I am ashamed.

I love my kids. I seem to talk about them on here a lot but since it is my blog I guess that is ok. I have to tell you that something has happened in the past few months that has made me ashamed.

In the spring two of the boys wanted to play soccer and so we signed them up. I have a love/hate relationship with our local parks and rec program so we did this with mixed feelings. We requested a certain coach and we didn't end up on his team. I wasn't thrilled with the situation. We liked our new coach but we *I* was tired of having a new coach and new team every single season. So we played the season we some mixed emotions and the one great thing about it was we met some new people and the kids made some great friends.

In particular there was one little girl on the team that one of our boys liked. He is a pretty outgoing kid so this doesn't really surprise me. But I am still a mom and he is still my baby and well he isn't really old enough to like,like a girl...I am told that denial is a great place to live.

So this sweet girl and my not so little boy would talk. Being our child I guess it should not surprise me that one of the things he would talk about was our church. Remember the invite card post? At the end of the season we moms were talking and she said "We are coming to your church tomorrow. Girly wants to see what it is like to go to church in a movie theater. G says it is neat."

This sweet family starts coming to church and one Sunday Tim talked about salvation and baptism. Mom talks to Tim and shares that little girl is ready to be baptized. Today we "borrowed" a pool and stood around with family and friends and watched as this sweet child demonstrated her love of Jesus.

Once again I cried. I have cried at my two oldest boy's baptism. I have cried at every child's baptism since we started this church. I don't know if I am getting older and more emotional. I don't know if I am finally realizing what a sweet aroma this step is to our Lord. I do know that today as the tears came they weren't simply tears of joy. The tears today were an offering to Jesus. They came because I was ashamed that my child did something that I didn't do myself. They invited this family to church and encouraged them to come.

You see the boys didn't just mention church one time. The mentioned it weekly. I will talk to people about church but if they don't show an interest, I move on to more comfortable topics. I will invite strangers to church but those acquaintances not so much. What if they don't like it? What if they don't like me? What if? I realized today that Satan had been using my pride to keep me from doing what I should be doing.

A while back I was chatting with CPQ and she said "I, too, am truly convinced that God gives you what you need in your kids to show you what you are truly made of..." I am finding this to be so true. Jesus is using my boys to show me that when we truly love Him we can't stop sharing about him. It just overflows out of our lives.

Invite Cards

We have these little invite cards at our church. We provide them for people to share with their neighbors or to leave in restaurants with a tip. They are business card size and have our church info on them. I always try to have a few in my purse and we leave them any time we eat out of if we are chatting with someone and they ask about the church. They are very handy (pun intended) to have.

The problem is that I keep running out of them. I will go to leave a tip and find that I am out.  Tim will ask for one and I don't have any more. The main issue is that I am not the one that is handing them out. Nope, not me. Actually, it isn't Tim either. Don't get me wrong, we do use them.  Embarrassingly enough the reason I can't keep them in my purse is because our not quite 12 year old son is always saying, "Mom, there is a someone  that is looking for a church and I told them about ours. Do you have a card?"

God has all authority.

When we were in Arkansas for the Global Impact Conference one of the speakers was Walker Moore with Awe Star Ministries.

Here is the podcast of his message and it was exactly what I needed to hear. God Has All Authority.

When we got to Jonesboro we realized that we had a problem with the power cord on our laptop. I called Dell tech support and they said they would send us a new power cord, too Texas in about a week. That really didn't help us while we were at the conference. We were planning to run powerpoint from our computer for our display. We had been talking about getting a second laptop for the church and decided that this would be a good time to do. Tim went to BestBuy and bought us another laptop and we were able to use the power supply with both computers. While in BestBuy Tim talked with the manager and found out his brother lived in our area of Texas. Isn't that interesting.

When we got back to Texas we had a new family at church that had several children. Last night they came to our Open Door with the pastor event at the house. Super neat family, they homeschool, have great kids (seven of them) and they are from Arkansas. His brother is the manager of BestBuy in Jonesboro, Ar.

Isn't it neat that God has all authority over even computer equipment.

Want to read another episode of Jesus sightings? Check out CPQ's blog post jesus-loves-me and while you are there hang out a little while and browse her other posts, she has some great ones.

We have a bouncing baby CHURCH!

Yesterday we grand opened Church @ Skyline Valley. I will be posting photos in a few days, when I get some from the missions team that was here. (I will admit I was going crazy and did not even remember to get my camera out.)

We have an unofficial count of 125 in attendance. We had a missions team from Central Baptist Church and In His Steps Church in Arkansas helping this weekend. They passed out flyers on Saturday and then helped us host a block party. Sunday morning they were on the front lines, helping with set up/tear down, greeting, and working with the children. We could not have pulled this off with out this mission team. They were such a blessing. We had 23 in our children's programs yesterday so I have a feeling we are going to be busting at the seams soon next week.

