Bookstore Mixup

We were browsing in our semi-local Half Price Books recently, looking for a book for a friend as well as letting Eliana peek through the various offerings in the Kids' section. She was sitting quietly looking through a rather large assortment of Berenstein Bears books when her mom said, "Eliana, Stop it." I looked at Eliana and back at her mom, trying to figure out what was going on. Once again, "Eliana! Stop that right now!" This was followed by, "Peter, will you help me out?" I look at Eliana again, trying to figure out what's going on.

Her mom then reached down, grabbed a book, and said, "Thanks a lot, Peter." I then told her that Eliana was over here and realized she'd been talking to a little girl who was just about Eliana's size, hair color, and complexion. She immediately apologized to the little girl and started insisting on a somewhat hastier than normal exit from the store. (Eliana was disappointed that she didn't get to finish going through the books.)

I did discover a book that looked promising in the Bear vein through all of that - something along the lines of the Berenstein Bears Help Those in Need or Put Others First or something along those lines. Looked like a good theme on using what we've been given to help others who are genuinely in need and can't help themselves.

Chex Mix Makeover

Eliana was helping her mom make up some chocolate/peanut-butter Chex mix (w powdered sugar). She was in charge of the shaking to mix everything together and coat the Chex w/ sugar. Mom thought that the bag needed some more air. She adjusted the bag, opened it up a little more, re-sealed, and gave the bag back to Eliana. Eliana stops shaking and starts to unzip the bag. Mom asked what she was doing, to which she replied, "The bag needs more air."

Before mom could stop her, Eliana had opened the bag and puffed really hard into the bag. The powdered sugar flew out of the bag and resulted in a white mask of powdered sugar on her face. (Kind of like a white raccoon.)

After they cleaned up and finished, she wanted to know if she had to test it like Daddy had "tested" the previous batch.

Thoughts on Halloween - from a Christian perspective

Darrin Brooker has some good points about the celebration of Halloween from a Christian perspective. He also refutes some of the common arguments Christians use to justify celebrating Halloween.

Running Well - » Thoughts on Halloween

Lately, I've been considering the idea of how our witness is affected by the way we celebrate (or don't celebrate) the day.  This article reminded me that God tells us in His word that we are to "abstain from every from of evil" or the "appearance of evil" (1 Thessalonians 5:22).  What's evil about little kids dressing up in costumes begging for candy?  Nothing in particular.  However, the day itself is the day of celebration for those in direct opposition to the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

"Our battle is not against little children in costumes trick or treating, but against demonic forces that disguise themselves as light and innocence."

Some of the articles quoted in Darrin's are ones I've read and they also brought up some points that sound valid.  However, I think Darrin backs up his case with scripture.  Sure, Halloween is just another day, but it is still a celebration of darkness and evil at its core. (or do I miss something in the fact that all of the decorations traditionally associated with Halloween are tombstones, ghosts, monsters, witches, etc.?)

I'd recommend reading through the article and considering the arguments Darrin offers prayerfully.  This is a tough issue for a lot of Christians and I'm sure quite a few of us have fond memories of going trick or treating when we were younger - lots of candy, cool costumes, etc.  We are not supposed to be "just like the neighbors" - we are called to be different and be a light to the world amidst the darkness.

Eliana - Reporter

No idea where she gets some of these ideas from.  I walk in to our room as mom is doing her hair.  Eliana reaches over an grabs a spare hairbrush.  She starts talking into it along the lines of "We're here with a big giant.  Here he is." and points the hairbrush at me.  This goes back and forth for a while as she pretends to be a reporter while her hair is being put up.  When that was done and I left, she turned to her mom and started to interview her.  Shortly before I left she ran out of the room, grabbed her jump-rope, and ran back in.  I then heard, "That's not a stethascope!"

It's interesting seeing the role-playing that she's doing.  She was a gymnast yesterday and was flipping all over the living room and eventually walked the balance beam (her jump-rope again).  Reporter and doctor combination today.  Who knows what it will be tonight?

