Born 1/10/2008. Weighing in at 10 lbs 5 oz, 23 inches long. Happy and Healthy! Praise God!

Mama is doing great as well and is as beautiful as ever!

see slide show and pics here:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=64454519

Ok...



so...



My wife's Pregnant!


More on this topic later.

So I'm driving home from church tonight, and I really felt like pulling in to the good ole' Residence Inn. For some reason, I just kinda felt sad to not be going there. Part of it, I suppose, is because our house is so full of Boxes and will take forever and a day to organize. Part of it, though, is because I miss my Hotel staff friends. Weird, huh? But you know...over the past 3 months, I've talked with many of them, and prayed for them, and just got used to seeing them. Now...unless I intentionally go out of my way to stop in...I won't see them anymore.

Boy, things can sure change in a hurry, can't they?

ok, so I had a Volunteer Appreciation Dinner for my Youth Workers on Sunday. Now I truly do appreciate all of my volunteers. I couldn't accomplish anything without them. They are where the rubber meets the road. In spite of how much I value my volunteers, though, I do not think of showing them my appreciation sometimes. It's a good thing I have my wife. You see, she is the one who says, "Let's have a special dinner in honor of your volunteers. I'll do most of the work." And so she does. We put the dinner together, and it goes just fine. My beautiful bride sends out invitations to everyone, goes shopping, and essentially orchestrates the whole shebang....

So we get to the actual dinner, and I have a thing where I recognize each volunteer present. I'm telling these stories about how each volunteer means so much to me, then I give each one a little token gift....

So I go through this whole thing, and you would think that I would spend a great deal of time at the end, recognizing my number one volunteer...the one who makes my ministry possible...my biggest fan...my best supporter...my encouragement in the hardest times...

and what do I do????

I blow it!

I didn't say "boo" about my favorite person in the whole wide world. Why? I mean besides the obvious, "because you are a thoughtless poop-head". I think it's not that I take her for granted...I think it's because I see her as my partner rather than my volunteer. Truly, she is my partner. My effectiveness is directly effected by my relationship with my wife.

Here's the thing, though. Even though she's my partner, I have to remember that she gives of herself without pay. So, though I forgot to say it on Sunday... I appreciate and adore my number one volunteer....my favorite person in the whole world....Crista Lyn Eicher!

My friend wrote a Blog that you must read. It's amazing. It's called Silence. READ IT!

Trey's Page

I come across people all the time that participate in some of the activities of the church but stop short of identifying themselves as part of the body of Christ. I wonder if some of them stay disconnected because they feel like they wouldn't fit in, or like there's no place for "their kind". I wonder if part of it is because we who claim to be the body of Christ are unwilling to find ways to help the disconnected to "plug-in" their uniqueness to the body. Does God ask us to change those things in our lives that don't bring honor and Glory to Him? Absolutely. But I think maybe we (myself included) are quick to want people to change those things that just don't seem to fit. Or maybe I should say, we want people to find gifts and abilities that fit with our current structure, rather than fitting their gifts and abilities into the structure. Praise God, the church is like one of those new trash-bags that stretch, rather than rip when something that doesn't look like it fits is jammed in.

1 Corinthians 12:20-26
20As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Paul wants us to be careful to avoid extremes in our response to temptation.

First, he instructs us not to be arrogant: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall." Pride is a dangerous thing. It gives off the appearance of strength, when, actually, it is simply the façade of the weak. We convince ourselves that we are above giving in to certain temptations. Convinced of our own strength, we cease to rely on God for the strength to withstand temptation, and presto! We have left ourselves weak. How many arrogant preachers have we seen condemning sinners only to hear later of their moral indiscretions? I'm sure they were confident that they would never partake in the infidelity that they spoke out so loudly about. Let us, rather, join with John Bradford in saying, "There but for the grace of god go I." Don't think for a moment that you are incapable of any sin. But remember, by God's Grace, you are capable of withstanding any temptation. I'll talk about that another time.

I Cor. 7:29-35
v. 35b ".that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord."

Paul once again calls our attention to the fact that our present world, while real, is only a shadow of the "realness" of the world to come. We get so engrossed in our possessions, our relationships, and all other things of this world that we lose sight of the fact that this present world is "passing away."(v. 31)

So when Paul says "From now on those who have wives should live as if they had none; those who mourn, as if they did not; those who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them.", is he really calling us to pretend we're not married and never act happy? No, He's trying to remind us that time is short, and we must devote our lives and our time to things that will have an impact on eternity.

I find this so difficult to keep in perspective. So many things of this present world demand my attention. Lord, help me develop the discipline I need to give my undivided devotion to you and to things eternal. "Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." (Psalm 86:11)