Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the chilly northwest! We've had a little bit of snow today, mixed with rain. The snow had Michael, Ellie and I pretty excited, at least for a little while!

We've had a good December. We were able to spend some time in the Southeast hanging out with family and a few friends in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and New Orleans, LA. It was really great getting to see everyone! Then we travelled back home for Christmas. Today, we've been hanging out at home, enjoying our time together! For dinner, we're having Christmas--northwest style, with a southern twist--baked salmon, macaroni & cheese (homemade, of course), and broccoli soup.

As we celebrate Jesus' birthday today and as this year draws to a close, I feel very grateful for the many blessings that I've been given! I am thankful for salvation in my life through a baby born in Bethlehem. In my devotion this morning, I read this profound statement from a Max Lucado book, "The one who was larger than the universe became a microscopic embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl." Pretty amazing!!

I'm also very thankful for my awesome husband, who is so supportive and understanding of me. And I think we have the cutest and sweetest little girl who brings such joy to our lives! God has blessed our little family with awesome family and friends who encourage us and pray us through the difficult times! And our faithful God continues to provides for all of our needs. So, even though it has been a challenging year, I have many things to be thankful for!

1 Day and Counting

Well, today is actually the first day of the CMS. Tim Hughes will be joining us tomorrow on the second day of the conference. I'm pumped! It's going to be a great time of worship and learning. I'll post an update here after the conference to fill you in on some of the excitement.

One of the things God has been teaching me lately:
In our busy world, it's easy to loose track of the most important things. Especially in ministry, it's so easy to get distracted by all the things that need to get done, we forget Who it is that we are actually serving. My prayer: May we always remember the sacrifice that was made so that we might live & may we never loose the wonder.

Lord, this heart must sing of all the You have done for me
The beauty of the cross, the greatness of Your loss
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

Help me understand just what it mean for You, Jesus
The Holy King of all upon a sinner's cross
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

I will never loose the wonder of the blood You shed for me
There could be no greater love than this through all eternity
So I'll thank You for the day when You washed my sin away

Tim Hughes - Never Loose the Wonder

2 Days and Counting

Here's a funny Tim Hughes video I thought I would share. Enjoy!

Click here, or see below:

3 Days and Counting

The CMS is just around the corner and things are getting busy. We've also got our next preview service coming up in less than two weeks. In addition, I have the Northwest Baptist Convention next week as well. Both conferences should be good, but it's requiring me to get a lot of the work done now, on the front side of things.

Needless to say, life is BUSY!

So in the light of all my busyness, here's a song I'd like to share:

Tim Hughes - Beauty of Your Peace

Your voice has stilled the raging storms
The wind and rain bow down before
Your still small voice brings hope to all
Who wait on You, we'll wait for you
To lead us to the place where You'll restore our souls
And all our earthly strivings come to cease

Take from our souls the strain and stress and let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Your peace, the beauty of Your peace

4 Days and Still Counting

Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes, let me see
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I Am to Worship

5 Days and Counting

The CMS is this weekend and I am really looking forward to it! It's a time of great training by some of the best around and some times of great worship as well.

And if you haven't heard, or haven't read our blog in a few days, Tim Hughes will be there. I've never heard him lead live before, but his music is amazing and I've been told he is one of the most humble guys around. If you're not familiar with his music, I'd highly recommend it. I know I'll be picking up his latest CD at the conference.

Here's a little taste of one of his songs. Undoubtedly you'll recognize the words, I think I was probably 3 when I first learned them.

Enjoy!

6 Days and Counting

Nothing in this World

I love the simplicity of this song. It's unassuming drive just keeps moving, almost as if it were a song with no ending or begining - it just is.

Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around...Day and night they never stop saying:
"Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord God Almighty
who was, and is, and is to come." (Rev. 4:8)

And Lord, how I need You
Jesus, I need You - You are the One who satisfies
You are the One who satisfies

7 Days and Counting

Consuming Fire

The first time I heard the opening words to this song, I was blown away:

There must be more than this Oh, Breath of God, come breathe within

How many times in life do I allow the stuff of earth to get in the way? I think, if I could just have this or that, or if this were to happen then...

I get so wrapped up in my own little world that I forget there is something greater out there - or rather, Someone greater.

Psalm 8 says it all: (taken from the Message)

1 God, brilliant Lord, yours is a household name.

2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs That drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.

3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous, your handmade sky-jewelry, Moon and stars mounted in their settings. Then I look at my micro-self and wonder, Why do you bother with us? Why take a second look our way?

5-8 Yet we've so narrowly missed being gods, bright with Eden's dawn light. You put us in charge of your handcrafted world, repeated to us your Genesis-charge, Made us lords of sheep and cattle, even animals out in the wild, Birds flying and fish swimming, whales singing in the ocean deeps.

