Great is Thy Faithfulness

It is hard to believe that only two weeks ago, Prentice was preaching to us at Otter Creek about making sure we have "no other gods before us".... now he is gone.

I had known of/about him for many years and went to church with his sister Linda at Woodmont Hills. My mom told me she was at Lipscomb with him and he had been class president while she was there.

No, I didn't know him all that well, but he was such a blessing to Otter while he worked with us and taught us.

His death this week causes me to be reminded how quickly life can be taken away.

A month ago, I was singing on praise team and we were all in the "green room" backstage before going out to lead worship. About 15 minutes before church begins, everyone involved in the service for that Sunday meets together to go over the schedule and to pray. We had finished covering the details, and we were in a circle focusing on the huge responsibility we had of leading the church in worship-- we were trying to prepare our hearts and acknowledge that we were only God's vessels to use as He chose for His glory. Prentice spoke up and said he had been reminded of how insignificant we all are while in Vermont earlier that week. He said a man had remarked to him, "Realize that the number of people who will attend your funeral is directly tied to how the weather happens to be that day!" We all laughed and thought it was quite funny-- yet true. It is so hard to believe that he is now gone, and that he died during Thanksgiving week.

Today I was blessed to lead worship again. The Meador family, his wife Barbara, his children, his sister and others... were all seated up front to my left. The service was a pretty emotional one.... a video of Prentice was shown of his life which also contained clips from the last sermon he preached at Otter Creek just two weeks ago. It was very moving. The songs we sang were also very reflective and emotional.... Blessed Be Your Name, Great is Thy Faithfulness, He's Always Been Faithful, It is Well with My Soul.....

During "Great is Thy Faithfulness" I looked over at the Meadors and wondered how hard it must be for them to sing these words so soon after Prentice's death. When we reached the chorus, I saw his wife Barbara stand and raise her hand! I was so moved-- tears filled my eyes and I couldn't sing another note! Immediately people all over the sanctuary begin to stand with her and sang out "Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!" It was just so overwhelming. What a testimony she gave to all of us as she lifted her hands to praise the Lord who "gives and takes away." I will never forget that moment and I am so grateful to her for sharing that moment with Otter Creek-- and with me. I pray that I could respond in the same way if Scott is taken away from me suddenly (he just happened to be sitting directly behind her this morning and stood up right as she did to support her).

Otter Creek is such a special place and I am SO SO thankful to be somewhere that so easily and honestly shares emotion with one another. Tears are a part of the journey.

Praise God! Prentice has finished his journey. Thank you for encouraging all of us along the way.

You can watch his memorial service at held at Lipscomb here.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Our Lifegroup: We are Thankful

Last night we had a wonderful (and yummy!) Thanksgiving meal with our lifegroup. It was just one year ago when we all decided to give it a go as a group, and God has really had His hand upon us.

The couples in the group are becoming so dear to us, and the kids all get along so well. Caroline has so many little girls to bond with and Luke is thrilled to have another little boy to play who is just a tad older than he is.

Scott and I waited almost two years after we left Woodmont and came to Otter before we decided we were ready to get involved in a lifegroup again. We are so thankful that God proved faithful in His perfect timing and helped lead us to this amazing group of people.

"Give thanks to the Lord for He is GOOD!"

New Year's Resolutions-- Isn't it just Thanksgiving?

So-- I confess I haven't been putting too many "thoughts" and ponderings out on my blog this year.... Seems like 2008 has been a rough one. It started off with me getting the flu, then pneumonia, a hard consignment sale-- and, that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the year! I'm not saying this year hasn't been fun or that I am not extremely beyond measure blessed-- I'm just saying that it has been busy and I have been playing catch-up-- which means little time (or motivation) to ponder the deep things of life.

The Bible class that Rhonda Lowry came to do with us at Otter this fall did become a slight spark in my mind though.... She really is an inspiration to me. I admire her. I respect her. In many ways I want to emulate the path she chose for her life. I had lunch with her and she has re-ignited a part of me that I had let fall by the wayside. Not sure exactly what that means for me just yet, but at least it has me thinking again.

