Amanda

We had the pleasure of meeting Amanda when she came to our first Explore Group.  She was not a Christian at that point and was sent to us from Christian Challenge (the BSU) on the CSU campus through the Lilly’s.  We immediately fell in love with her.  She is so sweet and was willing to come early and help us set up and stay late to tear down.  Her sister came to know Christ through Christian Challenge and hooked her up with the group before she graduated.  Amanda came to each and every Explore Group drinking it in.  Those around her kept challenging her asking her what was keeping her from a relationship with Christ and her response was always “I am not ready.”  Finally one day when the same question was asked her response was “Nothing.”  She accepted Christ and was baptized the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  We are so excited for her and excited to see how God is going to use her to reach her friends.  

insideout multiplication

I am sure you are wondering what insideout multiplication could possibly mean...just that the insideout church is multiplying!  As our Explore Group (an inviting environment to explore who Jesus is) came to an end we transitioned the people coming into a Life Group (doing life together while studying the Bible).  We were very excited to be able to multiply and start a new Explore Group.  Some of the people that couldn't come to the first Explore Group are coming to the second one and it will soon be transitioning into a Life Group as well.  It was a little disappointing when our first Explore Group turned out so smaller than we expected but it is exciting to now see our groups multiplying!!

What's next a church wide gathering!  Pray for us as we start looking for what God wants us to do as we gather as insideout church.

Meet our "Gummy Bear"

The Templin family has been under the weather these past couple of weeks.  Our illness range from the stomach flu, a kidney stone, and morning sickness.  Yep you heard me right!  God is blessing our family with another child.  Baby Templin is due July 4th.  We weren't going to have an ultrasound until mid February, but due to some unexpected bleeding we had one Monday.  Meet our "Gummy Bear" as the ultrasound technician called him/her.  It is so cool...you can see the yolk sack by his/her feet and the umbilical cord which is the line right above his/her head.  I have to admit that this ultrasound was so much more exciting than the first one we saw of Joshua.  He was the size of a grain of rice and didn't move.  This Gummy Bear was wiggling like crazy.  The "nubbins" (feet and hands) were wiggling all over.  It was probably more exciting because they told us that the baby was OK.
Unfortunately they found the cause of the bleeding to be Placenta Previa.  This means that my placenta is covering the cervix.  The good news is that 9 out 10 times as the uterus grows it will pull the placenta away from the cervix completely eliminating the problem.  Until it moves there is a greater risk of bleeding from the placenta so the doctor has limited my activities and heavy lifting.  Joshua is pushing the limits of what I can lift and I am supposed to not lift him as much as possible.  Later in the pregnancy if the placenta has not moved there will be more restrictions and a really good chance I will end up on bed rest as the baby grows and gains weight.  At the time of delivery if the placenta still hasn't moved it will mean a c-section.  We are praying and would love it if you would join us that the placenta moves and quickly.  We are also praying that between now and the time it moves there wouldn't be any complications.  To make matters worse I am RH Negative.  This means my blood type is A- and Nate's is positive.  So if the baby is positive and our blood mixes, my blood will start making antibodies against the babies blood.  So I am receiving shots to prevent my blood from making the antibodies.  This could, however, complicate things with the Placenta Previa if there is a lot of bleeding.
So once again we are praying that the whole problem alleviates itself with the placenta moving back where it should be.

Hmmmmm

Well we had our much anticipated Explore Group a few nights ago.  I must say it looked wonderful and smelled delicious!  I was a little disappointed if I can be honest.  We had a number of people have to back out due to projects/papers/homework which is the downside of having all college students.  Other than lower numbers than I expected it went really well.
It is interesting to listen to people who have no concept of God and those who know God but don't have a personal relationship with Him.  I can't imagine living life without the love, support and security of God.  Their lives are filled with anxiety, questions and uncertainty.  I am not saying that I don't have questions and anxiety, but it is different.  I know how to ease the pressure and can handle unanswered questions because I know God is greater than I.  I guess the difference is the peace I have in the One who controls it all.  Sometimes it is hard to watch my friends who are far from God suffer.  I want so much to give them the gift of salvation but it is theirs to claim, not mine to give.

