Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy moms day everyone, all you moms who have influenced and encouraged us at mission fargo, happy moms day!
Wow!! The date is drawing near...
Monday, April 27, 2009
It doesn't seem that long ago that Pam and I were thinking through the possibility of moving to Fargo to plant churches with our best friends, John and Abby. Now we are less than 4 week from it becoming a reality. Though I am very excited about what is in store for us and anxious about the work we will be doing in Fargo, nervousness has really began to set in.
Pam gave her two week notice at work today, which was a big step toward Fargo for us. After she left for work this morning a wave of emotion swept over me. The hugeness of what we are about to embark on started to really sink in. We are moving to a city we love, but is totally new to us. We are leaving a comfortable life, with good jobs, going to a place where we are not real sure where we are going to work, and really how our life is going to look. It kind of made me sick to think about.
So I do what I always do when I am overcome by emotion, I started reading the bible. In the process of planning and talking about planting churches in Fargo Jeremiah 29:4-13 has been a source of vision and inspiration for us. Much of what we desire to see happen in Fargo is found in the first few verses. Our vision is to see community built in Fargo that seeks the "welfare of the city."
But this morning the famous words of verse 11 really gave me a lot of peace and encouragement.
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. "
Even though I can't tell you what it's going to look like or the detail of jobs, money, and other such detail, we really believe God knows what is going to happen and His plan is not for evil but for our welfare.
I know doubt and fear are going to continue to show up as we move closer to our move, but I rest on Jeremiah 29:11 and look forward to our hope and future.
What's up in here!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
My goodness peoples, has it ever been a crazy 6 weeks. Blizzard, winter storm, two mothers visit, a historic flood, the birth of our daughter, got a new place, moving from the old one to the new one, and now unpacking and waiting on the next flood crest and getting back to planting Mission Fargo.
We are enjoying our sweet daughter Julia so so much and also our new place.
It has been so overwhelming lately being apart of something as daunting as fighting a flood. Something I am so reminded of is the power of God. Something like an every widening and strong flowing river is scary and so powerful, but chew on this; God made that, not only did God make that he also wills it. WOW that is a powerful God, and I am so glad i worship this powerful God.
Another thing from the flood that floors me is a word that we at Mission Fargo hold so near and dear and that is community. The city and surrounding areas lived community. People that had no vested interest in the Red here in Fargo came and gave their all to fight for peoples homes. People that had already lost so much were in the middle of large piles of sand filling bags when they could be wallowing in self pity, but instead they are in there fighting for people they didn't know and might not ever meet.
I worked along side people from many different social strata, all for one common goal. When I was on the dikes I was in a super ritzy part of town. These homes were huge and beautiful and to be honest way out of my league. These kind people who we were there to help showered us with drinks, food, use of the homes etc. In many other times of life I would not have crossed paths with them, but they were there with us loving on all of us and thanking us for our hard work.
Friends this is why we are starting Churches here. We want to build a Christ centered community in the city to love the city. Not for our own selfish gain, but because Christ is so wonderful and his grace so lovely that it compels us to pass this along and create a city within the city.
We are enjoying our sweet daughter Julia so so much and also our new place.
It has been so overwhelming lately being apart of something as daunting as fighting a flood. Something I am so reminded of is the power of God. Something like an every widening and strong flowing river is scary and so powerful, but chew on this; God made that, not only did God make that he also wills it. WOW that is a powerful God, and I am so glad i worship this powerful God.
Another thing from the flood that floors me is a word that we at Mission Fargo hold so near and dear and that is community. The city and surrounding areas lived community. People that had no vested interest in the Red here in Fargo came and gave their all to fight for peoples homes. People that had already lost so much were in the middle of large piles of sand filling bags when they could be wallowing in self pity, but instead they are in there fighting for people they didn't know and might not ever meet.
I worked along side people from many different social strata, all for one common goal. When I was on the dikes I was in a super ritzy part of town. These homes were huge and beautiful and to be honest way out of my league. These kind people who we were there to help showered us with drinks, food, use of the homes etc. In many other times of life I would not have crossed paths with them, but they were there with us loving on all of us and thanking us for our hard work.
Friends this is why we are starting Churches here. We want to build a Christ centered community in the city to love the city. Not for our own selfish gain, but because Christ is so wonderful and his grace so lovely that it compels us to pass this along and create a city within the city.
Radio Debut
Friday, April 3, 2009
I mentioned last week that my father-in-laws new radio show in Jacksonville, FL would soon be hitting the airwaves as well as the webstream waves (or however you would say that). Well that day is tomorrow.
For those interested in hearing our radio debut go here and click on the "Listen Online" button. For those in the eastern time zone it starts at 11pm and those in the central time zone it starts at 10pm.
I am super excited about working with my father-in-law on this and I really think you will enjoy it if you choose to stay up a little late and listen.
Here is a flyer to check out:
For those interested in hearing our radio debut go here and click on the "Listen Online" button. For those in the eastern time zone it starts at 11pm and those in the central time zone it starts at 10pm.
