Are You Ready?

You know that verse in 1 Peter that talks about being prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have? Well, I just want you to know that I totally agree with Peter (you can breathe easy now). You never know when you're going to get bamboozled!

I was sitting at my desk at work on Tuesday afternoon minding my own business. All the sudden my co-worker comes into the office, sits down and says, "Does your church follow the 10 commandments?" I nearly choked on my Diet Coke! I said, "What do you mean?" He said, "Like do you follow them as rules? Does your church stand up for them?" I began to answer when he interrupted me, "And do you drink alcohol? How do you feel about baptism for the dead? Are black people cursed because of Cain?"

Oh snap, it was on!

I tried as best as I could to answer his questions, all while praying feverishly for wisdom! He shared with me all kinds of things the Mormon church believes and wanted to know my opinion about them. He drilled me for about 20 minutes then got up, walked out, and went back to work.

He's done this kind of thing a few times before. He'll ask questions, we'll talk, and then weeks will go by before he talks about it again.

I'm super open about my relationship with God, but not pushy at all. Everyone knows we're starting a church and most people have agreed to try it when we launch. People ask me questions about our church and God; it's super cool!

In fact, Vince got together with one of my co-workers last weekend to talk about evidence for the Bible. It went as well as it could have; the guy is all about aliens and conspiracy theories so it got a little weird at points.

I don't know about you, but I often don't feel prepared. There are so many questions that I don't know the answer to and some of their questions are just plain crazy! The more I think about it, the more I feel like the answers aren't always the "goal" of the conversation. It's about giving people our attention and respecting and loving them. I don't always have answers for my co-workers, but they always come back.

The second section of the verse in 1 Peter says, "But do this with gentleness and respect..."

Once again, I agree with Peter (Ha)! What a smart guy!!!!

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Prayer

I’m in the middle of Beth Moore’s “Breaking Free” study. I’ve done it a ton of times and each time it hits me differently. I was reading today about prayer and was really convicted about my lack of prayer. Here’s what she said...

“Prayer matters. The Spirit of God released through our prayers and the prayers of others turn cowards into conquerors, chaos into calm, cries into comfort. The enemy knows the power of prayer. He’s been watching it furiously for thousands of years. In preparation for this lesson, I searched for all the uses of the word pray in its various forms from Genesis to Revelation. I nearly wept as I saw hundred of references.

Abraham prayed…Isaac prayed…Jacob prayed…Moses left Pharaoh and prayed…So Moses prayed for the people…Manoah prayed to the Lord…Samson prayed…Hannah wept much and prayed…So David prayed…Elijah stepped forward and prayed…Elisha prayed, “O, Lord”…After Job had prayed for his friends…Hezekiah prayed to the Lord…Daniel got down on his knees and prayed…From inside the fish Jonah prayed…Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed…Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed.

If Christ sought to have the divine life strengthened in Him through solitary times of intimacy with the Father, how much more should I? I am hopeless to live victorious life without prayer.”

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What A Roller Coaster Year!

On Saturday we celebrated our one year anniversary in Vegas. I can't believe a year has gone by. So much has changed in 12 months. God has done some amazing things and it's been so cool to be here to see it all. It's been such a roller coaster year!

On Saturday we got the final approval for the building we're hoping to lease. Never in a million years did I think Verve would have a building. The only time Vince has worked in a church with a building was when he did his internship in 1994. We've always been part of "portable" churches. The thought of actually having our own space is exciting and a little overwhelming!

Vince signed the lease today and got the key. Thank you SO much for praying for this and for financially supporting us. We appreciate it so much!

As I look back on this year I am overwhelmed and awed that God has chosen us to start this church. As hard as this year has been, I KNOW God has called us here and I am so thankful!

P.S. Thanks for praying for Marissa's EEG. Everything came out normal. Dawson had a CT Scan today for his migraines. I'll keep you posted on the results.

