Tyler & Natalie Ward

Up - movie review...

2009-06-04T09:49:00.002-04:00

Natalie and I went to see the movie "Up" this past Sunday on our anniversary. It was awesome, and I would highly recommend it. I read a review of the movie by one of my favorite pastors, Greg Boyd. Click HERE to read his review.

We're All In This Together

2009-06-03T14:46:00.001-04:00

The New Smart Car??

2009-05-15T11:10:00.001-04:00

I didn't think I would see a smaller car than Phil and Kathy T's Smart Car...here it is though.

New Blog - Awaken Mercy

2009-05-14T22:13:00.000-04:00

I needed an outlet for writing and posting about some of the things God is teaching me and challenging me with. I could post some of these things here on our personal blog, but I would prefer to use this blog as a journal for some of the things we are up to as a family.

So if you're interested, in addition to this blog and Elias' blog, check out my new blog called Awaken Mercy at www.awakenmercy.com

Awaken Mercy

A Perfect Mother's Day

2009-05-10T23:06:00.010-04:00

We had a perfect Mother's Day today. The day started out with a great time at church. Then we went to Casa's for lunch with Natalie's family. Afterward, we came home and took a nap. Then it was off to Zestos for ice cream. The highlight of the day was a trip to Foster Park where we took the following pictures of Natalie and Elias. We posted several more of the pictures we took at the park on Elias' blog. Check them out HERE.

When we left the park, we did something that we have not been able to do for quite some time...we did some Sunday driving. It was great to be able to drive and talk with no destination or agenda whatsoever. Finally, we ended up at home for a night of relaxing. It was an awesome day together...the way that Sundays should be. It was a truly refreshing and enjoyable Mother's Day!

A Mother's Day Post

2009-05-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

I am writing this mother's day post in honor of my wife and best friend - who also happens to be the most amazing mom in the world. The last nine months with Elias has revealed to me over and over again what an awesome mom Natalie is. She continuously and willingly sacrifices her time, comforts, conveniences, and so much more in order to do what is best for Elias. Her tremendous love for him is so obvious in everything that she does. She is an incredible wife and mother who inspires me to be a better husband and father. God has blessed me beyond by giving me the chance to live my life with her and to journey together with her in marriage and parenthood. God has also blessed Elias with the most beautiful, caring, compassionate, hilarious, and committed mother. Happy Mother's Day Natalie! You're the best!

guys night

2009-04-17T17:51:00.001-04:00

so natalie is heading up to michigan tonight for the lwc ladies retreat. it's a total guys night for me and elias...first dinner at buffalo wild wings with some of the guys from lwc...then were staying the night at grandpa jeff's.

at home...

2009-03-01T17:04:00.000-05:00

Since Don G. was worried about me and was ready to come pick me up at the Atlanta airport because I hadn't updated the blog since arriving back home...I wanted to relieve anyone else's concern and let you know that I am home - have been since Wednesday :-) Thanks for all your prayers.

on the ground in atlanta...

2009-02-25T06:53:00.002-05:00

I made it safely to Atlanta. I am waiting at my gate for the next several hours now until my flight to Fort Wayne. I plan to get some homework done while I am waiting.

Regarding the flight, it was another good flight. I did not have the entire row to myself, but I did only have to share it with one other person. It was an older lady who was returning home from a tour of Israel with a group from her church. She was friendly...we both appreciated the extra space. I got about 6 hours of sleep on the 13 hour flight. I will probably be pretty tired tonight. Thanks for your prayers for a safe flight.

at the airport...

2009-02-24T14:26:00.000-05:00

Well I am at the airport in Tel Aviv. It is lonely after saying good bye to the Ilan's and waiting to see me family. I will post the update for my final day in Israel when I get to Atlanta. Please pray for a safe flight. I will let all of you know when I arrive. Love to all of you!

i went to hell and back...

2009-02-23T14:23:00.003-05:00

Today I woke up at 9:00 am. I did a little reading from one of my books for class. After reading for a while, I showered up and got ready for the day – which of course included a cup of coffee to get me going :-) We left around 11:00 am and went to one of the outdoor shopping center malls in Jerusalem. Keren wanted to find some new clothes for Leor. Before we started shopping, we stopped at a restaurant in the mall for brunch. I had the “Israeli Breakfast.” It included a salad with lots of vegetables, bread with different jellies to dip it in, an omelet, some different kinds of cheeses, a dip of tuna salad, and some avocado. I was stuffed. We were joined at breakfast by one of Leor’s friends. His name is Moran – he leads a ministry here in Israel as a Jewish believer in Yeshua. They seek to reach out to the Jewish people with the message of Jesus – as a result of what Paul talks about in Romans 11. They do outreach through relief work. I hope to network with him in the future.

After breakfast, we shopped for about an hour, and then we went to the one site that we needed to visit today. We went to hell and back…not the literal hell of course, but in Jesus’ day it was the figurative hell. We visited the Hinnom Valley on the west side of the old city. It is also referred to as Gehenna – which is a name for hell that we talk about in Christian theology. The Hinnom Valley was a very evil and wicked place. Throughout biblical history, there were all sorts of pagan worship practices that took place there. Most notably, we read about sacrifices offered to the ancient God Molech in the Hinnom Valley. They were human sacrifices offered to him, mostly in the form of child sacrifices - makes my stomach turn just thinking about it. Again it was a terribly wicked place.

In Jesus’ day, Gehenna served as the local garbage dump. As a result, there was a constant fire burning there that burned up the trash. This is where we get the imagery of the lake of fire. Jesus used it as a visual illustration of what hell, or separation from God looks like – evil, rebellion, wickedness, idolatry, trash, fire, etc.

So that’s where we went today. It felt very oppressive there – which is no doubt a result of all of the evil that has taken place in that valley.

After the Hinnom Valley, we stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things, and then we came home to meet Kelly who was on her way back from school. We hung out at the house for a while and then ate a late lunch. Then we went back out to shop at another mall. Leor must really need some new clothes :-) It was fun – it is great to get a feel for what life is like here in Israel.

While at the mall we ate some ice cream and had some coffee to go with it, and then we came back home. My ring that I ordered was finished, so the jeweler brought it by. It looks great. The Hebrew on the ring is – mishpat (justice) chesed (mercy) hatzna (humbly) lechet (walk) im (with) Yahweh (the Lord). What a great reminder of the things that God has called good and required of us in Micah 6:8.

Tonight I am trying to get my luggage in order. I leave tomorrow night around 7 pm (Israeli time) to go to the airport. It is such a challenge to get everything to fit in my bags since I purchased or received as gifts so many things while I have been here. I think I have it all in order though. One more day before I head home. Again I can’t wait to see Natalie and Elias (it is almost beyond what words can express), but it will be sad to leave this place that I love so much and friends that I love so much as well.

gilgal and the dead sea...

2009-02-22T16:06:00.004-05:00

This morning I woke up at 8:00 am, but I stayed in bed until 9:30. Since I have been eating a lot of junk food the last couple of days, I decided to go light on the food today. I ate a bowl of cereal with milk. After that, I decided to do a little bit of map homework while we were waiting to get started for the day. After working for about 45 minutes, I showered up and got ready to hit the road.

Around 11:30 am, Leor and I loaded up and headed out. Our plan was to head to the area of the Dead Sea and to visit Gilgal for some video recording. On our way there though, we stopped by the new apartment Leor and Keren bought that is currently being built. They are in the final stages of construction before being able to move in later this spring. We stopped by because today the kitchen counter was being installed, so Leor wanted to make sure everything was done properly. Their new place is east of Jerusalem on the backside of the Mount of Olives. They have a great view of the Mount of Olives to the west and the Judean wilderness out to the Dead Sea to the east. Their place is beautiful…I am really excited to stay with them there the next time I am able to visit.

From there we stopped for lunch at a rest stop right next to Jericho and the Dead Sea. It is a place we have stopped at before when we have been here on tours. I had a chicken schnitzel (breaded and fried chicken breast) stuffed inside a fresh pita with hummus and vegetables. It was delicious! They also gave me a few falafel balls because I was having a tough time choosing between the two :-) The best part was that since they are friends of Leor, it was all free (that has happened over and over again this week – Leor has a lot of friends in Israel J).

After lunch we drove to Gilgal. It was a longer drive than I expected. It is located in the West Bank, which has a very high Arab Palestinian population. The place we visited in Gilgal was a small Jewish settlement (kibbutz). There are no ruins there, but it marks the traditional site of the ancient Gilgal where the Israelites first set up camp once they had entered the Promised Land. We had a great view of the Rift Valley below with the Jordan River in the middle of it, as well as a great view of Mount Nebo in the background – the mountain where Moses was able to view the Promised Land, and then eventually died.

When we left Gilgal, we drove by the Dead Sea again and decided to stop in to visit one of Leor’s friends at Genesis Land – a site also referred to as Abraham’s Tent that we have visited on tours before. It is intended to be a recreated setting for us to experience what it would have been like to visit Abraham and his family in the Judean wilderness. The views are breathtaking, and the food is good too. We didn’t eat there, but we did visit for a while. It gave me an opportunity to really appreciate God in the openness and vastness of the desert hills. I imagined what it must have been like for Abraham to spend time with God in such intimacy there. I imagined the faith that Abraham lived by as he followed God wherever He led him.

When it was dark, we left and drove back into Jerusalem to pick up a pizza. We brought it home and watched a little TV while we ate. Afterward, Leor and I watched The Bucket List. We both got teary eyed and choked up at the end – I guess we’re both a couple of softies (most of you already knew that :-) He showered while I talked with Natalie on the phone – can’t wait to see her and Elias in a few days!! Now everyone is in bed but me. I am updating my journal and our blog.

Before I finish, there are a few observations that I made today that I want to note.

1 - It is so interesting to me how living here, and even experiencing Israel outside of a normal tour experience, can make it easy to miss the mystery of this place. I have to be very intentional about reminding myself of all the things that have happened here. Otherwise, I can easily get caught up in the busyness and normalcy of everyday life.

2 - There have been rockets fired in both northern and southern Israel while I have been here (some only 30 miles away). Yet I would never know about it if I did not read about it on the Internet. It is a way of life here. No one really gets worried about it. Back home the thought of this reality would freak people out.

3 - Living in Israel helps you to trust in God. Essentially you live everyday believing that we are immortal here until God determines our time is through. That’s all you really need to remember.

4 - Psalm 87 really blessed me this week: On the holy mountain stand the city founded by the Lord. He loves the city of Jerusalem more than any other city in Israel. O city of God, what glorious things are said of you! I will count Egypt and Babylon among those who know me – also Philistia and Tyre, and even distant Ethiopia. They have all become citizens of Jerusalem! Regarding Jerusalem it will be said, “Everyone enjoys the rights of citizenship there.” And the Most High will personally bless this city. When the Lord registers the nations, he will say, “They have all become citizens of Jerusalem.” The people will flutes and sing, “The source of my life springs from Jerusalem.”

rainy day in jerusalem...

2009-02-21T15:40:00.002-05:00

Shabbat has been great. It is so nice to have a day where so many people are intentional about resting. What a blessing God has given to us with Shabbat! Too bad more of us back in the states disregard it and fail to take advantage of it. We are really missing out.

I woke up this morning at 8:45 am after staying up late watching a movie with Leor last night. It was pouring down rain all night long, as well as when I woke up. I decided to read for a bit this morning, so I got out one of my books about Jerusalem. As I read the history of this amazing city, I found myself overwhelmed by the fact that I am here in the place where all of the events I read about took place. It has really been impressed on me that the story of Jerusalem is part of my story. It is part of the story God has written revealing the steps He took and the things He went through in order to rescue me, restore me, and give me life with Him. I think that is one of the reasons I love this place so much and connect with it. It is also one of the reasons why I believe every person who understands God love for them and His desire to have them walk with Him, if they will allow themselves, will love this place too, and connect deeply with it. It is not just amazing because God’s story happened here – it is amazing because God’s story here is our story as well.

After reflecting on this and praising God for all that He went through for me throughout the history of Jerusalem, I ate breakfast with Keren and Kelly (Leor was still sleeping). We ate some bread and pastries, as well as hard-boiled eggs and mashed tomatoes. When Leor got out of bed, he and I talked about what our options were for the day with all of the rain.

We both wanted to drive down to the Dead Sea. When there are thunderstorms in Jerusalem (which are fairly rare), there are flash floods that form in the valleys that flow into the Dead Sea. As smaller valleys merge with bigger ones, the size of these moving flash floods increase, and by the time they reach the Dead Sea they come pouring over the tops of the cliffs. According to Leor, it is an amazing and awesome sight. They are hard to catch when it happens, but we had a good opportunity and were hoping to at least go and look. The problem with all of the rain though is that since they do not have a lot of it in Jerusalem, with all of the rain that came down, the roads become extremely slick and dangerous. Keren did not think it was a good idea for us to go out and try to drive 45 minutes to the Dead Sea – she was afraid we would get in an accident or get tossed off the road and over a cliff. So we stayed at home for a while as it continued to rain.

I decided to get a little homework done while we were stuck inside. So I worked on some maps that I have to do for my class. It was actually fun to work on them, because I knew that I was in the very place where all of the things I was marking on the maps took place – the realization of that never gets old to me!

After doing this for a while, I jumped in the shower. When I was finished, a jeweler friend of Leor’s who specializes in rings with Hebrew inscriptions on them came by because I was interested in buying one. I ordered a ring with the Hebrew words from Micah 6:8 on it – act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God – I am really excited about it since we talked about these three things as the theme for 2009 at our church.

When he left, the rain had let up enough, so we felt like we could get out on the roads with some degree of safety. We got all of our gear around and told Keren we would do our best to not injure ourselves – and that if we got stuck somewhere we would see her tomorrow. Then in the car we prayed for God to watch over us in our coming and going. I know that probably seems strange to everyone back home – but it is a totally different situation here when it rains.

As we headed out, there was no traffic because of the rain and because of Shabbat. We started making our way to the Dead Sea, but we heard on the radio that the Dead Sea road had been closed because of dangerous flooding. So instead of going there, we decided to get a little bit of shopping done.

We stopped by the Nissan Brother’s olive wood store on the Mount of Olives. Their main store is in Bethlehem – this is also where they get the wood from (olive trees in Bethlehem) and do all of the woodworking. I wanted to pick up a few souvenirs. I was hoping to find an Elijah figure to give to Elias since his name is the Greek form of Elijah. When we went in, Leor talked to one of his friends who worked there and asked him if there were any Elijah figures. He only had one. It was a larger piece (about 12 inches tall) that cost much more than I wanted to spend. Leor’s friend was going to give me 50% off since I was a friend of Leor. I told him that unfortunately it was still too much for me. He asked me who it was for and I told him that I wanted to get something for my son whose name was Elias, to which he responded by telling me that Elijah was his name. Then he walked over to the Elijah figure, pulled off the price tag ($150), wrapped it up and gave it to me as a gift from Elijah to Elias. What a blessing and what a special gift!

From there we went to visit some friends of Leor and Keren. They live in an apartment in downtown Jerusalem. Their names were Annotte and Rob. We had a great time with them enjoying some coffee and conversation. Rob is studying to become a tour guide – he’ll never compare to our favorite guide :-)

After leaving their house, we went to the Jerusalem shopping mall. I stopped by Toys R Us to see if there were any fun toys for Elias that had an Israeli connection. I found a little kids book called “Leor the Tractor.” I bought it and am excited about giving it to him.

Finally tonight we stopped by the home of one of the guys that Leor serves on the Jerusalem volunteer police team with. His mother passed away this week, and one of the traditions here when someone passes away is that after the funeral the family has seven days of mourning. During this time, people stop by to visit with them, to express their sympathies for the loss, and to help get their minds off of it for a while. Tonight, a bunch of guys from the volunteer police team were going to go over as part of this man’s seven days of mourning. So we went. It was a great display of what it means to do life together – there was such camaraderie. It was strange for me since no one was speaking English, and no one except for Leor even knew me, but I was comfortable and it was a good experience.

We made our way home a little after 9 pm – safe and sound in the Even Sappir village where Leor and Keren live (praise God). Now we are just enjoying some snacks (they have some really great sweets that I am eating too much of) and taking it easy until we go to bed. I have three full days left here before I head home. Tomorrow we are hoping to go to the Dead Sea area. We are going to visit Gilgal and maybe a few sights in town.

Thank you Jesus for allowing me to experience you here, to walk where you walked, to have the stories that I read about you in the Bible come alive before my very eyes. I love you.

a day in the judean hills and elah valley

2009-02-20T13:01:00.002-05:00

Today I woke up at 7:00 am, emailed Natalie, and went back to sleep until 8:30 am. When I woke up, we enjoyed some pastries and baked goods that we bought at the bakery last night – as well as some Nescafe of course. Then we talked about what we were going to do during the day. We decided to visit the Elah Valley.

This is the valley where the Philistines and Israelites prepared to do battle in 1 Samuel 17. Instead of the two groups fighting each other though, there were representatives from each group who fought on their behalf. Representing the Philistines was a monster of a man, a nine-foot tall giant named Goliath. Representing the Israelites was a small young shepherd boy named David. Most of you know how the story goes…David miraculously killed Goliath with the helping hand of the One True God. It’s an amazing story, and I was able to spend some time today at the place where it all happened. We did some video recording there for a sermon I will be doing in a few weeks. I also picked up a few smooth stones from a dried up brook in the valley. They reminded me of the way David picked five smooth stones from a brook to use against Goliath.

On our way to the Elah Valley today, we took a short cut that allowed us to use Leor’s 4-wheel drive vehicle to navigate some off road trails in the Judean hills. This was great. There are very few visitors in Israel who are able to do what I did today. We experienced some amazing mountain views, visited a natural spring and bath area where people go occasionally for ceremonial cleansings (mikvahs), drove through the Sorek Valley, and spent some time at Beth-Shemesh and Zorah. The Sorek Valley and Beth-Shemesh are where the stories of Samson and Delilah took place.

We did some digging at the ruins of Beth-Shemesh. I found quite a few pieces of pottery – two handles that were fully intact. They date back to the time of the ruins – 3000 years ago in the time of King David and King Solomon. I am excited to bring these pottery pieces home with me (although they are a dime a dozen here in Israel).

While traveling around today, we stopped at two different homes to visit some of Leor’s friends. First we stopped by a couple’s home in Matta. Their names were Ricki (wife) and Martin (husband) – they play music (easy to remember right). Ricki is from Holland and Martin from Germany. They talked about some of the amazing things they have found in the caves and hills out by their village. We enjoyed some coffee and cookies there, and then we were on our way.

