HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ZACH!!
Zach is 14 today, and here are some things I love about him :)
He is funny every single day!!
He is intense and passionate about almost everything he does.
He is sensitive and cares about hurting people and loves animals.
He loves justice and will fight for it.
A couple weeks ago, I was upstairs and looked out the window, and Zach was on the roof--he's crazy!
He works hard to do things right. He will stay up late and study and get good grades. He is very smart. He takes advanced classes and gets almost all A's all the time but he is goofy and humble enough that people do not know that his iq testing is extremely high.
He talks about the future and has big goals and dreams and prays for wisdom to make good choices.
He is confident and does not care about what people think about him.
He does not want anyone to be hurt or left out.
I love to watch Zach play baseball and wrestle! He does Insanity workouts and drinks protein shakes.
He loves NY city, he loves family and has a deep faith in God.
He is one of the most loyal people I know.
He does not give up when people say it cannot be done.
He is a huge giver! He gave money for a child to have cleft surgery, and now he is saving for another missions project.
He is a visionary. He can see what things should be like and can tell what will make something successful. He is a networker. He makes things happen and is never bored.
When he was a baby, he would smile before he ever even opened his eyes in the morning!
He is a pleasure. A hugger! A gift from God. An amazing man!
I love you Zach! Happy birthday!!

My Dad!

Dad, I am so proud of you! If I could think of a word that describes you, it would be "faithful." You have always been fun, encouraging and smart! You have always taught us truth. Thanks for loving us so well. Happy Fathers Day!!

Why Did We Write It's Personal?

As we talk with church planters and their wives, there are many topics of conversation that commonly come up. They share their excitement and concerns about launching a church, dealing with growth and change, friendships, balancing family and ministry, leading a staff and being authentic.

When Exponential, Leadership Network and Zondervan approached us about writing a book as a couple for church planting couples, we were certainly humbled and overwhelmed with the task, yet our passion to see healthy people launch healthy churches is what drove us to write this book.

When we planted West Ridge Church, we did not know other church planting couples, so now, we wanted to not only share our story to encourage church planters, but include honest interviews with twenty- two other church planting couples as well.

So the question, "Can you survive AND thrive on the journey of church planting?" We think it can be done. We think it is definitely personal and, at the same time, it is not about us, but rather about the One who has called us and equipped us. May He be the one we always seek to make famous!