Watch for Flying Time...

Tonight I landed on my blog through a link on someone else's. That's not - in itself - remarkable, but the journey to this post made me really nostalgic.

I saw Luke and Kristin's beautiful engagement picture and so vividly remembered the day he talked with Steve & I in Steve's office and asked our thoughts about him asking Kristin out for coffee. If I remember right, our answer was "Go for it!" but our real thoughts were, "Good luck!" cuz we didn't really think that was gonna go anywhere. Now, they're going to be married in 2 weeks and I just goes to show: we're wrong a lot, and that's why we often say, "Uh, yeah...give it a shot!" : )

I also ran into the blog of Caleb & Ashley Brown. Caleb put in a full year of weekly meetings with me - mostly because he found that girls were mad at him a lot. He talked to me about Ashley - one of my favorite girls EVER - before she even returned from Australia, as he stared lovingly at her picture on my fridge. I think with him, I actually said, "Uh, yeah...well, she's WAY over your head, but go ahead and ask her!" And sure enough, it was good and God and they are serving Kingdom purpose in Kansas and are going to be a family of renown.

Brent and Virginia Earwicker. Jump with me into the wayback machine and travel to 19something - before Brent even had a drivers license. We met him and loved him immediately and wondered and prayed about the way he would someday change the world. Now - wow - look at him doing just that in Africa, alongside the incredible woman of God that he convinced to marry him. AND - can we all just imagine for a moment the level of cuteness and prophetically-gifted-musicianship their baby is going to possess upon arrival? Wow and wow again!

And I mosied through the blogosphere of one Samuel Spedick. Can I just say that this is my favorite boy in the "under 7" division? He's just been so "him" from the moment he was born and I have a special and significant affection for him. So, I watched the video of his first steps and so clearly remembered the meetings that Jenni and I had when she and Chris were falling in love and the profound discoveries she was making as God led her through the process. And also - this one great road trip that we took with our friend, Russ Devos, and this heavily-pierced guy to see a Master's Commission program in Olympia. Steve and I talked extensively about the qualities that we saw in Chris and how we hoped for young men exactly like him in Westside's internship. Turns out, God totally answered our prayers with exactly a guy like Chris in our first year of CMC! Now, we see his wife and son and realize: his legacy is in full flight.

And I also remembered meeting Eric Parnell for the first time at Applebees...and Tara Jean at Red Robin...and Lindsay when she visited while she was still in high school and I thought, "that's the cutest girl EVER."...and Clif while HE was still in high school and was still deciding whether or not Jesus would really be worth it (and man, I admire his choice more than ANYTHING)....and Annalisa, when she tossed away her return ticket home and stayed to do CLC, even though she knew no one and it cost her just about everything.

These are the people that remind me that God is a generational God and what He does is for now and for tomorrow and for years to come. So it makes me wonder: who haven't we met yet? What stories are yet to unfold? And who will be the children of the children of these people who's lives I have watched grow and change and become?

I don't know - but bottom line: I have just about the best job ever.

Kill the Suckling Pig!

It's been a long time, friends. My schedule pretty much swallowed my spring...but summer is here and I'm done speaking for a bit and I'm so excited to be with my kids and do some serious nothing! One plan that Katie and I have had for awhile is for a celebratory dinner when CLC is over. And not just any dinner will be worthy of such a victory...nope, our plan is to have a dinner of rotiserrie suckling pig at Merenda. We've taken a lot of criticism for this decision - mostly from my son-in-law - because it would seem that "suckling" mostly means "young" and Corey has very passionately expressed his resistance (I quote: "WE DON'T EAT BABIES!") Whatever, it's the closest thing to killing the fatted calf (also a baby, by the way, and even the Bible endorses it!) While we've been really excited about this idea for many looooong months...our plan has been foiled by another event on the same night (Merenda only cooks baby pigs on Fridays). So, we're double booked for celebration and it won't happen THIS Friday, but mark my words...it will happen. Our faith commands it.

Ah...family...the best gift of all! I decided to post Whit's birthday picture and when I did, I ran into this one of Josiah which seemed worthy of inclusion as well. Happy Birthday, Whitney - you're a treasure to us!