Lakehouse: Las Vegas NV

We last visited Las Vegas in February of 2008 for Tippy & Markus' wedding

 

It was cold, and we didn't have smart phones back then, so it was nice to visit for a whole week and figure out our way around town.

We were exited to see the fountains at the Bellagio since they were shut down the last time we came.

They go off every 15 minutes, timed to a variety of different songs.

Caesar's Palace is a staggering resort with more pools than we could count, but it was much too cold to swim.

We played games (and bought a bag of candy) at Circus Circus. Stephen's family visited here during their Disneyland vacation when he was 7. It was the only really family-friendly place in Vegas back then. 

Stephen answered a riddle at the Luxur. 

We had a romantic night at the Venetian, reminding us of another college trip to Italy.

We wished we had time to ride the rollar coasters at New York, New York but the lines were long and overpriced. 

But all Ginger wanted was a giant brownie from Hershey World.

Stephen's friend said we won the award for most selfies taken in a week, we haven't collected our prize yet...

We attended a show- after rejecting many, many Timeshare "special offers," we decided to see the Blue Man Group. Although we were not in the splash zone, we did get to participate in covering the entire room with toilet paper.

But perhaps you are wondering if we won big? Let me tell you the trick to gambling in Las Vegas.

1. A lucky T-shirt

2. Find the machine with the most cash inside

3. Win three dollars!

4. Celebrate

Our first side trip was the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, featured in Pawn Stars.

We also spent one day at the beautiful Red Rock Canyon.

 After seeing the museum, there is a loop drive and many places to stop, admire, and hike.

We didn't take a hike, but enjoyed some easy climbs.

Stephen's cousin Amanda and her family have been living in Las Vegas for several years. Her husband Jerrod just retired from the Navy, and now he gets to take care of their kids, Makinley and Tyler. Amanda just got promoted to Major, and works as an intelligence officer at Nellis Air Force Base. The last time we saw them was on our Austin to Boston road trip when we stayed at their house in Shalimar, FL, when Makinley was just a baby.

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Lakehouse: Grit City Church Plant

Together connecting to the Story of God

Church is a gathering of people who live out the story of God in everyday life. Each person is in the process of developing identity as we are together transformed by Jesus and find our place in the story. We share the good news, minister to the marginalized, and celebrate creativity as we serve with each member's unique talents.

Grit City Church connects the unchurched and the discouraged to a spiritual family, cultivating community in a dinner church model. By sharing a meal with our new neighbors, we also create a space where everyone can pursue authenticity and worship honestly amidst hurt, trouble, celebration and joy. 

We value:

Developing Identity - Deeply knowing that God loves you and has called you to know God and be known by God. This happens when we lay down our self-created identity and embrace the Story of God.

Pursuing Authenticity - We want to match our words with our actions. We work to eliminate the gap between what we say and what we do.

Cultivating Community - Just as gardens and home environments need to be cultivated, so do communities. We aim to live out the love and ethics that Jesus called us to in the Story of God. We want to see bit by bit the reign of God expressed here on earth, especially as we serve Tacoma.

Celebrating Creativity - Every person has been uniquely created by God. You have a distinct voice and gift to share. We will champion and elevate each person's contribution to the church.

The church is being planted by our friends Cole and Ashley. They have four children, Judah, Addy, Oren and Cadie. We've joined to help as part of their core team.

Chamber's family blog update: Wanted: Armpit People

What could a Dinner Church look like? 

What are other Seattle area churches doing to care for their communities? see this King5 News Report

Helping the Homeless

Grit City Church has joined with a group of people whose hearts break for the poor, forming "Project Trunk Run." Last Saturday, we loaded four vehicles full of men and women's clothing, personal hygiene supplies, blankets, and hot beverages. We served over 40 men and women that night.

This will be an ongoing outreach ministry of Grit City Church. We will gather local donations through our friends and family to help those in need every 3rd Saturday of the month. This once a month strategy will give us time, focus, and energy needed to sustain this ministry. 

We hope to incorporate more into this ministry: good conversations, spiritual encouragement, invitation to Christian fellowship, and to become good listeners who learn how to care for others more.

We are working on a new website, but also keep updates on our facebook page.

Lakehouse: InterVarsity

Ginger's students have been helping her out a lot on campus this year. We started the fall quarter with a spiritual survey table. Lucy called over her many friends and encouraged them to share. What's your spiritual background? What do you think are the biggest problems facing our world today? What role can faith have in addressing world problems?

 Grace continued to reach out to International Students, and is passing on that ministry to Joyce, another student from Hong Kong.

 We continue to have weekend dinner nights. Newlyweds Nick and Shalom have been helping with the cooking.

Our first meeting of the year was a prayer-training session for basic prayer ministry, talking about Heal - Bless - Send practice of prayer for others.

Heal: Pray for healing by lifting up the problem to God. Express trust in God’s ability, and love to care for this person and all their needs. Sometimes there is quick healing and sometimes not. But you have prayed a good healing prayer if the person leaves feeling loved and cared for.

Bless: After handing the problem to God, ask for God’s blessing on this person’s life. Maybe there is a natural follow-up to the prayer request. If you prayed for healing of fear, ask for a blessing of bravery. Heal hurt, bless wholeness. Heal anger, bless with grace and patience. Ask a blessing over the unspoken prayers that this person wasn’t ready to share with a stranger. Express trust that God knows everything that is hidden, and knows how to care for it. 

Send: Every person has a purpose and a calling! We don’t just come to God because we want things. This person has value, something to give and share to others. Pray that they will see the campus and home with God’s eyes today, that they will care for others, that they will excel in their school and work, that they will show love in all things. 

We offered to pray for students on campus, or at least for them to share prayer requests on notecards. Sierra (above) prayed over the requests.

Our second dinner night was about sharing testimonies. The students drew maps of their spiritual journeys, showing times they were closer or further away from Jesus, and what helped them.

The group always has silly fun after prayer time.

Seventeen Pierce College students came to our Fall Retreat.

Even Mercy, a Pierce alum, came along to sing with the praise team. 

The students were challenged over the weekend to participate in Jesus' Kingdom Revolution by becoming a part of Jesus' mission on campus.

Several Pierce students stood up to pursue leadership and sharing their faith on campus.

fav part of this photo- hands reaching from the row in front

The Team, from the left side: Isabel, Kimmy, Josie, Raziya, Shalom, Sequoia, Veronica, Sierra, Joyce, Don, Rebekah, Harold, Lucy, Ginger, Annette, Lorie, Debra, and Mercy.

We're excited to see the chapter grow as students step up in leadership!