I  love last days of a year.  I love times of reflection.  I reflect A LOT right here in this spot. Probably most because this spot itself is a physical representation to me of Faith and Blessing.

I love the time of pondering  WHAT WAS before you can dream of WHAT WILL BE.  I remember my hopes for this past year…  I wrote about it in CAPACITY to CHANGE as I reflected on 2010 with hopes of what would come in 2011.

I wrote, “And 2011 – I can only dare to dream that this new grown capacity was given to us for a reason.  2011 I believe is going to be a year of lots of change for me and our family. I believe it will be good change and hard change.  A change that I hope not only impact our family but will give us the opportunity to “lay all our cards on the table” and give all we have to a movement we believe in with all of our heart, soul, and spirit.  A movement that has carried us for our past years in ministry and one that will continue to allow us to keep going after it. As you will often hear us say, “we have come to play and play to win.”  I really believe it is possible to win.  So much so, that I’ll give my life for it. And who wants to win alone?  Not me.  I’m so thankful for the people that are in our lives that are going after the same thing.  Their wins become our wins and vice versa.  It’s just an honor to be playing on the same team with everyone.”

In the midst of playing and winning you find battles of great Faith.  2011 will always be marked for me a sweet journey in my life.  A time where Great Faith was required almost daily.  I wish I could say it was really simple.  But the honest look at it was that in moments of my biggest breakthroughs, there was much doubt that lead up to it.  And in that struggle, and receiving a grace I did not deserve, I found something so profound for me personally.  In the midst of all the mess that leads to Great Faith, I found the Father took and did what only He could do.  He worked all things for HIS good and in return, giving me not what I deserved in my doubt but rewarding me with incredible blessing I’ve yet to be able to fully understand.  And He did not do it only one time.  This year he has done it time and time again.  The only requirement from me that remained consistant in the process was that I had to step into the future without knowing it would work out.  And in those steps of doubt, fear, excitement, joy… He always was Faithful, and always blessed in more ways than I could ever imagine.

2011  – The year of….. “Faith and Blessing.”

I will ponder that today.  I will reflect on the journey He’s lead us on this past year. I will remember.  And then as I sit tonight and ring in the new year, I will let all of that BE and will press into the NEW that is in store for 2012 and the DOING it will surely require.

2012. -The year of ……… will have to share more of that tomorrow.

Thank you David Reichley for taking Izzie fishing yesterday.  She LOVED it.  Especially since no one in our current household knows a thing about fishing.

What a BIG moment for me personally.  One of the most memorable in this whole process.  Frankie’s adoption day.  Dave said it best that day, “What was already family is now official.”

Jeff Hall took our pictures when we first arrived home in Greenville.  He captured our first family photo’s and it only seemed fitting that he as there as we ended this part of our journey.  If only I could book him now for Frankie’s Graduation and Wedding (which is already pre arranged with a sweet little Haitian girl named Bella from PA.) 🙂

These are a few of my favorite:

My Sweet Boy on His Very Special Day:

Waiting BEFORE the hearing..

With The Judge:

Celebration Shot Afterwards:

First Official Legal Family Picture:

We had a Canvas for the day that everyone signed that Frankie will always have to remember this special day.

I will never forget when the Judge announced his name:  Franklin Joseph David Rhodes.

Our Family is OFFICALLY and NOW COMPLETE.

We do LOTS of Communities in Pawleys.  Between Communities/Workshops/ and Camps I think we have at least 40+ on the schedule for 2012. Which means lots of amazing people always coming and going.  Lots of meals together.  Lots of teaching times together.  Lots of sharing times. Lots of breakthrough times. Lots of time opening up our homes and lives.  Which could in itself explain the lack of blogging but we won’t go back there.  Our family truly has collided into a wonderful season of our lives. Community Life.

This week our entire team (except a few of us holding dow n the fort) is down at Seacoast,  hosting.. you guessed it.. A Learning Community. Over 4o churches have gathered.  They are on a 2 year journey with us at 3DM and this is their second encounter with our team and they are exploring content this week of Multiplying Missional Leaders.  I’ve enjoyed seeing a few pictures make their way to Facebook these past few days.  Who says you can’t work really hard and have fun doing it.

It’s great being part of investing in something that will be still going long after we no longer roam this planet…  Anyway, A little peek into our lives through pictures and what we are part of doing with an amazing team of people.

Public Space Gathering Area:

Social Space Training Going On:

THE TEAM HOUSE:  Where everyone stays and each evening we host around A LOT of  people for Desserts.

