Zacchaeus was a wee little man...or so the Sunday school song goes. I love this man's story. Zacchaeus was small in stature, but he was one determined short guy. He was a wealthy big kahuna of the local IRS. My guess is climbing the ladder of a corrupt institution doesn't happen by chance. Nor did Jesus' interaction with Zacchaeus.
Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus. He had probably heard from his peers. Jesus had a habit of hanging out with sinner types. All of this made this wealthy leader wonder who this unpretentious teacher was, but there was a little problem. (pun intended) When Jesus was making His way down Zacchaeus' street, Zacchaeus couldn't see through the crowd, his view being choked by the shoulders of others. This is where Zacchaeus problem solving skills make him famous throughout time.
Zacchaeus didn't let his stature nor his circumstance hinder him from seeing who Jesus was. He didn't skulk around blaming the hand life dealt him for his missed his chance. He made his chance to see Jesus happen. He ran.
He climbed.
He did whatever it took to see who this Jesus was.
His reward? Jesus sought Zacchaeus out and invited Himself over for dinner. Jesus gave Zacchaeus more than what he was looking for, not only a chance to see Him, but to know Him.
May we all set aside our position...(what we do)
Our small stature...(who we are)
And our circumstance...(our view of everyday life)
May we all run.
May we all climb.
May we all do whatever it takes to see who this Jesus is.
Oh, and don't forget...Jesus likes to invite Himself over.
He has a habit of hanging out with sinner types.
3.09.2011
Papier Mache?
I've become obsessed. I'm on the hunt. I want this. I know what you're thinking. Wha...?
Don't worry about it.
I happen to like it.
A lot.
But.
It's really, REALLY expensive.
Do you think it's possible to replicate?
I'm having visions of a pale blue one for Elli's room...with a removable top for extra storage.
I'm dreaming of it in two graduating heights in white or apple green next to a certain Mr. Cool.
What do you think?
...about the possible DIY part...not about the "She's lost it. 'The Couch' has caused her to lose her mind" part.
Don't worry about it.
I happen to like it.
 |
| Courtesy of Country Living |
A lot.
But.
It's really, REALLY expensive.
Do you think it's possible to replicate?
I'm having visions of a pale blue one for Elli's room...with a removable top for extra storage.
Wouldn't it look great with her bedding?
I'm dreaming of it in two graduating heights in white or apple green next to a certain Mr. Cool.
What do you think?
...about the possible DIY part...not about the "She's lost it. 'The Couch' has caused her to lose her mind" part.
3.07.2011
Buyer's Remorse
It's been FOUR long months of living with naked walls, blank surfaces and a big empty front room since the great real estate tragedy of 2010. We are so over it...well, at least we're telling ourselves we are.
What we really are over is the ridiculously hollow feeling of living in a blank, packed up house. I. HATE. IT. I don't enjoy coming home to a rug. Yep, a rug. That's what you see when you walk into our house. A sad, lonely, 9x12 striped rug that I don't even like anymore.
This weekend we finally decided enough was enough. Even though house showings only seem to serve the purpose of reminding us to pick up after ourselves, the house is going to sell eventually (...right?! right?!!) and we will need a new furniture for our next home. So, we bit the bullet and went couch hunting...with our two year old. Good times.
As soon as we left the store I began to panic inwardly. I knew immediately we had made a mistake, yet I didn't turn around. I went home and looked up every couch imaginable and still couldn't figure out why I had been so friendly with Couch Super Cool in the store and so enemies with him out of the store. Don't get me wrong, he's very pretty...and cool. My style, however, not so, um, cool. I like old, lived in, found things with a story mixed with new comfy things that you can imagine drinking coffee, barefoot, with your bff on.
YET, Couch Super Cool seems to have magical powers. I went back to the store the very next day (again with a 2 year old, good times.) intent on begging for a full return of my money. Before I did, however, I decided to see what was cause me to make such an impulsive decision. I walked up to Mr. Cool and lo and behold he sucked me right back in. Like a bad boyfriend, I couldn't shake him. Maybe it's his fancy tufts.
