Sunnyvale Campus Launch

Yesterday was a historic day. South Bay became one church in two locations as we launched our Sunnyvale campus! After years of dreaming and months of intense planning, the day had arrived!

Andy preached an awesome sermon as we began our new message series called, "Overloaded." Over the next five weeks we are asking God to teach us how to "escape marginless living." Click here to listen to his sermon.

It was a PACKED house at the Sunnyvale Community center. There was standing room only in the auditorium as we all squeezed in like sardines to be apart of the excitement. The total count was 496! Pastor Filipe announced at the end of the service that we will immediately be starting a 2nd service NEXT SUNDAY! The new service times will be 10:00 and 11:30.

BayKids really showed off yesterday. Every child was greeted with balloons and tons of friendly volunteers. They had music, Bible stories, crafts, and snacks. The kids also loved the bouncy houses and goodie bags! What kid wouldn't have a blast and beg their parents to bring them back?!?

The space for elementary kids was amazing. So big and bright. They even had 4 games stations for the kids to play with before and afterwards!

My heart was bursting with pride as I saw all of the volunteers serving so diligently with such joy. There is SO MUCH joy and life and community in being on a team serving in ways that truly make a difference. God used these people (and many more not pictured) to pull this off! I pray they feel a deep level of fulfillment and the smile of Jesus as they offer their heartfelt service to Him!

I can't wait to see all that God does through this Sunnyvale campus. Unending potential!

The Lord has done great things for us,

and we are filled with JOY!

Psalm 126:3

Sick Day

Thermometer. Advil. Water bottle. Banana peel.

That's what's sitting beside me on my bedside table right now. Sick day = no fun.

I went to bed feeling crummy last night. Achy & chills, but no fever. I thought I was just exhausted from a long Sunday and not getting enough sleep the past few days. But as I slept fitfully for a few hours I could feel the achyness increasing and by 3:30AM I had a 102 fever. Bummer.

When mom gets sick, life gets complicated. Especially when mom is the sole source of nourishment for a 3 month old baby.

My husband is a rock star, and a saint, and an awesome example of what a husband/father should be. Not only did he totally readjust his morning to be able to stay home and help with the kids, he did it without ever giving me the slightest hint that it was an inconvenience for him. Love that man. I stayed quarantined in my room and just passed bottles out to him every 3 hours. Praying God protects the rest of my family (ESPECIALLY Karis) from this sickness!

Random side note, I wasn't sure whether or not I could give Karis my breastmilk while I'm sick, so I Googled it, of course. And wouldn't you know, that miracle liquid from God is exactly what's best for her even when I'm sick. In fact, the immunity that my body is building to fight off this sickness is being passed to her through my milk to protect her from getting it! Amazing. (The older boys are on their own though because I do NOT plan on passing out cups of my milk to everyone else in the fam. That's a little weird to me!)

So thankful my friend, Darlene, could come this afternoon to help with my kiddos so Andy could get a little work done. Thanks, Darlene!

I would totally appreciate your prayers as I feel like the timing of this sickness is less than coincidental. We are launching South Bay's Sunnyvale campus this Sunday (SIX DAYS!) and three of the people (2 staff members & me) who directly support Andy are sick today. Does anyone else see a pattern there? While your at it, please cover our whole staff and the Sunnyvale team with your prayers. Satan does NOT like to see the Kingdom of God gaining ground in the Bay Area.

That's all I've got for ya today. Nothing too spiritual or profound. Signing off, in my PJs in my bed!

How Bad Do You Want It?

Recently I started attending staff meetings at South Bay Church. Not so much because my role at South Bay is changing, but more because South Bay is changing. You see, in the early days, staff meeting was in my living room during Caedmon's naptime. I knew the ends and outs of everything that was going on with South Bay and felt very much a part of the team.

But as South Bay has grown and our family has grown, I've begun feeling a little disconnected. My desire to be a part is as strong as ever, but we're a far cry from staff meetings in my living room these days!

Andy invited me to start coming to staff meeting and I don't know why we didn't think of this sooner. I absolutely LOVE being there! I really don't contribute much, but I am learning a ton by sitting under Andy's leadership as he takes our staff through leadership development. (He's a pretty remarkable leader, by the way!) I feel so much more connected to our staff and I have a much better understanding of what's going on in the organization. Staff meeting is one of the highlights of my week. Win! Win! Win!

HOWEVER, it is not at all easy for me to get there! No, no, no. Quite the contrary.

For example...

Last week my childcare fell through the night before because her son got sick. So I was scrambling to find a friend who could help me out on short notice. I spent the morning texting back and forth to work out the details.
The meeting was scheduled to begin at 11:00. No biggie right?
* Shower? Check!
* Breakfast? Check!
* Homeschool? Check minus!

I began packing the car around 9:30. I'd get the boys rolling on some schoolwork and then go stick a bag in the car. Help with a math problem. Another bag. Sound out a word. Put mascara on. Practice sight words. Soothe my crying baby. It was controlled, productive chaos.

Might I mention that it is no small feat to get myself and three Littles fed, clothed, and somewhat clean? I just recently got back in the routine of daily showers for crying out loud! But, somehow I did it AND found matching shoes for everyone. WIN!

The thing that blew my mind was how much I had to pack for a 3 hour outing!

• unfinished schoolwork
• picnic lunch for the boys
• toys (my friend doesn't have young kids at home, thus no toys)
• milk for Karis, bottle, bottle warmer
• bassinet & swaddling blanket so Karis could nap
• diaper bag fully packed
• breast pump
• storage bag for milk, insulated bag, frozen cold pack to keep milk cool
• calendar, journal, bible
• snacks leftover from a party to take to staff

I was practically panting and in a dead sweat by the time everything was loaded in the van!

But, by golly, I got there. An embarrassing 15 minutes late, but you better believe I enjoyed every single second of it. Something to challenge my brain and stir my heart. It is WORTH the effort to me. 

Don't we all have things like that? Something that seems like a ridiculous amount of trouble to someone else might make perfect sense to you. Because some things in life are not worth the hassle, but other things most certainly are!

It's all comes down to: how bad do you want it?

Happy 5th Birthday, South Bay Church!

It's hard to believe that it was almost 15 years ago that Andy & I met each other at a small college in South Carolina and began dreaming about what it would look like to start a church on the West Coast of the United States. As I stood on stage yesterday during the final song looking out over a sea of people worshipping Jesus, my heart was about to burst out of my chest. 

A dream becoming reality. 

God called into existence the vision He planted as a seed in our hearts. 

It's hard to believe that in just five years, we've

• grown from 3 families to 1500 in weekly attendance
• moved from meeting in our living room to 5 services every Sunday
• seen over 600 people indicate a first time decision to follow Jesus
• had over 300 people be baptized

Yesterday was such a fun day at South Bay Church! Our goal was to have a blast celebrating all that Jesus has done in our midst over the past 5 years. So many memories. So many lives changed. So, so much to celebrate!

I wanted to share some pictures with you, but wouldn't you know, I forgot my phone and my camera at home. No worries, though...I just hijacked a bunch of my friends' pictures off of Instagram (without asking permission, ahem!).

 

As people arrived on campus, they were greeted by smiling faces, crazy glasses, and party hats. Everyone knew right away this was no ordinary day!

We had a cool lights show with an app called Wham City Lights where everyone's phones lit up in syncopated rhythm.

What's a birthday party without cake? We passed out cake pops in every service!

To me, there is nothing like watching people be baptized and to see the emotion on their face. Some pumping their fists. Some with tears streaming down their cheeks. A changed life. Every time someone comes up out of that water, I thank Jesus that I get to be apart of this! It's a picture of why South Bay exists and it NEVER gets old! We celebrated 10 baptisms throughout the day yesterday.

We blasted the crowd with confetti blasters during the last song. So fun!

There were balloon arches at every entrance and bouncy houses for the kiddos.

Yummy food trucks invited people to hang out for a bit after the service to enjoy a meal with their friends and family.

So much joy! So much to be thankful for!

We showed several videos from pastors of our partnering churches congratulating South Bay on five awesome years, and they almost all concluded by saying "The best is yet to come!" We believe that with all our hearts. As we are on the brink of launching our Sunnyvale Campus in less then 2 weeks, we know that God has so much more in store for this church. Let's continue to trust Him and keep in step with Him, because there is NO LIMIT to what He can do in our midst! He loves the people of the Bay Area so much more than we can imagine!

Yesterday we sang a song that says, 

"I will look back and see that You are faithful.

I look ahead believing You are able." 

That's what the day was about...celebrating His faithfulness because His FAITHfulness fills us with FAITH as we look to the future. He is able to do more than we can imagine! I look forward to seeing it unfold. 

