What I learned from my pastor... 10-18

My pastor introduced the topic this morning - a little break from Colossians - about spiritual transformation. Then he handed the sermon over to his dad, who also happens to be a gifted pastor! Pastor John (aka Dad) taught from Romans 12:2 and II Corinthians 3:18 and 4:16. Spiritual transformation is a process that takes time and energy. Thankfully, though our bodies are wasting away over time, our souls, when they belong to Christ, are being renewed and stregthened over time. Spiritual transformation requires energy, too - but it is the "renewable energy" provided by the Holy Spirit. We were encouraged and challenged to rely on the Spirit and renew our minds daily, focus on eternal things and use the plentiful "stuff" God has given us to invest in spiritual things, and surrender everything to Him.

Can't get enough of Austin!

It was back to Austin on Monday, but this time we got to pick up Kevin's parents for their first trip to our new home! Thanks to our lovely GPS, we took the World's Most Random Route from Kurten to the Austin Airport, weaving through tiny towns, residential alleys, and vastly unpopulated country roads. It was an adventure, but one that quickly became less fun near the end thanks to my venti caramel macchiato!

First stop: Lunch at Green Mesquite (BBQ, of course). This is probably my favorite BBQ place so far - the pulled pork is fantastic!

Walking in the footsteps of Food Network's Guy Fieri


Yum!

Then we went to Zilker Park to ride the train (our family should get frequent rider miles, or something!)


After that, we took a locals' recommendation to go to the botanical garden across the street. It was so beautiful and very peaceful - or at least it was before our highly enthusiastic children entered it!

Welcome to Texas! The shape of our state is everywhere, from waffles to botanical gardens!


In the butterfly garden

This is a Dr. Seuss tree if I ever saw one!

Naomi was the princess of camera poses on this trip

Just beautiful!

And to top our day off, we went to the Capitol.

Tut, tut... Looks like rain! Or at least a good time for Johnathan to try out his new dinosaur umbrella! (Or as he says, "my berella")

Inside the Capitol building

And outside

Future legislators? I don't know, but they did enjoy hearing the sound of their own voices echo off the walls. That's rather politician-like, right? Wow, they were loud!

Playing in Austin

After Johnathan's doctor's appointment in Austin, we needed a little family play time. Zilker Park is not far from the doctor's office, and it has tons of fun stuff to do.
We had some ice cream at the gorgeous Barton Springs and rode the Zilker Zephyr, a miniature train that goes along the creek. Johnathan was thrilled by the fire truck at the play-
ground and they both loved the ship play area.

After playing, we continued our tour of Southeast Texas BBQ joints by trying out Salt Lick BBQ - very good! In the absence of Naomi's standard chicken nuggets, she tried ribs.

Except for being a bit flabbergasted that she was eating "the bone of a pig," she loved it!

What I learned from my pastor this week... 10-11

Kevin's message this morning was from Colossians 2:6-23. This passage addresses two extremes of false teaching: cults or human philosophy, and legalism. Finding meaning in human philosophy brings hopelessness and confusion in the end. And if you find meaning in legalism you end up defeated and full of guilt. But in the center of the passage is the answer: the cross of Jesus Christ. At the cross our sins were forgiven, cancelled, and nailed to the cross.

We symbolically recognized Jesus's triumph at the cross this morning by nailing a sin or weakness to a cross set up in the sanctuary. And something touched me about parenting this morning. Naomi sits with me through the whole service and colors and "takes notes" in her journal. When we came to the end of the sermon when the congregation was asked to respond by writing a sin or weakness on a piece of paper and then pinning it to the cross, she was ready to go with a little picture of something on her paper. Walking with her little hand in mine up to the cross, taking a tack, and helping her "nail" it to the cross was deeply moving for me. What a privilege it is for Kevin and I to lead our children to the cross.... I pray Naomi and Johnathan will always live in the freedom of being able to take their sins and struggles to the cross and leave them there.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:13-14

Johnathan Update

For our friends and family with whom we haven't gotten to talk yet, we have an update about little Mr. Johnathan, who has had some gross motor delays since before he learned to crawl. Our pediatrician refered him to a pediatric orthopedist this summer, when we asked for input on his toe-walking on his right foot. The orthopedics office then refered him to a pediatric neurologist.

After a long wait, we finally had his appointment this week in Austin. The doctor listened to his history, thoroughly looked at his reflexes and watched him walk and run. He noted Johnathan's leg length discrepancy (his right leg appears shorter than his left), the way Johnathan holds his right arm when he walks, and his apparent left-handedness. His initial thoughts are that Johnathan likely has hemiparetic (affecting one side of the body) cerebral palsy, causing a tightening of his heel cord on the right side.

The next step for Johnathan is an MRI to confirm the area of his brain on the left hemisphere that was injured either before birth or at the time of his birth. He will also see the pediatric orthopedic specialist next to determine the best course of action to help him walk flat - that may involve surgery, physical therapy, and orthotics.

We are now waiting to find out when our next trip to Austin will be, when we will hopefully be able to complete the MRI, follow-up with the neurologist, and see the orthopedic specialist, as well. We so appreciate the prayers and love our family, friends, and church family have shared with us! We'll keep you updated as we learn more.

Pizza Party!

What I learned from my pastor... 10-4

Kevin spoke about "Great Expectations" from Colossians 1:24-2:5. The majority of the passage addresses the expectations of a pastor, including suffering for the sake of Christ and proclaiming the hope we have in Christ, and working hard. One expectation that stood out to me was that a pastor must have a true love for God's church. Kevin pointed out that there are many authors and speakers who claim to just love Jesus, yet they slam "the church" for various reasons. He said this is like a guy saying to his buddy, "I have a great time hanging out with you, but could you get rid of your wife? I can't stand her!" Christ loves his church, even though she is flawed, and pastors need to demonstrate that same love.

The second part of the passage addresses expectations of believers: to be knit together in love and unity, to grow in knowledge of Christ and assurance, and to be discerning as they listen to teaching. Of course, humanly speaking, this is impossible. But the key is in verse 1:27... Christ in you, the hope of glory!