9 God, brilliant Lord, your name echoes around the world.

What an awesome call to declare the greatness of our God.

(By the way, if you listen closely to end of the recording, you'll hear another one of my favorite worship leaders, Christy Nockels).

8 Days and Counting

Beautiful One

9 Days and Counting

In the days leading up to the CMS, I thought I'd share a little about Tim Hughes who will be one of the main worship leaders at the conference. In yesterday's post, I shared about his song "When the Tears Fall." You can find the song here on iTunes.

Here is another song that has challenged me to really live out my faith. Two verses really stand out to me:

Micah 6:8, He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

James 1:27, Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

How many times have I walked out of a worship service, singing the songs, only to drive right past someone in need on the street? It's not enough to simply sing the songs or read the words, I've got to live it out. What that looks like might be different for you and me, but the needs are there & they are real. What are we going to do about it?

God of Justice

10 days and counting

I'm pumped! Why? 'Cause in 10 days I'll get to see one of my favorite worship leaders. Tim Hughes will be in Washington state leading worship at the CMS, and I am super-excited!

I love his heart-felt lyrics and his willingness to ask the hard questions. Take his song "When the Tears Fall" for example:

I've had questions without answers
I've known sorrow, I have known pain
But there's one thing that I'll cling to:
You are faithful, Jesus, You're true

When hope is lost, I call You Savior
When pain surrounds, I call you Healer
When silence falls, You'll be the song within my heart

This has been one of the songs that has carried me through some of the tough times. Of course not all his songs are as heavy as this one (see the videos below), but some really great stuff - especially his last two albums.

On a slightly lighter note, check out these videos. For those humorously inclined, watch this one:


For those who take the slightly more serious route, you'll enjoy this one:

Do you know this man?

D.B. Cooper. Ever heard of him? Well, I hadn't until today, but apparently he's quite famous, or rather infamous.

His crime? Well, the only unsolved instance of a skyjacker in US history. And guess where he disappeared. That's right - Western Washington!

November 24, 1971. He actually makes reference to Tacoma as he passed over the area in the plane shortly before he jumped out.

As it turns out, he may not have traveled that far. Just drive East about 30 minutes from Tacoma and you will find yourself in the quaint town of Bonney Lake. This is where Kenny Christiansen (aka - D.B. Cooper) decided to make his home some 30 years ago, shortly after pulling off one of the most well known crimes in American history. This also happens to be the location for our new Church: Church on the Hill.

Click here to read the article.

The world's about to change

Saturday night was amazing! Unbelievable!

And what exactly happened on Saturday night? The David Crowder Band. @ the Moore Theater. In Seattle. One word. Amazing!

One minute were laughing & having a great time, the next moment were being challenged out of our socks (literally). Afterwards we headed over to Red Robin and shared some great burgers and fries with our friends Aaron & Amy. We couldn't stop talking about it. Man, what a great concert.

The best part, though, for me came at the end. They closed with their final song of their latest album - Remedy. It's been playing through my head ever since

Where there is pain
Let us bring grace
Where there is suffering
Bring serenity
For those afraid
Let us be brave
Where there is misery
Let us bring them relief

And surely we can change
Surely we can change
Oh, surely we can change
Something

Some Halloween Fun

In the past I have been accused of being slightly competitive. There may or may not be some element of truth in that statement. But just in case there was any doubt, here's an opportunity to for those who are competitively inclined.

Andy (Mike Brinkerhoff's son) has created a little Halloween game for our enjoyment. And like all good games, it has now become a competition - and like all great competitions there is a prize (something to do with candy corn I believe). Click here for the details. I've set the bar pretty high (in the nature of around 41,000 points). Go ahead, give it your best shot - but be warned, it is slightly addictive.

Update:
A new version of the game (slightly more difficult) has been posted here along with the official rules. Game On!!

Finally!!! Remedy is Here (for real this time)!

OK, so Remedy finally arrived on our doorstep on Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, we (specifically I) were very excited. I think I've listened to it about 10 times through now & I must say it was definitely worth the wait. Great stuff!

A few of my fav's:

The Glory of It All - a great song of redemption. This song captured me when I first heard it back in the Spring. In the midst of a dark time, the Lord speaks renewal.

After all our hands have wrought, he forgives...
...for the rescue of us all, that we may live.
After all falls apart, He is there

After night comes a light, dawn is here, dawn is here. It's a new day! Oh, everything will change, things will never be the same, we will never be the same, we will never be the same...

Can You Feel It? -

Can you feel it? The love in this place, can you feel it? The grace in this place, can you feel it?

Our God is here. Our God is here. Our God is here.

