how much longer - the beach 2008

We are at the beach!  5 hours of “How much longer?”, 1 Cracker Barrel, and about 1,000 dollars, about 1,000 dollars in gas, and a great pair of goggles is all it took to get here.  There is no internet in our condo but I will try my best to post while we are there.  If I don’t get to write again, I will be back on July 27.  Please don’t forget me.  Have a great week.  I will think of you all as I listen to the sound of the surf!

We bought these at Target on the way down.  Emma wore them for most of the 4 hours after that.

Sincerely,

Brian

look at my girl

I knew that our kids would learn to swim quickly with our own pool.  But I was not expecting this.

She just turned two in June.  I know every parent says this, but she’s amazing.

Brian

Why we love our house

Because it is a home to many.  We didn’t look for a house with a pool but God gave us one.  So we want to use it for his glory.  We want to use it to bring people together.  We want to use it to minister to others.  We have since had several people over (from in and out of town) that just needed to chill by the pool for awhile.  No conversation.  No pressure.  Just chillin’.

July 4, 2008, we had tons of family over.  Just relaxing and having a good time.  Everyone got in the pool, even the grandparents.  The next day, 40+ people from our Sunday School Class came over for a party.  People let go of their inhibitions and self-consciousness and had a great time.

This past weekend, our good friends, the Ragsdales, from Indianapolis stayed the weekend with us.  We hung out by the pool all weekend.  Madison learned to dive which led to Emma doing the same.  It was a great weekend.  Jason and Kristi, Madison and Mariah (twin girls born just 10 days before Emma) are great friends.

We love our home.  Thank you, God.

Brian

7.20.08 @ MeadowBrook

Great day of God’s people gathering to worship ahead.  We will start with “Arise” ( a new worship favorite at the Brook).  ”For All You’ve Done” and “Savior King” will round out the beginning of the service.  The choir will then offer and new song that rocks called “Not Unto Us” (no, not the Chris Tomlin song).  It has powerful vocal parts and a great message.  Then Randy will wrap up the “Christ In You” series.  If you’re in the area and not going anywhere on Sunday, come.

Brian

Blur

Today is a blur.  An already packed To-Do list, covering for out of town ministers, and putting out an unexpected fire or two.  Whew!

Brian

On Whom Do We Lean?

Did I use “whom” correctly?  I never know but it just sounded right.

God is challenging me to simpler thinking lately.  Usually I’m for the bigger, newer, flashier idea.  As of late, that doesn’t seem to be working.  Church growth experts tend to do the same thing.  “Follow the latest church fad and people will come.”  But what does God say?  Over the last few weeks I’ve read and noted these scriptures:

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help,
who rely on horses,
who trust in the multitude of their chariots
and in the great strength of their horsemen,
but do not look to the Holy One of Israel,
or seek help from the LORD.
Isaiah 31:1

No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
Psalm 33:16-17

He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Colossians 2:19

So if man’s ideas and tools, apart from the Lord, are useless, and God is the one Who causes the body to grow, why am I not looking more toward Him?  Why am I not spending more time on my knees?

Just a little challenge today for me from the scripture.  I have continued to journal some since Africa.  In my prayer time today, I looked back over the last few entries and God just brought it all together.

Brian

Hypermiling Experiment - Take 2

Filled up this morning.  140.05 miles divided by  7.2 gallons = disgustingly bad gas mileage for a foreign four cylinder engine (19.5 mpg).  What have a I learned?

If you can’t be with the car you love, honey, love the car your with.

Brian

Kenya Report #13 - the wrap up

The question I’ve been asking and wrestling with since I returned from Africa is “What does God ask of me now?”  The answer is pretty simple and complex all at once -  ”To live a life of sacrifice.”  But what does that mean?  How do I/we live that out?  What does it look like?  I’m still not sure but I have some pretty good examples.

