Sunday morning my little family slept a little later than usual, swung by Shipley’s Donuts and headed to church. Sunday school had been cancelled, which is totally a bummer because I love that part. I’m such a fellowship person.

We entered the sanctuary and it was slowly filling up. Two weeks ago our church had just started meeting in the sanctuary again after a five-month exodus into the chapel, fellowship hall, and gym while it got a much-needed renovation. That first Sunday back in the new sanctuary was incredible. It was so exciting and there was a wonderful spirit of praise and thanks to God. We sang Chris Tomlin’s “God of this City” and proclaimed that “greater things have yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city.” We sang it loud and proud.

The very next Sunday there was no church because of the hurricane. Then there was Sunday, September 21 – only our second service in the newly renovated sanctuary. I cannot adequately describe how different the mood was in the service this week. Quiet. Somewhat broken. Sweet. Humble. Sober. Unsure. Pastor Gregg poured his heart out to love on us and shepherd us. His sermon was directly related to the hurricane and he talked about what we can learn from it. Three things will stick with me. For some people, this was a correcting storm. For others, it was a perfecting storm. And God wants to use it to shave the silliness off of our lives. When Curt and I went to the mall last week to get Baby’s two little outfits after the ultrasound, I can’t tell you how ridiculous and obscene it felt. Were we really at the mall when there was so much devastation everywhere? I think that is what a lot of us are feeling right now. I’m sure it will wear off for most Houstonians, but hopefully it won’t wear off for the Church. I certainly don’t want it to wear off for me. I really need it. This is something I feel God has been doing in my life for the past little while and I want to see the work made complete.

I remember when we were in England how different the elderly people were from everyone else. They had survived The War. Many had been shipped off from their parents when they were kids to live in regions of England where they would be safe from the fighting. They had been through a ton in their young years and they were not caught up in the silliness of the present-day culture. They made do with little and they didn’t need extravagance. This way of being was not attractive to me at age 24. I wanted very much to project a certain image and to have as much as I could of what the world could give me, while having the things of God, too. (I’m not talking about things that are plain sinful as much as things that are permissible, but not beneficial.) I so appreciate God’s patience with me at every stage of life. I also appreciate that He changes me. I am getting ever-so-close to my thirties and I’m happy that in 13 months I’ll cross that line with a different heart and mind than that of my 24-year-old self. I will say the same as I enter my forties, I’m sure.

Pastor Gregg exhorted us let this storm do its work in our lives – to let it be more than the inconvenience that it’s been for most of us. Honestly, I haven’t even been inconvenienced all that much. As he asked the congregation how many were still without power, the vast majority raised their hands. I was stunned. My cross to bear has been a tiny one. Still, He has allowed me to take a look at my own life and see the silliness, and to gaze at what matters. I want to learn this lesson.

That morning we sang “God of This City” again. We did so loudly, not as proudly, but full of faith. As we sang, images of our damaged region flashed across the whole front wall of the sanctuary. Our words went up as a prayer to God. While we worshipped in our lovely new sanctuary, we knew that only a few miles away Second Baptist Church was meeting outside. Part of the dome at the top of their beautiful sanctuary had been ripped away during the storm and the damage was extensive. They are out of their sanctuary indefinitely. The body of Christ in this town is having a moment with the Lord, y’all. How I pray that the fruit will be sweet and that everyone who lives here will get a taste…and see that He is good.

God, You are the God of this city. You’re the King of these people. We feel broken by You but loved at the same time. Like today when I had to give Jackson a spanking for locking me out of the house while I fetched the groceries, but he clung to me for a long time afterward. I know You love us. You are not done with this city. Strengthen the remnant. Build up Your Kingdom here, Lord.

Someone very near and dear to all of us is getting married this weekend! Can you guess who? It’s none other than our incredible Living Proof Live photographer, Rich, and his beautiful fiancee, Gretchen. Let’s be praying for them this week as they get ready to join their lives together and celebrate with friends and family. Rich and Gretchen, I am praying for lots of joy and lots of peace for both of you. Blessings to you guys!

