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poetic response to pain

The pain you express makes me hurt within
I don't understand the suffering which you are in
But along the way we may turn and find
That someone will listen, even pay you mind
Is that what you cry out for? Not just from the pain?
Can it be that what you need is Christ's soothing rain?

If those who bear His name have hurt you as such
I apologize and empathize because you've hurt much
While people suck and we fail left and right
Truly, truly, I say to you, Christ still is Light
Though the flesh we're in will rotten and decay
Still the LORD is caring, loving without delay

Too much is made of our failings by us
Christ has dealt with it, in Him I will trust
If peace is what you seek, don't look away
His arms are open wide, ready to comfort today
Are you willing to just let it all go?
Grace and new life He's waiting to show

REST! He provides what I need
My neediness must yield to His incredible deed
REST! Precious gift
Made alive for His glory and praise to lift
REST!

new blog

Please go to our family's new webpage, Clan Van Liew, which now hosts our current blogging and our pictures (both with rss support so you can subscribe to be made aware of any new updates). We'd love to have more readers! So, share it with your friends and family who know us. Our latest blog update shares the ordeals we've faced this week. I think it's a good read (and I hope you agree). Go check it out!

tryin' sumthin' new

I'd like all you faithful readers out there ::grin:: to check something out for me and give some feedback on whether you think we should move this direction or not. I just created a sample new site for our family which would include photos, videos, and blogs. If you end up liking it, I think we're going to switch to it instead of using blogger. Please, leave a comment and let us know what you think about the project: Clan Van Liew. Thanks!

student quote

Directed to a student of mine, M.A. (Period 3):

"My first mistake was listening to you instead of Van Liew."
~C.K. (Period 3)

six already

Yesterday was our sixth anniversary! We went to second service, took the kids home and fed them lunch. The kids took a nap, and we had Ben & Amanda Fagerlie offer to babysit for the evening so we could go out together, so they came over at four so we could leave. We ant to the DV30 AMC theatres but stopped in the Starbucks to get a drink first. Amy got a grande caramel macchiato with an extra pump of vanilla, and I got a triple venti white mocha. We went to see Madagascar 2, which had already been out a month but we'd not seen. We both thought it was quite funny and an overall good sequal. We then ate dinner at Olive Garden near Arrowhead mall. We ate a lot and still had leftovers to bring home. It was a great day together. My wife is an incredible blessing from the LORD.  Thank you all for your well-wishes and congratulations.

personal shopper #19

The Neighborhood Ministries is a group that meets the needs of the poor community in the Metro area. Their headquarters/church/meeting place is in downtown Phoenix. One of the ministries they have is to the parents of needy families. They allow adults to volunteer there in exchange for ministry money. It's not actually money redeemable for cash, but it is redeemable for brand new items during the Christmas store. People donate brand new items to the Christmas store so that these parents can purchase them with the volunteer dollars they've earned throughout the season. Why have a store instead of just giving handouts? Well, the idea behind doing the store comes from wanting to give people a sense of dignity in providing for their families during the Christmas season when so many needy families find they have no ability to give to their children. Instead of someone coming in, giving them things, and the parents being left with a remorse and lack of dignity from not being able to support their family, they now are able to earn these gifts for their family. All that to say, KAIO, the college-age and twenty-somethings group at ncc, got to join in on helping out during the Christmas store. There were lots of different jobs, but we all were set up as personal shoppers. We got to partner with a parent, take them through the store's mad rush, carry their gifts, keep a running total of what they were spending, and make sure they didn't go over their amount. We got to do this three times. It was quite an ordeal. People rushing to and fro, looking for what they could get their family. There were bikes, video games, a PSP or two, an iPod Nano, a couple TVs, jackets, things for him, things for her, children's toys for both boys and girls, balls, movies, and even kitchen appliances (nothing huge, but there were a couple of smaller refrigerators about 3-4' tall). Carrying it all, getting it to the holding area, keeping a running total, trying to understand their Spanish (most were Hispanic and couldn't speak English), getting them checked out, and helping them to their vehicle. And all of that three times. It was quite a rush. I was truly blessed to be a part of it (and I got to utilize my Spanish a lot!). I was personal shopper #19.

aidan wearing daddy's glasses

Aidan just really wanted to wear my glasses, so I let him. Don't know how well he could see...what do you think from his expression?

old scruff to hot stuff

Now, I had not shaven or trimmed for some time at the point of taking the before pictures here. I decided it was time. What do you think?
The before scruff.

