The righteous flourish lie the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him Ps. 92:12-15

I was watching coverage of Hurricane Ike, like many were last week. I don’t know what it is about me, but I notice odd things: maybe because I’m odd to begin with. The cameras were panning a part of Galveston beach. You could see buildings knocked down, debris flying around and the rain being blow absolutely sideways. Then a palm tree came into sight. The wind was relentless, yet, there stood this palm tree being blown, but not blown down. He was just standing there minding his own business doing what palm trees do.

In a strange coincidence, (yeah, right) the Lord led me to this passage. That palm tree had probably been there for years and years, seen many strong storms, and yet, he still stood his ground not bothered by this storm either. It was as if I heard the Lord say, “Hey, old sap (Diane often calls me that) keep on going. I’m not done with you, yet.” Let’s all keep going for the Lord until He plants us in His courts…in Heaven.

Love to all -Chris

p.s. Is this the most amazing baby ever? Go Eli!

Yard of the Month

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness self-control; against such things there is no law. GAL 5:22-23

A few nights ago I was watching season two of the show 24 (best show ever-except for Gilligan’s Island) and I heard Diane come in from outside and yelling, “Honey, I need you for a minute.” Well, I thought this better be good to tear me away from Jack Bauer blowing some bad guy away. She took me to the street to look back at a sign that had been stuck in our front yard. YARD OF THE MONTH! We had to laugh because we’ve been in this house and neighborhood for over 15 years. We waited patiently and finally, we received our reward. BIG WHOOP!

I really wish the list of the fruit of the spirit didn’t include that ugly “patience” word. I don’t have much of it. I want to know right now, this instant what God’s plans for me are. Wanting to be able to plan my own life is more like it. We have to wait on the Lord as Is. 40:31 says. But I must admit I’m not very good at it. It's sort of like waiting for the honey to come out of the jar to go on your sopapillas. Yum! (sorry, Tex-Mex humor) PATIENCE TAKES TOO MUCH...PATIENCE!

Silly I know, but remember…wait on the Lord. He’s always on time!

Ya’ll are the best! -Chris

Milestones

So, Miss Elizabeth is one month old now. What a milestone! Seems like the first year has so many of them from birth to feeding to rolling over to sitting to walking. It's truly amazing.

Today I saw the son of the pastor of our little church in Chandler, AZ. Steve and I went through high school together. His dad, Don Reed, was a "milestone" person in my life. From time to time I reminisce about the people God has placed in my life along the way. They have impacted my life in such a profound way that it caused me to make some kind of decision or direction change that the Lord ultimately used to get me where I am. These "milestone" people are Mom & Pop who not only took me to church, they went with me. My pastor Don Reed, who saw potential for ministry in me and pointed me to Baylor. My youth minister, Bill Nakahira, who heard the voice for praise God gave me. Ron Bowles, who directed the BRH choir where Diane and I met, who also gave me my first love for Christian music. Buster Pray, my friend from seminary days who started Diane and I on the road to singing Christian music as a full time ministry. Dick Baker, the first Minister of Music at Prestonwood who brought Diane and me to Prestonwood which became our "base church" for over 25 years. I think of Bill Taylor who saw that I was restless as student minister and needed desperately to sing my praise to God. I also think of Robert Sterling, who saw the potential to write songs in me and helped me dig out of the clay the gift that the Lord placed there. And most of all, my sweet Diane who altered and "altared" my life when she agreed to marry me. 30 years she's been on this rollercoaster with me and we're about to go up and down again. She's the very best!

There certainly are more "milestone" people and will be more to come. As I look at Elizabeth, I pray that the Lord will bring those "milestone" people into her life to set her on the incredible journey of following Christ.

Look for those people and bless God for them.

Love you all,

Chris

Gotta Take Your Bath

For those of you checking in to see if we've been posting new pictures, we finally have some. One as you can see is from Elizabeth's first bath. She doesn't like being cold and naked. Me either for that matter.

There must be a spiritual application! Oh, yeah! Truth is, there are many things in life that are unpleasant and unsettling. Seems like we shouldn't have to go through them. "Lord, I'm trying to be faithful here. What's up with this? Are you mad at me?" No, He's not. Sometimes when we go through the trials of life (and we all face them and will continue to face them) and it stinks and doesn't make sense.

That's when we have to go back to the things that DO make sense, back to the things that we know, the things about the Lord that will never change. He loves me! He created me for a purpose! He wants me to worship Him, acknowledge Him as my soul sustainer and provider. His Word can be believed. His mercy is new every morning. He is sovereign. HE'S IN CONTROL!

You might guess that I'm dealing with these very issues. But I know, HE IS LORD! My task is to trust Him in every situation and even if it's unpleasant and unsettling, it's for my good. Rom. 8:28. Read it again. It is very comforting.

Love you all. Be blessed. We have a Friend in Jesus!

Chris

Uncle Ryan's Here

We now have our whole Machen Team together. Uncle Ryan flew over from Baylor yesterday to see his niece. He got his first experience at feeding (and burping) a baby. We got a few pics of him and EJ.

We've had a great trip. We'll head back to Plano Friday night. It's been too short and it'll be hard to leave the kids and our little Tar Heel. But it's time for them to be a family on their own. Jen and Stephen are already great parents. And, thankfully, Elizabeth has been a very "easy" baby. Keep them in your prayers. Pray for a church home and new friends.

Love you all.

Chris

Daycation

Okay, so this is a new word on me. Essentially, it means we had a day to ourselves on this trip. We visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. Amazing place. 180,000 acres, a house will 42 bathrooms for a guy, his wife and one child. Lots of parties though. Sort of the Great Gatsby. In fact, I wonder if this is who that F. Scott Fitzgerald had in mind? It was truly a great day. We'll go back to Jen and Stephen's tomorrow. Ryan's coming over too for a few days.

So, here are a few recent pictures. Just to let you know that I don't really think Elizabeth is perfect, I included a picture of her in mid "puke." However, there is one of her and me that is wonderful. Of course, I look like a whale, but she is an angel. Hum...THE ANGEL AND THE WHALE. Sounds like a good idea for a children's book. I'll think about that.

Love you all and thanks for your interest in our boring life!

Chris

One Week Old

Hey everyone!

Well, miss Elizabeth turned one week old today. She's amazing...of course, what else would you have me say. She's very healthy and strong and already lifting her head and rolling on to her side to sleep. Remarkable! Okay, I'll stop! We're all tired, especially Jennifer. Stephen went back to work yesterday. He's a great dad! I marvel at their strong marriage and maturity. God truly brought them together. Please keep them in your prayers. We're planning on returning Friday. Diane might stay a few more days if Jen needs her. We're having a ball and so glad to have this special time with Jen, Stephen & Elizabeth Joy.

Love you all,

Chris