A Merry Christmas Wish...

From the tops of our heads to the tips of our toes... or, in this case, reindeer!

Prayer Walk

This past Sunday Brian led 705: on a prayer walk through the city of Houston. We made stops in a variety of areas throughout the city focusing our prayers on the people God has placed in our paths.

While in and amongst the highrises we prayed for those who commute in and out of the city each day and occupy the offices downtown and those who call the streets home. In the theater district we praised God for creativity and the gifts and talents of his people. Standing on the overpass of a major interstate we prayed for those in the cars traveling to and from places unknown. We asked God's blessing upon each of the house communities that are currently meeting around the Houston area, 3 in all.

Our cry is that God would use 705: to infect and affect the city for Him. As we try to maintain that focus, we must focus our eyes, ears, thoughts and words on the calling of the Spirit in each of our lives. Is He calling to you?

The Frozen Tundra

This past weekend I (brian) was blessed to travel from the winter weather in Houston to the Twin Cities...and the frozen tundra. I mean seriously, when I left H-town it was 75 degrees and when I arrived in Minneapolis/St. Paul is was 17! Yeah, I couldn't feel my face. For those of you who now live in a warm climate...I'm sure you know what I mean.

I was honored to share in an amazing day with a close friend of ours, Matt Blackford. It was a day that he would commit his life to Amy and I was honored to sing a couple of songs for that amazing moment. But the wedding was not the only thing that I did while in the North.

Weddings can be expensive. But, Matt and Amy had found me a host family to stay with. How can I say this...they were awesome! As soon as I arrived in the Twin Cities, Tom and Patti picked me up from the airport and gave me a quick tour of the St. Paul area. We quickly returned to their house and I was able to find some extra clothes (I know what many of you are thinking...and you're absolutely right...I'm a wuss). After about 20 minutes Tom, who is about 6'3" and 240, laid his big paw of a hand and said, "Pastor, we're going to a wine tasting and you're coming!" Now, I was happy to oblige. We went to a quaint little store and tried several wines(eight in all), and left with a couple for the evening. As we were leaving the wine house, Tom laid his big paw of a hand again on my shoulder and said, "Pastor, have you ever had oysters?" "No" I replied. "Well, we're havin' oysters and you're havin' some." Alright, now I don't know how many of you have ever had oysters...but I put a number of them down, and right out of the half shell (for those of you who've never had the joy...think wet mushroom that tastes like the sea), but of course that came with another bottle of wine. Then, dinner was to start. Another couple came over and wouldn't you know it...they brought wine. We had oyster stew and several bottles of wine. Needless to say, I felt like I was in Europe once again! Tom and Patti were incredible hosts are the epitome of Hebrews 13.3 which says, "Do not neglect to entertain strangers..." To Tom and Patti...THANK YOU!

I was also able to visit with some very dear friends, Josh and Gail Brecht. I traveled with Gail for a year in a Christian rock band. We haven't seen each other in probably 4 years. As a musician, every once in a while you come across someone and you think, "yeah, she's got it." Well that's Gail and her husband Josh. They've since started a band called Fuller Still. If you have a chance, check them out. Much love to you both.

Below are the pictures from the weekend. I hope you enjoy!

Trot before Turkey

Thanksgiving was here before we knew it this year. Time flies when you're growing babies and ministries!

We were blessed by the opportunity to give thanks with the Waterman clan (sans Kelly... sorry). The day started bright and early with Houston's Turkey Trot. It was a beautiful, brisk, 40 degree day (brrrrr) for a run. Brian and Kari ran the 10K, Dave ran the 5K, Erin stood on the sidelines freezing waiting for them to run by, and Sherry stayed home to prepare the day's spread.

The meal and conversation were fantastic. It's always good to get caught up with friends. Thank you Waterman's for being such fantastic hosts and making us feel at home. It was truly a Thanksgiving to be thankful for!

One other fantastically exciting note on our Thanksgiving day... Erin's older sister Alison announced that she and her husband Russell are expecting twins! Please keep the four of them in your prayers as they are in quite the year of transition.

