And God Said...

I was in the bathroom doing my hair early this morning as we were taking off to go to Sioux City to see my family. As I was drying my hair and praying I had the thought, "You just need to set a date to move and not worry about Randy's job. Job or no job, set a date." I went out to Randy and told him I wasn't sure if it was a "God thought" or a "Lori thought" but this is what happened. He said, "Good, God told me that yesterday and I was just waiting for Him to tell you, too." So we got the calendar out and decided Sept. 24 would be our last day at our jobs, Sept. 25 we would load the truck and Friday, Sept. 26, we would get up EARLY and leave for Tennessee! We should get to Union City around 6 or 7 PM and have a crew unload the truck and spend Saturday setting up house and be in church on Sunday! So four weeks from now we are gone.

I called Pastor Tommy to tell him and I said that four weeks was gonna go so fast. He said fast for you not for us. Awww, made me feel good! Of course, there are many details to work out, but I'll not worry nor fret. God will order our steps and provide for our needs. After we set everything up I realized that meant one more pay check for Randy at the end of Sept. and that's it! Okay, Lord....we're trusting you!

We are hoping to have a get together...MAYBE Sept. 20. Hope to know this week for sure.

We had a wonderful time with my family, too. The twins are sooo tall and have started 4th grade. I sure wish I could spend more time with them. My family has been great about the move. I know it's really hard for my mom but she is being a real trooper and has said nothing but positive things and how she knows it's making me happy to follow God's desire. It means a lot to have my family's support in all this!

Thanks

The congrats have been rolling in! Thanks to all who have taken time to send an e-mail, leave a comment, or call to wish us well and give a shout out to the Lord! We sure appreciate how encouraging y'all have been. See....I'll fit in with the Tennessee crowd. :)

Still don't have a move date but we won't keep it a secret. God is so good. He is already adjusting my thinking from "How can we leave the kids and everyone else?" to "Boy, I sure hope we can get down to UC quickly...I've got some great ideas brewing!"

I've been working extra hours trying to get everything set for Pastor BBopp when I leave in case he doesn't have a replacement. I have all my paid positions for the school year hired and a jump on the October nursery schedule! I even got the Sam's Club run done to stock up on all that baby stuff and Gold Fish crackers! I don't know what I'd do without e-mail. Scary thought.

Pastor Tommy's wife Deana called today to say she was out apartment hunting for us! How sweet is that? I can tell you this...the rent in UC is WAAAAAY cheaper than WDM. Yippee.

More About Tennessee

the activities building that has tons of potential for outreach

the sanctuary end

The front of the church with the sactuary on the left and fellowship hall on right

the children's church stage area with storage behind

the huge fellowship hall and kitchen

the hall of classrooms and offices

a nursery room

a nursery room

a nursery room

the foyer

the church welcome desk

I promised some pictures and more info so here ya go. I can't believe I forgot to take a picture of Pastor Tommy and Deana but if you really want to see them, you can go to the church web site and there is a picture gallery.

We flew into Chicago from Kansas City and then into Nashville. Wow, that Chicago airport is nuts! I have always thought Iowa was super friendly but the minute you step foot in Tennessee you understand the phrase "Southern Hospitality!" NO ONE in the KC airport even smiled but the personnel at the Nashville airport were great. With my bionic knees I have to be "patted down" and the Nashville folks made it light hearted and were teasing me about it. Flying was a great experience.

Pastor Tommy and Deana picked us up and the three hour drive to Union City flew by with incredible conversations about the church, our families, the community, his vision, and all kinds of stuff. We have tons in common. We both have a son and a daughter, who are about the same ages and their son is also a pastor. Pastor Tommy and I both have a relational style of ministry. We both think outside the box and have big dreams. So many common threads plus purple is Deana's fav color. Come on...that's a smart woman. :) We had a great dinner together at the best Famous Dave's we had ever been to.

We stayed in a beautiful room and they got us a rental SUV so we could explore the town and have some time to ourselves. Saturday morning we stopped by the church for a mini tour and were greeted by a crowd who were there for a work day. They were painting the fellowship hall and bathrooms and one of the offices. They felt like family right away! Randy had his job interview at Jiffy Steamers and it went very well. It's a CFO position and the company is very successful internationally. It's a family owned business in like it's fourth generation. Everyone said the owner is the best guy to work for. We hope to hear something later this week about a second interview.

Saturday night, we had dinner at Pastor Tommy and Deana's with the board members and their wives. What an incredible group of spirit filled men who love their pastor and serve with huge hearts. We spent more than an hour answering their questions and getting to know what they were looking for in a children's pastor. They asked great questions of both of us and I think it went very well.

