The Grashams in Delaware

Amazing Life!

2006-05-15T10:02:00.000-05:00

So I figured it's time for an update. Not much different has been going on since the last update. Church is going well, averaging in the mid 120s now. Spent time in Indiana after Easter. Good to get away and see family and a lot of Warsaw people. Spent some time sick last week, as well as Susan finishing it up this week. Took Eli to a duPont Children's Hospital to check out a funky infected rash on his scalp. Fun stuff.

Sometimes it's just not easy thinking of stuff to write on here. You know, when you grow up and you're basically living the same life every day, it can be a bit boring and seem a bit mundane. Life doesn't slow down for us here though. I continually enjoy what I'm doing. There have been days of extreme frustration, but I don't know that I would trade it for much of anything right now. Except maybe a 2 week vacation in the sun with my wife. Like that's happening anytime soon. (note tongue in cheek)

Our life is good. Not always easy, especially with three boys now, but still good. I was talking with someone recently about living and doing church work out here. I was telling them that I don't know that I could go back to the midwest any time soon. There are so many new opportunities here on the east coast. I am fascinated by it. I'm overwhelmed by it sometimes, in a good way. It invigorates and enlivens me thinking about all the possibilities that are out here. WOW is about all I can say.

Anyway, enough of the tangent on the east coast. Isaac is playing baseball and having a blast. He is one of the youngest on the team so he sits more than the others. Not saying it's right, but it's a fact. He is figuring out timing with the pitching machine. Really cool. He was 3-3 the other day and scored 1 one. He's having fun and that's important.

Riley is Riley. He is our choleric personality. He makes life fun for me, the phlegmatic. (I've been reading again, haven't I?) He loves people and being around people and controlling people. LOL.

Eli is adorable. He smiles a lot and lights up a room with his smile. We had pictures taken just over a week ago and he smiled the whole time. Neither the photographer nor Mom and Dad had to work very hard to get him to "ham it up" for the camera.

Susan is doing well. For Mother's Day I gave her the illness that I battled most of last week. Aren't I generous and thoughtful? Having three kids and being sick I saw how hard mothers really work. And then I found out first-hand when Susan did get sick. What an amazing wife I have!!

What an amazing life I have, too!!

Absolutely Amazing

2006-04-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

How to describe the roller coaster that we've been on over the last 2 weeks or so?!? Absolutely amazing!! If you are a somewhat faithful reader to this here blog, you might know about our church's Community Day and Egg Hunt that we were putting on April 15. Well that day has now come and gone. And all that's left to be said is, "Wow!!"

First of all, I had been working with a company to send out 10,000 postcards to our community inviting them to worship with us this Easter, as well as to the Community Day. Well, those cards did not go out. Long story and don't care to rehash it here. So we're a bit frustrated at that time. After finally "discussing" with them that I would kindly like my money back, they agreed and we made other plans to announce. Thankfully, we had already placed an ad in the local newspaper. I called and asked them to enlarge it to a full-page ad. Yes, that's right. Full-page. Color.

Amidst all this stress as well as other issues being dealt with (sick kids, etc.), we were praying a whole lot. I had finally turned it over to God and said that if we reached one person, if one family came to this event, it would be worth it. Saturday came and we saw God move in an absolutely amazing way. People came.....and came.....and came.....and came. At the end of the day, we estimate that there were approximately 600-700 people at our event on Saturday. WOW!!!!!! I was able to share the resurrection story with at least 450 of them. How great that was!! We were all totally exhausted, but a good exhausted.

Of course, I had to be back at the school from 6-8:30pm for our praise team practice. Long day. Sunday at church we hit our highest attendance yet......145. This was also with about 20 regulars not there. What a great day!! God is so good.

In all this I have been reminded of the David Crowder Band song that says, "Take my frets. Take my fears. All I have, I'm leaving here. Be all my hopes. Be all my dreams. You're my delight, my everything. I will worship You, Lord. Only You, Lord. I will bow down before You. Only You, Lord."

In all of it He was there saying, "Trust me. I got you covered here, Tim. You let go and let me take control."

Thank you, Lord!!

How Refreshing......A New Post

2006-04-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

So I really needed to post. Life has been quite the chaotic madhouse for about 2 weeks now. In fact, we were supposed to be in Indiana this week for a visit, but that was postponed because Isaac and Riley were both sick.

Things are still going quite well though. As I said, life is chaotic. Today was Isaac's first day back at school in a week and a half. I'm not so sure he wanted to go back to school. After all, he discovered that there is a whole other "cartoon world" out there while he is at school. At any rate, he went back today and we look forward to seeing him this later this afternoon.

Riley is Riley. He went to his first speech therapy session today and did well. It should be interesting for us, having already gone through this with Isaac.

Eli is growing and doing very well. His mysterious rash is all but gone right now. He smiles a lot and laughs quite a bit too. He is even "cooing" some. That's something that neither one of the other 2 did very much. My theory is that if he wants to be heard later, he better get started now.

Susan and I are doing good too. We really hated postponing our trip to Indiana, but it had to be done. We have both stayed relatively healthy through this little bout the boys had. I was down for about 36 hours, but, thankfully, Susan and Eli have been pretty much healthy.

Life at Northeast Christian Church is as exciting as ever. Our website is finally starting to come together. It still needs some work, but it's coming. Check it out here, http://www.nechristianchurch.com . Our big Community Day and Egg Hunt will be April 15. Lots of publicity has been going out for that. We have done a mailer to 10,000 homes in the area. This is primarily to get word out that we are here. Maybe we'll get some response to it. VBS plans are coming together. Anyone want to come out and volunteer to help us???? June 26-29, 2006.

That's the latest. That's the news. Keep praying. We're praying for you.

Peace

2006-03-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the clarity of this pic. Camera is quite weird. But I promised one of Susan with Eli. After all, it is her who has him most of the time. Riley just wanted to join in the fun on this one.

Last night was a much needed night with Eli. I had a very "interesting" time at small group and was somewhat frustrated when I came home. Of course I have agreed to do the 2am bottle feeding. Lately it has involved much screaming (from Eli) and a few messy diapers. Last night he awoke at 2am. I rushed to make the bottle and feed him. Generally when he is done eating he, first of all, fills his diaper. (Did not happen last night!) Secondly, he cries because, well, I'm not really sure why.

Last night, though, he finished his eating and instead of spitting out the nipple and screaming, he pushed it out with his tongue and just looked up at me very contented. I cannot tell you how rare and special this moment was. He stayed there, looking at me, for some time until he began to doze off back to sleep. Not once last night did I need to use the pacifier to calm him down or get him back to sleep. What a peaceful, serence moment it was last night.

Of course, that was followed by me going back to bed at 2:30 and not being able to go to sleep until sometime after 3:30. Two nights in a row of that stuff. I'm the one who's supposed to be able to fall right back asleep. Maybe tonight I pray.

That's the news. That's the update. Enjoy your day and the peace that God provides.

New Pics

2006-03-17T11:16:00.000-05:00

Ok! So isn't he absolutely adorable. It actually looks like he's trying to smile in the middle pic. My goal for the next post is to get pics of he and Susan and he and Isaac.

He's growing and getting bigger and more comfortable every day. He loves sitting in his swing and chilling out. What a blessing he is!!

Things are busy here. We are still in the process of getting everything worked out for our community day coming up April 15. Should be lots of fun and lots of stress leading up to it.

Not sure what else to post other than we're all excited for signs of spring. Hope you all are enjoying signs of new life as well.

It's About Time!!!

2006-03-07T12:08:00.000-05:00

Well it's about time isn't it?!? We have received emails asking why there are no new posts with new pics of Eli yet. Well, here goes......no good excuse or reason. But isn't it nice to know that I have heard your cries and am willing to share what we have so far.

Eli continues to grow. (He's a baby. That's what he does.) He has developed a case of baby acne. Reminiscent of my teen years. He cries a lot. He eats a lot. He sits in his swing a lot. But he gets more and more comfortable in this world every day.

Susan is doing remarkably well, except for the whole exhaustion part of being a new mother. Eli keeps her busy. I try to help out by keeping the older boys out of her hair for a bit, but sometimes that is impossible.

Isaac is super-stoked about his birthday coming up the end of this month. He's doing great in school and already looking forward to Spring Break. (I didn't think that started until later in school.) We had a meeting with his speech teacher who said that after this next year, she believes that Isaac will be done with speech therapy. That was wonderful news to hear. He is doing so well in his speech.

Riley is definitely a 4 year old. Very active and friendly. Also very demanding and selfish at times. But that goes with being a 4yo, doesn't it? He loves his baby brother and helps out quite a bit at home with him. He is doing much better about getting himself ready in the mornings, much to the delight of his mother and me.

Both boys really dote on Eli quite a bit. In fact, they want to be so close to him all the time that I think it kinda freaks Eli out. He gets nervous when two very antsy boys get right up in his face. But they both love him tremendously and are proud to be big brothers.

I am doing well. Looking forward to a big community day that we will be having on April 15. Easter Egg Hunt included. Hoping that it continues to bless our community and let them know that (1) we're here and (2) we love them. Consistently running over 100 in our worship services now. That is very encouraging. Although numbers are not the most important thing. Making disciples is.

Here are a couple more pics to tide you over for a bit.

A New Update

2006-02-21T12:21:00.000-05:00

So it is definitely time for a post. Life over the past two weeks has been quite chaotic in the Grasham household. Little Eli is a joy (most of the time). Just kidding! He is precious and adorable and looks just like his older brothers. (Sorry, Eli. You'll get over it in a few years.)

As many of you know, we make our annual trip to JBC this week for Homecoming. This year we decided not to go. We really wanted to. It's a great time to see family and friends, especially our friends from West Virginia. But a decision needed to be made and so it was. It was especially difficult since Isaac is off of school all week. He wouldn't have needed to miss any classes. However, traveling with a 6yo, 4yo, and 2 week old would not have been a joyous occasion.

We have been blessed by numerous people since Eli's coming. Susan's mom was here for 2 weeks. My mom was here for 1 week (before breaking her leg falling down our basement stairs). People from church have blessed us with meals and gifts and many, many encouraging words.

Things are going so well at church right now. Every week we reach new heights in attendance, but hopefully in spiritual growth as well. I am excited to be in worship every Sunday. What a blessing the past 3 months have been for me personally here at Northeast Christian Church!

I have a sermon to finish and a Bible study to prepare. So I must go. However, leave some comments if you wish. No demands coming from here. Just as you wish. HA!

Here's a pic or two to hold you over!

HE'S HERE!!!

2006-02-10T11:11:00.001-05:00

Eli David Grasham was born February 9, 2006, at 4:29am. Weighing in at 7lbs. 15oz., and measuring 20 1/2 inches in length, he fits the mold established by his two older brothers.

Both mother and baby are doing well. They will return home from the hospital no later than Saturday.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us during this. We definitely needed them this last week. Details about that and, hopefully, pictures will follow in later posts.

Edit: Here are the first of several more, I'm sure.

Still No News

2006-02-07T14:11:00.000-05:00

Still no baby yet. Life continues on in anticipation.

Once again another good Sunday at NCC. Record attendance of 109. Last week I was wrong: 100 right on the nose. That makes 4 straight weeks of 100+ in attendance. I do believe that looking always at numbers can be dangerous and almost always foolish, but right now it's nice to see the work progressing here in Delaware.

Baby will be here Thursday and no later unless he delays until very early Friday morning. We will be going to the hospital sometime Thursday morning for inducement. (Is that even a word?) We are all very anxious for Baby G3 to arrive. Especially now that both of our mothers are staying with us here in the house.

Isaac, Riley and, now, my mom have been sick since Saturday. Stay away from us as much as you can!!!

Had a great meeting this morning with my friend, Jay. Good times reading Scripture and talking about new church work in general. Looking forward to spending more time with he and Tom.

Good times here in Delaware, I tell ya!! Anyone planning a trip to beautiful, exotic Delaware anytime soon, look us up!!

Life, As It Has Been Lately

2006-01-30T19:55:00.000-05:00

So I'm not sure exactly what to write about tonight. Life continues on at a typical rate. Church is going great. 98 in attendance Sunday with a number of regulars not present. We had a good "family" congregational meeting. Casting the vision to the rest of the church body.

Susan is still pregnant and uncomfortable. Should/Could be any day/moment now. At least we hope so.

The boys are doing good. Homework is done for the night. That's always a good thing.

Finished The BarbarianWay by McManus. Amazing book. I found it at a discount/closeout store in the area for like $3. Tiny little book packed with a big old punch. Kicked me in the gut a couple of times, that's for sure.

Think I'm going to finish The Passionate Church next. I started it a couple of weeks ago, but was soon committed to finishing A Generous Orthodoxy.
S
o what's going on in your world? I'd love to hear

Barbarians!!!!

2006-01-27T12:56:00.000-05:00

So the past week has been quite eventful. Since my last post, we have visited the hospital to take a tour of the maternity department, enjoyed watching Isaac "play basketball" in his Sat. morning league, and many other semi-important things.

