Fall-Colored Flowers

So it, again, has been a while, but I'm not apologizing...just stating the obvious. :) Last Friday Gary brought me flowers. They were so pretty, that I took pictures of them. You'll have to take a look.


Well...what's been happening...a lot. Stresses of work and church life have kind of overtaken us. But we're hanging in there. We're going home to San Antonio this weekend to visit my family. My aunt Katie and Uncle Gary and their girls are coming in from Seattle for Friday and Saturday, and it's been a while since we last saw them, so it will be lots of fun to spend time with all of them. I'm really excited about seeing little Mollie, too. I haven't seen my niece since July, and it's way past time we made our way there to see everyone.

We've been doing lots of stuff with our small group, in serving in different areas in the community. This past Monday, Gary and I went to what's called the "Bridges Apartment Ministry." Gary was in charge of a whole bunch of rowdy kids for a movie night. I spent some time with a few ladies in a cooking night. We made some healthy recipes and just chatted. It was an interesting evening. I think Gary was a little worn out at the end of the evening, but he was such a good sport.

Last week, at school, we recorded our Holiday CD for this upcoming holiday season. Yea - in October we were already singing about Hanukkah and Christmas...crazy, but that's how it goes. I'm really excited about the fact that Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. That means that I just have another week and a half to go until I get some time off. Yay! Well, I guess I'm taking tomorrow off to go to San Antonio, but Thanksgiving just is all warm and fuzzy. It's all good.

So, recently while I've been working out at our new gym, Fitness 19, they have individual TV screens on different cardio equipment. That's been my time to be connected to what's going on in the world. And I've chosen to "connect" to the Food Channel (hehe!!) and HG-TV. It's given me a lot of motivation to become more domestic...however, the spirit is willing, but the flesh is so weak. I'm just not confident in my cooking abilities...and don't have a whole lot of time right now. But one of these days, I'm going to become superwoman and find the time for all that fun stuff.

Hmm...what else can I say...my mind is blank, so I guess I'll call it quits for now. You can just enjoy looking at the flowers, as I did for a good week or so.

Gotta go pack for our trip to SA...yay!!

It's Inspiring

I just finished looking at an old friend's blog (Kristen Slaughter), and the way she wrote was so inspiring to me. It was so neat to see what they've been up to in the past three years, and I just skimmed over her blog, but saw some of the hard things in their life that she wrote about. More importantly, I saw the love she has for her husband and family. Each picture, each post was such an open book into her life and heart. Brought tears to my eyes. I only hope that my life and words can even touch the level of passion she has for the life that God has blessed her with.

Jennifer Light's blog is like that, too. I love looking at all the pictures she posts of her beautiful boys and their wonderful life there in Florida. Now that I think of it, so is Annie's, Janelle's, Rachel's, Paige's. I am such a cry-baby. When I see how much love is represented on these blogs, it just makes my heart overflow with love for the Lord of our lives. He is so amazingly beautifully creative. Praise You, Jesus, for the life that you bless us with. I love you, Lord.

I updated my music list (on the side), and encourage you - if you'd like a little chuckle - to click on "HypeMan" by TobyMac. So cute - it's his son doing some rapping. I'm not into rap - at all, but this is just too cute to pass up. Check it out.

School has been going well. I let my "Baby Girls" know how much I love them yet again today. They have probably been my best class yet - of beginning treble girls - in the five years I've been there. Every single one in there wants to be there, we always laugh and have fun, and they have a hard-working spirit. Not something that can be said of the girls that are typically in that class. Just today, before class got started, one of the girls (who could have the potential to be on the edge of having a bad attitude) brought in some words that she had written to a song that she has in her head. I was so excited that she would share something like that with me - because it shows her vulnerability to me (her authority) and shows that she is gaining trust with me. It was very personal for her, and she shared with me. It makes my heart swell when these girls entrust me with their oh-so-fragile emotions. I only hope that in taking these girls under my wings, they will see not me, but Christ in me.

Gary and I joined a gym last Friday. Great deal - less than $20 for the both of us! Pretty cool. So I went yesterday to work out after school and one of the personal trainers there did a short lower body workout with me.....I have never felt my calf muscles like I have all day today. But, as always, it's good to every once in a while have some remembrance of the muscles that God gave us to utilize. I only pray that I will be diligent to continue to work out on a regular basis. You really can't beat $20 per month for 2 people!

I've been thinking lately about the realization that in another year, Gary and I may not be living here...He'll be finished with school next August, which is when his internship at the church will be coming to a close. We don't know if they will be offering him a position at the church then, or not, but we're not depending on that (we're trying to be realistic, and not depend solely on one idea), and are thinking that there will be a huge chance of having to move somewhere else...don't know if I'm ready for that yet, or not...You can pray that God would give me peace in whatever He brings our way. This place (Spring/Houston, Northside Christian Church) has become my home. I love our church - they have truly become our family here, and it would be so extremely difficult to move away. I like to think that because I grew up in a military family, moving is in my blood, and it won't affect me like some people, but I have really come to absolutely love where we are right now. I pray that my life will reflect the scripture, "I have learned to be content in every circumstance..." Phil 4:something...Lord, give me comfort in facing the unknown...

We're also still trying for a little Luedecke...no news yet, however I assure you, you'll be one of the first to know (I can say that on this because I'll most likely be in communication with all the people who read this regularly...)

Anyway, that's it for now. Gotta go fold laundry...

The Past Couple of Weeks...

Wow - it's been quite a while since we've posted pictures on this blog. So sorry about that. I know that I always like to see pictures on other peoples' blogs, and I've been so bad at keeping up with that on ours...

Anyway, here's a little of what we've done in the past month or so...

