A Family on Mission

My honest thoughts today!

2011-12-05T12:13:00.000-06:00

Lord I sit here at home this morning burdened greatly by all that's going on around me. I run to you. Thank you for the hope I just read in Isaiah 59. V.9 says, "we hope for light and behold darkness, and for brightness, but we walk in gloom." I'm feeling that today. "We grope for the wall like the blind; we grope like those who have no eyes." God I can't see what's ahead. I worry and sit in fear. I confess that. V.15 is so full of hope. "The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak." This is the Lord's covenant "My Spirit will come upon you." Lord I praise you for putting on zeal in such an extravagant way that hope might be brought to my life TODAY. I rest in this covenant! Praise you God!!!

Thoughts on rest and vacation

2011-05-05T15:51:00.001-05:00

Tomorrow morning Danielle and I are heading to Mexico for 5 nights of vacation with a bunch of our good friends. I'm excited about a lot of things, but what I'm really excited about is just chillin -- limited internet, no texting, just chilling on the beach with my bride and our friends. My personality is a worker. I make to-do lists and don't really do a very good job of sitting down and resting. My goal this vacation is to rest, but I want to do it very carefully.

My mind goes to the writer of Hebrews, where in the third and fourth chapters he describes salvation as an entry into the Lord's rest. That is a very interesting wording. I think what it's trying to communicate is that apart from Christ there is no such thing as true rest. Don't get me wrong, people "rest." They go on vacation, take breaks, etc, but that doesn't speak to the problem of the unrest in the human soul. Left to ourselves, we are broken and bent to sin. We don't naturally live for God, but for ourselves. We work so hard to clean ourselves up, be presentable, some even do it with the goal of trying to make God happy. Yet, apart from the redemptive work of God we will remain in our exhausted, busy, broken, and selfish unrest. All the while continually looking to the next thing in the hopes that it brings us the rest that only Jesus can fulfill.

So whether we are going on vacation, taking a day off or just sitting down to rest, it must flow out of and be saturated with Jesus. Left to ourselves, our own agendas, our own thinking, even our own naps, we will remain in our brokenness and miss the eternal rest that can only comes from the Savior. With that being said, I'm looking forward to resting in him this next week.

Gospel in Life

2011-03-09T20:10:00.000-06:00

Our leadership at North Church has been going through Tim Keller's study "Gospel in Life." It has be very transformational. We will be rolling it out church-wide in April. I commend this study to you. You can always join us at North Church to experience it as well. It will transform your view of Christianity and the gospel.

Trailer for Gospel in Life from Redeemer City to City on Vimeo.

A Pitiful Hope

2011-02-17T20:51:00.000-06:00

Recently I've been consumed with weighty conversations and news that's left me extremely burdened.

1. A girl crushed after her boyfriend broke up with her, inspite of the promise ring he gave her.
2. A 14 yr old and his family who continue to grieve losing their teenage brother/son/friend 10 months ago.
3. A precious saint who was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and given 2 weeks to 3 months to live.
4. A couple who found out their unborn baby has a 50/50 chance of being born with a disease.
5. A couple who lost their co-joined, unborn twins.
6. My mother (who is in remission from cancer) has been undergoing tests for pain and hearing loss.
7. A friend who just went through a divorce.
8. I just had my car broken into and MacBook Pro stolen

All of these situations mentioned are being experienced by brothers and sisters in Christ. With the weightiness of them all, I'm remined of the following scripture:

1 Corinthians 15:19 (ESV)
¹⁹If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

Where is your hope? If you are banking on this life...it's guaranteed to go bad (read the above situations again)! Don't pursue a pitiful hope...look to our eternal God who had given us an eternal inheritance that will not fade away!

A picture for 2011

2010-12-31T19:46:00.000-06:00

Be intentional in 2011

2010-12-31T09:31:00.002-06:00

On December 30, 1842, a 29-year-old Scottish pastor named Robert Murray M’Cheyne wrote a letter to his congregation. He said:

"MY DEAR FLOCK,—The approach of another year stirs up within me new desires for your salvation, and for the growth of those of you who are saved. “God is my record how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.” What the coming year is to bring forth, who can tell? . . . Those believers will stand firmest who have no dependence upon self or upon creatures, but upon Jehovah our Righteousness. We must be driven more to our Bibles, and to the mercy-seat, if we are to stand in the evil day. Then we shall be able to say like David—, “The proud have had me greatly in derision, yet have I not declined from thy law.” “Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart standeth in awe of thy Word.” It has long been in my mind to prepare a scheme of Scripture reading, in which as many as were made willing by God might agree, so that the whole Bible might be read once by you in the year, and all might be feeding in the same portion of the green pasture at the same time."

D.A. Carson provides a great resource to help us understand the Bible as we read it. This is the resource I will be using - Vol.1 of "For the Love of God" and doing the reading plan over 2 years.

Why I chose this option:
- It's available for free online
- It gives a small portion of commentary on a large portion of scripture rather than the opposite, like many devotionals.
- Carson is a brilliant expositor of Scripture, and many times I walking away from reading wondering what exactly I just read...Carson's commentary will help with that.
- During year 2 I will use Vol. 2 of his book
- This plan follows M’Cheyne's reading plan that has you read in 4 different places of the Bible each day, however I will be only reading 2 and then picking up the other 2 in the second year to help keep up.

The resource is further explained and available free in PDF format HERE.

May you press into the Lord in 2011 in ways you never have before...and May you never be the same!

Pursuing Him with You,
Dave

A friendly rebuke

2010-12-09T07:48:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we had an unplanned visit from some good friends of ours who needed to borrow our car. During their time at our house we had some very God-ordained conversation which basically consisted of them calling us out on some things. Their biggest concern was that we had been neglecting to walk out some very specific things the Lord spoke into our life about a year ago. Their challenge was filled with love and encouragement, yet stern and truth-filled.

If I could sum up their words, it would come from Acts 4:29, "We must obey God rather than men." Lately in many ways, I have been obeying man. I have been more concerned with how people view me and my ministry, instead of knowing my acceptance in Christ and being freed up to not be concerned with man's thoughts toward me. The Apostles in this passage were able to walk in massive amounts of obedience because their focus was on the greatness of their God and his mission for their life, and not on those around them, namely the religious authorities who were telling them not to preach the gospel.

