Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wings of Eagles
The morning we found out Prentice had gone to be with the Lord I asked Marcie to start reading to me from John 14 about the peace of heart and mind that only God could give as I was struggling with God with the why. We put Christ Tomlin on in the background as we were headed towards Missouri and were still in Tennessee close to the Mississippi River...this is when God gave us a gift to show us He was still here and that we were to trust in Him, even when we don't have the answers. God has appeared to us through Bald and Golden Eagles many times these last several years and this was no doubt one of those God moments. These are a couple of the shots we got as we came back over the river and they were still there waiting for us and started soaring soon after we started taking pictures. I will put up some Thanksgiving/Miller Christmas photos tomorrow. Merry Christmas!!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Trusting His "Favor"
Let me start with two verses that will navigate my thoughts. (Don't worry, my next blog entry will have some thanksgiving photos before we take off to Arkansas for Christmas.) I feel led to share thoughts and for the first time am not worried what happens from there...I'll explain more later (ha). Galatians 1:10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.
If you take the time to look at the context of these verses you will be amazed at the motivation, conviction, and boldness Paul had in presenting the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul was not caught up in what I term "Performance-based Christianity". He was concerned about Glorifying God as he continually presented the gospel that God was putting on his heart, not man. Tough to emulate Paul in today's world in this respect as I have always been somewhat of a people pleaser. Also, my family's financial welfare can influence too greatly on my boldness to share the truth of the gospel, or how much to confront someone. I find myself relying more and more on the Spirit's prompting of when to be bold and confront tough issues that come with the territory of being a minister. As always, I am a work in progress as I try and keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5).
Yet, God graciously revealed to me recently how performance based I still have been in my ministry...and life in general. In a book I read called "The Search for Significance" about 10 years ago, the author laid out the performance trap: performance + other's opinion = self worth. Being a performer on stage, the baseball diamond, and just starting out in ministry...this really spoke to me. I have been battling wanting the favor of men more than the favor of God ever since. God convicts our hearts and minds in His due time and patience, but it took a major rejection to reveal how I valued praise of men, more than praise from Him: and how I was still trying to gain God's favor.
My time in Tennessee taught me many things and one sticks out...it was the first time in my life a significant male authority in my life had flat out rejected me...over and over. For the first time in my life I couldn't "win" someone over that I needed to. Through this breaking down process I realized that I needed to rely more on pleasing God with my life more than pleasing a minister, my wife, or my family. This journey started about 3 years ago and God has been very gracious in teaching me how I have been "striving" to not only earn the favor of men, but His favor as well.
I have been convicted in parenthood and ministry that you can only take people as far as you're willing to be "taken" by God yourself. So, God recently used some mentors here to draw out how the need to perform and gain the favor of people has still been a motivation for me. (Don't worry, I asked them to help identify my weaknesses!) Performance isn't always the motivation, but the Spirit convicted me the other day more than ever how God views me...I don't have to earn His favor!! I will "never" have to earn His favor! No matter what God "accomplishes" through me from here on, it will not change the way He loves and accepts me one bit. This kind of unconditional love and acceptance is found to be very rare in our relationships here on earth yet God's favor on us is called grace (Definition of grace is unmerited favor). He doesn't force it on us as we have to accept this love and forgiveness freely and then freely give it away...but what an amazing thought that I don't have to earn His favor. Jesus is enough! What peace, assurance, love, and confidence is found as you soak in that thought. Motivates me to love my wife, children, and teens the same way God loves me!
I wanted to share that with you guys as this is very freeing to me as a person and as a minister and I simply thought it would bless you! Just receive it for yourself and hear God saying the same thing to you and receive it. Don't worry about this making me a steamroller not concerned of other's feelings...just rest in the fact we don't have to earn the favor of God! Jesus is enough...I love you guys.
Todd
If you take the time to look at the context of these verses you will be amazed at the motivation, conviction, and boldness Paul had in presenting the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul was not caught up in what I term "Performance-based Christianity". He was concerned about Glorifying God as he continually presented the gospel that God was putting on his heart, not man. Tough to emulate Paul in today's world in this respect as I have always been somewhat of a people pleaser. Also, my family's financial welfare can influence too greatly on my boldness to share the truth of the gospel, or how much to confront someone. I find myself relying more and more on the Spirit's prompting of when to be bold and confront tough issues that come with the territory of being a minister. As always, I am a work in progress as I try and keep in step with the Spirit (Gal. 5).
