Moving On

Hello faithful readers (all 3 of you)...

Obviously I haven't done much blogging lately and I had pretty much decided to give it up, but now I've decided to simply go a different direction.

And so...I am discontinuing the Courtyard blog, but you can find me online at jennwilliams.org where I do hope you will visit from time to time.

Farewell Courtyard, it's been fun!

Lessons Learned the Hard Way

I know I'm stubborn and thick-skulled, but there still has to be an easier way to learn some of life's lessons.

As a church, we walked into the start of 2012 without a worship leader, a student ministry pastor in Nicaragua completing an adoption and a lead pastor entering her third trimester of pregnancy (that would be me).  Thank goodness for AR Kids Director, Danielle Burt, for being our stability in the midst of the chaos!

As I write today our new worship leader is busy preparing for his first Sunday at Ashley Ridge Church, our student ministry pastor is on a flight home with his wife and son, Danielle continues to hold strong and we have someone on the way to the office to talk about our new part-time administrative assistant position.  

Me? Well, I'm even more pregnant, but I'm taking this moment anyway to do a little reflection on some lessons I've learned in the last two months:

1. God is a much better leader than me.

So often I'm my own worst enemy.  Whenever I convince myself that I'm the leader, it all depends on me and it's all on my shoulders, I set myself up for immediate failure.  It's God's church - always has been, always will be.  Sadly, it takes being forced to my knees to realize that it never depended on me in the first place and when I take a backseat, we can all go so much further.

2. No one wants to be an extra, but everyone wants to be needed.

It's nice for people to think we're super-human, but it's never true.  Acting super-human only accomplishes two things: 1) it burns us out, and 2) it keeps us from empowering other people and enabling them to use their gifts.  The first Sunday we were without our student ministry pastor, we had 6 new volunteers ask if they could jump in.  Chances are they would have loved to be part of student ministry sooner but we were so busy filling the spots on our own that they couldn't see the need.  

3. When we're weak, He is strong!

It's the only way to explain the last two months.  We were poised for internal combustion and instead God has forged new territory, broken down new walls, strengthened our leadership, brought new people with new ideas and new gifts and blown our minds.

Those are just a few of the lessons I've learned/re-learned in the last two months.  

What has God been teaching you the hard way?

You know those times when you're riding high, feeling good, sitting back and thinking "all I do is win!"?

This is not one of those times for me.

In fact, quite the opposite.  Lately my thought has been, "I just can't win."

The people-pleaser in me learned a long time ago that I can't make everyone happy, but it's still hard when people are mad at you and despise you for reasons that don't add up.  But a wise person recently reminded me that God knows what's in your heart.

That thought is both a comfort and a challenge.  There will always be people who misunderstand our actions and intentions, but God will always know where our heart is.

I'm going to continue to make mistakes in my life - sometimes more than others.  And even when I don't mess up, there will always be people who don't see it that way.  Thank goodness for grace and thank goodness that the only One who matters knows exactly where I am and where I'm coming from.

(And then there are the times that you're in the middle of writing a blog post about not winning and  your husband makes a surprise visit to your office with these...


Life is good, my friends, life is good.

Some Political, or Not-So-Political, Thoughts

Once upon a time I was a political science major, spending my summers working in Washington, D.C. both on and off Capitol Hill.  It was a time when I found public policy endlessly fascinating and felt important because of the tours I gave, articles I wrote and hands I shook. 

(side note - of all the people I met and hands I shook, the most exciting was definitely the day I literally ran into Muhammed Ali as I was giving a tour in the Hall of Statues.  His hand completely encompassed mine and I'm not even sure I got words out.  A-mazing!)

But this morning I overheard myself saying to my husband, "Well, at least the commercials can stop in South Carolina.  Poor Florida."  Who was that person?

Truth is, I still enjoy politics.  I make it a priority to vote because I think it's a privilege, and if you get me far enough away from my role as pastor I'm more than happy to wax eloquent on my views about why small government matters.  But I made a choice, or rather a discovery, near the end of my time in college - I was far more passionate about and believed much more in the difference the Church can make in the world than government and politicians.  And if I was going to expend my energy and time in a specific arena fighting corruption, abuse, mis-informed ideas, hurt and suffering, I was going to do it in the Church.

The Church as an institution made up of imperfect human beings is broken, much like the government.  However, the Church still has a leader worth following, a leader who still believes in the Church and a leader who is willing to sacrifice popularity, political gain and His very life and His name is Jesus.

