Nature-Deficit Disorder

In less than two weeks I will be heading off into the great outdoors of Glacier National Park for a time of retreat. I enjoy backpacking, hiking and anything else that has to do with mountains. I have jokingly said that my responsibility as a father is to teach my boys what to like at an early age. Out of responsibility I am trying to teach them how to enjoy backpacking, hiking and anything that has to do with mountains. They will come around eventually.

All joking aside - I do believe it is my responsibility as a father to train our boys to enjoy God's good creation. This happens best in the context of being out in God's good creation. I don't want our boys to grow up with the understanding that all good and fun things happen inside with electricity.

Albert Mohler recently wrote on this topic. He says

The troubling development is that many children never play outside. They prefer to play computer games, surf the Internet, or update their Facebook pages. Their parents are increasingly afraid to let them play outside, scared by the constant barrage of news stories about crimes against children. These children and teenagers are accustomed to air conditioning, sophisticated entertainments, and lack of physical activity. They are aliens in the outside world...

...God reveals His glory in creation. How can we read the Psalms with insight if we never look and see that the heavens really are telling the glory of God? Something precious is lost when children -- or adults -- are alienated from the created world. This choice for alienation is a choice to cut ourselves off from what God has given us to enjoy and to appreciate.

Here's some good news. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars to provide your children with experiences in nature and outdoor play. Just open the door and point them into the back yard or take them to a local park. Take a walk in the woods or go fishing in the lake. Go where the light does not obscure and see the wonder of the night sky.

Who knows? Your children just might forget to look for the nearest electrical outlet.

So here is my challenge. Go outside. Stay outside. Enjoy, or learn to enjoy being outside and worship God for His unique work of creation!

Are you a member?

Several months ago my friend and I started a series about the importance of church membership. The blog series was about as consistent as the attendance of many church-goers and like many church-goers it stopped showing up altogether.

Church membership is an important part of the local church. If you consider yourself a regular attender of a local church and still have yet to become a member - it's time. I have yet to hear a good reason for NOT becoming a member of a church.

Up until now there weren't many resources on church membership. I recently finished reading Thabiti Anyabwile's book - "What is a Healthy Church Member?" I plan to give this book to everyone who becomes a member at our church. It is a simple encouragement and challenge to church members about how to be a healthy support to your church. As a member, do you want to serve your church and the leaders in your church? Read this book. It is a short book with ten short chapters. Buy the book. Read the book. Give the book to someone who should be a member and encourage them toward this commitment for the glory of God.

New Church Blog

Our church has started a new blog. It is a means of communication for our congregation - but it is also open to everyone else. I am learning that not many people in our church know about the blogosphere and so many of the comments have come from outside of our church. Please feel free to read, participate and comment. The current post is about tipping the wait staff at restaurants. Join the fun.

Man

Waffle Fry

Potato

I really enjoy blog post series. I don't post to this blog much and I thought it would be fun to begin a series of posts. Over the next several days I am going to post single images that, in my opinion, are best when viewed as a single image. My hope is that, as you view these images, you will appreciate the image for what it is. Don't take it for granted. There are things in life that we need to appreciate more.

Bibles

*UPDATE* - I do have a friend.

A friend of mine asked me what bible(s) we use for the discipleship of our boys. I have posted this information in the past but I will post it again for your reference. I would highly recommend both of these books. Unlike many children's bibles which simply point out the moral lessons of Scripture, each of these books gets to the heart of Scripture. One reveals how the bible is tied together from the sin of the garden to the Revelation of John. The other shows the common thread of Jesus running throughout the Old and New Testaments. On a side note - the illustrations in each are pretty spectacular!

We have used both for about two years now and recommend them to everyone who has children or will have children or once was a child.

It wasn't worthless

Many of you know that I graduated with the very useful degree of Sculpture. Some of you have asked - "do you still do any artwork?" I don't. I don't have a lot of time and sculpture can be an expensive hobby.

In June our eldest sons were painting with some cheap watercolors during our visit to my parents. While they were painting I took a piece of paper to see what I could do. Below is the product of 4 years of study in art. I left the masterpiece at my parents and my dad sent me a scanned copy. I think he was overwhelmed with pride for the greatness of his son.
Please don't flood my inbox with requests for portraits. I simply do not have the time.

She's back

She's back! Some of you may be reading her blog but it has been quite some time since you have seen her bedhead. Check the previous entries here. Send your submissions to me for the Bedhead Hall of Fame and I may post them - if they come close to this queen!

Face it - She's hot!

Vnela

Our friends purchased sparklers for the 4th of July. They were going to spell their names with the sparklers and take pictures of the outcome. I asked them to spell my name and send me the picture. This is the outcome. For the purposes of our friendship, I will say - great job!

Still cleaning out the collection

If you are a regular reader of this blog, which I know both of you are, then you will remember that I sold 183 PEZ dispensers a few weeks ago. It was a 10 year collection sold for $43. I am now trying to sell the rare, foreign and collectible dispensers and other PEZ paraphernalia. If you have always dreamed of owning four fuzzy candy dispensers and a PEZ clown car check out the items for sale here.

If you are interested in purchasing these dispensers on ebay click here.

My wife the blogger

A few weeks ago I wrote about the genesis of a new blog - the long-awaited blog of my beautiful wife. She has done a fantastic job of retelling stories of our boys. The post today is fantastic! Check it out here.

Vacation is Always Fun

As I noted in my previous post, we saw quite a bit on our recent vacation. We are now back in Nearly, Canada. I sat down this evening to look through our pictures from the trip. Our pictures reveal just how much fun we had down south. This picture accomplishes two things. 1.) It shows just how great a time our boys had at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandma and Grandpa have the best toys - like this "helmet" that Asher is wearing. 2.) This picture is a tribute to the queen of angled photos.

St. Louis Itinerary

We have been in St. Louis since Saturday evening. We have done quite a bit in the last few days. The boys have had a good time and Ezra has asked after every event - "can we do that again?" Below I will list our up-to-date itinerary.

Sunday: to church at The Journey with Rob and Holly.
Monday: to the St. Louis Zoo and to the Magic House.
Tuesday: talked to a friend at Kaldis Coffee Shop and then to the Kirkwood pool.
Wednesday: to the Botanical Gardens and Whittles Train Store.

Tomorrow we leave for southeast Missouri to visit with my parents. I will keep you up to date and I know you are all so thankful to be kept up to date with our travels.

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.