We accepted. All of us. Goodwin’s & the whole Clayville Clan.

Check it!

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

We wanna see YOUR fort.

LINK it HERE!!!

Tam and Brent are good friends of ours. Actually, “friends” isn’t really the best word to describe our relationship with them. They’re more like FAMILY.

For as long as we’ve known them, we’ve known their bed is rubbish. It wasn’t the greatest quality bed to begin with but they had been sleeping on it for way to long.

Long story short, Brian came up with the idea to get them a new one. We couldn’t afford it by ourselves so we called in backup. We contacted a handful of our mutual friends and within 48 hours, enough money had come in not only for the new high-quality bed (that Diane, David and I found at a “ALL-MUST-GO” liquidation sale) but for bedding, new pillows as well.

Thank you, David & Diane, Gitz, Laura & Stephen, Joshua & Ryanne, Nicole, Mark and Cathi, Alece and Crystal for helping Brian and me make this happen. We love you, family!

You can read Tam’s post about it HERE as well.

What was the last gift you were really proud of giving out?

Here’s a preemptive “sorry”.

what words to you say strangely?

In these photos, you’ll see Brian, Brent, Tam, Alece, Chance, Paxton and me. Most of these photos were taken by Brent… or Chance. I’m not sure which on which though.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

You start out dreaming it. You start out expecting it.

I’m gonna marry Prince Charming!
We’re gonna build a ministry overseas from the ground up.
It’s gonna bless millions for God’s glory.

We all dream these dreams as kids. But the more time we spend on this earth, the quicker our dreams and expectations change. By the time you’re almost twenty years of age, your dreams may get just a smidge smaller.

I’m gonna get out of this place one day.
I’m gonna make it through this beating.
He can’t hold this gun to my head forever!

It’ll get better by the age of 30, right? But then you stare 30 in the face and your dreams sound like this:

He cheated on me and lied.
Did he EVER love me?
All I know is this ministry and life WITH him. How do I ever transition?

Problem: that’s not a dream. That’s reality.

Sometimes the dreams you dreamt as a child are squashed by the reality of… life. The older you get, the once HUGE window of your dreams becoming reality begins to shrink till it’s barely the size of a mousehole. The simple answer of “Have FAITH… God is in control!” seems trite and a lot like another impossible dream.

You try. You muster up the last bit of faith you have…
… but sometimes, our life here won’t end up with a happy ending.

Meet my two friends: Tammy & Alece.

Those dreams listed above were theirs. Both have overcome the most monstrous and impossible hurdles. One is still in the midst of survival mode at times… but BOTH have looked life’s dirty leftovers in the face and said, “You don’t GET to choose where my dreams end up!”

They’ve changed their dreams. They’ve taken their stories and have matched them up with GOD’S story FOR them. Their stories are no longer about them… they’re about God.

Which leads me to “Plan B” by my friend, Pete Wilson. I was gonna write about the release of his book this week… but it’s so much more than a book now.

I’ve watched my friends at CrossPoint step up this past week when their community in Nashville faced the most trying devastation their area has seen in the past 1000 years. I am watching them actually BE the church to their community instead of just TALKING about it. Like Pete says… “There is the direct correlation between crisis and spiritual transformation” and they are IN crisis right now.

For more information of how to help, CLICK HERE.

It’s our chance… to be like Tammy, Alece & CrossPoint. When Plan A isn’t working out and in the midst of crisis, let’s align ourselves with God’s story… where it’s ALL about Him…

… and less about us.