Never Let Go - Another great song! I first heard this at the Thirsty Conference in May of this year. The chorus has been playing in my head ever since. What an awesome reminder that even in the midst of the hard, ugly, trying times in life that there is a God who deeply cares about us. He has not forgotten us. He is right there. We just need to hold on. Hold on!

It reminds me of Psalm 23: "Even when I walk through the valley of deepest darkness, You are there."

When clouds veil sun, and disaster comes. Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul.
When waters rise and hope takes flight. Oh, my soul. Oh, my soul.
Ever faithful, ever true. You are known, You never let go.

You never let go, You never let go, You never let go.
You never let go, You never let go, You never let go.

Not to mention hearing the Nug tear it up on We Will Not Be Quiet. Good stuff all around! I think I could listen to this CD nonstop (oh, wait - that's what I have been doing...).

Did you feel that?

We were sitting in our house a little after 3 today when our whole house shook. Tina and I were both shocked, we thought maybe someone had crashed into our house. We looked around and saw that everything was fine, but when we looked outside we saw a huge plume of smoke.

Now we know why.

Check out this video of the explosion.

For an even bigger view, see this one (the big one happens at 4:15 on the video).

Unbelievable. It felt massive - and we live over a mile away!

Update to Remedy - still not quite here...

It's funny how the little things in life work out sometime (or don't work out). Here I was thinking I was being quite ahead of the game...it just sort of makes you laugh!

So as you remember from my previous post about the Crowder Band's latest record, I was looking forward to its arrival in my mail slot. Well, I'm still waiting - but at least I know now it is on it's way. All confusion has been remedied (no pun intended - okay, well, maybe a little one) & the album is on it's way. If you couldn't tell from the previous post, I'm joyously looking forward to its arrival.

In the meantime, I did find a much better way of listening (& quite enjoying) Remedy. Simply point your browser (internet explorer if you must, but Firefox for those who have seen the light) to Worship Together (you might have to join - no worries, it's free) and click on the New Song Jukebox in the upper left corner. You will find, to your listening pleasure, the entire Crowder Band CD with unlimited plays. It's quite beautiful!

Happy Remedying!

Once upon a hurricane

A while back I had promised a report from my parents' recent trip to Haiti (you might recall they had a close encounter with a hurricane). Well, as promised here is a write-up from their trip (complete with lots of pictures).

For those of you who prayed for their safety, we are extremely grateful. Thanks so much!

Remedy is Here (well, sorta...)

Remedy has arrived and I am loving it (one song at a time - no really, one song at a time). You see, I'm one of those crazy people who decided it was of utmost importance to acquire the CD as soon as possible - so I pre-ordered it (many, many weeks ago - so long ago I've lost count - plus we're supposed to get some sort of surprise or something fun along with the CD - it should be quite interesting...). The only problem is that it hasn't arrived yet. I mean it has, but it hasn't. Confused yet? Here, let me explain...

You see, while I do not technically have the CD in my possession (I'm sure USPS is exercising great caution to assure the safe arrival of my new-found-friend on its journey from Waco), I have mangaged to discover a work-around that, well, works at least. About six months ago, I discovered something amazing - Rhapsody - it's really quite wonderful! It costs me nothing, yet gives me 25 free plays per month (we're talking the whole song, yeah!) - did I mention its free?

Now in most cases this is more than enough play time to allow me to "try out" an album to see if it meets my sonic expectations. But unfortunately, this is not near enough plays to adequately make it through a David Crowder CD as playing a Crowder CD requires at least 3 plays (I said, at least 3 plays) per song.

In comes: The Rhapsody Work-Around. I'm not quite sure who tipped me off to this little feat of musically trickery, but I love it! (especially when it comes to the joy of listening to my new favorite CD - granted I'm only half-way through, but I'm pretty sure it will be right up at the top staring down at all my other lovely CDs (and a few not so lovely - but I'm not naming any names)). Here's how it works, it's really quite simple: When you get near the end of the song, you simply go back to the beginning.

Really, it's that simple. And so you can listen to the song over and over and over...and over again. And here's the really great part, Rhapsody only takes off one credit of my coveted 25 song count. It's quite beautiful (for my ears that is - otherwise I might be forced to listen to something quite non-pleasing - or at least not quite as pleasing...).

Thus explaining how I am only half-way through the newest Crowder Band collection. Two hours down and I'm officially halfway through the CD (with 11 plays to go). Man, I'm making great progress! Did I mention this stuff is good!

OK, enough talk. Now you. Yes you. Go buy this CD. It will make your ears smile! Trust me, you'll thank me later.

Happy Crowdering!

Church on the Hill

The website for our church is just about ready, but I thought I would give you guys a sneak preview. You can also check out the latest happenings at our church's blog.

