ARUBA!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Here are the best of the best pictures that we took from Aruba!
We had a great time while we were there. We went off-roading, snorkeling, swimming in the Natural Pool, and enjoyed some much needed relaxation. I got to do some pleasure reading (The Kite Runner and Playing for Pizza and most of The Weight of Glory)and Stephanie and I both caught up on our sleep. And we ate very well!
Thanks Mom and Bill for a great trip!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 1:57 PM 1 comments
Update on Life
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Life for Stephanie and I seems to be busy as of late, but I guess that isn't so unusual, especially in the holiday season. We just got back from a great trip to Chicago to see my folks for Thanksgiving. Thursday consisted of church in the morning (must be a midwest thing because none of the churches anywhere else seem to have a service on Thanksgiving), an amazing dinner cooked by my mother and assisted by Steph, an afternoon of catching up with my good buddy Drew Durdin, and an evening of nieces, nephews, and Catch Phrase.
On Friday, Stephanie and I, along with Tim and Sarah Boer, hitched a ride on the train and spent the afternoon and evening downtown Chi-town. We witnessed the lighting of the tree (which his actually 113 trees made to look like one giant tree), and walked our freezing little behinds up to Pizzeria Due for a classic meal of Chicago-style deep dish pizza. Tim and I had a slice and a half and the ladies just had one slice a piece. You always think that you can eat more than just a slice, but there is just no way.
Our flight back home to Orlando left Saturday evening, but before we left, my parents, Stephanie and I celebrated a little Christmas together. Since we won't be able to spend the holiday together, it was nice to be there when we opened up the gifts for each other.
Now we are home and relaxing before another busy week. We are putting our house on the market tomorrow, so if anyone wants to buy some investment property in Mount Dora, just give us a call. Better yet, if you know of someone looking for a great 3/2 near a lake, let us know.
I am in the process of sending out resumes and MDF's (Ministerial Data Form) to various churches for positions, so please say a prayer for us. We don't know where God is calling us at this point, but we are confident that he will guide us in the right direction.
Posted byMike Fennema posted 11:08 PM 0 comments
GodTube
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A friend of mine introduced me to Godtube. This is a powerful skit. It really portrays the fight between the flesh and spirit. Check it out.
Steph
Posted bySteph posted 7:58 PM 1 comments
Part of the Family
I was listening to the radio yesterday to a person who had just published a book chronicling the time when he and his family had to put to sleep their dog that they had rescued from a shelter. It got me thinking about how much I love our two dogs, Jet and Avery. I get upset with them every once in a while like when they chew on something that they aren't supposed to, but I can't help but love them and I can't imagine life without them at this point. They are truly members of the family. Every morning now, I get up and take them out and afterwards, they both are just itching for me to pet them and scratch them all over. I love it. Even Jet, the serious momma's boy, can't wait for me to show him some love every morning. And don't even get me started on how excited they are to see us when we get home. Gotta love it.
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:36 AM 0 comments
Latest Sermon
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Hey everyone. I would love your feedback on my latest sermon. You can listen to it here, and let me know what you think, either good or bad. I will not be offended if you hate it, and I could use some constructive criticism! Enjoy!
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Posted byMike Fennema posted 4:48 PM 4 comments
A day in the life of Mike Fennema
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
This is a post inspired by the great Ethan Pitsch who I am extremely jealous of right now. I thought that I would give you all a peek into a typical Tuesday in the life of Mike Fennema:
Starting the day of with John Frame and Apologetics to the Glory of God at 4:30 am.
Cooking the turkey bacon for me and my beautiful wife.
Quiet time with the whole family!
Saying goodbye to my sweetheart (I won't see her again until I climb into bed tonight with her already asleep)
On my hour-long drive to 10 am class.
The beautiful landscape I have the privilege to view for an hour.
Finally...RTS
Typing out notes during class.
Steve Brown teaching Communication 2
Lunch break errand: Bank of America. I had to get a Money Order for that which I would rather not talk about 
Back to the Apologetics homework during lunch break (by the way, I bumped into Dr. McKenzie in the hall as I was getting my lunch, and he said to me "Hey man. Got your lunch, huh?"...It was awesome.)
The feeling of just sitting through four hours of class (if it wasn't for Steve Brown and his stories, I might have gone crazy)
Finishing off a sermon for Com Lab in the UCF Student Union while waiting for RUF to start at 8 pm.
RUF!