Sunday was another good day at church. I preached a sermon on vision and its necessity in the church. We had another high attendance, 107, with a number of regular attenders absent. This week I preach on strategy and accomplishing our vision and mission. Congregational meeting following the service. Those are usually a lot of fun. (Note the sarcasm.)

I continue to get busier and busier with church details. That may sound like I am complaining, but that is certainly not the case. I am enjoying the details that we are engrossing ourselves in right now. They are the necessary details that must be in place for the church to grow and fulfill its mission of reaching out to our community. I am very, very excited about what's going on here.

Susan had an appointment on Tuesday in which the doctor said everything was looking normal and just to be ready. Thursday morning, Susan thought that possibly her "water" had "broken". (I put it in quotes because I am not sure if those are the real scientific terms for that process.) So we call the doctor and they tell us to go to the hospital. (Good thing we took the tour on Friday night.) After laying in the triage unit for a while enduring multiple contractions they come in to tell us that in fact it was not the case. And so we wait. However, the nurses said, like the doctor, that the baby looks perfectly healthy.

I went to Isaac's school today. It's Dad Comes to School week today and all of next week. I told about my job as a minister/pastor/preacher (depending on what these kids understand it to be), and read a book to them. After reading the book, one of the kids asked me if I could tell them a little bit about God. I looked at the teacher, who has been quite supportive of "religious" efforts in the school, and said, "I could, but I don't think that right now is the best time or place." I did eventually tell them, "I can tell you this: God loves you very much." It was nice to be put in that situation. I look forward to more like it.

Been reading The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. Very good and challenging book. He says that Christians today have become "civilized" and "domesticated" instead of being the barbarian kind of Christians that we see in the New Testament. Very interesting thought. Any comments from you all?

Have a good one. I'll let you know when the baby comes. (At some point!)

World's Worst Blogger

2006-01-20T10:36:00.000-05:00

Am I not the worst blogger in the world? I know for a fact that I am not, but still. Nothing of substance for almost 2 weeks. Yikes!!

Wow! Where to start? Participated in my first funeral in over a year. The joys of working with a new and relatively young congregation. Although it seemed like some of the people were wondering if I've ever done a funeral before in my life. I reassured them that I've been a part of many funerals. One person said, "But not as a senior minister though, right?" Like there's a difference?!?

Been doing an awful lot of reading lately. Still trying to finish McLaren's A Generous Orthodoxy. It's a very good book that raises a lot of valid points about the church today. That book is my goal in the next week. Finish it and start with McManus The Barbarian Way and Miller's Seeking God Knows What.

We had over 100 in attendance 2 weeks ago. That's great. Ordained 3 elders. Even better. Setting up ministry teams. Great. Seeing a whole lot of momentum. Hoping that we can follow God's lead and really begin to reach out to our community.

Susan is feeling as well as can be expected of a 38 week pregnant woman. We are very anxious for this new one's arrival. My mom has been here this week helping us get ready around the house for his coming. Lots of laundry has been done as well as sorting and organizing of Isaac and Riley's clothes. We are feeling more prepared than we were at this point last week. Mom has been a great help to us.

Isaac continues to do well in school. He had a 2nd grade teacher make a comment the other night at a school reading program that she would love to request Isaac for her class next year. That makes us as parents feel very good.

Riley is 4 and showing it. He continues to mature and grow. He understands more and more games and that makes life fun. Except that his attention span is quite short. LOL.

Both boys are excited as well about the baby. They both will venture into the nursery and look around or sit down and play games in there. It's really neat to see them acting that way, already expressing love to their new little brother (we still think).

Anyway, as I continue to read some of these books, don't be surprised if I seek your input on certain topics. I value your input and sometimes even your criticism.

Later.

Update from Christmas

2006-01-06T14:24:00.000-05:00

I know I've needed to update for some time. There really is a lot to tell, but sometimes I wonder if it is worth it. No comments. No thoughts from the outside world. My friend Stevan actually tried blackmailing people into leaving comments. Refused to post until he received 50 comments. How lame! I'm not that desperate (I don't think).

Actually life has been pretty good lately. In the month since I last posted, we have had Christmas here in Delaware, in West Virginia, and in Indiana. We have all spent a little bit of time sick. And we spent a great deal of time in the van.

Susan now has 5 weeks until her due date. We are ready, but she is even more ready. A whole lot more discomfort with this one. (Sign of things to come?!?) She is trying to stay comfortable and off her feet to alleviate the aching.

Isaac is back at school and doing well, although practice spelling test last night was not enjoyable. He starts playing basketball tomorrow in a church league just up the way in Glasgow. Should be interesting again. Much like last year's b-ball experiment.

Riley is now 4. We celebrated his birthday in the same three states we celebrated Christmas. He continues to grow and amaze us. We determined on our whirlwind holiday trip that he needs to drink less. Something about stopping 3 times in 80 miles.

I was very ready and excited to get back to Middletown for church reasons. I feel very excited about what God is going to do in us and through us in 2006. We have been just short of the 100 mark for about a month now. We ordain 3 elders this Sunday and begin to establish our ministry team system in the coming month as well. I don't know if I can fully convey to you my excitement. There is an underlying sense of excitement and momentum. The folks here are just waiting for a direction from these new leaders. Should be a lot of fun this year! Anybody interested in coming out and seeing it?

Gotta run for now. Check out my friend Tom's website here. Great guy and he asks a lot of thought-provoking questions.

Don't forget the comments!

Time Flies

2005-12-16T11:38:00.000-05:00

Wow! Time flies very quickly. There have been days where I have checked the blog, but haven't posted anything. Been quite busy and not a whole lot to say. Things are going well here. December is a busy month no matter where you live. We are doing a lot of things to get ready for Christmas. We've been working on crafts for Isaac's music program at school next week. We've been doing some shopping. We've been doing a lot of reading. We've been chasing a near 4yo all throughout the house trying to get him to put some clothes on or stop drinking chocolate milk. We've been busy.

Still no excuse for not posting as I should. Field trip with Isaac's class was fun. Only male on the trip with a whole host of 1st grade boys who need to use the bathroom. Lots of fun there! Riley and I made our trip to WV to see Dad and Mom and Robert last Thursday. It's nice that they are closer now for day trips even.

Church is going well. I can share with everyone that last Sunday I announced that 3 of our men will be stepping up to be elders beginning the first of the year. These men are very well qualified and all desire the position. It's exciting because there will, hopefully, be more direction and leadership given. Generally, they do not want a pastor/minister driven church leadership. So this is definitely a good thing.

Children's Program Sunday at church. Those are always interesting. Caroling Sunday night. Meeting at our house and going from there. Sounds like we're gonna have quite a crowd. Makes me nervous thinking about the size of our house with a large number of people present. EEK! Definitely exciting though!

God continues to bless us. Susan has about 8 weeks left. Probably about 8 weeks too long for her right now. She is quite uncomfortable. But both she and the baby are healthy. That's wonderful news.

In case I don't update before Christmas (and everyone knows that's a definite possibility), have a wonderful Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior with those closest to you. Continue to let your light shine and be a reflection of the Light of the world.

Apologies Once Again

2005-12-05T20:02:00.000-05:00

I want everyone to know that I have had every intention of updating this thing before now. However, when i sit down to write, I just don't fee like it. Kind of ironic, no?

Anyway, life is going pretty good. We're getting real busy. Of course, who isn't? It's December. Tomorrow I'm supposed to meet with my ministry buddies up in Glasgow at Starbucks. Good times talking about the Episcopal church. Ha! Good guys, really! Wednesday I will be chaperoning a class field trip for Isaac's first grade class. Should be tons of fun! Susan said she would pack the Tylenol for me. I don't know why she said that.

Dad, Mom and Robert are moving as a I type this. They left Byrdstown, Tennessee this morning and are now somewhere in Virginia most likely. It's odd. I've been super excited about this for quite a while. They are going to be so much closer and we are very glad about that. But it will be farther from my extended family. It started to hit me that I won't get to see my extended family much more unless specific trips are taken to see them. Even now, the enormity of that statement takes a little breath away. I know I haven't been the most present figure in our family for the past 10 years since I graduated from college. But I knew I could count on seeing a majority of my family, especially my mom's side, at least once a year when we vacationed in Tennessee. Now that seems more and more unlikely. Sometimes growing up and getting older is not all it's cracked up to be.

Dad and Mom don't know it yet. In fact, they may read it on here first. Thursday Riley and I are making a road trip to WV to spend the day with them. Can't wait. Close to 3 hours in a car with a 3yo. More fun than a 1st grade class field trip. I'm looking forward to seeing their new home and community and getting a chance to help them a bit.

Well, stuff to do, kids to put to bed. Good Night, Delaware!!!

SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!!!!!

Obligatory Post

2005-11-21T13:26:00.000-05:00

So it's time to update this here blog. Not much exciting has been happening for us here in Delaware. Susan's parents arrived Saturday evening for a nice Thanksgiving visit. I think they are heading back on Friday. So it'll be nice to visit with them for about a week. The boys are super-excited. Isaac is off from school all week. They have parent conferences today and tomorrow and teacher inservice on Wed. So the whole week is free for Isaac to spend with Mamaw and Papaw.

We had a pretty good day at church yesterday. Decent crowd with several regulars not present for various reasons. Found out that one of our members will be moving to Fayetteville, NC, for her work with DuPont next month. That kinda stinks. She was a link back to Indiana and Purdue even. We will miss her friendship a lot. She has been very encouraging.

Yesterday the leaders voted not to buy some land that we have been considering for a couple of months now. The discussion got somewhat heated, but cooler heads prevailed. Right now, I just don't think it is in the best interest of the church to sink so much money (BIG TIME BUCKS) into land when it might be better used investing in people. There will be more opportunities for land when the time is right. Hopefully everyone understands that too.

Dad and Mom will be moving in a couple of weeks. Sometimes it hits me that Byrdstown will not be their home anymore. Not that I was especially attached to Byrdstown, since we moved there when I was 16. But that is where we have gone every year. To some extent, I associate Byrdstown with Dad and Mom. Don't get me wrong. I'm very excited for the opportunity that they will have in the Hedgesville area of WV. Just sort of weird thinking about not returning to Byrdstown anymore. I'm sure it's harder on my brother who has become very attached to the community there. Pray for him and for my parents as they all prepare for this move.

Well, I really need to work on my sermon instead of updating this thing. Hopefully, it has given me enough inspiration and creativity to continue what I was doing before I started doing this.

Phone numbers, lost books, sports and other greetings

2005-11-16T13:46:00.000-05:00

So far so good today. Except that I hate dealing with doctors and insurance companies. Not fun at all. No need to go into that though.

We have had three days of school this week here in Middletown and each day either Susan or I have been in Isaac's school. Susan went up again today to help in the library. She gets very tired but it makes her feel good to help and it's good for her to get out of the house a little bit.
Went to Wal-Mart this morning and picked up a new phone with digital messager today for the new church line being put in tomorrow. I'm very excited about this. It's almost like it's official now. We are a real church because we have our own phone number and not just our pastor's number. It's a big step for us.

Spent several hours last night looking through boxes and shelves for a book that I borrowed from a couple at church. Can't find it anywhere!!!! I told Susan that I even remember seeing it since the move, but at midnight last night still no sign of it. Oh well. It will turn up.

I'm very proud of major league baseball and the players union for their new steroid policy. First time = 50 game suspension. Second time = 100 games. Third time = lifetime ban from baseball, with reevaluation 2 years later. WOW!! Maybe this will finally tell guys to give up the "juice". It's not beneficial to them. It's not beneficial to the game. This policy says that both the owners and the players are serious about cleaning up the game.

Will someone please DEFEAT the Detroit Pistons?????? Maybe it'll just have to be the Pacers coming up soon. Wouldn't that be great!! HA!!

Actually watched a little hockey last night. It was a shootout at the end of the game. Very exciting! Maybe hockey is coming back strong. Whatever!!

So now that the sports references are out of the way, I need to say Happy Birthday to my Dad, Gene Grasham!! Dad is getting older and older every year. Amazing how that happens. But even more amazing is that he gets wiser and wiser every year. Or maybe it's just me finally taking the time to listen and appreciate it. Anyway, Happy Birthday , Dad!

Gotta run!!

Regular Ol' Tuesday Night

2005-11-15T18:28:00.000-05:00

So it's Tuesday night and I'm hanging out in the basement with the boys. Susan has her ladies Bible study here tonight. So Tuesdays become boys night together in "the hole". Isaac and I will probably spend some time reading another Hardy Boys mystery. It's really cool because it's really taking me back to my childhood days. I love reading the Hardy Boys. I remember even setting up a mystery solving club when i was in elementary school. Maybe that's where Isaac gets it from. Reading over those previous statements again makes me really sound like the geek that I was.

I went into the school this morning and helped Isaac's class take a reading assessment test on the computers. It was a lot of fun seeing the kids working on it. I was proud because Isaac did quite well, in my totally unbiased opinion of course.

Tomorrow is Small Group at 7:30am followed by a possible visit in Newark to an older couple from the church. Susan has another doctor's visit tomorrow morning as well. Then I'll lead another small group tomorrow night. It definitely has the prospect of being another very busy day.

