Can we be this kind of church family?

Excerpted from "Searching for God Knows What," by Donald Miller

"The way John writes about Jesus makes you feel that the sum of our faith is a kind of constant dialogue with Jesus about whether or not we love Him. I grew up believing a Christian didn't have to love God or anybody else; he just had to believe some things and be willing to take a stand for the things he believed....John seemed to embrace the relational dynamic of our faith. And he did so i n a n honest tone, not putting a spin on anything. He revealed how some of the disciples truly understood Jesus and how they were screw ups, and he didn't make himself look good, either; he just told it exactly as it was. That's guts, if you ask me. And then,not unlike Paul, John closed his book with a lot of sentimental talk, very to the point, but charged with meaning. He ended his book by telling the reader he was going to die. There were some people around back then who wondered if John was ever going to die because they had overheard Jesus say John would live forever, and because John got tortured and should have died early on, a lot of people assumed Jesus saw saying John was going to live forever on earth.
This is beautiful and meaningful because John wrote his essay a long time after Christ had left so he was very old, probably early ninety years old, and this was back when communities loved old people. They didn't put them in homes to watch television; they gathered around them because they represented a kind of gentle beauty and wisdom. This was back when you didn't have to be all young and sexy just to be a person. And it makes you wonder if John saw and wrote that he was going to die knowing within a few days, a few weeks, a month of gentle good-byes, he was going to go home and leave all his friends, and he didn't want any of them to be surprised or scared.
When you read the book you start realizing that people who were very close to John read this essay and got to the end and started crying because John was telling them he was going to leave, and then I'll bet at his funeral everybody was standing around thinking about how John knew he was going to die and told them in his book. And I'll bet they sat around that night at somebody's house, and somebody who had a very good reading voice lit a candle, and they all lay on the floor and sat on pillows. The children sat quietly and the man with the voice read through the book, from beginning to end, and they thought together about Jesus as the man read John's bock, and when it came to the end where John says he is going to die, the person who was reading got choked up and started to cry. Somebody else, maybe John's wife or one of his daughters, had to go over and read the end of it, and when she was finished they sat around for a long time and some of the people probably stayed the night so the house wouldn't feel empty. It makes you want to live in a community like that when you think about the way things were when Jesus had touched people.
A community like that might sound far-fetched, but when you read through John's other books, the short ones, all he talks about is if you know Jesus, you will love you brother and sister, and anybody who talked that much about loving your brother and sister was probably the most beloved person in their community, and when he died people would have felt a certain pain about it for a long, long time."

Psalm 103:1 Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

God has been so amazingly good to us and He deserves all the glory. It's hard to share everything He has given us without sounding prideful, but honestly, we are overflowing with thankfulness to Him.
He has renewed our joy for service by leading us to a new ministry that is well-suited to our gifts and passions. We are going to be grandparents! Several of our children are joining us in ministry at our new church family. God has given us wonderful son-in-laws and a wonderful daughter-in-law. Our kids are all serving God with their gifts. Our daughter Sharon graduated from Loma Linda School of Medicine today, and she and her husband Jon are moving home to Portland! God has opened the doors for her to complete her residency at Providence Milwaukie. God has given me new friends to share, pray, and grow spiritually with, as well as a new job that allows me to influence children and still volunteer in the church.

Psalm 115:1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory,because of your love and faithfulness.

What a privilege to be children of our wonderful, loving heavenly Father. As we walk in faith, He shows Himself faithful. He is awesome!

With a heart full of praise,
Patti

Come all Ye Weary, Thrice

Books I'm still reading...

"Can You Hear Me?," by Brad Jersak
"The Case for Christ," by Lee Strobel
"The Case for Faith," by Lee Strobel

Stay tuned....

Someday, I'll write an update on my work and our new ministry.

Love to all,
Patti

Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller

Like "The Shack," this book is a must-read. Miller, a Portlander, shares passionately and convincingly that our faith needs to be woven into our daily life choices if it will ever be seen as real by the rest of the world. And since my life-pace has again picked up, I am going to take the easy way out for this "book report" and just select some favorite quotes from the book to whet your appetite to read it for yourself.

"...I imagined life outside of narcissism. I wondered how beautiful it might be to think of others as more important than myself. I wondered at how peaceful it might be not to be pestered by that childish voice that wants for pleasure and attention. I wondered what it would be like not to live in a house of mirrors, everywhere I go being reminded of myself....Nothing is going to change in the Congo until you and I figure out what is wrong with the person in the mirror."

"...I can't explain how freeing that was, to realize that if I met Jesus, He would like me. I never felt like that about some of the Christians on the radio. I always thought if I met those people they would yell at me. But it wasn't like that with Jesus. There were people He loved and people He got really mad at, and I kept identifying with the people He loved,which was really good, because they were all the broken people, you know, the kind of people who are tired of life and want to be done with it, or they are desperate people, people who are outcasts or pagans. There were others, regular people, but He didn't play favorites at all, which is miraculous in itself. That fact alone may have been the most supernatural thing He did. He didn't show partiality, which every human does."

