The Good News: We closed. On both places.
The Bad News: Our buyer didn't close.
It is necessary for our buyer to close for us to purchase the new house. We aren't approved to buy the new place unless we sell the old one.
Honestly, I still don't understand why we did close, other than the fact we were led to believe that our buyers would. We didn't learn they wouldn't be closing today until after we left from closing.
I don't understand it all, but we've been told they will definitely close in the morning. We were also told they would definitely close on Wednesday and they didn't. We will have to go back and resign some documents because of this.
Thank you to everyone for your prayers. If you could say some more, that would be awesome. The packers are coming in the morning. We aren't canceling them.
The very best word to describe this whole ordeal is UNBELIEVABLE.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Closing is Scheduled
We are scheduled to close at 2:00!! Our buyer will close at 2:00 also.
It seems that once we got to a place with God where we said, "Whatever Your will is is okay with us. We will stay here if that's the plan" things started to happen.
Yes, things could still go wrong, but we are feeling pretty good about things right now.
I'll definitely post after we close.
It seems that once we got to a place with God where we said, "Whatever Your will is is okay with us. We will stay here if that's the plan" things started to happen.
Yes, things could still go wrong, but we are feeling pretty good about things right now.
I'll definitely post after we close.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Uphill on the House Rollercoaster
Well, we are going uphill on the house rollercoaster. Ed called at about 4:00 to tell us that he learned that our buyers have been cleared for closing and they are actually scheduled to close tomorrow afternoon. The only thing is that their closing office is waiting on their documents. Once they get the documents we are clear to close. So, we may be closing at noon tomorrow. Ed is going to call in the morning to let us know.
I called my sister, who works in the mortgage business and she said it all sounds good to go. So, that's the scoop. I'll for sure post if we close tomorrow.
I called my sister, who works in the mortgage business and she said it all sounds good to go. So, that's the scoop. I'll for sure post if we close tomorrow.
Article on our Church
Here's a link to an article about our church's bar service:
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=135797&ran=83937&lpos=spot3&lid=homePO
I've heard that it's also on the FRONT PAGE of the regular paper. Very cool!
http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=135797&ran=83937&lpos=spot3&lid=homePO
I've heard that it's also on the FRONT PAGE of the regular paper. Very cool!
Monday, October 29, 2007
We Didn't Close
Once again we didn't close.
Now it is some crap about tax records. We've been told we will definitely close on Wednesday. I'll believe it when it happens.
I'm trying to have a good attitude (it's not working). However, I feel like we are being jacked around by the people buying this house, and that is frustrating. This morning the story was that they were having a hard time scheduling their closing today (in VA we don't close together). Then, we finally got the truth - that they aren't ready to close.
I'd feel a lot different about this if they were even the slightest bit apologetic, but they aren't. We've put our life on hold for 11 days with crap everywhere in our house and now in my car and they can't even say, "Hey, we're really sorry we've inconvenienced you again." Argh!!
Okay, time for an attitude check.
Attitude has been checked and a paragraph erased. God is good.
Now it is some crap about tax records. We've been told we will definitely close on Wednesday. I'll believe it when it happens.
I'm trying to have a good attitude (it's not working). However, I feel like we are being jacked around by the people buying this house, and that is frustrating. This morning the story was that they were having a hard time scheduling their closing today (in VA we don't close together). Then, we finally got the truth - that they aren't ready to close.
I'd feel a lot different about this if they were even the slightest bit apologetic, but they aren't. We've put our life on hold for 11 days with crap everywhere in our house and now in my car and they can't even say, "Hey, we're really sorry we've inconvenienced you again." Argh!!
Okay, time for an attitude check.
Attitude has been checked and a paragraph erased. God is good.
Adoption News Dream
I had a brief dream last night about our adoption process. I dreamt that I was told that we have an adoption decree. An adoption decree is the legal document that makes the kids yours. As you can imagine, it was a wonderful dream!
Monthly process updates come out at the end of the month, so I'm excited that it's the month's end. Great news would be that we have Judgment. Unbelievable news would be that we have 2nd Legalization as well. A downright miracle would be that we have an adoption decree. But hey, God can do anything.
Please pray with us that we get at least great news this month. We've waited a really long time. Our time in Parquet put us behind many families who started the process after us. Some of those kids are home already. God's timing is perfect AND He hears our prayers.
Monthly process updates come out at the end of the month, so I'm excited that it's the month's end. Great news would be that we have Judgment. Unbelievable news would be that we have 2nd Legalization as well. A downright miracle would be that we have an adoption decree. But hey, God can do anything.
Please pray with us that we get at least great news this month. We've waited a really long time. Our time in Parquet put us behind many families who started the process after us. Some of those kids are home already. God's timing is perfect AND He hears our prayers.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Closing Monday
It sounds like we are going to close on both our homes on Monday afternoon. On Monday of this week someone came to survey this property. Ed keeps calling to tell us that things look good for a Monday closing. We scheduled our buyer's walk through for Sunday afternoon. Today we scheduled our walk through, also for Sunday afternoon.
Too bad Chuck and I are in denial that we are moving! Seriously, after what happened last week we are both kind of like, "Sure, whatever." Don't get me wrong, we don't have bad attitudes about it. We are just really careful about getting all excited again. It's all very anticlimatic. Maybe we will get excited once the papers are all signed. That's after we throw up from being shown how much we will really pay for the house once we pay 30 years of interest!
Today I scrubbed the stove and fridge. Why is it that my appliances were never this clean for us? We've lived here 3 1/2 years, and I've only self cleaned the oven once. It is sparkling now. The fridge was downright gross when I pulled the drawers out. How on earth does cat hair get under the drawers of my fridge? Sick!
So, the plan is to close on both houses on Monday and rent this one back through Friday. We will slowly begin moving things over Monday night through Wednesday. Tuesday or Wednesday will be a cleaning frenzy at the new place. Thursday the packers come to pack up all our crap. Friday they move the stuff from here to there. Friday afternoon we hand over the keys and say goodbye to our first home. Sniff.
Too bad Chuck and I are in denial that we are moving! Seriously, after what happened last week we are both kind of like, "Sure, whatever." Don't get me wrong, we don't have bad attitudes about it. We are just really careful about getting all excited again. It's all very anticlimatic. Maybe we will get excited once the papers are all signed. That's after we throw up from being shown how much we will really pay for the house once we pay 30 years of interest!
