It’s Thanksgiving so it’s time for the blog about being thankful…

I wanted to write a really cool blog that was a good read but I didn’t want to just write a blog talking about how thankful i am. I didn’t want to just write a blog talking about all the stuff that God has given me over this past year or all the amazing experiences I have had.  I thought about listing all of them and then i decided that was a little cliche’. I thought about being eloquent and writing a poem. That didn’t work either. So… i figured since I take a lot of photos that I’d just post a lot of those and be kinda artistic. You know… like a collage. but… as I was looking through all of them and really reminiscing. I got to the last ones that I was going to use. They trumped the rest. in fact… there was one in particular.

today… i am thankful for this…

yep. it’s been a while. I have a lot that i want to say. but can’t seem to put it into words at the moment. I promise i will be blogging more now.

I was talking to a friend tonight and somehow we got on the topic of Rich Mullins. I have always loved his music and was sad when he died in 1997 but i never really knew much about him. I love wikipedia. Here is a quote…

“If you’ve ever known the love of God, you know it’s nothing but reckless and it’s nothing but raging. Sometimes it hurts to be loved, and if it doesn’t hurt it’s probably not love, may be infatuation. I think a lot of American people are infatuated with God, but we don’t really love Him, and they don’t really let Him love them. Being loved by God is one of the most painful things in the world, it’s also the only thing that can bring us salvation and it’s like everything else that is really wonderful, there’s a little bit of pain in it, little bit of hurt.” -Rich Mullins

Am i really letting God love me?

Let’s meditate on that a little while.

“We’re alcoholics and drug addicts but we don’t mean nothin by it”

ok… let me explain…

This week has been amazing. On Saturday, 21 middle school kids and 9 adults arrived in Savannah from First Baptist West Palm Beach. They were here on a mission trip with “Power Plant” (a program through the North American Mission Board) it pairs churches from all over the country with church planters in different cities to help them and learn about how we do church. for photos click here and here

Our week was a little hectic. The kids and leaders all stayed at SSU in the dorms and then would meet up with us at 1:30 every afternoon and hang out until 9:30 every night. I had a slew of activities planned…

Monday: We stuffed bags with free chick-fil-a coupons and invites to church and then drove around all over Whitemarsh Island hanging them on doors. It was hot! We walked a lot!

Tuesday: We volunteered our time and man-power to the theatre where we meet. We asked them what we could do and they were not shy to tell us… We cut down trees and raked leaves to clear out a back parking lot that has been neglected for a while. It was HOT! Those guys worked hard!

Wednesday: We went to the Baptist Center in the inner city and helped throw a block party for the church that is meeting there. We setup, made signs played with kids and signed them up for VBS. It was HOT!

Thursday: We built over 200 pb&j sandwiches in my garage then drove to different locations downtown to find hungry/homeless people and just offer them a small meal. I was surprised at how many we gave out. This brings me to my first statement…

My group encountered three homeless men in a park… Richard, Johnny and Jerry. These guys were completely wasted, entertaining but wasted. We gave them each 2 sandwiches and then hung out for a minute. It was the first time some of these kids had ever been that close to the homeless. I talked to them and so did the kids… they weren’t scared at all. One of the guys even made a flower out of grass and the other made up a poem. anyway they said the above statement as we were walking away. We are just there to spread the love of Christ!

Next we went to a mission downtown to donate the rest of the sandwiches and noticed a lot of people standing outside to get in. Some were obviously homeless and were laying in the grass while others just looked hungry.

One lady in particular caught my eye… she looked “normal”. By normal I mean… she was clean and seemed to be wearing a badge from work. I thought she may be volunteering at the shelter. But, no! she was standing in line just like everyone else. This humbled me more than I have been humbled in my life. This lady was different… not that I think the other people were not important… it’s not my place to judge anyone or how they got into their particular situation. It’s just that she had been working and just didn’t have money to eat. Her image has been burned in my mind for the last 24 hours.

One of the discussion questions from journey group this past week was: When was the last time you really suffered for Christ?

I thought I had been suffering all week in the heat. I thought that it was just way too hot to be outside and couldn’t wait to get into the van or back home to the A/C.