On Friday, Sept 28, Gary and I went to an Astros baseball game. It was Craig Biggio's last weekend to play for the Astros before retiring, so we got a couple of pictures of him playing. We were all the way up in the view deck seats behind home plate, but our trusty little camera has a great zoom! The Astros were playing the Braves, and lost pretty badly that night...

Here he is at bat (above) and playing his Second Base position (below).

Recently, our youth minister Brandon asked Gary if he wanted to play on a church indoor-soccer team with some of the other ministers and some other guys from the church. Here's the group after their third game. Not all of the guys are there, but we haven't been able to get the whole team together yet. Gary's really loved it, and it's kind of helped him see how he needs to start getting back into shape. The team plays pretty well together, but just needs to get into better shape as a whole. :) It's great seeing all these guys in a different light now, and it's been great getting to hang out with all of their wives/girlfriends on the sidelines. I've gotten to know some other ladies from the church that I haven't had a chance to hang out much with until now.

There's Gary - ready for whatever comes his way!

Here they are getting ready to go out for the second half of the game. It's so fun watching a game that I've actually never known much about (even though it's, like, the most universally played game in the world...)

Here are some of the guys after their third game - all sweaty and stinky. They're not all here because we haven't been able to get the whole "team" together at a game yet. These guys lead busy lives, but the game has been so fun for all of them.

This past Tuesday, October 9, I conducted my choirs at our Fall Concert. It went really well, but I was most happy for the fact that it was finished. I had gotten tired of the music way before the concert, and it took every ounce of effort to continue teaching it day after day. I didn't do a very good job of programming this concert, unfortunately. My little girls sang an SSA version of "Wild Mountain Thyme" and an SA version of Moses Hogan's "Ev'ry Time I Feel the Spirit." My advanced women sang "La Violette" with a triangle and hand drum accompaniment as well as a choral arrangement of "Loveliest of Trees" by John Duke (beautiful melody!). I would have to say that the choirs all sounded really good that evening.




Just today, our small group participated in a service project that is known nationwide as "Meals on Wheels." Here's Gary putting the groceries in our car at the Northwest Assistance Ministries building before we drove out to the seven homes to deliver them to the shut-in elderly people. It was a very fulfilling day, and it's always good to get a perspective adjustment on what some people in this city are living in - complete hopelessness and loneliness. Many of the people had stories to tell and just wanted a listening ear. If I had the time to go and just sit with some of these people, I would spend all day with them. One man shared how his wife had just passed away in March, and he just wanted to go right along with her. I was only able to squeak out something like, "This food will give you physical sustenance, but only God's love will keep you going." ...and then we left...it was pretty heart-breaking, but I know that this food will be a blessing to these people.

Well, I think that's about it for now. So sorry that it's been so long since pictures, but you know how life can get...
Let me know what you think!! ~Krissy

Discipleship

So I have been thinking a whole lot on discipleship, particularly the role of the local church in making disciples of Christ. There are so many questions surrounding this question. What is a disciple, what does a disciple look like? Furthermore, how do we make a disciple? How do we measure whether one is growing into a disciple and where they are in their growth? I have been discussing this with one of my professors who has made this his very intent in the church he is leading.

I began this by asking myself this question: what is the end, the goal, of discipleship? What is it that I am trying to become by being a disciple? To me the answer is fairly simple. After all we are called to make disciples of Jesus Christ, and Ephesians 5:1 says to be imitators of God. Romans 8:29 says disciples are predestined to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. Therefore, the end of discipleship is Jesus Christ. (Maybe a topic for another post, but I find it interesting that the end of discipleship is Christ, but quite similarly, Romans 10:4 says Christ is the end of the law)

So how do we make a disciple? That can be found in the Great Commission itself. We must: go, baptize, and teach everything Christ has commanded. It seems quite simple, but how easy is it to teach anyone everything that Christ commanded? There has to be some outside help for this one, which would explain why Christ told the apostles to wait until they received power from the Holy Spirit, and THEN they would be witnesses. We need to submit ourselves to the power of the Holy Spirit in order to truly make disciples. Let the Spirit work in our lives, so that He can work in their lives. However, we must also realize that this is a cyclical process. I consider myself a disciple. As a disciple, my job is to become like Christ. But this has to be in community because I must then help others begin to become like Christ. Therefore, we must continually be learning, going, baptizing, and teaching.

So how do you measure one's growth in this process of discipleship? How do you measure where one is at in this process? This is tricky. In order to truly observe someone, and to be able to measure their growth, you have to be close enough to them for them to be transparent with you. That can only happen if you are transparent with them. You can only measure someone's heart if they reveal it to you. I was told about an assessment that exists to this end. It is called the Christian Life Profile. It was developed by Randy Frazee, who was the pastor of Pantego Bible Church, but is now teaching minister at Willow Creek. It is a 120 question self assessment, but there are also 40 questions you give to three of your closest friends to assess you. This assessment will probably be best suited for a small group in which everyone has become transparent with each other. I like it, but I don't think it is the end all be all. I believe that this assessment, if administered to the leadership of a church once, and then again a year later, would be a great way for the church leadership to develop a well-suited way to measure growth in their own congregation.

The purpose of doing something like this is not to substitute for Biblical development of a disciple. We have gotten so far from understanding this that we need something to bring us back to it. The Christian Life Profile is a sort of step stool to get us back to where we can see the Biblical means for making disciples. In 1 Thessalonians 1&2, Paul says several times that the Thessalonians saw certain aspects of his life because he was among them. Is that not how we are to teach people, by example? It seems that it would make sense that only disciples can make other disciples.