I believe part of the answer to this problem of living to please man is found in Acts 4:32 - "And we are witnesses to these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him."

What is it that enabled the Apostles to endure the abuse and opposition of man? They were fully engaged in the Spirit, to the point where even to consider obeying man and not living out Christ's mission was not even on their minds. Why? Because their minds were full of the Lord and their spirit (The Holy Spirit) was filled with His power to walk out God's calling on them.

Questions to consider:
1. Who is speaking Truth into your life?
2. Are you allowing them to walk with you in what obedience looks like?
3. Is your focus on YOUR abilities/inabilities or HIS ever-enabling Spirit?
4. What's keeping you from walking in obedience?

Surrendering with you!
Dave

Build an orphanage in Sudan for only $1 on Nov 16!

2010-11-11T23:39:00.001-06:00

All it takes is one. All it took was one strand of E.coli to be processed into one hamburger patty, to make it to one burger king, to one mom, whose one son, took one bite and the one life he had would then be over. All it took was a series of one events to lead to one of the biggest recalls on beef. Because of one situation America has never been the same.
In 2001, one man, Vernon burger, who had, one passion, that being Jesus, took one trip, to Southern Sudan and connected with one bishop, who was trying to love and spread the gospel to many who were orphaned by the civil war. Since that one trip in 2001, HIS VOICE GLOBAL has been in an ongoing relationship with the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), 10 years and three orphanages later they seek to continue the movement to open a fourth.

You might ask the question what makes this place so special? Sudan was in war for over 20 years before signing a peace agreement in 2006. Until the peace agreement this was the longest civil war to date in human history, leaving over 2 million dead and many children without parents. So what makes this place unique!?!? Many things but one is there are many who have teamed up, like HIS VOICE GLOBAL and The Village Church, to be a gospel centered presence through proclamation and practice. While The Village Church has sent many teams to train pastors, equip leaders and love the children in these orphanages in Yei, HIS VOICE GLOBAL was the door that God used to bring a gospel centered presence from the west into this area of the world. Now there is an opportunity for you to be a part of this continued movement of Christ in this region for as little as a dollar.
This past September a group of 13 from all walks of life from Reach Records, The village Church, Red Revolution, Collision Records and HIS VOICE GLOBAL partnered under The Village banner to go and minister to those in Southern Sudan. They ministered through teaching, medical, music, and loving children who were victims of the Civil War that now live in one of the three Orphanages sponsored by HIS VOICE GLOBAL. Moved by the fruit there and continued need, Tedashii, Lecrae (Reach Records artist), Swoope (Collision Records artist) and Jai teamed up to do a single to raise awareness and funds for a fourth orphanage in Southern Sudan. The single, which is slated to be released November 16th under new label Collision Records is called Actions Speak Louder. This single and symbol seen above calls believers to move beyond awareness and put their prayers in motion, to quote the song. The symbol inspired by the scriptures that say a strand of three cords are not easily broken (Ecclesiastes 4:12), the exclamation points showing the immediate nature of the call to apply the gospel (Luke 4:18-19), the highlight of one exclamation point showing the power of one to change and lead others and the patch like design showing the reality that there is strength in numbers, calling believers to action, an action beyond themselves.
So leading up to this date will you be the one to blog, the one to tweet, the one to put a twibbon on your twitter account (see the twibbon below click on the link to support), the one to Facebook, the one to lead and allow you actions to speak as loud as your words. The average number of songs downloaded per day are close to 10,000,000 yes that is correct 10 million. Come November 16th HIS VOICE GLOBAL only needs over 250,000 one’s to download this amazing song (which is not even 10% of the daily average) to complete and have a fourth self sustaining orphanage. We are not asking you to change your lifestyle just point your efforts toward something that will last. The amazing thing about this whole campaign is that 100 percent of the profits from the song will go toward this fourth orphanage. All it takes is one!!!

Download a song...help orphans!

2010-11-08T09:11:00.000-06:00

All it takes is one!

2010-11-05T00:15:00.000-05:00

GL + RR + GC = MI

2010-10-27T22:33:00.000-05:00

A helpful formula from Pastor Darrin Patrick of The Journey Church in St. Louis:

Gospel Life + Relational Rent + Gospel Clarity = Missional Impact

"Gospel Life" = I allow the gospel to saturate every aspect of my life.

"Relational Rent" = I "pay the rent" relationally with lost people. I am a friend of sinners (Luke 7).

"Gospel Clarity" = I clearly articulate the gospel to those around me.

"Missional Impact" = Gospel fruit is seen in the lives of the people I encounter.

Make disciples!

2010-10-26T14:14:00.000-05:00

"Make disciples" (Matt. 28:19) is a command of Jesus that requires action not just thought. Quit talking about it and do it!

Francis Chan: Make Disciples [VERGE Video Clip] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

You can change the world!

2010-10-26T14:07:00.000-05:00

What would the world be like if every Christian realized and embraced the power of God's Spirit within them? How would it change the way we lived our lives? Alan Hirsch has some good things to say about it!

Alan Hirsch: Every Believer A Church Planter [VERGE video clip] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

Discerning the Lord's Leading

2010-06-17T12:16:00.002-05:00

Here is the thought process the Lord took us on in this transition. This was written probably 6-8 months ago

RATIONALE – WHY I AM RAISING SUPPORT TO PASTOR AT NORTH CHURCH
On February 12, 2000 at a high school youth conference, the Lord called me into full-time vocation ministry. The very next day, February 13, the Lord gave me the person who would be my biggest partner, supporter and encourager - the one who would be called to walk beside me in ministry - my wife – Danielle. Since Danielle was a teenager, she always knew the Lord was calling her to be the wife of a pastor, and here we are 9 years later, seeking to walk out what the Lord started so long ago.

