life beyond the well…


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Screeching Halt

The title of this blog describes exactly how my school year ended.  Loud and suddenly.

For most of the year, I’ve worked diligently alongside teachers and other support staff.  But since I work directly with 8th grade students and transitioning them to high school, the end of the year gets to be crazy as we plan events to celebrate their hard work.  I actually felt like I was reliving the planning of my wedding when planning our 8th Grade Awards Banquet and Dance, as well as our 8th Grade Promotion Ceremony.  My office became overwhelmed with vases, flowers, table cloths, table tents, seating charts, food orders, and many other things.

So for the last two weeks of the year, I felt like slightly crazy.  And then, it was over.

This past Monday, I sat in my office almost stunned by the quiet and the lack of busy.  It’s not that I didn’t have things to do–I had (and still have) several things to do, but it was the startling transition of going from doing everything right now to having the time to organize your day (and do important things like eat lunch and drink water).

Now I’m in summer mode–working diligently and slowly starting to restore balance to my work life and to my personal life.  Preacherman is in summer vacation mode, which has him much more relaxed, because he’s able to devote a significant chunk of time to church-planting activities.  We are excited to enjoy our first summer in Jacksonville, and look forward to meeting people, building our launch team, and growing together.

I’m grateful for the time to recharge and reflect, as well as move forward on some other projects.  I have much that I want to share here as well- I miss writing and processing my learning and growth with my few faithful readers here.  Thanks for sticking with me.  I’ll be back soon- I promise.

Until next time…

Be encouraged! Peace and Blessings!


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One Step Closer: Higher Definition Church

I’ve been waiting all year to write this post, and I’m so excited to finally do so!

Last July, under the direction of God, Preacherman and I packed our belongings and moved to Jacksonville, Florida to fully the pursue the calling that He has given us: planting a church.

Since we’ve been here, we’ve been working and wrestling, praying and believing, and slowly making progress towards that goal.  While we are still a ways out from our launch date in 2015, we have our website set up!

This morning, Preacherman shared these thoughts on his blog, which explain the essence of Higher Definition Church:

If there is anything on earth that I want to be remembered for, it is that I did my best to show people the truth of who God is and the truth of who they are in Him. With that mind, within the next year, I’ll be leading a team in the launch of Higher Definition Church, here in Jacksonville, Florida! I’ve been told that sharing your vision is a way to make you accountable for it, so here I sit, typing away at the computer in my home, sharing with you that God has sold me on a vision to live a life based on a higher definition…God’s design for our lives.

God allowed me to try and live a life in which I prided myself in my accomplishments, economic status, relationships, organizational affiliations, and many other things. He allowed me to do so in a way that showed me that everything in life that we think makes us who we are is insufficient and unnecessary. He showed me that when all those things failed to provide me with enough validation or foundation in life, that He was still there, and He was more than enough!

So, God’s plan for my life is to share that message…to share that embracing how God defines us is the most fulfilling choice a person can make. But I can’t stop there; the mission is to teach the truth, develop people’s understanding and application of it, and release them to do the same. In other words, “be fruitful and multiply”. That is exactly what I intend to do, with God as my strength and my witness. Higher Definition Church will be used to bring life to the First Coast and beyond.

Please check out www.hdjax.com to learn more about the vision and how you can help!  We appreciate your prayers and support!

Be encouraged!  Peace and Blessings!