"I See a Church..."

My heart could burst this morning. Here lately, I have felt the nudge to get on this blog a little bit more often, not just to keep this up as a personal journal about my family's adventures, but to write a little more often about how to do this whole motherhood thing in a way that is God-honoring. How to better pour the Word into our kids, and how to really make it worship. For the longest time I could never really pinpoint where I wanted this to go or what I wanted it to be about (particularly because it was started purely just to keep my family updated on what our family has been up to), and lately I have just felt in my heart that this is the direction I'm supposed to go. The thing is, nobody ever feels worthy enough to try and lead people in this way. I mean, I mess up DAILY. I have times when I feel like I'm knocking it out of the park, routinely getting up early and spending time with God before having to do all of my mommy duties (and honestly therefore doing them better because of a more joyful attitude), and then I have those nights when I lay down and wonder what I did all day. I think I just came to the realization that even if I did get up at 5am every single day, and even if I did read my Bible every single morning, and even if I was the most consistent, self-disciplined woman in the world, I would still have nights like that. And to be honest, no matter how hard I try, I guarantee there are going to be days where I would rather choose (and probably still will) to sit on the couch and watch  mindless TV shows instead of actively investing in and leading my children. I just really hope that over time that happens less and less. I want first and foremost what I do at home to matter, and if I can help other moms along the way find the joy in the Lord through their own journey, then I want to be a vehicle to help them, too. Even if I sometimes don't get it perfect myself.

But back to my heart bursting...

Last night I heard Josh and Jacob talking up in Josh's office. This is not a rare thing, as Jake really loves to go sit up there with Daddy and pretends to do work. But this time it sounded different. Jake was speaking with a different rhythm in his voice, and as I walked up the stairs a bit, it sounded like he was... well... preaching.  And then I heard him say, "I see a church..."

Jake has rarely sat in "big church" with me to listen to his daddy preach. He is usually back in our (awesome) kids' ministry having his own lesson, but does see glimpses of his sermons from time to time via web videos or non-Sunday morning events, like our volunteer rallies or times of prayer. On our three-year-anniversary, Josh preached a message about the church that he sees, and he used this "I see a church" phrase repeatedly. It would give you chills if you listened to it. But the crazy thing is, Jake wasn't in there, nor do I think that he has ever seen that message, and if he has, it would have been a super short snippet. But on a day when I wonder if what we do at home matters, and if we are leading our children in the right direction, and if they will end up following God and developing a faith of their own, God gave us a moment that I will cherish forever. God let us know loud and clear that it's more about what we do, and how we live our daily lives, than it is about what we tell him to do. We ccan teach him right from wrong all we want, or we can live for Him, so that He will also live to serve and love God by our example. On his daddy's podcast microphone, up in his daddy's office, this little five-year-old boy of ours preached his very first sermon, with no help from either one of us. God can use anyone to speak to us. And thanks to my little boy, my feelings have been confirmed. I don't get it right all the time, but we sure do the best we can.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we have and I hope the link works! I may have to try and upload it differently if it causes any problems:

Click here to listen to Jake's Sermon

And if you want to hear Josh's version, or any of his messages actually, you can download our new handy-dandy TurningPoint Church app! I particularly recommend last weekend's message!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/turningpoint-church-app/id610741417?mt=8

California Dreamin'

