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Well, we are here! We pulled in close to 3pm Saturday, got our keys and had the guys from Two Men & a Truck unload us. My family came out and hung around for a couple hours before making the 80 mile trip back to their house in Mansfield.

The weather here is beautiful and we have already met a few of our neighbors and talked with them a little bit. Stan lives up above us and is originally from Cleveland, retired and single; Andy & his family live across the breezeway, but only for another month as their house burned down and they’ll be moving when their new house is ready.

Today we are going to go by IKEA to get some necessities, and then down to Mansfield to do some laundry as our washer and dryer won’t be delivered until Wednesday.

Emotionally, everything hit as we drove across the last few miles of Oklahoma but once we got into the Metro area, I felt like I was at home again. For those of you who don’t know, I grew up in West Texas & spent 1996-2001 here in DFW.

I start my new job at Lake Pointe on Tuesday! And I uploaded some pictures of our going away party. You can tell which ones were taken earlier in the night because I look awake, but by 10pm, I started looking exhausted, as did Chris. You can see them here.

Play time is over now…must start being productive!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen - lend me your eyes….

Welp, we got off to a late start leaving. I THOUGHT we had gotten rid of so much, but yet we still managed to fill up the 16′ truck & Rodeo completely, with Chris’ dad taking the leftovers to be picked up at a later date.

The drive through Kansas and Oklahoma has been mildly uneventful. Just imagine what life is like, crusing down I-35 going no faster than 57mph. That’s right folks…With all the weight we are hauling, our little truck (we named it “Meat” - long story) couldn’t make it up to even 60. So…if you have never enjoyed the KS Turnpike at 55mph, you have simply NOT LIVED!

We left the metro around 6:30pm and it is now, according to the official Holiday Inn time, 2:32am. So…8 hours to OKC! In all honesty, it flew by so fast and we are going to sleep in until about 9am tomorrow. Oh, also after getting everything loaded, I decided there was no WAY we are unloading all our stuff ourselves tomorrow. So, thanks to Robert at 2 Men & a Truck, all our belongings will be professionally carried in by a moving team and we will sit in lawn chairs with umbrella drinks and watch them sweat. As for Chris, he’s asleep - our cats are sniffing around the room and I’m about to go beat up our extremely loud neighbors (all in love and kindness of course.)

Thank you for your prayers…

Much love,
Chris & Anne

It is a glaringly early 4:50am (We woke up at 4:30). The plan was to finish packing last night, but our going away shindig lasted about an hour and a half later than planned and we didn’t get home until shortly after 10:30pm. It was AMAZING and we were blown away by how many people from the last four years came to send us off. Thank you all SOOO MUCH. I will post pictures later.

Anyway, we were just mentally, emotionally & physically exhausted after getting home, so we went to bed and woke up early to tie up loose ends. It is gonna be one long day…some minor packing, loading up everything, and making the 350 mile drive to Oklahoma City to stay the night.

Please pray (and ask your friends to pray!):
-SAFETY as we travel
-ENERGY as we move
-PATIENCE as we deal with each other and our cats on less than 4 hours of sleep
-SURPRISES in our day to remind us God is with us (hey, it doesn’t hurt to ask!)

Thanks much…

Chris & Anne

I think yesterday, it hit me that we are leaving tomorrow. It feels like the four years and 5 months I have spent in Kansas City have gone by so fast. Of course, it seemed like I’ve been here forever not knowing when an end would be in sight, but now it feels like I moved here, blinked, and now I’m moving back to Texas.

There have been so many people I’ve tried to say goodbye to in the last three days. Coffee twice on Monday, dinner with some close friends on Tuesday, and yesterday, lunch with a friend, coffee (well, I had water) with another friend right after that, then a long Italian dinner from great wine, to great pasta, to a great dessert with another wonderful friend. Tonight is our going away party and from what the RSVP list says it’s going to be a rough night - lots of friends, old & new, young & old…oy vey. And there are so many people I want to get to spend time with alone and there just aren’t enough hours left…As much as Kansas is cold & boring, the relationships I have here have meant more to me than anyone could ever know.

I still have a little packing to do, and I’m not sure when I might be online next….at the latest, Friday night at the hotel in Oklahoma City.

Goodbye, Kansas.

