12/25/06 UPDATE
Sorry, we're a day late. For some reason, I was preoccupied with other things yesterday.
I hope everybody's Christmas went well. Ours was a little different, but all in all it went pretty well. We got to talk with some friends that we haven't heard from in a while, which was nice. The boys were loaded down with stuff as usual. It's always funny to me how we pick stuff we think they'll be wild about and then they end up liking some random item best. For example, yesterday they got tons of "fun" things that were all wrapped up. We had decided to buy them some plastic sleds (the little disk things and another one that's torpedo shaped) and snow gear (boots, gloves, snow bibs, coats). We layed all of this stuff out on the back of the couch since it was big and utilitarian and we thought they'd just blow by it. (For the record, we have received no measurable snowfall yet, despite all the other areas around us getting bombed. They are saying possibly this weekend.) Anyway, L immediately grabbed his snow boots and gloves and put them on. He hardly took them off all day and had to put the boots in his room last night. Go figure!
There are several things you can pray about this week:
1 - I'm preaching at Heartland Community Church on Sunday.
2 - We're trying to get all the final details finished up before closing on the house.
3 - Pray for fruitful contacts - leaders who are well connected with lost people and lost people.
thanks for praying!
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
12/18/06 UPDATE
Last week was a significant milestone. J and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. What did we do to celebrate? Well. . . we bought Quizno's and went to a park so the boys could go play on the stuff and we could have a few minutes alone to talk. I know, a meager attempt, but it was the best we could pull off under the circumstances. Where's a Geoghagan girl when you need one:)
We had lunch on Wednesday with a couple who've been involved in several church plants. They are a retired couple who really are amazing. They are involved in tons of stuff - an inner city ministry, on "staff" at their church, meeting with a variety of church plants and planters. Most of all, they are very in touch with ministry in the context of today. It was encouraging to see a couple who are older than we are, put aside their preferences and desires to serve others. As I've visited "younger" churches in the area, I've been amazed at the number of older people present. They often seem very involved and working. Most acknowledge that there is a sacrifice involved - it might not be there "style". i'm not trying to stereotype a certain group of individuals - that's not my intent. I've been challenged by their example because i know it is difficult to set aside your preferences to pursue what is best for the kingdom of God. My prayer is that I'll be open to change as my "methods" and "preferences" are no longer the most effective.
We had a good weekend. Friday night, Heartland Church (where we've been going) had a get together and took a bus to look at Christmas lights, There's one subdivision here where everyone pays people to put up elaborate decorations. it was cool and the boys had a great time. We learned moderation is a good idea for 5 year olds and hot chocolate! We also hung out with some friends after church yesterday. It's really cool when we hang with them because our kids get along great, so we can talk the whole time with minimal interruptions.
For prayers, the main concern I've been having is for meeting people. Pray that God will connect us with people. Mainly lost people who God has been preparing to hear the gospel. Also, for Believers who are well connected with unbelievers. Not finding a good way to do this has been the most frustrating aspect of our time here so far.
Thanks for your prayers. They move heaven and earth.
Last week was a significant milestone. J and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. What did we do to celebrate? Well. . . we bought Quizno's and went to a park so the boys could go play on the stuff and we could have a few minutes alone to talk. I know, a meager attempt, but it was the best we could pull off under the circumstances. Where's a Geoghagan girl when you need one:)
We had lunch on Wednesday with a couple who've been involved in several church plants. They are a retired couple who really are amazing. They are involved in tons of stuff - an inner city ministry, on "staff" at their church, meeting with a variety of church plants and planters. Most of all, they are very in touch with ministry in the context of today. It was encouraging to see a couple who are older than we are, put aside their preferences and desires to serve others. As I've visited "younger" churches in the area, I've been amazed at the number of older people present. They often seem very involved and working. Most acknowledge that there is a sacrifice involved - it might not be there "style". i'm not trying to stereotype a certain group of individuals - that's not my intent. I've been challenged by their example because i know it is difficult to set aside your preferences to pursue what is best for the kingdom of God. My prayer is that I'll be open to change as my "methods" and "preferences" are no longer the most effective.
We had a good weekend. Friday night, Heartland Church (where we've been going) had a get together and took a bus to look at Christmas lights, There's one subdivision here where everyone pays people to put up elaborate decorations. it was cool and the boys had a great time. We learned moderation is a good idea for 5 year olds and hot chocolate! We also hung out with some friends after church yesterday. It's really cool when we hang with them because our kids get along great, so we can talk the whole time with minimal interruptions.
For prayers, the main concern I've been having is for meeting people. Pray that God will connect us with people. Mainly lost people who God has been preparing to hear the gospel. Also, for Believers who are well connected with unbelievers. Not finding a good way to do this has been the most frustrating aspect of our time here so far.
