Hi praying friends,

About a month ago I came across a design - winning App called "Rise". It measures your sleep debt - the difference between the amount of time it appears you should be sleeping (based on how long you sleep without an alarm), and the amount of time you have slept over the last couple of weeks - and then it helps you reduce your sleep debt and understand when your peak energy times are during a day. Fascinating! (If you want to try it, send me a note - I can send you a link so you get a longer trial). I have found it is really hard to reduce my sleep debt! There are all sorts of new and good habits I need to introduce to make it work.

It reminds me of my spiritual life. I am currently reading a couple of books that are once again gently nudging me toward reexamining my spiritual habits. Each year, I seem to grow in this area, and keep discovering what new areas of growth exist.

What if there was an app to measure my "Spiritual Debt." I am not thinking the kind of app that would make you feel super guilty about what you should be doing, but an app that measures where you currently are and gives you some practical new habits to help you get to where you could be. Do you know already what the suggestions would be? If you wanted to increase your intimacy with Christ, what would you need to start (or stop) doing in the next month?

Thanks for praying for health for our family! It seems like we are all returning to some sense of normalcy! Season change is taking place in Berlin, so there are some increased allergies - but nothing too crazy.

Here are some prayer requests for us and for our ministry:

1. We had 11 at our house church on Sunday. It was great! Thanks for praying for us. This week the house churches and different groups from those house churches are meeting on Sunday together. Pray for our gathering!
2. Tonight we are holding our second Salon evening. Tonight's theme asks the question: Is there thought without language? I am hoping the conversation drifts to how language and culture and the usage (or lack of usage) of certain words or ideas impacts our overall pattern of life.
3. We have a new exhibit hanging! Thanks for praying for the opening last week. More than 40 people attended.
4. Our resident got contacted by the Visa office! Thank you for praying!! He has been asked to send all of his documents in, and we are waiting for follow-up. Please pray for that to happen quickly.
5. Johannah has applied for an apartment.
6. Caleb's new semester has started.
7. Joshua is back from his schooling! Pray as he enters the job site again and has the OJT aspect of his work.

That is a lot for this week!

Thanks for praying,

mike