Update on Laurence

Hello all, I just got off the phone with Jacqui who spoke with Begona earlier.

Laurence's bilirubin count is down today and the doc has decided to ease him off of the antibiotics that he was on. He has also decided to let him have something to eat. Since he hasn't had anytihng in about 5 days I know Laurence is VERY happy about that!

As far as we know there still isn't a diagnosis for his problems but they continue to check possibilities off of the list. If he continues to improve he may be able to go home tomorrow.

I know he would very much like visitors as he is about as bored as a person can be. Please continue to pray for him, as he is not out of the woods just yet.

Mark

She fixed her heart in San Francisco

Mark and I went down to San Francisco yesterday, along with numerous others, as Izzie underwent a triple bypass. Everything was on schedule and the procedure was successful. When we went in to see Izzie immediately following surgery, I thought, "Okay for sure Izzie will probably not look as good as she always does," and I wasn't sure I wanted to see her, but as we walked in, I was struck once again by her beauty. There she was, following OPEN HEART surgery, make up tastefully applied and not a hair out of place...

Izzie, you are amazing, and I can't wait to see you up again feeling better than ever!

Praying for our Sister

His voice, it is like thunder, over the water… His voice, echos throughout the earth, we will bow to the sound…we will bow to the sound of His voice.

As I am praying for Izzie today, I can't help but hear this song and envision Izzie singing it to her Savior.

The "Go" of Relationship

September 25th.
My Utmost for His Highest

"And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." Matthew 5:41

The summing up of Our Lord's teaching is that the relationship which He demands is an impossible one unless He has done a supernatural work in us. Jesus Christ demands that there be not the slightest trace of resentment even suppressed in the heart of a disciple when he meets with tyranny and injustice. No enthusiasm will ever stand the strain that Jesus Christ will put upon His worker, only one thing will, and that is a personal relationship to Himself which has gone through the mill of His spring-cleaning until there is only one purpose left - I am here for God to send me where He will. Every other thing may get fogged, but this relationship to Jesus Christ must never be.

The Sermon on the Mount is not an ideal, it is a statement of what will happen in me when Jesus Christ has altered my disposition and put in a disposition like His own. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fulfil the Sermon on the Mount.

If we are to be disciples of Jesus, we must be made disciples supernaturally; as long as we have the dead set purpose of being disciples we may be sure we are not. "I have chosen you." That is the way the grace of God begins. It is a constraint we cannot get away from; we can disobey it, but we cannot generate it. The drawing is done by the supernatural grace of God, and we never can trace where His work begins. Our Lord's making of a disciple is supernatural. He does not build on any natural capacity at all. God does not ask us to do the things that are easy to us naturally; He only asks us to do the things we are perfectly fitted to do by His grace, and the cross will come along that line always.

Happy Birthday, Michelle

Happy Birthday to youououuouou,

Happy Birthday to yououuououu,

Happy Birthday, dear Micheeeeelle,

Happy Biiiirthdaaay to youououo!

Our friend, Izzie Lopez

Hey guys, just wanted to make sure that you were in the know with what is going on with Izzie. She has had some tests run following her hospitalization this week, and it looks as though she will be having open heart surgery early next week. I do not know specific details, but I do know that she is at Kaiser, San Francisco on Geary Street and the phone number there is 415-833-2000. Mark and I are thinking about possibly going down to see her on Sunday. Let us know if you would like to join us.

We have all been influenced in some way by this amazing woman. Personally, she has held me accountable and taught me much in the way of compassion and sensitivity to others and their needs. She loves unconditionally and lives her life doing unto others. I love you, Izzie Lopez!

HEY JESUS, WANT TO GO FOR A RIDE?

In Experiencing God, Blackaby said “Look where God is working and join Him”. The past few weeks the Lord has brought back to my attention something He told me when I first moved out here. One of my first days in our new home I was standing in my living room looking out over this beautiful property that the Lord had graciously given us and I clearly heard Him say “this neighborhood is your mission field”. It is not that I have dismissed His words completely, but this mission was set on the back burner because my life was way too busy to add THIS to the mix. Today, I sit almost 2 years later, with very few personal commitments and God is saying “okay, you are not busy anymore, so get to work!”.

