God Still Works...

Just got news from one of the elders that a woman accepted the Lord this past Sunday after service during the prayer time. I had taught on Ephesians 5.25 where Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. And that Jesus' love for His bride was not only unconditional (agape love) but also sacrificial (gave Himself for the church). And this is exactly how we husbands are to love our wives - sacrificially and unconditionally.

During the message, I just felt led by the Spirit to stop and just pray for anyone who has never received this love. So I did exactly that - stopped halfway through and just prayed out loud for whoever it was that needed to receive the love of Jesus. Then I went on with the teaching. After the service, several people went up to the prayer-team to receive prayer. And this woman then gave her life to the Lord and received the forgiveness of sin and love of Jesus. PRAISE THE LORD!

Now I don't know which is more of a miracle - that the woman accepted Jesus or that God still uses weak, inept, incompetent, foolish humans! Oh yes, He uses the weak and foolish of the world to confound the wise! That's us!

One of my favorite passages - I shared this passage with the church here when I first took over as senior pastor. It was a reminder to them (and me) that we are just clay pots, earthern vessels. And God fills us with His Spirit, Truth, Love, Power - and He uses us for His glory...

'And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.' 1Cor 2.1-5

God Still Works...

Just got news from one of the elders that a woman accepted the Lord this past Sunday after service during the prayer time. I had taught on Ephesians 5.25 where Paul tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. And that Jesus' love for His bride was not only unconditional (agape love) but also sacrificial (gave Himself for the church). And this is exactly how we husbands are to love our wives - sacrificially and unconditionally.

During the message, I just felt led by the Spirit to stop and just pray for anyone who has never received this love. So I did exactly that - stopped halfway through and just prayed out loud for whoever it was that needed to receive the love of Jesus. Then I went on with the teaching. After the service, several people went up to the prayer-team to receive prayer. And this woman then gave her life to the Lord and received the forgiveness of sin and love of Jesus. PRAISE THE LORD!

Now I don't know which is more of a miracle - that the woman accepted Jesus or that God still uses weak, inept, incompetent, foolish humans! Oh yes, He uses the weak and foolish of the world to confound the wise! That's us!

One of my favorite passages - I shared this passage with the church here when I first took over as senior pastor. It was a reminder to them (and me) that we are just clay pots, earthern vessels. And God fills us with His Spirit, Truth, Love, Power - and He uses us for His glory...

'And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.' 1Cor 2.1-5

Sermon or Blog Post??

Man, this hits too close to home! I think I need to go back and rework the message for this Sunday! ;-)

Any of you out there post your teachings/messages on your blog? Or use one of your blog posts as source material for a teaching/message?

Or maybe blog-sermons are the way of the future? Forget about meeting in conventional churches, let's meet online and do church!

Sermon or Blog Post??

Man, this hits too close to home! I think I need to go back and rework the message for this Sunday! ;-)

Any of you out there post your teachings/messages on your blog? Or use one of your blog posts as source material for a teaching/message?

Or maybe blog-sermons are the way of the future? Forget about meeting in conventional churches, let's meet online and do church!

Home Sweet Home

Well, we have been back in Freiburg now for a few days and I have to admit it feels good to finally unpack (not to mention to sleep in your own bed!). It seemed like I was on the road so much these last 3 weeks - Poland, Tools of the Trade Conference, and a couple of all-day weddings outside of Freiburg.

In any case the Conference was totally refreshing, encouraging and extremely challenging. It gave me (us all) much to think about and pray over. One of the most memorable moments for me was actually not even any of the teaching sessions. Pastor Ricky Ryan gathered us senior pastors and those in the process of planting churches and we just had lunch together, away from any others. And he just shared from his heart such words of encouragement for us in Europe - that Europe is on the verge of something great spiritually, that God is doing something huge here in Europe and we are on the frontlines. He sees the state of the church in the USA and is grieved with the way some are headed (yes, even some Calvarys).

So, his exhortation for us in Europe was to remain true to the Word, to continue to love the people and to always be taking steps of faith and reaching out. And not to allow the circumstantces that we see in the USA to affect us in Europe. The whole meeting felt like the Apostle Paul gathering his Timothy's and Titus' and just exhorting them to remain true to and strong in the faith! What a blessing!