Speaking of babies... For those of you who were aware Brian's siter Sara and her husband were expecting a wee one, yes, he's here. You too can view our nephew Isaac on Sara and Adam's blog. (see link on right)

So, below are a few trotting and turkeying pics for you!

Well, friends...we have made another trip in the wonderful state of Texas. That's right, we actually got out of Houston and headed to the State Captial. Does everyone know where that is?? All you Texans aren't allowed to answer.

Brian was asked to preach at Concordia University, Austin at their 9.08 chapel. It's a student led chapel held on thursday evenings at, you guessed it, 9.08. We were invited by Ted Doering (the son of our Senior Pastor), who has become a close friend. It was a joy to visit with him, eat at Pei Wei, and enjoy the tea at Mozarts. As a part of preaching, Brian was asked if he would lead the worship team. He, of course, was overjoyed to play...go figure, Brian overjoyed that he gets to play music. Who would have thought? The worship team was awesome and they all did well. It was fun for Brian to be able to mentor others in service to the church. Kudos to everyone involved.

For those of you who are reading and attended another Concordia (you know, the one in the corn field), it's still the best. For those of you who didn't attend Concordia Cornfield, we're sorry. Someday everyone will realize that Seward is the place to be...unless it's Friday! Anyway, we really did enjoy our time. It was unfortunate, but we weren't able to stay more than one night and missed our opportunity to be tourists in Ausitn. We did drive by the state capital building. We're hoping to get back soon and spend some more time there.

Just as a ps, we want to thank Nate and Mindy for opening their home. It was awesome to see you three. Much love and peace.

Getting ready for baby...

This post has been a long time in coming. With life in fast forward, I'm not posting as punctually as I should be. Sorry! Fasten your seatbelts, because you're in for a ride. Check back over the next few days as we'll put some new info on our adventures out there for you. We don't want to overwhelm you all at once!

In early November, we made a trip up to St. Louis for the wedding of Meghan and Tim Yang (see post below). Unbeknownst to me (Erin) my sister, Nora, and mom planned a surprise baby shower for baby and I while we were there! It was certainly a surprise and an enjoyable time as well. Thanks Mom and Nora!

As I was actively participating in the shower itself, I don't have any action shots. What I do have is the picture you see below...



This is a picture not only of the switchplate that matches the super cute bedding set we registered for, but also of an expertly painted wall. Brian and a good friend tackled the nursery a few weeks back and came out unscathed (minus being slightly effected by the fumes). The result a gold buff nursery that we are very pleased with. We'll get full nursery pics out once the crib, bedding and all that other good stuff is in place. It currently still serves as a guest bedroom.

As a side note, for those of you who are lacking a true Fall as we are here in Texas, I'll share a few photos we snapped while in STL. Ah, the colors on the trees are so refreshing...

A St. Louis Wedding

We made a trip to St. Louis this past weekend for the wedding of Meghan and Tim, friends of ours from our church community here in Houston. We were blessed to be able to attend the wedding (all while seeing family who live in St. Louis...we love you guys) and Brian did the wedding. That's right, it was the first official wedding performend by the new pastor, and as far as we know, they are married. Everything was signed, nobody passed out, they said "I do"...so, we think it took.

A perk to the wedding was the reception. I know what you are thinkng, "isn't that the perk of most weddings?" Well, yes...but this reception was held in Busch Stadium!!! In fact, you almost forgot that you were in the stadium until you went into the restroom (there's only so many places with that many toliets lined along the wall). It was awesome...their pictures were on the jumbotron for all the city to see. We ate toasted raviolli (it's a St. Louis thing...if you've never had it...you need to), spring rolls made by Tim's mom and Grandma's risotto. Need we say more??

The pictures are for your enjoyment! There will be more to come about our time in St. Louis...

24 Weeks and Counting...

Just for the record, I'm totally caving in to the "online peer pressure"! :) After many a request, here is the much hearalded "bump" picture. Yes, there really is a cute little baby growing inside of me...

