cardboard testimonies

NCC will be doing something similar Thanksgiving weekend. The worship team I lead will have the privilege of being the team leading worship for this exciting event.

Update: they changed the date and my group will NOT be the group playing.

school about to begin

Yes, it is that time of year again: monsoon weather in phoenix, heat still there, sun still rising early, and children about to head back to school. DVHS is where I call home for my teaching career at this stage. I do love it there. I am looking forward to another good year. I am teaching 3 classes of freshman level algebra and 3 classes of junior level algebra. My schedule is as follows:

Per 1 - Algebra 3-4
Per 2 - Algebra 1-2
Per 3 - Algebra 3-4
Per 4 - Algebra 3-4
Per 5 - Lunch
Per 6 - Algebra 1-2
Per 7 - Algebra 1-2

I can already tell you that my second hour is going to be the most challenging. LORD give me grace! Oh how at times like these I wish I was more merciful and understanding of others. Pray for Deer Valley's population, would you? Pray the LORD would reveal Himself in ways that could only be explained as that He showed up. Pray for CCC (Christian Club on Campus). Pray for CCC's leadership. Pray for Diedrich Wasserbauer and I as we sponsor CCC. Pray that it will have an impact for the Kingdom of our LORD, Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory!

six posts for the price of one

Yep...this has truly been a crazy year. I am proud to say that I have now successfully made it through school year 2007-2008. Graduation was this morning, and what a day for a graduation! It was about 110 degrees F just five days ago, but today it was stormy and topped out around 70. What gorgeous weather. Enough weather talk, though, because I want to simply give an update on life...

I was not accepted for the MSTF program through ASU this summer. There were over 40 teachers who received an invitation to the fellowship, and none rejected it. Another over 100 teachers were outright rejected right away, but then I fell in a third category, a category of suspense and torturous waiting. I knew all of the other teacher's who'd applied at DVHS were either accepted or rejected, but I received no word from ASU at all. It left me hanging and wondering if I should be doing the summer school gig or if I should plan on doing the MSTF. I wrote in and got a response a couple days later. I was told I was in the third category and I would know by last Friday whether I was in or not. I did not receive any word Friday. I didn't receive any word at all that weekend. I decided to wait until Monday morning to write and email asking whether or not I was in, and there was still no word. I wrote in and received a response in a couple hours: I was not in. So, I was bummed, but what could I do? Therefore, I will be teaching summer school starting this Tuesday. I get three days off in between second semester and summer school, and I plan on using them to the fullest.

The Van Liews in Phoenix will be getting together for the couple of birthday celebrations all rolled into one this Sunday at 4pm AZ time. Charles and Allison will be in town, and I am looking forward to being with family. It has been awhile since we've all be together out here. If you've not heard, Chuck Van Liew, Charles' father, just quit his job and is in limbo right now, but at complete peace because of his faith in the LORD Jesus Christ, and will be looking for a new job. He's been in the same employ for the last 25 years or so, so this is a major change for his family. It is a good move, so no worries there, but it still would have been a huge decision, though the right one. Aren't the hard ones normally the right ones? The whole family is proud of him and wish (pray, actually) for the best.

Amy, as of yesterday, is 3cm dilated and lost the rest of her mucus plug (gross). She had her membranes stripped at the Dr. appointment. She has been having contractions every 10 min or so this evening. We are hopeful that Isaiah Cole Van Liew, our third child (in three years), will be joining us this weekend. This is perfect timing as I am off from work right now and have a three day weekend. As mentioned before, I want to use this weekend to the fullest! Amy is looking forward to being finished with pregnancy for at least a couple years here, though she's said she's still willing to have more. God gave me the perfect woman for me, I'm tellin' ya!

Kate just had a check up this afternoon. She is now 17lbs. 14oz. That's a pound and a half since the February appointment. She is a lean one still, but she is about perfect on the ten percentile curve. We are extremely happy with that report. We weren't sure if she was gaining enough, but that gives us relief and comfort. The LORD has been good to us. Kate's had her struggles in life already, but she is bouncing back well, and she's one of the happiest babies you'll meet to boot. She just had her first birthday a week ago. Aidan turned 2 a month and a half ago, so we have a 2 year old, a 1 year old, and an about to be born (year old). I don't say anything with tongue-in-cheek. And that last sentence wasn't in the least bit sarcastic. Or that one. :)

Aidan's a stud and continuously gains new vocabulary daily now. I love watching him love his sister. I love hearing them laugh together, seeing them play together. Their interaction makes me wonder about Bethany and me: did we act like that when young? I hope so. It's brought Amy and I so much joy and enjoyment that I hope that was given to my parents for their joy and enjoyment. I am in complete wonder. I am so proud to be Aidan's daddy. It is amazing to watch human development and how intelligent such a small child can be. God created some incredible beings, I must say. Too bad we screwed it all up with our stupidity in pride and now that same intelligent child is also an evil, wicked sinner (a.k.a. "sack-o-sin").

