doggie drama

Its official that we are keeping our chocolate lab Java. the girls love him and even though he is a little big and slobbery at times, he is a SWEEEEEEEET dog and little more than just a big baby:) Even kendra who tried to remain indifferent has been won over!!!

Even though he has made some great progress such as no longer sleeping on our bed, not chewing shoes, and never yet having an accident in the house, there has been some drama as well.

First, I pick up an ungodly amount of dog poop in our backyard. This dog poops like he is getting over time pay for anything over three pounds.

2nd---he ate a poop of addy's right out of the toilet!!! This was almost a deal breaker for Kendra. Addy informed us that she had gone poop and as Kendr went into the bathroom to transfer it from Addy's pink toilet to the the big one, something was strangely missing and Java was licking his chops:) Not a good move for an animal I am trying to get my wife to warm up to. I'm not sure how many times she screamed "he ate poop!!!", but it was at least ten.

3rd---my mother in law was over on saturday and java got into her purse and we find a ripped up baggie of pills on the floor. We have no idea what they were (my mother in law claims they were ibuprofen, but who really knows) or how many he ate. We decided to wait it out and hope for the best rather than pay two grand to have his stomach pumped. It was the cutest thing watching Ava and Addy pray for his "owie".

Anyways, comatose for a few hours, but he pulled thru!!!!! At least I have some good stories for future sermons!!

My "baby" is three

Last week my little mini me daughter Adalyn turned three years old. She is such a little ham and is full of.......let's just call it life:) Both of my daughters are an incredible gift from God and it is impossible for me to articulate how much I love them with the limited english language. I thank God for them (and my beautiful wife) daily and it's hard to believe how good God has been to me.

Saturday grandma Linda came over and we took the girls to build a gank/bear. All week they had been anticipating the wonder and majesty that is building your own bear. I must say that for them, it lived up to the hype. My girls were enamored by the array of outfits, sounds, and stuffing all at their fingertips. Addy ended up with a pink monkey in high heels and a denim skirt. Of course no monkey is complete without a matching eight dollar bag. Ava has two outfits for her bear including ice skates. They should call it "build a thinner wallet" but I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it.

A good time was had by all and I'm sure in a weeks time Java (our chocolate lab) will have ingested at least one of them........(the bears, not my girls:)

Happy Birthday Addy,

I believe the children our the future, teach them well and let them lead the way

More than just lyrics to a Whitney Houston song. As I see the things happening among young people in our generation, my heart literally breaks.

Here are three things burning in my heart right now.

1. God is a generational God. Ex. 3:15 "God told Moses to say to the Israelites..........Tell them the Lord the God of your FATHERS---The God of ABRAHAM, the God of ISAAC, and the God of JACOB has sent me to you." --God created man in order that He might be a Father with a Family.

2. The Family is under attack.

a. one out of two marriages in our country fail and marriage statistics within the church are no better.
b. Most homes have no father present at all. The national statistics (especially among African Americans) are staggering. Is it any wonder so many have difficulty experiencing God as a loving Father?
c. Abortions are happening at an alarming rate, and our culture want to make it as easy as possible. Another attempt to dupe people (especially teens) into believing that you can get rid of "mistakes" and poor decisions don't have lasting ramifications.
d. Children are continuing to have children because there is no more stigma attached to anything. Being pregnant, homosexual, or sexually (over) active are things we celebrate among the youth in our nation. We have established a society where nothing is condemned, and irresponsible behavior is "high-fived" and glorified. I realize that this is not some brand new phenomenon, but if you are trying to tell me that is is not getting substantially worse, save your breath.

3. Christians have a responsibility to raise their children to Love, know, and serve God. We can't fall into the trap of trying to modify behavior instead of teaching them about God and our responsibility to live for Him. I don't think the spiritual stakes have ever been higher when it comes to imparting real faith to your children.

Duet. 6:6-9-- These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.


Father we pray for the light of the Holy spirit to break forth over this generation. Guard the hearts of the children and cause them to fall madly in love with you. Show mercy to your people.

I'm sorry if I seem to be ranting, between re-reading shepherding a child's heart and running across articles like this one, the spiritual hairs on my neck are standing up.

the newest zondervan?

As I type, my wife and I are on a doggie adoption trial run with my sisters dog Java. He is a super sweet chocolate lab with a propensity for pooping and chewing:) I am right now convincing my wife that he should remain a zondervan and to think of how much the girls will love him for years to come. she told me that her former love for dogs has been replaced by children, and if she did get one she would want a small dog. I am in the process of convincing her that little dogs although cute, are quite useless and we might as well get a pet rat. she tries to remain indifferent, but I have secretly observed her having a few tender moment with him.

Here are so me random pics and if anyone knows any quick tips for dog obedience, I'm all ears so leave a comment!!

"winterblast" 09

Kendra and I had the awesome opportunity to be a part of an incredible youth conference last week in Marshfield Wisconsin. 300 young people gathered together to worship God and the theme of the conference was "take a stand". they asked me to be the keynote speaker for the conference which meant I spoke friday and saturday night as well as a leaders workshop and sunday morning service. Even though it was a whirlwind, it was awesome to have a part in encouraging students to :"stand tall" for their faith. It was a total God thing that I got asked because the first two people they wanted couldn't come!!!! I thank God for designing this as it was also a great time for Kendra and I to get away (my biceps workout was pretty intense as I offered to hang on to all her shopping bags:)

Worship was lead by a band from substance church and they were amazing!!!!!!!!

big girl!!!

Our precious Addy will turn 3 on the 19th this month and she is soooooooooo excited to be wearing "big girl" undies like her sister. ( The "hands on the hips" pose is one of her favorites, the other one is her turning around and saying "look at my butt" and Ava is oh so happy to oblige)=)

Anyways, the days of diapers at the zondervan home are drawing to a close which means dad is getting the "we need another baby in the house" itch:) I'm not sure Kendra has the exact same itch yet, but I'm praying by summer it will spread like a bad case of poison ivy!!!!!!!!!

Funny moment........I'm changing addy's diaper in the morning (she still wears them at night) and I said to her, "I really wish you would wait and go potty like a big girl in the morning," to which she responded, "daddy, I really wish you would pee standing up!"

For the record, "I do pee standing up, even though its much more comfortable to sit down." (michael Scott quote, Not mine.)

Pictures of the wisconsin youth conference coming soon!!