I CAN'T MAKE THIS STUFF UP

I just thought I would take a minute to encourage all of you who have had a bad day. My disclaimer is that 1) I know there are many others whose day was so much worse than mine and 2) after a whole day has passed I can finally laugh.

7:28am | After a trying morning, the girls and I finally head toward the door for school and the office. Scott had the day off. It was pouring down rain, so I walked each girl to the car under an umbrella. Scott delivered my cup of coffee to the car since my hands were full. {he's good that way}

7:29am | My youngest, who has already had a meltdown just a few minutes prior, continues the meltdown due to the back seat that was apparently folded up and wouldn't budge an inch back into the upright position. {note: said child is fighting a cold...we all know that magnifies emotions. :)} As my daughter continues to meltdown, I admit...I fussed about the seat being folded up in the first place by the culpit who wanted to skip the middle set of seats and sit in the very back. {can I at least get an AMEN from a mom out there?}

7:30am | With my coffee in hand, I put the car in reverse and hit the gas pedal. We were all jolted by the crash into my husband's car. I put the car in drive to remove my trailer hitch from my husband's bumper. Coffee spills all over my lap. My only response was to get out of the car...in the pouring rain.

7:31am | I hear primal screams coming from inside of my car and realized that I never put the car in park. In a moment of horror I watched my SUV roll toward my house. {I promise you that cars at any speed, rolling toward a house, seems like a million miles per hour.} I jumped into my car and hit the break just in time to be approximately 2-3 feet from the brick exterior wall of my daughters' bathroom.

7:32am | I exit the car again and walk behind my car...the long way...in the rain...to go inside. Why walk behind my car? There was no room between the front of my car and the bushes! Scott took over the task of taking the girls to school. I'm glad he did. I was shaking and just a smidge frantic...as were the girls in the car who stared down the brick wall of doom. {Don't tell Scott, but I really DO feel for him most of the time...you know, living in the land of estrogen.}

7:34am | What is a girl to do but change her coffee saturated jeans...and brew another cup? ;)

So, that was the start of my day...how was yours?

BLAKE & CHARLYE

Meet Blake & Charlye. God designed our paths to cross almost two years ago...then, He wove our hearts together in ministry seven months after that. Scott and I get to see this couple in two different settings: their ministry lives and their personal lives. I can tell you they are no different in one mode than in the other. Today, on their third wedding anniversary, I have been thinking of a way to describe them and two words come to mind: LOVE & CONSISTENCY. Let me tell you about them.


I have decided the best way to describe Blake as one of my partners in ministry is that he is my right arm and my left brain. You see, I am a worship leader who can't read a lick of music. A typical week includes me trying to explain something I hear happening musically in my head and how I want it to come to life in our corporate worship setting. Blake takes my thoughts and makes it happen with the band. He never shows frustration. Only support. I value that in him. He is a leader, both on and off the stage. He leads our young men's small group and I know they are blessed to have him.


Charlye is the quiet type...but dont' mistake being quiet as being weak. I think of her as a mighty princess-warrior in God's army through both her prayer and her worship. She is a spirit and truth worshiper...extravagant...humble...you can see the presence of the Holy Spirit resting on her when she praises God. It's a blessing to me. Charlye also leads our young women's small group. I hear first hand from those girls what a difference Charlye has made in their lives. That's a blessing to me too.


As a couple, they shout the Gospel of Jesus Christ with their actions. They are faithful to one another and faithful to their Savior. In our modern world where marriage is not valued, they are one of the couples that are defying the odds. I believe they will tell you that the reason they are doing so is because of their love and surrender to Christ and their love and mutual honor toward one another.


Blake & Charlye...I love you both. You inspire me and many others. I pray God's riches blessing on your lives and His continual blessing and expansion of your ministries. I know the following scripture has become so commonplace but it truly does fit you both. Let it wash over your hearts!

1 Corinthians 13:1-7 {The Message} 

If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. 
   Love never gives up.    Love cares more for others than for self.    Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.    Love doesn't strut,    Doesn't have a swelled head,    Doesn't force itself on others,    Isn't always "me first,"    Doesn't fly off the handle,    Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,    Doesn't revel when others grovel,    Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,    Puts up with anything,    Trusts God always,    Always looks for the best,    Never looks back,    But keeps going to the end. 

WHY I LOVE THE GREENBRIAR PRAYER SUMMIT

1. The FELLOWSHIP. I love the opportunity to be around our people for 2 days with basically no interruption. During the breaks and free time, the guys play some sort of man-sport and the girls get together to chat. There's no outside schedule to worry about so you have time to really get to know one another better.


2. The FOOD. Probably one of my most favorite things is to see what kind of snacks people bring to share with everyone. Last year, Erica {the college student that I mentor} brought Gooey Cake Bars. They were divine! I hope she reads this blog and brings them again this year! The meals are always so good that we joked about re-naming the weekend the Food Summit!


3. The WEATHER. For this girl, who could do without summer, the cooler temp allows me to focus. The crispness of the morning and evening air brings refreshing right on the heels of refreshing that comes with spending an extended, focused time in prayer. There's nothing like being out in the country, under an open sky, having a conversation with the designer of the universe!


4. The WORSHIP. There's something different about worship at the Prayer Summit. It's not big and loud. It's simple. It's anointed in a different way. There is no sound equipment and I love that! Those of us who are magnified though a sound system each week, get to listen as the voices of our people ring clearly through the air. It's really beautiful.


5. The UNITY. There is power in prayer. There is even more power when many believers are praying together. We come back from the Prayer Summit with a bond that lasts for a long time. We've spent time interceding for one another, our church, our city, our families. That kind of prayer unites.


6. The LODGING. Yes, you read that right. I actually like the fact that we have all girls in one cabin and all guys in another. It reminds me of youth camp years. I give the younger girls grief because they never sleep {they stay up talking and tweeting} but I secretly love it. I love being a part of it for a few days before returning to the real world.


7. The INACCESSIBILITY. My cell phone drives my day...there's no way around it. It comes with my ministry, and that's okay. But for 2 days I leave my cell phone on my pillow and focus only on what God has to say to me and what I need to say to Him. No beeps. No blinking light. No notifications. It is wonderful!


8. The COMMUNION. Not just the bread and the juice but the actual communion between me and God. The fellowship...the conversation. Last year I was able to pour my heart out to Him about one specific thing that I was having a hard time dealing with. I was suffering silently about this particular issue. He didn't fix it on the spot...but He grew me in the months that followed and by the fourth month He had broken through. I am thankful for the time at the Prayer Summit when I was able to crouch down in the corner of a country chapel and pour out my heart to God.


These are just a few things that I love about the Prayer Summit. I hope you can join us this year and seek God for what He has for you and wants to do in/through you. It's a weekend you won't regret!


www.GreenbriarChurch.net/PrayerSummit
Twitter: @GreenbriarCh  #GBPrayerSummit