The Monster in the Hollows!

Psyched about getting a hold of Andrew Peterson's recently released third installment of the Wingfeather Saga, The Monster in the Hollows. Andrew Peterson reflects on its release here. You can read my comments on the first book here.

Mother's Day

We enjoyed Mother's Day together celebrating our fantastic resident mother, Dana. Here she is with her children (apparently Josiah wasn't ready).

Here is Samantha Rubie getting ready for our beach trip this week.

Organizing Books

I enjoyed Dr. Bush's (an old high school buddy of mine) reviews of LibraryThing.com and Goodreads.com. He tested these along with others and recommends LibraryThings as the best place to organize your books and Goodreads as a good place for book social networking. I have already started my accounts and look forward to using them.

Getting to the Heart of Parenting

“The behavior a person exhibits is an expression of the overflow of the heart” (3). See Prov 4:23; Mark 7:21; Luke 6:45. “Behavior is not the basic issue. The basic issue is always what is going on in the heart. . . . A change in behavior that does not stem from a change in heart is not commendable; it is condemnable” (4). See Matt 15.

“You must help your child ask the questions that will expose that attitude of the heart that has resulted in wrong behavior. How did his heart stray to produe this behavior? In what characteristic ways has his inability or refusal to know, trust, and obey God resulted in actions and speech that are wrong. . . . Help them see the ways that they are trying to slake their souls’ thirst with that which cannot satisfy” (5-6).

- Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart

The Parenting Task

"Let me overview a biblical vision for the parenting task. The parenting task is multifaceted. It involves being a kind authority, shepherding your children to understand themselves in God's world, and keeping the gospel in clear view so your children can internalize the good news and someday live in mutuality with you as people under God." Tedd Tripp, Shepherding a Child's Heart, xix.

New Teaching Upload: Our Purpose, Part 3

Check out the next message in my teaching series on Our Purpose, which is Loving God, Loving People, Making Disciples. God is doing a great work in my own heart through this, and I believe in our church, as he gives us his heart for people. This session is about loving others. You can listen, download, or subscribe to our podcast in the Teaching Audio tool on the right sidebar.

Our Purpose, Part 2

I just uploaded the message from Sunday. I am teaching through our fellowship's purpose statement: Love God, Love People, Make Disciples. Unfortunately the first message did not record properly, so this is the second in the series. In the first purpose, love God, we discussed believing the gospel and surrendering all to Christ. This week, still in loving God, we discussed prayer, walking according to God's Word, walking according to God's Spirit, and loving people (as a part of loving God). You can listen to or download it from the teaching audio tool in the sidebar.

Electric Fence for the Chickens

Our chickens have been spending the winter in our garden area. Recently, though, with the weather being so much nicer (and chickens being more prone to wander) and the fence not being in good repair, the chickens have basically been free ranging. Aside from many droppings, the main problem with this has been the loss of eggs (we don't know where they are laying them). So, we ordered 168 ft. of electric mesh fencing and a solar energizer from Premier 1. So far, it is working very well. You can see the solar charger next to the front corner in the first picture.