Sermon Sunday

One of the parts I hate about moving is finding a church. Typically the options are endless and it is hard to figure out even where to begin, however this move that is not the case.

We have three options for church here –– a Catholic church, a baptist church and a non-denominational church. While I grew up Catholic (Matt did not), I have been going to a different church for 15 years. Neither Matt nor I am baptist. So that leaves the non-denominational option. Now I probably should mention that I have been going to a non-denominational church for years so this isn't a bad thing for us.

Matt was a good boy and checked out Kobe Union Church when he was here the 3 months himself. He said the people were super nice, the pastor was good (h even went to dinner at the pastors house)and that there was a good kid's program.

Yesterday the whole family went. The church is located 3/4 of the way up one of the mountains. There is a shuttle to take you there from the train line. Walking up the hill is nearly impossible with kids and non-tennis shoes. The kids were in awe as we made the drive up the hill.

The church is an International church, with its primary audience being the expat community. However there are several Japanese families that attend. Everyone was super nice, the sermon was applicable and the music was current. The church itself is an interesting mix to serve all cultures and ages. It will be fine for the next 3 years.

After the service we went to Sunday School classes and then a new member lunch. We got to try Japanese curry and some awesome deserts. We learned more about the church and learned where we may be able to plug in at. I really could feel a pull in a particular direction, however I need to process it more before I talk about it.

Since the church is so far up the hill, the view is spectacular. I took a shot out the window, but sometime I need to take one from outside. You can see across the city, clear out into the bay where the shipping boats are coming in.


We decided to walk down the hill afterwards rather than take the shuttle. I don't think we will do that again. This is 1/2 way down the hill. Imagine the top.


The Sunday School lesson was about prayer. How we must pray not only for ourselves, but for others. When I got on the computer last night I had an email from a blogging pal. I hadn't been to her blog in a week from all that has been going on. Here is a post on her blog. A coincidence that read this when prayer was just the topic three hours earlier? I don't think so. Just another way God tells me that he has put us here and for a reason. I can't wait to find out what all he has in store for us.

Sunday Sermon Again

Yesterday, I once again tried to weasel out of church. (Yes I am a heathen) I was sore and tired from working all day Saturday and I knew we were going to do more on Sunday. Plus add in losing an hour and it made for a perfect day to skip. Again Matt said nope and off we went.

This week's message was Praising God in Times of Struggles. A message most churches do over and over again. So I silently rolled my eyes and said "Here we go again". I was surprised to find out that our normal pastor wasn't speaking this week. Instead a church member was. The man was probably our age and to my surprise gave an awesome message.

Sure I have had struggles –– having Emily in college and the ramifications of that with my family, financial struggles during that time and starting out as a married couple, moving to places with no family or friends, marriage ups and downs, Chris's seizures, etc. –– but it is no secret that my biggest struggle has been Allison's sickness and then dying. It is something I struggle with daily. And especially at this time of the year, as her birthday would be next month, I find myself struggling more and more.

So during the message yesterday the speaker said my all time least favorite verse:

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5: 3-5 (NIV)

I don't know what came over me, but I couldn't stop the tears from coming. I look at that verse and think of my mother in law who suffered for years, bedridden and unable to move, and ask how does that verse apply to her? How did that give her hope and build her character? How does Allison dying help build character? Or hope? I think I had plenty of character, thank you. Sorry God. I didn't need nor want anymore.

Ultimately the message had a great lesson. And I know that the pain and suffering that we have here on earth is just a small bit in comparison for those who will spend eternity in Heaven. But I am a person who hates waiting and hates not understanding.

Afterwards though is the important part to me. Matt and I very rarely talk about Allison. It is just a topic that we don't discuss. He deals with it his way and I do my way. Okay he deals with it and I don't, but that isn't the point.

After we left church Matt talked me about the message and how he felt because he knew I was upset. We talked about his mom and while he can't understand all the why's, he does know that many people came to know God through his mom. He saw people's lives change because of his mom. He reminded me about her funeral and how things people said there gave him hope and let him still believe.

But when it comes to Allison, he told me that it is still a struggle. That he is no where close to God or believing as he did 5 years ago.
That he can't understand or find understanding in why his daughter died. But that he also can't live his life asking the why's or the why not's. And that he knows someday, not in this world but someday, he will know. But he also said that he thinks going through what he did with his mom helped him come to that understanding. And that he had a lot longer time to question than I have but that he promised one day I will reach the point of acceptance.

