The picture below....

That is our pastor Sam and Emily and Melody a week after they were dedicated. My husband who FINALLY posted the picture said it was the day of, but I digress....the man cannot remember dates. Going on...



Our Church is called Living Stones and I think that I have said it before it is a place of pure love, hope, joy...my pastor compared Heaven to Disney World, in my mind I kinda compare it to our Church. It almost seems like they put an ad out that says broken people welcome, you are the child of a King, he is crazy in love with you and wants the best for you. When you are at such a low in your life, when you can hardly breathe, to hear these words, it is almost too much to believe. And then you take that step....And BELIEVE



Before the fire, we had been going , I loved it. But with such chaos in our lives, Church was something I thought about on Sunday's. I loved the energy...positive energy, and the band was awesome. I remember the first time I saw our pastor, I thought this guy is a great speaker but when is the sermon? I have never seen anyone preach like Sam. As he says he gets his preach on.



And then we had the fire, and that is the first time that I realized for the first time that I had a family, a real family. It was amazing how Living Stones and God worked together in our lives to make a bad situation into a life changing great one. We found a house in 24 hours with a landlord who rocks! Every time I thought to myself I need Tupperware, etc.I would get a call to come to the church and there would be Tupperware, etc. One week before Thanksgiving money was tight and one of the band members walked up and gave me money. This could go on and on. But just imagine what you would need for a 9 person household and they did it.



And even since then, they have been amazing, The sense of community has made all the difference in our lives. There are rough weeks with the kids and when I get their on Sunday, I know that it will be a better week.



They also love my kids. We put off going to church a long time when we moved here because of having 7 kids and 2 of them which can act a little odd at times. OK being honest here, they are all a little odd. But it is intimidating with Autism. Edwin blurts out the weirdest things and Tobey not being verbal can be hard to deal with. That was not a problem at our church, there is kids there just like my sons. In fact some of my dearest friends are from there and walking down the same path as I am. They even provide a trail buddy for Tobey so that he is included.

I know that people can get turned off by religion and churches, I think it is only because they have not found the right church family. It is not about how you dress, or the gossip. It is about loving people unconditionally like Jesus does us. He doesn't care about the 3 piece suits, come on he wore a robe. He just loves you and wants the best life for you, like my church.

If you are ever in the area and want to go with me sometime, please do. Just be prepared for a pastor with a ton of energy and doughnuts!