Days like These

On days like these, where the sun is glowing and the
wind is blowing through the trees and the flowers are blooming,
one is so happy to be alive.
One goes through the grocery store and smiles
at all those gloomy faces (isn't that fun).
Where all you want to do is
breath in deep the fresh air, and praise God for giving you life.
And praise Him for all those beautiful flowers that are blooming.
And for the sun that sheds its warmth on you.
On days like these all one wants to do is be outside,
and for me to mow and listen to the ipod : ).
And now as the sun goes down one thanks God for
the beautiful sunset, and one thanks God for the joy of such a picture.
On days like these praise God for life!

Seeker Friendly Churches

The modern "seeker sensitive" movement assumes that there are a lot of people in our society actively seeking after spiritual things, maybe even God, and that the churches job is to target this group and do whatever it takes to get them into the church.
Rom.3:10, 12 "There is none righteous, no not one...There is none who seeks after God." Does this verse show that there is a group of people who are looking for spiritual things, even God.

So whats wrong with the "seeker sensitive" movement? After all if your going to be fishing for men then you have to be use bait that is attractive to this world. Whats wrong with making a church more inviting to unbelievers to visit? Where's the danger in spicing up the service so people will stay interested, and even more, come back?

Here are some problems with the seeker sensitive movement-
"It minimizes and downplays the teaching of God's Word"- John McArthur.
In the seeker sensitive churches, where the goal is to bring people in and keep them there, Bible teaching is cut short or worse, cut out. Why? Because they believe people are to busy to sit through long drawn out expositions of God's Word.
The content of the message is cut short also. -Go to a seeker sensitive church and you'll hear a message on human relationships, success in the business world, or how to make your life in this world more satisfying. You won't hear a message on sin or judgement.

John MacArthur said "But when the churches sacrifice substance for style... churches stagnate and eventually die. Instead of being a place where men and women grow spiritually by coming under the influence of God's Word, seeker-sensitive churches become mere shells filled with false converts and malnourished Christians."

Going back to the fish and bait analogue- we must ask the question- do dead fish bite?
Man is fallen and dead in his sins, and won't come to the bait until he is resurrected by the blood of Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. No matter how many gimmicks we come up with or how entertaining we get...dead fish will not be attracted to the bait.
"Grace alone will resurrect the fish and Grace alone will work for the bait." -Kenny Anderson

Charles Spurgeon said about John 6:37 ("All that the Father gives me will come to Me, and no one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out" ) "I take it that the meaning of this text is this,-that if any do come to Jesus Christ, it is those whom the Father gave to Christ. And the reason why the come,-if we search to the very bottom of things,-is that the Father puts it into their hearts to come..."
Taken from my Dad's sermon- Sola Gratia

Great Friends

Stephanie and Katrina

Victoria and Colleen

Kaila and Natalie

Kaila, Natalie, Destiny and Karissa

Here are some pics of all my good friends at the speech club

Martin Luther

Martin Luther-
"Music is a fair and lovely gift of God which has often wakened and moved me to the joy of preaching...Next after theology, I give music the highest place and the greatest honor...My heart bubbles up and overflows in response to music, which has so often refreshed me and delivered me from dire plagues"

Johnathan Edwards Resolutions

Johnathan Edward made five resolutions for himself in his youth and lived by them faithfully. They are worth studying. Anyone who will adopt and follow them would greatly increase his usefulness. They are as follows-

1. Resolved: To live with all my might while I do live.
2. Resolved: Never to lose one moment of time but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.
3. Resolved: Never to do anything which I should despise or think meanly of in another.
4. Resolved: Never to do anything out of revenge.
5. Resolved: Never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Mother Charges Nothing (a cute little story)

A mother found under her plate one morning at breakfast a bill made out by her small son, Bradley, aged eight - Mother owes Bradley: for running errands, 25cents; for being good 10 cents; for taking music lessons 15 cents; for extras 5 cents. Total, 55 cents.

Mother smiled but made no comment. At lunch Bradley found the bill under his plate with 55 cents and another piece of paper neatly folded like the first. Opening it he read-Bradley owes Mother: for nursing him through scarlet fever, nothing; for being good to him, nothing; for clothes, shoes, and playthings, nothing; for his playroom, nothing; for his meals, nothing. Total: nothing.

Aren't our parents wonderful!!

Koltens 13th Birthday!!!

Hello,
lately we've been celebrating Koltens 13th birthday. WOW, can you believe he's already a teen, its so cool. He had all our family over to play soccer, and he decided to end the game by running into me and bending back (pretty hard too) my knee and making it crack real hard. But it was still a lot of fun, even though my team didn't win : ( . Everyone was so generous with their gifts, he got a lot a cool, and unique things. He also got a ATV from my parents and Grandpa Ken and Grandma Dot. So, as you can guess, the party didn't end until it was running and everyone got a ride or two. It was so funny to see all the kids forming a big line to go on, and Kolten sure wasn't greedy with it. Today just our family has been riding it. Phineas LOVES to run alongside it, he'll start barking if you slow down : ). Mom even rode it and Mummu (my moms mom). There are a few pics here.
God has sure blessed me with such an awesome and cool brother.
-Bye

Cuties

These are like some of the cutest pictures I've seen.
Aren't they adorable : ). (look closely at the dog one)

Happening

The past couple of days God has blessed us with a taste of summer. Its been soooooo nice to be able to work in the yard and not have to wear warm clothes, but to be able to wear flip flops : ). We've bean mowing, weeding, and right now we're putting new bark down.
Well anyways, isn't God good to give us warm weather.