My Uncle J & Aunt J (minus Cousin A)
My Uncle P & Aunt A
The Panda Family 
Panda Girl
Mi Padre
Big brother B
The greatest Mom and Dad in-laws on the planet
Mi Madre
In January of 2008, just three weeks after saying "I do," my husband and I walked through the door of the small church we would eventually call our church home. After six months of wondering whether or not we should leave our previous church, wondering whether or not my husband should begin applying for local church positions, we were drawn to attend and eventually join Grace Church. We have grown to love this small congregation, and although the length of our time here remains uncertain, the love and fellowship continues to grow.Hence mine and my husband's eagerness when we received word a few months ago that another local congregation has sought our church out. This particular church, nestled in the old downtown area referred to as Butchertown, contacted our elders in the early spring to discuss a potential merger. This would involve the two coming together as one church, and our current congregation finally moving from our small rental to their three-story building in Butchertown. When the pastor who leads our small group brought up the idea for discussion one evening, I think he was somewhat overwhelmed at our enthusiastic response! Here we are a young church, antsy to be so much more effective and consistently involved in a variety of ministries, eager to have our church congregation consist of more than predominantly seminary-affiliated students and families, and the idea of finally having our own building alone is enough to stir up some excitement. Since the talks began a few months ago, we have since invited their congregation to our church for a Sunday worship service, our preaching pastor has been there once, and we also joined them for a good ol' Baptist potluck a few weeks ago. Our church is set to officially vote on moving forward with the merger this Sunday, and their congregation will be doing the same in the near future. If all goes according to the tentative plan, we could be one church called by our new name (something still in the works) by the fall!
~~~
With such a merger comes change, some readily accepted and some of which will require a measure of grace and patience from both churches. We are a young church, strong in reformed theology, strong in certain practices, and we have been given the opportunity to do something wonderful for putting doctrine into practice! When this merger takes place, there will be two church cultures coming together trying to make things work as one unified body. This is a time when I am thankful for my more traditional Baptist background as it has enabled me to be more sensitive and discerning of the potential issues and questions that may arise. I am also thankful for churches such as this who have such a rich history, a history marked by perseverance and strong commitment to their community (One of the older women I spoke to during the potluck, Erma, told me the story of when her father built their house down the street more than 70 years ago, and how she has been a faithful member of this church ever since.)
~~~
When I look at an older Baptist congregation, one with whom I have brief glimpses of my childhood at either my home church or my grandparents' country church, I am reminded that there will be times when discussing the differences in tradition and doctrine will be crucial to our separate churches coming together as one:
I am thinking of hypothetical questions on an almost daily basis, and each time I do I am also praying for grace. While some churches seem to have things together, all the kinks worked out with the whole church coming together as one unified body, we are all still sinners saved by and in need of grace. Even some of the most well-intentioned people can approach questions and differing views without displaying care or concern for the other party. So not only do we have a great opportunity to finally be even more involved in ministry to our local community, but we have an opportunity to come together with a church very different from our own and lavish love and grace on them. My husband and I are praying fervently for this merger, praying that elders and congregation alike will practice humility first when dealing with crucial matters, as well as those which may seem secondary to us. I've never prayed for our elders as much as I have in recent weeks and months, and I have been praying for the young men as well who are eager and willing to roll up their sleeves and dive into whatever ministry the Lord may have in store.
The idea for the hit show "The Office" didn't come from nothing! I have moments on occasion when I think I'm living one of the episodes~~~~
Some of the cast: Rousseau stealing baby Aaron, John Locke, Claire, Charlie, Ben as Henry Gale, "Smokey" (with his costume hanging on his shoulder), an island polar bear, Rose, Bernard, and Oceanic Flight 815 (also Kate the rest of the evening after the plane fell apart)
DHARMA Cola, Apollo chocolate bars, and fried chicken from Mr. Cluck's Chicken Shack!
The message Charlie wore on his fingers~
That is one scary island polar bear - run for your life!!
Richard Alpert, his lovely wife Isabella, and...the Man in Black
The Man in Black giving a brief history of the island (or babbling about juice)~
Jack & Mikhail
Dr. Jack Shephard & John Locke 
The excellent trivia game we all played! Props to the guys for putting this together and on the TV for us! Do you know the answer to the trivia question?
Dr. Pierre Chang & the winners of the trivia game, Ben & Jack~
Me and my love~
A wonderful time with wonderful friends!
I took three pictures at three different angles and still didn't capture all of the crowd out at Riverfront Park that afternoon!
“Idols aren’t just stone statues. No, idols are the thoughts, desires, longings, and expectations that we worship in the place of the true God. Idols cause us to ignore the true God in search of what we think we need."
