“Give me 100 men who hate nothing but sin and love God with all their hearts and I will shake the world for Christ!” - John Wesley

Mandy pulling Jeff in a wagon

My dad had a dog named Mandy that lives in stories and infamy in my mind. I don't really remember her, but I found this old family clip that made me wish I could remember the childhood times my kids are experiencing right now.
The summer between 5th and 6th grade my parents helped me buy an Australian Shepherd, Berry. She was the best dog I've had, and I learned a lot from raising and training her.
I hope to give my kids the same experience.

Commitment in Prayer

        I just had a great meeting with a pastor in Fremont. It was such an encouragement to me. I kind of feel like we're getting better at this support raising thing. I mean, I think we always did a good job externally. But we really prayed about this one. And I think I really heard the pastor and their churches vision for taking the gospel to the world.
        It is also really encouraging that they have a vision for taking the gospel to the world. So many churches can't articulate what they are doing in international missions.
        But the most encouraging thing was that at the end of it all, when we were praying together, this pastor told God that it was his intention to pray for us everyday until we got to the field. You know... I didn't even say thank you. I was really taken back. There are things that I pray for everyday. I pray for my pastor and our children every day, and there are some others that I pray for nearly everyday. I know what a commitment that is, and I know how effective that is.
        So... I'm feeling good. We hit the support raising jackpot today, someone who is really praying for us!

Pray in Dreams

Okay,
This is a stretch for me. I like to say things I can prove, defend, or get people to agree with me on. But I was just praying while I watched the sun set, and so many thoughts filled my mind.
All day long I have had the thought that I don't really understand God. Even the things about God I would have said were concrete yesterday seem fragile today because I can't answer the how and why questions. I don't understand God. (I'm aware this isn't a revelation, but God gave me some clarity today.)
Like I said, I like to think in concrete, irrefutable ways. So I love to imagine Heaven, a world not unlike this one only real and unchanging!
I looked up into the trees as the sun set. The leaves swayed in unison as if directed by a conductor. And I thought, "How is it that God turns everything into good? How can He make wonder from death? How did He make it so that coming autumn and soon death of all these leaves made the moment all the more wonderful to me?" Even the brevity of my own life made the moment more awesome and my longing greater.
Isn't He wonderful... complex, transcendent! How is Heaven going to be better? What is the wonder of a life with no death or ending? What are my vacant hillsides going to be like with no weeds or imperfections? What is life going to be like when I'm not married? What is an eternity without sex going to be like.
Lost in my moment of wonder, I began to see how it might be fascinating and wonderful. Thinking about how little I know about God reminded me of the early days with Heidi. It was the furthest thing from boring. It was exciting, enthralling. I couldn't get enough, and I couldn't wait for more. ...And there was no sex. While that is an incredibly weak example... so is this whole world. I can't wait for the real thing.
Come Lord Jesus, Soon!

It's the End of the World as We Know It...

The other day I finished reading the Heptalogy (I had to look that up), Chronicles of Narnia, to my boys. Harley listened to most of it, but she doesn't get it yet.




We had a great time reading it, and the boys often asked insightful questions, and they totally get all the analogies. What a great appetizer for theology.
We went to Focus on the Family while we were in Colorado, and they had a Narnia display.





My dad even built the kids their own "Wardrobe" in the backyard that goes to a little hidden spot.




You can see that there's no way out...
But then... there's a secret panel that slides up.



Act surprised if our kids show it to you.

Monkeying Around With God's Will

       I guess I'll just cut to the chase. We got a call last night from a church that isn't going to support us. My first reaction was better than my subsequent reactions. I'm genuinely happy for these two missionary families that were chosen. This church really is the kind of church that you want supporting you. The missions pastor told me that the two they chose were on their list for three years. I got the impression that they are already on the field, but I can definitely empathize with a three year wait. Heidi and I have only been raising support for a little over a year.
       This morning, however, I've got more of the throw-in-the-towel feeling. It's not like I've given up on God, and He is the One I have been calling on all along. But, honestly, in moments like this I can see how my hope in God is really more like me hoping God is going to do what I want.
       Heidi and I thought, "It's going to take a miracle to get us on the field by August like we had planned." We thought that if this church took us on by August it would be miraculous. We really kind of saw it as our last hope for getting to the field by August. Our hope... was in that church. I'm convicted that when I say, "My hope is in God," it means so much more than I have been meaning in my heart when I say it. I need to remember where I came from, dead to sin. That is the power behind "my hope is in God." He is my Savior and my adoptive Father. My hope, though this whole world pass away, is in God.

       This picture really convicted me. It is the cover of a Spanish language album, Los Mono. God has called us to not be of this world, and sometimes I feel like I get suckered into being like this picture. I think Satan loves distraction more than denial.
       Heidi and I had an awesome time of prayer just now, and we committed ourselves to the pursuit of God above all else.

I'm not totally ready to explain this, but it means a lot

to me right now. It reminds me of how good the Body

of Christ can be.