Hello again....

wwwewellWe're back .. now that I got the cord-thingy to connect my camera to my computer, I feel that I have a worthy blog to post! This is my first slideshow, and I hope you enjoy it! We went on a mini-vacation to Navarre Beach, FL last month. We had a ball & totally didn't want to come home!

School just let out on Monday, so Grant is especially happy to have his Sissy & Bubba home all day! We are going to be busy this summer, but we are looking forward to some fun times with the kids.

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Whoa Nelly!

So I've pretty much decided I'm a busy person.

I always thought it was because it was so hard for me to say "no" to people. But I've really been thinking about this. It's easy for me to say "yes" because I love to be busy. It's tempting for me to say "yes" because I want it done the "right" way (I guess I would mean "my" way!). But dear Lord, it is waaaaay harder (and way too humbling) to ask for help. Thus when I get myself in an overcommited pickle, I cry out for mercy, all the while complaining, that "people just expect me to do everything"! Woe is me, right? Grow up Lisa! Self-centered and prideful.... help me Lord!

So ... 'tis the season for Baby Showers, Valentine Banquets, table rentals, floral centerpieces, catering, specialty cake selections, game planning, choosing door prizes, organizing volunteers, etc...etc....etc.....

In all honesty, I love event planning. It just happens to be that there are several of them all in a relatively short amount of time. And yes, at the close of this post, I'm jumping on the phone and letting my fingers do the talking .... I will be asking for HELP! **gasp**

Well, we did it. No ... God did it!

Life seems so fast paced. We had a crazy-busy week leading up to the 'public' launch of Legacy Church. It just seemed like there were 1,000 little details to cross off my list of things to do ... and I seemed to be trying in vain to not let the craziness ruin my joy of this much anticipated event! But by Friday evening, I felt pretty fried. I prayed and asked God to help me make it through to Saturday nite's service, and He definitely did. By the time we kicked off at 6:30, electricity was in the air and I couldn't help but be revived by the expectation of what God was about to do! I was definitely prayed up and knew that God's peace was leading us. The service flew by like a whirlwind ... lots of laughing ... lots of hugs ... lots of Jesus! We slept like rocks that night, and fellowshipped with friends on Sunday. They snapped this picture of us in the front yard ... you can see some fatigue in our eyes!!!

We had an awesome time celebrating through praise & worship and the Word Chris brought about 'Dying to Live' was anointed & encouraging. So many friends and family members came out to worship with us and we had a ball seeing so many faces of people we love! We definitely feel very loved, supported and covered! There were also many new faces among those who have been attending Legacy services for the last few months.

One thing we have been asking God for in 2009 is His favor. God's favor opens and closes doors in our lives that we never could. His favor is something we can live in as we walk in obedience to the center of His will. It's a safe & adventurous place to be all at the same time, because I'm still learning just how much higher His thoughts are than mine. And just how different His plans are than mine usually are! All I know is I desire His hand of favor to rest upon my life. On my marriage. I want my children saturated with it. My finances, my home, my everything needs the favor of God on it, or I don't want it. It's just too hard to try and make things happen for myself, especially when God can do it so much bigger and better. Thank the Lord that He knows what we need before we need it, and if we're centered on Him, I believe His favor moves mountains for us.

Well, not much more to blog about at the moment. I'm gathering pictures from our launch service last Saturday nite, and promise to get them on here. In a nutshell: we believe Jesus was lifted up, and God was honored. What more is there than that? His favor was definitely resting on Legacy Saturday, and we are so thankful for it.

Happy New Year!

The holidays flew by and we had a blast celebrating right here in our own home! Putting our tree up was especially joyful because we didn't decorate for Christmas in 2006 or 2007 ... we were moving during each of those holidays! (ugh.) Rightfully so, I was a little proud of our tree, and of course the kids loved helping decorate & turn the twinkle lites on each evening.

Of course Chris's family is all local to Dothan, but it was my family that got the blue ribbon for 'furthest traveled'. My mom and stepDad, Allen, drove from Georgetown, TX and my sister Andrea & her husband Matthew and my niece Rachel drove over from Rockwall, TX but via Memphis, TN! We had a ball and of course it went by way too fast, but we are still amazed that everyone took the time, effort and gas $ to come to us! The kids really enjoyed their time with grandparents, aunts & uncles & cousins. What a treat!


There's Grant @ the Park ... Allison, oh-so serious ... Nicholas, not-so-serious ... and my beautiful niece, Rachel.

Since Christmas decorations are slowly disappearing and the house is getting back to 'normal', we have been in the throes of anticipation of Legacy's official public launch on Saturday the 10th! Lots of final details to oversee and get in order. The local paper 'The Dothan Eagle' is even interviewing Chris about this new church in town! I will post a link to the printed story as soon as it shows up in the paper! Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we are in a very exciting time ... although we are nervous & begging God for His favor at every turn!!

