Mae Joy Creative

September 11, 2001

I was a freshman in college at the University of Tennessee. I didn't have a class until 2:10 that day so I was sleeping in just a little bit.

My Mom called me and told me to turn the news on right then. I did right as I saw a plane fly into a building I had seen in person in NYC just a couple years prior.

I asked my Mom what was going on...and she said they didn't really know yet but that another plane had hit the other building just before this one. I remember going to wake up my suite-mate in the dorm. We were watching our small tvs when the cleaning lady for our floor came walking by and I looked at her and asked if she had seen what was happening New York City. There we stood in our pjs with the cleaning lady and watched in silence and disbelief. Tears steaming down our faces...but no one saying a word.

It was a numbing feeling, I remember. No one was talking around campus. Walking through the campus that day was silence all around. I had to walk through the UC to get to my class that afternoon and we had large/box tvs hanging from the walls. There were crowds around each tv as more information continued to come out.

I remember just wanting to get home. Just wanting to be with family. As the days went on...I remember lots of hugs. Lots of students just sitting in silence. No one had to say anything because we all knew what we were all thinking.

Shock. Terror. Fear. Sadness. Heartbroken. Steadfast. United.

25 years ago...our world forever changed.

Today we pause.
Forever we will remember.
We promise to never forget.

Today, we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States of America! I hope that you and your family are having a wonderful day celebrating our beautiful country.

Here are some photos from my family's celebration including Atlanta's Peachtree Road Race (the world's largest 10K) and a family July 4th cookout!

I took this photo Memorial Day weekend 2017. We were at Arlington National Cemetery and had just watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

They already had the flags flying for the Memorial Day ceremony in Memorial Amphitheater.

This place, this hallowed ground, is a reminder of the cost of freedom for all Americans. My grandfather is buried near McClellan Gate in Arlington and he is the one who made sure his kids and grandkids knew the meaning of this place and this day.

We remember, we honor and we give thanks to the many men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice so we can live in a free and beautiful country. Today and every day, we will remember.

Ever have someone say something to you that just sticks?

On March 9 of this year, Ron Clipp was leading a devotional during a Shepherd's Staff meeting. He said these 6 words during that devotion time and they have stuck with me.

He is worthy of the risk.
He is worthy of our very best.
He is worthy of our YES.

Most of you know how it happens...you hear one thing...then you read it somewhere else that week, hear someone quote something about it on tv, hear it in a song, hear it in a sermon. The same thing happened here. I heard that on a Monday, read the same type thing during my devotion time on Wednesday, heard something similar in a song later...

So this year, I have been hearing God remind me that He is worthy of the risk. He is still worthy of the risk I took in 2020 to quit a job and begin Mae Joy. He is worthy of the risk to say YES to something new. He is worthy of the risk to begin a new chapter. He is worthy of the risk...and worthy of giving my ALL!

And guess what...He is worthy of you taking the risk as well! All for Him! He is worth it!

"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said." Matthew 28:6

Jesus is ALIVE! Grateful for serve a Risen Savior!

Happy Easter from my family to you and yours!

Every time I look at or think about this photo, the Goodness of God is what comes to my mind.

This picture represents so much! It represents joy, friendship, ministry...and it represents what God is doing in Mae Joy!

When you see this photo, you may see me with three beautiful ladies. But when I see it, I see God's hand at work! I see MANY blessings from my Heavenly Father! I see women that are taking the risk because HE is worthy!

God...You are SO GOOD!

"For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God,
Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas from my family to you and yours!

Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, God's people were reading and hearing these words. Before Mary was born...before Joseph was born...before Elizabeth or Zechariah...God had a plan.

God knew before anyone else how He was going to send us a Savior. Not one that would come as a typical king or one that would be raised in a palace. Not one that would be high in power in that day. But His plan included a young girl, a little town called Bethlehem, a group of shepherds and a very holy night.

Even during the 400 years when it seemed that God was silent...He was working. And His people were waiting. People like Simeon were waiting patiently for his eyes to see God's salvation.

God always keeps His promises. He always has...and He always will.

On one holy night...a Child was born, a Son given. He is our Wonderful Counselor, our Mighty God, our Everlasting Father, our Prince of Peace. He is our Savior and His name is Jesus!

Can you imagine what Mary must have been thinking? What she was treasuring up in her heart?

There she was...a young bride and young mother...holding her firstborn baby...holding in her own arms the precious gift of her Savior.

I love this simple yet profound sentence in Scripture. It holds so much to it and reminds us that while everything around us can be busy, going by fast and we may be in the midst of the hustle and bustle...we need to take time to "treasure up" the many gifts of the Father.

Take time to just be...to just sit with the Savior.

It wasn't to Caesar. It wasn't to a king. It wasn't to a priest or the town counsel...it wasn't to the rich or powerful.

God sent an angel to the ordinary...just some shepherds out in the fields with their sheep. Just a normal person like you and me. He sent an angel to the least likely, the lowest of low. Only God would pick them to be the first to hear this Good News of the birth of the Messiah.

After the shepherds heard, they didn't just sit around and chat about it among themselves. They got up and WENT! They went to see what God had done and what the angel had told them about. Then they told everyone they saw. They didn't keep it to themselves. They shared the Good News about the birth of our Savior!

We can learn a lot from these "least likely" shepherds. Jesus came for ALL PEOPLE and we need to go and tell!