up on the roof

Well…I am 90% moved to Savannah! Thanks to Shane, Rick & Daniel. You guys are the best.  Did I mention that they carried all my stuff up 3 flights of stairs. I really do feel like I am living on the roof! I am living there during the beginning of the week and in Villa Rica at the end of the week. It’s weird calling another place home. Although, I have lived here my whole life I can feel my heart is in Savannah already. There is so much to be done, God is already moving there. You can feel it. There has been a ton of confirmation lately. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us! I can’t wait to get down there and get to work… I will keep everyone updated as new stuff happens.

tears of the saints

Doug and I went to Savannah yesterday, came back today. Oh wait… I do that every week now!  Anyway, we met with Dr. Sells at the Savannah Baptist Association. He is a great guy and is really supportive of our vision. I am excited to get down there and get involved with their Inner City Mission Work! They are right in the middle of what needs to be done. He said one thing that made me think, he said that Savannah is a little different and that there is a dark cloud over the city… Please pray audacious prayers for us that God will work in the city to change lives. We need to pray like Joshua, pray that the Sun will stand still over Savannah so that we can fight this battle against evil and get rid of that dark cloud that is looming. This is an emergency! We have our work cut out for us but i’m not worried. I know God has His hand in this and He will get all the Glory because everyone will know that there is no way that we could do this on our own.  

son of a son of a sailor…

sailing a boat…

• I googled this and it was too long to put everything but these are the highlights… 

 

1. Do a visual check of all the standing rigging (stays and shrouds), Check the halyards and sheets . Make sure that they are not wrapped around each other or anything else. Pull ALL lines out of cleats & winches. There should be nothing binding any line; all should be free to move and be clear at this point. If you have a topping lift untie it & let it out until the boom sags downward quite a bit. Retie it. Watch out for the boom; it’s just swinging around at this point.
2. Point the boat into the wind. This isn’t always easy; the boat won’t turn readily because it’s not “under way” (moving). Do the best you can. The idea is to raise the sail while the slugs or rope that slide in the groove in the mast are at their least resistance, With the sail in this position, it also won’t be snagging on any shrouds or any other hardware.
3. Be sure to learn about the tides in your area, as in some places this can have almost as strong an effect on your movement as the wind. Try learning to determine the wind direction using your ears – let the wind blow onto your back, then slowly turn your head left to right and back until you feel it “equalize” over your ears. Once you find that point, you now know the wind direction, and using this method, you can understand the wind more without having to use your eyes.
4. If you have a yacht club near you, you might volunteer as a crew for racing. You will learn more in one race than in years of sailing by yourself

             OK… With all that said. What if the church were viewed using this analogy? What if we operated (so to speak) with the discipline and courage of sailing a boat. Not a boat with a motor mind you… a boat with a mast and a sail to get you where you are supposed to be without any back up plan. What if we did everything we were supposed too? Like getting to the meeting place every Sunday morning at 6am, plugging in wires, organizing volunteers, setting up the coffee, and so on… Everyone working together in perfect harmony to get the job done. But…What if we did all that without asking God to be in it?

           We can’t do this on our own… We can do everything in our power to get this ministry going, but without wind… the boat will never move! I have been privileged to be on a sail boat, but if you haven’t, I know that you have seen this scene somewhere in a movie or the Discovery Channel… the crew is preparing everything to get underway all the hustling around checking everything out to make sure it’s properly secured as in the halyards that are the lines to control the sails all the way to pointing the sail in the right direction… POINTING THE SAIL IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION… you can do all this but without wind, well you get the picture! There is always that one split second moment that you are waiting for that excitement when you hear the the “CA-POW” of the wind hitting the sail… When God kinda gives you that little push of confirmation that you are doing His will. When we do all this work and ask God to be in it. When He decides it’s the right time for the boat to commence the journey there is nothing like the “CA-POW” of hearing Him hit that Canvas. We haven’t launched this church in Savannah yet but the past couple of days have helped me realize that we are at least going in the right direction. We are starting to learn the tides of the community, we aren’t listening to the wind direction by using our ears but by using our hearts… We have a great Leader in Doug, He is the right man at the right time and in the right place, God is using him more than he knows. and I can’t not mention Shelly… she is right there beside him helping him stay pointing in the right direction as he prepares to get under way. I hope one day I have someone like her by my side. God is preparing the hearts of that city and He is waiting on the canvas to catch His wind… Get Ready Savannah because the canvas can do miracles… just you wait and see…

