Advent

Whether you are a church-goer, a Christ-follower, both or neither, you cannot deny that the Christmas season is here! Tony and I were talking a few weeks ago about what Christmas was like for us as kids. He remembered looking through the Toys R Us catalog and folding pages and circling all of the things he wanted. I remembered the year I got the red cable-knit sweater I’d been daydreaming of. Besides discovering that we had very different childhoods, we agreed that there were two prevailing questions around Christmas time…

Santa asks, "What do you want?"


Your friends ask, "What did you get?"


It occurred to me that Claire, having no idea what Christmas is, might be confused if these are the first things she learns about this special holiday. Both of these questions imply that Christmas is about “me”. It startled me to think that we could raise Claire to be self-absorbed and materialistic without even realizing it. It startled me even more to think of how hard I have to try each year to really remember what Christmas is about and not to get caught up in shopping and parties. So, Tony and I talked some more and dreamed up what we would want Christmas to look like for our family as Claire grows up. We want her to know Jesus. We want her to know why He came. We want to spend it as a family. We need our own traditions. We came up with our own plan to reflect and rejoice together, just the three of us.

Advent

In the traditional church calendar, Advent is the season to reflect and prepare our hearts for the coming King. I read what I could find about it and came across the Advent Wreath. I loved the idea, but didn’t care so much for the way it looked and couldn’t imagine having this green wreath with pink and purple candles sitting on a table in my home. I know, picky picky! But, hey, if we’re making our own traditions, I want something I can really live with. So, I designed my own.


Each bud vase is filled about half-way with sand to stabilize the candle then wrapped with red ribbon and a tag which tells us which word of the season to reflect on following the traditional Advent Calendar.


Inside our Advent Box, a recycled cigar box, are envelopes with a card inside telling us what we’ll read and which Christmas song relating to the word Tony will sing and play for us on the acoustic guitar.


So, each Sunday evening leading up to Christmas, we’ve incorporated our new tradition into Claire’s bedtime routine. We get our pajamas on, come out into the living room, and she watches while we light the candle. I'll share a short reading, Tony plays a song, we pray and then carry her off to bed.


Above is a close up of the book canvas I made to hang over our Advent display. Inspired by this blog, I chose books I've read that would reflect the heart of the season; My Utmost for His Highest, The Sacred Romance, a Bible and a Hymnal.

This how we've decided to reflect on each week of this Advent Season…
Week 1, Sunday, November 28th
We light the Hope Candle, traditionally the Prophets Candle
We read about the name Immanuel, God with us, and the promise foretold centuries before Christ was born.
We sing O Come O Come Emmanuel. Our current favorite version of this song is by Sufjan Stevens

Week 2, Sunday, December 5th
We light the Love Candle, traditionally the Bethlehem Candle
We read about Jesus as a Child, born in a manger.
We sing O Little Town of Bethlehem. Our current favorite version of this song is by Sarah McLachlan.

Week 3, Sunday, December 12th
We light the Joy Candle, traditionally the Shepherds Candle
We read about the shepherds from Luke 2:8-20.
We sing O Come all Ye Faithful. Our current favorite version of this song is by Chris Tomlin.


Week 4, Sunday, December 19th
We’ll light the Peace Candle, traditionally the Angels Candle
We’ll read about Jesus as the Prince of Peace, as the Angels declared in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth and good will toward men.”
We’ll sing O Holy Night. Our current favorite version of this song is by Michael Crawford.

Christmas Eve, Friday, December 24th
We’ll light the Noel Candle, traditionally the Christ Candle
We’ll read about Mary and the birth of Jesus from Luke 1:26 – 2:20
We’ll sing Silent Night. Our current favorite version of this song is by Phil Wickham (Thanks, Tyler!).

Our hope is that as she gets older we can add crafts and fun activities or maybe even a special meal each week that will help build these memories for us. This way we’ll have weeks of reflection before the glorious morning when she wakes us up at 5am, like we did to our parents, to open up all of the presents under the tree.



We'd love to hear the wonderful ways you've made this holiday special with your families!

Merry Christmas!

Jump in the Pool!

I realized as I plopped Claire down on the changing table in the family locker room after swim class that I’d forgotten to be self-conscious in my swim suit. I had spent the entire 45 minutes laughing with, and cheering for my girl. She was the cutest thing I’d ever seen in a swimming pool! She loved the splashing and kicking and the wet high-fives from the other little ones. She kicked her chubby little legs like a pro, hung on to the wall of the pool with her incredible baby strength, and jumped to me at the end of “Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall” without a trace of fear. She turned her wet and squirmy body several times to hug and kiss me. You know, that open-mouth-tongue-sticking-out kind of kiss… the one I cannot resist! It was absolutely the highlight of my week, until I saw us both in the mirror, hair wet and sticking to our faces, dripping with chlorine water. Ugghh… I’m still me!

I’m still the me, curvy shapes and all, that should not be allowed in public in a swimming suit. The me that hasn’t been in a pool or to a beach of any kind in the last three years because I knew I was not in the shape I should be. And yet, I had just had the time of my life with my little girl in the pool. For once I had forgotten what I looked like, self-consciousness gone, and enjoyed every moment! Despite my fears, not once did Claire roll her eyes at me or look at me in my swim suit with sheer embarrassment … It wasn’t about me!

Self-consciousness and insecurity lead to isolation. We don’t want people to know the parts of us that are inadequate, the ways we don’t measure up to our own expectations, so we avoid the situations where those things might be exposed. For me, it’s the swimming pool. And what got me into that pool had nothing to do with me. I signed us up for that class because I wanted to spend some time enjoying my daughter without other distractions. I wanted for her to learn how to be in the water without fear and to meet some other little babies. I want the very best for her in all of the little ways I can give it to her. It was then, when I stopped worrying about myself, that I came out of that place of isolation and insecurity and jumped into that pool with my little girl. And I had a blast!

