The Modesty Survey

I have been reading a little bit of "Do Hard Things - A teenage rebellion against low expectations" by Alex and Brett Harris, two teenage guys who are challenging their generation to not coast through the teenage years. Their message is a much needed one for any culture - especially America and Japan.

Being that it is summer, I thought the survey they made might be helpful for women to understand men, and how we think, more.

Check out their great website here.
Check out the "Modesty Survey" they conducted here.
Buy the book here.

Memories of Foundations being Laid

Being back in Iowa I am being reminded of many things that I have not thought about or seen or tasted(!) in years. A couple days ago I bought a book of poems that I remembering hearing read to me by my teacher in 1st grade. Of course the poems brought back a lot of memories themselves. It is good to see how the moral of some of these poems set me up to value what I do today and devalue the lesser "kings" that the world tries to set up for us.

Listen to this poem by Shel Silverstein:

The Search
"I went to find the pot of gold
That's waiting where the rainbow ends.
I searched and searched and searched and searched
And searched and searched and then -
There it was, deep in the grass,
Under an old and twisty bough.
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine at last....
What do I search for now?"

Watch Rudy's Missionary Videos
Now you can watch all of Rudy's videos online in an easier way. Click here to see our missionary video, as well as other trips Rudy has made to see us and bless us.

Family Picture Time

Christianity in the World Today

Last Day of School!

Happy 4th!
I love the U.S. and I love Cedar Rapids.  We can't wait to see you soon.

I'm sure you've seen this before but...
I hadn't.  Maki and I were both so impressed that these days one can literally reach the world!  Just being able to dance and share joy with people from so many countries multiplies joy in amazing ways!  What would it mean to share the full and eternal joy of Christ with all the nations!  This is the amazing plan that God welcomes us into!  What a wonderful plan.

How significant is missions?
"How should you feel about the global purpose of Jesus Christ to be glorified among all the nations? You should feel like this cause is the consummation of your significance in life. Many other things are important in life. But this is the largest cause of all. Every follower of the Lord of Lords and King of Kings embraces this purpose and finds the consummation of his reason for living in being a part of this great purpose of God to be glorified among all the nations."   - John Piper


Listen, watch or read the entirety of this recent message.