Recently Michigan has been trying to promote tourism in the state to boost the economy with the slogan "Pure Michigan" and I've gotta say that growing up here I love this place. We live near lake Michigan, we've got the seasons and their colors and today I found one more thing to love about this state in Holland.
We’ve been talking about going for a while now and since it’s now tulip season, we’re moving to Philly on Monday and today was date day it was a prime opportunity.
On the way we stopped at a little pond about a minute from our house to check out some geese and their goslings.
Centennial Park.
An interesting fountain.
Cool texture! I think they were called Swan’s Wings.
Trying to be artistic:)
Dancers in wooden clogs...I think they wore like five pairs of socks.
A quick lesson from Ben.
This was like my third shot of Deanne in her elegant squatting position because I eventually decided I wanted to include the yellow hydrant.
My dad liked the toilets in the background.
This is art!
Tourist shops on Windmill Island.
Nice clogs!
Cool Tree.
Just a cool picture
The Windmill! Over 100 years old, hid Jews in WWII, shipped to Holland MI, the only one like in the U.S.
On top of the mill.
My favorite spot of the day!
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.
-Psalm 50:2
It's been way to long since I've written on here. Life has been filled with so many good things it's been hard to pull away and write and I actually won't do it now but I wanted to share two awesome but very different YouTube clips. Enjoy and God bless.
I want to be part of this:
It's amazing what our bodies can do:
What will life be like in that perfect world when God makes all things new?
I bet you never thought we would be the lead actors in a full length movie. Neither did we. But for some reason playing actor and actress was our summer job last year. The title is Time Collectors: The Return of the Giants. It’s supposed to be released on February 27th which is this coming Sunday. There’s a cheaper pre-order price if you want to save some money. Regardless of if you buy it or not enjoy this trailer for the flick.
May the God who’s ways are higher than ours bless and lead you,
Nick and Deanne
Yesterday marked the beginning of the Seventh-day Adventist Japanese campmeeting here in Loma Linda CA. Campmeeting is basically an SDA name for revival meetings where people would traditionally come out to huge tents to hear inspirational speakers, bring friends and reunite with old friends they hadn’t seen in a while. It was very outreach oriented. The tradition dates back to the early-mid 1800’s, born out of the Second Great Awakening. These days many Adventists still go out and camp on location usually from one weekend through the next. They attend workshops and prayer groups and inspirational meetings and share food together. At least that’s what I’ve experienced with the campmeeting I’ve attended for the last four years in Auburn Washington. But things have definitely changed since the good ol’ days.
The Japanese campmeeting only lasted from yesterday (Friday) until this evening (Saturday night) because people want the meetings but don’t want to use their vacation time. Most of the people from out of the area just drove up for the Saturday meetings because hotels are expensive and there’s not much camping in the city.
I was privileged with the role of leading worship music for the youth with a youth band that had its debut last night and changed members by the next meeting. I also got to lead out in Sabbath School (which is like Sunday school but on Saturday...our Sabbath) in which we had a Bible study on the Parable of the Sower from Mark 4.
One of the high points of our time together was an ice breaker during church that we set up like speed-dating...kind of. The intent was not to play match maker, though some sparks may have flown, but rather to help the youth who came from different churches to connect with each other. The theme for the campmeeting and our little game was witnessing. So the outreach mentality has lived on in a different form. There were many different stations, some were more fun centered and some were intended to encourage more deep thinking. Pictures were drawn, popcorn was thrown, some of it was caught by gaping mouths, puzzles were solved, story’s were written and people got prayed for. But the station I wanted to share simply asked: How would you write your testimony in one sentence? Write it down. These are some of the responses:
I came to Christ, becoming a Christian at 3rd grade sunday school
I was raised a Christian my whole life but when I became older my faith deepened and strengthened over time.
Jesus loves us very much!!!
I have been a 7th-day Adventist since I was little, but ever so recently I found out how much Jesus really loves me.
I still don’t have one...
I don’t know what that means...hehe...
Jesus loves us. Very much also.
Anywhere you go, God is with you. So trust in Him and believe!
