Thursday, December 26, 2013
Monday, December 16, 2013
Our Search for a Church Home
Andrew and I have been searching for a church home since we got married. As Andrew and I began dating he resigned as the youth director of the church he was serving so he joined my family at my home church. He would drive down from Bel Air Sunday mornings and then he would spend the entire day with my family and me. So when we got married and I moved to Bel Air we did not have a home church in our community and we realized that it was not possible to continue to commute to Calvert County every Sunday for church. It would also be really hard to serve at a church that is an hour and a half away and Andrew and I have talked about serving in a church together since the very beginning of our relationship.
Needless to say over the last year our search for a church home has been very difficult, partly because we grew up in two different faith traditions and finding the happy medium was difficult. We had also visited many different places but weren't feeling that any were a great fit for us and our gifts. We have been part of an amazing small group though through a local church that is a great positive support and community for us during this time of transition. After finding out that we were expecting we both felt very pressured to find a church home were we could begin to raise our family. In October our small group and the affiliated church began a series called "Greater" by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church. As we began this study Andrew and I prayed that the Lord would really make it clear to us where he wanted us to go for a home church; at the time we felt like there were 3 options. 1- Fully get involved at the church affiliated with our small group and make that our home. 2- Begin working with LINC Baltimore on a unique church planting model called Missional Communities. 3- Find another established church.
The first week of the Greater study on our way to church Andrew and I were talking and he said he felt like the Lord was telling him that He has given us a child so quickly (much quicker than Andrew was expecting) because it was going to put us in the position to meet many new people and it would be a great mission field. As he said this I knew he was then leaning towards working with LINC to begin a Missional Community. I on the other hand was not really feeling that way and my initial reaction was we are going to be interacting with a lot of new people until the baby is a toddler so that would be 2 or 3 years down the road.
That day in church the pastor began preaching on the Greater study and it starts with the story of Elijah and Elisha and how Elijah was a prophet of the Lord and he went to go get Elisha to begin training him up in the way of the Lord. When Elijah got to Elisha at first Elisha was not sure about leaving and then the Lord had quickly changed his mind and directed his path so Elisha decided to slaughter his cattle and burn his plows because he was not going to need those things any more. He was no longer going to be a farmer he was going to leave with Elijah answering the Lord's call to go share God's word. The pastor challenged us to burn our plows and take a step of faith to do what God was calling us too. He then proceeded to give a list of examples of ways that we could burn our plows; and he gave many standard ideas like building a faith focus in your home, or leaving/starting a job that the Lord wants ... but then part way through his list he says "Maybe the Lord is calling you to begin a new ministry and serve your community." Andrew was then very convicted that we were being called to begin this new ministry with LINC.
That afternoon as we discussed things I was not sure that I was on the same page and I told Andrew that I had 3 reservations about Missional Communities. 1- I am an introvert, although I can lead and take charge with the best of them I get drained from people and it takes me a very long time to develop relationships with people. Once I know you I can be very outgoing but at first I am very reserved. The Missional Communities is all about building meaningful relationships with people and I did not feel that it was one of my strengths. 2- This is a Lutheran church plant and I did not grow up in a Lutheran church. Although all of the main doctrine is the same there are two big theological differences and so I might not necessarily answer any questions people would ask the way that a Lutheran would. 3- I was not sure about leaving the traditional church setting because that setting was so influential on me growing up.
Over the next week we continued to pray that the Lord would lead us where he wanted. Through that week Andrew felt more and more called to go plant a Missional Community through LINC and I was holding tight to my 3 reservations. That Friday as I walked into a professional development training with a co-worker she got stopped by someone to chat. I kept going and when she caught up to me she said, "You are going to meet so many people and know people everywhere you go once you have kids. That lady's daughter is in dance with my daughter." As the words came out of her mouth I cringed and though to myself, "No Lord, I am not going to meet people until the baby is much older and I don't think I can do this." Her words kept replaying in my mind through out that entire weekend.
