The Rock

Tim & Kristen Borseth — Wow! What a weekend!

So... it all started with the Phil Wickham concert. Freshflow promoter, Pam Evans, brought this superb musician to Zeke's in Ames because she felt that a man with this much heart and talent needed a bigger venue than what she...

October 6, 2008 @ 1:00 pm (CST)

Rob Daniel — Happy Monday - Birthday Destruction

We celebrated Ben's birthday with a big bash this past Saturday, complete with family and friends coming by the house and my parents coming by from the Chicago area with homemade Elmo cakes. In what is fast becoming a family tradition, the birthday boy got to tear into a cake on his own.

by Rob (noreply@blogger.com) — October 5, 2008 @ 11:00 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Philippians 2:9-11

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

October 5, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — Three Destructive Attitudes - Monday October 06, 2008

But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side. Luke 9:47

In Luke 9:46-54, Jesus' disciples displayed three destructive attitudes that Jesus had to correct. These attitudes are problematic for Christians today. These are three wrong attitudes that I struggle with:I am great (vs. 46): I know God, and so I am better than others who are just unbelieving "pagans and heathen." God's salvation has helped me to grow in sanctification. But I forget that these changes are the grace of God and not my work. I have nothing to be proud of in having a changed life; instead I need to be thankful.I am right (vs. 49): When I was a young Christian it was so easy to fall into the trap of thinking that I understood the Scriptures like no one else. Other Christians were lukewarm and not as committed as I was.I am a judge (vs. 54): Why doesn't God just deal with all those great sinners? When difficulty hits their lives God is paying them back for their sin. They deserve it!Jesus' correction: Greatness comes from humility and childlikeness, not from our status or accomplishment or position (vs. 47). Others' differences do not make them wrong, just different. People don't need to join "our group/church" to be in God's will and doing what he wants (vs. 50). Our goal for people must be their salvation and restoration to God, not condemnation, judgment and punishment. When people suffer the consequences of their sin, their loss should sadden us, not be a cause for us to celebrate. A precious life was ruined, and that does not make anyone the better (vs. 55).

Dave Lennander
Cedarcreek Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Jeremiah 6:16-8:7; Colossians 2:8-23; Psalms 78:1-31; Proverbs 24:26:0
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by Dave Lennander — October 5, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Matt and Nancy Heerema — Eternal Security

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Before The Throne of God Above - Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness,
that you may be feared.
Psalm 130:3-4

by Matt — October 5, 2008 @ 8:47 pm (CST)

Tony & Kirsten Hill — Menu Plan Monday for October 6th

I would call this Menu Plan Monday the “crock pot edition”…except for the fact that this will not be the only week I have lot of slow cooker meals. Four out of the six dinners I have planned this week will be in the crock pot.  I made the realization this summer, as I tried to avoid running the oven, that using the crock pot is a great alternative.  I also discovered this blog with more crock pot recipes than the average person will use in a lifetime, and it inspired me to use the crock pot more often.  There’s a good chance of rain at least four days this week, so it will be a good week to have warm comfort foods simmering in the crock pot all day!

Monday: Creamy Beef and Noodles (in the crock pot) and a veggie du jour

Tuesday: Crock Pot Beans and Rice and a veggie du jour (leftovers of this make a great burrito filling!)

Wednesday: We have a meeting and dinner is provided

Thursday: Tator Tot Casserole, made with ground turkey and green beans. (fall/winter comfort food doesn’t get any better than this!)

Friday: Chicken legs/thighs in the crock pot.  Probably using this recipe with veggie fried rice on the side.

Saturday: Pork Stew, using leftovers from last week’s pork roast — I’ve never made this before, but I think I am going to make a hybrid of these two recipes from allrecipes.com and cook it in the crock pot.

Sunday: Taco Pie with regular taco fixings on the side.

Visit “Menu Plan Monday” at the “I’m an Organizing Junkie” blog to find links to more great menus from other bloggers.

by kirsten — October 5, 2008 @ 6:44 pm (CST)

Brad Barrett's Blog — Motivated by His mercy

by bradbarrett — October 5, 2008 @ 5:09 am (CST)

Tony & Kirsten Hill — Books, Glorious Books!

Would anyone care to guess how many items we have checked out from the Minneapolis Public Library system in the past year? Last fall our library system introduced a feature that allows users to track what they’ve checked out when they log into their accounts.  I checked today, and my history tracks back just a couple days more than a year…

…And including the almost 30 items we checked out today, we checked out 645 items! It seems like a lot, but it’s only an average of 12 per week.  While we don’t make it to the library every week, our check out receipt usually lists 15-20 items, so I guess that all adds up.   I would estimate that maybe 25% of those items were books for me, music CDs, movies, or educational computer games.  That means we read close to 500 children’s books from the library in the past year or so.

