RelationSlips Week 1

Today we started a new series called RelationSlips. Yes, it is supposed to be spelled like that, because we are talking about...why do relationships slip? What happens that causes them to spiral south?

So today we kicked off the series and we watched some very awesome, laugh out loud video clips. First we watched the seen from Hitch where Will Smith and Paul Blart-Mall Cop (can't think of his real name, and I keep thinking Doug from King of Queens) were dancing. Then we watched a clip from that new show on ABC called Modern Family. Which sidenote-is so stinkin' hilarious, you should watch it. So those were really funny, and a great way to start service off with.

Then we dove right into the scriptures and talked about Proverbs 14:12.

"There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death."

I love how The Message puts it...

"There's a way of life that looks harmless enough;
look again—it leads straight to hell.
Sure, those people appear to be having a good time,
but all that laughter will end in heartbreak."
Proverbs 14:12-13

We talked about the 4 stages that relationships all go through...
1. Infatuation
2. Disenchantment
3. Work
4. Success

Mark showed a graph where the line started off going up, then it dipped, and he talked about how every relationship has a dip in it. This is when things are not going well, the going is getting tough, and you might want to quit. But then once you put some work into it, you will find the line going back up again.

Something that Mark said really stuck out to me..."Good intentions do not always lead to good direction." This goes along with the verse from Proverbs. If you do not seek out God's wisdom and direction for your relationships or really your life for that matter, it will not matter how "good" your intentions may be, you will still spiral south.

I thought it was a great introductory week to RelationSlips and I am really excited for the rest of the series.

God is up to something BIG at The Ridge...stay tuned to find out what it is!

Catatlyst Week 1

This week we started a new 2 week series called Catalyst. Today Mark talked a lot about the mission of The Ridge, why it was started, who we are trying to reach, what is happening now and in the future. We were asked to pray about something and I would love to share that with you. We are getting to a point at The Ridge where we need to expand. We love meeting in the theater, but you really only have so much room, etc, etc. So we are considering three options...

1. Rent a different facility
2. Buy something permanent
3. Become a multi-site church

The first option is fine, we have been looking, and when I say we, I mean Mark, Eric, leadership, staff, etc. Not me personally, but you know what I mean. Nothing has become available, or is big enough, nothing really meets our needs.

Buying something is fine, however, we do not have the money up front to do this, and we do not want to strap the church financially during a time of growth, etc. So if something comes available, and everything is in order and we feel like this will honor God, then we will go with it. As of now, nothing like this has happened.

Option 3, might be our reality. I know people hate the idea of splitting, and all that jazz, but if the numbers hold up, we could totally do this. We are trying to figure out where the second site would be, and a lot of that has to do with where a lot of people are traveling from to come to The Ridge on Sundays.

There are no definite plans as of now, but in the next couple of months we will be looking to make a decision and try and figure out our next move. As in all things we are seeking God's wisdom to lead us and to help us guide The Ridge.

So would you please start praying for The Ridge, our decision that will hopefully change everything for the good, and for our leadership.

After the Catalyst series, and we starting a new series called Relationslips, and no I did not spell that incorrectly. We are talking about why relationships slip, fall apart, and are so hard to keep together. I am excited about this series, because I think we all need help in this department!

I know God has some awesome things planned for The Ridge and its people. I am excited to see where God leads us!

I'm Back!

So I am back after taking a summer hiatus. Sometimes I have no clue what to put or write on this blog since I have this blog too. I don't want to repeat stories or ideas, so I get stumped easily. But I am back and I promise I will keep this one up too. Sometimes I might just have you click over to my blog and read what I wrote there, or I might have my readers click over her and see what I put on this blog. Who knows!

Here is a little update...
*Our Neighborhood Groups kick off next week-please pray for our leaders and we are adding new groups
*The Student Ministry kicks off this week-please pray for our leaders and the students
*Please pray for Mark and Eric-they are tag team preaching and bringing some serious stuff to The Ridge
*The Ridge is starting a 3 week series called "RelationSlips" and we are supposed to be praying for 3 people to bring with us

Church is going great, I am not going to lie! I feel God present there every week, and I feel so humbled to be a part of it. God could have sent us any where, but he chose The Ridge, and I thank him everyday for it!

I am one book away from completing all of my schooling! I am officially finished with my Master's degree, so now I am finishing up my licensing course. I have one more book to read, do a report and then I should hopefully be finished!

Molly is doing fabulous! She turned 2 on August 8, and man, time flies! She is so cute, and lovable. Right now some of her favorite things are the Backyardigans, music, playing instruments, dancing, reading books, and eating waffles, or as she calls them-awfuls.

Eric still loves his job, and he's pretty good at it! In August he did a 3 week sermon series called "Plugged In." He talked about who and what we listen to, will influence what we do. You can listen to it here. Eric is preaching on average once a month, sometimes more. He has done a phenomenal job training all the Neighborhood Group leaders, and his Community Team leaders.

