Well, this was quite a day for our family.  Gabby hit two years old and we had a day that was pretty full today.  Honestly, Gabby is a spitfire compared to her brother and sister.  I was wondering if this was going to be a very happy birthday at all.  We got our Christmas snow a week late with bitter cold as we went to McDonalds with Gabby.  We had a really nice meal and enjoyed Gabby's antics.  If only McDonalds didn't see fit to have their air conditioning on year around it would have been perfect.  We proceeded to go to the mall where we saw our Jewish friends for the last time before they head out to Las Vegas and then on to New York and back to Israel.  These guys have been such a blessing to us this year.  They had Thanksgiving with us and we went to the Pita Pit for dinner yesterday...it was great.  Elan and Lior especially have become very friends to us.  I can't imagine not having them around.  We hope that someday we can take them up on their offer to take us all over Israel...God willing this will happen.  The day was very good but that's a sad moment to be sure.  I was able to go to get some combat boots from one of the young men from our church that will be returning to his base soon.  We have two in our church that will return to their base and likely be deployed to Iraq in the Spring.  One of them has been there before.  We are very close to them and their parents so this is not an easy time for us though I know God will care for them as they go to serve our country.  Some other sad news is we heard from some friends of ours that we've known for a while now (Robert and Judy).  The news was not good at all.  Robert just got news right before Christmas that his cancer has returned and the prognosis isn't good.  He will be getting radiation therapy five times a week for the whole month.  These people have been good to us and we will not forget them in prayer.  Ending this I'll quote a scripture that I know has been used before but none the less seemed relevant and fresh to me today:  Matthew 21: 16.  It speaks of praise being perfected in babes and sucklings.  I was thinking of Gabby for this because I received Christ early in my life and it's been the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  My children have one by one followed suit so I naturally am believing for Gabby to come along.  This is something that is deeper than it's surface meaning however and seems good for 2008.  Sometimes it can seem that the things we've been through destroys our innocence forever.  I've had many such experiences and sometimes it seems that it never fails when you think it can't get any worse it does.  Beyond all of the negative I find that life's difficulties are always tempered by the mercy and grace of God.  Coming through tough times makes the good all the more beautiful if we allow it.  It is possible to see life as something that's beautiful again.  Often I see it through the eyes of my own children.  They need me to be there for them...not always unhappy or depressed but thrilled to see life through the eyes of innocence with them.  There's plenty of time to grow up why not live the good times when you can?  My life has been richly blessed in my relationship with God, my wife, my children and I'm so thankful for that!  I go into 2008 with hope for not just me but those that I know and love.  You don't have to be a kid to thank God with open eyes and a hopeful heart.  I go into this new year with renewed faith and hope in the good God has in mind for us.

Here we are rapidly approaching the new year.  Frankly it's not been easy for me since Christmas Eve.  Sometimes I can feel a real blue spell trying to over take me though I've got so much to be thankful for.  One of the things that really helps me when I feel that way is the Bible.  The Bible says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.  Daily reading of the bible can really be a strong help to me when my faith feels at an all time low or even nonexistent.  Today I was contemplating the upcoming year and wondering where we're going to be heading and what God could have in mind for us.  I came to a scripture in Mark chapter 19 verses 29 and 30.  I think this sets a good precedent for next year.  It says in verse 29:  "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life."  I have done this first hand many times during my travels as a missionary and then I've brought my immediate family with me and together we've forsaken our country and all that was familiar to us but many times we feel an intense separation for various other reasons.  We may not travel far away physically but perhaps we've felt the separation that can come from standing for what we believe in.  This separation can be just as acute as a physical journey to distant lands.  Other times there's the constant pressure from a world that seems to be slipping further and further away from anything to do with God or the Bible.  No matter how we experience separation for His name's sake we can know that we have a wonderful inheritance waiting for us.  Sometimes I wish that this inheritance would be more easily seen on this side of things.  I have much to be thankful for but sometimes it's the little things that agitate me to no end.  I believe that with faith in God it's possible for this irritation to eventually form a pearl just as sand in a clam can.  I do believe that we can know some really amazing blessings here in this life we live as well as on the other side when we go to be with the Lord.  The question is will we have the discipline to endure to see the blessing or will we lose faith?  The next verse I find very comforting.  It says:   "But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first."  Ever feel like there are areas that you're coming in last place for sure?  Goes to show you that in God's economy it's not always as it appears to our natural eye....many times I'm so thankful for God's view!  Right now this is not really a particularly new message to me but it is a blessed assurance for 2008 because I believe that it shows that God is not wringing His hands over the way it looks to me nor is He beating me to death over my struggles in faith.  Rather He calmly assures His support and says:  "Just wait and see what I can do."  This is a hopeful start.  Lord, I believe, help thou my unbelief!

Well, we finished our last performance last night at a rest home not far from our house.  They keep it so hot over there that it was the first time this winter so far that I've wished for a fan!  I think I can safely say that I've never been more happy to work with the people I've been with over the last six weeks.  Above all else that I could look to to know I'm blessed I look to my wonderful family and the friends who are more than just ordinary friends at our church.  There's not one of those guys in the choir that I am not blessed with this year.  Many sacrificed time on the job and with their families to bring a positive word of God's love to people all over the city and from other places outside of our state.  God has been so generous over the years and I'm thankful for Eagle Ministries that has always been an outlet to give to others.  I'm finally going to up load a song from one of our new albums.  I wish I could post more than one but it's far more limited about that here than on MySpace...what can you do?  We have our Christmas Eve service tonight and then finally will get some time to relax before we get back to other things.  We are already planning some new music for next year's albums and I'm excited about that.  Hard to believe that the year is almost done and we'll be heading towards spring before we know it...wow!  I pray that everyone has a very blessed and wonderful Christmas and New Year!  For those of you that read this on MySpace...God bless you and be blessed and enjoy having more than one song from our album!