Sunday services were awesome. Pastor Tommy preached a message about "Going for the gold" and many people responded to his challenge. Their worship team was very talented but more importantly led us into the presence of God. Randy thought he had a prophetic message for the church but it turned out to be a personal message for Pastor Tommy that he shared at dinner Sunday night.

They had a pot luck dinner for us after service. You can only imagine the food...I bet we gained five pounds this past weekend! We got to meet all the kids and chat with people. Everyone is so thrilled to be taking the step of faith and hiring their first full time children's pastor. Precious families with a love for Union City and the lost. It was neat to watch Pastor Tommy and Deana with the congregation and see the obvious love and respect they all have for each other.

We met for dinner later on to talk business. Pastor had one final meeting with the board to make sure were all in agreement about us and decide an offer. We left the restaurant not feeling pressured at all to make a decision that minute and went back to our room to talk and pray. We both knew we were supposed to come to Union City almost from the second we shook hands with Pastor Tommy. We called the kids and they whole heartily gave their blessing and "go for it" encouragement.

When they picked us up Monday morning for the drive back to Nashville and we told them the good news! There were lots of whoops! Pastor Tommy said, "I knew the minute I opened your e-mail that you were the one and when I saw your picture I felt like I had known you forever." How cool is that?

We are praying Randy has a job in a miraculously quick fashion and we can hit the road within three or four weeks. We are hoping to have a going away get together so we can see everyone and book what weekend you are coming to Tennessee to visit! God is so good.

Announcing...

It seems a little inconsiderate to do this on my blog, but we have soooo many friends waiting to hear how our trip to Tennessee went that this is the quickest way I know to pass along this much info. Our trip was amazing from beginning to end!

The traveling was good. My first plane ride was not too scary, I actually enjoyed it. The landing still freaks me a little but I thought I did really well. We got home tonight about 10 PM so this will be short with pics and more details tomorrow.

I was offered the children's pastor position at First Assembly of God in Union City, Tennessee and have accepted! Every part of meeting Pastor Tommy and Deana Hall was incredible and with each passing moment of being with them and there in Tennessee, God was confirming to both of us that we were to go.

The church is made up of the friendliest people who told us over and over again how they had been praying for us and how excited they were to possibly have us be a part of the church. There are about 200 members and a wide variety of ages. We have a full time youth pastor, also. They have a beautiful church building that's eight years old sitting on 30 acres of land for plenty of room for expansion plus a huge activities building across the parking lot that will be an incredible tool to reach the community.

Randy had a job interview for what could be the best job he's ever had. He felt it went very good and is hoping to hear from the company at the end of the week. Please pray he finds a job quickly as that is the biggest factor in when we move. Pastor Tommy would like us there ASAP as to not lose too much school year momentum so we hope to be leaving Iowa within a few weeks.

Like I said...I'll write more tomorrow. Thanks to all who have been faithfully praying for us and we are sad about leaving so many wonderful friends but we must be obedient to what the Lord wants us to do. Tennessee is beautiful, ya'll come visit.

Tomorrow's the Day

It's 6:28 AM according to my computer. This time tomorrow we will be traveling to Kansas City to fly to Nashville. I am so excited to see what God has in store. Randy has a job interview lined up for Saturday morning with a company right in Union City! How amazing is that? My friend Angela asked me if I was nervous and I can say that I really am at peace...just trusting God to show us yes or no and trusting He will work out all the details. Of course, you want to make a good impression but I just need to be myself...flaws and all! :) Randy said something that has stuck with me all week. He said, "Wouldn't it be cool if we were the miracle answer to Pastor's prayer?" That's a cool thought!

Gotta Brag

I just gotta brag for a minute about my hunky husband! He just got his final grades and he has graduated Cum Laude! Way to go Big Randy....I'm soooo proud of him. He could have just did what he had to do to pass but as always he finished with excellence. I'm sure God will honor that as he may need to find a new job if we move away from Iowa.

God's Hand of Protection

I am praising God for His hand of protection. Randy had a car accident yesterday. Everyone is okay but it sure isn't a phone call you want to get! He was driving home from work on University Ave. and a very young driver pulled out in front of him and Randy just couldn't stop quick enough. He was able to drive his car but it's pretty banged up...may even be officially totalled. The young man's car had to be towed and he got a pretty hefty ticket. The police officer said it was very clear what had happened so it was never a question of who's fault it was plus there were witnesses. Guess that's one good thing about it happening on such a busy street at rush hour.

