10 Favorite Hymns

Around a month ago, I read a blog post by Tim Challies titled, “The 10 Greatest Hymns of All-Time."  I have been inspired to write a similar post myself.  It has been fun to think through the hymns that have not only impacted me, but millions of English-speaking believers over the past couple of hundred years. 

Before I begin, I would like to state that these are my preferences, and it is OK (even good) to have preferences in congregational worship.  However, those preferences can very easily become idols.  We should cherish the songs that have influenced our beliefs, our doctrine, and our hearts while remembering that they are simply what we prefer.  If we elevate our preferences to “this is the best way to worship God” status, then we have missed the point entirely.

For each hymn, I’ve included the lyrics that have meant the most to me personally.  I’ve also included a YouTube link to a version of the song that I enjoy.  This list is in no particular order, just a list of 10 of my favorites.

I’d love to hear from you - what hymns would you have on your 10 favorite hymns list?

Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

If I had to choose my favorite, this would be it.  A beautiful song put to a gorgeously simple melody.  It is the song I sing to my daughter while putting her to bed.  It magnifies the great love of our God while asking him to bind our ever wandering hearts to Him.  Oh, and for the love, when you sing it, leave Here I raise my Ebenezer in the lyrics.  

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, O take and seal it, 
seal it for thy courts above.

All Sons and Daughters
King’s Kaleidoscope (if you want to get crazy)

It Is Well With My Soul

A song of peace for believers in different seasons.  I know several believers who have clung to the hope found in this song as they endure the trials of life.  My heart is often filled with peace, assurance, and hope when I sing this hymn with other believers.  

My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

The Gaither Band (Oh yes, I went Gaither.  Guy Penrod brings it!  If you don’t get goosebumps, you may need to check your pulse.)

Be Thou My Vision

I need songs like this to focus my mind, my heart, and my affections back onto God.  The lyrics remind me of the new identity I have in God and that my desires are no longer on worldly things, but on Godly.  The band Ascend the Hill does a great job of capturing the spirit and lyrics of this song while putting it to a modern musical style and adding a chorus.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

Ascend the Hill

Holy Holy Holy

This song reminds us of the perfect, holy God that we worship.  I imagine it would be rather difficult to find a “Top Ten” list without this song on it.  Interestingly though, very few versions of this have been recorded.  I would guess because it is difficult to duplicate how beautiful it sounds when a congregation is singing to the music of an organ.

Holy, holy, holy! though the darkness hide Thee,
Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see;
Only Thou art holy; there is none beside Thee,
Perfect in power, in love, and purity.

Keith Green (Talk about having a high vocal range)

Come Behold The Wondrous Mystery

It’s a bold move to put a hymn that was written in 2013 on my list, but here it is.  It is one of the best written modern hymns today as it is filled with deep, rich, doctrinal lyrics that explain in a new way the truths of the gospel.  This fresh reminder of the gospel put to the tune of a hymn is a beautiful blend of old and new musical and lyrical styles.

Come behold the wondrous mystery
Slain by death the God of life
But no grave could e’er restrain Him
Praise the Lord; He is alive!

Matt Papa

In Christ Alone

I’m confident this Getty hymn will last many generations.  The only problem is that it may have been sung too much when it first came out (which is a good problem to have I suppose).  It was the first well known modern hymn and has spurred many others to be written.  It reminds us of the gospel and what it means to us.  Also, this was the song we used to begin our wedding ceremony, and I will always recall the moment I was able to sing these words with my bride as I was marrying her.

And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

Keith and Kristyn Getty (Kristyn’s accent doesn't hurt as an introduction to this song)

Jesus Paid It All

Kristian Stanfill’s version of this hymn brought it back alive for me.  The lyrics remind us of our inability to save ourselves and how we owe our lives to Christ because of what He did on the cross.  I can’t help but deepen my appreciation for His selfless act on the cross while singing this song.

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete,
Jesus died my soul to save,
my lips shall still repeat

Kristian Stanfill

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

This song grounds my desire to want more (even from God).  The lyrics (combined with a moving tune) remind me that God is faithful and I truly have everything I need in Him.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—
“Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

Israel Houghton

The Solid Rock

The lyrics to this hymn remind us of the firm foundation we have in Jesus Christ.  It is also a reminder that all other foundations are like sand compared to the rock that is Christ.  The lyrics that encourage me the most are in the fourth verse, which is a reminder of the confidence we have in our future because the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us (believers).

