Friday, July 29, 2016

Honored Time

I am beginning to understand why families are so worn out at the end of the summer! We have been in a season of GO-GO-GO for weeks, often with just barely enough time to finish a load of laundry between events. Don't get me wrong, they have been awesome events and we marvel at the work God did this summer, but whew! We're tired!

Okay, since our last chat, Jarrod's parents came to visit and the Es enjoyed some (ahem, a ton) of spoiling. We are so thankful for times we can all be together! This trip involved King's beach at Tahoe, many a house project and getting unpacked. *Side-note, these two have earned their gold star parenting badges... they've moved us, A LOT. Thank you!*

Then began the crazy trip back to Florida with an unexpected stay in Denver. God graciously gave us good time with our families there too. And in true Florida fashion, we saw an alligator get captured off my mom's dock! 



E1 getting to do the VBS dance
Then the VBS sprint. Between our church and the mission to McDermitt, I know of 7 new believers in the Lord! Please join me in praying for their fledgling faith to be nurtured and a love for God's Word to develop in their hearts. I had the awesome privilege of teaching preschool at both VBS-es. In all honesty, there were moments where I wasn't sure there was much of a point. the kids were unruly, hyped up on sugar, and some had so little Bible-background that the stories were hard for them to grasp. I could have chosen discouragement, but instead God kindly provided insights. One little boy came to me at church the following Sunday to tell me he "still remembered his verse!". Another grandparent shared that her granddaughter was sharing the Bible stories we learned in class with her non-believing parents at home! Little missionaries! I was reminded that in preschool especially, we plant seeds. We water. It's the Lord who does the growing (1 Cor 3:6-9). Only His Holy Spirit can wake up a sinner's heart, can draw some one to God. What an awesome opportunity to be included in His work!

And now for the confession....
In all the busyness, I have not made time to study Scripture. I chose tasks I thought had to be done (even church tasks), instead of spending quiet time, one on one, with the Lord. I still prayed, I still went to church, I still upheld my responsibilities at home. But it wasn't the same. To be honest, there was very little joy in it all. I cringe saying all this out loud, a pastor's wife should have this one figured out, right? Not me, I face the same temptation to "get busy", to let my time be stolen away by things and tasks and errands. And the sneaky thing is they're all "good" things! Playing with my kids, cleaning the house, grocery shopping. None that I could look at and say, oh if I only stop doing that I will have plenty of time to study the Bible. And yet, I was spiritually starving. What's a girl to do?

So this morning, I sat after the kids finished breakfast and opened my Bible to Psalm 119. I wasn't sure of my day's plan, but I knew I needed time with the Lord. I love the Psalms, especially this one, because they encourage me to view God's Word as beautiful, precious, treasure, and life-giving. They remind me that it is the Lord who sustains me. Most of them being written by David, King of Israel, (probably a super busy guy, especially when he was on the run for his life), they take away my excuse of having too many pressing things to do to spend time reading Scripture. 

Psalm 119:165-168(NIV)


Great peace have those who love your law,

    and nothing can make them stumble.
I wait for your salvation, Lord,
    and I follow your commands.
 
I obey your statutes,
    for I love them greatly.
 
I obey your precepts and your statutes,
                          for all my ways are known to you. 

And you know what, today has gone on. The kids were fed, errands and chores have been done. My heart is different - I've been joyful. My eyes have been opened to opportunities to make teachable moments with the girls. God didn't have to do that. This day could have been just as chaotic and stressful as the days past, but part of me thinks this is a gift from Him for making the decision to honor Him with my time: to show I believe He is worthy by choosing Him over other things. I'm not sure what the weekend will hold, if our family will experience another crisis or have hard decisions to make or if the dishes just don't get done, but I will commit to choosing time in Scripture and allow God to speak into my life that way. 

Be encouraged that yes, we all can easily get busy. And busy with good things at that! But for your heart's sake, choose time with the Lord. Allow Him to fill you with joy and love for Himself and others through Bible study. We need it.

