Free Books!

Like to read? Books are good, free books are better!

Some friends of ours have started up a new blog called "Bookaway", designed to be an online book exchange of sorts.

If you'd like a free book, or if you have books to give away, visit this site to check it out.

Bookaway!

Wine Country Getaway - Photo Blog

Last weekend, we headed to Napa for a couple days with friends. Though the getaway wasn't intended as a Valentine's celebration, it worked out as a happy coincidence. This was our friends' first visit to Napa, so the hubbo and I enjoyed the opportunity to show off a few of our favorite finds, as well as discover a few new ones together.


The first night we enjoyed dinner at a great Italian restaurant in downtown Napa. It was one of those places with pictures all over the wall, and a waiter that was really excited to hand-grate the parmesan cheese on your food. The atmosphere was enhanced by live music, an incredibly talented guitar player occasionally joined by a female vocalist.


Following dinner, we headed over to Silo's, the only nightlife in town. This was a cool jazz lounge, with more live music - this time, an incredibly talented pianist. Who knew there was such great music to be found in wine country?


The next morning, we went on the tour at the Beringer estate, the longest operating winery in California. Isn't this beautiful? The original Beringers built this beautiful home for $28,000:


Inside the Beringer caves:


Friday afternoon, we headed to the Culinary Institute of America for a cooking demonstration. The teaching chef demonstrated a recipe for couer de creme with raspberry sauce. I'm sure I could be gourmet too, with a kitchen like this!




Happy Valentine's Day!

Church Homeless

And, so it begins.

After last week's farewell, we are now officially church-shoppers. (I say that, because that's the only term I know to use. We're not actually planning on purchasing a church. I suppose the other terms could be church-homeless, church-first-time-visitoring, or seeking a church-forever-family)

We don't expect to settle into a place right away, but are actually looking forward to the opportunity to see what many of the other churches in the area are doing (especially from a variety of traditions/denominations). I hope to write a little something from each of our visits. (I'm including a couple website pics here, to give you a feel for things)

In any case, this morning, the hubbo and I went to visit a new place of worship. Today, we went to a church called The Creek, a congregation that Hillside Covenant planted about ten years ago. We had been invited by friends, and it was nice to see familiar faces when we walked through the doors.

I appreciated that the greeters were friendly and helpful, but not obnoxious. When things got started, we climbed the stairs to enter the theater where the service is held (the church meets in a local high school). It was a cool location, though not necessarily conducive to a sense of community - you really can't see anyone you're worshipping with, besides whoever happens to be onstage.

I really liked the atmosphere - comfortable, friendly, respectful. The services (as well as their plans for the year) are obviously well thought-through, with many elements that create a meaningful whole. I knew about half of the worship songs (the ones I knew were mostly Crowder, yay!) and really enjoyed the drumming of the djembe player (I think he's from Ghana? ), but due to either poor acoustics or low participation I didn't hear anyone from the 'audience' singing.

The pastor was friendly and a good speaker, I thought. He talked a lot about "incarnation", that is, living out the mission of the church in our every day lives. Unfortunately, I missed part of the sermon due to a severe cough attack, when I ran out to get a cough drop and some tea. When I came back, the pastor had brought up a couple people to interview about how they live out their faith in their workplaces. He followed that up with a video clip, and a few applicable verses to keep in mind.

The whole service was very accessible, and really pointed towards identity (both personally and corporately) in Christ. Based on various announcements or reports sprinkled throughout the service, I trust that this is a church that is actively living out their beliefs, and are making a notable impact on their community.

I would definitely be interested in visiting again.

Next Sunday, we'll be driving all day on our way up to Portland, OR. Perhaps we can find a church with a Saturday evening service to visit before we leave. Any recommendations?

What just happened?

I'm sooooooo curious if anyone knows how to explain this:

(an extraordinary spike in page views to this blog yesterday)



If any of you know how I can figure this out, please leave a comment below!

Peace in the Midst

Hello, Friends.

Katherine has been doing a masterful job of keeping everyone up to date on our situation, and I appreciate her efforts greatly. But I thought it was time for me to share a few words of my own with you all.

As I write this, I am sitting at my dining room table, on the verge of my last weekend at Fair Oaks Church. And while there is certainly a measure of sadness and grief in my heart, the overwhelming emotion within me is peace.

Peace because I know that I am loved, first and foremost by our Heavenly Father, but also by the good people of Fair Oaks, the students in the ministry there, and countless friends and family members who have called and e-mailed these past few weeks.

Peace because I sense that the students of Fair Oaks have understood my heart; my passion for God's Word, my commitment to discipleship and spiritual formation, and my desire for them to make their faith their own.