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Matt Boswell

Amazing Grace

The famous John Newton hymn which has transcended generations, languages, races, and cultures wraps up my 10 favorite hymns list.  It has been a song that has bursted out of the Christian church culture into the mainstream culture (as one of the most recognized songs in the English language), and it has offered inspiration and hope for many.  The origin of this song is fascinating, and if you are curious you should do some research.  I believe the popularity of this song speaks to our inward longing for grace and our hope for a redemptive present and future.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

There are about a million different versions of Amazing Grace (which is not surprising), but I’ll go with this version and let the tune speak for itself.

Lots of bagpipes 

10 things I've learned from the first year of parenthood

Yesterday, my daughter Eden turned one.  Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been reflecting on the past year and wrote some things down that I have learned since becoming a father.  Perhaps you are a young parent yourself, or are going to be soon.  I hope that as I share it will be helpful for you to hear a few things that I’ve learned during the first year of parenthood.

Before I begin though, I have to say, these are just my experiences.  I promise you this is not another “HERE IS WHAT EVERY PARENT NEEDS TO DO AND EXPERIENCE OR THEY ARE WRONG” blog post.  Parenthood is not a one-size-fits-all experience, as everyone’s situation is different.  All I can do is share from my experience.  If nothing else, it has been helpful for me to pause during this season and simply reflect.  

So, here they are.  10 things I’ve learned from the first year of parenthood.

10) Almost everything changes

As parenthood was approaching, many people told us that everything changes when the baby comes.  We found that to be mostly true.  Almost everything does change.  It has been the biggest adjustment in my life so far (even more so than marriage).  My schedule changed, priorities changed, sleeping habits changed, ability to eat hot meals together changed, and many other things.  My recommendation is to embrace it.  Embrace the change.  Be okay with it.  Life as a parent is different, and it should be.  You most likely will be frustrated if you don’t accept this major change and try to maintain the same priorities you had before parenthood.

9) There is always something to worry about

Kristi and I would often say to each other, “There is always something.”  There was rarely (if at all) a week during Eden’s first year when everything was going great for her.  There always seemed to be an issue to worry about, whether it was her eating, her sleeping, her pooping (or lack thereof), her teething, her catching colds, you name it.  There was always something to worry about, and we are still learning what to truly be concerned about, and what doesn’t require our attention.

8) Accept the help of others

If you are anything like me, this does not come naturally to you.  I am wired to want to be able to do things on my own.  “I’m the husband/dad and it’s my responsibility” is what I thought a lot.  Yet, there were many people in our lives that truly wanted to help us.  I came to realize that it is actually a blessing to the helpers to help, and truth be told there were some days when we really needed it and couldn’t do it on our own.  If there is a family member or a friend who is wanting to help, my advice would be to find something practical to do.  It will be a blessing to you and to them.

7) There will be times when you don’t know what to do

Kristi and I are two pretty smart people.  We are both college graduates.  And yet, there were days and weeks when we felt completely powerless to make decisions about Eden’s care.  Before parenthood, I was rarely in situations where I really had no idea what to do.  There were many times when we didn't know the right thing to do to care for Eden, or even how to go about making decisions.  In fact, we had medical professionals telling us to do exact opposite things!  How are we supposed to make a decision when the professionals we are supposed to trust are telling us polar opposite solutions?  

I would often get frustrated at myself because I didn’t know what to do.  I would think to myself, “Seriously, there are idiots in this world who are parents, and you can’t figure this out?”.  There are still times when I don’t know what to do, but I suppose I’m more content with that now.  Parenthood is a journey of good and bad decisions, and I will be learning as I go.

 6) Google is your best and worst friend

We live in interesting times.  At no other point in the history of humanity has so much information been so easily accessible.  Inevitably, if you ever experience #7, you will be tempted to seek out answers on the internet.  I must admit, we have found very good advice through the net on how to care for Eden.  One particular connection helped us to identify something that no doctor could identify.  BUT, it has also added a lot of confusion.  You can find any opinion imaginable about every parenting issue.  My advice would be to learn when it is good to seek out information, and when to just trust your gut and make decisions that you think are best (whether good or bad).

5) It’s easy to overlook your spouse

I had heard this was a possibility, but I was surprised as to how easily this happens.  Eden was a challenging infant that required an incredible amount of Kristi’s and my attention.  Our whole world revolved around trying to keep her healthy.  As we were so focused on Eden, there were times when we were not looking to the needs of each other.  I can now see how having children can actually divide a marriage instead of unite it.  I am learning that I need to be intentional with giving Kristi my energy and attention in addition to helping care for Eden. 

