Resonate Community Church Blog

What happened to September? I mean October? Ok, what happened to September & October!

Every year these two months go by as a total blur in my life. I always have a big trip for work and then a huge work load when I get back. I’m barely even able to keep up with my life and definitely didn’t have the time to blog. This year my trip brought me to Tokyo, Japan then to Taipei, Taiwan and then finally to Nice, France. There was a lot of travel this year for work. This year alone I’ve also been to KL, Malaysia; Shanghai, China; Bangalore, India; Amsterdam, Holland; Nice, France (twice), Napa Valley, CA and Redmond, WA. Next year is looking pretty busy as well with trips to Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, and Japan already planned.

The hardest part of traveling is being away from the family. There is no question about that. Are there times that I’ve thought about changing jobs to be in one that doesn’t have the travel? Sure, of course I have. But, then reality hits and reminds me how great I have it. I’m able to work from home. How awesome is that! Yes, I do have travel. Yes, I totally miss the months of September and October. But, I have the shortest commute in the world! I have a boss and a team that values me and the work that I do. I feel comfortable in my role and should be able to balance my work with what we moved to Austin to do. Have I thought about changing jobs…yes. Do I think I will any time soon…no. Heck no.

November, I sure am glad that you are here…

The story of Flight 93 is the story that will live on in the lore of our history, that stuff of Paul Revere and Bunker Hill, of Iwo Jima and Omaha Beach. Fighting against odds, victory and defeat that becomes blurred as the definition of hero stands out. I hate that 9/11 has become a political buzzword, useful in election years and platforms, but rarely used for true reflection. I remember, on the first anniversary of 9/11, on my way to work, I cried uncontrollably. I couldn’t explain it. I had no connection to the event, yet for some reason, I was racked with emotion.

I had just ventured out in starting a church, and in the midst of the instability and insecurity, I found myself understanding where my true value lies. As I reflected on those that died, some in valor and some without any warning, I knew that hope would spur me on. Hope for making the world a better place, for embracing my idealism against the winds of cynicism, for saying that I cherish my family and not being cliche.

Watching some of the coverage tonight about the families who lost loved ones, I was able to spend some more time reflecting. Kylie came out of nowhere and gave me a kiss. It felt good to turn off the TV and give her a hug.

I’m sick. First week at work was good, lots of fun meeting people and making the Chamber as best as it can be. My good friends Patrick and Raquel came through this weekend, had a good time catching up. Right now I’m just focused on not falling over (it’s the meds, not the illness). Kylie’s sick too, so right now Erika is holding this place together.

Right when we seem to be finding our groove, something throws it off. Oh well.

Whew. We’re finally at home, not just in our house, but at home. My mom came this weekend to help us unpack, hang pictures, and get all the little things in order so we can just rest. We moved in last Monday, so tonight makes a full week of being here. We’ve met the neighbors (very nice folks I can see being friends with), painted two rooms, unpacked everything, and even managed to throw more stuff away.

Tomorrow I start my job working for the Hutto Chamber of Commerce. It will be a great way to invest in the community and just to get the vibe of Hutto. Plus, I’ll be doing a lot of the stuff I love (creating systems, maximizing potential, stuff like that). However, it will be the first time that I have a “real job” since Kylie was born. I’m gonna miss getting to see her as often as I do, but for now it’s just a part time gig (hopefully full time sooner than later). This week I’ve been going at breakneck speed just so I could slow down this weekend before the big plunge. Life is about to get very interesting, and I’m excited to see where God will take us.

I’m fighting the dichotomy between moving fast and taking it slow, pressing onward and being still. Is it possible to do both? I’ve heard that some sharks die if they stop moving (just checked on Wikipedia, it’s true). Is it true for me as well? I’ll probably include some of my thoughts more in depth over the next few days, but for now, I need to rest (ha). Tomorrow it begins.

While I was back home this weekend, Erika and I went to see Talledega Nights. Like Anchorman, The Ballad of Ricky Bobby is about a guy that thinks he’s got a good grasp on who he is and what he’s becoming, only to find that myth shattered and rebuilt into something better. Will Ferrell is great at playing these clueless egomaniacs, and overall the movie is great.