Peace because many of the students have heeded that call. Just this month, the Student Leadership Team (a group of 12 or so high schoolers) decided to meet on their own, without adult prompting, to discuss the future of the ministry after I leave. The result of that meeting was a decision to fast and pray together. And so they did. They met together, fasted for 36 hours, shared life, and prayed for one another and for the ministry. In the face of difficulty, they chose to draw close to the Lord, to seek His face before doing anything else. There is a reason why God chose them to be leaders of this ministry, and I could not be more proud of them.

Peace because God's hand of provision is already on display. Katherine landed a great job in only three weeks of looking in the midst of the worst job market we've ever seen. God is clearly taking care of us.

Peace because I look forward to what's next, whatever that may be. Katherine and I feel pretty sure that a return to full-time school in the fall is the right move. Taking a couple of years out to finish my Seminary degree will give me the break I need from ministry to get well, and it will prepare me for a return to full-time ministry down the road. No matter where the Lord leads us, I am optimistic about this time of healing, reflection, and preparation.

Peace because I have an amazing and godly wife. Katherine is my best friend. She is a woman who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. She yearns for more of Jesus in her life and in the lives of those around her. And she has been so very good to me through my struggles with depression. Her hope, her faith, her belief in me, will me forward when I feel like I can't go on. She reminds me when I forget that God has given me a gift to preach. She supports me, and comforts me, and loves me. I am blessed among men to have Katherine for my wife.

Peace because I trust Jesus. In the past, I have quit jobs for Him. I sold my house for Him. I followed Him all the way around the world. I have held orphans for Him, preached in dirt streets running with sewage for Him, and been insulted for Him. I have had my heart broken for Him more than once. And I would do it all again. He has never steered me wrong, never put me to shame, never abandoned me. And He won't this time either.

Thanks again for all of your warmth, prayers, love, and suport. I promise to try to write more in the days and weeks to come.

Now what?

Thanks to everyone who's responded to my posts on this blog and on facebook.

Many of you have expressed curiousity about what we'll be doing next.

Our plan (as of right now) is for Gary to focus on finishing his seminary education. He's almost halfway through the M. Div. program with Western Seminary. Though he started the coursework several years ago, he's been able to take only one class at a time while working full-time and doing ministry on top of that (not to mention taking a year off to travel the world).

Once he goes back to school full-time, he should be able to finish in about a year and a half. Gary enjoys school quite a bit, and it will be a huge blessing for him to have that done before he gets into ministry again (which we both hope will be in our future, at the right time).

As for me, I'm going back to work to support the family while Gary focuses on school. It's good timing, as I had already been considering the notion of getting a job, for several reasons. And I can definitely see God's hand in this, for He provided me with an amazing job within a couple of weeks of starting to look!

I'll be working as a case manager for the regional center, overseeing the provision of services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The job has great benefits, a beautiful location (Todos Santos Plaza), and I feel that I really hit it off with the supervisor! I start March 2, which means I have the rest of this month to prepare for the transition - get my appointments out of the way, set a new budget, etc.

We are allowed to stay in our home (the parsonage) until September, which means that we've got all summer to figure out our housing before Molly heads off to Africa and Gary starts school in the fall. I'm very thankful for this aspect of stability in our lives right now.

We still have several choices ahead of us, and I don't know yet how all that will come together, but I know that we can take it one step at a time and that's ok.

Breaking the Silence

Ok, time to break the blog silence.

The past month has been extremely chaotic for our family. January 7th, Gary found out that Fair Oaks Church was asking him to resign his position as youth pastor.

This request came from the fact that over the past year, Gary has been fighting depression, and over the past few months that struggle has impacted his effectiveness in ministry. Our church leadership feels that for Gary to step down and focus on beating the depression would be best for him personally and for the ministry as a whole.

At first, I found myself in shock, for I didn't see this coming at all. Over the past few weeks, though, I have found myself grateful for the chance for Gary to be healthy. I believe his depression is beatable, and I am eager to see him enjoy life once more, whatever it takes.

We have received a phenomenal outpouring of love and support from friends and members of the congregation. The number of hugs, encouraging notes, and phone calls has been astounding. We are surrounded by and uplifted in prayer, and I have no doubt that God is continuing to work in our lives in a very real way.

I admire Gary for choosing to be so forthright about his struggles. Depression is not an oft-discussed topic in most churches, which I feel is a shame considering how many people are impacted by it in some way. Since Gary's letter went out to the congregation, countless people have come forward desiring to share their experience of depression in their own or in a loved one's life. I pray that his openness will encourage others in some way.

We appreciate your support and your prayers. We are thankful that through every trial we experience in life, we can know that God is walking us through. We are holding on to the 'peace that transcends understanding', and we know that things are going to be ok.