Women's Dinner 2013

Our annual women's dinner was on September 30th and it was a total success and blessing. I've worked my little tail off the past six weeks planning and preparing and I'm so glad it went so well! Hard work pays off once again. We had over 370 come to the dinner - 34 tables were decorated with a different theme. My MOPS group did a fiesta theme and we all dressed in our fiesta outfits. This is just some of the group pictured above - I so love those girls! We had Jason Roberts from Family Point Resources speak to us about the work they do in Nottingham Park. Michelle and KK - two students in SBISD - gave their testimony on how Family Point has changed their life for the better. They really stole the show. We raised over $9,000 for Family Point - woo hoo! God is good!!

a/way :: mdumc family camp

This past weekend we were at Camp Tejas in Gidding, Texas for our annual church camp... There were about 150 people who went on the camp and Daniel was the main leader/teacher. I had helped with the overall planning of the event and it all went so well. Emma and Claire were in family camp heaven! We had a handful of family friends go, so we had a lot of fun sharing meals together, being in workshops with one another and just enjoying time with our families. We went swimming, rode a hayride, walked the trails, worshipped... the girls had a few firsts, too: slept in twin beds for nap time, saw fireflies, made s'mores, stayed up until past 10PM each night (!!), drove our car through the camp and Emma jumped off the diving board. We got home on Sunday night and while we were all exhausted it was a good exhausted... we had a great time and feel very blessed (again and again!) to work and serve at MDUMC!

We had major dance parties with the kiddos during worship so fun!!
Totally stole this pic from Brandi but it's so cute - Claire is hugging Hunter and Emma is wanting to jump with me! :)

Claire's first driving lesson - ha!
She actually did great steering the car all by herself - hysterical. 

ARTreach :: Houston

Yesterday I had the privilege of going to ARTreach in downtown Houston with my MOPS group. I am blessed to work and attend a church that supports several nonprofits/ministries both financially and with volunteers... ARTreach is one of those partnerships. ARTreach is a ministry that takes teenagers off the streets who have been involved with graffiti and teaches them how to use their artistic talent for good. MOPS (since we are in charge of decorations for VBS) and our VBS coordinators decided to commission these young men to do our backdrops for our main VBS stage. Well, they were so excited about the task that they invited us to come and help! 

So, about 20 of us went to ARTreach, shared our vision for the backdrops and Mark went to drawing. Using a fat, black marker, he drew each of the backdrops in about 10 minutes. It was amazing to watch. We basically did a paint by number - ha! The entire project took about 1.5 hours and was so much fun.  I love painting so this was a great project for me. I am so proud we (MDUMC) work with ARTreach - what an amazing ministry! They have church on Sundays, Bible studies during the week, art lessons and a street-dance performance group. The street-dance performers are going to come to our VBS and teach our older kids some dance moves as a break-out session. I may or may not be joining in on that!

getting to work - that's me in the bottom right working on the tree trunk - very proud of our finished product!

change // women's ministry & umw

image via Pinterest

Okay y'all... I need your prayers. I'm giving a very big presentation today up at my church on change within Women's Ministry and more specifically, UMW (United Methodist Women). I know for most of you (especially if you are under 45), you have no idea what UMW is... but for those of you who are both Methodist and over 45 (or work with the UMC), hopefully you understand.

Basically, when I came on staff at MDUMC more than a year ago, I thought UMW was an organization within the church for the old ladies... the average age of our UMW unit is about 65. The average age of our new member is 45. As the year went on, I realized that I actually loved UMW... I loved the women in there - they are so kind, generous and wise. They raise over $60,000 for missions through their Hearts and Hands holiday market each year and do so much for our church. I felt God nudging me to do something to move UMW forward... and of course, just like that, things began to fall into place that made me realize I needed to change UMW... and I needed to change Women's Ministry. 

