Back in the swing of things

We had a pretty mellow week as most of our church was at the Camp 120. I did take the camera around a bit with me this week so here are some pictures of our week:

After being gone for two months our yard was overgrown with weeds so we pulled weeds and mowed and what not until I got too hot and then Liese just did it.

Our garden had a ton of potato bugs (the colorado variety) so Liese goes out every day to catch a jar full and then smash them into a gross pulp. But the garden is looking a lot better and she seems to enjoy the smashing bit as well as just being in the garden.

The main grocery store in town (the Boomi as I call it) closed for remodeling (they are making it like 4 times as big) so we went to the market to do our shopping. It was hot. I hope they reopen the Boomi soon as it has AC. But it is amazing the things you can find at the market, like this lady had marshmallows in snack size packets. You know, for when you want to eat marshmallows when you are on the road.

Our fruit trees are dropping fruit all over our yard so Liese decided to do something with the apricots and made jam. It looks good but I haven't tried it yet.

Today we made sushi with Oksana and Sasha. They are getting married soon and we've been going through a premarital counseling course with them. Making sushi was fun and it turned out to be quite tasty (does anyone say tasty or is it just me translating in my head?)

Something Liese told me today

The Gutenberg Bible online

The Harry Ransom Center's web site has an exhibit of the Gutenberg bible. I can't read the type setting but I thought it was pretty cool anyway.

Trip to America 2009

We made it home yesterday after a long trip and a mad rush through JFK airport to make our connecting plane. It is good to be back in our own home but we are glad for the time that we had with our family and friends.

We got to spend some time with our niece Ina. She is a lot of fun and one week with her didn't seem like enough time. We had a good time with Shawn and Sarah too, even though I didn't take many pictures of them.

In Yuba City we got to spend time with our niece Sarah who is growing up very fast. We also got to play softball with Liese's little brother Micah and watch one of his after school games. We were able to help out with some projects around the house and even helped Liese's uncle paint the inside of his house.



On the Central Coast we met our niece Alana and had a lot of fun hanging out with her (and Mike and Sarah). Dad was able to take some time off work and so we did a lot of fun things together, and I managed to change his schedule so he'd surf with me more often.

It was a fun trip and we are glad that we were able to spend a lot of time with family this year.

Soviet Trivia

What event from September 14th 1959 inspired this match box design?

These people like sandwiches more than I do

What do you think about sermons being part of worship?

I've been listening to a class from RTS by Tim Keller on preaching Christ and something he comes back to over and over is that preaching should motivate people to worship not simply instruct or teach.

This is kind of a new paradigm for me as I've always thought of teaching and instructing as being the goal of a sermon not a means to bring people to a place where they are exalting Jesus and rejoicing in God.

So I'm interested in hearing what people who read this blog think about this or if they ever have.

So what do you think; what should the main goal of a sermon be and why do you think that?

Sunny CA

We've been on the Central Coast for about a week now. During that time we have managed to go to the beach about 7 times and I've surfed 4 of those times. The surf is typical Pismo summer but it has still been great to be in the ocean.

We've been spending time with our family and getting to know our niece Alana. And we've been eating, which is what the Foote family does.

This Sunday we'll be sharing at Calvary SLO. The Sunday after that we'll be sharing at Foothill Bible Church in Woodlake.

That is pretty much what is going on with us. I may post some more this week as there are a few thoughts that have been clunking around in my head.

Short-term mission trips

This last week Bill Walsh at Desiring God did a blog series on short-term missons. In this series Bill quotes from a bunch of different sources on topics like the effect short term trips have on poverty, our mindset regarding short term trips, the importance of being a servant.

I recomend reading through this series if you are wanting to go on a short-term trip, planning a trip, or wondering if a short-term missions trip is worth doing. And if you have time check out all the articles he links to.

