mike adkins | grace•ology

Katy Claire is home

Happy to tell you that Katy Claire is home with us as of about 3pm today. We are excited to have the whole family together. I can't wait for you to meet her.

Year End Reflections--What Are You Grateful For?

As you look back over this past year and thank God for His goodness in your life, what are you most grateful for? What were the events or happenstances that made 2007 memorable? For me, it was the growth we've seen in the lives of people at Grace. So many people taking their next step. Many taking their first step by accepting Christ this year. Of course, I am so happy that God gave us a little girl this year. If you didn't know, I've been praying for her for years. God is so good.

What are some of the things you are most grateful for?

Christmas Morning

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, from our family to yours. We love you. Here are some more pics of Katy Claire. I know you've been asking.....

Post Christmas Eve Services

We had a great Christmas Eve. I want to say thank you to our newest staff team members Chad and Hilary Wyatt. They were incredible. Turning a Shakespearian theatre into a worship environment is no small task, not to mention all the technical and volunteer coordinating issues. They are truly a good team. We are so blessed.

Also, thanks Jason and Beth coordinating all the front door issues and thinking through the whole event. You guys are rock stars.

The service was great. God was so present. Many people gave their lives to Christ and the rest of us worshipped the King. Does it get any better than that?

Of course, there was one not so great element. We had to turn away some families because we were at standing room only in the first service. We couldn't have packed one more person in that theatre.

I would be remiss to end this post without saying how truly impressed and blessed I was at seeing all the many volunteers who gave up significant amounts of their Christmas Eve to help us worship. You guys really know what it means to be servants of God and he is honored by your sacrifices. Way to go. We love you.

Christmas Eve

I want to remind you to check out the website for all the upcoming information on our Christmas Eve services. http://www.gogracefellowship.com./ It's going to be awesome. Some things to think about. 1) We are probably going to be at full capacity. So think about coming to the 7pm service. 2) Please arrive early. This will help with parking and all the logistics. 3) Know that we are excited to see you.

Merry Christmas

Granger Community Church

Good to hear from you guys. We love you and pray for all of you often. Keep up the good work. And as Mark always says, "you matter to God." You really do. Merry Christmas friends.

Another picture...

click on it to see the full size!

Welcome to Katy Claire

Great news:  Katy Claire Adkins made it safely into the world early Monday morning Dec 17 at 4:19 am. Both Kelly and the most beautiful baby girl in the world are doing awesome. Katy Claire weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces and will have to spend a little time in the nursery being monitored and learning to eat well, but other than that she is perfect and has stolen my heart already. I am totally in love.

She arrived in time to be both Christmas present and anniversary present to us. Kelly and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary yesterday getting to know our new baby girl.

Thank you for all your prayers during the pregnancy. They have meant so much to us and have been answered in more ways than you can know. More pictures soon...

What Matters Is What Matters

Had lunch with a great priest this week. Yes, there are great priests! He was telling me about a seminary student in his congregation who was a lawyer and was transitioning into full time ministry. He was very gifted and had made millions of dollars as a lawyer. A lot of people in his church were very excited about this man's potential in ministry. However, because he is from another country, and because of the way he structured his law practice, if he stayed in the U.S. to start a church he would have to pay something close to half of his savings in taxes.

Here's a man at the crossroads.

What will he decide? How do you make a decision like that? Do you give up half of everything you've worked for your whole life just to follow God's direction for your life?

Before you answer the question, just know that your answer will reveal something about your hearts priorities. (Luke 18:18-30)

The story ends with the man returning home and not starting a church.

Here's the point: Many people stumble on the path to maturity because they misunderstand what really matters. What matters is what really matters. Everything else is just window dressing. Take some time today to think about what really matters to you. How much of your life is spent in window dressing and not on what really matters?

Sunday Night Recap

I am always humbled by the fact that God shows up so powerfully on Sunday morning. Behind the scenes this weekend it was a rough start. Technical glitches. A worship team that was tired from playing the night before at Holiday On The Drive (They were amazing!). And a myriad of small details that were going wrong. But in the end, it was smooth as glass. God showed up. The sum of the parts were not equal to what God did.

We started our new Christmas series. Thanks for all your comments about how helpful the message was. I have to tell you though, when you hear from God that way, it has very little to do with the messenger and a lot to do with the Spirit of God working in you. So, if you heard from God this week about your expectations this Christmas, just know that He really does want this Christmas to be different for you.

My prayer is that you will listen to His voice and make His reality for you your reality for you so that this Christmas may be your best yet.