Randy has a sore shoulder from the seat belt but appears to be fine. Good thing he's a big sturdy guy! Thanks Lord for protecting my hunky husband. Micaela made it safely to Evangel so there's another praise! Miss her already. :( Who's gonna play Skipbo and Cribbage with me?

Sunday Night Church

Randy, Micaela, Keaton and I all went to church together for the first time in a long time! Micaela leaves for Evangel tomorrow so we decided to go to Berean Assembly where our good friend, Pastor Heath Adamson, was preaching tonight. We LOVE Pastor Heath....he had a huge impact on our kids when they were in his youth group at Berean. He is now a home missionary for Iowa and our Youth Alive ministry. Pastor Heath is a great preacher with a mighty anointing on his life.

Service was amazing! Several people received healing. A lady with a visual tumor was totally healed and another had a tumor reduce in size. There were four or five with severe back pain or problems that were healed. The presence of God was incredible. It's been way too long since I have got to attend a church service let alone one like that. It felt great to soak in from the Lord and be refreshed.

We were blessed to see soooooo many old friends. I must say visiting Berean is good for my self esteem! I always feel like a rock star when the kids see us arrive. We were about knocked down in the parking lot; we hadn't even made it to the door before I heard, "Pastor Lori!!" Of course, all "my kids" were gi-normous compared to the last time I saw them. I was so proud to see the worship team tonight was made up entirely of some of the kids that were in children's church when we left Berean 4 years ago. It's so rewarding to see them ministering and allowing God to use them in such a profound way. I also had those feel old moments when some of the kids announced they were starting their senior year in high school or when I saw some who were now getting married and starting families. It's all good!

Tonight, I also was challenged by God to be spending some extra time in prayer and study this week as we prepare to go to Tennessee. We want to hear God's voice very clear. We are just asking yes or no. Everything else will come together. You just can't beat a good ole Sunday night Pentecostal service!

Off to Tennessee

Next week, Randy and I will be traveling to Tennessee to meet with a pastor about a job! We are excited to see what God has in store. Pray that God will make it abundantly clear to both the pastor and Randy and me what the Lord wants. We are ready to serve but sure want to be in the right place and for a church to have the right children's pastor because their kids deserve God's best plan.

There is a lot that needs to come together such as a job for Randy and finances and such so it will be awesome to watch how and where God works it all out. Thanks for the prayers.

God is So Faithful

I left the office yesterday after two long meetings feeling overwhelmed at all I need to accomplish in the next couple of weeks and feeling a little discouraged at the lack of phone calls about a pastor position. I barely had pulled out of the parking lot and my phone rang. It was my friend, Lana, letting me know she had just gotten a reference call from a pastor looking at my resume. Good news. I hadn't been off the phone for more than one minute when my friend Angela called with the same news. Wow, looking good. As we were catching up on news about family, I got home to my house phone ringing. It was my friend Debbie saying that she had just gotten off the phone with the same pastor!

During these conversations, God blessed me abundantly. They shared some of the nice things they had said and encouraged me. They reminded me of ways God had used me in the past and things they remembered about sermons I preached. I just began to weep and thank God that they had called just when I needed it so much. I have the BEST friends! As Debbie and I were gabbing away, the pastor they had spoke to called me. We had a wonderful conversation and he seemed like great guy with a huge heart to win the lost. We talked for quite a while and prayed together. It was kinda cool because I had felt led to e-mail this pastor with some specific things about me and my style of ministry and Debbie and Angela had told him the same things almost word for word.

To top it all off, I got the sweetest card in the mail from another friend, Sandy, that was so thoughtful and uplifting. It even was a musical one that played the song, "How Great is Our God", which is one of my favs! God is so faithful. He knew I needed all that yesterday. Just when I feel like He has totally forgotten about me, He restores my soul and reminds me of His love again. I feel so blessed and thankful.

Iowa State Fair

Senator John McCain
The Butter Shawn Johnson

The famous Iowa Butter Cow

Besties!
Toot Toot!!

A four day old calf...so cute!
A couple of prizes!


And one of the most exciting State Fair attractions....The Sham-WOW! Totally bought one! Actually got two for the price of one! Lucky!

Micaela, Jerrilyn and I went to the Iowa State Fair for a few hours today. What a gorgeous day we had!! The Fair wasn't too busy when we arrived so we got around easily. We had to show off all the important ISF attractions to Jerrilyn since she has never been. It was fun, too, because we ran into lots of people we know. Some old church friends, one of my best teacher friends and some kids that used to be in my children's church years ago. Great to see familiar faces.

