If you can name the band that sings the song with those lyrics, you get a big fat…….nothing. Sorry don’t have anything to give you, but it would be fun if you knew what song I was thinking of. But really it has been a while since my last update, so I thought I would fill you in on the madness of the Ds.
Denise is now in the third trimester and getting a little more round and every bit more adorable. Love her to pieces. We had our first two-week dr. appointment last week and so far everything is, and I quote, “Perfect”. It’s kind of reassuring to hear that everything is going right on schedule. Denise is still feeling great, for those of you wondering. We won’t be posting any more baby pics, simply because there won’t be any more until little Katherine Jane Woolery gets here. Ultrasounds get expensive when you have to pay for them yourself. Insurance covered the first one and we got to pay for the second. One of the doctors we have been seeing told us that if they could find something that might look a little off that usually they can get the insurance company to pitch in and pay for another one, but like I said before, Katherine is progressing perfectly.

So a lot to be thankful for. I’ve now been in business for myself for a whopping 2 months and although it is starting out slowly, I am hopeful for things to pick up. I’ve started creating looping motion backgrounds, like what you would find at most churches today using a screen with words. I’ve really enjoyed getting to do this and am currently exploring the opportunity to sell some of these to bring in some sort of passive income. I’m hopeful, cause I think they’re pretty cool! Just want to say a big shout out to all of you guys out there praying for us and let you know that God is up to something cool out here in the Valley of the Sun and we’re excited to be a part of whatever it is for however long God wants us to be a part of it.

If there’s anything that you might need prayer for, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment (you can be anonymous). We would love to join you in prayer. I actually do read every comment posted, because if I don’t, they don’t get posted ;^)> So that’s that. Hopefully I can take some more time soon to update again. Talk to you later!

As some of you know, Denise and I are on quite an adventure, and I think God wants it this way. We, as previously announced in previous posts, are expecting a baby girl! We are both extremely excited about this and at the same time experiencing some of the nervousness that goes along with becoming a new parent.

Along with this new responsibility, we both felt that God was and is wanting to do some pretty incredible things in our lives. So trusting in His guidance, we have stepped out and taken a God-sized risk. We have both started new businesses. I am now the owner of Brandage Design, a graphic design business focusing on building business and organization identity systems as well as some WordPress website customization. Denise is excited about launching her business, Forever Confections, a “candy bar” business, where she would have the opportunity to put her awesome creativity to use constructing and coordinating a buffet of yummy candies and sweets. Yes, this seems like a lot, but without doubt, we believe in a God who gives us big dreams so that He can show up and make them happen

Day 1 is under our belts! So far this trip has been a ton of fun! Spent half of day one driving and the other half at the beach. I never knew that boogie boarding could be so much fun! Big props to Angel for teaching me how to read the waves and Chris and Kaylin Bennet for bringing the boards. I had a great time. As the sun started setting, we looked out over the crashing waves and saw a small pod of dolphins swimming. Some of them even got to within 100 yards of the shore. They are quite amazing.

Post beach fun, we sat and just admired the sunset, knowing that God has a special task for us this week…Open Your Eyes!

I came across a good post on Pastor Steven Furtick’s blog today. In it he talks about how the issue with the American church is not that we need more depth in our study of the bible, but rather our depth needs to start forming from our application of the truth that we are discovering. This post echoes a lot of what I feel God teaching me right now. I feel like I have gained a lot of theological knowledge, but need something more. God requires more than just our cognitive comprehension of His existence and purpose for our lives. We have to act on that knowledge. We have to step into the purpose that we have been given.

Here’s the full article.

Forgiveness is a curious thing, especially in today’s culture. It was the topic for this past week’s message at LifeChurch East Valley. As soon as the pastor announced that he would be speaking on forgiveness, God began to flood my mind with past thoughts on the subject.

The first story that came to mind is found in Matthew 18. Peter approaches Christ with this question,”If my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him. Seven times?” Jesus responds,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven.” I think in the American church we have changed Jesus’ words to say something more along the lines of,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven…and if their offense doesn’t put me in a position that would require me to forgive them again.”

So this is just something that I’ve been wrestling with after the message this weekend, not a concrete idea, but just that an idea:

Are we to forgive, but not forget?

That’s what it seems most of us think about forgiveness. But from what I’ve read, this story and others, I’m convinced that forgiveness has a bit to do with forgetting the offense. I’m reminded of the story of Hosea. Hosea, a prophet of God, is commanded by God to marry a prostitute. God tells him that she is going to cheat on you and leave you, but you are going to love her and forgive her and take her back. What a picture for us of unconditional forgiveness and love! In the message this weekend, Miles Paluden drew a relationship between one’s reaction to being wronged before Christ and the reaction Christ said was better. Here’s the gist of what he was pointing to:

It was an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, but after Christ, our reaction is forgive because you have been forgiven.

In light of that, does Christ forgive and remember what we’ve done wrong. I know that we will be held accountable for our lives, but does Christ treat us differently (like we often treat those whom we “forgive”) when we’ve been forgiven? In all accounts of forgiveness I’ve read, never do I remember seeing conditions being placed on what is offense is forgive-able, or the offender treated differently because of the offense.

So, is it wrong to forgive and forget, or is it the only way to truly forgive? Thoughts?