Church of the Resurrection up in Kansas has made all of Women's Ministry UMW - which has solved a lot of problems with member numbers and age. At first, my Task Force and I thought we would do this... but we soon realized (through surveys and a lot of research) that maybe what our church needs is an entirely new model of ministry. So, that's what I'm presenting today. I'll be sharing what my Task Force has done, the results from the survey (which some of it may be hard to hear for the UMW ladies - but hopefully it's stuff they already know) and how we plan to move forward. 

Rather than set a vision myself, I will be holding an event called "Open Space" (very well known across Europe) where all the women in the church can come together and co-create a new Women's Ministry... a ministry that is for ALL women in ALL stages of life. UMW hasn't really evolved with "today's" woman and quite frankly, neither has Women's Ministry as a whole.  

Please pray for my nerves and please pray for a sweet spirit to be at the meeting this afternoon. I'm moving forward blinding, fully giving this process over to God... allowing faith to be my guide. Pray that the women are open to change and open to allowing God help shape what our ministry can be. 

my heart is full.

Sunday afternoon I told Daniel that I was on a spiritual-high... if you've ever gone to church camp or on a mission trip, you know what I'm talking about. You feel "on-fire" for God and everything is just perfect. I am always so blessed when I have those moments, because they do come and go. So this weekend, I held onto that feeling of being so close to God and was thankful for all of His blessings. 

Friday night Daniel and I went to Brio for a rehearsal dinner. Daniel was officiating the wedding and we were invited to join them for dinner. As clergy know, rehearsal dinners and weddings for people you don't really know are always interesting because you never know who you are going to be seated with. Thankfully for us, it wasn't assigned seating and we asked the two photographers if they would like to sit with us. Within five minutes, I knew that Chris and Autumn (of La Brisa Photography) would be instant friends. We laughed constantly. We told stories. We shared about our lives. It was like we had been friends for ten years! It was such a fun dinner that I forgot that I was at a rehearsal dinner. When Daniel and I left, our hearts were full. I love great conversation. 

Saturday morning I got up super early to prepare and get ready for my Women's Retreat. I was out the door by 6:45am to get coffee and last minute items from the church. I carpooled with a friend from church that I rarely get to hang out with - we laughed, talked and caught up on each other on our way out to Brookwood. The retreat itself was amazing. Really. Nothing went wrong. Everything was so smooth. Everything went better than I could have imagined. If you need a retreat speaker, I highly recommend Rev. Jessica LaGrone - she has such a sweet spirit and her teaching was so powerful. She talked a lot about how God has called us by name and has given each of us a story. I was drawn to her Biblical illustrations and stories from her own life. I was so richly blessed by my time with her and the 65 women from my church. I was proud of my planning committee and, I'll admit it, I was proud of myself. Brookwood was a perfect setting for our retreat and I cannot wait to have another retreat there. As the retreat came to a close, my heart was more than full... it was about to burst! I was so happy.

Sunday morning was like any other church morning. The girls and I lounged in pjs and slowly got ready for church. When we got to church, I saw Chris and Autumn - the photographers from Friday night - walking up to the entrance. I was so excited! I was so surprised! They got to meet Emma and Claire... I thought it was so sweet they came to church after photography a wedding the night before and being up so late. Worship was great - we sang three of my favorite songs and had a new worship leader for the day. And then Daniel preached one of the best sermons I have ever heard him preach. It was raw. It was honest. It was vulnerable. I was a crying-mess. I was so proud of what he had to say and you could feel it in the room. It was powerful. 

After church, Chris came up to me to say goodbye... and then he said, "I just really love what you and Daniel are doing here at The Journey and it would be my privilege to gift you guys a family photo session for free." You see - on Friday, I had asked for his card because I told him we had never had professional pictures taken and I had always wanted to. He told me he was so moved by the sermon and the service that he knew he had to gift us the package. Cue crying-mess again. I was so excited and so humbled. What an incredible gift. 

I'm not given such "perfect" weekends often... but I am so glad I had this one. God was so present in all of it... actually, God is always present. Maybe it was me who was present and able to accept the small gifts of the weekend. My heart is full. And thankful. 

