Hold Fast Philadelphians!

This might be a headline in the Philadelphia newspaper when the Eagles are clinging to the final playoff spot in the NFL! However, that is not what Jesus had in mind when He commanded the Philadelphians to hold fast!


Above is a picture of an ancient fresco painted on the side of one of the ruins in Philadelphia, Turkey. I took the picture because a few of us were having trouble seeing what our tour guide was pointing at. Once I got what he was showing us I took the picture and then was able point out on my camera screen the painting. You can see a faint image of Jesus at the top center and a faint image of Mary in the lower left. (The white line at the top intersects the image of Jesus; the faint red at the bottom is the clothing of Mary and her arm is just above the red. She is facing to the right. You can see why it was difficult for us to see!)

As I reflected on our time at this site, and also the words of Jesus to the believers in Philadelphia, I realized that we need to hold fast to what we have too! Kind of like looking at this painting, once I understood what to look at, I got it! And once I got it, I could show others. A simple truth of life is that once you've got something, you've got it! Once I have a car, I have a car.

Jesus tells them to hold fast to what they have. We too need to hold fast to what we have been given. Now in terms of faith this needs a little explaining. I believe that once we have the gift of salvation that comes through faith in Jesus Christ, we cannot lose that salvation (see Romans 8:31-39; Ephesians 1, esp. verses 13-14; and Philippians 1:6 just to name a few).

However, we need to "hold fast" to our gift and not neglect it. Jesus commends the Philadelphians for keeping His word. The root word in the Greek for "keep" is teros and means "to attend carefully." Back to the car illustration—unfortunately this example doesn't work because it is possible for me to lose my car! But let's assume, that the car is like Christian salvation and it is not possible to lose. If I just leave that car in my driveway and don't "attend carefully" to it, then it will have little value. However, if we attend to the car, if we keep God's Word and attend to it carefully, then there is great value for ourselves and for others. And ultimately great glory is given to Jesus Christ!

One you get it, you get it. Once you have been saved from your sins, you have been saved! (And this Christmas remember that the reason Jesus was born was to save us from our sins--Matthew 1:21.) Hold fast to what you have been given. Attend carefully to the gift of faith and you too will persevere as the Philadelphians did!


"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars--I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. --Revelation 3:7-13

Indiffernce Leads To Ruin

Seven Churches, Seven Reflections. Reflection Three—Laodicea
"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, `I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." (Revelation 3:14:22)

Indifference Leads to Ruin
The ancient city of Laodicea now lies in ruins like many of the sites we visited. For the church of Laodicea these ruins remind me of the warning Jesus gave them. He said that their deeds were neither hot nor cold. They were indifferent. They could care less about things. They were merely lukewarm and indifferent to what was going on around them.

It is important to remember when reading this passage that it was written to believers. This is not a message telling non-believers to get off the fence and be for Christ or against Christ. Jesus says in verse 15 that he wishes they were either hot or cold. Hot water is great for a bath. Cold water is refreshing to drink. Lukewarm water has little use. The town of Laodicea was close to a hot spring that still flows today. They had an aqueduct to bring water to the town but by the time it got there it was lukewarm and wasn’t very satisfying.

So too was the faith of the Laodiceans and Jesus tells them to be useful. Jesus tells them to be earnest and repent (verse 19). Be earnest. Don’t be indifferent to Jesus. And since you are not earnest, repent—turn back to Jesus. Chaplain Woodson pointed out during our trip that repent is a great word. We so closely associate it with sin that it carries a shadow of disgrace. However, Jesus is telling the people to turn back to him. Repentance is a good thing! Quit being indifferent! Quit being lukewarm! Repent!

Which brings us to the other place where it is important to remember that this passage is written to believers. We often use verse 20 as an evangelistic tool to say that Jesus is standing at the door of your heart wanting to come in and save you. However, Jesus is not speaking to unbelievers. Jesus is telling a church, that has become so indifferent, that He is knocking at the door wanting them to repent. He wants them to turn back to Him. He doesn’t want them to continue to live a life of indifference but He wants them to turn back to Him. He wants them to open the door and fellowship with Him again. He wants them to be useful—to be hot or cold.


The current site of Laodicea lies in ruins. It serves as a picture of what happens when we are indifferent to God and the things that He cares about. It is a picture of what can become of our lives when we are indifferent to sin. It is a picture of what can happen if we don’t maintain our relationship with God. The good news is that if you are living a life of indifference, God wants you to repent—to turn back to Him so that your life will be one that is useful, not one that will end up in ruins.

Turkey Trip Reflection Two--Ephesus

I spent Thanksgiving in Turkey with a group from our chapel. Below is my second reflection on our experiences. Please scroll down to see my first reflection on Smryna.

