G'day - how are all our favorite people doing this week? I trust this finds you well...
We have had two relatively uneventful weeks... work, hangin with students, some play (movies, golf etc.) and another couple weeks of Ultimate Frisbee... Good times!
The highlight recently was without a doubt having Jamie's parents (Dennis & Gwen Jackson) come and stay with us for a couple of days. We had a BLAST!!! It was so fun to have them come and hang out with us and catch a glimpse of what our life is like here in Indianapolis! We jammed tons of stuff into a couple of short days during their stay including visiting a couple of Churches, coffeeshops, and an evening out at an Indians game (Indianapolis' AAA-league baseball team) until the game was called due to a significant thunder and lightning storm... Good times!
Well, that's almost all there is to share, however we would really appreciate your prayers for this coming week. Clint leaves on Monday next week for IGNITE Youth Camp (www.ignitecamp.com) with our students... This should be an amazing time of growing closer to God and really being challenged to the core of our being. Please pray that God might use this time to really capture the hearts and lives of our young people... We are excited to see all that God does - check back in 2 weeks for some updated pics! Due to camp next week, we won't be able to leave a written post, but be sure to check back for an audio update... we'll be able to leave a voice message for you to listen to right from your computer.
Have a BLESSED week - we love you all!
Clint & Jamie
Monday, July 19, 2004
Monday, July 05, 2004
... a "good" tired
Good Morning from Indianapolis! The weather here has been really great this past week... beautiful sunny days, warm enough without being overly hot... if only we had a beach it would have been perfect - oh well!
So, we celebrated our anniversary and had a really great evening out to dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant before going to a movie and then back home to just relax and be together... (sorry folks - we forgot to take pictures). IT WAS A BLAST!!! We had a great time over dinner re-living and discussing some of our most memorable moments shared as a couple from this past year... always fun! We both left feeling totally overwhelmed by God's goodness, faithfulness and blessing in our lives - extremely grateful!
The rest of the week was spent working for Clint and Jamie finished out her "Training Shifts" at Applebees. Thursday afternoon we left and headed up to Spring Lake, MI where Clint had several meetings in preparation for our up-coming Youth Camp as well as just being able to connect and catch-up with family. Clint had the amazing privilege of re-connecting with Lex Akers who was one of his pastor's back in Australia before moving over here to the USA. Lex has been a significant mentor and influencer in Clint's life for many years now and they had a really special time of just catching up and talking about God & Life together...
Upon returning home to Indy, we found two messages waiting on our answering machine which were returned phone calls from places where Jamie applied to work... both wanting an interview. Please pray with us that we would follow God's leading and guidance through this process - that we would know where HE desires for Jamie to work...
We celebrated the 4th of July (Independence Day) with friends here at the Church finishing the evening watching fireworks together in a park downtown Zionsville and then migrated back to Brad & Jayne Bak's home (our worship & arts pastor & wife) where we set off our own fireworks... GOOD TIMES!!! Highly illegal back in Australia I understand, however I have noticed that over here people really don't understand what the Law is on fireworks - it's different in every state! One thing that is well understood is that it doesn't REALLY matter where you are, on July 4th the "Law" will turn a blind-eye... WHAT(???)
Anyway, we have both been feeling rather tired lately and Clint has actually been slightly sick (lost his voice) over the past few days. We both agree that it is probably due to exhaustion and a crazy schedule over the past month... but we both agree that it is definitely a "good" tired!
Clint & Jamie
So, we celebrated our anniversary and had a really great evening out to dinner at an amazing seafood restaurant before going to a movie and then back home to just relax and be together... (sorry folks - we forgot to take pictures). IT WAS A BLAST!!! We had a great time over dinner re-living and discussing some of our most memorable moments shared as a couple from this past year... always fun! We both left feeling totally overwhelmed by God's goodness, faithfulness and blessing in our lives - extremely grateful!
The rest of the week was spent working for Clint and Jamie finished out her "Training Shifts" at Applebees. Thursday afternoon we left and headed up to Spring Lake, MI where Clint had several meetings in preparation for our up-coming Youth Camp as well as just being able to connect and catch-up with family. Clint had the amazing privilege of re-connecting with Lex Akers who was one of his pastor's back in Australia before moving over here to the USA. Lex has been a significant mentor and influencer in Clint's life for many years now and they had a really special time of just catching up and talking about God & Life together...
Upon returning home to Indy, we found two messages waiting on our answering machine which were returned phone calls from places where Jamie applied to work... both wanting an interview. Please pray with us that we would follow God's leading and guidance through this process - that we would know where HE desires for Jamie to work...
We celebrated the 4th of July (Independence Day) with friends here at the Church finishing the evening watching fireworks together in a park downtown Zionsville and then migrated back to Brad & Jayne Bak's home (our worship & arts pastor & wife) where we set off our own fireworks... GOOD TIMES!!! Highly illegal back in Australia I understand, however I have noticed that over here people really don't understand what the Law is on fireworks - it's different in every state! One thing that is well understood is that it doesn't REALLY matter where you are, on July 4th the "Law" will turn a blind-eye... WHAT(???)
Anyway, we have both been feeling rather tired lately and Clint has actually been slightly sick (lost his voice) over the past few days. We both agree that it is probably due to exhaustion and a crazy schedule over the past month... but we both agree that it is definitely a "good" tired!
Clint & Jamie
Monday, June 28, 2004
Beginning Year 3!
Well here it is - the first REAL and official update on our new BLOG!!!
Today (Mon. June 28) we celebrate our 2nd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!! We are both very excited to begin our 3rd year of marriage! Jamie is working for half the day and then we plan to spend the afternoon and evening celebrating together - watch for some pics and details next week!
Some other BIG news on our front is that Jamie just got a job! Praise God! She begins today with training and orientation etc. to become a server at Applebees (for all you Aussies: a popular restaurant over here in the US). This is a great job for us as it allows flexibility in schedule - meaning that Jamie can determine what hours she wants to work and therefore allows her to keep the same job once school gets going again.
Things have been going really well for us recently (busy, but well)... whoever said that ministry slows down during the summer obviously wasn't referring to Student Ministry! We are doing more than twice as much stuff during the summer as we would do during the school semester - but seeing God move in students lives makes it all worth while! Here is a brief overview of what the past weeks/months have looked like for us:
:: Colorado Trip :: (May 24-26) Clint had the amazing privelege of spending 3 days out in Denver, CO at Kingdom Building Ministries where he spent time in different meetings with different people discussing different things... The primary purpose for this trip was to spend some time being mentored, encouraged and invested in - this was definately true!
:: New York City :: (June 7-10) We both led a trip with our graduating seniors (from High School) to New York City for our annual "Senior Trip"! This was so much FUN! We had a blast taking in all the sights and sounds of the City! Some highlights include: Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero (World Trade Center site), Broadway Musical, Yankees Baseball Game, Central Park, Shopping, Shopping, Shopping... and MORE Shopping! The purpose for this trip is simple - to help encourage and affirm these students before heading off to College and also to talk about some basic College preparation stuff. This afforded a really great conversation in the car on the way back home discussing what it would take to continue growing closer to God when these students move away to College in a couple of short months...
:: Student Ministry Leaders Retreat :: (June 11-12) The day after returning from NYC we left again for an overnight retreat with our adult leaders. This was an incredible time of connecting together, praying and dreaming about what God might be leading us toward as a ministry. This retreat was so beneficial for building a deeper sense of unity, commitment and TEAMWORK amongst us - Praise God!
:: Zion Lake Youth Camp :: (June 16-20) This was the first of 2 Youth Camps that we are doing this summer and was an amazing time. We camped out in tents, showered in cold water from a hose, and connected with God and other people in truly authentic and powerful times of worship. The theme for the whole camp was "Worship" - going beyond singing songs to really living a lifestyle of worship.
The last week has been a time of catching our breath... catching up on all the stuff that was dropped to go away as much as we have... and preparing for the weeks ahead. Hopefully this has been helpful for you to get a better idea about what's been happening in our lives! Here's some things you can be praying with us for:
1. Our Wedding Anniversary - that it would be a blessed, joyous occasion... we look forward to many more!
2. Jamie's new job - that she would learn her responsibilities quickly but more importantly that she would build relationships with co-workers who don't know Christ.
3. That we would have great opportunities to meet and connect with our neighbors with the hope that we might share Christ through the way we live our own lives.
I know this has been a long post, next week will be shorter - I promise! Have a great week and thanks for your continued support, encouragement, prayers and investment in our lives... it means more than you know!
Clint & Jamie
P.S. Check out the pics below of our "new" apartment here in Indianapolis!
Today (Mon. June 28) we celebrate our 2nd WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!! We are both very excited to begin our 3rd year of marriage! Jamie is working for half the day and then we plan to spend the afternoon and evening celebrating together - watch for some pics and details next week!
Some other BIG news on our front is that Jamie just got a job! Praise God! She begins today with training and orientation etc. to become a server at Applebees (for all you Aussies: a popular restaurant over here in the US). This is a great job for us as it allows flexibility in schedule - meaning that Jamie can determine what hours she wants to work and therefore allows her to keep the same job once school gets going again.
Things have been going really well for us recently (busy, but well)... whoever said that ministry slows down during the summer obviously wasn't referring to Student Ministry! We are doing more than twice as much stuff during the summer as we would do during the school semester - but seeing God move in students lives makes it all worth while! Here is a brief overview of what the past weeks/months have looked like for us:
:: Colorado Trip :: (May 24-26) Clint had the amazing privelege of spending 3 days out in Denver, CO at Kingdom Building Ministries where he spent time in different meetings with different people discussing different things... The primary purpose for this trip was to spend some time being mentored, encouraged and invested in - this was definately true!
:: New York City :: (June 7-10) We both led a trip with our graduating seniors (from High School) to New York City for our annual "Senior Trip"! This was so much FUN! We had a blast taking in all the sights and sounds of the City! Some highlights include: Times Square, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero (World Trade Center site), Broadway Musical, Yankees Baseball Game, Central Park, Shopping, Shopping, Shopping... and MORE Shopping! The purpose for this trip is simple - to help encourage and affirm these students before heading off to College and also to talk about some basic College preparation stuff. This afforded a really great conversation in the car on the way back home discussing what it would take to continue growing closer to God when these students move away to College in a couple of short months...
:: Student Ministry Leaders Retreat :: (June 11-12) The day after returning from NYC we left again for an overnight retreat with our adult leaders. This was an incredible time of connecting together, praying and dreaming about what God might be leading us toward as a ministry. This retreat was so beneficial for building a deeper sense of unity, commitment and TEAMWORK amongst us - Praise God!
:: Zion Lake Youth Camp :: (June 16-20) This was the first of 2 Youth Camps that we are doing this summer and was an amazing time. We camped out in tents, showered in cold water from a hose, and connected with God and other people in truly authentic and powerful times of worship. The theme for the whole camp was "Worship" - going beyond singing songs to really living a lifestyle of worship.
The last week has been a time of catching our breath... catching up on all the stuff that was dropped to go away as much as we have... and preparing for the weeks ahead. Hopefully this has been helpful for you to get a better idea about what's been happening in our lives! Here's some things you can be praying with us for:
1. Our Wedding Anniversary - that it would be a blessed, joyous occasion... we look forward to many more!
2. Jamie's new job - that she would learn her responsibilities quickly but more importantly that she would build relationships with co-workers who don't know Christ.
3. That we would have great opportunities to meet and connect with our neighbors with the hope that we might share Christ through the way we live our own lives.
I know this has been a long post, next week will be shorter - I promise! Have a great week and thanks for your continued support, encouragement, prayers and investment in our lives... it means more than you know!
Clint & Jamie
P.S. Check out the pics below of our "new" apartment here in Indianapolis!
Saturday, June 05, 2004
The Beginning...
Well, here it is... After a little pressure from family and friends, we have decided to set up this BLOG so that our family and friends can stay "up-to-date" on all that is happening in our lives... (at your own convenience!) This will also mean that you will no longer be receiving those painful and frustrating "Updates from Clint & Jamie"... instead it is totally up to you to check us out here at this address.
Please feel free to come back as often as you would like... drop a line in the comment section... make yourselves at home!
We will be doing our best to keep this updated regularly with both pictures and notes on living at HOME & AWAY!
Clint & Jamie
Please feel free to come back as often as you would like... drop a line in the comment section... make yourselves at home!
We will be doing our best to keep this updated regularly with both pictures and notes on living at HOME & AWAY!
Clint & Jamie