Many times we just find books off the shelves, looking for topics or titles that sound good or books from authors we know we enjoy.  I’ve also used a few other sources to find great books to read.  The book lists from Sonlight’s preschool curriculums and The “Before Five in A Row” and the “Five in a Row” series of books have many great titles.  Several websites also compile lists of favorite children’s books:

New York Public Library’s “100 Picture Books Everyone Should Know”

“The 100 Best Children’s Books” at Parenthood.com

Kidsreads.com “Classic Picture Books” list and “New Faves for Ages 3-8” list.

While I haven’t used them very much yet (so many books, so little time!), there are also several sources on the web to find lists of award-winning children’s litereature.  For example, this Children’s Book Awards page lists the most recent few years of winners of several different awards with convenient links to the books on amazon.com, while this page at the Scholastic website provides a basic list of winners of three of the most well-known awards through the years.  The Database of Award Winning Children’s Literature can be used to search through award lists to find books meeting various criteria.

Happy reading!

by kirsten — October 4, 2008 @ 9:19 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Psalm 118:24

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

October 4, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Watching World - Sunday October 05, 2008

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. John 13:35 NLT

This may be a stretch, but here's what this verse says to me: The world of lost people are watching our lives and looking for some proof that our message is indeed true!The little things that we say and do (negative or positive) are noticed by the 'world' around us.In the Bible we can see an example of this in Daniel's life. It was Daniel's godly character-and the differences that it caused in his actions and behavior, that made his life attractive and influential. Listen to what one unbelieving king said to Daniel: "May your God whom you worship continually, rescue you" (Daniel 6:16, NLT).Even his enemies had to admit that "He was faithful and honest and always responsible" (Daniel 6:4, NLT).A friend of mine had this to say regarding the power of a changed life: "It's beautiful to see how even unbelievers will notice the faith and morals of consistent believers whom they observe at close hand. Too often Christians fail their unsaved friends by not having as high standards of faith and morals as the world expects from God's people."How real is your faith? How is it seen by those living around you? Remember, the world expects (and hopes) it to be seen...because they are looking for answers."Your love for one another-(your godly behavior)...will prove to the world..."The world is watching-might we remember this every time we walk out our front door.

Dennis Clark
Prairie View Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Jeremiah 4:19-6:15; Colossians 1:18-2:7; Psalms 77:1-20; Proverbs 24:23-25
[Read online bible]

by Dennis Clark — October 4, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Sarah McClanahan — Top Songs for October!

1. Make You Smile- +44
2. Let it Rain- OK Go
3. Father and Daughter- Paul Simon
4.Treasure- Desperation Band
5. Chicago (Adult Contemporary Easy Listening Version)- Sufjan Stevens
6. Look Up- Stars
7. Fljótavík- Sigur Rós
8. Oh, It Is Love- Hellogoodbye
9. Sorry- Shawn McDonald
10. Hide- Joy Williams
11. Gotta Find You- Joe Jonas (This is for you A-meal!)
12. Let it Go- Newsboys *Wow!
13. Twilight Rain- Ottmar Liebert
14. Where I Stood- Missy Higgins
15. Thinking About You- Norah Jones
16. Sing Alleluia- Jennifer Knapp
17. Nothing but the Blood- Matthew Smith
18. This Time- Jonathan Rhys Meyers
19. Fix You- Coldplay
20. Everything Glorious- David Crowder

by Sarah Jayne (Sarah.J.McClanahan@gmail.com) — October 4, 2008 @ 8:28 am (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Matthew 5:7

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

October 3, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Parent's Heart: Humble - Saturday October 04, 2008

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love. Ephesians 5:1,2a NIV

As I hopped into the car one day I coughed three times. My first son, who was about 18-months-old at the time, was seated next to me. He also coughed three times. I looked at him to see if he was teasing me, but he didn't seem to be paying any attention. Just to make sure, I coughed two times. He coughed two times. I coughed one time and he coughed one time. I smiled at him and messed up his hair and drove off.I was struck by the fact that he was watching me so closely that he was subconsciously imitating even the littlest things I did. What other things is he imitating? That's fine with me if he coughs when I cough, but what bad habits is he learning from me? For a long time we wondered why he so easily learned to say "thank you," but it seemed that no amount of training could get him to say "please." Finally my wife and I realized that in both cases he was just imitating us.Just as my children imitate me, I need to be an imitator of my heavenly Father. Parenting isn't just about loving, disciplining, and communicating right. It's not about providing the perfect education and the perfect home environment. It's far more encompassing than that. Every aspect of your life impacts your parenting.Good parents are humble parents. They are not simply looking for the "how-to" lists. Instead, they yield every part of their lives to God's ways. Every habit, thought, action, and decision must come under God's authority. We must follow Him and imitate Him in everything. Everything! Not only does this shape our own lives, but it shapes our kids as well!

