Navigating Life Together

Epic Mickey Collectors Edition Giveaway!

2010-12-16T13:16:00.000-05:00

Epic Mickey Collectors Edition Giveaway!

2009-09-30T14:00:00.001-04:00

hello...is anyone out there?

2009-06-29T13:23:00.005-04:00

Welcome to my first blog of 2009...yes, my first of 2009. I know that is is almost July but it has been a really crazy year so far and I am just now getting around to penning something for the first time. After several requests to write something (and I have no idea why) I have relented and decided to add and entry. I hope to continue the trend and make this a place of encouragement that can extend beyond the time that I get to spend with many of you on Sundays. We had a great day this Sunday. Bob Hale a missionary from South Korea was with us and shared 4 important ways that we can all be a part of the mission of reaching others: 1)Going 2)Staying 3)Giving 4)Praying. The question is "what will you do?" We also had the privilege of having Leah Milan with us to share her talents in music. It was a great day not just because of our two guests but because Abigail gave her heart to Jesus and that was awesome. I explained the fact that Jesus gave His life for her and she looked at me and said "wow." It was so cool. So this Sunday we get to baptize Abigail and Hope and Taeg. It will be a great service so come and join us! Well I know that this blog has been kind of short and maybe even a little disappointing considering I have had 6 months or more to prepare it but I guess you'll just have to come back to see what I may say next.

Preach at you later!
Todd

2008-11-05T22:56:00.002-05:00

It has been a long time inbetween posts so I thought I would share a little glimpse of the beauty of the world at 90 feet below sea level. I took these pictures on my first ocean dive while at Grand Cayman during our Disney Cruise. Stay tuned for more.

Fall Ball

2008-10-03T00:33:00.004-04:00

Soccer

Lady Vol Soccer

Kortney's Volleyball Pics

Rylee has 20/200 vision

2008-09-09T23:38:00.001-04:00

Rylee is 8 now. She is in the 3rd grade. She goes to Freedom Christian Acadamy. She is a very good student. She strives to make straight A's. Actually, she had a melt down last year durning a family night when they called her for the RED honor which was A/B honor roll and not the BLUE honor roll which is all A's. (She had a 92.something% B in handwritng) She places high expitations on herself. She likes things to be her way. When a project comes home from school, she wants to get her poster board that night even if it is not due until next month. She reminds us all the time to do things that are coming up. I guess she does'nt trust that we can do things without her. Not that we have ever forgot. She doesn't like to break the rules or for anyone around her to break rules. Her cousins like to mess with her and put their toes across a line at Disney that says stand behind the yellow line. Just to watch her panic. Todd and I have always called her "Special" Because we didn't know what else to call her. When she was an infant & toddler -98% of the time she is perfect but that 2% that she wasn't everyone knew it. She can push her daddy's buttons more that anyone. (I think they are alot alike) However, she can melt hearts just as fast. She is very tender hearted. She always thinks of people that are less fortunate. She loves all babies. She trys to take care of them all. She says she wants to be a first grade teacher when she grows up. For the ones of you that don't truely know her I wanted to paint you a picture. She normally will over react. I made up a term and said she had hyperconderosis & sympithtis. Which means she turns any small element into a disease & she can catch a cold from over the phone, kinda like her granddaddy. ha ha ha So when Mrs Fussaro her 3rd grade teacher asked us if Rylee told us that she said she could'nt see the board. We said No Rylee has never said she could'nt see before.... but my first thought was is this her hyperconderosis & sympithtis kicking in. Did she say that because a friend said it. We decided to piggy back Rylee on Kortney sports physical and have the peditrician check her eyes. Just in case. Well he said she was definatly struggling to see. He thought it was 20/140 & to go to an eye doctor immediatley. Her appointment was today. She only reminded us 4 hundred 72 thousand times. The doctor checked her out and told us that her vision was 20/200 and exaplained that she was living in her own world. We felt so bad, but the doctor said she doesn't know any better. I asked how we did'nt know and he said that she has been compensating for her poor vision. I explained that she was a good student and reader. He said that was because her best vision was at about 50 cm. Which is about the distance to her desk. We picked out glasses. The ladies that sale the glasses were going on about they could'nt beleive she has'nt ever had glasses before & they hope they are here when we picks her glasses up. They want to see her when she see for the first time. They also went on about how pretty her eyes are. She was so funny....she had the frames on without special lenses and she said "I can see way over there now" After laughing alittle,we explained that they were not her real glasses. That we would get them next week. Well we shared the news with some friends and family. We were still in shock that she could'nt see well. We posted a picture of Rylee in the frames she pick out on facebook and received great comments about how cute she was. One of our comments was from a family friend who said "Poor Rylee is leagally blind" I thought it was an expression until I remember that my friend used to work for an Optometrist & that she went on mission trip to give out glasses. I immediatly googled 20/200 and the words were there. Legally Blind- my heart broke and my eyes swelled up because I did'nt want this for her. I would take it for her if I could. I am blown away right now because the doctor did'nt use those words. I feel like I should have known that she could'nt see. I just have to give those beautiful eyes over to the Lord. Rylee is excited about her cool new glasses. Now, we really can't wait for the real glasses to get here. So she can see the beauty that our Lord created.

Oh where, Oh where did our summer go!!!

2008-08-12T22:55:00.003-04:00

We were traveling across the ocean on June 5, to Korea. We sat on the plane and enjoyed a few moments of quiet. We were taking a small break from our fast pace life trying to prepare for our upcoming week abroad. When Todd says..."You know our summer is over!" Boy was he right. Our summer has flown bye. Between Korea, VBS, PCB camp, mission trip to Asheville, and trying to move we have hardly had time to unpack our suitcase. It has been incrediable and amazing but it doesn't seem possible that it is the first day of school. Normally we are on the ball at the beginning of the school year and we slack off a bit by late spring. I don't know why but I guess it is because of the craziness of our life style. This new school year I believe we have started off feeling slugish. We did'nt get our school supplies until yesterday. We had these grand plans of a perfect night at home, good home cooked meal, baths, haircuts, and early to bed. But a Dahl got thrown in our plans...yes, you heard it. Dahl and Chris (2 of our students) stopped by for a visit. We enjoyed our visit but it put our perfect timing off. We managed to salvage the night, we got the kids to bed at 9:00, which is normal not early. We laid out the kids clothes but we didn't pack their lunches or back backs. Do you know how long that takes if you don't do it the night before? We woke up and raced around to get everyone dressed. We frantically packed their backpacks with the items from their forever long school supply list. We snapped a quick photo for the scrapbook and made it to school with 5 minutes to spare. That is not how we would wish for the first day of school. I would love for a calm easy morning but I feel like we are still in our spring slack off mode. I guess our bodies have not felt a summer break. I hope we can get our act together because I would hate to see what next spring will look like if we slack off from here. Oh where did our summer break go?? Speaking of summer break, when I was a child the Olympics was a summer event. I mean, I remember watching it on my summer break. But my kids are having to go to bed because they have school tomorrow. The Halliburton's have been all about the Olympics. We watch it all. We have been pulling for our American team however we smile when the Koreans do well. We left a small part of our hearts in Korea. We have new friends in our Calvary family. We are going to post some pitures of our first day of school and pictures of our kids dressed in the shirts Lee and Sue (our Korea homestay family) bought for them. The girls are wearing a hairbow from Yeon Hee.
Tonight has been a little more productive. Maybe we realy realize summer is over and school has started. Lunches are packed, backpacks ready, clothes laid out, good supper and normal bedtime. The USA even won the Gold in the mens swimming relay. If only our USA ladies could of held on to the floor exercise. Silver is good too but I like the gold. By the way, how old are the girls on the China gymnastic team. They are still missing their baby teeth. Well anyway, we are looking for an easier second morning of school. Because summer is over and school has started whether we are ready or not.

Asheville 2008

2008-08-06T22:51:00.002-04:00

Here is a link to our Asheville Mission Trip.. Go watch it I hope you enjoy it!!!

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=40012335

Family Picture

2008-08-06T00:12:00.004-04:00

What a summer!

2008-08-04T23:37:00.003-04:00

What a summer it has been. We have taken the students to Korea, Panama City Beach and Asheville. Plenty has already been written about Korea (except that we are going back next year, did you hear that Lee and Sue) And the trip to PCB was amazing, so much impact in so many students lives. The last trip of the summer was our mission trip to Asheville. This is a trip we do each summer to work with Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. While it may have been last it certainly was not least, even though it was only four days long. Our students were incredible! They built three bus stops, worked at the thift store, organized the event closet, coat closet and learning center with all its books, fixed lunch and dinner on Wednesday while serving lunch and did a chapel and a cookout on Friday where we feed around 110 people while doing an hour and a half block party for the homeless of Asheville with live music, dance, cookie give-a-ways and hotdogs with all the fixins'. They did all of this without a complaint or argument. I have been blessed by God with a great group of students and they showed themselves to be just that with their selflessness and interaction with the men of Western Carolina Rescue Ministries. I thought I would take a moment and brag. Stay tuned for more as the new school year gets started and a whole new calendar year of ministry events gets underway

Pictures that represent our crazy but wonderful life!

