Good Book!

I just finished reading, "The Supernatural Power of a Transformed Mind" by Bill Johnson. Great book! It has really made me do some thinking and some soul searching.
The last chapter talks about heroes of the faith like, Smith Wigglesworth, Aimee Semple McPherson, and the Wesley brothers. Here's a brief excerpt: "They didn't start out as giants but they were possessed by a passion to pursue new territories that had not been occupied before, even when all logic and reason warred against them. They were like people on safari chopping down undergrowth in the jungle to move into uninhabited territory. They were fed up with seeing one standard in the Bible and another standard in their experience. That discontentment caused them to move dangerously into territory that had been inhabited by wild beasts, if you will."
He goes on to make a case, that if we would have ran with what these people fought for, if we would have made their celing our floor, where would we be today? Instead, we build memorials and monuments to the work they did and then don't do anything more.
He uses Luke 11:24-26 as an example. It's the story about the unclean spirit going out of a man. After going through dry places and seeking rest, finding none, he decides to go back. Finding the place put in order he goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than himself and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
The idea behind this all, is that when men and women rise up and take new territory and develop it, and then the next generation just tries to sit on it thinking it's "good enough", bad things will happen. I've heard people say that if you're not progressing and growing in your faith each day, then you are back-sliding.
He uses many real life examples to illustrate this point, but the one that really stuck with me is the Methodist church. John Wesley and his brother saw amazing moves of the spirit throughout their ministry. Instead of the church taking and running with what they had learned, they sat on it. Just recently the Methodist church ordained their first lesbian minister. Ouch!
I am fed up with seeing one standard in the Bible and another standard in my day-to-day experience! I know there is more. I look forward to moving into dangerous territory that has been held by the devil and his wild beasts for too long. And when my life here is done, I hope my children will make my ceiling their floor.

Going, going...

After being married for a year, Rachel and I decided to move from Dallas to Colorado Springs. My Uncle Sterling volunteered to come down from Wyoming and use his truck to move us up. I mean come on...how much stuff can a newly wed couple have? Heh heh... Thanks to a ton of stuff from Rachel's parents, we had enough to fill up a U-Haul trailor, the full-size bed of his truck sky-high, and our Honda Civic to the gills. It was a sight!

We had hoped to leave for Mexico on the 19th. When that day came and went we were discouraged and disappointed. We decided to go ahead and get everything packed up as if we're really leaving anyway. Here we are 10 days later! We thought we were prepared, but we were so wrong. God is gracious and so merciful.

Having spent the last 10 years of our marriage accumulating stuff, it's been quite the process getting rid of everything. At this point, all the furniture is gone, our closets are packed, and we will continue to go through the stuff that we're planning on taking and narrow it down to where it can fit in the back of our van.

One of our favorite movies is, "Facing the Giants." In it, a story is told about two farmers that are praying for rain. One of the farmers plows his field and gets it all ready for when the rain comes. The other does not. Who do you think God will send rain to first?

We have been praying for the rain of selling this house and the provision to buy our van. Admittedly, we now realize we have not done the best job of plowing the field. At this point, we are focused and determined to not rest until the field is plowed.

Thank you so much to the many of you who have supported us financially. Thank you so much to the many of you that pray for us. It will not be in vain.

Uncle Sterling, by the time we're done narrowing down and slashing through our belongings, I don't even think we'll need your whole truck!

P.S. Thanks Emmie for the awesome going away cake. You are the beeeest!

My Three Sons

When I was a boy I use to love to wrestle and fight and play with my brother Dave. Having a brother is a priceless experience. I'm so glad my boys get to grow up knowing the joy of that kind of relationship. Sometimes it was painful and bruises on my arms were a regular occurrence.

Recently at church a single, young lady came up and gave us a commitment card saying she would support us $10 a month. The gift and the motivation behind the gift meant so much more to us than the dollar amount. Though she may not have a ton of resources, it was her way of saying that she believes in us and what we're doing. And now we know that at least once a month she will be thinking about us and praying for us.

As we've wrestled with the idea of missions and living on support, we've had to endure some pain and some bruises to our emotions and our egos. Overall though, it's been an amazing experience to watch as individuals step up and join our team of supporters. Some have given a lot, and some give a lot from what they have.

