Grace Place

Meet Grace Place.  

A local, non-profit for homeless single moms and their children in the Hendersonville area.  Through words and posts of mutual friends, I saw this beautiful ministry being born and knew I wanted to get our family involved.  There are homeless shelters downtown, but nothing local - a desperate need that this place will fulfill.  We heard of their housewarming party and headed that way with donations in tow to help this home become the beacon of light to women suffering with heartache, hopelessness, and shame.  Women and children will live in this beautiful space, learn work skills, and head back into the world with a sense of love and joy that can only come from Jesus Christ.  Excited to see what God will do with obedient hands and feet.

Foreverland

I LOVE Vacation Bible School.  I was saved during the Thursday evening service of VBS when I was nine years old, so this fun, meaningful week for children will always hold a special place in my heart.  I've served every year (in lots of different areas depending on our season of life) and was super excited to jump in and teach my beloved first grade age.  A friend from the H'ville campus and new LHG member taught with me - we had a blast teaching a group of 9-10 spunky first grade boys about God's love.  This VBS was during the evening which was new to our family, but it seemed to work out well enough :)  By Thursday night, we were ALL exhausted but loved the fun-filled week our church and volunteers provided.

Cole enjoying Legos in our room before heading to his class

 These boys really were gems to teach.  Good listeners, curious questions, and creative minds.  Loved it!

Andy did such a great job leading VBS and getting the kiddos pumped up each evening.  

Over 120 kiddos...a LHG record!

Mr. Andy was covered in Silly String because of our large offering :)

 Craft time

Outdoor Rec

God knows you and calls you by name :)

L.O.V.E.

Quest 2015

Ever since Michael and I followed in obedience and joined the Long Hollow Gallatin campus (a story for a different post), I have been co-teaching 11th grade girls on Sunday mornings with my dear friend, Audrey.  This was (and still is) a huge step out of my comfort zone.  Elementary aged kids are my jam...I love them and am totally in my groove whether teaching them academics or serving at a VBS.  However, after much prayer (and persistence my Mr. Nate Dooley), I agreed to serve these young ladies and prayed that God would teach me something in the process.  Wow.  Has. He. Ever.  My faith, patience, and heart's motivation has been tested, perfected, and stretched more than I could have ever imagined.  Some days are tough, but the blessing outweighs the trials and I've truly come to love each one of these girls.

I attended the fall student crusade and knew that Quest was coming up soon.  I thought of a thousand reasons for why I couldn't/shouldn't go, but when the date drew near, I knew God wanted me to serve our youth at this weekend event.  Michael agreed and this past Friday, I headed out for a two night stay at Opryland Hotel with over 1500 other youth and adult leaders.  Upon loading the bus on Friday afternoon, I pulled out my packet and saw that I had been placed with fourteen 7th-8th grade girls instead of my usual 11th graders.  I admit that my heart was frustrated at first, but after a chat and prayer with a friend, I knew that God was telling my spirit to trust Him and that He was going to move in a big way.  Not only in my life, but in the lives of our students.

My gals!

Friday night's service was wonderful and my two college leader sidekicks were amazing.  When it came time for student's to ask for prayer or make a decision, one of my sweet gals pulled me aside to ask some hard questions and talk through some personal struggles.  I had specifically been praying for her...she was the younger sister to one of my 11th grade girls.  Yep, God had me right where he wanted me and I was blown away.  Amazing how our selfish desires can potentially blind our heart's eyes to the blessings He wants to pour out on us.  Thankful.  I also got the opportunity to see one of my 8th graders open her heart to Jesus.  Both she AND her SISTER followed in obedience with believer's baptism at LHG on Sunday.  Again, thankful (and praising the Lord for lives changed for eternity!).

These two college ladies are amazing!  Olivia and Derian, you made my weekend that much more wonderful!

The rest of the weekend was fabulous and went off without a hitch.  I tell ya, Long Hollow is a well oiled machine!  Service on Saturday morning, CFA lunch on the hotel lawn, service project at Rucker Stewart Middle, a bus run to McGavock High for dinner, and then evening service.  Sunday we headed back to LHG for a delicious breakfast provided by our church family and then finished with 118 youth/adults in the late service.

Quest leaders ready to go on Saturday!

6th - 10th grade LHG girls serving at Rucker Stewart Middle School on Saturday.  We cleaned cobwebs out of each classroom, scraped gum off the gym floor, swept and cleaned bleachers, and cleaned walls around the hallways and bathrooms.  These gals did not complain and did it with a joyous spirit...so proud!

Little dance move our girls made up while sweeping :)

View from our balcony room - wish I could've enjoyed this view a bit more :)

Whew.  What a weekend.  I was plum exhausted, but I wouldn't trade it in for my 'normal' weekend activities.  Such a gift to experience so many lives encouraged, impacted, and changed forever for the Kingdom.  Quest 2016, I'm ready (well, almost...I still need a nap).