8

Written by cycleguy on November 19th, 2012

Hey, if Ted Dekker can do it (use a number for a title) so can I.  But I am so rebellious I just used the number.  😉

8 IS SIGNIFICANT TO ME

I shared with the folks this past Sunday that it was a significant day for me.   In November of 2005,  Jo and I began our ministry with the church.  Doesn’t seem like 8 years.  As with any church pastorate, there have been good times, and there have been bad times.  We have seen attendance highs and lows. We have seen successes and failures.  We have seen several come to Christ (but not nearly enough).  We have made a major move from a rented, dirty gym to our own facility, which we renovated this past summer (pictures on church website).  BUT…we have also seen a mass exit of high school students going off to college in a span of 2 years;  and some people leaving for various reasons (death, moving, disgruntled, wrong fit, etc).  All in all it has been a fun (yes that is the word) ministry.  Memorable.  Decisive. Fulfilling. Heart-breaking. Adventurous.  And more.   I love these people and look forward to more years, Lord willing.

Through it all has been my wife, Jo.  She has had to work full-time almost through this whole ministry, largely due to insurance.  She has had to learn new things; hear new things (words she had never heard before); and even do new things.  She has been a trooper and has sacrificed a lot to help keep us afloat.

I would be remiss though if I didn’t mention Diana.  I call her my secretary.  I reckon the proper term is “office manager.”   She started about one week before I did and initially worked for two of us.  Since Spring of ’09 she has worked primarily for me.  When we were hit with an uppercut in January of ’11, she shouldered more responsibility.  Her husband, Jim, has been her biggest supporter, as have her two sons.  She has gone above and beyond the call of duty many times.  With the possibility that we may be taking on another staff person soon, her responsibilities will kick up even more.  Thanks Di!

I am especially thankful for my two girls, Tami and Janna.  No father could be more proud of his two girls than I am, AND I’M NOT PREJUDICED! .  I could brag on them for a long time, but know you have time constraints.  🙂  They are God’s greatest earthly blessings to me and I wouldn’t trade them for anything (not even boys).  I know she will shoot me, but I particularly want to highlight Tami.  She has had some health issues, but has “righted her ship” and has done it by lifestyle changes.  I would love for you to read this post she wrote.   I almost had a cow when I found out she had another blog with excellently written posts.  Please check it out.

What are you celebrating that we can rejoice with you?

 

22 Comments so far ↓

  1. Daniel says:

    I feel the love oozing off my screen tonight. Part of me wants to be jealous that you have so much more in the way of deeply connected relationships in your life than I do. But I think of bigger part of me just wants to smile for you right now. Blessings.

    • cycleguy says:

      I’ll take the smile Daniel. No need for jealousy since we are two different personalities. You have strong points I do not have. But glad you enjoyed the post. 😛

  2. Bill, as you know from my blog, we are attending a new church. We are celebrating having people we go to church with caring for us. That seems like such a small thing to many, perhaps, but it seems like something that we haven’t experience for many years.

    • cycleguy says:

      It isn’t a small thing Larry. I value pastoring a church that cares for others. hope this new church experience is what you are looking for in every way.

  3. Tami Grandi says:

    A cow? Wow- didn’t know I could have that impact 😉 Also I am assuming that you are counting year 8 as the one just started since 2005-2012 is only 7? 😉 See you soon! (and thanks for the highlight- I won’t you shoot you…yet, I don’t know how to use a gun…hmmmmm) 🙂

    • cycleguy says:

      Yeah. Remember i already yelled at you for not telling me you had this new blog. 😉 Answer: yes. just remember as you father i am faster than a speeding bullet. Oops that is Superman. Yeah, that fits. 😀

  4. Susan says:

    I am celebrating and am thankful for my new understanding and knowing that God isn’t mad at me when things go (from my perspective) wrong, and times are tough.

  5. You have much to be thankful for my friend! I celebrate with you and thank God for your influence in my life!

  6. Zee says:

    You had my attention glued after the first four words 😀 Tee hee, have you read Thr3e?

    What am I celebrating… I’ve got a Christmas cheer going on already (we don’t have official Thanksgiving here, so I start celebrating Christmas in September usually. This year I kinda started late.)

    • cycleguy says:

      Confession time: that is the only one I have read! 🙂 What exactly is Christmas cheer? Thankful for you lil sis.

      • Zee says:

        Ah, gotcha. It’s a good book, but I like his other books more – especially his non-fiction The Slumber of Christianity and fiction Red…

        Christmas cheer – well, for me, it means listening to Christmas music and allowing it to take all the worries away in preparation for His birthday 🙂 Been listening to What Child is This by the Future of Forestry for half of the day today – wow, that’s an awesome song (here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyXGa78_A0E)…

        It’s… dunno. It’s Christmas cheer 😀

        • cycleguy says:

          have to admit that I wasn’t sold on Thr3e. Didn’t like the way it ended. 🙁 listened to the video and liked it. Gonna have to check out more of their music. Check out my post coming up about Christmas cheer. 🙂

          • Zee says:

            Yeah, like I said, it wasn’t his best. Black / Red / White, however, made me rediscover God’s love.

            Oh, and Martyr’s Song series (mostly When Heaven Weeps) introduced me to Zephaniah 3:17… and once again made me realize just how wonderful God’s love and mercy and grace is.

  7. floyd says:

    What a blessing to have genuine Christian people around you that you share the strongest bond of love with.

    I’d say I’m thankful for the things you are. We have another daughter graduating college next month a year early! (good girl for many reasons!) The other two are doing well, one in the real world with her own place and the youngest showing the same promise. But mostly for the knowing that they know our Father and grasp the blessings from Him that matter most.

    “Count your blessings name them one by one..”

    • cycleguy says:

      It is a blessing Floyd, one I don’t ever want to take for granted or advantage of. Sounds like got a handle on the thankful part too. 🙂

  8. Betty Draper says:

    Very thankful we get to spend Thanksgiving with our son and two children. Looking forward to Christmas with our grandchildren.

    Happy Thanksgiving

  9. Wait, you have bad times in ministry? You must be doing something wrong then because I have never had anything remotely… I can’t even continue with such sarcasm! Awesome tribute you wrote here, Bill. What a blessing to know God and build His Kingdom by His grace. Blessings to you and your church family–happy Thanksgiving!

    • cycleguy says:

      Good thing I knew you were going sarcastic Jason. LOL You know what good and bad times are like. I am blessed beyond measure. Thanks for the wishes.

  10. My wife and I just celebrated eight years of marriage, so eight’s a pretty good number for me too!
    The cool thing about this post is that you’ve highlighted the people who are doing ministry with you. It’s always a team effort – even if you’re the one behind the pulpit that people focus on.