Today I scrubbed the stove and fridge. Why is it that my appliances were never this clean for us? We've lived here 3 1/2 years, and I've only self cleaned the oven once. It is sparkling now. The fridge was downright gross when I pulled the drawers out. How on earth does cat hair get under the drawers of my fridge? Sick!
So, the plan is to close on both houses on Monday and rent this one back through Friday. We will slowly begin moving things over Monday night through Wednesday. Tuesday or Wednesday will be a cleaning frenzy at the new place. Thursday the packers come to pack up all our crap. Friday they move the stuff from here to there. Friday afternoon we hand over the keys and say goodbye to our first home. Sniff.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
God's Provision
About a month ago Chuck and I decided that at the new house we will set up the race car beds for the twins and have just one crib in the room. We need to give the other crib back to our friends who are having a baby in December. We figure that if the boys still need to be in cribs we can get another one at that time or just use the pack and play.
So, in deciding to set up the race car beds I had a realization. The beds use twin size mattresses, not crib mattresses. So, I realized that we would need to get bedding for the beds. We have sheets for twin beds, but no blankets.
The very next day I got an email from my friend Stephanie. She wanted to know if we had any use for two matching twin size bed sets that are construction themed. The sets consist of matching sheets and quilts. I immediately saw how God was providing for our needs and said yes.
These bed sets were used by her two sons, Noah and Samuel. Yes, her boys are Noah and Samuel, too. Isn't that awesome?? God is so good.
Thank you Stephanie and Doug, and Noah and Samuel, too!
So, in deciding to set up the race car beds I had a realization. The beds use twin size mattresses, not crib mattresses. So, I realized that we would need to get bedding for the beds. We have sheets for twin beds, but no blankets.
The very next day I got an email from my friend Stephanie. She wanted to know if we had any use for two matching twin size bed sets that are construction themed. The sets consist of matching sheets and quilts. I immediately saw how God was providing for our needs and said yes.
These bed sets were used by her two sons, Noah and Samuel. Yes, her boys are Noah and Samuel, too. Isn't that awesome?? God is so good.
Thank you Stephanie and Doug, and Noah and Samuel, too!
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Please Continue to Pray
I posted yesterday about sick babies at the orphanage. One passed away this morning from pneumonia. Please pray for those who loved her. I'm not sure if she had an adoptive family, but her nannies and her birth family will surely miss her.
For just a moment, pause and thank God that you live in a country where babies rarely die from pneumonia. If your kids are healthy right now, thank Him for that.
This isn't just words on a blog. It's real. A baby died this morning.
Father, please protect the rest of the kids at the orphanage from sickness. Please be with the other two babies who are still in the hospital and heal their little bodies. I ask that one day soon, babies in Haiti wouldn't have to die from pneumonia or diarrhea or hunger. Amen.
For just a moment, pause and thank God that you live in a country where babies rarely die from pneumonia. If your kids are healthy right now, thank Him for that.
This isn't just words on a blog. It's real. A baby died this morning.
Father, please protect the rest of the kids at the orphanage from sickness. Please be with the other two babies who are still in the hospital and heal their little bodies. I ask that one day soon, babies in Haiti wouldn't have to die from pneumonia or diarrhea or hunger. Amen.
The Strength Behind Doing and Being Good
I just finished reading a short devotion. It was good, right up until I hit the last sentence. The last sentence made me feel a little sick, because it reinforced some old ideas I had about Chrisitianity.
You see, up until the last month or so, I wasn't understaning the full scope of the Gospel. Yes, I believed Jesus died for me and I've asked Him into my heart and I fully believe I was heading to Heaven, but there was a big grace part I was missing.
It's the part that tells me who I am in Christ. You see, I became a Christian and started doing good things. A lot of times it was because I wanted to, but sometimes it was because I felt I had to. You know, Christians do good stuff, I'm a Christian, so I'll do good stuff too. My heart wasn't necessarily in it. I could pull that off.
What I couldn't pull off was who I was on the inside. I still thought mean things (and sometimes said them, you can ask Chuck about that), I still had bad thoughts, but most of all, I knew who I really was and I certainly didn't want you to know the truth. I was a sinner to the core. The stuff I had done in my pre-Christian days still had tremendous power over who I was.
But recently I have learned about who I am in Christ. I'll admit, I've heard it before, but I finally heard it if you know what I mean. I learned that I am a virtuous woman. Not that I have to try to be, but that's who I am in Christ. I learned that I can love like the famous love verses in 1 Corinthians 13 - not in my strength, though. I've learned what it really means to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). I've learned that when the bad thoughts creep into my mind they are not of Christ. And if they aren't of Christ, then they are of Satan. I used to think they were of Juli. Seriously, I did. See, Jesus owns my soul and Satan can't touch that so he goes after my thoughts and emotions. And for a long time he did it well.
It used to be that when I read a Bible verse on how we are supposed to be as Christians, I took it as instruction. "This is how you are supposed to behave, Juli." Now I take it as a promise. "This is who you are, Juli." You see, we can't follow the law in our own strength. If we could we wouldn't need Jesus. Think about it. If you can be good all on your own, why do you need Him? That is exactly what I was trying to do. But, you see, when we tap into His power, we are able to live out the law. We do it in His strength, not our own.
I know that this is the Gospel at it's core, but how many of us truly live it out? I know too many Christians who aren't living in Jesus' strength. And I can say that because I was one. For over 6 years I lived that way. And this leads me to the reason of this post. Too much Christian teaching out there tells us what to do and be as Christians. And sometimes they add in or gloss over the idea that it's through the strength of Jesus that we do and be. However, my devotion this morning ended by telling me what to be. And as my stomach twisted and I thought about devotions past, I realized that somehow many of our teachers out there have forgotten to keep reminding us that we do and be in the strength of Jesus.
You see, up until the last month or so, I wasn't understaning the full scope of the Gospel. Yes, I believed Jesus died for me and I've asked Him into my heart and I fully believe I was heading to Heaven, but there was a big grace part I was missing.
It's the part that tells me who I am in Christ. You see, I became a Christian and started doing good things. A lot of times it was because I wanted to, but sometimes it was because I felt I had to. You know, Christians do good stuff, I'm a Christian, so I'll do good stuff too. My heart wasn't necessarily in it. I could pull that off.
