“The Pipeline”

So, why “The Pipeline”? It’s a little strange but hey, it’s a blog. Blogs can be strange, right?

As newbie bloggers, we’ve spent some time over the past couple of days on the internet, reading blogs. And let me just say that you bloggers come up with some strange stuff! Mom blogs, pet blogs, photo blogs, fertility blogs, funny blogs, inspirational blogs, blogs about literature, the environment, sports, celebrities and their children, blogs claiming Obama is the antichrist and others claiming he’s the Messiah. There are even blogs about blogs! Really, I feel like it’s all been done, maybe even over done. So why should someone like me, why should a couple of people like us, start a blog? What could we possibly write about that someone (besides our moms) would want to read? Is this really a good idea?

Well, it’s too early to tell how our blog will be received, but at least we know this one thing: we’ve found our niche! After tossing around a bunch of different ideas, we decided to go with the pipeline theme. After all, if we’re going to stick with this whole blog thing, we better pick something that interests us!      So, what is “The Pipeline”? Well, in short, it’s kind of like a personal mission. It’s our collective purpose. Ever since we got married (June 2005), we’ve been trying to figure out how our seemingly contradictory desires fit together. You see, we have lots of things in common: we both want to live in ways that glorify God, put relationships ahead of tasks, put our marriage before work, be generous givers, help people to feel valued and loved, use our talents, abilities, and resources to help others, continually grow, and challenge others to do the same. In theory, we’re a lot alike.

In reality, not so much.

In general, Nate loves life. He’s happy, content, and easy going. He’s a “big picture” kind of guy and a major extrovert. He’s sees value in staying in the small, Indiana town we grew up in and still call home and building into this community. He’d rather not move. Or change jobs. But he’s flexible and interested in what God is doing all over the world. He likes his job because he gets to fly around and have good conversations with cool businessmen. He’s a dreamer.

 

On the other hand, I (Rachael) obsess over details. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist. I’m dying to live overseas. I’m ready to get the heck out of here. I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up, so I really see no reason to stay here. I can be what I am (at present: unemployed) anywhere. And I’m an introvert.

 

 

So, where does that leave us?  Thankfully, we’ve been thinking and praying about this for quite some time, and we’re finally in a place where our desires are starting to come together! It’s not all clear yet, but the short story is that, a few months ago, we shared our dilemna with a man named Shane. We told him how we’d been looking for a way to serve overseas (the Peace Corps, Samaritan’s Purse, the Fulbright), but nothing was working out. After listening to our story, Shane very wisely suggested we talk with our church leaders. He said he would like to see people like us (people who are willing to do risky things like live overseas, people with strong desires and initiative, people with leadership skills, etc.), connect with their local church. He suggested that we pour into something bigger than ourselves. After all, if we worked with and involved our church, it wouldn’t be just us benefiting from our experiences, it would be a whole community of people! How cool would it be to be able to include a whole group of people in our dreams? Well, we started thinking, praying, and talking about it, and got really excited. Especially after we had a few conversations with our pastor, Scot. He too has great dreams of getting our church community involved in some work that God is doing in Guatemala.

 

So, we still don’t know what this all looks like, but the general idea is that weare “The Pipeline.” Somehow, some way, we’re supposed to connect our community with the work that God is doing. So, when you come back to “The Pipeline” expect to read about what’s going on in our lives and how it connects to our vision of connecting our community and our dreams!

Rachael

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