2006 was a stellar year. In January, after our December move into our new building, we launched Soul Cafe at church, this was going to be our alternative worship service. It was very casual, with coffee and treats served at the start of the service, I sat on a stool rather than standing behind a lectern, we shared stories of what God had been doing in our lives. I loved it. As an associate it also gave me the opportunity to lead worship and preach on a weekly basis, something I found very satisfying. I think my highlight was our summer series we titled "Rock 'n' Truth." Each week we watched a rock music video and the message of the song formed the basis for the talk that evening. Unfortunately available resources only allowed us to run this service for nine months before we had to put it on the back burners.
January of 2006 also saw me put on my running shoes for the first time in eleven years... I had to stop several times on the 1.7 mile loop around our neighborhood and I was convinced at the time that some of the hills were really steep! By April I was running a 5k and then in May decided to sign up for a half-marathon and then the Army Ten Miler. All of a sudden that little loop didn't seem so bad! By mid-October I had signed up to run the National Marathon the following March.
The first week of October I became part of a world record. At the Catalyst Conference I, along with our church staff, participated in the worlds largest pillow fight! Guinness officials were on hand to verify the attempt and apparently we succeeded.
There was enough balance in our lives again to fall gently into God's chosen future!
