1996-Millbrook-2013

I love any excuse to visit my family! Normally it goes hand-in-hand with seeing a baseball game as well because if I want to see my family, I have to 9 times out of 10 see a baseball game! Good thing I love it! So, last weekend me and mom ventured to Jacksonville to see Stephen play and this weekend I went to see John play near my hometown which was perfect because the main reason I went back was for something a lot bigger than a baseball game (sorry, John ;)

Close to 17 years ago, me, my angry butt (and man, I was real mad...where the heck was Aiken anyways!) and the rest of my family made the move from Greenville, SC to Aiken, SC for my dad to lead pastor a church! As a fourth grader, I didn't really care where God had call my dad cause he wasn't calling me! So I secretly made arrangements to live with a friend...'cause that's what kids do, right? Ha! Well it only took my first day of school to prove me wrong, which He has done quite often in my life. I quickly made the best of friends and the rest is history! But my dad has always said that the "dash" on a tombstone is the most important...and though that would be a book in itself, let me just pinpoint some of the dash in between 1996-2013, shall we?

• Salvation & Baptism of Jessica, Stephen, and John
• I met Heather, Ashley, Ashley, Mandy, Nicole, Lindsey, Ashleigh, Bailey...and so many others that were the best friends I could've ever asked for during different times of my life! I thank ya'll for that!
• My 4th-12th grade small group leaders...you have ALL made quite the lasting impact on my life! Not only did you disciple and teach me but you did life with me and my friends! Thank you for always opening your home to me and coming to see me play basketball and cheer! That has shaped the kind of leader that I try to be today! I love you all immensely! It was so good to see some of you on Sunday! See you soon ;-)
• Thank you, Mike & Debbie Chandler, Brandon & Ashley Bowers, and Stephen & Morgan McNeil! You invested in the life of my teenage and adult years when it was easy and when it was hard, helped me stay the course, and played a profound role in my passion for students! I love you guys to the moon and back! 
• We saw a new beautiful facility go up and bought tons of new property! Thank you, Church, for investing in the lives of people in Aiken to help fill the seats, see people saved and baptized, and disciple others!
• I interned one summer in the student ministry with Jake & Jenn Edwards, met my husband through that (I'm forever grateful to you both!), and got married at Millbrook! 

Millbrook, thank you for investing so much of your time, energy, talents, and money into my family! Your love will never return void for me! Yes, my parents have done a phenomenal job raising their kids and have poured so much prayer into our lives that has molded us into the Christ followers that we are today, however, they couldn't have done all of that without the encouragement and leadership of some of you! Thank you for being a refuge for my family. Thank you for allowing me to LOVE the Church!! A lot of Pastors kids can't say that but I can and I thank YOU for that! Please, love your next Pastor and his family in the same way that you have loved all of us! I could go on and on but my words could never fully say how I feel about you! So, in the words of my dad on Sunday, I will just say ... 

"How can you love Jesus and not His Church! Jesus is using YOU to build His church You have a job to do! YOU are the 29th chapter of Acts! The Church won't fail you, don't fail it! Continue the Good work! Don't give up! Don't reminisce or sit on your hands!! The Church shall move AHEAD and MAKE DISCIPLES! Make it about JESUS"

Please continue to pray for my parents in the next phase of their lives! Pray that they continue to have a burning passion for those who do not have a relationship with Jesus and that they would continue to storm the gates of hell! Pray for their next church and their new city...that they will be on fire to reach others no matter the cost! Pray for the practical matters of it all: for a house to sell and a smooth transition to a different city! Pray for clarity and guidance in a chaotic world! And as you pray for them, we will pray for you!

'Til next time MB,