God in This City

Something really exciting is happening in our church. Our pastor planned to resign today. I know -- that's probably the last thing you expected me to say, but once you hear the whole story, I think it will make more sense.

He had received a call several months ago from another church that is closer to his wife's family, and after a lot of wrestling with the decision, they decided to pursue this opportunity. Everything from a human perspective told them to make this move...bigger church, better pay, nicer home, brand new congregation. On paper, it made sense. But as most Christians know, what's on paper doesn't always equal the right decision.

He finally started to look at his motives for wanting this change, and realized that his motives were not Godly. From the beginning, his heart told him this was not the direction God wanted him to go, and that was confirmed on Friday evening when he was driving toward downtown during rush hour traffic. As he was going south on the highway, he saw the bumper to bumper traffic that was driving north toward our community - the Northland. God layed upon his heart this verse - "Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!" (John 4:35). As he and his wife saw the endless trail of white headlights, they were reminded of how many people there are in the Northland who don't know Jesus as their Savior.

Can I tell you how excited I am about the way our church embraced our pastor and his wife? At the end of our service this morning, there were close to 200 people gathered around them, laying their hands on each other and praying for God's revival in our church and in the Northland. It is our prayer that God will use this weekend as a life-changing moment.

I just want to share a song that has kind of become our "theme." I pray God will use it in your life, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwk

Happy Birthday to Lesa

What a fun night! Lesa's birthday is tomorrow, so for her birthday dinner she chose "China Wok" much to the dismay of the other kids. Mike and I had to chuckle at the many cultural "faux pas" they made.
The first was an honest mistake when Adam called the restaurant Polar Express (confusing it with Panda Express, a fast food Chinese restuarant that seems to pop up on every corner here in KC).
The next came when we went to order soup. "I'd like to have egg nog soup," one of them said. Later, they referred to chop sticks as "pork chops" and "chap sticks. "
Here are some photos of our fun evening.

Mike's meal came with a flower made out of a turnip. I was shocked when all three girls practically devoured the whole thing.

Happy Birthday to you!

Note to self: we ordered egg drop soup for the girls, sweet and sour chicken for kids to share and fried rice. Plenty of food, and everyone walked away full.

Adam's Glasses

Well, we've suspected for a while now that Adam needs glasses. This was confirmed today at his eye doctor appointment. It's official - he's near-sighted. Thankfully, he was excited to get glasses. As his mother, I'm disappointed, because I know what a pain glasses and contacts can be. But for now, it's a whole new world.
"Mom," he said in the van. "I can read the temperature!" "Dad, when I move my glasses, the scores on the T.V. move."

Choosing glasses for a boy is a lot harder than choosing for a girl. What do you think or our choice?

Hmmmm....maybe not. How about these?

And my personal favorite... :)

The final product - My dear, sweet boy and his first pair of glasses.