Then, Sunday at church for week 2 of the Greater study the pastor continued to talk about Elisha who was now a prophet himself and there were 3 kings were headed into battle but their armies had gotten lost in the wilderness and were thirsty and near death. They called on Elisha to get help from the Lord. In the end the Lord tells Elisha that the armies will have to dig ditches in the bottom of this valley in order to catch the rain water to help them survive. The pastor then challenged us to dig our own ditches. He challenged us to obey where the Lord was leading us to and burn our plow and dig our ditch in order to serve him. Through this entire message I really felt the Lord leading me to let go of my reservations, trust in Him, and follow in his path. He made it very clear that the statement my co-worker made was because it was the truth and there would be many new people coming into our lives. Although introverted, I am a leader and have lead many of things in the past. He also challenged me by reminding me that I do know how to build relationships with people in order to share the gospel (that was my mission when I went to Kazakhstan). Also, Andrew and I have different gifts for a reason and he is very much an extrovert so he can bring people to us. Which meant I needed to dig the ditches and trust that the Lord would supply people. Finally, this Missional Community model would not be a house church model forever so traditional church could be something that it turns into down the road. Which meant I needed to burn the plow of traditional church and trust that the Lord will take care of us. I was very convicted during this message and really felt led to go and serve on the Missional Community team with LINC.
During this same time frame Andrew was praying for the Lord to align our calls. He said he really felt like the Lord was directing him toward Missional Communities but he did not know it if was his own will or the Lord's will. So he prayed that the Lord would burden his and my heart with the same call. That way we would clearly know it was where He wanted us to go. Five minutes after he prayed this prayer I had fully processed the Lord's call and turned to him during praise and worship time and said, "I think the Lord wants us to serves as missionary's in our community and work with LINC to develop a Missional Community."
After church Andrew and I shared our inner thoughts that were happening during service and realized how amazing our God is. He was working on both of us in our own ways and we rejoiced in how prompt the Lord was in answering Andrew's prayer! We had been looking for direction for a long time and we are very excited to now know what path the Lord wants us on and see how the Lord's plan will unfold moving forward. Please pray for us as we begin leader's training tonight.
Needless to say over the last year our search for a church home has been very difficult, partly because we grew up in two different faith traditions and finding the happy medium was difficult. We had also visited many different places but weren't feeling that any were a great fit for us and our gifts. We have been part of an amazing small group though through a local church that is a great positive support and community for us during this time of transition. After finding out that we were expecting we both felt very pressured to find a church home were we could begin to raise our family. In October our small group and the affiliated church began a series called "Greater" by Steven Furtick at Elevation Church. As we began this study Andrew and I prayed that the Lord would really make it clear to us where he wanted us to go for a home church; at the time we felt like there were 3 options. 1- Fully get involved at the church affiliated with our small group and make that our home. 2- Begin working with LINC Baltimore on a unique church planting model called Missional Communities. 3- Find another established church.
The first week of the Greater study on our way to church Andrew and I were talking and he said he felt like the Lord was telling him that He has given us a child so quickly (much quicker than Andrew was expecting) because it was going to put us in the position to meet many new people and it would be a great mission field. As he said this I knew he was then leaning towards working with LINC to begin a Missional Community. I on the other hand was not really feeling that way and my initial reaction was we are going to be interacting with a lot of new people until the baby is a toddler so that would be 2 or 3 years down the road.
That day in church the pastor began preaching on the Greater study and it starts with the story of Elijah and Elisha and how Elijah was a prophet of the Lord and he went to go get Elisha to begin training him up in the way of the Lord. When Elijah got to Elisha at first Elisha was not sure about leaving and then the Lord had quickly changed his mind and directed his path so Elisha decided to slaughter his cattle and burn his plows because he was not going to need those things any more. He was no longer going to be a farmer he was going to leave with Elijah answering the Lord's call to go share God's word. The pastor challenged us to burn our plows and take a step of faith to do what God was calling us too. He then proceeded to give a list of examples of ways that we could burn our plows; and he gave many standard ideas like building a faith focus in your home, or leaving/starting a job that the Lord wants ... but then part way through his list he says "Maybe the Lord is calling you to begin a new ministry and serve your community." Andrew was then very convicted that we were being called to begin this new ministry with LINC.
That afternoon as we discussed things I was not sure that I was on the same page and I told Andrew that I had 3 reservations about Missional Communities. 1- I am an introvert, although I can lead and take charge with the best of them I get drained from people and it takes me a very long time to develop relationships with people. Once I know you I can be very outgoing but at first I am very reserved. The Missional Communities is all about building meaningful relationships with people and I did not feel that it was one of my strengths. 2- This is a Lutheran church plant and I did not grow up in a Lutheran church. Although all of the main doctrine is the same there are two big theological differences and so I might not necessarily answer any questions people would ask the way that a Lutheran would. 3- I was not sure about leaving the traditional church setting because that setting was so influential on me growing up.