A Hollywood Themed Christmas Party

For the past 6 years, it has been my privilege and joy to host our South Bay staff Christmas Party. What started as a dinner for three families in our little apartment back in 2008 has grown into a full-scale event with a catered dinner, themed decor, and sixty people! This year topped the charts with our first ever costume party. 

Andy & I wanted our staff to know how much we love and appreciate each of them. They are heroes in our eyes and deserve to be honored and celebrated! So we came up with the idea of doing a Hollywood themed party and have a night to "Celebrate our South Bay Stars". 

We asked everyone to come dressed as a Hollywood star, past or present. We realized that coming up with a costume idea had the potential to be a little overwhelming, so to give people extra motivation and incentive, we included a huge prize! The person voted to have the Best Overall costume would win a one night trip for two to Hollywood! And, boy, did our staff deliver! We laughed until our stomachs hurt as people really got into character, both with their costumes and personalities.

I lucked out with some of the decor as there just happened to be someone on Craig's List selling all of her decorations from her Hollywood themed wedding! I bought from her the clapboards, film reels, ceramic popcorn containers, ostrich feathers & vases, and a few other odds and ends.

• Centerpieces: I taped together two pieces of black cardstock, cut and tri-folded them to be 5x7, and then affixed a black & white photograph of old Hollywood stars on each side. I placed it on top of a round mirror sprinkled with snow and a few tealights. For the finishing touch I put a small hurricane vase with a Christmas floral arrangement in the center of the tri-folded paper. 
• Name place cards: Purchased here. 
• Beaded curtains behind dessert table: Purchased here. 

We had our friends (and fellow South Bay-ers) from Whimsical Booth set up a Hollywood themed photo-op for us. The pictures were printed on what looked like film reels. So cute!

It is such a joy to give each staff child a present from South Bay and to tell them what a valuable part of the South Bay team they are. Always a highlight of the evening!

These adorable Hollywood stars were designed by my friend, Ashleigh. The children loved that they each had a star with their name on it! The walk of stars greeted everyone as they came in the room. 

Our food, which I sadly have no pictures of, was catered by Caterman Catering. They did a fantastic job. Jasmine Santa Cruz catered the yummiest mini dessert bar for us including creme brûlée, tiramisu, cake pops, banana pudding, peppermint brownies, pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing, and cookies! Incredible! I can neither confirm nor deny that I ate (at least) one of each!

As our stars arrived, they walked down the red carpet where paparazzi snapped their photos. 

The stars were greeted by our "Butler" who offered them something bubbly to drink.

After dinner, the kiddos went to play and watch a movie while we handed out mock-"Oscars" to the adults, played a few rounds of group charades (which was a riot!), and announced the winners of the costume competition.

It was nearly impossible to know who to vote for, but alas, the time had come for everyone to cast their ballots. The categories included: Best Overall (winner of grand prize trip to Hollywood), Best Couple, Most Creative, and Most Accurate Portrayal. Each of the other winners received gift cards for dinner and a movie.

And the winners are...

Best Couple: 

Tim & Jasmine Castagna who came as "The Artist", a black & white film

Most Creative: 

Vivian Dorflinger starring as "Effie" from Hunger Games

Most Accurate Portrayal:

Filipe Santos starring as Edward Cullen from Twilight

(Filipe was really creepy and didn't smile all night. He just stared deep into your eyes like he was thinking of how much he'd like to suck your blood!)

Best Overall:

Kendall Hibiske starring as Cruella Deville

(This picture does not even do justice to how good her costume was! She was hilarious...kept walking around saying in a very disturbing voice, "I'm looking for my puppies!" And then laughing a sinister laugh. She was too much!)

Christmas presents for the kiddos. Our first Christmas party we had 3 kids. This year we had 23! 

(Side note: I had all these presents bought, wrapped, and stored in my closet since October! Had to get things done before Karis was born!!!)

I love these crazy people and I am fiercely loyal to them. They lead with courage, serve in ways no one ever knows, and work tirelessly to advance the Kingdom! They are fun, anointed, passionate, and love Jesus with all their hearts. It is such an honor to be apart of a team like this!

Merry Christmas, Folks!

His love never fails

This morning, Karis and I watched the South Bay Church service online. Well, actually, I watched it while she slept on my lap!

When Archie began singing the song, "His love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me," it struck some tender place in my heart and I was trying to figure out why. Then it dawned on me...

