"I Like To Move It, Move It"

Just could not pass up that title! I mean really - could there ever be a more perfect theme song for my family?

Anyway - just wanted to touch base with you all! The movers came Friday and packed up all of our belongings and loaded them onto the truck on Saturday. Let me just give a shameless plug here - if you ever move - you should look into Fortsons Moving Systems. They are based in Oneonta, but they will come anywhere to move you anywhere and they are AMAZING! They do a great job, treat our stuff as if it were their own, and are just so darn nice!!!!! You would never find a better - I PROMISE!

So here we are - in an empty house. Matt missed all the packing fun. He was at the State YEC (Youth Evangelism Conference) - I will get him to publish a post on the weekend soon! From all accounts - it was wonderful!

I kept thinking I would take a few pictures of all the packing/loading/moving fun, but things never slowed down enough. BUT Davis was extra silly tonight and wanted me to take a pic so be prepared - it is quite funny!



Ok - let's discuss this picture - my child is in a Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt three sizes too big, laying on his sleeping bag with all his "sleeping buddies" one of which is a raccoon. Please notice the tv is sitting on a cooler while playing Phineas and Ferb. We are all sleeping on air mattresses and doing laundry at a laundry mat. HMMMM - sounds like the life! Matt said it best when he said - we look very "ghetto"

Oh well - these days will pass quickly and memories have positively been made! I will try to keep you updated on our moving adventure - next up on the agenda for tomorrow - maybe a dinner not prepared in a microwave!

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Most of you already know this - but change is "a comin'" to our household....AGAIN! It seems the only constant in our lives over the past 18 months has been constant change. But this time, the change is not really a new change, but an old change. I am not sure if any of this is making any sense so here goes - we are moving home!!! As of January 9, Matt is the old/new youth pastor of First Baptist Church Oneonta. Let me give some details.

The day we were approved as NAMB missionaries to West Virginia, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to approve the Great Commission Resurgence . Now let me say up front that I am not here to talk convention politics about GCR. Your opinion on GCR is just that - yours. If you do not have an opinion - research it and form one. I am not going to argue back and forth about polity - just not really into that. But I will say that yes - changes needed to happen in the Southern Baptist Convention. And I agree with a lot of what GCR stands for, I just hate the fact that so many people will be losing jobs, and there was a HUGE possibility that we were one of those people. We were told that these changes would happen within seven years, but change seemed to be coming much faster than seven years. But we were trusting God about our future and our job and our income etc. We knew God was in perfect control.

Around the time of the SBC, some things were happening in Oneonta, and LONG story short, they were without a Youth Pastor. Our hearts broke for these students that we love like family. Our hearts cried out for that church that is our home.

Lots of things started happening that were only of God and doors starting opening and it was clear to us that God was calling us home! Let me answer some questions up front - Were we unhappy in West Virginia? No - we were not unhappy and we believe that God 100% called us here. BUT this job did take a toll on our family. We chose to homeschool Davis so that we could travel with Matt, but even traveling and being away from home is hard on a six year old. We also found out thru this process that Matt is not called to an office job. We are both very relational people - relationships and friendships drive us - they are part of who we are - office work - not so much!

I know this whole post has been "all over the place" but my mind is in a million places all at once. The movers are coming this Friday to pack and load our stuff and then it is going to Oneonta. We will stay in West Virginia (in an empty house) until Jan 28. we will then join our stuff at home.

We are just so thankful to be going home! Davis is will be attending "big" school. He and his best friend Ethan have already been talking on the phone planning a spend the night party and were even able to play together the weekend we were in Oneonta.

You all know that I just LOVE Bon Jovi, so let me leave you with some of his lyrics that seem very appropriate in our lives right now:

Who says you can't go home
There's only one place they call me one of their own
Just a hometown boy, born a rolling stone, who says you can't go home
Who says you can't go back, been all around the world and as a matter of fact
There's only one place left I want to go, who says you can't go home

I went as far as I could, I tried to find a new face
There isn't one of these lines that I would erase
I lived a million miles of memories on that road
With every step I take I know that I'm not alone
You take the home from the boy, but not the boy from his home
These are my streets, the only life I've ever known,
who says you can't go home

It doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter where you go
If it's a million miles aways or just a mile up the road
Take it in, take it with you when you go,
who says you can't go home


I am going to leave you with some pictures of why this precious town is home. Not because of Oneonta, but because of the precious people there! We are ready to be home!

Prepare for picture OVERLOAD!!!!




























So there you have it.....who says you can't go home! Please be on the look out....the next post will contain the new name of our blog and the new page address for our blog! We will keep you posted on the moving days that follow!

