Home Sweeet Home!!

After months of looking and many, many prayers; we are thrilled to say that we've bought a home!!

Lord willing, we will close on our new home sometime in April and we just love it!

It's a cozy little 3 bedroom (that's really not as little as it appears from the outside). It was built in 1850 and has original hardwoods and a heating system that was initially coal (which will be replaced as soon as we move in).

It is truly one of the most charming homes I have ever seen! .. We feel so blessed! Of course, the best part was that we got it for a GREAT price and actually came in under our budget!

That’s just how good God is!!

What??!!!

So, I realize that I don't blog as much as I used to, but I still like to think that those of you who have become my bloggy world friends know me fairly well.

So, let me ask you this question...

Hypothetically speaking (of course); if I was participating in a "newlywed game" where someone posed the question;

"Donn just stopped at the 7Eleven on the way home from work and decided to bring a treat home for Cyndie. What treat would Donn bring home to Cyndie?"

So what would my dear bloggy friends answer to that question??

I myself was thrilled to hear that question asked because I thought for sure Donn would know the answer! DUH!! Chalk on an extra 10 points for the Truaxes! We've been married for almost 11 years - surely Donn would run up to the counter of the 7 Eleven with a HUGE box of swiss cake rolls!

Right??

Hmmmph...

Apparently not.

Apparently, in this little world that my husband of one decade lives in; Cyndie would much rather have a bag of TOSTITOS from the 7Eleven!!

WHAT???!!!!

Where in the world has this guy been for the past 10 years? Doesn't he read my blog! I mean, come on!!

Tostitos!!

Good grief.

Maine

Incredible!! That's what our weekend in Maine was!

We left on Friday after work and had a wonderful few days of building lasting friendships, praying together, collecting shells on the beach, getting tattoos (yes, I said that-Donn - not me), shopping at the outlets and having dinner cooked by the guys!

What a busy and fun-filled time!

If I had any idea how much God would pull together in such a short amount of time, I probably would have exploded. During amazing conversations and prayer time while the kids were in bed, the core 6 of us were able to iron out some major details with regards to planning and ministry focus.

At times, I would sit there, listening to all that was going on around me, and I would realize, once again, that I am in the midst of a miracle. Just over 5 months ago, the concept of what God is using us for was nothing more than a dream that Donn and I hashed out at our kitchen table hundreds of miles away!

And yet, today that dream is becoming a reality. It's baby steps and hard work. It's leaps of faith and fighting fear. It's trusting God more than you trust yourself and it's a lot of new territory...but it's reality.

It's a reality that truly took my breath away as I stood in a row on Sunday morning and realized that the 6 of us (who barely knew each other a few months ago) were now worshiping together as we embark upon these new waters.

And I can't help but think...if God can do all this in just a matter of a few months, what might He do with more time?

Stayed tuned in the coming week for updates on the C1 site (www.changeof1ministry.com)

Events are being planned ya'll! Our ministry partners will be introduced and God will be glorified!

Another Big Event!

And so, another piece falls into place in this little puzzle of an adventure we have embarked upon.

As of last night, our Charlotte home is under contract!! Again...

We feel very good about the new buyer and we know that they are excited to get into the house.

The closing date has not been officially set yet, but at the latest, it will be the end of March. Both the buyer and us would prefer to have it even sooner, so if we can get the mortgage company moving quickly, it's likely that it could be earlier in March.

Obviously, having this piece of the puzzle fall into place is an extreme relief to us.

And now onto the next puzzle piece...

We have scheduled a second showing at the house that we are interested in here.

The showing has been scheduled for 3pm tomorrow, however, we received word today that the sellers received another offer today. They are waiting until we go through tomorrow to see if we place an offer.

Obviously, it's not our ideal situation because we don't want to feel pressured into making a decision, but the fact is that we've been praying about this house for weeks. Hopefully we'll know either way, once we see the home again tomorrow afternoon.

Please say a quick prayer if you think to. It's a big decision that has SO much bearing on the ministry and how it moves forward. All we want is to be in God's will.

I'll let you know how it goes. :)

C1 Retreat!!

So, I know it's not customary to have a retreat before you've actually gotten the ministry up and running, but as you know, we just don't go by the book when it comes to much.

And so...this weekend, we will be heading to Maine for the first Annual C1 Retreat!!

Our ministry partners, Rob and Molly, have a family home in Maine that we will be heading to for a weekend of relaxing and brainstorming ministry ideas. We are so excited!!

We will also be joined by our new friends, Doug and Lauren who have partnered with C1 since our arrival in NY. The ministry family that God has raised up is such an answer to prayer. It's crazy to think that just a few months ago, we answered this calling on our lives and immediately began praying that God would call out others to join us. Now, I stand back and realize all that God has done and I am absolutely amazed! He is so good!

God has done so much in such a short period of time and I can't begin to describe what it feels like to know that you are walking the path He's called you to walk.

Life Group!

What a great night we had!

Last night was the official start of the life group that Donn and I have been praying for for quite some time.

