u luv chikn yes u do

Happy Football season!

Chick-fil-a is scorin' a touchdown on Labor Day, Sept.1, by givin' away free 3-pack Chick-n-strips and Chick-fil-a sauce. All ya gotta do is wear football or collegiate logo gear and visit your local Chick-fil-a any time after 10:30am.

I luv the new Chick-fil-a sauce so much I would drink it if I could.

See u Monday....I'll be the one in the orange shirt!

http://www.cheerforchicken.com/

prayers of a child

Tuesday I received a text message from Kacie about being evacuated from her classroom at Clemson. Then I received a more detailed phone call from her about the tornado warning that sent the students to designated areas. As I heard the warning sirens in the background, I wanted her home so we could hide in the closet together. Instead she was in a library basement two hours away from me.

Matthew overheard my end of the conversation with Kacie and when I got off the phone he said, "Mom, I made up a prayer for Kacie and I hope it comes true."

A tornado did touch down on campus, resulting in minor damage and no injuries. Could the prayers of a seven year old little brother cause God to turn that tornado away?

Absolutely.

I'm going to let my friend Matt take over here. Check out his blog post about how prayer changes things.

just because

"Mom, there were a lot of people crying tonight".... Allison

TrueNorth Church had a combined communion(Facedown) and baptism(Dunk'd) service last night to commemorate our 4-year anniversary. It was a great night of celebration and remembrance and crying. There were tears of joy, tears of brokenness, and tears of compassion. Even I, who have been affectionately referred to as The Tin Woman, had tears in my eyes as our pastor choked up while baptizing his youngest son.

I love my church and the environment that has been created where broken people can bring their tears to the cross in hopes of restoration and healing.

And the fact that people feel freedom to cry just because.

right or wrong

Last Friday, we moved Kacie back to Clemson to begin her sophomore year in the Promiseland. We had to stop by a storage facility in Clemson we had previously rented to store some of her furniture and belongings. As I returned the lock and key to the office, Mr. McMuscle Shirt gave me back my ten dollar security deposit. I asked him if he had two fives. As he rolled his eyes and pulled out his fat wad of money, this is what he said to me:

"I am SO glad I am not married."

Rude. All I asked for was two fives.

Since I had just hugged my daughter goodbye ten minutes earlier , trying NOT to cry a river this time, it was not a good time for Mr. McMuscle Shirt to treat me this way. I had two choices at this point: (a) do the right thing or (b) do the wrong thing. I was already an emotional wreck and I really wanted to do (b) and go off on this guy. But I knew it would make Jesus look bad, so I decided to suck it up and do (a). So I said to him:

"You must be having a bad day".

Yes, he had. Mr. McMuscle Shirt's attitude changed. He softened up and tried to make up for his rude remark. It was a pleasant ending that could have ended up badly.

Isn't it sometimes difficult to do the right thing when it is so easy to do the wrong thing? I have done a lot of wrong things and made poor choices in my lifetime. I want to spend the rest of my life doing the right thing because I want to make Jesus look good.

team player

I have never watched the Olympics as much as I have this year. Maybe it is because our family is intimately involved in competitive swimming due to Matthew and Alan's participation. For whatever reason, it has been fun for our whole family to watch together. And it has been a much needed distraction from the upcoming political election...ugh.

We are enjoying watching superstar Michael Phelps. We study his strokes, his turns, his strategy... his face. One of the few times I have seen him smile is when his RELAY TEAM wins an event. He is serious and stoic in the individual events, but he goes NUTS for his team! He is like a little kid on the sidelines, cheering his teammates on to victory.

Isn't victory a lot sweeter when you get to share it with your favorite people?

my apartment on wheels

My 2001 Honda Odyssey turned 100,000 miles this morning. That is a lot of driving back and forth on the North Augusta conveyor belt known as Five Notch Road. I have often referred to my van as "my apartment on wheels" because of the large amount of time I spend in it.

Alan has done his part in taking care of the maintenance and upkeep on the van. I cannot say that I have done my part. There is a big red Gatorade stain in the trunk, Matchbox cars all over the floor, scratches on the exterior where I hit some bricks and a big scratch down the back panel where I tried to take out my parents' sprinkler head. But I have no idea how the dent in the back got there....that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

This van has toted a lot of groceries, lots of children, and has never stranded me. Coming from someone who said they would never drive a minivan....here's to another 100,000 miles!

greater things have yet to come

Yesterday at TrueNorth Church, we said goodbye to our friends Walt and Betsy Tanner. Walt has been our student pastor for Element Student Ministries and will be moving to Fountain Inn, SC to plant Capstone Church. Walt spoke on compassion yesterday and it was the BEST message I have ever heard from him. I think Walt and Betsy will do just fine in Fountain Inn.

Another incredible part of yesterday's service was a THANK YOU video created by the Element staff. Walt has done a great job empowering and building his leaders. This is evident in the words spoken by Wesley and Brandon on the video. Stay tuned....they may let me post some footage later.

I have spent a lot of time with Walt through Element and other areas of TNC ... and I have my own THANK YOU as we say "see you later".

- THANK YOU for tapping my shoulder and asking me to lead a fuel cell and chaperone events. It has been very rewarding for me to develop a relationship with the students and hopefully help impact their lives.

- THANK YOU for letting ME tap YOUR shoulder as we volunteered our time together in the middle school canteen at lunch. Fun times...and another way to connect with the students.

- THANK YOU for sharing your creative mind with us and challenging us to dream BIG!

- My BIGGEST THANK YOU is for teaching my daughter Allison how to spend time in the Word. Since you taught the SOAP method, she reads her Bible every day and writes in her journal. This is priceless and makes me one happy parent.

North Augusta has become a better place because of Walt and Betsy.
Fountain Inn will become a better place because of Walt and Betsy.

We miss you already!