Launching

New things... New ways... New thoughts

*****

Today was a great day for Mars Hill Church. It was so great to read the statistics off Facebook and see how many people attended the 4 new locations that were launched today.

Mars Hill Church Sammamish -- 766 people + 11 baptisms
Mars Hill Church Rainier Valley -- 512 people + 76 children + 3 baptisms
Mars Hill Church Portland
Mars Hill Church Orange County

God's work is alive and right in front of us. It is so great to see people come to God and find a father who truly cares about them and will never leave them or forget about them -- NO MATTER WHAT! 

Mars Hill Church also launched a great series today that could not have come at a better time. Real Marriage is a series that is based off a book that Pastor Mark and his wife, Grace, wrote together to give the truth about sex, friendship, and life together, making it apparent that marriage is not the fantasy life that some people think it is. Today, Mark preached about having a new marriage with the same spouse and it was such a great sermon. To hear the story of how Mark and Grace met, the mistakes they made, the path they took to God together, and the secrets that were untold was such a relief to hear that even the relationships that look amazing on the outside may have problems and hardships on the inside.

The greatest impact that this sermon had on me was the truth about secrets. Secrets can destroy. Secrets can hurt. Secrets can cause a decade (less or more) of stress and hardships. Through the whole time Mark was talking about secrets I kept trying to think if there was anything that Caleb did not know about me... Things that he would not like to hear but had to know about. I think he knows everything but it is always good to know that keeping secrets can destroy everything! 

So... what is your secret?? Bring it to the light!

*****

So I don't know how many people read this blog or even know that I write one but I could really use some advice from y'all.

I am launching a new way of life. A new relationship with Caleb. A new relationship with God. A new relationship with myself.

How do you put God in the middle of a relationship? What things can you do with the person you are with (and maybe falling in love with) to make sure God is the focal point of the relationship and that neither of you can go wrong... or if you do, you can work through it with God's grace and help? Is a Bible study a good idea? Praying over one another? What?

Please let me know what has worked for you!

Thanks for your help! :)

God bless!

Love y'all.

--
Ali :)