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Pros and Cons

When I was pregnant with my first child, Dawson, I was really sick. Not your average run-of-the-mill- pregnancy sick, but throw-up-literally-every-5-minutes-of-every-hour-of-everyday-for-the-first-16-weeks kind of sick. I had to be hospitalized multiple times. I had to wear a backpack full of milkshake-fluid that fed me through a tube that was attached to my heart through a PIC line. The only relief I got from throwing up was by taking a chemotherapy drug, but that didn’t start working until after my 16th week.

As if the pregnancy wasn’t bad enough, the delivery was awful too. Dawson came out blue, with the umbilical cord wrapped around his head. I had third degree lacerations. They thought Dawson had a heart condition (which he didn’t) and kept him in NICU for several days. Once we finally got home I started getting terribly sick and was readmitted to the hospital. After almost dying, they realized they left part of the placenta inside me. Oops…

When the decision came to have another child we were warned that it would just as bad, if not worse. They weren’t kidding.

The puking started, the PIC line was inserted, hospitalizations occurred, etc. If I thought I was miserable with Dawson, I was twice as miserable with Marissa. The vomiting was twice as bad and to top it off I got a yeast infection in my PIC line, which caused me to be re-hospitalized and for the rest of my pregnancy I had to see an Infectious Disease Control doctor every week. Good times…

Even the delivery was worse than Dawson’s; I had one push to get Marissa out or she literally would have died. At least I didn’t have any lacerations!

When I share this story with people they always say something like, “WHY did you have another child? You knew it was going to be horrible. You are insane!” Honestly it wasn’t really much of a decision for us. We knew we wanted to have another child; we knew the pros and cons and made the choice to endure the horrible times because the amazing times would far outweigh them. And I’m so glad that we made that decision because I can’t imagine my life without Marissa. Was it worth the pain? Of course!

Deciding to plant a church is a lot like deciding to have a baby. It’s a major decision with plenty of pros and cons. When we planted Forefront it was pretty much a no-brainer. We thought, “Of course we will start a new church!” Much like my first pregnancy, we didn’t know what was in store for us. It was incredibly difficult. Sometimes I felt like throwing up every 5 minutes! It was stressful, exhausting and depressing at times. But it’s also one of the most rewarding experiences of our lives. Was it worth the pain? Of course!

When we started feeling like God was telling us to start another church it wasn’t such an easy decision. We knew that it would be just as bad, if not worse, especially given the fact that it would happen in Sin City. We thought, “Do we really want to start a new church again?” But, like with my second pregnancy, we knew what we were in store for and made the decision to go ahead anyway. We made the choice to endure the horrible times because the amazing times would far outweigh them. I’m going to be perfectly honest with you…it’s been really difficult this time around. But, do you think it will it be worth the pain? Of course! (I hope)!

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New Jersey in the House!

I’m in New Jersey for my sister’s baby shower. She’s a few months shy of 40 and ready to pop with my niece. She has two boys from her first marriage. I haven’t seen her since her wedding last Valentine’s Day. My nephews are 7 and 9; I can’t believe how much they have grown in a year.

Being here is making me sad because it’s reminding me that the decision to move to Las Vegas is not without its consequences. When we lived in Virginia Beach I would see my sister 2-3 times a year. Now that I’m on the other side of the country, the times we see each other are few and far between. Knowing that my nieces and nephews are growing and changing and I’m only going to see them once a year saddens me. Knowing that my kids won’t ever have the chance to be close to their cousins makes me want to cry, especially because none of my family are Christians.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s not like we lived in the same town or even state. It’s just that it was a lot easier and cheaper to see each other.

So here’s my question for you: How do you connect with family who live far away from you? Do you have any advice or creative ideas to share? I’m sure I’m not the only one, so any wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

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EEG Update

Marissa's EEG was this morning. Thank you so much to those of you who prayed. She did great and stayed awake just like she was supposed to. We have an appointment in two weeks to get the results.

We're not sure when Dawson's CT Scan is. We're waiting for the office to call us for an appointment. I'll keep you posted!

I'm headed to New Jersey tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing my sister and parents. I'm not looking forward to the weather...BURR!!!!