Today was a good day. It's always nice to have those from time to time. LOL.

Hope you all have had a good day too!!

Change?!?!

2005-11-15T12:27:00.000-05:00

I know I need to update this thing more often than I do. Maybe I need to do it for therapy. Maybe I need to do it to actually communicate with people. I'm not sure why. But for some reason I feel as though I should update more. Not that there's a lot to update people on.

Life is about the same here in the busy state of Delaware. We had a pretty good day Sunday in church. Probably about the same amount of people as we have been having. I believe firmly, with all my heart, that God is going to bless us with an abundance at Northeast. I'm not sure what holds us back. I don't think it's me, but there is something there. I spoke Sunday on change. Change is necessary if we call ourselves Christians. I'm afraid that even this could have been interpreted differently, though.

Even though God is unchanging in His character, He has used different methods to reach people throughout the history of the world. Think about it. Christians didn't have Bibles to read in their own language until the past 5 centuries. How did the church grow in the Dark Ages? God made a way. The same goes with today. I'm afraid some people will here those words, God never changes, and believe that He wants us to do the same things that we've been doing for the past 100 years to reach people with the gospel. What a shame if that is the case!

Just sorting through some thoughts this afternoon. Susan and I watched the classic 80s movie, Chariots of Fire Sunday night with another couple from church. I had forgotten how meaningful that movie really is. What's even more amazing is that it actually won several Academy Awards. AND IT'S A GOOD MOVIE!!! Very moving and challenging! It may bore you for a while, but the message is tremendous.

Trying to get some work done this afternoon. I called and got a church phone number set up finally. Sure, it will ring in our house, but it's the church's number. We can finally change our answering machine back to a normal message. Still got to work some more on my sermon for next week. Looking at the game Risk and how we need to step out and do more for God. Should be fun!

Comment me back if you feel like it! Later!!!

Busy times

2005-11-09T15:44:00.000-05:00

Life just keeps speeding by. I always have the best of intentions of updating this thing, but it always ends up on the "back burner". Life has been pretty good the past week. I thoroughly enjoyed the David Crowder Band concert last Friday. Absolutely amazing! The sr. pastor at his church in Waco died of electrocution a week and a half ago. The concert on Friday was their first since the funeral. Very emotional and worshipful. Amazing is the best word that I can use for it. Absolutely amazing!

Riley spent a couple of days last week puking. Being a parent can be so much fun sometimes. Last Thursday after the "fun" started, Susan asked Riley if he was feeling better. To which he replied, "Yeah, since I'm not pooping out my mouth." How funny is that!! He's feeling much better now.

Soccer is officially over for Isaac and me now. I really had a good time coaching the team. Even though I was completely inadequate for the job. My assistant coach talked with me after the game on Saturday about coaching together next year too. Can't wait. Really!! I can't.

I spoke today at Red Lion Christian Academy in their chapel services. Lots of fun speaking specifically to teens again, but relieved that I don't have to deal with youth ministry issues all day, every day. Too emotional for me.

I'm excited for Dad and Mom. They will be moving to Hedgesville, WV in a couple of weeks. Dad will begin ministering at the Tomahawk Christian Church. We're excited because they will only be about 3 hours away from us.

Anyway, I need to finish my small group lesson for tonight. Have a good one!!!

One Week and Counting

2005-10-17T18:12:00.000-05:00

Wow! It's been a week since I last posted. That is hard to believe. Time does have a way of racing by. We continue to stay busy both in the church and in the community. We continue to see more and more that needs to be done in church. Hopefully, in the next month or so, we will transition to a ministry team format at the church. Right now, it just seems like there is a lot of chaos. Everything gets done, but we're not exactly sure how. It should be an interesting and challenging transition.

Soccer is going well. We had our ice cream party on Saturday after the game. We won a banner contest at the beginning of the year. Good times with the kids. Locked the keys in the van and had to have a family drive me to the house so I could break in through a window and get the keys. How embarrassing!

Dad and Mom had their first Sunday without a ministry for a long time. They went to visit my Granddad in Kentucky for his birthday. Things are beginning to look up for them though. More opportunities are presenting themselves for them.

Keep us in your prayers as we enter this very delicate and difficult transition time at church. I, personally, am being stretched and challenged by God during this. I know God will have His way, but sometimes I just wish it wasn't so frustrating going through it. Just kidding. Not really.

Have a good one!!

We're still here

2005-10-10T13:30:00.000-05:00

So it's been a while since I posted. We spent last week in Indiana visiting Susan's family and some friends from Warsaw. It was nice to be there during harvest season.

It was especially good to visit with our Warsaw friends: Carrie Schneider, the Boschains, the McDonalds and Ashley Justice. Always nice to reconnect with people after being away for so long.

Good to be back in Delaware, though. Lots of work still to be done here in Middletown. We were missing some families yesterday in church. Still could be close to that 100 hump. Both boys have been under the weather a bit. Isaac before we left and after we returned and Riley while we were away. Hopefully they're both turning the corner though.

I talked with Dad and Mom last night. Yesterday was Dad's last Sunday preaching at Byrdstown. Sometimes that's hard to believe. They've been there over 15 years now. That really makes it hard to leave. It's hard to imagine not going back to Byrdstown to see them, but exciting to think about the new adventures that are in store for them elsewhere. Although, I'm sure that's not exactly the thoughts rushing through their minds. Keep them in your prayers.

Gotta run and finish this weeks sermon.

Random Thoughts Jumping Around in My Head

2005-09-30T14:41:00.000-05:00

So it's been a little while since I posted. This week has been quite crazy. I'm still trying to sift through everything that happened earlier this week at the retreat. I cannot say how much I needed and enjoyed that. I just wish there were more people there who were in a similar situation. They are all in new churches that they were a part of starting. I, however, am not in that situation.

I don't know if I mentioned it already, but I am now the official head coach of Isaac's soccer team. Our head coach hadn't shown up for about 2 weeks, so I was kind of already the head coach, but now it's official. I'm excited. It's been fun so far. Just tell them to kick it and then tell them to turn the other way and kick it. LOL.

There is a lot to be excited about here in Delaware. But sometimes it's difficult seeing past today. I am realizing more and more that our family is more along the lines of the current demographics of Middletown than most in the church. We have moved here from another state for work and we have small children. That seems to be the status of most people in Middletown. It's such an interesting community. Very comfy and nice though.

We miss the Warsaw library. It was amazing. The library here is located at the high school and is shared with the high school. How crazy is that!! Oh well.

I have also decided that Starbuck's, although tasty, is a waste of money. I can go to Wawa and get a cup of vanilla cream coffee with french vanilla creamer and 2 sugars and I've got a drink just as good as any cappuccino I can get at Starbuck's. And here's the great part............IT'S ONLY $1.09!!!!!! I LOVE IT!

Ok. Enough ramblings. One more: David Crowder Band in Burlington, NJ, November 4th. Can't wait!!

Home Again!

2005-09-27T18:32:00.000-05:00

So I'm back from my retreat this week. I must say that it was very good to be there. The Orchard Group is a church planting organization whose goal is to plant churches in the northeast. Specifically, they are focused on the New York City area. However, they have planted churches as far away as Pittsburgh and Boston.

I learned a lot. I came to realize a lot as well. However, I don't feel ready to fully express those ideas here yet. Maybe at some point I will, but not yet. I still have to sort things through.

Overall, though, it was a blessing. I definitely developed some new friendships with other church planters in this area. They all welcomed me in as if I were a part of the "Orchard Group" churches.

I even got to spend time with an old friend from Johnson Bible College. Kristy (Keck) Steppe and her husband, Jeff, were there. They are planting a church near State College, PA. Kristy and I traveled together for a summer in a singing group. That was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing on some of those experiences with her.

Anyway, that's all for now. I'm tired. Watching the boys during Susan's Bible study. Can't wait to go to bed.

GO VOLS!!!!!!

What a day!

2005-09-22T14:31:00.000-05:00

Today has been a pretty good day. I've been spending a lot of time in my office the past few days. So I've committed to spending as little time as possible down in my "hole".

So this morning I took Riley to story hour at the library. Susan would usually do it, but she was working at the book fair at Isaac's school. Riley and I had a good time, and he behaved wonderfully. Brought my laptop upstairs after we got home and did some work in the living room getting ready for Sunday.

Now I'm lounging on the couch, watching golf, playing GameBoy and typing my blog. Who says guys can't multi-task?!?! It just doesn't get any better than this. LOL

Tonight is soccer practice. Hopefully the coach shows up today. Susan and I also will be going to the school for an open house. Susan has really enjoyed getting involved and doing several activities in the community and school.

Sunday is RACE DAY here in Delaware. I will be racing out of town for a couple of days. I'm headed to Upstate NY to a retreat for church planters by the Orchard Group. Should be interesting. I have lots of questions and will be seeking lots of advice.

Well, enjoy your evening. We're definitely going to try.

Old

2005-09-20T18:09:00.000-05:00

You ever feel old? Maybe not. Today was one of those days for me. I'm beyond feeling old because of people around me. I'm over feeling old because some of my youth group kids from Beckley now have kids of their own. I'm beyond feeling old because one of them is now the youth minister at the church I was at before.

I feel old today because my body is feeling a bit older. Granted, many people would love to look as young as I look. I always hated being asked, as a youth minister, where my youth minister was. Today my knee is aching a little, my neck and shoulder feel a little out-of-whack, and I've become as irritable as an old man.

Oh well. I always said that I couldn't wait to get older. Guess I was asking for this, wasn't I?

There's lots to be encouraged by now here in Delaware. There's still a lot of challenges ahead though. Sometimes I wonder if I'm up to it. Then God reminds me that I'm not, but He is. He is the one that faces all the challenges. He is the one that conquers them. He is in control and I am not. How amazing!!

I'm excited!!! David Crowder Band will be in Burlington, NJ, in November. Can't wait. I want to organize a group to go see them. I think it's somewhere around Trenton, east of Philly.

Did you see the Emmy's the other night? "Raymond" cleaned house. That's good. Very interesting show. Highlight was when Donald Trump dressed up and sang the Green Acres theme song with Megan Mullally. Very funny.

Colts won on Sunday. They now have a DEFENSE!! Watch out Patriots! Watch out Eagles! Peyton hasn't even gotten warmed up yet too.

I know this is a long and random post, but just kinda what's going on in my mind this evening: random thoughts.

Signs of Summer Slowing Down

2005-09-19T10:42:00.000-05:00

So we had a good day yesterday at Northeast Christian Church. We had 95 in attendance with some regulars out. It was a very good day attendance-wise. We had a great special music number by Johnny and Jill, "You Raise Me Up". Very good. I'm amazed more and more every time I hear Johnny's voice. Amazing! He made that song sound easy and effortless. I preached on Seeking God through Prayer. Got to use our brand new wireless lapel mic. Very liberating, indeed!!

Went to Dover afterward to eat at our favorite BBQ place, Where Pigs Fly. Great food. Came home, watched some football, took a little nap. We went swimming yesterday evening at the Duartes. Not many swimming days left in the year.

Well not much more to say. Things are going well. Hope to hear from you soon!!!

Still Reading

2005-09-16T11:36:00.000-05:00

Ok. So that last post was long. In reading my post again, it almost sounded like a forwarded email special. I may be pathetic for this, but I listen to that poem being read approximately 2-3 times a day. It's just that powerful for me.

Anyway, going to a fundraiser tonight for A Door of Hope, the local crisis pregnancy center. Ryan Dobson, son of Dr. James Dobson, is the featured speaker. Susan and I heard him speak in Warsaw less than a year ago. We're looking forward to attending with 2 couples from church. The dinner is at the DuPont Country Club up in Wilmington. Due to the location, we're assuming it is a pretty formal affair. That means I will actually be wearing a jacket or blazer tonight. Went out yesterday to find a nice maternity skirt for Susan to wear.

I've been trying to read a little more fiction the past couple of days. I'm finding that fiction helps with my creativity. It makes my mind think more visually. Of course, that is fiction's desired intent. I think that it will impact my preaching some. Naturally, I'm drawn to the writings of my long-lost relative John Grisham. Just finished Bleachers. I also have King of Torts from the library. Any suggestions for a good novelist to read. Of course, no Harlequin romance novels for me.

Got a note from my Granddaddy today. That was nice to get. I ought to call and talk to him more. We also got an email from Chris Trensey from Warsaw. Another one of those out-of-the-blue notes. Gotten quite a few of those lately. Very nice.

Hope you all are having a great Friday. Keep us in your prayers. We'd really appreciate it if Ophelia would just keep heading out to sea.

Please Read This Poem

2005-09-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

I love this poem. I heard it read by Brian McLaren back in April, but had completely forgotten about it until I listened to the tape from the event. It's lengthy, but well worth the time.

I Stand By The Door
By Sam Shoemaker
(from the Oxford Group)

I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out.
The door is the most important door in the world -
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There is no use my going way inside and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where the door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands,
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it.
So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world
Is for men to find that door - the door to God.
The most important thing that any man can do
Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands
And put it on the latch - the latch that only clicks
And opens to the man's own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die
On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter.
Die for want of what is within their grasp.
They live on the other side of it -
Live there because they have not found it.

Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it,
And open it, and walk in, and find Him.
So I stand by the door.

Go in great saints; go all the way in -
Go way down into the cavernous cellars,
And way up into the spacious attics.
It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is.
Go into the deepest of hidden casements,
Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood.
Some must inhabit those inner rooms
And know the depths and heights of God,
And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is.
Sometimes I take a deeper look in,
Sometimes venture in a little farther,
But my place seems closer to the opening.
So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there.
Some people get part way in and become afraid
Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them;
For God is so very great and asks all of us.
And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia
And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry.
And the people way inside only terrify them more.
Somebody must be by the door
to tell them that they are spoiled.

For the old life they have seen too much:
One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more.
Somebody must be watching for the frightened
Who seek to sneak out just where they came in,
To tell them how much better it is inside.
The people too far in do not see how near these are
To leaving - preoccupied with the wonder of it all.
Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door
But would like to run away.
So for them too, I stand by the door.

I admire the people who go way in.
But I wish they would not forget how it was
Before they got in. Then they would be able to help
The people who have not yet even found the door.
Or the people who want to run away again from God.
You can go in too deeply and stay in too long
And forget the people outside the door.
As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place,
Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there,
But not so far from men as not to hear them,
And remember they are there too.

Where? Outside the door -
Thousands of them. Millions of them.
But - more important for me -
One of them, two of them, ten of them.
Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch.
So I shall stand by the door and wait
For those who seek it.

I had rather be a doorkeeper
So I stand by the door.

Amen!!

This Present Stuggle

2005-09-09T12:30:00.000-05:00

Ok. My last couple of posts previous to yesterdays about our new son have focused on Joel Osteen. I struggle. I struggle reading a book that I don't think really belongs in a Christian bookstore. I struggle. I struggle because I want to give the man the benefit of the doubt. "Whoever is not against us, is for us."

Let me try to explain. When I was in youth ministry and the Harry Potter phenomenon first came on the scene, I was approached constantly by parents seeking my opinion. In other words, I think they wanted me to say that Harry Potter was of the devil. I refused to give them an opinion because I had never read any of the books. I felt I could not answer them sufficiently. So I went to the local library and checked out the latest one at the time, The Goblet of Fire, I think. I was completely captured by the book. But I also read it thinking of my students who would be possibly reading it too. That particular book included the death of certain individuals who were not main characters in the series. Because of this, I recommended to parents that children under middle school might want to stay away, but that it was fun to read.

Having said all that, I feel that many people who are criticizing Joel Osteen are doing the same. They are reading blogs or websites dedicated to the bashing of Joel Osteen and making judgments based solely on what they have read about him and his teaching. I am currently reading Your Best Life Now for a small group that we have. Therefore, I comment only on what I have read to this point. I also have watched him a few times on television.

Again, having said all that, I again reiterate that I struggle. I do not believe that Joel Osteen is the anti-christ. I do not believe that he is of the devil. I do believe that he is preaching spiritual milk and not spiritual meat. Very seldom in the book to this point (chapter 8) has he mentioned the importance of being "content in all circumstances" or of "seeking first His kingdom". I have heard that if you believe, anything can be yours. I have heard that, as a Christian, I deserve preferential treatment. I cannot and will not accept that kind of thinking. I believe wholeheartedly that God wants to bless me, but I also believe wholeheartedly that those blessings may not be seen in a promotion, a bigger house, or more money.

Milk. I venture to even consider it spiritual "skim" milk. Now milk is ok for infants, but people are to mature and take on spiritual meat, more substance. His church of 30,000, although I have never attended, is being fed milk. They in turn will also share milk with others. And the cycle continues. And the gospel is spread, but people may not become growing disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Again, I have no intention of accusing Mr. Osteen of heresy at all. I do just so much wish that he would preach the gospel. That he would preach the life of Christ. That he would tell people that the only way to really have a wonderful life is through a growing, consistent relationship with God through His Son Jesus.

I hope I have offended no one with my comments. If I have, please forgive me. Feel free to comment and let me know what you think about all of this. I cherish input. I have been seeking a lot of input on this topic specifically lately.

Part of my struggle with this can also be attributed to some of the books and studies I've been reading lately too. For a contrast to Osteen, please read Uprising by Erwin R. McManus and A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. My thinking has been continually challenged by these guys in numerous ways.

Have a good one!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!

BABY G3...The News You've All Been Waiting For

2005-09-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

AND THE SEX OF BABY G3 IS..............wouldn't you like to know!!!! Hahahaha!! Today we went to the doctor's office for our ultrasound. Riley went with us while Isaac was at school. The technician asked if we wanted to know what it was or not. We said yes and she told us very quickly that it looked like it was a _______. See, you thought I was going to tell you there. Later during the ultrasound, I asked how confident she was that it was a ______. She said she was very confident that it was a ______. They main thing is that the baby's spine is forming just fine and that the heartbeat and size are quite normal.

Also spent some time this morning with 2 pastor friends over coffee. I'm constantly reminded of how different things are here than in the midwest. One is an Episcopal priest. At one point the topic shifted to homosexuality. Interesting to say the least. Even the Episcopal church in Warsaw seemed to stand close to conservatives on that issue. Good discussions with those guys though. I really appreciate them.

Well gotta run. The bus will be here soon. Soccer practice tonight.

By the way, Baby G3 is a boy.

Apology and more...

2005-09-07T10:20:00.000-05:00

Ok. So I need to apologize to Mr. Joel Osteen. God has a way of humbling us from time to time. This morning's chapter that we read through in Your Best Life Now was actually quite good. Now I'm not quite ready to give him a free pass on everything, but he's got my attention a little bit more. Too bad it took 8 chapters to get it. LOL. Anyway, there...my apology is out there for everyone to read now.

Do you ever get to the point where you're reading too many books at once. Not all at the same time all spread out on a table....that's ridiculous. I have been working through at least three books for over a month now. Almost done with McManus, really starting to get into McLaren, as well as my weekly reading in Osteen. Sometimes I forget what I've read already. Oh well.

I'm leading a new small group tonight. I'm filling in for the next 3 1/2 months for a guy who is changing work shifts for a little bit. Should be interesting. Going into a new group of people. I went last week just to get a "feel" for the group. I'm actually looking forward to it....I think.

OK...another vent. Can we just stop already with the racial accusations going on with Hurricane Katrina?!? A lot of people stayed because they wanted to stay. There is a lot of "blame" to go around, from the local to the state to the federal gov't, but none of it has to do with race. I saw black, white, asian, etc. lined up along those highways. This hurricane affected everyone. The response would have been the same even if it was a lot of white people stranded. Too often the people who have a "voice" should just keep it quiet. The old saying goes, "It's better to remain quiet and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

I think everyone's heart breaks for those who were affected by Katrina. I pray for those people who have been evacuated from their city and their homes. I also pray for those people who are helping them, especially the churches around the country who are taking people in. What a tremendous show of God's love and compassion!!

ULTRASOUND TOMORROW!!!! Looking forward to filling you all in on the news...if you're lucky! HA!!

Definitely a "Venting" Post

2005-09-06T13:15:00.000-05:00

Ok. So I'm reading Joel Osteen's Your Best Life Now. Please forgive me for that. Some of you may really be into Joel's book, but I just can't do it. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Mr. Osteen and his YBLN phenomenon, it basically says that God wants to pour out His favor on you all the time. Now, I will not dispute that. I believe also that God wants to bless us in immensely. However, I also believe that God knows what is best for me.

I wanted to give Mr. Osteen the benefit of the doubt about all this. Thinking that at some point in the first 6 chapters or so, he would mention that above everything else we should seek first God's kingdom. But I have yet to read that. Maybe later in the book he really gets into this critical aspect. But if it hasn't been mentioned in the first several chapters, I highly doubt he will do it later. I have watched Joel on television late at night sometimes. His sermons are biblical, but very repetitive.

Maybe it's me. I just can't buy into a "prosperity gospel". I know that God wants to bless us. But my pleasure, my happiness, is not the most crucial thing in the world. Mr. Osteen seems to trivialize it to getting a prime parking at a park. I don't think that God favors us in those ways. I don't know. Just venting. I'm reading it for our Wednesday morning small group which consists of a lot of business and financial people. So you can see where they very much get this. However, I feel tremendously blessed by God even though we struggled to find a house that barely fits into our budget. I don't think it benefits people, especially Christians, to expect preferential treatment in every aspect of life. Life is hard....GET USED TO IT. You won't get everything you want....GET USED TO IT.

Again, maybe it's me. That's just how I'm feeling about all of this right now. Hope you all are having a good day. At least I hope you were until I completely unloaded on you. HA!!

Later.

Long Time, No Post

2005-09-05T15:34:00.000-05:00

Wow! So it's been a while since I updated this thing. By the way, Happy Labor Day, everyone!! We've been working in the house today trying to organize the unfinished part of the basement. For a month it has been just a mass of boxes and totes. Now, however, it is an organized mass of boxes and totes. Just kidding. There's actually room to walk around down there now.

Yesterday was our last day to worship at Olive B. Loss Elementary School. Next Sunday, September 11, we will be worshipping at St. Anne's Episcopal School in Middletown. I think I've already mentioned that on here, but we're all excited about it.

Still lots of stuff on my mind concerning the ministry and church here at NCC, but I'm working through it. I'll talk it out sometime. Maybe with you all if you're lucky. LOL.

Gotta run. Keep praying on praying for the south, especially the churches and people who are showing God's love to the evacuees.

Small Post

2005-08-30T13:51:00.000-05:00

Isaac's first day of school went really well. He came home super excited about everything. Riley missed him all day, but has been sick most of yesterday and today. He's got one of those nasty summer colds I think.

Really not much to say today. Trying to get my sermon done for Sunday. September is A Month of Desperately Seeking God. Hopefully an opportunity for our church folk to reach out to their friends. Hopefully.

Sorry for the short post, but that's all I got today.

First Day of School

2005-08-29T14:21:00.000-05:00

Still trying to finish Uprising by Erwin McManus. Very deep book. Very challenging book. I have to put it down for a while to mull over what I have read. It was the same with his other book, An Unstoppable Force.

Sermon went well on Sunday. I didn't finish preaching until 11:20. Which means that I preached for at least 35-40 minutes. That very rarely happens. I think that I felt so strongly about this message that I definitely let it show. I was very much emotionally involved in the topic. Jonah was such a prejudiced guy. The whole story of Jonah is not about the salvation of the Ninevites, but about Jonah's own salvation. He had God all wrapped up nicely in his own little box. When that thought hit me, I was ashamed of Jonah, but then I became ashamed of myself. I think I have done that. If you don't look, act, sound like me, then you can't be a Christian. What a shame!

Anyway, it still weighs heavily on me. I pray that I don't get stuck in that rut like Jonah did. I think Jonah turned it around though. After all, he wrote the book of Jonah. He had to know what the whole story was really about.

So Isaac's at school today. A day we have very much been looking forward to, but now that it is here, we are sad. Riley is moping around today. Not feeling well, but also missing Isaac. It is a sad day. I'm sure he's doing good. We look forward to hearing all about the first day when he gets home soon.

Lots of stuff happening! Very busy! God is blessing!

Amazing!!

2005-08-26T12:34:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? I have updated quite a bit recently. It just so happens, though, that all of the blogs I usually check haven't been. Kind of ironic, isn't it? Anyway, I'm really beginning to get into this blogging thing. I'm realizing that I can write down my thoughts. That has always been a difficult thing for me. Some would say it's because I don't have many thoughts. HOWEVER, I do but never cared to write them down. I would much rather let them stew in my head. But I'm finding this very therapeutic.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. A lot of listening to some lecture tapes. A lot of studying. It's been real good too. It used to be that, even in ministry, I would only do those things to prepare for some event or lesson or sermon. Now I'm doing it to really better myself and educate myself. I know that continuing my education officially can't take place for a little bit because of finances. But this has been very worthwhile for me. I've been stretching my own personal beliefs and thought patterns. Not that I completely agree with everything I read or hear, but if I don't at least consider it, I am just plain ignorant on the subjects.

I'm looking forward to this week's sermon. It should be good. At least good for me to get off my chest. This is one that I knew a month ago that I would be preaching, but I didn't know the direction that God would have me take with it. I'm excited, yet also somewhat anxious (nervous anxious). The content could upset some people, but isn't that the point sometimes?

Praise team practice tonight. I've been replaced on the acoustic guitar, but that's cool. The guy who's playing now is super-talented and is just getting involved in the church. It's really cool to see people getting plugged into things. This also gives me the opportunity to going back to vocals, which I enjoy.

Going to be a long day on Sunday. We have a "men's meeting" after service. Should be a long one with all the things that need to be discussed. Our move to St. Anne's, the possibility of buying the land, meeting with the elders of another church, etc. Pray for us, but more specifically, pray for me. There are some things that I need to discuss with them that are important for our growth.

Praying for you all. Be a blessing!!

