Annalee's Hawiian 14th Birthday Party

Shown here are Monique, Abby, Annalee and Becky all dressed for a sleep over (should be called a 'stay up over') watching all three Pirates of the Caribean movies back to back!

Ah 'tis true... my little girl is growing up! The Hawiian theme encompassed the Dining room too.

There was a little 'carpet surfing'


And of course CAKE

Colin Won AWANA Grand Prix Award

Greetings friends!

Sorry to have been idle so long. A long explanation is due, but it would prevent me posting these important updates so it will have to wait.

Colin designed and entered his "Madge" locomotive tow truck in the AWANA (stands for Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed from the Bible II Timothy 3:16 -- It's a youth group for kids at our church and, in fact, worldwide) Grad Prix and Won the Most Creative Prize. He cut it out on the bandsaw, sanded and shaped it. I cut some pieces of wooden railway track from his Thomas the Tank engine toys and helped hom glue them on. Then he and I spray painted it literally hand in hand. He held the can and started and stopped the pain and I helped guide his had to get even coverage. We painted the trim together and he finished with a black sharpie marker. I added the washers to get it up to the weight limit to help it race well (didn't work)

All in all we had a lot of fun together!

Bike to the Bay 2008 is History!

Well, it's over for this year! The Pike Creek Bible Church team are (left to right): John Jobes, Dan Weber (captain), Reed Potecha, Phil McNeil, Mark Legere and myself. It was even raining when we took the picture as it did for much of the two days.

Thanks to the many of you who prayed for us as there were no significant accidents or injuries. Thanks as well to the many who supported each of us by giving to Bike MS in our names. If you pledged and haven't sent in the money yet (or if you haven't pledged yet) there's still time. The cut off is late in October.

That's all for now

Still me... still here

No, contrary to the appearance of this blog, I am not dead. Although these days I find myself quoting Dolly Parton's Nine to Five character "I'm as busy as a one legged man in a butt kicking contest"

Yes, family are all well. Yes, my work, like yours, is busy but good. I have seen the blessing of answered prayer in my requests for effectiveness and wisdom in my use of time.

In an apparent attempt to compound my busy-ness to near insane levels, I have signed up to ride the Bike to the Bay MS150 to raise money for Multiple Sclerosis. It is scheduled to be a 150 mile, two day ride from Dover, DE to Rehobeth, DE on Saturday, Sept 27, 2008 and back on Sunday.

To move me toward a completing a personal goal to ride 200 miles in one day (sometime next Spring, maybe), I am planning to begin at first light (0-dark thirty, Fred) Saturday in Rehobeth and ride to Dover and back. Then I expect to join a number of friends for the 75 mile return trip Sunday.

This is the third or fourth time I've ridden in this event or one like it (City to Shore). Each time it seems I become aware of more people I know personally that are affected by MS. The training is going well, though the lo-o-ong distance experts I am reading are a little grim in their outlook.

Read up on my trip if you like here or ask me how I did (or if I am able to sit down yet (haha))

Bye for now...
ksk<><<

I've started a picture board

In order to help me pray for you more effectively, I have started a picture board here at my desk. It has pictures of many of you as well as pictures that remind me of others. I fear that as things continue to be busy, I could overlook my commitment to hold you up before our Abba (our heavenly daddy). At the same time,
I'm memorizing I Sam 12:23 Moreover, as for me, God forbid that I should sin against the LORD in ceasing to pray for you...

To that end, keep me up to date as to how you'd like me to pray

yours and His
ksk<><

Anxious mind?

Listen to this quote and tell me, sounds like Old Testament or New?

There, the Lord will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life.

It may have been a bad way to ask the question... it is old testament (Deuteronomy 28:65b-66), but it made me think that I sometimes feel like this.

It comes from a section near the end of Moses life when he is re-telling Israel about the blessings of obeying God's Law and the curses for disobeying. A few verses previous, he lays out the way to avoid the foreign captivity that brings about the above desperate mental situation: (58) "...carefully follow all the words of this law..." and "...revere this glorious and awesome name -- the Lord your God..."

I feel al little like I am a foreign captive of sin... longing and pining for the righteousness of Heaven, the eternal joy of worship unhindered by my own sin, the relief of being forever freed of the consequences of my bad choices and those of others.

Should it be this way? God has given us all things freely to enjoy... there are blessings to be had here... am I being too far-sighted?

Thanks for sharing this thought with me...

Daddy, what does "Maundy" mean?

Yesterday, as my family and I worshipped together, during the announcements both kids, almost in unison turned and asked nearly the same question.

I remember looking it up before, and I remember being surprised at its meaning, but I could not remember what it meant. Turns out the word maundy means command. According to Wikipedia,

The word Maundy is derived through Middle English, and Old French mandé, from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ("A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you"), the statement by Jesus in the Gospel of John (13:34) by which Jesus explained to the Apostles the significance of his action of washing their feet.

So we are commanded by Jesus word and example to love one another at the level of washing one anothers' feet: intimate, humble and self-deprecating.

I am praying you'll have a blessed and transformational Holy Week