So making disciples is the Great Commission. We must go (evangelize), baptize and teach (equip). Now Jesus said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbor. It seems to me that making disciples incorporates these two commandments into one. Let's go make disciples! Only through Christ...Amen!

Books

So, as of lately, I've been on a reading kick. I devoured 4 books while on our vacation (3 of which were Francine Rivers), and just this past weekend, while I was sick with strep throat - I'm all better now! - I started and finished another of hers. I read Redeeming Love last summer, and that really stole my heart. She's just a really good author. I do have to say, though, that if I had read the one I read this past weekend first, I would not have been totally sold on her, like I was after reading Redeeming Love. The four books I read on vacation were: Elizabeth Clark Higgs' Thorn in my Heart, and then Francine Rivers' The Last Sin Eater, And the Shofar Blew, and Leota's Garden. The one I read of hers this past weekend was The Scarlet Thread. It was an interesting story, but I'm just not that into stories about women whose lives are completely falling apart because her husband is acting like a jerk, and she's too quiet and meek to communicate with him about what's happening. Then she discovers in the last third of the book that she's the one with the problem, and they realize that they both need to stop being so self-centered, and make God the center of their lives, and then everyone lives happily ever after... I read one of Karen Kingsbury's fiction novels, and that was the whole story - blah blah blah...
I realize that we all have problems, and yeah, life and marriage aren't always going to be grand, but I don't necessarily want to read about how another (completely fictional) couple can't communicate. I want to read about how God transforms peoples' lives, and about how they surrender their whole life to him. Leota's Garden was like that. I enjoyed Redeeming Love because it was a historical fiction in more recent times in America (mid-1800's) of the story of Hosea and his wife Gomer. So good!
Anyway, I've really enjoyed just losing myself in these books, and I hope to continue in this desire.
I also got quite a bit done on Gary's quilt this weekend. I almost have the top comletely done. Then, after that, it's just a matter of sandwiching the top, batting, and backing, and then quilting, and binding the completed blanket. It's been a long time in coming, also seeing as I messed up on one of the patterns, and had to rip out a whole bunch of seams and do lots more ironing. Needless to say, the quilt took the back burner for about a month, until I had the patience built up enough to pull it out and work on it again. Our quilting ministry's motto at Northside is "Not perfect, just forgiven..." That couldn't be more true. I can't wait for the time that I can finally post pictures of this (soon-to-be) beautiful quilt.

You know, I love coming to my blog because it gives me the chance to link up to the other blogs that our friends have. Seeing all of your blogs just gives me such happiness, and shows me just how amazingly blessed we are to have such wonderful friends with such beautiful families. I love to see how much you guys are adoring your beautiful babies (and older children) and how the Lord is working in and through you. I love to read the scriptures that God has laid on your hearts, and how He is working around and in you through His Word. Praise the Lord for His blessings on us!! What a wonderful God we serve!!

Thanks for reading!!
K

Late Night

I haven't had a late night like this in quite a while. Krissy is sleeping, and I decided that I wanted to finish my final project for my class, Interpretation of the Old Testament. I have been very distracted all day, but I seem to have been on a roll the last hour or so. Now I am distracted again. I figured I might as well be constructive somehow.

So I listened to a sermon by Paul Washer this morning. It's called "Did You Know You're in the Bible?" It speaks of the Great White Throne Judgment. He talks about how John mentions in Revelation 20:12 that he saw the dead, the great and small, standing before the throne. John gies on to talk about the book of life being opened, and thedead were judged by their deeds. The kicker was that John saw you before the throne. He saw you and he saw me standing there before the throne. Oh we are all going to be eternal beings...either in Heaven with God, or in hell being eternally tormented. Do you want that book to be opened? I don't think I do. How much sin do I have that I have not confessed and repented of? God please have mercy on me and may your grace abound for my sin.

That's the good news. There is grace. Grace is of God only, so it is infinite. Our sin is from us, so it is finite. Therefore, grace can cover our sin. However, Paul warns us that we should not continue in sin so that grace may abound even more. We are DEAD to sin, so how can we live in sin? Does this mean that a Christian, a truly regenerated person, will never sin again? Goodness no. However, regeneration is a changed heart. We no longer take pleasure in sin, we no longer live a lifestyle of sin. Now we live a lifestyle of worship toward God.

Romans 8 says that those God foreknew he predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. May God fulfill this in my life as well as yours. Psalm 33:13-15 says God looks down on us from heaven, He sees ALL the sons of men. He knows you, me, our unborn children, etc. How can I not praise God for who He is? Praise the God who continues to conform me to the image of His son.

For you prayer warriors, Krissy has strep throat. I have not had a sore throat yet, but I tend to have a weak immune system. God does have control over my infirmities, though. I believe that Krissy will be fine, and that I will be fine as well. I am going to get back to my work now. God's blessings on you!

Church Discipline?

Have you ever wondered about the phrase Jesus uses in Matthew 18:18 about binding and loosing? It seems kind of strange and mystical doesn't it? I have been reading a book titled Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. He quotes this phrase from Matthew 16:19 where Jesus is talking to Peter. Jesus tells Peter (whose name means rock) that on this rock He will build His church in verse 18. What rock is he talking about? Is it referring to Peter, or Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God? Sounds to me like a bit of both, especially noticing the play on words where Jesus states Peter's name before making the statement. Let's get to the hairy part...So Jesus tells Peter He will give him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and whatever he shall bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever he looses on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

So Rob Bell takes the stand that Jesus is telling not only Peter, but all of His followers, that they have the authority to make new interpretations of the Bible. Seeing as the same phrase appears in Matthew 18:18, let's see what it might be referring to in this passage, so we can have some insight into this phrase's meaning...

