Preschool Class

On Sunday nights I have the priviledge of working in the preschool class as a helper. Angie is the teacher, and she does a great job! I love working with the kids, they say the funniest things. A couple weeks ago Amber Delong was eating pretzels for snack time and one of the pretzels looked like a "D". She said "my dad's name starts with a D, D A D!! Then a couple of the other kids said, wow, my dad's name is D A D too! I just laughed. :)

Adam V. is funny because he asks a lot of questions. He askes very good questions about the lesson...things that I wouldn't think to ask.

Well below are some pictures for Kara (because she likes pictures) of Angie teaching our class. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy the class.

For the Tag Game...a personal recipe!

A Man's Meal

1 Frozen Pizza

Place in the oven to 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Remove and eat with Coke!

LIFE!!

Well life has been busy! Tonight I got out of work and realized that I didn't have any plans and I didn't know what I was going to do with all my free time. It was nice, but also I felt like I needed to be doing something. I ended up playing games at my parents, which of course was fun!

My typical week consists of working, playing basketball on Tuesday nights, and volleyball on Thursday nights. My weekends always seem to be full (except for this weekend).

My job is going good. I love my new job. I wish that I would have been able to make the switch years ago, but God had a plan for me and He put me in this job when I was ready. I have a lot of responsibility, but I love working with the guys (much better than girls), also I love working with the staff that I have - even though sometimes they don't do what I ask of them. It's fun working with both the staff and the kids, trying to motivate them and move them in a direction that is positive for both of them. Paperwork continues to grow, but I'm getting good at doing what is needed. My hours are much better now also, M-F 9-5 or so. No driving - except for the occasional court hearing. I like my boss and the other program coordinators that I work with. Did I mention that I love my job??

Anyway, that is what is going on in my life. I'm looking forward to visiting Ben and Kelly in a few weeks (and getting some time to cuddle with little Owen). Ben, I'm looking forward to playing some golf in December, can you believe it - golf in December!
Well that's all for now.

Coming Soon!!

I've been requested to update the blog. This will happen soon, it's too late tonight.

Family!

This week my Aunt Robin and Uncle Jim were in town for a visit. They live in Colorado and we only see them about once a year or two. As you can see from the pictures we went to a Tigers baseball game. I was a little misty there...okay it rained hard! I think I even saw some cats and dogs. :) The game was rained out, but the Tigers ended up winning and we had a lot of fun.

We ate dinner at Pam and James house, but they could not go to the game with us. Pam was able to spend the day with Jim and Robin though.

We played games every night this week with them. If you know our family, that's what we enjoy. Anyway, that was my week.

Job Update

Well...the new job is good. It's also very stressful right now. I've been hired into a mess. The staff is only half there, and they are frustrated and tired. The kids are struggling, frustrated and haven't had any treatment for about 2 months.

There is hope though! I've worked with difficult staff and difficult kids. Somehow I just need to convince them that they need to help each other, have care and concern for each other, work to improve themselves while helping each other. A little time, encouragement, investment is all it will take.

Please pray for me. There is a lot of stress, but I'm convinced that this group and staff can turn it around.

Promotion!!

This last week has been very exciting for me. As many of you know, I have been hoping to change positions at work. I have been on the same girls unit for almost 8 years, starting out as a treatment specialist and the for the last 6 years have been a family worker.

Well about 3 weeks ago I had an interview for new program that was opening in our organization. It was a program coordinator for a boys Segue program. I really wanted this position, but it wasn't meant to be. I didn't get it. I was kind of frustrated, but also knew that the guy who got the job was much more qualified than me.

So this last week I applied for another program coordinator job for a boys residential program. I had an interview on Tuesday at 10am. I had got my application in late due to the fact that I was on vacation. The interviewer didn't have to give me an interview, but said that since it was me he would. (I've worked with this person for the past 8 years.) Anyway, the interview went really well and by noon I found out that I got the job!!! There were several other qualified people that were interviewed, so I feel priviledged to have received this opportunity.

