It’s the end of another month! This year clicked by so quickly I can hardly remember it. Yesterday was a remarkable day for me at North Creek. Here’s my highlights:

We had a guest who came last week for the first time to church in their life. Six days later, on Saturday night, they decided to take their own life. As they began that process, they thought of the friend that had brought them to church last Sunday and the message about how valuable we are to God. Instead of continuing with that plan, they called for help, went to the hospital, and got home in time to come back to church this Sunday. They said, “My friend and this church saved me.” They don’t know it yet, but it was Jesus who saved them and we just got the joy of being a part of it. There is nothing more fitting than the fact that the sermon text for this morning was Psalm 139. Go to www.biblegateway.com and read about how God knit us together and we are fearfully and wonderfully made. I have a feeling that God needed that person to hear it at just that time.

Another young man who was in church for the first time last week came back excited to hear more about the parenting series. He’s just out of high school, but he’s got some wounds in his heart from his own parents and this series is helping him understand what a Godly parent looks like. We’ve all got to do our best to live up to that!

After those two moments yesterday, I was a blubbering mess. We sang about how “God can move the mountains” and that “He is mighty to save.” If you’ve ever doubted that God still moves mountains, you can rest assured.

Read this quote on Facebook from one of our congregants, “Am having a wonderful day that started with an amazing sermon by Pastor Mark at NCC…the most amazing people I have ever met are there…I love you all, God Bless You!” I completely agree that the most amazing people I have ever met are at this church.

I love being a part of a church where so many people are having their FIRST church experience in our doors. That keeps me up at night and gives me even more of a reason to protect our church from division, gossip, pettiness, and everything the New Testament warns churches about. We have a MISSION. It can’t be compromised because the stakes are just too high.

We are plowing forward with a dream to reach even younger people in our community. Although we are a very young church, we still have a small percentage of 18-25 year olds comparatively. We have started the ball rolling to begin to build a team around us to create a church that is a great experience for a genre of people who need independence and guidance all at the same time.

My daughter, Delaney, has surgery on her ears tomorrow. Please take a moment and pray for her quick recovery and complete healing of her hearing!

Thank you for being a part of this incredible journey!

Last week I walked into the office at work and saw a coat laying on the desk. I stopped and stared at it for a minute. I was stopped in my tracks because it was MY coat. The problem was that I didn’t even know that it was missing (and had been missing for 4 days!). I kept looking at it trying to figure out why something so valuable had gone unnoticed in my life.

Isn’t that the way our relationship with Jesus is? When you first find Jesus in your life, you are just in shock that you found something valuable that you may not have even realized was missing. You see, most of us think we have it so together until we find perfection in Jesus and see all of the flaws and needs in our own flesh.

I often hear people say that they don’t need Jesus in their life, but it’s just like my coat. If they walk into a circumstance and there He is, they’ll sure be glad that they found Him. He may just warm up your life a little, too!

There is so much to be thankful for in this life! In spite of all of the hardships we face, there is always a reason to rejoice when you know Jesus!

I am thankful for so many things in my life:

My husband…I’m blessed! He’s just a really great person through and through. I am honored to be his bride in the good times and the tough times.

My kids…two little joys! I love each of their personalities for very different reasons and I am so thankful that God is lending me those angels for a while!

My church…I love that people’s lives are being changed all of the time. It’s constantly humbling and motivating at the same time. I can’t believe I GET to do this!

My family and friends…the list is long and beautiful. I am surrounded by people that love and support me for who I am and at the same time help me to grow. What more can you ask for?

My home…I work at a winter overflow homeless shelter, so this is particularily true as I tell 40 people goodnight in one room. I am thankful for my privacy and my comfort level. Even though the value has dropped and the mortgage is a pain, I still have the peace and quiet that I cherish.

My family’s health…I’m glad that my body is working and that my kids and husband are strong. I look forward with great anticaption to Dec. 1 when Delaney gets surgery for her ears and can hear again. I am thankful that her hearing problems are not permanent. I am thankful that a doctor can change her life with a simple procedure.

My parents and in-laws…I am very thankful that I have two sets of extended family that are involved in our lives in a healthy way. My kids know all 4 of their grandparents…both sets have been married for over 40 years! The legacy above us is one of hard working, good people who are committed to doing the right thing. I’m glad that’s in my kid’s DNA!

