Archive

Monthly Archives: February 2013

February 10 Coffee Church Highlights

By
February 12, 2013
Ministry
Leave a Comment

journeyFull weekend at the Coffee Church!  We were up to our ears in helping people move, going to birthday parties, board meetings, and events.  I was looking forward to a good nights sleep by the time Sunday rolled around.  We are blessed to be a part of a community!

Congratulations to Journey Robertson and Mackenzie Harmon on their baptisms!  There is nothing more exciting than watching people declare their desire to serve Jesus.  We’ve got two more baptisms next week at Hazel Dell and then we are baptizing at Battle Ground on February 24.  You can sign up on line at www.coffeechurch.com.

mackenzieJust so you know, our board at North Creek is amazing!  They are the group of people who carry the financial weight and deal with any issues we have.  No glory for their job, but they are the MVP’s of this ministry!

Mark kicked off Straight Shooter at Battle Ground.  We are reading, memorizing, and quoting James over the next month!  He quoted James 1 on Sunday and we’ll continue to do that throughout the series.  It’s going to be a good one!  We have an 8 year old memorizing James 4 to quote for our church.  Just in case you were wondering, James 4 talks about lust and adultery.  That little girl has a LOT of questions for her parents this week…who ever said the Bible was boring????

Chris DrewChris preached a great message in Hazel Dell about how to be a good rich person.  Interesting spin on our perspective when we realize how rich we are in America.  Let’s be generous!  If you’re not giving, you’re not growing!  Also, Chris and Drew, one of our 9 year olds, had matching sweaters on Sunday.  If you’re going to emulate someone, Chris is a great option!

Our teens went to Generation Unleashed and had an amazing time!  There is nothing like masses of teens praising our God.  We are praying that God solidifies in their lives what He started in their hearts.  If you want a valuable ministry, take time to pray for our young people.  Junior High and High School is tumultuous at best, but we believe God has a plan for their lives that is astounding!

guThanks to Alissa for jumping from Battle Ground to Hazel Dell to help Matt lead worship…he’s trying really hard to lose his voice this week.  Not a great plan for a person who sings for a living!

Small Groups are beginning this week with very full houses…going to be lots of fun!  Ours was last night and I decided to have a kitchen fire just as the doorbell was ringing to begin…a housefull of fire and smoke was quite the kickoff!  The Friday groups are still open if you’d like to jump in.  I can’t guarantee your group will be as “hot” as mine… You can sign up online at www.coffeechurch.com.

GIRLSThe Kid City K-2nd Grade girls also had a cupcake and nail polish party after church on Sunday.  Super cute watching a bunch of girls show off their high-heel cupcake creations!  Thank you to Vanessa and Kim for leading it and for the kid staff for investing in the cutest girls EVER!  If you’d like to be added to our Kid City Facebook Group, email kim@coffeechurch.com for all invitations and updates.

Whew!  What a weekend!  It’s not too often that we have that much going on, but it sure was a lot of fun!  I hope you have an amazing week.

 

 

Making Change

By
February 9, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

titleRight now we are finishing up a financial series at church.  I think there is a myth out there that people get angry when the church mixes the topics Bible and Money.  That has not been our experience at all!  We have been flooded with questions, emails, and kind messages of gratitude as people are starving for financial principles that will give them the boundaries that we are all looking for.  I know that we will take all the help we can get!

One of the interesting facts about our marriage is that we have never had a fight over money.  And it isn’t because we have an enormous salary, a big house, nice cars, and no need to discuss a budget.  Quite the opposite.  I believe we’ve never fought about money because we base our decisions from the Bible.  If we want to argue, we’ve got to argue with God Himself…and that’s not a good plan.

Although I don’t think we have our financial picture completely worked out, I thought I’d share some of our foundational beliefs about money and maybe you’ll find some common ground to help your own financial stress.

1.  We give first.  The Bible gives us a foundation of 10% to give back to our church.  We tithe off of our gross because that’s what we are paid.  Then we decide how much we want to give to missionaries, facility fund, and camp scholarships within North Creek.  There’s no guilt in this conversation.  It’s not about breaking the bank, but about consistently supporting things we believe in.  Then we evaluate other opportunities outside of the church that we have a passion to support.  If one of us doesn’t feel good about something, we scratch it off the list, even if the other person would like to support it.  It’s about agreement.  There are plenty of organizations that we can both get behind.  It’s not his money and my money…it’s our money.

2.  We had a values conversation a long time ago where we decided what was important to us.  The main thing about this list is that it benefits our family as a whole.  That means we each say no to personal desires along the way.  The exception to that rule is that birthday and Christmas gifts are FUN money.  Mark saved his fun money for years to buy a TV he wanted.  He was like a kid in a candy store, and it didn’t hurt us financially at all.  We have decided that retirement, travelling on a vacation once a year, having an emergency fund, and having a date fund are priorities for our family.  That means other things just can’t make the list.

3.  We hate debt.  We have never paid interest on a credit card in our married lives.  That means we say no more than we say yes to things.  We have a budget and our desires must fall within the amount of money God has entrusted us.

