JeremyHigdon.com

The Big Announcement

So, yesterday, we shared something huge with Oasis Church and today, I am sharing it officially on the old blog. My family and I are leaving our church…

Now before you jump to conclusions, let me clearly say, this has been one of the most difficult decisions of our lives. I have worked and been part of the team here at Oasis for nearly 12 years. I have grown up in ministry here; in fact, to borrow a thought seen in I Cor 4:15, Guy has been a father to me when it comes to ministry and pastoring (I have seen a lot of other examples, but he has been my first, and only, senior pastor and mentor to me). I met and married Jeanine here at Oasis (she has lived here in South Florida since the age of 5 when her family moved from Puerto Rico). My sons have (and will be) dedicated here…this is the only church they have known. I have loved working with and ministering to kids, students, and adults at all of our campuses. I have seen God move in the “impossible” situations time and time again. Bottom line…we have been blessed and it has been an honor to be part of Oasis Church here in South Florida. It is impossible to clearly express in words how grateful we are to God to have put us with Oasis all these years.

But, we feel that it is time to leave…and go somewhere else. Now, the reason for this is we believe God has been speaking to us and calling us to plant a church in North Florida! This is an exciting (and scary-in-a-good way) move for us and we are looking forward to a launch of this church in North Jacksonville in February 2009! Our goal is to launch a multi-campus, church planting church that will seek to impact North Florida and beyond with the love of Christ. The amazing news is that, even though we are leaving, we are actually being sent in partnership with Oasis Church…in fact, we will be planting a new Oasis Church! You really have no idea what that means to have our church believe in us, sponsor us, partner with us, and be part of sending us on to the next chapter of what God has for us…

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We are excited and looking forward to what God will do as we step out and follow His leading in our lives…of course, I will be posting updates here so you will be able to stay up-to-date with all that will be happening…so now you know the Big Announcement! And now you know how much prayer we really need!

Great Sports Day

Finally, after suffering through the month of July (where the only major sport on tv, day to day, is baseball, I mean, I love the Marlins, but... it is so boring!), we get to watch some other kinds of sports...

-Olympics began with a bang as the USA sweeps all medals in Womens Fencing...zzzzz...ok, I didn't quite get into it, but it was cool!

-Michael Phelps...stud...nuff said.

-Speaking of Olympics, the opening ceremony was AMAZING! It had over 15,000 performers and was done live and looked pretty flawless...probably some of the most amazing, jaw-dropping stuff I have ever seen.

-Also caught a little biking, gymnastics, beach volleyball...I think that's it...

- Now watching the Dallas Cowboys...they are getting beat but hey, it's pre-season and this is the time of year when hope springs eternal for all NFL fans and teams... I love me some football!!

Link Love

Came across some great links in other blogs over the past few days...and instead of keeping the goodness all to myself, I have decided to share...hope you enjoy!

-good article on a great topic...Choosing to Cheat...have you read the book?

-Jeanine and I have set a goal to get in better shape by January...this post had some great advice to put into practice immediately!

-another boycott by people claiming to be Christ-followers...this time it's McDonalds! Here are some great thoughts on this...why are we more known for what we are against than what we are for?

-another post I saw was on parenting and the realization that our influence on the boys will not be as strong in the future as it is now...man, that is plain scary!! We only have a small window to lay a strong foundation...

-and lastly, a post on Apple and coolness and what makes things worthy of following or not...pretty interesting stuff!

A Wedding and an Engagement

Ok, playing catch up a little with this post...

about a month ago, we had our first wedding since the renovations were complete at Oasis Church North Miami. I had the privilege of performing the ceremony for Ricardo and Rosemary Colon. It was great to hear how they met and exciting to be part of this special day with them and their family and friends...they all did a great job with the decorating!

In other, earth-shattering, crazy-exciting news, my brother got engaged!! After months of burning through his Verizon minutes and tons of gas for the Honda Accord, he moved up to the Jacksonville area to be with his girlfriend, Charissa  Gingerich(whom Zachary and his cousin Tyler absolutely adore!...oh, and we all do too!). After a few days of being up there, the plan was put into motion to surprise her with the ring (saw it...way to go Jonathan!) and to propose to her...and she said yes! They will be getting married in late Feb/ early March and I will be able to perform part of the wedding (her father is also a pastor and will also be perfoming the ceremony after he gives her away) and then I will step over and be the best man...how awesome is that!?

Weekend Update

-spent time on Friday and Saturday trying to get the old Expedition running...turns out it was the battery...a trip to Wally World made it all good                                                                                    

-by the way, we went to Wally World on Saturday afternoon...can you say "mad house"?

-which is interesting...last week, the airport parking lot (the short-term expensive one) was packed and this weekend, Wal-mart was going nuts...I know the economy is tough, so what is the deal? Seems like people are still spending money...

-got home and washed all three cars that are currently in our name...anyone interested in an Expedition? It has a new battery and has just been washed!

-as usual, wash the cars and it rains the next day...they should hire me to go to where ever there is a drought and let me wash my car

-spoke yesterday at the 8:30 and NoMi about Storm Stories...Category 5...when the big one hits your life...amazing story of Marisol and her daughter was shown on video...be praying for her this month

-tough series to preach but pretty important as we will all face the storm, sooner or later

-spent yesterday evening playing with Zach and Ryan in the yard...had 5 iguanas across the canal and fed a momma duck and her 13 ducklings...and of course, played with a bat and ball...gotta do it!

-spent some time with Jeanine today as we had a doctor appointment (she has been having some back pain since vacation, but we think we are getting closer to a solution...thank you Jesus!) and had a lunch date... I love my wife!

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