So I am officially the Program Coordinator for Luke Hall, a boys residential, low security program. I had to move to a new building in Saginaw, on Washington. It's in the city, but not far from home. We just bought the building, so everything is new.

Part of being the Program Coordinator is that I'm the boss and I have a staff that works for me. I am responsible for how everything on my unit runs. I met some of the staff and all of the kids on Friday. Both of these groups of people are struggling right now. They have been without a Program Coordinator for a couple of months.


Please pray for wisdom and leadership on my part to build a good, positive core of staff to help the youth that we work with. Also pray that my relationship with God will have a positive influence in the lives of the staff and kids that I work with.

Games Men Play

Well this week has been filled with man stuff! Thursday night I went to the Armstrong's home to watch baseball with Travis. Stephanie made dinner (thank you very much) and Olivia was my buddy for the night.

After baseball at the Armstrong's, I went to church to play my weekly game of paintball. Six guys showed up and we had a great time. Casey gave me a cheap shot and shot me after the game was over ;) John Hartwick and I basically dominated this week.

Sunday night was the Fantasy Football Draft. We have 10 guys signed up this year from 3 different states. It looks as though it is going to be an exciting season.

Well I'm off to Ludington for the week on vacation with the family. I'm sure that I will have pictures and stories when I return.

Gamenight with Friends

Tonight I went to Casey and Kara's home to play games and spend time with them. I took over a family favorite of ours called 'Carcassone'. Both seems to catch on quick, Casey won, Kara second, and me last. (This won't happen next time!! )
I enjoyed some time with the kids too. Kara handed me a screaming Abby as soon as I got my shoes off. She calmed down in a short time. I guess I got the touch :) It was almost bedtime, so I only played with Abby. I had a good time.
The Veihl's are always great host's, so they fed me more than I needed.

Thanks for a good evening Casey and Kara!!

Late Night Fun!!

My parents used to tell me that nothing good happened after 11pm...I beg to differ. Last night I played paintball at church for a couple hours around midnight. Casey sets this up each week, and it is appreciated. Pastor Matt, John Hartwick, John Rezayi, Casey and myself played paintball and had a blast. We have a few bruises, but it's okay, no major injuries. I can't wait til next week!!

Quick Trip to Florida!!

Well I went on a short trip to Florida...a really SHORT trip!! My dad and I went down to help Matt Beery move his belongings to Michigan. I flew first class into Orlando at mid-night on Thursday night and we left on Friday morning at 7:30am. By noon we were in Georgia. We stayed the night in Tennessee at Chuck and Sue Wylie's home. We finished our drive on Saturday and were home by 10pm. It was a long two days, but is was an enjoyable drive. I've been told that pictures are most desirable when blogging, so I took some of my trip.

These are the vehicles that we drove. Matt Beery, my dad and myself each drove a vehicle.
This is my dad outside of Matt and Amber's condo. Yes that is a palm tree.
Kara this is for you. A purple flowered tree, almost like a lilac tree, but it wasn't.
This is the view that I had most of the trip.
Mountain Dew "AMP". Drink this when you are tired and you won't be anymore. I drank 3 over two days, in addition to coffee...driving is tiring.

Well that's some of my pictures. I may add some more later.

Kentucky

Well I had a great trip down to Ben and Kelly's house in Louisville, Kentucky. I was there for a long weekend and enjoyed every minute of it. We were able to do some things that I really enjoy, like playing Settler's of Catan, playing golf (once for free for both of us and once paid), going to a cave in Indiana, climbing rocks while exploring a man made cave, eating Kelly's food, and just hanging out with some really good friends!!

Thanks Ben & Kelly for your time and for a great weekend!!

Vacation 2

So far my vacation has been great...quite relaxing. :) Sunday afternoon I went to Farwell, MI to a cabin in the woods. It was really peaceful. I put some carrots and apples out in the backyard and within 15 minutes there were 2 deer eating them. One was a buck with small horns and the other was a doe. It was really cool. I got a lot of work done on some proposals for this new job opportunity. I also was able to do quite a bit of reading while I worked on my tan!! :) (actually I burned the front of me.) The house was cool inside and there were no TV's, radios or internet and nothing to distract me. It was easy to focus on what I had to do. I'd like to go back in a couple of weekends.

I went to Armstrong's house on Monday night for dinner. Alex is getting soo big!! Alex is standing while holding on to things. He is also climbing stairs and crawling all over the place. I would be surprised if he isn't walking before too long. Steph also thinks he will be. Travis and I watched the Tigers play baseball on TV, they lost, but it was fun to hang out with friends. Steph made a great dinner, burgers, pasta salad (you would have loved it), corn on the cob, and ice cream for dessert. I think that I'm going back next week!! :) (they invited me).

I've played Settlers of Catan at my parents a couple of times this week. My dad has dominated us, until I finally won. My dad really likes to win, but who doesn't! I think we will have to take a break on that game. I am going to play at Ben and Kelly's this weekend. I'm also going to take Carcassone. If you haven't played any of the "German" games that our family has, then you need to. They are all very strategy oriented, and fun.

Well I'm off to Pam and James, and then to Ben and Kelly's house tomorrow. I will let you all know how that goes when I return.

I Love Vacation!! :)

Vacation!!!

Well I've been told that it is time to update. Last week I was on vacation...from my regular job. I am soo tired due to all the work that I did at church, I feel like I need another vacation. :) I worked a few days with my dad on the pavilion and playground equipment, I mowed the lawn (which I LOVE to do:) ), also did some misc. yard work, cleaned the gym floor and clean the church. I also played softball twice!

The best part about my vacation was that I wasn't a work dealing with other people's problems!!! I enjoyed the physical labor of my week off. I am tired though...I need another vacation. (actually I'm going again in 3 weeks!!).

I also spent some time over Memorial Weekend with Angie at the Highland Festival in Alma. if you like bagpipes you should go next year! I love bagpipes and they played all day :) They also have Scottish games that you can watch. It was a ton of fun!! BEN: you would like this festival!!

I also went to Camp Barakel for two days to spend some time with my family. This also was a blast!! I wish that I could have been up there the whole weekend, but I'm also very glad that I went to the Highland Festival!

Well there it is...You're all updated!!!

America's Fatty Foods

So, Angie and I were at the Highland Festival this weekend (more pics to follow). We saw this stand where they were selling deep fried Twinkies and deep fried Candy Bars. Can you believe that people 'deep fry' TWINKIES!!! As if they're not bad enough. And NO I did not buy one. Also Candy Bars???

Angie and I thought a little bit about this and came up with this...Americans tend to find the fattiest, worst foods from other nations, then we deep fry it and make it worse for us. What do you think??

Pavilion Construction

Last Saturday 6 guys got together and worked on constructing a pavilion behind the church so we can picnic there this summer and beyond. Here are some pictures of that event. (it's not done yet, so there will be more pictures.)

Questions to live by

This past Sunday Pastor Mark spoke on I Corinthians 7. His main focus was verse 35 "I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord." He went on to pose two questions that have really stuck out in my mind this week. Angie has even brought them up to me and asked if I have used them this week, in which I said 'yes'. If you were in church on Sunday, you know the two questions, but since some of you weren't there I will tell you them. They are very basic questions, with a lot to think about when they are asked.

1. Is this beneficial?

2. Will this master me?

I urge you to try to use these this week. I have and it is difficult at times because of bad habits I have formed. I think that your life will change a bit if you ask these questions. I would like God's Word to master me, because I know that it is beneficial, but most times other areas of my life tend to override this area. Please pray for me as I continue to work to place God and his goodness first in my life.

If you would like a copy of this message, it may be on the Immanuel website soon, or let me know.

Barakel Weekend

Well this weekend 15 people from Immanuel went to Camp Barakel for the weekend to work. We did things like rake leaves, spread wood chips and Pam even cleaned the RV bathhouse. It was a beautiful day on Saturday and we all worked hard and had an enjoyable time.

On Friday night Pam, James, Angie and I played James' new game, Puerto Rico. I love this game and we all had fun playing it and spending time together.

Well we worked hard on Saturday and we were all tired when we got home. It was a good weekend. (This picture is for Kara, because she wasn't there :) )

Weekend Events

Well, I haven't blogged in a while. I have been keeping up with everyone elses blogs, though. My life right now is just kind of normal. Working, spending time with friends, etc. No concerts Kara! Angie and I did go and see "Meet the Robinsons" on Friday. We didn't realize that it was in 3-D. It was my first 3-D movie. It was a good movie, funny and enjoyable. It was also the first time that Angie and I went to a movie. I had made a point of not going to a movie, because I wanted to get to know Angie, not the people on the movie screen. But this was a movie that we both wanted to see, and I know Angie pretty good now! :)
Yesterday was the Immanuel Bible Church Olympics. I participated in 5 events: Ping Pong, Volleyball, Horse Shoes, Basketball, and Settlers of Catan. I medeled in 4 of the 5 events. It was an enjoyable day. Angie, James, Jose and I also spent a little time hitting a chasing the softball in the wet field at church. It was good for me to be able to see how my arm felt hitting the ball. Not bad! Everyone hit well and we had fun!
The day ended with a pig roast dinner. Yummy!! Several people helped clean up afterwards. I want to specifically thank Angie for helping clean the windows in the church. She knows that I dislike that job and she just did it without any prompting from me. Thank you Angie!! :) Lyle McAuley also helped clean in some of the rooms. Lyle is always willing to help out, thanks Lyle!
All in all it was a good day!!

Overflow

For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

Matthew 12:34b-35

How important it is to fill our heart with the good from God's Word!!

Acquire the Fire

Well Pam is right. I did have a busy weekend. It all started Friday - Saturday, when Angie and I went to Acquire the Fire at Ford Field in Detroit. We went with her home church's youth group, in Caro. 34 kids and 6 adults went. This was a fun event, interesting because I didn't know any of the kids, but as the weekend progressed I got to know several of them. Angie and I ended up spending a lot of time with one particular girl who has Downs Syndrome. This was cool for me, a new experience that I enjoyed.

Acquire the Fire is for high school students and is run by Ron Luce. Ron Luce uses music, preaching, video, and drama to share who Jesus is and why we need Christ in our lives. There were 36,000 people there!! (See the pics.) Thousands went forward on Friday night to give their lives to Christ or to renew their commitment. It was very moving.

Here are some pictures of the event.

God's Will Continued...

Here is a simple prayer that each of us can do during our daily quiet time.

Pray for a renewed mind that discerns how to apply God's Word!!

God's Will

The verse at the top of this page is an encouragement to me as it should be to you. I have been working through how to determine God’s will in my life for the past few months. I pray that God will show me His will and that I will do it. My grandma sent me a card at Christmas that got me thinking about this topic. She wrote a quote in it from an unknown author which said,

“The greatest knowledge is to know the will of God; the greatest accomplishment is to do it.”

I’ve thought a lot about this quote and as I tried to figure out what God’s will is for my life. I searched out some help for this question on John Piper’s web page, http://www.desiringgod.org/. I found an article called “What is the Will of God and How Do We Know It.” I urge you to go to this website and check out this sermon, it is based on Romans 12:1-2. I’m going to share the last part of the sermon here, but you really need to read the whole thing to understand it all.

Piper shares that there are 2 kinds of God’s will. The first is the will of decree or sovereign will and the second kind which is the will of command. The will of command is what Piper focuses on although he does define both. Here is the last part of the sermon.

