Jason heads for Israel

I just realized I never posted this blog. Jason's been gone 3 weeks now. He sprained his ankle. He says learning Modern Hebrew is really hard. Every week they go on a field trip for their class "Land of the Bible" and he loves taking photos of where Jesus walked. Check out his blogspot: walkinginthefootprintsoftheking.blogspot.com He's taken some awesome photos. And please don't forget to pray for him.

The Storys

Our niece, Renee and her family (Jimmy Lee, Nick, Becca and Clark) visited for a couple of days at the end of the year. Just in time to help Nana move from her mobile home to a house around the corner. They had driven from Oklahoma in Jimmy's truck, so they even had a vehicle to help with the move! Jason and Nick played music together, but we couldn't convince Becca to take her violin out of its case. Maybe next time.

Happy Thanksgiving

Brock, Tricia and Corrine came for Thanksgiving. What a wonderful day. Nici's friend, Kristin, joined us too and we walked to Nana's new house after the meal. It is just a few blocks away, so it was perfect. This picture was taken in her new family room. She hasn't actually moved in yet. Tomorrow we plan to put in the shelf paper in her kitchen cupboards and pantry. It's a start!

Praying for Texas family

It is hurricane season. This doesn't mean much to us in California unless you have beloved family and friends that live right in the path of a hurricane that promises to be extremely devastating. We do. The memories of hurricanes I have lived through in my childhood have caused me to fear even now when the wind blows more than normal while it is raining. Hurricanes scare me. I'm praying for my family in Texas, and especially Whitney's family that lives closer to where Hurricane Ike will be hitting. God please be gracious!

Luke gets married

Luke married Lindsey on August 30 at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills. Both of their dads officiated the ceremony, which was pretty cool. Bruce said he was more nervous than he expected to be. I can sure understand! Congratulations Luke & Lindsey Baumgartner! [This is mostly for you, Bridget. Our friend, Janet, is a mother-in-law now. I can't imagine a better one. Lindsey is a lucky lady.]

Becky Baumgartner & Noah Hamilton


"I hope you dance" Luke and Janet dance.

Larry, Jeri & Nici
Ray & Bonnie Millar

Ft. Bragg vacation

I realized we didn't take many photos since Jason wasn't with us. He's got the great camera, and I realize we usually rely on him to take the great pictures. Oh well, here's a few.



Carianne is a "High School Musical" nut. We got her a HSM 2 twister dance game. She had fun learning the moves. But she spent a lot her time at the computer. They all like to play "Webkins." I think Nici taught them how to YouTube and find the lyrics and sing along to the High School Musical songs. I have video but I'm not sure how to upload it to my blog.

Amy worked a lot while we were there, but she liked to play at the computer too. Sadly, the only photo I have of Sarah is of her sleeping! She'd kill me if I put it here.

Nici turns 23

Nici's birthday happened while we were in Ft. Bragg. It is always fun to have a birthday in Ft. Bragg. Duane and I took her to Laurel Street Deli for breakfast. Later in the day she, Amy and I walked to town to shop. Fun. Then in the evening we had chicken nachos and chocolate chip cheesecake. She had fun checking out Calvary Chapel Ft. Bragg's Jr. High and High School meetings during the week.

I got a couple of good photos of Nici with her dad. The outdoor one was taken in Mendocino.

Vacation time

Vacations...ahhhh... walks on the beach, treasure-seeking in thrift stores, coffee at Starbucks, lunches at Chick-fil-A, reading for pleasure, watching the Olympics on TV...stuff we usually don't have time for. Tomorrow we spend the day driving up the 101 to Ft. Bragg. It will a beautiful, but long drive. But oh, so worth it!

Books

One of my favorite quotes is from Surprised by Joy as C.S. Lewis describes the home in which he grew up. The book is subtitled "The Shape of My Early Life." If you have never read it, put it on your list for the fall when you can curl up in your favorite reading chair with it and a huge cup of tea. That's how I read it a couple of years ago. C.S. Lewis is a kindred spirit. What's a house without a lot of books?

"I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms, upstairs indoor silences, attics explored in solitude, distant noises of gurgling cisterns and pipes, and noise of wind under the tiles. And, of endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass."

From my notebook

Corrie ten Boom:

"When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don't throw away your ticket and jump off. you sit still and trust the engineer."

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

Reading through the Bible

I've been reading the One Year Bible for a lot of years now. I love it! Even in 2 Chronicles (where I would probably never read if not reading the One Year Bible), I see lessons for me here today.

2 Chr. 25 Amaziah did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, but not wholeheartedly.

:14 "When Amaziah returned from slaughtering the Edomites, he brought back the gods of the people of Seir. He set them up as his own gods, bowed down to them and burned sacrifices to them.

:15 "The anger of the Lord burned against Amaziah, and he sent a prophet to him, who said 'Why do you consult this people's gods, which could not save their own people from your hand?'"

God would destroy Amaziah because he did that and would not listen to the prophet's counsel. God wants my wholehearted devotion!

Uzziah then became king... 2 Chr. 26:16 "But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride let to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense." (something only the priests were allowed to do)

Uzziah became angry when Azariah the priest and 80 others confronted him. While he was raging at them, leprosy broke out on his forehead. He had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house - leprous, and excluded from the temple of the Lord. His son, Jotham, had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.