The second house we stopped at belonged to Jonathan and Chinneroth (same as the Hebrew name of the Sea of Galilee – it means harp, which is the shape of the Sea of Galilee). They also were very nice people. Jonathan is a rocker who plays guitar and just bought a new MacBook for music recording. They are observant Jews, not Messianic, and they were working quickly to prepare their food to get ready for Shabbat.

After stopping there, we came home. Keren had also been working hard all day to prepare for Shabbat. The food was ready and the table was set. She lit the Shabbat candles and said the Shabbat blessing. Then we ate a traditional Shabbat meal for Keren’s family – shwarma (breaded fried chicken breast), mashed potatoes, beets, salad, bread, and fruit. It was very delicious.

Afterward I called Natalie and talked to her for a while. It was really nice to be able to talk to her so long! Now we are just enjoying the Shabbat this evening until bedtime. Shabbat Shalom!

relaxing day today...

2009-02-19T17:03:00.003-05:00

Today I woke up at 10 am (Israeli time). I had a great night’s sleep. I was so tired because of the jet lag that I slept for just about 10 hours straight! Yay! When I woke up, Keren made me some coffee, toast, and vegetables. We hung out for a while at the house. I did some computer and reading work.

When I showered later, Leor made an Italian specialty of his…it was spaghetti with a special homemade sauce - tasted great! We also had salad to enjoy thanks to Keren - also great! When we were done with lunch, Leor, Kelly, and I went to the Mount of Olives. We recorded a “Good Morning LWC” video, as well as videos for sermons on the rejected cornerstone, the woman caught in adultery, the palm Sunday road, and the garden tomb. Afterward, we stopped by the Nissan Brothers store, but they were closed, so we stopped by a similar store and looked around for a few minutes.

From there we went to a local computer store so Leor could buy a new sound card for his computer. Then we stopped by the Sar-El tours office. I met the owner as well as the Educational Opportunities tour coordinator at Sar-El. Finally we stopped by a local market to pick up some baked goods and veggies and other goodies before heading home.

At home we ate some breads, hummus, pastries, and salad for dinner (everything here is so fresh and delicious). Then we spent the rest of the evening playing around with technology. I edited the “Good Morning LWC” video while Leor tried to change his wireless router and fix his outdated Mac. Now I am getting ready for bed…hoping to chat with Natalie soon, and still needing to post a few responses for this week’s assignments.

a great day in the old city...

2009-02-18T14:51:00.002-05:00

This morning I woke up at 3:30 am (Israeli time) due to jet lag. I tried to get back to sleep, but it was hopeless. I emailed Natalie instead and we were able to get on iChat since it was only 8:30 pm back home. We talked until about 4:30 am (Israeli time). Afterward I laid down until 5:45 am and finally got to sleep around 6 am. I woke up at 7 am, showered, ate some cheerios and left with Leor to go to the Old City.

We picked up some coffee on the way and met a Canadian family of four at the Jaffa gate. They hired Leor to give them a tour of the Old City. We walked all around the city. Some of the places we visited were: Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Pool of Bethesda, Saint Anne's Church, Via Delarosa, the Western Wall, the Easter/Golden gate (we had an amazing view of the Mount of Olives, Church of All Nations, Garden of Gethsemane, Palm Sunday Road, and the Tomb of Absalom (King David's son). Leor and I enjoyed a great bread bagel as a snack, and I had some falafel for lunch.

When we were finished, we went stopped by to meet Leor's parents. We had more coffee and some cake as well. Then we needed to pick up Keren's car, so Leor had me drive it back to his house. That was fun driving in Jerusalem. Before we went home though, we stopped by a candy shop to buy all sorts of gummies.

For dinner we had homemade sushi (thanks to Keren and Leor) - it was really good stuff. I just got on iChat with Natalie, am going to try to get some work done, and then am heading to bed.

settling in at the Ilan's

2009-02-17T15:28:00.002-05:00

I am in Jerusalem getting settled in at the Ilan's - my home for the next week. We had a great time tonight at dinner. Tomorrow should be great with some time spent at the Old City. I will keep you updated, and maybe even get a chance to add some pictures.

on the ground in tel aviv...

2009-02-17T10:27:00.000-05:00

Made it safe...great flight! More to come soon.

on the plane...

2009-02-16T22:27:00.000-05:00

On the plane...row to myself :-) next update from Jerusalem! Love to all of you!

a row to myself...

2009-02-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

So it looks like I am going to have a row to myself on my 11 hour flight to Tel Aviv. This will make my flight much more enjoyable. Hopefully nothing will change before we board. I will let you know how things work out. Please pray for a safe flight.

On a different note...I have noticed a lot of people that will be on my flight who are traveling with the tour company that we usually travel to Israel with. It made me think about previous trips and about how different it is going to be to experience the Holy Land as a lone traveler instead of with a group.

waiting in Atlanta for next flight

2009-02-16T16:56:00.000-05:00

Landed in Atlanta 30 minutes ago. Now I am going to try to get some work done over the next six hours while I wait for my flight to tel aviv.

waiting at fort wayne airport

2009-02-16T14:13:00.000-05:00

I am getting ready to fly from fort wayne to Atlanta. I will post when I get there. It was very tough leaving Natalie and Elias. I love you both and will miss you so much. Can't wait to iChat with you from Israel already :-)

bags are packed

2009-02-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

My bags are packed and I am ready to go. I am going to miss Natalie and Elias, but I am looking forward to a great trip. For the long flight, I have some books for the projects I will be working on, my computer to get some work done, and my iPhone and iPod loaded with the first four seasons of The Office :-)

Israel Trip 2009 begins February 16

2009-02-15T19:47:00.000-05:00

I (Tyler) fly out tomorrow to head to Israel for 10 days. I will be posting on this blog to update all of you with information about what I am doing each day. Be sure to check back!

happy birthday natalie

2009-02-05T23:56:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife who is 25 years old today. What joy and laughter, hope and encouragement, she brings to so many. All of us who have the privilege of being a part of her life are blessed. I love you Nan.

we miss you grandma...

2009-02-03T23:10:00.002-05:00

it was two years ago this past sunday (february 1st) that my (tyler's) grandma passed away. my cousin josh just created his own blog, and he wrote a great post about my grandma that took the words right out of my mouth. check it out if you get a chance. she was a great lady that we all miss...but we also look forward to seeing her again someday.

CLICK HERE to read the post.

I am going to Israel...

2009-01-31T23:42:00.000-05:00

It's official...I (Tyler) am heading to Israel in two weeks. I'll be staying with our good friend, Leor, in Jerusalem for a week - traveling, touring, studying, and having a great time with our friends. As you think of me, please pray for my trip. I will keep you posted on this blog as to what I am doing while I am there.

go cardinals

2009-01-31T16:10:00.000-05:00

None of the teams that Natalie and I typically pull for came even remotely close to making it into the big game tomorrow. We will be cheering for a team though. It's not that we don't like the steelers - they play tough in your face football (which is the way it should be).

They have won their fair share of Superbowl's over the years though. So we will be pulling for the Cardinals. And here are 4 reasons you should too.

1. Under-dogs: who doesn't like to see one of the worst for many years make it to the top and surprise everyone?

2. Kurt Warner: class act, great guy, amazing story, awesome football player.

3. Excitement: if the cardinals don't play well, I guarantee it will be a boring super bowl - the steelers offense is not that great, so unless you want to sleep during the game...we need the cardinals to play well.

4. Did I mention Kurt Warner?

facebook is easier...

2009-01-29T22:16:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. We havenot had a lot of extra time lately, so we have opted for the convenience of our iPhones and the facebook app.

We should be able to start updating more soon. In the meantime, be sure to check updates on Elias' blog.

For the Dads Out There...

2009-01-20T15:02:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of lessons to learn from this video, but being a dad now, one of the most significant ones for me is the reminder in it of what it means to be there for your kids.

Thought this prayer was great today...

2009-01-20T13:14:00.001-05:00

What Are We Thankful For...

2008-11-25T21:58:00.002-05:00

In light of today's Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to take five minutes and come up with a list of as many things that we are thankful for that we could. Here is our list in no particular order...

god, our marriage, elias, family, friends, church family, grace, forgiveness, iphones, mac, a home, food to eat, clothes to wear, cars to drive, hope, life, the bible, laughter, joy, happiness, health, our dogs, fireplace, did we mention grace, love, our country, financial provision, guidance from God, opportunities to be a part of what God is doing, journeying with people in life, baby smell, the lake cottage, sunsets, the ocean, warm weather, dupont hospital, nurse anna, our friend leor, good jobs, people who support us, jesus, god's spirit living in us, prevacid, relaxing showers, the boppy chair, the office, favorite tv shows, good music, vacations, compassion, dvr, digital cameras, walgreens, logans, good food, chocolate, turkey hill all natural ice cream, time, coney island, target, red box movie rentals, naps, hugs and kisses, foster park, freedom, beauty, colors, desitin, a swing for elias, snow, nature, god's hands that hold us, starbucks, football, traditions, facebook, encouragement, the example of others, wisdom, the internet, good books, gift cards, dates, family time, and the list could go on and on.

We are so thankful for all these things and so much more!

A Thanksgiving Reminder...

