Backpacks for the Kingdom

Over the past few months of getting settled into a new church and new city, I have been praying for our church to find meaningful ways to live the gospel in Olympia.  Shortly into my time here, I started getting to know an organization called the YC (Youth Connection) which is only a few blocks east of our location.

They are a "non-religious, non-profit" organization which serves the teenage/high school students of Olympia by providing community center care- food, tutoring, and a safe environment to hang out (pool tables, wi-fi, and lots of video games).  Oh, and it just so happens that everyone that works there is a Christian...

A few weeks ago, one of the staff who comes to Reality often, shared their desire to provide school supplies and backpacks to the growing number of homeless teens they work with.  They want to do whatever they can to help encourage these young men and women in the pursuit of school and education.  So- hoping the best- I jumped on board and committed to 15-20 backpacks by the end of September.

This past Sunday marked the last church service of the month and the pile has now grown!  I'm so thrilled with the response that we have had and look forward to bringing our 43 backpacks jammed with school supplies over to the YC.  I pray that this is just one of the first steps Reality can have toward working with and loving those students... and the first step of many more to live the gospel in our city.

Home, Sweet, Home

Finally, finally, finally - after 2 1/2 months, 6 houses, and a thorough tour of the Olympia area, we moved in to our new house this past Friday night.  We had plenty of help from Reality people and knocked out the storage unit in a few hours.  We have spent a lot of the weekend unpacking all the boxes and there still is plenty more to go- but... it's home.

It's amazing how a few months of not having a permanent residence makes you appreciate the simple things of life- knowing what cupboard/drawer the silverware and plates are in, having your clothes without wrinkles and hanging up, and best of all- really being able to exhale when getting home at the end of the day.

Thanks to all who help house or find housing for us.

For those of you "out of towners" - here's our new address:

 

1714 Pear St. NE Olympia, WA 98506

We are keeping just our cell phones without a home phone.

Oh- and did I mention that there's a spare bedroom open and waiting for whoever wants to come and visit!

Bumper Cars... Enough Said

Vacation Fun in Seaside

Our much-anticipated Jones family beach trip is now upon us.  Talk about a recipe for success... 12 young cousins under the age of 8, the 3 original Jones kids (with spouses), Grandma and Grandpa, and one huge beach house overlooking the Pacific.  What a great way to beat the heat and find some rest in the middle of our Olympia transition.  Here are some fun pics of day one.

We Bought a House... No We Didn't... Yes We Did!

So- following the fun that is our life... As I told you in my last post, we made an offer on a house, received a counter offer that was more than we wanted to swallow, and walked away on Tuesday trusting that God had something better for us.  

This past Saturday night, while out on a much-anticipated dinner date with Callie (the kiddos were with Callie's parents), we received a phone call from our real estate agent.  She was just calling to inform us that the seller had reconsidered our original offer and was now willing to accept it. We just smiled and laughed and are extremely excited about the prospect of closing on that house by September 18th.  

These past 2 months have been an incredible ride of faith and truly like never before, nothing surprises me when it comes to God and His ways.  

Oh- and Cam- there is an extra room waiting for Logan's "big brother."

We Bought a House... No We Didn't

Just keeping you up to date on the Jones' house saga...

Last Thursday night we put an offer on a house that we have had our eyes on for the past several months.  Because it is a "buyer's market," we offered $10,000 under the asking price and awaited a response.  Maybe I should say that we patiently awaited their response.  

Contractually, they were supposed to respond by Friday night.  Friday night came and went with promises of news by Saturday.  Saturday night came and went with promises of a Sunday deliberation.  By Sunday night they were saying that we would hear by 12 noon on Monday.  So, finally, some time Monday afternoon, they responded with a counter offer that was just slightly over our pre-determined limit.  While we probably could have pushed it and made it work, we didn't feel right pushing our boundaries.

So, after all that- we walked away trusting that God has another house for us.

In the meanwhile, we are continuing our greater-Olympia house tour.  First Tumwater, then the Westside of Olympia, then Tumwater again, then Lacey, and now a house out in the country toward Yelm until next Tuesday.  

Please pray for us because living out of a suitcase for a month is wearing on all of us a bit.