2008-07-21T12:28:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures that represent our crazy but wonderful life!

Adoption Annoucment

Dalton from July 4th

Kortney's Birthday invitation

Camp Group pic

Junior Camper Pic

Happy Birthday Todd!

Apologies

2008-07-13T10:36:00.002-04:00

Sorry we haven't blogged that much lately. Our last month has been a little challenging. I mean I know a lot of people say that but here is a little view of what ours has looked like. Leeanne and I have been to Korea and back, we have adopted the boys, we've bought a new house, are trying to sell our old house, we've fed a group of World Changers for a week, helped with VBS, planned our camp trip, planned our Asheville trip, done a funeral, done a wedding, planned two birthday parties and hosted an out of state friend for three days to take family pictures, the only reason ?I am blogging right now is because I am on a ten hour bus ride on a bus with wi-fi. Other than that it has been life as usual, what am I talking about, that is life as usual. Stay tuned we will be getting back into the flow of things. There will be a post on the adoption coming soon. Check back for it!

From Leeanne #8

2008-07-07T21:17:00.005-04:00

Friday's update: We said our hard goodbye's at the church. We held hands and Pastor Won led us in "God is so Good." And the Americans all cried. Pastor Won asked Todd to pray and then he also prayed in Korean. They gave us all a gift. Todd also got a Korean bible, it will go right next to his Bengali bible from Todd's Bangladesh mission trip. We all had alot of emotions about leaving Korea. The church members came around and gave hugs and said good-byes that were more like "see you soon." More than once, we were asked to pinky-promise that I will be back next year. Today was a very emotional day. After leaving the church, we drove to the DMZ. (The "de"militarized zone that has more soldiers and land mines than anywhere in the world.) There is a river that runs parallel to the highway from Seoul to the north. The river is "fenced in" with tall barbed wire and manned guard stations. The reason? The river runs south from North Korea and the guards and fence are protection from small groups of soldiers trying to enter by water. Caleb told Erin of his time in the military. In Korea, young men are required to serve for three years; Caleb served 40 months in the navy and is classified as a lieutenant-general grand. He said he traveled to twelve countries, including his time stationed in Guam. He told Erin that once he had come face to face with the North Korean enemy, but that's all he said about it. When we arrived at the DMZ, we were surprised to see a carnival. I guess they are taking advantage of the tourism, so there is a 'restaurant' (we chose not to try the cooked bugs, we ate Ra men and a coke) and rides, including tea cups. From the outside it looks like fun, but once you step inside you know this is a serious place. Your passports are checked before you can get on the tour bus. We went through a guard station where our passports were checked by a soldier who came onto the bus. Kelly asked Caleb if these were all South Korean soldiers. His response was, "yes. If they are North Korea soldiers, we are dead." Driving up to Dorasan Station we passed signs to remind people of the presence of land mines. We were not allowed to take pictures at most places. At Dorasan we were able to look out over an observatory area into the neutral zone. We may have been able to see North Korea if today had not been so cloudy. Inside a small auditorium there was a map of the area. While we were studying the map, Caleb told us that sometimes it floods in North Korea and bodies wash down the river into the South. (Caleb was our personal tour guide--he translated announcements on the bus and pointed out US army bases, etc.)We went into 3rd tunnel. The tunnel was incredible. We were given helmets (but had to leave cameras and phones in lockers) and rode what was like a roller coaster car down into the tunnel. We rode through the part South Korea tunneled to reach the actual 3rd tunnel. We were able to walk once we reached the actual tunnel. It's crazy to think that 1) men dug that tunnel for so long without anyone knowing, 2) they dug that far underground, 3) we stood today where soldiers had once prepared to ambush a country and break a peace agreement. Throughout the tunnel are yellow paint markers--the spots where dynamite had been used to further the tunnel. On the way out of the tunnel Todd said he wished he had a rock or something since we couldn't take a camera. Aaron said I think I can reach one. Todd ended up with a souvenir. We toured a museum outlining the relationship of the North and the South from the 1950s until now. Then we watched a video that portrays the DMZ as a happy, hopeful place. You could walk away from the video thinking that tomorrow you will go back to the DMZ for a picnic with the North. Today we heard again of the desires for reunification. On the bus, Caleb pointed out buildings under construction to be used when the military is united. South Koreans really seem to desire reunification. Only the outside, apparently, considers Korea divided into separate countries. We were at the DMZ for about 3 hours. "Ninja" stayed with the van carrying our luggage the whole time we toured. From the DMZ, we drove straight to Incheon International Airport. Pastor and Ms. Won met us there to say good-byes and pray together one last time. We said our last good-byes a little before 5 pm (4 am in Knoxville) and headed through security, which was not nearly as involved as in Knoxville. We exchanged our wons for dollars and, after taking pictures and video of the cool toilets, we boarded the plane for Knoxville.
We flew over Tokyo. It was amazing!! As we first flew over Japan we could barely see lights when the clouds lifted. But once we reached Tokyo you could see the outline of Japan's coastline in the city lights. We didn't have a window seat but Erin kept us posted and would let us look out her window. I sat next to another lady who was stationed in Korea. She was from Georgia and was a christian. We left Incheon at 6:05 pm Friday June 13. We landed in Atlanta at 6:20 pm Friday June 13. We had to remind each other exactly how long it had been since we had gotten up. At the time we landed, it had been about 25 hours for us. Todd said "his body was so confused, that we either went to the DMZ yesterday or the day before or maybe we were going tomorrow but he knows he has been there". We got to Knoxville at 10:20 pm, we all enter the airport together. As we turned the corner we saw a group of people with "welcome back" posters. . . and then realized they were for us!! Thank you so much to all of you who came out to the airport late on a Friday night to welcome us home. It means so much!! Also, thank you so much for the positive feedback on the blogs. It was a huge encouragement!!!! My life is forever changed! Thanks for the prayers!

From Leeanne #7

2008-07-07T00:01:00.007-04:00

Thursdays update: For breakfast Sue fixed us Bulgogi today & a salad for breakfast with fruit. Bulgogi was a shredded beef. Todd really liked it. It is the last day of English Village. It went really good. We sang alot! Todd taught the bible story. He really had to be creative to keep their attention. Todd talked to them about David and Goliath. Then each team worked on songs for the presentation time. The parents came to a closing ceramony to see their kids, sing the songs that they had learned in English. This was a huge opprotunity to share the gospel. I shared several times to different groups of moms. When the day was coming to an end, I started thinking about how easy it has been to share with people in Korea. I was praying with my last lady at the church and I felt kinda sad. I was very excited that the lady had just prayed to recieve Christ but I didn't want my brave witnessing to be over. I prayed that I wouldn't wait until the next mission trip for me to have this opprotunity again. I knew we were supoose to leave in about 15 min. So I knew this was probably my last time. I also Thanked God for this privelage. I get up from the table and one of the ladies that protected me from the wind storm on Sunday found me. Her name is 한국어 or Ji In Hwang (She spoke no English) She motioned for me to wait. She went and got Do Re Mi, who spoke pretty good English and she told me that Ji In Haun wanted me to share with her friend. We took off running, I passed by Jeff Johnson. I quickley told him "Going to share, don't leave me" (We were suppose to leave for a busy day of site seeing in 10 min.) We ran for 8-10 min. I didn't know where we were going. We ran for blocks, we passed by buisness's & apartments. We finally stop at a hair salon. Her friend was a hair dresser. She had 3 clients waiting on her and she stopped to listen to the important thing that the American had to tell her. It was a small room so everyone could hear me. I start going through the plan of Salvation and everyone was listening. She prayed to recieve Christ right there at the Salon, in front of her clients and co worker. I was just given the opprotunity to share the gospel at a hair salon. I was in tears. The new christian was in tears. Ji In Hwang was in tears. I tried my best to tell them "that in America, I cut hair" Do Re Mi told me that Ji In Hwang prayed for her friend every morning at the church at the 5:00 Prayer Service (Yes, 5:00 a.m. prayer service every morning. We have alot to learn from the Koreans) And this morning God laid on her heart that I needed to share with her friend. I know that it was a gift from God. I know that the hairdresser friend needed Jesus, I know that Ji In Hwang was faithful & consistant with her prayers but I consider it a gift to me. I was overfolwing with emotion. Needless to say the group didn't leave me & my husband even went home to get me a change of clothes for our afternoon of site seeing. Isaac, Caleb(works with the youth at Calvary.) , Ninja (we found out his name is Chang Woung An), and a group of young ladies from the church took us to a palace in Seoul to tour and watch the changing of the guard. It was stupendous (our word for the day). And, even there away from the church, people wanted to try out their English on us. So many people would ask "how are you?" but it may have been all the English they knew. More than once, I was surrounded by a group of girls asking my name, & where I was from, and if they could have a picture made with me. They seemed so pleased that they could speak English & I could understand them and respond back. A group of girls passed by Todd & said "Hello hansome man" and giggled. Isaac was working on a tight schedule so he had to hurry us, Todd told him "No big deal we have alot of 600 year old palaces in the States. After the palace we went to an outdoor shopping area. We went to dinner at Outback!! It's a little different than ours. But the most important part, the Outback bread, was very much the same. Stupendous! The young women here have given us all Korean names. Todd's is "Bok Nam"="blessed man" and mine is "Sa rang"="love." We ended the evening at a Mall that is open until 5:00 a.m. It is very different than our malls. Lee & Sue waited on us to get home, we ended our night like we had every evening, talking with our new friends. (one of our favorite things to do here in Korea) We gave them our gifts. I made them a basket. We filled it with chocolate and candy. It seemed so small after everything they did for us and the way they opened their house up. Thank you Lee & Sue!