I don’t know what it is for me about the number 5.  But having a child turn from 4 (toddlerhood) to 5 (childhood) is sad for me.  For the past 9 years we have been in stages of having children in the age range of 1-4.  And that window into our lives is about to close.  It’s a passing of a season for me.  And come March when Frankie turns 5 I know I will officially feel that window has closed.  It just brings up the reality of time and how quickly it passes.  And although I won’t miss all the hard things of having babies and toddlers in the home I truly will mourn a bit the passing of that season of our lives.

Yesterday I experienced a first.  One of my children had a birthday party and Dave and I were basically the only family members that were not in attendance.  For Izzie’s birthday our gift to her was sending her to Greenville to share a weekend with all the grandparents and cousins.  And while there, they threw her a party.  From the looks of these pictures she had a wonderful time.  Looking forward to getting her back home tonight.  Happy Birthday Izzie.  The journey to have you was one of the most faith defining time periods of my life.  And with your presence from the moment we found out about you till today you continue to bring “much laughter” to us all.

So August 30th was the last time I posted.  Really?  Has it been that long?  I feel like I’ve been sitting next to this tree above pondering and reflecting. I’ve had a light turn on in my world in the past few months and the reality is that it awakened me to see so many things that I just never knew were there.  And sometimes in that process you just stop everything you are doing and take in all that you are seeing.  I guess that is the best way to describe what has happened the past months.  And it has to happen that way.  When you live and “are” in a place for over 10 years and then you uproot…  There is always that time needed of preparing the soil again so that as you plant yourself back down in a new location… the roots are protected and placed with such a careful hand so that hopefully in a matter of a short time you’ll be strong and grounded in your new surroundings.  So that is me.  I am finally feeling like the strong winds can’t blow me over and I have some major roots that have anchored here in Pawleys.

And so, now what??  The bigger hurdle is where do you start to jump back in and keep going in blog world?  Especially when you feel like you have too much to share and have no where to begin.  So I’m going to stop sitting around and thinking about because then I’ll never probably ever blog again and just pick up with today…  And one day I’ll hopefully get the time to share about all the transforming things that have happened over our “transition” time.

So here is words on paper coming more often!

On Facebook this morning Rage Against the Minivan was posting about how to blog from your iphone.  I’m trying to figure out time to post from my computer.  So much catching up to do and so many new routines.  I’ve got calls to return and paperwork to be filled out.  And so many people asking how it is going.  So with that said, I really wanted to give you a peak into life for us since we have moved.  We are by all means doing fantastic.  Still feel in a daze at times and wonder if this new journey we are on is real, a bit of a dream? But as the daily rhythm starts to find itself I’m getting more grounded and am confident that yes I am home.

Pawleys Island.  Someone this week posted on my FB page saying they say that Pawleys is a piece of heaven on earth.

I dare say that is true and wake up many mornings wondering if this new way of coastal living is really happening.  Pawleys is beautiful.  We knew this last year as we took a sabbatical here for 3 months.  But I think in the process of physically knowing this is now home, a new awareness of it’s beauty it evident.  I am so thankful to be here and to dive into life here.  It’s a peaceful place.  And that is so good considering the work we are part of is intense, advancing, always moving, so the peace of the land here is something that balances our life quite well.  (Every day a new white board appears at the office it seems with some new advancement.  It’s very fun and exciting) (and as you can tell Dave is REALLY enjoying his new life here.)  Just kidding.  He’s the hardest working man I know!  He’s in Atlanta this week with half our team who is helping to train leaders.

I have spent the last week waking up and going to bed thanking HIM for all he has done for us.  Our home in Greenville closes tomorrow and the couple buying it are so excited about it.  The home we are renting here is beyond anything I could have ever desired for us.  It even comes with a pet alligator.  (can you see him in the middle?)  Izzie has named him Crockie.

My kids have begged for a dog for years and instead I give them an alligator! (don’t worry mom, I’m told this is normal) I’ve already met some wonderful neighbors who have given us gifts of welcome as we settle in.  Nothing like flowers to make you feel truly at home.

The kids have all made the smoothest transition. Emma is doing so well in school and already making many friends. Can’t believe she has started 3rd Grade this year and she was so excited about the first day of school.

Izzie and Frankie are keeping me on my toes and they too will start school here soon.  But everyone here is happy, content and at peace.

We are settled into our new offices.  We have an amazing space here that our furniture from the Wayfarer office just fit right in.

I have lots of hopes and dreams for this next season of my life.   My heart still beats passionately for adoption, Haiti, ministry, wives of ministry, Oikos, discipleship. I want to be part of and do great great things for the Kingdom but even more than that I want others coming behind me to do even greater things than I could have have ever done. My end game is to give away all that we have been given.  Hold nothing back.  A season of blessing always requires the need and desire to give even more.  At least that is what I have experienced.

