Mother's Day 2012

This post is a day late, but I wanted to get it up anyway. What follows are some nice videos of Denielle singing with the kiddos. They are blessed to have such a great, godly woman for a mother. Sometimes they just don't know it.

 If you have been looking for some indication as to the growth and development of our children, these might help wet the appetite.

And, I must say in this forum a warm and heartfelt "Happy Mother's Day" to my own mothers. You  pointed our lives in the right direction, and continue to be steady, godly influences on the directions that we take. Thank you! And thank you God, for Your grace.







Here comes the political bit- a few of my thoughts on Mothers and Missions:

Abraham Lincoln said it: "The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world." I think we can stand with Mr. Lincoln and say that the job of raising children is absolutely fundamental to a healthy society. Society's problems are multifaceted, they are complex, and profound but they are not political, neither are they rooted in whatever political party is or is not in power. They have little to do with whomever is elected president in the next cycle. (I digress, be watching for another blog on the Gospel and Politics coming soon.) The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.

The hand that gets up three times a night, that sacrifices her goals, her time and ambition for ungrateful and demanding and incredibly selfish little ones. If good investments are long term investments, then being a mother is the ultimate investment. Often the returns are still being reaped generations from when the investment was made.

Speaking of investments, the insurance industry says that homemaking mothers are worth $100,000 per year. In other words, if you have to contract out the services that a homemaker performs throughout the year, you are looking at contracts totaling $100,000. Of all the estimates that the insurance industry makes, this one is quite possibly the most inaccurate every produced. It was a nice try but woeful inaccurate. The job of mothering, motherhood, is truly priceless.

Rebekah was a terrible biblical example of a mother. She dutifully trained her child in the art of deceit, revenge, and cover-up (Genesis 20-26). Without piling on, she was a disaster as a mother (at least the parts we know about when her children were older). She didn't get a lot of help from her husband however...

The Good Life ... (Home Assignment Update, 008)

Ten Days in Nebraska, in phrases and no particular order:

Remembering the beauty of the Sandhills

7 cousins, most of them giggling

Three beautiful buffs

Fresh, homemade tacos from a taco stand

being a part of a minority population

forgetting the computer´s power cord at the last church (the first time that has happened)

a panic as we figured out how we could show the slide show anyway

hearing about ministry and church planting in India

a welcome to Nebraska meal at Grandma's house, just like I remember it 

(roast and potatoes, rhubarb pie!!)

grass hair in an egg shell face

men's breakfast in Dix

Courthouse and Jail Rocks from the window

Chimney Rock in the distance

Building Fence

Wind

Tornadoes, hail, and lots of rain

Uncles and Aunts of differing generations

Planting peas and lettuce

Millie the dog

 not enough time just to talk with my brother and sister

Buying Crema Honduraña and Queso Fresco from a Latin American Market

Playing Jogo do Taco with nephews and neices

Lake Mac and the North Platte River Valley in all of its tender spring glory, 

even I-80 was beautiful

An awesome sunset on the high plains

Bridgeport by car window, remembering Grandpa and Grandma

boots on the fenceposts

frustration that AT&T won't service Nebraska with their gophone

A crash course on homeschooling

a preschool pajama party program

Português at lunchtime

watching as God uses my wife in the lives of other women

beginning to understand how our children express themselves in relation to the stresses and insecurities they feel while traveling

arriving home in South Dakota to their squeals as we walk in our "house"

seeing old friends from college 

christening Erick´s churrasco skewers with Esau

churches that expressed their love for us in generous and caring ways

a new book of skits for use with children

showing the kids how to use an iPad
MyBridge Radio

falling in love again with "The (nebraska) Good Life" ... priceless

as usual ... blogger went bonkers on me when I tried to include pictures. Sorry for the confusion. 