The long drive home, and trying to stay awake...(just kidding by the way...that was a posed shot)
Home Sweet Home
Finishing up the Blog Post
And finally...with my wife in our bed...sorry to disappoint you all. And what a day it has been. I'm ready to do it all again tomorrow!
The Day in Review:
Posted byMike Fennema posted 9:20 AM 3 comments
Relaxing in New Smyrna
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Steph and I were able to relax with Grammie and Paw Paw this weekend in New Smyrna. Here are some pictures for you all to make you jealous...
Also, here are pictures of our anniversary trip to St. Augustine:
And finally, here are a couple of pictures of our wedding pictures, take 2:
Posted byMike Fennema posted 4:58 PM 2 comments
Our First Year, part 1
Friday, September 28, 2007
Well, it is hard to believe, but Stephanie and I just celebrated our one-year anniversary. And what a year it has been! Here is a slideshow that I put together of our first year. It is in two parts because its about 20 minutes long. Enjoy!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:45 AM 1 comments
Our First Year, part 2
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:44 AM 2 comments
Quite a month
Friday, August 10, 2007
It certainly has been quite a month to say the least. Ever since we got back from Chicago--which seems like forever ago--life has been really odd. And by odd I simply mean hard to imagine, explain, fathom...I think you get the picture. For those of you who don't know, we found out that we lost the baby, and it has been a difficult time. There traces of the sun shining down through the clouds, but for the most part it has seemed like a West Michigan winter down here in Mount Dora (for those of you unfamiliar with the weather in West Michigan, it is overcast from October through March...kind of depressing).
I want you all to know how much we have appreciated your support through your prayers, cards, flowers, and kind words. As we have tried to tell as many people as we can, we can truly feel the love of God through all of you. Thank you for putting that on display for us.
In the midst of sorrow, good things have happened. Steph and I are very excited about being accepted by RUF to move on in their process for campus ministry! If a presbytery approaches RUF and is looking for someone like me for their campus ministry, RUF will give them my name. Hopefully, good things will happen from there! Steph and I are not guaranteed a position with RUF, but they think that I have what it takes to me a campus minister! People like me! Yeah! In reality, I am quite positive that it was Steph that swayed their decision. She was there throughout the whole interview process, and she was great. I take that back...she IS great, not WAS great. She is amazing, and I am blessed to be called her husband.
If you want to read the (rather lengthy) sermon that I preached for the assessment, here it is. It is also located in the post below this one!
Thank you again for all your prayers and the love that you have shown us. It has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:13 PM 0 comments
RUF Assessment Sermon
The following is the sermon that I preached for the RUF Assessment in Atlanta last week. It was a little harrowing because I had not actually preached in front of people before. To be critiqued by people who I hope to be working with in a year was a little nerve-racking, but God, our Great King, is faithful in his protection and care of his servant (if you don't know what i'm talking about, give it a read...)
Please turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy 6:4-9. I want to read for you a passage that the Lord has been laying on my heart in the last month or so and share some insights that he has shown me.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV)
I’ve been thinking a lot about love over the last couple of weeks. My wife and I have felt a lot of love over the past month, but I’ve also had times where I have questioned how much I am loved. Typically, such a drastic change in thoughts and emotions would trigger alarm bells in many people’s minds. It’s different though when tragedy is involved.
My wife and I find out a little over a month ago that the baby that we were so eagerly anticipating was not going to come. After a visit to the doctor and an ultrasound the next morning, we discovered that our baby that was supposed to be 12 weeks along was only the size of an 8-week old. And his heart was not beating. We were devastated.
My wife and I were married about 9 months ago, and we began our marriage planning when we would start a family. After about 6 months, God laid it on our hearts to stop over-planning our lives and simply trust him with the timing of our family. We prayed about it, and we gave it over to God. Literally, as soon as we gave it over to God we conceived. So much for the doctors who had told my wife that it might be hard for her to get pregnant!
We were warned over and over again about how common miscarriages were, and we took the warnings seriously. As time went on and things were looking good, we became less and less concerned. We got to the end of the first trimester and breathed a sigh of relief. Since most miscarriages happen during the first couple of months, we thought we were safe. Unfortunately, we were mistaken.
