No Title for This One!

To start this post off, I need to explain something that has been brought to my attention by my little brother (I'll let you guess who that is). I realize that the stuffed animal is actually Winnie-the-Pooh. The reason Jason was calling it "Wilburbeast" was because Sarah sometimes plays that he is Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. Just wanted to clear up any misunderstandings!

Anyways, I've been pretty busy lately. Right now my uncle and I are drywalling the living room and kitchen in one of his houses. Pretty soon we'll start building the cabinets for the kitchen, which I'm looking forward to doing. Any time I could find to get online during the week I spent laughing about the new posts about "The Prank" (sorry JJ!), and reading other people's blogs.

We're still hacking over here. Last night, Sarah threw up from coughing twice, and Jason almost did once. Jonathan is coughing, too, but he's not throwing up from it. Us older ones (Katie and up) are just coughing a little, but the little ones are kind of keeping us from doing anything, because my parents don't want to spread it. So, no hockey this weekend either. :(

Here's a couple of pictures from bygone years around our home.


Dad and Jason with some awesome hair. 2005



Sarah doing some chin-ups. 2004

And here's a few from more modern times.


All of us. From left and back row: Jonathan, Kevin, Amy, me, Mom, Dad. Front row: Katie, Jason, Sarah.




Mom and Dad's last anniversary (you'd be shocked at what goes on around here ;).

I've been reading in Philippians, and I've really been getting alot out of it. There's so many things in that book that we can apply to our lives. At the beginning of chapter two, Paul talks about selfishness and selflessness. He says in verses 3 and 4, "Do not do anything from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." That's really key to treating others the way we should. Paul continues, "Have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus," and then goes on to list what the Lord gave up to save us, and what He did for us when He was on earth. Paul is showing Christ for what He was: the perfect example of selflessness.
When I read those verses, it struck me how far I fall short of what I should be. To often I'm looking out for my own interests and not those of others. Much too often I do things out of selfishness: for example, deciding not to play something with Sarah and Jason because Kevin wants to do something that will be alot more fun for me. So with the Lord's help, I'll continue to press on and work out my many flaws that unfortunately often don't leave easily.

Press On, Keep the Faith, and God Bless You All!

A Few Pictures and More

Here are a few pictures that we took today. We didn't do to much; kind of just hung out and rested. Normally we would have played hockey, but we're a little sick, so no exertion to that extent.

Here's a picture of Jason with "Wilburbeast". My dad and I both told him it's "Wildebeest", but he still wants to say it his way.
Amy and Jonathan. For whatever reason, Jonathan likes to lay like this. He really likes it if you pat him on the back.
Sarah taking a nap. Most of us did a little bit of that today!

President Obama has lifted the ban on funding of overseas abortions. So now, our money that we work hard for will be paying for women in other countries to kill their babies. The biggest problem is that many Christians don’t really care! Sure they say they do; but they knew he said he would do this, yet they went and voted him in anyways. He’s getting ready to pass the Freedom of Choice Act, too, which will do away with any of the state’s restrictions on abortion. They care more about their wallets and what a person looks and talks like than what he will do to the morals of this country. This shows where the heart of much of the American church is.

Pray for our country, everyone! And even more importantly, pray for the Christians in this country who are being caught up in this world!

Eternity and Pressing On

Do you realize that we will never die? I will live forever. You will live forever. Think about it for a minute. Yes, your earthly body will die; but you, you as who you are will live on forever.

For example, if I’m driving tomorrow and am killed instantly in an accident, my physical body will die, but I will just fall asleep. Me, who I am, will continue to live. It will just feel like I’m in a deep sleep. My next conscious thought will be in heaven. But that thought will be just as much my thought with me thinking them as my thoughts that I’m having right now. I’ll be just as much me as I am right now (just in a perfected and much better form of me.:)) The only difference is I will be in heaven, not here on earth.

I hope that made sense. My uncle and I were talking about this yesterday and he expressed the opinion that having this knowledge in your heart is one of the fundamentals of Christianity. The more I think about it, the more I agree. If we see with our hearts, not just with our heads, how temporary and short life is, and how eternal we are, then we will really begin to see things in their true light. It really puts things into perspective.

The other day we were reading as a family in Philippians 3:13-16, and I read it again today. “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet (“it” referring to the resurrection from the dead); but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as are perfect, have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you; however, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have attained.”

Paul is saying that he does not just sit back and have the attitude that he’s all set, he’s a Christian and will be resurrected in the last days. No, his attitude is that he has not yet attained it. Not looking back at all, he presses on towards the prize of life eternal with Christ. And then he says that all who are perfect should have that attitude (I think he means by perfect those who are washed clean by the blood so that we appear perfect before God.) Next he says that if anyone does not have this attitude in every part of his life, God will reveal it to him. He then tells us to keep living in the same way that got us to where we are.

That, I think, is crucial to our walk with Christ. We cannot let ourselves get comfortable and content with where we are. We cannot have the attitude of, “Well, I’m saved, and I’m going to heaven if I try or not.” No, we should be constantly searching, seeking, testing ourselves to see if we are in the faith. If the Lord will cut off a natural branch, how much more a branch that has been grafted on?! The Lord cannot stand the lukewarm, the people who profess to follow Him but really put forth almost no effort. We must keep pressing on toward the crown, and not have a lukewarm attitude.

Now, having said all that, I don’t think we need to be in doubt for our whole entire lives as to whether we are saved. I believe that you will know in your heart if you are truly saved. The Lord will not hide the knowledge of that from you. But what I’m saying is that we should not grow lukewarm and apathetic towards our walk with Him, or content and comfortable with where we are. We must keep pressing on and never give up in our fight.

God bless you all!