Here are a few pics of our team and 'phamily' - well extended phamily...



Freiburg Phamily (minus youth pastor and family - had to put kids down to bed)

back, L to R - John, Jacque, Doro, Becks w/Dariah.
front, L to R - Jesaiah on Antje's lap, Zachie & Taliah on my lap.








Youth Pastor Falk (and son) being encouraged by Pastor Tommy Schneider from Vail Valley, CO, USA










Irina (Falk's wife - far left) sharing a moment with Becks, Dariah (middle) and Jacque (far right).










Our 3 kids sharing their favorite scenes from the movie 'Robots' w/ a new-found friend (white shirt) whose family is planting a church in Düsseldorf in northern Germany.

Home Sweet Home

Well, we have been back in Freiburg now for a few days and I have to admit it feels good to finally unpack (not to mention to sleep in your own bed!). It seemed like I was on the road so much these last 3 weeks - Poland, Tools of the Trade Conference, and a couple of all-day weddings outside of Freiburg.

In any case the Conference was totally refreshing, encouraging and extremely challenging. It gave me (us all) much to think about and pray over. One of the most memorable moments for me was actually not even any of the teaching sessions. Pastor Ricky Ryan gathered us senior pastors and those in the process of planting churches and we just had lunch together, away from any others. And he just shared from his heart such words of encouragement for us in Europe - that Europe is on the verge of something great spiritually, that God is doing something huge here in Europe and we are on the frontlines. He sees the state of the church in the USA and is grieved with the way some are headed (yes, even some Calvarys).

So, his exhortation for us in Europe was to remain true to the Word, to continue to love the people and to always be taking steps of faith and reaching out. And not to allow the circumstantces that we see in the USA to affect us in Europe. The whole meeting felt like the Apostle Paul gathering his Timothy's and Titus' and just exhorting them to remain true to and strong in the faith! What a blessing!

Here are a few pics of our team and 'phamily' - well extended phamily...



Freiburg Phamily (minus youth pastor and family - had to put kids down to bed)

back, L to R - John, Jacque, Doro, Becks w/Dariah.
front, L to R - Jesaiah on Antje's lap, Zachie & Taliah on my lap.








Youth Pastor Falk (and son) being encouraged by Pastor Tommy Schneider from Vail Valley, CO, USA










Irina (Falk's wife - far left) sharing a moment with Becks, Dariah (middle) and Jacque (far right).










Our 3 kids sharing their favorite scenes from the movie 'Robots' w/ a new-found friend (white shirt) whose family is planting a church in Düsseldorf in northern Germany.

Tools of the Trade

This week, we will be traveling as a family to Siegen, Germany (2 hours or so northeast of Frankfurt) to attend the first annual Tools of the Trade conference. It is a conference that is to encourage, equip and refresh people serving here in Europe. The guest speaker will be Ricky Ryan from Santa Barbara who teaches and shares from many years of experience in ministry.

We will close down the church office for a few days as we go together with all the other full-time and part-time staff members. We are really looking forward to the time together, as we learn and are refreshed, but also to have time to fellowship as fellow workers of our Lord. We have since the beginning of this year tried to find ways (beyond regular staff meetings) to become more of a 'phamily'. We have gone bowling together, met to watch 'What ABout Bob' (some good things to learn about ministry to 'difficult' people) and this week will go together as a team to Siegen. We want to become more than just people who serve alongside one another, but to truly become family members who serve one another.

Tools of the Trade

This week, we will be traveling as a family to Siegen, Germany (2 hours or so northeast of Frankfurt) to attend the first annual Tools of the Trade conference. It is a conference that is to encourage, equip and refresh people serving here in Europe. The guest speaker will be Ricky Ryan from Santa Barbara who teaches and shares from many years of experience in ministry.

We will close down the church office for a few days as we go together with all the other full-time and part-time staff members. We are really looking forward to the time together, as we learn and are refreshed, but also to have time to fellowship as fellow workers of our Lord. We have since the beginning of this year tried to find ways (beyond regular staff meetings) to become more of a 'phamily'. We have gone bowling together, met to watch 'What ABout Bob' (some good things to learn about ministry to 'difficult' people) and this week will go together as a team to Siegen. We want to become more than just people who serve alongside one another, but to truly become family members who serve one another.