I think this season of baby showers for our church is slowing down a bit (we tend to go through cycles at Grace!). We celebrated the upcoming arrival of "Baby D" this weekend with decadent desserts, words of encouragement and advice for Mommy-to-be, sweet friends, and a time of prayer.
Yes, decadent: banana pudding, fresh pineapple, cheesecake, cake balls (my usual, but devils food this time rather than red velvet), and Julia Child's chocolate cake recipe (thanks to my wonderful co-hostess!)~
and I got to talking about just how fortunate we are during this season. Many (most) of us are in transition right now, between school and careers and family decisions, and looking around at the group of wonderful ladies on Saturday night just warmed our hearts. The Lord has been so gracious toward us, and we mutually agreed that we will be thankful for this church and these women for years to come~
The big boy on the block was enamored with some of the gifts Mommy received for Baby D!
I couldn't resist getting this for them! Their nursery has a fun alphabet theme with animals here and there, so when purchasing items from the registry, I caved and also purchased this adorable, huggable monkey~
This portion of the evening was perhaps the most meaningful. We ended the shower by praying for Mommy, Daddy and Baby D, accompanied with the other mommies present writing down words of advice for the days ahead. It was a joy to bless them in this way, and I'm so glad the evening turned out the way it did! It truly was a sweet evening with sweet friends~
Yes, that new addiction is "LOST"!! Some friends of ours were kind enough (kind and knowing that we would get hooked!) to loan us the first three seasons on DVD a month or so ago, and then we caught up on the rest of the episodes online. I've laughed, I've teared up, I've sat at work some days hoping for the hours to go by faster so I can get home to watch the next episode, I've sat virtually all day on a Saturday in my pj's glued to my laptop...it's quite ridiculous, and yet there is no shame to be had. This has seriously been like diving into a wonderful and mysterious novel, except viewing on the TV screen rather than reading words on a page. I don't know when I last enjoyed a series as much as I have this one, and although late to jump on the bandwagon, it has been so much fun to have my husband and our friends here to watch with!
After a dinner of cereal, fruit, and "Dharma beer" (root beer), my husband and I stayed late talking about how we think the story might resolve. Sure, it's just another show on TV to some, but for me it's been a new adventure. I've always been a bookworm, savoring the enjoyment of a novel filled with twists and turns and the totally unexpected, and this show has been no exception to such enjoyment. So this is warning to you all: if you engage in conversation with me in the coming weeks, there's a pretty good chance I will attempt to get you sucked in to the "Lost" world. If not, I'll at least try to teach you how to play a round of backgammon~
~~~
I still struggle to recollect details of my salvation experience, the specific moment of conversion, due to my young age. This moment, though, occurred following a Sunday night at my home church when my family attended a Christian band concert. I was only eight years old at the time, and the most vivid memory from this particular night was the feeling I had as I glanced around at the surrounding audience. I remember this gnawing feeling deep in the pit of my stomach as I was overcome with one thought: something was missing. As I looked around the sanctuary, I was struck with the reality that I did not know God personally, and certainly did not know His Son the Savior. All of the songs I had been singing since the age of two, all of the Bible verses I was trained to memorize, seemed empty as I realized that I did not know the One whom the words were describing. Upon arriving home later that evening, I sat on my bed with my mother and shared my thoughts with her. I vaguely remember her asking me questions for assurance of whether or not I was experiencing true conversion. We closed our conversation with prayer, and she asked me to pray aloud. I remember asking Him to forgive me of all I had done wrong and to cleanse me as my personal Lord and Savior. I was baptized by immersion only a week or two later as an indication of the transforming work Christ had performed in my heart.
Due to my young age at the time, there were years following when I honestly questioned the sincerity of my conversion. I struggled at times with assurance of salvation, particularly in my early teenage years and around the time when my parents divorced. The question always came to mind of how someone can be a true believer and still battle with anger, depression and frustration. As an immature adolescent, I watched in confusion as my older brother, who once professed the same faith, took a nosedive into a life marked by perpetual rebellion.
Only by the grace of God was I surrounded during those formative years with godly leaders and friends, many of whom I remain in close contact with to this day. The Lord opened my eyes to the truth that He held and protected me through my childhood and adolescence, guarding my heart in ways I was oblivious to then. I cannot look back at the years afforded to me and not be overcome by God’s overwhelming sovereignty and grace. Not only did He guard me personally in those early years, but I can see how past experiences led up to where I am now. His Holy Spirit has clearly been shaping me from an early age in such a way that bears witness to the hope found only in Him and in His Word. He has revealed to me through relationships, with both family and friends, that He is the only One who satisfies the weary, wounded soul. I know without a doubt that I am unworthy of the rich gifts the Lord has provided, of the salvation made possible through Jesus Christ, and that He alone has the power to redeem His beloved.
