It's Somebody's Birthday Today :)

Last night we grabbed another redbox rental and had Family Movie Night. We watched Firehouse Dog and we all really enjoyed it. Sure, it bordered on cheesy in spots, but in all it was great family fun. We laughed out loud and it was a good story. Good stuff. :)

Guess what? We got fed this morning. :) Our neighbor is a Director of Missions (I think) in the Southern Baptist Convention and he was preaching at his local church in Fort Collins and they invited us to come along. I enjoyed this service today more than any I have in a long time. The worship, although musically imperfect, was spot-on in turning my heart to worship. Singing the familiar songs like "Blessed Be Your Name" and "Be Thou My Vision" and "How Great the Father's Love For Us" really blessed me and moved me this morning. The worship team wasn't as "tight" (I guess that's the word Ro might use) as the others we've heard recently, but there was just a depth to it that I really needed. Maybe my heart was just hungry, or maybe it's just that the songs were more familiar, I don't know... I do know it did my heart good.

And then the meat... yes, the speaker (our neighbor) actually preached from the Word, Ephesians 4 in fact. It was quite yummy.

There was no fluff here... no fancy schmancy video outtakes or effects or even a fancy building, although it was nice. But it was just good. You know? Kind of like home-cooked meatloaf when you're hungry. Not fancy, but filling. And that was exactly what we needed today.

Plus it reminded me of home.

(We'll likely visit again to hear the regular pastor... but next week we're planning to visit the church of C's teacher.)

We got a pretty good thunderstorm today. Haven't had one of those in awhile, actually. It came up fairly quickly with loud thunder and bright lightning, poured for a bit, stopped, and came back. Love that.

Took the kids for a bike riding lesson for awhile after it stopped raining. They're getting it. Yes, I know, you're shocked that at 8 and 11 they don't already know how to ride a bike. I don't know what to say except better late than never...?!?! :) They did pretty well, despite some initial reservations (read: trepidation). I think they'll be riding completely on their own soon.

J spent some more time at his new friend T's house. This morning T's mom was telling me how T has never had a friend like J before, describing to me the way they play together so well. She said that J is creative and T is more logical and they complement each other well, and that they play together and interact well rather than the way T has played parallel to his other friends. I thought of how good God is... you know? We've asked Him to answer certain prayers in our move here and yet He is so... God... that He moves even beyond what we can ask for. Does that make sense? Perhaps God directed us (in addition to the many other reasons I've previously discussed) so that J could meet a need in T's life...? Or maybe T is going to meet a need for J? I don't know. I just know that they seem to be thrilled to have J here. And I am thrilled at the way God works. :)

Incidentally, they also gave J a hamster cage tonight. He is driving us nuts with all his excitement over getting one. He has come up with a new name; C suggested Snickerdoodle, and because he still likes Hamy, he wants to call his new friend Hamy Snickerdoodle. He is in the process of reading some library books on hamster care (our requirement) and when he is done, if he feels he's up to the responsibility, I imagine we will have to go shopping for the furry little critter. :)

Quotable:

• "I can't help it; I have this international fear..." (J, explaining his nervousness before we began our bike lessons.)

Prayer Needs:

• Tomorrow is the anniversary of Kyle's death. His family needs your prayers.
• My pregger friend K is still not feeling well, dealing with headaches and nausea and stress.
• Please pray that the kids will learn how to ride their bikes without any traumatic injuries!