That's My King!

Greetings from the Ray Family!

DR: This post officially marks our longest "blog dry spell" of 17 days without a new post...thanks for your patience!

We are safely back in St. Louis after a wonderful trip and visit with many family and friends in California, thank the Lord.

We are just about ready to begin the second week of our Spring quarter at the seminary. My schedule is absolutely nuts, and Stacye is a fantastic support for our girls and me as we continue to march on this journey together in Christ.

I estimate 14-hour days M-F and 4- to 5-hour days Sat-Sun, for the next 9 weeks. That's about 80 hours/week, if my math is right. And I don't think that's much of an exaggeration, really. It's just plain crazy.

I frankly don't always agree with how much the seminary throws at us, but it is what it is. I think an unfortunate consequence of having this much "stuff" given to us is that it implicitly teaches future pastors that < insane busyness = "productivity" >. But I'm not at all convinced Jesus wants us to run around like frantic rats. As Lily Tomlin once said, "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat."

But what do I know? I'm just a first-year seminary student who isn't supposed to know anything. Rats!

Enough lamenting, I wanted to share with you a really powerful 2-3 minute clip I recently came across called "That's My King!" I tried to upload the video from our computer to this site but it wouldn't work. So instead, here is the link to the site where I got it from. Just click on the words "click here to preview" underneath the video box and it will play.

It is an audio excerpt from a sermon delivered by the late Rev. S.M. Lockridge. You'll just have to watch it and listen to it--I pray God's Spirit moving through Pastor Lockridge moves and touches you as it has me. Frankly, I watch it often when the stress, busyness, and minutae of seminary nags at me. It reminds me of the God who loves us and whom we serve. He is awesome, He is everything, He is our all in all!!!

Be blessed this week. Christ does indeed loves you, even when it may not feel like it. And we love you too. Hope to talk and visit with you soon.

Don and the girls

We're Here!

We have arrived in California! We are thoroughly enjoying our visit. Praise God, our trip out on Monday was pretty uneventful, as much as a flight across country can be. The girls did really well, even though neither one of them slept much at all. By the time we arrived at my mom's house and got them to bed, it was going on 10:00 (midnight their time). Then of course they woke up at 4:00 and 5:00 AM (which is their normal 6:00 and 7:00 St. Louis time). But now they're both on kind of normal schedules, so that's a blessing.

On Tuesday we just relaxed and napped a little, catching up on some sleep. I've been to two of the Bible studies I used to be involved in and the whole family went to soup and salad dinner and the Lenten service at church last night. It's been great to see our family, friends, and church family. We have a couple playdates and meals with friends planned. Don had lunch with a friend and is enjoying being able to study lots of Greek. Yesterday Hannah got to spend a couple hours with her friends at St. John's preschool. What a special experience! And of course, Noni and her girls are just soaking up every minute they can.

We're really looking forward to this weekend too. On Saturday, we'll spend the day with some of our out-of-town family members who are able to drive up for the visit, including my brother and his wife, driving in from Las Vegas (Happy Birthday Christopher!). We're praying that Don's brother Dave (whose birthday is also soon) will be able to join us, but he's been pretty sick. My grandparents and a few sets of aunts, uncles, and cousins will join us as well. Saturday night and all morning Sunday we'll attend a total of four church services. It will also be such a blessing to see and visit with many members of our church family. Sunday afternoon will be an open house for us to visit in a more casual setting. (Thanks Larry & Pam & others!)

Monday, if the weather's nice, we really want to go over to the coast. As Don put it, we want to get some sand between our land-locked St. Louis toes! And one of my favorite foods in the world is the award-winning clam chowder at Splash Cafe in Pismo Beach so a trip to California wouldn't be complete without it!

And finally, another huge blessing for us is our visit tomorrow with our dear friends, the Marmolejos. Sadly, Anissa's grandfather passed away, so they're here in Bakersfield (from Texas) for his service. Three of their four children are our godchildren and we just love their whole family, so we are really looking forward to visiting with them tomorrow.

Our visit is already going by too fast and we are enjoying every minute of it. We're praying that everyone stays safe and healthy and for a safe trip back to St. Louis on Wednesday. Oh - it's about 30-40 degrees warmer here and apparently we are missing the worst weather St. Louis has had this winter so far. There's about 2 inches of dangerous sleet, snow, and frozen rain on the ground with more to come tonight. The schools and much of the city are shut down. Our friend reported that she saw 7 accidents on her way to work - a 3.5 mile stretch of freeway! Yet another reason to be glad we're in California this week!

Blessings to all - we're so happy to be here!
Love,
Stacye, Don, Hannah, & Elizabeth

The Soundtrack of My Day

Here are some things running through my (already crowded) brain today:

All the leaves are brown and the sky is grey
I've been for a walk on a Winter's day
I'd be safe and warm if I was in L.A.
California dreamin' on such a Winter's day

When the wintry winds starts blowing
And the snow is starting in the fall
Then my eyes went westward knowing
That's the place that I love best of all
California I’ve been blue
California, Here I Come
Right back where I started from

I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California
I wish they all could be California girls

So if you haven't guessed, we are doing laundry and packing today to fly to Bakersfield, California tomorrow! We are very excited about our first trip home since we moved to St. Louis - especially Hannah. She's been running around like a maniac all evening. Right after she woke up this morning, I asked her what she thought we should do tomorrow. She had obviously forgotten that tomorrow was "the day" and immediately decided she wanted to go to Mrs. V's class (her preschool). I started to say no, maybe something else, and she began to get very emphatic with me. Until I said, "I was thinking we should take a short trip to, oh I don't know, maybe BAKERSFIELD?!" and she got so excited. She's been on a high all day - too excited to nap even.

In other Hannah news, she's conviced that when she turns 4 she'll be a teenager. She also told me when she grows up she’ll be a real mommy and have a real baby, a baby boy. He’ll have spiky up rainbow hair and she’ll take care of him by nursing him, reading to him, giving him hugs and baths. And I can't remember if I posted these of not, so if so, I ask forgiveness for being a doting Mommy: (Who knows what conversation precipated the following comment of Don's, but Hannah's response was priceless)
D: I was a naïve nerd (in high school). I still am sometimes.
H: You’re telling me grown-up things.
D: Why don’t you say a grown-up thing.
H: Blee blee blah blah blee blee blee.

Another time, Elizabeth took a bite of food and sneezed, blowing it all out of her mouth. Hannah's response, "Bethie bless you’d all her food out!"

And Hannah “lost her finger” at school (just pretending) and told Daddy that she needed scratch tape to put it back on.

In family news, Don is officially done with Winter Quarter. He took his Greek Readings final last Thursday and is pretty sure he got an A both on the final and in the class. His Hebrew class is different though. Quarters are 10 weeks and Elementary Hebrew is 15 weeks. So he still has 5 weeks of Hebrew to go after we return. He got a huge packet of homework to do over the break and has a test the first day back. Luckily though, the professor agreed to give the guys up to a week to take the test if they need extra time. So he plans to just plug away at the packet and see how he feels once class starts again. Next quarter he'll take Hebrew, Hebrew Readings, Pastoral Ministry, Intro to Historical Theology, and Lutheran Mind. I don't know too much about "PMin" or Lutheran Mind, so I'll let Don describe those when he has a chance.

And finally, here are a few new pictures:


Here's Hannah at "Messy Play" at the Clayton Family Center.

"Freedom! Escape! So long suckers!"

Most of Hannah's preschool class at the Museum of Transportation, culminating their unit on trains.

So please pray for safe travel for us and blessings on our trip to Bakersfield. We may update the blog from there, so look for new stories and pictures soon. God's blessings!
--Stacye & the Travelin' Rays

His Amazing Grace makes national news (an update)

Praise God...just 24 hours after 6 people lost their lives in the senseless shooting in Kirkwood, Missouri, hundreds of community members gathered together in unity for Christ to shine His light and love to a darkened world...



