Funny Stuff

This morning at Mom's Group, I was greeted by Lisi with a statement I never thought I'd hear in my life. She said, "Hi Pastor Lowie, I heard you on the radio!" Let me explain. Riding in the car, Lisi heard one of the songs we sing at church, "Every Move I Make," and Lisi asked her mom, "Is that Pastor Lowie singing?" Amy, her mom, went along with it and said, "Oh. I'm sure it is." Or something like that. Isn't it funny how their minds work? I guarantee, you will NEVER hear me sing on the radio. Lord help us all. :)

If you are able to come to Mom's Group, I promise you will be blessed by the fellowship. Check out the website for dates and places. http://jordancreek.org.

The Good, the Bad and Iowa

I'm so sad....no church today. That means no shouts of "Pastor Lori, Passor Low-ie, Paasta Lowrie...etc." No smiling chubby faces, no high five-low five-cut the pickle-tickle tickle, no quiet seat prizes, and no "Hey, what's the big idea?" You would think I'd just like the fact that I have a day off, but I miss those little stinkers so much when I don't get to see them.

The good news is we have some friends here from Minnesota and they may be here a little longer than planned thanks to our lovely Iowa weather. Teresa has been a part of our family for about 15 years. We met her while she was in college and became her surrogate parents. She's only 8 years younger than me, but I'm kinda her second mom. Teresa lost both her parents unexpectedly when she was a teenager and so Randy and I have tried to fill that void in her life. She and her husband, David, pastor Lester Park United Methodist Church in Duluth, MN. Anyway, Teresa came down with her two beautiful children, Rebekah (6) and Nathan (4) to see their "grandma Lori and grandpa Randy." We had our own church service here this morning and I taught the kids the "On a Day Like This" song. It was fun to have a service with her kids; Rebekah even put on a dress for us! I preached in my jog suit. Sweet.

I have a roast in the oven and we are just going to wait out the storm. I'm so over winter, but shouldn't complain. We are blessed to be inside, warm and safe and with ones we love.

Daddy Date Pics

A couple of weeks ago, we had our first annual Daddy Date Night. Here are some pics of our princesses and their dates. Aren't they about the most adorable girls you've ever seen? Good times.

Stuff, more stuff and that one thing

I had a great time this morning. I had the privilege of doing chapel time at Des Moines Christian School. I love going there, they are so welcoming and appreciative and the kids are so well behaved. I preached on trusting God no matter what. I told the kids that when I prepare to be there, I don't just randomly choose a Bible story but I pray and ask God what He wants me to preach on. I made the comment that I know when I do that and God shows me what to preach on that there will be someone there that needs to hear what God has to say. It was so precious; one of the teachers came to me in tears saying it was she who needed those words today. I thank God for the opportunity to minister there. If I were still raising kids, I sure would love to have them at that school; of course, only if it was the place He wanted them. :)

If you have never met Amy Main's grandma Mary, AKA Grandma GiGi, you are missing out!!!! I got the sweetest note from her yesterday. She's one awesome gal, you just want to squeeze her. Grandma GiGi...you be good and get all the way better so you can come see us at JCFC soon. You would love the Buzz!

Yesterday, Morgan and I had a meeting about Baby Steps. We are planning more room for our ever expanding nursery. We will have once again some new changes in the near future. Pray all the details come together and God will bless us with people who want to serve our babies. One Sunday a month is such a HUGE help to us and I promise the hugs and smiles are well worth the few tears and a little drool! :) Just ask Morgan how thrilling it is to hear a toddler say "Jesus" for the first time.

I love our church and it's people, even Ed, AKA Gordo. Just teasing, Eduardo. I can't believe I call what I do "work" sometimes...it seems more like having fun on a daily basis.

Babies

Today was a busy day in Baby Steps at JCFC. We had 15 babies!! What was a little surprising was that we were missing 3 or 4 "regulars", too. We also have 4 ladies that are expecting. It's very exciting to see the church growing weekly. Of course not all our growth is due to people getting pregnant, but it's sure fun having all those sweet babies to love and spoil. It's hard to imagine all the details, but it won't be long before we need another theater to split up the infants and toddlers. I'm so thankful to Morgan and all our Baby Steps volunteers who take such great care of our precious ones. They work hard every week but some weeks they really go the extra mile! If you want to be used by God to teach and love children, please pray about joining our team. You won't ever regret spending one Sunday a month ministering to who I think are the most important people at our church!