Women's Retreat

After hours and hours of planning, my women's retreat is tomorrow. I really have three big events each year: holiday market, women's dinner and the women's retreat. I think the women's retreat is the most difficult to plan as you have to find something that will 1) draw in a lot of women, 2) meet the needs of the women in your congregation and 3) a place that can accommodate everyone.

This year's retreat just kind of came together pretty easily. Before I came on staff, the women's retreats were always a two day/overnight thing, costing over well over $100... I couldn't really do that with my time and money so I changed things up a bit last year... we did it locally and had the overnight optional. The retreat went from the normal 20 person group to over 50. This year, we changed it to a one-day retreat and sold out our 65 spots in two weeks... I wish I could have had more spots but Brookwood didn't have enough in the cafe to give out!

We are having our retreat at The Brookwood Community, which is a community where people with disabilities (physical and/or mental) live together... they have classes, they work there and they live there full time. My uncle Allen, who had Downs Syndrome, lived at a similar place in Mississippi. Brookwood is famous in Houston because of their cafe and shop. The residents at Brookwood make the most beautiful gifts (crosses, candles, food items, dishes, etc...) and the garden center is incredible. Having my retreat at Brookwood was a win-win because it's a beautiful facility and several of the women have never been.

What I am most excited about is having Rev. Jessica LaGrone be our leader. Jessica is a pastor at The Woodlands UMC and has just released her first book, Namesake, which is what our retreat is revolving around. Jessica is a friend of Daniel's and is a mom to two young children. I love her blog and she's so relatable. I know all of us are in for a treat tomorrow! I am looking forward to finally have the retreat here, but also - hopefully! - catch a little bit of a break.

Please pray that these 65 women who are coming find what they are looking for - that they grow to know and love God more. Pray for Jessica, that she would be anointed with authority and wisdom... that we would all be richly blessed with what she has to teach us.

hello my name is jean and i feel overwhelmed... part 2

Sitting in the chancel area behind Epiphanie as she got up to speak.
Full house in our sanctuary - incredible!

Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my blogging heart for all of the emails, texts, calls and blog-world/facebook-world support after my last post. Your prayers really were the rock to my sanity this past weekend. And guess what? I still feel overwhelmed! However, like I said in my last post, I am in total awe of how smooth the event went, how well the women received Epiphanie and the best news... we raised over $10,000 for ZOE Ministry. I had a few more checks come in today so when it is all said and done, I think we will be pretty close to $11,000. Amazing!!

From the second I picked Epiphanie up at the airport, I started to feel at peace. She is a beautiful person and she exudes joy. She spoke at The Journey on Sunday morning and Emma kept holding her hand and calling her "Mommy's friend" throughout lunch that afternoon. I worked like a mad-woman all weekend finalizing details, making phone calls, etc... I only had to deal with one mean lady on Sunday during the set-up. I was very happy it was only just ONE! 

The night of the event was perfect. It really was. All of the tables were decorated so beautifully and everyone - even the men who were are waiters! - were on time. Grayson, our chef at church, made an amazing meal and the women kept complimenting the timing, service, the food and atmosphere. I thought I would be a rambling mess (I can talk very fast) but God's peace reigned over me and I really felt comfortable and confident. 

God really amazed me during the second half of the event. All 340 of the women walked over to the sanctuary to hear Greg Jenks - founder and director of ZOE - introduce Epiphanie and then Epiphanie shared her testimony and talked about ZOE. As she shared her story, I could tell she had every person in there fully captivated. It was amazing. At the end, I urged the women if they haven't made a donation, to please consider it... and they did. 340 women came together to donate $10,000. I still get goosebumps thinking about it. 

I'm so thankful the event was a success and I'm so thankful the 60 something orphans we support in Kenya will have animals supplied to them for the next 2-3 years. Incredible! Here are some pictures of the event so you can an idea of what we did:

all the women at this table wore pink boas 

this was Sandra's table - she sold her pumpkin centerpiece for $100 which went to ZOE

I thought this was the cutest idea - how fun would this be for a children's birthday party?

"Etch a Sketch" place cards - LOVE IT

this table had gone to Kenya to work with the orphans and made a
mini-replica of what one of the "stores" looked like

some of my MOPS girls with Mahan who is our nursery worker
and keeps our kids when we meet on Tuesdays!

our MOPS table - we did a baby safari theme

Dr. Simmons speaking before he prayed over the meal...
and me watching the waiters to make sure things were running smoothly, ha!

One last thing, Claire does NOT have scabies... which I figured she didn't, but we did the treatment on her anyway... Claire actually has what I thought all along - a horrible eczema flare-up, cough probably caused by asthma/allergies. She spiked fever on Sunday night and has been going up and down between 102-104. We finally went to the doctor for a third time today and on top of her crazy eczema rash and cough she also has Hand, Foot and Mouth. Awesome. More poor, sweet baby girl. At least Dr. Emma Irving is able to take care of her! It does look like we are on the up and up. Claire is now on Claritin, Rx strength eczema cream, inhaler, Motrin and we've switched her bath soap and lotions. Emma started to get fever today and has a runny nose. With twins, it never ends. But, hopefully everyone will be sick-free by church on Sunday! 

hello my name is jean and i feel overwhelmed

image via pinterest

I saw this picture on Pinterest and literally laughed out loud. I felt like if it had a caption it would read "Hello, my name is Jean and I feel overwhelmed"!!

Welcome to my world the past few weeks. As I am gearing up for my BIG event at church... as excited and hopeful as I am about the event, I am anxious and overwhelmed. I have learned three major things about myself the past week:

1. I am called to teach and lead. 

2. I am called to do ministry.

3. I am NOT called to be an event planner. 

Geeze, women can be crazy! I'm planning an event for the church and meeting the needs of about 300+ women... it's not like just dealing with a bride or a mother of the bride. This is way out of my league. Here are a couple of emails I've received:

"Can you tell me the process in which the meal is cooked?"... "__________ and ________ have sat next to each other for the past 8 years and I sure hope you can continue that tradition"... that's just the beginning. This is hard for me because I am both a people-pleaser and super Type-A/perfectionist. I want to be nice and meet the needs of everyone... but it's wearing me thin! I think I worked from 8-midnight last night? Not a fun way to spend Friday.

Plus, Claire - according to the doctor - has scabies. She has a rash on her body and it itches like crazy. I've given her the ointment and benedryl and it doesn't seem to help. Plus, Scabies can spread? So now I have a fear of waking up on Monday morning the night of my event with scabies across my face. G-reat. 

I feel overwhelmed. I haven't been that nice to Daniel. I really need a nap. 

But... I leave in an hour to go pick up Epiphanie from the airport. I know the second I see her smiling face, everything will probably fade. Because in the end, it's worth it. And I know on Tuesday morning, after the event is behind me, I'll feel overwhelmed with how truly beautiful the event was. 

ZOE Ministry & my BIG event

For those of you who don't know, I am the Director of Women's ministry at my church. Yes, Daniel and I have offices ten steps from each other. Yes, we love being in ministry together. Yes, I love my job! Right now my job is Cra-zy. I'm in the busy season of the work I do. I am a part-timer who works full-time and that's probably why I fall asleep on the couch every night at 9pm. I think I worked 38 hours last week? But... it's all for such a wonderful cause!

Next Monday is our 19th Annual Women's Dinner. I'm expecting about 400+ people to attend the event and I've been working day and night making sure everything is planned and ready to go. We have hostesses who decorate tables in different themes and the men in the church our the waiters. Women bring out their fine china and go all-out in their decorating. We will have yummy food (crab cakes!), music and the best part of the entire thing... a powerful and inspiring speaker.

I am flying in Epiphanie from Africa to speak at our event. She is the Africa Coordinator for ZOE Ministry. ZOE Ministry is very dear to our hearts (both mine and Daniel's but also our worship community, The Journey). We have supported ZOE for three years and now support a "working group" in Kenya which includes about 50 orphans. This is what I LOVE about ZOE: ZOE simply does not go in a feed the orphans... that would just fix the hunger or the problem that week or month. Instead, ZOE goes in and teaches the orphans how to farm and raise animals, helping to break the cycle of poverty in 2-3 years. Watch the video above to see the amazing work ZOE does!

