So cute!

Zach can be so sweet! On Valentine's day we had a night in, it was so simple and cute. He ordered our favorite pizza in the shape of a heart (he had done this once before we got married... so papa john's stole his idea!). We had such a nice night.



However, Zach doesn't just do cute things on Valentine's day... he does some occasionally, well maybe more like quarterly. Anyways, I took a shot of one cute thing he did in January after he had made me dinner:



so cute! Love you hon.

Ouch!

Yes it has been over 10 days since our last post... definitely unacceptable. We were a little busy this past week. I'll try to catch you up...

Ellie had her first boo-boo last week. She was playing with her toy basket and caught her thumb in between the basket and handle. We took a picture of it of course! It looked a lot worse after it had scabbed over.



She felt much better when we let her play outside. We had some gorgeous 70 degrees days... we tried to take advantage of them!

Happy Valentine's Day

Carboard Testimony

The church we attend, Summit, is launching a new campaign to reach all of the RDU area. This past Sunday, our pastor shared with us the reason why we were doing this. The answer is, "It's about people. People are the mission; they are worth the investment of our lives." They showed this video below, which demonstrates this:


The Summit - Cardboard Testimony from Chris Baker on Vimeo.

What an awesome video. Jesus changes our perspective, our hearts, our lives. I wanted to share this with you, not to show you what our church is doing, but to remind you how Christ has changed us, how he changes others. We want to share Christ with others, not just because we think it's truth, but because of the effect He has on people's lives.

Look at Me!

Here is all the new things Ellie has learned to do this past month:



What excitement! I'm gonna have my hands full pretty soon.

Milk it for all that it's worth...

This past Wednesday at a women bible study I attend, Jill Thomas, an amazing woman, challenged us to celebrate our life and milk it for all that it's worth. This definitely hit home because a lot of times I seem to forget to enjoy each moment, not to wait on what's next or how things could be better, but to really live exuberantly. So hopefully I will be changed, that I will no longer focus on what's next or what I don't have, but I will celebrate all the joys and moments I do have... right now, today.

In Deuteronomy 30:15-16 it says,
"Look at what I've done for you today: I've placed in front of you
Life and Good
Death and Evil.
And I command you today : Love GOD, your God. Walk in his ways. Keep his commandments, regulations, and rules so that you will live, really live, live exuberantly, blessed by GOD, your God, in the land you are about to enter and possess." (the Message)

We don't even know if there will be a tomorrow, so why focus on negative things. I need to change my perspective! God has given me so much, why waste it and this life? I have all that I need, why shouldn't I celebrate and be happy?

Jesus Is Not Your Homeboy

I am a sinner and for that reason I am a huge fan of the doctrine of grace. In fact I could probably go toe-for-toe with Paul as the world's worst. Actually I have no idea how I would rank among sinners in God's economy but suffice it to say we would all be dead apart from the gifts of grace and mercy.

As I have read through the first few books of the Old Testament this year I see, as I'm sure many of you would, a particularly clear pattern that displays the holiness, sovereignty, and omnipotence of God. Read Exodus 20-40, this is the beginning of the Law of Moses and the instructions on how to build the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle. These chapters include precise instructions and specifications for each item to be included and used in the tabernacle. These instructions were so precise because this is where the glory of the LORD was to reside with the people of Israel.

Only the high priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once a year and this was only after he had followed very specific cleansing rituals and was wearing special garments.

Why does this matter? Like I said, Im a very big fan of the doctrine of grace but I also see that there is a lot more to this picture than fluffy sheep-hugging Messiah. Jesus is not our homeboy. We can approach him with confidence to receive mercy and grace in a time of need (Hebrews 4:16) but we should not approach him arrogantly or with an attitude that might make him seem less than the eternal all powerful son of God.

Justin Taylor had 2 great clips on his blog talking about this very subject today. In Mark 14 Jesus stands before the Sanhedrin and they clearly ask him "are you the Christ?" He responds without any caveats or conditions "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

The title Jesus frequently used, "the Son of Man", is not a reference to his humanity while "Son of God" is a reference to his diety. No, rather "the Son of Man" is a reference to Daniel 7 where Daniel said he saw "one like a son of man" who came before the Ancient of Days and was presented with all glory and a kingdom that all people should server him.

Jesus is not A son of man nor is he the son of A man...he is but this is not what the title mean. He is THE son of man as referenced in Daniel 7. This statement by Jesus in front of the Sanhedrin is particularly poignant because only one of them could enter the earthly Holy of Holies one time a year while Jesus, the son of man, can freely come and go before the LORD in the heavenly Holy of Holies.

The long and short, Jesus in not your homeboy.

Meet Jack

You have seen a picture of Jack on a previous post. Here is how much Ellie loves Jack:

Ooops

So the other day when it snowed, I was really excited and let Kayla out to go play in it. Well I got the camera to record her running around and eating the snow, however the camera ended up dying on me.... but not before I caught this (the end is me slipping and falling down our little hill, notice that kayla's nose is completely in the snow):

Play Buddies

Ellie absolutely LOVES playing with Kayla. It is so cute to watch, and such a joy that we have such a sweet dog! We were able to catch it on video. Enjoy!


They just love each other:

6 Things Joel Osteen Won't Tell You

While reading Michael Horton's Christless Christianity, our blogger friend DF came to six startling conclusions about Joel Osteen.

*****

In a nutshell, Horton majestically fleeces Osteen for preaching a defective gospel.

So, as I draw to a close on reading the book, I wanted to draw out six wrong conclusions Osteen shares about being a Christian. Read on for the drama.

Where Did Osteen Go Wrong?

Joel Osteen went wrong when he decided to become a life-enhancement preacher.

On any given sunday at Lakewood. . . Joel Osteen’s church. . .you’ll hear a pulpit full of the abundant life gospel: try a little harder and luxuries galore will fall into your lap.

Unfortunately, Osteen’s dead wrong.

When we become Christians–born again believers–God doesn’t promise a life of ease. Just the opposite.

Read the rest at http://fallenandflawed.com

*****

Demian makes several pertinent observations regarding the Christian faith and the promises that come with it. I am reminded of the conversation Susan and Mrs. Beaver have in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia book, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Susan: "Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting [him]."

Mrs. Beaver: "That you will, dearie, and make no mistake...if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

Susan: "Then he isn't safe?"

Mr. Beaver: "Safe?... Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good."

Prosperity and safety in this life are not guarantees found anywhere near the gospel but we can rest assured that His will is good.

First SNOW!

I absolutely LOVE snow! This was Ellie's and Kayla's first snow... so we took some pictures. Enjoy :)

Ellie didn't enjoy sitting in the snow:

...but Kayla loved running around in it (and eating it too):

This is a shot of Ellie in my arms, not in the snow (hence the content face):

Beautiful shot of Kayla:

Our house covered in snow, doesn't it look so pretty?:

Why I Hate Sanctity of Life Sunday

Dr. Russell Moore of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary gives a pithy explanation to his bold statement that he hates sanctity of life Sunday. Great read.

Gut Busting Awesomness

Two Front Teeth

She got her first tooth at 6 months, and the second at 7 months.... no more since then. This is a shot we took over the holidays. I found it and thought, what a great shot of her teeth, I need to share this!

Job and God's Character

If any of you are actively following a Bible reading plan then you might be reading the book of Job right now. This is a particularly difficult book to read for a number of reasons. One of them being that we often bring some predispositions with us when we start reading this book. If you ask most people: "What's the point of the book of Job" they will probably tell you that "Job should be a model for us and we should trust God because his plan is good, like Job did." There is real truth in that statement. God's plan is good. There is also some misconceptions in that statement. Yes, Job was a righteous man. Yes, Job could be a good model for our lives. No, Job did not handle the trials God allowed him to go through like some super-Christian. It is true that Job never committed apostasy yet his tone and demeanor was at times bold and perhaps even harsh or defiant. Several times early on in the book Job confesses his displeasure in life and curses the day he was born. Job's situation was awful and his agony cannot be overstated in terms we can understand yet his language still comes across as a little self-aggrandizing.

