girltalk Blog
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning? Stumble to the coffee maker? Brush your teeth? According to a 2010 study, at least one third of young women check Facebook first thing in the morning—even before they go to the bathroom! This study might be two years old, but I’m guessing, if anything, those numbers have only gone up.
Now it’s not wrong to check Facebook before you go to the bathroom. But we need to consider what our first thoughts and actions say about what we want most, what we think we need most.
Do you wake up more aware of that itch to see what’s happening online or are your first morning sensations of your desperate need for God? Does a few minutes with your laptop pull you out of bed more readily than a few minutes with your Bible?
It’s so easy to dismiss the simple pleasures of Pinterest or Facebook as harmless activities. But that’s exactly why we need to be careful. Even simple pleasures, especially simple pleasures, can drain our affections for God. John Piper has famously made the point:
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” (Hunger for God, p. 23)
Each morning, how do you stuff your soul? With small things online, or great truths in God’s Word?
Our morning desires and activities, our first thoughts and inclinations, should be like the Psalmist: to hear, sing, pray, and be satisfied with the steadfast love of the Lord (5.3, 59.16, 90.14, 143.8). To put first things first.
2012 at 2:14 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Interviews
We conclude our conversation with Heather Platt talking about motherhood, marriage, and missions. (Catch up on the conversation: bio, part one, part two.)
What do you enjoy most about being a mother?
Snuggling with my kids! I love reading together on the couch, playing out back, laughing at their many antics and funny sayings. I love watching them grow and seeing little bits of fruit being produced in their lives through much prayer, teaching and training. The days feel long sometimes, but the months and years seem to be flying off the page. I want to take a deep breath and savor these sweet moments with everything that is in me.
Who is a godly older woman who has influenced you and what is the most important thing she has taught you?
My friend and mentor Debra Shaddix, whom I mentioned earlier, has influenced me in profound ways. If there is one thing that she has modeled and taught me over the years, it is to love my husband. Love, respect and honor him in front of my kids and in front of others. I also have several friends who have modeled this, even in some very difficult situations and circumstances. I respect them for their courage to love their husbands, even when their husbands have acted pretty unlovable. I am so grateful for the grace of God in their lives.
Your husband is well-known for his passion for global missions: in what ways are you able to support and share in this burden for all people in every nation to hear the gospel?
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that what I do at home enables my husband to do what he does all over the world. We talk about this often and David encourages me constantly in this. He is quick to remind me that we are a team, and that although I might not be with him on many of these trips, the Lord is using both of us for His glory in the roles He has called us to. At home, we constantly pray as a family for missionaries around the world and various people groups. We learn about different cultures and have even had the opportunity to travel overseas with our children on several occasions. Although it is difficult and requires much planning and an army of help, I believe it’s important for me and for my family to see me traveling overseas with David and sharing the gospel with those who have not heard. But just as important, they need to see David and I sharing the gospel right here in our neighborhood as we serve others and teach the word where we live. As the children get older, we look forward to taking family mission trips together and serving in various contexts around the world.
What are you currently studying in your times with the Lord? What is one aspect of God’s character and the gospel you’ve learned about this past year?
Currently, I am studying about “taking every thought captive to Christ.” I am doing a study by Jennifer Rothschild called “Me, Myself and Lies”. I have a tendency to be a worrier. I feel it even heightened now that I am pregnant with our 4th child! So many “what ifs” surround each day. The Lord is teaching me to think on things that are excellent and praiseworthy, not all the endless possibilities of “what ifs.” I am so thankful for a gracious God who meets me where I am and takes me into a deeper love relationship with Him. HE is my everything…
Heather, your passion for Christ shines through in everything you’ve shared with us. Thank you for giving us a glimpse into your life and walk with the Lord. And congratulations on your pregnancy! May God continue to richly bless your growing family and your ministry to others. We look forward to meeting you in person some day soon!
5:21 p.m. Where there’s a will…
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2012 at 9:08 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Interviews
Today we are excited to continue our conversation with Heather Platt about how God used Hurricane Katrina to bring the Platts to Brook Hills, and about adoption, being a mom, and helping her husband. (If you are just joining us, read Heather’s girl~to~girltalk profile and part one of our three-part interview.)
After the devastation of Katrina, how did God lead you and David to The Church at Brook Hills?
