I'm a little country....

Today I was listening to one of my new CD's, Rascall Flatts. I used to hate country music until my hubby introduced me to it in one of his weird phases. Ever since then, I flip on the country music station every now and then. I'm not too hardcore country because I don't really like the twangy stuff, but mostly the "pop" country. I also have come to realize that my favorite pair of shoes in my closet are most definitely my cowboy boots. It's interesting how you change over your life.

Just so you know....

We're truly nerds at heart. I had to add this picture just so you know that the previous photos are just a cover up for our true selves. My mom had to gently remind me of this (by e-mailing the above photograph to me). Also, in the words of my dear friend, Rachel: "If I only knew you from these pictures I wouldn't want to be your friend because you guys are too good-looking. As it is, we know you're really dorks, so we feel alright hanging out with you. :)." I'm glad I have family and friends who are close enough to know that this is who we really are. Honestly Rachel, I don't know if I would want to be friends with us if it was just based on those pics! Thank the Lord for a sense of humor and down-to-earth people!

A Photoshoot - Just for the heck of it!

Nesting

I'm probably supremo nester of the century and I'm getting very impatient for my next abode to release my creativity into. One thing I am super stoked about is moving back to the land of cute little brick bungalows and asthetically pleasing Arts and Crafts homes. I'm not gonna lie, I've already been searching the real estate market in Indy and have come up with quite a lovely selection of properties. This is probably all too premature, but who cares. It works out quite nicely that we are planting a church in the Broad Ripple area, which happens to be one of the cutest little neighborhoods in the whole city. Broad Ripple is complete with it's own artsy downtown area with plenty of tasty restaurants, quaint stores and delish coffeeshops. Not to mention the White River and Monon Trail that offers plenty for the active person. I have found a charmer of a house (note the picture) and hope to see it while visiting in January. This might not be the best idea because I'm sure I will fall in love and, as mentioned before, it's probably too soon. Even if this one is not "the one," there are plenty more to pick from at a later time. Until then, instead of dreaming of sugar plums and white Christmases, I will keep dreaming of wall colors and fabric for curtains.

A Zahn/Vintage Update

I wrote several posts back about what was going on with us and the church plant. I figured since it's been a couple of months I could talk about it again. We had Church Plant Meeting number two a couple of weeks ago and it went well. I, of course, made way too much food, but the members of our household never complain about that. This time I made an ensamble of appetizers ranging from meatballs to my wounderful little ham and swiss sandwiches to queso to a rasberry-vinegarette salad. It was so yummy. I'm beginning to think that might be the only thing that draws people....? I guess if that's what it takes, I'm up for it. :) This time we had a whole new set of faces (plus a few old ones). It was nice to see a few people from Calvary's School of Ministry (where my brother Matt and my sis-in-law, Bethany go to school).

Kourtney spoke about Gideon (Judges 6 & 7) and how he was only faithful to the one true God while the rest of the Israelites had turned their back on Him. Because Gideon went to the land of the enemy and tore down their false gods, they were ready to attack. Gideon prepared an army, but the Lord told him they were too large in number. God told him to tell those who were fearful and afraid to go home. So twenty-two thousand went home. God told Gideon that there were still too many men. So all but 300 went home. Those three hundred mighty men were able to conquer a huge army. Kourtney talked about how we are in the same situation. We need a few strong people who are not afraid to step out in faith and see the vision that God has given us for the Indianapolis area. The Lord has been answering people's prayers about coming with us. Some to go, some to stay. I must admit, it's always hard hearing the no's. I can totally relate with the missionaries that think everyone must be called to the mission field! It's hard to understand why some are not.

In other things, I had a conference call with our church accountant in Indy. It was awesome and he told me that he wasn't going to charge us anything to get us up and running. Now we have to write our articles of incorporation, establish our board and work on becoming a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (which is the hardest part). He has helped many churches in the Indy area, so he knows exactly what he's doing. We will be having a meeting with him in January when we come home to scout things out. (He even said he would take us out to lunch!!!) What a wonderful blessing from the Lord!

We will be in Indy January 1st through the 7th. We want to put together a night of worship and fellowship with all of our friends out there. It would be a great time to reconnect and also share about what God is doing with us. Keep your eyes open for a invitation coming soon! (There will be food involved!)

On our trip we hope to secure a couple locations to meet. Recently, we've been throwing around the idea of meeting in older churches (such as methodist, lutheran, etc) at night. We've always wanted our services to be in the evening and this would work out perfectly with a congregation that only meets on Sunday morning. Pray for us that the pastor's that we speak to about this would be open to sharing their building with us.

Thank you to all who take the time to read this blog. I honestly have no idea who reads it (if anyone). We would love to hear from you and keep in touch. My e-mail address is kfzahn@yahoo.com if you ever feel like writing! If you are interested in hearing more about our vision and getting involved, please write or call! We would love it if you would check out our website at http://www.vintageindy.org/ and give us your feedback!

Where's the Balance?

Lately, I've been pondering the balance between living by faith and being a responsible Christian steward. There is such a fine line (I think) between the two. The Bible speaks very clearly about both aspects of our life. Faith is essential to our Christian lives, but being practical and responsible are spoken of very matter-of-factly as well. I guess I'm the kind who usually does everything I can to make sure I am being that responsible person and then when it gets to a point where things are out of my control, I release them over to the Lord. I wonder how good that really is. There a few things in my life right now that weigh heavily on this question. Deciding to go either way would change the outcomes of these decisions drastically. I do know that one solution is prayer, of which I do not do enough of. I would welcome any comments and prayer for this. For some reason, I have always gone round and round on this same subject and it's wearing me out! :)