Previous post, continued…

Location: A little south of Indianapolis, at 6:25am on Saturday, February 17, 2018.

I posted the previous post a few minutes ago, and then browsed earlier posts a little.  Just to add to our post about M., she was born at 9:25am on January 8, four days after her due date, a healthy 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 20.25 inches long.  We always pick a Bible verse for each child; M.’s is:

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.    Colossians 3:15-17

Beginning 2018 with Good News!

How I miss writing!

I don’t know that anyone ever reads this neglected blog anymore, but perhaps one day I will be able to begin writing again!  In any case, God is good, and I wanted to announce the arrival of M. in early January.  Our third daughter and fourth child, she is a delight!

Though personally I often yearn to be in Romania, we are still living in the United States at present.  I trust the Lord has us where He wants us!  Our growing family continues to grow, not only by welcoming M., but also by stepping deeper into the abundant life of grace and glory that the Lord purposed for us.  Life is not often what I would describe as easy, but it sure is good, and we are richly blessed!  We are especially thankful for the mercies of God, which are new everyday, and for the support system of people like you who have surrounded us and prayed for us during the long haul!

I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know what will be important about it: If tomorrow comes, it will be another opportunity for people like you and me to be rescued from ourselves and the evils in this world by a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  The good news is that this Jesus anchors our soul in hope, and offers us true life we could never attain without Him.  Sight for the blind, freedom for captives, life for the walking-dead, healing for the chronically or terminally ill, and good news for the poor.  Now that is something worth knowing!

If you are reading this and do not know Jesus, the son of the One and Only God, as King and Friend, or you do not have His Spirit quickening your soul, know that it is no accident that you landed in this blog post.  Proof?  I almost never update this blog any more.  Very few people find it.  You happened onto this post and can at least mostly understand English.  I am posting today only to make sure that M. knows she is valuable to me, that she is just as important as each of my children.  Yet here you are, reading on.

As I type this, awake early this morning only because of a headache and medicine with caffeine that will not let me sleep, I am thinking of the millions of restless souls who desperately wish for a whisper proving that there really is a loving God who knows and cares about them.  That’s why I went through two password resets to access a dormant blog.  You see, it is not by chance that you are here.  The Spirit of the Living God led you here today.  Perhaps Jesus appeared to you in a dream.  Perhaps the only access you have to anything Christian is via the internet because you live in a country where it is dangerous and nearly impossible to know Christ.  Well, here is what you have been searching for:

• God is not dead: He lives and has been pursuing you with His gracious love.
• He has been speaking to you, orchestrating moments in your life to bring your heart to a place that it knows it needs Him.
• He says, “Come to me, all you who are struggling hard and carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28, in the Holy Scriptures found in the Bible, God’s Word)
• If something terrible happened in your life, stop blaming God for it.  Are you brave enough to stop holding Him hostage to your human emotions?  God is like a good father, and He longs to make right that thing that wounded you so grievously.  Let Him; He can do the impossible.
• Now is the time to surrender, to recognize that your life has meaning and purpose, but not apart from Jesus the Christ.
• How can you know this King?  Right now (before you do anything else), find a quiet place and whisper from your heart, crying out to God something like this:

God, you alone are God, and apart from you there is no other god.  Today I believe that you live and love me, and I respond by recognizing that you sent Your Son Jesus to show me who You are, and to pardon me for all I have said and done against You.  Oh, Father God, I admit that without You I am dying inside, and I am sorry for the evil I have done, but I believe that You see me through eyes of promise, and that You will make me perfect by adopting me into Your family–through the death and life of your only Son, Jesus.  Please fill me with Your Holy Spirit and guide me on right paths, no matter what the people around me say or do.  Right now, God, I lay down my identity, my desires, my rights, and my efforts–my very life–and I ask that You would live in me fully and abundantly: for I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ Jesus, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.  Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth.  Please surround me with other persons who know You, that I may be supported and encouraged and loved, and fill me with your praises, Your Word, and your peace.  Thank you, God.  I pray in the Name of Jesus, Amen.

