A few random updates for you, since we haven't had the time or energy to update our blog. I am usually on other people's cases to keep their journal accurate. Now it is time for the pot to call himself the kettle.
Uh, whatever.
Here are a few random updates from Jennie, Gary, and Allie for this week...
(1) Allie is almost 16 pounds now. She's doing great, smiling a lot, and has a little bit of a rash. Nothing serious. She had more shots on Monday, and she was a little sensitive for the rest of the day (go figure). She is smiling a lot, laughing a lot, and still the cutest baby we've ever seen.
(2) Jennie is still working about one day a week doing home-care Occupational Therapy. Some of her patients refer to Halloween as "beggar's night," whatever that means.
(3) Gary gets "installed, inducted, and initiated" as Senior Pastor tomorrow at Delaware Grace Brethren Church (Shouldn't I be asleep by now, getting rested up for this enormous task of spiritual discipline and leadership? Well, please consider update #4 before making hasty observations like that.)
(4) Tomorrow is Daylight Savings Time here in Ohio. Turn your clock back an hour. In other words, one more hour of sleep for the Underwoods. One less hour of sleep for anyone named Cooper, Becksfort, Arnold, Bear, or Larned. Ohio rules!
(5) Allie is starting to eat solid foods. Some sort of mushy rice cereal. It is fun to spoon it into her willing mouth, only to see it all fall out within seconds. I suppose the talent of "eating" arrives by nurture instead of nature.
(6) Jennie and I had our last big Mosaic (young marrieds) event tonight, a Hayride, Bonfire, and Farm party with our friends. An eight-foot-tall Ostrich kept trying to peck at my head from above. I am grateful for fences and for good friends like Ryan and Ozella Zehner, who arranged this gig for the second year in a row. I got some great pics and raw footage from this party, after which Jennie and I hitched a Honda ride for Delaware.
(7) Drove by our new home tonight once we got here. Don't worry, we were quick about it and didn't stare. Unlike that black camaro that kept driving our home in Akron, only to park so he could gawk at our backyard. Seriously, the guy parked several times in front of our house. Maybe he's the buyer. Or maybe he's one of our backup buyers coming in tomorrow for a showing!
(8) Signed a contract to sell our current home on Thursday - thanks for praying, everyone! We are thrilled at God's timing for this, and can't wait to start actually moving here and settling in.
(9) We love you all, and can't wait for this new adventure God has in store for us. I started "at the office" this past Monday, and have had many positive meetings and interactions at our new church. Thanks for praying for us and all the encouragement.
(10) Again, huge thanks to Knute Larson, Doug Clark, Donna Holmes, and the rest of the staff and people of The Chapel. That is clearly a tremendous church, and they have treated Jennie and me with nothing but class, support, encouragement, and mentoring as we take this huge step. I seriously could not have asked for a better send-off. A longer description of this would bring me to tears, even before Daylight Savings Time kicks in. Nothing but love for The Chapel.
Ten updates seems a little excessive. More in a few days, of course!
Saturday, October 30, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Speaking of Farewell?
Our friends, Bob & Lori Siffert, helped us unwind after our exciting Sunday with dinner at Parasson's on Waterloo Road. Of course I had their deluxe peronal pizza with hot peppers on it, and plenty of italian dressing to dip my crust in.
Meanwhile, the Sifferts updated us about their plans to move to Ocala, Florida. We've known Bob & Lori for over two years, and they have been great encouragers and friends to us in a lot of ways. We'll miss them, but we're glad that Delaware is on their way from Akron to Florida...
The Sifferrts probably won't move until sometime after Thanksgiving, so you still have time to catch up with them before they go. I told them this picture was for the website, and it's definitely worthy!
Meanwhile, the Sifferts updated us about their plans to move to Ocala, Florida. We've known Bob & Lori for over two years, and they have been great encouragers and friends to us in a lot of ways. We'll miss them, but we're glad that Delaware is on their way from Akron to Florida...
The Sifferrts probably won't move until sometime after Thanksgiving, so you still have time to catch up with them before they go. I told them this picture was for the website, and it's definitely worthy!
Saying Farewell...
Today marked Gary & Jennie's last official day at The Chapel. During the morning services, Pastor Doug Clark asked us to share with the Green Campus congregation about our new opportunity to Senior Pastor at Delaware Grace Brethren, and prayed for us with the whole church. During our young marrieds group, our friends gave us a beautiful and heart-felt collection of letters and pictures and scrapbook for us to remember forever the friendships and times that God has given us here at the Green Campus. Dan Bahry, our class leader, led the class in a prayer for us and was terrific at encouraging us! For lunch, my parents and our wonderful young marrieds group, MOSAIC, threw us a huge celebration party in the senior high room. After quickly feeding Allison, we then went to a Baby Dedication for two families we love from Akron, Dave & Kasey Firestine (their son, Benjamin), and Ryan & Kristi Sacha (Luke). Later this evening, we went to The Chapel's "Illuminate" evening service, where Pastor Knute Larson introduced us and prayed for us with the evening congregation.
