express yourself

I was talking to a friend on the phone earlier and I said something that I haven’t said yet… I told him he needed to come visit Savannah so I could show him the city. Not the city that people go to on vacation, but the real city. Since I moved I have seen many different aspects of Savannah. I have seen beautiful mansions on Washington Ave., I have seen arsty scad students and I have seen homeless people on the side of the road. These ofcourse are the extremes of what makes this city beautiful. There are also people just like you and me. People that get up and go to work everyday and live in their little bungalows or out in the suburbs with kids and errands and bills etc…

My friend Ashley and I went to an SCAD Arts Festival Saturday in Forsyth Park. There were hundreds of sidewalk drawings. It was beautiful. All the different colors and sights, drawings ranging from the Mona Lisa to a scene for “The Office”. I had a great time walking around and taking photos. I will post a few to this blog so you get the idea.

 

I just wanted to talk about my new home a little so you guys could understand what I am feeling. This city is just that… a city. A big mixing bowl of different kinds of people, cultures and religions. From the beautiful to the ugly, from the hot to the cold, from the dark to the light… I can’t wait for Canvas to add it’s culture to this bowl we call Savannah…

in the still of the night

My friend Ashley and I went downtown last night to get some night shots from across the river. This is my favorite…

 

the apple of my eye

I found an Apple authorized service & sales center in Midtown Savannah. I was just riding by and there it was like a beacon in the night…   God must be in Savannah after all…

i can see clearly now

I grew up in a great family. A family that was very accepting and loving of other people. I grew up in a great church. A church that had people with a heart for service, whether it be foreign missions or leading people through a dark trail at night. I grew up with many great memories. 

Now, I want to help create an environment that someone can say the same thing about. I want to help create an environment that leads people to give everything they have to loving one another. I want to help create an environment that encourages people to elevate Jesus and show His love, not just tell people about it. I’m not sure what that environment looks like yet, it may be something very foreign to anything Savannah has ever seen before, it may help lead someone out of the darkness they have been walking in for a long time and help them find an accepting family.

All of the things that I have experienced in my life are just now starting to become clear. I have realized recently that greater things have yet to come…

Big Tent Revival

Today was a great day at CATR. We had the 2nd anniversary service as well as the commissioning Ceremony for Canvas Church. We were in a huge tent in the middle of The Kroger parking lot with over 500 people in attendance. Although, I can’t believe we didn’t sing “I’ll Fly Away”, well… I tried, they wouldn’t let me! It was still a fun time had by all! I am driving back to Savannah tomorrow afternoon and will not be back up here until May 10th. This will be my longest time away from home since I moved. I am excited that I will have time to get involved in some stuff as well as volunteer at the Savannah Baptist Center in the afternoons! But I will miss everybody, it’s finally starting to sink in that I am not living here anymore…

I am still fasting from caffeine, the headaches have just about gone away…

I think I am going to start a rehab center for people that drink a lot of coffee. I could make a fortune!

thriller

OK… so Laura’s down here working on newsletter stuff with me. She wanted to go on one of those Ghost tours tonight. So, I went along… It’s the first tourist thing i’ve done since I moved here. It was kinda cool albeit a little cheesy. But, it will give me cool stories to tell my visitors whilst driving them thru the city at night. If I could only find one of my “trail” cd’s to play in the background!  …LOL

 

On a side note… Mark challenged us yesterday at our core group meeting to fast from something until our next meeting may 10th. I think this will be great because every time we think about the thing we are fasting from it will remind us to pray. I picked Caffeine! I have the worst headache and I feel like I have the flu!   Needless to say… I am praying a lot!!!

I miss you Starbucks, I’ll never let go!

carolina in my mind

Well,

I’m sitting in a Panera Bread in Kernersville, NC. or it could be Friedville or maybe Friedtown or maybe it was that restaurant across the street called biscuitville?  I am so confused! Nonetheless, I have finally found internet! The country up here is beautiful, the rolling hills and mountain terrain. It is near Winston-Salem which has a lot of awesome old cemeteries and houses from the 17th Century. I am going to take some photos later. 

So… nothing profound on this blog! Just ramblings of the traveling Mikey.

road home

well…. it’s official, I am no longer a home owner. Jordan & Lindsey closed on my house yesterday at 10. I am really excited for them and I’m also happy that a family member bought it. I know that they will take care of it.

As for me… I am in Savannah for good now but will be back in Atlanta for the next two weekends. This Sunday, April 13th, Doug will be speaking at CATR and next Sunday, April 20th, we will be celebrating the 2nd Anniversary of the church in a tent at the Kroger parking lot on Ridge Road at 10:30. I hope everyone can come out! 

Please pray for CATR through the transition process and that they will continue to change people’s perspectives on following Christ. I have learned so much from these guys and will miss everyone.

Check out Steve’s blog: www.attheridge.wordpress.com

P.S. Thanks to Nathan for the blog title! www.nathanangelo.com (shameless plug)

 

 

 

title & registration

1. I’m tired of I-16
2. I am closing on my house tomorrow
3. Church was great yesterday, I miss singing at PGBC. I love you guys!
4. We are about to have a staff meeting for Canvas. I love our team
5. McDonald’s has really good pancakes
6. Got my car back this weekend from the body shop after 3 weeks. No more golf ball paint!
7. Going to North Carolina this weekend to Neil & Ashley’s wedding
8. Had a lot of fun singing at Lindsey’s wedding Saturday! I love Dave Barnes songs!
9. I need a new shirt
10. I love my friends & family but I Can’t wait to get back home
11. I added flair to facebook… it’s addictive! Thanks a lot Shelly!

how can i keep from singing

So…  I have been in Savannah, well back & forth, for about 2 months. It’s a little different when I’m down here because I don’t know that many people yet and I don’t have the “jewelry” or more importantly the “Christian” reputation. In Villa Rica, I couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone who knew me or my family from the jewelry store. As I go places and people ask what I do or why did I move down here I tell them that I am helping to plant a church. I always like to see their reaction to this statement. Sometimes it’s joy (maybe they are a christian), sometimes it’s confusion (plant a church?), sometimes it’s that uncomfortable… (Oh, OK… )

I have been reading a book called UnChristian by David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons. It’s a pretty interesting read about how young people (16-29 yr. olds) perceive a religious faith. It’s full of statistics some of which I am not surprised about. For example… these are the most unfavorable phrases used to describe the Christian faith.

anti-homosexual

judgmental

hypocritical

too involved in politics

out of touch with reality (my favorite)

old fashioned

insensitive to others

boring

not accepting to other faiths

confusing

I wanted to share this with everyone who reads this blog because I think this list gives Christ Followers a little wake up call.  In 1 Corinthians it says that as Christians we sound foolish to outsiders and I’m sure judging them does not help. Why would they want to be a part of that? On the other hand non-christians have to stop judging us and realize that we want to help. Recently, I had a conversation with a homosexual man. He knew that I am a Christ follower and just expected me to flip out when I heard that he was gay. We talked for a while about the christian faith. At the end of the conversation he told me that he was surprised that I still wanted to be his friend. Why was he surprised?  This made me sad, As Christians, we have the task of changing the perception of the Christian faith. The task of showing what Jesus was and is really about. Not being judgmental or hypocritical but by serving others and living a life that would reflect Jesus’ life by showing love to everyone! We may sound foolish to outsiders but I for one do not feel foolish because I know the truth. For I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing!