What will it be....Chili's or sushi?

We are back - and not the same!

We arrived back to the ATL last night.  Can't even begin to say all that took place but I want to thank our Father for answering our prayers - and thank YOU for all of your prayers for us and the team and the people there.  We prayed specifically for unity and safety for the team and for God to work in the hearts of the people we ministered to.  He did ALL of that and so much more.

I will probably blog more later - but just a couple immediate

 thoughts.....

• Our mission TEAM was #1!  They ALL did great - even the kids!  What a privilege to do this together - we all fell in love with each other!

• I have been reading through Romans during my quiet time and the very first day there (Saturday) the exact passage that was next for me to read was in Romans 10 - where it basically says "how can they hear unless someone preaches, how can someone preach unless someone goes, how can someone go unless they are sent....beautiful are the feet that bring the good news!"  What a START to the week we had!  What a prophesy for what we got to do all week!

• Go to Hollie's blog (click here) for a few GREAT photos of Hope ministering (she did awesome) and of a lady that is LITERALLY 116 years old!  She was puckering up to give me a kiss - seriously!  (what happens in the D.R. stays in the D.R.).  This was the first mission trip that my wife and I have taken together - I love you babe!

• Go to my good friend Cody Deese's blog (click here).  He has some amazing footage and videos from the trip - from the first day until the last - Cody, you and Katie rock - it was awesome to experience this with you both! 
  

Dominican Republic

Hollie, Hope and I will be in the Dominican Republic from this Friday until the following with our Vinings Lake family.  

We are excited about our opportunity and the very first "official" mission trip that VL is taking!  Please pray for our team - unity and safety - and please pray for the people we will be ministering to.  

We will be visiting a few orphanages, an open air evangelistic opportunity, Vacation Bible School with children, and feeding a village (or a few).  

So the blog will probably be down - unless I feel saucy enough to throw one out there!

Apple Bottoms

My sister Hannah and her husband Josh got my girls their very own Apple Bottoms T-Shirts!  Wow - how can I say thanks - I hope they wear them everywhere!!!  (Addie probably will never take hers off!)

Thanks uncle Josh and Aunt Hannah!  I am buying you kids a set of drums!

.....this clothing brand is for real!

My wife ROCKS!

Tonight, Hollie (she is going to kill me for using this picture!) hosted her first Ladie's Night at VL - and it was INCREDIBLE!

She and her team had it decorated (way to go mom and Heidi!) and prepared and did a great job.  The worship center looked fabulous and was FULL of ladies - while some of us men served them their food.  

Shannen Fields, who starred in Facing the Giants and also attends VL with her family, was the speaker and I heard she did a great job as well - thank you Shannen!

Hollie - you are the best, I love you and I am SO proud to be your husband!!!

Write your own story here...

I am not completely sure why - but this picture just makes me smile - I mean, what in the heck was going on previous to this beautiful photo? ......Seriously, how does this happen?

Easter Victory - Part 2

Just thinking tonight....Jesus is still alive and so are we.  May we keep doing what He has invited us to do - with the same passion and drive every week - like we do for Easter!

Man, what a privilege - what a calling - what a responsibility - what an opportunity!

***By the way - have I said how absolutely AMAZING the people of VL are!!  I love you!

Celebrate Easter Victories

There are so many victories that we can celebrate about yesterday's Easter services - and MANY of them that we can't - simply b/c we don't know about them yet!

Celebrate: Staff Team - you did it and made such an impact in the lives of our people and community.  Thank you for your constant hard work, preparation, investments in our people, and creativity to make it all an incredible experience.  You are awesome - and I look forward to just hanging out with you tomorrow night when I beat you down at the Nintendo Wii and eat some Moe's!

Celebrate: VL is the best group of people in the world!  You deserve to be thanked and encouraged in a HUGE way!  You went over and above to help our guests feel welcomed, loved, and valued.  

