fight night was a success!

wow!! its been a while since I blogged but I have been CRAZY busy!! Coordinating a trip with 39 people to another country is a bit insane but I know it will be worth the work!!
Saturday was our big sumo event and it went off without a hitch(mostly). We pre- sold 159 tickets to the event but then sold another 120 at the door!! We weren't exactly prepared for that, so the line for food got a little long but we survived. We also had to ration portions a little more carefully at the end (one pasta noodle per family):) but at least we had plenty of desserts.

As you can see from the photos, Kristin had a huge weight and height advantage so it was no mystery why she won the match:)

The best part for me was at the end. the students worked so hard learning the dramas that we will perform while we are in the dominican and they were so powerful!!! People were in tears and everyone was amazed at how compelling they were!!

thanks to everyone who supported us (we raised 3,000 dollars) and for my incredible team. I know God is going to honor your hard work and faith by brining many people into His Kingdom on our trip. It is a huge blessing to lead these young people and I am continually humbled by the support of this great Church. thanks also to my incredible leaders, all of you stepped up and made the event a home run!!! No way it could have happened without you!

Thanks again,

ps. Ava asked me why I was wearing red underwear like that!! I swear I told her it wasn't my underwear. I stopped wearing those when I switched to boxers:)
pss. Ava told me she wants another sister. I quote-- little babies are so cute, can't we buy one from mommy's tummy?:)

Easter Sunday

How crazy to have Easter with this much snow on the ground!! I loved seeing all the pretty dresses at church with their carhart shawls!! We had a great service and then an incredible brunch at my moms. All the usual suspects were there including my sister Amy and her husband Jim.
We also met my mom's new friend Al who spent the day with us. He was so pleasant and my girls loved him (Ava kept grabbing his finger and telling him what he needed to do:) He is also very vast in his sports knowledge so that goes along way in my book:)
Anyways, welcome to the family Al and I pray all the happiness and blessing in the world for my mom!! I'll be sure to add a picture of mom and Al in a future post!

thats all for now, I must say my 2 girls may just be the cutest on the planet!!

numero sumo

Oh the things I won't do for the students I love!! Myself and 36 others from our youth are going to the Dominican Republic this summer on a mission trip. To raise money, we are having a fight night event where we will serve dinner, and then culminate the evening with our staff having sumo wrestling fights. Below is a video link of me promoting ticket sales for the event. I must say i look pretty good in a loincloth.



Numero Sumo from Resurrection Life Church on Vimeo.

happy birthday to me?

Not really, but March 14th is my "spiritual" birthday. Sunday march 14th 1999 at Resurrection Life Church in Richland michigan, I responded to an altar call and gave my life to Jesus. I still have the cassette tape of the service and can still remember sobbing at the front of the church as I finally "let go" of all of the junk in my life.
God has done so many things since I can't even begin to list them. My beautiful wife Kendra, and my two daughters are certainly at the apex of God's blessings in my life. I also thank God for the opportunities I have daily to influence the lives of others and help connect them to God in my role as a pastor. I thank God for my Pastor Lee Cummings for believing in me and taking me under his wing. I appreciate all you have modeled for me as a husband, father, and man of God. Your also a great boss=)

My dad passed away from cancer four years ago and I think about him often. He was my biggest encourager and always told me what a great preacher I was going to be. I bet he is still writing out cards in heaven and I can't wait to read them when I get there. I miss you dad and I thank God for the time we had together and I look forward to seeing you again. Thanks for loving me even when I was a snot nosed punk who was unlovable and instilling in me a desire to encourage others as you did.

sometimes it feels longer than nine years, and sometimes it feels like yesterday, but I look forward to many more years living my life for the one who died for me.
thank you father for your unreasonable love and for using me despite all my shortcomings. May your grace never cease to be amazing to me.

ps. If I had known about THIS, I may not have waited so long to get on the ball:)

inspiration

I've heard it said that humility is being able to learn anything from anyone. I am constantly trying to learn from others in order to be a more effective communicator. I think I may have stumbled upon such an influence. You are about to witness Brother Barry's first ever sermon. It was originally 3 parts, but I will show you only one and you can decide if you want to watch the first 2 installments.

disclaimer--I do not make a habit of pointing out flaws of other ministries or preachers. I just thought this was a little too classic not to share and you can form your own opinion.

FUN WITH THE FREY'S

Saturday we took the girls down to GR to see a couple I used to work with back in my papa vino days. Randy and Bekah were such gracious hosts and their two boys are adorable!! Ava and Addy made themselves right at home and were instantly mesmerized by all the "boy" toys. They never knew there was a world of toys beyond ponies and babies and so I explained to them what a dump truck and steamroller was. Its always so much fun to catch up with old friends and Bekah's sister may want me to do her wedding in september so hopefully that will be a motivation for us all to stay in touch!! (plus I feel like if I spend time with them, their all boy anointing may have an affect on our next baby!) Right Kendra?

Thanks again Frey's,

Jon and Kendra

ps. my boy marc and his wife becky were there too with Emma marc's daughter, but the picture I took of them didn't really turn out and I didn't want to embarrass Marc since literally about a dozen people see this blog worldwide.

Sorry Meidema's You know I love you.

random thoughts

Kendra and I are considering a family outing to the great wolf lodge water park. I already know where all my girls are getting there swim wear this year. I wish they had more stuff for guys, after having 2 children, I think i may have to go back to a one piece this summer.

Also I stumbled upon this disturbing video of a police officer going off on a 14 year old kid for skateboarding. As a youth Pastor I am aware that there is often a disconnect between generations and that young people are not always known for exemplary behavior, but I think this crazy guy is a great example of why teenagers feel they would rather rebel against society then attempt to find their place in it.

another bday party and Addy gets an oweeeee.

we had another party on thursday for Addy with the "zondervan" side. We combined it with my niece Tiffany who is also a February Birthday. Thanks Uncle Jim and Aunt Amy for making the trip from holland, it was great to see you again=) The "hit" toy was this little baby elmo that cries for its baba, snores, and says excuse elmo right after it burps. Both girls love it of course and it is often the cause of much sisterly "love" in our household. Ava seems to think that her "having it first" somehow should trump the fact that it is actually Addy's toy. I'm glad me and my siblings never fought over anything......right mom?

On a much more sour note, Addy got her finger slammed in the bathroom door while I was gone. I knew it wasn't good when i was on the other line and I got about 5 frantice calls/texts in about 30 seconds. Ava slammed the door while Addy's finger was in the part where the hinges are. She yanked it out and peeled all the skin back on her right index finger. I love my wife to death but sometimes the moment gets the better of her, the phone call went something like.....there's blood everywhere and her finger tip got sliced off!!!! It wasn't exactly that bad, but the skin was peeled back and it was pretty deep. I guess that isn't the time when most mom's would naturally stay calm and see the glass as half full:) Anyways, she is doing much better now and even does little re-enactments of the incident by pretending to smash her finger in the door and then fake crying. It is very cute:)
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thanks to my brother in law lee for stepping into the dad role and coming over to calm the fam down. You gotta love having relatives close by:)