Here's the story on cnn.com.

Love and blessings in Christ Jesus,
The Rays

Our hearts are heavy...our prayers continue... (revised)

Our hearts are very heavy because of a tragic shooting that took place last night at City Hall in Kirkwood, Missouri.

A disgruntled man who had experienced frustration with the Kirkwood City Council in the recent past shot and killed Kirkwood Police Sgt. William Biggs on his way into last night's council meeting. He took Sgt. Biggs' service weapon, entered the council chambers, and fatally shot Kirkwood Police Officer Tom Ballman immediately upon entrance. He then shot and killed three city officials--Councilmembers Connie Karr and Michael Lynch, (both pictured in the "Kirkwood City Council" link above) and Public Works Director Ken Yost--and wounded two others, before being fatally wounded by responding Kirkwood police officers.

The two people wounded were Mayor Mike Swoboda and a journalist in attendance. The journalist was shot in the hand and is expected to fully recover. Mayor Swoboda was shot in the head and has been upgraded to serious condition but remains in ICU. Please hold Mayor Swoboda and his family in your prayers as he comes through this horrible tragedy.

You may have heard about the story already, as it has made national news. Here is the link to the full story on cnn.com

Local churches will be holding vigils this afternoon and evening, to continue to bear Christ's light in this dark world, and to continue to pray for all the victims and their families. This is especially hard for the small and tight-knit Kirkwood Police Department, who just two years ago lost another officer in the line of duty.

Our hearts are very heavy for all involved and for our community. Please join us in praying for our community.

A quaint suburb of just 27,000 residents, Kirkwood is about 10 miles west/southwest of Concordia Seminary, and the home to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod international headquarters. Just four blocks away from Kirkwood City Hall is Concordia Lutheran Church, the field work church of our seminarian brother, Jerry Hays, and his family, who lost their 9-year old son in a helicopter accident in December.

We are to be Christ's light in this dark, dark world. Let us take this opportunity to express God's love and grace as we pray for all those involved and for the healing of our nation and its communities.

In Christ's love, serving Him with you--
Don, Stacye, and our girls

Snow

We've had more snow...lots of it. We've heard that it's been years since St. Louis has had this much snow all at once. The best part is that I have an awesome husband and the first morning after it snowed, he and our neighbor went out and cleared the snow off our car and our whole parking space. And everyone in our apartment building shared in the snow-clearing duties for the stairs and walkways. So we can get to where we need to go without stomping through 7-9 inches of snow, but also when we want to go have fun in it, we can do that too.

And have fun we did! Hannah and I spent much of the day today playing outside and sledding. We had a ball. Unfortunately, Don thought maybe he was getting sick and Bethie has an ear infection, so they stayed inside. I didn't take any pictures today, but I "borrowed" these from our Seminary President's wife's blog so you all could see how pretty everything looks. Enjoy!

The Chapel

The Dining Hall

A strange specimen, foreign to us native Californians

Luther Statue

Benches outside the Chapel

Quotables

A Chinese proverb Don came across recently, with an all-important twist we've added for Jesus:

If your vision is for a year, plant wheat.
If your vision is for ten years, plant trees.
If your vision is for a lifetime, plant people.
If your vision is for eternity, plant Christ.

May God work in and through you to sow seeds of Christ wherever you go. We plant and water the seed, and He grows it (1 Cor. 3:5-9).

God's love and richest blessings as we continue to serve Him together,
The Rays

Preschool decisions

We're in the middle of a difficult decision regarding Hannah's preschool for next year ('07-'08). Due to the lovely road construction and freeway closure thrust upon us by the lovely state of Missouri, what was a 25-30 minute drive has become a 40-50 minute drive (one way). So all-told, it takes me at least an hour and a half in the morning and almost two hours in the afternoon to do the whole trip. This quarter, Don has Tuesday afternoons off, so he does the Tuesday pick up. This is a huge blessing to me - in fact, he's gone right now picking her up. Elizabeth is sleeping, and I'm blogging. Nice.

Next year when she is at school three days a week, I think it would just drive me absolutely crazy to be in the car that often for that long. So we are looking at about 5 LCMS preschools that are anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes away. I'll go visit a couple this week and a couple others are having open houses in February. We're praying that God leads us to a school that will be perfect for her spiritually, academically, and socially; that will be closer to our home; and affordable with the help of financial aid. So for all you prayer warriors out there, we'd love to have you praying right along with us.

The girls and I saw the new Veggie Tales movie last weekend. It was Hannah's first movie in a theater and she did pretty well. I could tell she got kind of restless and spent some time standing up rather than sitting on the hard booster seat, but overall she enjoyed it. I thought it was great. It had such a wonderful message for the Christian life. Without giving too much away, it was a reminder that Jesus is coming back someday and we a) have to be ready and b) have work to do. It's not enough just to sit around and while the days away. God intends for us to put Christ's love into action: helping people, doing God's will, spreading the Gospel, and being in the Word. So the Pirates learn that by doing the right thing (i.e. God's will), they become the heroes they never thought they could be. I highly recommend it.

Let's see...what else? Elizabeth is scootching all around the house. She's just barely getting up on her toes and elbows and doing pushups or sometimes getting up onto her knees and doing that classic baby rock. But she's not actually crawling yet. Oh - our friends next door were given some toys from someone at their field work church. Their daughter is a little too old for the toys, so Hannah was the blessed recipient of tons of new Dora the Explorer toys. She got Dora's talking house and lots of dolls and accessories. If you have any idea how much Hannah loves Dora, you'll know that she's in heaven. It's so fun to see her having a ball with her new toys. And a total blessing that these toys (that we can't afford) were a gift from God. What a cool reminder that He loves each of us so much that even a 3-year-old's Dora obsession does not go unnoticed.

And finally, here's a Christmas picture of both of them. Those of you who are parents of 2 or more kids know the frustration I have recently discovered trying to get a decent picture of both of them at the same time! And remarkably, most of the "good" photos are of Elizabeth. Hannah is the one who is usually making faces, fidgeting, showing her underwear, looking at her sister, getting up and running away, etc. I get so frustrated trying to get the "perfect" picture and Don ends up reminding me that the "perfect" picture is near impossible and to just let it go. So I guess I'll either learn to do that or else learn how to PhotoShop two photos together...

Our Favorite Salad (otherwise known as "Even Hannah will eat it")

Thought I'd do a posting looking at the lighter side of life this evening. I made our family's favorite salad tonight. I got it from my WarmLine cookbook - it's called "Patty's Famous Garlic Salad," from Patty Reis, a good friend and mentor from Bakersfield. It couldn't be easier, I usually have the ingredients on hand, and (gasp!) even 3-year-old Hannah will eat it. (This is especially a big deal, because pretty much the only thing she won't eat is any other kind of salad. This one - she asks for second and third helpings!) Here goes:

Finely mince 4 cloves of garlic (I use my Pampered Chef chopper). Put them in the bottom of your salad bowl and add 4 tablespoons olive oil and about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Use a fork to mash them all together as best you can. Add a whole head of romaine (clean, dry, and torn into pieces). Mix it all up with your hands, kind of smushing it all together as you go. Shake on a few ounces of shredded Parmesan cheese (2-4?) remix, and serve. That's it! Between the 3 of us, we easily finished the entire salad tonight with our stabecki spaghetti. Of course, you have to be willing to smell like garlic, but hey, garlic is good for you right?

In other light news, both Don and I have joined Facebook. It's been fun to reconnect with college and high school friends, see pictures, and find out what people have been up to. So if you're on Facebook and haven't found us yet, we'd love to have you look us up and connect!