We’re preparing again for the next season of Growth Groups and it occurs to me that self-consciousness and insecurity have kept a lot of people from experiencing one of my very favorite things. I hear it all the time…
“I’m not good enough to be a leader.”
“I don’t know that much about the Bible.”
“What if my idea for a group is dumb?”
“I’m not good at _____________”

We fear that we will be judged in the same way that we judge ourselves, maybe even in the same way we judge others, so we avoid it altogether. It’s safer alone, where nobody can see our frailties. It’s easier to stick to the people we already know, the people who may not challenge us, or who always agree with us… But that is no way to live!

Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another....
– Hebrews 10:23-25

As much as there is risk, there is so much joy and vitality of life when we choose to look beyond our selves and get around other people. How very much life I would miss out on, especially with Claire, if I never jumped in the pool.

Sick of it!

Can't Do It All, Part 3

I don’t know if it’s flu season or cold season or why there needs to be an entire season where it is normal to be sick – but I’m sick of it! Tony pinched a nerve in his back at the beginning of October that was so bad, the only way he could participate in our weekly staff meeting was to lie down flat in the middle of the floor. Then, both Tony and Claire had the nastiest stomach flu just a week later. Watching a baby projectile vomit has to be up there with the saddest and scariest things ever! Poor little thing was so confused and so weak, it was awful! Now there’s the constant coughing and runny noses between the two of them, thank God for the women that invented Boogie Wipes. It’s hard to remember a time when we all felt healthy.


One thing that has become clear in these past couple of months is that I am not a nurse! I can take a day, maybe two days, of constantly caring for the people I love the most in the world before I feel completely spent and exhausted myself. I can’t begin to understand how people do this as a profession, day in and day out, for near strangers. That takes more patience and more compassion than I think I will ever be capable of. It is a disappointing new discovery about myself, but if I’m honest, I know I do not have what it takes to be the mom Claire needs or the wife Tony needs when they need it most.


If it weren’t for the blessing of true and compassionate friends, I might have run away from home at some point in the last month. In fact, I can point to the exact moments where I felt refreshed enough to do another load of laundry and change the crib sheets for the third time in a day.



Prayer & Care

I am fortunate enough to have friends that I can be transparent with. When they ask me how I am, I have the freedom to say, “Exhausted! Everyone in my house is sick!” I can’t tell you what it’s meant to me to have people pray for me and encourage me by relating. The other overwhelming blessing is the tangible ways people have cared for me and my family during this time. One afternoon, my friend Holly came over just to be with Claire for a few hours while I escaped and finally took advantage of a gift certificate I’d received for a facial months earlier. I felt so cared for and so relieved, I might have cried… maybe. Then there was the morning my friend Brenda called to check on me and then offered to bring me a few essentials from the store so I wouldn’t have to pack up my sick baby and make the errand run myself. Or the afternoon that Tony encouraged me to lie down and take a nap and when I awoke the kitchen was clean and the baby was happily playing. It was in these moments and others like them that I was able to escape the loneliness that comes with being a care taker and remember that, in fact, I am not alone.

What they really did was remind me how much God cares for me. They reminded me that the Holy Spirit Himself is praying for me…

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. – Romans 8:26 & 27

It has also reminded me that, if I didn’t have these times of weakness, I might become prideful and forget my true need for Him, that strength comes from Him…

"My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness." So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

And, with God’s help, I hope to become the caring and compassionate mother and wife that Claire and Tony need. Because, I’m sure, this isn’t the last time we’ll experience the dreaded cold and flu season in our house.



P.S. If you know someone who needs a little TLC, this is a great website that can help make it easier on a community of friends who want to care for someone: http://www.takethemameal.com/

Book Reports

We blog, on average, once per month. We were just about to bring that average down, and then I looked at the calendar. This is why I’ve always been bad at keeping a journal and why my “journal” is a combination of checklists, meeting notes, prayers and ideas… a more true reflection of my day-to-day life.

I got to thinking that if I disappeared (let’s not say died) and all that was left was my journal, what would people know of me? Fortunately there’s Facebook and my mess of a closet to give more clues, but that still wouldn’t be the entire picture, would it?

I read Margaret Feinberg’s The Organic God earlier this summer. One of my favorite things she said was this:

“The gift of a book is a tangible effort to take the relationship to a new intensity – so it becomes deeper, richer, and broader than ever before.”

Ahh… so much good stuff in just one sentence! It resonates with me as I think of books people have given me and the impact they have made on my life and in my relationships with them.

Long before I attended church regularly, I got together with some girlfriends to read What’s So Amazing About Grace by Philip Yancey. Changed my life – helped me better understand that, not only was I forgiven, I had a responsibility to forgive and that grace I had received would give me the strength and courage to do it.

Then came The Sacred Romance and Captivating, teaching me about a God who loved me – not just in the “For God so loved the world…” kind of way, but in the “I love you, Michelle” kind of way. Revolutionary! I caught a glimpse of the privilege it is to have been created a woman, the strength and beauty that comes with femininity, the image of God I hope to reflect, the relationship with Him that I have the honor of living in. Such good books.

Meanwhile, Proverbs taught me practical wisdom, and 1st and 2nd Samuel taught me about true friendship, dependence on and devotion to God, including failures of character and seemingly hopeless situations. 1st and 2nd Timothy along with Galatians and Ephesians taught me about living in community with other believers, what it is to lead and what it is to follow.

I’ve read more books this summer than I read during all of high school, and I’m not the only book worm in the house. Just last night, I came home from hanging out with some girlfriends expecting to see Tony playing video games or working on his computer. Instead, he was on the couch finishing The Hobbit, excited to tell me it had a great ending! Ahh… books.