From Leeanne #6

2008-06-16T00:18:00.011-04:00

Wednesday update- Today at English Village we worked with Kindergarten children. Kindergarten age is not the same as American Kindergarten age. I would compare it to preschool age in America. One of the biggest struggles today was that the Elementary students knew we could not understand Korean or Hangul but the kindergarteners thought we could understand them. They would come up to you & say something to you in Hangul, with their eyes so sweet & wait for you to respond. I just smiled & shook my head. We also realized that young children crying for their Momma's when they drop them off was an international similarity. Anthony Gaut & I ran our role play clinic again. We thought we did pretty good. We changed it a little from the day before. We realized that our kindergartners were saying the food made them "strong" or "orbad". They didn't say bad they said "orbad" I have taught the small children of Seoul to say "orbad". Todd was grabbed to talk with a teenager. He sat down across from Lisa from Colorado who is 15. Her mom was Korean so she visits every other year. She had brought her cousins to English Village. Lisa was a Morman. I would love to finish the story and say she accepted Christ but she did not however she did hear truth today. Everyone pray for Lisa. They day at English Village was a huge success.
Wednesday night the church or a man named Issac (Erin & Samantha's home stay dad) & Ninja took us out. We don't know his real name but we all called him Ninja. He always walked behind us so he could keep us in his sight. They took us to Yoido Full Gospel Church, the world's largest Christian church. Twelve thousand in a service, seven services each Sunday (translated during the service into several languages), twenty-one churches that receive video broadcasts and 765,000 members.
They had set up a special tour for us. It was Amazing! After our tour we met Pastor Won, his family, and one of the deacons from the church at 63 Square. It was a shopping area. The building was built by a christian. It has 63 floors and a 3 level parking garage to represent the 66 books of the bible. The building looked liked praying hands. We first went to the Imax theater and watched some movie about the Egyptians building pyrmids. It was good we had to wear a head set that translated the movie for us. Then they took us to dinner on the 59th floor at "Walking on the Clouds". It is a World class 5 star resturaunt that you have to be a member to go. They had reserved the corner room. So we had a beautiful view. The sun was out when we first got there but it set while we ate. By dessert we had the most incrediable view. There was more silver ware on this table than I had ever seen before. Thank goodness Nanny Courtney taught me well. However, there was a big debate on who's was who's...I was right! The meal came out in coarses. First coarse was this beautiful pastry thing. It ended up being snails inside. I ate the pastry around the snails but Todd ate one of the snails. I had a center cut filet. It was amazing! Todd had fish. After dinner we went back to the main level and went to "Sea World." It was an aquarium in the mall. We looked at the fish. I stuck my hand in a tank and let the fish suck at my fingers. It was really weird. We had a great time the aquarium was great! 63 Square is a world of its own! Then we went to the Sky Deck on the 60th floor and took pictures of the city at night. There is one area where the floor is clear, so you can see the ground. It was an incredible evening! The church has given us the site-seeing trip of a lifetime. It has been Amazing!

From Leeanne # 5

2008-06-14T16:25:00.009-04:00

Tuesdays update: We started our morning with ram en, toast w/ jelly & fruit. Ra men is Korean for noodles, so think about it...when we eat ram en noodles we are eating noodles noodles. Today at English Village we are still working with elementary kids. Our hearts are completely open these beautiful children. Todd teaches on David & Goliath today. Anthony & I run a clinic today. We teach them the word doctor, teeth, good food, strong & bad. We show flash card of food & teach the English words. They would say if it was good/ strong or bad. Anthony & I worked together great. We could finish each others sentences by the end of the day. Another responsibility I had today was do a drama with my Grey team. I picked Jesus heals Lazareth. We had some struggles but we kept it simple & it ended up really good. We had many parents come to see the kids preform their skits. Kellie, Leah, Erin & Samantha dance to Lamb a job. God used them in a special way. He turned chaos into worship. It was amazing!!! God is so good. After worship I talked with several moms. (We all did) All the moms I talked to prayed to receive God. There were some really good ladies @ Calvary that were well equip to present the gospel.

Tuesday evening they took us to dinner & Nanta. We traveled by subway. That was fun. It made the Metro in DC look like a kiddie ride. We ended up eating at McDonald's. We went to a pasta restaurant but the waiter told Isaac that he could not serve us in time for our 8:00 show. To be honest there were sereval of us that was ready for some Mickey D's. We ate fast and took off for the show. Nanta is a World Class show. It is kinda like "Stomp" or "Blue Man Group". However they use knifes & food. It was hilarious! They pulled Aaron Fritts on stage. I guess a 6 1/2 foot white guy stood out. It was a great night.

From Leeanne #4 Pics & video from Venice

2008-06-14T15:35:00.004-04:00

We had alot of fun at Venice. Watch the video of Todd, Anthony, & Jeff

From Leeanne #3

2008-06-12T20:10:00.007-04:00

Hello again Family,
Our trip is near the end & I still have so much to say. Sunday evening after our dinner @ the Korean barbecue with our home stay family, we had a meeting at the church. This is when they informed us that we would be leading English Village. Actually, we are the English Village. Basically, English Village was an outreach tool. It was kind of like Vacation Bible School. The concept is to teach the children about God, teach them a little English & share the gospel to their parents. (The children are still in school but they had to request special permission to come to English Village. I think the children received credit because they were learning English.) We learned our songs & made a game plan. On Monday we worked with Elementary kids. That is 8-13 in Korean years. Koreans years are different. If I understand it right…the day you are born you are 1. On New Years, you change age. So if a baby was born late December, on New Year he would be 2. Anyway,on Monday (breakfast was great by the way. Man Doo and a rice ball) our job was to teach the songs, teach the dance motions. When the children got to English Village they were greeted outside with “Hello” & “Good Morning” they had to go through English Village Security. This was Aaron & Luke with some kind of scanner. They had a make believe metal detector. Then they met the smiling face of Jeff Johnson behind the immigration desk. He asked them, “What is your name?” “Where do you live?” “How old are you?” (you know, very official immigration stuff) next he stamped their passports. Then he sent them down stairs to find their group. We each had our own group. I was the Grey team. We had to come up with a cheer for our team. First I taught them Grey. But our cheer was Go Grey Go, Go Grey Go. I know it is kind of basic but we had to start from the beginning. We taught them “He’s got the whole world in His hands” Todd shared the bible story. (I think they scheduled him an hour. Can you imagine??? These kids don’t really understand him. He did a great job keeping their attention but he did not go his full hour.) He taught on Daniel & the lions den. Then some of us taught the story & some taught craft. I was picked for crafts…sweet, I do crafts however, it was paper airplanes…for an hour. I started with an introduction. “Hello, my name is Leeanne.” “ Can you say Lee anne?” “What is your name?” (This is where I did a really bad job with repeating their names. I am so glad we had a Korean teacher) then I taught them the word for paper, fold, crease, corner, & point. We made the airplanes & I taught them, “This is an airplane”& then I told them we needed to name our airplanes. I wrote on everyone’s plane their name. Rylee, mommy named hers Tinker Bell Plane. After we made air planes we took recyclable items and created something together. My first class (brown team) made a Brown Brown, Bear. My second class (yellow team)made an elephant with a baby elephant. After English Village I shared with several moms that prayed to receive. For dinner they took us Venice, a very nice, contemporary restaurant. They sent the restaurant bus for us. One of the deacons, at Calvary owned and treated us. It was a Korean sea food buffet. More food than anyone person could possibly eat. There was a salad, sushi, grill, entree section, dessert Bar. The ice cream was amazing! All you could drink soda fountain. The floor, in the room we ate in, was glass that changed colors. The bath room doors reminded me of Star Trek. The toilet seats were heated. (we got a big kick out of the different bathrooms in Korea.) The generosity of the people of Calvary is overwhelming.

