The Preacher's Wife

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...

Bleeding Orange

Well we did it!  The vision the Lord gave my husband this summer has come to life.  Code Orange Revival has been a smashing success and the excitememnt is only building.   We have had overflowing crowds at both of our locations and the rooms are on fire!  No only that, but people all over the world are watching online.  So far, we have heard from Pastor Craig Groschel, and Pastor Jentezen Franklin.  And tonight we will hear from Pastor Matt Chandler.

Check out this letter that we got Marilena in Thailand.

I want to thank you for sharing the CODEORANGEREVIVAL worldwide. I live in Thailand as a missionary, I work with icarethailand, It is just a small group of us, international people and we love your videos and resources. By the grace of God we are able to follow all your 12 revival's meetings here at 7.00 AM local time, that is when we usually gather for prayer and reading the Word. Perfect timing! Now we are with you, praising, worshiping, listening to the inspiring sermons and praying that our lives will change and we will be use more for God's glory.

We love you
Marilena

You can join us each night at the Elevation network starting at 6:12pm.  The worship experiences will also be rebroadcasted at 10:12pm, 3:12am and 12:12 pm.  But of course, if live near Charlotte, you can join us at our Blakeney and our Matthews campuses.
 

Faith and reason

Hebrew 11:17-19 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

I was reading this passage recently and the last sentence really stuck out to me.  God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but God had promised that Abraham's offspring would come from Isaac.  So Abraham carried it all the way out.  He reasoned that God could raise Isaac from the dead. 

I love how Abraham just reasoned it out.  God asked Abraham to do the most difficult thing ever.  EVER.  And when Abraham didn't understand, he knew that God could raise a life from the dead, and so he obeyed.

I have seen this happen in our church.  God gives my husband a vision, a crazy bold idea.  An idea that practically is impossible for our team to pull off.  And even if we do pull it off, we are not in control of the turn out or response of the people.  Whether we are dropping eggs out of the sky, giving boat loads of money away, renting our an arena for Easter, or asking people to spontaneously be baptized. But we do all that we can do, then we trust God to do his part, the response of the people.

Audacious faith means you go for it, you obey, and you trust God with the final outcome.

 

CODE ORANGE REVIVAL Update: Tonight we are honored to have Pastor Jentezen Franklin.  You can join us at our campuses in Blakeney and Matthews or online at 7pm.

Say cheese, PLEASE!

I am kind of funny about what I think makes a picture good.  Honestly, I know this is old fashioned, but I really like when everybody is looking at the camera and smiling.  I know, a lot of creativity is lacking on my part here.

As you know with young children, this can be quite difficult to acheive.  Here are a few pictures taken of my kids over the holidays I thought you might enjoy...

And one that finally satisfied me!

 

 

CODE ORANGE REVIVAL Update: Code Orange Revival starts tonight!  We are kicking it off with Pastor Craig Groschel.  You can join us at Blakeney or Matthews at 7pm or live online at our new Elevation 24 Hour Network.

The art of giving a gift

My husband and I love to give gifts.  Generosity is the core values of our family and we take gift giving very seriously.  I was thinking the other day about what makes a good gift. 

The crazy thing is, as I have been typing this blog, my friend Heather Bishop came and presented me with this gift basket from our eGroup!  The Lord works in mysterious ways! 

So, here are a few things I came up with...

1.  Pay attention.  Listen to little things.  Like, "I shrunk my favorite t-shirt."  Or, "Your house always smells so good, do you have a special candle?"

2.  Personalize.  This can be as simple as monogramming a bag or as thoughtful as engraving a piece of jewelry.  A few years ago my sister and I bought my mom a necklace for mother's day with an engraved disc for each of her grandchildren.  She still loves it and wears it often.

3.  Think small.  Sometimes the most thoughtful gifts are not big or expensive.  A framed picture, a fridge magnet, some type of reminder that you are praying for that person or thankful for them.  And also, little gifts, just because can say more than a birthday or Christmas present.

4.  Take a risk!  When buying a gift, a risk says you tried really hard.  I cannot tell you how many times I have taken a risk when giving a gift and the person loved it.  This year for Christmas I took a big risk with my husband's gift.  I designed a key chain for him that goes a long with a sermon he preaches.  I think he was shocked when he opened it, and I know he likes it.  Giving a gift like that is so much better than getting him a new pair of shoes.  The bigger the risk, the bigger the payoff.

5.  Spend enough but not too much.  When buying a gift for our spouse, or a friend, if you spend too much it can make the person feel bad, guilty (or even angry if it is your spouse).  But if you spend just the right amount it can express value for the other person. 

6.  Try to buy something they would not ever think to buy themselves.  This would vary from person to person.  Maybe your friend would love nice perfume but would never buy it for herself, or maybe a gourmet treat.  My friend Amy hates to buy herself socks.  After seeing her wear socks with hole in them for too long, one year for Christmas, I bought her a bunch of socks.

7.  Know that if you try to replace a favorite, you run the risk of not measuring up.  For instance, I have a favorite bathrobe.  I got it for my 17th birthday.  I have had multiple people try to replace it but I am still hanging on to it.  It still means a lot to me that my friends know that about me and have tried to replace it.

8.  If you are going to do something for them then do it.  Don't leave it up to them to ask you for it.  What I am saying is never give an IOU.  If you want to clean up your friends iPod and give them new music then do it.  If you want to give free babysitting, then give the person the dates you have blocked off that you are available. Don't leave it up to them to cash it in, that is just awkward.

9.  Be unpredictable for once.  Let other people add to your mom's pandora bracelet this year, get her something different.  Let other people give your husband a gift card to Bass Pro Shop, get him something different this year.  Don't use every gift giving holiday as an opportunity to add to someone's collection, be more creative at least once or twice a year.

10.  And finally, don't go to so much thought and effort of giving a gift, and not bother to present it well.  Wrapping a gift says, you put a lot of thought into what you are giving.  If you are a guy, get some help.