SSSSnake!

I found this awesome Idea on the internet.... what a great way to use an old necktie!
If you have any of those unwanted neckties laying around the house, or think the man of the home doesn't need to be wearing that particular one anymore because it's out of style.... then I have the project for you!
Just take the tie and begin stuffing it between the back lining and silk front. Stuff all the way down and sew or repair stitching on the seam if needed. Add eyes and a tongue and voila! You have a snake that your little buddy will absolutely, hands down... LOVE!

This one is a diamond back.... ha ha
Happy Snake crafting :)

My Favorite Things

I was tagged by a friend to list 7 of my favorite things and thought that this would be a good chance to create an uprising against this imperialistic blog. I hope my friend will enjoy being a part of this cessation of male only dialogue from previous posts! :) We need some womanly perspective again... don't you think?

"These are a few of my favorite things"....

1) Crafting, being able to create something new and functional!

2) Playing the piano for hours on end in the dark

3) Baking! I love baking and then sitting to enjoy the result

4) Teaching my children with projects and/or playing dress up with them. Creating mustaches and all for the pirates

5) Cleaning and keeping my home warm and cozy. I love walking into our space and feeling relaxed

6) Talking to my husband about random stuff as we lay in bed at night and loving the connection with my dearest friend.

7) Cup of fruit tea in the morning and afternoon.

~mollie

Imperialism and Our Blog

We've been studying the effects of European imperialism on Africa and Asia in my World History class (10th graders). Imperialism is basically when one group extends their influence to foreign lands through either direct or indirect means. That said, it seems as though I have conquered our blog. I hope my influence doesn't have quite as many negative consequences as European imperialism did.

So what exactly is God's? Mark 12:13-17

Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or shouldn't we?" But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. "Why are you trying to trap me?" he asked. "Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."They brought the coin, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. Then Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's." And they were amazed.

I'm teaching through Mark in my 9th grade Bible class, and we came to this passage recently. Now I'm not sure about you, but I have almost always heard this passage dealt with in terms of what to do with your money. Jesus is giving the thumbs up to secular political authority. It has the right to tax and it's dishonorable to fail to obey that level of authority. That part of the passage is pretty clear. It's the second part of Jesus' statement that I'm much more interested in.

I have heard people preach on this and almost all of them connect this with the idea of paying taxes to the government and giving to the Lord. Now don't get me wrong here, because I think you can draw that application from the passage. But, I think there might be more here.

The passage reveals to us that the recipients of Jesus' words were the Herodians and the Pharisees (groups I discussed in a previous post). They're trying to get Jesus to say something that would anger his Jewish followers (if He tells them to pay Caesar) or cause him to commit treason (if He denies that taxes should be payed).

He uses an illustration for them to make a point that they clearly miss and I think we often do as well. He asks them in whose image the coin is made? The answer was Caesar and so what was made in his image was due him. The question is what is "due God," or what "is God's"? For the answer, I think we have to ask the same question that Jesus asked: What is made in God's image?

We are. Jesus was exhorting the Herodians and the Pharisees to pay Caesar what was his, but also to give to God what was His. Jesus was encouraging each group to turn from how they had each strayed from God through either religion or worldliness. The Apostle Paul elaborates on what this looks like in Romans 12:1-2

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God is the one who made us and ,therefore, we should offer ourselves up to Him. The cool thing is that when we turn over control of our lives to our Heavenly Father, we actually experience life in a better way. He loves us and knows what is best for us. How cool that we can turn things over to Him and abide, rest, dwell, and trust in Him.

May we give to God what is His.

Ourselves.

Last Sunday's Sermon

Here's a link to the audio file of Thomas' sermon from last week if anyone is interested. The sound didn't record for the first minute or two, so be patient. The text is from Ephesians, even though he says it's Philippians at the beginning :-)

EPHESIANS 5:1-21

Last Sunday

I preached in a church. On a Sunday. Like a real church. In a morning service. It was big time.

