"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

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

For the few people that read our blog that are not related to us, let me go ahead and apologize up front for this post. I am writing this post for our families. They have all wanted to see our house decorated for Christmas, but nobody is going to be able to travel this way. So.....enter a very self-indulgent blog full of pictures of my house all decked out! Sorry!

Here is a picture of our cozy little home from the outside. Check out all that snow!



Had to include this one......even Hairy Dawg is in the Christmas Spirit!



This picture is going to take some explainin' This is my "sentimental" tree. I am married to possibly the world's most traditional man. Let me share an example with you... every year Matt's family put up the same angel on their Christmas tree. When Matt was in high school, his mom decided it was time for a new angel, so she purchased a beautiful one, I am sure, but you see I have never seen this angel. When Matt came home and found a new angel on the family tree....let's just say he was not happy! "Christmas is just not Christmas without that angel!!!" Well look closely at this tree....look where the angel is now! When the time came to buy the angel for our Christmas tree that first year we were married - it was AWFUL! I almost made myself sick because I knew I had to choose wisely because the angel I bought that year would follow me to my grave!!!!

This tree is also sentimental for other reasons: the lights and garland are from Matt's mom and dad's first Christmas tree, all of the ornaments were handmade by Davis at school, and under the tree is a Radio Flyer Rocket that Davis got his first Christmas. The tree skirt is a new sentiment as well. I could not find that perfect tree skirt for this tree but knew I needed one quick because we have some very special friends coming to visit next week SO I went to the fabric store, chose some fabric, shipped it to my mom, she sewed a tree skirt in record time and shipped it back! YAY US Postal Service!



The infamous Georgia Tree! Davis decorated this tree all by himself this year! He did a great job, too!



This is the newest tree to the Scott home. This past summer, Davis moved into the big world of Bunk Beds. We allowed him to choose his bed and the bedding. Not much of a surprise that he went with Star Wars. This is the beginnings of a Star Wars tree. Pretty sad.....it has only one ornament, BUT check out R2 in the Santa hat!



This is the tree in our bedroom. Nothing particularly special or sentimental here, just needed a tree in every window! BUT check out those Santa's under the tree. My mother-in-law collects these Santas (woof-n-poof) and every year I comment on how cute they are! Look what I got for Christmas last year! Musical Woof-N-Poof Santas!



The next two pictures are of our kitchen. We keep our Snow Village up all year above the cabinets, and just like my post from the other day about Christmas music, there are lots of days Matt comes home from work throughout the year to find the Snow Village plugged in! Can you tell I kind of enjoy Christmas? The second picture is of a little tree on the counter that has tiny kitchen utensil ornaments on it





The next picture is of what I usually put on our mantle, but this is Davis' first Christmas without a fireplace. Insert a sad face! But I just could not stand the thought of not putting these pictures out, so we put them on our dining room table. These are Davis' yearly picture with Santa. The first and second are my personal favorites. That first year we could not get him to look at the camera, he was way to interested in Santa. The second year is that terrified, screaming for mommy picture! You gotta love that!



These final pictures are of our main tree in the living room. This is the tree Santa comes to and also the tree with all the gifts. We love having a live tree, and you all know that every year there is a story to picking out our live tree. Nothing beats the year that we went to the tree farm and cut down our tree, but true to form, there was a story this year as well. We just went to a little market close to our house, nothing fancy, but I would not let Matt drive my car. We had just gotten it out of the shop from our little "wreck" and I just did not want to scratch it up, so we took Matt's work car. Probably not the smartest thing to take a Camry to buy a tree, but we did. We picked out a tree, tied it to the top and began the drive home. Well, the tree started slipping and I just casually said "Davis you need to pray we get this tree home" I never thought of it again until we were at the dentist. The hygenist that was cleaning Davis' teeth said "Do you have your tree up yet?" Davis replied "Yes mam, we do. I had to pray that God would let us get it home. So you see, prayer works!" Davis decided to witness to the dental staff! He is his father's child!



This is the rocky horse that Santa brought to Davis his very first Christmas.



This is the rocker fire truck that we gave Davis on his first birthday. Old Santa is in there, and there are presents in the back



Sorry for the picture overload! There is actually one more tree in the bathroom, but I forgot to take pictures of it and I think I am at my limit! I will upload that tree next time!

Merry Christmas!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

This past weekend, we had a little snow. Being from Alabama - this was like a blizzard to us! We could not believe it when we saw people driving in this!!!! Matt and Davis got out for a little game of football. They had the best time!





I had to include this next picture for all of my friends from Oneonta. Do you guys remember the Ski School video?



Well.....this is what we woke up to this morning



A LOT OF SNOW!

This snow called for a game of soccer - not sure why, but soccer was played, fun was had and memories were made.





PS - People did not drive in this!