Speaking of pride, I got to counsel a student who used to be a CCC leader until midway through last semester (Fall 07). She's had issues with her self-view and has hated her body and it's affected her entire life. Now, I'm not one to go for self-esteem as being key, but a believer needs to view him/herself in the light of God's holiness as well as His grace. We need to see the sinner part, but we also need to see the beauty. The phrase I was given (thank you LORD) during our conversation that brought the first true smile to her face that I've seen in months was: "you're the most beautiful thing He's ever seen." Let me explain. When the LORD looks at us, He sees His Son covering us, and, therefore, He sees the most beautiful thing He's ever seen. True, we have our issues, but we're covered by the blood of the Lamb, people. how incredible is that? Yes, we have our responsibility to live rightly in the LORD's sight, but we have His grace, as well. "Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase? May it never be!" But, on the same token, we are not to beat ourselves up and hold on to guilt for something He's already paid for and taken care of completely! How beautiful the blood! And it's all for His glory. Hey, don't forget...

You're the most beautiful thing He's ever seen!

the best part

I must say, the best part of the Suns 129 - 127 victory was being able to cheer the Suns on with my guys. My discipleship group has been together since they were in 7th grade, and I joined them as a leader the second semester of their 7th grade year. This is my sixth year with them, and they are a great bunch of guys. We poked fun at each other, each one pretty much getting his own turn, but we laughed and screamed and had a blast cheering our Suns on to this great win. We were hosted by the Tolmachoffs, and they provided pizza and the HD experience that this game deserved. What a blast we had together! We all jumped up and yelled when Nash hit that three at the end of regulation to tie. We high-fived and grunted together. Guys, if you're reading this, I love you all. You're an incredible blessing to me, and, no, not just because you like the Suns, also. I've been extremely privileged to be your d-group leader for all this time, and I am looking forward to the impact the Lord will have in and through your lives throughout the rest of this year and the many to come. I am proud to call you my friends. Serve Him with all your heart. He deserves our all. It's all for His glory: live like it.

ggvan makes it to 100

Unless there is news that I've not heard of (I don't think they'd keep this quite, though), my Great Grandma Van made it through yesterday, her 100th birthday. I can now say that I've had a grandma who was over 100 years old. That's pretty amazing. She made it long enough to have everyone be able to celebrate her birthday together and get to say goodbye. My parents and sister were very blessed by the Lord giving her a little more time for that. She's now even surpassed her actual birthdate. 100 years old. That's a lot to have sink in. And I said "goodbye" to her back in January. I feel a little silly, but not really. It was a great time that I got to spend with her, and I wouldn't take it back. How much longer will she hold on? The Lord knows, and I don't, and that's just fine. Grandma Van held dearly to this incredible God that we know, and she's rested in His sovereignty most of her life...why shouldn't I do the same? What God does defines what's right and good...that's His character...that's who He is...and that's who my Great Grandma Van sought after and lived for. What a legacy for the rest of the Van Liew Clan to follow! All to God's glory alone.