2008-11-25T21:54:00.003-05:00

While writing the story about burnt chicken wings below, I was searching for a picture of burnt chicken wings. My google search yielded me this picture. It was a good reminder not to overeat on Thursday (I think he swallowed the turkey whole...or at least a pumkin or something). HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Burnt Chicken Wings!!

2008-11-25T21:31:00.002-05:00

So last night I let Louie (one of our dogs) outside before giving him his food. When he came back in I could tell he had something in his mouth. I braced myself for what it might be - thinking that it was going to be a mouse or a baby bunny. I almost started puking in my mouth before I even saw it. Then he dropped it on the dining room floor, and to our surprise we saw what looked like a burnt chicken wing. After carefully looking at it from every possible angle (without touching it of course), we confirmed that it was indeed a burnt chicken wing and quickly got rid of it.

Then the fun began as we started thinking about all of the possible ways this wing got into our backyard. We came up with a few laughers and moved on. This morning when we let Louie out again, he picked up another chicken wing though. So I went out into the yard to see if there were any more. There were two more - taking the total to four burnt chicken wings.

I picked up another clue regarding how they got there (or so I thought). The two that Louie had not picked up were sitting by our fence next to our neighbor's yard. So that's when we thought that maybe that neighbor was the one who, being displeased with his burnt chicken wings (and possible with us???) threw them into our yard. Was he so upset that he chucked them, not caring where they ended up? Was he upset with us and wanted to get us back for something by getting rid of his wings in our yard? Was he trying to be nice to our dogs by giving them a little treat? None of these made sense.

So we came up with another option...maybe the neighbor who lived next to our neighbor was mad at him. Maybe he cooked the wings, tried to chuck them into our neighbor's yard, but instead launched them all the way into ours (which could be likely).

All of this brainstorming got us thinking about some of the things we could do in response. We had a lot of fun and laughs with this.

OPTION 1: Throw some chicken wings in the yards of all three of our neighbors since we don't really know who did it.

OPTION 2: Stand in the backyard for an hour with chicken wings in our hands screaming, "WHY! WHY!" And then take a bite out of one of the wings.

OPTION 3: Burn frozen pizzas and put them in the yards of all three of our neighbors to take it up a notch.

OPTION 4: Think stinky baby diapers full of poopy!!

OPTION 5: A sign on our neighbor's fence that reads - "We hope your smoke detectors work! Do not sleep easy! SMOKED WINGIE = SMOKED HOUSIE"

This also got us wondering...what would you do? Feel free to share some thoughts with us.

The Difference Integrity Makes...

2008-11-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

So IU has played two games so far this season. Although they have won both games, anyone who is following the team at all knows that the wins may be hard to come by this year. The whole situation is a great example of the difference integrity makes. IU's previous coach violated trust and chose not to do things the right way. It cost him, the basketball program, and the school so much. Again, it's a great reminder for me of the importance of being a person of integrity - someone who can be trusted and does things the right way. I'm hopeful for Coach Crean, and regardless of how many wins IU has this year, give me a guy with integrity every time. Remember to be that person of integrity as well - because even the smallest choices count.

Barack Obama...an answer to prayer.

2008-11-04T22:41:00.004-05:00

I have been thinking about writing this post, and since Barack Obama will be declared tonight to be the next president of the United States, I thought this would be a good time to write this.

As my post title suggests, what I want to comment on here is the possibility that Barack Obama might be an answer to prayer. If you are like me, over the past several weeks you have received various emails from well intentioned people regarding the need for us as Christians to pray for our country - to pray for God's best and for his will to be done in our nation. As I have considered what we are praying for in this, I have realized that for many Christians the answer they hope to receive from God in response to these prayers is the election of the right people for political office - in other words, the ones that they believe best reflect their own Christian values and beliefs.

My point in this post though, is that although I believe the motives and intentions are good with this, I am not sure that if this happened, that this would provide our country with the greatest potential for God's Kingdom to be advanced. As a result, this may not be the best way for these prayers to be answered.

On the other hand, if Barack Obama is going to lead and usher in a devastating time of desperation, as so many Christians that I have talked to lately have claimed, could it be that this would actually be more beneficial to God's Kingdom as it relates to advancing it in our country? Could it be that God would actually prefer an Obama lead downfall (again I am not saying that is inevitable, I am only basing that on the comments shared with me by so many Christians that I have talked to), because in the desperation people would be more receptive to turning to the Lord than they would have been in prosperity? I don't think God desires for us to suffer or go through times like some people anticipate us going through with an Obama presidency. However, I do believe that God is much more interested in our walking with Him than anything else - including our prosperity and ease of life. Also, he is more interested in our lives counting in his Kingdom than he is in our comfort.

So could Obama actually be a more promising answer to the prayers for God's will that were offered over the past few weeks? I suppose we will find out.

And this is what it's all about...

2008-10-30T21:00:00.001-04:00

This is a video from a church in Fort Wayne. What a great portrayal of what life with Jesus is all about.

I love my wife...

2008-10-29T22:57:00.004-04:00

Veg Day 10.13.08

2008-10-15T23:20:00.004-04:00

We had some fall fun together on Monday - we took a trip to Hilger's Market to take some pictures, buy a pumpkin, and check out some of the giant displays. I have included a couple of pictures below, but will also post some pictures on Elias' blog soon.

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 03

2008-10-08T23:08:00.001-04:00

And another...

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody) Part 02

2008-10-08T23:06:00.001-04:00

Also appreciated this one...

I'm a Christ Follower (Mac vs. PC Parody)

2008-10-08T23:04:00.001-04:00

Not bad - and considering my love for Jesus and preference for Mac it's a fitting parody post for our blog :-)

Prepare for some tears...

2008-09-23T10:47:00.001-04:00

Saw this video this morning and had to post it...what a great video for correcting our perspective on life.

Notre Dame Football

2008-09-20T15:28:00.004-04:00

The Notre Dame season has started off well. We are 2-0. I am ushering again this season at Notre Dame Stadium. The first game was not as exciting as the Michigan game - the Michigan game may have been the most fun game I have been a part of as an usher. It was pouring down rain and we were stomping the Wolverines! Looking forward to watching the game with Natalie and Elias. This will be our toughest game so far - it would be great if we can pull it off.

Da Bears

2008-09-08T09:10:00.002-04:00

After a less than assuring Notre Dame win on Saturday (there may be a post on the disappointing Irish in the next few weeks if things do not improve), it was great to watch Chicago play so well last night in their huge win over the Colts! They ran the ball great and their defense dominated - classic Bears football.

If they can continue to play like that, they may provide some unexpected fun and excitement for the Wards this fall. We'll see what happens. GO BEARS!

Da Boys watching Da Bears

2008-09-07T21:47:00.001-04:00

So it feels like Fall which has it's cons like the fact that Winter is soon to follow. But there are also pros like NFL Football games with our family and snuggling! Life is so great with our little guy Elias, this is going to be a great year.

Prepping for the N.D. game!

2008-09-05T12:01:00.001-04:00

Our family (with the new addition of Elias) continued the tradition of watching "Rudy" in prep for tomorrows first N.D. game this season. Tyler will head off to South Bend to usher while Elias and I watch the game with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Jordan, Uncle Joel and Aunt Coco (elias is very excited to hang out and wear his ND outfit). Go ND!!

McCain

2008-09-04T23:41:00.002-04:00

So I know this is a really shallow response to McCain's speech, because it shouldn't just be about being charismatic, but McCain will not become president based on his speech giving abilities alone. It was interesting to hear him share his heart with some of his personal experiences from the past - beyond that I was not that engaged or intrigued. The "Best Speech" award definitely goes to Palin.

Palin for President??

2008-09-03T23:30:00.005-04:00

Could we run the primaries again and nominate Palin for president? I haven't read about all of her political positions or views, but I like her authenticity and realness. What a great V.P. pick for the Republicans.

And the award for worst customer service goes to...

2008-09-03T13:12:00.001-04:00

HOBBY LOBBY! Is it me or are the women who work at Hobby Lobby always the most impatient and annoyed? I hate to even ask for help because they always seem like they would rather be scrapbooking or knitting than helping a clueless guy like me find what he is looking for. It defeats the purpose of playing Christian music in the store when the employees act like the complete opposite. Not a bad lesson to learn.

Somebody remind me...

2008-09-02T17:24:00.002-04:00

Somebody remind me why having a daughter who is pregnant makes someone unfit to be vice president. The media is enough to make my head explode!

Who Would You Nominate?

2008-09-01T22:59:00.001-04:00

So I was thinking about some of the comments that people left for my Obama post...it gave me the idea to open things up and ask - Who would you nominate for president if you could nominate anyone? Leave a comment and let us know. If you can, share a reason why. We already have nominations from previous comments for Don Grubaugh and Mary Todd. Who would you nominate?

Fantasy Football

2008-08-30T10:31:00.002-04:00

Nothing gets me in the mood for the NFL season like our annual Fantasy Football draft. I have some decent players on my team this year. Nothing amazing, but an okay mix. We'll see how it works out. My team includes...

Tom Brady

Philip Rivers

Frank Gore

Willis McGahee

LenDale White

Matt Forte

Braylon Edwards

Andre Johnson

Jerricho Cotchery

Brandon Marshall

Chris Chambers

Dallas Clark

Greg Olsen

Stephen Gostkowski

Neil Rackers

DEF

NY Giants

Obama

2008-08-29T00:35:00.001-04:00

Listened to his speech - bunch of blah blah blah...a lot of fluff...and very boring. We'll see what McCain has to say next week. It's probably going to be a very agonizing and annoying election season.