To kick off all of my traveling recaps, I'll start with Josh's and my trip to California. Before I get into that though, the whole trip came about from just one of the cool ways that God works. When Josh and I got married, we did not have time for a honeymoon because we had to be in Illinois for full-time ministry by the following weekend. Sure we had a "mini-moon,"but it wasn't the trip we had hoped for, which probably would have been somewhere in the mountains to include some adventure-type travel. We lived in Fort Lauderdale at the time, so neither one of us wanted to go somewhere to lay on a beach, so we were looking into places like Colorado and Alaska before we realized it wasn't going to happen.  Since then we have been saying that we'd do our big make-up honeymoon at the five-year mark. Well… as five years approached, both of us had been too busy to really plan anything, and we have been really tightened up our budgeting and spending, so neither one of us had really put much thought or effort into making this happen. Ministry has given us a wonderful life and a ton of blessings, but it can become all-consuming sometimes.  Then, out of the blue, an anonymous donor gifted us a trip. I know… crazy, right? Stuff like that just doesn't happen! But that's not even the cool part. When we were sent the details, we realized that the trip fell directly ON our fifth year anniversary and was literally titled "the Husband-Wife Adventure" in the mountains of northern California. I know God is always working, but my favorite times are when He does something to blatantly obvious that you can't help but be in awe of His goodness. And I think it goes to show that God really cares about our marriages.  We are fortunate to be tied in with ARC, which is an organization that cares more about the health of our family than the size of our church or the number of programs we have, and things like this trip make me realize that their priorities are like God's. No family should be sacrificed on the altar of a ministry or a church, but unfortunately it happens a lot. I am thankful that we are very much covered in prayer and people who invest in us to make sure we maintain a healthy home life, and from that our ministry can spring forth and grow.

But I'm getting away from where this is all going… that was a bit of a tangent that I didn't mean to spend much time on… so back to California.

We didn't know much about the trip, but we knew we were staying at Scott River Lodge, which is tied into the programming of JH Ranch, a Christian camp in the Pacific Northwest. Beyond that, and after looking at the website, we were still pretty unclear about everything we would be doing. They sent us a packing list and a  few questionnaires to fill out and then we boarded a plane and headed west. 

The trip started out a bit funny, since the staff had told us to stop and get dinner before we came, and the place to do this would probably be Yreka, since we were driving down from Oregon. What they should have said was that Yreka is your last chance to get something to eat, but it probably wasn't the best option. It was a Sunday and the town was not only tiny, but completely shut down. It was kind of eerie actually. We found an antique shop that was open and ended up talking to a man who spent forty minutes telling us the history of the town and about how the building we were in was literally sitting on a gold-mine. Under our feet was millions of dollar in unmined gold.  Kind of crazy. And the store and the things in it were kind of crazy as well.

Downtown Yreka, CA

I guess this would be considered an antique?!?

Out back… a replica of what the town used to look like… complete with creepy mannequins.

It was an experience, that's for sure. I'm not thinking we'll ever make a trip back to the bustling city of Yreka, but we did learn a lot of very interesting history surrounding the California gold rush. But we were definitely ready to get on our way and start our week at the lodge!

I think the website keeps things a bit vague, because the week was full of surprises! I won't spoil them all here, but maybe the best surprise to us was that you actually end up doing a lot with a group of other couples. This may not sound like fun to some of you, but for us, it was a blast to get to connect with other couples, make friends, and hang out. We love traveling together, but we love traveling with friends or family even more, and this was just a neat twist on that. And they want to make sure you bond right away, so here is what day one looked like:

Our group… and some new great friends! 

30 Feet up. Scared? No… I'm just hugging that pole to, um, stabilize the structure. Yeah.

Zipline!!

Gearing up to climb a 50 foot pole, stand on top of it, and jump off to grab a trapeze that's 7 feet up and 7 feet out.
No big deal.

Up I go!

Ok, you caught me. That's not me. The top of the pole is as far as I got… twice.
Kim is a wee bit scared of heights.

Here is what the entire process looks like as demonstrated by my fearless husband. Most of the group tried this and did it successfully. I was a little upset with myself the first go-around for not trying to stand on the pole, so I tried again. The second time, I was fully committed and comfortable with my decision to not do this craziness! Climbing to the top and being lowered down was enough for me!

The rest of the week involved activities closer to the ground, aside from one other day of tower climbing and a giant swing. I may have not jumped off that pole, but I am happy to say that I did make it to the top of the alpine tower. For me, that's a pretty big deal. And I think my husband found a little too much joy in my sheer terror / joy on the appropriately named "Screaming Eagle," considering that he felt the need to post it to his Instagram account!

