My newest little niece London Grace Platek! Born on March 20th @ 10:30am. She was pretty tiny at 9.07 lbs and 21 inches long:) My sister even did it without an epidural, you tha woman!

Sienna, my sister Chrissy and London Grace. That makes 7 grandkids for my parents in less than 5 years. We have been busy and fruitful!

Happy St. Patrick's Day
Summer, Sienna and Georgie

Sienna Lauren White, my brother George's new little girl. Born December 19th at 4:48pm weighing 8lbs. 3 oz and 20.5 inches long

Dallas Journey...

Since this blog goes out to nearly 500 people on a regular basis, I thought this was the best way to inform everyone that may not know. I will be stepping down as the Youth and Associate Pastor at New Life Bible Fellowship here in Dallas at the end of the school year, with my last official Sunday being June 14th. I feel like my gifts, calling and passions do not fit the role I am currently in. NLBF needs a Youth Pastor and I do not feel like I am it for this next season. My wife and I do believe that God did call us here for the last almost 3 ½ years, but our time here is coming to an end. We will probably be in the area till at least August unless something else comes along before that. My wife, Senior Pastor and I are all in agreement with this decision and have a peace about it. I wanted to be here for at least 5 years and see the youth I came in with graduate, but sometimes our time is not God's time.

I really feel this time here has helped equip, grow and mature me a lot and touch lives, which I feel was all accomplished. One of the biggest lives touched was mine, by the loving and caring hearts of the people here. We have built many wonderful relationships and we do not think there was a better place to start our new life and family together than here in South Dallas and at NLBF. We were given a wonderful opportunity to minister to people in Texas and were also ministered to. Sabrina and I desire to live closer to our families, mine being in Ohio and hers in North Carolina . We would love to be somewhere in between, but are also open to whatever God has in store as I have not been offered a new job anywhere, it is just time for this journey to come to an end. I do still feel called to ministry, but not sure in what capacity yet. I would appreciate your prayers that my wife and I would be surrendered to the Lord and obedient. That I would be the spiritual leader of my family and that we would draw closer to the Lord and each other. Also pray for the people of NLBF especially the youth. I told them all a couple of Sundays and many tears were shed by me and others.

We have received an overwhelming amount of support from everyone, which means so much. Some of my friends I have told, think I'm nuts for stepping down without anything lined up, especially in this economy, but I just want to be obedient and follow the Lord's leading wherever that is. My God has provided for me for nearly 31 years and isn't going to leave me hanging now! I remember Sabrina and I found out that I got the Dallas job 2 weeks before we were married 3 1/2 years ago and what a wonderful opportunity God has given us again to trust Him. I will be keeping everyone updated on what the Lord is teaching me and my family in the following months.

Who's gotten into the oatmeal?

Mommy looked away for 1 minute and Graydon figured out how to take the oatmeal lid off

Uh oh, I've been caught :)

Taking a nap with dad on the couch watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament

Don't know what it is about the fridge, but if Graydon is around when it's opened, he loves to stand right in front of it. He's recently started standing in it and our electric bill has gone up recently, don't know why?

Graydon Turns 1

It was a slow start, but a strong finish

Did I get any cake on my face?

Graydon giving mommy some of his cake that she made for him

Grampy and Grammy White came from Ohio for Graydon's 1st Birthday.
Thanks for coming, we loved having you both.

O my goodness, I got a red wagon for my birthday from Grampy and Grammy!

Graydon opening his Bible From Grandpa and Grandma Rousay

I like car rides up to a certain point:(

Graydon's First Train Ride

Our Little Texan

In front of the Longhorn statues in Downtown Dallas

2024 Olympics Here We Come

God Loves to Forgive

"God searches our hearts very directly concerning sin, because once the Holy Spirit reveals our disobedience, He will bring cleansing and strength to our hearts. He will cause us to see His promises and His love in a new, clear light. One of the primary names for the Holy Spirit is comforter and one of the primary names of the devil is accuser. The comforter encourages us and builds us up. The accuser is in the business of tearing us down." -Jim Cymbala

Are you being comforted or accused right now in this time of your life? Many believe God searches and reveals sins in our lives and leaves us hanging from there. God searches and reveals in order to cleanse, comfort, love, strengthen, and reminds us of His promises. God loves to forgive and restore His people back to Him. God does not grudgingly forgive like we try and do with each other sometimes. Run back into the loving arms of the one who created you. There is no better place to be!-Jeremy

Graydon's first time playing in the snow in N.C.

Super Bowl Party at our friend's Tim and Julie's place in D.C. with Emmit. Maybe the Browns will be in it next year...probably not:)

King Street Blues BBQ in D.C. Good food and a fun atmosphere

Laws of the Lighthouse -From Max Lucado's book "In the Eye of the Storm"

What a great reminder as the New Year has begun. Read these a couple of times and let them speak to your heart.