Three Stages of Knowing and Doing the Revealed Will of God
There are three stages of knowing and doing the revealed will of God, that is, his will of command; and all of them require the renewed mind with its Holy-Spirit-given discernment that we talked about last time.
Stage One
First, God’s will of command is revealed with final, decisive authority only in the Bible. And we need the renewed mind to understand and embrace what God commands in the Scripture. Without the renewed mind, we will distort the Scriptures to avoid their radical commands for self-denial, and love, and purity, and supreme satisfaction in Christ alone. God’s authoritative will of command is found only in the Bible. Paul says that the Scriptures are inspired and make the Christian “competent, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16). Not just some good works. “Every good work.” Oh, what energy and time and devotion Christians should spend meditating on the written Word of God.
Stage Two
The second stage of God’s will of command is our application of the biblical truth to new situations that may or may not be explicitly addressed in the Bible. The Bible does not tell you which person to marry, or which car to drive, or whether to own a home, where you take your vacation, what cell-phone plan to buy, or which brand of orange juice to drink. Or a thousand other choices you must make.
What is necessary is that we have a renewed mind, that is so shaped and so governed by the revealed will of God in the Bible, that we see and assess all relevant factors with the mind of Christ, and discern what God is calling us to do. This is very different from constantly trying to hear God’s voice saying do this and do that. People who try to lead their lives by hearing voices are not in sync with Romans 12:2.
There is a world of difference between praying and laboring for a renewed mind that discerns how to apply God’s Word, on the one hand, and the habit of asking God to give you new revelation of what to do, on the other hand. Divination does not require transformation. God’s aim is a new mind, a new way of thinking and judging, not just new information. His aim is that we be transformed, sanctified, freed by the truth of his revealed Word (John 8:32; 17:17). So the second stage of God’s will of command is the discerning application of the Scriptures to new situations in life by means of a renewed mind.
Stage Three
Finally, the third stage of God’s will of command is the vast majority of living where there is no conscious reflection before we act. I venture to say that a good 95% of your behavior you do not premeditate. That is, most of your thoughts, attitudes, and actions are spontaneous. They are just spillover from what’s inside. Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matthew 12:34-36).
Why do I call this part of God’s will of command? For one reason. Because God commands things like: Don’t be angry. Don’t be prideful. Don’t covet. Don’t be anxious. Don’t be jealous. Don’t envy. And none of those actions are premeditated. Anger, pride, covetousness, anxiety, jealousy, envy—they all just rise up out of the heart with no conscious reflection or intention. And we are guilty because of them. They break the commandment of God.
Is it not plain therefore that there is one great task of the Christian life: Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. We need new hearts and new minds. Make the tree good and the fruit will be good (Matthew 12:33). That’s the great challenge. That is what God calls you to. You can’t do it on your own. You need Christ, who died for your sins. And you need the Holy Spirit to lead you into Christ-exalting truth and work in you truth-embracing humility.
Give yourself to this. Immerse yourself in the written Word of God; saturate your mind with it. And pray that the Spirit of Christ would make you so new that the spillover would be good, acceptable, and perfect—the will of God.

Wisdom

Have you ever asked God for Wisdom?? I ask all the time. Wisdom that comes from God is much more powerful and effective than my own simple wisdom. I was reading James 3 yesterday and verses 13-18 talk about 2 kinds of wisdom.

Verses 14-16 talk about wisdom that comes from the devil is full of bitter envy and selfish ambitions. 16 says, "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice."

Verse 17 really stood out to me, it says, "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere."

If you compare these two kinds of wisdom they are very different. God's wisdom is obviously the better, but many times we ask for wisdom out of selfish motives and do things out of selfish ambition and call it God's wisdom leading us. The definition of God's wisdom in verse 17 doesn't say or imply anything about being selfishly motivated, but is full of unselfish, unenvying things.