Yet, God graciously revealed to me recently how performance based I still have been in my ministry...and life in general. In a book I read called "The Search for Significance" about 10 years ago, the author laid out the performance trap: performance + other's opinion = self worth. Being a performer on stage, the baseball diamond, and just starting out in ministry...this really spoke to me. I have been battling wanting the favor of men more than the favor of God ever since. God convicts our hearts and minds in His due time and patience, but it took a major rejection to reveal how I valued praise of men, more than praise from Him: and how I was still trying to gain God's favor.
My time in Tennessee taught me many things and one sticks out...it was the first time in my life a significant male authority in my life had flat out rejected me...over and over. For the first time in my life I couldn't "win" someone over that I needed to. Through this breaking down process I realized that I needed to rely more on pleasing God with my life more than pleasing a minister, my wife, or my family. This journey started about 3 years ago and God has been very gracious in teaching me how I have been "striving" to not only earn the favor of men, but His favor as well.
I have been convicted in parenthood and ministry that you can only take people as far as you're willing to be "taken" by God yourself. So, God recently used some mentors here to draw out how the need to perform and gain the favor of people has still been a motivation for me. (Don't worry, I asked them to help identify my weaknesses!) Performance isn't always the motivation, but the Spirit convicted me the other day more than ever how God views me...I don't have to earn His favor!! I will "never" have to earn His favor! No matter what God "accomplishes" through me from here on, it will not change the way He loves and accepts me one bit. This kind of unconditional love and acceptance is found to be very rare in our relationships here on earth yet God's favor on us is called grace (Definition of grace is unmerited favor). He doesn't force it on us as we have to accept this love and forgiveness freely and then freely give it away...but what an amazing thought that I don't have to earn His favor. Jesus is enough! What peace, assurance, love, and confidence is found as you soak in that thought. Motivates me to love my wife, children, and teens the same way God loves me!
I wanted to share that with you guys as this is very freeing to me as a person and as a minister and I simply thought it would bless you! Just receive it for yourself and hear God saying the same thing to you and receive it. Don't worry about this making me a steamroller not concerned of other's feelings...just rest in the fact we don't have to earn the favor of God! Jesus is enough...I love you guys.
Todd
Monday, December 1, 2008
Loss of a modern-day Prophet
When you look at the definition of a prophet at dictionary.com the meaning is written as follows: a person who speaks for God by divine inspiration. We usually are apprehensive to label someone as a prophet because we immediately start thinking of someone predicting the future and loose the main purpose of a prophet...delivering the message God is giving them to His people.
I have always thought of Prentice as a modern-day prophet due to the amazing gift and passion he has in delivering God's message to His people. I just listened to his last prophetic message to His people and I was very touched and feel moved as I write this entry. My heart and mind became paralyzed after the first couple of minutes into the lesson (Personal Revival) as our modern-day prophet spoke these words for our future..."Don't we need a surprise sometimes to challenge our apathy? There's not a lot of passion, feelings, or emotion anymore. God mercifully uses terrible events in our lives to sometimes surprise us and get our attention. He even allows evil events into our lives to move us out of our boredom and out of our apathy, out of egotism, and even out of our pride."
Prentice was simply sharing what the Lord was laying on his heart. God has definitely used this shocking event in our lives to surprise us and get our attention. All of us have been moved out of apathy into a state of conviction and urgency. I received this lesson with credibility, respect, and admiration from a man who lived out a life full of passion, purpose, and boldness for his God. After pausing from the paralyzing effect of a man prophesying the weeks to come, I went on to hear a wonderful lesson that we all need to hear several times a year to be taken back to our personal "Bethel".
Prentice simply said, "I want to be a man of God. I want these young people to be close to God. How can we commit ourselves to God alone? 1) Go back to your Bethel, your place of commitment and conviction as ultimately...we become like the gods we worship. 2) Get rid of the foreign gods of money, doctrine, apathy, rationalization for disobedience, power, sports, family, etc. Identify and smash these gods." I was impressed at how he delivers a story that happened 1,600 years before the arrival of Jesus and interweaves a practical application for the gods we worship today that come between us and our God.
Prentice went on to ask the questions, "What is your first love? What is competing for God in your life? What do you talk about? What do you read, give your money to...Go back to Bethel! God loves a repentant heart that awakens itself to God and you are no longer Jacob...but Israel."
I think that I speak for myself and others when I say that this lesson, Prentice and his family fighting for his life over the weekend, the outpouring of support from those all over the world, and the Celebration of his life on Saturday...this has become our Bethel.