– Love God more than you fear hell.
– Once a week, let a child take you on a walk.
– Make major decisions in a cemetery.
– When no one is watching, live as if someone is.
– Succeed at home first.
– Don’t spend tomorrow’s money today.
– Pray twice as much as you fret.
– Listen twice as much as you speak.
– Only harbor a grudge when God does.
– Never outgrow your love of sunsets.
– Treat people like angels; you will meet some and help make some.
– ‘Tis wiser to err on the side of generosity than on the side of scrutiny.
– God has forgiven you; you’d be wise to do the same.
– When you can’t trace God’s hand, trust his heart.
– Toot your own horn and the notes will be flat.
– Don’t feel guilty for God’s goodness.
– The book of life is lived in chapters, so know your page number.
– Never let the important be the victim of the trivial.
– Live your liturgy.

Family photo shoot in Downtown Dallas

The Drop Game

Graydon sitting in his new seat playing in the cupboards

Betcha can't watch without smiling

Christmas 08 in North Carolina

Carriage ride with Grandma, Grandpa and cousin Jordan

Opening Presents, next year were just buying wrapping paper for Graydon:)

Give More Presence

By Jeremy White
The Christmas season has come again and time to get frustrated because you don’t know what to buy for others. Time to receive gifts that you probably don’t want or need and will re-wrap them for next yearJ Americans spend 450 Billion on Christmas when 10 Billion would solve the World’s drinking problem. 5 million people die every year due to starvation, that’s about 30,273 per day! And yet, we are more concerned that we get that present this year we wanted. I remember when I was in my older teens and the morning of Christmas Day I read the Christmas story before we opened presents and then when I realized I didn’t get some of the things I wanted it put me in a bad mood. I was ungrateful for all the things that my parents had already done for me and was letting my selfishness get in the way.

If this season is all about Jesus then who cares about the presents. It has taken me 30 years to finally believe and live this. I am the most blessed man in the world as I have a relationship with my savior, a loving wife, a beautiful healthy baby, a roof over my head, family and friends to celebrate life with and a job I’m honored to have. What if you told your loved ones that you don’t want to receive anything for Christmas this year or just one less gift? What if you asked them to put that money to help build a water well in a third world country, to buy blankets for the homeless, to help a family in need with bare essentials or to buy Bibles for missionaries to give to those that have never had one before? To be able to give we can’t be so concerned about receiving. I don’t want to make people feel guilty, I just want us to take inventory of where our heart is. The greatest gift we can give anyone is our presence, not presents.

Check the websites below to see how you can give back:
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/
http://gfa.org/

Grapevine Christmas Parade of Lights, thanks for taking the pic Jacks!

Graydon's first game watching the Buckeyes beat the Wolverines, something he could get used to:)

Graydon loves his peas

Jailbreak

Decorating for Christmas

Graydon was a big help decorating the tree for Christmas this year. He LOVED the lights and could not stop staring at them and saying "oooOOooohhh"!
This expression cracks me up every time!

This was just after a bath...love the mohawk!

A Worldview of Thankfulness by John Fischer

The worst moment for an atheist comes when he is really thankful and has no one to thank. -(Author unknown)

You don't care if you get the important seat at the table when you are overcome with gratitude at simply being invited to the dinner. You don't put heavy weights on other people's shoulders when you are thankful that God has lightened your own load. You are not obsessed with what other people think of you when you are overwhelmed with the fact that God is thinking about you all the time. You don't demand respect when you are thankful for your place. You don't have to hide your own sin when you are already thankful for God's forgiveness.

You don't have to protect your image when you are already number one with God. You don't have to condemn other people's blindness when it's only the grace of God that has allowed you to see. You don't have to try for the highest place when you are already grateful for whatever place you were given. You don't have to make a show of spirituality when you are thankful for having received the Spirit. You don't have to clothe yourself in holy robes when you have been already clothed in righteousness. (Or as a friend of mine used to say, "Why be cute when you're already beautiful?") You don't have to be full of yourself when you are thankful that God has filled you up with Himself.

Fellowship in the Gospel

Here's a writing from Oswald Chambers I came across the other day that was pretty impactful, so I wanted to share it with all of you.

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. . . fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ . . . —1 Thessalonians 3:2

After sanctification, it is difficult to state what your purpose in life is, because God has moved you into His purpose through the Holy Spirit. He is using you now for His purposes throughout the world as He used His Son for the purpose of our salvation. If you seek great things for yourself, thinking, "God has called me for this and for that," you barricade God from using you. As long as you maintain your own personal interests and ambitions, you cannot be completely aligned or identified with God’s interests. This can only be accomplished by giving up all of your personal plans once and for all, and by allowing God to take you directly into His purpose for the world. Your understanding of your ways must also be surrendered, because they are now the ways of the Lord.

I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, "Lord, this causes me such heartache." To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Self-pity is of the devil, and if I wallow in it I cannot be used by God for His purpose in the world. Doing this creates for me my own cozy "world within the world," and God will not be allowed to move me from it because of my fear of being "frost-bitten."

My first time on a swing and I loved it for about 3 minutes

Graydon celebrating with Mommy and Daddy on their 3 year Anniversary at Pinecove

Pickin some pumpkins

The outfit that Grandma White gave Graydon only lasted for about 5 minutes before he ripped it off. He's still our little pumpkin though:)

Jump! Jump!

ARMY crawling

Sweet Potato and I shut my mouth