Why not continue my ministry at North County Christian School?
I am finishing my 5th year at NCCS. It has been an incredible ministry to say the least. The Lord has used this opportunity to shape my gifts of leadership and teaching. When I began teaching in the Fall of 2005, I was terrified. I really had no clue what I was doing. I wasn’t sure if this was for me. When the Lord called me into full-time vocational ministry, my mind immediately went to the local Church – for that was true ministry, I thought. I really had no clue, not only about what ministry was all about, but even about how to go about doing it. True ministry can only be defined as being faithful wherever the Lord has me, and for the last 5 years that has been NCCS.

I have really grown to love that place. The relationships I have built with the students and staff over the years, and continue to build, have been nothing short of a blessing. There are very few days that I don’t get in my car at the end of the day saying “I love my job!” Working at NCCS is absolutely a dream job. There are so many rewards in being a Christian school teacher, especially teaching the Bible.

But what I can’t get past is what the Lord is doing in my heart. There are numerous reasons I could list for why I would never want to leave NCCS, but none of them trump obedience. I have come to a place in my ministry here that is very comfortable. Not to say there aren’t challenges that present themselves everyday, because there are definitely days I don’t think I’m gonna get through. But on a whole, my job does not present the challenges it once did. If I’m not careful, I could easily coast through each day failing to beg for God’s help. When I started, that was all I knew to do.

The Lord is calling me to a place of greater dependence upon Him. He has more for me and wants to stretch my leadership in a scary way. What I can’t deny is the incredible burden he has given me for his Church. Yes I have come to love Christian school education, but even more my heart beats for the Church.

Why North Church?
Danielle and I began attending North Church in 2007, just a few months after its inception. There was some great excitement about branching out from the church I was born in, to being a part of something new, brand new. The early stages were difficult to say the least. From trying to build new relationships to trying to figure out how to do church, there were many days I thought we made a mistake. Ministry just didn’t look the same as I always knew and I didn’t like that. I wanted to run. Little did I know that it was all apart of the process in what God wanted to transform in my own heart. He wanted to bring me back to a Christ-centered, gospel-centered reality. He wanted to rid me of myself – my pride, my legalism, my fear, ultimately my sin.
I am currently serving as a pastor/elder at North Church. I lead a community group and preach pretty consistently. As the only other elder with Rik Maxedon, the planting pastor, I am helping cast the vision and direction for our church, as well as seeking to shepherd our people. I have come to love our community at North Church. Since I came to this church, the Lord has revealed the pastor’s heart he put within me. Everyday my longing to lead and shepherd our people grows more and more. I am currently torn between my ministry at NCCS and my ministry at North Church. Because of the commitment and demands of NCCS, I am able to give little time to pastoring at North Church. This is very difficult considering where we are as a church.
We are currently a small, young church that has a ton of potential but needs a ton of leadership. Rik, is not able to carry the load by himself. Because we are a small church, we are not at a place of financial self-sufficiency. The church isn’t even at a place of offering full support to Rik, which requires him to raise support and work part time. This greatly limits the time he can give to the church, demanding for more of my time.

North Church is a community driven, gospel-centered church. We are a broken people, leaning on Christ alone as our sufficiency and significance. We long to continually allow the gospel to impact us as we seek to impact our community with that gospel. Our church is located in North St. Louis, an area that seems to have very few churches seeking to reach out to the unchurched 20 and 30 year olds.

In seeking to raise support to pastor full-time at North Church, it would allow our leadership to assess each others gifting and determine our roles and responsibilities as leaders. Danielle and I have grown to love the Maxedon family. We desire more than anything to help them grow what God has started with their family. They have made many sacrifices to start this church, and we believed the Lord is calling us to come along side them and help them continue to move forward in being the Church and doing Church in North St. Louis.

A New Chapter in our Life and Ministry

2010-06-17T11:12:00.001-05:00

We are excited to announce, as many of you probably already know, that the Lord is taking us on a new journey. After 5 amazing years teaching the Bible at North County Christian School, the Lord is leading us away. It's a very bitter sweet things for us right now. The Lord has been so faithful and allowed us to be a part of some amazing kingdom things there. We are truly blessed for the ministry the Lord allowed us to have at NCCS.

The Next Step
For almost 3 years now, we have been a part of a new church plant in St. Louis called North Church. You can check it out at www.northchurchstl.com. Within the last year or two, I have moved into the position of an elder at the church and now am coming on as a co-pastor with the guy who planted the church, Rik Maxedon. I am working part time for my parents at Subway to help pay the bills and insurance as well as raising financial support to pastor and continue the planting process at North Church.

How you can support us
Some of you may be interested in knowing how you can specifically pray for us or ever support us financially. You can contact me at dave.kuntz@sbcglobal.net if you want more information. We are also in the process of setting up online options for fundraising and will post them when they are available. We plan to use this blog to keep you up to date with what's going on. We are not consistent bloggers so I would recommend setting up the "follow" this blog option or signing up to receive an email when we update it (you can do that on the right side of the blog as you scroll down to the bottom.) Also follow me on twitter @davekuntz or on facebook and I will post when we have updated our blog.

We covet much prayer in this process. Thanks for all your support!

In Him,
Dave

-----------------------------

Content from a sermon I preached at North Church a few months back:

:: Seeing the Gospel through North Church ::

My journey from our first day at North Church until now has been one filled with many ups and downs. The joys and excitements of being a part of a new church came with its share of incredible personal and spiritual warfare, so much was new, so much was different. I knew one church model for 26 years of my life. I knew nothing of what it meant to live a missional life.

The past 2 ½ years have been nothing short of life changing. Although it’s included many difficulties, coming to North Church has brought so much freedom and clarity to the Christian life. Raised in aspects of legalism, so much of my pursuit of Jesus was a pursuit of my own self-righteous standing before God. I understood very little of my acceptance before a Holy God as based on the finished work of Christ alone. I obviously didn’t know it at the time, but I placed a ton of stock on how much of a good boy I was and in sin judged others for how bad they were. I hadn’t fully come to grips with all that the gospel meant for my life. And I am still trying to come to grips with

Is. 64:6 (NIV)

⁶ All our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

Col. 1:22 (NIV)

²² He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

I knew the gospel message really well, but only as a means of justification. I viewed it as the ABC’s of Christianity, not the central reality and hope of all that we are in Him, through Him and for Him. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin is the beginning and end of all things.

