The Preacher's Wife

You asked... Filling gaps

A while back I did a series where I invited people to ask me questions.  While it seems as though I abandoned the questions that the kind readers asked me, alas I have not.  I am bringing it back today (can you guess I was at loss for what to write?)

So Ashley asked: What is it like being married to a focused, driven person when you are more laid back in personality?

I really like this question.  Really only in the past few years would I consider myself a laid back person.  It's almost like the more focused and driven my husband has become, the more laid back I have become.

Have you ever seen the scene in Rocky where Rocky describes his relationship with Adrian?  Rocky says, "She got gaps, I got gaps, together we fill gaps."  I love it!  That is what a great marriage is about, filling gaps.

Does my laid back personality ever clash with his drive?  Of course, but we make a conscience effort to compliment each other.  My hope is that at the end of our lives, he will look back and say that I helped him relax and enjoy the crazy ride.  And that I will look back and see what an amazing ride I got to experience with him.

Give Away: Kisses from Katie

My friend Angie recently gave me this book, she told me this was my kind of book.  And boy was she right.  I read it in record time. 

Kisses from Katie is the story of a young girl who simply said yes to God one day and then kept saying yes to Him each step of the way.  Katie moved to Uganda for one year when she was 18 years old.  Today she is around age 22, still living in Uganda, mother to 13 adopted African girls, and director of Amazima, a ministry that sponsors children, feeds the hungry, provides vocational training and disciples new believers.

Katie's story is a living example of audacious faith.  I loved it so much, I want to give a copy away.  Leave a comment with your name below.  I will close the comments on Thursday and select a winner.  (And if you don't win, you can purchase a copy for yourself at here.).  You can also read more from Katie on her blog.

Love with actions

1 John 3:1 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

February is a month focused on love.  Today I was thinking about the craft that I would bring to Elijah's Valentine's party.  And lately I have been trying to figure how to make February a special month for my husband (his birthday is this month too).  And even at Elevation, we will soon begin Love Week, a huge initiative to love the city of Charlotte. 

As I go about buying candy hearts and Hallmark cards and as I help my kids make Valentines for their friends, I plan to teach them 1 John 3:18.  Loving with actions, not just words.  I have a feeling my 4 and 6 year old children will catch on to it faster than I will.

I have heard it said that the way you can measure your ability to love is by how you treat the person you like the least.  My ability to love should not be measured in how I treat my children but in how I treat the neighborhood children, or the people I interact with my my kid's schools and the gym, not how I treat my friends.

Loving as Jesus loved means loving and expecting nothing in return, simply because the Father has lavished His love on me.

Hey, if you haven't been watching the Just One conference, you are missing out!  Just One is a virtual conference where in the comfort of your living room, you can hear from some amazing ladies like Kay Warren and Lisa Young.  Today I have the privilege of sharing along with several of my good friends in ministry.  I hope you will join us.  You can catch the conference at 11 am and 9 pm EST today.  Here is the link, see you there!

Monday Morning Commentary

I have the privilege of guest blogging for Holly today! I am Kelly Hubatka, wife of Creative & Uptown Campus Pastor, Larry Hubatka. Today we kicked off our new series, Living A Better Story-a series inspired by Donald Miller's book, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. Pastor Steven is challenging us to live a story worth telling. He said that the elements that make a good story are the same elements that make a good life. This is so true! The definition of "story" that anchors the whole series is this: A character who wants something and overcomes conflict to get it. The Bible is the ultimate story, God's story, with Jesus as the hero.

The main passage for this message was Acts 20: 17-24. Pastor Steven said we could sum up Paul's story with this verse: "However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace." I love this example, as Paul was so focused on Jesus and the calling God had placed on his life, that even his own life didn't matter to him. We could very easily say that this was Paul's story in a sentence. We are encouraging everyone who is engaging with this series to write their story in a sentence-go to mybetterstory.com and write yours!

Pastor Steven shared 4 reasons our stories struggle and become stories that aren't worth telling: 

1. We cast the wrong main character. Jesus should be the main character in your story, not you! He said, "If you're story doesn't revolve around God's glory, it's not worth telling!" What a great reminder.

2. We are working off the wrong screenplay. We often don't live out our lives with the last scene in mind-which ultimately, for us, ends with worshipping at the throne of God, forever and ever! 

3. What we want isn't worth enough. When our life goal is to accumulate material things, we're underestimating all that God could do with our lives.

4. We try to skip the scenes that make it matter. We all want to avoid conflict and painful times, but those are often the most refining times in our stories.

I think this is the perfect series to follow Code Orange Revival. The revival set the stage for what God wants to do in our lives this year, and now it is time for us to actually do something about it and go live a better story. I loved this message as I am challenged to think through the story that I am living. I hope you will take the time to listen to it this week! You can catch it on the the archive later today, as well as on the Elevation Network at 12pm, 4pm, 8pm each day.