Women's Retreat/Luxembourg

I was blessed by my husband to be able to go to a women's retreat over mother's day weekend. (He posted something of his end of the weekend a few days ago.) I went with 6 other ladies from our church. The conference was in Siegen, Germany and was open to all the Calvary Chapels here. There were about 300 women there from several different churches.

Our guest speaker was a women named Carole Wolaver. Carole is a potter. If you ever have a chance to go and see her, you should! She was great. We were all really ministered to, she is very real and the visuals of the pottery really stick with you. One example I don't think I will ever forget is how as she was throwing a vase she had the one hand inside and the other outside and she explained that if she were to use only the one hand inside, the vase would collapse, and if only the one hand outside, it wouldn't have anything to pull up and stretch. Both hands - inside and outside are needed to form the vase. She compared this to our lives as Christians, we are formed by the hand of God in our lives, and also by the circumstances outside surrounding us. How often do I complain when the circumstances in my life aren't easy? But I am being molded and shaped by the Master Potter, and He will mold me into the vessel that He sees fit.

The retreat was Fri-Sun and afterwards I got to go visit friends in another city in Germany. As everyone else left for Freiburg, Dariah and I were off to Trier. Our friends Jacques and Francoise left Freiburg a few years ago to go back to their home country of Luxembourg and start a work there. They still live in Germany, but only about a 30 minute drive into Luxembourg. In the past 3 years God has been showing them more of what their ministry there should be. They are working with a student group at the university in Luxembourg city and they have a home fellowship. They are looking to move into Luxembourg in the next year or so.

Luxembourg is a very unique country as are it's people. It is very small, it is bordered by Germany, France, and Belgium. It has a pretty big variety of landscapes for such a small place (the area we visited reminded me a bit of Oklahoma, rolling green hills, pastures full of cows and forest...very green). They all speak Luxembourgish, French, German and English fluently. Towns that are only fifteen minutes apart are like two different worlds for the Luxembourgers, that's why Jacques and Francoise know they have to move back into Luxembourg in order to minister to their people. Going the 30-40 minutes is just too far, and to a foriegn country on top of it! It is a very catholic country, (where the veneration of Mary is taken to new heights) any thing else is considered cult, so it can be tough to reach people with the Gospel.

I really enjoyed the visit with Jacques and Francoise, learning about their country and seeing what God is doing in them and through them...it is so exciting!
Here are a few pictures of my weekend. It was a really nice mother's day present from my husband and family...I missed them for the 4 days, but was also ministered to and blessed during that time.

Carla(pastor's wife from Munich and Irina(our youth pastor's wife)













Some of the pots Carole made during the retreat














Esch, Luxembourg

Luxembourger Sparkasse (national bank), Luxembourg City. This is the highest peak in the city...pretty telling for one of the richest EU countries

OK, My Turn

Well Davey beat me to it...and he took some of my things that I wanted to use, oh well, I think I can still come up with 10 things.

1. I grew up in Eufaula, a small town in Oklahoma, with lots of Aunts, Uncles and cousins around. My mom is the youngest of 14 kids, 13 of them grew up and had kids of their own. My dad is an only child, so he had a big adjustment to make! I lost my accent pretty quick in California after being teased so badly, but every now and then it will sneak back in when I say certain words. I also sometimes use words and phrases that people here don't understand (those who speak perfect English). Even Davey has never heard some of the sayings and words that I use!
(Just a bit of trivia for any of you that listen to country music, Carrie Underwood has a song called 'I ain't in Checotah anymore', which is the neighbor city to Eufauala and she mentions things about my home town in the song...makes me home sick sometimes...)

