Saturday, May 31, 2008

Jesus' Team

It is late Sunday afternoon and we are headed to the beach to watch hundreds of people get baptized! How cool is that?? This is the second time our church has done beach baptisms since we have been here. The last time was Easter Sunday at Sunrise. The boys and I headed down to the beach very early and what we experienced that morning was amazing. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen--over 500 people stepped into that water and were baptized just as the sun was rising. Chris said the feeling of victory each one of them was experiencing and displaying as he baptized many of them was overwhelming(If you know my husband at all, then you know that he was choked up for the rest of the day!!). It was a victory for the entire KINGDOM that day, and I am so excited that we get to experience it again today!! As I was explaining to Max that we are going to watch people get baptized in the ocean again, he says, "Oh, you mean we're going to go see who's on Jesus' team with us?" I couldn't have said it better myself. We are headed out the door to see who is proud to be on the winning team!!!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Driving in South Florida


Alright, here is the deal. We have been living in South Florida for 3 months now, but I can tell you that it only took me about 3 hours of living here to realize that driving down here was going to be a much different experience than driving in my small hometown of Indian Trail, NC. No matter what time of day you go out, there is ALWAYS traffic. And people in traffic are not nice. There are no, polite, "Excuse me, ma'am, but did you see the light turn green?" honks. The occasional, "Oops, I forgot to get over and now my lane is ending, could you please let me in--sweet southern smile" gets you absolutely nothing. Getting behind the wheel down here has been frightening for me at times. Especially when I accidentally got in the speedpass only lane on the freeway, during rush hour mind you, with no speedpass and no money. That was not fun. I still have anger issues towards the man behind me that day.

Anyways, all that to say that while I am slowly adjusting to driving in South Florida, Chris has been quite the opposite. He quickly developed a love for being on the road down here. I think it fulfills some innate manhood issues--like hunting or rock climbing. Our friends in Indian Trail would no longer recognize him when he is behind the wheel. No more mister nice guy. He has thrown caution and patience to the wind. Just the other day, I made a small bet with him that in less than 1 month, he would either get in a wreck or get a ticket because of this new found sense of roadway adventure. I spoke this in the most loving way; and he, of course, lovingly disagreed :). I am not kidding, it was not five minutes after this conversation that we were backing into a parking space at Chik-fil-a when the reverse alarm(you know- the one that lights up and dings to warn you that you are about to hit something) starts dinging. Chris sharply says, "That stupid alarm- don't ever pay attention to it- it dings way too premat---THUD!!!--- We nailed the curb! As we sat there with the back half of our car on the sidewalk, I lovingly put my arm around my husband and said, "Yes, babe, you're right; that alarm always dings prematurely."

Oh, and in case you are wondering, I won the bet-- which meant I thoroughly enjoyed hiring someone to clean my house the next day!!!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Family Update


OK, Here's the deal: I was all excited about posting this update of our family with all kinds of cute pics of the boys, our new house, and our church, but I have lost my camera. I have turned this place upside down and still cannot find it anywhere. So much for learning to be more on top of it and more sentimental. I am hoping Chris has a few pics on his computer that I can post.

On to the update. We have been here in South Florida for about 3 months now. We are about 20 minutes North of Miami. I am closer (way closer!) to Cuba than I am to Charlotte. That is pretty crazy for someone who has never lived more than 5 miles away from my family :). While the adjustment to life in Florida has been hard on us all at times, I am so thankful that Chris had the faith and courage to follow the Lord's calling and bring us here. We have seen the Lord move in our own personal lives and in the church like never before. It has truly been an amazing adventure.

The boys are doing great. They both are in preschool at the church and are just starting to enjoy it. Talk about good timing, today was one of the first times neither of them cried when Chris dropped them off, and there are only 2 days left before summer break! Oh well.

I am still pregnant. 6 weeks to go and it is beginning to get pretty hot down here. Baby Annie could come anytime now and that would be just fine with me. I told Chris yesterday that being pregnant 3 times in 4 years is like riding the same roller coaster over and over. The first time is great-- new and exciting and you can't wait to do it again. As soon as you get off you jump back on for a second turn. Only this time it has lost a bit of its thrill and excitement, but it's still pretty cool. The third time you get on only because your spouse begged you to ride once more, and this time, you want to puke the whole time you're on the ride. I know that sounds harsh, and don't get me wrong-- I love this baby girl inside of me to pieces-- but in my book right now, pregnancy ranks with cleaning the toilets after the family has had the stomach bug. I guess that's what I get for having 3 kids in less than 4 years! Those of you who have 4 or more kids-- my hat goes off to you!

Before we moved here, Chris came down and picked out a house for us by himself. I have to say, he did a great job. I love our house and neighborhood. We have a beautiful lake and palm tree in my back yard. Each morning when I wake up and look out the windows into my back yard, I have to remind myself that this is home and we are not just on vacation! I will post a few pics of the house soon.

Our church is amazing. It is growing weekly, and the Lord has blessed us with the most wonderful people to serve together with. Everyone is so passionate about seeing God move in a mind blowing way at our campus. They jump at the opportunity to step out and be stretched so that God can work through them in a bigger way than they ever imagined. It has been quite an adventure serving alongside this group-- and we have enjoyed every minute of it!! We are blessed.

Well, I think that about catches us up to speed for the last 3 months. I hope all is well in NC (I can say that at this point, because the only people who will read this will be my sisters and mom and they all live in NC :).

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Here Goes!!

OK, OK, OK. I have had several (like 3 --tops) of my friends from Charlotte encourage me to start a blog as a way for them to keep up with our family and ministry here in South Florida. "Just start one to post pictures and a few words here and there so we can keep up with you guys" is what I have been hearing from them. What my dear friends fail to remember is that I NEVER have a camera with me (at least not one with working batteries). I rely on my kids to jump in on the pics my friends are taking of their own kids, and maybe, just maybe, they will feel obligated to email me the pics. The second thing they so easily forget is that writing anything stresses me out. I know, I know, those of you who know me, are laughing right now because conversing (sounds much better than talking) is like my favorite thing to do, but talking and writing are sooo different. Writing is so objective, and for the world's most indecisive person, it can be rather stressful to choose which adjectives I will use to describe my thoughts and experiences from day to day. Finally, what my friends so easily forget as they encourage me to begin blogging is that I am not very sentimental, so even if I have a camera that works I rarely -actually I have never- taken the time to upload them. BUT against all odds, I have decided to give this blogging thing a shot. Who knows, maybe this will help me become a more organized, decisive, and sentimental person.

Dear NC Friends, just as soon as buy some batteries for my camera, take some pics of our life here in South Florida, and learn how to upload them --I promise to post them for you to see!! I miss you all dearly.