New "Partners" List

We haven't even "officially" started raising support for our upcoming year of volunteer work, but we already "officially" have supporters!

To the right you will see a list labeled "Partners." This is a list of individuals, families, and churches who have committed to supporting Christy and I through prayer and/or finances over the next year.

As you can see, there are already two groups/people on the list.

True Life Christian Church (the church where I currently serve as Associate Minister) announced last Sunday their intentions for supporting us. The commitment that they have made is very generous. I am blown away by their willingness to partner with us as we serve with The Voice Of The Martyrs.

Pam Taylor is Christy's mom. She has also committed to generously support us. The love and support that we have been shown from our families in relation to this specific decision to move to Oklahoma has been tremendous.

Thanks for signing on early, Pam and TLCC. And, thanks to all of you who I have "unofficially" talked to about supporting us. I appreciate your consideration!

Please contact me if you are interested in partnering with us through prayer and/or finances. I'll add your name to the list and will be in contact with you about specific prayer needs and specific financial needs.

Our newsletter is coming soon!

Movin' Forward

The Williamsburg Community Kids Choir production of the Christmas musical "Angel Alert!" was a success. So much work goes into a production of this magnitude. Thank you to everyone who helped. The show would not be possible without all of you - seriously.

There was also a great crowd - literally hundreds of people. Even a Cincinnati celebrity showed up in the crowd. Thanks to all of you who came to support these kids - they will never forget your encouragement and love.

Now Christy and I can take a breath and go forward with our upcoming move to Oklahoma to serve with The Voice Of The Martyrs. In fact, I just wrapped up the rough copy of our support newsletter. It should hit the presses soon - after some final proof reading.

Most of you reading this will probably receive a copy of it. But if you want to be sure to get one, leave a comment and let me know you're interested!

Don't forget to check out my favorite Christmas video!



Merry Christmas!

The BIG Unknown

I mentioned in my previous post that our goal is to sell our home - in three months or less.

Stop laughing. Seriously.

Call me crazy, but I am confident that the God who has brought us this far is in control of this situation, too. I don't know what He has planned, but I know He has a plan.

If you think about it, say a prayer for us as we try to sell our home in this difficult market. We would really appreciate it.

In the write-up for our home it says, "Shows Like A Model." I like the sound of that!

Did I mention immediate occupancy!

The Next Step

I am excited to announce that Christy and I have been accepted to a one-year volunteer commitment with The Voice Of The Martyrs. If everything goes as planned, Christy and I will move to Bartlesville, Oklahoma in March to begin serving with VOM!

Of course, a move like this comes with mixed emotions.

There are many things that are difficult to say good-bye to. We hate saying good-bye to family, friends, neighbors, True Life Christian Church, piano students, guitar students, The Williamsburg Community Kids Choir, Cookie's Coffee & Creamery, and The Williamsburg Community Band. We have built so many great relationships in the 4 years that we've been here. We will miss everyone greatly.

But, on the other side of it, we are looking forward to a new chapter in our lives. Transition is something that I find exciting. I've always liked it. I think that's why I love fall so much. To me, fall represents transition because it was always the time of year when I would transition to a new grade in school, a new school, or college. I've always loved the feeling of transitioning to something new.

This time is no different. And, what makes this transition so sweet is the fact that we are truly able to see God's hand at work. This opportunity and how it came about has totally been the work of God. He has answered prayer in an amazing way. The details of it all are mind blowing.

Between the sadness of saying good-bye and the excitement of something new lies another emotion - fear. Actually, I think fear is too strong of a word. Maybe the word "apprehension" says it better. No, that's not exactly it, either. I guess what I am trying to say is that there are some "unknowns" floating around that make me a bit nervous.

For example, we have to sell our house in 3 months. In today's market, most experts are telling us this is next to impossible. Our real estate agents tried to be positive. "In another market, this house would be easy to sell," they said to us. I know that God will handle this, and if you want to pray for us, pray that our house sells - quickly and for the right price!

We also have to think about what to do with all of our stuff. We will be living in a furnished apartment. This means that we don't have to move all of our belongings to Oklahoma. What a blessing! But, what do we do with it all in the meantime? Sell it? Store it? This is not that big of a deal, it's just something we need to figure out.

