A Normal Day

This is a bit long, but pretty good nonetheless.

Emily for Mother of the Year

I'm nominating Emily for wife and mother of the year. Thanks for all you do to make our home so wonderful Emily!

Our Boys

Just some good pictures of the boys that I wanted to share.

Reformation Videos

If you've never studied the men of the protestant reformation or just want to brush up on them, here are some videos someone posted on Youtube that might help. They run about 30 minutes for each reformer (it is broken into 3 files). They are all good, but the one on Luther is not the best (so don't start with it). Start with Hus or Tyndale, especially if you've never heard of these men and the sacrifices they made so that you can read the Bible in the language you speak. They are produced by Vision video if you are interested.

John Wycliffe
William Tyndale
William Tyndale Part 2
John Hus
Martin Luther
John Calvin
Ulrich Zwingli
Anabaptists
Anabaptist Part 2
Anabaptist Part 3 - or really 1?
Oliver Cromwell
Part 2
Erasmus (not a reformer, but important in the process)

Brave Sir Ben

One of the things we really wanted for the kids this year was dress up costumes. They got a kings crown, a dragon suit, some superhero masks, and this knights outfit. Ben really likes it. He would walk around the house saying, "I'm gonna poke you daddy."

Optical Illusions

Pretty Cool Stuff.

Christmas Pictures

We Wish Everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12 Days of Theology

Source

On the first day of Theology my professor gave to me atonement on an old tree.

On the second day of Theology my professor gave to me two Testaments and atonement on an old tree.

On the third day of Theology my professor gave to me three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fourth day of Theology my professor gave to me four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the fifth day of Theology my professor gave to me five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the sixth day of Theology my professor gave to me six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the seventh day of Theology my professor gave to me seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eighth day of Theology my professor gave to me eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the ninth day of Theology my professor gave to me nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the tenth day of Theology my professor gave to me ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the eleventh day of Theology my professor gave to me eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

On the twelfth day of Theology my professor gave to me twelve tribes of Israel, eleven apostles on Easter, ten Commandments, nine fruits of the Spirit, eight persons on the ark, seven churches in Asia, six days of creation, five points of Calvinism! Four Gospel books, three divine persons, two Testaments, and atonement on an old tree.

E-Scavenger Hunt

Our final installment of "playroom monotony avoidance tactics."

Boredom is the enemy in our house. Not that the kids get tired of playing with their toys very often, but Emily and I do. So I'm always trying to think of something new to do with their toys, or some new game to play. One day we decided to play computer scavenger hunt. I went around the house and took pictures of things all over the house. Sometimes it was something very small and hard, and other times it was a favorite DVD cover. The boys loved it. Our real goal was to get some energy out, so we told them to run to find the object and then run back to the computer to see the next picture. It worked beautifully. We played again the next day with some new pictures.

So if you have come up with any fun games to pass the time, what are they?

Jesus Vs. Santa

Matchbox Cars

Day 2 of our series on "avoiding playroom monotony."

Sometimes you have to get creative with the matchbox cars racetrack. Here Ben races the cars down the stairs, through the loop, and onto a jump. Caleb's job is to try to catch the cars after they jump.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday Emily!

Super Tube

This post will begin a series of posts dealing with creative activities to keep the kids (and the parents) from boredom.

On a boring afternoon we decided to take a bunch of tubing we found around the house and put it together to make a "Super Tube." We then rolled balls down the tube from the second floor down to the first. The boys would take turns at the top and bottom, running back and forth and wearing themselves out. It was great!

The Gospel in 6 Minutes

John Piper presents the gospel in 6 minutes.

Dews come for a visit

Our boys sure do love the Dew twins (who wouldn't).

Christmas Cartoon

Sleepy Ben

Ben had a cold a few days ago. He didn't slow down too much, but when he got tired it would hit him hard. Here he is after falling asleep watching a show.

FYI, that's a spiderman tatoo on his stomach...his bellybutton isn't that big...not that there's anything wrong with big belly buttons.

Name That Tune

This game is pretty cool. The faster you answer the more points you get. A lot of the shows were before my time (I assume), because I had never heard of them. Give it a try and see how you do.
Link

Jars

We are trying a new discipline/motivation technique in the house. Every day the boys get a ball in their jar (which they decorated). If they behave, they get to keep it, if not, they lose it. Once they collect a few, they can then turn them in for prizes. Going to the ice cream store, getting a new book, getting a piece of candy, going putt-putt, etc. The boys picked out the prizes, we just set the "price."

So far it seems to be working pretty well. They really don't like the idea of losing a ball (whereas time out doesn't always get a negative reaction).

They both saved up for the most expensive thing and we went putt putt last Sunday afternoon. Now they are saving up to go see the Christmas lights at the "winter wonderland" up the street. So what kind of reward system or discipline techniques do you use?

Public Service Announcement

Psychedelic Man

Here's a really cool site full of optical illusions. check it out. Here are my favorites.

Link 1

Link 2 (So is it moving or not?)

