Revolution Students

Last night was the launch for UPRISING, the student ministry at Revolution Church. It was an amazing night, and I was so honored to be a part of it. God really pulled everything together and outside of 87 students being there, which was an amazing number considering nothing has happened with the students specifically since July, there were about 30 adults/college-age students there who were displaying true hearts of servants. The adults and college-age students are making up the team of volunteers who will be the heart beat of Revolution Students. Every one of them dug in where needed, took initiative, and made the whole evening a huge success. From running lights, sound, Pro Presenter, to putting chairs together, laying out red carpet rounds, hanging signs, moving furniture, directing traffic, gathering the signs, WHATEVER was needed, these people rose up and did what was needed no matter what it was.

The band was rockin-!!! Thad did an awesome job of leading the band and pulling it all together. He is a gifted worship leader, and it's awesome to see when he sings out to God and leads others to do so. You could hear the students singing too, and it was beautiful to hear their voices singing out to God with the band. The other guys in the band are very talented, and they rocked the house last night!

I was really proud of Michael. His heart is in the Revolution Student Ministry, and he has been living and breathing the details of last night for the last couple of months. I'm praying that what he shared last night about finding our identity in God versus what happens when we try to find our identity according to the world will get students thinking and considering what God has in store for them.

I can't wait to see what God has in store for Revolution Students!!!

Road Trip

I am going on a road trip with my Mom next week. We will be traveling to Ohio, and stopping in SC, NC, and VA on the way. My father is buried in SC, and I have cousins in NC. We are visiting one of my Mom's best friends in VA, and we will spend several days there. I'm looking forward to spending some time in D.C. during this part of the trip. My Mom and Dad met in D.C., and my brother and I were born there, well I was born in Maryland. I am looking forward to my Mom showing me the places that we significant to her and my Dad when they lived there. After spending time there we are heading to visit my Aunt and Uncle in Ohio and spending a few days there, then heading home.

I am looking forward to spending this time with my Mom. We only live about 90 minutes away from each other, but sometimes it seems like it might as well be another state.

Mom took my brother and me on many road trips when we were growing up. We would go visit my Grandmother in SC at least a couple of times a year - always on Christmas. I remember that Mom would tell my Grandmother to be expecting us around a certain time (this was all before cell phones), and we'd always get a late start, and we'd always be speeding to get to Grandmommy's house close to the time we said so she wouldn't worry. Mom never got a speeding ticket during all these high-speed quests to get to Grandmommy's.

My Grandmother died when I was 14, and we, of course, got a late start to get to her funeral, and Mom finally got a speeding ticket on our way to SC. We laughed about it saying that Grandmommy must have had something to do with it, now that she was in heaven and could see how Mom had driven all those times to her house. That doesn't seem so funny now, but with the grief we were experiencing at the loss of such a special person in our lives, I guess we were looking for anything to smile about.

I remember always wanting to be the first one to the door to greet Grandmommy once we arrived at her house. She had such a loving way about her that always made me feel special. I will always cherish those times we spent at her house, especially the many Christmas mornings.

not just another jog in the park

So yesterday I went for a run at Bolling Park behind Cherokee High School (CHS). I was looking forward to the run even though I was going during the heat of the day - around 2:00. Bolling Park has a gravel trail, which I like a lot. As I was rounding the corner of my 2nd mile, about 70 Freshmen from a CHS P.E. class showed up to run two laps around the shorter track. Talk about bringing back some mortifying memories for me and the time I spent in P.E. at Towers High School. I did not like P.E. I hated dressing out. Here's a list of memories:

• I got a new pair of leather Tiger Asics (which were very cool back in the 80's) and they got stolen from the locker room.
• Square dancing in the gym - not fun - and the mortification of who we'd get paired up with still rings in my memory. And trying not to look like a complete dork while square dancing in a gym, which was pretty much impossible no matter how cool you were.
  
• Fitness tests - ugh! Especially when I was not so fit back then. I twirled baton and took dance classes, but I was not so much athletic, and I was always 10-20 pounds overweight, so I was not very good at any one thing on these tests, especially running. I was always in the back of the pack.
• Having to run either 1/2 mile or a mile and one of my friends, who was in worse shape than me, was going to finish last, and I was a few people in front of her, and I slowed down so she wouldn't have to finish last. That could have been a growing moment for me now that I look back at it. I didn't want to finish last, but I didn't want her to finish last alone.
• Dressing out - talk about uncomfortable - 30 girls of all different shapes and sizes and all different levels of self confidence. Not a good memory.
• Coming up with excuses not to dress out - that time of the month was a good one that always worked on male coaches, not so much on the female coaches. Stomach aches, twisted ankle. I don't know if I ever made an A in P.E. I could have, but I'm pretty sure I dissed dressing out enough times that it came closer to a low B or C. Duh!
• Being overweight in high school was never much fun, but somehow P.E. just put a spot light on those who were not in the best shape and not very confident.

Of course now, I wish I had taken advantage of P.E. and been motivated by it instead of traumatized by it.