Freed House: 1 Corinthians 2:11-13

New Pictures

2009-10-04T19:17:00.006-04:00

Baby Dean picture updates will be on our new Mobile Me gallery. Check it out, we'll try to update often! Just click on New Pictures at the top of this post and it will take you there! Also, we'll have pics on FACEBOOK!!:)
Today is day 6 of Deans life! It's gone so fast in some ways and so slow in others! We are totally in love with him and feel totally blessed to have him! He's so cute, so laid back usually, sweet as can be, and a TON OF FUN! We watch him constantly! He's a blast!
We've been a little tired, but not as tired as we might have expected, so, that's a relief! We've so enjoyed our time with him. We are very grateful for visitors and helpers and meal makers over the past week! THANK YOU ALL for EVERYTHING! We love and need the support!
Check out

YES YOU CAN HELP!!!

2009-09-30T13:59:00.001-04:00

Many of you have been asking --- yes!!!!

Thank you Elicia Cole for setting this up for us!!

Here is how...
You've been invited to participate in helping with meals for John & Danielle Freed.

You can pick a day by clicking on the link below.

http://www.foodtidings.com/SignUp.aspx?ScheduleGuid=08d396e8-7c4c-4858-ae17-8542d20491e5

New Baby Boy!!! Dean Carlton Freed

2009-09-28T12:23:00.000-04:00

Dean Carlton Freed was born at 11:19am on Mon. Sept. 28, 2009. Weighing 8.6lbs and measuring 20 inches long. Brown hair- blue eyes! We are so blessed! Thank you for your prayers!!!!

Welcome Back

2009-09-25T23:02:00.003-04:00

Well really you may have not seen an update on here in a long time. But a lot has happened in the last 9 months!! Danielle is still pregnant and could have the baby any time now! We are hoping sooner than later!! So far everything thing has gone, "PERFECTLY NORMAL" which has become my favorite phrase to hear! I am so anxious and have been ever since we found out we were pregnant. However, the truth is I don't need to worry. God has been so good and we have been so blessed!! It really is true...we should not worry! HE is in control!!

Today we went to Meijer in our NEW MINIVAN (well new to us) to walk around and try to get some labor going!! We call this "OPERATION FREE BABY FREED"! Thanks Shanna for the great title!! We have included a pic of her in this post.

Also, Bud Freed (my Dad soon to be Grandpa) Jesse, Micah and a whole Army of Friend and family members helped us put in a deck in our home. Over the past 2 and half years we have tried to fix up our home and add more value to it. Adding the Deck was the final piece to our plan. At first we were unsure how we ever could afford the deck we dreamed about! We looked at many different options but to put in a deck or patio 12 wide and 25 feet wide was going to cost a pretty penny. Than, my Dad found some time to come down from Clarkston Michigan and give an entire week to help us out! We worked from 8am - 10pm at night! I don't know if we have ever worked that hard in our lives! I even impressed the Father In-Law on how hard i worked=) When it was all said and done, we were able to save a lot of money and my friends and family gave us an awesome gift! A few weeks ago Joe my brother, came down from Greenville Michigan and put that final touch, stain.

thank you everyone for our awesome deck!!

Finally, many of you know, but I have SLEEP APNEA. Yeah Yeah Yeah, i can already hear the jokes!! But for the past two months I have been sleeping with a new CPAP machine!! I sleep like a baby and wake up refreshed and ready for the day! Danielle say's she can totally see a difference in our lives!!!

And before i let you go, i hope to post more often. Maybe if I post more, you will comment and encourage us to keep updating???

Keep in touch!!

Baby Freed is on Their Way!!!:)

2009-02-28T11:49:00.002-05:00

Well, Baby Freed is on the way! We are due Sept. 30th and we couldn't be any more excited!! We can't wait to meet our little person and we are going to be finding out the gender, and we'll be sharing that information too!!:) We are so excited to get ready to be parents and to get our house ready for a little one! This is grandbaby #1 on both sides, so, it's quite exciting!!:)
BABY ON THE WAY!!! Can't Wait!!:)
Any advice?!? For pregnancy or newborns, please help us, we have NO idea what we're doing!!:)

Merry Christmas 08

2008-12-28T14:13:00.013-05:00

Well...Merry Christmas Friends!

Some Christmas this has been. Christmas Eve Eve, as I like to call the day before Christmas Eve...I came down with what we thought was a severe sinus infection....which we later found out was actually influenza...hardcore. Today is the 6th day I (Danielle) have been feverish, headachey, and wiped out from the flu, however, because of the meds I'm taking, I can't sleep...SO I'm bored out of my gourd!! So I thought I'd take some time to post some pics and recap our year, 2008.

2008 was a good year, our first full year in our new home, in which we had two floods, from an overflowing toilet-and each flood came from the second level down to the first! Through out the flooding we also replaced all of our flooring in the home with new carpet throughout and laminate in the bathrooms and kitchen and dining rooms. We really love our little home, despite the chaos it's been through!

It was our third year at Fall Creek Wesleyan Church. It was a bittersweet year here. It started off as we lost Kevin & Deb Kline our Worship pastor, and John ended up being the interim Worship pastor for about 6 months, then we lost our friend as our Senior Pastor and boss, Steve Bray as he resigned and is looking on to what is next for him and his family. And now we are patiently waiting to see whom our new Senior Pastor will be at FCWC. Despite Steve's departure, we had a great year within the Student Ministries and The Rock. The Rock enrolled almost 100 students at FCWC and Fusion students are growing and we're loving it and our life coaches are simply WONDERFUL. We don't know what we'd do without them! We love them all dearly. They are some of our best friends in Fishers!! This year also brought about Danielle's helping Trinity Wesleyan and our good friends Chris and Rachel Wilson launch The Rock at their church. They had an awesome start and are on their way to an outstanding program. We also gained two new ministry staff members at the church-our new Children's director and new friend Cady, and our new worship pastor and his family, Bill and Traci. All of these guys are a blessing and make us smile alot!

Cincy08

As for our doggy daughter, Zoe, she's doing great. She is growing like crazy. She was 62 lbs when we got her 2 and 1/2 years ago, and now, at 3 and 1/2 she's up to 80 lbs and has had 3 special vet visits on our bill....two sets of staples or stitches and this past month, a special operation to have one of her bottom teeth pulled that she had somehow rammed down into her gums, and the tooth was dying and her gums were getting infected! It's a good thing she's CUTE!!! And it's a great thing that we have an awesome vet in Lapel that blesses us with a pastoral discount for our crazy pup!

Our Parents and Brothers are doing well. James graduated from IWU in May and has his first job, Joe is finishing up at IWU, and Josh is still working his same job as a metal fabricator, and Kristina graduated in nursing this year and has a job at a clinic in Lapel and Micah will be graduating this year, so we've enjoyed going to his games and other school events. Sadly, we haven't made it to MI to see The Freed's for Christmas because of my illness...so hopefully we'll make it soon!

Otherwise, life is good here in Noblesville/Fishers. We love our life. We celebrated 5 years of marriage this year, and it feels like it's flown by! We're looking forward to 2009 to see what it brings! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!! :) Keep in touch! Let us know how you're doing!! Lots more pics of our year and updates on our lives on Facebook and Twitter! See you there too!!

Well....It's almost been a year...I feel guilty as a blogger...

2008-09-23T21:40:00.010-04:00

I STINK AT BLOGGING!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh.........John in Pink!!:)

Some of our lifecoaches and us at Frequency at IWU last year! Good times. We love these people!!

Our Staff as of Winter 2008. Our former Children's Director Becky, Me, Our Administrative assistant-Caryn, Steve our Senior Pastor, Drew-our Bethany Intern, and of course John. Now we have a new Worship Pastor Bill and Cady is our current Children's Director.

This is my first ever day with some strange kind of NATURAL curl or wave to my hair....VERY exciting!!:)

5 YEARS AGO....Can you believe it?? I love us...

HELLO FRIENDS!!
Sorry for our awful almost year long delay in posting. If anyone subscribes to this blog, you've got a surprise huh? Like the previous few posts mention, we're all about FACEBOOK lately, but, I think it's time to give our poor blog a little love and send a quick update on us!

We are same ol same ol really. Zoe's great. She just turned 3. We've been in our house almost a year and a half, and we still love it. We like our neighborhood and love living in Noblesville, with the new mall just around the corner. Church is going well, but we are sad to be seeing our Senior Pastor go soon. He's resigned and we're in the waiting game to see what's next for Fall Creek. We are staying here as long as they will let us and not going anywhere, but we are anxious to see what is next for Fall Creek. The Rock afterschool program that we do is exploding at Fall Creek with 66 5th and 6th grade students coming on Tuesday's and Thursdays, and I'm starting a second ROCK at Trinity Wesleyan with our friends Chris and Rachel-the youth pastors there, and that program is Monday/Wednesday with 17 and counting 5th and 6th graders. Needless to say, the next 10 weeks will be crazy, but totally worth it!! Youth group is going awesome and we are really anxious to see where God takes this group throughout the coming year!! We have some of the best kids in Fishers!!:) They Rock!!

Otherwise, things really are same ol...we're loving having old friends living in town and we are making lots of new friends all the time here...so that's fun.

We've been married 5 years as of August...and it's been a great 5 years for us. Full of lots of excitement...we love our life together!!:)

I'll try to get back into this blog thing...

WOW!! It is has been too long!!

2007-11-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

--

We have been sooo busy, and also addicted to FACEBOOK. We have found that we can stay updated with MOST of you through this great site: FACEBOOK.com is a great social network. If you have not yet signed up for an account you need to! We have tons of videos and pictures of what is going on in our life. Feel free to make us your friends on there!

Well a lot has happened since we last wrote. For example, tomorrow i have to write my abstract for my final project and then i will be only weeks away from graduating from Indiana Wesleyan University with a Masters degree in ministry leadership. This is a huge victory for both Danielle and I. We have both sacrificed our "Day OFf" for two years. And last march we were making a big sacrifice while i was in class two nights a week and then the hours of homework that went with it.

For the first time in our married life together Danielle and I have had out own home to participate in Trick or Treating. many of you know we don't care much for Halloween...but love the idea of the hundreds of people coming to our house. This year Justin and Lindsay joined us. Danielle and I gave out cans of soda with a sticker that had scripture on it. So each can had a positive message and was a great treat for the neighborhood. We had TONS of kids tell us we were one of the best places!! We were so proud=)

A few weeks ago Danielle and I went to RAM Camp at IWU. This is a special camp that we take students who feel called into full time ministry. The camp is designed to invest in them and help them discover exactly what that calling is all about. We have a lot of fun on a ropes course, paint-balling, sardines in the student center and just plain hanging out. All the pictures will be up shortly at FUSIONstudents.com

also, Heath Jones came down from IWU and gave FUSION an awesome ~JAILBREAK~ Barn Bash for our FUSION Family. It was an awesome party!! Danielle and I were criminals.

finally Danielle, Micah (Danielle's Brother) and Rosie (Danielle's MOm) went to Sherwin Williams Paint shop on 116th Street to see Joseph Addai a Colts Player. He was signing autographs and helping the shop out. OVER 1000 people showed up for the one hour signing. He is definitely a favorite player of Indy. Needless to say, we never able to get close to him, except through the window, but that was close enough!

well that is the update on us. Keep looking and to see what I have been up to in school check out: http://www.FREEDSCHOOL.blogspot.com

Home Decor

2007-09-16T22:29:00.001-04:00

Well we got a phone call today, while we were away at Cedar Point, from the Noblesville Police Department. There really is nothing scarier when you are away from home, and your hometown Police department calls you. The police informed us that someone had vandalized our home. I was scared, but I asked the officer what had occurred. The officer went on to explain that someone had toilet-papered our entire house, saran wrapped our entire house! and forked our whole front yard!!! I was so honored, and relieved! Thinking someone may have harmed our house, I was scared, but to hear someone did a fantastic job at a joke AND that the police were called, NOW THAT IS AWESOME!! I was so excited when we returned home and saw these pictures. As we pulled into our sub-division tonight, after a long trip back from Sandusky, OH, the local children stopped playing and chased our car! They told us all about how they woke up and found our house, they were so excited! As we got out of the car, the neighbors came out of their homes to greet us and tell us what they had seen that morning. We were the biggest event on our street! It was a great way for us to get to know our neighbors better.

Well, we were thankful for all the people that came by to help clean it up. We didn't have to lift a finger, just enjoy the pictures and excitement! However, one major detail about this whole event...we do not know who did thiS!!!! The only clue we have are these:
1. The person or person's who did this knew we were gone to Cedar Point this weekend.
2. They are very creative because they used the FORK idea...and that is one only the best know how to do. This is no ameture! We are working with real professionals.
3. They left a note: "Who said old foggies can't have fun":::::the funny thing about this is the officer told us he was concerned because he read the note wrong, and thought the foggies was Faggies!!! Which would have made the entire event really strange and disturbing!!!
4. They used YELLOW paper to write their note...meaning they didn't have white!

Well this is all we have to go on! We loved every picture, story, character, and surprise! Thanks to whom ever. BUT we are going to get you or you all back!!!!!!!! Enjoy the pics! we sure did!

GO COLTS!! and I'm Sorry!!!