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:1-7)

Jesus told the church at Ephesus that he knows their deeds, hard work and perseverance. I can’t help but think about all the hard work and perseverance it has taken to excavate the ruins in this ancient city. It is a tedious process that requires painstaking attention to detail and a long-term commitment.


Library in Ephesus

We were fortunate to have one of the lead archeologists accompany us through the ruins. I asked him when they would begin excavating an area that was still underground. He replied, “The next generation, generation, generation!” They might not even begin excavating that area for another century! They had another area that has a permanent roof over it because the excavation of it will take decades to complete (and it had already been going for decades)!


One thing I noticed about this archeologist is that he still has a love for archeology. He is retired but still is passionate about the work. He would see a roof shingle on the ground and gather us all around to tell us about it. He found an ancient nail that he passed around to us. We were late to the bus and he still had to stop us and spend ten minutes explaining some stones that served as road markers.

His passion and love for the ruins at Ephesus remains. This wasn’t the case for the church at Ephesus. While commended for their hard work, they were condemned for forsaking their first love. Jesus says, “Remember the height form which you have fallen.” Approximately 35 years before this Paul wrote to the Ephesians and commended them for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints (Eph. 1:15). In 35 years their love had grown cold.

While continuing to work hard and serve they had forgotten what they first experienced. Could this be said of you? Maybe you serve in many ways but your love for Jesus is cold. You need to return to your first love! Doing things, even good things, doesn’t replace loving God. The Pharisees were good at doing religious things. They weren’t so good at loving God and loving others.

If your love for God has grown cold, make it your goal to rekindle that love. How? Think about any good human relationship you have and how that love is fostered. I would say that the most important ingredient might be time. Spend some time with God today by reading your Bible, praying, or singing some worship songs to nourish your soul and your love for your savior. Be still and know that He is God!

Turkey Trip Reflection One--Smyrna

I was blessed to spend the Thanksgiving holiday in Turkey with a group from our chapel. We visited the seven churches that Revelation is written to. The revelation was given by Jesus Christ to John and addressed “to the seven churches in the province of Asia” (Rev. 1:4). However, it also says, “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written it, because the time is near” (Rev. 1:3). Below are my post-trip reflections on each town we visited. I say “town” because some of the time we visited church ruins from the first century; some of the time we visited a church or ruins from later centuries. We didn’t always visit the church-site from the first century. I am glad for this because it reminds me that the revelation is for the churches in terms of people and not in terms of buildings as we so often think in our 21st century western culture.

Over the coming days I plan to reflect on our trip, what was specifically addressed to each church, and a few other thoughts I had about my time. I am writing in the order that we visited the sites and not in the order they appear in Revelation. These reflections will not always tied directly to the passage written to that church as some of my thoughts are more about what I experienced.

Smyrna (Present Day Izmir)
Our first day in Izmir we visited St. Polycarp’s Church. This is a modern-day catholic church (built in 1910) named in honor of St. Polycarp who was a convert of the apostle John and who was martyred for his faith. It is interesting because it is built where there used to be a cemetery and so they used the headstones as the marble floor for the church.


A couple days after visiting this church, I was standing in my hotel room on the 19th floor looking out at the harbor. It was a beautiful view; one that I had gazed at many times in my short time there. I even spent one evening in a comfortable chair just staring out at the harbor and lights of the city. On this particular day though, I got to looking straight down at the base of the hotel and saw that St. Polycarp’s Church was only ½ a block from us.


As I thought more about that I have realized that there are so many things in my life that cause me to overlook the important things. Now half of the battle is making sure that we have a right priority on what is important. But once that battle is won (and that might be an ongoing battle as life changes) we are still prone to overlook the important. I had looked so intently at many unimportant things in the harbor that I had overlooked that which was right at the base of my building. We often focus too much on things that, while good things in themselves, are not the most important. What things cause you to miss the important?

Busyness causes me to overlook important things. Some days I came to the hotel to quickly change and then go to dinner. In my fleeting glance out the window I had no chance to see what was important. Are you too busy to notice the important things?

Distractions cause me to overlook important things. A couple of nights college football was on TV and my glances out the window were momentary as I turned back to the TV. College football is not a bad thing (I’ll be the first to tell you that!), but it can be a distraction from what is important. What distracts you from the important things?

Busyness and distractions also make it difficult for us to reflect on what is important. It was one thing for me to know the church was there and to see it below. It is also one thing to know what is important and to see what is important. It is another thing to stop, reflect, and meditate on what is important. Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” Too often we aren’t still because we are the god of our own lives. When was the last time you slowed down and were still? When was the last time you reflected on the most important person in your life—the one who loves you so much that He sent His Son to die for you? When was the last time you were still and trusted God to be God of your life? When was the last time you considered what was really most important and what causes you to overlook it?