Romans 11:36 (ESV)

³⁶ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Not just a means to justification, but also sanctification and glorification.

Colossians 2:6 (ESV)

⁶ Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

And this will be central to all that we are and all that we do as a church.

:: Pastor’s Heart ::

Having graduated with a Biblical studies degree, I always knew that I would serve the Lord in vocation ministry. I just never fully knew the context in which it would happen. For the past 5 years, the context has been teaching the Bible and directing spiritual development at a Christian school. However, for the past several years the Lord has given me a special passion for the Church, and that passion has continually increased.

I always thought the idea of being a pastor sounded cool (as if that matters at all!), but there were aspects of it I wanted nothing to do with. Growing up under the senior pastor/youth pastor model, I was always at a loss – I wanted, in part, to be used by the Lord in pastoral ministry, but I wanted nothing to do with either one of those positions. I watched incredible men lead out in those positions, but never desired the responsibilities they carried.

Well part of what led us away from Chatham was a pursuit of colligate ministry at UMSL. Little did we know that this wasn’t at all what the Lord had for us. On April 26, 2008, the Lord revealed himself in a powerful way! Late at night, in my office at NCCS, He revealed to me the depth of the pastor’s heart he had given me. Since that night, his work in my life has been profound. I’ve begun to eagerly desire the gift of pastor and the very aspects of it that I wanted to run from. Since that night, my view of this place (North Church) has never been the same. I can’t deny what the Lord is doing in my heart for this place. The potential and vision of what this place we call North Church can be through the gospel and for the gospel is incredibly exciting. For me it’s more of a matter of obedience than anything else. As Rik mentioned last week, he and I have had many long and difficult conversations. But what’s been incredibly clarifying in the discussion of this transition has been Danielle. Her support and willingness to follow in this is huge. She challenges me in every way. We do not think alike at all. And every step of the way, when I would bring these discussion to here about us pastoring at North Church, she continually said, “It makes so much sense.”

Updates coming!!!

2010-05-29T22:54:00.000-05:00

With all the new things ahead for us, we will begin to keep people in the loop with our blog. It's been a while since we've posted anything, but updates and new posts are coming soon...so stay tuned.

Thoughts on Freedom in Christ from Romans 14

2009-06-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

Freedom in Christ does not allow us to live however we want, but brings us to a place of allowing our freedom to be an expression of our faith in Christ.

*14:1-12—Both “strong” and “weak” Christians need to stop condemning each other because it is the Lord, and he alone, who has the right to access the believer’s status and conduct. (by Douglas Moo)

If our convictions are lead by the Spirit and are a means to our ultimate worship of Christ, that is what matters. In the end I will give an account for my lift not the life of the person next to me (14:12).

Rom 14:6
6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

*14:13-23—The “strong” Christians must be careful not to cause the “weak” Christians to suffer spiritual harm by their insistence on exercising their liberty on disputed matters. For such instance violates the essence of the kingdom, which is to manifest love and concern for one another. (by Douglas Moo)

We get so caught up on insignificant matters of life that we make ultimate, things that were never intended to be such.

Rom 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

We so often fail at walking in the power of the Spirit (Rom 8) that it’s no wonder we pursue and fight for the things that have such little significance. Are these things such idols in our lives that we can’t set them aside for a time? Yet we are driven by the material, rather than by the eternal. We have made the Kingdom to be about food and drink rather than about the gospel. Are we more concerned with fighting for our freedom that we neglect dying to ourselves (Luke 9:23) and “pursuing what makes for peach and for mutual upbuilding” (v.19) for that time. How true is verse 20, that for the sake of “food” we so often destroy the work of God.” The gospel is not a matter of mere behavior modification, but a heart that is changed by the cross, that is filled with the Spirit, and that leads us to live differently in light of those things. Our purpose then becomes Christ and Christ alone. The freedoms that I have don’t govern and drive my life, but it’s Christ that governs and drives my freedoms.

So the gut-checking question comes out of verse 23. Is the exercise of your freedom birthed out of a faith in the gospel, a faith that knows its free acceptance in the cross of Christ alone, not your behavior (for that would be salvation by works)? Or is the exercise of your freedom rooted in simply an attempt to show that you’re free, absent of any expression of faith or life that has been changed by the power of the gospel.

The amazing thing about the gospel is that is totally changes the motivation and purpose of how we live. The gospel say -- I am more sinful and depraved than I ever thought possible, yet I am more accepted and loved than I ever dared believe. And this reality brings us to a place of putting no weight in our spiritual performance (or lack thereof) as a means of being accepted by God. In the same way, there is nothing Mikail (my daughter) can do to gain or lose my love--She will always have my absolute love and affection as my daughter. When we understand the gospel in this way, it will revolutionize our motivation for living. It will change how we view our sin and God’s grace. It will change how we view our freedom. Our response, then, to a cross-centered gospel will be a faith-centered life. As it says in Col 2:6 – “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.” I came to Christ by the power of God birthing faith in my heart. I live for Christ, by the power of God continually birthing faith in my heart; and his Spirit living in out through me as I live my life on a mission to show the world the gospel. This will restore and revitalize how we view freedom.

1 Cor 10:31
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Would love to hear your thoughts!!! Please comment! Hopefully more to come from Romans 15.

She's gonna be a runner!

