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He truly is the definition of his name, "asked of God." They told us that we would not have children, but like Hannah, we prayed for a child.

God provided this wonderful gift, more than I ever could have imagined.

Two great philosophers on the wall...

Calvin and Hobbes.

We decided to update the boys' room, and I ambitiously volunteered myself to paint a mural on the wall. (Never done it before, though once I painted a billboard for $100.)

Here are a couple of pictures of the (almost) final version. I still need to do some shading on Hobbes' nose.

Why I Love Jesus (Meme)

I haven't been tagged in quite a while, so I wasn't sad about getting tagged from truegrit.

Here are the Rules:
Those tagged will share 5 things they “love” about Jesus. Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers. Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here with their name so that others can read them.

1. He loves us. I have to give this reason as number one, because the only reason why I love Him at all is because He first loved us.

2. He was one of us. I love Him because He walked the dust of this earth. I absolutely love that about Christ. He was a baby, a toddler, an adolescent... He was one of us, yet without sin. In every way He was tempted like us, but He did not sin. He maintained perfect communion with the father, even though He was a man. If that is not enough to win the respect and love of every man, I don't know what is.

3. He was moved with compassion. While He was on this earth, there are so many times that He looked on crowds of people, or on one beggar, and He was moved with compassion.

4. He died for us. He became sin for us, and took the wrath of God for us. He did it, and He did it at our hands. The very hands He came to save are the hands that drove the nails and held the handle to the whip. He knew all of this before He came, and still He came.

5. His name. I love the fact that one day every knee will confess His name as Lord. All of the doubters, all of the mockers, all of the people who believe that He is just one of many truths... One day there will be no more doubt. I love that.


Now I need to tag five people...
1. Joe
2. the gnarly dudette
3. Rick Boyne
4. Rodney Olsen (unless he has already done this one)
5. and even though she usually doesn't do this kind of stuff, my wife

crassus

I am currently reading the book titled, Not Even a Hint, by Josh Harris. It is a book that I have wanted to read for a long time, but kept putting it off in favor of other books on my reading list. I finally picked it up the other day and dove in. I am only through the first three chapters, and it has been good so far. I am sure that I will give a quick review of this book when I am done with it, but I read something today that I wanted to share with you. It isn't anything profound, but I thought that it was interesting and blog worthy.

I once read the true story of a duke named Raynald III, who lived during the fourteenth century. His sad life illustrates how giving in to our lustful desires -- the very thing we often equate with freedom -- actually robs us of freedom and true joy.

Raynald III had lived a life of indulgence and was extremely overweight. In fact, he was commonly called by his latin nickname, Crassus, which means "fat."

After a violent quarrel, Raynald's younger brother, Edward, led a successful revolt against him. Edward captured Raynald but did not kill him. Instead he built a room around him in the Nieuwkerk Castle and promised him he could regain his freedom as soon as he was able to leave the room.

This wouldn't have been difficult for most people since the room had several windows and a door of near-normal size, and none was locked or barred. The problem was Raynald's size. To regain his freedom, he needed to lose weight. But Edward knew his older brother, and each day he sent him a variety of delicious foods. Instead of dieting his way to freedom, Raynald grew fatter. He stayed in the room for ten years, till his brother died in battle. But by then his health was so ruined that he died within a year -- a prisoner of his own appetite.

Many men and women today are prisoners to their appetite for lust. Like Raynald, they look free, maybe eve happy. They're doing what they want. They're doing what feels good. But the sad truth is that every bite of lust's delicacies only makes them more of a prisoner. When we indulge in a life of sin and do whatever feels good, we're not free. We're slaves to our sin.

I just thought that was a really interesting, yet sad, story. It illustrates the point that Harris was trying to make rather well, but it also got me to thinking about this guy Raynald. What a tragedy to be known for your lack of ability to get out of your prison cell because you don't have enough self-control to stop eating. I know that I have some trouble saying no to a Big Mac, so I am not being judgmental towards him. It just seemed so sad.

It got me to thinking about what we are known for. When people see us, what do they think? When your name comes up in a conversation, what do people say about you? I doubt that I will be remembered for anything when I am gone, but if I am, I hope that, by God's grace, they won't remember me, but will remember how Christ has worked in me.

Christian School?

