Update on our own "Few and Proud"

Well I guess it is my turn to write on this blog. I apologize for my delinquency. I have a very busy month ahead of me. This weekend I am going to Florida to see my friend rob. You probably remember as my friend who lost his leg in the motorcycle accident a couple of months ago. I promised him I would go down and kayak in the gulf, one of our favorite pass times when I lived with him. He continue to pray for him and his wife. The next weekend is our missions conference. I asking God teach me a lot. This trip to Iraq is not only to serve my country but also to be able to witness to my fellow marines. War changes people and softens hearts. As dad puts it,"there is never an atheist in a fighting hole." the following weekend is a mandatory drill for medical screening. That Sunday is my last at comm. bapt. We will be having a little get together after church. Then the following weekend we are off to d.c. to visit clif and sally. Lauren will also be coming down. Mom and dad will be able to meet her parents for the first time. I am really looking forward to that. Some other people will be there to so I am sure we will have fun looking at all the sights around our capital. On our way back I am going to get dropped off in Knoxville. The following day I go on active duty. I am sure looking forward to getting over there and getting back. I am really going to miss everyone and the planning of my wedding. Which I am not to sad about. But I know in the long run this time in my life will only make me stronger as a man and the leader in my home. Your prayers are much needed and appreciated not only for me but also for Lauren and mom and dad. I love you all and will be in contact with you.

Lcpl. Roth, Curtis J. USMC

Dad's Report

Hi Gang!
I'll try not to be too verbose since I will be imposing on your Mom to type this in. I really enjoy reading all your comments on the blog. And as I get more familiar around the web it can only get better.
We had a great trip. It really could not have been better. Weather was warm and clear. The bus was a brand new Mercedes , the guide had 20 years of experience and spoke English you could understand. The hotel accommodations and food were excellent. No one lost any luggage. There were no "jerks" in the group of 32 and we saw a multitude of interesting historical, Biblical and memorable sights.
A day would start at 6:15 AM with a wake up call. Breakfast at 7 and bus departure at 8:15-8:30. Then we would travel from site to site, eating lunch away from the hotel. We would finish about 6 PM. Eat at 7 PM and drop into bed about 8-9 PM and go again the next day. The schedule was packed, but that is why we went. We were satisfied that we saw as much as we possibly could in the time allotted.
Historical sites included ruins of old cities never rebuilt after earthquakes complete with Roman arenas, bath houses, etc. We saw Massada, Cumerfon, Maggeddo. All with very interesting stories. Bible sites included the towns around the Sea of Galilee like Capernum, Tiberius and locations of the Sermon on the Mount. From there we went to Mt. Carmel, Valley of Armageddon, Mt. of Olives, Gethsemene,Golgotha, Garden Tomb of Jesus, Jerusalem and Bethany.
We tunneled down under layers of civilization to the Roman streets that Jesus would have walked on and walked along the west wall of the city (the wailing wall). According to the scholars the real Ark of the Covenant is just a few feet from that wall under the "Dome of the Rock" which is a Muslim mosque built defiantly on the site where the Temple was (Mt. Nebo) where Abraham sacrificed Isaac.
There is so much there!!! Since Abraham-4000 years of civilization have occupied that pice of real estate. It's hard to keep; track of the era you are in and what happened to the Biblical sites-some now completely covered with layers of other eras, Roman,Byzantine, Muslim and Turks.
But we caught the high points and had a wonderful time looking down from the Mt of Olives, over the Kidran Valley and imagining the triumphal entry which will be transformed when Jesus comes again, not meekly nor in peace, but valiantly, conquering and taking back the title deed to the world to rule from Jerusalem for 1000 years and ultimately forever.
Thank you for praying for us and taking an interest in our trip. Pictures will follow.

Love,
Dad

HAPPY B-DAY to the Eldest of the Grands

Today is Justin’s birthday…Happy Birthday, bud!