The only group activity I don't have a picture of was the white-water rafting, which is unfortunate since it has got to be one of the most scenic rivers in the US. We even saw a bald eagle in the wild… as well as some pretty interesting characters panning for gold. Each morning we had worship and a short session designed to help make our marriage stronger. Each afternoon we could grab a mountain bike, find a trail head, go down to the river to fly fish or lay on the beach, take a nap in our luxurious room, read in the beautiful library, each homemade ice cream and other yummy treats, sit in the hot tub overlooking the mountains, and/or just truly relax and enjoy one-on-one time with each other without the distractions of taking care of kids, doing laundry, the phone ringing (we were thankful for very limited cell service), etc. Each night was pretty low-key with a few fun games and even salsa lessons thrown in. It was beyond anything we could have expected.

That ice cream cone is just the tip of the iceberg. As amazing as the trip was, I can honestly say that my most favorite part might have been the FOOD! For starters, the lodge is almost completely self-sustained, even generating its own power, so most meals were made from farm-fresh vegetables, eggs, and livestock. The farm staff even rescued two little orphans while we were there, which we got to hold! They were incredibly sweet!

And their chef, Terri, is truly a culinary genius. Every meal was five-star quality and so bursting with flavors that even foods I would normally not try, so I had all kinds of fish, duck, lamb chops, figs, kale and brussel sprouts, you name it. We had a Mexican-themed night where all of the salsas, guacamoles, and tortillas were made in house, and a gourmet breakfast was delivered to our room every morning so we could enjoy it on the balcony with picturesque views. One of the buffets I would literally consider the best meal I have ever eaten in my entire life. Hands down. I would go back for the culinary experience alone and I am far from any sort of "foodie." I felt like a dork taking so many pictures of my meals, but it really just had to be done!

Marscipone with cream and strawberries… my favorite part of breakfast!

Churros and chocolate!

A beautiful summer picnic in the middle of the mountains

Not your typical picnic food… paninis with ham, brie, and caramelized onions, kale chips, wild orzo, and "red velvet" beet cupcakes. Yes, BEET cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. And they were incredibly delicious!

Fresh salsas served in flower pots. Loved it!

Shrimp, fish, pork, steak, even tuna tar tar for your tacos. This is what heaven looks like.

Presentation is everything. Even the "decor" like the corn in the back was edible!

The best meal I have ever eaten in my whole life. Hands down. And this picture does not do it justice!

Our last breakfast. Homemade scones and berries with homemade, fresh lemoncello yogurt.

I am a sucker for eggs benedict. Especially when they are this perfect!

Hungry yet? This is by no means a food blog, but I would LOVE to be able to make things that are even half this good!

Josh and I were definitely blessed by our week in the mountains and the ministry of JH Ranch, and it's something we'll talk about for years to come. Our children are still young, but we're already talking about saving up so that our kids can go with one of us when they turn 13, kind of like a rite of passage for them, because we believe in what they teach that much. We got to talk to some of the dads who were there with their daughters, and all of them said that it was the hardest week of their life, but also one of the best, and that they were able to breakthrough with their teenager in a new way. We are not there in our parenting years yet, but I can only imagine what that must be like based on the teenager that I was!

