Merry CHRISTmas

"For the Mighty One has done great things for me: and holy is His name." (Luke 1.40)

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family! We hope and pray that your holiday is one filled with an unsurpassing peace and an abounding joy! We pray that the coming year brings smiles, hugs, laughter and good cheer; for God has done great things and holy is His name.

Where Do Christmas Trees Come From?

Apparently Christmas Trees sprout through the floors of people's living rooms here in Texas. They say everything is bigger and better here in the Lone Star State...including the tree picking process!

About a week ago, Brian and I arrived home from a night at Bill's with our Kairos group to a soft glow in the back corner of our living room. No, we hadn't been visited by aliens, although we did begin to wonder. In fact, a Christmas Tree, lights ornamnets, garland and all, had literally appeared out of thin air in our absence. (Thus the pondering of alien presence in our home!)

There were only two realisitc conclusions one could come to after experiencing such an event... 1. Christmas Trees sprout through the floors of people's living rooms here in Texas - trimmings and all, or 2. Someone had been tracking our every move for months in order to commit a perfectly timed drive-by Christmas Tree deposit.

Ultimately, we are blessed to have parishioners who enjoy spreading Christmas cheer and spirit. Since the appearance of our tree, we have been blessed by the gifting of a variety of beautiful and memorable ornaments from numerous members who have touched our lives in the past 5 months. We pray you also may experience the shock and awe of Christ's action in your lives this Christmas season. That God would send his only Son, born in a manger, made man, only to die for the sins of a lost and fallen world. Amen!

(Disclaimer: We did not purchase this ornament...it was given to us. But, we admit that we have a little chuckle every time we see it.)

Tea Time

This past weekend I was priviledged to act as a co-hostess at our church's Christmas Tea. Thanks to Stephanie, my co-hostess, our table had a wonderful time! Having never been to a Christmas Tea, Stephanie was my window into how the whole thing comes together. If you're like me and have never been to a Christmas Tea before, let me explain what this means...

The Christmas Tea is designed to be an evening of fellowship for women based around hot drinks, yummy desserts, fellowship, and the story of Christmas. This year our church was able to reach out to approximately 350 women from the community! How exciting!

Each year women from the congregation are asked to host a table for 8. This means making a dessert (or buying ones for those who are in a time crunch...or can't bake), decorating a table (dishes, decorations, and inexpensive favors), and being willing to serve those who sit with them. The exciting aspect to this women's event is outreach. Many women invite friends and neighbors who either don't have a church home or may not know Christ as their Savior.

Below I've posted a few pictures. You'll see the table Stephanie and I decorated, the yummy dessert we ate (chocolate cheesecake...mmmm), and the women who sat at our table. Two of whom I didn't previously know, so that was fun!

Stephanie, if you're reading this, thanks again for your hard work and help. We made a superb team and I really enjoyed this opportunity to become closer friends.

Reunited at Last

This past weekend I was priviledged to see my good friend Ryan. We were so happy to see each other that he made the face you see...

He's obviously happy to see you too!

Chili Cook-Off

This past Saturday was the Chili Cook-Off... something we think only exists in the state of Texas. Needless to say, it was a barrel of fun.

We were entertained by a band while tasting 16 different chilis of varying degrees of hot"ness". In order to counter-act the effect from all the chili (which was swirling around in the stomach), tums were placed on every tables so that those in attendance wouldn't pass out, blow up, or run to the bathroom in despair.

Below are only a few picture of the chilis that we preferred. Use the comments link or chatterbox to describe your favorite chili!

Thanks for Coming!!!

Thanks for coming Nora! We had a great time...

Love you!

Getting Off the Mainland

This past weekend we had the pleasure of having Nora, Erin's sister, come to visit! We had an absolute blast hanging out and doing all sorts of fun stuff.

On Monday, we took the day and went down to Galveston Island to relax and do some sight-seeing. Below is a sampling of some of the fun that was had...

We spent time on the beach, collected sea shells, road on a ferry, played in a destroyer and toured a submarine! We also saw all sorts of great wild life. Sorry, not all are pictured, but among those we saw are dolphins, seagulls, pelicans, jellyfish, crabs, snails and shrimp (but Brian ate those!)