It was this Sunday one year ago that I was in the middle of our miscarriage. I felt like something was wrong and had been to my midwife two times the previous week. Both times we saw the heart beating, but I still felt uneasy. That Sunday I found myself caught between hope and despair. Hoping against hope that my intuition was wrong. But the next day my fears were confirmed as the heartbeat was gone.

The song Archie sang this morning was one we sang regularly this time last year...and it haunted me.

"In death, in life, I'm confident and covered by the power of Your great love."

Except, I didn't feel very confident and what I was suffering through didn't feel very loving. 

For months I battled these thoughts in my mind. Every day. All day long. It was hard for me not to equate my circumstances with God's love (or lack of love) for me. I found myself thinking things like, "You could have prevented this. So whether You caused it or simply allowed it, You did this. And I just can't understand why."

Some time during those dark months I listened to a sermon by Andy Stanley. He taught about the time John the Baptist was in prison about to lose his life and it seems that his faith was shaken. John sent friends to talk with Jesus in order to relieve some of the doubts he was having. Jesus reassured John's faith and even said that there was no one greater than John the Baptist. There is no doubt that Jesus loved this cousin of His. But He left him there. In his suffering, facing death. And He said, "Blessed is he who doesn't fall away on account of me."

In other words, "I'm going to do things that don't make any sense to you. There may be times that it seems like I've left you high and dry. But you will be BLESSED if you keep believing and trusting Me even in the darkness."

Jesus proved His love for me on the Cross. No circumstance in my life can ever change that. No matter how much pain I'm in or how confusing His ways may seem, His love is consistent. 

This morning as I listened to the words of that song with Karis in my arms and tears streaming down my face, I thought of how much has changed over the course of one year. From perhaps the darkest days of my life to the most joy-filled. My circumstances have been all over the map, but this one thing remains:

"Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me."

Five Years Ago today

Do you remember what you were doing 5 years ago today? I, for one, will never forget.

Andy and I had been separated for the better of two weeks as he left Caedmon & me in South Carolina to begin his cross country trek to California. He drove to Texas, loaded a U-Haul with all of our stuff that was in storage, and then drove that U-Haul (pulling a car) from Dallas to San Jose all by himself. In the week before Caedmon & I arrived, he was attempting to find/rent somewhere for us to live AND get moved in...all by himself! He was my hero.

August 26 was the day Caedmon & I were scheduled to arrive in San Jose. But after the computer system in Atlanta crashed causing a dreadful travel experience with an almost 2 year old, we finally made it on August 27. We were deliriously tired, but oh so excited to be HOME!

It was the strangest feeling. I had read books where missionaries said that when they landed in China or Ecuador or _______ that they felt like they were finally home. I never understood that until I landed in California. I had been raised all my life as a Southern Girl (capitalized on purpose as that term is a proper noun), but you would have thought I was born and bred for the Silicon Valley.

That season of our lives was so full of excitement and promise. God had given us a God-sized dream, and every day we were watching it unfold before our eyes. We knew no one when we landed here, but one friendship at a time, one cookout at a time, one playgroup at a time, God started forming a network of people who would become South Bay Church.

As I look back over the past 5 years, my heart is BURSTING with joy and gratitude for all that God has done. South Bay has grown from 3 families to over 1500 people in weekly attendance. We've seen hundreds of people surrender their lives to Jesus and find new life in Him. We've seen marriages restored, people begin to thrive as they use their gifts, and community grow.

We've watched our almost 2 year old grow into an almost 7 year old. We've journeyed through an adoption and had our hearts hijacked by a gorgeous Ethiopian little boy who is now our son. We've felt the indescribable strength and love of a community of faith as South Bay grieved with us in our miscarriage and cheered wildly when we announced our current pregnancy.

Sometimes people thank us for being willing to move here to start South Bay Church. But let me tell ya, it is pure JOY for us. While they thank us, we just thank Jesus that He brought us here. There is no where else we would rather be and nothing else we would rather be doing. What a privilege it is to serve the King!

Here's to the next 5 amazing years! (And the 5 after that, and the 5 after that, and the...)

Doing Life Together

Occasionally someone at South Bay that I may or may not know will tell me that they have been reading my blog. I always love it when people tell me they're out there because it inspires me to keep writing and it gives me a better idea of who I'm writing to.