My life…I was born in America. Even though our country is full of issues, the fact is that just being born here means that we are wealthier, healthier, and have more opportunities than most people in the world. Our job is not to take that lightly and to make something of ourselves given all that we have been given.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Church highlights from my favorite place:

I worked in the Great Adventure class at 9:00 with the K-5th graders. It was so much fun! Parents – volunteer in your kids class once in a while – it will change your life! Pastor Kim has created an environment where our kids feel really free to be themselves. My “shy” daughter lead worship, acted out a charade (including a cartwheel), and talked about her talents that God has given her in small group. There is another boy who has a background of difficulties in classes at school that practically runs the place. He does media sometimes, helps lead younger boys, and carries an authority in class. I’m not sure how, but Kim has allowed kids to be their best and they are living up to it. Skip service and go watch your kids be incredible. You won’t regret it!

We had a board meeting yesterday afternoon. It’s really a hilarious ride for 2 hours. At our last board meeting in October we talked about three significant things. At this board meeting we reversed all of those decisions because the circumstances changed. Welcome to leading a young church! Things flip quickly around here…

Mark and I have been very burdened for the 18-25 year old crowd lately. They are leaving the churches of America in droves. I look at our youth ministry and grieve the possibility that they may walk away from our church and church in general when they graduate. Mark these words: North Creek will do something about this trend. We’ve got to create a church structure that bridges the gap from youth ministry to graduates to young married to young parents.

We announced yesterday that Jeff and Angela are moving back to Seattle for a job opportunity. Most people already knew because we believe that you should hear it firsthand, if possible, rather than corporately. Many churches make sweeping announcements and we really try to avoid that. It’s awful to be sitting in church and be waiting for the “announcement bomb” to drop. We are really going to miss Jeff and Angela. They are irreplaceable, but nonetheless, it is our job to make people’s dreams come true. Sometimes that means letting go. Their last Sunday will be December 6.

Speaking of December 6, we are baptizing people that day! I love baptisms! If you need to get “dunked”, let me know and we’ll add you to the list.

Have a great week!

This week I’ve been a little discouraged about life in general. I am normally a very upbeat type and don’t often let the issues of the world overwhelm me, but this has been a long week. It just seemed like there was a lot of suffering and issues surrounding the people in my life and it was just a lot to carry. So, how do I deal with it when I am discouraged?

Well, I remind myself that I don’t see everything as clearly as God. He’s got a different perspective and a full view of the ups and downs in the world. Did you know that our vision is limited to approximately 10,000 colors? And we are able to see a very small light spectrum. Even as we walk on this earth we are missing reality…For what it’s worth, there are infrared rainbows all around us all the time. We just can’t see them.

So, when I look at a situation and it seems so impossible or so frustrating, I remind myself that there are rainbows surrounding those circumstances…sometimes I just can’t see them. God has a full view and he’s got the right perspective. He sees the beauty where I only see despair. He makes all things right in the end.

If you’re struggling this week, just remember you are surrounded by brilliance.

Just before our first anniversary, Mark and I bought our first house. We were on a very tight budget for the housing market, so we bought a small fixer-upper that we fell in love with. Our little 800 square foot house didn’t even have a dishwasher or adequate heat. It did have an old fireplace and a winter’s supply of wood. That first winter I got very good at keeping the fire going so my cottage would stay toasty warm.

For those of you with fireplaces, you know the mess that spreads quickly from ashes and soot. I was new at homemaking and anxious to keep everything clean and neat. One day I drug my vaccuum out to conquer my pile of soot that had accumulated around and in the fireplace.

When I was about half way done with my small task, the vaccuum inhaled a coal that was still smoldering. I saw it go in, but didn’t realize it was still hot enough to cause a problem. All of a sudden, my vaccuum started pouring smoke as the bag inside lit on fire and the dirt ignited with it. I rushed around squealing and eventually threw the vaccuum outside and hoped that the rain keep my stupidity at bay. Try explaining that you lit your vaccuum on fire to your new husband…

I’m telling you that story because I think that we all need a smoldering ember in our bellies. We need to inhale the dreams of God for our lives and let them ignite us with passion and enthusiasm. We need to step out in faith until we don’t know what else to do except to rush around squealing.

I’m dreaming. I’m praying. I’m asking God to blow His sweet breath on the hot coals once again. And I encourage you to do the same. Even if that means you’ll have a whole lot of explaining to do when other people find out. Life is a fun adventure. Be such an amazing fire that others stop to watch you burn!

Our Superintendent of our Ministry Network, Les Welk, recently twittered, “If there is evidence of persistent conflict and problems that arise and surround a particular person, consider the common denominator.”

I think this is a valuable lesson for our lives. If you are constantly mad at people and have unresolved conflict often in your life, the problem might actually be…YOU! The Bible says in Romans 12:18 – If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

That’s our goal as Christians. Drama, conflict, and unforgiveness is inevitable, but needs to be dealt with quickly with the agenda of irradicating it out of our lives. It’s the hardest thing to do, but sometimes you just have to “anty up” and have the difficult conversations as quickly as you can. Otherwise you can look around and all of a sudden have a heart full of unresolved JUNK!

