Memorial Weekend Update

Did anyone else see the Season Finale of LOST? What a great show. Heidi and I did not see that end coming. I suspect that the survivors of Oceanic 815 are now in worse trouble than before. Hurley the hero was awesome. January is a long time to wait for new episodes.

We had a great holiday weekend. On Friday night Heidi and I walked around Lake Calhoun. Then, on Saturday we drove to Milwaukee with Peter and JG for a wedding. (This was after Heidi worked from 5 am to 9 am.) We arrived at Kevin and Marissa’s wedding with about 2 minutes to spare. It was a nice wedding and a fantastic reception. On Sunday we drove home, took a nap, and visited the Dan and Lindsey Lundberg’s new baby. What a cutie. I got up on Monday morning and went biking with my sister, Sally, and her family. After that I picked up Heidi and we headed to her parents place for lunch. I lost a couple games of Bocce ball and we all enjoyed the Batten’s new deck. Then we headed to Chris and Zong Heng’s house for some more food. They make the most amazing Asian food. I would rather go to their house than any Asian restaurant any day. Now we need another weekend to catch up on all the sleep we did not get in the last one.

A decent round

Last night I (Tim) played a round of disc golf at Acorn Park with Jer, Eric, and Nick. First we purchased some new discs at Fairway Flyerz. Nick, taking a practice throw before we even started, put his brand new driver in the pond. A guy that was walking by sold him a used driver for $5, and after the round Eric waded into the muck and retrieved Nick’s disc. We all played pretty well. I finished with a +9 on the day, which is a decent round for me. I enjoyed playing with those guys.

My nephew, Tim the Mann, is getting married on Saturday. I wish him and Amanda all the best. I love being married. If I had known how much fun it was, I would have done it years ago. Of course, when I was in college, Heidi was in Junior High, so that would not have worked so well. At least not in this state.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my Sweet Baboo? Cause I love her a lot.

I'm so excited. . . and I just can't hide it. . .

I (Tim) loved the Transformers toys as a kid. You can imagine my excitement when I heard that a live action Transformers movie was in the works. Now I just have to hope that it is not awful. I figure the only way to ruin this movie would be to pull a Hulk (where they forgot to include the Hulk in the movie). If there are lots of big robots and explosions, I will be happy.

Here is the link to watch the trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1808716430/trailer

A weekend in Kansas City

Last Friday morning, Heidi and I loaded up the Mazda (also known as the Oven, since it has no AC) and headed south on I-35. We arrived in Centerville, Iowa around 4 pm. I played a round of disc golf at the city park while Heidi did some shopping. (I played poorly and lost a disc in the creek.) After that we drove over to Uncle Jim and Aunt Marla’s place. We spent an enjoyable evening eating and talking. Uncle Jim is Heidi’s great uncle and one of the more interesting people I have ever met.

After breakfast in Centerville, we got back in the Oven and drove to Kansas City. Heidi’s long time friend Tammy met us for lunch at Panera. Afterward, I left them to shop and do girl stuff while I met up with my buddy Peter for a round of disc golf. We had fun, even though he beat me by one stroke. The course we played, Swope Park, was great. After we finished I picked up Heidi and we shared an excellent meal with Peter and Elizabeth. Mention must be made of their awesome baby, Glorie. What a cutie. We enjoyed hanging out with them.

On Sunday morning we had breakfast with Peter and Elizabeth, and headed out for brunch with PJ, Heidi’s mother’s best friend, and her husband Joe. We had a good time. On the drive back home we had a passenger. Sue, a British woman who was returning home via Minnesota, rode back with us. She was great and never complained about how hot it was in our car, even with the windows down.

Over the course of the weekend we had four support appointments and I got to play two rounds of disc golf. I would call that a productive weekend. It was also the second time that we visited KC but did not spend time at the International House of Prayer. I guess we will need to return to KC again.

