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Over the last few days, I have been celebrating my 19th anniversary with Bethany (it was actually June 13).  I have tried over the years to plan a night or two away to enjoy being together as husband and wife.  When you have kids, this becomes more of a challenge.  When your anniversary falls in the middle of the busiest time for both of you (Sidewalk Sale, Summer Camp, VBS, Kids' summer games), it requires some patience, flexibility, and creativity. So, right now, we are in Kansas City for a few days shopping, eating, and enjoying one another's company and conversation.  By recommendation, I booked the Casablanca room at Chateau Avalon. I'm looking forward to this time together. 

This weekend, Bethany and I are attending Weekend to Remember in Kansas City sponsored by Family Life. This is our second time to attend.  We are joined by the other pastors from Hesston MB and their spouses.  I look forward to time together with my wife and learning together.

As you know, during my sabbatical, I have been scheduling trips one-on-one with each of my kids.   Molly and I went to World's of Fun in June.  Mackenzie and Megan decided to pass on one-on-one and instead served with me in Guatemala for a week. Today, Mitchell and I are spending the day at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City.  Since it is my son and he does not like pictures, I will probably not be posting as many pictures as I have with the girls.  But I hope to get a few. We hope to be able to ride the world's tallest waterslide.  If you have not heard about it, here is a picture.  I hope we survive!

Next weekend, Bethany and I are headed to Weekend To Remember in Kansas City.  The kids are going to grandparents in Yates Center and we are looking forward to a weekend away. The last two years, Hesston MB has hosted "The Art of Marriage."  I highly recommend this resource to local churches to encourage healthy marriages.  But as you may know, when you are hosting, you do not get to fully participate in all the activities.  So, I signed Bethany and I up to enjoy our first Weekend To Remember.  It is sponsored by FamilyLife, which is the same organization that produced "The Art of Marriage". Marriage is a commitment.  I am looking forward to a weekend away and tips on how to strengthen our marriage.  Check out Weekend To Remember here

Have you ever attended a Weekend to Remember? If not, I would recommend the weekend to all couples. We have done the Art of Marriage (also by Family Life) at Hesston MB the last two years and will probably host again in 2015, but have not made plans for Art of Marriage in 2014.  Check out details for Wichita here  or Kansas City here When registering, please use our group name HesstonMB because for every 5 couples registered, we receive one free registration. It also allows you to register at $100 off total registration. I will have a drawing for a free registration for the couple who contacts me via email or posts on the Hesston MB Facebook page telling me they want to attend by February 9th . Let Pastor J.L. know if you have questions.

I have had several great things occur over the last few days that I wanted to update all of you. First of all, I enjoyed our time at Harvey County East Lake on Saturday, July 17th. It was hot! But enjoyed playing with the kids and others from our church family. Smores were a great way to end our day even if the chocolate was a melty mess. Then on Sunday, we had our worship service at Harvey County East at Coronado Cove Shelter. It was hot again! But we had a great time of worship and baptism. I had the privilege of baptizing Travis Hershberger and my son, Mitchell. What a joy as a pastor and father! Hopefully, I can post some pictures soon on here or facebook. After the worship service, we headed to Iola, KS where I served as Associate Pastor at First Christian Church. They were dedicating their new church on Oregon Road. It was great to see everyone again. The church looked good. It was the first time for me to see it except on paper. I was very involved in some of the ...