a fly on my wall would have had a hard time believing i was a Christ follower today. some days are easy to be a christian. others are like today, where the grip of satan is so overwhelming that it's selfishly easier to be drug along than to fight back. my verbal assaults, negative attitude, and downright grumpiness were inexcusable. the one good thing i took out of today only bounced around in my head as i was unable to act out anything good. in finishing up a book called epicenter by joel rosenberg (www.joelrosenberg.com), i came across a story which really encouraged me. here are joel's words...
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"in my third novel, the ezekiel option, i tell the story of two christians driving through the mountains of iran with a carful of bibles. suddenly their steering wheel jams and they have to slam on the brakes to keep from driving off the side of the road. when they look up, they see an old man knocking on their window asking if they have the books. 'what books?' they ask. 'the books Jesus sent me down here to get,' the old man replies.
.
"he goes on to explain that Jesus recently came to him in a dream and told him to follow. when he awoke, he found that everyone in his mountain village had had the same dream. they were all brandnew followers of Jesus, but they did not know what to do next. then the old man had another dream in which Jesus told him to go down the mountain and wait by the road for someone to bring books that would explain how to be a christian. he obeyed, and suddenly two men with a carful of bibles have come to a stop right in front of him.
.
"this is one of my favorite passages in the exekiel option, but it's not fiction. i didn't make it up. it's true. i got it directly from a dear friend of mine who is the head of a ministry in the middle east. he personally knows the men involved."
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shrug it off and say 'it's a good story' or embrace the power of Jesus in your life. it's your choice. i pray you'll make the right one.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
(your team here)'s Coliseum
sports make me sad. don't get me wrong. i enjoy playing. but the commercialized joke which has caught our attention nowadays is really no laughing matter. we forget that there are too many terrible role models making too much money when there are more blaring issues in the world than who wins the pennant, the trophy, the medallion.
.
i guess this rant rose from an email circulated at work today. someone was pledging to donate $10 for each person wearing steelers' gear at work tomorrow, the friday before the 'big game'. the donation cap is set at $1,000, which was promised to be matched up to $1,000 by yet another individual. that's $2,000 in donations. the charity? haven of rest (www.havenofrest.org). wouldn't you believe it though... there are cleveland browns fans unwilling to don pittsburg attire for less than half-a-day because they "wouldn't be caught dead in those colors." apparently our pride (in this case in a losing team) is too tall for the support of a non-profit wanting to provide for the needy. it's not like they're being asked to give $10... just show up wearing yellow and black and someone else will pay it for you!
.
i'm sorry... i refuse to understand how selfishness and shallow, hollow pride justifies killing others for the sake of entertainment. i hope you can sleep well in your brown and orange room tonight knowing someone will go hungry tomorrow. or maybe your room is scarlet and grey... blue and yellow... orange and white...
.
i guess this rant rose from an email circulated at work today. someone was pledging to donate $10 for each person wearing steelers' gear at work tomorrow, the friday before the 'big game'. the donation cap is set at $1,000, which was promised to be matched up to $1,000 by yet another individual. that's $2,000 in donations. the charity? haven of rest (www.havenofrest.org). wouldn't you believe it though... there are cleveland browns fans unwilling to don pittsburg attire for less than half-a-day because they "wouldn't be caught dead in those colors." apparently our pride (in this case in a losing team) is too tall for the support of a non-profit wanting to provide for the needy. it's not like they're being asked to give $10... just show up wearing yellow and black and someone else will pay it for you!
.
i'm sorry... i refuse to understand how selfishness and shallow, hollow pride justifies killing others for the sake of entertainment. i hope you can sleep well in your brown and orange room tonight knowing someone will go hungry tomorrow. or maybe your room is scarlet and grey... blue and yellow... orange and white...
