ICONOCLASTIC LOVE

Highlights From Orlando

Sarah and I returned from Orlando last night and were happy to be home in our own bed.  It was great for us to go - for reasons beyond what we thought.

For us - it wasn't about Church Planting - eventhough, that's what the whole conference and trip was intended for.

It was all about hearing the Lord together.... and we did!

We met a ton of people and enjoyed hanging out with old friends and seeing the passion in people's hearts about the kingdom. 

Timing is everything for us.

It's not time yet, but we're getting ready.

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My two favorite "conference" moments were with Mark Batterson & Alan Hirsch.

Mark Batterson -  Mark is the founding pastor or National Community Church in Washington, DC.  He is very simple and awesomely effective in his service to the Lord.

He scratched the surface of 5 Keys to Creativity in the pre-conference and 5 Great Challenges that Every Leader faces in one of the tracks. 

He was the kind of guy I could spend a lifetime with and pretty much click for the whole ride!

Here are a couple of books Mark has written including his newest one, "Wild Goose Chase"

I read In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day a few years ago and have had it on my top reading list since then.  I actually have 2 sermons in my car that the Lord gave me over the past few years and one of them was out of this story.

I've tracked Mark for the past 2 years and have received alot of my ideas about Church planting from the work that he has done and the approaches he has taken. 

It was cool to hang out with him for a while.

Alan Hirsch - Alan is one of the great modern day prophets and is brilliant in speaking truth about what needs to be done in our day about what's going on in the name of God. 

I've taught from both of Alan's books several times and will spend the next several years sorting out and applying what I'm learning from Alan's work.  I couldn't get enough of what he was teaching.

Alan's language about the simplicity of the Christian message was familiar but piercing.

I will spend the next several weeks chewing on these two quotes from him:

"Complex systems are impossible to reproduce.  The more complex your church gets the less likely it is that you'll ever reproduce it again and again.  The message has to be 'sneezable' and you have to be able to reproduce as quickly as an Al qeda Cell.  You have to be simple to reproduce effectively."

"Everyone knows that Jesus is like God and is God - but does everyone know that God is Christlike?"

Alan has started a new ministry called Shapevine.  Check it out.

He has also has an awesome ministry training center called Forge  

Check it out.

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Exponential 08: Is there a need for more churches?

I know that I've been writing about this alot lately - but it's the air I'm breathing these days. 

Church planters are everywhere - very few are successful  - very few last very long - it's a huge risk to enter this arena - BUT I have felt led to be a part of it for over 12 years... and so - it's sorta the air we're breathing these days.

Guys like Mark Batterson, Perry Noble, Dino Rizzo, Craig Groeschel, Dave Ferguson, and many others are the front liners who catch it from the Lord and do something with what they get in their hearts.

I've spent several years teaching classes about what other people are doing and how "we need to be" and 'we ought to be" and "we really should be" and "how could we be" better at doing what the Lord wants us to do.

Every time I taught these classes - I saw the fire in many people's eyes and the "pity him" look in others who "knew better than to think beyond what already is..."  - but I know that's normal ... you simply have to sometimes move beyond what 'exists' if you want to experience New Wine from the Lord.

Church planting is a form of "New Wineskins" to contain fresh vision for the times and cultures that need the Lord and aren't getting connected in the current "Wineskins".

=====================

Sarah and I are heading to Orlando for the mother of all church planting conferences, the Exponential Conference.

Here's the lineup for the next few days:

Monday
Stephen Gray, Planting Fast Growing Churches, from his book by the same name
Ron Sylvia, Creating Coaching Networks, NEXT Initiative
Tom Clegg, CoachNet on best practices in church planting coaching

Tuesday
Ed Stetzer, Church Planting Research
Mark Reynolds, Church Planting Internships, Redeemer Church’s Fellows Program

The main sessions look as follows:

Session #1 with Ed Stetzer: The Characteristics of Reproducing Churches
Session #2 with Andy Stanley: Apostolic Vision
Session #3 with Alan Hirsch: Missional Movement
Session #4a with Steve Andrews: Radical Disciple Making
Session #4b with Dave Ferguson: Genuine Community
Session #5 with Tim Keller: The Gospel
Session #5b with Rick Warren: The Challenge

You can see all the tracks here.