Verse 15 of Matthew 18 indicates that we are talking about sin here. If your brother sins against you, go reprove him in private, and if he listens, you have won your brother. If he doesn't, take one or two with you so that every word may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If he still refuses to listen, tell it to the church. If he still doesn't listen, he should be treated as a Gentile or tax collector (in other words, not associated with, not accepted in the church). Then he uses this binding and loosing phrase again. What is He saying?Is He referring to the decisions made by the church concerning people or is He referring to the actions of people?Seems that sin is the subject of the passage. More specifically, sin and the church. So what is being said by this phrase?

Looking at this in its context, it seems to me that Jesus is saying that any sin that is bound by the church has already been bound by God, and any sin that is loosed by the church has already been loosed by God. If a person repents, God has forgiven them, and so should we. However, there is another aspect to this. This is speaking to the disciples in THE CHURCH. Those who pretend to be the church may bind something that has not been bound in heaven, and may loose something that has not been loosed in heaven. So how did Rob Bell come to his conclusion?

He sights some excellent cultural background for understanding the language of this passage, but overthinks the interpretation. In those days, Rabbis were well respected teachers of the Tanakh (The Old Testament). Rabbis had what was called a yoke, or a set of interpretations of what the different laws meant. We see this in Jesus' day with the mention of laws that are not in the written Torah, but are part of the Oral Traditions. The permitted acts according to the Rabbi were considered to be loosed, but the forbidden acts were considered to be bound. So Bell takes this to mean we have the authority to make new interpretations of the Bible. Hmmm.

So Jesus came to fulfill the law. He was the Torah in flesh and blood. So why would He give us the authority to bind and loose after He had come to show us what was really to be bound and loosed? He is THE Rabbi, and we can not make new interpretations of the text. We can only discover or come to an understanding of what Jesus showed us. The disciples are called to call other disciples onto the carpet when they sin. They should confront sin and should follow the pattern Jesus gave us in Matthew 18. If the person does not repent, then they should not be considered a disciple again until they have repented. Maybe that person that we thought was a disciple was never really a disciple at all, but a poser, a fraud. Are we to judge that? If we tell someone they are saved, can we tell someone they are going to hell? Do we have the authority to tell someone either way? Maybe I'll talk about that next time. We need to understand the terms "justification" and "regeneration."

Thank you Lord for being in control of your body, the Church. May we always remember that you are our head, and that you are sovereign over us. Thank you Lord for disciplining us through your Church. Amen.

What do you think about God?

Krissy says I am afraid to post on the blog, so here is a nice long post for everyone:

At the suggestion of a good friend, I decided to read The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer. Though I am reading chapter 5 now (Krissy and I have been using it as a nightly devotional), my mind is still reflecting on chapter 1. The opening line of chapter 1 has captivated my attention, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us." What do you think about when you think of God? He continues, "For this reason the gravest question before the Church is always God Himself, and the most portentous fact about any man is not what he at a given time may say or do, but what he in his deep heart conceives God to be like...The man who comes to a right belief about God is relieved of ten thousand temporal problems, for he sees at once that these have to do with matters which at the most cannot concern him for very long; but even if the multiple burdens of time may be lifted from him, the one mighty single burden of eternity begins to press down upon him with a weight more crushing than all the woes of the world piled one upon another...Let us beware lest we in our pride accept the erroneous notion that idolatry consists only in kneeling before visible objects of adoration, and that civilized peoples are therefore free from it. The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him...The heaviest obligation lying upon the Christian Church today is to purify and elevate her concept of God until it is once more worthy of Him - and her."

I don't know how to get past this, and maybe I am not supposed to. Tozer has done such a wonderful job of making sure that his readers understand the impact of what we believe about God. This is no small matter to be overlooked as long as we all claim to be Christian. This is essential to our faith in Christ. For if we believe things about God that are less than He is, we have diminished the gospel. What is the gospel but that we can come close to God. What better news is there? Yet we make assertions about someone going to heaven because they have given intellectual assent to the fact that they are a sinner and Christ will forgive their sins. Is God to be compromised for men? If God created the Sabbath for men, how dare we suppose that God exists for us? Not so, we exist for the glory of God, and whether we bow down before Christ now or later, He will receive that glory. He is worthy, and we will ALL hail Jesus as king, whether it be now or later.

As Paul Washer says, we seem to have adopted this picture of God looking more like Santa Claus than the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. I have come in contact with quite a few people lately who have studied and analyzed the Bible so much that they have taken God out of the Scriptures that were penned by His Spirit. So, is it Santa Claus or is it the Bible? Neither, it is the great I am. He is holy, holy, holy. There is none like God, completely uncompromising in truth, yet never ceasing to display grace. How can we wrap our minds around this God? Though we may see a few of His undeniable attributes, we will never, never, never arrive at the fullness of who God is. Even in glory we will be eternally seeking to know more about God.

I know that to some, these words seem hard, and I do not deny that they are. It is truth, and the fact that we can know truth is grace. So, what comes into your mind when you think about God? Is it worthy of Him? I will tell you the little bit about God that I know: Though the entire human race is sinful and has degraded God, He sent His son, Jesus Christ (Yeshua Ha'Mashiach) to be a propitiation for our sins. While Christ was nailed to a cross, God crushed him according to Isaiah 53:10 so that we could once again be in fellowship (koinonia) with Him. According to Proverbs 17:15 it was the only way we could ever be in fellowship with the Father. Then Christ was raised from the dead as the first born from the dead of many brethren. He now sits at the right hand of the Father until God should submit all His enemies to be a footstool under Christ's feet.

Thank you Lord! May I reflect the love you have shown the world in everything I do! May I never compromise your truth or grace, but show both to the world that they may see you for who you really are! Praise you Oh God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Amen.

