By MykkaMoose on 8/27/2010 2:54 PM

     I love it when I take the children to the park.  It makes me feel like such a good mom.  I know the children all love to go to the park so they are happy too.  Recently we went to Jennings Park and arranged to visit a friend while we were there.  I had such a nice visit with my friend.  Hosanna, Elizabeth, and Jubilee had fun on the park toys.

     Elisha, Gabe and Isaiah took turns taking pictures with the new camera Mike bought for me.  Isaiah really enjoys taking picture of flowers, Elisha seems to have more fun taking pictures of people.  I’m not sure what Gabe takes pictures of but there were some pictures of car wheels on the card when I downloaded it…  All of the pictures on this post were taken by the children.

By MykkaMoose on 8/23/2010 7:11 PM

 

By MykkaMoose on 8/14/2010 7:00 AM

I was reading blogs this morning and happened upon this gem.  Sarah Mae shares what is in my heart but I have a hard time articulating.  Her website name, A Warm Cup of Coffee, makes you want to grab yours and sit down for a good read.  Enjoy!

“Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20

After I posted this video, an interesting discussion took place.  I wanted to follow-up that post with my thoughts on youth ministry and why our family is opting out of it.

I’d like to first qualify everything I’m going to say by saying this: God’s purposes prevail and he can and will use whatever means he deems necessary to fulfill his plans.  I acknowledge up front that there are those who have been involved in youth ministry that have benefited or even been strengthened in their faith.  I also acknowledge that people have come to know the Lord through their involvement in youth ministry.

Why Our Family is Opting Out of Youth Ministry

The reason our family is opting out of youth ministry/children’s Sunday school is because we believe it is our responsibility to disciple our children in the Lord, train them in wisdom, worship with them, create strong family bonds, and encourage the joy in spending time with different age groups (as opposed to  age-segregated groups that you find in youth ministry).

We want to walk alongside our children, being their confidants and their teachers, seeking their hearts and teaching them to seek the heart of the Father.

We want to worship with them in the sanctuary on Sunday mornings – what a joy to have them by our side during the gathering of the church!  What a delight to hear them ask questions about what the pastor preached on, and to then hear their father answer their questions!

We want to enjoy the fellowship of families together, learning from one another and mingling with different age groups – there is so much we can learn from the older generations if we are all together!

We want to have our children integrate well into regular church service (many who have gone through the youth ministry “system” find themselves lost or out of place once they graduate from youth ministry – they don’t know where they fit).

We want to encourage wisdom relationships for our children in many age groups.

We want to be wise in who we allow to influence our children.

We want to encourage biblical ministry and we do not see a basis for age-segregated youth ministry in the bible (I think we are so used to youth ministry that we get defensive about taking another look at it from a biblical standpoint. Sometimes it is easier to default to what is the “norm” rather than challenging our presuppositions).

We want to see the church free of the burden of having to disciple the youth (in so much as many youth ministers feel the parents are expecting them to train their children in the Lord).

We want to honor our God, and my husband and I at this point in our faith journey are convicted to teach and train our children outside of youth ministry.

Questions I know you will ask:  ;)

Don’t you think it is good for children to fellowship with believers their own age?

Not necessarily.  We love the idea of having our children around different age groups, making friends with all ages, and enjoying the fellowship and wisdom that comes from interacting with multiple like-minded families.  I’ve seen (and experienced) much foolishness when we group children together into age-segregated groups.

Don’t you want your children to have friends their age?

Sure!  We also want them to develop friendships with multiple age groups – especially those older and wiser!  :)

Don’t you think it is good to have Christian children/teens in youth groups so they can be a witness/light, etc. to unbelievers coming to youth group?

I think the best witness we can give to unbelievers is to invite them into our homes and our fellowship times so they get a whole picture of the goodness of Christ.

…

There you have it – why we’re opting out of youth ministry! I know that many of you will choose differently for your family, but this is what are family has been led to do.  If you’re not sure where you stand, search the scriptures and ask God for wisdom.  I also included some recommended resources for those of you who want to look into youth ministry.

“The curtain must be pulled back if we are to keep young people involved in the church and if we are to renew our congregations we first must acknowledge that many of our current forms of youth ministry are destructive.”  -Mark Yaconelli, co-director of the YouthMinistry and Spirituality Project (pro-youth ministry)

“Youth ministry needs a revolution. It needs to be overthrown, retooled and reborn. The majority of what passes as youth ministry is organized babysitting: songs, games, a short devo and pizza afterward…yippee!” Greg Stier, Revolutionizing Youth Ministry (pro-youth ministry)

The Facts (taken from Revolutionizing Youth Ministry)

• According to Dr. Gary Railsback up to 50% of evangelical college freshman will forsake their Christian beliefs by their senior year of college.
• According to George Barna:
  • 2 out of 3 Christian teens will evacuate the church after they graduate from high school
  • 63% of our teens don’t believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God
  • 58% believe all faiths teach equally valid truths
  • 51% don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead
  • 70% don’t believe an absolute moral truth exits

Recommended Resources:

Sufficiencey of Scripture (especially the talk, “Youth Ministry” by Voddie Baucham – Wow! My husband and I learned SO much!)

The History of the Sunday School Movement

Scripture References:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6,7

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

Psalm 78

By MykkaMoose on 8/7/2010 7:46 PM

     We are currently hosting an exchange student from Japan.  We were quite surprised when she arrived and we found out she was only 12.  She’s been really sweet for the most part but there have been a few challenges that go along with having a non-family member live with you.

