Going South

It is Saturday and we are flying out of the International Airport toward St. Louis.
It is Saturday and it is Bryan's birthday.

It is Saturday and Kirsten has posted again.

Moldy Cheese

A friend of mine told me the other day that the cheese needed to make a comeback. I agree. The cheese has gotten a bit moldy. Since the response to Kirsten's blogging efforts have been positive - I couldn't be outdone. Check out the new cheese here. 'Tis the season to get cheesey.

My wife and blogs

I love my wife! She is an amazing woman and I do not deserve her. Over the years I have tried to get her to post her thoughts, comments and humor on a blog. She never agreed to jump on the wagon...until now. To be honest I guess she didn't really agree to do anything with a blog. Here's how it went down - we were talking last night about the funny things our boys say. Kirsten said "that's why I wish I had a blog, so I could post these funny things." I jumped on the idea, created a blog and signed her up with an account. I have posted the first item on the blog to get her going. It's a repeat from something I posted earlier this week. If you know Kirsten and would like here to follow through with my idea - go to the blog and let her know you want to read what she has to say. She is so amazing she deserves to be shared with you.

See the new blog here!

Skittle Ads

I like Skittles. I have for quite some time. We have a gumball machine in our house that dispenses Skittles (for free). I like them even more after seeing these ads.

ht: JH

Email Etiquette

I ran across this post today entitled Email Checklist. There are 36 helpful tips how how to send email. Particularly insightful are the following -

13. Am I angry? (If so, save as draft and come back to the note in one hour).
14. Could I do this note better with a phone call?
16. Is there anything in this email I don't want the attorney general, the media or my boss seeing? (If so, hit delete).
20. Have I included the line, "Please save the planet. Don't print this email"? (If so, please delete the line and consider a job as a forest ranger or flight attendant).
21. Could this email be shorter?
25. Are there any :-) or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider).
28. Am I forwarding something about a virus or worldwide charity effort or other potential hoax? (If so, visit snopes and check to see if it's 'actually true).
33. Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?
36. If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?

Update on PEZ

Contrary to popular opinion I decided somewhat rashly to post all of my PEZ dispensers on ebay. When I logged and counted all of the common dispensers there were 183. I started the bidding at $.99 for a three day bid. The last time I checked there were 8 bids and the high bid was $20.59. If the bidding stops at that price each dispenser will be worth $.11. Each new dispenser costs on average $1. That is a net loss of $162.41. Most of the dispensers were gifts so that brings the net loss back up a bit. I will keep you posted on the final highest bidder.

For those of you who tried to convince me to keep the plastic candy-throated fun - sorry. The money has already been earmarked for something much more valuable.

**UPDATED** The entire lot of dispensers sold for $34. On average each dispenser sold for about $.19.

Soon to be vacating

Our family is beginning to get in packing mode for our upcoming vacation to the south. We will be flying out on Saturday for a 10 day trip to St. Louis and beyond. As I think about our vacation many things come to mind about what I want to do and things I want my family to do with me.

Yesterday I stumbled across a series of posts on C.J. Mahaney's blog. The title of the series is "Leadership + Family Vacations." In these posts he discusses the role of the father/husband while on family vacation. He writes about seven lessons he has learned in his history of family vacations. The father must be the one setting the example in the following seven things.

1. A Servant Heart
2. A Tone-Setting Attitude
3. An Awareness of Indwelling Sin
4. Studying Your Family
5. Skillful Surprises
6. Intentionally Together
7. Gratefulness to God

He concludes by saying-

Fathers, I hope some of the lessons I have learned over the years and the mistakes I’ve made and sins I’ve committed on vacation somehow serve you and make a difference in your vacation experience. Before you this summer is a sweet opportunity from God to deepen relationships between family members and create memories that your children will never forget, memories that will outlive you.

You can rest when you get home.

Dads and husbands - serve your families well on vacation. It doesn't matter where you go or what you do - point your family toward Christ. That will be my goal for our upcoming vacation. Pray for me to lead my family to our Lord and Savior during our vacation.

I would encourage you read the entire article here (it's a .pdf).
Or check out Mahaney's blog here.

Speaking of Fundies...

Last week we were reading through the early chapters of Genesis with our boys at the breakfast table. After talking about the fact that Adam and Eve were naked, Ezra laughed and said "yeah, but they had undies on didn't they?"

Dwell Conference

It's June and the summer vacation months are upon us. If you travel and like to listen as you drive, let me encourage you to listen to something that may spur you on toward godliness.

The Acts 29 Network recently posted the audio from their Dwell Conference. I would highly recommend you listen to the posted conference sessions by these very engaging pastors. I promise that an hour of audio from this conference will be much better than an hour of your mixed tape of Sinead O'Connor, Randy Travis, Lionel Richie, Menudo and The Best of Quiet Riot.

Enjoy.

20 Reasons

Below is a post from John Piper - 20 Reasons I Don't Take Potshots at Fundamentalists. I thought some of you may appreciate this list as your parents may be fundamentalists or maybe you are a fundamentalist-in-denial.

