It's the Relationships, Stupid!

You may be wondering why I have a picture of Bill Clinton on my blog. In his presidential campaign against H.W. Bush in 1992, James Carville wrote three things on a whiteboard to motivate campaign workers and keep Bill Clinton on task. One of those items he wrote was, "It's the economy, stupid!" Clinton had a tendency to focus on too many issues and neglect larger issues. Carville could anticipate that the economy would be a major issue in the presidential race. What was meant as an internal motivator eventually helped Bill Clinton become the forty second president of the United States. "It's the economy, stupid" even has it's own article on Wikipedia.

I know that in my life, I have a tendency to focus on a lot of things. I can get to be very goal and task oriented. What I have learned most over the past few years is the value of friendships. I love my relationships with my family and with the friends that God has blessed me with. So, to modify the words of Bill Clinton slightly, "It's the Relationships, Stupid!" I appreciate all of you who are my friends and share your lives with us.

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

We have now left Springfield and are in the middle of our move to Alaska. It's been lots of fun, so I thought I'd post a few pictures. Here is our family in the badlands of South Dakota. Awesome place!

We also visited Mt. Rushmore, which was really cool. We watched National Treasure: Book of Secrets right before our trip, which features Mt. Rushmore. My mom took the picture. She helped us on the move.
Of course, if you have kids you have to go to the pool in the hotel every night. Here are the kids and I in a hot tub.

When driving over the Rockies in Montana, we were a little shocked to encounter snow in the middle of June!

And this is a picture of me having a heart attack at the gas prices. We drove a Penske truck 2,000 miles to Seattle, and our minivan 3,000 miles up to Prince Rupert. The worst price we filled up at was in the Seattle area, and was $4.59/gallon. I know that doesn't seem like much to my Alaska friends, but was tough to handle coming from the land of cheap gas in Springfield, MO.

We are getting on an Alaska state ferry tomorrow from Prince Rupert, BC, and will be in Sitka on June 17th, our 13th wedding anniversary. We are still praying about where God wants us and our future ministry.

Sharing Your Life

Our Sunday School class has been studying Paul's letters to Timothy. As an icebreaker today, we went around the room (25-30 people) and shared who we considered to be an important mentor in our life. . . someone who helped shape who we are and impacted our lives. While listening, I made a couple interesting observations.

1) Although a variety of mentors were shared, the two which seemed to spring up predominantly were Youth Pastors and parents, specifically, Dad. People are shaped by their parents to a large degree. This places a tremendous responsibility on parents to model godly behavior to their kids. It also almost makes me want to be a Youth Pastor again . . . what an opportunity to impact young people for God! I thank God for all the Youth Pastors I know who love God with all their hearts and showyoung people how to follow Christ.

2) People in the group were not impacted primarily by the teaching from their mentors, but rather from modeling. By loving enough to spend time with people and living a godly life, we have power to shape lives. This is reminiscent of Paul's idea of "follow me as I follow Christ."

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8

Who Is This Man?

We had the opportunity to take a boat across the Galilee, which was really cool. Ben and I illustrated the biblical event of Jesus and the disciples on the boat. Jesus was asleep and a storm came.

The disciples got stressed and woke Jesus up. He immediately calmed the storm.

When the disciples saw Jesus calm the storm, it caused them to ask, "Who is this man, that even the wind and the waves obey him." As we allow Jesus to move through us in the midst of the storms of life, people will ask, "Who is this man, Jesus?"

We went up Mt. Arbel, which has an incredible view. You are looking at the Northern shore of the Galilee, which is where the majority of Jesus' Galilean ministry took place. It includes Capernaum, Bethsaida, and the feeding of the 5,000.

Refuge

The Judean Wilderness was known to the Hebrews to be a place of refuge. Although it was a dangerous place, people who knew the land had a definite advantage. David and other biblical authors picked up on this theme. David wrote, "I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust." (Psalms 91:2)

We visited this area yesterday. The picture below was taken at Masada on the Dead Sea. This was known as a refuge and stronghold, and a fortress was built upon it. This is the type of area that David had in mind when he refered to God as a fortress or stronghold. And yes, we climbed up.


We also visited En Gedi on the Dead Sea. We got to float on the Dead Sea, which was incredible. You wouldn't believe how buoyant it is until you experience it. You can't keep your feet down. We also hiked David's Canyon, which includes the En Gedi Spring. This is the area where David was hiding from Saul. It is a beautiful oasis in the wilderness. This area, like God, was a refuge to David. Let God be your refuge rest in His shadow today.

We will be in the Galilee region for the next four days, and I don't know if I will have internet access. If I do, I will post more. Otherwise, it will be a few days.

We just got back from 3 days of journeys in the field. We visited the Shephelah (Judean lowlands), the Negev, and the Dead Sea. I have just a few pictures here. A few biblical examples and a few pictures of me in front of beautiful areas.

Moses struck a rock in the wilderness when God told him to speak to it. This simple act of disobedience prevented Moses from entering the Promised Land. The very thing that Moses had given his life for, his dreams of leading the people to the Promised Land, were shattered. Disobedience is expensive!

We are taking turns giving short devotions. I had the privilege of giving the morning devotion in the Judean Wilderness.

At En Gedi by the Dead Sea, we hiked up David's Canyon. This is the area where David was hiding from Saul. It is a beautiful oasis in the Wilderness.

Here is a picture of me in front of the Elah Valley. This is the place where David fought Goliath. The Philistines were encamped on the side of the Valley closest to me, and the Israelites were on the other side. Right behind me is where the battle probably occurred.





This is an excavation at Arad, in the Negev, known as the Great Wilderness in the Bible. This was known as a high place in the Bible. A high place is a place of worship and sometimes used to worship false gods. This altar shows two stones, with two altars of incense. This indicates that two gods were worshipped here. This is one of the reasons for which God punished the Israelites and they went into captivity. It is likely that this high place was torn down by Josiah.


This is Nahal Zin, a beautiful canyon in the Negev. I can't believe all the beautiful places there are here. We hiked up one of the sides of this canyon.

We are getting ready to leave of a 3 day field tour of Judah, the Dead Sea, and Philistia. I'm not sure how the internet access will be, so this may be it for a couple of days. I will leave you with a picture of me overlooking Jerusalem, with the temple mount and city walls in the background.