We rejoice with Mike Arnold (pictured, with me above) and his wife Rachelle - as The Chapel also gave them a royal "sendoff" to their new ministry in Las Vegas. Yes, THAT Vegas! Mike is going to be the lead pastor for the young adult ministry at Central Christian Church, one of the most exciting and progressive churches in the country! Over the last two years, I have grown to know and love Mike for his passion for Christ and his love for young adults both inside and outside of faith in Christ. Mike and Rachelle (and Laney) will be sorely missed at The Chapel, but they are also following God's lead in this Great Adventure!
While Jennie and I are excited about this next chapter of our lives together, this time at The Chapel has been phenomenal. I want to publicly (on my blogger?) thank Pastor Knute Larson (and everyone else at The Chapel) for their support and encouragement of me (and Mike Arnold) with this new opportunity. This church really does have the heart to impact the world - not just Akron and Green - and we are thrilled to be part of this ministry at this point in our lives.
I'm sure I'll have a lot more to journal about this whole transition and all that we are thinking and praying through, but today was definitely one of the most memorable days in our lives!
We rejoice with Mike Arnold (pictured, with me above) and his wife Rachelle - as The Chapel also gave them a royal "sendoff" to their new ministry in Las Vegas. Yes, THAT Vegas! Mike is going to be the lead pastor for the young adult ministry at Central Christian Church, one of the most exciting and progressive churches in the country! Over the last two years, I have grown to know and love Mike for his passion for Christ and his love for young adults both inside and outside of faith in Christ. Mike and Rachelle (and Laney) will be sorely missed at The Chapel, but they are also following God's lead in this Great Adventure!
While Jennie and I are excited about this next chapter of our lives together, this time at The Chapel has been phenomenal. I want to publicly (on my blogger?) thank Pastor Knute Larson (and everyone else at The Chapel) for their support and encouragement of me (and Mike Arnold) with this new opportunity. This church really does have the heart to impact the world - not just Akron and Green - and we are thrilled to be part of this ministry at this point in our lives.
I'm sure I'll have a lot more to journal about this whole transition and all that we are thinking and praying through, but today was definitely one of the most memorable days in our lives!
Allie with Uncle Steve Walta
Somebody liked meeting her relatives in Michigan! We are sooo fortunate to have such a happy baby!
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Tour de Midwest 2004
For the past eight days or so, Jennie, Allie, and I have been touring the glorious Midwest, for family, friendship, ministry, and sports.
Family? Yeah, that's spending Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with Grandma Walta in Chicago, and then heading to Big Rapids, Michigan for three days with Jennie's parents - Bill & Sue Walta. The whole Walta clan was there, including Brian & Lynna and Steve. Allie got to meet her uncles and aunt for the first time!
Friendship? Yeah, we spent last weekend in Indiana with friends from our days at Grace College and Seminary (see pic from previous post).
Ministry? I attended Willow Creek's second-annual conference on Preaching & Teaching. I got to see my friend Jeremy Helmuth, who is also a senior pastor in north-central Indiana. We got to hear terrific teaching from Bill Hybels, Erwin McManus, Ed Young, Richard Allen Farmer, and Larry Crabb.
Sports? Well, I didn't "play" any sports. I did, however, draft a fantasy team with my friends from Grace. Got all my "usual suspects," including Peja Stojakovic, Eric Snow, Rodney Rogers, Aaron McKie, and Steve Nash (if you care).
I'm sure I'll post more about our terrific week together, and some really cute pictures of Allie. We are excited and even sad to see her growing up so fast!!
Family? Yeah, that's spending Tuesday night and Wednesday morning with Grandma Walta in Chicago, and then heading to Big Rapids, Michigan for three days with Jennie's parents - Bill & Sue Walta. The whole Walta clan was there, including Brian & Lynna and Steve. Allie got to meet her uncles and aunt for the first time!
Friendship? Yeah, we spent last weekend in Indiana with friends from our days at Grace College and Seminary (see pic from previous post).
Ministry? I attended Willow Creek's second-annual conference on Preaching & Teaching. I got to see my friend Jeremy Helmuth, who is also a senior pastor in north-central Indiana. We got to hear terrific teaching from Bill Hybels, Erwin McManus, Ed Young, Richard Allen Farmer, and Larry Crabb.
Sports? Well, I didn't "play" any sports. I did, however, draft a fantasy team with my friends from Grace. Got all my "usual suspects," including Peja Stojakovic, Eric Snow, Rodney Rogers, Aaron McKie, and Steve Nash (if you care).
I'm sure I'll post more about our terrific week together, and some really cute pictures of Allie. We are excited and even sad to see her growing up so fast!!
Thursday, October 14, 2004
It's THAT time again...