As we were in line to see the butter cow and the butter Shawn Johnson, there was suddenly several police officers and security people asking if we could hold back the line for a moment. I thought it was strange but before I realized it, the reason came walking two feet in front of me! It was John McCain! He was at the fair today and also had to see the butter cow! My picture is kinda blurry but was taken quickly before he got too far away. Kinda cool to be so close to our next president. I'm speaking in faith!

There were NO calories counted today! I had a corn dog AND some cheese curds and I don't want to hear about how bad they were for me. You can just eat a big bowl of shut the heck up. :) I enjoyed hangin' with the girls and visiting the fair on such a beautiful day. I hadn't been to the fair in a long time so it was a nice treat. Wish the boys could have joined us.

Count Down

Two more days of class and Randy is DONE!! He has been a real trooper all summer finishing up his stuff but I know he is totally over school! Someone asked him if he is going to continue on for his MBA and I think he had a hard time not laughing his head off or punching the guy in the throat! Just kidding. Way to go, my hunky man.

Micaela's Bestie

Micaela's best friend, Jerrilyn, is coming to spend a long weekend with us! She's a great gal that fits in so well with our crazy family. Micaela and Jerrilyn met at Evangel University 2 years ago and became besties right away. She's originally from Ohio, but upon graduating last spring with her BA in nursing, she now is living and working in Springfield. So guess where Micaela wants to find gainful employment next summer? :)

Jerrilyn chose a good weekend to come with the cooler weather and the Iowa State Fair. Too bad she wasn't here this morning at 5:30 for the free admittance and corn dogs! Love corn dogs but not at 5:30 AM! Anywho...it will be a blast to have our "adopted daughter" here for a few days.

No New News

I've had lots of questions about my job search and I don't really have any new news. I had a great conversation (phone interview) with a pastor in the St. Louis area last week but haven't heard back from him or from anyone else, YET. I keep reminding myself that God is never early or late...He's always on time. Also, I think there are probably a lot of pastors still finishing vacation time so it may take longer to hear from someone.

I really appreciate all who have been praying for us. I spoke with my friend Debbie who said they pray together as a family every night for Randy and me. They know how much I miss pastoring and have always been some of my greatest encouragers. I love you guys!!

I'm super excited to see what God has in store. We are ready to be obedient to whatever He asks.... if He wants us to stay in Iowa or move across the country, we just want to serve a church that believes in children's ministry. I'm excited to pour every bit of my heart into reaching a lost community of kids and to help empower their parents to be the spiritual leaders of their homes. I'm looking forward to doing "lunch with Pastor Lori" at some schools and hitting those fall sports games. I'm ready to check out some dance recitals, school programs and do some Christian school chapel services. And most of all, I'm chomping at the bit to be preaching most Sundays to a congregation of kids that want and need to grow in their relationships with Jesus.

I met with my Junior Bible Quiz successor for the Iowa Metro South JBQ group. I'm so thankful that LeAnne Krell is taking over my responsibilities as she will do an awesome job. I felt like I needed to go ahead and ask for a replacement in case God moves us away. I have loved being a part of JBQ for about 14 years and in leadership for the past six or seven years. It is a ministry that I believe in as I have witnessed how it changes a child's heart to be a lifelong learner of God's Word. I have seen JBQ bring families together to grow in their knowledge of the Bible and become study partners. I will miss quiz but maybe my new church will offer JBQ.

We will keep everyone posted and will prayerfully have some news soon!

How Do You Judge People?

Here is an article written by Pastor Dary Northup, senior pastor, from Timberline Church in Fort Collins, CO. He says it so well! I am so tired of people saying they want to win sinners to Jesus but are putting labels on people and judging what they should look like and how they should act before they even know Jesus. What is even more frustrating to me is when a wonderful Christ follower is criticized, shunned or thought less of by their so-called fellow believers because they don't fit the "Christian" mold that they think everyone should. We recently had an incident involving someone who will remain nameless (even if you think you know who this involved - shut up!) and my daughter Micaela. She has been ridiculed by people, who KNOW her heart and the fruit of her life, for having a pierced nose. Now I know it is not everyone's thing, but it's hard to believe she would have her Christianity questioned for a small hoop in her nose! Micaela is an adult and she is fully aware that not every culture is accepting of this fad but it doesn't affect her walk with Jesus. She respects situations when it should be taken out and understands that in a work environment, it may need to be removed. I could go on but Pastor Dary makes some better points than I could and has a broader view. Let's all remember the cheesy but true saying...."What would Jesus do?"

Pastor Dary says....
What does it mean to try to build a “Prodigal Friendly Church”? The familiar Luke 15 passage is a snapshot of a young man who ran away from his roots and experienced a wild self-centered world for a season. When he came home, his father welcomed him with opened arms and his elder brother would not even acknowledge him as a brother. When talking to his father, the elder brother refers to the prodigal as “this son of yours.”

