Piano Recital, Part 3

Here's the final video. Hannah and her friend did a duet of "Carol of the Bells."

Piano Recital, Part 2

Hannah performed "Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy" from The Nutcracker. Here it is...


One more video to come...

Piano Recital, Part 1

Here's some videos from Hannah and Elliott's recent piano recital. Elliott performed "Away in a Manger."



Hannah's videos will be next...

On What Date Was Christ Born?

A lot of skeptical folks would say "You know, December 25th is not really the day Jesus was born..." As if by negating the date, they could negate the significance.

Nevertheless, here's an interesting article that discuss the date of Jesus' birth. Now you have something to talk about at all those Christmas parties.

Kids' Korner Updated!

In case you read our blog through a feed reader (as I do), this post is simply to let you know that "Kids' Korner," has been recently updated. Kids' Korner is a little section owned by our kids. They write about whatever is on their mind. Or, they speak it and I type it. It is always entertaining. You'll find it in the top right when you visit our blog page.

For those of you who have read Kids' Korner in the past, be sure to check out the continuing saga of the loose tooth...some exciting breaking developments have recently transpired!

Selah

We recently got away for a weekend with some friends for some much needed R & R. Can you tell which of these kids had more fun? Me either...

Glasses!

So neither Anne or I have ever needed glasses. So when the kids' piano teacher recommended that we get Hannah's eyes checked, I was like, "Hmm...maybe...eventually."

But the kids kept getting headaches when they read, so we took them in to the eye doctor. And it turns out that all three needed glasses! Anne and I are still upset at our genetics. (Though I blame her side of the family. For pretty much everything.)

One good thing is that the kids look super cute in their glasses. One bad thing is that Hannah looks much older in her glasses...*sigh* Here's some pics:




























OK, so Elliott hasn't gotten his glasses yet, but he took this picture of Wall-E...

Advent

We've had quite a bit of blog silence recently, but the hard truth is that this semester has been brutal. More on that later. Nonetheless, we've got quite a few pictures of the kids and news and etc. to share...soon.

In the meantime, here's something to chew on as we head into Black Friday (I mean, Thanksgiving):

Most Prestigious Occupations

According to a recently released Harris Poll, here are the most and least prestigious occupations:


Most Prestigious Occupations:
-Firefighter (62%)
-Scientist (57%)
-Doctor (56%)
-Nurse (54%)
-Teacher (51%)
-Military officer (51%)

Least Prestigious Occupations:
-Real estate agent/broker (5%)
-Accountant (11%)
-Stock broker (13%)
-Actor (15%)

Priest/Minister ranked #8 on the list (41%). What does it all mean? I see three things:
1) I should have stayed in teaching instead of moving towards the ministry.
2) My mother-in-law (nurse) is more prestigious than me (don't tell her I said that).
3) Now I know why I got so many strange reactions when I told people that my major in college was acting...

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow...

So today, God showed up for us in a big, big way. I can't really go into the details, but I wanted each of you to be able to celebrate with us.

Today's events have left our whole family saying, "We're not worthy!"

Praise God (not Alice Cooper) for His grace and goodness...

I'm The Man!

At least, that's what I thought. The other day, our vacuum cleaner wasn't working. So I, being "the man" fixed it. That's right. I actually fixed an appliance. I took it apart, replaced one of the parts, and it actually worked after I put it back together.

And then it happened. Anne was vacuuming out the car with it, and it literally came apart in her hands. I've never seen anything like it. The worst part is, it shocked the fire out of her (although i am pretty sure that I had nothing to do with that part).

So we went from having a vacuum that wasn't working to a vacuum that isn't working and is in pieces. I'm talented.

Food For Thought

Watch these videos of Dr Darrell Bock being interviewed regarding the historical Jesus and problems with the New Testament. Good stuff.

Is This Guy Nuts?

Psycho Donuts Draw Customers and Protests from Mental Illness Health Community - ABC News

Having a doughnut with nuts takes on a whole new meaning...

It's a Boy...

Recently, we had the privilege of watching our nephew’s birth (well, Anne watched and I came later). As I went up to the hospital and I got a chance to hold the little guy, I was struck by how much potential he has. Literally, his whole life is before him—myriad choices, decisions, directions he could go. And yet, at the same time, he was so fragile. His parents will spend the next several years guarding him and guiding him until he becomes the man that God would have him be.

