HT: Marty Duren

You see, last Monday, Emily was 20 weeks pregnant, and she and her family were anxiously awaiting the arrival of a baby. That day, those dreams came crashing down… she was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia severe enough to necessitate emergency induction of labor and delivery, and the baby did not survive. Now, while still grieving the loss of her child, she is fighting the after-effects of the condition.

There’s nothing any of us can say to Emily to make things better somehow… I certainly don’t have words of my own that are adequate to bring comfort. But I am reminded of God’s word given to us in Philippians 4:5-7:

The Lord is near. ⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The Lord God, maker of the universe, Creator of all things, Savior to all who call upon Jesus’ name… He is near to you, Emily.

To everyone who reads this? Please pray for Emily and her family. God’s comfort and healing is clearly needed!

I’ll say this… if creativity and sheer hilarity counted in the guy’s defense, he’d be acquitted for sure…

You’ve gotta see this, if only for the picture!

Aside from the simple joy of playing in the dirt (definitely one of the big attractions for the kids!), this exercise is a great learning opportunity for them. They’ve now experienced first-hand how much work goes into making something grow… the installation of the garden itself (digging up sod, building the garden box, filling it with dirt), preparing the soil (spreading manure for fertilizer, mixing it into the soil, raking everything so the soil is loose and ready to plant), planting, watering, and… well, waiting for the harvest. And of course there’s the follow-up care from now until then.

But aside from that, the REALLY cool thing about this gardening stuff is how it presents great opportunities for Nancy and I to continually teach our kids, via object lessons, of the things of God. Of course there’s the parable of the sower… how people with receptive hearts (of good soil) receive and accept the gospel, producing a harvest of spiritual growth. Obviously that’s something we want to encourage in our kids. But beyond that, there are other lessons: our total dependence on God (we can’t MAKE anything grow outside of his provision), the immense amount of work that God puts into us to help us grow (much as we put a tremendous amount of work into our garden), patience (God grows things according to His timing, so we’ve got to learn to wait on Him), among others.

So it’s a good thing all around. Family fun… many teaching opportunities… and at the end? Fresh-grown vegetables!

And who knows… maybe as an added bonus we’ll be able to get Jeffrey and Jenna to eat some of what we’ve grown. They do struggle with vegetables!

And I thought we lived in the land of the free…

It was a great wedding (I can tell you that even though I’d have to see the video again to remember all the details… nervousness does that to you!). We walked down the aisle that afternoon after saying “I do” with no idea what God had in front of us. But we knew we had each other, and knew that we’d be alright no matter what curves were thrown our way.

And we have been… for ten years now. Through difficult times with friends and family… through the joys of three children being given to us… through moves from Springfield to Sikeston and back, on to Osborn and finally St. Joseph. Through countless hours of laughter… more than a few arguments over silly things… and yes, countless hours of tears.

Life has had its ups and downs for sure.

Through these ten years, we’ve become more than just friends… more than just husband and wife… more than just a mom and a dad… we’ve become one, just as Scripture says. Inseparable. Incomplete without each other. Co-dependent. A team by every meaning of the word.

Are we perfect? Of course not. The works that God has begun in our lives are not yet complete. But we know He will see them through to the end.

And that means we’ve got MANY more years to laugh, love, work, play, hurt, cry, and… well… live and enjoy. Together.

Happy tenth anniversary, Nancy.

And, God? Thank you this life you’ve given us!

This morning, we attended his graduation program. Talk about awesome… the kids did a GREAT job putting on a version of “The Hungry Caterpillar”, they sang a few songs, shared about their year, shared what they hope to be when they grow up and what they’ve learned… it was just an all-around great program. And Mrs. Richardson’s prayer closing the program? Wow… so heart-felt and heart-warming!

Anyway, I can’t write more without stating what should be obvious… St. Joseph Christian has been SUCH a blessing to our family! We’re so thankful for the school, and for how God is working in the lives of the students, teachers, and families there. Mrs. Richardson has been absolutely incredible as Jeffrey’s teacher, and we’re so thankful for everything she’s done this year to help Jeffrey grow… not just in his education, but also spiritually. It’s just an incredible place with wonderful people. Can’t recommend it higher!

On to the pictures….

Abortion, of course, was the hot-button topic. Notre Dame, a Catholic institution, invited and honored an individual who is pro-abortion… a slap in the face to the staunchly pro-life positions of the Catholic church. Protests were staged. People were arrested. Things played out about as expected.

The catch word of the day from our president? “Fair-minded”.

As in, “fair-minded” debate about abortion.

Can someone tell me what that’s supposed to mean? And just what’s to debate?

Mr. President, last I checked, abortion still results in the taking of a human life, and that’s still a right or wrong proposition. You clearly recognize the horrific nature of this issue… after all, if it’s acceptable to kill a developing human being, why would it be a “heart-wrenching” decision for women seeking just that? And why would you want to try to reduce the frequency with which women make that decision if it’s an acceptable alternative?

You see, I believe you know the right answer here Mr. President… abortion is wrong, one of the great sins of modern society. It’s not to be celebrated… it’s not to be encouraged… it’s to be condemned.

The question is, do you have the backbone to stand for what’s right? Will you, as president, protect not only the liberty and pursuit of happiness of tomorrow’s children, but their lives as well?

It’s amazing how difficult getting in shape can be!

Ever notice how similar our spiritual lives can be to physical training? When we’re undisciplined and lazy about our relationship with God, doing that which we know we ought… prayer, Bible study, Christian fellowship, worship, service, evangelism… even the smallest of these seems incredibly difficult. In those times, we like to claim that God seems distant or that we’re in a spiritual rut, but in reality? It’s generally just that we’ve become spiritual couch potatoes… gluttons of sort, more interested in gorging ourselves with own fleshly needs for whatever.

So far from our calling to be top-notch spiritual athletes!

Remember what Paul says to us in 1 Corinthians 9?

²⁴Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

²⁵Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. ²⁶Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. ²⁷No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

If you find yourself looking in your spiritual mirror this morning, not liking what you see… do something about it. Start practicing some spiritual discipline today, that you might get yourself back in shape to make yourself useful to God once again!

You should have seen the other kid!

In all seriousness, her shiner is the result of a cartoon-like, full speed, head-to-head collision between sisters yesterday afternoon. Alli’s forehead was just at the right height, and Jenna came out looking a bit worse for wear.

She sure looks tough now, though!