Piece By Piece

Sitting in our dining room is a big box with the words "Rockland Furniture" on it. Today, my friend asked me what that was. I told him it was our baby boy's crib. He replied, "That's really exciting!"
Certainly, our collection of baby things is growing by the week. Some of the biggest pieces are in place for our son. He already has a sweet ride in a green and gray stroller. It has all the luxuries a baby boy could want. Okay, so it's not equipped with a DVD player, or has a hook-up for an iPod. His 'crib' is also pretty sweet! However, I don't know that you will see him taking MTV on a tour around his crib.  Although the cradle rocker we registered for on Target.com has an iPod dock.  CRAZY! . . . what's even more crazy is that we'll probably use it.
We know that he has been growing right on schedule, and is on track for his March 15th arrival. Right on time!, just like his dad. We were told that he is in the 45th percentile for his size. Kelly's belly continues to grow, and it is excited to watch. Alright, maybe not like one would watch grass grow, but you can clearly see evidence. [please note: there is a picture of kelly and her belly on this entry . . . to please those who have asked - this picture was taken at 23 weeks on November 11th]
He has been kicking. For a while, he always kicked during church . . . perhaps not a good sign. Kelly loves it when he kicks. It is simply a good reminder that he is there, and he is doing well. I [Daniel] have felt his good strong kick a few times.

In case you are wondering if we have any names picked out, the answer would be no.  In fact, our plan is not to say anything to anyone about any name possibilities, so don't ask.  However, we have had some name suggestions already.  Fjord, Carlton, Tye, Jonathan Matthew, and Max were a few from friends and family.  Then there was our niece Onalee's [Onnie - for short] suggestion.  Before we knew our baby would be a boy, she told Aunt Kelly [not ant kelly] that we should name our baby "Onnie Jr."  Aunt Kelly wondered about if our child would be a boy?  "Doesn't matter," is what Onnie replied.  Then about a month or so later, Onnie had two more suggestions.  You may want to sit down for these . . . the first: Ranger . . . the second: Laser Eyes.  Yup, you read that right, Laser Eyes.  Needless to say, my family rushed out to the local welder's store for some welder's helmets and shields.  For those that are gullible, that last part is not true . . . and you know you're out there.

We can't wait for our little guy to make his first appearance.  It is right around the corner.  Thank you to all of you that have prayed for our son.  We really appreciate that!  I am sure we'll be good bloggers and put pictures of Laser Eyes on this site.  

It's A Boy!

As many of you already know, we are expecting our first child sometime in mid-March. This past week, we found out our baby will be a little baby boy. We were quite surprised, because both of us thought it would be a girl. However, we are quite pleased with a boy. [We would have been fine either way]
We have already received several suggestions for a name. Unfortunately, we are not going to hint at any potential names between now and then. Although that makes some family members upset, we won't tell you anything until we tell you the actual name on his birth day.
Kelly has been starting to feel a bit better, and has more energy these days. Her back has started to give her a little trouble. She has already started to feel our little boy move around. Most of that comes at night time.
In case you wonder, we are already registered at Target. We did that soon, so that we could cash-in on a free $20 gift card to Target if we registered by October 22nd. The list is far from complete, but we started.
That's all for now.

Baby Keinanen

I suppose it is time to make that official announcement. In case you didn't know already, we are expecting our first child in March. Yes, we are excited! It is truly a God-sized story, and we are thankful to Him for this miracle. More to come.

Perhaps . . . This is Why

Thoughts on Ministry

My guess is that there are only limited, if not, no one who reads this blog site. Funny when we write things, it seems to minister to the one who is writing more than anyone else. It is as if God is using your own words to speak to you, and to work in your life. Whether or not anyone reads . . . not important. Knowing that God speaks . . . priceless.
Often ministry leaves me wondering. Wondering about why ministry is worth the cost. I think of the verse in Luke, where Jesus says that we are to carry our own cross daily, and follow Him. Is ministry a cross to bear? There are times when that seems to be very true. However, I am often reminded that it is a calling. A high calling to serve the Almighty Living God. Knowing that should give one a sense of confidence and a full-head of steam for ministry. Fortunately, we are human, and we are fallible. We still feel things, and sense things. Are we always right in our feelings and sensing? Probably not. However, those feelings can be real, and they can make you start to wonder. Is it really worth it? Look at those faces above . . . of course it is!
So, where does that strength come from? The kind of strength to minister to people, the kind that does not give up, and the kind that always depends on the Lord. There is my answer . . . DEPEND on the Lord.
If you think it isn't worth the cost, the cost of making disciples . . . I urge you to stare into the Face of God, and I challenge you to walk away - not being deeply moved - like Dr. Del would say.

