Living Real

Jack and I are so excited! We’re parents again! Okay, not truly parents, but sponsors. Together with our friend Kristina Birkhead, we are now sponsoring four-year-old Judine Pierre. Isn’t she just the most beautiful little girl? She was born on July 2, 2005 and lives with her mother who is sometimes a seller in the [...]

I’ve heard people talk about how children shouldn’t be taken on mission and/or ministry visits with us older folks when we go. I’ve had the joy of seeing my grandson’s life changed because we have invited him to join us on our visits to serve the homeless and poor in Knoxville. He’s seven. He’s also [...]

I received so much good at Catalyst. I heard God speak to my heart. I’m still processing a lot of it, figuring out how He wants me to implement those things in my life. This video, though, shows what I believe to be the BEST of Catalyst. It’s real. It’s emotional. And it’s worship to [...]

I am so happy that my daughter-in-law, Tanisha, has started going with us to serve the homeless in Knoxville. The last two times we've gone, she brought Nicholas, our seven-year-old grandson with her. He has had a blast! In September, he was oftentimes right by my side, making sure that the person I was talking to [...]

I met Angie in September when I met Josh and John-John. She's the one that John-John called "Mama" and was wife to Josh.  At some point in time, Angie was a beautiful woman and I don't know why she's at this place where she is, other than I know drugs have played a part. She [...]

Not long ago, I shared how our student ministry, The ConneXion, was told that we couldn't continue to minister to the homeless where we had been. I thought that was a bad thing.  Now I can tell you that indeed, God was up to something. I love it — okay, not at first — when [...]

How amazing is it when God hears our prayers and answers them! I've asked for the past several days, in preparation for Catalyst, that He would speak very plainly to me through this time. Oh how He has done so!  Today I listened to Him speak through Andy Stanley as He shared words he'd learned [...]

So, I wasn't able to stay connected well yesterday, because Gwinnett Center is this HUGE metal building and when you go into those rooms, they're like a cave where nothing gets in. Today's plan is different. Instead of trying to live blog — I'll take notes and when I get out of a session, I'll [...]

John-John's introduction to me wasn't exactly cordial. As I talked to Josh about us all being messes that God cleans up, John-John walked up and started trying to drag Josh over to where he'd been sitting with some other people. John-John told Josh that "Mama" wanted him to come over and sit with them. It didn't [...]

It has been a couple weeks since the Innovate Conference in Granger, Indiana that I went to. Last year when I went was such a time of revelation I can't begin to describe (okay, maybe I will one day) and this year was different.  This year, I knew my purpose going in. I knew better [...]

I met Josh under a bridge in Knoxville last month. He walked up to the place where our students (The ConneXion) were grilling and serving plates of hamburgers with chips and a dessert.  His left eye was red and the bruising was already beginning to show. He was shirtless, wearing denim shorts that were too [...]

The last Live Love event that our student ministry, The ConneXion, had (September 13th) was so full of stories, it has taken me almost a month to sort it out (okay, so I procrastinated, too). I will break it down into several posts so that they are more digestible. Enjoy. This Sunday evening started out [...]