the Journey....

I don't know anyone who thinks that they have enough faith. I know that I always feel like I could use a little more. Maybe it's because I have a mind that seems naturally directed by logic, numbers and formulas. Maybe it's because I am a male... convinced that I can figure out just about anything on my own. Or maybe it is just because I choose to be in control even when I know that I should let go.

This journey of going into fulltime ministry as the Campus Pastor for the Toccoa Campus has been an amazing ride so far (and we haven't even had our first service yet!). I remember so clearly that one day as I was praying trying to figure out whether to take this step when God taught me something huge. I was trying to figure out how to make this job change, move from Seneca to Toccoa, etc "work." There were alot more questions than answers. For instance...Do we buy a house and move right away? Do we wait until the house sells to move? Alot of big questions that I didn't know the answer to. What God taught me that day was that He was not going to ALLOW me to know the answers to all the questions. For me to make the move in to this job, God was going to REQUIRE my faith....not just ask for it. So, Amy and I decided that we were going to make a huge step in faith and buy a house in Toccoa and move as soon as we could.

Now for the rest of the story....
We bought our house in Toccoa without selling our house in Seneca. Following my last day at my former job and before my first day at Foothills, Amy and I took a short vacation. When we returned, one of our rental houses (that was supposed to be purchased by the renters) was abandoned by the renters leaving us with a large extra house payment. That gave us 2 house payments for the month of July....3 house payments coming Aug 1 when we started paying for the new house in Toccoa. I was FREAKIN OUT! 3 PAYMENTS!!!! AAAAARGGGGH! But God is good. He immediately brought us a renter for the abandoned house in the middle of July....So we only had to make 1/2 a payment on that house. Then last week, we got a sales contract on our house in Seneca with a months worth of rent for Sept until the loan closes. For those keeping score....in this whole process we have only had to make 2 house payments for ONE month (August)! God is amazing! We had no idea how God was going to work this out.....but he did. The move required our faith....God has taken care of the rest....and HE WILL CONTINUE TO.

Friday's Random Rant

1. I am watching Olympic Women's Water Polo as I blog. Why? I really don't know.

2. I love wearing flipflops. I never worn them when I was a kid because they were uncomfortable to me. But I revisited them several years ago and would rather wear flipflops than any other shoe.

3. I ran track when I was in 7th and 8th grade. I wasn't very good. I was extremely skinny and remember the shorts being extremely baggy. Those shorts were part of one of the most embarrassing moments of my adolesence.

4. Beach or Mountains? Mountains! My wife prefers the beach....guess where my vacations are....

5. I hate snakes! They seriously give me the willys! Bugs are no problem but if I ever have a snake to deal with at my house......I will be calling for help!

Been along time....

Okay. Bryan Hartzog pointed out to me the other day what a complete blog slacker I have been lately! And to Bryan's accusation I say "YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT SIR!" I could give you all of the reasons why...like I have been busy finding a location, or moving, or learning to live without kitchen cabinets.....but I am not going there.

Here is the latest. We are in our house in Toccoa! Whooo Hooo! Thanks to all who helped...Kyle, Frank, Sabrina, Sam, Jason, Bryan, Dave...you guys rock!

The girls started school yesterday. This has been one of the most frightening parts of the move. But God is faithful. All the girls had a very good first day. All came home saying that they had made friends and that everyone was very nice! Thank you Jesus!

We have a contract on our house in Seneca! God IS in control!

We are very close to having a location for the Toccoa Campus. Please keep this in your prayers.

I have another blog that is dedicated to the Toccoa Campus. It will be a great place for you to catch up on information, what is going on, meetings, get togethers, etc.

Alright....I'm out. Happy now Bryan? LOL

Shannon

Can you say WOW!?

We had our second informational meeting tonight. This time it was held in Toccoa. We had about 50 people come out! It was incredible....I was totally pumped. Besides it being a little warm....(the AC was off when I got there at 5:00), I thought it went really well. I am totally blown away by what God is doing! There are so many people standing up and saying "Yeah, I believe God is going to do something amazing in Toccoa, and I want to be part of it!" God is moving in the hearts of these people and it is totally humbling to me. My favorite part of these meetings is that I get to share my heart. I get to share what I believe God is calling us to do. And that completely moves me. I am convinced that there are hundreds of people in Stephens County that are far from God that will find their way to Him due to the efforts of the people at Foothills Toccoa Campus! Hold on tight....get ready for the ride of your life!

Stay Focused
Play Hard
Honor God

Shannon

First Toccoa Info Meeting

We had our first informational meeting about the Toccoa Campus launch in September. I didn't get a count, but I thing there were probably 25-30 people there. I was really pleased with the turn out. I was able to share a lot of the facts about Toccoa. What we are doing. When we are doing it. How we are doing it. And where we are doing it. But the part I really enjoyed the most was why we are doing it. The why is what really moves me. I think the Foothills Toccoa Campus is going to blow peoples minds in Stephens County simply because we are going to be a place where ANYONE can come and be accepted. I can't wait.

Friday's Random Rants

1. I drive a Dodge Ram Quadcab pickup with a HEMI V8. Love it! I have driven some type of pickup for the last 12 or so years. I love pickups because you have a place to put your stuff...no matter what it is. However, my pickup days may be coming to an end soon. Gas is killing me.

2. My answer to the age old question - Mary Ann or Ginger?

AMY!!! AMY!!! AMY!!!

3. I love spicy food. Mexican, Thai, Cajun....when I bite into my food I want it to smack me back...just a little.

4. Sometimes there is nothing better than cranking up the truck stereo, rolling down the windows, and driving fast.

5. My daily drink of choice is nestle pure-life flavored water. The lemon is my favorite. It rocks!

Sandcastles

So the other day I posted that my wife, Amy, and I had gone on a little getaway to the beach for our anniversary. One thing Amy was dead set on doing "together" while we were there was building a sandcastle. Though it wasn't really at the top of my "Gotta Do!" list, I agreed to help out. So we started building. It didn't take long to realize we were not equal in our sandcastle building skills. Although I have great computer hacking skills, nunchuck skills and I am pretty good with a bowstaff, it was obvious that Amy was the superior sandcastle builder. She did a great job! It was beautful...but I did figure out what I was good at....I got like 3 feet of air!