Summer Sunday Nites

We are looking ahead to the birth of this new church and making plans to start gathering together.  This Sunday, June 2nd, at 5pm we will meet at the Villages of New Kentucky.  This will be a great opportunity to see who else is involved and desiring to be a part of Family Life Church.  We will grill some hot dogs and ask you to provide chips, dips, and desserts.  We will provide the drinks as well.  And don't forget the lawn chairs and outdoor yard games.  We plan to bring some water balloons along for some fun so keep your distance if you do not wish to get wet!

I will give everyone an update on the current status of Family Life Church and share some of the incredible ways God has richly blessed us even before we have ever begun.  We will also give you the dates for more summer fun and fellowship.  Come and join us this weekend!

p.s. If you are not getting our email updates re: Family Life Church then send us the address you wish to use!
(We will be sending addresses of the Summer Sunday Nites via email or text.)

WHAT - SUMMER SUNDAY NITES

WHEN - This Sunday, June 2nd, 5pm

WHERE - Villages of New Kentucky
                 *if you need directions (see above p.s.) and shoot us an email, call or text! (cpace@flcac.org)

WHAT TO BRING - Chips, Dips, or Desserts
                                  Chairs
                                  Swimsuit and Towel (may get to use the pool)
                                  Water Balloons (pre-filled, please)
                                  Other Outdoor Games
  

Aliens and Weirdos

So I am now entering my final two weeks of a 6 year journey with WBC.  It is very revealing in hindsight how God has been preparing me all these years for the journey ahead.  I think we have covered that this would not have been my 15 year plan.  I am reminded of numerous prerequisites that are soon to return -  like being the first to arrive and last to leave, moving chairs 12,000 times, and wearing more hats than a royal wedding.  You know, everything learned in the degree program.  I have often questioned God on the path we have walked.  Not that it has been the wrong path though there have certainly been some moments.  It has just been so foreign, out of place.

Have you ever felt out of place?  My journey has reminded me of this continually.  I am not a Texan and I did not get here as fast as I could.  I do not own western clothes of any sort, would never wear boots, and could care less about UT or A&M, though I do like me some BBQ.  When I moved here I only knew my wife.  But I began to realize that I was not alone as God revealed more and more people on this same journey.  There was something very recognizable about them though we had never met nor shared any particular interests.  We were aliens, strangers in the land.    

You know the Old Testament is filled with language referencing the foreigner/alien/stranger in the land.  Mostly about understanding what it means to be one or how to treat one.  (No politics here; I have enough issues.)  There is a constant reminder in the Scriptures that "you were once strangers in the land of Egypt."  And that, in Christ, we are "in this world yet not of this world." And again Paul says that our "citizenship is in heaven and that we eagerly await a Savior."  I believe this to be one of our greatest struggles as followers of Christ and a continual reminder we need.

We are strangers in the land.  This is not our home.  The law of the land is not the law on our hearts.  We answer to the King not the President.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being born again!  This is not activism; it is identity and we need to be reminded of who we are; Whose we are.  Do not fret, worry, complain, or give up!  We need a constant reminder of these things and we are excited to be starting just such a place soon!

The cross of Christ does something to those who surrender their lives before it and they are forever marked by the experience.  I have met many such people over the years and though they work regular jobs, maybe helped keep Austin weird, and even like the Astros they remember that their citizenship is eternal!  So thankful for the years of ministry at RCS, CA, and WBC and looking forward to this August when Family Life Church at Cypress gathers a group of aliens/strangers/foreigners to seek together the kingdom of God as we eagerly await the Savior!      

Make ready your heart, Make ready your home, Make ready the people of God

A few years ago a worship leader's wife shared that motto with me and it has been percolating in my head ever since. I think I knew immediately that I was a bit out of order, but we were doing all the things we thought we were supposed to be doing and so maybe I just wasn't going to have the luxury of time to "make ready my heart." Very well meaning, I think I often let my service to my church and my students take priority over my husband and kids who were being dragged along in the wake.  I had the order wrong.

Then 20 months ago things drastically changed.  It started when Chris was gone to preteen camp with the oldest two kids and I had the distinct feeling like God was telling me maybe we should make a switch to homeschooling our kids. Chris's reaction was "whatever you do- don't make a decision until I get home." With him gone, all I knew was to lean in to God's voice; I read my Bible and prayed like crazy. In the midst of that, I read a verse in Isaiah 2 that said "He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths." I immediately knew that this verse was important. A few days later I was reading in Micah 4 and read the same verse quoted in Isaiah! I got chills. I felt like God was telling me he had spent 30+ years teaching me and training me and now was time to take a big step of faith. We did take that step and since then God has continued taking us down a path we would not have planned for ourselves but that he has been equipping us for all along as he has "shown us his ways."  I think this step had to be taken for me to be even remotely ready to take this giant leap of faith now. This was the first stage in making ready my heart.

Make ready your home...

I also shifted my focus back to discipling and training my kids. Spending most hours of the day with them I quickly saw some things we needed to work on. First, I set to knit their hearts to ours. I think in our hectic life our oldest two were starting to pull away a little too soon.  I know this is normal and expected but there was some more training and building up that needed to take place first. I needed to make sure we had their heart. Making ready your home, like making ready your heart, is a continual process but at least my desire is to keep things in the proper order.

Make ready the people of God...

I just don't think the pastor has the only obligation to make ready the people of God. I think as we live in community with each other and point each other toward Christ, as we disciple and teach the next generations, and as we live out our faith before others we are making ready the people of God.  This is a major aspect of this new path he is leading us down.

So where's this path going anyway?

When Chris first mentioned what he felt like God was leading us to do, my first response, surprisingly, wasn't "no." However, I'm not much of an adventurer and knowing this is a hard road my response was, "Let's wait and make sure there's not some other path God is wanting to take us down." And we did. We prayed and waited and took baby steps until we were both confident that "He had shown us His ways so that we may walk down this path."

This is certainly not something either of us aspired to do. We don't feel we can do it better than anyone else. We don't have all the answers to parenting, marriage or ministry. What we are confident in, though, is that He who called us is faithful and that He is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine... for His glory.

 And what a thrill to be asked to walk this path!                                                    
                                                                                                                                 ---Tori