Hope you enjoy our little adventure...

Confirmation Continued

Just thought you may enjoy the pictures: a picture of me and my birthday buddies (we had to line up according to birthday...25th is me, they are 24th and 26th), a small group attempting to walk on trollies during a small group buiding activity, and an adult leader who's willing to get active with his students.

Who Do You Rub Shoulders With?

This past weekend was the Confirmation Retreat; a weekend away at Camp Lone Star to study Holy Baptism in detail. The pictures below show the first activity of the day. John, our DCE (Director of Christian Education), split the 96 people into four groups. He then asked them to open up all the newspapers so that everyone could scan them quickly. When everyone was ready...the competition began (a little competition is never a bad thing). John asked people to find an article of theft...murder...Islam...poverty...environmental issues...etc. The first team to find such an article received a point. This continued until a team had 7 points.

Immediately following the completion of the game, John asked each team to crumble up each piece of paper so that we could have a paper bomb war. Each team diligently wadded up paper and poised themselves for battle. John blew the whistle and off it went. Newspaper everywhere, the sin of our world tossed with real force through the air. It was a sight to see.

When the game had ended, John asked everybody to look at their hands. Stained with newsprint!! He made the point that rubbing shoulders with culture can rub off. We are to be in the world...not of it. In baptism, God sets us apart and calls us to live as fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. In baptism, God wipes away the stain!

Creative Costumes

Here's a quick look at some of the fun that was had at Trunk or Treat outside of our wonderful whale (see post below).



Everyone really got creative with costumes and booths. As you can see there were angels, cats, carebears, fish, candycorn, and more!

What were you for Halloween?

Jonah & the Whale

Christ the King hosts an event on Halloween Eve called Trunk or Treat. The idea is congregation members decorate their cars with a family friendly theme (i.e. no ghosts or goblins) and pass candy out to kids from their trunks. It's their way of providing an alternative to trick or treating door to door with and letting a bunch of strangers give your children candy.

Our Kairos group decided we would make a whale out of a car... a huge tail on the front bumper, a spout on the roof, a big pink tounge in the trunk with Jonah inside... pretty clever, eh? We thought so!

Anyhow, much to our dismay the 31st of October brought a torrental downpour and the whole event was moved inside. Good that the event would still happen, sad for our whale. Instead of a big fat whale (a car), we ended up with a somewhat puny little whale (a church table). But life goes on and we had a good time. We even had a little fishing pond for kids to "fish" in!

Hope you enjoy the pics!

Bar-b-que

Now that we're in Texas, we've come to realize that bar-b-que means something very different than what we thought. What does Bar-b-que mean where you are? This Saturday, I have the priviledge of attending a 14 hour Texas (the real bar-b-que...so I'm told) bar-b-que session. I'll make sure to get pictures for ya'll.

We'd Like You to Meet...Part 1

We've decided that it's important for you to meet some of our friends and colleagues so that you know who we may be talking about. A face with a name is always a good thing. So, below are our friends the Lexows. Chuck (Dad) is an oil guru and Tamara (Mom) is the director of Middle School Ministries at Christ the King. Shelby (the older of the two) and Seth rule the house. Chuck and Tamara have been incredible friends who have made us feel welcome and normal. We've enjoyed many a night of games and movies. They're pleased to meet you.

Picnic

There is nothing like the church picnic. I remember growing up and having potluck with the whole church. I thought this was heaven...everybody brings something they really enjoy and I get to eat it. Yeah, baby! I distinctly remember the green beans with onions on top, KFC, and of course, orange/red drink.

This past Sunday was the church picnic and while there was no potluck, there was enough Bar-b-que (we are in Texas, after all) for all who attended. There were plenty of games and activities for the children, plenty of meat for the men, and nothing but blue sky for all. Enjoy the pictures. (See post below for Brian in the dunk tank)

Feeling Wet???