An update by Tim

We have not given a financial support update recently, so here goes. We are at about 30% of our monthly support and about 65% of our cash project. We have our 2nd church officially on board and sending checks, with a couple more verbally committed. Our own church, Bethel Christian Fellowship, has committed to being our sending church, but has not given a support amount yet. BCF is an excellent missionary sending church, so we feel blessed that they want to send us. We are so grateful to everyone who has financially supported us thus far and those of you who are planning to join our financial support team. We are also grateful for the prayer warriors out there lifting us up. We cannot properly express our gratitude for you.

LOST is the best show on TV. (It is also the only show that Heidi and I watch regularly.) After that stupid episode about Jack’s tattoos earlier in the season, the show has totally redeemed itself. Last night’s episode was excellent. Uncle Rico rules.

Last Saturday Heidi and I attended the wedding of Carlos and Priscilla Conway at St. Paul Fellowship. It was a blast. The SPF crowd always has the best wedding dances. I love dancing with my Sweet Baboo.

It may have been the game of my life.

Yesterday I (Tim) ventured out to Acorn Park in Roseville for a round of Disc Golf with Eric Unger. It may have been the game of my life. I had three birdies on the day and finished at +7. It would have been a +6, but my shot for bogie on 18 rimmed out. The best I have ever played at Acorn before was a +8. It was a beautiful day with a light wind. Eric lost his only driver to the pond on Hole 1 and did not have such a good round. Life is good.

Last night’s Young Adult Bible Study (YABS) was great. Julie led us in an activity where everyone shared what we appreciated about each other. Afterward we had smoothies. Treats and affirmation. Does it get any better than that?

Heidi is my favorite.

headache update and prayer request

About 2 years ago, I made a decision to stop seeking medical treatment for my headaches b/c I didn't want anything (like medication) to stand in the way of my knowledge of what I knew God was going to do in healing me. Near the end of summer I felt called to re-evaluate this decision and I "told" God that I was willing to go back to a Dr. but I wanted Him to make it clear and I even had some specific terms. I bet God just loves it when we pray like that!! :P In December, the Lord answered my prayer to the T and through a prophetic word, I knew which Dr. I needed to go see. So I have been seeing a dentist for the past few months primarily focusing on my jaw with some physical therapy and a splint to get me re-aligned. I am headed in for another appointment this Wednesday morning and I would be greatly blessed by your prayers. Before I see the dental team, I have a cranio-sacral appointment, aka physical therapy for my head. It works with pressure points and the plates of the skull, as well as some of the muscles in my mouth.

This will be the second splint that we have tried so please pray for accuracy. If the splint wasn't made right, pray that God perfects it before Wednesday! The last time I went in for this cranio-sacral therapy I was in so much pain that it knocked me out for two days. I know the treatment is beneficial, but it still hurts. Please pray that God would work through these treatments and bring healing to my body. Thanks!

Here's a fun pic of all the gear I had to wear to get fitted for the splints. I had to do all this twice! It took 4 hours each time!

Moments we will never forget

Back in 1993, my mother called me and told me how five people were shot at the Chuck E Cheese in Aurora, CO. Four people died that night at the hands of a sixteen year old boy with a grudge. My good friend Duane Trantham worked there (he was the guy in the suit) and had gone home less than 30 minutes before the killing occurred. I will never forget that phone call.

A sunny day in April, 1999, I heard over the radio about a school shooting at Columbine High School while I drove a van full of teenage boys to a track meet in Wisconsin. The first few reports did not identify which Denver area high school and my imagination began to run wild.

On September 11, 2001, I vividly remember Chris Heng telling me through the bathroom door about a plane hitting the World Trade Center and that I should probably listen to the radio on my way to work.

Some things will never be forgotten. Some things should never be forgotten. I think about these things as the worst campus shooting in United States history just took place at Virginia Tech. A place known for football and engineering, it will now forever be known for April 16, 2007. Many people will never be able to get that day out of their minds. Many lives have been changed forever.

These are the times when saying “God is in control”, is just not quite enough. We need something deeper. Sometimes we need to cry out in our prayers. It is no coincidence that many of the Psalms are songs of lament. In these situations I find Psalm 10 encouraging. Psalm 10:18 says the Lord hears our cries and defends us “. . .in order than man, who is of this earth, may terrify no more.” There will be trouble in this world, but God is good and someday justice and peace will reign. In the meantime, no matter what happens, it is true that God is still in control.

