Monday, April 28, 2008

What is church?



The apartment has at last settled into some semblance of peace and quiet, with Cara working away shipping Lisa Leonard Jewelry around the globe and me, well, blogging, while enjoying a fudgetastic mug of Dreyers and keeping one eye on the Giants game--who says us guys can't multi-task?! We had a wonderful dinner this evening with Lara, Darin, Caedra, and little (sorta--9 lbs newborn!) Grant. Whatever Caedra does, of course, Bekah also must duplicate--obsession with bubbles, dancing like there's no tomorrow, glass-shattering squeals, sidewalk chalk artistry, increased "talking", thinking her name is "Gebba", etc. It has been so much fun watching those two interact, witnessing positive peer-pressure take effect.
This past weekend sure was a busy one. I watched Bekah on Saturday as Cara was able to check out the Women's Conference at Grace. Then on Sunday we had church, lunch with friends, a Youth Staff meeting (Pastor Todd is doing a superb job, by the way), and then Growth Group, our weekly small group study. The discussion this week centered primarily on something I've been thinking more and more about lately--what is the purpose of church? Specifically, how are churches to spend $? Our group brought up the power of house churches and simple church buildings. Somehow believers in third world countries find a way to worship together, building or no building, and their faith often seems more genuine than our own. On the flip side, we discussed how the beautiful cathedrals had been constructed by those desiring to evoke awe and reverence. Every detail was meant to stand as a monument to God's glory. And today churches spend big bucks for top notch sound and lighting systems to draw in the edgy crowd. Many churches, such as Grace Church SLO, offer their top-notch facilities for various community functions such as Chamber meetings and orchestra concerts. Who's right??? What sort of facilities and expenditures are okay for churches? I'm still processing.

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

God of all Glory

Hey I found this youtube video someone has created with clips from Planet Earth set to music from Jeremy Riddle. I was so moved after first seeing this, especially since I had just gone to John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" conference here in SLO. During the conference, Piper was talking about nature being the creative overflow of our joyful God, and that going to something huge like the ocean or the Grand Canyon reminds us of our smallness, but at the same time draws us to marvel and worship. Enjoy!

Grandparent time!!




This past Saturday, my Mom and Dad came down to celebrate Cara's 25th and to hang with "The Beks". For dinner we had Nucci's lasagna and raspberry salad, and then topped the evening off by downing some Claim Jumper blackberry pie--amazing! Just don't think about the calories. My Dad took some adorable pictures of our little "flower princess" (what we call Bekah when she dons her flower towel), so here are some highlights.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Cara's B-day!!

Cara turned 25 today, and I'm so ecstatic b/c she had a really fun day. The day started out with her opening the card Bekah and I picked out, a musical pink and glittery card that we thought was fun, primarily due to the "Brick House" tune (every time Bekah opened the card, she starts bobbing her head and laughing). Those Hallmark people are genius! After our card fun, Cara and I escaped to Apple Farm for a delicious breakfast while Bekah hung out with Aunt Kacey. The rest of the day unfolded in normal Thursday fashion until this evening when we enjoyed a family dinner over at Jan and Bill's, stuffing ourselves and watching as Cara unwrapped hoards of makeup and hair-care products. And Ken and I learned what voluminizing shampoo is. According to the spell checker, voluminizing isn't even a real word, just in case you were wondering. Anyways, we arrived home just in time to catch the latest installment of THE OFFICE!! Some people just don't get it, and in fact one of the 5th graders I tutor told me to my face today that it's no good--I was shocked and appalled beyond words. Kids these days. But I digress. Thanks to everyone who called today to wish Cara a happy birthday as you really made the day extra special. I'm so blessed to be married to such an amazing woman, and I'm overjoyed that she had a great b-day, and yes, that she will now have really voluminous hair.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Blog: Take 2


Yes, we did once start a blog right after Bekah's birth but only posted on it once. Life got crazy and the blog was lost. So here we go with the second attempt, and this one is going to stick, so help us God! Welcome to our blog where you will hear all about our family happenings, musings, celebrations and trials while we attempt to live a thoughtful and joyful life. Our hope is that through our lives you will see the unimaginable value of knowing Jesus Christ, like the man who discovered a great treasure in a field and sold everything he owned to buy the land. Christ is worth everything we have to give, and this is the way we hope to live, albeit imperfectly. Thanks for checking our blog and joining us on our adventure of grace!