othersomethings.com

Church at Viera, Shannon said this morning.

Shannon found the service times on their website and said “uh, the website looks cheesy.” I said “cheesy websites really aren’t a reason not to visit a church.” As much as I’d like it to be.

So we are at the 10:45 service. Got Ella checked in, their kid check-in system is rockin. Lo-fi really can be better.

Open with an interesting video in a mans deep voice saying what the church is about. Interesting. The singers step up, all 7 of them. Sing a song I don’t know and I’m not that into. Next song I know, so I’ll sing it.

Next I don’t know the next song so let me just commen on two things – greeting. Walking in the door, greeting was well done. Not just a “glad you’re here” but “wow, it’s windy today isn’t it!?” which was a nice touch. Greeting in the service, turn and greet your neighbors…wow, no one gets out of that one. I literally was greeted by every “neighbor.”

What’s with song lyrics leaving out vowels? Is it really doing anyone a favor to type “ev’rybody” than just including the E? Really?

Somebody around me smells like cheese and fruit danish.

Their announcements have this going for them: up to the minute slides, like with pictures taken from stuff on Friday. Good pics too.

Announcments include the orphange my brother is at in Haiti with pics of the water purfiers, and reports that 8 orphans got out last night. I laughed at that. Becaus.. I’ll tell you later.

Pastor steps up. I think his name is Mark. The fact that I don’t even know his name and he’s started preaching actually impresses me, and makes me wonder if this is a less pastor-centric church. I guess time will tell that.

They aren’t doing live video projection in the service, they just have one camera in the back that feeds to the lobby. Interesting choice.

He is talking about wise moves. Making wise choices. The obvious scriptures pulled out of proverbs. He says something about being righteous, and I’m not sure if it’s what he means but he makes it sound like righteousness is something we get to work for.

Anyway. He goes on at length about making wise choices and being righteous, and integrity.

A man comes up to share a testimony about a hard lesson learned about integrity in his business life. He gets choked up a few times. Shannon and I were equally impressed with the testimony part of the service.

Message ends with a song. They’re channeling “Glee” for the baby boomers. Seriously, is this worship or show choir? Ok, the song for the offering clinches it. It’s “Rachel” from Glee. Minus the arm waving and skipping around stage.

Also noted that the band is formed entirely of over-40 men. They’re good musicians but yeah. Nothing like lack of diversity to point out…the lack of it.

Six years ago Shannon and I sat in church, and simultaneously felt the nudging by God to help plant Shoreline Church. It was clear. It was unarguable. We weren’t even married yet, but it was overwhelming to have a sense of direction like that. We knew what we had to do.

Five years. We prayed and agreed, we needed to be here for five years. Beyond that? Who knows. We felt that if God wanted us to put down roots here, and spend our lives here, we were ready to do that. And we also felt if God said “five years and then do something else” we would do it. We didn’t have any direction past the “five years” commitment.

So here we are. We have spent the past six months, knowing the questions had to be asked, and asking. Praying. “what is next?” do we sit tight? Do we start packing? Where do you want us?

The answer to the last question is still a bit unknown. But the past week has forced us to make some pleas, we need to know something. Not the whole plan. Just something. So we prayed. We fasted. We pleaded. We searched.

And we found. I don’t know where will be in six months, but I know it won’t be in Destin anymore.

It’s bittersweet. I love the friends we’ve made, the experiences we’ve had, the church we’ve planted. But I also will enjoy being close to our family again.

Gonna miss ya. You stay classy, emerald coast!

P.s. Big yardsale at my house next weekend! Spread the word.

Actual conversation:

Me: leave the oven on, I’m going to put a pie in.

Shannon: what kind?

Me: pumpkin.

Shannon: oh, well you should make a “cleaning the kitchen” pie.

Me: how about a “shut the heck up pie?”

Shannon: that one is about as likely as mine. Besides, they’d both have to be imported.

On a side note, did you know that the U.S. Is in a pumpkin shortage? I didn’t. Until today. When I tried to buy some, and found signs telling me so.

I can say it wasn’t love at first sight, because I honestly don’t remember the first time Shannon and I met. He remembers, but I really don’t. I do remember the first time I noticed him though. He was playing saxophone in the Holy Grounds cafe, with Chris Johnson and one or two others leading worship for the young adults church. I think I was with my friend Rebekah, and we were sitting at a tall table near the front.
I noticed him. He was different. I could tell he was probably a fun kind of person.

He tells me it was either that night or some other very near that we met. He introduced himself, we said hi, and I left. I seriously can’t remember it.

The night I DO remember is wandering around Merritt Island with my two brothers and my friend Jenny. We went to Barnes & Noble, maybe taco bell or steak n shake. Then we just sat in the car wondering what to do next, when I remembered hearing that the same cafe was having live music that night. So we went.

It was Shannon. With a few musicians he’d gathered to play jazz or whatever they wanted. The place was kinda empty, it was late. They played a song and I strong armed my brother TJ into geting up and dancing with me, since we had just learned a little east coast swing.

In hind sight, it should be obvious that we were making a spectacle of ourselves. Everyone was watching us. I was just amped up to have an opportunity to dance. Shannon noticed, of course. He came up to us after they were done playing and said something about being surprised at seeing us dance, and how it gave him an idea to hold swing dancing nights there. Whoa…ok, I guess that’s a cool idea. He asked I we’d help him organize it.

My memory gets a little fuzzy after that, but I went home feeling a very unusual emotion: excitement. It really had nothing to do with Shannon, he wasn’t on my radar AT ALL at that point. No one was. I wasn’t the dating type. I just wasn’t looking for love. I had big plans for my life, and a guy would gum up the works pretty bad. So none of that, thank you.

But the excitement I felt was enormous. Like can’t sleep, can’t think about anything else, jumping out of your skin excited. I have NO idea why. The dancing prospect, I guess. Getting involved in something fun for a change. Or maybe my spirit knew something my mind and heart yet didn’t.

I didn’t know I’d opened up a new world of inevitable discoveries and choices. Over the next few weeks and months, we worked together on this project. It was pretty sudden when the realization hit me that something was here. Something was being built, forged, something new and terrifying.

I discovered how much Shannon loved me. I discovered how hard it is to sleep or think straight when your heart is beating at breakneck speed all day and night. I discovered that God’s plan for my life wasn’t a matter of guesswork but of listening and obeying, and that I couldn’t have been more surprised by what He told me.

6 months of courtship later, Shannon asked me and I said yes.

11 months more, while the winds of Frances howled outside, our available family gathered in person and via cellphone, and witnessed us say “I do.”

I love you Shannon. Happy 5th.

Let’s put a 0 after that 5, shall we?