Steve L. Nelson
The Rio Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Jeremiah 2:31-4:18; Colossians 1:1-17; Psalms 76:1-12; Proverbs 24:21-22
[Read online bible]

by Steve L. Nelson — October 3, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

October 2, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Parent's Heart: Patient - Friday October 03, 2008

They say, "Who does the Lord think we are? Why does He speak to us like this? Are we little children, barely old enough to talk? He tells us everything over and over again, a line at a time, in very simple words!" Isaiah 28:9-10 NLT

It's interesting how snow accumulates over time. It always seems the first hour or two of snow doesn't do much. The vast majority of the flakes melt away as they touch the ground. Nothing sticks. Then gradually a little accumulation starts here and there on the grass. It usually takes several hours before the streets get covered, and then, before you know it, the whole world is blanketed in white.Parenting can feel the same way at times. So much of our training and disciplining seems to fall to the ground and melt away. Then, over time, we start to see little glimmers of hope. Maybe some of it is sticking after all! Our hope is that over the years the accumulation of instruction will dramatically impact every aspect of their lives.However, it is easy to get discouraged and to think that none of our parenting is making a difference. We get discouraged when we see the grass sticking up out of the snow, but we forget that the snow is still falling. We focus on the insignificance of each flake rather than the impact of the storm. Children are trained this way, little by little, a line at a time, using very simple words. Another translation puts it, "Do and do, do and do, rule on rule, rule on rule; a little here, a little there" (Isaiah 28:10b NIV). We need to take heart and keep pouring input into our kid's lives. Even if it seems like it's only a flake at a time, eventually we'll see the impact of our consistent love and training.

Steve L. Nelson
The Rio Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Jeremiah 1:1-2:30; Philippians 4:1-23; Psalms 75:1-10; Proverbs 24:17-20
[Read online bible]

by Steve L. Nelson — October 2, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Brad Barrett's Blog — Run to the Lord

by bradbarrett — October 2, 2008 @ 8:33 am (CST)

Adam Vos — avalos and mickelson: worth the breath?

My sympathies are with those who attended Sunday night expecting anything resembling a debate. I was disappointed as well.

But from what I could tell, 99% of the folks in that room were satisfied in another way. 99% of them were likely firmly on one side of the expected debate, or the other. And who cares if there was actually any debating going on so long as the person on your side is preaching to your choir. That person on the other side-- he's just a necessary annoyance to help you get fired up for your own cause. No sense actually listening to him or taking him seriously.

This "debate" was worth the breath if you wanted your beliefs affirmed. It was worth the breath just to demonstrate how two people attempting to argue opposite sides of this debate can completely miss eachother on every level and fail to address eachothers' arguments.

I fear, otherwise, Sunday night was an exercise in futility. This "debate" was not worth the breath if you wanted a true debate. It was not worth the breath if you wanted to have your arguments on either side surrounding the gay rights/biblical morals dialogue actually critically analyzed by the opposition. Both sides pandered to their respective audiences and made no inroads into the opposing debater's followers. This may have been the easiest and safest route for each party to the debate to follow, but unfortunately, it contributed the absolute least to the dialogue.

I wonder if the religious right in attendance had as much trouble understanding Avalos's logic and reason as the academics and reasonable people in the room had trouble understanding Mickelson's biblical ramblings.

It was not helpful that Mickelson had his anecdotal stories and highly offensive fluff polished just as he would to entertain a radio audience. It didn't help that Mickelson was a bit sparse on the arguments and dense on the five-minute-long digressions substituting as actual proof for a single weak and poorly-reasoned claim. It certainly wasn't helpful for him to use comedic techniques aimed at getting the audience to laugh at things that civil human beings should never laugh at.

It also didn't help that Avalos had a powerpoint slide-show prepared which, although helpful to comprehension, illustrated the lack of flexibility in either debater's presentation (although I'm sure both debaters were working off a prepared script). It didn't help that Avalos was making use of, gasp, logic, scientific analysis, and direct reasoning to put forth a debate while Mickelson ignored such rhetorical constraints. It is unfortunate that Mickelson couldn't embrace this format as to even start to defend himself against Avalos. Needless to say, Avalos was as dense on premise and argument as Mickelson was fluff in that department.

I give Avalos credit for actually critically using common ground in analyzing Mickelson's world of biblical premises. It's unfortunate, especially for Mickelson's supporters, that Mickelson never bothered to dignify these arguments with any sort of direct answer, addressing Avalos's scripture use, as perhaps then Mickelson could have analyzed these bible passages for his own audience's comprehension.