Teeth, Teeth Everywhere!!

So Joshua has started chewing on his crib.  Since he has had only two bottom teeth it was only making minor scrapes but damaging the crib none-the-less and something had to be done.  I purchased the rubbery ones that slip over the top of the rail and apparently I misunderstood how they were really supposed to work.  Apparently the entice Joshua to take them off and chew on them instead of the rail.  They only worked for a while until they became weapons or were launched across the nursery.  I searched for a cheap  rail cover and after many disappointing tries decided to make my own.  I found a pattern online at another blog site-She's Crafty-and pulled out Old Yeller and began working.  I have not sewn in YEARS and do not have very much skill in the sewing machine area...or should we say practice.  For those of you that don't know Old Yeller is my OLD sewing machine.  It was the one my mom taught me on and I am so thankful for those lessons now.

I learned many important things through this project......
1.  It works out better if you follow the patten exactly.
2.  The pieces fit together better if you cut them out with straight lines.
3.  Stitching in straight lines prevents you from having to do it again because you completely missed the underlying fabric.
4.  Threading the machine the right way actually makes stitches instead of loops.   And lastly...
5. Your one year old is not quality help even if he is standing next to you with puppy dog eyes and rubbing his hand across his chest to sign "please".

So I am very proud to be able to show you something that actually fits over the railing.  I was very excited.  Who knows what I will find to sew next!!

Contentment throughout the seasons

The other day I was laying in bed falling asleep.  I had the window open and a cool fall breeze was blowing in.  It was absolutely wonderful.  I was so excited because I knew fall was finally on its way.  I have been anxiously waiting for fall and getting a little impatient with the extra long summer.  I began to think about how many days of good weather I waste hoping for the best seasonal weather.  How many days go by and I don't pay any attention because I am waiting for what I deem to be the perfect day?
Then my thoughts went a little further and I began thinking about how many days in my life go by because I am waiting for the perfect day?  For example how many Explore Groups will go by unappreciated because I am waiting for the perfect one?  How many days of mommyhood go by unappreciated because I don't feel 100% or because Joshua is fussy?  How many days of reaching those far from God are lost because I didn't lead someone to a relationship with Christ?
I began thinking about how I need to find contentment no matter what the circumstances are.  I shared this with Nate Friday as we drove to the Rocky Mountain National Forest and it didn't take me long to forget my lesson because I had a moment of frustration that made me feel like an awful person.  I was upset because I acted the way I did and Nate was quick to remind me that I was not being content in who I was and one moment of frustration doesn't define who I am.  Wow...my lesson goes really deep in my life.  What about not being able to enjoy my pinecone wreath because I see the flaws?  What about not enjoying my clean house because I know I did not mop the kitchen floor?  What about not feeling like a good mommy because I got frustrated with Joshua's crying or because I didn't feed him a vegetable at dinner.  Oh, I have so much to learn and such a long way to go.  Contentment...doesn't it just sound wonderful?

Tonight is the night

Tonight is the night...the beginning.  All our preparation has come to this!  I am so excited to see what God is going to do.  I am already amazed at what He has orchestrated in the preparation.  I also know that when things are productive in the life of the church, there is usually opposition as well.  Yesterday my lower back began to hurt-really bad for no reason.  It has been quite debilitating, especially with a one year old to chase.  I have been applying lots of heat in hopes it will help and have been praying that I will be able to endure the pain enough to get through tonight.
I was reading in my Quite Time this morning and Oswald Chambers said something in My Utmost for His Highest that really reassured me.  "If a man or woman is called of God, it doesn't matter how difficult the circumstances may be.  God orchestrates every force at work for His purpose in the end.  If you will agree with God's purpose, He will bring not only your conscious levels but all the deeper levels of your life, which you yourself cannot reach, into perfect harmony."
I Corinthians 15:58
"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
What reassurance!!  Let nothing move me-not even back pain.  Stand firm. Your labor is not in vain.
We have been building relationships and organizing our Explore Group for so long.  I can't wait to see what God does tonight!