Get-a-Way...from Atlanta

I know, I know, I know. I need to get better at writing more often, but I'm trying.

This past week my wife and I had the privilege of leading worship for a conference at Ozark Christian College, where we both attended. Get-a-Way is a yearly Jr. High conference held at OCC and this year we were called to lead. Thank You, God, for an amazing opportunity. It was so great leading those kids into the presence of God and witnessing the passion and zeal that is so often found in kids that age. There were great.

We (Steph, Dreyson, and I) flew into Arkansas where some great people from our last ministry picked us up. Thanks Jim and Gail. We love you! We got in pretty late so we were excited to go to bed and get rested up for an exciting week so we did.

The next couple of days consisted of eating, spending time with friends, eating and rehearsal. On vacations, even if they're really not vacations, it seems like there is so much eating involved. Anyways, it was great and we hit all the restaurants that we had intended to.

Rehearsals went great. Steph and I were so excited about the band after the first five minutes or so. There were amazing. All of them. I knew two of them, but two of them I did not so I was a little nervous, but they were great, amazing musicians. What really made the week for me, though, was not how talented they were, but the kind of people they were. Great guys who love God and love serving Him. Sometimes, musicians can have attitudes and egos, but you couldn't find either one in this group. Doubt any of them will read this, but if you do, thank you so much.

The event itself went fantastic. We had a session on Friday night and two on Saturday. I just pray that the kids attending had as much fun as we did, but more than that I pray that those who needed to find Jesus found Him, and those who needed a reminder of who they are in Christ were reminded. Mark, the speaker for the weekend was amazing. It was a great week! After the event was over on Saturday, we had another day and a half to spend with family and friends and then...dum dum dum dum...our flight home.

In Psalm 118 where it says, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I wonder, is that talking about days like we had on Monday and even Tuesday morning? We were stuck in the Atlanta airport for over 12 hours. Rejoice? If you've ever been to Atlanta's airport, you probably still know nothing about how big it is compared to us. We literally probably walked a good two miles around the airport that day. My wife pushing bubs in the stroller, with the diaper bag hanging on the back. Me, pulling our carry on, wearing a heavy back pack, and carrying my guitar. From terminal D, to A, to E, and back to A. Dreyson enjoyed all the train rides, but it made for a long, long day. We were supposed to be home at around 4:30 pm on Monday evening, but instead arrived at home at 4:30 am...on Tuesday. It makes me tired even talking about it.

After all we had been through during the day, and by the way so had thousands of other people so we're not exclusive to the pity, we wound up sitting in first class on the flight home. Steph and I got on the plane, looked at the seats that we normally just walk on by, checked the tickets two or three times, and just starting laughing. It was great. The seats were perfect for Dreyson to sleep on us and so comfortable. After a day of feeling like we didn't matter and being told that we weren't priority, there we were sitting in first class. The challenge that I took from this, besides practicing patience, was to teach my kids that although in the worlds eyes, at times, we might seem insignificant, unimportant, and not priority, in God's eyes we are all those things. We are so important to Him that He sent His Son to die for us. We are so significant in the Kingdom of God that He chose, in advance, good works for us to do. We are a priority to God. We are not an after thought or an inconvenience. We are His children that He loves and adores so much. We are such a priority to Him that He knit us together in our mother's womb. He knows us intimately and wants us to know Him that way.

The greatest part of the day was spending it with my wife and son. They were great. I already knew this, but was reminded of how amazing of a wife I have. She was great. Pushing one baby all day and carrying another (3 1/2 months pregnant) confirmed that she's also an amazing mom. She was never concerned about how tired she was, but only took care of our babies. Dreyson, the most amazing little guy every, spent his entire day brightening up every terminal that we struggled through and bringing smiles to people who, well...had not been. I'm so proud of my family! Thank you God for blessing me with a wonderful wife and healthy, beautiful baby boy, and for the one You are forming even as I write.

To One End