I choose to work for Him.  I choose to follow Him.  My hope is in Him.

Reality Check

Being 30 weeks pregnant is kicking my butt.

Well, let's be honest, being the mother of a 2-year old, pastoring a church plant and being 30 weeks pregnant is kicking my butt, but for now, let's blame the pregnancy.

I remember doing it all right the first time around - eating right, exercising regularly, reading the book every month and following the preparation checklist.  This time...well, let's just say I've already had two pieces of dark chocolate this morning and I'm currently drinking a diet Coke (I don't even like diet Coke!).

So what's the difference?  Reality.

Last time I had the luxury of soaking it all in and letting the pregnancy be the number one thing in my life.  This time, there's no checking out of the day-to-day.  If my 40-pound 2-year old needs picked up, I pick him up.  If a meeting needs to be had and 6am is the only time to do it, then 6am it is.

Truth is, I prefer it this way.  I know, wait, that's not where it seemed like this was going.  But, it's true.  Given the choice between utopia and reality, I choose reality...every time.  Why? Because it's real.  Because reality is where we're stretched and challenged, changed and inspired.

It's the same thing as saying "I wish I had one of those jobs where you checked in and checked out and didn't have to worry about anything."  For starters, I don't think those jobs exist.  And while there are moments that I long for that, I know I would be bored out of my mind.

I'm thinking this is part of the reason God sent Jesus.  God could have stayed out of the mess and fixed everything magically from a realm outside of human reality, but instead He chose incarnation.  He chose to come and be with us - in the mud, in the every day, in the stress and the balancing act and the uncertainty.

Did you catch that?  The Creator of the universe who could have it any way chose reality, our reality.

It's here in reality where I learn more everyday to trust God for all that I can't control.  It's here in reality where I shed tears that even I can't explain, the kind that can only by comforted by a Father who knows my innermost being.  It's here in reality that I get that Jesus' sacrifice was truly a sacrifice.  It cost Him everything to come and die for me.

So, I'm 30 weeks pregnant, half of our 4-person church staff is currently missing, my 2-year old is in an "I don't want to go to bed at night" phase, and still, I'm thankful.

Where Have I Been?

Nowhere, actually.  

Well, maybe that's not true.  Since my last post (yes, Greg, it was in August), I've been to the Eastern Shore of Maryland where I officiated a wedding in the middle of Hurricane Irene (that could have been a post), to Clemson University for the Clemson/Auburn football game (another potentially great post), to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference, to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for another wedding (turned out to be windier than Hurricane Irene - go figure) and finally to Pennsylvania for a celebration of my Dad who turns 60 this weekend (watch for a post on my dad later this week).

I've been everywhere and I've been nowhere because the truth is I've simply been busy and got out of the habit of writing.

Have you ever noticed how readily we leave behind the disciplines of reflection and conscious thought when life speeds up?  I have, and I've also noticed how those absences always come back to haunt me.

So, I don't know where you've been lately or what's been keeping you up at night, but let me invite you to take a deep breath and slow down.  A little reflection, a lot of prayer and some time to think are worth their weight in gold.

I'm back...oh, and I'm pregnant :)

I Stink at Resting

Now, before you rush to judgment and think, "this is one of those posts where the writer thinks they're divulging a character flaw while really being all look-at-me, I'm so awesome I can't even stop my awesomeness to take care of myself," let me assure you, it's not.

I really stink at resting.  I waste time with the best of them.  I watch television shows that take hours of my life I'll never get back (Design Star being my newest fascination).  I play sudoku and solitaire before bed to make my brain stop doing somersaults with the information in my head.  But, I'm terrible at resting, actual God-commanded-I-feel-re-energized-when-I'm-finished resting.

Take today for example.  I had a really long week last week and worked 16 hours yesterday.  I needed to rest today and I made up my mind last night to do just that.  It started out pretty well when my son jumped in bed on top of me at 5:30 this morning and my sweet husband swept him up and took him from our room so that I could go back to sleep.  I managed to fall back asleep (a huge feat for me) and stayed asleep until 7:30.  I got up and played with Jake for awhile, ate a bowl of cereal and then headed to the gym.  Really I was too tired to go to the gym, but I told myself I would feel better after I went - I didn't.  I just felt more tired and frustrated with what had been a lame work-out b/c I was too tired to push.  I came home, showered and got dinner started in the crock-pot.  I ran two quick errands and landed, at all places, in my office.  (Again, this is not "I'm an awesome workaholic, please pity me" post).  I was not there to work.  I was there to grab lunch from the food leftover after yesterday's volunteer appreciation breakfast and lunch.  I ate, checked facebook, tried to upload our Rwanda video to youtube, failed and decided to move on.  I had a gift card to Kohl's in my purse that I thought I could go use.  I got there, realized I was too tired to get enjoyment out of walking around the store without a purpose (not unusual, I'm not a big shopper) and left.  Then I sat in my car...

