i realize that every parent thinks their child is adorable. i’m no different. here’s two minutes of T, showing off some of her new tricks: crawling, clapping, and laughing. listen closely and you can hear her breathing. that’s my favorite. precious little baby panting. please pardon my obsession; i just can’t help it. 
Reason 1,799 that I Love The Vine
There are all kinds of reasons people go to church. For me, one of the most important things about church is that my kids are happy. I want them to know Jesus, and to know about Jesus, so I need for them to enjoy church. Today the amazing people in The Vine Cafe went above and beyond my expectations in making sweet little Tanner feel like she was an important part of the family at The Vine….
Tammie, thank you so much for working tirelessly to make every person who walks through the doors feel important and loved. I appreciate it so much that thinking about it makes my eyes leak.
Tonight we’re watching the kids choice awards, and (shock) Miley Cyrus won best female vocalist and best actress in a TV show. The first person she thanked in her acceptance speech was her “Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for making this all possible.” Not just her parents. Not just “God.” She dropped the J.C. bomb AND professed Him as her Lord and Savior. That, and the combimation of her busting out Ephesians 6:10-11, full text, as her favorite verse when asked by Oprah, makes her a role model of choice for my pop culture obsessed 8-year-old. Saturday night summary: Cool points for Miley. Who could have predicted this insannahity when i was line dancing to achy breaky heart back in 1992?
by the way, the production & set design on the kids choice awards was incredible. they put mtv to shame. seriously. wow. even the animated transitions were rockstar. the after effects smack has been laid down. nickelodeon has come a long way since the 1980’s green slime era.
look who i coaxed out of bed this morning! i came packing the goods; so he arose.
i’m so glad he’s back in the country. and he shaved the long-haired animal that was attached to his face. he’s looking more like my brother and less like a castaway.
then we met Katelynn’s class for their field trip to the Japanese Steakhouse. the only field trip i chaperone would be food-related, huh? forty 8-year-olds in one room…with open flames…once again, bless you 2nd grade teachers. society is permanently indebted to you.
i convinced K to try some california roll, but she didn’t like it. mmmm more for me, i say. kinda like Kristi’s anti-meat-consumption stance. vegetarians are so nice to share the extra filets with us carnivores, eh? he he.
and, in case you were wondering, sweet little Tanner just has a cold. thank you Jesus! and she weighs 19.08 pounds. chunkster. 
and the nurse loved her cute little hot pink toes.
i’m very sweet but my nose is running, my eyes are puffy, and i’m all congested.
and now my nose is red, too, from being wiped so much. very sad. 
I love Thursdays! Here’s why:
Creative Chaos.
This week I’d like to ask the portable church kids a question: Do you have any creative systems in place to maximize environmental potential and volunteer efficiency while constructing worship centers week in and week out?
The following are pictures of our two transformed dance studios. It worked out well, but took a LOT of time. Now that we’ve set the bar, my challenge is to figure out how to maintain it every week…without killing my volunteers.
We did some pretty ghetto audio arranging to make both rooms work… (we came out of the main board with a 100 foot snake into a second board in room two, where we remixed the mix from room one…) and we had a female vocalist & acoustic guitar in room two so they didn’t feel like they were just watching TV…avioms in both rooms…it was a long shot, but it worked. We also got some of these lights for room two, which are awesome.
How do you overcome your facility limitations to reach people for Jesus?
Here’s an 88 second clip, showing how things worked in both rooms:
For more details on how Easter went down, click here.
isn’t this the cutest, tiniest little pedicure you’ve ever seen?
tanner and i got our toes done in an effort to post-Easter chill.
hey guys — please take a second and read this post and pray for these children. this blog belongs to sarah, the missionary our church supports in mozambique, africa. i am so thankful for my children’s health and for favor i don’t even deserve…
i know i’m a little tired, but my eyes start leaking when i think about these kids who were created in His image and belong to Him…. thanks
I love Easter because it reminds me of my chance for redemption and new life in Christ. It’s the biggest day of the year for those who align themselves with Jesus, because without the resurrection Jesus was just another prophet. I’m also challenged by the CEOs in the house… (Christmas/Easter-Onlys) because I so desperately wish they’d “get it” in their hearts and live sold out for Him. We launched last year on Easter, and had no clue what we were doing, really. There’s been a significant learning curve, but I’m really proud of my team because we’ve come a long way. This weekend we changed the set from unChristian to Overcome, as seen here:
OLD
NEW
Today’s number one priority was to do overflow (the “Red Room”) with excellence. We rent a dance studio on the weekends, so the Red Room is…you guessed it…a dance studio with red walls. (plus one wall of mirrors, and a wall of windows.) Here’s what it looks like undecorated:
completed:
Dude, the Red Room was the bomb. It was so cool that, if given the choice, I’d choose to sit in there! The hidef camera feed in the center was crystal clear and the new LED lights actually look cooler than the parcans with gels that hang on the trussing. The production team at The Vine is simply amazing. This weekend we doubled the workload and successfully pulled off two identical worship centers…who says we need a facility?!? Ha ha. Maybe one day, but for now we’re reaching the people of Braselton for Jesus…one setup marathon at a time. Hope your Easter was awesome as well!