• Inviting and Bringing people
• Serving with an incredible heart, spirit, smile, and attitude
• Carpooling and Parking all around to leave the best spots for our guests
• Arriving early and on time - and sitting in the front (where NO MAN HAS GONE BEFORE!) and middle of the rows
• Catching the vision, passion, and desire that God has for us
• Being the Church to our community
• Encouraging your pastor like none other!  I love you!

Celebrate: SO many guests that came!  Incredible stories that we do know and some that we don't know - that deserve MUCH celebration that they just came!  In addition to people inviting and bringing others, the mail-out that everyone worked on so hard was worth every minute and penny spent.  It truly gave a great representation of who Vinings Lake is in order to give our community a welcoming glimpse of our church.

Celebrate: All the kids - Preschool and KidMo.  We offered KidMo at both hours this week and it was VERY effective!

Celebrate: Largest attendance we have ever seen on our campus with 519 people between our 2 morning services.

Celebrate: Our new Marriage and Relationships series kicked off GREAT!  Our media team and band hit a home run with graphics, environment, lights, video, songs - fun and very worshipful!  The message seemed to really connect and I am excited about the next 3 weeks of this series.

Celebrate: Lives that were touched, maybe realized God's love for them for the first time - or in a long time, opened to taking a step toward Jesus, challenged in their marriages and relationships, changed through faith in Jesus, and the many who came and felt welcomed to come back.

Celebrate: Our opportunity and vision to see people come, connect, and commit - happening right before our eyes!

I am so grateful for this journey the Lord has called me to be on - and all the amazing people that I get to take this journey with!

So excited

Goodness...just a few hours - it's almost like Christmas Eve...I am completely excited about tomorrow (by the way Melissa, I am NOT "eggs"sited!!!) at VL - our 3rd Easter Sunday!

*Can't wait to have a blog CONVERSATION with you about all that God did - tomorrow!

American Idol

Ok,  I am a pretty nice guy and try to be positive about most things......with that in mind - I think American Idol has seen its days.  I just can't get into it - lacking some "authenticity" if you will.  What they need is a little Rick Astley - that would be really cool!

bigger

God is bigger than we could ever imagine.  I 'know' this - but do I really believe it?  

Today, through a circumstance, I realized this - that His opportunities and plans - and provisions for all of this - is much bigger than what we could fathom.  We have our "good" ideas and plans - and even ways to accomplish them - and then He provides us with a way that is so much bigger!

He is bigger than we acknowledge, think of, and even can dream about.  This whole salvation plan.....is His plan - and His mission for us....is His mission.  Let's not forget - we are not driving Him to do this - He is calling us to join Him - and when we do we will see that He is bigger...and better.

Today

Really too much to even try and put into words on how today was at VL.  I may try and get a little saucy and do another video blog this week - about today and leading up to Easter.

But in brief (b/c I am hitting that grumpy tired state) - here's the bottom line:

• People shared about how their lives have been and are being changed - some video, some live.
  
• People publicly professed their faith in Jesus through baptism.
  
• People observed Communion - remembering what Jesus went through with His body and His blood.
  
• People worshiped throughout all of these points during the service.
  
• The band did another amazing job leading us in worship (they absolutely rock! - Shane is my hero...no Brock..or Bryan...Mark...D. Riddle....Jeff....I can't decide, I want to be like all of them!)
  
• The media team with sound, lights, video, did an awesome job interviewing, shooting, editing, and pulling everything together.
  
• Staff - thank you SO much for putting all hands on deck today to make it all happen - details with order of service, baptism, communion, media - EVERYTHING.....plus everything you do every week.  Your leadership and service is amazing and I love you!
  
• Many people were there as guests and regular attenders - to watch and listen to real people talk about real change that comes only by a real God.
  
• Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  It is ONLY through Him that our lives can be CHANGED!
  
• I am so excited and have a renewed passion to continue pursuing what God wants to do in our community and around the world!
  
• In a 5 mile radius of where VL is - there are 162,170 people - over 600,000 in 10 miles and 6.4 billion around the world.......
  
• I want to go back to thinking and believing BIG - He is God after all - and this whole idea of redeeming people back to Himself is His idea - we just get to be a part of it!