All good things must come to an end and all that stuff...

Wow, life is insatiable isn't it?! It just keep plugging away, giving us lots of things to be occupied with and never wants to slow down. This last month has been a fantastic example of the fullness of life that Jesus tells us about in John 10:10. 

Below is a picture of a Vine that I took, trying to demonstrate what I do in my relationship time with the Lord. My quiet time? my devotions? Me and God hanging out? Something... insert the phrase that works for you. 

Lately I've been calling this my 20/20 time. During one of these times with the Lord I felt inspired to challenge my MK worship team to devote their next 20 days to God by giving Him 20 minutes of their day in concentrated conversation. I know that we are to be praying without ceasing but this is a more focused attempt to connect with God. 

It went amazingly! At the end of that time I had them present to the whole youth group what God did in and through them during that time and then challenged the whole group to do their own 20/20. Many of the youth have embraced said challenge and I'm eager to see what God does in and through them during the next 20 or so days. Hopefully this will be the start of something amazing in their lives... or at least a continuation of something amazing :). 

The fantastic Gebauers went back to the Solomon Islands on Feb 7th and below are a bunch of pics of us all hanging out before they left. There were many good times connecting.  They are missed already! 

Sergei, my cousin's child, gave Asher and Creed skateboards.  Here Asher and Claire are learning to use them.

 

My parents recently went back to Africa for a short while.  Here is their last evening with us before they left! Puzzle time! 

Fun at the park... great winter weather here in Dallas! 

Birthdays!!! Here we are enjoying having Erich down for one last visit before his parents go back! 

We had such a great day at the Zoo all together one last time! Again, amazing God-given weather! 

Here is the gang just before they left - One last group hug at the airport... Thanks to Pastor Lowrey, his family, Guy Setter  and Lisa for all their help getting people and belongings to the airport! 

The Dallas MK sorting donations at Dallas Life a local Homeless Shelter. I love serving alongside these kids! 

Life is so good! I spent my first 20 days focusing on delighting in the Lord and I watched many epic nature videos and I spent a lot of time praising our creator for His creativity and beauty. I was filled with such joy and life.  Truly all good things flow out of our seeking God and Him only!

During that time, some difficult things happened. God desires for us to live in harmony! He orchestrates things perfectly, His timing is always perfect, His gifts are always what we need. So it is no mere chance that while I am entrenched in this delight of the Lord there are also many things happening around me that would otherwise be much more devastating to my spirit if not for the focus that He has called me to have on Him. 

One of these things is the financial future of the Dallas MK program. Our budget is, shall we say, in the wind right now. But, I'm confident that God will either provide the money and build the community that He desires for that, or He will lead us in better ways that cost less. Either way, I have joy where fear and anxiety could otherwise be. One of the sources of my joy comes from my little precious boy Asher, who after hearing me request prayer for the budget needs, immediately went to his piggy bank and withdrew the following as a donation. His generosity is so beautiful to me! I'm so touched and encouraged. 

God doesn't require money, He requires obedience! And that is my desire, to be obedient... and more than that, to delight in my God! And I do delight in Him and He gives me the confidence and joy to live in expectation of what He is going to do next... not only here but in all areas of my life! 

I'm committed to sharing with you all the impact of this ministry. Below is a video of Matthew Gebauer sharing about the impact the Dallas MK has had on him. It's so meaningful to me to see how God uses this ministry to touch so many lives. 

Thanks so much for your part in all of this! I can't do what I do without you! Your prayers, your donations, and your friendship are so helpful in making this dream a reality! Thank you for standing with me in this.  I'm so grateful for you. 

Please pray 

For Diane who is in extreme back pain right now... apparently Serenity has kicked her ribs out of alignment :(

For me as I prepare my team to go to Malaysia this summer.  That God would call the right people to go with me on this adventure! 

For the Dallas MK group to understand and follow hard after what God desires for their future! 

I praise God for you! 

And for all the amazing things he is doing, for mountains and rainbows, for sunny days at the zoo, for life, for the amazing joy of knowing him and for his faithfulness and mercies that are new every morning! 

Blessings, 

Caleb

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. 

The other way to donate to my ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 8, Asher 6, Liam 4, Echo already in heaven, Bella 1, and Serenity... yeah we are having another girl :)

2016 You are soooo good looking!

It is so fantastic to be back at work! I enjoyed the long break with my family and friends... but, there is nothing quite like getting back in the office with fresh ideas and renewed perspective and an antsy spirit! I really enjoyed having all the college kids home for the holidays but, now they are slowly headed back to school and, life is getting back to 'normal' whatever that means in 2016. 

Some big changes are in the air... some new faces have joined MK and that is always awesome, especially when people leave that have been here for a while. Yesterday we met for the second time in the year and it was really great to be together. I have challenged some of the kids to join me in a 20 day challenge to spend 20 minutes of concentrated time with the Lord. Day 1 is today and that means February 8 will be the final day. I'm looking forward to seeing what God does in and through all of us as we give more of ourselves to Him. 

Here are some fun pictures from the last couple of weeks. 

AT&T STADIUM FOR THE WORLD PREMIER OF 13 HOURS THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI 

This was a great movie and great experience that I got to share with my wife and father in law and two brothers in law (Erich and Mark). It was so cool having the director, Michael Bay, there as well as some of the actors (John Krasinski!!!) and three of the actual heroes! Powerful experience!