Over the next week we continued to pray that the Lord would lead us where he wanted. Through that week Andrew felt more and more called to go plant a Missional Community through LINC and I was holding tight to my 3 reservations. That Friday as I walked into a professional development training with a co-worker she got stopped by someone to chat. I kept going and when she caught up to me she said, "You are going to meet so many people and know people everywhere you go once you have kids. That lady's daughter is in dance with my daughter." As the words came out of her mouth I cringed and though to myself, "No Lord, I am not going to meet people until the baby is much older and I don't think I can do this." Her words kept replaying in my mind through out that entire weekend.
Then, Sunday at church for week 2 of the Greater study the pastor continued to talk about Elisha who was now a prophet himself and there were 3 kings were headed into battle but their armies had gotten lost in the wilderness and were thirsty and near death. They called on Elisha to get help from the Lord. In the end the Lord tells Elisha that the armies will have to dig ditches in the bottom of this valley in order to catch the rain water to help them survive. The pastor then challenged us to dig our own ditches. He challenged us to obey where the Lord was leading us to and burn our plow and dig our ditch in order to serve him. Through this entire message I really felt the Lord leading me to let go of my reservations, trust in Him, and follow in his path. He made it very clear that the statement my co-worker made was because it was the truth and there would be many new people coming into our lives. Although introverted, I am a leader and have lead many of things in the past. He also challenged me by reminding me that I do know how to build relationships with people in order to share the gospel (that was my mission when I went to Kazakhstan). Also, Andrew and I have different gifts for a reason and he is very much an extrovert so he can bring people to us. Which meant I needed to dig the ditches and trust that the Lord would supply people. Finally, this Missional Community model would not be a house church model forever so traditional church could be something that it turns into down the road. Which meant I needed to burn the plow of traditional church and trust that the Lord will take care of us. I was very convicted during this message and really felt led to go and serve on the Missional Community team with LINC.
During this same time frame Andrew was praying for the Lord to align our calls. He said he really felt like the Lord was directing him toward Missional Communities but he did not know it if was his own will or the Lord's will. So he prayed that the Lord would burden his and my heart with the same call. That way we would clearly know it was where He wanted us to go. Five minutes after he prayed this prayer I had fully processed the Lord's call and turned to him during praise and worship time and said, "I think the Lord wants us to serves as missionary's in our community and work with LINC to develop a Missional Community."
After church Andrew and I shared our inner thoughts that were happening during service and realized how amazing our God is. He was working on both of us in our own ways and we rejoiced in how prompt the Lord was in answering Andrew's prayer! We had been looking for direction for a long time and we are very excited to now know what path the Lord wants us on and see how the Lord's plan will unfold moving forward. Please pray for us as we begin leader's training tonight.
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Half way and Baby K is giving high fives!
Erin is in grad class and I have hijacked her blog to share some things with you. I could not be more blessed. I have a beautiful wife who is glowing more and more each day as we are getting closer to Baby K's arrival. Our family is experiencing God's love in real time as have become parents. I am privileged to have a sideline view of God's work as He forms Baby K and I am loving it.
For the longest time Erin has wanted to be a mom and now that she is she couldn't be happier. This has been a crazy cool experience for me also. Even though I am not carrying our child, I am becoming very attached to him/her emotionally. We have had two sonograms now and the differences in such a short time are incredible. Our child's growth from week 9 to week 20 is amazing. Now we could see bones and each chamber of the heart among other things. I saw our child moving on the monitor during both sonograms and was anticipating the opportunity to feel him/her kick.
Recently Erin began to feel movements and would describe them to me. She was excited for me to feel kicks once they were significant enough. About a week ago our child gave me a high five! I was super excited in that moment. Erin told me that it was probably a foot or something but I like to think it was a hand.
Erin is now half way along in the pregnancy. I can't imagine what God has in store for us in the second half. I am becoming more excited than a kid on Christmas morning for the moment when I get to hold our child for the first time.
Posted by Andrew Kassouf
For the longest time Erin has wanted to be a mom and now that she is she couldn't be happier. This has been a crazy cool experience for me also. Even though I am not carrying our child, I am becoming very attached to him/her emotionally. We have had two sonograms now and the differences in such a short time are incredible. Our child's growth from week 9 to week 20 is amazing. Now we could see bones and each chamber of the heart among other things. I saw our child moving on the monitor during both sonograms and was anticipating the opportunity to feel him/her kick.