Kortney, Rylee, Dalton, & Dylan guess what? Ms. Sue, our home stay family is sending you Korean candy & snacks.

Video Blog

2008-06-11T20:19:00.004-04:00

Seoul At Night

2008-06-11T20:14:00.002-04:00

Jeff's Blog 2

2008-06-11T00:16:00.002-04:00

Arrival

You have no idea how exhausting it can be to sit in an airplane seat for 14 hours. Even with movies, video games, plenty of food and other diversions, it was excruciating. There was excitement about looking down at the polar ice cap and flying over Russia and China. It's an awakening to actually experience the vastness of our planet. When we arrived, my body was telling me it was 2:00 a.m. while the airport told me it was 3:00 in the afternoon. Ugh! Little did I know the reward that awaited. After baggage claim, immigration checks and money exchange, Pastor Won, his family and several church members met us as we excited the terminal. Their excitement refreshed us, and we watched a new world come to life before our eyes.

We drove for some time on the freeway before finally turning off into a series of streets densely packed with businesses, shops and open air markets. Mingled within these are homes stacked atop one another in the most efficient blending of every aspect of life. Churches, schools and various academies dot the area. After a few turns we suddenly stopped in front of a 4 story brick building with a steeple covering about the same area as our Education Building. Out front a large group of people erupted into waves and cheers, and the mix of anticipation, excitement and even fear enveloped me. "We're really here in Seoul, Korea...7,500 miles from home!"

More to come...

The Program

2008-06-10T22:01:00.003-04:00

"we witness and we disciple, this is our program." These are the words spoken to me yesterday by Pastor Won. It is their churches strategy for the lost. Kinda simple isn't it? It is not complicated or flashy it is simply people pulling in their friends and sharing Christ with them and then teaching them what life in Him means. We make things so complicated and intimidating sometimes. I also found that the emptiness of life that we sometimes feel is international and that God's love is boundless. Our host Sue shared her testimony with us the other night. Between the tears and the words was a story of redemption and purpose in Christ. Now you can see Christ beaming through her every time she flashes her smile. Her and her husband Lee have been so good to us. We could never have expected the kind of treatment that we have received since arriving. To much to tell but right now I have to go. I put a few more pictures from our trip up top. I hope you enjoy.
Woops, before I could post this I had to take a break and work with a Korean translator to lead a grandmother to Christ, the grandmother said she will go to heaven now. Cool, huh?

From Leeanne #2

2008-06-10T20:03:00.008-04:00

Hello Family,
It was so good hearing all of your comments. Rylee I was sending you, Kortney, Dallton & Dylan the “I love you sign.” I am so glad you saw me. It made me smile that you did it back! I love and miss you all. Mom, thanks for the encouraging up date. My children are so mission minded. Don’t forget they are part of your legacy. You play a huge part of who they are.
Now for more Korea update. We finished Saturday with sharing the gospel & a youth/ singles service. Todd led it. We ate supper at the church. Todd showed you the picture. We had some kind of pork with sauce on it, salad with dressing that kind of tasted like thousand Island, rice & Korean spaghetti . The Americans spread out when we ate. I ate at a table with all boys, mostly middle school with some singles. None spoke English but one boy tried. I was so flattered. I looked down & saw him unfolding a small piece of paper. He had made himself a cheat sheet. He asked. “How old I was?”,“What was my hobby?”, & “What school did I go to?”. (Do you know how hard it is to describe scprapbooking to someone who doesn’t speak English?) We played games & taught them a song in English. “Mercy is Falling”. (Kevin- I thought of you because you taught it to me @ Nashville Shores several years back.) We taught them the dance motions. The games were hard due to the language barrier but very funny. We played something like taboo, the American gave clues & the Korean guessed the word. We did a form of Telephone, the American started it, passed it to a Korean, they passed it & ended with an American writing it on a board. This is where I learned that middle school boys & texting during church was International. The night ended with our Home Stay family. We ate a snack, fruit & Ice cream, I think. They had also bought Todd some Mountain Dew because he had mentioned that he didn’t drink coffee but he loved Mountain Dew. We sat around the table & talked. Our home stay family is wonderful. The husband is Lee, the wife is Sue, & 2 boys, David & Jonathan. ( I think Benni e Hagie gave the boys their English name.) David is Kortneys age in American years & Jonathan is Rylees age.
Sunday morning, Lee prepared a wonderful egg sandwich with onion, cheese & ketchup. We also had fruit & juice & Todd had a Coke. The fruit has so much more flavor here. We went to worship. It was an incredible life changing experience. Todd shared the video I made. I am not sure of the quality because Todd compressed it so he could post it quickly. Anyway it was incredible! We greeted people on the way out of church. I was grabbed & swept out side to share with 2 ladies that their neighbor brought to hear the gosple. Both ladies accepted Christ. The church fed us lunch. I was swept away again to shared the gospel. A lady brought her husband to the church, to hear the important news the Americans had to share. He was reluctant to talk. He would not look at me but he decided to listen to me. I shared everything. I asked him if He was here or here? (meaning Man = sin, separation, frustration, guilt, or God = forgiveness, peace, abundant life, eternal life.) He looked up with tears in his eyes & pointed to mans side. He prayed to receive Christ. His life & his family lifes will forever be changed. His wife asked me to eat at their table. We took a picture together. I stood on the end next to his wife & he moved so he could be next to me. He still never looked at me. It was amazing he told my translator he had not heard of Jesus before. After we ate we went out in groups to share. I walked around with some of the prettiest young ladies from the church, you would ever see. They took such good care of me. People from the street were not open to talk to me. I shared twice but was rejected. I know they weren't rejecting me but rejecting God. Most people shook their heads no when I walked up. One young girl from the park prayed to receive. (Probably Kortney's age) While we were out my translators spoke very broken English. (basically they can introduce me & follow me through the gospel) They figured out they could text on their phone then turn it to English. So smart!! They treated me to water & cake. They called it bread. Then a huge wind storm came. The sky turned dark. The wind was strong. Things blowing down the street from street vendors. My girls pushed me into a bus stop & surrounded me with their bodies to protect me. These young girls were protecting ME! They probably didn't even weight 100lbs. The yelled for taxi & swept me in there. Saying "you ok, you ok" I smiled & gave them a thumbs up! Sue told me that was not normal weather in Seoul. We ate dinner with our Home Stay. They took us to a Korean barbeque resturaunt. It was so neat. There was a grill at your table. You cooked you meat. Then you take your vegetable (lettuce) and role your meat up. You could add other stuff to your lettuce. Todd & I really enjoyed it! Lee had them bring us a coke. Korean drink soup with their meals. I told Sue & Lee Americans drink beverage with our soup. Ha Ha
Just a funny side note. We noticed when you had your picture made with a Korean that they put up a peace sign. Well it is contagious, we all started flashing our peace signs. Finally I asked one of our Korean friends. "Peace??" they said it means "Victory over the North." We have been declaring our political veiws all over South Korea & didn't eevn know it.

A little clip from the Korean Worship Service

2008-06-09T20:01:00.004-04:00

Here is just a little video from the church service that we were part of Sunday. Hope you enjoy. Sorry for the poor video quality, it was the quickest way to get it onto the blog. Leeanne has made a much clearer version that we will share later.

Blog from Jeff

2008-06-09T19:35:00.002-04:00

Monday

Calvary Baptist here in Seoul is a place where innovative is the norm. While we're here, they are having a type of Bible School called "English Village." The kids are required to speak english and each activity includes english words to learn. The primary purpose is of course to bring the kids and their parents into the church to hear the gospel message. This morning I was stamping passports as the children entered the "English Village." I checked their photos and asked them basic questions such as "Good morning, how are you?" and "What is your name?" After that, Pastor Won took me down the street to his apartment building to speak with the security guard. Along the way, we stepped into a couple of businesses, and he asked to speak to the person. We got various responses from "I'm already a christian" to "I don't want to hear it."

We went on to the security guard, and he welcomed us and offered us chairs. As we began, he noticed a friend walking by and called to him to come and hear. Both men were open listeners as I shared and Pastor Won translated. They both accepted Christ. I had heard of moments like this but had never experienced it myself. All the man knew before hand was that I had come from America to share something very important. He wanted his friend to hear it too, and both their lives were changed. Praise God!!