There are some other "unknowns" out there. I'll write more about them later. My goal is for this blog to be a way to update all of you as we take this step of faith and serve in a way that we've never served before. I hope it's as exciting for you to read as it is for us to live.

Anyway, more details will be coming about the specifics of our work with VOM and the church that we will call home in Oklahoma - East Bartlesville Christian Church.

Eleven

Memorization - some people are great at it, others are not. I think I fall somewhere in the middle.

I have never had a problem memorizing some things. For example, I can memorize song lyrics with no problem. I've always been good at that. Once I memorize a song, it's in my head forever. Believe me. I'll give you every word to "Bust-A-Move" right now if you want me to.

On the other hand, there are some things that I have a really hard time committing to memory. For example, anything to do with arithmetic. I could never memorize formulas or any of the tables. That was always very difficult for me. Math, in general, is not a strong subject with me. Why memorize when you have a calculator?

(At this point I'd like to mention that a calculator can't help you with "Bust-A-Move" lyrics. This proves that it is more necessary to memorize "Bust-A-Move" than it is to memorize the square root of 5781).

Sometimes, at our jobs, we are required to memorize certain things. Often, we memorize things almost by accident, just because of the constant repetition of doing the same thing over and over.

I was shocked during my most recent visit to McDonald's. I usually drive through McDonald's on my day off as I am out running errands by myself. I have to go then because my wife despises McDonald's and I can never go when she is with me. I don't really blame her...I admit, it's pretty disgusting. But, for some reason, I keep going back.

I pulled up to the drive through and was greeted with the usual, "Can I help you?"

I said, "Yes, I'd like a number eleven with a Sprite." I only drink clear liquids ever since my kidney stone incident (just in case you were wondering why I would order a Sprite instead of the obvious Coke).

The McEmployee said, "What's a number eleven?"

I wasn't sure I heard the question right, so I said, "Excuse me?"

She said, "What's a number eleven?"

I thought to myself, "What's a number eleven? Seriously? How could she not know this? I have ordered a number eleven many, many, many times in my life and I have never, NOT ONCE, been asked to explain what a number eleven is!"

You see, I had always just assumed that the register the McEmployee uses is marked with huge numbers, each corresponding with a value meal number. Couldn't she just hit the big 11 on here key pad?

Then it hit me...maybe they all just have the value meal numbers memorized and when I say "number eleven", the McEmployee, due to the fact that he/she has heard a number eleven ordered a million times, automatically knows that a number eleven is a Fillet-O-Fish.

If this is the case, which I am assuming it must be, then either:

A. The person I was currently ordering from was really bad at memorizing the value meal menu, or...

B. This was the first time someone had actually ordered a number eleven from her.

I going with "A." Mainly because I don't want to believe I am the only one in the world who eats a Fillet-O-Fish on a regular basis. And, to be honest, I can picture myself being lousy at memorizing the value meal menu. So give her a break, will ya?

Anyway...I started thinking about this because I often get very frustrated with myself for being so lousy at scripture memory, too. At first glance, you would think that I would be good memorizing the Bible since it is "words" and not "numbers." I wish that was true. I even remember doing terrible at scripture memory contests that were held at VBS or Camp as a child.

Just as it is great to have a calculator as a reference for math problems, I feel fortunate that I live in a country where I have access to a Bible when I need scripture. But...I don't ever want to use the same excuse for not memorizing the Bible that I used for not memorizing math stuff.

"Who needs to memorize that formula? I've always got a calculator with me."

"Who needs to memorize that scripture? I've always got a Bible with me."

The real reason I don't memorize math stuff is because I don't care. I don't care enough about it to commit it to memory.

On the other hand, I do care about what God's Word says. Therefore, I should constantly be reading it, studying it, and focused on it. If that's the case, then it will become a permanent part of my memory. And that's important. Because, when the Word is in your heart, you will recall it at the most important times in your life. God will speak to you through it. Nobody will ever be able to take it away from you.

My Fantasy

Last year was my rookie year at fantasy football. Call it beginners luck - I made it to the Super Bowl (and lost). But, I was still very proud of myself.

This year I am off to a good start. I won this past weekend, which puts me at 1-0! The bad news is that I won with the lowest winning point total in the league. Basically, I got lucky.

