Stop, drop, and ....

There are specific times in my life that God has made me stop and breathe, whether I wanted to or not. These significant moments stick out in my often hazy memory, like the focus of a camera on a single water droplet making its way down the windshield. Somehow time seems to slow down; my emotions and thoughts come into a clarity both sweet and painful. Here I am given the opportunity to periscope out of the ocean and see more clearly where I am going. For me these moments can occur in the aftershock of huge life events (like a death in the family or a dear friend's wedding) and also in the occasional reminder from God that a break is needed. The latter usually comes in the form of Molly thoroughly exploring getaways on Groupon for a several days straight.

Did I say exploring? I meant to say "extensively investigating and comprehensively dissecting".

Anyhow, I am beginning to think that this need to periodically take stock of our trajectory is something God has hardwired into our DNA. Sabbaths teach us to rest and trust God on a weekly basis, vacations help us remember how to play, and sabbaticals/conferences/church camps remove distractions so we can go significantly deeper in our relationship with God in more concentrated doses. Its as if in this marathon of life, where the majority of the race is one step after the other, we have to occasionally look around at the scenery. Like Google Maps on your Iphone, when the signal is lost Siri will rudely interrupt your road-trip: "RECALCULATING."

I think I have now reached a point, 6 months into this cross-cultural mission experience, where God is making me take a step back and re-evaluate my plans, re-calculate my route on this Ireland journey. Let me be clear, ministry is going very well and we are not planning on leaving Ireland early. We are just getting re-envisioned.

So we left on our first getaway to travel to Cork for a few days. Two twenty-somethings seeking new scenery, new perspective, and everything in between. We stayed in a hotel right off of the harbor of Cobh (pronounced COVE), which is the 2nd largest natural harbor in the world and was the last port of call for the Titanic. We kissed the Blarney stone, saw 30 seconds of snow, ate in an Old English market, shopped in downtown Cork, and hiked on the cliffs of Ballycotton.

Long story short, we really needed this and we had a blast. Just like I hoped, I am already inspired with new ideas for our work at Alive Church. And as good as it is to dream about my daily work, it was even better to get to refocus on my relationship with God and with my spouse in a brand new place. After all, those are the highest priorities in life, right?

As far as those new ministry ideas go, I'll be sharing more of them in our next updates.

Wait there's more!

Many of you may have noticed some pictures floating around Facebook about a new series that we started for the month of February for the youth. This is significant because we were trying out a new style of format for our youth group for the first time. Our church leaders were incredible and gave us their blessing to run with it. The series was on relationships: friends, family, dating, and marriage. All in all the series went really well, with the youth opening up and asking questions each week! Thank you so much for your prayers, God did some amazing things this last month.

Messages in a bottle

And to the people who took time out of their days to listen to Jesus and encourage us in a letter, IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT WE NEEDED TO HEAR (or read). It blows our minds how community can reach across the ocean in such a tangible way. Every ounce of love that you have poured into us, is being pressed down, shaken together, and is running over into the people of Ireland. We cherish these letters and will keep re-reading them when we need encouragement from our brothers and sisters. Really. Thank you.