Nicely trimmed.

Neck scruff.

Cleanly shaven.

chilly weather

It has been pretty chilly around these parts for us desert rats. We decided to take a cartrip down to Pinal County, AZ, and we thought it might be good to make sure the kids were warm. Truly, they didn't end up even needing the hats but...

...yeah, we pretty much have the cutest kids on the planet.

amy's burn

Amy burnt herself last weekend pretty bad. She was trying to pan sear a roast before putting it in the crockpot when some of the oil splattered up on her hand and arm. She's dealing with pain and discomfort with the burnt areas still. We aren't sure how much will be left over scars. She is handling it like a trooper. She's an amazing woman, what can I say? I love her.

births

On the Van Liew side of the family, there were two births in the past week. Tammy (Van Liew) Plummer gave birth to her third son, Jeremiah David, on 11/17/08. Courtney (Van Liew) Steinman gave birth to her first child, Hunter James, on 11/20/08.

new hat

I got a new hat because a couple of guys from ncc and I have joined a program called the Timothy Program through Scottsdale Bible Church. It's a program geared to help men learn to be godly men. SBC regards the class as leadership training for men. Kent DelHousaye, my pastor, can see this as deacon and elder training. Anyway, all that said, I got a hat. The kids saw me wearing it and wanted to wear it, too, instinctively wanting to be like me...you know how it is. I thought they looked cute, so I took some pictures.

the kids

Here are some semi-recent pictures of the kids.  Aidan likes to hold Isaiah on the couch now.  And Isaiah has a comb over.

new words

This morning at the breakfast table as we were eating, a plane flew over outside.  Kate heard it and turned around to look at....the window I guess.  Like she could really see anything.  Anyway, she said, "what's that?"  Aidan then promptly answered her, "that's a plane."  She then repeated, "plane" sand Aidan said, "yes."  It was cute to see Aidan teaching Kate words that he already knows.  I think he has been waiting for her to be able to talk to him.

cell phones

Aidan has always liked pretending he was talking on a phone.  Now Kate likes to do it too.  The other day at lunch they were sitting at the table while I was feeding Isaiah on the couch.  They both had their hands up to their ears and were having a lengthly conversation with each other on the phone.  It was really funny.  They were talking back and forth, laughing.  They ended the conversation by saying bye to each other.  Aidan has now gotten to the point of taking a "phone" out of his pocket, pretending to dial, talking, hanging up, and then putting it back in his pocket when he is done.  That kid...

new shirt

I have been amiss at posting on here again.  What's new?  I realize that there are people who read on here that aren't on face book so I need to post here too.  So just a couple of funny updates on the kids.  At the beginning of the week Aidan had some  kind of sickness that was making his stomach hurt (eventually he did throw up).  All morning he kept lifting his shirt up and asking me for a new shirt because he thought that the shirt was making his stomach hurt.  It was kind of sad.

soft

It is hard to believe that we've not posted anything in over a month now! One cute story that's recently happened I would like to share. Aidan was eating dinner, sitting to my left. He started petting my arm (I guess he was feeling my hair) and he said, "Soft.". Yes, my son called my arm soft. Not the most hypermasculine of terms, I must say, but Amy had a good laugh, and that makes it worthwhile.

big shoes to fill

What a blessing it is to watch Aidan grow. He wants to be like me. What a challenge, therefore, to be the man of God that I am to be in order that he may see what the LORD desires of us so that we may honor Him together.

student quote

Background: there is the picture of a cartoon bee in the bottom of the new urinals here at DV. Some of the guys have said to "aim for the bee while you pee." This was a female student's response:

"I wish I was a guy. That sounds like fun."
~A.M. (Period 3)