A New Year for New Beginnings

Well, we survived the holidays and are safely back "home" in MN. Thank You, Lord.

i hope that all of you had a great holiday season and are still celebrating Jesus!

Anjel, Andrew, and i went back to Oklahoma for 2 weeks and had a great time of reunion with friends and family.
We spent Christmas eve morn at Grace Bapt. where it was a joy to worship with our church family there and see all the familiar faces that we miss so much.
Special thanks to Tony, Ryan, Sankie, and Mike for keeping everything going towards God!
And to the worship team, it was great to see you carrying on!
As for the Body, it was good to see all of you and you will always have a special place in our hearts.
Christmas eve was at my parent's house with my whole family there...Dad read the birth account from Luke and we exchanged "presents" it's really pretty pathetic =) our exchange this year was everyone buying a different gift card, throwing it in a pile, and then taking turns drawing them out and trying to trade for the one we really wanted.
i'm not disappointed though. i'm glad our family has lessened their need for presents and are not sad if gifts aren't the focus.
Isn't that what we're trying to say anyway by "keeping Christ in Christmas?" Easier said than done, it always seems.
Don't get me wrong, i love getting presents!
So my address is....(just kidding)

Christmas day was spent with the Bruckners in Skiatook. (anjel's family for those that don't know)
We had a great unhurried time there and Andrew had fun with his Grandma and Pa Pa, and Aunt Kylie and Uncle Brian.
Among the things he got was a keyboard with a microphone.
He took to it like...well, choose your expression. He loved it!
i don't know where he gets it, but hopefully he'll always use it for the Lord!


A few days in Skiatook, lots of HGTV for Anjel, and me, well, i'm more of a Discovery Channel type guy, then we went back to the Quah. i got sick somewhere along the way and so did Andrew....we're still getting over it some....
but we managed to see friends and enjoy being there too.

One of the highlights for us was getting to see Jim and Laura and Rebekah Campbell before they headed back to the Pacific Rim. We had dinner with them in Tulsa and for a brief few hours it was like old times. We miss them a lot.

i guess another highlight was obviously the OU game. i hate to say it, but i'm glad Boise State won. i wish all games were as good. (especially the trick plays)

We got home Friday night about 9:30 and now it's Sunday afternoon....time for a nap.

i have a few weeks before classes start again so i'll be getting ready for next semester and helping out around the house.
i wish i could be home all the time, but then there's that whole providing for your family thing...

i'm glad to know that some of you are reading this, so i'll try to be more diligent in writing any important news.

Please continue to pray for us.
-- that Anjel and i would continue to grow together as one
-- that we would raise Andrew to know and love and fear the Lord
-- that our time of training and ministry here would be fruitful
-- and that above all, the name of the Lord would be magnified in our lives and across the globe.


May the Lord be increasingly sweet to us in 2007!

The Frenchs

Northern Exposure

Thankful, Very Thankful

Well, we made it through Thanksgiving and are speeding toward the end of the semester and Christmas! Praise the Lord!
i trust all of you had a wonderful time giving thanks to our great God who blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and who is faithful to provide for our needs according to His riches in glory.
We traveled 8 hours or so to Lawrence, KS to be with my family. 16 people under one roof!!!
We had a good time though it seemed short.
i got to play golf...a rarity these days and saw KU play basketball one night. (they won)
Anjel got to go on exercise walks and Andrew, well, he was just all over the place. i took a fellow classmate with us. Gabe Gatlin from Louisiana. He has a connection with Tony Megee from Springs of Grace Church in Tulsa. He's a good brother in the Lord and very talented video tech guy. He's working for Desiring God doing various video editing projects, so if you see the preaching videos online, you're probably seeing some of his work.
Classes are still plugging away and a few big assignments are coming up so pray i will remember everything we've studied so far...yeah, right! pray that i pass!
i'm still leading on wed. nights at the north campus and sunday mornings at Immanuel. After Christmas break i will more than likely initiate working with a worship team at Immanuel so you can pray for wisdom and discernment on moving forward there. i feel my time is limited there and so i want to do what i can to serve them well, in the Lord. They are a great group of people! Please pray for them as well as they are undergoing the enormous task of finding a new Preaching Pastor.
God has been good to provide more income in the form of a few more lessons downtown and we are trusting Him to take care of our every need.
Two disappointments: Both of the mission trips are a "no go"for me. i can't remember if i mentioned them before but one was to Camaroon to do worship teaching / leading at a seminary there and the second was to help lead Passover Camp in Israel again. i really wanted to go on both trips but the first got canceled and the second was just not working out schedulewise. But i rest in God's sovereignty and He knows best at every turn.
we'll be coming to Oklahoma for Christmas and will stay for a couple of weeks so we would love to see as many of you as possible. We will be in Tahlequah on the 23rd and 24th and then will travel to Skiatook for the 25th-28th and then probably return back to Tahlequah until the 4th of Jan.
We are looking forward to being there and miss it very much.
So, Lord willing and weather permits we will make the trek back down on the 22nd. Pray for safe travel.
We love you all and miss you .
Until then,

the frenchs

P.s. i'm always unsure who is reading this so if you would, please make a quick note and let me know! thanks!

