Quote of the Day:

"A pastor who has to buy his own books, that's like a soldier who has to buy his own bullets."
-Mark Driscoll

sweet warning label

Quote of the Day

Rob Bell quoted Meister Eckhart in his talk on Sunday:

"If the only prayer you say in your entire life is 'Thank You,' that would suffice."

Really good message on joy, download it here.

Here is the sweet jump

Here is a video of us sledding

Our Snowy Bacashun

Isaac has a book from the little critter series called "Just a snowy vacation" that he loves. So when we went out to play in the snow for family day, he called it his, "snowy Bacashun" We had fun sleding round the house, I build a sweet jump, and he sled down the hill that leads to our barn.

Laides and Gentlemen the next Ben Folds

that is a little piano he is playing there. Nolan is his audience. (well not the only audience. Kara and I thought it was really cute.)

Decorating the tree

Isaac had fun putting a few ornaments on the tree, but he still doesn't know why we have a tree in the living room. He does not get the concept of Christmas yet. He does run around singing jingle bells though. It's cute. Nolan loves to look at the lights and he reaches for the tree ornaments often.

Christmas Tree Hunting

We found a place that sold Christmas trees for $9 a few miles from our house. So we decided to investigate this shady buisness. When we got there, we found out that all a freshly cut and all are $9. Awesome. We got one. It was snowing heavy and our RoadMaster, is not Master of the snowy road, we got stuck a few times trying to get out of the lot. But we got home and set up our tree.

I'm Tired Today

I am really tired today and feeling really down. No time to explain the whys, but just know that I am. Then I walk into the office and check my mailbox and got a rather late, but well timed letter of encouragement.

Dear Pastor Tom,

I am so late in writing to tell you this. I was so blessed by the service you and the youth did several weeks ago. The music and the spirit of the worship team did an excellent job of leading us in worship and I appreciate your transparency about yourself. Particularly I sensed the joy you have in your life even for the small things.

I love all our pastors, pray for you often, and admire the variety of strengths you all bring to the Church. The Lord bless you.

Thanks to the writer of the letter, I needed that today. Criticism and badmouthing travel far faster and farther than the positive stuff, so it was great to get this letter.

excerpt from: Time Management for the Creative Person

So far a great book, here is an excerpt on a section on work-aholism:

"Drew Silvern...diagnosed with a brain tumor...writes about his ordeal. His words are both painful and revealing. Like many cancer patients, Silvern discovered what a gift of life is and how short it can be. "There are days when I wake up, strap on my portable CD player, and walk Beasley for an hour along Sunset Cliffs... Often, I feel an indescribable joy that I'm able to do this. It's a cancer dividend, and I always offer a prayer of thanksgiving at the midpoint. In my first life (before being diagnosed with cancer), the morning walk would have probably have been just another thing to get done before work. Cancer has given me a raw appreciation for the life I'm sure I never would have felt without it. In a way, my cancer came along at the worst possible time, and maybe the best. It made the past the past and the present the present. It healed most of the old scars and propelled me beyond regret or family resentments. It brought clarity of purpose to my life and a sudden ability to see the glass as half full."

Let's not wait until we are diagnosed with a fatal cancer to see life this way. Pray that you can have the gift of living life with "the past being the past and the present being the present." I am praying that.

(another) Quote of the Day

The secret of happiness is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.
-Dan Millman

Quote of the Day

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer, but wish we didn't.
- Erica Jong

Song of the Day : Grey Street : Dave Matthews

Oh look at how she listens
She says nothing of what she thinks
She just goes stumbling through her memories
Staring out on to Grey Street.
She thinks, "Hey, how did I come to this?"
I dream myself a thousand times around the world
But I can't get out of this place.

There's an emptiness inside her
And she'll do anything to fill it in
But all the colors mix together - to grey
And it breaks her heart

How she wishes it was different
She prays to God most every night
And though she's quite sure he doesn't listen
There's still a hope in her he might
She says "I pray oh But my prayers they fall on deaf ears,
How am I supposed to take it on myself?
To get out of this place? "

Oh There's a lonliness inside her
And she'll do anything to fill it in
And though it's red blood bleeding from her now
It feels like cold blue ice in her heart
When all the colors mix together - to grey
And it breaks her heart

She feels like kicking out all the windows
And setting fire to this life
She could change everything about her
Using colors bold and bright
But all the colors mix together - to grey
And it breaks her heart
It breaks her heart
To Grey

I listen to this song every now and then to regain my perspective on why I do what I do.

Making cookies

We all made cookies last night and listened to Christmas music, and then watched Charlie Brown's Christmas. It was a great time.

Playing

This was a cute picture.

Nolan's first pickle

He loved it and cried when we took it away.

Isaac and Samantha

"Samantha is my cousin" as Isaac says. He got to eat dinner with her later.

Nolan and his papa

Nolan looked cute in this hat

I look like beaner

Isaac wore this cowboy hat over thanksgiving and said, "I look like Beaner." Beaner is our friend who is a cowboy and a ferrier (horse shoer).

Mazzy is his horse.

Nolan Playing

Hot Chocolate

Isaac loves his hot chocolate

Piggy Back Ride!!

Bed Time

Nolan and Isaac

Nolan and Isaac love to play together. We are still learning about sharing though.

Peter's Baptism

I got the priveledge of baptising Peter last week. He wanted to get baptized in a pond, but it was November and it was 35 degrees. Little did we know that no one turned on the heater to the baptismal, we have well water, it comes out of the tap at 55 degrees. Peter got his pond experience indoors.