Community ~ Parking & Security Team Cookout

This past weekend we had a church parking & security volunteer team cookout.  Over 70 people showed up, so the turnout was quite impressive and we all had a great time.  A brave couple from church opened up their home and allowed us all to traipse through it as we pleased, bless them!

These people are such a huge part of our lives and we are so blessed to fellowship with them.

Noelle and Kayla - who are always smiling!

The gift of a church community is not something I take for granted because I know how precious it is!

I have served on the parking team at PCC for almost two years now and recently I've switched over to the volunteer team.   The parking team honored me at the cookout, which was super sweet and embarrassing.  Just needed to explain the gorgeous bouquet. :)

Eric and Randy

humble servants - leader of the Parking Team at PCC and so many other things!  

Caleb and I have been so blessed by their open hearts and generous spirits.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:10

(Thank you Vincent for taking all of the pictures!)

Worship Through Action

Our church collected over 400 backpacks loaded with school supplies this past Sunday to be given to children in our church's neighborhood.  I love being part of a church community that makes it so easy to bless others in need.

515 Garson Drive

photo credit

We're home!

Wonderful weekend of moving into our new neighborhood as a church family.

Excited about the days ahead! 

For more pictures visit Passion City Church's blog

Finding a Home

photo credit

Caleb and I come from very different spiritual backgrounds.  He grew up as a Baptist missionary kid and I grew up in the good ‘ol USA, raised by a Christian family and leaning towards non-denominationalism.  When we met, became friends, and eventually fell in love – God did a wonderful job of blending our faith and causing our relationships to grow stronger with Him because we were together.  We learned the importance of putting God first, even when it was difficult. That is one of the main reasons I knew we were meant to be – our dreams and desires lined up, because we were living for the same reason.

That being said – during the first few years of our marriage we had a difficult time finding a church to call home.  We did a lot of searching, some giving up, then more searching – it was a cycle we continued for about three years.  My heart was aching to find a home and to start connecting with other children of God.  In 2009 a friend of mine told me about a church that was getting started in the Atlanta area.  Caleb and I made the decision to give it a try – when I left the service that night I knew we had found the place we were meant to be.

We started attending regularly and soon came to realize we were not able to connect with many people because the church body is pretty large, so we joined a volunteer team.  We have been blessed with the people we have gotten to know and the friends we have made – thankful that God has provided exactly what my heart desired.  We were also able to serve at Passion 2011, which was an amazing experience in and of itself!   

Our church has been on a bit of a journey – travelling around the city meeting in different venues waiting for our future building to be ready.  This coming Sunday will be our first Sunday in our new building and we are so excited!  It was nice for a while to move around the city, because it instilled the truth in our hearts that church is not a building, it is within each of us.  From a logistics perspective though – it will be nice to have a home.  So excited about what this weekend holds and the plans that God has for Atlanta and the world!

Lift Up Your Eyes ~ Contentment

"I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am." The Message ~ Philippians 4:11


If only we could live this verse out as a lifestyle.  Where our level of happiness did not depend on how much we had, or what job we were working, or where we lived.  All too often, we let huge portions of our life slip by, while waiting for the next big thing to happen.  A friend and I were discussing this last week and we termed it "the holding pattern." My life can become so wrapped up in accomplishing my goals that I forget about the present. 


So today, on a Monday, I'm bringing myself back to the present.  Where I have an amazing husband, a loving family, incredible friends, a wonderful church family, a warm and comfortable house, a full pantry, a job where I can work from home, education that is semi-easily accessible, a home in the United States, and a future that belongs to my Savior.  I encourage everyone to sit down this week and write out atleast five things that they are thankful for in their lives.  I guarantee it will be refreshing.  


This past Saturday, Caleb and I had the privilege of putting together a Thanksgiving basket for  a refugee family.  

This was something our church participated in by partnering up with World Relief and over 85 baskets were handed out!  

Getting ready to hand out baskets http://www.passioncitychurch.com/blog/

We were given a family that consisted of a single mom and her two sons, all of which had only been in the states for three months.  There was a huge language barrier, considering she spoke absolutely no English and I didn't even recognize the country that she originated from , but her excitement and gratitude was contagious through her smile and eyes!  We were successfully able to exchange names.  When we turned to leave, she couldn't believe the entire basket was for her,  she was trying to give some of it back to us.   Caleb outstretched his arms and said, "no, all of it is yours" and her eyes just lit up.  She stood at the door and waved goodbye with the biggest smile on her face. 


Talk about someone who knows how to be thankful.  She has only been in the States for three months, a country that is completely foreign to her.  The apartments they put the refugees in offer the bare necessities, of a roof and walls, running water and some key household items.  In our case, nothing to write home about. In their case, a life changing opportunity.  So often, we compare ourselves to those around us with the nicer car, or the bigger house, or the newer purse...but we forget that there are people in the world that would love to have a roof over their head or a meal everyday.  It's all about perspective.


Before we left, she gave Caleb and I each a strawberry Fanta.  I thought this was beautiful, because it shows that so often when you are generous, generosity turns around and finds you. Many people handing out baskets experienced this, where the basket recipients were offering gifts  in return.  God at work is a beautiful thing!


Leslie Ludy (one of my favorite authors)  wrote a devotional this week on contentment that is worth a read. "An idol is anything that claims our heart, focus and attention above Jesus Christ." Read more here. 

Monday, Monday….so good to me…

My yard sale was pretty successful for my first!  We sold right around $200 worth.  I separated the remaining “treasures” into three boxes, Next Year’s Garage Sale, Consignment Store, and Thrift Store.   It was actually a pretty relaxing day, as the weather decided to be nice to us and offer a cool breeze.  Also, I was able to catch up on some reading!

Church was amazing, as usual.  For the first few years of our marriage, Caleb and I struggled to find a church home.  We were both working through some wounds we had received from an ultra-conservative-fundamental church and we were praying that our minds would be renewed so that we could truly understand the nature of Jesus.  

Last September, we visited Passion City Church.  This is the Atlanta church that Louie Giglio and Chris Tomlin are planting.  I was a little concerned at first, because this church is pretty big and Caleb and I have both come from much smaller churches.  The first night there and we realized our hearts had found their present home.  Passion City Church’s interpretation of the gospel and of God’s love is refreshing and magnificent.  Gone is the guilt and condemnation and in its place is the story of God’s unending mercy and extravagant grace. 

We’ve recently become a part of the volunteer team and it has been such a blessing! We’ve been able to begin connecting with fellow attendees and to create relationships with other Christians that are just as excited as we are about PCC!  

Last night, we sang a new worship song called, “I Will Follow” (you should be hearing this on the radio soon).  The chorus says,

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I'll love
How you serve I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

I cannot wait for you all to actually HEAR this song, as it is an incredible expression of where all of our hearts should be.  The line that rang the truest for me last night was, “Who you love, I’ll love.”  The message God has been speaking to me over the past year is how His love is even for the most unlovable among us.  So often through our human eyes, we unconsciously (or maybe consciously) weed out the ones we are going to spend time investing in.  Yet when we have His eyes, instead of seeing the annoying personality or the bad fashion sense (etc), we see all of the brokenness that He sees.  Just another hurting person in need of a glorious Savior!

My prayer for this week is that God will open our eyes to the humanity around us and cause our hearts to respond in such a way as to share His love with those that need Him. Mark 15:16, “He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.””