Saturday, May 31, 2008

Date Night

Friday, Lynn and I along with our friends the Nichols and Kamberger's to a little time for a date night.

The 6 of us headed off to the Cedar Falls Bible Conference Grounds to see the Southern Gospel Quartet Legacy Five. I received free tickets in the mail and so it was time for a road trip! Tom drove and we all had a wonderful evening.

The music was great! Their bass was incredible as well as their high tenor. Their piano player was very good as well and
Never had a formal lesson in his life. He played one of my favorites "In My Heart There Ring A Melody". The key board was smoking when he finished - the audience gave him a standing O. The video link is not all that great but the sound is very good.

Following the concert we found our way to Famous Dave's and got our rib racks on! We ate like Kings!

Good music, Good Food and Great Friends - What a great night out!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Friday, May 30, 2008

Lot's Going On!

Been a while since I posted so I thought I would get a bit caught up.

Just before our 25th anniversary, I had the opportunity to speak at the Father/Son Retreat at the Iowa Regular Baptist Camp. It was a great weekend! The program guy, Aaron, was hoping and praying for 40 guys to show up and God blessed and the final tally was 110!

I spoke and both Daniel and Philip shared their testimonies. That was the very first time that all three of us ministered together in that fashion. I was a very proud Papa.

Following the Father/Son Retreat we held Philip's graduation reception at the house, which was very well attended. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Good food as well!

Sunday May 18th was graduation day for Philip. Everything went off without a hitch.

May 23-25 we had the privilege of hosting Jason Nightingale at our church for an extended weekend of ministry. Jason is with Wordsower International, and among other things is speaking the Word of God in the Church across the United States.

While at Clear Lake this past weekend, He spoke Romans on Friday, 1 Corinthians on Saturday, Ephesians on Sunday morning and the Book of Hebrews on Sunday evening. It was an incredible time in God's Word! I'm so thankful for Jason's ministry and friendship.

While Jason was here he shared about his international ministry of caring for widows and orphans in Africa and India. God was working and two of our young ladies are contemplating a possible short term missionary trip to India in the future. How awesome it is to see God working in the lives of His people!

Waiting to see what God will do next!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Thursday, May 22, 2008

25 Incredible Years And Counting

Lynn and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on the 21st of May.

What an incredible moment for us, it is hard to believe that we've been married that long but as Lynn reminded me we have actually known each other for 30 years.

Lots of ups and downs but God's grace is sufficient and truly love does cover a multitude of sins.

Let me take this moment to say thank you to Lynn for being my wife. There is no way I would be the man that I am without her beside me. She is my best friend and I love her more today that ever! I thank God for her everyday!

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh."

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Big Catch on Clear Lake

Philip and I were fishing on a dock on Clear Lake and on my first cast I caught this very nice 381/2 inch musky. As nice as this fish is, it is shorter that the 40 inch limit on Clear Lake! So after some photo's ... Back in to the lake it went! ENJOY!!!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Early Mother's Day Gift!

Received a call from Daniel that He and Maggie wanted Lynn and I to drive down to Ames last Sunday afternoon for an early Mother's Day lunch together with them and Maggie's Mom and Dad. The plan was to meet at Pizza Hut just as soon as Lynn and I could get there.

Upon arrival and massive amounts of pizza, Dan began to tell us what he and Maggie believed the future held for them following Dan's graduation from Bible College this Spring. All very exciting stuff as Dan explained the process that he and Maggie walked through to reach their conclusions.

About this time, Maggie produces two gift bags from under the table and the Mom's were told to open them together. Maggie's Mom held up baby spoons and Lynn had two baby bibs! Cats out of the bag...Maggie and Daniel are going to have a BABY!!!!!!

We are so excited and happy for them.

Continue to pray for Dan and Maggie as they continue to seek God's Will for their lives in the area of future ministry and for their new baby which is due in early December!

What a day Sunday it was!

I Remain,
Grandpa Steve (WOW)

National Youth Conference @ Faith Baptist Bible College

The National Youth Conference at Faith Baptist Bible College was held on April 19th -21st. There were about 180 young people there from all over the U.S. We had three of our teen s from our church there and they all had a great time.

The speakers were Pastor Pat Odle and Mr. Dan Dark. Pastor Odle is the new Campus Chaplin and Mr. Dark works with Student Recruitment/Admissions as well as many other tasks too numerous too mention!. Both men did an excellent job and really challenged the young people about living for God and knowing God's will.

I always enjoy the Faith Youth Conference because of the intence time in God's Word as well as the opportunity to sit in on classes during the day on Friday. The Friday afternoon activities as well as the evening activities are great too!

Already looking forward to next year!

I Remain,
Pastor Steve

State Meetings @ Ankeny

We had a great time at the State Meetings that were held at the Ankeny Baptist Church.

The speakers were Dr. Colin Smith and Dr. Larry Moyer. These two men did a fantastic job of bring the Word for our sessions and it was good to have the chance to get to know both of these guys on a more personal level.

As always the fellowship with Pastors from around the State is a great blessing and encouragement.

I Remain,
Pastor Steve