We will honor God by letting this message and the life of Prentice be a living Bethel to all of us. I saw it in my brother-in-law Mark this past weekend...the mantle was passed. I felt a peace and warmness when I hugged Mark on Friday night. I saw Mark do maybe the hardest thing he has ever volunteered to do...speak with an amazing presence and composure at his Dad's Celebration/Funeral. There is no other way to explain it...there was a Supernatural presence on Mark that truly was a gift from God passed down through his earthly father. I see great blessings ahead for Mark and his personal walk with God...his personal returns to a Bethel that no one else on this earth can have as only Mark had the father-son relationship with Prentice.
Prentice didn't compromise God's truth to earn the favor of men...yet so many people loved and admired this man of boldness and passion. Yet, his greatest accomplishment was he and Barbara's ability to pass this faith down to their own children and grandchildren. God co-labored with Prentice to bring thousands to Jesus Christ...yet no amount of success in the workplace can compensate for a failure at home. Prentice had success in all areas of life...he had the favor of God and he used it for His Glory.
Oh God, extend your favor to us as we all feel a new sense of urgency for you and desire for you after what happened over the last 10 days. Extend to us the same passion, purpose, and zeal for You that you gave to your servant Prentice. May we continue to go back to our Bethel that preceeded Thanksgiving 2008. You used Prentice himself to be a mouthpiece to tell us that we need a surprise sometimes to challenge our apathy. Prentice told us You mercifully use terrible events in our lives to get our attention. You even allow evil events into our lives to move us out of our apathy and pride. God, you have our attention...you and Prentice have spoken and our commitment to you is to honor your word and your servant as we identify and smash whatever it is that is competing for You in our own life.
Thank you Prentice for taking us back to Bethel.
Todd
I have always thought of Prentice as a modern-day prophet due to the amazing gift and passion he has in delivering God's message to His people. I just listened to his last prophetic message to His people and I was very touched and feel moved as I write this entry. My heart and mind became paralyzed after the first couple of minutes into the lesson (Personal Revival) as our modern-day prophet spoke these words for our future..."Don't we need a surprise sometimes to challenge our apathy? There's not a lot of passion, feelings, or emotion anymore. God mercifully uses terrible events in our lives to sometimes surprise us and get our attention. He even allows evil events into our lives to move us out of our boredom and out of our apathy, out of egotism, and even out of our pride."
Prentice was simply sharing what the Lord was laying on his heart. God has definitely used this shocking event in our lives to surprise us and get our attention. All of us have been moved out of apathy into a state of conviction and urgency. I received this lesson with credibility, respect, and admiration from a man who lived out a life full of passion, purpose, and boldness for his God. After pausing from the paralyzing effect of a man prophesying the weeks to come, I went on to hear a wonderful lesson that we all need to hear several times a year to be taken back to our personal "Bethel".
Prentice simply said, "I want to be a man of God. I want these young people to be close to God. How can we commit ourselves to God alone? 1) Go back to your Bethel, your place of commitment and conviction as ultimately...we become like the gods we worship. 2) Get rid of the foreign gods of money, doctrine, apathy, rationalization for disobedience, power, sports, family, etc. Identify and smash these gods." I was impressed at how he delivers a story that happened 1,600 years before the arrival of Jesus and interweaves a practical application for the gods we worship today that come between us and our God.
Prentice went on to ask the questions, "What is your first love? What is competing for God in your life? What do you talk about? What do you read, give your money to...Go back to Bethel! God loves a repentant heart that awakens itself to God and you are no longer Jacob...but Israel."
I think that I speak for myself and others when I say that this lesson, Prentice and his family fighting for his life over the weekend, the outpouring of support from those all over the world, and the Celebration of his life on Saturday...this has become our Bethel.
We will honor God by letting this message and the life of Prentice be a living Bethel to all of us. I saw it in my brother-in-law Mark this past weekend...the mantle was passed. I felt a peace and warmness when I hugged Mark on Friday night. I saw Mark do maybe the hardest thing he has ever volunteered to do...speak with an amazing presence and composure at his Dad's Celebration/Funeral. There is no other way to explain it...there was a Supernatural presence on Mark that truly was a gift from God passed down through his earthly father. I see great blessings ahead for Mark and his personal walk with God...his personal returns to a Bethel that no one else on this earth can have as only Mark had the father-son relationship with Prentice.