To believe in God without any doubt.
God has found me and loves me.
I was born in a Christian home and it’s shaped who I am.
I was born a seventh-day Adventist, became more spiritual in 8th grade, and I’m continuing my walk with Jesus.
I was able to go to bible camp and see how weak I was and how much I need Him.
To trust God and not myself.
I was born into an Adventist home, and home-schooled. I continue to trust God, and try to draw closer to Him.
God does great things when you need it most and when you expect it least.
To build on my character and on my relationship on God
To talk to God as often as I can so I may have a closer relationship with Him.
After going to a public school I have come to appreciate my church and Christian friends so much more.
I was born into a Christian family and didn’t really come to know God until just this year at school!
I am kinda like a ball. I keep bouncing away from and toward Jesus. Hopefully I stay close one day.
To love God without hesitation or doubts
A good time was had by all and hopefully all were inspired, changed and will go out to share their experience with Jesus with their whole lives.
Have you ever tried to be “perfect”?If so, did you succeed?Let me just confess that I have tried to be “perfect” many times, almost daily, and I have failed every time.I wake up each morning with a “You can do it!” mentality that I will be able to shed every flaw I am plagued with.It’s as if I wake up and begin my worship time as an ugly caterpillar but when I’m finished, I expect myself to come out of worship as a beautiful butterfly fully transformed.I literally create my “perfection” checklist during worship time and expect myself to keep all of those checks in place throughout the day.When I miss once check, it’s easy to get discouraged and give up.This vicious cycle is utterly exhausting, disappointing and frightening.
This morning for devotions I read Mark 5:21-43 about A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman.I’ve read this story many times, but today, I felt like I was reading about myself.The story begins with a father desperately asking Jesus whether he will heal his dying 12-year-old daughter.Of course Jesus is willing and goes with the man.While Jesus makes his way through the crowd to heal the little girl, there is an old woman there who has been bleeding for 12 years.No one, not even doctors, have been able to heal her.However, when she hears about Jesus, she believes that if she just touches Him she will be healed.And that’s exactly what happens.Jesus tells her that her faith has healed her and that she’s is freed from her suffering.Right after that, some men bring news that the man’s daughter has died.Jesus simply replies, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”Soon enough, Jesus is at the girl’s room and raises her from the dead.
I had a wonderful childhood, but during high school betrayal, heartache and life’s horrible consequences got the best of me.It resulted with many of the struggles that I still battle today and sometimes it feels like I died before I was able to become an adult.And other times it feels like the problems had no beginning, that they’ve just always been.This internal struggle that I have to solve my own problems and become “perfect” has literally made me feel like an old woman.So there I am, a girl who only got to live 12 years of her life and an old woman who has been suffering an illness for 12 years.
The beautiful thing about this story is that they were both healed.What was it that healed them?What was it that made them “perfect”?Jesus, of course, is the only one who could help them, but if it wasn’t for faith perhaps the healings wouldn’t have taken place.What I love about this story is how there were two different faiths that healed.With the old woman, her own faith allowed her to be healed.With the little girl, it was her father’s faith that healed her.
Jesus is not only able to heal all of our problems, He also wants to.If you’re like me and you’ve been longing to be freed from the bondage that sin has caught you up in, believe and allow Jesus to do it.What can you do to believe?Spend time getting to know Jesus.Come to Him in worship, not to meet one of your “perfection” checks, but to get to know the Healer.You see, we cannot make ourselves “perfect.” But Jesus, well, “He can do it!”And if you feel like your faith is struggling, then find someone who loves you and who has the faith that Jesus will heal you.Remember the words of Jesus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
I hope everybody had an enjoyable V-day. Deanne and I went to Target armed with the gift cards we have been generously blessed with by her family on Monday. By the way there are an amazing number of Targets here in California. After we picked out some shorts and swimsuits for our vacation to Hawaii next week we were strolling through the snack aisles browsing for Pop Chips. There was a tall, beautiful, casually dressed black woman about our age scoping out the goodies at the same time. As we were passing by she gave Deanne a quick compliment. She just said, “I love your hair cut.” Deanne said thank you and we walked on.
