tell them how they can be on the winning side?

I'm posting this early because tomorrow's post will be about our new women's ministry, FAVOR!! I can't wait to share all of that with you! It's in video and written form so check it out either way you prefer but be sure and CHECK IT OUT!! 

Monday Morning Perspective

Yesterday at Fairview was one of those days where everything was on a whole new level. Cross Talk, our worship band was on point! Loved seeing Ashley Blevins on the piano on stage! I've convinced myself I'm going sing like her when I get to heaven ☺️. Thanks to Ryan Burns for reminding us and challenging us that God is so worthy of our worship. In case you can't tell, I totally refuse to let any rock cry out on my behalf. When I leave church I want to be energized and exhausted at the same time. 

We continued The End with Tribulation Trouble. My husband's message was exciting and encouraging as a believer! I love how he went through his beliefs on the end times in relation to tribulation and the rapture and backed it up with scripture from the Old Testament to the New! We all should be able to do that. It's no longer enough to know what we believe but why we believe it. 

I love that Eddie felt the need to speak to those who may be left and tell them what they need to remember. That just shows me his love and concern for the lost. First, do not believe the lie promoted regarding the rapture and what happened to all the ones gone. Second, do not follow the anti-Christ. Third, do not take the mark. Friends, this is an event on the kingdom calendar that could happen at any moment. It should encourage us as believers but scare us for those we know that don't know Christ. We work with them. We live next to them.  They sit next to us in class. We eat lunch with them. They're family members. They're friends. We sit in the stands next to them. They're on our teams and in our clubs. We carpool with them. Whatever reason we have for not sharing the good news, it's malarchy! When we know what they will go through if they die without Jesus or the rapture occurs and they're left, no reason is good enough. Let's get intentional! Let's live life on purpose, unashamed of the good news of the gospel. Share Christ while we can because one day will be too late. We are without excuse. I'm praying this week that God brings people across our path to share with and that we will have the boldness to share. Invite someone over the next few weeks. Inviting them to church is the easy thing. If they come, they'll hear the gospel and you won't have to speak it. I promise my man will do that for you. Just get them to church!!

Monday Morning Perspective

THE END began yesterday! It's a 4 week series on end times and I love that it's coming to us from the gospel of Mark. Yesterday was Signs of theTimes Mark 13:1-8 and we looked at 8 indicators of Jesus' return. 

Eddie reminded us of the need to be aware, informed and ready but not obsessed. We have work to do here and we need to be doing what God has called us to do. 

We were also challenged to be spiritually strong and doctrinally deep. Persecution will come and a shallow faith won't get it. 1John reminds us that many won't stand and will defect. As Eddie said, rain keeps many away from church and the sun keeps others away. Without a strong faith, we will never stand up under persecution. 

On a side note, thank you to so many who have been praying for and asking about my Dad. He came home from the hospital last week. He's lacking energy so continued prayers would be appreciated. All of the calls, texts, and cards have meant so much to all of us! Have a blessed week!

Monday Morning Persoective

Yesterday at Fairview we celebrated the Lord's Supper together. It was probably the best Lord's Supper service I remember. The music was so worshipful and appropriately upbeat. The message was great!! We looked at the supper in relation to the past, future and present. And we were reminded that if it wasn't important Jesus wouldn't have taken time to do it! Jesus knew we needed to be reminded from time to time of all that He's done for us! 

Monday Morning Perspective

Well I can hardly believe we are through with our journey through Nehemiah. I love this book! Every week I was amazed at how timely and relevant it was, but that's just God! His Word is alive and active and every word speaks to us and our situation.

Yesterday we saw a surprise ending to the book in chapter 13. We saw Nehemiah return from Susa and he wasn't a happy camper. By the way, I loved the details on the travel time and mileage. Chalk that up to my love for details. Anyway, Eddie asked us some questions that went along with the message that were challenging and certainly worthy of sitting down and thinking through, being totally honest with ourselves. 

1.  Are you as close to God as you used to be? Has there been a drift or a circumstance that just sent you quickly away from God?

2.  Is there a Tobiah in your temple you need to get rid of? Has he crawled up on the throne of your life and taken over?  

This one is worth watching online if you missed yesterday. 

