A Thank You.

Thank you to our church family for praying for us over the past few days. We’re so excited to be home and know that Jonathan doesn’t have any infection anymore.

Since we were in the NICU, we couldn’t really have visitors while in the hospital. So for those of you who missed out on visiting us then, we want to give you that opportunity over the next 3 days.

Sunday 1/24 thru Tuesday 1/26, we’d like to invite you to visit us at our home between the hours of 10AM and 6PM to meet Jonathan. We do ask that you observe the same precautions that the hospital recommends for newborns’ visitors: healthy adults only.

The Care Team has already started bringing us meals and we are so thankful for that blessing!

Happy New Year!

We brought in the New Year with a bunch of friends. It was an awesome time. We laughed a lot.

It seems the older I get, the faster I want to go home after the clock strikes 12. I am happy to report that I did not fall asleep before midnight this year.

Elder?

Tonight I was able to pray over a friend who is leaving Louisville for Chicago to take a position at a church. His position: elder.

He’s 23.

He may be one of the younger people in the group, but his words hold such weight. When he speaks up, you know it’s going to be good. He’s always affirming but doesn’t leave you feeling better about yourself… he leaves you feeling better about who God is.

Just moments after a time of prayer where everyone was able to pray and lay hands on him and his wife, while everyone is still wiping away tears, he stands up and says he doesn’t want this to be one-sided. Then he gives us all a challenge to keep living in light of the Gospel.

He promised to be praying for us.

Who is this guy? Where does this wisdom come from? How am I his pastor?

A while ago, during a very emotional and stretching time for our community group, I gained a ton of respect for him. We were all sharing spiritual milestones in our lives, times that we look back on and see that God used then to shape us for now. After one particularly emotional story of loss, he softly said, “I’ll never forget that.” It was strange the amount of validation and comfort that brought to everyone in the room. But we all knew what he meant. It wasn’t about the story. It wasn’t about the tears everyone was wiping form their eyes. It was about the way God worked in the person’s life. How God had brought them through pain and loss and showed Himself to be true in the midst of suffering.

That same night, I gained an amazing amount of respect him as his wife shared her testimony. He discipled her. She loves him so much because of that. We were all speechless as we surveyed her love for him and we were moved by the way she looked across the room at him and said, “I love you.”

Is he young? Yes. Is he fit to be an elder? Yes.

We’ll miss you Joey and Faith. We rejoice for Chicago that they get you for now. We pray that God would continue to use you in mighty ways. We love you.

 

The Sombrero

Last night we went to El Tarasco, a great mexican place, for Jeremy’s birthday. It was a surprise to him, but since he doesn’t like surprises, his fiance Lauren told him about it before they got in the car.

Jeremy isn’t a fan of surprises or being put on the spot. So when he saw the waiters putting together the birthday celebration package, he took the opportunity to go tell them that it was MY birthday instead of his. So, the waiters came out with a small dessert and a sombrero for me. They sang a little song and I got to wear the sombrero for the rest of our visit. It was actually a pretty nice sombrero.

So here’s some pictures for you. One of me wearing my “birthday” sombrero, and one of Jeremy, who finally put it on before we left.

Clifty Falls

Two weeks ago we went hiking in Clifty Falls with our friends Jeremy & Lauren. It was a blast. We started on one of the trails that goes from the bottom of the park all the way up the river bed to the main falls: Clifty Falls.

The weather could not have been better. It was cool and sunny. Our hike brought us along the river bed, needing to cross the river several times. There were no bridges, so we had to get all Oregon Trail and decide how we were going to cross. Luckily, no one got dysentery.

Here are a few pictures from our hike.

After hiking, we stopped in Madison, Indiana for dinner. We ate at a sandwich shop called the Downtowner that was pretty awesome. After dinner, we walked around the quaint downtown strip of Madison and picked up some ice cream. I felt like I was in an old movie.

Valum anyone?

I took my friend Emil to the Hospital a while ago to get an MRI. They prescribed him some Valum to relax. I asked if he would share.

He said no.

But, after 20 mg, he was good to go. And happy.

I should add that after 5 mg, people usually get really loopy.

That’s all for now.

Social Media

My friend, Aaron Marshall, just did a presentation at Southern Seminary about the use of social media. Of course, it was tailored to ministry because it was at Seminary, but the idea definitely spans across all walks of life. 

The biggest thing I took from what he said is it is not about self-promoting, but it gives people a closer look into the every-day life of their friends. 

Not only do I agree with this, but my friendship with Aaron is proof. We met in the winter of 05/06 when he visited Crossing Church. We had similar passions, to bring the church up to date with the messages it sends. Aaron was more involved in technology and I was filled with all sorts of ideas about Public Relations and evaluating the messages that are being sent. 

Aaron and his then girlfriend, Nicole, didn’t end up staying at Crossing. We ran into each other once or twice in town the following year. Almost two years later, through mutual friends, I was reconnected to Aaron via Facebook and Twitter. We ran into each other at a bakery and it was like seeing an old friend. The vast majority of our conversations/communication had come from online media. Then, we attended the same Acts 29 training event and spend some time together that evening over dinner. 

I’ve grown because of my relationship with Aaron. He has put into practice what he talks about. He uses social media as a platform to teach and share what he is teaching. When God is doing things in his life, he shares it through Twitter and his blog. His companies, TechSMO and ChurchSMO, have influenced my job at my church. 

I highly recommend checking out Aaron’s video. It’s an hour long, but it’s worth it!

Social Media 101 2.0 from Aaron Marshall on Vimeo.

Halloween Party!

We had our Third Annual Gossett Halloween Party tonight. It was probably our most ambitious Halloween party yet. The guests this year really stepped up the costumes and went out all out on the carvings. 

Here are this year’s winners as well:

Pete Mosher won the costume contest.

Brent & Jane Dunn won the Pumpkin Carving Contest:

Everyone showed up in good costumes. I was impressed. There were also 9 pumpkins in the carving contest this year. It was a good party. 

You can check out more pictures on our facebook album.

 

Design Intellection

If you like good designs and artistic attention to detail, you need to check out this site.

Little League

I went to a friend’s little league game tonight. It was a lot of fun.

I’m not sure if I went because I can’t go to my nephew’s games because he lives 1,000 miles away, or if I went because I really do enjoy the Hofmeisters that much. Probably both.

Since when did little league teams sport College names instead of pro names?

It was pretty funny to see Aden and Malachi outside of church. They both looked at me as I walked up and sat down. I said hi to them and they answered like I was some stranger they almost recognized. Then, after a little while and one conversation with their mom, they recognized me and Aden was really excited to go tell Malachi “Uncle Dan” was there.

It’s nice to be the reason someone else is excited. Not because you did something, just because you showed up.

I can’t wait to have kids…