 4) Have a plan, and be willing to change it

There are a million different parenting strategies.  You have the Baby-Wise camp, the Attachment camp, the All-Natural camp, and everything in between.  Making decisions all day every day is exhausting, so it’s good to have a strategy that can guide and make your decisions consistent.  We found that it was incredibly helpful for us to have a plan, BUT we had to change it.  There were things that simply weren’t working for us as parents or for Eden in our plan.  One of my biggest pieces of advice is that it is okay to change your plan.  Also, don’t listen to people who claim that their way of parenting is the only way.  It may work well for them, and that’s great.  But it may not work for you, your spouse, or your child.  Plans are great, but you can and should adapt them when situations arise or it’s not working for your personalities.

3) Its very tempting to play the comparison game

This is one of the most surprising things that I have learned.  It is incredibly easy to play the parenthood comparison game.  

Why does their baby weigh more?  
Have you heard that baby sleeps through the night already?  
I can’t believe she’s walking already!  
Why does their baby eat better than mine?  
Those people seem so confident in their parenting.  I wish I was.
Why doesn’t our daughter have any teeth yet when _______ has 10! 

The comparison questions and observations are endless.  What I’ve come to realize is this - God gave us Eden.  He didn’t give us any other baby in the world; He gave us Eden.  To play the comparison game is for me to be discontent with the child God has given us.  You can always find a baby who is doing ‘better’ or is further along developmentally than yours.  It’s simply wasted mental energy.  Be content with the fact that every baby is different, and God has given you the exact one He wants you to care for.

 2) God uses parenthood to sanctify us

The last year was the hardest of my life so far.  I feel like I’m not supposed to say that because its taboo or something, but it’s the raw truth.  It occurred to me that the difficulty I was experiencing was not some sort of mistake made by God.  For some reason, God designed raising infants to be difficult.  I think that it is His way of sanctifying us.  God has taught me a lot about Himself, about my wife, and about myself.   I truly never knew how selfish I was until I became a dad.  God has been painfully peeling back layers of my selfishness through the responsibilities of fatherhood.  Although this last year was a season of difficulty, I can stomach it because I know that I have a loving Father who intends on sanctifying and cleansing me through the challenges I face in fatherhood. 

1) I love my wife, and I love my daughter

Although its been a hard year, it has been a life-giving year.  I’ve discovered a whole new type of love since Eden was born.  My love for her grows each day, and I cannot imagine my life without her.  My love for my wife has also grown in new ways.  I loved her as by bride, and now I also love her as the mother of my child.  Walking with her through the challenges of the first year has shown me her unwavering love for Eden, her strength, her resolve, her beauty, and her sacrificial spirit.  The dynamics of our marriage have changed, but for the better.  She is my hero, my love, my bride.

There are days when I don’t feel that I know many things, but I do know this: I love my wife, and I love my daughter.  I am so grateful to be on this journey with them. 

The Haitian Nation (Walgina)

Perhaps my favorite part of our trip to Port-Au-Prince Haiti was watching Kristi love on a girl named Walgina.

The bond that Kristi and Walgina developed began at the church where our team put on a Vacation Bible School throughout the week.  The first day of VBS, Walgina was dropped off at the church and timidly stood at the entrance of the church, unsure what to make of it all.  Kristi noticed her hesitation to join the group, so she took her by the hand and brought her into the church.  From that point on, Walgina always sought Kristi out.

Each and every day, Walgina would come to the church and look for Kristi.  When we would walk down the street, Walgina would peek her face out of her home and smile when she saw her.  I can remember one instance when Walgina was literally crawling over people in order to get to Kristi's lap during one of the revival services at the church .  Here we have no way of communicating with this child except through our facial expressions, hugs, and laughter, and yet she felt comfortable enough with Kristi to fall asleep on her lap multiple times during the week.

 

Sometimes ministry can feel overwhelming.  In the country of Haiti, there are an estimated 10 million people.  No one knows for sure because the resources are not there to have any kind of census.  Their unemployment rate is over 40%.  The average Haitian generates $1,200 a year.  The percentage of people living under 2 dollars a day is 78%.  It is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.  In 2009, Haiti was ranked the tenth most corrupt country in the world.  There are an estimated 3.5 million children under the age of 14.  Overwhelmed yet?  I know I was. 

And yet in our state of being overwhelmed, God provided ONE child for us to consistently love during the week.  ONE child to fall asleep in Kristi's arms.  ONE child who actually loved back on us.  ONE child who made us feel loved on by our heavenly father.

It is a unique experience to love someone without the possibility of communicating through words.  Our final interaction with Walgina was the afternoon before we left Haiti.  The previous time Kristi had seen Walgina was passing her off to her mom while she was asleep, so we were hopeful to see her one last time as our group took a walk past the church.  Walgina was not out playing in the street, but as we walked away Kristi looked back one more time and saw Walgina poke her head out from behind the tarp that made up the front of her home.  As Kristi waved one final time and blew a kiss goodbye wishing she had the words to tell Walgina she loved her, Walgina stood at her home smiling and nodding, as if to say she understood.  It was a moment that we will remember for a long time.

