Summer's Here...

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Sweet Smiles!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Last week I talked about being involved in people's lives.  Well, speaking of being involved in people's lives, by God's grace we've put JobsforLife on the calendar!  We will spend the summer recruiting the key volunteers who will help us launch our first class, prayerfully in September.  Given the size of the commitment we're asking volunteers to make (4 hours a week for 8 consecutive weeks), it was deemed wise not to try to launch in summer when schedules are more sporadic.  We'll have a big informational meeting July 20th, which we've begun advertising for.  In August we'll train volunteers and recruit students, and prayerfully launch our first class in September.   

In our church leader training, this summer I will be working with John Brown from the mission's office in Denton to compile and develop an advanced homiletics (preaching) curriculum.  Last year I spent four months teaching a group of men the practical part of how to preach.  What I learned from John's visit in April is that this is a serious felt need both here and around the world.  The fact is, even guys with solid theological education often struggle to communicate their knowledge of the Scriptures clearly for the benefit of others.  So, I'm going to work with John and some others to try and compile some of his notes and some of my content into a reproducible, practical manual for simple, clear preaching.  This fall we'll gather another group of men to pilot this class.  Persuading busy men to commit years of their lives to training is challenging.  What we're trying to do with this class is to meet an immediate felt need (I want to preach better on Sundays), as a relational gateway to further training.

This fall I will again be teaching in the Seminary Extension in Johnson City.  Brother Willie who coordinates the program told me he'd let me know which class I'll be teaching some time this summer.  It's been a blessing to be a part of that ministry, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them this fall.

Thank you for all your love and support through our tech troubles.  I think we're alright for the moment!

Things you can be praying for...

1. As we recruit this summer, please pray that the Lord would provide the volunteers we need to make JobsforLife a success and a blessing to people in our community.

2. Please pray for wisdom and guidance through the curriculum writing process for the preaching class.  This will be my first collaborative writing effort.

3.  Please pray for God's continued blessing of our partnership with the seminary extension in Johnson City.

4.  This summer, Meredith is co-leading a ladies inductive Bible study in our home on Monday nights.  Please pray that the Lord would be glorified through this time over the next couple of months.

5. Dennyr Florez is our chief volunteer at the Storehouse and she manages much of the day to day operations.  Her daughter and son-in-law in California were blessed with their first child today, praise the Lord!  She will be in California helping with the baby until November, which means we have big shoes to fill in the coming months.  Please pray the Lord would raise up plenty of volunteers over the summer who will dive in and help with some of the nitty-gritty that makes what we do possible.

Your prayers make a difference!  We couldn't be here without you!

Memorial Day weekend both sets of parents came to see us, and we made our first visit to Dollywood!

"Papa Joe, you must take me hunting!"

"I have to wait until I'm bigger?"

"Dad, Papa said he'd take me hunting when I get bigger!"

Knawing on a spoon is so much fun!

Both Papas pushing me in the swing!

There's just something special about Papas and their grandbabies!

Hahahaha!

Since summer's here, I'm learning to drink a little water from a sippy!

Lily loves the pool!

Hanging out with dad by the pool on Saturday afternoon!

Me, and mini-me.

Hi monkey, how are you?  Good?  How about I bite your ear?

I got it!

So big so fast!

I'm very excited that mom is putting me down next to sister....

So I can give her kisses!  I love my sister!

Some of Last Month's Highlights

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On May 19th we celebrated 7 years of marriage.  The funniest part of the day was when we gave each other the exact same anniversary card!  We're not quite as polished as we were on our wedding day, but we're happier than ever!

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors,

Thank you so much for your help in resolving our deliverability issues.  I think I have it fixed.  Praise the Lord!  Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Last week, a lady came into the Storehouse to get some clothes for her daughter.  She's been to see us regularly since finding us last fall.  Dennyr, our lead volunteer who interacts with many of our clients, recognized by her demeanor that something wasn't right, so she asked her what was going on.  At first she played it off like nothing was wrong, but Dennyr was persistent and soon the lady was opening up.  She told us the man she was living with decided she either had to let him into her bed, or get out of his house.  She left (a good choice) and spent a week living in a tent with her three year old before finding a friend who has taken her in for a while until she gets back on her feet.  She's currently trying to find employment and housing.  Over the course of the conversation, Dennyr very clearly shared the gospel with her, and explained that the reason she's in her current situation is because of her own sinful choices.  She also explained that unless she repents and gives her life to Christ and follows Him, she's going to continue to make self-destructive choices.  It was a teary conversation, but she didn't make a decision to follow Christ.  We went on to refer her to the gentleman who runs our local transitional housing, and made her aware of some job openings we felt like she's qualified for.

Through the hugs at the end of the conversation, she thanked us, and told us the reason she came to see us because she knew we would help her.  We've helped her quite a bit over the last year, but we've never shied away from telling the truth.  And even though I'm sure she's been offended by the fact that we've called her sin what it is repeatedly, she also knows we love her, we want to help her, and we have her best interest at heart.  Please pray that the Lord would continue to work in this young lady's life and soften her heart to gospel.  I tell you that story to remind you that relationships are messy and hard, and that it takes time to build trust.  People make bad choices, and they often don't repent even when it's obvious that they need to.

Thank you for enabling us to have time to build trust, to be involved in people's messy lives, and thank you for praying that the Lord would change their hearts!

May was a busy month and this post got too long, so I cut it in two.  Look for part two later this week.

Lily finished up her Mother's Day Out with a program for the parents!  She loves to sing!

I took Lily on her first fishing trip for our Daddy/Daughter date the Saturday before Mother's Day.

She had fun learning to cast her fishing pole.

Our fishing trip was a huge success!

Mother's Day was baby dedication day at church.

Our little family in our shiny clothes.

This guy is awesome and getting SO big!

He's almost always pleasant and brings a smile to the face of everyone he meets!

And chewing on everything, even his fancy tie!

What happens when your three year old finds out you're watering the lawn?  She gets soaked of course!

She's so fun at this age.  She just loves life!

"Look Dad, I'm about to run through the sprinkler!"