Jotham, by the way, grew powerful because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.

There's many more... Ahaz... Hezekiah...I love that story... he wasted no time in setting God's house back in order, consecrating the Levites and removing the defilement. 2 Chr. 29:35 & 36 says "So the service of the temple of the Lord was reestablished. Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced at what God had brought about for his people, because it was done so quickly."

I'm still reading...

Mr. & Mrs. Alex Siler

Just in case you missed Beth Kreiger & Alex Siler's wedding on Friday night, I wanted to post a few photos. I had a unique view from the sound booth where Duane was running sound for the wedding.

This was one of the most memorable weddings I have ever been to. Instead of communion as their first act as husband and wife, Alex and Beth washed one another's feet, following Christ's example. Imagine a bride in her gown kneeling before her groom to wash his feet...

More long-time friends

As if God hadn't blessed us enough this week, we got to see the Kybers on Thursday night in Valencia. They now live in Oregon, but we haven't seen them in years. Andy & Meg Kyber were some of our first friends at Calvary Chapel Poway before we had kids. We have ministered with each other, to each other and walked through some dark times together. We love them. Their kids, Mike and Tessa were with them ~ along with Mike's new wife, Marie. Missing was Laura, their oldest daughter. She is in England with her husband working with Wycliffe Bible translators. I guess that's a good excuse...


Mike, Marie, Meg, Tessa & Andy

Phelan Friends

Larry & Duane


On July 13 we had the privilege of celebrating with our Phelan friends, Larry & Jeri Anderson. They have been pastoring at Calvary Chapel Phelan for 20 years now! Bruce & Janet Baumgartner flew in from Hawaii. Years ago... maybe 21 or 22 years ago... we all were on staff together at Calvary Chapel of Poway. Those really were precious years. I am so thankful for these friends. Jeri has been an instrument of balance for me through the years of raising my kids. Janet taught Nici and Jason in their preschool years. Nici still says that she wants to be a mom like Janet.


Not sure if you can tell how happy Larry is to have this guitar-fest going on around him. He was floating on a cloud.


Duane & Bruce


It was so cool to see all these girls again.



Luke Baumgartner, Nici and Jason. The next time we see Luke will be at his wedding in August. Luke has known Jason since he was born. It is weird that in the next few years they could have kids of their own!

Grace Chapel Women

Okay, I am trying something out and if you are reading this, you are the first to hear about it. I have started a Grace Chapel women's ministry blog. It is called "Women of the Word" and you will find it at http://gracechapelwomen.blogspot.com. It is very pink at the moment and it has only one post. I guess you could say it is in the test stage. But feel free to give me feedback, good or bad. Helpful suggestions, whatever. Just remember it is a rough draft. My hope is to use it to encourage the women, keep them updated of women's ministry events and recommend resources that they might not know about otherwise.

Goodbye, Shane

You were loved so very, very much. And you are already missed.

Happy 75th Birthday, Dad

My dad is 75 years old today. It's pretty hard for me to believe.

On January 1st he traveled with a team from his church to China to carry Study Bibles to the Chinese believers that are crying out for God's Word. He had never done anything like that before, and I doubt if he will do it again. (He fell in the snow and rocks at the Great Wall of China, hit his head, landed in the Chinese hospital, and came home in a lot of pain.) But he did it! That showed a lot of courage for a man who likes structure and predictability.

He is a self-described "supervisor" yet works as hard as everyone else. Probably harder. I wished he lived closer to me, not just because I like to be with him, but he would probably really enjoy doing a few of the things that need to be done around the house.

My dad is wise and gives good counsel, especially in the area of finances. He is wise with his money and desires his kids, grandkids and greatgrandkids to learn how to be wise with their money too. But most of all, he wants us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. There were plenty of years that Duane and I lived without the predictability of a set income as we traveled and ministered in music. That was tough on my dad as he watched us struggle financially, and I think it stretched his faith as well as our own. I think my family has increased his prayer life over the years! But that can't be a bad thing, can it?

Every morning he and Pat pray for one of their kids and their families. I am thankful. Every evening before bed they play marbles with my sister, Cyndi, if she comes by.

Ps. 128:1 says "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways." This scripture always makes me think of my dad.

Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you!

Praying for Ronda

Is. 41:10 "Do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

This is the scripture that Nici texted to me when Duane and I went to the McPeeks early Thursday morning after finding out their son, Shane Byrd, had been killed in a car accident. I am praying for Ronda and Dennis ~ that God will strengthen them and uphold them when they feel they just can't go on.



"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." 2 Cor. 1:3

Lord, please comfort the McPeek family.

My Dad

Charles Thomas Gwin, Jr.

Happy Father's Day, dad. (A day late.)


Grandpa and Jason.

Grandpa and Nici

Father's Day

A few of my favorite photos from the archives... My children have the best Father ever!




Father's Day was a glorious day, not just for Duane, but also for me. I think I am addicted to the wonderful art of scanning old pictures. Whitney's simple request of wanting to see some older photos reminded me of the treasures I have hidden in boxes or photo albums. Scanning old photos makes me happy!