We LOVE visitors!

 

We wanted to remind all of you friends out there in various places around the world that we really, really enjoy having you come visit us. Have we mentioned lately how beautiful it is here?? Or that strawberries are in season? :)  Each time we've been blessed to have friends and family come and visit us, we can't wait until the next opportunity to welcome someone into our home again. We have a few friends planning to visit us from Washington state this Spring and are very excited already.

In early January, Daniel's parents were able to come down for the very first time to the East Coast to visit us! It was wonderful getting to see them and take them around to see all of the things we have grown to love about Florida. They were able to attend our second Sunday morning service, and Joe got to teach at our leadership training night. Such a treat to have them here. Jeremiah and May developed a close bond with them after going for about 6 months since we saw them back in Washington. We spent time on the beach, driving around the area, took them to the Everglades and saw the sunset on the Gulf Coast. God is so good. We can't wait until their visit again next year!

Please let us know if you are headed down the Atlantic Coast and would
like to come and see us!

Jeremiah is 6 years old

Here are a few photos from Jeremiah's SIXTH birthday! They tell you

the years go by so fast, and it is incredibly true. We are so proud ofhim and his funny ways. :) This was his first year to have a "friends"birthday party, so we had one with just the family and another with 3friends from school. He chose LEGOS as the theme for the party, and itwas hilarious watching them laugh and yell and be 6 year olds together(plus May, of course, who LOVED playing with the super-coolkindergarteners).

A little blurb about Jeremiah: For those of you who have followed our

blog or know our family, you may remember that Jeremiah has hadtrouble with headaches for the last couple of years. They havedrastically improved in the last year and a half. He is still a"headachy" kid--meaning if he is going to feel sick, he gets aheadache. But they are only about once a month now and a little Motrinhelps! We really believe that God healed his little body when we askedyou all to pray for his chronic headaches. He is a very healthy littleguy. :) He is also quite the quintessential pastor's kid--His casualmention of "God power Jesus power and Holy Spirit power" inconversation is a part of his genetic code, I think. :) He loves totalk about heaven. He loves creating things--drawing is his favoritething to do. And watching movies. And eating sweets. Many of hisdifficult behavior patterns have improved this year since we havedrastically cut his sugar intake. :) He isn't into sports very muchexcept that he will tell you he loves golf because he got to gomini-golfing recently. He is a talker, an arguer, and a thinker. He'sincredibly funny and loyal. We love him so much. So, that's Jeremiah!Oh, and he got his first two-wheeler for his birthday. :)

A much needed update:)

Hi! 

Here's to hoping you haven't forgotten about us since it has been a very long time since we updated our blog. We are jumpstarting a new system to keep it updated and current though, so please keep checking back!

Our last couple of months have been full of the miraculous works of God in our lives, our family, and our church. Not only did we get to celebrate Christmas with a 3 and 5 year old (which is the ONLY way to do it, let me tell ya! :), but we also had a sweet month with our core church planting team in the month of December. We took a break from our weekly church services on Thursday nights to prepare to launch SUNDAY services as a church on January 6th! (more on that in a moment) So, that meant our month was busy and full of friends and family in Christ surrounding us in our home and celebrating Christmas together. We had a beautiful and sweet Christmas Eve Eve service with all of our kids there, and we lit the advent candles and got to hear and reflect on the miracle of Jesus's birth. It was wonderful.

Which brings us to January!! After one year living in Delray Beach and 8 months after our first Redemption Church meeting, we had our very first SUNDAY MORNING service! It was such a joy to watch couple after couple and young and old people alike walk into the community center where we meet to worship Jesus with us! We counted about 50 adults that first Sunday and have had new and different people attending each week since then. We have already had several people recommit their lives to Christ and have many people wanting to get involved in the church and joining community groups! It is a miracle to us to see God use us to bring His Word to people and show them His love for them. Our kids are THRILLED to have new kids at church to play with too! Travis and Alesha who moved down in September from Olympia, Washington as well as AJ and Dominique and our "native Floridians" the Snellings--all are a tremendous JOY to serve with, and we have had new people showing up to help out with set up and tear down each week already! God is GOOOOOOD!

Laura has been loving having a discipleship group of women studying the Word together, and she has been teaching through the book of James. Their group has had other Christian and non-Christian women join them, and it is a huge answer to prayer to see the Lord bringing these women together and into her life. 

Other than that, life is good. We are happy. Laura still suffers from frequent migraines, so you can lift her up in prayer. Also, I am hoping to rearrange my schedule as the needs of our church grow with Sunday services, and I am feeling stretched. We are hopeful and full of faith for all God has for us here. 

Be blessed,

Daniel, Laura, Jeremiah, & Mailey

Christmas Festival in Delray Beach (Photo Essay)

Starting Sunday Morning Services

We have an exciting announcement!!! (Well, two, actually, but we'll get to the second one in a minute)

After praying about it for a few months, we are officially starting Sunday morning services for Redemption Church on Sunday, January 6th! As many of you know, we have been having a mid-week service on Thursday nights since last April. Since that time, the Lord has opened the door for us to meet in the same community center that once told us they were unable to rent out Sunday mornings! We have seen God move and make this possible, and we can't wait to move forward and transition into Sunday services!

As an amazing bonus, we have been blessed by a number of friends who have offered their time, skills, and resources to provide us with updated poster designs, invite cards, and even a friend here in Delray who does videography and filmed a personal invite video for us! God is so good!

You can see the invite video (and share it!!!) here:

Just wanted to share the news!


Oh...the second announcement?  :) This is our new puppy!

Her name is Weirsbe, and she is a 10 week old golden retriever. She is quickly becoming a cherished member of our family. Both Jeremiah and May have a new pass time as they LOVE playing with our puppy!

Nothing beats a puppy. :)

The Earth is Yours (cover)

Here is another cover we sing at church, the SPoT, and other places we enjoy:)

Welcome, TRAVIS and ALESHA!

On September 15^th, we were thrilled to welcome Travis and Alesha Sinks to Delray Beach as they completed their cross-country drive from Washington state to Florida where God has called them to come and serve with us at Redemption Church! Travis and Alesha are dear friends to us, and we have been anticipating their arrival here with lots of excitement. Travis left his job as the assistant youth pastor at Calvary Chapel of Olympia in August, and he and Alesha are settling in very well here. We recently moved from our four plex into a different home that is more affordable for our family, and Travis and Alesha are staying in our old place until they find an apartment of their own. You can be praying for both of them to find jobs as well as settling in Delray Beach.