Milestones in Our Lives

Today is the 49th birthday of my gorgeous wife and soul mate, Esther Yvonne Schultz! She surely doesn't look or seem that old to me. Like a good wine, she has aged well. Choosing her to be my wife was one off the smartest decisions I've ever made. Hard to believe that in one more year I will be able to say that I'm married to a 50 year old woman. Though Esther isn't much for a lot of hooplah or drawing attention to herself, I want her to feel special. She is throwing a party Friday and all you lady folk have received an invite. There will be some ladies from the community at the party as well. If you can't make it, no worries. Feel free to phone her or come on Sunday as we'll celebrate her life with some prayer and cake. If any of you feel inspired and want to make a cake let me know. If I don't hear from anyone on making a cake, I'll buy one.

To top it all off this year we will be celebrating 25 years of being married. Wow, it sounds like we are so ancient...though we don't feel that way. To think that if kids had arrived a year after getting married, we could be grandparents by now. We truly do not take this milestone for granted as we know that some of you have suffered the heartache of divorce and gone through some painful relational stuff! It really has been the grace of God.

Here are the gathering opportunities for the next few weeks:

• This Sunday we will gather at 10:30am at our place-if you are coming and want to hang out over lunch bring a main dish to share with all. For those of you that were there last week, remember the one or two things that you wanted to practice this week in answering the question: How can I make a difference in learning to live from the heart? We shared these things with each other so we could be accountable for following through. Boy have my kids been keeping me accountable for what I voiced. Talk about mutual accountability that you can't hide from:--)
• Next Saturday there will be a Worship Circle at Mac and Jo's place starting @ 6pm. Bring a main dish and desert or salad to share as we eat together as part of our time. Their address is 2163 Country Hills Circle NW
• Sunday is the Super Bowl: For any of the men or ladies that like football you are welcome...bring some wings, or munchies and your favourite beer!
• Monday, Jan. 30th is the last day to get the early bird deal for the Simply Jesus conference on March 2-3. So go to www.themosaicnetwork.net to register and pay online. Keep praying for this event as it will be a wonderful opportunity to be encouraged and equipped.

Love,

Tim and Esther

Gathering In Bowness

Hope you are all surviving this cold snap of the last week! Wouldn't it be nice if we could all jump on a plane together and head off to Cuba for the week. Hey, not a bad idea if one of us wins the lotto in the next week or so.

Congratulations to Stephanie on her new job posting right here in the hood at the Boys and Girls Club! We know that Jesus has some cool stuff in store for you as you connect with kids and their families here in Bowness. Hope you and your mom can join us this Sunday.

This Sunday we will gather at Beth's cozy home right here in Bowness at 10:30am. The address is 4301A - 70st NW. Phone # is 403-237-8477. We look forward to worshiping Jesus, sharing the highs and lows of our last week, digging in to the Bible, and praying for one another. If you are coming and want to stay for lunch please bring a main dish and salad or desert to share with all.

A reminder to get your registration in for the Simply Jesus Missional Training Event by Jan. 30th if you want to get in on the early bird deal. Momentum is growing for this, and you will not want to miss hearing Carl and all the cool stories of how he has seen Jesus at work in the Middle East, and in America in mosques, bars, and with folks we would have considered our enemies...stories of the Good Samaritan in our day! You will be deeply encouraged, and the Holy Spirit will stir faith in you. Some of his stories make you laugh, and some will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up!

The cool thing is that what Carl shares is not just for the 'jedi type' evangelists but a way of talking about Jesus that is real, natural, and attainable for all. The main sessions are family friendly for kids ages 5 and up. We'll also have some of our local friends share how they are living a missional 24/7 lifestyle with the poor, oppressed girls off the streets, youth, through the arts, in their neighbourhoods and work places, and are seeing Jesus communities form around tribes on the margins of our culture. There will be forms of worship that are Celtic, Vineyard, and even some Next Gen. stuff. We will pray for the sick and see how God might show up!

So go to www.themosaicnetwork.net and sign up this weekend! Get the word out to your friends as well!

Love you all,

Tim and Esther

A Happy New Year to You All

A Blessed, Joyful, Healthy, and Peaceful 2012 to you all,

It's been so nice to unwind, get together with family and friends, play games, eat great food especially chocolate, and celebrate the coming of Jesus.

We will be gathering at 10:30 am this Sunday at our place for the first gathering of the New Year. We want to reflect back and give thanks to the Father for all that He has done for us in 2011. We will do this through a prayer exercise called the Examen in which we share our Consolations (Highlights) and Desolations (Low-lights) of the past year. We then want to pray for one another in pressing into God for some things on our hearts for 2012.

If you haven't registered for the "Simply Jesus-Missional Training Event our Mosaic Network is hosting on March 2-3rd, do so before Jan.3o to take advantage of the early bird registration of $49...there is a family rate as well. The 3 main sessions are family friendly. Duane and Laura will have a team of folks from YWAM mentoring kids 5 and up as they create an artistic master piece right in the sessions. We highly value the family worshiping together and 'family on mission together'. We want to see youth and kids soaking in God's presence and becoming a part of sharing Jesus in natural and supernatural ways. To register go to www.themosaicnetwork.net and click on the Events tab!

The motivational speaker we are bringing in is Carl Medearis. He's a man who walks the talk, who is down to earth, and will inspire you to become involved in what Jesus is doing here and around the world. So invite your friends as well and help us get the word out!

There will be break-out sessions on how to live out justice, reaching youth, arts and beauty as a way to communicate the Good News of the Kingdom, starting missional communities where people belong before they believe, becoming ' healed up and whole' apprentices of Jesus through authentic community, and such. We want to hear stories of how people are coming into the Kingdom, share some tools that may help us in sharing Jesus with are friends, neighbors, and family, and leave with a couple practical actions steps to live out.

Love,

Tim and Esther