What is most important...right now?

Time is a funny, strange, and valuable thing.

Something boring can FEEL too long when it is actually very short.

Something beautiful can FEEL too short when it actually went on for days.

The past few weeks, jumping back to late July, have FELT like a blur.

We have been doing well. So curb your worries or pre-stress for what you are about to read.

Here is why I believe the past few weeks have felt like a BLUR.

1. We have done this before. The Bells have moved, across the country, through multiple states, into a new home, a few times in the past 16 years (8 total moves, only 3 in town). Is there anything you are so experienced at that you tend to automatically enter into a focussed-survival mode? Its like a swimmer putting her head down, kicking/paddling forward without looking up to take a breath. You might go fast but you won't get far.

2. We have not done this before. This idea of living in a new (incredible) state and starting a new church is brand new. This isn't an excuse because the support and training we have is more than sufficient. Its admission that doing something new and different always takes a lot of time. It difficult to know what is most important right now so we are taking it one step at a time and writing a lot of our thoughts, ideas, and insights down. There will come a time (September) when church plant work will hit a high gear but for now, we are allowing this minivan

3. We are working hard to prioritize people over productivity. Now, if you are a linguist or philosopher (at all), you may notice the conflict in that statement/title. It takes work to not work....every single minute of every single day. So silly. We are planting a new garden here and the soil takes some serious time to cultivate. There are a million expectations on us these days...

Some (expectations) spoken, and some unspoken.

Some (expectations) written, some unwritten.

Some fabricated by our minds, some are just really healthy goals.

Some urgent, some important, and some are both.

Bottom Line. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves because

We don't want to let anyone down. But we will.

Right now, we FEEL like we are letting down our supporters. Some of you have emailed or text us and we have taken a few days to respond (or have not yet).

Know this, we love and value you. We are just putting our phones down and our heads up to prioritize our family, settling into a new (rented) house, getting to know a new community, and find healthy (new) life rhythms.

Honestly, it feels a bit selfish to even type this out.

I'm reminded (constantly) of Jesus' words to his disciple, Martha.

Her head was down, grinding away on what needed to be done but...Luke 10:42

"Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” - Jesus

Thanks for reading, supporting, praying, and more.

Our supporters are such a gift to us.

- Jared