I recently finished Mark Driscoll’s On Church Leadership and On the Old Testament and then read Rob Bell’s Sex God. From what I hear, those two authors don’t exactly see eye-to-eye, but what do I care? Seems to me they both love Jesus, and we all know how much trouble God’s children have with unity as evidenced by the hundreds of denominations of churches in this country alone. Besides, I don’t necessarily read to agree with the author, I read to ask questions and see new perspectives. I read hoping that God will show me more of who he is and who I am in this world. I read hoping I'll catch a thought like one of these... and let it sink in...

“The person who sees the difficulties so clearly that he does not discern the possibilities cannot inspire a vision in others.” - J. Oswald Sanders

“In prayer, Jesus slows us down, teaches us to count how few days we have, and gifts us with wisdom. He reveals to us that we are so caught up in what is urgent that we have overlooked what is essential.” - Brennan Manning

“If a man's wife believes in him, he can conquer the world - or at least his corner of it.” - Shaunti Feldhahn

“Often freedom is seen as the ability to do whatever you want. But freedom isn't being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it.” - Rob Bell

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” - Jesus, son of David

These books really are gifts. Of course some were given to me by friends and family, and some I purchased for myself, but they are all gifts nonetheless. They are gifts from the authors who wrote them and the editors who edited and publishers who published. True gifts, revealing humanity, unveiling inner thoughts.



Ms. Feinberg’s words bring me back to the greatest gift of a book I own, my Bible. Even as I write that sentence, I’m fighting against the critic inside that would roll her eyes and say, “Oh, how trite! How cliché! Of course, ‘the Bible’…” But I mean it! What a gift that in all of the ways of creation that God has revealed Himself to us and continues to reveal himself, that he would give us a book! Like a diary, a journal, his thoughts and narratives and poetry and lyrics. A way that we can take our relationship with Him to a new intensity – so it becomes deeper, richer, and broader than ever before. I think about the miracle it is that we even have access to it – thanks in part to people like Johannes Gutenberg and Martin Luther and Zondervan… I treasure it.

So we read every day, for ourselves and for Claire. It really doesn’t seem to matter to her which book we choose. As soon as either of us takes her in our lap in the rocking chair and pulls a book in front of her, she kicks her feet with excitement, smiles, and “helps” to turn the pages. She loves the touch and feel books, running her fingers over the soft bunny fur or the feather down on the yellow chick. We love it! Now that I think of it, I don't ever remember seeing my own mom without a book. I hope Claire has those memories of Tony and I as she gets older.



So here are some of the Peterson Faves…
Tony:
Screwtape Letters
Purpose Driven Life
Heart of the Artist
Harry Potter – pick one
Currently reading: Fellowship of the Ring

Michelle:
Spiritual Leadership
Crazy Love
The Speed of Trust
Sheet Music
Currently reading: How People Grow

Claire:
Mr. Brown can Moo! Can You?
The Going to Bed Book
Baby Bunny
My Shoes Take Me Where I Want To Go
Currently reading: Brown Bear Brown Bear, What do you see?

What are you reading?

The Balancing Act

I watched a documentary once on a guy, Philippe Petit, who was a tight rope walker. I think it’s an impressive talent to be able to walk along a rope high up off the ground. Really, all gymnasts & acrobats impress me. It clearly takes a lot of physical stamina and discipline to be able to do these things, let alone to do them well.

So, this tight-rope-walker-guy… It would have been impressive enough had he performed his talent only in a circus or at a carnival. But, for him, this was not enough. He had a team of friends that set up rigs so that he could walk his tight rope between buildings. High above the ground, as passers-by looked on in astonishment; he would walk the air from one building to the next – no net. In 1974, he was arrested for his stunt walking between The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City – his highest accomplishment. The story focused on a man with a passion for his dream, and in a strange way, I could relate.

Since 2006, I have put my passion and energy toward helping create places where people could encounter the living God in a real and authentic way. I was privileged to be on staff at EastLake Community Church, and have been blessed to move across the country to Wisconsin to help launch Great Lakes Church. In both places, and in countless Growth Groups, I have passionately pursued creating environments where people could come and know they were wanted. I love it more than any other job or volunteer work I have ever been a part of.

I love hearing about people connecting, with each other and with Jesus Christ. I love when people start conversations with me like this: “You know, I was just talking with someone the other day about the next group I’d like to lead. What do you think?” Groups are up there with my very favorite things to talk about. As you might imagine, it takes a lot of work to make sure there are enough groups for everyone to have a chance to participate. It takes a lot of selfless leaders and hosts to open up their homes and their schedules. It takes a lot of emailing, researching group topics, and getting to know people on an individual level. It consumes a large part of my mental and physical energy, and I love it!

The reality is, even aside from Groups, I really love everything I get to be a part of at Great Lakes Church. This past weekend, we hosted 20+ church planters here in Kenosha for a Networking Meeting. We gathered together to exchange materials, ideas, & inspiration. All of these church leaders have planted within the last 3 years, and some of them have not yet even launched their churches. I was so excited about the potential for this meeting that I went into overdrive preparing for the event.

Those are just a couple of things I can easily get swept away in the details of. I cling to details and lists. I don’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t. They give me the sense that something tangible is being accomplished, that my time is not idle. Dare I admit that I find a lot of who I am in the items on the lists that I have checked off?

The danger I am discovering recently is that I have been relying on these To Do Lists, and lots of checked off boxes, for peace and satisfaction. Peace. Satisfaction.


Enter Claire. Our sweet baby is now 3 ½ months old, which means I have been a mother for the first quarter of this year. Checking things off my lists has gone from being a great way to keep organized to an insatiable obsession. Now, along with my lists, I have laundry, dishes, diapers, laundry, feeding, and laundry to keep up with. How can I keep up?

No. Seriously. How? Is there something I’m missing? Is there some strategy you learn at mother school on how to organize your life and your home for your family and still be involved in all of the things in life that meant so much before the baby came along?

