What a weekend (Part 2) - Sun/Mon

Sunday morning we were up bright and early...well, early but not necessarily bright! 5:00 am came quickly! Casey had to be at North Fort Worth Baptist Church (that's a mouthful) by 7:20 am and it is about a 20 minute drive and we only have one vehicle...so we all had to be up and ready early. Thankfully we made it out the door without any problems and the freeway traffic was pretty light that early on a Sunday morning. We dropped Casey off and then me and the boys drove around a bit waiting to catch the sunrise. There was a Denny's near by so I took the boys there for breakfast, which really made their day!
NFWBC has two services, one at 9:30 and the other at 10:45. The first is a traditional service and the second is the contemporary service. I took the boys to their Bible study class for the 9:30 hour and then went to the traditional service with Casey. I really enjoyed it. It has been a LONG time since I've sang that many hymns and listened to the piano and organ. All the music was really well done (the pianist and violinist are both professionals). After the service I went to get the boys so the could attend the next service with me because that was the one that Casey was leading. The church is big, so by the time I got both the boys, with potty breaks we had already missed the first song and greeting time.
Casey and the praise team did a great job! The music minister played piano, then there were 4 female vocalist, drums, electric and bass guitars and Casey sang and played his acoustic. It sounded great. I think there is also a sax player, but I can't remember if he was there on Sunday. Anyway, the worship went really well and the music minister said they would get back with Casey on Tuesday.
We had some lunch out and then came home and rested for awhile. For dinner we cooked out with our friends/neighbors (3 other couples) and then had a neat time of sharing prayer requests with one another. We came in about 9:30 and Casey had missed a call from the Music Minister. The short of it was that the pastor wanted to meet with Casey Monday (today) during lunch since he (Pastor) was going to be on campus. The meeting went well and Casey was hired! I don't know all the details yet, but he will be working 20 hours a week. His primary responsibility will be leading the contemporary worship service Sunday mornings. So, once again, God is good and His timing is PERFECT!
The pictures above are the sunrise on Sunday morning and a picture of the South end of the church where the worship center is.

What a weekend! - Friday/Saturday

"Wow!" followed by "Phew!" summarizes the weekend nicely! It was fabulous and exhausting, but so worth every moment. Here's the recap:
Friday afternoon I went with three friends to the taping of Beth Moore's "Wednesdays with Beth," at Life Today studios. We had a yummy dinner before hand with another friend and some of her family who was also going to the event. The sessions were great! She taped two series on Friday night and three on Saturday. We got home around 11:00 pm and were up again Saturday morning and on the road by 7 am! Beth's Saturday sessions were amazing. God was so good to reveal Himself through His word as Beth taught. We had a short break between the two morning sessions for bathroom breaks...and to warm up...the studio was COLD! As I was coming back into the studio to return to my seat, Beth was right there in front of me. I had to walk right by her to go to my seat and as I got to her she hugged me and said something that I don't remember. My friend Lisa was right behind me and received a hug as well and then Beth went behind the stage for a few moments. That totally made up for having great seats on Saturday morning when we got there and then having to move up to the top to fill in a few empty seats.
Still, I can't complain too much about the seating because it is all still really close. I'm guessing there were about 150-200 ladies there and about 3 men.
We came home Saturday, very tired, but totally in awe of God's word through Beth. I am so overwhelmed by God's goodness towards me to allow me to go. I joked that when we moved down here that we were going to have to drive to Houston so I could go to the church she attends. God brought her to me...so sweet of Him to do that! And, I enjoyed some sweet fellowship with my friends and neighbors...God has been good to me!

River runs through it...

We've had several Flash Flood and other flood type warnings since we've been here. It can sure rain. Here are a few pictures from yesterday's downpour. I hope you can get a feel for how much water pours down here sometimes. The picture on the bottom was just getting their feet wet...it escalated to full out splashing and all out fun getting drenched in the rain.

BIG weekend ahead!