Check it out & drop us a line!

Calling all Scrabble lovers

From time to time, I enjoy a good diversion. I recently discovered a great one here. If you like Scrabble, or just enjoy a little break - you're going to love this.

Brief description:
Played just like regular Scrabble, except it's all online. When you make a move, it emails your partner to let them know it's their turn to move. When they make a move, it emails you to let you know it's you're turn to move. Some games last a few days, some games last a few weeks - play at your own pace.

If you're interested in playing, create a game and add me in.

Game on!

Remedy is Coming

What will you be doing on September 25th? I, for one, will be getting very acquainted with the new DCB CD (as if you couldn't tell, I'm pretty pumped about it). And for all you Crowder fans out there, you might want to check out this website to hear a few previews from their upcoming CD. Just thought you might want to know.

Adventures in potty training

Hi faithful readers. It's been a while since I've posted a blog, although Michael does a good job of keeping things updated!
For the past few months, we've been working on potty training with Ellie. She's done quite well with it. Michael and I are thankful for the fact that we're spending less money on diapers!
There is one challenge we've been facing with potty training...making poopies in the potty (for anyone with a weak stomach, I apologize--after all, I am a nurse). So, we've tried all kinds of bribery to help Ellie accomplish this feat. Finally, this week, she did it! Her prize was to get the "Herbie: Fully Loaded" movie. We proudly went to the movie store that night to claim her reward! Yeah, Ellie!

Adventures in camping

We're going camping - Yeah!!!!

Hopefully we'll have better luck than this guy...

Confessions of a Paper Delivery Guy - "All good things must come to an end"

For the past three months my morning routine has been pretty consistent. The alarm goes off at 3:30, gets snoozed a couple of times, I finally wake up, down some quick coffee and head off to deliver a hundred papers (give or take a few). It usually takes a couple of hours - it's really not too bad...until you realize you have to do it day after day after day.

So needless to say I am really looking forward to this Monday. Not only are we going on a much-needed vacation, but I'll have no more papers to deliver & it will be my first opportunity to sleep-in in 3 months!

There have definitely been some high points to the delivery: the best has to be getting to watch the eclipse last week through the various stages (the timing was perfect). But also a few low points and definitely some lessons learned (see here, here, and here). Overall it's been good, but I'm glad to see this chapter end.

It's quiet, too quiet...

It's been a bit quiet the past few days here at mike & tina. It's not that we don't have anything going on - quite the opposite. Just not much time to blog.

Here's a little teaser (the blogs will follow soon):

• Confessions of a Paper Delivery Guy - "All good things must come to an end"
  
• It's amazing what a fresh coat of paint can do
• The (re)start of classes (a.k.a. "What I hope to be learning...")
• Adventures in camping (we'll see how that goes after this weekend)
• Once upon a hurricane in Haiti (guest blogging by Michael's mom)

Stay tuned...

Mom and Dad, Update 5

Quick update:

I talked to my mom last night from Miami. It was great hearing hear voice! They were originally supposed to fly back to Atlanta last night, but apparently there were weather complications. I had to laugh: my mom said, "hey, what's the problem? The hurricane was like 3 days ago!?!" I guess Miami was having it's own issues.

Remember Virginia Tech

On Monday morning, school started back up on the campus of Virginia Tech. But for many of the students things will never be the same. That all changed on April 16 when 32 individuals lost their lives.

Among those was a close friend of one of my brothers growing up. Yesterday morning, Good Morning America had a brief tribute to Jamie and the life he lived. Click here to watch it. I love the part where they say that Jamie was indeed at the right place at the right time. He was doing what he loved doing - making a difference in the lives of those students. Thank you, Jamie. We will miss you.

Remember Virginia Tech.

Mom and Dad, Update 4

Thanks, everyone, for all the prayers and concern! My brother was able to talk to my parents and they indeed made it through the storm. They should be on their way back to the states sometime later today. Personally, I'm looking forward to hearing their voice and knowing they made it back safely.

Hopefully I'll be able to post some of their pictures and maybe a few stories from their experience (maybe I can even have a guest blogger?!?).

Thanks again for all those who asked how things are going. I appreciate all the prayers and support!

Mom and Dad, Update 3

We haven't heard anything from my parents since yesterday morning (they were still in the midst of the storm at that point), but we feel pretty good that they made it through the storm okay.

Some of the preliminary damage reports are beginning to trickle in from the area. I found this article on the Miami Herald:

• Haiti: Two people died and 16 suffered storm-related injuries, according to local officials.

Authorities said a 34-year-old man died in the western tip of the country when a tree fell on his house. A woman died in the southwestern seaside town of Les Irois, but details of her death were not immediately available.

