Baby News: We...Are...Having...A...

Hello All,

Don't worry: Those are not my tattoos...or my arms for that matter!

For those of you who are not in the know, my wife is pregnant with our fourth child. This child, from it's conception, has been a child that has had the greatest expectations. For one, this baby is it, our final offering to global overpopulation. But more importantly, this baby has the weight of balancing the gender power struggle that exists currently in this family. When this baby was conceived, it would either balance the power and Hercules would emerge or crush the scales in favor of the women.

You probably think that this does not matter much. It does matter incredibly! Let me tell you how. For every movie Caleb picks, there are two chick flicks he must endure. For every army man, there are two dolls. For every vote on what to play, there are two votes for girl games. He can't win.

Oh, but it gets worse. These girls will be teens...at the same time...in the same house...where I LIVE!! Are you getting this!? How much drama can Caleb and I take!? So very early on, when it was learned that a baby was coming, the prayers were not so subtle from the male contingency: WE WANT REINFORCEMENTS! Forget the PC "All-We-Want-Is-A-Healthy-Baby" propaganda. I have been "Boy Only" since day 1.

Let it be 3 on 3. Equal opportunity. Blessing for everyone!

Yesterday, we were able to get our sonogram. Let me first say that Beaver Medical Group has sonogrammed all of our children and has been able with great efficiency to determine the sex of each baby. Let me also let you know that with each baby I have been wrong about the sex. When I called "boy," we got a girl. When I called "girl," it was Caleb. Goosegg. 0 for 3! You might think that this discourages me and you would be WRONG! "THIS JUST MEANS I'M DUE!" "I've got to be right this time!"

As has become our sonogram pattern, both Grandmas were present, as well as Elizabeth. Yeah, I see the feminine moral support. We waited for the tech to come out and let us know that we could come back. I stroked my lucky rabbits foot, did not walk on any of the lines on the carpet and prayed, "Let it be male....PLEASE!"

The moment of truth came when the technician came out. I checked his eyes for any sign of hope, any give, but he was stone faced. Clearly, he relishes his job, hiding the secrets as long as he can. He brought us back, no clue as to what he had discovered with his little "secret machine." That's good dude. Let's not gloat.

He then proceeded to show off his sonogrammatic prowess by giving us a tour of the body! Inside I was screaming: WHO CARES ABOUT THE EYES!?!!? WHY DO I WANT TO SEE THE BABY'S NASAL CAVITY!?!?! Clearly, this man needs people to recognize his skills as a sonogram technician! (And yes, just in case you are wondering, the baby has 2 of everything, except where it should have 5 of everything, at which point, that's all there as well!) The ability to make out where the elbow is while in utero, is a fine point on the resume! But what I want to know Sonogram Man is, will we be having an IRON MAN birthday party or another Princess party come January?

Finally, he takes us to the main event, after an amazingly long under card. "Two legs." Finally. "And right there in between the legs..." Drum roll....



NOTHING!



I asked him to check again from another angle. Nothing. "How many years have you been doing this!?"

NOTHING.

I actually planned to put a picture of the sonogram here, but thought better of it...needless to say:

I am 0 for 4!

Lela and the female contingent scream out in gloating glee, as their population is helped by yet another little one of them! Me? I walked out and plotted my strategy for the bunker that I will make out of the garage!

Little Ana, prayerfully, will join us January 30th. We are working on a middle name right now, and are praying about what it might be, though Renae gave us a great suggestion at the dinner table the other night. Aside for all the jokes, we are grateful for this little one and can't wait for her to come and be part of our very girly family!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

We Interrupt This Program...

Hello All,

Lately, I have noted that this blog has been the target of spam comments. It hasn't been a problem on my other blogs, but this one has had a few target the comments. Usually, I'll check the newest entry for comments, but rarely look for comments on older posts. I thought I'd just check through a few and found a couple at a few locations. Sadly, these links predominantly lead to pornographic material, which we obviously do not want people to be exposed to in any way. This has led me to take a full moderation status with our comments, which means that each comment this blog receives will go to an email, which I will have to approve. It's a step of administration that I have wanted to avoid, but is now necessary.

