FlowerDust.net | Anne Jackson

WE ARE MOVING FROM OKC TO NASHVILLE!!!

June 27, 2003 - We got married.

June 27, 2008 - We are moving to Nashville.

Since we have been slowly leaking this information (work, family, friends)…I thought I’d try and answer most of the questions we have been getting…

Q: Didn’t you, like, just move to OKC?
A: Yes. Actually it will be six months to the day when we unload the moving truck in Nashville.

Q: Why are you moving so soon?
A: Why not? Actually, my husband has an amazing opportunity to do what he loves and earn a living doing it (film/music), and I have been praying for ways to support that. Be careful when you pray for something…about a month or so of praying about this, an opportunity fell in his lap, and we couldn’t say no. IT ROCKS TO SEE MY MAN PASSIONATE AND THRIVING!!!! Anyway, God has taken care of the rest in ways I could have never imagined.

Q: God’s taken care of the rest…what do you mean?
A: Like a place for us to serve and a place for me to use my gifts in an amazing local church (Cross Point Church in Nashville) with a great team of people (including these bloggers who I will be on staff with: Pete, Jenni, Pat, Chad, Matt, George, Jarrod. You also should check out these blogs: Brandi (Pete’s wife), Brian (He’s an elder) and LukeGiant Idiot (who’s a giant idiot), Kari, Jessica and Julie are also Cross Point peeps I have gotten to know!! )

Nashville also holds a bunch of welcoming friends…some who I have known since high school, others from the trip to Africa, and even more from our last few visits. I have no doubt this is the tribe I’ve written about in the past. We also found an incredible and insanely affordable place to live, exactly in the area we were hoping to live. And it all happened with perfect timing.

Q: So, what about LifeChurch.tv?
A: What can I say?? The last few months have been unreal and wonderful! Even though we have only lived here for six months, I’ve actually been working with Bobby and Terry for about a year. I never knew God could show me so much in such a short amount of time. I feel I should clarify (because unfortunately people typically assume there is something “more” going on that what meets this eye) There’s NO drama. NO scandal. Bobby didn’t throw chairs at me when I told him. We are honored to be walking away with their support, blessings and encouragement. We will miss everyone dearly. They have shaped and influenced us in so many ways. We are very excited and at the same time, not a day has gone by where I haven’t cried because we are really going to miss these amazing people.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!

I know we would both appreciate your prayers as we pack, say goodbye, and travel two days (June 27 and 28) to Nashville.

INVITATION TO PARTY!! (Or so I call it…) If you are in the Nashville area and want to help us unload (we don’t have a lot of stuff, I promise!) shoot me an email (anne [at] flowerdust [dot] net) and I will hook you up with the details.

I’ll share a little bit more this week some things we love about Cross Point Church and how everyone there has been an answer to our prayers as we have (quickly!) been put on a new and exciting journey!

ALWAYS HOPING!
Anne

lessons in marital communication #256

an apartment full of boxes somewhere in dallas…chris and anne are discussing final moving things, including the new living room furniture they picked out last week.

chris: so, when is our furniture getting delivered?

anne: um…i thought you said we were going to wait until we moved up there to order it…

chris: yeah, i said that, but i thought you’d get it anyway!

anne: (mouth hangs open overdramatically)…i was just being a submissive wife! i’m not going to spend a bunch of money without us being on the same page.

chris: i just assumed that what i say has no meaning!

anne: so you want me to order it?

chris: it would nice to have furniture when we get there.

lesson: wives, don’t be submissive to your husbands. evidently what they say has no meaning…

pray for this big guy and his sissy of a wife

that is my husband chris. yeah, i know i married way out of my league. he is patient, understanding, and at the moment, having to put up with his sissy of a wife.

i never get sick. sure, i get a little cold or a stomach virus but nothing too crazy. and nothing nearly as serious as shaun’s son (kawasaki disease) who is doing much better, by the way.

i woke up early today to meet somebody for breakfast and felt pretty sore. i chalked it up to doing some physical labor yesterday as i helped set up an interactive prayer-type area for a conference. that or the fact i haven’t slept much in the last two nights.

but after coming home from breakfast, i just laid on the couch and fell asleep. i woke up freezing and took my temperature. 100 on the nose. even when i am sick, i less frequently get fevers.

so now i am cranky, cold, and achy. does it sound like i’m complaining? take that and multiply it by a thousand. that is what my dear husband has to tolerate. so pray for him, pray for me…

i am a big poop face when i’m sick.

seven and three years

seven years ago this week, my friend matthew died on his 31st birthday. i was about to head to bed the night before, but saw him come online on my instant messenger and told him happy birthday. he said he had bought a new bike and if i ever made it up to tulsa (he came to dallas a lot), we’d have to go riding.

the next day, after a late night work meeting, i came home to an answering machine full of messages from our mutual friends. evidently matt had gone for a ride on his new bike and his heart stopped. they were unable to revive him. and he passed away.

i remember standing in center my living room alone. it felt like the world had come to a standstill. all of my surroundings became sucked away like i was in a black hole.

what was crazy about this was there were so many things about matt nobody knew until after he died. the places and how frequently he volunteered. the tattoo he had. matt was the first close friend i had who had died.