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
snow day
my alarm went off at 5:15 this morning. i hit the snooze button, setting the second alarm to go off at 5:30. sarah's alarm woke me up at 5:28. to my happiness, it wasn't her alarm, but a phone call to let her know school was cancelled. this event not only keeps the girls at home, but allows sarah to stay in the warm confines of our house as well. not wanting to shovel 3-4 inches of snow at 5:30 in the morning, i decided to call off work today too.
.
.
.looking out your window at that much snow develops 'big fish' stories in your head. calling everyone you know on the phone, the typical "yeah... dude... we got like 12 inches of snow or something" comes out. once you grab the yard stick, however, you start thinking even 6 inches is over-exaggerating. but after plunging the meter stick into the snow on our back steps, the official read was approximately 9 inches. after all was said and done, it was probably near 9.5-10.
.
.living on the corner we do, the city doesn't plow our streets for a day or two after the snow flies... at best. last snow fall took them at least a week to find pavement. basically, if i shovel my driveway, i have a wall of snow 10 inches high keeping me in my driveway.
.
.the day has been good so far, though we're just shy of dinner at this point. i spent most of the morning reading epicenter at the dining room table with a cup of coffee, occasionally glancing out my picture window to bask in the beauty. after lunch, i moved my activity to the other side of the window with sarah and the girls in tow.
.
.
.sarah drug the sled down to the end of the street, and the four of us took a few trips down a hill on the neighboring golf course. it wasn't a huge hill, but it beats our 50-inch mountain out behind the house.
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now i have to pause for a moment to gladly apologize to the city of norton... a snow plow just drove by, plow to the pavement and salt spitting out the back. yay!
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so after sledding, we let the girls play a bit longer while we shoveled out the end of our driveway. we didn't shovel the whole thing as a friend of ours volunteered to trailer over his snow blower so we didn't have to take 2.5-3 hours to shovel everything. but we wanted to at least give him room to pull in. thanks steve!!
.
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after the cold was a warm cup of hot cocoa next to a fire.
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though not over yet, only a cataclysm could make me categorize my snow day any different than 'great'. thank you, God, for the beautiful snow and for allowing us all to stay home and enjoy a much needed break from real life. with this monster storm pounding most of the northeastern u.s., i can only hope thousands of others were able to enjoy half the day i did.
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hoping you had a safe and enjoyable snow day - ben
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Sunday, January 18, 2009
winter hike 2009: go hard, or go home.
my saturday started on thursday, planning via text messages to spend a day with mr. forte, my co-best man and disc golf buddy. despite sub-zero temperatures and mountains of snow, we were looking forward to some disc golf action during the extended weekend. instead of being ridiculous, we decided to just be stupid instead. rather than disc golf, we headed to hocking hills for a 6-mile hike. why? two reasons: (1) it's beautiful (see pictures below) and (2) it's free.
.
we waited friday night for sarah's mom to arrive. then we shipped the girls to bed and headed 2.5 hours south to circleville. though we didn't say much, i felt it was good quality time spent in the car. on the way down, our car's thermometer hit a low of -9 (yes, that's a minus sign before the 9) excluding windchill. arriving around 11, the fortes were welcoming, providing a nice hot cup of tea for an itchy throat.
.
after spending the night in a twin bed (our choice), we woke up to multi-berry pancakes and lecrae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7uAiig9Pd0)... which is much better, i must say, than the rap my college roommate used to wake me up to every morning. post-breakfast, we were off to hocking hills.
.
thousands of hikers walk this 6-mile strech of hocking hills trail every 3rd saturday of every january. the lodge awaited us with school buses to ship us and these other hikers to the trail's head. cramming ourselves into the tiny bus seats, we mused at how buses used to seem a lot larger...
.
the first half of the hike is lined with hemlocks and icicles. due to the cold temperatures this year, most of the waterfalls were solid ice. those that weren't petrified were equally as dazzling, forcing the gazer to wonder how there could be any unfrozen water in such a cold environment.
.
the half-way point greets hikers with a hot cup of cocoa, a hot cup of bean soup, and a piece of cornbread. there's also a hot fire to help restart the blood flow and make you feel like you can finish the hike.