Baby and I had a doctor's appointment today and all checks out well. Baby's growing... and so am I... thus the "bump"!

Enjoy!

Under the Boardwalk

So we decided to take the afternoon to ourselves. And what better to do then go see the bay. Now, for a number of you, the days are slowly getting colder (we're jealous, by the way), but here in Southern Texas the days are still warm (when we say warm we mean in the 90's). So, with the afternoon off, we decided to drive down to Kemah, Texas.

Kemah lies right on the edge of Galveston Bay. For those of you who don't know, Galveston Bay is rather unique since it is both fresh water (the San Jacinto and Trinity River, plus the ship channel via the Buffalo Bayou) and salt water (the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean). The Bay has some of the best shrimp in the US, and at the right time of year, one can see dolphins swimming out front of boat.

Well, a number of years back, someone decided to renovate Kemah and create a boardwalk; complete with Amusement rides, restaurants, shops and plenty of seagulls. We spent a quite afternoon enjoying the ships as they came in from the bay, pelicans flying to and fro, and little kids playing in the water fountain (yes, Brian jumped in as well). We had dinner at a small Mexican restaurant on the bay (which we barely ate any of...the portions were huge) and then headed home, but not before stopping by NASA. We didn't have time to visit Johnson Space Center but we saw it from our car. There's always next time.

Enjoy the photos!

Look Out World!

If a picture is worth 1000 words, then there aren't enough words in any language for the picture of God's creative power in new life. Enjoy.

A Whacky Place

For those of you who don't live in Texas...there is something you must learn. You are either an Aggie or a Longhorn.

In the state of Texas, two schools rule college football (my apologies to those of you reading who went to Tech, TCU, Baylor, etc): the Texas Longhorns or the Texas A&M Aggies. There is no love expressed between these two teams. Allow us to illustrate. Brian grew up in the lovely state of Colorado, where he quickly became a Buff's fan (much to the chagrin of his parents who are die hard Cornhusker fans...or to his sister who is now a student at Colorado State University...sorry Megs). Now, one was either a Buff's fan or a Rams fan (CSU) and you didn't like it when the other team won. Now, there were exceptions to that rule...say when the Buff's played in the National Championship...then Rams fans cheered along for the other school from their state.

Not so here in Texas. When the Texas Longhorns played in the National Championship two years ago, Aggie fans routed for none other than the Trojans (USC). There is no love.

Well, this past weekend we were "blessed" to be in College Station (home of A&M) for a retreat. Many of those involved in the ministry downtown are graduates of this fine institution. For them...it was like returning to Mecca...most got misty eyed as we walked by the graves of Reveille I-VI, and became giddy at the obligatory howdy. A&M is a unique place...unlike most campus' we have been to; filled with all sorts of tradition carried into the world by its huge alumni. To A&M...we must give a whoop!

The Beacon and Eggs

Friends, we have to share with you one of the most thrilling experiences since arriving in Houston. This morning we were able to be a part of Beacon and Eggs. No, we haven't forgotten how to spell!

The Beacon is an outreach program run by the Episcopal Church for the homeless around the city of Houston. Chris Kennedy, who was the vicar at Christ the King last year, began to work with this incredible ministry. The beacon is open only on the weekends (one of the few who are) and serves lunch for about 500 people. Those who come to the beacon have the opportunity to launder their clothes and can take a shower. It is amazing to see what a church can do when they put their hearts and souls into it. The community in the city with which we are part, volunteers their time to help serve lunch, launder clothing, wash dishes, bus tables, pick up trash, etc. Pretty much whatever they need. For three hours we get to serve those society has cast aside. God is good and this morning we were reminded that we are extremely blessed.

Before heading over to the Beacon, we went to our dear friends Andy and Lanetta's loft for eggs and biscuits (ah, Brian loves the South). It was a great time for our city community to spend time together and then to serve those less fortunate. We are looking forward to our next trip to the beacon this Labor Day...they are hurting for volunteers since most people want to spend their Labor Day with friends and family grilling the burgers and brats. We'll be spending ours with the homeless of Houston.

