Matthews Family Herald

Hi everyone,

It is the Sabbath - and as a new "resolution", and productive way to use our work-free day, I am endeavoring to be more social, and to stay in touch with friends and family.

So what have we been up to over here in Germany?

Well, first of all I am glad to report that no one is sick right now!!!!! (imagine making herbal teas, and remedies and administering morning and night for 6 children for over a week-plus waking several times during the night! You can imagine why I am soooo happy to announce this!)

We are enjoying having James home a lot for the holidays- Yesterday- he led us in pt and has been helping home school our kids this past week( for which I am most appreciative!) He's put together a Yahoo Group to help in fostering and facilitating home fellowships in our area. He's also studying a German/English parallel bible in an effort to learn the language in the context of our faith. The home church fellowship website is:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/heidelberghomechurchnetwork

(Here's Dad and I playing a Dreidel game with the kids using jelly beans. The other photo is of Dad's German/English parallel bible. The Luther Version in German and ESV version in English.)

Rachel is in AZ still enjoying her holidays; please keep her in prayer. She is greatly loved and missed here. She has an amazing talent for taking photographs. While she was here for our celebrations, she took this uniquely angled photograph.

(Each window sill was adorned with tea light candles.)

I recently got a couple of herbal books that I am enjoying, and a large shipment of herbs from Shoshanna's bulk herb store( I am sipping a cup of stress-free tea right now, made of Ginko, St. John's wort,Gotu Kola, Raspberry, Ginseng, and sweetened with Stevia.) I can't wait to experiment making creams and such, out of my own herbs. I enjoy learning all I can and try to implement change into our family for our optimal health and well-being. Well that 's what is new in my own little world.

(Enjoying a "cuppa" in this first picture. The second picture is of the the seasonal set mentioned, in its entirety. The third is of another other set I bought second hand and that was made in

Bavaria, Southern Germany. Those Almond Sugar Cookies were made by the children.)

Micah has been perfecting his magician skills. He checks out every book he can, and got a large magic show for Hannukah with over 100 tricks. He has a gig set up already at the library. He also has put in a lot of comm. service hours at the library and getting some good training. It helps motivate him at home for his schooling and chores as well. He and Jacob also got a large art set for Hannukah , and has been impressing us with there paintings.

(Winter and Summer so well captured here in Micah's two acrylic paintings. Could these be the same tree even?)

Hannah's sweetness and beauty continue to bless our presence. She is improving in her math and reading skills, and really enjoyed the book Heidi, that we just finished(Our country for the month that we are studying is Switzerland.) She is also highly enjoying the Little House books. She shows a lot of interest in flowers and herbs ( I hope I have a little apprentice to share my hobby with) and she always wants to have a cup of tea with me.

Jacob has probably been the most stir crazy lately since he is the most athletic and has a hard time keeping his body still. He is growing so fast, it seems his bones are outgrowing his skin- getting tall and lanky. I hope to find archery or fencing lessons for him soon when we get settled into our new home (which we get to start moving into in a few days!)

(Jacob the acrobat. His other beloved move is to spin.)

Nathan is enjoying building Lego sets (Hannukah) and his skills and attention span are quite impressive. he has been getting in trouble a lot lately however for saying things like shut-up, butt, and other kinda crude things. He doesn't care for the taste of soap too much.

(Nathan, Eden, and Hannah playing with Eden's new tea set. The next shot is Nathan playing with his Legos.)

Eden has hit a growth of development in speech-and blows us away every day with her new word usage and understanding. She is always very funny and sweet.. She was much more interested in the boys wooden swords than the doll she got for Hannukah.

(Here, Eden is finger painting with shaving cream, colored with food coloring. The other picture is of Eden in a new dress she received from the Army's Angel Tree gifts.)

They are all my greatest joy every day! (And my greatest frustration)

-Heather

Good Sunday morning to all,

We are so excited to finally have our family van here. I was able to pick it up Friday and it's been a huge blessing to be able to use.

Heather will be taking her driving test here on Monday and then we'll both be able to cruise those Germany autobahns...

Rachel leaves in a day or few and we are going to miss her. She'll pick up our lil blue Yaris after the Bachert family brings her from the Tucson Airport to Sierra Vista. She'll spend a few days there and then head to see her almost fiance and his family for a couple of weeks.

We are enjoying the third day of Hanakkuh and the kids are excited about what tonight's gifts might be. I'm making latkes and Heather is making a big roast and it's all part of our holiday feast we'll be eating tonight. We played the dreidel game a night or two ago with jelly beans and Jacob was the winner. We'll play "hide the geld" pretty soon and that's always fun for the kids and the adults. Kinda like finding Easter eggs but with chocolate, golden foil covered coins. We tie in how Jesus as the Messiah ties into this celebration in many, many ways but a couple of them are that: Hannukah is called "the festival of lights" and that Jesus is "the light of the world." Also, the lead candle which lights the others and is centered and placed higher than the other candles is called the "shamash." We also teach that this candle represents a hidden mystery in Jewish custom pointing to Jesus.

Micah is enjoying volunteer work at the library but has been unable to go lately since he's not feeling so well. Various family members haven't felt so well as we traverse through the cold season.

I've already helped record or transcribe a few records of trial and I've got more to come this week.

We should be moving into our off-post rent home here in a couple of weeks and we can't wait to get our big family into a home with a little more room.

Oh, it started snowing today and the kids were so thrilled over it. I was too, watching them and remembering how excited I was when the first snowflakes began to fall each year, as a child.

We love you all and keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

-The Matthews in Germany

Hi family and friends,

Here's some rapid fire updates for you:

-Micah landed a volunteer slot at the on-post library here in Germany. He started yesterday and he really loves it.

-We've found a homeschool group consisting of other military families here in Heidelberg.