*UPDATE*
Guess who has power? God does! And so does our office! Praise Him!

Yippee! It is good indeed! Thanks for praying, everyone. The staff will be back in action tomorrow.

Thanks for being excited with us! We are so surprised and thrilled to be having a baby girl. My first waking thought this morning was, “It’s a girl!” Then I had to call mom and talk about it…again. You should have heard us carrying on when we had a minute to ourselves yesterday. I said, “Mom, we’ll have dress-ups and purses and shoes and…oh mom…you’ve only begun to spend money!” We died laughing because it is just so true.

We all drove home from the ranch on Monday after hearing that my house had power. My parents spent the night with us since they did not have electricity until last night. Mom babysat Jackson while Curtis and I went to my OB appointment yesterday morning. After we got the fun news, we ran over to a nearby Macy’s and bought these sweet things for Baby Girl.

We put them in a gift bag and when we got home we let my mom open them. That’s how we told her what we were having. She totally freaked out. We sent a picture of the clothes to Melissa’s cell phone and she called us bawling. My dad has this memory of Melissa and I wearing our dressy red coats when we were little girls and I told him we would be sure to find one for our princess. Curtis’ whole family was rooting and believing God for a girl and they were thrilled. Curt said his dad was giddy and I know my sweet mother-in-law is excited to pay a visit to the pink side of our favorite baby boutique in her hometown (Jelly Beans in Springfield, MO). I had a blast calling my friends Sunni and Janelle, who both have little girls born within a month of Jackson. Knowing and loving their precious daughters makes me so excited about getting to have this experience, too!

It’s pretty surreal that we actually got to have our doctor’s appointment yesterday (and even shop at Macy’s), given the state of this community after Ike. There are some areas in very bad shape. Gasoline, ice, and groceries have not been easy to acquire and a ton of people still do not have electricity. (Things are getting better in some areas.) Galveston residents are not even being allowed into their city right now. My understanding is that it is basically unlivable. There are so many things to pray for. One huge praise is that God sent a cold front this way and we have had MUCH cooler temperatures. We praise Him for His mercy! Houston is generally very unpleasant in September. Please pray for the great weather to continue and for God to meet the Greater Houston Area’s electricity, gasoline, and food needs. Pray that the poor and those without homes to return to will be provided for abundantly. We know of some people who cannot locate loved ones who were living in Galveston before the storm. Please pray that they will be found safe and sound. Most of all, pray that God will use this situation to humble us and prime this city for spiritual awakening and revival.

We do have a couple of prayer needs directly related to LPM. Our office still does not have power, but we are eager to get back to serving! Will you all please ask God to restore our power, even today? Most of us got together for lunch today to fellowship and go over the game plan for the rest of the week. One of my co-workers was able to peek into her work email account and she already had 400 emails waiting for her. We all have lots to do! Will you also ask God to power up our ministry director’s house? I believe she is the last one of us to lack electricity. Thank you so much, sisters!

Bethie will get on an airplane and head to Montana tomorrow. She will speak to some women at a prison on Thursday night and then have the Living Proof Live event on Friday and Saturday. I’m not sure if our prayer memo will go out to our prayer warriors this week, so I wanted to be sure to mention this prayer need to you, too.

May God bless each one of you today and may you have a keen awareness, as many of us in Houston do right now, of God’s faithfulness to provide every single thing you need to live and breathe. He is always at work caring for us. We praise Him with you today.

Love,
Amanda

Hi everyone! The LPM blog is going to be on hiatus for a few days while the Moore-Jones clan attempts to travel to the ranch for the weekend. I say “attempts” because I am so nervous about the traffic! My parents were already planning on going and we have decided to join them in view of Hurricane Ike heading this way. FYI, LPM and all our staff are located a safe distance from the coast, but the danger for those of us on this side of town, assuming it hits close to Houston, will be high winds. I think most people are riding it out. Everyone on the Texas coast appreciates your prayers. We love you girls and we’ll be back soon!
Love,
Amanda

PS – Bible study went great! We are really excited about our group. Thanks for praying on Tuesday!