We got to the exam location a few minutes late. After we dropped my wife off, I waited for her to text me back to see if she was okay to take the exam, but I received no text. So I waited with the kids crying all the more loudly another 15 minutes before I decided that she’s probably okay and that she went right into her exams. As we were heading back home, the kids were crying, the GPS took us on a round-about route which took longer, and still with my mind filled with a whole list of things to do later today. My stress and anger level was hitting the ceiling. On the way home, my dad called and complained that his television wasn’t working, but I had no idea what he was talking about. After all, I was trying to drive home, the kids were crying, and I couldn’t see for myself what he was seeing on the television screen. So I told him that I couldn’t help him right then and there. I finally get home and get the kids fed and happy. So I call my dad back only to get no answer. I know he’s there but just doesn’t want to pick up the phone because he’s mad. And now, I’m mad that he’s mad! Unbelievable morning! Not the best way to start off the day.

So I finally sit down. My kids are settled and happily watching some of their favorite shows. And I get on my laptop to do some “work” and before I know it, the whole morning slowly replays in my mind. I suddenly feel very unhappy with myself. Many of this mornings’ events were completely out of my hands, but I realized that I could have reacted and responded a bit differently. I didn’t burst out in anger at my kids or yell at my dad over the phone when he first called… but my attitude and my internal reality could have been radically different. I get stressed and upset when things are out of my control. But then really nothing is in my control. Everything is in God’s control and I learned a tough lesson this morning. In the midst of being angry and stressful, I forgot about my theology. I forgot about what I already knew regarding who God is and how sovereign He is… how good He is. And most of all, I forgot how I truly blessed I am despite the imperfections of the morning.

Now, it’s still morning. I’m writing, thinking, reflecting, repenting in my heart, and loving God by thanking Him for a tough morning because it’s the tough mornings and the trials that come our way that often shapes us and matures us. Sounds straight out of James chapter 1 if you ask me, which by the way, I know very way and I’ve preached on many times before. I just have a propensity to forget and a proneness for my heart and mind to wander away from the Lord. I’m thankful for today’s tough morning. I’m learning and growing from it. It’s becoming clear that failures and difficult times are the best moments of life because we learn so much from them.

A final thought… it was a tough morning, a tough day for Jesus on the day he was crucified. What a major understatement, eh?! But His tough day became our greatest day in history, right? Talk about God redeeming all things… He can redeem my tough mornings. He can redeem your tough mornings. He can redeem all things for His glory.

I’m thinking about dad this morning. Maybe it’s because I preached on the Father Love of God this past Sunday. Maybe it’s because my dad is here visiting us from the East Coast and I’m getting to spend a lot of time with him. Maybe it’s because today is my dad’s 61st birthday. Maybe it’s because dad has always been in my mind and my heart no matter the time or season in my life. So today is his birthday. I’m going to take him and the whole family out to a nice buffet for lunch to celebrate! As I reflect, I can truly say that I’m very thankful for my dad. Over the years, there were times when I wasn’t sure we’d make it. I remember many moments of anger and hostility in our relationship. I remember the many arguments, disagreements, and the many fights that we had. My dad is definitely not perfect and he has made his share of mistakes. But then, how can I hold that against him when I consider the fact that I’m not perfect and that I’ve made a ton of mistakes as well?! My dad is a good man and sometimes that’s the best a son could hope for in a world full of bad men. I’ve really come to appreciate him. I’ve very thankful that God has blessed me with a good dad.

He’s 61 years old today. That means that he’s in the latter stages of his life now. I’m determined to make the most of the time that I have with him while he’s still here. He’s truly a gift to me from God. Sometimes I forget that. I want to be like my dad as I now have a son as well.

- It’s important to know why not how.

- Let personal times of worship & studying scripture sustain you. Walk step by step with the Holy Spirit.

- Protect Passion.

- Workout.

- Don’t let ministry become a mistress to your family.