2007-09-07T12:09:00.000-04:00

GO COLTS!!! was my intention...but the last two seconds of this video was a mistake...I did not mean to do this!!
If you don;t have FACEBOOK....get one....all of our pictures and many many more video's are on there!!! We spend a lot of time on FACE BOOK...but thanks for keeping up with our blog! We love you too!!!

FUSION INNER CITY MISSIONS TRIP 2007

2007-08-13T16:39:00.000-04:00

Summer Update!

2007-07-28T18:50:00.001-04:00

We are still alive, just as busy as ever! We are settling into our new home, taking up the new hobby of updating and decorating our home. It's alot of fun. We feel very blessed to have this house and already we've had at least 12 people spend the night and easily 50 other visitors for meals or games or just to hang out and see the place, and of course, we are living that!! :) The pic below is of Us and our friends Leanna and Becca as we played trading spaces and painted some old furniture ot update it a bit!!:) We had alot of fun, and did not plan to dress like opposing teams on trading spaces!!:)

After we began the process of moving in, we practically moved out!! We spent a week at church camp, 2 weeks in the Czech Republic and tomorrow, we are off for a week of inner city work in Cincinnati!! Crazy....yes, but we love it!!:) Here are some pics of our adventure to Czech. We absolutly enjoyed our time there so much and feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to serve there and to serve with the people we got to meet and work alongside throughout the trip. We did a VBS for Czech Children in the area of Brno, Czech, and had an utter blast bringing back an "old" VBS from the US called SCUBA! We also helped around the ministry center and got aquaited with the missionaries there and some Czech teens and adults. We really enjoyed their culture! It was a WONDERFUL Trip!!!

Stay tuned for some pics of our home in the almost finished state.
Also, PLEASE Come for a visit, we'll grill for you and play games!! We'd love to have any of our faithful readers stop by to catch up on life!
Thanks for your faithfulness....we've been really busy, but want to hear from all of you, I'd love updates from you all too!!
-Danielle:)

Freeds overseas

2007-06-25T17:08:00.000-04:00

John and I are here in Czech after a good 24 hours of traveling and losing a night of sleep. We'll be here until July 3rd with our team of 19 people. We are safe and sound in the Majak center where there are alot of great things happening as we get to know the missionaries, get to meet the children who we are ministring to through VBS and meeting the teenagers from the area. WE are having alot of fun and are looking forward to all God has in store for us still. Some highlights so far include Ryan H losing his luggage, which has still not arrived, and it may be 2 more days till it comes, if it comes...and we had 15 kids at our VBS, we have been loving the food, it's hearty and fresh, the team is working VERY well together and having a ton of fun doing all we do. They all work hard, but have fun while doing so! Most of our days begin at 8am with breakfast, then we go into come type of ministry, wether with kids or the missionaries here, then we have a yummy lunch and have our VBS to follow, then we have another great meal-dinner, then hang out in the back yard playing volleyball, basketball, soccer and whatever other games come about as we get to know more Czech people, all to build relationships and be examples of Christ, then we get together as a team and share about the day, pray togehter, journal our experiences and then hit the sack, and sleep very well. The jet lag isn't too bad, which is a praise. Keep praying for team unity, for God to use us in people's lives, for safety and effectivness.
Thanks for czeching in!

Rednecks!!

2007-04-20T19:48:00.000-04:00

Well, we have to admit it at some point...we are both rednecks by nature...we aren't ashamed of it, but neither are we proud...it's just a fact that we have to own up to and face once in a while! :) We thought that we'd share some pics from our Easter weekend, just to prove that fact. On Easter Sunday, Danielle's Dad (David) and brothers Josh and Micah and Sister in Law Kristina along with John-boy decided to spend the afternoon shooting clay piegons in the back yard. They aparently had alot of fun, and come to find out, David was the best, he'd even knock out the ones that other people missed over their heads...all in all, it was fun and they had alot of laughs and great memories.
Oh..and we threw in some bonus redneck material of Zoe!!:)

And lastly--Danielle's Easter Centerpiece creation--made with John's help too!

new Posting on John's Blog

2007-04-11T15:27:00.000-04:00

Just a heads up, I have been posting again on my school blog. If you get a chance, check it out. I hope it can make you think, lift your spirits and allow you to grow deeper in your walk with Christ.

WE GOT THE HOUSE!!!

2007-03-29T22:51:00.000-04:00

LOOK WHO BOUGHT A HOUSE!!!
WE DID!!!:)
We close and move in May, God REALLY blessed us!!:)

Set Apart

2007-03-17T23:26:00.000-04:00

Click on the title of this post and see if you recognize anyone in the video??!! :)

Skiing and Snowboarding in Indiana

2007-03-15T21:26:00.000-04:00

Yes my friends, it is possible to ski and snowboard in Indiana...we have large hills in southern Indiana!!:)

We had an awesome snow camp with our distrcit last month, we had a ton of fun with our friends from Fusion and enjoyed some beautiful weather.

John stuck with skiing, and did awesome, it was only his second time and he was skiing just as good as me, and I've been skiing for years! I did the skiing thing most of the weekend, but being true to my frist snowboarding teachers, Sam and Kate McG., I decided to give it another try. I was better, but, still fell ALOT on the bunny hill!! However, I will keep trying, a little at a time. I may never get it, I feel so awkward, but, it's really fun to try. Luckily John was willing to help me down the bunny hills in his regular boots, so I fell LESS, but still fell ALOT!!:)

We will be trying to post more often....sorry it's been scarce....we are possibly experiencing the busiest month of our married life....ugh...John is doubling up masters classes this month, so he's in class 2 nights a week and then has double homework...:( ANYWAY....love you all and look forward to some comments, seeing who reads and cares that we update...

Another Snow Day....in Indiana....

2007-02-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

Look how deep it is!!

Wow, it felt like we were back in Wisconsin for a little while this morning! We aren't used to quite this much snow down here. The news is calling it Blizzard conditions! Well, when John and I hear that, we get excited....and so does our little puppy! She LOVES the snow! She can't wait to play in it when she sees it out the back door. She'll just stare out the window when it's really coming down, so, despite the wonderful warmth of our apartment, we decided to take a mid day break from working on our computers and take the lil pup out for an excursion!
MAN---Did we have fun! We were the only people out besides the maintenance guys snow blowing in the falling ice and snow...it was like small pebbles of ice smacking you in the face constantly! It drove us nuts, but didn't phase Zoe of course! She's a trip! We got some AWESOME pics and had to share them with you! Enjoy and stay warm...wherever you are!

READY

SET

JUMP!!!!!

We fetch this little green frog in the snow because the ball sinks and she can't find it because after a few good inhales of snow her little sniffer is frozen!! hehe

Ahhh....so happy together....how sweet!!

Where are you going puppy??

Is that not the funniest pic of her! This shows how much she LOVES to run in the snow!!

Come back Zoe!!!

Ah, all alone now:(

*click on the photos to grasp the real facial expressions, especially the one where Zoe is running away!!!

GO HORSE!!

2007-01-29T00:02:00.000-05:00

WOW--Are we excited!
One week ago today we found out our Colts are going to the SUPER BOWL!
PARTY ON!!:)
We have Super Bowl Slam next Sunday @ Fall Creek....MAJOR PAR-TAY!!:)

Kiss Florida Goodbye....Welcome back to snowy Indiana!!

2007-01-21T15:03:00.000-05:00

Well, Florida was wonderful. We were very spoiled with wonderful weather while we were there....

But back to Indiana, we are kissing that heat and sun goodbye....things are much different....different than Florida, and even different than the Indiana we left at the new year....

However, we were thrilled to be able to play in the snow with Zoe for the first time! She's so adorable! She loved it, eating it, rolling in it and running after snow BALLS....you should know by now, our dog is overly obsessed with balls of any shape and size, but her all time fav is the mighty tennis ball!!!!

We're Back....again.....!

2007-01-13T13:36:00.000-05:00

We are back in blogging land finally. We have had problems updating lately because we are very strict about trying to post with a pic, and if we don't have a pic, we don't post...well, then there is another issue, all of our pics are on John's computer and he's been insainly busy lately, so he doesn't have time to post, nor do I get time to use his computer, SO we are going to try to copy all of our pics onto both computers so that we don't have to go through a long long time like this again, without an update from the Freeds!

Anyway---We had an awesome Holiday season with MANY Christmas parties and celebrations between people at church, friends and of course family. It was nice to be near family again and we have felt very welcomed by our new church family, church staff and new friends in the area.

Here is the wide array of White elephants from our Staff Christmas Party!!

New years was great, we had alot of fun with our new friends Matt and Carin whom we enjoy their friendship, but we are crazy about their kids, I mean, we really do like them too, but their boys are a HOOT! The funniest thing was when Ian, their 3 year old went around the room telling people what they looked like. It started when we looked at a wedding picture of his mom and dad and he said, "Mommy, You look like a princess" then he said "Daddy, you look like an angel" and I asked him what John looked like, and he said "An Angel too" and then what do I, Danielle, look like, and he responded, "You look like a man who rides a horse!" WE LOST IT....he is SOOOOOOOOOOOo funny.

After new years we headed out for Florida where we were a part of the Gathering, a meeting of Weselyan Pastors and families for 4 days(in Orlando), and we had alot of fun there both with our church staff, and with friends from our past and some from our WAY past! I was thrilled to unexpectdly run into my first two youth pastors Brian and Michelle and Barry and Heather. What a huge suprise! We caught up on new times and old. It was wonderful! I also got to see one of our old pastors Bill and Rebecca from the old Memorial Circle days, one of our favorites!

After that we were off to Lake Placid to see my Grandparents and to meet up with some other Aunts and Uncles at their huge house they rent each winter. We were down there for 3 days and got to do alot of fun things. We got to go on a couple of boat rides around the lake they live on, took a tour of an Aligator farm that had 2,000 aligators, some for show and some for eating and making purses and shoes out of. That was an intersting place. We both held a 5 year old Aligator....who had his little mouth taped shut...just to be safe! Then we watched a few movies there and had alot of good eating! We also got to visit the church that my grandparents attend down there then we headed on out to Cocoa Beach.

Cocoa Beach treated us well. Despite the fact that I was sick most of the time we were there (4 days), the weather and the ocean were beautiful. We were in Cocoa during a LOW tourist season, so it was almost like we had everything to ourselves, even the ocean! We were the only people swimming besides the surfers, and most days we were 2 of many 4 or 6 people at the heated pool, which was lovely! Apparently, the second week of January is the time to be there! We also got the privlege of going to Kennedy Space Center where we met a real astronaut who went into space with Sally Ride (the first female in space). He was cool, he did a presentation and showed pictures then we got to get our picture taken with him. We also toured real space shuttles and rockets and all that fun outer space stuff. It was very interesting and fun!

Now--We are back home preparing for our new year. I am now working at the church doing the afterschool program like I did last semester but also taking on a new role as the Student Ministries Assistant...I'm excited!:)
God has been good to us over the last year, there were great times as well as hard times, but we know God's hand was in all of it. I was reminded of a great phrase on my friend Leanne's Myspace
"God is too wise to be mistaken, too good to be unkind, so when you don't understand, when you don't see His plan, when you don't feel His hand, trust His heart." I think that's been our motto this past year, we know we serve and loving and a good God, and we trust Him with everything we've gone through this past year.

We also want to thank our family and friends-new an old- for loving us so much! We love you all!!

Here is an overview collage of Florida...Click to enlarge!!:)

The Freed House for Thanksgiving

2006-12-03T22:06:00.000-05:00

OK, going home to Detroit does not happen as much as we would like. But everytime we go home to Mom and Dad Freed's...it is always an experience. For example, now my parents have chickens! Well a lot of my life i had grown up with chickens and collecting eggs. BUT we didn't live in town...we lived out in the country...like normal people with chickens. But if you know my parents, they are unique and love to have chickens.

The funny thing was, Danielle and I got to go collect the eggs. But Danielle was freaked out...or as she likes to put it,
"this is freaky". But once we got into the coop, and played with the chickens and ducks she was ready to discover some eggs. Also, my Dad would be happy, if i would mention that my parents once used to have a Turkey....but well, Thanksgiving came along, and he became the guest of honor at the Thanksgiving meal.

Finally, big thanks to my Dad for taking us to Port Huron Michigan on Wednesday! I really wanted to show Danielle where i lived until i was 12. It was amazing how well i knew my way around, and how things had not changed much since 1993. Everything was still there!

Port Huron is the birth place of Thoma Edison, and also the location of the Blue Water Bridge. So here is a picture of me and dad with Tommy Edison!

Catching Up with some friends!

2006-12-03T21:37:00.000-05:00

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well life has been crazy around here. With big projects in my Masters program, Thanksgiving, traveling to Detroit, and many visitors to our home from Wisconsin. Here are a couple of our favorite pictures!!!

Dani and Becca, it was so cool to have you here!! We loved hanging out with you, laughing with you, shopping with you, and of course hanging out with campers at TARGET until 1am!!! So proud of you for your driving adventure, and your heart for personal growth!!! You ROCK!!!