We believe that God brought Walgina into our lives both for us and for her.  We will continue to pray for her in the years to come.  

When statistics, ministry, and life overwhelm us, let's find our joy in loving the people who God places right in front of us.

The Haitian Nation (Answered Prayers)

Answered Prayers

In our preparations for our trip to Haiti, we asked our supporters to pray for us.  Here is what we asked them to pray for, as well as the answers to them.

- Pray for the Adventures in Missions organization.  Despite our main project leader having to fly back to the U.S. mid-week because of an illness, the other AIM staff were able to problem solve and put us in places where we could minister.

- Pray for spiritual growth and unity with the Goss team of 12.  Not only was this answered for the Goss team, but also for the entire team of 35.  Imagine sharing 2 bedrooms, 2 restrooms, and a shared living space and having ZERO arguments.  That is what happened!  Praise God for the unity he provided!

- Pray for Pastor Anouis, the Haitian pastor who we will be partnering with during our trip.  Although we were not able to spend a lot of time with the pastor, we were able to meet him and hear a little bit of his heart.  He is certainly passionate about the Lord and his community.

- Pray that God would work in and through us.  God certainly worked in us, and we trust that he also worked through us as we obedient to Him during the week.

There were also many prayers during the week that we had not anticipated beforehand.  Additional prayers that were answered during the week include:

-Prayers for the health of the entire team.  The 35 of us had no serious health issues during the week despite no relief from the heat and sleeping on a concrete slab.  The awesomeness of this can't be underestimated!

-Prayers for the healing of one of our teenagers.  One night we prayed very specifically for one of our teens as she was feeling very ill (fever, chills, and stomach upset).  She woke up feeling 100%.  God answered within hours of our prayers.

-Prayers for a diabetic team member.  One of our team members who is severely diabetic had NO problems during the trip.  God controlled her sugar levels and health throughout the week.

-Prayers for shoes and lemons.  One morning, one of our project leaders felt like God impressed the words shoes and lemons on her mind.  She thought it was strange because they are two very different things.  Later that week, one of the crews had a conversation with a family that sold shoes.  They invited them in and, unprompted, the family offered them lemons.  The family later came to where we were staying and visited with us.  Amazing.

-Prayers for a pick-axe.  That same morning, one of our team members felt like God showed him a pick-axe during his prayer time.  Later that day, he was the only one on our team who was handed a pick-axe during our construction time at the church.

We don't often reflect on our past prayers and acknowledge the answers to those prayers.  I hope you are encouraged that we can say with confidence that God heard all our prayers during our experience in Haiti.

The Haitian Nation (The spiritual impact of the earthquake)

The spiritual impact of the earthquake 

Most, if not all of us, remember the images of the Earthquake that rocked the country of Haiti in 2010.  We remember the news coverage, the images of fallen buildings, and the statistics of thousands of lives lost.

To be honest, had the earthquake not happened, we may not have gone on this trip.  I think most of us felt so deeply for the people of Haiti that when the earthquake happened that we wanted to do something, but just didn't know how at the time.  When the opportunity came for us to go this summer, we took it.  One of the reasons we went was so that we could just learn from the Haitians how the earthquake impacted them individually, as well as the country as a whole.  The stories we heard and the way the Haitians explained why the earthquake happened changed our perspective on the event.

Here are a few things we learned about the spiritual impact of the earthquake.

1) The Haitians we spoke to believe that the earthquake was an answer to prayer.  Yes, you read that right.  One of our translators told us that the Haitian president several years ago renewed a pact between the country of Haiti and Satan.  He said that lots of pastors got together and began praying and crying out to God.  He said they specifically asked God to "shake the country of Haiti".  Although I don't think this is what the pastors had in mind, they see the earthquake as an answer to the pastors prayer for God to wake up the Haitians to their need for Him.

2) The Haitians we spoke to accept it.  Simply put, they just accept that the Earthquake happened, God caused it, and God can use it to turn people to Him.  We did not notice bitterness or anger toward God.  Some of the people we talked to had even lost legs in the quake.  One of our translators was one of only a few who survived when the school building he was in collapsed.  They still believed that God was good, and are trying to serve Him with their lives.  Very powerful and challenging.

