OUR NEW HOME!

Our new home!

Thank you for praying with us friends. For 14 months we have been praying for the Lord to direct us in our housing situation. At the beginning of the process we put all options on the table before the Lord. We asked Him if it was time for us to leave Arcadia, if He still wanted us in full time ministry, and what we were supposed to be learning from this trial.

We had friends praying and we sought wise counsel to gain insight and perspective. It was a wild ride of ups and downs. We have learned much about the Lord's sustaining grace. Our faith has grown immeasurably.

The house in the picture above is the one the Lord has made a way for us to purchase. It is in a great location, has plenty of room to host, and is just perfect for our family. We are scheduled to close on the house at the end of February. God is so good!

Thank you for your prayers, wisdom, and friendship through this time in our lives and ministry. We have been overwhelmingly encouraged by so many of you.

A former student recently sent us a link to her personal blog. We were so encouraged by her post that I wanted to pass it on to you all. Thank you for pouring your support and love into us. We hope to pass it right along to others!

A Letter from a Student

It doesn't get much better than this!

Doubt and Grace

Everyone has off days. You know the kind...when nothing feels quite right. No particular reason. Communication just misses the mark... just overall blah.

I am not gonna lie, the retreat last weekend absolutely exhausted us. (I will post pics and tell you about the retreat later) We are definitely NOT in our twenties anymore! We have been slowly recovering. Maybe that was part of our overall feeling of being out of whack last night.

Those are the nights when we start to question ourselves. Is what we are doing here at AU making a difference? Doubt. Questions.

So here is a little math lesson for you. What do you get when you add a couple of half energy adults + a lower turnout than expected to our Thursday night activities?

Guesses?

GOD'S GRACE.

Let me explain. The night ended well. The AfterParty picked up. There were several new faces. We were asked my favorite question... "So, who are you and why do you allow a bunch of college students to invade your home and eat your food."

But still, it was just an OK night.

Then we found the letter this morning. It was set neatly by the breadbox last night but somehow missed by Greg and I until this morning. This letter was from a student who went on the retreat. This student is not a believer.

The letter was just amazingly encouraging. It reminded me that no matter how many programs we put together, events we organize the Lord is going to work in ways we never even dreamed were possible.

This morning when I was taking the kids to school the Chris Tomlin song "God of this City" came on the radio. I just started bawling.

You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God

I just needed a reminder. He is indeed the God of these people.

AND

like the end of the song declares

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here!

Increase, Provision, and Abundance

1 month. It has been 1 month since my job with our church ended and I have had "more time" for other things. I have enjoyed my time so much. Last night I went to bed before 10. #winning

(Is it bad manners to hash tag in a blog post?)

This semester has been one characterized by the word increase. First, there has been a huge increase in the numbers of students involved in ACF related activities. We are averaging 60+ most Thursday nights. That does not include students who only come to things other than large group on Thursday. Second,there has been an increase in our financial support! PRAISE THE LORD! Third, the increase includes lay volunteers willing to "do life" with these students. Fourth, and most AMAZINGLY Greg and I both have been given the awesome gift of increased FAITH.

Let me park here for a moment.

Increase. Provision. Abundance. The Lord has it ALL planned out. He KNEW our numbers were going to grow this semester. He knew Greg and I would never be able to connect personally to over 70 students, so He PROVIDED some great volunteers from local churches. The Lord knew that I would be overwhelmed by trying to balance a part time job, family, home, and ministry responsibilities. So HE prompted in my heart MONTHS ago the need to step away from a job I loved and timed the actual departure date perfectly.

I am sensing a theme here. HE has been so faithful in the "small" and "medium" details of our life and ministry. He has provided far and above what we even dared to dream about when we first began here at AU 6 years ago. ABUNDANCE.

Our impending move (by June of 2013) is never far from my thoughts. If you have no idea what I am talking about you can get all caught up here. In my mind this goes past the "small" and "medium" things mentioned earlier. In my mind this goes into the "exponentially LARGE" category.

BUT

Day by day...need by need...the Lord is providing INCREASE, PROVISION, and ABUNDANCE.

So day by day...need by need...my faith is growing. JUST.SO.GRATEFUL.

Keep on praying with us friends.

Blogging Fail

Yeah, so I can hardly keep up with our crazy lives...something had to give and unfortunately it was this blog. :( Never fear.... I created a facebook page for our group. Even if you are not on facebook, you can go to the page and see what we are up to. It is called The Sovereign's Ministry with ACF. You can search it on fb or click on the link above! thanks friends!

Challenged and Encouraged

Challenged and Encouraged is the name of the blog one of our students writes. Let me just tell you a bit about this amazing lady. Not only is she an excellent writer, she has a heart bigger than her little body can contain. She is going to graduate this May (after fitting 4 years of college into 3!). The Lord has been working OVERTIME in her sweet heart...I will let her tell you about it...