Jesus is telling this story to the religious people of His day. They are a picture of the elder brother. The spirit of the elder brother is alive and well in the church today. If the prodigal had bumped into the elder brother before he met the father, I am quite certain the prodigal would have never made it inside the house that day.

As a pastor, I live with this tension of hoping that we as a church can embrace rather than reject those prodigals who walk the path toward home. Many prodigals still have the stench of the pigs on them. They are marked and scarred from sin. They may look and behave differently than the “church” crowd. Their piercings and tattoos are important to them. They may need to put out their cigarette right before walking into our building. If they meet the elder brother at the door, it will be unlikely that they will experience the warm reception of the father.
So, a few thoughts about equipping people to welcome the prodigal.

1.Teach believers to appreciate diversity...from clothing preferences to hairstyles. I am stunned at how many believers have a cookie-cutter mindset of what a Christian is to look like.

2.Teach believers to respect the spiritual journey of every person in the room. Remember, some plant, some water, some reap the harvest. Work diligently to create an environment where prodigals and the unchurched find it safe to ask questions...to disagree, to share their opinion, to express their thoughts. We are all at different places in our journey with God.

3.Trust the Holy Spirit to lead people into the lifestyle changes they need to make. We are not called to be the Holy Spirit in someone’s life. Let God renew and clean the heart, body, and spirit of a prodigal. When we try to clean people up it usually brings confusion. Rather, let’s walk with them as God cleans them up.

4.Train people to understand the difference between these three things...absolutes, cultural expectations, and preferences. As followers of Christ, we often try to make our preferences into biblical absolutes when they are not. It is like Paul’s challenge concerning eating meat offered to an idol. That was a cultural issue that was treated with respect, but it was not a biblical absolute. I fear many church leaders place a higher expectation on people based on their own preferences rather than biblical absolutes. When churches have cultural expectations that are not based on biblical absolutes, it places an undue burden on prodigals and the unchurched.

5.Pray to God that there will be an authentic move of God in people in every church service you have. There are no gimmicks from the world that can compete with God’s Spirit moving on the heart of a person. The world has some things that we don’t have, but we have something the world can never have, and that is the Spirit of God drawing people. God’s presence has no substitute. I try to pray and think about what those moments might look like in each service. Let God give you insight and wisdom to encourage people to have a moment when they wake up from the pigpen and run to Father God.

Finally, don’t be afraid to kill the fattened calf and have a party. Every church has a fattened calf; it simply varies from church to church as to what it is. Celebrating the return of the prodigal is something the elder brother could not do. Let’s not be like that. Celebrate those who once were lost, but now are found.
So...party on, church.

Creation Camp Day Two

Seahorse fossil
cleaning off a fossil

Taking notes at the Butterfly Garden

Sweet...we found tadpoles!

Saylorville Gorge

Pat Roy teaching about the Biblical floods and Iowa floods at the Gorge

Pastor BBopp and wife Kathy did an awesome job of planning our Creation Camp and day two was off the hook! We had our expert speaker, Pat Roy, again, we made fossils, went to the Saylorville gorge and Butterfly Garden, had a picnic lunch, listened to Jonathon Park Adventures and had a blast. I'm including a list of resources we used. If you are a home schooler, these would be invaluable things to have. If your kids go to public school, this will help you explain why the Theory of Evolution is WRONG and get the Biblical view of creation at the forefront of their thinking.

The gorge was so interesting since the recent flood destruction. Pat Roy is from San Diego and he said it was interesting that at the same time the wild fires were in their news every day, the San Diego news also featured the floods in Iowa. He loved Iowa....kept saying how beautiful it was, how clean everything is and how there was a good mix of culture and nature. I agreed and thought I needed to be more appreciative of where I live! I saw it with fresh eyes. I think there may be a sermon in there but I won't chase that bunny right now. :)

Pat Roy's main career is to write and produce a drama series called Jonathon Park. He also does some speaking with his ministry called Creation Works, teaching how science is in harmony with God's Word. Enjoy the pics and here are the references:

http://jonathanpark.com (all kinds of cool stuff including home school lessons, listen to the radio show, coloring pages, puzzles, etc.)

Books: Genisis for Kids, Tommy Nelson publisher, Doug Lambier and Robert Stevenson authors, Studies in Flood Geology by Woodmarappe

Videos: God's Rockin World by the Moody Institute of Science and Incredible Creatures that Defy Evolution with Jobe Martin by Real Productions (this one was incredible)