Veg Day 8/25/08

2008-08-25T23:15:00.005-04:00

Well today was of course Monday, which means it was our family's weekly veg day - our sabbath together that gives us a chance to rest, enjoy each other, enjoy our God and the creation He has made. We began by waking up from a great night of sleep (defined as a few good periods of sleep in between feedings without a lot of interruption). So we woke up pretty refreshed - all three of us. We vegged out for awhile and even took a short nap together on my bed as a of late - the inflatable mattress on the living room floor (as I have mentioned in other posts, we have camped out in the living room for now).

Once we got motivated to move around, we showered up. I brought Elias in with me and Natalie washed him up. He is beginning to like the shower. Once we got around, we went to Pizza Hut and enjoyed the buffet lunch. Then it was off to Foster Park. We enjoyed a beautiful afternoon at one of our favorite parks (it was the park where I proposed to Natalie).

After feeding Elias, we walked the trail in the park. I got to try out my new iPhone app that uses GPS to track how far and how fast we walked - it continues to blow my mind (best purchase in the recent past by far)! We took some pictures of the flowers, as well as some pictures of Elias at our favorite places in the park.

We got home and Elias slept. Natalie and I did a little house work. Then we went to eat with Natalie's parents at Casa (we had planned to grill out, but were more than happy to take them up on the offer to join them). Natalie and I ended the day with a quick drive through the Starbucks drive-through, and enjoyed the rest of our evening at home.

Elias wrapped in his towel after his shower.

Feeding Elias in the park.

One of the many beautiful pictures Natalie took.

Natalie and Elias sitting on the park bench.

Check Out Dreaming Tree Designs

2008-08-22T21:34:00.003-04:00

If you get a chance, check out Dreaming Tree Designs by our friend Tracey B. She is so creative and puts together awesome stuff. She made a shadow box for us and a baby onesie - both of them are great! So check it out and consider buying something from her. The link is

www.dtdesignsonline.com

Why I Don't Like Church Marketing...

2008-08-20T14:41:00.003-04:00

I have had several conversations recently with people who are frustrated with certain situations or people in their churches and are thinking about leaving to go somewhere else. It has lead me to consider this dilemma that people face at times (myself included), and the unfortunate contribution that church marketing makes to this.

When I say church marketing, what I mean by this is the effort that almost all churches make to communicate to complete strangers why their church is the right one for them. It is usually filled with promises like - our church is safe, welcoming, non-threatening, kid/family friendly, real, relevant, casual, contemporary, etc.

The reason I don't like this kind of church marketing is that it causes people to believe that there actually is a church out there that they won't have to face any problems in. In other words, it makes people think that all they need to do is find the right church, and they won't have to deal with any of the messiness that they experience in other churches. As a result, they jump from one church to the next looking for this, disappointed each time when people aren't perfect.

The reality is that church is messy - no matter what church family you are a part of. It's a result of the fact that churches are made up of people, and people are messy. And just like our families involve many ups and downs together - good times and bad times - church families are no different. So don't let your expectations be falsely established based on the well-intentioned marketing promises made in every church's bulletin, website, or brochure. Instead plug into the life of a church family and embrace every up and down you face as part of the process of doing life together in your pursuit of God and His best for your life.

Happy Birthday Aaron

2008-08-20T10:12:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to our good friend Aaron. We enjoyed some pre-birthday ice cream cake at their house last night with his family and friends. Have a great day man!

Veg Day 8/18/08

2008-08-18T22:30:00.003-04:00

So I know our personal blog has probably been a bit boring lately since we haven't had any pictures. The problem is that we have only been taking pictures of Elias lately (probably thousands of them by now), so we don't have any of anything else. We encourage you to check out Elias' blog for pictures and updates more specific to him.

As far as what our day was like today on our second veg day together as a family...we started things out with a quick trip to the vet so that Louie and Layla could get a couple of shots and a checkup. Since we were out and about, we made a quick run to Dunkin Donuts. That's two weeks in a row now - I know they're not healthy, but they are so delish!

When we got home, we turned on the Olympics and took turns taking naps throughout the day. It was very restful after quite a few very sleepless nights. This afternoon we got a few things done around the house and watched some King of Queens. Grandma Holly and Joel stopped by for a bit after doing some "getting ready for college" shopping. Later on Grandma Gina and Aunt Becky stopped by to visit as well. They watched Elias while Natalie and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up an air mattress (we are camping out in the living room right now) and then to Casa's for dinner (thanks to a gift card from some Pathway Church friends).

More Olympics tonight (don't know what we'll do when they are over)! Took a quick shower, brought Elias in with me. We had a great night last night with Elias sleeping much of the night. He has been sleeping all day today though, so tonight may be an all-nighter. We'll see how things go. Thanks for staying tuned into our blog despite our lack of pictures. We will try to resume as soon as possible.

Veg Day 8/11/08

2008-08-11T22:05:00.003-04:00

Since Natalie and I both have Mondays off now, we are beginning to refer to Mondays as our family "veg day." Its our day to veg out, do whatever we want - to relax and do something fun together as a family. As a pastor I obviously have to work on the weekends, so we are going to be very intentional about making Mondays our day just to ourselves.

So today was our first veg day together as a family. We took it easy this morning, not getting around to do much until 10 or 10:30. We got around and took Elias on a little road trip. We had to go to Target to return a few items and to buy a few more. We purchased a toy box for Elias to store all of his toys in - even at only two weeks old he already has so many. We also purchased some picture frames to put Elias' twenty-four hours old pictures in (the ones that we had professionally done at the hospital). They look great. I don't have a scanner at home, otherwise I would post them here. You'll just have to visit our home or my office to see them - amazing!

After Target we came home for a little while before taking Elias to his two week check-up with the pediatrician. Everything went great...I have included a more detailed update on his blog. We came home afterward and took a nap together. We put the travel bed that Grandma Holly bought us on our bed and all three of us enjoyed a good hour of snoozing.

The rest of the night has been great just relaxing at the house. Elias is very content. We are so glad to be home. Tonight some friends from Pathway Community Church gave us a gift card to Casa for dinner - we couldn't use it though because their computers were down. So we pieced together a dinner from some leftovers. Afterwards we enjoyed some sugar creme pie from Natalie's Grandma Mary - it was awesome. Now Natalie and Elias are sleeping and I am watching the Olympics.

It's been a great day - a great start to our Monday Veg Days. No work, no major agenda, just some great family time together.

$30,000.00 "Vacation"

2008-08-10T20:00:00.003-04:00

We are finally home (hopefully for good) from our two week long $30,000.00 "vacation" at a wonderful Fort Wayne resort known as Dupont Hospital. We are now experts if any of you are planning to visit there anytime soon :-)

Although it certainly was not a vacation for us...Natalie and I talked about how in a strange way it has felt like a vacation since we have been out of our normal routine for so long. As the Master Card commercials say though...

2 days of induced labor and 4 days of recovery - $20,000

3 days of neonatal intensive care for jaundice, weight loss, and dehydration - $10,000

Bringing the most amazing little guy into the world and making sure he is healthy - priceless!

Prayers for Elias (and us)

2008-08-07T21:42:00.002-04:00

Please pray...

We currently are at Dupont Hospital and plan to be here in the NICU for the next few days minimum.

Little Elias has a very high level jaundice and is in need of urgent attention, which he is now receiving. He is being poked and prodded as we speak in order to assess his current situation. In our conversation with a neonatologist, it was explained that his high jaundice levels are due to a few things...

First, Natalie's blood type is O+, Elias' type is A+...at times when the mother has this type of blood and the baby has this type of blood the mother's blood fights the antibodies of the baby - and this is what is happening in our case.

Secondly, jaundice levels elevate with dehydration, this happens when the baby is not getting the milk supply that is needed. This is also a factor in his current situation.

Overall, Elias is being monitored by nurses in the NICU, has an IV with fluids to attempt to flush out his system of jaundice, is being treated through multiple lights and is being tested to fully assess his current needs.

We are praying that his current treatment will decrease the high levels (21.5) and that he would not #1) have any brain damage from the high levels, which can happen and #2) that he would not need a transfer exchange (full blood transfusion in order to discontinue the complications between Natalie and Elias' blood types).

We thought we would be home tonight...watching the BEARS game, unfortunately we are here. We have hope that God will see our little man through all of this without complications and that God will restore our strength ( as we are very discouraged and tired). It is very hard to see his little face covered by goggles and it's even more difficult to hear his cry when he has been poked with needles for the multiple blood draws and IVs. We are just asking for your prayers during this time...

Getting Used to Life with Elias...

2008-08-06T01:21:00.002-04:00

We updated Elias' blog and included some new pictures from his first week of life with us. I am sorry that we have not had a lot of updates for this blog. I will try to keep you posted as much as possible. For now...let it be sufficient for me to summarize by saying that we are basically working around Elias' schedule of sleeping, crying, smiling, eating, burping, pooping, peeing, and starting all over again. Natalie is recovering well. I just got back in the swing of things on Tuesday with work and school. It is as clear to me now as it ever has been - things will never be the same again...and we could not be happier. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we learn and adjust as we go. Look for Elias updates on his blog.

