The TFH KUDOBlog will be taking a break during the months of July/August, but will resume in September.

Great weather, and a great weekend @ TFH!

This past week our men enjoyed a few hours of bowling at Big Al's in Vancouver. Lot's of laughs, heckling and gutter balls made the evening a blast. As promised, the high game bowler earned a $25 Best Buy Gift Card. Our winner - Tyler Davenport. Tyler cleared every frame with either a spare or strike, leaving pins standing only on the third ball of the tenth frame. KUDOS Tyler.

KUDOS go out to all our dads - Happy Father's Day... in fact, let's turn it into Father's Week! You men deserve it!

It was a great weekend to honor our Heavenly Father as well - He's doing a deep work these last few weeks talking to us about the condition of our hearts! Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God!!!

KUDOS also to RJ McCullough, one of our retired pastors and previous pastor of our local church. RJ continues to be faithful in the Northwest serving churches, but recently approached our Children's Team and offered to serve our children in Kid's Church this weekend. RJ showed up with his puppet. The puppet shared Father's Day thoughts, bringing the children to endless giggles, and even promised to come back again. KUDOS RJ McCullough for serving our children. We love you.

Can anyone say, "SUN!!!" What a beautiful weekend in the Northwest. And not a moment to early - I thought we were going to skip over summer this year and charge right into fall!

Great gatherings all weekend long! We have an awesome team.

KUDOS go out this weekend to Tamara Shaw. Tamara has been a member of TFH since 2007, loves the Lord with everything in her, and works hard in our Welcome Center serving our new visitors and people registering for special events... and always with a smile. Tamara is one of the many wonderful family members who love the house and people who attend. Thanks Tamara for who you are, and all you do!!!

Great LIFEJournal weekend at TFH! If you were there, you got to hear not one, but two great messages from none other than students.  KUDOS go out to our two speakers, Annie Kirsch and Nick Cody. Both are are very active in our Student Ministry, and both are finishing up their 9th grade year in High School. If you didn't get to hear them, visit our sermon page and check them out. Great stuff!

Great Brat Night in Kelso. Great Water Baptism Service in Vancouver. It was a great weekend that many helped to make happen - thank you all!

This is Memorial Day Weekend. We want to thank all of you who have either served, are serving, or have had close family to serve in any of our armed forces. By the show of hands this weekend, so many of our church family fall into that category. We appreciate your sacrifice.

My father served in the Marines. As a small boy, I remember him being overseas. I remember the paper chain my mother made for me to count the days until his return. I remember tearing a new chain off each day, until the car arrived at the front of our house. I remember a man getting out and coming to the front door, a man that I did not recognize. I remember him bringing me a gift. It is strange to think about it now. I had to be reintroduced to my father.

War continues to impact us all, unfortunately. We are grateful for those that protect us, and honor those who have served and are serving. We have the promise that someday, all wars will cease, and the last enemy, DEATH, will be destroyed! 

We have a lot of committed workers at TFH! Teenagers, young adults, singles, marrieds, people with kids, people with grandkids, people who are retired.... all serving well in the House.

Some of our most committed are those who work with our kids, and have kids of their own!!! A few weeks back I was admiring Kim Donald as she arrived prior to the 9:15 service in Vancouver to set up for Nursery. She had her husband Matt with her, and her two children. She looked a little rushed, and slightly frazzled, but made her way into the building to set stuff up. I stood their thinking about all the work it takes someone like her on a Sunday morning to get there by 8:45 to serve. There's the personal preparation, waking kids up, feeding and dressing them, not to mention getting a husband ready (I know, Rowena has that same problem), getting everyone in the van, and then there's the trip. And yet, Kim does it every month, all to serve the House and to serve our children.

Big KUDOS to Kim, and big KUDOS to all who serve in spite of 100 excuses not to serve! We love and appreciate you!!!

I stopped by the church a few Saturdays ago and came upon a couple of the guys on our Landscaping team doing their thing - wow, our team led by Carlos Guzman is doing an amazing job!!!! The House is beautiful, inside and out.

One of the guys hard at work, Jim Hay. Jim is one of our young dads with several children. I thought it was great that he had his daughter with him to help out with some of the work, and to lead the search for flowers before mom (Julia) arrived to pick them back up. It reminded me of the days when my kids were younger and loved to go the the church and work. I have always admired Jim's interaction with his wife and kids, but having her that day while he worked was awesome. I admire parents who include their children in their ministry, and teach them to serve in the house!

Jim works in Portland in the diesel engine industry but has also serves in the armed forces one weekend a month and has served tours over seas and in Afghanistan. We are grateful and honor his sacrifice, and we pray for God's blessing and protection on him always!!!

KUDOS Jim, thanks for all you do, and thanks for the example you are setting as a husband and a father.

Great Mother's Day Weekend @ TFH. We took some time to honor all our mothers, and pass out Starbucks gift cards to those in attendance. Mom's have a full plate with all they do, and we wanted to do something special for each of them! Happy Mother's Day.