By far though, this place was so special and our week was so amazing because of the people who serve at the ranch. The staff of college-aged girls who took care of us at the lodge were the sweetest, most genuine, humble women who were all spending their summer seeking out what God wants for them through serving others. It's the whole core principle to what Jesus taught. Midway through our week we found out that they don't get paid, and that all staff apply and interview for a volunteer position, from the camp counselors to the lifeguards to the kitchen staff even! I was so amazed to learn this, and because of it, their hearts for God and for serving others certainly shined through. It was not a job to any of them, but rather a privilege, and if I could have taken all of them home with us I would have! And our facilitators, David and Terri Sumlin, well, they took our week to a whole new level. They helped our group become very close very quickly, were incredibly open and honest about the struggles they have had and how they have overcome some pretty major stuff, and are just two of the nicest, most fun people you'd ever meet. WE were blessed to find out that they will be in Knoxville throughout the winter months of next year, so we have invited them to come up and share their wealth of knowledge with our church family this fall. I am beyond excited. Josh and I came home from this in agreement that this was one of the best things we've ever done, not just as a couple, but in life in general. If you are looking for an amazing way to spend a vacation with your spouse that's more than a vacation (since you learn so much!), or if a JH Ranch Marriage Outback ever comes to your neck of the woods, I would highly recommend it. Best. Week. Ever.

Playing Catch-Up

Wow what a summer it has been, and it's only July! I was out of town (without my kiddos… eek!) for about three weeks total and have trekked the globe to cover the Pacific Northwest, and the coast of the Mediterranean. I have missed the past FOUR Sundays at our church (that never happens… and gosh do I miss it and can't wait to be back this weekend!) and have spent the past few days snuggling with my littles, seeing some of my favorite people, and chatting on the phone to some of my best friends who don't live here in the Bluegrass. It's so fun that everyone wants to hear all about my travels, and even though each trip was pretty amazing, coming home just reminded me that this is my favorite spot on the planet. Although, a mountain getaway with my husband and Europe with my sisters comes in a pretty close first and second.  :)

Since I don't particularly want to upload the hundreds of photos we took on our various trips to Facebook, I'm going to do my best to write a few posts here to recap, kind of like I did for our previous summer vacations (you know, when I actually blogged more than once a year). While I was away my incredibly thoughtful husband rearranged our house creating a playroom for the kids and a beautiful office nook for me, so I'm hoping the situation inspires me to write more and creates more independent playtime for them, so that I can do said writing. I'm kind of in love with it all really… I might just have to post about that in itself! Haha! But in all seriousness, I came home and am absolutely amazed at how smooth everything went at home while I was gone for ten days. The house was cleaner, the kids were more polite and better-behaved, and he did all of it and preached about seven sermons and ran a church, without sleeping I would guess! That's the only way I could see it happening! And then he puts up with my jet-lagged self for several days until I felt like a human again. He never ceases to amaze me.

So I'm back… and will hopefully be recapping all this greatness soon, but for now I'll just leave you with one of my favorite pictures from our European adventures… with many more to come!

Adios for now!

5 Years in 5 Minutes

Kids, a growing church, and deciding to be a mom who is not just a STAY at home mom, but a PLAY at home mom has slowed down the frequency of my posts and made me the world's worst blogger over the past few years. BUT… since I started this thing right after we got married, hopefully this little video will catch you up!  Five years… five sweet, amazing years… five years filled with lots of love, laughter, chaos, and fun. I was at a wedding recently and the best man said, "I hope that today is the day when your love is the weakest," and I loved that. I get that now. I love my husband more with every passing season, with every trial that we work through, and through every triumph that we celebrate. I cannot imagine a better life, nor do I want to. I thank God everyday upon remembrance of this man that God chose for me, which makes me love my God even more. Thank you, Josh, for contenting to challenge me, encourage me, and for helping me to grow into the woman that God created me to be. Five years does not even seem like how long I feel like we've been together… you were made for me and I feel like we've known each other forever. I can't wait to see what the next five, ten, fifteen, or fifty years hold for us. Happy Anniversary to you my love. Forever and ever….

Friday Night Lights

I'm starting to wonder if there is anything my husband can't do...