NHL Playoffs Begin

One Year After Uganda

Today is Monday, March 10th, 2008. One year ago on Saturday, March 10th, 2007, Kelly and I traveled to Chicago, caught a flight to London, and then another flight to Entebee, Uganda. One year ago we spend two weeks in Uganda. It was an incredible trip! Many of you have heard our stories, and have seen the pictures. You know that God used the trip in many ways. Today, we continue to have email contact with a few of the people we met there. It has been a blessing to continue that friendship so far away.

I don't think there has been a day where I have not thought of our time in Uganda. Then again, having pictures in my home, and in my office certainly help. Kelly and I have continued to pray for the people there, and for the ministry of the Jores. Many people have asked us if God were to call us to Africa, would we go? Our answer has been, if we felt God calling us, and everything agreed with that calling, we would seriously consider that option. In fact, following wholly after God and His leadings, we would go. Is or has God called us there?, no. He has called us to the ministry at Christ Is Lord in Onalaska. It was funny, after we got back from Africa, we did a presentation at our church. The very first thing I said was this, "God has not called us to Africa. He has called us here in Onalaska. It may sound and appear as though that is the case in the next hour, but I assure you, it is not." If my memory serves me correctly, the entire congregation cheered! Oh to be loved, such a wonderful thing. Uganda, however, continues to be in the back of our minds. Our time there was so wondeful and such a blessing to us. Do we hope to return?, absolutely! We simply do not know when.

Thank you again, to those that were praying for during our time there. Thank you to those that continue to pray for us! Hard to believe it has been a year!

~ Daniel

NW MN Retreat Report

We find it hard to believe that we even attended the Northwest Minnesota District Retreat. It seemed as though we weren't even there. It happened so quickly. We left church right after the praise songs, we drove, we had some fun, ate some food, and then we were home the next night. It was quick, but it was GREAT!

The Lord was very good to us! There was a little weather to deal with on the way up, but He carried us through it. We had incredible fellowship on the way up. There was never a dull moment. I think the longest stretch of silence was 60 seconds. Once we were there, we checked-in, and then headed to the high school gym in Thief River Falls. There was a good group of people there. I even got to see an old Bible School classmate. That evening was the first session. I had felt most confident with what I had prepared for that night. Before the session, I was able to pray with Pastor Todd and Nathan, both of whom work with me on the FLY Committee. It was a joy to pray with them, and that even furthered my confidence in Jesus. I was humbled by that, and felt unworthy to deliver God's Word. God is God, and He delivered. Before we knew it, the night was over, and it was time to retreat to the hotel.


The next morning brought two more sessions. I was less confident about these two. The group of students was pretty tired, and thus their response was more reserved. I'll be honest and say that was tough at times. I am used of people responding, at least outwardly. It was a far cry from the retreat in Pittsburgh. However, I knew that God was doing what He desired to do. I kept claiming the promise in Isaiah, that His Word that proceeds from His mouth, will not return void! What a promise! It was an awesome time to share God's Word with such students. It was a struggle though. I had been getting sick before, and my voice was at about 40% during the weekend. I am sure I sounded pretty terrible. Good thing God's Word doesn't depend on the way my voice sounds. A few people came to me afterwards. That was great encouragement to me! It told me that God was in control, and that His work did go forward. In my mind, I had made no sense, and it was bad . . . in my mind. Knowing that God did His work inspite of me, that is humbling. That is awesome!

We left Thief River Falls after the retreat, and had another great car ride to the cities. It was such a blast to spend time with Analaya, Lynn, and Tom. I was looking forward just to that part of the trip. They didn't let me down. We had great 'Visitation' if you will! ;-) [that's for them] We stopped in the cities for dinner at Chin's Asia Fresh . . . good stuff. We also made a stop at Tom's heaven on earth . . . the Apple store. It was a joy to watch him go from mac to mac playing.

Thanks to all that were praying for me, and for us. It was a great time!

Not Feeling Good

Today is Saturday, and it is the day before we leave for the Northwest Minnesota District in Thief River Falls, MN. As of last night, I started to feel pretty sick. It was an early night for me. I was in bed by 9:30pm, with a bottle of 7Up, cough drops, water, and a bucket at my bedside. I woke up this morning feeling a bit better, but still not great.
Pray for quick healing. I know God will grant me the strength to travel there and back. I know God will carry me through the speaking part of it. I have confidence in our God. What I don't have confidence in, is how I am feeling right now.
This morning I am hoping to fine tune what has been prepared. My mind is a bit sluggish right now, so we'll see how that goes. Thanks for your prayers.