The top five non-relational things I will miss about Kansas City:

5. Snow (it’s pretty to look at anyway, and yummy to eat)
4. No traffic problems
3. The colors of autumn
2. Trees, hills & other nature type things
1. The Country Club Cafe (Also known as the location for our going away party, Thursday from 7-9pm. I hope you can come!)

Now that I am done grieving, the top five non-relational things I look forward to in Dallas:

5. Warm weather
4. A variety of good eateries, markets, galleries, clubs, bands, cafes, shopping….
3. Dallas Museum of Art & the Aquarium (I know that’s technically two)
2. IKEA
1. Sundance Square in Fort Worth

(If I went into relational things, there wouldn’t be enough time in the world to read all I need to write…)

Over the last year and a half - maybe longer - I have been plagued with a nagging question that leaves my spirit restless and the more I pray…the more I seek…the more I try and listen…the more the restlessness refuses to leave, begging me to keep praying, keep seeking, and keep listening.

My background is in communication design. Anything having to do with visually communicating a message is where my natural niche resides. I promote and advertise anything because it’s what I naturally do.

Since in the last few years I’ve been fulfilling that role in as a vocational church employee, I often walk the line between what is necessary as far as “marketing the church” and “is this necessary at all?” I struggle because marketing, in the sense of advertising, happens whether it is intentional or not. And I struggle because having intentional plans is a good thing, even when it comes to the message of the church.

But has the local church taken church marketing too far?

I did a Technorati search on “Church Marketing” and came across this blog. John O’Keefe writes:

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, our pastor is handsome”
it is not easy to sell, “come to a faith that tells you to love the unlovable”

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, we have great music”
it is hard to sell a faith that says, “come to a faith that seeks you to be silent”

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, we have some great programs”
it is hard to sell a faith that says, “come to a faith that tells you you must be active in reaching the needs of others”

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, we have a wonderful and clean building - with a ton of parking”
it is hard to sell a faith that says, “come to a faith where we will meet on a hill side, and you will need to walk five miles to get there”

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, God loves you”
it is hard to sell a faith that says, “come to God, and by doing so love others - even to the cost of your life”

it is easy to sell, “come to our church, we love america”
it is hard to sell a faith that says, “live for the kingdom of God, and love those who hate you.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

As a marketer, I see the need for target markets, for knowing your audience, and other marketing principles you learn. But as a Christ-follower, I often wonder if by marketing the church, we’ve bowed down to the American consumeristic mindset which has evolved into a slogan-filled, attention-grabbing, who can come up with the most polished looking piece of marketing collateral-tsunami.

Isn’t our target market PEOPLE? Does it really matter if those people are ages 30-45 with an annual household income of $85,000, with 2.5 kids and a dog who shop at Pottery Barn and eat at Panera? Does the gaping hole in their soul, longing for a Love really exist soley after the fact their houses cost $190,000 and they drive a minivan? Can’t the love of God shine through our lives more than a four-color, glossy, die-cut postcard?

I think we have it backwards sometimes. I really, really do.

My internet connection has been awful the last few days. I’m lucky if it stays connected for more than five minutes at a time. Yet, I can’t complain because I haven’t paid for internet in 3 years. Too many open Wi-Fi connections and there hasn’t been a need. But after this week, I decided we will be splurging and getting our own internet when we move.

Not only has my internet flatlined, I think I have gone through so many emotions in the last week (mainly really excited) but also some sadness thinking of relationships I will be leaving here…all the ups and downs have released into a wierd state of numb and exhaustion today. Chris is out with some guys he works with so I COULD be packing but instead have been watching true crime documentaries on TV.

Some good things happened today, we FINALLY settled our insurance claim from Chris’ wreck in July so I was able to pay off 4 high-interest credit cards and a separate loan. THAT felt amazing to have those off my spreadsheets. Also, Jerry Jackson gave me one last haircut before I leave and have to search out a new haircutting artist in Dallas. I must say he topped himself again. And at the most, I lost 4 inches of hair! Chop chop. I LOVE IT!

So…I am off to find some chocolate. Maybe Starbucks is calling my name…

I can’t believe in less than TEN DAYS, we will be living in Texas. I look around at the piles I began making in my make-shift office (AKA dining room) and realize just how big of an adventure lies ahead.

