You’ve taken FPU, applied the steps and celebrated the wins. But now it’s all over. Those days of gazelle intensity seem so long ago and you’re wondering where to go from here. Here are six ways you can continue on your Baby Step journey:

**1). Make the Baby Steps a habit**

At Hoboken Grace, we often talk about Rhythms and the importance of building spiritual habits. Interacting finances in a spiritually healthy way is no different! So put those recurring meetings into your calendar to do your budget and intentionally set aside time to talk to your spouse or accountability partner!

**2). Seek out accountability**

One of the main reasons people are successful during FPU is the power a small group provides — whether that be encouragement, a pair of ears, advice or simply being there. If you’ve already been part of a dinner group for a while, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Now that FPU is over, talk about finances with people who have gone through FPU and encourage one another. Celebrate together. And get into a Dinner Group right away when they restart in January!

**3). Write down and visualize your goals**

There is power in writing down your goals and being able to visualize them! See this one as an example:

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/11/baby-step-2-chart-300x300.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/11/baby-step-2-chart.jpg)

**4). Take advantage of other FPU resources**

There are a multitude of ways to stay plugged in with social media:

1. 1. Join and engage in the Hoboken Grace FPU community [here](https://www.facebook.com/groups/879552792106540/)  
   2. Log into FinancialPeace.com and watch or listen to the lessons again  
   3. Subscribe to the Dave Ramsey podcast or follow his YouTube videos

**5). Do it again!**

We will restart FPU again in January. If you’ve already taken and paid for FPU, you can take it again at no additional cost!

**6). Join the Stewardship team!**

If God has stirred your heart and pursued you through finances and you want to help people do the same, [contact us](mailto:vinny@hobokengrace.com) to find out about serving opportunities!


Six Ways to Keep Up Momentum After FPU

Missions trips are something that are hard to put into words. It’s difficult to articulate just how impactful and emotional a trip can be. I’ll give it my best shot! 

I joined Hoboken Grace early last year and was in awe of how much love existed in one place. The second time I attended it just happened to be Missions Sunday — when Pastor Chris and Anthony talk about how to get involved with an upcoming trip. 

I was reading through the missions pamphlet and came across Puerto Rico, a disaster relief trip to aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Something in my heart dropped. I grew up in South Florida, so the hurricane destruction was all too real to me. When Maria was developing, she was heading straight to my hometown, where my parents and my sister still live. The storm was massive and showed no indication of changing course. About 12 hours before the storm was to make landfall, the storm took a hard turn and missed my family completely. 

You know how God does that thing where He nudges you? He’ll put something on your heart and it won’t go away? That’s what he was doing with me, with this trip. I left service that day thinking about Puerto Rico, but had no intention of going there. I didn’t think I could raise enough funds in time, I didn’t know anyone else going on the trip, and I was still new to the church and the Hoboken area, so it didn’t seem like a good fit. I went to bed that night and woke up still thinking about the trip. I prayed about it for two days, and God was practically yelling at me to go. So I signed up, still nervous about going, but knowing it was something I needed to do.

I didn’t know how I was going to afford the trip, but I trusted God and knew that if He wanted me to go, He was going to do whatever it took to get me there. I ended up posting about my trip on a few social media platforms and hoped that maybe I could raise $500 or so, which would significantly help my total goal of $1,200\. A week before the trip, I had somehow raised the entire cost! I was in tears looking at my Managed Missions page and seeing “100% to Goal.” 

The first day of the trip was the first time we were all together as a team. We piled into a van and headed to the airport. Before departure, we were told that we didn’t have a structured plan of what we were doing each day — we’d get job assignments each day and go from there. 

We arrived in Puerto Rico and met up with another church that was joining us. The next five days could be summed up as exhausting. We woke up early each morning, with some team members making breakfast, another team taking care of lunches and the rest packing the vans with the equipment we’d need for the day. Most projects were pure manual labor, which gave a whole new meaning to “back-breaking work.” Our projects for the day were either removing debris, reconstructing houses or food distribution. At the end of the day, we’d return to the church that was hosting us physically and emotionally drained and have dinner, spending the next few hours talking about the day, expressing our gratitude, and praising God with every breath. 

There was one day that I was pushed to limit, something I’ll never forget. Lauren and I had to fill in a trench, and while that sounds easy, recent rain had caused all of the dirt to cake together. We had to use a pick axe to make the dirt malleable enough to fill the massive plumbing trench. The dirt had the consistency of clay, and we spent hours hammering through it. At some point during that day it ended up raining again and we were instructed to move 200 cement blocks. Two hundred, just us two girls, moving 200 cement blocks. We didn’t even blink, we just started moving them. For each block I touched I said a little prayer for my family, Hoboken Grace or Puerto Rico. 

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/20180306115320-19a12566-me.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/03/20180306115320-19a12566-me.jpg)

There was so much positivity and love on this trip. I have never been with a group that was so in love with serving and had hearts for the Lord. Every person had the same mentality — “what can I do to help,” “what can I do,” “what else is there.” There was never any mention of, “oh I’m too tired,” “oh this is to hard.” It was always, “Alright, let’s do this!” 

This trip I firmly believed, saved me. It transformed my heart from just being a Christian, to being head over heels in love with Christ. He was in every second of every day on the trip. I saw Him in the smiles of my teammates after a long day, I felt Him in the hugs of the community after we distributed meals. I saw Him in the work of the National Guard. I heard Him in my heart, saying, “This is why I wanted you here, to bring you closer to me.” 

There is no doubt in my mind that we impacted the community in Puerto Rico. We distributed 40,000 pounds of food, rebuilt three homes, moved 200 cement blocks, and loved on a community that was so broken. But to me, what really made this trip was the presence of God in every little thing. 

Looking back at this trip now, He has transformed my life in so many ways. Our relationship is different than what it was, I see Him in different ways, and I realized that He truly provides. He provided the funds for my trip, He provided emotional strength throughout the trip, provided physical strength to push my body to complete these projects, and provided me a team that I am now honored to call family. 

Taking a mission trip is the best decision I have ever made. I highly encourage everyone and anyone to be a part of it. God works in such incredible ways, and there is no better way to serve the Lord than getting your hands dirty! 

_Shelby is a member of the Missions Team at Hoboken Grace. Interested in going on your own missions trip? Visit hobokengrace.com/mission-trips._


This Is Why I Wanted You Here

The Hoboken Christmas Exchange started with a simple desire to give.

Kara had been looking to donate some baby items, but she was unsure how to get them into the hands of a family in need. Her search led her to not one, but several families that fit the description. They needed other basic items as well: sheets, kitchenware, pajamas, shoes.

“I thought, if I have the desire to give, I bet other people do, too, and I bet there’s some way I can help match those people,” she said.

Her husband’s company liked the idea and offered to support the project. So Kara began working with local organizations to collect holiday wish lists. Her husband’s company fulfilled dozens of gift requests, and Kara’s co-workers and Hoboken Grace members also adopted families.

That Christmas Eve, Kara loaded a U-Haul with her husband and in-laws and distributed the gifts to about two dozen families. She remembers their smiles, their tears and their disbelief that a stranger would buy them something.

One woman, Kara remembers, needed a pair of dress boots for job interviews. The woman had been shy about asking for the shoes and didn’t expect anyone to buy them. When Kara delivered the gift, bought by one of her co-workers, the woman was brought to tears.

“When she saw that she got them, she cried, and she hugged me,” Kara said. “She said, ‘This person doesn’t even know me.’ ”

Another woman, a mother of four kids, asked for a microwave. “To some people, it may seem kind of extravagant, but if you’re a mom, you need to heat up food sometimes,” Kara said. “So we made sure she got her microwave.”

\[vc\_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-HhH7b2RGA”\]

That was four years ago, and the Christmas Exchange has grown every year since. The event is now organized by Hoboken Grace (with Kara’s help), and last year, the event involved more than 2,000 people, including over 1,100 who received gifts. That was thanks to more than 1,000 people who adopted individuals or families, and 150 volunteers who worked in various roles throughout the day.

This year’s event, on December 7th and 8th, is on track to be twice the size as we’ve already received over 2,000 wishes! And the growth of the event has multiplied the ways to get involved. You can sign up to [“adopt” an individual or a family](http://hobokengrace.com/christmas/), or you can help as an “elf” and volunteer at the event itself.

In many cases, the gifts on families’ wish lists include ordinary items such as clothes, household items – even diapers. But there are also requests for toys, helping ensure that no child in our city goes without a gift.

“These are people that are part of the same community I live in,” said Kara. “To give tangibly to someone who you know is your neighbor and whom you know is in need is incredibly meaningful. … It is a beautiful and tangible way to love.”

_For more information on the Hoboken Christmas Exchange and how to adopt an individual or family, visit [HobokenChristmas.com](http://hobokenchristmas.com/)._

\[vc\_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egun12eJDJY”\]


How a Gift Exchange Grew From One Person to 2,000

We decided nine weeks ago that we weren’t going to engage debt the way most people engage debt, that we weren’t going to prepare for our future the way that our culture typically prepares for the future. We decided we were going to tell our money where to go, as opposed to us wondering where it went.

And after going through nine weeks of Financial Peace University as a church, we have so much to celebrate. Here are some of the highlights.

### $12,800 average turnaround in finances seen by participating households

### 195 credit cards paid off

### $540,000 in debt paid off

### $1.35 million saved

### 43 households pledging to engage generosity differently, so they can live like no one else and give like no one else

(Numbers based on FPU groups that had reported in by Sunday.)

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/11/DSCF5641-1024x682.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/11/DSCF5641.jpg)

Beyond the numbers, there are so many individual stories to celebrate as well. Here are a few:

“As my group was predominantly younger women, most of us are still in college, this was such an amazing experience for us to have before we even graduate. We feel ready to hit the ground running next year when we are in the real world!” – Kiera

“I wanted to thank you again from my heart for your help with FPU. I am so grateful to this church. The people here are amazing. It was an absolute miracle to have my husband there engaging in biblical finance and conversation with fellow believers he has grown to love. He also follows Dave Ramsey’s steps diligently and believes in its practical sense. I just wanted to tell you this. Thank you again. I love this church.” – Erin

“It’s been great for me and my wife. We thought we were in a good place financially, but we learned so much. We really were slave to our debt, and we want to own a home one day. We feel more hopeful about that than ever before.” – Allan

“It was a great experience for me as a single mom. I felt like this was such a blessing made possible through Hoboken Grace and a scholarship, I’m very thankful. It helped me get my finances in shape, something I was very desperate for help with.” – Elizabeth

\[vc\_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z2eZBnj50s&fbclid=IwAR0uPCrdXF7W7m5ppQ8au8zVfHiHfVU68dzcolm5W5aiHeNMrnw\_ALodWwc”\]


12,800 Reasons to Celebrate

One of the most difficult and yet beautiful steps in our maturity as disciples of Christ is the embracing of our disabilities. The scriptures are incredibly clear that it’s in our weakness that His strength is displayed and yet we continue to act as if this journey is about our strength instead of His.

He calls us to embrace our weakness. He calls us to live in light of our disabilities.

The following book is designed to help us address two of the most destructive of our disabilities; our forgetfulness and our blindness.

Our forgetfulness robs us of living in light of His grace, His provision, His love, and His presence. We have the capacity to walk out of an incredible experience with Him and in a moment to believe the lie that He is distant. We need to develop rhythms in our lives and day that call us to remember the reality that we live and move and breathe in Him.

Rhythms also help us address our blindness because they draw us into a conversation with Him that does not cease. Rather than simply speaking to him once a day or once a week, we intentionally schedule times throughout our day to reignite our conversation with Him if by chance it has ceased. We seek to live our lives listening. We seek to live our lives attune to the voice that awakens us to the truth of God. We seek to pray without ceasing as we engage Him throughout our day rather than wasting our conversation by talking to ourselves.

Throughout history those who have known God well, those who have walked with Him, have lived lives with rhythms that called them back frequently to the one they loved most. We seek to do the same. We hope you’ll join us.

Each month we choose one passage on which to meditate for the month. We read this passage every day at a scheduled time and ask God to help us understand it better by allowing it to sift through the lives we lead. Our return to it over and over keeps the truth fresh in our minds as we experience the world around us and allows it to come alive. We seek to listen as the Spirit uses it to enlighten our experience of the journey with Christ. Throughout this month we will be meditating on:

**And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.** 

**2 Corinthians 5:18–21**

_Follow along with the monthly rhythms [here](http://hobokengrace.com/rhythms/) or in the app._


November Rhythms

Have you noticed the baby boom going on in our church family lately? At least seven babies were born over a span of just two and a half weeks! (A few of them were even born on the same day.)

As one person joked, what are they putting in the coffee these days?

Here’s a look at some of 301 Garden’s newest faces.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/Josephine-3.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/Josephine-3.jpg)

Josephine “Jo” Marie was born to parents Susan and Tyler on October 17th. She came screaming into this world shortly before 1 a.m., at 7 pounds, 7 ounces. She is already a lover of the good things in life —sleeping, eating and being slightly dramatic.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/charlotte-1024x655.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/charlotte.jpg)

Charlotte was born on September 28th, weighing in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces. Her two older brothers adore her. Parents Nate and Natalia are smitten!

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/raleigh-1024x768.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/raleigh.jpg)

Raleigh, born October 17th at 8 pounds, 5 ounces, is a very quiet and pleasant baby. He loves to announce he’s awake with little grunts in earshot of parents Janet and Austin. He also loves to fall asleep to Daddy humming “We are the dinosaurs.”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/annabelle-1.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/annabelle-1.jpg)

Annabelle was born on September 29th to parents John and Erica. She loves listening to them sing her custom morning music playlist and venturing out with Mom and Dad to church, dinner and shopping. She also loves cuddling and always having a clean diaper!

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/peyton-e1541038082701-1024x714.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/peyton.jpg)

Peyton, born September 28th, has completely captured the hearts of her parents, Derek and Casey, and even occasionally lets them sleep! The highlight of last week was meeting her two cousins, Ryan (2 years) and Brayden (6 months), who visited from Virginia Beach. She is now looking forward to joining Grace Kids in a few weeks and meeting her HG family.


Oh, Baby!


As parents, one of the many things we do is worry. It’s natural. We love and care for our children so much and have a huge responsibility to take care of them in so many ways that it can lead to so much worry. We can’t help but wonder…

Will they do well in school?

Will they make friends?

Will they make wise choices?

Will they treat other people the way they want to be treated?

Will they choose God?

There are so many things that we think about on a daily basis! I know that the outcome of many of those questions is outside my control as a parent. It is, however, my responsibility to equip my children with what they need to make wise decisions.

As a parent to children with special needs, equipping them with the truth about how much Jesus loves them can be daunting. As my children spend time in Grace Kids and other places where they can learn about God, I’m not sure how much they’re able to take in.

However, I have seen tremendous growth in my daughter’s relationship with God since being paired with a “buddy” in Grace Kids. A buddy is someone who serves within Grace Kids, assisting an individual child. They help them join their class during worship, participate during the discussion and games, and create their crafts and activities. I believe that buddies are a crucial part of ensuring that children like mine are afforded every opportunity to learn and grow in their faith. It truly is an invaluable blessing.

My daughter Aurora was super lucky to be matched with her buddy, Monica, early on. I will forever be grateful to Monica. I know beyond a doubt that she has had a profound impact on my daughter’s spiritual growth. Aurora has autism and doesn’t speak much. She has trouble with group activities and following directions, but because Monica has chosen to serve in this way, Aurora is able to truly be part of her class and even learn her memory verse. With Monica there, I know there is someone in the classroom helping her engage in all the activities to understand more about how much Jesus loves her.

Right now in Grace Kids there are four other children who are in need of a buddy. And that number continues to grow. Grace Kids strives to create an environment where ALL children are able to experience and grow in the truth and love of Jesus Christ. Buddies are a crucial part of making that happen. There is no special training required, just a desire to love children and help them learn about the one who loves them most.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about becoming a buddy, please email [kids@hobokengrace.com](mailto:kids@hobokengrace.com) for more information.


When One Buddy Isn’t Enough

Week after week, I sit with people who know what their idols are, but seem incapable of eliminating them.

_I know I worship relationships, but I don’t know how to get rid of that. I know I care too much about how I’m perceived, but how do I stop myself from being crushed when I look like a fool? I know I’ve got to stop looking at porn, but when I get the urge I can’t stop myself_.

It’s a conversation I have time and time again, and in almost every circumstance there is a principle missing from the discussion. And that principle may be the most important thing we need to know if we’re going to battle with the idols in our lives.

The principle is this: idols are never passively eliminated. Idols are not controlled. Idols are not managed. Idols are not ignored.

Idols must be killed.

We need to aggressively and actively rip them from our lives if we wish to defeat them and live with Christ as the source of our security, value, identity and love.

But for some reason, we think idols just need to be managed, or more accurately, ignored. If we just avoid intentionally seeking them, if we ignore them, we convince ourselves they will go away. They don’t. What they do is wait until we’re at our weakest and then they come looking for us. Actually it’s our hearts that go searching for them in our weakness when we no longer have the strength to ignore them. But it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like these idols come searching for us, and we seldom defeat them, because after all, it’s in our weakness that this story is set. But what else can we do? So we set about telling ourselves to be stronger the next time we find ourselves drawn in their direction. We resolve to ensure it never happens again. We make commitments to ourselves and to others. All the while we’re fighting like fools.

No battle is won by allowing your opponent to choose the battlefield. The field is one of the most crucial aspects of any battle. Setting the stage is of the utmost importance, and yet because we think battling idols is passive, we just sit back and let our enemy choose when and where the battle will take place.

Wars are won by those who dictate the battlefield. Victory is only possible when we force our opponent into battle when we are at our strongest. We have to fight intentionally, on our schedule. Don’t wait for the fight to come to you when you are weak and unprepared.

But how?

Here is where you find out if you truly want to change. You have to aggressively rip out the idol; ensure it cannot succeed. If you are worshiping relationships, say no to the next five people who ask you out, especially if you think they might be the one. Eliminate any chance of finding value in relationships. If you are worshiping how you are perceived, intentionally make a fool of yourself twice a week in front of the people whose opinions matter most to you. Destroy your ability to manage your image. If you are worshiping porn, eliminate every electronic device in your life, even if it means you lose your job. Crush the possibility of slipping up.

I know what you’re thinking. I’ve gone too far. Let me leave you with a passage I read recently. It’s a quote from Jesus himself:

**_Mark 9:43-45_** _If your hand causes you to sin, **cut it off**. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, **cut it off**. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell._

I don’t believe Jesus is calling us to destroy our bodies, but I do believe He’s calling us to aggressively, not passively, attack the idols that will destroy us. Don’t wait for it to bring the battle to you. You bring the battle to it. Rip it out and make sure it can’t come back.


Killing Idols

There are nearly a dozen early birds who serve at Connection Points on Sunday mornings, greeting and guiding those who are new to Hoboken Grace.

One of those enthusiastic members of the Assimilation Team is Jean, who has served on the team for the past several years. The Writing Team spoke with her about the purpose of Connection Points and how those who serve on the team help people grow in their relationship with God.

**Who or what inspired you to join Connection Points and be a part of the Assimilation Team?**

It’s a little fuzzy how it happened because it was over three years ago, but I think either Nick Lenzi or John Milius or Kelvin Tsang asked me to join Connection Points. I figured I’d give it a try and have been serving ever since.

**What does serving on Connection Points look like on an average Sunday?**

I arrive early and greet people as they enter. After service, I greet people and look for those who look curious or interested.

**What are some of the ways you help keep people informed?**

I try to provide information to help people get connected, whether it be signing up for a dinner group or joining an impact team. I connect people to the right person within Hoboken Grace to get them the information they are looking for.

![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2017/12/DSC_0101-1-1024x678.jpg)

**What qualities does the Assimilation Team look for in team members? Do you have to be an extrovert to join Connection Points?**

It helps to not be afraid to talk to strangers. It helps to genuinely want to make people feel comfortable and welcomed, and to think more about their comfort and less of yours. Anyone who loves to see people get connected can do this. God brings the people to you. You just have to respond!

**What is your favorite part of being a member of the Assimilation Team?**

Seeing a person get connected and then to see them grow in their journey following Christ.

**How has serving impacted your life?**

It reminds me of my purpose and the joy that comes from living out that purpose. I find that I don’t just try connecting people while I’m standing at the Connection Point table, but I find myself trying to connect people all the time!

_Connection Points is just one part of the larger Assimilation Team, which works to make sure every guest knows they matter. Others working toward that mission include the Family Life Team (which helps our family celebrate special events such as baptism), the Engagement Team (helps people find their place to serve) and the Concierge Team (helps guests take next steps)._

_Are you interested in joining Connection Points? Email_ _james@hobokengrace.com_ _for more information._


Meeting and Greeting at Connection Points

_One of [FPU](http://hobokengrace.com/berich/)‘s most crucial pieces of advice is paying for large purchases in cash, instead of on credit. Karen and Devin decided to do just that when it came to paying for their upcoming wedding. They wrote about the experience, and how they made it happen, below._

Before we started planning our wedding, we wanted to take time to enjoy our engagement without letting the pressure get to us. Very quickly, though, we started getting questions from friends:

Are you going to have an engagement party? Did you pick a date? What kind of venue are you looking for? What is your budget?

“Did you know that most people in our area spend $60K+ on a wedding”? one friend asked. Hearing that was pretty daunting, but we also decided early on that despite being overwhelmed by all those questions we did not want to let that dictate our decisions.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/unnamed-1.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/unnamed-1.jpg)One of the first things we did was ground ourselves on our purpose. Our wedding is about the commitment we are making and a celebration of the love we have for each other with the people who have come alongside us throughout our lives. We want to create a space where we can celebrate that in a beautiful way. But we also want to be wise with how we start our lives together – weddings are big investments, and it can be easy to let the emotions around the day put you in a bad place financially.

We decided to create a plan and cash flow budget. We wanted to pay for our wedding fully in cash. This was great because it allowed us to see what we could afford to spend for the wedding and also helped us break down buckets for specific categories such as the venue, attire, music/photography, etc. Having this plan allowed us to tackle tasks one step at a time before going to the next one. This gave us amazing clarity when it came to working on our plan. If something was not the next item on the plan, we were not focusing on it or talking too much about it. This system also helped us delegate some of the items we knew we wouldn’t be good at, such as creating graphics and the invitation suite. Karen’s sister, Cristina, has done an excellent job on that! And as we take each step, the momentum has helped us stay focused.

One of our biggest celebrations so far was finding a venue. When we first started looking for venues, we were overwhelmed and stressed by the prices we were seeing. We searched at least 50 places online and visited six locations in person. There were many times where we got discouraged and thought we would have to go over our budget to get what we wanted. But with patience, diligence and some out-of-the-box thinking, we were able to find a beautiful place within our budget. With each venue visit we learned a little more about our preferences and started to learn how to ask the right questions. After touring a venue that was top of our list, we sat down with the event manager and found out there were no summer Friday dates in 2019\. This was disappointing for sure. But after some discussion and waiting, Karen asked a simple question that would end up saving us over $4,000: “Do you host weddings on Thursdays?” The venue made us an offer and, after some more questions, we had a deal and it was within our budget for the venue!

_Photography by Rebecca Lori Photography_


Planning a Wedding the FPU Way

When I was 6 years old, my sweet mom would gather the four of us kids in our living room each Sunday night. She’d recite the Rosary prayer, otherwise known as 10 “Hail Marys,” preceded by the Lord’s Prayer, followed by one “Glory Be To God.” I remember walking away with wonder. I secretly went to my room each Sunday night, knelt by my bedside and recited the “Our Father” prayer — I wanted to understand God’s plan.

Fast-forward 24 years. On my son’s 6th birthday, my beautiful mom died of cancer. That day, a piece of me died with her. I stopped praying, and I felt my faith shatter to pieces.

As my world turned upside-down, I unknowingly began wrestling with God. I embarked on a journey to find myself. I had no anchor except books and personal thoughts as I sought to explain what seemed unexplainable.

In the midst of this, my marriage ended and my journey truly began. I found myself developing greater self-awareness and learning about the value of meditation. It was monumental, but I still felt a spiritual void. I sought refuge in the form of a relationship. That road led me to have a child with an abusive man, whom I left early in my pregnancy. Going through childbirth alone and feeling the shame that came with made me question myself and everything I thought I knew.

I decided to pick up everything and move to North Jersey — it was my way of starting over. The minute I settled in I found myself alone, trying to absorb the journey that had led me there. Every emotion I’d avoided over the last 10 years started pouring out of me — it was a surreal experience. Then, thoughts about God and His significance in all of this begged my attention.

I started talking with God — for the first time in a decade. In many ways, I felt like the prodigal son who made his way home again. I experienced an overwhelming reconnection with God. A realization came over me — He never left me. In fact, He was waiting for me, right here, right now.

My awareness of His presence was swift and clear. And just like that, His nudge, His whisper — whatever you want to call it — was guiding me. I truly let go of my pain and opened myself up to His mercy. Since then, I have felt overwhelmed with evidence of His love in my life.

Each day I still feel like a simple human striving to understand it all while living in His grace. The difference is I now appreciate the propensity of His love and His overwhelming willingness to show me grace at my most difficult moments.


He Never Left Me, Instead He Pursued Me

_This blog post was originally published in 2016, but considering that it finally feels like fall this week, it seemed like the perfect time to revisit it. Also, be sure to catch our team of runners at the HoBOOken 5k on October 27th._

“I never thought in a million years I’d be a runner,” says Anthony. “In fact, I used to joke that if you saw me running, you’d better call the cops, because something’s really wrong!” Yet he tells me this several days after he’s finished his second half marathon, and started researching training for a full. Yes, a full marathon — 26.2 miles.

Anthony’s running, and he’s not the only one. Countless people who attend Hoboken Grace have spent the past year training for marathons, 5Ks and their own personal fitness goals. And while most of them likely got started for the health benefits, many say running’s also had an impact on their faith. It’s offered lessons about the importance of getting started, building endurance and even developing community.

Running, it turns out, can be a gift for both your body and your faith. Here’s what that can look like, as told by some of the many runners at Hoboken Grace.

 **1). Getting Started**

“People told me I just had to get started,” Dana H. says about running. “But it felt hard to get into it. I had all these hang-ups about it.”

The struggle to get started running paralleled struggles she had experienced in her walk with God. “I felt I had to be right with God before I could get close to God,” says Dana. Similarly, “I felt like I had to be at a certain level of fitness in order to start running. It’s kind of like the devil playing with my mind, telling me, ‘You’re not good enough yet. You’re not fit enough yet.’ ”

Dana decided she wanted to break out of that type of thinking. Friends encouraged her to just run, so she finally did. She took the first step, ran her first mile and celebrated that achievement. “I had to understand that sometimes, faith is just taking that action even when you don’t fully believe you can do it,” says Dana. “Then you get closer. You get there.” She partly ran, partly walked the first time she went outside, but she finished what she started. Then she went outside again, and again, and kept pushing forward, even starting a training plan.

A few months later, Dana finished a half marathon.

2). **Running the Race**

“When you’re in full-time ministry, you can get burned out,” says Anthony. “Sometimes there are lies in my life, like that I need to be ‘on’ all the time. Then I get fatigued in life; I get fatigued in ministry.”

During his last half marathon, he started to feel that way, too. Anthony had trained for the race, and knew that physically he should be fine. “But I got to about mile 9 or 10, and started to feel that fatigue.” He listens to music while he runs, and right around that point in the race, an old worship song came on — “Blessed Be Your Name.”

“For some reason, that got me jazzed,” says Anthony. “God came into that situation and pushed me through, and got me through the fatigue. It’s a reminder that He gets me through those down times. It’s a perfect analogy for living by faith.”

Running is also an excellent way to simply spend time with God. “I have some of my best conversations with God when I run,” says Christina, who’s been running since high school. “It’s a lot easier to spend time with Him during a run than, say, in stop-and-go traffic during my commute.”

3). **Developing Community** 

“A lot of the challenge of running is actually mental,” says Christina. She runs frequently on her own, but she discovered that having supportive relationships made a tremendous difference in overcoming the mental hurdles to get out there and keep going. “It’s definitely the people,” she says. “It’s really important to have community. The people in my racing group have pushed me to believe in myself, to believe I can go faster than I thought I could.”

She compares the running community to dinner groups — “there are so many parallels.” In both groups, she’s found a source of support to tackle her biggest challenges. In both, she’s developed very personal relationships, and she prays the most for the people in these groups.

When Christina ran the New York City Marathon, she credited the community she’s developed for helping her find a way to serve others through running. She supported the charity [Back on My Feet](http://www.backonmyfeet.org/), which aims to impact the lives of homeless people by introducing them to a running routine. With the help of friends and family, she met her goal of raising $3,000!


The Gift of Running

One of the most difficult and yet beautiful steps in our maturity as disciples of Christ is the embracing of our disabilities. The scriptures are incredibly clear that it’s in our weakness that His strength is displayed and yet we continue to act as if this journey is about our strength instead of His.

He calls us to embrace our weakness. He calls us to live in light of our disabilities.

The following book is designed to help us address two of the most destructive of our disabilities; our forgetfulness and our blindness.

Our forgetfulness robs us of living in light of His grace, His provision, His love, and His presence. We have the capacity to walk out of an incredible experience with Him and in a moment to believe the lie that He is distant. We need to develop rhythms in our lives and day that call us to remember the reality that we live and move and breathe in Him.

Rhythms also help us address our blindness because they draw us into a conversation with Him that does not cease. Rather than simply speaking to him once a day or once a week, we intentionally schedule times throughout our day to reignite our conversation with Him if by chance it has ceased. We seek to live our lives listening. We seek to live our lives attune to the voice that awakens us to the truth of God. We seek to pray without ceasing as we engage Him throughout our day rather than wasting our conversation by talking to ourselves.

Throughout history those who have known God well, those who have walked with Him, have lived lives with rhythms that called them back frequently to the one they loved most. We seek to do the same. We hope you’ll join us.

Each month we choose one passage on which to meditate for the month. We read this passage every day at a scheduled time and ask God to help us understand it better by allowing it to sift through the lives we lead. Our return to it over and over keeps the truth fresh in our minds as we experience the world around us and allows it to come alive. We seek to listen as the Spirit uses it to enlighten our experience of the journey with Christ. Throughout this month we will be meditating on:

**I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.**

**Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.**

**Ephesians 3:16–20**

_Follow along with the monthly rhythms [here](http://hobokengrace.com/rhythms/) or in the app._


October Rhythms


Easter Sunday 2017:

“I want you to pray about apprenticing to become a production team leader.”

When Dana first said this to me, my initial response was, “Are you insane?” I had been serving on the Production Team for only about two months. Little did I know, this question was about to change everything I thought I knew and wanted out of life.

At that point, I thought you had to know what you were doing to make an impact on the Production Team. I’ve come to realize this is how everyone feels about the Production Booth! There are lots of cables and lights and buttons. Most people take one look and think there’s no way they have a chance to be a part of Production. That’s what I thought, too! I was lucky enough to have some of the most gracious individuals I’ve ever met in the booth with me, guiding me along the way. The best part is, they can do that for anyone!

Little did I know, God was about to take the light board and use it to teach me about selflessness and humility. Back then, I thought being a part of Production meant we were _entertainers_ — that’s what I wanted it to be. But the Production Team is actually more in line with the _communication_ industry. Philippians 2:3-4 teaches us not to value our own selfish ambition, but to humbly place others’ interests above ourselves. This is key for our team — every Sunday we amplify the communication of the worship and communicators, so that whoever walks in the doors of Hoboken Grace can worship our Father better. One way to actually gauge our success is whether or not people even realize we are present. If you don’t notice us, we’ve done our job.

I reached a point between New Year’s Day and Easter of pure hustle. I was working at my previous job, as well as leading Production weekly and working on a new set design at every free moment. But, the drive to love others kept me going. That’s because I had finally reached a point where I understood Philippians 2:3-4\. Being “all in,” putting others above myself and helping them experience God better through how I was serving made me feel fulfilled, not to mention both mentally and physically healthy.

This is the motivation I use when I invite others to the Production Team. I don’t invite them because I think they can push a fader, operate a camera or trigger a light cue. I invite people because I want them to experience God in a whole new way. I’ve experienced what it feels like to be truly fulfilled, and I want them to be able to say the same.

_Interested in checking out Production? Stop by the booth after service any Sunday or email kasey@hobokengrace.com._


Production Is Where I Learned…A Lot.

**#1 – It’ll allow you to spend without guilt**

Growing up, my friends and I spent a lot of time at the park playing soccer on the open fields. Jackets worked fine for goalposts where there were none, but we could never tell when the ball went out for a throw-in, corner or where the goalkeeper’s area was.

Who knew that drawing boundaries for ourselves and adding some rules would actually add to our enjoyment of the game?

The consistent feedback we get from people taking FPU and doing a budget is that it brings them freedom! A budget is simply being intentional with your money and having a plan. For many people, especially the ones that are scared of spending money, or the couples that respect each others’ spending habits – a jointly agreed upon budget enables you to spend and enjoy without guilt!

**#2 – It’ll be like getting a raise**

I love how [Jackie tells her story](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAz6%5FFimZ90) and so I’ll simply transcribe it: “In 9 weeks, I went from a balance of $2,300, that I could never move up, to $11,000 – just because I paid attention… And when I began to save my receipts, because I was very consistent with that, I couldn’t believe how much money I was spending at the end of the month on nik naks – you know, coffee and empanadas.”

**#3 – It’ll be an act of obedience**

I fought God for a long time and He had enough grace not to give up on me and continued to pursue me, even while I mocked what He had to say. In the years since, I’ve come to the conclusion that obeying God has always been the best thing and I’ve always regretted not doing so.

I believe that God, through the Bible, calls us to manage resources entrusted to us for His glory. And that includes budgeting – and I just want to do His will.


Three Budgeting Surprises


Hoboken City Hall on Washington Street has garden plots all the way around the building, facing all four sidewalks. As the largest gardening project taken on by this year’s 1Day volunteers, it involved over 700 various plants and a complex design plan.

The section in the northwest corner has a sign that reads “Joan R. Abel Memorial Rain Garden – Architect – Preservationist – Environmentalist.” It goes on to explain Ms. Abel’s solution to Hoboken’s notorious flooding.

But the most enthusiastic participants of the day couldn’t even read the sign. Several 3-year-olds wearing oversized garden gloves hopped between the pots and onto the freshly tilled soil, adding their tiny shoeprints to the garden pattern. A girl with a loose blond ponytail dug randomly at the dirt while her father tried to organize her efforts. Then she unearthed a worm and squealed, calling the other 3-year-olds over to witness her discovery.

Theresa, one of the moms who was keeping a close eye on the little gardeners, said this was the second time her son Tommy had attended 1Day, although he didn’t really understand the event last year. This time he was excited, and understood more fully that it is our chance to love our community, she said.

“We’ve lived in Hoboken three years and we love it,” Theresa said. “God loves us really well and it’s our chance to love the community. This is a corner of the city that we are going to pass every day, and the kids will know that we helped make it beautiful.”

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/DSCF4029-1024x682.jpg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/DSCF4029.jpg)

That, at its core, is what 1Day is all about. The goal of Hoboken Grace’s annual event is to leave a lasting mark on the community – and impact as many people as possible. The 520 volunteers who signed up did just that, completing 35 projects in virtually every corner of the city. Thanks to them, hundreds of children walked into brighter classrooms and hallways, dozens of bags of trash were removed from city beaches and parks, and more than 1,000 new plants are helping make Hoboken a little greener. Volunteers also served local businesses, nonprofit organizations and more.

At the Hoboken Shelter, a group ranging in age from 16 to nearly 60 prepared a meal. As music played in the kitchen, Jackie manned the industrial range, pouring cans of arroz con guandules (rice with pigeon peas) in one pot, and arroz con frijoles (rice with black beans) in the other. Peppers, purple onions, garlic and spices floated in the top of one mixture, and chorizo was added to the other — just in case some people didn’t want to eat meat. “And we add con mucho amore!” Jackie said — cooking with a lot of love.

At the metal prep table, a tasty-looking variety of restaurant rolls were being cut into single-serving-size pieces and put in huge bread baskets. At another point, the table held huge plastic pitchers full of water, and people leaned in with big spoons to swirl in iced tea mix. The close quarters encouraged everyone to get to know one another.

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/XA1glvqQ.jpeg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/XA1glvqQ.jpeg)

[![](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/Gvo4xWQA-1024x543.jpeg)](https://res.cloudinary.com/dzs7qxusf/image/upload/v1/archive/2018/10/Gvo4xWQA.jpeg)

Not everyone who worked on a 1Day project had signed up for the big event.

When a group of 20 people arrived at Maxwell Pier, they met a man who had come by that Saturday to clean up the beach by himself. He asked what they were doing there, and they explained the 1Day event taking place. They welcomed him and invited him to join them, offering a bag and gloves, but he already had his own.

When someone asked why he was there, he told the group he had proposed to his fiancée at the same spot last spring, on Earth Day.

“We are both concerned about environmental issues, and the beach and surrounding area was a clean and natural setting then,” he said. “We walk by here often because it’s a special place for us. We’ve seen it get more and more cluttered with trash coming in with the tide, and people leaving behind items from socializing on the beach.”

After passing by again during a run the night before, he’d decided there was nothing he wanted to do more with his Saturday than clean up the beach. So after a morning trip to Home Depot to buy work gloves, a bucket and a plastic grabber, he headed over to the beach and was greeted by 20 volunteers who seemed to have arrived just in time to help him with his chosen task.

“It was such a surprise to see so many other people out here with the same mission,” he said. “Now it looks better than it ever could if I’d been working alone. Thank you.”

\[vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSyPNmH8q6Y&feature=youtu.be”\]


&#8216;It’s Our Chance to Love the Community Back’

Recently during a budgeting class for [Financial Peace University](http://hobokengrace.com/berich/), we had moved into smaller discussion groups and I found myself sitting next to a bubbly young woman who tried to defend her personal budget choices.

She was planning a trip with some friends to the Comic-Con International event in San Diego. This involved a plane ticket, hotel reservations and a fabulous new costume that transformed her into her favorite animated character. She’d already attended the local New York Comic Con event — at a much lower cost. But the international event in San Diego was bigger and better, and she was determined to be there.

She told this story rather nervously, and a little defensively. Finally, she admitted that as a professional accountant, she should know better than to have such a frivolous expense in her life. When she finally stopped chattering about her obsession, she looked to me as the person sitting next to her, and with her eyes, begged me to tell my story and take the spotlight off her.

I paused for a moment and looked at her kindly. “It seems as if you are trying to make your choice to attend Comic-Con sound ridiculous,” I told her. “But what you don’t know is that you are sitting next to someone who spent all day yesterday, outdoors, enjoying the fabulous September weather, in a costume at the Renaissance Faire. And I don’t think that you nor I are ridiculous at all.”

The local Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, New York, is just a daylong event, and a lot closer than San Diego, but that’s not the point. For over a decade, I’ve attended about three times each summer, in a variety of costumes – laced-up leather, in an authentic Oktoberfest outfit I purchased in Germany, or gypsy garb made up of various corsets, layered skirts, a mysterious shawl and jangling jewelry.

Why do I go? Because I love it. Because I love the world the Faire creates and the music that goes with it. Because I’ve made friends with some of the delightful artists and musicians who work the circuit, and introduced many of my friends to the Faire. Because I enjoy conversations with so many of the other patrons. Because it’s such a refreshing, earthy break from the fast-paced technological world we live in. Mostly, it’s because at the end of a day, I feel more myself at the Renaissance Faire than I do at any other time. And for that reason, and some others that I can’t explain, it will never drop out of my budget.

“Many people see a budget as something restrictive, something that binds them up and takes away all their choices and freedom,” Dave Ramsey writes in _The Complete Guide to Money._ “That’s a totally wrong view of a cash flow plan. Having a budget doesn’t mean you can’t order a pizza when you want one. It just means you have to have a plan for your money. If you like pizza that much, then put a “Pizza” line on your budget. It’s _your money_. I don’t care what you do with it; I just want you to do it on purpose!”

So yes, there is a “Renaissance Faire Line” in my budget. And I hope our costumed accountant now has a “Comic-Con” line in her budget as well. I will continue to go to the Faire and enjoy the music and free stage shows, soak up the atmosphere, chat with the other patrons in full festival apparel, limit my purchases to well considered souvenirs, grateful that this is part of what defines my summer season with a daylong event that I can drive to and back without paying for a hotel room. Seems like a bargain to me. Huzzah!

_Barbara is a member of the Writing Team. Want to learn more about FPU? [Click here](http://hobokengrace.com/berich/)._


Comic-Con in the Budget?

I always loved the expression “Break a Leg,” and being in the entertainment business, it was a good omen.

There are definitely hard times when pursuing a career in the arts. The concept of the “struggling artist” brings to mind a quote from _Crime and Punishment_: “The darker the night, the brighter the stars, the deeper the grief, the closer is God.” Trusting God, He will supply my needs.

I wrestled at times with being a performer or a writer, because I wondered if this was truly God’s desire for my life. But the passion to be involved and to follow my dreams was intense. I enjoyed red carpet events and being part of the action. I would light up like a Christmas tree when I got dressed and reported from film festivals such as the IFP Gotham Awards in New York City.

During that time, I developed a medical disorder that was causing my blood platelets to decrease. The hematologist called it “Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.” ITP is a rare condition marked by a low number of blood cells produced in the bone marrow. A hematologist didn’t know the course of action yet, because there is no medical pathway to treat immediately. I was thrust into a “wait and see” scenario. The waiting game wreaked havoc, causing a great deal of fear and anxiety. And when you look healthy on the outside, people don’t understand your concerns.

The only things I knew were to pray and to perform. It took four years to finally get a bone marrow biopsy that confirmed Aplastic Anemia. There was “no pre-Leukemia,” as the doctor put it mildly in a voice message, but AA is a rollercoaster. If you think you have faith, one learns quite quickly that they need God.

I knew God would fight for me, but Aplastic Anemia is serious and can be fatal. The course of treatment is ATG, or Anti-thymocyte globulin, an infusion of horse or rabbit-derived antibodies. The therapy involves being injected with the ATG and waiting to see how your body responds to rebuild bone marrow over five days in the hospital.

Originally, I was fine with the treatment option, because that is the only treatment. However, I had a film festival coming up in Jersey City that I wanted to attend. But I was also scared and asked the doctor if I could do the film festival and then come into the hospital a week later. When I did my research on AA, I discovered that I was moderate AA, not severe. I prayed and discussed with my doctor if I could postpone treatment until I truly needed it. He didn’t agree, but said he would monitor my bloodwork every month in case there were drops in my counts. I thought I had beat my health crisis by discovering that I was moderate AA.

Every month, my counts went up 1,000, and according to the nurse that was good news. I cried every time the nurse called with my results. I wanted a quicker fix — a miracle. I didn’t want my counts to improve slowly every month, but they did. Medically speaking, blood platelets rebuilding on their own, without a blood transfusion, is quite a feat. Another hematologist called it “transient Aplastic Anemia.” I called it God’s healing. Luke 8:43-48 – “And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stopped.”

As I put the medical stuff behind me, I continued to work with no issues of fatigue from anemia or other problems. I felt good, and I was working in news and publicity for indie films. I kept working toward the prize to keep my mind off my blood counts. I felt as long as I still had a dream, I had to live and to get through this. God still had plans for me.

AA is an uphill battle. Along the way, I kept looking for a church. I grew up in church, but at one point, I stopped going. I still prayed, but I had no church to fellowship with others. A friend mentioned Hoboken Grace, where breakfast was served with coffee and bagels. What a genius idea, I thought — food and church. I made plans to find the church, but I never went. I even walked Washington Street on Sundays and saw the Hoboken Grace sign, but nothing motivated me back to church.

Then it happened… I broke my foot. I was just walking to my car with my high heels when my ankle twisted, and I dropped to the ground. It was a small break but required a boot cast and crutches. While in Hoboken with my crutches, I’d walk to exercise. Walking toward Third Street, there was Hoboken Grace, bright and cheery with bagels and coffee waiting inside. When I stepped through the doors, I heard the music and was pleasantly surprised. When I sat inside, I slowly became comfortable with church again. I wept in the beginning, realizing how far I had drifted from God, and it broke my heart.

My loving Father was always there protecting me, and I had grown so accustomed to doing it on my own. It was time to keep God first in my life.

I have learned that God is still in control. There is nothing that God can’t do or fix. If He wants me healed, He will do it. I have seen along the way some tough challenges, but it is at my weakest moments that God is Almighty.

_“It really isn’t the strong who win, it’s the weak who find all their fountains in Him.” (Psalm 36:7-9)_


Break a Foot

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A Diverse, Growing, Contemporary, Community Church in Hoboken

Everything we do revolves around our mission of helping people find their way back to God. Our goal is to demonstrate who God really is and to let others know that God wants a relationship with each and every one of us.

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