Belated Easter Photo

We didn't get a family picture taken at Easter, so we did a reenactment to coincide with the lovely azalea bushes in front of our church building.

Numbering our Diapering Days

A friend and I were recently counting up how long we'd been doing the diaper thing--nothing wrong there in itself. Yet, I got to thinking about the assumption (at least on my part) behind our math: that doing humble jobs in service to the needy should be a temporary phase of life. Oops. I think that's supposed to be my lifestyle as a Christian. Oh well, I'll just blame popular culture for my selfish assumptions. People used to blame their parents for all their faults, but with pop-culture as your favorite whipping boy, no one's feelings get hurt . . .
. . . or maybe I'll just repent.

"So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
---Psalm 90:12

"But she's smiling . . ."

Three-year-old Lewis (upon examining the senior picture of a cousin that was recently posted on our fridge): "Does she have children?"

Me: "No, she doesn't have a husband yet."

Lewis: "But she's smiling."

Further conversation illuminated the fact that Lewis was also noticing a tiny ring on her hand, but obviously for Lewis, marriage and children are something close to a prerequisite for happiness. He's not too far off!

Girls Will Be Girls

Jocelyn is finally growing enough hair to begin to think about doing something with, so we made our first attempt at curlers last night. After a hard night of sleeping, only one curler still had hair around it in the morning, but the fun we had pampering Jocelyn can be seen in the smile above.

Learn Those Books of the Old Testament

A friend introduced me to this great Scripture CD from Sonlight. The music is much more interesting than your typical children's fare, and the words are only Scripture. It also made learning the books of the Old Testament very simple for our kids, and I just found out the grade 1 CD has a recording for the New Testament books. There are audio samples on the website.

www.sonlight.com/2B03.html

Regarding Earth Day and Life in General

"Guilt is gratitude gone rancid . . . mankind staggers on under the guilty weight of unexpressed thanksgiving . . . But as an enduring motivation to work, guilt is nothing to gratitude."

--Ben Merkle (Credenda Agenda 20:1, pp. 43-44)

Wisdom for Decision Making

" . . . God governs the world, not our abstract reasoning, and He structures it in such a way that when we avoid the company of fools--in our own village--and seek out the company of the wise in the same place, God connects us to the global issues rightly. We don't have to get a Ph.D. in international relations before we vote for candidate Smith or Murphy, or obtain an MA in economics before buying something on sale at Wal-Mart. We don't have to spend a month in the library trying to decide if it is all right to join the Navy. This protection from God doesn't happen because we have ensured a goodly outcome, it happens because God honors those who walk with Him, and who do their duty according to their light in the place where He has put them. The attempt to figure the big picture out beforehand (so that we can know the right thing to do) is to give way to the ancient temptation--ye shall be as God."

--Douglas Wilson (Credenda Agenda 20:1, p. 10)