Mark Riggins

Aunt Nancy

This past Monday, I had the honor of speaking at my Aunt Nancy's funeral service. My Dad's youngest sister left us too soon at the young age of 59. 

Here are some of the thoughts I shared on Monday:

When I hear the two words "Aunt Nancy" several images pop into my mind. All of the images focus on 3 themes: love, laughter, and simplicity. Those words best describe MY Aunt Nancy.

Aunt Nancy loved. She loved her friends and family deeply. She chose to invest in fewer people so she could love them more deeply. Those of us fortunate enough to have been family or close friends appreciate this about her. Aunt Nancy loved deeply and . . . 

Aunt Nancy laughed easily. Her laugh came easily and, as a result, those around her laughed more easily. She loved to laugh about something silly she had done or said. She was NEVER guilty of taking herself too seriously. Yet, she was able to balance humor without being too silly. She had the unique gift of being able to laugh with you and still talk about your dreams or any other serious issue. You always walked away encouraged from talking with Aunt Nancy. She loved deeply, laughed easily, and . . . 

Aunt Nancy lived simply. She did not every pretend to be something she wasn't. She didn't feel the pressure many people feel to try and impress others by trying to hard. She didn't lay awake at night wondering if "so and so" was impressed with her dress, car or house. She didn't feel the need to travel to far away places. She'd rather stay home and simply laugh with and love those whom God had place around her.

Aunt Nancy loved deeply, laughed easily, and lived simply.

I'm sure when the angels welcomed Aunt Nancy to Heaven on Thursday by asking her "which mansion do you want?" Aunt Nancy surely said, "Oh Lord, it doesn't matter to me."

Aunt Nancy seemed to appreciate that life is too short to worry about temporary things.

James 4:14 "...what is your life? You are a mist (vapor) that appears for a little while and then vanishes". Life is too fast to pursue the temporary.

Here's a truth that struck me this weekend: Since the only thing eternal is people, our greatest investment is people.

I'm sure that somewhere there is a man who will pursue a strong education, acquire an impressive job, will work hard for decade to achieve financial success, will climb the corporate ladder, one day buy a nice piece of property on which to build his dream home, will travel on impressive vacations, and eventually save enough to enjoy a great retirement. But, eventually, he dies. And, if he's lucky, he'll spend forever living next door to Aunt Nancy in Heaven where his mansion will have the same property value as hers. Whatever they use to travel, his and hers will have the same blue book value. Whatever they wear, his and hers will have the same cost.

Who invested their life most effectively?

Once you realize that the only thing eternal is people, than our greatest investment is people.

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh to the Father but by me."

Ultimate eternal success begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is the one sure thing. And nothing can interrupt that relationship . . . not even death.

Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerers through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Ultimate eternal success begins with a relationship with Jesus and ends with us investing into people.

I may not remember Aunt Nancy's car or house but I will always hear her laugh. I can hear it in Lisa (her daughter). I can hear it in Angie (her 2nd daughter). The only thing eternal is people. Aunt Nancy knew that with the way she lived her life. What a wise woman! Thank God we were the lucky ones that she loved deeply.

Memories

As a parent, I believe one of my responsibilities is to place my kids in a position to discover and pursue God's purposes for their lives. I really want to get this right. 

As a parent, one of the fun opportunities is creating memories with my family. This weekend that is exactly what we did! 

Here are some of the things we took in over our 3-day weekend in Austin:

- We took a tour through the Central Market and enjoyed a lot of free samples (free fun is often the best fun)

- We enjoyed a meal at Freddies while the kids played in the outdoor park

- Stayed 2 nights at this Hilton (thank you Hotwire)!

- Ate the best donuts EVER at Round Rock Donuts (as seen on Diners, Drive-in, & Dives)

- Spent Saturday morning shopping at the outlet mall and Ikea. Window shopping can be almost as fun during the shopping experience and a lot more fun days after the shopping experience. :)

- Grabbed lunch here while the kids got to play at the outdoor park. 

- Made the trip to the Erwin Center to watch the Texas Longhorns Men's basketball team win over Texas A&M - Corpus Christi (Grateful for the $3 special tickets . . . although Reagen did literally have a nose bleed . . . Hook 'em Horns!)

- We drove around the UT Campus, the Capitol, 6th Street, downtown Austin, etc.

- Saturday night we ate at the BEST bar-b-que place I've ever experienced: the original Salt-Lick Bar-B-Que. In one word: Wow!

- Sunday morning we got a chance to visit Gateway Community Church. Always enjoy a church that is laser focused on creating a place that unchurched people will visit more than once. Plus, my kids had a blast!

- Finally, we stopped by the Texas Memorial Museum. Our kids were pumped! (Did I mention that free fun is often the best fun?!) 

Lots of fun, budget friendly, and most of all . . . GREAT MEMORIES! I love being a parent. 

Weekend Review

Spent time at Baylor Hospital in Dallas as my dad recovered from a literal "near death" experience. Thankful for prayers as Dad is doing much better and recovering in private hospital room.

