Striving to be Missional

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. --Matthew 5:10

We hardly endure persecution for what we believe, living in America. This week I have been continually reminded of the statement that believers will be blessed when they ARE persecuted. An article from the Desiring God ministries, A Call to be Truly Missional, reminds us that we should all have a missions mindset and therefore endure suffering to bring the gospel to unreached parts of the world. Regardless of where we are, a busy city in CA or a small village in Africa, we should seek to "make disciples of all the nations."

With the popularity of social justice movements going on today, I was challenged when I heard this at church a week ago:
"...are we addressing the bigger issue? Who cares if we shoe every homeless child, if they still die in their sins, right? Who cares if we feed every hungry person, but if they still die in their sin, we are not meeting the greater need."

Is what we are doing today going to have an temporary benefit or eternal one?

GirlTalk Blog

I subscribe to many different blogs (maybe too many), and I am always so encouraged by the ladies on the GirlTalk Blog: conversations about biblical womanhood and other fun stuff.

They started a 5'oclock Club in 2010 (I think) to encourage other ladies to wake up early to sit at Jesus's feet before the spouse and kiddos got up and the day began. It would be a nice goal to do one day, if I could ever get to bed before 11, but I was specifically encouraged by this posting, Fighting laziness and pursuing holiness. Our perseverence brings glory to God, as we continue to grow in a full understanding of Scripture. So whether it be a 5,6,7, or 8:00 club, sitting at His feet is what is most important.

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
-Philippians. 1:9-11

Taking on Phil's BBQ Broham

One of our favorite things to get at Phil's BBQ chain in San Diego, is the Broham (a delicious pile of pulled pork shoulder on a bun). Tonight I tried to recreate it using this crock-pot recipe (click for recipe) I found online. It lacked the crisp, smokey flavor, but for a first try, I think it worked well. For BBQ sauce, we used our favorite Sweet Baby Ray's (can't go wrong). We had very little leftovers, but if anyone is interested, we can make it again sometime and have a BBQ party. :)


































On a different note, we had the LBC Retreat this past weekend where Jonathan Leeman spoke and challenged us to think about church membership, discipline, and true love. You can hear his first sermon here and the rest in the archive.

We think we might have a distant relative in common... no? haha

Christmas 2009

Another December was spent with family and friends to celebrate the birth of Christ. This year we sang in the LBC Christmas concert. :) See if you can spot us in the photo below.

Some of our family got to cheer us on, even our Great Uncle Don came from Texas.

We also welcome John back from boot camp!

As always, great fun went on at home on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning as you will see below:

An excited mom and Bliz

Wii Time!

We also took a trip up to Baldy to play in the "snow" or rather, pile of ice.

Even Ryan decided to play along...

I cannot believe how fast this past year has gone by now that it is almost the New Year!

Good Bye 2009!

Thankful

I usually think of Thanksgiving as a day to stuff my face with delicious food, but tonight the thought of Thanksgiving really hit me. We have so much to be thankful for...

We baked a turkey for the church potluck. Even though I was intimidated by the 20lb turkey, it was much easier than expected, although after cutting it I don't think we fully cooked all of it. Luckily we cooked it the night before, so we had plenty of time to cook it more. Here are some pictures before JM sliced it up with the electric knife (which, by the way, is the coolest knife ever!!!) I was a little scared because he was dancing around with it like it was a toy.