Cyster?

We've seen it all in Idaho... now that we've been to the hospital with Gracie. Nearly a month ago we learned about an abnormal mass in Gracie's mouth from an x-ray at the dentist's office. The x-ray was so unusual it took three medical professionals to figure it out. Yesterday, we took Gracie to the hospital to remove what the experts were calling a cyst. After an hour in the waiting room, the doctor emerged from the O.R. with a perplexed look on her face. She said, "We didn't find a cyst, and we aren't sure what we found." Ugh! The doctors are looking at samples of the mass from Gracie's mouth to determine what "lies beneath" the surface. I don't have an ominous feeling about the results... yet... For now, Gracie is trying to recover, and we're trying to be patient with the medical professionals.

It's amazing to watch Gracie handle the whole situation with a smile and resilience... I admire her spirit and attitude. God is able to teach us amazing things through our kids. I praise God for her every day... what a blessing she is to me!

Resting from Rest!

We're home! However, it seems like everyone else is gone. We returned home on Friday night, and on Saturday were back to set-up at the school. It took longer than usual because everyone else is out on vacation this month. Thankfully, we get to leave the church equipment set up for five weeks during summer vacation.

We had a great time visiting friends and getting reacquainted with familiar places. My favorite spot to reconnect with was Winter Park. FIFTEEN years ago, Mary and I spent the first night of our honeymoon in Winter Park. The town has grown and changed... it was a great time to celebrate. Mary found the place we stayed in fifteen years ago (there's a funny story behind this, but you'll have to call or email to get the full version), but we stayed in a European bead and breakfast across the street.

Breakfast by the river in the morning was amazing!

That's enough nostalgia for one posting... the point is, I have a lifetime of wonderful memories... and most of them are not of places, but people. It's hard to be separated by such great distances from people we love... there will be a day when separation is a distant memory... until then, life and work go on.

Vacation!

Today was the first day of our family vacation. We drove from Boise to Evanston, WY on th first leg of the journey. OIt was only about 5 hours, but we wanted to stop and let the kids have fun in the pool and pick up some western Wyoming dialect. After a day of travel and fun, the kids are all snoring loudly, and I am spending some quality time... watching the Rockies on TV! OK, I'm also spending lots of time listening and to and talking with Mary -- it's great!

Evanston has been a hit with the kids so far. Solomon noticed some Wyoming wild

life and asked if we could take a closer look. You can see

form the pictures that we got a little too close for

Naomi. She is spending the day before her 10th birthday facing down a T-Rex.

Our short time of rest away from the work in Idaho is good. We appreciate the challenge God has given us to plant a church. We also know that

reconnecting with each other and our family in Colorado will give us the energy we need to keep going. One year has already flown by -- the Kingdom of God has expanded -- and we are looking forward to what will happen next.

For now, we'll be having some fun in the sun... and living life to the fullest on vacation!

Earrings and Motorcycles

Two big dreams came true this past week... Naomi got earrings, and I am riding a motorcycle again! It's hard to tell who is more excited (probably me!). Mary was a little more frightened to watch Naomi get pierced, than she was for me to get on a bike.

Both of these events mark 10 year milestones. Naomi turned ten (or will on June 30th), and we promised her that we'd pierce her ears on that birthday. A decade ago, I sold my first motorcycle to pay some bill that I can't remember... that was a traumatic day for me to watch someone else pull away on my bike!

It's funny, Naomi's 10 year event is sort of a rite of passage. I have a ten year old young lady who is growing up way faster than I want... but we're so proud of her and who she is becoming. As for me, this whole motorcycle thing is a bit of a mid-life crisis... and I'm ok with that!

Summer Time

I had a high school flash back today -- an old DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince song came to mind ( surprised... me too!).  The title of the song is Summertime.   The Hanselmans are officially on summer break -- well, the kids and Mary are at least.  We are so excited!

There are a lot of reasons for the excitement -- we finally got moved into our new house!  It took lots of wrangling with the government funding, but the deal finally went through.  Sorry, I can't list the details... there are too many of them... and they're all painful -- ugh!  We're glad it's over, and that we have a place to call our own.

The other reason for excitement is the addition to our family... we have a dog!  Naomi, Gracie and Solomon are thrilled.  Mary named her (with the permission of the children) Suubi (Suu sounds like "chew", and bi sounds like "bee") Sweet.  Suubi is an African name that means hope.  My HOPE is that we'll survive the puppy stage (only kidding... sort of...).

We have a lot of HOPE at Canyon Ridge too.  Every week we see someone new who is in need of HOPE.  It's rewarding when we hear them say that they feel like our church is a place where they can belong... a place that they can connect with God.

Idaho is great... we are really starting to feel at home.

A Place to Call Home

One month from now we'll be in our new house. The bank accepted our offer and we're excited to put down some real roots in Idaho.  More pictures to follow n the coming weeks.

March Madness

Two of my favorite traditions happen in March... and they both revolve around basketball.  First, I complete and submit an NCAA mens' bracket -- in hope of winning the million (still waiting on that one -- especially after this year).  Second, I find a way to watch one of the greatest sports' movies ever, Hoosiers.

We're glad that spring has nearly arrived in Idaho.  We see more of the sun these days, and are enjoying the warmer temperatures.  It is nice that blizzards in the spring are rare for Boise... a welcome change to our spring time experiences in Colorado and Nebraska.

The really big news (my editor at the newspaper would kill me for "burying the lead" in this story!), is that we are really close to moving into a home of our own.  Because the property is bank owned, it takes a little longer to get the paperwork straightened out -- ugh!  In case you're wondering, no, we haven't sold our condo in Denver yet.  It is still rented, but we are eager to get rid of it soon.