i flew up to tulsa for his funeral. i sat on the second row, behind his family, in a group of his closest friends. i wasn’t sure how to react. on the flight back, a flight attendant offered me a glass (well, plastic cup) of wine. even though i was underage, she said it looked like i needed it. i didn’t argue.

i unfolded my slightly damp napkin and scribbled on the back my recollections of the day:

silhouettes of black pass by and
flowers fragrant overwhelm
the heavy air of sadness for
you’re gone and in this madness
i close my eyes, remember
when we met upon that december
day and now you’re gone
(not far away)
for on another day we’ll see
each other and embrace just
like there was no other time that
had come between now and the minute
when we said our last goodbye

and now i start to cry

standing for one last time
i gaze upon your face and say farewell
until we meet again, my friend
close your eyes so peacefully rest
your hands folded upon your chest
as silhouettes of black pass by and
flowers fragrant overwhelm

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three years ago this week, my dad’s sister, my aunt, also passed away. she had an undiscovered brain aneurysm. it had ruptured, and despite several attempts to save her, she eventually passed away too. chris and i lived in kansas city, but i got on the first plane i could and flew down to dallas.

my aunt was crazy. literally. she was loud, and caring, and animated. she loved holidays and every summer when we’d visit my cousin, i would swim in their pool. we’d play pinball, pingpong, and watch cowboys games on their tv.

christmas isn’t the same without her, or her nacho cheese sauce.

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matthew & sharon…i miss you both. i love you both. and i am remembering you both fondly this week.

An Emotional Affair

Since starting FlowerDust.net back in December 2005, my blog has gone from receiving 130 unique visitors a day to over 1300 4000. I’m not sure who all these visitors are lurking around, but I’m glad you’re here. One of the most frequently “searched for” words that lands people here is Emotional Affair. So, with that knowledge, I thought I’d make this topic a little more visible.

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If you’ve watched TV in the last couple of months, you probably would have noticed this is a problem being recognized even outside of our little Christian bubble. On the Today show about a month ago, they had their resident psychologist on talking about emotional affairs. The show created so much buzz, they had her on again…and again.

With the introduction of internet communication as well as overworked career minds and the fallout of under met needs, it’s no wonder so many people are struggling getting a grip on their emotions and their thought lives. No longer is it just the suit sleeping with his secretary…but the stay at home mom hooking up with her newly divorced neighbor. The assistant pastor messing around with the woman whose marriage is falling apart.

As a woman, this is an area in my life I have to constantly guard. I remember the first time I was ever in a relationship and betrayed my partner. It was a guy I was engaged to when I was 19.

In high school, I had developed a friendship with another guy we’ll call Rick. After high school, we really didn’t keep in touch until about two years later, he sends me an email and wants to get together. Wanted to see a movie. He was looking good. He was new. He was exciting. And he fed me earfuls of attention. My emotions for him crescendoed.

I began lying to my fiancee about where I was at and whom I was with…and then I got busted. He called my cell phone while we were at another movie…I thought I hit the “ignore” button, but I hit “talk.” He heard the background noises and called me later…asked where I was. I was with Rick.

Something happened not long after Chris and I got married. There was a guy we both knew and for whatever reason, I began getting tons of attention from him. Now that we were married, the whole conviction thing crept in and I told Chris what my mind and emotions were doing.

It was THE scariest thing I have ever done. But I promise you. It is possible. You can tell your spouse what you’ve been going through.

For the most part, after bringing it to the light, the feelings went away. Now anytime I start feeling or thinking something towards another person - which can still happen - I tell him.

There’s a book out there called Every Woman’s Battle and they even have one for teenagers now called Every Young Woman’s Battle. As much as I hate trendy books, this one has some valuable information in it. Whether you’re single or married - emotions are something that need to be guarded. They have to be guarded.

If you’re young - learn how to now. Learn the warning signs early. Guys can have emotional affairs too, so this doesn’t just apply to us girls.

- Are you thinking about someone constantly. Does he or she pop in your head more than a few times a day?

- Do you dress yourself based on who you are going to see (need to impress?) that day? If you know you might run into a particular person, do you make sure you look good?

- Are you always anxiously awaiting a phone call or email from a certain person that isn’t your spouse?

- Do you find yourself thinking, “I wonder if he (or she) finds me attractive?”

- Do you dwell on thoughts of what it would be like to hug, touch or kiss a certain person?

Those are some of the red flags mentioned in the Every Woman’s Battle book that show you might be leaning on the line of an emotional attraction that isn’t healthy. Especially if you’re married or with someone and you’re having these thoughts - talk to someone right away (but not the person you’re having the thoughts about!)

The Bible talks about sex (including thoughts or actions) outside of marriage like this:

“There’s more to sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much spiritual mystery as physical fact.” (1 Corinthians 6:16a - The Message)…

and a few sentences later:

“Run away from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does.” (6:18 - NLT).

Run away-Fast!

Not just from having sex with someone you shouldn’t be having sex with…but from your thoughts and your emotions.

We were created to follow our hearts and the desires we feel, but when they lead us away from God’s plan and into someone else’s arms instead (even if it’s just in our imagination), nothing…nothing good can ever come from that.

Please comment below or email me if this is something you’d like to discuss more. This is serious business…and not something to be blown off as just a crush or infatuation.