Tim's thoughts on a July day

 The Ghetto BBQ was great. People that did not all know each other mixed well, the weather was perfect, and we enjoyed some tasty food. We will likely do another one before the snow flies. Matt Carlquist gets special recognition for bringing a fancy salad with homemade dressing.
 We rented two movies from the RedBox in the past week. The first, Firewall, starring Harrison Ford, was a rip-off of The Fugitive and a complete waste of time. The script was lame and Ford is getting too old for these kinds of movies. The second, Glory Road, was kind of like Remember the Titans, only with college basketball. It is an interesting story, told in a family friendly way. Both Heidi and I would recommend it. If you rent it, be sure to watch the bonus documentaries. They are short and include interviews with the actual players and coaches.
 Heidi and I met up with her family for a cookout at Lake Nokomis on Sunday afternoon. Her parents found a quiet spot with some picnic tables and we had an enjoyable time. We finished the afternoon by walking around the lake. It was a beautiful day, too.
 I applied for a job at Habitat for Humanity that would be totally sweet. I would appreciate y’all to be in prayer about this.
 Heidi and I love our church. Bethel Christian Fellowship is a unique church and not so much seeker-sensitive, and we are blessed by it every Sunday.
 Heidi is the best. I totally love her. She is the cutest of all time.

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.

Movie Review: X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Anyone who knows me (Tim) knows that I am a big dork and that I love comic books and superheroes and stuff like that. The X-Men have held a special place in my heart since Jr. High. They are the fringe heroes who often are shunned by the society they risk their lives to protect. I am always nervous when Hollywood gets their hands on something I like, since too often they mess it up. I liked the first two X-Men movies, but felt they were a little slow moving. My fears that the third movie would be bad were unfounded. I loved it. The pacing was great and I loved the special effects. The new characters were well done, especially Beast and the Juggernaut. I recommend this movie. (Heidi liked it, too.)

Sweet scenes: Kitty Pryde vs. the Juggernaut
Wolverine vs. the Sentinel
The final battle

Great line: Pyro: (to Juggernaut) Nice helmet.
Juggernaut: It keeps my face pretty.

Turd in the punchbowl: There was no fight between Colossus and the Juggernaut (I know, I am a dork.)

Keep your hands where I can see 'em

Last night as I came home from church I pulled into the alley and a cop car was blocking the way into our driveway. Not really what I expected to see. I quickly realized that nothing was wrong concerning Tim or our tenants, but apparently the two suspects had pulled into our driveway with the cops hot on their trail. Tim was out working in the yard and actually had to duck under the outdoor stairs b/c the police had their guns pulled! The suspects were between Tim and the police right in our yard! Crazy. Nothing "exciting" was going on by the time I got home, so I went inside. Another day in the Phillips neighborhood I guess!

world of opportunities!

I found out yesturday that in a couple weeks I have a Saturday morning off and I didn't even need to request it. Not having to get up at 4am to make coffee on a Saturday morning is like Christmas! So I think we will maybe go camping since it's like a "free Saturday." Hooray!

Roni had her baby, Nolan Jacob and he's super cute! Long and lean like his parents. Yay - I'm an auntie!!

Museum Exhibit Review: Body Worlds

Body Worlds is cool. If you have not heard of it, Body Worlds is an exhibit that travels around the world and recently came to the Science Museum of Minnesota. Heidi and I went with our friend Tammy last Friday night. I was not sure what to expect. Seeing real dead bodies up close has never interested me, but the exhibit was extremely interesting. (I did resist the urge to shout out “I see dead people!” when we entered the exhibit.) The most amazing part for me was witnessing the brilliance of God’s creation. Seeing how complex the human body is and how one missing part could cause the entire thing to cease functioning was awesome. After seeing this exhibit, there is no way you could believe that life happened by mere chance. It is far too complex and wonderful. I recommend taking in the exhibit. It will be in St. Paul until September.

I do have to mention this, however. The entire body is shown. Even parts usually covered by underwear. Children under the age of about 13 probably are not ready for something like this.

Body Worlds

If anyone wants to join us to see the new Science Museum exhibit, Body Worlds, we are going this Friday! I can't wait!!

Just another night

Last night as we were falling asleep around 11pm, we heard shouting from the street and about 7 or 8 gunshots go off very close by. Tim ran to the window in time to see a dark sedan drive away and a few people run off on foot. I called 911 and reported it and in about 10 minutes there were cop cars and we could see them looking around with flashlights on the corner. We heard some shouting and then they jumped back in the car, drove a little ways down and camped out there a while. Eventually an ambulance came. Someone was definately hurt. The whole thing was a little crazy.

update

Let me just say that I (Heidi) am very thankful that our bodies forget what pain feels like. Someday this pain will be nothing but a vague memory and a reminder of God's goodness!

It has been ages since I've blogged and I wanted the world to know that I am still alive. We have been so busy with finishing up with our Perspectives class and I haven't had time to do things like clean or shave my legs, let alone blog! But here I am, taking a break from cleaning the house to say hello.

Some news: my brother got engaged a few weeks ago and we are so excited for them! Ellen will be a great addition to the family! We are having a little engagement party for them tomorrow night. Also, Tim and I were trying to plan a trip to Las Vegas (weird I know) but no one wanted to come with us, so we decided to wait and maybe try to go somewhere else next year. After all the talk about vacationing with another couple, or two, we opted to wait until it would work out better. The more the merrier! So if anyone has any good ideas, let us know. And last but not least, my good friend Roni is bursting with child and due any day now and I am THRILLED to be aunt Heidi once again. Yay baby Sheck! I would post pics of my cute prego friend, but unfortunately that could take me all afternoon and I don't have that kind of time! Maybe once the kiddo is born I can.

That's all, have a great day.

Oh, I almost forgot, if you could keep me in your prayers I would love you for it, it's been a rough week. Thanks!

You forget what it felt like.

The human body is amazing. It forgets pain. Try to remember exactly what something painful felt like. You can’t. You can remember that something hurt, but you cannot remember the exact pain. That explains how women agree to give birth again. They forget exactly how it felt. While no where near as painful as giving birth (or so I’ve heard), running a marathon is painful. Still, I keep doing it. I (Tim) signed up for the 2006 Twin Cities Marathon. I forgot about the pain and just remembered the good parts of my last four marathons. This time I roped Eric Unger in to be my training partner. It should be fun, or at the very least, interesting.