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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

A Home for Hope.

Change makes me want to write.

So what I'm also saying is 2015 has been a steady year.

And it's a miracle I remembered my blog password.

A quiet blog usually indicates a quiet life season.

Although our life is far from quiet.

A loud "status quo" might be more accurate.


A new chapter is upon us.

Bringing changes I am so very excited about.


In May of this year,

after the retirement announcement of their senior pastor,

Dave was approached to consider a merge with another local church,

First Baptist Church of San Carlos.


Our summer was full of meetings and dinners and interviews.

And so much prayer.

And lots of communication with our Hope church family.

And our faithful Hope leadership.

And more recently, an official decision to move forward with the merging of two churches.


So much excitement.

Lots of "too good to be true" feelings.

But sometimes,

oftentimes actually,

I've been reminded that God is in the business of goodness.

And this is what He's doing here.

He's given our faithful church a permanent home. 

A warm welcome by a dear group of faithful saints in San Carlos.

I can't wait to see all that we're going to accomplish together.


Hope Church began in my grandmother's living room over six years ago.

Sometimes in her backyard if it was warm.



It was a faith jump.

A big, crazy leap.

We'd left the only church we'd ever known with no real plan.

Which, if you know us, is unlike us.

We were slow, comfortable and boring.

My part-time job allowed me to go full-time.

Dave became a stay at home dad for a short season.

Then he worked as a homeless shelter coordinator.

Then a barista.

All the while shepherding this faithful flock of believers.

The best he knew how.

In unconventional ways and places.

At weird times.

At all times.

With little sleep.

And God honored it.


I'm thrilled to see our history continue just a few miles down the road.

I'm thankful for our humble, hard beginnings.

The stacking and unstacking of chairs approximately 260 times.

The constant reminder that church is not a place, it's a group gathered.

I don't ever want to forget that.

I look back on our journey with great joy.

The Lord taught us so much.

Even (and especially) when we thought we knew it all.



I am thankful for those that were there with us when we jumped.

Those that stayed from the very beginning.

When it was hard and inconvenient.

I recognize and value your sacrifice.

I'll never forget it.

And those that joined us along the way.

The love and loyalty they showed us.

The patience they extended as they got used to something different and new.

The lessons learned and mistakes made.



There were many times where it felt like we were wandering in the wilderness.

Unsure of what God was doing.

Unfit for this calling.

I see that He has been preparing us for this all along.

What a privilege it is to serve Him.

What a gift.

What a reminder of His faithfulness.


Dave is able to quit making lattes at 4:30 am.

He'll have an office that is not our playroom.

He'll have a place to store his 5 million books.

He'll have an admin (can I get an AMEN?).

And the help of a kind and friendly associate pastor.



We are home.

In a place where Jesus will be preached and people will be loved.

A group gathered just five miles down the road.

And there is no other place I'd rather be.


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Please feel free to join us.



Saturday, January 3, 2015

Prayers for Ashlyn.

Hi.

I've taken a bit of a writing break.

We've been busy.

And I'll just be honest.

I've learned that controversial posts are not for me.

My people pleasing heart took a bit of a hit.

And I think I'm still recovering.

While I'm a little sad I can't share my heart 100% here,

I don't ever want to hurt anyone with my words.

I'm reminded that heart sharing is most fruitful in person.

Face to face.

The internet makes it all too easy to toss words out into the universe.

Words that are easily misunderstood.

And require clarification and real conversation.

Cookie recipes and dumb stories are safer.

And more of what I think Jesus wants for me.

Jesus likes cookies.

I'll save the drama for Matt Walsh.

Honestly, I don't know how he does it.


Anyhow.

Popping in real quick to ask for prayers for our middle girl.


She's having cochlear implant surgery on Monday up at UCSF.

Her hearing in her left ear declined a few months ago and she became a quick candidate for a second implant.

We are so grateful for her first implant and all it has given her.

We're very excited that she'll now be able to benefit from having two.

We're thankful we know what to expect and that brings some peace.

But it's still scary to hand your little girl over outside the operating room doors.

Please pray for wisdom and a steady hand for the doctors.

Please pray for peace for her.

And minimal pain.

Please pray for peace for those in the waiting room.

It's a scary few hours.

Please pray for a speedy recovery.

Please pray that should would sit still for 48 hours.

I can already tell this will be our biggest challenge.

We are so grateful to be able to ask for such a precious favor.

Thank you.