Okay, so I've been through my first week of school. First day was off to a rough start, but the rest of the week was really good. I have a feeling that this year is going to be better than last. I was so ready to just drop dead at the end of the year because of how crazy busy we were! But this year is going along swimmingly. I'm always interested to see what my "baby girls" class is going to be like (they're actually my beginning treble choir), and I have the majority of teaching time with the older girls (the advanced treble choir). Our concert is on October 9, and we're doing some fun songs, but none that really jump out at me. Usually there's at least one, but the pickings weren't all that fabulous this year...oh well.
Umm...let's see...what else...Gary's doing great. We've both been pretty tired this past week, but have managed to stay on top of things. I'm in a women's bible study, and we're just finishing up the Beth Moore study of the book of Daniel (AMAZING!!!), and we're about to begin driving down to her Tuesday evening classes at Houston's First Baptist. She'll be doing the book of Esther, so some of the ladies are going to be getting together to watch One Night With the King tomorrow evening (Sunday before Labor Day). It'll be fun - I just finished making some molasses and ginger bars with cream cheese frosting...yumm!! We'll see how the other ladies like them...I love to bake - not cook, but bake. Don't know why, but I seem to be better with the oven, than I am with the stove.
Today we helped a couple of our friends, Kenny and Lisa move into their new house. It's brand spankin' new, and so nice. I was kind of in a daze all day, for some reason, but I'm about to go to bed.
Anyway, I just wanted to post something new, since it's been a while. Gary's a little scared of posting anything again, since the last time he did, he heard from lots of people...I'm trying to encourage him to write more, he's just got so much going on up there! heheh... :) Gotta love him! (I know I do!)
Goodnight.

Road Trip 2007

From July 26 - August 8, Gary and I took a much-needed vacation. Along the way, we tent-camped, visited with friends and family, and just spent time alone together driving around the southwest US. Our first stop was my Grandma O'Donnell's home in Tucson, AZ. We were able to see her and my aunt Suzy while we were there, and it was great to catch up with them.

• On Saturday (July 28), we drove up to the Grand Canyon, and camped at the Mather campground within the park.
• Then on Sunday (July 29), we packed up and drove east around the Grand Canyon, through the Vermillion Cliffs, then up on into Utah to Zion National Park. We then set up our camp at Duck Creek Campground just north of Zion.
• On Monday (July 30), we drove up to Bryce Canyon, then back down to re-visit Zion.
• On Tuesday (July 31), we left Duck Creek, and headed east through Capital Reef National Park, to Moab, UT. We had rented a cabin there at an RV resort. That afternoon, we went horseback riding, and then the next day, we kayaked down the muddy Colorado River.
• On Thursday (Aug 1), we went to Arches National Park right north of Moab, then headed southeast to Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. Then headed north to our campsite in the Gunnison area. We had to set up our campsite, yet again, in the dark.
• On Friday (Aug 2), we left Gunnison and just drove around Colorado, up through Aspen, and then back down and around through Colorado Springs. We ended up driving all the way to Dalhart, TX that night (much to our chagrin...you can read the story later in this post).
• Then on Saturday, we headed from Dalhart to Haskell to visit with our friends Anna and Jimmy.
• We stayed through Monday, and then headed to Carrollton to visit with our friends Tracy and Lindsay.
• Then on Tuesday, we headed to Howe to visit with our friends Stephen and Paige.
• Wednesday, we headed back down home to Spring, and crashed!! It was a wonderful vacation, and Gary and I both felt so refreshed and rejuvinated afterwards. Here are some pictures of our experience.
  
  
  

I look like a dork here, but I'm standing behind a tree trying not to cover the beauty of the canyons behind me. This was on the first day at the Grand Canyon. We hiked along the rim for about a mile and went to certain outlooks.

It looks like we're right on the edge here, but it wasn't really that bad. We're just posing at an outlook point, and wanted to get as much of the background in as possible.

Here is a picture of the sunset at the Grand Canyon. You can see by the weather that we were witnessing some rain way off in the distance. The sun is right behind the clouds, but we were full of awe while we sat and reflected on God's glory and majesty while sitting on the edge of the Grand Canyon.

These are the Vermillian Cliffs. As we drove around the east side of the Grand Canyon, we passed by this part. They were absolutely amazing. The colors that we saw in creation on this trip spanned the whole gammut of the rainbow. These red rocks were a beautiful sight to behold. Praise God!!

We are standing on top of the Navajo Bridge overlooking the Colorado River. We had just driven through the Vermillian Cliffs, and decided to stop and take another picture from this bridge. Kinda muddy...

Here are Gary and me at Zion's Nat'l Park. We're standing in a cave-type place under something called "Weeping Rock." This rock was raining out supposedly 12,000-year-old precipitation that was just now coming out. It was kind of cool...

I don't remember what town this was that we drove through, but it was between Bryce and Zion. They had an Elk Farm in the middle of the town. Pretty funny. They look like reindeer!

Here is our tent at Duck Creek Campground. This was the second campground we stayed at located between Zion and Bryce Canyon Nat'l Parks. It was my favorite campground of all the places we stayed. We had to set up in the dark, but slept quite soundly, once we put our earplugs in...

Here we are at Bryce Canyon. Probably my second-most favorite place that we visited. The "hoodoos" in the background were absolutely fascinating to me. It was neat to see yet another wonder of God's imagination.

The little white dot on the left is Gary. This is at the entrance of Zion Nat'l Park. We decided to go back to Zion after visiting Bryce. In our opinion, the actual park wasn't nearly as unique and cool as the East entrance to the park, so we went back and climbed around a little and took some great pictures.

