A Great Easter

We called our Easter Sunday "Re-launch" because it felt very much like we were preparing for something big and new that God was going to do with New Life. I wish I could show you pictures of our new (church) home, but we didn't get around to taking them! I hear there are some floating around, so we'll try to get some soon. I don't even think I got a picture of my kids on Easter!

Our new home is very warm and way nicer than we expected it to be. As James VanStavern said to me, "This doesn't look low-budget." It was low-budget and almost every bit of the work was done by our own members and friends. It's amazing that God chose to assemble this group of very talented people--as if He knew we were going to need electricians, plumbers, pool experts, builders, and even one who made cleaning toilets her personal domain! (I believe she will have special stars in her crown one day...) Even the floor painted with garage paint looked remarkably nice!

The cool thing is that we moved in on Sunday completely debt-free. The money seemed to be provided by God at just the right time in just the right way. We are SO grateful to some wise men who helped make that happen.

Probably the most special moment for me was at about 4pm on Saturday when Tim called all the workers together to stop and pray and worship. I was moved to tears as I looked at and listened to the team of people who have poured their lives into remodeling the country club over the last 6 months. There have been lots of moments of stress and tension. But in the end, we love each other and love our God. We pray that He will use our meager offerings of time and money to glorify His name and grow His kingdom. We were all so very exhausted. (I understand better the meaning of bone-tired!) But we eagerly anticipated Sunday and what God was going to do. He brought snow and cold weather so that we didn't have to worry so much about the outside of the building--hours of work saved! And on Sunday, He brought 320 people--a new record for us!

Sunday was a wonderful day of worship in our new home. Tod asked, "Did it work?" Yes, it was beautiful in every way. The singing sounded great, the spirit was so exciting, Tim's lesson was right on and the Spirit was there. We had a double baby dedication for twins that was so sweet. I couldn't help but think of all the things that have happened in that country club ballroom and how thrilled God must have been to hear His name praised in that particular place. All the work on acoustics and everything else seemed to be just the right thing. Our children's classes were full and it was so nice to have our own special spaces for each class.

So, thank you family. Thank you for dreaming with us, encouraging, advising, sharing your expertise and resources, babysitting and picking up kids, and praying. What a blessing you are!

Today as we drove home from the old-country-club church building we passed by LBJ, our old church building. Elijah still got excited and yelled, "CHUCH!!!" as always. I'm going to miss the simplicity of being tent-dwellers and I'm often overwhelmed by the responsibility and work ahead. But we are so excited about all the possibilities before us in this new chapter of our New Life life. We are praying for God's guidance to know how to steward this gift of a country club!

(Oops! That was way longer than I intended it to be!)