Merry Christmas!

New Year's Resolution...

Have you started thinking about your New Year's Resolutions yet? 

Christmas is only 2 days away.  A new year (and a new decade) begins just 7 days after that.

In the past we have created all kinds of extensive goals and resolutions with elaborate diagrams and rewards and timelines...  but as this new year begins with us living out of a suitcase, unsure of what the next year will bring, and not even know exactly where we'll be living 3 months from now.

So this year, instead of making New Year's resolutions that will take many months (or even the whole year) to complete/achieve/accomplish/procrastinate, we're planning to do just two simple things for the first 30 days of the new year.

Ready or not, here they come!

photo and 30 day New Testament idea via Steven Furtick @ Elevation Church

1. Read through the New Testament of the Bible in 30 days (we'll use this plan)

2. Run or walk 30 miles in 30 days 

That's it.

Two simple things that we figure will take between 30 and 45 minutes per day for 30 days. It's a great way to start a year, don't you think?

So who's in this with us? Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter and we'll encourage each other along the way. 

Whether you join us or not, we hope you have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

"Glory to God in highest heaven, Who unto man His Son hath given; While angels sing with tender mirth, A glad new year to all the earth." -Martin Luther

p.s. It does NOT count if you read this so-called bible, but you get *mega-Bonus Points* if you read out of this Bible =)

Credo in Deum...

I just remembered this quote as I was preparing to talk with a friend about the trustworthiness of God.

"I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts and suddenly realized that I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I cannot answer to the reality of answers I cannot escape…and it’s a great relief." -Tom Skinner

All the world loves a parade...

Last week we got to enjoy our very first Lynden in Lights Christmas parade as a family. We nearly froze our poffertjes off, but we had so much fun.  We all gathered in front of Dutch Mothers Restaurant and sipped hot chocolate while watching the festive floats.  Isaiah had never even been to a parade before, so the whole night was pretty special for him... but it got even better, because not only did he get to watch the parade, but he actually got to be in the very last float (the bigsteelbox.com entry, driven by Papa)!

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

How much do you have to hate someone?

*photo via gilespinault on flickr.com

Have you ever tried sharing your faith with an atheist? 

I vividly remembering being verbally torn to shreds by a woman I met in a courthouse.  We sat next to each other while waiting to be selected for jury duty.  I found it ironic that I was reading my Bible and thinking about how great God is, while she was reading Christopher Hitchins "God is not Great." I thought it would be fun to talk about Jesus with her.  There was nothing fun about it...  after that encounter I felt more on trial than criminal we later found guilty!

Even though that was not a fun experience, we're more excited than ever to tell people about Jesus.  We saw this video clip several months ago, but were reminded of it last night and wanted to share it with you. In the clip, Penn Jilette, a devout atheist and one-half of one of the hottest comedy/magic duos around (they even have their own iphone app!), shares about a man who approached him with a Gideon Bible after attending one of his comedy/magic shows in Las Vegas.

*if the clip doesn't load, click here to view it at youtube.com

Notice a few things about this that really stood out to Penn:

• Wasn't ashamed ("He looked me right in the eye...")
  
• Was kind and truly complimentary
• Goodness ("There was a really good man...")
  

There is no illusion in the video, but there is something "magical" about it, don't you think?

Now, a question for you... do you remember who gave you your first bible?

Unpacking an adventure...

After about 2 weeks of very minimal internet access (plus even less time to spend online if we would have had a connection), the bloggers are back!
If there was any picture that could sum up the way we feel after the last several weeks of
packing,
goodbyes, 
drama with the house (by the way- it still hasn't sold),
driving across the country,
unloading into mini-storage,
being reunited with family and friends,
and learning to live out of a suitcase from November-February...

it's probably this one:

 
Although we're feeling tired and maybe even a little overwhelmed at times, it really is great to be back in the Lynden area.  And now that we're here, we'd love to see your smiling face! This Sunday (Dec. 6th) evening we'll be sharing about our ministry with FamilyLife and our upcoming move to Australia. If you didn't get a postcard in the mail, see the details below:

We'd love to see you there! We hope to see you here too... now that we're back online and crawling out from an avalanche of emails and correspondence, we're excited to start back up with consistent blogging, facebook and tweeting.

Now let's hear from you:

1. How many email are currently in your main inbox?
2. What is your best advice for getting caught up with email and facebook when you've been away for a long time?

Thanks again for your advice, your patience and your prayers.  We're praying that God would do some excellent things around us in this time of transition from Little Rock to Lynden to Melbourne.  Aristophanes summed it up well: "Why, I'd like nothing better than to achieve some bold adventure, worthy of our trip."

On the move...

You don't realize how much God has blessed/trusted you with until it
comes time to move it all.

I recently heard a perceptive fellow say "Wow, moving to Australia is
like moving to a whole other country!"

We load up the moving truck this morning. What route would you
recommend we drive to get to Australia the fastest?

Fun is Falling...

"Everyone must take time to sit and watch the leaves turn." -Elizabeth Lawrence

November 2009 Prayer Letter

We're a few steps closer in the process of moving to Melbourne, Australia. Check out our latest prayer letter for the scoop:

Ross and Taya's Prayer Letter // 11.3.09
*if the .pdf doesn't load, click here to view it on scribd

Movement...

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.” -Albert Einstein

Isaiah seems like he's constantly moving, wiggling, bouncing, dancing, running...

Elijah is on the move even more now that he's walking...

*if the video doesn't load, click here to view it at youtube

We have accepted an offer on our house! The offer came 4 hours after hearing the Realtor say that nothing was selling and we should be considering other options. We're moving soon...

And we are getting excited to move to Melbourne, Australia in late January. Our greatest desire is to be used by God to build movements of people who truly love and follow Jesus...

*photo by John White photos via Flickr