There are some days you just need a reminder of why you do what you do. I had coffee with LeeAnn yesterday and she sure reminded me! North Creek is her first church. She’s gone through Starting Point, helped out in the nursery, been a part of a small group, worked with the Little Adventurers, helped with church finances, made lattes, helped out with the teens, helped on our cleaning crew…as a new Christian, she has jumped in with both feet and enough enthusiasm to rival a high school teenager. We met today about her future as a small group leader and a Starting Point leader…wow!

And all the while she talked about how she is enjoying reading her Bible, memorizing scriptures that she particularily likes, and quoting to me verses that she likes. She talks about how her life and relationships are better with Christ. Just being in her presence reminds me that I’m pretty small and God is pretty big.

So, thanks, LeeAnn, for loving Jesus with all of who you are. It’s contagious!

My highlights from another great day at the Coffee Church:

Mark’s sermon was really good yesterday! I highly recommend watching it online at www.coffeechurch.com in the next couple of days.

Last week Chris Harold said he liked Post Raisin Bran in his sermon. This week we bought him 40 boxes of cereal just to bless him…that’s just the kind of funny church we are…

Loved this quote on Facebook yesterday, “We are reading Mark with our boys! Plus, Ben said, “Dad, read Phil. 2:4-5. It is very inspiring and good to read.” He was studying Phil. in the Great Adventurers today!

Yesterday Delaney was being a little shy about going into class and another older girl, Paige, welcomed her and said that she would be her friend for the day. HOW AWESOME! Kids who have been in our church less than a year are making the Pastor’s kid feel loved in class. That means a lot to me having a 5 year old introvert. She appreciated the friendly face and sometimes even a pastor’s kid needs that push!

Starting Point begins next Sunday. Pete Torres is going to do a phenomenal job. If you have a BUNCH of questions about God and this whole church thing, this is the place to get those questions answered. Email Pete at pete@coffeechurch.com. He’ll get you signed up!

Yesterday our Kid’s Leader, Mike, dropped off a card and a prize for Delaney at our front door. She was so excited to get a card with her name on it! Thanks, Mike, for loving our kids!

Marcus was a little fiesty in worship yesterday. I think I like it! 🙂

Last night we dropped off a Coke Zero for Kris at her “other” job. I got to introduce my kids and husband to the homeless people that Kris and I work with. It’s hard to explain to young kids that people don’t have a place to live. Not a reality that I ever want her to experience.

First missions trip meeting for those people going to Mexico is tonight! I am so excited for our first missions trip.

It was nice to see so many people that I love so much!

Our prayers are with the people of Haiti this week.

Mark and I donated to www.convoyofhope.org. It is the disaster relief agency that we partner with as a church. Miracously, they have a warehouse in Haiti that was already feeding 7000 children a day. It was not damaged and had just been restocked. Convoy of Hope was able to begin delivering fresh water and food to thousands immediately after the quake happened. It is our hope and desire that you would give so that they can continue their work in the months to come.

Two of the missionaries that we support at North Creek are stationed in the Domican Republic, which shares the island with Haiti. At just 100 miles away, they felt the quake. Berly and a team of people were in Haiti, helping with transportation and relief efforts in the days following the tragedy. They are still there right now. I watch the images of the kids in Haiti and I just want to hold them in my arms. I obviously can’t, but I am honored that by funding Jamie and Berly to do missions work, they are able to be my arms extended.

After I clicked send for our donation, I spent the rest of the night thinking about why I gave. Sometimes it’s easy to focus on how difficult life is, but massive tragedies should make us stop and be grateful for what we have. Here’s my thoughts:

We had hot food on the table that I ate with my family.
I drank clean water.
We are healthy and safe.
My husband smiled at me from across the room.
I laughed when my kids were giggling together.
I held my daughter in my arms last night and she was alive.
I got the privilege of putting my dishes in the dishwasher, which is normally a disliked chore.
And the list could go on and on.

Sometimes we forget how blessed we are and we focus on our difficulties. As I watched the news, many images flooded my eyes. Some of them I cannot handle, but others are inspiring. I watched as beautiful Haitian men and women stood in their makeshift camp, hands raised, worshipping God with song and dance. Their bodies were still covered in dust from the rubble, some of their family members were no-doubt dead, and they lost all of their belongings in an instant. And yet, they worshipped. What a picture of faith!

