Not there yet...

I couldn't help myself. I tried not to be competitive. I just couldn't stop myself.

Tonight I was a race car driver. A couple from Northwest invited us to share an experience at Chicago Indoor Racing...a company that let's people live vicariously as they drive souped-up go carts (they go up to 35 mph!) around an indoor track.

I was teamed up with Doug. We won!! What a great night hanging out with friends and meeting some new people, too. After racing (did I mention that Doug and I won?) there was good food, pool, and hanging out.

It was a fun night out.

I love to win...and I think that's okay...

Peace, M@ (#29...)

Godspeed, Jean...

Jean Stevens was my mother-in-law's best friend.
Jean was an influential person in Heidi's life.
She presented godly words of wisdom at choice moments.
Jean Stevens was a fighter.

Tonight, Jean lost her fight with cancer. Though Jesus defeated death, I suspect that Jean gave him a good lickin', too.

More than anything else, Jean loved Jesus. Tomorrow morning, when I help lead a congregation into the presence of God in worship, Jean will be in His presence, personally. That which I will see only dimly, she now sees clearly.

In this world, you invested well, Jean. Now, run to the arms of your Master and begin this new eternal life filled with the love of His presence.

Peace on your journey,

Matt

misc...

Nothing really specific to report at this point, but thought I'd touch base anyway...

1. I'm pleased with the way things are going at Northwest. Everyone seems to be on board with the direction we're going. It's pretty fun. We've had a little spike in weekend worship, but we've had several out-of-town guests...but a few visitors from the area, as well. The shift to two worship gathering times has felt good.

2. Dan continues to settle in as Worship Arts Pastor. He's a great guy and adds to the staff dynamic in a fun and healthy way. It's a stretch (and a very good one) for me to turn "control" over to him. It's a stretch not because of his competency but because I tend toward "control freak" end of the spectrum. I don't know that I've ever seen the dynamic between lead pastor and worship pastor that I would like to have...no offense to anyone else, I just haven't seen the synergy that I'm looking for. My nature is to step in and make corrections or calls during the worship time, but I've chosen to give that option to Dan. If I want to change something on the fly, then I need to pass it by him. I'm still the one who makes the call on the big picture, but I need to let the specifics go to him. So if he doesn't have people stand up when I want them to, that's his call, not mine. Instead of having a small stroke trying to get him to tell the people to stand, I just need to get a grip and then debrief with him in private...does that make sense? It may not sound like, but it's a huge adjustment for me (and I suspect for most lead pastors). But making the adjustment will be the difference between getting a new worship pastor ever few years or building a team that will take Northwest far into the future...and the difference between heart trouble in my 40's and living a long time!!

3. Joe and Kristen Zgoda left our home on Sunday afternoon. They are couple/person/group #23 to have passed through our home since we moved. Just recently have Heidi and I realized that it's been so many people. That's why we bought the house we did...so we could have people stay with us. It's been fun. It's also been tiring, especially with F3 on the way. It was a great visit with Joe and Kristen, who are some of the easiest people to have around.

So that's a brief recap...

Peace,

M@

delusional...

Someone at Northwest recently brought to the table something that they picked up at a recent conference. The speaker remarked that America is one of the last places where we continue to live under the delusion that this world is still a good place.

Whether or not we believe this impacts how we think about the world in which we live and the God who created it.

Ask people in Rwanda when they think the Great Tribulation will come.

Ask Christ-followers in China that same question.

Ask people in post-communist Russia if they think that all people are essentially good.

Ask young muslim kids in palestinian refugee camps if they think the "sun will come up tomorrow."

As I look around the world, I find that my perspective on God is influenced by this delusion. So when I talk about being a voice of hope in the world, am I speaking about real hope.

The Bible points people to an eternal hope...one beyond the circumstances of today or even tomorrow. It's not a hope that secretly roots for technology or politics to solve the problem, but finds its anchor in the words of Jesus who said that he is going to prepare a place for us. It's a hope that my heart can actually be transformed (actually needs transformation) because without it, there really isn't anything good in there...I know myself too well to believe otherwise.

It seems like in order to be a voice of hope, one must look honestly at that which provides none.

What do you think?

M@

turning a corner...

I'm proud to be a part of Northwest. We turned a significant corner this past weekend. We began a 2nd worship gathering on Sunday morning.

Boy, Matt, you're pretty easily excited...

True...I am. But this is bigger than just adding another worship gathering...it means much more.

