Holy Mother's Day!!!

First, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the mother's that read this (I LOVE YOU MADRE!!!). I honestly think that you have one of the hardest jobs on the planet. Motherhood is quite a ways off for me, but it is an experience I look forward to.

I have to say that I have been completely blown away by thing things God has allowed to happen in the life of my church recently. I attend NewSpring church (www.newspring.cc CHECK IT OUT!!!). I was able to be at home ( on break from school) April 24th through May 7th. During that time I was able to attend NewSpring live at the Greenville campus twice. I'm not usually an overly emotional person, but when God allows us to be part of his miracles, I just can't help it. I've completely boo-hoo-ed (I think I just made that a word...) my way through the past three Sunday's (including today's service which I watched live online). The church is currently in a series called "The Gospel". The whole reason NewSpring exists is to make the name of Jesus Christ famous, one life at a time....so what better way to do that than to simply preach the gospel. During this series over 1,000 people have given their life to Christ...OVER ONE THOUSAND!!!! THAT IS GOD'S WORK! I'll be the first to say that NewSpring is an AMAZING church and it is led and filled with people of God that are willing to get out of the way to let God have his way, but these 1,000+ people have nothing to do withthe church, or the people "running the show". WE SERVE AN AWESOME GOD and it is only because of Him that these 1,000+ people will be forever His! I started thinking about what 1,000+ people looked like. I'm a visual learner however, so I had a hard time picturing that. So here's the best I could come up with...with each dot representing a person that will now be spending eternity in Heaven: ......................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................................................................................
that is 1,000 dots, so there were actually more than that. I know the dots are small and this may seem insignificant, but just try to think of that small dot as a person, maybe a friend or family member. I just can't get over the things that God is doing THROUGH our church!!!

Mother's Day is always a day I look forward to at my church. As I already mentioned, I sat watching the NewSpring service on their live web campus this morning at 11:15 and wept. I can't begin to explain the impact this message had. I highly encourage that you go watch the service (www.newspring.cc just click on the "join us online" tab on the right, the next live service will be at 6 p.m. tonight, or you can get the messages for free on iTunes podcast!) The best way to describe the service was a spin from the hit t.v. show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. NewSpring gave a home to a single mother and her 6 year old son. The mother was truely working hard to give her son the best in life. She was working, going to school to further her education so that she could have enough money to one day send her son to college. But with all the struggles, the home wasn't high on the priority list. So tons of volunteers from the church came together and made this house a home for the lady and her son in just 8 weeks. Also, the church gave the mother a scholarship for her education expenses and started a scholarship fund for her son. That wasn't all! Not only did this dream become a reality for this family, but also for another lady in the church. She was also a single mom with a daughter. This lady was in a similar situation, working, going to school, and volunteering at NewSpring. The mother and her daughter had been living with her parents for over two years. The church found her this amazing apartment so that they could have a place of their own. She also received a car, and the church paid off her $7,000 or so debt that she had desperately been trying to get rid of. Like I said, these words aren't enough to fully appreciate it, so I encourage you to check it out for yourself.

The look on the faces of these women, such gratefullness, I believe is what brought me to tears. However, it wasn't that they were necessarily so grateful to the volunteers (although I know they were extremely grateful to them as well), but it was their love for Christ. They recognized that they did not deserve any of this, but it was given to them anyway. That is the story of every Christians life. Not a single one of us deserves the grace and forgiveness of Christ, but He gives it to us anyway. It's something that still, after being a Christian for around 14 years, absolutely blows my mind. I'm so pumped up writing this, so I hope that some of it made sense...Glory to God for the phenomenal work that is being done through NewSpring Church...I'm so grateful to be a part of these miracles!!! And the best part is...I know God is just getting started!!!!!!