Church as a Gift

Even though I haven't been "doing ministry" for that long, over the past 9 years of pastoral ministry, I have seen in my own soul the best of serving the Lord and I have seen the worst.  And one of the greatest challenges to every person in vocational ministry is to find the balance between self-effort and God's activity.  One of the most common traps that is so easy to fall into is to buy the lie that any "success" or growth in a ministry is due to your own hard work, natural talent, and/or personal effort.  You will often hear at pastor's conferences, "Yeah, I started out with only a handful of people and then I grew it to hundreds or thousands."  Really, you grew it.

I have been reminded and humbled in this regard recently by my most recent job change and ministry assignment.  As most of you know, I just moved up to Olympia to pastor a church that is bit over 2 years old with about 200 people in the downtown area.  

And here's the beauty of it right now for me- this church is a gift of God by His grace... period.  I was saying to my wife the other day.  I have done absolutely nothing to earn, deserve, or merit this church.  I can't even be tempted right now to take any credit because I haven't done anything but show up.  The people aren't there because of me- they don't know me.  They aren't gathering because of my great sermons- they've heard only a couple.  I didn't plant this church, I haven't "grown" this church, and I have no claim to it.  It belongs to Jesus.  I am grateful for those who have gone before and labored to get it to this place, but again, it wasn't me.

Every day I come to serve and every chance I get to preach, I do so with thankfulness and joy because it really isn't my church at all.  And I pray that as the years go on, I would remember that.  When I am tempted to take credit down the road, may I remember that this is a gift.  It doesn't belong to me and if anything of spiritual worth comes from it, all credit, glory, and honor must go to One who really is building His church... and that's Jesus.

Amsterdam on My Mind

For the past few days, I have really been thinking and praying a lot about Amsterdam.  A large part of that is due to the fact that there is a team of young adults over there right now carrying out a mission trip that I was going to be on if I didn't leave for Olympia.  As I read their blogs, I can replay the sights, sounds, smells, and the emotions of being there with the team last year.

Mission trips are always profound times of spiritual growth for me. By being forced out of my routine and comfort zone, God always stretches, refreshes, and speaks to me in new ways.  Last summer was definitely no different.

The other day I was going back and reading some of my journal entries from last summer's trip. It's amazing how that time shaped my heart, my views on incarnational ministry, my desire to reach the city, and gave me fresh reminders of the brokenness of humanity.

So- from Olympia this morning- I pray for:

-The conversations at Vondel Park to by marked by love and messages of Jesus

-The addictions and wounds of the Red Light District to be met by the freedom and healing of Jesus

-The darkness of the city to be overcome by the Light who is Jesus

-The prayer and worship of the saints to exalt Jesus because when He is exalted... things cannot help but change.

And I pray that the lessons I learned from my time of ministry in Amsterdam would change how I do ministry today in Olympia.

Daddy Dates

In the midst of our changing, ever-moving lives, we have tried to keep some of the same routines from our life back in Vancouver.  That has meant the continuation of our long-standing "Daddy Date" tradition.

Due to the way our week unfolded, Kelsi got to go first.  She chose a lovely dinner with me at Red Robin, or "Red Robins" 

as she calls it.  I think she chose to go there because she has memories of us going there as a family back in Vancouver.  After a wonderful cheeseburger meal, we headed over to the nearby mall where she got to pick out her favorite candy from the candy store.  It took a while but she finally got the perrrfect bag of gummy bears.  The end of the night found us at Toys R Us where Kelsi got to pick out a special toy to bring home.  What a fun night with my Little Jo-Jo.

Kayla's turn came the following Saturday and we had a special lunch date at Johnny Rocket's- a 50's style diner in the Capitol Mall.  

It was a similar place to the Stardust Diner back in Vancouver where we had been on previous dates.  After lunch, we took in the latest Pixar movie, Wall-e.  Once the movie wrapped up, we headed over to Toys R Us to equal the playing field from Kelsi's date.   A Mary Poppins doll and a Buzz Lightyear toy for Logan later, we headed home.

I am always amazed at two things every time I do a Daddy Date.  First, it blows me away to

 watch the waitresses reaction at my girls when they learn they are on a "daddy date."  I hear, "your daughter is so cute" every time.  Second and most importantly, both my girls literally glow during our dates.  They know they are so valued and loved and they get extra cuddly.  I recommend it to every father in the world!

Sold!

We are so excited to announce that our house in Vancouver has finally sold.  And has it ever been a whirlwind of a week.  Last Thursday morning (July 17th), we got a call from a realtor saying that he had a couple that liked our floor plan and wanted to show it that afternoon.  By that night, they had been back twice and had made an offer that was very close to our asking price.  