It's not about me. It never was. It's never going to be. It's about that tapestry up in the boughs of heaven being sewn together by God's great hand- it's those moments when a person struggling feels like the light has been left on for them. It's the community that leaves that light on and watches and aids the struggled body make its way to safe shores. It's those moments when I lay down in bed at night (or at 3 am) and just breathe deep thanking God for putting His work in front of me. For working pieces of this out at a time. For presenting me with moments of testing, but for making me work all the same.

For hands outstretched and a heart clear cut. For days like today, when I can still hear the courage through moments of loss and anxiety. Hey God, thanks. Truly.

What else? Well, there's the huge monster of Grad School and graduation. That comes around after night when I'm laying down and just, well, God just knows. He gets my fear. He gets my wonder and that's all there is to it. The formulas and plans I thought I had before are still existent, but they're changing all the same.

I know, after weeks of research and understanding, that God is starting to push me toward teen/ youth work and counseling. But even more, He's pushing me toward the door of biblical counseling. If you knew me just one year ago? This NEVER would have been a path. But here I am, caught in the thick and dedication patches of God's plan. He's writing to me, and i need to properly find the words to answer back.

Can't you just put yourself in her heart after reading her words?

I cannot tell you how encouraging this young lady is to me personally. It has been a rough start to this semester for me. I have had a lot of trouble getting back into the groove of things. On the ministry front, things are not how we envisioned them to be at this point in the semester. After reading these words I am reminded that it is not so much about how we think things should look. It is about hearts being changed. Lives being transformed...

God is so Good. HIS mission in being accomplished on this campus.

Pray with me for this sweet young lady as she boldly follows the Lord's plans for her life.

Catching up! GOOD GOOD stuff going on!

School started back up in late August and we've been staying very busy with the ministry here. I'm excited for the number of first-year students who are getting plugged in to this ministry.There are currently 8 small groups going, covering topics from the Gospel Centered Life to tough questions of the faith to Pauline epistles to Jonah. Our large group gatherings on Thursday nights are going well.
Our fall retreat in September was great...check out this video for a taste of our crazy good weekend! (Our theme was "I quit trying")



A praise I wanted to share with you is that Alaina, a first-year student accepted Christ as her Savior last week! Her small group leader, Kate, met with her for breakfast and shared the gospel, gave her a chance to respond to it, and prayed with her to receive Christ! Pray for Alaina and our students as she begins this new journey and others gather around to support and minister to her.

A prayer request... I'm going to be hitting the pavement to increase our financial support level. I really need to focus on it for the next few months in faith that God provides a bit extra here at the end of the year. Some extra administrative expenses (insurance), family expenses, and ministry expenses have increased and what's coming in is about $1500/month less than what going out. Please pray with us for provision, for me for boldness to ask, and for faith to those God calls to support us. If your church or individuals you know would be interested in more info, please follow up with me.

We're Famous!!!

Check out the CCO's 40th anniversary book! Open to the first page...you might see some familiar faces!!

Open publication - Free publishing - More cco history

Annnnd.....We're off!

It is hard for me to believe that Summer is over and it is time for school again. Classes at Arcadia started last Wednesday and our first ACF Large group meeting and Afterparty was Thursday night!

We had an absolute blast!In the slide show below you will see pics of the activities fair, where students have a chance to learn about all the clubs on campus. We had about 60 people sign up to learn more about ACF!

About an hour after the activities fair ended we had our first ACF large group meeting of the year! We wanted the first night to be really great, so we invited a local musician named Jason Min to lead our worship time. He was AMAZING! Overall it was a great night we had a big turnout with over 60 students there!

We also decided to make the Afterparty a bigger event for this first week, so we moved most of our furniture outside...lamps and all! It was a lot of fun. We had a great turnout...especially of first year students. (Going anywhere off camous the first few weeks of college is a big, and sometimes scary deal!)

Here are some pics of our night!

(Just realized in the preview of this post that there are a lot of exclamation marks...and YES, I am going to make the choice to leave them! It was an exclamation mark kind of night!)

Ahhhhh Vacation!

I know it has been a while since there has been any update...We had an amazing summer. The beach project was AMAZING... and EXHAUSTING! Hence, not many blog posts. Sorry friends! We needed a little time to recuperate!

We just returned from a very relaxing vacation in Rangeley, Maine. We took two recent graduates (who just returned from a summer serving youth) along for the EPIC road trip!
Here is a video one of the girls made...

July newsletter

Friends,
Greg here. Below is our newest ministry update. It's been a challenging summer... sharing our family for two months straight has produced some trials. But it's also been a blessing to see and hear transformation in the lives of 31 college students. As I type this, I'm overhearing two students, Tori and John, talking about what will be the toughest part about leaving the Beach Project. John said to Tori, "Honestly, it's going to be weird not being around three kids." I've told them before that I know I'm loved when others show love to my wife and kids. Our kids are ADORED here (as they are back with our Arcadia students) and I'm certain that we've been able to have a part in making this house a home for the past two months.

