Under Construction

I can't believe how long it has been since I updated this blog! Almost 2 years!  That is terrible!  A lot has changed over these past 2 years including my 2 boys.  They look so little in these pics!  
We are still in New England and this update is courtesy of a wonderful lady I met on a plane during a recent trip.  She and her sister were headed down south, to face a pretty difficult situation but she made my 2 hours confined to one cramped seat very pleasant. So, to thank her, and deal with my very slack updating, I am posting today.  So, thank you Mary and Geri, I am praying for you and your family today.  

I know we all deal with construction from time to time.  Most frequently it is probably on a highway somewhere, signified by an endless line of orange cones and blinking lights.  The speed limits shrink to a snails pace and we are forced to idle along, desperate to really get moving again. There are other types of construction as well.  Many of you may have built a home or remodeled something.  You may have had to help your child with the ever daunting science project which, from experience, can be some of the worst kinds of construction!  
Over the past two years our church in New Hampshire has been under construction.  We built some additions to the upper and lower levels of our existing church building and became immersed in a constant state of construction.  We first hosted a team of volunteer laborers who built the "guts" of the additions.  You know, the foundation, the support structures, the load bearing walls, the frame.  They roughed in every electrical outlet, doorway and light switch that would one day serve a purpose.  Another team came in and covered up all those skeleton interiors and we could see what was taking shape. As the sheetrock went up, we began to visualize the space as it was meant to be.  You could see the nursery area and imagine kids playing in those rooms.  You could see the sanctuary open up and have space for many more seats to be filled.  There was finally a location where the youth would gather and call their own.  And, as a final touch, a steeple was added with a big cross on top that really helped to signify that this was indeed a place of worship, where God dwells and where peace is found and experienced.   
Our lives are much like the construction process.  There was a song many years ago called Kids Under Construction.  I don't know who wrote it but I now know what it means. Our Christian lives all start out just like that new addition.  We must have a foundation, Christ to be exact.  Every part of us must grow out of Jesus or it will eventually crumble. We must then allow God to come in and build our support structures, the frame and load bearing walls of our new Christian life.  It probably won't be pretty, it may get really messy and we will have to clean up a lot.  When the rain comes, it will get muddy around that new foundation.  We will struggle to keep ourselves "in the dry". There will have to be cuts made to make room for power to flow through us.  We may have to open up some doors inside and put in some new windows to allow light to flow in to those once dark places.  But eventually, we reach the part where things start to take shape.  We get some new sheetrock! We become a little more "put together".  When the storms come we are okay because we are on the solid "rock" foundation of Jesus.  And in the spiritual world, Jesus our foundation becomes our shelter and covering and we no longer need to fear the storms.  As we keep adding those finishing touches we are able to see how God is going to use us.  We can see our purpose and serve God just as He planned from the very blueprint He started with!  Our service becomes that steeple, that points people to God and lets them know there is hope and a future.  
Today my prayer is that you and I  will go into the construction business.  The world says we've been in a recession lately but WE know there is solid ground to be built on!  Invest in someone's life today and help them to go "under construction" with Christ.   
"Everyone then who hears theses words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25 ESV
May He find us faithful, 
Shannon

Thank You!!!

I just wanted to take today to say "thank you" to all our friends and families who have supported us throughout our transition into full-time missions.  We are establishing ourselves in New England little by little, one day at a time. It is filled with beautiful scenery, magnificent history!  But there are also many here who see no need for God, no thought of a relationship with Him and no desire to change.  What a way to really see the power of the Holy Spirit!  We have seen some of these hearts begin to change and just want to thank you for allowing us that privilege.  Here are some pics of the past few months.  We love you and thank God for each one of you!  May He find us faithful...
The Tates



Shannon, Dave, Max and Sam

This week we experienced the first real snow of the winter here in New England.  Aside from a freak Nor'easter back in October, which brought about 12 inches of snow,  this has been an extremely mild winter.  Even the locals are talking about the lack of snow and it hurts the economy of some who depend on the extra income of snow removal.  Being from the south, we are used to mild winters and the lack of snow so we haven't really experienced the shock of a New Hampshire winter.  Well, it did finally get really cold and we did have measurable snow this week, prompting my kids to get excited about going out to play in the snow.  Max was very disappointed because even with our 3-4 inches, school was still in session! But since the brunt of the storm came on Saturday, there has been plenty of time for outside play.  On the way to church this morning, Max kept looking out the window and saying, "No footprints! Look Mom, no footprints in that yard either!" At first I didn't really get what he was concerned with but after about the sixth time, I began to understand.  He knew, from the lack of footprints in the yards, that no one had been out playing in this beautiful snow!  I kind of laughed about it and thought of all the footprints (and paw prints) in front of our duplex.  My kids had been outside, fully taking in the beauty of the fresh snow, making their mark all over the gleaming white canvas of our driveway.  I thought about how, in the south, if it ever snowed any decent amount, we would know who had been out playing by the presence of footprints in their yard.  I thought about how fun it was to walk in all the spots where there weren't any footprints.  To be the first to traipse through the untouched blanket of white, fluffy, powder. And to have the urge to go run through a neighbors yard if it remained footprint-free for too long!  We were almost to the church, and Max said, "well, at least I know the church yard will have footprints on it!" When I asked him how he knew, he said, "Because everyone will be there and they love playing in our church yard! " And, sure enough, when we got to church, there were footprints all over the front yard. The church yard had seen some action but why not everywhere else?

