Experiencing the Power of Prayer

Oscar started stuttering during the summer. We figured it had something to do with anticipating a new school year--starting kindergarten. Our basic tactic was to not bring attention to it and see what happened. Once school started, the stuttering got worse. After a couple weeks, though, things seemed to settle down and he was able to find his words again. Oscar has been doing really well academically and socially at school. You can tell he is about to break into the world of reading and he really loves to learn. He's also found a few good friends and seems to get along well with most of the kids at school.

This is why a week or so ago, we became concerned when the loss of words seemed to come back--with a vengeance. It wasn't so much that he was stuttering, but you could tell it was really bothering him. It was almost like he was being oppressed or held down by some weight, which is hard as a parent and especially tough with a kid who is pretty introverted to begin with. Last week, Jenn and I had been talking about some of the things we've seen God doing around us and while I was in Farmington for the worship service, it occurred to her to pray for Oscar. I'm a little embarrassed that this didn't occur to us sooner, but there's not a lot I can do about that! Anyhow, Jenn prayed for Oscar and you could instantly see a difference. It was as if something had been lifted from him. He spoke clearly (even on the phone to tell me what happened) and his entire countenance improved. For the past several days, we've continued to pray with him every morning, asking God to help him find his words and give him the peace he needs to be able to relax in his talking. He still gets caught up sometimes in what he's saying, but the amazing thing to me is the difference in his spirit. He seems more calm and less "turned in" on himself.

The best thing about this for me is the fact that Oscar has always been our thinking kid. The whole concept of God as been a little strange to him and he's always hesitated to pray (in fact, he still doesn't like to pray out loud). I love the fact that God had mercy on us and met the boy in a very real and very tangible way. Whatever Oscar does from here on out in his faith and relationship with God, he will always be able to remember a time when God moved in a big way in his life. It inspires me to seek God out in my own life as well.

Settling Down

Things are starting to settle down a bit for our family. Jenn is getting a rhythm at school and developing relationships with the kids. Oscar just celebrated his sixth birthday (we had a couple kids over and carved pumpkins), and Piper walks around all day saying she loves you to "bits and pieces". I'm even gaining some equilibrium as my mom has offered to take the kids to school M-W-F which gives me a little margin in the morning to do work. It's good to see the kids feeling more secure and Jenn and I are able to communicate more and bring each other down less.

I also bought a car. After ten years of living by the philosophy of, "I'd rather fix it than make a payment" I finally caved and decided I'd rather have a payment than spend my life under a car on the side of the road. I opted for wisdom over ego and ended up with a Mitsubishi Outlander (imagine a minivan and a station wagon having a baby). It's a good car, but by no means what I am used to. I'm realizing that part of my comfort level with driving kids to school and buying groceries has had a lot to do with the fact that I still drove a badass Jeep. Now that that's been stripped away, I'll have to find my identity in something more appropriate.

Church is going great. Last night we had Food Night (can you guess what happens there?). I love just hanging out with our community "on God's time". There is no sermon or program we could launch that could ever legitimize relationship like a food night! Farmington is going well too. We are about to start some small groups out of the main worship that's been happening on Wednesday nights. It's pretty neat to have these guys coming to me saying, "hey, we're ready to start some small groups!"

Family Camp

This weekend Jenn and I took the kids to Moab, UT to go camping. Moab is about three hours away in the red desert of Utah. It is a beautiful place with massive red cliffs and tons of natural arches. It's pretty much the next mecca for mountain biking, off-roading, and river activities after Durango (maybe before Durango depending on who you ask). We had a great time checking out the town and looking for future camping spots. The highlight was our trip through Arches National Park. The place was a mind-bending overload of desert rock scenery. I can't wait to go back.

The Good, The Bad, and now for some Ugly

It's been a few weeks, now, since school has started. The kids are doing well. Oscar is adjusting to kindergarten and Piper loves her preschool. Jenn and I are still struggling with our transitions. The logistics and administration are not going well at her school which is a new program this year. Teacher morale is extremely low and the students are pretty under motivated, to say the least. Add to this the change from being with the kids all day long to only seeing them in the evenings and things begin to get a little muggy. She's handling all this with grace and doing a good job of surviving work and making good use of her time with the kids in the afternoons. It is difficult to watch. I would much rather be going through the stressful stuff myself than have to watch Jenn suffer.

We decided to go this route so that I could continue to pastor our campuses when there is not enough funding to support us. This arrangement allows me to work my office hours around school schedules and not be required to work another job part time. I guess the bottom line is that we've chosen a difficult path. I believe we made a good decision, but it is going to be a tough year.