All three kids are now enrolled at our neighborhood school, which is pretty fun. Jason gets to walk them the four blocks every morning, and Meredith walks them home every afternoon! It seems not many people get to experience this simple pleasure, so we count it a huge gift. Cassie’s likely going to attend our neighborhood middle school next year as well, which is a bit further from home. But, we’ll likely ride bikes in the warmer weather, attempting to preserve that rootsy lifestyle.

Abbey’s turning into quite the imaginative and engaging storyteller. Here’s a clip from a recent dinnertime story. We’re trying to figure out how to bottle and keep this, if you have any ideas… Jayce is still functioning as “the mayor” of our block. We’re not certain that politics is in his future. But he’s a “man of the people,” for sure.

With the house quiet during the day, Meredith’s recently picked up more hours at her job, and is enjoying the adult interaction and contributing in significant ways. Jason’s also been doing some freelance writing and project management with a few organizations, and is considering ramping up those hours in the coming months.

In the past few weeks, the snow’s begun to fall, which means ski season’s around the corner. We’re expecting the kids will transition from “learners” to “skiers” this season, and hope they won’t mind waiting up for us from time to time… With Cassie turning 11 in a few months, we know the day’s coming when she’ll leave us in the dust. Of course, that’ll happen on the slopes. But it’s also beginning to take shape in life as well. Watching our kids become adolescents is exciting. Of course, we’ll miss their “kiddiness,” but we love being able to relate to them on a different, more mature level. God-willing, they’ll continue to appreciate spending time with us so we can learn and grow with them… We’ll see if we make the cut.

A few months ago, we began our third small group here, and it’s been great. It’s a large group – around 18 – of very diverse people, both demographically and spiritually. That makes it tons of fun. In the first few months, we’ve been telling our stories, and serving in the community. We’re excited to continue connecting and learning with these neighbors and friends in the coming months.

For our second year in a row, we’re staying put for the holidays. Of course, we’ll miss visits with family and friends. But there’s something special to waking up in your own bed on Christmas morning, sipping coffee by the fire, reading Luke’s Christmas story, all while the kids consider their strategy for gift opening. (Though they’re required to pay attention to the biblical narrative, I’m certain they’ve never heard a word of it… )

Anyway, we hope this holiday season gives you a sense of peace and hope. Thank you for your friendship, your support, and your love.

In many ways, it feels like, after a fun summer vacation, life is cranking back up. Jayce is now in Kindergarten, Abbey’s in 3rd grade, and Cassie’s in 5th grade – the BigWomanOnCampus. As usual, we walked them to school this morn, and sent them off to begin their new routine Unlike past years, there were no tears (from either side!). But like the past two years, there were lots of emotions from us, as parents. Our kids seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.

Cassie’s really blossoming in piano, cranking out a mellow but inspiring version of Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” Abbey has yet to explore art or music fully, but we have a suspicion that she’ll be our actor – if she can get over performance anxiety. We’ll catch her playing by herself or with friends, in dramatic fashion only found on Broadway. Jayce is doing everything he can to age faster than his body will let him. Some of his best friends on the block are nearly in college, and we’ll often catch him looking longingly at the “big boys” on the playground, wishing they’d invite him to a hot game of four-square. It’s pretty cute.

Meredith has picked up yet another job… She’s got two part-time gigs, and one full-time one! Actually, caring for the kids all summer was the full-time job. And she’s also trying to manage two part-time accounting jobs for local non-profits. Still she thinks her gift is common, though Jason admonishes her that it’s anything but… Jason’s had a few small writing gigs lately, but nothing steady. And of course, the church continues to be his primary focus. He’s increased his focus on “outreach,” which means connecting with people outside the church, and loves it. Summertime, for churches, is usually hard. But NDC’s grown significantly, which means we’re carrying great momentum into the fall. That and a great quarterly planning session, and we’re really, really excited about what the future holds.

Since it’s nearing (or at) 100 degrees outside today, most of us are yearning for the fall and cooler weather. And shortly on her heels will be winter, and ski season. So if you have yet to wax your boards or pick your preferred resort, get on it! We hope to see you here!

Love, the Malecs.

This refrain is almost a mantra here, and it makes starting a church interesting, to say the least. Before talking about God, Jesus, the Church or the Bible with anyone, it seems there are some prerequisite questions to answer. Are you trustworthy? Are you “normal” (whatever that means)? Do you respect me and my beliefs? Are you a hypocrite (like other religious people I’ve met)? “Jesus” isn’t a bad name to many of these people, though most are wary of any personal agenda I might try to associate with him.

This is what makes me love being a church planter, here in Denver. Yes, it takes us far out of our comfort zone, and no, we don’t always do a good job responding to these questions or modeling how Jesus would respond. And yet, each and every day presents opportunities to share God’s love with a skeptical, distracted, and highly individualistic culture of people. It’s exciting and terrifying, all at once.

Also exciting is the fact that this June marks two years we’ve been in Denver. It feels like it’s been longer, in some ways, while in others, it feels like we just arrived. We finished a great season of skiing at the end of March (even though many Denverites will still be toting their boards up the hill for another month or two!). The kids and Meredith all took to it very well, and will hopefully be making even more progress in the coming years.

We’re about to end our second small group here, which has been another great collection of friends and neighbors. Our kids love “group night,” for some reason, and will likely miss the wednesday night gatherings over the summer.

On the poopy side of life, Jason’s parents experienced an unfortunate event just a few weeks ago. The tornados that wreaked havoc on Alabama also dropped some fury on North Georgia, where they had a vacation cabin. Unfortunately, over 100 homes were completely destroyed in the 200+ mph winds, including theirs. Fortunately they were not home at the time, and feel blessed for that. But given the decades of memories formed at the lake, they still feel a great loss.
Despite the highs and lows (and maybe even because of them), we are incredibly grateful for your ongoing support and prayers. We love you.

We’ve also had both of our families visit in the past few weeks, which has been fun. Both tripped up to the mountains with us to watch the kids do their thing sliding down the slopes. Here’s a video of one such episode through the woods…

Last week, Cassie completed her award-winning science project on the levels of vitamin C in different juices, and how they compared to the stated RDA. Neither Meredith nor Jason understand how she figured it out. But we sure liked the pictures.

Abbey continues to blossom into a beautiful young woman, is having a blast learning to ski, and enjoys spending time with a few close friends. Jayce is no doubt our athletic one. Expressing himself in all things mobile, he continues to amaze us with his dexterity – especially with useful skills like flicking boogers in strategic directions (ie. his sisters’ hair).

No matter the circumstance, we continue to sense God’s call here. And though we miss each of you deeply, we cherish your prayers and support.

This fall has been a really fun time for our family, friends and church community. As you’ve probably read on the NDC blog or email, we’re gaining momentum at the church in some exciting ways… Emotional stories of life change, lots of new faces, small group growth, local service enthusiasm, and a talented crop of LDP associate staff. Having just passed our one-year anniversary of public worship services, we feel like we’re beginning to walk and maybe even trot a little…

Meredith continues her part-time work with CTEPA as an accountant, and even flexed a little marketing muscle recently, by creating their holiday newsletter. She’s also heavily involved in the kids’ school, leading a “Jr. Great Books” reading group for Cassie, and functioning as the class mom for Abbey. And – shhhh, don’t tell anyone! – she’s considering training for a century ride this summer! (Yup, that’s 100 miles in the saddle!)

Cassie finished soccer, and has picked up piano lessons, girl scouts, and after-school Spanish. Abbey is trying out for a girls’ choral group this week, and loves to play the piano as well. Jayce is gearing up for the ski season and is likely to put the rest of the family to shame with a few weeks’ practice. (If only he knew how to turn!!)

Jason finished phase one of a writing project with Dinesh D’Souza, and will likely begin phase two early in the new year. He’s also been editing for another friend who’s trying to get her book to market in 2011. Earlier this month, he also had the opportunity to volunteer at the Beaver Creek World Cup ski races. It was hard work, but incredible to see the racers go by at 80+ mph on hills that are too steep to stand on, much less ski.

Thanks for tracking with us and praying for us. We wish you well this Christmas season, and pray that we get to see many of you sometime soon.

