Mars Hill, Keyboards, and Gingerbread Houses

Ryan and I are having a blast in Mobile. On Sunday morning, we checked out the People of Mars Hill. It's an awesome church started by old youth group buddies Jack Hester and Chris Estis. Their church is a bit like our Ebenezers model. During the weekday, it's a first class, fully operational lunch cafe. On the weekends, it's the gathering of believers. What I find most fascinating about this church is that Jack preached through the book of Leviticus for a year and a half...and the church grew. Ryan and I ate lunch at the cafe yesterday-great ambiance, great food, free wi-fi. And the mission of the cafe is to end poverty in the Mobile community. Love it!

On Sunday night, Ryan and I joined my parents at my old church, Dauphin Way Baptist, for Keyboards at Christmas. This amazing event featured 4 grand pianos, one pipe organ, and 14 sets of hands for a celebration of Christmas music. They've been doing it for 19 years, and I remember being at the first one! Amazing. Afterwards, we joined the Stubblefield family (Dad Stubblefield was one of the featured performers) for some Cracker Barrel. Gotta love having a Cracker Barrel so close! We thought about getting Chris Jarrell some apple butter. :)

Last night, Ryan and I decided we need to make a Gingerbread House. The picture at the top of this post was the result. Today...gotta finish up the Christmas shopping and maybe a little neighborhood caroling! Good times!