Around Christmas time, my Pastor here in Vienna came to hear me speak. He and I got together a few weeks later to discuss the possibility of me speaking in church, but we kind of shelved the idea because of all that I am involved with at VCS. Then, a few weeks ago, he got really sick. The Lord was gracious to spare his life but his recovery would be a long process and would limit his time in the pulpit. He asked me if I would join the preaching team and teach some while he got back to full strength.

We are studying Ephesians right now and I was asked to teach on 5:1-21. Great. I've never preached in church before and I get to talk about imitating God (v.1), avoiding sexual immorality and greed (v.3-5), and discussing what it means to be filled with the Spirit (v.18).

I loved it.

And, because of how God usually works, I spent all week applying these verses in my own life and in dealing with situations with students and teachers at the school. Sunday went really well and multiple people encouraged me to speak again when I have the opportunity. That said, I would have to say that this has probably been the most difficult week I have ever faced in ministry because of some things going on with students.

Ephesians 5:8-14 have been the most applicable for me through all of it though. The passage begins a series of contrasts that Paul makes: Darkness-Light; Folly-Wisdom; Drunkenness-the filling of the Spirit. I have come back over and over to the contrast between darkness and light.

When we are believers who are walking in fellowship with God and are being continually filled with the Spirit, we evidence the fruit of light (v.9). This is the natural byproduct of walking in the Spirit because Jesus tells us that He is the light that has come into the world. If He is in us, and we are allowing Him to use us, His light shines through us. That's why He told the disciples they were the light of the world, it wasn't them, but Him in them. The light of Christ that is in us exposes the deeds of darkness both in our own lives and in the lives of the people we are around. And when this happens, not everyone likes it, especially people who love the darkness.

So, be continually filled by the Holy Spirit and walk in the light. Some people will be repulsed by you because they are repulsed by Jesus, and others will be drawn to you because they are drawn to Jesus. That's just kind of how it works.

Dealing With Suffering

I thought I would share some audio with you that deals with the issue of suffering in the life of a believer. The text he uses is from 1 Peter. It's around 45 mins or so but is very powerful because everything is pointed back to Jesus and His cross.

I AM SECOND

This is a really cool site that a friend of mine just sent me. What a great way to describe what it means to follow Christ: "I AM SECOND"

I very much enjoyed listening to several of these powerful testimonies and I hope you guys will as well.

I AM SECOND

VCS Soccer Highlights

Here are some belated highlights from the soccer season. They were compiled by our goalkeeper, hence several of his saves making appearances.

"Mommy, the pancakes taste like garlic."

Mmmmm....they look good don't they?That's assuming that this hasn't made its way into the mix. Now don't get me wrong, Garlic is one of the great joys of my life...just not for breakfast. As a mature and loving father and husband, I'm going to have to own this little mishap.

Mollie made breakfast this morning and, no sooner had she set him up to eat, Thad declared that the pancakes tasted like garlic. We laughed because (A) How many 3 year olds can identify the taste of garlic? & (B) Assuming he was right, how in the world did it happen?

Well, last night when I got home I found a very tired wife who desperately needed a break. I decided that I'd throw together a pasta dish with a side of garlic bread (made with fresh garlic butter). A good idea, assuming you don't use the spoon you mixed the garlic butter with to get more butter from the dish. Apparently that makes all of the butter taste like garlic. Who knew?

So it was the butter, not the pancakes. Hurray for a unique breakfast...but I think I'll keep garlic and pancakes separate from now on.

Just because you can, doesn't mean that you should...

"No, here's looking at you two...idiots."

I realize I'm close to two years behind on this post, so bare with me. So Mollie and I watched Indiana Jones IV the other night, hence my love for the guys in the above picture.

Seriously, what a wretched movie. As a fan of the Indiana Jones films, I felt that this was basically a cinematic atrocity. I had been previously informed that the film would bring about this kind of reaction, but I guess I just had to see it for myself.

*SPOILER ALERT* This movie sucks.

