God Works Behind The Scenes

Arlington Central Church in our new home! 

 

HOWDY AND HELLO!!!

     There is a lot to be thankful for this past month: a second sonogram of our baby girl, an influx of new students and visitors to our church, multiple student baptisms at our church, and plenty of memories being made with my guys I have come to really care for.

    Once again, I reminded of the joy of this ministry I get to participate in and want to extend a thank you to all of you on my support team and who read this blog. 

 Let's jump in to February!!!


Sweet girl. I have been told she has my nose.

    Our baby is growing healthy and we are getting more and more excited to meet her. She has started moving enough in Emily for her to feel her. I have felt 1 or 2 little kicks and it is so sweet. 

    One of the elements of having her I am most excited for is all our friends, family, and community getting to meet her and vice versa. It warms my heart to think about her growing up with lots of different faces coming through our home for small groups, or lunches, or playdates specifically for her!! She is going to grow up knowing what it looks like to love others and be loved by others.


Kamaal and I found these hotdogs out in the wild, no where near a hotdog dispensary. Mysterious.

   

My favorite view on Thursdays.

    I am still hosting Public Reading of Scripture every Thursday, and we have continued to have consistent turnout from students. I am praying that next semester, more students will see the commitment this first group has had and follow suit. The vision is caught, not taught, right?

    We have read through 22 books of the Bible, so about 1/3 of the books. It has been neat getting to read some of the old testament books, like Genesis and Exodus, because so many of our students have "heard the stories" but they have never read it for themselves, and sometimes, they don't even know the story right. I am beginning to see the cogs turn in some of their brains as they get more familiar with themes and tropes in scripture. 

    One of Emily's peer team girls (meaning she is a student leader that Emily disciples) named Abi has been a real joy to have weekly. She is such a faithful friend and member of our community, but she did not grow up reading the Bible. She is one of the best question askers. She is bold and unashamed. Rather than worry about looking like she knows it all, she asks basic and often overlooked questions, because she really wants to get Jesus. I hope this weekly gathering of scripture reading will be a catalyst for eager seeking of God's truth in her life for years to come.


William dropping in at the skate park. I learned to do it on the scooter.

    I took two guys, William and Garrett, to a skate park earlier this month. William is a sweet student with a bit of odd tendencies. Lots of his peers on campus turn a blind eye to him, but he has stuck around our community. I think he has found a place where he is welcomed and treated with respect. 

    Garrett has been an ideal friend to him. He was eager to go to the skate park with us, a venture that William suggested to me, because he scooters. Garrett has gone from a believer focused on himself to a disciple looking out for others in such a short time. I know I have gotten to be a part of Garrett's spiritual formation, but I still can look at the fruit being born and just think about Mark 4:26-27.
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

    Praise God for moving in the lives of people in ways we cannot see. Praise God for moving in our communities in ways we cannot see. Praise God for moving in the fellowship we host in ways we cannot see. Praise God for moving in my babies life that I literally cannot see yet. 

    I invite you to consider ways God is moving around you, both the visible and invisible. What is something, a year ago, you would not have believed would have happened? How did God make that happen?

I assure you, Garrett is by no means shredding

Waldo being affectionate with my friend, Andrew M during core.


Emily moments before she got so scared she fell on her bum.

    Andrew from my core has brought his Oculus VR headset multiple times for us to play together after core. It is a ridiculous contraption with even more ridiculous games. We have diffused bombs together and survived multiple nights in a murderous pizza parlor. I think these activities, while not inherently spiritual, build up memories and faithful friendships.

The king of gamers himself.

Prayer requests


- That all of the students invited to our Student Leader Trip in May will be able to attend.
- For Andrew C to find a career path that makes sense for him.
- For Andrew M to find more comfort in Christ and Community
- For Samuel to grow in relationships and trust
- For my baby girl to grow healthy and know the Lord
- For me as a pastor and a father


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Vision of Discipleship is Caught, Not Taught

Image
It looks like I am hosting a sermon on the side of a hill, but it was just dinner at Gasworks park  HOWDY AND HELLO!!! It is now June, and I have a great update to share with y'all from May. But first I want to say thank you so much for your continued support. It is Summer now, so my fundraising has begun, meaning many of the people receiving this are reading for the first time. Thank you for joining along in this mission of discipling young college students. This update will be primarily about our most recent leadership trip up to Washington. Every May we take students to the Student Institute of Campus Ministry (SICM) up in Bellingham. This was our largest group invited yet, over 150 students who want to be equipped to make Christ known on campus.  This conference has been foundational to the growth of our ministry as a whole, and a huge impact on the lives of hundreds of individuals who have come through FOCUS over the years, including my own. When I went as a freshman in 2...
Read more

Parenting, Prayers, and People We Have Yet To Meet

Image
HOWDY AND HELLO! Bonnie's 1 month celebration. She was not very stoked.      Bonnie is a bit older than a month now, because I have been so slow to write this blog! New parenting is wild but so sweet, so thank you for your patience.      This is the last update from Summer, so no more slow blog updates. It is about to get really busy and really exciting. The beginning of the school year is the sowing season of ministry. It sees the most hours on campus, the most fervent prayers, and the most new faces. Pray for me, Emily, and our whole team of staff and students to have the energy, wisdom, joy, and love necessary to meet new students for Christ.      I will be leading multiple pairings of our men leaders this upcoming year. It is a new role for me, one that I have been very eager to step into since I started back in 2021. Now that it is finally happening, I am feeling the pressure of wanting to give my guys the best I can. I know if I stick t...
Read more

Growth Spurt

Image
 Howdy and Hello!  She was flabbergasted I would take a selfie of her right when she woke up.   The scho ol year has officially started and it has been so special so far.       First I would like to apologize for how late this is. I am still figuring out the balance of work and parenthood. I so so appreciate all the support and prayers that you all give to me, and I love keeping you all in the loop with how God is moving through your gifts and prayers.      The school year always starts with many long hours on campus hosting events, making new friends, and just generally making ourselves as leaders as available as possible to students.  This first week involves so many new faces and new conversations. Lots of people checking out our ministry at the petting zoo We hosted a petting zoo to help us meet new students during the first week of classes My buddy, Mauricio, with his new friend during welcome week We attended many campus event...
Read more