pitcher

Ken's summer reading, 2010

I read some great books this summer, and for different reasons would recommend each of them. I also read a few C.S. Lewis stories just for fun that I won't include here.

 When God Comes to Church by Ray Ortlund: I borrowed this book from a friend who recommended it, and it became clear that God wanted me to hear what Ortlund is saying in this book at this time of my life. This is a book about how God moves through revival, and how we pray for that. The author takes a different passage of scripture each chapter (all from the Old Testament) and basically exegetes the passage through the entire chapter. Here's a quote: "If we were to dig through all the attributes of the person of God we would hit bedrock at his mercy. We could dig no deeper. So while we are by nature inclined to turn away from him in apostasy, he is by nature inclined to turn toward us in mercy. It is simply his way. That is why he himself is all our hope.”  I'm grateful for what God taught me as I carefully read the book and the passages Ray Ortlund was writing on. I'm praying differently and viewing God, His Church and myself differently because of it.

Desiring God by John Piper. I'm reading this book currently with the elders at Grace Road Church as well as with a small group. Piper has received some criticism for some of what he says in this book. His perspective on God and our humanity has been very refreshing for me, however. I've looked at myself and come to the conclusion that I really should just be a happier person, and can become a more happy, joyful person only by delighting in God. I've made some decisions recently in relation to my work and ministry, partly because of how little joy and peace I've had over the past few weeks. This book is full of quotes, but here is one from the chapter on Love: "the very longing for contentment that ought to drive us to simplicity of life and labors of love contents itself instead with the broken cisterns of prosperity and comfort."

 When Men Think Private Thoughts by Gordon MacDonald. Its been a while since I've read a book for men. I'm glad I read this one. It was published in 1996 which shows that the issues that men deal with are timeless. Of everything I've read this summer the most helpful and convicting for me was MacDonald's chapter on "What a wife really wants". Here's what he says wives want, and I'll agree that this is what Andrea wants and needs from me!- My Devotion, My Affection, My Protection, My Openness, My Leadership, My Respect, Someone to Share the Load, My Appreciation, to have Fun, to be Pastored. 

Oh my! Some tough things to read, but very motivating!

Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming Dark Age by Maggie Jackson. I'm reading this book now, and checked it out of the library. The premise of the author is that historically great times of technological advancement have usually ushered in times of cultural decline. Seems like as we advance we lose something, and lose some of our moral and cultural bearings as societies when that happens. As I watch my kids text, surf the web, play Gameboy while watching TV or listening to an audio book and generally multi-task as they interact with the world of media in which we live I've been wondering about some of the same things that Maggie is writing about here. I'm not very far along in the book, but am being stimulated to consider how divided my attention is and what impact that is having on all of my relationships as well as my actual abilities to work and communicate. Highly recommended by this distracted guy!

Life by grandparents

 Something happened tonight that doesn't happen everyday, but is a common occurrence in our lives here in Spencerport. We live about two miles from Andrea's parents (or Grandmother and Granddaddy), and they often will stop by and drop something off or check on someone or something. Tonight they had some bones for George to chew on, and wanted to check on Nathan who is running a fever. We met them at the back door and just sat on the porch and talked for a few minutes before they came in and checked on Nathan. 

A pleasant moment just being family...

World domination! (Or, we just beat Nicholas and Luke)

Our good friend Luke Kodanko gave our family a wonderful gift today. He took the three boys home for lunch and made them as much food as they could eat (Jennie is in California taking care of their sister-in-law who is pregnant) so Andrea and I got to go out for lunch by ourselves. Then, he came over to our house and played a rousing game of Axis and Allies with the boys and I. We played a few weeks ago and Nicholas and Luke beat Zachary, Nathan and I. Today, however, we avenged ourselves and dominated the Axis powers, thereby bringing order to the world once again. Incidentally, Luke also gave us a charcoal lighting chimney for our grill today as well that we used for dinner. How did we ever deserve such generous friends!

Thank you Lord, for a great day with a good friend.

Silk Road Ensemble with Yo-Yo Ma

 

Andrea and I just got home from an incredible evening at the Music and Arts Center in Canandaigua, New York. Andrea's birthday present from Becca was a ticket to see Yo-Yo Ma and tonight was the night. Our good friends, Rick and Marlene Benson, had also received free tickets to the concert, so we ended up sitting with them very close to the stage.

The Silk Ensemble is a group of extremely talented musicians from all over the world who are committed to learning and creating music that reflects the history and culture of the ancient countries along the old silk road. The passionate movements of the musicians, their enjoyment of each other and the phenominal quality of their sound made for an unforgettable evening. 

Here are two video clips to give you a taste of what the evening was like. 

A refreshing time with family and just our kids

We just returned from a week in the midwest that was full of time with my (Ken's) family, friends and supporters as well as 5 days at one of our favorite places, Bethany Beach in Sawyer, Michigan. 

We first went to Chicago for a family reunion. The reunion was for the families connected with my grandfather, David Owens, his two sisters and their children and grandchildren (and great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren!). This was such an incredible day that I want to put in more photos with explanations so that you can get an idea of what this day meant to us.

This is my Aunt Claudine and my Grandmother, Margaret Owens. They were the two matriarchs of the reunion, and are sister-in-laws. Claudine is the sister of my grandpa, David Owens.

The entire family reunion. All of my aunts and uncles on my mom's side of the family were present with a good number of my cousins with their kids. One of my cousins (living in Arizona now) had never met my kids, so we figured it had been at least 16 years since we had seen each other!