Prentice didn't compromise God's truth to earn the favor of men...yet so many people loved and admired this man of boldness and passion. Yet, his greatest accomplishment was he and Barbara's ability to pass this faith down to their own children and grandchildren. God co-labored with Prentice to bring thousands to Jesus Christ...yet no amount of success in the workplace can compensate for a failure at home. Prentice had success in all areas of life...he had the favor of God and he used it for His Glory.
Oh God, extend your favor to us as we all feel a new sense of urgency for you and desire for you after what happened over the last 10 days. Extend to us the same passion, purpose, and zeal for You that you gave to your servant Prentice. May we continue to go back to our Bethel that preceeded Thanksgiving 2008. You used Prentice himself to be a mouthpiece to tell us that we need a surprise sometimes to challenge our apathy. Prentice told us You mercifully use terrible events in our lives to get our attention. You even allow evil events into our lives to move us out of our apathy and pride. God, you have our attention...you and Prentice have spoken and our commitment to you is to honor your word and your servant as we identify and smash whatever it is that is competing for You in our own life.
Thank you Prentice for taking us back to Bethel.
Todd
Friday, November 21, 2008
Don't Let your Hearts be Troubled
I wanted to share with you below a recent class I did with the teens. Know that I told them it's normal to feel down, angry, hurt, sad, etc. Jesus wasn't saying not to feel...He was just commanding us not to stay there as we ultimately have a choice. This is a hard teaching for all of us to take to heart, but God would never command us to do something that was impossible...especially with the Spirit working in us. To put this teaching in perspective, John 14:1 preludes Jesus getting arrested and crucified...and he was commanding us to not "let" our hearts get troubled. His heart was about to be tested to the point of traces of blood in his sweat...but He didn't stay there did he?
Amazing...so, no matter where the economy is, no matter what is going on in this world, and no matter the sorrow we feel when we lose loved ones...we have a choice to trust in God/Jesus/Holy Spirit...or reside in our flesh. I love you guys and know this is a tough command for me this week with the death of Barrett Lewis...but ultimately I will trust in God as I grieve the loss of my friend and direct my anger towards the thief who robbed Linda, Rachel, and his little girls. (The numbers below in parentheses were power point slides and Kardia is the greek word for heart...)
House of KARDIA Choices 11-12-08
(1)John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
Your first reaction is going to determine the outcome in a crisis situation. Seldom do we have the luxury of sitting back and looking at things. (2)The attitude you have when Satan comes against you is going to determine the final result. If you can get a hold of this truth, it will revolutionize your life. The less we operate in hurt or depression, the more the Word will take root and convict us!! Mark 4:13-20
(3) In John 14:1, Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me." this is a command as much as any other command in the Word — as much as "thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, and thou shalt not kill." It is a direct command from the Lord!
Now this is so simple that you can miss it. It's very profound, however. (4) The first thing you have to do when Satan comes against you is to make the decision that you are not going to let your heart be troubled.
If you were to diagram this sentence, the understood subject is "you." You don’t let your heart be troubled. God gave you the choice. God gave you power over your heart.
Again, this is so simple we often miss it. The vast majority of people who are attacked by Satan don't really understand this. A lot of them believe that in a given situation, there is no way that they can help but to be depressed and discouraged. They justify emotions that are contrary to God's Word. So the very first thing you have to do is say, "I am not going to let my heart be troubled." (MY DAD!!!)
(5)John 14:26-27 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. This is as much of a command as thou shall not steal, or thou shall not murder!!
(6) Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Are you depressed tonight? You are probably mostly thinking about things that are depressing. Are you discouraged tonight? You are probably focusing on things that are discouraging. Are you angry or bitter at something or someone? You most likely are focusing your thoughts on what fuels your anger. WE HAVE A CHOICE!!
(7) Your spirit never gets depressed, it never gets discouraged, it never gets fearful!! The Bible tells us we are one in Spirit with the Lord...our battle is with our fleshly responses.
(8) Psalm 42 and 43 tell us what to do when we are lonely or depressed...Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! MARK 4:13-20!!!
(9) We have a choice like Stephen, Jesus, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego facing a crisis...what choice did they make? They responded in line with the Spirit that was controlling their hearts and minds!! We may feel justified but God commanded us to not let our hearts be troubled! We are to put our hope and trust in Him and praise him no matter what happens.
Be what God is calling you to be and don’t let the enemy rule your thoughts and steal your joy!!
(10) John 14:1 Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me."
(The teens and parents received this very well and we had a powerful prayer time at the end with each other where teens were releasing their hurts and struggles to the Lord! Praise God!)
