I Go in the Potty!

We are in the midst of potty training.

One week in we are doing very well. Yesterday Joshua was dry all day... Not always clean (if you know what I mean) but dry.

So last night we ventured out to Good Friday service at church and halfway through the service I (Matt) took him out to use the restroom. Success! First time on a big-person toilet and it worked. So I said to Joshua, "Mommy is going to be so proud of you, you'll have to tell her."

As we returned to the sanctuary it was dead silent. I mean not a peep.

They had just entered a time of quiet reflection and prayer as people beganecoming forward to take communion. So it was dead quiet, not even music, people were packed in the isle.

As Joshua and I reached the row and started to slide down he proclaims, "Mommy I go pee in the potty!"

As the echos off the 1,2000 seat auditorium walls die down, I quickly turn around to grab and hush him, but not in time as he proclaims yet again "Mommy I go pee in the potty!" This time as the reverence was partially broken his proclamation was followed by a few snickers.

Kristin and I were a little embarrassed, but it was also one of those moments where you just have to laugh and think to yourself... "Joshua you are going to hear the story of how you proclaimed your potty success to the whole congregation for the rest of your life."

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Multiple Voices

Let me start off by saying: We are not church shopping.

We are very content with the community of friends that God has provided for us at Wheaton Bible Church. However we also have some friends who are pastors/preachers in the area and so recently we have visited a couple of churches to hear them preach.

Both of our experiences were absolutely amazing. Mitchel Lee a pastor at Community Fellowship gave a great teaching on a Psalm and how it shows the Psalmists' realization that he NEEDS to be meeting with the God fearing believers on a regular basis. Todd Wilson talked about how we can become disillusioned when we face trials. Both of these guys are absolutely dynamic speakers... not only are they dynamic, their teaching is overflowing with the Word of God. We absolutely loved hearing from each of them.

As we sat there in a new church listening to a different pastor I was reminded of the power of exposing yourself to multiple voices, multiple teachers. My church holds firmly to the more traditional approach where the Senior Pastor preaches 80-90% of the time. It seems that in many churches there is a rising tide of teaching teams where a group of pastors does the teaching not just relying on one individual. I attended such a church in college and absolutely loved the multiple voices speaking into my life.

It provided depth to my knowledge, the kind of depth that can only be found when you are not limited to hearing the Word of God from one point of view. Even when that point of view is absolutely rock solid there is great benefit to hearing it from multiple tongues.

Churches that I have seen using this approach are: Bethlehem Baptist (my mother in-law's church), Fellowship Bible (where I attended in college), Community Fellowship (Mitchel Lee).

I hope our church moves in that direction and we increasingly hear from Rob Rienow, Chris McElwee, Ted Conaris, and even some lay speakers.

Continuing the 30 Days Until my Birthday

As the 30 days leading up to my 30th birthday continues (thanks babe). Yesterday I had two great experiences. First I got a call from Chris McElwee (friend and local pastor at our church) and we went out to play some disc golf.

First round of 9 I did horrible and he walluped me. The second round brought much improvement and a tie-game at even for the round. Thanks Chris!!!

Jason Clayton (who cheated "his" day was Wed) and some other families went to a minor league baseball game, Kane County Cougars. 20 minutes before the game Jason pulled me aside and told me that he had arranged for me to throw in the first pitch!

It was true, me and a few other people, including "Mr Breath Right Illinois" and a 3 year old all got to throw in the "first" pitch of the game. It was fun. Here's the video:

Jack of all, a master of none

The phrase that I would use to describe today (Saturday) is: Jack of All Trades, Master of None.