We also got to dedicate 12 Children in our 3 weekend services. Congratulations to the following families:

• Justin & Jenny Beck and their son Jude
• Sheldon & Melissa Conrad and their children Jonas and Mia
• John-Paul & Mandi Huhta and their son Brenner
• Chris and Natalie Senn and their son Parker
• Tyler & Jennifer Davenport and their daughter Edyn
• Justin & Melissa Lowery and their son Porter
• Elizabeth Forbis and her son Brendan
• Dave & Amy Tallbut and their son Robert
• Chris & Marisa Burns and their daughter Avery
• Jacob & Sara Tarvin and their children Matthew and Hailee

Pictures of the dedications from all services are available on our MEDIA PAGE.

Great LIFEJournal weekend at TFH. Big KUDOS go out this week to Chad VanHorn for leading us into worship, and to Pastor Nathan Ganz for sharing out of his LIFEJournal - hopefully you caught a glimpse of God's Hidden Grace at work in your life.

Got to visit three area church gatherings this weekend. Thanks to Pastor Nathan and entire TFH Team/Family for making it possible. 

KUDOS also go out this week to the entire TFH Church and Family... so many KUDOS in fact that I am going to be writing 5 separate articles this week over at our Leadership Blog which can be found by clicking here. These 5 articles were inspired by a Road Trip. I was able to visit three local church gatherings this weekend. It was a valuable recon mission that allowed me to experience how other families operate, get new ideas, and recognize our areas of strength and weakness. Be sure to visit the Leadership Blog each day this week. In fact, click on the "subscribe via email" link to the right of this page and fill out the form provided, and the contents of each days entry will be delivered to your email automatically.

The Road Trip was awesome, but there's no place like HOME!

What a great weekend to celebrate Communion as we finished up our series on Making Jesus Famous! I was challenged and am praying that God will supernaturally help all of us to love others, see people outside of our circle and invite them in, and to have the right words to share Christ!!!

KUDOS go out this week to one of our students, Tori Brown. Tori, daughter of Robin and Tracy, is one of our younger members who loves to serve! She is a natural with kids in our nursery! She serves monthly assisting the leaders, helping with the children, doing whatever is necessary! According to her mother, she would be in there every week if she was allowed! It goes to show you that you are never too young, or too old for that matter, for God to use your talents! Thanks Tori for all you do!

KUDOS go out this week to one of our couples at the Kelso Campus, Chris & Natalie Senn. They joined the TFH family in November 2009 and have been faithful to serve, especially in the Welcome Center. They have been awaiting the arrival of their son Parker. KUDOS to them - he came this week, April 16, 12:43AM weighing 7lbs 13oz! Congratulations to Chris and Natalie and their families!!!! 

One of the cool things with the Kelso Campus is our ability to reunite with friends from the past. Natalie's and her brothers we part of our youth ministry in the area years ago... in fact, I remember when she was too young to be in the youth group - I will refrain from busting out those pics. A few years back I got to meet Chris and perform their absolutely beautiful wedding ceremony on their family's property. And now they have a son.

Again, KUDOS to the Senn's and their families! God is so good!

If you blinked and missed it - THE SUN WAS OUT THIS WEEKEND! Well, there's always next year!!!

KUDOS go out this week to one of our young adults, Joe Carson. Joe serves on our PowerPoint team in both Vancouver and Kelso, he edits the Glo Students weekly video announcements, he ushers, he's on the Video Team and helps with some set-up/tear-down for our student ministries... Wait a sec, we need to get this man an office - he's like a full time employee!!!! Seriously, Joe has always been involved in just about everything. He always has a great attitude, a good sense of humor and is willing to work! Thanks Joe for all you do. We appreciate you!

What an amazing Easter Weekend at TFH. I feel as if we genuinely celebrated the proof Jesus offered - His Resurrection!!! It's a big deal! If you missed it, you can at least catch the message on the media page of our website.

KUDOS go out this week to one of our students, Nick Cody. Nick is involved in a number of ways in our Student Ministry, but most adults will recognize him for his involvement during our weekend services in Vancouver behind the sound board. Running sound is tough, and it takes a lot of commitment. You have to be one of the first people in the building on the weekend, and you are one of the last to leave. Any one of 100 problems can arise, and it all happens in front of the crowd... not to mention the 150 different opinions that are bouncing around the room. Since there's only 1000 knobs to turn... dialing everything in to sound great is simple... NOT!!! Nick puts in a lot of time and handles the pressure well, and he does a really good job. Thanks Nick for all you do, and thanks to your family for driving you early and picking you up late! You make it possible for all of us to enjoy our gatherings, hear what is going on, and make Jesus famous!

March came in like a lion...and is leaving like a schizonphrenic lamb! I beleive we've had every possible weather condition in the last 72 hours. I cut the grass on Saturday in short sleaves and heard it was snowing in the pass later that evening! Only the Pac NW!

As we head into Spring Break this week, be sure and take time to enjoy your children/grandchildren as they have time off from school. They grow up too fast! Keep in mind the TFH offices will be closed during the break.