But Before Dani and Becca made the long trip down from Wisconsin, our friends, Matt, Jake, Cindy, Steve, Mike, and Tina all came down from Mukwonago to celebrate my birthday!! It was just like old times...lots of loud laughing and lemon teeth!!! I think that is how you know when a friendship runs deep, when you can pick up right where you left off, and it isn't events or experience that bring you together, but a heart connection. We love you all!!!

2006-11-19T17:23:00.000-05:00

Rocky Balboa

Dad, we are going to see this!!!

One more shout out to Chicago...

2006-11-08T16:14:00.000-05:00

We went up the hancock building at 10:00 at night! Highly reccommend it...haha...no pun intended!! :)
We had a great weekend....oh yeah....I had to put one last pic in of my dad with my bear and blankie! He was making the bear talk....he was either really happy or really tired, we'll never know which...but trust me, he doesn't usually play with stuffed animals!!

And more Chicago...

2006-11-08T16:02:00.000-05:00

More fun at Ginos....how fun to write on the walls, seats, tables....etc...

More Chicago

2006-11-08T15:49:00.000-05:00

Just after we began walking the streets we were stopped by the biggest group of bicyclers we've ever seen! Apparently it was critical mass, which we weren't aware of!! Its an event that is world wide from what we gathered and people come out once a month on friday nites to represent rights for bikers?!?
After watching them go by, most in coustumes, we shopped around a bit at the Mac Store then headed to dinner at Gino's Pizza where you can write all over the walls....even on the mirror like my mom did!! They relocated from the orginal location downtown so the facility was only a year old if that, so there was alot of space to write on....and we took full advantage!!

Chicago

2006-11-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

Well, a couple weekends ago, we spent the weekend in the Chicago/Milwaukee area. We had alot of fun with my parents and lil bro Micah and his friend William (aka Willy to me!)

This was our first stop, Dennys on the south side of Chicago...yumm?!?!

Someone had a hard time reading the menu!!

Once we made it to Milwaukee, my dad and John went to the mitchell domes. They are unique to Milwaukee and nice to visit on a cole cloudy day like they took advantage of. The domes are very warm and beautiful with tons of tropical plants which my dad loves.

While Dad and John enjoyed the domes, the boys and my mom and I took full advantage of some great shopping in the area. Then we were back to Chicago to check into our hotel and head into downtown for the evening.

New Post on John's Grad Blog

2006-11-02T15:49:00.000-05:00

John has just posted a couple thoughts on William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Enjoy and check in often. He has a couple papers coming due in the next couple of weeks.

FUEL CONFRENCE and Scary Raccoon!!!

2006-10-23T21:55:00.000-04:00

Hey Everyone!! This past weekend was a fun filled event. I got to lead my first seminar...and it was good to do it with friends! We explored a lot of different ideas for small groups and sunday school. I shared Danielle and I's experience with Breakfast club and Life Groups, and how much they were an impact on us, our ministry, and our philosophy of ministry. To all of you who have joined in the adventure of LIfe Groups, thanks for teaching us so so much!! Here are a couple pics from the FUEL Conf. and bowling at PinHeads on friday night with new and old friends from Wisconsin Dist.

Thanks Stevan for the pictures! Check out more from FUEL Conf. @ Stevansheets.com one of our favorite sites...we go there almost daily!!

Also, we had a little adventure on Friday night, we were rushing back to see Bo Boshers talk, and as Andy, Danielle and I were leaving the apartment a wild ferocious raccoon was on our front porch, and another crazy killer raccoon on our back porch! We were trapped!! So i did the only natural thing a true trained hunter would do...I grabbed a broom, cocked the collar and was ready to fight. As you can see from the pictures, it was me against death! Luckily, the raccoon was sick, very sick and did not put up a fight. However it didn't run away either, so we scared the killer raccoon from the back porch and ran around back. It was a great adventure and gave us a great laugh!

Finally, more pictures of the Zoe. Ok, i know you are all probably sick of pictures of this dog, but we love it...so bare through it with us! We think she is so cool. But this past Saturday, we took Zoe for a long walk in the woods. It was crazy, as soon as we got into the woods she changed into a totally different dog. She was jumping around, sniffing everything and having the time of her life. We were barley able to capture these pictures. She loves the woods and I can't wait to take her back!

Well, just a little update, we will be in Chicago at the end of the week. We are looking for some good time away! We really need a good rest and time to relax, and what better place the Chicago Land and my favorite restaurant.

Well we love you all, and look forward to the month of November. Plus you know what November is in the Freed family? It is the time where Jane and Bud celebrate the birth of their favorite child...their first born!

Beautiful? Yes you are! Just the way you are!

2006-10-18T22:23:00.000-04:00

Our friends Jay and Ann sent us to this link, you have to see this video! This gives Danielle and I encouragement in what we do. We show girls they are beautiful, not just on the outside, but in the soul, where it counts!

True beauty!! Found only in a relationship with the creator of beauty!

To all the ladies and young ladies in our ministries, we love you, and think you all are beautiful!!!

http://www.campaignforrealbeauty.com/

and to everyone on the face of the planet. I have the prettiest wife in the whole world! I am so lucky!!!

Also, we have attached some great pictures of an awesome family! Dan, Marsha, Adam, and Amanda were here last night and today! We love them, and praise the Lord for their friendship and encouragement. They always know how to make you smiel! From looking at rich people's houses, watching "Click" after a long day, pillow fight at 1am, breakfast at Bob Evans or just a big hug saying goodbye! We love ya!

Thank you for stopping by on the way home!
and oh yeah...
You're welcome=) hahaha I crack myself up!!!

Look who got an owie:(

2006-10-14T10:15:00.000-04:00

Last night was our yearly BARN BASH PARTY you can catch all the great pictures at www.FUSIONstudents.com And of course we took our little lady Zoe with us. Everyone loved her and the White's dog Carlie LOVED HER! They played together ALL NIGHT LONG! I don't think I have ever seen Zoe play so long! We all had an awesome time!

However, when we woke up this morning we found the Zoe didn't sleep very well because she had a sore on her foot. As you can see, we bandaged her up and let her rest by the fire this morning.

By the way, I have to brag about Danielle! Last night she MC'd the Barn Bash and did an awesome job! This was her first Barn Bash here, but her 9th year of Barn Bash Fun!! She did an awesome job, and her costume was inspired by "My Name is Earl"! You will have to see it and laugh! Notice the Spice Girls Shirt!

It's A Bird! IT'S A PLANE!!! ...IT'S.....

2006-10-08T22:21:00.000-04:00

Well we are getting ready for our Halloween season here in Fishers. This Friday night is our annual BARN BASH 2006! We are excited about the awesome games, prizes [tv], hilarious costumes [hillbilly] and an opportunity to share the gospel with some students.
Tonight, Danielle and I are trying to think of some costumes for halloween. Even though we don't celebrate the scary stuff of halloween, we do celebrate the free candy and funny costumes.
This year we got an awesome little Super Dog and we are HER pet dogs. She is going to walk us door to door for free candy!! We plan on going to all of our student's houses. This should be fun!!

When we put Zoe's costume on, she loved it!! She could tell we were laughing really hard [and you know what that means for Danielle!] and it was at her! But then things changed when we showed her our costumes. She was not laughing, not having fun...she was scared...scared to death! Rather then laughing and being excited she was barking, and all the hair on her back stood straight up! She did not like our costumes!

Well this is our first halloween with Zoe, so we hope she has fun!! We also hopes she learns that Christian dogs don't celebrate halloween, we just celebrate the fact that everyone is handing out free candy!!!

FINALLY....An update on the Freed's crazyness!!

2006-10-02T20:07:00.000-04:00

WOW, what a past few weeks!
I started a few weeks ago with a week of training about an hour away from here, 8 hours a day...and the monday morning that it all started, I rear-ended a ford F150 with the Sable....hurt the sable, but not me, the other driver or the truck! That's the good side of it, however, we are still driving a rental car, so that kinda stinks.
Then several days later, a HUGE tree hit our apartment building, and the coolest part is that I saw it happen. No one was hurt, but it messed up the roof and gutters, and punctured the side of the building way down at the bottom, which was weird.
Here is the wreckage, this is after they began chopping it all up, only 1/3 of it actually fell, they cut the rest down!

So, it's been crazy around here, we also started our afterschool program, "The Rock" and that is going well! we have about 40 5th and 6th graders!! Talk about a room full!!:) It's a good program and good kids and a fantastic staff of 6 adults and 7 or 8 highschoolers. Check out the website www.hserock.com

Here is our cute pup amongst the rubble! Tell me she isn't adorable!!

Do you think this log was rotten?!? HA! They said it was lightning, and I saw it fall, but didn't see lightening, either way, it really fell. I thought it was just rotten and the thunder shook it...but the more I think about that, the more it doesn't make sense?!?

I'm sure this is what I looked like after the log fell! However, this pic is from a nature walk we took with friends...and we saw a REALLY FREAKY spider!!:)

If you regularly check our blog, leave us some love in the comment area!! That'll make us smile. We love to update this, but we love it even more when we get comments and know that we aren't throwing our time away posting!! Also look at our new youth ministry website that John created on his fancy Mac www.fusionstudents.com

Toodles

Zoe's Top 9 Pet Peeves about Us!

2006-09-13T10:38:00.000-04:00

Ok I don't normally like forwards...and honestly unless I really love the person, I don't even read them anymore. But this one was from my wife, and of course it was really funny. So I thought i would post it here. If you have a dog, and love them like we do...you will love this list!!

All dog owners and lovers will understand

1. Blaming your farts on me... Not funny.. Not funny at all !!!

2. Yelling at me for barking.. I'M A FRIGGIN' DOG, YOU IDIOT!

3. Taking me for a walk, then not letting me check stuff out. Exactly whose walk is this anyway?

4. Any trick that involves balancing food on my nose... Stop it!

5. Any haircut that involves bows or ribbons. Now you know why we chew your stuff up when you're not home.

6. The sleight of hand, fake fetch throw. You fooled a dog! Whoooo Hoooooooo what a proud moment for the top of the food chain.

7. Taking me to the vet for "the big snip", then acting surprised when I freak out every time we go back!

8. Getting upset when I sniff the crotches of your guests. Sorry, but I haven't quite mastered that handshake thing yet.

9.Dog sweaters. Hello ???, Haven't you noticed the fur?

I LOVE MY MAC!

2006-09-08T12:26:00.000-04:00

IF you are thinking about getting a new computer...get a MAC. Going on my 4th year with my MAC I am stuck for good. Thanks Gerry for getting my hooked!!

Check out these funny video's by clicking on the title of this post.
have a great day, tomorrow we leave at 3:30AM for Cedar Point!!! We are looking forward to this trip because it will be another great time to bond with our students. However, Danielle is really looking forward to the roller coasters!!

Who Knew??

2006-09-05T13:46:00.000-04:00

WOW, who knew our leaving CrossRoad Ministries would have such an affect on our Adult Life Coaches! We hope everything turns out okay for them!?!

HAHA!! These guys ROCK! They are so much fun, we miss you! Rock ON!!!!

More Labor Day Fun!!

2006-09-05T13:30:00.000-04:00

More Labor Day Fun!!

Grandpa Freed's first meeting with his first GrandDog! :)

Zoe was ALL tired out after a weekend with the Freed Family!!

The Bud Freed Family! Thanks Aubree (James' "friend") for taking the pic!!

A quick reunion with some high school friends. Randie, Nicole, Shanna and Julie!! We had some Chilis and Starbucks to follow, we had a great time!! It was really good to catch up with these gals! This was the perfect ending to my fun friend and family filled weekend!!:)

Happy Labor Day!!

2006-09-04T23:45:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day to all our friends and fam! We had an action packed weekend with friends, old and new, and family! We kept very busy heading from here to there, seeing so many people, it was very exciting!! :) We had alot of fun, even though it was a big cool outside.
I (danielle) started the weekend with a class for the Afternoon's ROCK in Indiana program that I am becoming certified to supervise. I had to go downtown with my friend Mark, who is the current director of Fall Creek's program to get curriculum training. That was short and sweet, which was kind of the teacher since it's a holiday weekend!! John headed up to IWU with Zoe for move in day to see our friends from WI & IN move in! We are excited for the Freshman and his brothers who are Jr's this year.
Saturday we headed to Wabash to see Zoe's Mom, Star, oh...and my family!! hehe I love to go to my Aunt and Uncles new home up there, there is so much to do, and it's so beautiful, and the added bonus now is that Zoe gets to see her mommy!
Here they are, can ya tell they're related!!!!!:)

PLAYING!!:)

This is for real, we stopped in Wabash to take a pic, we thought it was funny yet disturbing?!?! What do you think??

After we left Wabash on Saturday afternoon we headed back to Marion to see Lynn and baby LEVI!!! I was SO happy to finally meet Levi! He's a DOLL! We had alot of fun cathing up, I wish we had more time to have connected!! Anyway, here we are!:)

Danielle and U2

2006-08-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

This is a funny story about Danielle and her mix up about the one of greatest bands in history.

