Teaching on Eph 1:5-6

We are studying through the book of Ephesians together as a church. This particular message includes teaching on predestination, but the main idea is that God has blessed us by adopting us. You can listen to it, download it, or subscribe in the teaching audio box in the right side bar.

New Chicken Coop

Today we built a new chicken coop for our much smaller flock and for winter protection. We bought all our supplies at the ReStore for less than $20. You can see the laying shelf inside, the door for collecting eggs, and handles on the sides for moving.

Baby Countdown

We have two weeks until Isaac's due date (Thanksgiving Day)! I'm not sure what that means since he probably won't actually be born on that day, and there always the possibility he is not a he. So . . . we are nearing the general vicinity of the time that our next baby will be born! If he is a boy, then we will be even with four boys and four girls. We are getting ready and excited around here. We are all grateful for God's blessing of this new life.

But this addition will actually make #11 in our household. We have added another family member this year. Brock Buchanan is a young man who moved to the area to attend ASU and ended up coming to our church. The short story: he lived with us over the summer, moved into an apartment this Fall, but decided he liked living with us better! So now he's back and part of the family.

And now for an unrelated, random, cute picture. Kathryn is three (front) and Samantha is one (back).

Do What You Love

"I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle." - Steve Jobs

Equip All God's People

"The goal of the church is never for one person to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ. The goal is always for all of God's people to be equipped and empowered to lead as many people as possible to Christ." - David Platt

Back from Camping

We returned late last week from an almost two week camping trip. We are grateful to inherit a pop-up tent camper from my Dad. We had a great time at Timberlake Campground near Bryson City, NC (west of Asheville in the Smokey Mountains). Here is a picture of our camp. You can see a creek runs right next to it.

Making Plans?

If you are making plans, consider these Proverbs:

"Desire without knowledge is not good, and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way." Proverbs 19:2

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand." Proverbs 19:21

"Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war." Proverbs 20:18

"The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty." Proverbs 21:5