I was so impressed that she would actually pause her search to share some kindness with total strangers. We wouldn’t have missed it if she didn’t say anything but it was such a pleasant plus to our shopping experience that it got me thinking...wouldn’t it be great if everybody did that sort of thing every day? People have a natural fear of the unknown, especially people they don’t know. Maybe Deanne just looks so cute and cuddly that the young woman decided to take her chances. But regardless of how wonderful my wife is, everybody in the whole world was created in the image of God and has their own unique beauty that reflects their Maker. It is worth complimenting and much, much more. The power of a compliment, a warm gesture or a common courtesy can break down huge barriers of isolation in our culture and make fast friends.
Moments later as we walked towards the check out lines, we saw the kind young lady again and affirmed her kindness. She seemed just as surprised as we were at her gracious words. May you take the opportunity today to pause from your business and surprise someone with praise. Remember, one of our greatest responsibilities is to love our neighbors as ourselves. Be intentional in the small things and true love for total strangers will follow.
Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.
-Proverbs 15:4 The Message
My Good Buddy Filip forwarded this story to me in an email and I just wanted to share it on Snellections. May God lead you today:)
Daniel's Gloves
I sat, with two friends, in the picture window of a quaint restaurant just off the corner of the town-square. The food and the company were both especially good that day.
As we talked, my attention was drawn outside, across the street. There, walking into town, was a man who appeared to be carrying all his worldly goods on his back. He was carrying, a well-worn sign that read, 'I will work for food..' My heart sank.
I brought him to the attention of my friends and noticed that others around us had stopped eating to focus on him. Heads moved in a mixture of sadness and disbelief. We continued with our meal, but his image lingered in my mind. We finished our meal and went our separate ways. I had errands to do and quickly set out to accomplish them. I glanced toward the town square, looking somewhat halfheartedly for the strange visitor. I was fearful, knowing that seeing him again would call some response.
I drove through town and saw nothing of him. I made some purchases at a store and got back in my car. Deep within me, the Spirit of God kept speaking to me: 'Don't go back to the office until you've at least driven once more around the square.'
Then with some hesitancy, I headed back into town. As I turned the square's third corner, I saw him. He was standing on the steps of the store front church, going through his sack. I stopped and looked; feeling both compelled to speak to him, yet wanting to drive on. The empty parking space on the corner seemed to be a sign from God: an invitation to park. I pulled in, got out and approached the town's newest visitor.
'Looking for the pastor?' I asked.
'Not really,' he replied, 'just resting.'
'Have you eaten today?'
'Oh, I ate something early this morning.'
'Would you like to have lunch with me?'
'Do you have some work I could do for you?'
'No work,' I replied 'I commute here to work from the city, but I would like to take you to lunch.'
'Sure,' he replied with a smile.
As he began to gather his things, I asked some surface questions. Where you headed?'
'St. Louis '
'Where you from?'
'Oh, all over; mostly Florida ..'
'How long you been walking?'
'Fourteen years,' came the reply.
I knew I had met someone unusual. We sat across from each other in the same restaurant I had left earlier. His face was weathered slightly beyond his 38 years. His eyes were dark yet clear, and he spoke with an eloquence and articulation that was startling He removed his jacket to reveal a bright red T-shirt that said, 'Jesus is The Never Ending Story..'
Then Daniel's story began to unfold. He had seen rough times early in life. He'd made some wrong choices and reaped the consequences.. Fourteen years earlier, while backpacking across the country, he had stopped on the beach in Daytona .. He tried to hire on with some men who were putting up a large tent and some equipment. A concert, he thought.
He was hired, but the tent would not house a concert but revival services, and in those services he saw life more clearly. He gave his life over to God
'Nothing's been the same since,' he said, 'I felt the Lord telling me to keep walking, and so I did, some 14 years now.' 'Ever think of stopping?' I asked.
'Oh, once in a while, when it seems to get the best of me But God has given me this calling. I give out Bibles That's what's in my sack. I work to buy food and Bibles, and I give them out when His Spirit leads.'