Tony and Faith (Sonya’s brother and sister-in-law and founders of Heart of the Bride Ministries) sold the first home they’d built in 2004 and used the equity to build the first HOB orphanage in Haiti.  In 2006, Tony left the worship ministry to go full time with Heart of the Bride Ministries.  He is an incredible musician and could have existed comfortably in music ministry for the rest of his life.  But that is not what God wanted.  Now he devotes his time to helping us give from our abundance to those in greatest need.

Jason and Lisa Hovingh, and their three kids, live thousands of miles away from their family.  They lack many of our modern conveniences, have to do a lot of things in primitive ways, and bare the stress of forging new ground in ministry.  They do this so that they can take the gospel to Kenya and help the kids of the House of Hope.

Joel and Susan Karanja adopted Griffin when most of the people around them were afraid of such a thing because of primitive beliefs.  They faced real persecution, even from their own church.  Joel and Susan give all they can to the children of the House of Hope.  Joel pays their medical bills out of his own pocket when other resources aren’t available.

In the light of these examples, my little sacrifices seem so small.  God, show me how to live a life of sacrifice.

What is God challenging you to do?

Brian

Kenya Report #12 - the Journey Home

Week 2, Day 7 and 8

I know weeks only have 7 days, but by the time you spend a full day in Nairobi and 23 hours traveling you feel like that week has 8 days.  It was a long day getting home but the time in Nairobi was some of the most rewarding of the trip for me.

Since none of us were flying out until evening, we traveled into Nairobi early to do some shopping.  The first stop was a good one.

I bought five and half pounds of Kenya AA.  Since I brought a whole suitcase of ministry items over, I had lots of room for coffee on the way back.

We then went to an open air market where the shops were very close together.  The name of the game: don’t get ripped off.  Since they recommended that we not bring our cameras with us I don’t have any pictures.  I had already acquired souvenirs for all of my family so I was just walking around, taking it all in.  As the shop owners tried to get our attention (nice way to say “harassed us”) I began to talk to them.  They were very responsive and I made several quick relationships.  Believe it or not, we started by talking politics.  Since Barack Obama’s ancestry is Kenyan he is in the Nairobi newspaper at least two or three times a day.  They would ask me questions about him and I would answer honestly.  Each time it led to a discussion of faith.  One shop owner, Gideon, was so nice and open that I went back and bought some Ebony (they call it “Kenya gold”) candlesticks from him.  I really enjoyed that time.  I got to know the people and the culture of Kenya in a real and personal way.

Then, we ate meat.  Lot’s of meat.  How much meat you say?  The name of the restaurant was Carnivore.  I tried Ostrich meat balls and Crocodile and just ate a lot of meat in general.  It was all good.

Finally, we said, “Goodbye.”  It was tough to leave but I was ready to get home.  We flew out of Nairobi at 11:20 p.m. and didn’t arrive in Birmingham until the next day at 5:40 p.m.  Once you factor in the time difference it is 23 hours.  Lots of sitting.

 

I thought it would never end.  Jim, on the other hand, seem to just sleep the trip away.  But I did: watch a nice edited for television version of “The Bucket List” on the airplane, make a $46 phone call home from the  Belgium airport, try to walk on the airplane with a Masai walking stick which was taken away just before I saw a boy board with a bow and arrow, have a guy stand over me on the airplane and talk to a girl on the other side in a foreign language, read most of “The Blogging Church”, and go to the Men’s room (yes, I confirmed it was the Men’s room) in Belgium and watched a woman walk out of the stall, wash her hands next to the men, and walk out like nothing was different - it was then that I knew I was getting the full European experience.  I saw a great demonstration of God’s power in creation.

I also had lots of time to reflect.  What is God asking of me?  I’ll get to that tomorrow.

We arrived in Birmingham to children screaming and lots of hugging.  As we pulled up to the gate I could see Sonya and our kids waving in the window.  As I walked through security they tackled me.  It was a reunion I will never forget.

Brian

I know, I know…

I always check things on Snopes and know that the cell phone popcorn thing is a hoax.  I just thought it was cool.  I also like to perpetuate mass ignorant panic whenever I can!  But I don’t do email forwards, even if they promise me lot’s of money to cash their foreign checks.  Here’s another great hoax for you.

Brian