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.