Weekend Wrap-up

Well, Friday night I was home alone with the girls. Gene took the college students to "Secret Church" at Brook Hills in Birmingham. He was so convicted by this event and the material that was taught. It was about money, possessions, and materialism and having a radical faith...different from the American culture. He has been reading and praying like crazy since he got back . You can check out the website at http://www.secretchurch.org/ I am waiting for the web-site to post the sermons from Friday night so I can hear the awesome preaching that Gene heard. But, you can check out past events while you wait, if you are interested.

The Secret Church event was from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. in Birmingham, but didn't end until 1:00 a.m. That put Gene getting home at 2:55 a.m. You will remember that we had to take Gracen to Children's Hospital that morning and we got up at 4:30 a.m. Gene was almost awake 24 hours. I felt guilty when I went to sleep at 8:30 Friday night, but oh well. I slept like a rock, too. Gene did get to sleep until about 10:00 Saturday morning. I was up bright and early with both girls and then had to keep them both quiet for hours. That was fun. So I guess we are even.

We hung out around the house on Saturday, eating lunch together and hanging out with the girls outside. That is always nice. Gene had to head over to the church for chair set-up at 5:00 so we decided to make a date out of it. I called Kimberly Hunt, one of Reagan's favorite people, to ask if she was free. Thankfully she was. Had she been busy, we would have called Jenna Sanders, another favorite of Reagan's. I feel completely comfortable with either one of these sweet girls keeping my daughters. They are actually the only 2 people who have watched Reagan and Gracen besides family members. They both love the Lord and are completely trustworthy. Gene and I feel blessed to have them in our lives and to have them love our girls like they do.

Gene and I went to Longhorn, our absolute favorite restaurant. I had a gift certificate that my sister Lindsay gave me for my birthday back in April. She knew it was a favorite location for us. Thanks again Lin...the dinner was yummy! The conversation was even better. God is stirring both of our hearts in similar ways and we spent the whole time just discussing different things. It was nice to talk to each other without Reagan or Gracen interrupting us every 2 syllables...God love 'em.

On Sunday, we headed to church for a great day of worship. Gene taught a rich lesson in Sunday School about moving beyond the basics in your Christian walk. I thought it was pretty powerful and contained many things that we all (as Christians) need to be reminded of....

• Study the Word of God....Dont' just read the Word, but really study what it means. I need to pray and ask God to help me be mighty in the scriptures...to read it, know it, and APPLY it. When I am doing those things, my life will become a "letter" that God has written on my heart for other people to read as they watch my life. *That is pretty convicting, especially raising children.
• Show your passion for God....I should always have a fervency about my relationship with God. I shouldn't let my love and passion for Him fade away due to the stresses of life. When I don't feel like praying, that's when I need to pray. When I don't feel like reading my Bible, that's when I need to read my Bible. When I don't feel like giving God praise, that's when I need to praise Him. Well, you get the idea. My life should always show that He is my first love....above all other things.
• Speak boldly for God...I need to always be ready to share my faith. I need to be looking for those opportunities and take them as God opens the door. If I am afraid, I need to pray for boldness, trusting that He is going to give me the exact words to say.
• Stay teachable...No matter how much a person knows about the Bible, they only know a "drop in the bucket" because God's Word is infinitely rich. I do not ever need to get to a place where I think I know it all, that I don't have to read God's Word, that I don't need to listen... I don't ever want to become arrogant or prideful in my knowledge of God.
• Serve alongside the people of God...I need to stay connected to a local body of believers and I need to be actively engaged in ministry. This one is hard for me right now because anything I do outside of this home, takes me away from my girls and requires me to get a baby sitter or drag them around at all hours of the day and night (depending on the area of service). I miss teaching and doing a lot of the things I did with Gene before we had children, but I know I am called to my girls. That includes respecting their routines and bedtimes. I am more sensitive to this with a baby in the house, and I am looking forward to doing more things related to ministry as Gracen gets a little older.

Gene shared some other points, but these really spoke to me. I hope they speak to you as well.

Well, check back tomorrow.

It will be a big day around here.