Epiphanie will be giving her testimony and also sharing the model of ZOE Ministry and some success stories. Our women's dinner will also be holding a fundraiser where women can purchase animals that will be bought in Africa and given to our orphans in Kenya. We did this for The Journey during Advent and our "manger" was FULL by Christmas.

If you will, please pray that this event goes smoothy and I don't lose my mind (ha!)... pray that these women will be able to come experience the goodness of Christ... pray for Epiphanie - she is traveling from Africa and English is her third language. She is sharing her first-hand account of the genocide she saw in Africa as a young girl - this is very difficult for her to talk about... pray for visitors of the church and newcomers who don't know Christ to have their hearts opened to the amazing work He is doing in our world.

If you live in Houston and want to attend the event - leave a comment or email me... I would love to have you there!

already august?!

I swear I'm alive... you know you're bad at blogging when your husband says "Wow, Jean... really let the blog slip you by, huh?"...  I wanted to roll my eyes, but it's true. I think the busyness of summer combined with lack of creativity/inspiration has allowed me to just not even want to go there. But I'm here. And it's August. Can you believe it? Here's what's been going on:

I had plans that we would go to the pool every Friday or every weekend, and we haven't. After the virus from hell infected our children for well over a few weeks and the nonstop rain we had earlier in the summer, we have been spending more time watching Disney movies than I ever thought was possible. Today in the car, Daniel would play just the beginning intro of a song from the movie and immediately the girls would shout "Cinderella!", "Puppies!" (That's Lady and the Tramp), "Snow White!", "Lion King!"... either our children are geniuses or we allow them to watch way too much TV.

We joined the MAC (our local gym) again... we took about 6 months off and my body is paying for it. I know I look like a stick (thank you genetics for skinny arms and legs), but I have a full-blown apple-belly going. I feel bigger now than I did the first few months of my pregnancy with the girls. I had my thyroid checked back in December and maybe I need to do it again... but I have about five pounds of unexplained belly weight... maybe not doing cardio for six months will do that to you, I don't know. But I haven't changed my diet and I eat pretty well... maybe the closer I get to 30 the more my body shuts down it's metabolism (sad!)... I just hope that time in the gym will do the trick! It's super annoying!

I love my job. Last weekend and part of this week we were in Seguin, Texas on Lake McQueeney at a church member's gorgeous lake house. The entire program and clergy staff went to assess this past year and move forward in our planning... even though it was work, it was a blast. We had a lot of fun and I connected to several people that I hadn't really known before. I'm proud of my church and where we are heading... it's so exciting! We got a lot of down-time scheduled... the pic above is of Daniel playing some frisbee game all the guys were obsessed with. I'm the worst frisbee thrower ever... so that combined with my insane competitiveness allowed me to play one round and call it quits. Ha! We spent one day in San Antonio on a "fun day" and watched the Olympics every night. Our church chef, Grayson, came and cooked for us - yes, one day for lunch we had mussels in a curry-honey sauce over an heirloom tomato salad. Not kidding... we ate like kings!

I think on this trip I realized two things: 1) how blessed I am with my job - there are days I do miss teaching, but working for a church - especially MDUMC - is so gratifying. My "busy season" is starting - I oversee about 10 women's Bible studies, planning our Women's Dinner that will host about 500 people and then the Hearts and Hands holiday market that raises over $75K in mission dollars... but I'm exciting and hopeful for what God will be doing in it all! 2) Daniel and I needed a break from the girls... we love our children, but just a few days away was SO NICE. We didn't sleep in and we worked the whole time, but it still felt like a mini-vacation.

I've recently become obsessed with decorating my house... I don't know why this is on my heart and mind - especially because we have ZERO to spend on something like that. But, I have spent weeks trying to find a white quilt/coverlet for under $50 for our queen bed (impossible) and trying to find the perfect extra-large white ruffled boudoir pillow that I can have monogrammed (also under $50). I want drapes for the dining room... new sheet set for the bedroom... new lamps for the bedroom... really, Jean? Talk about restless heart syndrome! I mean, I've been dreaming about it, too. Ridiculous. Anyone else go through stages like that?

