mattmehaffey

Our Home Study is Over

A huge weight has been lifted from our shoulders now that Saturday has come and gone.  Our adoptive home study went off without any problems whatsoever.  Janie and I (and Chase) want to thank everyone for their continued prayers and encouraging notes we have been bombarded with over the over the past week.  They mean more than you know. 

Our home study was done by an agent from American Adoptions (and an agent in-training), and lasted for about 3 hours.  We were thrilled that both of them had an affinity for large dogs and even more thrilled that Jeter was on his best behavior. 

So far, we are very glad we have gone with American Adoptions to help us through the process but it's not over yet and we won't fully give them our stamp of approval until then.  It sounds like we will receive our completed home study report in about a month (which is typical).  There is not much we can do until we get the report so we will spend most of this time getting our home ready for Chase's arrival!  

The Cuteness that is Reagan

Janie has been up north in Kentucky and Indiana for the past week.  Last night she got to hang out with all my family (I am pretty sure they like her more than me).  No family is perfect, but mine is pretty awesome.  Here's a clip of my niece, Reagan coming out of her shell.

Family Vacation

Living in South Florida, we have had our share of guests from up north.  Moving 1,500 miles from the place we called home has been the hardest part of the church planting process.  So it's great we live in a place people like to vacation. 

This past week, we hosted my brother, Chip, his wife, Stacy, and my niece, Mackenzie.  That's them posing with our photogenic dog, Jeter.  These guys are not only family, but they are huge supporters of The Pursuit Christian Church.  This past Sunday, was the first time they were able to come down and check out one of our Celebration Services.  They were very impressed with the people. 

Chip said, "We're pretty good at sneaking in and out of a church service and most the time we can do so without having to talk to many people."  That was not the case for them at The Pursuit.  I'm not surprised.  We don't have a greeting team as much as we have a church of greeters.  Some churches strategically build in a time during the service and "force" people to shake hands and welcome the people around them.  We don't. 

I heard a church leader once who compared the greeters at his church to Gap employees.  They hang out at the front, looking busy.  When guests walk in, the greeters offer a head nod along with a, "What's up?"  The pastor felt like anything else was overwhelming to guests.  That might work for them but that is not us.  As a matter of fact, the word that returning guests use when they describe our church is "Family."  Don't think I've ever called the guy that sold me a pair of khakis "family" before. 

Back to our house guests.  Mackenzie is a special young lady with a huge heart for God.  The Pursuit is currently serving the community by providing book bags and school supplies to kids who could not otherwise afford them.  Mackenzie said, "I want to help."  That day she went to Target and bought supplies with her own money.  One little girl in South Florida will have some great stuff as she goes back to school because of Mackenzie's servant heart.   

Meet the Parents

Janie and I had a great time visiting my mom and dad over our break. They are two of the most comfortable and generous people we know.

We got in late on Sunday, Dec. 23, feeling the beginning of our colds. When we got up the next morning my dad had two medicine bottles filled will amoxicillin for Janie and me. No, he's not a pharmacist.

I have never met two people who love movies more than my mom and dad. We saw both I am Legend (IMAX) and National Treasure 2. Both were really good. The 6-minute preview to The Dark Knight was sick!

They also know how to eat. We had a late Christmas Eve meal at Olive Garden, a lunch at McAlister's and then on the way to the airport we stopped for some White Castles! I'd like to apologize to everyone who flew on the plane with us that night.

We are excited because mom and dad are our house guests the week of launch so we will see them again in less than a month.

Christmas in Indy

I am going to brag a little a bit in this post about my family. They are pretty much the best family in the history of families. Am I biased? Probably.

Being 1,200 miles away from one another makes me really appreciate the time we have together. This year, I was like a kid anticipating Christmas. I couldn't wait to spend Christmas Day with my whole family. When Christmas Eve rolled in Janie and I both got really bad colds. My worst day just happened to be Christmas Day. I could barely talk and I was exhausted (not to mention heavily medicated). It got so bad I had to excuse myself at 6 p.m. and go to bed. I slept until 10 the next morning!

I honestly believe God intervened and gave Janie and me these colds because it forced us to rest. We have been constantly on the go for months. Now I feel refueled and ready to get The Pursuit off and running!

Family in Town

Several members of my family are coming down to visit this week. My sister Daria, her husband Dave and my two-year old neice, Reagan are flying in this afternoon and I can't wait to see them. Daria and I were very close growing up. Daria taught me living as a Christ follower can be an unpopular choice. I saw this lived out in her life in High School. Many were baffled when she chose Christ over being "the most popular girl in school." She's a remarkable person.

Reagan is the cutest little girl ever.

My parents have already driven down to their condo in Ft. Myers and will be coming over later this afternoon. The hardest part of our transition to Miami is definitely the fact we aren't used to being so far from family. It will be refreshing to have them so close by.