Every 3rd weekend of October, Jennie and I make the pilgrimage to Winona Lake, Indiana. It's the town where I spent seven of the most challenging and wonderful years of my life. It's the place where I found some of the most meaningful and deep friendships a guy could ever have. It's the place where I ate literally tons of Mexican food. And, oh yeah, it's the place where I met my wife Jennie at the Hacienda Mexican Restaurant.
But why go there every third weekend in October?
Is it the beautiful fall colors and weather that provide a brilliant God-induced backdrop on the sentimental shores of Winona Lake?
Is it the exciting fall Homecoming and class reunion stuff that some people live for and always strive to keep in touch?
Is it the Mexican food?
Nay. Nope. Nada. Nein. Never.
I pack up the Accord and drive six hours and spend three days in the friendly confines of central Indiana because of the FBL.
Sure, I use these times as an opportunity to connect with friends old and new, and Jennie is planning to see several of her bridesmaids and also spend time with friends who are going with us.
But we're there for the FBL.
"What in the world is an FBL?" you ask?
The Grace FBL (Fantasy Basketball League) formed in the fall of 1994 in Jason Knavel's dorm room at Grace. Ten years later, most of the guys who started this league are still together. It has become sort of a reunion and a time to catch up and have a great weekend together.
We have all gone our separate ways, with new lives, jobs, families, ministries -- and yet, a stupid basketball league keeps us together for at least one weekend a year.
When we get together, we do a big Saturday breakfast. It started at Bob Evans, but Bob's is always packed on Saturday mornings, and one year we had a party of 24 people and the breakfast natives were restless. We now go to nearby Mentone, and Teel's, for their excellent breakfast buffet.
Last year, the draft was on Saturday afternoon, but this year it is Sunday, due to several Saturday weddings.
"The draft?" Yeah, we still do the basketball thing, where each of us picks players from pro basketball teams and forms our own "fantasy team." I usually wind up with some random combination of players, plus my customary lineup of Eric Snow, Rodney Rogers, Peja Stojakovic, and Kenny Thomas.
"Too much information - who cares about your league?"
Well, some of the guys keep up with it, and some don't. We all think the draft weekend is the most fun, and it is our chance to just be college guys again. It is also great to catch up and see where everyone is in life. Then it's great to eat breakfast, play basketball, do the draft, joke around, and reminisce about the great times we've had together.
Dave Pacheco will recieve his championship trophy this Sunday - his second such title - for his team, the "Johnsonville Bratwursts."
My team, The Village Idiots, is a perennial contender and 2-time champion as well.
It's FBL week, everyone! Let's get it started!
But why go there every third weekend in October?
Is it the beautiful fall colors and weather that provide a brilliant God-induced backdrop on the sentimental shores of Winona Lake?
Is it the exciting fall Homecoming and class reunion stuff that some people live for and always strive to keep in touch?
Is it the Mexican food?
Nay. Nope. Nada. Nein. Never.
I pack up the Accord and drive six hours and spend three days in the friendly confines of central Indiana because of the FBL.
Sure, I use these times as an opportunity to connect with friends old and new, and Jennie is planning to see several of her bridesmaids and also spend time with friends who are going with us.
But we're there for the FBL.
"What in the world is an FBL?" you ask?
The Grace FBL (Fantasy Basketball League) formed in the fall of 1994 in Jason Knavel's dorm room at Grace. Ten years later, most of the guys who started this league are still together. It has become sort of a reunion and a time to catch up and have a great weekend together.
We have all gone our separate ways, with new lives, jobs, families, ministries -- and yet, a stupid basketball league keeps us together for at least one weekend a year.
When we get together, we do a big Saturday breakfast. It started at Bob Evans, but Bob's is always packed on Saturday mornings, and one year we had a party of 24 people and the breakfast natives were restless. We now go to nearby Mentone, and Teel's, for their excellent breakfast buffet.
Last year, the draft was on Saturday afternoon, but this year it is Sunday, due to several Saturday weddings.
"The draft?" Yeah, we still do the basketball thing, where each of us picks players from pro basketball teams and forms our own "fantasy team." I usually wind up with some random combination of players, plus my customary lineup of Eric Snow, Rodney Rogers, Peja Stojakovic, and Kenny Thomas.
"Too much information - who cares about your league?"
Well, some of the guys keep up with it, and some don't. We all think the draft weekend is the most fun, and it is our chance to just be college guys again. It is also great to catch up and see where everyone is in life. Then it's great to eat breakfast, play basketball, do the draft, joke around, and reminisce about the great times we've had together.
Dave Pacheco will recieve his championship trophy this Sunday - his second such title - for his team, the "Johnsonville Bratwursts."
My team, The Village Idiots, is a perennial contender and 2-time champion as well.
It's FBL week, everyone! Let's get it started!
Sunday, October 10, 2004
One Dedicated Baby!
Today, at The Chapel's Green Campus, we had a Baby Dedication for our young married friends - the Mosaic group. This is a group of friends who we've grown to know and love over the last year and a half.
It was great, as a pastor and friend, to be able to encourage and dedicate the children in this group and dedicate their parents to the terrific responsibility and honor of Christian parenthood. This picture is of Allison Joy Underwood, my favorite child in the group.
