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I have not laughed so hard since… well I can’t remember. This guy is making a list of “Stuff Christians Like” & he is so on the money! I had a little cartoon book when in jr. high that was along the same lines only with cartoons. Wish I could remember the title.
Anyway, for a good laugh, spend a few minutes here. Thanks, Amy, for posting the link.
My personal top five so far…
#53 – Saying “I’ll pray for you”
#22 – Mixing sign language & music
#20 – Psalty
#17 – Unspoken prayer requests (that picture is classic.)
#5 – Bootleg cookies
Others on my fav list:
#50 – Bible fanny packs (I own one.)
#56 – Talking to strangers on airplanes
#45 – Youth group liability forms
#54 – Hating halloween
Which ones strike you funny?
Keith took our little girl out on her first date this morning. She was SO excited! He treated her to breakfast at Panera Bread. Sweet times.
It’s busy around here. With Spring Break now in full swing, we have a promising list of things to do along with the hopes of getting maybe even a little ahead in the schooling with Grandma coming in from MN for ten days to help entertain the youngest & all. The teacher in me keeps the fire under Nate here for the next month. Until testing is over, he is vacationing daily on Study Island, buddy! I’m thinking next year, with both Nate & Callie having the SI opportunity, I will invest in a pair of leis & a couple of those pineapple shaped sippers with umbrellas & crazy straws to let the kids use while they are on The Island. Keith & I think it’s funny how they give it this jazzy name (Study Island) & cute little logo, but that’s as far as they’ve developed the fun. I guess they figured calling it “Ohio Standard Testing Practice” wouldn’t get very far with the kids. But really, once they’ve been on, they know what it’s all about anyway. It’s hilarious. I tell Nate, “Hey, guess what?! It’s time to go to … Study Island!!!” & do a little hula for him. He rolls his eyes & does what he has to do.
Nate’s first experience with basketball was 100% successful. He loves it! Upward Sports gets my whole-hearted recommendation around here. For the awards ceremony last week, they brought in Seth Franco – a white Harlem Globe Trotter who loves Jesus lots & is great with the kids. Click here for a video sample of his show. All three kids were mesmerized by the show & of course, had to get his autograph & picture with him. Speaking of autographs, we took the kids to see Seussical at Keith’s high school. (Callie always has to get all the kids’ autographs afterward.) They did a surprisingly very good job! I didn’t have very high hopes this year. The fun for us is in seeing Keith’s old students all grown up & on stage.
Oh, and by the way, Keith & I went to the baby doc this morning & had the sonogram we all were waiting for. Now, I haven’t shared this before on line, but I have my ways of predicting gender & so far it has been proven trustworthy. This little one proves it was anecdotal & WRONG!!! We are, as shocked (but thrilled, don’t get me wrong) as I am, most definitely expecting a BOY! We are now working on a name because we usually have one picked out long before this & “sit on it” to make sure. We have a few we’ve mulled over through the years, but nothing that fits quite right yet. We are open to suggestions. I have a feeling this one won’t have a name until he’s here which is a first for us.
See Flickr to the right for new pix of the kids coloring eggs, the Upwards awards program, & Nate’s newest science endeavor – elements & molecular models.
There’s something about the week before Easter that, especially these last few years, have come to be the most precious for me of the year. Keith gets annoyed when I say this (I guess I’ve said it enough already?) so I’ll just blog it & leave it here, but I am getting more determined every year to make less of Christmas & more of Easter. It seems Christmas gets all the hoopla in our culture, & Easter is reduced to basically a celebration of the coming of spring – new dress, dinner with family, etc. While Christmas gets at least a full month before the actual arrival of the holiday (& that’s with me putting my foot down that it will not start until Thanksgiving has had it’s full due!), Easter is lucky to get two days – Good Friday & Resurrection Sunday. I am so trying to make Easter every bit as much of a time to look forward to & celebrate as Christmas in our home. It might take me a few years here to get over the obnoxious glut of Christmas going on all around me without snide comments every other day (I think that’s what bothers Keith). I am starting to sound like a Scrooge & I will have to find a balance there. It really does bother me though. It really is blown way out of proportion to anything else in the year while Easter gets glanced over. Pity.
