Hello again!

Back again this week! We are off to a good start! I thought I would write today since tomorrow I start at my new job and do not know how the day will be. Thank you, in advance, for your prayers as I adjust and learn a lot.

This past week has been wonderful! Julie (Jamie's sister) came on Tuesday night and we got to hang out with her. Joni and her boyfriend Mike came EARLY Wednesday morning. My parents and our good friend Regina joined us on Wednesday afternoon/night and my mom's parents came on Thursday! So, we had a ton of fun with a lot of people around! We all stayed at a hotel a few miles from our house and very much so enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and rooms we had! It was such a blessing!!!

Clint worked a lot toward the beginning of the week and then was able to relax for the second half. We were blessed to have Julie stay with us for the rest of the weekend and we had an amazing and relaxing time with her. It was great to be around family for a few days!

We love you all and it means a ton that you care about our lives! God continues to grow and teach us in life. Continue to pray that He would fill us with His Spirit and that we would experience Him in new ways. Pray also that we would love others and strive to live for God's glory.

Think of you all often!
Clint and Jamie

So sorry...

Well, it has been a long while. We are so very sorry! Clint started the blog, but his load has been too heavy and it has gotten neglected. All to say...I am going to take over for a little while (like the rest of the school year).

Okay, as an update of the last month or so...

• The retreat that was talked about in the last update went really well. Brian Bradford and the worship team did an amazing job and really led everyone closer to the Lord. Every student that came made a decision to join in on the revolution that God is doing in our world! We want to be a part of whatever God lead's us to!
• I (Jamie) actually finished my undergrad. degree (for good now) and started applying to jobs within my field. I start a job through Indiana University school of nursing/Healthy families of Indiana called the MOM's project on Monday, Nov. 29th. I'm really excited about this! It has been amazing watching God bring it all together. I will miss the people at Maggiano's where I was waitressing, but it will be so great to see Clint more and do a job that I am super passionate about. The job is working with new and/or young mom's and teaching them parenting skills as well as some life skills. I will keep you all updated to how it goes and thank you for your prayers as I begin next week.
• Clint had the opportunity to go to the Willow Creek preaching conference and then recently to North Point Community Church in Atlanta. These were great vision stretching times and Clint is very excited about all that God will do as the church prays and obeys where God leads (I'm excited too).

That is the short of it! This week is Thanksgiving and my family (except for Josh and Kari, of course) will be down here in Indianapolis. We are staying in a hotel and are all very excited! A little bit longer and Josh and Kar will be with us too and then in May we'll be in with Clint's family!

We love you and miss you all! Thanks again for your prayers and I really will try to update you all each week! Thanks for your patience!

Clint and Jamie

Fall Retreat (Oct. 8-10)

... just a quick update to let you know that this weekend we are heading to Kokomo, IN for our Fall Retreat for our High School students. Needless to say this will be TONS of fun! Furthermore we have a guest speaker coming to share and worship team coming from IWU.

This was to ask you if you would join us in praying with/for us this weekend - this could be a "defining moment" in the life of our Student Ministry at Eagle Church! Brian Bradford (Snr. High Youth Pastor from Spring Lake Wesleyan Church) is coming as our guest speaker and will be sharing a series of 4 messages with us along the lines of being a part of a "REVOLUTION"! We are really excited about how God might use these messages to change the hearts, minds and lives of our young people. The basic message is that God started this REVOLUTION a long time ago, but now is relying on us to continue and further it along... However, the BEST part about all this is that not only is He relying on us, but He actually BELIEVES in us to do it! He believes that we can actually become like Him and play a significant role in furthering His Kingdom here in Indianapolis! Imagine what could happen if our group of young people really captured these thoughts and ideas and began to live it out... ONLY GOD!

So, will you join us in praying accordingly? I will update you further on living at "Home and Away" really soon... Be Blessed today!
Clint.

All good things must come to an end...

Good Morning - hope you are all doing well! I know, we have been really slack lately at keeping this updated... we won't let it happen again (we hope)!

Well, things just keep trucking on for us - it's hard to believe that we are already almost through the month of September! Jamie is still working at Maggiano's and LOVES it and spending any other spare time she has catching up with some old school friends, studying etc.

Clint is now in FULL swing back at school (already 2 full weeks gone) and is only just starting to fully adjust to the added load, and new schedule... Last week he played bass on the worship team for the IWU Fall Summit (Spiritual Emphasis Week) which was a really great experience and kept him even more busy than normal. Clint has a really BIG month (or 6 weeks) coming up in October - we'll post some specific events, dates and prayer requests next week...

Being that all good things must come to an end, our Senior Pastor, Kerry Bowman has now returned from his 5 month sabbatical, so it has been really fun to re-connect with him and his family... hearing all the stories, what God's stirring in his heart etc. It is even more exciting to discover that much of what God has been teaching Kerry over the past months is similar to what some of the rest of our Church staff have been sensing also - God is Sovereign! More to come next week... till then - Peace OUT!

Be Blessed,
Clint & Jamie

The Countdown...

Well the Countdown is in FULL swing... Only 8 days left before Clint starts back into the crazy schedule of balancing school and ministry... so, we are headed to Michigan tonight (Sunday PM) to spend the next three days with Jamie's parents & sisters! The main agenda is some R & R!!! Perhaps some Golf, Water Skiing/Wake Boarding etc...

This week Jamie took another CLEP test and gained another 6 credits toward her degree, which means that she only needs to take one more "elective" class this semester to finish! So, she is taking a class in Sign Language and is LOVING it... this is something that she has always wanted to learn! Anyway, classes began for her this past week and she was shocked to discover that her instructor is deaf - so, she has no choice other learn how to communicate using Sign Language! A good challenge!

Other than that, our biggest news from this past week came from Australia... (no, not the Olympics this time...) Clint's brother Jeff Ussher called us REALLY early on Thursday morning to let us know that he'd just gotten ENGAGED!!! So, we are so excited for Jeff & Sharee - CONGRATULATIONS!!! We really wish we could be there to celebrate with you...

Added to this we were surprised by a phone call on Friday from Janessa Horne which was really great to just connect and hear some updated news from some of our family and friends back in Australia!!! So - here's a special "shout out" to everyone over there... WE MISS YOU ALL!!! It's at times like these (engagements, b'days, etc.) that it is really hard to be away from those we love...

Be Blessed this week!
Clint & Jamie

Home, Church, Work, School...

Well - life keeps going for us. The last two weeks have been filled with activity... here's the overview:

:: AT HOME - we finished painting our living room and bedroom several weeks ago, but haven't really been home much to enjoy it... Anytime we have been home, the OLYMPICS can be found showing either on the TV or the computer (online) trying to keep up with the latest Aussie action over in Athens. It really is an experience to be in another country for the Olympics... you get their bias throughout the media, so the only time we see the Aussies is when they beat the USA! You can be assured that Clint screams, hollers and shouts EVERY time that they do! The only sad thing for Clint is that he has been over here (in the US) for the last 2 olympics - 2000 in Sydney, and now this year... oh well!

:: AT CHURCH - things are going really well... we are preparing to welcome back our Senior Pastor (Kerry Bowman) from his 5 month sabbatical in about 3 weeks time - very excited! It'll be so great to have Kerry back with us! We are experiencing a really deep sense of anticipation and excitement this year as the school year gets underway - one that we haven't sensed in a long time... Please join with us in praying that God would really build His Kingdom through Eagle Church and that would be found faithful to the task He has called us to do here on the N/W side of Indianapolis!

:: AT WORK - Jamie continues to enjoy her job at Maggiano's - she loves being a server & the opportunity to be constantly working with people! She is building some really great relationships - and we believe that God has placed her there for a reason, so please join with us in praying that God would use her to challenge and impact lives for eternity...

:: AT SCHOOL - well, we are counting down the days before Clint starts back for his final year at IWU... Classes start on Tues, Sept. 7 - please be praying specifically for Clint over these next 3 months as he navigates a full school load (in Marion, IN) while leading a ministry team into this next season of growth and development (in Indianapolis, IN) and living in Indianapolis as opposed to Marion for the next year... Needless to say, these next 3 months are going to be TOUGH!

Jamie will also be taking a couple of classes this semester because testing out of one of her classes (CLEP test) did not go as planned... Jamie petitioned to IWU asking them to allow her to finish out the credits necessary for her graduation at a local university here in Indianapolis... This was a long-shot and we weren't expecting much, but they DID APPROVE IT! So, the last part of this week Jamie was downtown getting enrolled and registering for classes etc. This is a HUGE deal for us as it means that only Clint will have to drive to Marion for school... not both of us!

Well, I think that about sums it up... Thanks for keeping in touch, and please know that your prayers are invaluable to us! We'd love to hear back from you too... let us know how we can be praying for you and your family... You can contact us at the details listed above (at the top of this BLOG).

We love you all!
Clint & Jamie

Good Times!

This week has been really busy, but a lot of fun at the same time... Last week we both just continued working through what seemed to be a relatively uneventful week - Jamie began her first regular shifts at Maggiano's after training, and Clint was preparing for our Student Ministry Adult Leaders Retreat (Fri PM - Sat.)...

We had an AMAZING weekend! The retreat went really well... God is really bringing unity, vision and motivation to our team - it is so FUN to serve alongside these people! Good Times! Other than that, Jamie's sister Julie came and spent the weekend with us... Good Times! We just hung out on Saturday night, went to Church Sunday and then after lunch and a short nap drove down to Louisville, Kentucky where we spent the night exploring the downtown area and stayed in a hotel! Good Times! Monday Morning we got up and drove about another hour to Holiday World which is a small amusement park in Southern Indiana - but it has a really cool waterpark which is where we spent the majority of our time... Good Times!

Unfortunately Jamie had to leave early to work on Monday night... Julie and I stayed and rode back with the Bak family (Worship & Arts pastor at Eagle...) who had also come down to meet us on Monday. Julie left on Tuesday afternoon to head back to MI, but just after she left Chris DeMarse showed up to hang out with us for a night... We went down to The Vogue Theatre in Broadripple, for a concert - Gavin DeGraw! Good Times!

So, all in all this has been a really great week with getting lots done at work as well as some necessary "fun" times - so refreshing! You can be praying for us this next week as we are facing the reality of school starting in only a matter of weeks for Clint, and that means that all the High Schools are starting up again after their summer break - so Student Ministry KICKS OFF once again! Good Times! We will also be attending the Willow Creek Leadership Summit as a staff team again this year... Good Times! So, you can be praying that it would be a really great time of inspiration, vision, and sensing God's leading for us as a Church body... Furthermore, Clint has the opportunity to meet with the Elder Board tonight to give a report on Student Ministry as well as update them on the coming year, how we are doing personally and our commitment to stay here at the Church for another 3 years - (till summer, 2007)! Good Times!

Well, that about sums up this week... Hope you all get some "Good Times" of refreshing, building, renewing activities amidst your busy schedules also...

Be Blessed,
Clint & Jamie