Foster Care - Part II

As expected, Paris and Solomon left to go to a more permanent foster home. We had the normal issues that can be expected from two kids who have been moved around quite a bit, but they were great to have around. Eliana was a great "big sister" and helped constantly with both of them. When Solomon was crying, she would comfort him by telling him that everything was okay and there was nothing to cry about (sometimes a little too loudly, but she tried). When we explained that Paris was having trouble sleeping because she was a little scared of the different environment, Eliana was determined to explain to Paris that there was nothing to be scared of at night.

We are praying that they will have a great home to live in permanently very soon and that they will grow up safely. They're already on the right path. Paris is a very bright and friendly two year old. Solomon is a great baby and is extremely happy when he's not pre-occupied with typical baby matters. (nap, eat, cuddle, etc) We miss them, but are glad that we could play even a small part in their lives.

Foster Care

We have our first experience with foster care providing respite care for two beautiful kids - Paris and Solomon. They've been great to have in our house, even if only for a couple of days until they can be moved to a permanent foster home. Eliana has been a great "big sister" and has played well with Paris and hugged and kissed Solomon for the little baby he is. It's been different with new young ones in the house, but I'm glad that we've all been given an opportunity to be together for a short time. We've been learning a lot through this experience and I know that we'll all be somewhat sad to see them leave.

Vegetables Won't Kill You

Apparently while mom was encouringing Eliana to eat her vegetables, she said that a little bite of this vegetable won't kill you. Eliana finally took her bite and immediately started a gagging, coughing "fit" and then slumped over pretending to be dead. I guess this was relayed to grandma who was listening on the phone while this happened.

No idea where our kid gets the over-dramatic tendencies - I don't even think this has been in a movie she's seen, but they definitely make for great stories. :D

Allowance Time!

We discussed an allowance for Eliana with her today. We asked her what her normal daily chores should be. She rattled off a list: Go to bed, take a bath, play with her friends, eat dinner, play games, visit her friends, eat breakfast, play with her toys, etc. After we brought her back down to tasks that would help the family and house, we decided on putting up her toys and clothes, helping put up dishes, and similar. We discussed a quarter per day if all of her chores were done. Eliana is a shrewd negotiator, though. She insists that we need to give her a nickel. While I'm all for that, mom wants to stick to the quarter.

Punishment for the friends....

Eliana decided that Susan, Lucy, Peter, and Edmund (her friends/brothers and sisters depending on when you ask - she got into Narnia in a big way) had "broken" her toybox. She resigned them to the hall for 2 minutes as punishment. Susan was initially left out, but after some clarification, it was determined that she was there as well. Apparently Lucy was the main culprit and the others were covering for her. She disappeared in there a couple of minutes ago to fuss at them and let them up. She does pick up on the oddest things at times. :-)

Zoo Trip with Eliana

Eliana decided late last night that her daddy was one of her "sons" (the other being a doll she's had for almost 3 years) and that we needed to get a good nights' sleep because we were going to the zoo "tomorrow". She then had me lay down on the couch to sleep and she lay herself down on the other couch with a blanket and pillow.
After a small amount of time (to work as "night", I suppose), she came over to her happily dozing dad and woke me up gently by shouting "Wake Up!" as loudly as she could. She then hurried around fixing me breakfast, insisting that I get dressed, and dragged me off to the "car" (a spot in the living room not particularly different than any other). We then got in the car (after opening the "door" of course) and she realized she had forgotten her key. She left me and the baby doll in the car while running to her kitchen to get her key (a pink plastic knife). After driving frantically (never saw those elbows move so quickly), we arrived at the "zoo".
I was then given a tour of the zoo (aka living room) where she picked up a souveneir and showed me the animals (in this case a giant stuffed chicken). We then had to get back in the car and go home so we could nap before going back to the zoo.
At this point, it was actually past bedtime. We all got ready to go to bed for real after some cleanup of the toys that were out.

She'd been to the Dallas Aquarium a couple of days earlier which probably prompted this trip. She got a set of binoculars while there and discovered last night how they are actually supposed to work. That was pretty cute as well.

Ordering Your Private World - Strength of Mind

I've been reading through Gordon MacDonald's book "Ordering Your Private World" lately and just finished the chapter on keeping your mind healthy/strong as a Christian. He presented a lot of food for thought that really resonated with me.

