December 30, 2024 • 43 mins
In this episode, members of Flipside Church reflect on the lessons they’ve learned throughout 2024. With themes of gratitude, change, and trust in God’s guidance, the conversation focuses on personal growth and how challenges can shape our faith. Sharing experiences of navigating life’s transitions, whether in family, service, or personal milestones, and how God's presence remains constant even during uncertain times.
The episode wraps up with an encouraging message about staying grounded in prayer, being thankful, and trusting God to lead us into the new year. It’s a reminder that, despite life’s unpredictability, we can rely on God's counsel and direction every step of the way.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Well again.
Good morning, church. We're happythat you're here.
We like to.
Here, here at Woodside doing a thingwe call five good minutes if you're new.
This is definitely something that isunlike what
we usually do on a Sunday morning.
Or if you've only been come infor a short amount of time.
This is different today.
It's an opportunity.
Where, Where am Iat? Here? You guys, down at the end?
(00:22):
I'm going to be down at the end
where they tell me to go.
Yeah.
We just take an opportunityand give, the staff here
an opportunity to kind of share with youwhat God's been doing in their lives.
A lot of times we're movingso quick around here.
You may hear a name or a see a faceas it races by you.
On the way,maybe with the screaming child.
(00:44):
Or, maybe you see an emailcoming from somebody and you're like,
I wonder who that is.
Well, this is an opportunityfor you to get to meet us and for us
to get to kind of share with you,what God's doing in our lives.
So five good minutes.I've got the timer. You guys.
I almost forgot my timer.
We're going to set a timerfor five minutes.
So we're going to suck the gong.
So we're going to go five minutes.
(01:06):
There's two members of the staffwho aren't here today.
The first is Miranda Roth.
She is our, remote,first in the age of post Covid.
She is our remote, staff member in Idaho.
Anything you've ever seenwith, media up here?
Thingsfor the children's program. Program?
Any type of. She is VB and Aviaudio visual.
(01:28):
She is the visual of it.And she does a fantastic job.
She's got a great eye for design.
And so all the stuff that you seeon a Sunday morning is done by Miranda.
So, if you've got an opportunityto send her an email thanking her
for everything she does,that information's on the website.
And, so Pastor Carl,our senior pastor, is not here today.
They're actually with family down
(01:49):
in Southern Californiaenjoying some much needed R&R down there.
So should you send him a text, an email,whatever
saying you've been praying for him.
So thankful for the fact that he decidedto plant a church in the Ranchos
back in 2004, 2005.
Obedient to God's call
on his life,the fact that he's been through,
some pretty interesting seasonsof ministry here in the ranchos
(02:13):
and doing ministry in Guatemalaand Cuba and Mexico
and most recently, the Ukrainewith the Excel Leadership Network.
Just so thankful for PastorCarlos leadership, for,
for organizationsthat that are involved in it.
So one of the things about fivegood minutes is if you connect with
one of the stories or many of the storieson a personal level, fantastic.
(02:35):
But ideally, we want you to connect on,or we hope what you take away
is this idea of a connectionon a transcendent level.
Maybe not one year old single femalelike Ali
down there in her last yearor frozen state.
So, you know, it's like,I don't know how to relate to that,
but a lot of timessomebody can say something,
you're like, man, that makes total sense.
God, that is how God works.
(02:57):
It's very difficult.
You know, God rarely does two thingsthe same way, but there are patterns
to look so in, hearingfrom somebody other than pastor Carl,
hopefully that's kind
of what you take awayis this idea of, of a transcendent,
good God that works, together
(03:17):
for the good of those who love himand are called according to his purpose.
Amen.
All right.
First up, we have a perfectexample of how things come full circle.
You were involved in Liberty High Schoolgraduate?
I am, yes, and involved in flip sideyouth stuff that graduated.
Yeah.
Single female.
Back then you are very much not.
(03:38):
No, no, I was not a single female backthen.
I was still with that guy.
That's true. There.
Married to Sean, her husband.
You have two wonderfulboys, Grayson and William. Yes.
And you guys were with us out of StoneCreek when we were doing that.
So definitely time in the trenches.
You're a you're a good exampleof what we talk about around here a lot,
where you say yes to God on the front endand then figure out what you said yes to.
(04:00):
Yes. Absolutely.
So all right, you got five minutes away.
Get up.
Because I have a feeling I'm going to cry.
You forgot the tissues.
I'm not.
Because, well, I might pass them down
because you said your sympathetic crier.
So last year,
(04:21):
I had talked about how,
In joy, in peace.
And this year was actually really hard.
But there was so much joy
and peace within it.
There were so many times
that I could have been super upsetor super sad
(04:44):
knowing that God was so good.
Really helped out with that,because there was
a relationshipthat I just had to say, I'm done.
I can't do this anymore.
It's damaging me.
It's damaging my family.
And there was a point where I was like,I can't do it anymore.
And it's hard when it's a parent.
(05:04):
And sothere was a time where I was battling
it, like,how much longer do I deal with this?
And this year it came to a pointwhere I was like, I'm done.
Like, I can't do this for my family.
I can't do this for me.
And it was so good
then that knowing that God was like, it'sokay.
(05:28):
Like, you can let this relationship go.
And so there was that one.
And then my grandpa diedand my grandma had a stroke.
My other grandma is really strugglingwith her health,
which is hardbecause she's been my best friend for,
but knowing that, like, God is so good
(05:50):
and his timing is just,
something that I held on to, like,
when my grandpa passed,I was like, you know what?
It's God's timing for him.
He needs him back in heaven.
Like, there we could have been.
It's so sad about it.
But knowing that he was now at rest
and he wasn't hurting anymore, like
(06:13):
there was likeI said, there was just so much peace
in all of my year that I hadthat I could have just been a hot mess.
And so
but there were always good, like,I was able to do stuff that I hadn't done.
And so,
like, Seanand I used to love going to Disneyland,
and we got to take our kidsfor the first time in like six years.
(06:33):
And so we were like, yes, like,
let's go find some magic in theworld with the kids.
And so,
it was just so good.
And my dad is my.
You're good. Oh, good. Okay.
And I was like, oh, no. Okay.
I'll be quick, so you're fine. You go.
I'm like, I'm crying this whole time.
It's fine.
(06:55):
But I'll end on a good notebecause I am a very busy person.
There's been a lot of changesthat have happened.
I'm no longer the life like I'mnow the, like, secretary.
So I'm there helping run still create.
I've been helping out here,which has been an incredible blessing
to do the large events and see the kidsand be able to share God's Word with them
(07:17):
is just an incredible blessing.
And then there's just so many other hugeblessing.
You're like,we got to celebrate birthdays.
Sean and I celebratedour ten year anniversary.
We got to do
just the little miracles in everyday lifethat God blesses us.
It was an opportunityto see how good he is.
(07:39):
So now moving into 2025, I pray.
I pray over which word has just likestuck out to him, to me,
as I'm tryingto kind of lay out this next year.
And the word was,oh gosh, I wrote it down.
Hold on.
Because I knew I was going to freezeon this stage because I'm so used
(08:01):
to talking in front of children.
Intentional.
That's it.
Don't do anything for the purpose.
So here I am.
And so,
just being so intentional on what I do,what I commit myself
to, and just being intentionalwith my time, with my relationships.
(08:22):
So. Yes.
And very next year afterI've had so much peace
over so many transitionsto now refocus my time and energy,
and do things with a purposeand a part of God's plan
to see what every day looks like.
So I'm done now.
Thank you.
Kaylee.
(08:45):
Kaylee, I so appreciate your willingnessto follow God.
You're obedient sometimes.
You know, like walking into a dark roomand just trying to leave with your face.
It can be difficult sometimes,and I think we're all really thankful for
your obedience to God's call on your lifewith the children and otherwise.
Thank you for that.
Next we have near and dear to my heart.
(09:05):
Allie is I have three daughtersand Allie is my middle daughter.
Allie and Iva are probablythe single most important reason
the simple family ended up at flip sideyears ago.
Allie was in kindergarten.
Iva was, I think in second grade,and they came home and they said, dad,
there's a good news clubthat means to serve you.
And I said, well, what is that?
(09:26):
They said, it's a church.
I said, hold on.
Is that it is the school in the church.
It's a church that meets at the school.
I said, okay, well, yeah,you can go. Sure.
It's God's stuff. Sowe were still making the drive into town.
We had just moved out to the ranches.
We were still making the drive into town,and these two little girls
decided to startgoing to the Good News Club this year.
And so we started asking about it.
(09:46):
So what's up with this church? Well,they meet at the high school.
I said again,is it a school or is it a church?
So they're a churchthat meets at the high school.
I said, all right,we got to go check this out.
So some time in 2008, 2009,
we went to this church called flipsidethat met at Liberty High School.
Every week.
They set it up. They tore it down.
(10:06):
It was nuts.