Go salt the earth!!

Our New Home

Well, we have officially been living in Houston, TX a week. In many ways the week has both flown by and crawled at the same time. We've spent a lot of our time simply recouping from the craziness of the move.

For those of you who don't know, we bought a three story townhouse in downtown Houston. Alright, it's actually in a part of town called Mid-town, which if you ask true Houstonians, would tell you that it's NOT actually in downtown. For those of you who have ever been to New York City...think uptown and downtown: it's the city. We know that some of you have been worried about our safety living in such an urban area, but we assure you that we live in a very safe neighborhood. In fact, we've been getting to know our neighbors...most are involved in business. So when they ask what it is Brian does and he replies, "I'm a pastor." They simply exclaim "OH...wow...that's interesting." The subject usually changes rather quick...or they apologize for the profanity they were using.

Anyway, the house is a three story townhouse with three bedrooms and three full baths. The second level (the living, dining and kitchen) is entirely hardwood floors. We are especially thankful to have a washer and dryer so readily available. For the past couple of years, Erin's parents have been kind enough to allow us to use theirs. It will be nice to have our own so that we can wash all the baby's clothes. YEP...

Erin is pregnant and due in mid February. We are both overjoyed and humbled that God has blessed us with the opportunity to raise children to serve Him. We can't wait to see what God has in store for this child of His. As pictures arrive, we will make sure to get them up so that you can see. Also, many of you have cried out to see the house...well, for now you only get the front door. But don't worry...there are more to come (when the boxes disappear).

A Change of Seasons

Well, the day has finally arrived. It is a day that marks the end of one season and the beginning of a new one. On August 19th, 2007 Brian was officially ordained into the ministry of the Lutheran Church. It has been a long road...a good one...but a long one nevertheless. Brian's days as a student have finally ended (we think...and hope) and he has begun what God has called him to do.

Brian will be serving as an Associate Pastor for Christ the King Lutheran Church in Kingwood, Texas (a Northeast Suburb of Houston). However, Brian's role on staff is to begin a missionary movement in the city of Houston; connecting people through a network of house communities. None of it makes perfect sense yet, but we're following the leading of the Holy Spirit. As soon as the website goes live we'll let y'all know.

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us over the past four years! Those prayers have kept us sane and healthy. It's our prayer that you would know more and more the grace of God found in Jesus.

For those of you waiting for pictures of the house, don't worry they will be up shortly. Below are a couple of pictures of Ordination. Enjoy.

It's Moving Time

Greetings y'all! The time has come. It's hard to believe really. Moving to our first call has always seemed so far down the road. But no longer: we move on Saturday to the lovely state of Texas. Now, for all our friends and family who are worried that we will catch whatever disease it is that forces all people from Texas to exclaim their state better than any other...don't worry. It's nice...but it isn't better than every other state. And for those of you who are worried that we'll turn to the Stro's? Really don't fear...they're worse than we are this year!!!

All things considered, it has been a joy to see the ways that God decides he wants to use His people. Have you thought about how God is using you where you are?

The National Youth Gathering

Well, it's been a long time coming...and it's come and gone. For the past week and a half, we have spent our time in Orlando, FL volunteering our time for the High School youth of our church.

Brian has been working since November of 2005 on the Mass Events planning team. He along with four others were responsible for the content of the Monday night Mass Event. This is when all 25,000 Youth get together and rock out the Orange County Convention Center. You can imagine the amount of time that it takes to plan 75 minutes of high energy programming for 25,000 youth. Needless to say, but the event went incredibly well. The theme for the night: "What's on YOUR card?" When someone is chosen in Christ, it changes everything about their life...including dirtly little secrets (check out the video by the All American Rejects @ itunes). The answer to what's on one's card? Nothing! Because of what Christ has done for us on the cross. At one point, the emcee's for the night asked what's on your card and 25,000 youth screemed back in reply NOTHING! It was pretty powerful. To be sure, it was long days and short nights.

