2006: A Very Blessed Year

Among the many blessings my family and I experienced this year, the most precious was that of new life. In addition to welcoming our daughter, Anna Elizabeth, to this world, my wife and I had the privilege of celebrating a number of other births as well. Below are a few pictures of these priceless babes. May our Sovereign Father take these children for His own, filling them with the love of His Son, so that they may never know a day that they didn't know Christ as their savior.

Our Anna Elizabeth (8/06)

Cameron Sophia Grace: Born to friends Matt and Sarah 8/06)

Nathan David: Born to cousins Brenda and John (8/06)

Tristan: Born to friends Zach and Allison (10/06)

Isabella: Born to friends Jim and Jessie (12/06)

Gracious Savior, gentle Shepherd, Our little ones are dear to Thee; Gathered with Thine arms and carried In Thy bosom may they be Sweetly, gently, safely tended, From all want and danger free.

Tender Shepherd, never leave them, From Thy fold to go astray;By Thy look of love directed, May they walk the narrow way; Thus direct them, and protect them Lest they fall an easy prey.

Let Thy holy Word instruct them: Fill their minds with heav'nly light; Let Thy love and grace constrain them To approve what e'er is right, Take Thine easy yoke and wear it, And to prove Thy burden light.

Cleanse their hearts from sinful folly In the stream Thy love supplied; Mingled streams of blood and water Flowing from Thy wounded side: And to heav'nly pastures lead them, Where Thine own still waters glide.

(Words by Jane Leeson)

Merry Christmas to ALL

To use one of my favorite movie quotes (paraphrased version), “The greatest trick the Devil ever played, was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist” (Usual Suspects). Well, if that was the greatest, somewhere near the top would be the redefining of the word "love." In our culture, "love" is often associated with "tolerance" (another term that is frequently misused). In other words, in order to express love we should accept others for who they are, and not try to change them. We should let people be who they will be with a disregard for right and wrong; after all "right and wrong" are relative to different people and situations. This definition may produce a great "curb appeal" and contain enough truth for many people to subscribe to it, however, if we were to investigate a little we would notice that not only is the foundation weak and rotten, but it's downright destructive. In reality, this definition promotes selfishness more than it does love. It allows us to proclaim peace and love as our excuse not to get involved, and as a result we exchange love for personal comfort. In fear of rejection and persecution of our beliefs we would rather let someone suffer, and we have the audacity to call that love!

What's really sad is it's not just the world who's subscribing to this heresy, but professing Christians as well. We have allowed the culture to define how we should live and let live, instead of the Holy Scriptures. Even worse, we've allowed the world's view of "love" to effect how we celebrate the love of God. So many people are quick to recognize the joy that this season brings, but refuse to recognize it's source, and to such a degree that even wishing someone a Merry Christmas is offensive. Instead we're suppose to say something generic like Happy Holidays lest anyone become upset. Isn't it amazing how powerful the name of Christ truly is? So powerful that it jars the nonbeliever's soul even when mentioned in a casual greeting.

After all that rambling, I get to my point. I would like take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Whether you're Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or whatever else, I wish you a Merry Christmas. Whether the name of Christ comforts your soul or stirs up resentment, I wish you a merry Christmas. This is not in an attempt to be insensitive or intolerant, but sensitive to the truth that the only true joy that this season can bring is knowing the true love that was exhibited in a Father who was willing to send His only Son through Hell that sinners may be redeemed. May this Christmas be more that an opportunity to rest and be merry, but also to remember and be grateful. Grateful that the true God has and will fulfill all His promises.

Say hello to my little friend...

I have a confession: I love toys. Although I hate to admit this, I have a childish obsession with gadgets and gizmos, trinkets and toys. I thought that when I "grew up" it would get better, but I think the opposite has occurred. Anyway, with that being said, I'd like to introduce you to my new desktop companion:

The John Calvin Bobble-head

The thing was, he was just floating out there in cyber-space looking for a new home. How could I not rescue him? The funny thing is, due to his beard being so long, his head doesn't bobble up and down. Instead he just shakes his head at me as if he's saying, "You are such a sucker." Oh well, I like him, and you can stop judging me now...you know you want one too.

Monday Morning Musings: Faith In Prayer

Below is a quote from Thomas Watson, a seventeenth century Puritan, as it is written in his book, The Lord's Prayer. I hope you will find this good news as encouraging as I have:

"That we may exercise faith in prayer, let us consider that we do not pray alone. Christ prays our prayers over again. His prayer is the ground why our prayer is heard. He takes the dross out of our prayer, and presents nothing to his Father but pure gold. He mingles his sweet odours with the prayers of the saints. Rev 5.8. Think of the dignity of his person, he is God; and the sweetness of his relation, he is a Son. Oh, what encouragement is here, to pray in faith! Our prayers are put into the hand of a Mediator. Christ’s prayer is mighty and powerful."