Till next time,
the Reeds






Don't you dress up like this to get the mail?



Summer time = ice cream truck!

Teaching her in true Nevadan fashion



Thursday, June 23, 2016

7 beds in 7 days

Hello! Sorry for the long silence.... but here's the story why....

So we are happily settling into life in Reno and work with GHBC. When we came out west, we moved into a 2 bedroom apartment. It worked, but as the momma staying home with the kiddos.... I was praying God would bring us into more space quickly!

And He did. We were blessed to be able to purchase a home! So once again (we're pretty much pros at packing by this point) we loaded everything up with tons of help from friends from church and headed home. Fortunately for us, but perhaps unfortunately for them, Jarrod's parents were out for a visit while we were moving. I am so thankful for their help!

We were able to spend a night in our new place, and the kiddos loved it. There is a closet that reaches under the stairs and the girls have claimed that as their fort. When you can't find them, chances are they are creating a princess castle or playing house in there. I love their imaginations!

Then came the next three whirlwind days.

Through some unexpected circumstances, we decided to take a trip back to Florida to spend time with my family. First flight, smooth, no problems what so ever. Then we waited in Denver. And we waited, and we waited. Long story short, we had two days to see what we could see in Denver. Our first hotel accommodations were quite the experience! We should have known based on the sign when we drove up, "otel". It's just become the family running joke for when something is missing or not quite right. So we stayed in a different hotel for our second night. After a face-plant to the metal edge of a chair in the airport for E2 and a long day of travel, we finally made it to Florida. After a quick night in Jacksonville, we made it down to see my family (see? 7 beds in 7 days!) . Thank you every one for your prayers as we have walked through all this.

As we are preparing to head back west, please pray for our families. Please pray for our church family as we prepare for vacation Bible school next week.  Promise I will update with pictures when we get back "home"! *I love getting to say that and putting down roots!*

-the Reeds

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Momma, what are you thankful for?

This is E2's new question she likes to ask.... a lot. At first it was cute, I was so proud she knew that God gives us gifts and we should be thankful to Him. Then (5 days later), it was less cute. She was not appeased if I gave her the same answer as last time and my brain was starting to hurt trying to come up with new things to tell her!

But perhaps this revealed something about my own heart... perhaps my busy, unpredictable days are crowding out a spirit of thankfulness. Yikes. That's not what I want. So here's to being spurred on in holiness by my two year old. Here's to taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Christ (2 Cor 10:5).  So let me ask you..... what are you thankful for today?







 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Getting to a New Normal

We've been here a month. WHOA! Where did that time go? I know we're really getting settled because during the middle of the night wake-ups I don't try to walk the floorplan of our Florida home. Haha! My toes are very thankful to not be stubbed constantly :)

Thank you all for your prayers, we have needed them and God has most definitely been at work!

This month's notable events:

These Floridians survived the snow! Weather here truly is crazy, one day we went hiking at a local park (the desert, E1 calls it), and three days later we were buried in snow. E2 proved to be far braver with the snow on her home-turf. E1 fearlessly leaped from the stairs into the smooth powder. I think she was a bit surprised how far she sank down :) Even Simba, the manly 10 pound miniature poodle, could be seen gallivanting through the snow for a while. I was incredibly thankful we didn't have to go anywhere that day, just spent it together outside till we couldn't feel our fingers (a whimpy 20 minutes) then warming up with hot chocolate. The whole process was repeated many times.

E1 *offically* turned 4! Poor kiddo, she spent the day sick in the reclining chair. Our celebration plans were not to be thwarted though. A few days later we ventured to the south side of town and tried out a place called Paradise Cove. The kids had so much fun! It has many bounce houses, obstacle courses, and a laser maze. E1 ran from one side of the building to the other and couldn't wait to do them all! E2 was brave and learned to climb up the giant inflatable slide all by herself and flew down a bit faster than I think she intended. Both girls have started Awana at our church and are in Cubbies - they love it! I'm blessed to get to help lead their class and man, there's not much more convicting and encouraging than listening to a 4 year old recite Scripture!