No offense to the other kids in the group, but Allie has just caught a piece of my heart for whatever reason. I'm sure you understand. My parents were here and were very proud of Allie, in a beautiful white dress.
It was great, as a pastor and friend, to be able to encourage and dedicate the children in this group and dedicate their parents to the terrific responsibility and honor of Christian parenthood. This picture is of Allison Joy Underwood, my favorite child in the group.
No offense to the other kids in the group, but Allie has just caught a piece of my heart for whatever reason. I'm sure you understand. My parents were here and were very proud of Allie, in a beautiful white dress.
Growing up Fast!
Allie is 3.75 months old. Can't believe how quickly she's growing!
She can now...
- almost roll over
- see, reach for, and grab objects
- laugh!
- blow bubbles with her mouth and drool
- suck her thumb, or at least several fingers
- smile a lot
- raise one eyebrow or the other in a very cute and curious manner.
- handle, and even appreciate being hoisted in the air horizontally. Hoisted, not thrown. Not yet, that is. Please, don't try throwing her into the air just yet. One trick at a time, please.
- she likes to "talk" a lot. Words are coming fast, slurred, and loud. Look out world!
She can now...
- almost roll over
- see, reach for, and grab objects
- laugh!
- blow bubbles with her mouth and drool
- suck her thumb, or at least several fingers
- smile a lot
- raise one eyebrow or the other in a very cute and curious manner.
- handle, and even appreciate being hoisted in the air horizontally. Hoisted, not thrown. Not yet, that is. Please, don't try throwing her into the air just yet. One trick at a time, please.
- she likes to "talk" a lot. Words are coming fast, slurred, and loud. Look out world!
Friday, October 08, 2004
Rock'em, Blue Streaks!
Tonight, Jennie and I went with some friends to see Lake play GlenOak. Two of the best teams in Stark County this year, playing with a shot at the Federal League championship on the line.
Though it's been 12 years now since I graduated from Lake, I am still pretty excited about their football tradition. Lake is the smallest school in the league (Division 2), but has had tremendous success in the last fifteen years under the leadership of their outstanding coach, Jeff Durbin. Durbin's teams have made it to three state championship games, and made the state playoffs more times than any other school in the area in the last 10 and 15 years.
Earlier this season, Lake beat perennial power Canton McKinley in front of a sellout crowd. During homecoming, Lake beat North Canton Hoover 38-7 in an embarrassing blowout. Tonight, against GlenOak, we would see if Lake (5-1) would set itself up to play for the Federal League championship soon against unbeaten Austintown Fitch.
Tonight, Lake absolutely dominated the hapless Golden Eagles, 28-14. The Blue Streaks have an explosive, controlling offense with running back A.J. Workman (38 carries, 176 yards) and all-league quarterback John Rutan. GlenOak was helpless against Lake's offense, and kept giving them the ball! The Eagles' promising junior QB Mike Hartline threw three interceptions to the Blue Streaks' opportunistic defense.
In other words, I still love high school football, and it's great to see my alma mater playing at such a dominant level once again. If they do beat Fitch, people will start to say that Lake could once again roll through the playoffs, and maybe finally win that elusive state championship.
Even if they don't, it's pretty amazing to see a great coach stay for such a long time (16 years now?), and Jeff Durbin's teams always seem disciplined, competitive, and exciting.
We had a great time with the Debevecs and the Greynolds, and even bumped into Rob Hardy!
Did Allie go? No, but she did make it to dinner at the Hartville Kitchen with us before the game. What baby in her right mind would miss that?
Though it's been 12 years now since I graduated from Lake, I am still pretty excited about their football tradition. Lake is the smallest school in the league (Division 2), but has had tremendous success in the last fifteen years under the leadership of their outstanding coach, Jeff Durbin. Durbin's teams have made it to three state championship games, and made the state playoffs more times than any other school in the area in the last 10 and 15 years.
Earlier this season, Lake beat perennial power Canton McKinley in front of a sellout crowd. During homecoming, Lake beat North Canton Hoover 38-7 in an embarrassing blowout. Tonight, against GlenOak, we would see if Lake (5-1) would set itself up to play for the Federal League championship soon against unbeaten Austintown Fitch.
Tonight, Lake absolutely dominated the hapless Golden Eagles, 28-14. The Blue Streaks have an explosive, controlling offense with running back A.J. Workman (38 carries, 176 yards) and all-league quarterback John Rutan. GlenOak was helpless against Lake's offense, and kept giving them the ball! The Eagles' promising junior QB Mike Hartline threw three interceptions to the Blue Streaks' opportunistic defense.
In other words, I still love high school football, and it's great to see my alma mater playing at such a dominant level once again. If they do beat Fitch, people will start to say that Lake could once again roll through the playoffs, and maybe finally win that elusive state championship.