Spent time in Junction, TX w/my family and my sister-in-law's family. Good times and great memories!

This week Ginger and I decided to spend some time answering one of those "big life" questions. We've been considering this question: "When our life is over, what is the story we want to have written?" We have begun answering that question for our marriage and our parenting. I'll share some of our thoughts soon.

Ginger & I enjoyed a date night by eating at The Grill (I had the Baja fish tacos = good). We were then headed to watch the movie Blind Side but it was sold out. :(  So we went instead to our local bookstore (Hastings) and, to our surprise, we saw Mike Huckabee who was on his national book tour. 

Ginger & I decided to buy our own individual CDs. I bought a Christ Botti cd and Ginger bought a Harry Connick Jr. cd. I LOVE my cd!! 

Had some good "wrestling time" with my kids this weekend. However, I did damage to my foot. Or, I should say, "Lincoln, did some damage to my foot." Somehow, he landed on my unsuspecting foot. For now, I get around with a limp. 

Finishing off a good weekend as a family tonight by eating popcorn and watching the Radio City Christmas Spectacular! 

Some day I know I'll miss these full, family weekends!

Weekend Review

This past weekend was so memorable. There was no major "event" planned so we just decided to make this a family weekend and do a bunch of stuff with one focus: we do it all together. 

We jumped on the trampoline, learned to throw a frisbee, rode bikes/scooters, grilled some hot dogs, picked up dog poop in the back yard, played a "homemade version of Jeopardy", ate breakfast at a new donut place in town Sunday morning and hosted an online small group. Now, I gotta tell ya' that my kids haven't mastered throwin' a frisbee yet and Lincoln actually fell off of the trampoline. But, he's okay and overall, we created some memories. 

While we were walking to school Monday morning, I asked the kids what their favorite thing was that we had done over the weekend. Kennedy said, "eating donuts". Reagen said, "throwing the frisbee". And, not surprisingly, Lincoln said, "jumping on the trampoline".

The weekends I spend doing stuff with my family are the best weekends of all! I took another marble out of the jar this Saturday. Such a great reminder that these days are temporary.

Weekend Review

Busy but extremely productive weekend!

Yesterday I got a chance to share the vision of SAC with a couple of people who are planning on joining our launch team. I NEVER get tired of sharing what God has called us to do!

Our Waumba Land (preschool ministry) launches next month, Oct. 18th. We have some GREAT volunteers in this ministry. Yesterday we hosted one of our Waumba Land training events. I was amazed at the leadership among our team. We are blessed to have some strong leaders who have a huge heart to create an engaging ministry for preschool age children. 

This morning Ginger and I took our kids to the park. We were once again amazed at how many people are simply living life apart from church. It really motivates me to be part of a church that unchurched people love to attend! That is the heartbeat of SAC. BTW, we had a great time at the park. We actually stayed long enough that the kids were actually ready to go. :)

Tonight, we hosted our first NEXT event. It is an environment offered to people who want to know more information about SAC and hear how they can get involved. I was once again AMAZED by our team. Our staff and volunteers created a great environment and were great hosts! As we now turn our attention toward our 2nd Preview Service, we will again offer a NEXT event following that service. 

When I'm sharing the vision of SAC with someone, I try and share some of the distinctives of San Angelo Church. I think later this week I'll start a series of blogs unpacking the distinctives of SAC.  Stay tuned . . . 

This week I have some incredibly important appointments (both personal and SAC related). I would appreciate your prayers. 

Weekend Review

Wow! This has been one CRAZY weekend.

Me, Ginger, and Reagen spent all day Saturday huddled around the "porcelain god" due to the stomach bug. (Grateful we have a 3 bathroom house.) Yuck! Fortunately, it was "only" a 24 hour bug and so far our other three kids haven't gotten it. We'll see how tonight goes. :) So today we're all feeling much better but extremely washed out . . . 

Today, we had an "insider service" (just our launch team in attendance) in preparation for our Preview Service next Sunday night. This was essentially a practice run and it was very helpful. Our Production Team put in about 10 hours this weekend. These guys are awesome! So grateful for them. Our Host Team did some important training as well today. Then there was the actual service which went well. Learned some things that we can improve and I was reminded that we have an incredible team of people who are passionate about the unchurched people of San Angelo. 

Starting a church is really hard work! It takes unusually committed people to help carry the load. I love the fact that God continues to bring the right people on board at the right time. 

I'm so excited about next Sunday night! This will be the first time we've ever had a service to invite our friends to attend. It is going up to be a GREAT service!

 

Weekend Review

- Saturday I got to spend some serious time with my family which included some "kids vs. daddy wrestling" in the living room floor. At one point it sounded like a kid's amusement park because the screaming and laughing was so loud. It's so important to me because I had to take another marble out of the jar this Saturday. That is my reminder that our time is limited before Reagen graduates from high school and our family will begin to change. I talked about our perspective jar here. 