Finishing up a HUGE Summer

2006-08-28T10:05:00.000-04:00

well, as the phone calls, and emails from friends have been telling us, we need to update our blog. Naturally, when the school year starts up, (school started here on the 16th) the life of youth pastors kick into high gear. But just before the school year started Danielle and I celebrated 3 years of Marriage. This was a great time, and we finally went camping in Brown County. We have been wanting to go camping for two years now! Also, we went to the Indiana State Fair. This was my first time at the state fair, and I loved it!! I saw the worlds largest pig! Got to watch sheep be shaved, and a the greatest thing, i was able to watch a cow give birth!
This was an awesome time for me to experience a little of Danielle's history. Every year when she was in high school her high school band would participate in BAND DAY at the State Fair. Band Day is where high school bands from all over the state compete to find out who is the best marching band. Lapel High School (where Danielle went to school) always does a dance as a part of their show, and the crowd goes crazy. At one point, Danielle said she almost started crying because she was so proud of her little high school.
Zoe stayed with Uncle Micah for the week while Danielle and I traveled down south for the night, and then came home because o rain. We love to camp...at the Holiday Inn!! Next year, we will camp at the actual state park, not in the "serial killer hide out" camp ground that we stayed at. I will say, we laid in our tent until 3am listening to every sound!!! We were both scared, but did not admit it to each other until the next morning. We are officially wimps! But all in all, the trip to Brown County was beautiful, relaxing, and a lot of fun. I can't wait until next year.

Well School started and we had a 5h Quarter Party at FUSION. Following the HUGE Football Game between Hamilton South Eastern and the brand new FISHERS HIGH SCHOOL. The game was a massacre as HSE beat FHS 46-6. I really did not know what to expect for our 1st big event, and to prove how low my expectation were for the night, I only ordered 10 pizzas! But God always loves to prove me wrong, and brought 80 people to our 5th Quarter party. It was a fun night, filled with NERTZ tourn. and Ping Pong Tourn. We gave away a ton of prizes and had a lot of laughs. God was good!

Well today, Danielle and I are recovering from a long summer of moving, camping, crying, laughing, and meeting hundreds and hundreds of new people. We have been all over telling people about the Great news of Jesus Christ, and He is blessing us for it. We have adopted out daughter ZOE [our beautiful yellow lab] and have began our adventure in Indiana.

Thanks for all your prayers! Keep watching this blog...we honestly think to update it every day!! i will post lots of pictures from this coming weekend...when MOM and DAD Freed come down to visit. Also, on Friday of this week I am helping my brother in Christ Anthony move into his dorm room. I can not wait to see him!!

Much love!!

New Style of Blogging

2006-08-17T01:05:00.000-04:00

MOM AND DAD FREED HAVE A BLOG!!!!!!

2006-08-15T16:09:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it!! My Mom and Dad have a blog!! Check it out for yourself!!! Enjoy my parents, i love them too!

http://www.joshua-2415.blogspot.com

Away...but will be back soon

2006-08-08T21:59:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends and Family,
we are normally really good about posting. but recently we have been traveling a bunch and have been unable to keep up with it. Last week I was honored to speak at a morning chapel at ICD Family Camp. The students were so kind to Danielle and I, and we really loved laughing with them that morning. I think I did more laughing then preaching, but it was one of those mornings. It was awesome to spend the evenings with Richard and Debbie, Danielle's Aunt and Uncle. They are so encouraging to us!

After camp, we rushed up to Mukwonago, Wisconsin to be apart of Veronica and Brian's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony, and even made me cry. I think I am getting soft...or it could just be that town. It was great hanging out with out brothers and sister in Christ at Culver's and laughing until closing time. Great times!!!

Finally on Saturday night, we drove back home to Fishers, where we were up for Sunday Worship at our church, and Sunday night was our HOUSE Party, where we laughed again even more, and after house Party we had all our students over for Pizza and NERTZ!

Well that brings us to today...and why we can't post...well...IT"S OUR ANNIVERSARY!!!! Three Years tomorrow Danielle and I were married 8 miles north of where I am sitting now. She is more beautiful and I love her more now than then. She has been an awesome wife, and I truly see that I got the better end of the deal.

This week we are going on an adventure....we are going camping in Brown County. For those of you who hike, or live long periods of time outdoors...good for you...but this is not our style. We are truly city folk, and camping is going to be an adventure for us. We are really excited, and will bring back lots of pictures...of our camp site.

Anyways, we love you all...keep checking in with us and leaving us comments. We love them! Also, if you want to follow along with my schooling, you can read my Grad Blog http://www.freedschool.blogspot.com where I post my current papers and thoughts. I am finishing up a class on WORSHIP with DR. TODD GUY from Indiana Wesleyan Univ. and it is a great class. Take a look.

A Day at the pool with my cousins! :)

2006-07-27T19:50:00.000-04:00

Today I, Danielle, spent the afternoon with my cousins and several of my cousins kids! We had a blast! I love playing with these guys, they are so much fun! I was really thrilled to spend time with my cousin Val's kids, Emma and Josiah! They are sweeties! I had to post these pics because they are all so cute, and especially to show you Reese's Mohawk! It's INSAINE! It's totally real and very permanant!! HA!! :)

Here is Blake having a BLAST! He loves to show off his tricks on the diving board and the slide!

Here is most of the crew I played with today!
Emma in the front, and the boys, Blake, Reese, Josiah, and Austin!

Here is the Mohawk! I can't believe it, he is Mr Cool!! :) He's showing off his big muscles!!!

Here is Bekah with our friends JB and Misty's daughter Lizzy, I've spent the last 2 days with these two, we have so much fun, Lizzy is oh so animated and very dramatic! She did signlanguage to my dog yesterday, I thought Bekah and I were going to explode we were laughing so hard!!

Is she not just the cutest thing??? She is very smart, I love her. She and her family live in Texas right now, so it was an extra special treat to see them today!! She is expecting a baby brother in September!! :)

Pop vs. Soda

2006-07-27T16:48:00.000-04:00

One of the intresting things we have noticed since moving back to Indiana from Mukwonago is the fact that people here call Soda Pop "POP" you can walk into any grocery market and ask the person behind the counter..."Excuse me, where do you keep all your pop" and they will know exactly what you're talking about. Unlike Mukwonago, if you asked for the "pop" they would think you're loopy. So what do you say? Pop? Soda? Coke? or other...which is my other quesiton...what is other??

jf

Good Parents gone Bad!!

2006-07-26T10:50:00.000-04:00

I don't want to say we are bad parents, I just want to say we have made poor choices in our first week of parenting our new dog Zoe....Ok, here is the story...when we first got Zoë we had great intentions of helping her become the great dog God has created her to be. We spent a lot of money on toys, good food, fancy dog dishes, fo-rhinestone collar, a long leash, balls, Frisbees, and a big fluffy bed. We have fallen in love with her, and the joy she finds in all these things. We laid down the house rules so she would know our standards of living: here are our rules:

1. NO getting dirty in yucky nasty ponds. Labs love to swim, and Zoe is no exception, she grew up swimming in a pond out her back door, however, the ponds in our area are nasty and full of seaweed, plus when she comes out she is no longer beautiful blonde but black from the mud and grime.

2. NO swimming in Rosie's (Grandma walls) pool!! Her nails can hurt the sides, and plus, dogs should not play in the pool.

3. NO SLEEPING IN THE BED! Dogs are dogs and don’t belong in beds.

Well you can see by the pictures below, we have given in on all three of our core rules. We tried to be good parents, but in one simple week we have given in to her cuteness. I just want to say for the record, all the rules have been broken through Danielle, as the one picture can show.

We love our Zoe and are having fun with her anyway!! This is good training for future additions to our family, but at this rate, we are not doing to well with rules.

Picnic

2006-07-20T08:12:00.000-04:00

Last night Danielle and I had dinner with a small group from Church. We are unable to be apart of their Sunday school class, because we are teaching "Breakfast Club" but they adopted us for their picnic. As we all shared about work, family, life, and our new puppy, I was reminded of the deep joy that grows through community. We had a great time last night, and really loved the people we had dinner with.

Side Note: If YOU are not involved in a Christian community, and I don't mean Sunday morning worship...I mean a group of people that you know care about you personally, and connect with you. Work to get this, as if your life depended on it. Because truthfully, I believe your spiritual life does!

Thank you so much Scott and Jill for inviting us. And Patty, Mark, Jay, Ann, Kelly, Alisa, and all the kids, THANK YOU for allowing Danielle and I to fit right in! We loved it!

John's New Grad Blog

2006-07-17T01:51:00.000-04:00

I am doing all the work, you can benefit! Enjoy and of course, LEAVE A COMMENT!

Do you love the Bible? Then check this out!

2006-07-17T01:24:00.000-04:00

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

If you love the Bible, and have gone through Danielle's 12 Stages of the Ages teachings you will love this site! To all the CRM friends who went through a semester of BIBLE101, you will love this site!

BIBLE RAP!!! YEAH!!!!!

Pictures of ZOE!!!

2006-07-16T23:36:00.000-04:00

Our new Daughter

2006-07-16T23:12:00.000-04:00

Well, it has been over a week since our last post. We had ICD Teen Camp (Indiana Central District) this past week http://www.icdteens.com
and had a great time hanging out with Jeremy and Andrea Summers. Also, this was a key week for Danielle and I to bond with our new students here in Fishers. The week went great! We love our new students and really had a great time laughing with them. Camp was rainy most of the week so that was a bummer, but it did not dampen the movement of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. God moved through the worship sets and speaking, we were very thankful to be there.

At the same time, this years camp for me was hard. I really miss our students from CRM, and found myself often thinking back to camp days in Wisconsin. God is teaching us many things, and giving us a ton of hope and love for Fishers. Our heart is growing into our new home and our new ministry here.

God has been blessing Danielle and I. We have been going going going going and my back couldn't take any more. On Wednesday after a great late night basketball game my back gave out. I guess I really hurt it bad. I suffered through the rest of the week and then went to the chiropractor on Saturday. He said I had a bulged disk and confirmed my pain. He adjusted me a bit and sent me on my way!!! It was a miracle!! Tonight, I feel awesome, and tomorrow i will follow up with him again. I have to say thanks to CK for giving us his name. ChiroSpa in Fishers Indiana gave Danielle and I a great deal because we are clergy. ChiroSpa feels that it is their business' ministry to minister to Pastors, so they give care to Pastors and their families for next to nothing. I really appriciated them and hope you choose them if you are looking for a Chiropractor. We have used them and love them!! And now we LOVE CHIROSPA of Fishers!!

[ side note...Danielle is on the phone right now with her family in Austrailia...they were singing her Happy BIrthday...because in Australia it is Danielle's Birthday!! Thanks Blackwoods, we love you all!! http://www.blackwoods.us

Well, Danielle's Birthday is tomorrow. She is going to be 26!!!!! We are closer to 30 than ever before! I can't believe it! We are starting the 5 day celebration of Danielle's birthday, so give us a call and say hi! Mike and Tina always joke about how we celebrate such long birthdays, and this year we have a special celebration with ZOE!!!!

LET'S tell you about ZOE!!!! Zoe is a our new little girl. She is an 11 month old yellow Lab. She is so beautiful and full of energy! She really gives Danielle a run for her money when it comes to playing. And Zoe loves to fetch the ball, in fact I think she is obsessed with it! She is very well behaved, knowing how to sit, lay down, and fetch. She is very house trained, holding it today for a record 5 hours during church. We were so proud of her!! Right now, she is standing next to me holding her tennis ball, just hoping i would have a spurt of energy at 11:23pm on Sunday night and want to play fetch. HAHAHAHAHAA

Anyway, Danielle and I love our new girl. We are showering her with gifts, love and attention. Everything she does is so great! It is hard to leave her alone, because we want to rush back to her. She is a beautiful gift! She was totally free!!! We are so lucky!! We can't wait to show her off to friends!

In our next post we will give some pictures.

Some Pictures from the Freed Family Foto Booth

2006-07-07T10:38:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures we took this week during July 4th of friends in the Freed Family Foto Booth!

Grandma Cole, Danielle and I

Mom and Dad Freed::: i love having crazy people for parents!

Mom and Dad Freed

Crazy Mama Freed

Great picture of Grandma Cole

Some more pictures of Guatemala

2006-07-07T10:19:00.000-04:00

Here are some more pictures of our missions trip to Guatemala. You can read the journal entry below. thanks for checking in! Leave us a comment!!

back...for now

2006-07-07T09:52:00.000-04:00

WOW! It has been a whirlwind of two weeks. As you know...if you have been keeping up on this blog or calling us...we have been in Milwaukee and then last week we were in Guatemala doing missions work. While the trips were both really short, they were extremly "impacto" on our lives. We have been running from one project to another. In Guatemala our eyes were open to huge devistation from mud slides, along with poverty stricken fmailies that live in grass huts. They have no shoes, and many of the children have worms; however, God opened doors for us to serve in little ways, but mind you, little ways for Jesus are big ways for eternity! We gave 250 pairs of shoes to children in a little village called San Juan. These children had very dirty feet, some even bloody and we washed them with baby wipes and placed new shoes on their feet. They never asked what brand they were, or what color, they were just so excited to have something. We also gave pounds and pounds of candy away. The children, don't get a lot of candy, so we gave lots!! While we were visiting the children and playing with them, we went to a school and gave de-worming medicine to the entire school grades k-6. The stuff tasted nasty but the students knew they needed it. And finally, I helped build a kitchen. That's right...with only a trowl and knife i helped a man build a kitchen. It was a huge learning experience for me, but brought some beautiful memories.

Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for Danielle, the students and myself as we travled and ministered to people. God's truly blessed our two weeks with strength, power, and new vision for our ministry in Fishers. Danielle and I cried often while we were in Guatemala it was very hard for me to see the pain and devistation this nation has. But at the same time, I knew God was there, and these people who had nothing, really had more than what appeared to my Western, materialism driven eyes. They were all very conected with family, they really cared for each other, and everyone smiled. They did not have much food, or clean water, but they smiled, because life was about more than gaining and storing up...it was about love. God's love is very much alive in Guatemala, you can feel it in the hearts of the children when they climb on your back and whisper "thank you" in broken english because of a piece of "dulce" [candy] you have given them.

Our words nor blog could ever describe the imprint Guatemala left on our hearts. We hope to go back next year...and yes...take you with us!!

Special thanks to our family Jodi and Paul for giving us a tour of their village and home in Guatemala. The coffee is amazing and your home is very beautiful!!! (And Danielle sends well wishes to the dog!)

Well.....I am all caught up with the two weeks of Grad work I left here, our Apartment is still not all the way moved in, and we have the begining of a week of Youth Camp on Monday...life is good...busy...but really good!!

quick report before we leave again

2006-06-23T20:26:00.000-04:00

Report:
we arrived after many hours in traffic jams and constant traveling. We boys slept in the damp hot basement and the girls staid in the hot dusty second floor of the NON-air conditioned Unity Lutheran Church in downtown Milwaukee. We woke each morning at 7:15am and took all of our clothes, toiletries and food for an entire day of serving the Lord. Each site was unique and required a unique perspective:

St Ann Center was an elderly, handicap and children care facility that provided care, compassion and programming each day for it's visitors. To help give care and compassion was a team of students, who played cards with the elderly, played with children on the play ground, help clean up the grounds, and helped facilitate adult care.

TriCorp was a home for emotionally and mentally hurting people. Our young men worked very hard behind the scenes using their strength to serve the Lord. Much sweat and hard work went into helping the facility move a ton of Mattresses and other rooms needing cleaned. Windows were washed with the love of Jesus through these tough young men.

Gingerbread Land was a whole city block managed by Mother Clara who gave care to families who needed home and a hot meal. All the houses are painted in WILD COLOR like hot pink bring green and yellow. The trees all hold signs such as "drive slow" and "Jesus loves you" the side walks are painted in wild colors as well. Our team of students help weed an entire lot for a garden, painted a playground, cleaned an old burned out church, planted a beautiful flower garden, and played with children who hunger for love.

Family House is a home for elderly people who can not afford the nursing home or other services. The team of students sorted clothes, and put on a play for the residence. They clean and organized HUGE piles of clothes, blankets and other items. Helping the home put together their annual clothing distribution to residence. Janet even help feed the patience. Which was an eye opening experience. This team also helped at "the Gathering" a soup kitchen that fed almost 400 homeless with the help of the students.

As the new youth pastor it was an honor to join them this week. Danielle and I were so proud to be counted among the Fall Creek group. We have great kids who are hungry to serve the Lord. We all look forward to next years missions trip and thank the church for providing this opportunity. Many lives were eternally changed in the process of making small changes through missions work. We fed the hungry, clothed the naked, helped the sick and hurting, and planted our sweat in a place that was not our home. We gave, and expected nothing in return. We spent everything we had for the spreading of the Gospel. It was a victorious week!! Praise the Lord!!!

pardon the grammer...i am very sleepy!! We leave for Guatemala in 7 hours.

jf

God's On the Move...and we are along for the Ride!

2006-06-17T18:12:00.000-04:00

Where Beer is Born and Brats are Devoured

Hey Friends, Danielle and I stopped for a quick minute to ask for your prayers. As many of you already know, we are leaving for a couple missions trips tomorrow following Church. We are spending a week in Milwaukee [YES! This is very weird for us!] doing missions with "YouthWork". We hope to be working with the Milwaukee Rescue mission where we will be able to see some old friends. We will be staying on the far North side of Milwaukee and bussing in everyday to the project sites. We have never done a trip with YouthWorks but hope it is the begining of a long beautiful relationship. Many of you remember our trip to South Chicago last fall, and we are praying for the same outcome: Deep dependence on God; Stretching of Our Character and Faith; Moving past being "nice" and into the deep realm of Kindness; and finally falling into the deep moving work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of everday people. We are praying for power, and open eyes on this trip. I am expecting it to be difficult for me to see God in a familiar setting like Milwaukee.

We leave Milwaukee on the 23rd at Noon, and Return to Fishers at around 6pm...then do a quick wash of our clothes and leave for Guatemala at 4:30AM on Saturday. We will fly to Guatemala and do missions work with YES! Ministries. We are pumped about this trip because it will be our first spanish speaking missions expereince. We were in Cancun for our honeymoon 3 years ago...but we suspect this trip to South America will be MUCH diffrent. We are praying that we stay dry. We have done our research and read that it was the rainy season. So we are expecting damp clothes and short nights of sleep. We are not real sure exactly what we are doing, but we do know we will be building a wall for a church, passing out shoes to children while at the same time washing their feet with baby wipes, and finally doing a small children's bible school [which Danielle will be good at]. We wish we had our friend Brittney V. with us because of her vast Spanish skills, but we are praying the Holy Spirit gives us wise tongues.

Much of the next two weeks will depend on the Holy Spirits work in our lives. While we are excited about this, it means one very crucial thing....we must become less so that HE becomes MORE! So we are praying that our desires, plans, comfort level, and strength takes a back seat to the POWER and PURIFYING work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We hope these next two weeks will draw us closer to our new students. Taking us past the student to Pastor relationship into a deep community of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Finally, thank YOU for your prayers. And thanks FALL CREEK for providing the funds for Danielle and I to take this trip. We know before you even met us, you made the committment to provide the funds. We appreciate it, and hope to make you proud.

Love you all. Pray for us! and remember: God is on the Move!!!

Beautiful Guatemala!

Jay and Ann

2006-06-16T22:16:00.000-04:00

Jay and Ann are cool new friends!! We grilled out with us tonight..the chicken was not that good...but they were awesome! of course we had a ton of laughs with the freed family foto booth. They are an intresting couple who moved here from California and are starting life here. They were recently married and now are searching together for God's Life for them. We are excited about connecting our lives to theirs!

Karen and Chad from Ft. Wayne

2006-06-16T15:36:00.000-04:00

Our Friends Karen and Chad came over today on their way to her parents house. They took some great pictures with the Freed Foto Booth!!!!
Thanks guys for having fun with us!

Couple Pictures of friends...and grill

2006-06-15T10:41:00.000-04:00

Pretty Lily
Here is a picture of our friend Shanna's beautiful little girl Lily. As most of you know, most little kids are scared of me, and I don't know why, but I snaped this picture of her being mean to me=)

JT and Kelli
These are two great friends! They have been married now for a whole year, and are so cute together! It was great having dinner with them last week [pre Freed Foto Booth]. Thanks guys for coming over!!!

Danielle and Benjamin
This is not ours!!! I know how the rumor mills can start. but this is little beautiful bundle belongs to Shanna. She has so beautiful children! Thanks Shanna for letting us hold and love your kids. They are beautiful!

Our Duck Friends
Ok, these are some new friends we made. We even bought them some bird seed. And last night we grilled some hotdogs and Danielle gave them her bun. They are really cute and we hope they bring all their friends to our house. But they may not come back after we get our dog.

The Beautiful Grill
Oh yeah!! This is our prize grill. So far since we have put it together, we have grilled out almost EVERY DAY! I even grilled in the rain. And tomorrow night we are having Ann and Jay over for a cookout. We love this awesome gift, and use it to serve the Lord.

OH YEAH!!! I Almost Forgot! PHOTO BOOTH

2006-06-12T23:37:00.000-04:00

This new MAC BOOK PRO has a camera built into the screen, and also comes with a program called ,,PHOTO BOOTH,, With Photo booth you can do all kinds of silly things with the camera. Here are a couple of the many many pictures we have taken today. And from now on...as a little Freed House Tradition we are going to make everyone take a picture with us in the Photo Booth when they visit our real Freed House so we can add them to our internet Freed House. Anyway, here are a couple pictures of Danielle and I, and KELLY our new friend here. She is going to IWU this fall and came over today for Hamburgers off our new grill. Which I am going to take a picture of and share with you some time soon. The grill is awesome and LOVE IT!!!!! we grill everyday!!!!

Enjoy and come over so we can get a picture of YOU in the Freed Foto Booth

Mac Book Pro::::Back and Ready for Action!

2006-06-12T23:14:00.000-04:00

Hello Friends, as Danielle told you a couple days ago, my MAC BOOK PRO had to be taken back for repairs...and today, a delivery man showed up with it...it's back and working great. In fact, I am posting to you now from it. This is an awesome machine, and it will be a huge tool for ministry.

Couple of things I learned through my sabbatical from computers:

1. Computers take up a lot of time in my day. I would say that most of my communication and preparation for life is taken up on the computer. Through email, AIM, and blogging I give a lot of time communicating to people, the world is a smaller place, and I have access to more people now than I would have had 10 years ago, which makes preparation much different than in the past. I gather information from all over the globe, from the comfort of my office.

2. Computers give less than they receive. After losing the computer about 3 weeks ago, I realized everything I had given the machine, and how little it had given back. When it fried, I had nothing to show for my loss...but if I fried it would be just fine! ?Does that make sense?

Anyway, Danielle and I are starting our second week at Fall Creek. Sunday was great, and the congregation opened their hearts to us. After church we had lunch with Todd, Becky, Alisa, Jake, Brian, Jolie and all their cute kids. We went to the Chinese buffet, which must be a universal Wesleyan tradition for new people, because that is exactly what we did in Mukwonago {we miss Chen's Kitchen} Our time with these folks on Sunday meant alot to Danielle and I. Fishers, though 20 minutes from where Danielle grew up, is still very new to us. We miss Mukwonago often and keep looking forward to the future when we can love Fishers the same way, so this lunch was a big thing for us, and made us feel more at home here. Thanks everyone!!!!

Finally, before I push publish and crawl into bed, I want to tell you all, THANK YOU!! Your constant prayers, emails, phone calls and love have meant the world to us. In this time Danielle and I have grown closer and have recognized our deep need to depend on the Lord. We know this is all in the foot steps of the Master, and can feel His presence, so join with us in praise, in rejoicing that GOD IS ON THE MOVE!!!!

Good night!! And thanks for the comments!!

The End of the Beginning

2006-06-09T11:37:00.000-04:00

Hello Faithful Friends, Family and Followers!
Today's update comes from me, Danielle, and yes, this is my first post to the blog! I'm excited! John is busy keeping up with his masters work and getting the new office settled, me on the other hand, I'm shopping, Garage Sale-ing, visiting friends and family and now, writing on the blog.
People have been asking for an update, so here it is:
We are now in Fishers, getting settled into our apartment, but I'll back track a bit. The above pic is our truck all packed up ready to head out, again a huge thanks to everyone who helped, what would we have done with out you?!?!
Sunday afternoon, we said goodbye to our dearest friends in Mukwonago. It was heartbreaking to have to leave them. It was emotionally draining and much harder than we anticipated, but we had to remain strong and know that we are following the Lord, and He knows what He's doing, even when we don't. We trucked down the interstate right to our apartment where there was a good 35 people waiting to help us unload our truck. We were so thankful to have their smiling faces awaiting our arrival. They unloaded the truck within a hour, then went to John's office to unload all the office gear, then onto my mom and dad's to store all the "storage" stuff, aka "Junk we don't need but think we do"!! :) Everyone was so helpful, some of our family even until 2 AM that nite! We are thankful to be with people who love us so much-our family and Fall Creek Wesleyan. They are great people who have already been so kind, loving and fun!
All in all, getting settled here hasn't been too hard. We had people from the church bring groceries right away and put then into the fridge and cabinets, then on Monday morning, God sent an angel named Alisa, who helped me get my entire kitchen settled that day! Super cool! We only have about 10 boxes left to go through and decorations to hang, then we need a pantry for our kitchen to store all the food, then we'll be set!
We still miss Mukwonago, and probably will for some time, but we are trusting the Lord and His plan and feel confident that this is the path He is paving for us.

Other news: John is computer-less again, for at least 10 more days. He's heartbroken. He had a brand new Mac Book Pro, BEAUTIFUL and so cool to use and it flipped out when we fed it the Microsoft Office CD, it was SOOO flipped out it had to be sent out to be repaired, and we couldn't even get the CD out...ugh! What a drag for him!
Well anyway, This pic is us as we were about to pull out of the church parking lot last sunday, WE LOVE YOU MUK-TOWN! WE REALLY DO MISS YOU ALL!
PLEASE add a comment, let us know how you are all doing. We'll post more pics of the apartment when we get John's computer back, if not sooner!