Life Change Inbox

It's Friday and time for the Life Change Inbox to make a comeback!  I have been sharing some of the wonderful emails my husband gets, where people share the work God is doing in their lives through Elevation Church.  Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:2-4 that our lives are living letters written so that God might be glorified. 

I hope you're inspired by Mike's story, it is another story of the amazing ways God draws us to Himself through an invite from a friend...

 

At this point last month, I was lonely and searching for "the one" to make my life complete. Little did I know that the going to bars,  doing drugs, and searching for "love" was only taking me deeper into sin and away from God.

Just before Christmas, I noticed a friend on Facebook who had posted something about Elevation Church and I had to ask what was so great about it. She replied, "Wow, that's a loaded question. Why don't you come with me sometime!" Before I tried out the Elevation Experience, my friend and I met for coffee to discuss her journey with Christ and where I stood with my faith. After a great conversation, I left with an Elevation Worship CD, "This Is How We Change The World" DVD, and her notes from multiple sermons.

I listened to the CD, watched the DVD, and read through the notes then attended the University Campus January 8th. Since then, my life has taken a complete 180 degree turn. I've given up drinking and doing drugs. The love I was searching for was found in the love of God. On Tuesday, January 10th I recommitted my life to Jesus Christ...in the shower. Everybody I talk to says they feel the burdens lifted off their shoulders, and so did I, but I felt like my sins were washed away in the shower that day.

I made it a point to attend and/or watch the Code Orange Revival every night and I held on to the commitment. I've met some absolutely amazing people over the past 2 weeks and my journey with Christ is just beginning. I now feel like I am walking in the FOG and my relationship with God is growing every day!

Mike

Fashion File: One statement at a time

Statement pieces are trendy right now.  A statement piece is anything you wear that really stands out.  Like these shoes...

Statement pieces can be so much fun.  It is really important not to go overboard.  You really should only make one statement at a time.  So if you are wearing statement shoes like the ones above, you want to downplay everything else.  Here are some examples (Today I swiped all my pictures from Pinterst.  I got sucked into the Pinterest vortex and will not admit how long I spent searching for these pictures)...

Statement shoes are everywhere right now from floral prints to really bright colors and animal prints.  Even TOMS has come out with some awesome patterned shoes.  The thing that is great about the bright TOMS is you can wear them with simple jeans and a black t-shirt but still feel fun.

        

Bright colored pieces (as I have mentioned before about jeans) are super fun.  Everything else should be neutral.

     

 

 

 

 

It seems like everyone owns at least one statement necklace.  If you are wearing a big necklace you should not have on anything that competes with it.  Especially big earrings.

Here's a great way to wear a scarf and a belt...

    

Ok and for fun, a few pictures of an outfit making one too many statements...

   
 

We saved the best for last

Code Orange Revivial far exceeded my expectations.  From the amazing messages that spoke to me every night to energetic and expectant crowds, we had a blast.  But the moment that surpassed them all, for me, was the very last moment of the 12th day when my husband baptized my son.

I don't really want to leave a lot of commentary here.  I think the pictures speak for themselves.  I pray big things for my children and it was an incredible moment to see Elijah take this step of faith.

 

No condemnation for me today

One of my favorite books of the bible is 1 John.  I love it because it is short but it packs a great punch.  I have been reading through the book again lately and have been reminded of so much. 

No matter what our background, we can all struggle with condemnation.  Because condemnation is about the enemy lying to me, and he will say whatever he needs to say to make me feel condemned. 

1 John 3:19-21 says...

This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.

If our hearts condemn us... we know He is greater that our hearts.

If our hearts condemn us... we know that He knows everything there is to know about us.

Romans 8:1-2 says

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

I won't allow myself to be condemned today.  When attacked with thoughts of condemnation, I'll know that the God who lives inside of me is greater than my heart.  He knows everything there is to know about me and He has put His Spirit in me.  And He has set me free from condemnation.

Code Orange Revival Recap

What an incredible 12 days. I am so thankful my husband obeyed God and followed through with Code Orange Revival. I am personally still trying to process all the Lord has taught me. Here is a recap our amazing video team put together. Tomorrow I will be back to life as normal.

Code Orange Revival from Elevation Church on Vimeo.

Code Orange Commentary

We have been a little busy the past 6 days.  Code Orange Revival has been amazing.  God has truly shown up each night and we are having a blast!  If you are in the area, you have got to join us at our Matthews or Blakeney locations.  If you cannot get here, you can join us online each night at 7 at TheElevationNetwork.com.  Tonight we will hear from Pastor Perry Noble.

Here are a few of the pictures I have been tweeting the past few nights...