Brookwood: The End of an Era

Today marks the end of an era for Brookwood. It has been a day that I have dreaded for a couple of years now. I knew it was coming, but that has made it no easier. Mark Sutton has "been" Brookwood for 21 years. He has represented us on the radio with his attention grabbing radio spots and has had a morning program on Sundays as well. If you mention Brookwood to someone, they will say "Oh yeah, that is where Mark Sutton is." Brookwood and Mark Sutton, synonymous. That all comes to an end just like everything else does.

Mark Sutton came into my life at the most turbulent time to date. I was searching. I needed something, but I just didn't know what I needed. Mark provided that answer. I needed to have Jesus back in my life. I needed advice on how to be a parent.

I visited Brookwood for the second time Easter Sunday of 2006. I was alone. I didn't know why I was there, I had been attending another church, but for some reason, I popped in at Brookwood. It was the first sermon in the "Family" series. Exactly what I needed at exactly the time it was needed. I cried the whole service, but I knew I was where I needed to be at exactly the time I needed to be there. I was off on my adventure to learn how to be a Christian adult.

Over the years, I have listened intently on how to be a godly parent. I had no idea what I wanted to do as a parent, I just knew what I DID NOT want to do. I've been fairly successful. I am not anywhere close to perfect, but I have a direction that I'm on which is a lot more than I had that Easter Sunday back in 2006. My daughter has a chance to be a Christian, a chance she may never have had if I had not pulled in to Brookwood that fateful day. I'm sure many people have similar experiences to share.

To say "Thank you" seems so insignificant, so meaningless, so understated. We say thank you for cards, for dinner, for babysitting. Not "Thank you for saving my life and quite possibly my child, grandchild, great grandchild's life." Thank you just seems so meaningless for something like that. How DO you thank someone for helping save you and quite possibly multiple generations of your family? I'm still working on that and when I figure it out, I'll get back to you. I've thought about this long and hard....Nothing comes to mind.

I've been asking God quite regularly to please help me prepare for this and I finally received my answer. Haiti needs Mark more than I do now. They didn't back in 2006, but they do now. So it is with a great sadness that I say goodbye to a GREAT GODLY man who has changed my life forever. It has been said that there are people who leave footprints on your heart, Mark's footprints will become fossils that I will never forget.

So thank you, Mark Sutton, for everything you have done and if I can come up with something better than that, I'll track you down in Haiti. And to the Haitian people, take care of the second man who changed my life because he will introduce you to the Man who can change yours.

Bigger Houses, Newer Cars

Wow...It's been a really long time since I've blogged, but there is just something on my heart and I need to go somewhere with it....It's going on the blog. This week we have seen the devastation that our planet can rein down. Haiti has been brought down by a catastrophic event and it is heartbreaking to see all of the stories and news reports on TV. I am once again reminded by my gracious God that I have a lot more than I deserve. We sit here in America with WAY more "things" and "stuff" than we will ever, in a million years need, but yet we all want more. Bigger houses, better cars, more expensive electronics, etc. while the people of Haiti barely have a shack to live in. I complain constantly about not having this or wanting that when they don't have food, decent clothing and lets not mention (again) the "houses" they live in. God calls us to help one another, but are we really helping someone else when we have a bigger house or a newer car? We are helping ourselves. God has really been convicting me about all the complaining I do and I'm working very hard to stop (it's a struggle), but as I struggle, I'm presented with the haunting images of a land that is not too far away that has a lot more to complain about than I EVER will. Please remember the Haitian people in your prayers.