.
overall, the second half of the hike isn't as impressive as the first. however, the end of the 6-mile stretch ends with the most breath-taking sight: a ~20-foot mound of ice.
.
sleepy heads and some aching muscles and joints headed back to the forte home. mr. forte and i settled down to some halo action while his wife cooked some of her chili. i can't say it's world famous simply because it hasn't made it around the world yet... but had it...
.
it was a short trip, but well worth the drive. we not only got to see some of God's awesome creation, but we got to spend it with two good friends.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
we waited friday night for sarah's mom to arrive. then we shipped the girls to bed and headed 2.5 hours south to circleville. though we didn't say much, i felt it was good quality time spent in the car. on the way down, our car's thermometer hit a low of -9 (yes, that's a minus sign before the 9) excluding windchill. arriving around 11, the fortes were welcoming, providing a nice hot cup of tea for an itchy throat.
.
after spending the night in a twin bed (our choice), we woke up to multi-berry pancakes and lecrae (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7uAiig9Pd0)... which is much better, i must say, than the rap my college roommate used to wake me up to every morning. post-breakfast, we were off to hocking hills.
.
thousands of hikers walk this 6-mile strech of hocking hills trail every 3rd saturday of every january. the lodge awaited us with school buses to ship us and these other hikers to the trail's head. cramming ourselves into the tiny bus seats, we mused at how buses used to seem a lot larger...
.
the first half of the hike is lined with hemlocks and icicles. due to the cold temperatures this year, most of the waterfalls were solid ice. those that weren't petrified were equally as dazzling, forcing the gazer to wonder how there could be any unfrozen water in such a cold environment.
.
the half-way point greets hikers with a hot cup of cocoa, a hot cup of bean soup, and a piece of cornbread. there's also a hot fire to help restart the blood flow and make you feel like you can finish the hike.
.
overall, the second half of the hike isn't as impressive as the first. however, the end of the 6-mile stretch ends with the most breath-taking sight: a ~20-foot mound of ice.
.
sleepy heads and some aching muscles and joints headed back to the forte home. mr. forte and i settled down to some halo action while his wife cooked some of her chili. i can't say it's world famous simply because it hasn't made it around the world yet... but had it...
.
it was a short trip, but well worth the drive. we not only got to see some of God's awesome creation, but we got to spend it with two good friends.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Chris'tian (kris'chen) n.
what is a christian? according to the new american webster handy college dictionary, a christian is "one who professes the religious principles of Jesus Christ." per the same reference, profess is to "declare openly." according to my bible, a christian is the "name given to followers of Christ." and to follow: "pursue." so to answer our first question, i would say a christian is in open, unashamed pursuit of Jesus Christ and His life and teachings.
.
with this word defined, i would guess a large percentage who call themselves 'christian' are not, in fact, outwardly following Him. while this isn't the point i'm trying to make, this does deserve some clarification. i'm not saying catholics, non-denominationals, lutherans, baptists, methodists, etc. are not christian. on the contrary. all christian sects follow Christ. they simply disagree on how to do it. the problem with christianity is that, unlike other world religions, our God came down to us. He provided grace, or undeserved love and pardon. other religions are just the opposite. they're religions rather than a relationship. it's entirely up to the individual to earn "heaven", to get to God. with grace, there's nothing to earn. just follow. relationships are hard because there are several ways to be successful. religion is easy. obey the list of rules. check 'em off!
.
now, you're still probably wondering what i meant when i said that the problem with christianity is that God came to us. as christians, grace is both our blessing and our curse. the blessing is obvious. we don't have to do anything to earn God's gifts. just follow. the curse is more subtle...
.
there are certain things Jesus tells us we must do. the first half of the curse of grace comes when we, as mere humans, decide that these imperatives are necessary to reach heaven, earn God's love, etc. we forget that Christ's commands are less "do or die" rules than they are the wishes of a loving father. as a father, i have certain expectations which also bring rules and regulations to my children. as a loving father, even if the boundaries of my law are broken, i will not kick my children out of the house and my presence. grace: undeserved love. they don't deserve something good from me. they broke my rules. but i love them anyway. put yourself in God's shoes (at least try). He expects perfection and kicks a child out when they prove they're not... yeah right! He's not like that. know the child will fail, but continue to love!
