I'm trying to be better at posting...

Okay, so I am trying to be better and update this once a week. I try to send out an email to my friends and family who I don't talk to much, so I thought I could post my weekly update for all of you too!

Well, we had Zan’s birthday party this weekend. It went really well. Zan’s new friend Zach (from his new school) came (he is a very nice kid!) Also Zan’s two friends from his old school (Konner and Brent) came too. Zan picked out America’s Funniest Home Videos (Battle of the best) for his video, plus they watched Angel Wars (a computer generated cartoon I found at Christian Supply about the battle of good and evil and the angels that help us.) We had pizza and some veggies/dip with Chocolate cake and ice cream for dessert. Zan got a lot of great stuff. He got a new bible and a gift certificate for an arcade from Joe and I. He also got a remote controlled Hummer, Pokemon cards, $25, a couple of nice shirts, and a game. I also gave Zan his own email address. He was probably more excited about that than anything. He wrote emails to my parents, me, Joe, and his teacher. Sunday Zach was picked up and we took the other two boys to church with us. I am always excited when Zan gets to bring a friend to church. They are good boys, but they have little exposure to God’s word, so I am happy when they can have a chance.

I took Zan to the store last night to spend some of his birthday money. He decided on a skate board and the protective gear he needed. He spent about an hour outside last night trying to do some tricks. I was impressed by his determination.

Joe had a business trip Friday and Saturday. His work reserved a cabin at the beach and they worked for most of the day Friday and then had some fun. Joe tried Karaoke for the first time. He had a blast. I am glad he had some time to unwind and get to know his co-workers better. He was a break he long deserved.

We had a great sermon at church yesterday. It was about being obedient to God even when it hurts (or is difficult, uncomfortable, etc.) It was wonderful. What I found most interesting was when they talked about our attitude when it comes to obeying God. So much depends on our attitude. Think about when you were completely in love with someone (especially in the very beginning.) Didn’t you do all sorts of things for that person and were actually doing them joyfully? I can totally relate to that. I would do things that I normally dislike with a smile on my face. The question posed was, do we love God that much? And if we do love him that much, why do we often find obeying so hard. Can’t we find joy in that too? Anyway…It really had an impression on me.

Joe and I are still in the works of getting our own Life Group (a group where you study the bible and fellowship) going in Vancouver. So far we have quite a bit of interest and are excited to get things going. We are meeting with a guy from church this week sometime to go over some training materials before we forge ahead. I have been enjoying the Life Group we have been attending in the mean time and it will be sad to say goodbye to them…but still exciting to meet new people and start our own group. We have decided to have out group on Friday nights. That was we can start the weekend off right, plus people can stay up a bit later on Fridays so we won’t be pressed to have the meeting early (which is hard since I still commute from Portland and don’t get home until around 6:30.)

Anyway, that is about it for this week. Talk to you all soon. And don’t forget to let me know how you are doing!!