My top Strengths Finder strength is “Strategic” which means:

The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog
of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path-your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

So, in short. A planner. A huge, detailed planner. When I make grocery lists, I have them plotted by distance from the door we walk in to the check out counter. No doubling back or forgetting stuff. Not on my watch. Or, ask anyone in my wedding party, I had a (no kidding) 20-page detailed itinerary, color coded by person and mailed out to everyone with a packet of information. The wedding day was scheduled out to the half minute. 6:30pm, prelude begins. 6:30:30, Dawn & Brandon walk down the aisle, and so on. They read this, so they can back me up.

I am a planning freak.

With this move, you’d expect I’d have all my boxes organized alphabetically by room, stacked up by weight with labels all facing out. I’d be sketching the layout of the truck as far as what gets loaded in first.

Not so much. Right now, Chris & I haven’t even decided what DAY we are leaving. Friday? Saturday? If we leave Friday, how far do we drive? Wichita? OKC? Until we’re tired and sleep in the rental truck on the side of I-35? Do we stay in a hotel? God forbid…a Super 8? (I’m kind of prissy when it comes to hotels.) Or, if we leave Saturday, what time?

The best thing is, none of this is freaking me out. Maybe I’m in denial. But honestly, facing the unknown and NOT planning every single detail is kind of fun. Could I get over my prissy-ness and sleep in a U-haul? If I can’t find my salad tongs during the first day, will my life go on?

The answer is yes. I think this is a challenge for me to grow. To let go. To realize if the world isn’t organized, color-coded and planned to the second - life will still go on…and I might as well have a little fun while it’s happening.

I was warm, cuddled up underneath my fluffy comforter at 8:30 this morning, dreaming and completely oblivious to my surroundings when a shrill siren interrupted my REM.

Confused and wondering why the tornado sirens were going off so early in the morning (especially since it was 40 degrees out) I opened the blinds to an overcast and non-threatening sky. Stumbling into the living room, I turned on the TV and sure enough, we were under a tornado warning.

A few miles west of us in Lawrence, KS (home of the KU Jayhawks) a tornado had ripped through the KU campus and was heading our way. I woke Chris up and called my friend Crystal who lives a couple miles away to see if we could hide out in her basement (we’re on the top floor of an apartment building on a hill, full of windows). She says sure, we hop in the car (still in my pajamas and black hoodie) and drive about three blocks before we realize we’re not going to make it. The sky in front of us turned an ominous shade of black and the winds began picking up. Semis began pulling off the freeway in front of us. So…we look around and decide to head into a small church (pajamas and all) on the corner next to us.

I’m happy to report that the people at the church were completely friendly as we all hung out in the foyer watching the storm go by. If we weren’t moving in a couple of weeks, I’d like to say we’d go back and visit them in more favorable circumstances. To the people at Shawnee Park Christian Church, we say thanks.

We go back home and a few calm hours pass. Chris goes to band rehearsal and about half an hour later, the sirens are going off again. I call Chris, and we decide to go to his parents’ house in Missouri, so I load up the cats (and my laptop, of course) and begin driving to the church to pick him up. With two miles to go, the same black clouds, wind and hail start pounding my car. Ignoring the 55mph signs and even a red light, I fly down Shawnee Mission Parkway at 85mph (passing a cop I must proudly add - I DARED him to pull me over) and get to the cafe/bank building where Chris and I met and there is a basement. My friend Jess Chapman was working at the cafe, and she let us in to take cover as her dad called and updated us on what the storms were doing. After the sirens going off several times over the next half hour and the baseball sized hail passes over, we decide to try to make it to his parents’ house again. We swing by the grocery store when Crystal calls and asks where we’re at, as another funnel cloud has dropped over K7 (about 1/2 mile from where we were at the time.) We decide to keep going, since his parents live the opposite direction and make it to their house in one piece about 20 minutes later.

We hang out with them, enjoy Taco Salad and watching the storm coverage from a safe place. Eventually the storms made it to where they live but not nearly as bad as they were earlier. It hailed up to golf-ball size and we ran out in their yard to grab a few. We watched I-Robot and let the remaining storms pass and here I am, back in Shawnee, watching the lightning flash from miles and miles away.

Here are some pictures of the storm I took from a local TV station’s website. Crystal will have some photos of the baseball sized hail that hit Shawnee (where we live) tomorrow, and I’ll link them here.

GOOD NIGHT!

I’ve gotten a few emails and comments asking for some elaboration in the sudden, “Hey, we’re moving to Texas” decision. And for good reason, as back on February 14th, I informed everyone of our decision not to take the job at Lake Pointe.

