as it turns out, He is listening

So last night, Cory comes into our midweek gathering at church, and he's all excited.

Cory's 18, and he speaks with the slow drawl of someone born and raised in Mississippi. So when he's excited, the speed of his talking goes from really slow to okay-now-we're-getting-somewhere.

"God answered my prayer!" he said, his face all lit up.

This is huge, I think to myself.

See, I just met Cory about a month ago. He's excited about being part of our church, but he's going through some rough stuff. When I asked him if he ever talked to God about it, he just shook his head. "I don't want to complain," he'd say. I challenged him to start praying about his needs and problems, and he said he would.

One of the things he started praying for was his neighbor, John. John's 25, and he started staying with his friend Dustin, Cory's neighbor, when he and his wife split up. I met John when Cory brought him to our Sunday worship gathering. As John told me about his year-old son and being away from him, my heart broke for him.

Anyway, Cory started praying for John and his marriage. We all did. And then, as suddenly as John had showed up, he was gone. Cory didn't know where he'd went. John had left a message on my phone, but had never called back. We weren't sure what had happened.

It turns out that yesterday, John called Cory to let him know that he had moved back in with his wife, and they were trying to work things out. So when Cory came to our gathering last night, it was with the smile of someone who, for the first time, had experienced the providing hand of our Father God for himself. It was the smile of someone who had evidence that God cared about all the things that make up our lives.

And for me, it was another confirmation of God doing His thing, of lives changing in ways that reflect the ways of Jesus. John's, Cory's, all of us present at the midweek gathering, mine.

It was so cool.

Cory and me

good night, gracie

So my five-year-old daughter, Grace, aka Gracie, aka Diva 1.0, and I have a little bedtime ritual.

We'll tussle a little bit, and then we'll pray. She always asks Daddy to pray, so I ask God to help her sleep well, to help her obey Daddy and Mama, and to help her be a lady of God. When we're done, I say goodnight, give her a kiss, and say, "You're a very special girl." And she gazes back up at me and says, "I am."

So tonight, we were playing around before we prayed, and I told her she was my shooting star. She didn't really get it, and we were going back and forth. After we prayed, I playfully said to Gracie, "You're my shooting star girl!" Suddenly, everything stopped. Gracie grabbed my arm, looked up at me, and said, with complete seriousness, "No, Daddy! I'm your special girl! You have to say that!"

So I paused a moment to thank God for bringing such a beautiful, joyous, vibrant ray of sunshine into our lives. Then I looked back down at her and said, very slowly: "You are my special girl." She pulled her head up to kiss me on the cheek. "I am."

- - - -

John Eldredge wrote once that the question every daughter asks their father is, Am I beautiful? And I'm trying my best to let my daughters know the answer to their question: yes. A thousand times, yes.

a quote in need of context - and funny without it

"That's why you go after the leader - KFC makes a change, then all of our chickens would change dramatically."

- Def Jam Records president Russell Simmons, during an interview on NPR's News and Notes

here i am!

We're experiencing some technical difficulties, so the look's not what it once was. Your patience is appreciated.

Also, for the moment, I've disabled comments. So, if you'd like to pass along your thoughts (I'd love to hear them), please do so by emailing me (redhedrev at gmail.com).

- - - -

So a lot has happened since my last post. And a pictorial update seems in order here. I'll begin the retrospective with our short trip to Illinois for the graduation of several of the young people from the youth group we were part of. We made the trip to Pekin on Saturday, had a nice dinner with my siblings and their families at the home of my brother Opey and his wife Renee. It was a very relaxing evening, and a great time of reconnecting with my family. The next morning, we attended our former home church, Bethel Baptist Church. It was great to see many dear friends and loved ones. Our dear friend Dustin was there, and he agreed to pose for a portrait with yours truly.


Then we went to the graduation ceremonies at Pekin Community High School, where Blair, Andrea, Christen, Calvin, Noelle, and roughly 400 others graduated. I give you this picture as proof we were there.


All six of us were there, in our strollers and Sunday morning best, in the 142 degree heat. We wanted to say hi to everyone, but Kristy almost passed out as they were getting their diplomas, which I took as a sign that it was time to go. So, though I didn't get to say this in person: I'm proud of you guys. And I wanted you to know that, though we might not have gotten to talk to you, we were there, and we were thinking of you. In our absence at home, I asked an old friend of mine, Greg Freeman, to come to our church to preach. He brought his wife Lisa and kids, who played piano and sang and did a great job. Or so they tell me. We made it back home Sunday evening just as they were polishing off Blizzards, so they came over to the house and we got to spend a little time together before they headed back to Louisville.


(On a side note, Greg is in charge of the Reformers Unanimous chapter at his church, Shawnee Baptist Church. He shared some great stories of changed lives.)

Then, two days later, we went to Trey's school for the yearly art show. It was a great chance to meet other parents and see Trey's creativity.


Then the next Sunday was a sad day for us. It was the last Sunday that the Owolabi family was together at church before the parents flew back to Nigeria to continue their work as missionaries in their home nation.


Not long after we moved to Indianapolis, Flora (above, second from left) came to visit our church on a Wednesday night. She, Rhoda (far right) and Jude (blue shirt) are the children of Solomon and Christi, who have built a wonderful church and ministry over the more than 25 years they've spent as missionaries in their home country of Nigeria. Their children are here studying, and God has knit our hearts together. During the six months that Solomon and Christi were here in the States, we were privileged to have them join us for many of our church gatherings. They truly were - and are - a blessing to us.

This was also the weekend that my sister Naomi brought Blair, Andrea, Morgan, and Contessa over to stay with us for the weekend. We got to take them to some of the big malls, and had a lot of fun. They also have one up on me - they've been to the top of the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indy.

They framed a picture of them and Kristy outside the Cheesecake Factory, where they ate supper Saturday night. Thanks for coming, girls! Hope you had as much fun as we did!



And then, over the past couple weeks, God has allowed us to connect to Cory and Shunta, two cousins who live behind the church property. They moved up from Mississippi four months ago, and they've jumped in and helped out and just been a lot of fun to be around.

Shunta with Kristy and Audrey

Mark, Cory, myself, and Derek

So now you're back up to speed, for the most part. These are the highlights, and I certainly hope that I'll post these as they happen in the future, and devote more space to their stories. We've had hard things happen, too, but God has been good through it all.