Our Weekend

Happy Monday! Hopefully you hunkered down and stayed somewhat dry this weekend! I feel as though our weekends trough the Fall are going to be a whole lot of the very same things. Family, Friends, food, and football. Friday was an errand running day (in the rain) and Friday night we took a date night to Lieu's and Homegoods. Normally we are PF Chang-ers so it was our first time at Lieu's and it didn't disappoint.

Saturday morning we got up and took a very fast stroll in the rain mist. Brooklynn had a ball - me, not so much. We came back and threw together...literally...some tailgate food and had family and some of my brothers friends over for football. Our church is going through 40 days of fasting and praying in order to help clear some of the debt on our building. You can imagine how hard it is to prepare a meal for a family who are fasting different things. It will be more of a "BYOF" type of family dinners for the next few weeks!

Sunday was another lazy football day but that's how we like it around here. I'm so thankful that my family is OK with sitting and doing nothing (for the most part) on the weekends! Our weeks are all so crazy hectic that we live for the weekends around here. All we need are some Christmas trees around...too soon? I'm actually loving the cooler weather but it's brought 5 days of rain with it which I'm okay with as long as I don't have to go out in it. I think the only thing I dislike about cooler weather is having to bundle Brooklyn up. I consider that my workout seeing as how I break a sweat fighting with her to put shoes on. Aside from that, bring on Fall!

Sidenote: Hope you had a relaxing weekend and all your teams won :-)

Game Day // Week 2

If you know anything about the sports world whether you've participated in the game or cheered from the sideline, you know there's a cost. There's a cost to participate and there's a cost to cheer them on. Nowadays, people have gone from being "fans" of the game to full on "fanatics" People spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars to follow their favorite team. They pay for a ticket, the apparel, the tailgate spot, the food, etc. If you play you're paying for your uniform, private lessons, hotel stays, gas, and time.

What if we took all of our energy and converted it over to being a follower of Jesus? A lot of times we want to follow a certain church and just "do church" instead of being a devoted follower of Jesus. The Church should be more enthusiastic about the One they follow (Jesus) than they are about the team they follow!

Are we making sacrifices to follow Jesus? Because there are sacrifices to be made! Real disciples follow Jesus no matter the cost...even when it's inconvenient.

While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” Mark 14:3-9

In Mark's account, the woman goes without a name. The story isn't about us. What if we went through life not worrying about OUR name but about HIS name? When people hear your name do they think about Jesus?

There's often a pain we go through when we follow Jesus. She broke a perfume bottle that costed her a year's wages. That had to be painful. Though there's pain in following Jesus, there's more pain when we don't!

If you want to see your life radically changed, hold nothing back when following Jesus! This woman held nothing back. She broke the bottle. There was no saving "some for later".

"Ministry that costs nothing accomplishes nothing." -John Henry Jovette

Anything you do for Jesus isn't a waste but of eternal value!

We will be criticized when we follow Christ. Jesus had the woman's back in this story and He always has ours! 

Live a life for Jesus that's a STORY WORTH TELLING.

*You can always watch our services LIVE (and for the next 24 hours) on the Periscope App under Michael Hux

Game Day // Week 1

Morning all! My Alive hangover this morning is REAL as there is so much stampeding through my head. I'll share more of that at the end BUT last night we started a brand new series and it was excellent! We all know that a lot happens before game day: eating right, being prepared, & practicing.  The same should all go into our lives as we prepare for game day, every day. 

Are we preparing ourselves for the game day of life? The Christian life isn't a playground it's a battleground. There are two people competing for our lives - one that will save it and one that could destroy it. An unprepared Christian is a defeated Christian. 

Part of growing spiritually includes going through battles...but we get to face them with Jesus who reigns victorious!

We have a game plan -- The Bible!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13

To be strong in the Lord we first have to be IN the Lord!

We are in great danger when we think that we can stand in our own strength rather than His.

We are not encouraged to put on the full armor of God ... we are commanded!

PUT on the armor - don't CARRY it!

The enemy never takes a day off. Neither should we.

Our fight is not against PEOPLE!

The question is not who will win - because God's already won. The question is who will STAND! Our responsibility is to STAND UP!

We let down our armor when we play with sin.

The quickest way for the enemy to flee from you? Submit to God.

We can't WIN without JESUS!

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Now, for the stampede in my head. Our family is a firm believer in making church fun. Many disagree and that's okay but we believe that church should be the most fun place on this earth! The church should out-do the world in terms of fun! We yearn for students & adults to WANT to come to church, WANT to serve, & WANT to stay- not out of obligation but out of WANT. Whether we get them there because we feed them or we get them there because we let them blow off some steam with corn hole, we do it and then point to them JESUS every.single.time. 

Saying that, I believe last night was the tipping point in Alive Student Ministry. Last night was unlike anything we've experienced at Alive in our short time of being there. I believe our students are on the brink of revival and it was evident last night in the way they worshipped Jesus unhindered. When students are declaring Jesus as the center of their lives and His church, I get chills. And when students are making decisions and leaders are fist pumping & jumping up and down...I get more chills.

Thank you to all of our leaders (students and adults) and volunteers (students and adults). I say "students and adults" because Alive would not happen without the service of our students AND adults! I love seeing our adults shepherding our students to their potential & greatness in Jesus. Ya'll, the best is yet to come and satan isn't happy so let's "armor up!"

Forgiveness Isn't Fair

Before I start, this is one of those blog posts I write in order to preach to myself & not necessarily others but I think it's something that everyone needs preached to them daily. One of my dearest friends, who serves alongside of us in student ministry texts me weekly always asking how she can pray for me and as much as I want to come up with something new and exciting for her to pray for me about, I end up always sending her the same thing, just worded in a different way.

