New Chapter

      “You are my servant.

   You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,

      and understand that I alone am God...

  “From eternity to eternity I am God.

      No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.

      No one can undo what I have done.”

  “But forget all that—

      it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

 For I am about to do something new.

      See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

   I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

      I will create rivers in the dry wasteland...

   Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland

      so my chosen people can be refreshed.

Isaiah 43

As we step out into our new season without YoungLife, I have been reflecting and praying through how incredibly different life is going to be. Having met the Lord through YoungLife on August 11th, 2001 there has not been a season where I have not been involved in some capacity. Reflection and healing has started as Josh and I step away from a combined 18+ years of involvement/leadership. 

Reflecting on my own faith journey has been especially important.  From that night at Frontier Ranch in Colorado. I will never forget telling Beck my leader at dinner that our one-on-one time could not wait until the following day, that I needed to know about the joy I was seeing spread around me. I needed to know what my friends had, what they had received, who they had come to know. I saw lives change around me during that week. I saw joy pass from those who brought us to those who came.

So in-between dinner and "what was to happen next" we stole away to the leaders' lounge (she told me to not look at the board of the next days activities!). And with simple sweet words, she told me about the Giver of all Joy and invited me to begin a journey with Christ. From that moment,  I was raised up in a rich and sweet YoungLife tradition in Syracuse. Yet even then I felt a twinge as leaders left or positions changed. Not being rooted in a church, I felt these things more deeply.

Yet as the community of Syracuse East grew me, I felt the call to come to Boston. Despite having every reason (relational and otherwise) to stay and say yes to my Syracuse University acceptance letter, I chose differently and to Boston I went. Through divine connection I came to know Kelsey and the leaders of YoungLife Boston Southwest. I met with John and I think I was placed the same month in Norwood - with. And the next chapter began.

Josh also came to know Jesus fully through YoungLife and the beginning of his story is full of people who encouraged him and had vision for his life. A leader of leaders, Josh became a new person because of how YoungLife pushed him out of his comfort zone and into a role that selfless served Boston Southwest for 10 years. From an introverted pastor's kid, interested in computers he grew into a bold man after God's heart with heart for teenagers and the God given drive to lead. 

And Lord knows Josh and I loved those kids! Those crazy awesome drama kids, those kids who hung at Perks, the PapaGino's crowd, the ones who worked at HoneyDew, the ones who came to Mad Maggies, the ones who loved club in the Vanderhyden's basement, and the ones who would never love YoungLife, the ones with it all together and the ones who were constantly a beautiful mess, the ones with issues and the ones with trials, the kids who had nothing but possessed everything. We spent all day Tuesday in Norwood, all day Friday in Norwood and Sunday nights. Leadership and Tommy's chili at their house, countless dinners at the overflowing Papirio's table. We had the gift of incredible time, and through it all we learned to love not only our God and those kids, but blessedly each other as well.

I moved eight times during my five years in college (Boston, Syracuse, Symphony Road in Boston, Ma and Pa's house in Walpole, the Norcross' house in Newton, Lowell Ave in Newton, Cedar Street in Norwood, Wigglesworth St in Boston). Josh lived in Foxoboro and then even further away in Bellingham. He drove two cars into the ground commuting to school, YoungLife and to me. And then finally, one incredible sunny day in Update NY beside a clear blue lake,  we were wed all those years later. Finally together, we moved into the church in Newton. And two years later moved to Walpole when God graced us (incredible story side note) with our home. 

So many leaders and friends came and went, so many relationships, so many trips and clubs and camps. Yet moving so many times, and being jostled around relationally for seven years - we never connected deeply with a church. And we weren't discipled. Josh and I felt the strain of this, sometimes more than others throughout the years. But it wasn't until we finally rooted ourselves upon God's call to be in Walpole and be at Emmanuel Baptist, did we truly realize how big that void had become. 

We stand firmly on the truth that God crafted us to live in community, to love each other closely (both geographically and emotionally) and through that closeness the lost will know that we are His. We've learned that it's not enough to build an organization over towns and miles. It has to be close, it has to be real, it has to be life on life - everyday. We are so excited and thankful for our EBC family and how they have encouraged (and gently prodded) us to put our marriage and faith first. We are listening and know God agrees with your sound counsel. We are refreshed by the tangible idea of church/community that loves well, and can't get enough.

I truly don't think we burnt out. I really think as our hearts have recently re-kindled into a hot hot fire as Christ has lead us. And in the heat, we have come to see the chaff in our lives smoldering - and know that it will not survive the flame for long. There is a special tradition in YoungLife that we will forever appreciate and love. We are different and we are one because of it, and are thankful. This next step isn't "better" - but it is what is best for us.

And so we begin. We are rooted and are now becoming established.