2009-06-28T19:55:00.000-05:00

Super Summer

2009-06-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

For the past 2 weeks, I had the opportunity to be a Team Leader at Super Summer (Summer camp for Baptist kids). It was an incredible time watching the Lord do some amazing things in the lives of students, but also in the lives of leaders. My responsibility was teaching and leadership over the 9th graders (10th if you ask them). I was given 7 college students as small group leaders that I would directly pour into as they built more personal relationships with the students. I love hanging out with college student and pouring the gospel into them. It was awesome to see God work in their lives too. We saw a number of students surrender their lives to Christ and I wanted to share one specific story that I personally was involved in. This student, Jake, attended an evangelism seminar by Bob Caldwell to learn to share his faith. Bob gave an invitation to receive Christ (how ironic is that) and Jake expressed that he had never put his faith in Christ. I talk with him about it over dinner and he had a ton of questions. It was awesome to see his eagerness to get answers. He actually told me, "I don't have enough time to sit around and not find answers to my questions." I thought that we incredible. He told me that at one dark point in his life he tried to commit suicide but looked at himself in the mirror and realize that there was a greater purpose for his life (He didn’t know at the time that it was Jesus :) ). That night during an invitation to receive Christ, Jake stood up and went with the youth pastor he came with and received council. He was still seeking, still with some doubt but another step closer to having his soul saved. The next night he came forward to get prayer and I went off with him and we spend 20 minutes looking at the Scriptures and the meaning of the cross. The whole time he was literally shaking. He told me he had felt weird ever since he came to super summer, just something inside him wasn’t right. I told him it was the Spirit of God drawing Jake to Himself. That night Jake surrendered his life to Jesus. It was amazing! I’m blown away that the Lord allows us to be apart of the power of His gospel bringing a person from death to Life. Later on I received a letter from Jake that I want to share:

Dave, thank you so much for everything. I don’t think I can ever repay you for all you’ve done. Never have I shed so many tears and questioned so much and in the end give all that up. There is a song from Flyleaf called “All Around Me” and it’s about the feelings I was having and before this camp it was just a song and the lyrics were cool, but now that I’ve had that feeling it means so much to me. And every time I hear that song I’ll think of that night when I was standing there at the worship and the power of God called me. It was a rush of indescribable emotions. And I’ll think of sitting in that hallway, crying, shaking, and listening, and giving myself to Him with your help. So I want you to find that song and listen to it. I’ll keep you in my prayers. Thank you! Jake, Finally unleashed and free!

Praise God!!! I am blown away every time I read that! The power of God in a person’s life is unstoppable. John 6:44 says, “Anyone who comes to the Father must first be drawn by Him.” How true is that in Jake’s life!! I immediately purchased the song on iTunes and WOW. What a cool story and words that describe it so well. I never want to stop being around God’s activity in the world. His gospel is supreme and his changing lives. How foolish are we to sit around and not be a part of it. God has called every one of his Children to live lives on mission for his Name and renown. Might in the end our prayer be 2 Cor 4:5, “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”

The perfect gift for a perfectionist is LIBERATION!

2008-11-25T13:35:00.000-06:00

In order to keep my "go-getting", intense, and (for the lack of a better word) perfectionist husband sane, I am always on the lookout for stress relieving gifts for him. Well I hit the jackpot this year...A JOURNAL THAT GOES AGAINST EVERY "RULE" HE IMPLEMENTS UPON HIMSELF CONCERNING JOURNALING. I have to admit, his first glance at his gift wasn't exactly what I had in mind..."you want me to do what with this.".
Like I said, this goes against every journaling experience he has ever had. But since then, we have had so much fun!!! Here are a sample of some of the pages he has already "journaled" in.

NOTE: "Dedicated to perfectionists all over the world"

I think this one was my absolute favorite to watch so far. He had to think about it for a minute.

He did it!

"burn this page"--this one wasn't hard at all for him- pyro!

That is a handprint of A1 sauce that he had to smear all over the page.

So...

what's Dave's next adventure with his journal.....

Sorry, there will be no pictures of this one!

We are changing our last name to Harper.

2008-11-20T13:03:00.000-06:00

Well....our current news is that we are trying to rent out our home, but are running into some problems. We do own our townhouse but 3 months before we bought it, a new bi-law was made that no one after that date could rent their property (we were so close!). So, we are in the middle of the process of appealing to the board of our association to let us rent short term. After our first letter for permission, we received a call saying they couldn't honor our request but we could further pursue the issue with the board. So, we did :). We were scheduled to meet with a lady at our home on Tuesday but she never showed up, so now we are back to the waiting game. It's hard to communicate through blogs but the situation is still hopeful based on our conversations with the association. Probably most of you are wondering why we want to rent and where will we move to...and all I have to say is two words-

Mama's Family.

You can just call us the Harper's! We would move into the basement at my (Danielle) mom and dad's house( sorry mom- Mama doesn't do you much justice, and dad...you aren't pictured) We have prayed and prayed and thought about how to pay off our student loans fast and this is the best option we have thought of. There are plenty of pros and cons to think about (none of which deal with any negatives of my parents or in having our own space or privacy). But it does kinda seem humorous that there is potential to move back home. This move would only be for 1 year and then we would either move back into our townhouse or sell and buy a house.

So, as humorous as it may be, we really really want to get out of debt and hate being enslaved to a bank. Please pray that our dreams come true(hehe) and the association lets us rent. Thanks!

This will be a L-O-N-G blog...here goes...

2008-11-04T08:41:00.000-06:00

FYI....I am sitting here trying to kill time as I wait until about 10:30am to vote (it's 8:30am). I figured that would be the best time to take Mikail and I hope I figured right...if not, I think my vote should count double due to having to entertain a figety, very independent 9 month old while waiting through the lines (which have been taking an average of an hour and 30 min. to get through---I know...lifes tough right. :)---at least I just have 1 to take!

Anyway...alot has happened over the past couple weeks in our home... Mikail went to the pumpkin patch and apple orchard for the first time, Aunt Amy came in town to play, Mikail was dedicated at church, Dave went out of town for 4 days, Mikail dressed up like a monkey for Halloween(we had two options but the butterfly outfit was too big for Mikail), I continue to make my own babyfood *sigh* and lastly, Mikail had her 9 month old doctor appointment yesterday.

The doctor appointment yesterday went well and Mikail is still teeny tiny. Her height is 26 1/8 in. tall (15% for her age), weight is 15lbs 5 ounces (5% for her age), and 3% for her little head circum. She is still in 3-6 month clothing.

I figured the rest of the updates will mostly speak for themselves through pictures:

Mikail giving her cousin Ashley a kiss at the pumpkin patch.