Moved out: but not homeless

2006-06-03T18:53:00.000-04:00

Well we are all moved out. We are posting to you via Mike and Tina's home in the hills. The view for tomorrow is good. We will pull out just after second service and then try to get to Indy before 8pm. Danielle and I think we can make it, and will probably take 294 around Chicago, rather then the normal 94 straight through. We look forward to seeing everyone and getting moved in to our new home.

If you are in the area...come help us move in!! And pray for us, I am driving the 24 foot truck and pulling a car trailor pulling our Party wagon[mitz expo].

Huge thank you, and hugs [not nugs] to CrossRoad Ministries for movig our whole lives to the parking lot in 60 minutes. That was amazing!! and Steve WOW!! Packed the whole truck for us!! But my most humbling experience was when Dani, Meleissa, and Kara, washed our shower...that was so humbling...I felt like I was living out John 13. Thank you girls, and thank you everyone for all the love you gave us today!!

Pray for us, thank you, and see you later!
jf

BRB: Be Right Back!!

2006-05-30T23:48:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends, we are on the move! This whole week we are packing up our home to move to Indiana on Sunday. Right now as I write this I am surrounded by boxes, packing tape, and things just waiting to be placed in a box. It is really overwhelming! But we are working hard. This Saturday we are having a huge pack party and everyone is invited!! 10-2pm we will provide lunch.

Also, keep us in your prayers. We are feeling the pressure of upcoming missions trips, moving, new ministry, new environment, and finishing up and starting another grad class, all in one month. We need HIS strength, and patience.

Love you all!! We will post as soon as the internet is up and running on MONDAY in our new Apartment in Fishers. Keep an eye out, and as always, drop us a comment or a phone call.

OH YEAH!! I almost forgot...My iBook died...May it rest in peace, however I harvested it's brain, and will be uploading it's life back into my new MAC in less than a week. So tonight's post is brought to you by Danielle's Dell.

Samuel Logan Brengle journal entry

2006-05-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

Today I am packing...or trying to pack up my office. For me this is a very difficult and emotional task. A couple of students have placed small notes, EVERYWHERE! in my office. Notes of encouragement, scripture, and song lyrics, and They are all very humbling and encouraging to me. Of course I am saving them. But as I began to pack up my book cases, I came across a book I was handed a few weeks ago, "Journey Into Holiness". As I scanned the pages I came across this journal entry by Samuel Logan Brengle that touched my heart. Wanting to become a great preacher, he began to fervently seek the filling of the Holy Spirit. For weeks he searched the Scriptures, and then he began to examine his own heart....he writes this...

I saw the humility of Jesus, and my pride; the meekness of Jesus, and my temper; the lowliness of Jesus and my ambition; the purity of Jesus, and my unclean heart; the faithfulness of Jesus, and the deceitfulness of my hearts; the unselfishness of Jesus, and my selfishness; the trust and faith of Jesus, and my doubts and unbelief; the holiness of Jesus, and my unholiness. I got my eyes off everybody but Jesus and myself, and I came to loathe myself."

I like this quote by Samuel, because as I close up and pack up my ministry here in Mukwonago, I am so honored, humbled, and in awe that God would use a guy like me. Thank you Jesus!

the Classic, Always good for a Laugh...LEMON TEETH

2006-05-23T11:23:00.000-04:00

Saturday Night, our good friends, Steve, Cindy, Matt, Mike, Tina, and Jake took Danielle and I out to my favorite place. TEXAS ROAD HOUSE!!!! Man I love that place, and they treated us to a really fun night. Of course we were too loud, and laughing about everything...even Danielle's famous laugh came out. But as the night wore down, we broke out the lemon teeth. Who doesn't love the lemon teeth? Here are some pictures!!

PARK WALK

2006-05-20T01:04:00.000-04:00

We recently participated in our small town,s PARKWALK a fundraising event to raise awareness and funds for cancer research in the local hospital. Danielle and I were talking...it just feels like a ton of people get cancer. I remember when I was a kid it felt like elderly or much older people were effected with cancer. but now a days, it feels like anyone can become entrenched in this battle. This PARKWALK meant a lot to Danielle and I, and we are so glad Cindy W. allowed us to come in Steve's and Matt's place. When we arrived and saw all the people walking, the sight made us very emotional. We both felt like crying...which is strange. But as the walk went on, and as we talked with the survivors, family members and friends it was encouraging to hear their stories.

God moves in such dark places. Where hope is hard to find...hard to see...that is where God shows up...and that is what we all need to cling to in this broken world.

Above is a picture of our friend Kelly and her Family. Kelly is a survivor...and a great friend. Her family is very close to us, and we have loved laughing with them!!!

Kelly is not only a survivor...she surrendered her life to Christ, and leaned on Him in her dark time. Her faith challenges mine! Thanks Kelly!!

Also, we praise the Lord for taking Sue home this year. While it was hard for us to say goodbye. We know this battle was long and hard, and going home was such a relief. We love you Lord!! Thanks for the time you gave us with Sue, her faith, love, and passion for you, is still alive.

New Email:::We Are Back up and Running with Email!!!

2006-05-19T13:20:00.000-04:00

It is interesting how many people have been sending me emails...it is incredible how my life has changed since that first hotmail email address way back my senior year of high school!! Amazing!!

well here is my new email: pastorfreed@gmail.com

lots of laughs...and tears now adays around the Freed's. We are adjusting and preparing for our move on Sunday, June 4. We are expecting this day to be really hard. Pray for us friends...

and drop us a comment=)

Email Down! AHAAAAAHHHHH

2006-05-16T22:46:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends, I know millions of you have...ok thousands....ok hundreds...all right....a couple of you have been trying to email Danielle and I, the last couple of days and our email has been down. Our Church is changing servers and our email is down. We will be back up online very soon...we hope!!! No email is a crazy way to live!! I seriously don't know how we all did it before the internet. Of course feel free to drop us a comment!!

look what we found while we packed!!!

2006-05-08T00:16:00.000-04:00

During a recent cleaning out of our storage area Danielle and I discovered two very neat thing about our life...

1. Danielle has a lot of trinkets from years past. We had three large tubs full of little items that had a little story. From a crushed can Christmas decoration to a bunch of crushed pennies, Danielle and I love memories. I guess that is why we like this blog. It causes us to slow down and reflect on the memories God is giving us. When we die, and our kids burry us, they will never say we had a lot of money. But they will say we were rich with memories and friends. Thanks so much for making memories with us Mukwonago. We will forever remember how Mukwonago was the first home in our marriage, the first adventure in ministry and the our first address where we received junk mail.

2. We discovered that John was moonlighting as Batman. more like creepyman.

You won't beleive what we saw!

2006-05-08T00:12:00.000-04:00

Church signs always have cleaver things to say, like...."CH__CH, What's Missing? U R" here is one of our favorite church signs!

IN THE HOUSE!!

2006-05-08T00:01:00.000-04:00

In our Student Ministries [CrossRoad Ministries] we have small care groups called LIFE GROUPS. Now don’t be mistaken these are not Bible studies or book studies, they are cell groups where students come together to join their lives in deep community. Each LIFE Group is facilitated and led by a LIFE COACH, which Danielle is one. She has a group of 12 girls that show up to our small apartment on Arrowhead Dr. for a LIFE GROUP, and each week is different, sometimes it is creating an intimacy map, or reflecting on a different Fruit of the Spirit [Gal. 5] or tackling life issuse and sharing burdens or victories with each other. Either way, I only catch a glimpse of it, because the group really cares about each other, so they hold tight to the policy what is said in the group stays in the group. However….
This past Monday, Danielle asked me to get the tarp out of the garage because she was going to be doing some tie-dyeing….IN THE HOUSE!!! Let’s just say, I was really nervous but also very proud. You see Danielle is an awesome LIFE Coach. She totally knows what it means to coach students to become the Christians God has created them to be. Here is what our LIFE Coaches committed to be in the lives of students…

Encourage:
___Through healthy adult relationships between students and adult LIFE COACHES we hope to encourage students in their daily spiritual journey from adolescence to early adult hood. Encouraging them in their unique S.H.A.P.E. and personal call on their life.

Empower:
Providing students with the tools to…
___REACH OUT to their friends and family in evangelism and servant leadership.
___REACH IN with specific elements of the Christian LIFE: DO – KNOW -- BE
___REACH UP with a heart of worship in all that we do.

Invest:
___To offer creatively designed programming focused on providing students with opportunities to use their gifts to serve to the Lord in their world.
___To provide literature, web content, and music that will strengthen and excel their spiritual growth.
___To Provide a place specifically designed for their generation to gather together in a family style atmosphere that gives acceptance, comfort, and challenge in their spiritual growth.

Well, our LIFE Groups are going to be something we miss a great deal about CrossRoad Ministries. but the philosophy and desire for deep community is something we will always strive for. And if you were wondering, after the night, Danielle said tie-dyeing in the house, was really scary, and decided it was a once in a life time fun thing to do. But probably would not attempt it again unless it were outdoors!

Subscriptions

2006-05-06T00:23:00.000-04:00

Recently I was thinking of getting a subscription to another magazine called HOMILETICS, when I realized, Danielle and I get a ton of magazines. Currently we are getting, GROUP, RELEVANT, RADIANT, CHRISTIANITY TODAY, READERS DIGEST, O [buy it off the shelf], Mental Floss[subscription just ended], OUTREACH, BOOKS AND CULTURE, WESLEYAN LIFE, AND OF COURSE the TRIANGLE. But I have pictured my favorites for you to see. Here is why we get so many magazines...

TOP 10 REASONS TO Subscribe to Magazines!!
1. Easy read: Most articles are quickly written to be quickly read. They quickly get to the point, share the information and leave with a little smarter, in about five minutes.
2. Most Magazine articles are the gold minded from larger books. For example, most of CHRISTIANITY TODAY articles are excerpts from much lager books, that go on and on. but an article is quick and to the point.
3. A Magazine is fun, great pictures, interesting places, and quick humor.
4. Magazines capture current cultural trends faster then a book. A book takes months if not years to be polished and published. A magazine has only one to two months to reprint itself.
5. You can share an article with a friend much easier. For me to photocopy pages in a book would be time consuming, but with a magazine I can copy an article and pass it around to my friends.
6. Magazines are specific and purposeful. When I open OUTREACH magazine, I know what I am going to be reading about.
7. Cheaper then a volume of books. I recently got RELEVANT for my friend Pat for 6 bucks!! you can't beat that!!
8. Who does not love to get cool mail!!!
9. They make great gifts!! and cheap!!
10. They go great in a bathroom.

Bonus Reason: Stay Relevant with the times with current culture magazines

Well just a thought..enjoy your magazine subscriptions!!

BABY GOT BOOK!

2006-05-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

I love this VIDEO!! You have to Check this out!! Danielle and I bought the DVD!! You should too!!

NEW HOME

2006-05-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

Well Danielle and I were in Indiana this past Thurs, Fri, and Saturday looking for a new home. After searching and seeing EVERY apartment complex in the area we finally decided on Sand Creek Woods Apartment right off 116th street. We really loved the area and the complex offers a community pool, hot tub, indoor half court basketball/volleyball court, and a work out gym. Also each apartment has a garden tub and wood burning fire place. We are so excited about this new home!

Also, Danielle and I will be able to adopt a new family member. A precious little dog. We have been wanting a dog for years, and with a new apartment comes the ability to adopt. We will be sure to share all the pictures with you!! Keep checking into our blog as we will update you our friends and family with our adventure. Our move in date is set for June 4. Continue to pray for our family here in Wisconsin, as we make this transition.

Alan Jackson: Precious Memories

2006-04-22T10:27:00.000-04:00

My Good friend Dan W. let me borrow his new Alan Jackson CD! Wow it is awesome!! If you are like me and you grew up with those old camp meeting songs, you will love this one!! I feel like I am back at Victory Camp in Columbus, Ohio! Alan Jackson does an incredible job at capturing that old time sound in the hymns that many of us grew up listening too. Check it out for your self HERE.

Thanks Dan!!!

Also, pray for Dan and I. Today Dan found an opportunity through the Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts to share the Great News of Jesus Christ. He has been a Boy Scout Troop leader for years, and asked if I could be the speaker at this year's spring retreat. We are praying that God uses our efforts to speak to hearts.

Easter is here!! Celebrate the Great News!!

2006-04-19T16:54:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of our good friend Matt W. enjoying Easter breakfast at the church!! Matt is a good friend who is also apart of CrossRoad Ministries.

We had a great day of Easter. Our day started by being at the church at 6:45 to help set up for breakfast! Also, we had a little petting zoo for children to see baby chickens, bunnies, and rumor has it a goat...but i did not see that. Here is a picture of Danielle and I with some Chicken McNuggets.

The day ended with some guitar playing with Matt and Danielle. Matt is just picking the guitar up and really doing a good job. Danielle on the other hand prefers just to strum, while I do the chords for her=)

To all the Danielle Fans of the World

2006-04-13T13:33:00.000-04:00

To all the Danielle Fans of the World here is another Great Picture of Danielle!! We went for a walk at Mukwonago County Park last week, and I snapped this shot of her. She is standing with a beautiful back drop of the rolling hills of Wisconsin. Come visit us before we move back to flat Indiana!!
Today, my Uncle Dale and Aunt Marilyn is coming over on their way back through from a speaking engagement in IOWA! We hope to show them a great time at [ http://www.primequarter.com ] PRIME QUARTER!!!!!
My new Favorite restaurant!!

