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!

today i ran

I ran with Brian today. I like to walk the neighborhood and occasionally do tae bo. Sometimes I go to the gym, but today I ran. I just needed to. We ran for 20 minutes when I had to take a break. I told Brian to keep going. I would walk. So I walked a little and ran a little until, at last I saw Brian at the top of the hill!  "Brian!!" I yelled. But he was listening to his Ipod. If I could run up the hill, maybe I could catch him! The hill was too much, but at the top of the hill, was the downhill slope. I know I can catch him on the downhill run! I ran fast; I was out of breath. "Brian!" I yelled, but he still could not hear me. Now I had to prove to myself that I could catch him! I HAD to catch him! As I panted unattractively, I passed an old lady with beehive hair. At least I was faster than she was! There was Brian, on the other side of the soccer field. I cut across the field, not caring what I looked like. It occurred to me that I might throw up, but I had to catch him! So I yelled once more, this time more loudly than before, "Brian!!" And he heard me! He turned around and there I was. I had caught him!

On my way back to the car, it occurred to me, what if we chased that hard after God? What if we didn't care what we looked like or who heard us? How might our week look differently if we pursued him with such intensity!  What if we forgot about all the things we had to do and sought after him because we were thirsty for him, rather than for what he might do for us? Fortunately, God is not listening to an Ipod. He will always hear.  James 4:8 says "Come close to God, and God will come close to you." And Jeremiah 33:3 says,  "Call to me and I will answer you and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known."

truth and lies

Sometimes we believe lies. Sometimes people tell us things that simply are not true and we believe them. We believe we cannot do something because someone tells us we can't. We may believe that God is mad at us. We may believe that we lack the ability to do what we were created to do. Do you ever talk yourself into the lie that says that you can dabble in sin and not reap the heartache and consequences? Do you look in the mirror and believe that God made an unfair mistake? Have you been somehow conditioned to believe that the God who created the whole universe and keeps it spinning is too busy or does not have the ability to hear your every prayer and meet your every need? Has someone told you that you are inadequate? Do believe that you can never forgive or receive forgiveness?

How can we discern between truth and lies? Hebrews 4:12 is a powerful verse. "For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires." In God's word, we find the wisdom to discern between truth and lies. God's truth exposes the lies that we believe and gives us the power to grab hold of life-changing truths. Fill your mind with it! Grab hold of it! And be wise.

connecting church planting wives online

I am not very technological, so when God uses technology to reach people and I get to be a part of it, I think that is pretty cool! Through the LAUNCH network, we are connecting women online from all over the country. These women are the wives of church planters, who are going through our church planting school. They instantly have so much in common, so many similar challenges and basically, the same heart to reach people with the truth of Jesus Christ. They are risk takers on a very uncertain journey. They have the same questions and many of the same needs and similar victories! We have girls with toddlers in the background. Two weeks ago, one precious pregnant girl excused herself to go throw up and then returned to the conversation :) We laugh and sometimes we get choked up because we are so humbled to be a part of something that only God can do.

It is amazing to see God work in the lives of people! I love connecting with these women, and helping connect them to each other. These hour long conversations are often emotional as we talk about what is really important. What is our calling as wives and as individuals? How can we minister to hurting people and put our families first? How do we remain healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually while planting a church?

I wish you could be a fly on my computer screen with all the squares of faces of women from all over the US, talking on a conference call about God doing amazing things. Many of these women have never met each other in person, but there is a connection, a bond because God is doing a work in church planting! I love it!

eating the Bible

I read an article yesterday about a man in a country where the Bible is illegal. The man hid in a room and memorized Scripture to keep it in his heart and mind. Then he ate the pages so they could not be found. The article mentioned that in American we are spiritually "malnourished." The picture of someone longing for the nourishment of God's Word in his heart can be compared with the picture we have of ourselves, fully nourished and yet longing for the junk food of our society. May we eat God's Word till we are full, sustained and nourished by it's truth and life changing power!!

Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation..."