Here’s just a quick note as to why we’re still in the hospital.
Virginia labored for over 38 hours. She almost had the baby out when she developed an infection.
She got sick and developed a high fever, which caused the baby’s heart to rise. Because of the prolonged labor, Virginia was so worn out and her uterus could no longer push. She was experiencing a lot of pain.

In the end, b/c of Virginia’s sickness as b/c of the baby’s heart rate, we determined to go into c-section.
She did great! But during the surgery, she experienced a lot of pain and lost a lot of blood.

She is still recovering in the hospital. She’s receiving medication as well as a blood transfusion. She’s going through a lot.
It’s been incredibly emotional and tough for me to see my wife go through all of this. Our first birth with Tabitha was traumatic as well. We really thought it wouldn’t happen again. But God has been good and faithful.

Virginia is recovering. Please pray for her.
Barnabas was exposed to the infection so for precautionary purposes, he’s under observation and receiving some preventative antibiotics. But so far so good. He’s responding well and seems healthy. He’s under observation for another day.

We will be here in the hospital for at least until Wed. afternoon. Then the docs will evaluate.
Please pray for a speedy recovery for Virginia. She’s simply amazing!
Thank you everyone for your support and prayers.

We hope you can visit us once Virginia is healthier and once Barns is a little stronger.
Praise God! He is always good, no matter what happens.

- justin

r what happens.

Our second child was due this past Tuesday. He is three days late. My wife says that the baby has “dropped” but that she feels no contractions at all. All throughout this second pregnancy, we’ve been told that the second baby always comes a few days earlier than the due date. Obviously, that’s not the case with our second baby. He’s late and there are no signs of him coming tonight or even tomorrow. So what do we do? We just wait I guess. I asked Virginia if she thinks the baby is going to come soon? She doesn’t know. All she knows is that she’s feeling no contractions but she feels the baby moving. We went to see our doctor yesterday and we were told that everything is fine. So I guess we’ll just keep on waiting.

We’ve decided to name our son, “Barnabas.” With our first child, Tabitha, everything was so new. Everything about the pregnancy and about the baby felt so “new” and wondrous. But with our second, it didn’t feel like that. Because we had already gone through the experience of having a baby, our second pregnancy was just normal. But when we found out that we’re having a son, the newness and wonder came back to us. A boy! A boy is not a girl. A boy is different from a girl. It will indeed be a new experience. From dolls and pink colored shoes and clothes… now, it’s car toys and blue colored shoes and clothes. What a big difference!

So the name “Barnabas” was chosen because the name means, “Son of Encouragement.” I’ve always wanted to have a son and name him “Barnabas.” The name is also a strong name. Barnabas in the Bible was a great character who encouraged the church leaders to accept Paul into fellowship and also encouraged and helped Paul in his ministry. Barnabas was a self-less and generous man and like Tabitha, he’s found in the Book of Acts. He’s a minor character who has a major role in the expansion of God’s Kingdom and God’s Church in the Book of Acts. We know people will be tempted to call him “Barney.” I’m okay with that. I prefer people to call him, “Barns” or “Bas” or simply “B.” His middle name will be “Justin” so people can also call him, “BJ.” I think it’s finally hitting us that we’re actually having another baby and we’re actually having a son. Wow, wow, wow! I can’t wait to meet the little guy and to hold him, love him, and teach him. I can’t wait to lead him spiritually and to pray with him. I can’t wait to teach him how to shoot a basketball or to throw a baseball. It’s going to be great!

Barnabas, hurry! Come out and meet the world! I want to see your face! Hurry!

This coming Friday, I have the opportunity to address our college students on the very important topic of sex.Sex is a subject that definitely makes some people feel uncomfortable. But it definitely gets people’s attention. I’ve heard that some pastors put on a big campaign on sex and when they do, their church attendance rises. I’ve also heard that if people are bored and falling asleep during a sermon, the preacher should just shout, “SEX!” and they’ll all wake up and pay attention. I guess that’s the power of Sex! It’s got a powerful grip on the world.