It is hard to explain.... I have been so busy doing other important things that I have lost track of my overall vision for my life. I enjoy the things I choose to do and get great satisfaction and pleasure and re-enforcement from them.... but, at the end of the day, those things are not what make ME me.... Another layer on top of this which adds to the complexity is being a mom. Yes, it is the biggest blessing, but it also makes it really easy to forget what it means to be tuned in to who you are as an individual. Your identity becomes wrapped up in theirs-- which to a certain extent is how it should be..... BUT....

So- as 2009 approaches here are things that have recently surfaced in my head and that I want to address full force:

• Friend: I used to consider myself a great friend. I confess-- I haven't been a good one lately to anyone. It is easy to use the "too busy excuse", but I think my problem has been that I simply forgot how important good friends are-- how much they add to life. I vow to do a better job of calling, writing, making lunch dates.
• Wife: I have THE BEST husband on the planet. I have been with him for almost 17 years now, and I will gladly admit that I respect him and love him now just as much-- or more-- than I ever have. So, why don't I go out of my way to lavish love and praises upon him like I did when we were dating?! Once again, the "too busy (and tired) excuse" could be my option out... but, I know I owe him more than that.
• Mother: Two days a week my kids are both in school. I have not managed to make my life more productive on those days. just more full with other things. When the kids are home, I still feel like I am playing catch up. I want to slow down and just enjoy them. I want to PLAY more with them in 2009. I want to turn off the latest Disney flick and paint and color. I want them to know their Mom thinks they are the most important thing in the world-- not my computer or emails.
• Daughter of the King: I have spent MUCH time doing relationship with God.... In 2009 I want to spend time being in relationship with God-- simply enjoying the pursuit and making more time for Him.

So-- my goals are lofty. But, as 40 looms ever nearer, I am starting to change my perspective on making the most important things the most important things.

This Thanksgiving, I want to thank all the things and people who have opened my eyes to those "important things." I will need to have some accountability and encouragement along the way to keep me on track, and I am sure I will be looking to some of you to help! :)

On a completely different note-- please keep Prentice Meador in your prayers. He has been working with us at Otter and just this weekend has suffered a terrible illness. He was admitted to the hospital thinking he had pneumonia, but it ended up being some mysterious virus that they can't quite figure out. He has had an extremely high fever and his heart has stopped at times. Otter Creek is praying around the clock for his recovery. You can keep track of his progress and leave messages for the family at this blog: http://prenticemeadorupdate.blogspot.com/

Our Family Trip to Gentry's Farm

Luke at Gentry's Farm 2008

Fearless 2008

This weekend was our anual ZOE Conference in Nashville. This year's theme was "Fearless." There were so many great moments. Here are a few of my picks for this year:

• Singing "Revelation Song" with hundreds of amazing voices, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain! Holy, Holy is He!"
• Being reminded that we have nothing to fear-- except the Lord. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline." Proverbs 1:7 If I do not seek discipline in my life, I am foolish....
• Jeff Walling's "grandfather falling asleep" joke.
• Randy Harris: "God wins. Pick a side. Don't be stupid."
• Singing "Stand and Shout" up a third.
• Singing "God of This City" down a third.
• There is a difference between "Trying" and "Training". Most Christians are wearing themselves out "trying" to be Christians-- the only problem is, they aren't training for it. I can try to run a marathon-- but I will fail if I have not trained.
• Phil on Mediashout! :)
• Meeting new people and hugging dear friends!
• Praising God with my ZOE Family! There is NOTHING like it this side of heaven! LOVE those guys.

And many more... The conference is always such an amazing blessing to be a part of... God is good.

School Photos 2008

Luke's First Hit

You can watch the "high quality" at this link on youtube.

FALLing Back into a Routine...

Our consignment sale was a grand success-- we raised $22,500! I still can't believe how successful it has become. Everything went very smoothly and the new clothing racks we ordered worked well. I get a four month break until it all begins again!

The kids are back in school. Caroline love "Miss" Julie, and I can already tell that her speech is picking up since she began. Luke is also thriving in "Miss" Faye's class. I was a little worried for him this year since most of his close friends were not going to be in class with him this fall. He has handled it very well-- it is a good lesson to learn since this will be the case from here on out, I'm sure.