There, I spoiled it for you. The basic idea is that Aliens did something with the Mayans or some other civilization...anyway, it's not important because all this movie did was completely ruin the world of Indiana Jones. Every one of the other films connected reality with something transcendent or bigger than our everyday experience. The first and third films even alluded to the existence of the God of the Bible, which was cool. Even the Hindu thing in the second film was interesting. And then, Lucas and Spielberg went and undid all of that by connecting everything in the ancient world with freaking aliens. Aliens? Seriously? Dang it George, couldn't you just keep Star Wars and Indiana Jones separate? No, you couldn't, and now I dislike you and your films more than ever. And Steven, seriously? How could you let him talk you into this? Every movie you make is good. How could you?

Getting to the point.

One of my other big problems with the film was that it was full of computer generated scenes (just like the new Star Wars films). I'm glad that we have the technology that allows for those things, it really adds to some films (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Spiderman etc.). But, when a series of films has an established way of doing things, why change it? Just because you can do something, doesn't always mean that you should.

Paul dealt with this idea in 1 Corinthians saying: "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."

And this is what's hard about the Christian Life.

We are technically free to do anything or engage in any behavior that isn't expressly condemned in scripture as sin. This creates a lot of grey areas in life, and most people really like black and white. In fact, we tend to go to one of two extremes to avoid the grey and Jesus warned His disciples about both:

"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." --Mark 8:15

He's warning them about two types of sin: Religion & Worldliness

The Pharisees were religious zealots who loved rules and regulations. They had stopped serving God and were really committing idolatry by "worshipping" a god they had fashioned according to their own rules and desires. Religion creates self-righteousness and pride, two things the true God of the Bible doesn't like.

The yeast of Herod referred to the followers of Herod (Herodians) who had forsaken their connection to the scriptures and embraced the ideas and practice of the Greeks and Romans. They no longer saw any need to worship the one true God and worshipped foreign gods, all the while indulging their own sensual desires.

Interestingly enough, it was only the person of Jesus and His message that brought these two groups together. In the first part of the Gospel of Mark, these two diametrically opposed groups come together to find a way to kill Jesus. Heathens and the self-righteous folks working together, isn't that sweet? And all of this happens because people who love religion and people who love the world can really only agree on one thing: They HATE Jesus and they HATE Grace.

And this is the struggle for us who look to follow Jesus: That we would really follow Him and live in Grace, avoiding both religion and worldliness. It's easier said than done and only comes out of a growing relationship with Him. The exercise of biblical discernment in the grey areas of life comes only when we are being fed by the Word and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).

So let us examine ourselves and our conduct. Let us live discerningly and make choices that reflect our Saviour and who He is in our lives. And remember, learn from Lucas and Spielberg and know that just because you can, doesn't mean that you should.

Spring Rolls...yum

So we attempted to make some spring rolls and the whole experience was quite unique. You have to work so fast with the the rice paper and rolling them. We were laughing as we were going and thought this would be a fun party idea.

Anyways... make them at your own risk :)

Relaxed

Last night I had two girls over to cook dinner and have a little bible study time. It was fun and eventful.... namely, while we were talking, the boys flooded the bathroom!! But all is well :)

I love just sitting with them and talking about anything. Right now we're slowly going through the book of Philippians. They also love our boys and enjoy playing with them. As we were sitting there chatting, one of them mentioned it was time to go. The other girl said she was so relaxed and enjoying sitting here with Ian, who was cuddled up in her lap. We love it when our kids can minister to others and we never doubt or belittle their ministry. Before this girl left she said, "Your kids make me want to be a mom." :) Well, nothing makes a mother more happy than to know that her kids instill that kind of feeling in another. That means they are half way decent :)

More than that, it reminded me how important it is to have young people in your home. They need to see how a family can function with the ups and downs of life. Children can be a huge witness for Christ. Never doubt your kids ability to make the truth simple and attractive to others.

I hope she is a mom someday and reaps the blessings that come from little hands and feet.

Blogs

I both love and hate the Internet...but most of the time I love it.