"There is something quite beautiful about the Grand Canyon at night. There is something beautiful about a billion stars held steady by a God who knows what He is doing. (They hang there, the stars, like notes on a page of music, free-form verse, silent mysteries swirling in the blue like jazz.)"

"Can you imagine if Christians actually believed that God was trying to rescue us from the pit of our own self-addiction? ... Can you imagine what Americans would do if they understood over half the world was living in poverty? Do you think they would change the way they live, the products they purchase, and the politicians they elect? If we believed the right things, the true things, there wouldn't be very many problems on earth. But the trouble with deep belief is that it costs something. And there is something inside me, some selfish beast of a subtle thing that doesn't like the truth at all because it carries responsibility, and if I actually believe these things I have to do something about them. It is so, so cumbersome to believe anything."

"Andrew is the one who taught me that what I believe is not what I say I believe; what I believe is what I do. I used to say that I believed it was important to tell people about Jesus, but I never did. Andrew very kindly explained that if I do not introduce people to Jesus, they I don't believe Jesus is an important person. It doesn't matter what i say."

"...you begin to think the world belongs to you. You begin to think all space is your space and all time is your time. It is like in that movie 'About a Boy' where (the) chief character...believes that life is a play about himself, that all other characters are only acting minor roles in a story that centers around him. My life felt like that. Life was a story about me because I was in every scene. In fact, I was the only one in every scene. I was everywhere I went. If somebody walked into my scene, it would frustrate me because they were disrupting the general theme of the play, namely my comfort or glory."

To be continued...

God's Faithfulness

Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for your prayers and support in every way these last several months as we have taken time to pray and seek God's direction for where He would have the next path in our lives lead. We have greatly benefited from this time to rest, travel, read, pray, and consider a variety of opportunities that have been presented to us.
Tim has officially accepted an offer from Stone Creek Christian Church in Oregon City. They are a loving family of Christians who are very excited for new leadership and desiring to be relevant to the families who live around them. We are equally excited for the adventure of ministering with this body of believers, trusting that God is going to make this another meaningful part of our life's work. It will be wonderful to have that sense of "belonging" again with a local fellowship.
Tim will officially begin on January 20th.
Again, we are so appreciative of all of the encouragement we have received throughout this process of transition. We are truly blessed by many wonderful friends and family. God is faithful!
Love to all,
Tim and Patti

Isaiah 58:6-7
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Christmas Letter 2007

Dear Friends & Family,

“Change” is the adjective to describe the past 12 months for our family! Two weddings, two graduations, & job changes still in the works! If this is all “news to you,” read on!

David is a freshman at Mt. Hood Community College & works at NW Technologies. In addition he plays guitar & drums, is a leader for the youth band at church, & provides a lot of the technology for the youth group, together with his girlfriend, Shannon. He went on a mission’s trip to Mexico, & volunteered for 2 weeks at Winema Christian Camp. His dog “Rocky” is now 6 years old…like 42 in dog years!

Bethany married Tavis Miller on December 30th, 2006. She’s attending MHCC, & working as a CNA for a home health care agency. Tavis is a student at PSU, & works at UPS as a part-time supervisor. They live in Portland & volunteer with the 5th & 6th graders at church. If you’d like, you can see their wedding photos at www.portlandphotographer.net/bethanytavis).

Matthew married Kaitlin Rossos on September 15th. They make their home in Gresham. He continues to work as a master mechanic at Landmark Ford in Tigard. Kaitlin is a classroom aid for elementary children with special needs. To see their wedding photos go to www.portlandphotographer.net/kaitlinmatt.

Sharon & Jon are in southern CA where she is in her last year at Loma Linda School of Medicine, planning to specialize in Family Medicine. She has been interviewing for various residency programs on the west coast, & we are praying, God-willing, they will be able to live near Portland for her 3 years of residency. Jon is working for Hall & Partners as a Senior Accounts Executive in the qualitative research department & plays guitar in their church band. They adopted a 1 year old golden retriever “Hurley” this fall.

Tim graduated from Hope International University with a Master’s Degree in Church Ministry, and was ordained into Christian Ministry by the elders of Abundant Life Church. We are proud of him for persevering through this rigorous program, all the while continuing to provide leadership to a growing ministry & be the great husband & father he is (obviously, this is Patti doing the writing). We both resigned from our children’s ministry positions at Abundant Life in the summer. We have taken a few months to rest & regroup, doing a bit of traveling, reading, & visiting churches. We have visited friends on Vancouver Island, volunteered for 2 weeks of Outdoor School, spent a week in central Oregon, taken two camping trips to the beach, & our most awesome trip-a week in Maui this month. Thanks to many generous friends who surprised us with this “all-expenses-paid” trip in celebration of Tim’s graduation & our silver anniversary! We are humbled & grateful. Tim’s brother Steve & his wife Rebecca were able to join us, which multiplied the fun! If you’d like to see some pictures, check out our blog at: http://timpatti.blogspot.com/.

Each year as we sit down to summarize the year that has been, we are reminded of God’s faithfulness in leading us & giving our lives purpose. We pray you will know God’s love, especially as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Our love, Tim, Patti, & Family