.
but we also use grace as an excuse to do what we want. this second half of the grace-curse is similar to when my children willfully break my commands. they know the rules, but choose not to follow. knowing that i will love them regardless doesn't excuse such wreckless behavior. there's no attempt to come under my direction, only selfish disobedience. this attitude must be broken in ourselves and in our children.
.
so back to the sad reality of there being so many christian sects. rather than embrace grace as we should, christians have taken from God's word what they believe to be necessary to please Him. no forgiveness. just do or die. religion. again, God knows we'll fail just like you know your children will fail. and in a true loving relationship, God expects certain rules to be followed, but none are do-or-die... just like you with your children!
.
so step into a catholic, non-denominational, lutheran, baptist, methodist, etc. church service, and you will hear of a loving God who sent Himself through His son, Jesus Christ, to die a horrible death to eradicate your evilness and provide for you undeserved love in its place. you'll also hear "do this", "do that", "don't do this", and "don't do that". but don't believe the latter part, or you've forgotten the former. obey the latter out of loving obedience to the former. it's not religion. it's a loving relationship.
.
Jesus says, "come. follow me."
.
just follow.
.
with this word defined, i would guess a large percentage who call themselves 'christian' are not, in fact, outwardly following Him. while this isn't the point i'm trying to make, this does deserve some clarification. i'm not saying catholics, non-denominationals, lutherans, baptists, methodists, etc. are not christian. on the contrary. all christian sects follow Christ. they simply disagree on how to do it. the problem with christianity is that, unlike other world religions, our God came down to us. He provided grace, or undeserved love and pardon. other religions are just the opposite. they're religions rather than a relationship. it's entirely up to the individual to earn "heaven", to get to God. with grace, there's nothing to earn. just follow. relationships are hard because there are several ways to be successful. religion is easy. obey the list of rules. check 'em off!
.
now, you're still probably wondering what i meant when i said that the problem with christianity is that God came to us. as christians, grace is both our blessing and our curse. the blessing is obvious. we don't have to do anything to earn God's gifts. just follow. the curse is more subtle...
.
there are certain things Jesus tells us we must do. the first half of the curse of grace comes when we, as mere humans, decide that these imperatives are necessary to reach heaven, earn God's love, etc. we forget that Christ's commands are less "do or die" rules than they are the wishes of a loving father. as a father, i have certain expectations which also bring rules and regulations to my children. as a loving father, even if the boundaries of my law are broken, i will not kick my children out of the house and my presence. grace: undeserved love. they don't deserve something good from me. they broke my rules. but i love them anyway. put yourself in God's shoes (at least try). He expects perfection and kicks a child out when they prove they're not... yeah right! He's not like that. know the child will fail, but continue to love!
.
but we also use grace as an excuse to do what we want. this second half of the grace-curse is similar to when my children willfully break my commands. they know the rules, but choose not to follow. knowing that i will love them regardless doesn't excuse such wreckless behavior. there's no attempt to come under my direction, only selfish disobedience. this attitude must be broken in ourselves and in our children.
.
so back to the sad reality of there being so many christian sects. rather than embrace grace as we should, christians have taken from God's word what they believe to be necessary to please Him. no forgiveness. just do or die. religion. again, God knows we'll fail just like you know your children will fail. and in a true loving relationship, God expects certain rules to be followed, but none are do-or-die... just like you with your children!
.
so step into a catholic, non-denominational, lutheran, baptist, methodist, etc. church service, and you will hear of a loving God who sent Himself through His son, Jesus Christ, to die a horrible death to eradicate your evilness and provide for you undeserved love in its place. you'll also hear "do this", "do that", "don't do this", and "don't do that". but don't believe the latter part, or you've forgotten the former. obey the latter out of loving obedience to the former. it's not religion. it's a loving relationship.
