The temperatures have been cold here in Phoenix.  One night it got down to 28 degrees.  We thought it would be fun to see snow but we have very little precipitation here in Arizona.  The sprinklers went on here at our apartment complex and the water froze on top of the grass.  I know that 28 degrees is not very cold considering what everyone in the north is experiencing right now; however, for us Arizonians that is very cold.  It is vastly different from our summer temperatures as you can see from the temperatures recorded in my car.  A 92 degree difference!

Summer

Winter

Full Church

The church's parking lot was full last Sunday (1/30/11)!  We also had to add chairs to the back of the sanctuary for the first service thanks to the return of our Winter Residents.  Every year in January our attendance rises significantly because of the 'snow birds' who come from the north, as they try to escape the snow and ice.  However, I believe the rise in attendance this year is not just because of them.  In November we had a large group of local residents join the church and now we have another group joining next Sunday.  It seems that we just complete one new members class and others begin to ask when is the next class.


Needless to say things are going very well at New Hope Community Church.  We are seeing a nice steady growth in our attendance, our small group participation, our youth groups, and our service events in the community.  


I've been preaching a sermon series entitled:  "Everything I need to know, I learned in kindergarten."  The congregation has been responsive.  You can view those sermons online at New Hope Sermons Online

My First Full Marathon

I did it!  I ran my first full marathon.  I ran in the Disneyland Half-Marathon a few years ago while we were living in California.  Yesterday, I participated in the PF Chang Full Marathon here in Phoenix and I completed it with the time of 4:53:13.  My goal was to finish in four and half hours but the last six miles were brutal.  I'm happy that I made it in just under five hours. 

I appreciate all the support of family and friends.  Linda and the kids came to cheer me on.  I can't tell you how much it meant to have someone on the sidelines encouraging me on.  I also appreciate my friends at Arizona CityFest for sponsoring my run.  The CityFest is the Luis Palau event that is coming to Tempe Town Lake on March 19-20.  I want to thank all the people from New Hope Community Church in Gilbert and the many others who pledged their support by giving money to CityFest.  Lastly, I want to thank all the volunteers who cheered the runners on along the way.  Again, I can't tell you how much it meant to have someone standing on the side saying, "You can do this" even if that person is a complete stranger.  I passed one woman on the sidewalk who kept saying, "You can do this runners!" as we all slowly (and I do mean slowly) ran by her.  I asked her, "How about those of us who stopped being runners a few miles ago and we are now just staggerers?"  She smiled and said to me, "You can do it too!"  I asked one of the many police officers if he was picking up hitch-hikers and taking them to the end.  He too smiled and told me that he wasn't allowed.


Even though at the end of the marathon I vowed to never do it again and even though it took me the rest of the day on Sunday to recover, this morning I'm not so sure.  I feel pretty good and it was a lot of fun.  I like running everyday and it's nice to have a goal in mind.  My sister, Karen, who has run in many marathons is already talking about doing the PF Chang Marathon with me next year.  Who knows?

Commentary in the East Valley Tribune

Check out my commentary in the East Valley Tribune:  Lesson of the Ants.

Thank you East Valley Tribune for giving me this opportunity.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to family and friends!  I want to thank you all for your love, support, and prayers this past year; we could not have made it through the year without you!  So many of you have called or emailed or sent us wonderful cards of encouragement.  Your thoughtfulness has been deeply appreciated and cherished.
It was hard for us to leave California in July.  Our friends there will always have a special place in our hearts.  I can't image walking through the past three years without them.  God put all our California friends into our lives to show us how much He loves us.

This year has also been good for the renewal of old friendships.  I took a trip out to New Jersey for the funeral of a dear old friend, Stan Cole.  I had promised him that I would always speak at his funeral, and a mutual friend treated me to the trip.  It was great to see friends again, to renew old acquaintances and to make new ones.  It was fun to see the area in which Linda and I lived the first three years of our marriage while we did our graduate studies, and where Elisabeth was eventually born after we returned from Scotland.  It is wonderful to be in contact once again with those friends.

This past fall, we were able to finally sell both our houses within two weeks of each other.  Even though we don't have a house in Michigan, we still hope to get back there now and again.  We plan to be there in July of the New Year for my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  We also hope to see family in Hudsonville and friends at Third Reformed Church of Kalamazoo (now CenterPoint Church).

God has truly blessed us by leading us to a fantastic church, New Hope Community Church, in Gilbert, AZ.  As Joshua says, "these people are awesome!"  God has blessed the church with a wonderful staff and some phenomenal leaders.   We have been slowly growing with twenty-two people joining in November and our most attended service was this past week, the Sunday after Christmas, with almost three hundred in worship (in most churches the Sunday after Christmas is the least attended service of the year).  In the New Year we hope to begin the process of planting churches.

Many of you have been asking about Ben Jarvis, the son of my associate pastor.  Ben was diagnosed with Leukemia last November.  He is only six years old.  However, he has responded quickly to treatments and so he is doing really well.  We spent New Year's Eve with the Jarvis family and Ben played the Wii game until 1:00am in the morning.  He spent the entire evening jumping around with the other kids having a great time.  If you would like to follow his progress, please follow this link:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/benjaminjarvis.  Ben's parents, Gary and Cindy, would appreciate your prayers.

Thank you all for being there for us when we needed you most.  You are all great friends.  May God bless you in the new year!