He commented that we need to exercise our minds as Christians because God created us in His image. We have the mind of Christ and therefore should be the most creative people in the world. Instead, we often turn off our minds and follow some strong-willed leader semi/mostly blindly. (Jonestown anyone?)

We also need to use our minds so we can engage the culture. If we aren't constantly exercising and disciplining our minds towards Godliness, then we are more likely to get sucked into the culture around us and dragged down into that culture. God's word is filled with examples of how Israel continually let themselves be influenced by the people around them rather than witnessing for the God who'd called them His people. In Judges, it ends with the sad line that "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes." In Chronicles, Israel is led away into captivity for falling so far from God - first with the northern kingdom who never had a God-following king, then with the southern kingdom who had some good kings, but not enough.

Even the churches in the New Testament let themselves get carried away with the flow of the culture - probably why we have so many exhortations to exercise and discipline ourselves to be in the world, but not of the world. As one hymn tells us - this world is not my home, I'm just passin' through. We need to do our part while we are here, but this is not our final destination and too often we live like it is our last stop.


One comment that really touched a nerve was "amusement". Gordon brings our attention to the root for the word - muse, to think, a- without. Basically, this leads us to "without thinking". I've been convinced for a long time that our society will rise or fall based on how we use our leisure time. Do we amuse ourselves? TV? Games? Music? Sports? Books? All of them are good, in moderation. I tend towards books, games, and music - sometimes too much so. I have to ask myself regularly - Am I building myself up through these leisure activities, staying put, or actually moving backwards?

The last point Gordon brings up is based on another author and how we need to serve God with all of our mind, soul, heart, and strength. Gordon touches on how this can relate to people who are emotional, but don't have any intellect behind the emotion. Others who are intellectual, but don't have depth or emotion. Still others who have experience, but no emotion. We need to be perfectly balanced or we'll find ourselves out of control and easily manipulated (or the manipulators). Personally, I need to guard against over-intellectualizing my faith and translating that head-knowledge to heart-knowledge and life-application.

If you're reading this - how is your private world? Are you mentally flabby in your faith or are you growing? Are you the same Christian you were 1 year ago? 5 years? 10 years?

In Him,

-Peter

The Butt of Too Many Jokes - Contemporary Christianity in the USA

I'm not really a King of the Hill fan, though I understand that quite a few people find it amusing. Only reason this stuck in my mind is due to this post:
Challies Dot Com: The Butt of Too Many Jokes

I liked the basic premise of the discussion - contemporary Christian culture in the USofA. We get caught up in things about Christianity that are cool and tend to discard them when they aren't fashionable anymore. He brought up WWJD branded items, magazines, music and similar items that are fads and then as their popularity wanes, they are relegated to a box somewhere or a garage sale. The best quote I read was along the lines of how we need to be careful about how we treat God so that He doesn't end up in that box of all the things that were fads and have now been put away because they aren't cool anymore.

How am I presenting God to my family? Am I careful to present God to them so that He isn't something that will pass if He becomes uncool? Sure, VeggieTales are great, but I'm sure that their popularity will fade at some point. The same holds true for jewelry, clothing, books, pop music. Sure some of them will last longer than others, but God is so much more than those things. Definitely something that I plan to think about some more.

Blue houses don't make us happy

Once again, Eliana demonstrates that she takes in more than we realize. As we were driving along on the way to church, we detoured past a house that mom has looked at for a while just because she's liked the look of it. She pointed it out to Eliana and noted that the blue house was the one to look at. Eliana pointed out that our house is brick. She the explained to both of us that "blue houses don't make us happy."

Too true, now if that would only apply to items that are pink for a certain small girl I can think of. :-)

Hats don't guard cars

Eliana's been toting her bears around lately (sometimes a tiger, dog, or doll instead). Joe was the favored bear for a while, but we wanted to ensure that he'd be safe so we insisted that he stay behind to "guard the car" regularly.

Today Eliana decided to pick up her play cowboy hat (the one that's bright baby-blue) and wear it in to church. Mom tried to convince her that she should let the hat guard the car. Eliana looked at her mom and explained to her that "Hats don't guard cars. Bears guard cars." She then proceeded to pick up the hat and wear it into church.