James 1:5-8 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."

God gives wisdom to those who have good motives and to those who believe and don't doubt. What are your motives for asking God for wisdom?? If they are selfish you will be disappointed, if not you will be greatly rewarded!!

Springfest in Caro

This past Thursday I had the opportunity to go with Angie to her mother's school and see an exciting event called Springfest. Angie's mom works at a school as a teacher of cognitively impaired kids. There are about 200 kids in the school ranging from 3-4 to 26 years old. Their disabilities also range from mild to severe.

It was really amazing to see the love and attention that the teachers and paraprofessionals gave to each of the kids. They made sure that each kid had a role in the musical that they performed. I remember one kid who was I think a parapaligic and his teacher put a drumstick in his hand and hit a cymbal with it, all of a sudden the kid began to smile! It was very cool! All of the kids appeared to love this event.

I also was able to be in Mrs. Moakes room to get introduced to some of the kids, and to see their excitement for this event was awesome. I also got to see some of their parents and the love that they showed their kids.

I was very impressed with the love that was shown in the classroom by Angie, her mom, and the other workers in there. They have a special job. If you ever have an opportunity to visit a school like this or go to an event like this, I would recommend that you do it. It will touch your heart.

Update

Pam wrote me and said that I needed to update my blog. The problem is that I don't really have anything to say. So I will just give you an update on things that come to my mind. I am currently reading in Deuteronomy, which is a speech given by Moses to the Isrealites before God takes Moses from this earth. It pretty much is a summary of the first four books of the OT. Moses reminds the Isrealites that God is the Lord your God in almost every chapter, that He is their guide, defender and conquerer. That He has many rules, guides for their life, but will make them prosper if they follow. It is enjoyable to read.

Angie is doing good. If you've noticed that she hasn't updated in a while, it's because she has been stressed with homework. One of her main projects is due on Wednesday and this will be a relief for her. Please pray for her to remain focused and to do well in school. She is also getting ready to go to China this summer for 8 weeks. Please pray for this also.

So there is my update for my sister, Pam. ;)

Righteousness

Have you ever noticed how much God talks about the concept of being righteous in the Bible? As you know, I have been reading through the Bible this year. Basically I read a few chapters of the OT/NT in the morning and a Psalm or Proverb in the evening, (there is a schedule).
As I read through, I have noticed that the Bible is loaded with God's desire for us to be righteous, or what I've determined to mean, being right with God and his standards for our lives. The books of Psalm and Proverbs is full of references to righteousness. This must be important to God!! It should also be important to us!!

Audio Adrenaline/Mercy Me Concert

Well, Angie and I went to another concert. :) This time we went to South Bend, IN to see Audio Adrenaline, Mercy Me, and Aaron Shust. This was Audio Adrenaline's final tour. The concert was in the Morris Performing Arts Center. This was a great place for a concert. It was fun because it was a place where you would go and see the symphony, but there was good Christian Rock there. Here are some pictures from my cell phone.

Skiing at Caberfae!

So I haven't been downhill skiing since I was in high school, and as you know that was a while ago. The last time I went was also at Caberfae. I remember it having a good variety of different runs and I wasn't disappointed. As the picures show, Angie went with me skiing. It's her spring break and I took a couple of days off of work. It was a beautiful day, below freezing, but very sunny all day!! We did mostly intermediate runs, although I did do one of the big hills once. It was slow going down for me, but Angie was at the bottom before I barely got going. Angie is a very good skier compared to me.















We saw this cute couple on the ski lift and thought we should take their picture. They didn't mind.
















I was going to go down this section, but Angie had to hold me back because it was closed! (Actually, I just liked the view).















The view at the top of the big hill was amazing. It helps when Angie is in the picture!
It wasn't a big hill, but you could see for miles.
















Angie wanted to get my skies in the picture, I think she just wanted to prove that I was actually skiing.

