Friends, Dreams & A Movie on the Big Screen

I would always tell Dawn (when she was still one of my girls living at home) that one of the best gifts God gives us is good friends!! I feel like this is especially true in marriage, as you fight to make your love story last, with all the ups and alllll the downs, having friends to honestly share the journey with is a gift that is greater than words. We have been blessed with friends like that, literally from the beginning.

When Kyle and I got married we were 19 and all of the other respectable 19 year olds were off at school, while we were home playing house. (Serioulsy, sometimes I wonder what our parents were thinking, but it has worked out, so - woot!) God wasted no time in flooding our life with good friends, most of which were also newly weds. We called ourselves "Alias Church" becasue at this time we were religiously dedicated to gathering each week to watch the exciting adventures of Agent Sydney Bristo unfold on the show Alias. It was a super fun season - no kids, all fun. ;) 

We had many adventures during this season including a trip to Disneyworld, river house stays, and Beach house weekends. I can't remember when or why, but during that first year or two of no kids, we found ourselves at my parents beach house in Galveston (they don't have it any more and that is a huge bummer) I remember we meal planned and had tons of ridiculous snacks, the rest....foggy at best. Except there is a distinct memory of us sitting around in the living room, views of the just so-so Galveston waves surrounding us through the windows, and us chatting about goals, dreams, & fears for our futures. 

That is one thing about good friends - you inspire each other, encourage each other, push each other to the big great thing God has called you to do. That is what our group of friends has always been about.

I remember in this moment, our friend Richie, saying something to the effect that he wanted to show his kids, by example, how to to dream. This launching a conversation among us about how so often the demands of life push us to switch from those child-like visions and dreams we have always had to our mundane, gotta make ends meet adult lives. We as a whole agreed, we didn't want to do this.

Over the years we have had the opportunity to stand beside and support eachother on many different exciting paths as we have continued chasing our dreams. We had no way to know back then what God would have in store for us; the number of kids would come from our little group (holy moly) or the many different adventures we would be going on. To date, we have planted a church & served in various ministry, started companies, opened restaurants, released albums, adopted kids, made movies, worked for CIA , and that's to name a few.

The latest really exciting thing is that our friends Richie (& Kristina) after moving their family to KY almost 6 years ago to pursue the opportunity to write for a Christian production company, City on a Hill, has a movie that is coming out THIS Friday, Nationwide, to a theater near you!!!

Richie wrote and directed, "The Song", a modern day take on the story of Solomon from the Bible, and I am gonna be able to stroll into my local movie theater this Friday night (as in TOMORROW) and watch it!

Ya'll!! This is HUGE!!! 

We could not be more excited for him & his family!!!! And can't wait to see all the opportunites that will come from this!!!

We are so grateful for friends that inspire us and that we share a common creative bond with. Join us this weekend and support some forever dreamers and Christ followers and make plans to head to the theater and see "The Song". Below is a link of all the theaters "The Song" is playing in for this opening weekend!!! If you live in our area, we are going to the 7:05pm showing at Cinemark in Webster - maybe we will see you there!!!

List of theaters: http://www.thesongmovie.com/theaters

Thoughts on "Sin" brought to you by Presley & Andie

So this year in school we are back in ancient history. Starting at the beginning (Creation) til about the Fall of Rome. We in the classical homeschool world refer to this as "year 1". Anywho, yesterday we were going over all the good stuff in the garden of Eden, where Adam & Eve disobey and both blame each other (so classic). We get to Cain and Abel and stumble upon God's generous warning to Cain in his anger to do what's right, and then God added:

         "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it." (Gen. 4:7b)

For me, I'm thinking "Whoa! Isn't that the truth - sin is waiting always trying to trip me up!! What a great word! I have to be on guard and rule over the sin!" For the kids, I'm thinking, "What a great teachable moment, this is gonna be good"

And so we were off, the moment beginning with:

Presley: What door? 

Me: Like, the door of our hearts and minds...