I felt trapped.  My husband was at work, the babysitter was at the house with Jake and I really wanted to be at home watching a movie, falling asleep in the couch or reading a good book.  Only, I didn't want to go home where I could do those things b/c the babysitter is there and I'm worried she'll think I'm a slacker.  Plus, if I go home there will be cleaning and laundry and 80 other things that need to be done.  I contemplated going to the movie theater to see something, but there's nothing out that I want to see now that I've seen the final Harry Potter.

Now it's 1:30, I'm stressed that I only have 2 1/2 more hours before I go home and the babysitter leaves and I'm sad that I've squandered a rare opportunity to do whatever I want and simply rest.  

What's wrong with me?  Or, shall I say, "what's wrong with us?" because I'm guessing I'm not the only one like this.  We all live hectic, over-booked lives and we wait until we're at breaking point to rest and then we don't know how to do it.  Our list of "things I'll do when I get a free minute" is too long and our rest debt, much like our national debt, is too high to solve in one day.  We need to make serious changes to our lifestyle, but the truth is we're too tired to really think about it.

Hmm, I wonder if this is why God felt the need to make a regular routine of rest a command.  He knew we would be bad at it.  He knew we were just arrogant enough to believe we could go on forever without it.  So, how do we get back?  What does real rest look like?  How do we change our culture to encourage healthy, life-giving rest?

I need you blogosphere - help me.  How do you rest?  How do you help and encourage the people around you to rest?

Rwanda, Part 2

On our second day in Rwanda I tried to explain to our driver, Saidi, that where we are from in the lowcountry it is nothing like the beautiful, mountainous landscape of Rwanda, i.e. "The Land of 1,000 Hills."  Saidi told me to pick any hill I wanted in his country and I could have it as my own.  I believe he meant it.

In my life and travels thus far, I've never met people who were more proud of their country or more eager to share.  The hospitality we experienced was overwhelming from the hard-boiled eggs offered to us in Pastor Ildephonse's home, the bottled Fanta's and Coke's given to us by coffee farmers on the top of the mountain in Mbilima to even the barbequed rabbit legs cooked especially for us by the headmistress of the school in Kiryamo Parish, Bukonya. (for the record, I didn't actually eat the rabbit legs).

We went to Rwanda with the expectation of giving so much, but as is usually the case, we received so much more.  We gave them soccer balls, they gave us handmade banana leaf balls.  We gave them shoes, they showed us what it means to literally walk by faith.  We gave a home for orphans to live in, they taught us what home really means as we met widows who take in and care for children who are not their own.  We taught them to sing "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes," they sang us a song that said, "One night while I was sleeping somebody touched me, I know it was the Lord."  We paid rent for land to provide a sustenance farm and food for the orphans, they carried pineapples by the dozens on their heads up steep mountains for miles in order to offer us some sustenance for our travels.  We brought them hope, they brought us joy.

Some of the kids crowding in to say hi and welcome us to Kiryamo Parish School in Bukonya

Beans ready to harvest from the sustenance farm!

Saidi and John (my brother-in-law)

The team with our banana leaf balls.

This home will provide shelter for 12 orphans and two widows

RWANDA, Part One

“Rwanda was dead.”

So read the marker in the genocide museum in Kigali, Rwanda.  In 1994, over a million people were killed in the space of 90 days.  It was a people turned on itself and led to do something so horrific that the world needed to look away to survive. 

We started to glimpse the reality of the genocide on our first day as we stopped by one of many genocide memorials – little did we know getting out of our vehicle that we were about to walk into a church where 10,000 people were killed after seeking refuge in the house of God.  The wooden benches were piled high with clothes left behind to represent the lives of those who wore them.  The walls and ceiling were littered with bullet holes and dark blood stains. 