If I have missed any of these "comments," please bring them to my attention and I'll delete them immediately. For those wanting more direct contact with me, please join me over at Facebook.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Sunday #1 April 11th, 2010

Hello All,

A belated "Happy Resurrection Day" to each of you. This last weekend left me with little time to blog my feelings and discoveries regarding the resurrection of Christ. Perhaps I will get to that soon. Suffice it to say: I am grateful to God for His obedient, courageous and unique Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly laid down His perfect life for the totality of human injustice in history, in order that sinners like me and you can have life and that more abundantly in Him! Thank you God for Your wisdom, Your mercy and Your grace toward us.

As resurrection Sunday draws to a close, I am keenly aware that this is the last resurrection weekend that I will be outside of a pulpit. Beginning next Sunday, our Thursday Night group will begin to meet on Sunday mornings at the Hutton Center in Colton. Our service will begin at 10AM. For the near future, the Hutton Center will be our Sunday home, the Gospel of Matthew, our first book to study.

Thursday Nights will continue at the Gonzalez Center. We'll continue to meet and study the book of Genesis each Thursday night at 7PM.

Perhaps a little explanation is needed...7 months ago, we began meeting on Thursday nights. That first night saw about 16 people attend, 5 of which were my immediate family, 4 being my parental units, 1 being an Uncle! It was a good night, but who knew at the time that any not related to me, would return for more! As weeks went by, we added a few people here and there, had visitors come by to see what was happening. Today, we have grown incrementally to over 20 people, and a fellowship and love has grown to the point where going to Sundays is the only thing left to do! I look forward and want to spend Sundays with this group of people for as long as they will tolerate me! The Lord has given me a zealous and Pastoral heart for this local expression of God's body. I look forward to spending the next few decades of life taking in the Word of God, and watching the Lord's movement in and around the city of Colton.

I tell you this first to solicit your prayers. We are beginning a spiritual work in the city of Colton, alongside the other Bible teaching churches that are currently there. Consequently, there will be attack, stress, and difficult decisions. I have always been blessed knowing that many of you that read here, are wonderful at prayer intervention! Many of you have prayed us to Spain and back again! How shall you pray? Pray for wisdom, a natural open door into the community for evangelism, and fervent love among the body for Christ and those who might enter into the doors. More than anything, pray that Christ is exalted, God's Word is honored and His Spirit is freed to minister through His church.

Second, I am asking you to share with friends or family members who might live near Colton, who do not already have a home church, and would appreciate a Calvary Chapel style service. We would love to have the honor of ministering to them. Perhaps you might forward or send them a link to this blog post. Perhaps they might even want to investigate our church's blogspot over at http://ctnbs.blogspot.com. They can find directions, devotions, notes and audio there from recent Thursday night studies.

Finally, to my good friends that are not connected anywhere for one reason or another, my heart and desire would be to see you come and see if this might be a place for you. I, along with those who are apart of this body, would welcome you in the name of the Lord. Finding a church home can be difficult. Perhaps it's easier when you know that the Pastor is a guy you've known for a long time, not as a Pastor, but as just a regular guy/Laker fan/drummer dude!

Whichever "category" you fit in, Sunday April 11th will be a great day for our family. I thank you in advance for however the Lord might move you to be involved.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

30,000 Visitors?

Hello All,

I just wanted to commemorate this moment. As of today, we had our 30,000th visitor to our little space on the web. That is pretty cool considering we have lived in several different places and have gone long periods of time without updating the site. Additionally, we have only had the counter about a year and half out of the last 4 years that we have been doing this.

On the other side of the coin, the numbers might be a little skewed, in that we discovered not too long ago that the counter was also counting when we visited ourselves! So every time I came to post, then re-post or edit a post, it counted me. Whenever Lela came by to check for comments it counted her. And whenever I got a few comments going, like the infamous El Burrito discussion, I was counted each time I commented back. Basically, what I am saying is, that Lela and I might be responsible for 29,000 of those visits!

The good news is that we have isolated our ip addresses (we had 5 or 6 different addresses assigned to us!) and the counter no longer counts us ("Are you saying we don't count!? Yes!" The conversation in my mind...). From here on out, we have a pure system that only counts you!