For the first 8 years of our marriage, Donn and I were always involved with a life group. It was a group we could be real with; share our fears with; pray over life with, and laugh a ton with. Over the course of 8 years, the group shifted and merged in many ways, but the simple fact remained that they were some of the closest friends we had ever had in life.

Over the past 2+ years however, life groups were not something that were part of the model at the church where Donn served. Between his hectic ministry schedule and added kids, we ended up dropping the life group focus and deeply missing that time.

Last Spring, Donn and I were discussing some areas where we felt our life could use improvement and that was the top area for each one of us. We determined that we would begin praying for God to help us begin a life group by this past fall.

Of course, at the time, we had no idea what changes were in store for our family and what our fall would end up looking like.

When God led us on this new endeavor; the very first thing that He laid on our hearts was to get to NY and to get started in a life group. We knew it didn't make much sense since we had no friends in NY and it was pretty unlikely to think of beginning a life group in your first few days in a new town; but we continued to feel the urgency so we continued to pray.

And last night we realized a major answer to prayer.

Around bowls of ice cream, a blazing fire and hot coffee, we sat with Rob, Molly, Lauren and Doug and shared life. We talked over past struggles, present struggles and future dreams. We prayed for guidance and focus and we discussed the next step for C1. Pretty much, we sat in the midst of an answered prayer.

Watching God reveal His plan for this new adventure is beyond anything I have ever experienced. What began just 6 months ago as a vision and a hope, has now become a group of 6 adults who are praying specifically for the revival of the "Glove Cities."

God is so present here. Please keep praying!

Just a quick hello!

Just saying a quick hello today to my bloggy world family. I must say, I do miss you. I even had a thought the other day that would make many of you gasp. I actually thought to myself...man, if I don't have time to blog, maybe I'll have to start tweeting (GULP)!!!

Don't worry my bloggy family. I haven't left the blogging world for tweeting just yet! :)

Needless to say, I do miss you all and I hope to get my little brain wrapped around this new schedule and find more time with you soon.

In the meantime, my coffee and work are calling my name!

What in the world is going on??

Man, it seems like there is just so much to say but so little time to say it....literally.

It's 7:10 am now and I will be heading off to work shortly. Each day goes by and I think of my bloggy world friends and I feel so bad for neglecting to meet with you all here and at least say "hi"...but reality is just a bit chaotic right now.

The truth is, when I get home from work and prepare dinner I probably could sit down and blog a bit...BUT I DON'T WANT TO!!!

I just want to sit and read to Elle or sit and watch tv or sit and do...well...NOTHING! :)

Needless to say, we're still in transition here a bit.

However, in the few short minutes that I have left, let me see if I can give some updates.

1) The Charlotte house is still on the market (though we're hoping that will change very soon). We have an interested buyer and it is someone whom we would LOVE to have in the house. It is a mother and a daughter who have literally sat and prayed in our living room over whether or not this is the house for them. Of course, we just LOVE that and we are praying that if the Lord wants it to work out, we will hear something official soon.

2) On the house front here, we continue to live with my parents while we are looking at houses. We have found a 1920's house that sits right on a park in town that we are currently praying over ourselves. It's currently a two-family house (though it's really too small to fit both our family and my sister Megan in, so we're praying about taking it and converting it into a one family house. Of course, if we go that route, we would not have the advantage of Megan's rent to offset the mortgage so we're praying fervently over what God wants for us. We've had a lot of trouble finding a multi-family home that is livable (which is the reason why we finally began looking at one-family homes). Here's the amazing thing (my Charlotte friends will die over this), the asking price on this home is $89,000! However, don't get too excited about how "cheap" that is. You see, the difference between Charlotte and NY is that the taxes are so outrageous in these parts of NY (because welfare is so high) that this $89k home would actually cost us over $400 a MONTH in taxes alone!! GULP! We would love your prayers as we seek God's direction over this prospect. Although it's not an overly charming house in many regards, we believe it might be a good prospect for holding ministry events at (ie. small groups and even games of pick-up soccer in the park). Please pray with us!

3) Finally, and most importantly, what's up with the ministry stuff? WOW is all we can say. In just a short 4 weeks of being in town and being able to focus solely on the ministry development, we have already seen God moving in so many ways. We have spent countless hours with our ministry partners, Rob and Molly as we've shared vision, gone over details and prayed together. We have met with local pastors and sought wise counsel, we have identified another couple who would like to possibly join us in leadership in the ministry and Donn has a meeting with the mayor on Wednesday. In the meantime, as part of my experience back in the full-time working world, I have begun to meet many people through various chamber of commerce meetings or other events.

It is truly amazing to sit back and realize all that has already transpired in such a short amount of time. God is so good!

And so, there's the most recent update. And now I must head off to work (which, by the way, I am absolutely loving). I miss the kids, but working for hospice has been such a rewarding experience already and I'm in such awe that the Lord provided this opportunity. At the same time, I am so excited to see how well Donn has transitioned to being the primary caregiver for the kids. He is so great with them and he's finding that the time being home is allowing him to spend many more hours on ministry preparation also.

Well, I'd better run...hi ho..hi ho...!!!