Go dregs

Hey family.
I love my family. God is good, and we have been very blessed. I haven't blogged since we found out Anda was pregant. I hate to rub it in too much, but I will just say that the dregs of the gene pool are still going strong. It's a good feeling to not be all tied up in knots.

I do feel very, very thankful for this new baby. I was fine with stopping at four, but I think five is going to be great.

I have been doing a little intruding on Tod's blog, but I want to share briefly something I heard at our men's retreat last weekend. Randy Boyd talked about the blessing. He mentioned that when God called Abraham he was one man, and his father was a pagan idol worshipper. In four generations his great grandson was the most powerful man in the world. Randy mentioned that the blessing increased with each generation, so that the son who was blessed was able to start where his father left off. I have certainly seen God's blessings multiply in our family. It is something I hope to see multiplied through my family in every generation until Christ returns. The humbling, wonderful fact is that the blessing is given by God himself to whomever He chooses to give it. Isaac wanted to bless Esau, but God chose for him to bless Jacob. It wasn't the strongest or the most gifted child who got the blessing, it was God's choice. Isn't it good to be in Christ where we all are freely given the fullness of His blessing. We have a hundred times more than any patriarch ever had. What a wonderful time to be alive.

As you know Anda and I are working through what the next phase of our lives will look like. I feel peace at what God is doing with us. It is hard, but He is with us. His timing, which He has still not made clear to us, is always perfect. Please pray for lots of love and faith as we figure this out together. Sometimes the ideal is easier to see than to achieve. I see and hear about people that are living in true Christian community, and it makes me hungry for it. I want things to look like they did in the early church. But community isn't built by force, and real relationships never happen quickly. So God is teaching me to follow Him even in my nice home among my wealthy neighbors. And if I learn this lesson I suspect He will let me move on to the next.

In the joy and peace of Jesus,
Randy