If you know me at all you know I hate one thing: Conflict. I hate it so much that I start to sweat - which is another thing I absolutely hate. It's just a bad combination for me so I avoid it at all costs. I will literally FLEE in the opposite direction to avoid conflict and because of this, I harbor bitterness. Thankfully the years in ministry have taught me how to have some pretty tough skin and so it takes a lot more to hurt my feelings than it used to but that just means less bitterness ... it doesn't mean zero bitterness.

And, just when you think it seems to simmer down, something happens and it all comes back up again. Recently I've had to really ask the Lord for some help showing grace and He's shown me this: "When you harbor bitterness towards someone, you're letting them control you." and we all know we are supposed to be controlled by the Spirit. He's also pointed out that bitterness is contagious, forgiveness isn't fair, and we heal it with grace. Because that's the example Jesus gave to us. If anyone had any reason to be bitter it was Jesus. No one was more sinned against than He was but He had faith in God's judgment. When He went to the cross, He didn't say "This isn't fair." He merely responded with forgiveness and just like that, it was finished. When we respond with forgiveness and let it be finished in our lives, we model Jesus.

I try to live by Exodus 14:14 which says, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still." I try and leave it to the Lord & heal it with grace. When we don't, we either clam up and play victim or we lash out and make it all about us. Bitterness reaps pride and causes others to not see Jesus. It's not about us. It's about Him and His model for us was grace & mercy towards people. As Christ followers, we receive forgiveness from the Lord and as a matter of fact, we expect it! As a call to obedience, we are called to forgiveness.

Our Weekend + Anniversary Trip

Our weekend started Wednesday night after Alive. We literally ran out of the building after Michael spoke and made it to Myrtle Beach in just a little over 4 hours! It was late and we were exhausted but it was better than driving Thursday! 

I mentioned in a previous blog that this was the first time we've actually taken a trip for ourselves. We've been to weekend conferences together but anyone who's ever been to a conference knows that's not a vacation. Those are long and tiring! So, after 5 years of marriage, we made a trip happen! It was the perfect amount of time to take a breath and enjoy eachother ... but we were ready to get back to our girl! 

When we got back, we went straight into living room tailgate mode and then Subday was a long one full of Dgroups, church, and meetings. 

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend...and how about this weather? Happy Fall, yall! 

Lord Have Mercy // Week 4

I say this a lot but last night had to be one of my favorite nights at Alive to date. The worship was outstanding and the message was on.point. It couldn't have been a better night to wrap up our series. 

Being a Christian, the Lord has your heart. The enemy can't take that from you SO he tries to take your mind! Once your heart is right, it's time to get our minds right!

The way we THINK produces how we FEEL & how we FEEL leads to how we ACT! One thought can change everything! 

Most spiritual growth takes place in our mind. It begins by focusing on our thinking. 

All sin and our obedience begin in the mind. We always think before we act. We overcome sin by changing how we THINK! 

"What gets our attention will get our affection!" -Clayton King

The primary source for changing how we think? The Word! It has to be consumed daily!

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your MIND, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2

The enemy will try and distort your view of God!

We spend an average of 7 1/2 hours on technology DAILY! Who are you listening to, watching, or following daily? The RIGHT VOICES lead to the RIGHT CHOICES! 

You can't know Gods will for your life apart from Gods word! GODS WORD WORKS but we have to put it to work!

God will never ask you to do anything that is not for our eternal good! 

Our imperfect will must be subject to His perfect will! 

Our Long Weekend

Happy Tuesday! Hope you all enjoyed your long weekend! We sure did! I love this time of the year because we have more time to do...well, nothing. Lots of lazy football Saturday's involving morning walks and tailgating in the living room. 

This weekend we got all our errands ran and projects done on Friday so that we could be lazy until Tuesday. Since it stormed so bad here Friday night, we traded the high school football game for a Target run and Starbucks trip with the fam. The rest of the weekend included lots of football, food, and family. 

Do any of you thoroughly enjoy switching cable companies? Didn't think so. We hung out at the house all day Monday because our appointment was between 12 and 4...that shouldn't even be legal. They showed up at 3:10 and left at 6:10. We missed dinner but thankfully mom had leftovers and we completed the weekend with football. 

This week is full of firsts for us. Brooklynn starts Mothers Day Out once a week and Husband and I are going on our first trip that's not ministry related since our honeymoon. I know I know. We've been on one overnight trip but that's it. It's gonna be crazy! Pray for my parents! 

And because a post is never complete without a picture, enjoy :-)

Lord Have Mercy // Week 3

Last night was probably one of my most favorite Alive's so far. The worship was amazing and the message was one of the best! God places different callings on people's lives but He's never called anybody to blend in. Jesus never looked anything like the world so neither should we. 

We can't be afraid to look different. We're supposed to look different in order to make a difference!

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers by the mercies of God to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to the world..." Romans 12:1-2a

There's one reason to walk away from temptation--->JESUS is BETTER!

Why would we want to play with anything that God for?

If people can't tell whether your not you're a Christian, that probably means your conforming. Can people tell you love Jesus by your Instagram or Twitter account?

"5 seconds of awkwardness is better than a lifetime of regret." Sadie Robertson

If talking about Jesus wasn't awkward, we could do it in our own strength & not God's.

God doesn't call you to be like the cool kids or do what everyone else is doing. He's called you to be like Jesus.

COMPROMISE --> COMFORMITY --> DEFEAT

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passion of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy you also be holy in all your conduct." 1 Peter 1:14-15

A lot of us have ex's. Your significant other would not take lightly to you flirting with your ex. As a Christian, the world is our ex. Jesus is JEALOUS for you - stop flirting with your ex.

You can't live wrong & expect to die right.