Link 3

Link 4 (warning, not for the epileptic)

Link 5

Link 6

Link 7

Link 8

Link 9 (one of my favorites)

Link 10

Link 11

Link 12

Link 13

Link 14

Link 15

Link 16

Link 17

Link 18

Link 19 (Just the top one)

Ben's Tricks

Dining Room

It only took us eight months, but our dining room is finally usable. It just wasn't a very high priority in the grand scheme of things when we first moved in. Then the infamous hole in the wall to fix the pipe with a hole in it slowed us down even more.

So finally, after 6 years of marriage, Emily got to unpack her china and crystal. It has literally been boxed up for 6 years because we didn't have anywhere to put it. I think she got it looking great for the holiday season!

Iron Stomach

Growing up my friends and I used to say we could eat tons of Bojangle's food and not be phased by it because we had iron stomachs. This guy proves he has the real deal. I think my boys would love to have him around so they could jump on his stomach.

Christmas Tree

Here are some pictures of the boys busily decorating the tree. They had a great time handing all of the ornaments on the same five branches. We kept asking them to spread them out, but it just didn't sink in.

We have gone to an artificial tree (we did that two years ago), and don't regret it one bit. It's so easy to get it put together and in the house. We can put it up early without worrying about it drying out. And no lights to string up!

12 Days of Christmas

The best part is the carol of the bells segment:

Eco Babies

So apparently babies are the new target of the eco-nuts and global warming crowd. This woman sterilized herself because she concludes that children aren't good for the environment. I'm all for taking care of the planet, but this is just crazy. Stewardship of God's creation is important, but the Earth was created for man, and not vise versa. Sadly, many seem to have forgotten that.

I'm just curious, but by her logic shouldn't she sterilize the cows that are "emitting" most of the greenhouse gases too, and then consider committing suicide to reduce her own impact on the Earth? (I would never encourage that, I'm just showing the fault in her logic).

She should have just purchased some credits to offset her impact and reduce her carbon footprint. Then she could do whatever she wanted!

Do You Cornhole?

Personally, I've never played. Maybe we should get it for the backyard. The boys could play this game.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Io8X4pz_QJ0

Hey There Pilgrim

During Thanksgiving Caleb made all kinds of stuff at his preschool. Once he brought it home, Ben decided to play with it. Here he is with the pilgrim hat and the turkey Caleb made. On Thanksgiving day Ben played pilgrim. I would hide the turkey somewhere in the house. Then he had to hunt for it and shoot it so that we could eat our Thanksgiving dinner. Then he proceeded to cook it and spice it up (Picture 2). It was all very cute.

Black Parents, White Children...What Gives?

This short audio message (less than 2 minutes) is pretty profound when you consider the races of humanity. Be sure to check it out.
Link

Water Park Rollerblading

Sometimes the temptation is just too much to withstand. These guys are crazy.

Walkin' Through Bethlehem

Last night Emily and I took the boys on a walk through Bethlehem. Wake Forest Presbyterian was sponsoring it at their church. We had never been to anything like this, but apparently its an annual tradition at the church. The wait was a little long for young children, but I think they really enjoyed seeing the Christmas story come to life. The church obviously put a lot of work into it. I'm not sure if it is over, or if they are doing it any nights this week. Here is the website of the church if you are interested. Church website

George Lucas in Love

I know this has been around for a while, but I just came across it and thought it was well done.

Budding Artiste

I was reading on our friend Keith's website the other day and saw that He won a photography prize. I know its old news by now, but Congratulations Keith! Here is the award winning photo:

You Win, They Eat

If you have a few minutes, why not earn some food for someone who is starving, literally. You can go here and see how broad your vocabulary is. As you get answers right, advertisers will donate rice to feed those without food.

Speedbump

Fed up with speeders? So is this guy!

Beatbox Giant

Caleb has learned to whistle in the last few days. He is doing it constantly now. He's so excited about his new skill.

This guys has taken it to a new level that Caleb can aspire to. Even if you don't like Beatbox, listen to this.

5 Differences

Click on "Play this Game." Then click on the differences you see in the pictures. It is very hard. If you get hung up, you can close it and reopen it and it will randomly pick 5 different things to change. If you beat this one, there is another picture that I found even harder (I could only find 3 of the 5 in the second picture).

True Community in the Church

“If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together.” (African Proverb)

10 Ways to Avoid Building Community Within the Church (Source)

1. Keep conversations short.

You are busy, you have a lot to deal with in your life, if you talk to someone you might get close to them and that takes time and energy that you don’t have. Just keep it short and sweet, don’t bother talking about anything more than the weather. If you don’t know a person is hurting, then you don’t have to do anything about it.

2. Always sit in your “assigned” seat

By always sitting in the same seat you always sit around the same people. These folks know the deal, and stick to the appropriate 30 second conversations: weather, sports, how the new preacher is doing, etc. Also, this keeps you from having to venture out, meet new people, and possibly sit next to someone you aren’t familiar with.

3. Avoid new people

It’s one thing to deal with all the people that you already know at church, but it’s another to actually meet new people. Seriously, you aren’t good with names, you don’t have the time, or the energy, so just walk right past anyone you don’t know. After all, they won’t notice that you totally avoided them.

4. Come in late

Don’t overlook the beauty of this one. By coming in late you totally avoid even the 30 second conversations. And (bonus), you avoid the new people! It just makes life easier.