I was reminded today that He is Faithful.  Not just to meet your needs emotionally, spiritually, physically, but to do far exceedingly more than we could ever ask or imagine.  He has done that for us.  It’s our testimony to share.  And He can do that for you.  It does not mean there won’t be hard times.  In the midst of all the good going on our car took a beating this week.  It happens. Nothing is perfect.

BUT He is Faithful.  And I praise him for that today.

So that is what you have been missing.  I hope all of you are well and good and like I said before, our home is always open to you and I hope we see lots of those we love make their way to visit us here.  Pawleys and the Rhodes will welcome you with open arms.

The house is still and all in boxes.  Just waiting for Dave to arrive sometime today to begin loading the truck.  What a crazy way to end the summer.  I picture him riding in on his white horse, waiving his wand… truck starts to load by itself and we pull away off into the sunset with 3 kids in tote.  It’s really not going to happen that way but I am celebrating today the end of his summer schedule.  And boy has that man been busy.  I was just about to look at the calendar and see how many days he was actually home but then I would get a glimpse at how few days there were so why bother.  Our family has had an incredible summer of ministry.  WE LOVE SUMMER CAMP.  You get to meet so many people, partner with so many amazing organizations and groups.  And at the end of the day, lives collided and were challenged, encouraged and shared.  And hopefully a Kairos happened that will leave us and others different.  And I must say our summer on the home front went amazingly well too.  For so much unknown to be part of everyday… I think I handled the kids, packing fairly well.

A few years ago when our family was going through a lot of ministry change, our family and the Reichley family headed to Pawleys Island to meet the Breens and Cockrams.  People our husbands had met at a “Taster” and they were bringing us wives back for a 24 hr visit.  I still remember arriving past 11:30PM and pulling into a plantation neighborhood and this tall, slick, Brit, welcomed us with opened arms.  Not far behind him was another Brit waiting to take the Reichleys.  I remember going to bed in the Breen home and wondering if I could ever feel more welcomed or honored to be somewhere. Do they do this for everyone?  Of course later to find out they do.  It’s what they do best.  Open up their lives and challenge and invite people.  Our time there was nothing but a Kairos moment for me.  In our weakness we were encouraged to remain and be reminded that we were in the pruning process.  Pruning is hard.  I don’t think anyone likes it.  But it was a good season for us to reflect on ourselves and things the Lord wanted to trim back in us.  But the thing about pruning is that it’s necessary for growth to happen again. So as we remained, rested and abided and after a lot of time…  we looked around and started to see some of the first fruits coming.

Looking back I can’t help but think that trip was a prophetic one.  Who would have ever thought that our first encounter with 3DM would lead our lives and our family back to Pawleys as we joining together in family and ministry. In a few days the Rhodes will enter the same gates we did a few years ago and establish home, and the Reicheys will enter the same gates they did a few year ago and establish home.  He is perfect in his way.  Looking back now I’m truly blown away.

I know I’ve not updated much about our move.  What a year it has been.  Our home has been on the market for OVER A YEAR.  We have had countless showings and people always walking away telling us how much they loved our house.  Agents and clients alike.  I think we only had one showing that said they did not care for it.  I wondered so many times if so many people just loved our home then why no offers?  All along Dave would say he’s not worried about it.  But I was.  I knew it would all work out but I also know things don’t always work out in a pretty little package tied up with a bow.  Plus I was TIRED.  Try living in a home for a year that in a matter of hours could be shown.  Add three children to that home and I don’t want to tell you how many times I’ve been on my hands and knees wiping the floors for the next showing.

About a month ago, July 15th to be exact… Dave came home after some conversations with our team and said to our family, we’ve got to go.  It’s time to “go before know.”  Until this point we were not moving till the house sold.  This changed things.  We were now making plans to be in Pawleys by August 15.  This was great news to me.  It was a plan in the unknown.  Was I worried?  Yes.  Did I know it would all work out.  I hoped so.

We had a crazy trip there for a day (took my mom too)  thought we had a lead on a place and when we saw it we quickly realized there would be no way a family of 5 could fit and host and entertain like we plan to do.  I was defeated.  Do you know how hard it is to find decent UNFURNISHED home in Pawleys, the place of retreat where everyone has furnished rentals?  So with our friends and mom in tote we looked at one last place.  I was just in a fog by this point.  We thought it was unfurnished (which is why we even went to look at it) but when we pulled up we could tell it was furnished.  We decided to still take a look.  Walked in the place and had that moment of just knowing this was our new home.  I think I will remember my mom’s reaction the most that day.  You see the price they were asking surely had to be wrong.  They must have meant that price by week, not month.  But it was the monthly price and at the end of the day we are paying even less.  It’s the perfect home for us.  Dave said he’d live there the rest of his life.  My mom did the hallelujah dance, we cried and thanked him the whole drive home for providing for us just as he knows how.  Even if we had to put our furniture in storage it would be worth it.

