Pastor JR,
Message today was right on. I want to share my story about giving…I have been a tither (10%) since I accepted Christ in 1955 – even though I had three small children and lost my husband only 1 1/2 month’s after I accepted Christ.  I have never become wealthy, but my needs have always been met. When I get my Social Security and retirement checks, the tithe comes out first.
If we put God first in our finances, he promises to meet our needs. Maybe not all our wants, but all our needs. It just seems to make the rest of the money’s go further. At least that is what I have found to be true over 54 years of trusting the Lord. Mal 3:10 says, Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there may be food in my house, and test me now with this, says the Lord, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  This is the message I heard back then and it hasn’t changed over the years. God is faithful to His word. When things get tough, He always has made a way, it would be hard to not trust Him after over 54 years of His being faithful to His word.  He always has been and He always will be.

The good news for us is that this is where grace kicks in.  The more messed up you are – the more likely you are to recognize your reliance on the grace of God.

Think knowing that you are filled with faults is a problem?  Not knowing is far more problematic…

C.S. Lewis wrote, “When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him.  When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less.”

I know who I am and because of that – I am EXTREMELY grateful for the grace of God.  I think you should be too.

Don’t miss Mother’s Day at Freedom!

Doesn’t matter if you are a young mom, older mom, not a mom, or not even a woman – this is going to be a great week.  See you Sunday at 9:30 or 11:00.

Back in October, I read a book that completely changed my perception of generosity.

The book was entitled The Blessed Life and it is a fantastic read!  Actually, I loved it so much that I bought about 50 copies and gave them away.  Now, almost 6 months later – I want to do it again.  If you are in any way affiliated with Freedom – and will leave me a comment and/or an email – I will personally purchase a copy for you to have.  That’s a deal you can’t refuse!

With amazing regularity, Sunday shows up every 7 days and since we take the opportunity so seriously – we put everything we have into making each and every worship experience the best that it can be.  The moment Sunday is past – thoughts move to the upcoming week.  Set lists, message prep, stage design, creative elements, and the list goes on and on.

Stopping to celebrate doesn’t come naturally to me – not even a little. We consistently see God do incredible things.  If I am not VERY careful, I pray fervently for God to do a miracle on our behalf, then when He does, I move on to the next thing without stopping to express gratitude.

That being said, I am being forced to learn the discipline of celebration.  When God gives us a reason to party – I better stop ignoring the invitation.  If I don’t, I might stop receiving them.

You have gone insanely overboard with this Pastors Apprec. month thing!

Thank you for the tickets, cards, gifts, FOOD, etc., etc., etc.  Seriously, at the beginning of this journey we said that we desired to develop a culture of generosity.   It looks like we are well on our way!

Thanks again!  Y’all are awesome!

Every Sunday we have tons of people who have invested time in the lives of others and followed through on that investment by doing whatever it takes to bring people with them.  It doesn’t get any better than investing in the life of someone around you and seeing their life changed right before your eyes by the power of the Gospel.

Great job Freedom – you are invitation machines!  It only get’s better from here!

Gratitude! I am grateful for so much, but here are a couple recent blessings at the forefront of my thoughts.

Mike Linch and NorthStar Church – God has used this man and these people in my life and the life of Freedom in a HUGE way! In a meeting with Mike late last week, he told me that they were going to help financially support FC. Talk about being Kingdom minded! We are only 4 miles away – but together we can accomplish more than we could alone! Mike gets it and I am honored to know him!

Michael Lukaszewski and Oak Leaf Church – Michael has decided that as part of their Gift Offering this year, they are going to help FC as well. These guys have been a huge resource and a model of generosity and Kingdom mindedness. God is doing great things in Cartersville and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from the type of leaders that they have on their staff. Thank you!!!

The people of Freedom Church…I will write more later, but you have officially blown me away!

Craig, Teri, Maddi, and Kelsianne Regan
Rick and Shiree Goss
Carl Bargsley – for always fixing our power when we seemed to break it!
Tyler Orr
Chris and Sharon Williams
Zach and Jessi Brown
Jason Coobs
Ian Schneider (I would link to him, but he never updates! Hint, Hint)
Joni Lollis
Rick Crosby
Mayor Tommy Allegood
Devin Lee
MaryBeth Lawler
Corey and Jenn Tutor
Justin and Dawn Boye (Same update thing with Justin – Hint, Hint)
Eric Crosby
Blake and Emily Goss
TODD LOLLIS (He organized the entire event, the volunteers, etc. – GREAT JOB)

Those who purchased bikes, hung out at the lift site, braved their life on the lift, did shifts at Wal-Mart, sent press releases, made phone calls, sent emails, delivered food, etc., etc….thank you! You modeled Generosity to this great community! Keep it coming!

Hey J.R.
Just thought you might be interested to know that last night, our 36 high schoolers and 6 staff raised $367.66 to buy at least 7 bikes for Bikes or Bust. Thanks for the opportunity to give. Our kids are really excited about this! We’ll buy the bikes on Tuesday.
Have a GREAT weekend!

That is awesome! I know we already have at least 15 bikes so far and we haven’t even made it to the lift! We might be able to impact a TON of families!