My neighbor Sharon, who has lived out here for 20+ years, was one of the first neighbors I met. The first time I met her I knew she was a Christian because Jesus radiates out of her. She is a lovely woman and she was so helpful to me when I got back into the “horse scene”. About 8 months after we moved in Sharon and I were horseback riding and she was telling me the history of the neighborhood. As Sharon shared what she knew, she became very emotional and she said to me “There is so much hurt here, I want to help this neighborhood reconnect and be close the way it use to be”. That was about a year and a half ago.

Today, I called Sharon and we talked for over an hour. I told her that I am not too busy now to reach out to this neighborhood and I asked her to join me in reconnecting our neighbors. She is so excited! I am so excited! We are meeting tomorrow over a horseback ride to talk about the opportunities we have to reach these people. We agree that we need to just “do” and not “plan” a whole lot. So, it looks like we will start by getting a few neighbors together on Saturday (hopefully it is not too late of notice!) to trailer the horses out to the Skyline Wilderness Area in Napa and do a morning trail ride. During our ride on Wednesday we will plan a trail ride/potluck! This will include a neighborhood wide trail ride either at Pena Adobe or Skyline and then return for an afternoon/evening potluck for ALL the neighbors (those who ride and do not ride). In my conversation with Sharon she even said there are a few Christians in the neighborhood that want to start a Bible study, but just haven’t. So, we will talk about that possibility as well.

My post today is to share that just because I am not in “church” right now, doesn’t mean I am not looking to join God in His work. He has been screaming at me for 2 years now! I was spread too thin! I have neighbors who are Christians, but not in church right now and they are craving fellowship and desire to open the Word together. I would not have known that even 2 months ago! I have neighbors who are going to hell and need to SEE Jesus in me. How can they see Jesus in me if I am never home? The Lord is moving and he is calling me to join Him. I am surrounded by people here who love horses and love to ride, so I will start there. Jesus, are you telling me I can have “church” on the back of a horse? HOW COOL IS THAT? More importantly than "having church" from the saddle, I can BE the church from the saddle! Matthew 18:20 “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”. Jesus, Sharon and I are going horseback riding! Pray for us as we invite others join our riding group and pray for opportunities to introduce Jesus to the lost and to place all the hurt and pain in this community at the foot of the cross and ask the Lord for healing. Lord, let’s saddle up and ride!

Velvet Elvis

NOTE: I usurped Susie's posting because I found this awesome velvet Elvis poster and it HAD to be posted :-) I apologize for the toes on which I have firmly trod...

A few of us met last night and discussed our desire to continue to read books that were relevant to the journey on which God has sent us, however our dominant desire is to study the Word together. To accomplish both goals, we decided to begin our regular study time with Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and the book of John. Our times of study will go wherever God wants to take them with those two books driving our common discussion. After these are completed, we'll decide as a group where to go next. There were MANY books suggested last night as possible choices to do individually or as a group.

When discussing possible evenings to meet, we concluded that we would meet (at least to start) on Fridays, at rotating houses. Every other night of the week either had conflicts or would get the kids in the group to bed far too late. It was a difficult decision because we know that it excludes the CRASH team. After much discussion on possible alternatives we realized that this was really the only solution (for what I'm sure are similar reasons that CRASH decided to meet on Fridays). It is our fervent hope that those interested in what we are studying will still follow along, and that more informal discussion can take place on Sundays and/or through email and blog forums.

There will also be day studies of The Barbarian Way video series. Keep looking for more info on that soon.

Our first meeting: Friday, September 22
Our first meeting place: Steve & Vicki Dawson's Ranch (this will rotate regularly)
Meeting Time: 7:00 pm
Assignment: Intro & Chapter 1 of "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell; Chapter 1 of John

***Velvet Elvis is available at most book retailers, amazon.com (approx $13) or as an audio book on iTunes (approx $8)***

"The challenge for Christians then is to live with great passion and conviction, remaining open and flexible, aware that this life is not the last painting.

Times change. God doesn't, but times do. We learn and grow, and the world around us shifts, and the Christian faith is alive only when it is listening, morphing, innovating, letting go of whatever has gotten in the way of Jesus and embracing whatever will help us be more and more the people God wants us to be."

Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

BARBARIAN WAY ANYONE?

Okay, we talked about doing this study way back when, but some how we just let it fall by the way side. Is anyone still interested in doing The Barbarian Way DVD series that most of y'all did in the worship ministry?

Denise Lugo and Deborah Williams both want to do it and I am eager to get going on it too. It could be that if a lot of people want to do it, we will have to get a few meetings times going because of schedules. Here are some day and time ideas that me, Deborah and Denise talked about, if any of these sound good to you please let me know.

For those free during the day: Tuesday or Friday early afternoon.

Evenings: Thursday or Sunday (either before fellowship time, like around 1:30pm, or after we wrap up our social time at the Cheyenne house-do it there if it is ok with the Thornbroughs/Cameron & Chontol).

Denise would really prefer to do it during the day because John gets fussy at night, so if there is a group that wants to do a daytime session, we already have 3 people who can do that. If you REALLY want to do this study PLEASE speak up and let me know what times and days will work for you because I would like to get this going next week if possible.

Deborah Williams also recommended a book that she says is awesome and very relevant to where a lot of us are right now, it is called The Bait Of Satan, Living Free From the Deadly Trap of Offense by John Bevere. This book also has a DVD series that if people like the book and want to do it, we can look into getting the curriculum. Here is John Bevere's website to get more information on this book: www.johnbevere.org

God's Love

Right after Vicki and I got married, we attended church at Moffett field where our brother-in-law lived while he was stationed at Onizuka Air Force Base. Our Pastor was Chaplain Norris Burkes, who was (is) a wonderful man with a wonderful family. He wound up getting transferred to Turkey, then Florida, and then settling close by in Sacramento. Oddly enough, I don't think we have seen him but once since we moved to Vacaville. He was our pastor through those first years of marriage, and was at the hospital praying with us, when our daughter had her first surgery. I guess Vicki and I will be making a trip to Sacramento soon.

The real reason for this post is to link you to an article I read today. Norris is a pediatric hospital chaplain, and writes a syndicated column that appears in the Vacaville newspaper. His articles are often simple, irreverant looks at our God's world. Saturday's article can be found here:

http://www.thechaplain.net/Articles.aspx?ID=260

HISTORY

I got a call from Candace today. I have not talked to her in a few weeks and it was so wonderful to hear her voice and just chat for a while. She was telling me how awesome it was to have the Crockett’s and Baldwin’s there. We did not talk much about their visit, but she said one thing that has had me thinking all day. She said one of the reasons she was so happy to have them visiting is that though she loves all of us, there is a history with the Crockett’s and Baldwin’s; a special connection. Their families lives have been woven together over the past years and it was good to have those friends there with them at this particular time. Though this topic was the shortest talk we had during our conversation it is one I have been thinking about all day. The Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to spend LOTS of time with the Lugo's over the past few weeks due to Denise's surgery. I cherish this time with them because I know they will be leaving in the near future. The time I have spent with them has been so awesome and it has been good for the girls too. Jessica and Samantha have known the Lugo's longer than any of our friends here. As I thought about what Candace said about the history they have with the Crockett's and Baldwin's I was thinking about the history I have with the Lugo's and then realized that my kids have a history with them too! Jessica was less than 2 years old when we met the Lugo's and Samantha was not even born yet! Not only do I have a history with the Lugo's, but Jessica and Samantha have a history with them too, especially Ashley. I found several pictures of the girls together, but here is just a few I found of the life these kids have shared over the past 9+ years.

October 1999

Jessica 1st grade and Ashley 2nd grade

Jessica, Samantha & Ashley cuddled up in bed

The dancers!

Jessica & Ashley, friends for 9+ years!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Thank you Lord for writing the history my family has shared with Joseph, Denise, Kara, Ashley, John and even Tucker. Lord I pray we all cherish the friends you have placed in our lives. Help us not to get lazy in our relationships because we do not know when you will call us or them away. Lord I thank you for the other friendships my family is buidling right now. Thank you for blessing us with the Helton's, who are acutally more like family than friends. Thank you for the new relationships that are building with the Corckett's, Baldwin's, Thornbrugh's, the Castillo's and their ENTIRE family, the Maier's and the new relationships to come. Lord thank you for the continued friendship of the Lawler's, Crystal Benson, Denise Tompkins and others who have reached out to us with the desire to hold onto the relationships we have built over the years. Thank you for the McDaniel's who are not close mile wise, but are close to our hearts and will continue to strive to keep our friendship growing. Lord, you are good! I welcome and cherish the blessings you have showered down on me through my friends and my children's friends. May the history continue to be written!