Jarrod had his first opportunity to preach as associate pastor for GHBC. The Lord used him and there was quite the chuckle as he passionately discussed the "BIG but" in the Scripture passage :) He had no idea he said it. Pray for him. He has had many opportunities to counsel and share the Gospel both in the church and in our apartment complex. I look forward to him having a moment to share a few of the experiences with you.

It still feels a bit like we're "shooting from the hip" so to speak in regards to scheduling and getting into a routine. In some respects, I know this is just how ministry is, but in others I look forward to providing our kids (and ourselves) with a more stable schedule.

We had our first holiday away from family; the Lord was so kind to love on us through others. We had a delicious Easter meal, beautiful flowers and were able to talk with all the fam. I wouldn't pretend that it was an easy day, but the Lord is abundantly generous in His care for us.

Please pray for us as the"newness" of being in Reno is starting to be replaced by a realization that this is home. Pray for our kids, E1 especially. Pray for more opportunities to talk with people we meet about the mighty God we serve. Pray that we would be faithful to share.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! We feel  them and the Lord honors them. I have been reading through Titus and these verses in chapter 3 really help me engage in the work here:
3 At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit

We know that it is nothing of ourselves, but only through His Holy Spirit working, that we are blessed to see lives changed. I am praying God moves mightily in GHBC and Reno, would you join me?

Love you all,
the Reeds


Saturday, March 19, 2016

The Ministry of "Yes"

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up the habit of meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another- and all the more as you see the Day approaching." - Hebrews 10:24-25

The Lord has used these verses the past few months, and the past weeks especially, to teach me a huge lesson... one that calls me to a counter-cultural lifestyle.

Admittedly, there are more than a few times I feel the pressure to "have it all together", or at least to put on a convincing show of such. You know what I'm talking about.... those Sunday mornings when you're rushing to church, frustrated because one child can't find his or her shoes, the other is an emotional wreck because her favorite dress has to be washed (she's worn it the past 5 days after all), and something in the kitchen smells putrid... but you can't find it, then you walk into the building and a smiling face greets you "Hello! How are you doing today? How was your week?" Moment of truth....  "We're great! It's been an awesome week!" and you quickly walk away and try to remove the hangar prying your lips into a smile :/

I'm quite confident there's a ruckus of "amen"s going on out there. We all feel this at times. This isn't the post to deal with living transparently vs wisely sharing life details, but instead an encouragement for what to do next. Jarrod and I talk often of what opportunities we have to serve others in the up-coming days; it's been ingrained to us that as believers, this is what we do. And that's totally true. Even before accepting the call to come out west as pastor for GHBC, our family was called to serve others. There are a plethora of examples of Jesus charging the apostles to serve (ie: John 13:14-17) and of the apostles urging all believers to do the same (1 John, Galatians 2).

God has been teaching me that a great ministry, one that I have often overlooked, is the one of saying "yes" to others serving our family. So often I want to be the one serving and growing in my faith through those opportunities, I forget that in order for others to experience the same blessing, I have to say "yes".  When juggling groceries, a diaper bag & three kiddos then the neighbor asks if he can carry something for me.... I should say yes. When a friend at church asks if they can hold a cranky baby or help your preschoolers get to their class..... I should say yes. When my husband asks if he can help with getting dinner to the table.... I should say yes.

I don't have to have it all together. Praise Jesus, He is enough to carry me and my mess. He graciously gives us the body to build one another up. When I think of reasons why I most often say no to offers of help, it's because I don't want to seem weak. (Lame, I know!). I am weak. More than weak. Without Jesus I am dead. In Him, I have new life... a life He says is for doing together with other believers. In our world where self-sufficiency is king, others will look at us differently as we lovingly depend on each other.