Losing a child that we did not know has been a bigger struggle than I imagined it would be. My wife and I will simply break down crying at random times. We’ve tried to do as much as we could to cope with the loss. We did not know if the child was a male or a female, but we wanted to give the child a name. So we gave the baby the name Christian. We also planted a tree in front of our house as a memorial of Christian’s short 8 weeks of life. These things have helped, and our family and friends have been incredibly supportive. Despite all of this, the last month has still been a struggle.
During this time, my mind keeps coming back to the concept of love. I have asked God many times about what love is. I’ve even had the audacity to ask him if he truly loved my wife and I. “Do you even love us God? If you really loved us, why did you let this happen?” I don’t think that he really needs to answer that question because in reality, he already has.
Thinking about God’s love for me eventually got me thinking about my love for God. Although it took me some time, I was able to feel myself growing closer to God through this event. I began realizing my dependence on him more and more. I could actually feel my love for him deepening in a strange way, and that made me happy. But that got me to thinking, “How much do I really love God? Do I love God consistently, or does my love for him waver? What does it really mean to love God?” All of these questions about love led me to our passage for this morning. Digging deep into this passage has helped me understand the concept of God’s love more fully, and it has shown me what God means when he tells us to love him.
For those of you unfamiliar with this passage, so much can be said about it. It is so incredibly deep and rich. In this passage, Moses is speaking to the people of Israel as they are on the brink of entering the Promised Land. Before they entered the land, God thought it best to take time to remind the people what God required of them. Right before this passage, Moses just got finished reiterating the Ten Commandments. With The Commandments still ringing in their ears, Moses gives them another commandment: “Love the Lord your God…” And don’t just kind of love him; love him with your whole heart, soul, and strength. In other words, Moses was saying to love God completely, with all you’ve got.
Most Christians know this verse as the “Greatest Commandment.” This was the commandment that Jesus quoted when the Pharisees try to trap him, asking him which commandment out of all of them was the greatest. Jesus simply responded “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38) I’m sure that Jesus smiled real big when he saw their dumbfounded and defeated expressions after he gave them the most perfect answer to their trick question.
I struggle with this passage. My struggle has to do with the fact that it gives us a command to love God. That just seems strange to me. How can someone command me to love them? How can anyone be commanded to love something? I can think of a multitude of things that no one could ever command me to love. I could never love cauliflower, or getting my teeth cleaned at the dentist, or even worse, I could never love the Boston Red Sox. Not even my wife could command me to love those things. It would even be hard to love something that I enjoyed—like reading, for example—if I was commanded to do it.
This struggle I have with this passage has to do with a deficiency of mine. And I don’t think that I am the only one who has this deficiency. I think a lot of people are probably just like me. First of all, I find it hard to love God completely and consistently. I love him occasionally, but quite often I don’t. My problem though is how I view love.
When I think of love, I would probably define it somewhere along the lines of having a deep affection for something. I get this sense of a deep, overwhelming feeling that you know is there but you can’t really describe it. I think of my wife and the love that I have for her. When I am with my wife Stephanie, I feel love, and it’s this feeling inside of me that I can’t describe. I feel it throughout my body and especially in my chest. My heart gets pumping. I get happy and excited and the adrenaline starts rushing through my body. That’s what I think of when I think of love.
There have been times in my life when I have felt something along the lines of that feeling toward God, but those times have been few and far between. I can remember experiencing that feeling one night during the summer of 1999. I had the amazing privilege of spending a single night on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. I spent the evening down by the water, watching the sun set, painting the sky in beautiful colors. A warm breeze was coming off of the water. I walked the shore thinking that my God and my Savior loved me so much that he himself came down and walked on these shores. That night, I was filled with an overwhelming feeling of love for God.
My really weak definition of love is really not what Deuteronomy 6 is talking about. The concept of love is so much deeper than we typically imagine it. Love does involve a feeling, but it also involves so much more. Love is so deep that it actually incorporates all other virtues inside it. It’s so deep that the apostle Paul spends an entire chapter--I Corinthians 13—explaining what love is.
Although love is such a deep concept, Deuteronomy stresses one aspect of love that can often be overlooked, especially today. This is the aspect that I want to explore this morning.
This passage portrays loyalty as an important characteristic of love. Since the passage doesn’t make that explicit, how does this passage show loyalty as being an important aspect of our love for God? Easy. The context of course!
As I mentioned earlier, Israel is on the brink of entering the Promised Land. Because they are about to enter the land that God promised them and their ancestors before them, God wanted to make sure that they were going to do what they were supposed to when they got into the land. He wanted to renew the covenant that he had made with them back in the desert at Mt. Sinai.