If you are part of those, if you were partof that back in the day, you know what?
How chaotic that was.
It was like what we did, at Christmas Eve,only on steroids and every week.
And so Allie and Eveare the reason we started coming.
And Allie got plugged inas she moved up the, into
her grades.
Got involved in the area 56,one of the first iterations
(10:29):
of area 56 and then into the juniorhigh program high school.
And now things have come full circle,and she's helping with our youth.
I don't sheshe likes the junior high students.
I used to like junior highbecause we lit stuff on fire and stuff up.
Now we like for reasons.
It's like these chatty little girls.
How do you.
So anyway, Allie Stemple, she is a partof our worship and our youth leader.
(10:52):
Yes. Okay.
Yeah.
I feel like I know a lot of youand a lot of you know me,
but we've never really talked.
We just look at each other's facesevery Sunday when I'm up here.
Do superexcited to be part of five good minutes.
I've come through watching it every yearand now like, to speak
other is kind of cool.
(11:13):
So yeah, I grew up in the youth program.
My me and my friends,we were here in junior high every Monday
night, high school every Wednesday night.
And yeah, I'm just super
one. The parents that I have and two,
just the relationshipand the church family that I have.
And so when I was thinking aboutlet's talk about in like what
(11:35):
I learned this year and how this year,what effect it had on me,
I was praying about it and two words
just kept coming to my mindtheir growth and opportunity.
And so I think that
and I was trying to phrase it in my headbefore I got up here, the chance
to grow through the opportunitiesthat God has given me this year.
(11:59):
2024 was just a really good year.
Honestly.
Like, obviously there's some upsand downs, which I'll talk about, but
beginning of the year I turned 21.
Middle of the year,my older sister got married.
I got to be her maid of honor.
That's just
every time I look back on that day, I'mso super thankful for the both of them.
And just that whole experience,
(12:22):
started in my last yearand there's just a lot.
Every time I found myselfpraying this year,
I found myself just like thanking Godfor all of the opportunities
and all the blessingsthat he's blessed me with.
It was my second year livingnot in my parent's
house, in an apartment, by myself.
(12:44):
Yeah.
Every prayerI would just start out thanking God.
And a lot of the times it was like
in disbelief of
how good he is and how, like,
faithfuland how much he's blessed me with,
and so
a big thing that I was thinking about
today was this past summer,
(13:07):
I had the privilege of leading the youthprogram, the junior high and high school,
which my dad and Pastor Carl came to me in
like March or April this year,and they were like,
hey, what do you think aboutleading the summer youth program?
I was like, why not? Let's do it.
I love going through that youth program,and I love summer.
(13:28):
So that was a lot of fun.
It was a lot of work,and it was a lot of unexpected,
things just the whole summer.
But it was really good.
And I feel really lucky to
be ableto have done that because, like you said,
kids was the main thing that,
it was just so good to pour into thatand then to see the fruit of that
(13:51):
where I would, like, see them outsomewhere else, and they say hi to me
and then
I also want to be a teacher, for that age.
And so I feel like I saya lot of the times that when
these junior high,they look at me crazy and are like,
why would you ever want to do that?
I don't know.
I feel like it's a very misunderstood ageand they just need some guidance. And.
(14:15):
Oh, and so, just in leadershipthrough that portion of their lives.
And so thinking about that,
like aspect, one verse came to my mind
and it was, it was actually a versewe talked about in our flip journals.
If you are in the youthor you've heard of that,
we did our flip journalsthis past year, and it's Matthew 2028,
(14:37):
and it says, for eventhe Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve othersand give his life as a ransom for many,
like growing up in the church,like serving on a Sunday or on a Wednesday
or on a Monday became somethingthat was just like, oh, I'll just do it.
Like that's part of my routine.
But we're called to serve and we're calledto like, get something out of that.
(14:59):
Like it's good for usto pour into God and his people.
So I think this year it was really good.
It turned back intonot because for a while there,
which sounds bad, but it kind of feltlike a chore for a little bit.
But I think this yearI was able to renew, like my energy
and my motivation in the spirit to serve.
(15:23):
And then there was a answered prayer.
This year, I feel like when I startedmy, time at Fresno State,
there was a lot of like uncertaintyand loneliness, almost because,
I don't know, I'm a very social person,
but high schooland college are very different.
High school, I had a huge group of friendsthat same since kindergarten
(15:46):
get to collegeand it's not like that at all.
But this year I was really blessed
to meet two girls that are they're goingthrough the same program as me.
Were all threeEnglish majors wanting to teach?
And so I was able to getreally close to them, and that was really
good because they were.
I'll finish up, I promise.
(16:07):
They were just really goodto have in my life.
And so,
same thing when I was thinking, God,for all the opportunities
and all the blessings, I found myselfthanking him for all the people
that I've been surrounded with.
That just had a really good effect on me.
And so going into,
2025,
(16:28):
which is the yearI'm going to graduate college, hopefully,
and start my job,
I'm really just ending this year, superthankful.
And I feel like thisyear was a year of building good habits.
Like I was able
more in the word and have that desireto, like, know the Lord more and know
(16:49):
like want to be just walking with him
and like lining up my lifeto where it's supposed to be.
And so I feel like going into 2025,I have a lot of I'm equipped
with a lot of good habits,and my community is just really good.
So yeah, I feel like that was really likescattered, but just good.
(17:10):
That'swhat I learned this year. Thanks Ali.
Never met a
microphone she didn't like AliI'm really thankful.
You you you are a good exampleof how you parents of young kids
whose of the littleness it can seem like.
Oh dear Lord,
I spent Ali and Eve are 16 months apart
(17:31):
and so, I mean diapers at the same time,bottles at the same time.
And I thought,we are never going to be out of this.
And then to see your kids not just grow upto grow up serving and loving God
and the imperfections of what it.
Ali, I'm really thankfulfor you and your sisters.
I'm going to ask a favor of you too,because I always do.
I remember that at youth groupjob opportunity.
(17:52):
Can you get my Bible?
If I walk in front of this speaker,it's going to feed back.
Thank you.
While she does that, Tricia Cheshire,
you are part of the, transplantsthat happened during Covid.
You and her family showed up one Sunday.
I'm assuming during we were weI don't know that we ever completely
thank you.
And Heather, I don't know thatwe ever completely closed down for Covid.
(18:15):
Don't tell anybody.
But, one Sunday, her six foot four,
six foot three husband came in and blockedthe camera.
Well, he was a
lens, guys blocking the camera.
And then, the Cheshire's were partof flip side, and you guys never left. So.
Tricia, huddle coordinator, take it away.
Yeah.
This is my third year being a part of.
(18:37):
Well, going intothis is my third good minute, right?
Yeah. Five minutes.
And this year, reflecting,
I felt like for me,there was a lot of change and growth.
When I was thinking backover the last year,
we were driving last weekend to a weddingand asking my family
(19:00):
what is something that stuck out?
And the kids said, home like.
That was my, like, highlight of 2024.
Two is going to come likewith our youth group last year.
And so I pulled out my notesof what we talked about last year,
and it was three waysto walk in obedience with Christ.
(19:21):
And I started
reflecting on that the last week.
I followed through with that,and there was a lot of change
where I had to literally tell God,I need a change.
Open a door, close the door.I'm listening.
And I'm stubborn.
So choosing to just fully 100%
(19:45):
give my life decisions to God
where I knew I was not incontrol was liberating.
And dang,
I think it brought out a new side of me
that I didn't know.
The pastor at Hume, the Bible verse was
the number of days
(20:06):
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 9012
and in the notes that they talked aboutwas spent time
in God's Word,being with God's people and God's mission.
And I thought that this is allfrom January of last year.
And I reflected on those three
did it
the notes I took from him,I reflected on just this last week
(20:30):
spend time in God's Word.
I've definitely this yearI grew in that, just really focusing.
I think the, flip journal that we do inyouth group has really helped with that.
So spending time in God's Word,God's people,
I started to become our flip side
huddle coordinator because I really wanteda women's ministry.
(20:50):
I really wanted small groupsat this church.
I had tons of friends, always ask me,we need small groups.
And that was on my heart.
I really wanted to build community,I wanted friendships, and I did it.
We now have a women of a couple differentfamily huddles.
We have a men's ministry.
Carl's doing his and it's been so greatto be intentional with these huddles
(21:13):
and being building relationshipswith you guys here at
church has meant a lot to me, where I'mnot just here working and leaving.
I'm actually learning namesand getting to know you.
Brings me joy
and fulfills me that I didn't knowI needed.
And then the third one is God's mission.
(21:35):
And the last couple yearsI've stepped out of my comfort zone,
and I'm a youth leaderand help out with our youth group.
And that by far
is the best joy.
We have amazing students here,
and I couldn't do without Michaeland Jeff and Carl and Heather and
(21:57):
watching our youthgo through today's world.
As a mom,
we need more
people praying and being alive
and being intentional with the youth.
