As you may remember from previous posts, Beth and I began attending Freshwater Community Church back in June.  One of the decisions we made when we started attending was to wait before plugging in anywhere.  This allowed us to spend time worshiping together as a family.  It  also allowed us to listen to where it was that God was calling us to plug in.

While we are still spending quite a bit of time praying about it we both began the process a bit this past weekend.  Beth spent the second hour volunteering in the nursery with Brooke (who absolutely loved it).  Brooke was like a kid on Christmas Eve Saturday night.  She just couldn’t want for the morning to get here – Heck, at around 8:50 she told me she was ready to go to bed!

As for me, I had been asked to help out with the kids program on a periodic basis.  I would be working on a team with four other people to do the large group time for the K-3 graders.  What this means is that once every five weeks I get to be as goofy as I want to be!  The curriculum that they are using provides a script for the 20-25 minutes that the kids are with me and it has some great stuff in there to ensure that the kids are learning solid biblical truths as well as being engaged in what is going on.

So – this past week I got to play Respect Inspector Jeff!  I decided to take it down a bit of a …. nerdy route as you can see here.

Luckily I hadn’t gotten my hair cut in a while and so was able to use a bit of gel to get that special “finger in the light socket” look!

For Beth’s sake I didn’t wear the tie or have my hair done this way when we got to church.  Once she saw me she didn’t seem to want to be seen beside me though – haha!  I can’t understand why!

I created my very own “respect detector” so that when the kids came in I was able to see how respectful they were being.  My respect detector consisted of an ipod touch, external speaker slung around my shoulder and a fake metal detector app – the kids loved it (and so did I).

The lesson was based around Romans 13:1-7 with the core idea for the kids to learn being that when you respect God by showing respect to people in charge.   I picked three kids from the group to play a game of Who\How\Why and then we closed with a catchy little song that I even made up some motions for.  It was  a lot of fun and reminded me of some of the stuff Beth and I did with the kids church we had started at Rittman.

I’ve also got to say the it felt really good to start to plug in again.  I truly believe that we are made to serve…it’s another way that we can worship God.  As I mentioned to a few people recently…God has definitely wired me to serve and when I don’t it really feels like something is missing.  I still don’t know where else he will call me, but I know that when he does I will answer.

How about you?  How are you plugging in and serving where God has placed you?  Either in your church, your school, your workplace?  Do you think that God calls just a few of us to serve or everyone?  Jump in on the comments here and let’s talk about it.

So, this weekend we had our first real experience with an all weekend soccer tournament. Ally’s GSA team played in a Tournament over in Buckeye.   One game Friday night, there was supposed to be a game on Saturday and a game on Sunday with a possible Championship game on Sunday.

They won their first game Friday night and were set to return on Saturday for game number two.   Unfortunately, due to a scheduling mix-up on Saturday the girls game was rescheduled for Sunday which meant they had a game at 11, 1 and potentially 3.   Each game lasts an hour so it didn’t give the girls a lot of break.

The girls tied their first game of the day and had to win the next one in order to have a shot at the championship game.

Beth and I decided to break out the portable propane grill we’ve used for camping and cook up some hot dogs between games 1 and 2.   It was a blast – we had hotdogs, chips, oranges, bananas and drinks.  We were able to feed the team and any of the parents\kids there that wanted food!  I was a grilling fool!

It must have given the girls the boost they needed, too – or maybe it was the fact that they are a strong team with strong coaches.   They won their 2nd game of the day and then went on to play for the championship at 3 against a strong team from the Sandusky area.   It was a hard fought match but in the end the girls prevailed by a final score of 2-1.

Congrats to all of the girls on a great game.  I know Ally didn’t let go of her trophy the rest of the day and night…though she did finally put it down to go to sleep.

Wow…what a summer. I realize I’ve been MORE than a little quiet on the electronic front. I have unintentionally taken a break from a lot of things – this blog, my facebook account & twitter. It’s been nice and I can’t say I’ve missed reading all the tweets and updates on twitter and facebook. Sure, I’ll pop on from time to time to just check things out but it hasn’t happened too often.

You see, this summer is the first time in…7, 8, 10 years maybe – that I haven’t been serving at the church in any way. After I left Rittman UMC Beth and I landed at Freshwater Church here in Wadsworth. We decided that we were not going to jump into anything right away but just spend time together worshiping. It has been refreshing – but also pretty strange.

This last two months has also given me an opportunity to focus on serving at home a lot more than I have. I’ve watched a LOT of softball as Ally’s team made it to the championship game of the pony league. They didn’t win it all but had a great season and Ally is becoming quite a pitcher. Beth has started taking classes at Liberty University (online) in order to get her Masters in Teaching and that means that she is MORE than a little busy. I am SO proud of her though and what she is doing. She’s completed one class already and is finishing up her final paper for her second class and is doing great! Plus – I can say I’m dating a college girl again which is always fun! I’ve been doing my best to help out with the cleaning\laundry\cooking\shopping\kids\etc. I’m not going to lie – some weeks are a LOT better than others in terms of my helpfulness.