Here are some buffalo at a "Buffalo Viewing Restaurant." These guys are headed for their dinner. This place was right outside of Zion Nat'l Park, and there were probably close to 40 buffalo at this reserve.

Here is my cute hubby standing in front of our one fire that we made. We ended up cooking hamburgers and hotdogs that night for dinner. We had picked up some dry firewood at a place that was selling it on our way back from Bryce, and had a nice relaxing evening (a little on the chilly side) at our campsite in Duck Creek.

On our way to Moab, we drove through Capital Reef Nat'l Park. It was pretty cool because the whole place looked like it belonged underwater.

This was just a cool picture from the corral of the horse ride that Gary and I went on. That's Arches Nat'l Park in the background.








Here we are in Moab, Utah having just finished our horse-back riding tour, right outside of Arches Nat'l Park. It was a "sunset trailride" and hot as anything else (103, to be precise!). They gave us red bandanas to wet and put on our necks. They were completely dry after about 10 minutes of the ride...It was fun, to say the least. My horse was Bailey, and I don't remember Gary's horse's name - only that he tried to bite Gary's foot at one point. It was pretty funny. My horse was in a bad mood the entire ride, as he kept trying to bite Gary's horse's butt during the ride. It kept us smiling...






I had also reserved a rafting trip for the next day. It was fun - especially because Gary and I didn't have to share a boat with 10 other people. We were able to kayak the whole day. I was a little sore the next day, but not too bad. The Colorado River was so muddy. It was pretty gross, but cool to say that we've been kayaking now - and through rapids, too!!


This was called "Balanced Rock" at Arches Nat'l Park. It was Gary's favorite thing there. Pretty cool to see some of the natural creations, and how God just has a way to make our jaws drop in awe of his majesty...




This is called "Delicate Arch" in Arches Nat'l Park. We hiked up a .5 mi. trail to take this picture. Had we had more time, we probably would have made the hike all the way out to the actual arch, but we were trying to get to our campground near Gunnison, Colorado before sun-down (didn't quite make it, but we were okay - we were pros at setting up our tent in the dark!)




This is a picture of one of the ancient cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde Nat'l Park in southern Colorado. That was a neat place, but not one of our favorites, although, if we had had maybe a little more time there, it may have been better.

This is Gary in front of the tallest mountain in Colorado, Mt. Elbert. We were driving over the continental divide at this point in our trip, and had to stop a couple of times to take pictures of the breathtaking scenery.

Gary and me in front of a beautiful waterfall that was on our drive in Colorado. It was just a "Point of Interest" on Hwy 24. There were actually some guys in swim trunks that were about to jump off the cliff behind us into the icy cold water. Crazy college kids... :)

Okay, so this was probably the funniest, most dangerous time of our trip. On the last night of our driving around, before we headed back to civilization in Texas (because we all know, of course that Texas is the best state - well, except this motel in Dalhart - but that's practially in New Mexico, so it doesn't count...) Anyway, we were on our way from just driving around Colorado, headed to Texas via New Mexico. We had originally planned to just stop in Colorado Springs, but when we got there, neither of us was tired, so we decided to keep driving and plan on stopping in Raton, NM. When we arrived in Raton at around midnight, there was not an empty (decent) room in the whole town. So we decided to keep going to Clayton, NM - the next town on our little trek back to TX. When we got there about an hour later, it was the same story...we were starting to feel like Mary and Joseph - "No room at the Inn..." - only I'm not carrying a baby, let alone the Son of God! Okay, so we kept going...This time we stopped in Dalhart, TX - way up in the panhandle. There were six (6) hotels from Super 8 to Holiday Inn Express, and we went to all 6 at, mind you, 2:30 in the morning. NONE OF THEM had any rooms. Gary was all for driving in to Amarillo, but I had to get into a bed. So we decided to pull into a motel...DUN DUN DUN!!! So if anyone's seen the movie "Identity" with John Cusack, this motel put that one to shame. Gary and I got in and out of there as quickly as we could. It was the Xit Ranch Motel in Dalhart, TX. So gross. I wondered after having taken a shower there, if I was actually dirtier after, than I was before... some of the nuances of the room were: a bullet hole in the bathroom window, grunge all around the porcelain prison sink, the wobbly toilet, a 40-year-old swamp cooler that was louder than a semi, a lamp shade hanging on for dear life (see above picture), mold on the shower stall TILES (not in the grout, but ONE THE TILES), paper thin stained white towels, and furniture that looked like it hadn't been updated in 40 years.

This is Hannah and Bekah, Anna and Jimmy Moreno's children. We visited the Morenos first thing. It was our first time to go as a couple to visit their home in Haskell, TX. They're moving to Breckenridge - this week, as a matter of fact. Anna and Jimmy are both college friends of mine, and Anna was my matron of honor at our wedding. Their girls are the prettiest I've seen. They really do remind me of the Precious Moments pictures. BIG blue eyes and blonde hair. So pretty, and they have excellent parents.

Here's Paige, Stephen, Hope Wilhite, and kitty Hobbs. We visited with them after having visited Tracy, Lindsay, Elia, and Jude Tyson in Carrollton. (Both families have their blogs listed on ours).

Visiting with these two families was absolutely amazing. It was so good to spend time just catching up, throwing out ideas that we had been pondering over, and just chewin' the fat with our good friends. Stephen is the music minister at Howe First Baptist Church, and one of the neatest music ministers you will meet (he married Gary and me at our wedding, and Paige was a bridesmaid).

