I Want a New Marriage

That's the gist and title for the series we're in these days at Evident. (you can see the series intro and site here www.wewantanewmarriage.com) So far we've had great response to all the teaching and things we've done (Last week we gave out flowers to the ladies and had someone tell us they had never been given flowers before). Actually, I've been on maternity leave (ha, sort of) and Matt has been filling in and doing a great job (great messages, go to the media page of www.EvidentChurch.com). I'll be back in the saddle this Sunday and can't wait to tackle some more issues in this series. If you can make it, we'd love to see you Sunday.

For fun, here's a quick video we shot and played this past Sunday at church (it's me and AdaLyn!)....

She's Here!

After months of waiting she's finally here! I'll share more at church Sunday (or next time I see ya) but here's how things went down:

I got home Friday from a morning appointment (Raelyn was one week and a day past due) and I could tell something was different. Raelyn was having contractions and they were three minutes apart. We hung out at home (timing the contractions with a labor app on my iPhone :) ) and as things got more intense we headed into the hospital (thankfully our good friend Kate was at the house and could watch AvaRae for us). We got to the hospital at 3:30pm on Friday and things were just a whirlwind from there. We were rushing all over the place and were holding AdaLyn in our arms by 4:45pm! It was crazy and intense and a blessing. It was so fast we didn't even have time to grab our suitcases out of the car, which had our cameras in it (and if you know Raelyn and how she loves to scrapbook, the cameras are super important). I even asked at one point if I could run down and at least get the cameras and the mid-wife said not unless I wanted to miss the birth of my daughter!

Anyway, things went great and everyone was wonderful. We couldn't have asked for a better scenario and we are so thankful to God for answered prayers and extra blessings. We're thankful for all the support of our Evident family and staff, Raelyn's mom and dad as well as mine. Everyone's been great and we can't wait for all of you to meet little AdaLyn.

Here's a little bit about her:

AdaLyn Rose Hossler (name means "noble" and "pretty one")

September 25, 2009 (4:48pm)

8lbs 3oz

20 3/4 in long

Life Verse: Psalm 45:11 "The King is enthralled with your beautify, honor Him for He is your God."

I'll post a little bit more Wednesday. In the meantime, here's some pics. Enjoy!

A Giving Alternative

Nice picture huh? I went golfing a few days ago and this was my tap in birdie on the par 4 13th! Golfing's a lot of fun when you're hitting shots like this (or in my case "shot" singular). Birdie's (one shot under par for you non-golf fans) are easy when they're an inch away.

I thought of some Evident parallels to this and this is what came to mind. We've got a lot of things rolling these days that makes ministry fun, some tap in birdie kind of things.

We were just able to launch a new website and one of the best, lesser known features is online giving. Before you head into a tailspin about this, remember it's simply an alternative for giving and isn't necessarily for everyone. I would really encourage you to consider it though, whether you're an Evident regular or a distant observer/supporter.

For starters, it is definitely safe and easy. We take this very seriously and only the most trusted tools have been used to make this possible. Secondly, it also streamlines things. Raelyn and I have chose to do the Automated Bank Debit, which automatically draws money (an amount we determine and can change if ) out of our checking account and puts it into Evident's. It streamlines things for us personally (saving time and checks) and it also streamlines things for Evident (as more and more of you do this, accounting and tracking get easier).

Is it less spiritual? That's going to have to be something you hammer out personally. Scripture is to give, give generously, and give cheerfully. Automated giving helps me do that. Even though the giving is automated, I know my heart is in it and it also helps me to be more disciplined in my giving and not half-hazard.

There are a lot more things I could talk about, but to keep the post short I'll stop for now. God is doing some great things in and through Evident and it wouldn't be possible without the faithful and generous donations from the Evident church family and many of you. Online giving might be a good option for you. It makes things simple and easy and helps support what God is doing. Check out the "Give" page at www.EvidentChurch.com to learn more and definitely email me if you have questions.

Sunday Recap

Sunday was a big day for Evident! We're launching into a new season and you can definitely feel the momentum building. Last week (sep 13) we celebrated our one-year anniversary which was a blast (party favors and all), and yesterday we kick-offed a new series We Want a New Marriage (listen to Matt's message here (on the media page) - he was covering for me while I'm on call, baby is due any day). We'd like to get your input (and those who will be at Evident during this series) and so feel free to get in on the discussion here.

I'm absolutely loving it these days as we watch what God is doing. God has brought an amazing group of people to Evident - you guys are awesome - many of you invited and brought people with you yesterday. We had about 160 at church and three people accepted Christ!

We're still waiting for the new addition to our family. Raelyn's due date was last Thursday (sep 17) and life is literally on hold waiting for this little one. We just had a doctors visit today though and everything looks great... just means more waiting!

I'll post again later this week with an update on our baby situation and a few other updates about Evident.

new things

Just wanted to redirect you to a few new things we've done...

Redesigned Evident Church website (looks sweet Jonny!)(lots of media, lots of fun):

www.EvidentChurch.com

Follow me on Twitter!

http://twitter.com/joshhossler

Out of the Silence

I've been "gone" for a while, but I'm picking things up again. Feel free to read past posts to see where we've been. Posts will be coming regularly! God is and has been doing some amazing things!