Death never really touched me closely & personally until Nov. 2004 when a good friend of ours was killed hunting. I am convinced that was, in our lives, God bracing us for what was coming so we wouldn’t be so blindsided in the next year. Nov. 2005 was Dad’s sudden death & then 5 months later, the day after Easter, Keith’s dad went Home. This last November was Grandma’s Homegoing. Easter & November seem to be times when death hits around me (Grandpa Royal & Jensen both died in April, too). These last two weeks, three funerals have taken place in our little church.
Anyway, it takes getting close to death to really appreciate what Jesus did for us on that cross. The separation death brings would be so hopelessly unbearable if it weren’t for Christ’s victory over it! We live in HOPE, not fear. We can be assured that this life is not all there is. Once you stare death in the face, it all gets so real. Easter takes on a whole new meaning. It comes so much more clearly into focus.
Death makes me HATE sin – what causes physical & spiritual separation, the sin I see all around me, the pain & suffering it brings in this world, the sin I see in me. We are such miserable creatures without Christ’s rescue! And this week, we get to remember each detail of His last week again, His death in our place, His power over sin & death, tell it to our children again, celebrate the glorious victory we have in Him again! Have a glorious week remembering.
“Lead Me To the Cross” – Hillsong United
Have I ever told you how much we love John Adams around here? Well, we do. We even stenciled his words on our north room wall…
And a close up…
It is the great quote, “I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise Men ever rule under this roof.” -John Adams, November 2, 1800
This was written to his wife the first night he spent at the newly built White House.
Our other favorite JA quote is, ““I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine.”
John Adams to Abigail Adams, 12 May 1780
Imagine our delight in hearing that HBO has produced a mini series based on David McCullough’s book?! And yes, we’ve read that one. To see clips, enter the sweepstakes for a chance at an all expense paid family trip to Williamsburg, or a free letter, go here.
Since we don’t have HBO, we’ll be anxiously awaiting it to hit the shelves of the library in the next year. Unless one of our generous friends with HBO & taping equipment would happen to go way above & beyond the call of duty & tape it for us. Pretty please? With sugar on top?
PS – Callie lost two more teeth this week – one more on top & one on the bottom! Her new nickname is “Gummer”. In honor of John Adams, she also started back on her letter writing – cute. For pix of both, see Flickr to the right.
Do you recognize this picture? THE Children’s Bible in the 70’s had blond, blue-eyed Jesus throughout. Makes me appreciate today’s more accurate depictions, but I still love these old pix. Oh, the memories.
Both Keith & I had this Bible growing up – my family’s copy long ago tattered practically to un-usability by Dad’s readings as he taped the stories for us to listen to over & over again when he was away at work or seminary. Keith’s copy pristine as only an only child’s copy could be (not to mention the fact Keith has always kept all his books in pristine condition no matter how well read it was or is – it’s one of his little quirks). We have been using his childhood copy to read to our youngsters. Needless to say, it’s not in such glamorous condition anymore, but our kids will remember it.
Found this quote from Christ in His Suffering, by Klaas Schilder, volume 1 of “The Schilder Trilogy.” Good meditation & heart examining thought as we head into Holy Week…
Jesus, the Logos, defined the theological first principle of faith. Now He is almost at the close of that career. Meanwhile the number of the disciples has grown apace. Look at the countless numbers. But the quality of this multitude is not equal to its quantity; its faith does not keep pace with its fervor; its spirituality falls short of its enthusiasm. For the multitude speaks only of Jesus’ might and of its own, and not at all of His and its own privilege. The dynamic, not the juridical, appeals to it. While Jesus is performing miracles, raising Lazarus, distributing food to the thousands, suppressing demons, this people honors Him. But a few days later, when He will bring the perfect sacrifice of fulfillment, will supply what God’s justice demands, it will be ashamed of its meek and lowly king. And that is the best, although it is the most horrible, proof of the fact that its hosanna comes from admiration of the miraculous and not from a saving faith.