As we returned to the church, we stopped by a little shop with a couple of elderly people and shared again. They welcomed us, listening intently. They accepted Christ as well. All of this happened in the course of one hour. So far I've shared the gospel with 23 people with 20 decisions for Christ. Several in our group have shared more. God has prepared the field...what a wonderful awesome experience to reap the harvest!

Upon our return to the church I led arts and crafts. Again we focused on teaching English words such as: paper, fold, crease, corner, airplane, fly, passport, scissors, cut, tape & glue. We made paper airplanes and then a large project using a variety of odd bottles, cans, boxes, straws, etc. Imagine trying to give otherwise simple instructions to a room full of children who don't speak your language.

At the end of the class, the teacher presented the gospel in Korean. While I could not understand her words, the concepts were more than familiar. At one point she used her bible in one hand to demonstrate the weight of sin in one's life. Then she transferred the bible to her other hand and then extended her arms signifying Jesus taking our sins to the cross. The message of the gospel is indeed universal and language is in fact no barrier.

Jeff & his friends

2008-06-09T03:13:00.005-04:00

Help Jeff choose a wife. Leave a comment of who you choose.

From Leeanne

2008-06-08T20:02:00.009-04:00

Hello Family,
There is so much to say....with so little time. My evangelistic trip actually started on the airplane. This was so exciting for me me, but very out of my comfort zone. Todd & I were seated together & I took the middle seat so Todd would not have to sit by the stranger the whole trip & so he wouldn't be trapped in. (If you know Todd he couldn't sit still for 14 hours. He had to get up and take pictures out the back window.) The lady I sat next to name was Glenda she lived in Korea, originally from Mississippi. She is in the Army. She is the private secretary for the 4 star General here in Korea. We talked about her family. She had been married & divorced twice. She had 2 teenage children, that did not return to Korea with her. They are tired of moving & stayed in the States with her second husband. I listened for a long time, I told her that we worked with students & I asked her if I could pray for her. I invited her to church on Sunday. She said she would try to come. (come to find out there is more than one Calvary) It was a good start to my trip.

We arrive at Calvary and we are treated like celebrities. They had hung a huge banner with our picture on it. Do you know how bizarre it is see your face enlarged out on the street, in a new country? They greeted us with clapping, cheering & shaking our hands. They gave us beautiful bouquets of flowers. They took us to eat the largest meal of my life at a very nice restaurant, this was hard because we had not slept in about 28 hours. I tried almost everything. We get home to our "home stay family" & they had bought ice cream for us. We sat at the table & talked and ate ice cream & fruit for about a hour. I was so full but they had just made a special trip to the market for us. Bed time finally.
We got up the next morning (1st morning - Sat. in Korea) Our family made bacon (I think they associate that with Americans) some kind of egg, hand made sausage, & fruit. The fruit was white & they called it melon. They bought orange juice & grape juice from market for us. (come to find out Koreans don't drink beverages with meal. They drink soup. Todd had a meeting at 12:00 at the church, to explain our week to us. Not even 10 minutes into the meeting the Pastor Won rushes in & says "Todd there is someone here that has not heard the gospel..please tell." Todd shared the gospel to 3 people straight. Then another person comes & they rush me to a table to share with a 19 year old boy. Todd & I shared the gospel with people while the rest of the team arrived and was grabbed...I mean grabbed to share with people. We did this for hours. Some people came just to hear & see the Americans but others had a true experience with God. Amazing! Some had never heard of Jesus before. I was shocked as I shared the gospel that when I would come to the part & say "Is there any good reason why you cannot receive Jesus Christ right now?" They would say No, I can't think of a reason. Why do we make salvation so hard in America? Why can't it be this easy? Why don't we drag our neighbors to come hear the good news of Jesus Christ?

Whirlwind

2008-06-08T08:43:00.005-04:00

Where do I begin? Well let me start with did you know Korean spaghetti has corn in it? And they use soup instead of drink with their food many times. You can get Mountain Dew here and teenagers texting during church is an international crisis.

So far we have had a great trip, a tiring trip, but great. We have seen over 125 people come to know Christ already. It is amazing how open people are here. Leeanne had some older people turn her away today because she is American but for the most part they are very open. I went to a mans house today who has recently been paralyzed. Myself and a group of 5 Koreans shared the gospel and he accepted Christ. As he prayed out loud I could here his mother praying out loud from the room next to us. It was awesome. Oh, by the way the streets here are either crazy busy or narrow enough that you think you are going to get stuck on them. And we hit a kid today. It was my Korean driver and she caught this childs foot that was being held by there mother. everyone was ok. Todays church services were great. Jeff sang on the praise team and even had a solo. The worship leader had an incredible voice and lead all the songs in english today. Robert prayed in the 11:00 service and I brought the message in both services. We then ate lunch at the church (did I mention they have a cafe and restaurant here at the church?) There was such a neat spirit during the services, even though we couldn't understand much of them you could just feel the movement of the spirit. It was a tremendous experience. After lunch we shared the gospel and are now wrapping up a meeting with our Korean friends about English Village tomorrow (we are the english village). Oh and Aaron Fritts and Anthony Gaut are amazing dancers, who would have thunk it? Last night I got to help lead a youth service, it was in Korean to, that was very interesting. There is so much to try and tell that it is difficult to think of it all. In closing I will say, God is great, this team is so good at what they are doing and Jeff is coming home with a Korean wife. Talk to you soon!

Amazing Start!

2008-06-07T01:41:00.003-04:00

We have been here at the church for just a little over 2 hours. We were supposed to be here for an introductory meeting with all of the translators and teachers. Instead we went ahead and got started sharing the gospel. Well over 30 people have already asked to receive Christ!! One lady I shared with had never heard the gospel before today. She said she would be at church tomorrow. Amazing! Keep praying.

Friday Night

2008-06-07T00:07:00.006-04:00

Last night our gracious church host family took us out for a wonderful authentic Korean meal at a nice restaurant called the Tree. The food kept coming and coming and coming. It was a wonderful time of fellowship with our new friends. Then... we went to bed!!!

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From the plane

2008-06-06T23:50:00.004-04:00

We're Here!

2008-06-06T04:09:00.003-04:00

We have arrived safely in Korea. It has been almost 24 hours since our team got out of bed to head across the world. Here are a few pictures to get started with. We have already been made to feel so welcome by this wonderful church family here at Calvary Church in Seoul. Two continents...one family. Amazing.

Pray for Rylee

2008-05-30T16:43:00.003-04:00

Hey guys,
Every one pray for Rylee. We took her to the doctor today, expecting to hear Strep throat. Which is what her cousin Sarah had from Kentucky. We spent memorial day with John & Tiff in Kentucky. The doctor said no strep but she has a bacterial infection assaulting her throat. He said he was going to try to treat it with oral antibotics & that he was trying to keep her out of the hospital. But he wanted to see her in the morning. (So her Sixflag trip is out tomorrow) He said if she hadn't improved she would need IV antibotics. If that doesn't work she could need surgery. Now that is worse case scenario, and we don't typically over react but we don't need the added stress before we leave for Korea next Thursday. For the ones of you, that didn't realize that we are going to Korea. Todd & I are leaving for Korea on a mission trip June 5- 13. We welcome your prayers. Todd is going to update his blog at least every other day if you want to check up on our trip.

Here is a little look at SERVED

2008-05-25T19:08:00.003-04:00

Today at church we showed this video. We had some great live video we wanted to add to this show but that got stolen with the camera on Monday night. The break in has left our kids a little shaken. Dalton wanted to know what would happen if they broke into our house. I assured him that daddy would be there and would take care of him. His response, "I wish we still had Mickey Mouse." Mickey Mouse was our cat who passed away a few months ago...he didn't even have claws and this is Dalton's protector. I guess we are all just looking for a hero, his just happens to be a clawless cat. Really that is what this whole weekend is about, heroes. We looked this morning in worship at that subject, remembering those who gave all. We looked at how Stephen was willing to give all for the cause of Christ just as those heroes who have fallen defending our nation. Heroes like MSG Gary Gordon and SFC Randy Shughart who died in Mogadishu in 1993 defending Cliff Wolcott from a crowd of hundreds of angry Somalis. Knowing that help would not come they roped in and fought to their death defending the ideas of the United States and a brother in arms. In the same light Stephen was so willing to trade his own life for the rights of all those who would follow to trust in Christ. We looked at how those who are willing to give all have some qualities in common:
- They are willing to do the right thing
- They are willing to face the unknown thing
- They are willing to give everything
As we take this weekend to remember those who have given all I hope it will become a time that inspires you. Just as remembering those who have fallen in service of our country will hopefully inspire you to be a better American then maybe remebering those men and women from the first century to those who still today are giving their lives for our faith today will inspire us to do more for our God.
Have a great Memorial Day!