Aunt Claudine and my Grandmother with only their grandchildren. The girl on the left in the green shirt belongs to my Aunt Claudine, the rest are my cousins and grandchildren of Margaret and Dave. A large family!

The Pitcher family. You can see my parents, Gordon and Nancy, in the front row on the left, and my three brothers and one sister along with our children. The only ones missing are my brother-in-law and nephew (both named Greg Cooke), and my nephew and sister-in-law connected with my older brother, Gordon (they had a family reunion with their family the same day. Bummer!).   

It was an incredible experience to get re-connected with my larger family for me personally, as well as for Andrea and the kids. We returned home more aware of where we've come from, and how God has lead and guided us to where we're at today.

After leaving Chicago we traveled to Bethany Beach where we stayed in the home of Vern and Gloria Ohlson. We spent a wonderful 5 days reading and playing on the beach, hiking to the Warren Dune state park, playing basketball and eating ice cream at The Well. I personally enjoyed several conversations with each of the kids as well as with Andrea, as well the informal times of playing games and relaxing. Thank you, Vern and Gloria, for your incredible generosity for the past two summers. Our family relationships are stronger, and we're more relaxed (and sun-tan!) thanks to you.

As we came home, Nathan talked about how he is now ready for school to start. Summer isn't over yet, but he at least felt full enough to jump back into the grind of the school year. Perhaps thats a good thing.

Drama camp, 2010 and a Lobel visit!

 Nathan and Grace spent this week attending a local drama and dance camp taught by some friends from First Bible and North Star. Both of the kids were excited about the entire week, even though Nathan was the only guy who attended the camp. He was also, incidentally, the oldest participant as well since he attended the camp as a helper. 

At the end of the week they performed a very modified version of "High School Musical", with Nathan playing a very prominent role. It was so fun to watch him, and clear that he is a natural dancer/singer/performer. Even though it was a small camp and simple production we had a blast watching our kids perform. Afterwards, while thanking the teachers, they were totally praising Nathan and Grace for their positive and humble attitudes, as well as their willingness to help out in whatever way was needed throughout the week.

I'm so proud of these two incredible kids!

The highlight of our week, however, was a visit on Friday with Jonny and Lisa Lobel. Jonny and Lisa lived with us in Frydlant and were visiting family in Albany, NY this week. They come up for the day, and attended the play with us before heading back. A wonderful day catching up on life in Czech with two very dear friends. Thanks for blessing us, Jonny and Lisa!

  

Andrea's birthday, 2010

 We celebrated Andrea on her birthday, and enjoyed a very sweet day as a family. After a quiet Sunday afternoon, we took her to a Japanese hibachi restaurant. We had a great time watching the chef cook the food right in front of us, and loved the food. The highlight of the day, however, was then going to Lake Ontario to give Andrea her gifts. We talked together about what about Andrea we're thankful for, reflected on how critical she is for us as a family, and then gave her our gifts. The kids and I gave her some gifts, she opened some gifts and cards from her parents, grandmother and brother, and then opened a card from our dear friend Becca with a ticket for her for a Yo-Yo Ma concert. 

We ended the evening by having Nicholas pray for Andrea. He prayed a very sweet prayer, and while praying said "God, I just couldn't ask for a better mother." Wow! Pretty incredible from a 16-year-old!

I'm incredibly grateful for this amazing woman, and am so glad that I get to celebrate her birthdays with her!

  

New support address reminder!

Just a reminder that if you'd like to support our work in Europe financially you can send all donations to: 

First Bible Baptist Church

990 Manitou Rd.

Hilton, NY 14468

Just write "Ken and Andrea Pitcher" in the memo line, and it will be forwarded to our account. Thank you for praying for us and standing with us financially as we enter this new season of life and ministry!

Ken

A big week

 Last week flew by so fast, I didn't have a chance to get something up on the blog. I spent the first half of the week in New York city at an Intensive training that Redeemer City to City organized for pastors and church planters from East Asia. God provided the funds to fly 17 pastors from various parts of that region to New York City for 4 1/2 weeks where they went through a multi-faceted program to deepen their vision for church planting and help them prepare their cities for movements of church planting. 

I met several missionaries and young pastors that were a joy to get to know, and left those few days with a deeper appreciation of the hugeness of Asia and the incredible need to bring the gospel to that great land.

I hustled back to Rochester so that I could take part in a meeting on Thursday morning for pastors here in Rochester. There is the beginning of a church planting/church renewal movement here in this city, and it seems like God is allowing me to play a small role in that. We are calling it the Greater Rochester Gospel Coalition, and it is currently a gathering together of about 10 pastors for the sake of crying out to God for Rochester, as well as for mutual encouragement and sharpening. 

I'll keep you informed about these various church planting movements that God is building around the world! Thank you for standing with us and keeping us engaged in this great work.

  

Nathan is 14!

 Time just keeps going by! We celebrated our sweet Nathan last night, his actual 14th birthday. He had a special meal he wanted his grandmother, Nancy Motley to make (fried chicken, mashed potatoes, peas and corn-on-the-cob) so we went over to their house for dinner. Andrea made a wonderful yellow cake with chocolate frosting that was delicious as well, and we had a fun time of Nathan opening up presents and cards from family. 

Even though we had great food and gifts, the highlight of the evening for all of us was sitting around talking about why we love Nathan. The conversation easily turned to the many reasons why we love Nathan, and was a warm time filled with laughter and memories. What a wonderful young man!

Another fun aspect of last night was that our dear friend Mark Holman joined  us for the evening. He is traveling through Rochester on business and was able to be bless us with his presence.

God is good, even though our little boys are so quickly becoming men!