Weekend Update

What a busy last week and weekend at our house! On Saturday I threw two different showers for a friend that is getting married: one for about 20 people and the second for about 10 people. It was quite stressful, of course, but turned out to be a lot of fun, too! I got to meet a lot of neat people (I only knew three of the people who came) and it was fun to do something nice for Jennifer, my college roommate. I am the matron of honor in her wedding on Saturday and I'm sure I'll have a picture of that to post this weekend. Here is the groups of ladies who came for Jennifer's personal shower.We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to drive to Owasso for church. FCC had their first Sunday in their new building this week! It was such a neat moment. It was so cool to hear everyone praising God in the new facility. It is a beautiful building, but Dad's sermon was such a good reminder that a building is not a church, a sanctuary is not a church, but a church is wherever people who love God are and our hearts are God's sanctuary every day. It reminded me a lot of what Beth Moore calls a "Gilgal." As she explained it last year in a study I did called "Believing God," this was a moment or place where you could see that God had brought you full circle. I really felt that for FCC and for Dad. It has been a long time (I think over 10 years) since the land to build was donated and it has been a challenging road. Many people have questioned the need to move out there and the necessity for such a big space. Also, I think of a building project at a previous church that never was completed (at least as long as we were there) and never really caught on. Both of those are Gilgals that remind me of God's faithfulness and how he loves to bless us when we do what he asks! I think the staff and elders at that church had to really step out on faith to build, despite the fact that it seemed too large and too much of a dream to many in the congregation. And, man, did God bless their first Sunday! It was so cool. I know He is going to do amazing things in the lives of people in Owasso because of their faithfulness. I am so proud that my parents are a part of what God is going in that community!

Another cool part of Sunday was getting to see my Jackson grandparents! I don't think we could ever see them enough. They are such spiritual giants to me and I just love to be around them. Here is a picture of me, Nathaniel, Joel, Abigail, and Tyler (Abigail's boyfriend) with Grandma and Grandpa Jackson.

It is such a blessing to get to know them more! They always have an interesting story or two (or more!) to tell us about their past. For the past couple of years, my goal has been to ask many questions about their lives so I can get as much knowledge out of them as possible. I would love to write a book someday about all they've told me so far and hopefully all I will learn in the future.

Here I am at 7 months! Getting pretty big....