Have you ever had a hard day...a real hard day???

2008-05-20T09:15:00.004-04:00

What was suppose to be a joyous day, a day that would end up in a scrapbook just ended up disastrous. Dylan was graduating Kindergarten, a milestone in ones life. We were excited about that since the Friday before he pulled the fire alarm at school. The first in Freedom Christian Academy history. Todd had been asked to make the graduation video since he had done it in years past. We were on the ball this time we had it done, other than a last min. baby photo we had been waiting on. Dylan woke up with a fever. I was already committed to do someones hair. So Todd said he would stay with Dylan and do the finishing touches on the graduation video.

Oh no, I get a migraine...not today there is not time. And when I get home I have a very frustrated husband because Satan dwells in our computer. The video would not save properly, when Todd went to re-save it....over 1/2 of the video was gone. So he frantically re-makes the video.

I stuff Freedom Folders every Monday at the kids school but Todd went instead, I was laying down in the dark trying to get my self better. (Dylan was asleep due to the Tylenol & Motrin.) Todd, like his normal super dad self gets the folders done picks up our nephew Luke & brings home our other three non sick kids. Picks out clothes for the Kortney, Rylee, & Dalton. Our plan today was to get Dylan a new outfit because of his big day well that didn't happen because of the computer so I said his Easter Outfit was fine. Well his sweater vest was not hagging with the shirt and pants. So now he is the least dressed of all our kids but you know that is so small in the big picture. We are meeting the Grandparents at Cracker Barrel at 4:30 and the video still won't save. Rylee puts on her sisters shoes and goes outside to the front yard, and steps in dog poop. Did I tell you our dog is in a fence in our back yard? She tracks it all through the living room. I clean the living room floor and Kortney's shoes. Then I do her hair but I still smell the nasty dog poop. I look down, it is on my hand that I was doing Kortneys hair with. It is 4:25 and the phone rings it is Todd's dad asking if we were still planning on 4:30. We pack up and head out with computer in hand because it is still not done. We get to Cracker Barrel and humor the Grandparents with our story. They sit us down and Todd finds the closest plug to plug into so he can finish the video. We order our food and Todd works feverishly. Guess whose order at our table didn't get turned in??? Your right, the dinner Todd & I were splitting. The video is done & it saved to the computer but know it won't save to our nice more expensive dvd disks it says it is an unwriteable disk. Mom & Dad take Dylan, Kortney & Rylee to the school(the girls were passing out programs.) We rush to Walgreens to buy the cheap disk. We get it copied & rush into the school. We sit down and Dalton's nose bleeds. I don't ever recall Dalton's nose bleeding before but Nan rushes him to the bathroom cleans him up and his sweater. It is time for the video and the words appear & pictures but no music. The churches computer was on mute. Todd figures it out quickly but still we had worked so hard so it would be perfect. It is time for the graduates to take the stage. Dylan looks so handsome in his cap & gown. They stand up to sing & I have the video camera & Todd has the still camera. I start to notice Dylan has a goofy smile while he was singing. Oh no it looks like he is falling a sleep but he is still singing. Now his eyes start rolling back in his head. Todd rushes to the front to get him. Dylan starts crying and I am dumbfounded. Did I just have a child almost pass out on stage? We take him outside and take his cap & gown off. Get him some water. We think he got over heated. Dylan says "I got parts!", "I don't want to miss my parts!" We get him redressed and send him to sit next to his teacher. He does get to say the last of his 4 parts. He makes it across stage for his diploma. He had done it, he is a kindergarten graduate and I caught it all on video. (we won't even mention all of the emotion that I am feeling about my last is not a kindergartner anymore...I don't have a baby)

Well, I would love to post some great picture of Dylan in his cap & gown. Or the video of his eyes rolling back in his head. But our bad day wasn't over. We get home. Get the kids in. Medicate Dylan because now he is really warm. Get him to bed. Work with Rylee because she got chosen to teach. She is teaching science to her classmates. We totally forgot about our computer, our camera bag & my purse in the car. We woke up this morning to find my makeup bag in the road behind our car. My wallet in the middle of the road. My purse in the neighbors yard. If you know me you know I don't have any money in my purse or credit cards. So they didn't get that. They threw my wallet so I do have my drivers license. That is a good thing since I am leaving for Korea in 2 weeks. But then it hit us....We didn't carry in Todd's computer or our camera bag, with both cameras in it. They took my phone with Todd's phone charger. I don't even have a fancy phone. Don't get me wrong I loved my cameras but I can't replace the stuff on them. Dylan's graduation pictures, all of the video we took of Served on Sunday, Todd's scuba diving picture, & Kortney sharing her testimony for the first time. Those thing are irreplaceable. Our camera bag...Todd NEVER buys anything for himself. Last fall he bought himself the mac daddy camera bags from Disney World. It was packed perfectly with everything you could possibly need, band aids, batteries, headache medicine. It had our little family hobby on it. We collect Disney pins. We hunt for the perfect ones to clip to our bag. That means nothing to anyone expect us.

I just now thought of all of Todd's sermons & camp info on the computer. He has all the graphics & itineraries from past events. All of this years brainstorming ideas for this years youth camp. They could have that computer just give us the files. Maybe Satan really is in our computer. Anyway, I know God is in control and we praise Him in the good times and bad. I know this is probably spiritual warfare since we are are leaving for our mission trip. I know that we are strong enough to handle this but it really stinks...worse than the dog poop that I got on my hand. And I don't have any pictures for my scrapbook.
Leeanne
Phil 4:13
(This is my first blog)

Volunteer Tv News Story

2008-05-19T21:36:00.004-04:00

Here is a link to the 6:30 news story that WVLT did of Served! Way to go Wlbc!

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/19061704.html

Amazing Day

2008-05-18T21:07:00.001-04:00

What can 180+ people accomplish in 2 1/2 hours on a Sunday when they would regularly be in church? I don't know for sure but ask the countless people who were served fresh doughnuts in area hospitals, had gas pumped for them at the service station, stepped outside to a litter free street or had lunch waiting for them after checking on their child who is receiving treatment at Children's hospital. They might be able to give you a better idea of what that group of people can accomplish. Today was an amazing day for West Lonsdale Baptist Church and it's members. As promised, the doors were shut today and the church was closed, so we gathered in the parking lot, prayed and headed out to serve. God held off the rain and we went to work and I think that we and a small part of Knoxville are better off for it. Thanks to all of you WLBCers who came out today for something that you maybe weren't quite sure about. A big thanks to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for cranking out 50 dozen hot glazed rings of heaven in under three hours. And a huge thanks to Mike McCarthy for the great job on covering the events for WVLT tv. Most importantly thanks to the God of impossibilities who once again proved himself faithful in making flawed people tools that He can use to reach others. Thanks for reading.

P.S. Pictures and video to follow soon

Church Closing

2008-05-13T12:26:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday morning we announced that we would be closing the doors at West Lonsdale Baptist Church this coming Sunday. That's right when people show up this Sunday morning they won't be able to get into the building. Now don't panic, it is not because we have gone broke (contrary to popular opinion) or that we just don't have the ability or numbers to continue on. It is because over the last couple of weeks we have been learning about living a life of service. Let's face it there a few things we can be certain of:
1) This world is not always a pleasant place
2) People are suspicious of the church
3) Many people don't understand what a "relationship" with Christ is all about

This Sunday we are going to take step one in trying to remedy these three things. We are taking the church to the streets. That's right no Sunday School, no worship service just our members, their blue jeans and t-shirts and a city to be served. In lieu of regular services we will be doing various acts of service such as cleaning city parks for the Department of Parks and Recreation, taking food to those who are sitting and waiting for any word from doctors in area hospital waiting rooms and cleaning the streets in our local neighborhoods. We are going to take our shot at making this world a better place, presenting the church as an organism that is here to better our city and help it's citizens and by demonstrating that a relationship in Christ, while sometimes may "inconvenience" us, will lead us to love our neighbors.

It is going to be a day like no other in the history of WLBC and I am so excited about it. Imagine it with me 150- 200 people just doing what they can for an unsuspecting city. Sound exciting? Join us this Sunday at 9:00. And keep your eyes peeled, we just might SERVE you.

