This is a picture of us on the bay of Lake Erie. It is really pretty. Cedar Point, the amusement park is very faintly in the background. We are about 20 minutes from the lake. We think that is pretty cool.

We have been settling in to our new surroundings. People in Ohio talk really fast and never say y'all. Other than that they are the same as everyone else in the world!

The people we have met are amazing. We had people helping us like mad when we were getting our house ready to live in. You wouldn't believe the support we had and the number of hours that were put into making our house a home. I will be posting before and after pictures in a bit.

We are not settled in a routine yet, but as soon as we are we will have more regular communication like this one.

Everything we have prayed for for so long is right here in our hands. I cannot express how grateful I am and humbled too. We miss our families and our Pennsylvania family like crazy. I am more convinced everyday that this is right where we should be!

Our students are terrific. We have a good mix of those who are quite spiritual mature to those who haven't a clue yet. We are trying to get to know them better everyday and enjoying every minute of it! We have our fall kickoff on September 12th so we are focused on making that excellent.

I started homeschool with Ashton about a week and a half ago. We are doing half days right now. We are getting the hang of it and God has provided some friends for her already so that is great! I am really looking forward to our year together!

Later for all of you in Blog-land. Thanks for praying and hanging with us!

Hogue's Moving Day

Well, it is happening. We are moving. I wanted everyone to know how to reach us so here is our contact info...

Address:
Chris, Andrea, Ashton, & Noelle Hogue
146 Robert Ave.
Bellevue, OH 44811

Chris (419)217-6649
Dree (419)217-6652

Emails are the same as follows:
cdhogue@gmail.com
dreehogue@gmail.com

"Pastor Chris'" work:
Bellevue Alliance Church
1001 Monroe Street
Bellevue, OH 44811

We do not have a land line just yet at our new house but if we get one we will let you all know what the number is.

We close on our house at 11 AM on Friday the 3rd. We pack the truck in PA on Aug. 9th after we do some fix-ups to the house in OH.

Leaving our Penns Valley family is terribly hard. We love them all so very much.

If you are praying please pray that as a family we will have unity throughout this time and that we will all stay healthy. Our kids are pretty resilient but change affects them still so please pray for them both.

Off to pack,
Dree

Ashton turned 7!!!!

I thought this would be a fun way to document our growing girl! Ashton turned 7 years old on June 26th.

She is such a fun kid to be around. I am so proud to be her mom. As a 7 year old she LOVES to read and write. She reads 3-4 chapter books a week right now. We can hardly keep up! She has this terrific sense of humor and is not afraid to turn it on her mom and dad, which is often well deserved by us!!!

She is a really good big sister as she tries to help Noelle with her daily two year old battles.

I remember meeting her for the first time (after trying for 17 hours to get her out...) and realizing that I did not have to do much to muster up love for her. It was instant and beautiful. It's been quite a terrific adventure thus far. I can't wait for the rest!!!!!

On another note, Chris starts at Bellevue Alliance Church on Tuesday. We are still trying to secure housing. That is our biggest decision that needs to be made right now. We will keep you updated.

Grace & Peace,
Dree

June 19

Just thougt I'd give a quick update. We are currently trying to figure out the whole moving process to Bellevue; looking at houses, figuring out how much we can afford, establishing a budget, and (ugh...) finding a cell phone plan. Can I just say that it drains me to go through all the rigamarole of comparing at AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

There are some fun, OLD houses in Bellevue most of which need some pretty good updates. Please pray for us, we really need wisdom through all this. We'll let you know what we find.

Chris

Bellevue here we come

I am sorry I have not posted anything since last week. It was a little busy and Dree and I have both been sick.

We are heading for Bellevue, OH it looks like. After the trip to Little Rock God made it clear that it wasn't the place for us. It is a great church with wonderful people doing wonderful things but it just wasn't the place He wanted us. We came back and contacted Bellevue Alliance and they are getting their final offer put together. We should see it sometime in the next couple of days and then we'll plan our candidacy weekend.

The candidacy weekend is just a formality because this is a staff hire and, therefore, directly under the authority of the pastor. We're thinking that Andrea will be able to give her two weeks notice by the end of this week, at least. We don't know exactly when we'll be moving but it should be sometime in the next month or two.

Thanks for praying with us through this process. It seems so trite to just write that, but your prayers mean more than I could ever put into words.

Chris

Monday morning

Dree and I are about to head out to our final meeting with Grace Church. It's just an informal lunch with the pastor to make sure that there are no unanswered questions.

Our weekend has been tiring but really fun. My throat hurts from talking so much. We have really enjoyed our time and the people here. The elders will meet tomorrow morning and we should know something after that.

Dree flies back this afternoon. Thank you for all the prayers.

Chris

Little Rock update

Everything is going very well here. These weekends are mostly about chemistry, to see if we're a good fit for the church and if they're a good fit for us. So far it has been great. We're really enjoying ourselves, even sitting through three hours of question and answer time last night was fun.