Passion Atlanta 2011

Matt and I have just returned from Passion Atlanta 2011. I referenced this conference in a previous post, and my admiration has only grown. If you are not familiar with the Passion movement, please take some time to research it. You will be so impressed not only with the founder Louie Giglio, but also with what our Lord and Savior has done and is doing thru this movement.

We have kind-of always stood on the "outside looking in" when it came to Passion. When it first began, Matt and I were at the "recommended age" (this is an "event" intended for college students) but never had an opportunity to attend due to different circumstances, but we have always prayed for, attempted to attend and listened in on every Passion event. We purchased the cd every year, read the blogs (or whatever it was we read back then), prayed for our friends that were able to attend, tried to find a way to go with them, and just stood in awe of what God was doing in this generation.

Well, a few years back at a Youth Workers convention, I finally got to hear Louie Giglio in person. It was at that moment I told Matt we would find a way to get to the next Passion event. I can remember so clearly the message Louie brought. It was one of those moments that God brought my circumstances and His (God's) words together in a "beautiful disaster" and things have never been the same since.

We attended Passion Atlanta 2010 last year with our group from Dothan. We finally made it to Passion!!! Yay us! What an amazing time we had! We knew we would not miss this year! So we packed up our bags and headed to Atlanta. This year was a little different. We were able to attend as leaders (part of Matt's position here in WV) but we were not leaders of a group this year. There we were: "outsiders" again, but this time it was more like we were on the inside looking out! We were able to witness some amazing things!

One morning our seats were directly across from the hearing impaired section. I stood there, as we were led in worship, just watching. Usually that a "no-no" You should never be a spectator in worship, you should always participate. Well, I was participating in worship....I was watching the most beautiful worship I had ever seen! These students were signing the words to these songs! It brought to life the verse "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord"

We heard some amazing speakers like Beth Moore, John Piper, Frances Chan, Louie Giglio, Andy Stanley and David Platt. But that was not the most amazing thing! The most amazing thing was that they were all pointing us to Jesus! This was not an "event" about great speakers and great worship leaders.....this was and is a movement about "walking in the way of Your truth, waiting eagerly for You; Your Name and Your Renown are the desires of our hearts" (Isaiah 26:8)

Let me very quickly share two of the most amazing things that I saw this week. The first was Tuesday night, after a stirring message, 22.ooo college students were asked to walk to their Family Groups in complete silence focusing on Jesus. That may not seem like a big deal to you but not only did these 22,ooo college students have to file out of the Phillips Arena and the Georgia World Congress Center, but some of their Family Groups were three blocks away in downtown Atlanta! And these students DID IT!!! It was an amazing moment. Someone recorded some of this with their cell phone and put it on YouTube.....look it up! I have never seen 20 college students walk in silence, much less 22,ooo!

The other chilling moment was the final announcement of the Do Something Now Center. Each year at Passion they set up an area called Do Something Now. They ask everyone in attendance to bring towels and socks as they check in. Passion in turn donates these towels and socks to a homeless mission in downtown Atlanta. Passion's philosophy is that they want the people of Atlanta to know that there were students in their city that love the Lord for months after they were there. After Passion 2010, this homeless shelter was able to provide new towels and sock to the homeless well into the Fall! Amazing!

The Do Something Now Center is different organizations that Passion has partnered with to take the love of Jesus to the nations. Some of the things these college students could give to included "adopting" a child thru Compassion International, giving money to build wells to bring clean water to people in India, and giving money to help bring simple surgeries to children with life threatening diseases. My personal favorites were Passion wanted to send 20,ooo bibles to Columbia, feed 1500 children in Africa for a year and to build 15 homes in Haiti.

Let me tell you how this generation stepped up! The very last night of Passion, the Do Something Now Center averaged 2,ooo dollars A MINUTE in donations! These college kids gave enough money to send 31,ooo bibles to Columbia, feed 2025 children in Africa for one year and to build 34 homes in Haiti! At the end of the last session the total given was 1,007,000 dollars!!!!! And after the final service when these numbers were announced, these students gave another $150,000!!!!!AMAZING!

Now - let me address you cynics. I am a cynic by nature, so I thought the same thing some of you are thinking....well they are just college kids spending mommy and daddy's money! But then the Spirit convicted me and reminded me of my college years spending mommy and daddy's money and guess what I spent it on....ME....never others! So yes, the majority of this money was probably meant for something else, but these college kids chose to give it for His Name and His Renown!

I will end now! I know this has been long and probably boring for most of you but if you are still reading, here are some things you can do: if you know a college student buy them a ticket to Passion 2012 for Christmas next year - they will never be the same! If you are an adult, pray about volunteering at Passion 2012 next year - you will never be the same! If you are a Christian - pray for Passion 2012 - the world will never be the same!


So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all
I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours