Media and press firestorm

WOW…I knew that ILBM would change the world, just didn’t expect it to happen so fast!

KMPS with Ichabod and the waking crew has been talking about ILBM all morning.  I am honored that they have asked me to come on the show tomorrow and chat more with them.  Going to have to get up early for this one - 7am pst!

They were telling me about some of the amazing stories that were coming in from all over - one woman who cried while retelling a story that happened to her almost 20 years ago!  Keep those stories coming everyone - people need to hear this.

God rocks!

Our first press!

Steve Maynard of the Tacoma News Tribune did our first article.  He responded on Monday to some amazing PR work Jesse did over the weekend.

Check out this great article: http://www.thenewstribune.com/331/story/623226.html

Lights, Camera….okay, who put that there?

So, here we are frantically pulling a website out of the air and watching God work WONDERS!  So, my wonderful friend Sarah agreed to play a Barista, we snagged Heather from church and Phil, our ever so fantastic base player (he wants to be Getty Lee so badly!) and my little video camera and off we went!  Less than an hour of filming later and we were done!  We had shots of Phil hamming it up, overacting and looking bemused; we had shots of Heather being gracious and kind and lovely (shame how type-casting actually works, isn’t it?) and shots of Sarah being perky and friendly (stupid type-casting!) and we were good to go.  Three more shots at the house and one dead camera battery and I was through!  Thanks so much Phil, Heather and Sarah!  You guys rock!  When you all become famous (like when I’m finally done editing this sucker) promise you’ll remember me at the Academy Awards?  “I’d like to thank my mother, my father….and…and my plastic surgeon.”

Photos and Filming and Websites? Oh my!

So, In Line Behind Me is set to be launched in six days - SO much to do…and where to start?

First, some background:

I got involved with In Line Behind Me while at a “Newbies” luncheon with Pastor Don Turner and a small group of New Members of Lifeway Church in Federal Way, Washington.  Over brownies topped with fresh strawberries and whipping cream (mmmmm…thanks, Anne!), Janelle and Pastor Don discussed his upcoming sermon series and the involvement of Janelle’s several year old idea of a website titled In Line Behind Me.  She told her story of how the idea came about and I was slightly in awe, to say the least.  Janelle and I had already discussed working together on some church projects and so when Don said “Can you have it ready in three weeks?” and Janelle squeaked out “yes….?” I was right there to point and laugh.  I mean, I was right there to offer my services.  (My skill set, just so you know, involves shoe shopping, swing dancing, coffee drinking and some promotional and video skills.)  So, we were off and running!  And by that I mean, Janelle was off and running and I was scrambling to keep up….

My story picks up with our new pictures for the In Line Behind Me site - and my first job on this project.  My best friend in the world, Sarah Alston, happens to be one of the most fantastic photographers in the Seattle area.  She was so excited about the project that she volunteered her time to take the rocking pics that will be up on the website soon!  (You can catch the preview on her Flickr site)  Sarah worked with the psuedo-professional models to get the pictures just like she wanted them, while working around the business of a bustling coffee shop, the barista’s actual job (she was working that day, believe it or not!) and my incessant demands that I somehow come out looking like Catherine Zeta-Jones.  (okay, so she’s good - not a miracle worker!)  The weather was perfect, everyone was so kind, patient and helpful and it was so much fun!

A huge and official thank you to Sarah Alston Photography, everyone who patiently waited for their coffee while we took the pics, and our amazing spur of the moment models Mandy and Cody.  (and yes, that is me in a few of the pics.  No one else was available at the time, and I don’t mind hamming it up for the camera.)

I cannot express how grateful I am to get to be involved in something that has the potential to change the world!  God is just so good!

-Jesse

First card just ordered

Ok…breathe…SO excited…just ordered the very first ILBM card for LifeWay Church.  Check it out:

Angel ILBM front

Angel ILBM back

Other Churches and groups will be able to specially order their cards with THEIR logo and website on them!  Off to create a few more…

Can You Have This Ready in 3 Weeks?

Janelle

Hi,
I’m Janelle - one of the people behind the idea of In Line Behind me. You can see how the idea of ILBM got started, but here is the rest of the story…

Over two years ago, the original idea of ILBM was sketched on a piece of paper. I played with the idea, added more notes, told people, asked for opinions - I even got so far as creating the very first ILBM cards a year ago to hand out. My file for this idea grew. But for some reason or another I just never got around to launching it (I am sure it had nothing to do with the other multitude of businesses I was launching at the same time - lol).

A month ago I was pitching the idea for a new Marketing Ministry at my Church - LifeWay. I had a fabulous powerpoint with our vision, who the team would consist of, current goals and why we were doing them, etc. I even included where I would like the team to be in 6 months and a year. On one of the last ‘one year’ slides I included the word ‘ILBM’. Pastor Don and Pastor Billy both asked what that was…and I ran them through an extended elevator speech about ILBM and how I think it could fit into a co-marketing opportunity with the Church in a year or so after we got the Marketing team going. Fabulous meeting, new Marketing team started, very happy that God is using my gifts - woohoo.

Fast forward to yesterday…invited to Pastor Don’s house for lunch. Myself and a few of the other ‘newer’ people from Church were there including Jesse, one of the first Marketing team members I was blessed with. During the chit-chat of lunch conversation, Pastor Don casually asked about In Line Behind Me. I shared the story about ILBM with everyone at the lunch table and then he said, “Great…can you have this ready to go in three weeks? I have a sermon that will fit perfectly with it.” In a perfect stereotypical fashion mostly reserved for the movies, I looked at Jesse…she looked at me…and we said ‘Yes, of course we can.’ I don’t remember much about the rest of the lunch. My mind was spinning too much with the realization that I had just committed to not only launching an entire business in two weeks BUT I needed to figure out how this was going to also benefit LifeWay Church AND get that part of the puzzle together. Please explain to me again how I don’t have the word ‘no’ in my vocabulary - that I believe ALL things are possible…and why that is a good thing!?

Ok God…obviously YOU think this is a good thing. Your timeline vs. mine - I know…we have been here before. More times than I want to count. I appreciate the kick in the pants to do this sooner than a year from now. And yes, I realize I have already sat on this for over 2 years. But in THREE WEEKS? Please send me people with the gifts needed to accomplish this. I know if you want it done, it can be done. And thank you for Jesse - her brilliant gifts including video are such a HUGE answer to so many prayers I and the Church have been sending. OK…you and me God - let’s go!