Thanks for your prayers. They move heaven and earth.
Monday, December 11, 2006
12/11/06 UPDATE
LOTTIE GETS HER'S TOO!
Well, this is an update to last week's praise. We received another check for $150 - so now the kids get their Christmas and Lottie gets her money too. I hope the last post wasn't misconstued as a plea for more money - that wasn't the intent. It was just significant to me that God provided the boys exactly what they would have had. Anyway, I won't belabor the point, but THANKS!
This last week involved a whole lot of office work for me. I keep getting pushed to plan, plan, plan - which I hate to do. I've been going through a church planting manual and it contained a helpful tidbit for me in this regard. They encouraged an extremely detailed plan for 3 years into the future. That seemed excessive to me, but the rationale made sense. Once you go public with the church, you will be slammed trying to stay on top of things. There will be no time for planning at that point. So, one prayer request is that God will help me focus my thoughts, hear His desires for His church, and be able to articulate all of these things. Oh yeah, and pray that I won't get too frustrated with the process.
My plan is to take the cold months to plan and continue networking. In the spring, we will really start to ramp things up and then kick them into high gear in the summer.
One goal I've got for now is to develop community with those who have expressed an interest in helping. To that end, we had Jeff, Kelly, and Jocelyn over for dinner Saturday night. it was fun. We haven't really been doing much entertaining due to our present living arrangements so it was fun to do it again. It felt like getting ready for small group. it was nice to have a couple over as "friends." Most of our encounters have been more business related. We find ourselves in the situation of trying to break into other people's social networks and such and this is tough. Think about it - you've got your set of friends, so when you have time to do something, you usually call those people. you don't really think, or work to, include others who may not be "in" yet. It's hard to stress too much the importance of intentionally developing friendships with people for the sake of sharing your hope in Christ. I personally believe that building relational bridges with lost people is the most important and effective thing you can do as an ambassador for Christ. Ok, enough preaching.
One last request. We are having the first real struggle since we got up here. In the big picture, it's not that big of a deal, but it does bother both of us. We're entering the Christmas season and don't have any family around. Normally, that wouldn't be that big of a deal because their are friends, church family, etc. to fill in the place. But, we don't really have any of those three options at the moment, so we do feel a bit lonely. Nobody's ready to jump off a building or anything, but we would appreciate your prayers.
LOTTIE GETS HER'S TOO!
Well, this is an update to last week's praise. We received another check for $150 - so now the kids get their Christmas and Lottie gets her money too. I hope the last post wasn't misconstued as a plea for more money - that wasn't the intent. It was just significant to me that God provided the boys exactly what they would have had. Anyway, I won't belabor the point, but THANKS!
This last week involved a whole lot of office work for me. I keep getting pushed to plan, plan, plan - which I hate to do. I've been going through a church planting manual and it contained a helpful tidbit for me in this regard. They encouraged an extremely detailed plan for 3 years into the future. That seemed excessive to me, but the rationale made sense. Once you go public with the church, you will be slammed trying to stay on top of things. There will be no time for planning at that point. So, one prayer request is that God will help me focus my thoughts, hear His desires for His church, and be able to articulate all of these things. Oh yeah, and pray that I won't get too frustrated with the process.
My plan is to take the cold months to plan and continue networking. In the spring, we will really start to ramp things up and then kick them into high gear in the summer.
One goal I've got for now is to develop community with those who have expressed an interest in helping. To that end, we had Jeff, Kelly, and Jocelyn over for dinner Saturday night. it was fun. We haven't really been doing much entertaining due to our present living arrangements so it was fun to do it again. It felt like getting ready for small group. it was nice to have a couple over as "friends." Most of our encounters have been more business related. We find ourselves in the situation of trying to break into other people's social networks and such and this is tough. Think about it - you've got your set of friends, so when you have time to do something, you usually call those people. you don't really think, or work to, include others who may not be "in" yet. It's hard to stress too much the importance of intentionally developing friendships with people for the sake of sharing your hope in Christ. I personally believe that building relational bridges with lost people is the most important and effective thing you can do as an ambassador for Christ. Ok, enough preaching.
One last request. We are having the first real struggle since we got up here. In the big picture, it's not that big of a deal, but it does bother both of us. We're entering the Christmas season and don't have any family around. Normally, that wouldn't be that big of a deal because their are friends, church family, etc. to fill in the place. But, we don't really have any of those three options at the moment, so we do feel a bit lonely. Nobody's ready to jump off a building or anything, but we would appreciate your prayers.