In the end Job is restored to a higher standing in society and he learns a valuable lesson about suffering and justice but Job is not the focus of this book, God is. Job sees that God's plan was indeed good and that what happened to him WAS just. When I read this I was almost immediately confounded. God himself declared Job to be a "blameless and upright man who fears God and turns from evil." How could his suffering be just?

This is the conversation Laura and I had a few nights ago. What makes Job's suffering just? How is this fair? Why would God do this? At first we concluded that a little suffering was fair because God had a "higher" purpose to it and he rewarded Job with a better life than he had before. We thought that because Job learned a lesson about God and the fact that someone on the "God-team" triumphed of the evils of Satan by not renouncing his faith in God was a "higher purpose." This isn't totally wrong but there was a fundamental error in our thinking.

We judged it to be OK that because there was a lesson learned in the end that it was fair for God to allow Job to be persecuted the way he was. WRONG. That logic places some arbitrary set of constraints on what God can do and still be a just God. The rationale of why Job's suffering was just is not predicated on the end benefits to Job but rather the fact that it was ordained by God. The fundamental question that needs to be answered for this to make sense is, what defines justice? The answer: God does. God's character is totally self-defined. If God does it, it is just. Holiness is anything that God does. Sovereignty is the execution of God's omnipotence. The characteristics we associate with and attribute to God are self referential. God is neither defined by nor constrained by anything other than himself. We must must go through every pain necessary to ensure we do not attempt to constrain God's character or we will miss out on some amazing opportunities to throw our selves at his mercy.

The lesson to be learned from Job are many but perhaps the most important is (to borrow from John Piper) Christian hedonism no matter our circumstances because of who God has revealed himself to be.

Kayla aka Brittney Spears

Okay maybe not quite Brittney Spears and more along the line of Ray Charles... but here is our dog singing the blues. (watch how she looks around at first like she is checking to see if anybody else is watching. love it.)



That is me playing the harmonica I gave Zach for Christmas. I think she's singing about how she gets no love now that Ellie is here. Don't believe her, we still try to give her lots of love.

Important Finding on Cesarean Births!

I came across an article on newsandobserver.com that was very informative and thought I should share! Here's the link to the article: http://www.newsobserver.com/2187/story/1357988.html

A study was done about cesareans performed before 39 weeks versus cesareans performed after 39 weeks. The results you should read for yourself in the article, but I'll summarize a few key points.

Cesareans are usually scheduled early to mothers who had already one c-section. Well this study found that babies will have more complications if a c-section is performed before 39 weeks. The key problem is that more women are choosing to have c-sections the first time without a necessary cause for it. This leads to scheduling an earlier c-section the second time to avoid the uterus from rupturing.

So I think all doctors (and all friends) should highly encourage natural birth not just of the complications that already can come with a c-section, but how much more significant the complications can be the second time around. Of course I definitely understand the situations where a c-section is vital and necessary, and I'm not talking about that. But just when there is an option presented and you CAN wait (which we all know is hard to do once you get to 36 weeks)... let the baby come naturally!

Broad Readership

Over the last few months our family blog has grown to have an unimaginably large and diverse readership. Ok, thats not quite the truth but there are enough people that visit our blog each day or want notification of updates that blogger can't handle it (they only support a very few people to get e-mail notification). For this reason we added a feed burner gadget just below the picture on the right side of our blog. If you would like e-mail notification of new posts rather then just wasting time every day checking our blog then you can enter your e-mail address in that gadget and we will send you an e-mail after each new post. This should free up enough extra time that you can stalk some other family or news site. Try it out.

Practicing...

I thought I would share some of my favorite photos I have captured while practicing with my new camera :)

Ellie was not very happy being my subject...

She got better though after I gave her some toys...

Of course I can't forget Kayla:

Ellie posing in her crib with her new best friend, Jack the monkey:

Ellie is a pink bear!