Sick of snow

Yesterday was a beautiful spring day. Today it's snowing again... we've probably gotten about 6 inches of the stuff. I am so antsy for spring to come! I want to see the green of new growth. I want to get out into the garden, get my hands dirty, and start seeing plants pop their heads up through the earth. I look through gardening books and catalogs, and dream of what my garden could be...

I feel the same way about starting The Loop. I've been in a ministry "winter" long enough. I'm ready for spring. I'm ready to see growth. I'm ready to get my hands "dirty" again. And my head is full of what we could be...

Perhaps I should back up a bit here, and give a bit of history. (One of our Alpha group said to me when she heard I was blogging: "That's great! A place to record the journey of starting The Loop!" When she said that I realized I should probably go back and tell a bit more of the story, for those of you who don't know...)

A year and a half ago, I resigned from a church where I had pastored for 9 years. There were a whole lot of things that led me to the point of leaving, but the simplest way to explain it is to say that I believe God wanted me to take time to rest. The rest was definitely needed, and I'm thankful for the time I've had off.

For the first half year that I was off, I truly just rested. But about a year ago, after attending a conference on "church planting" I came to the conclusion that this was God's next Adventure for me. But... what kind of church would this be??? One person who spoke at this conference told how he had spent 8-9 months simply praying and thinking through what kind of church God was asking him to start. Those words clicked with me. And so, for the past year, I've been on a journey of praying, thinking, and putting together a plan for a new church. (And my husband, Marshal, has been supporting me this whole way!) The Alpha group that started in late February is the first time that I've brought other people (other than Marsh!) into this Adventure.

At this point, I feel like I'm fully engaged in this thing. Ideas go running though my head at all hours of the day and night (yes, I'm actually thinking about The Loop a whole lot more than my garden!). Figuring out which ideas to hold onto and which need to go away becomes the challenge. And communicating all the stuff I'm thinking about without overwhelming other people? That can be a challenge as well (I'm hoping this blog helps a bit in that area!).

All this to say... I'm ready to get this thing moving! We had 15 people at last night's Alpha... our biggest group yet. Maybe spring really is on the way...