Our ministry future

For over a year now, Shane and I have been praying about our future in ministry. Specifically, we have been praying about the calling that God has laid on both of our hearts to plant a church. And today, God has continued this wonderful journey for us when we were finally able to tell our church family here in Gatesville that we would be planting a church in the Waco/Hewitt area.

Let me go back just a bit to explain a little bit about how this came to be...One day last spring (2006), Shane and I were talking about our future and he said to me, "What would you think about planting a church?" I turned to him with a smile and remember being so giddy about the idea immediately. I shouted, "Yes! Yes! I want to do it!" What's interesting is that I had been praying that God would show us what he wanted us to do about ministry and that he would open our eyes to what he had in store for us. After Shane mentioned this idea, I felt it was an answer to prayer. I had this feeling...it's hard to describe...but this sense of peace and a sense of urgency came over me--as if the Holy Spirit were right there pushing me and prodding me, prodding us, to go and do this thing immediately. For months, I could think of nothing else but the wonderful opportunity to touch the lives of the lost--people who were aching to know Jesus but had this void because they didn't know what they were missing. I wanted to be around people whom I could touch and who could touch me in ways that don't always happen in established churches. Why? Because we are so set in our ways and don't know that we can have so much more through relational community with God and with each other. The idea really appealed to me because my favorite memories of the church are meeting in each other's homes, small group Bible studies, and relationships with other Christians.

Anyway, we began to learn more and more about church planting and soon got in touch with Gailyn Van Rheenan of Mission Alive, a church planting organization still in its infancy. We went to a seminar in October and learned about how the United States should be our mission field and how only 15% of all Americans even go to church although 90% say they belive in God. I also learned about this wonderful notion of "missional"--the idea that instead of a church being based on an "attractional" model--one in which people come to us because of the wonderful programs we have or the children's classes--we instead focus on going to the people and being a part of spiritual formation in everyone you meet. I also heard stories from several church planters and their experiences with reaching the lost, with focusing outward rather than inward. All this was so exciting to me.

Since then, we have been to two of the labs set up by Mission Alive and have learned so much about ourselves, our marriage, our teammates, and the wonderful redeeming love of Jesus Christ. I am so blessed and excited to be a part of this church plant. Though we don't have everything figured out, we have faith that God is leading us in this specific time and place. He is going to do great things, and I can't wait to witness all that He will do. There's a lot more that I could say about this, but for now, I just wanted to share the news with you. I've been wanting to blog about it for a really long time, but only now am I able since we have told our church. Real quick--one of the best parts of this is that our church is actually sending us out to do this. They will be our sponsoring church and will support us, pray for us, and help us somewhat with the finances. We are so blessed and thankful that our church family here will be a part of this. I think it says something about Shane and his influence here (but I'm not biased!!).

In the meanwhile, we covet your prayers over this venture. We are scared, but excited, nervous, but hopeful. Pray that God will continue to bless this church plant and our church planting team and that he will remind us that He is the giver of life, the Redeemer of all mankind, and the ONE in whom we should place our trust. In all things God works for the good of those who love him.

A Happy Heart

It does the heart good to run into old friends and visit with family. Over the weekend, I was able to attend a dear friend's wedding in Dallas. I've known her since she was 3 or 4 years old, and our families go way back. She and my sister Kellee were actually best friends and so it was very special to see her get married. I was so glad we could come. Shane was going to come but ended up staying for a funeral here, so it was just me and Elizabeth. It's always a blessing to see people where your heart's just connect immediately--no longer how long it's been, or how long you have to visit. I'm so thankful for all of you whom I saw last week and with whom I was able to visit, if ever so briefly--friends and family alike (sweet Mallory and entire Mitchen clan, Katy, Julia, Anita, Chesley, Jennifer, Kelly, Brandi, Aunt Cindy, Elizabeth, Mom, Kim, Kellee, my cute niece Brooklyn and nephew Barrett and all our extended cousins, and all the spouses of the people listed previously!). You each were a blessing on my life and I'm so thankful for friends and family. (Sorry I didn't get by to see you Shelly or Lynley--I had good intentions!). We even braved the cold water and got in the pool, much to Elizabeth's delight.

Mom and I ended up staying several days at my aunt and uncle's house in Ft. Worth. We had a great time hanging out. It'd been years since I spent that much time with Cindy and her family, but we had a good time. And Elizabeth is now stocked with bows that my cousin Brandi makes and sells. (Note: For all of you in the Metroplex, her company is called "Haute Socks," so look for them in stores. She also has a booth at the Brownstone, but I didn't get to go there because it was closed on Memorial day!). We left DFW on Tuesday and came back to Gatesville where Mom spent a few days with us.

When I ask Elizabeth, "How are you?," she boldly and loudly proclaims, "Me HAPPY!" And after connecting with so many wonderful people in the last week, so am I.