"To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.” (Revelation 2:8-11)

This Week at the Graf House!

This Week at the Graf House--There is a lot to choose from around the Graf/Vilseck area and I know I am missing some activities!

Monday: Free Christian Comedian/Singer performance tonight at the Vilseck Chapel at 1800. Refreshments provided.

Wednesday: Vilseck Singles Bible Study in building 301 at 1830.

Thursday: Graf PWOC (9:00) and PMOC (11:45) in the chapel annex. Men, bring a lunch and join us this week!

Friday: Dinner and Bible Study. Potluck Theme—Casseroles! We will continue our Andy Stanley DVD series on “The Best Question Ever.”

Saturday: Graf House work day! Bring your gloves and old clothes and join us as we rake leaves, trim bushes, and clean up for the winter! We would love your help from 1:00-5:00!

We look forward to seeing you this week!

This Week at the Graf House!

Thanks to everyone who came to hear Sareth Duong share his story of growing up in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge regime and surviving the Killing Fields. It was quite amazing to me how much we take for granite as Americans and as Christians. I was also encouraged by the incredible work God is doing in the lives of so many men in the miltary and police throughout Southeast Asia. Continue to keep Sareth and Paul in your prayers as they seek to further the Kingdom of God.

Friday Night Dinner and Study—Potluck Theme: Fall Foods; Lesson Three of “The Best Question Ever: Living on the Edge.”

Fall Festival—Saturday 4:00-6:00 at the Graf Elementary School. Volunteers are still needed! If interested, contact the chapel office at 475-1570.

The Graf House will be closed next week (2-8 Nov) for our staff conference.

From Oswald Chambers

"We give credit to human wisdom when we should give credit to the Divine guidance of God through childlike people who were foolish enough to trust God’s wisdom and the supernatural equipment of God."

(Chambers, Oswald: My Utmost for His Highest : Selections for the Year. Grand Rapids, MI : Discovery House Publishers, 1993, c1935, S. October 26)

A Thought

This was in one of those "pass it along" emails. While it wasn't the main point of the story, I thought it was quite true.

"I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles four things: a rainy day, the elderly, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights."

Owen and Jacob Bowling

Here are videos of Owen and Jacob bowling! I think the best part is when Owen cheers after the machine clears his pins off the lane! Enjoy.

This Week at the Graf House!

Saturday Spelunking!
We are going near Pottenstein to do some real spelunking! This isn’t your pay for the walking-tour spelunking. You will need to bring old clothes, gloves and a hat, flashlight, sack lunch, and knee pads if you want. We will LEAVE the chapel parking lot at 10:10. This is not suitable for little kids as it is dark and there is some difficult crawling.

A Special Opportunity Next Week!
Next Thursday we will have two Cadence missionaries staying with us who minister to the Cambodian military and police forces. Sareth Duong will be sharing his incredible story of surviving almost two-years in a child labor camp after Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge Party took power of Cambodia in 1975. Here is a summary of a few of his experiences:
• At age six, Sareh’s parents were told that he did not belong to them but to the government. He was taken from them and forced to live and work in a child labor camp.
• For almost two years he worked 12-hour days in a rice field with only a t-shirt and a pair of shorts for clothing. His subsidized his daily ration of one cup of rice soup by eating insects, charcoal, and even dirt.
• He endured cold and rainy nights with other kids huddled in neck-deep water standing by water buffaloes for warmth. He endured beatings and even once was hogtied and thrown into a cesspool of human feces for misplacing an officers drinking cup.
• Through all of this, Sareth clung to the hopeful words of his father, “Fight to stay alive; things will get better some day.”

Eventually Sareth became a Christian and the Lord has led him to minister to the military and police forces of his country. He has an incredible testimony of what it means to love your enemies.

Next Thursday, October 29th, Sareth will be sharing his story with the Graf PWOC ladies at 9:00am and then the chaplains are sponsoring a lunch at the Vilseck Chapel from 11:30-1:00. Attached are two flyers about Sareth and the luncheon. We hope to see you there!

Bowling

Here is Jacob and Owen bowling during Jacob's Cub Scout bowl-a-thon!

Men's Paintball on Saturday

If you are Army Strong and are not afraid of some freezing rain and snow, then come join us for paintball on Saturday. We currently have nine guys who are indeed Army Strong. Let me know if you are interested.

We will meet at the Graf Chapel Parking lot at 12:10 and the Vilseck Burger King parking lot at 12:45. I’ll have the big-blue van for anyone who wants a ride. Let me know if you live in Netzaburg and I can pick you up on the way to the chapel.