So...in 6 weeks Super Cool will be coming to the Beckers. He may stay or just be an expensive guest. Either way, no more empty room for us!
What we really are over is the ridiculously hollow feeling of living in a blank, packed up house. I. HATE. IT. I don't enjoy coming home to a rug. Yep, a rug. That's what you see when you walk into our house. A sad, lonely, 9x12 striped rug that I don't even like anymore.
This weekend we finally decided enough was enough. Even though house showings only seem to serve the purpose of reminding us to pick up after ourselves, the house is going to sell eventually (...right?! right?!!) and we will need a new furniture for our next home. So, we bit the bullet and went couch hunting...with our two year old. Good times.
The "big hunt" consisted of only going to two stores. At the first store we found a decent sofa for a great price, but I couldn't just settle without looking elsewhere...that would just be weird. At the second store I fell in love with this big billowy soft nest of a sofa that reminded me of those light and comfy rooms in Cottage Living (man I miss that magazine!). It was simply lovely...and white. Yup. We had a great moment, Billows and I...until we were forced to flee the scene due to a certain toddler's ability to smear snot across a few cushions. That kind of ruined things for me.
 |
| Doesn't he just make you wanna snuggle? |
We continued to look around and suddenly landed on the absolute opposite of good Ole Billows. The next thing I know we had purchased a couch! A tight, tufted, super cool, clean lined, mid-century-esque couch is now on order in my name. I'm not sure how to explain my thinking process at the time, but I'd like to blame it on an out of body experience or something.
 |
| Couch Super Cool is actually going to be a grey-taupe inappropriately named Mocha |
YET, Couch Super Cool seems to have magical powers. I went back to the store the very next day (again with a 2 year old, good times.) intent on begging for a full return of my money. Before I did, however, I decided to see what was cause me to make such an impulsive decision. I walked up to Mr. Cool and lo and behold he sucked me right back in. Like a bad boyfriend, I couldn't shake him. Maybe it's his fancy tufts.
So...in 6 weeks Super Cool will be coming to the Beckers. He may stay or just be an expensive guest. Either way, no more empty room for us!
3.04.2011
Friday Favorites...Church Planter Edition
I said I was going to get back into blogging and I meant it, dang it! So here goes... (warning: this may be a very very boring post for most of you...I'm just pretending I have blog friends that actually care about this stuff)
During my blogging hiatus, we were crazy busy doing all sorts of things that don't typically pop to the top of your mental list when you decide to church plant. For example, finding a great vendor for printing offering envelopes or a customized rubber stamp are tasks that don't exactly jump out at you when you think "Let's go save the world!!!". Nonetheless, these tasks inevitably climb their way up check lists and we eventually found ourselves scrambling for resources. In the midst of our chaos we found a few things worth mentioning as favorites...
Michael Lukasweski's Here to lead is loaded with all kinds of great stuff. Since I oversee followup and guest impressions (sound fancier than it really is), I really appreciated this post...oh and this one too. Oh, and his nuts and bolts follow up packet is TOTALLY worth getting.
During my blogging hiatus, we were crazy busy doing all sorts of things that don't typically pop to the top of your mental list when you decide to church plant. For example, finding a great vendor for printing offering envelopes or a customized rubber stamp are tasks that don't exactly jump out at you when you think "Let's go save the world!!!". Nonetheless, these tasks inevitably climb their way up check lists and we eventually found ourselves scrambling for resources. In the midst of our chaos we found a few things worth mentioning as favorites...
Michael Lukasweski's Here to lead is loaded with all kinds of great stuff. Since I oversee followup and guest impressions (sound fancier than it really is), I really appreciated this post...oh and this one too. Oh, and his nuts and bolts follow up packet is TOTALLY worth getting.
The super packaging mentioned on Here to Lead inspired us to check out other interesting options for our guest packs. We eventually landed on these...
We ordered both the boxes and the custom labels from uline, which proved to be a great company to work with. We also created mini versions for our kids department filled with all sorts of goodies from here.
For nearly all of our print materials (invite cards, door hangers, fundraising packets, mailers, etc) we used gotprint.com. Their prices are hard to beat and they were fairly easy to work with.