New Blog for Elias Updates

2008-07-24T09:20:00.005-04:00

I mentioned in the post below that we would be providing updates on our blog regarding Elias' birth. We have created a new blog though, that is specific to Elias, that we will be using instead to provide you with updates. The blog address is eliasward.blogspot.com

So please check there for updates on Monday.

So we went to the doctor...

2008-07-24T01:03:00.002-04:00

We visited the doctor Wednesday morning, and the plan at this point is to have Natalie come in on Monday (July 28th). Unless something changes we will be going to the doctor's office, and then we'll be off to the hospital to begin the inducing process. Our understanding is that we will try that Monday, and if needed, Tuesday. If we do not have a baby by then, we will need to do a C-Section. I am posting this for all of you now, so that if everything goes forward as planned on Monday, you will have an idea of what we are anticipating.

Using my new iPhone (and the free wireless at the hospital), I will be updating this blog throughout the day (or days) to keep you up to date. This will be the best way to stay in the loop (as I am assuming it will be difficult to call everyone). So check back here for updates...and please keep us in your prayers!

July...so far

2008-07-21T16:26:00.002-04:00

So, I'm sorry that we don't have any pictures (we actually have some, but I am too lazy to upload them)...here is the rundown of what we have been up to in July.

house work, church, school, doctor visits, fourth of july fun at the lake, fireworks, volunteer appreciation cookout, found out that we were going to induce labor on july 28th, found out that we may not be inducing that early, had a 3d ultrasound and got some great pictures of elias, multiple baby showers, demolition derby - joel did awesome, three rivers festival, more fireworks, powers hamburgers, date nights - only a few left, indiana north district conference, new cell phones - we waited in line for a couple of hours for the new iphone, planted some grass, landscaping, baby laundry - all the new clothes, cleaned carpets, organized garage, rearranged bedrooms, trying to soak up as much natalie and tyler time as we can before our lives change forever

p.s. elias' birth is definitely getting close...we will keep you posted.

Busyness & Very Pregnant Wife = No Blog Updates

2008-07-21T09:43:00.003-04:00

Sorry...we hope to update soon!

Weekend Update

2008-06-30T23:52:00.004-04:00

We had a great weekend this past Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Friday night we had Drew and Ashley down for dinner. We caught up on life, enjoyed some grilled teriyaki pork with rice, and watched the movie "Fools Gold." It was slightly alright. It might be one of those movies that if you haven't already watched it, you should wait until it's on TBS ten times in one weekend. That way you can come and go and catch bits and pieces of it between doing important things like eating, napping, etc. Regardless of whether or not the movie was good or bad, it was great to spend some time with the Bakes. Thanks guys!

Saturday was a nice day at home taking care of some projects and chores. Saturday night we went to a party for Kai Buwalda. Kai will be leaving mid-July for a one year military assignment in Iraq. Keep Kai in your prayers, as well as his awesome wife Tracey. I have included a picture below that I stole from Kai's facebook pictures.

Sunday was also great. After church, Natalie had her first of several baby showers. This one was for her friends from school, work, and various life experiences. Thanks to Jenny and Christy for hosting and putting it together. And thanks to everyone for the awesome gifts!

While the girls were baby showering it up, I went golfing with my dad, Matt T., and Phil T. We played nine holes at Cobblestone and loved it. It was a lot of fun enjoying a nice course on a beautiful day.

All in all, the weekend was busy, but turned out to be one of the weekends that you hope for all week long - relaxing, laid back, fun, enjoying people you care about.

Why Every Person Should Golf...

2008-06-23T08:11:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been awhile since we posted. We have had a lot going on, but just have not gotten around to blogging. We've had graduation parties, weddings, family get-togethers, doctor visits, and so on. We didn't take a lot of pictures though (which I am guessing is everyone's favorite part), which is one of the reasons we haven't posted.

Feeling like I am letting you down, I wanted to at least post something this morning. I apologize that I still have no pictures to share with you. What I wanted to write about this morning is one of my favorite hobbies/sports/interests - golf. I am playing golf this morning with my dad and sister, and while I am sitting here getting ready to play, I have been thinking about all the reasons why every person should golf.

1) It's a great way to get out and enjoy fresh air, beautiful grass, trees (although these can be troublesome for your golf game), water (see note on trees), and sand (see note on trees and water). I love being on the course and enjoying the creation God has made.

2) It's a great way to develop patience and self-control. Every time I hit a bad shot and am tempted to chuck my club like there's no tomorrow, I'm reminded that I need to be patient and have self-control. Where else can you have so many chances to get better at this than on the golf course?

3) It's a great way to develop honesty and integrity. There are a million ways to cheat or mislead in golf. You can "accidently misread" your 9 from the second hole as a 4 - shaving five whole strokes off your final score! You can carry extra golf balls in your pocket so that when you lose your real one in the creek, you can "substitute" a new one by dropping it in play when no one is looking. It can be a real temptation, which is why it's such a opportunity to grow in honesty and integrity.

4) It can be great exercise if you walk instead of ride. (Okay I realize that most of you are just going to disregard this one since you never even realized golf could be played without a cart :-)

5) It's a great way to help you overcome being materialistic or stingy. With as many golf balls as I loose in a round, I quickly begin to see them as just stuff. They can all be replaced and their are more important things in life (this may also apply to golf clubs that get tossed, broken, or go for a swim if I don't do well with point #2). Losing golf balls also helps me to be better with sharing what I have with others - particularly with those guys that always seem to find everyone else's lost balls.

6) It's a great game for learning to be polite and courteous. I love the fact that when someone else is hitting, you're supposed to be quiet (unless of course you just happen to be driving by a golf course - an opportunity in which you have no choice but to honk and yell as loud as you can out the window - "FORE!"). Also, I love that if you play quicker than the group in front of you, they are supposed to let you play through so you can move forward in front of them (and if they don't, you can just keep hitting into them until they get the message - wait, that's not very polite or courteous).

7) You only have to hit about one good shot out of every fifty or so to keep you coming back for more. It's amazing how this works. You can hit the ball all over the place all day long and wonder to yourself, "Why did I pay all this money to come out and be this bad and miserable?" But once you hit one good shot, you're motivated to come and do it again.

8) It's fun. There are all sorts of ways you can play to suit you and the group of people you are playing with. So make it enjoyable for yourself, and please don't knock it until you've tried it!

Golf is a great game. Yes it can be expensive. But with all of these great benefits, how can their be any doubt. There are very few other investments that give you so much in return. So if you get a chance - spend some time golfing (maybe spend some time at the driving range first though).

5th Wedding Anniversary

2008-06-01T23:53:00.005-04:00

We celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary on Saturday May 31st. We spent the day up at the lake. We began with breakfast, relaxed throughout the day, and worked in the afternoon on some pictures we are painting for Elias' room. We'll have pictures of those soon.

Saturday night we went out to eat at a place called Captain's Cabin - very delicious. I had a steak smothered in a cajun blue cheese sauce (doesn't that sound good) and natalie also had a steak. Hers was not smothered in blue cheese though - she is not supposed to eat soft cheeses while pregnant. Needless to say, she will be excited about eating what she wants again once Elias is born. It's worth it now to watch what she eats - easy for me to say!

We've been through quite a lot in five years of marriage. We can't imagine going through all the things we have been through without each other or with anyone but each other. Jobs, ministries, family situations, moving, ups, downs, faith, celebrations, disappointments, rejoicing, heartbreak - through all of it God has been faithful to us and has used all of these things to grow us closer to Him and to each other. For that we give him our thanks and praise.

We had a good time Saturday night remembering our honeymoon and our anniversaries over the past five years. Our honeymoon in Naples, Florida and South Carolina was such a reflection of how our life together would be. So many stories to laugh at and learn from.

Our first anniversary was spent in Cancun, Mexico - definitely one of the best trips we have ever taken together. On our second anniversary I had a high school golf match, I was coaching golf at Keystone at the time, so we went out to eat over the weekend. Our third anniversary we stayed at the lake for a week - I believe we have a blog post in our archives about that. Our fourth anniversary last year we were dealing with the reality of facing a miscarriage with our first pregnancy. When I think about it long enough it still grips my heart and tears me up thinking of how painful that was. We are thankful that God has blessed us with another pregnancy though that has gone well. We look forward to Elias' birth in just a couple of months.

Five years down, hopefully many many many more years to come. What an adventure it is with each other and with Jesus. We pray that he will continue to use us, to teach us, to grow us as we grow as a family in the future.

Me with my yummy steak.

Natalie with her yummy steak.

The sunset at the end of the day.

Memorial Day...Birthday Party

2008-06-01T23:06:00.007-04:00

We had a great Memorial Day weekend last weekend. We went up to the lake Friday night and enjoyed food at Acapulco Grill with family in celebration of Jordan's graduation from college - CONGRATS JORD!! Then we stayed the night at the cottage and enjoyed a full day at the lake on Saturday. After church on Sunday, we went back up to the lake to celebrate Nicole's birthday. Nicole and I (Tyler) have the same birthday, so we get to celebrate it with family together. We had plenty of good food and lots of corn hole...all with the backdrop and beauty of the lake - awesome! Monday, we spent the day tubing and floating in the boat - the water was too cold to swim even though the weather was beautiful. We grilled pork steaks for dinner and finished the weekend with a cruise around the lake. It was sad for the relaxing weekend to come to an end. I have included a few pictures below.