Recently one sweet gal came up to me and began telling me how much she had been enjoying reading my blog. Then she said a phrase that made me laugh out loud and meant the world to me at the same time. She said, "I feel better about my life when I read about yours."

I loved that. I read (or avoid reading) plenty of blogs that make me feel worse about myself...I don't do enough crafts with my kids. My home looks like a single guy decorated it. My days are spent cleaning up messes and folding clothes while she's out writing books and changing the world. And on, and on, and on.

While it is not my goal to air all of my dirty laundry in cyber-space, it is a huge value of mine to be authentic. In my opinion, the last thing this world needs is one more person pretending like they've got it all together. We benefit a lot more from people who are willing to share their struggles, trials, and failures. It's the stuff life is made of, and the way we respond to those difficult moments will shape our lives.

We are ALL works in progress. We ALL have days that leave us cringing in frustration over things we wish were different. And, if we are willing to let the guard down and be authentic, we can ALL experience the grace of God that is ours for the journey.

So, let someone in today. Not in a TMI-weird-major-over-sharer kind of way. But in a let's-do-life-together kind of way. I'll splash some grace on you while you splash some grace on me. I'll follow your lead on paths you've walked before, and I'll invite to join me in the journey God has me on.

Instead of desperately focusing on our own image control, let's be willing to allow others to feel better about their lives when they look at ours. The road's a lot more beautiful when we do this journey together. 

A 21 Day Prayer Journey to Easter

This weekend at South Bay Church, we encouraged our whole church to join in a 21 Day Prayer Journey leading up to Easter Sunday. The South Bay staff put together a booklet that was available for people to take home with a sample prayer for each day.

I thought it would be great to include our kids in this journey as well! So this morning at breakfast, I brought the prayer guide to the table and quickly read today's prayer to myself. It says:

Monday, March 11 - Prayer for God to Quench our Thirst:
Jesus, you said, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!” (John 7:37), so today I acknowledge that you are my thirst-quencher.  Help me to hunger and thirst for you more than anything else in my life.  Be my fountain of life.  Be my fulfillment.  Be my strength.  Fill my life with so much of you, that your Presence will overflow out of me touching the lives of everyone I interact with today!

Then I asked the boys if they ever remember a time that they were really thirsty. We talked about how we drink water when we get really thirsty. Then I said, "Did you know that sometimes our hearts get thirsty too? Sometimes we feel like we need more hugs or more kisses or more time with Mom & Dad. That shows that our heart is feeling a little thirsty."

At this point they were fully engaged and alert. Inquisitive eyes on me with a look that said, "Tell us more, Mom! We are right here with you."

Just kidding. Sammy kept asking if he could be all done and Caedmon was twirling 'round and 'round in his chair. Nevertheless, I pressed on.

I said, "Well, the Bible tells us that the ultimate way to quench our thirsty heart is by having Jesus fill up our hearts. The Bible says that He can give us Living Water that satisfies our thirst."

Then I read the prayer phrase by phrase and had them repeat each phrase after me.

I'm pretty confident they understood a whooping 10% of the whole interaction, but, hey, that's better than not having the conversation at all. Layer by layer, I tell ya. Laying a firm foundation!

I want to encourage you to join us in this 21 Day Prayer Journey. Whether you are a part of South Bay Church or not, I believe this journey will help us prepare our hearts for a fresh encounter with God this Easter! I will post the sample prayer of the day here on my blog in case you weren't able to get one of the guides.

Any joiners?

The Waiting Room

What do you do when you find yourself in the waiting room of life?

All of us have been there. Many are there right now. Some circumstance in our life that is beyond our control. Some prayer that we've prayed a thousand times. We've done everything we know how to do; we're trying to honor God. And now we wait. We wait on God to come through, to move as only He can.

Only God can...

• heal you from your cancer
• give you the baby for which your heart longs
• provide the spouse you've prayed for for years
• put a heart of forgiveness and tenderness in your husband
• bring your prodigal child to repentance

I wonder what you are waiting on. What prayer are you desperately awaiting an answer for? 

Yesterday at South Bay Church we sang a song called, "Waiting Here for You". Over and over the song says, "Alleluia" which simply means "Praise the Lord." 

I don't know about you, but the last thing I feel like doing in any waiting room is praising the Lord. Down-on-my-face-praying? Yes. But praising? Maybe when the doctor comes in with good news.

However, that is exactly what we need and that is what the Bible instructs us to do: Praise Him from the waiting room. Before the prayer has been answered. Before victory is ours. We praise HIM because, no matter what, HE is God and HE is worthy to be praised.