======================

Is there a need for more new churches in America?

Lot's of people would vote:

"Hey why don't we just get all the people to go to the existing churches and just not start anymore.  The last thing the world needs is more churches..."

Some sorta gag at the idea of starting another "Church"...  Well - to be honest, so do I in some cases...

But what I have to do is assess my talents and abilities and ask the Lord what he wants me to do with my life with what I have?

When I ask these questions - the Spirit leads me into the ball park of partnering with Him and other people to spread the love of God in some way according to the gifts that I have.

So - based on my life's experiences - I sense the Lord leading me to be a part of church planting in some way or other in the future OR enter some type of support role to another Pastor who is a part of church planting and multiplying Churches.

======================

Consider this:

• In 1900 there were 28 churches for every 10,000 Americans
• In 1950 there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans
• In 2000 there were 12 churches for every 10,000 Americans
• In 2004 tehre were 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans

In 1900, the Census Beurau counted 212,000 churches.  In 2000 the number of churches that existed in the United States was 349,506.  In other words, the number of churches increased just over 50% while the population of the country has almost quadroupled.

Healthy Church planting is arguably one of the greatest strategies for evangelism.

• Churches under 3 years of age have an average of 10 people accept Christ per year for every 100 church members
• Churches 3-15 years of age have an average of 5 people per year for every 100 members
• Churches 15 years of age have an average of 3 people per year for every 100 members

There's so much research that supports the idea that churches that have a new fire and fresh anointing without the barriers of tradition and being "settled" have much more effectiveness in connecting with their given culture.

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Just take Sulphur Springs, Tx for Example:

In the past 10 years - how many effective and strategic church plants have taken place?  How many people are deeply connected to the mission of these new churches today?  What made them effective/ineffective?  Where they born in division?  Did the churches have a strategic spiritual covering of another church or church plant organization?  Did they have support and coaching in raising funds to launch their ministry?  How are they doing today in regards to reaching people who are not in relationship with Christ?  How healthy are the young churches?  What are the "older" churches doing to help the younger ones "make it"?

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Yes - I admit - there are alot of Churches in some areas of America - especially Texas. But even in the state of Texas (which is known as the buckle of the Bible Belt (Tennesee claims the same title)... there aren't healthy growing and evangelistic "multiplying churches" in many of the small towns (<50,000).

Why not?

Are people stuck?  Are people not hungry?  Are there not qualified leaders?  Are there people who aren't interested in the Lord?  Is the market saturated?  Are there too many churches already?  Are there no needs to be met?

Is everyone already saved?

Do we just want to make the existing ones bigger with more Christians? 

Or - is there no vision to deal with the growing apathy with "church" in America?

I know that I've been writing about this alot lately - but it's the air I'm breathing these days. 

Church planters are everywhere - very few are successful  - very few last very long - it's a huge risk to enter this arena - BUT I have felt led to be a part of it for over 12 years... and so - it's sorta the air we're breathing these days.

Guys like Mark Batterson, Perry Noble, Dino Rizzo, Craig Groeschel, Dave Ferguson, and many others are the front liners who catch it from the Lord and do something with what they get in their hearts.

I've spent several years teaching classes about what other people are doing and how "we need to be" and 'we ought to be" and "we really should be" and "how could we be" better at doing what the Lord wants us to do.

Every time I taught these classes - I saw the fire in many people's eyes and the "pity him" look in others who "knew better than to think beyond what already is..."  - but I know that's normal ... you simply have to sometimes move beyond what 'exists' if you want to experience New Wine from the Lord.

Church planting is a form of "New Wineskins" to contain fresh vision for the times and cultures that need the Lord and aren't getting connected in the current "Wineskins".

=====================

Sarah and I are heading to Orlando for the mother of all church planting conferences, the Exponential Conference.

