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.