Let's see...Elizabeth has 8 teeth now and is working on her first molar. Her 9-month doctor appointment was Monday. She's 28" long and weighs 20 pounds. She's in the 75th percentile for everything. She got one shot and seems to be doing okay. The erupting molar seems to be causing the most problems at the moment. Today her lunch was cut up canned sweet potatoes and finely chopped chicken breast. She ate the whole thing and I happened to look up at her and see her grinning broadly and signing "more"! It was her first totally self-fed meal. Definitely a milestone.

Hannah is getting more verbal and expressive. She loves telling us about her dreams in the morning. It's hard to tell whether these are real dreams or just things she imagines while awake. The other morning she said that she was playing a game with her friends at school and some of the friends sneezed and their faces got stuck together. She thought this was pretty hilarious. Also, we've recently learned from Hannah that armpits are a delicacy in California; they’re served in fancy restaurants for $13 and are served with marshmallows. When Hannah hears Elizabeth crying through the baby “remonitor” she often begins singing “Jesus Loves Me” to Bethie – through the “wrong” side of the monitor. (I've tried to explain that it doesn't go both ways and that Bethie can't hear her, but she persists.) She sometimes asks for the “humidityfier” to be placed in her room and she likes playing with magnets to see what things in the house are "magdedified." Another time, she graced us with this important command:
H (eating peppermints and interrupting): Daddy, Daddy, Daddy.
D: Hannah, I’m talking to Mommy. Is it something you need now?
H: Yeah.
D: Okay, what is it?
H: Smell my mouth.

And on that note, I think I'll call it a night. God bless!

Life, leadership, love, and leaves

DR:
Life is good. We have not been without our challenges (I am taking Hebrew, which has been harder than Greek was for me, and all four of us got sick at different times over the Christmas break), but overall we are very blessed. For one, it's my birthday today and thanks to the support of friends and family (some of whom are babysitting for us), Stacye and I are going on a date tonight! :-)

And then it's back to work, and the main reason we came to St. Louis in the first place... We begin the home stretch of the winter quarter tomorrow, and I have begun to get more involved in our field work congregation, St. John in Ellisville, MO.

I have been asked and accepted the invitation to serve as the "Traditions Venue Leader," beginning in part this year and then in full next year and beyond. Traditions is St. John's Saturday evening service, and is a bit more...well...traditional in its worship style than the Sunday Praise (blended and contemporary) or Warehouse (very contemporary) services. As the venue leader, I will have the responsibility to lead worship and/or preach most weekends at that particular service.

There are typically about 125-150 souls who regularly attend the Saturday evening service each weekend; a fraction of the 2,300 who attend St. John's eight weekly services, but not much smaller than the average-sized 200-member church in America. I am humbled they have asked me to serve, and am excited and grateful to have the opportunity to gain so much practical leadership experience so quickly in this "church within a church."

I also taught bible study at St. John for the first time today; Romans, chapters 7-8...a theologically loaded section of the Bible that is "shallow enough for a child to wade in, and deep enough for theologian to drown." I think the "youngest Christian" among those in attendance at the class this morning has been a follower of Christ for longer than I have been alive, and the eldest has been a Christian for nearly 90 years! I estimate there was over 500 years of collective Christian life experience in that room today, not including myself. And I was supposed to teach them something! Humbling to say the least.

We really enjoyed our time spent together in God's Word today. What wonderful saints they are. Praise God for their years of commitment and faithful service to the Lord; our church would not be here today were it not for the sacrifices they've been making for the better part of the last 100 years.

I thought I would close my note to you today with some pictures I took of Hannah yesterday afternoon. When we came back from running some errands we noticed a bunch of old fall leaves that had piled up in front of our apartment. Who could resist!? A 3 1/2 year old girl with some energy to burn and her silly daddy with a camera in hand certainly couldn't, that's for sure. So enjoy...here's Hannah romping around in some St. Louis leaves.

(our closing comments follow the pictures)










We love you. We encourage you to allow God to bless you in a special way today. He loves you so much.
-Don (& the Ray ladies)

Quotables

"Everyone who is born of God conquers the world; and this is the victory which has conquered the world--our faith." -1 John 5:4

Quotables

"Faith never knows where it is being led, but it knows and loves the One who is leading." -Oswald Chambers

Such sweet words for the soul as we travel on this journey of faith, together with you...

Love in Christ,
DR et al

Please pray for our seminarian brother and his family

We were deeply saddened to learn today that Caleb Hays, the nine-year old son of seminiarian Jerry Hays and his wife, Gretchen, died yesterday morning in a helicopter accident, along with Hays family friend and pilot, Dan Dase. Here is a link to the news story, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.

The Hays family was visiting family and friends in Texas over Christmas break. Jerry and Don serve together on the Concordia Seminary Student Association.

Indeed a sobering reminder for all of us that life is precious and that we draw each of our breaths but by the grace of God.

Please lift up your hearts and prayers with us in support of the Hays and Dase families, that God grants them all His abundant peace and comfort during this very difficult time. May God bless you richly.

In Christ,
Don, Stacye, Hannah, & Elizabeth Ray

Let's just say marketing was not their speciality...

Click here to read a funny post from the blog of the wife (Diane) of our seminary president (Dr. Dale Meyer).

Those funny Lutherans!

Merry Christmas!

We pray that everyone had a Merry Christmas yesterday. We did except...poor Hannah got some kind of bug and spend most of the morning and early afternoon "gaking." The good news is that she hasn't gaked in 16+ hours, so hopefully the worst is behind us. She slept well last night, but this morning all she's done is lay on the floor, watch her new Dora movie, and eat a few Saltines. So keep her (and us!) in your prayers (so far, no one else shows signs of getting it, but you never know).

Otherwise, our Christmas was really nice. We spent the day as a family, opening presents, eating, and resting. We had planned to go caroling at a nearby hospital with some other sem families, but with Hannah feeling cruddy, we decided to try again next year. Hannah got lots of art stuff, some new books, new Barbie-type dolls, and from Santa, a new Bible, which she loves. It's the same Bible they use in her Sunday school and while it's still not the actual Bible, the stories are longer than her toddler Bible and incorporate a few phrases from Scripture. We read quite a bit from it yesterday.

And now begins "the twelve days of Christmas," which has a special significance in our family. Not only is January 6 Epiphany (the day we celebrate the Wise Men bringing gifts to the baby King), but it's also Don's birthday. When Don was growing up, they didn't really do stocking stuffers, but each member of the family would have a basket with 12 small gifts in it and they would open up one each day after Christmas leading up to January 6. That's a special memory for Don, but I've never been able to get my act together enough to buy 12 small, meaningful gifts for him or anyone else. One year I tried stuffing his stocking with small things from the dollar store, and while he was sweet about it, the truth is that my oh-so-practical husband really would rather not have gifts that aren't useful. Anyway, in honor of the twelve days of Christmas and Epiphany, I thought I'd post this video I found on another blog I enjoy reading.



In other news, Bethie now has 7 teeth (if I don't post that now I'll forget to) and she enjoyed her first Christmas as well. For her, it was a perfect day - she got to be at home with her favorite people, take all her naps in her bed, and get lots of attention. She got to scoot around on the floor eating scraps of wrapping paper and ribbon. She got a Rock-a-Stack from Grammies, so of course that's tons of fun. Her favorite thing seemed to be a floating Baby Einstein book. She chewed on and turned the pages of that book for the longest time yesterday.

Don got some pint glasses from Schlafly Bottleworks, a local brewery with beer we really like. (For all you Bakersfieldians, it's a lot like Lengthwise, only much bigger.) He is also excited to try making creme brulee with his new kit and blow torch. I got a Harry Potter movie, some jewelry, new dish towels, a Concordia Seminary sweatshirt, smelly-good lotion, and a cranberry candle.