Northern Exposure

Circus anyone?

Ever feel like you were in the circus?
No, not the clown. Not the trapeze artist either.
The plate spinner. Yep, that's me these days.
Things have progressed so quickly that it seems like i am
often running to the plate that's spinning the most slowly...
hopefully in time to give it a twirl before it falls.
Here are the "plates" so far. The most beautiful and precious plates are obviously Anjel and Andrew, 12 hours in class and supposed to be roughly 12-16 hours of study time, leading worship on Wed night at Bethlehem's north campus, leading worship on Sunday morning for Immanuel Baptist Church, teaching 8 students from 4:15-9:00 on Thursdays after going to class all day, teaching 7 other students scattered throughout the week downtown, a weekly mentor's meeting, a every other week accountability meeting, a monthly Fri/Sat Seminar, and i could add a few more things but who's counting, right?
i guess i am.
One of the biggest changes and challenges is this balancing act we're being called to do. And were it not for the story of Mary and Martha, i would feel more justified in commanding the Lord to get somebody to help me. But He's already promised to help, if i would only ask. "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" keeps ringing in my ears as i ponder what needs to be done next. But when is enough really enough? i have to remind myself that God has not promised to meet my agenda and accomplish my goals.
He has His own plan that He's working out to perfection and i would do well to "discern what is pleasing to the Lord" and not just the next thing on my list. So, if anyone happens to read this and wants to know how to pray for us, you can pray for wisdom in making good decisions when it comes to time and scheduling. Some things that deserve the greatest amount of attention are often the things that don't demand it.

Lord, give me wisdom and strength to do what pleases You!

well, we just got back from the store...
super target this time. we're getting around ok.
at least while i'm driving...anj is not quite ready to go solo yet, but she'll get there. she keeps insisting that all she needs is a gps system in the car and she'll be ok. andrew's in bed and is growing up way too fast for us. it seems he changes everyday and there's nothing we can do to slow him down...but that's the way it's supposed to be. life is a vapor.

we went to church today. well, anjel went to church. after the singing time, andrew needed to get out and walk around for a bit so we took a tour around the facilities and got aquainted with the surroundings. Next week, we'll check out the children's dept. Piper preached on the Lord's Supper. Anj said it was good. i have a meeting with the main worship pastor tomorrow morning to talk about what ministry opps. there are for me here. please pray that i will go where the Lord sends. it rained here today.
we haven't seen rain in a while but it was refreshing. we're still sorting through boxes and it's about to drive us crazy but we're almost done...at least for the main rooms anyway.
we miss you all and love you in Christ...time to bed down.

jason and anjel and andrew

Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure


Well.....long story, very, very, short.....we're here!

So much has happened in the past four days that a lengthy explanation would take hours. for those of you who want to know some details, just email me.
But i'll just say that the past few days have been among the most difficult i've had in a while....very difficult.
But the Lord has proven faithful again in providing everything we need according to His great mercy and grace.
we have a new address (part of the long story) and Sankie will have the details at the church. But for those of you who want to know here it is: 4315 Douglas Ave. Minneapolis, MN 55416

We got unloaded Thursday with help for Anjel's parents and a few people from Bethlehem (the church). Now we're just sorting through boxes to see what we need and what we can store. i'm sick of boxes. i'm starting to understand a little better why maybe Jesus didn't have a place to lay His head.
He didn't want to have so much stuff to carry around!
He knew He wasn't staying in this world, so why would he live like He was going to be on the earth forever...at least not this earth. i think i'm leaning toward Geo. Meuller's sentiment.
He said that at least once in a person's lifetime, you should sell/leave behind everything you own. i don't know where the quote comes from, but i can see how that would make moving a whole lot easier!!!

Anyway, Anjel and Andrew and doing ok. Andrew's been sick since before we left and now Anjel's not feeling great either.
Please pray for grace and healing!

i have a few job opportunities you can pray about and that the Lord would make it clear where he wants me to be.

we have met some great people so far. And it never ceases to amaze me how God's people no matter where there are, always extend their arms to welcome other believers in love.

Jesus said, "they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another." we have definitely felt loved...and not so loved at times, but mostly loved.

We have a few weeks before our new routine sets in, but in the meantime, we'll be learning our way around town and meeting more people.

Please continue to pray for us and please pray for Jon and Amanda Philgreen that the Lord will provide more than they could have imagined.

We love you all and miss you so much...it's not home yet, but we're here, and the Lord is with us.

jason, anjel, and andrew

ps. pictures coming soon!!!

Northern Exposure

Northern Exposure

Here's our prayer reminder card and new address. We'll be moving the second week of August and classes start for me Sept. 1!
We do need your prayers as this will be a huge transition for us. We trust God will be with us and will go before us as our shield.

We don't have our new phone number yet, but we will conitnue using our current cell number till then. If you don't have it, just email me.
i will have the same email: jason@grace4us.org
as well as a new one from Bethlehem.
But i will maintain both.

So thanks so much for your prayers
and we will do our best to keep in touch!