Dream Fulfilled

A day to remember....

We took the kids out of school a day early last Friday and headed to Prague for a quick trip to the embassy for new passports, and then across the Charles Bridge into Old Town Square and the Christmas market to soak in the Christmas atmosphere...so fun!

After that it was on to the mall for some last Christmas shopping...reminded me of when my dad and I used to go out to shop for my mom on those last days before Christmas when I was a kid! That was fun dad! Wish I could've done it with you this year!

But then, the best part of the trip for me came...an hour and half drive to a village just outside of Plzen, near the German border of Czech.

Ever since I was a little girl I've had a dream. It started with a gift that my Grandma and Grandpa France gave me when I was seven. I remember answering the door at our house in Coburg, Oregon and finding a delivery man asking if this was the France residence. After finding out they were in the right place, they brought a piano into our house - a surprise gift for our family.

I was talking to my Grandma at Christmas this year and she said it had been my Grandpa's idea - not that she didn't approve! But he just got it in his mind that someone ought to play the piano. If I remember right, he even paid for lessons for me that first year.

That began a life long love of music, and a skill that lead me to places I never would've dreamed of. I've always been so thankful for my grandparents' thoughtfulness and foresight!

But my dream has been to own a grand piano someday - one that had a heart and a song in it. For those who play the piano, you know what I mean. There are some pianos that you merely play, and there are others that play for you...they draw out the best in you. I've dreamed of having one like that.

When we moved into our new house here nearly three years ago, God provided a beautiful 120 year old grand piano that has partially fulfilled that desire. It's been a lovely piano to look and at a $400 price tag, was what we could afford at the time. But it didn't "sing". It merely played the notes and nothing more. So I continued to hope that one day God would provide again, and that this time it would be "the" piano for me.

On Friday the 22nd of December, God answered the dream of the little girl!

We drove out to a small village and to the home and workshop of a man who repairs, restores and sells used pianos. Dave has been in contact with him for nearly a year, waiting for the time when he had a grand piano that was within our price range, and was that special piano that "had a song". A few weeks ago Dave talked to him and he said he thought he might have the right one for us. So finally it was time to take the 7 1/2 hour trip to see!

After a walk through the dark village, the smell of coal burning heavily in the air, through a padlocked gate and into a non-descript looking warehouse, there sat "the one". It is a 1940 August Forster - a German made piano. When I put my hands on the keys and played the first notes, I knew I was home. It was the sweetest sounding instrument, with the touch and sound that was right to me.

We found out that this piano was bought and owned by one man for over 60 years. He was a composer in Prague and played this piano much of his life. He died not long ago and his family decided to sell the piano as they had no place for it. This man in Plzen bought it from them, and now is selling it to us!! I couldn't be more excited!

He will deliver it to our house January 15th, so I have to wait a few weeks for it to be here. But since I've been waiting for nearly 40 years to have this grand, I guess I can wait a little longer! Pictures to follow when it arrives at its home!

Thank you Lord for making my dream come true!

PS. Side note to this story...my Grandpa France's mother, Katerina Soukup came from Plzen back in the late 1800's!!

Giggles!

This is worth a giggle for a little Christmas cheer,

Our sweetie Lily dog - Santa's cutest reindeer!
This is the nice thing about having your own blog! You can put in whatever tickles your own funnybone!

Exit 316

Letošní cenu za ekumenický počin roku získá projekt EXIT 316

Ve čtvrtek 14. prosince 2006 od 17:00 hod. pořádá Ekumenická rada církví v ČR „Vánoční besídku pro přátele ekumeny“. V rámci této besídky bude udělena cena za ekumenický počin roku 2006.
Letos tuto cenu získá Křesťanská akademie mladých (KAM) za svůj projekt Exit 316. Jedná se o 17-dílný zábavně-publicistický pořad pro mládež, který je od září k vidění na ČT2. Cenu za organizaci KAM převezmou Dave Patty (předseda výboru), Petr Húšť (vedoucí mezidenominační kampaně Turbo316) a Jan Škraňka (vedoucí projektu Exit316 – výroba pořadu).

I know that this is unreadable to you, but it is UNBELIEVEABLE to us! It is a newspaper article on something that happened last Thursday.