- It means we are more committed to excellence in ministry to kids than our own comfort
- It means we are deeply committed to nurturing the souls of those who serve every weekend by making a way for them to worship together every weekend.
- It means we believe that God wants to use us to grow His kingdom and we're putting ourselves in a position to do that more effectively by making some more room.

It's a little scary because if one of the worship gatherings are too empty, then it feels anticlimactic...that's bad for a sense of momentum and mission. It's a risk because it means that some people will be asked to step up in service when before they could just show up. It's harder work because it requires more solid planning on just about every front. But it's important and worth it.

You see, we're not okay with being fat and happy. We're not okay with thousands of people around us who have never had the chance to engage Jesus in relevant and authentic ways. So we're doing something about it.

So here we go...

M@

dancing with the unimpressed...

What a great time we had tonight (we = my, Heidi, and about 25 Northwest-ers). We helped put on the Summer Dance (Viva Las Vegas!) for the members of the Center for Enriched Living.

At first glance, I thought the title referred to the members of the Center, which is a community center for mentally handicapped/challenged adults. But after tonight, I think that it refers to those who give a bit of themselves to serve this often marginalized community of people loved of God. My life is enriched because of my involvement in what happened tonight.

I got to talk with Rob, who is very curious if London, New York, Miami, and Israel are very far way.

I visited with another lady (I didn't see her name tag) about her dog, who she loves very much. She's excited about the trip she'll take tomorrow for lunch and a movie (of course she'll be seeing Must Love Dogs).

Bryce loved to jump and dance like crazy. He asked if I would be his friend. When I said yes, he was very happy.

I got to meet Matt and Cindy, a couple of young adults who are giving themselves to serve this community of people. And one year from today, they will do so as husband and wife!

Victoria knew all the words to the songs.

Frank loves Elvis. Frank really, really loves Elvis.

Yup...I feel like my life has been a bit enriched tonight. I gave some. I received much.

What was the gift I received? I had a chance to be in a room full of people who were glad that I was there simply because I was there. I didn't have to dance too well (which is a very good thing). I didn't have to be rich. I just had to be there and smile.

And I'm also a bit richer because I got to be a part of this with my new community...Northwest. I'm proud to be a part of a church that would consider something like this a big deal and show up big-time.

Somehow...I'm not even exactly sure, I was a part of the Kingdom come tonight. No one preached, yet the Gospel was clearly presented. There were no songs that talked about God, yet I sense His pleasure.

The Center for Enriched Living...it's a good name. Thanks for letting me be there.

Matt

ps - you can check out the link to the right...

crappy news...

A little play on words. It's actually big news around the Furr house...

Warning: if potty talk offends you, please don't read any further...

Izak is completing his own potty training regimine! It's pretty funny...we were going to wait to begin training until after the new baby arrived. But several weeks ago, he initiated it by saying "potty" and then hopping up onto the toilet to pee. He has repeated that several times. So he has pee on the potty down pat.

So we let him pee on the potty whenever he wants to, but didn't push it because we aren't ready to be consistent and we can't stop diapers until he learns to "go yucky" on the potty.

Well, this morning, he made it clear that he wanted to go pee on the potty. He did several times. So Heidi was adventurous enough to let him amble around the house with no diaper, realizing that when yucky came, we would need to clean the floors a few times.

Before leaving, I talked with him about yucky and that if he wanted, he could do yucky in the potty, just like pee. Not sure if he got it or not, I left Heidi to her mothering devices!

While playing on the couch, he stopped, hopped down, ran into the bathroom, hiked up on the potty, and did yucky...all by himself!! What a kid! He got it!

Could this be the end of diapers for Z-Dog? The saga continues...

It's funny how things change when you parent. Pooping in the potty has never been all that exciting to me before. Sure, it was a good place to get some reading done, but never really exciting. But now...now potty is very exciting!!

Peace and Potty,

M@

Beach House...

Ok, so it's not right on the beach, but from Sunday to Wednesday, the Furrs, Musielaks, and Gobles crashed at my sisters place in Whitehall, MI. It's about a mile from Lake Michigan and Duck Lake...both incredible places to hang out. What a gift...thank you Fishers!!

While we were in Michigan connecting with our small group from Hamburg, my sister, husband, and daughter were at our house, living large in Chi-town. They made good use of the train into the city and it sounds like they spent every ounce of energy enjoying the sights. What a great house exchange!