This Weekend at the House (9-11 Oct)

Come on out to the Graf House this weekend! Friday night we will have our weekly dinner and Bible study. The potluck theme is Mexican. We will start at 6:30 and please bring your kids fed as we have a babysitter from 6:30-9:30. During our Bible study we will look at the idea of "Why we do things influences what we do and how we do it."

Sunday Brian will be preaching at the Graf Chapel at 10:30. His sermon is titled "Gifts for Criminals" and is based on Romans 3:21-4:12.

Sunday Night we will be showing one of the early NFL games on our big-screen. The game starts at 7:00 and the Graf House will be open after 6:30. We will have popcorn, chips, salsa, and queso. Feel free to bring some dessert or drinks to share.

We hope to see you soon!

A Few Recent Pictures Of Our Boys

Paintball

We are doing paintball this Saturday!! We have the paintball course reserved from 10:00-2:00 and we will eat lunch there. We are going to grill brats at some point in between games. Should be a great time. Below are the details:

Meet at the Graf Chapel parking lot at 9:15. We’ll drive around to the paintball course at Vilseck—I should be able to fit most people in our van. If you are coming from Vilseck, just let me know and we can meet at the Burger King parking lot around 9:50.

$10 per person--Fee includes: Paintball Marker, Mask, Air, and Trained Supervisor.

Paintballs:
500 rounds: $18.00
1000 rounds: $35.00
2000 rounds: $70.00 (Whole Box)

Stipulations:
Participants must be at least 18 years of age.
All customers’ markers must bear the “F” stamp in order to be used (no exceptions). CAMOFLAUGE IS NOT TO BE WORN AT ANY TIME DURING PAINTBALL. NO EXCEPTIONS.

**Be sure to wear clothing appropriate for paintball and weather conditions, i.e.:
Long sleeve shirt, turtleneck/neck gaiter, gloves and ankle protecting shoes**

Please let me know soon if you will be attending so that I know how many brats to get!

Berching Boat Trip!

Where is Berching? It is about 1:15 minutes from here and is located southwest of Hohenfels (go to www.googlemaps.com and type in Berching, 92334).
Why go to Berching? Primarily for the boat trip along the canal which we have been told is very peaceful and beautiful! However, we have also been told that the town is quite fun to explore. Here is what one person online wrote: “Consider Berching to be an undiscovered Rothenburg, it's peaceful and walkable, with little traffic and few tourists. The town is ringed by 30-foot walls and protected by towers and turreted gates. Visitors can walk along the top of the wall or explore the maze of alleys and passageways.” We will also spend a little time in the town of Beilngreis which is where we will board the boat to go to Berching.

Our Plan:
8:30—Depart Graf Chapel Parking Lot and drive to Beilngreis (just south of Berching)
9:45-11:15—Explore Beilngreis
11:30-12:30—Boat ride to Berching (WE WILL BE RESERVING TICKETS FOR THE BOAT. PLEASE RSVP BY THURSDAY AT 6:00 PM—See below)
12:30-3:15—Explore Berching
3:15-4:15—Boat ride back to Beilngreis
4:30-5:45—Drive back to Graf

Cost for the boat trip:
Adult—9.50 Euros
Youth Fare (ages 6-16)—4.75 Euros
Children Under 5—Free
Family Pass—22.00 Euros (2 Adults and 3 Youth Fares)

Other Costs:
You can bring a picnic lunch or bring money to buy lunch in Berching (I’m not sure if you will be able to eat your picnic on the boat. They do sell coffee and cake on the boat.)
Money to shop?!
Money to help pay for gas if you ride with someone else.

Finally, please remember that we do need to make reservations for the boat trip. Let us know by Thursday at 6:00 pm if you plan to attend, how many will be with you, and the ages of your kids. If you don’t RSVP we cannot guarantee that you can get a seat on the boat (and thus you would have to stay in Beilngreis all day or drive up to Berching).

Vacation Photos

More Vacation Photos

Here are a few photos from our time back in the U.S.

Kindergarten Fest!

Jacob and Owen's Kindergarten celebrated its 125 year anniversary on Sunday. Here is a video of Jacob's class doing a dance. Owen's video is below!

Kindergarten Fest

Jacob and Owen's Kindergarten celebrated its 150 year anniversary today! Here is a video of Owen's class dancing. I'll but Jacob's up tomorrow.

Bogenberg Medieval Festival

We had a great time at the Bogenberg Medieval Festival. Lots of old costumes, jousting, sword fights, horses, and of course...GOOD FOOD! That is one certainty of a German Fest.

A Good Word To Ponder

Psalm 34:1-10

I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.