That girl picks up on the strangest things at times, but it makes life all the more interesting.

A Capella singing and our "Heart of Worship"

Doxologue has a great post on the plans to worship with no instrument other than the human voice this coming weekend. I agree with their post when they say that this is not the only way to worship. What caught my attention here was David's thoughts about the words and even the thoughts behind what we're singing. He also mentions that even if we sing beautifully, God doesn't want that offering if the words we sing don't match the attitudes in our hearts.

First, we need to concentrate on what we're singing. As one of my pastors used to tell us - the only thing that makes a song "Christian" is the lyrics. A lot of our more popular hymns have melodies taken from popular songs of the day, including drinking songs.

Second, do the words we sing line up with what's in our heart? Are we singing songs that praise God for his blessings while we are consumed with thoughts on how we can manage our money better? Do we completely contradict those words by thinking, "What blessings?"

Third, are we so consumed by the type of music we're singing that we don't really mean what we're singing? I tend not to prefer "contemporary" style worship. However, that does not mean that it should affect my ability to worship God through guitars and drums. Other countries have completely different styles of music used to worship God - probably a whole lot different than anything I'll ever hear in the USA. Will that stop me from offering my praise? If I were to attend a church that only used guitars/drums/praise band, will that hinder me? (And I'm not proud to admit that I've definitely put self first some of those days when that did happen.)

Lastly, David brings up a good point on how our main instrument to worship God is our voice. And behind that, our hearts. The best band, the best choir, the best praise team, the best director - all mean nothing if our heart is not in unison with the words proceeding from our mouths. God looks at the heart. He knows what we're offering to Him.

Am I offering my best when I sing to Him or am I just singing? Am I singing to glorify myself or Him? I know that I'll be thinking about this next time I'm singing corporately.

Vain Worship (from Pastorway)

OK - this post (pastorway: Vain Worship) got me thinking quite a bit. Am I like the people he mentions in Ezekiel 33? Am I someone who pursues teaching, but doesn't do what the teacher says? Am I like the people Jesus talks about in Matthew 15:8-9? Do I draw
near to Him in the physical sense yet distance myself or even go the opposite way spiritually? Pastor Way writes a great devotional discussing true worship vs. vain worship.

How am I applying or not applying the truths from the messages or Sunday School lessons I've heard lately? How am I changed day by day? In short, am I worshiping in vain or in truth?

How are you doing spiritually? (i.e. What are you reading?)

John Samson wrote a great article that challenges all of us about what we are reading and how it affects our spiritual walk. Find it here:
Reformation Theology: How are you doing spiritually? by Pastor John Samson

He begins with a story that I know I can relate to and probably a good portion of us could if we were honest with ourselves. A man approaches the pastor and admits that his spiritual and devotional life is just not where it should be. My pastor right now touches on this - we need a foundation of prayer and Bible Study for our lives. John takes this even further when he challenged this man by asking "What are you reading right now?" This definitely challenged me as I have a tendency towards science-fiction and fantasy - some of it edifying, other parts just fluff or filler. I enjoy tales such as the "Christ Clone Trilogy" and even "Left Behind". I've read some great Christian fiction (including Pilgrim's Progress and CS Lewis' works). I also tend to read non-Christian fiction.

This post really challenged me to take up more edifying reading. I've started and paused Ray Stedman's Adventuring Through the Bible several times. Not because it's boring - far from it - but just because I'll put it down and not make a point of picking it up again for a while. I think it's time to resume that and get back on track with material that builds me up more than just occupies my time. I don't think there's anything wrong with entertainment, but I'll admit I've had a little too much of it lately for my own good.

So, if you're reading this - what are you reading right now?

In him,

-Peter Schott

Prayer Meetings - some thoughts

I came across a great post over at Doxologue discussing the mid-week prayer meeting that is somewhat common in US churches. David discussed how his church uses their mid-week prayer time with a good basic description of how the prayer meeting progresses through the evening. He touches briefly on how some churches have turned this time into a time of teaching rather than prayer.

