Herding Cats!

Pastoring has its challenges, and we love it, but I never thought of this analogy, but it really hits the nail on the head! Check it out - Pastoring: It's like herding cats! :)

Our backyard

Potty training

Here is the latest pic of Mercy. She is learning how to be potty trained & today was her first day of using the potty :) Hopefully it will sink in soon and she'll understand what happened.

there and back again

Well, we went on our trip to California. We got to spend good quality time with family, and had a meaningful memorial at David's gravesite.
We each put a white rose in the container for the flowers and said something meaningful to David or a memory of him. We handed Mercy a white rose too, and after Brian spoke and put the rose in, it was almost like she knew it was her turn. She needed a little bit of help, but she seemed to want to be a part.
David loved Mercy so much. He was happy to be an uncle. He was pretty amazed at the technology of our 3-D ultrasound too. We made him a copy of a 3-D video because at the time we didn't know how much time we had with him.
Anyways, it was good time with extended family, but we didn't get alot of time for just us 3. So it wasn't really a vacation for us.
But I am glad to be home, and back in the swing of things.

Today was a full day with church in the morning, family in the afternoon, property olympics in the later afternoon, church in the evening, then family time saying goodbye to Brian's parents after church. A full day, a good day & a memorable one at that.

Last week at church, my dad prayed for Zonnie & she was healed. God healed her of some problems with her nose. So she shared that tonight. I have been stepping out & playing some praise & worship on the keyboard. All I really know are chords, so that is something I know can be worked on. Then after I shared, we all celebrated one friend's decision to commit her life to Christ. She is such a sweetheart and has been close to making this commitment for a little while. We are happy for her new life and the different changes that are taking place in her life.

Well, I gotta go - I am worn out, can hardly keep my eyes open...............gdnt!

Happy 4th :)

Just a little note to say - Happy 4th of July everyone!! Hope you had an excellent day.
We had a good time with family in the evening - we got a good portion of spring cleaning done around the house, and perhaps tomorrow we will be off for California!
Although we didn't see fireworks, we enjoyed our day.
Blessings!

Missing Thai friends...

Just wanted to leave a post saying how much I miss Fairy, Honey, Joe, Sandy and all my other Thai friends...
for the short time they were here, we were able to share culture, community & friendship and I am so grateful that we were able to learn from each other while you were here. They really loved Mercy and she became "little sister" to everyone in Thai town.
Hopefully we shall see each other again.

TNIV Renaissance Bible

I am excited to announce that I am going to receive one of the TNIV Renaissance Bibles when they come out. I so appreciate Rick Mansfield for allowing me to be a participant in the giveaway.

Since I probably do not have a wide crowd of people reading my blog, for those of you who do not know, the TNIV is an update of the New International Version of the Bible.
Now it is difficult to explain here in a few paragraphs the importance of knowing which translation of the Bible you may be reading, and also knowing how the canon of scripture we call the Bible came to be. Someone once told me, "you mean the Bible wasn't originally written in the King James Version?" I had to chuckle and say "no." It was originally written in Hebrew, Greek and some Aramaic words as well. Which means not only do translators and scholars have to translate the language into accurate meanings, but they have to go through knowing different time periods and cultures to bring an clear, concise and understandable translation into English - not just for Americans, but for English speakers of all ethnic backgrounds.
This is part of the reason why I love the TNIV. I believe that it is a balanced view of translation and biblical scholarship and also takes out previous gender biases.

I know alot of well meaning Christians would say, "oh, we all understand that it means people when it says "men." Take for example, in the NIV 1 Corinthians 9:22 says, " To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." TNIV changes it by saying 'all people' which now includes everyone. The original word is "pasin" (can't find greek font-thus my own transliteration). It is in the dative form, plural and this word could be translated either masculine or neuter (if I'm remembering my Greek correctly.) Instead of having only masculine & feminine words (such as is the case in Spanish), Greek has 3 - masculine, feminine & neuter. Therefore it could go either way. And I believe Paul wrote this to mean all people, not only men. So why did the first translators choose to go with "men" instead of "people"? Well, it was most likely because they were a product of their own times. Within theological circles King James was prominent, and it was something that most people in church were use to hearing.

Today we do not talk this way - we don't say "How many men died in the earthquake?" or "How many men were there in church?" We use the term "people". This includes everyone - men and women.
If I do not have my TNIV Bible on me, and am talking to someone who has no previous knowledge about the Bible, and I use a verse that has the word "men", they look at me strangely and I have to backtrack and explain what it truly means. So therefore the TNIV Bible goes straight to the point, accurate and understandable. Because for us here as pastors for Grand Canyon Assembly of God, the majority of the people we minister to do not have a previous knowledge of church or the Bible. In this way we feel that we are missionary pastors, reaching out, starting from the beginning, building a foundation that will last a lifetime and beyond for all who are under our care.

Brian & I are gearing up for a busy weekend. We are attempting to have a church fundraiser at the Conoco station selling chili dogs & frybread to passers by in the Tusayan parade. We have had a couple people donate things to us which is so wonderful and a huge help. I just pray everything will go smoothly and we will get the permit we need.

On another note - we will be going to California this coming week to join Brian's family to remember his brother David's life. He passed away a year ago on the 8th from brain cancer - the most aggressive and worst kind a person could have. But he lived longer than the doctors said that he would, and he was able to meet his niece Mercy when she was 4 months old (she was alot chubbier). I know that it is always difficult to lose a loved one, and David lived a full life. I didn't really get a chance to know him as well as I would have liked, but the memories that I have of him while he was in his last months were sweet and caring.

Although we do not like to think of this or talk about suffering, I believe that suffering can be a chance to look at what is important in our lives and hang on to that. Instead of getting caught up in stuff that really isn't worth anything.

It will be good to be with Brian's family, and visit the beach for awhile. We'll only really be gone for 3 days straight, then we'll be on the road and his parents will be here for a few days.
I'd like to post something really thought provoking, but at this point am tired...
It has been a long day, and I need to relax now.

Blessings!