New Community.

I am moving.

We are moving.

I am losing community.

In four short months, I will be moving 2.5 hours away from the community that inspires me to love Jesus better. My church families and close circle of friends mean so so so much to me & i'd really like to figure out a way for all of them to move to WB with me this fall. I'm not sure that will happen but a lady can dream can't she?

I am a planner.

I plan everything. 

My outfits are pre-planned, my meals, my day... etc (I'm a little crazy)

When I began preparing my heart for this move, I was met with great anxiety & fear. 

How will we make friends?

What if no one likes me?

Where will we worship? 

We certainly can't find another church plant to love and grow in, can we? 

God must smile big when I bring my silly fears to Him.

Ladies & Gents, we haven't even moved and I am already feeling love from our future town.

About a month ago, Teeds and I visited a church plant in downtown WB.

The visit wasn't really random because I had been stalking them for about a month before the actual visit... (Like I said, a little crazy)

Even though I had been listening to their podcasts and fervently following them on Facebook, I was still so nervous to walk into the chapel for service that Sunday. 

After a bit of coaching from Teeds, we headed in. 

Almost as soon as we sat down, people came over to say hello. The greetings weren't just a "hi" and a "bye", these people wanted to know our names and stories. So there we were, the service hadn't even started and I was totally smitten. As the worship team led one of Teedle's favorite songs, I could tell that he was also falling in love. After a beautiful message by Pastor Dan about "inside out religion" (can be found here), we were sold. To top it ALL off, the church was experimenting with a "meet the pastors" lunch after the service. Of all days! The day WE visit. Oh, God makes me smile so big. 

He was there! He had planned all of it!

Oh what joy!

Teeds and I stayed to have some Pizza (carrots and chips for me) & chat with our new favorite people. It turns out that the mission of the church is very similar to the church I currently attend. They are ministry focused & care about the spiritual, emotional, and physical needs of the people in their community. My social work heart smiled ear-to-ear over this! The best part is, we were only there for a couple of hours & we felt like we were home. We saw the love of Christ moving in the ministry team and their love for Him was absolutely contagious. 

What a beautiful day.

I serve a God who is bigger than worry, fear, and doubt.

He is already moving in WB & I can't wait to see what else He has planned for Teeds and I.

Last Friday, I got THIS in the mail with a sweet message from Pastor Dan and his wife, Joy! 

(Sweet, huh?) 

I am moving.

We are moving.

I am finding community.

xo, Lynn Raye