See you on Tuesday...Todd
Amazing...so, no matter where the economy is, no matter what is going on in this world, and no matter the sorrow we feel when we lose loved ones...we have a choice to trust in God/Jesus/Holy Spirit...or reside in our flesh. I love you guys and know this is a tough command for me this week with the death of Barrett Lewis...but ultimately I will trust in God as I grieve the loss of my friend and direct my anger towards the thief who robbed Linda, Rachel, and his little girls. (The numbers below in parentheses were power point slides and Kardia is the greek word for heart...)
House of KARDIA Choices 11-12-08
(1)John 14:1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.”
Your first reaction is going to determine the outcome in a crisis situation. Seldom do we have the luxury of sitting back and looking at things. (2)The attitude you have when Satan comes against you is going to determine the final result. If you can get a hold of this truth, it will revolutionize your life. The less we operate in hurt or depression, the more the Word will take root and convict us!! Mark 4:13-20
(3) In John 14:1, Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me." this is a command as much as any other command in the Word — as much as "thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, and thou shalt not kill." It is a direct command from the Lord!
Now this is so simple that you can miss it. It's very profound, however. (4) The first thing you have to do when Satan comes against you is to make the decision that you are not going to let your heart be troubled.
If you were to diagram this sentence, the understood subject is "you." You don’t let your heart be troubled. God gave you the choice. God gave you power over your heart.
Again, this is so simple we often miss it. The vast majority of people who are attacked by Satan don't really understand this. A lot of them believe that in a given situation, there is no way that they can help but to be depressed and discouraged. They justify emotions that are contrary to God's Word. So the very first thing you have to do is say, "I am not going to let my heart be troubled." (MY DAD!!!)
(5)John 14:26-27 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. This is as much of a command as thou shall not steal, or thou shall not murder!!
(6) Philippians 4:8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Are you depressed tonight? You are probably mostly thinking about things that are depressing. Are you discouraged tonight? You are probably focusing on things that are discouraging. Are you angry or bitter at something or someone? You most likely are focusing your thoughts on what fuels your anger. WE HAVE A CHOICE!!
(7) Your spirit never gets depressed, it never gets discouraged, it never gets fearful!! The Bible tells us we are one in Spirit with the Lord...our battle is with our fleshly responses.
(8) Psalm 42 and 43 tell us what to do when we are lonely or depressed...Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again—my Savior and my God! MARK 4:13-20!!!
(9) We have a choice like Stephen, Jesus, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego facing a crisis...what choice did they make? They responded in line with the Spirit that was controlling their hearts and minds!! We may feel justified but God commanded us to not let our hearts be troubled! We are to put our hope and trust in Him and praise him no matter what happens.
Be what God is calling you to be and don’t let the enemy rule your thoughts and steal your joy!!
(10) John 14:1 Jesus says, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me."
(The teens and parents received this very well and we had a powerful prayer time at the end with each other where teens were releasing their hurts and struggles to the Lord! Praise God!)
See you on Tuesday...Todd
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Frontier Days in Wetumpka/Animal Safari in Georgia
These are the boys inside Fort Touluse about 10 miles north of Montgomery in a little town called Wetumpka. This was a French fort built in the early 17th century at a river fork leading into the Alabama River. It was a trading post and the French and Indians ended up co-existing peacefully. We made this into a field trip for the boys on my day off during the week (Friday). They do a big blowout every year taking you back in time as these are just a few pictures of what was spread out over 10 acres and it really felt authetic.
There also happened to be a guy from Ireland and the boys loved his swords of course...
The boys most recent field trip took them on an Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Marcie and the boys went with a homeschooling group from church and I couldn't make it on this one as they went on a Thursday this past week. They said it was awesome and saw all sorts of animals including a Liger...yes a Liger and a Zony (Zebra/Pony), Zonkey (Zebra/Donkey), and fed a lot of animals. Isaac's high was getting licked in the face by a Giraffe. He said Nana would have screamed! Enjoy the pictures (click on picture below and look at Owen on the left)
The boys most recent field trip took them on an Animal Safari in Pine Mountain, Georgia. Marcie and the boys went with a homeschooling group from church and I couldn't make it on this one as they went on a Thursday this past week. They said it was awesome and saw all sorts of animals including a Liger...yes a Liger and a Zony (Zebra/Pony), Zonkey (Zebra/Donkey), and fed a lot of animals. Isaac's high was getting licked in the face by a Giraffe. He said Nana would have screamed! Enjoy the pictures (click on picture below and look at Owen on the left)
We're going "tongue" crazy in these next photos...