It freezes us!

It has been abnormally cold in MN. We are even supposed to get snow overnight and during the day tomorrow. Yuck.

On Saturday, Dan Lundberg and I played the coldest round of disc golf either of us ever played. The wind was awful. We both played terrible. At the start, the temp was about 20 degrees, but it did warm up some while we played. I also lost a disc in the water on hole 9 (we played Acorn Park in Roseville). The disc was floating upside down next to the ice, but the ice was too thin to hold me and I was not going into wade into water when the air temp was 20 degrees. There were not any sticks long enough, either. I loved that disc. Oh well.

Heidi and I had a good time on Easter Sunday with Sally (my sister) and Kent. Chase and Carver had an Easter egg hunt, but it was a little cold, so we did not stay out long. Easter is supposed to be a spring holiday.

Sally and Kent gave me a sweet "Life is good" t-shirt with an Ultimate Frisbee player on it. I love it.

Movie review: TMNT

Back in ’83 there was an independent comic book released about 4 wisecracking, adolescent, mutated turtles, that love pizza and had ninja training. From that unlikely source came several different afternoon cartoons, three movies, and many, many toy sales. In 2007, someone decided to update the franchise with a fourth movie. However, instead of turtle suits and white rappers, the turtles returned in computer generated animation. It was a good choice.

I loved TMNT. From the incredible graphics to the sci-fi storyline, it was a fun ride. There is even a scene based on the life of Duane Trantham, pre-1994. (If you know Duane, you’ll know it when you see it.) It is a family friendly film that shows the redemption of broken relationships, but mostly just has sweet action scenes and some great wisecracks. If you like stuff like that, you will like TMNT. If you are looking for something deeper, skip it.

Great scene: The Turtles and their allies fight the entire foot clan with POD’s “Light’s Out” in the background.

Great line: Michelangelo: Did anyone get the license plate of that thing that hit us last night? It looked like your mom, dude!
Donatello: Yeah, that would make her your mom too, doofus.
Michelangelo: Nuts.

Toby Mac, Demon Hunter, and Rocky

I (Tim) received three CDs for my birthday. Here are my reviews:

The other day someone that Heidi works with said “DC Talk doesn’t rap.” That is a sure sign that I am getting old. I am a long time DC Talk fan, but when the three guys started doing solo albums, I only bought Toby Mac’s albums. His first two albums, Momentum and Diverse City were great. His third album, Portable Sounds, does not disappoint. He still does a great mix of rock, hip hop, and gospel without sounding stale. I like this new album a whole lot.

Demon Hunter is heavy. Their previous album, Summer of Darkness, was about as heavy as I could take. Their latest effort, the Triptych, is a little less heavy but no less brilliant. They add even more melody and two haunting ballads. I got the special edition, which has three acoustic bonus tracks, including their show stopping “My Heartstrings Come Undone”. I bet they are great live. I like this album a whole lot, too.

I am a sucker for the Rocky movies. As well as being enjoyable movies, they contain great music, or, more specifically, great 80’s music. I now have the Best of Rocky soundtrack. It contains such gems as “Eye of the Tiger”, “No Easy Way Out”, and “Burning Heart”. Of course, there are also the fantastic instrumentals. This is the kind of music you listen to before or during a workout. Good stuff.

Yesterday was my Birthday!!!

Hooray! I love my birthday. Well, except for last year. Tim was sick and I worked, so we couldn't really celebrate. But that's ok, b/c this year was great! I had breakfast with a new friend from work, then got my eyebrows waxed at Juut (for the first time!) with some more friends from work, and then we headed across the street to Cafe Latte for some yummy dessert. And then I visited a dear friend at the Bibelot where she gave me a darling gift and then I headed home to my sweet husband who got me gifts I would never buy for myself but really wanted - perfect! Then we went for sushi and came home to munch on Good N Plentys and watch a movie, a wonderful day!!

I wanted to sent a special thanks to everyone who sent me emails and hilarious e-cards yesturday, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your kind words and watching those great cards. THANKS for making my birthday extra special, friends like you are great!!