The time in Michigan was good. During out six plus years in Hamburg, NY, we became very, very close friends with the two couples (Larry and Audry Goble, Rick and Carrie Musielak). We met as relatively newly-wed couples and shared life through significant transitions -- including adding children to the family. Between the three couples, there are six kids...including the one leaching life from Heidi.

I'm not sure what I expected out of the time, to be honest. I knew we would enjoy hanging out. We did. I thought we would have some deep conversation...that was somewhat limited by the energy spent wrangling all the kids (4 and under). I thought we would spend time at the beach...that was great! I thought we would continue to explore what our relationships will look like with the Furrs in Chicago...this was an important part of that journey.

When we were preparing to leave Hamburg in January, I vowed that I would arrange for us to all meet together for a vacation sometime this summer. This Michigan trip was me making good on that promise. I was excited to do that for my friends.

So that's a bit of an update. I'm back in the office today, getting settled back into the routine here.

It's a big weekend...Northwest begins our second worship gathering this weekend. We will worship God at 9 and 1030 am. I'm excited about this shift.

Peace,

M@

heading out...

Heidi, the kids, and I leave for a small vacation this week. We will be joining up with two other families in Michigan. The three families made up the core of our small group in NY and have become very close in the past 6 years -- soulmates. We will spend the next few days sharing space and life together. What a gift.

Last night some other friends spent some time with us. We met Brad and Laura in Indiana during college. Brad was in our wedding. Heidi and I are god-parents to their beautiful children, Hannah and Adam. We have shared a friendship that transcends geography and and time. When we see each other, we pick right up where we left off. It's a gift to share on a significant level with other couples. That's part of the essence of life.

Peace,

M@

A Prayer...

Father, I want to know you, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from you the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that you may enter and dwell there without a rival. Then, shall you make the place of your feet glorious. Then shall my heart have no more need of the sun to shine in it, for you will be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' name, Amen.

- a prayer from A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God

so what happened?!?!

Ok, maybe you aren't asking with such enthusiasm, but I left you sort of hanging last week by saying that the weekend would be a little nuts, but not why. Here's the why...

Do you remember when President Bush surprised the troops in Iraq by showing up unannounced on Thanksgiving Day? That's kind of what Heidi did in Buffalo last weekend. She spent a couple days in our old stompin' grounds to connect with close friends and celebrate the upcoming birth of a second child with some friends.

Short(ish) back-story on this...

When Heidi was pregnant with Liberty, some good friends (PJ and Barb) were expecting their first child...they would be born about the same time. Barb went into labor about 25 weeks into the pregnancy. The doctors were unable to stop her body from birthing the otherwise healthy baby girl. The birth process was too much on the little body and within a few hours of birth, Hannah's short life ended.

I was at the hospital shortly after it all happened and was the only person (other than the parents and hospital staff) to see Hannah's little body...all wrapped up in clothes. For a few moments, I was filled with joy, looking at her because it looked like she was still alive and that she'd made it...but no.

A couple weeks later, I facilitated the funeral.

You can begin to imagine the bond formed between our families.

Heidi and I had just moved to IL and found out we were going to have number 3! The next week, we got a call from Barb who told us that she was pregnant. Once again, we were expecting at the same time! We prayed. We prayed some more.

After passing the 25 weeks, they went public. And last weekend was the shower/blessing for the Saikia family. Heidi had to be there...not an option.

Heidi will tell you more details on her blog, I'm sure.

She was gone...and I was home tending the family!! We had a great time together. They slept well (Mom hates when I tell her that they sleep until almost 7). We played hard, enjoyed ice cream. Sunday was a little nuty as I tried to get to the church ealy enough to prepare while getting the kids ready. Thanks to Miss Bonnie who met me there and wrangled kids while I jumpd into the morning routine.

After worship, Aunt Laura came home with us and hung in the afternoon, played with kids, and let me get a little nap.

Monday evening, Mr. and Mrs. Thorp (pronouced Forp by Izak) came to play while I went to the airport to pick up Mommy.

What a great weekend with my kids. I love being their daddy. It's a gift to love them like that.

And yes, it's a pretty quick trip for me to realize that God takes pleasure in loving us, his children and is not bothered by caring for us...

So...that was the craziness I was talking about.

this week has been getting stuff ready for the upcoming shift in the Sunday am schedule. This is the last weekend that Northwest Christian Communty will worship at just one time (except for potential special celebrations). Beginning next week, there will be two worship gatherings to choose from. I'm excited about that shift for a number of reasons...none of which I will spell out here.

There's the scoop.

M@