Deuteronomy is a covenant renewal document written by Moses. It contains all the parts of a typical covenant that were made during this time. This passage falls underneath the heading of ‘stipulations’ within the document. In the stipulation section, God—the creator of the covenant—requires of Israel—the people with whom the covenant is being made—is laid out. Among other commands is the greatest command: Love God.
The question still remains, how does this mean that loyalty is part of love? Covenants in ancient times were between a great king and a party of lower standing. In every covenant, the stipulations were how the lower party was to show his loyalty to the greater king. In exchange for his loyalty, the greater king would offer his protection and his care.
In this covenant, God is the Great King. The people of Israel are the lower party. Therefore, this means that God is requiring his people Israel to love him in exchange for his protection and care. When we are talking about love in the court of the king, loyalty is inexplicably involved. In exchange for complete loyalty to him, God—the Great King—promises Israel—the lower party—to protect them and care for them. Thus we can see that a major aspect of the definition of love is complete loyalty to God.
Even though this passage is found in the Old Testament and was written so long ago, it applies to us even today. The promises to the people of Israel extend to those who have faith in Jesus, God’s son. His care and his protection are ours as well!
God is calling us to love him and to be loyal to him even today. The Israelites had a few amazing events in history to base their decision of loyalty on, but our decision to be loyal is based on things even greater: the life, death, and resurrection of the God’s Very Own Son! God by his very nature does not change. He is the same God then as he is now which means that if we do place our loyalty on him, we don’t have to be concerned about whether he will actually protect us and care for us. He always has, and he always will.
It is all well and good to talk in the abstract about love and loyalty, but what does that look like? How is that possible? Thankfully, our passage tells us how. On top of that, we have it modeled in none other that Jesus Christ himself.
Our passage says that “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” God knew that when his people got into the Promised Land, they were going experience all sorts of blessings, and they were going to forget about Him. They were going to forget about their Great King who had done such amazing things for them. He knew they were going to chase after foreign gods. So what did he tell them to do? He told them: “Take all these things that I’m telling and make them a part of your very being. Pass them on to your kids. When you get up in the morning, talk about them. When you’re running your errands, talk about them. When you’re sitting down enjoying a meal, talk about them. Create reminders for yourself so that you don’t forget. Put them in places where you’ll see them. Think about me whatever you are doing.”
Unfortunately, the people of Israel didn’t love God completely. They forgot, and they failed. And we all know how that worked out for them: exile. Assyria and Babylon conquered the Promised Land and deported a large chunk of the population. They simply couldn’t keep covenant with God. Neither can we, but we know of someone who did. Jesus did!
He loved God completely and perfectly. He is the greatest example of the deepest love for God and absolute loyalty to him. He remained loyal from the beginning to the very end, and was this was nothing short of amazing!. As Jesus kneeled praying in the Garden, he was under so much stress that he actually sweat drops of blood. He knew that if everything went according to his Fathers plan, he was about to die. But what did Jesus say? “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39). He was willing to be completely loyal to his Father.
Jesus showed us what it means to truly love God. He showed us absolute loyalty to God. He did what Israel could not. He did what we can not. And thank God that he did, because we would all be lost if it wasn’t for him.
So now what? What are we supposed to do now? The first thing that needs to be done is to have faith in Jesus. Because Jesus was loyal to God and died to satisfy God’s wrath, we have been given the ability to love God if we have faith in Jesus. So it starts with faith in Jesus.
If we have faith in God’s son, what does love and loyalty to God completely look like for us, 2000 years after Christ? Love and loyalty looks like Jesus life. Jesus life was lived in absolute love and loyalty that played itself out in absolute obedience to his father in heaven. I know that we as Reformed people get a little nervous when we talk about obedience to God’s law because we don’t want to fall into the trap of work’s righteousness. This could not be farther from work’s righteousness.
God did an amazing thing for us through his Son Jesus. He did what we could not and restored our standing before the Father. He took the wrath upon himself. Now out of gratitude, we have the opportunity of showing our love and loyalty to God by doing the things that he has asked us to do, for our good and for his glory.
