Time sure does fly. We cannot believe we've just finished our first year on campus. Also unbelievable is the time since we've last updated the blog. Our apologies. Life's been THAT busy.
Ministry has been great; that doesn't mean its been easy or exactly what we've been praying for, but that does mean we recognize God is at work and He is sovereign over this ministry. What else can you ask for?!? We have learned a TON about ministry and seeking the Lord and portraying Him to the students in a Biblical way. One of the frustrating parts of ministry is not seeing more students engaged in reaching out to their fellow classmates/dorm mates. We've been trying several methods to show the importance of evangelism and how that can practically be done. I was reminded by another staff member recently that it can become wearisome for students to so often hear us preach sharing their faith.
I think sometimes we forget that the goal is Jesus - He is the end, He is the goal. As we make much of Him, as we fall more in love with Jesus, I believe then we will be moved to be His ambassadors. When I was a kid, I loved going to concerts and sporting events. After each, all I wanted to do was be on the stage or the field/court. I saw Audio Adrenaline in concert once and determined in my heart that I would one day be in a rock band. I was gripped by the artists, by their energy, by the notes and chords and the melodies, by the atmosphere they created and I wanted to be that. I think in some ways its the same with Jesus. As we see Him and know Him and experience Him (not that we are to seek the emotional experience but Jesus Himself), we become gripped by the Savior and want to be like Him. I pray that Jesus would be each of the students' (and our) satisfaction and joy each and every day.
Our family is doing well. Emma and Eve have really learned to share well at such an early age - they keep passing the same cold back and forth to each other. I am convinced that some engineer needs to come up with a way to make snot a new source of energy. The snot production in our house alone could have provided power to 1 million homes or maybe been able to power some sort of mechanism to reduce the Red River Valley flood waters.
We are still adjusting to our family of 4. People ask us how its going parenting another baby and we say that the baby is easy, its the 2 year old we worry about. Evie's smile is contagious and makes you feel like you just succeeded in carrying out a plan for world peace. She is getting super interactive and is a really good baby. Emma is awesome - we write down hilarious things she says just about every day. For example, she has been potty training lately and always has her hands all over, in and around the toilet. We always tell her to keep her hands off it and off her bottom because of germs. A couple days ago she went up to a friend of ours and right out of the blue told her "I have germs on my butt!" What do you say?!
Sara is doing an AMAZING job of juggling so many things. We have plans to get her more involved in ministry things this fall. She has such a gift and passion to invest herself into college girls and they benefit so much from her experience. She is sooo good at freeing me up for ministry. We just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary! At this rate, by our 9th anniversary we will have 6 kids! (We don't expect this pattern to keep up)
This summer we will be traveling a bunch: Sioux Falls, North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), Fort Collins (Colorado) and the Black Hills of SD. We are excited to experience new ministry settings. Pray for our girls with all the traveling!
Ministry has been great; that doesn't mean its been easy or exactly what we've been praying for, but that does mean we recognize God is at work and He is sovereign over this ministry. What else can you ask for?!? We have learned a TON about ministry and seeking the Lord and portraying Him to the students in a Biblical way. One of the frustrating parts of ministry is not seeing more students engaged in reaching out to their fellow classmates/dorm mates. We've been trying several methods to show the importance of evangelism and how that can practically be done. I was reminded by another staff member recently that it can become wearisome for students to so often hear us preach sharing their faith.
I think sometimes we forget that the goal is Jesus - He is the end, He is the goal. As we make much of Him, as we fall more in love with Jesus, I believe then we will be moved to be His ambassadors. When I was a kid, I loved going to concerts and sporting events. After each, all I wanted to do was be on the stage or the field/court. I saw Audio Adrenaline in concert once and determined in my heart that I would one day be in a rock band. I was gripped by the artists, by their energy, by the notes and chords and the melodies, by the atmosphere they created and I wanted to be that. I think in some ways its the same with Jesus. As we see Him and know Him and experience Him (not that we are to seek the emotional experience but Jesus Himself), we become gripped by the Savior and want to be like Him. I pray that Jesus would be each of the students' (and our) satisfaction and joy each and every day.
Our family is doing well. Emma and Eve have really learned to share well at such an early age - they keep passing the same cold back and forth to each other. I am convinced that some engineer needs to come up with a way to make snot a new source of energy. The snot production in our house alone could have provided power to 1 million homes or maybe been able to power some sort of mechanism to reduce the Red River Valley flood waters.
We are still adjusting to our family of 4. People ask us how its going parenting another baby and we say that the baby is easy, its the 2 year old we worry about. Evie's smile is contagious and makes you feel like you just succeeded in carrying out a plan for world peace. She is getting super interactive and is a really good baby. Emma is awesome - we write down hilarious things she says just about every day. For example, she has been potty training lately and always has her hands all over, in and around the toilet. We always tell her to keep her hands off it and off her bottom because of germs. A couple days ago she went up to a friend of ours and right out of the blue told her "I have germs on my butt!" What do you say?!
Sara is doing an AMAZING job of juggling so many things. We have plans to get her more involved in ministry things this fall. She has such a gift and passion to invest herself into college girls and they benefit so much from her experience. She is sooo good at freeing me up for ministry. We just celebrated our 3 year wedding anniversary! At this rate, by our 9th anniversary we will have 6 kids! (We don't expect this pattern to keep up)
This summer we will be traveling a bunch: Sioux Falls, North Myrtle Beach (South Carolina), Fort Collins (Colorado) and the Black Hills of SD. We are excited to experience new ministry settings. Pray for our girls with all the traveling!
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