Grand Opening

It took 1 year, 2 months, and 2 days since moving to Texas, but Chris' first project with New Hope Church is complete! The East Campus, which was meeting in the YMCA, has a brand new permanent home. Our Grand Opening was this weekend. It was a true moment of worship for me when the doors were opened and people came to hear about the love of Christ.


East Campus Grand Opening from chris hughes on Vimeo.

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know you will receive an inheritance from the Lord. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Now I'm The Mom ...

 I learned A LOT from my mommy ... and I thought about that last night as I was taking care of my sick daughter.

I was holding MH's hair back when she was throwing up. She asked me to rub her back. Then she needed to be held. I whispered softly while she was gripping the toilet in her tiny little hands, "Its okay, Mommy is here."  I remembered how my mom would talk calmly to me, hold me, rub my belly, and sit with me as I was sick.

I thought of my mom in the middle of the night as I changed MH's sheets. I helped her to the bathroom, wiped her little mouth, put her in new PJs, then laid her on the floor as I gave her a fresh bed. I have a very strong memory of my mom helping me like that. And when I was sick, being taken care of was the best part. I remember the comfort I felt lying half asleep on the floor. I was sick, tired, and in need of help ... but not the least bit worried or scared. I probably fell fast asleep before my mom was able to get all 4 corners of the fitted sheet to stay in place!

Now, I'm the mom who changes the sheets and lysols everything in sight. And I jump at every little noise I hear in the middle of the night when one of my children is sick. I am the one who is hopelessly tired in the morning after such unpleasant events. Now I'm the mom ... which means I pray! I pray for my sick kids to be healed, and for everyone to have rest.

Mercifully, God healed her from whatever stomach bug she had.  And I know it was God ... because I prayed and told him I knew all about Job and how he allows his children to be touched, bothered ... so I told Him that I knew he could also stop it. And, mercifully, He did!

This week has been the busiest ever for Chris. He has been at the East Campus for most of the week, coming home only to sleep a little and go right back. Its a very big week for him. The kids and I were having a great time enjoying each other and playing around town until Captain Stomach Bug came about. Satan was trying to steal my contentment and give me something to gripe about. Also, something to disrupt our calm home and distract Chris or make him feel badly that I am taking care of a sick child while he has to be away. Well, I was NOT going to have any of that mess. So I talked to God about it and He heard me.

And when God answers prayer, we are supposed to tell about what God has done instead of a mediocre nod ...like a "Yeah, by the way, thanks for that. .. I deserved it." I believe God still heals. And I am so thankful for it!

Easter in Texas

It was our first Easter in Texas. The Hughes Fam got ready by teaching the kids all about Christ's sacrifice. Never too early to teach that. Together we watched a kid-friendly animated version of The Passion, and used Resurrection Eggs to help them remember the events leading up to Christ's death and resurrection. More importantly, we discussed what effect those events has on our lives today and what we should do in response. It was extra special to hear Mary Hannah and Avery talk about the Easter story and to see them embrace it.

Our church services were packed! In all, there were 8,500 people present at the weekend services. The sanctuary is large, but it was full! Even our second campus had standing room only! Here are a couple pictures from the day.

Inside the sanctuary at the main campus.

The cafe portion of the lobby was also packed. See the blue screens? People sat out in the lobby to watch the service on those TVs since there was no more room.

They filled the lobby with chairs to accommodate the overflow.

Sundays are always busy in our house. It really a work day for Pastors. So we like to take it easy. We had a simple egg hunt then let the kids play in the splash park by our apartment. Here are some pics from our day:

Chick-fil-A Concert

Our church had a concert at Chick-fil-A. It was great to see how the community supports events like this. Check out the video Chris made. Can you spot me? I am standing in the crowd wearing a gray shirt and am holding Mary Hannah.