Justin, I remember holding you when you were a babe.(heavy little thing, you were…)
There is picture somewhere of me holding you…I am wearing a Chicago Bulls hat.
I’ll never forget that trip to WI to see you and your mom and dad. I got to go with Cita.
We traveled with Philip Doolittle. Cita was really sleepy b/c we had driven all night, and I remember looking up once and seeing a semi coming at us head on.(remember that Cita?). Justin, I basically sacrificed my life to come and see you man. (kidding)

Anyway…you play a special role in this whole Roth family thing. You are the oldest one of your generation. That means you have a pretty big responsibility. Don’t shy away from it man, be strong!!!! Be like Daniel...in the Bible. It will require that kind of strength and trust in God to face what you are going to face as you get older.(it has for us…I am sure it will be even harder for you.) But…We are praying for you buddy. Listen to your dad and mom. Follow their counsel. AND FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE READ PROVERBS, WILL YA!!!!!!!! That book is so full of stuff for guys like you and me. We have to do that if we are planning on following Christ and not ourselves. We are fools when left to ourselves. Read Proverbs you will get it.
Anyway…I love you man…Happy Birthday!
And when are you going to start Blogging?

uncle clif

"Perspective Is Everything"

Our church has been in a building program going on 6 years. The Lord has been good, though at times it has been a slow and tedious process. Over five years ago we went to a two-service format, which enabled our congregation and visitors to be less cramped in our Sunday morning service. Our church owns 11 acres of prime real estate (worth over $1 million) here in West Bend. It is all paid for; but, in order to build, we were waiting for the city to approve water/sewer and for our current building to sell. It seemed that things would be on hold for a while. But in February we received an offer on our building and were told the water/sewer was likely to be approved in April. It appeared the Lord was opening doors that had been closed for some time. We had a special meeting to vote on selling the church. This then raised the question, “Is the church financially ready to move forward?” Giving had been slightly down for the past few months, but it was in keeping with the trends we had seen in the past. Our financial officers are very involved in the business world and tend to see things through that lens. While we respect their business expertise, a church is not a business but a ministry. The financial officers felt we were not financially ready to move forward while the pastor and deacons recommended selling the church and moving forward. The vote was 85% to sell and move forward. One big issue for the financial officers was staff salaries. We believe God provides for all of our needs, and we would much rather see the church built than to have a raise. We had to explain to one couple in our church (who told us we had a responsibility to ask for a raise) that the Bible tells us that having food and raiment we should be content. As long as God is providing for our needs, we will never ask for a raise. Obviously, having a little more money every month would make it easier to meet our budget, but somehow the Lord always sees us through. The more we trust Him, the happier we are. One loving person brought up the fact that we were being paid below poverty level. Ironically, the very next week we had a missionary to China point out that we live in luxury compared to the rest of the world. Our family has been blessed and though there are times when we go without things we would enjoy, we remind one another that if we only had our children we would have been blessed beyond measure. Keeping perspective is so incredibly important! Dad has an incredible sense of perspective on every topic I discuss with him. I remember the many times he reminded us that we had no choice about where we were born or what family we were born into. The first time that struck me, I was riding on a bus through Poss homes (the projects) in Chattanooga. I was incredibly annoyed at the behavior of some of the children on the bus, when God seemed to say, “think of your upbringing ----- now think of theirs.” It is so easy for me to forget that and be judgmental. I am reminded of Luke 12:48, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” It is a humbling thought that though God expects a lot more out of me than what I’m giving Him, He loves me anyway.

Awesome Blossom Opossum

(no opossums involved here only blossoms, it just rhymed)
Well, Caleb...I cut in front of you bro...hope you can forgive me. I am at the church office waiting for Sally who had to go to a "baby shower" this afternoon and so I decided to use my time to go ahead and put these pics on here.
Last weekend Sally and I went with Corey, Kristy, Barenice, Paul, and Amy(all people from Grace) downtown to see the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival. (follow link for more info) This year marks the 94th year of the gift to the U.S.A. from Japan of 3,000 cherry trees from Tokyo. The blossoms were just beginning to make thier appearence as the actual peak day was on Thursday the 30th. After taking in the blossoms, as well as the Jefferson and FDR Memorials, we headed to Cosi(a new favorite of mine) and Starbucks(an old favorite of mine) on Capital Hill. (by the way...If you come and visit us, we will take you to Cosi and Starbucks on Capital Hill, they are the best.)
Despite the fact that the wind picked up and gave us quite a chill and the fact that we missed Mason beating UConn, we had a great time, and we plan to do it again. I am trying to talk Corey into letting us have our "Care Group" on the National Mall one warm Sunday evening. (we'll see) Anyway...here are some of the pictures from last weekend. Enjoy...