It started me thinking about my own kids and the influence I have in their lives. Certainly that window of influence is shrinking, but there is still much that I can teach them, ways that I can guide them, and opportunities for me to speak in to their lives in ways that will affect them forever. Even as I write this I can remember things my mother and father did and said when I was a child that have shaped the way I think and act.

The thing that I am wrestling with is perhaps the thing that all parents wrestle with: am I doing enough? Am I doing too much? There’s a natural tendency for us to want to protect our kids from harm, but what if that harm is part of God’s will for their lives and ours? How do we walk that line between loving our kids in a way that they will achieve their potential and loving them too much so that they are barred from ever reaching it?

In my ministry, too, I find myself constantly talking to people about the better life that God has to offer them. A life that is not limited by self-serving, but a life where you can experience all the potential that God had for you when you were first born. Even in dealing with adults, where do we draw the line between loving them too much or too little?

When God looks at us, He sees all that we are, and all that we could be in Him. When I look at people, what do I see? And what do I do about it?

If You Are Looking For Fun...

...start talking about the rapture with a five and seven year old. In less than two minutes we were giggling and talking about elevators, spaceships, and robot-Jesus. As a seminary student, this does not bode well for my theology...

Why Homeschooling is Cool (Part 2)

Overheard in the bathroom:

Sister #1: "If I were ever accused of murder, would you be on my side?"

Sister #2: "Umm...what are you talking about?"

Why Homeschooling is Cool

I was talking to Hannah yesterday, and she said, "You know, I think I understand why small stores are more expensive."

I wasn't sure where this was going, but I bit. "Why?" I asked.

"A larger store sells more stuff, so they can afford to sell it for less. A small store has to charge more, because they don't have as much stuff to sell."

Economic theories? In pseudo-fourth grade? Cool...

Piano Recital

Enjoy!

hunger

ok..so i have made a silly pact with some friends to do this 30 day shred by jillian michaels from the biggest loser. we are meeting everyday for the next 30 days to exercise at 6:30am. i am so tired...anyway...my friend lisa and i thought we should watch the video before we actually did it and of course our kiddos were with us. there are three girls in the video and all are extremely beautiful and thin. but as the instructors were working out, emma (lisa's daughter) said.."man..she looks hungry!"

needless to say..i died laughing. now no one is ever going to accuse me of looking hungry. but i thought it fascinating that this young girl (9) so innocently saw the instructor as hungry and not coveting after her body as i was.

anne

This video is just for fun:

A handful of folks have showed us this video, and I thought it was worth passing on. Matt Chandler is a pastor in the Dallas Area:

Our Shakespearean Son

As all children, Elliott is learning to speak properly by hearing others speak and inferring the rules of grammar from what he hears. He has picked up a very fun habit, though, of stressing the last syllable of "-ed" adjectives. So, "attached" is pronounced as "attach-ed," and instead of "drank" he'll say "drink-ed" in two syllables. It's making every situation feel more dramatic...

Goodbye, Waterford Crystal

Maybe not the worst thing to happen, but:
"Yet another victim of these economic times, Waterford Crystal has laid off 480 workers in Ireland and 'temporarily' closed the visitor center. This effectively ends their manufacturing in Ireland. Unless a new buyer is found for the company, Ireland will lose its iconic lead crystal design center, founded in 1783."

The Human Brain...

The human brain is very strange. I heard once about a guy who had a head injury and when he came out of his coma, he spoke fluent French, something he hadn't been able to do before...Crazy.

As for me, I spent literally all day listening to my mp3 player as I was working to clean pools, and probably heard 100-150 songs, all of which I know. And yet, when I got home I had a song stuck in my head that I heard on the radio the day before. What's up with that?

At least I'm not as bad off as Anne, who told me she had "Springtime for Hitler" stuck in her head.

And now it is stuck in mine...and maybe yours, too.

About Our Blog (a Belated Introduction)

I realized the other day that we never really formally introduced our blog, and the motivation behind it to you (approximately six) people who are reading this. It seems a bit akward at this point to introduce it, but it seems appropriate for reasons that will hopefully become clear soon.

