I miss my girls!

This blog post is just because I miss my girls! I've only been away for 1.5 days now and I really miss them. The above picture is of us at the Herbert Hoover Presidental Museum a while back this summer. I talked to the girls last night, Haley and Jenna did really well. (I was worried about Jenna actually-she was NOT happy that I was leaving!) Mikayla cried on the phone and really wanted me to come home. I said I couldn't come home and so then she got on the grandma kick and wanted grandma soooo bad. Sooooo I arranged for grandma to pick up H and M from school today (after she got off work) and spend some time with them. That little change in the itinerary involved contacting 4 people. with emails and several phone calls..Mik's teacher, Rachael, Steph-the mom who was watching Haley until school got out, Lora-the mom that was going to get H. from Steph and now wasn't going to. There is no "quick change" in the plans when mom is away, it is all long and involved. I think its all fixed for today though.

I am sitting right now in the conference. I am with Jeff in a small group (Breakout Group) of church planters, there are probably 75 in the room from all over the u.s.(From Seattle and California to Albequrqe and from New York and Florida plus everywhere in between. In the whole conference I think there are probably about 250 people. It is an AWESOME conference and Jeff and I getting fired up. It is nice to be reminded that there are people all over the u.s./in the world, for that matter, there are church planters with us and go through the same struggles, pain and heartaches...but also hopes and dreams that we do. It is so awesome to hear from great leaders that pastor churches of THOUSANDS and they all started as a "lowly" church planter.

Please pray this week that Jeff and I would get reenergized for Heartland. Our church has hit a barrier and we can't figure out why we have. This "breakout group" is specifically designed to address that specific topic, there are 3 guys up in the front (which are HILARIOUS!!! by the way), are telling us of their barriers to growing their church! They are so funny and excited and such REAL guys, admitting their hopes and dreams, faults and failures. Jeff and I want to be real and just grow our church even in the midst of our faults and failures. We have to let those go now and LOOK AHEAD and DREAM BIG for Christ!