That's where I feel like God's
calling me for like the good 2025. What?
I need something more for that.
(22:18):
And I don't knowwhat the word is for me yet.
I don't know what it's going to do.
I'm listening to God. I,
I'm not gonna take a job.
But I
but I want to learn more of
how to be a better leader for the youth
and being more intentionalwith my Bible time. And,
(22:43):
I have my own
still being, like,a lot of the youth here, their second mom
sometimes that has filled my heartso much.
I would say this last year.
And that leads me to being just grateful.
Gratitude, I think, was my word of how
thankful I am
(23:04):
here, like our huddles and our youth group
and then my church family.
It's made me who I am, the new me,I would say.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's it.
Thanks, Tricia.
Tricia, I'm so thankful for you having.
(23:24):
And I started to see it when you startedserving in youth and the kids,
how you relate to the kids.It's a special gift.
And I don't want to, like, put labels up,
but it's almost somethingthat can't be taught.
You just develop it and you're doinga great job developing it.
Your ability to connect,especially with kids who
a lot of times are going through thingsthat not even they understand,
not try to fix them, but to just walkwith them through it has been fantastic.
(23:49):
I'm so thankful for youand your involvement in that program.
It's been great.
Michael Rondon speaking of
which, you are a literaland figurative answer to prayer.
Me and Carl, man, we were.
You want to talk about running on fumes?
I think I walked into the office
and I had, hamburger grease all over me.
We had just done a youth group,and I'm like,
(24:10):
if this guy doesn't work out,I'm out of here. I'm.
This is crazy.
Me and Carltag team in the youth in the summer.
Help and Ali and man,we were so thankful for you.
We went and had lunchand you get plugged in.
Emily is involved and I'm just reallythankful for you doing a fantastic job.
If your kid is in the youth programand you have not met Michael,
(24:33):
definitely reach out to Michaeland get to know him.
He's a great guy.So all right, five minutes.
All right.
I'm I'm in trouble herebecause I told myself this morning
that I that's, so I'm going to very much
cut out some things, but,
2024 was a good year.
It was a really good year for highsand lows and ups and downs, but,
(24:55):
my wife and I celebrated ten yearstogether.
Married?
We found a new church community
and opportunity to serve and walkalongside, you know, junior high and high.
And then we found out having another boy.
And so it's been a pretty sweet year.
Lots of fun, lots of joy.
And as I was reflectingand I was processing and thinking,
about 20, 24, three words came to mind.
(25:17):
The first one was pacethat I like to run at a really fast pace.
I like
on the ladder, and I like to clickand scratch and scratch like,
I want to go and go and goand prove my worth and and just, like,
do everything that I possibly can.
And I just found myselfrunning at an unsustainable pace.
And I can't do that as I'm getting older.
(25:39):
And so pace has been somethingwhere I want to slow
down, not be ahead of God.
He it helps.
It help me to not be as impulsive,be a little more mature in my decisions.
And so pace came to mind.
The second was Thanksgivingor thankfulness that,
of course, it's easyto thank God for the big things,
(26:00):
but I'm trying to thank Godjust for the everyday little things.
You know that my boys will.
That I got to work out today or playsoccer or just the silliest of things.
But but
the things that we just take
for granted and we really do care about,but sometimes we forget about.
And so I think, pace,I've tried to slow down.
I've tried to be as thankful as possible
(26:21):
in the, in the word that has defined
2024 is availability.
This summer
I finished up teaching my teaching year,
and I was praying one night and I said,God, like, I want to serve youth again.
How does that look like?How can I do this on my campus?
Or is it a is it a local youth group?
And 12 hours later, I got an emailfrom Pastor Carl saying, hey,
(26:44):
we have a youth opening.
And so it was a really randomwhirlwind of a experience
opportunity, and it was excitingand a little bit scary.
But being available is kind of
where my heart has beenand where I want my heart to be in 2025.
And so I want to just read over
the scripture that it's beenI've been coming back to life,
(27:05):
and it's actually what I shared.
I met our youth, Heather, in church,actually, the maybe late
July at a at a food bank,like a service day for junior high.
And then I came back a couple weeks later.
We were at the templesand we had a pool party in of the year.
And I was able to lead and I spoke this.
It was Matt, it's Mark's,chapter four verses you want.
I just want to read it,and just process it for a minute with you.
(27:28):
And it says that day when evening came,Jesus said
to his disciples,let's go over to the other side.
Leaving the crowd behind.
They took him alongjust as he was in a boat.
So Jesus is on a boatlooking at the shore, teaching, right?
And he said, let's go to the other side.
The furious squall came up
and the waves broke over the boatso that it was nearly swamped.
(27:50):
Jesus was in the stern,sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke him and said to him,teacher, don't you care if we drown?
And he got up.
He rebuked the wind and said of the waves,quiet, be still.
And then the wind died down,and it was completely calm.
He said, why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
Verse 41 says, they were terrifiedand they asked each other, who is this?
(28:13):
That even the winds and the wavesobey him?
I think there's a lotwe can pull from this little text,
but the first thing is,obviously we see Jesus's
authority, the wind and the waves.
We can't see in the wavesthat always crash.
They remember their creator's voice.
They had responded to him.
I think that that Jesuswanted to show his disciples who he was.
(28:33):
He's not just a teacheras they referenced him.
He's the Lord of Lords andthe King of Kings, and he's the Messiah.
He's that.
He's the God of the universe.
And so it was really cool to process that.
But for me, sitting inand what I've been trying to wrap
my head around and process is actually,I think, lost in the story.
If you just read it quicklyand kind of breeze through,
(28:53):
Jesus was the one who invitedhis disciples across to the other side
of the lake to find rest and retreatand to kind of recharge.
And then they found themselves in a storm.
And I think sometimes we find ourselvesfor many seasons
where, like, God, where are you?
I don't see you.
I can't fill you.I don't understand what's going on.
And in this text, we see thatJesus invited them into the storm.
I mean, for a number of reasons.
(29:15):
One, he revealed his his glory to them.
And I sometimes I think when I find myselfin a, in a weird space or a scary space,
I don't need to respond to where or onwhat do you have for me?
Like,what am I supposed to be learning here?
Or what am I supposed to be taking away?
What what is going on right now?
And how can I glorify you through it?
(29:36):
And so that's kind of been
been my prayer this year.
I keep coming back to this storyand processing
what it means to be available,what it means to God, what it means
to respond to God, His Word,and the situations that he's put me in.
And I think being available waswhat happened last summer.
It was got an email from Pastor Carl,and it's like, okay, God,
if this is what it means to be available,sure.
(29:57):
Let's let's go to flipsideand let's serve students
there and walk alongside staffand in the congregation.
All this I am super grateful.
And I hope in 2025
you can have that same prayerof being available and being genuinely,
genuinely available so that when God callsyou ready to go, thanks.
Thank you Michael.
Very thankful for your obedience,
(30:19):
your availability, and your obedienceto God's call.
It's been a real blessingto see how it continues
to be fleshed outas you finish up your your first year.
Yeah.
So Heather bot right man
in the trenches.
Yeah.
For a long time.
What you're celebrating how many years?
Year 12 in this next year will be 13. Wow.
(30:42):
A season that,
thank you for not saying old
executive administrator, so.
Oh, that's such a fancy title.
I'm like, wow.
All right, you got five minutes.
They said I can pick whatever I wanted.
So my name is Heather.
Yes, I've been at flip side.
Well, we started attending flip side.
(31:03):
I brought my friend.
She is 19 years old,so we've been around here for a while.
But, yeah, I'mon my 12th year here at flip side,
and this last year I celebrated my 25thwedding anniversary with my husband, John.
He is
so patientto everyone, so such a good guy.
I am.
(31:24):
And no, I'm not marriedPastor Carl or Jeff
or Michael because everybody seems to getthat confused as well.
I'm just that very patient man.
But we also celebratedfive years in our new home.
If you have come to other,five good minutes,
I struggle with fear and,
being changed completely,like, to the point where
(31:46):
I'll just stay in something bad.
But we made the big jumpto move out here to the ranchos
because we were driving from Madeira.
Madeira and Madeira.
But we made that jump
and just celebrate five years,and it's been such a huge blessing.
But as I prepared for todayand looked back,
I recommend that for everybodyas you go at the end of this year,
(32:08):
look back and just look at whereGod's hand has been throughout your life.
It's really, really neat to look back
because I think we're so focusedon looking forward and what's coming next.
Retirement. That sounds great.
Or, you know, like all the thingsthat we have coming in, you're looking at,
but sometimes just it's good to look backand to get to see,
(32:28):
where God has shown upthroughout your life.
So, as I was doing that, my themethat I came up with was thankfulness.
So I'm just super, super thankfulthis year,
for my family, my husband,my daughter Matthew, specifically, my home
is, I'm in a season of change.
(32:48):
Big change that I have no control over.
But it's good stuffbecause my daughter should grow up.
I would love for her to have stayed aboutnine years old.
That would have been great.
Teenage years.
I could have done without junior high.
I think we both made it out. But,
you know, I.
I wish that,
sometimes things wouldn't have to change,but these are these are good changes.
(33:11):
But in the midst of that change, I don't.
I'm strugglingwith who I am in that change
because my one of my lovelanguages is acts of service,
which is why I love to run aroundand put on all my sins
for you guys and do all that stuff.
But I don't get to
I don't get to serve in the same wayI don't I don't have to run around
to softball games or pick kids up anymoreor be less doing things,
(33:33):
which I'm thankful for,but also I, I don't what do I do now?
So I'm finding new and different ways.
And I stepped down from serving in youth.
Not because my goal is not great. My.
But I felt like thatseason had ended for me as well.
So I I'm not I'm not doing that anymore.
So just trying to find,
(33:54):
who I am in the midst of that.
And God has been revealing to methrough some really, really good friends,
that I'm still have a works as a mom.
It's just my,
I still have a role here at flipside.
It's just a little different.And that's all good and.
Okay. And I'm not going to cry.I this year is a year of no crying.
Even if I see it in my eyes.
My throat is tickling. So,
(34:18):
but I find it.
I found it very important this yearwith who I was surrounded with,
people who have been through experiences.
I'm looking at one up front right now.
This Joanne Darcy is so great to me.
Every Sunday checks in on me,
wants to know how I'm doing, tells meI'm doing a good job,
tells me I'm a good mom.
And that it's all going to be okay.
(34:39):
And she is like, yeah, that is hard.
I know, I mean, there's no resolution,just, you know, camaraderie
and being in it.
But God has placedthose people in my life,
but I can get so busy in my life.
And like he said, we're typicallyrunning around a more flash that goes by.
And yes, my hair is usually curly.
That was in the beginning, apparentlytoday that threw everybody off that.
(35:01):
But it's it's good to slow
down and,to be thankful in the midst of that, I'm
so thankful for my friends and,
who got has surrounded me with,
but by the way, half of my knowgot deleted when I was sitting up here.
I don't know what I did,
so our life is different from, like,
(35:23):
how much I'm, like, even trying to planChristmas this year was different.
Kids are grown and they have other peopleand they have jobs and all of that.
It a couple of years ago, if I hadn't beenpreparing myself to be thankful,
would have destroyed me.
But now I'm just I'm so thankful that
(35:44):
I have jobsand this is what we're supposed to do.
This is how it's supposed to go.
And so the Bible versethat I've been focusing on this year was,
first Thessalonians 516,
oh, no, sorry, 16 through 18.
It's rejoice always,pray continually, give
thanks inall circumstances will for you in Christ.
(36:06):
So, it just my encouragement
to everybody as we head into2025 is to stay in prayer.
Stay thankful.
There is so muchfor us to be thankful for.
And I think, unfortunately,the world tries to make us believe
the opposite,that there's so much division
and there's so much goingon in the world that there's
or we have so much to be thankful for.
(36:26):
And so I'm thankful for this place.
I'm thankful for this staff.
It's an amazing staffand I think we'll be part of it.
Thanks, Heather.
Thankful for your obediencefor you and John.
You guys are a true definitionof a power couple.
Thankful for you guys and your servicefor over a long period of time.
Through, change of
(36:48):
high school to here.
Just all the all the things youand you and John have.
With all the questions, youand John have stayed and been faithful.
So I'm thankful.
One of the things I was thinking about,I'm going to practice
what I preach here for five minuteson, I was looking in,
one of the things that stuck withme this year is Psalm 32.
(37:11):
Verse eight
says, I will instruct you and teach youin the way you should go.
I will counsel you and watch over you.
It also says, don't be like a muleor a horse which have no understanding.
That must be controlled by bit and bridle,or they will not,
that verse about
God saying,I'll instruct you, I'll counsel you.
How many of you have ever sat in a class,whether it's been in, elementary school
(37:34):
definitely happened in, junior highor high school or even in college.
And the teacher says somethingor some materials presented and
and you're you don't you don't get it.
You raise youryou raise your hand, you raise your hand.
How many of you ever had done that?
And the teacher goes,put your hand down, have it.
Or worse yet,we're not taking any questions right now.
(37:56):
Doesn't it seem likelife is like that sometimes?
We do have a question now we're moving on.
And I kept coming back to this this year,
where God says,
I'll teach you all, counsel you.
There's another versein the book of Joshua.
It says,
after three days,the officers went throughout
(38:16):
the entire campgiving orders to the people.
This is when when you seethe ark of the covenant of the Lord
your God, and the priests who are Levites
carrying you, move from your positionsand follow it.
Then you will know which way to go.
Since you have never been this way before.
God says there are placesyou're going to go in 2024 and 2025.
(38:38):
You've never been there.
Please don't do that alone.
Please don't think that you can do thatby yourself.
God says, I'll give you the instruction.
I'll give you the counsel.
I think so many times we think, oh,if somebody would just teach me this or,
you know, I need to go to counseling or
I need to go to therapy or whatever,all those things are good.
(39:01):
But God says
I am a source of all those things.
Come to me.
I will give you that wisdom.
I will give you that teaching.
I will. I will counsel you.
This time last year, my my father in lawwas in the hospital up at Stanford.
He was supposed to go in
for open heart surgeryand supposed to be out fairly quickly.
(39:23):
And it wasn't.
He was in for a while.
And I remember thinking,
wow, we are going to bein the throes of this.
This is not looking like a short stint.
This is looking like a long haul.
And I remember thinking,what are we going to do?
How do you do this?
How what what'swhat's the game plan with step?
You know, one step.
(39:45):
And as we walked through
those months, I found myself pressingmore and more into God.
I've never been this way before.
What are we?
What are we supposed to do here?
I got a call from my daughter in April
saying, dad, we're engaged,
and, we're going to get married in July.
(40:05):
What do you think?
Well, the stem goes when we do stuff.
It's like, you know what?
We live by the motto.
If you waited for a perfect time to doanything, you'd never get anything done.
And so we're like,sure, July 5th wedding, let's do it.
And then I thought,wow, I forgot what the San Joaquin Valley
is like in the beginning.
(40:25):
So we're like, yeah, let's do it.
And I found myself pressing and oh,and then they said,
and we want you to bethe officiant of the wedding.
And I thought, all right,what did I get myself into?
And I found myselfgoing back to God with the good, the bad,
and the kind of ugly or weird going,God, I've never been this way before.
All this is new to this.
I am when it comes to music.
(40:48):
I've talked to Caleb about this before.
I don't mind repetition.
The girls always make fun of me.
Dad, are we going to play the whole song?
You saidyou just wanted to play the bridge.
No, I like let's Do it againfor the 50th time.
I like things that are. I'm unassailable.
That if I do it and do itand know that that I'm going
to, that I'm never going to fail at it,
(41:09):
I'll sign up for thatevery day of the week.
Some people hate repetition, I love it,I love it
when I was skateboarding,I love trying that trick 75 times.
Life.
A lot of times it's not like that.It comes at you fast and furious.
You've never done it before and
I know the end from the beginning.
Come to me, ask me.
I will counsel you.
(41:30):
I will guide you through this.
I will be your teacher.I'll be your coach.
I'll be your guide.
And so that's what 2024 was all about.
And I'd like to say I'm going to tryto keep that idea going into 2020.
I'm freaking out.
You guys can
remind me it's always great when somebodypreaches a message back to you.
(41:51):
So thank you, staff, for sharing.
Hopefully you guys have got a glimpse,
hopefully something, that was set up heretoday has connected, maybe
at a personal level or, like we said upfront, maybe at a transcendent level.
So thankful for flipside.
I'm so thankful for all of you.
We are all thing for for all of you.
If you only knew how much we talk aboutyou guys behind your back.
(42:13):
All good stuff.
Did you see
who's the guy with the the 40 ninersand football hat or the baseball hat?
And. Oh, that's so he was fantastic.
Thank God for him.
You got the congregationand we so appreciate you.
I'm going to pray for us as I do.
I'm going to call the worship teamback up.
Do I need to worry about my chairor are you guys good?
All right, put aside let's wrap up2024 in prayer the way it should be.
(42:38):
God, thank you so much.
God. Thank you so much for, 20.
For the good, for the bad, for the, uglyor weird things that maybe
we are still dragging into 2025,that we just want to have it figured out.
We want it to be done.
We want to close the chapter at least,if not the entire book on that.
(43:00):
Help us to rememberthat you call us to be faithful,
trust you.
As we go back out into the placesyou've called us to be.
The office,
the the ball field, the classroom,wherever it is we land.
God, we pray that we will take, whatwas spoken up here today and your word.
And suck it deep into our hearts.
(43:24):
Where it's very,
very difficultto do what we talked about here today.
Help us to just call our mindsback to this place
right nowand and remember that you are good.
You can be trusted.
You are our counselor.You are our teacher.
And in all of that Jesus, we thank you.
And we ask these things in your name.
Well again.
Good morning, church. We're happythat you're here.
We like to.
Here, here at Woodside doing a thingwe call five good minutes if you're new.
This is definitely something that isunlike what
we usually do on a Sunday morning.
Or if you've only been come infor a short amount of time.
This is different today.
It's an opportunity.
Where, Where am Iat? Here? You guys, down at the end?
(00:22):
I'm going to be down at the end
where they tell me to go.
Yeah.
We just take an opportunityand give, the staff here
an opportunity to kind of share with youwhat God's been doing in their lives.
A lot of times we're movingso quick around here.
You may hear a name or a see a faceas it races by you.
On the way,maybe with the screaming child.
(00:44):
Or, maybe you see an emailcoming from somebody and you're like,
I wonder who that is.
Well, this is an opportunityfor you to get to meet us and for us
to get to kind of share with you,what God's doing in our lives.
So five good minutes.I've got the timer. You guys.
I almost forgot my timer.
We're going to set a timerfor five minutes.
So we're going to suck the gong.
So we're going to go five minutes.
(01:06):
There's two members of the staffwho aren't here today.
The first is Miranda Roth.
She is our, remote,first in the age of post Covid.
She is our remote, staff member in Idaho.
Anything you've ever seenwith, media up here?
Thingsfor the children's program. Program?
Any type of. She is VB and Aviaudio visual.
(01:28):
She is the visual of it.And she does a fantastic job.
She's got a great eye for design.
And so all the stuff that you seeon a Sunday morning is done by Miranda.
So, if you've got an opportunityto send her an email thanking her
for everything she does,that information's on the website.
And, so Pastor Carl,our senior pastor, is not here today.
They're actually with family down
(01:49):
in Southern Californiaenjoying some much needed R&R down there.
So should you send him a text, an email,whatever
saying you've been praying for him.
So thankful for the fact that he decidedto plant a church in the Ranchos
back in 2004, 2005.
Obedient to God's call
on his life,the fact that he's been through,
some pretty interesting seasonsof ministry here in the ranchos
(02:13):
and doing ministry in Guatemalaand Cuba and Mexico
and most recently, the Ukrainewith the Excel Leadership Network.
Just so thankful for PastorCarlos leadership, for,
for organizationsthat that are involved in it.
So one of the things about fivegood minutes is if you connect with
one of the stories or many of the storieson a personal level, fantastic.
(02:35):
But ideally, we want you to connect on,or we hope what you take away
is this idea of a connectionon a transcendent level.
Maybe not one year old single femalelike Ali
down there in her last yearor frozen state.
So, you know, it's like,I don't know how to relate to that,
but a lot of timessomebody can say something,
you're like, man, that makes total sense.
God, that is how God works.
(02:57):
It's very difficult.
You know, God rarely does two thingsthe same way, but there are patterns
to look so in, hearingfrom somebody other than pastor Carl,
hopefully that's kind
of what you take awayis this idea of, of a transcendent,
good God that works, together
(03:17):
for the good of those who love himand are called according to his purpose.
Amen.
All right.
First up, we have a perfectexample of how things come full circle.
You were involved in Liberty High Schoolgraduate?
I am, yes, and involved in flip sideyouth stuff that graduated.
Yeah.
Single female.
Back then you are very much not.
(03:38):
No, no, I was not a single female backthen.
I was still with that guy.
That's true. There.
Married to Sean, her husband.
You have two wonderfulboys, Grayson and William. Yes.
And you guys were with us out of StoneCreek when we were doing that.
So definitely time in the trenches.
You're a you're a good exampleof what we talk about around here a lot,
where you say yes to God on the front endand then figure out what you said yes to.
(04:00):
Yes. Absolutely.
So all right, you got five minutes away.
Get up.
Because I have a feeling I'm going to cry.
You forgot the tissues.
I'm not.
Because, well, I might pass them down
because you said your sympathetic crier.
So last year,
(04:21):
I had talked about how,
In joy, in peace.
And this year was actually really hard.
But there was so much joy
and peace within it.
There were so many times
that I could have been super upsetor super sad
(04:44):
knowing that God was so good.
Really helped out with that,because there was
a relationshipthat I just had to say, I'm done.
I can't do this anymore.
It's damaging me.
It's damaging my family.
And there was a point where I was like,I can't do it anymore.
And it's hard when it's a parent.
(05:04):
And sothere was a time where I was battling
it, like,how much longer do I deal with this?
And this year it came to a pointwhere I was like, I'm done.
Like, I can't do this for my family.
I can't do this for me.
And it was so good
then that knowing that God was like, it'sokay.
(05:28):
Like, you can let this relationship go.
And so there was that one.
And then my grandpa diedand my grandma had a stroke.
My other grandma is really strugglingwith her health,
which is hardbecause she's been my best friend for,
but knowing that, like, God is so good
(05:50):
and his timing is just,
something that I held on to, like,
when my grandpa passed,I was like, you know what?
It's God's timing for him.
He needs him back in heaven.
Like, there we could have been.
It's so sad about it.
But knowing that he was now at rest
and he wasn't hurting anymore, like
(06:13):
there was likeI said, there was just so much peace
in all of my year that I hadthat I could have just been a hot mess.
And so
but there were always good, like,I was able to do stuff that I hadn't done.
And so,
like, Seanand I used to love going to Disneyland,
and we got to take our kidsfor the first time in like six years.
(06:33):
And so we were like, yes, like,
let's go find some magic in theworld with the kids.
And so,
it was just so good.
And my dad is my.
You're good. Oh, good. Okay.
And I was like, oh, no. Okay.
I'll be quick, so you're fine. You go.
I'm like, I'm crying this whole time.
It's fine.
(06:55):
But I'll end on a good notebecause I am a very busy person.
There's been a lot of changesthat have happened.
I'm no longer the life like I'mnow the, like, secretary.
So I'm there helping run still create.
I've been helping out here,which has been an incredible blessing
to do the large events and see the kidsand be able to share God's Word with them
(07:17):
is just an incredible blessing.
And then there's just so many other hugeblessing.
You're like,we got to celebrate birthdays.
Sean and I celebratedour ten year anniversary.
We got to do
just the little miracles in everyday lifethat God blesses us.
It was an opportunityto see how good he is.
(07:39):
So now moving into 2025, I pray.
I pray over which word has just likestuck out to him, to me,
as I'm tryingto kind of lay out this next year.
And the word was,oh gosh, I wrote it down.
Hold on.
Because I knew I was going to freezeon this stage because I'm so used
(08:01):
to talking in front of children.
Intentional.
That's it.
Don't do anything for the purpose.
So here I am.
And so,
just being so intentional on what I do,what I commit myself
to, and just being intentionalwith my time, with my relationships.
(08:22):
So. Yes.
And very next year afterI've had so much peace
over so many transitionsto now refocus my time and energy,
and do things with a purposeand a part of God's plan
to see what every day looks like.
So I'm done now.
Thank you.
Kaylee.
(08:45):
Kaylee, I so appreciate your willingnessto follow God.
You're obedient sometimes.
You know, like walking into a dark roomand just trying to leave with your face.
It can be difficult sometimes,and I think we're all really thankful for
your obedience to God's call on your lifewith the children and otherwise.
Thank you for that.
Next we have near and dear to my heart.
(09:05):
Allie is I have three daughtersand Allie is my middle daughter.
Allie and Iva are probablythe single most important reason
the simple family ended up at flip sideyears ago.
Allie was in kindergarten.
Iva was, I think in second grade,and they came home and they said, dad,
there's a good news clubthat means to serve you.
And I said, well, what is that?
(09:26):
They said, it's a church.
I said, hold on.
Is that it is the school in the church.
It's a church that meets at the school.
I said, okay, well, yeah,you can go. Sure.
It's God's stuff. Sowe were still making the drive into town.
We had just moved out to the ranches.
We were still making the drive into town,and these two little girls
decided to startgoing to the Good News Club this year.
And so we started asking about it.
(09:46):
So what's up with this church? Well,they meet at the high school.
I said again,is it a school or is it a church?
So they're a churchthat meets at the high school.
I said, all right,we got to go check this out.
So some time in 2008, 2009,
we went to this church called flipsidethat met at Liberty High School.
Every week.
They set it up. They tore it down.
(10:06):
It was nuts.
If you are part of those, if you were partof that back in the day, you know what?
How chaotic that was.
It was like what we did, at Christmas Eve,only on steroids and every week.
And so Allie and Eveare the reason we started coming.
And Allie got plugged inas she moved up the, into
her grades.
Got involved in the area 56,one of the first iterations
(10:29):
of area 56 and then into the juniorhigh program high school.
And now things have come full circle,and she's helping with our youth.
I don't sheshe likes the junior high students.
I used to like junior highbecause we lit stuff on fire and stuff up.
Now we like for reasons.
It's like these chatty little girls.
How do you.
So anyway, Allie Stemple, she is a partof our worship and our youth leader.
(10:52):
Yes. Okay.
Yeah.
I feel like I know a lot of youand a lot of you know me,
but we've never really talked.
We just look at each other's facesevery Sunday when I'm up here.
Do superexcited to be part of five good minutes.
I've come through watching it every yearand now like, to speak
other is kind of cool.
(11:13):
So yeah, I grew up in the youth program.
My me and my friends,we were here in junior high every Monday
night, high school every Wednesday night.
And yeah, I'm just super
one. The parents that I have and two,
just the relationshipand the church family that I have.
And so when I was thinking aboutlet's talk about in like what
(11:35):
I learned this year and how this year,what effect it had on me,
I was praying about it and two words
just kept coming to my mindtheir growth and opportunity.
And so I think that
and I was trying to phrase it in my headbefore I got up here, the chance
to grow through the opportunitiesthat God has given me this year.
(11:59):
2024 was just a really good year.
Honestly.
Like, obviously there's some upsand downs, which I'll talk about, but
beginning of the year I turned 21.
Middle of the year,my older sister got married.
I got to be her maid of honor.
That's just
every time I look back on that day, I'mso super thankful for the both of them.
And just that whole experience,
(12:22):
started in my last yearand there's just a lot.
Every time I found myselfpraying this year,
I found myself just like thanking Godfor all of the opportunities
and all the blessingsthat he's blessed me with.
It was my second year livingnot in my parent's
house, in an apartment, by myself.
(12:44):
Yeah.
Every prayerI would just start out thanking God.
And a lot of the times it was like
in disbelief of
how good he is and how, like,
faithfuland how much he's blessed me with,
and so
a big thing that I was thinking about
today was this past summer,
(13:07):
I had the privilege of leading the youthprogram, the junior high and high school,
which my dad and Pastor Carl came to me in
like March or April this year,and they were like,
hey, what do you think aboutleading the summer youth program?
I was like, why not? Let's do it.
I love going through that youth program,and I love summer.
(13:28):
So that was a lot of fun.
It was a lot of work,and it was a lot of unexpected,
things just the whole summer.
But it was really good.
And I feel really lucky to
be ableto have done that because, like you said,
kids was the main thing that,
it was just so good to pour into thatand then to see the fruit of that
(13:51):
where I would, like, see them outsomewhere else, and they say hi to me
and then
I also want to be a teacher, for that age.
And so I feel like I saya lot of the times that when
these junior high,they look at me crazy and are like,
why would you ever want to do that?
I don't know.
I feel like it's a very misunderstood ageand they just need some guidance. And.
(14:15):
Oh, and so, just in leadershipthrough that portion of their lives.
And so thinking about that,
like aspect, one verse came to my mind
and it was, it was actually a versewe talked about in our flip journals.
If you are in the youthor you've heard of that,
we did our flip journalsthis past year, and it's Matthew 2028,
(14:37):
and it says, for eventhe Son of Man came not to be served,
but to serve othersand give his life as a ransom for many,
like growing up in the church,like serving on a Sunday or on a Wednesday
or on a Monday became somethingthat was just like, oh, I'll just do it.
Like that's part of my routine.
But we're called to serve and we're calledto like, get something out of that.
(14:59):
Like it's good for usto pour into God and his people.
So I think this year it was really good.
It turned back intonot because for a while there,
which sounds bad, but it kind of feltlike a chore for a little bit.
But I think this yearI was able to renew, like my energy
and my motivation in the spirit to serve.
(15:23):
And then there was a answered prayer.
This year, I feel like when I startedmy, time at Fresno State,
there was a lot of like uncertaintyand loneliness, almost because,
I don't know, I'm a very social person,
but high schooland college are very different.
High school, I had a huge group of friendsthat same since kindergarten
(15:46):
get to collegeand it's not like that at all.
But this year I was really blessed
to meet two girls that are they're goingthrough the same program as me.
Were all threeEnglish majors wanting to teach?
And so I was able to getreally close to them, and that was really
good because they were.
I'll finish up, I promise.
(16:07):
They were just really goodto have in my life.
And so,
same thing when I was thinking, God,for all the opportunities
and all the blessings, I found myselfthanking him for all the people
that I've been surrounded with.
That just had a really good effect on me.
And so going into,
2025,
(16:28):
which is the yearI'm going to graduate college, hopefully,
and start my job,
I'm really just ending this year, superthankful.
And I feel like thisyear was a year of building good habits.
Like I was able
more in the word and have that desireto, like, know the Lord more and know
(16:49):
like want to be just walking with him
and like lining up my lifeto where it's supposed to be.
And so I feel like going into 2025,I have a lot of I'm equipped
with a lot of good habits,and my community is just really good.
So yeah, I feel like that was really likescattered, but just good.
(17:10):
That'swhat I learned this year. Thanks Ali.
Never met a
microphone she didn't like AliI'm really thankful.
You you you are a good exampleof how you parents of young kids
whose of the littleness it can seem like.
Oh dear Lord,
I spent Ali and Eve are 16 months apart
(17:31):
and so, I mean diapers at the same time,bottles at the same time.
And I thought,we are never going to be out of this.
And then to see your kids not just grow upto grow up serving and loving God
and the imperfections of what it.
Ali, I'm really thankfulfor you and your sisters.
I'm going to ask a favor of you too,because I always do.
I remember that at youth groupjob opportunity.
(17:52):
Can you get my Bible?
If I walk in front of this speaker,it's going to feed back.
Thank you.
While she does that, Tricia Cheshire,
you are part of the, transplantsthat happened during Covid.
You and her family showed up one Sunday.
I'm assuming during we were weI don't know that we ever completely
thank you.
And Heather, I don't know thatwe ever completely closed down for Covid.
(18:15):
Don't tell anybody.
But, one Sunday, her six foot four,
six foot three husband came in and blockedthe camera.
Well, he was a
lens, guys blocking the camera.
And then, the Cheshire's were partof flip side, and you guys never left. So.
Tricia, huddle coordinator, take it away.
Yeah.
This is my third year being a part of.
(18:37):
Well, going intothis is my third good minute, right?
Yeah. Five minutes.
And this year, reflecting,
I felt like for me,there was a lot of change and growth.
When I was thinking backover the last year,
we were driving last weekend to a weddingand asking my family
(19:00):
what is something that stuck out?
And the kids said, home like.
That was my, like, highlight of 2024.
Two is going to come likewith our youth group last year.
And so I pulled out my notesof what we talked about last year,
and it was three waysto walk in obedience with Christ.
(19:21):
And I started
reflecting on that the last week.
I followed through with that,and there was a lot of change
where I had to literally tell God,I need a change.
Open a door, close the door.I'm listening.
And I'm stubborn.
So choosing to just fully 100%
(19:45):
give my life decisions to God
where I knew I was not incontrol was liberating.
And dang,
I think it brought out a new side of me
that I didn't know.
The pastor at Hume, the Bible verse was
the number of days
(20:06):
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 9012
and in the notes that they talked aboutwas spent time
in God's Word,being with God's people and God's mission.
And I thought that this is allfrom January of last year.
And I reflected on those three
did it
the notes I took from him,I reflected on just this last week
(20:30):
spend time in God's Word.
I've definitely this yearI grew in that, just really focusing.
I think the, flip journal that we do inyouth group has really helped with that.
So spending time in God's Word,God's people,
I started to become our flip side
huddle coordinator because I really wanteda women's ministry.
(20:50):
I really wanted small groupsat this church.
I had tons of friends, always ask me,we need small groups.
And that was on my heart.
I really wanted to build community,I wanted friendships, and I did it.
We now have a women of a couple differentfamily huddles.
We have a men's ministry.
Carl's doing his and it's been so greatto be intentional with these huddles
(21:13):
and being building relationshipswith you guys here at
church has meant a lot to me, where I'mnot just here working and leaving.
I'm actually learning namesand getting to know you.
Brings me joy
and fulfills me that I didn't knowI needed.
And then the third one is God's mission.
(21:35):
And the last couple yearsI've stepped out of my comfort zone,
and I'm a youth leaderand help out with our youth group.
And that by far
is the best joy.
We have amazing students here,
and I couldn't do without Michaeland Jeff and Carl and Heather and
(21:57):
watching our youthgo through today's world.
As a mom,
we need more
people praying and being alive
and being intentional with the youth.
That's where I feel like God's
calling me for like the good 2025. What?
I need something more for that.
(22:18):
And I don't knowwhat the word is for me yet.
I don't know what it's going to do.
I'm listening to God. I,
I'm not gonna take a job.
