Rocked To My Core
This weekend at Cross Point I had the opportunity to experience one of the most amazing worship experiences of my life. I will forever be changed by the story of Todd and Angie Smith and their baby girl, Audrey. Audrey’s life may have only lasted two and half hours outside the womb, but her impact will be felt for eternity. At the end of the video Todd, who sings with Selah, performed “I Surrender All” which will be on their next album to be released later this year.
I know it’s long, but take the time to watch it. Here is your warning. This video will cause you to live differently. You WILL hug your kids differently. You WILL love your spouse differently. You WILL trust God differently. To read more about their story visit Angie’s blog HERE.
Smith Family Story from Cross Point Church on Vimeo.
Pete
I am a single man and this has changed me forever. This little girl has made an impact on me. Thank you for sharing!
I stumbled upon Audrey’s blog one day last week, kind of randomly, and was so moved by Angie’s strength that I read it from beginning to end in a day (with a ton of Kleenex, mind you). This family is amazing and their story and Audrey’s will be one that I will never forget. Absolutely amazing service.
Wow…
Great story!
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Todd and Angie.
Thanks Matt and Pete.
Thank you God!
Wow. I have two daughters and I appreciate them so much. We need to be reminded how precious each life is and make the most of the time we have.
Brad Ruggles
http://www.bradruggles.com
I believe the SILENCE after Todd’s singing (the 11:00 service) says it all. “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Pete, thank you so much for sharing this. Jenni also shared it and again, I can’t thank you enough. Mark & I recently had a miscarriage – it was our first pregnancy. This video & message so healing for us. wow…life changing.
First off, Todd and Angie you are incredible. To be able to tell your story this quick is a testament to how you are letting God use you to reach others for His kingdom.
Second, Pete, Matt and the staff, you are incredible too. It’s hard to capture that story in a way that is honoring but tells the whole story. But you did it. Thanks for using your gifts to help tell people’s story in a way that reaches other to grow closer to God.
I have followed Todd & Angie’s story for the last couple of months. My husband and I have lost 3 children and my heart hurts so for what Todd & Angie & the girls are going through. But I’m so thankful and so grateful to see them allowing Audrey’s life (no matter how short it was) to mean something. What a mighty God we serve!
I started replying to this at least 10 times and had to stop. It meant so much, it brought back so many memories. I’ve shared some of them with Pete before. We’ve held one of those small infants and said goodbye for a little while. But God used that time to weave a tapestry of His grace and love.
Todd and Angie, thank you for your courage. Only time and eternity will reveal what it meant to so many. I don’t completely understand it but God uses broken things. In their restoration, He is glorified.
Amazing and beautiful and sad and redemptive and heartbreaking and lovely and peaceful and hopeful and tragic.
Next time I listen to the Album Leaf or Sigur Ros, I will think of this…
Pete
Thanks for this. I told my girls this morning that they were princesses and that I was the King–I’m going to go home and cherish them even more.
Todd and Angie have done a wonderful job of being Audrey’s voice. We’re blessed they shared their story in such a beautiful way.
They’ve got a great story. Thanks for letting us know!
An incredible story of a real God working in real life.
Thank you Todd & Angie for your courage to open up and telling your story. And to you Pete for sharing it with us.
My wife and I attended the 6 pm service yesterday. On the way home we discussed how powerful the video was and that it was impressive that you let the video speak for itself instead of adding a sermon or commentary.
We also noticed that you didn’t reveal Pastor Tom’s relationship to Todd and Angie during the video. You let them speak about their relationship and struggles with God themselves.
It’s still fresh in my memory holding my daughter Hannah just after she was born and having her work one arm free of the swaddle and then wrap one of her hands around my finger. This will always be one of my greatest memories of my daughter. Since last night, I‘ve started to view this memory in a little differently than before.
Very cool and inspirational service! Thanks.
wow.
This why we share stories. God changes people through the stories of changed people. I hope I would react this way. Wow.
Angie and I connected when they first thought Audrey would have Down syndrome (as i have a Ds angel). Last night was the first time I’ve met Angie face to face. What I witnessed took my breath away. She wanted to see the kids world facilities….so I took her. She made a big beautiful deal about the little babies, with such grace and love…even after just losing one of her own. I was literally speechless and moved again by her heart…and I’ve been following her blog from day 1. She is an amazing woman. They are a beautiful family with a mission to reach the lost. Thanks for sharing their story…and thanks to them.
Pete, thank you for giving us the opportunity to see this amazing couple in real life. I have read Angie’s blog and prayed for the family, but to see them stand up there and be so brave was very moving. She is quite an inspiration not only because she has so much trust in God, but also because she is so real. Although she is so incredibly strong to me and to others who have been traveling this journey with her, she also lets us know she is human. There were days that she couldn’t get out of bed, and she questioned why this was happening to her, but through all of it she makes sure we know that the God of the universe is in control and she trust him in all circumstances. Thanks again for sharing.
their story is amazing and so full of impact in the way they handled it, and they are speaking so well for audrey. i won’t lie, though, that video made sunday morning pretty rough. but our row found a smidgen of comic relief in the fact that there were little packets of kleenex in the pew pockets.
thanks for sharing the story with us!!!!
Wow! What an awesome video, and an even more awesome couple! I can honestly say that my definition of Trusting God has completely changed after watching that video. Thanks for sharing it!
What a testimony of a short-lived life. We will never know the impact that Audrey Caroline’s life has had on so many this side of Heaven. I am amazed at the strength the Lord has given Todd and Angie to get through such a hard time. Thank you for all your work in getting this video done. I have put a link to it from my blog, also. It was good to actually get to “hear” their voices instead of just reading them through their blog. Thank you.
Wait, I cannot fathom it being so srtaihtgforwrad.