Happy Valentine's Day

Here he is ...the man who still makes my heart go pitter-patter after 26 1/2 years of marriage. I am so blessed to have Randy as my husband. He has sacrificed a lot for me to be able to do what God has called me to do. He helps me so much at church and never complains and has been my nurse-maid through 9 surgeries in the past 4 years! Way above and beyond the call of duty. He is the best father to our two kids; all of their best traits come from their daddy. Well, except maybe their quirky sense of humor. Randy is amazing in many ways but most importantly, he loves the Lord and leads his home as Christ would have it done. Thanks my hunky man. You're the best, I surely got the better end of the deal. He tells people he married me because he thought my family had money. Always the funny guy. :)

Too Funny

I thought this was too funny not to share. If you had never been a children's pastor but have kids you still will find some truth in this. Happy Valentine's Day!

People Know You’re the Children’s Pastor When…

The last time you made it to the adult service you tried to do the motions to Amazing Grace.
You were banned from the produce aisle of the local grocery store for singing the theme song to Veggie Tales.
Your version of Jesus’ first miracle has Him turning water into Kool Aid.
You once gave your spouse the quiet seat prize after dinner.
You are starting to have meaningful conversations with your favorite puppet.
In the church foyer everyone runs when they see you coming for fear you’re trying to recruit them.
You’re afraid to close your eyes when you pray.
When people ask you how many children you have you tell them between 60 and 70.
You carry crackers in your pockets.
You have a helium tank in your office.
Your cracker and juice budget is bigger than your salary.
You buy everything in bulk.
You were stunned to learn that some scissors are pointed.
You once got stuck in the playground tube at McDonald’s.
You scotch-guarded your entire minivan.
You once cut up your pajamas to build a flannel graph board.
You plan an event for 200 and 50 show up.
You plan an event for 50 and 200 show up.
You prefer a root canal to meeting with the church board.
You know how to pray for healing for dogs, cats and goldfish.
The church janitor won’t speak to you.
You understand the terms: tinkle, winkie tink, stinker, and TT
You’ve never heard a guest speaker at your church.
You went to a four star restaurant and requested animal crackers for dessert.

You once sat up straight in the middle of the night and yelled at the top of your lungs, “IS BIG CHURCH OUT YET?!!!!”

Growth and Vision

I know I'm kinda weird but I love to send mail to the kids. I remember when I was little if I got a piece of mail, it was like winning some great prize! I sent Valentine's Day cards and what was so cool is that I needed so many of them. I had to make a second trip to Wellspring to get more! When we launched JCFC 1 1/2 years ago, we had 4 or 5 kids in Creek Kids and 2 or 3 in Baby Steps. This year, I sent out 52 Valentine's Day cards! I don't say that for my credit but as a praise God for the growth we have seen in such a short time.

It is exciting to see the vision God gave me 3 years ago happening. When the Lord began to show me where He would have me minister, it was very clear that is would be for a very large group of children. It was overwhelming at first because I sometimes feel inadequate to do such a big, life changing job but God keeps reminding me just to make myself available and He will work through me. I know if I stay humble and teachable before God, He will show me what and how to do the job. It can still be a little overwhelming when I recall that vision but now it is more exciting than scary. God is bringing along others to help me and who are catching the vision and I am so thankful! Next year, I hope I need to send out a couple hundred Valentine's Day cards!

Steadfast

The other day when I found out that Pastor Josh was sick with a high fever and feeling awful, I reacted in a way that surprised me. Of course, I was sad to hear he was sick but mainly I was TICKED. It seems of late that many people that we know are going through some unusually tough situations. There has been a lot of sickness, especially the Singletons, financial problems, relationship difficulties, car accidents and so on. I was ticked because I'm tired of the devil messing with people I love. I prayed all day Friday for Pastor Josh and rebuked the devil for all he thinks he can do to us. So take this devil:

People are giving their hearts and lives to Jesus. Some for the first time and some as a rededication; getting back to right relationship with God. Pastor Josh has been preaching a series about baggage and some have been able to receive emotional healing from past problems.