Music

2005-08-25T10:11:00.000-05:00

Currently Listening
Kings Gold, Vol. 4
By Gold City & Kingsmensee related

Ok so some of you may find my listening selection to be quite odd. However, if you know me at all, you will know that I like quite a variety of music. This morning I woke wanting to listen to some good old southern gospel quartets. Between the deep bass voices to those high tenor notes, it just cool! Sweet harmonies rock!!!

Ok enough about my music selection. Yesterday's post has still been on my mind. Hope it was thought-provoking for you. Got a call yesterday that we will now be locating, as of September 11, in St. Anne's Episcopal School in MIDDLETOWN!!! How exciting! We are finally going to be in our target community. We're also going to be meeting with the elders from another church in the lower part of the state. Not sure what that's about, but it's encouraging.

Check out this website for some info on yesterday's post. http://www.livingroom.org.au/blog Feel free to explore for some insight as to this "new" way of doing church that is reaching countless people around the world.

WARNING: Dangerous Thoughts Ahead

2005-08-24T15:30:00.000-05:00

Wow! So I'm preaching on Jonah on Sunday. Not the typical swallowed by the "whale" sermon though. I'm focusing on Jonah chapter 4. Jonah's waiting for God to destroy Nineveh, but it never happens. Jonah is furious. He's ticked at God for showing grace. How amazing!

You know, isn't that like us though? I think we in the church do a good job of saying that Jesus is for everyone, that God loves everyone. "Just not them." We have a hard time accepting people into the church who aren't just like us. It's so hypocritical.

So now I'm struggling with my sermon. There's so much I want to say, but not sure if it fits in well with the sermon. God has just been revealing so much to me lately. The topic I'm dealing with the past 2 days has been about being a "missional" church. How many of our churches would support a missionary who just goes into a village, builds a building and says come? None of them. Because we know that the missionary must first be accepted into their culture. If the village needs a well, he digs a well. So why is it that churches just build a pretty new building a say, "Come" without ever being first accepted into the culture of the community.

Our churches must begin to think more like missionaries instead of ministers. We must think about reaching the community instead of the community just eventually making its way to us.

Not sure if too many people will buy into that theory here. It's worthy mentioning though. Ideas always sound good on a tape or in a book, but when you ask people to implement those ideas, they run like chickens. Stay tuned......

Hymns

2005-08-23T09:57:00.000-05:00

You know listening to Songs of Redemption by Jars of Clay is really good. I grew up listening to all the hymns in church. In fact, I don't think I really ever sang many "choruses" except at camp and then in college. However, in today's culture, I believe that many more people would listen and enjoy singing the hymns if they sounded like this. The messages in these songs are tremendous, but tragically, the message is often drowned out by the organ blaring very loudly and slowly. Please, please, please check out this cd. I had kind of lost interest in Jars of Clay, but this is good stuff.

Still struggling with some stuff, but definitely seeing "light at the end of the tunnel". I guess part of it is still dealing with how much we are "needed" or "wanted" here. It's the same stuff you hear all the time in ministry. If something is wrong you hear, but if things you're doing something right, it seems to be quiet. Part of me thinks we don't hear anything one way or the other. Am I doing what the church expects? Am I preaching relevant sermons to their needs? Am I leading them into a growing relationship with God through Jesus Christ? That's my prayer. That's my desire.

We've been a bit "homesick" lately, but those spells always come and go. We'll be very excited for school to start up again. Have I mentioned that yet? I was asked to be a head coach for Isaac's soccer league. I graciously (and very quickly) declined citing the fact that I've never coached or even played organized soccer in my life. Hopefully, he'll have a coach so I can at least help in some way. Kinda funny, though, for those who know my soccer IQ.

We walked downtown at the Peach Festival on Saturday. I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier. If so, forgive me. I'm 31. The "Old-Timer's" is beginning to set in. It was an ok little town festival. Nothing compared to the Blueberry Festival in Plymouth though. We didn't even get peach pie or peach ice cream. Guess we'll have to wait till next year. We even have a nice peach tree in our yard. Tasty.

Enough rambling. Later.

Just Checking In

2005-08-17T10:29:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to check in and say hey before I go to pick up the boys from a Vacation Bible School they've been attending this week. Things are pretty hectic, as always, around the Grasham house.

I've been doing a lot of reading the past week or so, but that might change now that we got basic cable. Just kidding. Currently reading Uprising by Erwin McManus and A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. Both very good. Next up for me will probably be The Present Future by Reggie McNeal. You may notice the tendency to read from guys who have "Mc" in their names. Maybe it's because we're like addicted to McDonald's and their $1.99 Happy Meals on Wed and Fri nights.

Anyway, pray for my parents please. Dad resigned from the church in Byrdstown on Sunday. They are currently looking for another ministry. This week they're away at a retreat for ministers and wives. Hopefully, that is refreshing to them after this very stressful weekend.

Later.

Pregnancy Update

2005-08-12T10:34:00.000-05:00

Susan went to the doctor today for her checkup. Isaac went with her to hear the heartbeat. While there, she found out that her doctor has resigned and she has been assigned to another doctor. All of this may seem stressful, but it's not. She had not seen her previous doctor since we found out she was pregnant. He is in Kansas, I think, as a part of the Reserve. So the doctor she has been assigned to is the doctor she has already been seeing. This doctor also comes to the Middletown office one day a week. So now we won't have to drive all the way to Christiana for her appointments. Great news.

We are doing all right. Still settling in. I'm getting some much needed reading done though. Uprising by Erwin McManus headlines my list right now. I'm also excited about reading A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren after finishing McManus. Good stuff though. Check it out if you want.

Later.

Hooray for DSL!!!

2005-08-10T15:53:00.000-05:00

This morning on my way home from a trip up to Newark I called Verizon to check on our DSL order. Of course, I've done this every day for the past week and received the same response. It would be activated August 11. I kept calling because I naturally assumed that it would be delayed like it was when we moved to Newark in the fall. But this morning I received a pleasant surprise. "Good news! Your Verizon DSL was activated on August 10." If I wasn't in the car, I would have jumped up and down with joy.

Oh how nice to have hi-speed and wireless service. For those of you still stuck in dial-up, I apologize for what may seem to be an arrogant attitude right now. But after living with hi-speed for 8 months...a week and a half of dial-up was enough to drive me crazy.

Good times last night with Kevin and Wendy Henke. Went to Newark and ate at Bertucci's. Great Chicken Anna Maria. Mmmmmm. Then of course the usual shopping afterward. Picked up a 4-port USB hub at Staples. Very nice.

Susan's mom leaves tomorrow to return to Indiana. It's been very good to have her here. We've done a lot of work on the house. A lot of painting the past two days. A lot of boxes have been emptied and taken to recycling bins. It's nice to not have to hold on to boxes so we can move again.....cuz we're not for a while...a good long while.

Hope all is well for you all. Leave a comment if you like.

Later.

Getting Settled

2005-08-08T11:47:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been over a week now that we've been in our new house and things are starting (I repeat, starting) to get settled down. We still have mounds of boxes and totes laying around, mostly filled with my books, but they will find their permanent home soon.

I have been encouraged over the past couple of days by the number of people from church who have commented on how excited they are that we are finally down in Middletown. I don't think I realized how far it really was for us to be way up in the north part of Newark for the past 8 months. As the months wore on, it grew more and more obvious that we desperately needed to be down here closer to everyone.

Church went well yesterday. Every week we have a few new people come and visit. Our goal, of course, is that they return. Fortunately, we have had some success in getting return visitors. I think that our relaxed and friendly, non-threatening atmosphere helps in that regard. I am firmly convinced that there are great things around the corner for Northeast Christian Church. I just wish that I could speed them up a little bit. But God has His own time for things and He will continue to bless us as we seek Him and honor Him in everything.

Susan's mom arrived on Friday for a visit. It has been good to have her here to help. She flies back home to Indiana on Thursday. Please pray for Susan's nephew Braydin Gable. He was involved in a 4-wheeler accident this weekend. He swerved to miss a large dog, wrecked and now is in Riley hospital with 3 broken ribs, a fractured vertebrae, and several other painful injuries.

We have received a couple of very encouraging emails recently. It's always nice to hear from friends. Excited to hear from Kim Clevenger in Warsaw about 4th Grade Camp and other exciting news like college. We always love to hear from friends. Even though we're closer in proximity to church folks, we're still quite a distance from friends and family. Drop us a line sometime. We'd love to hear from you.

Later.

We're Here!!

2005-08-03T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well, we're finally moved into our new home in Middletown, DE. It was definitely a long process and a long time in the making. We are overwhelmed right now with making sure things are finding their place. It will all happen in due time. We started getting stuff ready for the truck Sat. morning at 7am. Two men from church showed up at 8 ready to help. The truck was supposed to arrive around 10. However, the truck deal fell through. So we ended up moving all of our stuff in the back of trucks and on 2 flat-bed trailers. Yeah. It was an adventure to say the least. The last 2 guys left the house at 10pm Saturday night and we still had stuff up in Newark. Finally, we completed the moving process by bringing the last load down in the van on Tuesday. Needless to say, we are completely exhausted from all of this. But it is so much nicer being close to people from church. What a blessing that is!!!

Our DSL has yet to be hooked up, so I'm using a free AOL disk for now. We are still able to receive email at our main address though, grashams@verizon.net Email us and we'd be happy to give you our address and phone number. Our cell numbers will remain the same thankfully.

I know that this is somewhat short and choppy, but it fills you in on what has been going on. Hope to hear from ya'll soon!

Later!

It's Official

2005-07-29T13:23:00.000-05:00

Well we are now no longer renters but home-owners once again. This morning we officially signed the documents that made us the owners of our new home in Middletown, DE. We are excited...overwhelmed...nervous...exhausted...etc. It has been a long process for us since we moved out here over 8 months ago from Warsaw. There were many times when we didn't think we would ever find a house that would be suitable for us and the situation we were in, both ministerially and financially. But God provided as He always does.

So tomorrow morning at 8am some men from church will be showing up at our house in Newark and begin to move everything down to Middletown. The next several days will be extremely chaotic and exhausting. Please forgive me if I don't post anything for a while. Oh wait...you're already used to all that, arent' you? We will be getting our phone hooked up on Monday and at that time we should, I repeat should, also get our internet access back. I will try to update the blog sometime early next week.

In all of this Susan has been doing pretty well. There have been days where her energy is just not there. This pregnancy has already seemed to zap a lot of strength from her. She has been wonderful throughout this process though. I, on the other hand, have been a nervous wreck the past couple of days. That may be tough to imagine, but it's true. Just ask Isaac and Riley.

Keep us in your prayers as we begin to get settled in. Susan's mom will be coming out later next week to help decorate and unpack some so that will be nice. If you want to drop us an email, our address will remain the same, grashams@verizon.net.

Later.

Countdown......Less than a Week

2005-07-23T22:25:00.000-05:00

Wow! I can hardly believe it! A week from now we will be living in our new home in Middletown. What an unbelievable journey it's been! So many ups and downs in the past 8 months. Even yesterday morning we were concerned about everything getting done that needed to get done for us to close next Friday. But God continues to work out the details and simply tells us to trust Him. It's so hard at times, but I have a feeling that He knows what He's doing.

Church people are very excited about us being down in M-town. We will be so much closer to just about everything. We will miss our neighbors here in MHH (Meeting House Hill) though. It was nice to see the boys out playing with some of them tonight.

Well, it's getting late and I need to go over my sermon one more time for tomorrow. Have a great Lord's Day tomorrow!!

Later.

Birthday/Anniversary Post

2005-07-19T21:16:00.000-05:00

So today is my 31st birthday. Not nearly as exciting as last year, but I'm getting older nonetheless. Tonight we did pizza with the McCarthys down at Grotto's in Middletown. It was real nice to be able to visit with them. We also ran into 3/4 of the Bennett family. It will be so good to be down in Middletown close to these people. We have felt very distant from them the past 8 months.

Tomorrow is our 9th anniversary. I can't say enough how much I love my wife. She has been the best thing that has ever, ever happened to me. She loves me so much that she even moved to Delaware to be by my side in ministry. I can't wait to see what else happens to us over the next many years together.

Summer Heat

2005-07-18T13:08:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Hope you're all staying cool wherever you are. It's absolutely miserable here. The temperature is only in the 80s but 90+% humidity. Glad the air conditioning is working.

We had a good day at church yesterday! We had an attendance of 77 but with several large families absent. It was a really good day, except for the heat. The school building is extremely warm in the summer time. Of course, it's been extremely warm all the time. We had a good day nonetheless.

Still getting ready to move the end of the month. The next week and a half will be spent packing up what we got out originally. We are very excited about getting down to Middletown. We will be so much closer to people from church and the community as a whole. I'm getting more and more excited about helping to coach Isaac's soccer team this fall. I will have no idea what I'm doing, but it should be fun anyway.

This time of year I'm really missing my week of camp at Michiana Christian Service Camp. Praying that Larry and Gary and the folks from FCC Warsaw do a tremendous job, as they always do. What a great camp!!

Later.

Packing Begins

2005-07-14T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Just about time for the weekly update. Yeah, I know, I could be doing it a bit more often, but such is life.

