Sunday Sentiments

• We've actually FINISHED Ephesians 5!
• Chapter 6 here we come...
• Could we really finish Ephesians in 2009?
• Great Q&A with the men Sunday
• We have some really salty guys & I pray that our young men are catching it
• I've heard nothing but good things from the ladies teaching time
• I'm thankful for a gracious wife who is willing to step way out of her comfort zone to cooperate with her husband & please our Lord
• I never realized how many men we have until we all filled up the fellowship hall
• Ladies talk: Submission, Respect, & Contentment
• Men's talk: Responsibilities: Follow Christ, Lead & Love your wife & family
• "We will one day stand before God & present our wives back to him. Our duty is to give back to Him a wife who looks more like Christ than when we got her from Him"
• "When a man abdicates his responsibilities, he forces his wife to learn to live with out him"
• "When a man abuses his responsibilities, he forces his wife to run or retaliate"
• I'm so glad to have brothers that I can look to for an example to me & not the other way around
• I have great hope for our young married men who are walking wisely before God
• Next Week: Ephesians 6!
  

Junior Camp

Run John, Run the Law demands

But gives us neither feet nor hands

Far better news the Gospel brings

It bids us fly & gives us wings

-John Bunyon-

We spent a busy & fun week with 120 folks at Junior camp last week. I taught on "Law & Grace". Really I taught 90% on the Commandments & 10% on Grace which is a good rule of thumb when you think about it. Below is the hand motions to commandment #2 - no graven images. I taught these hand motions 2 years ago & some of the children still remembered them. Amazing! One of the 'Great Finds' before camp was a DVD by a group called the Go Fish Guys. I was searching for a great 10 commandments song. I found some real hinky songs but one called "The Ten Commandment Boogie" was a hit with my son Sam. Below is a pic of my girls & Emily doing the motions to it. I encourage you to check their music out at http://www.gofishguys.com/

Here's Sam doing the motions as well - This is to the line..."...the 10 commandment boogie, gonna dance it till I die..."

The material was from John Piper's church & it was excellent. http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/ I had to combine the commandment teachings as each commandment was a stand alone lesson. Due to only having 10 chapel services, I had to combine 2 commandments per lesson. As a result, I couldn't go near as deep as the material did. I had to carve a lot of good stuff out.

The lesson on commandment #7 had me in knots. How do you teach 3rd - 5th grade kids about adultery & why its a bad idea. How do you even define it? God was gracious. Camp Definition: Adultery is treating another person who isn't your husband/wife like they were your husband/wife.

Would you believe it was that lesson that broke the hearts of many of the kids?! They are living with the fruit of unfaithfulness & I never really gave that a thought. I took an egg & dropped it on the floor to illustrate how being unfaithful destroys a family. When I looked back up from that, many children & even some of the teen counsellors were wiping away tears.

Several children came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit & confessed Christ as Savior. My little cousin Becky being one of them.

Some of the most dear & lovely Christians I know are Camp Eunice regulars. I praise God for the opportunity to invest a week in the lives of those young people.

'New' Car for Beth

First I want to thank God for his incredible provision for our needs as a family. I thank God for my sister-in-law Rebecca for sending me a book by a guy named Dave Ramsey. The pain of bringing my finances under control has yeilded the fruit of being debt free with the exception of the house (see my post in 8 years). I also learned to save for future needs & to pay CASH.

Well, we paid our van off a year ago & I just kept paying myself the same payment. Fast forward to today.

I was wanting a late model 3 seat wagon that had low miles (under 75 k) that would get 20 or abobe mpg around town. Enter "Auto Trader.Com". I found a 96 Oldsmobile Ciera SL, 3 seater, one owner, clean car fax, 58,000 original miles & has been garaged the whole time. It runs like a charm & doesn't shake at 85. The interior is amazing. I don't think the second & third rows have ever been sat in.

The best part is that CASH in hand got me a GREAT deal & NO PAYMENTS (except the ones I continue to make to myself)

Thank you God my Father for your amazing provision.

Enjoy it Beth...I love you...