Yes, it's the middle of October, but as you can see, Brian had the distinct pleasure of doning his swim trunks and climbing into a dunk tank this past Sunday. We realize that where you are this seems like cruel and unusual punishment and, well, it probably is, but that's church work! (Or at least that's what his colleagues have told him.) Thankfully it was a balmy 85 degrees outside and the sun was beating down on the red tank of doom. Kids of all ages lined up to play "Dunk Vicar Boy" and had a blast... We think Brian may have enjoyed it a bit too. The verdict is still out on that one...

A New Sort-A House Bug

Below is our friendly, yet shockingly quick, chameleon. There are plenty in this area of the country. We've been told that they're good to have in the house because they eat mosquitos and spiders. That's little comfort when a lizard, which camouflages itself regularly (the ones outside have even picked up the brick look), is running about on the floor. We should name it...any ideas?

Don't you think he's super cute? We certainly do!

Our Core Group

We would like to introduce you to our core group. The students in this picture are members of the high school program at Christ the King. Part of the program is small groups; a place where they can talk about the highlights and lowlights of their weeks and a place where they can openly talk about faith struggles. Erin and I are looking forward to our time together. Please pray for these students as they interact in a world that is far from Christ centered.

Vicar Boy

Brian gave his first official vicarage sermon this past Sunday. The topic for the weekend, "Love is Patient." It went really well and he has received wonderful feedback from both the staff and the congregation. It shall remain to be seen if his new vicarage title will be "Vicar Boy." You'll have to ask him about that one...

He also helped lead worship by being a part of the worship band. Hope you enjoy the pics!

What does the name Rita mean to you?

You've probably seen the pictures...traffic jams, houses destoryed, streets deserted, flood waters rising, "Out of Gasoline" signs... but let us tell you about our journey with a hurricane named Rita...

Tuesday, September 20th: We learn that a hurricane just might be headed our way. We are advised to fill up on gasoline just in case. After finding one gas station out of gas already, Erin sits in line for half an hour at another while panic sets in. People are angry because your line is in their way, they're frustrated because the person at the pump is filling up a gas can, too, they make hand jestures at each other that don't need to be repeated. We're all in this together, right?

Wednesday, September 21st: A category 5 hurricane is definitely headed our way. Houston sits right smack dab in the middle of the dreaded "cone of uncertainty." We hit the grocery stores to find the shelves scraped clean of almost every nonperishible item they once held. We gather some canned green beans, mixed tropical fruit, apples and Propel water (which if you're wondering, we found the strawberry-kiwi flavor isn't bad!) No such luck finding a flashlight, batteries, and other items for hunkering down. People have reverted back to pushing and shoving, jumping in line, it's mass chaos... and this causes us to feel stress. In bed that night we say to each other, "It's like the movie Armageddon... As if the end of the world is coming tomorrow and their is nothing we can do to stop it, so we'll just try to get some sleep so we'll be awake when it happens."

Thursday, September 22nd: The associate pastor has invited us to evacuate with his family to a town near Dallas. We look at our belongings and decide which items are irreplacible and imperitive for us to have on our person should we come back to nothing. What a sobering experience that was! After some futher discussion, it's decided that we should head to San Antonio to stay with Kari instead. As we learn more about hurricanes, we are told that to be on the west side means to be on the "safe" side. Pastor Al gives us back road directions in an effort to avoid the wall to wall traffic along I-10, the main road to San Antonio. Despite contraflow lanes being opened, people are moving nowhere. We depart at about 11:30 a.m. Half an hour later we're still in Kingwood. We aren't getting anywhere fast. With the windows rolled down to save gas and temperatures hitting record highs of 100 fehrenheit not counting humidity, we trudge our way west accross Texas averaging 10 mph. 10 hours and surprisingly only half a tank of gas later (it's amazing how far you can go when you don't have to press down on the gas pedal), we find ourselves just outside of Giddings, TX. We've seen cars out of gas, engines overheat, animals left on the side of the road to die. Despite trying to keep ourselves hydrated, we have yet had the need to use the restroom. It's 9:30 p.m. and we're ready to be done. Pastor Al's parents live in Giddings and low and behold they would love to have us stay with them. Curtis and Ruth Doering become our angels and take care of us as if we were their own grandchildren.

