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Monthly Archives: June 2014

It’s finally summer break for all the kids!  I LOVE it!  I love telling my kids to go outside and come home when you’re tired and dirty.  Those are my favorite memories of being a kid and I am passing that along with great joy.

That being said, my neat little daughter is currently upstairs cleaning her room by choice.  At least she’s not on something electronic…

Sunday was a wonderful sunny day to see all of my favorite people!  We are in the middle of our Man Card series.  It’s definitely written to the men, but everything applies to us ladies as well….character, integrity, purity.  That’s where it is at!

At Hazel Dell we were on the topic of purity and we need to take this very seriously…our minds can be warped into wrong thinking if we repeatedly expose them to the wrong things.  We need to guard against pornography and what we allow our eyes to see.  FIGHT!

On that same note, I’ve been working on keeping my Facebook and other social media pure.  If people post things like gossip, inappropriate content, or statements that create division, I simply hide that person’s feeds permanently.  My purity is more important than knowing what every “friend” I’ve ever had is doing on a Friday night.  It’s my job to protect my heart and it’s not mandated in the Bible to be current on social media.  If it’s causing you to sin or feel like a failure…get rid of it.

Speaking of Friday night, our family was at Seaside this weekend with all of Mark’s family to celebrate his parent’s 50th anniversary.  Washington and Oregon beaches lack one important component…warmth!  Happy Anniversary to my inlaws!

We have a lot of new volunteers lately and we are so thankful!  We have awesome volunteers, but as a growing church, we always need more.  It means a lot to us that you are willing to take one Sunday a month and give back to your church.

Last, but not least…three dozen teenagers and leaders are at summer camp this week.  Would you pray for them?  This week could literally change the direction of some lives and we are believing for a sovereign move of God in their hearts.  Would you pray for salvation, being baptized in the Holy Spirit, for repentance, and for their futures?  Go, God, go.

I’m not settling for second best.  I want to live a life of obedience to Jesus.  Join me!

Be blessed!

 

 

Happy Father’s Day!  We had a full house on Sunday as we celebrated the men of North Creek.  We handed all the men a Big Daddy Size Dad’s Root Beer.  Mark added his to some vanilla ice cream and had an awesome float!

We preached our Man Card series at both hearing campuses.  We spoke on integrity at Hazel Dell and courage at Battle Ground.  Our Deaf Church had a men’s retreat, so Dawn Smith spoke out of Ruth.  All three churches had great Sundays and we are blessed by some incredible leadership all around!

Small groups are clicking away and enjoying getting to know each other.  Our small group spoke about not living in fear.  Such a relevant topic for so many of us!

Our teenagers head to camp next Monday.   Would you take some time and pray for the 30 students who are going to spend a week focusing on their relationship with Jesus?  This generation needs a powerful move of God.

Mark was in Haiti this week learning what Convoy of Hope is doing in that country.  He’ll be sharing later this summer about his trip and asking us all to give up a day’s wages as a donation to help Haiti.  You’ll be inspired by his stories!

While he was gone I renovated the garage for him for Father’s Day.  I painted the floor, walls, and all the cabinets/shelves.  I cleaned and dusted and I AM SO EXCITED about it!  It was one of those projects that was hanging over our heads for too long and now it’s done!  Such a relief and now we can enjoy it all summer.

We also had a shower at my house for baby Pust on Saturday.  I looked around and was so blessed by the people in my world.  We are surrounded by such amazing people who are committed to living for Jesus and I consider it an honor to grow old with each of you!

My prayer lately for North Creek is twofold: 1.  That we would be people who read our Bibles. 2.  That we would do what it says.  Our culture says a lot of things are OK, but they aren’t…we’ve got to arm ourselves with a Biblical worldview or we will not know what pleases God.  We, as Christians, cannot go around promoting a false doctrine because it is socially acceptable.  We all must aim to be obedient regardless of the popularity of the issue.

On that note, let’s change the world!  So many people to impact, so much to do!  Be blessed1

 

 

As I write my highlights this week, the news of another school shooting is blasting through the news.  Just last week Seattle Pacific University faced the same horror.  My nephew was on the SPU campus at the time and now Troutdale is just too close, so I understand the shock.  That being said, I implore you to use these moments to further your resolve to live for Christ and lead your family to do the same.  We will never be able to completely stop tragedy, but we can live our lives with an eternal perspective, which is the road to hope.  Reynolds High School, we are praying for you!

Now on to my Sunday Highlights:

It was Graduation Sunday for our 2014 High School Grads!  We had 13 graduates between our two campuses, so there was plenty to celebrate.  I am very proud of the diversity that is represented in that group of grads!  God has brought us people from all walks of life and we were thrilled to be a part of their journey in Christ.

We also got to welcome baby Pust at Hazel Dell!  Nate and Emily are enjoying getting to their new little one and are doing well.  Thank you to those of you who are bringing meals to all of our new babies!  We very much appreciate being a part of a church that is there for people during the lows and the highs.

Speaking of being there, our small groups are all started and doing well.  I heard that Chris is torturing people in the men’s workout group, and they are loving it!  I personally feel that if you vomit at a small group, that’s a failure, but the guys must see it differently…

Summer Camp is just around the corner, so would you be praying for our teens and kids?  We have about 36 going to youth camp and the kid’s camp registrations are due in a couple of weeks.  There is NOTHING like camp to change a life!  If you can, would you give scholarship money?  We are helping a lot of attenders out this year with a $50 scholarship, which is key in many of them being about to attend!