Dave went to Prague to accept an award from the Ecumenical Council of Churches (made up of a representative from every denomination in the country, both Protestant and Catholic) for the "Best Ecumenical Act of 2006" - it was for producing and airing Exit 316. Going in to the awards Dave thought it was one of many awards that they give out. But when he got there he realized this was THE award that they give out for the year. Quite an honor!

TenSing

Back in 1967 a pastor in Bergen, Norway had a burden for the youth of his church. Having seen a youth choir from London, he was inspired to begin something similar for his youth and "TenSing" (short for 'teenagers singing') was born.

Today TenSing is a youth work within the YMCA and is in dozens of countries from Europe to Africa. They are based on the idea of the three C`s: Christ, Culture and Creativity, and incorporate music, dance, drama, friends and faith into their program.

Why am I writing about TenSing? Caleb is a part of a TenSing group right here in Frydlant! It is an outreach to young people in our town, now led by Bogdan, the youth leader in our church, but first started by a young man named Jirka who was in our internship program at Malenovice. Last year he invited Caleb to be a part of it, and it has become a special and important part of his life!

This past Friday night they had their Christmas concert at the local music school and did a fabulous job! They mostly sing in English, choosing songs that talk about faith, God, and how that relates to their lives. Most of the young people in the choir are not believers, but that doesn't stop them from singing such songs as, "There's Nothing Better than Knowing Jesus"! We pray that as they sing and are a part of this group, they will come to know Jesus.

Caleb played the bass, sang and even danced during the concert - he was awesome! We were really proud of him and excited to see him a part of this group.

JV Ladies

It was 1995...

We had been in Czech for a little more than a year. I had a four year old, a two year old, and Claire was just a few months old. And life was a little bit hard. Okay, that's an understatement! I was WAY over my head!

But...God was there. And as sometimes happens, He was in the form of four good women. Do you know what I mean? Sometimes God lovingly displays Himself in people that He places around us, and they touch us with His presence. Those four women were Lina, Laura, Andrea and Kim...all JV missionary women.

I don't remember who had the idea first...but somehow we decided that we needed to have an overnight with each other. In later years we'd call it a "JV Ladies Retreat". But that late February evening at a Polish hotel, it was simply five women who needed each other.

We laughed, we ate, we heard each other's testimonies, and we were the body of Christ to each other. It was the beginning of a wonderful tradition.

Eleven years later, we're still doing JV Ladies Retreats! They have grown in size, changed in locations, gone from one overnight to four (thanks to husband's and leaders who know the benefit of sending their wives and teammates away for time with other women!), and been a blessing each and every time.

This coming February, we will once again come together for a JV Ladies Retreat. Thanks to some inexpensive tickets on Sky Europe, a great low-season deal on a hotel, and other good provisions from the Lord, we're heading to Rome with 35 JV ladies for five days! Whoopee! I can hardly wait!! Being with my JV sisters is such a joy and privilege.

As you look at these dear faces, ask God to bless them for their hard work, their sacrifices, their perseverance in the face of difficulties, and their obedience through it all...and pray that God will bless them with a sweet week in February of refreshment, joy and fellowship with their JV sisters.

And that we will have a great time in Rome!

Another JV Thanksgiving

What a wonderful JV Thanksgiving we had!

This was the 14th Thanksgiving that we've celebrated with our JV family! The first one was over in Poland in 1993 at Dan and Laura Hash's house...it was just us and them that Thanksgiving, and the first time either Laura or I had ever cooked a turkey! We've come a long ways since then!

For many years after that we had Thanksgiving at our house in Havirov, but moved it up to Malenovice when we outgrew our house. I think this was our 7th year there!

Over 70 of us gathered this year to spend the week-end together enjoying good food, sweet fellowship, and a few football games thanks to my brother-in-law, Josh, who figured out how to get a satellite hook-up so the guys could see games from the States. Way to go Josh!

Becca, our JV Kid director, had prepared all kinds of fun things for the week-end - she is so creative and fun! FROB (Fun Room of Becca!) was a hit as always, as was Family Frenzy, a happy time where we have workshops that we do as families...painting clothespins (no end to glitter, glue and paint!), dipping spoons in chocolate and decorating them (YUM!), basketball games, X-Box games, dancing with Leah (you'd have to be there to see that!), and a big Narnia puzzle time to work on! So fun!