We are currently looking a student minister, because it has gotten to the point where one person needs to do it, and only do that one thing. Eric has been stretched very thin, so we have been searching and praying that we can fill this position.

In other news, we decided not to buy a house this year. It was very difficult for us to make this decision, but we felt God closing all the doors to buying a house. It is not that we didn't try, man we tried, just nothing worked out! So for now we are staying in our apartment, and it really is fine. I like it here, it's safe, our rent is staying the same, and I love our neighbors. So I guess God is not finished with us here in Muskego.

Other then that, we are just living life, one day at a time, and trying to soak up all of our blessings! I honestly feel so blessed to be here, and thank you all for supporting us, financially and with your prayers. This a journey that we all have taken together, and I am so glad you are with us!

Phils' Blog

Hello friends and family!

I am sure most of you know that my step-dad, Phil, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I started a blog for him to keep you all up to date with what is going on. Go here to check it out...http://drphilny.blogspot.com-just click that link.

Thank you for your prayers!

Why to What

This past Sunday my lovely husband, Eric preached at church. We started a new series called Real Life. We revisited the SOAP method and journaling in our journals that we all got as a church. I will admit, I have stopped reading and journaling. It was easy to let missing one day turn into a week, then a month, and now I am so behind, that thinking about catching up is daunting. But I made the recommitment and I am going to just start now. Actually, I got up early this morning, right when Eric left to go workout and I just sat and read my Bible. It was so nice to have time alone, well, Molly decided to get up super early today, but she was content in her room reading while Mommy read on the couch.

Back to Sunday, Eric preached using the SOAP method and here is what I learned...

S-Phil. 1:1-14, main verse: 6- "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

O-*God is always at work in you
*His work is meant to ADVANCE His cause
*Real Life is found when God is working in us in order to accomplish His purpose through us

A-*Identify the circumstances where you are frustrated with God
*Go from asking WHY to asking WHAT- Phil. 1:12
*Your frustration is restraining your relationship with God
*It's ok to ask why
*We end up frustrated at God if we stick with why
*Your circumstances are because of the decisions you have made
*God will allow us to experience the pain of our decisions
*God wants us to grow through the pain of our bad decisions

P-Prayer, this time was really neat, Eric would pray then Elissa would sing parts of the song "Be the Center"...Oh Christ be the centers of our lives, be the place we fix our eyes, be the center of lives...

Eric also talked about Phil and his situation. I really do think Phil has approached the whole thing with a what attitude instead of a why attitude. I am sure it would be so easy and justified if he thought why and moped around. But he really is asking what God, what is meant to be learned from all of this. What circumstances would change in your life if you just asked what...

June'ish Update

Hello! Well for those of you who do not know, we did not get the house that I posted about. We are getting many different stories regarding the house, and the reason why we did not get it, so we just decided to move on. I know God has a great house for us, or maybe it's not our time to buy a house right now. Knowing that still does not make the disappointment go away, but we do find peace and comfort in our faith.

This Sunday is our last week of One Prayer. We are having a guest pastor come and speak at The Ridge. I am excited to hear him, and see what he has to say. We also are having a celebration on Sunday night, and as of right now we have 24 people signed up to get baptized. Can I please just tell you how excited I am! I love baptisms and I also bawl like a baby at them. So I will make sure I have my box of Kleenex with me, and my camera to capture the awesome moments.

Other then church stuff, not a lot going on. I have one month left of school, then I am finished! Hallelujah! I can't believe Molly will be 2 in a little over a month! Where did the time go? I am handling 2 a lot better then 1, but I still miss my little baby. Eric is busy, busy, busy, as usual. I am going to church camp with him in July. My mom is flying in to watch Molly for us, and we are going to be family leaders at camp with middle schoolers. I am pretty excited to go. Other then I found out today that there is no AC at the camp. Yikes! It has been over 100 degrees here all week. I don't even want to know what it is going to be like in July!

I pray you all have a great weekend and check back in on Monday. I plan on posting pics from our One Prayer Celebration!

One Prayer- Week 3

Today we listened to Pastor Craig from LifeChurch.tv. I have his blog linked on the side of my page, so go there and check him out. He was the one who came up with the whole concept of One Prayer. I really enjoy listening to him and he is very funny. I didn't take any official notes, but here is what I learned. God is not just about love, he is love. Craig talked a lot about feeling insignificant, bad, and unlovable. God does not love you any less or anymore more when you do something. His love is constant, always there, never wavering.

Craig's main point was God is love, and he loves us. How awesome is that. Seriously, he loves us, he chose us, he died for us.

His sermon was really good, and made me think a lot.

Happy Father's Day and have a great rest of the weekend.