Recently Erin began to feel movements and would describe them to me. She was excited for me to feel kicks once they were significant enough. About a week ago our child gave me a high five! I was super excited in that moment. Erin told me that it was probably a foot or something but I like to think it was a hand.
Erin is now half way along in the pregnancy. I can't imagine what God has in store for us in the second half. I am becoming more excited than a kid on Christmas morning for the moment when I get to hold our child for the first time.
Posted by Andrew Kassouf
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Snow Day!
Snow Day with Christmas decorations! These two snow days could not of come at a better time! I have been swamped with my graduate work so our house has been behind in the decorating for Christmas. We got to spend some time decorating and getting into the festive spirit.
Welcome to the Kassouf House at Christmas time!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Thanksgiving 2013
We got to spend quite a bit of time with family over our Thanksgiving break. It was so nice to visit and just enjoy each others company. This year we are very thankful for our little peanut! We are super excited to see what the next year holds! We are praying for a happy healthy baby!
This was our Thanksgiving picture on the Chesapeake Bay at my grandparents house.
Thanksgiving Dinner for the Barrett family always includes a rock fish that grandpa caught. It is then stuffed with crab meat that my grandparents hand picked through out the summer and freeze for this occasion.
Kassouf cousins made Christmas Cookies!
This was our Thanksgiving picture on the Chesapeake Bay at my grandparents house.
Kassouf cousins made Christmas Cookies!
Sunday, December 8, 2013
House Make Over Phase 1
My Dad came with his truck on the week before Thanksgiving so we could begin to organize our basement. We have a fully finished basement but only part of it was really livable. The other part had become a "catch all" place for all the things Andrew and I no longer wanted or weren't sure what to do with. So two Saturday's ago my Dad came and we cleaned out. We took an entire load to the Lutheran Mission Society and another load to the dump. This was Phase I of Nursery Creation because currently the nursery is our office which will move to the basement. The basement clean out is Phase I of our Extreme Home Makeover- Baby Kassouf Edition.
Pictures to come once more is done.
Pictures to come once more is done.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Peanut's First NYC visit
Andrew's favorite place in the world is NYC. The weekend of October 18th Andrew and I went for our annual fall trip, so technically this was Peanut's (my mom's nickname for Baby Kassouf) first trip to NYC. We spent the weekend seeing Broadway shows, eating at some of our favorite places, and relaxing. We stayed in New Jersey at the Marriott at Glenpoint. It was a very nice hotel and we got an upgraded room because the hotel was having phone issues and every time we called the phone would just ring.
Friday night we went into the city and saw Big Fish, this show was about a father who wants his son to always dream big. It is based on a movie that Andrew likes and he was very curios to see how they would adapt it for the stage. I was expecting to like this show least out of the entire weekend but it turned out it was one of the best shows of the weekend! Now that Andrew and I are expecting Peanut, we watched this show through different eyes. It was cool to have this new perspective. After the show we stayed to "stage door" and we met Norbert Leo Butz and Kate Baldwin. They were both very nice and willing to sign autographs.
Saturday we slept in and had a lazy morning. Then we went into the city to grab lunch, that afternoon we saw the matinee show of Matilda the Musical. I was super excited to see this show because it was one of my favorite movies as a child. I use to watch it every time I visited my Mommom and Poppy. This show was also very good. I loved the music and it was so cool to watch a cast of mostly kids dance and sing on the Broadway stage. It was neat to see all the different magic tricks from the movie being done on stage.
After the show we walked over to Bryant Park to hang out for a while and spend some time in the quiet part of the city. I love going to the different parks in the city because once your in the park it's so quite and calm. But as soon as you walk to the edge of the park it's complete city life again; it's like a mini oasis.
