Family Stuff

I've kind of gotten you up to date on the plant, but what about the family? Many of you are probably interested in how LaRissa and the kids are doing.

As we start life in a new town, LaRissa has also started a new job. She is now the new 1st grade teacher at Joe K. Bryant Elementary in Anna.

LaRissa was pretty nervous about starting this new job. Before she got started she was already missing her friends from Pottsboro, but God has definitely blessed her as she strikes off on this new adventure.

Within her first week at school, LaRissa had already made incredible friends with the teachers on her team. She is having a blast working with some incredible ladies who she really loves. LaRissa is an incredible teacher and is already doing a great job in her new environment.

All of the teachers on LaRissa’s team came to our Kickoff Service. God continues to give LaRissa opportunities to be salt and light in her new job. Many of the opportunities we have had to connect with people in Anna have come as a result of her job. So, we thank God for that.

LaRissa plays keys for our worship band. Her skill level continues to grow incredibly, and she has such a passion for worship and worship music. I am so incredibly blessed to have a wife who not only supports my calling as a church planter, but who also has that same sense of calling and who is completely loving this amazing adventure we are on.

We also are so incredibly excited at how our kids are adjusting to life in a new school. James was a little nervous about starting in a new school, but he is making lots of new friends, and he is loving band. He is learning to play the saxophone. It sometimes sounds like he is strangling a goose, but he is getting better every day. Looks like he may have gotten his mother’s musical talent.

James is also loving our journey of being church planters. He said that he is enjoying church planting even more than when I was pastoring in an established church. One night a couple of weeks after school started, as he was saying his prayers, he prayed, “Lord, please let this week be over soon.” I thought, “Oh no, school is not going well.” After he prayed, I asked him why he prayed for the week to be over soon. He said, “Because I can’t wait for it to be time for church again. It is so awesome seeing people come to know Jesus!”

James and Grace are both playing soccer in Anna. They were not terribly excited about that because apparently Anna has the worst soccer team in the league. The exercise is good for them, though, and it gives us another opportunity to connect with people in Anna.

Grace and Katie are both students at Joe K. Bryant Elementary. They, too, are making new friends and enjoying their new school, even though they miss their old friends. The first part of this week, Grace went to the Collin County Adventure Camp for a couple of days and had a great time. (Kevin Spaeth, the director of the camp, and his team really do an awesome job.)

Grace helps out each week in the nursery at The Crossroads, and Katie helps in Kids’ Cove, our children’s area. All of our older kids are a big help with setting up and taking down each week. We really want them to see it as an incredible privilege to be a part of what God is doing and to be the pastor’s kids. Katie is taking tumble at Tiger Cat Tumble and Cheer, the place where we meet for worship each week. That is yet another opportunity for us to make connections in the community and forge a stronger relationship with our landlord.

Abby goes to daycare at Kiddie Kastle in Anna. She has lots of fun and is making new friends, too. We asked her what her friends’ names were and she said, “Umm, girls.” I still get to spend quite a bit of time with her. She is definitely Daddy’s buddy.

We are so thankful our kids are excited about this amazing adventure to which God has called our family. It is so neat to see them as active participants in our ministry who are learning at an early age what it means to be on mission Christians.

As for me, I am busy, busy these days. I spend quite a bit of time in my office (the Java Jams coffee shop in Brookshires) meeting new people, trying to be a pastor to the staff of Brookshires, and working on my computer. I also just this week started substitute teaching in Anna. If things go well, I should be able to teach quite a bit. This will be great because it will help supplement our income as well as giving me an inroads into the number one community connection in Anna, the schools.

Well, that's about all I've got for now.