These small gifts were certainly a joy for us to give to each other. Still, we know that the best present of all was the one Hannah opened first: the baby Jesus.

Merry Christmas and a Joyful New Year!

And Since We've No Place to Go...

...Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

My mom and nana Some of you out there check the St. Louis weather every day occasionally and already know that it snowed here pretty heavily last weekend. Hannah loved her first real snow and while Mom & Dad also enjoyed playing in it, it wasn't so fun dealing with the practical aspects. As you'll see on the slide show, on Sunday morning Don spent about 40 minutes clearing snow off the car, trying to clear it out of our parking space, and shoveling the sidewalk. By the time he was finished and we added in getting ready time and slower drive time, we made it to church about an hour and a half later than we originally planned.

I quickly learned to carry Hannah into and out of the car because it seemed that no matter where we went or where we parked, there were several inches of snow and ice on each side of the car. I saw several parking lots that were totally cleared of snow, but of course none of the ones we visited had that honor. We learned to shovel and salt the porches, stairs, and walkways. We scraped ice off of our car numerous times.

On Saturday morning we woke up to snow. There wasn't much - only 2-3 inches maybe. But it was enough to sled so we scavenged borrowed some sleds from the neighborhood kids and found a hill right behind our apartment. Elizabeth was napping, so Don and I (and some of the other kids) got to sled with Hannah and experience her first snow right along with her. We were the only adults out "playing," which was kind of weird but we had too much fun to care.

Then on Sunday we let Hannah skip her nap and we went sledding again. By then we had 6-8 inches accumulation and the sledding was great. We went over to Concordia Park with some friends and found a looooong hill to sled down. Hannah was awesome - she kept going down by herself, either on bottom or tummy. She'd rock herself back and forth and would veer off course, almost crashing into trees. But thankfully, no injuries except some very cold toes by the time we got home. What a fun weekend!

Andy by now (Friday), almost all the snow has melted. I've been struck that something that can look so beautiful can then look so dang ugly when it gets dirty and full of dead grass and leaves. It's really pretty nasty looking around here now and I can't wait for it all to melt now.

So here's our slide show - enjoy! And if we don't get a new posting up by Christmas, just know that we pray that your celebration of Jesus' birthday will be full of peace, joy, love, and of course thankfulness to Christ for coming to earth to provide salvation for you. Merry CHRISTmas!

Stacye's long-overdue-update

Things are humming along here. We had a great visit with my mom the first week of December. Noni loved seeing her girls and celebrating an early Christmas. Hannah has gotten very into "awt" (art) lately, so most of her gifts from Noni and Nana (my grandmother, who also lives in Bakersfield) were art-related. She got feathers, pom-poms, buttons, glue, stickers, paper, and "glue glitter" so that she can decorate to her heart's content. She also got a mini Light Brite and tons of Perler beads (these beads are her favorite thing to do at school and she has already made several projects of her own here at home).

Elizabeth got some fun toys too - things she can chase after, stack, nest, and of course, chew on. Speaking of Elizabeth, she got her 6th tooth yesterday. Now she has 3 on top and 3 on bottom. If she doesn't get any more for a while she'll end up looking pretty lopsided because the third one on top is on the opposite side from the third one on bottom.

In other news, the girls are finally sleeping together in the same room and Don and I have our room back! They've been in the same room for about two weeks now and are doing great. And it's so nice to be able to read or put laundry away in our room at 7:30 at night! And also, we don't have to be so quiet in the evening because the girls are now on the opposite side of the house (before, one was on each side, so no matter where we were, we tried to talk quietly for their sake). So it's quite nice to feel normal again when the girls are sleeping and not tippy-toe around.

We're trying not to get all rushed and hectic this Christmas season. Since Hannah's still so young, we don't have as many school/Sunday school programs, Christmas parties, and other "must-dos" as we might have in a few years. I'm still trying to keep things simple. Having said that, we still need to send Christmas cards; figure out, create, and mail Christmas presents to our family in CA, TN, OH, TX, and GA; buy each of the girls' ornaments for this year; wrap the girls' gifts we have so far and hide them from Hannah; try and take some (nice) Christmas pictures of the girls together; figure out and create gifts for Hannah's teachers; go to Hannah's school Christmas party and program later that same night; and of course spend some time together as a family, worshipping the Christ Child, and teaching Hannah what Christmas is all about. Whew! (future pastor's editorial comment: we'll be sure to keep that last part at the forefront of all we do... :-) )

I'll wrap up by saying that we hope and pray that you also try to take time to breathe, spend time with your family, and focus on Jesus Christ, who came to Earth out of love for YOU, so that He could live an obedient life in your place and die for your sins (and ours too!). He loves you so much, He wants nothing more than to have a deeper relationship with you, regardless of how far or near you are to Him today.

We pray that Holy Spirit will be in your heart, giving you the peace that only God can give. Merry, Merry CHRISTmas! With Love,
Stacye, Don, Hannah, & Elizabeth

The Refreshment of Contentment

I read this devotional today from Dr. Scott Rodin, President of the Christian Stewardship Association, based on Philippians 4:10-13. May it be a blessing to you, as it was to us. -DR

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How do you define what is enough for you? How much is enough money to make, to save and to spend? How do you define for yourself what is enough clothing, enough food, enough electronic gadgets, enough television channels and enough time to watch them, enough sporting events, enough shoes and enough popularity? How much is enough for you? That is an intensely personal question. No one can answer it for us, but we answer it daily by the choices we make.

The enemy is at work in our world determined to help us each answer that question in exactly the same way. Regardless of our income, our lifestyle, our investment portfolio or class, our enemy wants us to respond in unison with one voice and answer, "just a little more."

You can be a discontent millionaire and a discontent pauper. Discontentment knows no economic boundaries. The common denominator is a gnawing desire to have what is just out of reach or what someone else has, believing that it will finally make us truly happy.

Discontentment dries our spirit. It does so because, at its core, it is an indictment of God's gracious care and provision in our lives. It accuses God of holding back and holding out. It assumes that we deserve more, but somehow we are not receiving all we really need.

The Apostle Paul turns this idea on its head when he says that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every circumstance. Wealth and the accumulation of stuff is of no consequence. Contentment transcends what's in our bank accounts and storage units. For Paul, and for all of us who are in Christ, the secret is not a mind manipulation process or a new form of the power of positive thinking. It is the truth of God's presence, provision and providence in our lives. It is a daily trust that God is always near us, will always 'supply all of our needs, according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus', and is sovereign over every circumstance in our lives.

Presence, provision and providence. Because of his certainty in them, Paul could write from the bowels of a dark prison with a spirit of contentment. In the midst of the most demanding of situations Paul knows this contentment, because, for him, Christ is enough.

Is Christ your full provision today? Can you rest in him, knowing that regardless of your situation, whether in plenty or in want, you are content in him? If you can know and claim that contentment for yourself, you will also know the refreshing release from the anxious striving for more and more. And your spirit will be refreshed.

Prayer

Gracious Lord, my provider and constant companion, help me today to be released from the bondage of always wanting more. Forgive me of my lack of trust in you, and for seeking happiness in the accumulation of things or experiences, instead of seeking my only contentment in you. I give myself back to you today and ask that your presence, provision and providence will be the sole source of my daily contentment. I know you want the every best for me, and I trust you with my life. Refresh my spirit and give me a heart that is at rest and content in you alone. I pray this in your almighty and gracious name, Amen.

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We've been Elfed!

Check it out!

Hebrew characters and online characters

DR: This week begins the new quarter. I am learning Hebrew for the first time, and taking a Greek Readings class, to help keep fresh the Greek I've learned recently.