So, give. Give to Convoy of Hope, give to our missionaries, give to the Red Cross, but find a way to be a part of impacting the world when it needs us most. And be grateful today for all the blessings that you have!

It has been said of Pastor Greg Surratt that “he thinks with more zeros on the end than other people”. In other words, he’s got some BIG dreams that take a lot of cash to fulfill.

Mark and I want that to be said of us as well. I wondering how many great men and women have given up on dreams because the price was too great? Both the price in money and the price in sacrifice. Dreams and money have been a major theme in my life for the last few years. God is changing my perspective and growing my heart in this area.

If money was no option, what dreams would you go after? Are you telling God that if he provides the finances, you’ll follow through on what’s in your heart? Maybe that’s the wrong order of things. Maybe the right step of faith is, “God, I’m going to plow forward with what you’ve put on my heart and I assume you’ll provide the finances if my heart and your will align.” Money and faith are tightly intertwined. It seems that people get really bold if the money is there, but pull back if the bank account says that it can’t be done.

I think that is also a reason why it is so difficult to give. Not only do we hold back our dreams because we don’t have money, but then we don’t give generously because we are afraid that the zeros in the bank account will diminish and be our last.

As I said, over the last four years, I have changed my perspective greatly about finances. I have set that excuse aside and just asked God what He wanted of me inspite of the sacrifice.

In that journey, we have decided to give more. I’m going to tell you a little bit about our finances to help you see how God is molding and shaping my lense of giving. I took a two-night-a-week job in November that makes about $350 a month. We give 10% of that in tithe right off of the top…no negotiating, no praying about it, just obedience because I believe that 10% is the bottom rung to a life of generosity. So, now I’m down to $315 to “take home”. After that we prayed about what God would have us do with the money. In spite of the fact that we are tight financially, we felt like we needed to give $200 a month to His work. My past perspective would have been that it is ludicrious to work for the leftover $115 a month. I might as well just go and sell some plasma. My new perspective is that Mark and I got to increase our giving to His agenda with a relatively small sacrifice to my time.

It may seem small, but I believe in the power of the Kingdom of God working as a functioning body. Last year we had 92 different people give to our church. Let’s say that somewhere around half of those attend regularily. If 50 people all increased their giving by $200 a month, that would amount to $10,000 a month – exactly double our current budget. We already do SO much incredible ministry with our current budget…what could we do with twice that?

And that’s why I dream BIG. Because I believe that God looks at our dreams that seem so astronomical to us and sees how easy it is for His people united with passion to change their communities and their world.

So, dream and give. To North Creek, to Haiti, to a missionary…whatever…but stop asking how little God requires of you and start dreaming about how BIG your God is.

I am passing along a blog post from Perry Noble, Senior Pastor of NewSpring Church in South Carolina. Mark and I really strive to keep focused on these Top Ten for our own team. It’s a good list for you if you’re a boss, a parent, or a leader in a ministry. Enjoy!

10 Choices A Leader Needs To Make About His Staff

#1 – Choose to believe the best about the people on your team rather than always assuming the worst about them.

#2 – Choose to trust them to make decisions that matter without having to run every minor detail by your for your approval.

#3 – Choose to believe that when they ask particular questions that they aren’t being disloyal but rather seeking clarification.

#4 – Choose to believe that they really do love the church and want to see it thrive.

#5 – Choose to lead through inspiration and revelation–NOT intimidation, humiliation, condemnation and manipulation.

#6 – Choose to listen to them before making a decision that will directly impact them.

#7 – Choose to value them as a human being and NOT just a person who can perform a task.

#8 – Choose to take a few extra minutes to coach them through the “why” of a particular decision so that they are equipped/empowered to make the decision on their own the next time.

#9 – Choose to allow them to present the solution to the problem they are telling you about. (A great leader will always have a solution to whatever problem they are bringing to your attention.)

#10 – Choose to point out all of the things they are doing well instead of just focusing on the areas they are messing up.