2. I have always, for as long I can remember, wanted to speak German and come to Germany. I was the one who always took German in school instead of Spanish. Never knew why at the time...isn't God cool! I can remember telling people in high school (before being a Christian) 'I will go to Germany someday, even I just get off the plane and right back on, I will go. And when I go I will go to the Blackforest'. Now 15 years later I live in Germany, in the 'capital' of the Blackforest...wow! That's all I can say. (Sure am glad God changed my hubby's heart! ; ) )

3. In contrast to my husband, I never had much interest in Australia...until my sister married an Australian and moved there about 12 years ago! Now I love the place as well! The two weeks we spent there after our wedding were great.

4. I was a band geek in high school, and proud to admit it! I played clarinet in marching band and concert band, and a little bit of saxaphone in jazz band. I also sang in the choir. We had a great music teacher, Mr. Weinburger, he was very energetic very funny.

5. Davey didn't propose on stage that Thursday night. He said 'gotcha'...but he never said will you marry me, except in an email a few months before that...he's lucky the answer was yes to both things! Most of our courting was done over email, Davey was still in Germany and I was already back in California. We emailed for 5 months before we saw each other again!

6. I never planned on being a missionary. I was studying German in college and got the opportunity to come to Germany for 3 months in order to experience the language and culture first hand. I met Davey on that trip, he arrived here in Freiburg from the Bible college in Austria the same weekend I arrived from S.D.. We never knew each other in America. The first time we spent any amount of time there together was when our first son was born in 2000. We lived in Murrieta for almost a year.

7. I love to play badmiton. When Davey and I got married he made fun of me and said it wasn't a real sport...then he played once with my dad, and changed his mind. My dad has a net set up in our front yard year round. When I was a kid my cousins and Aunts and Uncles would come over and play until late at night, we had a flood light on the porch to light it up when it got too dark.

8. I love where God has placed our family. I love our city and the people here. I love hearing my kids speak German and English with no accent in either one! The way they can switch languages back and forth blows me away! I get confused! I think we live in one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. It has such charm!

9. All 4 of my kids were born within 3-4 hours of the first 'real' contraction. The first and last with a mild pain reliever, the two in the middle 'au natrual'. I can't complain...

10. I have learned to cook things here that I would never do at home. There are things that we can't get here so I have learned to make them from scratch. I have to make most of my thanksgiving stuff from scratch, like the pumpkin pie. I start with a real pumpkin and cut it up and cook it down and go from there. Cranberry sauce too, I can get fresh cranberries so I make the sauce myself. Tortillas are something I make pretty often. We can buy them here now, but only since about 3 years(I know that is the wrong way to say that, but my English is failing), and they are not very good. It's fun, it takes a little more time, but it is worth it. And the kids are getting big enough to help and they love to when they can.

So there are my 10 things. That was harder than I thought! I don't even know 10 other people who blog!

I have other things to post, but it will have to wait til later. There is so much going on right now! For now though I have let the lunch dishes sit on the table long enough! So as soon as I can I will post about the Women's retreat last weekend and my trip to Luxemburg!

Women's Retreat/Luxembourg

I was blessed by my husband to be able to go to a women's retreat over mother's day weekend. (He posted something of his end of the weekend a few days ago.) I went with 6 other ladies from our church. The conference was in Siegen, Germany and was open to all the Calvary Chapels here. There were about 300 women there from several different churches.

Our guest speaker was a women named Carole Wolaver. Carole is a potter. If you ever have a chance to go and see her, you should! She was great. We were all really ministered to, she is very real and the visuals of the pottery really stick with you. One example I don't think I will ever forget is how as she was throwing a vase she had the one hand inside and the other outside and she explained that if she were to use only the one hand inside, the vase would collapse, and if only the one hand outside, it wouldn't have anything to pull up and stretch. Both hands - inside and outside are needed to form the vase. She compared this to our lives as Christians, we are formed by the hand of God in our lives, and also by the circumstances outside surrounding us. How often do I complain when the circumstances in my life aren't easy? But I am being molded and shaped by the Master Potter, and He will mold me into the vessel that He sees fit.

The retreat was Fri-Sun and afterwards I got to go visit friends in another city in Germany. As everyone else left for Freiburg, Dariah and I were off to Trier. Our friends Jacques and Francoise left Freiburg a few years ago to go back to their home country of Luxembourg and start a work there. They still live in Germany, but only about a 30 minute drive into Luxembourg. In the past 3 years God has been showing them more of what their ministry there should be. They are working with a student group at the university in Luxembourg city and they have a home fellowship. They are looking to move into Luxembourg in the next year or so.