Nicole blowing out her 17 candles. The cake is Natalie's favorite - she couldn't have any though because of the special diet she has to be on for the rest of the pregnancy.

Natalie's aunts and grandma having a good time.

The birthday buddies enjoying some leftover potato salad for a snack.

Natalie and her cousin Kati with their dogs.

Nicole and I playing corn hole.

Celebrating a Blessing...

2008-05-16T22:40:00.001-04:00

Today I celebrate a life of an individual who has been the most amazing addition to my life. He is a man who continues to grow in his faith and look for opportunities to mature in his relationship with Christ...in and amongst difficult times he continues to have joy and encourage me...he stands with me when I am dealing with my various needs...he always sees that I'm taken care of and that I feel secure...he assures me of my value and beauty...he desires to be the best husband (and he is)...he seeks to be a great father and he looks for every opportunity to prepare himself to be the best father possible...he puts others first (even on his birthday)...he attempts in every situation to see the best in people...he works to initiate passion and purpose in other's lives...he lives to be a voice of hope-live a life of faith-and be known by love...he cares for all and ultimately he lives to serve, serve God and serve others. So today because of this amazing blessing to my life and behalf of others who have been touched by his life...Happy Birthday Tyler.

Congrats Wade and Jenny!!

2008-05-12T23:37:00.019-04:00

This past weekend we traveled to South Bend (nothing to do with ND) for a wedding. Our friend Jenny (also a relative of mine) married the love of her life Wade. It was a great day for the two of them and we are so happy for them!

During dinner we had a great time catching up with our friends - Matt, Natalie, Matt, Janelle, and Elissa. We have included some pictures below.

Picture of me with the bride (I think that's a senior picture??)

Picture of me with the groom (ok - obviously that's a joke...for some reason I didn't get a picture of the groom - sorry wade)

Picture of me, Matt, and Matt with the punch (don't ask me why...it's just what we do)

Natalie with Natalie, Janelle, and Elissa (again...don't ask why - read explanation above)

Because of where we were seated for the reception, we had an obstructed view of the reception festivities. Part of our entertainment for the night then was guessing what was going on behind the wall. We did pretty well (since most of us have been to or been a part of our fair share of weddings - I believe Matt T. has actually been in 12 himself). The picture above was taken during the toast (we think).

This is a picture of the cutting of the cake (again...we think).

Finally, this is a picture of the first dance (ok - you probably noticed that all three pictures are identical. We thought it would be funny to put up the same picture for all the different reception events since we couldn't see what was going on. Despite our limited visibility though, we really did have a great time - so please don't feel bad Wade and Jenny - we just couldn't resist such an amazing sarcastic opportunity).

This is a picture of Natalie, Natalie, Janelle, and Elissa sitting in the egg chairs at the reception.

Matt, Matt, and me hanging out before dinner.

The fab four (too lazy to write out the names again - even though writing the explanation took more effort than just writing the names), along with Sarah and Sasha.

Small Group Get Together

2008-05-05T11:41:00.013-04:00

Last night (Sunday May 4th) we hosted a small group get together with people from our church. We were really looking forward to having everyone over - ever since we bought our house last spring. We ate grilled hot dogs (the best kind) and all sorts of great food that people brought. We enjoyed doing life together - laughing, having conversation, and playing yard games until the sun went down. Thanks to everyone for coming and for a great night!

During a game of corn hole, the entire hole was covered with the bean bags - we couldn't believe that none of them actually fell into the hole!

Notice the patio table with no table top - that's the one that I broke a few weeks ago when the umbrella slipped and fell on it - causing the entire glass top to come crashing down into million little pieces. That was the source of at least a few jokes last night!

Cynthia Fundraiser

2008-05-05T11:23:00.009-04:00

Saturday night, May 3rd, our church hosted a "We Love Cynthia Fundraiser" for the girl in our church who recently had a heart transplant. We wanted to raise money to help support Cynthia and her family with some of the medical expenses that they have. As part of the event, we had a spaghetti dinner, bake sale, silent auction, entertainment, and outdoor games with prizes. It was a great night! By the end of the night, we had raised around $4000. With additional money that we are still waiting on to come in, we should raise between $5000-6000. Praise God! Thanks to everyone who helped out. I have included a few pictures below.

People enjoying the spaghetti dinner.

People playing basketball outside.

Some girls from Cynthia's class at school doing a dance as part of the entertainment for the night.

Only about half of the baked goods that were for sale as part of the bake sale. Can you say diabetes?

We had over 60 items included in the silent auction. It got pretty competitive, especially during the last few minutes :-)

EN Prom

2008-05-05T10:58:00.008-04:00

On Saturday April 26th, Natalie's brother Joel and sister Nicole went to their high school prom. Every year as part of the prom event the school hosts what they call the Grand March. At the Grand March, all the kids who are attending the prom walk with their dates a few laps around the school gym so that parents, family, and friends can see them all dressed up. Afterwards, everyone takes pictures on the gym floor. I have included a few pictures below.

This is a picture of two guys (me and Natalie's brother Jordan) who are definitely happy that our prom going days are well behind us!

This is a picture of Natalie's sister Nicole (second from left) and a few friends. Joel's date, Valerie (sorry if I spelled that wrong Joel), is the first on the left.

Picture of Joel with a friend.

Picture of Joel and Nicole with the parentals.

Picture of Joel and Nicole with the sibs and in-laws.

ND Blue Gold Game

2008-05-05T10:37:00.007-04:00

With the risk of riots looming because we have not posted for so long, I wanted to give you an update on some of the things that have ben going on for us lately. On Saturday April 19th, I worked the Notre Dame Blue Gold Game. This is a scrimmage game that concludes the football team's spring practices. It was a great day for football...Notre Dame won of course :-)

I have included some pictures from the day below.

Joe Montana was in attendance. I took this picture outside the locker room.

At the end of the game, my cousin Jason and I were two of the ushers who got to "sweep the field." This basically means that we line up with other ushers in the south end zone and walk across the field to the north end zone. This is a picture of my foot (right) and Jason's foot (left) in the end zone.

Our view from the field waiting to sweep. It was awesome! I took some video of it as well, but have not posted it here.

This the view from where I was stationed for the day. I am usually in the lower bowl in the corner where the students sit. They are doing some construction in the lower bowl, so since no one was sitting there we all were reassigned for the day. I was pleased with my spot - middle of the field with a great view of the game!

This is a cheesy picture I took of me, my cousin Jason, my uncle Dave, and my section captain Bill. We took this because the captains were having a hard time tracking down the attendance sheets for us to sign in. By taking the picture, we had proof that we were there so that we would be eligible for our free ticket in the fall.

Shout to the Lord on American Idol

2008-04-10T23:24:00.002-04:00

Was anyone else as surprised, moved, choked up, encouraged, and in awe as I was when I heard the American Idol contestants singing "Shout to the Lord" on the show tonight - the name Jesus and all?

I know they sang it last night as part of their Idol Gives Back show, and they apparently sang "My Shepherd" instead of "My Jesus." (We didn't get to see it). Tonight they sang it again though, and they sang Jesus this time.

It was a crazy moment that I almost couldn't believe was really happening. It was similar to when you see someone you know on TV. I didn't know whether to be skeptical and cynical or completely in awe because Jesus was being openly praised on one of the most popular shows on television. I felt like Jesus was on the stage for all to see.

I am curious as to what others thought??

Thank You Kansas

2008-04-08T00:18:00.005-04:00

Thanks to the sweet game Kansas played Saturday night and the incredible comeback they had tonight, I was able to come from behind to win our church's March Madness tournament bracket contest. I was in sixth place going into tonight's game. I was the only one who picked Kansas though. It was close, but they pulled it off. Thanks guys for giving me the opportunity to tell everyone that I knew exactly what I was doing when I filled out my bracket! (I know...I know...it was all a guess - but just for a moment I can pretend)

Florida Trip 2008

2008-04-03T22:39:00.024-04:00

One week ago we were enjoying the Florida sun and sand at Siesta Key. We had a great vacation - thanks to Jeff and Holly for letting us stay with you. We always have a blast with our family!! It was rough leaving the warm weather, ocean, and all the green and color. We are refreshed though and glad to be home. We are already looking forward to going back next year! It's crazy to think that next year we will have Elias with us for the trip!! Enjoy some of the pictures from our trip.

The van ride home.

Beautiful skies.

Jeff trying to show he is farther along than Natalie (his stomach hurt after sticking it out like that).

Sunset at the beach.

Dinner at the Siesta Key Oyster Bar.

Beach volleyball.

Playing cards during Guys Night.

Drinking ranch trying to recover from the blazin wings we ate as part of Guys Night.

Dinner at BWW's for Guys Night.

Enjoying the beach.

Dinner at Philippi Creek.

Our annual picture with the turtle.

Jeff getting eaten alive.

Goofy Faces.

Dinner at Philippi Creek.

Carrabbas - delicious!

Joel and his friends.

Dinner at Carrabbas.

Nicole and her friends.

The yard behind the condo.

And the name is...

2008-03-20T08:16:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all of you who played our "Guess the Name" game. We really enjoyed reading your guesses! Now that we have given you all a chance to guess, the name of our little guy will be...