-Rachel is due to head back to Arizona and spend a few weeks with her almost fiance and we are going to miss her. She's scheduled to return to Germany in early January.

-Our family van is already "in-country" and we should be able to pick it up this week or the next.

-We should be moving into our home off-post in early January.

-Our missionary friends in Kenya just gave birth to their newest baby girl:

www.purechristianity.blogs.com

-Hannakuh starts this Friday.

-Our friends in Arizona who are in the early stages of building an intentional community in Missouri have launched their website:

http://thisismyfamilysblog.blogspot.com/

-Please keep my Uncle Terry in prayer for some significant medical concerns and we are asking for God's healing.

-We held our first home fellowship last Saturday night and it went really well. I made my homemade Sabbath bread and we enjoyed sparkling grape juice for the opening ceramony and then some excellent, Southern style iced tea to go along with our meal of chicken egg noogle soup. After dinner, we listened to and sang praise songs with accompaniment guitar playing provided by our daughter, Rachel. We read from Proverbs and then went into a discussion of all that was going in life. Among the things discussed, I recall one topic was: what would be the effect of an apology from white persons on behalf of the wrongs committed against those of African descent in our country by previous generations of white folk. One of us had a dream where we were apologizing on behalf of our ancestors for what had occurred in the past. Those apolgized to we extremely moved and received such healing. Only later did we realize that MLK day is coming up. Would an apology help things? I think it would.

Hello. In light of the current, special time of year, I sent this explanation to a Germany friend here of what Thanksgiving means to us. Thought it might help to share about what perspective we'll be celebrating it from here in our home:

"This weekend is an important Holy day, of sorts for us although not commanded in the Bible. It's a time when we remember, as you probably know, when those followers of God wanted freedom to worship and to live with less corruption around them and so they took their families to Holland. After a time, Holland wasn't the right place either and so they set sail for what is now America. My family and I know that not everyone who came to America back then came for the right reasons and some of them wanted to take advantage of the natives and exploit them. All of that aside, I still believe there were those people who sincerely came because they wanted to start a new life and serve God honestly and if their were natives, those good people did not want to take advantage of the natives but to share with them. So, after arriving, those first pilgrims had a terrible winter and suffered. However, some of the natives came to their aid and shared food and resources. The next spring, the natives also taught these settlers how to farm and there was a big crop. So, those seekers after God and after a pure life (they called themselves "Puritans") were both grateful to the natives who helped them and to God for helping them by way of the natives. so, in a spirit of mutual friendship and in thanksgiving to God, they help a great feast and offered thanks to God. So, that was our first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Unfortunately, the holidays as they are now called instead of "Holy Days" are stripped of their actual meaning and so most people joke around about "Turkey Day" since we eat a lot of Turkey and then get sleepy. :) But in truth, it is a celebration offering thanks to God for delievering our ancestors and also a thanks to God today for caring for us and blessing us no matter what hardship we have come through."

Today, I noticed that our family was getting sloppy and undisciplined and I started wondering how I could address the situation. Okay, "a lotta bit" sloppy and undisciplined over the week because we are pretty laid back, overall and so for me to say something means it's gotten pretty bad. Anyway...

As we all talked about it together, my wife and I tag teamed the discussion, so to speak, and began talking to our kids about how we wanted them to develop their life habits, their approach to challenges, and to developing self discipline. Heather and I ended up coming up with "The Temple Technique."

There are four basic level to the temple and we compared them in this manner: Let's say someone realized cleaning up a city park was needed. So, they decided to plan, organize and execute a clean up and renovating project. Level 4 would be those who choose not even to enter the outer courts and so they walk pass by the project and don't get involved. They might gossip about it or whatever but they are not interested in helping. Level 3 would be the "outer courts" and these are the people who are interested enough to volunteer to help. They do whatever that one thing is that they agreed to volunteer for and that's it. Level 2 guys are the "inner court" folks who not only do the work they volunteered for but they also come in and maybe either help set up and/or help tear down. They might even help recruit other volunteers. Now, the Level 1 guys are the ones who enter into the "holy of holies." They dream up the plan, organize it all, get everyone motivated, and then make it happen.

I challenged my kids to try and be "holy of holies" dwellers while admitting that I have spent much of my life in the outer courts and I've also delved into the inner courts quite a bit. Once in awhile I have dwelt in the holy of holies but I think I could do a lot more of this in the future. What about you?

Our family and I have undertaken to move to Germany and are currently finishing up the 5th phase of the 7-phase plan that takes us from preparing to leave America, over the Atlantic ocean, and on to full integration. Throughout this long process that began in August, we have experienced a wide variety of change in location, circumstances, and people we've been around.

We went from our normal routine of life to sleeping on mattresses, all in the same room, and having no furniture and few possessions. As rough as that was, we kept in mind that we still had it better than most in the world. Next, we lived for 12 days with a friend and his family. We lived in a little shed there that had no running water. There was a lot of dust and friendly spiders, ants, and bugs to share the shed with but we still had an air conditioner, electricity, and cell phones. Two of our kids contracted chicken pox during that time.

From there, we moved to a hotel room while making last-minute preparations to launch into San Diego, California. In Cali, we turned in our family van for shipment and moved into another hotel while enjoying the company of some friends in that area. We next lugged our 24 bags into an airplane and traveled for what amounted to about 18 hours across America, (changing planes once b/c of engine trouble) and then the ocean, until we arrived in Germany. We next traveled by van for an hour or so and finally checked into a hotel near Heidelberg and are now adjusting to a lifestyle where people are accustomed to much smaller living spaces and higher prices for everything.

