Big News!

Our Family has been busy! Lots of life change is happening, but we find ourselves feeling peace in these moments as we celebrate…

1) The Birth of our NEW BABY BOY!!!

Introducing…
Judah James William...

He was born at 4:39pm on Monday, 7/7/2008 in Bluffton, OH.
He weighs 6lbs 6ozs and is 19 inches long. He has dark brown hair, a dimpled chin and really soft skin of course.
Kelly is doing well and is thoroughly enjoying bonding with our new son.
Big sister Halle has enjoyed holding him and gave him his first birthday present on Monday night.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

Here is the hospital link to view his picture, but I have also included another pic in this e-mail:
http://www.bvhealthsystem.org/BabyNet/ViewBaby.aspx?ID=7348

We should be going home with him later today!
2) A NEW JOB for James!

I have accepted the position of Director of Admissions and Student Recruitment at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

I accepted the job during the Regional BLAST event on June 12th and we announced it to the crowd that night. My first day working for MVNU was June 30th, but I was speaking at a church camp all week, so I really haven’t completely settled into the office yet. This was to be my first week in the office, but Judah altered those plans. We have been on a home repair blitz with much help from our church, friends and family. I will be traveling back and forth over the next month. We hope to have our house listed this week and are praying it will sell by the end of the month. We have already seen 15+ houses in Mt. Vernon and have a few favorites, but won’t offer until ours sells. Most of you know how vital house church is to our DNA, so we are looking for a house with this in mind. Please pray with us that the Lord would lead us to the right neighborhood, the right neighbors and the right house. We are still figuring out temporary plans for us to all be together in Mt. Vernon starting in August until our house in Findlay sells.

We are so excited about this opportunity for multiple reasons. Vocationally it is a fantastic fit for my heart, skills and passions. I have been working in the RPO/Recruiting industry for a year and a half and enjoy it, but now I can take those skills to MVNU (which I have always had passion for) and work with teens and college students (whom I have always had a passion to work with). It is a great mix for my administrative desires and my ministry desires. If you know me, you know I love MVNU, so this makes sense on multiple levels. MVNU has been a part of my life since I was 4½, when my parents went back to finish their degrees! In addition, Kelly will no longer need to work. She has desired for quite some time to stay at home with our child(ren), and this move will provide that opportunity, with a few adjustments in our spending habits. J This is huge for us and something that has dominated our conversation for a couple years. Finally, we can’t wait to join the MVNU community. We have missed it through the years and always had a desire to return. We hope to be a positive influence in the lives of the college students, faculty and staff there in the same way our mentors there influenced our lives. I will also continue to serve as the Regional Big Picture Trainer and be available to speak at youth events, both of which are a natural mix for this role.

Here is the press release for the job: www.ncnnews.com/nphweb/html/ncn/article.jsp?id=10006153


Lot of stuff going on and we are just hanging on for the ride. Kelly just looked at me as she is holding Judah and said softly with tears in her eyes, “I am so happy”.
That pretty much sums it up for us!


Peace and Love.