So what do you have to look forward to seeing in the next several months? All I will say is "more of the same!" Of course, I'd love to expand to whole other areas of weblife and am thinking about a podcast...we'll see what develops. In any event, I hope that you will continue to drop by from time to time. Whoever all of you are, thanks for stopping by and caring about what might be happening with the Sanchez Family!

Here's to the next 30,000!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

"Ready Or Not..."

"Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, 'Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.' Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, 'Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?' And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows."

Matthew 24:1-8

Hello All,

Not trying to start a eschatological debate, but it sure seems like there are a lot of earthquakes lately! What if He did come sooner than later? At the least, let's be reminded of what we are living for today! Is it worth it?

Just a friendly reminder!

Blessings,
Frank Sanchez

...Get Set...

Hello All,

Somebody's mother once said, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." I want to amend just one part of this. "If you have nothing to say, then say nothing!" In many ways, that has been the story of these last few weeks. Everything has been behind the scenes, waiting on phone calls, studying for messages, scouring the internet for jobs, etc. Thankfully, as of Friday night, I finally have something to report.

As mentioned in my most recent post, I asked for your prayers regarding a meeting place for the Bible study that we feel led to begin in Colton. Initially, I had believed that my families home would suffice for a good meeting place. However, due to the size of the group that has talked about coming, we knew that before we even began, we would have outgrown the place. So the hunt was on.

Thankfully, with the help of a great friend, we came into contact with the folks that run the community center in town. As of tonight, we have been given permission to occupy! They have agreed to rent a room to us, and we are thankful to have the opportunity to use their facilities.

As a result, we are beginning the Thursday Night Bible Study THIS THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1st. It will begin at 7PM at the Frank Gonzalez Community Center in Colton. The building is located at 670 Colton Avenue in Colton, 92324. I am grateful to watch and participate with the Holy Spirit, as He begins a work that I pray will be a blessing to many and blossom into whatever the Father intends it to become. It seems only fitting to begin at the Beginning...We'll begin in the book of Genesis, a book (really, the entire Bible would work!) that I have a great affinity for.

Many have asked over the last several weeks about how or if they could give toward this work. This was a question that I needed to uncover myself! Last Tuesday, I received the answer. This Bible study is an outreach of Kingsfield Church. As a result, Pastor Chris gave his permission to officially exist under the umbrella of Kingsfield. If you are reading this and are one of the people that have asked, or you are wondering, checks can be made out to "Kingsfield Church" and in the memo, simply write "Colton Outreach."

Finally, as most of you know, this has been our families blogsite for the last several years. I want it to continue to be that and continue to invite any who would like to visit and see our family as it develops, to continue to do so. As a result, in the next few weeks, I will be separating this blog back toward my family and creating a separate blog for the Bible Study. I may merge the Bible Study and Bible notes page that already exists into one new blog. Eventually, perhaps an entire website will be in order, but that will come in time. For now, most of the "news" will be here until a different blogspot can be determined.

Thank you all for your prayers, your encouraging notes and you pledges of support, either financially or in the promise of your physical presence. I hope that all of you will continue to pray for this to be a special part of the fabric of Colton, as well as the Inland Empire.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

The Next Chapter

Hello All,

The last few weeks at church, many of my conversations after church have begun thusly: "So, I hear you are leaving?" After answering "yes" the inevitable question of "why" emerges. Some of my answers amused me more than the inquisitive one. "Well, I usually leave when church is over!" I am still laughing at myself for that one!

The truth is that Lela and I and our kids are leaving Orange County effective August 31st and moving back to the Inland Empire. Our immediate goal is to begin a Bible study, with the hope of seeing what God would do with such a venture. Details on that study will be shared here at a future time.

How we came to this point is a long story. Back in the early part of this year, Lela and I, reflecting upon where we were, began to ponder our next step in ministry. We wanted to honor our desire to be the best parents possible, we wanted the kids near their grandparents and we wanted to work in the areas of our gifting, so as to best serve the Lord. I presented this conversation to Pastor Chris and we mused over it for a few months. Around May, we, Pastor Chris, myself and the board of directors, mutually decided that God had a move in mind. We pursued a few options, but each came short for one reason or another. Around mid-June, we presented a seminal idea of a Church plant in my home town of Colton. Discussions began in earnest, as it seemed that everyone was supportive and Lela and I were actually beginning to look forward to the work of such an endeavor.

