6 Months

It's been way too long since I have done anything on this blog.  We'll see if a new year means more communication with others.

In the past few weeks, we have passed the six month mark of our official move to Olympia.  Part of it may be this milestone and part of it may be the change of a calendar year, but I have found myself looking back a lot recently.  In some ways I can't believe that is has gone this fast... and in some ways it feels like we have been in Olympia forever.

Regardless, I am a thankful man.  I am thankful that God made our housing transition as painless as possible.  We love our new house, our neighborhood, and this city that God has placed us in.  We love that we can walk Kayla to school and that so many of her classmates are also our neighbors- living within walking distance around us.  And last but not least, we love our church.  We know that God matched us up for a reason and this year should prove to be a ton of fun.  I am learning a lot- there will be some future posts for sure on that topic.

I am currently teaching through the book of Acts for our Sunday morning and evening services and we are working through the Psalms of Ascent on Thursday nights (Psalm 120-134).  Feel free to listen along off our website - www.realityolympia.com

One of the biggest church issues we are working through right now is related to our building.  Our current space is beautiful and has been a blessing to our church for the past years, but our lease is up at the end of March.  We are outgrowing the space for adults and kids and have been in discussion with the owners of the old Carnegie Library (just 3 blocks east of our current space) for months now.  Things have moved along tremendously well and we might be signing a 5 year lease for the new building as soon as next week.  That will make for a busy next 2 months of painting, renovating, and cleaning but it should be fun.  Keep us in your prayers!

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.