We pray your 2009 is off to a blessed start & that your Holidays were warm with family & friends. The older I get, the more obvious it becomes that it's all about the people in your life. Why waste one milli-second? Every breath is a gift & I'm so thankful for each of them.

Traffic, Shmaffick

Dothan is not really that big. Spread out, but not a metropolis by any stretch of the imagination. However, it amazes me how the Christmas shopping traffic has really picked up. Sometimes I get disgruntled with it, and then I remember what it was like to live in Dallas and contend with everyday traffic (much worse) for 5 years. Then I become grateful again!

Everyone knows who Steven Curtis Chapman is, and we are all aware of the terrible tragedy their family has suffered this year. I check on their 'blogging' from time to time and came across a Christmas letter from MaryBeth Chapman today. Needless to say, it's a must-read for every mother. Actually, a must-read for everyone. A beautiful reflection on Christ's birth, and a firm reminder to "love more & love well". Grab some kleenex and go read it at www.chapmanchannel.typepad.com/marybeth

So thank You Lord, for my 3 undeserved blessings - Allison Joy, Nicholas David & Grant Christian. I don't want to take one day for granted! Oh how I cherish their precious little faces and giggling and hugs and bedtime prayers.

We're Back!

Okay ... so ... it's December and we haven't been on this thing since March!!! Sorry for the delay, but we've been a little busy & because we changed email accounts (and I forgot our password!) it basically became impossible to log on and update this blog.

My how time flies - and 2008 has been no exception. I think it has definitely been the shortest year yet! There are so many stories I could tell to catch you up from March, but to spare you all the details, I will give the highlights of our spring, summer & fall!

April - we celebrated our 12th anniversary of marital bliss ... and got to go to Hawaii for a week! Long story short, Chris emailed a pastor there about how one of his teachings blessed us & in return he gave us a scholarship to attend their Leadership Practicum held in Honolulu!! Needless to say, we missed the kids like CRAZY but it was a much needed time together - we had the best time over there! Check out their amazing ministry at www.enewhope.org

June - Legacy Team Members began moving their families to Dothan. By the end of the month, we had all helped each other move in and out of storage and into new homes. Not one of us wants to move again for a while!

July - Allison Joy turned 8 years old! / God miraculously provided a rental home for us to live in. It is so much more than we could have imagined, but we are amazed with God's blessing on our lives.

Aug - Grant Christian turned 2 years old! / Allison & Nicholas began their school year at Crossroads Baptist Academy ... another miraculous provision by God for our family. Allison is in 2nd grade - Nicholas started Kindergarten!! (sniff, sniff)

Sept - Chris was the guest speaker to the student body at Christ for the Nations Institute for their 1st week of classes. / Mimi (Lisa's Mom) came to visit from Iowa for a week. It was so much fun!

Nov - Christopher Nelson turned a whopping 37! He went to an Atlanta Falcon game on his birthday! / Chris finished his 'tour of duty' at the Museum of Art as their Facility Manager.

Dec - Legacy Church began meeting every Saturday night for service at Northside Methodist Academy in their Fine Arts Building. We are gearing up for our public launch on January 10th! Check us out at www.legacydothan.com

And now we are all decorated for Christmas and counting down the days. We are super excited to have my Mom & StepDad and my sister Andrea, Matthew & Rachel traveling to Dothan for Christmas! What a reunion that will be!!

Well, now that we are back on the blog, we will be more diligent to update regularly & get some recent pictures of our growing children!

R & R

We are blessed. It was standing on our beach-view balcony in Clearwater Beach, Florida that I truly absorbed the fact that we have been tremendously blessed by so many friends and loved ones in this season. Some dear friends of ours sent us to their adorable beach condo that sits right on the sand. I never realized how soothing the sound of crashing waves over and over and over can be. By the 2nd night of our stay, I was sleeping with the balcony door open just so I could fall asleep to the sounds of the sea.

Allison and Nicholas have both been to the beach before, however at ages 3 years and 3.5 months old, neither of them remember a lick of it. So this relaxing trip was sort of a "first" for them, and most definitely for Grant. Allison became a professional beach comber and made it home with a really nice array of seashells. Grant squealed everytime the waves crashed over his feet and would cry out "whoa"! But it was Nicholas who really took the cake. He was totally overwhelmed by his surroundings. The vastness of the ocean before him ... the way the waves just kept coming ... the feeling of the sand on his feet (and everywhere else!). Packing up to leave he finally declared, "I don't want to go. Can't we just live at the beach and stay here forever?". Needless to say, it was a great time away for our family.

Now back to Dothan, and back to reality! Church work is progressing ... Chris and I got some pretty cool brainstorming done during our time @ the beach, and some more definites on direction and details. Our next Legacy prayer meeting is Saturday the 15th & we're really looking forward to it. We are still believing God for the means to move our family into a rental property, but until then we wait!

God is faithful and we are excited. He continues to impart His grace to us daily and His encouragement for the path that has been set before us.