Happy Holidays

Greetings from Ephrata!

That's right, Crystal, Sam, Zach and I boarded an American Airlines flight yesterday and arrived in Philly around 11pm last night. It was a long day...longer than it was supposed to be. Our short layover in Miami became a long one when the flight from New Orleans was delayed. We missed our connecting flight by a matter of minutes and had to wait for the next one. Not fun. Nevertheless, the boys were amazing considering the circumstances. Sam made friends with another two-year old boy named Malachi from La Place. They were on both flights with us...and thus were in the same predicament. Let me tell you, seeing a pair of two-year-olds throw around a basketball and run around the terminal made the time pass a little bit quicker...

We are staying with Crystal's parents and will be here until New Year's Day. The weather here is hovering around freezing and there is snow on the ground! I just checked out the weather forcast...looks like we probably will get some fresh flakes next week. We are the first to arrive in PA. Although, only three of the seven Moyer siblings live out of town these days. The Talley's will arrive on Christmas day. The Norton's can't make it this year.

Our time here is pretty packed out. We will be visiting lots of friends and family. We will even treck over to VA next week to see my brother and his family. Looks like we will get a chance to eat dinner with the Drigger's while we are over there. I am looking forward to seeing them for the first time since they moved from New Orleans this past summer!

I am excited about relaxing and enjoying family. If you know me well, you know I will spend lots of time with my nose in a book. (Is there a better way to spend a vacation?) I plan on finally finishing Mine Eyes have Seen the Glory, starting God's Long Summer and spending lots of time with the OT prophets (that portion of Scripture has really spoken to me in the Katrina aftermath).

Anyway, just wanted to wish you all a Happy Holidays!

Youth Group News

This post is for those of you who are part of our youth ministry. I am excited to say that things are going to look a little bit more normal in January. I just polished up a new edition of the Parent Connection which spells out what things will look like. While we are mailing them out...I figured I would post in here just in case. You can read the newsletter online here.

Oh, and by the way, in case you haven't heard, we are having the Connection Christmas Party THIS WEDNESDAY NIGHT (Dec 21). It will be 6:30pm at the Sisung's house (101 S. Randall Ct in Gretna). Contact Thecla if you are coming (cell 232-1332). Bring a White Elephant Gift (don't spend more than $10).

I love you guys!

Yeah, and the picture...it has nothing to do with this post. But I thought it was classic and I had to share it. Merry Christmas!

So I got an email about a week and a half ago from Ted Dekker's official website about an opportunity to preorder his new book and receive it early. The new book is entitled Showdown and is supposed to be released at the beginning of January. FedEx delivered my copy on Friday. Horray! So far it is very good. Maybe his best novel yet. Although I must warn you, it is dark...way darker than you might imagine a "Christian" novel should be. I guess that is what happens when a writer explores the core of our souls. It gets messy.

If you haven't heard of Ted Dekker, I would highly recommend him. I have been scared to death of Christian fiction...picturing it as cheesy, sugar-coated and amateurish. Dekker is none of the above. I read Thr3e shortly after it was published a couple of years ago (which, by the way, is currently being made into a movie). I was hooked. I would recommend it as a good entry book into Dekker's writings.

Understanding Katrina

The local newspaper here, The Times-Picayune, has really done an amazing job with their coverage of the Hurricane and it's aftermath. They recently published a graphic map to help explain where and how the levees failed. It is as clear and understandable as anything I have seen thus far. Check it out here. (It is an Adobe PDF file. If you don't have it, you can download their free viewer here).

DTS podcast

Dallas Theological Seminary started a couple of podcasts for your listening pleasure. Surf over there and you'll find two podcasts: DTS dialogue and Chapel online.

I have been listening to "What Katrina has taught us about the Church." It is pretty good to hear some talk on a big picture level about what this situation tells us about the American church. As someone on the ground level, I agree with many of the observations and conclusions they draw.

BUT, I have to admit, I couldn't help but be annoyed as I listened. Dr. Bailey, Dr. Cecil and Dr. Bock all spoke in the past tense. They spoke as if this thing is over. Hurricane relief is just beginning down here. The church's response is not over. Our list of people who need help steadily grows each day.

Now, I think these guys understand that. In fact, they said it once or twice during the discussion. I guess I just get worried sometimes that we will get forgotten. We need your help.

Christmas Video

Speaking of Christmas, I just watched the most amazing Holiday home video EVER!! Click here to see it with your own eyes. Props to Relevant Magazine for sharing the link.