And as we begin to praise Him, He meets us there.

So instead of pacing back and forth, instead of hopeless tears, instead of venting frustrated anger, how about give praise a chance? Find something (anything!) to thank Him for and give Him the praise that He is due.

• Sunshine warming my skin
• Riding through a canopy of trees
• First glimpse of the ocean

Don't waste your waiting room.

Please pray for Jen

It's game time for the Garcia family. And, although none of us can fight this battle for them, they do not (& WILL NOT) have to fight it alone.

One month ago, Jen had a doctor's appointment that changed the course of her life. She was told that the pain that she'd been experiencing in her leg was due to a rare form of cancer called sarcoma.

This past month has been filled with doctor appointments, scans, ultrasounds, blood work, and test after test after test. It has been full of shock and tears and fears and pain and sleepless nights. This month has also been full of prayers, faith, friendship, and an army of supporters lining up in formation.

Today the final test results came back to confirm that Jen has Stage 3 Synovial Sarcoma. She will be admitted to the hospital tomorrow where she will begin her first round of chemo. For 6 days the chemo will slowly drip into her body...killing the bad and giving life to the good.

The story that keeps coming to my mind as I pray for her is found in Mark 1:40-42:

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. 

“I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.

Our God is able to heal. He is filled with compassion when He looks at us in our weakness. Please join me in asking Jesus to heal this beautiful, young mom. Her daughters names are Mikaylee (5th grade), Kelanie (3rd grade), and Kaleya (Pre-K)

Leave me a comment on my blog or on Facebook with your name and where you live to let me know that you are joining the army of prayer warriors. It will be a great encouragement to Jen & the Garcia family. For more updates, follow Jen's blog by clicking here. 

If you would like to bless the Garcia family in a more tangible way, please 

mail encouraging notes, gift cards, or checks (made out to Mike Garcia) to: 

South Bay Church

attn: Jennifer Garcia

1172 Murphy Avenue Suite 130

San Jose, CA 95131

All things beautiful

Every time I hear the song “How He Loves Us” I think of Cardboard Testimonies. For South Bay’s 1 year anniversary service, Archie sang that song while over 20 people filed across the stage holding up their cardboard testimony. On one side there was a phrase that captured the brokenness of life. Pain. Disappointment. Broken dreams. On the other side were words that displayed God’s redemption of each situation. The way He pierced through their darkness with His light. His life breathed on what was thought dead. Hope among the wreckage. 

• Turned my back on God 15 years ago - God never turned His back on me
• Widowed with 5 young children - He is the Father to the fatherless
• Drug dealer - pastor

I play the scene over and over in my head. He makes ALL THINGS beautiful. It’s the “Ugly Beautiful”. The “brutiful” part of life.

I feel like I’m walking across that stage again white knuckling a piece of cardboard. Only this time just one side has writing on it:

“Suffered a miscarriage after 5 1/2 years of infertility”

Pain. Disappointment. Broken dreams.

But I know that I will flip the cardboard one day. I don’t know what’s going to be written on the other side. There’s no clear vision in my mind of how God will redeem this pain and make all things beautiful. But I know He will; that’s just what He does.

Brokenness? Yes. Hopelessness? No.

There are too many people around me with their cardboard testimonies, trophies of God’s glory, for me to believe I’ll be left stranded with only a one-sided story. Plus, I’ve got a whole closet full of my own scraps of cardboard to remind me of the faithfulness of God.

Beauty is coming. For me and for you. I don't know what's written on the unfinished piece of cardboard in your hand, but there is a faithful God who is in the business of redemption. He will never leave you forsaken on the stage of life with only a one-sided story. He makes ALL THINGS beautiful in His time.

South Bay's cardboard testimonies from February 2010

Lead with what ya got

It's been a battlefield, this mind of mine, and war has been raging the last couple months. I know I'm in an intense season whenever I find that I'm carrying full-on conversations with myself (only sometimes out loud!). Do you ever do that? Find yourself deep in thought, mid-way through a conversation and then think, "Who in the world am I talking to?!"

Yesterday I was having one of these conversations that was half-praying and half just talking to myself. The dialogue was regarding my frustration about my lack of leadership at South Bay right now. I feel like I am tapped out and don't have a lot to offer. And, possibly for the first time in my life, I feel like maybe I'll never-ever-for-as-long-as-I-live want or be ready to lead again. I know in my mind that's a lie. But I'm just being honest, right?