Jonathan Elias Ward

Please keep us in your prayers. We will keep you posted as things move along. We are about halfway through right now - almost 20 weeks or 4 1/2 months!

Guess the Name Contest

2008-03-14T12:00:00.006-04:00

I know some of you have been waiting eagerly for this, so I thought I would use a little bit of my lunch break today to get this contest up and running. For those of you who don't know, Natalie and I found out on Wednesday that the little Ward baby growing inside of her right now is a BOY. We are so excited...and the best part is that the doctor said everything looked GREAT! The baby is developing just as he should.

Since we know it is a boy now, we want to host a little contest here on our blog to see who can guess the name of our baby boy. Below we have listed 12 names...one of them is the name we have chosen, and we want to know which name you think that is. Leave a comment to submit your guess. NOTE: Many of the names we have listed are ones we strongly considered...a few of them we did not consider for even a second. Have fun and good luck!

The first name will be Jonathan (that is my first name...my Great Grandpa, Grandpa, and Dad are all named John, so we will keep the pattern going). His name will be...

Jonathan _____________ Ward

We will call him by his middle name.

POSSIBLE NAMES TO CHOOSE FROM:

1. Oliver

2. Cadence

3. Rudy

4. Greyson

5. Griffin

6. Dawson

7. Wesley

8. Owen

9. Elias

10. Liam

11. Peyton or Payton

12. Judiah

To submit your guess click on the word "comments" below, leave your name and guess, then scroll down and press the "publish your comment" button. Good Luck!

It's About Time...

2008-03-04T18:14:00.005-05:00

For all of you who get tired during the day and need to take a nap at work or school (I won't mention any names), these are for you. All you have to do is take the stickers and put them on your eyelids and no one will ever know you're sleeping. Genius!

Dad's Birthday

2008-03-04T18:00:00.005-05:00

Sunday we celebrated my dad's birthday. He turned 52. We are so thankful for the years of life we have enjoyed with him and are so grateful for the work that God has done and continues to do in his life!

Baby Ultrasound

2008-02-22T15:41:00.004-05:00

This is an ultrasound picture from an appointment about two weeks ago (around 14 weeks). It's amazing! You can see the head, body, arms, and legs. This wasn't even the best picture that we saw, but it was the best one that was printed out.

Baby Heartbeat

2008-02-22T14:48:00.002-05:00

This is a recording of our baby's heartbeat from our doctor's appointment this morning. Things are continuing to move along as they should, and we continue to praise God for His goodness and grace. Thanks for the prayers. How amazing life is!

Wiener Poopie

2008-02-12T12:51:00.001-05:00

What a great video! I got the link from the Youth Specialties update that I receive each week. Those guys know how to make my day!

Happy Birthday Natalie!!

2008-02-04T23:23:00.000-05:00

Today we celebrated my beautiful wife's birthday. We celebrated last night with her family by eating at the new restaurant in town, Granite City Food and Brewery. It was delicious...the food was great and there was plenty. We enjoyed some birthday cake back at the house, and Natalie got her traditional birthday spankings from her parents and siblings (they were easier on her this year since she's a mommy-to-be).

The two of us celebrated together tonight by going out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants that we only go to every couple of years...Eddie Merlot's. We each enjoyed filet mignon, bread, garlic mashed potatoes, and creme brulee. It was amazing!!

Happy Birthday Natalie!! God willing, next year we'll be celebrating with three of us instead of two!!

Super Bowl Fun!

2008-02-04T23:00:00.001-05:00

We enjoyed the Super Bowl Sunday night at Natalie's parents with friends and family. You'll notice my Bear's jersey that I have worn every year for the Super Bowl since I was a freshman in high school (1996). I have vowed to wear it each year until the Bears win it. Last year could have been the year I got a new jersey, except that the Colts had to go and spoil it for me.

The food was great again this year, and the game was as well. Actually the game was somewhat boring until the final quarter. I wish the Patriot's would have won...I was the only one though in a house of Colt's fans - they all despised the Patriots and vehemently rooted against them (isn't it funny what ENVY will do to people :-).

Baby On The Way!!

2008-01-25T11:01:00.000-05:00

We've been waiting to let everyone know, but now that we are 12 weeks along and we were able to hear our baby's heartbeat this morning at our doctor visit, we felt like now was a good time to share the news that NATALIE IS PREGNANT!!

We praise God for the progress so far and continue to pray for His goodness and grace. Please keep us in your prayers over the next 6-7 months. We will keep you posted. DUE DATE: August 9th, 2008!

The Original Human TETRIS Performance by Guillaume Reymond

2008-01-15T17:01:00.001-05:00

I received the link to this video in the Youth Specialties update I received this week. Thought I would post it for all of you TETRIS fans out there to enjoy.

We Heart Cynthia

2008-01-14T21:22:00.001-05:00

This is a video that Joel and some of the kids at church put together for Cynthia. Enjoy!

Blog for Cynthia

2008-01-08T18:50:00.000-05:00

I wanted to encourage all of you to check out the blog that was put together for our friend Cynthia. The blog will be used to provide everyone with the latest updates, as well as to give all of us an opportunity to leave encouraging words and comments for Cynthia to read.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cynthia is a 10 year old girl from our church who recently found out that she needs a heart transplant. She has an important surgery tomorrow (Wednesday). We will let you know how that goes. Please continue to pray for Cynthia and her family, and if you get a chance, leave her a note of encouragement on her blog.

CLICK HERE to go to the blog.

Lost

2008-01-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

Due to the writer strike this year, most of our favorite shows will not be on or will not have any new episodes this spring. Since there are at least some new Lost episodes coming, Natalie and I have been trying to catch up. We have never watched the show, but in the last week we have watched nearly the entire first season (thanks to the Bakers for letting us borrow it). It has been great and addicting. I know a little bit about what happens in later seasons, so it is great to fill in the gaps a bit.We have enjoyed it. Now we only need to get our hands on the second and third seasons before the end of January.

New Posts for the New Year

2008-01-01T13:46:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the absence of new posts for such a long time. We have been very busy and have not had a lot of time to update. Hope you enjoy some of the new "old" posts for the new year. We will try to keep things updated for you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Eve

2008-01-01T13:36:00.001-05:00

We spent New Year's Eve with our friends, Drew and Ashley Baker and their little Baker boy, Evan. Before we went to their house we played a quick game of Rock Star with Joel, Nicole, and some of their friends.

Then it was off to the Baker's. We ordered subs and wings and watched some old Office episodes while we waited for the ball to drop. Thanks to the Bakers for a great time!

We spent the night at Natalie's parents then and are just hanging out here at their house today watching football and updating the blog.

Cynthia

2008-01-01T13:29:00.000-05:00

Sunday after church, Phil, Kathy, Natalie, and I went to Indy to visit with a girl from our church who found out last week that she will need a heart transplant. She is down at Riley hospital and will have to stay there until a heart becomes available.

The news was very upsetting for us, but we are trusting God to work out what is best in all of this. Please keep Cynthia in your prayers. We will keep you posted. You can also check out our friends' (Phil and Kathy) blog for updates.

We are working on the possibility of creating a page that will be a part of our church's website. We will keep you up to date if we get something up and running.

We love you Cynthia!

Coney Island

2008-01-01T13:22:00.000-05:00

Every year we go with Natalie's family to Coney Island at Christmas time. We check out the huge Santa Claus light display and eat plenty of coney dogs. Every year I consider going for the record (24 dogs in an hour), but have never wanted to spend the money on that many hot dogs. Maybe next year!

Christmas Get-Togethers

2008-01-01T12:53:00.000-05:00

We had our normal 7 family get-togethers for Christmas this year. We started by getting together with the Spaw's (Natalie's dad's side of the family) early on Sunday December 9th. Then, we got together with my dad, Becky, Taryn, and Arin at our house on Friday 12/21. Later that night Natalie and I opened each other's gifts to each other (she needed one of the gifts that I got her to make the chocolate bark that she made the next day).

Then we got together with the Todd family (Natalie's mom's side of the family) on Sunday 12/23 after church. On Monday 12/24 we went to the Ward's (Tyler's dad's side of the family) and then headed up to my mom's to get together with her and Greg. We finished up our Christmas Eve with a special service at church.

On Christmas day we went to Natalie's parents' for brunch and gifts. Then we went to the Nelson's (Tyler's mom's side of the family) for lunch and gifts. Finally, we ended the day with games and fun back at Natalie's parents' house.

Dad and my uncle Wayne (dad's brother) at the Ward's.

Playing cards at the Ward's.

Opening our new toaster oven from John and Mary.

Group picture at the Todd's.

Opening cologne from Natalie.

One of the fake gifts I gave Natalie to throw her off. I got her a bigger gift this year that I didn't want her to suspect, so I put a few fake gifts under the tree to make her think she got a bunch of smaller gifts rather than a few big gifts. It worked like a charm!

Natalie holding the calendar of me that I made for her.

Becky opening one of her gifts from us.

Natalie fighting with Taryn over the gift dad got her.

One of the shirts that dad got me.

No Church

2008-01-01T12:47:00.000-05:00

On Sunday December 16th, for the first time since I have been pastor at LWC we cancelled church due to the weather. Since we didn't have church, Natalie, Jenny, Aaron, Christy, and I all got together for breakfast and then hung out all day napping, watching TV, playing games, and eating food. It was a nice unexpected day off.