We start a 4 week series on the end times in 2 weeks and what better or easier time to bring someone. People are always curious when you talk about that especially with our world the way it is now. John shared with our students Wednesday night the statistic of how many people have never even invited someone to church, not share their faith, but never even invited someone. That's amazing. Just invite them or bring them with you. Eddie will do the gospel sharing for you. He does an amazing job presenting the gospel the end of every message. All we need to do is get our lost friends there. And statistics tell us that an overwhelming number of people say they would go to church if someone just invited them. Let's get busy! It starts with caring enough about someone to not want them to spend eternity in hell separated from God. Another question to end with this morning...do we care enough?

Monday Morning Perspective

I say it I say it every week I know, but my man brings it EVERY SINGLE WEEK!! We are blessed! I am blessed! No taking it for granted!! 

We looked at what true celebration is based on Nehemiah 12. Taken straight from the scripture we saw that celebration involves worship. Love how Eddie pointed out three key words: glory, offer and sacrifice. Remember worship isn't just when we gather. It's also when we scatter. 

Celebration involves cleansing and thanksgiving. It involves rejoicing and giving. The world says to celebrate when we get something. We celebrate a bonus, a promotion, a new job. God wants us to discover whether we see ourselves as sovreign, which says "I will decide what I do with my money because it's mine".  Or do we see ourselves as stewards which says we believe God owns it all and we are managers. 

The reminder was that we can't outgive God. We may make what we consider sacrifices but the greatest sacrifice of all was Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. We are called to be living sacrifices. 

We will wrap Nehemiah next week. Don't miss it or you'll miss the surprise ending ☺️. 

Have a blessed week. Be intentional as you seek opportunities to share Jesus. If we are not intentional, it will never happen!! Eyes and hearts wide open, be blessed!!

Living beyond the status quo

One of my favorite sections of the bible is 1 Chronicles 15-17. I so hope God has a video in heaven that we can watch this scene. I can feel the emotion and passion even on the printed page. We see that David learned a lesson about following God's instructions precisely. We see that David didn't care what people thought when it came to His praise and worship of God while his wife Michal was all wrapped up in what people thought and looking "dignified". She wouldn't even take part in the celebration opting to watch from her window. We see how David responded to her in the account in 2 Samuel 6. It's worth the read 😊. We see David's praise before the people and then his prayer as he sat before The Lord. 

I want to live like this. I want to live where I don't care what anyone thinks when it comes to living for God. I want a heart totally sold out to Him! I want to be a David, not a Michal. 

I was talking to my son Stephen back at the first of the year. We were talking about dating and relationships, the future, his generation, just a hodge podge of stuff. He made a comment that took me back a little. He said, "I don't want a nice church girl". He thankfully explained because isn't that what every mom wants for her son, a "nice church girl"?  I think the "nice church girl" (or boy for that matter) just wants to get married, be comfortable financially and go to church on Sunday as if to mark that off the "to do" list. They want someone they look good with, who grew up in church but for heavens sake is not fanatical. It's someone who's kind of in a bubble. The bubble is clean and filled with people just like themselves. They don't really know what life is like outside of what they know.  So many of us have grown up with that thinking. It's the status quo, American dream, living in the comfort zone but never really living. Boring. And we wonder why others don't want to live the Christian life. Living out God's purpose is much more exciting and it makes an impact on this world. I get what Stephen meant. He wants someone who wants more than the status quo. Someone with a passion to make a mark on this planet for Jesus sake. Someone more concerned with His glory and His name than making a name for himself or herself. Not concerned with writing their own ticket. Someone willing to do whatever it takes to win others to Jesus even if it's messy and your hands get dirty. The last thing this mom wants is for either of her boys to end up with a Michal. Or to be a Michal! Michals after all are a dime a dozen.  Thankful my girls married a David! 

Had we rather not live with the passion of David and be married to a David who falls before God exclaiming "there is no one like you O Lord and there is no God but you! Who am I that You have brought me this far?" Thankfully there's more David's out there than we hear about, guys and girls, living for God and taking Jesus to the darker places of this country and world. They're living a life of purpose walking it out in faith. And they're experiencing all kinds of Jesus moments. I'm not just talking about the young ones. As long as we are breathing, God has purpose for us. He wants to show us things and take us places that we've never imagined. Don't settle for the status quo. Don't settle for boredom. 

Don't be afraid to dance before Him. Don't worry about what others think. Don't be a Michal. Be a David!