I began my two Bible studies last week. I am very excited about both of them. The first one is a special class being taught at Otter Creek on Tuesday mornings by Rhona Lowry. She is the "first lady of Lipscomb." I was very impressed with the first session.

The second study is Beth Moore's Psalms of the Ascent. I haven't done a Beth Moore in a year or so, and I am looking forward to digging back in to the Word with her.

So-- life is back on track-- the routine has begun again.... and I am loving it. Fall begins such a wonderful time of year-- back to school, Halloween, hayrides, Gatlinburg Trip, Thanksgiving-- then Christmas!! Such fun! :)

I ordered Luke and Caroline's Halloween costumes today.... They will both be pirates! They are really into them right now.... photos to come! :)

Caroline's First Day of School

You can watch the "high quality" at this link on youtube.

Back to School

Caroline went to school today for the first time! She will be attending Otter Creek two days a week this year! It is so hard to imagine that she is big enough to be at school! I think she will love it! Luke will return on Friday to meet his teacher. He will go to school three days a week.

I have been working on the sale! This will be our biggest to date! I cannot believe the response we have had this time around! My goal is to make at least $20,000 this time! PLEASE come shop if you are in the area! Sale dates are August 21-23 (next weekend!) Visit the website for complete details! http://www.ottercreeksale.com/

Back to the Blog

Yes-- I am ashamed that I haven't posted in well over a month! Summer just has a way of getting away from me! Lots going on-- many things that take priority over my ability to just sit down and write about life.

Here's an update!

We headed to Disney the end of May/first of June. You always anticipate the kids having a breakdown at some point-- well-- it never happened! :) We had such a GREAT time! We hit ALL four parks and stayed from opening to close and Luke and Caroline were troopers! The hotel I found on eBay was beyond fantastic-- it is the only lodging on Disney property NOT run by Disney. It was extremely nice. We had a two bedroom-- it had a kitchen, laundry, etc.-- VERY nice accomodations. The best part is that it only cost us $550 for 5 days and 4 nights! This is SO much cheaper than staying on site with Disney. They have 1-4 bedroom suites, too, which makes it much nicer when traveling with a large group. They have two pool, a lazy river, miniature golf-- all freee-- and free shuttles to the parks. If you are heading to Disney, email me and I will let you know all the details! :)

A few days after we returned from Disney, Scott and I headed back to Orlando to celebrate our 13th anniversary! He had a meeting at the Ritz Carlton, so I tagged along. It was nice to get away and reconnect-- without the kids!

Also in June, Luke and Caroline made their debut as ring bearer and flower girl-- although Caroline balked when it was her turn to go! Thankfully the bride-- a good friend and former student-- didn't mind. It was also my first time to officially coordinate. It was fun, but not sure I would want to do it every weekend. The kiddos were down-right precious! Luke was so proud of his tux, and he did such a great job! :)

Our days have pretty much been spent by the pool! The kids love hanging out at the new YMCA pool or the neighborhood pool right by our house. It is a hard life! :)

ZOE also headed to the studio in June to work on our next project, Fearless. There are some amazing songs-- my favorite right now?-- Revelation Song. LOVE it! As usual, we are having a grand time together, and plan to finish up the last two songs tonight! Randy Gill has been such a blessing to the project this year. He has such a knack for the production side of things and has done an excellent job of arranging most of our songs this time around. It is the best of both worlds having Randy and Brandon working together.

SO-- such is my life-- my summer. Sorry that it has been so long since I have philosophized about the world and our spiritual conditions! Perhaps the Lord will send me some inspiration to share in the near future!

Pray for the Chapman Family

My heart is breaking for the Chapman family tonight and their tragic loss of Maria. Just a few days ago I heard his "Cinderella" song on the radio and got teary-eyed thinking about my own Caroline and how fast she is growing up. Now those lyrics and that song seem so eerie in light of what has happened.

I don't even know how you begin to get over pain like that....

I was blessed to sing at an adoption event many years back which he helped sponsor. He was there with one of his adopted daughters, but I don't think it was Maria... I just remember being really impressed with his dedication to the adoption process.

Makes you want to grab your kids and never let go.... Keep the Chapman family in your prayers.

