2000 Miles

Well, my mom has decided to move back to Minnesota for the next 3 months. I know, not a great time to be in town, especially since yesterday's high was -4 but she is here. My dad is going to stay in CA. I flew out to CA on Wednesday afternoon and started the 2000 mile drive back on Thursday. It went really well! We counted about 30 hours in the car. We started out between 6 and 6:30 each morning and was in around 7:30. Long days but not late nights. It was kind of fun and I would do it again. The most fun thing we saw were 3 cowboys. Real cowboys on horses, driving cattle! For a city girl, this was quite fun. We also saw a coyote eating road kill, that was the only wild life we saw in the whole drive. We were suprised that the thing didn't care one bit that a car driving 50 (I slowed down to look) was within 8 feet of him.

While Mom is in town, she will be working hard on the book she is writing and doing a lot of counselling . I hope to have her help me pick out some new fabric and do a little 30 day cooking. It will be fun to have her here but hard knowing that my Dad is on his own back in CA.
Please pray for my parents, that they can work some things out while they are apart.

Two Showings

We had two house showings this month! These were the first two we have had. Our realtor is trying hard to get a hold of their realtors to get some feed back but so far no luck. Not sure what that is about. - Dan and I have decided to looking into renting out the house. I have a list of things to look into and hope to have it completed by early next week. If you know of anyone looking to rent, please keep us in mind.

Did you know my mom is writing a book? She is, I'm really excited for her. It's about her ministry and different types of healing God has performed in peoples lives. I'm helping her edit it. Yeah, I know know, I thought that was funny too. But Mom says I'm doing a good job and I'm enjoying it.

Dan has picked up a few tutoring jobs for the evenings. He's also trying to break into the substitute teaching field but so far no luck. I of course can't help but wonder if he's not getting a job because we aren't suppose to be here.

Please pray that the house will work out for someone and that Dan can connect with Doug in Idaho to get some things in place for our move out there.

I hope your Thanksgiving Holiday is a good one!

Dan is now 30!

Dan's 30th Birthday was on Sunday, November 9th. We gave him a big party Saturday night and 40 friends and family came to join us. Including my parents and Kylie and Jesse who flew in for the event. It has been fun spending the weekend with everyone.

We have no news on the house, still now showings. Our next through is it rent it out. I'm leaning towards a Jan 1 date but am still waiting for Dan to decide what he would like to do. Everything has been slow and getting a bit frustrated. We have even talked about Dan heading out on his own for a month or two.

Dan started a new part time job. He is now tutoring after school at Silvan Learning Center. They were excite to get a guy with a math degree who actually still remembers how to do it to join the team. I don't think they have a regular schedule worked up yet but at least it will be a little cash coming through. He's also looking into possible doing a little substitute teaching. It's hard to know what to do if we are going to leave in the next month or two. Again, more decisions.

Dan and I just started leading a new Sunday morning group at church. Our topic is Following God's Will. We are to come with a decision we are trying to make in our life and we will explore what God's Word says regarding his desires for our lives. Yesterday went really well and we were excited to see 8 others join us. It will be fun to see what Dan learns from this group. :)

I'm going on a 5 day quilt retreat this weekend!! I'm so excited, it's our longed one yet. I figured if it was going to be my last then it may as well be a good one, right? We take off around noon on Friday and head up to Camp Lebanon in Upsala, MN. We will then stay there until Tuesday doing nothing but quilting, eating great food, giggling until late hours into the night with little sleep. I know, your jealous right? :) I'm really looking forward to it. There are going to be 12 of us in our group out of the 150 women at camp that weekend.

This is probably enough info for you all at once. Sorry I haven't been posting much lately. It's been hard to share when there isn't much to share in the areas we really want things to be happening. I do have one request though, please don't try to be funny in telling us that you are praying for our house Not to sell. This is starting to become a real sore spot for me. It's ok if you are sad that we are leaving, this is wonderful to hear but this is something that both Dan and I really want to do.

Thanks for reading! I hope you have a great week.

What to Wear?

I'm having another Sr. High Girls overnight this Friday. I told the girls they could dress up. My only problem is...what do I wear? Any ideas?

Dan's preaching

Dan's preaching this Sunday (Oct. 19) at Cornerstone Church of Blaine. We meet in the Blaine high school's auditorium at 10:00 in case anyone is interested in hearing him.

Learn to Quilt

Does anyone want to learn to quilt? I have been asked a few times recently if quilting is hard. I don't think it is and would love to teach you how. I have decided to host a day of quilting at my house some time this fall. I have put together a very simple baby quilt pattern that I believe we could complete in a weekend. If you buy top of the line quilt material for this quilt it will cost you around $36. You can go much cheaper if you shop at JoAnn's. Let me know if you are interested and I will send you the details. We haven't picked a day yet but will soon. Hope you can join us.

