Date Night and a New Job

I want to start this post off with date night because the place Joe and I went was pretty cool. We went to go see the movie Semipro tonight on a much needed date. We hadn't been to the movies in a while so we were pretty excited about going. Afterwards we were going to top the night off with a bite to eat. It turned out when we got to the movie theatre that we could combine our whole night into one experience! The movie theatre was also a restaurant and waiters served food to patrons who sat at tables in their selected movie theatre. Granted the food was pretty standard quality for a movie theatre, but the prices were lower, there was a wider selection, and it was served to you at your own table! That meant no missing any previews to stand in line for just a bag of candy that cost double what it does in the store! Joe and I now have a new standard for movie theatres. =)

Alright, new job. Yes, I have one! Today I received a call from Martin Huggins, the service programing director at Southside church which is a Northpoint Strategic Partner church to let me know that I got the job. I had a phone interview with him yesterday and today received the call letting me know that I will be working at Southside! My new title is service programming assistant, or SPA. =) It's only a part time job, like 15 hours a week, but it has a lot of responsibility and I'm really excited about it! I will start this Tuesday and hopefully pick up on all of my responsibilities pretty quick. Another great part about working there is Joe has already done a few freelance jobs for them and so we already know most of the people in the offices there and so I'm excited about working with people that I already know I like! Tune in again Tuesday for a post about my first day as a SPA!

Auditions

Yesterday Buckhead church hosted auditions for Northpoint's KidStuf program. Just an FYI for people reading this who aren't familiar with Northpoint church in Georgia, Northpoint Church has three campuses, Northpoint, Brownsbridge, and Buckhead. Joe and I attend church at the Buckhead campus.We've only seen the amazing KidStuf program at the campus we attend, but we've heard that the other campuses are amazing also. Think Christian Disney program on stage.

My friend Malorie and I had the opportunity to attend these auditions. Needless to say we were pretty excited about them because both of us have studied acting, but have decided that we would rather use our talents for ministry work in the church. Fortunately with the contemporary Christian church of today we have more opportunities to do just that.

So we went to the audition together and spent a good two hours there. It was a great experience. First we went in separately and performed our monologues and songs, that we had prepared for the audition, for the people in the audition room. They were all very friendly and encouraging and even laughed at my monologue. Then they had Malorie and I read a scene together. Let's just say I was very thankful that I auditioned with Mal because the chemistry we had together made the entire room laugh the whole time we were performing. At one point Malorie started singing a song for the scene (Fat Boy by Jewel) and everyone started laughing so hard they couldn't stop. My friend Erinleigh, who's in charge of KidStuf at Buckhead, started laughing so hard she was crying! After we finished that they had both of us read another monologue each and then we were done.

Neither of us know if we got a part at any of the campuses, but it was such a fun audition and really encouraging that it will be ok if only one of us or neither of us gets any part. I been very insecure about my talent recently and this audition helped me feel more confident in my abilities as an actress and a singer. Thanks to all the auditioners at Buckhead for a fun audition!

One more thing that has nothing to do with the audition, my husband is a very hard worker and is working very hard right now on a project that is a little stressful because it's pretty complicated. Prayer request for the week is that I could be a good support to him while he's working on this and that he wouldn't get too stressed with it and that he would get it done quickly. Thanks!

Parents

I had a great talk on the phone with my mom yesterday. She is a very wise woman and very good an encouraging others. Since Joe and I moved downed to Georgia and further away from both our families, I've been thinking more about family and about my growing up. Because I'm now married, I'm also thinking about my future family, like when Joe and I have kids. That in turn has made me think about what I was like when I was a kid and what it will be like when I'm a parent. There are so many things I realize now about myself that I could have never thought of when I was a kid and I know I'll be able to observe from the other side (when Joe and I actually do have kids which we're aren't planning on right at the moment in case all of you reading this thought that this post sprouted from some unexpected news which it didn't). For instance, and I think all children do this, I took my parents for granted all the time right up until I graduated college. I'm sure I still do it, but I still have a lot of growing up to do. Like for instance, one thing that has stuck out in my mind a lot recently is a treehouse my dad built my brothers and I when we were younger. It was a freakin awesome treehouse and everything, but for some reason my brothers and I only played in it a little bit. I don't really know why. We really liked it. Another thing that I know I took for granted was every night during high school, if my brothers or I had homework that was taking us a long time to do, my mom would sleep on the couch in the other room, just so we wouldn't be working alone downstairs. I know we appreciated it, but I don't think we understood the sleep and time sacrifice that our mom gave us. I think the biggest sacrifice for them was me and my brothers going to college. Especially me because looking back at college I'm sure there was a lot more I could have gotten out of it. I had a great time in New York I just also know it was a big sacrifice for my parents.

Don't get me wrong, my brothers and I loved our parents and we really did appreciate the things they did for us. I just think that we didn't understand what they were doing for us everyday. It kind of makes me stop and think how all of us, old, young, man, woman, take our Heavenly Father for granted. Especially in America He has given us so much. God loves us unconditionally the way that my parents love my brothers and I and even our new spouses (well my brother's getting married on June 14th, but his fiance, Alyssa, has been in the family so long that it's like they're already married) unconditionally. When Joe and I get to be parents we will have the same privilege of unconditionally loving our children, even when they take us for granted.

As a closing note I just want to say thanks mom and dad for unconditionally loving me and raising me to know a Heavenly Father. I love you!

Worship

Tonight, Joe and I went to Southside Church to watch a video, that he edited for an Inside Out event (the North Point name for their high school ministry), on the big screen. The video opened the event and the crowd loved it. (To find out more info on this awesome video and performance by Joe and the Southside high school director, Greg, click here.) After the video was over the high school students participated in a time of worship together. The worship leader was great. He had a lot of excitement and it was obvious that his focus was praising God. What really impressed me, though, was the fervor and passion of the high school students. There was quite a number of students there and I think about 30 of them had their hands in the air and were singing loudly. Now, I know that outwards actions are not necessarily a reflection of the heart, but let me just say that it would be hard to find 30 adults, at either the church we attend now (which has a congregation of thousands) or the church we attended in New York (which has a congregation of over a thousand), that would feel free enough to lift their hands in praise to our Lord. (Just so you know I'm not judging I can be included in those that do not feel comfortable enough to lift their hands.) This isn't the fault of the worship leaders, who at both churches gave their all trying to lead the congregations into worship of the Creator of all things. It was so inspiring to see students all under the age of 18 years being so enthusiastic about praising God with their hearts and their bodies. Maybe it's because "grown-ups" have more stuff on their mind that prevent them from entering into complete surrender of worship, or maybe it's because some have been jaded by friends, family, the church, or life in general and so are afraid to become so vulnerable in a place with so many people. Whatever, the reason, all I know is that I felt more comfortable worshiping around these passionate high school students that do around most adults. They were able to surrender to God and show Him that He was their focus for the evening and nothing else. That to me speaks true worship.