One of the best highlights though was our annual talent show on Saturday night. The kids plan and prepare for this all year! Some recite poems, some play instruments (the picture is of Caleb playing sax with his teacher who came for the occasion!), some do gymnastics, some sing and some dance, and some even juggle cool things! It's always such a beautiful time to see how God has uniquely and specially gifted each one of these kids. Tyler put together a cool video that I'm going to try to put on my blog if you want to take a little look at the talent show! If your internet is slow, let it load before trying to watch it.


Another one of my highlights is seeing my nieces and nephews! Can't resist putting in a few pictures of them! These are Josh and Kristi's kids, Blake, Becca, Kendra and Luke, who all live in Slovenia and serve there with JV. Tyler and Luke were the oldest and youngest kids at Thanksgiving this year so we had to have an official photo of the Patty men!

And we couldn't resist having one of the "Patty women" too!!













Sweet memories of a happy, rich time together! Thank you Lord for our JV family!

And here's a short video summary of this years Josiah Venture Talent Show! Enjoy! (made by my very talented son, Tyler!)

Precious Grandma

I know...I know! It's been over a month since I updated my blog! I posted a comment on Tyler's blog just yesterday telling him I wished I was as good at updating my blog as he was...and could he please do my update?!

One of the reasons I haven't written on my blog is that Dave and I were in the States for three weeks visiting supporters, friends, churches and family. Each one of our interactions during those weeks was just precious - so rich, so good, so like God to give us those tastes of heaven!

One of the most precious times was being able to visit my Grandma in Oregon. At 94 years old, she is one of the happiest and most cheerful people I know...in spite of a body that she says is showing its age. While she doesn't get around like she once did when she was 80, she is living well for being 94. I admire her so much! We had a wonderful day together, telling old stories, laughing, telling new stories, and laughing some more. What a gift that day was!

One of the best parts came at the end though. I left for a couple hours to do something with my brother, thinking that it would also give her a little chance to nap, or at least rest, after having talked and listened for hours that day.

But when I came back to see her in the evening, I was greeted by the smells of "grandma's house" from long ago. Though she hasn't been baking for a long time, she managed to make some of her "good for you", chock full of yummy things, bran muffins. I couldn't believe the smell that hit my senses when I walked in...it was like going back to my childhood!

Not only that but she had boiled eggs, gotten out the crackers and cheese, and put on a kettle of water to make tea. We had ourselves a regular feast at little TV trays as we ate and watched the election returns (with her winking at me and saying, "How 'bout those Democrats?"! A little funny joke between us!).

I don't know if I will have many more visits with my Grandma, but I'm sure thankful that I got to have this one!

After Claire's Birthday

What a great time we had celebrating our Claire! She had a wonderful birthday celebration right through the week-end. That's the way to celebrate a birthday...several days in a row!

But this morning when I went in to wake her for school I found her burning up with fever...103.5. Dave and I took her into the doctor and found out that she has strep again. She only finished the antibiotic for the last round of it 10 days ago so this is not good news.

Thankfully our doctor took blood and did a throat culture (that's not as common as you would expect it to be here), and of course put her on a new round of antibiotic. We'll have the results by the end of this week to know how bad the infection is.

She feels miserable today - I won't go into the details but it's not a pretty sight around here (though I do want to say that Claire herself is always a pretty sight!). Please pray for her - for strength to endure this. Please pray for us that we would have wisdom to know what to do next for her in hopes of stopping this cycle. We have been down this road before and really wish we didn't have to go down it again.

But as I've said before...I trust the Lord. There is no other option but to continue placing her in His caring hands. He knows what He's doing, even if we don't understand.

By the way...I also was diagnosed with strep yesterday so am fighting the same infection. Kind of crazy timing, but we'll trust the Lord with that too.

Celebrating 12!

It's Birthday time at the Patty's house!!!!

We are in the middle of a week-end of celebrating Claire, the very precious princess that God brought into our family 12 years ago on October 8!! What a gift she has been, and continues to be!

Last night we had some of her friends over for a pumpkin party...they carved pumpkins, ate pumpkin pie, told funny stories, dressed up in crazy clothes (and hats!) for dinner, and had a really happy time together!

The celebration continues tomorrow on her real birthday...can't wait to kiss my 12 year old in the morning and wish her a happy birthday!!

Caleb's News

Yesterday was one of those monumental days in a family...

Caleb got braces!

On the way home I told Caleb I didn't feel old enough to have two kids with braces (Tyler has them too). When I had them years ago I thought my parents were old. They were actually younger than I am right now! Kind of funny.

