{"id":3585,"date":"2015-10-04T01:39:51","date_gmt":"2015-10-04T01:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oshetablogs.wordpress.com\/?p=3460"},"modified":"2015-10-04T01:39:51","modified_gmt":"2015-10-04T01:39:51","slug":"the-friendship-project-day-3-finding-stability-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/shalominthecity\/2015\/10\/the-friendship-project-day-3-finding-stability-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"The Friendship Project Day 3: Finding Stability Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Hey Friends,<\/p>\n

So, I had today\u2019s post all written out about the two Benedictine vows that inspired this series, and then my laptop crashed. And burned.\u00a0 All of my writing is gone and it\u2019s now a lovely Apple paperweight.\u00a0 My husband is now sick in the next room, but when I called him at the church office, he rushed home (after writing his sermon and homework notes for the small groups) to let me try to recapture the post on his laptop.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to take more time and brainpower than I have at 10:30 at night, so here\u2019s part one of the \u201cFriendship Project: The Vows\u201d\u00a0 Tomorrow, I\u2019ll dive straight into The Vow of Stability and the Vow of Conversion. The Sunday prayer cards will start a week from tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Love to you, my dear friends,<\/p>\n

\"signature\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"let's-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cMaybe courage is what I\u2019m missing.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to put down roots in this city.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to make any vows right now.\u00a0 I want to get out.\u201d Micah Boyett, \u201cFound\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cBabes, \u201d my husband called to me from our Cambridge bedroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cBabes, what do you think of L.A.?\u201d he asked me when I finally made it up the stairs.\u00a0 I leaned in the doorway drying my hands with my favorite white and blue checkered dish towel and waited to hear the next biggest thing that excited my husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t\u201d I said, not missing a beat.<\/p>\n

I flung the towel over my shoulder and turned to leave the finish the pots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just got the oddest message from Kevin,\u201d He called back, using this tidbit to lure me back into the conversation, \u201che wants me to submit my resume for the associate pastor of New City L.A.\u201d<\/p>\n

T.C. met Kevin at a church planter\u2019s conference in Orlando right at the beginning of plant our New City in Boston.\u00a0 They clicked almost immediately, sharing similar visions for their churches and appreciating some of the same theologians.\u00a0 When TC told me about meeting Kevin, I was glad for his assurance to my husband that he\u2019s not alone in this crazy idea of planting a diverse community in a large city.<\/p>\n

That moment in the doorway, I wasn\u2019t so sure about Kevin.<\/p>\n

L.A.?\u00a0 Really?\u00a0 Maybe the timing of the ask was all off to contemplate a move.\u00a0 I was on the coast I loved, in a city I adored, gearing up for my favorite season- Autumn.\u00a0 Boston in the fall.\u00a0 Perfection.<\/p>\n

Technically we were open<\/em> to a change.\u00a0 Months prior we said \u201cgoodbye\u201d<\/a> to our church plant.\u00a0 Since my husband was finishing up his Masters of Urban Missions, we could easily move to any big city.\u00a0 Sure, we had talked about leaving Boston if the right opportunity came along- I just didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be asked to consider it so quickly.<\/p>\n

Sensing my hesitancy, my husband reasoned, \u201cWhat\u2019s the harm in submitting my resume?\u00a0 If I don\u2019t make it to interviews then we know this wasn\u2019t God\u2019s best for us.\u00a0 If he continues to open doors, then I think he\u2019ll give us the grace we need to walk through them?\u00a0 Right?
\nI twisted the dish towel in my hands, \u201cRight.\u00a0 If this is God, he\u2019ll make it clear to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf this if God!\u201d\u00a0 He exclaimed in agreement and pulled up his resume on his laptop.<\/p>\n

I turned and took sixteen steps slowly praying at each step for grace, courage, and hope because I knew God was going to move us to L.A.<\/p>\n

Finding Stability<\/h2>\n

\"index\"<\/a>The van was loaded, our snack bag well stocked, and we set our faces to the west with a hurried determination; the third, final, and projected biggest snowstorm was set to pelt the East Coast the next day and we did not want to get caught in it. We had barely gotten out of Massachusetts when I got the message from my SheLoves Editor,<\/p>\n

Were you still planning to write a discussion post for, \u201cFound\u201d?<\/a>\u00a0 I know your family is moving so if you need a month off the RedCouch let me know.<\/em><\/p>\n

No!\u00a0 I texted back immediately, No, I really want to read Micha\u2019s book.\u00a0 We have two weeks in the car, I can read it on the road.<\/p>\n

She gave me a thumbs up- which to be honest, I never really got.\u00a0 I mean, we don\u2019t thumbs up our friends when we agree with them in real life.\u00a0 But on Facebook we have wide toothy smiles on round yellow faces to show our pleasure and blue thumbs to show our agreement. Whatever\u2019s clever, I guess Zuckerberg!<\/p>\n

Emoji rants aside, she gave me her Facebook stamp of approval and I downloaded, \u201cFound\u201d on my Kindle.<\/p>\n

Reading \u201cFound\u201d<\/a> my road trip was like Jesus patting the ground next to him and saying, \u201cCome, sit, listen.\u00a0 You\u2019ll need this in a few months\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

I hope to see you tomorrow for part 2.<\/p>\n

Seeking Shalom for my husband\u2019s sick body and my broken heart over my computer,<\/p>\n

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Hey Friends, So, I had today\u2019s post all written out about the two Benedictine vows that inspired this series, and then my laptop crashed. 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