Archive for category Our Family

These go to 11!

Jan 12

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Leadership, Our Family, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 4 Comments

This doesn’t quite qualify as a goal for 2010; it’s really more of lifestyle change my wife and I are committed to making.

Kelly and I’ve been at the same base level of giving (with various offerings on top of it) for years now, but we’re upping our baseline monthly giving by 1% in 2010. I think we’ve exhausted the amount of growth and faith we can have at our old level, and need to step forward in trusting God for greater things in our lives. We’re not doing this hoping for a greater financial return, or really to GET anything. We’re doing it to trust God and be a blessing.

Now isn’t the best time to make this change, financially. While we’re not talking about hundreds, or even one hundred dollars more a month going to the church, every dollar is crucial for us right now. But my God gives seed to the sower, not the one who waits until the perfect time to give.

Because there never is one.

How about you? Are you consistant in your giving? Have you increased your consistant giving recently, or have a plan to do so?

10 in 2010

Jan 11

Posted by Clayton Bell in Leadership, Our Family | No Comments

I know I’m late on it, but here are my goals for 2010:

Lose 20 lbs- While this is a “clothes fit better” thing, it’s also a health thing. Doc says to do it, so I need to do it.
Get my total cholesterol under 200- Again, health. Hey, no one said these were gonna be sexy!
Read 30 books- I’d have this higher, but I listen to quite a bit of podcasts, which is about the same as audio books.
Read the Bible chronologically while reading all of the notes in the ESV Study Bible. That’s the tough part!
Go on an out-of-town vacation with my wife and daughter
Go on a separate out-of-town vacation with just my wife
Go to two non-EN conference to become a better pastor/church planter
Run a 5K- Man, this is gonna be something I get called out on. But it’s a good thing!
Get maternity coverage added to our insurance. You know, just in case…
Figure out a 10th goal for 2010

What about you?

Update on my surgery- the results are in

Jan 8

Posted by Clayton Bell in Our Family | 2 Comments

Hey all, thanks so much for praying for me over the last week through the surgery. As I’m sure you saw, I had to go back to the ER Tuesday night due to swelling. That fun time was resolved Wednesday afternoon after the surgeon reopened my knee to clean it out and remove a massive blood clot.

Just talked to the doctor, and he let me know what they removed was a Schwannoma tumor, something that happens in the lining of the nerves. It’s not serious, and while they’re not sure yet if it’s benign, less than 1% are malignant. So that’s good!

Thanks again for praying, I’ve seen tremendous progress in the last day because of it!

Surgery today

Jan 5

Posted by Clayton Bell in Our Family | 2 Comments

Hey all,

For the last few years I’ve had a marble-size thingy on my right leg just below my knee. I never thought much of it, as it only hurt when it was hit. I didn’t avoid telling a doctor, I just never thought much of it.

After we moved to Trinity I remembered to mention it to my new primary care doctor, we began a series of tests to determine what it is. After an X-Ray, ultrasound and MRI we still don’t know. Fun times! While no one thinks it’s anything serious, we still wanted to get it removed, which is happening today in an out-patient procedure.

Please pray everything goes smoothly, the lump/node/thingy is nothing. Please pray I’ll have open doors to share Jesus with the docs, the nurses and everyone there. Pray my wife doesn’t die of boredom waiting there all day with me!

Thanks.

How’s TNLC doing? So glad you asked!

Nov 24

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church, Church Planting, Our Family, Trinity New Life Church | 2 Comments

Brent Garrard, Lead Pastor of In Focus Church (an Every Nation church in Georgia), asked us to put together a video he could show his congregation to let them know about TNLC. Here’s the finished product, thought you might enjoy seeing it too!

RSS readers click here if you can’t see the video.

“Oh no!”- Lessons from Caroline

Nov 16

Posted by Clayton Bell in Our Family, Spiritual Insights, Trinity New Life Church | 2 Comments

spilled_milk

Saturday morning, during her breakfast, Caroline began throwing things on the ground. First her cup of milk (covered, thankfully), then the covering on her tray. Her response?

“Uh Oh!”

My response?

“No ‘Uh Oh’; say ‘Sorry.’”

When you spill the milk, literally or figuratively, and you do it on accident, you say “uh oh.” When you throw the milk down, that’s no accident. That deserves a “sorry,” because “sorry” recognizes you caused the situation, not that you happened into it.

We do the same thing with God. We sin, and we say “Uh Oh!” We choose to do wrong, to speak wrong, to think wrong, and we say “uh oh!” We need to come to God, recognize we chose to sin, and repent/say “sorry.”

Then, and only then, will we see transformation in our lives.

For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death. Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right.

Happy 3rd birthday to our daughter!

Aug 20

Posted by Clayton Bell in Our Family | 10 Comments

No, not Caroline Grace Bell. Today is our first daughter’s birthday: Grace Shiloh Bell.

Instead of recounting the whole story, I’m just going to re-post what I wrote just after it happened. I think it’s still the best explanation of it all…

Hello everyone.

Many of you know that over the last two years Kelly and I have experienced various troubles with our pregnancies, which resulted in three miscarriages. This past April we found out that we were pregnant a fourth time. We were hopeful and excited that this would be the time that our dreams of a family would finally come true. We passed the 8-week barrier months ago, seeing a heartbeat for the very first time. It was incredibly exciting, and we were certain our dreams were coming true.

Last Wednesday, however, we began to experience some worry. Kelly was having some issues, but a trip to the doctor showed that the baby was still healthy, and so was Kelly. Saturday night, however, proved to be something more than just concern.

We went to the emergency room around 9:45pm when Kelly was experiencing slight cramping and discomfort. We checked in to a room and again heard the heartbeat for the baby and the doctor and nurse felt, upon seeing the ultrasound, that everything was fine. He wanted to check visually, and that’s when he discovered that we were in serious trouble.

Kelly’s cervix was not functioning properly and the cramping she felt was actually contractions. Considering the advanced state of her conditions, there was only one procedure that was an option, and it provided nearly zero chance of things changing. Unless something happened, Kelly would go into labor within 48 hours, delivering a 21 week old baby that was much too young to live very long outside of the womb. We went to sleep that night praying that our God would provide a miracle. He did, but maybe not how you think…

After checking to make sure that nothing had changed through the night, Kelly was placed on a medicine to bring about contractions. It was better for her health to have the baby quickly. After the doctor broke her water at about 4:00pm, Kelly gave birth to Grace Shiloh Bell at 4:45pm, August 20^th, 2006.

Grace Shiloh, or Gracie, as we’ve taken to calling her, was beautiful and perfect. Small and too soon, she was nonetheless perfectly formed and so beautiful. We spent a little less than two hours with her while she was alive, and then she returned to her Heavenly Father, who graciously allowed us so much time with her. We love her infinitely, and cannot wait to spend Eternity with her creating all of memories that we won’t be able to have on this earth.

We had other names picked out, but both of us were prompted to create a new name. Grace was the name we chose for a girl, grace being one of the greatest gifts that Jesus gave us. Grace in Greek means “that which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness.” Her middle name, Shiloh, means “place of rest”, indicative of the place she now lives, holding hands with Jesus until we can take her into our arms again.

So many of you that mean so much to us are scattered around the country, and we wanted to use this space to tell our story and to honor the memory of our precious first daughter. Please feel free to leave as many and as lengthy comments as you’d like; I know that we’d appreciate it. Please tell us who you are in the comment as well, if you can.

We love you all very much, and are so thankful that we’ve got you in our lives. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but we know that God will be there with us. Thank you all, we love you.

Immediately after we found out we were going to have her, and ever since, I’ve always looked to Psalm 131 for comfort and “why?” It calms my soul every time.

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

Click here to see more photos of her.

The new promo video for TNLC!

Jun 25

Posted by Clayton Bell in Church Planting, Our Family | 4 Comments

Here it is, the new promo video for Trinity New Life Church! We’re showing it at the national Every Nation conference Thursday morning. Big props to Chris Tavalare for his help in putting it all together.

Whaddaya think?!