Another thing that has become way too time consuming is finding a pair of leopard print flats (preferably under $100). I've tried on - not kidding - 50 pairs of shoes. I want ballet flats or very feminine loafers. I've worn a size 6.5 since college but in the past two months my foot has grown to a 7 - yes, with the shoe size changed and enlarged belly you would think I'm pregnant - but I'm not! I have a very narrow heel so even though the size 7 fits my length, my heel/foot comes flying out... even with inserts. I don't want cheap looking print... I want it to be calf-hair... and flat to minimal heel. So many of the shoes I've tried on are so cute but once I start walking around they dig into my feet. Weird. This is what I get for not buying the pair of Kate Spade leopard flats back in the fall of 2010... yes, another ridiculous statement from me today. I'm the type of person who has reverse-buyers-remorse... I get mad when I didn't buy something.

Okay, now this post has gotten to be way too long and I'm sure several people stopped reading after the first paragraph... but for those who do read, we are all good... just busy, gearing up for the fall, watching olympics and obsessing over coverlets and shoes.

Being a Pastor's Wife

the rev and me

I love reading Kelly's Korner and typically every week or so she does a blog link-up... this week happens to be about Pastor's Wives or being in ministry. Well, I do both, so it's a double-whammy for me! 

I think there are a lot of questions, stereotypes, assumptions, etc... about being a Pastor's Wife. I'm sure about half is true. I'll share with you my story and my take on this life God has called me into:

Daniel and I met in August 2002 (crazy it's almost TEN years!), immediately clicked and starting dating pretty soon after that. One of the ways we became so close was by serving with the Wesley Foundation at SMU - we lead worship together, he plugged in with men's groups and I led a few women's groups. We discipled lots of students. It's pretty amazing to see how God used our dating relationship to foster and grow our gifts and talents in ways that are used now. 

After college, we married... Daniel went to Duke for Divinity School and I became a middle school English teacher. Fast forward to 2008 - Daniel started to serve as an associate pastor at an UMC in Houston. He has grown the "contemporary" service (The Journey) over the past few years and we are truly blessed to worship at our church. I came on staff in January to be the Director of Women's Ministry and I have really loved every minute of it. 

I really feel that I was called to be a pastor's wife. When your boyfriend or spouse gets called into the ministry, you are called into it as well. I remember when Daniel and I first starting dating he told me he wanted to be a Methodist minister. I'm sure some girls would have run for the hills, but would it be crazy for me to tell you that I was really drawn to that? I had always known I wanted to serve God in some capacity and for me, it only made since that the guy I would marry would be in ministry. 

I've learned over the past four years that you do live in a fishbowl and people do notice what you do or what you don't do. For instance, the second Sunday I was at our church, an elderly lady came up to me in the women's bathroom. She said, verbatim: Welcome to the church, Jean. I just want you to be made aware that minister's wives are supposed to wear skirts and dresses. Last week you wore pants. You need to wear dresses. Maybe it's my age, but for such a cute girl you wear such ugly clothes. While on the inside I wanted to scream my head off, I calmly said "thank you" and left the bathroom... and nearly cried. I will say that was probably the ONLY negative thing that has been said to me while I've been at our church... and I think that lady is known for saying some 'off' stuff. 

Most of the time, I'm thanked for what I do. I'm thanked for what Daniel does. We are taken great care of - when I was pregnant, they threw me an amazing shower... when I had the twins, we had meals provided for nearly three months. We are prayed for. We are treated well. We are held accountable - Daniel and I strive to be the best we can be because we are keenly aware of the leadership roles we are in. We are blessed beyond measure. We know our girls are loved immensely by our church family. Overall, it's been a pretty sweet gig. 

