Walking with Jesus

I love my wife! It's not just a statement to me, it's a reality. Olivia is amazing. She's funny and temperamental, excited and sometimes sad, easy going and a little uptight... She's a beautiful bundle of joy and contradictions. She understands the value of life, having nearly lost her own. She sees beauty in people and in things that others simply ignore. She loves Jesus and longs to be a vessel of His glory. She helps me see things differently, more by accident than on purpose. I'm not very good at being told things sometimes, but I am a student of human nature, and the nature of Olivia teaches me a lot. She teaches me to have a soft heart, to fight through hard times, to take myself less seriously, and to always remember I don't know what's going on in another person's life. Olivia is a profound blessing to me. Last night, we were sitting on the bed and I asked her to tell me a story. (Normally, I'm the storyteller, but it was her turn.) She to...

Hi. If you aren't a regular reader of my wife Olivia's blog, I want to encourage you to visit her page and read what she wrote this month (January) in a blog entitled "The Right Seat". You will be blessed!

This is from my friend in Kenya----------------- Hi All - Thank you so much for your prayers for this country & these people! The rally scheduled for last Thursday was cancelled, re-scheduled a fewtimes, but cancelled every time! Thank you for praying! By Friday, it seemed that people in the country were tiring of the violenceand ready to return to normal life. Personally, we began moving aboutNairobi as usual again over the weekend, so I'm thankful for that sense ofnormalcy! We still get updates from the Embassy each morning that tell usthat police are still heavily deployed and we should excercise caution as wemove about, but the reports also convey calm throughout Kenya. The violence has subsided, but tribal tensions do remain high. In theheavily mixed areas, one tribe has displaced the other. For instance, some400+ Luos in the Tigoni/Limuru area have been driven from their homes andthey've taken refuge at the Tigoni police station. Cornel is still living atour cottage a...

This is an email from a friend of mine in Kenya. Most Americans have heard almost nothing about the situation there and would not understand it if we had. We are so sheltered in our little room at the top of the pyramid that is global politics. Take a moment to consider what's going on in one of the most "western" countries in Africa. The slum areas she mentions are larger than Abilene, and I lived only hours from the cities and townships mentioned in her email. Another friend wrote me today informing me that the Peace Corps (whom he work for) is not allowing him to return to Kenya until things settle down. The problem there is that in Africa "peace" is relative. As one writer said "Africa is when you stop counting the bodies." Please pray for Kenya. ----------------------- Hi Friends - Happy New Year! As the situation in Kenya continues to worsen, I wanted to write and ask you to be praying for our nation and its people. The Presidenti...

Olivia and I enjoyed a multi-location Christmas this year, both in Texas and in Massachusetts. It's been a lot of fun and we still have a couple more days up here in the winter wonderland before we head back home to Abilene. As I consider the coming year, I have so many desires and wishes. I want to finish recovering from my work injury last October (I'm at about 90%). I want to work out more, pray more frequently with Olivia, and find ways to use my new second job as a ministry. I want to help Olivia grow Inspired by Grace, finish the improvements on our house in Abilene, and learn more about being a child of God. I also want to have some idea of when we might be able to visit Israel, Hungary, and Africa. I've been reading a book about the grace of God and how we continue to live under the same grace by which we initially meet the Lord. We are never beyond our need for Him and for His forgiveness. As I look back at last year and ahead to the new year we've just ...