Luxembourg is a very unique country as are it's people. It is very small, it is bordered by Germany, France, and Belgium. It has a pretty big variety of landscapes for such a small place (the area we visited reminded me a bit of Oklahoma, rolling green hills, pastures full of cows and forest...very green). They all speak Luxembourgish, French, German and English fluently. Towns that are only fifteen minutes apart are like two different worlds for the Luxembourgers, that's why Jacques and Francoise know they have to move back into Luxembourg in order to minister to their people. Going the 30-40 minutes is just too far, and to a foriegn country on top of it! It is a very catholic country, (where the veneration of Mary is taken to new heights) any thing else is considered cult, so it can be tough to reach people with the Gospel.

I really enjoyed the visit with Jacques and Francoise, learning about their country and seeing what God is doing in them and through them...it is so exciting!
Here are a few pictures of my weekend. It was a really nice mother's day present from my husband and family...I missed them for the 4 days, but was also ministered to and blessed during that time.

Carla(pastor's wife from Munich and Irina(our youth pastor's wife)













Some of the pots Carole made during the retreat














Esch, Luxembourg

Luxembourger Sparkasse (national bank), Luxembourg City. This is the highest peak in the city...pretty telling for one of the richest EU countries

OK, My Turn

Well Davey beat me to it...and he took some of my things that I wanted to use, oh well, I think I can still come up with 10 things.

1. I grew up in Eufaula, a small town in Oklahoma, with lots of Aunts, Uncles and cousins around. My mom is the youngest of 14 kids, 13 of them grew up and had kids of their own. My dad is an only child, so he had a big adjustment to make! I lost my accent pretty quick in California after being teased so badly, but every now and then it will sneak back in when I say certain words. I also sometimes use words and phrases that people here don't understand (those who speak perfect English). Even Davey has never heard some of the sayings and words that I use!
(Just a bit of trivia for any of you that listen to country music, Carrie Underwood has a song called 'I ain't in Checotah anymore', which is the neighbor city to Eufauala and she mentions things about my home town in the song...makes me home sick sometimes...)

2. I have always, for as long I can remember, wanted to speak German and come to Germany. I was the one who always took German in school instead of Spanish. Never knew why at the time...isn't God cool! I can remember telling people in high school (before being a Christian) 'I will go to Germany someday, even I just get off the plane and right back on, I will go. And when I go I will go to the Blackforest'. Now 15 years later I live in Germany, in the 'capital' of the Blackforest...wow! That's all I can say. (Sure am glad God changed my hubby's heart! ; ) )

3. In contrast to my husband, I never had much interest in Australia...until my sister married an Australian and moved there about 12 years ago! Now I love the place as well! The two weeks we spent there after our wedding were great.

4. I was a band geek in high school, and proud to admit it! I played clarinet in marching band and concert band, and a little bit of saxaphone in jazz band. I also sang in the choir. We had a great music teacher, Mr. Weinburger, he was very energetic very funny.

5. Davey didn't propose on stage that Thursday night. He said 'gotcha'...but he never said will you marry me, except in an email a few months before that...he's lucky the answer was yes to both things! Most of our courting was done over email, Davey was still in Germany and I was already back in California. We emailed for 5 months before we saw each other again!

6. I never planned on being a missionary. I was studying German in college and got the opportunity to come to Germany for 3 months in order to experience the language and culture first hand. I met Davey on that trip, he arrived here in Freiburg from the Bible college in Austria the same weekend I arrived from S.D.. We never knew each other in America. The first time we spent any amount of time there together was when our first son was born in 2000. We lived in Murrieta for almost a year.

7. I love to play badmiton. When Davey and I got married he made fun of me and said it wasn't a real sport...then he played once with my dad, and changed his mind. My dad has a net set up in our front yard year round. When I was a kid my cousins and Aunts and Uncles would come over and play until late at night, we had a flood light on the porch to light it up when it got too dark.