No News

It's been a month now that the house has been on the market. Other than the four couples who came through the second open house we haven't had a single showing. I've noticed that it gets harder and harder to keep the house nice and picked up. We have decided to look into the possibility of renting the house out.
Our next obstical is that caddie season is coming to an end. I've given Dan the option of heading west without me in order to begin but he would like to wait for me to join him. The church is excited for us to be there but they will wait for us as well. This has been very conforting to know. Dan will soon need to pick up some temporary work somewhere for an unknown amount of time.
Please continue to pray for us.
1. That our house sells quickly or that we find good, reliable renters.
2. That Dan won't get too discouraged about doing something other than what he feels called to do while we wait.
3. That God would continue to use is here before we go.
4. That we don't get comfortable in the wait and decide not to go after all.

One of my Favorite Inventions

Did you know that you can download audio books from the Hennipen County Library to your computer? You don't even need to go to the library to do this! They are producing more and more of them all the time. This summer I listened to most of Jane Austen's books a few murder mysteries and now I'm listening to Jane Eyre. I like to turn them on when I'm cooking or cleaning the house or eating breakfast before I have to leave for work. If I had an MP3 player of some sort, I would load the book onto that and take it for a walk...maybe for Christmas...

Odd Hobby

My hubby has taken up an odd hobby and I would like to invite you to encourage him. For the past summer, Dan has been collecting Coke Reward Points. He found out that if he can collect 13,000! points then he can trade them in for a 19" plasma TV. He decided he would give it a go. So, not only is he continuing to drink his favorite Vanilla Coke, he is also dumpster diving at work and having friends, family and coworkers help him collect points. He's up around 900 points and has many more to go. If you are a Coke Product drinker, this includes Dasani, Powerade, Vault, Sprite, Minute Maid, Fresca and Barq's, and you don't intend to claim the points for yourself, will you send them to me? Points are found in the bottle caps or in the lid of the cases. Feel free to email me the codes you find. jamiehenderson07@gmail.com Happy Hunting!

Pull-ups

So, how does one learn to do a pull up? Is it bad when you have a really hard time just hanging from the bar? I have memories from a little girl and the gym teacher yelling at me because I couldn't hang from the bar with straight arms for more than 3 sec. When do memories like these go away? Dan has a stretchy band that we loop over our bar and I can kneel and pull on that like a pull-up. I don't think it's anything like a pull-up but I can do it. I wonder if I will feel them tomorrow? Will this one day lead to a real pull-up?

3 Things I learned about Yoga

1. You get to do it without having your shoes and socks on.
2. If would work much better with one of those sticky yoga mats.
3. Don't drop the bar of soap in the shower the next morning.

Slow Week

I'm not sure what to do with myself now that the house is on the market. The house stays clean, it's incredible how easy it is when you only have to do a tiny bit each day. That and I don't feel like making a bit mess because I can't keep it there over night. Thus, no more quilting for a while. What do you do during the evenings if there isn't a quilt to sew? Work out! Ok, I realise this is a lot different and so far, not as much fun. But, I've done two nights in a row so far and looking forward to tonight's routine. Dan and I started Power 90X. Dan did it for a month before caddie season started and now that the season is winding down we decided to try it again. This time I'm going to do it with him. For whatever reason, I didn't do the first day with him on Monday. Tuesday was brutal! It was all jumping and as my family knows, I don't/can't jump. I think I laughed at myself more than anything. Dan and I did it together which helped a lot. I kept it easy because I wanted to be able to do another one the next day. Yesterday was shoulders and arms. We haven't made the investment yet to buy me any weights. I didn't want to spend the money on something I wasn't going to use. I have some 3 pound weights and that worked to get the routine done. I'm not nearly as sore in my upper body today as I am in my lower from Tuesday. Tonight, Yoga. I hope I can move by then. I'm actually really looking forward to yoga. I've never done it before but my understanding is that it a lot of stretching and balance. Two things I could very much use more of.

Dan and I are anxious to get out West so we decided to drop the price on the house. So far there hasn't been a single showing. Is it because it's slow out there or because we are too highly priced? I know it's only been 3 weeks but I'm ready to go. We have also started talking about going before the house sells or finding a friend to rent for a year or two. I would rather sell and be done but sometimes you need to compromise.

