Between the darkness of the ice storm and the holiday season we neglected to share some pictures with you!

Decorating for Christmas ...



Uncle Kurt Graduates from the University of Kansas (Go JAYHAWKS!)


Hayden Practiced His Photography Skills at the Reception!



We also had a fun evening watching the Green Bay Packers on TV - we're not really big fans, but Laughlin is a cheese-head and shared it with Hayden!

Powerless...NO MORE!

We have power! It's so wonderful!

Powerless

We just had a major ice storm swoop in on Monday evening leaving us without any electricity for almost a week now. We're warming up at David's parent's house in KC over the weekend with hope our power is restored when we return Sunday afternoon.

Click HERE for pictures.

First Snow

We just had a our first snow last night and through this morning. Hayden has some new snowpants he's been "super excited" to wear. So, this afternoon (after his Dentist appt.), we played in the snow:

Thanksgiving Trip

We're off to Marion, Indiana for the Kinnan Family Reunion. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

Lenny's Truck

Lenny, a friend from church, works for the railroad. Occasionally, he stop by the office in his work truck. Hayden was with me and he was invited to take a "tour" of Lenny's official "Train Truck". To say the least, Hayden had a blast!

Episcopal Wedding

Caleb and Morgan are good friends and a part of our church body (when not at school). They were married this past weekend and I was able to participate in the wedding by leading a few readings, giving the homily (short sermon), and introducing them as Mr. and Mrs. Caleb and Morgan Enoch.





















It was a great experience as I'd never participated in an Episcopal wedding. Father Tom is the priest of St. Paul's Episcopal Church. We had some great discussions about his tradition and mine...I really enjoyed meeting him.

It took some adjustments to get used to the formality of certain traditions, but you can't help but value the reverence the Episcopal Church gives to a wedding ceremony. I'd much rather this sacrament be taken too seriously than too lightly.

Congratulations Caleb and Morgan Enoch!!!

Pray for Bailian

A precious little guy from our church is currently at Children's Mercy in KC - he's got asthma and a recent bout has resulted in pneumonia. His daddy is in the military and currently in Iraq, so please be in prayer for his mommy as she carries this on her shoulders.

Pray for strength, healing, and peace - we hope Bailian's dad will be coming home soon for R&R to see them.

We Can't Wait Until June ...

Seriously!

Where has time gone?! We have been having such an incredible time ... it feels like we just got back from New Orleans and still have summer left - each wonderful day has flown by, and we are praising God for all that we have and all that we are learning about Him. We know for sure that our precious little boy gets sweeter with each passing day and we are so thankful for the gift of him!

Here's where we have been, starting with our most recent activities ...

Halloween: Hayden was an "engine guy" because he "likes to fix cars" ...

We went to our church's AWANA Harvest Party this evening and had a blast! We decorated pumpkins, made silly-putty, went "fishing" for candy, and got loads of treats! Instead of the normal "Trick or Treat" during the candy collection, he insisted on telling people that "I'm an engine guy ... can I fix your car?"











Playing with Uncle Pete ...

These two have so much fun together! They even made up their own game of baseball with a stick and a soccer ball!

Pumpkins and Train Rides with Papa ...

We could not forget our yearly tradition ( 4 years strong) of going to Eastside Market to find the PERFECT pumpkins! Later that week Hayden and Daddy went back with Papa Kerby to ride a train while mommy and Grandma Kerby were shopping!

University of Kansas: Late Night in the PHOG
We made another yearly tradition happen ... our annual pilgrammage to Lawrence for LATE NIGHT IN THE PHOG! It makes for a great date night since we're both fans of KU and basketball, and it's always so much fun! We seem to manage to get some great pictures with players and coaches and meet a lot of great fellow fans!

Birthday #4: Trains, Race Cars, and DRUMS!

Hayden hit his fourth year on the ground running, and we had a blast! He seemed to enoy the thought of moving from 3 to 4, and loved having so many people there to celebrate him ... but the cake and presents seemed to be the ultimate confirmation that birthday's definitely ROCK!

Catalyst

Last week was a very refreshing week for me. I, along with 3 other buddies on our church staff, traveled to Atlanta for a leadership conference. Over 11,000 other people joined us for an incredible event. As an exercise for me, I reviewed the key pieces I brought home with me. Maybe they'll speak to your heart just as they did mine:


Andy Stanley:
Q - What do you do when it dawns on you that you're the leader?
A - Take the position of servant...just as Christ did (washing his disciples feet)

If we don't take the position of servant, we declare that we are greater than our Master because He chose to leverage His power.

Q - Who benefits from your leadership power?
Q - How can I leverage my power for the benefit of others?

Patrick Lencioni:
"People need to be reminded more than they need instructed"

Signs of Being in a Bad Job -
- Anonymity...Nobody acts like they care about you.
- Irrelevance...What you do has very little value or influence.
- Immeasurement...You have no idea where you stand or how well you're doing

"The impact you have on the people you manage is much greater than the impact you'll have on volunteers."

Panel Speaking About the Word's Perspective of Christians:
91% see Christians as "Anti-homesexual"
87% see Christians as "Judgemental"
78% see Christians as "Sheltered"

"We're not hated for righteousness; we're hated for self-righteousness."

"People must have a way to act on what they know."

Rick Warren:
Moses' staff represented his...
- Identity (Shepherd)
- Income (That of a shepherd)
- Influence (Moves sheep from A to B)

God asked Moses to lay down his staff and God did the impossible by changing it into a snake. Once Moses picked it back up, it changed back to a stick.