My favorite scene (again, like Anchorman, most of the scenes have a liberal use of ad libs) is the prayer at the dinner table. Ricky Bobby likes to imagine Jesus as the baby in the manger, and prays to him as such. Others imagine him as a ninja, or a figure skater. It’s great to hear these conversations that I grew up with (usually around Thanksgiving or Christmas) finally make it to the big screen.

There’s some flat notes in the movie (Molly Shannon is just annoying), but overall it’s a great movie to just enjoy for pure fun. The ending is unexpected (playing off of cliche movie endings that should fit), and while there are some crude moments, the film has heart. It will easily be quoted (”Help me, Tom Cruise!”). Be sure to stick around for the bloopers and edits during the credits.

Well, we’re here in Hutto. We sold our house last Monday, and are staying with Brandon and Cindy while we finish up our house here. It looks like we should close either Monday or Tuesday, barring any of more stuff that’s caused our delay so far. Erika is already involved with the Hutto MOMS club, and Kylie’s enrolled in a local dance studio (she starts next week).

I had lunch at the Hutto Chamber of Commerce today, and really enjoyed myself. It’s great when you meet people who are passionate about serving the community. You don’t often find others who truly love sacrificing their time and energy to make others happy.

Anyway, I’ll probably be silent for the next week or so until we get into the house, but I thought I’d keep everyone up to date.

Sunday was my last day at Genesis Metro. In two weeks, I’ll be moving to Hutto to officially begin Resonate Community Church. I had the opportunity to speak one last time, and I shared about the simplicity of Kingdom Pursuits. Feel free to leave any of your thoughts or reactions in the comments.

UPDATE: I know, I know. I sound like a chipmunk. I’m working on it (any Audacity users out there?). In the meantime, enjoy a full-length sermon in half the time!

 Kingdom Pursuits [34:22m]: Play in Popup | Download

It has been a long time since I have felt overwhelmed. I like to have a lot going on at one time otherwise I tend to get a little bit bored. I like the challenge of keeping everything in order and keeping up…I guess I put some kind of silly value on myself for that ability. But, all of a sudden I have to admit that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and fearful of all the activity going on in my life! I think sometimes when we take a little step of faith in trusting God, he expects our steps to get bigger with each new step. I’m content with taking the baby steps, but I think God has decided to have me leap over puddles the past few months. Let me just share some of the things that have me closing my eyes and jumping, but knowing God is going to catch me!

I have a wonderful husband, Brandon, and a precious little girl named Peyton who will be one in 2 short weeks. We made the decision a few months ago to join another family in coming to Hutto, TX to start a new church. We have known Kyle, Erika, and Kylie Sears for 2 years now, and were very excited when they invited us to join them in the adventure of church planting. Brandon and I prayed about it for several weeks and we are both certain that God has planned this opportunity for us at this specific time in our lives. So, we started the process of getting everything in place to make this move. If you have been reading Brandon’s blog, you have read about how his job with Texas Instruments worked out. I am still amazed at how understanding and supportive his boss was in our decision. I thought Brandon would definitely have to find a new job and I thought that would be one of the scariest parts of this transition. Since that fell into place so quickly, I thought everything else would to. I say I thought they would….I know better than that, I really just hoped everything would be as easy. Who would ever struggle with their faith if God just magically opened all the doors?

I didn’t expect to run into an issue with selling our house. We have a great house that we love that is only 2 years old. The neighborhood is something you see in magazines and I couldn’t imagine anyone not wanting to jump on our house. Especially since we went over the top with our upgrades…we planned on living here for at least 20 years. But, the builders are still building in our community and there are way too many other homes for sale as well. The realtor who came and visited with us wouldn’t even take us as clients because we would end up loosing between 20 and 30K from what we owe on the house for the market price in our area right now. I didn’t see that coming! So, we made the scary decision to rent our home. I’ve rented homes before when I was in college and I know the mindset that can happen when “it’s not really my house anyways”. I have family members who think we are going to be so sorry to let someone rent this home. They think people are going to just destroy it. I’m choosing to believe that God already has someone in mind for this home who will respect it and love it like their own. Apparently they just aren’t ready to move yet since we havn’t had any calls or anyone visit our home since the “for lease” sign went up 2 weeks ago. Does that make me a little uncomfortable and anxious? Of course….especially since we will be closing on our new home in Hutto in 3 weeks. Patience is definitely not a virtue of mine. I learned a long time ago not to pray for patience because God takes me very seriously and is always quick to answer that request with a long waiting period for whatever I’m wanting at that moment.  Seriously though, that is something I struggle with all the time. I’m leaning on Philippians 4:6-7 even more and more this month because it says:

6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I need that peace from God right now! We are told not to be anxious about anything. I have a hundred things I can be anxious about right now, but what a waste of my time that would be. God is in control and I need to move out of the way. I know that things will work out with this house in God’s timing.