May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, now and always.  If it is not, don’t go another minute without it.  I bless you in the Name of Jesus.

 

Rejoice!

Location: 4:00pm local time, just south of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA on Christmas Day, December 25, 2015

Below is a long-awaited photograph of our newest blessing in the family, baby C.! 

She was born on December 15th, only ten days after we moved to a new residence, and only one week after her grandmother arrived from Romania.  Ten more days of “settling in” have passed before I managed to write you to announce her birth; a thousand apologies!  What’s more, I have failed to blog for so long that I forgot my password!

With much more than this to say, suffice it to know that we are all well, highly blessed, and wishing you a Merry Christmas.  Thank you to all of you who have sent Christmas greetings and congratulations!  May the Holy Spirit completely engulf each of you this year as we rejoice anew that “unto us a child was born”!

Luke 1:46-50

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
     for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
 Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
 for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.

 

Precious

Location: Indianapolis, 23 May 2015, 9:24pm.

How thankful I am that my God measures my success, rather than my virtual life, including blog posts and email inbox tidiness!

In April, during our three weeks in Romania, we told many of our friends that life was at the best it had been for us since we got married more than three years ago.  Our marriage continues to be wonderful, we began sleeping more as our fantastic children grow and mature, my job is less stressful, and everything began coming together.

That said, we had a great visit in Romania, but nothing is easy with toddlers, and the only thing worse than jet-lag is jet-lag with toddlers!  Needless to say, we paid dearly for our terrific trip to Romania.  Our family returned with three colds and plenty of exhaustion, and another round of colds hit a couple weeks later.  We have had emotional, physical, and other struggles, but I am happy to say that after several weeks, we think we have arrived again on top of the world!

After all, do we not have an amazing Father?  I finished scanning through a book given to me: Sonship: the Word Made Flesh by Jim McNally.  I sure hope I have time to read it; it looks like it presents ideas that could really put practical “feet” on the love the Church preaches and often fails to live.

Anyway, we are blessed beyond measure!  For a variety of reasons, we have a trying year before us, fraught with life-changing decisions.  We are going to have to move out of our apartment, probably obtain a new vehicle, consider preschool for H., pray about my job, our relationship with Romania, re-evaluate our church involvement and many other things.  Yet the Lord keeps reminding us how faithful He is!  He even tends to provide little things that we did not really need, but that needed attention, just to say that He is watching over us.  Thank you, Lord!

We were very blessed right after our Romania trip to host three young ladies from Uganda as part of a traveling children’s choir.  That was an excellent experience, and our children were thrilled, too!  We have also had some meaningful visits with local believers, both with the opportunity to encourage and be encouraged, which we love!

M. and I participated in the 500 Festival 5K race downtown Indianapolis a few weeks ago, as part of a work initiative I helped coordinate, and we had a great time.  We also finally started back up with our German folk-dancing, after a hiatus of too many weeks!

Here is the real question, though.  What is God doing in your life?  What is He doing in our lives?

The Holy Spirit is trying to teach me how to sit peacefully and joyfully at His feet, no matter what situation or challenge faces me on the surface.  He is trying to teach me to be a great man in my family, as a husband and father, rather than letting me strive to be a great man in the world’s eyes.  He is teaching me to move with excellence in the gifts He gave me, instead of trying to be something I am not.  He is re-igniting my personal devotional life, after it suffered for a time due to our efforts to establish a healthy couple-devotional life.

The Lord is also beginning (in my eyes) to reconnect us with other parts of the world.  Not only with Romania, but with Pakistan, Syria, Nigeria, other places.  He is wowwing me once more with the beauty of His creation.  I have begun singing again, realizing that I had almost stopped, inadvertantly.  I have begun stealing away every moment I can to spend time in Scripture or praying, seizing that 4:00am moment that I wake up, or those few minutes on a lunch break.  He is also giving me new eyes for my relationship with my children, which will hopefully aid them in their flourishing.