Above all else, I really enjoy reading blogs. Specifically, blogs written by people from different theological backgrounds who live in different areas of the country/world. I can think of no better way to keep up with what's going on in the world of Christendom than by reading blogs. I have also really enjoyed being able to download audio and video from various sites for use in class or in teaching prep. So I offer you, my friends, two of the main blogs I read. May they challenge and encourage you as they have me.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/jesuscreed/

This blog is done by a guy named Scott McKnight who is on the more liberal side of the emergent movement. He is a professor of Bible at a school in Chicago and also serves as a pastor. He frequently posts excerpts from books or articles that challenge the fundamentalist assumptions of most Christians. While I disagree with much of what Mr. McKnight believes theologically, I do respect his attempts to reach out to unbelievers. I have found his site to almost always be an interesting read.

http://theresurgence.com/

The Resurgence is a blog that is run by several young Pastors, most of whom are from the Pacific Northwest. It is far more theologically conservative than JesusCreed, but a bit more culturally liberal. It has tons of resources dealing with different topics, some a bit more controversial than others. I find it to be a refreshing read because it tends to focus on the missional aspect of the Christian Life born out of a love for the Word of God.

Anyways, here's a window into my world. Feel free to explore it and discuss it with me (or yell at me) over email if you want.

Our Schizophrenic Blog

Do you guys feel like you're reading two different blogs all wrapped into one? I was just going through and reading our old posts and laughing at how different my posts are from those of my wife. I actually feel like my ramblings interrupt the nice little family pics and cooking things she does. That said, I'm not going anywhere. There has to be some sort of outlet for all the junk floating around in my head. By the way, I am obviously the crazy part to the right of the picture...it even kind of looks a bit like me.

mmm.....Fresh Rosemary...

I thought you might need a fresh picture for today :)

Twist on a Favorite

We love burgers!! Any kind and shape or form :) The other day, Thomas mentioned putting chili and coleslaw on the burger like he'd had in a restaurant a long time ago. Voila! Here is the finished product..


The boys enjoyed it and even though it's very messy, I promise you'll enjoy it too. Just don't put too much chili on the burger like I did or it is definitely messy to eat :)

Here's another view without to much glare from the coleslaw...

By the way, we're all feeling better. And no, this was not a meal we had after we had been sick. This was made before all that chaos. It's only soup and bread for right now until our tummies are strong again.

Wir sind krank.

We're sick. All of us.

The thing that really sucks about all of this is that my buddy Nordogg is here studying architecture and I can't hang out with him because when I'm not getting sick myself I am either:

(A) taking care of my wife who is sick
(B) getting juice for little dudes who are getting better
(C) changing a DVD for my wife or one of the boys
(D) just sitting around feeling miserable

So please be in prayer for us. At least it's the weekend, but we would actually like to see our friend and rest a bit in preparation for another big week at VCS.

Vintage Valentines

http://vintageholidaycrafts.com/free-vintage-kids-valentine-cards/

Go to this site to see some vintage valentine cards. They are free to download and make adorable cards for your dear loved ones.

I know some of you men out there are just looking for a site like this one :)..... right?

Valentine Banner

The boys and I cut tons of hearts out and strung on this red string. It made for a nice banner for Valentine's.

He is remembering family and thinking how much we love them!

I wish I had more pics of his older brother.. but he doesn't seem to want to act out for the camera anymore :)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

Drive-by Commenting

I love the internet. Where else can you have the audacity to comment on something someone else has created without having any connection/friendship/relationship/aquaintance with them. And this is the world of the drive-by commenter. Perhaps some of you have experienced this on your blogs. I know I have.

You have to love these people because the "real" world of people and ideas is probably a bit difficult for them. As a result, they do a google search for a topic they have something to say about, and then they post their "thoughts" on a random person's blog, making them feel all big and proud of themselves. Seriously, go out and meet some people and then, once you've established a relationship with them, they may want to discuss your ideas with you. Until then, keep your comments and ideas for your own blog.

Rant over. Hurray for blogging.

(P.S. This isn't directed at any of you guys who are our friends. We love your comments!)

Fresh Bread!

we just received a wheat grinder from one of our dear friends here in Vienna. I'm so excited!! I've been grinding kernels like crazy and yesterday we baked some bread with our freshly ground wheat flour.

Thad was my helper and enjoyed learning about the seeds that grow the wheat, the "big tractor like Frank in the movie Cars" comes and cuts it down, it's taken to the farm to be separated and then we get the bag of kernels to grind into flour.