My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

TWATGH

In a world of too many acronyms, one more can’t hurt: TWATGH—This Week At The Graf House. (FYI—The “G” is silent so it is pronounced “Twath” with a short “a”.)

Friday Night Dinner and Study: Potluck theme is All-American. We will also have a guest speaker: Dan Hash. Dan is a missionary with Josiah Venture serving in Poland. We are excited to have him share with us. Click here to read a little more about Dan and his family.

Saturday: Picnic at the Eschenbach lake from 4-7pm. Come join us for a chance to hang out, play sand volleyball, swim if you’re brave, rent paddle-boats, play corn-holes, and any other yard game you bring! They have plenty of grass if you have horseshoes or another fun yard game. They also have a small playground for kids. Bring your own picnic for dinner. There might be a minimal entry fee (1-2 Euros).


Upcoming:
20 June: Bogner Raufentage Medieval Fest:
In the Straubing area (just south of Regensburg) is the suburb of Bogen, which every year holds a Medieval Spectacular (in German, the Bogener Raufentage) on the nearby mountain, the Bogensberg. It’s held the weekend of June 19-21, and it’s all FREE!
It features a Medieval Market; a large display area showing how soldiers, nobles and peasants lived in the Middle Ages; lots of people in period costumes, demonstrating many different medieval handicrafts; falconry demonstrations; a variety of activities just for kids; sword-fighting and battle reenactments; and a medieval pilgrimage.
For further info (again, just in German), visit their website.
(Thanks to Margaret Bartlebaugh for getting us the information on this!)

27 June: Help Laurel Move In!Many of you know that Laurel Hoyt is moving from Heidelberg to minister specifically to single women in the Grafenwoehr-Vilseck area. God has blessed her with a wonderful apartment. However, the furniture cannot move itself into it. She has wonderful friends helping her move out of her apartment in Heidelberg. We would love for her to see that she has wonderful friends here that are willing to help her move in. Would you consider joining us in serving her? We will have more details in the near future. Read a little more about Luarel by clicking here.

3-6 July: Camping in Bertchesgaden
Info sent out earlier this week.

18 July: Bike Riding with the Howertons!

No Activites

Just a reminder that the Graf House will not have any activites going on this weekend. Please join us next Friday (May 29th) for our next Dinner and Bible Study!

Gut Genug

While I don't think this is an acutal German expression, it literally means "good enough" which also happens to be the weather forecast for the day! Good enough to go sand-boarding. There may not be a lot of sunshine but at least it is not raining which is gut genug for sand-boarding! See you there.

Sand Boarding Saturday!

Saturday we are going sand-boarding in Hirschau (south of Vilseck) at Monte Kaolino. There is a lot more than just sand-boarding though. There is a rodelbahn (alpine slide), outdoor pool (probably too cold this time of year), sand-sledding, and playgrounds for the kids. We will be there over the lunch hour so you can bring a lunch with you (they have picnic tables) or get lunch at the café there. Please also bring money for the activities. You can rent sand-boards and sleds there or you can bring your own sled and see how they work!

We will meet at the Graf Chapel at 11:00 to caravan. If you are from the Vilseck area you may want to just meet us at the site. If you drive to Hirschau (zip code 92242) you will see the large “white mountain” as well as signs pointing to “Montel Kaolino.” Follow these signs south of town on Wolfgang-Drossbach Strasse and you will see a left-hand turn to Montel Kaolino.

Web Site for Montel Kaolino
Map Quest Location
Phone Number: 09622 81502

If it is raining we will have to cancel the event. I will send out an email Saturday morning around 10:00 if that is the case.

Weather Encouragement and This Weekend's Activities

We hope your week is going well! I know the rainy weather isn’t as cheery as the sunshine, but it too is part of God’s grace for our lives. Read what the Psalmist says:

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.

PS 147:8 He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.

PS 147:9 He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

PS 147:10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of a man;

PS 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love.
--Psalm 147: 7-11

While we may think that he supplies this part of Germany with a little more clouds and rain than others, we can and should be thankful for it. It is part of His goodness to us. Sometimes it is more a matter of perspective and looking for God’s goodness in things. I imagine a few of our family and friends downrange would love to have this weather. They would consider it a blessing from God!

We hope to see you this weekend. For Friday night’s Dinner and Study we will enjoy Pizza (and salad if you want to bring some). Please cook your pizza’s at home and then bring them unless you call and talk to Aimee ahead of time. However, she will be baking her pizzas in the oven here so there probably won’t be much extra room! Our study is going to be on John 5:16-30 if you would like to read ahead.

On Saturday we will have a BBQ and games at 5:00pm. The grill will be going around 6:00—please bring your own meat and a side dish to share with everyone. We plan to play outdoor games if it is not rainy but will move inside if that is the case. We hope to see you here.

