Here are some pictures from the last couple of days. Maddie's program was on Thursday. They did a great job!

Love this candid shot of after they sang. I wish I knew what was being whispered!

Maddie couldn't WAIT for the gift exchange!

Maddie got to talk to Santa. Ella and Sam got in on the action too!

Kiki and Kevin flew to Michigan this morning for Christmas, so as is our routine with them, we celebrated to the fullest before they left.

Sam was absolutely THRILLED with his new Spiderman back pack, Spiderman slippers, and Spiderman cell phone! He was shooting pretend webs out of his wrists all night!

The kids pose in their new pj's that Kevin and Kiki gave them. This was just the teaser...they are beside themselves waiting for next week!

It's been a long week but God is good. He has been speaking in major ways to us. We're thankful for His faithfulness!

Yesterday we went to see Ella and Sam's Christmas program at school. It was so cute! The kids really sang out and seemed to enjoy themselves.

Sam was clapping to the music!

Ella was singing "Rock the Baby, rock rock the baby..."

Afterwards, Santa visited each class room where they were having their Christmas parties. This is Ella's class. One of the most hilarious moments happened yesterday. A little boy in Ella's class who is very attentive to her :) was sitting on Santa's lap and Santa jokingly asked him if he wanted a girlfriend for Christmas (hello, Santa...these are 5 year olds!!!). Ella piped up and in a VERY loud voice in front of students, parents and everyone yelled... "YOU'VE GOT A GIRLFRIEND AND IT'S ME!!!" Wow.

Ella and one of her best buddies, Emma

Sam's class also had their party. His teacher, Miss Julie, is so sweet! Sam really loves her--as you can see in this picture!

Sam told Santa he wanted a Spiderman and a Superman.

This just about says it all...when in doubt, devour the snowman. Love it! Thursday we have Maddie's program and then kids are out of school til the new year. Mercy.

The concert last night went so well! I was so proud of everyone. It was such a blast!
Here are some pictures...I'll post some more in the next couple of days after Phil sends me some from his AWESOME new camera! :)

George Rowe and Sheryl sang a couple of songs together...and at one point I was just undone. It was so incredible I just wept.

Jeff Berry sang "Light of the World" and then a new song called "You Are the Light" with Amanda Vickers. It was so beautiful!

Julie Crothers, Madeline, and Allie were absolutely perfect. Not one missed step. I was SO proud of them...and they radiated!

Maddie...look at the audience...not the dancers! :)

We had a great night. I wish all of you could have been there! A big kudos goes out to Cindy Craig's mom and sister who made a long road trip to Nashville for the concert and to Amanda Vickers family and extended family for flying in from TX. It was great to see all of you!

No rest for the weary...Sam and Ella have their own school Christmas programs this morning! Yay Ella and Sam!

Come tonight! We would love to have you as our guest! 6pm at Otter Creek...
409 Franklin Road, Brentwood TN 37207

Last night we had a blast at Gary and Ellen Musick's Christmas party. So many fun people and a lot of laughter. Their house was so warm and inviting. The food was delicious!

Lauren Gingles, Ellen Musick, and Meredith Graham

Sheryl and Nathan

Today we spent from 11-5 at Otter Creek getting ready for the big day tomorrow. The band is sounding great, Scott is doing SUCH an awesome job with sound, the choir is rockin, the kids sound good and it's finally coming together!

I hope you can come and join us Sunday (tomorrow) night at 6pm.

The Otter Creek Church worship and arts ministry presents “He is the King”, a night of worship and celebration centered around Jesus Christ. His coming brought new life, new hope and a new way of living.

Please join us this Sunday night at 6pm in the Otter Creek Sanctuary! Guest artists include Jeff Berry and George Rowe joined by the Otter Creek worship choir, children’s choir, and praise band. Admission is free but there will be a collection of gift cards for families in need. Childcare is provided for nursery aged children (birth to 2 ½).

I hope to see you Sunday…but beyond that I pray that God will fill your heart with joy and peace!

O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

This one goes out to my 3 college roommies (and to me)

Ps 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

He is God. He is in control. He is good.

Sunday we had a great rehearsal with the adults and the young dancers. The kids choir will join us next Saturday. Here are some pics of our day...

Julie and Madeline dance beautifully! (Allie was dancing in a parade and couldn't be there for rehearsal)

4 of about 40 from our kids' choir :)

After rehearsal we took the kids over to meet Gary Musick at his church (Woodmont Christian) for their annual Walk Through Bethlehem--an amazing, AMAZING night!)

Maddie and Ella made dolls that they would later give baby Jesus.

Sam loves the livestock! He was all over these sheep!

The kids visit baby Jesus. Ella ran back (you can see her on the far right up there) and proclaimed in her gravel-y voice, "THAT'S NOT A REAL BABY! THAT'S A BAAABY DOOOLLL!!!" It was like a scene out of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.