Friday, December 08, 2006
WEIRD AND FUNNY
WEIRD
I went to get tags for the Jeep today. In the office there were three windows. I was at one and heard the guy next to me say he just moved up from Florida. I said where and he told me Tampa. I said, I just moved up from the Panhandle myself. To which the guy in the third booth said, I just moved up from Tampa too.
FUNNY
Conversation between Jackson and I:
J - "Dad, have you decided where the church will be yet?
(great, now I've got pressure from the kids too:))
L - (I wasn't exactly sure what he meant, so I asked) "Do you mean where in Omaha it will be located or the specific building we'll be meeting in?"
J - Have you decided where the church will be. (Thanks, that helped)
L - Well, do you know where we looked at the house? It will be around that area somewhere. If you mean what building will we meet in, it will probably be in a school. We'll meet in the cafeteria or some other big room.
J - But I don't like green beans.
L - WHAT????
J - I don't like green beans, so I'd prefer not to have them.
L - We'll just be meeting in the cafeteria, it doesn't mean we have to eat there.
J - OOOOHHHHH, WHEW!!! (As he wipes his hand across his forehead).
WEIRD
I went to get tags for the Jeep today. In the office there were three windows. I was at one and heard the guy next to me say he just moved up from Florida. I said where and he told me Tampa. I said, I just moved up from the Panhandle myself. To which the guy in the third booth said, I just moved up from Tampa too.
FUNNY
Conversation between Jackson and I:
J - "Dad, have you decided where the church will be yet?
(great, now I've got pressure from the kids too:))
L - (I wasn't exactly sure what he meant, so I asked) "Do you mean where in Omaha it will be located or the specific building we'll be meeting in?"
J - Have you decided where the church will be. (Thanks, that helped)
L - Well, do you know where we looked at the house? It will be around that area somewhere. If you mean what building will we meet in, it will probably be in a school. We'll meet in the cafeteria or some other big room.
J - But I don't like green beans.
L - WHAT????
J - I don't like green beans, so I'd prefer not to have them.
L - We'll just be meeting in the cafeteria, it doesn't mean we have to eat there.
J - OOOOHHHHH, WHEW!!! (As he wipes his hand across his forehead).
Monday, December 04, 2006
12/04/06 UPDATE
Last week was a really good one. We did several things that were really cool. God also answered several prayer requests.
First, things are rolling along smoothly with the house. We had the inspection which turned up no big problems. We're approved for the mortgage - HA! I find it scary how much money banks are willing to "give" you.
Second, we got a "treat" on Wednesday. Some friends gave us tickets to a college basketball game. See the post below for a laugh.
Third, we had a really good meeting with a family interested in the church plant. He likes to fish and loves college basketball, so he should make the cut! They are a great couple - we'll see how God orchestrates things in the future. We told some friends who attempted a church plant that we had 3 or 4 couples who were seriously interested. They said "Well, you've made it farther than we did." We've still got a long way to go though.
Fourth, we had not just one, but two opportunities to do things without the boys! WOOHOO! That's the first time since we moved up here. The church had a parents night out on Friday. They rented a big fitness center/gym with a pool, etc. and the kids had a blast. Then on Saturday, we had the ministers/wives associational Christmas party. Another "its a small world" moment for those of you from G'ville and St. Joe - I was talking to one of the pastor's here. He moved up from Louisville, KY about 18 months ago. He had been the educational associate at Bill Cook's church.
Fifth, I had one of those answers to prayer where you think God is really trying to make a point. (The following details are included just because they made the answer very clear to me, not to imply any need, etc.) We've been discussing finances a lot lately because of the pending house purchase. As we were talking last week, J said "Oh, we won't be getting a Christmas bonus this year." The pertinent point being that the bonus we used to get from the church is what we used to buy Christmas - we didn't "save up" for it. We'd usually get $300 and give $150 to Lottie Moon and spend $150 on our family Christmas presents. When she said that, I realized I hadn't thought of that either and I voiced a prayer to God, something along the lines of "God, would you provide for that in another way." I've been learning to just say a quick prayer to God when something crosses my mind, rather than trying to remember it for later and pray more extensively about it. i usually forget and don't pray about it at all. so, in this case, I shot up a quick request. Almost as soon as I prayed it (almost out of reflex), I then thought about what I'd said. My thought was, "Yeah, right. Like anyone's going to think about that." Well, a few days later, i got an email that said a check was in the mail that was for the kid's Christmas. The amount? $150. I was rebuked (and encouraged). I've been thinking that I hadn't been sharing enough answers to your prayers with you, so I wanted to in this case.