What a beautiful picture of the Trinity we've been given in the transaction of our prayers, from our mouths to the ears of God:

-As we pray the Holy Spirit intercedes for us in our weakness ("Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches heats knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Rom 8.26-27);

-Our prayers are then lifted up to the right hand of God where are surety stands, acting and serving as our mediator. What great comfort we can take in the knowing that are prayers are being requested by the very Son of God.

-Finally, we can take delight and be confident that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords hears the prayers of his children ("For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer." 1Peter 3.12).

Oh, what a God we serve!

The Big Interview

In just a couple of hours I will be engaging in one of the most important interviews of my life: the interview for church membership. We've been attending North Cincinnati Community Church since mid July, and I'm excited about being received by them as a new member in the near future. I've attended the inquirer's class, completed the paperwork, and all that's left is meeting with an elder. In reality the "interview" is not as intense as it sounds. It basically involves an elder attempting to ensure that the prospective new member is a Christian, and understands the vows he or she will be taking:

1. Do you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God, justly deserving His displeasure and without hope except by His gracious mercy, and do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the only Savior of sinners, receiving and depending upon Him alone for salvation as he is offered in the Gospel?

2. Do you resolve and promise in humble reliance upon the Holy Spirit that you will endeavor to live as a follower of Christ?

3. Do you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the church, promising both to further its purity and peace?

4. Do you promise to support and participate in the church's worship and work?

When I was younger I viewed church membership as a frivolous activity people engaged in so they could vote on issues such as which paper towel dispenser to install in the restrooms, and at what time the Christmas Eve service should be held. However, over the past few years I've come to realize how important church membership truly is. This realization was intensified about year ago when I was challenged with this statement: "There's no faith outside of church membership." Yikes! When I first heard this, red flags and sirens when up all over the place. Talk about a rash and extreme statement. However, as I chewed on it for a while I began to understand what the person was saying.

Though I don't believe you have to be a member of a church to be "saved," I do believe church membership is an important part of a Christian's faith. First of all, it serves as a public profession that Jesus Christ alone is the savior of sinners. In addition, it serves as an opportunity for a Christian to make a public commitment to fellow believers. It reflects an acknowledgement that the people of God are not loners, but belong to the body of Christ, and share in a unique and intimate fellowship with God and each other.

As a result of moving so frequently in the past few years, Lizz and I have discovered how critical it is to find a church home, and we are eager and delighted to embrace NCCC as our new church family.

Journaling Junior

As our son, Colin, nears the age when he'll be starting preschool, Lizz and I have been doing a lot of thinking regarding educational methods. We've had many discussions between ourselves and others concerning the three main avenues we could take: public, private, or homeschooling. As a result, we (mainly my wife) have done a lot of research on the topic of homeschooling. Though we're not in a rush to make a decision yet, we've decided to "test the waters" by exploring some homeschooling methods with Colin. One idea Lizz discovered is journaling (it's actually closer to scribing, but still a lot of fun). The process is quite simple in theory: one of us sits down with Colin, "interviews" him regarding the events of his day, and then records them in his journal. It was our belief that for him to stay with this, we had to purchase a journal that would provide him with the critical inspiration every young writer needs. After much searching and evaluating the plethora of options, we decided on the following:


Being the proud papa I am, I would now like to share Colin's very first entry (don't worry, I've received the author's permission):

December 15, 2006
Today we went to the store. We saw toys like cars...racecars! We saw a baby. I saw miss Wanda. We bought a Christmas tree (Ha Ha). We got a pretzel. Yum, that was good. I want to have some more again. I tried new shoes at the store. They were too big. I saw a fly and a spider. Eww! It was creepy looking. I want to go to Wal-Mart Again.



Though it's still early, I find his style quite intriguing; sort of mix between Frost and Poe.

A Change of Scenery

For those of you who know me, you know that I've changed my email address about a dozen times and my website at least twice. So, it was just a matter of time until I picked up and moved once again. I've decided to settle here at blogger because: 1.) I like their options more than those of Window's Live Spaces; and 2). I got tired of the ads. In addition, you may find my posts to be a little more "casual," with a mix of my "deep thoughts" and every day happenings. The main reason for the change in pace is that I'm determined to write more frequently, but unfortunately "deep thoughts" just don't come to me frequently enough. So, for those who have roughed it out thus far, thanks for your support. Your reward is minimal, but the good news is that you can still see pictures of my adorable kids at the old site (see "Pics" link on the side bar). I hope this post finds you well, and I look forward to your comments throughout my stay here.

P.S. The URL has stayed the same: www.justifiedsinner.com