wil and kris (and gracie and ava)

we just ended a series called “beyond belief” today… and even though it may sound cheesy, this last week was totally unbelievable.on a normal basis, church meets in three different services (technically five, because two groups meet during the 2nd and 3rd service in a different location with a video feed). so, total, we have about 2500 people who attend our church (roughly?). today, we met altogether at the same time, in the curb event center at belmont. it was crazy to see so many people come together, all to worship and serve God. the music was amazing in the beginning, filling me with such joy and awe- even leading me to tears. they had a children choir sing “how great is our God” along side the other choir. girls in our church dance classes did ballet on the stage. representing the idea of living a “generational” life (part of the series), they had four people read praises, ranging from a little boy to an older grandma. it was awesome seeing someone from every phase of life proclaim how awesome God is. and at the end, different people in the audience shared what God has been doing in their lives throughout the series.

and one of the greatest parts was in the end…when walking in beforehand, everyone was handed a red ball without explanation (like the ones in playground ball pits). in the service lloyd (our pastor) explained a story with the ball representing our lives and the “stuff” we can’t let go of. but if we keep holding onto the ball we can’t hold God’s hand and be led by him…so at the end of the service, all at the same time, every one of the 2500 of us threw our ball up towards the ceiling as hard as we could. it was a cool site.

who knew a service with so many people could be so personal and so powerful. that’s God for ya…

i wonder what we will learn next!

so on friday, i went to an installation of some draperies at one of our client’s homes.oh my goodness, it was the biggest house i have ever been in (that someone actually lives in!). huge ceilings with gold gilding, fancy molding like i’ve never seen before, a big sweeping staircase, hundreds of feet of silk draperies, big, fat columns, marble flooring, and more. i think the place was about 12,000 square feet (yes, i really did say twelve thousand). crazy crazy.

in church, we have been talking about money and sacrificing and giving ourselves away to serve and glorify God…it makes walking into a place like that difficult. how could someone spend so much money on stuff that is not really needed? they worry so much about showing off; it’s all about the appearance of wealth and excess.

i am so blessed. i am so thankful that god continually opens my eyes to his glory…and how all of my money, time, talent and life is His. i hope i can remember to daily live with that mindset.