Man…I’m not sure how to sum up yesterday. Emotional might be the best word for it!

If you didn’t get to be a part of our service, it will be posted at www.coffeechurch.com by tomorrow. It is literally Mark and I’s heart poured out for a new building in Hazel Dell. But it’s not just a building…it’s a movement. Join us…it’s a big one.

We’ve been in ministry long enough to know what unity produces. Yesterday was inspiring for me because everyone jumped onto a vision with a tenacity that I didn’t expect. It was one of those rare and beautiful moments where a group of people all said at the same time, “I’m in. Not just a litte bit, but all of who I am.” What CAN’T God do with that?!?!?

We partnered our message yesterday with a prayer time at the “new” building on 78th. Awesome! We brought sidewalk chalk for the kids to write messages to Jesus. I’ll post some pictures soon because they were incredible! There is nothing like watching 80 people call out to Jesus and then break out in song to Jesus. I was crying the whole time.

One of our first financial gifts for our dream was given by Drew. He’s in 2nd grade and he gave $15.10 yesterday. I don’t normally post people’s giving on my blog, but that one is inspiring! I also had some teenagers tell me they were going to play guitar in Esther Short park and panhandle for Jesus…whatever it takes!

We had a lot of people ask us how we are paying the bills this month as we give up our salary for our project. Yeah, I don’t know. We didn’t think through that. We feel like God asked us to do it, so what else matters? That being said, we are coming over for dinner. When do you want us?

I was crazy tired by last night. I took two naps between 5:00 and 10:30 pm and then I went to bed. Today is a little foggy, but much better! Coffee, relaxing, and catching up is on the agenda for today.

One week until Easter! Invite someone to church! It will be a great weekend. Services times are 9:00, 10:15 and 11:30 am. Take note that NONE of those times are our regular services. We are packing three in one morning to pack our church full of people. I can’t wait!

We have an annoucement as well…Corey and Julie are transitioning out of North Creek. The move from Seattle was a little trickier to navigate than expected, so they will be staying up north and finding a local church family. Please take a moment and thank them for serving with us – corey@coffeechurch.com. We are very appreciative of the systems they have layed out for us. As we navigate that transition and figure out the long term plan, Matt, Alissa, and Tiffany will be leading us in worship under the umbrella of Chris’ ministry responsibilities. If you are interested in being a part of the worship team, contact Chris at chris@coffeechurch.com. We’d love to have you!

Ok, that’s all! Let’s go change a world…

What a funny few weeks we’ve had! Mark and I have literally immersed ourselves in writing a business plan for our vision. I love the Bible College that I attended, but I can honestly say that I was not prepared for this process. IT’S OVERWHELMING!!! We have prayed, dreamed, researched, asked a million questions, begged for help, and basically wrestled getting as much as we can from our brains to paper.

I firmly believe that a business plan and articulating that plan is KEY. After all of the help and wisdom we’ve gotten from people, I am convinced that anybody who is going to invest in us should rightfully expect us to have done the work. And we are glad to work. That being said, it’s nearly impossible to put faith onto paper. We have the statistics, the idea, the way we THINK we need to go…BUT.

But there’s a God in Heaven who will turn us, mold us, resource us, shape us, and push us in ways that our plan is not able to ascertain. I stared at the words FINANCIAL PLAN on my computer screen for about an hour one day. How do you put down the word “miracle” and look like you have any ounce of intelligence? Sure, we can come up with an idea, a strategy, and a neat little graph next to it, but something in my heart screams, “You can’t guess what’s about to happen! You serve a God with every resource at His beck and call who can take your plan and change it in a moment. A MOMENT.”

So, we plan. We plan as if this is dependent on us, knowing full well we are but tools in the hands of a mighty God. It’s His agenda, His purpose, and His will that we submit to. We know that even as we work on “our” plan, He is speaking to hearts in our community about His plan. I just can’t wait to watch the two paths intersect into that one word…miracle.

We live in a country that is full of opinions, but lacks convictions. Too many of us go through life willing to answer questions, but very few people roll up their sleeves and fight for what they believe in. As Josiah preached on Sunday about Jesus being a revolutionary, I pictured Jesus living every moment as if he was in the middle of a battle that he was not willing to lose.

Sometimes I think we abandon our fight because it’s an uphill, ugly, difficult battle and frankly, it just easier to pitch a tent in the valley. Look around at the mountains in your life and begin to climb the one that you will die for. It’s time that we choose conviction over comfort. It’s time to be revolutionary!

It was our first weekend without a Saturday service. I had moments of panic all day Saturday from being so used to my routine. I’m sure I’ll get it down, but it was strange! It was also fun to have two full services on Sunday. A lot of people commented that it was nice to see “old friends” who used to be at a different service.

Josiah Thalhofer preached and knocked it out of the park! We have a value in our church to believe and utilize a younger generation (he’s in his mid-twenties). There is no minimum age requirement to do something amazing and astounding for God! If you missed it, you need to watch it. A little note about Josiah…his dad required him to MEMORIZE the book of Matthew and the book of Proverbs before he could get his driver’s license. YIKES!

It was busy spring break for us! We went on a mini-trip to Seattle and then my mom came to visit from Montana. All the while, we are in the throws of launching a giving campaign. It was a full week!

We are stepping out in faith with a vision and a dream to redefine the traditional church building structure and use. Check out our idea at www.19centsoffaith.com. You can also follow us on twitter @19Centsoffaith for updates on how we are doing! People are already beginning to give! We will be unrolling the directon at North Creek Church on April 17. Come! www.coffeechurch.com

Mark and I have already begun to meet with businessmen and women in our community asking for them to get behind us in revitalizing Hazel Dell. It’s going to take an entire community for this one! We have already found that there are some SHARP people who are motivated to make a difference in our area. EXCITING!

We thought we had lost one of our staff kids on Sunday. We found her in the front row of the church, hands lifted high, worshipping Jesus. She’s seven.

I called upon some scrapbookers to help with some advertising we need. Seriously…you will not believe how cool it’s going to be! And I made fun of them for all of these years!!!

I am quite confident that God is up to something…

We are in the process of putting together a plan and strategy for raising $2.5 million dollars to fulfill the dreams and visions that God has put in our hearts. We believe God is about to unleash a miracle for our church and community. Check out www.19centsoffaith.com. We’ll be talking about this on April 17th at church, but if you read my blog, you always get the preview story!

And yes, I know that the dates we put down are crazy for raising that much money. For all of your super-planners, don’t focus on the dates. Focus on the vision and the goal! We have a plan and a purpose and the main thing that we want to communicate is that we want to change our community NOW!

Enjoy the website! We’d love to know your thoughts and we’d love for you to begin to invest in this dream. In order to move forward we need a minimum of $500,000. I’m am thankful that we serve a God without limits!