Follow Team Egypt

Technology is so cool sometimes. Our tech guy, Jonathan Kofahl, has created a link so that the pictures he takes in Egypt will also be GPS encoded. This will enable him to post the pictures on Flickr, with an accompanying map. Here is the link. You will be able to look at the pictures themselves. Or you can click on one of the pink dots on the map, and it will show you which pictures were taken in that spot. A dynamic following of where the team is, and what they are seeing. At least through the lens of Jonathan's D90. [SDG - JS]

Join the Road Trip

This summer, we will be exploring aspects of the spiritual journey we are on in the sermon series called "Road Trip". The idea is that the spiritual journey toward full devotion to Christ is exactly that, a journey. It is not a static thing, but a dynamic thing. It is not the status quo, but a constantly moving and growing relationship with our Heavenly Father.

As with any significant journey, there will be markers along the way. And we will be exploring those markers of the journey. Some of those journeys are from Anger to Forgiveness, from Loneliness to Community, from Bondage to Freedom, and from Fear to Faith.

Every Sunday morning this summer, our worship will be at 10:30 a.m. See you there! [SDG-JS]

Team Egypt is On the Way

APC's Team Egypt is on the way. They took off last night at 11:00 p.m. from LAX after a slight delay. They are flying today to Heathrow in London, then onto Cairo. Jim Conner, Hisham Kamel, Jon Kofahl, and Wendell and Teri Walton make up the team this year. There will be a link coming shortly where you can track them by the GPS coding on the pictures they take. Cool! When we know it, we will post it here. For now, we pray travelling mercies for the team. [SDG- JS]

Unused Gift Cards Go a Long Way

Do you have any gift cards lying around the house or in your wallet? There are reputedly 60 billion dollars, (yes, George, that is billion with a "b") sold each year. And there is an estimated 10% of those cards never get used, that would be 6 billion samoleans. Wow!

So along comes an idea from a group dedicated to using these cards to help those in need. Not those who need a new Nikon D90, Rich. But people who need warm clothes or a hot meal. Check out the giftcardgiver.com web site and see how you can help.

[SDG -JS]

Top Ten Wedding Advice

It has been a while since we have blogged. Sorry to both our fans out there. I ran across this today in my internet wanderings: My Top Ten Wedding Advice by Eugene Cho, who is the pastor of the Quest Church in Seattle. Interesting guy. Since June is the official beginning of the wedding season, it seems like good stuff. Here is Eugene's list. If you want #10, you will have to check out his blog.

1. Be the right person. This is so important and worth a post by itself in the future. No one is perfect but are you ready for the covenant of marriage?
2. Marry the right person. Notice I didn’t say the perfect person since they don’t exist but marry the right person for you. Marry your soul mate. Please. Do not compromise. Let me say it again…do not compromise. Don’t forget that there must be a resonance and convergence of Passion, Vision, and Mission.
3. You can never be over-prepared. Read books. Prepare. Befriend married couples and ask them lots of questions. Take pre-marital counseling classes. Pray. Enter into your covenant with confidence but not arrogance.
4. Don’t “play married” when you’re not married. You know what I mean, right?
   Don’t live together; sleep together; buy a house together; etc…until you are married. Please wait. It’s worth it.
5. Investment of Time? Are you investing in producing a great wedding (one day) or building a great marriage (a lifetime)? Think about this carefully because the energy, time, and other resources that people invest into the production of a wedding is ridunkulous.
6. The Wedding isn’t a show. It’s a worship service and celebration of God’s covenant. Don’t do stuff to impress people but rather, make choices that are meaningful and reflect your devotion to God and your commitment to your spouse and family. Pray, sing, hymns, Scriptures, sermon, communion, vows…do it all and worship God.
7. Do not go into DEBT to just put on a fancy party. In fact, just set a reasonable budget and don’t go over. This whole wedding industry is a sham. As I shared above, marriage is God’s gift and is clearly biblical but the wedding industry is a rarely exposes idolatry in many cultures – including the Western world. The ring , dresses, tuxedos, location, food, and glitz are all peripheral to your vows, your worship, and your community of friends and family. Be good stewards. Dresses, rings, suits, flowers, are blah blah blah in my opinion – why do we need to spend so much money on these thigns? They will all pass but some things won’t so make wise choices and I’d personally encourage folks to save funds for investments that will help you with your mutual Passion, Vision, and Mission.
8. Honor your parents. The wedding isn’t just for you. It’s an opportunity to honor your guests, your family, but especially your parents. Carve out time during the actual wedding ceremony to speak heart to heart to your parents and let them know how much you appreciate them…as you “leave” your parents to join unto your spouse.
9. Celebrate! It only happens once. So ENJOY and party!
10. [see below]

[SDG - JS]

Does God Exist? Hitchens vs. Craig

This week, at Biola, a public debate was held between Christopher Hitchens and William Lane Craig. A great summary of the debate is posted here.

In light of Pastor Jim's previous post, it is well worth looking into whether God exists or not.

By this report, it appears that while Craig won the argument, Hitchens won the debate. That is, on merits, the day went to Craig. But for public perception and receptivity, the day went to Hitchens.