The Greatest of Days

This is one of my all time favorite Resurrection Songs. It is by Andrew Peterson, entitled: 

"High Noon"

High noon in the valley of the shadow 

When the deep of the valley was bright 

When the mouth of the tomb 

Shouted, "Glory, the Groom is alive" 

So long, you wages of sin 

Go on, don't you come back again 

I've been raised and redeemed 

You've lost all your sting 

To the victor of the battle 

At high noon in the valley 

In the valley of the shadow 

Now the demons, they danced in the darkness 

When that last ragged breath left his lungs 

And they reveled and howled 

At the war that they thought they had won 

But then, in the dark of the grave 

The stone rolled away 

In the still of the dawn on the greatest of days 

High noon in the valley of the shadow 

When the shadows were shot through with light 

When Jesus took in that breath 

And shattered all Death with his life 

So long, you wages of sin 

Go on, don't you come back again 

I've been raised and redeemed 

You've lost all your sting 

To the victor of the battle 

High noon in the valley of the shadow 

Let the people rejoice 

Let the heavens resound 

Let the name of Jesus, who sought us 

And freed us forever ring out 

All praise to the Fighter of the Night 

Who rides on the light 

Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky 

High noon in the valley of the shadow 

When the shadows were shot through with light 

When the mouth of the tomb 

Shouted, "Glory, the Groom is alive" 

So long, you wages of sin 

I said go on, don't you come back again 

I've been raised and redeemed 

All praise to the king 

The Victor of the Battle 

High noon in the valley 

In the valley of the shadow 

"Oh Death, where is your sting? Oh Grave, where is your victory?"

A most extraordinary day, the greatest of days, when something new happened on the earth. If the wages of sin is death, then how could one who had no sin die? If the strength of sin the destruction of a relationship between God and man, how could the GodMan be there on that cross? Why all this talk about death?

There were thousands of people who died that day, two who shared the same hillside. Why was this Man´s death so extraordinary? Why does it make such a difference in my life?

If the wages of sin is death, then His death was the most unjust event in the history of time. If the wages of sin is death, then this one of all mankind, should have never seen death. 

Yet there He was, dying. How can this be? What kind of God allow such an event? No, what kind of God predetermines such an event? This is absurd. 

Whose gun is the grace of the God of the sky. 

"Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." 

Yet how can I arise from the dead if I am yet in my sins? The wages of sin is death, and I am a sinner. Talk about the walking dead! 

"He made Him, who knew no sin,

to be sin for us. 

That we might become the righteousness of God

in Him."

Happy Resurrection Day!

Home Assignment 007, Hot Springs Edition

This is my driving pose!

In March we traveled almost 3800 miles, 3,200+ of those miles were furlough related. We visited in seven (7!) different churches, many, though not all, of those included a presentation of some sort. My wife is still married to me. Our children still come to us and love us. We are normal . . . kind of. . . not really.

Happy Birthday Grandpa Scott!!

More odd facts about springtime- it was -3 degrees Fahrenheit when we left northern Minnesota for Illinois on March 11th. When we arrived that late afternoon in Iowa City it was 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This was our introduction to springtime as we enjoyed 80 degrees almost every day during our week in Illinois.

Yeah for Springtime! Feed the ducks!

Speaking of Illinois, we planned for far too few days with brothers and sisters in the Land of Lincoln. We enjoyed making contact with a new church and "old" friends in Jerseyville, not far from St. Louis. Then it was off to Springfield and a visit with many friends and supporters. We spent at couple of days with family, visited the little zoo that was just the right size for our little toddlers, enjoyed seeing coworkers at BGFM´s annual business meeting and banquet and had some sweet fellowship with supporters and friends of our ministry.

Chimarrão, everyone wanted to try it
Few liked it.

Sunday the 18th was busy as well but just as rewarding. It started with Sunday School at Middletown Bible Church where we discovered a random connection with their pastor, Kiowa Community Church in rural, no RURAL, western Nebraska. Small world. The day wrapped up with a special evening in Eureka, Ronald Reagan´s college home town. We were thoroughly spoiled and hung around another day just to bask in God´s goodness to us.

Baby Ian arrived before we left for SoDak.
He was just a couple of hours old.

The month started with another fun day in Ray, MN and concluded with a missions conference last weekend in Hot Springs. We have tasted from God´s goodness and seen His hand of mercy in our lives. We are blessed to know His care. We have landed for a few weeks and are enjoying an apartment provided for us by our church family here.

 So, that got kind of journalish . . . sorry to bore you with the details. We have good  news to report as well, watch our email update for that. (Follow the links to see the churches we visited.)