If you haven't heard the story.... visit www.stevencurtischapman.com

Above all PRAY for them and for God's peace.

Clap or No-clap; Foyer-rama

Got these cartoons in an email today. Made me LAUGH!

Church can sometimes turn into this, can't it?

May Moments

Pepperdine was great this year! We left the kids with my parents for the first time, and Scott came out to join me. It was very relaxing and good "couple time." And, it is always a blessing to sing in Smothers-- we had a wonderful team.

It has always been a ZOE tradition to warm up/rehearse in the stairway in the back of Smothers. We must have gathered there for at least the past 10 years. We sing, share, and pray- these have been such special times together.

Luke is playing soccer for his second season, and he is really starting to figure it out! He got his first goal this past Saturday! It is nice because he is on a team with the kids of all our dear friends-- so we have just as much fun on the sidelines socializing each Saturday as the boys do playing!

Lots happening at Otter Creek lately, too. I am on a committee that is relaunching our ladies' ministry-- O.C.W.F.M. (Otter Creek Women's Fellowship Ministry). On Saturday, we held our kick-off brunch. It was a grand success! We had over 100 women there-- which was great considering it was such a busy weekend with several graduations, games, and other church retreats.

We had table hosts who decorated their tables as creatively as they wished. I came up with a "Paris Bistro" theme and my table turned out really cute!

The absolute BEST part of the morning--- the "male entertainment!" All of our elders came out on stage in black pants, white shirts, and towels on the arms--- our waiters! They sang two songs to us-- in 4-part harmony-- of course. One song to the tune of "We're Marching to Zion"-- new lyrics- "We're serving the Ladies, Beautiful, Beautiful , Ladies!" It was SO precious! Everyone just loved it!

Another fun moment: my friend Laura and I got to be the music entertainment while the women were talking eating. We had a keyboard set up and we sang The Robe by Wes King which fit our "Come As You Are" theme. We also did "He's Always Been Faithful" by Sara Groves. Laura has a beautiful voice and I love harmonizing with her. My piano playing was a tad rusty, but I did fine until I realized I had my pages in the wrong order! I rarely have the privilege of sitting down at the piano to play for myself anymore. Every time I start to play, Caroline and Luke come to "help!"

Next week Luke will wrap up his year in Miss Anna's class. She has been such a blessing! It has been so neat to watch Luke continue to learn academically and to develop socially. He had a best friend this year-- Hunter. He also developed an interest in all things "boy" like Spiderman, Batman, Power Rangers, etc. It is so fun to watch him interact with his friends.

We had a "Muffins for Mom" party for Mother's Day. It was priceless. The kids gave us flowers and sang to us. I think it really hit me how fast these moments go by and how very much I want to treasure each second.

Just when I think Caroline CANNOT get any cuter-- she does! She is really starting to talk! She and Luke continue to build their relationship and have so much fun together. She will begin school in the fall-- which makes me sad to think about her growing up so fast-- but, also excited to think about two days a week with no kids! What can I get myself into then?!

We are headed to Disney at the end of the month. I am really looking forward to taking them back and to see how much differently they will experience it this time around. The new Toy Story 2 ride is supposed to open while we are there and they are so excited. Buzz, Woody, and Jesse are pretty big around here!

So, life goes on-- We are just having SO much fun as a family! I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and to see our children growing up together and developing relationships of their own. I feel so blessed to be at Otter Creek and to have found such a great community of believers.

Life is good. God is great!

No Pleasure-- No Gain

Has it really been so long? Haven't had any deep thoughts or ponderings lately, I guess.

Life continues to carry on at its frantic pace. Luke and Caroline are more precious than ever. Sometimes the little moments I share with them are so frighteningly fragile and emotionally powerful I just can't stand it. I just want to capture their little expressions and the way they tilt their heads and how they direct their gazes-- I never want to forget.... it all goes by too quickly.

So much has happened in our immediate circle lately, and it brings this home to me so clearly. Life can turn on a dime, never to be the same again. And, for someone who doesn't particularly enjoy change, this scares me to death. I love my life just as it is-- right here, right now. It frightens me to think about how I might respond to sudden tragedy or loss. Would my faith sustain me, or abandon me....? Or, would I willfully abandon it?