White Chicken Chili

My favorite Crockpot meal:

20 oz Boneless, Skinless Chicken - cubed
16 oz jar Salsa
8 oz Pepper jack Cheese
1 can Chicken Broth
1 can Great Northern Beans
1 package frozen spinach - thawed

Cook everything in Crockpot for 4-6 hours

Serve with Multigrain Tostito chips

Waiting

The waiting begins. The sign is up and the house is open for business. We officially went on the market on August 22. While we were gone we had hoped for some traffic, so far, none. I'm contributing it to too many cheese curds and corn dogs in their tummies for house shopping. Dan and I have been praying for the future buyer for the past week now. I wonder if they know they are going to be moving...

If you or someone you know is looking for a new home check us out at...http://results5.minnesota.remax.com/listings/ListingDetail_r4.aspx?LID=51881639&RFRSKNID=85&#aTop
We are MLS #3588731

Alaska Cruise

If you get to go to Alaska on a cruise, go. Especially when your parents offer to pay for it. Thanks Mom and Dad, it was fantastic!!

We got on the ship in Vancouver and had three stops, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway and three days at sea to view glaciers. We met Mom, Dad, Kylie and Jesse in Vancouver as well as our new friends Ryan & Tara from Richfield, MN. Dan and I took a crab tour, and a hike and meet with the rest of the family for deep sea fishing while on shore. Below are a few of our pictures.

Our Ship

Dan and I with very yummy crab..we didn't eat this one

We caught 7 Salmon. 5 Cohos and 2 pinks

Us in Skagway

Glacier Bay National Park

Keturah, this one is for you. Do you have a picture of bear droppings yet?

Week of Projects

I am VERY happy to report that the painting is done. 7 gallons of paint for 6 rooms and MANY Long hours. -I sure hope the future buyer likes it.
Our carpets got cleaned and stretched last night. They look good as now. Dan worked all day yesterday bringing the upstairs furniture down and the downstairs furniture up. I'm realizing quickly how much I liked having our bedroom downstairs, it will take some major getting use to having it up again. I used the upstairs bedroom for a guest room/my sewing room. It was nice to be in and convenient. But to go downstairs to sew, some how it feels like a punishment. I'm very sad to admit that I have packed up most of my sewing things because of this.
This week is cleaning. My friend Melissa come over last night and cleaned my oven for me. I LOVE YOU MELISSA! I have a huge list of things to complete but we began checking them off last night. I even did a few things not on the list, so I added them just so I could cross them off. :) Aren't we silly!
Tonight I hope to bring a car load of things to Matt and Julie's to put in their garage sale. Anyone want to buy a $150 Wilson's leather coat in really great condition for $5 dollars or best offer? The early 90's style will be back soon won't it?

Our Decision

OK, I got Dan to agree to some wording, and he couldn't keep from smiling when he did, which is a good sign. :) We have decide that unless something comes up to keep us from going, whether it is job problems, house problems or we just sense that God really doesn't want us to go, then we would like to move to Northern Idaho and are making efforts to do so. YEAH!! We are both really excited.
Did I mention that one of the elders at His Place Church in Post Falls, ID (where we will be interning for the next year) offered to put us up in his lower level for the year? What an incredible gift!! This was a huge help in our decision to go.
Options for Dan: There are 4 church plant opportunities out there. The district is waiting for the existing churches to die out, they aren't doing very well right now, and then will replant them within the next few years. His Place Church as been accepted as a satellite campus for Trinity. Dan would like to help teach a few classes (Greek and Hebrew) to help ready the student for classes in Chicago. The church would also like to start a young adults ministry and get their Thursday night service going. There are many things Dan could be involved with and these are just a few of them. We are really excited to be used however God wants to use us.
Doug, the pastor, asked for my resume as well and is in the process of circulating it around to a few key people in the congregation. I have a great peace that God is taking care of all our needs.
Please continue to be in prayer for us. My biggest prayer request is that we can get our house ready for market by next Friday. There is still so much to do.

Anyone want to buy a townhouse?

7 year old, 2000 Sq foot, Walk out rambler, town home. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath. 8 miles from downtown, on an express bus route...this could be the house for you!

Did I mention we have decided to put the house on the market? Oh by the way, we have also decided to try to get it there BEFORE we leave on our cruise next Saturday. Not good. :( My stress level it thru the roof.

We have most of the painting done, just remove the wall paper in the kitchen and paint the stairwell.
The carpet cleaners come on Monday. Matt and Julie are having a garage sale next week-yeah for getting rid of junk, I mean really nice stuff. Our new realtor suggested we switch floors again. Our bedroom and main living area is downstairs, we need to bring it up-after the carpet cleaners come on Monday. "They" say your house should look like a model home before it goes on the market, that's a LOT of cleaning and organizing in one week. THEN, pack for the cruise. Good thing there is some relaxing to look forward to. :)

Coming Soon to the MN State Fair

Well, I've done it. I've decided to enter one of my most prised possessions into the MN State Fair this year. If you happen to be there, stop by the Creative Activities building and check it out. I would love it if someone would take a picture for me. Knowing me, I will forget my camera.