3) The Haitians we spoke to believe there has been a spiritual awakening since the earthquake.  After the quake, our translators told stories about how there was only one word heard on the streets.  "JESUS!  JESUS!  JESUS!"  Believers and non-believers alike cried out to Jesus Christ in their moment of despair.  Since then, the churches have been overflowing.  For the first time in the country's history, they cancelled their Carnival celebration (the equivalent to our Marti-Gras).  Even despite many people turning back to God during the aftermath of the earthquake, many Haitians' prayer is for more and more people to turn their lives to God.  There is still work to be done, but God is active and moving in the country of Haiti.  We were reminded that even the best of media coverage does not tell the whole story, and completely leaves out what is happening spiritually. 

As the saying goes "The night is always darkest right before the dawn".  The earthquake of 2010 was certainly a dark day in Haiti, but a new dawn has come, and we are grateful for the chance to learn of it.

The Haitian Nation (Social and Spiritual Openness)

Social and Spiritual Openness

An aspect of the Haitian culture that stood out to us was their openness.  One of the first things we were told in preparation for our time in the Haitian culture was that we should throw personal space out the window.  More than just a higher comfort level when it comes to personal space, we experienced a higher level of social and spiritual openness.  Now, I'm no expert in Haitian culture from visiting Port-Au-Prince for one week, and my general observations are going to be a result of my experience.

As foreigners, we wanted to try our best to follow the social norms of the culture.  We were a bit concerned about how we were interacting with the Haitians we met on the street and the children at VBS.  We wondered to ourselves, what does a Haitian man think if an American woman starts a conversation with him?  What does a parent of a child think if their child is sitting on a strange American's lap?  So we asked one of our translators when it is appropriate to talk to someone and when it is not.  His response clarified much of the Haitian culture in our minds.  He said that you can go up and talk to anyone at any time!  It doesn't matter if you are a man talking to a 3 year old girl, or a woman speaking with a single man, it is socially acceptable and people do not read into the interaction (as we in the U.S. probably would).  In comparison to our American culture, the Haitians are much more comfortable in conversation with each other, even with strangers.  

Not only do the Haitians have an openness when it comes to social interactions, they also have an openness about their spirituality.  It was very common to see buses, tap-taps (pick up trucks used for transportation), and signs that were blatantly God-focused.  "Thank You Jesus", "Merci Jesus", and other simple praises were all around us.  Could you imagine the fuss people would have in the states if people plastered their praises to God on their vehicles?  By walking the streets, you would certainly think that Haiti is a "Christian Nation" with all the praises and scripture references.

When we talked to people on the streets about God, EVERYONE engaged in conversation with us and was very quick to have a spiritual conversation.  People were very open to sharing their faith in God, as well as personal prayer request with complete strangers. 

The Haitian Nation (The faith of the Haitian believers)

Kristi and I had the opportunity to travel to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, last week with the Adventures In Missions organization.  We were able to spend a week with 10 other members from our church family, as well as 23 other people from all across the United States.  As we process our time in Haiti, we will be blogging about specific aspects of our trip to share our experience with all of you.  We hope it will give you a glimpse into another part of the world where God is actively at work.

The faith of the Haitian believers

Throughout the week, we partnered with a local church to put on a Vacation Bible School for the children, attend their revival services, and invite the church's neighbors to attend the revival as well.  A benefit of partnering with the local church was our ability to observe and interact with how the church functions, as well as observe the faith of the Haitian believers.  From our observation, the Haitian believers were much more visibly passionate and excited about their faith.  I think they are much more desperate for God, something we are lacking in the states.  As Americans, we have so many other things to find our comfort in, whether it be our busy schedules or all our 'stuff' that fills our homes.  Since we have so much, we often forget that we NEED God.  We have much to learn from our Haitian brothers and sisters.

Above you can see the outside of the church building where we put on the VBS and attended revival services.  Believe me, it is nothing fancy.  Concrete walls and tarps for a roof.  There were minimal decorations, no uniform seating, and even electricity was spotty.  But none of that mattered.  When the Haitians came to church, they were both emotionally excited and physically reverent.  With as little as they have, they put on their "Sunday best" and their focus was the worship of God.  Services would last for hours, and they would sing with passion and gusto.

One Haitian believer that had an impact on me was the man pictured in the photo above on the far right.  This man was at the church 45 minutes before the service began, on his knees, literally crying out to God in prayer.  He sang songs all on his own.  He begged and pleaded with God.  He yelled his prayers.  He visibly shook so much during his prayers that he was dripping sweat off of his face.  He thanked God over and over and over.  Even though I had no idea what he was saying, it was very clear that he had a deep, intimate relationship with his God.  He was desperate for Him.  He knew the power of prayer.