I want to encourage you.  How can I?  I used to try through this blog.  That, I’m afraid, has fallen by the wayside.  Most likely, I am praying for you.  I hope that encourages you!  If there are other ways I can encourage you, please let me know.  I want to build you up.  I want to see the Church beautiful as She awaits her coming Bridegroom.

I hope you have a beautiful day!  I hope you are not disappointed that my thoughts could not go deeper this time.  I am simply thrilled that I managed to post on this blog.  I hope you remembered at least once today how precious you are to your Father!  If not, may this post serve that purpose:

You are precious to your Father!

Wills, News, Romania, and Fruit

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana on one of the first beautiful days of spring weather this year, 8 March, 2015, at 3:42.

Start the watch.

I haven’t managed to blog since Thanksgiving.  I miss it; some of you miss it.  So I am going to write at least a bit.  When the watch stops, so will I!

Life is good, and I wish I knew how to word it in such a way to challenge you to the next step of greatness in your own life.  In fact, life is so good, that I never get to blog!  I was just telling someone recently that I got to a point in my travels where I took fewer pictures because I wanted to truly experience the journey, instead of always living my trips through the viewfinder of a camera, only to go back and reminisce later about experiences that I never really experienced!

That’s how life is right now.  People ask me if I’m writing down all the amazing things our children say and do.  I have a lot of other things I would like to blog about, and even my prayer journal does not get as much journaling as it used to.  Why?  Because life is too rich right now to cheapen it by confining it to words!  When we were married more than three years ago now, we had a lot of zeros–zero children, zero money, zero homes, zero cars, zero good health, etc.  Now, by the grace of God, our Lord has ushered us into a time of abundance!  Though our “To Do” list always remains too abundant, we have so much for which to be thankful!

We always trusted God to provide, and He certainly did!  We have beautiful children, a little money in the bank, a place to live, a car to drive, quite good health, fewer sleepless nights, and much more!  Now we are praying to trust our God just as much . . . don’t we humans always have the temptation of trying to do things ourselves?  With our own power?  With our own wisdom?  So we ask the Lord to not let us forget Him and His sovereignty in the easier times (isn’t it easy to turn to God when things get tough?).  We also know that this “abundance” could transform into challenge or need tomorrow, and so we pray that we can steward this season and the resources we have now to be fruitful and prepared for whatever may come next.  Our one goal is that God will be glorified!

After all, we have so many brothers and sisters in other parts of the world whose faith and faithfulness makes ours look like life in a dollhouse!  People are loosing their lives, their families, their homes, their sanity . . . these are such difficult days we live in!  So what does it look like for us to be faithful here, in the neighborhood in which we live, which is relatively safe, but with just as much desparate need, especially spiritual need!

We have an opportunity to visit Romania again in a few weeks!  How we hope we can use our brief time there well!  May we use our brief time on this earth well, too, that others might know our wonderful Father!  Yesterday, M. and I drafted a will, because we want people–especially our children–to know we love them and prepare for their best, even if something happens to us.  That is our prayer in life, too, that we might live so intentionally and beautifully that you would be blessed by us, that you might see through us to the Father who loves us and offered us–and you!–abundant life through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus!

Ok, dirty bathrooms, a grocery list, a sink full of dishes, and life in general awaits!  Off I go, back into reality!  But may the reality of my heart bleed through these words and point you to the God who has been faithful in my need, faithful in my abundance, faithful in my desparate times, and faithful in the wee hours of my most sleepless weeks!  He is good, no matter what our mainstream news or Main Street morals publish in the press!  We bless you in the Name of Jesus!

Thanksgiving Culture

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today has been an interesting day of enjoying my favorite holiday. We had great family time this morning, thanking the Lord for all His goodness. We gatherered with nearly fifty relatives at lunch time, and then we have had a quiet afternoon at home while our children nap.

I have several thoughts to share before our children awake…

– This morning, as I was listening in prayer, it seemed to me that the Lord suggested I give up the blog for a season. I am thinking about it and praying about it, but it might be time. I will let you know.