Our fun outing at a Trunk or Treat

I counldn't resist putting this in the mix. I think Dave and I have more fun during bathtime than Mikail. Her bath shapes stick to her body so we have contests to see how many we can stick to her.

Mikail's baby dedication outfit minus her bow :)

Mikail's baby food...yes she eats tofu and likes it :)

These are fun pictures I took the other afternoon when it was soooo nice out. She is such a sweetie!!

The BEST double date night EVER!!

2008-10-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

Our church sponsored a double date night contest on Friday night. The contest rules were to come up with a creative double date while spending the least amount of money. It was such a fabulous idea!! And then at 10pm that evening, we would meet up at our pastor's house to have dessert and share our dates. Our date ended up being the best date I have ever been on. I am pretty sure we laughed the whole time. So this is what we came up with....

...a Drop in Progressive Dinner!

It gave the traditional progressive dinner a twist by stopping by unexpectedly to people's homes for each course (appetizer, main course, etc.) The "unexpectedly" part was hilarious! Our targeted appetizer home was to a single former youth pastor who had just heated up his left-overs for dinner when we surprised him with a little "knock-knock." When he answered, we explained that we were in a double date contest and decided to do a "drop in progressive dinner" and we were here for the appetizer. It took a minute to register and then he burst out laughing. He was such a great sport! We had quesidillas, broccoli and cheese, and "stuff" on shingle. Appetizer down...on to the main course. I am not going to lie and pretend that we weren't nervous every time we knocked on each door. It is one thing to drop by someone's house unexpectedly, but it is totally different when you stop by AND ask for them to prepare and feed you a meal. SOO FUNNY! OK....back to the main course...so when the door opened to our next targeted home- a family favorite of Dave and I- we realized that we had woke them up from dozing off on the couch- woops! They also were equally AMAZING as our first home. You should have seen the look on their face when we announced that we were there for dinner. We got a blank stare and then a hearty welcome and they wipped up the best french toast. They even dimmed the light and lit a candle while waiting on us with a white towel around the arm. They wouldn't even let us clean up. Seriously, there was not one single moment when we weren't laughing. OK, so at our last stop, we seriously woke them up from REM sleep (it was only 9:30 but they fell asleep with the kids while putting them to bed). You know the marks you sometimes get on your face from sleeping on creased pillow cases or whatever...well, yeah they were visible from our sleeping victim. We were yet again welcomed in and spent the last 30 minutes with our last home. All in all, we spent $0, but yet had dinner and entertainment!! And thankfully all of our "hosts" had a great time as well.

Woops!

2008-10-15T22:37:00.000-05:00

We turned Mikail orange- literally. Guess we need to hold off on all the carrots. I would post a picture but it wouldn't do her orange tint justice. The hilarious thing is that it isn't evident to only Dave and I...we have had several people ask us if her face needs to be cleaned off- like that she ate something and there is just alittle evidence from it left over on her. Funny story, but maybe we could just keep up the carrots for a couple of more weeks and she could be a carrot for halloween!

"What did we do before ______?

2008-10-14T18:57:00.000-05:00

What did we do before the internet?
What did we do before cell phones?
What did we do before PODCASTS!!!!??

So the real reason for this post is not to be sentimental about "what we did before" but to talk about podcasts. I think that Dave and I are on podcast overload (and we love it!). We have been hooked on two great sermon series that we thought we would share---this means you should check them out :) ! The first is Mark Driscoll's series on the Song of Solomon: The Peasant Princess. And the second is Matt Chandler's series on Luke. Both of these guys are going through these series now. I don't think that there has been anything we have looked forward to so much since last seasons LOST. haha-anyway, if you check them out or have been already listening to them, let us know what you think.

I am going through the big "D" and don't mean Dallas

2008-09-29T11:19:00.000-05:00

...NOT divorce...DISCIPLINE *sigh* Well, here we go... I FINALLY pulled out a book from our shelf, blew off the dust, and began reading "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp.

*In my best 6th grade bookreport voice.....

It's an awesome book on how to train up your child in a biblical, Christ centered way. It explains concise and realistic ways to impliment discipline in a way that personifies the Gospel and our submission to it. This book is so rich!* [haha I just had a flashback to the bookreporting days of standing in front of the class- so funny-although I don't think I would have used the word "personifies" back then]

Anyway...today, it finally hit me as I was reading the "when to discipline" that Mikail is ready for it. Several examples Tripp gave about disciplining young children all were rooted in rebellion and resisting directions. Mikail is definately and very openly in this stage of willful resisting- she "understands" but yet resists. Realizing this has created so many emotions as a mother. I love her and know that because of my love for her and even more important my love for Christ, she needs this but on a very selfish level, it would be very easy to just "overlook" her disobedience at the age...she's way to young to know right from wrong, right?....haha NO. So, the Kuntz family is getting ready to embark upon not just meeting our daughters needs through food and sleep ( which have been the most obvious needs thus far) but meeting the need of discpline. Pray pray pray...this is a toughy! :)

Mikail doesn't have a poker face

2008-09-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

true story. mikail gives away every time she poops. no, not because of the smell-although the smell isn't pleasant, but she rapidly crawls away immediately upon the "arrival." do you remember my post about our first game of tag, well she has the game conquered now and that is what she chooses to play when she is dirty. squealing and laughing all the way, she will suddenly dart off, and then i know...time to grab a diaper. this type of behavior may or may not prove to be helpful someday. :)

only time will tell.

1...2....3....4 TEETH!!

2008-09-15T08:56:00.000-05:00

Yes, little M now has not just two but four teeth. (*Sigh*- from the breastfeeding mom) The first two( the bottom ones) were so cute and the two top ones are hilarious. You know the look....for Mikail, a little head :), and two HUGE teeth that haven't been pushed together yet leaving a sweet little gap. I guess her body will just have to grow into her teeth :) . Here are a few more updates on the little girl:

She crawls and is getting faster everyday
She pulls up on things to stand and even holds on with one arm
She has entered the stage where her toys aren't fun anymore and is more interested in all the "no" things
We are getting ready lower her bed for the second time in two weeks
She can climb 1 step
She claps and is getting close to waiving "hi"
She is LOUD- especially when we are out

Hope you are having a wonderful Monday. Thanks for reading!