Presley: Ohhhhh, I thought you meant the front door. (Disbelief. come on, you're 6 almost 7)

Me: What sin could be crouching at the door of our hearts and minds?

Andie: Like taking everyone's party packs and throwing them away! (Still have no idea about what this even means. Like, what is a party pack even?)

Presley: Oh ya! Or taking the party favors at a birthday party and dumping them all in your bag!

Andie:  Ya! Or pouncing on the electricity so everybody doesn't have power! (now, in her defense we had recently lost power in a thunderstorm, but still, this was kinda shocking)

Presley: Disobeying your parents!

Andie: Or disobey your mom! And... don't punch anyone in the face!!!

And that pretty muched wrapped up our moment. We talked about needing Jesus to help us with these temptations (as I tried not to burst out laughing) And we concluded with some intro that will lead us into "Noah and the Flood" tomorrow. So there you have it, the deep thoughts and theologies of some Sapaugh kids. So impressive. (sarcasm)

The Potter and the Clay

So, I had the privilege of singing for a women's event this past weekend called "The Potter and the Clay". I'm not gonna lie, when I heard the title of the event - I kinda assumed it wouldn't be that great - maybe a little cheesy or out dated. (I hope this confession won't keep me from being re-hired at that church) But the crazy thing was that I was WAY wrong! It was excellent. The event featured Rachel Norris, an amazing potter, who demonstrates her crazy skills live on the stage while talking you through the pottery making process. She then shifts gears to talk about her own life - the Christian life and her testimony. She walked us through her crazy journey, that I cannot begin to do justice in sharing, and shared how relevant and real the whole idea of God as "The Potter" and us as "the clay" is to her in her life.

Having been redeemed from a very stubbornly selfish & reckless lifestyle, with a reluctance to ever do anything for the Lord, yet now God is using her heartbreaking & honest testimony while also featuring her skills as an artist to create beautiful bowls and things & share hope with others.

I don't know if it was the pregnancy hormones - or just me, but she had me crying from the start. I have always been familiar with the parallel of the God being the "The Potter" - duh, but being weaved in and out of her story, was just beautiful....and overwhelming to me.

A couple of the one-liners I wanted to share are:

- Potters are very particular about the clay they use - it has to be moldable and shapeable. Alot of times this means going through some strenuous breaking and bending that has to happen long before the potter begins the shaping process. A step that CAN NOT be skipped.

- Being a potter is way too much work and hassle to not have a true passion for what you are doing. This overwhelms me as a reminder that God DELIGHTS in his work in our life, otherwise He would not waste his time dealing with us!!

- The Potter has a vision for something beautiful, even though his hands are just filled with a big mess. As Rachel shared this point her hands were covered with dripping clay & a misshapen pitcher, such an amazing visual of us in the hands of THE Potter....incomplete & messy, but He has a beautiful vision for the lump in His hands. THANK YOU JESUS!

- Ultimately, it is The Potter who determines the shape and use of the pottery! This moment again, was amazing. Rachel had a flower pot shape on the wheel and then would barely touch it and turn it into another great functional piece; a mixing bowl, a serving bowl, a platter....in moments she changed the shape and potential use of the object. Again, overwhelmed to be reminded that it is GOD who chooses and directs our use and purpose. Sometimes we want so bad to be something else or to be used in a different way, but it is GOD, The Potter, who decides!

- The difference between useable pottery and unuseable pottery is - the fire. Going through the fire is what allows a piece of pottery to be of use. Again a step that can NOT be skipped over. Many times we dread and avoid the fire in life at all costs - but that is the tool that God uses to makes us useable vessels for him!!
 

Seriously, it was such a sweet event to be apart of & I was so glad I was wrong on my pre-judged thoughts! If you ever get the chance to check out Rachel Norris live - DO IT!! Also, if you are ever in Bryan, TX - stop by her shop there called Joy Pottery and support her business and ministry! Good Stuff!!