So, the "what ifs" and "why me" surely lie around the corner for me at some point-- it is inescapable on this side of heaven. The true question is, do I believe that He is in control and has a bigger vision for me than the one I am limited to seeing. It is easy to believe when everything in my line of sight at present is full of joy and peace....

It occurred to me that we often discuss how we learn so much during the hard times. We analyze the lessons we must have needed to learn through the pain-- "He works in all things for good", etc. So-- if I am willing to accept that God wants to teach me through the discipline of suffering, why do I never consider what He might be trying to teach me in the midst of the joy? If every good and perfect gift is from His hand, then perhaps there are just as many powerful lessons and truths to be learned when things are good and life is good and my sanity is good, too.

It is odd that I never appreciated the depth of this perspective before. It is almost as if we don't need or call upon God until the rug is pulled out from under us and we have nowhere else to turn-- yet, maybe we need Him even more desperately when we are content and happy in this world-- because isn't that when we stray the farthest from Him? Not sure... but I am pondering....

Headed to Pepperdine tomorrow. Looking forward to being reunited with the extended ZOE crew-- to leisurely nights gazing at the ocean, incredible food, and "star" sightings.... what a fun week.

This year's lectureship theme is based on the Sermon on the Mount-- see one of the key verses they list below which I just now located on the Pepperdine website. It seems eerily relevant to everything mentioned above!! God loves to weave His wisdom together for me sometimes in majorly obvious ways.... guess it is the only way I can comprehend! :)

Everyone then...who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. Matthew 7:24-25

The Return of the Prodigal

I was blessed to experience my first Tulsa Workshop last weekend. ZOE was invited to lead some of the worship times. On Sunday, we visited Memorial Drive Church of Christ and also led during the two morning services. Their worship leader, Shane Coffman, was a wonderful host to us all weekend.

Terry Rush is the minister, and he has been at Memorial for over 30 years from what I understand. We were invitied to tour his office-- a shrine to the St. Louis Cardinals! It was very impressive. He goes to camp with them every spring and has become a huge influence upon the team.

His sermon was entitled, "The Return of the Prodigal Son." I must confess, I wasn't anticipating hearing anything I hadn't already heard before--- I was wrong.

He came at the story from such a wonderful new perspective. He talked about how most of us feel we are only worthy of living in the "barn", but that the Father invites us to stay in the mansion. In fact, his main point from the parable was, "We must party!" His son is the fatted calf who was killed so that we could get back home-- and not have to stay in the barn.

He explained that the early church felt a sense of "awe" and that we should, too. That church should be the party place where we celebrate what He has done for us. Whether we are the older brother who can't accept the celebration or if we are the younger son who can't understand why He would offer us a celebration-- God still wants us to share in the party.

I told Terry that I wanted to bring him back to Nashville with me.... You can just tell that he has a heart of gold. It is obvious that he is dearly loved.

Luke's Spring Program

Come Shop this Weekend!

Our Otter Creek Kids' Consignment Spring/Summer sale has arrived! My life is crazy and I am at the church every day this week from dawn till way past dusk!

We have a new fundraising focus this time now that our playground is open. All our proceeds will now go to the "Raise the Roof" campaign to build a new school on our Franklin Road property.

We have more consignors and volunteers than we have ever had. I continue to be amazed at how God has blessed this sale and had allowed me to keep my sanity in the process! :) There are just a million details and nuances that have to be addressed and that have to be stayed on top of to make it work. Since I am the only one who can run the technical (computer) side of things, most of that falls on me... But, I have the BEST team on the sale committee with me. When I say I could NOT do it without them, it is no exaggeration. Thanks, DeeAnna, Janet, Jennifer, Kathryn, Melanie, and Melissa!

We also have the BEST volunteers anywhere! Thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of our workers, our sale looks as good on Saturday as it does when we first set it up. They are constantly straightening the floor, counting cards-- and do such and amazing job at check-out, etc. etc. I am so humbled by how they step up every sale and give of their time and energy.

So-- keep us in your prayers! Pray for tons of shoppers and people with happy attitudes-- me most importantly! Tell your family and friends and come shop if you are near us!