Do all little girls HAVE to wear bows??

2008-09-13T00:01:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, when I first found out I was pregnant, I decided that I would make a much better "boy mom" than "girl mom." For those of you who may not know my family background, growing up, I was the only daughter, sister, niece, and granddaughter on both of my family sides. Needless to say I played GI Joe and built forts when most girls were playing Barbies and dress up. I took pride in my bruises from climbing trees and dresses were only worn on Sundays because I HAD to. For one of my birthdays I even made my mom take back my little cabbage patch girl doll and get me a boy doll- little Emerson. :) Thus leads to my original statement about being a better "boy mom." So when we had our big ultrasound to find out what we were having, I kept looking and looking for something between the legs...but there wasn't anything. I was still very excited to hear that the baby was a girl, but knew that I would have alot of learning to do :). Fortunately, I am really close to my adorable niece and used her as my training ground. I became quite successful at playing tea party and even put on pretend make-up. The one thing that was yet to be determined in my mind was...will Mikail wear bows? I think that they are cute on other babies/ girls but am I up to putting them on Mikail. That, to me, is the ultimate little girl thing to do- and one that I HATED growing up. So for the last 7 months (the entirety of Mikail's life) I have been trying to pump myself up to be ready to use a bow when her hair was long enough. And today was that day...and she looked absolutely ADORABLE. Now the only thing that makes me sad is that it makes her look like a little girl, not a baby. Guess I'll have to get over that one too. Here are a couple of pics from today:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMY!!

2008-09-04T15:07:00.000-05:00

happy birthday, amy!!!

we love and miss you so much.

sorry that we couldnt be there with you today to celebrate.

you are such an important person in our lives, and no one can make us smile like you do.

eat some cake for us!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxcedvxb --that's from mikail!

sorry so short but she's crying because she wants the computer again. love ya lots!!!

birthday smile 4 aunt amy

I am addicted to teething biscuits!!!

2008-08-30T13:44:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true, I have fallen helplessly in love with "Healthy Times Maple Biscuits for Teethers." I am not kidding. For those of you that see me pretty often, you may notice that I am always tasting Mikail's food. I could blame it on wanting to be an informed mother that knows what my daughter is eating, but while I do seek to be "informed".....that's not why I try her food. The truth is that I like it. (wow I feel so liberated getting that out in the open :) - and so that is where my love for these biscuits began; needless to say, now I am hooked. I can easily go through a whole box in one day!! I am sure the person at the grocery store thinks I have a child with some major teething problems when I strut up to the checkout with three boxes, but in my mind I am thinking, "two boxes for me, and one box for little M." So I will humbly end on this note, to those of you (mostly my family) who have always thought I had the most interesting eating preferences, I am beginning to think you are right.

Ransom Note

2008-08-29T23:57:00.000-05:00

tO WhOm IT mAy CoNcErn:

wE ArE hOLdInG yOUr GiRaFFe RaNsOM.
iF You wAnt tO eVeR sEE hIm AgAiN,
yOu WilL sEnD uS YoUr aDDreSs (and we will kindly send him back :) ).

I heart Mikail

2008-08-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

Today was so much fun with our little M. It seems like everyone keeps telling me that starting at 6 months old, babies begin to become more and more fun. Well, it's true! I have started writing Mikail little notes about our time together. I figure she won't remember our time together yet and it would be fun to give notes about it to her someday. This was my little short entry from today (I have some video footage that I hope I can add later somehow):

"Mikail- Today was the first day that we really played together. It was so much fun. You and I were in your room sitting on the floor when you looked at me, pulled up on your hands and knees and began moving away from me as fast as you could laughing the whole time. When I didn't catch on immediately, you stopped and looked again at me until I realized you were waiting for me to come get you. I finally caught on and you went crazy trying to continue to move away as fast as you could. You initiated our first game of "tag." I am not sure where you learned it from but for the next 10 minutes, we played and each laughed the whole time. I love you and will cherish these little moments in my heart. You make me smile"

Thanks for enduring my sappiness. It was a great day. -Danielle

Everyday is so much fun with Mikail...

2008-08-19T23:01:00.000-05:00

This is my fav fav
FAVORITE picture!!!!

This is how Mikail was when I walked into her room the other morning. She somehow managed to pull her arm out of her shirt. Imagine my surprise when I peeked over her crib to see this. It made me laugh out loud.

...so the very next morning, I walked in and her little foot had poked through her pj's. I laughed again. :)

Mikail loves dogs also!! This was her first time being around a dog that was just her size- a beagle puppy! :)

Pray Pray Pray...

2008-08-07T09:04:00.000-05:00

I just visited a friends blog and noticed one of her entries about a family whose daughter died this past weekend. Now that I am a mom, these things hurt more to read than before Mikail, but in the same way lead me to my knees in prayer quicker. I didn't know any details, but noticed a link directly to the blog of the family who lost their girl. I clicked on it. Almost immediately I began to cry because their page looked like it could have been mine, or any of my friends. The parents looked my age- the sadness I felt for them was becoming overwhelming. Prior to finding out details, I guess I half hoped (if you can even use that word) for the parent's sake that this little girl would have died from losing some sort of battle that would have allowed "time" to maybe help the parents cope with this reality before actually losing her. But their blog clearly didn't let on to the fact that this little girl had any health problems. I dug a little deeper and found out that this little 18 month old girl drowned last weekend at a lake. The tears began to flow harder. I am a very empathetic person (a blessing and a curse) and my mind immediately replayed everything they must be dealing with and how they had no clue that morning how their life would change. I am soo sad for them.
I guess my purpose for writing this was two-fold. The first is that for Dave and I, blogging gives us the opportunity to be real and raw on a regular basis- giving those who read this near and far a window into our lives. This is where I have been lately- burdened and sad for this family. I can't shake it. The second reason for the blog is for Prayer for this family. I keep putting myself in their shoes and know that I would embrace any and all prayers- even those from people I have never met. We get the opportunity to be a part of their healing story. Though we will never be mentioned by them, or even known, the Lord is allowing us to take part in their journey via prayer. Please pray for them.