We were not able to return to New Orleans till about 2 months later and found very few things salvageable. I wasn’t able to get anything out of my school classroom. I of course lost my job, David began teaching seminary classes online, and he continued to travel and speak at various churches and events. The first few months we spent trying to figure out what in the world to do with ourselves. Ironically, we had been trying for years to have kids and during this time of complete uncertainty began the adoption process! It was amazing how the Lord opened our hearts to adoption during such an interesting time. I figured, no home, no job, hey, let’s adopt! Seriously, the Lord had been changing my heart to see that He was calling us to this blessing of adoption and that this was how he was going to expand our family. We started the adoption process to Kazakhstan, lived in a condo that my brother in law owned, a church donated two rooms of furniture, and we completed our homestudy! The Lord was so gracious to provide in every way.
Around the beginning of January, David was asked to speak at Brook Hills. It was only for “one time” while the church was without a pastor. After he spoke the first time, they kept inviting him back until finally one day the pastor search team contacted him and asked if we would meet with them. We were pretty set on going back to New Orleans, so David assured me that this was no big deal. At the end of the meeting, they looked at us and said, “We think you are going to be our next pastor.” I cried! Not tears of joy, but tears of sadness and fear. We wrestled with the decision for many weeks, our hearts torn, wanting to go back to New Orleans but wondering if this was a new direction the Lord was leading us. As always, the Lord was so gracious to make us ready for a new adventure! We moved to Birmingham in June of 2006 and have been at Brook Hills for 6 years. The Lord has done far more than we could ask or imagine. It’s not been easy, but wonderfully worth it.
You and David now have two sons, and just recently adopted your little girl from China (Congratulations!), but you faced setbacks and delays along the way. What is one lesson God taught you through that process and how would you encourage other couples currently pursuing adoption?
Adoption is not for the faint-hearted. There are always many ups and downs and twists and turns in the process. We started an adoption to Nepal about 4 years ago that never came to fruition due to the country closing to international adoptions. Along the way, the Lord changed our direction to China where we went this last fall and adopted a 16 month old girl. She is thriving beautifully in a family and is loved dearly by her older brothers. Adoption has taught me many things about the heart of God. In His strength, adoption is not easy, but it’s worth it.
What is one of the greatest challenges being a mother of young children and having a husband who pastors a large church?
Brook Hills has been an amazing encouragement to David and me from the beginning. They have allowed me as a mom and wife to fulfill my roles at home with little pressure to “be at everything” or “do everything” that is on the church calendar. I am grateful for that. Any family in ministry knows the tension that is there between your husband’s demands at work and the need to be available for family. We are constantly working on that balance and asking the Lord for wisdom and grace. Our family is young right now and has many needs. Brook Hills has been incredibly gracious to allow us to embrace these crazy “younger” years, and they are cheering us on along the way!
What is one piece of advice would you give to other pastors’ wives on loving and helping their husband?
Be available. He needs your love, your words of affirmation, and most of all your unconditional support. Be there when he needs to talk, when he needs some TLC and even when he needs to simply veg out and do nothing! He wants to know that you will follow his lead, no matter what. Not easy as a wife, but absolutely essential. We are in a fight for our marriages and husbands, and our husbands are worth fighting for! God’s name and glory are worth it!
3:48 p.m. 6-Year-Old Car Detailing
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2012 at 8:47 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Interviews
Today we welcome back Heather Platt for part one of a three-part interview.
Can you tell us a little about your parents, your siblings, your growing up years?
I have 2 sisters, one older, one younger. We are very close to each other, although we are spread out in age. There is 17 years between my oldest and youngest sister. I had two incredibly loving and supportive parents as I grew up. My dad is a believer and my mom just recently became a believer before she passed away this past August. The Lord was so gracious to save her before she died. Her faith in Christ challenged and inspired me.
We would love to hear your conversion story—when and how did God reveal Jesus Christ to you?
At the beginning of my senior year of high school, my best friend invited me to go to youth camp with her church group. The first night of camp, the Lord began to do a work in my heart that would transform me from the inside out. I realized that I was deep in my sin and I couldn’t change on my own, I needed a Savior to cleanse me from my unrighteousness and fill the empty places in my heart. I confessed my complete surrender to Jesus and asked Him to take control of my life. The Lord began his transforming work in my heart that night that continues day by day.
When and how did you meet David? Can you briefly relate the story of your relationship from the time you met until you were married? Are there any funny or memorable moments you’d be willing to tell us about?
I met David at that same youth camp where the Lord saved me. I thought David was really cute and I was trying to get his attention so he would notice me. I was throwing the football with a friend, trying to get him to look my way, while he was on the stairs behind me memorizing the book of 2 Timothy! Typical! I got him though! We dated through some of high school and all of college and got married the day he graduated from the University of Georgia in 1999.