Tracy and Lindsay are two of the most godly people you could ever hope to know. We always love visiting with them because in watching and seeing how they live, it puts priority on simplicity and glorifying God in their daily lives. They work for an organization called Gospel for Asia, which is a missions organization that trains and supports native missionaries in Asia - mainly in India, and some south-eastern parts of Asia. It's an amazing organization, and K.P. Yohannen has been a great visionary in directing this organization to use finances to reach the lost in Asia and his words to impact the churches in the West (ie. America). Anyway, Gary and I had the chance to go take a tour of their facility. The guy who took us around told us story after story about the things that are happening over there. Each one (not lying) brought tears to my eyes. God really spoke to Gary and me that afternoon, walking through, and listening to all the things the pictures stood for (namely, the Gospel of Jesus Christ). We left there, truly changed, and our prayer now is that Christ would be glorified in our lives. We pray that the Father would help us to see ways to reach out, and also simplify our own lives, so we are not weighed down by the "things of this world."

Gettin' Ready

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I am leving tomorrow morning to pick Krissy up in Austin, andwe are staying with her parents in San Antonio before heading out to the wild blue yonder. We will be making stops in Grand Canyon, Zions National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches National Park, and Curecanti National Recreation Area before heading back to Texas to visit some friends: Jimmy and Anna Moreno, Tracy and Lindsay Tyson, and Stephen and Paige Wilhite. It is going to be a blast.

I am having some trouble sleeping tonight. It seems to be par for the course when Krissy is away. She left on monday with a small group from the church to attend a worship leading convention in Austin. She has had a good time, but I have been doing all the packing and getting ready by myself. I sure hope I don't forget anything, after all, I am a guy.

We had a really good discussion in our men's Bible study last night. We discussed the relationship between the Father and the Son at the cross. We determined that Jesus was forsaken by the Father, but we don't know exactly how that happened. God is o much bigger than us. I made a couple of comments about worms, and now Gary F won't let down the worm comments. I guess I need to go fishing. Next week the group will be discussin where Jesus was between the time of his death, 3:00 p.m. (the ninth hour) on Friday (the sixth day of the week) and the time of His resurrection, which according to The King of the Jews by D. Thomas Lancaster was just after Havdalah, which is the end of the Sabbath. We don't know when he was bodily resurrected, but He was at some point on the first day of the week. So where was he? If you have any thoughts, shoot me an email at gluedecke1@yahoo.com.

I made it known to the group last night that I want to discuss (since we are doing topical discussions for a season) the doctrine of baptism. I made it known that I was baptized in the name of Yeshua almost seven years ago, and I just baptized brother Jack Spencer in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit last week. My conscience is stirred a bit. It was pounded into my head and heart that baptism is in the name of Yeshua (Jesus) just as Peter uttered on the day of Pentecost. However, the red letters say different in Matthew 28:21. It is clear to me that there is a doctrine of baptism from Hebrews 6:2, but I am struggling with whether or not it is legalism for there to be a specific invocation at baptism. The new converts in Acts 2 continued steadfastly (held to) the apostles' doctrine. Peter commanded Cornelius' entire household to be baptized in the name of the Lord when they received the Holy Spirit. My struggles may not find an end in the next few weeks, but I am positive that Jack Spencer was baptized out of a repentant heart. Praise God for the work He has done in regenerating Jack.

It is close to 1:00 a.m., and I have to be in Austin around lunchtime tomorrow, so I think I should try to fall asleep now. We should always thank God for the time He gives us, and whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we should do it to the glory fo God. May I sleep to the glory of God tonight. Amen.

Well, I know it's been a while since I've posted, but lots has been happening these past few weeks. I think the last time I posted was right after the Sharp wedding. I've since been to two more weddings, and I've really enjoyed each one. I'm always a sucker when it comes to crying at weddings. Even if I barely know the people, I'm always boo-hooing when they say their vows. I always try to catch Gary's eye to make sure he's listening for a reminder of the vows that we took at our own wedding.
So I'll narrate as we go along looking a the pictures I've posted:


Here is Kaylyn at the beauty shop having her hair done up with her (my) veil. She made such a beautiful bride that day (and since then, too!). Her bridesmaids names were (get this!) Krissy (me, of course), Kristi, Kristi, and Leeann...ha! It was a riot leading up to the wedding, and her dad had an especially fun time trying to figure out who was who!



Here's me getting my nails done. With short hair, I decided not to have them do an up-do, with my bangs. I just thought that walking down the aisle with three-inch bangs piled on top of my forehead would not be appropriate...so I opted for getting my nails manicured. She layered the polish on so thick that it was impossible to do anything for the next hour and a half (and she didn't finish with me until about 2 hours before the wedding. I was, to say the least, in a bit of a panic, wondering how I would manage to do up my bustier!!) hehe But the other bridesmaids helped out. It was quite a get-to-know-all-about-me time, if I do say so myself.

Here's uncle Gary, with Mollie picking out the fleas, and Bubba holding her up. We visited my folks' over the weekend of June 30-July 1 when my cousin Kyle and his wife Nicole came down to visit. It was such a fun weekend, and so good to see Kyle and Nicole again, having not seen them since last March at our grandpa's memorial service in Tucson, AZ.

Speaking of Kyle and Nicole, here they are! On Sunday afternoon, we all went swimming after lunch and just hung out by the pool. Nicole and Kyle are both avid swimmers, and had lots to say about teaching babies how to swim.

Here's me and Bri. I decided not to show a full-body of me in a swimsuit. I wanted people to actually come back and visit this blog! hehe

Okay, so we have, like the coolest camera. It is waterproof, and has been the best investment that Gary and I have made. I just wanted to put this picture in, because it shows off the camera and also is a terribly cute picture of Nicole and Kyle trying to smile while holding their breath and closing their eyes underwater.

