if you didn’t know already, you can now find and subscribe to our podcast in iTunes (http://is.gd/1jKdX)
in this episode of the podcast we discuss: waiting, the kids, stranger on a plane, fundraising, join us
update: added contact info for sending in financial support
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i’m pleased to announced that i’ve added deborah as an author to this blog. and as her first post we like to share something she wrote this past week to some facebook friends. enjoy:
1) We’re moving to Little Rock, Arkansas! Continue reading
faithful readers/followers will know that over the course of the last year Deborah and I have been on a journey seeking God’s will about the possibility of joining the staff of FamilyLife in Little Rock, AR. if you’re a new reader (or listener of the podcast), you can read about the ministry of FamilyLife and how we would become involved in this previous post.
what started as checking a box on a postcard at a conference indicating that we had “interest” in learning more about the staff opportunities with FamilyLife has brought us to this past weekend where we actually visited the campus.
i’ll get to the “nitty gritty.” long story short; we can’t tell you yet. let me explain.
all of the applicants at the Ministry Preview were given a decision from FamilyLife about whether or not they were accepted to join on as staff.
[btw: there were 9 couples and 2 single ladies that were a part of our ministry preview; including us.]
the decisions given ranged from: yes, no, or wait. if a couple/individual was given a yes, then FamilyLife asked them to go back home and pray about the decision and then they would follow up with them on thursday to find out if the couple/individual would receive the invitation. if given a no; they were told why they didn’t feel that FamilyLife was a good fit for that couple/individual. and if given a wait; they were also given a reason why and a timeline of how long they should wait and areas of growth that would need to happen before continuing the process again.
all of the applicants found out on satuday afternoon where they stood in terms of FamilyLife’s decision. saturday morning we had a time of sharing about what God had shown/taught us through the weekend. we were given some time to say goodbye to the various applicants and staff that we had connected with over the weekend. and then we were then called on one at a time by the various evaluators to be given our decisions. after that we were taken away off campus by host families that we’d be staying the night with and going to church with.
so after the morning time of sharing/good-byes we didn’t have a chance to talk to the other applicants about what decision was given to us. in fact we were asked not to email/call or otherwise contact each other and talk about our decisions until after July 1st. this is to allow every couple/individual to process the decision they were given and also not allow the decision/thoughts/feelings of another person/couple to influence their decision.
for some people this process (and in particular this weekend) was a very stretching experience. we were challenged in our faith, we were stretched in our emotions, and we were spent physically (long travel, late nights). if given a “yes” answer, some people were confident that God was also leading them to join FamilyLife. still others had to think, pray, and wrestle through the decision.
and the same goes for a “wait” or “no” answer. some were feeling the same leading from the Lord from their end of things. and others had to wrestle over that decision given to them.
and so for this reason i won’t post anything publicly here on this blog (either text or audio podcast) on FamilyLife’s decision until after july 1st. locally, you’re welcome to come by and we’ll share with you what God has brought us through on this application journey. for those of you who aren’t local and would like to know before the 1st, give us a call and we can spend some time talking about it.
i do plan to write more about our time in Little Rock this past week, and some of the thoughts/emotions that we experienced. and i’ll do that even before july 1st. you can hear a taste of what we were feeling when we were actually in the middle of our weekend preview process on the podcast that deb and i recorded. (for those of you who lovingly labored through our 1st podcast – this one’s MUCH better!)
this one’s much more polished and quicker paced. we’re getting better at this.
in this episode we discuss:
we’re here, kids camping, Little Rock, sold iphones, flights, hotel, staff, crying, excitement and peace
enjoy!
we’ll we’re just about to head out on our trip to Akansas, so i thought this would be the prefect time to update my blog and web hosting.
actually the real reason i did it was so that i could get with a webhost that offered unlimited space and bandwidth. last week deb and i recorded our pilot podcast. so i wanted a place that would host it all.
i’ll still have to figure out how to upload the podcast and make it itunes and rss compatible, but watch the site for updates. hopefully i can get it all worked out today and be able to post updates and a new podcast episode while on our trip.
we’ll be covering life, faith, marriage, parenting, our journey with FamilyLife Today.
we’re heading out on our trip tomorrow morning at 4am. a huge thanks to grandma rebecca for taking ALL 6 kids for us this week. plus she’s taking them and cousin cathy camping for the first part of it! send lots of prayer her way. here they are just about to pull out of the driveway.
in my recent post about “the Waiting” season of life our family is in I discussed our application to FamilyLife Today to work on staff. in the comments a reader asked what I would do there. I was simply going to respond in the comments but then it got to be longer than i would like for a comment. and plus the fact that i figured it’d make a great post on it’s own. so here’s the answer to the question.
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sarah
what would your role on staff be?
from what i’ve been told/learned my staff role would be determined probably closer to when we actually move there. they had us take a “strengths evaluation/personality profile” test to kinda determine what we/i would be good at.
FamilyLife is a big organization (i think some 350-400 employees). since the fundraising stage takes so long they don’t really place you anywhere since they don’t know exactly when you’ll be coming. they’re always looking for people. you can visit their website here under “staff opportunities” at the bottom of the page (here’s a direct link: http://is.gd/kTv). on the left side there’s a “where would i serve?” section.
basically they’re always looking for people to help with the radio broadcast production, coordinators for their Weekend to Remember conferences, website design/content, promotions, finance dept., human resources, writing their small groups material and other content, etc.
right now i could see myself working either as a writer, or a conference coordinator, or maybe graphic design or video production. although i enjoy that last area i haven’t ever received any formal training so i don’t know the “professional’ apps that much (but i’m a quick learner).
but like i said all that would be determined later. one of the reps i talked to said that when we would be invited to a “ministry preview” (which essentially is the step right before where we are now) they would ask us where we see ourselves working, they assess what’s needed, and where they think would be a good fit for us. he said that they like it if we could see ourselves working in 3-4 different areas. because if we only see ourselves as a good fit in the finance department (or whatever else) and then we go through all the fundraising process and at that moment in time they don’t need someone in finance, then it’s kinda tough for them.
he said they’d much rather us feel comfortable in several different areas, and then when we get to about 90% of our fundraising goals then they asses what’s still needed and the department leaders get to “fight over you”. (seriously, those were his words. he was kinda joking, but apparently they’re always looking for more staff.)
so what exactly will i be doing? i don’t know, i’ll know more probably by the end of next summer or christmas ’09. we’ll keep you all posted.
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// today i’m thankful for:
1. the ability to write
2. being able to walk
3. being able to talk
4. being able to use the restroom on my own
knowing where i am at all times
(all those above are related to another post i’ll be writing about at a later date)