Leviticus

Well, my mom asked me on Sunday if I was still doing my reading through the Bible. She was wondering, because I haven't written about anything that I am learning in a while. Well I've been reading in Leviticus for the past 10 days or so. Leviticus doesn't provide much to apply to my daily life, until you get towards the end. I realized that God was trying to make a point to the Isrealites that He was the Lord. He repeats this statement "I am the Lord, who makes them holy" several times during this book.

When I think of the word holy, I think of God. God is holy. We are going to praise God in heaven saying holy, holy, holy. I don't think of man as holy. God placed the laws and sacrifices on the Isrealites to give them the opportunity to be holy.

I think about the massive amount of tasks and laws that the Isrealites had to follow in order to be holy like the Lord and I am grateful for Christ. Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins in order that I made be made holy as God is. I don't have to sacrifice to God with goat, sheep or bulls. Jesus Christ payed that price for me on the cross.

Leviticus reminds me of the grace that God has shown to me through His Son's death on the cross. I am grateful for this grace.

Bowl-a-thon!

There has been a change in the plan for Angie. Indonesia in not available, but China is. So Angie's planning on going to China. The organization she is going with change the plans last week, so I thought that I would update a little. If you want more information, check out Angie's blog on my links.

This summer Angie is planning on going to Indonesia on a missions trip, from May 30 - August 4, 2007. In order to go she needs to raise $4300 for this trip. On this coming Saturday, Feb. 24th, I am participating in a bowl-a-thon with her to help her in raising money for this trip.

There are two ways to donate for this trip. First you could sponser me in the bowl-a-thon by giving an amount per pin that I knock over in two hours. So if you put in $0.05 per pin and I knocked over 500 pins, then your donation would be $25. I'm not a great bowler so don't worry about me knocking over a ton of pins.

The other way that you could donate would be with a flat donation. Just pledging to give a certain amount of money. Either way will help Angie as she tries to raise money to go to Indonesia this summer.

If you want more information on what she will be doing in Indonesia you will have to ask her. Information for this trip is still coming in as to what specifically she will be doing.

Thank you for your support for this ministry!

Let me know how you can support.

Newsboys/Kutless Concert!!

This is Kutless in concert.










Newsboys always puts on a fantastic concert. This was the opening of their concert. Their music, light show and overall show was awesome!!













This is also Newsboys.



So, this past weekend, Angie and I went to Kalamazoo on Sunday night to see the Newsboys, Kutless and Stellar Kart in concert. Here are some pictures of the concert that I took on my phone, (so the clarity is poor).

This is Angie and I at the concert, we had a great night together.

Meet the Parents

Well this past Saturday was "Meet the Parents" day for me. Angie's parents came into Saginaw from Caro for dinner, which Angie made. Dinner, Russian Chicken, was great and her parents were fun. We had a great time together. We played games and laughed together, just like we do at my parents house. I felt very at home with Angie's parents. They are very cool parents! I can definitely tell where Angie gets her humor and excitement for life. I am looking forward to spending more time with them in the future. And of course more time with Angie!!

Exodus

So I've been reading in Exodus this week, chapters 20-... Now if you've read these you will notice that they are mainly plans for the tabernacle, what the priests are to do and wear, etc. I was reading though it and was feeling a bit bored by it, until I realized how detailed God is.
Sometimes I view God as looking at the big picture, since he sees the beginning and the end. But in reality He is a detail guy. Details are fun, because they give the reader a better understanding of what is going on.
I'm glad that God is interested in the details of my life and not just the big picture. The details are what I need the most help with, daily walking with God sometimes proves to be a struggle, but I know that God is with me and is desiring to walk with me through the details of life.

Snowfest 2007 - Frankenmuth

This past weekend Angie and I went to snowfest with Pam and James. Finally it was a cold weekend for Snowfest, the past couple years all the sculptures were melting. We all had a great time enjoying the sights and company of each other. We even had a good old snowball fight :) We ended up at our favorite hang out...mom and dad's house to play games. A couple of the pictures below reminded me of some of my friends so that's why they are included.