8. I love where God has placed our family. I love our city and the people here. I love hearing my kids speak German and English with no accent in either one! The way they can switch languages back and forth blows me away! I get confused! I think we live in one of the most beautiful cities I have been to. It has such charm!

9. All 4 of my kids were born within 3-4 hours of the first 'real' contraction. The first and last with a mild pain reliever, the two in the middle 'au natrual'. I can't complain...

10. I have learned to cook things here that I would never do at home. There are things that we can't get here so I have learned to make them from scratch. I have to make most of my thanksgiving stuff from scratch, like the pumpkin pie. I start with a real pumpkin and cut it up and cook it down and go from there. Cranberry sauce too, I can get fresh cranberries so I make the sauce myself. Tortillas are something I make pretty often. We can buy them here now, but only since about 3 years(I know that is the wrong way to say that, but my English is failing), and they are not very good. It's fun, it takes a little more time, but it is worth it. And the kids are getting big enough to help and they love to when they can.

So there are my 10 things. That was harder than I thought! I don't even know 10 other people who blog!

I have other things to post, but it will have to wait til later. There is so much going on right now! For now though I have let the lunch dishes sit on the table long enough! So as soon as I can I will post about the Women's retreat last weekend and my trip to Luxemburg!

Tagged - 10 Facts About Yours Truly

Well, I guess it was inevitable - when you get on the Starr Jr's list, you're gonna get tagged! And so here goes our list of 10 things about us (well at least about me, I'll let Becks do her own list of 10). Oh, it's in random order...

4. My favorite dessert is cranberry and apple pie - Becks started making that a few Thanksgivings ago and it has become my all-time fav! I could eat the whole pie! It even edged out tiramisu (Italian dessert if you didn't know). There's an Italian lady in our fellowship who makes the best tiramisu, but i had to tell her it's #2 on my list for now.

7. I can't swim - never learned. Have no desire. If God wanted me to be in water, He would give me fins and gills.

5. When I get really nervous, it makes me really want to pee. So every Sunday before I get up to teach, I make sure I have gone pee first. In fact, when I asked Becks to court 10 years ago, I had to go pee 3 or 4 times first!

2. Speaking of courting - I asked Becky to court while we were on a day trip to Basel, Switzerland. We were supposed to go with a mutual friend - would have been us 3. But the friend canceled last minute so it was just Becks and me. Hmmm, coincidence? I think not!

8. Becks said I never officially asked her to marry me. I know I did - it was during the Thursday evening Bible study at CCMurrieta and Pastor Brian had invited me up to share a few words about Freiburg. I did, then invited Becks up also. Then I kneeled and proposed. On stage. In front of the whole congregation. So I have hundreds of witnesses. She says she never heard me say 'will you marry me?'. What do you think - were you there that Thursday?

3. I love heights - been bungee-jumping out of a hot air balloon a couple times. Loved rockclimbing. Would love to learn skydiving, hanggliding and ultra-lighting (is that a word?). But alas, neither time nor money permits.

6. Always wanted to live in Australia. Came very close once - I was accepted to the University of Melbourne and had a plane ticket, dorm room and everything all arranged. But never went for reasons I don't want to go into here (got your interest?). Still want to though - but I guess God knows best ;-). We honeymooned in Sydney for a couple weeks - loved it!

10. When we first came to the USA as 'boat people' from Vietnam, the government gave me a name - Franky. Yep, for a while I was Franky Pham! Go ahead, laugh it all out. Ok, wiped the tears away? Got your breath back? When I became an American citizen, I chose the name David. Whew, what a relief to be rid of Franky!

9. Never ever ever ever wanted to be a pastor-teacher (always have dreaded speaking in front of people - as a kid, I used to ditch school when I had to do oral book reports!). Never ever ever ever wanted to live in Germany. Never ever ever ever even intended to go into missions. But I guess God had other plans and changed me and my heart. Thanks God! Can't imagine being or doing anything else!

1. I love blues music. Wish there were more Christian blues. Anyone know of really good blues with a good message?

Ok, that was it - but I don't know 10 OTHER people to tag. Rose kinda tagged us all already! Well I guess I can just tag Jamie N. Go girl!

