Last night's "Courts of Praise" event was beyond our expectations. God showed up and showed out. It was a wonderful moment!
The night was made most divine when Madison Curnutt, our little sister in Christ, made the decision that she needed to confirm her faith through being baptized. We went to the church and watched with many tears as Ronnie immersed her in the water of baptism. Praise God, praise God! (She even used my beloved handkerchief to wipe away her tears.)
Here is the note we sent to the church this morning via email:
We want to take a moment, on behalf of our family, to thank all of our church family for the gift of your attendance last night at the "Courts of Praise" event. We had a whole 7 Mile section and it was a wonderful sight to behold. The crowd overall was extravagant last night. We have prayed and prayed for the success of the event and God just really showed up and showed out!
A special thanks needs to be sent out to Mr. Keith Harriell, our school principal. He supported this event from the beginning to the end. If you have an opportunity to drop him a note of thanks, it would be appreciated. Also, Coach Michael Brown deserves a huge thanks for encouraging Adam's dream of "Courts of Praise" and working hard to make it happen. Coach Brown has been Adam's football coach, FCA sponsor, friend and encourager. There is no way to calculate the treasure he has been in Adam's life and the life of many other students at Clements.
The mailing address for the school is 7730 U.S. Hwy. 72 Athens, AL 35611. The phone number is 256-729-6564 and the fax number is 256-729-1029.
One mom stopped Kelley last night and said "Who would have ever believed that in the anti-religion climate of today, our children would have been allowed to openly praise and worship God in an event specifically for that purpose in their high school gym!"
God made it happen. He used many people to do that. So many of the kids were involved. They worked hard physically on the event and spiritually sharing the message with their friends and family. They were able to openly worship God in front of their friends, some who had never seen that before. Clements High School's gym became holy ground! That is amazing and worth a big shout out to God Himself! He was the author of the event! Praise God, praise God!
We also want to personally thank our own Keith Davis for being HUGE part of yesterday's event. He has helped Adam from the beginning of the dream. He worked hard for many hours yesterday getting things set up in the gym and then rocked it as the drummer last night! In the midst of their own personal heartache, worrying so much about their beloved Danielle, both Keith and Ellen were there for the Clements High School kids and community. Thank you from the depths of our hearts!
Thanks again to everyone who helped make this happen either by working on the event or being a participant in the event. God bless you and keep you in the palm of His hand today and always,
John, Kelley and Adam
P.S. Adam squashed his finger during stage set up last night. Our wee boy's finger looks terrible, but he says it's not too bad. Please say a prayer that it will heal without any infection.
***
In other news, it's been interesting to listen to the commentary by news folks about the new pope. I read an article last night about the life of now pope Francis. Link here. Then this morning I read this article by one of my favorite political writers, Peggy Noonan. She also wrote a book about Pope John Paul II.
It's all quite amazing and mysterious for a CoC girl who likes to hang with the nuns from time to time. I love my sisters and they love me. For that I'm thankful.
One quote from Peggy's article jumped out at me. "And mourning isn’t just a feeling; it does something to you—it sobers, it grounds and stills."
"Wow! That's just about all she could say was wow". That sums up what is happening to me and so many others in the loss of our beloved Angie. Each moment of each day I mourn for her. I miss her to the center of my soul. It really isn't a feeling. It's a process and a stage in life that you can't avoid when it knocks on the door of your heart. You can't go around it. You must walk through it.
Grief is a part of the cells of my body right now. It's a part of who I am. It has changed me. It has indeed grounded and stilled me. In fact some days it feels like life has simply stopped and I'm watching everyone else live around me.
The air sucked out of my lungs for a moment last night when I turned on "Angie White Way" to go to the gym for "Courts of Praise". She would have loved that event. I held my handkerchief close to my face many times last night while singing and listening. That teeny piece of fabric deeply reminds me of her as I wipe away my tears. It also reminds me that soon there will an eternity of no tears. I can't wait. I hope the trumpet sounds....very soon.
***The picture at the top of this post came from Jodi G., a WPTV News Channel 5 viewer in Royal Palm Beach, Florida yesterday. They titled it "A Cloud Angel".
Funny thing....it looks very much like the angel of my dreams, just a different color. :) God is good.
I miss my friend.....
Oh how my miss my friend.
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