The Pacific at Pacasmayo, Peru


Deanna and I were at Riverview Baptist Church yesterday, in Bixby, Oklahoma. They were having a missions emphasis Sunday, and we were asked to share. It is always a blessing to spend time with new friends in the body of Christ. The people were warm and receptive.

They were conducting a silent auction to raise funds for missions. Many handmade and other items of interest were available. I thought it was a good idea, and one I had not seen a church do before.


The holiday season is fast approaching. If you have read this blog for long, you know that I love this time of year!

It is amazing to me how much different this one figures to be with Whitney getting married next month. It means we will begin that time in life where we will have to share her.

I'm not sure I'm going to be very good at that.

Knowing that she will be splitting her time between her new family and ours is one that we understand is a part of life, but it is also not an easy thing for us to grasp. We are doing the best we know how, in preparing ourselves.

We are blessed to have Lauren in the same city with us, and now that she is out of school and working, we will have to plan around her work schedule for much of what we do. This also a part of life.

Again, I am not sure how well I am prepared to share.

I liked it when they were in school and had extended breaks. All we had to plan around was Deanna and my work. Now we have three employers and one new married couple to work around. I think that might translate to much smaller windows of opportunity to share together.

I enjoy the time of gatherings when everyone arrives. I dislike the time when people start to trickle back out the door and into...life.

I love the down time we share as a family with no particular agenda and no specific goals that must be accomplished. The biggest decisions are whether or not to go to a movie or go hiking. We usually do both.

I enjoy sitting by a roaring fire. I am mesmerized by the cracking and popping of the hardwood as moisture pockets are consumed in flame. Those same flames dance atop the wood to display their own form of entertainment. I am drawn in and my attention at times is unwavering as I am ushered to places untold. Occasionally, I'll get up to poke the fire or add a new log or two.

I don't yet know where we will all be together, or for sure if we will all be together. I just know that the time with family recharges me. It helps me cope with the rest of life.

It is not unlike the our time with the Lord. We do a lot of preparation for a month or so on the mission field. That month is unbelievable in it's intensity and reward in terms of seeing the Lord move.

However, inevitably we must return to the work part of life. That time in the valley that helps prepare us for the time on the mountain. It is initially discouraging to return to what can be the mundaneness of life.

Spending time with my family, is another example of my hope for eternity with our Father in Heaven. We'll go from occasional mountaintop experiences to life everlasting in the presence of the Almighty!

The warmth and breadth of time with the collective body of Christ in perfect unity is virtually unimaginable at this point. I only know, I cannot wait to be in His presence, and know that those to my right and to my left are experiencing the same ultimate joy that I am.

For now, time with family over the holidays will bring a similar reflection. I look forward to loving on them, praying with them, worshipping, and just residing together, in His presence!

dad