Things that were great in 2008

In response to Pastor Jeff's blog, here is my list of the best ten things in 2008 in my and Marlys' lives (not necessarily in order of importance, that would be difficult):

1. Our daughter and son-in-law (Yakima) have gone full-out in their service to the body of Christ since his accepting Jesus and her re-committment in November '07.
2. We have been able to assist a granddaughter who is going through some rough life experiences. We're praying for her re-committment to Jesus.
3. I made sales goals that earned us a wonderful 6-day trip to Florida in October.
4. We added many new members to the Guest Services team this year and set in place 1st and 2nd service team captains.
5. A granddaughter moved back to Tacoma from NY and is preparing for a mission trip to Romania.
6. One of our grandsons has re-established a relationship with us and we are excited about his questions about spiritual things.
7. We were able to make two trips to Alaska to spend time with my parents who are both still going strong, in fairly good health, and live alone and above all, love the Lord.
8. Our church leadership selected us as part of a team to go to the C3 conference at Fellowship Church in Texas in February.
9. Our church was given an established church site about 10 miles west of TRC and we have participated in cleaning, painting and remodelling. This will be a second church campus for TRC. We are excited about this opportunity to expand the TRC-style ministry.
10. Marlys and I are in our 52nd year of experiencing life together. We will celebrate our 52nd anniversary on June 22nd.

This is only a start, really. . . (Where's yours, Cliff?)

From Church to DQ

How does time slip away? I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last blog. Lots has transpired. The Rock Church staff (some) & volunteers spent last Friday & Saturday sprucing up around the Lake Stevens campus. In fact, they got so much done on Friday that we were notified they really didn't need us on Saturday. Well, that was a blessing in that it let me attack some weekend chores around the house.

We're praying for a rejuvenation in the housing market around here so we can get this place sold next year as we inch toward retirement. If my boss has his way, it won't be a full retirement as he wants me to do some part-time work. So will probably do so a couple of days a week to stay out of trouble.

Getting ready for the great holidays of the year. One of them in which we get to say, "Merry Christmas" to everyone who offers a generic, "Happy Holidays!" Excuse me whilst I honor my wife's request for a DQ ice cream something-or-other. Bye, now.

Time and Trust

How on earth does a month (almost) pass before I post another blog? Life gets in the way of blogging.

I tweeted about the church intern class I am privileged to be teaching. It is the first full Bible class I've taught since 1976. This one is on Basic Doctrine, based on a textbook written by Kevin Conner and published in 1980. Am thoroughly enjoying the discipline it takes to teach. The instructor learns a great deal as he/she studies. Lots of new revelation. God is magnificent, to say the least!

Marlys and I are steadfast in our reliance on God in this time of economic upheaval. We are in prayer continually for those who are being touched and hurt by the financial situations they face. Brad, our son, and his family feel it as they are on stike from Boeing. The mechanic's pay for this huge airplane manufacturer is great - when you're working, that is. We are able to help some, and are grateful for it. It eats at our retirement potential, but we know we serve Jehovah-Jireh.

We also are praying for the coming prez elections. We can't help but believe God has placed a believer (Palin) in the position she is in for His glory and His purpose. We can only pray for wisdom and, as Jesus prayed, His will to be done.

Busy, Busy, Busy

What exciting times at The Rock Church (TRC) in Monroe WA where we worship. We had one sad event a couple of weeks ago as one of our members went home to be with his Saviour in a bad motorcycle accident. He didn't cause it, rather was hit head-on by carelessness in the opposite lane. We mourned, grieved, cried, comforted each other, then celebrated his home-going.

Then this week we completed our homestretch in raising the $1.2M downpayment for the building we've been leasing since 2004. Buying this building will allow us to save the property taxes (we're non-profit, of course) and use it for other ministry outreaches. We will be dancing during worship in church this coming Sunday! (By the way, for you having trouble with this dancing thing in church, didn't King David dance before the Lord because of his excitement over God's blessing?)

Another exciting thing that I'm getting ready for: teaching a Basic Doctrine class for our church intern program. Imagine, returning to the classroom at 70 years young! This is going to be good and I fully expect to learn something from these young people.

Finally, our small groups (we call them Reach Teams) from church will start up again in October. These RT's can be anything from Biblical studies to financial classes to knitting & cross-stitching. I'm still praying about leading a RT in volunteering in church. Speaking of which, Marlys & I are directors of the Guest Services at TRC. We (the Team) greet and get contact info from 1st attenders and follow up on them, usually via phone calles. Our team members all have a heart for this and are truly called to make people welcome. We encourage them to find a church where they are comfortable if they don't feel TRC is for them. Seems like most who are looking for a church want to come back and get involved.