The Lion King Musical

For my birthday, Kelly took me to see "The Lion King" the musical broadway show at the Milwaukee Theater in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had been wanting to see this show for a while. We almost saw it in London, but the tickets were just a bit too much for us.

Needless to say, but it was GREAT! We really loved it! Yes, it is similar to the movie, but really not. Watching humans act as African animals, and even some operating puppets, you think would be cheesy. It was a far cry from that! I don't know how to describe it. You simply must go, that is if you are a big broadway show type of person. We were quite amazed at all the pageantry of colors, dancing, and music. They made it seem real. At times, you wondered how they made such animals come to life, forgetting they were operated by humans. They made great use of the audience too. At times, you felt very much a part of the production. I better stop. I stumble over words to use to describe it. I guess you should just go! I hope to go again!

Northwest Minnesota District Retreat

Here we go again! I have another great opportunity to share Jesus with students as a Guest Speaker. This time I will be traveling to Thief River Falls, MN. Quite a change from Pittsburgh. I will be speaking at the Northwest Minnesota District Winter Retreat. The theme is: "G.P.S. God's Plan of Salvation and My Journey" from Ephesians 2:1-10. The retreat starts on Sunday, February 17th, and ends the following day [President's Day]. I am excited to bring three of my seniors along for the retreat. That was something I could not do on the Pittsburgh retreat. All three are pretty excited to come, and I am excited to have them come along!
My notes and thoughts are starting to come together. However, I am still a ways off from being 'ready' to go. I know and trust that the Lord will continue to guide my thoughts through His Word. When they asked me to speak, they already had their theme chosen and each sessions's title. That made things quite easy for me. It gave me a great start.
If you would, pray for me as I continue to prepare. I am excited to share what God has revealed to me thus far. Pray that God's leading would continue, and that His Spirit and Word would be the source. I'll keep you posted on how things go!

Thank You For Your Prayers and Support

I am back home in Onalaska. I was actually delayed in Pittsburgh for another night. On the way back to the church from the retreat, we noticed that my flight was delayed 45minutes due to an inbound aircraft problem. We kept checking it through the afternoon. It seemed as though each time we checked, it was further delayed. At about 7:30pm, I decided it best to stay another night, and fly out the next morning. At that time, the flight was scheduled to leave PIT at 9:43pm and arrive at MSP around 11:30pm. It helped that I was staying with my good friend Jim and his wife Steph. We made a night of it, and the fellowship was worth it.

However, that led to an early rise in the morning. I woke-up at 5:00am EST to get to the airport in time for my flight. I landed in Minneapolis at 10:30am. I arrived back to Onalaska at 2:00pm. Needless to say, it has been a very long day.

Thank you for your prayers thoughout the weekend. That means a lot to me. I told the students at the retreat that there were people praying for them, and for me. Thanks for being a part of it all!

Final Thoughts

How would you know if what you said was getting across to teenage students? How would you know what to say, or how to say it? You can prepare for hours, in fact months. You can write down lots of ideas, sort through what seems to be endless thoughts. You can worry, fret, or become discouraged with what you processing. Then, you stand in front of 54 people. All looking at you, waiting for you to deliver God’s message. They anticipate good things, and wait on your every word. You look into their eyes, and you see hunger. You see discouragement. You see brokenness. You can’t help but feel some of their pain. You also see joy. You see contentment. You can’t help but wonder why God has put you in this position. Of all people in this world, why would He choose you to bring His message to a bunch of suburban Pittsburgh teenagers?

Then you start to see fruit. You see fruit that can only be explained by the Holy Spirit working. You start to sense that hearts are being touched. Lives are potentially being changed for eternity. You see people breaking down in tears. Others hugging one another and bringing comfort. You see people laughing, as though they were laughing with a joy that only God could give. Slowly, one by one they come up you and ‘thank’ you for sharing. They look into your eyes, and you see a genuine gratefulness.

It hits you. It humbles you. It causes you to look upward toward the Heavens and rejoice in Jesus. It can’t be you. There is no way. You didn’t even stick to your notes or to what you spent so much time preparing. However, you know in your heart that it was never you speaking. It was the Holy Spirit. You are overwhelmed with encouragement in the Lord. A peace that passes all understanding now rules in your heart.

You walk knowing that God worked. That God again proved His Lordship over all. You walk away rejoicing. You walk away in prayer for those who just got hit hard, like a deer getting hit by a car. You pray that God will continue to nurture their souls. That God will send to them people who can encourage them and lift them up. You walk away, knowing that you have done what God has asked you to do. Now you pray that God will protect your thoughts and your heart. You pray that God will keep you from thinking the wrong things. That you won’t become discouraged. That you will be content with what was said. You pray that God’s Words would resonate in your heart, as well in the students’ hearts.