It's such a joy to watch my boys grow older and to see the relationship that is developing between them. When individuals and families give to us, no matter what the amount, we recognize it as their way of saying that they want relationship with us, and nothing could be worth more than that!

That's Nacho Cheese!

We had a coffee date scheduled at a friend's house at 3:00 today. After getting all the kids ready and in the van, we were on the road by about 3:25. It seems to be a theme in our lives. Many of our friends are starting to realize that if you want the Nagels there by a certain time, you have to tell them it starts at least a half-hour earlier.

On Wednesday night we had a final Fiesta at Casa del Nagel. I whipped up several batches of flour tortillas (thanks Wren for the recipe), there was a pinata for the kids, and the party was rounded off by an appearance from Nacho Libre and his companion Esquelito. I haven't completed an official count, but including children, and from the number of corn chips we found ground into the carpet, I would say we had about 3,015 people stop by. Wow! It was a great time.

So though we hoped we would be on the road by the 19th, it appears the Lord has something else in mind. We're still looking for the right van, and waiting for the funds to come in to purchase it. We're also still waiting for our house to sell. We have another showing in the morning...so we're hopeful.

When I think about it, I guess if we actually left on time...that wouldn't be very Nagel-like...now would it?

Date Night...?

Of all the crazy stuff our son Smith does, it took the dangerous game of Monopoly to send him on his first trip to the Emergency Room.

We had just got all the kids dropped off and were off on a double-date when we got a call saying Smith had split his head open. I imagined he had been wrestling or riding his Heeleys or climbing a tree...but when we showed up at my sister's house, they told us he was trying to pick up some dropped Monopoly cards and he had whacked his head on their table. What!?
In the eight years of having children, we've never been to the Emergency Room...and before I saw the gash I figured we'd be able to take him home and band-aid him up. As soon as I saw it, I knew...there goes our date night.

He was pretty upset about the idea until we got there and found they had video games in the waiting room. That perked him right up.

Smith's biggest fear was getting the numbing shots. Once those were over, he was quite brave and laid still so the doctor could make some straight stitches.

12 stitches and a few hours later, and we were ready to go. Overall, it was a great experience. As we walked through the pediatric ward and saw all the precious little sick children, we were reminded of how blessed we are to have strong and healthy children. Thank you Jesus!

Yes, I Love Technology...

Our target date to get out of town is still the 19th...which is quickly approaching. We had three big things we wanted to purchase before we left. A laptop (check), a digital camera (check), and a 15 passenger van. We bought the computer and the camera this week! Thank you to those who gave toward these!!

I called this guy about this van on Craigslist last night. He answered and said, "Hello Sweety." I said, "Hi, you can call me Sweety if you want to...but I'm really calling about your van on Craigslist." He and I had a good laugh about it. It's listed for $4000 and I think I will go take it for a spin tomorrow. It looks nice, but we'll see.

We've had 5 showings on the house and the last one was the most positive. Still waiting on an offer...but we're hopeful. At that showing, the realtor lost the key to our house...which we later found in a baby basket in the boys room, weird. We have everything off the walls now and I spent yesterday patching all the holes. I will sand them and paint them today, should be fun.

Though we face moments of fear and discouragement, overall we are drawing closer to the Lord each day. He is revealing Himself to us in wonderful ways. We are both strongly committed to the idea that, "All men die...but not all truly live." We are tasting life like an armless man would bury his face into a thick piece of chocolate cake. It's messy, it's disorderly, and there's crumbs all over, but man...the frosting is oh-so-sweet.

It's Not Easy Being Green!

Happy New Year!!! Part of my life mission statement is to, "lay down my life to bring joy to others." Sometimes this means painting yourself green. Our friends threw a Super Hero party to celebrate New Years. After much contemplation, I decided to dress as the "Incredible Hulk."

Somehow, I even convinced Rachel to dress as the "She-Hulk" Though we got quite crusty and it was a terrible mess to clean up, we had a lot of fun bringing in the New Year with our friends and family.

We're looking forward to many new, exciting adventures in this new year. May the Lord bless you abundantly and bring your family great joy and peace in the days and months ahead.

Love, the Hulks (aka Jon & Rachel)