If you read through all of that, I want to thank you for sticking with me and getting to the main point of all of this. The struggles and coordination that went with this move were and have been challenging but we thank God that it went smoothly, overall. As I talked to my family about all we had been through, it seemed right to me to point out something significant. We are a family. Through all the changes and all the places we have lived and been, we've stayed a family. Family isn't about where you live, what you have, or what you are going through. It's about serving our God and about being together. No matter what goes on in our world or our circumstances around us, we always have our God and we have the bond of each other to sustain us. This is the constant, the anchor, that gives life meaning and makes it worth living.

-Dad

Ps. Heather says that after getting used to life without all these possessions and after enjoying so much time together as a family living in close proximity, she is praying that the boat with all our stuff sinks. It's been so liberating to be free of all that "junk" and I have to agree with her. We are really planning to downsize and share life more in the future. This whole thing has been a great re-focusing experience.

We arrived yesterday in Germany. It's a little colder here but it's so beautiful! The unit I belong to had an amazing crew who received us and helped us get situated quickly. I did some inprocessing today and then the kids rode in a two-horse carrriage and went to a "trunk or treat" thing at the ...post chapel. Met most of my unit today and it's a great group. Miss my Huachuca folks though...

Hi,

Thought you might like an update. After a million-and-one things to get done, it seemed like we'd never get out of Fort Huachuca. After analyzing all the details and circumstances, and after prayerful consideration, I made a "command decision" to push on San Diego instead of stop halfway there and get a hotel room. So, we finally set sail at about 5pm and made it to Miramar (Marine Corps Air Base) at about 3am. We slept well and the hotel here is amazing; the best military lodging we've ever seen. We are heading out to meet some family friends for a day at the beach and an evening of hot dogs, hamburgers and smores. Tomorrow, we'll plan to turn our van in for shipment to Germany and then take the rental van to Sea World and the zoo here. Shipping out, God willing, on Wed. afternoon to Germany.

Take care and planning to update again soon.

James and family

Nothing too profound, but just wanted to share two stories from experiences I had this week; experiences that have some sort of spiritual nuggets tucked in within them.

I'm not normally a church goer but I did so more than once while in Virginia last month. This experience wasn't all bad, apparently, and this is proved by a funny event that happened while returning to work this week. I was feeling pretty happy about being back around the people I am called to work with and I had enjoyed greeting and catching up with them throughout the day. During the course of doing that, one especially macho-type guy there greeted me and shook my hand. He then moved for a paper on the printer behind me, but the way he moved and reached gave my subconscious the impression he was greeting me with a hug, like people do at church. I responded with returning the hug gesture and the co-worker backed up and said something like "you know I don't roll like that, man." It was awkward and funny but also made me sad that such a gesture would be considered abnormal. It wouldn't be if we were in heaven.

The other thing that happened was that upon returning home from Virginia, I noticed that our Beta's fish tank was looking pretty murky and in need of a cleaning. I decided to take care of that today, and when I opened the lid to begin the process, I was shocked to see that the water was chrystal clear looking down from directly above. The sides of the tank were dirty and gave the impression that the water was nasty. Not what you'd expect to be the stuff of spiritual inspiration or insight, but I recall wondering how many times we get it wrong in life by measuring what's inside by what we see on the outside.

Muhammad Yunus has helped millions of impoverished people; ninety-something percent of those helped being women.

Why does he focus most of his energy on women, anyway? That's a question I wanted to ask and a statement from him that I didn't really like. The honest truth, though, is that I already knew the answer. In his own words, he answers the question by saying, quote:

"... Women have plans for themselves, for their children, about their home, the meals. They have a Vision. A man wants to enjoy himself ..."

It should not be this way, but largely, it is. It's not impossible for things to be set right. I'm a man who has some vision for his family and obviously, there must be other men who do as well. Dr. Yunus is a man, after all. I know of many Godly men who are connected with their wives and with their families.

But the reality is that this sort of man seems to largely be a minority in our world. I here of women in destitution because of the men they have married or been with from my missionary friends living in Kenya. I see woman after woman in the Army who are single Moms or who live with deadbeat men who won't lift anything but a beer can or a video game controller. Just this week, I've met two single Moms who work at the hotel desk where I'm staying in Virginia.

Women are amazing creatures and for all the feeling inside and irritation I sometimes feel when ministries or governments focus more on women, well, goodness, why are we as men surprised? Men of integrity, we all need to step up and alleviate the need to focus on women in crisis if we want things to balance back where they belong.

Women carry the weight where we leave off. It's something to tear your garments over, to throw ashes on your head over, and weep and mourn because of. Thank a woman today, hug your Mother, and then challege your fellow men to step up.

Isaiah 3:12
Youths oppress my people, women rule over them. O my people, your guides lead you astray; they turn you from the path.

A good friend of mine, Bram Warrick, asked me if I'd ever heard of "microloans" years ago. I opened the newspaper last Sunday and found that Muhammand Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner and father of the "microfinance" movement would be speaking at the University of Virgina that day. I quickly got dressed and heading down to hear him speak.

Muhammad Yunus has helped millions of impoverished people; ninety-something percent of those helped being women. He had the following to say concerning the battle against poverty:

I strongly believe that we can create a poverty-free world, if we want to.... In that kind of world, [the] only place you can see poverty is in the museum. When school children will be on a tour of the poverty museum, they will be horrified to see the misery and indignity of human beings. They will blame their forefathers for tolerating this inhuman condition to continue in a massive way.

... Invisible Berlin Walls must go. We are not even trying to make it happen. Whenever we talk about the people at the bottom or the poor people, our usual reaction is to write a cheque. Okay, take care of them, feed them, clothe them, give them some place to live. But we don't touch the wall. We simply say, let them stay on the other side of the wall, but feed them a little. What I'm saying they don't need your throw-away money, they don't need handouts. They need an opportunity, a fair deal. They don't get a fair deal right now. Poverty is the denial of all human rights. I am talking about establishing their human rights. If we do that the walls will disappear. Poverty will go ...