The last paragraph dealt with churches not encouring their members to come together for this time of corporate prayer. It also touched on how we as believers tend to get caught up in other events. This touched a chord with me as I know I tend to make excuses rather than try to attend the church's regular Wednesday meeting. "The traffic is too rough." "I'm busy helping the churches I serve through my job." "I got in late today so I need to stay late." (Now there's a lame excuse - especially for my current company/position.)

Excellent read and well worth checking out this site in general as the posts are always excellent and thought-provoking.

Kidz CD 1 - small review

Downloaded (and installed) the "Kidz CD 1" program - something age appropriate for Kids up to 6 years old.

Warning - upgrade your Flash an Macromedia players before actually running the program. Most of the sites for games use one or the other and if you attempt to update from within the program, you'll have problems. I had to open the program again (fortunately on the desktop) and exit it normally.

Kid review:
Eliana loved it. She was able to use the mouse to play with the various sites that are pre-defined. She spent a good 30-40 minutes making lemonade with Elmo and Zoe. She learned how to control the mouse pretty well during this time. She's able to easily switch to other components within the software and seems to enjoy exploring the different options.

Parental review:
Great program overall. This program stops kids from using special keys, alt-tab, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and everything except Ctrl+L which is used to exit the program. The program also keeps them from going to other sites easily and from printing within the site for most sites. Right-mouse-clicks are disabled as well. If you have special buttons on the mouse, they may still function so be watchful. (Logitech App Launcher still works, for example.) The same holds for anything that may be forced to "stay on top" such as toolbars or other helper apps.

Special key combinations are disabled so even Ctrl+Alt+Del doesn't work while the program is running. This makes it really safe for kids to use.

The links are pre-defined - both good and bad. They are categorized under 4 categories - Games, Stories, Television, and More. That doesn't necessarily mean that you won't find some under the other categories, but it's a good general guide. The good part with this is that you don't have to add a lot of different sites to the program (and the authors do take suggestions). The bad is that you can't add/remove anything on your own.

Personally, I would have liked a little more information on exactly what I'm about to hit. The only hint you get is a picture that grows very slightly when you hover over it. I had no idea if Eliana would choose something too old or young for her, though she's able to switch away without too much trouble if she doesn't like the link.


Overall - great program. The company makes several other products for different age-ranges - all free. They have different sites set up for each age range, but block things like social sites, chat rooms, and other things with forums. The website describes the programs relatively well, but I'd still urge parents to check out the program before the kids start using it.

Go turn on that light....

Eliana couldn't reach her light switch tonight due to some re-arranging of her room. Her mom told her to stand on her box to reach the switch. She goes into her room. The light turns on. She comes back with a small smushed up box that holds tissues. I realized that she had quite literally "Stood on her box" to turn on the lights - just not the nice, sturdy wooden box that we'd expected.

She's nothing at this age if not literal. :-)

Superpowers

Eliana definitely pays attention to her movies. She was watching "Sky High" earlier today. While out with her mom, she had a serious question to ask. "Mom, what's your superpower?"

Mom's response was "I don't have a superpower. What's your superpower, Eliana?"

"My superpower is - Use Stick." At this point, she started beating the ground with a stick, all the while holding her purse. She started to go after the van as well, but mom used her secret superpower - the look that said it was time to stop. :-)

Worship - who?

Been reading Bob Kauflin's blog, "Worship Matters" quite a bit lately and he posted some notes from India that got me thinking. He mentioned something about how going over there helped him realize what parts of worship were cultural and what parts were desired by God. He said that the different languages and practices really narrowed that down.

That got me thinking about the way we worship here in the USA. Too often, we're caught up in the music styles of worship - contemporary vs traditional seems to be the common battle now. Worship is about more than music and more than style. We've worshiped God in all sorts of different ways throughout the centuries. Prayer, fasting, prophecy (teaching), service, etc. are all acts of worship but are often forgotten when we discuss worship.

We are also so caught up in the style of our music used during worship that I think we neglect to look at the lyrics. What are we singing? Do the lyrics honor God or edify the body? Do the lyrics portray God as He is? Are they so generic that they could be sung by Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, or any other faith?
More importantly - do we ever really think about the lyrics that we're singing or are we on a sort of "auto-pilot" when we sing the words? I've been there - words come in, harmony comes out and nothing has actually passed through my brain on what I'm singing. God's been working on this in me for a while now and seems to have been really encouraging me to take a look at this area of my worship lately.