Here’s what we have learned from this experience

#1 – We would never send our 12 year old to another country to live with a family we didn’t know. (We kind of already knew this but hadn’t verbalized it before she came)

#2 – We don’t like sushi.

#3 – There are definite advantages to having very straight hair.

#4 – Her English is better than our Japanese.

#5 – She hadn’t been to a yard sale before coming to our house.

#6 – A cat can be a very comforting creature.

#7 – You should make sure you know how to call Japan before your foreign exchange student arrives.

#8 – When in doubt, cook rice.

#9 – Don’t put her clothes in the dryer because you might shrink them.  They don’t have dryers in Japan.

#10 – Japanese sleep very well in the car.

By MykkaMoose on 7/6/2010 2:38 PM

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God.  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,
"That you may be justified in your words,
   and prevail when you are judged."

But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? ( I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written:
"None is righteous, no, not one;
no one understands;
   no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
   no one does good,
   not even one."
"Their throat is an open grave;
   they use their tongues to deceive."
"The venom of asps is under their lips."
"Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness."
"Their feet are swift to shed blood;
in their paths are ruin and misery,
and the way of peace they have not known."
"There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.  Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

By MykkaMoose on 7/1/2010 7:51 PM

     When we moved into this house four years ago there were two raised beds already here.  They had, well, I’m not really sure what they had in them.  But anyway, they did have something in there.  And egg shells, lots of egg shells.  So I cleaned them out and planted a few things in there including four strawberry plants.  We didn’t have much money so four plants at 98 cents a piece was what we ended up with.

 

     Fast forward to today… or at least this year.  We have both raised beds filled up with strawberries.  Did I mention they are extremely prolific?  They multiply faster than rabbits or Silvas :).  We had to replant all the strawberries, cleaning up the plants and the rows as we went.  We cut a lot out of the lawn. 

We gave a lot away to Grandma Taylor.  And now we have two beds full of beautiful strawberries.

 

     When we got back from Church Camp on Saturday we found at least two bowls of beautiful red berries waiting for us. 

They were quickly gobbled up by the little girls.  I’m not sure how many actually made it into the house but I know many of them hit Jubilee’s stomach. 

By MykkaMoose on 6/29/2010 1:42 PM

I thought I would post a few picture of the fish we caught at camp.  This year we ended up with only 9 fish.  I was a little disappointed but I’m sure Gabe’s not (he doesn’t like to eat them as much as he likes to catch them.)

By MykkaMoose on 6/17/2010 7:25 AM

Dear Sweet Little Naya girl,

     Oh how I wish you were here with us!  I know that God has another plan for your life but that doesn’t stop my heart from hurting.  I had such wonderful plans for you, for us.  I had a bedroom all ready that you were going to share with Jubilee.  I had thought about clothes for you but didn’t get too far into that because I didn’t know what size you were.  I had visions of taking you to the beach, eating pancakes with you on Saturday morning and just loving you abundantly more than anything.

     I realized that this week some of the families that committed to children the same time we committed to you are going to get their children.  My heart is empty.  I won’t travel to Ukraine this summer to meet you.  I won’t get to snuggle with you and give you a mother’s first kiss.  I won’t get to know what you smell like or what texture your hair is.  I won’t know what foods you like or if you have a deep raspy voice or a high pitched one.  There is indeed a big hole in my heart.

     I love you and I’m glad you didn’t have to spend another day without a mother but I’m so sad I’m not her.  I’m glad you didn’t have to spend another day in the orphanage.  It’s bittersweet…

By MykkaMoose on 6/14/2010 4:45 PM

By MykkaMoose on 6/4/2010 6:23 PM

     We had a super productive Memorial Weekend.  I know that isn’t the reason for Memorial Day but it worked well for us. 

 

     Mike and Gabe made a run to the garbage dump on Saturday.  We had several things just that needed moved out to open up more room.  We had two clothes washers that had served out their days and then died and a clothes dryer that also had the same fate.  We had a water heater that was half broken but had been replaced, a double stroller that got left in the rain and started to mold (not unusual for anything here in the Northwest), a couple of glass closet doors that had been broken, and a moldy shelf that was in one of our sheds.  Needeless to say, I was super glad to see all those things go.

 

     Sunday we had a great time of fellowship at church.  We had a covered dish dinner (the Pastor’s wife has a personal objection to calling it a Potluck) for the missionaries that were visiting.  I always enjoy being able to stay and talk at leisure with the members of our church without having to worry about what we will be eating for lunch.  The construction theme of the lunch was cute and the paper on the table to draw blue prints for our dream homes was a particularly bright idea. 

 

     On Monday I got the craft bug and made an apron for my good friend Joan.  I found this pattern a couple of years ago and instantly loved it.  I am especially a fan of the fact that it’s two sided and doesn’t need to be tied.  The apron doesn’t take that long to make but I did a few things in between making it so I worked on it most of the day.  I really liked the way Joan’s turned out so I am going to make a matching one for me.  (On a side note Beth and Jubilee are in need of aprons so that is going on the to do list soon)

 

 

     We took a family trip to the grocery store and bought a bunch of picnic type food.  It rained all day but we cooked hamburgers anyway.  I made some potato salad and cut up watermelon (Beth’s favorite!).  We sat down to a very yummy lunch (even if it wasn’t ready ‘til 2pm).

     We finished up the day with a game of Phase 10.  The game is to be continued…