Here is a picuture of the whole grinder itself. It is wonderful to have! Thanks to my dear friend :)

If you've never done this before... it's so worth it to get a grinder and buy your wheat kernels in huge bags at a whole foods or organic store. The bread is better and you are getting fresh ingredients with no preservatives. This equals happy tummies and happy children.

Pastor's Conference Audio

This is the audio from a leadership course Mark Driscoll did with a group of young pastors. I really appreciate his focus on the expository teaching and preaching of the word as well as his simple encouragement to continually speak about Jesus. This may be a bit long for some of you but if you are interested in advice about sermon prep or teaching I would highly recommend listening to all of this.

Seminary: Course #1 Prolegomena

"It seems that you've been living two lives. In one life, you're Thomas Gardner , a Chaplain and History teacher at a successful international Christian school. You have a social security number, pay your taxes, and you... help your wife carry out...the garbage. The other life is lived in books and in front of a computer, where you are known as a "seminary student" and spend all your spare time writing...papers. One of these lives has a future, and one of them does not."

Well Agent Smith, your words hold some degree of truth. But, I'm pretty sure the whole seminary thing does play a part in making me the person that I want to be in the future so I'm going to have to impolitely disagree and ask for my phone call.

Yes, Mollie and I have been watching the Matrix. And yes, I am really busy with seminary. So I thought, "Surely, I can come up with a blog post that combines the two."My first class is Prolegomena, which is a big, fancy seminary term that means "first word" or starting assumptions, in this case, of theology. I thought I would share a bit about my courses and what I'm learning so I can share the theological love.

In beginning the study of theology, it is vital to establish the presuppositions upon which you are going to build your system, in this case, a truly biblical theology. There are essentially four pillars of a biblical theology (and some would disagree with one or more of these, but I think they are pretty solid).

PILLAR #1 - The Biblical God Exists
Duh, right? Sadly, there are lots of "theologians" who don't start there. This is THE critical starting point for growing in a knowledge of God from scripture. As Mark Driscoll says, "If you don't know Jesus, you don't know jack about the Bible." This study looks at different arguments for the existence of the God of the Bible using both philosophical and biblical arguments.

PILLAR # 2 - God Has Authoritatively Revealed Himself to Man
This pillar looks at the ways that God has revealed Himself through both general and special ways. Primary focus is given to the Bible as God's authoritative self-revelation and a study of things like inspiration, canonicity, and transmission.

PILLAR # 3 - Man's Ability to Comprehend God's Revelation
This pillar examines ideas such as the origin and purpose of language (that God gave it for the purpose of communication with Him and each other), the effects of sin on our relationships (both with God and each other), and the works of God (Father, Son, & Holy Spirit) in overcoming sin and reaching out to man.

PILLAR #4 - Developing a Consistant Hermeneutic
The final pillar is determining how we should read and interpret the Bible. Various hermeneutic methods are examined and critiqued. The importance of the literal historical-grammatical method is examined and critiqued, but found to be the method that most consistently submits to God as the authority in the interpretive process. This method is then applied to scriptural study and reveals 5 major results:
1. Submission to the authority of scripture
2. Recognition of cumulative revelation (God has revealed Himself progressively over time)
3. Awareness of doxological centrality (God's glory is the unifying theme of scripture)
4. A normative dispensational conclusion
5. A clear distinction between Israel and the church

I should be completely finished with the class within the week and that's exciting. My next three classes have arrived but I'll be completing them one at a time over the next few months. The main thing I've enjoyed about this so far is how what I'm learning is so applicable to what I'm teaching in Chapel and in my Bible classes. Pray that God will continue to use this time to grow me closer to Him and that I would come to love Him, and not theology, more and more.

lazy saturday

Sometimes Saturdays call for cookies....and little boys for makin' and eatin' them. :)

yes, Thad gets dressed sometimes...and that's Ian's cooking hat :)

getting crafty

I made aprons! This summer while cleaning out my Mimi's sewing room, I found a vintage apron pattern and immediately wanted to make one. After picking out the designs from all the old vintage ribbon, ric rac and fabric lying around, I made these a couple of months later. They are so fun and I love wearing them while I cook! I had a friend over the other evening and she loved the fun look. You know, that's who I am. I love old things like that... I love vintage items and even hope to make a lot of my own clothes once we return to the states. Mainly because there is a lot of fabric waiting around for me at my mom's house from my Mimi's old sewing room. If you didn't know about my obsession with old and antique things, now you do! I'm a sucker for scraps that others would throw away. Everything can be used and recycled to make something more useful.