So excited for the weekend! Casey will be singing on Friday night for a recital (another student's conducting recital). It's been fun for him, but has taken a chunk of many Saturdays in preparation. On Saturday he gets to hang with the boys...I'm looking forward to being OUT!
On Sunday Casey will be leading worship at a church here in Fort Worth. He is being considered for leading worship for their contemporary service. The rehearsal last night went really well and the Music minister thinks very much of Casey already...so it might be a great fit. Praying for Sunday. The church is about 20-25 minutes away and they rehearse again at 7:30 am on Sunday. We only have one vehicle so that is an EARLY morning for me and the boys! I think I will take them to breakfast. We will attend both services, so it will be a long day for the kiddos.
I'm most looking forward to BETH MOORE on Friday and Saturday! She records Wednesdays with Beth here in Fort Worth (under Life Today ministries with James Robison). So excited I can hardly contain myself. I was able to get four tickets, so I'm taking three of my new seminary friends whom the Lord has blessed me with knowing. We will do dinner on Friday before and just receive the special blessing of being under Beth's teaching from the Word!

Mid-terms

We reached mid-terms for the Fall Semester last week (or was it the week before)...it is all but a distant memory now! Casey did well and even tied for the highest score in his Music History class! He continues to work hard in his classes and study and practice as much as possible. Yesterday he made a comment along the lines of that he would have plenty of time to do all his studying if he didn't have to sleep at all. Needless to say, this has been a very busy semester adjusting to life here and then working too. I think we are beginning to see that it is almost impossible for a man (with a family) to be a full-time student. There just isn't enough time to study and complete assignments and then work enough to provide to your family and also be able to see your family! God is good though and has given us a good support and we've received lots of encouragement. And, knowing that it ends in December is really nice too!

Interview and follow up

Casey's interview Tuesday went really well (see previous post for details). He met with the Senior Pastor and Music Minister. The church building is very large...from one end to the other is 1/4 mile. That's big right? They run around 500 though so there is lots of room to grow. The pastors told Casey that they would be meeting Thursday and would probably get back to him after that or after the weekend. Well, Casey got a call back on Wednesday (the next day) from the music minister asking him to come back and play for him like he would for a worship service. Casey did that today and it went really well. The church leadership hasn't decided on a total job description, hours or salary yet, so we don't have any of those details...still just praying. However, Casey has been invited to lead worship there in two weeks (Oct. 25th), so that is exciting. Casey got a follow up email from the music minister this afternoon encouraging him to wear jeans when he leads worship...that's a change! I got a kick out of that.... Casey said both the pastor and music minister are very laid back. Please continue to pray with us about this opportunity. I'm excited, yet a little sad that we may be leaving Wedgwood already as I've really grown to love that church already.

so cool!

Here is a true story. I don't know the whole ending yet, but regardless, it's a cool story. Casey has been hired on to work on campus doing staging/hall monitor??? (I don't know exactly what) and whatever else in the music building. It is VERY part time...so it will maybe fill up our gas tank once or twice a month...but not enough to live on. He's started to get a little, we'll say "anxious," about employment in the last week or so. This week and next he is able to work extra hours in the music building for some reason that I don't really understand so I can't tell you about it.
So today, he came home a little early to make some phone calls and talk with me about a few part-time positions that are available. Some of them are really far away for $50 a week...so, that's not really helpful! He was thinking about the part-time worship leader position he turned down and re-thinking that. I told him to stop it...and a few other things.... Mostly, I just tried to encourage him and remind him that we are here for a reason and God will provide for us just like He always has. (There are days when he tells me the same thing because I'm in a funk about something...so today was my turn.) I also reminded him that God has always brought opportunities to us and we haven't ever had to seek them out or apply for them. Anyway, he made his calls and followed a few leads he had and then sat down to read with the boys for a bit. A little later the phone rings and we assume it is someone returning his call. I answered and they asked for Casey so I gave him the phone.
I realized after a few minutes that it wasn't a return call, but a music minister calling Casey to see if he is interested in a job. Casey got off the phone and smiled at me and said, well, I guess you were right about that. Anyway, he is going in for an interview on Tuesday, so please pray with us as we see if this is God's provision for us. It is a church in Fort Worth that runs about 500 and Casey would be leading the contemporary worship service. Oh, the cool part too is that it was one of Casey's professors who recommended him for the job!