Lately, as I pray, there is only one thing I know for sure. No, it’s not the magic strategy. (So, if you have it, please pass it along.) The one thing I know is that I am loved.

I am loved.

I am loved by God, the creator of the universe, in the most precious and personal way. Nothing on my lists will earn me favor with God. None of the piles of dirty laundry or dishes are keeping me from being loved either. I am loved and that is that.

Now, I look at my own tight rope and see all I am trying to keep balanced… Growth Groups, Sundays, baby clothes, To Do Lists, dishes, catching up with friends, diapers, calling family… It is a balancing act that will never bring me peace or fully satisfy. Peace. Satisfaction.

If I am truly loved, which I am, then all of my striving is for myself. I am learning, or at least desiring to learn, that the only lasting peace I will ever have is in my relationship with Jesus Christ. The most important “phone call” I can make each day is the one to my Lord and Savior and Friend. I would like to step off of my own tight rope and fall into the net of grace that God has offered me.

I am working on it.

Jesus said, ”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon your selves and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30

Anticipation

...From Michelle...
Pregnancy
As the excitement and anticipation grows for this little girl to be a part of our lives, so do the aches & pains of being pregnant. Let’s tell the truth… I’m starting to feel whiny.




Getting out of a chair or off the couch is a chore I think about long and hard before I actually do it. The swelling in my hands and feet have me slipping off my wedding ring and slipping off my shoes as often as I can. The heartburn is constant and I thank God for these little pink pills called “Acid Reducers” that Natalie (who recently had a little girl of her own) introduced me to. My bladder seems to only be able to hold about a Dixie cup’s worth of liquid. So, at night, I try to stay asleep while I get up 3 or 4 times to go to the bathroom. I’ve got a pain in my butt… literally, the right side, and down my leg that the doctor says is likely a touch of sciatica. I have trouble breathing, so I find myself gasping for air at random moments, and when I’m walking down a hall or up a flight of stairs I can picture myself waddling as this belly in front of me takes my body weight from side to side. I am forgetful, which makes me anxious, which makes me insecure… wait… What were we talking about? When sweet, considerate people ask me how I’m feeling or how I’m doing, I try my best to reply, “Great! How are you?” because the last thing I want to be is a downer. And I am realizing… this is hard work!

Still, somehow I can’t get away from the sense that I should be thinking past my aches and pains to what my Heavenly Father thinks of all of this and to what women who have birthed all of the generations before me have thought. I wonder now how I might be connected to life and legacy and to the hopes and dreams that are not my own. I wonder about my mother-in-law’s pregnancy with Tony, and my own mother’s pregnancy with me. I wonder about our grandmothers and theirs. I wonder about the questions they asked of their mothers, girlfriends, and doctors - the advice that came their way. I wonder about the beauty of life and the fragility of creation. I wonder about the need we have always had for a savior – and that He would come to us, growing and developing inside of a womb, birthed through pain, as a vulnerable baby.

As any pregnant woman or father-to-be knows, the gift that is most often offered is advice. One of those gifts was this: It will all be worth it when you see and hold your baby for the first time. I have to believe them, and yet I can’t begin to imagine it. It does make me think of lyrics from “Oh Holy Night”, my very favorite Christmas song…

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
Till he appeared and the soul felt it’s worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices…

We’ve got about five more weeks of weariness before we meet our own hope face-to-face. In the mean time, here’s what we’ve been up to…

...From Tony...
With Gratitude
Last Wednesday, a group of us (all from Wednesday night growth groups) got together for our service project. We decided to send Christmas Care Packages to 20 different soldiers overseas. All the soldiers we sent packages to are from the state of Wisconsin. Between the 18 of us that showed up to participate in this, we were able to ship them things like snacks, books, hygiene products, playing cards, games, DVD’s, and a ton more stuff. It was really cool to come together to pull off something like that… not because we know them, or because our motive is to get them to come to our church or even preach the gospel, but rather because they are serving our country, and we simply want to serve them back… no strings attached.


Last Thursday was Thanksgiving. I don’t know where the phrase got started, but we’re calling it Orphan Turkey Dinner… it was all those that have moved from out of state to help with Great Lakes Church coming together at the Gray’s house for Thanksgiving dinner. In attendance: the Petersons, the Grays, the Sweeneys, the Winnetts, and Ms. Daniels. Karen Ann flew in and stayed with the Sweeneys… it’s always so good to see our Seattle friends. The feast consisted of turkey, cranberry sauce, yams, lumpia, green bean casserole, cheesy potatoes, stuffing (which we had to constantly remind ourselves to call “dressing” since it wasn’t cooked in the bird), apple pie, pumpkin pie, and I’m sure I’m missing a few things. I was in charge of the turkey, but I sign-up to do the turkey every year anyway… I love cooking the turkey.




Preparing for Baby
We decided, even though it’s an apartment and we’ll have to paint it back, to paint the baby’s room. We’ve noticed that we like being in a room a lot more after we’ve decorated in there. We went to Menards (that’s M’Nards not Meh’Nerds for you Seattle folk) to pick our paint and found a light yellow we liked. We already had most of the supplies from the previous paint job (we painted the office in the old house to be the same color as Michael Scott’s office), so all we needed was the paint, the tray, and an edger. With white walls and a light color paint, it only needed one coat, and took me about 2 hours to finish.

Also, thanks to all our friends, we now have our stroller/car-seat and my (Tony) favorite new gadget… our baby monitor. It’s pretty cool… it’s a color screen and a really sensitive mic, but even cooler is the ability to remote drive the camera. From a different room we can pan and zoom around the room. Now, I know that our newborn isn’t going to be exploring and getting into trouble in all the corners of the room… but we’ll have this monitor when she gets a little older and is playing in her room alone. The motor on the unit is really quiet, so if we’re using the camera to look around while she’s sleeping, it won’t wake her.





