Phil Vischer

"He who has God plus many things has nothing more than he who has God alone." C.S. Lewis

I was privileged to attend a childrens ministry conference this past weekend at Elmbrook Church in Milwaukee (Stuart & Jill Briscoe's church). Phil Vischer was the keynote speaker and I was eagerly anticipating hearing his story. Veggietales have always been highly amusing for our entire family and many of the nuggets of truth they encapsulate have come up again and again ("The Thankful Song" being one of my all time favorites). I went to the conference expecting vision, passion, and ideas. I came away with a head full of thoughts but only one front and center...experiencing God alone, apart from a conference or fabulous ministry vision, is the only way to truly share Christ.

He talked about growing up with phrases like "God can't steer a parked car" and "Only one life will soon be passed, only what's done for Christ will last." He was from a family with large evangelical zeal who had great "success" in ministering to large numbers of people. He always felt that same urgency but it was only after the bankruptcy of BigIdea that he got the bigger picture. After watching every story, character, song, and rhyme he'd ever written become sold on the auction block to the highest bidder, he realized ministry was never meant to be about him, his efforts, his dream, or his ego. It's not about our strivings for Christ, but about our resting in Him.

In the second session he talked about burdens we carry unnecessarily as childrens ministry workers (and even in life in general):

1. Do you carry the burden of other people's expectations? *ouch!*

2. Do you carry the burden to entertain? "You can't compete with Nickolodeon and Disney but you can do something they can't--you can love kids!"

Ministry = making an invisible God, visible to the world (you don't have to insert yourself into that process at all, it's really not about us)

Real ministry starts not with God's love for kids, God's love for the world, but His love for you! Unless you are experiencing (really experiencing) that truth on a daily basis than all your striving are just about you.

Live and minister like you cannot lose ANYTHING you actually need.

what is NOT a snow day in wisconsin

Update: everything is relative...check out Vonnie's latest post to see what hard core winter really looks like.

Tom made it all the way home (he normally has a 40 minute commute...that day 2 hours) only to get stuck at the bottom of our driveway. We've had 56 inches of snow so far this year.

Our backyard...beautiful after the storm.

The street, looking north.

All of these pictures are for Jill, my weather happy friend. Without her, my kids would have gone to school wrongly attired many a time. Even though she moved to southern Illinois she still gives me a heads up on the "big ones." So, at your request, I hope these pics give you the warm fuzzies...actually we are the ones in need of warmth. Miss you all so much...and wish we could have hit the sleds with you this afternoon.

Ash Wednesday

This post was a really helpful read to reflect on Lent and how it can be beneficial to our family worship.

cartographers, animal enthusiasts, and disputes over corn

Since we had a half day off school we drove into the city on Martin Luther King day to enjoy a trip to the Field Museum. Amy had read about a new "Maps" exhibit that she thought Cole would be very into so that had been the original idea behind our visit. Amy and Steve treated Cole to the maps exhibit, while the rest of us ventured through hall after hall of animal exhibits.


Josiah brought MANY smiles and comments from other visitors to the museum that day. He would walk up to each window and rattle off: "side striped jackal, black backed jackal, spotted jackal, caracal, gerynyk, coyotes, red fox, silver fox, arctic fox, mexican wolf, grey wolf", etc. and that's just in one exhibit. Quite interesting, we noticed after a bit he would hesitate before saying each name, and upon looking closer we realized he was staring at the name cards before he would "read" each name. Up to this point his list of sight words has been growing but still a shorter list than probably most his age. Tom and I just cracked up to realize the boy has literally 100's of sight words under his belt...they just are all words you would find in an animal encyclopedia and therefore not words usually tested.


Sadly, "Sue" (the famous t-rex that used to enrapture his attention) got only a courtesy nod from Si on this trip.