Even if they don't, it's pretty amazing to see a great coach stay for such a long time (16 years now?), and Jeff Durbin's teams always seem disciplined, competitive, and exciting.
We had a great time with the Debevecs and the Greynolds, and even bumped into Rob Hardy!
Did Allie go? No, but she did make it to dinner at the Hartville Kitchen with us before the game. What baby in her right mind would miss that?
Thursday, October 07, 2004
Uh, the future?
I realize that, if you're selling a house, it's probably a bad idea to indicate that you've already found the place you're moving to.
You know, don't act like in a hurry to sell or anything.
We're really not in a hurry to sell. For real. I mean it. No doubt. No need to rush.
I just like posting pics of random houses that we may or may not already envision ourselves as owning.
Then again, it is probably bad strategy when trying to sell a house. I mean, you never know who could see this website. Can't you see potential buyers for our home accidentally logging on to see that we've already got our eyes fixed on our next home? That is a clean recipe for disaster.
As a result, I'd like you to please disregard this picture. Pretend I pulled it off a random website and that we really haven't entered some sort of contact with the seller. Pretend that you didn't read this post, and that your friend who wants to buy a home in Green really does need to take his time looking through our house.
Pretend you never read this blog.
You know, don't act like in a hurry to sell or anything.
We're really not in a hurry to sell. For real. I mean it. No doubt. No need to rush.
I just like posting pics of random houses that we may or may not already envision ourselves as owning.
Then again, it is probably bad strategy when trying to sell a house. I mean, you never know who could see this website. Can't you see potential buyers for our home accidentally logging on to see that we've already got our eyes fixed on our next home? That is a clean recipe for disaster.
As a result, I'd like you to please disregard this picture. Pretend I pulled it off a random website and that we really haven't entered some sort of contact with the seller. Pretend that you didn't read this post, and that your friend who wants to buy a home in Green really does need to take his time looking through our house.
Pretend you never read this blog.
For Sale!
Friends, if you know anyone looking for a house in Green, here is my shameless plug for you to spread the word!
This is our home, and we've loved it, but now we are headed to Delaware, Ohio.
Seriously, if you know anyone who is interested, have them call Wanda at 330-958-9316.
Also, there is an open house this Saturday (10/9) from 12-2pm. Don't miss out on this terrific family home on a large corner lot. We'll include the basketball hoop and the mailbox for the right price.
This is our home, and we've loved it, but now we are headed to Delaware, Ohio.
Seriously, if you know anyone who is interested, have them call Wanda at 330-958-9316.
Also, there is an open house this Saturday (10/9) from 12-2pm. Don't miss out on this terrific family home on a large corner lot. We'll include the basketball hoop and the mailbox for the right price.
Monday, September 27, 2004
Allie = Baby Model?
Today, we went to Babies'R'Us for Allie's 3-month pictures. We loved this photo, and got several large prints of it. I think Allie could go the rest of her life and not have another picture this cute. Then again, she does keep raising the bar.
Sunday, September 26, 2004
We're moving to Delaware!
Word out of Akron, Ohio has it that the Underwoods are moving to Delaware, Ohio, as Gary has been called to be the Senior Pastor at Delaware Grace Brethren Church!
It's all true - just one week ago today, the people of Delaware GBC voted to invite Gary to be their Senior Pastor.
(I don't know why I'm writing this entry in 3rd-person, so I'll switch to 1st-person for the rest of the time.)
I'll post a detailed timeline of how this all came together in an upcoming blogger entry, but here's the "gist" of it.
Over a year ago, this church got my name from Dr. Ken Bickel, a mentor, professor and friend of mine from my time at Grace Theological Seminary. At the time, serving The Chapel's new Green Campus, we weren't ready to consider another opportunity.
In the months that followed, both Dr. Bickel, Danny Wright, and a couple of others repeatedly encouraged us to "at least visit the church and get to know the people in Delaware..."
This past May, Pastor Brian Blackburn from Delaware GBC began emailing us to see if we might be interested in visiting. He came with a group of leaders from their church to hear me preach at The Chapel in early August.
A few days later, Jennie and I were in Delaware to visit the church, interview for the position, and also interview the church for ourselves.
We were overwhelmed with the love, mood, and mindset of the people we met there. Jennie and I began to talk, wonder, and pray about this opportunity. The church was very serious about hiring me. They had even read our website (garyandjennie.com) and were still interested!
Anyhow, they invited me down to "candidate" for a week, with preaching both on Sundays September 12 and 19. Jennie, Allie, and I were there all week - meeting as many people as possible, attending meetings and going out to dinner with people. It was an exciting and exhausting week, but it really helped us feel that this would be a great place to be.
On September 19th, after the two morning worship services, the church was to vote on whether or not they really wanted us to be there, and for me to be their senior pastor. While I wondered how this would turn out, I went with Jennie and my parents to eat at a Mexican Restaurant (where else?)... As we pulled into the parking lot at Vaquero's (very authentic), my cell rang.