Easter Prep

2006-04-13T13:12:00.000-04:00

Hey Friends, as you know Easter is knocking at the front door, but Palm Sunday was a great day for Danielle and I. Our local church family celebrated the life of Christ through an all church drama. The choir sang, and members of the congregation acted out the diffrent characters in the story of Grace. We even had Pat R. be Jesus. He did a great job!! Here are a few pictures we snaped with our new camera!! Enjoy! What is your church doing for the season? Better yet, what are YOU doing to celebrate Grace?

I love this picture of Jesus at the copier!!! What if Jesus worked in your office!!!

Danielle and I dressed the part. I was John the Baptist and Danielle played a HOT blond Jewish girl...she played her part perfect...except for the Jewish part=)

New FE-115

2006-04-06T00:24:00.000-04:00

Danielle and I just purchased a brand spankin new Olympus FE-115 Digital Camera. We are excited! Enjoy our first picture, of course we took of a picture of something cute=)

Hopefully you will see a lot more pictures of where we are currently living, as well as our new destination in Indiana. If you have any great pictures, we would love to see them!! Please send them our way!!

Oh yeah, all of you who love to blog, you have to check you People Fisher. I am currently a founding member, and would love to see you on there!! http://peoplefisher.com/johnfreed --come join me!!

Good night! That paper for my final class is almost done!! I am procrastinating right now!!

Last week of my 1st class

2006-04-04T09:57:00.000-04:00

I have just started my last week of my first class of Grad work with Indiana Wesleyan Univerisity. I can't believe I am working to ge my Masters. If only Mr. Chapman from the 6th grade could see me now. I wanted to share something with you from a book I just finished called, "Managing the Non-Profit Organization" it's as good as it sounds. But Peter Drucker does an awesome job in this book, and my professor, Robert Whitesel jotted down a few of his favorite quaotes and I wanted to share them with you. Enjoy, and I hope you can use them to reflect on the management of your life, or ministry. If you ever get a chance to sit down and read a good book, don't pick this one up, it is pretty heady and not very entertaining. But a great resource!

Forum: Epilogue
Date: 03-31-2006 22:07
Author: Whitesel, Robert
Subject My Favorite Drucker Quotes

From Peter Drucker's “Managing the Non-Profit Organization”

“A leader needs to see himself in a position of indebtedness. Leaders are given the gift of leadership by those who choose or agree to follow.” (Drucker, p. 37)

“Even if you have market leadership, non-customers always outnumber customers.” (Drucker, p. 100). Elmer Towns said once: “As long as there is one person in your community who doesn't know Jesus as Savior, your church isn't big enough

“Write down what you expect to happen. Nine months or a year later, compare your expectations to what actually happened.” (Drucker, p. 197)

David Hubbard said, “I think a CEO has two primary areas of service. I have to care for the vice-presidents, whom I supervise…And I have to care for the trustees.” (Drucker, p. 173)

“Paying serious attention to self-development - your own and that of everyone in the organization - is not a luxury for non-profit executives.” (Drucker, p. 189)

Inviting each volunteer to answer two questions twice a year. “What have I learned? What difference to my own life has my [ministry] at the church been making?” (Drucker, p. 190)

Drucker's questions were great. “Where have I made an impact? Where do my clients need me-not just want me? Where have I been wasting their time and mine? Where should I concentrate next year so as not only to give my best but also to get the most out of it?” (p. 191)

Drucker maintains, “Probably the best of the nuts and bolts of self-development is the practice of keeping score on yourself.” (p. 224)

“Write down what you expect to happen. Nine months or a year later, compare your expectations to what actually happened.” (Drucker, p. 197)

“It is always painful for me to see how great the gap is between what I should have done and what I did do.” (p. 224

A letter to the ones we love

2006-03-29T16:58:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends,

Almost three years ago, the Lord led us away from a group of people we loved deeply at Daybreak Community church in Lapel, Indiana. We were newly engaged and knew that we needed a full time ministry where the Lord would use us. At that point in our lives he led us right to Our Savior’s Wesleyan church.

For the past three years you have been so wonderful to us. You have showed us love, and given us such great encouragement. We have made many great memories, like the canon on New Years Eve, sledding in the front yard, Ultimate Frisbee in the summers, Winter Rush, Noah’s Ark, and of course youth camp. We have laughed together at Sunday Night Live and LiveWire, and cried together over an open chair. We have grown in our walk with Christ, some still just beginning. Through the years we have committed deeper to one another as a family in LIFE Groups and Sunday night worship. Danielle and I see each of you as brothers and sisters, and have grown to love you so much! God has blessed us with an awesome youth group.

When we first arrived in Mukwonago, we were nervous, lonely and scared. We quickly poured ourselves into ministry and into your lives. We have loved watching you grow up, and have success in your lives and we rejoice in what God is doing in and through you. So as that first year came, we learned how God wanted us to spread the message of Jesus Christ to Mukwonago.

We learned that you love to be honest and real, so we shared Jesus honestly with people, and talked to them about the real impact Jesus can have on a life. Many of us experienced Christ in a fresh way.

We learned that you love to serve the Lord. Through rake and run, soup kitchens in Milwaukee and the missions trip to the dangerous South Chicago, we were able to join in the work of Jesus Christ in places where people were desperate, hurting and in great need. And we loved it! We laughed, cried, and even picked up glass so other kids could play tag.

We learned that you are full of love. We feel so blessed to be a part of your lives. Each one of you has invited us into your life, and offered us trust and a big smile. We needed you, and you allowed us to be your friends. Best friends!

We learned that God’s plan for Mukwonago was much greater than the two of us. We have seen God use you, time after time to bring people to SNL! or LIVEWire! God has used you to start chapel services before wrestling meets, morning prayer groups, or inviting friends to “See you at the Pole”. God used you in incredible ways.

As Danielle and I served in Mukwonago, we began to sense Him building us into the couple He has created us to be. We learned how to work together and how to serve the Lord with one heart and one vision. We know that God has used the students of CRM to develop us, probably more than we have developed them. Through the years we have worked hard to pass on to you, our deep love for Jesus Christ. Our life mission is to tell people of the transforming power of Jesus Christ. We truly hope you have gained this.

However, in the past couple of months we have felt God calling us to another adventure. We are not exactly sure where God is taking us, but we do know that He is calling us to obedience, trust, and readiness. We pass this letter on to you and your friends as a token of love and hopefully a tool of understanding. We would not trade our 3 years in Mukwonago for anything. We love and appreciate all of you and we see clearly many reasons why the Lord led us here 3 years ago. We know clearly that God has a plan and a calling on all of our lives and we have to be open to Him and the plans He has for us. While this may be a hard spot in the plan for all of us, we have to trust God, and be confident that he has this all in his control.

We want you to know that we did not go looking for a new church to serve in. We did not send out resumes, we were in the midst of our everyday ministry here when we received an invitation to explore the possibility of ministering in Fishers, Indiana. We took the invitation, after much prayer, and spent a few days with the people there. After more prayer, we were offered the position there, and we felt deep in our hearts that this was the next step in God’s plan for us. Many of our hearts

desires and personal goals were met in this new position.

We understand that our decisions seem very confusing, and not very concrete. And we understand if you feel very angry with us. But we want you to know that we love you, that this decision was extremely difficult for us. We hate the idea of moving from Mukwonago, and the people we love so much, but at the same time, we must be obedient to God’s calling on our lives. We must be sensitive to the Holy Spirits guidance to new places.

We would love to talk with each of you about this, and hear your hearts. We hope that in the next couple months you would call us, and let us know how you feel. We want to share with you; our hearts, and hopefully this letter will help a little. But we want you to know that this decision is not based on anything that this church or you did not offer us. It is based on a calling God has placed on our life, the same calling that led us here to you.

God is good in all He does. For us to teach that, we must be willing to live that out in every aspect of our life. We teach and talk with you all the time about the plan God has for your life, and at the same time, we are trying to live out God’s plan for John and Danielle. While moving is going to be so hard, we know that our new adventure will be exciting and God centered.

We love you,

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 1:3-8

Worship in my life

2006-03-16T00:18:00.000-05:00

2 Core Beliefs I have made about Worship

For my personal devotions I have been reading Leviticus and Exodus. Both books are very clear about how God communicates and dwells with His people. Here are a few things I have come to a conclusion about in my own personal life concerning worship.

Less always equals More:
The less of myself in the worship time, weather in music, in the Word, or quietly hiking through the woods, the more I can focus on my Heavenly Father and less on me, the more of Him I will experience and rest in.
As I read Leviticus and Exodus, I am seeing a chosen people who complain and groan about their issues, and give no concern to the work or power God is displaying all around them. Have I done this? Would God’s anger burn against my selfishness? Does this show up in my life? These are all questions I have been asking myself as I read through the scriptures. I can’t help but reflect on what John the Baptist said concerning Jesus, “He must increase I must decrease” John 3:30

God Directs Worship, I only can participate:
The God in the Old Testament is the same God of March 2006. I believe longs to be worshiped; I believe He longs to direct our worship. We participate in the moving of a Holy God when we worship. Worship, is giving worth and ownership of our lives to something. For me, worship is only given to the God the Bible outlines. As I read God’s Word I am worshiping, as I take out the trash, I worship. Worship is not something we step in and out of, it is much greater, much deeper. Worship is a lifestyle, a holy participation of our spirit participating in the work of the Holy Spirit. David describes this as “deep calls to deep” Psalm 42
Do I really live this way? Or do I emotionally, or rationally step in and out of a worship task in my life? If Sunday morning worship is not my style, do I feel like I have not been filled, or have not worshiped? Is it possible that worship is not about what I do, but deeper, to who I am? Or is Worship just as much what I do, and less of who I am right now?

John

Subway Vegi Max in our House

2006-03-14T01:48:00.000-05:00

Danielle and I are so happy tonight! We have had a great day, we bought a new TV...paid off our Car...and found our favorite veggie burger at Wal-Mart.

For the past 9 years i have loved Subway's Veggie Max veggie Burger sandwich, which is not found in all parts of the nation. But when we moved to Mukwonago, Wisconsin, i introduced Danielle to them...and she loved them! They are really awesome. So for the past 3 years we have been enjoying these delicious veggie burgers at Subway. Well Danielle was tired of paying the Subway price and she did some research and found that we could buy them at our Wal-mart. They are awesome and a perfectly delicious midnight snack while we watch our new TV!

I recommend running out right now and picking up a pack for the people you love! Yum Yum!

Morning Star Farms Garden Veggie Burger!

Some more Pictures of fun in New Mexico

2006-03-11T02:15:00.000-05:00

Here are some more pictures of the adventures we had with our great friends Mike and Tina. They used to live in NM before moving to Wisconsin, and before it got cold and gray, we took a quick trip out west. It was an awesome time!:::Thanks Mike and Tina for a great time! We have to do it again!!! This time Texas!!

Sick, but remembering New Mexico

2006-03-11T02:11:00.000-05:00

Danielle and I are really sick this week, and really don't have time to slow down. but we found our CD of pictures from our recent trip to New Mexico and we wanted to share then with you.

Remembering New Mexico!

2006-03-11T01:12:00.000-05:00

Danielle and I are both really sick this week! We have stuffed up heads, and horrible sinus headaches. Here are a couple of pictures we have been looking at that reminds us of our vacation out ot New Mexico this past September. It was an awesome trip and hopefully we will be back out there soon!!

Big thanks to our friends, Mike and Tina Cybularz for introducing us to Green Chilis and Balloons=)

STOP! Hammer Time!!!

2006-03-01T23:28:00.000-05:00

Yeah we all love him! I even wore his pants in the third grade! Now He is a LINK on my Blog. I am so proud to call him Brother! If you get a chance, swing over and take some hammer time and check out what the coolest rapper in town is doing. For me, I have recently downloarded "Can't Touch This" on Itunes...just to reflect and rap with.

Can't Touch this!
jf

scared, but ready for my new adventure!

2006-02-15T08:52:00.000-05:00

well, today I am sitting in Dr. Bob Whitesel's grad class at IWU. I am scared, as I looking at the next 2 years of masters classes. Pray for me! But at the same time i am excited, and motivated. This is the best time in my life to do this!

If you have not considered Indiana Wesleyan University...you are missing out on a great education!

10 Reasons Why I Love Danielle

2006-02-10T01:00:00.000-05:00

Well as you all know it is Valentines Day this Tuesday! Are you ready? Danielle and I will be at IWU starting my grad work, so it will not be real romantic. But we are planning on driving down to Indianapolis for Mongolian BBQ, one of our all time favorite places to eat!