If that’s you…it’s time to clean house. Deal with your issues and when you put your head on the pillow at night, you’ll be able to rest in the peace of God. Good luck!

I’m a broken record, but I just gotta say it…Sunday was great!

Here’s my highlights:

Mike was teaching the Great Adventure today and the computer shut down. One of the students, Adam, got up and taught the class the memory verse. He knew it because he was in the first service and learned it there. What a great kid and leader! Way to go!

My in-laws are back! They were gone for three Sundays and I missed them being at church.

Our church drank 124 cups of drip coffee today. Not to mention lattes and other drinks that people bought. Amazing how many coffee addicts you get when you call your church the Coffee Church.

I talked to a teenager today who wants to be a writer when he grows up, but he flunked english…ironically, that probably means he’ll be a great writer…

We had our first missions meeting tonight. What a monumental moment that was for me! I am very excited for our church as a whole to get behind impacting the world in this way. I know that there are many great adventures ahead for the people of North Creek.

Mark’s sermon was awesome! We’re in a parenting series and I think it’s going to be really good for a lot of people in our church and beyond. It’s a big task and we all need to be in this together.

Don’t tell anybody, but Mark and my heart is stirring for the next step for North Creek. We are praying, dreaming, scheming, and will set into motion a new season for our church. Why sit on your laurels? There are great things for those who step out in faith.

I was getting ready this morning and heard signing downstairs. A sweet 5 year old voice belted out in a worship song, “Beautiful one, I love…Beautiful one, I adore…” It was one of those moments that stops me in my tracks and makes me so thankful for having Jesus at the center of our home.

There is no such thing as the perfect family or perfect parents, and our family is no exception. That being said, what we are trying to do more than anything for our girls is to model for them worship, reading the Bible, faithfully going to church, serving others, and allowing them, even at this young age, to make our faith their own.

Challenges in their lives will come and we won’t be able to stop most of them. However, if we can give them the foundation and the tools to jump those hurdles, we will have succeeded. Loving the Word of God and having a heart of worship are the two most important resources we can pass along to their young hearts.

The next several weeks at North Creek we’ll be taking some time to talk about Parenting. It’s going to be pivotal for some families. I encourage you to be a part of this series, even if you don’t have kids yet or yours are all grown. Many hands go into molding our kids and we all need to be trained in shaping the heart of the next generation.

This is an article written by Jon Gordon, a life strategist. I enjoyed it because I think my generation is guilty of thinking that we can get everything handed to us. The reality is that hard work is still the predecessor to greatness. I hope that you enjoy this interview/article!

Jon Gordon interviewed Jamie Eckle for Computer World about the benefits of Hard Work.

The Benefits of Hard Work

Q&A: with Jon Gordon

The author of Training Camp: What the Best Do Better Than Everyone Else says the secret to success might be as simple as hard work.

Q: I’ve read a lot of prescriptions for success, but these days you don’t hear much about hard work. It’s certainly a factor, but is it really the preeminent qualification for success?

A:I really believe it is. Innovation doesn’t happen without hard work. Producing a great product or service doesn’t happen without hard work. Real leadership happens in the trenches, not on the golf course. Software doesn’t get produced without thousands of hours of hard work. Of course, you have to be smart, you have to have the right strategy, you have to have a great culture. But hard work is what translates vision and ideas into results. Study the best of the best and you’ll find that they really do work harder than everyone else.

Q: A lot of people think hard work goes unnoticed, and that it just makes you a drudge. How do you make sure your boss sees the extra stuff you do?

A: I have found that when you work hard, people notice. Maybe not right away, but eventually people notice, and rewards happen without you pushing for them. They naturally come your way.

The key is to do your best every day and strive for excellence in all that you do. If you are working hard and looking for the reward, this usually creates a neediness that stops others from rewarding you. Rewards come to those who are humble and hungry — humble in that you are striving to learn, grow and improve every day, and hungry with a passion to be your best and bring out the best in others.

When you make excellence your focus, success and rewards are just a nice byproduct. The reward is in the work, not in the outcome.

Q: What about the advice to work smarter, not harder?

A: You definitely need to work smarter, too. But work smarter and harder. They go together. It’s true that by working smarter and being more productive with your time, you may not have to work as hard to enjoy your current level of success. But if you want to be more successful or rise to the top of your field, then “smarter, not harder” won’t do. Those who adopt the motto of working smarter, not harder, will eventually be left in the dust by the competition. The best are always striving to get better. They are always pushing themselves beyond their comfort zone. They are always innovating and improving.