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A week away does a spirit good….

“Be still and know that I am God” is the advice of David in Psalm 46:10 – but how do you find the time to be still when you are in very full time Christian ministry… or more honestly, when you do not know how or when to STOP and listen to God? I am guilty of doing MUCH for God, but much less with God. God tried to get my attention many times over the past several years – through family, friends, and circumstances… but I was too busy doing ministry to hear that still small voice, or simply too exhausted to hear it even when it was yelling at me. So, this past week was a week to finally listen. My wife and I (and Luke) headed to Tennessee for a place with no Internet (yes!), no phone, and barely cell reception. (Yes, I’ll admit holding my phone up at strange angles to see if I could get one bar… I’m not healed yet!) The place was Fairhaven Ministries, and I highly recommend it (and the burgers at the White Way Grill at the base of the mountain) to anyone needing some time away in a place where…

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Morning Feedings

I have a baby son. Since the day he entered our home, one of the biggest changes was that I have never used an alarm clock since. That era can now be refered to as ‘BC’ – Before Cryingbaby. Before Crying baby, I would fight the alarm clock every morning. Snoozing it untold times… exhausted from the day before and often working too late into the night, I would finally get up with just enough time to start my day. But since ‘the boy’ (as we call him) entered my home, I have awakened to his gentle cries for his morning feeding. Since he is adopted and we feed with formula, I volunteered the first day to be the one to do the morning feedings so my wife could sleep a little longer before starting her day. While eager for this time with the baby, I would nevertheless rise lethargicly and pick up ‘the boy’ and move to the couch or rocker in the front room to feed him. This morning I did so yet again. I am always amazed that he rises without an alarm – just an internal reminder that it is time to eat – simple hunger…

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Backyard Bible Splashes!

After a one year break to do a Family VBS last summer, it was time to return to Backyard Bible Blasts…. but this summer we called them Backyard Bible SPLASHES! A giant waterslide, water games and a Gospel message were our formula to help equip our families to reach their neighbors with the Good News! Of course, I like any excuse to get my Waternator outfit on and squirt kids! It definitely was wet! We started with some open free time, then went into some organized water games and relays. The Giant Water Slide was a huge hit. The kids would have played on that for the entire time if we let them! It turned out to be a great draw. Plus, its the kind of thing parents don’t want to buy for their own kids (a little big and expensive for a family, $399 at Costco) but great for the church to provide! There’s just something fun about water. So refreshing! The parachute games were rather pointless, but still fun. Racing with leaky cups! But of course, it all is for the purpose of a fun entertaining Gospel message at the end. No matter how many pictures are taken…

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Steve Tanner is my Inspiration!

My Smoke Detector Adventure (Inspired by Steve Tanner) You may not realize it, but my inspiration to blog came from my friend and now Kidology Web Director, Steve Tanner. His forum homepage is at www.steveandamysly.com but all the conversations end up at the Tannerworld Junction. There you can read about… well, just about anything. From beverage reviews to bathroom hand dryer advertising to the Trash Cans of DisneyWorld to his new toothbrush to the history of Dorito’s logos or watch Star Wars as an animated GIF! It’s all there among thousands of the other 13,547 posts Steve has posted to date! But this week, his inspiration went to all new heights and INSPIRED ME! It was his latest edition of This New Tanner Condo. (Changing the Smoke Detector!) READ IT! I was so inspired, I decided that I needed to blog my own adventure with a smoke detector. My smoke detector wasn’t broken, but it has needed a new battery for awhile now. So here is the blog record of my ADVENTURE this evening. I’d like to dedicate this post to Steve Tanner. Here is my upstairs smoke detector. It has been disconnected for several months. (My wife claims it…

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Happy Six Months Luke!

HAPPY SIX MONTHS LUKE! Baby Luke is now 6 months old, and to celebrate, he had food for the first time! Luke is all smiles as Sara gives him his first spoonful of rice cereal… Not so sure he likes it… but doesn’t fight it. Mom and Dad aren’t sure how much got into his stomach! Instead of going to a studio or kid-photo place, we decided to try our hand at doing our own Six Month Pictures…. how did we do? Though, we did have a pretty cute kid to work with! Ooooooo… this is soft!Winter styles… Just chillin… Hi, I’m Luke! You can’t help love me, can you? Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee DAD’S FAVORITE: Bombs Away on Mom! Every day with this baby is a joy and a delight. I’ not sure how I survived not being a dad. I was made for this. People ask me often how I am adjusting to being a Dad, and I answer, “I always was adjusted, I just lacked the kid.” Probably doesn’t make any sense to most, but I feel like there is no adjustment… its the way it’s supposed to have been, and finally having a kid just feels so right. I’m…

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