Brighton Chapel

Last night Nolan and I spoke at our church here in Michigan, well actually it's in Indiana, Brighton Chapel. It's funny how God's timing worked. This last week we had four really amazing friends here visiting, as you can see from the previous post, and we had done a lot of remenising and digging up old videos and pictures of the times we had in Europe together. Because of this experience a lot of things became fresh in our hearts, our past experiences of what we were doing in Europe and how God uses that because fresh in our minds and hearts, and so speaking this time became quite a bit more emotional. Especially for our emotional Nolan, which he doesn't always like, but I know God uses that to touch peoples heart and get them to grasp a piece of how God feels. I think it was a great experience and I know God will use it for his glory. There may have been future Masters Commission Students there, who knows? We cannot limit what God can do. The theme that kept coming up in what we were saying is how God has taken all these pieces throughout our life to bring us to this place, which makes it very obvious that this is what we are supposed to be doing. We had someone come up and want to support us herself on a monthly basis, which is awesome, and they took a love offering for us, which we didn't expect because they are already supporting us. So God is good once again.

The SummerLove Gang

Canon.

It was about two years ago... I was sick laying in bed when I found out the my camera was stolen. Ever since then I have felt like something was missing. I really enjoyed the camera and learning how to use it better.

It wasn't so long ago my father in law told me that one of the areas they wanted to invest into Hannah and I as we go back to Europe was to buy a camera for us. So for the past few weeks I have been searching and digging to find the best prices for a camera that I could call my own.

Well as of this week I found the camera that would be our new traveling mate. The Canon 30D is her name! We are so excited to have this back with us and now I am just waiting for the camera bag to come as well so I can make sure it's always taken care of. I found the 5 Million Dollar home (what a name) from Crumpler is a nice addition.

To those reading who have any connections with Canon Lenses please let us know as we will be wanting to add to the camera soon.

We will post pictures soon from this week with our friends here at the lake.

MA Update

Just a little note that we have updated our progress on the MA Support page. We receive our statement around the 10th of every month. I must say that the days coming up to that are always so exciting. This process has really been something Hannah and I have really clung onto. It's one thing to dream and talk about what our lives could be like, but to actually see the first destination getting closer and closer gets so exciting.

Please keep in prayer that we will continue to see monthly commitments as that is the largest part of our budget. We need to have $3,512 in support every month. That will be the biggest hurdle for us to overcome. Just ask favor for Hannah and I as we continue to share our heart and vision of what we feel God calling us to do. We know the support will follow.

You can now support/donate online. You can donate by downloading the commitment form here or donating online directly here.

(make sure to take note of the account number : 2943447)

Buffalo

I read an article by Sara Groves today called, Your Spiritual Buffalo. Here's an excert from it that I wanted to share.

"I'll never forget the scene in Dancing with Wolves where the sioux are preparing for a buffalo hunt. It has been a long time since they have seen any buffalo, but thanks to a tip from their new friend (played by Kevin Costner), they have located the herd. Now there is a great deal of anticipation as they prepare for the hunt. They spend the night dancing and dressing, preparing their horses and hunting supplies. The next morning, they creep on their bellies quietly to peer over a ridge where they expect to see hundreds of buffalo grazing in the field. But instead, to their horror, they find hundreds of buffalo carcasses strewn across the prairie.
In the silence, the contrast is profound. In the sioux culture they make use of every part of the buffalo. The bladder carries water, the bone makes a tool, the skin makes clothing and covering for tents, and the meat will sustain an entire family. There is a good use for everything. Whoever has done this has taken the best part of the buffalo for himself, and has simply left the rest to rot. There is not enough time to make good use of all of the dead buffalo, no way to possibly redeem it. "

She compared this to our spiritual lives, which I found very convicting. The Sioux us every part of the buffalo for something, but how much of God do we use and are we only keeping the best parts for ourselves and leaving the rest to waste? I know I'm guilty.

childlike faith

My last post was about a little boy from the daycare center named Elijah and how he has such a curiosity about God. Well last week I asked his mom if I could take him to church with me and she said it was ok, so today was that day. It was so awesome to expose him to this. When we picked him up he was bouncing off the walls from excitement, it was like he had just eaten a bucket of sugar. He just kept giggling and I didn't see anything but smiles the whole time. When we got there he said something about how this looks like where they have weddings, so you get the idea of how much he has been exposed to church. He asked me if the worship leader was God and my favorite was during worship since he didn't know the songs he would just grab onto certain words like love and sing his own song, like I love you over and over again. I know he's young, I just pray these seeds go deep down in him and I know God will make those seeds grow.

July 29th - 2007

One year is quickly approaching the New Tarantinos ;) Hannah not too long ago asked what we were going to do for our anniversary. It got me thinking becauseI really didn't know what would be fun in the area we where living.

For our honeymoon we traveled from Fort Myers up the East Coast to cities such as
[+] Myrtle Beach, [+] Baltimore, [+] NYC, [+] Cleveland and back home. Along the way we did a few baseball games and that was a lot of fun! Even Hannah was able to enjoy it ;) But the one thing we didn't do which we had planned was to catch Rascall Flatts in concert. Since we missed that and with a little inspiration I thought of one great idea!!!!



No, not Rascall Flatts but the first best thing before them!!! Tim McGraw and Faith Hill!!! Oh yeah!!! They are playing just an hour away in July and that is where we will be celebrating our one year anniversary!!! I think the experience will be pretty fun. Plus you see that blue catwalk... well that is where we will be!!! Just a few rows from the front and right next to it, so hopefully we can take a few shots! It's going to be fun either way.

Hannah said this is something she has always wanted to do.

Spawning

Today was great. Before work started I was able to get out and fish for a bit. I was able to catch 5 fish in about 30 minutes. Right now the fish are moving closer to the shore because the water is warmer and there they can spawn. As I was drifting I could see the beds where the mother bass where at... and they were HUGE!!! I will have to get back out there to see if I can catch one!!!

Today I was able to get a Rock Bass, Large Mouth Bass, Small Mouth Bass and a big Blue gill.