two weeks in review

It's been a while since I have written anything on here. Adam told me to write again and I said I would if he made a decision about dinner and my parents coming over here. He did so I am keeping up my end of the bargain. So a lot of things have happened since I wrote last, but it kind of feels redundant to talk about them because Adam already has...but he said I should do it anyway because I am different than he is so I will do it anyway. It seems like a really long time ago but High School winter camp was 2 weeks ago. Camp was really awesome this year, God answered prayer in a big way (He is a big God, right?). We have been praying for a while that God would change lives and save people at this camp, and He did! We had 15 students baptized when we came home on Sunday night. Some of them were saved at camp and some of hem rededicated their lives. It was such a great thing to come home and not be done. It was the first time that we have done a session on Sunday evening with the whole church. I really think it was good for the students and the parents, so everyone was on the same page and conversations could stem from the shared experience. It was a very good weekend, it was fun too. The dumb games and the hoedown. One of my girls had a cold while at camp an she decided that it would be nice thing to share it with me so I got it when we go home. Wow, it seems like a long time ago...moving on...So valentines day was this month. I got some flowers for me from Adam, they were very nice (thanks babe). And he gave me a very nice card and a sucker (thanks to one of his students, it was good too). Valentines day is nice but its really not that big of a deal. Its not like I don't know Adam loves me, he doesn't have o get me extra things on specific day to tell me that. I think that its just a scam from retailers to get people to spend more money. Ok, that was way too much time on that subject. So the family all came into town on Wednesday of last week. Beth, Joe, and Jon stayed with us and Vaughn and Kathy stayed at Irene's. It was a nice weekend with them here. Thursday night was here with Kathy's family, it was fun, always entertaining. Friday was pretty much all day wedding stuff. I took Charles and Allison's wedding that night, and was doing prep and pictures the majority of the day. It wore me out but I was really glad that I was able to do the wedding. I think the pictures turned out well, I hope the newlyweds agree, but if they don't they actually get a chance to retake their wedding pictures in May. Saturday was a fun day at the park. We took a large group photo of everyone while the out of towners were in town. Then we played games and hung out the rest of the evening. Sunday was church and Grandma Van's 100 birthday get together. We were late or both of the above events. We were going to go to HS group on Sunday morning but we didn't make it out of bed in time so we just went for second hour service. And we went home to let Aidan (and me) take a quick nap before Grandma's. We didn't quite make it in time for that either...which was kind of sad because they were going to have Adam do the opening prayer or lead some of the singing. Oh well, not a big deal. Grandma Van's party was really nice. She is pretty amazing, and hat is reflected in all the people that she has touched over her century of being alive. It was really nice to hear the stories that were remembered, and sing together thinking of all the she is going to join soon. It was kind of sad too, I am never too sure why believers cry at things like this but we do. I just pray that the nonbelievers that were there were touched by the love of Christ and the witness of Grandma Van. Monday was the trip of a lifetime to he Grand Canyon. It was the longest trip to the canyon I have ever made. It was cold, there was snow, there were cars and there was lots of parking. I think that's a pretty good summary of the day. I am not really sure how God intended to show His glory through that day but I am sure that he did somehow...I will get back to you on that one. On Tuesday I made a run to the airport and had a few other things hat needed to be done. Tuesday night was when everything caught u to me, I was (still am) sick through all of this. I don't think that all of the running around helped, but that ok, that's what the weekend was all about. So Tuesday night was the first night I didn't have something going on and I was very tired. I am still trying to heal from this cold...wouldn't you think that 2 weeks would be enough to feel better-good grief. And now Aidan is sick too. He made it for so long but then he got the flu. He had a fever and no appetite and threw up...a lot. I don't do so well with puke, it usually makes me puke too, but I made it through without throwing up. Aidan is now doing better but not 100%. He is such a good kid, he has only been kind of whiny and slightly more cuddly since he has been sick. I had a tea party this morning, but no one showed up except for my mom. That's ok I guess, I had some outside orders before the party and hope to get some more tomorrow. I felt kind of bad but Kelsey said she didn't care and got to do everything anyway to help train a new person. i guess that's all to talk about for now...I am going to have to write more often if I don't want this to take so long every time...

winterrupt 07

Winterrupt 07 was ncc's winter camp which just took place this weekend, February 9-11. We were up at Bison Ranch, about 3 1/2 hours from Phoenix. What an incredible weekend! Chris Mueller spoke 4 times (3 Sat and 1 Sunday morning). We talked about unraveling ourselves and our view of being "religious." Getting rid of religion and having sound doctrine, meaning truth lived out, was huge. We had a lot of students that were convicted that their lifestyles don't reflect God's control and ultimate position. We had a few students accept Christ and were saved (as far as we know, since we can't see the heart, but God does), and we had 15 baptisms when we got home Sunday night. Praise and worship was great, and the band did a wonderful job. The planning was superb, as well, and the weekend went off without much of a hitch. The "dad's crew" was awesome, and the staff did a great job. Camelback Bible Church brought along their junior highers, as well, and I believe that they had a great time, too. God answered a ton of prayers this weekend. His name is to be greatly praised! All glory unto His name alone!

dvusd teacher inservice

Jim Kern, a motivational speaker brought in to speak to the DVUSD high school staff who gathered at Sandra Day O'Connor High School, asked the group to share who made them feel safe and secure every time they were with them.

• Most answered a parent
• Some said a grandparent
• No one said a youth leader (from church, etc.)
• Only two answered a teacher

Jim was a good speaker, fluent in how to communicate well with groups and get people comfortable enough to work with him. He seemed to be a Christian, from all of the prayer he mentioned and church stuff. The above list made my heart sink, not that most people said their parents made them feel safe (I did, as well), that's great, but that no one said that a youth leader had done that for them. Is the Church today loving the lost? How great it is that the Lord might use even me in the position of the last two spots up there. May He alone receive glory and honor.

quote

"God wants to reveal His presence and glory to His people. He wants to fill our hearts and homes, our churches and ministries with His love and His Spirit. He wants to pour out His grace on the dry, thirsty ground of our lives."
~Nancy Leigh DeMoss

coaches smith and dungy

I just found this. Posted January 23, 2007:

Lovie Smith of the Bears was followed by Colts' head coach Tony Dungy in a matter of four hours to become the first African American coaches in the big game's 41-year history.

"It means a lot," said Dungy, according to the Associated Press. "I'm very proud to represent African-American coaches."

Not only are they making history representing African-American coaches, but both
coaches are also representing Christ.

"The Lord set this up in a way that no one would believe it," said Dungy, according to the Baptist Press. "The Lord tested us a lot this year, but He set this up to get all the glory."

source: First Black Super Bowl Coaches Say 'The Lord Set this Up'