I am amazed that over three years ago we were in Copperas Cove meeting with a group of pastors that had a heart to start a church here. I don't understand God's plan. I am humbled that God allows me to be a part of that plan. I can't wait to see what happens in the days ahead.

A Barnabas Experience - A Wife's Perspective

Ministry can be a lonely experience. There are days, weeks and even months that can fly by when you feel like no one understands (or dare I even say, cares) what you are living through.

This weekend Ron and Teddi Sylvia, Church @ the Springs and their staff proved that we don’t stand alone during this journey. In June, Tim received an email invite to a Barnabas Experience Weekend. We discussed it and decided pretty quickly that this was something we wanted to be involved in.

We arrived in Ocala, Florida on Friday night and were met by our host family and unpacked for the beginning of this weekend. On the trip down we discussed what we thought would happen during this weekend experience. Even though I am a natural extrovert, I told Tim that I didn’t want to have to share/discuss much this weekend. This past year has been difficult and there are lots of emotions that ride close to the surface and sharing those emotions, fears and doubts are hard.

We met together Friday night at Ron and Teddi’s house with twelve couples and staff from Church @ the Springs. We ate and visited with other couples and began to unpack what this weekend would look like and what we would experience.

Saturday morning we got up and met together. Ron started that day by sharing his vision and purpose behind hosting this event. It became clear that he has poured his heart into this event. He shared that there were over 160 applicants for this weekend experience from around the world. As we sat around the table with 11 other couples, my first thought was “Why us?” My second thought was how honored we were to be invited to this weekend. As we went around the table and shared it was apparent that while our stories were all different, the one thing that each couple brought to this weekend was the need for encouragement. We were all in different aspects of ministry. Our churches were at different growth levels. We had been in ministry for different lengths of time and we represented different age demographics. Everyone sitting at the table had faced some type of struggle; personal, ministerial, or spiritual (and some of us had faced all three).

We sat that morning and began to see Ron’s heart and we began to share our hearts. There were hearts that were broken and bruised and tears began to flow as God began to minister in our lives. As our stories came out it was apparent that we had shared stories in many ways. We had all struggled with issues that whether they were related to our ministries or not affected our ministries. As you looked around and the room it was filled with broken people who had a heart for God and the work that He is doing.

As we continued through the weekend it wasn’t about what we were learning (although we did learn a lot), it was about realizing that we don’t stand alone in our lives or our ministry. There are people who care about what we are doing and maybe most importantly “how” we are doing. I heard people speak into our life in a way that will continue to positively impact our ministry for years to come. I walked away knowing that God is moving and that we are privileged to be apart of that movement.

If you want to see a small part of what we got to experience this weekend check out www.thesprings.org, if you are a church planter and on twitter follow Ron Sylvia, if you are given the opportunity to attend a Barnabas Experience, book your flight, get a baby sitter, make all the necessary arrangements because it will change you. I know that we will never be the same. We will never again be alone on this journey.

Preview Service Week

We have our first service for the Church @ Skyline Valley on Sunday, so this week has been spent getting ready for it. In a church plant the week before your first service is stressful. You have the ordinary stress of trying to prepare for a worship service and then you have added stress if you are in a portable situation. There is also the emotional stress of wondering if anyone will show up. Of course things have not gone exactly as smoothly as we would have hoped.

Last weekend as I walked through the hall I stepped on wet soggy carpet. I then proceeded to fuss about someone spilling water on the carpet as I cleaned it up. About an hour later I stepped in water again. Because I have a college education I determined that maybe the water was coming from somewhere other than the children. It was very close to our air conditioning unit so I checked and the air conditioner was leaking. The rental company had someone come out Monday and it was a maintenance issue, of course they have to get owner approval before they fix it.

Monday the guy that is going to lead the worship calls and he has had something come up so he can't come on Sunday. OK! Fortunately, we have some great sponsor churches. One of them is a church in Jarrell, TX where Tim's church planting coach is the pastor. Within a few hours we had a new worship leader and a band set up for Sunday.

At the beginning of the week we started having some issues with our van, specifically the traction control/stability system. This would be the same traction control/stability system that we replaced in February. We called the dealer that did the work and they had no real advice since we weren't local for them to look at the problem.

We knew that we needed new tires on the van and made plans to purchase two new tires. Wednesday Tim ran over a screw. Fortunately, the tires were in and we were able to replace them/fix the flat all at one time.

J has impetigo which is very a)contagious and b)hard to get rid of. So this week I have been washing more laundry than usual with extra towels and sheets/bedding.

W has had a little tummy bug which has brought on very nasty diaper changes which also led to more laundry.