If you think creating a world without any poverty is impossible, let’s do it. Because it is the right thing to do.

We got rid of colonialism, we got rid of slavery, and we got rid of apartheid – everyone thought each one of them was impossible. Let’s take the next impossible, do it with joy and get it finished with and create a world free from poverty. Let us create the world of our choice.

You can learn more about Muhammad Yunus at: http://muhammadyunus.org/

-James Matthews

When it comes to charismatic leadership or sports performance, I don't shine out as awe inspiring. In the workplace as well, I'm a "Jack of all trades and a master of none." This state-of-affairs gets old and frustrating, and leaving me wondering what purpose and significance I have "out there" in the big world.

My wife reminded me today that God sometimes allows us to stay humbled in some areas of life to increase our "usability" in other areas. I thought I'd share two recent examples of how I have been useful in hopes to helping a kindred hearts reading here.

In my Virginia class of 19 students, we have a kind person and a mean person who happen to share a room. The mean person lost an important, work-related item and the kind person happened to find it. The kind person, after having endured weeks of antagonism from the mean one, let go of kindness and decided to throw the item away and and revel in sweet revenge. I handed the item back to the kind person and said "are you sure you don't want to take this chance to make peace," with a smile. The kind person actually agreed, took the item out of my hand, and looked happy to do the right thing.

Today, a fellow classmate's wife and his 3-year old son had traveled here to visit my friend over the weekend. However, a last-minute change had all of us back in class on Saturday at 8am. It was now 1:30pm and my friend was distressed but holding his frustration well. I came to him, hoping to encourage him to ask to leave, and said "I can't see why they wouldn't let you go with your family. We are basically finished here." Although I didn't know it, a key class leader was right behind us and heard what I said. Minutes later, my friend had been released quietly and I saw him looking full of joy and leaving with his family at last. The rest of the class didn't leave until after 3pm and I heard one person complain that our classmate left early. I guess "misery loves company" but I felt good about what happened.

Our significance at home is more obvious when we look at our children and our spouse. But even in the wide world out there, we might not get fame, great wealth, or attract large followings with our leadership, but God uses even those like me (and you) to make a great difference in our world and in the lives of others.

In looking at home fellowships here in Virginia, I came across a group's doctrine saying they believed the age of gifts and miracles has ended but that "We do acknowledge and rejoice that God still chooses to perform miracles on occasions when it suits His purposes." Are they right? I haven't heard of any seas parting recently. Even so, I believe their statement to be way off because God has actually increased His miracles here among us.

To illustrate this, I recall hearing it said that following Jesus is easier today than it was to follow God in the Old Testament days. I disagree. Jesus actually raised the standards. Before, you could not sleep with someone other than your husband or wife, for example. Now, you can't even look at someone else lustfully. Before, you could not murder someone. Now, you can't even hate them in your heart or you are already guilty of murder.

In the old days, the Prophets received the spirit of the Lord and were used to anoint others occasionally. God usually touched or led one person and then that person directed everyone else. But today, He has poured out His spirit on all of us. Any of us can hear, and feel, and know the Lord for ourselves. In the old days, God performed fantastical miracles using a few people. But today, His works among us are like the sands of the seas, the stars of the sky, or like the hairs on our heads; All over the place, at all moments of time, and beyond number.

Can't seem to detect an outpouring of God's spirit and miracles in our days? It may be because your either somewhere out in the desert, couped up and sheltered indoors, or you may need to close up the umbrella you're carrying over your head.

I'm at a U.S. Army "professional development" school in Virginia right now that is a mandatory part of career progression for an enlisted person like myself. It reminds me of my public education experiences in some ways because we are learning the same technical and tactical things we learned in basic training and in my "job skill" schooling, but now on a deeper level and for a higher level of responsibility. Funny to say, but in some ways it also reminds me of some religious or other organizations that teach you things in various levels as you grow within the group.

For example, we covered the foundations for "operational law" or "law of warfare" in a way that I found fascinating. A bit sobering also, because, after reviewing the Hague Conventions, Geneva Convention treaties, etc., I discovered that the effort to organize as one World has been going on since at least the 1800s, and probably long before that, but here was proof. As far as the "laws of warfare," I thought they were great ideas and that they have likely made a large improvement of things. But they'd help so much more if Nations would follow them! All nations, I mean. (and I notice there's three fingers pointing back at us (I'm in America) as I say this. Regardless, I've found a new, favorite career emphasis which amounts offering a strong, moral influence for commanders and Soldiers to consider in the conduct of war. Something there's a great need for.

I wanted to talk about memorization and recitation. A basic, scholastic skill that may not be used much in today's public schools, but was used in the "old days" and is definitely a part of Soldier indoctrination. We have creeds for the new Soldier to learn and creeds for the Enlisted leaders to recite. We at this school recite them at least 3 times per day and so I can almost be asleep and say them well. The amazing thing is that I've noticed that certain sentences of this creed will "pop" into my head at certain moments of decision. Sentences like "I will exercise initiative by taking appropriate actions in the absence of orders" and "I will not compromise my integrity or my moral courage." This technique works and can strengthen a person's moral and situational compass.

The idea was not the Army's or the school system's; It was not even the church's. It was God's. You can find it in the Bible. "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11) Here away from my family, it's lonely and depressing to be away and there are temptations and troubles all about. (Not too many in the social arena for me, actually, as I've never really been much of a "Mr. Popular" but that's all right with me.) But anyway, a powerful verse that's often come into my head at "just the right time" is "if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, He would not have listened." (Psalm 66:18)

When I pray, I want God to listen. When I reach for Abba, my Father, I want Him to hold my hand and to hear me. I want to connect with God. Whatever it is that I might be wanting to do or to get involved with is not worth trading a connection of fellowship with my Father for. But reading His word regularly and completely helps to make a difference, as well as efforts to memorize scripture. It's been my experience that God will use that familiarization with His word to benefit and emphasize something for me, and at just the right moment in life when I need it.