It's not always easy. It would be nice to sleep in on Sundays and play hooky every now and then. I struggle with self-comparison... am I doing enough? Do I pray enough? Do I give enough? I should say yes. I should say no. I have to do ______. I really don't want to do _____, but I'm expected to be there... but sometimes I feel that is just temptation creeping in and stealing away the joy that God has given me through being in ministry. And yes, sometimes that is just me being selfish. 

In the Methodist church, you get reappointed every May/June. Daniel has been at our church since 2008 and we hope to be there a really long time... I know it is inevitable that we will move one day. I think that's going to be the hardest part for me with being a pastor's wife. I feel so settled here. We are, in what I think is, the best part of Houston. I have a great group of girlfriends. We have this new, awesome house. It is hard to think that one day we will leave it... but I hold onto the faith that the next place will be just as warm, welcoming and fun... that even if some lady tells me I wear ugly clothes, that the other 99.9% of the church will be just as good as our current one is.

a new chapter

"Many, O Lord my God,

are the wonders you have done.

The things you planned for us

no one can recount to you; 

were I to speak and tell of them, 

they would be too many to declare."

Psalm 40:5

Almost two weeks ago, out of the blue, I was offered a job. As of Wednesday, I accepted the job. Starting December 1st, I start my new job. And if you know me and you know how much I like to control and plan, somehow I'm at peace and not stressed by this whirlwind of change. I have no doubt that this is God's will for my family and me. 

So what is this job? I will be the new Director of Women's Ministry at our church. 

I know I say this a lot, but seriously: God is funny. Daniel and I were in ministry with one another in college - that is how we went from friends to a couple. We served on leadership teams and we also lead worship every Wednesday together. It was such a special way to begin our relationship. Since then, I have always had the desire to be in ministry with Daniel on a professional level. However, with teaching and then children, I thought if we are supposed to be in ministry together, God will make a way. 

I was asked to meet with Chuck, our senior pastor, two weeks ago. I had no idea why I was being asked to come in. Of course while I was getting ready that morning the thoughts started swirling through my mind... Did I say something mean to someone? Did I do something wrong? Maybe he just wants to thank me for starting MOPS, etc... So when I got into our meeting and he proposed the idea of me coming on staff part-time in this new role, I was speechless. I think I did the awkward-giggle-no-words-so-I'll-just-say-okay thing. As he talked to me about his vision, I got a stirring in heart and my gut. Something, immediately, felt totally right about the whole thing. We decided I could take a week to pray and discern about it and I'd let him know. 

I have felt over the past few months that I needed to go back to work. I had been thinking about going back to teach next year, but every time I thought about teaching I'd get overwhelmed and anxious. I didn't like the idea of being away from the girls so much - with teaching in Katy, I'd have to leave the house before the girls even wake up. The mornings are my favorite time with the girls and Daniel. With all of the new laws and paperwork, teaching can be a heavy load in the sense that you have to do more than just "teach" now - you document, you meet, you plan.... in my quiet time about a month ago I asked God to pave a way to make me be able to have work, well, work. 

Every day that passed after our meeting, I grew more at peace about taking the job and more excited. I have ideas oozing everywhere (I have sticky notes all in my planner already) and I felt like I would be able to use my gifts and talents in a professional way I haven't been able to yet. I'd only have to work two days in the office (Mondays and Tuesdays) and the rest of my hours from home. Plus, there happened to be TWO openings at our day-school (which is rare) in the class the girls should be in. It was as if every piece was falling perfectly into place. 

This is how I know it is God's will. In no way could I have come up with something so perfect for me, for Daniel and I as a couple and for the girls. So when Chuck and I met this week, it was very easy for me to say, "I'll take it!"...

I'm excited to see where God takes me in this new chapter. I have a lot to learn and I'm willing to grow into this new role humbly before God. If you have something at your church that is offered through Women's Ministry that you think I should know about, please share! Or, if your church could offer something for women at your church, what would it be? I'd love your ideas. 

And if you will... please pray that our family transitions well to this new schedule and that I will continue to be on the excited side of this and not the anxious side. 

God is good, all the time. 

All the time, God is good!