– I had and heard a couple of conversations today that made me think about the differences of cultures and perspective. One young man from South Africa was praising the positive differences of life in the USA compared to corruption in his culture. Another young lady was describing the highlights of her urban, young-professional life. Both saddened my heart as I thought about the evil and corruption that exists in every country and culture, including in the USA, and as I thought about how we prioritize things that really matter so little in the grand scheme of things. I really live counter-cultural even in my “home” country, even among my family, because of the things Jesus is doing in my heart. I do not have all the answers, but I certainly feel the culture shock of being different than the culture around me.

-M. and I are trying to cultivate a culture of thanksgiving and gratitude in our lives and in our family. I was explaining to my daughter today as it snowed that even if every snowflake represented one of God’s blessings to us, they would never come close to representing all the things for which we owe Him thanks! We are very thankful for so many people and things and experiences!

We are praying for you! Please let us know how we can pray for you, specifically. M. and I re-attended a marriage seminar last weekend that had impacted us a couple of years ago, and it refreshed our passion for strong marriages and families, as well as for Christ to have His way in our short lives on this earth. We have a list of struggling marriages we are praying for, and we are eager to watch God work in those and in other difficult situations that we know many of you are facing. We bless you in the Name of Jesus! Happy Thanksgiving, and Happy Advent!

(If you do not know what Advent is and are a little jaded by the commercialism of Christmas in the USA, look in to Advent. I think we are going to celebrate Advent very intentionally in our family this year. Join us!)

Until Interruption…

Location: Our bedroom, Indianapolis, October 24th, 4:28pm.

I’m typing on borrowed time as a neighbor dropped in to visit with M. and E., and H. is napping in the children’s room.

Life is VERY good, and I wanted to tell you about it, so I will type until I get interrupted!  Besides, you are probably growing restless with my blog-silence!

We dropped in to the zoo today; always a great treat for our children!  They are so much fun, and we are trying to enjoy every moment with them!  This fall has been beautiful, and on my days off (like today), we try to enjoy the autumn as a family!

Last Saturday, my wife gave me a special treat . . . she helped me get away for nearly 5 hours by myself!  This was quiet devotional time, one-on-one with the Lord, for which I had been thirsting for quite some time!  In fact, I do not think I had enjoyed any length of alone time (outside of working or sleeping) since H. was born more than two years ago!  What a refreshing time I had with my Father in a local wooded park, equipped with my journal and a Bible!

Speaking of two years, our children are sleeping better finally; THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!  We feel like a new man and a new woman thanks to the little bit of rest we are starting to get!  Hallelujah!

One of the burdens we are praying about is about eight marriages around us that are falling apart.  By the grace of God, we rejoice that our marriage is beautiful and so much fun, but we are devastated by the situations that so many loved ones are facing!  One the other hand, we are thrilled to help our church host a marriage event next month, and we already have a lot of interest for it!  We see God at work in marriages and families all around the globe; after all, what better way to get to know the intricacies of God than to learn to love one another in family relationships?

We also had the privilage of visiting with some missionaries to Romania who are currently in the USA, and last night we heard via email from some long-lost friends I had met in France several years ago.  Today I called another friend by accident; again a friend with whom I have not been in touch recently.  Oh, and I had a bit of an abreviated conversation last weekend with a good friend from college with whom I had all but lost touch for probably a year or more.

Life has been busy as usual, though we are intentionally trying to rest more.  We continue German folk-dancing once a week, but other than that, we do not have regular evening activities.  I am also completing a three-month transition at my work from a position working with residents with advanced dementia, to a new position that will include more aspects of safety oversight in the organization.  The transition has been grueling, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the new position will be a blessing in many respects.

We have been challenged greatly by the world events reported in the news, and our prayer life continues to grow.  We are not only enjoying deeping prayer as a couple, but also in a morning prayer group, and we also have a lively small group that meets in our apartment.  We strongly recommend all three types of fellowship with God and with other believers in your own life.  You will not remain the same!