Photo used with permission and found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/aussiegall/374268661/

Black Widows
We recently discovered that we had an infestation of black widows around our house. EEEkkkk!! I sprayed and collected a dozen specimens of male and female and adolecents for the kids to see. Also collected 6 egg sacs ( which house about 900 babies. They eat each other the moment they hatch, until only a dozen or so are left- somewhat comforting I guess.) Anyway, it provided a nice rabbit trail in our schooling. And I must say was very fascinating!



Goo










Yet another fun science project, involving glue, borax and water and some food coloring. The glue was on sale for .20 a bottle, so it provided for cheap entertainment.




Eden's Birthday







Eden's 1st B-day was the 2nd- just thought I'd post a picture or two of her. She is such a great joy in all our lives.

I'm alone in a hotel room, many states apart here in America from my family as I do some schooling. I can tell you, I prepared to leave the hotel to get some food and felt a little overcome by loneliness and the fact that I can be a bit of a social misfit. This is partly because I'm not content with superficial relationships.

But anyway, as my heart ached over having to eat a meal alone, I praying that if it were His will, that God might send someone to eat with me. I even took the longer route through the hotel and checked the lobby to see if anyone was around from my class. Well, I made it to the car and drove toward a restaurant but decided I was going to rent a movie and get a frozen pizza instead. I had let go of the desire for companionship and decided I was content with whatever God wanted.

As I was searching a local movie rental, one of my classmates called me, a guy who happens to be Jewish and outspoken, called and asked if I'd like to have dinner with him. It was unusual because He knows of my faith in Jesus and the like. We had a nice meal and good conversation. I am thankful to have spent the time tonight with a friend and thankful that what I needed was also what I wanted this time.

Now, I'm sitting here searching through Amazon.com's selection of 36 "free sampler" Mp3 albums. I've got some cool music from India, some Celtic Summer 2009, and some stuff from Israel. All modern music. You could give it a look..er, a listen. :) Prayer, I mean. But the music too, of course.

-James Matthews

As I was telling a co-worker or two on Thursday, my wife and I are going through a little "grouchy" or "gripey" season lately. To put it plainly, we've been bickering here and there and more than what is normal, as of late.

Today, we went over to the house of a friend of ours in order to celebrate their daughter's birthday today. (If you've seen me posting on Facebook then you realize this is the 6th birthday-related event we've taken part in this month. Good gravy!)

The husband and I are friends and we talked about bickering with our wives and, as it turns out, he's been clashing with his wife too and he often responds the wrong way and makes things worse. I had to laugh because I knew exactly what he was talking about. I know what I should say or do (to avoid offense and cool an argument down) but that thing I really want to say...well, I sometimes just blurt it out and it feels so good to say it, for a second anyway, but it's never worth it, in the end. He told me about a verse in the Bible that says a mature man can control his tongue. I must still not be mature then and laughingly said he must not be either.

He furthermore suggested that when someone says a hurtful thing, responding the right way and not retaliating is a part of suffering with Christ. During an argument, we can take in hurtful words and build up those dark thunderclouds of anger and finally decide we've had enough. We bring down a fury of backlash and stand up for ourselves. "I don't have to take this!"

But what about Christ? He was on the cross but He didn't have to take it either. He could have come down from hanging on those nails. He could have stood up for Himself and brought down an Army from Heaven to avenge His suffering. But He didn't. He hung there, suffering and in agony, and His only response to the abuse was "forgive them, Father. They don't realize what they are doing."

That's amazing. Suffering with Christ can include not retaliating when someone is hurtful. It's letting go of my right to defend myself. It's deciding to hang there on the cross and take it, and forgiving them with sympathy. "They don't really know what they are doing" instead of taking revenge.

My sister, Lydia, is visiting us this week and it's a joy to have her here. She and I had changing parental circumstances growing up but one variable did not change; we grew up together and we had each other.

Last night, I dreamed that I was walking through my grandparent's home (our grandparents raised us for awhile and one them, our grandmother, has already passed away) and it was obvious that, in the dream, they were no longer alive and everything was different. Everything was messy and in disarray. To my relief, I found one room in the home that was "devolving" like the other rooms but was similar enough to how I remembered it in order for me to feel comfortable remembering how it was living with them.

So anyway, thinking about them, Lydia reminded me of a delicious snack that our grandmother, Nonny, used to make all the time; fried Cheerios. I'm putting a YouTube video link here for your viewing pleasure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f93j3foTt5s

You melt a pat of butter in a frying pan and leave it on medium heat. Pour a cup or two of Cheerios into the pan and fry until they begin to darken a little. Then pour in few tablespoons of powdered sugar and stir that in. They taste awesome. My wife suggested I sprinkle in a little cinnamon and I did that also. A dash of salt and you have a perfect snack.

My kids loved it and I felt like I passed on some of my Nonny's love to the kids. With my wife's help, we added our own love and "improvements" and made it our own.

Here's the link to the video I found that partly shows the process: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f93j3foTt5s

A friend of ours, Christopher, and his cousin, Jake, are going camping and tubing with another person that I work with. Since they won't be back until Sunday afternoon, Chris and Jake asked if we'd help take care of their pets while they are away.

My kids were especially excited and we all agreed. Chris and Jake have a variety of pets and so there's something of interest for just about everyone. They have a cute kitten and a couple of snakes. They have mice and rats (some of which are for the snakes to eat!) and I don't recall what all else.