 

Helen-isms

my aunt helen was a really cool lady. She married my great Uncle Francis after WWII. She was from Pennsylvania and was a yankee catholic. She used to say things randomly wrong. After a few urges from friends to write this down somewhere I am finally doing it… I hope I got all of them, if you’re in my family please add as needed!!!

1.  Her house was such a mess it looked like an optical course
2.  The grass was so high that Uncle France had to use a mercedes to cut it down
3.  Her daughter Evelyn had to go get her yearly monogram to help prevent breast cancer
4.  Her future son-in-law was upset and decided to go to the mountains to live a herman’s life
5.  She had to help her grandson move into his brand new condom
6.  (my personal favorite) She was telling Preacher Johnny how the doctor had to put Uncle France on a low sodomy diet… it was supposed to be low sodium! 

Anyway… I know there are more and I will add them as I remember. I miss you Aunt Saint Helen! 

brighter than sunshine…

If you don’t believe God can use you to transform a city then by all means… STAY HOME! Steven Furtick spoke today at “Evolve” a conference at Mountain Lake Church in Cumming. The guys have been telling me about him for a while and I wouldn’t listen. Man… This guy is on fire. He said some things that made me think and almost got me up on my feet a couple of times! I mean, as of lately this whole thing is becoming a lot more real. I have an apartment in Savannah, I  have moved a lot of stuff (thanks to Shane & Rick). I am taking another trip down this weekend with the other 1/2 of my entire life. Jordan & Lindsey are living here at my house… my stuff is slowly going away and their stuff is slowly coming in. It’s a little surreal. Today helped me a lot with this transition. I am realizing slowly that this is not about me. I need to keep my eyes focused on the Kingdom and that God is in control. Doug is a great Pastor and has a great team. But it doesn’t matter how great we are at what we do… if we’re going to pray that God makes the sun stand still we’d better be willing to march all night long! (Joshua 10).  

home on the range

I did it!  I leased an apartment today! It is in the Wilmington Island area of Savannah! I am excited but I will miss my little house

do you remember? (for my family)

As time grows closer to my move, I am feeling a little sentimental. These are some of my favorite memories … just random tokens of my last 29 years…I remember 

• doing cannonballs in the swimming pool at our old house in Mableton
• scaring Kerrie & Kristie in the middle of the night by whispering Ch Ch Ha Ha from Friday the 13th when I was 5 years old
• riding around with my grandad in his old black Mark 3, It had red leather
• going to toys-r-us with my mom to buy a bike in our corvette and having to ride in the floorboard all the way home. (that was safe)
• standing beside my grandad at the jewelry store and being so little that I had to look up at the customer through the glass doors, they winked at me
• going with my grandmother to buy things for people in our family who were less fortunate. she told me not to tell my grandad, but I know he knew…
• sitting in my grandmother’s living room when she led me to Christ
• standing beside my grandfather on the front pew at PGBC as he gave his testimony. He was shaking. Not from nerves though, he is a very passionate man. 
• listening to my grandmother play the piano in the living room as I slept on the red velvet sofa
• growing up in a  home with parents who genuinely love each other
• sitting in a court room supporting an innocent person and hearing the words… Not Guilty
• singing in church for the first time
• the feeling I had when I bought my house
• singing harmony with Jan & Erica
• going to Johnny/Donnie’s on wednesday night after church for hickory fries
• backing my car into the light pole at Tapp
• breaking my first board in Taekwondo
• riding in my aunt claudia’s convertible and getting whistled at by a guy at the taco bell in mableton LOL ( That’s for you Lala)
• riding in her car another time and almost getting hit by a golf ball ( that was weird)
• going to Hilton Head every labor day with Daniel & Kristen
• the feeling I had when I decided to go to Savannah

