church

my blog has tended to always be the "sharing" type...not too much introspection or "personal" stuff...  i try to keep it pretty benign...  i know i don't have a ton of readers...heck, maybe a handful, if that many...  :)
but, today, i am taking a different approach...  :)
we are part of a church that we love...a lot.  ry and i have "struggled" a bit in the area of finding a place where we fit here in virginia...  we have attended several churches in our almost *gasp* 12 years here...  some we went to once...some had us in the pews for a year or so...  but we never really found our place...where we wanted to spend our sundays...
and, while we find it impossible difficult to get to church on time on Sunday (funny how a 3 year old wanting to set up her nativity set before leaving and refuses to get her coat on can be a challenge :)), part of me yearns for MORE time there...with the people... listening...worshipping...singing...learning... 
our church is filled with wonderful people...we have a lot of work to do, socially, so we can meet more of them. :)  but at the heart of the church is a talented and powerful pastor...  interestingly, he was the pastor of another church we attended for awhile...  we LOVED him and his messages, and he was even our marriage counselor before we tied the knot...  but, well, we never found our place at the church he was pastoring way back in 2002 or 2003...  but he, along with incredible musical worship, were the reasons we came back, week after week...
after we stopped going to this other church, we missed it and missed him more than anything...  but, as with most things, time lessens the "yearning" and desire to find something that good again... 
about a year and a half ago, i was reading the newspaper and saw who i thought was Lindsay, the pastor we loved so much...  the article was about churches without a church home.  he was in the Holiday Inn pool baptizing someone...and upon close examination and a look at the caption, i smiled, excitedly, and showed Ry my discovery.  see, Ry had been to the church he pastored at for awhile and we attended, too, but he was sad to not find Linsday in the pulpit when he went back in 2010 and 2011...  he asked about Linsday but was just told he was pastoring elsewhere... 
so, when we found that picture in the newspaper, i got excited...  :)
talk about awesome timing :) 
i called the Holiday Inn, where All Points (the church) was meeting, as stated in the article, but they couldn't give us much information...  i googled the church online and found out more...  Ry went for the first few weeks to "test" the waters, if you will... i didn't know what to expect, and with a 2 year old, we weren't sure if there was a place for her, etc.  and, well, i was also pretty pregnant with Hannah at the time (not like that should have mattered, really).  and, i think, honestly, part of me was tired of "trying" a church and being disappointed......
after ry attended a service with Linsday at All Points, Lindsay instantly connected to us, which was great...  he sent notes and communicated via email...  i shared my feelings as to why we had moved away from his other church almost 10 years ago, the church which he was no longer affiliated with... 
and perhaps one of the most amazing moments (one of many) was having Linsday come to visit us at the hospital on the day we were about to take our sweet Hannah home...(gosh, that was almost a year ago).  i was so nervous about him coming to see me...i had just given birth a few days beforehand and didn't feel very "presentable."  but how wonderful it was to see his face and hear his laugh that day...  :)  and to see him hold Hannah was such a blessing :)  i had to kind of "force" him to take Hannah; he was afraid he was going to break her.  :)

he came from a trip, which he had just returned from...and had trouble finding parking to be able to come up to see us...but he did it all anyway :)
and he prayed for us that day...
and he prayed for Hannah... 
and he keep us lifted up in prayer at church...even when we weren't there (we have friends who told us)... 
gosh, i was touched... 

and, well, that was the beginning of a new page in our life...  after a few weeks and Hannah got a little older, we started attending church at All Points as a family...  and while we don't know many people there (our fault more than anyone elses), we love it there...and we love the people that we do know...and we can't wait to get to know everyone else, too... 
and what i really love is that, when i leave our worship time on Sunday, i leave hungry for more...  i leave having learned...and i leave with a pile of stuff to think about... 
this Sunday was one of those days where i left with a pile of stuff on my mind...it was hard to not cry during communion on Sunday...talk about being emotionally overcome...

i had intended that this post be about our Sunday at church this week...but i felt the need to describe our history, church-wise... :)  i'll write more about this past Sunday later..... 'cause right now, i just want to relish the fact that we have a fabulous church with a pastor who is on fire for God, preaches amazing messages and is, without a doubt, anointed with a gift that we share the benefit of receiving each and every Sunday...and for that, i'm beyond thankful :)
my heart overflows :)
it's a good thing :)