1. They are humble and respectful and courteous and even funny (the ones I've met). 2. They believe in truth.
3. They believe that truth really matters.
4. They believe that the Bible is true, all of it.
5. They know that the Bible calls for some kind of separation from the world.
6. They have backbone and are not prone to compromise principle.
7. They put obedience to Jesus above the approval of man (even though they fall short, like others).
8. They believe in hell and are loving enough to warn people about it.
9. They believe in heaven and sing about how good it will be to go there.
10. Their "social action" is helping the person next door.
11. They tend to raise law-abiding, chaste children, in spite of the fact that Barna
says evangelical kids in general don't have any better track record than non-Christians.
12. They resist trendiness.
13. They don’t think too much is gained by sounding hip.
14. They may not be hip, but they don’t go so far as to drive buggies or insist on typewriters.
15. They still sing hymns.
16. They are not breathless about being accepted in the scholarly guild.
17. They give some contemporary plausibility to New Testament claim that the church is the “pillar and bulwark of the truth.”
18. They are good for the rest of evangelicals because of all this.
19. My dad was one.
20. Everybody to my left thinks I am one. And there are a lot of people to my left.

There is a first time for everything

It finally happened. I was finally able to take my two older boys camping. I have said before that I need to show my boys what they need to enjoy. Yesterday afternoon we loaded up the van with the things we needed and headed to the Roughrider Campground.
We found a great spot under some trees and set up the tent. The boys were excited to put their things in the tent.
We then found a playground and the boys thought it was interesting to sit inside this tractor tire.
After playing for a while we went back to our camp site to eat. As we ate a large storm rolled in and the temperature dropped. We felt a few drops of rain but the storm didn't amount to much. We started a fire and the boys warmed themselves.
This morning we awoke and all had a bit of coffee. It was a great time together - just us boys.
*You can see more pictures of our time together at our family website. There are pictures of Ezra and Asher.

"...spoke, thought and reasoned like a child."

It all started with a Batman dispenser in college. "What a strange thing" I thought, "a toy that dispenses candy from its throat." I placed the dispenser on my shelf in my sculpture studio and it was quickly accompanied by several others. They were gifts from one of my professors who frequented estate sales. It quickly became a collection. I didn't really start the collection - it started on me. It's an odd thing to collect - but they are inexpensive ($1 will buy 1 dispenser) and there are always new faces to collect.

Kirsten has been kind to allow me to keep my childish collection over the years. She even allowed these dispensers to be a part of our wedding. She is a fine woman.

We are beginning to discuss a possible remodel on one of our rooms in our basement. The room we are thinking about remodeling is the one that houses all of these dispensers - all displayed in neat rows on shelves. As we begin to think through what we would like to do to the room it seems as if these candy-throated dispensers keep getting in the way. Our sons like to throw objects around this room and if you have ever seen dominoes fall on top of each other - hundreds of cartoon-headed dispensers do the same. So, here I am - 30something years young and I am faced with a decision. Should I a.) throw the dispensers away? b.) try to sell them? c.) take them to the local recycling establishment to see what I can get or d.) let the reader decide?

There are pros and cons to each. When all is said and done - they must leave my house. I don't need them any longer. They are taking up space, collecting dust, always fall over and I think the Peppermint Patty dispenser is up to something strange with the Wonder Woman dispenser.

What should I do? Stay tuned for details of the death of these, my candy-throated friends.

Spurgeon on long-winded prayers

I've been reading some Spurgeon recently and the quote below is something every public prayer should read. Spurgeon's insight and honesty is refreshing!

Long prayers either consist of repetitions, or else of unnecessary explanations which God does not require; or else they degenerate into downright preachings, so that there is no difference between the praying and the preaching, except that in the one the minister has his eyes shut, and in the other he keeps them open. It is not necessary in prayer to rehearse the Westminster Assembly's Catechism. It is not necessary in prayer to relate the experience of all the people who are present, or even your own. It is not necessary in prayer to string a selection of texts of Scripture together, and quote David, and Daniel, and Job, and Paul and Peter, and ever other body, under the title of 'thy servant of old.' It is necessary in prayer to draw near unto God, but it is not required of you to prolong your speech till everyone is longing to hear the word 'Amen.'

On a practical note...long prayers make Obed angry and you don't want to make Obed angry!

Happy Mother & Birth Day

Today was a day of celebrations. It was Mother's Day. My wife is by far the best mother in our house and I would say she is the best mother around! She cares for her boys. She serves them. She shepherds their hearts. She makes them great lunches on monkey plates. She is a great mother!
Today was also Ezra's birthday. He is 4 years young today. He was most excited for his birthday. What a great day of celebrations.

Church Member Meeting

Here is an interesting video clip from a member meeting at Covenant Life Church. I know none of us deal with these same issues of choices for the education of our children but I thought you may be interested in hearing/seeing this. If you don't want to watch the video I will sum it up for you - we should be primarily devoted to the gospel of Jesus Christ - over and above educational choices we make for our children.