letters, edits, pics, stamps

I just sent out our latest installment of our "monthly" update letter.  The letter is our way of keeping ministry partners up to date on the work being done here at UT.  I love our partners!  We love our partners!  We get the sense they love us too!  I know they love Jesus so that counts for more than them loving us. 

Anyhow, I just sent out about 120 letters to various people around the country.  It's a great thing to send out letters.  It means people pray and support the work here on a regular basis.  So sending out the letters allows us to stay connected with friends in the gospel.  It's an amazing thing!  We are very blessed to have such amazing people in our lives.

So the process is I write the letter and Brook edits it.  (see early blog post)  Sometimes this means we get behind in getting letters out because my writing is sooooooo poor.  Brook does a great job of keeping me concise and understandable, and yet is able to fit a lot of info onto the page.  I work on the layout and she makes sense of my thoughts.

So one of the pics is really small.  I love sticky stamps!  let us know if you want to get the letter.

family

these are taken from our trip to the San Antonio Zoo.  The last one is of us three brothers.  Roland, me, Eric.

lover

So I downloaded a new song, Lover by Derek Webb, yesterday because the first time I heard it; my life changed.  Many of you know our good friends, Nathan and Katie Robinson, so most of you should know they both can sing.  They help us with Longhorn Life meetings by leading us in singing worship songs to God.  One day Nathan surprised us and played a song for us.  The song has stuck with me since.  

I felt weird buying the original artist's rendition of the song because what I really wanted was a Nathan Robinson version.  So with some sense of fear that the original would not be as good as Nathan's, and with a sense of disappointment that I could not get a Nathan version, I purchased the song.  I'm glad I did.  

I walked around all day yesterday on campus looping the song back on the iPod and enjoying the deep gratitude towards what Jesus has done for me, and a greater hope for the salvation of people.  The song talks about people being set free.  I love the chord progression and the cadence.  I love the lyrics.  It's my kind of song.  

If you want to hear my favorite version of the song, Nathan's, you can catch him on Feb 1st along with other Longhorn Life favorites playing at our Back to Texas coffee house concert.  7-9pm at Crestview Baptist Church.  

answer and "new" thought

Thanks to those of you who check in to read and respond to the blog.  The answer to the last post is the bottom one.  Naaman, Kyra, Kelsie, and I went to play tennis last week, and I took a couple of pictures of the kids.  Kyra asked if she could also take some pictures so I gave her the camera and went back to playing with Naaman.  After taking some of my own pictures and uploading them to the computer, I noticed all the pictures Kyra took.  I was impressed with some of them.  There were the usual nonsense pictures like the time Naaman filled a memory card with pictures of the TV, but then there were several interesting pics too!

As for the new thought, I continue to ponder the ministry idea.  I wonder how it will work, and I question the timing.  Yesterday, I might have made a loose connection with someone who could help me make the ministry a reality.  This is a good thing.  So now I'm off to read and prepare for a day of meetings with people.  We'll watch Idol tonight, and I need to work on a teaching I'm giving at liveoak  in a few weeks.  

can you guess?

Which of these pictures is taken by a 3 year old.  Which is taken by an adult?

A Kobra on campus

don't be fooled by his smile.  he's dangerous.  be sure to keep your distance, but also don't be afraid to photograph.  keep checking back for more Kobra on campus sightings as I catch him in his new element.

idea man strikes again

so I'm an idea guy.  everyone knows i'm an idea guy.  i loooove ideas.  i have a new one for a new ministry.  i think this needs to happen and perhaps the idea already exists.  

the idea is called You Need To Know.  It's a Hebrews 11 ministry.  I'd like to make this happen, and if it does take place then I think I will look back at two friends as the catalyst-Abey and Heidi.  

Some of you know my idea and others will need to wait to hear.  I wonder if I will ever make it happen?  I can only hope so because I could see how critical it might be for all of us who follow God.  Today, I thought I might leave my current job in the near future in order to make this other idea happen.  Ask me in person if you want to know more...thanks for listening.

Rites of passage

killing a lion

first day of school

your first bank account

sleeping on the top bunk.

Naaman is sleeping on the top bunk for the first time in his life!  next stop... driving lessons.

michael jackson

so i bought a few Michael Jackson songs off iTunes last night.  I felt weird buying songs from a guy knowing some of his personal life struggles.  It just felt odd and almost embarrassing, but I love some of his music.  

So one song in particular played over and over again last night- Man in the Mirror.  Michael co-wrote the song and made it number 1 on the charts in 1988!  (Side comment- for all you high school football fans in Texas.  My high school, Converse Judson, lost the state title game to Dallas Carter that year.  I was in attendance at Texas Stadium to see us get crushed, but we were later awarded the title when Carter was found to have cheated.)  So with all of our efforts today to consider the state of the world and the plight of others "less fortunate", Michael was thinking like many today.  Only he was doing it in '88!  I think that's pretty amazing.  I mean it's not like he was the first to try to make a positive difference in the world, but he was doing it a long time before others.  He was also thinking this way when the world was larger- no email, internet, etc.

So here are a few lines I really like from the song.  

I see the kids in the street,

Without enough to eat,

Who am I, to be blind?

Pretending not to see their needs. 

and

They follow the pattern of the wind

The second line makes me think of the verse regarding the Holy Spirit.  John 3:8

He is like the wind in that nobody can know for sure how He acts in people's lives.  The song makes me want to be a wind follower.  To follow the pattern of the One who is like the wind- unpredictable and untamed.  

a few pics to get us started.

 

Kelsie with PaPa.

You mean tricycle!- Kyra

Naaman running from school.

for the two of you who said to write

We've started a blog. we will post pics of kids/family, comment on life and the arts, give you insight to our crazy life, and in general keep up the communication.

This blog is for all our family out there who live far away and cannot keep up with us on a daily basis but always wanted to do so. (you know that's most of you) You should begin to notice a difference when Brook writes and when I write. You will need to tolerate my writing, but you will love her sentence structure and adherence (knowledge) to written language rules.

We will need to comment on the title- drink offerings. for those who did not go to the GCM Winter Conference- Ignite- you might need a refresher on the subject of drink offerings. The basic idea is for our lives to be spent unceremoniously for the sake of Jesus' name and people who need him. The Apostle Paul referred to himself as a drink offering, and we, not being so great as him, are learning and trying to be drink offerings. We wish to be poured out for you and the rest of the world. Let's see what happens.

So where can we begin? I thought it might be good to ask if anyone knows where our title comment is from. Here's a clue... it's a movie quote.

Look soon for our movie info since Brook has a self title of Movie Girl.

Oh one more thought... I'd like to comment on some of my favorite quotes from people I know. More on that subject later.