CZksGH pcfitxqfmizi
hAQBxB dgfpjleeyxus
What a powerful video – incredibly moving.
wow what a message, thank you
Pete, thank you for running this piece on Sunday. By far, it was the most powerful service I have been to.
I am one of the blessed who have known Todd and Angie for a few years and when I first found out what was going on with her pregnancy I just knew deep down that this family would do something amazing with this event. And man have they. I truly believe that this is just the beginning of what we are to see from the Smith Family and a lifelong tribute to a child who changed all of us.
Thank you so much for sharing the Smith family story and faith so beautifully. I found your site via Tina Vega’s blog and I have been following Angie’s blog for weeks now. Thank you for the reminder about what faith is and is not…it’s never God’s plan B.
When peace like a river….Todd
It is well with my soul….Angie
Thank you
I feel so incredible blessed to have come across this video tonight. I can’t forget the words that were spoke during this video. At a time in my life where i’ve let the trials take over and my faith run out – I needed to hear this. Whether it is loosing a child at birth or older or in the manner that we did….this video speaks volumes of the faith that the Smith’s have. I hope and pray that as I begin this next journey in my life and the ‘unknown’..I will be able to have the faith that I need in myself…my heavenly father. That “my plan b” will play out and just be ‘plan a’.
In him…Thank You!!
Wow! As the father of eight with a wonderful wife who has had no difficulties in pregnancies, this moved me. I am in awe of the grace of God exhibited through Todd & Angie and their beautiful family’s story.
Dang man what an amazing story of faith and finding joy through such a trial. Nice work on the edit too, just an all around great experience! Now I’ve got to go get some kleenex…
I am just so moved by the story of Angie, Todd, and Audrey, I was visiting in Nashville on the 13th and saw in the bulletin that Plan B would be on the 28th–I thought then I would just love to be there for it, as I always love Pete’s sermons. I am not sure how I could have handled being there in person and listening to Todd sing, it just is overwhelming just reading about it. I am going to share this story with our Bible Study Group tomorrow. This story just needs to be spread, as it is so beautiful and so real. God bless them.
Lura Hewett (John’s mom) Sneads Ferry, NC
thanks for making that… how can i not absolutely cherish my family when i see them today..
thank you.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for putting this video together. I followed Angie’s blog and to hear she and Todd tell the story just added to the impact it has had on my life. It’s amazing to see how and what God uses through someone else’s life to teach us something in our own. Thank you.
Amazing!!!!I came across Angie’s Blog 2 weeks ago and have share it and this video with many friends. It’s amazing how many lives Audrey has touched and changed in such a short time. I’d love to attend a service at your church, but living in Mn makes that a little bit difficult. God Bless~Cyndi
This is glorious. Painful ,but glorious. Audrey was beautiful. Her life mattered. And it’s true she will continue to make a difference for others. To God be the glory forever.
As someone who is 18 years after my abortion just now going through a post-abortion Bible study and naming my baby, I am overwhelmed by timing and the personal impact of this video. I am grieving my loss. Until now, I’ve never allowed myself to acknowledge the baby as a “named life.” God is healing and restoring my broken heart. Knowing I missed out on the beauty of the first smile and breath hurts. The choices I made have consequences.
I so value life today. I want to speak on behalf of those without voices. I can’t change my past, but I can change the future and say all lives in the womb matter. They are God’s creation and they give him glory.
Thank you for sharing your heartbreaking and yet faith building story. May God continue to heal your hearts and may Audrey’s life always be remembered.
This was absolutely amazing! I have two children that, God knows, can sometimes drive me crazy! I’ve always said you chould cherish your children because they are gifts from God. But, this video has definitely given me a new perspective on things. It doesn’t mean I won’t still have those moments where I want to pull my hair out (and I’m sure any Mom can relate). However, I can look up and smile to God knowing He chose ME to mother my children while they are here and for that I am so greatful! God Bless the Smith Family for sharing their story because it truly is glorifying God to the fullest!!
This was incredible….thank you for showing the world what Jesus looks like in skin
when I sat down and saw the video was 26 mins, I thought oh I don’t have that much time to watch it– but I could not stop the video- I watched the entire 26 mins.
And it was SO right- I miscarried in 2003, after having a 27 weeker just two years prior (she is not 7 1/2, and has a brother and sister) and everyone asked me how I was not devestated by my miscarriage and they were so much more sad. It was not that I did not cry, I did in the office and in the car, then again when I got home and had to tell my husband. I even cried and begged for pain meds after my procedure.
But I knew there was a reason for our loss. The years following 2003, were so of the hardest emotionally and financially for my family. We lost our house, two cars, and jobs. Every week we were on the edge of begging for money to buy food.
I believe in my heart and my faith, God choice to keep our baby with him because he knew our challenges ahead, and did not want that baby to suffer with us. I believe my son, who was born 3 years later after many doctors told us we would never have another child, was that baby he held back- our daughter came just 15 months later and that was our reward for our faith.
God has his plan, and it may not match your dream, thoughts, or whatever- and it is not until you put your trust and faith in his hands and say I will serve and follow where every you send me, that you will ever understand it.
My faith started with the survival of my first daughter, who had no reason to fight for life but did. And each day my faith was stronger because of my children and being able to see God through there eyes. To experience “blind faith” that way, without any preconcievd notions of “how” life “should” be.
When someone asks my oldest why she wears glasses, she does not say that it was because she is legally blind due to being born too early- she says it because “that is the way God made me!” And I love that about her. When I ask her why she was born so early, she says because she was in a hurry to see me and wanted out- that it was “her time” even though the doctors say she was early, she does not think so.
Have faith, that even in the darkest parts, there is a reason. If there was not, you would not be here!
Topic of your article is very interesting, i have bookmarked your blog
regards
fluflaken