The story would be devastating if it ended there.  But we serve a God who brings life from death.  Today, Rwanda is alive again and I bring you overwhelming news that Jesus is again making a way where there seemed to be no way.

After leaving the church, our team sat in a village with a man who shared his testimony of killing some 30 or so people during the genocide.  He told us that he was dead as well, but then God forgave him.  When he sat down, the woman sitting next to him handed him her 6-month old baby who would not settle.  When we left, we were told that the same man who calmed her baby was responsible for killing several of her family members.

Forgiveness.  Reconciliation. 

Pastor Deo Gashagaza told us, “Reconciliation is not a philosophy.  It is a practice.”  He should know.  Forty-five of Pastor Deo’s family members were killed in the genocide.  He was a refugee.  When he returned to Rwanda at the end of the genocide, God called him to go into the prisons and start talking about forgiveness and love and hope.   Pastor Deo was the first pastor to go and share that message with the perpetrators of the genocide. 

Today Pastor Deo runs a Prison Fellowship Ministry in Kigali and has facilitated the establishment of several reconciliation villages throughout Rwanda where perpetrators of the genocide and people who lost their families live side-by-side, farming the same land, building homes for each other, starting again.  In addition to the Prison Fellowship Ministry, Pastor Deo runs a ministry for street kids.  Three times a week, he and his wife provide a meal for 85 kids.  Our team helped serve one of these meals.  We watched as the kids eagerly scooped up rice and spinach with their hands.  I cried as I saw one little boy eat ravenously and then move some food from his plate to his sister’s whenever she wasn’t looking.

Joy.  Hope.  Heartbreak.

This was day one of our trip. 

Rwanda Countdown

We leave in 8 days - to say I'm pumped is an understatement!  Tomorrow I start taking the typhoid and malaria pills (maybe slightly less pumped about that).  

I've heard it said that the Rwandan Genocide in 1994 was the greatest tragedy of the 20th century with almost a million lives lost in only 100 days, but the recovery and reconciliation and growth of Rwanda is shaping up to be one of the greatest triumphs of the 21st century.  Right now, they're in the land between.  I don't really know how to prepare for a trip like this, but I'm guessing there will be tears of sadness mingled with tears of joy, moments of hope and moments of realization of how much there is to be done.

Check out this story put together by People of the Second Chance - 

POTSC - Emmanuels Story from TK on Vimeo.


I hope I get to meet this Emmanuel in Rwanda.

I know I will meet Emmanuel in Rwanda.

Need a Little Help for Mother's Day?

Every year you ask your mom what she wants for her birthday and/or mother's day.  And every year, you get one or both of these responses:

"Nothing," and "I just want to spend time with you."

It's so frustrating!  Here's the deal, I've been a mom now for almost 2 1/2 years and I've realized something - my mom was telling the truth!

So, this mother's day, try listening and giving your mom what she really wants.  And then take it a step farther - honor her by sharing the love she poured into you.  Here are some ways to do it:

1. Give a gift to Safe World Nexus in honor of your mom.  More than 24,000 mothers and their babies will die in Haiti this year.  Safe World Nexus is an organization committed to changing that number by building a highly functional maternity center in Port-au-Prince.  Go here to check them out.

2. If you live in Summerville, SC, give a gift to the Dorchester Children's Center and help them continue their incredible work in our community to care for abused children and provide parenting classes to help end the cycle of abuse.  Check them out here and find out all the ways you can help by visiting their wish list here.

3. Do you know anyone trying to adopt?  It's expensive!  But with millions of orphans in our world today in addition to the thousands and thousands of foster children in our nation, we need to get on board and care for these kids.  Maybe God is calling you to adopt or foster, or maybe this mother's day you can give someone else a little help in the process.

Okay, that's it from me.  If you're a mom, what's the best gift you've been given?  What are some other ways we can all honor our moms this year?

Guys, We Need You

I spent this morning sitting on the floor in the guidance department at Ashley Ridge High School crying with counselors and students.  Last night the call came that an 18-year old young man, 14 days from the end of his hard-fought journey to graduation, had been shot and killed less than a half-mile from my house. His killer - a 17-year old who got in a fist-fight with him and then resorted to a gun to end the fight.

It's tragic on so many levels.  Tragic that a young man will never get to realize what he could have become.  Tragic that a mother will spend this mother's day burying her son.  Tragic that another young man will spend the rest of his days behind bars.  Tragic that there wasn't a father around to teach these men what true manhood is all about.