What I couldn't pull off was who I was on the inside. I still thought mean things (and sometimes said them, you can ask Chuck about that), I still had bad thoughts, but most of all, I knew who I really was and I certainly didn't want you to know the truth. I was a sinner to the core. The stuff I had done in my pre-Christian days still had tremendous power over who I was.
But recently I have learned about who I am in Christ. I'll admit, I've heard it before, but I finally heard it if you know what I mean. I learned that I am a virtuous woman. Not that I have to try to be, but that's who I am in Christ. I learned that I can love like the famous love verses in 1 Corinthians 13 - not in my strength, though. I've learned what it really means to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:5). I've learned that when the bad thoughts creep into my mind they are not of Christ. And if they aren't of Christ, then they are of Satan. I used to think they were of Juli. Seriously, I did. See, Jesus owns my soul and Satan can't touch that so he goes after my thoughts and emotions. And for a long time he did it well.
It used to be that when I read a Bible verse on how we are supposed to be as Christians, I took it as instruction. "This is how you are supposed to behave, Juli." Now I take it as a promise. "This is who you are, Juli." You see, we can't follow the law in our own strength. If we could we wouldn't need Jesus. Think about it. If you can be good all on your own, why do you need Him? That is exactly what I was trying to do. But, you see, when we tap into His power, we are able to live out the law. We do it in His strength, not our own.
I know that this is the Gospel at it's core, but how many of us truly live it out? I know too many Christians who aren't living in Jesus' strength. And I can say that because I was one. For over 6 years I lived that way. And this leads me to the reason of this post. Too much Christian teaching out there tells us what to do and be as Christians. And sometimes they add in or gloss over the idea that it's through the strength of Jesus that we do and be. However, my devotion this morning ended by telling me what to be. And as my stomach twisted and I thought about devotions past, I realized that somehow many of our teachers out there have forgotten to keep reminding us that we do and be in the strength of Jesus.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Orphanage Prayers
I have another prayer request. I'm so grateful that there are people who read this blog and pray.
There are a few babies at our orphanage who are pretty sick. Please pray for them. They are in the hospital. This time of year the temperature drops a little in Haiti, and that means kids (and adults) get sick. Please pray for all the kids and staff at the orphanage to stay healthy.
We have not heard that our boys are sick, praise God.
Thanks!
There are a few babies at our orphanage who are pretty sick. Please pray for them. They are in the hospital. This time of year the temperature drops a little in Haiti, and that means kids (and adults) get sick. Please pray for all the kids and staff at the orphanage to stay healthy.
We have not heard that our boys are sick, praise God.
Thanks!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
I'm doing an awesome Bible study right now. It is so perfectly timed by God for my life.
Without going into a lot of detail, I was quite disappointed this weekend in regard to our adoption. Please, no inquiries via the comments. I will delete them. Email me privately instead at ittybitties@msn.com.
In my Bible study today I read 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. It's a wonderful story of God totally taking care of a situation that was totally out of control. I encourage you to read it. King Jehoshaphat and his people are about to get hosed by the enemy simply because the enemy is so much greater in numbers than they are. Ever feel like that? I sure have. So anyway, God speaks to them, and part of what He says in 20:17 is, "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."
After God tells them this, Jehoshaphat and his people worship God. And while they were singing praises, God defeated their enemy for them. Pretty cool, huh?
This really spoke to my heart in regard to our adoption. This battle is the Lord's battle. Rather than fight, I'm going to worship Him and take up my position, which is to keep my eyes on Him. I will stand firm, expecting deliverance. I will not be afraid. I will not be discouraged. I will face them tomorrow, whoever they are, and the Lord will be with me.
Now a word of warning to my enemy: You were better off when you were in battle against just little ole me. As of right now, you are battling against the Lord. I have given it to Him. Why don't you go ask Satan how well it will go for you. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you are up against the King of all Kings. I almost feel sorry for you, almost. My heart beats hard just typing this. The second grader in me wants to say, "You are in BIG trouble." As I sing praises to the Lord, He will be in battle against you on my behalf. You will not succeed in keeping our boys from us.
Go God!
Without going into a lot of detail, I was quite disappointed this weekend in regard to our adoption. Please, no inquiries via the comments. I will delete them. Email me privately instead at ittybitties@msn.com.
In my Bible study today I read 2 Chronicles 20:1-30. It's a wonderful story of God totally taking care of a situation that was totally out of control. I encourage you to read it. King Jehoshaphat and his people are about to get hosed by the enemy simply because the enemy is so much greater in numbers than they are. Ever feel like that? I sure have. So anyway, God speaks to them, and part of what He says in 20:17 is, "You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."
After God tells them this, Jehoshaphat and his people worship God. And while they were singing praises, God defeated their enemy for them. Pretty cool, huh?
This really spoke to my heart in regard to our adoption. This battle is the Lord's battle. Rather than fight, I'm going to worship Him and take up my position, which is to keep my eyes on Him. I will stand firm, expecting deliverance. I will not be afraid. I will not be discouraged. I will face them tomorrow, whoever they are, and the Lord will be with me.
Now a word of warning to my enemy: You were better off when you were in battle against just little ole me. As of right now, you are battling against the Lord. I have given it to Him. Why don't you go ask Satan how well it will go for you. Whoever you are, wherever you are, you are up against the King of all Kings. I almost feel sorry for you, almost. My heart beats hard just typing this. The second grader in me wants to say, "You are in BIG trouble." As I sing praises to the Lord, He will be in battle against you on my behalf. You will not succeed in keeping our boys from us.
Go God!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
October Update Photos!
Samuel nearly smiling
Closer to smiling...
Smiley NoahGetting pictures or updates on process is golden on the long path of adoption. It is sooooo good to see our boys' precious faces. Oh, Lord, bring them home soon.
Happy Birthday Blog
Today our Blog turns 1. Yippee!!
It is funny to me that starting the Blog completely stressed me out because I thought it would be so hard. Blogger makes it so simple. I encourage you, if you have been afraid to start a blog, to give it a try. I have found it to be an easy way to share information with our friends and family. It is also, at times, a great piece of encouragement. It will also serve as a record of our journey to our boys. You can actually have your blog turned into a book. We will do that with this sometime in the future so that our boys will have a piece of their story forever.
Thanks to those of you who read, and especially to those of you who comment. I'm not a great commentor on other blogs, so if you don't leave comments that is totally okay.
Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday dear Blo - og
Happy Birthday to Blog!
Yes, I am a dork. I'm okay with that.
It is funny to me that starting the Blog completely stressed me out because I thought it would be so hard. Blogger makes it so simple. I encourage you, if you have been afraid to start a blog, to give it a try. I have found it to be an easy way to share information with our friends and family. It is also, at times, a great piece of encouragement. It will also serve as a record of our journey to our boys. You can actually have your blog turned into a book. We will do that with this sometime in the future so that our boys will have a piece of their story forever.
Thanks to those of you who read, and especially to those of you who comment. I'm not a great commentor on other blogs, so if you don't leave comments that is totally okay.
Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday to Blog
Happy Birthday dear Blo - og
Happy Birthday to Blog!
Yes, I am a dork. I'm okay with that.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Super Bad News
We are not moving this weekend. Or next weekend. Our buyer switched jobs last month, so we have to wait to close until he is in his new position for 30 days. The soonest we can close is the 29th, which is a Monday. Talk about a bummer.
We have packed all our cleaning stuff and our toiletries. Our living room is full of stuff that was in our attic. We have suitcases packed. We are paying for utilities at the new place. I was so ready to move.
We are mostly bummed for how hard our loan officer and his mortgage processor worked to get Chuck's disibility rating. They got it today. So, we don't have to pay the VA funding fee. That is a huge praise. A lady named Brenda worked really hard to get it. I feel most sorry for her that we aren't closing on time. If you could say a little prayer that God blesses her, that would be awesome.
Chuck and I are going to hang out tonight and try to keep our eyes on Jesus, so if you call and we don't answer, please don't take it personal. We just need some time to process this.
Thanks.
We have packed all our cleaning stuff and our toiletries. Our living room is full of stuff that was in our attic. We have suitcases packed. We are paying for utilities at the new place. I was so ready to move.
We are mostly bummed for how hard our loan officer and his mortgage processor worked to get Chuck's disibility rating. They got it today. So, we don't have to pay the VA funding fee. That is a huge praise. A lady named Brenda worked really hard to get it. I feel most sorry for her that we aren't closing on time. If you could say a little prayer that God blesses her, that would be awesome.
Chuck and I are going to hang out tonight and try to keep our eyes on Jesus, so if you call and we don't answer, please don't take it personal. We just need some time to process this.
Thanks.
More Prayers Needed Please
Well, we need to ask for some more prayers. The people who are buying our house haven't come out of underwriting yet. This means they aren't yet ready to close. Our agent says that they are close, and if they come out of underwriting early tomorrow morning, we can still close on time at 3 p.m. tomorrow. So, please join us in praying that their file comes out of underwriting and that the loan documents get emailed by tomorrow morning. We trust that God wouldn't bring us this far to just drop us off on our face. He has it all planned and figured out, we trust that.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Please Pray
2:00 Update: The move has been rescheduled to Friday. We haven't confirmed with our buyer that this is okay. Please join us in praying it's okay. It's technically their fault we are in this predicament anyway since they are the ones keeping us from closing tomorrow. So, the packers don't come tomorrow; they come Thursday instead. Friday they will load our stuff and take it to the new house. I will be really happy when this is over.
_________________________________________
I need to ask for prayer for our closing and move.
Our closing keeps getting pushed back further and further, and at this point will probably delay our move. I learned this morning that the moving company won't move you on the day of closing. Our closing will likely occur on Thursday, which is the same day we were to be moved. So, now we are likely going to reschedule our move for Friday. We are waiting to hear from our buyer to see if they are okay with us being in this house a day longer.
I trust and believe that God has a plan. I would like to be in on it, though. Please join me in praying that things get figured out so we can reschedule the move if need be. This is a big opportunity for me to not stress out and keep my eyes on Jesus. That's what my Bible Study has been teaching me. I guess this is my opportunity to put it into action.
Thanks!
_________________________________________
I need to ask for prayer for our closing and move.
Our closing keeps getting pushed back further and further, and at this point will probably delay our move. I learned this morning that the moving company won't move you on the day of closing. Our closing will likely occur on Thursday, which is the same day we were to be moved. So, now we are likely going to reschedule our move for Friday. We are waiting to hear from our buyer to see if they are okay with us being in this house a day longer.
I trust and believe that God has a plan. I would like to be in on it, though. Please join me in praying that things get figured out so we can reschedule the move if need be. This is a big opportunity for me to not stress out and keep my eyes on Jesus. That's what my Bible Study has been teaching me. I guess this is my opportunity to put it into action.
Thanks!
Monday, October 15, 2007
It's Best to Call...
If you need to reach us this week, please call us. We'll be checking email intermittently. We will be without Internet Thursday and Friday.
We move on Thursday. I think we close late on Wednesday (we'll see).
No word yet on if the Someone was able to help Chuck's VA file. I'm still praying.
Shoot me an email at ittybitties@msn.com if you want our new address. Our cell phones will stay the same and we will be adding a home phone. Two months of going over our minutes on our cell phones makes a home phone very attractive.
Packing of toiletries and cleaning supplies has officially begun. My denial about moving went out the window today. Oh my gosh, I'm moving this week. I have so much to do. Thank God for movers!
We move on Thursday. I think we close late on Wednesday (we'll see).
No word yet on if the Someone was able to help Chuck's VA file. I'm still praying.
Shoot me an email at ittybitties@msn.com if you want our new address. Our cell phones will stay the same and we will be adding a home phone. Two months of going over our minutes on our cell phones makes a home phone very attractive.
Packing of toiletries and cleaning supplies has officially begun. My denial about moving went out the window today. Oh my gosh, I'm moving this week. I have so much to do. Thank God for movers!
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Someone Knows Someone Who Knows Someone
And that someone may be able to get Chuck's Veteran's Affairs disibility rating done before we close on our home. Please pray that it is so. It makes about a $6000 dollar difference.
And if you're going to be praying for that, could you add prayers that our closing can happen on Tuesday instead of Friday OR that we can get our move changed to accomodate the fact that the seller WILL NOT let us in before we close?
On a happier note, we had the new house sprayed for bugs today. The bug man told me that there shouldn't be much of a bug problem there since he didn't see much to be concerned about. That's good news. That doesn't cover mosquitoes. Mosquitoes seriously own the city, so that screened in porch will be well used.
