Timothy got excited while watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade. When the Shrek float came by blaring “I’m a believer”, the joy started at his feet and worked its way up to his head. He couldn’t contain it.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Last Sunday, we dedicated our ten month old, Timothy, in our Church.

If you’re not familiar with the tradition of baby dedications, it’s a ceremony where we, the parents, acknowledge God’s sovereignty not only in our lives but in the life of our child as well. Before our church family we pray to God, asking for His grace and wisdom in raising our child. We also pray that our child might one day trust Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.  Our Church family also promises to help us to raise our child in a loving and Christ-centered environment. It’s a joyous day for everyone.

To many people, professional athletes have been elevated to a status beyond stardom, beyond even royalty. They’ve achieved the level of near demigods.  And many athletes in the limelight let that revelry go to their heads, walking around as if the normal rules of society don’t apply to them.

Steve McNair seemed like a great exception to the stereotypical it’s-all-about-me professional athlete. His selflessness on the field is near legendary. He sacrificed his body play after play for a few extra yards. He played when it was obvious to everyone in the stadium and on TV that he was in pain. Yet when the ball was snapped he went 110% and the pain wasn’t evident. As a result he inspired others to give their all and perhaps play even above their natural abilities.

But his contributions were not limited to on-the-field activities. More than once he renegotiated his contract to free up salary-cap money and allow other players to be signed to the team. Team mates and coaches speak of his leadership in the locker room. He was a team player, an all-star, and a natural leader all rolled into one.

His unassuming style of leadership, work ethic, natural abilities, and great smile made him a very likeable person. I liked Steve McNair.

That’s what made his untimely passing a few weeks ago very disturbing to many, including me.  Michael Hyatt summed it up well in his recent blog posting “One Stupid Decision Away“. I couldn’t say it better. I’m not going to repeat it here; just go to read it on his blog. You won’t regret it even if you’re not interested in sports.

I hope we can all learn lessons from what Steve McNair did right. But I also hope we can learn even more from the series of mistakes he made that led to a tragedy that affected so many others. And will for years to come.

Please don’t misunderstand. I don’t stand in judgment of Steve McNair. We all fall short. We all make mistakes. We are, after all, human. And people make mistakes.

My point is that it’s important to have a hero that doesn’t let you down, that doesn’t make bad decisions, that doesn’t potentially influence you to go down paths you’d be better off not traveling. And there’s only one that I know of that fits that description. He was a Jewish carpenter named Jesus.

As another professional athlete, Charles Barkley, once quipped, “I’m not a role model. Just because I dunk a basketball doesn’t mean I should raise your kids.” As controversial as “Sir Charles” can be, I think he’s right on this point.

Who’s your hero?

If I had to pick one thing to be an icon of raising children on a farm, it would be a pair of knee-high rubber boots.  You just need them to walk around in the mud and manure, to do chores, to wade into puddles, and any number of other important kid activities.  And each child gets a pair as soon as he or she can walk.

I came upon these prints yesterday and they just made me smile.

I found these two sets of footprints just a few feet apart, testament to the investment a daddy made in his little daughter by including her in his activities.

This life God has provided us is one we cherish and appreciate.   But in the middle of everyday life it can be so hard to take the time to let the little ones join in when it’s so much faster to do things alone.  We strive to keep the big picture in mind, though.  In the end it will have been more important to spend the time together and suppress our perfectionism than to have square corners and spotless floors.  The bent nails have their own value.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. We hope you have a wonderful and blessed Christmas this year. And as you open presents from loved ones, we hope you remember the greatest gift of all – the one offered to each of us by God so many years ago.

Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them. ~Luke 2:1-20

Though we are pretty conservative people with strong spiritual beliefs, we have no problem with taking part in some of the fall festivities we grew up with way back when.  We look forward to pumpkin carving, roasting the seeds, and putting on costumes from our collection of dress-up clothes.  We go up to church and play games and get candy and fellowship with our friends.  It’s always so much fun and there isn’t so much as a hint of the possible darker side of Halloween’s history.  We feel that what really matters is how WE celebrate and our intentions and the traditions we pass on to our children.

Darth Vader, a sweet ladybug, and a princess pose with their respective pumpkins.

A close-up of their designs.  (Okay, I helped Lydia a little).

The little 9-day old Pea-in-a-Pod slept through most of the activities.

In addition to the blow up bouncy things and games you always win to get candy, free snowcones & hot dogs, these Human Hamster Balls were set up in a Sunday School room .  Two children play by trying to roll the other into a corner or otherwise chase each other around the room.  Benjamin and his friend Zack had a great time.