- Saturday night I had the privilege of officiating a wedding for a GREAT young couple. I am praying as Stephen & Lacy begin their new home. Beautiful ceremony where both groom & bride wept throughout their vows. Pretty powerful stuff!

- This morning (Sunday) was extremely fun! Several of us from SAC went to celebrate and worship as Celebration Church launched here in San Angelo. In fact, we even got the chance to serve by showing up at 7am and helping them unload all of their equipment for portable church. Celebration is full of great people and I believe God is going to use Pastor Brandon and his team in a mighty way in San Angelo! Just glad we got to be there to celebrate and worship with them during their launch.

- Had our SACFFL (San Angelo Church Fantasy Football League) Draft tonight. Lots of fun and I ate way too much! I'm pretty sure I just drafted the league winning team (Michael Turner, Aaron Rogers, Brian Westbrook, Tony Gonzalez, Anquan Boldin, Baltimore Ravens Defense, etc.)!  

- Reminded this weekend why we are so passionate about creating a church that unchurched people love to attend. This was an entry on our SAC Facebook page: "Hi I found this on a friend's Facebook and it hit my interest. Can you all fill me in on what's going on here, when it will start, where it will be? I am a person that wants to draw as close to the Lord as I possibly can and I know a lot of people that can't always go to a church setting because of the fact that they have been hurt. From what I am gathering from here, I might be very interested in you all. Thanks and God Bless."

- Lots to do this week as we prepare for our 1st Preview Service which is 2 weeks from tonight (Sept. 20th). I can hardly wait!  

Weekend Review

This weekend has been EXTREMELY memorable!

- Spent Friday evening over at a friend's house sharing the vision of San Angelo Church. Lots of fun.

- Spent Saturday in Abilene with my family. I am so blessed with a great family! We love road trips.

- Enjoyed going to the small groups throughout the day today and reconnecting with our launch team. We had more new people with us today.

- Tonight we had the 40th Anniversary Party/Reception for Jim & Maxine Hamilton (my in-laws). It was a special time for our family. Lots of friends and family celebrating together as we took several trips down memory lane. Life is about creating memories and we certainly created one tonight with our family. I am so blessed with GREAT in-laws!

- Several sources have told me that Andy Stanley's message today was one of his best ever. You can check it out next Sunday at 5:00pm CST right here. 

- Pretty exciting as one of our strategic partner churches launched tonight to a FULL house in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Exciting times! We are anxious to follow their lead here in San Angelo.

- Really looking forward to tomorrow as we spend the day laying out all of the video equipment in preparation for SAC's 1st Preview Service on Sept. 20th. Tomorrow night our volunteer technical team will have the 1st run through. I'm starting to get really pumped as this begins to actually come together!

- REALLY tired . . . time to sleep . . . good weekend . . . good night!

 

Sunday Night Reflections

Today was such a good day! 

- This morning our family ate breakfast together at Baker Street Coffee & Cafe. I LOVE moments when our family is together and enjoying a relaxed and fun time together . . . especially on a Sunday morning (rare for ministry folks). I discovered that my oldest two girls like hazelnut coffee too.

- This morning our family visited a local church that I've wanted to visit for years. So glad I got to go. I always learn a lot visiting churches. Always evaluate the kids ministry (easy to do when you're dropping off 4 kids), how "visitor friendly" the first few minutes are (signage, greeters, helpers, information, etc.), the level of excellence, the music style, preaching style, how welcome an unchurched person would feel, etc. Always fun!

- Lincoln and I went to Wal-Mart this afternoon. He loves it when just he and I go to the store. So do I! Amazing how he always finds a toy car in every store. :)

- Tonight we had 35+ people over to our house to watch North Point Online. It was a blast! It is so much fun to take a step of faith and then watch God show up and honor that faith. As we prepare for our 1st preview service next month, our launch team is kicking it into high gear. Tonight, some of our launch team got to meet a new family that God has brought to SAC. More details about this great family coming soon . . . needless to say, I am extremely grateful and PUMPED about what God is getting ready to do.

- We are crazy enough to believe that God has called us to create a church that unchurched people love to attend. God is honoring this vision and our faith! Wow! This is going to be fun. 

Tragic Prayer Request

There are rare events in your life that impact you profoundly. Last night, was one of those rare moments. 

As a chaplain at Shannon Medical Center, I often respond to traumas to help minister to the patient, patient's family and medical staff. It is often high stress and "organized chaos". No two situations are ever alike. 

Last night a 12 year old little boy hung himself here in San Angelo. What do you tell the mom? How do you console the dad? What's their next step?

Honestly, there's part of me that wanted to hear that the little boy was "troubled". That he had been warning people all along. That he was severely neglected. That he was spending time with the "wrong" crowd.

The problem is none of these things are apparently true. By all accounts he was a great kid. Emotionally balanced. Good attitude. Great grades. Good parents. Solid family. Even attended church. No warning signs. Just shock. Sudden. Tragic. Final. 

Please pray for this family. Please pray that God will bring peace, comfort, and hope.

I'm gonna go hug my kids again.