Toby Mac Rocked the House!

Wow! What an amazing night to top off a great day of "Ministry with Others," free time in dowtown Louisville, and the opening night service. The worship band, Starfield, kicked it off with some powerful worship, and then the event organizers got up and welcomed everyone.

Impressive to me was Sheryl, who runs the "Bundles of Hope" ministry here. She was overwhelmed with gratitude for the donated items. Over 35,000 items came in. And if I heard right, she said that that amounted to 100,000 pallets of donated goods that are being dispersed to the local Jefferson County service outlets throughout the region. There was incredible video of the items, that I hope to get a link to.

Then the new Mayor, Gary Fischer, got up and spoke. We are the first group to use this brand new arena called the KFC "Yum!" Center. He spoke of the vision for it that came many years ago, when a local monk looked over the area and had a vision that all people are joined together. He has three goals for the city: 1) A commitment to lifelong learning, 2) To be a healthy city, and 3) To be a city of compassion. He stated that compassion is the key to making our world a better place. He loves the money and business that NYC brings to the city, but moreso, he loved the gift of love that the kids brought today. It was a heartfelt and great message from a politician! NYC didn't just come to use the city and leave, they are leaving it a better place. They were featured on the local news tonight.

Then the speaker got up, his name was Chris Folmsbee. He began by telling the story of the two men who walked into the temple; a Pharisee anda tax collector. The Pharisee was praising God that he was not like the tax collector. The Tax Collector was beating his chest and asking God for mercy, because he was a sinner. Folmsbee continued on that theme, asking the kids to face this week with that kind of humility and posture. We are sinners, and we need Christ's mercy. Powerful stuff. The theme for the week is "Unbroken"... he laid the foundation for that in describing why we are broken, going back to genesis and creation. Helping the kids to understand brokenness, so that they can imagine a world that is "unbroken."

The Toby Mac concert afterwards was musical magic, with his very diverse and talented band. The kids (and I must admit the adults as well... all of us old DC Talkers) loved it! The kids seemed very engaged and excited to be here. He prayed a powerful prayer of blessing over them and their weekend.

I'm awaiting some personal texts of girls from the day's work... that I will get up when they come in. If your child has sent you a text or any photos, pass them along!

Blessings!

Michelle

619.933.2314

designershoe@me.com