A couple days after my conversation with Wes (the media pastor), informing him of our decision, he calls and leaves me a voicemail:

“Anne, this is Wes. I’d like to screw with your life a little bit. Call me back.”

I call him back to discover there was a possible position in their communications department that was more suited to what I needed as far as my scheduling and overall intensity of the job. There was also a possible job for Chris doing technical and media support for the children’s department.

Chris & I talked about it, prayed about it, and talked about it some more. A few days later, after talking with Bill, the Commuications Director, they decide to fly me back to work in their offices this past week to make sure it was a good fit.

It was incredible.

After getting to know some of the other LP staffers, as well as hanging out with the awesome people we had already met on the first trip down, it was clear this was what we had been waiting for. This was it. I received the official job offer on Wednesday and accepted!

So, there’s the rest of the story…

If you live in the KC area (or you just want to fly in - haha!) we are having a “Welp, see you Later” party on March 23rd from 7-9pm at the Country Club Cafe in Shawnee. We’d love to see you there.

Stomach virus keeping you up all night - bad.

Having a coffee date with a friend and not having her phone number to tell her you can’t make it because of aforementioned virus, praying she reads her email before 9am - really bad.

Losing 4 pounds in 12 hours - good! (Just trying to find the upside)

(Kate…if you made it out there before getting my email…here is my public confession and apology!! I hope we can reschedule!!)

So, we’re moving to Texas March 25th. Working at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall, living in Sachse which is a few miles northwest of there.

Howd’ya like them apples?

Not much time to write or check email these days. It’s been pretty busy for me, and if you’ve emailed me and I’ve yet to respond, I promise I’ll reply by this weekend. It’s only 8pm and I’m pretty much going to pack up the mess I have made in my hotel room, put on a mud mask and veg until I drift off to sleep. Tomorrow evening, I fly back to Kansas City. Please pray for safe travels.

After a busy day, I spent a couple hours driving around. I always find it fun to explore areas I don’t know. I think it’s a challenge - not knowing the street names or which way is north or south. Surprisingly, I didn’t get too lost and found my way back to the hotel without much difficulty.

I think sometimes our lives work very similarly. We feel extremely lost and we don’t know which way the signs are directing us or what’s next on the road ahead. But we always seem to find our destination someway or another…You don’t hear about very many people dying because they couldn’t find their way home. Maybe they don’t make it to the bathroom in time…but they eventually find their way home.

I write to you tonight from a mysterious location. Only a very few people know of my whereabouts, and to you I say please don’t say anything to reveal my location. If you are not one of these people - especially if you and I are close friends - please don’t feel betrayed by my lack of disclosure. I am in a good place for a good reason. I am warm, sheltered and fed (via the Burger King drive thru tonight.) I have Wi-Fi, so I’m obviously being well taken care of. :)

As I was driving from the airport to my hotel, I noticed something I have never noticed before in the location I am in. Well, I supposed I’ve noticed this, but it never really hit my heart until tonight.

Within a 1.5 mile stretch of interstate, heading from the city to the burbs, I noticed out of 16 billboards, 12 of them were advertisements for alcoholic beverages, strip clubs or sex stores. The kicker is I’m not in some ghettofab, red-light place. I’m in a very well distinguished and industrialized metropolitan area.

My heart broke on that interstate tonight. It broke for the families being torn apart by alcoholism or the sex industry. It broke for the girls who are posed on the billboards, the ones dancing tonight, and the eyes leering at them. It broke for the men and women who are paying to leer at them. It broke for the people who are trying to break free from these chains and every day on their way home are inundated by these billboards.

Maybe God is opening my heart to the people of this city. At least for tonight.

Interesting experience yesterday…

If you have known me for any amount of time, you have seen my hair change colors frequently. I think I’m naturally a dark blonde, but since I was 13 have been changing my hair color every few months. I met Chris when it was red, was brown when we got engaged, blonde/highlighted when we got married and has even been black for a short and regrettable part of 2004.

I warmed up for the winter and dyed it light brown back around the holidays, but it began to fade into a reddish brown so I decided to make it a dark brown. I usually get Nutriesse “Truffle” to do the job, but saw the new Garnier 100% mineral color and bought that instead.