I would be lying though if I didn’t say it’s seemed like something been missing. I guess I’m just wired to serve – and I think Beth is too. We are starting to slowly plug in to some things at church now. Beth will be helping out in the nursery and I spent my first Saturday with the youth group there last week (more on that later).

I’m not sure exactly what will be next…and am not really worried about it. If there is one thing I’ve learned it’s that I completely trust that God will lead us to where it is that HE wants us to be.

I am hoping to start back into the blogging on a regular basis in the week or so and am looking to redesign this site as well (need to keep my coding skills up). It’s been a nice time away from the social media but you can’t keep a geek like me away from it all for TOO long! I guess it’s just how I’m WIRED!

9 years ago today my own little angel arrived on the scene.  It’s hard to believe it’s been that long already.  I’ve always said, Taylor is a little mini-me, Ally is a mini-Beth and Brooke is…well, Brooke is 100% Brooke!

She is an amazing and beautiful girl that usually knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to tell you exactly what she’s thinking (just ask my sound guy who was singing last week within earshot of her when she looked at him and said “That’s how you sing?  That’s bad.”).

For her birthday this year she didn’t ask for toys, clothes or any of those types of things.  She wanted her room redone and she knew exactly how she wanted it (well, she MAY have changed her mind two or three or more times at the store).  So we went out and got her a new comforter, new drapes and took a lot of the “little kid stuff” out of her room.

If I’m being honest though – I did lose it a bit last night when I got back from church and went up to see the finished product.  As I walked down the hall to her room, there on the floor was her Disney Princess lamp.

She apparently thought that was too much little kid for her new room.  I just sat on her bed by myself and cried a bit as I am NOT ready for her to be “grown-up”.  I couldn’t take it so I put the lamp back in the room and then explained to her later as I tucked her in that a princess lamp is not too little kid.  I explained to her that mommy and daddy still love Disney, and that one of our first dates was going to see “Beauty and the Beast” in theaters.  I also reminded her that she knew someone that STILL dresses up in a giant Tigger costume for Halloween each year

So the lamp stayed.

This morning I got up early and made her favorite breakfast – Daddy’s special Blueberry pancakes!  The whole family got up earlier than they are used to and we sat down together to enjoy a great start of the day together.  Pancakes full of blueberries and topped with a few more blueberries and strawberries.

Oh…and as for growing up….looks like she’s not quite ready to get too serious about life just just yet.

Happy Birthday Angel

So, if you know me you know I tend to be a bit of a busy person.  Between my family, my day job, my church job and a few other odds and ends free time usually happens around this time of the night (12:30 am).  As I look at the next few weeks\months I realize it’s not going to get any less crowded…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taylor is coming to the end of swim season…and then starts track.  Ally just had her last indoor soccer game…but still has a month of practice before the spring season starts up (and she’s playing softball this year, too).  Brooke is…well she’s Brooke and she’s awesome.

As for me, I continue to focus on the Sunday Evening Connexions service at Rittman UMC and the youth program.  We’ve been having a good time at our Wednesday night youth group meetings and getting into some good discussions.  The Sunday evening service is going well…we just continue to struggle with an effective way to get the word out about the service.

I am excited to be have the opportunity to preach this Sunday at both the morning and evening services.  In addition I will be doing the Good Friday service again this year.  I am also working through some ideas for a series that I will be doing at the evening service sometime this spring.  I am incredibly grateful that Pastor Chuck is giving me the opportunity as a lay person to stretch my wings and take on some preaching responsibility as I continue to listen to where it is that God is leading me.

I’ve been spending a lot more time in the Word lately thanks to a men’s group that I’m a part of on Friday mornings and am really enjoying it.

There are a few other things that I’m doing as well – I will be serving on team for the Summer Walk to Emmaus.

With all of these things going on the most important thing I’ll be doing is ensuring that I am giving my amazing wife and kids the time and attention they deserve.  If there is one thing this past week away with Beth showed me it’s that it’s VITAL to any marriage to work on it and spend time with those people that are the most important to you.

So, we are back in Ohio.  It’s a beautiful 30 degrees today with some light freezing drizzle.  Yep – we’re back in Ohio.

Last Sunday Beth and I headed down to Miami to spend the night and then headed off the next day on a four night Bahamas cruise.  It was a nice time for the two of us to be together, however, it probably wasn’t as nice as it COULD have been.

In Miami we had dinner at Bubba Gump’s.  Beth loves the movie Forrest Gump and it was cool to see props, quotes and other fun stuff from the movies there (and the food wasn’t bad either).

Now, I’m not one to complain but we were looking forward to relaxing by the pool, sitting on a beach doing nothing, maybe do some snorkeling, swimming in the clear blue water, getting a nice tan and just enjoying some warm weather…we really didn’t do any of that.

The weather for the whole trip was a cool 65-72 degrees with winds around 20+ MPH.  Was it warmer than Ohio, yep.  Was it warm enough to do the things we wanted to…not for us.

