Praise You in this storm...

WOW.

I took a group from our church to go see Hillsong United this past Wednesday. They have become probably my favorite worship band over the last couple years. Their album "United We Stand" is great from beginning to end. And then last year they released an album whose cover was simply this image:

I love that. It can be the simplest in iconography, but there is a lot of depth to the image as well. We Americans are used to seeing "I ♥ NY" or whatever else. But this is much simpler. "I Love" - period. And at the center of the heart is Jesus, the reason for that love. I bought the t-shirt at the concert, by the way ;).

Anyway, Hillsong United usually do not play very many shows in the USA, so I was thrilled when I saw that they were coming to Atlanta. So they get kicked off and obviously we're having a great time. Then the youth pastor from Hillsong Church gets up to talk and I'm loving it. Then things got really going.

You see, I loved the stage production that night. The lighting is good, but it takes some of the focus off of the band, which enables the audience to focus on God. I think that's a great decision. Besides, God had His own light show planned.

Right after the guy gets done talking it starts raining. We're sitting on the last row of seats that are (barely) covered by the pavilion. Didn't matter, 'cause we were gonna get wet. The rain keeps getting harder and harder and yet no one seemed to care. The rain even was coming under the pavilion and getting on stage, and yet the band came back out and kept playing (I don't know why I expected them to quit). So within a few minutes we're soaked but having a great time. Near the end they sang one of their new songs, "Your Name High" and the place went nuts. It was an amazing experience, and one I think I'll treasure for a long time. The energy was amazing and you could feel The Holy Spirit there. I don't know why the fact that it was raining made it so much more powerful, but I'm not sure I'll ever have another concert worship experience quite like it.

P.S. This is one of the best-sounding live bands ever. The End.

And so...

I am ending my time with Zaxby's.

It has been 5 years. Originally, I had started there hoping to get some management experience that would help me in a career. I have gotten that and so much more. 5 years is longer than I have ever worked at one job, and I feel that it was the right time for a change. 

I have not been looking for a new job so much as I have been entertaining offers. I have interviewed for 2 youth minister positions that did not work out, and I had pretty much despaired of finding something else after that. It is kinda neat how God works things out, though, isn't it?

I had a deal for a car almost drop into my lap last month. Good car, reliable, great mpg, great condition, good mileage, and VERY affordable. It turns out that I would need it for my new job, which is about 35 miles from my house. I was not certain that I would be able to go to this job, but it appears to be just what we need! 

And so while I will not be getting into vocational ministry, I will still be able to work at Westwood while also bettering my family's situation. 

Thank you, Father!

Georgia Aquarium

We were able to take a trip to the Georgia Aquarium a couple weeks ago. That was fun! It was a family trip, but we often pick places that we know DJ will love. As anyone who knows us can attest, he is fascinated with marine life and talks incessantly  about it. I was really excited about seeing the whale sharks, as they are examples of the largest fish in the world. In the video I made sure to put in the moment that we first saw them. There is a large window that is oriented towards the central area of the building so that it catches your attention. We were standing there before we entered the exhibit when we first saw the whale sharks. One went by and I caught it on camera and I thought it was huge. Then the BIG one went by and it is ginormous! I caught the last half of it on the tape. I hope you enjoy the video (if you can make it all the way through!).