Update in pictures!

Hello all, I have a blog post that I am currently composing in my head about the summer. I am back in Philly for a week and I need to get Caed all packed for camp, so I can't sit down to write. Here are some pics from summer for a quick pictorial update!

Adventures

We have had a fun first week at the Beach Project. The kids are absolutely eating up all of the attention from students. Check out this blog post from Brittany...

Adventures with Abby

Beach Pics

I am sure these are only the first of many beach pics...

The kids and I joined Greg for the weekend in OC last week. We had to return home for the last week of school. But we head back to the shore on Friday afternoon!

Jersey Shore...Sovereign Style!

For those of you who do not know, our whole family is going to be living at the Jersey Shore for the summer! We are going to be working in a CCO summer ministry called Ocean City Beach Project (OCBP).

What is OCBP?

The Ocean City Beach Project (OCBP) is a summer-long community living opportunity for Christian college students to develop further as campus leaders. The Project provides the opportunity for you to grow personally in your faith and to develop a deeper vision for your life. At OCBP, you work and worship in one community while being challenged to become a kingdom leader. You live with other college students in a large beach house while you make an impact on the New Jersey shore. At the end of your time at OCBP, you will not only have sand in your shoes and the taste of salt water in your mouth, you will have developed character and skills to become an effective leader.

Sounds like fun huh? Watch this video to get a better picture of what our summer will look like!

The Ocean City Beach Project from CCO Campus Ministry on Vimeo.

Greg left this morning for the shore, the kids and I will join him when they get out of school in a couple weeks.

Thanks for checking in on us!

Laughter through Tears

Wow, there has been a lot of laughter...and tears the past week.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that one of my favorite movies is Steel Magnolias. There is a quote from the movie that is appropriate for any occasion! Today's applicable quote is "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion".

Last Tuesday we put together a day trip to NYC for the Seniors in ACF. Here are a few pics.

Talk about a lot of laughs and great memories!

ANNNNDDD then came graduation. I wish I had I had a group pic to post here...but I did not get one with my camera so I have to wait until they are posted on FB to share with you all.

It is hard to see them go. Graduation gets harder and harder each year. One of the many reasons this class was special is that 2 of the girls who accepted Christ in the fall graduated. In my head, I am thinking "It's not fair! I want more time with them!" They are BABIES!!! But then I come to my senses and realize that the time we had with them was a gift. Both of them are growing like wildfire in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord. What better hands can I leave them in?

Another graduate has been a Christian since middle school, but her faith came ALIVE this year like never before. Right now she is in training for a summer of leading a Christian camp for teens. Here is her blog if you are interested in checking it out. I read it this morning and just wept...tears of Joy. Check out her "about me" profile....it says

I am madly in love with Jesus and following Him through everything I do. I've only recently learned to fully let go and have faith He will guide me and my life has been all the better for it. God is so good.

Ummmmm....just so proud...and humbled...and realizing afresh that it is ALL Jesus. We are only tools, broken ones at that.

Seasons

So....I am not a fan of change. I like a schedule. I have a weekly routine with chores, meetings, and ministry stuff. This all works out well for 8 months of the year when students are around and life is crazy busy. But right about this time of year I start to loose steam, and then graduation comes and we have to say goodbye to students who we have come to love and are a part of our family. I DON'T LIKE IT.

When one thing in my routine gets thrown off the other things inevitably follow. I start dropping balls all over the place. The laundry doesn't get done, othodontist appointments are missed, I forget what day of the week it is. I am a MESS!

But I am coming to the realization that it really is OK. Things come in seasons for my life, it has always been that way now that I think about it. Moving a lot when I was younger, making new friends. It seems like even in our married life the same thing has happened. We have now lived in PA longer than we have lived anywhere else in our 10 year marriage. But the nature of campus ministry is change.

I recently completed a personality in leadership test and one of the encouraging things it came up with for me was to realize that "mentoring for the moment" is ok. There is no possible way someone with my personality can actively keep up with all the people/students in my life.

This concept is so freeing to me. I can get up in the morning and have one job...to love the people in front of me, and let the Lord work out the other details.

THAT is something I can rest in.

See these girls... (they all all dressed up for a dance they were in together)

I LOVE THEM.

Although I will miss them terribly, I know the Lord has BIG plans for their lives. I am honored, and blessed to have been a "mentor for a moment" of their lives.

We have our own YouTube video!

A student in a film class this semester did a project on our family & ministry. Check it out!

Bragging!

I just saw this on facebook and HAD to share it with you all. This is Brittany...or "BITNEY!" as Cole calls her.

I just read an article about Brittany's experience studying abroad last semester in Jordan. Brittany is part of our ACF servant leadership team and has a special place in our hearts! Soooo I had to brag. Go read the article here.

April 2011 Newsletter

Thanks for stopping by to check in on us! Read and enjoy!
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