I began to color it and thought it smelled a little strong, so I turned the AC on and the fan on in the bathroom. 10 minutes later, my scalp was on fire so I hopped in the shower to wash it out. A few minutes after that, my throat and chest began closing up and I started having problems breathing and my eyes began to burn. I sat down for a few minutes and tried to catch my breath. Feeling slightly better, I started to put on my makeup when the bathroom started to spin and got dark and I fell (catching myself) on the counter. I still wasn’t able to breathe so I gave in and called 911.

Operator: “911 Lenexa”
Me: “Yes, I think I’m having an allergic reaction”
Operator: “To what, ma’am?”
Me: “Um, to some hair dye…”
Operator: “Are you having problems breathing?”
Me: “Yes…I almost blacked out…I think.”
Operator: (gets address, phone) “The ambulance is on its way”

A few minutes later a police car, fire truck and ambulance pulled up, sirens blaring. Eight burly paramedics filled my living room, poking me, strapping me, listening to things, checking my oxygen saturation and asking questions like, “Do you have the speciman box?” “Have you ever had an allergic reaction before?” I am dizzy…confused…embarassed…and gasping for air.

Moments later I am strapped on a gurney (is that what they’re called?) and put in the ambulance. I get to the hospital and they decide whatever it was (probably the fumes) triggered the reaction. I have asthma, but not bad in any way (I use my inhaler maybe once a year.) So they give me some steroids, and some breathing treatments and send me on my way. The discharge nurse comes in and reads over the doctors instructions.

“You’ve had a severe asthma attack”…blah blah blah. “For further treatment, the doctor says ‘Avoid chemicals in enclosed spaces.’” And he starts laughing at me. He points it out on the discharge papers. Sure enough in black and white, that’s what it says.

It’s okay. Once I was able to breathe again, I was laughing too. A few nurses heard about it and came in to see how the color turned out (not as dark as I had hoped, but I won’t complain!)

Below is a completely hypothetical and fictional situation about a church volunteer named Joe. I ask for your comments regarding the principle expressed and not whether you agree with the leader in the story or Joe. It’s not about who is right or has the better idea (because that’s all opinion) but what you think is Biblical and wise for Joe to do in the situation.

Joe is a graphics volunteer at a medium sized local church in the Pacific Northwest. He’s designing a brochure for his church. The brochure is supposed to communicate what the church is about (the atmosphere, enviroment, etc.) to those who don’t go to church but aren’t necessarily opposed to the idea. For the sake of using church words…we’ll call this audience “seeker” in nature.

The staff person he volunteers for at his church gives him direction on how the brochure should look as far as appearance and content. The direction his leader provides doesn’t sit well with Joe. Both the leader and Joe think the piece needs to reflect a variety of people interacting, but the leader thinks the brochure should show more what the service looks like (people worshipping, singing or listening to the speaker, maybe using stock photos of people praying) but Joe thinks that the piece should connect with the audience in a not so “churchy” manner. Not because Joe wants to hide anything, but he feels as if the piece intially connects with the audience, they are more apt to visit and experience what the service is like so they can make up their own mind. He also thinks that using photos of people praying kind of adulterates what prayer truly is.

Joe is confused. He wonders if he is overreacting. He knows he should respect the authority placed over him, but at the same time, he feels very strongly that this brochure shouldn’t be “set up.” Even after thinking about it for a while, his spirit is still red-flagging him about doing the piece. He’s afraid if he talks to his leader about it, the leader will think he doesn’t support the vision of the church or that specific area and he’ll be asked to find another place to serve in the church. But he also feels that he could not, with a clear conscious, design this piece.

What should Joe do? Why?

Why would someone with no job, every reason to sleep in where it’s warm and fluffy and cozy, wake up at 5:00am, before a soul has seen the light of day?

To have breakfast with this fabulous diva! (Thanks for investing in the caffeine addiction, babycakes!)

I saw you in the curve of the moon
In the shadow cast across my room
You heard me in my tune
When I just heard confusion
-U2

God can do anything, you know–far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
-Ephesians 3:20

Today has been a day full of things I could have never (ever) imagined…Thank you, Lord!

I really wish I could be more like my cat. He has no idea when or how I’m going to feed him, he just knows I will. He knows I make sure he has clean water and knows he’s gonna get a little belly rub if he flips over. He never pounds down my door whining because the food in his bowl is getting low or because he knocked his green ball to a place he can’t reach. He knows I’ll take care of him.

God…please let me be more like my cat. Let me nuzzle up to you and be able to rest knowing you have everything taken care of.