We've started packing for the move to Middletown in just over 2 weeks. We're excited and nervous. Nervous because we have to pack everything up in two weeks. However, a lot of our stuff is still in boxes and totes. So the majority of the packing will take place in the kitchen and my office. And I have started boxing up books already.

Tuesday was a fun day. After spending a great deal of time in the house for the past week and a half, we decided that we needed to do something with the boys. So we loaded into the car and drove almost 2 hours to get to Cape Henlopen State Park down near Lewes. We spent the afternoon on the beach, playing in the water and getting terribly sunburnt. Oh wait, that was just me. I had a great time playing with the boys. They're both getting so big now. What fun! Of course the temperature for the day was in the mid to upper 90s, but there was a really nice breeze at the beach.

We also found out some news Tuesday that prompted us to start praying. Carson Judd, a 2 1/2 yr old from Warsaw, was having surgery to remove a 5x10'' tumor from his right kidney. The surgery went well and we continue to pray that the tumor has not spread and that chemotherapy will be light for little Carson. If you would, pray for Carson and his parents, Clinton and Stacy, as well as his grandparents Jack and Theresa Wilhite.

The church here continues to look for land and possible avenues for growth. I will be assistant coaching Isaac's soccer team this fall down in Middletown. I know, it's crazy, I've never even played soccer. But it's an excellent opportunity to build relationships with people.

Ok, so that pretty much catches you up for now. Let us know what's going on with you. Look forward to hearing from you.

Later.

It's About Time

2005-07-06T10:09:00.000-05:00

Ok, so you may be wondering why it's been so long since the last post. There is a most logical and easy explanation for this. We did not want anyone locally who reads this post and might happen to know where we live know that we would be gone from our house for nearly 2 weeks and seize the opportunity to break in and steal what valuable assets we have left in said house.

Easy enough right?

We had a very good vacation over the past two weeks. We spent a few days in Tennessee visiting with my parents and family there and in Kentucky. We then traveled to Warsaw and spent a few days there. Sorry to those who may read this from there that we didn't get to spend much time with. It definitely was a very quick trip up there. We were able to worship at FCC though Sunday morning. It was good to see familiar faces and places while we were there. We just had to eat at Dig's, El Arriero, and the Boathouse. Anything else would not be acceptable. We had a good time visiting with old friends there. Thank you to Dalene Goshert for letting us crash in her house for a few nights.

We then headed 2 hours southwest to spend a few days with Susan's family. It was quite quiet and relaxing those few days on the farm. Much needed. Susan and I returned to our home in Newark late Thursday night. The boys return some time today with Susan's parents. It has been very quiet here at home without the boys, but sleeping in a bit has been wonderful.

Hope everyone had a great Independence Day holiday! I know this is just a rundown of our vacation but felt obliged to let everyone know where we've been and that we're back safely now.

Enjoy the hot days of summer.

School's Out....Finally!

2005-06-16T12:31:00.000-05:00

Well, Isaac has officially completed Kindergarten. His last two days of school were actually cancelled because of the high heat index. All the other grades went half-day, so Kindergarten was cancelled. I'm not sure whether he really understands that he probably won't see the kids from his class again. He knows that we are moving again to Middletown, and is excited about going to another new school. But I don't know if he's totally comprehending the situation. Of course, he's only six. We are glad that school's out though. Isaac started school way back in the middle of August and is just now getting out. So, for that fact alone, we are excited to be done.

Urgent prayer need: Pray for a location for Northeast Christian Church. I would love to explain it all here, but you would probably be bored out of your mind reading all the details. Just know that our meeting place now could change and the hopeful next meeting place is not yet available. Please pray hard for us. We know that God will continue to open doors for us. We'd just like to know where those doors are right now. LOL!

Anyway, we are so looking forward to time away to visit family and friends. Hopefully we'll get to see some of you. Questions about where and when?? Just send me an email: grashams@verizon.net

Love you all! Later!!

More News

2005-06-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

Wow! What a week and a half it has been since the last post! Let me get straight to the point. Susan's pregnant! We are now expecting Baby G3 in February of 2006. We are excited and yet nervous as well. The boys are thrilled. The people at church are excited. Our parents are excited too. Pray for us over the next 8 months or so that God would keep Susan and the baby healthy. Pray for us as we get ready to move next month too.

Because of this latest news we are having to rethink how we were going to set up the house in Middletown. It will still work though.

Things have been exciting at church. So much potential. Just praying that we can get over some personal obstacles that are in our way.

Really looking forward to some time away soon. It will be real nice to get away and refresh.

We are so thankful for all of our friends and family. You are a blessing to us!!

Later

Happy June!!

2005-06-01T09:51:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Hard to believe that it is the first day of June. Shouldn't school be over? Isaac won't be done here until mid-June, June 15. Isn't that absurd? He started in mid-August too.

We've had great weather here lately. After the rain stopped and the forecast changed, the sun appeared and has stuck around for a while. Good time then for us to be outside. Memorial Day was pretty good. I actually missed working at the 500 this year. In watching the race I would look for the area where I worked last year.

We had a church picnic on Monday to communicate and kick off our small group ministry. It's been underway for a long time, but needed to be well-communicated to the people where groups were meeting and the importance of being involved in a small group. It's especially important given our situation, meeting only once a week. Hopefully, this will give us a pretty good boost.

We're all good for moving down to Middletown in July. That is, provided all the paperwork gets approved, etc. We are excited about getting into a stable location. We have been so blessed in this house, but we definitely need to be in Middletown.

Looking forward to some time off soon.

Thanks to you who commented and let me know that you check out the blog regularly. It's encouraging to know. Of course, I think I would continue to blog regardless, just to get thoughts off my chest and out in the air.

Anyway, hope everyone had a great holiday and enjoys the beginning of summer.

Later.

Rain

2005-05-25T08:57:00.000-05:00

I guess that it's time for me to post an update. It's been raining a lot here lately. The forecast looks like it's going to be raining for a while too. Gives real meaning to the phrase "when it rains it pours". Happens a lot in life too, doesn't it? Seems like when things are going bad for you, it keeps getting worse. I'm learning a lot lately though. I've been learning that the rain is not always a bad thing. Rain is necessary for the ground, for our eco-system, if you will. It prepares the ground to produce life. Same thing with us, right? We can't stand the rain in our lives, but in the end rain produces life. Even after a flood and everything has been devastated, life begins to grow again and flourish.

Things are going well here. It's continues to be busy, but I'm finding more and more time to read and study. The book I'm reading now is great for individuals in both the church and business world, The 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, by Andy Stanley and friends from North Point Church. Very good and practical stuff that makes sense once you read it. Just hard to implement at times, especially in a church setting.

The boys are doing well. T-Ball is a blast. School will be over soon. Had a meeting yesterday with a group of teachers who said that Isaac is a really smart kid. Like we, his parents, didn't already know that. But it was good to hear from "professionals".

Hope all is well with everyone. Or anyone. Don't know if anybody is reading this at all or if it is simply an outlet for me to write down my latest thoughts. If you're reading, maybe post a comment so that I know you're there.

Later.

Dirt

2005-05-20T14:14:00.000-05:00

So it's been a long time since I posted. But a lot has happened since then. I, along with 6 other men from the church drove to Louisville, KY, for the Southeast Christian Church Leadership Conference. Really good event for this group of leaders to attend.

Dad and Mom arrived last Friday and just left this afternoon. We had a really good time with them here. Isaac and Riley were sad to see them leave. They enjoyed getting to see the boys and getting to know some more about where we are. I took Dad to Valley Forge, PA, on Wednesday. Had a great time looking over some Revolutionary War history. Also good just to visit.

Susan left on Wednesday morning and returns tonight from a Women's Ministry convention in Nashville, TN. She has really enjoyed it, but is eager to get home.

Now to the topic at hand: dirt. Kids love dirt. Kicking it, laying in it, throwing it, even just touching it. Isaac has a fascination at Little League with the dirt. He plays extremely well when he focuses, but most of his time is spent bent over playing in the dirt. His coaches asked if we had any dirt at our house. Isaac said no, so the coach told him to pick some up from the field, put it in his pocket and take it home with him. He's really enjoying baseball. We're glad we found something like this for him.

Anyway, that's what's been going on. Send us a line. Leave a comment. Whatever. Hope everyone's doing good.

Later

Happy Mother's Day!

2005-05-09T09:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day everyone!! Oh wait. That was yesterday!! Oh well...Happy Mother's Day anyway Mom. Just kidding. Talked with her last night.

Had a good day yesterday at church. Took Susan out to lunch yesterday. Had a nice nap in the afternoon. Woke up and took communion to a lady in the hospital with Isaac. Played outside for a while with the boys enjoying a gorgeous afternoon. Watched America's Funniest Home Videos with Isaac last night (his favorite). Overall, a very good day.

Will have a busy week this week. Working hard on my sermon today and tomorrow. Leave the house at 3:30am Wednesday to go to Louisville, KY for the Southeast Christian Church Leadership Conference. Dad and Mom fly into Philly early Friday afternoon. I arrive back from Louisville early Saturday morning after traveling through the night. So forgive me for a lack of posts this week. Like it's anything you're not used to already.

Just wanted to check in with you all and say howdy. Life is good.

Later.

Time to catch up

2005-05-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

So yeah....it's been a few days since I've posted anything of consequence. Hope to catch you all up today on as much as possible.

Another good day at church on Sunday. Preached on Communion and the important role that it plays in our service every week. Sunday afternoon was pretty relaxing watching cars pile up at Talledega Speedway. Don't think my neighbors really cared for the person who won the race though. Neither did Scott McDonald I bet.

Monday we continued our process in securing the house in Middletown, convinced that God will make a way for us to be there.

Tuesday had lunch with an Episcopalian priest and a teaching pastor from a Community Church. Good times. Great guys. Looking forward to getting together monthly with them.

Today almost missed Bible study this morning. It completely escaped my mind for some reason. But I made it. Late, but still early because the guy leading was late too.

Developed an allergic reaction, I think, to something of which I don't know what. Got a slight rash around my eyes. Quite bothersome and I'm sure you didn't want to know all that.

Excited about starting a new series of sermons on the names of God. This week...El Roi (EL raw-EE), the God who sees me. Thought it would be good for Mother's Day since Mom's see everything.

Got a comment on the blog from Phillip Deerwester, from Warsaw attending Penn in Philly. Looking forward to talking to him some more.

Excited about our family and friend visitors this month in Delaware. Dad and Mom will be here next Friday for a week and then the Justices and Osborns, hopefully, around Memorial Day.

So that pretty well catches you up on a lot that's going on. Of course, I have left out the days of utter frustration and panic, but those can be too depressing. Just kidding...

Later.

Not much to say...

2005-05-01T19:17:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. I again apologize for the gap in posting dates. However, I don't know that I have much to say. But I figured I better post before the "Blog Monitor" got on my case.

We are highly stressed right now with the house and such. Keep praying for us. We desperately need them right now.

Will hopefully post more later this week.

OK...Hold on a minute

2005-04-19T09:34:00.000-05:00

So yesterday's post was quite exciting. Letting everyone know about the great news about finding an "affordable" house in Middletown. Well, we found out our monthly mortgage payments will be about twice as much as what we were paying in Warsaw. Let's just say the stress level rose a notch or two or five.

There are some options. First, we can stay here in Newark, although I don't think anyone wants that. Secondly, either I could get a second job or Susan could start working. It has been our goal that she wouldn't go to work until the boys were both in school.

I'm not writing all this looking for sympathy or financial support. Just want you all to pray for us. We feel strongly that we need to be in Middletown to be effective in ministering to the church and the community. And nothing else worth living in is close to this price. We know that something will work out.

On another note, it's a gorgeous morning in Delaware. It's 10:30 in the morning...I'm sitting out in front of the house typing on the laptop...watching Riley play in the yard and driveway...enjoying 70 degree weather already. Hope its this nice where you are...wherever you are.

Isaac has his second t-ball game tonight at 6pm. We also have small group meeting here at our house at 7pm. Should be another busy day.

Pray. Pray. Pray.

Soon-to-be Homeowners Again

2005-04-18T08:40:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! As you can probably guess by the title of the post, our offer to buy the house last week was accepted. It's very exciting, yet very nerve-wracking in the same breath. We are excited about being close to the hub of activity for the church, the target location. However, we have never owned anything worth this much money in our lives. We loved our house in Warsaw, but it was not worth this much in the market there.

Everyone at church yesterday was very excited for us. I think that this will help some of the feelings of disconnectedness that we have been experiencing. Even the people who live up in this area were happy for us. There is also a strong possibility of an opening for us in a private school in Middletown. This would be great. There are so many things that are looking positive at this point in time.

Guest speaker yesterday at church. Kevin O'Brien from Johnson Bible College. Susan and I had a good time visiting with him both Sat. night and yesterday at lunch. I think i made him feel old. Told him he was in school at JBC with my parents. I think it's ok though.

Busy week ahead. Inspections and the such at the house. Pray that everything goes well.

Later.

My Brain Is Fried!!!!

2005-04-14T18:38:00.000-05:00

That is probably the best way to describe my mental state after the past two days. Let me see if I can even begin to catch you up.