This past Monday, Michelle and I went on our regular doctor checkup for the baby. All is well. The heart rate is right where it’s supposed to be (138), Michelle’s blood pressure and weight are excellent, and we were able to take a tour of the Family Birthing Center while we were there. The labor and delivery room is huge… they are all singles so we don’t have to share… each one has a big hot-tub-spa-bath-thingy, and the nurse who showed us around was very helpful and knowledgeable. Really, anything we want, we can have. They are very flexible about interventions, and have modern and traditional ways of doing things. After seeing the rooms and asking our questions, we both feel really good about this hospital and know that we and our baby will be taken care of.




We hope you’re all enjoying the start of December. As we write to you, we are watching the first real snow fall in our own neighborhood!

Celebrating!

I turned 30 yesterday.

Actually, yes, it does feel a little different. Not sure how exactly, but I do find myself taking stock of where I'm at in life and whether or not I'm good with it. I'm pretty sure I am. We have a lot going on and a lot to be thankful for.

I have an incredible husband who loves God and loves me. He is someone I admire and am in awe of all of the time, incredibly talented and incredibly fun to be around.

I live in a place I never thought I would, Wisconsin, and am surprised all the time by how much adventure there is for us here.

We've been a part of launching the most fun church around, meeting great people, learning new ways to serve God.

I'm pregnant, which is an adventure in itself.

Yes, at 30, I love my life and have a lot to be thankful for.

I shared my birthday this year with some new beginnings for Great Lakes Church. We had a grand opening for our new "Video Venue" where we made more room for many new guests. We launched a brand new series called Q&A where Pastor Dave is taking questions both live via text message and via email throughout the week. There was this really fun sense of unpredictability and still we were able to walk away hearing a great message about God's love. We also released our Fall Growth Group Catalog. If you'd like to know how I feel about Growth Groups and how much I love them, please take a look at some of our past entries. It was a great Sunday, lots of energy and lots of new faces and families. In the end, we had over 600 people with us! Incredible!

Here are a couple of Tony's latest video creations that were shown during service yesterday, just to help you feel like you were there...

For my birthday, Tony planned a small dinner at our place with a few friends. He had an incredible spread of tapas... marinated pork skewers, parmesan & sweet pea risotto, lemon & pine nut green beans, cheese plates... Getting hungry? It was nice and relaxed and I loved looking around the table to see faces I have grown to love after being here nearly a year. Hard to believe we've made such good friends already.

My big birthday present was finding out what kind of baby we're having. We are excited to announce...


Tony has known since our ultrasound last week and has been carrying around this little secret ever since. I was honestly very surprised. He did a great job keeping his lips sealed and sending me off the trail to figuring it out on my own. Now we have the task of deciding on a name!

We hope you all are well and that you sense God's love in your own lives and are celebrating in your own ways.

Discovering Our Strengths

Last night we wrapped up our Summer Growth Group “Discover Your Strengths” with a BBQ & Games hosted by fellow group members, Larry & Paulette. It was such a great way to end one of my very favorite groups!

If you haven’t heard of the Strengths Finder, or any of the books around it, I think you should definitely check it out. It’s a sort of personality profile developed by Gallup and I first came across it having been assigned to read Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton. There are now other versions of the book with the same theme and access to the same profile/test. Again, worth checking out and taking if you never have.

If you have read the book and/or taken the test, skip to the next paragraph. If not, here’s the deal. The book & test are based on the thought that if we discover our strengths and find a way to hone in on them, we will do much better and likely have a more fulfilling life than if we only concentrate on our weaknesses and spend our energy improving them. The book uses several examples, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, who have made their careers by focusing on their strengths rather than attempting to become “well rounded” athletes. (Remember MJ’s stint in baseball?) Anyway, there you have it, my quick & dirty version of the book. Still interested?...

Tony and I led the group together, although Tony made it clear to the group from the first meeting that he was taking the role of a “Sub-Leader” and not a “Co-Leader”. He had never read the book or taken the test, so he was just as eager as everyone else to do some self-discovery. He became the name-tag & game guy, while I focused on prep & conversation topics for the group each week. Worked out great for both of us!

As you can see from the picture, we had a great crew. It was fun to go through this book and learn about each other’s strengths as well as our own. Along with the natural self-discovery, we hoped to gain some new perspective on the strengths of those around us and begin to value people in a new way. There were some strengths that we discussed that initially came across to people in the group as annoying or off-putting traits. It was great to dig into those and find value in traits we might have otherwise dismissed.

In case you’re curious, here are our Strengths:
Michelle’s Top 5
Strategic - The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity.
Futuristic - "Wouldn't it be great if..." The kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. As if it were projected on the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow.
Relator - Relator describes your attitude toward your relationships. In simple terms, the Relator theme pulls you toward people you already know. You are comfortable with intimacy and once the initial connection has been made, you deliberately encourage a deepening of the relationship.
Arranger - You are a conductor. When faced with a complex situation involving many factors, you enjoy managing all of the variables, aligning and realigning them until you are sure you have arranged them in the most productive configuration possible.
Focus - Guided by the theme of Focus, you need a clear destination. Lacking one, your life and your work can quickly become frustrating, so you are constantly setting goals and filtering distractions.

Tony’s Top 5
Adaptability - You live in the moment. You don't see the future as a fixed destination. Instead, you see it as a place that you create out of the choices that you make right now.
Command - Command leads you to take charge. Unlike some people, you feel no discomfort with imposing your views on others. Once your goal is set, you feel restless until you have aligned others with you.
Ideation - You are fascinated by ideas. You are delighted when you discover beneath the complex surface an elegantly simple concept to explain why things are the way they are.
Input - You are inquisitive. Yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity
Learner - You love to learn. Whatever the subject, you will alsways be drawn to the process of learning. You are energized by the steady and deliberate journey from ignorance to competence.

