Pray for protection? Now, I always will.

When I'm home, I like to put Sam to bed @ night. We go through a normal routine, 2 stories (these days Sam's on a Rhyming Bible kick), 2 songs, prayer, and a hug and kiss good-night. I always try to focus during the prayer so that it doesn't become a mindless habit sometimes I get in a rut. One standard is asking God to protect our family.

Until yesterday it seemed kind of silly to pray for protection. We're not engaged in any physically dangerous work. We live in Washington, DC, but in a relatively crime free area in an apartment building amidst multi-million dollar homes. Safety is almost a given. Almost.

Yesterday, after cleaning up from a reception for parents on campus @ AU, the Godzwa family walked to our cars. We drove separately so Levi could finish his nap. I left Jen and the kids at the entrance to the parking lot thinking I would see them in a few minutes at the apartment. I drove home, put some things away, but they never arrived. I wasn't too worried, but I decided to call Jen's cell anyway, just for information. When she picked up I thought she would tell me they stopped for some milk. Instead, Jen told me she had been robbed.

A few minutes after I left the parking lot in our van, Jen was strapping the kids into their car seats. A man came up from behind her, said he had a knife, and demanded money. After rifling through her bag and finding her wallet, he pushed her inside the car, dropped the knife, and ran off. He took the wallet which contained Jen's ID, 2 credit cards and $7 in cash. Jen called 911 immediately and the police arrived within a few minutes. They fingerprinted our car and took the knife for evidence. After I talked to Jen on the phone I quickly called our bank and credit card company to cancel the cards. The thief had already tried to use Jen's card at a liquor store and a gas station where he was photographed. The police said they hope to have him in custody soon.

Except for a small bump on the head and the shock of being robbed, Jen is doing fine and the kids never even knew what was going on. The officer who took the report said they were really lucky. I had to disagree. God protected my family yesterday and I am utterly grateful. As I put Sam to bed tonight, we prayed for the safety of our family. I don't take it for granted anymore.

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October Newsletter is released!

Hot off the press! Here's our latest edition of the Collegiate Chronicles. Click the photo to download the electronic version














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Say it isn't so Joe

Those of you who know me well (all of you who read this blog) know I'm in pain. No, I haven't fallen down a flight of stairs. I don't even have a paper cut. It's my heart that hurts.

My team, the New York Yankees, were eliminated from the playoffs yesterday. The Detroit Tigers, one of last year's worst and a team that was just swept by the Kansas City Royals (this year's worst) dispatched the Yankees 3 games to 1. What made it more humiliating was the way the Yankees played. The most expensive team in the history of the game couldn't buy a hit! They fell apart in a way I haven't seen since they lost 4 games to the Red Sox in the 2004 ALCS.

I thought this was the year. This was the season I was going to introduce my sons to the thrill of being a fan of the World Series Champion. Instead, we've got to wait until next year. I'm beginning to understand a little of what it is like to be a Cubs or a Red Sox fan.

It's going to be a long winter this year. I'll be counting down the days until the pitchers and catcher report for spring training. That's approximately 132 days away.

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A little too important in our own eyes?

I have to admit, I'm pretty tied to my cell phone. I have it with me all the time and unless I'm in a meeting I'll usually answer it. If I accidentally leave it @ home, even if I'm only going out for a few minutes, I start worrying about all the missed calls. "I'm so important, people need to reach me!" I get some perspective when I return and find the voicemail tally @ zero.

When I was walking to campus, I saw a woman with a bad case of the "too important syndrome." She was jogging. I mean, dressed to exercise, not just in a rush. While pounding the pavement, you guessed it, she was talking on her cell phone.

"No (gasp, pant) this isn't a prank phone call! Now, about that appointment (gasp)..."

I can understand taking the phone with you in case of emergencies, but having a conversation. That's going too far.

Tomorrow I'm going for a nice run in Rock Creek park and I'm leaving the cell phone behind. If you need me, leave a message, I'll get back to you soon.

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Just a bit short...

A couple of weeks ago we 18 students set out from American University Chi Alpha set out to reclaim the Silver Shoe. It's the trophy for the Annual DC Chi Alpha Kickball Tournament.

We had a great team and fought hard, but sadly we fell just a bit short. I guess winning isn't everything (did I just typet that?). We did have a lot of fun and we were glad to give an emotional boost to the Chi Alpha students @ Georgetown. Just wait until next year!

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Up for air

The first month of the semester has been crazy! I was looking over the blog, and trying to remember the relative calm of the summer. I'm really trying...

Anyway, on to the good news. We kicked off the year with a huge welcome week offering of events and we're slammed with students at every one! We handed out ice cream, cooked smores, played capture the flag and had hundreds of freshmen join us. Sometimes, in the middle of planning these events I ask myself if we should keep doing these things. I think we will! The picture is of a group of us grabbing Chinese food after our 5th Annual Riddle Quest (a scavenger hunt around the DC monuments). Lots of fun!

Our first Thursday Night Worship of the year had a record 101 students show up (of course, I didn't bring a camera). It was a blast! The worship time was powerful and in the middle of delivering my message on Luke chapter 5, I had a powerful sense that this is what I'm supposed to be doing. We've had a month's worth of TNWs since then and I wish I could say we've stayed @ 100. Well, we haven't (we're hanging around 70-80), but God has blessed us with a strong sense of his presence each night.

Our theme this year is "Deeper." I think God is taking us there. We've been walking through the book of Ephesians verse by verse. Each week it's as if we're pulling back the curtain of this world and getting a bigger picture of reality. If you haven't read Ephesians in a while, I would recommend it. It will leave you in awe of our great God who, for no reason other than his incomparable grace, reached down and saved us.

Keep us in your prayers as we continue to follow up a huge number of contacts and reach out to the thousands more @ AU. This is a pivotal time in the life of college students. They're setting their schedules and their priorities. Pray that they would hear the voice of the Holy Spirit calling them deeper.

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