This would explain why, almost directly after the debate, I received an e-mail further backing up the scripture and its supposed position on homosexuality where Mickelson fell short. (The e-mail was broadcast to the same church-based audience from the same pastor referenced in my last post.) Was Mickelson's neglect so great as to threaten bible-following believers' comprehension of the scripture enough to necessitate this sort of follow-up?

I give Mickelson credit with using a quote that best described the evening-- the one regarding the passing of two ships in the night who sailed right past eachother in ignorance thanks to their "hermetically sealed world views." These two men were in the same room, same physical space, yet it would have been difficult to tell they were debating the same academic debate had you not seen them there together.

It was unfortunate that a university professor with a Ph.D, author to a handful of books, was "debating" a local talk radio host with nothing but an obscure honor from some trade magazine to his name. Perhaps what happened Sunday night was Mickelson's best defense tactic.

Take-Home Message: Even though you believe it to be the basis of all knowledge, you don't win an intellectual debate by using the bible as your only evidence. If the bible is strong enough, which I hope you're confident it is if you are a christian, then you should feel plenty safe delving into the world of science and logic to form cohesive arguments. If all you're quoting is the bible, then the only audience you're going to convince is the audience that already came convinced and confined to your worldview.

This take-home message presumes, of course, that you attended the event intending to carry on a debate. It wouldn't surprise me if Mickelson's strategy was to completely ignore the debate venue and simply stand at his podium to proselytize to the audience. Not a bad strategy, at first thought, if your goal is to share the gospel. Unfortunately, this might have been a poor audience, as Mickelson's half is already strong believers, and Avalos's half isn't going to have any of it no matter how loud he yells.

---

The title of the forum was "Should Gay Rights Prevail over Traditional Biblical Sexual Ethics." I haven't even gotten into how many things are wrong about what that title presumes. "Prevail" --it presumes that one has to prevail, to start with. It presumes they're opposed. Maybe it's better for everyone's entertainment that they have to be at strict polar opposition?

They were talking about homosexuality as a physical sexual practice when all we wanted to hear about were lgbt rights. We were assuming that traditional biblical ethics are threatened simply by the societal and civil rights of a minority. If they're that worried about a set of ethics actually being that threatened by the widespread acceptance of the delivery of simple rights to a group of people, then what does that say about the soundness of the ethics? Are these ethics really biblical? Are we sure it's not tainted by the weakness and fallibility of human culture?

That's about all I've got in response to such an underwhelming night. I'll look forward to some compelling dialogue that actually inspires us to analyze our beliefs, regardless of where we're starting from. 'til next time...

by adam@evilpasta.com — October 2, 2008 @ 2:24 am (CST)

Tony & Kirsten Hill — Accepting the Inevitable

I’ve come to accept the fact that fall is really here, and today I completed the process of switching the kids summer and fall/winter clothes.  It’s not as late in the year as it might sound to be doing this — even here in the “frigid north” we were all wearing shorts just last week. However, the temperatures in the 10 day forecast are only trending downward from here, so I think it is really time for us to be wearing pants and long-sleeve shirts or sweaters on a daily basis.  For the next six or seven or eight months.

Switching kids clothes is always more of an ordeal than switching the grown-ups’ clothes.  Going through the seasonal changing of kids clothes means examining each item to decide if it there is still a possibility that this item might still fit when the next season change occurs in several months.  If it’s not going to fit, one has to decide whether to keep or get rid of the item in question.  I make the latter question easy by basically keeping everything unless it is practically ruined.  (The down side of this is that I have dozens of storage bins in the garage filled with kids clothing! We now know for sure we’ll be using the boy clothes again very soon, and if we do ever have another little girl, I can’t imagine having to re-acquire all the needed clothing!)

We’ve added a new wrinkle to the process this year as well — Madeline has developed an attachment to certain items in her wardrobe.  I’ve been prepping her for days that we would need to put away her favorite dress - the “black dress with the red bow.”  It’s getting a little short, a small hole is developing in the shoulder…and I am so sick of seeing it since she has worn it almost weekly since about last November, no matter what the weather.

Luckily when I opened up her box of clothes for this fall/winter, we discovered it contained seven, yes seven, velvet/velour dresses.  I guess I really wasn’t keeping very close track of things as I did my garage sale and thrift store shopping, and I bought a lot of winter size 5 fancy dresses.  I mean, who can resist fancy holiday/party dresses for a buck or two when they probably cost twenty or thirty dollars or more new? Madeline turned out to be fairly willing to “trade in” her favorite black dress for the seven new beautiful velvety dresses that she can wear this winter.   We had a nice family moment with her saying “goodbye” to the black dress, and each of us giving the dress a hug before Madeline put it in the box of outgrown clothes.