I sat amazed. My homeless friend was not homeless. He was on a mission and lived this way by choice. The question burned inside for a moment and then I asked: 'What's it like?' 'What?' ;
'To walk into a town carrying all your things on your back and to show your sign?'
'Oh, it was humiliating at first. People would stare and make comments. Once someone tossed a piece of half-eaten bread and made a gesture that certainly didn't make me feel welcome. But then it became humbling to realize that God was using me to touch lives and change people's concepts of other folks like me.'
My concept was changing, too. We finished our dessert and gathered his things. Just outside the door, he paused He turned to me and said, 'Come Ye blessed of my Father and inherit the kingdom I've prepared for you. For when I was hungry you gave me food, when I was thirsty you gave me drink, a stranger and you took me in.'
I felt as if we were on holy ground. 'Could you use another Bible?' I asked.
He said he preferred a certain translation. It traveled well and was not too heavy... It was also his personal favorite.. 'I've read through it 14 times,' he said.
'I'm not sure we've got one of those, but let's stop by our church and see' I was able to find my new friend a Bible that would do well, and he seemed very grateful.
'Where are you headed from here?' I asked.
'Well, I found this little map on the back of this amusement park coupon.'
'Are you hoping to hire on there for a while?'
'No, I just figure I should go there. I figure someone under that star right there needs a Bible, so that's where I'm going next.'
He smiled, and the warmth of his spirit radiated the sincerity of his mission. I drove him back to the town-square where we'd met two hours earlier, and as we drove, it started raining. We parked and unloaded his things.
'Would you sign my autograph book?' he asked.. 'I like to keep messages from folks I meet.'
I wrote in his little book that his commitment to his calling had touched my life. I encouraged him to stay strong. And I left him with a verse of scripture from Jeremiah, 'I know the plans I have for you, declared the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; Plans to give you a future and a hope.'
'Thanks, man,' he said. 'I know we just met and we're really just strangers, but I love you.'
'I know,' I said, 'I love you, too.' 'The Lord is good!'
'Yes, He is. How long has it been since someone hugged you?' I asked.
A long time,' he replied
And so on the busy street corner in the drizzling rain, my new friend and I embraced, and I felt deep inside that I had been changed.... He put his things on his back, smiled his winning smile and said, 'See you in the New Jerusalem.'
'I'll be there!' was my reply.
He began his journey again. He headed away with his sign dangling from his bedroll and pack of Bibles. He stopped, turned and said, 'When you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?'
image 'You bet,' I shouted back, 'God bless.'
'God bless.' And that was the last I saw of him.
Late that evening as I left my office, the wind blew strong. The cold front had settled hard upon the town. I bundled up and hurried to my car. As I sat back and reached for the emergency brake, I saw them... a pair of well-worn brown work gloves neatly laid over the length of the handle. I picked them up and thought of my friend and wondered if his hands would stay warm that night without them.
Then I remembered his words: 'If you see something that makes you think of me, will you pray for me?' Today his gloves lie on my desk in my office.. They help me to see the world and its people in a new way, and they help me remember those two hours with my unique friend and to pray for his ministry. 'See you in the New Jerusalem,' he said.
Yes, Daniel, I know I will...
'I shall pass this way but once. Therefore, any good that I can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now, for I shall not pass this way again.'
My instructions were to send this to four people that I wanted God to bless and I picked all who read this blog. Please pass this to four people you want to be blessed.
Prayer is powerful and there is nothing attached. Please pray for me and for those dear to you as well as your "enemies." Prayer is one of the best gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's continue to pray for one another. God bless and have a nice day!
'Father, I ask you to bless my friends, relatives and e-mail buddies reading this right now. Show them a new revelation of your love and power. Holy Spirit, I ask you to minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them your peace and mercy. Where there is self-doubt, release a renewed confidence through your grace, In Jesus Christ's precious Name Amen.'
I sent this to more than four by posting it here, but this story is so touching I felt each of you would enjoy it greatly.
God bless,
Nick
P.S. Just thought I'd add a song about service from one of the first cd's I ever owned.