What’s fun about these for both of us is that we can see so many ways we get to utilize our strengths in what we do here at Great Lakes Church. Tony spends so much time leading and making quick decisions (Command), as well as learning and developing new ideas for media, music, & atmosphere (Learner, Ideation, Input), and changing course as the needs arise each day and each week (Adaptability). I get to dream, make plans, & share vision all the time about how to help Great Lakes Church become and continue to be the church God gave us all a heart for (Strategic, Futuristic). I get to connect with people and build relationships that will matter for eternity (Relator), bring people and resources together for common goals (Arranger), and help set goals and deadlines for myself and those around me (Focus).

Even better is realizing that we did not come into these Strengths by reading a book. Rather, they were in us, as God given gifts and talents, evidence of his plan and purposes for our lives. These traits we learn about ourselves are just more ways for us to learn to lean into Him, be thankful to Him, and bring them back to Him to be used as He would lead us.

We learn from the early church that we each have gifts and strengths and should make the very most of them and continue to honor each other above ourselves. [Romans 12: 4-12]

Last week when we met as a group, our topic was “Managing Around our Weaknesses”. It was great to share our struggles, as well as our dreams together. One couple was in the midst of deciding to go down to one income and home school their children when they began the group. They’ve since decided to make the leap and can both see how their differing strengths will give them what it takes to do this well and make their family a priority in a new way. We also took communion together as a group on this week, acknowledging before Jesus Christ and each other that we are indeed weak and it is in our weakness that He is made strong. We are not strong unto ourselves, but by the phenomenal and unending grace of God. It was sweet and powerful all at the same time for me.

Thrive Church
I was invited a couple of weeks ago to visit Thrive Church in Katy, Texas (just outside of Houston). The pastor there, Tom Elmore, is a long time friend of our friend and Pastor Dave Nelson. Tom and his team have a similar goal and vision for Thrive Church as ours for Great Lakes Church. They launched on Easter of this year and invited me to come and check things out, offer input, meet with leaders, and in some ways consult. I have to say, it was one of the most thrilling and life-giving trips I’ve been on in a while. It was the type of thing I’m pretty sure I would do for the rest of my life. To see something created from nothing, to be with people who love God and want to reach people, to encourage leaders to dream big but make processes simple at the same time. They have an incredible team and are off to a great start to be certain. It reminded me again that what we are doing here in Kenosha is so much greater than this local city. We are a part of a movement of God, a movement to break down the barriers that keep people from entering into a relationship with Him and the family He has prepared for them. We are a part of a movement that will toss aside rituals and traditions in favor of transparency and keeping the shame level low. I couldn’t be more excited for this life and this adventure.

The Grays

As Tony mentioned in his entry last week, we recently welcomed Gabe & Katie Gray and their three children to Kenosha. They moved here from Seattle to help with Great Lakes Church after having it on their hearts for nearly a year. It is great to have them here, with their perspective and “can-do” attitude. It’s also nice that they live within walking distance of Tony, Tyler, & I. We’ve had fun walking over there and getting our butts kicked at Mexican Train Dominoes, Phase 10, & Gin Rummy. We might need to find something else to do with them besides play games. But, I do love introducing them to all of the amazing people and volunteers who are already here at Great Lakes. People who have been on board and ready to do whatever is needed to make Great Lakes Church Great!

The Winnett's

Now, adding more to our growing church family, we will welcome Grant and Natalie Winnett and their brand new baby girl, Abela into town this Friday! They’ll arrive from their former home in Colorado just in time to attend our next Great Lakes 101 class on Sunday. Natalie and I have been friends for nearly 10 years. She was one of two girl friends who stood next to me on my wedding day. She is also the woman who, through her love, helped me to enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ for myself. So, yeah, I’m pretty excited about this. Aside from all of the ways she has been an incredible friend to me over the years, Natalie has a ton of experience in Kids Ministry and is ready to hit the ground running to help at Great Lakes in this very important area. We can’t wait to see what happens.

Baby P
I’m now 16 weeks pregnant and I think I’ve turned the corner from the constant nausea. Still irritated with whoever named it “Morning Sickness” – it IS all day sickness and now I only have it a couple of times a day which is a huge relief. I’m not quite at the point where I fully enjoy eating, it still feels like a chore. I have come back to coffee, but only about once a week. I do look forward to re-committing my love for my morning cup, but it’s probably better for the baby that coffee has been one of my many aversions. Tony has been great with everything. Since most things make me want to puke (sorry, still can’t figure out a polite way to say “vomit” or whatever) he is not only taking care of the cooking but most of the cleaning in the kitchen. I wonder if that alone is worth being pregnant forever? I haven’t felt any movements yet, though friends tell me I should be just a few more weeks away from that fun milestone. I also haven’t gained any weight, so no “baby bump” pictures to share just yet. Is it strange that I’d like to go ahead and start looking pregnant soon? I’m really hoping by the time we come home for our Seattle visit (Aug. 21st) that I’ll look at least a little prego. You may find me sticking my stomach out anyway…

Love to all!
Michelle

Geekfest 2009

A few weeks ago I was privy to be a part of the "Guru's of Tech Conference" in Louisville Kentucky. It's a conference for church employees and volunteers in media ministry. Southeast Christian Church hosted it in their new state of the art youth building they call "The Block". Though this facility was WAY out of Great Lakes league, it was amazing to be a part of. It was three days of inspiration, how-to, demonstration, and meet-n-greet. Dave's brother Mark Nelson made the trip with me. It was so great for both of us to be there but I think more so for Mark. He's an engineer for Rockwell and our FOH (Front of House) Sound Engineer Team Lead. Though he's only been behind a soundboard a handful of times in his life, he is BY FAR the most fitted person for that volunteer position.