Heidi's Birthday was yesterday!

Yesterday was Heidi’s birthday. 28 years old. I sure am grateful that God brought Heidi into my life. Marriage has been even better than I expected. I sure do love my Sweet Baboo.

Last night we celebrated Heidi’s birthday by eating Sushi. There is a place near our house, on Nicollet and 26th Street, called Azia, that we decided to try. It was good. The California roll with Tempura was incredible. We also got a spicy tuna roll and a smoked salmon roll. We liked the salmon roll a little better than the tuna. The total bill, with tip, was $25. If you don’t buy beverages, Sushi can be a reasonable meal.

Diaper Wars and Flyboys

On Friday night we had an overnight event with the Lost N Found (young adults) group at church. It was great fun. There were about 20 people that showed up, but not all stayed the whole time. We started with mixer games and pizza, followed by Diaper Wars. The Fellowship Hall was turned into the Diaper Wars arena and a good time was had by all. Julie finally tore us away to play Sardines. After we had our fun sneaking though a darkened church, we settled in for a movie in the Sanctuary. Sahara was the film of choice. With the ending of the movie, the few of us that were left crashed on the floor of the Fellowship Hall. We all deemed it a success event.

On Sunday night Heidi and I rented Flyboys, a little known movie about WWI pilots that just came out on DVD. The movie is pretty clean and contains a sweet, but unnecessary, love story. The audience gets to learn a little about the dangers of flying the early biplanes and what it took to learn how to fly and fight with new and generally untested technology. While weak in character development, the movie’s strength is the aerial combat sequences. The scene where the pilots try to take down a well defended Zeppelin is just fantastic. Flyboys is not a perfect movie, but worth checking out.

It is a beautiful day. Unfortunately there will not be time for one of my favorite activities in the whole world, which is walking around a lake with my Sweet Baboo. I sure do love my Sweet Baboo.

Movie Review: Amazing Grace

Last night Heidi and I ventured out to the new Rosedale theatre with Eric and the Candace to check out Amazing Grace. The movie is the story of William Wilburforce, a member of the British parliament who led the crusade to abolish slavery in England in the late 1700’s. It is a good story and it was well told.

Heidi and I agreed that we would have like to have seen more interactions between Newton and Wilburforce, since those scenes were some of the best in the film. The scenes where the evil of the slave trade was portrayed were well done. I felt like we understood how awful it was, but it was not gratuitous. The movie was also realistic with how the fight for Abolition took its toll on the people. They paid a high price for another person’s freedom and that inspires me. The movie does make it clear that Wilburforce drew his inspiration for social reform from his Christian faith and the Christians in the movie were portrayed in a positive light. Heidi and I agree that we recommend this movie.

One last thought. Hollywood puts out lots of garbage. Let’s vote with our money. We should pay to see movies like Amazing Grace and be more discerning about what else we put into our minds. It begins with me.

Great moment:
The speech about Wilburforce after the final vote at the end of the movie was fantastic.

Great line:
John Newton: Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly. I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.

Snow. Lots of snow.

We got a lot of snow on Sunday. Nothing like my poor family and friends have been getting in Denver, but it was enough to make my wish I had a snow blower. The funny thing is that everyone was freaking out about it, as if this is not a normal thing in MN. In fact, if it had not been such a mild winter, people would not even think twice about it. Now we are supposed to get another major snow tomorrow. I don’t mid all the snow, but it would have been nice to space it out more.

I was not going to post anything about football until next fall, but I have to write a memorial. Damien Nash, the Broncos third or fourth string running back, died of heart failure last Saturday at age 24. There was not any alcohol, drugs, or foul play involved. Evidently he had an unknown heart condition that caused his heart to stop working. He was with his wife and 7 month old daughter at his St. Louis home when he collapsed. Doctors could not revive him. From all that I have heard, he was a decent kid who loved football. He is now the 2nd Broncos player to die since the first of the year. Did coach Shanahan make some kind of deal with the devil? (Satan, not Al Davis) What the heck is going on?