So what words am I singing? Why do I sing? To whom am I singing? When I sing these words, do I think of what sort of God I'm praising? When we sing "O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing" do I reflect on how the church was silenced in song for such a long time that God used Martin Luther to restore the congregation's voice? When we sing "How Great Thou Art", am I thinking of just how great our God is? The words behind "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross" are some of the most touching ever written and should drive me to think that if everything in nature were mine, it would still be too small of an offering to give back to God for what He's done for me through Jesus.

Dancing

Eliana decided to start dancing up a storm tonight. We cleaned out the guest room, leaving a large area free on the floor. I was testing the clock radio when some music came on. Eliana starting hopping, twirling, flipping, doing handstands, and generally having a really good time. We watched for a while and caught a couple of minutes on tape. It was pretty amusing.

Knock Knock jokes already?

No idea where this came from, but Eliana decided to start telling knock knock jokes. Her first one was: "Knock Knock" "Who's there?" "Mom, it's me! Eliana!"

I tried to tell her the interrupting cow one - (Interrupting cow who? with a MOOOOO while the person asks the "who" line.) She loved it, even if she was a little startled by it. She then tried to tell it herself. She struggles through the word "interrupting" (go figure) and can't quite get the timing to MOOOO while the person is asking "Interrupting cow who?".

More recently, she started trying to make up ones about Cheese (Cheese on Hamburger) and other common things along those lines. It's cute watching her try to figure out the humor behind the jokes and seeing her so tickled by her versions.

Moving on....

Made the decision after quite a bit of prayer and talking with others to leave Drive Financial and move to a new position at Fellowship Technologies. I will be doing roughly the same thing according to the job description and this gives me the opportunity to use my skills to help further God's kingdom. This was a hard decision as I've had a great time at Drive and have worked with a lot of really great people. I look forward to the new experiences at Fellowship Tech. Now it's just a matter of wrapping up my duties for Drive and learning the systems at Fellowship. I hope to post more on my experiences as time permits. I'm excited, if a little anxious.

Half Price Books

We took Eliana to a 1/2 Price Books store today. She was extremely content just to pick a book, go to one of the stools, and thumb through it. She must have gone through 10-15 books easily. She would even place each one back where she got it from. We ended up buying one of the Berenstain Bears books to read at home. She likes those. I think they're just the right combination of picture and story. She even identified the theme of the book as friends. I don't remember saying anything about it to her so this appears to be something she identified by herself. It's hard to believe that she'll be 3 in a couple of weeks. Where does the time go? :-)

Eliana and the three bears

Poor kid had nightmares last night and couldn't sleep well to start. She climbed into bed with me for a little time to calm down and began to whisper the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears with a pretty high level of accuracy. She even changed her voice to mimic papa bear, mama bear, and baby bear. It was cute and just a reminder that she's growing more each day. She went on to tell the story of the three pigs shortly after that. She eventually calmed down enough to go to sleep in her own bed.

Thought for the day

Saw this on David Allen's website and thought it was just a good reminder that the problem of overworking or trying to do more than God wants us to has been around for a while. There are times that we need to look at the lesser good that we can accomplish.

The enemy often tries to make us attempt and start many projects so that we will be overwhelmed with too many tasks, and therefore achieve nothing and leave everything unfinished. Sometimes he even suggests the wish to undertake some excellent work that he foresees we will never accomplish. This is to distract us from the prosecution of some less excellent work that we would have easily completed. He does not care how many plans and beginnings we make, provided nothing is finished. - St. Francis de Sales

Future Gymnast

No idea where she gets the energy. Eliana is laying down on her bed perpendicular to the bed. She then puts her hands on the floor and flips over. Not sure if she's laying on her back or her stomach, but it's impressive either way. I also understand that it's a little frustrating right now as she is extremely persistent in this activity.

Of course, she also uses our bed as a trampoline - it's cute (and typical of kids), but not a desirable trait in the long run. She gets pretty ornate with the flips she does on our bed when mommy isn't watching. She's still creative when mommy is watching, but for a much shorter time. :-)