Afterwards, we went over to Gary and Ellen's house for pizza and fellowship. They are so sweet with our kids. We're thankful for their presence in our lives.

This morning at Otter Creek we had our annual "Family Christmas Breakfast". It is a wonderful tradition and has grown considerably over the years. Our children's ministers, Janet and Melanie do a fantastic job with it. Vonda McGill heads the decorating committee and they do a brilliant job.

Here are some pictures from our morning...

Maddie, Ella and Sam are ready to begin.


Everything was decorated in penguins today. Sam and several other kids dressed as penguins and sang on stage with us...

Christmas carols!

Janet read a story..."What God Wants for Christmas"

The family!

After the time together in the sanctuary everyone was separated into 3 groups. One group went to crafts, one went to the gym for breakfast, and one group went to see Santa. At crafts everyone made these really cool pillow cases that were printed saying "...and visions of sugar plums danced in their heads!" The kids painted and used foam stamps to decorate their case. Kristen Brown is hard at work helping her kidS. (see comment from Kristen on this post)

The tables in the gym were all decorated with penguins. I thought this little guy was especially cute!

Santa was great! The kids were all excited to see him and talk to him! We had a great morning.

By the way...the clips from the last few days do actually play. You have to hit the little button on the left to make it play. (I have to hit mine twice) Sometimes it takes a second to load and get going, but it does work!

Last Sunday as a part of our series on "Time" and how God gives us different seasons in life and we must pray for discernment about following His will, we did a song called "Seasons of Love" from the Broadway musical, RENT.

The music from RENT is absolutely awesome. The story from RENT is about the most depressing ever. I think it hit me that way because the characters just seem so lacking in real Hope. Their lives are about the here and now and I just don't believe that that's all there is to it. I believe we have a greater Hope than what is seen.

Here's a clip of the group singing last Sunday. A couple of disclaimers...one, it's live. Two, the sound is not balanced. For some reason the bass parts cannot be heard at all. (Not Phil's fault...in fact, THANKS to Phil for doing a fantastic job and for recording it period!!) So...listen with grace. :) Justin and Laura did a fantastic job! The singers were: Laura Troup, Justin Mundie, Eve English, Sheryl, Amy Westerman, Amanda Vickers, Jason McArthur, Blake Jones, and me.

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Rehearsals for our Christmas concert are in full swing. Though we began in October, it seems like December has snuck up on us. We have a week and a half! Whew!!!

One new element this year is dance. We have three kids dancing a beautiful ballet piece during "Sing Joy". They look FANTASTIC! I have worked with Claire at Gary Musick Productions. She has choreographed some of the shows there. I asked her to come and work with our kids. She has been brilliant. The girls love her and she has really done a great job teaching them. She is from England and the girls love hearing her accent! She also loves the Lord and it's so evident in her teaching and in her dancing.

Here are a couple of pictures of Claire with the girls.



The trees back there are 15 foot trees...thanks to Vonda for driving to INDIANA to get them!! Mercy. And, thanks to Cory Davis for climbing ladders to decorate and assemble the top parts...because, friends, you know who was NOT giong to be climbing a ladder. :)



Pictured above is Julie Crothers, Claire Williams, Allie McGill, Madeline Burkhart

I thought I would share some clips of songs from our concert coming next weekend. This first one is the one the kids will be singing and dancing on..."Sing Joy"

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This next one is one of my favorite ones...I love the end. This is "All Bow Down/Come All Ye Faithful"...

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I'll share more over the next week but wanted to leave you with this one..."A Savior Is Born Medley". It's probably one of the more difficult songs we're doing this year. The chords are funky and it's a lot of fun. George Rowe and Sheryl (my wife) are doing the solos. It's gonna rock my face off!

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Have a great Wednesday, everyone!

We had a great morning yesterday. Tim is continuing his series on "Time". We were in Eccl 3 yesterday and talked a lot about discerning what season it is...listening for God to direct you in HIS time. We did the song from "RENT" and it went great. I hope to have an audio clip for you in the next few days thanks to Phil. Also, as a part of our creative planning team, I asked Phil to put together a video of the seasons of our life as a church to the song from the Byrds, "Turn Turn Turn" taken directly from Eccl 3. He did a FANTASTIC job. From the old building pre-renovation, then post renovation, til now in the new location. It's great stuff. I was especially touched by the picture of my friend Shanon Dickerson towards the end. He was a very special part of our church family. He died of cancer before the age of 30 but made such a lasting impact. Thanks, Phil, for creating a great look at the seasons of our lives.

Here's the video--

Tomorrow we are in Ecc 3. It's been speaking to me lately.

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

1 There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.