As he went to school this morning his mouth was sore, and he was not excited to face the kids in his class for the first time with his new smile. Personally I think it's pretty cute...or rather, I'm sure he would prefer me to use the word "good looking"!

Experiencing Attack

On top of the latest news that Exit 316 is under threat of cancellation (see my latest e-mail for that story), our family is also experiencing attack in a well-known area for us...health issues.

While Caleb and Claire just returned to school today for the first time in two weeks after serious strep infections, Tyler came home from school after the first hour today, sick with the symptoms that the other two had when they got sick. And I have them as well. We are in need of the Lord's healing, and for patience as we wait for that.

We are in the midst of some tough situations here as well - places for which we are deeply pressing into the Lord for His wisdom and His guidance.

Through the years as I've encountered time after time of days like today, I do one thing. I say outloud to the Lord, "I trust in YOU alone!" What else can I do?! What else would I want to do in times like these? It's not hard to say those words, but it's sometimes hard to get up off my knees and live it out. Pray that I will follow through on what I say and live in faith.

Blessed be the name of the Lord...whether we are in times of plenty or in need...blessed be His name.

Fall JV staff Conference

Last week was our Fall JV staff training conference at Malenovice. We had 143 people from 10 countries...most of them full time JV staff! What an amazing group of people, committed to sharing their lives and the Gospel with young people.

We sure do love this group of people!

Dave was the main speaker at the conference. Some say it was the best teaching they've ever heard from him. I would have to agree!

A visit from my Brother

For those of you who don't know, I have a really great brother named Mike! He and I are just one year apart...one year and three days, to be exact!

He was just here to visit us for two and a half weeks and we had such a great time together! The kids loved hanging out with Uncle Mike because he's so much fun! I liked being with him because he always has so many interesting things to talk about. 

Lily, our dog, liked being with him because he gives the best belly rubs in the world! Dave liked being with him because he loves to hike as much as Dave does!

It was a great gift to have him spend that much time with us. Brothers like him are a gift from God. We're all so glad he came!

Airing Exit 316

Four episodes of Exit 316 have now been aired on Czech Television!

We have statistics from the first three episodes that tell how many viewers have watched either the Wednesday evening show, the Friday afternoon or the Saturday morning (at 4 AM!) show - you would be surprised at how many people are up at that time watching!

1. A different dimension - total viewers: 101,600
2. Love - total viewers: 125, 200
3. Friendship - total viewers: 111, 500

What this doesn't include is those who are viewing it on the website of Czech Television. Several thousand people are going on to watch it there as well.

The episode "Conflict" aired last night - here is the link if you want to watch it. It was very powerful!

http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/vysilani/10109769637-exit-316/25241-konflikt.html

If you are interested in the subtitles for it, I have them! Leave me a comment, or jot me a note by e-mail to let me know!

Tyler said they had their most interesting discussion last night at his small group. A new guy was there who was at English camp this summer and is now working at Malenovice. He continues to ask a lot of questions about the Lord and spiritual things, and told the youth leader that he is seriously considering becoming a Christian. However, he wants to make sure before he makes the decision that he is ready to be fully committed. Please pray for "M" as the Lord seeks Him, and as he opens his heart to the Lord.

Sick Again

As many of you know, we have had a lot of health challenges with our kids through the years.

Today is no exception.

Caleb and Claire are home sick with two bad cases of strep. It's not the classic strep in their throats, but has advanced beyond that farther into their bodies...not a good thing really. But there is good news!

Our pediatrician here has finally understood that something deeper is going on in their bodies, and that we need to get to the root of it. She has ordered cultures, put them on immune boosters (and antibiotic for the strep), and will vaccinate them against further infection as soon as they are well. Truly, this feels like an answer from the Lord!

We have way too many sick days in our house (and missed days of school) and I have been praying that God would show us what else could be done to work on building up their immunity this school year. I was so encouraged by our doctor yesterday when she began to take action.

For now they are quarantined here at home...not because they're contagious to anyone else (they're on antibiotics) but because she feels like it will be better if they have as little contact as possible right now with "outside" bacteria. So we're here at home this week. We've downloaded a few audio books, stocked up on good food, and settled in for a week of "sick days".

Even though this is JV Fall conference week and it means I won't be up there as much as I had planned, God is good and I trust Him with this change of plans. We're atually having a happy time together (even though they don't feel very well) and I expect to be surprised by God's care for us all this week.