5. Leave immediately after the service (or early)

This has the same benefits as coming in late, with the added benefit of getting on the road more quickly to beat those other churches to eat. This way you get out of that crowded church building so that you can go sit with your people and eat a meal. If you add this method with the coming in late method you could go to a church for years and never meet anyone.

6. Be physically present but mentally absent

When talking to someone, pretend to listen by nodding your head and saying “uh huh” while you are really thinking about what show comes on TV later that night. Basically, just don’t engage anyone on any level. After all, you’re just there to put in your “time” and then get on with your life.

7. Don’t share a meal

If you goal is to avoid community, this step is of the utmost importance, don’t ask people to lunch! Sharing a meal is an intimate thing that creates deeper relationships. So, when someone asks you to lunch fake a stomach ulcer or something, just get out of it.

8. Stay very, very busy

The busier you are, especially on a Sunday, the less time you have to “deal” with people. In fact, attempt to be so busy that when speaking to someone you never even stop walking past them as you say hello.

9. Make your default response “everything is great”

People will always ask how you are doing. Make sure that you have your “default” answer ready so that when they ask you are ready to say, “everything is great!” This must be your default response, otherwise you might actually let on that your life is not perfect, or worse, that you are struggling. This colossal mistake could lead to deeper conversation and deeper relationship. If you are going to really avoid community while in church, this is probably your best weapon.

10. Don’t show up

This is definitively your best method of avoiding community overall because there is no community where there are no people.

Candycandy Cane

Last night we went by Kmart to look for some Christmas lights for the house. I went over to the electrical department to look for a timer, and on my way back to the Christmas section heard Ben all excited about Candy canes.

He was saying candycandy over and over as if it was one word.

I then passed by a mom and daughter and the daughter said "That boy sure was wound up about a candy cane." I pictured Ben holding a box of candy canes in my mind, becuase he does live for candy right now.

I then turned the corner to the aisle that they were on and Ben was jogging up and down the aisle parading the large candy cane yard ornament that he had found. He was about as adorable as possible, and I really wanted to get him the candy cane. I didn't because I figured it would end up being a weapon if I did.

New Playhouse

Emily's parents are doing a major landscaping renovation at their house, and Emily's old clubhouse didn't go with the new decor, so the landscapers brought it over to our house. It was a pretty interesting sight to watch them move it. It is a solid clubhouse, framed out and built just like a regular house. I think the boys will have many good memories in it.

By the way, Caleb is holding Faith the dinosaur. Each kid in his Kindergarten class gets to bring home Faith one weekend and keep a journal about their time with Faith. It's an interesting idea. Seems like a disease magnet to me, so we wouldn't let Caleb sleep with the stuffed animal. I'm glad we got it at the beginning of the school year and not in May!

Worfpack Bball

Outlook users and Wolfpack fans, here is a .csv file that you can import into outlook that has the 07 basketball schedule, opponent, location, and station info for each game. Just import and never miss a game. Go Pack!

Maze Frenzy Game

Try this game out. It took me about 10 tries to finish the maze. My time was 10788. You just have to be patient. Let me know how you do.
(click on the red ball to start and them just drag the red ball around with your mouse)

Link

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

Ben has learned now I lay me down to sleep and loves to say it at night. He gets so wound up about saying it that he has trouble keeping his eyes closed.

Trinity and Multiple Personalities

Note: I don't intend this to be offensive or derogatory in any way. I'm just "thinking out loud" and welcome your comments.

I was thinking the other day. It is hard to find an analogy that really helps us understand the trinity. It is so difficult to find something else that has both uniqueness and sameness in the same way as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Some have suggested water, ice, and steam, but one molecule is never all three at the same time. That leads to a view called modalism. It teaches something like the father leaving heaven and putting on his Jesus mask. Then Jesus leaves Earth and God puts on his Holy spirit mask. It is strong on the unity of God and the oneness of God, but weak on the distinctions that you see throughout scripture.

Here is a modern symbol that many like to use to help people understand the trinity. While it is accurate, I'm not sure how helpful it is.

I read about time being an analogy: "I would like to use 'time' to illustrate the Trinity. Is the "past" plus the "present" plus the "future" a total of three times? Not at all. It simply is a representation of three distinct aspects of the nature of time: past, present, and future. Likewise, the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit are not three separate beings or entities, but three distinct persons in the one nature of the Godhead." Link

Others point to an egg: the shell, the yolk, and the white all composing the egg (but Jesus is fully God, and the yolk is not fully egg)

So I was thinking, what about a person with multiple personalities. They all share one body and one soul. But they each have a will/desire of their own. I'm assuming that each can simultaneously live and exist inside the same person. I don't mean to be offensive, and there may be too much stigma associated with this disorder to use it to describe God, but is it a good analogy?

What do you think? Have you come across an analogy that helps you understand the trinity better, or is it just supposed to remain a mystery?

Who's on First - Star Wars Style

I not a big fan of mash-ups on Youtube, but this is well done.

Wolfpack Family

We all go to NC State! This was taken at the fair this year. We parked over at the RBC Center.