My life now...
Current mood: aggravated

Hi Guys

As you can tell from my previous post, things in my life have been ramping up. Between trying to manage a full time job, an event planner position for Lifesong (church plant), occasional babysitting and survey taking (by the way, that is where the money is! I just did a one hour study about Monster.com and made $75. Seriously...if you are interested, I will give you this lady's number. It is awesome!!), and being a friend to many (haha...that sounds funny)...but seriously though, trying to manage all of my relationships and keep them healthy...I have a very full life. I honestly believe that this is why I am single. I have had many people ask the stupid question, "So, why dont you have a boyfriend?" You single people out there know exactly what I am talking about. For you married people who tend to forget how irritating this is (even when you've only been married for a short time)...and you know it irritated you when you were single...it is on the same level as, "SO...when are you guys having kids?". Actually, it is worse...because for the most part, you can decide when you are going to have kids. You can't decide to have a significant other. It just happens. Whoa...I see that I have gone off on a tangent. Haha...What I was going to say was...I believe that I have a lot to accomplish right now...and to have a significant other would significantly cut back the amount of time that I would have available for the kingdom of God. Now dont get me wrong...I do not believe for a second that I am one of those ones that God calls to be single forever. I want kids and believe that some day, I will be an amazing mother. I dont think that God would give me that desire to have children and the gift of being able to parent and not do anything with it. BUT...right now, I am SO busy as it is...I would feel bad for the boyfriend b/c I wouldnt have a lot of time to spend with him. That wouldnt be fair to him...HAHA...I didn't intend on going there, but for what it is worth, those were my thoughts on that.

Anyway, what I was going to share was that I have been doing a lot of stuff for the church plant. For those of you who dont know, I am involved in a church plant that will be starting a church in Millbury. We will actually be located in the Blackstone Valley Cinema deluxe - specifically theater number 5!! We launch on September 10th...but we are doing a lot in the community beforehand because as that old saying goes, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." Cheesy, yes.but very true!! We want to show the community of Millbury and the surrounding towns how much we care for them and their needs. We are a mission based church...we want to meet people where they are... and that typically starts with their immediate needs. As the hierarchy of needs says, until the basic needs are met, people aren't interested in the other things. Our basic statement is this: We are a community seeking to know God in the way of Jesus. We believe that Jesus' life was lived for the good of others far more than for Himself. We are a community committed to live that way to live daily by faith, to serve others selflessly in love, and to be a voice globally for hope. www.lifesongonline.org Check it out...it is pretty sweet. It is done by a guy on our launch team. He works for Staples (office supply store) and does their web stuff...so he knows what he is doing! He is definitely a very talented guy! There will be pictures of all the stuff that we do eventually...we are just trying to figure out the best way to do it.

The most recent thing that I have been planning (besides BBQs) is our gas giveaway. The basic premise of this was that we were going to purchase $1500 in gas and give it away in $15 increments to 100 cars. Pretty simple idea...but meets people where their needs areand with $3.00/gallon gas prices, it seems to be on everyones mind right now! When I initially was given this idea to go and make happen, I thought that it would be a piece of cake to plan. NOT SO! I seriously had a lot of resistance planning this entire event! Finding a gas station to accommodate us was a nightmare. Who wouldn't want to be guaranteed a $1500 gas sale in a two hour window, you ask? I asked myself the same thing until I called several gas stations and they turned me down. We had to go through companys lawyers and legal departments to being told flat out NO without so much as an explanation. It definitely got frustrating at times...but I know that when faced with a lot of resistance, it usually is because Satan knows how powerful it is going to be...and will try to do anything that he can to prevent it from happening. Knowing that helped me persevere. I did not have a place nailed down until Thursday morning...and the outreach was that Saturday. Oh, man...talk about some stress!! Thank the Lord that our team is flexible!! We just have to roll with the punches!

