We’ve sent out our latest prayer letter in the last 24 hours (email copies) and will be posting the non-email folks in the next day or two. If you’ve not received it, please let us know so we can have your up to date email address. Here’s the link for the letter:
Thanks!
It took a few days to clear the desk and catch up after being busy for the last weeks. Now I’ve decided that my desk might never be fully cleared, but I need to press on with some projects. I need to make my next move in securing a publisher for the preaching book I want to publish. I’ve decide my next move and now need to implement it. I also need to write an article, although I’m unclear what it will be on, so that is percolating a bit for now (but if I get some inspiration, it will move to front burner for a few hours). I have a combination of articles that I need to edit together and simplify a bit for a journal. That would be nice to do, but it’s not top priority, so it may get on the agenda next week, or it may not. Oh, and we need to send out a prayer update via email. I’ll get Melanie’s input and then send that out – watch your inbox!
If I don’t guard my schedule and create gaps in it, then these kinds of writing projects never happen. I could list more that I’d like to pursue, but these are the main ones for now. Thanks for praying for us. Please pray for these writing projects to bear fruit. Meanwhile, the children are enjoying the back garden. Melanie seems to be having a good few days with slightly raised energy levels and no headaches. Enough for now . . .
I got back yesterday after a great time onboard the Logos Hope in Cork, Ireland. OM Ireland’s summer outreach – Impact Ireland – had their orientation onboard. I was able to give five Bible studies on the cross and it seemed to go really well. It was such a blessing to be asked to speak about a subject so central and vital as “Back to the Cross.” We were able to spend time in various Bible books, but always seeing the importance of the cross to our salvation, our message and also our daily life. The various teams headed out over Ireland during the weekend. The last team to leave was the “Cross Team” – five hardy souls who are carrying a twelve-foot cross 150 miles across Ireland, sharing the message of hope as they go. Please pray for this team and all the teams to see God at work in Ireland in the coming days. Over the weekend I was able to speak to the ship’s company, which also went well. I’m thankful for the privilege of investing in the community onboard and am looking forward to future visits. The Logos Hope is an amazing tool and it will be exciting to see the ministry of the ship develop in the years ahead. Today the ship is sailing to St Vincent – 14 days across the Atlantic. Please pray for them to have a safe voyage and then a very effective season of ministry in the Caribbean.
It’s been a good week, but it’s great to be home with the little Meads. Now for a day off to enjoy them.
I’m on a roll here since I figured out how to put pictures on the site – for the fifteenth time!! 
Here are some photos from our 4th of July celebration last week. (See below for my other post from today.)
The girls made sure everyone wore red, white and blue! Peter was gone all day and when he came home, we decided last minute to do a BBQ so he went out and bought the stuff we needed, plus a bouquet of red, white and blue flowers for his American wife! Here the girls are getting ready to do a “parade” for us. Two parade marchers and 4 spectators!
Here comes the parade!
This is the sign on Aliyah’s shirt! I don’t think the girls have a clue who Miss America really is. Their innocence is so sweet.
Mariah – watching the parade
Finishing off our BBQ . . .
And now it’s time for cake, a patriotic one of course!
Who cares what holiday it is, if dessert is included, I’m there!
It’s been a relatively peaceful Saturday morning. The children have been playing on their own happily, so I got to clean up the kitchen, make a new recipe I have been wanting to try (carrot salad) and take a long shower. Nice. I just peeked into the living room to see what they were up to (when they are happy on their own it’s always a risk to show my face in case they decide they suddenly need me desperately!). They make me smile so much . . . so often I say to myself, I never want to forget how cute they are! They are all dressed up – Aliyah and Mariah in fancy dresses, Joel in his little suit (he says he’s “suit boy”) and they are “on a plane,” well, really spread out on the living room floor, Joel strapped into a carseat, girls sitting on cushions, each holding a small box with a stuffed dog in it. Aliyah’s is named Lady, Joel’s is named Rusty and Mariah’s is Fruit-o. They have a “shoe rack” and a pile of pillows for “in case we need to sleep.” All this is happening with Bach playing peacefully in the background! (They put on the cd!) OK, silly me, I’m off to take a picture so I really won’t forget!!
I just took the picture and got some more information from them . . . they are on their way back from China where they adopted a little baby (thus, the doll in the photo) named Butterfly! Now they are on their way back to America.
P.S. Small miracle that I put put the photo on this post! It’s a little small but you can click to make it bigger.
This afternoon I am heading over to Cork to be on the Logos Hope for a few days. I’ll be accompanied by a good friend Josh from our church here, who’ll be experiencing ship life until Friday. The first few days will be the orientation for the summer outreach called Impact Ireland. This is an OM Ireland ministry, rather than a Logos Hope ministry, but the orientation will be onboard. Then over the weekend I’ll be focusing on the ship’s company. 8 messages in the next five days, starting with the opening message tonight. Appreciate your prayers, as always, and also prayers for Melanie and the family at home. Hopefully the days will pass quickly and relatively painlessly (figuratively and literally) here at home.
Well, I’m halfway through the weekend. Yesterday morning I was up early to take Aunt Carol to the airport, then drive on to Letchworth. The Biblical Preaching Seminar ran from 8-1:30 and seemed to go well. Then I drove home and enjoyed a 4th of July backyard barbecue, a brief parade and so on. This morning I head back up to Letchworth for morning and evening services there.
Here are some photos from the last month.
Mom enjoys a cuddle with Bob the Builder! Joel is currently obsessed with all kinds of hats!
Whoah!! We can almost see her tonsils!
Mariah is usually full of all types of smiles.
Oh yes, Joel’s also obsessed with ladders! (Yes, he does have a parent standing underneath him!)
The kids love to “perform” for us. Here they are doing one of their shows.
A birthday cuddle with Mom.
We are growing all kinds of things in our garden this summer. Here is the very first strawberry!
Oh, yes, if there’s no ladder nearby, Joel will pick something else to climb! When I told him to get down (after snapping the photo!), he argued with me saying he was being a fireman.
We all thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the Logos Hope when it was in London.
This morning we harvested our first potatoes!
Well, we have had an unusually hot week. Most people around here are complaining about it, but hey, its a reprieve from the usual British rainy summers! Today we used the paddling pool (wading pool for your Americans) for the third time in the past week. Thankfully, the experience was different from last year’s paddling pool experience when the kids came in with blue lips and drank hot chocolate to warm up!! Today was actually quite hilarious. I came out to find the kids “baptizing” each other in the pool!! (Of course in the name on the Father, Son and Spirit and after a confession of faith!!) No sooner had we put the video camera away, then we had to bring it out again because Joel was sliding extremely fast down our plastic slide and into the pool. Why so fast? Because he was naked!! We shot some video for his future wife. I will try to post pictures (appropriate ones!) tomorrow.