About 260 houses were destroyed and another 200 were damaged, mostly in the southern and western parts of the impoverished country.

As of Sunday night, 6,832 people had evacuated their homes and were staying in emergency shelters.

It is still difficult to tell the total extent of the damage, but it looks like Haiti was spared for the most part with only a glancing blow from Hurricane Dean. We'll keep you updated as we find out more info. Thanks again for the prayers.

Mom and Dad, Update 2

Quick update:

My sister was able to talk to my Mom this morning and so far they are doing okay (I think someone in their group may have a satellite phone). They are taking cover in the basement of a large church building.

While they still have a little more to go before they are clear of the storm, it appears they have made it through the worst.

There's no telling what the conditions outside are (its very possible the roads will be washed out making it difficult to make it out of the country). Their plan is to stay where they are until Tuesday, and then try to make it back to Port au Prince to fly out on Wednesday.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks for the prayers!

Mom and Dad, update 1

As of this morning my parents were doing okay but were beginning to get a little worried. Hurricane Dean is a strong Category 4 hurricane (current sustained wind speeds are 150 mph with higher gusts) and it could be on its way to a Category 5. It's really not looking pretty.

At this point they are likely beginning to experience the tropical storm force winds and later tonight will begin to feel the hurricane force winds. Tomorrow morning they will face the brunt of the storm. This thing is huge.

As the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti is lacking many of the basics we take for granted here in the US. Infrastructure (water, electricty, transportation) will be spoty at best (if available at all). In all likelihood, we probably won't hear from them for several days after the storm hits. The last major storm to hit Haiti saw huge amounts of rain with widespread mudslides and massive numbers of casualties. We're praying my parents will make it through this one okay.

We'll keep you updated. Thanks for checking in!

Mom and Dad

I've been extremely proud of my parents. Over the past 9 years, they have been on a journey of stepping out in faith - seeking to follow God where he leads. This has involved the leaving of jobs, selling of their house, and general uncertainty of what exactly the future holds.

They work with an organization called Project Light who's primary purpose is teaching people how to read English (a very valuable skill in most of the world). As they build relationships with the students, there have also been many opportunities to share their faith. They have done a great deal of traveling all over the world (including Russia, South Africa, Ecuador, and many more).

Most of the time, I am not terribly concerned for their well-being. (After all, they have survived an Ecuadorian coup & nearby volcanic eruptions, as well as many more adventures). However, their latest travel seems to pose a fairly high risk. On Wednesday they caught a plane down to Haiti where they are in the process of setting up an English-learning center. They are scheduled to stay in Haiti until next Wednesday.

The only problem is that it looks like a rather large hurricane is making it's way towards the island. Current forecasts call for the hurricane to brush by the southern part of Haiti making a direct pass over Jamaica. But forecasts are still early and can change pretty quickly. You can check out the latest forecast at the National Hurricane Center.

We'll keep you posted on how things are looking. We'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers as things progress.

You gotta love Tacoma

In reading the paper this morning, I had to laugh. There was an article addressing parking concerns and issues in the downtown Tacoma area & basically speaking to future plans for transportation throughout the city. But my favorite part of the article is when the city manager is quoted as saying, "Nobody wants to become Seattle." This coming from the city that lives in the perpetual shadow of its 'big' brother just to the north. I love it! Click here to read it yourself.

DCB did it again!!!

Those crazy guys at the David Crowder Band never cease to amaze me. Not only does their music rock but they have a great heart which comes through in so many of their songs. Recently I discovered something that had me confused for quite some time. (disclaimer: I'm not always the quickest of guys, so if you already had figured this out cut me some slack).

For those who are familiar with the CD "Can You Hear Us?" will know that the final track has almost 3 minutes of silence in the middle of it followed by a version of "You Alone" - only this version comes in over half-way through the song. Odd, isn't it? At least I've always thought so.

When their latest full-length CD ("A Collision or 3+4=7") was released, I discovered another peculiarity. In the CD liner was this note: "The wait has been long and the pace quite slow - part 1 is located at www.davidcrowderband.com/youalonenumberone." Really? What does that mean? So I headed over to my computer, entered the address and discovered a rather scaled back version of "You Alone". The interesting part is that the vocals end shortly into the song - as if something were missing. Missing? Indeed.

Now this is where I sat stumped for quite some time (a period of months I must confess). During this time I heard rumors of a new version of "You Alone" that was quite secret (I assumed it was the scaled back version I had found - interesting, but nothing to get terribly excited about).

Then I got to thinking, and did a little experimenting and discovered something quite profound. If you go to www.davidcrowderband.com/youalone2, you get an interesting surprise. There for my enjoyment was another segment of the aforementioned song. Apparently, if you play this version of the song simultaneously with the one on the "Can You Hear Us?" CD, they form one piece (instructions are given but the timing is a bit challenging).