Here's the lineup for the next few days:

Monday
Stephen Gray, Planting Fast Growing Churches, from his book by the same name
Ron Sylvia, Creating Coaching Networks, NEXT Initiative
Tom Clegg, CoachNet on best practices in church planting coaching

Tuesday
Ed Stetzer, Church Planting Research
Mark Reynolds, Church Planting Internships, Redeemer Church’s Fellows Program

The main sessions look as follows:

Session #1 with Ed Stetzer: The Characteristics of Reproducing Churches
Session #2 with Andy Stanley: Apostolic Vision
Session #3 with Alan Hirsch: Missional Movement
Session #4a with Steve Andrews: Radical Disciple Making
Session #4b with Dave Ferguson: Genuine Community
Session #5 with Tim Keller: The Gospel
Session #5b with Rick Warren: The Challenge

You can see all the tracks here.

======================

Is there a need for more new churches in America?

Lot's of people would vote:

"Hey why don't we just get all the people to go to the existing churches and just not start anymore.  The last thing the world needs is more churches..."

Some sorta gag at the idea of starting another "Church"...  Well - to be honest, so do I in some cases...

But what I have to do is assess my talents and abilities and ask the Lord what he wants me to do with my life with what I have?

When I ask these questions - the Spirit leads me into the ball park of partnering with Him and other people to spread the love of God in some way according to the gifts that I have.

So - based on my life's experiences - I sense the Lord leading me to be a part of church planting in some way or other in the future OR enter some type of support role to another Pastor who is a part of church planting and multiplying Churches.

======================

Consider this:

Church Planting

Check out jesusculture.org

It's no longer about 'starting a church' - It's more about "Invading a culture with the Kingdom of God's Love" and there are a billion ways to do this.

The great thing about church planting today is that it's much more about the Kingdom of God than it is about building an empire or big church... it's about doing something in a culture of people that is so full of God that no one can get the credit for it.

There are so many - millions - of gifted ministers in the world - and church planting has become more about networking and doing life together within a community than it is about building a congregation.

Though -   ....  there's a huge purpose for healthy local congregations of believers and local church government...

===================

I've been interested in Church Planting for the past 12 years that I've been in ministry.  In 1996, I attended my first Willow Creek Leadership Summit in Chicago, Illinois.

At the conference - I left with the following question in my heart from one of the speakers:

"If you were free to go anywhere in the world and do anything God wanted you to do in order to use your life to make the greatest impact on the world WITH GOD - where would you go - what would you do - what would be your focus - and how would you live?"

My answer to that question was:  "I would start a church for the glory of God!" - that was it - that was all that my 22 year old brain and heart could fathom with the Lord.

I began reading all I could read on church leadership, spiritual growth, personal development, culture, and church planting.  I couldn't get enough of the Lord and I couldn't read enough on "church leadership".

Little did I know that I would be married and divorced within the next 3 years and deeply wondering if anything in ministry was ever going to happen.  I came up against a barrage of obstacles that seriously challenged the "call" in my heart.

But I kept growing - moving forward - pressing through very tough situations and I ended up preaching at a small church in Greenville, Ky and finishing my Master's degree.

In Kentucky, I kept the vision to "start a church" but - it matured into a clearer context of "multiplying churches" in small towns around the world.

Then I moved to Sulphur Springs, Tx - I kept that same vision:  "Plant and multiply churches in small towns in Northeast Texas and around the world."

After all that I experienced in Sulphur Springs - the vision just got more and more clear.  God put me in touch with many many leaders who had a greater capacity than I did for the vision.

NOW I SEE that ALL of the past 12 years has been preparation for me to do what God called me to do and we're now entering the next phases of preparation.

• The key to being an effective church planter is having inside of you what you want to create outside of you.  This is why we've been resting and going to counseling and retreating and slowing down...
• It takes a very still and peaceful disposition to accurately hear from the Lord and it takes and well Spirit Oiled unity in a marriage vision for a church plant to last the long haul
• It's much better to do the tough work up front...

There's such a different strategy for church planting today - IT'S NOT ABOUT THE CONGREGATION!  This is why it's still so fresh to me.  The Lord continually gives new vision and new mercies to the world every morning.