 

 (Vacation Bible School)

The last story Ill tell about the faith of the Haitians is about a man in our neighborhood.  As we were drifting in and out of sleep in the muggy 80 degree weather during our first night, we were awoken before the sun rose at 5:00 a.m. by a man walking the streets and shouting at the top of his lungs.  "Welcome to Haiti," we thought.  The next night, we slept much better, but were awoken before the sun rose by the same man, yelling at the top of his lungs.  This was getting aggravating.  We noticed that the man was saying the same thing each morning, so we asked our translator what he was saying.  Our translator explained that he was shouting, "Wake up!  It's time to get up and go to church to pray!  Wake up!  It's time to go to church and pray!"  

This man did this every day of the week.  As aggravating as it was, he was fulfilling a conviction he felt to call everyone in his neighborhood to start their day in prayer.  Could you imagine someone doing this in the states?!?!  What would you and your neighbors do if someone knocked on every door on your street at 5:00 telling everyone to wake up and pray!  I'm thinking a strangling is a strong possible outcome of that situation.

I want to be bold in how I live out my faith in my neighborhood.  I want to worship deeper.  I want to pray with passion.  I want to be more desperate for God.

We are grateful for our interaction with some of the Haitian believers, and come away encouraged and challenged in how we live out our faith as believers in America.

The Beginning of May through Today

I (Kristi) am officially on Summer Break! I am so excited for a much needed break from lesson planning, grading, and the challenge of balancing my teaching work with our ministries here in Kenmore.  Here are some things we've accomplished in the past month.

1. Josh ran in the Indy Mini again at the beginning of May! I was not able to get the day off work, so Josh headed to Indy with his friends Kevin and Drew this year and met up with some others along the way. His next race will be a full marathon in the fall!

2. We planted our garden for 2012! We're hoping it's more successful than last year, as we are learning a bit each year. We enlarged our planting area and added some extra nitrogen to the soil.  Here's hoping to lots of veggies to can and freeze!

Our first garden success--strawberries! We began with four strawberry plants last year, and now we have a large strawberry patch with lots of delicious berries! (You can see our patch in the previous picture behind the white trellis.)

3. My parents spent Memorial Day weekend at our house helping us redo some flower beds and planting flowers.

4. My closet is finished! We have been planning on redoing it since we moved in, but kept putting it on the back burner until now. It used to have one rod across that was broken and held together with duct tape. Now I can fit so much more and was able to clean out a set of shelves that I was using in another room for some of my clothes.

Before:

After:

5. We made a last minute trip to Huntington over my birthday. It had been a year and a half since Josh was there and about six months for me. It's hard to believe we spent six years of our lives there. It was bittersweet leaving the town where we had so many incredible college memories and first fell in love and started our life as husband and wife. We were able to see many friends and realized what made those six years so incredible- the people there. We wish we could've stayed longer...

Heading out on the road to Huntington

Josh took me to Huntington's famous Nick's Kitchen for my birthday breakfast.

Josh was able to spend an afternoon at the Boys and Girls Club where he worked for four years.

Several of my friends were able to come to town for an afternoon, all the way from Grand Rapids, Colorado, and Canada! We celebrated a new baby and a baby on the way and enjoyed being together again.  (No, that is not my baby I'm holding!)

We're looking forward to Summer 2012!

On Spring Break, Memories I Did Make

April has been an exciting month so far! I started the month with my Spring Break week. It was definitely a blessing to take a break from lesson planning and grading and spend some extra time with people I love! I began my break by meeting up with two of my friends in Mansfield for a couple of days. Katie and Courtney are childhood friends from my church growing up. We've been able to take a trip together every year since my freshman year of high school. The past few years have been camping trips with our husbands, so we decided it was time for a girls' weekend. After Mansfield, I headed to Findlay to meet up with two college friends, Steph and Elissa. It was just what I needed on my spring break as we spent two days hanging out and relaxing together.

The rest of my Spring Break was spent at home hanging out with Josh, attending Goss' Holy Week services, doing some spring cleaning, and getting caught up on some school work. Our church also has a sunrise Easter service that the youth are in charge of, so we made a movie with several students from our youth group and Josh preached the sermon for the service. We celebrated Easter with Josh's family on Friday, and headed to West Jeff to celebrate Easter with my family after church on Sunday. And we were able to spend some extra time with our niece and nephew too! We wish we were able to see them more often! It seems like they change every time we see them.


Josh and I also spent this past weekend in Pittsburgh. On Friday we went to see Michael Jackson's Cirque du Soleil show! It was amazing! When we arrived at the show, we realized our seats were in the fourth to the last row. Then right before the show, an usher came and asked us if we would like to change seats. He moved us to the second row! On Saturday we walked around a part of Pittsburgh called Squirrel Hill, made an Ikea run, and stopped to see some friends in Youngstown.