BUT we still had a house to sell and no clue how on earth we would ever afford 2 home payments a month.  We finally put our house on the rental market.  Which I really did not want to do.  But I met a wonderful woman who we listed with who get this.. has a HUGE heart for discipleship and has worked at a church for over 12 years doing just that.  Has even been to Africa trying to disciple people.  I’m not saying our house did not sell all this time just so that our lives would collide but I would not be surprised if that was totally why.  She’s coming to Pawleys soon I hope for some time with us.  So as our house was listed for rent, we called our realtors one last time to make one final price drop so that we knew we did all we could to sell the house.  Rent or Sell was what we were praying for.

I called our realtors Wednesday night last week.  They said someone called them that same night and wanted to see our house on Thursday.  They looked at the house Thursday with our realtor.  They LOVED it.  Came back Friday to look again.  On Friday By 5 PM, just as Dave’s plane was landing we had an offer on the house.  by 9PM we had signed all the contracts just in time for Dave to leave again the next morning.  I’m really not making this stuff up.  And the blessing in it all (I think) is that part of the offer was that they really wanted a lot of our furniture.  Which I might have struggled with a bit but also know a few weeks back the Lord provided us a fully furnished and beautiful home.  So it was no big deal to sell them some of our furniture as well.  For some reason we were supposed to release our “stuff”. We close on the home Aug 31.  And could not have asked for a better couple to come in have our home.

In a matter of 2 days HE DID IT.  I’ll never forget those 48 hours and the people that stood in the gap for me with their faith when I felt mine lacked.

SO IN HIS PERFECT TIMING..  we will depart the upstate Monday morning and head to start this new season of our lives.  I could not have planned things any better with the timing of everything.  I really have cherished this time.  I’ve gathered all the memories and stored them in my heart.  And HE has given me closure in every area of my life.  Even area’s I did not know I needed it.  He made sure it happened.  I leave the Upstate knowing our time here was well served.  I have so many Happy memories of ministry and family here.  And I have the most peace about leaving.  And we will be back to visit since our family is all here so that is a wonderful thing to have as we leave.

I’m very encouraged.  I feel the Lord has given me a few major life experiences of being in the waiting on infertility issues, adoption, a home to sell that have built my faith in ways that hopefully I’ll be able to really be able to encourage others in their own journey’s they find themselves in.

So, someone once said – “You never know how many friends you have till you have a beach house.”  We don’t actually have a beach house but we can “almost” walk to it.  I hope this statement is true.  I hope that many of our friends come and visit with us in this new Chapter of our lives.  We promise you are always welcome.  We will invite you in with open hearts and will challenge you just the same as we all continue on life’s journey.  I sometimes get glimpses into the future of the movement that we at 3DM are creating. The team of people and families that are part of this journey with us blow me away.  It’s exciting.  It’s rewarding.  It’s going to be hard work.  But WE is better than ME any day and I’m thankful for the team that the Lord saw fit to collide us with.

Goodbye Upstate…. Hello Pawleys…..We are ready to get after it!

In 2 weeks we load up a truck and move our family.  It’s one thing talking about it. It’s a whole other thing to physically pack boxes and walk through the act of doing it.  I think a lot of situations in life we encounter are like that.  There is the Knowing Part but then there is the Going Part.

I’ve already had a little practice before our family moves. This past week we spent hours up at the Wayfarer office packing it for moving our offices to Pawleys.  10 Years is a long time.  It goes by so fast but as you sift through the memories it seems like a decade of a journey.  I was surprised what things brought me joy or sadness in the packing stages.  Each year has had it’s own memory for me.  Our first offices in the Norris home basement.  I found Dave’s first Wayfarer cell phone. “oh my”.  Printing material for the first Engage we did at the YMCA in downtown Spartanburg.  Our first logo. Yearly staff Christmas photo’s.  Some with missing spouses and children because they did not exist yet.  With each day we walked a journey, uncertain of a the future but the peace that was always there was that we were in it together.

