Mikah and Kiara brightening up another day.

HOT HOT HOT--CAN'T STOP THE POTTY-ROCK!!!

Wooooo-weeee!!! I just made my first curry and man is it HOT! Oh man.....(i had to get a glass o' milk). Very good though. Needs another vegetable I think. I got to say I'm a little proud of myself it is very, very good.

Oh, yes! I'm also proud of my little Kiwi. She has just gone pee-pee in the potty for the second time. She's doin' good! Go Kiwi-Go Kiwi!

I got a call right after the last post telling me I do not have to go to work....Should I go back to sleep?

Councilor Hamann - "I hate sleeping. I never sleep more than a few hours. I figure I slept the first eleven years of my life, and now I’m making up for it. What about you?"

I wander if I could have this coffee injected straight into the blood. Hmm..... Ahh well, it's 3am and this cup is the only thing keeping me from falling out of my chair, but I did get to sleep in an hour. YEAH!

AMERICA THE DUTIFUL?

Dan Hughes' future sister-in-law, Beate (Bay-ah-tah), incarcerated by Homeland Security. Check out the article here in the Gazette.

Turned Away at Border

The love story of Trevor Hughes and his fiancee began in an elementary school in the Himalayan foothills.

They were "global nomads." He was a diplomat's son. She the daughter of missionaries. They lived in Asia, attended school together, fell in love and want to get married in June.

But when Hughes' fiancee, a German national, tried to visit him on a six-month tourist visa Monday, she was detained in Atlanta, handcuffed, jailed--even stripped of her diamond engagement ring.

Then, after 20 hours without food, she was put on a plane and shipped back to Stuttgart.

"This isn't the America I fought for," said Hughes, who served in the Navy and U.S. diplomatic corps. "You don't expect that from a great country like ours."

Trevor says,

"Two things need to be accomplished to begin to correct this injustice:

1. There must be a high level inquiry into this situation, a records review and a full reversal of all that has happened. All records pertaining to this incident that are not deemed essential for security or relate to an infraction of the law (which will be none) must be destroyed and removed from any computer system so that Beate can travel freely to this country after being given a new and legal tourist visa.

2. Oversight must be installed for this specific immigration issue. A personal second opinion must be mandatory for a situation like this and the "good old boy" system must not override the dignity and rights of the human beings involved. The holes in the system that allow non-criminals to be treated as criminals for "procedural reasons" must be proactively addressed with new policy outlining how non-criminal foreign citizens being denied entry into the United States are to be treated; how said foreign citizens' right to counsel are to be handled and what right to appeal to a person or body acting as oversight to the immigration officials making these decisions is to be undertaken.

It is not right for a person, especially a visitor to our country, to be told that they are both innocent of any wrong doing and not suspected of anything to be handcuffed and processed into a city prison system with actual criminals. That procedure does not follow the logical and systematic rule for the use of proportionate force.

The punishment must fit the crime, and if there is no crime..."

"Over and over, the Rule calls us to be more mindful of the little things, even as it reminds us of the big picture, allowing us a glimpse of who we can be when we remember to love." - pg. 7 The Cloister Walk

I've been thinking about who I am. About needing or not needing to be "relevant". About what being "saved" is. About the pain that comes with losing someone you love that you have never met.

I became a drug addict @ 17. AFTER being "saved" @ 15. If I had not turned back to reach-out for Christ a few years back, to trust in Him again DAY AFTER DAY, this recent loss would have broken me.

I am selfish. If Christ was not in me I could not love. If I did not try and learn from his life I would not know how. In losing a child I have wanted to be angry. "Why us?"--- "What was the purpose of it all?" -- "This *#@&?!$ sucks!" -- "What now?" If I did not love as I do I would have remained angry. I would have been a shadow of myself. Because of Christ and His love and being His disciple I realized that I could not remain angry. I would not have treated my children like the blessings that they are. I would have not been a loving husband and friend to my wife. I would have given up on trying to live a missional life because I would have said, "what's the point?".

I still hurt, but knowing this child is with God and realizing we are still here..........we must move forward. We must ask what we are to learn from this situation and being followers of Christ we must ask what we can learn of Him. We have realized that other's who choose to follow Him day after day, his disciples, have been the biggest blessing and testament of what salvation means in the here and now. You all may not be a 'gathered' church, but you are His Church and you have blessed us beyond measure with you words, your petitions to God, your open doors, lives, hearts...refrigerators and your wallets. It is not a common thing for people to live as we all are choosing to live---For each other, knowing that it is for Christ as well.

We are already moving on with our lives, yes we still hurt, but it is not because we do not care it is because we love. We love and are loved. It's because of Christ. It's because of Christ in you.

This is HOPE! This is RELEVANT! This is CHURCH!

This is SCOTTY!

Psalms 34:11 - 19 from The Message

Come, children, listen closely; I'll give you a lesson in God worship.

Who out there has a lust for life? Can't wait each day to come upon beauty?

Guard your tongue from profanity, and no more lying through your teeth.

Turn your back on sin; do something good. Embrace peace - don't let it get away!

God keeps an eye on his friends, his ears pick up every moan and groan.

God won't put up with rebels; he'll cull them from the pack.

Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you.

If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath.

Disciples so often get into trouble; still, God is there every time.

ARE YOU THERE BLOG? IT'S ME, SCOTTY

Sorry I have not been around. Thoughts and emotions have been everywhere lately. Been trying my best to take care of my little fam. Lots and lots of prayer! (and we thank you for yours)

As a result of Cairn and the lives of the people who were involved our prayer life has grown tremendously. We have also started recycling a whole lot better. (prayer....recycling....Hmm?)

Anyway, I'll be back later. MUST HAVE COFFEE!!!

THERE AND BACK AGAIN

A journey of self-discovery? Shall I find a metaphor to explain myself....to myself? Hmm...

As I think about what it will take to move forward in our spiritual journeys, I think self-awarness will be key. Before we can change the church (or even the metaphors of the church), we need to understand who we are as individuals and what we bring to the table. -Spencer Burke

I have tried numerous times to post since arriving back in Indiana on Wednesday night. I just don't know what to say...or feel at the moment. I have the right to be confused and lost in this cluster of emotions I suppose.

We thank you all for your prayers. And to all you in Texas we thank you for bending over backwards for us. Other than in my own home I have never felt so cared for. Heather's mother is very touched by all of you. She has said she can not believe that people would open up their home and their lives to 'strangers'. WE know you are not strangers though. You are our family. An eternal bond. We love you all so very much! I would begin listing names, but I would unintentionally leave folks out and I don't want to do that. All of you know who you are.

Again, I am sorry I have not posted until now and we have not contacted you to let you know how we are doing.....we don't know either. We feel your prayers and know that we would not be moving along without them.

I came across this in Brennan Manning's The Signature of Jesus yesterday. It was something that i needed to here. It is something i hope i can say at some point in my life. This was his friends last entry in his journal before he was found dead in his appartment in a Perisian slum..

"All that is not the love of God has no meaning for me. I can truthfally say that I have no interest in anything but the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. If God wants it to, my life will be useful though my word and witness. If he wants, my life will bear fruit through my prayers and sacrifices. But the usefulness of my life is his concern, not mine. It would be indecent of me to worry about that."

...or why i do the things i would not or don't do the things that i would...

I....don't...know...why I...feel...so...tongue...tied -- RH