It is hard to believe that the middle of April is already here! Our summer adventures are quickly approaching. We will be participating in Project Shine (a week-long mission trip to Akron), taking a Caribbean cruise, hiking in Hocking Hills, and going on a mission trip to Haiti! It will be a full, exciting summer!

For our Haiti trip, we must equip!

We are so grateful to announce that we are almost fully funded for our short term mission trip to Haiti this summer. We are humbled by the support that we have received from our family and friends, many of whom we do not get to see very often. It is our goal to keep you involved with this journey through our blog, photos online, and conversations. Your prayers and financial support cause you to be a part of this journey with us.

Although at times it is difficult for me to prepare my mind and my heart for this trip, I know that it will be here soon. One beautiful thing about working in full time ministry is that this trip will essentially be an extension of what I am already doing and not something completely outside of the ordinary. Don't get me wrong, I am sure that Haiti is much different from Akron, Ohio, but I think living missionally is something that I am slowly learning.

Adventures in Missions provides lessons and discussions for our team as we meet to prepare for the trip. One lesson that has stood out to me so far focused on the idea of living IN the destination, not living FOR the destination. In other words, we shouldn't be living one way, and then turn on a switch when we get to Haiti and live a different way. Do I have as much concern for the lost, hurting, and desperate around me right now? Do I seek out opportunities to encourage believers and nonbelievers right now? Or do I try to safely package my duties of evangelism and service into structured weeks only?

In 112 days, we will be serving missionally in Haiti. I hope that our hearts and actions would be of little difference during that week than they are now.

Thank you for your generosity and love.

SYMC 2012 reflections

I find myself back at my desk after 4 days of the Simply Youth Ministry Conference shuffling through my stack of papers and notes, doing my best to reflect on the weekend. As a first time SYMC attender, I came away from the conference both refreshed and overwhelmed. Refreshed to have been with so many people in similar situations as I am in, and overwhelmed with God's sovereignty and love for us.

With this blog post, I am going to share a few quotes from some of the speakers that I want to remember down the road. My hope is that the words of the speakers will help mold and shape me as I continue on my journey as a Youth Worker.

(These quotes are loose, but I believe reflect the point the speakers were making.)

Derwin L. Grey (From general and half-track sessions)

- Are our students completely enamored with Jesus when the graduate? THAT should be our Youth Group's mission!

- Do our students know their identity, mission, and source of power?

- Your identity determines your function.

- You are not what you once were. You are not yet who you will be.

- If you feel woefully inadequate, that is a good place to be.

- God didn’t create us because he was lonely.

- You will be criticized when you try to do something awesome for God.

- We can not give away what we do not possess.

- God is looking for more than morality, He is looking for worship.

- Worship leads to discipleship, and discipleship leads to evangelism. You don’t start with evangelism, you start with worship.

- You were not born to be a student minister. You were born to worship and adore Jesus.

- Jesus don't need your help, he rose from the dead! You're smokin' narcissism.

- If Jesus is not the hero of the message it's not the gospel.

- When we refuse to forgive ourselves, we are calling Jesus a liar.

- If you and I aren’t careful we can allow working for God to destroy the work of God in us.


Jon Acuff

- Why do we allow one negative comment to ruin 1,000 complements?

- The Christian F word is FINE. I am fine.

- Never compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.

- God is not surprised or disappointed by the size of your ministry.


Francis Chan

- We shouldn’t think of ourselves as more important than we are. Do we honestly think God isn’t in control of our ministries when we are gone?

- If everyone in this entire room died (speaking to 3,000 Youth Workers), the Kingdom of God would be fine.

- I thought to myself, God needs Francis Chan out there doing ministry! I mean, he needs his heavy hitters, I can’t be sick with the flu!

- My Youth Pastor just always believed in discipleship, and he eventually got fired because of it.

- There are so many things in paid ministry that distract us from the very thing that will make us effective.


Stephanie Caro

- The average Youth Group is 8 students.

- Volunteerism in America is at an all time high. Volunteerism in the Church is at an all time low.

- Small churches can’t do it all. Figure out the 3 things you can do, and do them well.


An 'Air Time' speaker (Did not catch his name)

- Discouragement is from the pit of hell. Discouragement is not from God.


Now for the challenging part. What are the two or three main things I want to focus on now that I am back? How does this all apply to the ministry context that I find myself in? Hopefully this week will provide some time for me to unpack everything Kristi and I were able to experience.

-Josh

The Millers are Haiti-bound

As many of you probably have heard, we will be participating in a week long mission trip to Port-au-Prince Haiti this summer. We will be traveling with a group from our Church through the Adventures in Missions organization.