Back when GLC was started, our team of volunteers stepped up and said "I'll do whatever" and so we put people where we saw a fit and had a need. Mark ended up on the soundboard out of a need, but he's transformed that team into something it would otherwise be a year from now. His knowledge of electrical currents and signals has directly translated over to the sound world (and rather fluidly). He's the kind of guy who says "voltage" or "sound pressure levels" or "impedance" or "frequency spectrum" every time he opens his mouth.

Most of that stuff I really don't get... and most of his questions I answer with "Um... you should Google that". So for him, this Guru Conference was exactly what the doctor ordered. I'd love to read a blog from his perspective, but I think he was taking notes every minute. Just a random one-on-one conversation, he would part from, digging in his bag for his notebook to write notes down.

lol... this just came to mind. We're having issues hearing our keyboards on Sunday morning. I propose Mark a question and a possible solution... and he responds (no joke) with a link HERE. WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?

Back to the conference...
We drove there (6.5 hours) and stayed in a hotel about 400 feet from the church. We were able to do all this cuz the conference WAS FREE!!! How awesome is that! You can bet I'll be going again next year. I learned a lot about software I use, about switching over to HD (which GLC is already faking), and about streaming to multiple venues (which GLC will be doing in the fall). It's an exciting time, and any know-how I can pickup is like gold.

Since then, (crap, I just dropped a chip on the carpet and backed up to pick it up, and rolled over it, grounding it into powder in my carpet)... anyway, since the conference a lot has happened. Our friends the Grays from Seattle just moved into town. They live about three maybe four blocks from us and we've been chillin with them a lot. We've taught them the REAL way to play Mexican Train Dominoes, and they've taught us Phase 9.

Gabe Gray is going to help out on Marks team (FOH Engineer) and has already proven to be worth his weight in bacon. Dave's been in Seattle, but Michelle and I thought we'd still have our Tuesday staff meeting without him... so we invited the Grays to attend. Their insight was SUPER helpful and some of it was very easy to implement type stuff, so we will, this Sunday.

In other news, it's August, and in about 20 days our friend and roomie Tyler is going to get married, and we're flying out to Seattle to be there. We miss Seattle and are STOKED to come home for a little visit.

I'll stop writing now cuz I know Michelle want's to post as well, and I don't want to take all the good stuff.

Requiem

Mourning is an unfamiliar and uncomfortable feeling for me. I have known of people who passed away every few years or so around me. Most were distant acquaintances, some relatives. I never know quite what to say or feel, so I tend to be quiet which seems entirely acceptable to those around me. I can honestly say, though I have known of death, my life has never been devastated by death, and for this I am grateful. I have seen what tragedy and death has done to those I care about and it’s a grueling awful thing.

My father, Michael Elbert McKenzie, was born on May 25, 1943 and lived 66 years until June 18, 2009. He lived his remaining years in Las Vegas, Nevada near my two oldest sisters, Laura & Celina, and their families. I received the news on Friday, June 19th, that he laid down to take a nap and simply did not wake up. It was surreal to hear the words and difficult to understand their finality.



As his 3rd daughter of four, I was not close to my dad. Circumstances being what they were, we spent about 17 years without so much as a letter exchanged. We reconnected when I was 22, but by then, having a father-daughter relationship seemed a bit unnatural probably for both of us. Yet, he had lived an incredible life and had years of stories to tell. So, I found myself in our interactions simply available to listen to him. His stories were always interesting even if they may have been a skewed historical perspective. It was what he had to give and I didn’t always know how to receive his offerings.

The news of his death hit me rather hard. I’m still in my first trimester expecting our first child. My husband had yet to meet his father-in-law, and I hadn’t considered that our time was limited. I knew I needed desperately to attend his funeral, but we were in no way financially prepared for that kind of last minute trip. And then something seemed to happen around us. As we reached out here and there, we found family and community around us who were eager to sacrifice so that we could attend. We received airline miles donated from a couple of different sources which took care of our plane tickets, our bosses generously gave us the time we needed off, friends gathered around us to pick up the slack of our responsibilities while we were gone, and we even had rides to and from the airport. We received notes of sympathy and priceless prayers. We were overwhelmed.



In the midst of the funeral and all the arrangements, it has been this generosity of community that has kept my attention. I am reminded of all the ways the Bible says we are better together, and worse off alone.

This is what the Bible says about the early church: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:44-47

King Solomon must have had experiences both in being alone and in having true friendships. He says: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

And, in the book of Hebrews we are encouraged: Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another… Hebrews 10:23-25

Of friends, the book of Proverbs tells us: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

I am certain, without family and community, Tony and I would not have been able to attend my father’s funeral and spend that valuable time with family. Without the community in my father’s life, there wouldn’t have been anyone with anything to say at his funeral. Instead, there were countless friends and witnesses, each with their own stories of how my father and his stories blessed their lives. Without the family and community in Las Vegas, my sisters would have spent the rest of that afternoon alone, rather than surrounded with love and good food.



I think there is a prevailing myth that it is possible to seek after and truly follow God without taking part in a community of other believers. “My faith is private,” I’ve heard people say. Or, “I don’t need to go to church to be a Christian.” Well, my friend, you may be technically correct, and getting connected with other people certainly involves risk, but there are countless benefits and blessings to taking that risk and surrounding yourself with the very people God calls your family. Tony reminded me this week as we talked together about this very thing that it’s like saying to God, “Yeah, I like you just fine, it’s your wife I can’t stand!” The church is called the “Bride of Christ” and the Bible says He laid down his own life for her. We give up a great deal that is available to us in community when we decide to isolate ourselves and go it alone. Not only so, but we offend the heart of God and the very relationships he may have intended to bless us with.



Tony and I are fortunate to have been built up and sent by an incredible community in Washington to help build and cultivate a community here in Wisconsin, people who will sharpen and encourage us as we attempt to invest, sharpen, and encourage them. We do this in the name of Jesus Christ, trusting that he has given each person and each relationship to us as a gift, that we may grow in love and character to be more and more like Him.