I spent all of yester day and today at the National New Church Conference in Joppa, Maryland. WOW!! It wasn't a big convention, but it was powerful none the less. The two main speakers were phenomenal and my brain is still hurting from all of the difficult thoughts they put in there. Yesterday Brian McLaren, one of the leading figures in post-modern Christianity, was the featured speaker. Let me just say that I understand post-modernism, if that is what it will eventually be called, a whole lot better now. He gave so much information and good insight into the post-modern mindset.

Today's featured speaker was Reggie McNeal. He followed up on McLaren's information with whole ton of practical information for new churches. Absolutely amazing though!! Some frustrations though. I am not really working with a "new" church. We are working with a bunch of "modern" Christians. It will be extremely difficult helping them see the need for a post-modern approach to ministry. Oh well!! It should be fun in the same breath.

There you see part one as to why my brain is in such a tattered state tonight. Part two is that Susan and I made an official offer on a house in Middletown last night. It is a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath, with a full/partially finished basement on a double lot. A very nice house like this would probably go for about $90-100K in Warsaw on the high end. We offered about $161K and feel like we are possibly getting a steal. It's in a good neighborhood, close to church members, and, more importantly, in the target community for the church. I still can't believe that we offered that much for this house. Susan determined last night that we will be eating rice for quite some time after buying the house.

One good thing though. We could turn right around and sell the house in a month for close to $200K and get a buyer real quick. That is the way the real estate market is in Middletown now. Please keep all this in your prayers. I know that it will be a big source of stress for us over the next couple of months and years most likely.

Excited about sharing all the tapes I got from the conference. Pray for open minds from the leaders of the church here. Pray that they might see the need to change attitudes and mindsets about the church in general.

We love you all and pray for you too.

Later.

Busy Times

2005-04-11T17:35:00.000-05:00

Honestly, it's not that I don't want to post something. Usually I just leave the previous one up until people begin to complain. Actually, life has been quite busy lately.

Friday night Susan and I went to the Undone Tour Concert. Monk & Neagle, The Afters, Jeremy Camp and Mercy Me. Great show here in Newark. Very good show. If it comes to an arena near you, I would definitely recommend you go.

We're still adjusting to life in Delaware. Our car had to have a new valve head gasket......$$$. Gas prices are soaring......$$$. Real estate is unbelievable......$$$.

We think we have a lead on a house in Middletown. Hopefully, this one won't slip through our hands.

Praying for our friends in Warsaw. Gary and Renee Boschain, our dear friends, will be going to Warsaw to interview with the church there. Gary called right away and asked if it was ok. I assured him our friendship would not change. LOL. We are praying that this is what is best for both parties.

Isaac still asks often about moving back to Warsaw. He is enjoying spring time though and being outside more helps. He is seeing more kids out and about. He is even spending a great deal of time talking to two older gentlemen who live in the houses near us. Very funny. They're out working and he's just talking away. Basketball season is over for him. Now T-Ball starts. He is already doing well in fielding grounders and throwing. Should be a fun summer.

It looks like Dad and Mom will be coming for a visit in May. Followed shortly by a visit from the Osborns and the Justices...we hope.

Keep praying for us and the church too.

Later.

Bye Bye Bachelor Days!!

2005-04-04T15:10:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to give everyone a big ole..."YIPPEE!!!" Susan and the boys returned from Indiana about 2:30am on Sat. morning. It was definitely too quiet around here with them gone. At some point last night, though, I realized I could use a little space in between what it's like with the boys here and not here. Too quiet vs. too rowdy and noisy. I guess I would never trade it in though.

Isaac went back to school today and enjoyed getting back. His teacher will now be sending homework home for every student every day to get them used to what it will be like in 1st grade. Isaac is already used to homework though. We've been doing homework with him for some time now trying to help him out.

Both Susan and Riley are under the weather after their trip. Of course, this is a very bad time of year for tree allergies. Amazingly enough, Isaac is doing pretty good.

We had a pizza fellowship Sunday after church. It was fun to be with the church body again in fellowship. With being so mobile, we are finding it difficult to have times of fun and fellowship. Hopefully, that will change some with the nicer weather. I

Isaac has his first baseball practice tonight at 6pm. Should be fun. If it's anything like basketball....oh boy! The team that Isaac was playing basketball against on Saturday afternoon would not allow our team to steal the ball or have a fast break. How frustrating!! I think we've gone to lax on making sure that kids' self-esteem is kept at an all-time high. When they play ball in school or competitively, those kids are going to be real disappointed when people steal the ball from them all the time.

Oh well...off the soapbox. Should be an interesting week here in the northeast as I work among people who are completely surrounded by Catholicism. I look forward to sharing with some on Wednesday morning at one of our small groups.

Keep us in your prayers. Things are going well. Pray for wisdom for myself and our leaders. Pray that God would give them vision. Vision to look ahead and anticipate growth. Vision to help facilitate growth.

Later.

My most sincere apologies!

2005-03-30T15:55:00.000-05:00

I owe everyone (or maybe just the one) who reads this blog an apology. I have neglected my responsibility as a web blogger to update my site. Are you happy, Ashley?

No seriously, I have no legitimate reason for not posting. There has been much to talk about. I just haven't posted any of it.

We are doing well. As I type this post, Susan and the boys are visiting with her parents in Colfax, IN. Isaac will celebrate his 6th birthday tomorrow. Both boys got to ride on a tractor today with Papaw, something they will miss the longer we are out here. I miss them all very much, and am eager for them to return home this weekend.

I have been busy this week though. Monday I spent all day in Baltimore for a surgery. I must say that Johns Hopkins is, by far, the coolest hospital I've ever been in. And I've been in a lot. Top-notch. Rated #1 hospital in America. Mr. Reed is recovering nicely from his liver surgery and could be home on Friday. Did you know that if 60% of the liver is removed it will regenerate and grow back? Very cool.

Church is going well. We are now having repeat visitors. 4 families have become regular attenders the past few weeks. We are so excited about growth possibilities now. We had 95 on Easter morning, but some regulars weren't present. I was told that if everyone was there we would have had between 105-110. It's real exciting to see God working.

On the house front, we are still searching. I will be going with our realtor tomorrow to look at a house.......in Maryland. Doesn't that sound crazy? It's actually just across the border from Delaware in a small rural town called Cecilton. It looks nice, but I have questions about taxes, schools, licenses, etc. All that good stuff. It would be so weird to live in 3 different states in 6 months and not be in the military.

Keep praying for us. We definitely appreciate it.

Later.

Kindergarten

2005-03-08T12:58:00.000-05:00

Today I (Tim) went to spend the morning at Isaac's kindergarten class. He has been the "star" for the past five days. Today was special person day. Since Susan usually goes in every Tuesday, I decided to spend the morning as Isaac's special person. I had a blast. I can see, though, why Susan often comes home with a headache on Tuesday mornings. I got to help Isaac with his work so that he didn't have bring it home to finish it. I also got to help with a "science" experiment. It dealt with the thickness and strength of wood.

We sent out the welcome letters to visitors and people just moving in to Brennan Estates. I am eager to see what type of response we get to that.

I practiced the songs for Sunday a little bit on my guitar earlier this afternoon. WOW!! I know most of the songs, but probably not in the key they play them. Could be a very long week! Makes me wish I was just preaching instead!!

Later!!

3 Visiting Families

2005-03-07T12:44:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a great day at church for Northeast. We had three visiting families, two of which were from the Brennan Estates neighborhood. That was great. I am sending out letters today to thank them for attending and also inviting them back with information about our children's church program to be started on March 20th. Very exciting.

We are doing well. We miss Indiana quite a bit, friends and family. But God has a great plan for us here. After yesterday, we are all quite excited to see what God is doing to do.

Please pray for me this week. Our lead guitarist is going out of town this weekend. I, by default, am now the lead guitarist for the weekend. I really don't want to mess up. So much practice this week. Fortunately, I don't preach this weekend. C. Wayne Murphy from the Polish Christian Mission will be preaching this Sunday. So now I can focus on my songs.

Hope all is well with everyone. Send us a note or give us a call. We'd love to hear from you!

Later!

Another Fun Day

2005-03-05T16:17:00.000-05:00

Well today was week three of the YMCA Basketball experience for Isaac. He is doing much better. He played good defense today and make a really good pass too. Hopefully, we'll be able to work on his shooting sometime tomorrow with the nice weather.

Tomorrow should be interesting at church. In preparation for the new format, no Sunday School, we called the school administrative offices to change the times. Our times are now changing effective this week. Now we cannot be in the school building until 9am. Whereas we had been getting in at 8am previously. Probably no Sunday School tomorrow then either.

We are working on a visitors packet to help connect people. We also formulated a letter to send to families just moving into Brennan Estates, where the school is located. Hopefully we will have some success in reaching some of those families in the area.

Hope all is well with everyone!

Later!

Amazing

2005-03-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

Amazing is a word that I would use today to describe many things.

First, I have an amazing wife. Her perseverance in finishing her degree is an example. Her knowledge of Scripture is tremendous. Her love for me and our children is unconditional. Amazing!

Second, we have amazing children. In their own ways, our boys continue to amaze me. Sometimes that's a great thing and sometimes I'm amazed in a not-so-great way. At any rate, they are wonderful, fun, hilarious, and (usually) a joy to be around.

Third, God's call is amazing! My buddy Stevan Sheets summarized a message by Erwin McManus, I think, that said God calls each of us. Too often we make the distinction between the call to be a Christian and the call into ministry or missions. But they are one and the same. We when accept the call to follow Christ, it is accepting the call to enter into our own ministry or mission.

Finally, the price of housing around here is extremely amazing!! We are finding that we are definitely not making enough on one salary to buy a decent townhouse, let alone a house with a yard. Keep us in your prayers. We feel strongly that this is where God wants us to be. We also know that as the church grows, my salary will increase. However, in the meantime, it is sometimes a struggle to make everything add up. (If you know what I mean.)

What an amazing God we serve! What an amazing life He has called us to lead!! May sound cheesy, but I'm reminded of the old hymn: Trust and Obey!! That's what He wants us to do!!

Later!

Finally another Post

2005-02-28T11:01:00.000-05:00

Greetings everyone!!! Life in Delaware is snowy right now. We're expecting around 6-12 inches today and tonight. The joy of a nor'easter I guess.

We had a great week last week in Tennessee at JBC. We really enjoyed getting to see my family. We also enjoyed getting together with our Beckley "kids". I was really starting to feel old. One of them completes her Masters in May and one of them just had a child. And then one who was in Middle School when we left is a sophomore considering marriage. WOW!! We had a great week.

We came home to snow and are looking for more today. What fun that will be! Had almost 100 in church yesterday! Good to see everyone again. Lots of potential. We are dropping Sunday School temporarily in a couple of weeks to focus on outreach. We will be focusing on a jr church program. Keep us in your prayers as we start this push before Resurrection Sunday!!

Drop us a line to keep in touch. We love to hear from friends and family!! Good to hear from Denise Deerwester from Warsaw this week.

Later!

Hump Day!!!

2005-02-16T13:40:00.001-05:00

I don't know if you've ever referred to Wednesday that way before. It's a term we used at church camp when the week was half-over. I suppose the same could be said of this week. I look forward with great anticipation this week being over. Mainly because we have all been sick. I've also been pulling some double duty on sermon preparation this week. Since we will be in Tennessee all next week, I needed to get this weeks and next week's sermons finished. Working on next week's and should be done in the next day or so.

We are starting to feel a little better. Isaac has been at school the past two days, but Riley has not been sleeping well. So Mom and Dad have not been sleeping well, especially Susan. I missed my Wed. morning Bible study because of this stuff. We just hope its gone before we leave on Sunday.

Don't know what else to say. Looking at somep possible changes at church. We want to be effective and efficient in reaching out to the lost. With our financial and human resources. That may mean temporarily suspending Sunday School. We just want to be more in step with our mission to love and save the world through Jesus Christ.

Hope everyone is having a great week!!
Later!

Hump Day!!!

2005-02-16T13:40:00.000-05:00

Almost Forgot!!

2005-02-14T14:29:00.000-05:00

Definitely want to give a happy birthday shout out to our friend, Ashley Justice. Happy 19th!!

Blah

2005-02-14T14:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it's official. Everyone in the Grasham house is sick. Isaac got it all started by coughing on Friday morning. It progressed through the weekend, and now all of us have at least a runny nose. (sniffling as I type now.) Oh well. It happens.

Susan's parents left this morning. Probably didn't want to get sick too. They'll be sick by the time they get home most likely. We had a good visit with them. After being so close to them for 6 years, it's a bit difficult to only get to see them occasionally. The boys were sad to see them go. Next week they get to see my parents at JBC.

Even as typing this, allergy medicine is kicking in and I'm getting drowsy. Stocked up on Nyquil last night. Generic version of course. Gave Isaac some Children's Nyquil (real stuff) last night and he slept like a log. Too bad Riley didn't.

Watching the qualifying for the Daytona 500 made me miss our friends the McDonalds from Warsaw. Too bad Jr. only qualified in the low 30's, eh Scott?

Gotta go and zone out for a bit!! Later.