Watching Maddie play in the interactive children's native American exhibit was a lesson in anthropology. There was a really neat adobe house, complete with corn thresher to "grind" your flour, then a fire over which to "bake" some bread. Outside the house was a field of corn in which you first "harvested" the corn. It was a great exhibit in that there was TONS of corn, plenty for a lot of kids to play together and each have basketfuls. But the self centered fallen nature of man was totally evident in the way those kids played. They just each wanted to hoard the corn...literally they stockpiled it (with the "lordking" guarding their pile and telling them to go get more). We played in there quite a while because this was Maddie's favorite part of the day. We saw several new groups of kids come in...each to be sucked into playing this style of game. Maddie was greatly offended that her corn kept getting stolen and had a hard time learning to defend herself (which amazed me because she has no trouble doing so at home). Like I said, quite a lesson in the study of man.

happy (belated!) birthday to my best friend

You're my Best Friend by Don Williams

You placed gold on my finger
You brought love like I've never known
You gave life to our children
And to me, a reason to go on.

Chorus: You're my bread when I'm hungry
You're my shelter from troubled winds
You're my anchor in life's ocean
But most of all, you're my best friend

When I need hope and inspiration
You're always strong when I'm tired and weak
I could search this whole world over
You'd still be everything that I need.

This post only makes sense if you know Don Williams and if you know Tom. When we first married I was a mild Don Williams fan but over the years of getting into vehicles and finding these very old cassettes (remember those?) playing after Tom was driving them, they have come to mean so much more to me. Just a few weeks back, I got into the van for a late night run to the store and found this song playing. It's so simple--but that's the beauty of the old country ballads--and I couldn't imagine a more fitting song to sing right now. So, I drove to the store with tears in my eyes and a renewed love and respect for the "Rev. Williams".

Celebrating at Red Robin with Dad after he got home.

Go here to register for a free burger there on your b-day!

Carl (our former pastor, friend) from India

Date: Jan 24, 2008 7:33 AM
Today we had the Pastors Conference all day again. We heard two more testimonies of the pators from Orissa. It is difficult to comprehend these viscious attacks. The attackers came from outside the villages. There were about 3000 of them. It was clearly a planned attack on Christmas eve and Christmas day. The pastor who still has not seen his wife shared his story. His wife was ill and they could not get her out in time to escape to the jungle. At the last minute the children helped the mother out of the house, but somehow the children got separated from the mother. The pastor could not escape so he hid behind a rock near his home. He feels that the Lord blinded the attackers from seeing him, because they were all around him but they never found him. He had to lie still behind the rock all night. Twice he had to go to the bathroom, but could do nothing - he had to soil himself. It was about 40 degrees - all he had was the clothes on his back. He is still visibly in shock and there is fear in his eyes. The police watched the attack and did nothing. After their testimony the four of us each took a turn washing the feet of the four pastors from Orissa. It was incredibly humbling and moving. They wept as we honored them in this way. You have to understand that these are Dalits who would never imagine someone washing their feet. It is so clear that God ordained that we are here at this time. You should see these beautiful orphan children. I have some video of the girls singing in worship before their dinner. They are so sweet. Today they presented a sewing machine to a 17 year old girl who has been in the orpanage since she was eleven. She has developed great skill in sewing and this will be her opportunity to make a living. A beautiful girl. What an amazing thing to watch. There is so much to say - so difficult to process. The ministries that Bishop Joab oversees are miraculously profound. Much prayer and financial help is needed. I don't know how we can get the word out, but we must try. David Goodnight has such a tender heart for these people. God has raised him up for such a time as this. Tomorrow we go to see the distribution of food to the lepers. Then on Saturday we will go out to a village to participate in the dedication of one of the recently built churches. Pray for safety in our travels. It will be about 3 hours each way... a whole different perspective on life in India. I love you all! Carl

Date: Jan. 27
Yesterday we had day one of the Pastors' Conference. We are it. We are doing all the messages. It is so humbling. How do you speak to uneducated village pastors who don't have a clue about U.S. culture - and who put us to shame with their courage and strength. We met and heard stories of the pastors who were in the persecution. Horrific stories. They look so shell-shocked. By the end of the day, they were smiling a bit. God definitely had a plan for us to be here now. Don't have time to tell the stories in detail. One pastor who is here - had 3 children missing for 5 days. The were alone in the jungle - found under a tree - no food or water all that time. Terrified. They are 12, 10, and 8. I thought about Anna, JJ and Josh. He still has not seen his wife for 1 month today. Just before he arrived here he heard that she might be in a village about 50 miles from him. When he returns to the state of Orissa he will walk 50 miles to see if he can find his wife. So So humbling. Pray that we might bless those we encounter.