The discussions came to an abrupt halt due to my sister's illness and subsequent death. We knew that they needed to continue, but at the time, we just did not have the heart. After the funeral, we presented a proposal to the board, who quickly came to a resolution for a healthy, majority portion of financial support. Our gratitude to the Kingsfield Board for their support, patience and wisdom in their oversight of this venture cannot be underscored.

That brings me to this: This final board decision came about just over a week ago. The timing is perfect, but certainly short, as our lease in Ladera is up and the kids need to begin school somewhere in the next several days. As a result, there is a seeming hastiness, but not all is as it seems and not all will come to as abrupt an end. For the next 3 months, I will continue to be at Kingsfield Church on a frequent basis, teaching the men for the Morning Fill and playing drums with Mr. Brook James on alternating Sundays. That is, unless something radical happens and a vibrant church emerges...who knows!

On the Kingsfield side, I want to let you friends know how much we love and value each of you. I apologize for not being able to share with you all sooner or in a more personal manner. As I mentioned earlier, many of you have come to me over these last several months. Suffice it say for now, that these last three years of my life have been amazing, mostly due to the fact that you are all truly faithful, remarkable believers. It has been a pleasure for Lela and I to be counted among you, and to have had the opportunity to minister, in our small way, to you. Thank you for embracing us from day 1. We have felt great love and that will never be forgotten. In a way, I envy Pastor Aaron Hale, my dear friend, who has come to Kingsfield. I pray that he, Johannah and Los Ninos Hale, will enjoy the warmth of Kingsfield love to an even greater measure.

On the Ladera side, we cannot have asked for better friends and a better community of people. These last two years have been remarkable. Thank you all (and you know who you are!) for your friendship, your generous hearts and your open garages that make this neighborhood sincerely amazing to live in. Your names were an added bonus to all that God did in our lives here. We didn't know that you guys would each be such important parts of our lives. I fear that we will never find as great a neighborhood as this one has been, or at the very least, I fear that my standards may be set too high as a result of having been here among you all. Many of the snapshots in my mind will include alley meals, studies at the McGranahan's and that awesome birthday celebration at Aliso Beach, where the men beat the ladies at Catchphrase! EPIC!

On the other side, we are beginning a Bible study and committing ourselves to watching God unfold what He wants to unfold in our lives and in the lives of those that He would bring into our midst. I pray that what we have seen in the past, will only be a tasty foreshadowing of what God will show in the future. I am as excited and scared as I can be! I cannot wait to see what happens next! It could be a church, it could be a series of Bible studies. The Lord will guide us from here along with the hearts of those who might sense a call to join us. I can't wait to see what names will accompany this group! I'm excited!

Well, there is much to do. This week, come Wednesday night, we will be neck deep in moving out of our place. This weekend, we'll be moving to Lela's gracious Dad and Mom's home in Mentone. There is a lot to pray about from there. I pray that I can count on each of you for that part.

Here's to the God who answers prayers, unfolds vision and does wonders!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

12 Years Later...

"It was a Friday night in Redlands when I married her. It rained and we never got any cheesecake at our reception, but all of our friends were there and it was one of the best nights of my life. Since then, there have been so many more wonderful times and each of them have been shared with her. What excites me most is not what lies ahead. What excites me is that whatever lies ahead, it will be experienced with her!"

I love you sweetheart! Happy Anniversary!

To all who have been a part, in big and small ways, thank you for being a part of our lives.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Happy Birthday Renae!

Hello All,

It's hard to believe but Renae, card shark extraordinaire, is 7 years old today! I can hardly believe it! It seems like only yesterday that she

- cried/screamed all the way to Victorville, stopped and slept all the way back home, only to cry again as we got back into our drive way in Highland!

- sang Lela's song "Let me cling" with the following words: "Let me clean your robe and wash your feet."

- smiled for the first time on a boat to Catalina Island, at the same time doing "beautiful eyes."