"What is in your hand?"
"What needs to be laid down?"

John Maxwell:
"Intentionally add value to the people around you."
"Don't worry about the reaping...just sow."

To add value to people, you must...
- Value people
- Make yourself more valuable
- Know and relate to what others value
- Do what God values (See and Touch as God would)

Craig Groeschel (MY FAVORITE):
Practical Atheist - "Someone who believes God exists but does ministry/life as if He does not exist."

"Our lips sometimes stay close to God, but our heart is elsewhere."

"The way you're doing the work of God can destroy the work of God in you."

Practical Atheism...
- We believe our effort is better than God's power.
- We believe our private life doesn't affect our ministry.
- We believe we must please people more than we please God.

Dave Ramsey:
How to create waves...
- Have a written financial plan.
- Get out of debt.
- Act your wage.
- Save and invest.
- Give (Invest in Heaven)

Erwin McManus:
Even when Adam had a perfect relationship with God and he lived in a perfect place, he still needed.
- God understood Adam's needs more than Adam understood them.
- God intends His creation to be creative.

Andy Stanley (2nd Message):
"There are organizational systems that are conducive to ministry and organizational systems that impede ministry."

"There are organizational systems that free leaders to lead and organizational systems that obstruct leaders."

"System = Your organization's approach to getting things done"

"Systems create behaviors."

Components of a system...
- Expectations/Rules
- Rewards (or lack of)
- Consequences (or lack of)
- Communication (content and style)
- Behavior (of those in charge)

"Systems have a greater impact on organizational culture than do mission statements."

System Imperatives...
- Your system should allow you (lead pastor) to involve and hire the BEST person for the job.
- Your system should provide you with the flexibility to get the right people to the table.
- Your system should allow you to make complex decisions within the context of a small group of empowered individuals
- Your system should ensure that only one person answers to "THEY".

"If you go into an exisiting system w/out knowing there is a system issue, you will spin your wheels."

"Talks don't create behaviors...systems do."

"The CONGREGATIONAL VIEW is not found in the Bible."

Steps to creating a system...
- Get a group of no more than 5-6 people.
- List 3 behaviors you wished characterized your church.
- List 1 thing that you're to encourage for each of the 3 behaviors you listed.
- List the things you're doing to encourage any wrong behaviors.

I highly recommend this conference. We also met with Kevin Myers who pastors the largest Wesleyan Church in the world. That meeting was probably the most valuable experience, but I don't have my notes with me. I'll share them later.

It's Fall?

Seriously...it's Fall?

We're here. I promise.

Summer Update

4 Degrees...
Two of us have finished and two of us have practically just begun our degrees. Heather (David's sister) completed her M.A. in Christian Education and Tom (David's dad) completed his Doctorate in Ministry...both from Nazarene Theological Seminary. Graduation was a blast!

We, Katy and I, are at the beginning of our graduate work. Katy (M.A. in Educational Leadership) has finished up two classes while I'm just beginning my second class (M.A. in Ministry). We're both learning a ton and enjoying it despite the reorganization of our lives so homework could be given quality time. I'm scheduled to finish in April, 2009 and Katy should finish up soon after.

New Orleans...
At the very beginning of June, our church took 23 hard-working people to provide aid to Hurricane Katrina victims through World Hope. It was a special trip where we all bonded and the obvious need was seen by all. Parts of the area look like a ghost town, while others are filled with people grasping for hope as they begin the rebuilding process (if they can afford it).



It was a great trip...one that we'll probably do again next summer. Pray for the people in New Orleans...they are incredibly open to hearing just how much God cares for them.

Vacation...
It was only 5 days. Every year we do our best to make it down to Florida to enjoy the beach. We are going back to normal life tomorrow which proves we should have taken a longer vacation. Last year, we enjoyed the Florida sun for 8 days...this year, it amazing how much of a different three days can make. Along with my parents and the Semple Family (David's sister's family), we went down to the Clearwater Beach, Florida for some great family time.

We had a blast and we are currently going through withdraw although we're
excited to reconnect with our friends in Manhattan.

Vacation daily schedule:
1. Get up (doesn't matter when)
2. Drink coffee and have breakfast
3. Face toughest decision of the day (Beach or Pool?)
4. Swim or Layout
5. Eat
6. Swim or Layout
7. Take a nap (because of the extremely difficult day)
8. Eat
9. Lounge around the big screen HDTV
10. Sleep

(The nap was sometimes substituted for a time of shopping or movie watching. Please note the gigantic prime rib dinner I am giving my approval of...this is the restaurant that Katy and I ate at on the first night of our honeymoon.)

We finished up our vacation with a visit to see Katy's parents and her grandpa...they're always a ton of fun!




































Coming up...
Katy has about a month left in her summer vacation before she reports back to her school. She'll also be starting her third graduate course pretty soon which I know she's really excited about.

Hayden is in vacation mode...I think he's long-forgotten any memory of preschool. He'll be at a different school this year but he'll have the same teacher. She moved to a different school, so we moved with her because she's that good!

As I said earlier, I'm preparing for some messages I'll be presenting in the next four weeks. God has blessed me with several opportunities lately to speak at other churches which is something I really enjoy while I also am privileged to preach in our home church.

We've got our church's "Family Camp" and our District's "Family Reunion" coming up during this month...so, Good-bye Vacation!

We love you all!

- The Kinnans