Amazing Grace

I saw this movie this afternoon and I'm not sure anything I say would do it justice.

Go see it! It's very well done.

‘Twas Two Months After Christmas…

I know it's late to be talking about our Christmas trip to Montana and I could give you lots of reasons why this post is so late, but you're probably not really interested so I'll just continue with my report.

It was an interesting week, to say the least. There were 34 of us living in the same house for 6 days and that, in itself, offers a lot of opportunity to practice patience, understanding and love. We didn't always do it very well, but I think we ended the week with some ideas of how to do it better next time and we were still friends. To say we were still family is kind of silly because you don't really have any choice about that. But to be family and friends requires some effort and a lot of love on everyone's part.

As you can see from the photo, the kids (including a few of the older cousins that don't appear in this photo) had a great time building a couple of snowmen. I guess the reason this guy has a rifle and a cowboy hat was because we were in Montana. His size is the result of the effort of the older cousins (these kids' parents) and it took two or three of them to roll the bottom part of his body across the yard and then took a couple of them to lift the second and third parts on top. There was some snow on the ground when we arrived on December 22 and we got a little more, not much, but apparently enough to make it possible to build this guy and another one that wasn't complete when this photo was taken.

Some of the older cousins went snowboarding a couple of the mornings, we all played games, each family took a turn making dinner, we took our usual family photos with my daughter being the official photographer this time, and for the most part enjoyed being together. Christmas morning, after everyone had breakfast, was the usual time for opening gifts. We had our traditional Christmas dinner with everyone providing, and cooking, their usual part. Next December the family gathering will take place back in California and my kids are planning to come to Spain again to spend Christmas with me. Then in 2008 we will all be back in Montana.

I'm grateful for these memory-making times with Alan's family. It's a tradition that we don't want to give up.

February Update

Extra Time in the States

We (Jon, Kathy and I) decided it would be very beneficial for me to spend another month in the States. Jon and I will be working on several projects related to our online theology school. We have some lofty goals for the amount of work we would like to accomplish in the next several weeks. My new date to return to Spain is March 29.

Winter in Colorado

There are actually two cars at the curb in this photo. All you can see is part of their rear view mirrors. This has been a very unusual winter and we will be very glad to see the end of it! But God has kept us safe and my travel plans have not been interrupted.

This month’s quote:

Since we talk so much about love during the month of February, I thought it might be good to remind ourselves of what God says love is.

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” I Cor. 13:4-7

Praises:

1. Safe travel to California and then to New Hampshire. I had some great visits with friends and supporters.
2. The necessary monthly support continues to come in.
3. God seems to be confirming our decision to move to Barcelona.

Prayer Requests:

1. Continue to pray for new supporters or increased giving among current supporters.
2. Continue to pray regarding our potential move to the Barcelona area. Jon is in Barcelona as I write this, meeting with the rest of the leadership team for EET (our online theology school). He has found a piece of property that we think will work very well. Pray for God’s guidance and provision.
3. More than likely we will have to raise our support package to cover the increased housing costs in Barcelona. Pray that God will supply this need. I hope to have some definite information to share with you next month.

January Update

Here is the text from my January newsletter. If you would like to receive the PDF version in your Inbox, send me an email. If you don't have my email, leave a comment and I'll get back to you. Thanks.

Snowstorms

As most of you know, Colorado was hit with two very large snowstorms back-to-back. The first hit before we left for Montana and kept us inside for a couple of days but the skies had cleared by the time we were scheduled to leave. We hit a few snow-packed sections of the highway but arrived safely and on schedule. The second hit while we were in Montana so we missed that one. We had some snow in Montana and several members of the family enjoyed snowboarding, “sledding” and building snowmen in the front yard. The roads were still snow-packed and icy in spots as we drove home but we made it back safely. Thank you for your prayers!

California

I left snowy Colorado and arrived in sunny California on Wed, January 3. I will be driving from San Diego to Placerville (near Sacramento) and then back to the Los Angeles area before returning to San Diego, stopping along the way to visit friends and supporters. I am looking forward to “catching up” with old friends that I haven’t seen for awhile.

This month’s quote:

“There is a chronic temptation to reduce God to human dimensions, to express Him in manageable ideas. Human reason seeks to understand, to reduce everything to its own terms. But God is God. He is more than a superhuman being with an intellect keener than ours and a capacity for loving greater than ours. He is Unique, Uncreated, Infinite, Totally Other than we are. He surpasses and transcends all human concepts, considerations and expectations. He is beyond anything we can intellectualize or imagine. That is why God is a scandal to men and women--because He cannot be comprehended by a finite mind.”

--Brennan Manning, The Relentless Tenderness of Jesus

Praises:

1. Safe travel to and from Montana for Christmas. We had a great time!
2. I have two more monthly supporters and a couple of folks have increased their monthly giving. Thanks to those who responded in this way.
3. I am in California and enjoying a couple of days of rest with friends before I start traveling throughout the state.

Prayer Requests:

1. Continue to pray for new supporters or increased giving among current supporters. Our God is faithful.
2. Continue to pray regarding our potential move to the Barcelona area. We are continuing to seek the Lord as we investigate the possibility of moving near the headquarters of the FIEIDE and our online school.
3. Continue to pray for safety as I travel and meet with friends and supporters. I return to Denver on Jan. 20 and then fly to New Hampshire on Jan. 25 to spend a week there.

Snow and Love

I love it when it snows. Well, I guess I don't really love driving in it, but I love the way everything looks when it's covered with snow. It seems so clean and pure. I love the way it sparkles in the sunlight. I love to see animal prints in the snow. I love to see children making snowmen and having snowball fights and just enjoying being children. Why don't we enjoy life more? Why do we take things so seriously? Why do we hold grudges instead of forgiving one another? Why haven't we learned how to love one another? Okay -- this is getting way too philosophical. I have no idea how I got from talking about snow to talking about love, but I'll leave you with this -- "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." I Cor. 13:4-7