So, there it is!  Nothing fancy, nothing complicated, but maybe something we are doing will help you.  I’d also love to hear your tricks and tips for living a financially healthy life.  What is working for your family?

Feb. 3 Coffee Church Highlights

By
February 6, 2013
Inspiration, Ministry
Leave a Comment

I’m a bit late this week!  We’ve got a lot of plates spinning right now, so it’s a litte crazy!  We had a great weekend though!

photoCheck out this picture of one of our miracle babies in our Coffee Church cup.  Hanaye was born to Will and Sarah in December at just 4 pounds.  God has truly filled their cup to overflowing!

Congrats to Wayne and Jenny who celebrated 20 years of pastoring in Battle Ground last weekend.  That’s an awesome investment into a community!

Also congrats to Matt and Andrea who’ve been at North Creek for two years.  You are welcome to follow in Wayne and Jenny’s footsteps and stay for at least another 18 years!

Small Groups opened and are filling up!  You can sign up today at www.coffeechurch.com.   Our groups start next week.  By the way, our youth pastor, Kris Gray, will be hanging out with adults in Mike and Alecia’s group on Friday nights.  It’s a great opportunity to get to know her, because if a teenager is around, she might be paying WAY more attention to them.  If you want to be in a group that is full, email me at stacy@coffeechurch.com and I’ll get you on a waiting list.  Sometimes people who sign up can’t attend and we like to fill in empty seats!

We are working hard on relaunching the North Creek Learning Center, which is currently our preschool in Battle Ground.  We have lots of exciting announcements coming up about that, but if you have a 3 or 4 year old (as of this fall), we have an amazing year planned for them!  Stay tuned as Registration Packets will be out in February.

The lights out at the Super Bowl made every pastor I know feel MUCH better about the technical difficulties that happen on Sunday mornings…

We are baptizing at Hazel Dell this Sunday and Feb. 17th as well.  We’ll also be doing it at Battle Ground on Feb. 24.  You can register to get dunked at www.coffeechurch.com.  If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and a desire to follow Him, it’s time to do that!

Services on Sunday were awesome!  We are talking about MONEY!  I love this subject because I believe that if we think correctly about money, we save marriages, we prevent stress, and we change the world.  A great vision is only limited by the generosity of others.  Don’t believe me?  Try leading something that has the capacity to change the world and do it without finances.

Loved this Facebook post:  Giving blood tomorrow in honor of being present, want to know more about that check out coffeechurch.com.

I got to lead a small group of 4th and 5th graders in KidCity on Sunday.  The topic was how to handle temptation…great conversation for kids entering junior high right around the corner!  I am so glad to be a part of a church where adults will look into my child’s eyes and talk about the choices they are making from a Biblical standpoint.

Did I mention you should sign up for a small group?  Yeah, do that now! Be blessed!

 

Get Off the Counters

By
February 1, 2013
Inspiration
Leave a Comment

Recently we got two kittens for my two little girls.  They are both boys, both orange, and both full of energy!  They brought with them some cute personality traits that we have very much enjoyed.  Hooper plays fetch with pipe cleaners all day long.  Tiger is the responsible one and meows when Hooper needs something.  It’s been a fun addition to our home…

…for the most part.

They also brought with them some challenges.  They keep us up at night with those same cute antics, my curtains are permanently pinned up due to being climbed, and they committed the ultimate sin by spending as much time as possible on the counters.

If you want to really see Mark’s blood boil, that will do it.  I’ve watched over the last two months as he has painstakingly tried to train them that the counters are off limits.  He just kept saying, “Why won’t they stop?  They clearly know it’s not OK, but THEY JUST KEEP DOING IT!”  Sounds like raising kids, doesn’t it?

CatsThe other day I walked in after the kids got on the bus and there was Hooper, on the counter.  He was licking the jelly on a bagel that Kennedy hadn’t finished.  He looked at me with a shaking guilt, but didn’t quit licking the jelly.  It was like a lightbulb went on in my head!

They know it’s wrong, but the benefit of getting something good on a plate or in the sink, is worth the risk and consequence of getting caught.

They just simply don’t care about the consequence because they want what they want and that’s all that matters.

Sounds a lot like our obedience issues with God as well, doesn’t it?  We know the boundaries, but if the pleasure is worth the consequence, we’ll risk it, too.

Mark and I’s only choice at this juncture is to remove the benefit from our kittens so that they realize there’s no point in disobeying because they will leave empty handed.  We now make sure there is not a scrap of goodness left anywhere they shouldn’t be.  I’m sure that our discipline plan will go much smoother from this point forward.

If you feel like God is taking away “good” things in your life, maybe you should evaluate it from a different perspective.  Maybe God is trying to help you learn something completely different, but all you see is Him taking away things that bring you pleasure.  My guess is that God would love to fill your life with more pleasure than you can imagine….just in the appropriate context.

So, get off the counters in your life.  Not because God just finally took away your jelly, but because you love Him and trust Him.  And then wait and see just how much God wants to bless you!