Friday, September 23rd: We wait... and get to visit the Wendish Museum just outside of Giddings. The Wendish people are strikingly similar to our Slovak friends. We think that's great! The Texas Department of Transportation gives us 5 free gallons of gasoline. Yes, free.

Saturday, September 24th: Rita passes Houston to the east leaving Matt and Beth's home virtually untouched. As Kingwood has no power, we make the drive back to Houston, this time in 1 1/2 hours, to stay with Matt and Beth until our home is up and running. Later that evening we are blessed to be able to return to Kingwood... power, water, unspoiled food, everything we had left behind, was waiting for us unscathed. How good God is!

Sunday, September 25th: We worship God with about 350 fellow believers and thank Him for his mercy. Later that afternoon we wish He would show a little more mercy by turning down the thermostat while we're cleaning up the yard. It's another 100+ degree day...

God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good!

The following is a glimpse of the clean-up that awaited us upon our return. I've never seen so many pine needles in my life! Well, maybe on a tree, but not in my driveway. Our measley five "bags-o-fun" were nothing compared to other homes with fifteen or twenty!



By the way, if you're wondering, if God ever blesses us with a little girl, we won't be naming her Rita...

Wedding Blessings

On September 17th, we were blessed to have a wonderful young man join our family ranks. Sara West, Brian's sister, was joined in marriage to Adam Breed. The wedding was wonderful, Sara was beautiful and treasured memories were made by all in attendance. Adam, welcome to the family...Sara, we couldn't be happier for you!

Congratulations Sara and Adam Breed! May God bless you and your marriage as you continue to grow in love with Him and with each other.

"Hang"ing out on Friday night

Take a look at some of the wonderful 20somethings we like to call our friends here at Christ the King...



Last night was our first official "Hang" and we had a blast! For those of you who aren't familiar with "Hang", it is a night set up for 20somethings from the church to gather in a public space and basically just... hang out! The hope is that it's a non-threatening environment in which to not only foster our own relationships, but also bring a friend who may not be connected with a church or know Christ as their personal Savior.

A little background about our setting... Bill's Cafe, it's a place of it's own here in Kingwood. It basically consists of a house and open garage laden with picnic tables and paper towels. Their specialty is burgers, the beer comes in a koozie and their menu reads: "We are working out of the original 1945 kitchen (with a few modifications) so things are a little slower at times due to the high volume of people that we can seat. We're sorry for the wait, but we are not a fast food restaurant chain." And they're serious, too!

There were approximately 17 of us there in all... a humble yet very exciting beginning considering there's usually about 10 or 12 at our regular Kairos time. We've even become international! We can now count two German nationals among our ranks. We pray that this is just the beginning of what we hope will become a fruitful ministry in our area.

Katrina

We're sure that you have heard by now about the serious destruction of Hurricane Katrina. It has affected millions of people both directly and indirectly.

In the wake of that destruction, we in Houston are feeling the effects as thousands of refugees move into the hotels of the greater Houston area. This includes, though not limited to, the Astrodome (which is housing 25,000 people). The faith community of Houston has pledged to feed all the people in the Astrodome for at least one month, though realistically closer to three months. The cost of such a project is 4.5 million dollars per month. It will also require 420 volunteers to help distribute 75,000 meals daily. This is no small task, but the faith community of Houston is up for the challenge.

I had the opportunity to meet with 300 church leaders from all denominations and faiths. The meeting was a plea for monies and volunteers. It was an invaluable, and quite a humbling learning experience to be surrounded by people with the same purpose...to feed the hungry. It's amazing what people can do together when they put their minds to it.

Christ the King is, at present, reaching out to those in need...specifically in our area. The church has put together lunches and dinners for those in hotels in the immediate vicinity. It has also provided its building to be used as a shelter for those who need it. We are providing opportunities for children to come and play while parents take a much needed rest or look for work.

Gas prices are the least of our concerns as we witness the lack of hope in people around us. Pray that God would restore hope and guide his people to be his hands and feet, as we search for ways to provide his love through meals, work opportunities, vacant rooms, and prayers.