- was sitting in my lap after Sunday evening services at the Packinghouse, catching me up on the evening that she had just had!

- that she was displaying her "expeditious" side by moving that checker piece into the King's row! If you haven't seen that movie, check out the side bar...

Renae was born just 13 days after 9/11. It was an insane time of life. Nobody knew what was going on, the television was fixated on the devastation that was ground zero and here we had this screaming little baby!

In my mind, and probably there alone, Renae's name has always had a tinge of irony. Renae is a derivative of the Greek word for "peace." It's likely more than a coincidence, though not intended, but her name looks like this:

Renae (Peace) NYCole

...I always thought that that was pretty amazing given the time and what we were all praying for New York City.

Renae has faced a lot of challenges, especially with our moves. Mentone to Spain back to Mentone, back to Spain and then to Orange County. That is enough, but when you factor in schools and friends, it adds up to a lot for a little girl. I pray that these next years will be more reflective of what her name means.

To my beautiful, intelligent, and insightful daughter: Happy Birthday! May the Lord of Your peace grant you years of blessing and satisfaction in Him alone! We love you very much!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

A Swimming Update...

Hello All,

For those who have been wondering, following the story: I swam the length and width of our pool in Ladera Ranch. I missed my goal by a day or so due to the Labor Day weekend, but I will rely on the technicality that I would have done it in August if it weren't for conflicting schedules.

So there: All of Lela's kids can now swim! No more pool jokes! No more "Aren't you afraid to baptize because you can't swim" jokes. HA!

My next target: Michael Phelps' Records...Yeah, I'll just continue to play the role of the shark while the kids play the part of the dolphins!

Just a few items of note and I'll close this blog...

- Renae started school today. I'll be blogging about that later this week, as I watched her get into school mode.

- I was "memed" by Aimee Walnofer some time ago. My response is on my Facebook, my telling you is an open invitation to friends here on this blog to seek my "friendship" on Facebook. I'll be interested if I can solicit my 100th friend from this blog.

- Last week, I started a blog dedicated to our kids. It's called "Our Parent's Private Library." If you look at our profile, you'll notice it on the blog roll. If you attempt to access it, you will be disappointed, as it can only be read by our kids, but will not be read by them until they are much older. In it, we (Lela will actually be writing there!) write private notes and letters of encouragement to them, documenting our thoughts about them for the future. I don't tell you to make you envious; I tell you because I think that it's a great idea and as a Parent, I have loved writing there. Maybe you will feel the same.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Where Not To Find A "Blessing!"

Religious Man Eaten After Trying to Receive Blessing From Crocodile

Bangladesh police say a crocodile killed and ate a 25-year-old after he waded into a pond next to a shrine in an attempt to receive the animal’s blessing, news.com.au reported Friday.

Inspector Humayun Kabir said Rubel Sheikh and his mother traveled to the Muslim Khan Jahan Ali shrine, where hundreds of people visit every day to offer hens and goats to the crocodiles living there.

Part of the shrine ritual involves bathing in the water with the crocodiles, but devotees are very rarely approached by the animals, according to Kabir.

"He went into the pond hoping to be blessed when a crocodile attacked him and dragged him into the deep part of the pond,'' Kabir told the Australian Associated Press.

"This is a very unusual incident. Normally, the crocodiles are very friendly and do not harm people.''

About 25 people dove into the pond to try and rescue Sheikh, but could not find his body. It washed ashore Thursday and had been largely eaten, Kabir said.

The line "normally the crocodiles are very friendly and do not harm people" just flattens me!

BTW, just in case you think I could have made this up, here's the link. The story of the filthy snakes is coming soon.

Blessings...From The Lord...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Are These Pictures Worth A 1,000 Words?

Hello All,

I used to love reading "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I don't know if you ever read one, but they could go on forever or end abruptly depending upon your choice at the end of the given section. In following with this brilliant, yet unfortunately extinct novel approach, I thought that I might let the readers here choose their own "adventure." Now, be sure, I am going to write about each of them; Your input will determine the order.