Over the past year, I have become really curious about the topics of nutrition and traditional foods. I have read countless books addressing those topics and have learned some really fascinating things about modern-day food and health myths and the wisdom our ancestors had that has been discarded.

I’ve long suspected that God in His infinite wisdom created an Earth that had everything we could need if we had cared for it and used good sense in appreciating and using it. Being self-important humans though, we have considered ourselves to be so bright that we could “improve” on what He gave us through our own ingenuity and not worry about the consequences of our fiddling. This reveals itself in lots of controversial moral issues, but right now I am just talking about food.

But how complicated could that get, right? Food is just food. Well, not anymore.

A hundred years ago, our great-grandparents likely had a lot fewer choices about what to eat, but better overall health- fewer allergies, diabetes, unexplained chronic illnesses, and the like. Today the offerings in the typical grocery store number in the thousands, but most would be quite foreign to Grandma. Snack cakes with Kreme filling? Aluminum foil pouches filled with colored corn syrup? “Complete meals in a box” with an unpronounceable ingredient list woefully short on actual meat and vegetables? And this is an improvement?!

With increased commercialization of our food supply comes lots more processing. Each step seems to remove more nutrients and add more chemistry. God made our bodies with the ability to produce natural enzymes to digest the foods He provided, but maybe not these man-made pseudofoods. And what if our bodies don’t always recognize the alien “food” so it can be speedily eliminated? If our well-meaning systems begin to replace true nutrients with these artificial ingredients in every level down to the cell, why should we be surprised to see sky-rocketing rates of cancer?

Our family is trying to return to a diet more like our relatives in bygone days would have consumed. And lest you think that means we are suffering from taste deprivation or that we long for fast-food, I assure you that hasn’t been the case. Traditional natural foods have so much MORE flavor than the bland offerings of cookie-cutter processed foods. When you begin to taste all the flavors out there that have been abandoned in favor of MSG and other “food science” wizardry, you won’t miss the pseudofood that has become the American staple. I also think that you will feel so much better that you won’t be tempted to go back.

In upcoming posts, I plan to share some of the things we have been learning and our experiences as we’ve cleared out the junk food and searched out the good stuff.

Today, Joe and I have been married eleven years. And the romance is still alive. In keeping with tradition, we are giving each other gifts that really say “love.” For our anniversary, with all the mushy sentiment that accompanies it, we have given each other cows.

According to Emily Post, for your first anniversary the appropriate gift is made of paper. The second year, you should give cotton. It’s a little known fact that for the eleventh year, you give cattle.

These fine new young ladies come from the herd of a good friend we know through church. They have been so docile and quick to adjust to their new home. The girls don’t have names yet, but I’m sure Benjamin and Rachel will think of some soon.

Here are some pictures of our fine gifts.

His

and Hers

But in seriousness, I want to say that God has truly blessed me with a husband beyond what I could have asked for or what I deserve. He is the kindest, most considerate and loving man I know. He is an excellent father, too. I am so very grateful to have him.

In this day and age, it’s getting to be an oddity to stay happily married. But it can be done. If both people will put God in the center of their marriage and be willing to die to self daily in accordance with God’s guidelines, He will surely bless your union. He has blessed us immeasurably. I don’t mean He’s made us rich in material things (though He has certainly provided for all our needs). But in all circumstances, if we were willing, He has strengthened us and brought good.

I look forward to many, many more years together with this wonderful man God has given me.

Here are few more pictures from last week’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our church, Bethel Free Will Baptist Church.

Benjamin (letter B) helped to kick off the program with a song about Admitting, Believing, and Confessing.

Rachel and several other girls gave a wonderful rendition of “I know my God is real.”

Lydia enjoyed the program while sitting in Gram’s lap, wearing another smocked Grams’ original that had once been Rachel’s.

But Jesus called to them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”  ~ Matthew 18:16-17

We feel very blessed to have such a wonderful, God-fearing church just around the corner from Blessed Acres Farm. It was one of the many reasons we felt led here almost four years ago. Our pastors speak the truth with love. And the youth pastor does an amazing job with the kids.

For the past few years, Rachel has been learning memory verses and repeating many of the basic tenets of our faith. A few weeks ago that she put it all together, confessed her sins, and accepted the free gift of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. We, of course, were beside ourselves with joy.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear my children walking in the truth. ~ 3 John 1:4

This past Sunday, Rachel made a public pronouncement of her faith by being baptized in front of the whole congregation. It was a special time for all of us, especially since it was during the culmination of Vacation Bible School and all of her friends were there to witness it. Grams, Aunt Sheryl, Aunt Brenda, Uncle Grady, and cousins Kay and Witt were there, too, to celebrate with us.

Praise be to God.