Every summer our church has a baptism service at a lake in the area.  This year Danielle stayed home with Eden since it was wicked hot out.  So Bennett and I went out to the lake, eat some hot dogs, and had a fantastic time.  Love those ordinances.  

By the way, being a single parent for 2 hours about killed me.  That’s hard stuff.

If you’re short on time skip to 1:38….proof that I have the cutest kid in the world. 

Danielle was due yesterday, and even though she was two days late last pregnancy, we thought for sure that this baby would come either on or before the due date. But no go.

We’ve tried a few tricks. Like eating Mexican food…..we actually did this the day before Bennett was born, but it didn’t work this time. We tried to walk the baby out. We spent almost 2 hours at a shopping center yesterday walking around. Danielle and Bennett got some great shoes out of it, but no baby.

One other things we’ve been working on is her “contraction face.” Think it and it will come, right? ha, ha.

So I guess now we just wait.

Our Senior dinner is always one of the saddest, but most rewarding, nights of the year. We all meet together at the house of a family in our church for dinner. Then after dinner, all of the students go around and tell a major thing that God has taught them in their last 4 years (err… 5, for some of them). It’s sad, because we realize that some really great leaders in our ministry are moving on. But, it’s so rewarding because we’re able to see visible fruit of God’s grace in their lives.

Seeing immediate fruit in your ministry is sometimes a tricky thing…..it can be encouraging, it’s not always accurate, because fruit takes time to grow. So having a 4 or 5 year perspective on growth is so cool. We get to hear how different studies and d-group stuff has affected them. Honestly it was hard not to cry the entire time they were sharing last night….I am so grateful to God for allowing me to work with these college students. And even though we only have them for a few years, it’s so cool to think that God is using us to help shape the trajectory of their lives and cultivate future godly women and men who will serve in churches around the world.

There’s a verse in Luke that says when you throw a party don’t invite the people who can invite you back and return the favor. But invite the cripple, the lame, the poor and those who can’t return your favor. Then your reward will be in heaven.

About 4 years ago, a girl from Providence, who has a sister with special needs, decided to start a prom for people in our city with special needs….people who didn’t ever have a chance to go to a prom of their own. One of the reasons I love my church is because the people here are some of the most selfless people I have ever meet.

The 11th grade students from Providence take on this project, but the event requires hundreds and hundreds of volunteers from our church to run smoothly. I think it takes 2 volunteers for every 1 guest….there were over 600 guests who attended last night.

They think of everything - from providing dresses and suites, donated by the people in our church, to offering make-overs, portraits, shoe shines, flowers, and food for the guests. The guests are welcomed by escorts and fans cheering for them as they make their way down a red carpet, then are paired with a “date” (host) who takes care of them for the evening. The highlight of the night is the dance - the chairs are cleared out of the worship center to make a dance floor, a disco ball is hung up, and they dance the night away.

Danielle, Bennett and I went for a while last night - it’s definitely one of our favorite events of the year.