We've called our blog "The Eagle's Wings" because of a verse from the Bible that has meant a lot to us since moving to Dallas. The verse comes from Isaiah 40, and reads:

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

This verse has been a comfort to us in many ways, even from the time that we first decided to quit our job, move away from all our friends and family, and come to DTS. And one of the main reasons we decided to start this blog was to allow friends and family to keep up with us easily, but also to be able to share testimonies of how God has strengthened us through the hard times, and to share tales of His goodness towards us. To that end, here's two brief stories:

On the day we left Lubbock to come to Dallas, not having a job, not having knowing what to expect, we were quite nervous. We got in the car and as we started on the highway, a song with this verse as they lyrics came on. We knew that no matter what, God would be our strength, if we simply hoped in Him.

The other week, as I was walking out the door to go to work, I noticed an envelope that had been stuck under the door. It had three hundred dollars in cash, a gift from someone. (Thank you, if you are reading this). We were humbled, certainly, by this generos and much needed gift. Later that day, the key to my car snapped in half, thus requiring me to get a new key. The total cost by the end of the day was not quite $300. A lot of people might look at that day differently than we did, but we were so floored by God's goodness to provide for us just what we needed. He keeps reminding us to put all our hope in him, and he keeps showing himself to be faithful, and worthy of that hope.

Let me end this rather long post by simply encouraging you to wait upon the Lord. He knows what circumstances you are facing, and they did not take him by surprise. He has a plan to take and redeem those circumstances, and he wants to show himself faithful to you, as he has been to us. All you have to do is let him.

The Nature and Benefit of Blogging

A blog that I follow suggested today that seminary students be required to blog every day. The thinking was that it would aid in helping the students codify and process the information they are learning.

While it makes a lot of sense, I think it is a bad idea. A big part of the thinking process, for me, at least, is reflection. For example, I saw a sign outside a church the other day that was quite thought provoking. At the time, I thought, "This is huge. I should blog about this." By the time I got home, however, I had thought through the statement from the sign about 10 different ways. The result was that I didn't have anything firm that I could say about it. So I didn't say anything.

I suppose the key here is how one views blogging. Maybe I'm a bit old fashioned, but I think if you write something down, it should be worth the time it takes to read it (which is a matter of opinion, of course). Thus, if you form an opinion in writing, you are at least somewhat bound to it. Many, however, view blogging as simply firing off a moment's thoughts, Twitter-style, and whatever statement you might make can be reversed or negated the next moment.

So what do you think? Should we be carefully crafting our thoughts and using a blog to benefit the world with our reasoned, calculated responses? Or should we be reacting moment by moment to the world and using our blog as a catalog of emotional responses? I think both have merits and disadvantages...

Why I enjoy living in Dallas

This evening, Hannah, Calla, and Kris had the pleasure of attending the symphony. They were playing Tchaikovsky, one of my favorites. The tickets we received were in a box, and the woman next to us was rather enamored with the girls all through the first part of the performance. As intermission began, she got to talking with Hannah, found out that she played the piano, and then asked, "Would you like to meet Van Cliburn?" Hannah paused, confused. I leaned over to her and said, "Say yes." So, at intermission Hannah had the honor of meeting a living legend:



After the concert, the woman took us backstage where we got autographs, met the conductor, the violin soloist, and concert master. Quite a night.

Earlier in the day, we were all sitting at Chick-fil-A for lunch when in walked the New Orleans Hornets pro-basketball team. They were fresh off a win over the Mavs, and presumably headed to their next game.

It certainly was cooler (from my perspective, at least) then seeing that kid from Hannah Montana at the mall food court...

British Bus Ads

A friend of ours from England recently addressed this on his own blog, but I felt compelled to share it here as well. There is a relatively new ad campaign on the double decker buses running throughout London. Here is what the ad looks like:

Richard Dawkins, the head of the organization who funded these ads, wanted the text to read "There is no God." Fearing that it would be too controversial, they've added the word "probably." I'm reminded of John 19, when Jesus is being crucified:

"Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, 'Do not write "The King of the Jews," but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.' Pilate answered, 'What I have written, I have written.'

It seems Solomon was right, "there is nothing new under the sun." Indeed, check out this compelling interview from the recent movie Expelled:

Vertical

If you've ever scrolled down to view our links, then you've seen our church's online, daily devotional (which I manage). This year, our devotional is called "Vertical," and is exploring the life of Christ. It's just five minutes a day reading a passage from the gospels and a short devotional. I'd encourage you to check it out at www.verticaldevotion.com.

So the other day, in the exact same stretch of road where I saw the "I TITHE" license plate, I saw another luxury car with the license plate "U R GOD".

Maybe these two should get together...