Not all was lost!

We got rained out last weekend but not all was lost! Bowling was fun and The Princess Bride was "inconceivably" good!

Next weekend (2 May) we are hosting a BBQ and Game Night. If the weather is good we will play some outdoor games such as ladder golf, croquet, and whatever else you want to bring! Bring your own meat and a side dish to share. You're welcome anytime after 5:00 and we'll get the grill going around 6:00! If the weather doesn't cooperate we will just play some inside games! Hope you can join us!

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain...

Which is exactly what it is doing in Nurnberg! The forecast is for it to rain in Nurnberg on and off all afternoon and so we are going to cancel our trip there this afternoon. However, not all is lost…

We have decided to meet at the Graf Bowling Alley at 12:30 for a couple hours of bowling. Feel free to go early and get something to eat or eat while you bowl. Please bring money for shoes and your games.

We are also going to show the movie Princess Bride here at the House at 7:00. (That’s the start time of the movie not the arrival time, mingle-time, get you coffee-time. If you want to do those things come at 6:30!)

We hope to see you at some point today!

Nurnberg Fest

Tomorrow (April 17th) we will be going to a fest in Nurnberg. It sounds like it has a lot of rides for the kids and some booths and shopping for the parents. We will meet at our house at 11:00 and leave at 11:15. The fest doesn't open until 1:00 but bring a sack lunch and we will eat before it opens (and then we might find parking easier!!).

There is suppose to be some light rain so pack an umbrella, rain jacket, stroller, and whatever else will make your time more enjoyable!

Please also check back here in the morning around 9:30 to make sure that we haven't cancelled the trip because of too much rain!

Thanks for Praying

Thanks to everyone who was praying for me this past Sunday as I preached in Chapel. It went very well, I received some great feedback, and most importantly I think that God's message was communicated. I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work in both my heart and the hearts of those who were there as we consider Jesus this Easter week.

This Weekend!

Friday Night Dinner and Study
Potluck Theme—Asian! This always brings out the best in the chefs!
Our lesson will be on John 4: 43-54 but we are going to tackle it from a little bit of a different angle. You’ll have to join us to find out what that angle is!

We are also going Ice Skating in Weiden from 3-5 on Saturday. The ice skating rink is located near the swimming pool in. We will meet there. The address is below.

Raiffeisenstraße 5
92637-Weiden

Train Yourself for Godliness

Train Yourself for Godliness. That was the theme for our men's retreat this past weekend as we studied 1 Timothy 4:7-8. We had a wonderful time in so many different ways. I had asked before we left that you pray for the following things:

That God will be at work in the lives of each man that attends.
That God will be glorified as we worship Him together.
That men will develop lasting relationships with each other.
That God would be leading and guiding the speakers and the listeners.
That God would protect and bless the wives and families who will be at home without their men!

I wish I could write down specifically how each one of these prayers were answered but I can't. However, I do know that God was at work in some incredible ways and that many men shared some positive things they learned and seek to apply. I know that all of these prayers were answered in one way or another. One man emailed me the following after he returned home: "Thanks for inviting me to the retreat. I only hope everyone got as much out of it as I did. I feel energized and recharged today, even if I did have to go to my dreary dungeon of a work place."

We had five different sessions during which we all (30 men) gathered for worship and a lesson. We then split into three smaller groups based on the community each man was from. During these small group times we further discussed the lesson and its implications on our personal lives. These were very rewarding and encouraging times.

All in all I am so grateful for your prayers. This is the first men's retreat that I have had any part of leading and I am very encouraged to do another one soon! God's blessed us abundantly and we were grateful and honored to praise Him and make His name and ways known.

Men's Retreat

I'm not sure what your motivation was to check out our blog, but now that we have you here, can we ask a favor of you? Would you be praying for the men's retreat that is occurring this weekend (March 13th-16th). Brian and three other men are leading a retreat in Mittersill, Austria with 26 other men from three different U.S. Army posts. The theme for the weekend is "Men, Train Yourself to be Godly" and they will be looking primarily at 1 Timothy 4:7b-8: "... train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." Please pray for the following:

That God will be at work in the lives of each man that attends.
That God will be glorified as we worship Him together.
That men will develop lasting relationships with each other.
That God would be leading and guiding the speakers and the listeners.
That God would protect and bless the wives and families who will be at home without their men!

Thanks for coming alonside of us in this ministry by praying for what God is doing.

He must become greater, I must become less.

