What are you trying to say?

Ben, my 2 year old son, was sitting on my lap the other day. He patted my stomach & said, "Hi baby Emma". Most of the family was in the living room at the time & they witnessed it.
I suppose that's a sign that its time to shed some excess pounds.

Dream Come True...

Today marks a most memorable event for me...I'm about to burst with pride. Last week I asked Zack to work on putting Psalm 119:9-16 to music. We're memorizing Psalm 119 as a Church this year. All 176 verses. We're trying to put it to music, word for word from the New King James version of scripture. I was just hoping that he could maybe get the tune going for me then I could finish it. I've never written a song with a piano & that opened the door for a whole new way of writing. Life got real busy & I forgot about it but Zack didn't. I was very surprised when he told me today that he had it a little more than half way done.
What he had done was excellent & very different than anything I would have come up with. We worked, fought, & argued our way through the next three verses. We figured out how to work together. Zack tightened up my loose musical ways & I was able to loosen him up & get him to think outside the box. The vast majority was Zack's arrangement & I have to say that it is AWESOME!!!
I'm trying to figure out how to get it on my blog but I haven't got there yet. I'll figure it out soon

Life as of Late...

Vintage Ben
"Stickies"

Garrett aka "Safety" & that waskilly wabbit

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

Just some pics of life in the Dziadul Cave as of late.

Wake Up Call

Great Start - Poor Finish. I taught 2 classes today at the first CWW Co-Op. Both were Bible classes (for some reason they didn't want me teaching math...go figure). My first class was with the little children ages 3 to 6 or 7.
First of all, they are so easy to please. We sang & did the motions & they just ate it up. Then I began the lesson on David. I asked several questions that I wasn't sure this little kiddos would know. One was, "Who wrote most of the Psalms". Little Elizabeth knew that one. I asked what instrument David played & my son Sam knew that. They knew the name of Goliath's country - Philistia! Color me impressed.
Next class: 11 older children from 9 - 16. That class is Bible 101. The basic structure, layout, history, & basic geography of the Word of God. It was an exercise in contrast to the younger children. Nobody knew what the word "Testament" meant. To my shame, my daughters were in this class! No one knew what the oldest book of the O.T. was (the earliest written - do you know?) No one knew who authored the majority of the N.T. (do you know that one?) I know my girls have heard me teach this stuff before. When I asked the questions...Crickets.
This class represents CWW's brightest & best. I really challenged them to get engaged & get to know their Bibles. Next week's class opens with a fill in of the break down of the Old & New Testaments - the 3 kinds of books in each & then writing out in order the books of the Bible spelled correctly. My wife said that might have been a little much. I disagree...it's not enough.
Somehow I've broken my arm patting myself on the back because my pre schooler knows that David played a harp while allowing my Junior High age girls to be ignorant of what a 'Testament' is.
Today was a wake up call for me as a Parent & a Pastor.

Beach Baptism 09

Two weeks ago, we had a beautiful Sunday morning Baptism on the beach. The forcast was for bad thunder storms and rain. We asked God to hold off the rain & angry clouds on the horizon while recognizing God's authority to do what He willed.

Wow! Did God ever exceed our puny expectations.

The rain held off for the service, the celebration picnic, & about an hour of play time after lunch.

God is so Good!

Benjamin & the Bubbles

Fantastic Free Concert!

I took the four eldest of my children to the Grand Opera House tonight to take in a concert by the U.S. Air Force Reserve Concert Band. I knew it would be good but rarely are my expectations so far exceeded. It was top notch & very entertaining. What a joy to be able to experience some "good music" with my children & discuss our favorite songs on the way home. It was cold when we got out so we stopped at waffle house for coffee & second supper. From one "Culture" to another "Culture" if you know what I mean. If you ever get a chance to check out any military band, be sure to do it. You won't regret it.