It's gotten brutally cold... kind of and, the fires have been nice while we watch football and other such things :)

It's been really fun connecting with MK's during their break, playing games and watching movies before the dreaded school starts again :). Here we are playing Quelf! Some of the MK's were missing meeting on Mondays, so we had a game night to tide us over :). 

I feel like this is the Birthday season on steroids! It was so nice to see Gram (Diane's Grandmother) for her birthday! And also Ethan and then Erich and then Claire! We are very festive party animals on the Gebauer side! Lots of wonderful kids means lots of wonderful birthdays... and that means lots of cake! 

A tradition of ours is to rededicate our lives to the Lord on Christmas Eve, We light our candles from the Christ candle in the center. It is so beautiful hearing our kids talk about how they want to grow closer to Jesus in the new year! What Diane said was nice too :). 

This was a great privilege and honor for me to be able to baptize Sean before he went back to college. I am thankful for his friendship and blessed to be able to be a part of his life in this way. What a wonderful evening! 

God is certainly active in this new year, it's so fun looking to see what the Father is doing and figuring out how to join him! I have been meditating on the idea of delighting in the Lord! It's important to be proactive in our relationship with God, to learn how to respond to the incredible things that He is doing around us all the time and, to take time to notice and be grateful for the wonderful things that He has done and is doing! 

I can't escape thoughts of you when I take time to delight in the Lord. I delight in His provision for me and my family through you! I am so blessed by your prayers and support for this ministry! Thank you for standing beside me! 

I have many adventures ahead this year and am honored to have such a group of prayer warriors in my community. 

Pray 

That God will give me wisdom and blessings as I prepare to lead a team on a mission trip to Malaysia later this year! 

For Bob Alber, my wonderful boss, as he seeks further healing in his leg so that he can come back and keep me company in the office. Last week he left the office for the foreseeable future. I trust God will use this time to heal him completely so that he can resume the work he is so gifted in!   

I always praise God for you! 

Blessings, 

Caleb 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. 

The other way to donate to my ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 8, Asher 6, Liam 4, Echo already in heaven, Bella 1, and Serenity... yeah we are having another girl :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year :)

Fun in the park and presents and food and games and family... these are a few of my favorite things... concerts and sunny days and Star Wars and Lord of the Rings these are a few of my favorite things! 

It's been a fun time relaxing with family and the great weather has made for some great times out and about with the kids. We had a great time with the older Gebauers on Wednesday evening doing our Secret Santa, that was nice to get conversation flowing that didn't get interrupted with kids running through randomly! Then on Thursday I did Christmas with my side of the family and on Christmas day we did it with Diane's. We know how to party... keep it going all week... after all it's a pretty important Birthday! 

Another fun thing we have been doing is watching all the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings movies. It's been nice having people over and diving back into the Tolkien universe a bit, for some reason it just feels like Christmas :). Another fun movie experience was Star Wars! My present to some of the brothers was a ticket and a ride to see the motion picture event of the holiday season. It was great... my parents came along also and we all had a splendid time! 

It's been great also sneaking in moments where it's just Diane and the kids and then just Diane and myself. The hustle and bustle is fun... but tiring and it's great to find myself alone with my wife and a good cup of coffee or some such and an opportunity to reflect! 

I wonder if Jesus was my secret Santa what I would get Him and what I would ask for... I've already given Him my life and He started it by first giving His for me. What more can you do? It just got me thinking about the perfect birthday present... literally what do you get for the guy who has it all? Time, that's the gift, relationship... just sitting and being with and enjoying Him. It's hard to take the time when everything else demands your attention... that's why I think it's such a great gift... it shows how much he means to me. I know that is something I really want from him at this point... He's already given me the Holy Spirit and that gift just keeps on giving :). God is so good... Happy Birthday Jesus you are the best, and I really mean that! 

I hope your Christmas was amazing and your new year is just as fantastic! Thanks for being a part of what I'm doing... for your prayers and support, I couldn't do this with out you and I'm so grateful to you for making it possible to chase after these wonderful MK's and love them as best I can! 

Blessings, 

Caleb 

If you are having any trouble switching your support over please let me know. Here is what I've written so far about making the transition (Transition and How to give) and I'm happy to provide any further information that I can to help make this a smooth transition for you. Thanks for sticking with me through this. 

If you want to support what I do a little or a lot, on a one time basis or a recurring basis, click on the tab "Supporting the Work" at the top of the page and sign up for Chase Quickpay. You can then send your donation to HCLC - Caleb Robbins Ministry using my e-mail address caleb_robbins@sil.org. If you would like further instructions on setting that up please click on the link at the top right of the page called How to give. 

The other way to donate to my ministry is via check. If you write a check to "Holy Cross Lutheran Church" and put "Caleb Robbins Ministry" in the memo line it will get deposited into my ministry account.

The address is:

Holy Cross Lutheran Church 

4400 W Arkansas Ln, Arlington, TX 76016

Diane is my beautiful wife and the mother of my precious children Creed 8, Asher 6, Liam 4, Echo already in heaven, Bella 1, and Serenity... yeah we are having another girl :)

Fun at the Park on Saturday! 

Star Wars with Ethan and Matthew and my Parents :)

Christmas Day over at the Gebauers :)

Random fun with the kids and Diane :)

My Dad reading Holy and Ivy to my kids on Christmas Eve! A precious moment for sure! 

Christmas presents with the older Gebauer crew. 

Enjoying the beautiful Texas weather :)! Leaves!!! 

Watching Hobbit/Lord of the Rings with Friends! 

Creed and Asher's school Christmas Concert :)

My amazing new haircut :)