Blessings

Something I try to do is journal the blessings in our lives. All too often when things get hard, I tend to forget all the amazing blessings and specific ways Jesus has answered our prayers. This week we had an answer to our prayers that was so undeniably the miraculous work of The Great Physician that we feel we need to shout it from the rooftops!

About 20 weeks into my pregnancy with Maryn, our dr. detected fluid on her heart. It was concerning enough for her to refer us to get a "mega" ultrasound in Everett. After 2 "mega" ultrasounds, the experts believed the fluid to not be increasing, therefore, not a huge concern, just something to watch over time.

When Maryn was born, the pediatrician could not detect a heart murmur. "She's healed!" was what we were thinking. Relief flooded my mind and calmed some of the anxious thoughts I had since that first detection of fluid. About one week after birth the doctor heard a very strong murmur that both Josh and I could hear even with our untrained ears. She referred us to Seattle Children's right away. So, at one week old, baby Maryn had a complete work up of her heart. The anxiety and complete despair I felt watching the EKG machine, the ECHO Cardiogram, and the Xray machines do their thing to our tiny, one week old baby was overwhelming. The doctor's evaluation was one not of grave concern. He told us Maryn had fluid around her heart, 3 VSDs (holes in the bigger chambers of her heart) and she had a valve that didn't close--a genetic defect most likely shared by Josh or I. He gave us things to watch for and asked us to come back when Maryn was 9 months for another work up. He did mention that if the holes increased in size or the valve opening increased in size, we would be looking at open heart surgery.

We prayed and prayed and prayed for healing for our baby's heart. As time went on, the anxiety and stress lessened, especially since Maryn appeared to be perfectly healthy and never had a symptom the dr. mentioned. However, that nagging feeling of "what if" never quite left my head. It weighed me down and at times, completely robbed me of the freedom I have in Christ, the freedom to let Him be who He said he was in the Word and the freedom I have leaving all my concerns at His feet.

This past Wednesday we went down for Maryn's 9 month appointment. The anxiety and concern were strong again the minute we got into the car. It heightened when we walked through the doors of Children's. After the tech did the EKG, the doctor came in. Before any testing or listening to Maryn's heart he told us he would most likely hear the murmur and that those holes were most likely still there. The concern would be about the amount of blood flowing through the holes indicating the size of them. I watched his face closely as he listened to Maryn's heart. At one time, a look of confusion was there and my heart dropped, tears flooded my vision. I "knew" it was bad news. After more careful listening the doctor looked at Josh and I. I'll never forget what he said, " I can't even hear the murmur!" Those tears clouding my vision flowed freely with joy. Maryn is fine! This expert, this best in class doctor is telling us he can't hear our baby's heart murmur that was so obvious just months before. He wants to see us in 18 months to do a complete work up again, to close our case. He is not concerned at all about Maryn's heart and believes that will be our last visit with him.

We PRAISE our Father, the Great Physician, for healing our baby's heart. It is only by His hand she was healed. All glory and honor and praise we lift to Jesus. I can't help but wonder that if the news had been different, would I still be writing about praising Jesus? I hope so. I pray for that kind of faith, because, you and I both know that another storm is coming. Oh for the faith that can move mountains!

I plan to journal this incredible blessing and remember it when those storms come. I pray you too will remember that when good or bad news comes your way, you'll know and believe that God is in control, no matter what.

Sharing the Good News

Hey, hey people! Malinda is at the blogging helm here. My first time ever, oh how exciting! :)

Many people have been asking how things are going, business wise. Well, let's just say we're learning lots and keeping the faith. Our web page isn't working at all, the on-line store shows we're sold out on everything which is totally not the case. We are getting that all worked out and hiring someone to help us with that. We completely trust this is God's business and in His hands. Easier said than done sometimes. Keep checking the web store if you are interested in purchasing product. Thanks! :)

Both Josh and I have been SO BLESSED by our friends lately. The encouragement offered and more importantly, time to pray together with our Christian friends has left us both hopeful and motivated. What a blessing to pray for each other and have authentic relationships based in Jesus! Thank you friends!!