Here comes the Liger, Zonkey, and dancing Ostrich...
Our own Monkey, Bear, Tiger, and Alligator bait...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Pumpkins and Halloween
We always have a good time carving the pumpkins and this year we let the boys create their own design. You have to love the 3 eyed pumpkin Isaac carved. Little Owen says, "Crying??", every time he looks at Easton's and Andrew went for the more traditional look and had me carve it for him. Easton and Isaac actually carved theirs and felt very grown-up doing so. Owen had to get in on the act and made little marks with his plastic tool.
We also had a fun time at Trunk or Treat. The boys loved another reason to dress up in their Star Wars outfits: Easton (Annakin), Isaac (Obi Won), Andrew (Clone Trooper), and Owen in the same cowboy outfit Nana used to dress me in. Marcie even colored a beard on Isaac and they were in full character with friends at Landmark. We are so blessed to have these boys running around and bringing life to our home. God is good!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Decade of Parenting
Well, there's something about your child hitting double digits that makes you wonder where the last 10 years went. With more ups than downs, we feel extremely blessed! Thank you for the cards, gifts, and phone calls. Enjoy the following pictures...Nana, the white star wars lego ship is what you got Easton. He spent 3 and half hours straight on it and got it done. Everything you see below we did on his day + a trip to a driving range and playground. He also got to see National Treasure 2 after church.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Marcie (Babe)
Point well taken Dad!! We need to give a little Marcie time to all of those who read this blog. As you see above, she is a Babe, and that is what I call her most of the time!! In the picture with Marcie are two of her neices (Alli Kate and Becca). It's sweet how much her nieces love to see her and she gets a little taste of what it may have been like...you just never know as God could overcome my exclusive V-club membership and do whatever He wants to do. That's what it would take for us to get a little girl or God would have to convict our hearts to adopt a little female angel.
Marcie is working very hard with homeschooling, keeping the house up to her standards (with a little help from her boys of course), making time with God, and putting up with Stocky Stracke...me! Being a teacher of two different grades simultaneously is tough enough when you have two other boys wanting your attention and getting into everything. If it wasn't for Math, homeschooling would be much easier...Easton has the ability but has days he would rather be doing anything but the math set before him. I've told him that I enjoyed math, I just despised the Algebra and Geometry...ugghhh! I'm very proud of Marcie for what she does on a daily basis and is actually joyful and excited to see me when I get home from work. Without being cheesy, there are a lot of things she does on a daily basis that are beyond what is deserved or merited on my part.
So, here's to you Marcie and women like you...I don't know how you do it and get it done with so much Joy and dependence on Him! Thank you for teaching my boys about the Trinity and all the academic stuff too. I love you Marcie...and as Grandma Stracke says...I better not mess this one up. Your children are rising up and calling you blessed!
Todd
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Random Shots...
Here are a couple of random photos of late. I will start with one of my favorites of Owen in his Bama Jams. Just a little bit of difference in air off the ramp between Easton and Andrew. Isaac (Obi Wan Kenobi) with his one-eyed friend Casey. He literally had one eye shut in all of the pictures we took...pretty funny.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
It's your Birthday...Get busy...
We had a great day celebrating Isaac's 8th Birthday as Marcie always does a good job of spreading the "wealth" of gifts throughout the day. I'll give you a little photo tour of some of the things we did. Bass Pro and the driving range won't make it as I didn't take the camera with me...
Yep, Owen still loves the boots baby...aren't they cute at the park?
The bike ramp was a lot of fun...
Isaac picked out the mellow yellow and wanted to drink it like his Dad does...sorry about the manners he's learning nana!
A little Red Robin tasted good to the soul...
Isaac was excited to watch Star Wars for the first time...
A great way to end the night with Marcie's fresh stove popcorn and watching little Annakin Skywalker growing up in Star Wars I!! Isaac got a number of gifts that didn't get represented here but I hope you enjoyed a snapshot of his day. He got to have a friend spend the night Friday as we continued the celebration and watched II & IV...may the force be with you!
Friday, October 17, 2008
Pumpkin Patch
We traveled up I65 to Clanton, Alabama to a big farm that had all sorts of activities to go along with a hay ride and picking your pumpkin out of an actual pumpkin patch. We had a lot of fun with the boys as I'm enjoying having an actual day off on Friday's with the family.
Below are some of the other attractions involving a Tee Pee and sunflowers...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