Just me and little M

2008-08-03T22:07:00.000-05:00

Dave left today to take some youth and college students to a camp in Arkansas. This won't be his first time away from home since Mikail but will be the longest so far. This wouldn't normally be a big deal but lately little M has been teething. Getting her to take a nap has not been very easy...AND with that being said, the only person that has been able to get her to sleep is...DAVE. Since he is gone, I am sure there will be at least a couple of days where I will wish more than ever for him to be home. Honestly, this "stage" of needing her daddy to put her to sleep will be one that I will cherish in my heart mostly because of the gentle smile that comes across Dave's face when she melts into his big arms. I love my man!!
Onto other news...Mikail just turned 6 months and according to the doctor she is in the 20th percentile for her height and weight and her head circumference is in the 10th percentile...she is definitely our Little peewee.

Teething...

2008-07-31T21:06:00.000-05:00

I am not a fan- in more than one way. Need I say more. -Danielle

Almost 6 months!!! Can you believe it?

2008-07-28T23:19:00.000-05:00

It's so hard to believe that Mikail is almost 6 months old.

It has been so much fun watching her grow and see God shape her personality. She is such a great baby! When she is not fighting sleep or teething, she is the happiest thing in the world! She absolutely loves to jump and has been doing so for a while now.

She has the greatest laugh and smile...but we're supposed to say that right :). She has been swimming quite a few times in her young life and loves it.

Also, she cutting her second tooth...and if you don't know much about babies and teething, well let me just tell you...we'll be glad when it's over. We only got...what?...20 more to go?

We just got home from 5 days in Las Vegas vacationing and seeing family. It was tons of fun! Mikail woke up at 5:30 every morning ready to go...too bad her parents weren't quite ready yet...she would actually wake up, play and finish her first nap of the day just about the time we were ready to get the day started. Vacationing with a baby definitely changes things. But it is pretty nice when your sister and parents are staying in the ajoining room. We did take advantage of having built-in babysitters...handed off the monitor at night and went out on the town. Here are a few of our highlights.

Mikail had a great time modeling at Baby Gap.

Mikail met Elvis!

Yeah, Mikail is definitely the daughter of a personal trainer!!! And yes, she is actually holding herself up. She is very strong. (Ignore the man in the robe)

The view from our room on floor 30.

The Fam!

(By the way...no she didn't wear the same outfit everyday...guess it was a good picture day!)

Little Baby Gumby

2008-04-01T09:14:00.001-05:00

Growing up, I loved Gumby and I guess never outgrew it because I find myself sitting around and laughing at the poses that Mikail can do. Here are just a couple.

Look familiar? Karate Kid- you can't really see it but her leg is bent forward too

I'm sure we'll see this pose later on when she really wants something.

Stay posted because we will have her Easter pics up soon!

Question and Answer Time

2008-04-01T08:56:00.000-05:00

Being a first time parent has me constantly analyzing how my life has changed over the past 2 months. And with all this "newness" has come LOTS of questions. So my first question is how does a husband/wife continue to keep their spouse of greater priority once a child arrives. I am now having to eat my own words of "God #1, Spouse #2, then kids #3"-which I still fully embrace but realize that those words now get to take action. So for those of you interested in answering/sharing, I am looking for tangible day to day ideas (creative or not creative) on how to do so.

We do have one game that we play that I'll share and am excited to hear about other suggestions as well.

Ours is "tag." We have a small piece of beech wood that Dave wrote "You're It!" on and we take turns "tagging" each other. When you are "it," it is your job to hide it in a place that the other person will find. (Shoes, Cereal box, microwave...etc.) This is just a small way that we get to let the other person know that we are thinking about them.

2008-03-12T11:05:00.000-05:00

Mikail is FINALLY taking a nap (she fights sleep harder than anyone I know), and because of that, I have about an hour and a half of free time but instead of cleaning the dishes, picking up baby toys, or doing other "fun" work, I am choosing to update our page. I know... skipping out on chores is the ultimate sacrifice for all our viewers. :)

Instead of just posting pictures I chose to communicate how our lives have changed in the past 5 weeks:

Here are just a few!

- Danielle can smell a dirty diaper a mile away.
- "Sleeping In" has been removed from our personal vocabulary
- Danielle has gotten EVEN WORSE at calling people back- which is pretty bad :)
- Our first date night since parenthood involved picking up diapers.
- Dave has personally experienced projectile poop.

...and my favorite...

- Dave has become quite good at sucking out boogers! His head lamp really does help!

But even with all the ups and downs to first time parenthood, we love every moment! Enjoy the new pictures!

Mikail at 5 weeks

2008-03-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

This video was taken during our weekend daddy and Mikail time while mommy sleeps in. Let the smiles begin. (Sorry, no sound!)

New pics coming soon!

2008-03-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

Hey those of you who are going nuts, hang tight...we will be posting some new pics this weekend.

A glimpse of our journey

2008-02-19T16:33:00.000-06:00

She's beautiful!

2008-02-14T16:32:00.000-06:00

Hospital Humor

2008-02-09T20:31:00.000-06:00

Pictures with Daddy

2008-02-08T15:30:00.000-06:00

Pictures with Mommy

2008-02-08T15:11:00.000-06:00

Life at home with our precious baby girl

2008-02-07T23:28:00.000-06:00

Ashley is excited about her new cousin Mikail

2008-02-07T23:11:00.000-06:00

Our Winter Wonder

2008-02-06T22:29:00.000-06:00

Mikail's Firsts...

2008-02-06T21:10:00.001-06:00

First Cousin Kisses

First Thumb Suckin'

First Pair of Boots

First Wheelchair Ride

First Car Ride

First Pose

First Nap with Daddy

First Ride in the Bjorn

First Bath

Introducing - Mikail Elise

2008-02-06T20:28:00.000-06:00

Mikail Elise
Born: Feb. 2, 2008
Time: 4:33pm
Weight: 5lbs. 8oz.
Length: 18 3/4 in.