Self-directed sermon over. Thank you all for being used by the Lord to teach me this!

Thursday, March 17, 2016

One Week In

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing - Zephaniah 3:17


Hooray! We made it through our first week. To say our days have been full is an extreme understatement. The Lord was kind and brought our stuff here safely and we had many, many kind hands from the church to help unload. Downsizing from the Florida house to an apartment here meant every room was piled waaayyy high with boxes. Jarrod and I looked anxiously at each other wondering how it would all fit. 5 days of unpacking later, we have a living room! Most things are finding their places and the stress levels are greatly decreasing.

It hasn't all been work.... We took some time to satisfy E1's desire to see snow! Mt Rose is just a short drive away. The verdict was split among the kiddos... E1 thought it was great and literally dove right in, E2 seemed pretty convinced the snow would eat her. E3 slept through it all, so the tie-breaker will be decided next time :) We are excited to go on more adventures as a family.



 This is moments before E2 sunk hip-deep into the snow.... she didn't like it so much after that!
The girls kept shouting "look momma! There's snow everywhere!"
We were blessed to participate in the Lord's Supper with GHBC this past Sunday. Jarrod's big fear was dropping the lid and clanging the plates..... He made it through! We have been warmly welcomed and "pounded" (people bring a pound of something to help stock our pantry) by the people here. We've heard countless stories of God moving mightily in the lives of believers here- redeeming them out of some tough stuff. We can't wait to be used by Him to draw others to Himself, and for Him to make us more like Jesus.


Thank you for faithfully carrying us in prayer. Here are some new requests:
- Jarrod will be leading the youth on Wednesday  nights, pray for wisdom and compassion as he engages these young adults from a variety of backgrounds
- For E1&2 to make friends. They'll be in awana Wednesday nights, pray they enjoy it.
- For E3, he seems to hate sleep. We were trying to remedy some health issues before we left FL, pray for wisdom in dealing with those here.
- Pray for the marriages at GHBC, for their protection and growth as we all learn how to mirror the relationship between Christ and the church.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to continue moving through Reno. This beautiful city is far from the Lord and most people we've encountered outside of church clam up as soon as "church" is mentioned. We know that our God is mighty to save, and that He is pursuing the hearts of those far from Him (Zephaniah 3:17, Romans 5:8)

Thank you all and we love you!!


The view from Mt. Rose overlooking our city.
Join us in praying for God to be glorified here.

Thursday, March 3, 2016

Humbled, and many thank-yous

Immensely grateful, humbled, encouraged........

Just a few words to describe the events of the past week. Since we last wrote, the outpouring of love and encouragement has amazed us. How kind of the Lord to provide us with such affirmation above and beyond what we asked! Thank you for your kind words. 

Some events.....
Jarrod had his ordination council on February 24th. The room was filled with men and women of ugliest ties, I mean, there's not even a competition. Pics to come when we get unpacked and can find them again :)
great faith: former and current pastors, friends, family. Thank you to all who were able to make it and to those who prayed for him. On a white board near the end of the table were some very daunting questions. I asked Jarrod later if he was worried about any of them; he confessed to not recognizing at least two names! Luckily, those never made it to the discussion table :)  Many words of encouragement and charges were given to Jarrod and we were blessed by a great time of prayer for our family. As a token, the Chets staff wanted to make sure Jarrod was entirely prepared for ministry... equiped with the world's

After the council, we had the blessing of being presented and commissioned by Chet's Creek Church. How humbling! We thoroughly enjoyed getting to celebrate this time with our church family and long time friends who were able to come join. Perhaps the best moment of that day was going to Jarrod's parent's lifegroup. They asked us to come share our story and then prayed for us. I felt like the cowardly lion from "The Wizard of Oz" who finally found his courage! All the fears that circle through my mind regarding life out west were trumped by a sincere and calming peace that this road is exactly where we need to go, I was reassured that He is faithful to carry us. Prayer partners, knowing you are supporting us gives us great joy and courage!