You and your husband lived in New Orleans until Hurricane Katrina. Can you briefly describe your life and ministry there?
After we were married, we lived with David’s parents for 8 months to save money before we headed off to seminary in New Orleans, LA. I was hesitant at first about living in New Orleans. It seemed like such a crazy place, but the Lord changed my heart and made me ready for our new adventure. We LOVED living on campus at the seminary, making life long friends, and ministering in the city. It became an important part of our spiritual journey and marriage. David was mentored by an amazing professor, Dr Jim Shaddix, and I was mentored by Jim’s wife, Debra. The Lord used this family to teach us much about ministry, parenting, and marriage. They are still some of our closest friends. I taught school the whole time we were in New Orleans and truly enjoyed the path the Lord had set us on. David finished his masters then went on to complete his PhD and finally came on faculty at New Orleans Seminary. It was a sweet time in life and ministry.
What are your memories of living through Hurricane Katrina and how did God use the events following Katrina to lead you and your husband to The Church at Brook Hills?
I taught public school Pre-K while I lived in New Orleans. It was the Friday before my kids were supposed to arrive for their first day of school on Monday and my principal made an announcement over the intercom to put all our furniture in the middle of the room. She said there was going to be a storm over the weekend and some of the rooms flooded if it rained really hard. As a teacher, I had spent countless hours preparing for my new students and making my classroom look perfect! I grumbled as I moved all the furniture around saying to myself, “Who cares about a silly storm?” I got home that night and Dave and I watched the weather, questioning if we should evacuate or not. We decided to wait until the morning and make a decision then. By the time morning came, it was clear that evacuation was necessary, but we had already evacuated several times that season for possible hurricanes; this was no big deal. I threw in 3 days worth of clothes, my bag of jewelry, my wedding album, and my school bag to finish up some last minute work. We left Saturday morning, spent the night at a hotel in Lafayette and headed to a conference center in central Louisiana where David was scheduled to preach later that week. I’ll never forget, Katrina hit and all had seemed to go better than predicted. We were serving at a shelter that Monday night and David and a couple of guys were asked to hook up a video feed to the news so everyone could see what was going on. The TV turned on, and the Levees had just broken. We saw immense flooding throughout the New Orleans Metro area. The camera flashed scenes from all over the city, including the gas station a half mile up the road from where we lived. The water was up about 8-10 feet high in our area. We knew at that point that we had lost everything. It was a devastating and humbling time. We were grateful we had evacuated and had a place to go, but we watched in horror as people were stranded for days and weeks, waiting for someone to rescue them. We headed to David’s mom’s house in Atlanta and moved in with the Platt family once again!
(Tomorrow: part two of how God used Hurricane Katrina to bring Heather and David to Brook Hills.)
10:56 a.m.
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2012 at 8:16 am | by Carolyn Mahaney
Filed under
Interviews
It’s been a few years, but we’re excited to bring back our girl~to~girltalk interview series. In the past, we’ve been privileged to give you a glimpse into the lives of women such as Noël Piper, Mary Mohler, and Nancy Leigh DeMoss. We have several interviews planned for the next few months and today we are very pleased to welcome Heather Platt to girltalk. Heather is the wife of David Platt, Senior Pastor of The Church at Brook Hills and author of the book Radical. Heather serves David as he leads the church and travels internationally. She is the busy mom of three young children. We have not yet had the privilege to meet Heather personally, but have been so blessed by her godly character that shines through in this interview. We are sure you will be blessed as well. We asked Heather to answer a few brief questions to help us get to know her. More of the interview will follow in the days ahead.
Heather Platt
You probably know me as: David Platt’s wife
I’ve been married for: 13 years this December
My children are: Caleb - 6, Joshua - 4, Mara Ruth - 22 months, and one on the way, Lord willing, in November
I was born/grew up in: Atlanta, GA
After the Bible, the best Christian book I’ve ever read: That’s a tough one because I love to read. I have loved many books, but Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp and Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers are two of my favorites. I also love reading Christian biographies.
Currently I am reading: The Well-Trained Mind (it’s a homeschooling book so I can learn what in the world I am suppose to teach my kids for 1st grade!)
The movie I’ve watched more times than any other: It’s a Wonderful Life
The music you’re most likely to find me listening to: praise and worship
My favorite food: seafood
My favorite morning beverage: coffee
The household chore I most enjoy: cleaning and de-cluttering to make things more organized
If I have free time, you’ll most likely find me: reading or exercising
My favorite place in the world: the beach!
The Bible verse I return to most often: Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
8:00 p.m.
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4:20 p.m. This can’t be good.
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