Yes, that is my oh-so-funny husband (at least he thinks so....) and my bro-in-law Travis being polite for the camera. Again, trying to keep viewers protected from the white-ness of bodies at this event. Didn't want to blind anyone! :)

This picture is so cute! If you compare the pictures of newborn Mollie with this picture, you'll see that she's really gained quite a bit of weight - really chubbed up! Only now can I say things like this. In twenty years, she would hit me upside the head if I insinuated that she had put on some weight! I just love that cute little smile. She's being held by Mama Annie and tickled by Aunt Bri.

So this past weekend (actually a week ago) on July 7, I played piano and sang for a wedding up in The Woodlands, and then Gary and I huffed it down to Clear Lake for his cousin's wedding an hour later. Gary's cousin Kevin got married to Crystal, and almost all of the Luedeckes were there. It was so much fun to spend time with them, as always, and the next morning, we spent a good half day at Kemah boardwalk with Gary's parents. This picture above is Gary helping Ashton with a game so he could win a stuffed animal.

So this is Ma-B and Ashton. It took forever for us to settle Ashton down to take this picture. He was having so much fun that day, and we just wanted a picture with Ma-B and him together.

Hmm...what else has happened...not a whole lot. Our two close friends Kenny and Lisa were both baptized a couple of weeks ago, praise God. We've also been helping them out in purchasing a new home. That's such an exciting, however mind-boggling experience, especially when you have no clue what's happening. Briana left last Thursday for a mission trip to Brazil, and will arrive back home next Sunday (I get to go pick her up from IAH airport at 5:45am next Sunday, yippee!) We're about to celebrate our 2nd anniversary next Monday, the 23rd, and I'll post the picture of the quilt I'm making for Gary. It's the hardest one I've done, yet (I've only made two so far before this one, so that's not a huge comparison!).

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I'll talk more later.

A Cello!

Well, today I went with our music minsiter Jeremi and the music intern Justin to go rent a cello for the church. Jeremi asked me a couple of months ago if I would be willing to help him find a cello for the church to purchase. We've been looking, and he called me on Friday while I was helping prepare for Kaylyn and Richard's wedding (more on that in a sec) and asked if I would be able to play something in a couple of weeks. It took me by surprise, but I'm really excited. A little nervous about playing in front of the congregation something that I haven't touched in 12 years. I've picked it up and started playing around with it, so we'll see how it goes...I'm really excited because I've wanted to play again, but just haven't had any sort of opportunity - well, now's my chance...I hope I don't let anyone down! hehe
So about the wedding. It went well. Kaylyn was absolutely beautiful, and Richard wept like a baby when she stepped into view at the back of the aisle. I don't think I've ever seen a groom react quite the way he did. It was cool, but I also wanted to give him a hard time about it. The stress leading up to the wedding kind of all came rushing out at that moment. The ceremony was short and sweet, and the reception was done up so nicely. A very simple and elegant wedding. Not too much decoration, but just enough to make it classy.
Gary did a good job reading the scriptures and saying the prayers, and I didn't trip going down the aisle or fumble over any words in the poem that I read. Our bouquets were falling apart up until the ceremony started, but they were very pretty.
I'm just glad it's over and the Sharps are married. I always cry at weddings - even if I don't know the people. I cry at weddings on movies and TV. I'm such a baby. I bawled at our own wedding the ENTIRE time. Ask anyone who was there and look at our pictures. I had a red nose the entire time...but it was the best day of my life. And it hasn't stopped since.
Well, Ta ta for now!

Worry

You know, I'm really amazed at how the Lord reveals to us just how He works. Tonight, I was struggling with worry, and after sobbing into Gary's shirt and leaving numerous mascara marks and snot stains, he took me to his men's bible study. They laid hands on us, and yet again, God's peace came over me. I know that just as He says in Matthew that even the birds of the air and the flowers of the field don't have to worry because He takes care of them, so we shouldn't worry. We are made in his image. He made us to shower His gentle and generous love on us. Thank You, Lord, for your ever-present provision, love, and power.
I'm not normally a worrier. Usually, I am able to trust fully in the sovereignty of God, but for some reason, these particular situations in our lives have got some sort of stronghold over me. The worries cause distraction from what I should be setting my mind upon. Philippians 4:6-9 speaks the very thing I need to cling to right now.
6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Goodnight.

Pictures

Well, as promised, here are some pictures of some of the people I mentioned in yesterday's post. (And some more recent ones of Gary and me!)

Briana. This was taken right before our wedding when I took all the bridesmaids out for a fun lunch a the Metropolitan Cafe in San Antonio.

Gary and his dad. This picture was taken at Gary's cousin Pam's wedding (her second one - her original one had been stormed out because of Hurricane Katrina, so this was the "re-do").

Here's Gary and his brother Craig at an Astros game in April of 2006.

Gary and me all decked out in our Astros gear at an Astros game in April. They lost that night, but had a great fireworks show afterward. That made it worth it. :)

Gary and me on top of the Rockefeller Center in New York City. We went with my high school choir. It was an amazing trip - exhausting - but amazing. We are posing in front of the Empire State Building in this picture.

My weirdo sister Annie and her husband Travis. This picture was taken at the lunch after our Grandpa O'Donnell's memorial service in March of 2006. No wonder Mollie has some weird faces... hehe

Princess Lucy Luedecke (taken when Gary and I were first married). Notice how excited Lucy is that her picture is being taken. Hehehe...

One of my favorite pictures of Mollie. Get a load of the look on her face! "Get me outta here!!" And then there's Nanna, "Aren't we so cute?"

Umm...another funny one...that's all I'll say...

Auntie Krissy...This is the first weekend we saw Mollie. It was Saturday, May 5, just three weeks after she was born.