Having this perspective has helped me in this last month. Knowing that love for God is more than my “feelings” toward him, has been a huge comfort. There were times when I did not like God, and there were days when I was down right angry with him. But God has reminded me time and time again that he is a God of love. He has reminded me that he is a God that does not change. He has even showed me that he knows what it is like to suffer through the death of a child. It has been tough, but my love for God has deepened during this time because God has showed me more of what love is. And even though we deal with pain and suffering, because of our faith in God’s son, we can have gratitude for what God has done. And because of this, we have no greater calling than being obedient to God, utterly loyal to him, and loving him with all of our heart, all our soul and with all our strength.
Amen.
Posted byMike Fennema posted 7:50 PM 0 comments
Who goes to bed at 8:30?
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
My wife does, that's who.
I can't believe how crazy that is. By the time that she gets up around 6 tomorrow morning she'll have almost 10 hours of sleep under her belt. Almost 10 hours!! I can't remember the last time that I actually got 10 hours of sleep. It was probably when I was in high school. Its not that I can blame her though. Apparrently, that is what happens when you're pregnant! That's right everybody! Stephanie is pregnant! She is only about 9 weeks along, so it is still fairly early on, and she should be due sometime in the middle of January or so.
I can not even begin to describe how excited we are. This is truly a miracle. Stephanie and I had talked about our family planning, and the Lord really laid it on our hearts that we were over-planning to the point that we were not relying on God. Amazingly, God showed us immediately that he wanted us to start raising up a covenant child. We were caught off guard, but not surprised. Ocassionally, God has a way of vividly showing his will, and Stephanie and I could not be more excited. We look forward to sharing our buddle of joy with all of you.
With this great news brings a great need for prayer. Please pray for Steph as she experiences the joys and the sorrows of pregnancy. We also ask you to pray for our child as s/he develops. We are not going to find out deliberately what we are going to be blessed with, but it will probably be tough not to find out.
Thank you in advance for your prayers. We appreciate them, and we appreciate y'all!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:30 PM 4 comments
a picture says a thousand words, but it can never says enough
Thursday, May 10, 2007
It's been said that a picture says a thousand words. If that's the case, please take a look at the over 50 thousand words worth of pictures that I posted on our photo site. These are just mere smattering of the pictures that were taken. Even though I am growing to love photography and the stories that a picture can tell, these pictures can not do justice to even beginning to describe our trip. I will blog more about it in the future as we adjust back to life in the good ol' US of A.
Thank you for all of you who were praying for us. The prayers were needed and felt. Honestly. Thank you. To those of you who took care of our pups while we were gone, we can't thank you enough. Sincerely. Thank you. To those of you who supported us financially, your generosity has gone and will go farther than you can possibly imagine. From the depths of our hearts, we thank you.
Enjoy the thousands of words.
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| Tanzania |
Posted byMike Fennema posted 7:10 PM 1 comments
Abject Poverty
Friday, April 27, 2007
An 80 year old father who struggles to raise his 11 year old daughter because his wife died. A 17 year old with polio who his parents abandoned. A boy who couldn't go to school because his family could not afford a uniform. Four children under the age of 6 who were home alone while their mother worked. The father abandoned the family.
These were four of the families that I visited yesterday. A reporter from Deutschewelle radio in Germany is here in Tanzania doing a story on different programs and their effectiveness in East Africa. I got to tag along as she interviewed the different parents and children, and my heart has never been so broken. From my overly wealthy perspective, I don't understand how people could survive in these conditions, but they do. Seeing poverty consuming people awakes the desire to help from deep within a person. But when you look around and see person upon person and house upon house and village upon village of nothing but unimaginable poverty, your heart just crumbles from the weight of it all. What is a person to do? A small handout helps for a day, but what about tomorrow? Is another person with a little cash going to be around again?
What am I supposed to do? What does God want me to do? Say a prayer as I leave? Matthew 25 begs to differ. But where do I even begin?
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| Tanzania |
Posted byMike Fennema posted 7:01 AM 2 comments
The First Batch of Tanzania Pictures!
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Here you go everyone! Here is the first batch of pictures from Tanzania! Don't you worry, more will follow!
If you all out there wouldn't mind saying a little prayer for our group, we would appreciate it! We love you all!
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| Tanzania |
Posted byMike Fennema posted 1:28 PM 1 comments
Less than a week to go
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Well Steph and I are leaving for Tanzania in less than a week now. It's been kinda crazy round here the last couple of...well, the last couple of weeks to be honest. Ever since we got back from Colorado life has been busier than normal. Steph has been doing a ton of work for the trip that is coming up. She is basically doing all the administrative part of the trip on top of her current job. I guess in a sick and twisted way it is nice because it gives her something to do while I am studying. I seem to be studying so much lately that I feel like I am back in college with the wierd hours that I am keeping. I realized that I don't need a lot of sleep, but less than 6 hours is pushing it. I can do it once or even twice in a row, but then I need my beauty rest.