I love How the Lord has taken this all so far beyond "starting a church" - it's now about "Invading a culture with the Kingdom's Love".  It transcends any local congregation and is truly about the Lord and people.

He has/is stripping me of the "mega church/empire" mentality that permeated so many young leaders in the 90's as we all saw what Hybles and Warren did.  What young pastor wouldn't want to "start a church" after visiting the Willow Creek Campus in the mid 90's?

These churches are successful in the Kingdom because of the roots - not the methods.

So - we're relaying the foundation of the vision in our hearts and allowing the heart to catch up with the vision...?

Make sense?

=====================

I like what I've seen over the past 15 years in Pastor Dino Rizzo at The Healing Place Church in Baton Rouge, La.

I remember when this church started - I was a sophomore at LSU and just cutting my teeth on the mission of God for my life.

Dino started this ministry as an outreach to the poor and needy.  It was a true mission church that was designed to offer healing to the Baton Rouge community and the world.

Recently, Pastor Rizzo has been heavily involved in a church plant organization called ARC (Association of Related Churches) out of Baton Rouge, La.

They train pastors to plant missional Spirit-Filled churches in North America. 

This week, they hosted an ARC Conference in Birmingham, Alabama and Pastor Dino spoke on "Engaging the Future". 

When I read his post last night on his blog - I felt that I had to re-post it here and give a huge "keep speaking, Lord - we're listening and ready to do something!"

Here is the post:

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Engaging the Future

"Here’s some thoughts I shared at the ARC conference today. Check out Luke 10:33-37.

Here’s verse 33 from the NIV:

But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

Here are six hot topics we have to be ready as a church to engage:

1. The need of engaging our very own cities
We have found (and are still finding) new ways to reach out to our city that are proving effective - like kids sports leagues, food distribution, mobile medical and dental clinics, dream centers, strip club outreaches and water giveaways. But what Healing Place Church does in Baton Rouge may not work in Topeka, Buffalo and Santa Barbara. You have to know your community and engage it based on the needs you see.

2. The need of engaging the poor
The Church has to develop a culture of recognizing the poor in and around our communities. They are there. We have to realize that “poor” isn’t just those with little in the way of finances, but those who are less fortunate than us - those who have a shortage in their health, in their family, in their relationships. The poor are among us. The poor are part of us. We just need to recognize and embrace them.

3. The need of engaging clean water
According to www.globalissues.org, 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to clean water. That’s about one out of six people on the planet! They also report that millions of women spend several hours a day collecting water. I have seen it going on first-hand when I was in Africa. We have to engage this problem that quite often can so easily be solved. For more information: Blood:Water Mission, 1000 Wells

4. The need of engaging AIDS
It isn’t just a homosexual problem, or a problem for Africa. It is our problem today. UNAIDS/WHO reports that 2.5 million people contracted the disease in 2007 alone. Statistics state that there are anywhere between 14 and 18 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. We cannot turn a blind eye to AIDS - we have to engage it by caring for those hurting and dying because of it and do all we can to help prevent others from contracting it. For more information: Children’s Cup, Mission of Mercy

5. The need of engaging human trafficking
Equip and Empower’s A21 Campaign site reports that nearly two million children are forcibly trafficked each year by the commercial sex trade industry. How can we not engage this need as the body of Christ? For more information: A21

6. The need of engaging our very own heart
We must increase our capacity personally and as groups of believers in the body of Christ so that we can actually do something about these needs. We have to keep our hearts in check - feeding ourselves the Word of God and spending time with the Author of life so that we can be filled with the truth that will set people free and see lives rescued from these terrible situations. We need to be messengers of hope - so we must continually fill our own hearts with the Giver of hope. We need to develop who we are. For more information: Dan Ohlerking post of notes from a recent HPC staff meeting I taught."

Into the Wild

If you're like me - you've at least heard of "Wild at Heart" or you've read it a 100 times yourself. 

If you're a pastor or teacher - you've probably led a men's study through much of the material or you've come up against the grunts and bravery of the ones who have.

There are extremes to this, I know.  Have you seen Into the Wild?

