Kid Collages: And a personal note

I was just thinking...

If my kids ever stopped a life-style

of smiling,

and jumping,

and laughing,

and loving...

I would not look at them and say "what is their problem?"

 

I would look at myself and ask, "What am I doing wrong?" 

That's parenting 101.

\

God gave us our children ~ not a mistake ~ but an opportunity to bring some more life into an otherwise dark and dreary world

... and into our own lives. 

~~~~

Personal note: I don't mean to oversimplify parenting or anything of that nature. I know there are a thousand different scenarios where difficulties arise for parents and they have done all they can. I've talked to parents of adopted children, for example, who gave them nothing but love and yet they became rebellious. I myself even became rebellious after my parents did nothing but love me and do the best to show me Christ. The bottom line is children grow up one day and exercise their free will. I understand that. 

However, I still believe in the statement above, and I'm mainly just having a personal realization -- which is how we so often fail to look at ourselves, as parents, and consider that we might be the problem. I know it's tough to do so. My kids are young but already I see these things springing to the surface in them, things which I KNOW come from ME! That's rough. Most of the time I don't even want to admit it. Instead I ask myself, 


'Why are they so hyper?'                             'Why the defensiveness?'
                                     'Why so forget-full?'


I ask these questions as if I don't know the answer -- 
they have inherited those things from me! Ouch. 
We can pray our kids grow up and don't have our weaknesses. But either way...
 
It's time to go find the child and do one very important thing -- REPENT! 


It's doesn't have to be anything fancy. My own parents apologized on more than one occasion for "passing down" things to me. I can't tell you how incredibly good that felt. Not that I was holding anything against them, but just that they were so real and so honest. It's given me confidence to apologize to my own children, even with them being still young. And I can see it in their eyes when they connect the dots that daddy is not perfect. It's very powerful.

50 Things Everyone Should Know

Just for fun...someone sent this to me:
50 Things Everyone Should Know

The word "queue" is the only word in the English language that is still pronounced the same way when the last four letters are removed.

Beetles taste like apples, wasps like pine nuts, and worms like fried bacon.

Of all the words in the English language, the word 'set' has the most definitions!

"Almost" is the longest word in the English language with all the letters in alphabetical order.

"Rhythm" is the longest English word without a vowel.

In 1386, a pig in France was executed by public hanging for the murder of a child

A cockroach can live several weeks with its head cut off!

Human thigh bones are stronger than concrete.

You can't kill yourself by holding your breath

There is a city called Rome on every continent.

It's against the law to have a pet dog in Iceland!

Your heart beats over 100,000 times a day!

Horatio Nelson, one of England's most illustrious admirals was throughout his life, never able to find a cure for his sea-sickness.

The skeleton of Jeremy Bentham is present at all important meetings of the University of London

Your ribs move about 5 million times a year, everytime you breathe!

The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump!

One quarter of the bones in your body, are in your feet!

Like fingerprints, everyone's tongue print is different!

The first known transfusion of blood was performed as early as 1667, when Jean-Baptiste, transfused two pints of blood from a sheep to a young man

Fingernails grow nearly 4 times faster than toenails!

Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin!

The present population of 5 billion plus people of the world is predicted to become 15 billion by 2080.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Adolf Hitler was a vegetarian.

Honey is the only food that does not spoil. Honey found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs has been tasted by archaeologists and found edible.

Months that begin on a Sunday will always have a "Friday the 13th."

Coca-Cola would be green if colouring weren’t added to it.

On average a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute.

More people are killed each year from bees than from snakes.

The average lead pencil will draw a line 35 miles long or write approximately 50,000 English words.

More people are allergic to cow's milk than any other food.

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.

The placement of a donkey's eyes in its' heads enables it to see all four feet at all times!

The six official languages of the United Nations are: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

Earth is the only planet not named after a god.

It's against the law to burp, or sneeze in a church in Nebraska, USA.

You're born with 300 bones, but by the time you become an adult, you only have 206.

Some worms will eat themselves if they can't find any food!

Dolphins sleep with one eye open!

It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open

The worlds oldest piece of chewing gum is 9000 years old!

The longest recorded flight of a chicken is 13 seconds

Queen Elizabeth I regarded herself as a paragon of cleanliness. She declared that she bathed once every three months, whether she needed it or not

Slugs have 4 noses.

Owls are the only birds who can see the colour blue.

A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years!

A giraffe can clean its ears with its 21-inch tongue!

The average person laughs 10 times a day!

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain

Battle Bits and Bytes and Bots

Recently I posted about the awesome Robot Class our church hosted. Well, the following week the young robot engineers flexed their skills in a battle to the death (or at least until your robot was pushed out the ring or turned over on it's side). Take a look...

Robot Class!

What a blast for the kids. 

 David runs Bits, Bots, and Bytes and he's a great guy. I took a couple hours off to go do some much needed educational research for HLA, as well as get some pictures and video. This is the first of several classes, each on Fridays. The class is closed now, but I'm sure with the success of this one, we might like to get him back. It is difficult to place a value on educational learning experiences like this one! This introductory class led to a battle of the bots two weeks later.

Camping fun at Tishimingo

We had a wonderful time with several families.