KUDOS go out this week to a face you all know very well - Jon Moody. Jon is best recognized on our weekly video announcements, but also serves as a youth leader and LIFEGroup leader for our students. Jon is involved and has been for years. Many of you might not realize this, but as we are all heading home on Sundays for some lunch, Jon is at the church for a couple of more hours shooting video, and then has to come in again on Wednesdays to edit video for a couple of more hours. Believe it or not, those 2-3 minute video announcement clips take 3-4 hours each week of work, and Jon is the man that puts the time in!!! KUDOS Jon, we appreciate all your work. And as a result, we know what's going on at TFH... kind of... :-)

I feel like I've been trying to sip water out of a fire-hose! What an incredible weekend we had with Keith Jenkins for our Growth Weekend.

We started off with a session for our workers on Friday in Vancouver, followed by a Men's Meeting Saturday in Kelso, and then our three weekend gatherings in Kelso/Vancouver. It's a blur, but do I ever feel refreshed! Video and audio should be available on our website early this week.

I was incredibly challenged by Keith's messages in our services to 1) receive the love/pleasure of God the Father, and 2) give Christ like love to the people in my life. The messages were so challenging for me that I'm going to have to do some additional study so that I can make sure I properly apply what God has spoken to me!

The Word gives us instruction in Gal 6:6 - Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor. This means that it is important for you and I to pass on to Keith what good thing God has worked in our hearts during this weekend. Let me encourage you to contact Keith via FACEBOOK or EMAIL and share what the Lord has done for you!

Additionally, Keith had a photographer in services who has uploaded some amazing pics that you will enjoy that can be found here.

Great weekend at TFH!  Another great LIFEJournal Weekend. If you missed it, Jason Stoncipher spoke out of his journal on Mark 4, The Parable of the SOIL (formerly known as the parable of the sower and the seed). We were really challenged to walk in "weed-free" living. If you weren't able to be in one of our services, the audio/video will be available by Tuesday.

KUDOS go out this week to Pualine Franulovich, one of our long-time members and prayer warriors who always lifts up the needs of the local church to the Lord. She is also part of our team that takes care of church finances every week. She is trustworthy and confidential. Pauline is not much for the limelight, in fact, I will probably get in trouble for this article, but it takes people like Pauline for us to do what we do... what a blessing! KUDOS Pauline! Thank you!

Another great weekend at TFH. We are believing God for miracles, not for ourselves, but so that others that we know can be introduced to the amazing Jesus that we know!

KUDOS go out this week to one of our Vancouver natives, Melissa Ackley. Melissa has served TFH through the years in a number of capacities, especially in our children's department. In the last several months she has been looking for work, and has stepped up to lead our Custodial Team. She has done a great job, and we all appreciate how great the facility looks. She recently got a new job and will be starting in March. John Franulovich will be taking the team over, but we are grateful to Melissa for her faithfulness.

Thank you Melissa, and thanks to our entire custodial team!

Can you believe the weather that we experienced this weekend? It was absolutely incredible. I washed cars, cut grass, moved some bushes, and IT'S ONLY FEBRUARY!!! The sun was so nice that I began to worry about our weekend attendance, but in true TFH fashion, we had full services! Great weekend!

KUDOS go out this week to Steve Strickland. He and his wife Lynn are on our Leadership Team. Steve is a "go to" guy. Anytime there is anything we need, there's a strong possiblity that Steve can and will do it. As I pulled up to our place in Vancouver on Sunday AM, I saw that someone had reseeded the lawn and roped it off - STEVE! The week before that it was some balast in some outside lights. The week before that he built a theft-proof hasp for the shed... trust me, the list goes on and on. Steve, we appreciate you!!!! Thanks for all you do.

Congratulations to Tyler and Jennifer Davenport on the birth of their daughter Edyn Michelle-Nicole, born on Saturday afternoon! We are so excited for them and their extended family, many of which attend TFH in Vancouver and Kelso!

Our prayers go out to Rhonda Yeary. Her husband Terry unexpectedly passed away this past week. Rhonda and Terry used to live in Vancouver and attend TFH serving in our Kid's Department. They moved south for work opportunities. Terry had just taken a new job, and they were looking to transfer back to Vancouver later this year. With Terry's passing, Rhonda will be moving back to the area in the next week or so. Rhonda will have some unexpected financial needs, and if you would like to help, please contact me here.

What a great Valentine Weekend at TFH! Super involvement at all of our services.

The TFH Leadership Team met Saturday morning for training and prayer! Together, we prayed for you!

A quick note - if you are genuinely in need of a refurbished washer/dryer and don't have the finances to purchase your own, please contact me here - we have someone who wants to meet your need!

KUDOS go out this week to Tyler Davenport, one of our Leadership Team members and KIDS Church Volunteers. With the addition of an extra service in Vancouver and a service in Kelso, there has been a huge need for workers within out Kids Department to take on additional leadership. Tyler has continued to meet that challenge at every turn. He serves on both campuses as a lead teacher always using great visuals so the kids can more effectively learn. In fact, their have been some Saturday nights in Kelso where he has taught, then gone to work that evening, worked all through the night, and then arrives to be a part of the team on Sunday morning in Vancouver! That's commitment! One of the greatest things about our team is that there are a number of MEN involved! This means a lot to the kids in the classes. Thanks Tyler for all you do!