My Weekend of Thanks

Let me start this by saying my weekend started on Wednesday. The kids were out of school for 5 days. I love having my kids home….AND…..I love not having to wake up at 5:30 am. Thank You Jesus for my kids and for sleeping in!!!

Thanksgiving Eve was a girls night out. Me, my 2 sister-in-laws and my mother-in-law went to the Melting Pot for some amazing fondue. Thank You Jesus for a night out with no kids!!

Thanksgiving Day I woke up to an amazing breakfast by my father-in-law…french toast is my favorite!! A family from Lifepoint drove to Clayton to spend Thanksgiving with us. There were 21 of us who enjoyed an amazing Thanksgiving Dinner. Thank You Jesus for yummy food and amazing family and friends!!

The weather was perfect…upper 60’s…perfect for a game of flag football for the kids and adults. Then later that night we had some friends over and played a quick paced, very loud energetic game of Pit…fun game, fun times. Thank You Jesus for games and fun!!

Friday after getting home, we pulled out the Christmas tree and the decorations. The boys went to get new lights while the girls put the tree together. Included in the purchase for lights was a can of chalkboard paint. So, while the kids and I decorated the tree, Jeff painted a small wall of our house with chalkboard paint. Thank You Jesus for pretty decorations and creativity!!

Saturday we (me and kids) slept in and lounged around until the afternoon. After Jeff got back from his run, we went to the park to hang out. It was a beautiful day to spend at the park. Thank You Jesus for a beautiful day to hang out with my beautiful family!!!

Sunday was a great day for many reasons. It was Jeff’s first time back speaking in 4 weeks AND 6 people gave their life to Christ!! Jeff spoke on raising our Ebenezer. If you missed it, you can watch it or listen to it here. An Ebenezer means a stone of help and it comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

Jeff challenged us to stop and remember the things the Lord has done for us. Too often we ask God for something and when He answers, we move on and forget all the things He’s already done. These are just a few things Jeff shared from our journey starting Lifepoint Church and things from our personal life that God has done:

• From 26 adults in a living room to our launch day at Myrtle Grove Middle School, to launching a second service 6 months later, to moving to a bigger school in the fall of 2008, to the Egg Drop of 2009, to baptisms at the beach, to Lifepoint Midtown, to my family getting out of debt, to my oldest son accepting Jesus and gettting baptized…I could go on and on!

It was good to take time to remember. As a visual reminder, there was a stone under everyone’s chair. Jeff encouraged us to remember something God has done in our life, whether it be breaking an addiction, accepting Jesus as our Saviour, a marriage restored, God’s provision through financial difficulties, etc. And everytime we see the stone, or if someone asks what the stone is for, we can tell them….this is when God ______.

My stone represents the protection of my marriage. God has truely sheilded our marriage through some tough times and through times that should have been tough, but by His grace, we made it through untouched. Planting a church is not an easy task on the pastor or the pastor’s wife. There are many people who have placed the success of the church above all else, including marriage and family. I am very proud and thankful to say we have pushed through with our eyes on the One Who is invisible and not on surrounding circumstances. We have learned how to lean into God and to each other through the difficulties and because of that we are stronger. My marriage is the best it’s ever been….I love every minute of being married to my pastor. Thank You Jesus for my marriage!!

If you were at Lifepoint this past Sunday….what does your stone stand for in you life? Even if you weren’t at Lifepoint…what is your Ebenezer. What has the Lord done in your life that you would stop and build a monument to be able to remember what He has done for you?