While I am honoring the wonderful genre that was "CYOA," I am also challenging the establishment that proudly proclaims to us that a picture is worth a 1,000 words. Are all pictures fundamentally the same, and thus worth an equal amount of words? Are some pictures worth more? Here are a few pictures that may or may not be worth 1,000 words. You pick and I'll write!

How about this strange "hola" yelling man in yellow, supposedly from Chile?


Perhaps you would like to read about the suspicious other Mexican, curiously in the same shirt as myself?

Or, these filthy snakes!There you go! Comments here and on our new Facebook account will be tallied and the winner will be written. Here are the names of these three choices:

1) Crazy Yellow Man!

2) Suspicious Mexicans!

3) Filthy Snakes!

Let's have at it! I am hoping for a 3 way tie

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Cool In Every Way

Hello All,

Today was just great. First of all, it's July and every morning begins with an overcast sunrise. The sun burns it off and then it's warm for a while. Then in the evening, the cool air returns as the sun goes down. I was thinking about Summer in the I.E. or in Spain. In either place, a July day began with sun, heat and loads of sweat. In fact, what I "miss" is having to go out to the parking lot to my car, remove the towel from my steering wheel and waiting to move in until the air conditioning brings down the internal temperature to just below inhumane! Another favorite summertime constant was "forearm sweat." All this to say, I am so happy to enjoy this summer in typical O.C. style!

The second piece of cool is that Vacation Bible School is in full swing at Kingsfield Church. Today, I even got in on the action, playing the part of Pastor Pablo in the skit. Yes, playing Pastor Pablo was not much of a stretch. I did feel that I could have stretched out and played a Pastor from some other race, say a Swede for example, but as I heard "Holas" rain in the hallways from all of the kids, I knew I had done my part. Perhaps next year, I'll be allowed to play Pastor Sven from Sweden. I think that I have sufficient range, I just need some people to stop casting me in the Mexican Pastor role.

On a quick side note, I have been having a lot of fun trying to convince my kids that I and Pastor Pablo are two different people. "It just so happens that he looks a lot like me." "Really, do I own a sombrero?" By the end of the day, I think I might have convinced Caleb that Pastor Pablo is an entirely different person, which is also pretty cool!

Finally, the last and best "cool" thing that I am celebrating in this post, was the conversion of a person who came into my office at the final hour of the day. It was a wonderful experience that I have been privileged to have many times before. But this is always so amazing. Each time carries with it an exceptional blessing. And it always happens the same way: Someone comes in and I have this immediate openness to them. There is an instant compassion that goes beyond the norm.

I attribute this to the humility that accompanies people in this condition. They are not sure what to say or think. They are not hampered by Christianese or silly theological theorems, so they just shoot straight, which is utterly refreshing. They are so open to the Lord and so easy to win because God has already done all of the work in softening their hearts and drawing them to Himself. All I need to do is seal the deal. I don't need to convince them or fight through all of the usual "objections." With a person like the one who came into my office, all I have to do is point them in the right direction. As I led this person to Christ, I rejoiced in my spirit and thanked the Lord for the chance to participate in this person's redemption.

Now, please don't misunderstand me. I realize that there is a place for contending for the faith, and apologetics in this world. I appreciate men and women who minister in this way and I can do this. With a person like the one who came into my office today, I'll sit and answer honest objections until I am unable to do so. I enjoy that kind of discourse. But when a person is just disingenuously distracting from the issue of personal commitment to Christ, then I lose all interest.

To this brother, I write: Thank you for responding to Jesus Christ! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share His love and grace to you!

Alright, so the final cool thing for this evening...this is the 300th post that I have written! "Gee whiz, how much more can he write about?" We'll see.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Happy Anniversary...To Us!

Hello All, Yes, it's true: Lela and I have been married for 11 years! I for one, would do it all over again and can't wait for the next 11! I love you honey!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

See You Soon Dear Friend

Hello All,

Six months ago, we asked you to pray for Alan Brown, who had been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer. Our prayers were for his bodily healing and restoration to health. As time has passed, our prayers have turned from miraculous intervention, to merciful completion. Today, I received the news that Alan has gone home to be with the Lord.

