November 2008 Update

Dear Family and Friends,

We are so close we can almost taste it!! As we enter into this season of Thanksgiving, we have so much to be thankful for. First and foremost we are so thankful for you! Without you we would not be where we are today. We have raised 75% of what we need because of your faithfulness and trust in God. Our partnership has only just begun and we are so excited to see where it is going to go.

We are also so thankful for our family. We have been able to leave Lodi and save money by living with Elizabeth’s parents and we are so blessed. We are thankful that God has sustained us during one of the most challenging times in our life! Our children are thriving and healthy! We haven’t seen a cold yet this year and are so thankful for that. Obviously as we come into this Thanksgiving we won’t have a hard time being thankful. Do you sense a theme?

With that we as always have prayer requests. We are praying that we will be able to move to Chico sometime in January. We need prayer that we will be able to find a house we can rent that we can afford that has the amenities that we need so that we won’t have to make any extra purchases. We are looking for a house instead of an apartment because we will begin meeting in our home with our launch team. We also pray that we will be prepared for what is ahead. We know that we have many challenges ahead of us. This church plant isn’t going to be easy and we need perseverance and courage to allow God to use us.

Thank you all. We appreciate you so much. If you have committed support to us please send in your monthly support for November. Remember you can set up automatic bill pay online at www.sunergeo.com/donate . If you have not yet committed to support us financially and have felt God telling you to do so now is as good a time as any. We know that many people think if they can’t give a large amount it won’t make a difference, but it will make a huge difference to us. We as always appreciate all of your faithful prayers. We hope you have a wonderful time to reflect on all that you are thankful to God for.

Blessings,

Jeremy and Elizabeth Rhodes

Email: pastor.jdr@gmail.com
Total amount to Raise: $2300 /month
Amount Left to Raise: $565/

Nehemiah

Like most Biblical words this one sounds like a virus or disorder. "Oh he has Nehemiah, oh man his family must be devastated."
But this post has nothing to do with entomology, but rather a revelation that came to me in reading Nehemiah chapter 9.
Chapter 9 deals with Israel confessing their sin and reviewing all that God has done for them, a quick history if you will. While I was reading this it hit me like a ton of bricks,a revelation of sorts that has put my life in perspective.
You see we can read the Bible and say "what is with the Israelites? God has given them so much why can't they see it?" We can be stunned by the way that their current situation has made them forget how God has acted in the past. In my moment of revelation I saw myself in their shoes. You see I have been so consumed by the remaining amount of support that we needed I could not see the support that God had already provided. I have found myself so obsessed with the remaining amount of support that I could not be truly thankful to God for what he has already done.
So How does this change your life? Easy, one word, joy. I am so happy and encouraged because I can look back over the past few months and see God's fingerprints everywhere. It also helps that we got a big chunk of support today. Thank you to everyone who has given support. It has meant so much. I remember you in my prayers as I look forward to the our next phase of ministry together. We are getting closer!

what is next?

So we find ourselves coming upon the holiday season still waiting on the funds to come in so we can move. We are getting closer with each new supporter but the anticipation is getting to me and it reminds me of Christmas.
Remember back when you were a kid... I will wait go ahead... I will not type when you are not looking go ahead. Are you there? OK, remember Christmas time. Counting down the days until Christmas break, the anticipation is a mix of materialism and freedom. You know in days you can stop being good because Santa does not watching you on December 26th he is recuperating. But more than that, you know that on December 25th all of your greatest wishes will be met in a frenzy of wrapping paper and toys. And oh the gift of the days off afterward to spend time with those new gifts. Ah Christmas so much better than summer or any other time of the year! It is the greatest time of the year.(pause for the song to start ringing in your ears)
Doesn't that paint a great picture? This unifying experience brings me to my point. Remember all those feelings? Are they flooding back to you?
That is how I look forward to church planting, I am filled with excitement like a kid looking forward to Christmas. It is not always obvious. I am a bit like a duck on a pond, the surface is calm but underneath those feet are churning a mile a minute or in this case my mind is moving with frenzy. To be honest I am a bit consumed, not with the process but with watching God work in people lives. I look forward to living the call that God has placed on my life... I look forward to God acting in the city of Chico CA... I look forward to what is next!