We came to the Upstate years ago to minister to the 20 somethings, a generation that most churches could not focus on.  We do a lot of other things as well but that has been what has specifically tied us to this area. And in our last times of our local ministry  in the upstate it has became very clear that our time physically here was coming to closure.  Doors began to shut all over the place.  And he did what he always does… HE gentle but firmly revealed that we were done what we were called to do in this area.  It sounds simple to say doors shut.  But we had some doors that were closed on us that took us a long time to process through. We fought it at times but in the end your only option is to let go, surrender and slowly start to begin to walk.  And as we did HE began opening up doors for us we never even knew where there and so we kept walking.  And into that act of obedience of walking (sometimes that was really hard to do), HE revealed to us our next step of our journey.

Wayfarer has always been unique to the fact that we are a group of friends and family that are on mission together.  It’s an open invitation and those that want to live into community and there is always a seat at the table to do so. And as some of our team in the past few years felt called to other area’s of ministry it still never broke the spirit of Wayfarer’s desire to keep doing life together with others while attempting to be great agents of change in this world.

I think you want to believe everyone lives this way. As I encounter more people each day in ministry many of them stand alone on an island trying to work out the calling on their life.  Or they do have a group of people surrounding them but it’s set up more like a System of control than it is a Community..  And may I just suggest that life is truly that much more rewarding when you chose to do it together with others?  To even dare to love others and want them to do things for the Kingdom far greater than you could ever do I think is one of my deepest desires.

I sit here reflecting with some tears.  As our lives have collided with our 3DM family I sit in awe of HOW GOOD he really is.  We moved in our office yesterday in Pawleys.  Unloaded furniture and stuff that we have compiled through the years.

I was getting updates when the guys returned asking how it went.  Dave said, it’s amazing.  The space we have will be great but there is nothing like finally being on the ground with a group of people you feel you are to do life with and give your life to in the investment that we can encourage and impact others to do the same.  It’s going to be a great collaborate space full of the most amazing talented people who at the end of the day all want the same thing.  To be a missional family that works together and plays together.  It is possible. Look at this picture and add 30 years to all of us and we’ll still be doing the same thing.

So as you can see life is VERY BUSY and VERY FULL.  Dave heads out tomorrow morning and is home one day before we load a truck and move our own family. In two weeks we make the transition.  I will continue to keep packing.  To HONOR and REMEMBER the adventure He has already done in our lives through the past 10 years.  But then to MOVE INTO and FULLY EMBRACE the next season of our lives.

The Reichleys are in Pawleys today confirming a home they will rent.  They have some amazing options.  If I told you, you would not believe it. I’ve been laughing about it for the past 24 hrs.  And the home we have found has been a blessing as well.   HIS provision has been amazing for all of us and he has given both our families things BEYOND anything we ever could have asked for or could have imagined in his perfect timing.

More to come on that later….

Emma has been saving her money for over a year now.  Hiding it away in her wallet.  Anything found has been a treasure that gets evaluated but then put away.  Many times we would be in a store and she would want something.  She would think long and hard about it. I’d always ask her if she really wanted it she could use her money to get it.  Sometimes she almost would choose to get it.  With each time she would evaluate the cost of if it was worth it.

Being in Atlanta last weekend we decided to hit up the American Girl doll Store.  I mean if you are close you need to go if even it’s just once.  We teach our children the art of sacrifice but we also teach them the art of celebration.  For our family life is both sacrifice and celebration and when you live in that tension life is beautiful.  So a trip to this store was a huge act of celebration for us.

Emma got her first American Girl doll a few years ago.  It was a big deal for her to receive it.  In just the past year Izzie has gotten interest in Emma’s doll and has asked many times when it will be her turn to get one. “When you are old enough to take care of it” has always been my response.

Before heading to Atlanta while packing and getting ready to go, Emma pulled me aside and whispered something in my ear.  “Mom, I’m going to buy Izzie her first doll.”  Of course I was a bit shocked but so not surprised.  I told her that she did not have to do that but she insisted and said, I really want to do it.

I was not prepared for the moment I had at the register when she handed the cashier all her wadded up bills that had been stuffed away in her wallet.  She could have purchased things in the store for herself.  Things she really wanted.  As the cashier finished counting all the bills and handed us the bag that held the new doll for Izzie, Emma looked at me and said. ” Mom, that made me feel so good.”  I told her I hoped she would always remember how she is feeling because in life it’s “far better to give, than to receive.”

Seeing sacrificial giving through a child is humbling.  I have a garage full of items that I had planned to sell in our upcoming move.  I’m thinking Emma is teaching me that maybe I should be giving as much of it away as possible.

Sacrificial Giving… I want more of that in my life….  Thank you Emma for modeling that so well for our family.