Bodies are being healed in Jesus' name including baby Thora, Amy's friend who was so sick, Grandma GiGi, my knees and many more!

Finances will be taken care of in Jesus name because the Lord is faithful to provide for those who love and serve Him. Period, no debate.

Keaton's car accident ended up blessing him with a better car for only a few dollars a month more on his payment. It's a sweet deal on a fully loaded Taurus. All the bells and whistles!

The Buzz is off to an incredible start and will only get better. Not only is it fun but families are spending time together hearing the Word and continuing the learning at home. The devil LOVES to destroy families and The Buzz is only making his job tougher. HA!

The Lord is bringing new families to JCFC every week.

Pastor Josh has had some opportunities to connect with people in the community that shows we not only have favor with God but favor with man. We do not seek man's approval but having favor will benefit the Kingdom of God.

More people at JCFC are getting involved with ministry and that can only do one thing...bring us closer together.

Daddy Date Night was a beautiful time for our fathers and daughters. And we have a lot more events coming up that help build relationships and give opportunities to invite others.

So I say...remain steadfast...stand on the promises of God...pray harder than you've ever prayed before...and get ready for even more victories!

The Big Night

Daddy Date Night was officially a success! Thanks to all our dads who made an unforgettable evening for their princesses. I hope to have some pics to post tomorrow. All the girls looked so pretty and were so excited they could hardly sit to eat their dinner. Mark Main shared some daddy advice and thoughts and did an incredible job. I had some extra help that made the night go very smooth. Thanks to Randy, Morgan, Jen, Laureen, Devon, Becky and Amy for all their help!!

I was so happy to have some old friends of JCFC that we haven't seen for awhile attend the evening, too. It was so great to reconnect with them! We had a couple of "crowd breakers" that gave them all a chance to get to know each other a little better. Devon looked stunning in a tiara. You'll have to ask him about it when you see him at church. :)

Next month is our Mother/Son Make & Take. The couples will get to build and paint bird houses and pig out on pizza. Save Friday, March 16 for the event. More details soon.

Phone Call

I received the phone call every parent dreads. Keaton called me a few minutes after 8 AM saying he was in a bad car accident. Praise God it was his voice I heard and not a police officer. Angela S. knows what I mean! He let me know right away that he was fine but couldn't talk because they were taking statements. When he was able to call back about an hour later, I got all the details. He was almost to his exit for work and wasn't even going the speed limit. The roads looked perfectly fine. He noticed traffic slowing up ahead and began to break and he said he could tell right away there was no stopping. He was on the dreaded black ice. With cars all around him he had to stay in his lane and he got slowed down to 25-30 MPH but hit the back end of an older mini van. The van in turn clipped a semi trailer. No one was hurt, the semi had a scratch on the stainless steel but Keaton's car and the van were pretty crunched up. We will find out Thursday if it's totaled. We heard on the news that there were lots of accidents this morning during the commute.

I am so thankful no one was hurt. Keaton feels a little sore but he didn't hit his head or anything. The crazy thing was that his air bag didn't deploy. I know God's hand of protection was on him. Pray he can get things resolved quickly with the insurance and that our rates don't go sky high. He was found at fault but not given a ticket. No getting around the fact that it's gonna cost him some money but hopefully he doesn't take it in the shorts too bad. God will provide.

Thanks to those who have called and checked on him and prayed when I sent out a quick e-mail to a few friends. It's great to have people you can count on to pray. Thanks Lord for watching out for my boy.

The Marketplace

After a year and a half I am still amazed at the reaction we get from "Christians" when I tell them we have church in a movie theater. Most people think it's very cool and are intrigued at the thought. Some are like, "How in the world do you do that...especially a children's ministry?" And then there are those who have that look on their faces of "Why aren't you in a real church building?" I'd love to memorize the following quote. I read it in a comment on Mark Batterson's blog and it rocks!

Scottish minister George MacLeod (founder of the nondenominational Iona Community in Glasgow in the 1930's) "I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, on the town garbage heap, on a crossroads so cosmopolitan that they had to write His title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek, at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble, because that is where He died and that is what He died about. And that is where church people should be and what church people should be about."