What did take me by surprise was Madeline’s reaction when I told her that her pink plaid skirt needed to go in the “outgrown” box because it was getting too short.  She burst into tears and had to take several minutes to collect herself.  I had no idea she was so attached to that particular item. But, she did manage to get herself together and resume helping me stack the folded clothes into storage boxes.

One thing that does make me regret not doing this sooner is I now realize what the kids’ wardrobes are missing for this fall/winter (well, mostly what Erik’s wardrobe is missing).  Of course the 50% off sale at Savers was a month ago, and there may not be another one until January…and it’s really getting to be the tail end of the garage sale season around here.

I terribly miscalculated when it came to pants for Erik for this fall.  For some reason I really thought that he would be in 24 month/2T pants for this fall, and I have quite a large stack of those. I’m not sure why I thought that though, because he has a long torso and short legs…and has always been at least one size behind in his pants compared to his shirts.  Consequently, I am still rolling up the cuffs on his few pairs of 18 month pants while he has been in 2T/24 month shirts for over a month.  Erik has a few pairs of khaki/earth tone pants from last spring and one pair of jeans that fit.  Unless I score big at the thrift store soon, I may have to — gasp — actually walk into Target or Wal-Mart and buy a couple pairs of jeans for Erik for this fall at full price.  I also realized I have no medium-weight or fall jacket for him, only one sweater that fits, and in general few “nicer” shirts.  So, I am definitely hoping for a few thrift store, consignment shop or other bargains to fill in the gaps where I failed to complete his wardrobe during the summer garage sale season.

So…let it snow! Our closets and dressers are ready…er, um wait…the snow can definitely hold off for a couple of months at least!

by kirsten — October 1, 2008 @ 9:34 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Titus 3:4-7

But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

October 1, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Parent's Heart: Focused - Thursday October 02, 2008

God made husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit for His purpose-so they would have children who are true to God.Malachi 2:15 NCV

A powerful speaker has a crystal clear understanding of what he is trying to communicate. Olympic gymnasts know exactly what the judges are looking for. A gifted artist senses what emotions her work is trying to capture. What are parents creating? What is their goal?Some parents want children who will make them proud-children who are attractive and who excel at academics or sports or in some other way. In other words, they want kids who make them look good. Other parents take a more pessimistic view of it all, merely hoping that their offspring don't embarrass them too much. Most parents are somewhere in the middle-not exactly sure what they are hoping to accomplish in the lives of their children. They want things to go well, but aren't quite sure what that means.God wants children to be true to Him. If, at the end of eighteen years of raising your kids, they remain true to God, then you, parent, have hit your target. This target is not easy to hit, but one thing is sure: Parents who are not sure what target they are aiming for will have a far more difficult time hitting it than those who have their target clearly identified.One of the most valuable exercises you can do as a parent is to define this goal more clearly in your mind. Brainstorm what you think a man or woman of God would look like at eighteen years of age. Clearly knowing your target will help you parent with clear purpose. Having a focused plan will direct your day-to-day parenting and help you hit the target!

Steve L. Nelson
The Rio Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Isaiah 66:1-24; Philippians 3:4-21; Psalms 74:1-23; Proverbs 24:15-16
[Read online bible]

by Steve L. Nelson — October 1, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Psalm 50:14-15

"Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me."

September 30, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Parent's Heart: Pride and Joy - Wednesday October 01, 2008

For what is it we live for, that gives us hope and joy and is our proud reward and crown? It is you! Yes, you will bring us much joy as we stand together before our Lord Jesus Christ when he comes back again. For you are our trophy and joy. 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 TLB

Paul understood that one of the greatest rewards he would receive from ministry was the impact he would leave on his disciples. Through the long process of encouraging, comforting, and urging them to live lives worthy of God, Paul looked forward to seeing his disciples become more and more Christlike, and he anticipated standing among them, proudly, at His return.As parents, our primary disciples are our children. There is no one else whom God has so clearly entrusted to us. We get the responsibility and enjoyment of watching them grow from little fleshy bundles of joy to becoming strong men and women of God. As Paul delighted in the fruit of his efforts, good parents also enjoy seeing their children grow in spiritual maturity.A friend visited us for a few days. She later wrote my wife Kathleen, "Your children are a trophy of your love, diligence and detailed training!" As a parent you can't help but be encouraged that your labors are making enough difference in your children that others take notice. It's not that we should parent well to show off our kids, or that we would parade them in front of others to draw attention to ourselves. We should, however, understand that the value of what we foster in our children is of far greater worth in God's eyes than the value of hundreds of other things we could give our lives to. Wise parents will not lose sight of this!