Here's what today looked like for me:

7:30 - 8 - Short Order Cook - Make Eggs-in-the frame for the family.
9-11 am - Mechanic - I changed rear brake pads and rotors on Jeep (a new skill I acquired this year)
12-1:30 - Father - Played trains, read books, and put Joshua down for a nap
2-3 - Handy Man - Run to Home Depot to get a replacement hinge for bathroom medicine cabinet and install
3:30-5 - Multi-tasker - Play with Joshua in the Jeep, teach him to use a screwdriver, remove broken CD changer to make storage space, water plants outside
5:30-6 - Chef - Cut apples with Joshua (he ate, I cut) for Kristin to make a dessert
6-7 - Barber - Cut Joshua's hair
7-9 - Painter - Repaint bathroom ceiling, touch up white trim paint
9-10 - Teacher - Prep for teaching in an Adult Community at Wheaton Bible Church tomorrow.

Thank you God for the health you have given me to try so many things and to do them well.

First Trip to the Ballpark for J.T.

On Saturday if you asked Joshua what he did last night he'd say "bu-ball" (baseball). 

"And what did you see at the baseball game?"

"Cu-ga" (Cougar)

On Friday night we were invited to go to a minor league baseball game with some friends from church and since Joshua was free we took them up on the offer. Joshua enjoyed his first baseball game, all though most of the time he was watching for the Cougar (home team was the Kane County Cougars), he was able to point out the batter.

He also clapped when he heard people clapping, enjoyed a hot dog and ran around quite a bit with the other kids.

It was a fun first trip to the ballpark.

A different kind of team

Casa Viva hosts 10-15 teams a year, but this team was different. It was the kind of experience that was more like a breath of fresh air than a crazy, hectic, leave-you-feeling-exhausted type of experience. Not because they didn’t work hard, because they did. As a matter of fact by Wednesday evening we were accomplishing projects that were on our “someday-maybe-hopefully” list. Instead it was a breath-of-fresh air trip because it was a reminder that God has a plan for each and everyone of us. He has uniquely gifted us to fill a specific need in His Kingdom.

As the week started out we were excited to discover some specific skills that we would have never even thought to ask for. We quickly learned that this was the kind of team

Rich, a commercial door installer by trade, brought a high-level of construction knowledge that lead to the repair of several commercial doors in our offices as well as the construction of three professional grade desks that we only dreamed of having some day.

Cindy, a realtor turned stay-at-home-mom, quickly set out to sew curtains and a slip cover. Her skill was far beyond anything we had ever even thought to petition God for.

A father-son-son combination, the Hamms, saw the trip as an opportunity to grow and serve together. And while they did accomplish much, they also served as friends and encouragers for the Aspegren boys.

Jeff, at a towering 6’ 6” was a great encourager and motivator on the team, but his physical stature came in very handy on Tuesday when a portion of the team replaced the ceiling in a Casa Viva home.

Connie and Bitsy’s cooking prowess was tested when they served a meal to 100+ Costa Ricans. The last person through received the last scoop of green bean casserole and the final role. A feat that was reminiscent of Jesus’ feading of the 5,000.

Greg and his son Cody were on the trip to serve alongside each other, but Greg’s role as a business coach and trainer came in very handy. At a time where Casa Viva is standing on the edge of something great, God sent Greg to provide professional coaching for Philip and Matt.

Tom’s heart for God’s work in the lives of the fatherless was evident from the moment he joined the team. He was there constantly encouraging and caring for Casa Viva families and fellow team members shown through.

See Photos

(This team originated from Wheaton Bible Church.)

Costa Rica Here We Come

On March 26th we leave for Costa Rica.

We (Kristin, Joshua, and I) will be there primarily to lead a week long mission trip from Wheaton Bible Church. We have 11 participants coming down to work on the Casa Viva offices, repair some Casa Viva families, and to throw an Easter Family Fun Night for al the Casa Viva staff and families.

During this Easter Fun Night, families will wonder between 5 stations learning about the importance of Easter, playing games, eating dinner, and learning about American traditions associated with Easter.

Additionally each family will walk away with a tree that they have decorated to teach their children about Easter during Holy Week. There are 12 items that hang from the tree based on the resurrection eggs by Family Life today.

In addition to being in country for this trip, we will be around a few extra days to do planning, work, and to be with the Casa Viva staff in Costa Rica. While in country we'll be staying with Phil and Jill Aspegren just a block or so from the team house.

We'll also spend some time with Tito and his family.