Atlanta Trip

I must admit that I was a little nervous about sticking to our Christmas spending goals while shopping in Atlanta.  I decided I would shop for the kids first - all eight of them!  I had so much fun buying their stuff that it was totally anticlimactic to shop for myself.  I ended up finding a great deal on a pair of shoes ($25 for a pair of designer knee-high black boots - oh yeah I did!), but other than that, I just bought for the kids and completely stuck to the budget.  I came home feeling great about my purchases with no buyer's remorse.  This is unusual as I typically return several items from each shopping excursion!

Other than eating at Pappasito's (where I will definitely return to if I am within a 50 mile radius!), the highlight of the weekend was definitely attending North Point Church.  Andy Stanley was preaching a sermon series titled "Why Worry?"  I listened to the first message on a podcast last week, and God used his words to completely change my emotional state.  

I tend to be a really anxious person.  Sometimes at work I realize I am nervous even though I have no reason to be.  Stanley challenged listeners to read Matthew 6:25-34 every morning for five days.  It really helped me to ingrain these words into my heart and mind.  Stanley also suggested that the things we worry about prove what our highest devotion really is.  This was quite unsettling for me.  I'm afraid a few of my priorities are in need of some shifting!

While it is not surprising that I became emotional during the service Sunday, this was a time when I really thought I might not be able to keep it under control.  One of the pastors conducted two baptisms - always an excuse for a good cry!  The second baptism was a woman maybe a couple of years older than me.  I didn't realize it then, but apparently we looked alike because someone in the church bookstore thought I was her.  Anyway, in her video testimony she explained that her husband passed away in May from cancer.  She is now a single mom with two young boys.  She spoke of God's faithfulness over the last few months.  And she was smiling.  A real, genuine smile.  As she was immersed in the water, the two rows in front of us erupted into shouting and applauding.  Her two young, blond-headed boys might have been the loudest of them all.

About halfway through the sermon, she came in and sat just in front of us.  Her boys looked back at her.  And she winked.  A real, genuine wink.  They immediately ran to her and climbed onto her lap.  I have no idea what Andy Stanley said after that, but he couldn't have found a better illustration for his message.  Who am I to worry about my silly things when there are people out there experiencing incomprehensible pain?  And doing so with a smile and a wink.

Why do we worry?  Lack of faith?  Misguided devotion?  I have by no means conquered this beast, but God is changing me.  And it feels good.