I wanted to give a big shout out to the people who have supported us for this trip. You are a blessing and an answer to prayer. The rest of you, don't worry, you are a huge blessing to us as well, and we love all of our family and friends!
With that said, here are somethings running through my brain this week:
I'm looking for a ministry opportunity to become involved in during this summer (and beyond if possible). Those of you who are warriors out there, please pray! If anyone has any great ideas, let me know!
The whole Don Imus thing this week has gotten me thinking about depravity and forgiveness. Where are we as Christians supposed to land?
It was proven today that room temperature Coke cools the quickest when placed in a cooler with ice and .... (drum roll please) rock salt! Who would have known? Drop it like it's...cold.
I've really enjoyed my devotions this week. How can one tell? Almost every line in my Bible has been underlined! It's great, but it makes devotions take longer. I've been reading the Psalms, and they have just been coming alive this week! It have been refreshed reading David pouring out his emotions in praise of our great God.
I did a bad thing this week. I made a friend that I haven't talked to in about four years look like an idiot. I guess he had it coming though. Helpful hint to all of you out there: if you talk to a friend you haven't talked to in four years, avoid the "So how's such and such girlfriend/boyfriend?" comment. The chance for backfire is just too high.
Ahh, so much more is going on, but I doubt anyone is still reading my ramblings. If I am not able to post before we go, we love you all! Please pray for us!
--Mike
Posted byMike Fennema posted 8:59 PM 3 comments
Pray for your pastors (and their wives)
Friday, April 6, 2007
A couple of meetings and an article that I read recently got me to think how much we all need to be in prayer for those who are ministering to us. I had the priviledge of meeting with two pastors for a while this week. One of them was Ande Johnson who is the pastor of RUF at UCF. Ande's a great guy and a new friend of mine who faces his share of challenges as a new RUF pastor. Later in the week, I met with the pastor of my church, Jeff Jakes. I've had the privilege of having Jeff not only for a pastor, but also for an older brother for the past three years or so.
Maybe it was just Holy Week, or maybe it is simply the life of ministry, but these meeting showed me that ministry is not easy and pulls a person in many directions at once. It showed me that these men really need our prayers. Not only them, but their wives and families too. I found an interesting article in Time the other day that show s just how much pastor's wives need prayer as well.
So when you are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord this weekend, don't forget to pray for your pastors!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 12:08 PM 2 comments
Signing off for a while...
Thursday, March 8, 2007
First things first, there are some new pictures to check out, so please click on the the pictures you see below. Jet and Avery got another haircut, and like a pround papa, I can't help but post photos (no matter what Jeff Jakes thinks about my manhood). The second batch is a few pictures from a recent wedding that Steph and I went to in Fort Lauderdale. The scenery shots that you see were from our hotel room. It was beautiful.
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| Jet and Avery |
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| Mike & Steph |
Second, I'm signing off for a while. In one of the classes that I am taking right now there is a project that requires each person to give up some sort of technology for 4 weeks and then write a paper reflecting on it. I chose to give up my computer (except for email and necessary class research). I know that not blogging for the next 4 weeks won't be a huge change since I don't blog that much to begin with, but a lot will be going on between now and then. I will have a lot to update. I'll start with pictures from our trip to Colorado that is coming up soon! We can't wait! So, if you want to get in touch with me, you can do so, but only via email. And if you have a blog that I frequent, I am sorry, but your words will go unread until I am back. Just for kicks, I'll post my reflections so that y'all can read what--if anything--I learned.
Mike
Posted byMike Fennema posted 2:31 PM 2 comments
Return of the Student's Life
Monday, February 12, 2007
I am finally off to bed seeing that it is 3 am. I can't remember the last time that I was up studying for a final until 3 am, but that is the life of a student. And that life is back...with a vengeance. A final tomorrow. A quiz on a book due the next day. A paper due next Monday. More reading for Thursday. Thank goodness I don't have classes on Wednesdays!
Despite the bitterness that this is portraying, I love being a student again. My brain is being exercised again, and I feel like I am actually pursuing God's call in my life. It is terribly exciting.
