My quiet time today

Well, here I am a little after 7am and not even getting ready for class! I should be sleeping still! Actually, Nathan has had a fever for a day or two and I just can't seem to get it down or gone. I think it might be his 2 year molars, but I'm no expert. He had a few days last week too that he just didn't feel good with fever and "other" problems. So I've decided to take him to the doctor this morning. It's about time anyway, he's supposed to go around his 2nd birthday, which is only a few weeks away! My baby boy is growing up so fast!

I'm reading John 3 this morning along with a book Danny & I really have enjoyed it's called "Evangelism for the Fainthearted" by Floyd Schneider. He brings out some interesting points about how Jesus ministered to different individuals, today specifically Nicodemus. It's amazing how we miss some of the 'little' words we don't really let sink in or don't find important... like in verse 2 Nicodemus came "by night" and then he says "..we know...". Nicodemus was an important man, he had everything. Why did he come to Jesus at night? Who was the 'we' he mentioned? Verse 4 has Nicodemus asking a question that as a Pharisee he should be able to answer, because as Schneider writes, "The Pharisees claimed to be the mediators between God and man...he [was] attacked in his stronghold...[Jesus] called into question his (Nicodemus') ability as a teacher and a mediator..."

The question is this: "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"

I'm fascinated by the way Jesus was so blunt with Nicodemus, it wasn't polite that's for sure. I think sometimes God has to get our attention first, maybe without it we'd just keep looking past the answer. Jesus' answer is in verse 10, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?" He questions Nicodeumus' knowledge, he was a Pharisee, shouldn't he know how to get to Heaven?!?! Now that Jesus seems to have Nicodemus' attention He does give him an answer. Schneider writes that Jesus based his answer on Numbers 21, a passage in the Old Testament which Nicodemus could easily understand. Verses 14-15 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Throughout the rest of John, we can see that Jesus dealt with people differently. The way Jesus dealt with Nicodemus just happens to have really caught my attention today.

Sometimes as believers we take for granted what we "know". I have been challenged to read and re-read things that I think or thought I knew. Some of my childhood memories of stories are a little bit warped... I get them twisted with a cartoon version of a Bible lesson, or I take someone else's thoughts for fact instead of looking it up myself. I enjoy reading other books on certain subjects and nothing wrong with that at all, but I make the effort of always going back to the Bible as the ultimate Authority on the topic. When it comes right down to it... I want to know what JESUS meant, not someone else. Only He can save.

Have a great day!!!!!!!

Krista

New Plans

Sunday we officially announced to the church that we have been attending that we are ready to begin working towards planting a new church. It is our goal to begin evangelistic Bible studies with the contacts we have made since moving here. As people from those groups come to know Christ, we hope to organize them into house groups. After we have three house groups or between 25 and 30 people we hope to start meeting one Sunday per month for a worship service. After that the goal is to organize into a church and have weekly Sunday worship services. Please pray for us as we step out by faith.

Also, Krista wanted me to share with you her good news about the German placement test she recently took. She ranked right in the middle of her class and will not have to change to a new group and adjust to a new teacher. Her German is really improving since becoming a full time student. She has gotten many compliments recently.

We also have a serious prayer request to share with you today. As you may know, our ministry colleagues, Curt and Melinda Brown are currently in the States on furlough. We received a call from Curt yesterday and he told us that Melinda was in the hospital. She had been having chest pains and her left hand had gone numb. They were still doing test when he called and we don't want to jump to conclusions, but I'm sure that they would really appreciate your prayers right now. Have a great day!

Danny

Prayer requests

This past week I've been able to meet up with 2 of my classmates and have coffee or just sit in a cafe enjoying the beautiful Spring weather. These are also the 2 friends that would like to begin reading the Bible with me. Please pray for these developing friendships.

Also, please keep a friend of ours (our Youth Pastors wife), Penny in prayer. She had to have surgery yesterday to fix a hole in her heart. Derald, her hubby, reported all went well and now is trying to recover. She is so young to be having this problem! Pray for quick healing and for Derald & the kids as they try to care for her and keep up with everyday life too.

Danny & I are beginning to make plans for a German speaking "house group" Bible study. We'd like to pull our contacts together (mainly from our German classes) and start in the near future. Please pray for us to be sensitive to God's directing.

School starts back up for me on Monday and I just don't have the energy to 'want' to go back....it's very necessary for me, but I just have a lot of other things I'd rather do. Haha! If you know me, then you know school is not easy for me. Pray for strength and a growing desire to learn.

Lastly, continue to keep the Starrett family in prayer. If you've been reading our blog for at least a few weeks then you know about the loss of our friend and staff member at our home church, Tommy. Please continue to pray for Angi and their kids, Eric, Jason, and Whitney.

Ok, I know I've written a lot about requests, but I believe that it is beneficial to have other Believers praying together for each other. I know it's a blog, but you can post a comment and it will be delivered to our email and if you have something you'd like us to pray about, please let us know! If you have time read James 5, it gives some good insight on praying for one another.