I made some for my sisters too :)

"May your hats fly as high as your dreams" - Michael Scott

So I gave my first graduation address today. Sort of. I had the priviledge of speaking today in a Chapel service dedicated to one of our seniors who was graduating early. I've never done one of these things before so I was pretty nervous. I ended up speaking about the future and how students tend to deal with/think about it. I think that most students fall into one of two categories which I feel I have named appropriately:

The Mollie
This is the ideal student for teachers. This student is focused on doing their best and thinks a lot about the future. They have their plans laid out and are seeking to do their best to accomplish their goals. The problem with this student is that they can sometimes become too foucsed on the future. Some kids have their life so planned out and are so focused on getting where they need to go that they miss being effective in the present.
(My wife was more of the former description than the latter, I simply chose to use her as an example to the kids because several of them are just like she was in high school).
The Thomas
This student is fine to have in class. They don't necessarily disrupt things, but they are known for being a bit talkative. This student lives for the here and now. "Why worry about tomorrow, it will take care of itself," is their motto. The problem with this student is that they can be so focused on today that they make no plans for tomorrow. They love people and relating to them, but they don't always think about the long term consequences of their choices.

Both of these types of personalities have their own strengths and weaknesses. Thankfully, Jesus loves both of them and gives some great advice that helps to put the present and the future in their proper perspectives. A Pharisee once asked Jesus what the greatest commandment was. His answer is awesome becuase it is present tense, with future implication:

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

Loving God with our heart refers to an emotional love that arises naturally from a growing relationship with Him. Loving God with our soul refers to our volition or choices that we make. Loving Him with our mind involves our intellectual nature. Even what we study in the academic world is important to Jesus. So the basic summary is that we are to love God with the totality of who we are. This is the starting point of being useful to God: Loving Him with every part of ourselves. It's only when that is the starting point that we are able to accomplish the second part of the commmandment, to love our neighbor as ourself.

There is a huge focus today on helping others. Scripture is clear that this is a noble and good thing, but Jesus qualifies the commandment to do this by stating that it flows from a heart that is focused on God.

• When we love God with our heart, we love the things He loves and, conversely, hate the things that He hates.

• When we love God with all our soul, we choose to act on those things by reaching out to those in need in the world around us. We also stand with God against those things He hates and work to prevent them from occurring or end them if they are already present.

• When we love God with all our mind, we understand that all of what we learn academically can be of use to God. The things that we choose to study will play a major role in making us into the people we ultimately become. And who we become, is of great importance in terms of how God can use us in this world.

For students, loving God with all they are in the present affects the choices they make now that play a massive role in who they become. The challenge for all of us is to love God this way so that we are useful to Him in our local and global communities. This is the heart of Jesus' message and the only way that we can keep the present and the future in their proper perspectives.

Some Christmas photos

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas time and a great start to a new year!

Where have the ornaments gone??

So this is the culprit! I knew somebody was taking the ornaments....

But how can I punish this face :) he starting grinning when I found him up there. They know they are in the wrong... and they are hoping their charming little toddler look will help them out.

Thad decided he would help me out, but I had to explain that a Ninja sword fight was not going to help the situation.
No children were harmed in the making of this picture

Now, if I could just find the ornaments.....

Merry Christmas!!!

it's just too cute a picture...

Well, we made gingerbread houses. Not your traditional style... but we had fun regardless of the interesting creations. When all was said and done, there were more sprinkles on Thad's plate than on his house. Plus I found more under the table later.

This one above is mine, with Santa and his reindeer

mine again..