E1 was able to (early) celebrate her 4th birthday! She had a wonderful time bouncing with friends and eating cake. Please continue to pray for her heart; daily she tells us she doesn't want to leave her friends here. We are thankful children are resilient and are trusting the Lord to provide a special friends for her once we arrive in Reno, but it is still so hard to see her brokenhearted. She is such a joy to us and we see a love to people growing in her.



We allowed ourselves to celebrate Sunday, then it was a race to the finish as we packed up everything left in our home and prepared to send it ahead of us. Our last big items sold, praise the Lord!, and the trailer arrived. After 6.5 years and 5 moves, we might finally have this packing thing down. Multitudes of muscle turned out to help Jarrod load the truck (THANK YOU!) and it's now well on it's way to our new home.

Now we are trying to fit in as many meals and times with friends and family as we can before we go. Please lift up these conversations, that they would be encouraging and leaving nothing left unsaid. Continue to pray for our families, that the Lord would give them joy in sending us to do His work in place of the sadness of change and felt loss.

I'll leave you with these verses that have greatly impacted me this week.... Colossians 3:15-17
 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do,whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Saturday, February 13, 2016

Beginning of a New Chapter

*Time warp... again. Sorry about that! Getting one on one time with the computer is harder than I thought with three little people! But this is letter is important enough to require a VeggieTales morning*


Dear family and friends,

We pray 2016 has been full of wonderful adventures and seeing the Lord’s hand at work for you so far. It surely has for us! We wanted to send you a letter sharing some of what has been going on and ask for your prayers.

In late January, Jarrod accepted a call to Granite Hills Baptist Church as the associate pastor. As we speak; rather, as I write, we are packing up all we own to move to Reno, Nevada.  If you’re like me, you probably had to read that last line a few times.  The journey God took us on to get to this point has been incredible.  He has graciously shown His ability to carry us through our doubts and fears. As we walked through the interview process, He awakened our hearts for Reno and the people of GHBC. There’s a familiar kindred-heart /family-feel at GHBC and we have a growing love for God’s people there. Reno, however is a spiritually dark place. The national average of people who attend some kind of religious service throughout the week is 40%. The same statistic for Reno is 5% (Gallup poll). We hope to be used by the Lord to help the people in Reno fill their craving for more with the only One who will satisfy. By living a grace-empowered life and pointing others to Jesus, we hope to glorify our Father in heaven. We have seen God at work and He has confirmed over and over that this is our step of faith out of the boat (Matthew 14:28-29). This move gives us the opportunity to see God do what only He can do – give life to those who are dead.  Please pray for us. We are confident He will carry us, but oh how weak the flesh is and how quickly we are tempted to worry!

Some specific requests:
-          Pray for Jarrod’s ordination on February 24th. We will be presented to and commissioned by Chets Creek Church in Jacksonville, FL on the 28th.
-          Pray for our physical move out to Reno. We will be shipping all of our stuff and then flying with three small kiddos and a dog. Pray for Eliaya, Elora, Ezra to be comfortable during the flights and for our stuff to get there.
-          Pray for us to get settled quickly and to have a “home base” to help deal with the stress of everything new.
-          Pray for Jarrod and I to continue to be unified. Pray for clear communication and grace with each other as well as with our children.
-          Pray for the E’s, that they stay healthy and adjust quickly to new surroundings. Pray for friends.
-          Pray for our families as we go. We appreciate their support and willingness to serve the Lord with us by sending us out.
-          Pray for Jarrod to step into this new role smoothly. Praise God for the friendship he and Pastor Mark have formed already and pray they collaborate well.
-          Pray for Granite Hills Baptist Church (ghbcreno.org) to be unified in their desire to serve the Lord and the people of Reno.


Thank you for joining us in this adventure! We covet your prayers; we need you to “hold the ropes” as we venture into this spiritually dark place and seek to make much of Jesus. We love you all!