This was actually an easy decision for us. At times it has felt too easy, knowing that several people in our church were struggling with the decision. Although it is a big decision, it just seemed like a no brainer to us. Several factors probably led to the decision being easy. One, is we are simply available. With ministry being my job and Kristi having the summers off, our employments allow us to do this. Two, we don't have kids to worry about. Three, short term missions have had a great impact on our lives in the past, and this experience fits well with our adventurous spirits. And four, a few teenagers from our church will be traveling with us. What a joy it will be to travel with these youth on this cross-cultural experience.

We are approaching this experience knowing that it will not be a bed of roses. Parts of Haiti are still devastated by the 2010 Earthquake. Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. To be honest, ignorance is bliss. It is easier for us to only experience life in our white, middle class lives. It is comfortable. But we must intentionally expose ourselves to other cultures, as we seek a greater understanding of the world, and ultimately of God's love.

Our trip to Haiti is simply an extension of our faith in Jesus Christ. We WANT to serve Him. Although it doesn't take a short term mission trip to do that, there is something special that can happen when we get outside of our comfort and routine and devote all of our efforts toward serving, loving, and ministering.

We intend on being more intentional with this blog as we prepare for our trip. We would love for you to be a part of this chapter of our journey by reading our blog and praying for us and our team.

In Christ,
Josh and Kristi

Top 11 things from 2011

Here are 11 of my favorite (random) things from 2011.

1) Favorite Album:
Josh Garrels Love & War & The Sea In Between
p.s. - It is free. Go download it. Seriously, you are foolish if you don't get it.

2) Favorite Vacation:
Acadia National Park, Boston, and NYC







3) Favorite TV Commercial:



4) Favorite Blogger:
http://www.tylerstanton.com/

5) Favorite Nature Moment:

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

6) Favorite Board Game:
Ticket to Ride Germany

7) Favorite Amazing Thing:



8) Favorite Additions to the Family

Ava Thompson, Kenzie Miller, & Lily Ruffner!





9) Favorite Comedy Bit



10) Favorite Prank



11) Favorite Personal Accomplishment

Running the Indy Mini, my first half-marathon, at 01:57:52, coming in 6,985th out of 35,000.

Oh me oh my, it's been since July?

It's been awhile. When life gets busy, blogging takes a back seat. Sorry people who don't live near us and know what we are up to. (You could just move to Akron, you know...)

And a lot has happened in the past four months. Here's a brief overview:

1. Three Year Anniversary: We celebrated three wonderful years together with a weekend in Canton. We stayed at the Football Hall of Fame hotel, caught a late night movie, and played some tennis.



2. East Coast Trip: We met up with our friends Daron and Rachael and spent a week traveling the coast. We visited New York City, Boston, Acadia National Park, and several smaller coastal towns. Some highlights of the trip were walking the entire length of Manhattan in a day to see all the hot tourist spots, visiting Fenway Park for a Red Sox vs. Indians game (which the Tribe won!), hiking the Precipice Trail in Acadia, and gnawing down a "lobsta" dinner. We are grateful that Daron is a professional photographer, so we have LOTS of incredible pictures from the trip. Here are just a couple:






3. School-Year Begins: I (Kristi) am still teaching 8th and 9th grade English at CVCA, and this year I added Junior High Spanish as well. I love teaching there, and am looking forward to continuing to build relationships with the teachers and students. The youth programs at Goss are also up and running for the school year. We have seen a larger number of students on Wednesday and Sunday nights, so you can pray that they start coming consistently throughout the year!

4. Rock the Road: This yearly mystery road trip is a partnership between Goss and First Glance. The kids sign up, and literally have no idea where they are going. This year Josh knew where we were going, but I didn't. We took 30 students (+ one simulation baby for a high school project) and began with an Amazing Race type scavenger hunt. (I'll note that my van of girls won, for the second year in a row!) Then we headed to Cincinnati for some laser tag, go-karting, and the zoo. We spent the night in Kentucky, then hung out at a park in Dayton and went to a fall festival near Columbus. We even ended up spending the first night at a church near my hometown, where my dad and mom surprised me by showing up to make snacks and breakfast for us! It was an amazing weekend of hanging out with students and building relationships with them in hopes of showing them more of who God is and how much He loves them.



5. Garden: Our first year of gardening didn't go as well as we had hoped, but it was an enjoyable experience. We were able to freeze some broccoli, green beans, and carrots, and we canned some jars of pizza sauce. Our lettuce did really well too. After some soil tests, we have figured out one of our problems = No Nitrogen. Oh well, better luck next year!




Hopefully we'll be back blogging sooner than last time!