A balmy February day in Minnesota

Yesterday it was a balmy 46 degrees in Minneapolis, so Heidi and I took a walk around Lake Calhoun. First we visited Jamba Juice so that we would have enough energy to make it around. The east side of the lake was a little cold with the wind whipping across the ice, but we enjoyed being out in nature. I love walking and talking with my Sweet Baboo.

Upon finishing our walk, we headed to Trader Joe’s to pick up a couple items. We ended up bringing some sushi home for dinner. It was tasty. During our excursion we felt like we were trendy Uptown residents. Every once in a while it is interesting to see how trendy people with money live, but that is not who we are or want to be.

Did anyone watch Lost last night? Heidi and I felt that it was a boring episode. There was a promise of mysteries being revealed, but what were they? The meaning of Jack’s tattoos? Who cares? I am not ready to give up on Lost yet, but they need to pick it up a little. It is moving too slowly for my taste.

I sure do love my sweetums.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight for supper I made heart shaped garlic-cheddar biscuits and heart shaped cupcakes with pink frosting and v-day sprinkles to be served on conversation heart valentine plates. (In addition to a meat, starch, and veggie of course!) Super cute. And I have heart shaped Gobstoppers on the table as a classy appetizer. Wow, I spoil Tim, you might be thinking. Well, I am sad to disappoint, but this is not for him. While he deserves the world for what an amazing husband he is to me :) , this is mostly for Kate, a friend who is coming over for dinner tonight to hear about Senegal. Wanted to bless her with a fun V-day since she's an available women :) - (Hope that's ok to say!!)

If we're still here next Vday we can invite some more of our single friends over for heart-shaped treats!!! Start the sign up sheet.

Some other friends of ours are still trying to find a way to "celebrate" be-headings today to honor ST. Valentine, who was martyred for his faith on this day.

Tim did give me flowers and candy. I just love Good 'N' Plenty's!!! Just wanted to give you a taste of our Valentine's Day!

Little Miss Sunshine: the new Napoleon Dynamite?

Heidi and I heard several times about this great new little indie movie, Little Miss Sunshine. When we found it in the Redbox, we figured it might be worth a dollar. In many ways, this movie is like Napoleon Dynamite, another indie movie that hit the big time. The similarities are many. Both movies feature quirky families with a grandparent that does not act their age. Both movies feature out of date houses and vans that almost serve as characters. (My first car had a problem with the horn similar to the VW bus.) Both movies feature a climactic dance sequence. Finally, both movies featured unique camera work, catchy lines, solid acting and redemption. However, there is one significant difference between the two movies. While Napoleon was PG rated and clean, LMS is dirty. Really dirty.

There were three problems I had with LMS. The first was that they used the F-word early and often. I had to check to make sure we were not watching a Quentin Tarantino or Spike Lee movie. Seriously, did copious amounts of swearing add to the plot? The second was the “gee, isn’t porn funny?” scenes. No, pornography is not funny. The final thing absolutely destroyed the movie for me. The climatic scene of the movie features a 7 year old girl doing a striptease as her talent at the pageant. That is not okay. Even though she was dressed the entire time and it was played for laughs, it was not okay. That is never okay.

For all the things that the filmmakers did right with LMS, there was just too much that was wrong about it. It feels to me like a waste.

It's getting cold out here, so put on all your clothes. . .

We were spoiled this winter with some pretty mild weather, at least by Minnesota standards. That came to an end last week. Now we have been having weather that only exists in a Floridian’s worst nightmare. Yesterday it was -17 degrees when I (Tim) drove to work. Today the high will probably be somewhere around 7 degrees and by the weekend we may have highs around 14 degrees. To top it all off, there is hardly any snow. It has been a strange winter in Minnesota.

My favorite Super Bowl commercial was the Taco Bells lions. Number 2 has to be David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey watching the game together for CBS. Good stuff. Did anyone else have a favorite?

Yesterday we had a training meeting with Paul McVety, our M:MM contact and the Herzbergs. After our meeting with Paul we headed to Chipotle (yum) with Joe and Cara and talked for a long time. It was fun to get to know them and just enjoy some fellowship. They are good people.

Our support raising continues to go well. We feel blessed.