Wednesday, July 15, 2009
What I learned from my pastor... 7-12
Kevin started his series on the book of Jonah this week. Now, this is going to sound like the world's most shallow thought about a sermon, but I'll go ahead and say it: This week I learned how many historically accurate details the VeggieTales writers included in their Jonah movie! Please don't judge me!!! But seriously - I learned that Ninevah was named after Nimrod, a fish god (hence the fish-slapping veggies), and what a popular prophet Jonah was with the Israelites because his message to them was one of success in I Kings. Plus Kevin hinted at several other intriguing details that will come up in the weeks ahead. So I'm excited to hear more. Stay tuned...
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Simply Summer
Our weeks have been filled with all the simple fun of summer. Naomi is taking her first "solo" swimming lessons and is learning all kinds of new skills. She's also excited to be at an "outside" pool (I guess we didn't get to many of those in Wyoming!). Here she is on her first day... a little concerned about it, but being very brave!
We had a fun 4th of July. Naomi and Daddy made crepes for breakfast. Yummy!
The rest of the day was interspersed with mini firecracker shows put on by Kevin:
For the grand finale of the day, we went to the Kurten community center for the town's fireworks display. For a town of 200-something, it was quite spectacular!! We were highly impressed by the 40 minute show, fantastic ending, and of course, cotton candy...
Naomi loved both the fireworks and the social opportunity - I think she spent equal amounts of time watching the fireworks and engaging people in conversation! Johnathan wanted "to go home" - the noise and shock of the fireworks was not his favorite. But by the end, he opened his eyes to watch!
It's hot out these days, and very dry. But we're enjoying the flower bed in front of the house and trying to keep it beautiful. We got a gift of some plants in the mail from the Olsen's garden, so we love having a piece of our Wyoming family here in Kurten. I think the little plants are a bit shocked by their drastic change in climate, though!
We had a fun 4th of July. Naomi and Daddy made crepes for breakfast. Yummy!
The rest of the day was interspersed with mini firecracker shows put on by Kevin:
For the grand finale of the day, we went to the Kurten community center for the town's fireworks display. For a town of 200-something, it was quite spectacular!! We were highly impressed by the 40 minute show, fantastic ending, and of course, cotton candy...
Naomi loved both the fireworks and the social opportunity - I think she spent equal amounts of time watching the fireworks and engaging people in conversation! Johnathan wanted "to go home" - the noise and shock of the fireworks was not his favorite. But by the end, he opened his eyes to watch!
It's hot out these days, and very dry. But we're enjoying the flower bed in front of the house and trying to keep it beautiful. We got a gift of some plants in the mail from the Olsen's garden, so we love having a piece of our Wyoming family here in Kurten. I think the little plants are a bit shocked by their drastic change in climate, though!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Meeting Carolanne
This morning our niece, Heather, David, and their new baby Carolanne drove down from Dallas (and their home in Oklahoma) to come to church with us and visit! Carolanne is now 2 1/2 months old... Isn't she precious? We were so excited to meet her and to show more family our new home here in Kurten. Thank you so much for driving all this way to visit, Heather and David!
What I learned from my pastor... 7-5
Kevin preached from I John 2:1-6 about how Jesus is our advocate before the Father and our propitiation - his substitution for us is complete, with nothing we can or need to add to it. The result of faith in Him is obedience to Him. Kevin pointed out that the way we really know someone, and know fully of their love for us, is by walking with them daily... just like a spouse or family member is fully known and trusted when we live together day by day. Our relationship with Christ is the same: As we walk daily with Him, we grow in our faith and assurance of His complete and perfect love for us. I'm in awe that I have an advocate before the throne of God who always intercedes for me!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Son Rock Kids Camp!
It was a big week around here... VBS week! Here at Zion VBS is held in the evening and the whole family is invited to join in. Every evening begins with a meal (Woohoo! I didn't have to cook all week!). The theme this year was Son Rock Kids Camp, so we had camp skits, mail call, and lots of woodsy fun.
I helped teach the 3 and 4 year old class - the Bumblebees, which wiggled with a whopping 20 kids most nights. Kevin taught the "Wise Old Owls" class for adults. Johnathan enjoyed the nursery class and Naomi kept me company in the Bumblebees. It was a whirlwind week but we had a lot of fun and were amazed at the turnout from the surrounding community.