On top of husband, father, church planter, pastor, and Ironman, he just added Offensive Coordinator for one of our local high school football teams to the list! What began as an opportunity to speak some truth into the lives of these young men has turned into a full-on coaching position! Even though church planting and pastoring is definitely his passion and calling, I don't think I've ever seen him this excited about anything else! He's definitely enjoying playing ball with his kids and being on the sidelines, and I love that he is more concerned with shaping these boys into good men more than he is with turning them into good ball players (as is the head coach). I love sitting proudly in the bleachers and seeing him encourage and advise the players, and I love seeing how much they look up to him after it's over and they're walking off the field.  Plus, nobody looks better in a headset in my opinion!

As for me and the kiddos, this means that we have the perfect excuse to spend our Friday nights under the lights, watching a bunch of high schoolers cheer dance go head to head. Thankfully, I happen to love watching football and nothing beats a good concession stand! The kids are entertained for the most part, but I can promise you that few things are scarier for a mom than watching her kids play on bleachers! My nephew is now the team's ball boy and is loving every second and my father-in-law runs the camera to capture the game film... it's turning into quite the family affair! I'm not sure what we ever did with our Friday nights before this new gig, but it sure wasn't this much fun!

Our team is currently 1-1 with a lot of season left... and this is the only time you'll ever hear me say "Go Bulldogs!"

Oh wow they all look so alike here!

And just to make it back right again... let me say even louder:

GO VOLS!!!

Our Marriage Is...

Today we celebrate only four years of marriage. I say only four because when Josh and I discussed this the other day, we both gasped in disbelief that it's only been four years... not because it's been a long, unbearable four years, but because not only has it been incredibly happy and full of abundant blessings, but it has also been so non-stop! In four years of marriage we have lived in three states, given birth to two babies, and planted two churches! We have seen our church plant thrive and grow, we have experienced the loss of my job, and have met more incredible people that we call friends than I could ever ask for. We've lost a few loved ones, traveled to see family all over the place, and spoken into the lives of many future church planters through teaching opportunities with the ARC. If this is what we can accomplish in four years together, there is no telling what more there is to come. We are definitely better together, and I think these past four years shows us that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

When looking back on all of this, I think about that woman who stood at the altar four years ago and I'm amazed at how much she has changed. Granted, Josh married me for many reasons, so I am obviously the same woman he chose in hundreds of ways, but in so many BIG ways I am so much different. There are things that I never thought I'd do (marry a pastor for one, and move back to Kentucky for another!), challenges I would have never thought I'd tackle, and risks that I would never imagine taking. The biggest rewards in my life has been through these big, unexpected risks, and I thank God for bringing this man into my life, knowing that he was the man I needed to take me on this adventure. With him at my side I have come to understand who I am in Christ more than ever before, feel the overwhelming awesomeness of God's love for me, but most importantly, my eyes have been opened to the fact that I was created on purpose and for a purpose, and my purpose in life is unique to only me. I am useful not because I have a college degree and a career I could pursue, but I am useful to God to grow His kingdom, show kindness, love people, and serve others. I'm not saying that I would've never learned those things if I hadn't met Josh, but I certainly was not on a path in that was taking me that direction before our paths collided. There are so many wonderful things that this marriage has given me, so four years in, here are just a few things that make me smile about it. 

On our fourth anniversary, our marriage is:

• One that doesn't take much work, but it does take scheduling. Our lives are busy and full with two small children and a growing church, so carving out "us-time" is something we've committed to and become really good about. I know it makes a difference.
• Full of laughter... whether it's at each other or at the kids (and it's usually the kid), there are giggles and squeals all the time. There is nobody on the planet that knows how to make me laugh like Josh can, even when I'm trying to be mad about something and don't want to! It drives me nuts!
• Strong. Before we said "I Do," we promised each other that we would never allow ourselves to be in conversations that dishonor one another or publicly cut down each other. Even harmless, sarcastic jokes can sometimes hurt, and so we try to keep that at a minimum. At times it is appropriate to rib on each other in certain circles, but we can now both gauge when those times are appropriate and when they are not. We are a team and present ourselves as a united front and it's always nice to know that we've got each other's backs.
• Based on being best friends. I seriously love waking up to this man every day and cannot imagine my life without him. We often find ourselves bored with no plans, but it's honestly because just hanging out at home with each other is enough for us. 
• Full of challenge- not in an "our marriage is challenging" kind of way, but in a "you could do more" kind of way. If I say, "I should write a book," Josh's response is, "well what are you waiting for?" If he says, "I could probably finish and IronMan," I tell him, "then go do it!" You have to be careful what you suggest around here because big dreams that need to be followed are strongly encouraged. That's why I said "yes" to his dream of planting our church (which was huge for me!) and why we continue to come up with new dreams to see the world become a better place. I hope that is something that carries down into our parenting, too.
• Not without our differences. Especially in parenting, we disagree on things just as everyone does. Finding the right discipline for our children is tough, and sometimes we disagree on their future schooling or activities, even though we're not making those decisions quite yet. People disagree- that's a fact, so no marriage is immune to that. We have house rules for how we handle conflict and I think we do great at solving things without fighting, raising our voices, cutting each other down, or making a small conflict into a bigger fight about something different. Conflict is actually healthy and for us it produces a lot of great conversations where we consider different things that we may not have considered before. And whatever we agree on, we stick to that, again being a united front and keeping our "team" strong.
• Fun! Our family still has impromptu dance parties, pizza and movie night on the living room carpet, and will randomly pack up and go on some sort of local adventure to keep things interesting. We're about to leave for the beach, and I know that will be filled with fun!
• More than I ever thought it would be. Sure, I played "house" growing up and always wanted to be a wife and a mom, but marriage is more than just having dinner on the table at night (which is good since I'm horrible at that!) and making sure his clothes are washed and put away. In my husband I have a friend, a fan, an encourager, a tear-wiper, a really good hugger, a comic relief, an incredible advice-giver, a great father for our children, a handyman, a cheerleader, a risk taker, a teacher, a listener, a dream-sharer, and the list goes on and on. I am not the woman I am today without that man beside me, and I am really proud of the things that we have already accomplished together. When I made my "wish list" of what my husband and my marriage should be, God laughed at it and responded with I have something better. So if you're out there wondering where your Mr. Right is, just know that he's not "the one" if he doesn't blow your expectations out of the water! I had to wait 27 years to meet him, but it wasn't a moment too soon. And I look forward to spending the next 27 plus years with him by my side. Together I think we really can do anything we set our minds to!

Happy anniversary, Josh. I can't believe it's only been four years! 

Our marriage is... my favorite love story.

My Mom's Cooler Than Your Mom

Case in point... she got us Bon Jovi tickets for Christmas this year, which we got to finally use last night. Quite possibly the best concert I've ever been to in my life... he played for three straight hours and played every single song we could think of that we wanted to hear. I don't think that man ever ages... and he ran around that stage, danced, and belted out every song and hardly appeared to break a sweat. Plus, the visual effects were quite incredible!

And in case you didn't know, Bon Jovi is Josh's all time favorite band since he was a kid, so to say he was excited is an understatement.  Both of us loved the show, but people watching was just as much, if not more, fun. In Josh's words... "Bon Jovi has aged well. His fans, not so much." I guess 80's rockers die hard and we saw a lot of leather, big hair, neon, and even a pair of leopard-skin spandex pants... on a 40ish year old woman no less. Yes, it was epic.  And for your Friday viewing pleasure, here's a little clip of everyone's favorite classic... with a shaky hand and lots of obnoxious singing... it was way too hard to just video and not sing along:

He's still going strong... we saw fans from about 6-years-old to the cute 70ish year old couple that sat right behind us. It was pretty awesome.

And last but not least, I want to give BIG shout out to my birthday boy today... 

My Jake is THREE !!!!

(where does the time go?)!!!!  I'll do a more "official" birthday post after we celebrate this weekend, but I couldn't post today without giving him a little love. Looks like we're set up for a really great weekend around here!