Now add in the third version of the song and (are you ready?!) you get an entirely new version of the song (I know, I know - I get excited about the simplest of things sometimes). Needless to say I was quite beside myself when I discovered this (this is, after all, one of my favorite songs). Go ahead, give it a shot at combining the different elements. Or, to save you the trouble, you can click here to listen to the full new version of the song.

Enjoy!

At last, the long awaited news

For the past couple of months, many of you have been praying with us as we decide what the future holds for us. We are so grateful for all of you and the prayers offered up on our behalf. Things have just recently fallen into place and so I'd like to share a little bit about what our future looks like.

But first a quick recap of what has brought us to where we are:

In 2002, Tina and I began feeling the call to go into full-time ministry and the opportunity to serve as missionaries with the North American Mission Board came up. We went through the interview process that Fall and were appointed to serve as US/C-2 Missionaries in Tacoma, WA. Our primary role would be to minister to the collegiate community in the Tacoma area.

In May 2003, we packed up our belongings and headed West (we celebrated our first anniversary en route). We arrived June 1 and for the next 3 years we served as collegiate ministers in Tacoma.

During this time, we were also actively involved with our church, Discovery Community Church. Both Tina and I served on the worship team as well as leading a small group. Discovery became our family away from home. We also saw our family grow by one during this time. On November 11, 2004, Elizabeth Ann Gray (Ellie) joined the ranks of the Gray clan. (We were just a little bit excited...) Michael also began attending Seminary at Golden Gate BTS as well during this time.

The time flew by and before we knew it, we were looking at the end of our three years of service. We spent a great deal of time praying and seeking God's will. The opportunity came up to join the staff of Discovery in helping launch a new service in the western part of Tacoma (Discovery West). In June 2006, I joined the staff of Discovery alongside some really great people. Through this time we connected with some really close friends and enjoyed the time launching this new service.


In May 2007, we began sensing God leading us to another change, so in June of this year I stepped down from my role on staff with Discovery. We weren't sure exactly what God was leading us to, but we knew we had to be faithful in this.

We've spent the summer in a great deal of prayer and in the meantime I also picked up a paper route. It's been a challenging time for us, but it's also been full of really great memories for our family.

SayWA! (updated)
Originally uploaded by www.DaveWard.net

And this brings us to our latest news. After several months of praying, we've decided to stick around a bit longer in the great Northwest. Starting in August, we'll be helping launch a new church plant in the community of Bonney Lake. The new church (Church on the Hill) will begin holding monthly services this Fall with weekly services beginning in January. My primary role will be leading worship and helping coordinate the weekend service, and working alongside the lead pastor (Russ Peters). This will also give me the opportunity to finish up with my seminary degree.

We're looking forward to what the next few years will bring and we're excited to serve a great God (one who is infinitely bigger than any of our problems - yet He still takes time to step down into our world and show us his steps).

Thanks for taking a little time out of your busy day. Make sure to check back here frequently for future updates, pics, and random reflections.

God bless!

Our little girl

Here are some recent pics of Ellie from the past couple of months.



And here's a video from the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Gertie 3.0).

Confessions of a Newpaper Delivery Guy, vol. 3

Newspaper
Originally uploaded by jamesjyu

Day 37: I have walked 3 miles a day, every day, for over 5 weeks now (well, almost every day - there was that one time when it was raining cats and dogs...)

Day 39: Lifting newspapers is probably the closest thing I'll ever get to weight training. I guess I better take it while I can.

Day 40: Have I mentioned I love Mondays?

Top Ten Reasons Not to Fly Standby

United 737 Overhead
Originally uploaded by clearskyphotography.com

This past week I once again attempted to fly back to Atlanta. We have a friend that had blessed us with a Companion Ticket (thanks Sharon!), unfortunately it means you have to fly standby. While some may enjoy this kind of travel, my experience was not quite so fun. Here were some of my observations:

Top Ten Reasons Not to Fly Standby:
10. You spend all your time in the days leading up to the flight constantly checking flight loads
9. Finding someone to cover your day early morning job can be a challenge (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the 4 am start time)
8. By your second time through the security line, you finally figure out why you keep getting "randomly selected"; you also discover why they keep printing "SSSS" on your boarding pass (I'll let you figure out what that stands for)
7. Wireless access costs $10/day
6. CNN isn't quite so fresh the 4th time around
5. Airlines love to overbook
4. Canceled flights mean trouble's ahead
3. There's only so many times you can get rejected without taking it personally
2. The ride home from the airport is even longer after having spent the entire day in the airport
1. After you get home from your non-trip, you still have to unpack your bags

Oh, well. I guess there's always Christmas!