It was Bill Moore and the other elders of the church, calling to tell me that, with greater than a 95% approval vote, they want to ask me to be the Senior Pastor at Delaware Grace Brethren Church.
(It is great to finally be able to announce this in detail on our website - we wanted to wait until we had announced it to our Mosaic young marrieds group at The Chapel. It is still much better to tell people in person, but I couldn't wait to blog about it here.)
As far as The Chapel goes, Pastor Larson has been a great encouragement to me and is helping me think through different issues as I move into a position of senior leadership. This is definitely an exciting opportunity. The church has an attendance of 400-500 people, and is in a growing community with many new people. Delaware county is the fastest growing county in Ohio, and one of the fastest growing places in the country. The people, the church, the location, the community - all are at an exciting time of growth, openness, and desire to follow a new good leader.
I crave your prayers and friendships as we approach this challenge. I will definitely have more thoughts and updates. This post has been more of a "newsflash" than my personal thoughts about all that has happened. I'll get personal on my next post, but just let you know that we are filled with emotion (both sad to leave Akron and excited for what lies ahead).
It's all true - just one week ago today, the people of Delaware GBC voted to invite Gary to be their Senior Pastor.
(I don't know why I'm writing this entry in 3rd-person, so I'll switch to 1st-person for the rest of the time.)
I'll post a detailed timeline of how this all came together in an upcoming blogger entry, but here's the "gist" of it.
Over a year ago, this church got my name from Dr. Ken Bickel, a mentor, professor and friend of mine from my time at Grace Theological Seminary. At the time, serving The Chapel's new Green Campus, we weren't ready to consider another opportunity.
In the months that followed, both Dr. Bickel, Danny Wright, and a couple of others repeatedly encouraged us to "at least visit the church and get to know the people in Delaware..."
This past May, Pastor Brian Blackburn from Delaware GBC began emailing us to see if we might be interested in visiting. He came with a group of leaders from their church to hear me preach at The Chapel in early August.
A few days later, Jennie and I were in Delaware to visit the church, interview for the position, and also interview the church for ourselves.
We were overwhelmed with the love, mood, and mindset of the people we met there. Jennie and I began to talk, wonder, and pray about this opportunity. The church was very serious about hiring me. They had even read our website (garyandjennie.com) and were still interested!
Anyhow, they invited me down to "candidate" for a week, with preaching both on Sundays September 12 and 19. Jennie, Allie, and I were there all week - meeting as many people as possible, attending meetings and going out to dinner with people. It was an exciting and exhausting week, but it really helped us feel that this would be a great place to be.
On September 19th, after the two morning worship services, the church was to vote on whether or not they really wanted us to be there, and for me to be their senior pastor. While I wondered how this would turn out, I went with Jennie and my parents to eat at a Mexican Restaurant (where else?)... As we pulled into the parking lot at Vaquero's (very authentic), my cell rang.
It was Bill Moore and the other elders of the church, calling to tell me that, with greater than a 95% approval vote, they want to ask me to be the Senior Pastor at Delaware Grace Brethren Church.
(It is great to finally be able to announce this in detail on our website - we wanted to wait until we had announced it to our Mosaic young marrieds group at The Chapel. It is still much better to tell people in person, but I couldn't wait to blog about it here.)
As far as The Chapel goes, Pastor Larson has been a great encouragement to me and is helping me think through different issues as I move into a position of senior leadership. This is definitely an exciting opportunity. The church has an attendance of 400-500 people, and is in a growing community with many new people. Delaware county is the fastest growing county in Ohio, and one of the fastest growing places in the country. The people, the church, the location, the community - all are at an exciting time of growth, openness, and desire to follow a new good leader.
I crave your prayers and friendships as we approach this challenge. I will definitely have more thoughts and updates. This post has been more of a "newsflash" than my personal thoughts about all that has happened. I'll get personal on my next post, but just let you know that we are filled with emotion (both sad to leave Akron and excited for what lies ahead).
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Gotta love Pancho's!
Tonight, Jennie and I took my parents out for my mom's birthday. I had their famous chili for an appetizer, and asked if they'd take my picture. I told them I was a full-time journalist for garyandjennie.com, and they were honored to be G&J's featured restaurant of the week!
If you're headed to Pancho's this week, check out their hearty NINE-layer nacho dip. That's right, nine layers come with three tortillas for only $6.99, and you're guaranteed to either be stuffed beyond belief or have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow. Incidentally, that was my plan, as I plowed into each layer of chicken, sour cream, refried beans, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, cheese, jalapenos, and scallions. Add some of their classic salsa and a healthy spray of Tabasco sauce, and I was in Mexican heaven.
For my mom's birthday, they gave us each a HUGE scoop of vanilla ice cream ($1 each) and sang to us. Maybe you remember that this is how Jennie and I met at the Hacienda Mexican restaurant in Warsaw, Indiana, just five years ago. It's hard to compare any restaurant with Hacienda, but Pancho's has found a special place in our hearts. They even let me into their kitchen!
