ghetto barbeque

Got plans next Saturday night, the 8th? Well if not, we would love to have you at our very first ghetto barbeque! We scored a charcoal grill/wood burning stove at Patrick's benefit last weekend, as well as a nifty Magic Bullet (as seen on TV), so we're having a little BBQ. If we can find some wood to burn it may even morph into a bonfire at some point in the evening as well. We are going to set up in our cement driveway, aka the "patio." BYOM (bring your own meat) and something to share. And bring chairs if you have them, we only have 3 I think. No need to RSVP. Hope to see you there! Let's say 7pm or so!

Looking for a place to live?

Some dear friends of ours are looking to rent out their Maple Grove townhouse. If you are interested, email me and I will send you the flier. (I couldn't figure out how to post it....) :)


Hello Minnesota friends! David and I still have our townhouse up there - and we are once again looking for renters. I've attached a flier with some of the details. It's a great place in Maple Grove off Bass Lake Road about 2-3 miles west of 494. For the right tenants the rent could be negotiable and pets are definitely okay with a deposit. Please feel free to forward to anyone who might be interested.

If you are ever in Chicago, let me know. I would love to see you!!

-Kris M.

my "little" bro

me and Dan

little smooch for my lil' brother before he heads off to law school, what a smartie!
doesn't he look happy?

Father's Day with a GREAT Father!

We played mini-golf with my family for father's day and Tim whooped us all.
Sadly I lost both rounds, big surprise! it was great fun though!

Fun with fam

Tim's sister Amy was here to visit for a few days.

Tim and his sisters havin' fun.

Here's a picture from our camping trip!
Tim making me breakfast.

A Call to Prayer

I (Heidi) would like to encourage you to take a moment and pray for someone. Maybe you already have someone on your heart and you know they need prayer. If no one comes to mind, ask God to bring someone to mind for you. Either way, I encourage you to intercede on the behalf of another. While it's possible that you may never know how things pan out in the circumstance you're praying for, you can be sure that God hears your prayer and that it's powerful. When we pray, we affect the heavenlies. When we pray in the name of Jesus, darkness has to flee. The enemy is pushed back and strongholds are broken. I was praying for a friend last night that God brought to my mind and it was good; something was happening. Maybe not in the physical realm, but definately in the spiritual realm. In that last three years, many of my prayer have been self-focused due to my circumstance, but last night I was reminded of the importance of pressing into the Holy Spirit on behalf of another. I know there are intercessors pressing in on my behalf. I know this b/c if they weren't, I wouldn't have the strength to keep going every day. I am thankful that God reminded me once again to lift up my brothers and sisters.

Patti M. and Jes S. - I don't think you read this blog, but if you do, know that I am praying for you! God desires for you to be healed!!

Benefit for Patrick

In the weekend paper there was an article written about our friend Patrick, who fell off a roof last October. The full article will be available on the Web for a limited time at http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/living/14839453.htm

Please check it out and please continue to pray for the Showers family. There is a benefit at Woodland Hills this Friday night (article gives information) and we'd love to see you there!

Tim's thoughts on redemption

Redemption is a powerful concept. The idea that something that is bad or evil or something that has been lost could be redeemed blows my mind. Obviously the greatest story of redemption of all time is Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing can compete with the fact of a world that is saved through His redemptive act. However, I do believe that God gives us everyday examples of redemption as a reminder of what He did. The medium of film can communicate redemption in a unique way. Here are some of the films that stand out to me as redemptive: (and reasons why)
- The Shawshank Redemption – an incredible movie, heck, redemption is even in the title
- Saving Private Ryan – they risked (and gave) their lives for someone they did not know
- Napoleon Dynamite – the school dork commits a self-less (and funny) act for a friend
- The Mighty – his best friend shows an awkward kid his potential
- Schindler’s List – a selfish man saves thousands in the Holocaust
I got to thinking about this after watching Jarhead, a film with no redemptive value. It is not that I think that all films need a happy ending, but I do not like films that are needlessly hopeless.

Please leave a comment on your favorite redemptive films.

An epic disc golf adventure

On Saturday, there was an epic disc golf tournament. Brian Schrader, Jer Melander, Eric Unger, Robbie Cape, and myself (Tim) arrived at the Lakewood Hills (I think that is the name) disc golf course ready to play. We started slow, with a little too much time spent looking for our discs in the tremendous overgrowth. After a couple lost discs, we made it out to the more open holes and Robbie jumped to a commanding lead. Jer made a long approach shot on hole 4 and Robbie’s approach game was unstoppable. After 9 holes we headed into the woods with me bringing up the rear having had some terrible drives. As we started throwing through the trees, everyone’s score came a little closer together. Brian and I started to catch up and everyone else started having a little trouble. On the last hole (#11) in the woods, I threw a perfect long line drive that gave me a birdie and kept me in the game. When we reached hole #18 (it is a 14 hole course, so we played the last 4 twice) Eric and I were leading Robbie and Brian by one stroke. My drive went wide right and it took me 4 shots to finish. Eric’s drive was perfect, but he missed two putts to finish with a 4. Brian and Robbie made par, so we all finished with 14 (with a Jer right behind). It was tense.

The day was not over, though. After some Wendy’s burgers, Brian left and the rest of us headed to Acorn Park. Keeping our previous scores, we continued playing. Eric must have had his Mojo stolen when he missed the last putt at the previous course, because his play never reached the level he enjoyed earlier in the day. Robbie and I kept a tight race, but I prevailed in the end by 1 stroke, finishing with a 9 at that course.

It was an amazing day of disc golf. Let me know if you want in on the next tourney.

A camping weekend

Heidi and I enjoyed our first solo camping trip this weekend. We went to St. Croix State Park, north of the Twin Cities and next to the WI border. The weather was awesome and we enjoyed hiking along the river, biking on the paved trails, and sitting by the fire. Both mornings I got up and went running on the trails through the woods. (I was really glad I did not encounter a bear. This city kid isn’t used to stuff like that.) We got to relax, eat good food, and sleep without the sounds of the city. I can’t wait until we get to go again. I am so glad that my sweet wife loves camping, and I am also glad that we camp so well together. I sure do love my wife.