Here are links to each of the blog posts:

:: Rethinking Short-Term Missions

:: The Effect of Short-Term Missions on Poverty

:: We Need Them at Least as Much as They Need Us

:: Teaching as a Short-Term Missions Strategy

:: The Importance of Doing Missions as Servants

Interesting Quote

From P.T. Forsyth:

"The real strength of the Church is not the amount of its work but the
quality of its faith. One man who truly knows his bible is worth more to
the Church's real strength than a crowd of workers who do not."

What are your preconceptions?

I saw this a couple days ago and it made me think about two things:

:: is being happy the most important thing in life?

:: how easy it is to tell people they are wrong because they see things different than we do.

The first thought was more rhetorical and thus I didn't spend a lot of time contemplating it.

But the second thought made me stop to think about the preconceptions I have about life that dictate the type of questions I ask and how I answer questions that are asked of me.

One week in America

Some things I've noticed/realized/been surprised by after being in America for a week:

:: i feel uneasy about having no cash in my wallet and yet can go a whole week without having a single dollar on me.

:: i really, really like cold dr. pepper

:: being around people of different cultures, who speak different languages makes me feel more at home than being with a group of people who all only speak American

:: junior mints really are quite refreshing

:: church satellite campuses are kind of weird

:: my niece Ina is probably from Whoville

:: i like discussing history

Lessons from great Christian thinkers

I saw this the other day on the blog between two worlds and thought I'd post it here because it is kind of interesting to see how over the centuries different theologians have shaped the way we think today. It is from a blog post by James Spiegel.

1. Augustine (5th century): Remember that you are a citizen of another kingdom.
   
2. Martin Luther (16th century): Expect politicians to be corrupt.
3. Thomas Aquinas (13th century): God has made himself known in nature.
4. John Calvin (16th century): God is sovereign over all, including our suffering.
5. Jonathan Edwards (18th century): God is beautiful, and all beauty is divine.
6. Thomas a’Kempis (15th century): Practice self-denial with a passion.
7. John Wesley (18th century): Be disciplined and make the best use of your time.
   
8. Fyodor Dostoevsky (19th century): God’s grace can reach anyone.
9. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (20th century): Beware of cheap grace.
10. Alvin Plantinga (21st century): Moral virtue is crucial for intellectual health.

Easter 2009

Our church celebrated Easter today and after the service we had a picnic in the church's backyard. If you can call it a picnic. I say if there are tables and chairs involved it is not a picnic. But I'm one voice. It was a beautiful day for picnic – spring is here at last.



I helped Yura bbq chicken which made the picnic into a cookout and a lot more smoky.

This year I thought we should give decorating eggs a try. So I bought the little plastic wrappers and then Liese did it. I missed out on the "bang your egg against mine to see whose is stronger" traditional Ukrainian Easter game because I was cooking. But Jeremy Claycamp ate enough eggs for both of us. The kid put away 6 eggs along with the rest of his lunch.

For Jessica

And as I knelt beside the brook
To drink eternal life, I took
A glance across the golden grass,
And saw my dog, old Blackie, fast
As she could come. She leaped the stream-
Almost - and what a happy gleam
Was in her eye. I knelt to drink,
And knew that I was on the brink
Of endless joy. And everywhere
I turned I saw a wonder there.
A big man running on the lawn:
That's old John Younge with both legs on.
The blind can see a bird on wing,
The dumb can lift their voice and sing.
The diabetic eats at will,
The coronary runs uphill.
The lame can walk, the deaf can hear,
The cancer-ridden bone is clear.
Arthritic joints are lithe and free,
And every pain has ceased to be.
And every sorrow deep within,
And every trace of lingering sin
Is gone. And all that's left is joy,
And endless ages to employ
The mind and heart, and understand,
And love the sovereign Lord who planned
That it should take eternity
To lavish all his grace on me.

O, God of wonder, God of might,
Grant us some elevated sight,
Of endless days. And let us see
The joy of what is yet to be.
And may your future make us free,
And guard us by the hope that we,
Through grace on lands that you restore,
Are justified forevermore.

This timely poem from Future Grace brought a smile to my face today.
Wishing I could be with you all in Mesa today.