If you're headed to Pancho's this week, check out their hearty NINE-layer nacho dip. That's right, nine layers come with three tortillas for only $6.99, and you're guaranteed to either be stuffed beyond belief or have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow. Incidentally, that was my plan, as I plowed into each layer of chicken, sour cream, refried beans, guacamole, tomatoes, onions, cheese, jalapenos, and scallions. Add some of their classic salsa and a healthy spray of Tabasco sauce, and I was in Mexican heaven.
For my mom's birthday, they gave us each a HUGE scoop of vanilla ice cream ($1 each) and sang to us. Maybe you remember that this is how Jennie and I met at the Hacienda Mexican restaurant in Warsaw, Indiana, just five years ago. It's hard to compare any restaurant with Hacienda, but Pancho's has found a special place in our hearts. They even let me into their kitchen!
Allie and Gary in the gazebo
While Jennie picked out three huge bags of apples, I sat with Allie in the gazebo and told her about pumpkins, blueberries, and pears. She has no problem smiling at people, but this is one of her rare smiles for the camera. We'll explain this one to her soon too.
Allie and Mommy by the apples
Jennie got lots of apples to make applesauce with, and I got to play with the camera. We had to explain to Allie that pumpkins are not "large apples."
Inquisitive Allison Joy
Today we took Allie to the apple orchard just south of Massillon. She got to see apples, pumpkins, and flowers. I'm going to post a few pics today, but this one had to go first.
Good Buys, Good byes, and Bye Weeks...
The word "bye" (or it's same-sounding "buy") has various meanings...
(1) "Good Buy" - Well, you can get two hot dogs at our local Speedway for $0.99. Hard to beat that deal, and you get to put all sorts of toppings on your dogs. Jalapenos, ketchup, mustard, onions, tomatoes, what have you. Now that's a good buy. Today I found a book for $8 that I almost bought for $24 a few days ago. That's a good buy. We found out that, at our local mexican restaurant, you can buy the "Nine layer dip" and fill up about six tortillas with the dip - for a third of the price of two meals which would amount to the exact same portion of food! Yikes!
(2) "Good byes" - We found out this week that Mike & Rochelle Arnold, our friends and "colleagues" in ministry at The Chapel, are moving to Las Vegas. While it will be hard to say goodbye to them, it is a great opportunity for Mike, at a large church leading the young adult movement there. Fortunately, thanks to bloggers, instant messengers, and a new device that seems strange to me (a "telephone"), saying goodbye isn't as hard as it used to be. The world seems smaller when you've had contact with friends in Alabama, Washington state, and Southern Ohio in meaningful ways.
(3) "Bye Weeks" - This week, Ohio State has a "bye," which means they don't have to play anyone. This is fortunate for the other team. I am not sure why we call it a "bye" week. Smart fans will still find ESPN's college GameDay worth watching. The NFL also has a bye week for most teams. Some teams have only one bye week per year. This week, however, the New York Giants will have their second bye week - they play the Browns. Easy win.
I have some great pics to put on this site, and will do so on Sunday or Monday. Jennie and I are doing great, and Allie is 13.5 weeks old. She is starting to try to talk, and making a lot more noises. She sleeps great, and is learning to touch things that she sees. The eye-hand coordination is amazing to watch. She realizes that she can move her hands and tell them where she wants them to go. Her feet are another story. You might find her - fully asleep - lying on her back, raising up both feet high in the air and kicking the ground, only to stay asleep. She's quite talented.
(1) "Good Buy" - Well, you can get two hot dogs at our local Speedway for $0.99. Hard to beat that deal, and you get to put all sorts of toppings on your dogs. Jalapenos, ketchup, mustard, onions, tomatoes, what have you. Now that's a good buy. Today I found a book for $8 that I almost bought for $24 a few days ago. That's a good buy. We found out that, at our local mexican restaurant, you can buy the "Nine layer dip" and fill up about six tortillas with the dip - for a third of the price of two meals which would amount to the exact same portion of food! Yikes!
(2) "Good byes" - We found out this week that Mike & Rochelle Arnold, our friends and "colleagues" in ministry at The Chapel, are moving to Las Vegas. While it will be hard to say goodbye to them, it is a great opportunity for Mike, at a large church leading the young adult movement there. Fortunately, thanks to bloggers, instant messengers, and a new device that seems strange to me (a "telephone"), saying goodbye isn't as hard as it used to be. The world seems smaller when you've had contact with friends in Alabama, Washington state, and Southern Ohio in meaningful ways.
(3) "Bye Weeks" - This week, Ohio State has a "bye," which means they don't have to play anyone. This is fortunate for the other team. I am not sure why we call it a "bye" week. Smart fans will still find ESPN's college GameDay worth watching. The NFL also has a bye week for most teams. Some teams have only one bye week per year. This week, however, the New York Giants will have their second bye week - they play the Browns. Easy win.