I could go on forever with this. I just was thinking about a lot of stuff today and wanted to jot it down somewhere. I love you guys!

what’s going on…

Very Random Thoughts for Today…

1. American Idol is just not what it used to be
2. The only good game show on TV is Jeopardy
3. Apartment hunting is stressful, especially when they are all 4 hours away
4. I need a haircut
5. I miss chocolate
6. Being Fat is not fun
7. Indiana Jones is my hero
8. I need a new iPod
9. I’m Hungry
10. I Love my Family
11. I Love My Friends
12. Scratch #7… My Dad is my hero. But Indy is really cool too!
13. I Love Olive Garden

peace out…

sitting, waiting , wishing…

Sometimes I think of what it will be like in Savannah. Sometimes I get really overwhelmed thinking about everything I have to do before I move. Sometimes I just want to get everything over with,  get down there and get to work. Sometimes I get tired of sitting and waiting. I just wish that all this would just be behind me…  I got really frustrated today, nothing major happened just a lot of stuff all at once and I wanted to give up and move down there tomorrow. After I got over myself and read in Acts a little I started laughing at myself because God is pushing me there faster than I wanted in the first place. What’s up with that?  When I think of all the events that lead me to where I am today… that’s when I should be overwhelmed. Overwhelmed with the love that I feel, the love that makes my love seem like pure hatred. The same love that’s already waiting around the corner before I get there. The love that’s been wishing I would do this for a while. I am no longer making these decisions on my own, I am following the path that He is laying out in front of me. Let me stress this next point… I mean literally throwing opportunities in my face… I’ve heard people say being a Christian is hard. I have been a Christian my whole life and yes, there have been a lot of frustrating times. But ever since I gave in to God and started being a Christ “follower”, the times when I get frustrated because things aren’t going exactly the way I think they are supposed too. Those times just seem trivial… Jeremiah 29:11 is probably one of the most popular bible verses. If you go into any Christian bookstore I guarantee you will find a picture or a T-shirt with that scripture on it… It reads: For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. In the next couple of verses you will find that if we pray, He will listen and if we look for Him with all our heart, we will find Him. So… yeah He’s going to take care of us, but we have to give Him our Whole Heart first (worry included). I think we forget about that part sometimes… At least I do.

Going To The Chapel…

            I went to my cousin Jordan’s wedding today. He & Lindsey are a great couple. Some of you already know they are the ones buying my house. I can’t wait to be your roommates even if it’s just for 2 months!  I’ll see you guys in a week. Anyway, The wedding was awesome. They go to a church in Atlanta called “The Mission” [www.the-mission-church.com] The wedding was in what looked kinda like a gym. One of the most beautiful weddings I have ever attended. Those guys did a great job.                      What was so neat about this wedding is this: After the bride was given away, the Bride & Groom both sat down facing the audience and the wedding party sat on the front rows. The Pastor started preaching. It was amazing. He told a story of how 20 something years ago Lindsey’s parents went to the furniture store and purchased a few things from Wink. Who at the time was pregnant with Jordan, they had no idea that they would be standing their today with their children getting married. He then went on to say how it reminded him of the church and how Jesus was sent to us in the form of a baby. It made me think of how Jordan & Lindsey met that day and then never saw each other until many years later, then they fell in love. I realized no matter how long it’s been since you’ve had an encounter with Jesus, it’s so very easy to pick up where you left off. It’s easy to fall in love with Him again. He never stopped loving you!  Then we had communion. Not just the newlyweds, the entire audience. It was amazing! I pray that someone there may have had their heart tugged by the Holy Spirit in a very subtle way. The way it’s supposed to happen. Today was a great day and Lindsey was beautiful, I know a girl dreams of her wedding day all her life, I’m glad Lindsey decided to share hers… Not only were all eyes on the bride… Jesus was ELEVATED! “Going To The Chapel”  Whatever! I went to a warehouse without a steeple filled with the Love Of Jesus Christ!