For those who are struggling with something, anything, I invite you to listen to the sermon from our church yesterday. The link is not up yet, but as soon as it is, I will post it.

Sunday Sermon

One of the hard parts in moving is finding a new home church. We tried several here before making a choice, and I honestly believe God put us in the church we chose for a reason. I have never walked out of there without feeling like our pastor was speaking directly to me.

The past month we were covering a series titled "Marriage by Design". Talk about a wonderful series. Then the pastor decided to do a 2-part series on "Singleness". To be honest, I begged Matt to blow off church today to stay in bed because how could we get anything out of a service about being single. After all, we haven't been single for 13 years. I didn't win that argument and off to church we went.

I am so glad we went. Because once again, I felt spoken to.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." 1 Corinthians 13: 4 - 8

How many people had that read at their wedding? I know we did. I think it is the verse that people many times choose because it seems "romantic". But not only can it be applied to a marriage, but to oneself as well.

To have a loving relationship with others and with God, you must focus on becoming the right person. Are you patient? Are you kind? Do you envy? Do you boast? Are you proud? Are you rude? Are you self-seeking? Are you easily angered? Do you keep record of wrongs? Do you delight in evil? Do you protect? Trust? Hope? Persevere in loving others?

So what kind of "lover" are you? Are these never like you? Sometimes like you? Always like you? What areas do you think you need to find improvement? Rate yourself, and then ask someone you trust to rate you in these areas. I guarantee you will be surprised. I know I was.

Sunday Small Group

When we lived in DeKalb, IL we were part of the most amazing small group. We tried joining one when we moved to Decatur, IL, but it never was a good fit. Our church here has talked almost every week about the benefits of joining one, so at the recommendation of another couple in our church, and through our hesitation, we decided to join a parenting small group.

Today was the first meeting and I am so glad we decided to go. While it was a bit mass chaos at first with everyone having their kids there to play (the group has 19 adults and 25 kids ages 15 and under) it was a very productive and convicting meeting.

We are doing a study called Effective Parenting in a Defective World by Chip Ingram.

Raising children is a tough challenge in today's world. Peers and pop culture exert a never-ending pressure on kids. Many come from split homes. But the good news is that God has been working with people from bad situation for a long time! Chip Ingram will lead you to a new understanding of how God's principles for raising children still work today. He also shares from personal experience as a father who has coped with teenage rebellion and other challenges. Packed with practical advice, this series will give struggling parents a vision for their children's future and life-changing help for today!

I am excited about where this study may lead. Plus it will be nice to sit and discuss struggles and triumphs with others who are trying lead their children on the same path as us.

How do I know this is the right place for us to be? When we were leaving the host asked us if we have any family down here. I told her no, in fact we have never lived near family. And she looked at me and said "We are your family. If you ever need anything, call." Then she hugged us goodbye and told us she hoped to see us next meeting. If that wasn't a sign from God...

Finding Another "Home"

Another hard part of moving is finding a church "home". When we first moved to Illinois we lucked out. We found an awesome church on the first try. In fact we never even tried another church in the 4 years we lived there. When we moved to Decatur we were not as lucky. We tried numerous churches before settling, and even then it still never feeling "right". I am not sure if it was because of the point we were in our lives with Allison being so sick when we first moved then her dying or if we just never found a fit. But I definitely felt "unfilled" while living there.

So off to North Carolina we went. Talk about a whole new world down here. Church is very popular. And if you are looking for a baptist church, you will be able to find one on almost every corner. We tried two different churches here and actually liked both of them. But for some reason we felt like God was telling us that we should really consider making Triangle Community Church our "home". The first time there we ran into 3 people we knew. And considering we had only been in NC for less than 3 weeks, we felt that was more than a coincidence. So after lots of discussion we decided to attend a seminar today to learn more about the beliefs, background and structure of the church. It was ran by the head pastor and for those who knew how much we loved our first pastor in Illinois, Tony, I think we could like Pastor Doug even better. Pastor Doug was so down to earth and so honest on his beliefs that I just felt like I was at home.

So for those who are still searching out there. Don't do what we did. Don't settle for something that is just "okay" or "easy". Nothing about God should just be "okay".