Naomi and Grace have two months of school left before summer vacation.  It will be nice to have everyone home again.  Sol loves to play with his sisters, and he will have his fill of that soon!

Life is still moving along... and we have lots of work ahead of us this summer with the church.  It's hard to imagine that it was only a year ago that we were considering a move to Idaho.  What a ride!

There's no place like... home?

This week is happening at a frenetic pace.  Usually, life is not as frantic -- there are lots of things to get done every week, but I'm bumping up the pace a little to make a trip to Denver for a couple of days.  It will be exciting to see family and some of my closest friends in the world (there's always room for more if you want to email me and set up a time to visit!).

When I was in college, I had a friend who was also from the Denver area.  He hung a postcard on the bulletin board in one of our classes with the Denver skyline (like the one with this post).  We'd sit as close to it as possible and refer to it as our "window into reality."  It wasn't a very popular move at our small college in Nebraska...

So many people have asked about our adjustment to Idaho.  It's a fair question.  And, it's a question that I wrestled with when we first considered moving.

When I moved my family to Idaho, I thought it was going to be hard to get them adjusted to life in a state more than 800 miles from "home."  I was completely wrong.  My kids have all but forgotten Colorado (with the exception of their grandparents).  It has been easy for them to put roots down in the Boise area. Mary also loves Boise.  She gets a chance to make a difference in the lives of children in the elementary school as a sign language interpreter.

We're happy to be planted and planting in Idaho... who knows, maybe we'll even be able to save up enough potatoes to buy a home here in Boise!?

Broken iPhones

It's rare for me to publicly admit to a mistake that causes embarrassment.  Besides, why own up to a mistake if no one else even notices -- right (I know, I have issues!)?

Three months ago, I made one of those mistakes that makes a grown man cry.  Many of my friends know that I am a card carrying member of all things Apple. I love Macintosh!  Moving to the iPhone was the best thing I ever did, but it also created some challenges for a klutz like me.

Three months ago, my headphones were plugged into my iPhone as I jogged on the treadmill at the gym.  I think I was setting a world record for greatest form for a rookie runner (probably not...).  As I hit my stride, my heart was pounding, and my arms were flailing... wildly enough to catch the cord of my earphones and knock my phone onto the treadmill.  

Whack!  Zip!  Bang!  

Those are the noises an iPhone makes when it hits a moving treadmill, and then flies into the wall behind you.

My first reaction was horror... and then shock... and then embarrassment.  

Fortunately, only three people witnessed the fiasco.  Einstein (also known as the guy running next to me ) said, "You should leave that at home... I mean, we come here to get away from those things."  Silly mortal.  No one ever leaves an iPhone behind!

Miraculously, there wasn't even a scratch or dent.  The wise person would have rushed out to the store and bought a bullet proof case.  Not me.  I waited... until I dropped and cracked the screen before I went and bought a case... for the replacement iPhone.

This whole story makes me wonder about broken people.  The longer we work with a church plant of people who have given up on church, but not on God... the more brokenness we encounter.  We're glad that God allows us to work with all kinds of people who need some mending and care.  In the midst of that work, God reminds me of the mending that still needs to be done on my heart. 

Just One Ray...

Ever felt like you've been in a fog?  What happens when the fog just won't clear.  I'm from Colorado, so I don't know what to do when the sun won't shine!  We've had more than five days of fog here in Boise... today was the first day I got a glimpse of the sun in a long time.

I need sunshine!

Sometimes the work of church planting is difficult.  A patch of fog rolls in and it's hard to know how to break through and find the sunshine.  For 14 weeks, we've set up and torn down the same equipment for church services.  We use 1834 feet of cable each week... hundreds of chairs... hundreds of cookies... gallons of coffee... and one team to get it all done.

A ray of sunshine came to my inbox today.

Denise wrote, "Canyon Ridge is the best church I have tried."  I know that doesn't sound like much, but just a glimmer of hope is all that a person needs sometimes to keep moving forward. It's good to know that people notice the hard work invested in making Canyon Ridge Church real and relevant.

Happy New Year!

My dog ate my Mac... and that's why no recent posts appear (ok, we don't have a dog yet, and if we did, I wouldn't let it anywhere near my Mac!).  The Christmas season was great.  So many good things are happening with the church... we are averaging 150-160 people, we have set up/tear down mastered, we have a solid core of people... and life in Idaho is better than we imagined.

Not all is roses though.  Boise is experiencing major snow over the past few weeks.  The locals keep telling us that so much snow is unusual... one week, it snowed six days!  I add that because those of you in the "field of ministry" understand that snow kills attendance!  Especially here where the Idahoans don't like to drive in snow.  We prayed really hard that it wouldn't snow last Saturday -- God obliged!  Of course, the snow picked up Sunday night and all Monday, but at least it didn't prevent people from coming on Sunday.

Keep praying for us.  Our church needs $2000 more a month to make up

for shortfalls.  The staff is adjusting with pay cuts, but we are confident the situation will make a quick turnaround.  We saw a major increase in December giving because our people believe it what we are doing and are giving sacrificially.  Our situation is a lot like the rest of the non-profit world, and we know that tough economic times won't slow down our work of connecting people with God.

Enjoy our Christmas and a couple of Fall photos (Naomi is in her Susan from Narnia costume that Mary made, and Gracie is looking for the "Great Pumpkin" at the pumpkin patch).  Drop us a line or call -- we'd love to hear from you again!