I have some great pics to put on this site, and will do so on Sunday or Monday. Jennie and I are doing great, and Allie is 13.5 weeks old. She is starting to try to talk, and making a lot more noises. She sleeps great, and is learning to touch things that she sees. The eye-hand coordination is amazing to watch. She realizes that she can move her hands and tell them where she wants them to go. Her feet are another story. You might find her - fully asleep - lying on her back, raising up both feet high in the air and kicking the ground, only to stay asleep. She's quite talented.
Fast mover?
Here are Jennie and Allie with newborn baby Benjamin David Firestine (picture taken on 9/10/04) - many more pictures to come, but this was a great time of seeing our friends Dave & Kasey with their new son. With Allie and Ben so close, you can see how much she's grown already. Just turned 13 weeks old this week, Allie is ready for some official 3-month pics to be taken this week.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
Seems like forever...
It already seems like forever since I wrote on this journal...
So much has changed, I don't know where to start.
Ohio State is 3-0... A friend from The Chapel is on ESPN's "Dream Job"... An exterminator killed an enormous "bald-faced hornet" nest in our yard... A friend of mine is moving to Las Vegas... I am having free pizza Friday night... The Browns lost about five players to injury... God is doing some great things in our lives... and, well, a whole bunch of other stuff.
Over the past week, I've felt like I have a lot to write on this website, and it's all stuff I really can't talk about yet. That's crazy. I feel guilty about not being honest - not being current - on a silly blogger. This feeling of guilt is compounded by the fact that I have "encouraged" other people to write updates more frequently on their bloggers.
Oh well... that's life, I guess.
You'll have seasons where you really have a lot to say, and then others...
And you also have that gnawing feeling that sometimes you'd rather talk to people in person than hope they read your webpage. Then again, you want your website to be more interesting than a weekly dose of "here's my website and how it feels to write stuff on it."
I like Chili. I had Applebee's chili today with Zac Derr. I remember seeing Zac on Fox Sports Ohio, as he kicked the game-winning Field Goal to lead the Akron Zips over the lowly Ohio Bobcats two years ago. We all know that the Bobcats really aren't "lowly," but I have a friend named Jeff who will think that was funny.
It is nice to see how your perceptions of people change as you get to know them. You know what I mean? It's how Tom Burns went from the guy I didn't like on the basketball court to being one of my best friends. It's how Josh Smith went from being the class-clown in a young marrieds ABF three years ago to being one of my best friends. And, it's how Zac Derr went from being that guy who is the all-time leading scorer in Zips football history to being one of my best friends.
Even though he's a Steeler fan, I love him. Then again, Josh is a Yankee fan, and Honus is a Braves fan.
Can't we all just love the Buckeyes and get along?
Uh, I mean, can't Gary get through one post without mentionining football?
Sure, but not this one.
This is unrelated... how do you know if you can trust someone? Or do you only know when you can't? Maybe you only find out when they have broken that trust... and it hurts.
(prediction, Ohio State will not lose this weekend!)
So much has changed, I don't know where to start.
Ohio State is 3-0... A friend from The Chapel is on ESPN's "Dream Job"... An exterminator killed an enormous "bald-faced hornet" nest in our yard... A friend of mine is moving to Las Vegas... I am having free pizza Friday night... The Browns lost about five players to injury... God is doing some great things in our lives... and, well, a whole bunch of other stuff.
Over the past week, I've felt like I have a lot to write on this website, and it's all stuff I really can't talk about yet. That's crazy. I feel guilty about not being honest - not being current - on a silly blogger. This feeling of guilt is compounded by the fact that I have "encouraged" other people to write updates more frequently on their bloggers.
Oh well... that's life, I guess.
You'll have seasons where you really have a lot to say, and then others...
And you also have that gnawing feeling that sometimes you'd rather talk to people in person than hope they read your webpage. Then again, you want your website to be more interesting than a weekly dose of "here's my website and how it feels to write stuff on it."
I like Chili. I had Applebee's chili today with Zac Derr. I remember seeing Zac on Fox Sports Ohio, as he kicked the game-winning Field Goal to lead the Akron Zips over the lowly Ohio Bobcats two years ago. We all know that the Bobcats really aren't "lowly," but I have a friend named Jeff who will think that was funny.
It is nice to see how your perceptions of people change as you get to know them. You know what I mean? It's how Tom Burns went from the guy I didn't like on the basketball court to being one of my best friends. It's how Josh Smith went from being the class-clown in a young marrieds ABF three years ago to being one of my best friends. And, it's how Zac Derr went from being that guy who is the all-time leading scorer in Zips football history to being one of my best friends.
Even though he's a Steeler fan, I love him. Then again, Josh is a Yankee fan, and Honus is a Braves fan.
Can't we all just love the Buckeyes and get along?
Uh, I mean, can't Gary get through one post without mentionining football?
Sure, but not this one.
This is unrelated... how do you know if you can trust someone? Or do you only know when you can't? Maybe you only find out when they have broken that trust... and it hurts.
(prediction, Ohio State will not lose this weekend!)
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