We did our gas giveaway on Saturday, July 8th at the XtraMart in Sutton...the one on 146 South...just south of Mt. Millbury. It was a great location because it was basically next door to where we are going to be having church in like 50 or so days. Wow! Holy Smokes!! I can't believe how quickly it is coming!

SO...I arrived at 8:15 or so to make arrangements with the Dunkin Donuts to get 100 muffins to give away...as well as making some banners that we were going to attach on a 6 foot PVC pipe frame that we placed at the entrance of the gas station.

We started giving the gas away at 10AM...and in 50 minutes we gave away $15 of gas to the first 100 cars that pulled into the lot. People were totally shocked. They could not believe that someone was actually giving stuff awayfor FREE! AND...to top it off, it was a church! I believe for lots of people, we broke the paradigm of church for them. People of all walks of life...who have different views on the institution of church...but mainly that you are doing this because you either want them to come to your church or you want something back from them. We did something nice and helpful and didn't require or expect anything from them. We gave away $15 of gas and muffins with absolutely NO STRINGS attached. What a revolutionary new idea! ;-) hehe...And I believe that we connected to people on a deeper level than just free gas...many people asked why we were doing this...and we got the opportunity to share with them that we are starting a church up in the movie theater and want to give back to the community that we will be a part of. We handed out business cards and CDs with the vision of the church on it - all at their request - not our pushing or promotion.

We had lots of stories of people who were incredibly blessed. One told a story of a single mom with two kids in her back seat. She had just gone to pay her bills and got in the car and realized that she needed gas. She wondered to herself how in the world she was going to pay for the gas...and drove down 146 and passed the people holding signs along the highway reading "Free Gas" and "$15 Free Gas" and thought it was a scam...but pulled in anyway to check it out. When she pulled into the station, greeted by our team members, and escorted to a pump where they told her that she REALLY was getting $15 of gas...and all she had to do was...ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Just sit back while we pump your gas, wash your windows, and offer you some Dunkin Donuts muffins (for FREE!)...she burst into tears because whether or not she actually said it, I think she realized that God had her in His hand. And that isn't the only story of that nature...lots of people came through...and we met them at their needs.

As I was walking to take some pictures of people holding signs, a guy with a couple other people pulled into the station and asked what was going on. I told him that we were giving away gas...and naturally, he asked why. I told him about the church plant and about how we wanted to give back to the community that we would be a part of in a short time.and he was like,"Oh, cool. I'm gay!"...As if he were trying to shock me or get a negative response out of me. I was like, "Ok..." and he looked at me and asked if he would be able to come to our church. I told him most definitely...and he was like, " Great! Thats cool!!". He introduced himself to me...as well as introducing his boyfriend and other mutual friend. They all said that they wanted to check out the church. Wow...now I'm not sure what will come of that...but the fact that he wasn't nasty or overly critical of church as a whole...or turn down the gas because a church was giving it away is huge! Many homosexuals have an issue with church...and honestly, who would blame them? Many Christians put homosexuality on some sort of sin pedestal, as if their sins (you name it...stealing, lying, cheating, sex before marriage, adultery...and the list goes on and on) are somehow less than that. God doesn't see it that way...and as hard as it is...we as a body, need to do a better job with that. How do we ever expect people to change their lifestyles when all they get is condemnation, fire, and brimstone from a place that should be loving them where they are at, despite all of their junk. Jesus hung out with sinners...lying, stealing tax collectors and prostitutes. Are you telling me that you think people of that nature would be drawn to Jesus if all he were telling them is that they are going to hell...turn or burn??? Nope, I dont think so.

Anyway, it was an awesome experience. We are going to be doing another one at the end of July. I am pumped! I know that it is going to be awesome!!!

I am tired...and really annoyed...because the first time I tried posting this blog, it didn't work, so I had to retype it into word and then paste it onto a refreshed screen. Hey...I guess it is better than having to come up with a whole new blog. I would have been REALLY mad!!! Haha Alrighty..have a great night!!

~Jen