We usually do our big baptism weekend in July, but we are moving it to August this year.  Join us on August 17 for a wonderful morning to celebrate with people whose lives are being changed.  Also, if you’d like to get baptized that day, you can register at www.coffeechurch.com

Here’s the key to success in life:  do what the Bible says.  Not what you think it says, but what it actually says.  It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever take on, but in the end, it will pay out in dividends of changed lives!

Be blessed!

 

Below is a post I wrote in September 2010.  I am reposting it today in honor of Edee.  This week I attended her funeral and while I wish the end of this story was not such an early goodbye, I also know that the very hope she gave me in Jesus is the same hope I carry now knowing that I will see her again in Heaven.

What you need to know about Edee is that she simply lived her life with love and grace.  She never did anything grandious or ostentatious and yet God used her life in precious ways.  Sometimes we try to seek a spotlight or a stage, but Edee reminds me that Jesus is often found in the ordinary moments of love and grace.

 

About 25 years ago my best friend’s mom gave me my first Bible. I had just met Jesus at summer camp and was so hungry to know more about him and what impact he could have on my life. My family home did not have one Bible in it and even at that young age, I knew that there was a plan and a purpose for my life. I was desperate to discover what the Bible had to say about that.

My friend, Kristi, and her mom, Edee, came to my rescue. They went to the local Christian bookstore and bought me a blue New Testament. I was SO excited! I literally took it home and over the course of the next year I read the whole thing…as an elementary student.

After I was finished with that one, it would again be Edee who would buy me another Bible, this time with the Old Testament included! And again, in a year’s time, I finished reading that Bible as well. It was the beginning of a deep love affair for the Word of God that would infiltrate my life for the next quarter of a century. It would be the catalyst for a list of good decisions and the basis of my calling into ministry. Knowing the Word of God would literally steer the course of my destiny.

This month Edee was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. When I got the news, it very much took me aback. It caused me to reflect on the 30 years that I have known her and I wondered what she’s been thinking about as she looks back on the significance of her own life.

Edee probably went to the bookstore that day, 25 years ago, and wondered if her purchase would be wasted on a dusty shelf. I can imagine that she said a prayer that this Bible would be used well as she laid those dollar bills on the counter to pay for it. I laugh to myself thinking of what God saw as she drove the few miles into town to buy a Bible for a little girl down the street. He saw my future. He saw me studying at Bible College, marrying a pastor, becoming a pastor myself, and He saw this church plant. He knew that Edee was changing my life that day.

So, Edee, in this trying time in your own life, as you are looking back over the significant moments, I hope you will add that one gift to your list. That errand on a summer afternoon made all the difference to me. In fact, I still have those two Bibles. The covers have long since been ripped off, the binding is battered, and the pages are a mess, but I have never thrown them away. When I “use up” other Bibles, they are disposed of, but these two I will keep forever.

You are in my thoughts and prayers! I trust that you will turn to the pages of the Bible as well and find the hope, strength, and determination to win this battle. I stand upon the greatness of God in this situation for you and for your family! Highlighted in the first few pages of that tattered New Testament it says, “What god is so great as our God? No god is as great as our God.” Thank you for giving me the book that taught me to believe that.

What a wonderful Sunday!  I love the people of North Creek and all that God is doing in your lives.  Super glad to serve our God!

Over at Battle Ground, Mark preached on marriage (such a good sermon!), while Chris preached on investing into the next generation.  Sometimes we feel so unqualified to invest, but it’s really just because we make it harder than it needs to be.  Bottom line…take the opportunities given to do the little things because in the end, those are what will matter!

On a similar note, after church I got in a train to head to Montana for a funeral of a dear person in my life who invested in me whenever she could.  For the last 15 years I have seen Edee very little, but what she left in my heart in the 20 years before that had eternal significance, so I am “home” to honor that investment.  The world lost a beautiful person this week.

Yesterday I went to visit another old neighbor who also invested in me since I was born.  As I hugged her frail body goodbye, she whispered in my ear, “Lots of prayers have gone up for you over the years.”  It’s hard to wrap your brain around the fact that God had a prayer warrior planted  across the street from me my whole life.  He knew I would need that covering and 38 years later, I would say those prayers are priceless.

Maybe that’s how you will change the world.  That child across the street from you may need you to be the one who stands in the gap for them.

Thanks for being the type of church that values investment.  We have the best workers in our children’s area who pour themselves in to little lives, we have youth staff who stand alongside our teenagers through the tumultuous years, and we have small group leaders who know that investment is needed in marriages, discipleship, and relationships.  I know that you probably feel like it’s not enough at times, but it really is.  God has multiple people in every life and all He needs you to do is your part!

Next Sunday we’ll be honoring our graduates!  We have about a dozen high school grads between our two campuses and they are AWESOME!  We look forward to the next step that God has for each of them.

I hope that you have a great week and I’ll be sure to share some reflections with you soon on my journey home to Montana.  It’s been full of joy, heartache, and memories.  So thankful that we have the promise of Heaven…

Be blessed.