We meet with the youth leaders this afternoon and then we'll be with the youth leaders, the elders, and the staff along with all their spouses tonight for dinner. We'll keep you updated.

Chris

Upcoming...

We leave tomorrow and for Little Rock. We have 5 days of interviews. There will be three key groups of people we will meet with. 1. Church Staff 2. Elders 3. Youth Leaders.

All four of us are going and the girls will be with family for the most part. I will return on June 4th. Chris & the girls will stay through June 6th.

I cannot tell you all how generous we feel the church has been to us. Every step we take with them is great. I told someone yesterday that it was like a great dance, no one is stepping on anyone else's toes!

We are VERY excited to see our family. We have not seen most of them for a year.

Bellevue is still very much in our minds. We really loved it there and felt like God could certainly make that our home.

If we are given the choice we trust that God's plan will be made very clear.

I want to thank you all for your dedication to pray for us. I am constantly amazed at our faithful friends and pray that we can be the same for all of you!

Grace & Peace,
Dree

Can't stop God

Today is one of those days you work out your relationship with God and what He wants step by step, word by word, and prayer to prayer. Andrea and I are prayerfully considering all of this right now so be praying that God would give us wisdom (as He does liberally) and clarity. That He would make His will for our lives known clearly to us.

I had the teleconference this morning with Grace Church in Little Rock, AR. I spoke with four of their elders along with the lead pastor. They were a great group to talk with and it was great to hear their heart for their students. It felt like a place that Andrea and I could fit into well. From here they want to talk together and make a decision about whether or not they would like all of us to fly out for an extended weekend. They would like to have someone in place by the middle of the summer so it sounds as though they would like to fill the position as soon as they can.

That happened early this morning. Last night I received a message on the machine from Bellevue Alliance. I returned their call this morning after speaking with Grace. They have formally offered me an invitation to candidate to be the Associate Pastor of Youth and Discipleship. Basically, the girls and I will go back and meet everyone involved with the church, especially the youth group. The official decision would be made then. In essence, the position is there for us to accept.

Andrea and I want to choose the place we minister according to what God wants for us and nothing else. There is a lot for us to wade through now. We want to do what God wants us to in a manner that respects both the churches, we can already tell that there are precious people at both.

While I was praying with Dree last night I was reminded that God holds us in the palm of his Hand. I told her that I believe that the Hand is moving us to a different place, although I didn't know where it was. But, I know what is on the hand, Isaiah 49:15a says, "See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hand." It's amazing that God has Andrea and I engraved on the Palms of His Hands, that He will always remember us. I just want to concentrate on the fact that He has saved me and will always be faithful to me and my family, even if I am not. I know that wherever His Hand places us, He will continue to lead us and bless us by that same hand. God is good.

Right now I am trying to get in touch with Grace Church to determine a few things. I have already spoken with Bellevue Alliance. They were very gracious and understanding and did not feel as though I was trying to manipulate the situation which I wanted desperately. We'll let you know the details as they come.

Chris

Back from Bellevue

We got back from Bellevue a couple of hours ago. The people there are wonderful and have a sincere passion to reach the students in their community. We really enjoyed getting to know them. They will meet this week and talk about what they want to do next.

The next step should be a "Candidacy Weekend". They'll establish a time to have us come back. I'll get to meet the students at that point and probably preach for the students. Then they'll vote on me. We'll keep you updated when anything happens.

On a different note, I have a teleconference with a church in Little Rock, AR at 8am on Tuesday. It's something we want to take a look at further because it is so close to family.

Be praying that God would make it clear where He wants us to be.

Chris

Chris is Accredited!

Chris passed his accreditation interview/exam. That is good news.

We head to Ohio this weekend.

He also has a new lead in Little Rock and will be having a video conference call with the pastor & elders on Tuesday morning.

These are all good things to report.

A week of something

It's Dree here...

I wanted to get you all in the loop. We have had many weeks over the last year of waiting. Waiting for something, anything, to happen. We have learned a lot about waiting. Sometimes I think we are waiting to learn how to wait. God is still exceedingly abundant in the waiting and that is significant.

Enough of my "waiting ramblings." Here are two things that are happening and are something...

1. Chris & I travel to Harrisburg tomorrow for him to take his accreditation exam with the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church. This is something because it will equip him with some credibility within a denomination. Although we fall in line with the CMA beliefs we are not closed to opportunities in other denominations.

Chris and I will both be in the interview/exam. I will be there to answer "lifestyle" questions. He will be drilled on doctrine having to support his answers with scripture and do it in the most paraphrased way possible.

I have great confidence in him. He is pretty darn smart. My hope is that he can relax and be himself. Himself is fabulous!!!

2. This weekend we will be traveling to Ohio for an interview at Bellevue Alliance Church. The whole family will be coming. They want to church to meet us, specifically the youth and the youth workers. They have a bon fire scheduled for Friday night as a meet and greet and then on Saturday Chris & I will be interviewed. They have childcare arranged for the girls.