I admit that even though it was expected and even desired for him to cast off the suffering that his physical body was experiencing, it was still a great heart break to hear Annette's pained voice over the phone. In that moment, we both shared grief, that turned to praise, as we both understood that God had answered our ultimate prayer, choosing to heal Alan totally, in His very presence.

The sadness and pain however, will not diminish for those of us who knew him, and especially so for those who knew him well. Alan was a man of great humor, who loved and honored his wife and daughters. I can almost hear his hearty guffaw now in the annals of my mind, as I survey the moments that we had together. Many of those moments include a hearty laugh and a piece of meat, only complete because both of our families were there sharing in the fun!

We ask that you pray for Annette, Sarah and Katie, who will now face the memorial service and the weeks that will follow. Pray for their strength and comfort during this very difficult time of their lives.

One final request for prayer: The memorial service will be next Wednesday at the Packinghouse in Redlands. Alan, prior to his death, asked me to officiate his memorial service. His sole desire was that I make sure to present the gospel as clearly and poignantly as possible, something that I intend to fulfill each and every time I do a memorial service. I ask that you would lift me up in prayer and that the Lord would speak very clearly through me at that time. What a joy and privlege it would be to see God do the work of drawing people to Himself at this occasion. Pray that we might see it happen.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

Goodbye Old Hard Drive!

Hello All,

Just a quick update to say that our computer's hard drive has finally been retired. I won't say that it died permanently, as it probably could have been resusitated, but the fact is that it's near death experiences kept coming at a very rapid rate. It was time to say "goodbyte"...sorry for the computer pun! Now, for you Mac v. PC adversarial types: This is not a "chalk one up for our side!" As I understand it, Mac v. PC refers to operating systems or platforms, the OS versus Vista. I am a Mac loyalist to death. What happened in my Apple Computer casing was a hard drive failure, which was a TOSHIBA hard drive. So, if anything, the TOSHIBA failed, not the Mac! Just wanted to be clear before the vitriol began.

Of course, that being said, that Toshiba was a WORK HORSE! It has lived for 5 years, 3 of which were brutal conditions, traversing the globe several times over. You probably do not know the story, but my brother Rich gave us this computer three years ago at Christmas time. He had two purposes: He was being forced to work on P.C.'s at his church and they had just given him one. Second, we were going overseas and he wanted us to be able to keep in touch! We were not going to take our computer because it was a large desktop that was not going to fit in anyone's carry on luggage, and Lela was not into leaving one kid so that the computer equipment could get a seat! So, that Christmas, he surprised us and the journey began.

And what a journey! Going back and forth between the states and Spain, between 220 voltage and 110. In Spain, it was left on almost 24 hours a day, collecting podcasts and music downloads. This is not really advisable, I found out later, but the performance was stellar! Of course, it finally gave in to it's computer mortality.

Tuesday, I took the computer into the Tech Room on my lunch hour. They took my new hard drive, my computer shell and my external hard drive, which has also been acting poorly for the last several weeks. I should get it back sometime this weekend, running the beautiful Tiger OS!

When we get back up, there should be some pictures of Caleb's 5th birthday party, which happens Saturday night.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

While I Try To Resurrect My Computer AGAIN...

Hello All,

Once again, my computer is flirting with death. At this point, I wish it would COMMIT! I grow tired of waiting, saying goodbye, and then looking forward to a new computer, only to watch the one that I have now come back to life, to the cheshire cat smile delight of my wife! ARGH!!!

Anyway, while you are waiting, I thought you might check out this blog entry by former contemporary Christian Artist, Steve Camp, who often has very insightful blogs about the state of the church. I loved this blog entry and thought that some of you might find it humorous or too true to be humorous!

Either way, I hope to be back relatively soon, as I have a report on last weekend's softball game that I would love to get out in time for the people who were at Kingsfield on Sunday. There is some information that you might love to read about! Plus there are pictures of me in action. You won't want to miss that!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

So This Is Who You Are!

Hello All,

As you might have noticed, just about 3 weeks ago, give or take a few days, we put up a counter on the right side of our blog. Within a week, we were surprised to find out that we had visits in the hundreds. This makes sense, as the rule with non-bloglines using readers, is to check in on someone to see whether or not they have updated their blogs recently. Sometimes, that can be a couple of times a day. Lela and I routinely check throughout the day, to see if anyone has commented, so there is 10% of our visitations right there.