Tagged - 10 Facts About Yours Truly

Well, I guess it was inevitable - when you get on the Starr Jr's list, you're gonna get tagged! And so here goes our list of 10 things about us (well at least about me, I'll let Becks do her own list of 10). Oh, it's in random order...

4. My favorite dessert is cranberry and apple pie - Becks started making that a few Thanksgivings ago and it has become my all-time fav! I could eat the whole pie! It even edged out tiramisu (Italian dessert if you didn't know). There's an Italian lady in our fellowship who makes the best tiramisu, but i had to tell her it's #2 on my list for now.

7. I can't swim - never learned. Have no desire. If God wanted me to be in water, He would give me fins and gills.

5. When I get really nervous, it makes me really want to pee. So every Sunday before I get up to teach, I make sure I have gone pee first. In fact, when I asked Becks to court 10 years ago, I had to go pee 3 or 4 times first!

2. Speaking of courting - I asked Becky to court while we were on a day trip to Basel, Switzerland. We were supposed to go with a mutual friend - would have been us 3. But the friend canceled last minute so it was just Becks and me. Hmmm, coincidence? I think not!

8. Becks said I never officially asked her to marry me. I know I did - it was during the Thursday evening Bible study at CCMurrieta and Pastor Brian had invited me up to share a few words about Freiburg. I did, then invited Becks up also. Then I kneeled and proposed. On stage. In front of the whole congregation. So I have hundreds of witnesses. She says she never heard me say 'will you marry me?'. What do you think - were you there that Thursday?

3. I love heights - been bungee-jumping out of a hot air balloon a couple times. Loved rockclimbing. Would love to learn skydiving, hanggliding and ultra-lighting (is that a word?). But alas, neither time nor money permits.

6. Always wanted to live in Australia. Came very close once - I was accepted to the University of Melbourne and had a plane ticket, dorm room and everything all arranged. But never went for reasons I don't want to go into here (got your interest?). Still want to though - but I guess God knows best ;-). We honeymooned in Sydney for a couple weeks - loved it!

10. When we first came to the USA as 'boat people' from Vietnam, the government gave me a name - Franky. Yep, for a while I was Franky Pham! Go ahead, laugh it all out. Ok, wiped the tears away? Got your breath back? When I became an American citizen, I chose the name David. Whew, what a relief to be rid of Franky!

9. Never ever ever ever wanted to be a pastor-teacher (always have dreaded speaking in front of people - as a kid, I used to ditch school when I had to do oral book reports!). Never ever ever ever wanted to live in Germany. Never ever ever ever even intended to go into missions. But I guess God had other plans and changed me and my heart. Thanks God! Can't imagine being or doing anything else!

1. I love blues music. Wish there were more Christian blues. Anyone know of really good blues with a good message?

Ok, that was it - but I don't know 10 OTHER people to tag. Rose kinda tagged us all already! Well I guess I can just tag Jamie N. Go girl!

Why I Love My Wife!

At 6.00 this morning (Saturday!!!), I realized how much I miss my wife and how much she actually does for our family. At 6.00 this morning, Taliah was whispering in my ear 'Daddy, Daddy, Dadddddyyyyyy - can I play now? Is it breakfast yet? Can I get up yet?' I just turned over in my bed and grunted - 'uuuhhhhh'. That was a non-committal yes and no and wait and whatever you want just let me sleep a few more minutes - all rolled into one. So she went back to her room and looked at books until a more reasonable 8.00.

See, normally Becks has the 5.00-7.00 shift with the baby (yes our kids are very early risers!) and I have the 7.00-9.00 shift, getting them ready for kindergarten. But Becks is at a Women's Retreat in Central Germany with ladies from all over Europe, so I have the 3 older kids at home alone - Fri until Monday night - 4 days! Yes, count them, 4 whole days. Alone. With 3 kids. Did I mention 4 days?! Naw, actually we have really good kids - they're pretty easy. Unless it's at 6.00 in the morning on a Sat! Gotta love them!

A Big 'Yo!' to all you Proverbs 31 moms out there...

Why I Love My Wife!