Sex is all around us. You can’t watch television for more than a minute for some sexual innuendo to come about and you can’t go to the mall without seeing something that’s very suggestive. The world is talking about sex all the time because we live in a seemingly over-sexed society, but not in the church which is ironic for me since it’s God who created the gift of sex. Therefore, the church should not shy away from talking and teaching about sex. You see, God isn’t afraid to talk about sex because sex is His thing. He created it. It’s His gift to us and He gave it to us to enjoy in the proper boundaries set forth by His Word. But here’s the truth. We need to hear what God has to say about sex because we aren’t doing a very good job enjoying this gift in the way God intended. The misuse of the gift of sex isn’t just the world’s problem. This is OUR problem. To say that there is a crisis of disobedience in the church today is to dangerously understate the problem. I have read the books and magazines and I have seem the statistics numerous times. Born-again Christians divorce at about the same rate as everyone else and they also justify and engage in sexual promiscuity (both pre-marital and adultery) at an alarming rate! Again, it is clear that the misuse of the gift of sex isn’t just the world’s problem. This is our problem.

So we need to talk about sex. We need to hear what the bible has to say to discover how God intends this wonderful gift to be used. Here are some real quick thoughts about sex:

1) Sex was created by God.

2) Sex is good as declared by God.

3) Sex should be enjoyed properly within the covenant relationship of marriage.

4) The World has twisted God’s gift of sex.

5) To overcome sexual temptation, be like Joseph: Make a pre-determined decision to RUN!6) Learn from David’s sin with Bathsheba. Because David crosses a line and because he misused sex, it led to adultery and to cover-ups, and eventually to murder. Bathsheba suffers. David suffers. David’s family suffers and we eventually know that the entire nation of Israel suffers. What’s what happens when we misuse God’s gift – we experience pain and suffering.

When my wife and I meet with young couples in our pre-marital counseling, we deal with sex. We think it’s funny that the church says, “No, No, No!” before marriage regarding sex. But after marriage, we say, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” to sex within the marriage covenant. So much more to say. But you’ll just have to come to conneXion on Friday night! 

New Life Congregation Retreat starts tomorrow. For those that are attending, please come to the retreat by 5:30 pm. Dinner is at 6 pm. Keep in mind traffic time as you make your way down to the retreat center. For those that are not attending, please go to the KM worship service on Sunday or visit another local church that’s Christ-centered. We will have our Lord’s Day worship at the retreat center. We’ll see everyone in Vision Hall, 9:30 am the following Sunday.

Let’s pray for God to do some great things this weekend at the retreat!

More info. regarding the retreat…

When: This weekend! 9/3-5/10
Check in time is 5:30 pm at Mt. Hood (we’ll be having dinner on Friday at the retreat center)
Check out time is 11:30 am.
Where: Black Lake Bible Camp (6521 Fairview Rd SW, Olympia, WA 98512
Theme: Christ Center
Speaker: Dr. Steven Lee

Things to bring:
+ Bible + Writing utensils + Toiletries + Clothes for games; warmer clothes for the evening + Swimsuit (optional) + Flashlight + Sleeping bag
there will be limited snacks available, please provide additional snacks for your children

Things to note:
Transportation services are not provided to and from retreat. However, if you have transportation, please contact retreat@seattlenewlife.org and we’ll make sure that you get to the retreat!
If you can’t make it by the check in time, please let the ministry lead know.
child care is provided!
We’ll partake communion together on Sat. night.
We’ll take up offering/tithes on Sunday. morning.

Any questions/concerns regarding retreat? Please email retreat@seattlenewlife.org.



Watching my parents and seeing them for the first time in 7 months, I was shocked to also see how much they have aged. I guess when you don’t see someone on a regular basis, you can accurately gauge what Father Time and age does to a person. It reminds me that life is indeed short and that time never stops for anyone. All the more reason for us to make the most of the life that God has given to us.
I write this to encourage myself and to you to keep living each day for God and His glory. Let’s not hold back. I’m reminded of our One Month to Live campaign earlier in the year and how helpful it was for me to live life each day to its’ maximum potential to glorify Christ.
Let’s do this together!