Odds and ends

It's raining hard here, and Elizabeth is singing the rain song. She really wants the rain to "go away" so she can go outside and play. It seems like it's rained all spring.

I finally had a productive day today with writing/research. Elizabeth went to Ms. Nette's house and had a fantastic time. She's really adapted nicely there, probably because the babysitter is so calm and nice, which our little strong-willed, bossy Elizabeth really needs. Now we're hanging out at home mourning that the television season is virtually over (or at least I'm mourning it). I guess it's all right. I've been reading a lot more lately, which has been REALLY, REALLY nice. I've missed reading the kinds of things I want to read, and so I'm doing a lot of it now. I'm actually looking for some suggestions, if you have any. Specifically, I'm looking for fiction titles--any genre will do (mystery, Christian, romance, etc.). I'd love to hear what you're reading and any suggestions you have.

Cousin Time

Shane, Elizabeth, and I went to Austin for the weekend for Barrett's birthday. Elizabeth and I ended up going down early and staying with Shane's parents. We got to go to the newly-opened Sur La Table near their house, and I ended up breaking something in the store! I was really embarrassed! We also had car trouble and were stranded on the side of the road. Luckily, we had E's stroller in the car and walked about half a mile (on a VERY busy street) and found a pizza place to eat lunch at until Granbarry could come rescue us.

Then we went to Kim and Derek's Friday night to hang out and spend some time with them. I hadn't seen their new house with the stuff in it and really loved looking around it. The kids got to play together, too. Elizabeth and Barrett had a good time playing in the backyard.

We went to dinner at a restaurant that has a huge playground attached to it. Now THAT was a great idea--I'm sure they make a lot of money because of it! And we actually got to eat in peace. Other restaurants should take the cue and do the same thing. More parents would go eat out.

On Saturday, Elizabeth ended up getting sick in the car (my car still stinks!), and we had to pull over on the side of the road and clean her up. We were about 2 minutes from Kim's house and were going to be early for the party. So much for that. And so much for the cute outfit Elizabeth was wearing at the time. Luckily, I had a change of clothes in the car that she was able to wear. Otherwise, she would have been wearing her diaper, or we would have been even later since we would have had to find Target. We ended up being a little late, and poor Shane had to wash clothes for much of the time during the party. He didn't complain, though. And thanks to Kim for being a good sport about letting us use the machine during the party!

Elizabeth got to feeling better (she never slowed down!), and we had a good time at the party. Elizabeth got to see her Nana and Teddy and all her little cousins. Here are some pics:

Elizabeth with Nana and Teddy

Shane and Shaelyn (brother Kurt's daughter), Brooklyn (sis Kim's daughter), and Elizabeth

Shane and Brooklyn

I don't know what Elizabeth's thinking in this picture, but it sure is cute!

Nana with Jackson and Shaelyn (Kurt and Suzy's kids)

Procrastinating

Now that schools been out, it's been really difficult to motivate myself to do any work. Many of you have asked me if I'm teaching this summer, and the answer to that is an emphatic, "No!!" As many of you know, I have taught an online course for ACU the past two summers (which was WONDERFUL!--flexible hours, work from home, etc.), and they asked me to teach it again this summer, but I had to tell them now. Instead of teaching, I received a "Research Sabbatical," meaning that I will be researching and writing all summer. This, too, gives me a lot of flexibility, but it's been more difficult for me to get started with the work since it's all on my own time and all my own research. I did make myself start writing an article this morning but haven't gotten far at all and now I decide to post here, so more procrastinating for me!! Anyway, that's what I'll be up to this summer.

Onto other things...I've made it 9 full days without sugar. I think it's the longest I've ever gone without it. What I've found to be the strangest aspect of it is how some days are so much harder than others. Yesterday was a really difficult day--I really wanted some chocolate. I did really good at Barrett's (my nephew) party. They had sugar everywhere, yet I didn't give in.

Here are some new Elizabeth developments:
--Yesterday, I was awakened by Elizabeth's voice singing, "Tinkle, tinkle ittle staw." I laid in bed for a while and let her sing because it was the sweetest thing ever. She'd never done that before.
--I sneezed the other day and Elizabeth said, "Bless you, Mommy." I didn't even know she knew that phrase.
--I was lying on the floor in my work-out gear and Elizabeth comes over, leans over to my belly button (I thought she was going to kiss me.), and then plants a big "zerbert" on my stomach! We've been giving her those on her tummy since she was born; now she's returning the favor.

Sugarless Days

I've gone four days without sugar. Last night was the first time I was really tempted by sugar, or should I say, chocolate?!! I was watching TV and saw a commercial for Reese's Peanut Butter Cups (my favorite!!), and they looked delicious. But I'm doing all right, I guess. I'm actually fasting from sugar right now, not really dieting (although I get really down about my weight...I can't seem to lose that baby weight, no matter what I do--sigh!--but that's for a-whole-nother post!). And the fasting aspect of it is really cool. I've been praying more and reflecting more, and I am amazed at how God takes the urge away. Really, it's like nothing I've ever experienced before. I've given up things before (like food), mainly during Lent for the past several years, but I turned to other things rather than to prayer. This time has been really different. I'm trying to go 30 days without sugar. It's going to be really hard this weekend when I go to my nephew Barrett's birthday. My sister Kim makes the BEST cakes!! And then next wedding I'll have to pass up the chocolate covered strawberries at my friend Katie's wedding (yikes!). I'll just have to pray, pray, pray!

