David Needs the Exercise!

Some friends gave us a seat for a little guy like David to go on the back of my bike. This morning, we went for a ride. He loved it. He was real quiet until we went down the hill south of town. I peddled as fast as I could and about half way down, David let out a 'wooo - hoooo' that would impress any bronc rider! Spending time with my kids is one of the most important things that I do. I can't tell you how many people I have had tell me, "Enjoy it now because they grow up so quick!" I have also never heard of a person lying on thier death bed saying that they wished they would have worked more and spent less time with thier family. I'm going to do my best to spend time with my kids and enjoy every minute of discipleship as they grow up!

Love you guys (our readers) and look forward to sharing more stories from our journey in following Jesus!
-R

First Haircut

David will be 2 next month (June 14) this week he got his first real haircut. He was such a big boy! He was a little apprehensive at first and when the clippers fired up, his bottom lip quivered a little, but soon he just got real quiet and watched closely in the mirror. Good job David!

I guess unless you have been there it would be hard to understand what a wonderful moment that was for a dad. It was just me and David. It was like a kind of right of passage or something. I really didn't know how he would react. Would he cry? Would he fidget?

Once again as I look at my son, I can see a little of the heart of God the Father. I rememebered Jesus at His baptism and on the mount of transfiguation hearing the voice of the Father saying this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. I told David how pleased I was with him. What a great day!

Mornings

There is something wonderful about getting up in the morning. It is the beginning of a new day. There are endless possibilities. The air is cool and the light is indirect. This the the time when God speaks. This is the time when it is quiet enough to hear His still small voice. The mind is fresh, the spirit is open.

My two favorite times of the day are sunrise and sunset. Here are my two favorite kids first thing in the morning. David having some milk and Kyra tending her babies.

Thumbs Up!

This is what we think of MOM! There is no substitute for MOM, but we have been getting by the best that we can. A few things I have learned this week being a single parent.
1. It's lonley.
2. It's a lot of work - every night I have fallen into bed exhausted.
3. It is a FULL TIME job.
4. The time with the kids has been awesome and we have really had a good time, but it is really hard to get anything else done.
5. My hat is off to single parents they have quite a challenge.
6. Shame on a man for being selfish and abandoning his wife and family.
7. Shame on a woman for being selfish and abandoning her husband and family.
8. God gives a greater grace to single parents.
9. Pray for single parents, they need our prayers.
10. Thank God for Kids! Thank God for Moms!

Great article on what Mom's need at http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/article_main_page/0%2C1703%2CA%253D150822%2526M%253D200663%2C00.html
-R

Hair!

Yesterday morning, Kyra and David and I had plans to go to Clovis and run errands. Kyra called Wendy (she is almost five years old and she knows Mom's number and can call her all by herself!) Kyra's big concern was that since Mom was gone, who was going to do her hair? Kyra came and asked me if I could take her to the Senior Citizen's so she could get Melissa to do her hair. Dad's just can't do that kind of thing! Well, we did the best we could.

Thank God for kids!


This picture is for Mo from Kyra.

We Miss You Mom!

We're batchin'! We're playin' and having fun, but it isn't the same without MOM! We miss you Mom. We know that you are going to have a great week in Kansas and that we will have a great week here, but we miss you all the same!

We love you MOM!

-K & D

Jesus the Church Misfit Chapter 3

http://www.jesusinthemargins.com

In Chapter 3, Rick shares some of his testimony of how he came to know, love and follow Jesus. He then points out how Jesus didn't fit into the cultural religious crowd very well. He points out come of Jesus' encounters with religious people.

Encounter 1 - John 2 the Wedding at Cana where Jesus turned water into wine.
"What's stunning to me in all this is that Jesus does a miracle which, if he did it today, would cause the religious community to seriously question his propriety," says Rick. He goes on to say, "Jesus would later be labeled by this same religious community as a glutton and a drunkard, just bcause he hung out with marginalized people. But he was willing to be marginalized by the religious community because he so passionately cared about the average person in great need, the person who isn't always smiling and happy and wearing the best clothes. Jesus came here to love the people in the margins and, ultimately, to transform the religious community that created the barriers that kept the average person from finding God."

Encounter 2 - Jesus calls the tax collector Levi to follow him and Levi throws a party and invites Jesus as well as all his 'sinner' friends. Here's what Rick says, "Not being a real religious guy, he probably doesn't know all the rules - such as, You don't throw huge keggers for rabbis. But Levi did just that. And he invites all his friends to come and meet this incredible man." He adds, "Jesus is a friend to people like that, which prevents him from fitting in with the moral lifestyle of religious people. And so he's marginalized by them. They reject him."

In conclusion Rick says, "One of the mistakes often made by those of us in the margins is we assume that if churchgoers don't like us, then God must not like us."

Ouch! Is that the image that I portray? Am I a pharisee? I already know the answer - YES! But I don't want to be. I want to love people and introduce them to the ONE who can change their life forever - Jesus.

How about you? Do you love people in the margins? Are you in the margins? Let me know.