Happy October! Sorry I didn't post last week. It was quite a crazy one. Some highs and some lows. But praise the Lord for many opportunities to serve alongside my husband in ministry! Instead of making this a lengthy update (since I'm prone to ramble, especially when I feel like I have so much to catch up on) I thought I would do a picture update instead.

Made a Fall Leaf art project with my K3-6th grade Art classes to celebrate the beginning of fall! Baked cookies for small group later that night, but was in such a hurry after getting home late from work, that they were only partially cooked and had no time to cool. Thankfully our small group friends were kind and ate them anyway. :)

Attended a SYATP (See You At the Pole) rally in Panama City Beach, FL where Josh was speaking. He gave a great message! We also ate pizza for the third night in a row. Sunday for lunch at college small group, Monday night at our young adults small group and then at the youth rally Tuesday night. I love it, but this was a little much.

Wednesday was our Refuge Student Ministry's SYATP rally at Watermark! Games, giveaways, cardboard testimonies, worship and the gospel was preached! It was a great night... and Wednesday continues to be my favorite day of the week (besides date night with my hubby).

After THREE YEARS I was reunited with one of my dear friends, Michelle. She is on her way to Hungary for two years as a journeyman missionary. Michelle and I spent a lot of time together in college and she was a bridesmaid in my wedding. She is one of the sweetest, most genuine people I know. I am blessed to call her a friend and thankful that she stopped by to visit on her "farewell tour" as she called it. Please pray for her as she flies out this week to serve our Lord overseas!

Drove to South Carolina for a DNOW weekend (Fri-Sun) at my "in-loves" church! I love seeing family, enjoying the beautiful weather, gas for $2.97 and being able to minister to the students while we were there made it even better! (photo credit to Justin Robinson for capturing that sweet, sunlight shot of me and my love)

Well, that was my week in photos! We also saw Courageous in theaters twice! It was fantastic. Please go and support this faith-based film if you get a chance. It is great to sit and enjoy a movie in the theater that actually means something. And to see men of God be the MAN that God has called them to be...  wow. I am praying that lives are changed because of the impact of this movie.

Hope you all had a good week as well!

It's easy to get caught up in the performance aspect of leading worship. Worrying about how I look or sound more than drawing people into a true encounter with God. It's easy to let it go to my head. Very easy. So for a long time I avoided it. I called myself a "soloist" rather than a worship leader. I only sang "specials" in church. I would cringe if someone asked me to lead worship (being completely honest here), I was so afraid of putting on a "show" during a time where I drew closest to the Lord right in the comfort of my own seat. But God has given me freedom from this fear. He has shown me that being REAL, is being real in public, in secret, in the light and in the dark. It is so easy to worship God with great music and singing, but take that all away and we should still worship Him. Once I truly learned this in my heart, and learned to worship God in private - I was able to do it publicly. It was an overflow of what had already been going on in my relationship with the Lord throughout the week. Singing words like, "drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes" actually mean something personal. I needed His grace in this and this and definitely this situation.

Which brings me to tonight...

We had an incredible time of worship at Watermark. One of the greatest songs I've ever heard about the reality of worship is "Clear the Stage" by Ross King. My good friend, Emily, sings this song so beautifully (she needs to record it!) and I was again reminded tonight of why I do this. It's not about the song... it's about the heart. Leading worship is only a struggle when you are struggling in worship alone. Set it all ablaze and have revival.

Saturday was our annual Family Lake Day trip to Lake Eufaula. It was beautiful, as always. Each year we add more boats... this year we had four! Only two injuries. No gator attacks. A group of our crazy(er) students swam across the lake (half a mile!) I went tubing and faceplanted in the water. The smell of sunscreen and charcoal permeated the air. Student ministry is a blessing.