IN the spring of 1992, after traveling around the country for two years, Christopher McCandless, a 24-year-old Virginian and Emory graduate, hitchhiked to Alaska and set off into the wilderness with little more than a .22-caliber rifle and a 10-pound sack of rice.

Not far from the Teklanika River, he set up camp in an abandoned International Harvester bus, a 1940s relic of the Fairbanks City Transit System. He lived there for four months, from late April to late August, before finally starving to death. When his body was discovered in September, he weighed only 67 pounds.

This is definately a pretty extreme movie for the 21st Century.

As I listened to the soundtrack this morning, I was reminded that there was a time when this idea wasn't very extreme.

It's sort of a mix of Eldredge and Abraham.

Adventure - Risk - Freedom - Survival - No Limits - A Little Social Rebellion - A Cry For More -

I have it deep in me!

I don't have the unbalanced extreme that McCandles had.

Even he wrote at the end of the movie, "Happiness is only happiness when shared."

It is not good for man to be alone. 

It is not good for man to be too independent. 

It is not good for man to be too extreme.

But it is GREAT for man to know who he is deeply, well connected to God and others, and respond to the call of God to leave the familiar routines - when the routines become our gods - and follow him into the Great Adventure that HE has instore for us.

Settled inside and content - but never settling...  Home inside and restful - but not home yet!  Always pressing in -  Always pressing on...

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Take a moment to read Eldredge's post today from The Ransomed Heart:

There Comes a Time When You Have to Leave All That Is Familiar
04/16/2008

"The history of a man's relationship with God is the story of how God calls him out, takes him on a journey, and gives him his true name. Most of us have thought it was the story of how God sits on his throne waiting to whack a man broadside when he steps out of line. Not so. He created Adam for adventure, battle, and beauty; he created us for a unique place in his story and he is committed to bringing us back to the original design.

So God calls Abram out from Ur of the Chaldeas to a land he has never seen, to the frontier, and along the way Abram gets a new name. He becomes Abraham. God takes Jacob off into Mesopotamia somewhere to learn things he has to learn and cannot learn at his mother's side. When he rides back into town, he has a limp and a new name as well.

Even if your father did his job, he can only take you partway. There comes a time when you have to leave all that is familiar and go on into the unknown with God.

Saul was a guy who really thought he understood the story and very much liked the part he had written for himself. He was the hero of his own little miniseries, Saul the Avenger. After that little matter on the Damascus road he becomes Paul ; and rather than heading back into all of the old and familiar ways, he is led out into Arabia for three years to learn directly from God.

Jesus shows us that initiation can happen even when we've lost our father or grandfather. He's the carpenter's son, which means Joseph was able to help him in the early days of his journey. But when we meet the young man Jesus, Joseph is out of the picture. Jesus has a new teacher-his true Father-and it is from him he must learn who he really is and what he's really made of."

(Wild at Heart , 103-4)

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What is going on in your life that looks like you're about to get a new name?

Where is the Lord taking you deep inside that you don't really know yet - and aren't really sure you want to go?

Are you listening?  The journey is deep into the heart of God and doesn't usually require a physical journey - but sometimes does.

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Keeping In Step With the Spirit

I'm so excited about the next few months of our lives!

The greatest advice anyone has given me during the past 6 months has been, "Keep in step with the Spirit."  This is such a powerful statement and requires a daily abiding walk with the Lord.  It also requires:

• seeking counsel from people who love you and know you well
• staying connected to people who are stronger than you
• staying close to people who have been further down the road than you are
• staying open to the Lord and avoiding ALL forms of impulsive decisions
• Asking for help as you need it and accepting it graciously
• staying deeply connected to the Lord through His word, study, listening, prayer, worship.  I can't tell you how many hours the Lord has drawn me in to seek - search - listen - rest - read - journal - rest - repent - discuss - process ...
• Avoiding all extremes and every form of bitterness, vengeance, frustration, control, slander,...
• Believing the Lord cares deeply for us
• EXPECTING for morning to come throughout the journey and envisioning it daily together
• Explore opportunities and remain steady inside regardless of the offers and expectations of other people for my life

...............................