Hebrew is full of strange characters and odd-sounding words I've never seen or heard of before, and which are unlike anything else in the galaxy, I'm convinced. It's just plain weird.


But I guess anyone learning English for the first time would say the same about this language. Can you imagine being a non-native English student trying to understand our strange idioms (which seem "normal" to us) like "the whole kit and kaboodle" or "have at it"??? What kind of stupid sayings are those?

And so why should I expect Hebrew be any different? It's got its quirks, but so do all of us. And God still loves us. So I guess I should strive to love Hebrew, too. Aw, shucks.

And now, from Hebrew characters to online characters...

Stacye and I sheepishly entered the online world of Facebook this past weekend. We have heard a lot about it, mostly from friends of ours in the 18-25 year-old range, but had not yet explored it for ourselves.


For those of you who may not be familiar with Facebook, it is an online gathering place of sorts that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. Each person has their own page where you can post pictures, upload videos, share favorite quotes and books, email each other, have online discussions about things of common interest, you name it.

Facebook essentially allows people to keep in touch and build relationships with each other using the Internet as their "meeting place" versus having to travel to an "old-school" Rotary Club meeting or community center gathering. It's made up of many networks, each based around a company, region, or school. You can join the networks that reflect your real-life communities to learn more about the people who work, live, or study around you.

Anyhow, you can check it out at www.facebook.com where you can easily set up your own account if you don't already have one. This is the way today's youth talk and connect with each other.

And while joining Facebook won't stave off the wrinkles and gray hair that come with the joys of parenthood (and Hebrew), maybe it will help us stay in touch with our friends, family, and frontiers of society a bit more effectively.

Off to study Hebrew. Eventually. First, I need to see if I have any new Facebook friends!

Love and blessings,
Don, Stacye, and the girls

True quotes - Dr. John MacArthur (revised post)

DR: Below is an excerpt from a message Dr. John MacArthur delivered on the National Day of Prayer this past May. He boldly and directly confronted the morally depraved state of our nation, coupled with what we can do in response, and what God promises to do as well.

Dr. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family, devoted two full days of his own national radio broadcast to airing edited portions of Dr. MacArthur's comments. You can listen to the edited portions of Part I of Dr. MacArthur's message here, and Part II here. And the entire written transcript of Dr. MacArthur's remarks can be found here on his website, Grace to You

Here is the quote I pulled from Dr. MacArthur's closing comments that touched my heart, and I pray touches yours as well. You can listen to an edited portion of the quote below firsthand; it begins just before minute 24:00 on Part II linked above:

"What do you have to pray for? You have to pray for the Word of the living God to be proclaimed across this nation. And if it's not being proclaimed in churches, it's not going to be proclaimed anywhere else.

This is not a time for weak men in weak ministries preaching weak messages. This is a time to call on God to raise up a generation of passionate faithful gracious loving preachers of the Word so that a nation can listen to God...

Your prayer and mine has to be that God would raise up faithful preachers and people who would proclaim His Word across this land. Pray for this generation of young men that God will call and shape and send, pray for pastors everywhere. Pray for lay people, for Christians to be bold.

There's only one solution and that's the truth--the truth by which God saves, by which God sanctifies, and if this nation will respond and listen to His truth, God will open the flood gates... But there's no other way than that people listen to (God) and walk in (His) ways. It's not going to happen if there's a famine of the hearing of the Word of God.

Pray that the Word, as (the Apostle) Paul said, would have free course and that it would run with all its power across this land. With all its beauty and magnificence, all its power and grace, that people would hear and believe and be saved and be obedient.

I don't know what God's plan is, I just see here what His heart is. 'O, that My people would listen to me,' (Psalm 81:13) that's the heart of God."

God be with you and bless you richly this Thanksgiving,
Don, Stacye, Hannah, Elizabeth (& Grammies!)

More True Quotes

(not as profound, though observant)

Hannah: Mommies don't have beards.
Mommy: No, Hannah. They usually don't.
H: Some Daddies have beards.
M: Yes, sometimes they do.
H: My Daddy doesn't have a beard. He has a chin.

(bawling and whining, in the middle of a looonnngg tantrum)
H: IIIII'm getting tiiiired of thiiiiiis...
M&D (laughing): Yeah Hannah, we are too.


(in the middle of a nap-time temper tantrum)
H: IIIIIII caaaaan't sleeeeeeep...
M&D: Um, yeah. Walking out to the living room and crying isn't usually conducive to sleep.


(at least once a day)
H: At my school, where Mrs. V. lives...
(and this is followed by some story about her preschool and her teacher, Mrs. Vande Vrede)

(we often hear this one when she's supposed to be taking a nap)
H: There's a bug beezing around my room.

And the kicker...Here's the background story: Hannah is currently sleeping on her mattress on the floor of our room while Elizabeth learns to sleep through the night in the crib in the girls' room. When I put Hannah to bed I sit on her mattress with her for stories and prayers. A few nights ago Don asked me not to sit on it because it's meant for kids, not adults. Of course, I forgot and last night I did the same routine and sat on her mattress. After the story, here's what she said:
H: Mommy, Daddy has told you several times not to sit on my bed because it's not for big people. It's supposed to be for kids. So maybe next time you can make it easier and just remember what Daddy told you and not sit on my mattress.
(!)

True quotes

"I believe that it is actually much easier to imitate your hero than to be yourself: to claim your own identity and calling; to wrestle with your own brokenness; and to struggle minute-by-minute with God to figure out what is the best way to lead in your context."

-Christian author and columnist Angie Ward

God's blessings and a broken heart

DR: We got to talking about money recently. For a moment during our conversation, I thought back to the path God has had us on financially in our lives, and what a blessing it has been.

I think God has given us enough first-hand credibility as a family to be able to speak forth frankly and empathetically about money and material possessions, particularly in regards to what the Bible has to say about it.

I would like to share with you our story as a married couple and family:

From 2001-2004, Stacye and I together as a household were among the top 1% of wage earners in Kern County, CA. Plainly stated, we made a lot of money.

In March 2004, being 7 months pregnant, Stacye resigned her job in anticipation of becoming a full-time stay at home mom. In late April 2004, I was unexpectedly fired for sharing my faith in the workplace. Nearly overnight, we went from being in the top 1% of money-makers in our county to both of us being unemployed. That is, both unemployed with a mortgage to pay and a baby due literally any day.

Thanks be to God, a position opened up at our church at nearly the same time I lost my job. I went to work for St. John's for three years, before enrolling at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis this past July.

And now, I am a full-time student and Stacye works only minimally part-time to ensure she can continue to be at home with our daughters. Thus, our current annual household income ranks us among the poorest in the nation.

And, in the 6 years since we've been married, our giving as a percentage of our gross income has consistently and intentionally risen year over year, and God has blessed us to be able to be debt-free (we had between the two of us over $100,000 in non-mortgage debt when we got married). During that same time, our savings increased, we never missed a mortgage payment--not one--and we never had a single late payment to any of our creditors. Thanks be to God, our credit scores are among the highest in the country.

We've been financially wealthy...a "middle class" family...and now--by the government's definition--poor. We've been in debt beyond (not just up to) our eyeballs, and we've struggled with the temptations that having lots of disposable cash on hand can bring. We've given away more than we think we can afford and we've seen God's hand guide, bless, and protect us all along the way.

Were it not for Him, we would not be where we are today. And thanks to Him, we are content. Truly.

In many ways, we can identify intimately with the Apostle Paul when he says, "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:12-13).