I read a book a few months back that I highly recommend called "Generation iY" by Tim Elmore, and in it, he provides the statistic that over 50% of kids today are growing up without a father in their home.   Shocking, right?  Absolutely.  And the effects of that statistic are visited for generations.

Guys, we need you.  We need strong, Godly men to step up and mentor these young men.  

So, here's the deal.  This isn't just a blog post of me expounding on the fatherless crisis in America.  This is a challenge to every guy out there who reads this and who knows other guys.  Every one of you needs to be pouring into the life of at least one other young man and challenging other guys to do the same.  Do it as a father.  Do it as a brother.  Do it as a coach.  Do it as a small group leader for 4th and 5th grade boys.  Do it as a youth leader.  Do it as a neighbor.  Do it as someone who know The Father and as such has love to pour into another.

These boys need you.  We all need you.  Guys, step up.  Please.

From the Bookshelf

These are the super-awesome bookends my sister made for me

I just finished reading...

Forgotten God by Francis Chan - a great book on the Holy Spirit and the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives

Radical by David Platt - be prepared to have your understanding of Jesus and your lifestyle challenged in a big way

I'm currently reading...

In the Company of Others by Jan Karon - some just-for-fun fiction about one of my favorite literary characters, Father Tim

Love Wins by Rob Bell - this book has sparked a great deal of controversy.  I have always respected Bell and learned from him, so I'm reading for myself to see what the craze is about.

Next on my pile...

The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons - it's all about the redeemed being called to restore, can't wait for this one!

Fall of Giants by Ken Follett - can't believe I haven't gotten to this epic until now, might take me awhile to finish, but I'm ready to bring it on

What are you reading? What have you learned lately?

Some Tuesday Entertainment - "The Civil Wars"

If you haven't already heard about "The Civil Wars" allow me to introduce you.  They are fabulous and their newest album "Barton Hollow" is amazing start to finish.  If you are familiar with "The Civil Wars" you'll definitely enjoy this video of them having a little fun singing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean."

Happy Tuesday!

Simplicity - Week Two

My new office

Lunch date with my little man

A Saturday afternoon victory celebration for our Richmond Spiders

Simplicity, Week One

I stopped reading a lot of blogs.  

I figured out that I had replaced a lot of my time with God and especially my time in God's Word with what other people had to say about God and church and life.  And you know what?  It was making my head too full to function.  I was inputting so much about what everyone else thinks about how to lead a church and how to be a better Christ-follower that I had no room in my life to hear what God was speaking into my heart and my life.

And so, I've turned down the noise.  I still check in for an occasional blog read at one or two of my favorites, but if I'm being honest (I'm cringing so prepare yourself for the shock of what you're about to read), in the last week I went from reading approximately 100 blog posts a week to about 5 - I had no idea I was reading that many blog posts every week!

Without realizing it, I had become obsessed with knowledge and addicted to other people's thoughts.  

Simple = fewer voices, less noise, a lot more Jesus.

More and Less Extraordinary

One of my favorite songs is "Life Less Ordinary," by Carbon Leaf - "Live a life less ordinary, live a life extraordinary with me."  I don't know what Carbon Leaf meant when they wrote those words, but to me it's the invitation Jesus gives me everyday.  

Less ordinary, more extraordinary.

Like most things, I took that invitation as a challenge for the longest time.  I was determined to live extraordinary.  I was determined to have not a great story to tell, but the greatest and most extraordinary the world had ever heard or seen.  But, I realized something recently.  The most extraordinary story has already been lived.  It's Jesus' story.  And his invitation for me is to simply be part of it, which is pretty extraordinary if you think about it.

And so, I'm changing my mindset: to live a life more extraordinary and less ordinary I need to make my pursuit less extraordinary (confused yet?).  In other words, I need to live simply.  I want to wake up each morning in total awareness of God's grace that covers my life.  I want to know that what defines me in this world will never be what I do but whose I am.  I want my pursuit to not be the extraordinary life, but instead the Extraordinary God who is Jesus Christ. 

All day I've heard people talking about what they're giving up for Lent and I've read countless blog posts about what the season is all about, books to read, etc.  My Lenten discipline this year is simplicity.

Check back in the coming weeks to see how it's coming along.

What's your Lenten discipline?  How are you accepting Jesus' invitation to a life less ordinary and more extraordinary?