Tomorrow morning we have someone coming to estimate how much crap we have that the military will have to move. We're getting closer! Saturday, I think, will be the day that I pull down all the pictures and fill nail holes.
That's all for now.
And if you're going to be praying for that, could you add prayers that our closing can happen on Tuesday instead of Friday OR that we can get our move changed to accomodate the fact that the seller WILL NOT let us in before we close?
On a happier note, we had the new house sprayed for bugs today. The bug man told me that there shouldn't be much of a bug problem there since he didn't see much to be concerned about. That's good news. That doesn't cover mosquitoes. Mosquitoes seriously own the city, so that screened in porch will be well used.
Tomorrow morning we have someone coming to estimate how much crap we have that the military will have to move. We're getting closer! Saturday, I think, will be the day that I pull down all the pictures and fill nail holes.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Draw Your Strength from Him
Ahhh. Just what I needed. I'm doing this great Bible Study called "Because of Jesus" by Connie Witter. It is awesome. Since I've been waking up sick this week, I wasn't as far along in the study as I should have been. But once again, God's timing is perfect. The title of today's study was, "Draw Your Strength from Him." Yeah, perfect for where I'm at today. When I opened the book and read the title I knew it was going to be just what I needed. I envisioned this fuel tank within me that was empty. It seems that no matter what I've tried to fill it with today, I can't. I realized that I need to fill it with God. He is the only good fuel for my soul. I'd been trying to fill it with updates on our adoption, encouraging emails, reading blogs, reading comments on my blog, and information on Haitian adoption in general. None of that is fuel for my soul, but when I'm expecting it to be that fuel, I'm deeply discouraged when it doesn't fill me. The ONLY fuel I need is God. I will walk through the rest of this day with Him as my fuel. And maybe, just maybe, I've learned a lesson today that will follow me all the days of my life.
One of Those Days
I'm having one of those days. You know, the ones where nothing seems to go well, the ones where your emotions are all out of whack, the ones where you think, "I just can't do this."
I'm adoption weary today. I've read too many stories recently of failed adoptions. So, not only am I tired of waiting, I'm also afraid. I know that fear is not of God.
I'm house weary today, too. The seller of the house we are moving into will not let us in early. It is vacant and we are willing to pay rent, all of which is normal practice, but they won't budge. So, we are attempting to move up our closing date by 3 days and rent back this house. I'm also pretty bummed that God hasn't come through yet on the VA disability rating. He can do it. I'd like Him to do it. He hasn't yet.
I'm not feeling well to top it all off. I'm not sure if it's allergies or the flu, but I've had a headache for two days now and I feel nauseous.
Sorry to whine. Just being honest here. I'm going to spend some time with God now.
I'm adoption weary today. I've read too many stories recently of failed adoptions. So, not only am I tired of waiting, I'm also afraid. I know that fear is not of God.
I'm house weary today, too. The seller of the house we are moving into will not let us in early. It is vacant and we are willing to pay rent, all of which is normal practice, but they won't budge. So, we are attempting to move up our closing date by 3 days and rent back this house. I'm also pretty bummed that God hasn't come through yet on the VA disability rating. He can do it. I'd like Him to do it. He hasn't yet.
I'm not feeling well to top it all off. I'm not sure if it's allergies or the flu, but I've had a headache for two days now and I feel nauseous.
Sorry to whine. Just being honest here. I'm going to spend some time with God now.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Yesterday's Service
First of all, I apologize for the tardiness of this post. I said I'd post in the a.m. and it is definitely p.m. Most of this a.m. was spent sleeping because I had a fabulous time with a friend staying up until 3 a.m. playing some Super Mario Brothers 3 last night. We whipped out my old Nintendo and had ourselves a little sleepover. It was mad fun, but I am way too old to stay up that late!!
Okay, Church yesterday. It was awesome!! Most of our Launch Team was there at 7:30 a.m. to set up. I helped prepare communion. I broke the crackers, that was my job. Since I'm obsessive compulsive about most things, it was a good job for me. I had to break those crackers down to just the right size. By 8:45 we had communion ready to go. From there I went to help out in other areas, but most everything was done. We just had some straightening up and putting away of things to do. We were completely ready to go at 9:30. By 9:45 I was feeling like I could throw up and wondering where all the people were. And then they began to trickle in. I was standing near our information table watching the door and seeing people come in. Most had kids with them. Our people pointed them in the right direction for Children's Ministry and the auditorium. There was a good vibe.
Then, I got pulled into the toddler room (13 - 23 months). I agreed to help out there if they needed me. They needed me. Actually, they needed a lot more than me, but they got me. I walked into a room of 12 toddlers and about 8 of them were crying LOUD. It was insane. I grabbed a crying kid and settled her down. Then another and another. Two of them would not chill out. They were both toddlers of Lauch Team members and they both have a tendency to not like being left in Children's Ministry. We ended up having their parents come and get them because they were way too upset. So, we (me and 4 others) settled down with the babies and played. We talked about how God made the water and the dry land and the kids got to play with some water. One of them was insisting on getting in the tub of water. It was so cute!
So, I'm sure you're thinking, "That's nice Juli, but we want to hear about the service." I can only tell you what I heard since I wasn't in there: It went great!! The people were excited to be there. We show a video sermon and people seemed to be into it. They laughed when they should have.
After the service Chuck says people swarmed our info table looking for info to give to their friends. Chuck says it got a little crazy over there as people swarmed looking for stuff to pick up. I left the toddler room after most of the kids had been picked up and I hung out in the lobby looking for people to talk to. There were a few ladies there that I knew. They had attended a small group that Chuck led in Chesapeake 3 years ago. Both had stopped going to Forefront (because of how far away it was) and had also stopped attending Gel Group (small group). It was so good to see them there at church. They were pumped to be there and said they looked forward to coming back.
Chuck did really well. He remembered all his stuff that he had to say. He did jump up on stage before a video that he was supposed to wait for, but our production team just rolled with it and inserted the video later in the service. Some people who know him well told me that they could tell he was a little nervous, but that you wouldn't know if you didn't know him. I'm supposed to be able to view a video of the whole service sometime this week. There's a part of me that was relieved to not be in the auditorium because I would have been so nervous for Chuck that I don't know if I would have enjoyed the service. I sure hope that feeling goes away!
I will try to get Chuck to make an appearance on the blog so that he can tell you about things from his perspective. Oh, and by the way, he was so stinking cute on Sunday. He got some new duds and looked very handsome.