Then today, I got really curious to see more about our visitors. I went to statcounter's website and logged in. I was able to find people from California looking in. No surprise there of course. Saw some people in Spain. Yeah, pretty normal. Germany? North Carolina? Canada? Cave in Pakistan!? Ok, the last one was a joke! But wow, we have an international audience! Pretty cool.

So, welcome to each of you, whoever you truly are. Perhaps you are old friends who remember the mullet days, or you are friends of other friends, or you are just entirely bored and are surfing endlessly until something mildly entertaining piques your interest. In any event, I'm glad you're here.

You might be wondering why I blog as I do. This whole thing started with Jason Dean telling me that I should have a place for my Spain mission supporters to check in on. I thought that this was a great idea, and he graciously set up a page for Lela and I. Most of the first half of our posts were dedicated to letting our supporters in on our life in Spain.

But hey, what about now!? Why continue? We are obviously no longer on the mission field, but the fun of blogging just keeps me coming back for more. I love to write and I love that my family and friends can check in on our family, and the happenings that...well, happen!

In many ways, I wish that my Grandfather and Father had blogs back in their day. It would be fun to have read about their lives, in their words, as things were happening. In that way, I feel like I am writing for my kids as well, so that they might have a little bit of an idea of what I was thinking when they were growing up. Thankfully, I have enough tact to greatly edit what I actually write, but they will get the gist of the good memories!

I like to write about God, my family, the ministry of the gospel and just about everything else that touches my heart. Somehow, whoever you are out there, I hope that you will see a Pastor who loves Jesus, life and the people around him. I pray that you might find me normal enough to approach, and dedicated enough to respect.

More than anything though, I hope that you share my love for Jesus and His life. Wherever, whoever you are, Jesus has a passionate love for you. His submission to the capital punishment of His day, the cross, on your behalf proves His love and because of His subsequent, bodily resurrection from the dead, all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. I pray that you are in that number, and that your love for Him increases to the day of His return. For my part, that's my proclamation; that is all of my hope! I pray that it would be yours as well.

If you wanted to ever submit your life to Christ because of something that you have read here, that would not only utterly amaze me, but it would humble and honor me to know about it.

To all the rest, I hope that you will keep laughing right along with me.

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez

And This Is Where You Are Today...

Just thought it would be cool for you to see...yeah maybe not!?

This Will Save You So Much Time!!!

Hello All,

I wanted to write specifically to the blog reading community in this post. There are at least 700 in the last 10 days (at last check) of you out there who read this blog. Well, take away the 10% of that, which is Lela and I just checking to see if anyone has commented. That still leaves over 600 visits. On that note, I might just say that the numbers have been quite a surprise to me. I knew that my family and certain friends have been watching...who are the rest of you!? Anyway, aside from that, and away from my point, I wanted to write this post for those of us who are checking each other's blogs.

If you are like me, and I pray for your sake that you are not in most respects, then you are loving the idea of checking up on old friends, as well as what your current friends are up to. Up until Sunday afternoon, that meant going to each individual blogspot or wordpress page individually. The page comes up, and alas, the visit is for nothing, as nothing has changed. In fact, they haven't posted since September 2007! (Gee, I hope that they are still alive!? This reminds me of a great story...another time!) So there you are: Hope dashed on the rocks of inactivity. Oh well, onto the next friend. Repeat, for me, 26 other times.

Well, no more. A friend of ours, a fellow "Kingsfeldian," and a fellow blogger, Blythe Hill, has through her blog, unveiled one of the most helpful posts for blog lovers ever! She gives the lowdown on how to set up a bloglines account, which is essentially an rss feed catcher, that will allow you to check on ALL your friend's blogs in one place!! Just think what you will do with all that extra time. It's 2 more chapters of the Bible, 100 extra sit-ups, one more mile, you name it! Bloglines is here and the Blythe's blog post is here.

Now, go and enjoy all that extra time! Perhaps you can begin enjoying all that extra time by watching this amazing video!

Blessings...To Our Friends,
Frank Sanchez