I thought about how many of my footprints were on the church yard.  I am at church most every time the doors are open.  I have my footprint in ladies ministry, youth, praise team and Wednesday night meals.  My footprints are all over that place!  But I was also reminded how many times I haven't put my footprints on something because I didn't want to go there.  I didn't take that step of faith and leave my mark out of fear of failure or rejection.  How many times I just didn't want to get my feet wet, or cold or didn't want to mess up my pretty, clean, life by walking somewhere I didn't want to go, or I knew might be messy. People know where you've been; they see your footprints.  I want my footprints visible in doing what I could to share the gospel of Christ. I want my kids to be excited to get their footprints out there doing mission projects.   I want to see the footprints of the ladies of our church out in the yards of their neighbors.  I want to see the footprints of our praise team on the floors of our local nursing homes and homeless shelters.  I want to see the footprints of our youth all over their school yards. I want to see the footprints of the lost, the broken, the hurting, the messed up, all over our church altar where the path has been cleared by those who led them to the cross. Because, if you notice (especially if your feet are size 15 like Dave's) it's much easier to walk in the foot path of the first person who broke through the snowfall. And as the snow melts, those footpaths are the first to become clear so others can step in them without getting messy, trudging through slush or being on a slippery path. Where are your footprints? Do you see mine?  Are you following Christ's?   

  

  Romans 10:14-15, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"   

May all who come behind us find us faithful...

Hello from New England!

I am so sorry there has not been a blog update since we came to the field in New Hampshire.  I have not been able to access my account due to email address issues but hopefully now everything is straightened out!  I would first just like to say a big "thank you" to those who have supported us through prayers, encouraging letters and financial gifts.  We are doing well and could not fulfill our commitments without you!  Please look for upcoming posts as we try to keep you updated now that our email is corrected.  You can also follow us on FB at tatetime.  You don't have to friend us on that site, you can just view our posts although there haven't been many to that site due to the busyness of our summer!  Please comment if you have a question or you would like to see a specific blog post from us.  We have lots to share about our first summer in New Hampshire!  Love to all of you, Shannon

Where in the world is Nashua, New Hampshire???

Yes, it has been many months since the last installment of "Tate Time".  We have made quite a few changes in those months and everyone has asked to have an update so here goes.  When I last blogged Max was a budding 6th grader, Sam had turned 3 years old and Dave had celebrated 5 years as youth pastor at New Prospect.  Well, since that last entry, God has done quite a work in the hearts of the Tate family.  Dave and I have long had a desire to serve in some missions capacity.  We didn't have any idea what, where or how.  We actually began the application process with the IMB (International Mission Board) twice in the 13 years we have been married but always felt it was not the right time.  Were we on our time?  Were we on God's time or in His will for us?  Why did we want to go on the mission field? Were we not being content where God had planted us?  All these questions have been asked between us over the last decade.  Not really having an answer, if there really is an answer to those, we continued to serve but did not follow through with the call to missions.  Then, in the spring of last year we truly took a look at where we were and where we felt God wanted us to be.  We began to feel unsettled but didn't know why.  We had great ministries at our church, Dave with the youth and I had a great group of ladies to join in, and at times lead, bible study.  Max and Sam had Awana's and their friends and just had a sense of fitting in.  So why, at a time like this, were we feeling so restless?  We had been reading a couple of different books that just spoke to us about what it means to be a Christian in America and how have we let our culture influence the way we view God.  We realized that in being so comfortable, we had become Christians who were depending on ourselves, and on our abilities instead of on God. I began studying the book of Acts on my own, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.  Every day a new truth was revealed to me about the early Church.  A new view of fellowship, following and of faith began to take shape in my mind and heart.  I would tell Dave about what God was saying to me through His word and Dave would confirm that he was having the same feelings and thoughts.  The more we looked at Paul's missionary journeys in Acts, the more we knew our calling was to go and go now!  We began to look at all the mission opportunities that were available to us.  We looked at international missions but never felt a peace or a calling to a particular place. Through our reading and research we felt like we were meant to stay in the USA so we started researching all missions opportunities.  We came across the term MSC missionary but didn't really know what that was so we looked into it further.  Mission Service Corps missionaries are a group of believers who fill most of the mission positions with NAMB.  They are church planters, church strengtheners, college students, adults who work with college students, retired couples, singles, families with kids...the list could go on and on.  As we looked at the need for people just like us to come along side a church or enter into and area to share God's love and salvation we were ultimately drawn to become MSC church strengtheners.  There were position requests from all over the United States.  We even got a call from a Korean congregation in Alaska!  Talk about foreign missions!!  As we searched and talked with people from all over the country, we came in contact with a church in New Hampshire. The pastor there shared his heart with us and the MSC coordinators for New England were also members of the congregation (and they are from Greenwood, SC...but they've been in NH for 32 years!)  We went to visit last fall and the rest is, well, history in the making.  We are now in the process of selling our house and moving to Nashua, NH to serve the New England area as MSC missionaries.  David is already there but the boys and I will remain in Spartanburg to allow Max to finish school and get the house in order.  God is faithful. He told us to go and tell and through faith, we are answering that call in the way He is leading us.  Thank you to all our friends and families who have, and are, supporting us through prayer, financially and many other countless ways.  We love you and hope to use this blog to keep you updated on our journey. 

"Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think- according to the power that works in you- to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Love to you all,
Shannon

Okay, here is the next installment of Tate Time, thanks to my friend reminding me that she checks in with me here. Boy, she has not gotten much info lately because it has been so long in between postings. We have been a busy crew but here goes....

As of October 13, 2010, Sam celebrated his 2nd "gotcha day". We have had him with us for 2 wonderful and very blessed years. He has changed so much in just a year, it is amazing to watch him learn and grow. He has such a cute personality and is so sweet!! Max loves to be a big brother (most of the time) and Sam loves being the little brother (well, again, most of the time!) Both boys are doing well. Max is now a 6th grader and thinks he has arrived. I will welcome any comments on how those of you who survived the pre-teen, and then teenage years, accomplished such a feat...with you and your child remaining in one piece!!!! Well it has been said that what doesn't kill you will make you stronger. Let's hope that is true for us and Max!! I am so glad I can trust the Lord to bring us all through this because on my own.... I don't even want to think about it on my own!!!

Dave is still at New Prospect Baptist. We celebrated our 5th year in June....wow!! That's the longest we have stayed put since getting married 12 years ago(we celebrated that anniversary in August)! Oh well, time flies when you're having fun!

Okay, before I add any more cliches to this post, I will just add some pics and be done. Hope everyone is doing well and like always, I will try to post more frequently. Love to you all, Shannon

I didn't realize how long it has been since I entered a blog post! Well, here goes for anyone who may still be watching this site. We have had an eventful 2010 so far! Love having 2 boys, one finished 5th grade and the other is now finishing everyone's sentences!! Max is 11 and just entered the 6th grade! Going back to public school this year will be an adjustment but he was ready!! Sam will be 3 in November. It is hard to believe he has been with us for almost 2 years now. Well, actually, time has flown by and we wish it would slow down a bit!! Our summer started off with a bang and kept going. Between baseball, church, youth events, and mission trips we haven't slowed down. Youth camp this year was at Myrtle Beach where we went to SeaSalt and Missions (S.A.M)! We had a blast. Then off to Canada, eh!! Spent 8 days in Halifax working with a local community church. Beautiful country, beautiful people!! Back home to VBS at church and then off to vacation before school began. All kinds of other stuff was sandwiched in between. It would take many blogs to cover it all so I will just leave with some pics to highlight and then maybe I will try and be more diligent!! Love to you all, Shannon

Hey, I hope you all have had a wonderful new year! It has been several months since the last blog but hopefully some will still check in with me in from time to time. Max and Sam are great and I have started a new job at SRMC. Changes are good, but adjusting is difficult sometimes. I'll keep you posted! Here a few recent pics!! Love you all!!

Sam's Gotcha Day- 1 year anniversary 10-13-09

Today is a great day!! Not because of the perfect weather or the fact that Max had some really good grades this past week. No, today is most special because one year ago we welcomed a very special little boy into our family. Today is Samuel Davidson Tate's "gotcha day". October 13, 2008, in the lobby of the beautiful Gran Tikal Futura Hotel, a very small, shy, precious baby was brought into our world and immediately took his place in our hearts. Please celebrate with us today as we think on all of the joy he has brought to our entire family. We wish you all could experience the tremendous emotions that have come watching him bond, grow and learn with us. Everyone tells us what a blessing we are to him, taking him into our family and giving him a place to call home. That so pales in comparison to what he has done for us. Max has learned how to be the best big brother ever. Dave has learned that Sam loves to be 6'7" because he wants "dada" to carry him everywhere. I have learned that you don't have to wonder if you will love an adopted child just like you love your biological child... you do!! Grandi has learned that if Sam says get down in the floor with me, it is not always easy to get back up! Papa has learned that he really did hang that moon and if Sam ever wants it back then papa should deliver it immediately! Aunt Ally has learned that she can't make Sam laugh so hard because he forgets to breathe! (She also taught him to say "Go Cocks!" but we don't use that cheer in our house.) Carey and Amber have learned Sam is a great way to practice for when they have one of their own. (They also taught him how to say "Roll Tide!", another SEC term we don't use in our Gator Nation!!) Grandma Tate has learned that all the time she put in to crocheting those blankets was worth it. Grandpa Tate has learned that love has no borders. I guess we will continue to learn from Sam each day God blesses us with his smiling face. Here are some pictures of that sweet face from the past year. Thank you to our family and friends for all the prayers and blessings. We love you very much!! Shannon