Revival

We just had our first planning meeting for starting a contemporary service at GABC. Can I just say I'm surprisingly excited about it? I had no idea so many people were behind the scenes preparing for this ministry. It was great to finally start putting it together and to find out that we're all on the same page. We talked about the purpose of the service, the style, the format, etc., etc., etc. We even threw out some nice, churchy terms like "believer service vs. seeker service."

In the end, we all agreed that our goal is revival. Period. We want to foster an environment that is more intimate and relaxed than the ginormous Sunday morning services, where corporate prayer time will be a core part of the service. When the singing is done, the praise team will also act as ministers to pray over and counsel with the people. We want to be all about prayer and confession.

I was listening to Dr. Dobson the other day on my way home from work, when he talked about the rise of Islam in our nation. His guest made the comment that our only hope in America (and the world) is wide-spread revival. I couldn't agree more. It's been heavy on my heart since then, so the timing of our new venture at GABC couldn't be more perfect!

Will you pray with me for revival?

Training

Hallelujah.

Today is training day. "What's that?" you ask...

My boss finally hired a product photographer to work part time to take pictures of all the shirts, boots, pants, jewelry, boots, hats, toys, knives, and boots on our website (did I mention there are lots of boots?).

*imagine angel chorus singing here*

My good friend, Leslie Humphrey (God bless her) is coming in today at 5:00 so I can teach her the way of tedious photography. Shouldn't take too much instruction, considering she has a friggin' art degree (more than I can say for myself), and worked as a professional photographer for two years. She's highly over-qualified, but for some strange reason she wanted the job. Hmmm...now that I think about it, she may need to train me.

If there were any part of your job that you could dump on someone else, what would it be?

Beautiful Boy

OK, as far as I know, I'm not the least bit biased. Isn't this the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?

Just thought I'd share my latest favorite picture of my nephew. The only time I really use my fancy new camera is when we go to Newton. When I first got it, it was difficult to get a sharp picture of Nicholas because as soon as he saw the camera he would start walking (or running) toward it with his hand out. Now he's so used to Aunt Ginny (a.k.a. "Ninny") constantly snapping pictures of him that he hardly looks my way. Makes for some great candid shots :)

F.Y.I., this January Cindy will be delivering a brand new little model. We're so excited! If it's a boy, Nicholas would like to name it "Wally," after his favorite Wiggle. If it's a girl, he suggested the name, "pppppbbbbbbbbbtttttt." I think he really wants a brother...

Curiosity Killed the Cat (well, in this case, the booty)

Well, I'm a total slacker. I know it. Thanks to the gentle prodding of one Jason Thomas, I'm going to try to start blogging regularly again. :)

Steven and I just finished building a deck in our back yard a couple weeks ago. Then he had to go to Atlanta on business. Then I went to Florida on a girl trip. Then it started raining, and hasn't stopped yet. Needless to say, we've had minimal time to enjoy our long-awaited outdoor living space. So whaddaya do with a deck when it won't quit raining and you're just itching to be out there?

We chose to buy a pellet gun and stage some target practice from the back porch. Yep, a brand new Smith & Wesson BB hand gun. I'm no stranger to firearms, as most of you well know. I won the BB shoot at day camp in fifth grade (yes, there were boys competing and I whooped them all). Pure talent.

We set up the target on our new patio dining set (which, to date, has served no purpose except to soak up a lot of rain), and shot at it from our new wicker loveseat on the porch. After we emptied about six magazines of premium, high-velocity plastic BB pellets onto the target, Steven went to gather our spent ammunition for recycling purposes. This is possible because the target is covered in sticky goo, so the pellets just stick to it. So there he stood, rear-end facing me, oblivious to his surroundings...so tempting. But, I'm a good wife, so I politely asked if I could shoot him in the butt. His response, "Sure, why not?"

So I did it. He just jumped a little and said, "Ooh." Then he laughed. I said, "That didn't hurt?" He just said, "Kinda." That got me thinking, I've never been shot with a BB gun before...apparently, it's no big deal...I wonder what it feels like...? So when Steven offered to shoot me in the rear, I was all for it.

Big Mistake.

For one thing, Steven has buns of steel. He also was wearing cargo shorts with bulky pockets. I do not have buns of steel. Far from it. And I happened to be wearing sweats. They don't exactly offer optimum protection from premium high-velocity plastic BB pellets. It hurt like a mug. In fact, I still have a welt on my booty that may stick around for quite some time. But, hey, at least I can say I have been shot with a BB gun (albeit the plastic kind) and survived to tell about it.