Spring Is Picking Up Pace

Hannah began soccer last week. Tytus officially kicked off his little league season tonight. Adding those activities to an already busy calendar is going to be a real challenge. I am, however, glad the weather is changing. I am looking forward to getting outside under blue skies and warmer weather.

Tomorrow will be a writing day for me. I plan to hide in an undisclosed location to pray, study, and write. I enjoy Thursdays. I'll flip the lid on my Apple Powerbook, open my Bible, and ask God for something significant to say about "Uncovering A Purpose At Work."

This week I have had several unique opportunities to tell the Journey Church story. Each time I have shared it, I was more and more amazed by the story God is authoring. We are living a dream, our dream, God's dream. I hope I never wake up. My prayer has been a simple one, "God, please help me/us to not mess this up."

The inbox has been popping all week with great stories about March Madness and notes of how people are feeling about Journey Church. Each story and email leaves me more hopeful about the road ahead. God is definitely up to something very special and I am glad to be in the mix of what He is doing.

Sorry...

I really do know better than to make a promise that I might not be able to keep. Funny thing is, this past Sunday at Journey I preached about keeping promises. I sincerely apologize that I haven't keep pace on this blog the past few weeks. Life has simply been moving at a pace that simply hasn't allowed for the needed space to post here.

Know this, Journey is coming off its best weekend since our launch day on January 15th. We had 280 in worship on Sunday. The place was buzzing with energy. It was the smoothest weekend we have had in a couple weeks. The band was HOT! The Spirit was present. I have NO doubt lives were impacted! It is beyond fun to be walking this path.

I was amazed at how well the gym worked for us this weekend. We met in the gym because of the spring production of Guys and Dolls at Lakota East High School. We made some good decisions headed into the weekend that made a real difference. It required a great deal more work on the set up end, but the payoff was worth it.

On Tuesday last week, I had one of the most incredible experiences of my occupational ministry life. I had the great pleasure of leading a single dad to the Lord at a local coffee shop in West Chester. It was amazing to watch his eyes open to the truth of God's grace. As we were closing our conversation I said, "Welcome to God's family." He quickly responded with, "Thanks for inviting me!" It was awesome!

The week of March Madness went great! We touched 1200+ households with God's love as we gave away various items all week long. We did have to end up canceling the quarter giveaway at the car wash because of the weather. We are rescheduling that event for later in April. We'll be touching an additional 400 households later next month. We were planting seeds and trusting that God will water them. I think the biggest benefit is what God did in those that served. Something big happens when people turn outward.

Update...Sort of

As I finish my day, I apologize that I do not have time to add a full update. I am also sorry I haven't posted at all this week. It is been a crazy few days. I'll get to it late Sunday evening or first thing Monday. I promise.

Madness Prep

Preperation for March Madness is in full force at my house this afternoon! We are prepping to touch 1,500+ households next week. I can't think of any better way to spend a Friday afternoon.

Easter Ministry Season

Tomorrow marks an important day in the life of Journey Church. I suppose it is officially the day our Easter ministry season begins. In the next ten weeks (between March 26 and Mother's Day), we will welcome a second wave of new people into our community. Our Easter mailers goes to the post office in the morning. They will hit West Chester and the surrounding areas beginning Monday. I am pumped to see how God uses our third mailer. March Madness will kick off Sunday. We'll spend the following six days serving West Chester.

The first nine weeks have been fun and I am confident the next ten will be as well!

All Questions Sunday

The inbox really starting popping today with some great questions for Sunday. Brian and I have our work cut out for us. It will be fun to answer some real questions that people are wrestling with. Thanks to everyone who hit the inbox. It is becoming clear that a second (and maybe a third) "All Questions Sunday" is on the horizon.

MacJournal--Two Thumbs Up!

I have spent the past two weeks with a program I really dig. I have enjoyed it so much I pulled the trigger to purchase a license today.

When I pulled down the free trial version two weeks ago, I made the commitment to journal 15 minutes each day. I have pretty much kept that commitment. I haven't journaled so much in months. It feels good to be back in that groove. I suspect it will help me bring more content to this blog as well. It has a built in feature that allows me to publish entries straight to my blog!

If you are a journaling fan and a Mac user I highly recommend MacJournal.

Getting By

It has been a tough few days. They have been a complete blur. I am still in shock. I am sad. I am grieving the loss of a dear friend. I have questions. I have questions that will never get answered. I am trying to walk by faith. It hasn't been easy.

Canipe Memorial Fund

A memorial fund has been set up for Chad's children. I encourage you to be generous.

Life has a way of forcing us to deal with situations that we prefer to never face. I am traveling one of those roads today.

I lost a dear friend this morning. Chad went home to be with his Father. Our loss is now Chad's gain.

Please pray for Renee, his two sons, and all those connected to him. He will be deeply missed for one reason--the way he lived his life. He changed the world. He changed my world.

Easter Mailer (Update)

After a great deal of refining, our Easter season mailing is finished. It was a collaborative effort by a great team of people (you know who you are...thanks!). I dig the final product. If you would like to see the whole piece that goes to press in Phoenix Monday shoot me an email and I will hit your inbox (tom[@]cincyjourney[.]org).

We'll have 41,500 of those bad boys in our possession no later than Monday March 13th. They will be addressed and mailed on Friday March 17th. They should begin to hit West Chester (and some of the surrounding area) beginning Monday March 20th. The new weekend series kicks off Sunday March 26th!

I am totally pumped about the 12-week run that begins this Sunday. We have been preparing for our second run for the past few weeks (March 5th to Mother's Day). Momentum and energy are high at Journey Church as we prepare to welcome a new wave of people into our community. I am already jazzed about the lives that will be changed in the days ahead.

There is a great deal of work that needs to be completed so we are fully prepared for this 12 week run. We'll work like it totally depends on us and pray that it totally depends on God. Please pray for God's continued favor.

All Questions Sunday

When we finish the Live Big! series on March 12th, we'll have a one Sunday window before our Easter series begins. We are going to try something we are going to call "All Questions Sunday." We are going to give people a chance to ask any question they want about life, the Bible, Christianty etc. I am going to share the moment with a volunteer from Journey who is a very gifted communicator (Brian Schermerhorn) and has been team teaching with me. We are really excited about the format. If it goes well we'll likely redo a couple times a year.

If you are going to be around Journey Church for "All Questions Sunday" (March 19th) and have a question you would like to see us address then simply email it to me (tom[@]cincyjourney[.]org) before 5 p.m. on Tuesday March 16th.

Let The Madness Begin!

We recently added a new page to the Journey site. It offers a few more details about the madness that will be unfolding in March. Check it out here.

This Sunday I'll be sharing the third talk in our "Live Big!" series. The talk will be about serving big! The series will conclude next Sunday with a message about loving big! These two sermons will set the perfect context to challenge our community to share God's love with West Chester beginning March 19th. I cannot wait to challenge our new core to launch out into the community and share God's love in practical ways!

Let the madness begin...