AWKward

I love awkward moments, I love awkward topics and I love controversy.  I wake up every morning and think, I hope today is as awkward and uncomfortable as possible.

...Okay, so maybe not.  

But even so, yesterday I issued an invitation to our church to a season of awkwardness.  In fact, I think I even asked people to schedule some awkward in their life in the coming weeks.

You see, there are far too many elephants in our lives consuming space that we need to make for God.  The elephants are all of those awkward issues and conversations in our lives that we've been avoiding for so long.  For some people, the elephants are big, green financial elephants.  Maybe you've slowly but surely worked yourself into debt and developed spending and lifestyle habits that you don't want to address yourself let alone bring to the light with your spouse, your family or your friends.  For others, maybe the elephants are dark, shadowy hidden elephants that have to do with behaviors or decisions you've made that have left you hiding in shame.  Maybe your elephant is a bright, red warning elephant because you know you're running headlong into a bad situation, but you don't know how to stop.

It's time to name our elephants.  It's going to be awkward and it's going to be uncomfortable.  But, I believe that as soon as we name them out loud, they lose their power.  

We have a choice to make about whether we're going to let elephants run our lives, or whether we're going to surrender our lives to God.  I believe that nothing and no one has power that can stand against the incredible and almighty power of God and it's time to get the elephants our of the way so we can embrace the life Jesus gave us when He gave His up on the cross.

Awkward is, well, awkward.  No one likes, much less loves, awkward.  But I believe that on the other side of awkward is incredible.  So, bring it on elephants - you've got nothing my God can't handle, dismantle, forgive and take away!

What's your elephant?  Who do you need to schedule some awkward time with?

BUSINESS DEGREE REQUIRED

Okay, so I will turn 30 this year and I realize that's not very old and my years of ministry experience pale in comparison to so many others.

However, I would like to offer some words of wisdom to those coming behind me in ministry:

Take as many business courses in your undergraduate years as possible - you will need them!

And for those of you coming behind me in any other field:

Take as many business courses in your undergraduate years as possible - you will need them!

It is quite simply the world we live in - so far today I've attended a Habitat for Humanity breakfast about funding a Disciples Build in our community, gone over the lease agreement for our student ministry space with a real estate agent, talked with a lawyer about moving from an unincorporated entity to an incorporated entity and had lunch with a banker to discuss our financial set-up and possibilities.

This certainly isn't what I do every day, or even most days, but it's all part of ministry.

Read. Know your stuff.  Be the best steward you can be of what God entrusts to you.

How's your business sense?

An Unlikely Friendship

My good friend, Robert Morris, died yesterday.  He lived his whole life in South Carolina and spent his entire adult life as a pastor in the United Methodist Church.  He will be missed by many.

Our friendship was accidental.  He didn't come into the coffee shop looking for me nor I for him.  But the first time we were both there, we nodded a faint recognition and did that awkward thing people do when they're pretty sure they know each other but are not sure how.  He gets the credit for making the first move.  As I stood at the cash register ordering my tall skinny mocha, he walked over and said, "You're Jenn, right?  I'm Robert Morris."  

The rest is history.  He introduced me to his nephew who was looking for a new church and he told him with great certainty that he needed to come to the church I was planting.  For weeks after I would go into the coffee shop to work and see Robert there with his nephew and brother-in-law.  We would chat for a few minutes and then go to our separate tables.   After awhile, I started Wednesday morning Java with Jenn from 6:30-8:30 and eventually we fell into a routine where Robert and I would pull up on Wednesdays around the same time and start our day together.

Robert was traditional, and I am not.  Robert was a life-long southerner, and I am not (shh, don't tell).  In many ways, Robert made me think of an almost ironic blend of my father and his father.  It makes sense chronologically as I am younger than his kids and older than his grandkids.  But because the age difference didn't seem quite right, most people walking into the coffee shop would give us that look that said, "hmm, that's odd."

But, somehow, it never was.  Robert was a friend, an encourager and a confidante.  He came to our Christmas worship and his feedback was "that was interesting."  We weren't doing anything that connected with him, and yet he believed in our vision and he believed in our purpose because he believed in Jesus and he believed in Jesus' church.

My Wednesday mornings will never be the same, but I am so thankful for Robert and thankful for our friendship.  I can only pray that in the years to come I will be the kind of friend and mentor to future generations that Robert was to me.

Who are you actively encouraging right now and how are you supporting their call from God?