The 17 Day Countdown

Summer days sure do fly when the strictures of school are laid aside. But we have certainly not been wasting the time, especially since the weather has been so chaotic. Rachel is working through a bag of books Grandma Leman gave to her, I cracked my 600pg "concise" history of the Middle East, and if you haven't seen the video's...Benaiah's walking. In fact, today he pretty much preferred to walk instead of crawl whenever possible. Very amazing!

But we're also busy praying and prepping for our summer adventures. So far we've received 65% of our needed financial support for the summer as I prepare for my language learning in Israel. Rachel, while dreading the day I leave, is also very excited to be free from her work schedule for a while and go home to Michigan, only to be teaching more lessons there. But she assures me that those are way different :-)

Many of you have mentioned that you are praying for us and we greatly appreciate knowing that. It may seem a small sacrifice for me to give up my summer to go learn Hebrew in Israel, bigger for Rachel who is letting me go. But we're looking at this as something God has called us to pursue - with whatever future possibilities it opens up. (e.g.-like the fall Hebrew course I'll be co-teaching here at Bethlehem) So, please continue to pray for us as the Lord leads - I've been leaning into the everlasting God of Isaiah 40:28-31 lately in my prayers, perhaps you can join us there.

Here is an intermediate level video from the school I'll be attending - though it is all in Koine Greek, you'll still get a flavor of what the second half of my summer will look like.

YouTube Star

Greetings to all our beloved readers. We'll still post videos and pictures to the blog, but I also wanted to alert you to our YouTube page. There are two new videos of Benaiah walking. Yes, walking! Go check them out.

Read the Bible this Summer

Wanting to read the whole Bible in a year. My Old Testament professor has come out with a reading plan that takes you through a Law, Prophets, Writings, & New Testament reading everyday. Download it and read more here.

Halfway Reflections

It occurred to me the yesterday as I walked home from class - 2 years of seminary are past, 2 more ahead. What a ride this has been and we're still in the saddle by God's grace.

This journey to Israel over the summer seems a fitting halfway house to describe the last two years: learning languages, studying history, wrestling through theology, the birth of our son, serving in global outreach...and now a journey to the land where our faith was born.

The God who called us to pursue this education in Minneapolis and this summer in Israel has been faithful to carry us this far. And through the many kindnesses of friends and family we're also felt the tangible love of God through his people. Our apartment will be filled with families from our cohort tonight - the brothers and sisters that Jesus promised when we commit to following him.

Thank you for your prayers - we always love to hear from you! Next week, an update on plans for the summer.

July 2008

August 2009

April 2010

January 2011

May 2011

Defining Terms

You can judge the quality of a book when it is still life-giving the fourth or fifth time you read it! I'm finishing off Let the Nations be Glad for my final class period tomorrow – and I was struck again. This time it was something simple but extremely helpful.

What is a missionary? The term is not found in the Bible, it's root is Latin meaning "sent." But even if the term is not in the Bible, is the concept there?

One of our pastors here at Bethlehem gives a short answer from 3 John 7, "they went out on behalf of the name [Jesus], accepting nothing from the Gentiles [pagan nations]." He comments, "here is perhaps the best definition of a missionary in the New Testament...a missionary is propelled by a deep love for the name and glory of God" (LNBG 2003, p.237).

So, let us test our own motives day in and day out. Are we people living for the fame of God's name? And for those willing to be sent out and go to places where there is very little witness for Jesus, let us make sure God is our motive and that God is goal.

Thinking of Eternity

We just arrived back in Minneapolis from a 2 graduations. One was my brother-in-law's graduation from college, the other was my uncle's graduation from this life to the next. Someone sent me this video and I don't have words to describe it, just watch and worship...