.
Jesus says, "come. follow me."
.
just follow.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
shoveling snow and a 4x4
wouldn't it be funny if hotels hired small children to provide wake-up calls? yeah right... hilarious! my small children woke me up at 7:30 today, which isn't bad considering i'm usually up at 5:30 during the week. regardless, it's not all that funny.
.
i basically skipped breakfast, eating a banana as i brewed a couple cups of decaf. while it brewed, i did the dishes from the night before. coffee done before the dishes were, i moved on to sweeping the kitchen floor. amidst the coffee pot's continual clicking to tell me it was done, i then dried and put the wet dishes away.
.
sarah was busy at the same time, and i couldn't peel her away from the laundry to sit and have a cup of coffee with me just to relax. she then had a few phone calls to take, so i sat at the dining room table alone and wrote out some thoughts (see tomorrow's blog).
.
after lunch, which consisted of some shredded cheese and a slice of cold homemade pizza, i took the girls out to play in our 6 inches of snow while i shoveled out the driveway. sonja tried to help, but that 3-pronged, 6-inch kid's rake wasn't going to do the job. 2.5 hours later... i was done.
.
sarah's phone calls earlier in the day were in regards to a friend of ours going through a really rough time. without hitting the details, i'll just let you know she needed some groceries. well, with God's awesome snow storm last night and all day today, the roads were pretty bad. but i was able to round up another friend with 4-wheel drive, and we yee-hawed our way the grocery stores. despite the slippery roads, witnessing several spin outs and almost being sandwiched by a wayward semi, we arrived home safely after delivering our God-sent care package (God-sent because He's given us so much that we've been able to give back to someone else who needs His provisions too).
.
i crashed. 5:30, dinner time, i was beat. my legs and back ache like there may be no tomorrow. guess i'm pretty out of shape for all that work and running around all day. but it was worth it, and i enjoyed every minute of it really... except the part where i accidentally threw snow in alex's face... oops!
.
after getting the girls in bed, sarah encouraged me while preparing her sunday school lesson for tomorrow. reading out loud, she told the story of the ant and the slug. how the ant is an awesome worker and the slug... well... isn't. i was an ant today.
.
again, all-in-all, it was a good day. if it weren't for the grocery run later in the afternoon, my blog would have been titled: "what i did today...". the entire story would have read: "shoveled snow". despite doing other things, that job basically defines my day... and my aching body.
.
whew! i'm spent!
.
i basically skipped breakfast, eating a banana as i brewed a couple cups of decaf. while it brewed, i did the dishes from the night before. coffee done before the dishes were, i moved on to sweeping the kitchen floor. amidst the coffee pot's continual clicking to tell me it was done, i then dried and put the wet dishes away.
.
sarah was busy at the same time, and i couldn't peel her away from the laundry to sit and have a cup of coffee with me just to relax. she then had a few phone calls to take, so i sat at the dining room table alone and wrote out some thoughts (see tomorrow's blog).
.
after lunch, which consisted of some shredded cheese and a slice of cold homemade pizza, i took the girls out to play in our 6 inches of snow while i shoveled out the driveway. sonja tried to help, but that 3-pronged, 6-inch kid's rake wasn't going to do the job. 2.5 hours later... i was done.
.
sarah's phone calls earlier in the day were in regards to a friend of ours going through a really rough time. without hitting the details, i'll just let you know she needed some groceries. well, with God's awesome snow storm last night and all day today, the roads were pretty bad. but i was able to round up another friend with 4-wheel drive, and we yee-hawed our way the grocery stores. despite the slippery roads, witnessing several spin outs and almost being sandwiched by a wayward semi, we arrived home safely after delivering our God-sent care package (God-sent because He's given us so much that we've been able to give back to someone else who needs His provisions too).