Chris will also be interviewed about his knowledge and philosophy of small groups as this job would be a youth ministry position as well as the small group coordinator. Chris has been serving our church, PVCC in this capacity for a couple years so that is right up his ally.

It is not a job offer, but it is a significant step forward. Typically Alliance churches do this and then if they like you they invite you for a candidacy weekend which is followed by a job offer. A candidacy weekend in sort of like "in view of a call" in a Baptist church. Needless to say there are still several steps in the process, but this step is still a good one.

If you pray, you can pray for good health for all of us and that we would be infused with God's wisdom throughout all of this. I rejoice in this season of our life even though it has been perpetually challenging.
Hebrews 5 says:
" 3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. "

I can't say I have suffered like many suffer. But I believe this still applies. We have developed character and through character, hope. And not just any hope, but a hope that does not disappoint. I think we have finally learned that our hope does not rest in the changing of our circumstance. Our hope rests on who God is and that no matter what our circumstance God is God and God is good. He is powerful and full of love. That is something to have hope in that will never change!!!

Thank you all for hanging in with us. We will update after the weekend.

Grace & Peace,
Dree

Spring update

We have four leads on jobs at the moment. One in AL, one in OH, and two in Claremore, OK of all places. All of them appear to be good opportunities. Please continue to pray that Dree and I would be on their minds as pastors and search committees tend to stay very busy which can make them forget about specific people.

Andrea and I are trying to guard our heart through this whole process and keep our hope in God alone. It's hard to do because we want to know where we're going and get there. Pray that we would keep our hope in God alone, and not in any particular situation.

I have an interview with a board of Christian & Missionary Alliance pastors about being accredited within that denomination. It could really help me find a job if I pass this test, even if I didn't stay in the C&MA. Please pray that I could memorize all the answers and Scriptures that I need to.

Viene la primavera

A veces esta mas bueno que escribir en espanol. Me gusta mucho la lengue. Pero, a veces, nadie entienden.

So come on spring! It snowed 6 inches last night so Ashton's out playing in it right now.

There's not much new to report. I have been speaking with some good churches still but as I have said many times before, churches are slow. The most encouraging interaction I have had is with a church in Dothan, AL. It is a wonderful church and is producing some great kids (I know one personally and hope my girls will grow up like her).

So come one spring! Bring more than just warm weather for our bodies but for our souls as well!

Chris

Sorry for the delay

Maybe I begin too many titles with the word "sorry". If that bothers you, then excuse me (aren't you glad I didn't say "sorry" again?). Truly, I do apologize for not blogging more as of late. When you get out of the habit, it's easy to stay out of the habit.

Andrea and I have had a rough month or so. It's discouraging to wait and wait, "A hope deferred makes a heart grow sick." We have prayed, read our Bibles, and read books. We've talked with friends and pastors. And through it all, God has been faithful. We are stronger today than we were a month ago and we're encouraged that God is looking out for us.

I don't want it to sound as though I only blog when things are good, I blog when things are bad too! :) Just kidding, but seriously. I want all of our life to be a glory for God but I don't understand it all the time. I'm not sure I would have posted anything worth reading over the past month, and I might not be able to do it now. However, God is good whether I have a job or not.

We do have some prospects and one that looks like a place Dree and I would like to be. Thanks for your patience and for your persistence in checking in with us. A special thank you to Sarah Bankston and Kerrie Sala for giving me a good kickstart in blogging.

Chris

The New Year

Thanks for sticking with me. Andrea and I have received numerous encouragements over the past couple of weeks. There's nothing like a great community of believers gathered around you to help you stand. It reminds me of Aaron and Hur holding Moses' hands in the air when he got tired.

We had a wonderful holiday with my parents and Dree's mom got to come in for a few days over New Year's as well. We were glad that we just enjoyed them instead of trying to figure out where we are going. We're now a few days into that process and it's not fun, but we still feel God's presence and His hope in our lives.

I wanted to share in this entry a little of how that came about. Andrea began talking on the 2nd, which was our first "post-holiday" night together. We intended to pray and then tlak but somehow we started talking and then kept talking, which was a big mistake. About an hour later we were both crying and getting nowhere. We finally had the brains to stop ourselves and just pray.

All of the difficulty was hinging around me. The short of it is that I was mad at God for the situation we are in. I didn't want to be, but deep inside I was. I didn't want to admit it to myself but I finally confessed it. I told God how I felt about him and the trials we are facing and then I asked for forgiveness for those feelings. I just needed to say my sin and say that I needed His help with it. It was an exhausting evening together but we woke up the next morning feeling renewed.

We know that God is still with us. We are still weighing our options; different jobs, seminary, world travel. We're looking for clarification from Him on what we are supposed to do so please pray for that. Thank you all so much for the prayers already offered.

Grace and peace,

Chris Hogue