Established in love of our God, established in love of each other, and established in love of our community here in Walpole. Amen.

I had rather be a door-keeper...

I Stand at the Door
 Sam Shoemaker 
I stand by the door.
I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.
The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man's own touch.
Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it - live because they have not found it.
Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.
Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in.
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.
There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled.
For the old life, they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away. So for them too,
I stand by the door.
I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.
Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But - more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.
'I had rather be a door-keeper
So I stand by the door.

Two Things We Have Heard: an invitation to pray with us

Father God,


May we not run from your calling, no matter how difficult it may be. Jesus you are Love, and we run to you asking for your goodness and provision to follow.


We question, we call out, we pray.


We know you are calling us to something greater, but God are you calling us to something different? We are feeling your tug, your waves of calling lapping at our hearts. We can scarcely believe the honor of this - could you really be saying you desire us to go for this, full time, to further your Kingdom God? Humbly we know we are not good enough for this task, and with even more submission we ask - how? - when such a thing seems impossible.


So we ask for help in our prayer, from those who love You and are thus known by You. Is our calling to jump into ministry in radical ways, to forgo the ordinary, and seek a way to love the lost full time? 


But we know You and your power, and we know oh Lord that with you we have the gift of unfailing love. And that is enough for now as we discern, fast and pray. 

 One thing God has spoken, 

   two things I have heard: 

“Power belongs to you, God, 

  and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; 

and, “You reward everyone 

   according to what they have done.

Psalm 62:11-12

Joys and Sorrows

This week has been full of highs and lows here at the King house. God has blessed us with tremendous times with friends. Old friends Kate and Justin and their super cute/fun kids Ryan and Emma have recently moved back to Walpole - yay!  It's been awesome to be with them, and we love how we can just "pop over" places to visit friends now. We're blown away by God's faithfulness and how He is bringing our prayers for community into reality - we are so blessed.


We've also had truly encouraging times with our campaigner group. It's been great to mix up Bible study a bit and really dig in with our high school friends. Even more joyous however, is seeing how Jesus TRULY IS changing lives. -Watching our once "un-churched" friends now not only KNOW God, but now grow closer to Him and see how He is changing hearts, families and lives .... it is beautiful.


We've started "the basket". (We joked of maybe calling it some mixture of rhyming words like Questions, Suggestions, Objections and Reflections ?). It's been a unique opportunity for the leader leading the talk to ask kids to write down questions they have or comments or topics that THEY want to learn more about. Really just give kids a chance to write down their thoughts of any kind, feel heard, and we hope/plan to compile them soon to help us shape our lessons for next semester. The responses are sometimes guided by specific questions, sometimes open, all anonymous, and many have been so sweet. 




A few recent ones:


 "How to talk to my family about God."
"Whenever you ask God for help, he would someone make it happen so your day would be better."
"Should you try to date other Christians?"
"Evolution"
"Is there a proper way to pray/read the Bible?"
"[I have learned] My relationship with God is unbreakable...God's words give me strength whenever I think I can't do something. God's love is so beyond unconditional."




We love that these kids feel comfortable asking these types of questions, and we hope to encourage openness and make campaigners a safe place to not only learn, but also doubt and grow if needed. So fun to walk with most of these kids for at least one more year, and with some 2-3 more years! We've also been so happy to live within walking distance of 4 of our campaigners - and love having them pop over or stay late. Our home is truly growing into a place of ministry, something we have always prayed for and dreamed of.




Cait in particular amidst all this joy has had a tough week dealing with the sudden passing of a co-worker. Trying to process her own grief, looking for tangible ways to support her co-workers and praying for Christ given words of comfort have been both tiring and rewarding.  God and all things spiritual become very real in death and Cait has spent considerable time meditating on 2 Corinthians 1:3-5 which we will leave you with today :

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.

Octopus and the Queen of Sheba

Recently Josh and I attend a traditional Vietnamese Wedding - Brad and Trinh, a couple from our church were gracious enough to invite us and it was a JOY attend their big day.

We got to see (and Cait even sampled) traditional food. And while octopus, jellyfish, whole fried flouder and ginger lobster are not usually part of our Americanized palates it was fun to adventure into another culture, even if it was just for a few hours.

It was also incredible to be with friends. We got to the reception a bit early, so we all crammed into Erin and Chris' SUV. With two boys in the trunk we all enjoyed the AC and laughter.

Lastly, it was great to catch up with our Waltham friends Dan and Britt. We are also honored and excited to be a part of celebrating Dan and Britt soon - it so fun to see those two in love!