.
i crashed. 5:30, dinner time, i was beat. my legs and back ache like there may be no tomorrow. guess i'm pretty out of shape for all that work and running around all day. but it was worth it, and i enjoyed every minute of it really... except the part where i accidentally threw snow in alex's face... oops!
.
after getting the girls in bed, sarah encouraged me while preparing her sunday school lesson for tomorrow. reading out loud, she told the story of the ant and the slug. how the ant is an awesome worker and the slug... well... isn't. i was an ant today.
.
again, all-in-all, it was a good day. if it weren't for the grocery run later in the afternoon, my blog would have been titled: "what i did today...". the entire story would have read: "shoveled snow". despite doing other things, that job basically defines my day... and my aching body.
.
whew! i'm spent!
Thursday, January 08, 2009
got Jesus?
i learned something new about myself today, a bit of insight into why i am the way i am. then i realized how stupid i am.
.
there are several people i know whom i would love to spend more time with. i watch their interaction with everyone around, infectious with their life and beliefs. they are the spiritual elite, living a God-centered life of prayer, devotion, servitude, and humility. others seem to suck up their time like a bothersome fan club, while i lurk in the shadows admiring, hoping, waiting for my chance with the hero. but it never comes. to me, i picture the following crowd to be the annoying autograph seekers. in reality, i see them as friends of this person, which is what keeps me from ever really approaching a relationship with their center of attention. selfishly, i wish a God-hero would look my direction, taking me under his wing to learn, grow, and serve as He would want us to.
.
it doesn't help to know that they know my name and face...
.
i look at Jesus the same way i do these individuals. these spiritual elite are His 'fan club' seeking the eternal autograph of their Maker. He knows my name. He knows my face. and i know Him. but i only feel that i'm grabbing a bit of bible here, some prayer there, and lurking in the shadows around His throne, watching the faithful righteous live His will and utilize His time.
.
God isn't one of these people. that's where i'm stupid. He was man, but He was so much more too. these people are simply human. nothing more. no matter how many people surround Jesus, He can handle them all. all the attention, the needs, the adoration, the questions. everything. even through the throngs of humanity, He sees me. He knows my face. with the most numerous fan club in all of eternity, Jesus still has time for me and wants to be my Lord and friend.
.
with people, i crave the love and attention they can only give a select few, of which i am rarely, if ever, included. with Jesus, i need to stop thinking He's one of these people. while they're good role models, worth spending as much time with as possible, i can't look at Him the same. i don't need anything to bring me to Him. i'm there.
.
you can have all this world. but give me Jesus.
.
there are several people i know whom i would love to spend more time with. i watch their interaction with everyone around, infectious with their life and beliefs. they are the spiritual elite, living a God-centered life of prayer, devotion, servitude, and humility. others seem to suck up their time like a bothersome fan club, while i lurk in the shadows admiring, hoping, waiting for my chance with the hero. but it never comes. to me, i picture the following crowd to be the annoying autograph seekers. in reality, i see them as friends of this person, which is what keeps me from ever really approaching a relationship with their center of attention. selfishly, i wish a God-hero would look my direction, taking me under his wing to learn, grow, and serve as He would want us to.
.
it doesn't help to know that they know my name and face...
.
i look at Jesus the same way i do these individuals. these spiritual elite are His 'fan club' seeking the eternal autograph of their Maker. He knows my name. He knows my face. and i know Him. but i only feel that i'm grabbing a bit of bible here, some prayer there, and lurking in the shadows around His throne, watching the faithful righteous live His will and utilize His time.
.
God isn't one of these people. that's where i'm stupid. He was man, but He was so much more too. these people are simply human. nothing more. no matter how many people surround Jesus, He can handle them all. all the attention, the needs, the adoration, the questions. everything. even through the throngs of humanity, He sees me. He knows my face. with the most numerous fan club in all of eternity, Jesus still has time for me and wants to be my Lord and friend.
.
with people, i crave the love and attention they can only give a select few, of which i am rarely, if ever, included. with Jesus, i need to stop thinking He's one of these people. while they're good role models, worth spending as much time with as possible, i can't look at Him the same. i don't need anything to bring me to Him. i'm there.