It grieves me--indeed it breaks my heart--to see just how deeply people struggle with money issues in life. Because I've been there. We've been there. It particularly makes my heart heavy to see souls who place too great a value on their financial wealth and material possessions. Stacye and I confess that we used to define ourselves in our heart by how much money we were making, even by how much we were giving away. But God doesn't define us that way; that is the way of the world!

The Apostle Paul urges us in Romans 12:2, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

What does that mean? It means that we shouldn't seek after the things of this world to define who we are. We should not devote our lives to the pursuit of material wealth and status, but rather to the Lord and what God genuinely desires for us. We are to seek God's will, not our fleshly desires. We are to use our resources in accordance with God's will, not what the world tells us we should do. The two, indeed, are often in direct contradiction to each other. God's will leads us to glory, the world's will to death.

Oh, God, the burden I have for doing the Lord's will and helping people overcome the inestimable and worldly attraction of material wealth and possessions. Oh, my Lord, my heart is heavy. I pray. I pray...

I do believe, indeed, that this is one of the greatest challenges for American Christians today: learning how to use our money and our material possessions in accordance with God's will, and not in the ways of this world. The battle is fierce, the enemy is powerful, but thanks be to God that the Lord has already won.

Let us walk forth in this confidence, looking only to Him--not to our money and our material possessions--to derive our sense of self-worth and purpose in life.

With God's love and richest blessings,
Don Ray

Jump!!!

Praise God, I passed Greek! And as you can see, I gleefully joined my brothers in the post-Greek ritual dive into the Concordia Seminary campus fountain! The very COLD fountain, that is! (Be sure to turn up the volume on your computer to enjoy the slideshow to its fullest!)

Thanks be to God and His work through Stacye's steadfast support, Dr. Voelz, my studious brothers, and the prayers of many, I got the second-highest final grade in our class. And I am absolutely thrilled to have passed! Thank you for your continued love and support.

Taking a dip for Jesus,
Don, Stacye, and the girls

I need corks for my ears

DER: I can't recall a time where I've had this many details jammed into my cranium as I have right now, on the eve of my Greek final. The verbs, verb endings, nouns, rules, conjugations, principal parts, ooglies, nooglies, booglies, and all of their closely-related linguistic cousins are threatening to explode my head. My head feels like a tossed about New Year's Eve champagne bottle...and it's 11:59:58 and counting...

This YouTube video (immediately below, shot this past Summer) is evidence of the nuttiness Greek imbues to an otherwise sane soul.



Our illustrious Greek professor, Dr. Jim Voelz, is in the video as well (the only one in a suit). The other segments of the video (tossing trashcans in the classroom, shooting basketballs at a moving trashcan, tossing hats, and having thumb wars) are all ways my student peers let off stream during an otherwise nutty 10-week process. And yes, these ARE future pastors! I can say our Fall Greek class has done some mildly wild and wacky things to keep us level-headed as well, but thankfully our antics were not caught on video!

It remains to be seen if my classmates and I will take the plunge tomorrow after we pass our final. Mind you, the summer guys took a dip in August when it was 95 degrees outside; it is now November and hovering in the 40's. We'll indeed be excited to pass Greek...just don't know if we'll be THAT excited!

Will post again after we get word of the final results tomorrow afternoon. Your prayers are much appreciated.

God's love and blessings,
Don and the girls

Car trouble? Call on Jesus!

DER: Our 1997 Dodge Intrepid--a mighty fine and God-blessed piece of reliable machinery indeed--is acting up a bit. We invested about $4,000 in the car (our only car, that is) before leaving California: all new transmission, new hoses and belts, you name it. And the thing runs great. But we think we're having problems with the fuel injectors, at least at first glance.

And so I prayed last night something to the effect of: "Lord, you know we made the prayerful decision to invest literally thousands of your dollars in this car, and we continue to hope and pray you will bless it for the duration of seminary. Please help everything to work out; if we need a new car, please provide it. We don't want to use your precious resources on an unnecessary expense. If we need to get this one fixed, provide the resources to do so. If we need a car while it's getting fixed, please help us, Lord. Amen."

Now, we've never lived here before; we don't know any mechanics from Adam. So last night I emailed a professor we know and love who has been here for more than 15 years, asking for he and his wife's recommendation. Unbeknownst to me, Stacye was talking with his wife about our car trouble at precisely the same time I was emailing him! And she said to Stacye, "Oh, you can borrow our car for as long as you need it, in case you need to get yours fixed." And this morning, the professor emailed me with a very good recommendation of a nearby mechanic.

So Stacye went to their house this afternoon, got their Mazda sedan (which they use often as a "loaner" to those who need it), and we took our car to the shop.

The point is this: this couple truly is a living example of how--biblically--I believe God wants us to use and employ our material possessions. Our possessions belong to Him, God entrusts them to us, and we are merely the managers of all He has given us.

In the early Christian church, new believers in many instances sold their possessions and freely provided for each other's daily needs as they arose. Imagine if Americans consistently lived in such a way...

Imagine if we allowed Christ to infuse our hearts and minds and lives to the extent that no one in any community was "without." Imagine if each of us lived with an open hand, allowing what passes into our lives from God to pass freely through us to others. Imagine a place where God's people willingly and graciously shared "their" resources with others who needed them for a time, as this couple has done with us. Imagine the community that would be created as a result! Imagine the overflowing joy that would abound! Imagine the love that would be shared!


I believe without question this is how God wants us to live. I would encourage you to read Deuteronomy 15:7-8,10 for further insight.

We are made in God's image, and our God is a God of love, grace, and overflowing generosity. We Americans have far more money and material resources than we will ever need for ourselves. We Americans are arguably the wealthiest people on earth that have ever been or will ever be. And to be sure, the Bible tells us clearly that our material wealth is indeed a blessing from God!

But where we go wrong is that we somehow think it's all for us. Me, me, me. But that's not what Scripture tells us. The Bible says, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. And through us, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).

In what ways can you share what God has given you with someone who might be in need?

May God guide you and bless you richly as you consider the possibilities...

In His Love and Service,
The Rays

Hannah Prays Again

This was on Saturday, 10/20 before she ate breakfast.

Lord Jesus,
Thank You for this yummy food again.
Strawberries are sooo good
(there were no strawberries)
And ice cream
(there was no ice cream)
And chocolate and vanilla.
Thank You for me and Mommy and Daddy and Elizabeth and the cribs
(cribs? did she mean our "crib" like MTV Cribs?)
And Nana and Papa
And Noni
And Uncle and Auntie
In Jesus' name we pray,
Amen
And Mommy's thank You for...

And the field work begins!

DER: It is a blessing to officially begin as a new field worker at St. John Ellisville.

I have begun a series of in-depth visits with St. John's Director of Community Life, to learn about how they (with great effectiveness) do small groups, introductory membership classes, and new member assimilation.

I've also asked and received permission to attend some upcoming meetings of the Board of Directors, as I want to observe and learn how the staff leadership team effectively leads and partners with the board on matters of church strategy and business planning. My first board meeting observation will take place in early November.

In addition--and thanks in large part to a personal relationship one of my seminary brothers has--myself and the three other first-year St. John field workers have also been blessed by the willing partnership of T.F., a local St. Louis CPA businessman who is an active member of St. John. T.F. consults with business clients on missioning, visioning, strategic planning, operations and management, and the execution of business plans. He has begun formally and freely sharing with the four of us what he charges his clients thousands of dollars to receive. It is a tremendous blessing indeed! I would offer that the information he is sharing with us is vital for effective leadership in ministry. I wish more of our brothers-in-formation could receive the tremendous insights we are gaining, too. Unfortunately, our seminary does not offer such information as part of its classroom curriculum.

Coupled with the "on the side" training we are receiving from T.F., St. John has also paid for a professional church consultant, D.H., to visit with us several times throughout this first year to help us in similar ways. D.H. is an ordained pastor with nearly 30 years of parish ministry experience, who shares with us curriculum on developing effective mission and vision statements, strategic plans, and the like. A double blessing indeed!