Due to their pressing need to get into a house by the end of July, we chose to do the impossible- pack up our entire house in 3 days, load a U-Haul the next day, and drive to Olympia to put it in storage to cap it all off.  So, as of this past Saturday (July 26th), I closed the door on our Public Storage unit and wrapped up one of the most crazy weeks of my life.  All our earthly possessions are now in Olympia and we are free to start formally pursuing some of the houses we have been keeping our eyes on.

Note to self- don't move for a long time.  

Extra note to self- when you do move, don't try to do it all in 1 week.

Reason to Love Olympia #1 - The Waterfront Area

I know I am being duped because I am moving here at the most glorious time of the year- but man, is the waterfront area of downtown Olympia spectacular when the the sun is out.  Blue sky, blue water, and beauty.

The other night we packed up the kids and played a bit down at a play structure a few blocks from the church.  

Here are some pics of the what I think

 are the cutest kids in the world.  You can see the Capital building in the background of the one with all of them.

A Full Week

Though it may not seem like a big deal, this week is actually a huge one for me and my family.  For the past couple of weeks, we (or I) have been doing the commute things back and for between Olympia and Vancouver.  A service in Olympia one day, back down to Vancouver for the next few days.  Another service in Olympia one day, and back down to Vancouver to wrap up life at Crossroads.

But, as of this past Sunday, July 6th, we are Olympians for a full week.  Not only did I get to preach my first Sunday AM and PM, but we actually stayed in town after it.  God has been very faithful to provide housing for us as we are basically crashing different people's homes who are on vacation.  By doing that, we basically have free housing covered between now and the first part of August.  We are so grateful for all those in Olympia who have welcomed us with open arms and literally given us so much to help in this process.

For those who care, here is our itinerary for the foreseeable future:

-Sunday, July 6th to Sunday, July 13th: Olympia @ Ben and Shaelyn Mead's house

-Monday, July 14 to Tuesday, July 15th: Vancouver @ home

-Wednesday, July 16th to ?: Olympia @ Zack and Randi Wilson's house

Oh, and be praying for our house to sell.  We have shown it 12 or 13 times in the last 2 1/2 weeks, but still no official offers.  We trust that God will take care of this, but it can be stretching some times when it feels like it is dragging on forever.

Off and Running

Very early this morning, my wife and I returned from our first "official" time up in Olympia as pastor of Reality. I headed up Wednesday afternoon to be part of an elder's meeting and then spent Thursday morning driving around the great city of Olympia with a realtor. It was a great driving tour that allowed me to walk through a couple of houses we had found online and provided me with good insider information about the various neighborhoods, schools, and such.

By far, though, the highlight of the 2 day trip was Thursday night... the first official service of the church where I was able to share a bit of my story and answer questions from people in the church. It's really hard for me to put into words what all I was feeling that night. How do you explain the culmination of so much prayer, discussion, and waiting? Everyone was so warm and inviting and I think everyone could sense a bit of relief that the whole "search process" is now over. Without a doubt, good things are ahead.

I know that the next few weeks (hopefully not months) of commutting until the house sells will be tough - kind of that feeling of not being here and not being there. But I am so excited to start meeting a bunch of people and leading toward the mission that God has laid out for us.

Changes, Moves, and Transitions

It's been almost a year since I last blogged on this site ... I guess it is time to dust off the keyboard and get back to sharing more of my thoughts, questions, and journey. A lot has changed in the past year - a lot has changed in the last week.

As of a week ago, I am now the new pastor of a church named Reality up in Olympia, WA. Over the next month, our family will undergo the transition of selling our house, wrapping up our duties here in Vancouver at Crossroads, and shift into the the new life God is calling us to up north.

I know more than a few of you guys from Olympia have checked out this blog to try and get to know the "new guy." Sorry that it has been so outdated that it was tough to get a good read on where I am at. I am really looking forward to sharing more of my thoughts and even interacting with you all here and other cyber-places as this transition thing moves on. If I could blink my eyes, get my house sold, and be all settled in Olympia, I think I would. But the better part of my heart knows that even this part of the journey is God-inspired and incredibly valuable.

To those in Vancouver- we will miss you tons.
To those in Olympia- we are so excited to meet our new family.

Please pray for us