Last, but definitely not least, we used group imaging for all of our beautiful signage. I really like the fact that all of the signs have their own easy stands and carrying cases, an important detail when your church is mobile! They also work with a lot of churches and have a great work sheet to help you decide what you really need.
Welp, I think that's it. Happy weekend!
(greatest team EVER)
2.19.2011
Welp, I'm back!
It's been a long long long time since I've blogged. I've thought about it. Attempted it even. BUT I didn't. Too much was swirling around in my head and my calendar looked like an NBA playbook, not pretty.
So much has changed since October! We didn't move. Our house had to go back on the market and since normal people don't try to move during the holidays...welp, here we are! I'm getting pretty sick of having a half empty, nearly always "show ready" home. Everything, however, always works out for the best.
In the fall, my husband and I felt a need to push things forward for our church plant. We were originally planning on launching in April. It was quickly made obvious that our careful calculations and plans were not quite in line with God's plans. In order to keep momentum and use the team God blessed us with wisely, we decided to launch on February 13. Since we still had our house and it's lovely double living areas, we were able to host all kinds of meetings, worship practices and events without paying for a rented space. Like I said, everything works out for the best. :)
Push ahead a few frantic months and we now have 3 open houses (team recruiting), 2 previews (practice services) and 1 wonderful, God-blessed launch Sunday under our belts! Everyone tells you that church planting is HARD work and you try to prepare yourself for it, but until reality hits, you have no idea what you're in for! We have put in weeks and weeks of 12-16 hour days along side some of the most fabulous team members ever. This past Sunday made all of that hard work worth it. We had approximately 175 people in attendance and over 20 people decide to commit their lives to Christ! To say we've been excited this week is a huge understatement! God's grace is truly abundant!
Along with "work" stuff (that always makes me laugh, church planting is our LIFE, not just our work) we have had some fun events at home too. Our daughter turned two and is chattering up a storm! How is it possible she's two already!? During this busy season she has been both a breath of fresh air and our comic relief. She unknowingly sacrifices so much, but she never ceases to amaze us with her flexibility and joy. She is without a doubt our sweet treasure.
As far as this blog goes, don't be surprised if you see some more entries and along with some changes. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen, but it's going to be exciting! (Ha! I think that's the story of my life!) Talk to you soon, invisible friends! :)
So much has changed since October! We didn't move. Our house had to go back on the market and since normal people don't try to move during the holidays...welp, here we are! I'm getting pretty sick of having a half empty, nearly always "show ready" home. Everything, however, always works out for the best.
In the fall, my husband and I felt a need to push things forward for our church plant. We were originally planning on launching in April. It was quickly made obvious that our careful calculations and plans were not quite in line with God's plans. In order to keep momentum and use the team God blessed us with wisely, we decided to launch on February 13. Since we still had our house and it's lovely double living areas, we were able to host all kinds of meetings, worship practices and events without paying for a rented space. Like I said, everything works out for the best. :)
Push ahead a few frantic months and we now have 3 open houses (team recruiting), 2 previews (practice services) and 1 wonderful, God-blessed launch Sunday under our belts! Everyone tells you that church planting is HARD work and you try to prepare yourself for it, but until reality hits, you have no idea what you're in for! We have put in weeks and weeks of 12-16 hour days along side some of the most fabulous team members ever. This past Sunday made all of that hard work worth it. We had approximately 175 people in attendance and over 20 people decide to commit their lives to Christ! To say we've been excited this week is a huge understatement! God's grace is truly abundant!
Along with "work" stuff (that always makes me laugh, church planting is our LIFE, not just our work) we have had some fun events at home too. Our daughter turned two and is chattering up a storm! How is it possible she's two already!? During this busy season she has been both a breath of fresh air and our comic relief. She unknowingly sacrifices so much, but she never ceases to amaze us with her flexibility and joy. She is without a doubt our sweet treasure.
As far as this blog goes, don't be surprised if you see some more entries and along with some changes. I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen, but it's going to be exciting! (Ha! I think that's the story of my life!) Talk to you soon, invisible friends! :)
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