So I would like to share with you, 20 Reasons Why I Love Danielle Freed [in no particular order]
1. Her playful attitude. She is always looking for new ways to have fun
2. She is an awesome cook. She can whip up anything!
3. She loves the little things in life...like the snow tonight
4. She is picky, which may be annoying to some, but I find joy in knowing she picked me
5. She is cheap, I have never met anyone who knows how to save a dollar better
6. She loves to watch “Starting Over”
7. She falls asleep in every movie…even at the movie theater
8. She loves to stare at people with me in the mall
9. She knows how to make a Carmel Macchiato with an extra shot, sugar free vanilla, skim milk, 3 splenda, whip cream, extra carmel-dry. And she sounds really cool when she orders it at Starbucks.
10. She loves Diet Coke Black Cherry Vanilla
11. She shares an office with me
12. She plays GameBoy before she goes to bed
13. Her hard drive on her phone is almost filled with pictures
14. She wears retainers when she sleeps…it is so cute to hear her slur her words
15. She still sleeps with a teddy bear and blankie
16. She is my partner in every aspect of ministry
17. She buys me Fat Free Ice Cream
18. She encourages me in my grad work
19. She has a beautiful laugh…it makes everyone smile
20. She lets me hold the remote, but we have to watch her shows.

I just love that girl!

The Diet...or Die trying

2006-02-10T00:50:00.000-05:00

Well, I am on a diet. Yeah, I have gained 10lbs give or take 10lbs since I have gotten married, and I really need to loose it. So I have cut out all sugar and going Low Fat. It is tough, but going well. I would like to loose 20lbs by April. Danielle is really healthy, but I am just not good at eating right. Any good advice? Drop me an email.

Snow Boarding with Kate and Sam

2006-02-02T23:34:00.000-05:00

Danielle and I have a hobby. It may sound a little weird, but we love it. Because our schedules are so flexible, and we don’t have any children, people always ask us to house sit for them. At first we agreed to the responsibility out of love and friendship. Now, we volunteer because it is always an adventure. One house we love to house sit has a hot tub, and another has a wonderful dog to play with. Every house is different every house sitting is fun!

Danielle and I love people as you know. Sometimes at the mall we just buy a drink and watch them. So interesting, every one different, everyone has a different story. Imagine if you could spend a week living in their house…doesn’t that sound like fun?

This week we are hanging out with our two good friends Samantha and Katie McGinnis, while we are house sitting for their parents. In the morning we see Sam and Kate off to school and then we head to work. In the evening they come home, we have fake family dinner and then they do homework and we all sit by the fire and share stories about the day. It is an awesome time with us to really get to know these girls and see life from their angle. They are really great gals. It is just like playing house, but with a real house, and real kids, and real dogs, and real responsibility. This is fun!

Tonight, Sam and Kate invited Danielle and I to go snow boarding at ALPINE VALLEY SKI RESORT 10 miles from our home. This was our first time snow boarding, but we felt confident going because Sam is an instructor.

Well the night was full of spills and crashing falls. But we figured out the 3 most important elements of snow boarding.

1. Don’t look back, keep your eyes in front of you! You can only go forward, so be aware of where you are going, don’t be concerned about where you have been.
2. Keep your knees bent. You do not use your upper body in snow boarding. All the control is in your legs and stance.
3. Keep yourself centered on the board. If you are ahead or behind on the board, you will fall.

If you’re a youth pastor, you can probably see the topics now. I have already decided to start a series next month called, SNOW BOARDING THROUGH LIFE or the Snowboarders Guide to Life, should be interesting.

Well here are some pictures of our adventure tonight. Danielle has a fat knee from falling, and I almost crushed Sam when she was showing me how to slide slip.

Well tomorrow we are off to LaCross, Wisconsin, where Danielle and I are leading a Youth Event for Sand Lake Wesleyan, should be fun!

If anyone needs us to house sit, just let us know. We are really good at it.

2006-02-02T23:25:00.000-05:00

The Shirt

2006-01-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

First, let me start by saying thank you to all of you who have called, and emailed your encouragement to Danielle and I. It really has been a huge blessing to know that our friends, and family were there praying for us. Prayer is such a gift from God.

We have been doing a lot of talking with many of Clare’s middle school teachers. They were instructed not to talk about the events of Clare’s suicide, so that left a lot of imagination, and unanswered questions. But the Lord has graciously opened many doors for Danielle and I to minister to people who need to hear about Jesus.

Thank you for joining us in this journey.

Well, on to more issues. Christmas for us this year was hairy. We traveled a ton, and celebrated 5 different Christmas parties. The first being the Freed family Christmas in Detroit during Thanksgiving week, second being with our youth ministry Christmas shing dig, third with the Walls Family Christmas in Lapel, Indiana, the onto Cole Christmas and finally a quiet little time with just Danielle and I. Each one was so special and perfect. We really had a wonderful Christmas.

But the laugh is this, Rosie and Danielle bought me a gag gift. They purchased this rainbow shirt as a joke, and when I opened the package, I really liked it. I don’t think they were expecting this response from me, because Danielle quickly told me, it was for a laugh, and that I was not allowed to wear it!!

But I did, because I really liked it. However, we made a deal, I would wear the rainbow shirt to Sunday Night LIVE! (one of our youth programs) and allow the students to vote if I should keep it or not. Well, the vote was pretty clear, and I no longer wear the rainbow shirt. But I would love to know what your thoughts are of my cool rainbow shirt?

You have style right? You know what is cool?

What do you think? Should I ever wear this shirt again? Should I pull it out of retirement, turn my back on my Wisconsin friends and wife, and wear the rainbow shirt loud and proud?

Either way…I still like it…but probably will not wear it…bummer

For more of what we do, surf over to our ministry site. www.ShowMeCRM.org

Tramatic Time for us

2006-01-11T02:25:00.000-05:00

Hey Friends,
Well it has been a long time since my last post. My plan was to post a long Christmas/Thanksgiving/New Years Summary of my life. Much has taken place since my last post. My life has been extremely busy. Danielle and I put more then 60 hours of driving from Detroit, Indianapolis, Grand Rapids, and many trips to the Windy City for shopping and site seeing. Chicago is beautiful at Christmas.

Thanksgiving was great with my brothers James and Joseph, and Mom and Dad. It is awesome how God has blessed my parents in the past year. My mom has lost almost 150lbs in almost a year. My father is senior Pastor at First Missionary Church of Clarkston, Michigan. Which is the same town as Kid Rock.

Christmas was great also. Spending time in Indianapolis with Danielles parents and little bro Micah. It is crazy to see your little bro-in-law be 15 years old and tapping 6.2---and I know he isn’t finished growing!!

The many showers of gifts from our families, friends, church family, and youth ministry blessed Danielle and me. We are truly blessed, and look forward to seeing our family again.

At the beginning of January we went to LOGOS5 with a group of student in our youth group worship band. Danielle and I did not offer this trip to our entire youth ministry, because we wanted to invest the time, and energy into a few. So we took 10 students to LOGOS05 and had an awesome time. We were challenge to read God’s Word through in a year.

For me the most challenging time for me at LOGOS5 was the talk my Maralin Lazalo [sp –sorry]. She challenged my heart, and my passion to tell people about Jesus.

While at LOGOS5 I was asked to program a Battle of the Band with IWU. Danielle and I used this as a leadership development project for our students. They did an awesome job setting up the stage, passing out bead necklaces and showing other high school bands where to set up, and what to expect. I was so proud of them, and how much patience they had, and willingness to serve.

I start grad classes in about a month through Indiana Wesleyan University. I am excited about this next educational adventure.

Also, my friend and mentor Chris Conrad has recently moved to Indiana to take a new position at the Wesleyan Church headquarters. So I have been in search for a new mentor. Which is nothing new for me, because since the age of 18, I have had a mentor. Someone who was usually an, older, wiser person who I could rub shoulders with. To learn from them the wisdom and knowledge they have gained through the years. So, when I first came to Wisconsin, Chris adopted me and took me under his wing. Monthly we would try to get together and share our hearts about marriage, ministry, and personal growth.

My father planted a church when I was 12. The drop zone style of church plant was very hard, and difficult for my family. I am grateful for the experience, and much of who I am today, and my passion to tell people about Jesus, is because of that stage. But the idea of church planting has always been a passion of mine, but also a deep fear. Chris, helped me move passed that fear, and tone my vision for church planting. Thank you Chris!

So, since, I was with out a mentor, I began my search again for a new person to learn, experience and gain wisdom from. I found Mark Vincent from Design for Ministry (which can easily be found on the www). Mark’s children have attend our youth ministry for a few years now. Mark and his wife Lori both have done youth ministry, and many different ministry leadership positions. These are two people Danielle and I, would consider heroes. Mark has agreed to meet with me for the next 6 months as I start my grad work, and begin a new step in my method of disciple making.

Danielle is starting her 2nd semester as Children’s director of Our Savior's Wesleyan Church. It has been awesome to see her pour into these kids, and really sink her teeth into a new type of ministry for her, leadership development. We have both grown a ton, in our ministry styles in July. Sharing an office space, and ministry goals has opened so many new doors for marriage growth. We have learned to work together in a deeper way. We really depend on each other a bunch! I really don’t know how to do ministry with out her.

With all this said---I have to tell you the real reason Danielle or I have not posted. As many of you know Danielle not only works for Our Savior’s Wesleyan Church, she also works for our local school district as the LINKS After School program director. Every Wednesday a bus pulls up to the church’s front door and 15-20 7th and 8th grade students unload for an afternoon of hilarious games, relaxing, homework help, and mentoring. I help out too by training, and encouraging the sr. high student mentors. Danielle has had this program for almost 3 years.

Two years ago a young lady in the 7th grade came to the after school program. Her name was Clare. Clare was a bright, talented young lady that displayed a unique ability in art, and design. She would always wear clothes that were not in-style, but were her style. She would always use the church parking lot as her canvas. Danielle and I would supply the side walk chalk. When people were sad or down, she would offer to draw their picture. Which always brightened people’s day.
For three semesters of school Clare came to LINKS. Every Wednesday, she would walk off the bus and into our lives. We laughed together, and often times shared stories about how we each grew up. Clare was always invited to our Youth group, but she could never convince her parents to bring her.

Clare, graduated the 8th grade and went into the 9th grade. Which means she no longer could come to the after school program. Which meant Danielle and I lost touch with her since Sept.

This past Monday night, Clare committed suicide in her brothers bedroom. This was a kick in the gut for Danielle and I. Our hearts have been broken. Many feelings of guilt, and “what if’s” run through our minds. We have not slept a full night yet. Last night we went to the funeral, and today, I did not go to work. We have been living in shock.

However, in the midst of this storm, God has been speaking to us. Through His Word, long times in silent prayer, and talking it out with other believers, Danielle and I are mourning, and being stretched.

For Danielle, it has been a constantly in her thoughts, she has had a really hard time sleeping, and constantly is thinking about the whole situation. For her it is like an ache in her heart. She tries to find relief, but has found she just needs to go through the pain of this loss.

For me, I have gotten boldness out of all of this, as if someone has released a hungry man deep in my soul. I have never had a greater passion or fervor to tell people about Jesus. Every time I meet someone, or have a chance to have meaningful talk with someone, I am driven to tell him or her about things that matter. I want to tell them about Jesus.

I am torn up inside to think that Clare may have come into my church, through an outreach my church had, and I may have not told her about Jesus. Sure I may have been a nice guy, and even driven her home once. But did I ever really come out and challenge her stance in life. Did I tell her about Jesus? Or just play fun games with her, play Christian music, and hand her a flyer with the next great youth event CRM was having? Did I tell her more about my youth ministry than I did Jesus?

Danielle and I have been blessed to have a growing vibrant ministry. Every student we have has been a blessing from God. And we work our tails off weekly to disciple, develop leaders, develop methods of discipleship, and teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. God has doubled the size of our ministry every year since we have been here. Not because of anything we have done, but because of the huge need this community has. But often times I fall prey to having a heart that cares more about the marketing of youth ministry than I do of the evangelism of Jesus Christ. THIS WHOLE SITUATION HAS BEEN AN AWAKENING.

Tonight, there was a student led candle light vigil at the local park. Danielle, a group of students and myself went. With my candle in hand I asked God for an opportunity to tell someone about Jesus. Just someone, who is lost, hungry and hurting. As we arrived their must have been 40-50 student huddled together trying to stay warm on a cold Wisconsin night. As we began to light our candles, Megan, the group organizer asked if I would share. She said, she was not sure what to say, but knew something needed to be said.

Tonight, at Field Park in Mukwonago, I told them about Jesus. I told them that His love is great. I told them that His healing goes deep, and that life doesn’t have to end. I told them of salvation and new birth. I told them nothing about my youth ministry, or about the cool event we are having on Saturday. I just told them about Jesus.

Pray for us friends. We are hurting, hungry, and ready to move from this heartache. God’s been moving and breaking new ground in our hearts. I am not sure exactly for what reason. My prayer for you, is that if you get the chance, and if you don’t get one, make one, but tell someone about Jesus. You may not have them next semester.

The friend we lost

2006-01-11T01:44:00.000-05:00

Our Friend Clare at LINKS last year.
We will miss you forever Clare.

Clare is our blond haired Friend sitting in the chair on the far left.

Danielle at home

2006-01-11T01:38:00.000-05:00

Here is Danielle in our kitchen cooking holiday goodies.

Christmas Visit from family

2006-01-11T01:34:00.000-05:00

It was awesome to have Danielles family here for a few days in the begining of December. I have been meaning to share this picture with you.

Thank you, Gandma and Grandpa Cole, Nancy, Charity, and Rosie for spending a couple days with us! We love it!!