Howdy, y'all!
I haven't written in a long time, so I just thought I'd get some thoughts out to y'all. My family is currently in Fort Worth, Texas. Sara stays home with Conrad while I head up a cabinet parts distribution shop. We cut out and dowel parts for other companies that build commercial or residential cabinets. We also have capabilities in engraving, 3D artwork, and custom shapes. We have bid on arcade boxes, store displays, bookshelves, kiosks, internet access boxes, counter tops, church furniture, and more. If your company or anyone you know has a need of such services, we do have the ability to ship via freight.
At the end of February, we moved from Arlington (where we were only a few blocks from the new Cowboys Stadium) to NW Fort Worth. Here, I am a lot closer to my job, but it's too far away for us to continue going to our old church in Grand Prairie. Google Maps helped us find Grace Community Bible Church, and we've been going there ever since. It's the first time for me to have a senior pastor that is younger than me. There is tons of new home construction surrounding the church, and it is across the road from a high school, so there are plenty of opportunities for outreach and growth. I spoke to the music team, who is looking for some more people, and we joined a small group of parents with younger children. Currently, the pastor is preaching through 1 Peter and talking about living as strangers in the world.
At home, Sara and I have been studying the Holy Spirit through all of Scripture, reference by reference. Some things that have stood out to me:
The Holy Spirit being given to us is the pinnacle of the promises given in the Old Testament.
An entirely new order was inaugurated at Pentecost.
The Holy Spirit is very clearly personal, and very clearly the essence of God. To be filled with the Spirit is to be united with God Himself. His power, His character, His love, and His wisdom are all available to us through the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Our full inheritance is a total intimacy with God Himself. To be married to Him. To be united with Him. This means that the glory of God we reflect, the status we have as God's family members, and the knowledge of God that we savor is only partial right now through the Holy Spirit. At the resurrection, when we are glorified, the Holy Spirit will not only live in our body of flesh as it does now (if we are believers), but our whole body will be of the Spirit. And we will know Him, even as we are fully known.
God is at war with sin and rebellion. Thus, His Holy Spirit in us is at war with the flesh. In as much as we submit to the Holy Spirit, God's power is available to us to overcome sin and rebellion internally.
The Spirit lives not only in individual believers, but among groups of believers. In some way, God chooses to dwell in the local church body through His Spirit in a way that is distinct from His dwelling in us individually. We (the people collectively, not the physical building) are a temple in which God lives by His Spirit. As such, He also wars against sin and rebellion in the church. In as much as a church is united in submitting to the Spirit, God will cleanse it and empower it to be His light in the world, thus glorifying His name through them.
That's a summary in my own words. I hope I've articulated accurately what God has been showing me in the Scriptures.
On the home front, our eating habits have been changing drastically as we've been learning more about modern "food". I'm bemused by the fact that much of what we get is labeled "organic" when it used to just be considered normal food. But now, genetic modification (not hybrids, but changing DNA to create new life forms) is common, the FDA approved use of toxic pesticides has been relaxed, animals receive hormone therapy and antibiotics whilst being fed newspaper, and many foods are given doses of radiation that disrupt the cellular structure of our foods and create unique radiolytic products that have not been tested for safety. While some debate the dangers of these things, America has become an obese, cancerous, and sickly society. Check out
Morgellons disease,
if you dare. It makes your skin crawl, and some are blaming genetically modified foods. We've also noticed that
corn syrup and
soy are an ingredient in or the primary base of almost every pre-packaged food nowadays. But there's good reason to avoid those as well. To do so, we buy from local farmers whenever possible, and would like to start our own small plot. Currently, there are a lot of pots on our porch.
Conrad is now 10 1/2 months old. Some new pictures are posted here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/uhler/He has three teeth, is improving in his balance while standing, and crawls very quickly to the front door, refrigerator, and dishwasher when opened. He also likes animals, his books, and getting into mommy and daddy's things.
I'd love to hear back from y'all to reconnect and learn what's been going on in your lives, so e-mail me back or give us a good time to call you.
Later,
Michael Uhler
--
We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long is it since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?
- Ray Bradbury