.
you can have all this world. but give me Jesus.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
gotcha day
i know the title of today's blog sounds like it's about 4 months early. well, this is no april fool's...
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today marks 12 months since sarah and i became parents for the first time. one year as daddy and mommy, and we already have 5-year olds! we celebrated by going to chuck e. cheese for dinner... how overstimulating (to the adults).
.
2008 was a huge year for us no doubt, filled with unknowns, adventure, stress, brokenness... but growth in so many positive areas which tipped the scales beyond bad to joy. we've grown close as a family, and continue to do so. we've learned to rely on God more. we've learned patience, love, grace. despite the depths crossed these past 12 months, we have plenty of room to grow as a family, which is good. good because we haven't arrived. while it would be great to be at the top, it's encouraging and exciting to think there is so much more we still get to learn and explore together. it can be scary looking at 'today' and wondering what the future may hold, but with God by our side, we're sitting on the edge of our seats with child-like anticipation.
.
BUT... my personal flaws have been placed on a pedestal under a spotlight for the past year. i've outgrown some immaturities, and have improved others. but as discussed above in regards to our family unit as a whole, i know how far i need to go yet also as an individual. as of january 5th, 2008, i wasn't sure i was a good husband... BAM!!!... now i'm a father of two too.
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today... 12 months to the day. today i'm seeing year 2 in a totally different light with all new challenges i never expected last january 6th. this year, 2009, should be exciting in its own right, and i'm looking forward to the personal growth via a spiritual whoopin'. but what challenges i already see down the 2009 path are already daunting too. don't worry about spreading them out over the next year, Lord... you'll manage for us.
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"consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." - happy new year... again.
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p.s. - sarah just handed me a paper sonja wrote at school, no doubt with the help of a teacher as the handwriting is impecable. it says (parenthesis mine): "mom and dad like acada (should actually be 'acadia', our cat). sonja and alex like dogs." mom-n-dad - 1; sonja-n-alex - 0
.
today marks 12 months since sarah and i became parents for the first time. one year as daddy and mommy, and we already have 5-year olds! we celebrated by going to chuck e. cheese for dinner... how overstimulating (to the adults).
.
2008 was a huge year for us no doubt, filled with unknowns, adventure, stress, brokenness... but growth in so many positive areas which tipped the scales beyond bad to joy. we've grown close as a family, and continue to do so. we've learned to rely on God more. we've learned patience, love, grace. despite the depths crossed these past 12 months, we have plenty of room to grow as a family, which is good. good because we haven't arrived. while it would be great to be at the top, it's encouraging and exciting to think there is so much more we still get to learn and explore together. it can be scary looking at 'today' and wondering what the future may hold, but with God by our side, we're sitting on the edge of our seats with child-like anticipation.
.
BUT... my personal flaws have been placed on a pedestal under a spotlight for the past year. i've outgrown some immaturities, and have improved others. but as discussed above in regards to our family unit as a whole, i know how far i need to go yet also as an individual. as of january 5th, 2008, i wasn't sure i was a good husband... BAM!!!... now i'm a father of two too.
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today... 12 months to the day. today i'm seeing year 2 in a totally different light with all new challenges i never expected last january 6th. this year, 2009, should be exciting in its own right, and i'm looking forward to the personal growth via a spiritual whoopin'. but what challenges i already see down the 2009 path are already daunting too. don't worry about spreading them out over the next year, Lord... you'll manage for us.
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"consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds..." - happy new year... again.
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p.s. - sarah just handed me a paper sonja wrote at school, no doubt with the help of a teacher as the handwriting is impecable. it says (parenthesis mine): "mom and dad like acada (should actually be 'acadia', our cat). sonja and alex like dogs." mom-n-dad - 1; sonja-n-alex - 0
Saturday, January 03, 2009
an adventure in God's country
sarah, the girls, and i decided to step out on a grand adventure today. in sub-30-degree weather, we trekked through snow and more snow on a hunt for something special in God's creation.