Meanwhile, privately, the Lord is working on several aspects of our own lives, and especially teaching us new things about such as generosity, rest, and the Spirit-led life.  Sometimes we learn through groanings and trial, other times more pleasantly through the Bible or sermon, but we are certainly being prepared for whatever lies ahead.  Today we failed in some of the paperwork we tried to complete, but we are still working toward a season of life back in Romania, waiting for that opportunity while redeeming our time here for the glory of the Lord.

We are thrilled that the Lord is working so powerfully in our family, in His Church, and in every part of the world.  The problem is that we want to be involved in so much of it, and we have to quiet our hearts and listen carefully to His leading so that we will be right in the center of His will, ready for whatever He asks of us.  We were challenged recently by our pastor who dared us to ask the questions: “Do the people around me feel loved by me?” and “Does God feel loved by me?”  I am afraid that many of you would answer that question far differently than I would hope; thus we are prayerfully considering how our Christ’s love can be more genuine, more visible, and more fruitful in us.  We want our friends and family and even enemies to feel valued by the love of Jesus at work in us.  My wife does that so beautifully with her friends and with the neighbors especially!  Not to mention her husband and children!  She is an inspiration to me!  But we both desire to more effectively love you and the other people the Lord has put in our lives!  As a natural networker, it has been an embarrassing struggle for me to have dropped out of contact with so many people I care about and to watch my inbox gather emails by the hundreds and my blog lie dormant until it gathers dust!  We look forward to constantly improving our investments in relationships!

In fact, my wife recently began getting together with another local gal from Romania, who even spent some time at my wife’s high school growing up (different years)!  Small world, huh!

So God is good, blessing us, challenging us, and glorifying His Name, we pray!

Oops, I think I hear my interruption!  We also have dinner guests arriving soon!  Hopefully we can post more pictures before too long, but hope you enjoy a quick update!  May God get the glory!  He sure is good to us, and He has brought us through some challanging times!

We bless you in the Name of Jesus!

Son Wanted to Say Hi, Too

The Missing Photo

Here’s the photo I had tried to attach to the previous post!  Smiles at the Indiana State Fair after German-Folk Dancing performance.

 

August Update

Location: In my pyjamas at home in Indianapolis, at 3:20pm on Friday the 22nd of August.

For some reason, I am having trouble adding a photograph to this post, so I apologize if there is no picture by the time this is finished.  I also sigh, recognizing that it has been nearly a month since I last wrote.  I have had so many urges to write, but listen to what kind of things have kept me from so doing.

Today is the birthday of two people that we love–one nearby and one in Spain; happy birthday!

M. got her US driver’s license!  How exciting!  She has been doing well, and it has definitely been a help to the family to have two drivers!

Not only did we visit the State Fair (a first for three out of four of us in the family), but M. and I performed there.  I think I mentioned that we have been doing German folk-dancing.  We have participated in a couple of performances, and we have some more coming up soon.

I began a new job at the same place of employment.  I am excited about the opportunities that will bring, but for now, I have been stretched to fulfill multiple roles until we are able to hire my replacement.

Our church involvement continues, and we have celebrated with several people and families we know inside and outside the church who have recently been married or welcomed a baby into their family.

 We have had the sad honor of praying with and providing support for two dear couples we know whose marriages are struggling.  Please pray for these couples!

All four of us have been sick this past week, which has not been a fun way to relax!  That is why I am in my pyjamas.

We have been watching the events of the world unfold as all of Creation groans for the justice of our Almighty God.

 We have been carried along by the grace of our Lord in our own marriage, in parenting, in friendships, in ministry, and especially in prayer and our spiritual lives. The Lord continues to teach us and bless us, to provide for us, to mature us, and to reveal His glory.  May His Name be praised!

M. and I were especially challenged recently when we listened to Joni Eareckson Tada in a message from 2013: https://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/revive-our-hearts/squeezing-lemon/.  It was about becoming more intimate with Jesus while pesevering through pain.

Well, I have a lot of profond thoughts, but I also have two children that woke up from their naps, and I have to get rid of this illness enough to go to work tomorrow morning.  Thanks for all your prayers.  Thanks for celebrating with us.  Thanks for your love!  We look forward to staying in touch with you, and hopefully more often than once a month!