Steve L. Nelson
The Rio Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Isaiah 62:6-65:25; Philippians 2:19-3:3; Psalms 73:1-28; Proverbs 24:13-14
[Read online bible]

by Steve L. Nelson — September 30, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Tony & Kirsten Hill — Home Preschool Journal, September 2008

I’m hoping to keep a journal of what we’re doing with our home preschooling.  It’s for our memory as much as anything else, but I also thought it would be fun to share, along with a few pictures.  This wasn’t a full month since we didn’t start until the second week in September.

Madeline loves doing preschool and begs to do it every day, even on weekends or days when we spend most of our day doing other things.  I’m very thankful she’s still enjoying it over three weeks in.  I’m still working on convincing her that things other than just very structured activities from our curriculum are still part of “preschool”.   Random art projects, playing go-fish, reading books and baking together are all important learning experiences for her…but when we fill our time with those things she keeps asking, “When are we going to do preschool, mom?”

A lot of our structured preschool activities so far have been focused around learning or reviewing various basic concepts related to language, math and general life-skills.  The first week, we worked on Madeline learning her address and phone number and how to write her name.  Quick memorization is not one of Madeline’s best skills at this point, so we are still working on remembering those things! We reviewed and practiced lots of spacial and numerical concept words like above, below, middle, many, few, left, right, and so on.  The curriculum suggested working on basic color and shape words, but since Madeline is already pretty familiar with those, we took those concepts to the next level and worked on color mixing, primary and secondary colors, and more advanced shape names like octagon, sphere and cube.  She also got her first introduction to ordinal numbers (first, second, third, etc) and fractions (learning about halves of an apple, fourths of an apple, etc).

Madeline very desperately wants to learn how to read — and how to spell/write so she can write things down for herself and not have to work through me to write down her stories and thoughts.  She asked this past week if she could sit and type at the computer like I do,  so I opened up a Word document for her and let her type away.  When she was finished and printed our her page-long masterpiece, she was very disappointed to learn that Tony and I couldn’t really “read” it to her because it was essentially three words, a few hundred characters in length each.  Heartbroken would be a good way to describe it.

So, even though she’s only four and I am not 100% convinced that she is developmentally ready, I am going to try her out on some “learning to read” activities.  I tried “Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons” very briefly with her this past summer.  I also tried just working though some “Bob” Books with her (very easy incremental readers).  Neither of those methods really seemed to click for her…though again, I don’t know how much of it is the method and how much of it is where she is at developmentally.  I’ve been researching other phonics/reading curricula and I also thought we would try some multi-media approaches.  She did a free lesson of Headsprout today and I think we might try a free trial at Reading Eggs as well.  She’s very excited about it right now, so we’ll see how it goes!

In September we did two areas of topical or unit study — Weather and Fall (we’re still working on our Fall activities).  For our study of weather, one of the big highlights was making a poster with pictures to illustrate various weather terms:

We also did a few weather-related science experiments, including learning about thermometers and temperature:

Of course, we also did plenty of random, fun things this month too.  Making “rainbow crayons” from crayon shavings and scraps was a blast:

For the next month, I’m looking forward to doing even more science/nature related activities (especially in conjuction with our continuing unit on Fall).  I also want to improve at incorporating review into our preschool time.  Whether it’s concepts that Madeline didn’t quite “get” the first time or terms we don’t use every day that she might forget about, I think we need to review more regularly.

While I’ve decided not to place a big emphasis on the Bible activities in the curriculum (we seem to have enough to talk about with our Bible story ritual at betime and the Bible stories/concepts she’s learning at church and other random occaisions), I think I want to start incorporating the character-topic lessons that are in the curriculum. I think those will provide a nice Biblical component to our preschool time without having Bible-story overkill.

by kirsten — September 30, 2008 @ 8:37 pm (CST)

Brad Barrett's Blog — Waiting

by bradbarrett — September 30, 2008 @ 5:37 am (CST)

Rob Daniel — Happy Birthday Ben!

One year ago today, at 11:44 p.m., God blessed Angie and me with the birth of our son, Benjamin Eli Daniel.

It has been a year since he came into this world, and it is amazing how much he has grown in that short amount of time.

He's gone from a little peanut that was super light to carry and hold to one who is learning to walk and talk really fast and developing his own personality and style.

He has gone from a little cryer who was dependent on Angie and me just to keep his head up to someone who practically runs to me for me to pick up and hold when I come home from work every day. I tell you, that is quite possibly the greatest feeling in the world.

On a personal note, Ben also has forced me to grow up even more than just being married ever could. He has made bad days at work bearable, knowing I will go home to a loving wife and a son who grins every time I laugh with him or point a camera at him.