I also have a new friend that I am terribly excited about as well. I purchased my first leather-bound Bible (thank you Justin, Jesica, Ashly, Josiah, Cara, and Matthias for your Christmas gift!). It's a brand-spanking new TNIV Study Bible that I am really loving right now. I know there is some controversy out there about gender inclusiveness (for and against), but since it is so late (now it's 3:10 am), I will reserve that debate for a post when I am a little more coherent. I just have to say that Dr. Bruce Waltke, my professor for my class in January on Judges through Poets (also on the Committee for Biblical Translation and worked extensively on the NIV), highly recommended it. Based on his explanations and his knowledge of original languages, he convinced me to check it out.
Anyways, time to join my wife in bed for a little 3 hour nap before I'm up and at it again! If anyone reads this on on Monday, February 12, say a little prayer for me and my final!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 3:00 AM 3 comments
Bye Bye, Nana
Monday, January 29, 2007
You were the picture of dignity and class until the end. You never complained about the lot you were dealt or the pain you must have been feeling as your once beautiful body was replaced as host for malignancy. Your life, Nana, was amazing. You graduated Magna Cum Laude in a time when a women’s roll was to raise a family and cook. You were a translator for the National Security Agency during Korean War intercepting and decoding messages in Chinese and Japanese, and these were not the only languages you mastered in your life – Spanish and French completed your linguistic talents. You met my Grandfather at the NSA, married him, and started a family. You raised two wonderfully bright children and you were devastated when your husband of nineteen years left you to be a single mother. You were bitter, but as always your tenderness and faith pulled you though. You were a wonderful grandmother, always gentle and never harsh. You were blessed in your later years with a second husband that loved you deeply, and you loved in return. You were transformed from a single working women living alone in her sixties to a vibrant new women, in love. When the Commander died you were sad but you continued to live life to the fullest. You were diagnosed with cancer and despite the six months prognosis, you lived two years. You never complained. You basked in the sun when Aunt Tammy took you to Hawaii last year, what a wonderful gift to experience such beauty on earth. You died with dignity and grace, with your mind and memory totally in tact. You are in heaven now with a new body, your soul and mind no longer bound to a broken vessel.
Posted bySteph posted 8:46 AM 3 comments
Learning from Talladega Nights?
Saturday, January 13, 2007
So Steph and I watched "Talladega Nights" last night. Neither of us had seen it, but she had some friends at the hospital who either loved it or hated it, so we thought we'd give it a shot. The comedy was as anticipated: funny at times, a little crude at times, and sometime just plain dumb. It did make me laugh (the part where Ricky thinks he's on fire, and the cougar in the car, among others), but it also made me really uncomfortable (the kids before their reforming by their grandmother). Anyways, I was having my quiet time this morning, and a phrase from the movie popped into my head: "If you're not first, you're last." No, it doesn't make any sense, bu Ricky's dad told this to him when he was a kid. Ricky lives his entire life by this statement, and he actually becomes a highly successful driver until his world falls apart after a crash. Then everything falls apart: his career, his marriage, his friendship with his best friend (sort of...you have to see the movie to understand).
And here comes the redemptive part..the phrase just made me think of how Jesus has called us to live our lives: not seeking to be first, but striving to be last. Two passages came to mind. The fist was obvious. In Mark 10:35 , Jesus says "if anyone would be first, he must be last and servant of all" (ESV). But it also made me think of how Jesus showed his love for his disciples. He took on the duties of a servant, and he washed their feet (John 13:1-17 ESV).
I'm sorry, Ricky Bobby. You're story was entertaining, and it was heart-warming, but I'm not inspired. The words and actions of Jesus are inspiring. Now if I could only consistently follow what he says...
Posted byMike Fennema posted 7:46 AM 0 comments
Avery's New 'Do
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
It was finally time for Avery to get her first grooming...and boy did she need it. She was becoming one big fur ball. You could hardly even see her legs, and she was always getting her fur all dirty! Now look at how cute she is! and you can even see her eyes! Unbelievable!
(By the way, to see more pictures, either click here or click on the picture below, and it will take you to our photo album site!)
Posted byMike Fennema posted 3:54 PM 1 comments
Weekend Project
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
As you can see from the following pictures, Stephanie and I had fun paint the office over the weekend. I included an old picture so you can see how drastic of a change it is! I love it!
Posted byMike Fennema posted 11:04 AM 1 comments