One of my good friends recently sent me this link to a very interesting youtube clip. I opened it the other morning before the 2 big girls were awake. Maryn was contentedly playing in her "jail" (play pen) so I had a few minutes to enjoy my hot coffee and watch. Wow. I was blown away by the video. Funny how certain things at certain times of the day really affect a person. If you haven't watched it, I challenge you to. Then, after watching, go back and pay attention to some of the things the comedian says more than once. Josh and I both noticed how he said the man sharing the Bible was nice, a good man multiple times. Other things he said over and over were how he was looked in the eyes and how sane the sharer of the Good News was. I'm constantly amazed at how many people out there are lost, searching for meaning and hope and not looking to Jesus and His word.

How motivated have I been this week to look someone square in the eyes, authentically care about them, share my love for Christ and remain sane all at the same time?? Not many, my friends, not many. I pray for such encounters to occur more and more in my life. I pray for the courage to share my faith with people, anyone who will listen.

That's all for now. Just some thoughts. Check out that video and share with us via email or Facebook what you thought!

Rejoice!

Luke 6:23 (New International Version)

²³"Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.

What a great verse to start out the day with! We have everything to be joyful and thankful for. Life may feel like it's crashing down, that we can't stay on top of anything, yet we have respite in knowing that we are going to Heaven to spend an eternity with our Father and his Son.

Raising a family, working full time and then some, starting an addition, then launching a business- it's been easy enough to get discouraged and want to give up on any one of those things. Yet, that's what God has for us right now and we're to rejoice in the fact that we're to live with Him for eternity and let that joy flow out through all that we do. You know, be holy in all we do (got to get that in :). What a blessing to live in a county where, for now, we can live and worship as we please!

"Culture"

Reading bike magazines and attending that bike expo really reminded me of how easy it is to get caught up in the idea of culture. I love bikes- all kinds, mountain, road, bmx, single speed, fixie, it doesn't matter what it is, I really enjoy them all. I love to ride them, I enjoy fixing them, I like to read about new technologies, custom frame builders, and other people's experiences. It's inspiring to read about trail advocacy and how others find ways to bring under-privileged youth out on a ride. I'm drawn to be a part of that bike culture and all the positive things it represents.

But then I catch myself. Once again I'm being drawn into something that should not take the precedence in my life that it could. It's a wonderful, healthy activity that does a lot of good for lots of people, but in the end it has no eternal ramifications. Bike "culture" will not really do anything for me to keep me fulfilled. It won't get me to heaven.

And it's not just bike- look around. There's a "culture" wrapped around every pursuit out there- fashion, politics, cars, cooking, even religion at times. There is a constant bombardment of things from the enemy to distract us away from what we're called here to do- bring people to the cross. Can we use these pursuits to share the gospel? Sure. Just don't let them distract us from taking opportunities to share Christ's love.

Choose narrow

We got a lot of feedback and continue to do so on what "choose narrow" means and why we chose it. I wanted a tag line that would relay a few things- keep it applicable to the sport and line of clothing and more importantly- point people to the cross.
Choose narrow fits right into the sport aspect. What's better than a narrow ribbon of single track winding through the woods or desert. Or how about that narrow, hill-infested winding road that snakes lazily through the countryside? Let's not forget that little narrow hole-shot that is our main focus when that gun goes off. Being passionate about cycling, those are the paths that we long for- the difficult ones that drive us to a new level and fill our minds with visions of the next ride.
But far more important that the cycle aspect is the narrow path aspect found in scripture.
Our world is exceedingly drawn into the broad road of "acceptance" for all things that even 10-20 years ago would have been appalling to majority of the population. The media is constantly pushing music and video out there that has no place in a public forum, let alone on "family" networks. It's made even easier as those that participate and create it deam it the politically correct way to go. Who are any of us to tell others what to do? As long as it makes us happy... hogwash.
We are told multiple times in scripture (Matthew 7:13,14; Luke 13:24)

that we are not to go down that path, we are to choose the narrow, difficult road that leads to eternity, not destruction. That's the main reason we have that tag line.

So choose narrow, stand for truth and flee from the things of this world.