An Obituary…
Michael Elbert McKenzie, 66, of Las Vegas, passed away June 18, 2009. He was born May 25, 1943, in Augusta, Ga. Michael served in the U.S. Air Force, as an air traffic controller, during the Vietnam War. He then worked in radio, as a TV news reporter, a Christian youth pastor, and, in 2000, retired from truck driving, settling in Las Vegas. He was inducted into the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame for 50 years of broadcasting, and was a member of American Legion Post 76, Sons of Confederate Veterans and Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. Michael is survived by his sisters, Shirley Vickery and Martha Martin; daughters, Laura McKenzie, Celina Sorensen, Michelle Peterson and Kathleen McKenzie; and grandchildren, Titus, Aubrey and Grace Sorensen, Kaylan Brown and Corrigan McKenzie, and baby Peterson on the way. Michael was a true treasure and we will miss him greatly. He was laid to rest at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery. Donations may be made in his honor to the family.

Pivotal Circumstances

This week at Great Lakes Church, we wrapped up a series called “5 Things You Can’t Live Without”. The 5th, and final, delivered to us by Scott Obenchain was “Pivotal Circumstances”. He taught us, using the story about Lazarus’ death from the book of John in the Bible that…

God uses pivotal circumstances to do something IN us, not TO us.

Later, at lunch, Dave Nelson was teasing his daughter about the possibility of her going to five different schools in elementary school. It made me remember about a pivotal circumstance in my own life. I actually went to seven different schools between 6th and 9th grade myself. Yep, that’s seven! Seven different schools in three different states; Texas, Georgia, & Washington. I remember feeling excited with the first couple of moves, daydreams about new friends and new places, it sounded like fun. By the 5th and 6th, the reality set in that it was not fun at all but, in fact, very lonely and frustrating being the “new kid” all the time. I never knew my way around, I never knew which teachers were nice, I never knew where to sit at lunch. It was awful! At one school, I irritated the wrong kid and got a whole quart of salsa dumped on my head in the lunch room, in front of everyone. These are not my favorite memories.

Yet, I look back on it, and I can see how God used even those awful years to do something IN me, not TO me. You see, I still get that pit in my stomach when I think about the “new kid”. I feel sick remembering how nobody would take the risk to talk to me when they already had friends of their own. Unless a student was assigned to, I didn’t have anyone to show me my way around, or tell me not to sit in “that” seat on the bus because it belonged to a total jerk. I can literally work myself into a panic thinking about the “new kid”.

But, this is a very good thing! You see, this pit of my stomach feeling is one of the things that drives me to take a look around as we continue to build Great Lakes Church. I find myself constantly watching for the “new kid” to walk through the doors, and they do every weekend. Everything inside of me wants to prevent people from feeling the way I did growing up, like nobody cares, like people are only helpful because they are “assigned” to be. At Great Lakes, I have the perfect opportunity to use those all too familiar feelings of awkwardness to my advantage as we teach our teams how important it is to greet absolutely everyone with a smile. We put up new and better looking indoor signs this weekend in a continued attempt to make things clear for people who don’t already know their way around. Our ushers do a great job of helping people find a place to sit, so nobody feels like they might be in someone else’s seat when they visit us for the first time. (By the second time, they might realize that nobody really has their own seat anyway.) It’s like God has all but given those years back to me, given me a way to turn around and make hundreds of people feel welcome each week to what may be a scary and awkward circumstance for them. It’s elating!

I wonder if you can think of some of your own “bad-turned-good” circumstances. This “new kid” thing is just one of many in my life. In fact, we are experiencing some pretty great milestones at Great Lakes Church and in our personal lives (can you believe we still have personal lives?) right now!

We are in the third and final week of sign ups for our Summer Growth Group season. Kicking off Growth Groups here at GLC has been a dream come true for me, and they haven’t even started yet. Tony and I had the phenomenal opportunity to lead a six week workshop series for people who were interested in being leaders and hosts. Those of you who have been leaders and hosts at EastLake (the church we came from in Seattle) may think this is overkill. You might think, “Does it really take 6 weeks to train someone to run a group in their homes?” Well, I don’t think it does, BUT, we believed we could give them more than just a basic training by investing in them for 6 entire weeks. For 6 weeks (with two different groups, one on Thursdays and one on Saturdays) we had the opportunity to model what a group could be like. Each week we invited them into our homes and taught on everything from “difficult people”, to prayer & communion in groups, to how to gracefully cut off a gossip, to helping people feel welcome. We modeled 5 different kinds of groups: DVD group, Bible Study, Book Study, Game Night & Activity Groups, and Men’s vs. Women’s groups. It was this incredible time where these future leaders had a chance to build relationships with one another and be praying for each other before their groups even got off the ground. We feel so lucky to have gotten to know them all and encourage them all to lead these groups on their own. Now to see some of the groups filling up and everything they’ve learned coming to reality is just so fun! We have over 175 people signed up to be a part of our very first Growth Group season, which is more people than we predicted would even be a part of Great Lakes Church at this stage. In fact, isn’t that about the total number of people we had attend our very first Preview Service back in October of last year? I can’t wait for these groups to get started!

Another milestone to speak of is that tomorrow, June 8th, is our 2 year wedding anniversary. WOO HOO! It’s traditionally the “cotton anniversary”, so we’re thinking… socks? We are excited to celebrate our marriage and what God has done in us during the course of our relationship. We are thankful for our friends and family who have loved us and challenged us to be a better husband, better wife, better friends and better followers of Christ. It’s also quite a thrill because we are expecting our first baby! That’s right, Baby Peterson is due to arrive January 15, 2010! Pregnancy has been an interesting new dynamic in our marriage. I’m sure I’ll share more details about that in the months to come. For now you may want to know that I’m 8 weeks along, tired and nauseous all the time, and the doctor says all my “levels” are looking good.

Love to you all!
Michelle & Tony