Krista

Easter weekend

What a great time of year! A time to remember that Christ IS alive! Danny preached on Sunday about "The Empty Cross and The Empty Tomb". What a good reminder.

Saturday night we decorated eggs for the Easter egg hunt. This was Nathan's first time, last year he wasn't even a year old yet. We had a good time. He wasn't quite sure what to do about all of it, but still had fun. Sunday it was very rainy and so the egg hunt took place in his room. He loved finding the eggs and chocolate all over his room.

This is my last week of Spring break. I've really enjoyed being home. I've been able to do a lot of Spring cleaning and getting some things ready for this new baby!

Have a good week!

Krista

How embarassing!

Last night (Thursday) we were at church for a service. We all sat at tables in a circle and read Scripture and sang songs before the Lord's Supper. During a prayer, our son, Nathan, released "air" that carried a scent with it. The teens were sitting near by and were struggling to hold the giggles in, when the "Amen" was said, the rest of the room joined in the laughter. I was so embarassed and of course, Nathan had no clue, just smiled back at everyone who had turned to look at him. Never a dull moment!

On a serious, but proud note. Danny was asked to give a short devotion during this prayer time. He wasn't sure of who would be there to translate so he decided to write it out in German. He did a great job! He of course was sooooo nervous and got a word or two mixed up with another, but he was understood. God knew his heart.

We are going to hang out with the Lantrip family tonight and play a board game we've all learned (it's a German game), it was funny the first time with our dictionaries out to understand the rules, but a year and a half later we're good at it, the game is called 'Catan' (last we looked you can only find it online in the states and is quite expensive for the English version). Danny doesn't like to be reminded that I've won more than he has! haha!

Have a great weekend!!

Krista

Sonogram Picture

I finally got a chance to have this sonogram scanned. Here is our baby, or 'Bob' (I posted on Wednesday why the Baby is being called 'Bob'). I am 13 weeks and feeling so much better than I have in a along time. Anyway, we've had a nice weekend. I am especially enjoying it because I've not had homework to catch up on for Monday since I have the next 2 weeks off for Spring Break!!

Krista

Freitag (Friday)

I took my test yesterday and I thought it was pretty tough. I just hope I didn't do too bad on it and get bumped down too low. I like my class and I already have made friends with 2 girls that want to read the Bible with me. I'm on Spring Break for 2 weeks, so I'm really excited about the break!

Danny & Nathan worked on the yard today. Danny is going to begin to grow his own peppers, so a small garden patch has formed on the side of our house. Nathan is so fun to watch. He was right along side his Daddy being such a good helper.

I think I've caught a 'bug' because I've not been feeling well. I don't think I should stray too far from the house and I can't seem to keep anything down. I'm just worried about keeping the baby healthy.

Ok, so have a good weekend!!!

Krista

Mittwoch (Wednesday)

Well, I have had nearly 4 weeks of German class and tomorrow is our test. This test will decide if I'm where I should be. I'm hoping to stay in the same class, I KNOW there's no way I'll be bumped up :) ha! It's really nothing I can study for...if I don't know it now to use in a conversation then I probably don't know it. But I do get nervous just hearing the word "test"...I always have.

Danny is preaching this Sunday so he will be spending the rest of the day studying. Nathan and I will be playing and trying to stay somewhat quiet. Ok, maybe not quiet...but out of Danny's way! I do have laundy piling up... it seems like whenever we (yes, I have a great husband who helps out!) get a good amount done, another pile shows up and we're swamped again!

I think I have felt the baby move this week. I'm almost 13 weeks, so it's really early, but I've read that if you've had a baby before you're likely to feel the next one earlier. We go back to the Doctor in May and hopefully we'll be able to find out if we're having a boy or girl! Danny got Nathan to start calling the baby "Bob". His reasoning: Krista is "Babe" and Nathan is "Bud" so we needed a "B" name! Now Nathan points at my stomach when Danny asks, "Where's Bob?".

Have a SUPER day!

Krista

Dr. Appointment

This morning Krista had her second doctor appointment for this pregnancy. Everything is looking good and the baby seems to be healthy. We got to see him/her on the sonogram. He/She was really moving around in there. It was so awesome to watch. Of course, Nathan didn't think so. He was much more interested in trying to run around the doctor's office and play. I'm sure he will show a little more interest once the baby arrives. I think he is going to make a great big brother. It's so weird to even think about that with him still being so small. I'm starting to understand the phrase, "Time flies" on a new level. Have a great one!

Danny

New Look

We have just updated the website for our ministry team in Austria. You can view it at http://ateamonline.info. Not only have we changed the look, we have also added some new pages. Check it out and tell us what you think (especially if you have any problems viewing it or if you notice any mistakes). We want to keep you as informed as possible about what the Lord is doing with us here. We will be making more changes in the coming weeks so please drop by occasionally to browse. Have a great weekend!

Danny