Tishimingo is a great little park and we were able to all get campsites together thanks to, well, God. We first went to Bay Springs but they were so full that we couldn't get even two sites next to each other. So Gabe called Tishimingo and not only did they have sites together for us but the manager reserved them for us over the phone. So we made it there in time to setup and have a great three days together. I didn't take a lot of pictures but here a few. Melody took some really great shots of Abby and Nathan, and their kids and the Shreeves, who also were with us.



3/27 update:
Melody sent us the pictures she took of our kids at the camp-out.

Whiter Than Snow

What a beautiful week, with the snow all around, glistening white. Just makes you smile, and shiver...., and smile. The fluffy white stuff is the source of so much joy (well at least for those of us in the mid-south who don't live with it each and everyday). Even if you're just a window watcher of snowy-land activities you have to admit it is gorgeous.

Ever thought of this: What is that thing in side of us that triggers our brain to say this is beautiful and this is not? Snow is pretty. Mud is ugly. Mountains are awesome. Desserts are... not so much. Where does that come from? I guess God had a reason for us to recognize the wonderful. He created us in such a way as to appreciate beauty and stop and stare. He put that thing right inside of us for a reason.

As I played in it this week I thought of this verse in Isaiah: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." God has covered our hearts with the snowy white forgiveness which comes through Christ. God looks down at our little piece of Earth all covered in white and smiles a smile himself, for it is for His own pleasure that He sent His son to die for our sins. He wanted to forgive us our sins and make a way for us to know him, to love him, to be with him forever. And that forever starts right now. Right now God's mercy has shown us ultimate love; and now He is mine and I am His. Why, oh why do we wish to please Him so? Because he first loved us, that's why. Why do we want to labor for the Kingdom? Because His labor of love spilled the blood of his very own son. The scarlet sins are covered now, with the crystal white, and with the glory of God. 

I finished this post the other day with the statement: "building our relationship with God is the most important corporate activity we can ever engage in." Why is this so true? It is true because of where God began, Himself on a cross. That blood was for me. And now I am for Him. What began as a single act of sacrifice for me catapults me into a life-time of service for Him. Once in the Body I see the blood still. I see my own sins buried beneath the white snow. And I love, love, love him. Every turn we make in the Church, we make as forgiven sinners, now co-laborers for Christ. Knowing my our worth to Him, having a daily communion with the Father of a new white-covered heart, makes the corporate life in the Church that much sweeter. It also makes the powerful life of the Church that much more powerful. This is precisely why, "He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works" - Titus 2:14. Our knowledge, and more importantly our full acceptance, of being cleansed by the blood of Christ makes us eager. It's just inevitable. Whiter than snow and ready to work.

God does have a reason for us to recognize the wonderful. He created us in such a way as to appreciate beauty and stop and stare. And there is no greater beauty in all the world than that of Christ's blood washing all our sins away and making us whiter than snow. What a glorious Church!

Let that snow fall! 
And let us run and play and love each other in God, our Father.

First Kid's Backpacking Trip

Gabe and I are experienced backpackers but our experience only goes so far. Taking kiddos on the trail is a whole new ball of wax. And this trail wasn't going to let us rest a minute. It was short, less than 2 miles in. But it was complete with missing foot bridges, bubble gum thick mud, and steep hills. Would we make it without our wives? Would the children have fun? Would Gabe and I survive? These were questions running through our minds as we set off for a two day adventure in ... Children Vs. Wild.


Big Hill Pond State Park was our home for a couple days and a night. The kids did awesome with their big-o backpacks. Gabe and I were so proud to have returned them each unharmed, fed, and relatively clean, even though we did not have our wonderful wives with us the entire time!

Why the Woods?

There is something deeply spiritual and refreshing about getting out into the woods, into nature, away from the sites and sounds of vehicles, buildings, concrete, plastic, pavement, and people. It's just you and God. Well, in this case, US and God. Still... You see where his created things are his original masterpieces, before we turned them into our own creations, into paper, 2x4's, and bug collections at the Pink Palace Museum. You hear the birds in the morning, smell the dew on the ground, and taste the cold in the air. The fog drifts across the lake surface like the Spirit of God hovering above the Earth right before everything sprang to Life. And my heart is full. It's full of the outdoors and of God's love. And I already long to return to His living room.

Holy Moses! Aaron & April taste world's hottest horseradish!

You never know what might happen when you meet up with Aaron in Gatlinburg, step into the PepperPalace, and sample the world's hottest horseradish, Nasal Napalm.

Chili Pepper Magazine had this to say about the award winner:
We did drop by the judging last weekend just in time to see one taster jump to his feet. "There's something on my leg!" he exclaimed, "and it burns!" Sure enough, the product in question, Nasal Napalm by Pepper Palace, had burned through the Styrofoam cup as the judge held it over his lap. Just think of what it'll do for your sinuses... Yup, this is the stuff that burned a hole through the cup. Killer, yet truly tasty if you use some restraint.



Never a dull moment. Making memories from our pain.

Fun in the Snow!

Wow, that was a cold few days! We had some fun, even in spite of the .... danger!

N0-snow sledding:


Frozen Findings in a Frozen Pond:


Sled, Round + Hill, Icy = Danger, Serious

A Fun Day at the Lake

Summer, 2008. After a terrific passage weekend the moms and kiddos came out to Chickasaw State Park. The result was a fun little video of some dangerous stunts. Well, it wasn't dangerous for everyone, just for my own Zachary, whom we like to call Zack-Attack. Watch closely at the end as he looses his footing and flips upside down, just missing the edge of the dock. That's my Zack.

Making Birthday Fun of Gabe and Annie

Mala whipped together a song, then Dave &
Shalom came dressed to the party as yuppies, followed by Ken & Tina
as hicks. Perfect! Mala worked them in 10 min. before the surprise and
...well, there you go.