In 1893, the National Education Association had this to say about the role of God in the schools,

If the study of the Bible is to be excluded from all state schools – if the inculcation of the principles of Christianity is to have no place in the daily program – if the worship of God is to form no part of the general exercises of these public elementary schools – then the good of the State would be better served by restoring all schools to church control.

I could not have put it better. I have believed in Christian School for a long time, and it is for those very reasons mentioned in this quote. What is the purpose without God? Can we pull ourselves up by our own merits? Are we improving ourselves without Him?

Do I think that the public schools should be abandoned... ?

(Actually, yes.)

The Hobbit - Book Review

Ok, I know that I am a little late with a review of The Hobbit, but I just finished reading this with my boys. Their ages are currently eight and five, and I knew that the 8-year-old could handle this book, but I was a little worried about the 5-year-old. Those worries were soon quenched after I read the first few paragraphs.

Anyway, here is my review...

Summary: (Just in case you don't know this already...) This book is the somewhat autobiographical rendition of the journey of one Hobbit, by the name of Bilbo Baggins. The title that he gave to this book is There and Back Again.

Hobbits, as you know, are comfortable creatures. They enjoy their ale, their pipes, and their many meals each day. Adventures are not a part of their makeup.

This Hobbit finds himself in the middle of an adventure when a wizard, a dwarf king, and eleven other dwarves show up on his doorstep one night. Before he knows what has happened, he finds himself facing trolls, trekking mountains, fighting goblins, killing giant spiders, riding on giant eagles, fleeing wolves, hiding from wood elves, trapped in life-or-death riddle games, and (worse for a hobbit) missing meals. All of this while knowing that at the end of the journey is a dragon and a dwarf treasure.

My Thoughts: In my humble opinion, this book should be moved amongst the classics. I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw that my school has this book on their reading list. I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that it is a must-read. I am telling you, if you have never read this book, might I suggest that you do it.

Tolkien is an amazing writer. In fact, I don't know if you could find a book that is as detailed as this and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The histories that he wrote before he wrote these books just blows my mind. There was a book, called The Silmarillion, that was never meant to be published, of the history of middle earth. The way I understand it, he wrote it to get his facts straight before he started writing the other books.

You could also check out The Essential Tolkien Library for all of the books.

Gardner Needed

This isn't a reference to my own garden, though I haven't weeded yet, and I need to before my wife gets home. No, this is a reference to a devotional that I just read from Spurgeon's devotional book called Morning and Evening. My sister gave me this book for Christmas I think, quite a while ago. It is a really nice hardback book that looks great on my shelf, but I hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. Well, about a month ago, I picked it up because I was really struggling with being in the Word on a daily basis, so I thought I would try a devotional for a while.

I have to say that it has been surprisingly good. I usually consider Spurgeon really stern and unyielding, but as I read these devotionals, I have found his material strongly flavored with mercy and grace. But not just any mercy and grace, I am talking about the kind of mercy and grace that can only come from one who realizes how much of a recipient of mercy and grace that they are.

Let me share with you a clip. This comes from the July 1st evening devotional. The scripture was Genesis 3:8 which says, "The voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day." Consider this bit of his thoughts to this verse, I won't share the whole thing with you, but here is a tidbit:

Come, therefore, O Lord, my God, my soul invites Thee earnestly, and waits for Thee eagerly. Come to me, O Jesus, my well-beloved, and plant fresh flowers in my garden, such as I see blooming in such perfection in Thy matchless character! Come, O my Father, who art the Husbandman, and deal with me in Thy tenderness and prudence! Come, O Holy Spirit, and bedew my whole nature, as the herbs are now moistened with the evening dews. O that God would speak to me. Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth! O that He would walk with me; I am ready to give up my whole heart and mind to Him, and every other thought is hushed. ... My Father, my elder Brother, my sweet Comforter, speak now in loving kindness, for Thou hast opened mine ear and I am not rebellious.

Oh, how I need to echo these words every morning! I prayed them again as I typed them and proof read them. I like that phrase, "... deal with me ..." I flinched a little when I said that; I thought, man is that going to hurt, but then Spurgeon comes back with "... in Thy tenderness and prudence." I need God to deal with me. Truly I do, but I always hope that He does it in tenderness.

I also love that last sentence, "My Father, my elder Brother, my sweet Comforter, speak now in loving kindness, for Thou has opened mine ear and I am not rebellious."

This has been my prayer this morning. I hope it may have been an encouragement to at least one who has stumbled upon this blog today.