Here are the pics from the first show. You can see our simple booth, the apparel out, and the choices for 10 back on the table in front. We moved things around for the second day and learned that although the banner may look cool, we have to have the words "performance cycling apparel" so anyone walking by knows what we are selling. Our neighbors to the left were the International Christian Cycling Club- a great group that we are members of and gladly support. We need to be willing and open to share the gospel in any venue that we can.

Post show report

Well, I would have to say that overall the show was a great success. We didn't sell a ton of stuff but we at least sold something and more importantly we got lots of people excited about the brand and the opportunity to be witnesses while out riding their bikes. The name itself drew in lots of people, believers and non-believers alike. Once I explained to them what holyroller meant- that we were taking a saying usually reserved in putting down a Christian and turning it on it's head to use as a conversation starter to share the gospel, one of two things happened. If they were interested they would come in, take a card or sticker, ask about the 10 back and maybe buy something. If they didn't know the term, once they heard it was about the cross, eyes would glaze and they'd walk away. It was wonderful to meet other believers sharing our vision but it was just as important to be able to share with anyone who came. What a blessing that we live in a country where we can do that! We'll post pictures and fix some web stuff today.

First day at the show

Well, we set up yesterday and it will be interesting to say the least. I know that there will be plenty of spiritual opposition down there but we're right next to some great guys at the International Christan Cycling Club- where there are two or more gathered...
I'm pretty nervous right now, but more related to timing than anything else. Once I get there and get into the flow it will help. My dad is coming over to help with the getting everything out then this grand experiment will kick off!
If you're around come on down! If your not, pray for a chance to share the gospel, both us and you!

Job 28

As believers, everything goes back to the cross, everything. Anything that is not of Christ is not worth our time. Such a powerful concept but so hard to actually act out on. As holyroller™ gets going I'm constantly brought back to that place, time and time again.
When we first started to dream and design and build it was a cool company idea with a wide reach that filled a gaping hole in the Christian marketplace. I remember the night when I first envisioned what the ramifications of starting a company like this could entail- cool jerseys and apparel, trips to bike shows to spread the word, sponsoring races and even riders someday, hosting rides for kids in need, slowly migrating to motorcycles, cars, skate, anything with wheels. I hardly slept that night, praying and sketching out ideas and paths to take. I started working on a name based on the concept and holyroller emerged. Perfect! Take a name used by people to describe on-fire Christians and turn it on it's head- use the term to give believers a chance to start a conversation while taking part in what they love.
I started work on the logo, started the trademark filing and began to design shirts when the time allowed. Everything worked great, God walked with every step of the way opening doors that needed to be open and putting in the position we're at now.
The company was shaping up and looking good... the company, not the cross. From the beginning I failed to see the importance and value of what that meant. Sure, we prayed and made sure that everything was biblical and proper and saw the potential to witness to others, but the cross wasn't the center, the business was.
But throw in a Calvary Chapel conference on keeping the fire and constant devotions and preaching that centers everything back and we were on the right path. It's going to be bumpy and the spiritual attacks are going to increase, who even knows how the company will do? But in the end, we win! In the end we go to heaven and the devil is defeated! Be praying for this weekend- God's got some plans.

The First....

Never thought I would be here, blogging, but here it goes.
Being led by the Spirit we are starting a little company called holyroller™ brand. Biking (and all things rolly) has been a passion of mine for a long time and I've always hoped that some day I could design for a company in the industry. I didn't expect this. I didn't expect that God would lead us to fill a niche that was lacking in the Christian marketplace. There's a great bunch of brothers and sisters designing fantastic casual clothing out there to further the gospel message, but there's hardly any performance-based apparel that can be worn at races or in the pits proudly proclaiming our love and devotion to our Maker. There are few, and we'll share those that we find, but we saw a need to create apparel that wicks and can take a beating. Sure, we'll have some casual stuff too, but our focus will be on creating an established brand with connections to the wheel and things that roll.
But trumping the retail is taking the opportunity to use this brand to share the gospel with anyone that will listen. We owe everything to Jesus for dying on the cross for us and we want to share that absolute joy and peace that we've found at the foot of the cross with anyone who will listen. That's where the verse comes in, "Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do," 1 Peter 1:15. And that's what we want to do- let the holiness that dwells inside us from the Spirit to come out in every aspect of this company.
So there you go- first update down, many to come.