His timing can be quite surprising as I discovered last week when I took two pregnancy test and they both came out positive! But, you will hear all about that added adventure in another blog!

One of the most common questions that I have been asked as I’ve told people that Cindy and I are going off to help begin a Church is what my role will be. I’ve been asked if I’m going off to be associate pastor or whatever other title you would want to bestow on someone.

It’s surprising to me that there is an automatic assumption that we are going off to help start this church and because of that we’re getting a specific role or specific title. There isn’t one. Cindy and I are heading down to help start the church. So, what role do we play? Well, what needs to be done? Because, basically we’ll play the role of whatever is needing to be done at that particular day and time. That means that one day we may have to play the role of treasurer. Another day we’ll play the role of encourager to Kyle and Erika (and eachother!). Another day we’ll play the role of organizing some community event. We’ll definitely play the role of hosts as we invite people from the neighborhood over to our house and into our lives. We’re going to play the role of giving as we begin to truly tithe for the first time in our lives (I’ll definitely have more on this later). A title tells us what we’re supposed to do. For us, no title is best because we’re going to try to do whatever needs to get done!

My role at work is already changing as I get closer to going remote full-time. I can already feel that most people do not expect that I will be with TI in a couple of years. In fact, my new boss has told me that his fear is that in two years I’ll tell him I’m leaving for ministry. Well, guess what! I’ve already left…well, sort-of. Yeah, we’re going off to do ministry. But, thankfully I don’t have to “leave” to do that. I plan on still working. I plan on still making money (and we all know a new church needs the money!). I don’t see myself stopping this at some point in the future. In fact, there’s a better chance that I’m with another company in two years than not working outside of ministry. But, it’s time that we all realize that we don’t have to stop our career, we don’t have to go to seminary, we don’t have to live like paupers to do ministry. Folks, we can all do it and we can all start today!

For Cindy and I that means moving to Hutto. That means me working remote and making professional sacrifices. For someone else it may mean more involvement in their local church. For others it means finding a local church and getting involved! And, yes, for others it may mean giving up a career or something more drastic. But, we don’t have to do all this for a title or someother alterior motive. We do it for one reason, and only one reason. We’re called to it. God calls us to take action, and then you do it. We need to stop finding excuses and talking about all the cups that are half empty and start doing what we’re called to do. If you feel called to step up in minstry…just do it!

For me and my family, we’re called to start Resonate Community. For now, call me the Titleless Apostle. And, you know what, that’s the best title I can have.

I love comfort- having next door neighbors that you have known for years, living in a place that has all that you could ever want for your children, being two hours away from family, worshiping in a church full of friends, and the list could go on and on. This has been my life for a while now. Being a part of the Frisco community and our church here has been wonderful. Who in their right mind would ever want to leave?!

I remember this question coming to up for me four years ago when Kyle and I moved to Frisco, Texas with another pastor to start the church we now call Genesis Metro. Although we were leaving less than ideal circumstances, it seemed like a crazy thing to do. I had heard the statistic- less than 30% of new church starts succeed. We had no jobs, no home, and no real idea what we were getting into. What would people think? Kyle and I were sensible people who always made logical, rational decisions. With my tiny mustard seed of faith, which seemed even more minute when compared to my husband’s, we moved.

Those next years were hard and full of change, which I despise. I had to learn to be flexible. I had to learn that I must to take the initiative and connect with people in an authentic way. I had to learn to work on a team. And most importantly, I had to learn about how God could work out what seemed to be very bleak circumstances for my good, and to further His kingdom.

When I look back, and see all of the difficult things that we went through, I see how He has used each of those instances to prepare me for this.

Our family is again going to leave a very familiar situation to go into the unknown. Funny how you just know sometimes that the conviction that you are feeling is God, and undoubtedly nothing else. As we prepare to embark on this new chapter of our lives, I can’t help but to think about what He has in store for us this time. My faith that God can use me is much bigger than before, and I will take comfort in that.