What happened??

Wild Parties: New Definition?!?
Well, it is official, we've graduated, we're getting old. Life has changed. Our "We're here in Austin, come for a party" Party last Sunday was nice. It was fun, but a very different kind of fun than 15 years ago. Then we might have had store-bought mozzarella cheese sticks, chips and salsa, cheap pizza, cheetos, beer, dr. pepper, chips ahoy in the bag. Now it was a feast of (all homemade) enchiladas, chimichangas, beef casserole, rice, beans, several gourmet dips, 3 delectable dessert choices, 4 different wine choices, 10 varieties of beer, etc, etc. In the past, we had meaningful conversations, maybe danced a little, flirted with our significant other, told stories, enjoyed the music selection. Now we, try really hard to continue a conversation while teamworking with our spouse to watch each of our three kids out of the corner of our eyes. "So how is your new company you started going? Hold that thought, ""Brett, Josh just feel in the mud, Lily has to go potty, Ava is about to hit that boy with a huge stick."" Sorry so how is your new company???" There were 10 adults at the party and 9 kids (7 of which were 3 and under). : ) The entertainment for the evening consisted of watching the kids take turns acting like a monster and chasing the other kids around the yard. My parents were able to come, and were extremely entertained at how life has changed for my good friends and bridesmaids. They said something like "footloose and fancy free and now you're all chasing kids." Joking aside, this is something Shannon and I used to talk about back in 1994 at UT, we'd talk about how we hope and pray that we would be able to see our children know each other and play together. It is special to see that come to fruition and it is a true blessing from God! We'll keep having these parties, we promise, we love to have people over. The next one, most likely, will be an Easter gathering (for those who won't be travelling to see family or just want to stop by). Also, in the future, they may involve a theme and a costume of some kind. Hmmm....

My Parent's Blessing
I've been thinking about something since my parents were just here last week. They left yesterday to travel to other parts of Texas. Isn't it funny how, even as adults, we desire or even crave at times, our parent's approval. It feels so good to have your parents provide that encouragment. It can be about almost anything: your children, your child raising skills, your cooking, your home, your spouse, your life, your appearance, your character, whatever. Even as adults, it just feels good to be praised by your parents. I imagine that even the most successful people in the world (world leaders, CEOS, billionaires) feel this way. A common thing to all humans, I think. Our week with my parents was so nice. We had some great meals out and in, watched movies (some good Australia, some bad The Band's Visit), hung out all together, worked together to get ready for the party. Some truly special moments were seeing my mom covered in grandkids and my time gardening with my dad (raking leaves and planting onions. Yeah, the garden is started!). I've been writing this book (a journal really) for a few years called "When I'm Old, I"ll..." , it is full of things I want to remember to do when I am old. I have several great things to add after my parent's last visit such as "When I'm old, I will visit my children when they move to a new house. I'll help them get settled. When I'm old, I'll garden with my kids. I'll enjoy just sitting and playing with grandkids. I'll try to always encourage my kids about something each time I see them." I'm so thankful that we had a wonderful visit with my parents. My Dad starts his radiation seeds soon (though they say it is not painful, is fast, and is not a "big deal", only side effect should be fatigue.). It was wonderful to be with family and enjoy them, especially since we never know how much time with have with our loved ones.

What happened???
Since we moved to Austin, I've been sending these mega-emails to my friends & family. Some are school friends, work friends, church friends, family. I know some people are wondering "What happened to Tiffany?" (Some have asked me that.) It has become clear to me that I have changed, and that I definitely (sadly) compartmentalized my faith more in the past. This change has been over time though, it didn't occur when I crossed the Texas border a month ago. : ) After moving to Colorado and especially after moving to Glenwood, God did some BIG things in me, personally, which I'd love to share with you one-on-one. I know I am supposed to provide these updates to our friends, supporters, family. So here I am.... I often tell a story of a guy I worked with in Denver. After we moved to Glenwood in 2004, I sent out our normal Christmas letter to him to which had lots about how Brett was going to work for a church, etc. He wrote back and said something like "I didn't even know you were a Christian." We had worked together for probably 3 years, but for one year closely on the same team. Ouch! That was a hard lesson. I had been so concerned with not offending him and was also somewhat ashamed of my faith, too. Needless to say, it seems like the more Christ changes me, the less I care about what others think. This is who I am, but I am not happy to stay like this. I want God to change me more daily to be like Christ. I read something cool today from my Mary/Martha book, which I'll paraphrase. This was me...totally...I really felt this way (and still do at times.)