Come on Favre...one more year!

Not an endorsement...but a good read

Between Two Worlds: McCain: The Best Pro-Life Choice?

Be sure to scroll up to read the article...but the comments were enlightening.

I loved the wording of this paragraph (but wonder how that really dovetails with his exceptions in extreme cases):

I believe that there is a profound lesson here about what it means to be pro-life, a lesson which goes beyond the important (but obvious) fact that the McCains live by the same principles which lie behind John’s voting record. “Little Bridget” was not sought out by the McCains. She was not expected or planned for. She was an unanticipated gift whom the McCains welcomed, not because she was antecedently “wanted” by them, but because she was a baby, a unique and unrepeatable human being with a right to life because she is a human being and not because some other people’s plans include her — or don’t.

24 helicopters, that's all...

Just received an e-mail this morning asking for help petitioning the president for helicopters to back up the peacekeepers recently deployed (and attacked, although they have no way to defend themselves or the innocent refugees they are trying to help). The main fault here lies with the Sudanese government that is repeatedly dragging their feet on addressing the problem. However, in my opinion, as a country that is a world leader we definitely need to reach an arm of defense out to help our African neighbors. Consider sending an e-mail here.

Happy Birthday Aunt Amy!

This picture is such a good memory...Aunt Amy took us all to the Chicago planetarium one Saturday in May while Tom was teaching out of town. My first memory of this day is the fact that our boys were more interested in jumping off the steps than they were in all the exhibits....don't get me wrong, they loved learning....but they had overdosed just a bit on all there is to know about the universe (and isn't that the truth) and quite simply just had more fun working out a bit of energy. And that's the thing about Aunt Amy...she isn't always driven by the destination, she just enjoys the journey. Now to get her to convert that same mindset she has on Saturdays with her "bubbies" to workdays at the office!

Sisters are the best friends in all the world...they know most of my weaknesses, they've seen me at my worst, yet choose to love me and always believe in the best they see in me. Amy, thank you for always being there for me. I am so thankful for your place in all our lives!

Labor of Love

Reflecting

Today has been a beautiful day of reflecting for me. The tree (upstairs at least) is down...almost all signs of Christmas are packed away or on their way to being organized again. And honestly there was a huge sigh of relief to see the bare walls and open space in the living room. As I packed things away this week I began to wonder, what will happen between now and next Christmas....what stage will each of the kids be in next year....did we truly make things meaningful enough? To me, the obvious answer to that last question is no....and probably always will be....because none of my strivings will ever fully communicate the gospel, the incarnation, the miracle of it all to my kids....only the Holy Spirit can do that. Doesn't mean He won't use me in His grand plan. And I am already tucking away ideas for next year. But today I was convicted by the incredible story of the gospel. That conviction came through listening to Behold the Lamb: The True Tall Tale of the Coming of Christ by Andrew Peterson. Thank-you Laura for sharing it with me! So, today on January 11....Christmas, New Year's, Epiphany all past us....decorations packed away....in a quiet (well as quiet as it gets) house in everyday clothes in the midst of everyday chores....my heart worshiped perhaps more fervently than it did all Advent. It's not that I would redo anything about how we celebrated this year....today just convicted me that sometimes it is when we are trying least to create a moment that God steps in and creates one for us.

Recently, Tom and Cole were able to attend a play about the nativity story that they really enjoyed. We were all planning to go...but that was before the epidemic hit. Later, Tom was highlighting parts of the performance to me and reflected that at times it seemed so "happily" crafted....for instance Mary's response to Joseph finding the manger "Oh it's perfect! Joseph you just think of everything!" Tom shared that with me as a husband and father who has been my rock through the deliveries of our four children. From my human perspective I think it is pretty safe to assume that is probably NOT what Mary was thinking at the prospect of having her baby that night. The following words are from Andrew Peterson's Labor of Love, just one of the songs from the cd I mentioned above. The music that accompanies it is just gorgeous.

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
On the streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
And little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph at her side
Callused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town
In the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
He was the maker of the moon
He was the Author of the faith
That could make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

For little Mary full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love