Essentially, therefore, the cynical chief priests and this elated crowd, exuberantly swinging the palm branches in the air, are allies. Both do injustice to the essence of Christ’s official calling. Superficially there seems to be a considerable difference between them: the chief priests, nonchalantly counting the traitor’s fee into Judas’ hand, on the one side, and this honest, ardent, spontaneous crowd, in their ecstasy casting their finest garments into the road, on the other side. Quite a difference, superficially considered, yes. But essentially they agree. The shape and features of the sin of each group are not the same. But sin is sin, and unbelief is always unbelief.
Quick rundown as to why the posts are so non-existent lately:
- Laptop (my computer) is on its last leg. It started humming in a sick tone the other day & frankly, I’m a bit scared each time I turn it on might be its last. So I really need to start using my “free time” to burn the essentials off of it (family pix, Printshop items, etc.) before it totally blows. I hate the thought of that job. It may take me a while to get motivated there. Meanwhile, Keith hooked me up with one of the kids’ computers in the kitchen. Nice. That will be yet another thing added to the spring break “to do” list – reorganize the computer situation.
- Several major family decisions being mulled over right now which just require a lot of thought & prayer – little blog time.
- Ideas for Club next year are keeping my mind pretty occupied & it doesn’t make for very interesting posts.
- The testing season is upon us around here. Callie is this week & Nate will be in a few weeks, but his requires some prep.
So, all that being said, not so much going on around here to post about… Lots of talk, study, downloading, thinking about next year.
I may not blog much until after Easter Break. Who knows.
Beautiful Ohio ice…
…trapped us in this morning. Luckily Keith had a two hour delay, so had time to try to remedy the situation & ultimately call Mom & hitch a ride to school after Herculean attempts to remove it. The kids & I on the other hand will not be attending the funeral this morning we thought we would.
It fell last night around 11 o’clock as Keith & I watched season three of LOST (we’re on episode 4 now:). So what’s up with Desmond & his newly acquired ESP abilities?!
Just thankful it missed both the roof and the car. But look how close it came to hitting our beloved “Blue Marauder”!!
Not taking Monday’s thaw into account, Keith gave the van a try around it through the yard. Although good for the maple syrup industry, it’s not so good for driving on. New addition to the spring break to do list: re-sod the mud patch in the yard.
Well, we won’t be for lack of bonfire wood this summer anyway.
Oh, my Nate; He’s my buddy. I have so enjoyed having him back home this school year. He’s growing up so fast! Here’s a few funnies from the last week…
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The OHVA teacher on the other side of the phone asks, “Can you give me some different kinds of graphs?”
Nate answers without missing a beat, “Bar graphs, phonographs, paragraphs,…”
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“Playing with” the two younger ones…
N – (Announcing his newest animal identity) “My animal’s the cyclone cheetah. What’s yours? …My cyclone cheetah came up from behind & attacked you…”
C – “Now Anders, this is where you get crippled.” (with ace wrap bandages in hand ready to get busy)
A – Ignoring them both & playing with a toy drill on the toybox.
N- “Pew-pew” (gun noises at Anders) & “NG-G-G-G!!” (Chewbacca-esque loud calls for no apparent reason)
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At least 5 times a day I hear…
“Hey, Mom! You like my ___________?!” The blank is either one of his trading cards he’s been staring at the last 15 minutes, or one of his vast array of unique Lego creations that always start with something like “turbo charged” or “razor-toothed”, some Lord of the Rings lingo, or droid something or other.
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I have to share that for all the teaching I try to impart on Nate, he teaches me often. I should have known this, but it was he who taught me just recently that spell check will pop right up when you right click on a red underlined word giving you choices to correct the word. All this time I’ve been doing it the hard way!
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And lastly, a picture is worth a thousand words…
N – “Well, you told me to clean the blue schoolbox out! It’s cleaned out.”
Okay, Nate. Now let’s clean up all the crap you just put all over the floor.
Where do you think he’ll put it? Three guesses & the first two don’t count.