Looking for Boxes

Does anyone have any packing boxes? As I'm going through the house cleaning or organizing, there are quite a few things that we don't need out so I thought I would start packing a few thing. That way, if/when we are ready to go...we will be closer to being ready to go.

We're Back

We're back and wish we weren't. We had a such a wonderful time in Post Falls, ID this past weekend. The scenery was beautiful, the weather was fantastic and the people were extremely friendly and welcoming.

We left Minneapolis at 2:45 Thursday afternoon and arrived in Spokane, WA at 9:00am the next morning. Dan said it was a guy thing to see if he could last through the night. He did great! We spent the morning touring Airway Heights, the location of one of the church plants. Had lunch with Doug and Linda, His Place Church's pastor and wife. Then headed back to John and Lisa's for a nap.

Dan and I met with Doug again for lunch on Saturday as well as the district superintendent. This was like an interview for Dan. I listened and eat a tasty elk burger. Yummy. Saturday night was dinner with the elders and their wives. This was very fun. It too was a time of questions, both from us and from them. Doug kept saying, Good Question! to each of Dan's questions. He seemed very impressed and we got lots of positive feedback from everyone. We liked them a lot as well.

Sunday, we joined them for church. The service was so good that I'm disappointed that we won't be there for next weeks. The congregation surprised us and took up an offering to help pay for our gas. What a blessing!! We got more than the cost of the entire trip. Thank you His Place Church!

I know a lot of you are asking, Now What? We have agreed, along with the church, to spend the next week in prayer seeking God for direction. We would like to invite you to join us in prayer as well. We still don't have many details of how everything will work but we do know that we can see ourselves doing ministry with this church and look forward to seeking God for direction.

I'll post more when I know more... :)

How would you like to wake up to this every morning?

Visiting Spokane, Washington

Well, we've decided to go see Spokane, Washington. Our plan is to leave after work on Thursday, July 31 and drive to somewhere in North Dakota where we hope to find someone to spend the night with. If you know of anyone in ND along I94 that would put us up for the night, please let me know. It's 19 hours to Spokane by car. We hope to arrive before dinner on Friday. Dan has a meeting set up with the district Superintendent for Saturday morning. We hope to tour the town and perhaps visit an apartment or two if possible. We will attend His Place Church in Post Fall, ID on Sunday where Dan would intern. There is a world class golf course in Coeur D'Alene, ID just 8 miles from Post Falls. I'm sure I won't have to twist Dan's arm to much to go check it out. Perhaps there will be room for our clubs in the little Ford Focus we are renting for our ride out. We will head back Sunday afternoon and hope to get to mid Montana. Once again, if you know anyone in that area that would take us in, please let me know... We will finish our drive home on Monday and hopefully have enough time to recuperate for our return to work on Tuesday.

I would like to ask for prayer. First for a safe trip and second, that we would hear God's voice. Dan and I are excited about this opportunity but we don't want to go there unless God wants us there. Pray that we would have the ears to hear.

A New Toy and Way For Communication

I just learned about this whole blogging thing. I know, I'm a bit behind. I thought this might be a nice way to keep you all informed on what is going on in the lives of Dan & Jamie Henderson.

As many of you know, Dan will be completed with all his requirements from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School at the end of this August. Currently he is interning at Cornerstone Church of Blaine. It's been an incredible opportunity for Dan and he is learning so many things, including preaching. - He preaches next on July 27 in case you want to come here. 10:00Am at the Blaine High school.

Dan is feeling led to become a Church Planter. We are currently looking at three different possibilities and I'm getting excited/antsy to begin.

1. Medford, OR - this project is still in the beginning planning stages. It sounds like there are some churches in town that would like an Evangelical Free church to join them. Dan and I will need to take (and pass?) a lengthy church planting assessment for this project and we just got phase one in the mail yesterday.

2. Airway Heights, WA (Near Spokane)- We are still finding out info on this. It sounds like there was a church, is no longer a church, but wants to be a church again. We are very excited about this possibility and are planning a road trip the first weekend in August to go visit them. I'll post more info on them as I know more.

3. Ron, the pastor at Cornerstone, asked Dan if he might like to do a one year church planting internship with him. I think the idea is that Dan would continue to learn the areas of the church and what would be involved in starting another church. Cornerstone is a 5 year old church plant so Ron would be a good mentor for this. They have also talked about planting another church at sometime in the future and Dan may be a good candidate for that position.