Rescue is Coming, chapter 2

This song has been playing in my head for quite some time. I thought I'd share it with you.



After night, comes a light
Dawn is here, dawn is here
It's a new day, it's a new day
Everything will change
Things will never be the same
We will never be the same
We will never be the same

old school

This is an excerpt from one of my favorite cartoons growing up. I want to know how long he had to practice to get it all down - what a mouthful - how does he do that?

Enjoy!

Confessions of a Newpaper Delivery Guy, vol. 2

Day 18: Sunday papers are just heavy - to the tune of 200-300 pounds on a given Sunday.

Day 19: Ah...I love Mondays (now). Back when I was in college I used to hate Mondays, but Mondays have to be the easiest day for delivering papers - it's like throwing air...with a rubber band around it!

As a side note, I almost have the entire route memorized - which makes things much easier. I'm also getting used to the early start time (now if I could just work on getting myself to sleep earlier...).

Updated RSS Feed

I've updated our RSS feed. To subscribe to our new feed, click on the link on the left side of the page or paste the following address into your feed reader - http://feeds.feedburner.com/MikeTina

Plus, here's a bonus picture from a recent visit to Seward Park in Seattle.

Rescue Is Coming

There's darkness in my skin
My cover's wearing thin, I believe
I'd love to start again
Go back to innocent and never leave

Don't give up now
A break in the clouds
We could be found

Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming
Rescue is coming

David Crowder Band

which comes first?

Which comes first, the Great Commission or the Great Commandment? I recently read a blog that posed that very question and it has got me thinking.

Are we to first live out the Great Commission (go therefore to all nations, making disciples...) or are to we first to love the Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind? And let's not forget about the Second Great Commandment (Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves).

At least chronologically, the Great Commandment obviously comes first (Matthew 22 vs. Matthew 28) - but even in practice it just makes more sense. How can you make disciples if you don't first love the Lord? Worship is what we are talking about here. Yes, service is important, but first and foremost is worship. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your mind."

When our worship is true, it burns in our heart the desire to live out the rest of the equation ("Love your neighbor as yourself") & it also gives us the burning passion to "go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." It's also important to note that this Commission is bookended by the power and presence of God. It's Christ in us.

Confessions of a Newpaper Delivery Guy, vol. 1

So I recently started a newspaper delivery route for The News Tribune. The good part is that my early morning routine is a little more regular - the bad part is that it starts at 3:30 a.m. From time to time I'll be posting some of my observations and thoughts here:

Day 1: 3:30 a.m. sure does come early

Day 2: what takes 1 hour for 2 people, takes 2 hours for 1 person (funny how that works).

Day 3: when launching a newspaper over a fence from 20 feet away, it's a good idea to aim away from the bucket of water...

Day 4: sneaking up on a large dog at 5:00 in the morning is not highly recommended

DiscoWest Worship

For the past 9 months or so, each Sunday evening I would gather with 20-30 adults and have a time of worship - we called it DiscoWest (Discovery West). But this evening is different & a part of me is sad. Those were some really great times of intimate worship & I will miss them. But most of all I will miss the people - that's what really makes up the church. It's one of the coolest things to lead 20-30 friends in worship - to help them connect with God and leading them to follow after His lead.

One of the songs that stands out to me the most (we sang it fairly often at DiscoWest) is Salvation is Here (Joel Houston). Below are some of the words:

God above all the world in motion
God above all my hopes and fears
And I don't care what the world throws at me now
I'm gonna be alright

Hear the sound of the generations
Making loud their freedom song
All in all that the world would know Your name
It's gonna be allright

If you ever have the opportunity to make it to a DiscoWest worship service, I'd highly recommend it. But in case you live just a little too far away (like Auburn, AL for instance) here's a little taste of DiscoWest worship. Enjoy!

5 Years and Counting

This May we celebrated our 5th year anniversary (wow, it really doesn't seem like 5 years - time has really flown by!). So in celebration we traveled to Victoria, BC and spent the night. We rode aboard the Victoria Clipper (which I would highly recommend) and stayed at the James Bay Inn (a quaint little hotel with some nice charm).

Some interesting things happened along the way. As we were getting off the bus at the local gardens, we heard someone call out our name. It took me quite by surprise (we were, after all, in another country) when I turned around to see our good friends Paul & Mary Mabry who we hadn't seen in over a month - very unexpected. We ended up seeing some of the city together and enjoying some great seafood.