Christmas Music

Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE Christmas music! I listen to it all year long, much to the disdain of my dear, sweet husband. I am never far from my Steven Curtis Chapman Christmas CD. That has been a staple in my life since it was only available on tape - and that has been a LONG time!

Well....I have some shocking news.....I have a new favorite Christmas CD. Here it is.....





I LOVE Chris Tomlin! I LOVE the whole Passion movement! Matt and I will be attending Passion Atlanta 2011 in January and we are ten years older than the "recommended" age! I just refuse to grow up I guess. I digress... Back to the main point....I really enjoy when Chris Tomlin releases a new cd. This cd was like gold to me.....Chris Tomlin and Christmas music, could I really ask for more. It actually came out last year, I loved it, listened to it frequently at Christmas and then forgot about it.

Then today I was humming Christmas songs while folding laundry and these words came to my mind:

What hope we hold this starlit night
A King is born in Bethlehem
Our journey long, we seek the light
That leads to the hallowed manger ground


I had to go dig out this cd and have fallen in love with these songs! Wow! If you want a true worship experience this Christmas season hop on over to itunes and download the album! Or...somehow my mom got the cd at Lifeway for $5.00. If you do neither of those, just enjoy these beautiful lyrics to my new favorite Christmas song:

Emmanuel

What hope we hold this starlit night
A King is born in Bethlehem
Our journey long, we seek the light
That leads to the hallowed manger ground

What fear we felt in the silent age
Four hundred years can He be found
But broken by a baby's cry
Rejoice in the hallowed manger ground

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
God incarnate here to dwell
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
Praise His name Emmanuel


The son of God, here, born to bleed
A crown of thorns would pierce His brow
And we beheld this offering
Exalted now the King of kings
Praise God for the hallowed manger ground

Emmanuel, Emmanuel
God incarnate here to dwell
Emmanuel, Emmanuel
Praise His name Emmanuel
Praise His name Emmanuel

Oh, praise His name Emmanuel

A Letter To Santa

I LOVE to read! I am always reading the newest book that I have heard about. Between my mother-in-law, my sweet friends Rosemary and Jency, and the traditional library card, I am never at a loss for a good book. One Christmas a few years back my dear friend (and new Grandmother - CONGRATS!!!!) JoJo gave me Chicken Soup for the Christmas Holidays. You know... those books that have ALL those stories that make you cry? Well I read it and cried, a lot! But one story in particular stood out to me.

Tonight, as Matt is out of town, Davis and I are snuggling in bed watching Snow Buddies, and snow is falling all around our cozy little home, I remembered this story. I went and dug it out....tonight is the perfect night for this....Hope you enjoy!


A Letter To Santa



My five-year-old scribbled out his Christmas list. It's there by the fireplace. The Coke and chocolates are from him, in case you're hungry. You know five-year-olds these days. The Cheez-Its are from me.

Santa, if you don't mind, I thought I'd go ahead and leave my list, too. It's long, but do what you can.

It's all I want for Christmas.

~ Santa, let my little boy grow up still believing that he has the funniest dad in the neighborhood.

~ Give him many close friends, both boys and girls. May they fill his days with adventure, security and dirty fingernails.

~ Leave his mom and me some magic dust that will keep him just the size he is now. We'd just as soon he stayed five years old and three feet, four inches tall.

~ If he must grow up, Santa, make sure he still wants to sit on my lap and read Frog & Toad together.

~ Let our house be filled with slamming doors and toilet seats, which are the official sounds of little boys.

~ Break it to him gently, Santa, that his dad won't always be able to carry him to bed at night or brush his teeth for him. Teach him courage in the face of such change.

~ Let him understand that no matter how nice you are to everyone, the world will sometimes break your heart. As you know, Santa, child's feelings are as fragile as moth wings.

~ Let him become a piano player, a soccer star or a pastor. Or all three. Anything but a politician.

~ Give him hunger for books, music and geography. May he be the first kid in kindergarten to be able to find Madagascar on a map.

~ The kid's a born artist, Santa, so send more crayons. May our kitchen window and refrigerator doors be ever plastered with his sketches of surreal rainbows and horses with big ears.

~ Steer him oh-so-carefully to that little girl destined to be his bride. Let his mother and me still be around when they walk down the aisle as husband and wife. And Santa, please let her daddy be obscenely rich.

~ Grant him a heart that will cherish what his parents did right, and forgive us for the mistakes we surely will have made over a lifetime of raising him.

~ Let him not hold it against us that he was born with my chin and his mother's ears. Time will teach him that these are God's way of girding him for life's adversities.

~ Hold him steady on the day that he learns the truth about you and the Easter Bunny. May he take the news better than I did.

~ While you're flying around up the heavens, Santa, make sure God has heard our prayer for this child: Lead our little boy not into temptation; deliver him from evil.

Be careful out there, Santa. And close the flue on your way up!



Merry Christmas to you and yours!