"We were created for the fullness of God, not an ounce or liter less. But are we ready for that? God will most likely require our being stretched. At the very least, it is sure to disturb our comfort. Are we willing to let God explode our comfort zone and expand our capacity for Him? Or do we want a God we can manage? Unfortunately, a lot of the time this is precisely what we want--enough of God to make us happy, but not enough to make us change. We'd never say it but our attitude is often like this:

I would like $20 worth of God, please not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal the good feelings of a spa massage or a snooze in a hammock in the sunshine. I don't want enough of Him to make me love radically because that would be too uncomfortable. Because I would never want to serve alongside a gay person at an AIDS hospice, babysit a single parent's unruly kids, or talk about Jesus to a stranger. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack (or reuseable ecobag). I would like to buy $20 worth of God, please."

I cannot tell you how uncomfortable I felt at the idea of what really following Christ meant, at what He would ask me to do, or not do. I was especially afraid of what He'd ask me to give up (cute clothes, money!) or where He'd ask me to go (Africa!). But He never forces us to follow Him, He's a gentleman. We can say "No" to him. We can choose to keep Him in a compartment in our lives. We are as close to God as we want to be. Wow! I've been there. I can also proclaim with absolute certainty that I have never more at peace or content than when He is the center or source of my entire life.

Spring Break Wanderings
It is Ava's Spring Break which means....sleeping late (later...7 instead of 6) and time to enjoy some what Central Texas offers during the week. So far we've been playing outside during the day, going for little errands (to get the kids out of the house so Brett can get more work done), eating meals outside. (It rained and was cloudy all last week until a few hours before our party Sunday (thanks God). This week it has been GORGEOUS. Perfect Spring weather.) Today we went to the Austin Fair and Rodeo. We had an excellent time! The girls enjoyed a pony ride, the petting zoo, and riding a dragon mini roller coaster. We ate good food, danced to a Texas-y band. Jesse McCartney played at the Rodeo tonight (Brett and I are loving his music lately, we'll admit it. Check out the songs Leavin' and How Do You Sleep?) but we figured that was too late to keep out our little munchkins. Friday we are going to Sea World in San Antonio with another family. There's a free kid-friendly concert at the South by Southwest Music Festival on Saturday afternoon which we will try to hit. There is tons going in Austin this month. Fun, fun! They probably plan all these events now because it is so HOT in the summer.

Brett's Been Busy
Several of you are asking and wondering what is Brett doing? (I keep hearing "Now what is Brett doing again?") Brett is working on 4 things: AdvanceHim stuff (AdvanceHim is a non-profit formed to support house church training, recruiting, funding), Professional Coaching, writing training materials, and our personal house church group. This week, Brett set up (with the IRS) his professional coaching company called Advantage Coaching Solutions(ACS). He is being sent (i.e. paid for by the powers-that-be) to attend 2 more coaching training events next month, which is awesome! He's begun coaching, and next month starts receiving income for coaching. He is also writing curriculum about House Church which will be used to educate people on the House Church movement, how to start one, etc. We continue to receive financial support from individuals (thank you!) and are receiving the monies from the organizations that committed to fund our ministry as well. We are blessed to be able to be "sent" and spend our time dedicated to the ministry God has called us to here in Austin!

Parting thoughts
Happy St Patrick's Day! Hope you have a great week. We were given 2 different people's names in one day that might like to be a part of our house church. Emmett is good, no news there. Ava and Lily received early birthday gifts from the grandparents (High School Musical 3 DVD, a Barbie razor scooter for Ava, Slip-N-Slide which we'll probably try out tomorrow). Josh is now quite comfortable climbing the stairs as well as the small slide in the backyard. Last week, He discovered the water hose. We let all the kids play in the garden with the hose (i.e. mud pit). Fun, fun! Brett is still perfecting his "tail whip" on his BMX bike. Things are great! Thanks for your prayers and friendship.

Love, Tiff