Kelly this picture is for you. Since you just love your Super Mario, I thought this was just perfect for you . :)

Jenny and Josh, this is for you. I know Star Wars is a big hit in your household, so enjoy.

PS. Jenny I'm working with your sister tomorrow with one of the kids I work with. I didn't know that she was working in our organization, or did I and I just forgot??

This picure reminds me of the old hockey days at Immanuel. If you played or watched you will know what I mean!!

Having Fun in & out of the Snow!!

So I went cross country skiing this weekend with my friend Angie. We went to Chippewa Nature Center in near Midland. It was a beautiful sunny day and the snow was just perfect. It was pretty cold, but the skiing warmed us up. This was Angie's first experience skiing, so she fell a few times, but then again, I also fell a few times. I got a great video of her falling, but I'm not sure how to post videos yet.













We also had some fun after skiing as you can see. This is much harder than it looks!!

Bridegrooms, Patches and Wineskins?

So in reading through the Bible I'm into Mark. I read an OT book then a NT book... So in Mark 2:18-22 Jesus answers some questions about fasting. My question is what does verses 21-22 have to do with 18-20?? Please help!

Interesting Verse

I've begun reading through the Bible this year and have already come across several good passages/verses. Here is a verse that recently stuck out to me.

Psalm 11:7
For the Lord is righteous,
He loves justice;
Upright men will see His face.

Video??

Does anyone know how to upload a video from my phone/computer??

Righteousness

Ben Glupker was in town during New Year's weekend and I told him that I miss having deep conversations with him about biblical topics. He's back in Kentucky now, so I though I would pose a question from my reading in Genesis to the bloggers (if Ben had a blog he could participate).
So I'm reading about Abraham and Lot in Genesis 18-20. Abraham had three visitors. According to the text it appears that one was the Lord and two were angels. Abraham pleads for Sodom asking the Lord six times if He would save Sodom if there were only at the end ten righteous people. Abraham must have know that there were not many righteous people in Sodom and most likely was trying to save Lot and his family.
So when the angels go Sodom they don't find ten righteous people, but they do get Lot and his wife and two daughters out of the city. Then they destroy the city.

Okay, here's my question. Did the Lord get Lot and his family out of Sodom because they were righteous? The reason for this question is that if you read on about Lot and his family several unrighteous acting things happen to them. Lot's wife disobeys God's words shortly after leaving the city and turns to a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters commit incestuous acts with their father shortly after leaving the city. Lot gets drunk to allow this. So again were Lot and his family spared because they were righteous? Or was it Abraham's righteousness that spared them? Or was it something else.

I'm looking for some opinions on this topic. I know this is not my normal blog style, but I'm enjoying the challenges that God is sending to my thoughts through His Word.

Interesting Thought

So a lot of us set goals or New Year's resolutions for this next year for ourselves. I have not done this for a while due to usually breaking them right away and also knowing that I don't need a new year to make a goal. But this year I did make a couple.
One, like Kelly, is to read through the Bible. I've never completely read through the Bible. I have a good plan this year that allows a reflection day every 7th day, which falls on Sunday. This is good so that I can focus on Pastor Mark's message.
Anyway today I was reading in Genesis 15-17. I noticed something interesting. God credited Abraham as righteous for believing that he would have a son and many descendants. Abraham then had a son with Hagar, not God's plan. He failed God, but after 13 years God came back to Abraham and made a covenant with him and Sarah had a boy named Issac.
God knew that Abraham was his man, even though Abraham questioned God, laughed at what God was telling him, went against God's plan and had a child with Hagar. God most definitely believes in second chances. Abraham was a righteous man, who still made mistakes.
I read this and think that God is a great God who cares for even me. Even though I don't always do the right things. God will be there to continue "His" work in and through me.