Is it morning yet?

It's exactly 2:40am. I have probably a 15 hour work day ahead of me tomorrow. Any other idiot in my shoes would be sound asleep long ago. But not this idiot. :) I can't tell if i'm still awake because i'm overwhelmed looking at my to-do list, or if it's because i'm so incredibly excited for what's going down tomorrow. (or maybe it was the Red Bull I drank at 7pm...nah, that wore off long ago) I feel like it's Christmas Eve, but instead of being excited about waking up for Christmas tomorrow, i'm actually excited about waking up and going to work. Wait....what? Did those words just come out of my mouth? Yes they did, and i'll tell you why...

To update those friends that I might not have talked to in a while, about a year ago I fell into my dream job. No, i'm not a rockstar. (but maybe one day) I'm talking about the job where what i'm passionate about and what i'm good at collide. A place where my job revloves around serving people and helping them grow in their walk with Christ. A place where I get to use my creativity in ways that I never imagined I would be able to at the workplace. A place where my co-workers are like family, and I actually speak to them (sometimes more) when i'm off the clock. I've been so incredibly blessed to be able to say that I get paid to do something that I love to do...serve Jesus and everyone around me. There has not been a single day in the past year that I have not thanked God for my job.

At the beginning of the year, my pastor Andy preached a sermon about "praying big." We were challenged to pick something that was beyond us, something huge, and pray for it daily. Little did he know that I had already been doing that for the past three months...his message was just additional confirmation for me that I was to continue to be a prayer warrior for this big dream that I had.

My dream was for 7|22, the singles ministry that I work for, to burst onto the scene in the city of Atlanta, to meet the singles population where they are, and to impact them all for the Glory of God. Our whole team has felt it for some time - that if we REALLY wanted to be able to dig in deep into this massive population of singles that are continually flooding to the Atlanta area, we had to be close to them. We had to get in where they work, where they live, where they play. (collectively I should say "I", since I fall into that population as well) We knew that the perfect location was in progress to open in the near future, and we knew that we had to be there. Of course, that's much easier said than done. There are sooo many details and logistics to work out that I could bore you for hours with the details (but seeing as it is almost 3am and I have to be up in 3 hours, i'll spare us both). Some of these details we're still trying to figure out at this very moment.

But the time has finally arrived, and we will open our doors tomorrow for the first 7|22 in Buckhead. A day that felt like it was years away just a few short months ago. We know the potential that we have to create an environment where God can show up in a HUGE way. We also know that we have the potential to completely crash and burn. (let's pray for the first option) :) I have every confidence that God is going to show up in a big way tomorrow..He's been doing it all along. I just continue to pray that our team will be good stewards of the time and resources He has provided to us. We can always show up and put on a great "production," anyone can do that - the challenge lies in allowing God to plan out our steps for us...for us to create a space for Him to show up, no matter what that looks like. It may mean things being completely different each time we meet...it may mean trying something and failing miserably a few times before we get it right....but whatever it means, its important that we're ready and willing to follow His path for what is best for our singles community.

That's an added bonus to my job. Not only am I serving God and the singles around me, but a lot of those singles happen to be my friends. What a joy it is to be able to play a small role in encouraging growth in their faith. Again, I am so truly grateful for every day that I am allowed to do this.

So pray for our team...for guidance, wisdom and endurance (and maybe some sleep next week...its going to be a looong day). Pray for the single adults that are going to walk through those doors tomorrow...some will know Jesus and some wont - we must love them all alike, just as Christ loves us. Pray for smooth parking...its a big hairy beast we're still trying to work out (be patient with us!)...and most importantly, pray that God shows up in an amazing way. He always does.

Oh, and check out our new website....722.org. We've been working our bootys off re-designing the entire thing, and i'm not gonna lie, its pretty awesome, and i'm pretty darn proud of it. Enjoy!