But I
but I want to learn more of
how to be a better leader for the youth
and being more intentionalwith my Bible time. And,
(22:43):
I have my own
still being, like,a lot of the youth here, their second mom
sometimes that has filled my heartso much.
I would say this last year.
And that leads me to being just grateful.
Gratitude, I think, was my word of how
thankful I am
(23:04):
here, like our huddles and our youth group
and then my church family.
It's made me who I am, the new me,I would say.
Yeah, yeah, I think that's it.
Thanks, Tricia.
Tricia, I'm so thankful for you having.
(23:24):
And I started to see it when you startedserving in youth and the kids,
how you relate to the kids.It's a special gift.
And I don't want to, like, put labels up,
but it's almost somethingthat can't be taught.
You just develop it and you're doinga great job developing it.
Your ability to connect,especially with kids who
a lot of times are going through thingsthat not even they understand,
not try to fix them, but to just walkwith them through it has been fantastic.
(23:49):
I'm so thankful for youand your involvement in that program.
It's been great.
Michael Rondon speaking of
which, you are a literaland figurative answer to prayer.
Me and Carl, man, we were.
You want to talk about running on fumes?
I think I walked into the office
and I had, hamburger grease all over me.
We had just done a youth group,and I'm like,
(24:10):
if this guy doesn't work out,I'm out of here. I'm.
This is crazy.
Me and Carltag team in the youth in the summer.
Help and Ali and man,we were so thankful for you.
We went and had lunchand you get plugged in.
Emily is involved and I'm just reallythankful for you doing a fantastic job.
If your kid is in the youth programand you have not met Michael,
(24:33):
definitely reach out to Michaeland get to know him.
He's a great guy.So all right, five minutes.
All right.
I'm I'm in trouble herebecause I told myself this morning
that I that's, so I'm going to very much
cut out some things, but,
2024 was a good year.
It was a really good year for highsand lows and ups and downs, but,
(24:55):
my wife and I celebrated ten yearstogether.
Married?
We found a new church community
and opportunity to serve and walkalongside, you know, junior high and high.
And then we found out having another boy.
And so it's been a pretty sweet year.
Lots of fun, lots of joy.
And as I was reflectingand I was processing and thinking,
about 20, 24, three words came to mind.
(25:17):
The first one was pacethat I like to run at a really fast pace.
I like
on the ladder, and I like to clickand scratch and scratch like,
I want to go and go and goand prove my worth and and just, like,
do everything that I possibly can.
And I just found myselfrunning at an unsustainable pace.
And I can't do that as I'm getting older.
(25:39):
And so pace has been somethingwhere I want to slow
down, not be ahead of God.
He it helps.
It help me to not be as impulsive,be a little more mature in my decisions.
And so pace came to mind.
The second was Thanksgivingor thankfulness that,
of course, it's easyto thank God for the big things,
(26:00):
but I'm trying to thank Godjust for the everyday little things.
You know that my boys will.
That I got to work out today or playsoccer or just the silliest of things.
But but
the things that we just take
for granted and we really do care about,but sometimes we forget about.
And so I think, pace,I've tried to slow down.
I've tried to be as thankful as possible
(26:21):
in the, in the word that has defined
2024 is availability.
This summer
I finished up teaching my teaching year,
and I was praying one night and I said,God, like, I want to serve youth again.
How does that look like?How can I do this on my campus?
Or is it a is it a local youth group?
And 12 hours later, I got an emailfrom Pastor Carl saying, hey,
(26:44):
we have a youth opening.
And so it was a really randomwhirlwind of a experience
opportunity, and it was excitingand a little bit scary.
But being available is kind of
where my heart has beenand where I want my heart to be in 2025.
And so I want to just read over
the scripture that it's beenI've been coming back to life,
(27:05):
and it's actually what I shared.
I met our youth, Heather, in church,actually, the maybe late
July at a at a food bank,like a service day for junior high.
And then I came back a couple weeks later.
We were at the templesand we had a pool party in of the year.
And I was able to lead and I spoke this.
It was Matt, it's Mark's,chapter four verses you want.
I just want to read it,and just process it for a minute with you.
(27:28):
And it says that day when evening came,Jesus said
to his disciples,let's go over to the other side.
Leaving the crowd behind.
They took him alongjust as he was in a boat.
So Jesus is on a boatlooking at the shore, teaching, right?
And he said, let's go to the other side.
The furious squall came up
and the waves broke over the boatso that it was nearly swamped.
(27:50):
Jesus was in the stern,sleeping on a cushion.
The disciples woke him and said to him,teacher, don't you care if we drown?
And he got up.
He rebuked the wind and said of the waves,quiet, be still.
And then the wind died down,and it was completely calm.
He said, why are you so afraid?
Do you still have no faith?
Verse 41 says, they were terrifiedand they asked each other, who is this?
(28:13):
That even the winds and the wavesobey him?
I think there's a lotwe can pull from this little text,
but the first thing is,obviously we see Jesus's
authority, the wind and the waves.
We can't see in the wavesthat always crash.
They remember their creator's voice.
They had responded to him.
I think that that Jesuswanted to show his disciples who he was.
(28:33):
He's not just a teacheras they referenced him.
He's the Lord of Lords andthe King of Kings, and he's the Messiah.
He's that.
He's the God of the universe.
And so it was really cool to process that.
But for me, sitting inand what I've been trying to wrap
my head around and process is actually,I think, lost in the story.
If you just read it quicklyand kind of breeze through,
(28:53):
Jesus was the one who invitedhis disciples across to the other side
of the lake to find rest and retreatand to kind of recharge.
And then they found themselves in a storm.
And I think sometimes we find ourselvesfor many seasons
where, like, God, where are you?
I don't see you.
I can't fill you.I don't understand what's going on.
And in this text, we see thatJesus invited them into the storm.
I mean, for a number of reasons.
(29:15):
One, he revealed his his glory to them.
And I sometimes I think when I find myselfin a, in a weird space or a scary space,
I don't need to respond to where or onwhat do you have for me?
Like,what am I supposed to be learning here?
Or what am I supposed to be taking away?
What what is going on right now?
And how can I glorify you through it?
(29:36):
And so that's kind of been
been my prayer this year.
I keep coming back to this storyand processing
what it means to be available,what it means to God, what it means
to respond to God, His Word,and the situations that he's put me in.
And I think being available waswhat happened last summer.
It was got an email from Pastor Carl,and it's like, okay, God,
if this is what it means to be available,sure.
(29:57):
Let's let's go to flipsideand let's serve students
there and walk alongside staffand in the congregation.
All this I am super grateful.
And I hope in 2025
you can have that same prayerof being available and being genuinely,
genuinely available so that when God callsyou ready to go, thanks.
Thank you Michael.
Very thankful for your obedience,
(30:19):
your availability, and your obedienceto God's call.
It's been a real blessingto see how it continues
to be fleshed outas you finish up your your first year.
Yeah.
So Heather bot right man
in the trenches.
Yeah.
For a long time.
What you're celebrating how many years?
Year 12 in this next year will be 13. Wow.
(30:42):
A season that,
thank you for not saying old
executive administrator, so.
Oh, that's such a fancy title.
I'm like, wow.
All right, you got five minutes.
They said I can pick whatever I wanted.
So my name is Heather.
Yes, I've been at flip side.
Well, we started attending flip side.
(31:03):
I brought my friend.
She is 19 years old,so we've been around here for a while.
But, yeah, I'mon my 12th year here at flip side,
and this last year I celebrated my 25thwedding anniversary with my husband, John.
He is
so patientto everyone, so such a good guy.
I am.
(31:24):
And no, I'm not marriedPastor Carl or Jeff
or Michael because everybody seems to getthat confused as well.
I'm just that very patient man.
But we also celebratedfive years in our new home.
If you have come to other,five good minutes,
I struggle with fear and,
being changed completely,like, to the point where
(31:46):
I'll just stay in something bad.
But we made the big jumpto move out here to the ranchos
because we were driving from Madeira.
Madeira and Madeira.
But we made that jump
and just celebrate five years,and it's been such a huge blessing.
But as I prepared for todayand looked back,
I recommend that for everybodyas you go at the end of this year,
(32:08):
look back and just look at whereGod's hand has been throughout your life.
It's really, really neat to look back
because I think we're so focusedon looking forward and what's coming next.
Retirement. That sounds great.
Or, you know, like all the thingsthat we have coming in, you're looking at,
but sometimes just it's good to look backand to get to see,
(32:28):
where God has shown upthroughout your life.
So, as I was doing that, my themethat I came up with was thankfulness.
So I'm just super, super thankfulthis year,
for my family, my husband,my daughter Matthew, specifically, my home
is, I'm in a season of change.
(32:48):
Big change that I have no control over.
But it's good stuffbecause my daughter should grow up.
I would love for her to have stayed aboutnine years old.
That would have been great.
Teenage years.
I could have done without junior high.
I think we both made it out. But,
you know, I.