Naomi dances to the songs which will probably be stuck in our heads all summer.
A few of the Bumblebees get ready for a story from the life of Peter. Good ole' flannelgraphs!! Naomi loved it all - from the skits to the crafts to the games and the giant tortoise named spike that one of the teachers brought for the preschoolers to see. Johnathan loved his "class", too. He was so excited for "BBS" each night.
The final night of VBS is a big deal. After the final session in the church, we went out on the grounds to eat hamburgers and play on bouncy houses, a rock wall, and the playground. Kevin bravely took waterballoons in the head as a part of the "VBS Celebrity" water balloon game.
I helped teach the 3 and 4 year old class - the Bumblebees, which wiggled with a whopping 20 kids most nights. Kevin taught the "Wise Old Owls" class for adults. Johnathan enjoyed the nursery class and Naomi kept me company in the Bumblebees. It was a whirlwind week but we had a lot of fun and were amazed at the turnout from the surrounding community.
Naomi dances to the songs which will probably be stuck in our heads all summer.
A few of the Bumblebees get ready for a story from the life of Peter. Good ole' flannelgraphs!! Naomi loved it all - from the skits to the crafts to the games and the giant tortoise named spike that one of the teachers brought for the preschoolers to see. Johnathan loved his "class", too. He was so excited for "BBS" each night.
The final night of VBS is a big deal. After the final session in the church, we went out on the grounds to eat hamburgers and play on bouncy houses, a rock wall, and the playground. Kevin bravely took waterballoons in the head as a part of the "VBS Celebrity" water balloon game.
The end of VBS... I think we have some sleep to catch up on now.
Father's Day Festivities
Happy Father's Day to our dads and Kevin! To celebrate Daddy, we went to the Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival in Bryan. Contrary to the name of the fastival, our family chose to have neither steak nor grapes, but we did have a lot of fun! The festival spans multiple city blocks, so we saw as much as we could before it got too hot...
Naomi tried fishing in the catfish tank.
We watched the grape stomping competition.
We ate strawberry shortcake, Cubano sandwiches, and lemonade. We also tried some steak samples, got free books, and listened to a guy play the William Tell Overture on a turkey baster (I know you're wondering how... it was filled with water, and he squeezed the bulb to raise and lower the water level to produce notes while blowing across the top... Johnathan loved it). We even played in some snow - shavings trucked in from the ice arena. It was a really fun morning.
After a long nap time, we made Daddy a sausage and shrimp boil for dinner. We steamed it all with corn and potatoes in a pot and dumped it out on butcher paper. Talk about easy cleanup!
Naomi tried fishing in the catfish tank.
We watched the grape stomping competition.
We ate strawberry shortcake, Cubano sandwiches, and lemonade. We also tried some steak samples, got free books, and listened to a guy play the William Tell Overture on a turkey baster (I know you're wondering how... it was filled with water, and he squeezed the bulb to raise and lower the water level to produce notes while blowing across the top... Johnathan loved it). We even played in some snow - shavings trucked in from the ice arena. It was a really fun morning.
After a long nap time, we made Daddy a sausage and shrimp boil for dinner. We steamed it all with corn and potatoes in a pot and dumped it out on butcher paper. Talk about easy cleanup!
What I learned from my pastor.. 6-28
Kevin wrappped up his sermon series on "Essential Church" this week by talking about the church's purpose and the Great Commission. What stuck with me most was the fact that we are continually in the process of becoming a disciple. He shared this acrostic about characteristics of a disciple:
D ominated by God's Gospel
I nspired daily by God's Word and prayer
S urrendered to the ministry and leading of the Holy Spirit
C entered on Jesus Christ
I nvolved in the church's work and worship
P ursues the lost with passion
L oves others as a servant
E xemplifies faith in the home, work, and life
S trives to know Christ in all of His glory
Next week: Jonah!
D ominated by God's Gospel
I nspired daily by God's Word and prayer
S urrendered to the ministry and leading of the Holy Spirit
C entered on Jesus Christ
I nvolved in the church's work and worship
P ursues the lost with passion
L oves others as a servant
E xemplifies faith in the home, work, and life
S trives to know Christ in all of His glory
Next week: Jonah!
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