Sunday Mornings...Update

Sarah plays in a walker on Sunday mornings. It's the only way I can get ready on a schedule and keep her contained enough so that I am not chasing her around or making sure she is safe. The boys like to mess with her and make her mad. (Part of me can't wait until she starts biting them so they will leave her alone! Ha! Is that really bad that I just said that??)

Anyways, as I was getting ready yesterday and she was following me around crying because she wanted out, I started reminiscing about all the past seasons we have had as a young pastors family. When Dylan was a baby, I would buckle him into his high chair, give him some breakfast and put him in front of the TV for 30 minutes while I would get ready. When Drew was little, he was always in the bathroom with me, dumping out my make-up bag, or getting into things. That boy was always a little more difficult to keep still and quiet. I used to dream of going to church with my husband, but now it has become a cherished part of our  life. The kids and I have a routine and we make it work pretty smoothly. I think I might have it easier than some families who go to church together because we just get it done on Sunday mornings, and their is NO CHANCE at all for Jason and I to have any conflict. There are no expectations about who should be doing what and the kids and I are almost always on time. Yay for us! I try really hard to plan ahead, making things smooth on Sunday mornings, and to make our mornings pleasant because I don't ever want to be that mom that yells at my kids all the way to church, then gets there and smiles for everyone else. Oh, you better believe there have been mornings where I have done that, but I don't like it one bit.

I have loved every church that we have been at, and we have been so blessed to create family within each of our church homes. God has been so good to us. Heaven is going to rock! I can't wait to hang out with all my favorite people that are currently spread throughout the country!

So yesterday morning, when I was thinking about all the different seasons of our life together, I was overwhelmed with God's goodness and faithfulness. He has provided exceedingly for our family in so many ways. He has brought us through so many happy seasons and hard seasons, and our faith in Him has grown more and more because of it. I wanted to shout it from the rooftops that our God is GOOD. He is really, really, really GOOD.

Church planting has been a new experience that I never could have prepared for. At first, I just thought it was a dream of ours. I almost had a hard time asking people for help in this adventure that God had put on our hearts because it felt like asking people to help us to get our most wanted Christmas present or something.  It seemed too good to be true. To good to be asking for support in any way because I felt like a spoiled kid asking for help because I wanted our dream "job/life."

I have come to see that it is so much more than that.

It truly is a mission.  Like Lori said, it really is like having a baby. It's this dream that you have and then when you hold the baby in your arms, you realize that there is NO POSSIBLE way that you can raise this baby on your own. YOU NEED HELP!! Ultimately God's help, and help from the people that God puts in your life.

Every single person that comes to The Crossing is a personal, answered prayer. It is so amazing to look around the room, and know a little bit of the prayer behind how that person got there. The love, care, and concern that we have for each of those people is almost like the love that you have for the baby God puts in your arms. It's unbelievable. I love these people. I love them so much and I want help in making their experience as a member of The Crossing to be life-changing. I want them to know and experience God. I want us to all grow together and love each other as we love Jesus.  I want to know about their lives. I want to serve them. I want to pray for them, laugh with them, live with them. It just feels so personal and so deep.

I am so thankful that God is letting us walk this road.

Just like with parenting, sometimes fear starts to creep in. What if we don't make it? What if no-one comes? What if, what if, what if?

And when that fear rears it's ugly head, I start thinking of all the faces that God has brought to The Crossing. I start thinking about each of the answered prayers, and I start thanking God for all of it. And then the fear loses it's place.

Yesterday was one of those morning where it was pretty much impossible to stay in my seat during worship. Any hesitation to keep my hand down was ignored. And even though our numbers were low, it didn't matter because every person that was at church, was a gift from God.



Planting a church was/is our dream. But changing lives is God's dream. And the two go together like cookies and milk! Please join us in praying for this mission field in Spring Branch/Bulverde, and don't forget to pray for the mission field that YOU are living in because it's all around you, I promise.