God sent us a sweet little girl today. She weighs 7lbs, 14oz. She has stolen my heart. Her little voice crying out moments after birth brought me to tears in an instant. We formed an immediate bond. I love her and always will. I’m amazed at how my heart has the ability to expand its capacity for loving. I pray it always will be expandable.
Axis leaders did an amazing job with this series the last few weeks and the students really bought into it. We closed out the series with a red carpet event and had a huge dress up night. The theme of the night was, “the world is your runway”. God has called all believers to GO into all the world and spread the good news and roll out the red carpet for Him. It was a cool twist to an old teaching. We built this horseshoe shape runway and connected it to the main stage and had seating inside of it…was a killer feel. This shot is of some of the leaders who were acting famous post service! Great job team!
I’m at the Hillsong Conference right now and it is exceeding all my expectations! I thought I’d share some things God’s reminding me of the last few days:
Recently I was hanging with my two kiddos in a Doctor’s waiting room. I was wearing my flip-flops and kicked one off and very quickly Cooper (my 2.75 year old) had ripped his Croc off and ran over and put it next to mine with a huge smile on his face.
He gave me a few good reminders in that moment:
#1 That he’s watching and imitating me.
#2 It’s more important what I model for him than what I say.
#3 He wants me to notice him…and I do!
#4 He makes waiting in a doctors office an adventure!!!
I’m very excited about our AXIS Youth Conference coming up this summer. In all my years of Youth Ministry I’ve seen the importance and impact that summercamps and conferences can make on the life of a young person. I think this summer conference is going to be one of the best that I’ve ever been a part of. Here’s a picture of me and a couple of our young ladies (Leah and Kristy) who are a part of our “AYC Hype Squad”.
He’s two and a half now and getting to be pretty confident. On Monday, Paige and I took the kiddos to a farm supply store off highway 64. It’s a fun place to take the little ones for a family field trip. We were trying to purchase some birdseed for our three feeders and they were out of stock for the kind we were looking for. So, as we were just browsing the store, Cooper took off and ran away from us. This is where I found him… up on a huge mower. I’m glad he’s got confidence to go after it in life and I hope he never loses that attitude to run for big things. It’s so easy to lose that edge and just get comfortable. I just want him to check-in next time with Dad before he completely disappears. His face kinda says, “I know I’m kinda in trouble, but I’m proud of myself! Aren’t you Dad?”
Mom went out with some girlfriends last night, so dad got to go at it alone with my two favorite little people on this planet. After dinner and getting Cooper down to bed, I made ice cream for Taite. It was complete with whipped cream and chocolate sauce just like she asked for. She loved it, but not more than I love her. I really love doing special things for her. I love to see my little girl smile. It got me thinking about how all the fun things I enjoy in my life today are from my good Dad in heaven….He likes it when his kids smile too.
Last Wednesday night, I was overwhelmed by the response of all the young girls who came up to tell me how much it meant for me to talk to them about their future spouse and the importance of not being in a hurry in dating, etc. We are doing a series called “I Do” about the steps that lead toward marriage. Many of the girls said their parents have never talked to them about dating, marriage, etc. That’s hard to believe since, in my opinion, the decision of who you will marry is the second most important decision in your life, next to the decision to be a Christ follower. “Till death do us part” can be a long time if you marry the wrong girl or guy! One of our special girls’ stories stood out and we had her share it last night with the whole group. Let me introduce Ms. Taylor Hill! She wears a commitment ring of purity and has had guys at school ask her, “When are you gonna be done with that?” I love her response…”Never for you!” She told us about the incredible pressure teenage girls face to be like all the others who are giving themselves away “on the cheap.” It’s awesome to know she’s figured out her kiss is worth a lot. She’s not in a hurry to give it away – she’s slowing it down so when she says I do, she’s got something precious to give her hubby!
Sunday morning before church we had tons of fun with our Kids Life worship team. They come to God’s House early every week to be prepared to lead our grade schoolers. Most of them are teenagers and I love to see their commitment for the things of purpose. So, we had a bubble gum blowing contest and I blew the biggest bubble of my life. This bubble was made with two pieces of gum. 
Kicked off a 2 week series in Axis Wednesday night on relationships. The big thought for the night was SLOW DOWN! Our culture is all about rush rush rush when it comes to dating and relationships, but if we want to have healthy relationships, healthy marriages we’ve got to SLOW IT DOWN!
Come on say it with me….SLOW DOWN!