That woman left her job to go stand outside in line at a shelter to get a meal in that same heat. She was drenched in sweat and when we gave her the sandwich her eyes were grateful although she didn’t say anything but a simple Thank You…I could tell she needed that sandwich.

When was the last time you really suffered for Christ?

I promise I will be blogging next week… Life has been crazy! For a glimpse at what my week has been like… go here

picture this…

a small country church

lots of people

a little warm inside

music

“take my hand. precious Lord”

the smell of casserole coming from the fellowship hall just downstairs

a band setting up on a flatbed trailer outside

three people stand up and start singing acapella from their seats

the pastor asks the mom with the most kids to stand up

the pastor asks the youngest mom to stand up

the pastor asks the mom with the most kids present to stand up

(they all get gifts)

four part harmonies around an upright piano that an awesome woman is playing in the corner

a tambourine playing on the front row of the choir

sitting so close to the person next to you that you can hardly breathe

all your family is there 

ladies and gentlemen… on the organ… Mr. Harvey Brock wearing a plaid suit

“the old rugged cross”

“because He lives”

“i’ll fly away”

20 minute alter call

“softly & tenderly “

tears

“i see that hand”

finally eating that casserole you have been smelling for hours

going outside in the heat to listen to some southern gospel

one day there will be a great reunion

Don’t Forget… no service tonight…

It’s Mother’s Day.

just thought i would share some of my memories for you guys. 

I Love You Mommy!

Happy Mother’s Day!

I always tell people that I grew up in a jewelry store full of women…

Women that molded and shaped me to the man I am today.

Women that are important to me. 

So… this mother’s day I want to celebrate these women.

Women in my family.

Women that were daughters once… but are now Grandmothers, Mothers, Aunts & Cousins.

Virginia B. Collins  (grandmother)

Janet Sue Collins Edde (mother)

Mary Helen Margaret McLaughlin Collins (aunt)

Claudia Eileen Collins Remeta (aunt/mother)

Geneva Louise Curl Buckner (aunt/mother)

Marria McWilliams (aunt/mother)

Linnell Brownlee Holeman (aunt)

Darnice Brownlee (aunt)

Kerrie Leigh Remeta Tisone (sister)

Kristie Eileen Remeta Endsley (sister)

Gail Scoggins Collins (aunt)

Cindy Collins Smith (cousin)

Gina Arnett Collins (aunt/mother)

Gini Linnell Collins Burdette (aunt/mother)

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. Make sure you let your mom (or ) all your mom’s know what they mean to you.

This morning I was watching one of my favorite tv shows, “The West Wing” . I was so upset when they ended it. Anyway… there is a great quote that I wanted to share.

One of the president’s staff was saying that he thought he had an idea but if it were that good of an idea someone would have already thought of it. The president in return said… I find that statement to be false.

So… as it pertains to my life…

As the Action Director for the church it is my job to find opportunities in the city for outreach and come up with ways to be the hands and feet to people who need it. Also to encourage those people to Forward that love to someone else. I am always trying to think of new ways to do this. Another outside the box way to spread love in this city. But everything I can think of seems trivial or just not the right way to do it. 

After hearing this quote on the TV, I have decided to change my outlook…

Yes, there are a lot of people out there that have great organizations and are reaching many people.

-but-

There are still people that are not being reached.

There are a lot of ideas that no one has thought of yet. And it’s usually a lot more simple than you think.

Seriously! Be at Canvas Church this Sunday at 10am & 11am! Watch this… it’s funny!

If you were to see a Ferrari driving down the road, you might say to yourself that’s a pretty car and then move on. But if you were to be given the chance to test drive a Ferrari, you would probably try to come up with a way to buy one.

If you were to drive by a mansion that was beautiful, you would probably say that it would be too much to clean. But if you were given the chance to live in it for a week, you would probably try to figure out how many roommates it would take to pay the mortgage and then buy a really nice vacuum. 

All I am saying is that until you have something or have had something you don’t really know what it’s like…

What about being a Christ follower for another example?

Is it just about going to church on Sunday morning?

How about if we add a bible study in the middle of the week?

Or donate a couple of hours on a Saturday to serving in our city?

Have we fully experienced God’s love? When do we realize what it’s really like to follow? 

I’m leaving this one open…