I wish that,
sometimes things wouldn't have to change,but these are these are good changes.
(33:11):
But in the midst of that change, I don't.
I'm strugglingwith who I am in that change
because my one of my lovelanguages is acts of service,
which is why I love to run aroundand put on all my sins
for you guys and do all that stuff.
But I don't get to
I don't get to serve in the same wayI don't I don't have to run around
to softball games or pick kids up anymoreor be less doing things,
(33:33):
which I'm thankful for,but also I, I don't what do I do now?
So I'm finding new and different ways.
And I stepped down from serving in youth.
Not because my goal is not great. My.
But I felt like thatseason had ended for me as well.
So I I'm not I'm not doing that anymore.
So just trying to find,
(33:54):
who I am in the midst of that.
And God has been revealing to methrough some really, really good friends,
that I'm still have a works as a mom.
It's just my,
I still have a role here at flipside.
It's just a little different.And that's all good and.
Okay. And I'm not going to cry.I this year is a year of no crying.
Even if I see it in my eyes.
My throat is tickling. So,
(34:18):
but I find it.
I found it very important this yearwith who I was surrounded with,
people who have been through experiences.
I'm looking at one up front right now.
This Joanne Darcy is so great to me.
Every Sunday checks in on me,
wants to know how I'm doing, tells meI'm doing a good job,
tells me I'm a good mom.
And that it's all going to be okay.
(34:39):
And she is like, yeah, that is hard.
I know, I mean, there's no resolution,just, you know, camaraderie
and being in it.
But God has placedthose people in my life,
but I can get so busy in my life.
And like he said, we're typicallyrunning around a more flash that goes by.
And yes, my hair is usually curly.
That was in the beginning, apparentlytoday that threw everybody off that.
(35:01):
But it's it's good to slow
down and,to be thankful in the midst of that, I'm
so thankful for my friends and,
who got has surrounded me with,
but by the way, half of my knowgot deleted when I was sitting up here.
I don't know what I did,
so our life is different from, like,
(35:23):
how much I'm, like, even trying to planChristmas this year was different.
Kids are grown and they have other peopleand they have jobs and all of that.
It a couple of years ago, if I hadn't beenpreparing myself to be thankful,
would have destroyed me.
But now I'm just I'm so thankful that
(35:44):
I have jobsand this is what we're supposed to do.
This is how it's supposed to go.
And so the Bible versethat I've been focusing on this year was,
first Thessalonians 516,
oh, no, sorry, 16 through 18.
It's rejoice always,pray continually, give
thanks inall circumstances will for you in Christ.
(36:06):
So, it just my encouragement
to everybody as we head into2025 is to stay in prayer.
Stay thankful.
There is so muchfor us to be thankful for.
And I think, unfortunately,the world tries to make us believe
the opposite,that there's so much division
and there's so much goingon in the world that there's
or we have so much to be thankful for.
(36:26):
And so I'm thankful for this place.
I'm thankful for this staff.
It's an amazing staffand I think we'll be part of it.
Thanks, Heather.
Thankful for your obediencefor you and John.
You guys are a true definitionof a power couple.
Thankful for you guys and your servicefor over a long period of time.
Through, change of
(36:48):
high school to here.
Just all the all the things youand you and John have.
With all the questions, youand John have stayed and been faithful.
So I'm thankful.
One of the things I was thinking about,I'm going to practice
what I preach here for five minuteson, I was looking in,
one of the things that stuck withme this year is Psalm 32.
(37:11):
Verse eight
says, I will instruct you and teach youin the way you should go.
I will counsel you and watch over you.
It also says, don't be like a muleor a horse which have no understanding.
That must be controlled by bit and bridle,or they will not,
that verse about
God saying,I'll instruct you, I'll counsel you.
How many of you have ever sat in a class,whether it's been in, elementary school
(37:34):
definitely happened in, junior highor high school or even in college.
And the teacher says somethingor some materials presented and
and you're you don't you don't get it.
You raise youryou raise your hand, you raise your hand.
How many of you ever had done that?
And the teacher goes,put your hand down, have it.
Or worse yet,we're not taking any questions right now.
(37:56):
Doesn't it seem likelife is like that sometimes?
We do have a question now we're moving on.
And I kept coming back to this this year,
where God says,
I'll teach you all, counsel you.
There's another versein the book of Joshua.
It says,
after three days,the officers went throughout
(38:16):
the entire campgiving orders to the people.
This is when when you seethe ark of the covenant of the Lord
your God, and the priests who are Levites
carrying you, move from your positionsand follow it.
Then you will know which way to go.
Since you have never been this way before.
God says there are placesyou're going to go in 2024 and 2025.
(38:38):
You've never been there.
Please don't do that alone.
Please don't think that you can do thatby yourself.
God says, I'll give you the instruction.
I'll give you the counsel.
I think so many times we think, oh,if somebody would just teach me this or,
you know, I need to go to counseling or
I need to go to therapy or whatever,all those things are good.
(39:01):
But God says
I am a source of all those things.
Come to me.
I will give you that wisdom.
I will give you that teaching.
I will. I will counsel you.
This time last year, my my father in lawwas in the hospital up at Stanford.
He was supposed to go in
for open heart surgeryand supposed to be out fairly quickly.
(39:23):
And it wasn't.
He was in for a while.
And I remember thinking,
wow, we are going to bein the throes of this.
This is not looking like a short stint.
This is looking like a long haul.
And I remember thinking,what are we going to do?
How do you do this?
How what what'swhat's the game plan with step?
You know, one step.
(39:45):
And as we walked through
those months, I found myself pressingmore and more into God.
I've never been this way before.
What are we?
What are we supposed to do here?
I got a call from my daughter in April
saying, dad, we're engaged,
and, we're going to get married in July.
(40:05):
What do you think?
Well, the stem goes when we do stuff.
It's like, you know what?
We live by the motto.
If you waited for a perfect time to doanything, you'd never get anything done.
And so we're like,sure, July 5th wedding, let's do it.
And then I thought,wow, I forgot what the San Joaquin Valley
is like in the beginning.
(40:25):
So we're like, yeah, let's do it.
And I found myself pressing and oh,and then they said,
and we want you to bethe officiant of the wedding.
And I thought, all right,what did I get myself into?
And I found myselfgoing back to God with the good, the bad,
and the kind of ugly or weird going,God, I've never been this way before.
All this is new to this.
I am when it comes to music.
(40:48):
I've talked to Caleb about this before.
I don't mind repetition.
The girls always make fun of me.
Dad, are we going to play the whole song?
You saidyou just wanted to play the bridge.
No, I like let's Do it againfor the 50th time.
I like things that are. I'm unassailable.
That if I do it and do itand know that that I'm going
to, that I'm never going to fail at it,
(41:09):
I'll sign up for thatevery day of the week.
Some people hate repetition, I love it,I love it
when I was skateboarding,I love trying that trick 75 times.
Life.
A lot of times it's not like that.It comes at you fast and furious.
You've never done it before and
I know the end from the beginning.
Come to me, ask me.
I will counsel you.
(41:30):
I will guide you through this.
I will be your teacher.I'll be your coach.
I'll be your guide.
And so that's what 2024 was all about.
And I'd like to say I'm going to tryto keep that idea going into 2020.
I'm freaking out.
You guys can
remind me it's always great when somebodypreaches a message back to you.
(41:51):
So thank you, staff, for sharing.
Hopefully you guys have got a glimpse,
hopefully something, that was set up heretoday has connected, maybe
at a personal level or, like we said upfront, maybe at a transcendent level.
So thankful for flipside.
I'm so thankful for all of you.
We are all thing for for all of you.
If you only knew how much we talk aboutyou guys behind your back.
(42:13):
All good stuff.
Did you see
who's the guy with the the 40 ninersand football hat or the baseball hat?
And. Oh, that's so he was fantastic.
Thank God for him.
You got the congregationand we so appreciate you.
I'm going to pray for us as I do.
I'm going to call the worship teamback up.
Do I need to worry about my chairor are you guys good?
All right, put aside let's wrap up2024 in prayer the way it should be.
(42:38):
God, thank you so much.
God. Thank you so much for, 20.
For the good, for the bad, for the, uglyor weird things that maybe
we are still dragging into 2025,that we just want to have it figured out.
We want it to be done.
We want to close the chapter at least,if not the entire book on that.
(43:00):
Help us to rememberthat you call us to be faithful,
trust you.
As we go back out into the placesyou've called us to be.
The office,
the the ball field, the classroom,wherever it is we land.
God, we pray that we will take, whatwas spoken up here today and your word.
And suck it deep into our hearts.
(43:24):
Where it's very,
very difficultto do what we talked about here today.
Help us to just call our mindsback to this place
right nowand and remember that you are good.
You can be trusted.
You are our counselor.You are our teacher.
And in all of that Jesus, we thank you.
And we ask these things in your name.
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