Yesterday we had a very different church experience. We went to a traditional church. Not First Baptist, etc. I mean REALLY traditional. Like 300 A.D. i have a friend who is Eastern Orthodox. He invited me to church Sunday because his son was getting "churched." I had to ask what that was, because the only "churching" I had heard of involved kicking somebody out and his son is only 5 weeks old! Apparently, they have a tradition that mother and child are welcomed back into the church after 40 days. There is a small ceremony where they are presented to the church and committed in prayer to Jesus. It was a really different experience. The entire service is a liturgy that was put together by John Chrysostom (sp?) a famous preacher in the late 300's. They were kind enough to translate it into English, unlike the Greek Orthodox. It was a very different environment. My friend seemed touched that we had come. That was the main reason we went - building the relationship.
Also, pray for our neighbors. I have been looking for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. It seems that they are going through a time that might make them very receptive.
PRAISES
House
God hears and answers prayers - even if we don't think He will.
More good contacts for the core and to share the gospel.
PRAYERS
We need MORE good contacts for the core and to share the Gospel.
God to call people to the work.
God to lead people to salvation.
Wisdom as we plan, prepare, explore, etc.
Pray for things to go smoothly with the house and Juanita's transition up here.
Last week was a really good one. We did several things that were really cool. God also answered several prayer requests.
First, things are rolling along smoothly with the house. We had the inspection which turned up no big problems. We're approved for the mortgage - HA! I find it scary how much money banks are willing to "give" you.
Second, we got a "treat" on Wednesday. Some friends gave us tickets to a college basketball game. See the post below for a laugh.
Third, we had a really good meeting with a family interested in the church plant. He likes to fish and loves college basketball, so he should make the cut! They are a great couple - we'll see how God orchestrates things in the future. We told some friends who attempted a church plant that we had 3 or 4 couples who were seriously interested. They said "Well, you've made it farther than we did." We've still got a long way to go though.
Fourth, we had not just one, but two opportunities to do things without the boys! WOOHOO! That's the first time since we moved up here. The church had a parents night out on Friday. They rented a big fitness center/gym with a pool, etc. and the kids had a blast. Then on Saturday, we had the ministers/wives associational Christmas party. Another "its a small world" moment for those of you from G'ville and St. Joe - I was talking to one of the pastor's here. He moved up from Louisville, KY about 18 months ago. He had been the educational associate at Bill Cook's church.
Fifth, I had one of those answers to prayer where you think God is really trying to make a point. (The following details are included just because they made the answer very clear to me, not to imply any need, etc.) We've been discussing finances a lot lately because of the pending house purchase. As we were talking last week, J said "Oh, we won't be getting a Christmas bonus this year." The pertinent point being that the bonus we used to get from the church is what we used to buy Christmas - we didn't "save up" for it. We'd usually get $300 and give $150 to Lottie Moon and spend $150 on our family Christmas presents. When she said that, I realized I hadn't thought of that either and I voiced a prayer to God, something along the lines of "God, would you provide for that in another way." I've been learning to just say a quick prayer to God when something crosses my mind, rather than trying to remember it for later and pray more extensively about it. i usually forget and don't pray about it at all. so, in this case, I shot up a quick request. Almost as soon as I prayed it (almost out of reflex), I then thought about what I'd said. My thought was, "Yeah, right. Like anyone's going to think about that." Well, a few days later, i got an email that said a check was in the mail that was for the kid's Christmas. The amount? $150. I was rebuked (and encouraged). I've been thinking that I hadn't been sharing enough answers to your prayers with you, so I wanted to in this case.
Yesterday we had a very different church experience. We went to a traditional church. Not First Baptist, etc. I mean REALLY traditional. Like 300 A.D. i have a friend who is Eastern Orthodox. He invited me to church Sunday because his son was getting "churched." I had to ask what that was, because the only "churching" I had heard of involved kicking somebody out and his son is only 5 weeks old! Apparently, they have a tradition that mother and child are welcomed back into the church after 40 days. There is a small ceremony where they are presented to the church and committed in prayer to Jesus. It was a really different experience. The entire service is a liturgy that was put together by John Chrysostom (sp?) a famous preacher in the late 300's. They were kind enough to translate it into English, unlike the Greek Orthodox. It was a very different environment. My friend seemed touched that we had come. That was the main reason we went - building the relationship.
Also, pray for our neighbors. I have been looking for an opportunity to share the gospel with them. It seems that they are going through a time that might make them very receptive.
PRAISES
House
God hears and answers prayers - even if we don't think He will.
More good contacts for the core and to share the gospel.
PRAYERS
We need MORE good contacts for the core and to share the Gospel.
God to call people to the work.
God to lead people to salvation.
Wisdom as we plan, prepare, explore, etc.
Pray for things to go smoothly with the house and Juanita's transition up here.
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