Then God interrupted my flow-of-consciousness by depositing this nugget of truth into my heart.

"Lead with what I've given you." 

Right now I've been given a wheelbarrow full of sorrow and loss, and I push it around with me where ever I go. On Sundays I make sure to dress it up a little so it's not quite as conspicuous, but if you look closely under the table where I stand at the Guest Center you might catch a glimpse of where I tried to hide it. It's not pretty and it smells kinda bad, so people tend to avoid it. But the reality is, there are a lot of people at South Bay who are pushing around their own wheelbarrows full of grief. And somehow, I know in my heart, that it is an encouragement to them to see someone else who is trying to praise God with one hand while using the other to keep this unstable wheelbarrow from tipping. 

Sometimes we get to lead from our strengths, blessed with wisdom or success from the hand of God.

Sometimes we get to lead from our mistakes, humbly recognizing our need for 2nd chances.

And sometimes we get to lead from our pain. 

People need to see all three. We don't need leaders who have it all figured out and their lives never get rocked. We need leaders who are authentic, humble, and willing to share lessons learned whether in the valleys or mountaintops of life. 

So, no matter what season of life you may be in today, I pray that you will receive God's challenge to lead with what you've been given. 

A Peppermint Christmas Party

This post is coming quite late, but I still wanted to share it with you...

For the past few years, it has been my joy to host a Christmas party for our South Bay staff family. Andy said it well when he told our staff, "Stacie expresses love through acts of service. So every bow that's been tied and ribbon that's been glued is an expression of how much she loves each of you." That is truly how I feel. Do not let these pictures deceive you; I am so NOT a crafty person. I don't even enjoy it and would never do it in my "free time" as a hobby. But there is ONE occasion that makes me want to bust out a hot glue gun... when I'm doing something to show love to someone else.

Words could never express how deeply I love our staff. We have been through so much together. I watch them as they dream dreams, work diligently, serve wholeheartedly, lead with integrity, and love Jesus from the core of who they are. They are each passionate about leading people to say yes to Jesus and passionate that their area of ministry will be done with excellence. We are a team. We are a family.  

As I glued peppermints and cut ribbon, I said prayers for each of their lives. During this season of my homeschooling-full-time-mommy life, I don't get to rub shoulders with them throughout the week as much as I'd like. But I want them each to know that I am fiercely loyal to them and so thankful for each of their families. 

I got the idea for the table decor from this website. There is even a tutorial for 

how to make the placemats and the center piece. I tried to stick with a peppermint theme.

Name flags courtesy of Sanli

Our dinner was catered by Caterman Catering and I was extremely 

pleased with their service, display, and the food! 

They even did a kids' bar of chicken nuggets and mac & cheese, much to my boys' 

delight. The adults, on the other hand, enjoyed much more sophisticated food than that!

Inspiration for the dessert table came from this website. 

Candy cane shaped brownies with peppermint patties mixed into the batter. 

These were surprisingly tedious to cut out and probably would have looked better 

if they had been iced with red and white icing (but ya gotta draw the line somewhere). 

As they were, I thought it kinda looked like a plate full of 7's. Andy assured me 

that you could tell they were supposed to be candy canes!

Now THIS was divine!!! White Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake. 

So good. I found the recipe here. 

These adorable cupcakes were baked by my fabulous friend, Gennie. Too cute!

Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark

(for all you non-Bay Area folk, did you know Ghirardelli chocolate originated here?)

Brad, Laura, Ella, Kendall, David, & Tim

(we included our advisory team this year as well)

Tina, Filipe, Lily, Cailyn, Mandy, (Efraim- can't see him), Archie, & Rebekah

Cindy, Alan, David, Karl, Connor, Vivian, Renan, & Juliane

Jarrin, Trevor, Tony, Sanli, Jennalene, Lucy, Liam (sleeping in the stroller!), & Jack

Sammy, Andy, Jerry, Adrienne, Teagan, Stacy, & Caedmon

This year our gift exchange had the theme of "home accessories". 

David was pretty stoked about his quesadilla maker! :-)

No, Ella was not one of the gifts we were exchanging. :-)

Highlight of the night: when Andy was sharing with the kids 

what a valuable part of the South Bay team they are... 

...and then watching them tear into their presents! Loved that.

Our big family photo!