Pray for healthy bodies!! Pray for a healthy and loving mom to care for them!

Leading Worship

A significant event happened this afternoon...Tyler fully led worship at our church here in Frydlant!

For the past three years Bogdan, the youth and worship leader of our church has let Tyler play in the worship group. He started out as a 13 year old playing bass, went on to playing electric guitar, and then acoustic just this summer. It has been a fabulous experience for him to work up close to Bogdan and be a part of this team - I've appreciated the mentoring he's done with Tyler at such a relatively young age.

This summer there were a few times when Bogdan was away and Tyler was asked to lead singing. But it was more spontaneous and spur of the moment - not on "official" position of worship leader.

Coming into the fall though, our pastor, Ken, felt Tyler was ready and ought to be given an opportunity to lead worship, and Bogdan recommended that he do it once a month. So today was his first day at it. Of course I'm a bit biased (and I was playing piano with him!) but I think it went just great! He read a Scripture in Czech, and then led six songs (one of them being in Slovak!). It was really a sweet moment for me to see him do that...there is no greater joy than seeing your child have a love for the Lord and express it in worship.

I expect this is only the beginning of Tyler's journey into worship and worship leading. That makes me really happy tonight!

More on Exit 316

There are so many more stories revolving around Exit 316 that I wanted to post a few here so that we can keep track of them!

I shared in my latest update about the level of viewership over the internet. What I didn’t say was that there are a total of 175 shows aired in a given week – this means that Exit was #2 out of 175! The one in first place is a very popular “David Letterman” type talk show hosted by a well known comedian – and a show that has been airing for quite some time!

One of our intern graduates in Prague told her non-Christian boss about the show. He watched at home with his 9 year old daughter, Valerie. When it finished his daughter said, “Daddy, could you register me in a club where I could learn more about Jesus. There has to be a club like that somewhere.”

Here in Frydlant a group of 15 gathered to watch the show in one apartment. Half of them were non-Christians. The discussion afterwards was very good – even for one 23 year old girl (the sister of one of our youth group kids) who has never been to a Christian event in her life. She took her Exit Bible (a special edition we have had published) home and started reading it the next day – and has been reading it every day since.

One girl in Pisek met individually with a friend to watch the show. Afterwards the discussion continued from the topic at hand to the very essence of Christianity. They talked about sin, Christ’s work of redemption, and the Christian girl was able to give her testimony. All the first week!

Mike Sullivan, one of our JV staff, told me that some members in his youth group in Presov, Slovakia (five hours drive from here on the far east side of Slovakia) were able to get the show on cable. They want to start Exit discussion groups in their group and are asking him for materials and Bibles. This is from the far side of another country! So glad our languages are compatible!

Last weekend another 250 small group leaders in Bohemia (the western side of Czech) went through the training for small groups (Turbo 316) – meaning that over 500 small group leaders have been through an intensive 24 training time on how to develop and lead an evangelistic small group around Exit!

In Cesky Tesin, a nearby city, there were 30 for the first Exit discussion – ten of whom were non-Christians.

Caleb's Book Report

Sometimes I am amazed at the interesting opportunities that our kids have to bring spiritual matters into their classrooms. One such opportunity happened today for Caleb.

School just started on Monday for the kids so this has not been a significantly academic week for them as they've just settled back into the routine of things. But one teacher decided there was no time like the present to hand out book report assignments for the Fall. She was reading a list of book possibilities outloud and came to "The Bible". At that point she looked up and said, "Caleb, could you do a book report for us on the Bible?"

When I picked up Caleb at school that day he told me that she'd asked him to do the book report, but not only that...it was due on Friday. He was to be the first one to give his book report for the year!

He spent that evening and Thursday evening working on it...good thing he's already read the book!

Today in second hour he gave the report and sent me an SMS (stands for "short message system" - otherwise known as text messaging in the States) to tell me he'd finished it. I wrote him back and asked him how it went. This was his reply:

"Good. But they talk about the Bible like it's a fairy tale. It really bothers me. And especially cuz some kids seem really interested. But then she talks like people only believed in it when there wasn't any scientific explanation for like the beginning of the earth and stuff..."

And so it goes here. It's definitely an uphill climb in terms of moving people towards taking the Bible, and spiritual matters, seriously.

