30-Hour Famine!!

Ya know, we do a lot of things and events together. Some of them are strictly for fun, others are strictly for teaching, while still others combine the two. But I can't think of any...ANY other event that is designed to pick you up from the place you are spiritually and physically and place you in a completely DIFFERENT place spiritually and physically by the time the event is over. In a nutshell, that describes what took place from 6:00 p.m. on April 25 until 6:00 p.m. on April 26. The 30-Hour Famine took us quickly out of our comfort zones and into a "discomfort zone" that required us to look at the suffering of others who suffer more than we do, who deal with disease, illness, and yes, famine. Along that journey many of you made observations about yourself and your walk with Christ in your journals. Don't forget those commitments and comments you made to Him during that time. Those are definitely spiritual milestones where we put stakes in the ground and committed to serve Him with a whole new outlook.

Once again, a HUGE thanks to Cheryl Katrenick for your tireless labors to coordinate our activities over the course of the weekend!! It was a huge undertaking and God will undoubtedly richly bless you for your investment in our kids!!!
Here are the first 7-8 pics (out of 189) which I have been able to upload. Watch here for daily changes!!!!

An amazing Good Friday service!!

Hopefully you were able to be a part of the worship service this last Friday night. What a great time of reflection, praise, and worship we had together!! And Allison and Amber both used their talents to make it an even MORE special event, with Allison giving a moving soliloquy about her faith, while Amber draped a royal cloth around the cross as a beautiful tribute to the sacrifice made by Jesus for each of us, all while former teen Esther sang a moving rendition of "Your Grace Still Amazes Me". It was a poignant reminder of how EACH one of us stands in the shadow of the cross, each of us covered by the blood that ran down it, awaiting each of us to accept His grace. Awesome.

New dress code!!

We got to go see several of you in some recent band competitions and noticed that you guys can clean up really nice!!! Surge-E-YO was in a UIL competition while Sierra and Makayla performed at a school concert!! I think this will be the new dress code on Wednesday nights!!!

Deer Creek Retreat with Georgetown Church of the Nazarene!

While the weather could have been a little less frigid and a little more sunshiney, our retreat was STILL a huge success!! You can tell by looking at the pictures below that it was filled with rock wall climbing, singing, fellowship, zip lining, and "Leap of faith"ing!! Thanks again to Georgetown Church for inviting us along!! Let's do it again soon!!


Deana and Allison share face time...

Lindz and Allison get ready to fly...

Lindz doin' her best Spider Man impression....

Makayla works the vertical obstacle course!



Just tryin' to stay warm!

Michael and Connor getting clipped in...

Joshua tree....

Imo and Daniel model some of the latest climbing fashions with one of the camp workers...

Amber and Makayla happy to be alive...

Peter Pan? Nope, just Michael...









The Leap Of Faith!!

Deborah and Sierra get ready to test their faith!

Sierra smiles by the climbing wall

Josh and Lindz posing? No way!

A family portrait...

Livvy climbs above it all...

"We're alive! We're alive!"

Brandon and Cole show the world their mad leaping skilz!

....and afterwards pose for the ladies...

Deborah flies with the greatest of ease...

Lindz looks for the elevator...

....but plays it tough back on the ground with Allison.

Parker and Livvy conquer the Leap!

....after a somewhat 'tentative' start!

Imo thought Sergio was the vertical obstacle course...

More ground-level toughness...

Some unplanned worship broke out!! Praise the Lord!

Brandon's still working on that whole "Hook 'em Horns!" thing...

Parker makin' his way to the top...

Amber looks for style points from the judges...

"B" is for "Boy, that's high".

Deana says, "I'd LIKE to climb 30 feet in the air with frozen fingers and all and then jump off, but as a sacrifice I'm gonna let you kids go instead."

It ain't cold...it's just heat challenged!

Now you're not gonna let go, right?

Pastor Huff was our special speaker and he did a great job!

"Never underestimate the power of prayer."

This is a letter Deana and I received from the mother of Cassie Beach, one of the two girls injured in a horrific car crash. Click on the letter to enlarge it. It is a wonderful reminder of God's mercy, His presence in despair, and His desire for us to call upon Him on behalf of others. She also included a special message to each of you.

Take a moment to read it!!!