What a joy that would be. What a great thing to be a part of. Praise to Him who saves us, so that we may do His good work.

The Group

Here is the entire group right before we left Pine Valley Bible Camp.

Retreat Report From Pittsburgh

My weekend with the students of Ruthfred Lutheran Church has been a very good one. My good friend Jim Clark, who is the Youth Director of the church, brought 49 students with 5 adults. It was quite a treat to watch them in action. Each student showed compassion towards others. There were no cliques or exclusiveness. Everyone said ‘hello’ to whoever they saw. I don’t recall a time when I saw that last. I was quite impressed. These students are amazing. They have great things to share. God is really do a Great Thing here in Pittsburgh.

Our weekend has been pretty full. It is a lot of sitting around and fellowshipping with each other. That seems to be the norm for many youth groups. I have had chance to talk with several people. I have had conversations that have been pretty intense, as well as light-hearted.

Each session has gone well. I guess I really don’t know for sure. I can never tell. I see evidence of God working though. I hope and pray that lives have been changed for eternity. They have been very attentive. On Saturday night, the title of the session was “Who Holds Your Remote?” At the end of my session they performed a human video. It was simply awesome, and all God. It was a video about slavery to sin. At the end, Jesus comes and takes the burden of that slavery, and the person is set free. It was very powerful. After, there was chance for people to respond to Jesus. Many stayed behind to pray or be there for each other. There were many tears shed in the room. You could sense God at work. You could see lives being touched. It was an awesome site!

My time here has been good. It has been refreshing. The fact that God is in control was clearly evident throughout. That has been our theme, God’s control of our lives, and our total dependence on Him. My heart has been touched. It has also been convicted and encouraged. I will walk with great joy in my heart.

Thank you for your prayers for me this weekend. I know that you were. They made quite a difference. I told the students here that you were praying for them. It is good to know that we have Christian brothers and sisters praying for us across this nation. Brothers and sisters in the Lord that we have never met. What a great thing!

Last Preparation

It is Friday at noon here in Pittsburgh. We are now in final preparations for the retreat, which starts tonight at 6:00pm est. As I was reading last night before I went to bed, the Lord directed me in another direction for Saturday morning's session. I was very shaky about that one, and was very unsure of how to communicate it. I worked it out this morning, and made some adjustments in the direction of the session. I feel more confident now. I know that it is God's leading. Since being here, it seems as though He has made it clear He is in control, and there is nothing to worry about. That has given me peace. That has served as a reminded to 'rest' in Him, and allow Him to do what He wishes to accomplish. For that, I am excited. Thanks again for your prayers! I am not sure of whether or not I will be able to BLOG at the retreat . . . so it could be until Sunday until I am able to post again. However, you never know.

PENS WIN!!!!!

For those of you who are not Hockey Fans, perhaps you won't want to read this post. The Pittsburgh Penguins completely destoyed the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2. The game had everything! Great fights! A Hat-Trick by Malkin. The Pens came from a 1-0 deficit. The nachos were great, and the crowd was electric! We had great seat, thanks to Jeremiah - one of the senior high guys in the youth group. It was simply awesome! It felt good to be back cheering for the Pens. I had spent quite a lot of time in that building before cheering for the Pens. Now it's onto some business, God's business. I am thankful for His provision in the game. We had a great time, and that was very encouraging to me. I know that God has a great plan for this weekend, in spite of me feeling a bit frantic. More praise to Him, for He knows what He is doing! Scroll down for some more pics!

More Pics from the Game

This guy was great! He got our section, and eventually the whole arena yelling, "Go Home Tor-ron-to!" It was quite entertaining.

This is my good friend Jim. We were looking for some good fights, and we got them! However, it wasn't between us.

Safe In Pittsburgh

Greetings from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania! After an early departure from home in Onalaska, I am safe in the Pittsburgh area. I had a bit of car trouble on the way up, but nothing that delayed me. The airplane ride was un-eventful, which was good. I had a brief lunch with my good friend Jim Clark, and now am waiting to head to the Pens game tonight downtown.

I did a little more work on Saturday morning's lesson, and feel a little better about it. However, I hope to do some more refinement tomorrow during the day. Continue to pray for clarity through God's Word. Pray for insights on how to better communicate some of the points. Pray that God's Spirit will be at work in and through me.

I do appreciate your prayers! I know that they are making a difference already. I will keep you posted here on our blog. Thanks for your support.

From PA,
dk