Last month, we had a number of Atlanta friends join us for the UGA/CU game up in Boulder. We showed up in style, the but unfortunately the Dawgs didn’t show up at all.

Cassie’s soccer team’s improving, Abbey’s rockin’ the piano, and Jayce… Well, Jayce is just Jayce. Full on boy; all out, all the time.

Meredith continues to enjoy her work with CTEPA, ran a 10-mile race last month, and is developing great relationships with many of the ladies at New Denver.

Last month, Jason had the opportunity to officiate a neighbor’s unique wedding near Winter Park. Here’s a link to the slideshow. Take five minutes to watch; you won’t regret it.

As we enter the snowy season, we’re anticipating visitors, and hope you’ll be the first! Just let us know when to wash the sheets!

We just returned from a nearly three-week family tour back east, and had a great time. Well, actually, the “we” is three fewer than normal, as we left the kids (and our dog) in Atlanta, where they’ll spend a week with Jason’s parents, and then a week with Meredith’s parents in South Carolina. Meredith and I are debating whether we’ll head back to pick them up, as planned. Hmmm…

Despite the three-week hiatus from Denver, we continue to develop deep friendships with our neighbors, the kids’ school friends, and church friends. What a gift they’ve been to us and our settling into our new community. (Thanks God!)

As far as church is concerned, summer slows down in our world; especially in Denver when everyone heads to the parks or mountains during the weekends. That said, we’ve stayed pretty busy. As far as growth goes, we continue to be encouraged. On one hand, as our vision has become more clear, a few people have decided to move on to partner with other churches in the community. These are not fun conversations, but at the same time, they’re indicative of our clarifying vision. On the other hand, we’ve had lots of people from a variety of faith backgrounds who have connected well and gotten involved. Our attendance is growing and we continue to see our local giving go up. We knew it would take some time to build a core group of local people who would invest financially, and we’re not self-sustainable yet. But the trend is moving upward and all indications are that we’re on the right track!

We so appreciate your love and support and pray that all goes well with you.

In February, we added a new member to our family… Georgia is our new golden doodle/labradoodle. I’m told they’re called double-doodles, but don’t tell anyone. Cuz I can’t have a dog called a double doodle, no matter how cute or fun she is. And she’s definitely both. Of course the kids adore her, and she them. Meredith and I feed, bathe and clean up after her. But we’re not sure what respect that earns us…

Meredith is still enjoying her job with the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance. She’s working around 10 hours per week, which offers the perfect balance between shuttling the kids around and getting some healthy brain stimulation.

We’re currently in the midst of a two-week family visit, first from Mere’s parents, who are here for a week from Columbia, SC. And then, with one day’s “rest,” Jason’s parents and youngest brother and sister-in-law join us for another week. We love hosting, and given that this is their second visit, we assume they enjoy coming!

At New Denver, we’ve had lots of fun stuff going on, as you could see from the email. One of our highlights not noted is that a number of our neighbors have visited NDC. Already, we’ve developed deep friendships with a number of neighbors. And a few have been interested to see what we’re doing and why we’re here. Whether they continue to participate in the NDC community or not, we’re thrilled to have people who trust us enough to give it a try.

As always, we appreciate your love and support of us. Please let us know how we can help or be praying for you. And if you ever come through Denver, we need to see you!!

The Malecs

Meredith also recently began a new job with a Colorado non-profit called CTEPA. Though she’s only working two days per week, she’s enjoyed dipping her toe back into the financial world. Jason continues to enjoy working with Family Ministries at New Denver, as well as preaching from time to time.

We’re all looking forward to springtime, and the warmer weather. That said, there’s plenty of skiing left this season. So, come visit, and let’s go for a hike, bike ride, or trip into the hills!

Leaving Atlanta, family and friends. Moving to Denver. Settling into our new ‘hood, starting new friendships, new schools, a new church. The list goes on and on… Rather than try to capture all of this in words, we figured we put together a video that captures some of our experiences. If a picture is worth a thousand words, there may be a million in this slide show. We hope you enjoy it and realize how much we appreciate and love each of you! Merry Christmas!

Love,

The Malecs