Erin has been working for the Registration office for the past year. It's an incredible job! She, along with two others, are responsible for housing every person who attends the gathering...including adults and volunteers. It's a detail job: not something Brian could do!!! When in Orlando, Erin is responsible for checking in each congregation and the oversight of backpack stuffing. That's right, people must stuff 25,000 backpacks with Bibles and gathering books. Awesome right? It's a good time.

All in all, the gathering was a success. God's Spirit was certainly working and touched the lives of youth from across the world. Thanks to you who have kept us in your prayers and thoughts. Enjoy some of the photos.

A Little Jaunt in England

As many of you know, Erin and I will soon be heading to Texas. But before we could there...we were privileged to attend a conference in Sheffield, England with two of our close friends David and Ally Saxe.

In preparation for the work that we'll be doing in Houston, we wanted to experience the DNA of St. Thomas' (go to the website if you want to know more about St. Thom's) in Sheffield. What an awesome time. We stayed with members of the church in their homes for the entire week. It's always wonderful to sit over some tea (think black tea with milk) and chat about what God is doing in the lives of his people. Sean and Alison were incredibly wonderful to Erin and I. And we just want to say hello to Joshua, Issac and Lydia: the three children who allowed us to invade their home for a week.

The week was full of all sorts of adventures: including a walk through the peak district (which, if you have ever seen the newest version of Pride and Prejudice, is where Keira Knightly stood overlooking the valley), time at Chattsworth (which is owned by the Duke and Duchess of Yorkshire and was used in the film as Mr. Darcy's home), plenty of time at English pubs, and even an afternoon at Starbucks. The best part of the week was spending time at the two churches and learning from others who want to see God's kingdom come. Cheers to the incredible staff at St. Thomas'!!

Below you will find all sorts of pictures from our trip. You will note that there is one picture that appears to be nothing but fog...that's what it is. A great view of Sheffield...wouldn't you agree?!?!

A Friend Turned Pastor

It's been a journey...and one that I never want to forget. After four years, one looks back and wonders where the time has gone. No doubt...God has used the time to shape and to mold future pastors of His church. After four year, two of my dearest friends are being placed into the church as pastors...while I take the summer off to retreat and relax and to prepare for a move to Texas. I was privileged to see my dear friend Ryan ordained at his home church in Wisconsin. A Friend turned pastor...God's Peace RPM!

A Weekend Wedding Whirl

Erin and I spent most of our Memorial Day Weekend in the car...traveling to two weddings; both of whom are very dear friends!

The first wedding was in Kansas City (the home of Hallmark)and we were treated to old friends, many of whom we have not seen in quite a while. It was so good to see all of you this past weekend. It has made our hearts glad. Might I also say...the KC BBQ was absolutely wonderful (for those of you from Texas who are reading this post...it's just different than Texas BBQ). The highlight was watching one of our dear friends marry a Godly man and committ to one another their lives. Really, really great!!

The second wedding was for our dear friend Daniel. Erin and I met Daniel while we were still living and working in Slovakia. He was a fellow missionary. This wedding took us to Omaha (somewhere in middle America) and treated us to wonderful food and good company. The highlight was seeing someone so important to us marry a Godly woman and committ thier lives to one another. Really, really great!

Congratualtions to you, our friends!!! Below are a few pictures of the trip (there is one picture of Erin and Kari that appears multiple times...they were never really satisfied with any of them). Enjoy.

What a Graduate Does

Some of you have asked... "what does a sem graduate do with all his time?" It's a really good question. But, I'm not ready to tell you yet...I'm still soaking up the fact that I am in fact a graduate. Can you believe it (no comment from some of you)?

For those of you who haven't heard...

We are headed to Houston! We are retuning to Christ the King Lutheran Church, which is the same church as our vicarage assignment. While we are not looking to being far from family, we are excited to finally be in a place where we can settle down and make a home for longer than two years. Thank you all for your prayers through the last four years...they have been felt.

More to come...