Bridge Families - James127 Father

Y'all, I can't say Enough about MVTI  and Denis who served us by working to book our flights.  We thought we had flights lined up and the bottom fell out with our meager efforts.  There was a moment yesterday that we began to think about changing schedules completely.  But the Lord had other plans to not just show up, but show off working through Denis.                                                        Subscribe to our Newsletter

First a quick trip report, if you want the big news skip to the second paragraph:  We had the opportunity to travel into Texas to see Jim & Trena with their girls in Austin early this week.  So we took off late last week headed south.  Really, it was perfect weather timing, Kansas City was getting the first blustery cold front of the fall.  Stopped traveling along the route to see dinosaur tracks in a creek bed that defy reality.  It is one thing to see posed fossils in a museum, but seeing trackways in a riverbed stretched all of our imaginations. We were hosted a few nights by our old neighbors (who 'kind of' knew cray cray they were inviting). Sunday were blessed to attend a worship service at Houston's First.  Monday we drove to Austin to see Jim & Trena.  We had an amazing visit playing at the park and shared a meal together.  Spent a night in Galveston, played at the beach and drove back to our furlough home in Kansas City. We...

We have four boys, they take turns mowing the lawn with dad. We are blessed to live in a furlough residence as we finalize paperwork and prepare to serve at His Cherished Ones in Kenya. Our family will be going to Kenya in February 2020.  Of our four boys, a couple have been mowing with me for several years while the younger boys are just learning.  Our last mowing was accomplished by a less seasoned crew member who was struggling. The struggle was not if could he push the self propelled mower.  His battle was where to keep his focus.  Each time he turned the mower around, lining up the next pass using the front wheels to get proper spacing.  However, his struggle was not looking further down the path. With every mowed pass keeping the wrong focus, the harder it was to keep the mower on track. The tracks were no longer straight, easy paths, but curving arches that are not as easy with the push mower.  Keeping his head down looking at the closest visual c...

We find ourselves on this journey as a family. Getting our crew ready to serve in a different role.  Praying constantly for the Lord to give us opportunities to prepare each of us for things yet to come.  Home schooling was clearly the best option for the time being for the school aged children. Thanks to a local church we have enrolled Ruby in a pre-k program.   The connections with the boys and Wren as we "help" with the homework have been so good.  Being able to focus time with them to build connections and strengthen our relationship together has proven a gift.  Today we rolled out early to give a family member some support with our hands and feet.  Something as small as cutting back a summer's worth of growth and bagging the spoils of war with common weeds. It is just plain good for us to work together.  On the drive home we learned the children's home we are going to serve in Kenya took a new placement today. Hearing our family excited in the ...

Wanted to share a quick story from this morning.  Today I got up early to go change the oil in the family car.  Leaving for the quick lube joint early enough to make the planned 10am coffee with a great friend and brother.  Upon arrival at the quick lube the wait would be longer than expected, but still work to keep the appointment.  Walked outside, found a shady spot to sit for a moment.  Sat quietly for a moment, reflecting and praying to the Lord for guidance about the next events on the calendar.  Messaged the 10am appointment, to find he was literally driving by the quick lube. Jumped in his car and went on to our coffee an hour ahead of schedule.  During our chat another dear brother seemingly randomly chose to stop for breakfast at the same place.  The time sharing and hearing from these two men was a blessing that only the Lord could have orchestrated.  Today's lesson, you don't have to figure it all out, you can't.  Our plans ar...

We packed up our cars and headed out with two goals in our minds. Spend more time as our core family unit was our first main goal.  Just get into a solid routine of just having our crew together to depend on.  It may seem a little strange, but with our crew we usually have everybody moving in a different direction most all of the time.  Being on the road and staying so close would keep us moving in the same direction.  At least for a few days.  We knew that a road trip would bring us lessons on about being a cohesive unity that our family will need to prepare us for His Cherished Ones in Kenya.  The second goal was exactly that, pray that situations along the trip would prepare each of us for the travels yet to come.  There are four of our children that have not done much traveling especially long trips. We travelled the first day into Chicago, nice and easy.  Ventured into Millennium Park late to find the kids a place to stretch after our ...

Men, this post is for you. Most men define who they are by what they do for a living.  We have to let that go, simply put.  At the very highest in the priority list your job or profession should rank no higher than third.  Following the Lord is number one. Being a husband and father number two, most often expressed as family.  However, we place so much emphasis on what we "do" as men that we regularly get this all messed up.  Don't let your daily work become the top priority in your life.