2008-05-12T17:55:00.006-04:00

Church wide day of service. Wlbc is taking the church to the streets. Put your blue jeans and your favorite wlbc shirt on and come prepared to serve others.
West Lonsdale Baptist Church

Sunday, May 18, 2008
9:00am - 1:30pm

30 Days

2008-05-06T16:16:00.002-04:00

That's right thirty days until we leave for Seoul, South Korea. I am so excited and so is the rest of our team about this trip. The eleven of us can't wait to see what God is going to do while we are there. Who knows what he could do with eleven willing hearts... actually I know exactly what He can do. I believe their journeys are chronicled in the New Testament. It is there that we get really cool promises like "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."(Matthew 19:26). How amazing is that? To have the opportunity to embark on an adventure that is prefaced with impossibility not being an option, all things being within the realm of possibility. Please pray for us from now until we return. We will be traveling June 5- June 13. We all covet your prayers as they are a necessary component of the mission that we are going to do. Thank you for reading, thanks for praying and continue to live for Him.

Only A Test

2008-04-17T11:00:00.003-04:00

So I am trying out video blogging. So the following is a test and only a test. If it were an actual blog it would contain something that might actually add value to your life... instead you will probably just wonder if you can ever get the these two and a half minutes back ;-)
Enjoy

Happy Family Day!

2008-04-03T22:56:00.002-04:00

So today, April 3 is what we call "Happy Family Day" in our house. The reason for that is because 5 years ago, April 3, 2003 our family of 4 became a family of 6! It was a day that changed our family for the better forever. We had an exiting day. After school we went to see Horton Hears a Who with Laken, Ashley and Luke and followed that with dinner at IHOP eating off of the Horton Hears a Who menu, Beezlenut Splash and Who-Cakes!!! Then we dropped the big gift on them, fall break '08... Disney Cruise with their Nana and cousins! They all went nuts in the IHOP. It was beautiful. What a day, what a family. Another interesting part of the day was a phone call I got. That's right Kortney got the call today, a former collegiate basketball player who now coaches AAU ball recognized Kortney's never say-die sense of hustle on the basketball court. They said never mind her size she poses certain intangibles that can't be taught. OK it is her former Upward coach and her friends from churches mom who needed a few more players, but she did overlook Kortney's height and pick her because of her hustle. Kortney is excited and we never expected to be a basketball family. My final thought is this: I just started a new series with the students on Wednesday nights, Life on Mars, a study of Galatians and one of the themes of the book is freedom in faith. I believe that sometimes there are certain issues from scripture that rather than trying to disect and out-think God we need to just embrace and apply. My God created and called me to follow Him, it is that simple and incredibly complicated at the same time. So as the apostle Paul says God, who set me apart from birth[a] and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him... All I can do is trust Him and follow. Have a great weekend.

Easter Sunday

2008-03-24T22:07:00.002-04:00

What an amazing weekend it was at West Lonsdale Baptist Church. The weekend began on Friday with our neighborhood Eggstravaganza, with over 130 people from our community coming out to celebrate Easter. Thank you to all of our WLBC family that worked so tirelessly to make this a great event. Then Sunday rolled around. We saw the biggest crowd we have seen in some time in the worship center here. I am not sure of the exact number but there wasn't an empty seat in the house it seemed. More importantly than that was the spirit, not one of doing our duty and showing up for Easter Sunday but a true spirit of worship. Our people were excited about being there and poured there hearts into celebrating our risen savior. Our worship pastor Jeff lead our services as we sang from Travis Cottrell's Alive Forever and it was a true worship experience. In the midst of the songs we drew the picture of the sacrifice of Christ. Luke Daily spoke first and he did better than I could ever have expected. What a great young man he is. He spoke of how Easter is all about emptiness - Christ's life being empty of sin, the cross being empty of His life and the tomb being empty for He had risen. I followed at two other points in the service by looking at how out of all of the people around Jesus in that closing week the only ones who demonstrated a true sense of worship were those we found in the shadow of the cross gazing at His sacrifice. Finally we looked at how Christ is the object of our worship because He is what we can never be... Resurrected Perfection. Our worship is wasted on that which we can be, an athlete, an author or actor, doctor or teacher, it should be devoted to the one who is what we can not be equal to. For me this Easter was about that reality, the obect of our worship - the Risen Savior. Thank you West Lonsdale for making it a great day. Hearts were changed and we are moving forward in His name.

Thoughts On Orlando

2008-03-21T14:32:00.003-04:00

"If you're not rocking where you're at now, don't bother asking God for more." This was a quote from Chris Hill a speaker that I heard at the Youth Pastors Summit this week and I thought how cool that is. So many times we want to look right past where God has put us and we want Him to give us the grand. For youth pastors this is so true so much of the time. We want the huge numbers, the big budget, a number one book or a full calendar of speaking engagements but we are running a mediocre group of eighteen and doing a pretty good job of running them into the ground. We all need to learn to be a little more satisfied with where we are and build a desire to be the best at where we are and then let God bring us the blessing from it. As Jay Strack says "if the grass is greener, it means the sewer runs under it." Rock where you are and see what God brings your way next.

The Big Event ~ Challenge 60

2008-03-11T23:37:00.002-04:00

The Big Event is Tomorrow!!!
Invite your friends. We still
are doing Challenge 60
4 Weeks, 60 Students, Go!

IMPACT Classic

2008-03-06T23:36:00.004-05:00

Friday is the second annual IMPACT Classic basketball tournament. It is going to be a great weekend. Twenty teams from all over the area are coming to play ball. If you would like to see some quality games check it out Friday and Saturday @ West Lonsdale with the u-11, u-13 and u-15 brackets and Saturday @ Emerald Youth Foundation with the u-14 bracket. A special to thanks to those who have already put in so much work and in advance to the parents and students that are going to give up so much time this weekend for this event. It will pay off to our ministry in a big way. Come see it happen.

Chuck -E- Cheese

2008-03-04T09:17:00.003-05:00

So two moms apparently went after each other at their kids birthday party... at Chuck-E-Cheese... the kids pizza place... in front of their kids... and all of their friends. What are we thinking? Aren't we as adults supposed to have a little better control over ourselves than we seem to show so many times? This story just reminds me that we are such selfish creatures. At our core it seems that more times than not we think of us and our feelings than we do the thoughts and feelings of others. It seems to me that scripture kind of tells us to do the opposite (I'm not doing all the work for you, I told you it was there, you go find it). In this crazy mixed up world that we live in, we believers in Christ need to make sure that we are seeking to please Him first and then we will hopefully be able to suppress that ugly creature known as self. It is at that moment where those around us can begin to sit up and take notice that there is a difference in those who call Christ daddy and those who are still searching. A difference worth searching for in your life.

Talk at you later

The Last Few Days

2008-02-23T00:15:00.003-05:00

It's been a rough past few days. A bit of the flu and I was down for about three days. That is very unusual for me as I typically do not get sick for long. I had a great group of care takers though and they really helped with my recovery. I actually missed Wednesday night which is very rare for me but things didn't miss a beat. The biggest key to successful leadership is surrounding yourself with a great team... so Anthony, Luke, Erin and Josh THANK YOU! It only took a couple of phone calls to ensure that of all the things that were causing my body to feel like the cruddy residue sometimes left on a glass by the dishwasher, the worry of IMPACT was not one of them. The good news is I am feeling better and am excited about Dylan's big 6th birthday and getting back into the swing of things on Sunday. Thanks for reading and have a great weekend.
But I prayed, "Now strengthen my hands." - Nehemiah 6:9

A Late Valentine

2008-02-18T00:11:00.002-05:00

As I write this the subject of this blog is unknowingly asleep 4 feet from me on the couch. Sitting here in the quiet of the night I am reminded of 2 words that she spoke to me over fourteen years ago. Those two words... "I know." Those are the two words that she said to me the night that I told her that God had called me to ministry. On the verge of getting married, ready to start a new life together, her sense of understanding of our upcoming life was incredible. Ever sense that day she has been the greatest companion a pastor could ask for, honest (sometimes to my dismay for some of those ideas were brilliant), supportive, complimentary. She has been all that I could ask for and more. I would like to say to her here and now thank you and I love you. All of the nights that I have come home and said "I'm tired" she encouraged me to rest. All of the nights I have come home and said "no one is getting it" she has reminded me of changed lives. All of the times I have said "can we do that?" she has said "Oh yea and they will never forget it." It has been an amazing fourteen years of ministry, time together, memories and family. None of it is possible without you and me together so thanks for being there, thanks for being a part and thanks for being my wife.

"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life."
-Proverbs 31

Playing games

2008-02-10T00:49:00.001-05:00

Expecting something super spiritual? Well here it is...don't play Cranium with someone who listens to show tunes and Barry Manilow. They just can't figure out songs like "I Think Were Alone Now" or "It's the End of the World" no matter how well you hum them. And you should always draw a beach with a palm tree if you want people to guess what it is. In the end it didn't matter though because my team won anyway. Sometimes in life having a great deal of useless knowledge comes in handy, yes even makes one great or at least the winner of a little game called Cranium.

