Conference Fever

Yesterday and today have been great.... they are "We get to see Andrew/Daddy again!!!" days. Last week, Andrew clocked 120 hrs of work for the 3 conferences and about 30 hrs of sleep for the whole week! CRAZY! I almost cried a couple of times, and Marcail and Donovan had some meltdowns. Marcail was wailing, "Mommy, I want Daddy!!!" and I just looked at her and whimpered, "Marcail, I want your Daddy, too."

But, enough complaining : ) Other than the fact that we hardly saw him, the conferences were AMAZING! I went to the worship sessions every evening and took the children. There is nothing that I can put into words to describe the intensity of fervor and hunger in that room. Especially the last 3 nights, with the Desperation Conference geared for high-schoolers. There is just something about thousands of young lives that are THAT intense and passionate which energizes the whole air of the place. You have to realize that most of these kids paid some price to be there-- they weren't brought unwillingly from 4 states away--- they WANTED to come. With all my heart, I know that God meets us when we set time aside for Him; when these few minutes, or hours, or days, are deliberately blocked off for no one but Him, He will meet with us. He loves to!!!

In today's world, with the concern of being PC, and all that jazz, you can water down Christianity till there's nothing left but to drown in this culture of relativity and "middle-ground land." But when you look at a sea of young faces as they are told that in order to walk a Christian life, you will have to sacrifice, you will have to pay a price; that there is an unseen war and we are in the middle of it and can influence the present and the future; that there is absolute right and wrong; that we are the light of the world, so BE the light of the world; that God is worthy of all we have, all we are, He wants it all..... when you look at the hunger and desire on their faces, you realize that we don't have to apologize for our Faith- they WANT the challenge, they WANT something in which they can be totally sold out. They want to stand on sure foundation, to know the boundaries, to live in the light, and walk against the currents of society and culture.

It was such a beautiful thing to see. Sometimes it can be discouraging to see where the world is headed; all the pain, all the injustice around us, in nations all over the globe. There is nothing better that gives me such hope, as I am reminded I am not alone in what makes my heart burn.

More Summer Fun (with friends at their house)

These pics are from earlier this week- mommy dates with the kiddos are so much fun! We packed our own lunch (we as in I, ha!) and headed over to my friend Amanda's house, which just happens to be in my neighborhood. The children had a fabulous time together. Marcail and Bennett play together at church all the time anyways. And Donovan and Tessa were born ONE day apart.

We've been playing outside here at home every afternoon lately.... Marcail's porcelain white skin is actually getting a little bit of a tan! Too cute! And Donovan.... well, he was just born tan : )

A new phase

Marcail is growing up! I decided that diapers were only going to be for naps and overnights now. She had done such a good job transitioning to underwear, and using the potty out of her own initiation. I am so proud of her! Yesterday, though, we were at the grocery store, talking to the store manager. He asked Marcail how she was doing, and she loudly pronounced to him that she was wearing panties! To which I doubled over laughing, and I have no doubt that my face turned several shades of red. Too funny!

Summer Fun, etc.

This past week has been so much fun with the children.... I love that summer is here and we can play outside in the sun! This coming week will be VERY full, so I rather appreciate the time we had together to enjoy free time.

Andrew has been quite busy with getting geared up for 3 major conferences taking place this coming week at New Life. Chris Tomlin, Leeland, and other major bands will be featured, so I'm super excited about participating. AND I'm also sooooo proud of Andrew for earning such a great reputation with all these Christian music artists that are impressed with his level of professionalism and great skills. It really is awesome to me that he's mixed audio for artists like David Crowder, Matt Redman, and Charlie Hall..... all with fantastic reviews! I just married a really, really cool guy : ) We really didn't get to celebrate Father's Day today, with him still doing a ton of prep work today, but I did make it a point to do a little something special every day this past week to help make up for it.

Isaiah 43

¹ "But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

² When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze."



God never says that He will stop the waters, or that He will put out the flames. But He does guarantee to be with us and cover us as those times sweep over us.