Children and particularly sons truly are a blessing from God.

by Rob (noreply@blogger.com) — September 29, 2008 @ 11:00 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

September 29, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — A Resume That Impresses God - Tuesday September 30, 2008

...She is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works; and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress and if she has devoted herself to every good work. 1 Timothy 5:9-10

Almost everyone has submitted a resume in applying for a job. In crafting the resume, a person's goal is to impress the prospective employer.In 1 Timothy 5:9-10 Paul describes the requirements for a widow to be employed by the church. And in this description, Paul gives the kind of resume that impresses God.Paul tells Timothy to look for a widow who has these eight qualities on her resume: serving over a long time (not less than sixty years old); serving in faithfulness (wife of one man); serving as a hard worker (having a reputation for good works); serving children (brought up children); serving those outside the church (showing hospitality to strangers); serving those within the church (washing the saints' feet); serving people during hard times (assisting those in distress); serving in every way possible (devoted to every good work).Do you see a pattern here? The kind of person that God will hire is not so much the one with a college degree or with a magnetic personality or a special talent. The person God employs is the one who is...a servant. He is not one who is looking to impress others-but one whose servant lifestyle is, indeed, most impressive to everyone who is watching. Are you looking to be employed by God? Then build your resume with the elements Paul lists above and serve God and people with all your heart.

John Hopler
Great Commission Churches

One Year Reading Plan: Isaiah 60:1-62:5; Philippians 1:27-2:18; Psalms 72:1-20; Proverbs 24:11-12
[Read online bible]

by John Hopler — September 29, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Steve O'Hollearn — Brief thoughts on the Avalos - Mickelson Debate

Jan seemed to be trying to put a spotlight on all the unrecognized preconceptions that people had on the issue while ignoring Avalos. He was a bit crude at times, but I felt his assessment of the homosexual agenda was astute. I hope it shook people out of their God accepts everyone as they are(no repentance)/tolerance of sin attitude. I was awed that he shared the gospel during the debate as well. My problems with his debate was not offering some avenues to check out the different claims of Avalos, answering the question "what problem would you have with gay marriage" from himself rather than his position, and encouraging crowd interruption.

Avalos started by playing on people's ignorance of the difference between the old and new testament. He knew that the defense against his statements relied on the blunt belief of original sin and the law being a means of showing the sinfulness of mankind (Romans 3:20, 5:20, Galatians 3:19). This would also take a back flip to explain that the Law and the law of God are two different things. Avalos stuck to his trademarks of overburdening the argument, making sure to point out a past error of his opponent, and attacking straw men (this has to be his position if he isn't a hypocrite). I do think Avalos tried to grasp Jan and make a debate out of the debate, but Jan wasn't giving him much to grapple with. Avalos did raise a good question of moral relativism with the Bible (example - The Law being temporal/ for one culture) and I would have difficult explaining this and holding on to God's view of holiness. Besides the verses I've already given I'll add that a specific set of rules is not what is required. An understanding that one is by nature defiant to God, needs forgiveness, need "the new heart and new Spirit", and are made for worshiping God are the only things I can think of as required, but none of these things can be earned.

Anyway... I hope you enjoyed my convoluted thoughts. A question that I've been considering that would undermine Avalos' argument is how a naturalist comes to the conclusion that we are all equal and deserve to be treated as such. I mean we can recognize that equality sounds good, may promote good community, and secures our position from being ruffled, but it may also detract from humanity by encouraging genetic and economic dead-weight if the person is not imbued with an intrinsic God-given value. I hope I'm not offending, but if you were, and there is no God, your beliefs are based on feelings and opinions which have no imperative on my actions.

September 29, 2008 @ 4:35 pm (CST)

Tony & Kirsten Hill — Menu Plan Monday

I thought I would try out something new…A blog I read called “I’m an Organizing Junkie” has a weekly event called “Menu Plan Monday.”  Hundreds of bloggers post a menu on their own blogs, and then post a link to their menu back at the “org junkie” site.  It’s fun to look through some of the posts and get inspiration for future menus.  I don’t know if I’ll do this every week, but I thought I would give it a shot.

This week’s menu is greatly influence by what was on sale last week at Cub foods (lots of great specials in their 40th anniversary sale) and the random things I had around that I need to use up.  Here it goes…

Monday: Pork Roast in the crock pot ($1/lb last week at Cub!), mashed potatoes, lettuce salad

Tuesday: Salmon Patties on buns, veggie du jour ( = whatever I feel like from the frozen veggies in the freezer), and probably another side dish w/rice or pasta

Wednesday: Pizza (w/ chicken, pepperoni, and other misc. toppings) and a veggie du jour.  I make my own crust and I am still searching for the perfect recipe that is thick and chewy but not too “bready.”  This is the one I tried last time — it was okay but it make a ton of dough, and I didn’t divide it enough ways so my crust was way too thick.

Thursday: Enchiladas (a small pan each of beef and seafood…to use what I have around!) and homemade salsa-sort of stuff I make with tomatoes, avocado, onion, etc.

