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

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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