Okay, Church yesterday. It was awesome!! Most of our Launch Team was there at 7:30 a.m. to set up. I helped prepare communion. I broke the crackers, that was my job. Since I'm obsessive compulsive about most things, it was a good job for me. I had to break those crackers down to just the right size. By 8:45 we had communion ready to go. From there I went to help out in other areas, but most everything was done. We just had some straightening up and putting away of things to do. We were completely ready to go at 9:30. By 9:45 I was feeling like I could throw up and wondering where all the people were. And then they began to trickle in. I was standing near our information table watching the door and seeing people come in. Most had kids with them. Our people pointed them in the right direction for Children's Ministry and the auditorium. There was a good vibe.
Then, I got pulled into the toddler room (13 - 23 months). I agreed to help out there if they needed me. They needed me. Actually, they needed a lot more than me, but they got me. I walked into a room of 12 toddlers and about 8 of them were crying LOUD. It was insane. I grabbed a crying kid and settled her down. Then another and another. Two of them would not chill out. They were both toddlers of Lauch Team members and they both have a tendency to not like being left in Children's Ministry. We ended up having their parents come and get them because they were way too upset. So, we (me and 4 others) settled down with the babies and played. We talked about how God made the water and the dry land and the kids got to play with some water. One of them was insisting on getting in the tub of water. It was so cute!
So, I'm sure you're thinking, "That's nice Juli, but we want to hear about the service." I can only tell you what I heard since I wasn't in there: It went great!! The people were excited to be there. We show a video sermon and people seemed to be into it. They laughed when they should have.
After the service Chuck says people swarmed our info table looking for info to give to their friends. Chuck says it got a little crazy over there as people swarmed looking for stuff to pick up. I left the toddler room after most of the kids had been picked up and I hung out in the lobby looking for people to talk to. There were a few ladies there that I knew. They had attended a small group that Chuck led in Chesapeake 3 years ago. Both had stopped going to Forefront (because of how far away it was) and had also stopped attending Gel Group (small group). It was so good to see them there at church. They were pumped to be there and said they looked forward to coming back.
Chuck did really well. He remembered all his stuff that he had to say. He did jump up on stage before a video that he was supposed to wait for, but our production team just rolled with it and inserted the video later in the service. Some people who know him well told me that they could tell he was a little nervous, but that you wouldn't know if you didn't know him. I'm supposed to be able to view a video of the whole service sometime this week. There's a part of me that was relieved to not be in the auditorium because I would have been so nervous for Chuck that I don't know if I would have enjoyed the service. I sure hope that feeling goes away!
I will try to get Chuck to make an appearance on the blog so that he can tell you about things from his perspective. Oh, and by the way, he was so stinking cute on Sunday. He got some new duds and looked very handsome.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
It Went Well!!
This is just a quick post as naptime is calling...
It went really well! We were set up with plenty of time to spare. The count I heard was that there was a total of 213 adults and kids. The people who were new were VERY excited to be there.
I spent the morning with toddlers, so I didn't get to see the service. I will get to watch a video tape of it, though. Chuck did great.
We are pooped and are taking a nap now. If I don't post more tonight, I definitely will in the morning.
Thank you for the prayers!
It went really well! We were set up with plenty of time to spare. The count I heard was that there was a total of 213 adults and kids. The people who were new were VERY excited to be there.
I spent the morning with toddlers, so I didn't get to see the service. I will get to watch a video tape of it, though. Chuck did great.
We are pooped and are taking a nap now. If I don't post more tonight, I definitely will in the morning.
Thank you for the prayers!
Saturday, October 06, 2007
The Most Important Thing
The most important thing to me in the world is that I know Jesus. And not only that I know Him, but that I follow Him. It is in my choice to follow Jesus that I am promised eternal life in Heaven. If none of that makes sense to you, or if you want to talk more about this, please email me at ittybitties@msn.com.
The most important thing to me as a Jesus follower is that I share Him with others. He's just to good to keep to myself. I must talk to other people about Him. I've been given an amazing gift and the great news is that it's available to us all.
Tomorrow morning me and Chuck and over 100 other people are sharing Jesus with the city of Chesapeake. We've worked over a year for this. We've prayed harder than we've ever prayed before. We've made sacrifices of time, energy, and money. We've had immense joy and we've cried hard.
Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. we will share the hope of Jesus. We have prayed that people will come. We ask that you'd join us in prayer in these last 19 or so hours. Please pray that people will come tomorrow morning and that they will find hope; that they'll find a place with authentic people who really care; that they'll find Jesus, even if they didn't mean to. Please pray that everything will come together perfectly tomorrow morning for our services. We meet in a high school, so there is a great deal of set up involved. Please pray for good weather. Please pray for Chuck as he'll be on stage and has to remember to say A LOT of things. Please pray that all we do tomorrow is a reflection of Jesus to others and that we bring God glory. It is all for Him.
My heart beats hard as I type this. I am so excited and nervous all together. My eyes well up with tears as I think about people who could be impacted by our church. In all my life, I've never felt that what I was doing was more important than what we are doing tomorrow morning. Sure, I've shared Jesus before, but never in this way. New churches are far more effective at reaching lost people than churches that have been around for a while (just ask Barna), so we have a great advantage when it comes to impacting lives.
To God be the glory. I'll post tomorrow and let you know how it went.
The most important thing to me as a Jesus follower is that I share Him with others. He's just to good to keep to myself. I must talk to other people about Him. I've been given an amazing gift and the great news is that it's available to us all.
Tomorrow morning me and Chuck and over 100 other people are sharing Jesus with the city of Chesapeake. We've worked over a year for this. We've prayed harder than we've ever prayed before. We've made sacrifices of time, energy, and money. We've had immense joy and we've cried hard.
Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. we will share the hope of Jesus. We have prayed that people will come. We ask that you'd join us in prayer in these last 19 or so hours. Please pray that people will come tomorrow morning and that they will find hope; that they'll find a place with authentic people who really care; that they'll find Jesus, even if they didn't mean to. Please pray that everything will come together perfectly tomorrow morning for our services. We meet in a high school, so there is a great deal of set up involved. Please pray for good weather. Please pray for Chuck as he'll be on stage and has to remember to say A LOT of things. Please pray that all we do tomorrow is a reflection of Jesus to others and that we bring God glory. It is all for Him.