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first, we came to a pond with a tiny stonehenge-like sculpture...
.
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there wasn't much to see there, but we did stop to take a few pictures. alex also took the opportunity to look through her borrowed goggles (binoculars) for anything worth spotting.
.
on our way to the pine tree woods (a/k/a "the deep, dark forest"), we were able identify deer tracks, dog tracks, possibly mouse or chipmunk tracks, and what sarah even thought could be crow tracks. sonja was even able to identify tracks of the elusive man.
.
we then arrived in the spooky forest, which looked beautiful in both color and in black-and-white...
.
.
.
sonja decided to take a look around. despite the snow-caked binocliers, she was able to spot a goofy daddy-bird who wouldn't stop taking pictures...
.
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upon a further sweep of the area, she spotted some funny looking tracks in the snow. they were HUGE...
.
.
pointing in the direction she believed the large creature to have ventured, we headed off that way, only to run into an abominable snowman...
.
.
after running screaming from the woods (just kidding), the rest of the hike was just a nice walk through the park. we were able stop and make a few friends on the way, and daddy was able to snap a few more pictures before heading home...
.
.
.
.
.
.
first, we came to a pond with a tiny stonehenge-like sculpture...
.
.
there wasn't much to see there, but we did stop to take a few pictures. alex also took the opportunity to look through her borrowed goggles (binoculars) for anything worth spotting.
.
on our way to the pine tree woods (a/k/a "the deep, dark forest"), we were able identify deer tracks, dog tracks, possibly mouse or chipmunk tracks, and what sarah even thought could be crow tracks. sonja was even able to identify tracks of the elusive man.
.
we then arrived in the spooky forest, which looked beautiful in both color and in black-and-white...
.
.
.
sonja decided to take a look around. despite the snow-caked binocliers, she was able to spot a goofy daddy-bird who wouldn't stop taking pictures...
.
.
upon a further sweep of the area, she spotted some funny looking tracks in the snow. they were HUGE...
.
.
pointing in the direction she believed the large creature to have ventured, we headed off that way, only to run into an abominable snowman...
.
.
after running screaming from the woods (just kidding), the rest of the hike was just a nice walk through the park. we were able stop and make a few friends on the way, and daddy was able to snap a few more pictures before heading home...
.
.
.
.mommy took this one though...
.
.
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resolving no longer to linger
a new year. a new beginning.
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i haven't heard a lot of people talking about new year's resolutions this year. maybe it's because people have stopped making them. more than likely, everyone's probably afraid of vocalizing them, leading to accountability of said resolution. i can't imagine many resolutions are kept anyway... but maybe.
.
so as a Christ follower, i don't even understand the need for a new year's resolution. after all, shouldn't we be changing daily, continually dying to ourselves? every day... and arguably every moment... is an opportunity to press onward. why wait until january?
.
since i missed january 1st, i am resolving today, january 3rd, to change, to stop hanging out where i am. afterall, why should i wait until next january? i will now aim to be who i seem to think everyone else needs to be. and since i'm pretty idealistic and perfectionistic, that's a pretty lofty goal.
.
pray for me.
.
i haven't heard a lot of people talking about new year's resolutions this year. maybe it's because people have stopped making them. more than likely, everyone's probably afraid of vocalizing them, leading to accountability of said resolution. i can't imagine many resolutions are kept anyway... but maybe.
.
so as a Christ follower, i don't even understand the need for a new year's resolution. after all, shouldn't we be changing daily, continually dying to ourselves? every day... and arguably every moment... is an opportunity to press onward. why wait until january?
.
since i missed january 1st, i am resolving today, january 3rd, to change, to stop hanging out where i am. afterall, why should i wait until next january? i will now aim to be who i seem to think everyone else needs to be. and since i'm pretty idealistic and perfectionistic, that's a pretty lofty goal.
.
pray for me.
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