Let's get this place ready....

Well...we have been painting our house this week (and when I say "paint" I mean every square inch of it!) but we are enjoying watching it transform before our eyes. The home that we are moving into was a parsonage that had been locked up and vacant for a year. So, when we first saw it, we needed to have a vision for the way it would look with a fresh coat of paint and some cleaning! I have really enjoyed seeing how everything is coming together.

To even be getting a home ready is funny for us to think about, because just a few months ago we didn't even know if we were going to stay in Florida. God just seemed to begin to open doors for us and bless us. He never works as we think He will, which is nice to know. He knows the best plan for us. If it were up to me....I probably would have chosen a much different plan for my life, but have missed out on the biggest blessings.

My family knows how "change" affects me. As a little girl, I didn't like much change. In fact, change usually caused me to break down into tears. Mom told me that I needed to know what was coming in my schedule and that I didn't like to be caught off-guard. Boy....how life seems to make you "change". I am learning that no matter where we go and what we do....there is change involved. I am just asking the Lord to help me adjust to all the new and different things in my life. He has been faithful, kind and good to me. In the Word, it says: "For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper, to give you a hope and a future." He knows that it is human nature to just stay in the same routine and do the same things over and over again. But that doesn't stretch us. To really change something in our day-to-day life will stretch us. What will my "change" be and how will it affect me on the inside? How will I be able to use it to minister to those around me? Will I "change" those around me.....

Here we go...

God has opened the door for our family on a new ministry opportunity! We have begun serving at the East Bay Campus of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Gibsonton, FL (Tampa). Satellite church....? You may be wondering what is a satellite church. The main campus of Bell Shoals began looking for a Campus Pastor to shephard and lead to East Bay Campus, this past November. Bell Shoals is one church, but they now have two locations. The messages are broadcast each Sunday to the East Bay Campus, but they needed someone to connect all of it in person, which is the Campus Pastor. They heard about Chris and wanted to speak with him further about his past experience in ministry and start the beginning process of interviewing him for this Campus Pastor position.

We meet the Personnel Committee for the first time and loved their hearts. They all seemed to enjoy getting to know Chris and me and they began to express interest in getting to know our little Emma. The journey began. We meet a few more times before Christmas and after Christmas we came back to the final decision to join the team of Bell Shoals.....the vote. I tell you, we have never been so popular in one day! ha:) We meet so many people and they all wanted to shake our hand and talk with us...it was if we were getting voted into a church or something! ha:) We loved it! Emma didn't really know what to think, seeing that she doesn't like to always be flooded with love and attention (only when she asks for it! ha:) But it only took her a trip or two to the campus to find a few good buddies and she's off! She began twirling on the stage and running through the building! Good for "mom" to see. :)

This is the beginning of a new journey for us. We are ready to begin ministry again. It has been a few months since we left the church plant that we originally came to Tampa to begin, but God has a PLAN that never wavers. We have met so many people that have reached out in friendship to us. I have met ladies at the park and people at the grocery store that just seem to "want to talk". I think that thing about Tampa that I love the most is the fact that most people are not from here. Therefore our main objective is the same.....finding community. We all need someone. I'm glad that I am not alone in this!

Diddy would be proud!

Those of you that know me know that I had a special name for my sweet Dad-Diddy. It was my Southern way of changing around vowels to just put any 'Ole one there that I thought worked! It was a way of telling him that I loved him and he loved it. Boy...I sure do miss him. I miss his hugs, his mustache that tickled you when he kissed you on the cheek, holding his hand, calling him on the phone, talking about anything and everything, traditions, hearing about his new favorite restaurant, having him keep the peace, golf, our old house, new gadgets, and the list could go on and on. Dad brought so much to our family and the void still is felt by his absence. I hate that he can't be here to have the relationship with his grandchildren. He would have loved watching them play and crawl up into his lap. "Bob-o, watch this!", I can hear them say to him. What a heritage we have to pass to our kids from their precious grandfather, Bob-o. A man that loved traditions and a good sappy movie more than any other man that I have ever met. We remember him today, the fourth year anniversary since his death. I have thought about him practically every day since that awful day and I can't imagine that I will ever stop. That's the mark on true relationship! The kind that doesn't fade with days, months or years. I hope to make him proud by passing on the lessons to Emma that he taught to me. I miss you, Dad!

Hard to Believe

Last night we rang in the New Year with new friends in Tampa. We enjoyed food, games, sparklers and snappers and sipped on sparkling grape juice at midnight. While we were laughing and enjoying company I couldn't help but think over the events of this past year. What a year!

Last January, Chris was still working at the Hilton Hotel in Birmingham, Alabama. His shift consisted of any and every time frame. We didn't see him but maybe two nights out of each week. I couldn't see how in the world we were going to find our place in ministry and who would want a couple that had a resume like ours. God began teaching me. During our "time off" we began to search our hearts, desires and the meaning of ministry. What did the Church need to be and what part am I to play from day to day? I quickly began to learn that the Lord was not as much concerned with where we were serving but what I was doing with where we were serving!

February 2007, a group of people contacted Chris and me about possibly coming to Tampa, Florida to pastor a new church plant. A church plant? Had we not already tried that in Birmingham? The Lord has such a sense of humor! ha! But we chatted several times on the phone with them and began discussing a possible trip down to Tampa. After our first trip down, we loved it! We began to see ourselves in this ministry and seeing it as a real opportunity for Chris to be lead pastor and learn. Things began to progress and we accepted the position in late February. Chris flew down to Tampa once a month during the months of March and April and in May began to look at moving down to pastor a small group of people in Brandon, Florida (east of Tampa). Only one problem.....our house still had not sold! Yikes. We felt that it would sell, but that Chris needed to be with the people and begin his ministry there in Brandon. Emma and I stayed back in Birmingham, completing my school year at the Early Learning Center at The Church at Brook Hills. June came and went.....July came and went.....and in August Chris determined it was time for our family to reunite in Tampa. We moved August 17th and I was never so glad to be back with Chris (Emma too).

We began our ministry as a family in mid-August and we were filled with joy. God was doing some amazing things at our church! He was bringing lost people and we were making connections with those around the area and in our apartment community. Unfortunetly, just like many church plants, the unstability affected our family in a major way. We were devestated and at a complete loss at to know what to do next and how to process in ministry. The wonderful thing was God knew! He always does.

We received a phone call from a local church wanting to interview Chris, knowing of all that happened at our little church and the affects that I had on our family. Chris met with the staff and things were going very well. We prayed. I have to say that we were a little bit gun shy. But the Lord began to open doors and we are going to be accepting the position after this coming Sunday. We are excited about our future in ministry here in Tampa for 2008. We are claiming the scripture, Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans that I have for you, plans to prosper you and to give you a hope and future."

I will blog again after this Sunday telling all about the position that we are taking and our plans as of January 2008. Only the Lord can tell what this year will bring!