Can you guess what happened on Thursday? If you guessed that my washer of 10 years (which I adored) stopped working you would be correct. Of course it stopped working mid-load of clothes without draining the water out of the clothes. Tim and I spent quite a bit of time dipping water out of the washer, then ringing out a load of wet/nasty towels. I researched on the Internet possible problems. We checked all the lines and the pump/filter. Nothing was clogged and the lid latch works so that means the pump died. The good news is that we have a Sam's Club membership. They have a nice washer within my new washer budget (that we just created) and they deliver. The bad news is they will not deliver it until next Thursday. Do you want to guess how much laundry I will have to do in one week?

Moving on to me personally, Tuesday I wasn't feeling very well. I went to a scrapbook workshop which I enjoyed but just felt off. I came home and realized that I was really, really sick. You see I don't EVER run a fever. I suffered through every childhood illness with no fever. I can't tell you the number of times I have heard a doctor say to me or my mom, "Well she doesn't have a fever." Tuesday I started running a fever and then I got chills. I took some medicine and went to bed at 9:00. I really wondered how Tim would take me to the doctor/hospital if I didn't better. What would we do with the children? By the next morning I felt somewhat better. I began using some natural remedies and they kicked in and by Thursday I was doing much better.

Friday rolls around and we plan to go to the mall with the little boys while the big boys finish up VBS. We stopped to get the keys to the Civic Center where we will be having church on Sunday. We ran a couple of errands and went to the mall. We picked the boys up from VBS and Tim finished up the last of his pre service Friday tasks. I worked on cleaning up the house. Tim came home from baseball practice and we did a few things around the house, then he took the boys outside and set the sprinkler up so they could jump on the trampoline and get sprayed. We put the boys to bed and begin to wind down when Tim says "I can't find my keys." No real big deal we still have mine so I wasn't worried. He continues to look for them when I realize he put the keys to the Civic Center on his key chain. We HAVE to find those keys. We look every where (there is now no change or pens or chapstick down in my couch). We look in every box and bag and under every piece of furniture. All the time I am praying "God you know we have to find these keys. PLEASE help us." We look out in the car. We checked the attic (Tim had moved some boxes up there for me). We checked in the garage. Finally Tim goes back outside and he retraces his steps of moving the sprinkler to the back yard and he finds his keys...in the grass.

So today is Saturday and I am posting this before anything else happens. Now don't you all want to go out and plant a church? If not then the next time you meet a church planter be sure to hug them hard and tell them you will pray for them (and do it).

It's a God thing

When we lived in south Florida, we used this expression at church a lot. It really is about looking at the circumstances in your life and realizing that they probably aren't really chance but God at work in even the smallest details.

It's been a while since I have thought or used the phrase but yesterday something happened that I truly believe was a "God thing".

I went shopping by myself yesterday (that's not it). This happens every couple of weeks or so. I didn't really need much yesterday but Tim knew he would be gone all day today and so he encouraged me to go by myself and I did. My plan was to go Dillards and then possibly stop by Walmart and Target. I missed my exit for Dillards and ended up at Walmart first. I actually managed to spend quite a bit of time wondering around until I finally figured it was time to leave with my purchase of milk and coke. As I left I missed my turn and had to drive a bit to be able to head back home. On the way I saw an educational store. I've noticed it in the past but always when I was with Tim and the boys. I was on the phone with Tim and told him I was going to run in and explore.

So here I am in this store when in walks a lady with her daughter. She seems slightly frazzled and I overheard her (yes I eavesdrop) mention homeschooling to one of the clerks. Well now I am curious and so I wonder closer and decide to be bold and go up the counter and wait for an opportunity to speak with her. Turns out she is homeschooling her high school son because of problems with the local school where we live. I start chatting with her and giving her some ideas for resources. We continue to chat and wouldn't you know it she lives in the town we do. (We were actually in a community about 20 minutes away.) She is military (which wasn't a surprise). At the end we were talking and I asked if she lived in a certain community and come to find out she does. This community is one of our top three target areas.

We continue to chat and I drop the big bomb. I mention that we moved here to start a church. This is the point where you can really tell a lot about people. If they are interested or turned off it is at this moment that you can totally read them. Well she wasn't turned off at all, she was very interested. She is struggling with her son and doesn't know where to turn. I was able to give her my phone number and email address and encouraged her to contact me.

So I got out to the car and called Tim to tell him about this "God thing" because it is neat to see all the things that happened yesterday to put me in this store at this moment to be able to share with this person and to make a connection with someone in our target area.

A Lazy Sunday

Well I am playing around with my blog, trying out new colors and styles. I am a change my purse every day or so gal so I have a feeling that if I am going to be blogging on a regular basis I may be a change my layout every week or so. We will see.

Today was a good day. Since we have been in ministry oh say all our lives, we rarely have a lazy Sunday. Usually it is the busiest day of the week for us. That is hard for one of our boys. He is not a move very fast, get up very early kind of guy. So literally Sundays can be a battle field with me being the drill Sargent and that doesn't promote the idea of peace and harmony in our home.