At 6.00 this morning (Saturday!!!), I realized how much I miss my wife and how much she actually does for our family. At 6.00 this morning, Taliah was whispering in my ear 'Daddy, Daddy, Dadddddyyyyyy - can I play now? Is it breakfast yet? Can I get up yet?' I just turned over in my bed and grunted - 'uuuhhhhh'. That was a non-committal yes and no and wait and whatever you want just let me sleep a few more minutes - all rolled into one. So she went back to her room and looked at books until a more reasonable 8.00.

See, normally Becks has the 5.00-7.00 shift with the baby (yes our kids are very early risers!) and I have the 7.00-9.00 shift, getting them ready for kindergarten. But Becks is at a Women's Retreat in Central Germany with ladies from all over Europe, so I have the 3 older kids at home alone - Fri until Monday night - 4 days! Yes, count them, 4 whole days. Alone. With 3 kids. Did I mention 4 days?! Naw, actually we have really good kids - they're pretty easy. Unless it's at 6.00 in the morning on a Sat! Gotta love them!

A Big 'Yo!' to all you Proverbs 31 moms out there...

Cost of Discipleship

Just got back from Poland this week - have to say this was the best trip I had ever been on. Learned so much about what it means to count the cost of following Jesus. Perhaps we have taken it for granted or too lightly. Too often we hear that if we just believe in Jesus, everything will be better! Marriages will be restored, depressions will fade away, hurts will healed, wrinkles will smooth out, love handles will disappear and all our life problems will be solved. Now, don't get me wrong, I truly believe God can do all these things (well, maybe not the wrinkles and love handles part!) - I've seen it and experienced it!

But all too often when we share the Gospel, we focus just on the benefits we receive when we accept Jesus into our life. As if He were some magic potion we rub on when things irritate us and life just isn't going 'our way'. But how often do we hear about the cost of becoming a true follower of Jesus. In fact, the authors of all 4 gospels thought it such an important topic that they all included Jesus' teaching on this cost.

The believers in Poland were such an inspiration to me - they truly must count the costs in very real ways when they decide for Jesus. Because Poland is very traditionally Catholic, they face ostracism and rejection from friends and family and possibly even excommunication. I met one young man, T., who had recently counted the cost and decided to follow Jesus. His family had rejected him and even forbade him from their home. But oh, what a heart for Jesus this young man has - a truly on-fire, servant's heart. It was a privilege for me to see him being baptized during the retreat. Although it was a symbolic act of obedience, it was for him also a real act of dying to self as he counted the cost daily!

Let us all count the cost everyday - it is part of being a disciple! Let us deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus our Lord and Savior!

Cost of Discipleship

Just got back from Poland this week - have to say this was the best trip I had ever been on. Learned so much about what it means to count the cost of following Jesus. Perhaps we have taken it for granted or too lightly. Too often we hear that if we just believe in Jesus, everything will be better! Marriages will be restored, depressions will fade away, hurts will healed, wrinkles will smooth out, love handles will disappear and all our life problems will be solved. Now, don't get me wrong, I truly believe God can do all these things (well, maybe not the wrinkles and love handles part!) - I've seen it and experienced it!

But all too often when we share the Gospel, we focus just on the benefits we receive when we accept Jesus into our life. As if He were some magic potion we rub on when things irritate us and life just isn't going 'our way'. But how often do we hear about the cost of becoming a true follower of Jesus. In fact, the authors of all 4 gospels thought it such an important topic that they all included Jesus' teaching on this cost.

The believers in Poland were such an inspiration to me - they truly must count the costs in very real ways when they decide for Jesus. Because Poland is very traditionally Catholic, they face ostracism and rejection from friends and family and possibly even excommunication. I met one young man, T., who had recently counted the cost and decided to follow Jesus. His family had rejected him and even forbade him from their home. But oh, what a heart for Jesus this young man has - a truly on-fire, servant's heart. It was a privilege for me to see him being baptized during the retreat. Although it was a symbolic act of obedience, it was for him also a real act of dying to self as he counted the cost daily!

Let us all count the cost everyday - it is part of being a disciple! Let us deny ourselves, pick up our cross daily and follow Jesus our Lord and Savior!