I hope our time together this past Friday was encouraging to you in a variety of ways to include the fellowship with each other and growing in your faith as we looked at God’s word. For those of you who were not with us, we studied how John the Baptist had a proper view of God and a proper view of himself. God is sovereign over His entire creation and we often over-inflate our view of ourselves. Ultimately, as John the Baptist said, “He must become greater, I must become less” (John 3:30). That is a simple and easy verse to memorize to remind yourself of having a proper view of God and yourself. Put “3:30” on a piece of paper in your pocket and each time you pull it out recite this verse. By the end of the day you will probably have it memorized!

This week we will be looking at the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman at a well (John 4:1-42). Our potluck theme is Salads and Breads—I did promise a prize for the most creative salad! Saturday night we are going to watch the movie “Fireproof” at 7pm.

Additionally, this weekend is the last chance for you to sign up to attend the men’s retreat March 13th-16th. We currently have 26 men signed up! If you must work either Friday or Monday you can always come after work on Friday and/or return home Sunday night.

The Recession and Girl Scout Cookies

What do the Recession and Girl Scout Cookies have in common? Not much other than the fact that they are the two things I want to comment on today. The important one first.

I listened to a great sermon recently about the recession. It is by one of my favorite preachers and writers, John Piper. His five points are below. And here is a link to listen and/or read the whole sermon (I recommend that you do so!).

(Some of) God’s Purposes in This Recession
1. He intends for this recession to expose hidden sin and so bring us to repentance and cleansing.
2. He intends to wake us up to the constant and desperate condition of the developing world where there is always and only recession of the worst kind.
3. He intends to relocate the roots of our joy in his grace rather than in our goods, in his mercy rather than our money, in his worth rather than our wealth.
4. He intends to advance his saving mission in the world—the spread of the gospel and the growth of his church—precisely at a time when human resources are least able to support it. This is how he guards his glory.
5. He intends for the church to care for its hurting members and to grow in the gift of love.
(from www.desiringgod.org)


And now for the rough transition onto Girl Scout Cookies. I just wanted to let everyone know that after years of holding the top-spot on the Brian's Favorite Girl Scout Cookie Chart, Thin Mints have been dropped to number two. I was just as surprised as you are. The new cookie took over the top spot by the narrowest of margins and will have a tough time defending its position next year. But at least for one year, the new Top Cookie belongs to:
Do-Si-Dos®: "A sandwich cookie. The round, bumpy perforated oatmeal cookie top and bottom surrounds a peanut butter-flavored layer inside."

I am a big fan of the "round, bumpy perforated oatmeal cookie top." Check back next year about this time to see if the Do-Si-Dos can stay on top.

And for those of you who are curious, the only other two cookies that are good enough to be on my list are #3 Samoas and #4 Trefoils.

This Weekend

The Graf House is back open and ready to see you all on Friday! The dinner theme is “Breakfast for Dinner!” The lesson will be over the first half of John 3.

Saturday we have the ladies “Drop and Shop”. If your husband is deployed you are welcome to “drop” your kids off at the Graf House at 2pm and Brian will babysit while you go shopping and to dinner in Bayreuth. If your husband is not deployed, you can still go to Bayreuth with the ladies but you just cannot drop your kids off at the Graf House. Make sense? If not, call us.

Come join us for...

The First Annual
Club Beyond vs. The Graf House
Dodge Ball Bonanza!

This Saturday from 3:30-5:30 at the Graf Elementary School Gym.

We will eat dinner afterwards at the food court. Hope to see you there!

Weekly Events and New Singles Bible Study!

Here is a quick summary of upcoming events! We will be starting a new singles Bible study this week!!

Wednesday—Singles Bible Study at the Chapel. Meet for dinner at the DFAC at 5:30 or just meet us in Room 205 of the Chapel Annex at 6:30.
Friday—NO DINNER and STUDY! Please come to the Grafenwoehr Chapel Talent Show! (At the Chapel of Course!)
Saturday—“Focus” has been postponed. No Scheduled Events This Weekend.

Wednesday (4 Feb)—Singles Bible Study
Friday (6 Feb)—Friday Night Dinner at Study. Potluck Theme: Italian. Bible Study on John 2: 13-25.
Saturday (7 Feb)—Dodge Ball vs. Club Beyond! This is tentatively scheduled for 3:30 as long as the request for the Field House is approved.

The Graf House Happenings

Quick update...
Skiing on Monday was great! Not quite Colorado...Ok, nowhere near Colorado. But it was good for not being in the Rockies or the Alps. We had seven single soldiers join our family. Jacob and Owen both took half day lessons and then skied with us in the afternoon. It was right on the border with Czechleslavokia which meant that our nine-passenger van was a nice target for the Polezei to pull us over as we left the ski slope. They claimed it was routine for them to check identifications since we were so close to the border. They took all of our I.D. cards, phoned them into their headquarters, and then told us we were good to go! One Polezei stood and talked with me the whole time and was real friendly.