The next morning proved to be quite the adventure as well. It turns out that Victoria was hosting a sailboat race that same weekend. I had the bright idea to go out to the coast and watch the start of the race. Several miles later (on foot) we finally arrived (honestly, it didn't look that far on the map...). By then we had worked up quite the appetite and fortunately (so we thought) they were serving a pancake breakfast. So paid for our tickets and jumped in line - this is where the "fun" began. Apparently they were having trouble keeping the grills lit, so we ended up waiting in line for over an hour. This would have been okay if it hadn't been right on the coast with winds around 30 miles per hour. By the time we finally got our food, we were so cold that it was all we could do to stuff the food in our mouths as fast as we could to get out of there (and to top it all off, we pretty much missed the whole race while we were standing in line for the pancakes - oh well, at least we got some good pics).

Fortunately, the rest of the trip turned out much better & we ended up having a great time. So just remember, if you ever travel to Victoria, beware the pancake breakfast - other than that I'm sure you'll have a great time!

This is a picture of the sunset we enjoyed on the way back (you can click on it to view it full screen).

a few changes

So many of you by now have heard that we have had a few changes lately. The biggest is one is that I stepped down from my role on staff with our church. While there were many factors that played into our decision, we ultimately believe that God is preparing us for something new. We're not quite sure what that is yet, but we are excited as we look towards the future. We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek God's will for our lives.

We promise to post more updates here as soon as we know.

Any Crowder fans out there?

the Shadow Proves the Sunshine

Lately this song by Switchfoot has been playing in my head.

The lyrics state:
We are crooked souls trying to stay up straight,
Dry eyes in the pouring rain, well
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

Two scared little runaways
Hold fast till the break of daylight where
The shadow proves the sunshine

Oh Lord, why did you forsake me?
Oh Lord, don't be far away
Storm clouds gathering beside me
Please Lord, don't look the other way

I'm a crooked soul trying to stay up straight
Dry eyes in the pouring rain, where
The shadow proves the sunshine
The shadow proves the sunshine

Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Yeah Yeah, shine on me
Shine on me,
Let my shadows prove the sunshine

Sometimes life gets tough and the light at the end of tunnel gets hard to see. We have trouble seeing God at work - we might even question if He is there at all. But even in the midst of the toughest times, we can be sure that He is at work. Maybe the only proof we have is to look for the "shadow" - the evidence that there really is a big God - that we are not alone.

I love the last line of this song - "let my shadows prove the sunshine." That's my prayer, that the shadows in my life would prove the "sunshine" for someone else out there. Perhaps that makes everything worth it.

Rain, Rain Go Away

Spring is a time for rain in many places and Tacoma is no exception. I have to say that I'm thankful for the beautiful daffodils and tulips that are sprouting up in the yard. But, I am tired of rain! It just feels soggy around here! Maybe it's because "it rains 9 months out of the year in Seattle"--to quote a line from a famous movie (Sleepless in Seattle).
I suppose we have to have the rain in order to fully appreciate the beautiful, sunny days here (when Mt. Rainier is in full view). And I guess that applies to other parts of life too...we won't fully understand or appreciate all of our blessings until we struggle and are reminded! Thank you God for all of the seasons...even the challenging ones!

the joys (and pains) of home ownership

As I write this, Michael is downstairs banging on a pipe and attempting to repair a clogged drain...we've been without the use of our kitchen sink for 2 days now. And the responsibility falls solely on us--no landlord to call for help!
Also today, we began painting our living and dining rooms. It was a little bit of slow progress, but fun to be able to personalize our home. A big thanks to our friend Amy for all of her neck-breaking help today!
So all of this home repair has me thinking...what have we gotten ourselves into?? But, it also has me praising the Lord for his many blessings! Thank you God for providing us with a great house that is just what we need--warm and cozy, with plenty of space for Ellie to run around! May we never take our blessings for granted!

the power of a smile

Smiles are simple, yet there is just something about them that makes them quite powerful - they are infectious. A smile can brighten an otherwise dreary day.

Lately we've been nailed with a series of snow storms that pilled our yards and roads with a significant amount of snow (disclaimer: this comes from someone raised in Georgia). Something about the snow just makes me smile. Maybe it's the anticipation of sledding down snow-covered hills at speeds otherwise not quite possible. Or maybe it's a holdover from the days of getting to miss out on a day or two of geometry. Whatever the reason, I love snow.

Granted, it might not be the most fun thing to drive around in (it certainly makes the commute longer), but it makes me smile. I'm not talking one of those fake smiles, but the real deal. (By the way, test your smile-spotting abilities here).

What makes you smile?

Passion '07

Busy time of year...no vacation days left...half a country away...wish I could be there...

Well, now I can, at least in some respects. Passion is streaming their conference from Atlanta this week. Each session will be available for 24 hours - some really amazing things happening there. I'd encourage you to check it out if you get a chance - you won't be disappointed.

Watch it now.