But today was glorious I tell you. First of all since we aren't having services yet, we are currently church hopping. You know the best thing about church hopping is that some churches actually have an early service AND a late service. Let me tell you that not having to be at church before 11:00 am is complete bliss for me.

This morning all the boys got up on their own. I didn't have to wake one of them up with gentle back rubs accompanied by let's get dressed and I have juice ready for you ONCE you get to the car. Yes that is the way some of our Sunday mornings go.

They got up and had a leisurely breakfast. Since we have been in Texas I have been trying to make Sunday morning a little more special with a hot breakfast. This morning they had cereal and yogurt and hard boiled eggs. So it was our "usual" but it was still good.

Then I actually let them watch TV. Usually TV and any other electronic devices (think handheld games) are a no no on Sunday morning because they are just an invitation for a fight of some type. This morning we had plenty of time and so the boys got to watch TV (still no games).

Then about 10 am we got up and actually left for church at 10:30. We arrived (just in time) to put the boys in their class and slip into the back of the service during the first song.

We were actually visiting a church to hear their worship leader. I don't know if he will work for our context or not. The service was good. I left thoughtfully considering what the pastor said and trying to determine my view. I also left with a renewed sense of purpose. We know we have been called here (to this area of Texas) specifically for the purpose of starting a church different from the norm.

The church we visited in this morning was fine, nothing wrong with their service or theology but they were geared toward those with some understanding of church and religion. Our target is those who aren't wired that way. So once again I feel confirmed that God placed us here for a reason.

On another note, we had our first community event yesterday. We hosted a neighborhood Easter Egg hunt and we had 33 people show up. We met lots of great people and hopefully had the first of many great events to introduce us and our church to the community.

We also connected with a couple who just moved here from Alabama. The same area we lived in. Plus the husband is originally from a town 20 minutes from where I grew up. How cool is that. Oh and the best part they looking for a church home and seem interested in our plant. WOW! We are hoping to connect with them again this week and then set up dinner in two weeks. The husband will be deploying but the wife and her sister are here with the kids. So this is a great family that we can minister to and they may be a part of our launch team. I think it is so cool how God works.

Need to update

I haven't been very good at blogging. Things were crazy in the fall with our plan for a move to Arizona and then we ended up in Texas. So many things have happened that it is hard to catch up.

we planned to move to Arizona to plant a church, as we were making those plans there were some things that happened with the sponsor church that made us reconsider the move. They weren't bad necessarily but it just seemed that they were not at the place of being prepared to sponsor a new church. After much prayer we began to consider other options. Our church in Alabama was very supportive of us. We really felt like it was time for us to move but we weren't sure what direction to take.

As we continued to pray and seek God's plan, we talked about Texas again. We first interviewed with Texas in 2006 (before Will was born). We continued to pray and on a weekend we decided that we wouldn't actively pursue Texas (in other words Tim wouldn't call them) but if they contacted us we would be open to it. On Monday we got a call from Texas. The church planting director told us that they still needed a church planter in Copperas Cove (where we had interviewed). We started the process of talking with this group again and planned for a visit. Things progressed and it became clear that this was the place God was directing us.

We stayed in Alabama through Christmas which was nice for us and moved to Texas in February. We have been in Texas for over a month and we are settling in. We have the boxes unpacked and are trying to find our way around and meet our neighbors.

Life is a Journey

We are moving. Posting this is bittersweet. I started this blog after we moved to Alabama and in some ways it tells the story of our journey here. Now the journey is changing. Tim and I are called to missions. Several times in our ministry we have explored the opportunity to go into international missions, but we have always felt compelled to plant churches in America.

Now we have the opportunity and the privilege to plant another church. We will be moving in October to Phoenix, AZ to plant a church with the Evangelical Free Church. We love Arizona and have long wanted to move there. We are looking forward to this opportunity in so many ways.

Yet this time is truly bittersweet. We love our church in Alabama. They are so much like family to us. This has been a wonderful place for us to spend three years. There are many tears over this but what a wonderful blessing for us. Our church has given us their full support and blessing to move forward with this and they truly show us a picture of God's grace and blessing.

We will be moving to the area of Buckeye, Arizona which is a suburb of Phoenix. It is one of the fastest growing suburbs in America. We will be working with the EFCA West and with Compass Church to launch this new church next year. This year we are working on fund raising, getting prepared to move and the actual move. We will also be working on church logistics like setting up a website. Once we are in AZ we will be making contacts and developing a launch team.

Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts in the next couple of months. Things are hectic and we are hoping to make this a smooth transition for our family.

Here are some photos to show you how much things have changed since we moved here.

This is Josh at a Auburn game in 2005.



This is Josh at Callaway Gardens in July of this year.