Life in the Big Potato

Remember us this week as we as we observe communion. I'm preaching on Christ's Baptism, and I am struck by the connection between these two events. They are both a public testimony to the death and resurrection of Jesus. They have elements that represent life and death. Baptism represents our one-time incorporation into Christ's body. Communion represents our ongoing reliance on his body and his blood to sustain us spiritually.

"Idaho's biggest looming managerial problem may be coping with its success at attracting new citizens. The population has grown from slightly more than 1 million in 1990 to almost 1.5 million today." According to governing.com Idaho gets a B-. Which is pretty good. We live in a state that was pretty satisfied with a lack of government activity until suddenly there were a lot of unexpected visitors and resulting permanent growth. Can we as the church, the body of Christ, be accused of the same thing? Have we been satisfied for too long with not getting involved with our community? Now that our numbers are slowing will we shrug off our sleepiness and start moving? Please pray that God will use us in this area of growth to do what Christians should have been doing all along.

Sunday night we had our first ever NorthStar Extravaganza. No one new our church was so talented. This was a variety show of sorts. We had Nate and Elena doing a skit with only their upside down chins showing. We had a group of ladies recreating the Pirates who Don't Do Anything music video. We had the advanced musical talents of both Sean and Rochelle Sydney. Travis, the singer/songwriter, performed two of his originals, with Tom on keyboard and Sean on drums. The preschool was well represented by Carson and Caeden singing Jesus Love Me . Then Gayle and Conrad, two of our special needs kids both sang. Gayle sang Row Row Row Your Boat and kept giving her parents a thumbs up with a huge smile! Conrad sang Blessed Be the Name of the Lord . It is hard to explain how touching these two performances were. I guess you'd have to know Gayle and Conrad. Another favorite was Fondra's crowd participation. She got four church members to stuff as many marshmallows in their mouth a...

So, I'm making a big deal out of it. So sew me. Its snow on my windshield.

Pray for those in our church who have not yet made a decision to follow Christ. Pray for those who have considered attending our church but still haven't made up their mind. Mostly, pray for our church. Pray that a desire to know God and make him known will become more than a duty, more than a religious practice, but will become our very passion. Pray that each person who considers themselves members of NorthStar will not be satisfied with casual belief or casual service to our king, but they will count no sacrifice too great to give in holy service to Jesus' Kingdom of Heaven. Pray that we who lead will not fear the evil one, that will not compromise the vision God gives us, that we will be pure and free from all sin. Please pray.

This picture was actually taken yesterday in bright sunshine. It was snowing at the time. Funny how when you look directly at the sun everything else seems dark in comparison. Doug, one of the elders at our church likes to end his conversations with the phrase, "keep you eye on the Son!" Please pray that those who are so used to the darkness that they think it is light will encounter the true light that brings hope to all mankind.

he preaches using the notes on his i phone when i'm gone for the weekend he eats marshmellows, granola, and peanut butter (that's all!) he still fits in his tux from college band and wore it tonight to church he makes me very proud to be his wife

I hate to complain or beat a dying horse. But I have to report to you that I woke up this morning with three more inches of snow in my yard. That's right, it is April 15 and we have snow. The painful thing about this is that we had two or three days of spring weather then BAM! its cold. It was so warm on Saturday that I worked up a sweat in the yard just raking up snow mold. SNOW MOLD! It develops when your grass stays cold and wet too long as in when it is covered with snow for 5 straight months. I don't know where they get their information but www.fyinorthidaho.com reported on March 30: Spring in North Idaho arrived with more record snow storms. In the Coeur d'Alene area, over 160" of the white stuff has fallen this year breaking the previous record of 124.2" in 1915-1916. So I'm happy now that we have the record. No more for us thank you. We'll have some more of that nice spring weather if its all the same. That'd be great.

You can move the picture around and click the arrows on the map to go up and down the street. View Larger Map

i've been working in the nursery today and i realized there were some really cute things in there that i should show off to our far away families. my friend carol bought the stuffed moose (since we are in idaho). the precious dress and cute shoes are from my favorite sister. oh and i think jessica gave her the baby uggs and wall decals. i had fun painting the big L when bennett suggested we do a art project last friday night. gradually we are getting ready for her arrival. but i wonder will we ever really be prepared for this little human that's about to come into our lives. i've been listening lots to sara groves' station wagon c.d. about being a parent- getting a little prepared. and here are lyrics to one of my favorite songs on that c.d. Small Piece of You I just want a small piece of you a token to put in my pocket and I will own that one things and it would make me happy I just want a small piece of you somethin to put in a locket and i will look at it d...

There's no glass in that door. The snow is piled up naturally. I think Jana's mom gave us this garden ornament Poor thing must be freezing. I don't really have an explanation for that hat. I was trying to "protect this house!"

Things are going smoothly at NorthStar. Our pastor search team is hard at work seeking out our next pastor. Our Life Groups are consistent and even growing in some cases. We have a new baby in the nursery (if you can't increase attendance the traditional way just adopt more children!), and there are more on the way. We are planning for our first ever NorthStar Variety show in a few weeks. Our building plans continue. We are close to having our final design drawings including electrical, HVAC and all that stuff. There are a few hurdles left before we can actually break ground. One of those hurdles being raising another $500,000 or so. If you win the Publisher's Clearing House Grand Prize please consider us. I've heard rumors that we have broken the snowfall record going back to like 1902. Of course it is hard to authenticate any of those claims due to changes in recording locations and practices. But we know this is the most snow we've gotten in one winter at ...

I found a really cool site today. Bethinking.org It combines all the things I like. Theology, Philosophy, Technology. Go there...NOW!

I pray all of you had a great weekend celebrating the resurrection of our Savior. The women's ministry at the church sponsored and Easter Egg hunt for one of the children's homes in the area on Saturday. Church members donated their time and gave lots of candy and prizes so these 20+ kids could have a fun day and hear about the true meaning of Easter. I was able to share the gospel with over half the kids they brought who were teenagers while Bennett shared with the younger children. Please pray that the love of Christ shown to all of them on Saturday will make an incredible impact on their future. Sunday morning we had a packed house to celebrate Christ's life. There were so many visitors, and we were really encouraged. Bennett spoke on the Resurrection and barriers to belief. Pray that the unbelievers that were there will make a decision to believe in Jesus very soon. Yesterday afternoon we were invited over by one of the families in our church for Easter dinner. We are ...

The snow is normal now. I was just looking back through some ancient posts on my old blog . (I'm thinking of reviving it) On 12.06.2005 I made fun of how we thought about snow in Texas. "They say it might snow. Funny when that happens, people act like the air is electric. 'They're saying it's going to snow and sleet tomorrow!' You hear it all day long. Actually, the weather reports I read say 50% chance of slight snow or ice late in the evening. I'll believe it when I see it." It snowed hard all morning today. As I write it is snowing again. Its the second day of spring. No one is too excited about it. Except the skiers I guess.

Baby shower The nursery is almost ready That's an Ab Roller in the background. Don't worry, we haven't been using it.

Our Life Group learns to play Catchphrase There is a tiny rainbow just to the left of the center of the picture. This is a rare meteorological phenomenon where ice crystals in the clouds for prisms. I forget what its called. I saw this several times this winter. Usually it was much larger, but this is the only pic I got. I am Spartan North Idaho has a daily drama in the sky over my house.

"Dead 'til I get's me coffee!" Notice the kids hanging over the rails holding up signs to cheer for the missionaries! A clown in church