May God's spirit move in this place...

The Bagel Hunt

Bagels at last! Houston has proved to have very different breakfast tastes than what we're used to... For every three donut shops there appears to be only one bagel shop. No wonder Houston is the fourth fattest city in the U.S! (At least that's what we're told...) In fact, there is but one bagel shop in all of Kingwood! If you know us well, you know this is a very sad reality.

Today, Friday, August 26th, 2005 marks our first visit to our one lonely bagel shop here in Kingwood. Let's hear it for BAGELS!!!! Hooray! We thuroughly enjoyed our breakfast this morning, though we've found that Brian's Jalepeno Bagel bites back. Yikes!

For all you business types out there... We need more bagels in Kingwood, TX. If you're looking for a place virtually untouched by the glory of the bagel, we've found your spot! We'll even let you live with us until you get you're business off the ground... all we'll ask is a bagel a day for rent!

So, as those of you who reside north of the Texas border enjoy your bagel and spread each morning, please pause to think of us and our deep-fried, sugar-coated, cream-filled donuts.

Times Past and to Come

This past year was my second year of the four-year program. I was more than happy to begin the second year of study. The first year of the Seminary program is a base-laying year upon which the rest of one’s seminary education in built. The second year, then, has been a year of thoughtful insight and challenging theological ideas. Yet, God is faithful to his promise that he will never give you more than you can handle. By taking my academics is stride, I have successfully kept me grade point average high and have gained valuable information for teaching and preaching. Though, as I look back upon this past year, I am dumbfounded by the idea that I have learned much more than academics. It has become clear to me that all the academic information I learn is only learned to serve the church. “How can I serve the church?” has been the question for me this past year. I have worked with diligence to keep this question at the forefront of all classes and extra-circular activities. And to my surprise (though, it shouldn’t be surprising), more than any other thing learned, I have learned to serve Christ and his church.

This leads me to the activity that has held me captive this past year…church music. I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska and have always hoped that God would use my music to serve him and the church. Well, this past year has been full of opportunities to serve through music. I was privileged enough to be a member of the worship band for the “New Directions Mission Conference” put on by LCMS-World Mission. Immediately following the conference I was approached by Lutheran Hour Ministries who sought my interest in a project to musically re-write some hymns from Lutheran Worship. I was overjoyed! A meeting with Mark Eischer, the Executive Producer of the Lutheran Hour, solidified my involvement in the project.

Lutheran Hour Ministries is putting together a special edition of the Lutheran Hour, which will be sent out to our troops overseas via Armed Forces Network (AFN). The demographic was set to be between 18-30, mostly men though not limited to. With this clearly in mind, I re-arranged four hymns for a rock band: “On Jordan’s Bank the Baptist’s Cry,” “What a Friend We Have in Jesus,” “Lord of Glory, You Have Bought Us” and “Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord.” I have spent the last couple of months working with a band in a recording studio so that the songs may be available for the Lutheran Hour at the end of the summer. It is my hope that the music speaks mightily to our armed forces and that the church is able to use the music as another tool to reach people for Christ. The arrangements will be copyrighted and then made available to churches that possess a CCLI license. What a blessing these past couple of months have been. I was even blessed enough to appear on a Christian radio station here in St. Louis as a part of these projects.

All that aside, Erin and I are headed off to vicarage in early August. We will be serving Christ the King Lutheran Church in Kingwood, Texas for the next year. Kingwood is located to the northeast of Houston. While Houstonians would consider Kingwood a suburb, those living in Kingwood assure us that they are not. If you have access to the Internet, you can check out the church’s website at www.christ4u.net. Christ the King has many ministries and opportunities to learn. Erin and I are looking forward to our time there. At present, I will be in charge of Kairos, a twenty-something ministry that meets on a weekly basis for worship and bible study. Outside of that responsibility I know very little about what I will be doing.

The only thing I do know, God continues to be faithful in spite of my shortcomings. Looking forward to what is to come.

WOW!

You know...it's interesting...I never thought I would have the wisdom and knowledge to have a website. But I do.