Here's Thad's creation and you can see his sprinkles on the other side.
We had friends over who joined in the fun and I will make sure we do this next year as it is so fun!!

Sorry

Some of you have tried to view our blog and unfortunately could only see a bright red color! We're sorry for that. We do have a lovely background but it can only be read by certain programs and therefore defaults to unreadable red. If it's not fixed now, please tell us. But all should be right again and we thank you for your patience with us as we make our blog look "pretty". Thomas just loves the new look!! :)

Pictures from The Journey

Thomas teaching. He can't live without a whiteboard.

One of our kids taking communion.

Thomas again...rocking his "Matthew's Party" t-shirt and Velcro "old man" shoes.

You should buy this for yourself or someone else for Christmas

From the album "Come Let Us Adore Him".

I cry like once or twice a year, and it usually involves Manchester Untied losing. I admit it though, I cried like a baby listening to this song and eating french fries tonight. Let me explain, because there's some history here. I have been especially overwhelmed by the incarnation this year as I've been doing my quiet times and studying for my times of teaching. I really don't even have words. I mean, I'm rendered speechless when I try to wrap my mind around it.

Last night at The Journey I taught on the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John. They deal so beautifully with what it meant for the Word to become flesh (mankind) so that He could show us the best way that life could be experienced.

Have you ever thought about the world that Jesus was born into? The Roman Empire was in the middle of it's most glorious period (the Pax Romana) and yet the people of Rome and the surrounding world found themselves disillusioned by religion and philosophy, overwhelmed by a rising materialism, and immersed in every sort of debauchery and immorality. Surely they felt their emptiness and yet had no answer for it. For the Jews, they found themselves locked into a religious system of their own creation. Blinded by their own self righteousness and desire to be separate, they had completely lost their mission of being a light to the nations around them (Isaiah 60:1-5).

Jesus steps into this bringing grace and truth. To the gentiles, truth. All of the false idolatry and immorality that failed to satisfy them and stood in stark contrast to the truth presented by Jesus. He demonstrated what it was to live a life of meaning and purpose that wasn't a slave to physical desires, something severely lacking in the Roman world.

For the Jews, He revealed grace. The following of the Jewish Law had become its own religion that differed from its original intent at the time it was given. For most, the law was something to be kept in order to please God and was also a source of pride (something God ins't a big fan of). The problem with law is that it's mostly focused on "do not". The grace that Christ offered freed people from the burden of the law. This freedom allowed people to take the focus off of their own behavior and to focus on reaching out to those around them in need, both spiritually and physically.

I pray that you can really spend some time thinking about the incarnation and that it was directly for people like us. Whether you came out of hedonism and idolatry like the Romans, or self righteousness like the Jews, "the Word became flesh," for us all. That's what makes it a Merry Christmas.

We're Not in Kansas anymore...

We'll I was walking through the foyer and around the tent my boys had set up right in the middle of everything, when I glanced back and saw this sight. I started laughing and wondered how we killed the wicked witch of the east? This is how I found it, no tampering with the set up here! It's funny and of course my boys have no idea what movie scene they created.
But it turned my thoughts towards how I feel sometimes as we continue to live in a foreign land. This is not "Kansas" anymore and I feel lonely at times without much connection to home. I know that lies come from the evil one to discourage us and so I encourage myself in the Lord. But to be honest, we do have days where we feel so out of place. Even as our ministry here is going really well, we tend to doubt at times that we're making a difference. Again, we covet your prayers and encouragement as we daily connect with students or staff and desire to be used to the fullest. As always, the homesick feelings come during holiday time, but we know this will be another wonderful Christmas celebration. As we focus our eyes on the Lord, we are reminded that we are all in a foreign land and not "home" yet. Because Jesus himself was willing to come to this world, we can have hope for our future and the promise of a true home where we'll find true belonging.

Thanks for caring for us and checking in with us! We love to hear from you and think of all of you so often.
Blessings to you this day!

This is kinda regressive Turkey dinner... at least it's how I'm portraying it for you!

20 lb Turkey!!

The before shot... yes those are pears for our place cards... :)
Definitely a wonderful day and lots of yummy fellowship!