This week also brought the start of a new season of YL Bible study - that we call campaigners. John and Kim are sadly away for the rest of the summer on assignment at Saranac Village, and Josh and I have the blessing of hosting campaigners at our home. For whatever reason this week it was all ladies who were available, and we focused on the story in 1 Kings where the Queen of Sheba comes to Jerusalem. It was encouraging to know that she came with hard questions for King Solomon, and that his Godly attitude was patient with her as she sought out answers to her questions about faith. We are so blessed by our Godly campaigner ladies - next semester is going to be a blast as we walk with them (and the boys too of course!)

A Prayer for Your Family

Father God,


I am so thankful for the family of believers your are knitting together around us, through us and sometimes even in spite of us. We repent of and ask you to remove any feelings of bitterness, jealousy, pride and decit - acknowleging with humility how human we are - and replace them with joy, thoughtfulness, contentment and a true desire that others succeed. Thank you for our YoungLife family of leaders, people you have hand crafted and brought to us from the far corners of this earth, to live with us.


As you did with Moses, when the burden of leadership became too great, we are thankful for those that you have brought us.   

The LORD said to Moses: “Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you.  I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. They will share the burden of the people with you so that you will not have to carry it alone." 

(Numbers 11:16-17)

God protect our small family. Teach us to love one other deeply, as you have loved us. May the world know You, because we are One.

Bring clear wisdom as we seek your will on where to place leaders. Raise up other prayerful adults in these towns/communities that will help us encourage, edify and establish us. Humbly we know we cannot do this on our own, but only with your strength. 


We pray for the kids you have chosen. Thank you for these few but sturdy ones. Thank you for the uniqueness - again a group with roots in different corners of the globe. Thank you for their child-likeness and their stories. Give us your heart for them, give us your eyes to see how to love them best, give us your ears to hear their stories. Father protect these little ones from the evil one. May they love you forever.

In Your Name, Amen.

Good News

Been thinking and seeking Jesus in new ways this summer. Partly out of desperation and partly out of desire for more joy, peace and contentment I have come to once again find how incredibly good the truth of salvation is.

I have just finished Strenthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton. Past the incredible amount of dense, wonderful truth this read offers it has also inspired a renewal in me to try and do this right again, to seek Him first. This book coupled with Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman has jointly begun a push in my heart and Josh's heart to love our YL leaders and live this out in a healthy, life giving way that reproduces itself into eternity. I've struggled with what my purpose is to be in ministry with my strange hours and caring for leaders now seems like my piece in this puzzle. We've also grown to realize how important it is to share, to ask for support and to invite others into our battle and journey here in Walpole as we run jump into the thick of ministry.

So please pray. For unity and joy in our marriage, for clarity in when to say yes and when to give and when to protect, for growth in the hearts of our college leaders, for Christ to be glorified, for healthy life reproducing life in teens' hearts. For mentors, family and friends to surround us.

For this Good News cannot be kept to ourselves.

Vegetables and Poison Ivy

Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers his righteousness on you. (Hosea 10:12)

Gardening, weeding, multching, pruning...hard but therapeutic work. So far we've used most of our time and resources on the inside of our new home, but there were a few things I knew I wanted to try to accomplish this spring.

The first was a vegetable garden. Last year I planted vegetables on our fire escape in pots. Despite their small size, most of my little plants thrived and I loved my small outdoor space. Last year I grew jalepeno peppers, green peppers, a small bush variety of tomato, basil, strawberries and flowers. Our fire escape was more than just an egress in case of emergencies for me while we lived in Newton. It was my sanctuary, prayer room and sunshiny place. Due to the nature of our top floor apartment with predominately only sky lights, it was the only place I could see around me and feel free. I don't think I realized how claustrophobic I felt there until we moved to Walpole this past spring and I realized how much I love my windows! But my small garden was an escape, and many a word God spoke while I tended those small plants.

This year I couldn't wait to get my hands in the actual dirt of our backyard. Having a backyard is incredible, and despite the unkept bushes/brush and patchy grass I know eventually it will be a beautiful place to entertain friend and family and to relax. So far we have only tackled putting down new multch and growing vegetables.

This year I am growing three varieties of tomatoes (2 heirloom types and a plum), green peppers, beans, cucumbers and various herbs. And they're doing well! Take a look:

Gardening frequently reminds me of the countless passages where God speaks to His people about sowing and reaping a harvest. I've always associated this with ministry, and have felt strongly at various times about how God was going to grow YoungLife. Dear Lord grow this desire to work the ground and the hearts here again.

We've also begun to tackle the huge task of putting new multch down around the entire property. This has involved incredible amounts of weeding, clearing and pruning...but despite a sore body and one bad case of poison ivy, I definitely think the end result is coming out nicely. Hopefully our neighbors don't think we're the ugly house on the corner any more! 

Here are some photos from the front where multch has already been put down:

Our home, we are so blessed. Jesus may I sow my life in righteousness so that I may reap a harvest of your deep, holy and unfailing love. God help me to plow up the rocky ground of my heart. Change me, grow me, Amen.