#LETSGETITON: A Personal Story and Reflection

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#LETSGETITON: A Personal Story and Reflection

Pastor Rob’s sermon struck a lot of chords for me this past Sunday, as I’m sure it did many of you as well. There were many statements he said that I have found to be true in my own life. There were also many statements he said that hit home for unfortunate reasons. I want to share my story of sexual sin and redemption with you today, and then offer some of my thoughts and reflections from the sermon as encouragements.

This is not an easy topic to open up about. From time to time, I still battle shame and guilt from my actions and the decisions made during this period of my life. But, at the end of the day, God brought us through it and has blessed us with a healthy marriage and a beautiful, growing family and I want to use this story to encourage others.

Take a few moments to watch our story that was showed during our Sexual Healing [Hyperlink: vintagechurchnola.com/sexual-healing] series, which is a great series for anyone in any stage of life to go back and walk through.

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Where Should Moms Go When Our Hands Are Full?

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Where Should Moms Go When Our Hands Are Full?

Moms are busy people. And we’re tired. We are often the primary caregivers for our little ones. We work all day, whether in the home or out of the home; then we often prepare dinner, clean up, get everyone into bed, and then get things ready for the next day. Our hands are truly full—with blessings and worries, with joys and sorry, with hope and fear. Where should we go with these full hands? Author Gloria Furman offers an answer in her book Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full. According to Furman, we must go to Christ with our full hands, for resting in Christ is what is means to treasure Him. We must abide with him, constantly acknowledging His abundance in light of our lack. Furman’s book is an honest and easy read saturated with Scripture and sprinkled with personal anecdotes, making the reader feel at home in her own skin. I’ve offered three key takeaways from my perspective below.

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An Unshakeable Peace: Radical Forgiveness that Points People to Jesus

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An Unshakeable Peace: Radical Forgiveness that Points People to Jesus

For those of you who do not know about or follow sports, we have a professional basketball team here in New Orleans called the Pelicans.

Last year, the former head coach of the Pelicans, Monty William, lead the Pelicans to the playoffs only to be let go by the team after being overmatched by the Golden State Warriors, who would eventually go on to win NBA Championship. I loved Monty, but some didn’t like his coaching style. He soon found a new job with the Oklahoma City Thunder and became an assistant on their coaching staff.

On Tuesday night, February 9th Ingrid Williams, Monty’s Wife, was driving with three of her children on a 40 MPH street when a reckless driver, who was driving 92 MPH North, lost control and stuck Ingrid Williams including her three children in a Chevrolet Suburban going southbound head on. Mrs. Williams was taken to the hospital where she later died. The driver of the other vehicle died as well on impact. Players on both the Pelicans and Thunder were devastated with the news because apparently Ingrid was a mother figure to many players. Many people sent prayers to the Williams family and offered their condolences while many others, when asked about it on camera, broke down in tears over the news. How could the wife of an assistant coach have such an impact on the players? I think the answer is found in who Monty Williams claims to be.

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