Wow! What an incredibly busy weekend. Here are the particulars:
*We moved all weekend...literally. Most of the moving was done on Friday, but we still had stuff to get on Saturday, Sunday and Monday as well.
*Christmas services at Foothills were off the chain! Worship was awesome, the message incredible, but the elf in the lobby was really the highlight (That's a joke...I was the elf)!
*Eric and Dave are worship leading beasts! These guys are freakishly talented, and absolutely love using their abilities to engage people in worshiping a holy God.
*Greg's message about Jesus being the source of peace in our lives was spot on. I love hearing him speak, and God is using him to teach me some huge things about leadership.
*When the video is posted, you have to check-out "Little Drummer Boy." HOLY COW!
*Yesterday, we closed on our house. FINALLY!!! We're really excited about beginning this new phase in our lives.
*Haven't bought a single Christmas present. Dang. Gotta lot to do today.
Labels:
The Moving Story (1)
OK. I'll explain the title first. The story is about Michelle and I trying to find a house to rent; therefore "moving." It is not intended to be "moving"; however, it may happen to you. Here goes...
Michelle and I are set to close on our house in Greer on Monday (22nd), and we had decided that it would be a smart decision to rent a house for 3-6 months. We just want to be settled before looking for a house of our own. After a lot of looking, we finally found a great rental that would meet all of our needs. We submitted the rental agreement last Tuesday, and proceeded to plan our move for Friday the 19th (tomorrow).
We spent the week and weekend packing (which I HATE), and headed over to Foothills on Sunday morning. We had two awesome services that morning, we went to lunch and Michelle headed back home to do some more packing. I hung-out at the church (as I've done every Sunday for the past 4 months) and prepared for THRIVE. While in my office, I received a phone call informing me that the owner of the rental had decided not to rent the house...at all! WHAT?! We're moving in 5 days, and you've just decided that you don't want to rent the house?! I was mad...really mad. No so mad that I cussed, but if someone had written it out on a piece of paper I would have signed my name to it! After calling Michelle, and trying to reassure her that we would be OK, I unloaded on God:
Alright God. I know You're in control and everything, but this stinks...really
stinks. I don't understand why You're doing this to us. I guess You're trying to
find-out just how much we trust You. I would love for this to work-out my way,
but I'll be cool with whatever You decide to do.
Yes, that was my actual prayer. That became my prayer for the next 24 hours as every road turned into a dead end. I was seriously stressed. Michelle was helping me out by making some phone calls to potential landlords. She called an agent about a house on Hartwell Puddle...uh, Lake, in Westminster. It was more house than we needed, but we had to find something. She had trouble getting through, so she decided to send an email. Later that afternoon, she received a phone call from the agent. The house actually belonged to he and his wife. They have been trying to sell, but decided that renting may be a better option for the time being. Michelle began to share our story: "So, here's where we're at. My husband is the new Student Pastor at Foothills Community Church..." The guy stopped her cold: "You've gotta be kidding me. My wife and I go to Foothills!"
Long story short: They haven't had a lot of luck with their house, and decided to rent; however, they were both worried about having a tenant that would pay or would tear-up the place. He said that they had been praying that God would work it out. Well, He did! We signed the rental agreement on Tuesday, and will move-in on Friday!
The really cool part of the story is how we are able to bless each other. They are blessing us by allowing us to rent their house for the next 6 months, and we're able to bless them by meeting that financial need. God absolutely rocked our worlds through this situation. Nothing is coincidence. God is in control, and uses every situation and circumstance to teach us, grow us and stretch us. Labels:
Michelle and I are set to close on our house in Greer on Monday (22nd), and we had decided that it would be a smart decision to rent a house for 3-6 months. We just want to be settled before looking for a house of our own. After a lot of looking, we finally found a great rental that would meet all of our needs. We submitted the rental agreement last Tuesday, and proceeded to plan our move for Friday the 19th (tomorrow).
We spent the week and weekend packing (which I HATE), and headed over to Foothills on Sunday morning. We had two awesome services that morning, we went to lunch and Michelle headed back home to do some more packing. I hung-out at the church (as I've done every Sunday for the past 4 months) and prepared for THRIVE. While in my office, I received a phone call informing me that the owner of the rental had decided not to rent the house...at all! WHAT?! We're moving in 5 days, and you've just decided that you don't want to rent the house?! I was mad...really mad. No so mad that I cussed, but if someone had written it out on a piece of paper I would have signed my name to it! After calling Michelle, and trying to reassure her that we would be OK, I unloaded on God:
Alright God. I know You're in control and everything, but this stinks...really
stinks. I don't understand why You're doing this to us. I guess You're trying to
find-out just how much we trust You. I would love for this to work-out my way,
but I'll be cool with whatever You decide to do.
Yes, that was my actual prayer. That became my prayer for the next 24 hours as every road turned into a dead end. I was seriously stressed. Michelle was helping me out by making some phone calls to potential landlords. She called an agent about a house on Hartwell Puddle...uh, Lake, in Westminster. It was more house than we needed, but we had to find something. She had trouble getting through, so she decided to send an email. Later that afternoon, she received a phone call from the agent. The house actually belonged to he and his wife. They have been trying to sell, but decided that renting may be a better option for the time being. Michelle began to share our story: "So, here's where we're at. My husband is the new Student Pastor at Foothills Community Church..." The guy stopped her cold: "You've gotta be kidding me. My wife and I go to Foothills!"
Long story short: They haven't had a lot of luck with their house, and decided to rent; however, they were both worried about having a tenant that would pay or would tear-up the place. He said that they had been praying that God would work it out. Well, He did! We signed the rental agreement on Tuesday, and will move-in on Friday!
