Fireproof

While my parents were here, Jeff & I got away for a "date" alone together while they stayed home with Juliana. We went to see the movie "Fireproof", which some of you may have heard about. We really enjoyed the film & think it has a great message, so we've posted the trailer below. Let us know if you decide to go see it!

We Finally Made It to Mt. Rainier...And We Didn't Stop There!

Having lived in Washington for over a year now and having admired Mt. Rainier from a distance the entire time, we've been longing to get there. Well, we finally made it to the mountain—or at least really close to it! Jill’s parents came into town last week, and we took a day trip to a place called "Paradise" in the Mt. Rainier National Park.

Despite the favorable forecast, we drove in thick clouded weather almost the whole way to the mountain. Feeling a little discouraged, we prayed that God would graciously provide somehow for us to be able to see the mountain. As we continued driving and ascending the mountain, we began passing through the cloud cover and eventually transcended it completely. From that point on, we had nearly perfect visibility of the mountain!

The hours we spent up there were truly inspiring for all of us. As we hiked around, we enjoyed the beautiful snow covered mountain from all different vantage points. And as we looked on in wonder, we were moved to heartfelt worship. We reckoned Mt. Rainier to be an awesome illustration of God’s own awe-inspiring attributes. Several Scriptures come to mind:

As we gazed upon the massive rock, we were reminded of the infinite strength of our God.

• Psalm 65:5-6 "By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea; Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;"

As we admired its height towering 14,400 ft. in the air, we were reminded of the infinitely transcendent faithfulness and righteousness of our God.

• Psalm 36:5-6 "Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains;"

And as we walked around admiring the mass and stability of the mountain--feeling at times surrounded by the mountain because of its enormity--we were reminded of God’s ever-present help and our security in His care.

• Psalm 121:1-2 "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."

Well, last week we took a trip to Mt. Rainier, but we didn’t stop there. We found that our journey actually took us beyond the mountain into the wonders of God Himself. The beauty of the creation pointed us so clearly to the Creator. For that we are exceedingly grateful! Thank you, Lord! We’ll look forward to more awe-inspiring trips to Mt. Rainier in the future. We'd love for you to come join us some time!

In Awe of Him,

Jeff, Jill, and Juliana

Greetings Family & Friends!

Welcome to our family blog!

We've posted some pictures, videos & links that we hope you will enjoy. We also hope you'll remember to check in on us for updates from time to time & feel free to post your comments too. It is a blessing to keep in touch with you, as many of you are across the country or even around the world.

To visit our church blog, you can click on the link for Summit Lake Community Church & learn about the things God is doing there.

Love,
Jeff, Jill & Juliana

Persecution of Christians in India

As many of you know, we have had a special burden for India for the last couple years, so it's no surprise that this blog post caught Jeff's eye today. Thousands of Indian Christians are suffering tremendous persecution in east India. If you would like to learn more, please visit http://www.teampyro.blogspot.com/ and read the post from August 31st entitled "Pray for India." As the title emplores, please join us in praying for these dear brothers & sisters in Christ on the other side of the globe whose lives have been turned upside down; and for the salvation of their persecutors; and for God to show Himself glorious in the midst of such chaos.

La Push, WA

We went to La Push, WA last Friday & Saturday with a family from our church. As you can see, we were awestruck by the beautiful beach...& very thankful for the sunshine! We had a great time walking along the shore, gathering around a campfire & looking up at an amazing sky full of stars, spying starfish, sea anemones & barnacles at low tide, and just being together.

A few shots from August