I'm not really sure why I decided to do this fast. Well, I take that back. I think I know what got me thinking about it: Last week we stayed with our friends Shelly and Tra and they had participated in a "Daniel Fast" with their entire church. (There's a lot of stuff online about it if you're interested--basically all you eat are fruits and veggies for 30 days--the same as Daniel in the Bible did. No meats. No sugars. No processed foods. Wow! Maybe I'll try that one in June when Shane goes to Abilene for two weeks for school. He refuses to eat any meal without meat!). Anyway, the premise seemed really cool and so I wanted to try it. I don't have a physical community of believers to share this with me like they did (and like I've heard you really need if you are going to succeed), but I'm hoping that you will pray for me and be a part of my "Community of Supporters," "COS," if you will so that I, too, can fulfill my goal to fast from sugar for 30 days. I'll keep you posted on my progress (and the temptations!).

One thing I'm not sure about is if I can have yogurt or sweeteners like Splenda. Is that sort of sugar off-limits?

Elizabethisms

I haven't written about Elizabeth in a while, and I thought I'd tell you some new developments with her:

1. Whenever we drive by a Cefco gas station, Elizabeth says, "Coke?" This is because she goes to Cefco two or three times daily, depending on which parent she is with and how many Diet Cokes we want that day.
2. Today we were driving through town and Elizabeth looked out the car window, pointed and said, "I eat!" She was pointing at McDonald's. I guess we also frequent that locale too much.
3. Whenever all three of us are driving in the car and I turn around from the passenger side to look at her, she screams "No!" and makes a "slapping hand" gesture until we turn back around. I guess she wants to be left alone when we're in the car.
4. Whenever anyone asks Elizabeth what her name is, she will respond by saying, "Me."
5. Elizabeth has FINALLY started to enjoy reading. I can actually read about five books in a row to her without her getting bored.
6. The sweetest thing...lately, Elizabeth has started singing! It is so precious. She'll sing all sorts of songs, including ones she's learned in church, but her favorite right now is "Old MacDonald had a farm." She knows a lot of words, but she loves the "E-I-E-I-O" part. She says, "E-O-E-O" and draws it out to make it fit the words we are saying. We'll hear her singing in the car, in her bed, and all over the house. It's really very sweet.
7. Elizabeth has FINALLY started saying Shane's parents names (Granna and Granbarry), although it sounds more like "Ganna" and "Betty." It's probably because she just spent an entire week with them. If that's what it took, I'm glad! Sidenote: Elizabeth still can't say her whole name either (although, granted, it is A LOT longer and more difficult than other names). We do hear all sorts of words come out, though, when you ask her her name (E-beth, Bette, Bett-e, Ezbeth). When you repeat back to her what she said, she gets irritated and says, "No," and then proceeds to repeat what she just said. Like, "Duh!"
8. Anytime we are in a store, Elizabeth will yell out, "Hi!!!" to anyone she sees, especially when they aren't looking at her. It takes them several times before they figure out that she is talking to THEM, and then they give her what she wants. "Hi, there, sweet girl. What beautiful eyes you have!" It reminds me of summer camps in high school when boys used to whistle from afar and you didn't want to look because if you did, then they would probably say, "Not you!" Did that ever happen to you?!! Mean boys!
9. Elizabeth speaks in sentences, complete with subject, verb, and direct objects. She LOVES to use verbs!

I think these are enough memorable moments about my girl for now. Hope you're having a great day. Cheers!

School's out!

One year at Baylor has come and gone, and now I'm going to take some time to enjoy some of the things I have put off all year, like reading and posting onto my blog and writing. I've had a great year and look forward to many more to come.

The new babysitter is GREAT! Elizabeth LOVES going over to Miss Nette's house and has adjusted much more quickly than she ever did with the previous one. We are so thankful that she loves it so much, and she's made some friends there as well.

Tomorrow night we are having a baby shower for our friends John and Amy (Elizabeth likes to refer to them as "My Mamy. My John." I'm not sure how she's going to take it when their baby comes. It could be her first experience with jealousy.

May will be a busy month--lots of traveling. We're going to Dallas twice, once for a week-long conference and once for a wedding. We're going to Austin for Barrett's birthday. And Shane will be gone for two weeks in June for DMin classes. Then we're going to Italy in July (sans Elizabeth), and the summer will have gone so quickly. But we're looking forward to it.

Hope this post finds you well.

Here's a picture from Easter that I am just now getting around to posting.