We tried to sit by the pool…Beth had three layers on and a towel around her.

Our second day we were at the cruise line’s private island (this was our beach day) – we found a nice beach chair and started to relax.  Then a nice cruise worker came up to use and pulled us off the island after about an hour because of deteriorating weather conditions (waves were around 10+ feet and the ride back to the ship was like a visit to Cedar Point).

We did sit by the pool a little our last day….though we never got in the water or even into our swimsuits.

We did take a nice taxi tour of Nassau, Bahama.  We saw the Queen’s Staircase, Fort Charlotte, and the Atlantis Resort.

On Coco Cay (the private island) we did see the blue water and walked in the sand a bit.

In Key West we made a stop at Sloppy Joes for nachos with sloppy joe, visited the marker for the “southern most point in the US” (which isn’t really the southernmost point – check the link) and had some key lime pie.

We had some good food on the ship and saw some great shows in the evening – the highlight which was a comedian\juggler by the name of Mike Price – the Rockstar Juggler.  Not only was his juggling amazing but I don’t know that I’ve laughed that hard in a long time!  The finale was in the dark while he wore laser gloves and all of the balls and pins lit up and changed colors.

The ultimate goal of relaxation WAS accomplished….and that is good.  Beth and I were grateful for a chance to get away and spend some time together.

The question everyone asks us is, “Would we go on a cruise again?”…..hmm, probably not – or at least not for a while.   While it was good for just the two of us to get away – we DID miss the kids!

For the next week Beth and I are doing something we haven’t done for over 13 years – take a week’s vacation by ourselves.  We leave in the morning for Miami, Fl where we will spend the night and wake up on Monday to board the Majesty of the Seas and head off for 4 nights in the Bahamas.  We’ll be stopping at Nassau, Bahamas; Coco Cay and Key West.  The kids are with my parents all week so we can just spend time relaxing and working on us.  It’s a little like a 2nd honeymoon, anniversary gift and 40th birthday celebration all rolled into one.

We are so excited to have this chance to get away.  While we are gone I will probably tweet a few times (at least while we are on US soil) so you can follow us here or in the sidebar on the right if your interested….but my guess is those will be few and far between.

I would ask that you keep us both in your prayers – both for safe travels and for a time of renewal; pray for our kids – especially Brooke is doesn’t like being away from mom and pray for my parents as they get to go “back in time” and deal with three kids, sports, school and all that other fun stuff.

As we prepare for our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrations I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

As the presents are all unwrapped and the food is consumed, I pray that the love of Christ fills you and your family on this special day and carries over to all those you spend time with.

Isaiah 9:6 “For to us a child is born, to us a Son is given”

Today my first born – my son Taylor – turns 13!

I can still remember the day he was born…it was a Saturday, but not just any Saturday…it was the day of the big game – Ohio State vs. Michigan.  I had to work that morning but was looking forward to spending the afternoon in front of the TV relaxing and enjoying the game.

When I got home from work around 11:30 (30 minutes before kick-off) Beth said she was having some “issues” (which I will not go into here for fear of being beaten silly).  She didn’t think much of it since her due date was still a few weeks away.  I told her she should probably call the doctor “just to be safe”.   Well, the doctor informed her that her water had broken and that we needed to get to the hospital!!

So off we went – the radio was dialed into the game on the ride over, we got situated and comfortable (well…one of us at least), and I watched the game from a birthing suite at Akron General.  Beth was there, too – though she kept interrupting the game with some sort of “pains” (I was the one in pain though as I had to watch Ohio State blow their undefeated season and a chance at the National Championship as they blew a 9-0 lead to Michigan to lose the game 13-9).

Finally at around 12:30 am (I don’t remember the exact time) Taylor Scott Honnold was born.

Now 13 years later we continue to be amazed at how he is growing.  He’s becoming a teenager (unfortunately with the attitude to go with it), has a girlfriend, was in his first musical recently and we continue to watch him grow in his faith.

So – Happy Birthday Taylor!!   May you continue to grow as a young man and more importantly as a man of God.  I pray that I can be an example for you and that you will always strive to follow Christ.

This was a busy weekend in the Honnold household.  Taylor was in the Middle School Musical “The Big Bad Musical” which had it’s performances on Friday and Saturday night, I had a church conference on Saturday afternoon that I helped lead worship at, Beth and I led Kidz Church Sunday morning we had a piano\voice recital that all three kids were involved in on Sunday afternoon and I had our Sunday Evening Connexions worship service last night.

Beth’s mom and dad came up and stayed with us this weekend so they could take in all of the kids activities and visit, my mom and dad came up on Saturday night for the show.

My kids are so blessed to have both sets of grandparents around to love them and see them involved in all of these things.  Beth and I are very grateful for that.

Here’s hoping we can now get back to some sense of normalcy before the holidays….but with three kids (and one who will officially become a teenager in 8 days) I seriously doubt it!