noah&katie

This was Ellie's last FIRST holiday!! It feels like her birthday should be tomorrow as she was born the day after Easter last year :)

Not only was it her first Easter, but it was our first-ever holiday without extended relatives around.
My first attempt at making a holiday meal by myself!
My first time not participating in an Easter egg hunt (Yes, even last year, at 25 years old and due the next day, I got to look for Easter eggs in the morning :)
And Ellie's first weekend being sick!

The weather has been in the 70s and 80s for WEEKS. This week was the first time it got 'cool' in a LONG time! In fact, one night I would want the a/c on, and the next I'd want the heat.  Turns out, she just a has a bad cold.  On the scale of sicknesses this is totally minor, but it seems so major in the moment! :) I'm sure all of you moms totally understand what I'm saying! 

She hasn't been napping (which is SO unusual for her!!) She falls asleep, and then wakes up coughing a few minutes later. After doing this enough times, she just gets so frustrated that she starts to cry! It's been very sad to watch her be sick. Even though this is minor I'm sure on the scale of sicknesses, it's hard to watch for the first time!

We've done everything we can think of (humidifier, steam, drinking warm water, vicks, propping the mattress, etc.) and she's still struggling. So today we experienced another first- and took her for a drive for the sole reason of hoping she would fall asleep- it worked! 

Ellie didn't make it to church (Noah and I went in shifts this morning :)), didn't get family pictures in our Easter clothes, nor did she have an Easter egg hunt. But she heard the story of the real meaning of Easter, had some good food, and spent the day with her mom & dad. I guess it's not such a bad first Easter after all!

Happy 1st Easter Ellie Bean! Get better soon :)
 Praise the Lord! He is risen! Just as He said!

Seriously, my mind gets on one track sometimes.

It's not that I forgot that today is Good Friday...I just forgot to write about it in my post below.

If you're looking to meditate on Jesus' death today, I'd suggest spending some time in Psalm 22.

And give this song a listen:  Josh Garrels, "Good Friday"

And a quote:

"The kingdom of God is a kingdom of Paradox, where through the ugly defeat of a cross, a holy God is utterly glorified. Victory comes through defeat; healing through brokenness; finding self through losing self."  --Charles Colson
And calling a Friday like today "Good."

-Noah

Happy April to you!

I had an interesting conversation yesterday with a student.  He's wrestling with what Paul means in Romans 6:22--

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God....

It makes sense that we've been set free from sin, but what does it mean that we're slaves to God?  Aren't we free?

Our world preaches a kind of freedom from any rules or bounds or authorities.  We greatly value our own sovereignty, the freedom to make our own decisions.  Yet, God's Word teaches that everyone is a slave to something.  It's not a matter of if you are a slave, but to whom you are a slave.  On this, my student friend made an interesting observation.

Our world that promises freedom through personal sovereignty fails to see that all are slaves to sin.  And it's this slavery that makes the world's "freedom" not actually free.  Those who seek "freedom" through pleasure, entertainment, drugs, or pornography are attempting to escape all the things about life that are a part of life in our world:  responsibility, relationships, hard work, and suffering.  "Maybe I'll be happy if I can just escape those things for a while."  Yet, one can't escape from those things, and thus the "freedom" that is sought is a falsehood.

Freedom in Christ (i.e. slavery to God) doesn't ignore the difficult realities of our world, instead it redeems them.  Relationships and suffering become means by which we grow as people and learn about ourselves and our world.  By embracing them according to God's direction and standards, we actually find life and participate in God's redeeming work in our world.

My student friend is seeing this at play in his life.  Whereas he previously avoided difficult things at all costs, trying to play it easy and safe in every circumstance (often leading to sin), now he's learning to walk by faith.  He's thinking about his past sin, not to dwell on it, but to learn from it.  He's learning how God's strength comes through his weakness.  He's learning that the easy way is often not the best way.  And he's finding the power and conviction to walk according to God's ways.

I'm watching a man of God develop before my very eyes.  It's exciting to see.  Thank you for praying for us and our students.

-Noah

PS- Some April Fool's fun for you nerdy types like me.  Click here and enjoy the NES memories!

Happy almost-weekend friends!

It's a beautiful day in central Illinois!  This is the best time of year to be here.  The trees are flowering,  flowers are blooming, and the temperature is perfect.

And today is a Threads of Hope day!

Threads of Hope is an organization started by a missionary to the Philippines.  Our students partner with them, by selling friendship bracelets to students on the Quad.  The bracelets are made by women and children in the Philippines and sent to us, where we can sell them for much more ($1) than they would get over there.  The majority of the proceeds goes to support their communities and development, while part stays with The Navigators student organization and is used for scholarships to conferences, etc.

There are lots of student orgs out on the Quad selling hot dogs, donuts, and other things.  But for some reason, people just flock to these bracelets.  It's a great cause, and a great opportunity for The Illini Navigators to participate in the campus community at the U of I.  Below are a few pictures.

Also, this weekend, we'll be headed to Purdue University for our semi-annual meetings with our regional leader and staff from different campuses in Illinois and Indiana.  We'll fellowship and pray together, plan for our upcoming training program (which Katie and I will be directing!) and fall conference, and map out strategy for future ministry.

Please pray for unified hearts and wisdom from the Lord as we collaborate to faithfully serve our students in the coming months.

Thanks!  And have a great weekend!

-Noah

 I found these pictures of us all and was amazed to see the similarities! When you look at the first picture of Ellie, it totally looks like me. Then you look at the second, and she looks like Noah. What do you think?

BONUS: A cute picture from our trip to the zoo a few weeks ago. Can't beat weather in the 70s and 80s for the month of March! <1 month until her birthday. WOW!

{Katie}