I was talking to a friend at work today about the church. Not the building on the corner with a concrete floor, four walls, and a roof. The real church. The body of Christ. A few minutes into our conversation I began thinking about the journey that I have traveled to gain a proper understanding and love for the church. When Greg and I first moved to Louisville I took a women's ministry class at Boyce College. My professor often talked about her love and passion for the church and how important it was for us to minister to the church, not just in the church. Coming from a church that did not view the body of Christ in this way, naturally I was left with mixed feelings. Yes, it would be great to feel that way about the church, but the truth was...I just didn't. I never had and wasn't sure if I ever would. About four months ago that all changed. Through sitting under Dr. Cook's preaching and watching the other members of Ninth and O love and serve each other, God changed my heart. I gained a new understanding of the church and saw ministering to the church in a new light. Greg and I are now helpers in the nursery and are blessed each month by being able to serve the church, the body of Christ, in this way. By playing with these children for an hour and a half on Sundays, their parents are able to be involved in corporate worship and small group fellowship. They are able to grow in their relationship with Christ and in return be more effective and Christ-like moms, dad, husbands, wives, friends, and co-workers. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing. I'm thankful that God has changed my heart and I pray that I will continue to have this love and desire to serve the church.

A new school semester is about to start for Greg and I am filled with mixed emotions. I’m excited for him because I know that he only has two semesters of school left, but I’m nervous because that means we have less than a year before we venture back out into the “real world”. Our time here in Louisville has been a time of refreshment, refueling, and refocus. We have had the chance to sit back and learn about ministry from our pastor and his wife, as well as some very respected professors at Southern Seminary. We have also had the chance to begin stepping back into ministry at Ninth and O. First as nursery helpers, and now as the Assimilation Coordinators for our Sunday School class. We are excited about the next place God will lead us, and are continuing to prepare ourselves to be the best “hands and feet” we can be.