But still...I think it's great that his teacher asked him to do the assignment and that he did it first thing in the school year! Oh and by the way...he got a "1"...otherwise known as an "A"...for the assignment. The first "1" of the year!

Exit 316 Premiere

I wasn't prepared for how emotional I would feel at the premiere of Exit 316.

The hour before I drove into Frydlant to pick up pizza to take the hotel where we were going to watch it on the big screen downstairs. As I drove into Frydlant and saw all the people walking I started praying that many of them would head home and turn their television onto CT2 so that they'd see it...and more importantly that they would absorb WHAT they were seeing.

As I sat at Rabaka waiting for the pizzas to be done (very mediocre pizza, I might add...where is Pizza Hut when you need them?!) I prayed more for all those across the country who might be just getting home and turning on their tvs. And I wondered what they would think if they did turn them on and happen to see Exit.

Finally the pizza was done so we headed up to the hotel where Honza (the production manager for Exit) had things set up in the main meeting room...CT2 was already on when I stepped into the room. I felt a chill go through me as I sat watching the time tick down until it was 6:05...this was more than just a "premiere showing" - this was an historic moment.

And that's when the emotions, and the realization of what this moment means, hit me. I had tears in my eyes for most of the 18 minutes of the show...not for anything in particular that was being said or shown (I'd already seen the episode several times at home on a DVD that Dave had brought for us to see). It was the huge significance of this moment - one of those watershed moments - where I believe we'll look back in time and say, "It was all different from then on".

About 20 people gathered with us for the premiere and afterwards we had a time of prayer for Exit...for all the small groups that were happening across the country at that moment, for those who had just viewed it, for the team who continues in production of more episodes, and for a spiritual awakening in this country...no small thing!

I couldn't even pray out loud because I was so filled with emotion. Dave started to pray but didn't get very far before he was overcome by emotion. He pressed through his prayer, but I know he was feeling the significance as much, if not more, than I was at that moment.

Lots of people prayed and then it was just quiet for a bit. It felt right to me that we let it be the holy moment that it was. The airing of such a straight-forward Christian telelvision program on public tv is a huge deal! A holy moment, if you will! The presence of the Lord was there throughout the premiere, but I especially felt it in that quiet moment.

And then it was over and people moved on into regular life again. I cleaned up the pizza and drinks, talked to a few people and then headed home. The evening was finished.

But the work of Exit has only begun!!

Exit 316 Stories

Exit 316 stories are already starting to pour in...and it hasn't even premiered yet! That's tomorrow. But for today, here are a few stories of what's happening.

• A Salvation Army leader from Opava called Petr H to say that a couple of his people were at the training over the week-end and came back so excited about Exit. He said, "We want to start 5 evangelistic small groups. Can we get material?" Petr said, "When do you need it?" Salvation Army guy said, "Tomorrow...that's when it starts!" Petr said, "I can't get them to you that fast in the mail." S.A guy said, "Can I drive down and pick them up?" Petr said yes! He got in the car and drove 2 1/2 hours one way to pick up the materials so that he'll have them tomorrow night for their small groups!

• Petr's mom works at a grocery store. She took a stack of the flyers about Exit to work with her. Every person that came through she talked to them about the program. She's never been able to talk to people about the Lord but the fact that this is on television made it very easy. Many of the people have young people and almost all of them are having problems with their kids. When they heard the show was focused on issues young people face, they said they would make sure their kids watched it!

Living By Lysa

From where I sit at my computer, in our house, in the farmlands of Lubno, near Frydlant nad Ostravice in the Czech Republic...I look out my window to Lysá hora, the highest mountain the Beskydy range.

I see "her" every day that I'm here at my computer, watching her change through the seasons. I never get tired of this view, and thank the Lord every day that I get to enjoy it!

It seemed appropriate to name my blog "Living By Lysa" since that sums up the life I'm living here in this part of the world.

Of course life is much more complex than just living here, but there are days that I like to imagine that it's as simple as just "Living By Lysa"!

Thank you for joining me here on my blog, a place I want to capture this life we're living.

September 5, 2006

This is a historic day for me! I have been contemplating a blog for a long time but couldn't really figure out why I should do one. But after much thought I've decided that I want to write stories about what God is doing here...the small seemingly insignificant things, and the huge amazing miraculous type things. And along the way I can include stories about our family and other such things.

So that's all! Tyler is sitting here beside me (my faithful "techy" boy) to help me publish for the first time. Thanks Tyler!