Friday: Chili using Tony’s awesome recipe (see below) and Cornbread. We have a few small peppers to harvest from our garden that we’ll be using for the spicy portion of the chili!

Saturday: Tomato and Spinach Pasta Toss (but mine will be with ground pork I got on sale at Cub, instead of with sausage)

Sunday: We have plans with family, so we’re not cooking dinner at home

Tony’s Chili

5 small cans tomato paste (6oz)
1 lb. ground beef, browned and seasoned with Chili Powder
4 cups water
2 cans Chili Beans (16oz)
¾ to 1 Jalapeño Pepper, chopped (add to taste)
½ a Green Pepper, chopped
1 can Diced Tomato Chunks (16oz)
½ an Onion, Chopped
Chili Powder and Cayanne Pepper to taste (needs LOTS of chili powder)

Mix all ingredients together and cook all day or at least five hours in a large crock pot (6qt). Continue to check seasoning throughout the day and add more if needed.

by kirsten — September 28, 2008 @ 9:20 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — John 14:2-3

In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

September 28, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — Charitable Employment - Monday September 29, 2008

A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than sixty years old, having been the wife of one man... 1 Timothy 5:9

In this section on caring for widows, Paul directs Timothy's attention to "the list." A widow is not to be put on "the list" unless she meets certain requirements. What is this list?Some think that this refers to a list of widows who are to be cared for by the church. Others think that this is a list of those who are official servants of the church. Personally, I find the latter explanation more plausible.If this is true, what leadership lesson can we glean from this verse? I think the lesson is this: Avoid charitable employment. When there is a needy person in the church, the natural desire is to care for that person. In the process of helping a needy church member, it is not unusual for an elder to suggest giving the person a job. Employing a person in need might be appropriate in some circumstances-but it can also be a big mistake. According to Paul in the above verse, widows (who are needy) are not to be enlisted (employed) unless certain requirements are met. These requirements are similar to those found in 1 Timothy 3 where elders and deacons are described.A distinction always needs to be made between fellowship and followership. We give fellowship-including financial care and assistance-to all who are in the church. We give followership-leadership responsibilities-only to those who have demonstrated faithfulness in serving and leading.Putting a needy person on staff in the church to care for people might be from the Lord-but only if the person is qualified to lead.

John Hopler
Great Commission Churches

One Year Reading Plan: Isaiah 57:15-59:21; Philippians 1:1-26; Psalms 71:1-24; Proverbs 24:9-10
[Read online bible]

by John Hopler — September 28, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)

Megan Blair — How to Love your Wife

by meganblair — September 28, 2008 @ 8:07 pm (CST)

Tim & Kristen Borseth — Vote with your brain

So... we've all been hearing the rhetoric: change, reform, hope, country first, ect... But what do Barack Hussein Obama and John Sidney McCain III really believe and really stand for? Because we all know that once the election is over,...

September 28, 2008 @ 3:06 pm (CST)

Daily Bible Verse (ESV) — Galatians 5:24

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

September 27, 2008 @ 9:01 pm (CST)

Daylights: A Daily Devotional for Great Commission Christians — Filled with the Indwelling Surgeon's Hand - Sunday September 28, 2008

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh....If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.Galatians 5: 16, 25

One of my favorite pictures of the Spirit-filled life is that of a surgeon's hand in a glove. The surgeon's hand is the epitome of skill and competence. When he or she is performing in the operating room, a very thin latex glove is worn for the purposes of protection and sterility. It's not really the surgeon's hand that makes contact with the patient, but the glove. In this world, the Spirit lives in us and touches people through us just like the surgeon's hand works within the glove. But what kind of a glove are we?Scripture speaks of both Spirit-filled (Ephesians 5:18) and fleshly (1 Corinthians 3:1-3) Christians. A fleshly Christian has the Spirit living within, but old sinful habits are so predominant that he resembles a surgeon wearing a thick pair of ski gloves while trying to perform open heart surgery! Not very effective! When we're living in the flesh-dominated by things like ego, self-will, jealousy, bitterness and indiscipline-the ability of the Spirit to work through us and touch the lives of others is severely limited. The fleshly Christian has the Spirit of Christ-the Master Surgeon's hand-living right inside, but alas, there's too much of sin and self in the way and too little of the surgeon is seen and felt.But what a difference when we decrease and He increases (as John the Baptist insisted must happen)! The glove becomes like an extra layer of skin on the surgeon's hand, allowing that hand to do its good work through us. Let's learn to get out of the way and be filled with the Spirit every day!

John Fairchild
Grace Community Church

One Year Reading Plan: Isaiah 54:1-57:14; Ephesians 6:1-24; Psalms 70:1-5; Proverbs 24:8:0
[Read online bible]

by John Fairchild — September 27, 2008 @ 9:00 pm (CST)