The biggest pet responsibility they need us to handle for them, though, are their three baby, Desert Cottontail rabbits that Jake rescued the other day. Their mother was gone and so he decided to care for them. Chris and Jake brought the rabbits over for us and showed us how to bottle feed them, hold them, and gave us some general tips and info. We'll be feeding them about five times per day and giving them playtime in the grass.

This morning, it was an adorable sight to see my wife bottle feeding these cute bunnies with a goat-milk filled syringe. After Heather fed the first two bunnies, she handed them to my daughter, Hannah, who took them outside to play in the backyard grass.

Sadly, when my wife reached into the cage to get the third rabbit, nestled into a little, cave-like area, she said "this one is awfully cold..." and then exclaimed a moment later "oh...it's dead." We wrapped the rabbit's little body and placed it in the refrigerator so that Jake can properly bury the rabbit's body once he gets back from camping. The other little ones are doing well, but this is a tragic but unavoidable part of life.

After further inquiry, one of my children admitted that the same bunny who was dead this morning happened to jump out of their hands last night and had landed on the hard floor. I recall Jake emphasizing how fragile their little bones are. My children feel badly and so do I. We'll have to work on being more careful in the future.

Anyway, we'll head over to Chris and Jake's apartment later today and check on the rest of the "zoo" over there. Life is so full of lessons at every turn. The joys and wonders of God's creations, the fulfillment of nurturning life and the satisfaction of helping others and growing bonds of friendship. And sadly, that death is a part of life; that we can't control every circumstance but we have to keep moving forward when life takes a harder turn sometimes. That we have to forgive ourselves and forgive others if things don't always go well. That we can hope others forgive us when we need it from them.

(This is a post I submitted to the site: www.purechristianity.blogs.com )

The word "Righteousness" is derived, in biblical terms, from the Hebrew word "sedeq" and denotes right standing and consequent right behavior within a community. (New Dictionary of Theology - Wright/Ferguson/Packer)

I think that all those with faith in Christ form one, big family. One big community. Those who enjoy this blog site regularly are part of a community centered here on what the Brooks are doing as well. So, we are all here together in this boat. Hi neighbor.

To me, Righteousness is not something I can earn by doing or not doing certain things. It's something that God stamps upon me when I accept what His Son, Jesus, did to pay for all the punishment I deserve and so I am again able to relate to God and to fellowship with Him again, based upon my cleanness or righteousness given to me by God. So, I can by no means be Self Righteous unless I can somehow claim that God is pleased with me based on how I behave. God calls me 'Righteous" but I guess you could say I am "Christ Righteous" instead of "Self Righteous."

But why, then, are there things that I don't do anymore? Why would that be important? Well, when my conscience relays a strong reaction to something, then I pray and ask God about it. If I can't seem to feel right about it, then I'll stop doing whatever that thing is. This does not mean I have now become "Self Righteous" but instead it could perhaps be said that I am now simply "Obedient."

Whoa. But wait, does that mean that I'm accusing anyone else who still does that thing that I have stopped doing, (like watching Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Dark Chrystal), of not being obedient to God? That's hard to answer because I have no idea what God is telling them. Did you know it is possible that you are watching those three things, for example, and being obedient and that, at the same time, I am not watching any of those things and also being obedient as well? Yes. It's true.

Many say that the "unity of the faith" means that everyone is acting, looking, talking, and behaving the same. I say that true "unity in the faith" comes more so when everyone is being obedient and allowing each other the breathing room to not conform to themselves, but instead to be sensitive to God and obey Him where ever they are at in their "walk with God." If you check out some of the New Testament writings, you'll find Paul saying that some think one day is special above all others, and then others think all days are equal and that, somehow, both types of people are obedient.

Another example shows that some people eat meat and drink wine and are right in God's eyes, while another group never eats meat or drinks any wine and they are also right in God's eyes. That's what I'm saying here. If you like Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and Dark Chrystal and anything else, that's just wonderful for you. All you are responsible for is simply being honest with yourself and with God and with others. If you can honestly say your conscience isn't bothered and God isn't asking you to stop, well then that's great. If your brother or sister next door, however, doesn't do those things, well, that's okay too. No need to be angry with them or start calling them names. Leave them alone and let them obey God too. There may be a reason that this "weaker brother" or sister isn't able to watch them right now and you don't want to be responsible for keeping them from growing and obeying God.

Paul says that he would not eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that would cause his "weaker brother" to stumble into what would be a sin for that weaker brother. This means that Paul recognized that he was in a relationship and a community with his fellow brothers and sisters. Paul had the freedom in Christ to enjoy meat eating and wine drinking but he would not do these things in front of those he was in fellowship with if it would offend them. I'd like to challenge you to consider the same.

Don't continually throw your participation and enjoyment in things that offend others you are in community with, up in their faces. Enjoy those things you do, in obedience to God, but enjoy them on your own. You don't have to draw attention to them constantly and thereby cause others to stumble, be offended, and eventually lose fellowship with them.

I'd say we all need to grow up a little bit and try and enjoy the "unity of the faith" by not trying to get everyone else to agree with our point-of-view but instead, let God's miracle of unity in spite of differences shine forth.

James Matthews

We have next-door neighbors who are also followers of Jesus. They are not much younger than ourselves and the Dad, Matthew, is an E-5 in the Marine Corps. They have two kids which are very close in age to our two youngest kids, Nathan and Eden. We help one another out with various projects, like Matthew once dug a hole for a rose bush Heather wanted to plant while I was at a school. We take each other's trash in and out from the drive ways if one of us forgets. We share newspapers, magazines, and coupons. One of my favorite ways that we work together is that we share baked goods like cakes, pies, cobblers, and things like that. (Not to mention borrowing eggs, milk, and other ingredients when we are short of something for a recipe.)