This confirms some of what has been posted about our own Presbyterian church's discussions of Amendment B. While conservatives are winning the votes, it appears that the other side is carrying the day, and changing peoples' minds. While the "truth" may be on our side, the compelling arguments appear to be on the other side. And they are gaining traction in the culture, and in the church. Something to ponder.

One further note. The civility and warmth of the Biola crowd was something for more open-minded and tolerant people to take to heart. When conservatives speak at college campuses today, they are met with protests, and rude behavior. When an atheist comes to speak at a Christian college campus, they are welcomed warmly, and treated with dignity and respect. Who is more tolerant? Who embraces that virtue more fully? "By their fruits you will know them."

One last note, I found one of the comments on the blog post quite interesting.

Atheism's greatest strength is its first impression.

In light of the sustained arguments of Dr. Craig, those first impressions must either harden or be transformed, and answer to the higher logic.

Well done, Biola, for sponsoring this debate. Well done, Mr. Hitchens to stepping into the lion's den. Well done, Dr. Craig, for powerfully defending the faith.

[SDG- JS]

Pouring down rain

Pouring down rain three weeks ago on Sunday morning was not the beginning but it changed our direction significantly. Lynda heard a gurgling noise and looked over to see Megan our second of four children writhing in a convulsion, her eyes rolled back into her head, stuff coming out of her mouth. It was the second one that night and an answer to prayer.

Starting in early February Megan complained about forgetting things, this normal ‘A ‘student started worrying about what she could not remember and then began to get panicked and withdrawn. She spent first a day and then 3 and then eventually 6 days withdrawn and not talking to anyone, quite unusual for this very talkative energetic girl.

On the advice of the help nurse for our insurance we took Megan to the emergency Room and Huntington Memorial they ran a battery of tests and one Neurologist Doctor thought they saw a seizure on the EEG. We were referred to a doctor who specialized in Pediatric Neurology; she examined Megan and said she was fine, and referred us to a counselor. Ten days later as Megan slept on the APC youth retreat she had the first seizure someone saw as she slept at 3:30 in the morning. Dustin, Ben, Jenny and Anna handled the situation in an amazing way Megan was taken to the Emergency room at Santa Ana. Lynda picked her up there and brought her home still operating on the diagnosis of the Pediatric Neurologist who said Megan’s condition was behavioral.

Lynda called me from the car as this second seizure was happening after taking her from the emergency room, she was in a panic, 911 had put her on hold and she did not know what to do, I wanted to crawl through the phone line and help her out, but I was no where near the 605 and the 5. I called Pastor Heather at 5:30 a.m. and asked her to preach that Sunday, I found a place for the boys to go and met Lynda at Arcadia Methodist [Emergency room number 3]. A neurologist there prescribed heavy sedation and anti-seizure medications for Megan and they sent us home around 1:00 p.m.

By 2:00 Andrew was throwing up as I tried to get him to the restroom. It was a full day. On Monday I fired the first Neurologist. God arranged for our friends to make some strategic calls and we saw another Neurologist [Dr Lin] on Wednesday. He ordered more tests and said he would follow through and he did. By Friday Megan was almost completely catatonic and had trouble walking, our new Doctor sent us to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles [Emergency room number 4] where we did even more tests. Dr Lin called with a test result that he faxed over, that led us to an excellent rheumatologist Dr. Reiff who almost instantly diagnosed Megan’s condition. Sub sequent test proved this diagnosis to be correct. Megan has Lupus an auto immune disease that attacks organs in the body. It is basically the immune system in overdrive, it can attack anything in Megan’s case it decided her brain was an infection.

It is day 12 at children’s hospital now, the treatments are severe to get Lupus SLE in check [more specifically Megan has CNS Lupus of the brain] and there have been many difficult days where she could not swallow or open her mouth. Most profoundly difficult is that this attack on Megan’s brain left her open to hallucinations and psychosis. The sounds and perceptions are so disturbing that Megan like others with this condition retreats into her self and can be catatonic and non-responsive. Along the way so many of you have prayed for us, we cannot express to you all how grateful we are for your prayers. Megan has finished her first major round of steroids and Chemo therapy last week. Megan will receive Chemo therapy treatments through the end of the year to suppress her immune system and keep it from attacking her brain. Baring God’s intervention Megan will have this disease throughout her life time. It will require some changes in her life including staying out of direct sun except for very brief periods.

We continue to appreciate your prayers, as of this writing Megan will be coming home tomorrow after a huge improvement yesterday and today. There will be a period of recuperation in various areas of her Megan’s life. There are also things which we will keep private, but your prayers are always welcome and God has graciously guided you to pray just as God would have you pray to see His perfect will unfolded before you. There were some who came and prayed for hours in the lobby of the hospital for Megan one evening and so many of you have done so in your homes and wherever you were. We cannot thank you enough and are so humbled by your loving concern through prayer, it is the best ‘Do’ you could possibly do, please don’t stop.

There is a Father in heaven who loves his sin afflicted children and wants nothing more than to see us healed and whole. Happy Easter. May God resurrect your hopes with His resurrected son this Easter.

By the way the forecast for Megan’s pick up day from the hospital is rain.

Jim C.