Sick

2008-02-07T22:21:00.000-05:00

It's 10:20 pm and I am sitting here watching The Apprentice" but more importantly I am sitting here with my daughter Kortney. She is feeling pretty rough tonight with an ear ache. It is heartbreaking really because she can't lay her head down without crying. She is in an incredible amount of pain and I seem to be unable to do anything about it. I wonder if God ever feels the same way about us. Not to say that God can't help us but I wonder if many times He sits there and watches us survive in pain and we never reach out to Him for help. The great physician is sitting there waiting to help us in our times of need and we would rather live with the pain. I would give anything in this moment for her to feel better right now. God gave His son to relieve our pain and that relief is ours for the taking. Stay tuned for more Deep Thoughts...

Praying for you

Watching the fire

2008-02-04T22:37:00.000-05:00

I love a good fire in the fireplace. In our house we love a good fire so much that we built a bookcase and a mantle around the fireplace to enhance the enjoyment off a fire in our fireplace. Tonight as I have been watching a good fire I have noticed that it burns so beautifully for a while, bright and vibrant with lots of sound, crackling and popping. After a little while though it looses some of its luster. The flames aren't as big, the colors as vibrant and the popping becomes more of a sizzle. When that happens guess what I do? That's right, I go to the porch and grab another log and throw it on the fire and then I watch it catch back up. Without the new wood the fire would go out. In other words there has to be fuel added or the fire dies. What a truth for our hearts and lives. Without adding fuel to our Christian life the fire of our heart will begin to dim and fade. That fire starts so bright and vivid but the world dowses it with water and tries to cool the coals. We can keep it going though by adding fuel through Bible study, church fellowship, prayer and service. By putting ourselves in a position to allow God to use us and see Him work we will keep that fire burning throughout this life.

"My ears are filled with the sounds of promise:
'Good people will prosper like palm trees,
Grow tall like Lebanon cedars;
transplanted to God's courtyard,
They'll grow tall in the presence of God,
lithe and green, virile still in old age.'"
Psalm 92:12-13

2008-02-03T23:10:00.000-05:00

What a weekend! Nothing like 20 high school students, a lot of food, a little game of murder and some great God time to get things going. On top of that you add a good Sunday morning crowd, a Giants Super Bowl upset and dinner at Louie's and not even an attempted coup on my lungs by some nasty phlegm could bring me down. But on top of all of that there was one thing that happened this weekend even better than all of this combined... want to know what it is? My boys get to be my boys forever. That's right Big "D" and the Pickle are getting adopted and will be Halliburton's from now on. The Psalmist David says in Psalm 126:3 "The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." I couldn't have said it better myself, so I just ripped it off of him. Exciting things are going on and I am blessed to get to be a part of them.

Later

I am alive!

2008-01-30T22:24:00.000-05:00

So I was sitting in my living room tonight cruising the "net" (that's what us cool youth guys call the internet) when I realized that I had been removed from a Blogs I Read list. Now I will leave this remover anonymous so not to damage their psyche but it was at that moment that I decided it was time to write again. Now happening upon this disturbing event threatened to upset what had been a good evening. We had a great night at IMPACT tonight and High School Retreat is just around the corner but nothing this offender could have done would have disrupted this night. Tonight my heart was blessed by a student, one of those students that just finds a special place in your heart. It is amazing to watch God work in the life of a student but when they come to you and extend thanks for being a part of that, it is indescribable. So as you can see this unnamed assailant could not steal this night. I guess I have taken this as a good lesson that I can't go so long without posting or else I run the risk of being "REMOVED!" So for all of you blog readers I'm back and for you lone blog's I read remover... I'm just messing with you.

2007-11-12T13:35:00.000-05:00

Ever heard of Cher Ami? No? Well allow me to take a moment and enlighten you. Cher Ami was a carrier pigeon that was owned and used by the Army Signal Corps in France during World War I. He is credited with helping save the Lost Battalion of the US 77th and with 12 successful missions. For his service he was awarded the Croix de Guerre (Cross of War) a French honor given to those who were foreign allies of the French. In his last mission he delivered his message despite having been shot through the breast, blinded in one eye,covered with his own blood and a leg barely hanging on by a tendon. What honor, what commitment, what... wait a minute he was a bird for crying out loud. While he is now stuffed and found on display in the Smithsonian in Washington DC he is not there for acts of great heroism, he was after all only a bird. He is there because he did one thing and one thing only... what he was trained to do. You see as a bird trained by the signal corps he was taught, when released, to fly home. It was instinct, not even second nature, it was the only thing he knew.
What is your first instinct in life? Are you driven by self and your own gratification? By a desire to serve Christ? Maybe you live to please others. Chances are you are like me and you are a mix of two or even all three of these things. You see we react to this life based on our training and we have learned to train ourselves to do all of these things because we please others from 9-5 Monday through Friday, we please our selves when we go home in the evenings and God? well He gets our Sundays, at least the rainy, cold but not to cold, I've got nothing better to do Sundays. Now I know that I am being a little harsh here but I am just trying to drive home the that Christ is not first nature in our lives because we choose not to allow Him to be. Jesus Himself said the greatest commandment was to "Love God" followed by loving our neighbors or living for others. God first, then family and friends and in that formula we will find true satisfaction for ourselves. Just something to think about. Thanks for checking it out.

See ya real soon!

2007-10-16T09:08:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since I have been here last. Let me share with you a few things I have learned since the last post... 1) Tennessee football is still alive 2) Jedi masters carry green lightsabers 3) My wife is even more amazing and talented than I ever thought 4) A church can decide what to do with $200,000 and not only not fight about it but have so much faith in the teams making the decisions that they hardley even question it 5) My kids are really good soccer players 6) Vertigo under water is not fun 7) Vacation is now only 3 days away.

I must say it has been a great couple of weeks and I only see it getting better. I will keep this short because I am preparing for vacation and the next two Sunday series and the next Wednesday series. So in keeping it short I will say this, in all of our lives we reach a point where we either stop moving forward or we press on. Sometimes we allow lifes circumstances to slow our forward progress, but a principle that I have learned in football is never stop churcning because you are rewarded for forward progress. That being said, here is your preview of the upcoming series - Jesus while speaking to us simply said "GO!"

See ya real soon!

Just Getting By

2007-09-25T13:18:00.000-04:00

So I am learning to scuba dive and it is awesome. One element that we have been made to practice over and over is clearing our mask, that is to fill our masks with water and then blow the water out leaving us with a clean, empty mask and we do all of this while under water. Pretty cool huh? The problem is I am not very good at it. It usually takes me more than once to clear it and then I don't always get it cleared all the way. Some of the time I decide that I have cleared enough out and rather than continue to fool with it I will leave a little bit of water in the bottom of the mask. Not enough to bother me but enough to know that it is still there. It is not even enough water to bother my instructors, they think I am doing a good job. As I thought about my lessons the other day I thought of how this resembles my and so many others approach to our Christian lives so much of the time. What I mean is this, we do enough to feel like we are doing our duty but we don't give it everything, it's even enough for the people around us to even think we are doing a good job but we just aren't giving it everything. Eventually we forget what it feels like to give it our all and settle for something less as normal. Well I make this promise to you right now, from now on I will clear my mask all the way, no short cuts or stopping short for me and as for my Christian life and relationship I want to experience everything God has in store for me so no cutting corners there either. I wonder will you join me in this challenge? Let's just see what happens when we give God everything.

Now Is the Time

2007-09-19T09:28:00.000-04:00

Carpe diem- "Seize the Day" is a common phrase used to inspire minds and hearts to do great things. However according to wikipedia this is not the most accurate translation of this phrase. According to the contributors of this ever so popular site a more precise translation would be "pluck the day" as in plucking or picking fruit. When Leeanne and I lived in North Carolina we had a big apple tree in our side yard. It put out a ton of apples every year which were good for eating but great for making pies... mmmm mmmm. I can remember going out there and picking apples off of that tree for myself or Leeanne or Kortney to eat. It was very simple, I would just reach up and "pop" just pull one right off. Sometimes after getting it off of the tree and inspecting it I realized that maybe it wasn't the one I wanted and was then faced with a choice, would I keep it and eat it anyway or would I throw it in the yard for the local wildlife (aka. a squirrel or the ginormous groundhog that lived in the barn) to eat. I never had the option of attaching it back to the tree though, once I picked it there was no putting it back. Every day is coming and once it arrives there is no putting it back and once it arrives you have a choice - survive it, walk through the day to day specifics or pluck it, that is use it for something that is beautiful and good. Just as the picked fruit would be used to eat and the time spent getting it was great time together with my family every day can be a time of sharing life through Christ with others. That is sharing with them something that is good and beautiful. Hebrews 13:16 says "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." "Pluck the Day" everyday for now is the time to make something beautiful out of the day that has been given to us.