My heart beats hard as I type this. I am so excited and nervous all together. My eyes well up with tears as I think about people who could be impacted by our church. In all my life, I've never felt that what I was doing was more important than what we are doing tomorrow morning. Sure, I've shared Jesus before, but never in this way. New churches are far more effective at reaching lost people than churches that have been around for a while (just ask Barna), so we have a great advantage when it comes to impacting lives.
To God be the glory. I'll post tomorrow and let you know how it went.
Jarrod, A Miracle
I think that all babies are miracles. The fact that God makes these little people, grows them inside a woman's womb, and brings them into this world amazes me. Sometimes, though, the lives of these babies are filled with many more miracles. Jarrod is a baby like that.
Today is Jarrod's first birthday. It's also Brady's first birthday. Happy Birthday, guys! They don't know each other, but I know them both and I can tell you that they've had a very different first year of life.
Brady has pretty much had a 'normal' baby life so far. He is such a cute little guy! I will see him later today and I look forward to watching him eat cake.
At about 6 weeks old or so, Jarrod became a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome. He spent months in the hospital. The outlook was grim. I know his grandparents, whom I see once a week. They asked for prayer and I prayed. God kept this baby strongly on my heart. And slowly, healing began to take place within Jarrod. Each week I'd see Jarrod's grandparents and hear how he was doing. Their path was tough, but they walked it with so much grace and faith in God. They believed that God would bring healing to their grandson, and He has.
I have not yet met Jarrod, but his grandma shows me pictures. I still pray for him when God puts him on my heart. He still has some challenges, but the fact that he has made it to his first birthday is indeed a miracle when I think of his early days in the hospital.
When God shows us miracles, I think it's important for us to pause and thank Him - not only for the miracle itself, but also that we were allowed to witness it. So, thank you, God for the miracle of Jarrod and thank you for allowing me the honor of witnessing it.
Today is Jarrod's first birthday. It's also Brady's first birthday. Happy Birthday, guys! They don't know each other, but I know them both and I can tell you that they've had a very different first year of life.
Brady has pretty much had a 'normal' baby life so far. He is such a cute little guy! I will see him later today and I look forward to watching him eat cake.
At about 6 weeks old or so, Jarrod became a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome. He spent months in the hospital. The outlook was grim. I know his grandparents, whom I see once a week. They asked for prayer and I prayed. God kept this baby strongly on my heart. And slowly, healing began to take place within Jarrod. Each week I'd see Jarrod's grandparents and hear how he was doing. Their path was tough, but they walked it with so much grace and faith in God. They believed that God would bring healing to their grandson, and He has.
I have not yet met Jarrod, but his grandma shows me pictures. I still pray for him when God puts him on my heart. He still has some challenges, but the fact that he has made it to his first birthday is indeed a miracle when I think of his early days in the hospital.
When God shows us miracles, I think it's important for us to pause and thank Him - not only for the miracle itself, but also that we were allowed to witness it. So, thank you, God for the miracle of Jarrod and thank you for allowing me the honor of witnessing it.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Upcoming Move
We learned today that the house we are buying appraised for a little more than it needed to. Yeah!! God just keeps moving us forward. I've been guarded in thinking about what will go where, etc. in the new house in case things don't work out. This whole house buying journey was quite the rollercoaster ride, and I've been careful about getting to attached to this one in case something goes wrong. At this point, the only thing that can go wrong is financing. Our buyer is using a reputable mortgage company and so are we. We are approved for far more than we are spending on our home, so we should be fine. If our buyer were to lose his job, that would be a deal killer. I'm pretty sure he is military, so that is unlikely. I'm pretty sure Chuck won't be losing his job either.
Today I went out looking for refrigerators and dishwashers because we need them in the new house. Virginia is offering no sales tax on energy efficient appliances purchased this weekend. So, we will for sure buy our fridge this weekend and maybe a dishwasher. Anyone out there know how to install a dishwasher from scratch? Chuck can do it, but I don't want his back to have to do it. Those types of projects are killer on his back.
I also went looking for storage cabinets for the garage. I found what I want at Walmart. I was tempted to buy it, but didn't because I wanted to wait until we learned about the appraisal. Now that the appraisal is in, I'll probably go pick up the cabinet.
So, our timeline is 2 weeks. On Wednesday, October 17th the movers come to pack our home. While I LOVE that I don't have to do this, it's a little awkward to have people in the house packing up EVERYTHING.
On October 18th they will load everything up and take it to the new house to deliver it. They do not unpack our stuff. I'm glad. I like to do that at my own pace (which is furious) and put things where I want to put them.
We don't actually close on the houses until the 19th, which will be interesting since we are scheduled to move into the new place on the 18th. It is vacant, but we haven't yet worked out getting in early with our seller. Hopefully Ed will be able to get that worked out soon. We are actually hoping to gain access at least a week earlier. We want to have the house sprayed for bugs prior to moving in and we'd like to paint before the house is full of our stuff. We'll see how it goes. Plus, I haven't given up hope that Veteran's Affairs could come up with a disibility rating before we close so that we don't have to pay the loan funding fee. So, if you'd like to join us in prayer, please pray that we can get into the house early and that Chuck gets his VA disability rating very soon. God can do these things. They are so minor. We place them in His hands.
So, that's the scoop.
Today I went out looking for refrigerators and dishwashers because we need them in the new house. Virginia is offering no sales tax on energy efficient appliances purchased this weekend. So, we will for sure buy our fridge this weekend and maybe a dishwasher. Anyone out there know how to install a dishwasher from scratch? Chuck can do it, but I don't want his back to have to do it. Those types of projects are killer on his back.
I also went looking for storage cabinets for the garage. I found what I want at Walmart. I was tempted to buy it, but didn't because I wanted to wait until we learned about the appraisal. Now that the appraisal is in, I'll probably go pick up the cabinet.
So, our timeline is 2 weeks. On Wednesday, October 17th the movers come to pack our home. While I LOVE that I don't have to do this, it's a little awkward to have people in the house packing up EVERYTHING.
On October 18th they will load everything up and take it to the new house to deliver it. They do not unpack our stuff. I'm glad. I like to do that at my own pace (which is furious) and put things where I want to put them.
