Januvery Busy!

We had a wonderful Christmas break spent with our families. Ten full days away from our daily routines and schedules was definitely refreshing for us.

There are a few things that transpired over the break that we would like to update you on . . .

*The Lukkasons called on Christmas Eve to share with us that they desire to join our team, bringing our total team members to seven people (five family units).

*Our team will begin training with Halbert Institute of Missions (ACU) this semester. Towards the end of this month we will attend the first of several retreats centered on preparing us for our endeavors. These retreats are referred to as “Modules” and are spaced out over the next two years or so. During the semester we will have routine mentoring meetings with Gary Green, Latin American Missions Coordinator for Halbert. These times will be spent expounding on the principles encountered during the Module.

*Blanco, our puppy, recently suffered a strained knee but seems to have fully recovered.

*We celebrated our first anniversary last weekend (December 30th) while on a mini vacation with my Dad, Kelly, and baby Sadie. We enjoyed the scrumptious cuisine at P. F. Chang’s together. It was the first time for both of us and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

*Wes’ grandfather, Pop, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday for an early morning surgery the next day. Recently a growth was discovered on one of his lungs, so Wednesday’s surgery entailed a biopsy and the growth’s removal. Early tests show that it was an airborne infection that attached itself on his lung and decided to stay a while. He is now recovering and is expected to be released in a few days. Please pray for his recovery.

*Ellen begins her final semester of graduate school next week!

We hope you all had a blessed Christmas and New Years!

King of Kings

"A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass." -Proverbs 19:12

I have been puzzled by who He is.

I recognize that arriving at a final answer anytime soon is unrealistic. I understand that I do not have the capacity to fully or maybe even nearly understand who he is, what he does, and what he allows.

I have been bewildered by who He is.

From gore and vengeance to loving one’s enemy. Surely there is no easy explanation.

I have been astounded by who He is.

Love for the imperfect and the weak like me, who should have been His footstool but instead I am his heir (Galatians 4).

Who is this King of Glory?

I take comfort in knowing that even David pondered the question (Psalms 24). I take special comfort in Proverbs 19, “A king’s rage is like the roar of a lion, but his favor is like dew on the grass”. The questions do not go away, and it is no final answer, but it does reframe for me my King.

The imagery of power and violence within the lion’s roar is mysteriously beautiful. How could its roar be so beautiful while all the while so terrifying?

His favor being like the early morning dew, blanketing anything left uncovered. So comforting is the thought of his renewal every morning, his peace, his mercy, his love.

There is no tidy conclusion for these thoughts of mine which may be fiting since these things are still evolving in me. So I will toss it to you. What has helped you understand our King?

-Wes

Breaking the Silence

In Pilgrim Heart; the Way of Jesus in Everyday Life, by Darryl Tippens, Tippens discusses spiritual disciplines that can be practiced without your removal from the world. In fact, they are dependent on our interaction with a Christian community and/or the world.

Currently I am reading the section on confession. This quote mentioned by the author really stands out to me:

"In a room where people unanimously maintain a conspiracy of silence, one word of truth sounds like a pistol shot." -Czeslaw Milosv

For me this quote has even more relevance today in the area of accountability.

There was a time when I rarely felt uncomfortable (if I even noticed) in those silent moments when I was among other Believers and we began to journey down a troublesome road where there existed no holiness. Today I have a great conviction that when I arrive at such forks I am obligated to choose the path of holiness. This is not to say that I always do choose holiness (which goes without saying), but a persevering voice does resonate inside of me, beckoning me to choose the road less traveled.

By practicing the gift of accountability we become sensitive to the Voice that beckons us to beckon others, to break the silence.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. -Galatians 6:1

-Wes

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Pillipians 2:3 (NKJV)

I want to embody this. If I can, the gossip, slander, malice, sarcasm, cynicism, resentment, bitterness and many other of the vices of this heart will be loosed.

Do you stand in need of this? Can you relate?

-Wes

Your attention please . . .

This website that calculates the reading level of your blog has ranked the Wes and Ellen blog with a reading level of:

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Now I discovered this undoubtedly highly scientific and faultless tool by way of a friend of a friend's blog (lets give credit where credit's due), and he also included a list of rankings for other sites and blogs that he frequents.

Lets see how ours fair . . .

Deanna - Genius
Jonathan - Junior High School
Jeremy - High School
Guy Muse - High School
Yahoo News - Junior High School
ESPN Soccernet - College (Post Grad)
NY Times - Junior High School

Well folks, there you have it. If you wish to heighten your blogs readability results, I would recommended frequenting the Wes and Ellen blog more often.

Good Day!