Hey everybody.  Long time, it seems, since I posted an entry here.  Well, I guess the holidays can have a tendency to create a lot of busyness.  Actually, I don't feel like we were especially busy this year, just more comitted than ever before NOT to take myself away from the family in order to do work.   

So, now we're back into the swing of things and need to ask you to pray for our equipment issues again.  Some of you may remember how towards the end of season 9 we were experiencing trouble with the digital editing and post-production system: Fairlight.  Well, thankfully, we were able to hobble to the end of the season and through the 2 holiday specials we had planned for the end of the year, and ordered new parts and software to get the system back up and running.  In the process, it was determined that the big, central computer that ties all the parts of the system together (the server) would need to be shipped to the manufacturer for it's upgrades, because they were a little more tricky than the rest of it.  So, on Tuesday the 3rd of December, I took the server to the UPS store here in Grand Rapids to have them package and ship it to CA.

3 days later the package arrived in sunny Pasadena... in pieces.  Since then, it has been a battle to get UPS to even send someone to the location to asses the damage.  Finally, after many calls, reports, claims and prayer; just last Friday, I spoke with two people who seemed willing to help, one of whom promised a person on site to check the damage today... tomorrow at the latest!  The other asked for a quote on the cost of repair or replacement which the server "guru" at Fairlight will fax today.

All that to say:

The good news -  it looks like UPS will probably end up paying for the damages and we may even end up with a NEW server.

The bad news - We were planning, and even recorded a Valentines Day special for this year, and the rest of the broadcast schedule is based on that episode airing the weekend of February 9, but it becomes very difficult to produce without that server.  That show needs to go out to stations within the next 3 weeks if we are to have any hope of it airing on time. 

We know God is in control and He is soverign.  His plans are sometimes different from ours.  He does not want us to panic or worry, but to trust Him.  So, first, please pray for our production staff to not lose heart, become discouraged or doubt God's goodness.  Then, secondly, pray for God to do His will with this situation and reveal to us what He would have us do to get on board with His plans!