I am super excited about working with my father-in-law on this and I really think you will enjoy it if you choose to stay up a little late and listen.
Here is a flyer to check out:
Things have gotten hairy
Friday, March 27, 2009
Sorry i haven't been able to get to this over the past week.
This will be brief but let me give you a quick update. This is bad, I was at homes yesterday that had water halfway up the sandbags and the water is 23 feet above the flood stage. The have evacuated the most in dager parts of the FM (Fargo Moorhead) area. Because of this there is a sense of fear and tension. Many people have already left but many are staying behind. The water is supposed to crest on Sat between 41-43 feet this is an all time record for the red river in Fargo. The biggest flood here was in the late 1800's. The problem with this crest is it is not supposed to recede until 3-7 days later. That is a lot of pressure for a long time on a very vulnerable structure.
On a family note Abby and Julia are safely on their way to St Cloud MN where they will wait for a few days until the danger has passed. I am waiting it out until, is such a time occurs, an evacuation takes place. Our prayer is that it won't come to that but it is a lot easier to get me in and out of places than my family so their safety was first priority.
Secondlyh I am staying here to help wherever I can and minister to our friends we have made in thier time of greatest need. Please pray for the safety of our city and the people we love so much.
This will be brief but let me give you a quick update. This is bad, I was at homes yesterday that had water halfway up the sandbags and the water is 23 feet above the flood stage. The have evacuated the most in dager parts of the FM (Fargo Moorhead) area. Because of this there is a sense of fear and tension. Many people have already left but many are staying behind. The water is supposed to crest on Sat between 41-43 feet this is an all time record for the red river in Fargo. The biggest flood here was in the late 1800's. The problem with this crest is it is not supposed to recede until 3-7 days later. That is a lot of pressure for a long time on a very vulnerable structure.
On a family note Abby and Julia are safely on their way to St Cloud MN where they will wait for a few days until the danger has passed. I am waiting it out until, is such a time occurs, an evacuation takes place. Our prayer is that it won't come to that but it is a lot easier to get me in and out of places than my family so their safety was first priority.
Secondlyh I am staying here to help wherever I can and minister to our friends we have made in thier time of greatest need. Please pray for the safety of our city and the people we love so much.
Flood News
Thursday, March 26, 2009
I just talked to John, he has been at the south end of Fargo-Moorhead all day helping with the sandbagging efforts. He said it was amazing to see how much water there is on the other side of the sandbag dikes they are building.
The people of Fargo-Moorhead, along with volunteers from all over the country, have built 12 miles worth of sandbag dikes in just a few days. Keep them in your prayers.
Again, John, Abby, and Julia are doing great, no need to worry about them.
Keep up with the flood coverage at the Fargo Forum Website.
Watch this video of the river by WDAY
The people of Fargo-Moorhead, along with volunteers from all over the country, have built 12 miles worth of sandbag dikes in just a few days. Keep them in your prayers.
Again, John, Abby, and Julia are doing great, no need to worry about them.
Keep up with the flood coverage at the Fargo Forum Website.
Watch this video of the river by WDAY
Bracing for the big one...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
If you have watched the national news the last few days then this is no news to you, Fargo is gearing up for possibly the worst flood in the cities history. You can read all about it on the the Fargo Forum (the city newspaper) website.
They are projecting over 40 feet of flooding possibly by the end of today or tomorrow morning. I just checked it here and it is now at 38.43 feet (major flood stage is 30 feet). If you want to get updates via twitter you can go here.
Please keep John, Abby, and baby Julia in your prayers. They are safe and seem not to be threatened by the flood directly, but it does affect travel and stress level quite a bit.
In other news...
I (Jeremy) am making my first radio debut this Saturday in Jacksonville. Actually my father-in-law is making the real debut. He has started a weekly radio show called "Journeys with Christ" that will air on WAY Radio 550 AM in Jacksonville every Saturday night at 11pm Eastern time. It is a real neat story of how this got started, I'll share the quick version.
For over a year now my father-in-law, Carldon Lahey, has been running a nonprofit foundation called Christ's Starfish Foundation. Their primary focus has been helping kids with noncancerous diseases in the Jacksonville area (there are two foundations in Jax that help kids with cancer).
The foundation started after Carldon had a health scare well over a year ago. It really woke him up to what he was living for and what he was doing to make a difference in the lives of hurting people. So he started the foundation as a way to share the love of Christ with hurting people.
That is where the radio show comes in. Carldon realized that there were all kinds of ordinary people doing extraordinary things and their stories needed to be told. So back in November we started working on the first show. Just this past weekend with finished it up and sent it off to the station. I play a very small role in the whole thing, but I am truly proud to be a part of it and honored to have a father-in-law that is so passionate about helping others.
You can listen to the show via the web here, just click the "Listen Online" button. It starts at 11pm Eastern Standard Time (that's 10pm CT for those in Bowling Green, Nashville, Fargo).
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