Unfortunately, our neighbor had a family crisis and had to take off. So, our family is in charge of feeding their dog, watering their plants, and keeping a general "eye on the place" for them while they are away. (They gave us all their perishable foodstuffs while they left since it may be a little while that they are gone. This turned out to be a big blessing as we can never have too much food around with our family of eight)
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Micah stepped up and wanted to be in charge of this and so he takes care of everything each day and then I go behind him at the end of the day and make sure everything is locked up. Things tend to get misplaced in a big family like ours and so we have attached their set of house keys to a large hanger to make it easier to keep track of the keys.

But the silver lining in all of this (if having Godly and great neighbors isn't enough!) is that on the next day after they left, they called us up and were very excited to announce that they are again pregnant! We are very happy for them here at home as there could be no better gift that the Lord provides.

Is thankful to celebrate my wife's birthday today!

oldness if it offends. Love, me and family

Hi Brooks. If U R asking my advice, it may be better not to right now. Especially if Johnny is saying that too. U did not ask so please forgive the b

Thank you to all commenters about Germany. The gaining unit says it is a matter of housing availability. Thanks for prayers. I have proposed Ft Bragg

as an alternative.Trusting Him.

Im fooling with the heat setting to keep the pressure cooker @ 15 pounds.

We R listening to Randy Travis's 'Glory Train' CD. Im making a spot of afternoon tea.

Hannah is making a pretty pink head covering with her mama. Nathan & Eden R napping.

Rachel is out saying goodbye with the other of her church youth to thier youth pastor who is moving today.

Micah & Jacob spent the nite @ a friend's & stayed up all nite. They R passed out now around the house.

Heather is busy pressure cooking chicken stew for canning.

Oh well. Pictures dont seem to work. Still, this could be useful.

if this thing can accept cell phone pictures too? Funny. The word 'blog' isn't in my phone's dictionary.

How cool is this? Im sitting at home studying and now I have found I can post a blog from my bell phone. This is my first cell phone posting. Wonder

Micah did a great job performing the other night.

He performed in a humorous play based loosely off the book "Robinson Crusoe" The play was hosted by "Missoula Children's Theatre" and their website is:

www.mctinc.org

These guys fit all the props, costumes, lights and all that into the bed of a Ford F-150 and then drive to whichever school hires them. It costs about $3,500.00 for them to come and put a play on with any kids who volunteer. They practice 4 hours per day and then perform at the end.

I've included a couple of pictures of our biggest star. He had a singing part as well and I stood in awe as I listened to him sing and watched him do so with confidence. "That boy has a good voice and a great stage presence" I said. I can't wait to see what happens next with him.

The Missoula Children's Theatre tours all over the country and the world. They are supposed to be back here in September or so with a different play and all my kids want to act in it next time.

Eden is very proud of her first new tooth she cut the day before yesterday! The second one looks like it will be in today!

Just wanted to share what I learned about mustard , first hand(or right forearm). Last night I was frying some fries and onion rings in a deep fryer when the clasp on the tongs I was using slid down and then sprang open while in the boiling grease, dousing about %50 of my forearm. After running it in cold water for a few minutes, I consulted my herbal book, and some sites on the internet, while watching large blisters form on my arm. The neat thing was that James had just read the other day about how mustard works on burns. So at this point, not having anything on hand, like plantain or aloe, I was willing to try. So I slathered it all on, and it was only a couple of min. before there was no pain at all! I had to reapply every 30 min. or so when the pain came back. It removed all blisters, and by this morning, only slightly red in the worst places. I am very much a believer in mustard now, and will use it on all the kids' sunburns. Since I didn't want mustard all over my bed, I soaked a rag in vinegar(which is what I think did the trick in the mustard)wrapped it around and tied it on. There was no pain or sensitivity and I slept well all night! Try it for yourselves, you'll be totally amazed! Another strange remedy I came across, (in case you don't have any mustard) was urine ("preferably your own", it said) HA! James did offer!

Have you, as a follower of Jesus and if you are a follower of Jesus, been wondering where your sin has gone to?

Oddly, I've heard several people debating in the past over whether or not there is a place where God says your sins are cast into the "sea of forgetfulness" or something like that. Today, I came across the verse that mentions that our sins are cast into the bottom of the sea.

Micah 7:18-19 (New International Reader's Version)

18 Lord, who is a God like you?
You forgive sin.
You forgive your people
when they do what is wrong.
You don't stay angry forever.
Instead, you take delight in showing
your faithful love to them.
19 Once again you will show loving concern for us.
You will completely wipe out
the evil things we've done.
You will throw all of our sins
into the bottom of the sea.

No wonder it's so heavy and crushing when anyone tries to go down there. No sunlight. Probably pretty muchy and nasty too. I'm glad mine are down there and I do not want to try and revisit them. I definately don't want to bring any of it back up to the surface either. I want to make sure it's firmly planted there; wouldn't want anything washing up on the beach with the tide or floating there just under the surface.