In the process of "keeping in step with the Spirit" - We believe that God sets up appointments along the way that help prepare us as we're open for whatever is next. We believe in seizing every opportunity that the Lord gives us to grow and mature.

We've also been blessed to have had great business opportunities and lots of support from family and friends that has allowed us to remain steady and not have to make rash decisions.  We've stayed still and feel that we've stayed in step with the Lord throughout our transition.  It has been a bit of a roller coaster at times - but we've stayed still and steady.

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STEPS WE'RE TAKING NEXT

We're steadily and slowly packing up the house to close on May 15th. 

We were able to purchase some additional property behind our house and are making plans to close it all in.  Most of it is already fenced in - but we will be finishing up the sides in the next week or so.

After the house closes - we'll be staying in Sulphur Springs for another few weeks.  We'll put our stuff in storage and will be staying with some friends until school is over for Shelby in early June.

Then we plan on traveling quite a bit.  Sarah and the kids will be staying in Kentucky during the month of July.  They're also going to Michigan and will probably meet me at the beach somewhere for a few days.

I hope I have all of my August Fundraisers ready by June - but if I don't - then I'll be finishing up August Fundraisers during the summer.  August is a huge month for Universal Fundraising.

That's the main reason we're waiting until September to buy a new house - it just gives us more time to save - pray - travel - and discern!

..................................................................................................

Other than that - here are a few other things that are coming up in the next few months:

April 21st - 24th :  Sarah and I are flying to Orlando for a church planter's conference.  We're so excited about spending some time away with our friends and hearing some of my favorite authors and speakers in America. 

Andy Stanley, Rick Warren, Alan Hirsch, Dave Ferguson, Bill Easom, and many others will be addressing many of the cultural issues in America that desperately need addressing.  I know it's going to be great - I haven't been to anything like this in over 4 years.

There's a Planter's Spouses Track that Sarah will be taking.  She has also enjoyed reading the Church Planting Wives Blog. to help get some perspective from other women who have been a part of the church planting adventure.

..................................................................................................

June 18-19 : Sarah and I are making plans to attend THRIVE: I PROMISE.  It's a marriage retreat sponsored by Gateway Church on Friday from 3:00 - 9:00 and Saturday from 8:30 - 12:00.  The speakers will be Dr. Gary Smalley and Dr. Greg Smalley.  They are some of the best teachers on the subject of marriage.  They co-wrote "The DNA of Relationships".

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June 24th - June 29th I will be going on a week long retreat called "The Quest".  It's a part of the Fellowship of the Sword Ministry and this week will be men from Gateway Church.

There are 30 days of prep work such as prayer, journaling, scripture memorization, reading, ... and 30 days of follow up work after the 6 day Quest.  I'm beyond thrilled to get to be a part of this trip.

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August 30th - September 7th I will be going with a mission team to Israel from Gateway Church.  A few friends of mine from Sulphur Springs will be going also.

This has been a dream of mine for the past 15 years or so.  I cannot express the joy in my heart about this opportunity.  We'll be traveling with Pastor Geoff Cohen and Pastor Juan Constantino from Gateway and touring with one of the best guides in the world. 

Our Tour Guide will be Arie Bar David.  This is a photo of Arie and his wife Esther.  Arie's bio is pretty phenomenal - I'll share it in another post.  He conducts orchestras, served as a commander in the 6 days war in 1967 and as a front lines commander in the war of attrition in 1969, the Yom-Kippur war in 1973, and the Lebanon war in 1982. 

He has been a believer in the Lord for many years and has given tours of Israel since he was 21 years old.  In 1999, Arie graduated from the Ministry of Tourism course and is a licensed tour guide. Geoff says that he schedules his trips around this guy's schedule.  I'll share more about that later.

..................................................................................................

This trip is sorta the tail end and new beginning of our next steps in life.

We're still not sure where we're going to end up at the end of the summer.

We're not planning to buy a house until September - for several reasons - so we're looking forward to a really FULL summer - lots of time with family and friends - and getting some clear direction from the Lord about what he wants us to do next.

Should be an exciting road ahead!

Can't wait to see it all unfold!