And last but certainly not least, today was my first official opportunity to be part of the dynamic and uplifting worship services here at St. John. My job this first time through as a new field worker was simply to shadow and closely observe the lead Pastor and a second-year seminiarian throughout the morning as they communed the congregants, read the responsive prayers and liturgy, and the proclaimed the message and the Scriptures for the day. It was a tremendous behind-the-scenes look at how St. John conducts worship with excellence. I am grateful for the opportunity and look forward to personally reading and serving in a similar way soon.

I also learned today that I will begin teaching bible studies on Sunday mornings after the New Year, beginning with a portion of the Book of Romans. Interestingly enough, the Book of Romans was also the first book of the Bible I taught on at St. John's Bakersfield, many years ago.

All told, St. John is a wonderful "learning laboratory" for an eager, inquisitive, "type-A"-prone soul like me. I have been told (and am learning from first-hand experience) that if we are proactive and assertive and take personal responsibility for requesting opportunities to learn and grow at St. John, that the church leaders will give them to us in spades.

If my first 6 weeks are any indication of my next three or four years in this place, St. John Ellisville promises to be a Heaven-sent field work opportunity! Praise the Lord!!

And as always, thank you a thousand times over for your continued love, prayers, encouragement, and personal financial support! We would not and could not be here were it not for you and God's work through you.

God's love and blessings as we serve Him together,
Don, Stacye, and the girls :-)

Hannah Prays

Since Don has done the last few postings, he informed me recently that it's my turn to post :-) I definitely need to make a new slide show and post some new pictures, but it's already late and I won't get to that tonight. I did want to share a quick post about Hannah's recent prayers. She's been praying more on her own here at home, prompted partly by us but mostly by the prayers they do at school. She's obviously picking up some of what she's taught at school and gaining more confidence, as evidenced by her prayer before breakfast this morning. Here it is:

Hannah: Peat after me.
Me/Mommy: OK.
H: Lord Jesus,
M: Lord Jesus,
H: Sank You for this yummy food
M: Thank You for this yummy food (etc. etc. etc.)
H: That You've given us.
H: And our hair is soooo soft.
H: And sank You for Elizabeth and her toys
H: And she has two teeth
(Editor's note: she has four teeth.)
H: In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
H: And Mommy's thank you for....
(That last line is supposed to be "And Mommy's thankful for..." and then I fill in the blank.)

Just thought you all would get a kick out of Hannah's prayers and our soft hair. Happy praying!

Love,
Stacye, the girls, and the Greek scholar

Grecian gratitude

DR: I am now in week 7 of 10 in Elementary Greek. I was reflecting this morning on my Grecian journey thus far...kalamata olives, togas, and all. I've come to realize and deeply appreciate the fact that God has indeed used this course to work in and through me at least three unexpected and blessed outcomes:

1) Studying Greek has taught me academic (and lifestyle) discipline.

I'm no dummy. God has enabled me to do well academically. I earned nearly a 3.9 GPA in my undergraduate coursework, earning two college degrees in 4 years Magna Cum Laude and Cum Laude, respectively. Praise God.

I have to admit: my end-result undergraduate grades belie the fact that I wasn't very disciplined back then. (OK, I'll admit it...I wasn't disciplined at all, really). I was such a foolish and arrogant idiot. I would brag to Stacye and my friends in my undergraduate years about how I could research and write a 10-page paper literally at the last minute and get a straight A on it. My peers hated me for it. And I loved rubbing their noses in it. (Humility, as you can tell, was not a strong suit of mine back when I was in college). My M.O. in my undergraduate years was this: I would drink beer, go out with friends, play video games, sleep (often in that order), and generally procrastinate until the very last possible minute. And then I would allow my self-induced circumstances to create in me a sense of death-is-at-your-doorstep-and-you're-not-ready-for-it panic and anxiety, which would in turn focus me intensely to get my work done (because I had left myself no other choice). As much as I had allowed myself to think I was "Joe Cool," I was really "Joe Fool" for the way I was managing myself and my time.

When I got here to seminary, I truly realized that my old way of "going to college" was ridiculous. And frankly, it was only because of Greek that I began to appreciate a new way of "doing business" as it were.

You see, with Greek, we study for 5-7 hours each day, plus 2-3 hours in class every day. If you miss one day, you're dead. Sunk. Caput. Fuggeddaboudit. Seriously, it is of the utmost importance to stay on top of the language day in, day out, for every single day of the 10 weeks we are sprinting this Grecian Marathon. I had (have) no other choice than to be disciplined in my studies here, if I have any hope of honoring God with my effort and (hopefully, prayerfully) my grades.

And for God working in and through me to break old (bad) college habits, I am eternally grateful. Why? My new way of doing business has resulted in a more ordered and peaceful life, better long-term retention of the material--and yes--good grades. Praise God, I got a 96% on our Greek midterm. My wife would also say, "And thank goodness I don't have to hear you whine and complain to me about how 'I still have to write 4 more pages, and my paper is due in 2 hours.'" I love her.

2) Studying Greek keeps life in perspective.

There are worse things in life that "being forced" to take Greek. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I needed to say it.

My student colleagues and I often joke about the unparalleled academic rigors of Greek. But I do my level best not to complain about it. Yes, it's quite difficult. Yes, it's tedious. Yes, it's plain, old-fashioned academic hard work. But it's not the end of the world. And no one has died doing it (to my knowledge...yet). This too shall pass. The sun will shine tomorrow (at least that's what the weatherman says)...and if he's wrong, that means either it's really cloudy outside or Jesus is returning. Either way, it's all good. Greek isn't a nuclear war, afterall. It's just Greek.

3) Studying Greek builds character.

There are few things more rewarding in life than doing something tremendously difficult for the Lord...not giving up...and succeeding. Whether it be parenting a strong-willed child, persevering through difficult circumstances at work, beating cancer, or passing Elementary Greek with a straight-A (I pray), this is most certainly true. There is a lot to be said for not giving up. It's so easy in this music on-demand, microwave-laden, instant-messaged, immediate gratification-oriented world of ours to give up. But there is real and lasting joy in staying the course. Literally, in my case. To stick with it. To persevere. To keep on truckin'.

The Apostle Peter addresses the notion of perseverance in his letter to the heavily-persecuted early Christian church. Mind you, Peter was writing to people who lived at the time of Nero. Nero would have Christians dragged from the streets, wrapped in cloths soaked in pitch, tied to stakes, and then set on fire--alive--to "entertain" his guests.

These new Christians were suffering. Badly. Unimaginably. (And we think we have it bad not being able to say the pledge of allegiance in some public schools?)

These faithful Christians in the early church were wondering why Jesus was not returning (as quickly as they had hoped and thought He would). They were enduring incredibly difficult circumstances with no end in sight. And they had begun to lose hope. But Peter says, "Now the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will personally restore, establish, strengthen, and support you after you have suffered a little. To Him be the dominion forever. Amen" (1 Peter 5:10-11, CSB).

Peter says that after you have suffered--endured--persevered a little (that is, "in-comparison-to-eternity-a-little"), God will personally (personally, because He loves you) restore you, confirm you, strengthen you, and support you. The Greek word for "little" as in "little while" literally means, "puny." Itty-bitty. A "teensy period of time." You will be a heartier and more blessed soul for having endured suffering for this comparatively short while, Peter says.

And please know these aren't just a bunch of biblical platitudes I'm casually spewing at you because I think they sound nice. I share them with you in love, because they're true. I know. And you may, from your own personal experiences, too.