Here is what is going on in the coming days. Note there are a couple of changes!
Friday (23rd)—Dinner and Study. Potluck theme is pizza! Anything pizza related is great! We will then be looking at the wedding at Cana in John 2!
Saturday (24th)—Changed from the calendar. We are now going to Rothenburg, which is a really cool walled city. Following dinner we are going to Ansbach for a praise and worship concert in their chapel. We will meet at the Graf Chapel at 11:00. Please let us know if you are interested in joining us as we might schedule a city tour. We will have our “Focus” night a week later.

Wednesday (28th)—Singles Bible Study--6:30 at the Chapel Annex. You can meet me for dinner at 5:30 in the DFAC.
Friday (30th)—NO DINNER and STUDY!! Instead, join us at the Graf Chapel for a talent show. Please let Haila Hill know if you plan to display a talent (i.e. artwork, crafts, etc.) or perform a talent (i.e. sing, dance, etc.).
Saturday (31st)—Changed from the Calendar. We will have a special night of worship, encouragement, and more. We are calling it “Focus”! Please join us from 7:00-9:00pm.

Sabbath Rest

There remains a Sabbath Rest. Why don't I experience this much? I know the answer--it's because of me! It is Sunday morning now. I am rested; I am at peace; I've been up long enough to have two cups of coffee and my deovtional; I even have time to be sitting here typing this! This looks so different than a lot of Sunday mornings. In part, we have almost two hours extra before Chapel since there is no Sunday School today (How does not having a one-hour Sunday School equate to almost two-hours extra? It's complicated but it does!). Which makes me think, if I had extra time most Sunday mornings before "rushing" off to chapel then I might arrive at church to worship God with a peaceful and rested spirit instead of being hurried and frantic. Does the latter describe you? If you have kids it probably does! Maybe an extra hour or two would do us all some good. But don't go cancelling Sunday School just to make it happen! Maybe the key is Saturday night... What if we ,me included, were better about going to bed at a decent hour so that I could be up before the "frantic" sets in immmediately after the alarm? Just a thought worth considering...

Graf House Happenings!

This Friday we will continue our study of the Gospel of John by looking at Chapter 1:35-51. Two weeks ago we started through this gospel by looking at why John wrote it, the difference between recognizing and receiving something, and we were then challenged to testify to The Light. Last week we discussed testimonies (especially John the Baptist’s testimony) and baptism. Here are links to a couple of websites that offer good articles on baptism if you want further reading: John MacArthur’s Grace to You and John Piper’s Desiring God.

Please join us on Friday for a potluck dinner (theme: Family Favorites) at 6:30 and then we will continue through the Gospel of John at 7:45. And here are a few more upcoming events:

Saturday, 17 Jan: Guy’s Game Day (Wii, Risk, and other games generally not favored by the girls.)—4:00

Sunday, 18 Jan: Reminder there is NO Sunday School or Awana’s at Graf Chapel (due to four-day weekend).

Monday, 19 Jan: Ski Trip!
We will be going to Arber (www.arber.de) which is about 2 ½ hours from Graf. They do have ski school for those interested (30 Euros; 9:30-12:30) and lift tickets cost 25 Euros for adults and 18 Euros for kids ages 6-16. They have sledding available as well. We will be leaving the Hospitality House at 6:30 so that we can be there in time for ski school but you are welcome to just meet us there (the slope isn’t too big!). Single guys are welcome to stay at the House Sunday night.
Please let us know:
1. If you plan to come.
2. If you will carpool from here or meet us there.
3. If you will be staying the night.

We look forward to seeing you at any or all of these events. Check out more events to the right.

A New Year's Resolution...For You!

Join us for our Friday Night Dinner and Study each week. We have a potluck at 6:30 followed by a time of worship and a lesson on the book of John. We normally kick worship off around 7:45. We are just starting John and look forward to seeing God revealed through this Gospel.

Childcare is provided form 6:30-9:30 and please bring your kids fed as dinner is for adults only. This provides many parents a night to enjoy "adult conversation" without kiddos in tow! We would love to see you this week!

Happy New Year

We rung in the New Year last night with several single soldiers who came over for dinner. After that we had several families join us for dessert and games until around 11:00. We probably had about 25 people and the games were good and loud!

The German tradition is to light off fireworks for New Year's so we did that an hour early so the kids could go to bed. In the end only Owen went to bed and the rest of us stayed up to watch the rest of the countryside shoot fireworks at midnight. About 10 people stuck around until 3:00am playing Taboo! Aimee and I haven't been up that late for quite a while!

We hope your New Year's was good! Check back for more of what is going on here!