We don't actually close on the houses until the 19th, which will be interesting since we are scheduled to move into the new place on the 18th. It is vacant, but we haven't yet worked out getting in early with our seller. Hopefully Ed will be able to get that worked out soon. We are actually hoping to gain access at least a week earlier. We want to have the house sprayed for bugs prior to moving in and we'd like to paint before the house is full of our stuff. We'll see how it goes. Plus, I haven't given up hope that Veteran's Affairs could come up with a disibility rating before we close so that we don't have to pay the loan funding fee. So, if you'd like to join us in prayer, please pray that we can get into the house early and that Chuck gets his VA disability rating very soon. God can do these things. They are so minor. We place them in His hands.
So, that's the scoop.
Link for the Bar Service
Here's a link to a video about our bar service:
http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?locvid=133836&tid=r700&fv=1
http://www.hamptonroads.tv/index.cfm?locvid=133836&tid=r700&fv=1
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Opening Service at the Bar
Last night our Pembroke Campus, the one that meets in a bar, started. It was awesome. I decided to go since I'll be serving in Children's Ministry at the Chesapeake Campus and will miss the sermon this Sunday.
I got there super early with a friend who is actually on the Pembroke Campus Launch Team. Her job was to run the computer for the night. I got to help prepare communion. It was so neat to watch them get set up, to watch the band practice, to see the bar begin to fill up, and to see a real church service happening in a bar.
The bar was packed! There were well over 100 people (someone told me 108). At least half were people from our church, but there were lots of new faces. Even a few news crews came out. I'll be sure to post links to stories if they end up on the internet.
All in all, I'd say it was a huge success. It was nearly silent during the message, and it was an awesome message all about how God loves bad people and how our church is a church for bad people. Our senior pastor shared part of his own testimony of his badness and the forgiveness he's experienced from God.
My favorite story from last night is about a girl who stopped by our information table on her way out and picked up a free Bible. Someone overheard her say, "This is the first time I've ever even touched a Bible." Now how cool is that?? She went to the bar for the evening and left with a Bible!!
I got there super early with a friend who is actually on the Pembroke Campus Launch Team. Her job was to run the computer for the night. I got to help prepare communion. It was so neat to watch them get set up, to watch the band practice, to see the bar begin to fill up, and to see a real church service happening in a bar.
The bar was packed! There were well over 100 people (someone told me 108). At least half were people from our church, but there were lots of new faces. Even a few news crews came out. I'll be sure to post links to stories if they end up on the internet.
All in all, I'd say it was a huge success. It was nearly silent during the message, and it was an awesome message all about how God loves bad people and how our church is a church for bad people. Our senior pastor shared part of his own testimony of his badness and the forgiveness he's experienced from God.
My favorite story from last night is about a girl who stopped by our information table on her way out and picked up a free Bible. Someone overheard her say, "This is the first time I've ever even touched a Bible." Now how cool is that?? She went to the bar for the evening and left with a Bible!!
Monday, October 01, 2007
Church
I realized recently that I haven't blogged a whole lot about the church campus we are starting. I blogged about our Tuesday night bar service, but I don't think I've said a whole lot about the campus Chuck and I are involved in.
I've been pretty vague about where we live and all, but I'm just gonna spill it and hope that no one comes to stalk me.
We attend Forefront Church in Virginia Beach (yes, that is in Virginia). Well, I should say we used to attend Forefront Church in Virginia Beach. I say that because yesterday we began attending Forefront Church in Chesapeake (also in VA, right next to Virginia Beach)!! Chuck and I are involved in one of the coolest things ever - our church is going to a multi-site model to reach more people, and yesterday we had our practice service for our new Chesapeake Campus. It was awesome. It was not perfect or flawless, but it was indeed awesome. Last summer Chuck accepted the job for the Campus Pastor role at this new campus, but didn't come on staff until May. For over a year, he and the staff of our church have been working diligently to get our Chesapeake Campus started. Our Chesapeake Campus is live everything except for the preaching. We have video of the same message being preached at our Virginia Beach Campus. As our staff worked out the filming for Chesapeake, the bar campus (AKA - Pembroke Campus) evolved.
I was nearly in tears as I looked around yesterday - just in awe of how God brought everything and everyone together. We had a full Children's Ministry, we had a rockin' band leading us in worship, we HAD CHURCH IN CHESAPEAKE!! I'm just so excited that it's finally here and that God has blessed it so much. I can remember last year in November when we had like 3 volunteers signed up for our Chesapeake Campus. We probably easily had 60 people volunteering in some capacity yesterday. It is just incredible to have watched this grow. And I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.
Please join us in praying that this Sunday - our opening Sunday - will be a day that completely honors and blesses God. Please pray that many lost people will come through our doors and find hope.
I'll be sure to let you know how our opening Sunday service goes. Feel free to check out our website in the meantime: www.forefront.org
I've been pretty vague about where we live and all, but I'm just gonna spill it and hope that no one comes to stalk me.
We attend Forefront Church in Virginia Beach (yes, that is in Virginia). Well, I should say we used to attend Forefront Church in Virginia Beach. I say that because yesterday we began attending Forefront Church in Chesapeake (also in VA, right next to Virginia Beach)!! Chuck and I are involved in one of the coolest things ever - our church is going to a multi-site model to reach more people, and yesterday we had our practice service for our new Chesapeake Campus. It was awesome. It was not perfect or flawless, but it was indeed awesome. Last summer Chuck accepted the job for the Campus Pastor role at this new campus, but didn't come on staff until May. For over a year, he and the staff of our church have been working diligently to get our Chesapeake Campus started. Our Chesapeake Campus is live everything except for the preaching. We have video of the same message being preached at our Virginia Beach Campus. As our staff worked out the filming for Chesapeake, the bar campus (AKA - Pembroke Campus) evolved.
I was nearly in tears as I looked around yesterday - just in awe of how God brought everything and everyone together. We had a full Children's Ministry, we had a rockin' band leading us in worship, we HAD CHURCH IN CHESAPEAKE!! I'm just so excited that it's finally here and that God has blessed it so much. I can remember last year in November when we had like 3 volunteers signed up for our Chesapeake Campus. We probably easily had 60 people volunteering in some capacity yesterday. It is just incredible to have watched this grow. And I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.
Please join us in praying that this Sunday - our opening Sunday - will be a day that completely honors and blesses God. Please pray that many lost people will come through our doors and find hope.
I'll be sure to let you know how our opening Sunday service goes. Feel free to check out our website in the meantime: www.forefront.org
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