I can hardly believe that my wife and I have been married for thirteen years!  It's been a real learning experience and we've been through a lot together at this point but I can honestly say that thing have gotten better at this point.  Experience has led us to a place today where we are stronger than ever before and our love has matured without getting boring at all.  We've traveled to other countries together with our children and done some really amazing things.  This year we will be celebrating our youngest daughter's 2nd birthday.  She's a miracle that symbolizes all that God has done for us over the last couple decade plus three years.  We were not supposed to be able to have another baby after we had an entopic pregnancy a few years ago.  We were stunned to find out that we were expecting almost two years ago.  Lovely told me on Father's Day and I was so blown away!  Here we are all these years later and we're still so happy together.  I personally defying the new 'norm' of the day which says that religion is for idiots and everybody divorces.  We're not just together for the kids and we don't just server God  with lip service.  It's like God is our foundation and the kids are the cherry on top of an already sweet life.  I'm thankful for everything God has done.  I'm so thankful for the people that have supported us throughout the years and stood by us through thick and thin especially my mom.  See?  Thirteen isn't always a bad number now is it?

Last night we had a concert with Special K ranch that has housed and had people with special needs for some time.  This has become pretty much an annual event for us to come and do their Christmas party.  I love the work they do there and love the people that are not only in leadership there but the residents.  This is not a place that's like a rest home in the country at all but rather a community that has people with special needs that does such a great work in our city of Billings.  They have several green houses and have some of the best produce I've ever tasted and they also grow some great flowers out there.  The products from Special K ranch is sought after during the months of our local farmer's market.  We have so much enjoyed being a part of anything we can do to be a part of what the Special K ranch is doing and I'm proud to say I'm part of a local ministry here that has a part to play...even if it's a small one.  The people there have been nothing but extremely gracious and warm to us.  They are a true blessing to us...each and every one there!  The bible talks about sowing and reaping and I think it's easy to have a very mercenary view of this principle.  We can have the attitude that we should only invest of ourselves and our money where there's a good chance of return.  We have our ideas about what we should get in return as well.  If we put our money in the bank and then went to withdraw I figure we'd be pretty irate if the return from the bank was kindness or perhaps the promise of eternal life which we'd have to take by faith!  God's economy is different than ours though He is mindful of our practical needs such as finances and health He is also aware of the values of things that do a work in us to destroy selfishness.  We all know the story of Scrooge in "A Christmas Carroll".  He was rich but miserably unhappy...much like the stars in Hollywood.  God wants us to have the fullness of life and sadly our idea about the perfect life and His can be two different things.  Last night I had a glimpse of true happiness to be with those people...to give them something to smile about and dance to!  I watched our people mingle and talk to them and I enjoyed it and felt honored to be a part of such a thing...this may not be my winning lottery ticket or the perfect body but I find that I feel richer than I did just a day ago.

PS:  My dear Friend RD has been working diligently on our ministry website and I encourage you to check it out if you have the time:  http://www.eagleministriesintl.org/

Today I was figuring on posting one way or another since I have an extra day off that I totally didn't expect but as it turned out I found a really good scripture to post here too while I'm about it:  Matthew 12: 7.  I really appreciate this today in light of some things I've been recognizing in my own wife that I appreciate very, very much.  It says here where Jesus is confronting the Pharisees about condemning him for the people He was talking to.  Jesus says:  "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."  This shows Christ's attitude towards the human race in a most beautiful way.  I know that it's not only the preacher behind the pulpit preaching to thousands of people that has a chance to evangelize people.  Sometimes it's not about getting x amount of conversions before midnight that matters most.  I've found through actually befriending people and accepting them for who they are and not for who they could be has a powerful effect on people.  My wife has a real gift for meeting people and befriending them.  Fact is she is far better at this than I am and she has led me to some really wonderful people.  This has served as a powerful tool of ministry in nations where it's particularly difficult to talk to people about Jesus Christ.  Our last trip to Japan showed how this can be the case.  We may not have made many conversions but we opened many friendships there that we treasure.  These situations offer and opportunity to show we love people and that God loves people by what we do and how we treat them.  Showing genuine love for someone else is such a liberating experience.  It blesses me so much to have the privilege of being allowed into someone's life.  Being able to not just bless them but be blessed by them is a great but sadly often neglected treasure chest!  Christ constantly extends mercy to us so why should we not do the same?  I don't condone the attitude that all religions are the same and that having no faith is the same as having faith at all but I do suggest that sometimes you don't have that 'convenient' conversion that takes a few seconds of your time and then you walk on by.  Sometimes you are allowed to befriend someone and be about the 'messy' business of actually getting to know them and let them into your life.  I wish I could say that I wasn't pretty choosy about the people I just let into my life...truth is I'm way too picky about this but sometimes I find that people like my wife start to melt the ice a little and I can let people in...I let myself care at the risk of getting hurt.  It's a challenge and it can be kind of scary but at the same time you can't experience real joy without some risk.  I want to extend the same acceptance to people that God has extended to me not just fulfill some kind of conversion quota.  Most people never get past the status of acquaintance even with their own spouse.  There's a form of intimacy but there's so often a real fear of sharing the real hopes, fears and joys we have.  This is a whole teaching all by itself but the bottom line is I've never found Christ to be anything but accepting and open to me so why should I be any less with my fellow man?  The only good we can have in us comes from Christ whether we be saved or unsaved so should we not consider this great mercy Christ has on us as something we'd prefer rather than sacrifice?