The really cool part of the story is how we are able to bless each other. They are blessing us by allowing us to rent their house for the next 6 months, and we're able to bless them by meeting that financial need. God absolutely rocked our worlds through this situation. Nothing is coincidence. God is in control, and uses every situation and circumstance to teach us, grow us and stretch us. Labels:
Bullet Point Tuesday on Wednesday (0)
This week has been crazy. Here's a quick synopsis (ooo, nice word):
*Found out on Sunday afternoon that the house that we were going to rent was not available. The owner decided 5 days before we were to move that she didn't want to rent the house at all. Not cool.
*Wrapped-up THRIVE on Sunday night. Great attendance which included eleven first-timers! Made the house news a little easier to digest.
*Really excited about our move to two worship events for our students; one for middle school (MERGE) and one for high school (COLLIDE). Great things are coming!
*Bought myself a ping pong paddle for my birthday (turned 30 on Friday). I'm 13-2 since the purchase.
*Worked like crazy on Monday to find a place to move. God worked it out through a ridiculous situation. More on that story tomorrow.
*Signed a rental agreement yesterday! We're moving on Friday as scheduled.
*I have been given the honor of speaking in our services on January 4th. God has really been speaking to me as I have prepared this talk. Only three more weeks...I love sharing the truth of God's love!
*If anyone is available to help us move on Friday, let me know. We'll love you forever :) Labels:
*Found out on Sunday afternoon that the house that we were going to rent was not available. The owner decided 5 days before we were to move that she didn't want to rent the house at all. Not cool.
*Wrapped-up THRIVE on Sunday night. Great attendance which included eleven first-timers! Made the house news a little easier to digest.
*Really excited about our move to two worship events for our students; one for middle school (MERGE) and one for high school (COLLIDE). Great things are coming!
*Bought myself a ping pong paddle for my birthday (turned 30 on Friday). I'm 13-2 since the purchase.
*Worked like crazy on Monday to find a place to move. God worked it out through a ridiculous situation. More on that story tomorrow.
*Signed a rental agreement yesterday! We're moving on Friday as scheduled.
*I have been given the honor of speaking in our services on January 4th. God has really been speaking to me as I have prepared this talk. Only three more weeks...I love sharing the truth of God's love!
*If anyone is available to help us move on Friday, let me know. We'll love you forever :) Labels:
Bullet Point Tuesday (0)
*Sundays are always awesome at Foothills, but this past Sunday was even better. We saw 65 people show the world that they've committed their lives to Christ as they were baptized. For the year we've had over 200 baptisms!
*Sunday night was our last "normal" night of THRIVE. We finished our Christmas series as we talked through "The Truth about Christmas." Our students are awesome, and they're inviting friends. This week we had 10 first-time guests. Great job guys!
*Spent a lot of the weekend packing. Not gonna lie...I hate it; however, I am loving that we close on our house in less than two weeks.
*Still looking for house to rent in Seneca. I'm going to see another one today. Please pray!
*I believe that the Oklahoma Sooners could play a football game backwards and still hang 30 points on anyone.
*Clemson is officially playing Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. Hopefully, the outcome will resemble January '82. Labels:
*Sunday night was our last "normal" night of THRIVE. We finished our Christmas series as we talked through "The Truth about Christmas." Our students are awesome, and they're inviting friends. This week we had 10 first-time guests. Great job guys!
*Spent a lot of the weekend packing. Not gonna lie...I hate it; however, I am loving that we close on our house in less than two weeks.
*Still looking for house to rent in Seneca. I'm going to see another one today. Please pray!
*I believe that the Oklahoma Sooners could play a football game backwards and still hang 30 points on anyone.
*Clemson is officially playing Nebraska in the Gator Bowl. Hopefully, the outcome will resemble January '82. Labels:
Bullet Point Wednesday (0)
*31-14...'nuff said.
*Great Sunday at Foothills. We saw more people "flip the switch" and commit their lives to Christ. That puts us somewhere between 80 and 100 salvations that we know about during the "Switch" series!
*Baptism will be this Sunday. It's going to be done in a totally different way, and it promises to be an incredible day.
*I'm thinking about buying a wet suit to wear in the pool Sunday morning.
*THRIVE was really cool Sunday night. We began our two-week Christmas series: "Christmas Unwrapped." We through-out a big challenge to our students about inviting their friends this Sunday. I can't wait!
*We have some extremely talented students who play in our band, but we need more. The transition from THRIVE to MERGE and COLLIDE is only 5 weeks away, so we're planning an open audition. More info next week.
*The home inspection at our house was yesterday. There were only a couple of minor issues that were found.
*The packing has begun. I hate packing, but I'm so ready to be in Oconee County!
*Please pray that we can find a suitable house to rent. Right now, we're striking-out, and we're supposed to close on our house on 12/22. Labels:
*Great Sunday at Foothills. We saw more people "flip the switch" and commit their lives to Christ. That puts us somewhere between 80 and 100 salvations that we know about during the "Switch" series!
*Baptism will be this Sunday. It's going to be done in a totally different way, and it promises to be an incredible day.
*I'm thinking about buying a wet suit to wear in the pool Sunday morning.
*THRIVE was really cool Sunday night. We began our two-week Christmas series: "Christmas Unwrapped." We through-out a big challenge to our students about inviting their friends this Sunday. I can't wait!
*We have some extremely talented students who play in our band, but we need more. The transition from THRIVE to MERGE and COLLIDE is only 5 weeks away, so we're planning an open audition. More info next week.
*The home inspection at our house was yesterday. There were only a couple of minor issues that were found.
*The packing has begun. I hate packing, but I'm so ready to be in Oconee County!
*Please pray that we can find a suitable house to rent. Right now, we're striking-out, and we're supposed to close on our house on 12/22. Labels:
