Life In Texas

I saw a bumper sticker a couple weeks ago that said "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could." Living in Texas has been great! The area is beautiful. I love the city, although it is a little bit more challenging getting around. It's slightly bigger than Lexington!
We are getting more settled in, as each day passes. We can't wait to find a church to connect with, I think it will feel more like home when we find a church. Sometimes I don't think people understand how important it is to be apart of the body. When we are disconnected we don't function correctly. I understand that when Paul was talking about how the Church is the body made up of many parts. Finding a church and connecting with like minded people is the most important thing on our list. Jessie and I are planning on inviting people in our apartment building and people we meet at church ASAP. We want to hit the ground running, so we don't fall into any bad habits. It's important to start building a ministry around us. People who we can love and minster to, but we need older people who can mentor and disciple us.

Josiah is getting huge! He's not a fat baby, he's just going to be a big boy. I think he is going to have my broad shoulder build, but I hope he will be a few inches taller than me. He can hold himself pretty good now, I've been laying him on his belly and putting his arm under him so he can start do some push-ups. Amazingly he can push his chest off the ground. Who knows he could be a 5-star football player out of Texas. I'll make sure he plays for the University of Kentucky.

Work has been going great. I'm going love what I do, but the biggest change is my Boss. It is really nice working for a man loves Jesus, and who shares similar values and principles. The Lord has blessed our family with a wonderful opportunity.

Thank you for your continued prayers - John :-)

Church Hunting

So this Sunday we tried the first of (hopefully not too many) churches. We were really excited about this church, their website was great and they emphasized small groups and outreach. I really thought this might be the church we landed in. But we made it through the whole visit without anyone really coming up and talking to us. (Beyond saying hi and 'what a cute baby'.) TJ and I were on the welcome team at Center Point, but I really took for granted what an important job it is. I felt so awkward being a visitor. It was like we floated in and floated out. They had great worship, a cool building, and everyone seemed really happy to be there, but I came away with the realization that if you're not reaching out to the new people who come in, all of that stuff doesn't do you any good. I remember feeling so weird about talking to new people in the other churches I've been a part of, not knowing what to say, even though I wanted to make them feel welcome. I think from now on I'll just suck it up and stumble through some sort of conversation until I find something to talk about. :-) Wherever we end up, more than anything else I want to be on the welcome team. I guess the point of this is to encourage anyone who reads this. If you see new people at your church and you want to say hi, but you're not sure what to say - try. Anything. For all you know, they're exactly what your church needs.

Day 1 :-)

Hello from Texas! This isn't exactly day one for us in Fort Worth, but it is day one of the Hood blog - which is a way for us to keep everyone up on how we're doing, and for family and friends to see Josiah grow now that he's farther away.

We moved to Texas last Saturday, found an apartment on Sunday and moved in on Monday. It's been a crazy, fast-paced week! Due to our movers bumping up the time they could bring our things to a new apartment, we had to find somewhere fast. But God provided a place for us, and we love our new home. Josiah and I have been unpacking and setting up house this week, and TJ's first day at work was Wednesday. My Aunt Beth came today to help me decorate the house and it looks soo much better now. It's finally starting to feel like home.

Keep praying for us as we look for a church to be a part of and get connected with. We've begun looking churches up online, and we'll start the hunt this weekend! I'm so ready to make friends and be part of a church family here in Texas.

We miss everyone, and we love you! As soon as I find the box with the right cord, I'll start downloading pictures. :-)