I think after a bit of tweaking I should do alright this year. Let the trading begin.

...In Seattle

Here's how it all went down in Seattle.

Day 1 - 6:

Christy and I attended an orientation with the agency Mission To Unreached Peoples. It was great for us to learn more about missions and to learn the ins and outs of MUP. The information that we gathered and the conversations that we had with the staff of MUP will surely help us along in our journey.

It was also great getting to know the other orientees. They were all amazing people who are truly willing to follow God anywhere he leads them. We are excited to hear about the amazing ministry they will all be doing in the future.

And, I have to mention that the location of the orientation was beautiful. The Homestead is a very cool place. The facilities are great, the food is amazing, and the staff are all very nice.

Here are a couple pictures. That's me by a big tree. The other is the view from the dock.

Day 6 (evening):

After Christy and I got checked into our hotel after the orientation wrapped up, we caught a bus to downtown Seattle to attend the Sunday evening service at Mars Hill Church downtown campus.

Unfortunately, we arrived 2o minutes late due to the fact that we caught the wrong bus. For those of you who may be planning a future visit to Seattle, you might want to make a note of the fact that there are TWO buses that are labeled 192 from the airport. One goes downtown, the other goes AWAY from downtown.

After our detour, we finally made it to Mars Hill. We got there in time to hear the message, take communion, and hear the band play a couple closing songs.

Trying to find a bus to take us back to our hotel was another adventure. I am sure we stood out as obvious out-of-towners among all the locals. But, we finally figured it out and realized that we were making it way more complicated than it actually was.

Day 7:

In the morning we caught the RIGHT 192 and headed back downtown Seattle. We had already fallen in love with Seattle so we were really looking forward to the day of sight-seeing.

First, we headed to the famous Pike Place Public Market. We spent quite a bit of time there. There are tons of shops and vendors selling everything you can imagine. Personally, I could have spent all day watching the action at the world famous Pike Place Fish Market. If my digital camera didn't have the longest delay known to man, I could have gotten some sweet shots of the fish throwing - bummer. But, at least I got to experience some first hand throwing (I bought a t-shirt and they even tossed that).

At Pike Place we also found the original Starbucks (big deal) and we came across a man known as "The Cat Whisperer." I didn't get any pictures of him. But I became really intrigued when I saw him pulling additional live cats out of a duffel bag.

After Pike Place we headed down to the waterfront. There were lots of shops and restaurants. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at Ivar's. This seagull stared at us the whole time. It really made me nervous. I am sure he was contemplating how fun it would be to gouge out my eyes. Either that or he just wanted my salmon.

We then headed for the Space Needle, which is actually quite a few blocks from the waterfront. It was a beautiful day though, so we decided to walk. I am glad we did because we got to see some more cool parts of Seattle.

The Space Needle is neat to see in person. But, we didn't go up in it. It costs $16 per person and in my mind I had already seen Seattle from the air when we flew in. I am sure it would have been a great view - maybe next time.

Instead of going up in the Space Needle, we decided to go through a couple attractions that are built near it's base - the Experience Music Project and the Science Fiction Museum. The two exhibits are combined, so admission to one gets you in both. Guess which one of those Christy was NOT looking forward to.

The EMP was awesome. I love going through exhibits that have to do with music and music history. This one did not disappoint. They had lots of cool memorabilia from Seattle natives The Kingsmen, Jimi Hendrix, and of course Nirvana (among others). It was also a very interactive and "high-tech" exhibit, so there was a lot to see and do.

I was happy to find a French Horn in this sculpture of thousands of instruments.

The SFM was actually pretty interesting. If you hate science fiction books and movies, then you would really hate the SFM. But, it had some cool memorabilia and movie props/costumes. All I could think of when I was walking around in it was, "Man, I am a nerd."

Once we were done there, we crossed the street and had a bite to eat at a sports bar & grill as we watched the Seahawks play some pre-season Monday Night Football. After that we caught a bus back to the hotel and crashed. We needed rest so we could catch our 5:45 AM flight out the next morning.

Seattle is an awesome city and western Washington is one of the most beautiful places in the US, in my opinion. I hope we get to go back some day.