Saturday night for dinner we walked over to Cafe Jolie, it is a small crepe restaurant that we found a year ago. We love eating there because we can get savory crepe's for dinner and a sweet crepe to split for desert. It's one of my favorite places the city. After dinner we went to see First Date. This show was about a couple on a blind date and since Andrew and I met on a blind date we figured this was a must see for our relationship. The show stared Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez. Zachary Levi was the voice of Flynn Rider in Disney's Tangled which was the first movie Andrew and I saw together and one of the lines from that movie is our relationship motto. Krysta Rodriguez was in Smash which was one of Andrew's favorite shows. This musical was absolutely hilarious! And the blind date story mirrored our story so much it was almost scary! After the show we "stage doored" again because we really wanted to meet Zachary and Krysta. They both were so nice and personable; they loved hearing that we had met on a blind date, are now married, and expecting our first child. Zachary even brought out speakers and an iPod to play music while he signed and after signing everyone's playbills he stayed and took pictures with anyone who wanted pictures. He was there for well over an hour. Andrew has been "stage dooring" for years and Zachary was by far the nicest most laid back person he has ever met.
Sunday we got up, packed and then went into the city. We ate lunch in Rockefeller Center, a place I love to go and visit. I don't know why I like it so much but I just think its a really cool place.
Then we went and saw Annie. This was a good show but it was our least favorite of the weekend, only because it was very much like the movie and was very predictable. It was still enjoyable and we are glad we saw it before it closes in January. (The theater was also freezing! which made it much less enjoyable for me).
On our way back to the bus to get to our car we stopped at the Cake Boss Cafe, we had walked past it everyday on our way to a from the bus and never went in, but we had a few minutes and since I love Rachel Ray who works with the Cake Boss frequently we thought it would be a good idea to try it out! We got 2 cupcakes (peanut butter chocolate for Peanut and I and carrot cake for Andrew) they were very good!
It was a great weekend away from home and I'm sure Andrew is counting down until we get to go again. I also think he is super stoked to take Peanut when he/she is old enough because he always wants to make everyone lovers of NYC!
Friday night we went into the city and saw Big Fish, this show was about a father who wants his son to always dream big. It is based on a movie that Andrew likes and he was very curios to see how they would adapt it for the stage. I was expecting to like this show least out of the entire weekend but it turned out it was one of the best shows of the weekend! Now that Andrew and I are expecting Peanut, we watched this show through different eyes. It was cool to have this new perspective. After the show we stayed to "stage door" and we met Norbert Leo Butz and Kate Baldwin. They were both very nice and willing to sign autographs.
After the show we walked over to Bryant Park to hang out for a while and spend some time in the quiet part of the city. I love going to the different parks in the city because once your in the park it's so quite and calm. But as soon as you walk to the edge of the park it's complete city life again; it's like a mini oasis.
Saturday night for dinner we walked over to Cafe Jolie, it is a small crepe restaurant that we found a year ago. We love eating there because we can get savory crepe's for dinner and a sweet crepe to split for desert. It's one of my favorite places the city. After dinner we went to see First Date. This show was about a couple on a blind date and since Andrew and I met on a blind date we figured this was a must see for our relationship. The show stared Zachary Levi and Krysta Rodriguez. Zachary Levi was the voice of Flynn Rider in Disney's Tangled which was the first movie Andrew and I saw together and one of the lines from that movie is our relationship motto. Krysta Rodriguez was in Smash which was one of Andrew's favorite shows. This musical was absolutely hilarious! And the blind date story mirrored our story so much it was almost scary! After the show we "stage doored" again because we really wanted to meet Zachary and Krysta. They both were so nice and personable; they loved hearing that we had met on a blind date, are now married, and expecting our first child. Zachary even brought out speakers and an iPod to play music while he signed and after signing everyone's playbills he stayed and took pictures with anyone who wanted pictures. He was there for well over an hour. Andrew has been "stage dooring" for years and Zachary was by far the nicest most laid back person he has ever met.
Sunday we got up, packed and then went into the city. We ate lunch in Rockefeller Center, a place I love to go and visit. I don't know why I like it so much but I just think its a really cool place.
Then we went and saw Annie. This was a good show but it was our least favorite of the weekend, only because it was very much like the movie and was very predictable. It was still enjoyable and we are glad we saw it before it closes in January. (The theater was also freezing! which made it much less enjoyable for me).
On our way back to the bus to get to our car we stopped at the Cake Boss Cafe, we had walked past it everyday on our way to a from the bus and never went in, but we had a few minutes and since I love Rachel Ray who works with the Cake Boss frequently we thought it would be a good idea to try it out! We got 2 cupcakes (peanut butter chocolate for Peanut and I and carrot cake for Andrew) they were very good!
It was a great weekend away from home and I'm sure Andrew is counting down until we get to go again. I also think he is super stoked to take Peanut when he/she is old enough because he always wants to make everyone lovers of NYC!
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