So whether your suffering is Elementary Greek, or a job loss, or financial difficulties, or marital strife, or illness, or a move, or parenting woes, or things at work not going your way, or __________________________, God is with you.

And Jesus loves you. He is seeing you through to The End. Which, for those of us who know Christ as our Lord and Savior, is really just a incomparably wonderful Beginning. As Martin Luther said, let us live for today and That Day.

And as the writer of the Hebrews reminds us, "Since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won't grow weary and lose heart" (Hebrews 12:1-3, CSB).

I'm off to study Greek. For a little while.

Running--and prayerfully enduring--the race with you,
DER

A season of becoming...

DER: I don't like waiting. Sometimes I just plain hate it. I don't like waiting in line, waiting on hold, waiting for results, and--admittedly--waiting on God. I've never liked waiting. Perhaps that's why God provides me with such ample opportunity to do so, because He loves me and knows what's best for me.

Knowing that I was (still am) not the world's most patient soul ("and the award for the world's greatest understatement of the year goes to..."), and knowing that patience is a valuable fruit of the Spirit, I prayed for patience some years ago, against the sober advice of several Christians I know.

And the result?

God makes me wait. A lot. And God can wait a really long time.

Another way He's grown my patience is by allowing situations which try my patience to enter my life. I used to joke when our eldest daughter was younger, "I prayed for patience, and God blessed me with a two year old!"

In regards to waiting, the Bible says in Psalm 90:4 that a thousand years in God's sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. I've decided that's really not fair, because time is forever to Him, but my alarm clock still goes off every morning. We joke about the 7:1 dog years ratio: 1 year for us is the equivalent of 7 for a dog, in terms of their physical degeneration. How about 1,000 to 1? God can indeed wait a really long time.

Another significant way that God will give me patience is to show me "the finish line" or give me an in-depth glimpse of where He's taking me, but then not allow me to get there...just yet. It's like someone letting you peek at the end of a really great novel--for just a moment, for just long enough to get the big picture and maybe know how it's all going to end--but then they quickly close the book and force you to read the whole story...word by word...thought by thought...page by page...day by day...until one day, it arrives. In God's time.

We can't make the sun rise or set any faster than it already does, I told my wife recently. This is most certainly true.

In his book, Embracing Soul Care, author Stephen W. Smith wisely notes:

"We don't like waiting. The microwave doesn't work fast enough; the internet connection is too slow. But something transformational happens when a person learns to wait. The caterpillar spinning its cocoon is not preparing a place of escape but a place to wait for transformation, a sanctuary for change.

The time of waiting is actually a season of becoming.

Transformation doesn't come if we move too quickly. We need to make space for God. When we wait and are still, He comes near. The place of waiting can provide asylum, not to hide but to hear God."

Smith continues with a phrase I just love, "Waiting sets aside the unimportant and allows the one waiting to be seized by the eternally significant." Read that again. And again. And let God's peace, truth, and light soak into your soul.

And lastly he says, "Through waiting, we find that our wings are more than wings of butterflies. We are taught to soar on wings like eagles (Isaiah 40:31)."

Amen.

I'm waiting. For the Lord. On the Lord. With the Lord. By way of the Lord.

Maybe you're waiting, too.

Maybe you're waiting for test results. Or a baby. Or for healing. An answer to prayer. A building to be built. A friend or family member to come to Christ. A loved one to return home. Or go Home. Or for your retirement. Your debts to be paid off. For graduation day. For your spouse to quit drinking. Or for the day you will meet Jesus face to face and (for those of us who know Jesus) be reunited with our loved ones once and for all--forever.

May God bless you...indeed strengthen you...yes, comfort you...yea, encourage you...and most certainly love you in your season of waiting.

It's not easy. Jesus knows. He loves you and He knows how you feel. And it's good to know that the One we know knows.

Prayers for Bo's family and community

As you may know, Don's mom lives in Tennessee, and two of his brothers were once both stationed at the Army's formidable Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Bo Ward (pictured below), a well-loved and well-respected businessman in the Clarksville, Tennessee community surrounding Fort Campbell, tragically took his own life in rather shocking fashion on Thursday night; you may have read or heard of the story, as it made national news for the better part of a day late last week. Click here if you wish to read the account as reported by the local Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle.


Don's brothers knew Bo well, and Don had the opportunity to visit and meet with Bo several years ago at his home in Clarksville. Bo was an outgoing and engaging man who loved the soldiers and their families deeply, and supported them in any way that he could.

Click here to read a Leaf-Chronicle article about Bo's support of the soldiers and the Clarksville community.

We would ask that you just take a moment to include in your prayers Bo's widow, Faye, and their family; the Clarksville City Council and community; all those who witnessed the incident; and the employees and soldiers Bo left behind.

May God have mercy on his soul, and may we each find comfort not in the things of this world, but in and through the Risen Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for us all. Let us hold fast to that hope--the hope of Jesus--now and forever. Amen.

May God hear our prayers as we serve Him together,
The Rays

The Greek marathon continues (along with other exciting spiritual adventures)

DR: Praise God! After many prayers from many souls and many hours of intensive studying, I am pleased to give a praise report that I got a 96% on my Greek midterm today! Praise the Lord!

I've been studying 55-60 hours each week for the last 5 weeks, and it is paying off. There have been many days over these last few weeks where my non-detailed oriented brain has bumped heads (to say the least) with the very detailed creature that Greek most definitely is, but God has miraculously knitted together connections in this head of mine to help me "get it" nonetheless.

Now I pray I continue to study effectively at the same pace I've been studying, and pass the final (known as "The Qualifier") in early November with the same gusto God gave me today. I also pray He helps me retain the knowledge He's given me beyond our Greek class, so that Greek remains a tool I can use and employ throughout my life and forthcoming career.

On another note, God seems to be working through me and a fourth-year seminarian brother of mine, MW, in a special way. MW and I serve together on the Student Assocation (student government) here at the sem. He heads up the Spiritual Life Committee, of which I am a newly-minted member, and I serve also as one of two first-year married student representatives (as I shared on a recent post).

MW and I are quietly (at least around here) and prayerfully exploring the possibility of starting up some type of intentional small group and prayer effort for our campus. It may even take the form of actually working with our administration to get every guy (and gal) on this campus into a small group, for prayer, accountability, and fellowship. Presently (suprisingly?), nothing like it exists at our seminary. We are in the early infant stages of exploring and fact-gathering, but I wanted to share it with you so that you can be in prayer about the effort with us and for us.

The devil most certainly would not want something like this to succeed, and I'm sure he'll throw every trick from his pathetic and hell-bound book at it to try and stop it from happening. Please pray for a hedge of protection around MW and I and our families, and around all others who may become involved. Please also pray that God will open doors and hearts to be receptive to the concept, and that He would work through us and this effort for His glory and for the edification and strengthening of His servants, our families, and our community.

One early and encouraging blessing along these lines is that MW and I have secured the assistance and partnership of the Community Life Leader, GH, at my field work church, St. John in Ellisville, MO. GH is a wonderful soul who leads and directs the highly effective small group and assimilation efforts at St. John; indeed, no small feat for a thriving church with over 2,200 regular attenders. GH has freely and graciously agreed to provide us with insight on how to effectively "do" small groups from an administrative and leadership standpoint; most definitely helpful information for us and our future churches we will one day pastor, and also for MW and I as we explore possibilities for our seminary community as well. Please also keep GH and St. John in your prayers, and I will be sure to keep you posted on our progress.

Thank you again for your continued love and support--we would not and could be here were it not for your prayers, financial support, and continued encouragement. God is working through you in amazing ways. Please let us know how we can be praying for you as well. You can click the email link in the upper right hand corner of our homepage, and we will be sure to include your specific request in our family's daily prayers.

Love and blessings to you and yours,
Don and the girls