Apologies

2005-02-12T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok. So I thought I was doing so well by posting in back to back days earlier in the week. Little did I know that I would not post again until Saturday. Oh well.

I'm still having a hard time getting used to posting. Things like: What am I supposed to post? My life isn't that exciting right now. Won't people get tired of reading the same type of stuff everyday? Of course, there are only a handful, I think, that actually read this. But anyway. I'm still getting used to it.

Susan's parents are here for a visit. They came in Wednesday. Thursday afternoon we went up to Hershey, PA, to the Chocolate Factory. Gary Boschain would love it. We also drove around the Amish country of Lancaster County, PA. Yesterday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's to celebrate Isaac completing a lot of worksheets to help him in school. It was fun, but 3 hours is a long time in a place like that.

We will be surrounded by friends a family a lot for the rest of this month. I'm not sure when Dick and Sandy are leaving, but we leave next Sunday to go to Homecoming at JBC. We will be stopping at Beckley to visit with the McGhee family and then going to JBC to see my family and all of our friends, i.e. the Boschains (Gary, Renee, Jacob, and Sherri), the Coxs, Sam and Gina, etc. Should be a fun week!

I learned the meaning of a new word last weekend while playing a game of Beyond Balderdash. For my friends in youth ministry, you will love it. The word is flart. It means to bother or annoy. I have told my children a couple of times this week that they are flarting me too much. Anyway, hope you enjoy that one.

Until later.

So Unfortunate

2005-02-07T08:53:00.000-05:00

Well, the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding area, including Delaware, is in a state of depression. After last night's 24-21 loss to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, we heard a car drive through the neighborhood honking. No doubt honking at our neighbor's house. He happens to be an Eagles season ticket holder.

It was odd last night watching the game alone at home with the family. For the past 8 years, we have spent Super Bowl Sunday with groups of teenagers. We decided to stay home because if the Eagles won, the drunks would be out in full force. However, since the Eagles lost, the drunks were probably out in full force too.

We did get a phone call from Stan Osborn in Warsaw. He had a house full of teenagers in our absence. It was good to visit with Stan for a little bit. I also got a chance to talk to some of the teens. Just in case they check the website: Brittnee, Justin, Amber, Jeremy, Leah and Mallory.

Church went well yesterday. We had a few more visitors. An ad was placed in the Middletown newspaper that we hope will generate more interest. We are also seeking out new ways to reach out to the immediate surrounding neighborhood of Brennan Estates, some 1400 families.

On the Hunt!

2005-02-04T14:20:00.000-05:00

Ok so maybe the title of today's post is a little misleading. Over the past few days, Susan and I have been spending a great deal of time looking at houses. The internet is a great thing. We have looked at hundreds of houses this week. We are quite torn as to where we should move to. All I can say is that we desperately need your prayers in this matter. I have sought the advice of a couple of ministers that I respect who own their homes. I guess what we decided today was just to kind of stay put where we are, save some money and wait for God to put the right house in the right place in our lap at the right time.

Tonight we do Chinese with the Brennans and Stilwells down in Dover. Then back to the Brennans for some games, hopefully some great foosball action. I'm sure the conversation will also include the Eagles at some point. Oh well. Let's just play the game already!!!

I always enjoy looking up my buddy Stevan's website. (www.stevansheets.com) He's got some pictures up of the drive that I would take every day to church in Warsaw. Looks like some of the trees are coming down and some homes are going up. Ah, progress.

Anyway, hope everyone has a great weekend. More to tell later!

February already!

2005-02-01T11:57:00.000-05:00

It's really hard to believe that February is here. Time just keeps flying by for us. Hoping to do some looking around at homes in lower Delaware this afternoon and visit with a couple of families this evening. Should be good!

Been doing a lot of reading this week already. Also trying to stay active with the boys. It's very easy for me to shut myself in my office at the house and block out the boys. Isaac and Riley are best friends who love to fight with each other.

We are enjoying the webcam that we bought. It's nice to be able to get online and let people see the boys as they are growing. Susan's parents have a cam as well so we talk on the phone and watch each other too. It's like a face to face conversation with a 10 second delay. If you have Yahoo! Messenger, you can look us up at timnsus@yahoo.com. Maybe we'll be online and can chat or even catch a glimpse of the boys as they run through the house on an endless supply of energy.

Everybody around here is nuts about the Eagles being in the Super Bowl this weekend. I definitely don't want the Patriots to win being a Colts fan, but I don't think we would ever hear the end of it if the Eagles win. Oh well. We'll watch the game and just hope it's not a blowout and no 'wardrobe malfunctions' take place with Paul McCartney at halftime.

Have a good day everybody!!

Back in the Saddle

2005-01-30T21:28:00.000-05:00

Well, after a week off from services, we were able to worship together today. Although, any minister knows that if it's gonna snow, it will be on Sat. night or Sunday morning. Needless to say we got another 2 inches that kept several people away today.

Had a great day yesterday with some of our men! We had a prayer retreat at Sandy Cove Conference Center (www.sandycove.org). What a great day to pray and unite. I was very excited because I felt it was the first big thing I have done with these people. How good it was!

Great to get a call tonight from Scott McDonald from Warsaw and talk to him for a while. The past few days we have been struggling with missing friends and family back in Indiana. It was very good to talk to him and have a little connection with Warsaw.

Don't know what else to say. This week will be much like the last 8 or 9. Working on my sermon and getting Sunday School lesson together. Also doing some house hunting down below "the canal". Hopefully we will get some good leads on affordable housing.

Keep praying for us! God is good and we trust that He has a purpose for us being here.

Yeah, I Know

2005-01-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Yeah, I know. It's been a while since I posted last. A real big thank you to Ashley for pointing this out to me. Not just once, but several times.

I guess we have some big news since the last post too. Last Sunday, the 16th, Northeast Christian Church met at Olive B. Loss Elementary School. We had 95 in attendance. We still have a lot to learn about our new location and several logistical details that need to be ironed out, but it sure was great to be there. We now have room to grow. WOW! If you can't tell, I'm very excited about this. It is our prayer that God will bless us with growth, both numeric and spriritual.

Isaac is doing well in school. He really misses Jefferson Elementary back in Warsaw. We were very blessed with a great school, principal, and teacher there. We are still trying to figure all the school stuff out here in Delaware. He is counting to 100 now, writing the alphabet, and doing some simple reading.

Riley is 3 now. We celebrated his birthday by going to McDonald's to play in the really cool playland, but it was closed for remodeling. Oh well. He's still three whether it was a fun party or not.

SUSAN IS NOW A COLLEGE GRADUATE!!! We got word yesterday from Concord University that she has been conferred for graduation. After some difficulty with the registrar, it is now official. I am so proud. She has been working hard on this for several years. She has balanced family, church, and school over and over again. She will have graduated with honors with a BA in Business Management after starting college 10 years ago. I can't tell you how proud I am of her.

I am doing well. I really enjoy preaching every weekend, but there's a lot more preparation necessary. As a youth minister, I would have a month or 6 weeks to let an idea grow. Now I have about 2 days. But it's fun and challenging. I begin networking with some of the churches in the lower part of the state tonight at a men's meeting. Should be fun.

We now have a webcam. If you have Yahoo Messenger, look us up at timnsus and see if we're online. Maybe you'll even catch a glimpse of us.

Until later.

Just checkin' in

2004-12-30T15:42:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! Just thought I would fill you all in on things that have happened since Christmas. We had the opportunity to go to Roanoke, VA, to visit with my parents and brother for a few days. It was a very quick trip, but the boys definitely enjoyed it. They really enjoyed swimming in the pool while I relaxed a little in the hot tub.

A family that we met just last week watched Sandi-dog for us. She was very glad to get back home last night though. At least we hope she was.

We are excited about the opportunities that this new year will bring to us as a family and as a church. It looks like we will be having a Prayer Retreat the last Saturday of January. I'm eager to build some momentum, especially after we move into this new facility around the 16th of January.

The boys really enjoyed Christmas and all the gifts that they received. Isaac likes his Spider-man Web-Blaster and GameBoy games. Riley really likes his Thomas trains still. Susan is enjoying the canopener I got her for Christmas. No kidding! That's really what I got her. Of course, I also got her tickets to the upcoming Mercy Me/Jeremy Camp concert in April. I really like the burnt orange shirt and tie combo that Susan got me as well.

Overall, life is good. We would like to see some more snow though. We saw some on Sunday night, but nothing really came about from it.

Maybe it's just me, but does this post seem to be kinda sporadic in it's thoughts? Anyway, happy new year to all our friends and family both near and far. Mostly far though since we don't have any family very near.

Merry CHRISTmas!!

2004-12-24T13:07:00.000-05:00

Christmas is finally here! Although not as busy in years past at this time, we are still quite tired. I think the emotional exhaustion is causing some physical exhaustion. Although, Riley's sleeping patterns aren't helping the physical part either.

Just some quick news. It looks like Northeast will be moving to Olive B. Loss Elementary School!!! Possibly as early as January 15th. WOW!! We are estimating that the expense will be just a bit greater than where we are now, but the space is sooooo much greater. The cafe-gym-torium will seat about 500, my guess. It is in the middle of a subdivision of around 1400 homes. What a great opportunity God has given us!

Back to Christmas now!!! Isaac and Riley are so excited about Christmas this year. They are looking forward to tearing into their gifts! And then, of course, leaving the gifts in the middle of the floor to watch TV probably. We are all excited about seeing my parents in Roanoke the first part of next week too. The boys have been so excited about getting to talk to Nana and Poppa and Mamaw and Papaw. They ask about calling frequently.

Please pray for our friends Gary and Renee Boschain. They are expecting their first child, a boy, any day now. We are excited for them and wish that we had more time to visit with them and share in this exciting time. Pray for the safe arrival of Baby B and for the health of Renee and the baby. I'm also sure that Gary could use some prayers as an anxious soon-to-be father too.

We love you all and wish you the very best Christmas of all!!

What a weekend!

2004-12-20T13:28:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone! We had a great weekend here in Delaware. Friday afternoon I rode around the area with Jim Warwick from the church. We went to look at the possibility of renting a school for our Sunday services. We had a good time visiting together, but, more importantly, we think we have a good shot at renting Olive B. Loss Elementary School. The school is still north of the C-D Canal, but it gives us the space that we need to grow. The cafe-gym-torium will seat about 500 people. It also has a partition to make the room smaller for now. A couple of the men are going tomorrow to meet with the principal who said she was more than willing to sign the necessary papers for us. WOW!!! How exciting!

Saturday we attended the surprise 70th birthday party for one of our church members. It was nice to be invited to that and also visit once again with church folks. Saturday was also the day that Riley decided to take a nose-dive down a flight of stairs at the house. I was all set to give him a 10, but he didn't stick the landing and ended up with a mark on his eye and a little "shiner".

Yesterday was good at church. The kids did a great job with the Christmas program. Isaac was a wise man and said his line perfectly, "We are following the yonder star!" We were so proud......until he started picking his nose in front of everyone. I guess, like father-like son, huh? We had our open house last night and had both church people and neighbors come. It was really good to get to know some of our neighbors better.

Already this morning (Monday), I ventured out to the hospital to visit with a gentleman, only to find out he'd already been discharged. I wouldn't have a problem with that, except that the wind chill is below zero today!!! I then made my way to Family Christian Bookstore where I got part of Susan's Christmas present and invited people to church. It's really cool to be able to do that. Inviting them to an exciting, growing church. They seemed very receptive too.

Also enjoyed watching the Colts game last night. I actually called a local sports talk radio show that was "bashing" the Colts, saying that the Ravens were going to not only hold Peyton in check, but also win the game. Do I hear repeat caller this afternoon???? HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

FINALLY!!

2004-12-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

Ok!! Here we go. Several weeks ago I though about starting this blog thing to help communicate with family and friends and church folks. However, in typical Tim fashion, I kept forgetting to do it. So here goes the first edition, the first posting on thegrashams.blogspot.com. How cool!

For all of our family and friends, things are going well for us. We have been here in Newark for just over 3 weeks now. That is hard to believe. I (Tim) am adjusting to working out of the house. For the past 8 years, I have been able to go to the office and work there. However, now that my office is in the house, it is taking some adjusting.

Susan is adjusting to it too. She just sent in application for graduation yesterday to Concord University in West Virginia. That's right!! Susan will soon have her degree in Business Management. We are so excited. She has persevered and not given up over the past few years. I am very proud.

Isaac is enjoying Kindergarten. He is only going half-day here in Delaware, though. He's beginning to read and write and understand some simple math concepts. Now we just need to work on his "inside voice". He likes the school and the church. He rides the bus to school and loves it. The kids at church are really good to him and he really likes them too.

Riley will be turning 3 in January. He is something else. I don't know that he has slept past 6am since we moved out here. Some mornings he's up around 3:30 or 4. Crazy, isn't it? Hopefully that will change soon. He is really developing his personality. He talks a lot now. He loves Isaac and loves to hate Isaac. Of course, they are brothers.

Anyway, that's the latest scoop on the Grashams. I hope to update this thing fairly regularly. Just don't give up on me. Send me an email to remind me if you need to.

Gotta run!