It’s Sunday and I’m 1000 miles away from my kids. That’s hard with two little girls, but what makes it tormentuous is that today is Delaney’s sixth birthday. I wish I could hug her and tell her that she’s the best!

So, two things…if you read this before church…can you tell my kids that I told you to tell them that their mommy loves them? Also, Mark, it’s your job to read these notes to my girls for me:

Delaney – sweet sunshine! I am so happy that you are six! I wish I was there to celebrate with you, but I want you to know that I love you even though I’m far away today. You are so creative and smart. You make the world a more beautiful place to be in! I love your smile and your gentle spirit. God has great plans for you and I can’t wait to watch you grow up into all that He wants you to be. I’ll be home to snuggle you in a few days!

Kennedy – sugar and spice! I love you, baby! I’m sure by now you are missing mommy so much. I know that you need a big hug and kiss to get you through the day and I wish I could give that to you right now. I also wish that I could see your big smile and your bright eyes. You are so full of wisdom and have such a profound faith already. You make mommy see the world through God’s eyes more often. Be brave for a few more days, my love! I’ll be home soon.

I’m on my way to Mexico! Not sure about the internet access available where I’ll be at, so I automatically left some posts for you to enjoy. This one is from Mark Batterson about his recent trip. I’m sure that you’ll enjoy the point behind it as we are all overstressed at times!

It was quite a few years ago that I came up with a little formula: change of pace + change of place = change of perspective. That formula certainly worked it’s magic on the Inca Trail. Thought I’d share one of the life-changing lessons.

I’ve really been struggling with the pace of life the last few months. Between pastoring, writing, and speaking I feel stretched in three directions. I’m certainly not complaining because I love all three and feel called to all three. But none of those things are as important to me as my family. I often feel like I’m juggling too many balls in the air or playing catch-up. So I think I need to make some mid-course corrections. And I think I needed to hike the Inca Trail to come to terms with that.

During our hike, we hit some parts of the trail that were a vertical ascent for several hours at 45 degree angles. And I learned a little trick that helped me with extreme ascents. Our fearless leader, Joel Malm, taught us the rest step. You take a step, pause, then take another step. It slows you down a little, but it also helps you pace yourself. And it keeps you from getting wiped out on the ascents. If you know me you know that I give everyone nicknames! So I nicknamed Joel “the pacemaker.”

I don’t think I could have learned such a valuable lesson about pacing in any other way. If you pace yourself right, you can actually enjoy the ascent and you’re not exhausted when you get there. Isn’t that true in life? I’m so used to pushing myself. And there is a time to push yourself. But I need to learn to pace myself. And I know I need a change of pace.

I’ll take a sabbatical in August which will help. But I’m thinking about some other fundamental adjustments. I often get a couple hundred emails a day. I could literally answer email all day every day. And I know I’m not alone! I think I need to find a different system to help manage the flow of information and decision-making. Praying for discernment to make decisions that will help me incorporate a rest step.

Ah, I feel better already.

Yesterday I got an email from one of our Mexico Team members who has an unresolvable passport issue. She probably wasn’t getting on the plane on Friday…yikes!

Long story very short, I needed another person, with a passport and $175, who could go to Mexico with 36 hours notice. Realistically they had to be over 18 because of the signatures required. And with less than an hour to spare, the flight is changed and Alyson, who turned 18 one month ago, will be joining us on a very unexpected adventure to an Orphanage 1000 miles away from here.

I’m pretty practical, but I have to wonder on this one…what does God have in store for Alyson? He knew she was going from the very beginning, but He didn’t bother to fill her in until this morning. Isn’t God so funny sometimes?

I hope our trip is like this the whole way…unexpected and in His hands. It’s the rush of living for a great God who has it all planned out!

Am I sad for the person who can’t go?…Yes. But I’m pretty sure that God has a plan in that one, too!

Alaska Airlines sent me their weekly email and their opening sentence is awesome. It says, “We just can’t seem to quit growing.” I’m stealing this as a byline for our church!

We have had a great season of growth fairly consistently for the last several years. It’s been incremental, but very steady. And I love it! I want to always be in a church that is vibrant and growing and excited about being together as a body of Christ.

I cringe a little when I hear people say that growth is hard for them because they liked it the way it was…don’t hear it often at North Creek, but I’ve had plenty of conversations about other churches. I get it, we are creatures of comfort, but when did God call us to comfort? Comfort is boring after a while. Comfort actually makes us complain far more than chaos. Comfort is our immediate friend and our longterm enemy.

Change and growth are a part of God’s plan. His passion for more people is astounding. He wants to BUILD His church, not babysit it. I long to see another day when 3000 people accept Jesus in one afternoon like they did in the Bible. Imagine how much that would mess up all of our systems and plans?!?! Bring it on!

And because of that, I’ll stop when you take the number of people in Vancouver and Portland, subtract the number of people at other Christian churches, and all the rest are a part of North Creek. Why? Because I have a great God that is so amazing to serve and live for.

So, come to the Coffee Church…we just can’t seem to quit growing.

I have spent the day getting some things ready for our missions trip to Mexico. I’m excited to jump into a new adventure and have new stories to tell!

My agenda for this trip is two-fold. #1 – I really want to bless El Sazaul Orphanage and work myself as hard as possible to make their living situation better. I won’t stop until the job is done because that’s just how my DNA works. But #2 is much more selfish…I want to give God the opportunity to do a work in my life. Sometimes we need to get away from our daily routine to really hear God. The noise of ministry, kids, housecleaning, facebook, emails, and errands can often times cloud my perspective. There is something about getting on a plane and leaving it all behind that is good for my mind.

I’ve gotta admit, it’s past time to set aside the regular responsibilities and just breathe for a minute. Church planting is the most rewarding thing that I have ever been a part of, but it’s also the most exhausting. Living on the edge of faith at every waking minute while starting a church from the ground up is a task that has few parallels. It has been all-consuming for four years (literally to the week). I see this time in Mexico as a divine opportunity to look beyond the walls of North Creek for a while, which I desperately need to do.

Please pray for us. There are 16 people going and I know that God is doing some deep work in several of our hearts already! We also hope to come back with some great stories from the Orphanage and our work there. And I can’t wait to play with some little kids! If I could take one home with me, believe me, I would!!!