Vince has a new book called, "Guerrilla Lovers" that's being released February 1st. We got a copy today! I am so proud of him. I promise I'm not being biased, but it's amazing; it's hard to believe but it's even better than his first book. I'm so excited for you guys to read it and see what God does in your life!

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An EE What?

Look at me...it's been 2 days since I last blogged. So far so good on my New Year's resolution!

Right before Thanksgiving Marissa had a seizure at school. Nothing like this has ever happened to her before. She was in the playground and "fainted" twice, hitting her head on the concrete. After an evaluation at the neurologist they ordered her to have an EEG. Basically it's like an EKG, but for the brain instead of the heart.

Her EEG is tomorrow morning. Here's the problem: The test has to be done while the child is sleep deprived. So she has to stay awake until midnight tonight and has to wake up at 5am tomorrow morning. Her test isn't until 9:30am and she's not allowed to fall asleep before then. Please pray for her. Not only for help to stay awake, but for the results.

I took Dawson to the doctor this morning. He has been having migraines. They've been going on for over a year, but are getting progressively worse and more frequent. The doctor ordered him to have a CT Scan. He said he wanted to rule out a brain tumor. What in the world? Do you want me to have a panic attack?

Fear is something that I've struggled with my entire life. For instance, as a child I wouldn't sleep at people's houses because I was afraid my family would be killed while I was away. The older I got the more the fear increased. Adding a husband and kids to the mix nearly put me over the edge. It's been a long journey, but He has given me freedom from paralyzing fear. God has done amazing work in this area of my life.

So when my kids' health is at stake, like it is now, I have a choice to make. I can get freaked out, let my mind spin wildly out of control and fall into a pit of depression...or I can trust God. This time I've made the right choice. I'm choosing to believe that God is in control. I'm not allowing the "what ifs" to steal my peace and contentment.

Acknowledging my tendencies towards fear is crucial to victory in my life. I can easily go from "fine" to "horrible." I've got to stay close to God and constantly make the right choices about my thoughts. I don't always succeed, but thankfully those times are less and less common.

So while you're praying for my kids (thank you) would you also pray for me, that fear doesn't take over and consume me. Thanks!

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! One of my resolutions this year is to blog more consistently. Hopefully I'll follow through, but I can't make any promises. On New Year's Eve my friend made the decision to give up drinking soda. By 10:45am on New Year's Day, she gave up! It was a classic moment that I'm glad I got to witness.

My life has gone crazy! December was an insane month and I'm so glad it's over. My kids have been off from school since Thanksgiving. They go to a year-round school so they get three 1-month breaks instead of a long summer break. Poor Vince has been stuck working at home with them because I'm working at the gym. They finally go back to school tomorrow.

This was my first Thanksgiving and Christmas where we didn't spend time with my family...talk about depressing! My parents visited in December, which was awesome, but I didn't get to see my brother and sister and their families. My kids missed spending the holidays at Grandma and Grandpa's with their cousins, which broke my heart.

I'm going to my sister's house in New Jersey later this week for her baby shower. I'm not looking forward to the snow, but am looking forward to seeing my pregnant sister! For once she will weigh more than me! Ha!

Things with the church are going good. We've added more people to our launch team and are getting ready for our opening day. We're still getting some quotes on build-out expenses for the building, but everything is looking good. We've added a Children's Minister who is amazing; God is so awesome!

One of my best friends has moved into our house with her husband and three kids. Juli is like a breath of fresh air for me. Her husband Chuck was on staff with Vince at Forefront. He's trying to raise support so he can work full-time for Verve. If you or your church have some extra money and would like to help him reach his goal, let me know!

So there are 9 of us plus one annoying dog living at my house. Things are going great, with the exception of the relationship between the annoying dog and the twins. Noah and Samuel are 4 and were adopted from Haiti. They've been in the States for a little over a year. Unfortunately, they are terrified of animals and Kuma is causing a lot of stress for them. If you have any suggestions I will take them! Some prayers wouldn't hurt either!!!!

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