Those who read this and could almost weep at it's truth understand the desperate need to be where we are. There are hundreds and thousands of people within just a few miles of Century Theaters at Jordan Creek Mall that are going to Hell. That may sound blunt, rude, mean, and judgemental but it is true...unless we tell them about Jesus and the Truth be revealed to them. There are children who have every conceivable toy, gadget, new technology gizmo, designer clothes, and go to the perfect school but unless they meet Jesus they will be lost for eternity. Why would anyone question where we lead people to Christ? They should only question why aren't all churches using every available means to get the job done.

Gotta Brag

Okay, I just gotta brag about my kids! Yesterday was a big day with the start of the Buzz and getting to church an hour earlier for everyone. The kids handled it so well! I thought that by the time we were in Creek Kids, they may be fading on me but they were awesome.

One of my angels, Jordan, blessed me so much yesterday. She is the sweetest girl and LOVES Mister Randy. She had such a great day yesterday with all the extra excitement. Sometimes she likes to sit right with Randy in the back at the sound board and I saw her back there singing and worshipping God and it was so beautiful. Sometimes when you work with kids, you aren't sure what they are "catching" from service so it is always an encouragement to to witness spiritual growth in that way.

The kids did an incredible job with "Sock it to BGMC" day! Wow, I could hardly lift the offering containers and their socks were over the top! Jaden and his momma made a puppet stage with two sock puppets filled with their offering. They were even named BG and MC! We had some awesome decorated socks. Isabella's even had hair! So funny. Lisi's Buddy Barrel was "wearing" a pink Ug boot. Crack me up. Can't wait to get all that change counted at the bank! We had a great start to our $1500 goal. Even the older boys got into the spirit of fun giving by decorating some of dad's old socks. Our kids love to give to missions.

Buzz Premier

I had a blast this morning! Finally, the Buzz is a reality. I think for our first one it went very well. Sandy and Allison ROCKED in their skits! Pastor Josh showed the kids a whole new side of himself. :) All in all, it was wonderful. We were so pleased to have 57 people! The kids seemed to really enjoy themselves and I think the parents all joined in the fun. I had to stop looking up at the top row where my hunky husband Randy and Clint Prohaska were doing the motions to the "Respect" song. It was hilarious to see these two giant guys with their arms around each other, swaying back and forth singing "make a little harmony, we're all in the family, so show a little respect." I love it! God is so good to us and we are excited for this new chapter at JCFC. Don't miss next week...see ya at 9:15.

Early Spring and the Super Bowl

Okay, it is 6:31 AM according to the clock on my VCR and Trisha Shepherd on channel 13 and I have already heard two crazy things on the news. First, if you can believe a chubby rodent, we will have an early spring. In other words, Happy Groundhogs Day...Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. It's so funny to me to think about how that whole tradition got started. Somebody had WAY TOO MUCH TIME on their hands. "Hey, I got an idea! Let's get us a ground hog, drag it out on February 2 every year and if it sees it's shadow, we'll tell everybody that they're gonna get rich." "Naw, that's too far fetched, let's say we'll have us an early spring so people can get excited about the weather." Come on...it's Iowa...it's gonna be cold until May. Maybe I should have gone to bed earlier last night.

The second crazy thing on the news irritated me. That's right, your beloved children's pastor gets irritated by stupid things. Case in point, the NFL saw on a Baptist church web site that they were having a big screen TV Super Bowl party in their church. The NFL contacted the pastor and told them they were in violation of the laws regulating that stuff. The NFL said they could show the SB on several regular TVs in different rooms of the church, just not on the big screen. The pastor pointed out that sports bars show it and I guess they have some loop hole that allows that. WOW, is that about the most idiotic thing? NFL...get a life! I'm gonna read Revelation today; I think this may be a sign of the end times. Just kidding, but it does get me going. The pastor should have told the NFL that they weren't watching the game, just the commercials. That's usually the best part anyway. :)

As you can tell, I'm not really a morning person. Have a great Friday. Hug your spouse twice and kiss your kids thrice and I'll try to be more nice. :)