Have Your Tent Stolen

I went yard-sale hunting yesterday morning, and had a lot of fun. I almost bought a canoe...for no other reason than to see Vicki's face when I pulled up to the house. So I was on my way out the door (at the crack of dawn), got sidetracked by something really important, and then found myself reading from Jesus, Life Coach by Laurie Beth Jones. This chapter really spoke to me, so I thought I'd share it:


Recently, I had the pleasure of hearing Ray Anderson, founder of a textile mill in Georgia named Interface, speak to a group of business leaders in Santa Fe. He told the following story.

It seems that one day Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Watson, went camping. As the night wore on, Sherlock woke up, leaned over, and asked Watson, “What do you see?” Watson responded, “Sherlock, I see the North Star, which has helped guide us to this spot. Beyond that I see the Big Dipper and the tail of Orion. I also can make out the edges of the Milky Way and know that there are universes expanding beyond that.”

Watson was about to continue his rapturous explanation when suddenly Sherlock elbowed him and hissed, “Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent!”

Laughter rippled through the audience as the multiple real-life applications of this story became apparent. Watson was rhapsodizing about the beauty of the universe, and Sherlock the detective was concerned with the crime that made their new view possible.

Jesus once described himself as coming “like a thief in the night.” I love the idea of his coming to steal our tent - the tent of our limited perspective - the tent of our fragile and segmented understandings – the tent that we think is keeping us safe, but is really just keeping us from seeing the universe.

Like children huddled in a tent, we talk to each other in the light of our little flashlights, considering ourselves bold adventurers – but we haven’t even left our own backyard.

I wrote a chapter in Jesus in Blue Jeans regarding God’s impatience with “stiff necked” people. Stubbornness is first cousin to arrogance, and pride always precedes a fall. When we think that we know it all…when we refuse to try another way of doing things…when we are determined to remain inflexible and ignorant, we are doomed to failure.

Some time ago, I hosted a birthday party for a friend. When one of the guests arrived, she admitted that she was a little late because she couldn’t find her glasses. She laughed and said, “I finally just grabbed the closest pair I could find. I think these are my mother’s.” We all chuckled as she described how difficult it had been to drive over to the house, looking through lenses that belonged to somebody else.

How often do we just grab out parent’s glasses when we head out on a journey, and not use “new eyes” to view the world? I am continuously amazed and chagrined at how often we repeat our parents’ negative patterns. It is how culture is created, I suppose, and how one declines.

If only we would open our eyes to new ways of relating, seeing, and doing. If only we would focus not on the tent that has been stolen, but on our suddenly expanding view of the universe. Watch out, oh you who desire growth.

Jesus will steal your tent.

You are good!

You have made known to me the path of life.
You fill me with your presence,
at your right hand
are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 16:11

God you are good, your mercy and grace endures forever. I thank you for how you direct our paths. I praise you for your presence in our lives, whether we recognize you or not. You are there always. Patiently you wait for us to acknowledge your sovereignty. I see you working always. When we doubt, you reassure. When we celebrate, you are right there. We give you all glory for the orchestration of our lives. You are good. Father, I thank you for our new friends. Bless them.
Bob, Kaelin, Andre, Andrea, Ken, Andrea, Zack.
John & Cheryl.
Blair, Debbie, Katherine & Samantha.
Paul, Hope, Cameron & Connor.
J.R., Marie, Jason & Kevin.
Geno & Louise.
7 families who, before today, existed seperately on the same street. I praise you, Father, for our differences. I praise you for our willingness to accept each other with all of our idiosyncracies. We all belong to you, Lord, whether we realize it or not. Thank you for loving us all. We are your favorites! Bring us all to a saving knowledge of your grace and mercy. You are GOOD!