Well, after about 30 minutes of trying to sign in!!!! (Thank you, to my computer savvy and very patient hubby - you're the best) I am posting my first blog. I am determined however to continue trying and learning. Speaking of which, James mentioned my recent endeavors earlier. I would like to report that the laundry seems as clean as ever, and we now have several canned jars of food and preserves in the pantry; my favorite of which is the blueberry/lime jam on the homemade %100 whole wheat bread the kids helped me make last night. I can't tell you how rewarding it is to can, bake, learn about herbal remedies, make homemade detergent and use cloth diapers. Is it just because I'm learning something new, fullfilling long-time dreams, or is it something else? Not sure, all I know is that the desire to learn these things and become more self-sufficient has become overwhelming. Most likely, as I see more and more Christians and homeschoolers taking this route, I believe that these are skills that we are going to need someday. Living a wholesome, basic and simple life is very fulfilling (especially in this fast-paced, 9 to 5- American Dream- grind. Not to mention the great quality time and learning opportunity for the kiddos as they help and learn along side me. (I can't do ANYTHING without our 2 yr. old, Nathan, running to help!) Just food for thought.
Anyway, tomorrow is Micah's big debut in Robinson Crusoe -Yes! He got the lead! And he is so awesome - we are very proud! In fact, I had flashbacks at the auditions when they called Micah's name. I saw a crazy red-headed mom whooping on the sidelines, with teary eyes, as Micah hit his first run at his first baseball game when he was five. yeah- it was scarey. Oh, and did I mention that I got a part as well? Robinson's mom of course! Should have some pics tomorow- until then..........

Heather

(I have updated the photo here to depict actually food that my wife has "canned."

My wife has gone "canning crazy" and it's a lot of fun for all of us. She's already canned (Mason Jars) Kiwi jam (it's actually really tasty) and she's preparing to can some left overs in the fridge. She's wanting to can apples and peaches given to us by Mrs. Blake and she's looking for anything else can-able as well. She's like when you first learn how to sell things on eBay and you are looking all over the house.

We are all actually really excited about learning how to do things like this and be prepared for whatever the future has and to be more self sufficient. It's a lot of fun.

My wife has also learned how to make her own laundry detergent and it works very well. It costs next-to-nothing and one batch should last for about 6 months.

Micah is depicted here holding one of his "creations." He loves designing stuff with these.

Micah is, as we speak, trying out for the lead role in a play sponsored by the military public schools and based off of the book "Robinson Crusoe." Normally, we don't do much with the public school system but since this book is primarily from a Godly perspective and with a Godly intent, we decided to take this opportunity for Micah to develop his talent and interact with others. (And to encourage the school system to be more open to Godly things.) Hopefully, the school won't pollute the story by editing out it's most important elements.

Anyhow, Micah was rehearsing and trying to get ready but the hour was getting pretty late. Instead of staying up way past the time he should be sleeping, he felt like God told him not to worry and to go on to bed. Sure enough, a friend who is also going called this morning to tell us that Micah would not need to have something memorized after all but that the judges would hand him something and want him to do it, impromptu. So, Micah is ready both inside and out.

Regardless of what part he gets, we will be proud of him and ask for your prayers and encouragement for him. Should he get a part in the play, they will rehearse twice a day and then perform this Saturday.

I was previously not a cloth diaper fan but now I'm ready to agree that "Yep, these are cloth diapers I can get into." Heather has done the dirty work for us! She ordered 12 different kinds of cloth diapers off of eBay and figuered out which features worked best by trying them all out on our newest bundle of joy, Eden. Watch now as Heather provides you the nitty gritty, low down, down low, no doubt 411 on this latest endeavor of ours. Heather invites you to email her if you have any brand name or ordering questions or whatever and she'll plan to get back with you soon. Email Heather at: mamajama92@yahoo.com

This is an excellent book, I'd say, for both new parents and veteran parents alike. This book has sold over 550,500 copies and all with very little advertising. Most parents pass it along to friends. We were given a copy by some friends who bought several for distribution. We now own 10 or so copies and have been giving them out. Here's a description of the book from the authors' website, Michael and Debi Pearl, at "No Greater Joy" ministries. We have several of their books and really enjoy them. This book continues to make a great difference in all of our lives at home. Here's their website before I give the book description to you:

http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/

TO TRAIN UP A CHILD - BOOK DESCRIPTION

This book is not about discipline, nor problem children. The emphasis is on the training of a child before the need to discipline arises. It is apparent that, though they expect obedience, most parents never attempt to train their child to obey. They wait until his behavior becomes unbearable and then explode. With proper training, discipline can be reduced to 5% of what many now practice. As you come to understand the difference between training and discipline, you will have a renewed vision for your family—no more raised voices, no contention, no bad attitudes, fewer spankings, a cheerful atmosphere in the home, and total obedience from your children.

Any parent with an emotional maturity level higher than the average thirteen-year-old can, with a proper vision and knowledge of the technique, have happy obedient children. This is not a theory; it is a practical reality that has been successfully applied many times over.

One couple we know was stressed out with conflict of their three young children. After spending the weekend with us and hearing some of these principles, they changed their tactics. One week later, they exclaimed, “I can’t believe it; we went to a friend’s house, and when I told my children to do something, they immediately, without question, obeyed.”

These truths are not new, deep insights from the professional world of research, but rather, the same principles the Amish use to train their stubborn mules, the same technique God uses to train His children. These principles are profoundly simple and extremely obvious. After examining them with us, you will say, “I knew that all along. Where have I been? It’s so obvious.”

Yesterday, Jacob and Micah spent several hours out jumping on the trampoline in the backyard. The weather was overcast and comfortable and so the two of them were outside for several hours. Jacob decided he wanted to jump out there without his shirt on. Little did he realize he could still get sunburned on an overcast day.

After numerous occasions of well intentioned affection showers touching his sunburned back today, Jacob came up with this idea to protect himself!

Great little bit of info for those blessed with being both a neat freak and with being lazy. A sprinkle of humor has been added for good measure.

My grandmother raised me and she always had tons of plants around. I too have lots of plants as a way to keep her memory alive and because I love them also. The other day, I was looking at my favorite plants and it dawned on me that they look like beautiful potted plants in their current level of growth, but the favorites I have happen to actually be trees that grow very large and whose stems turn into bark on the outside if given big enough pots and the right conditions.

I began to wonder how much of my own life was like these plants. These plants can grow, to a point, but will not achieve their all unless I am willing to continually make the investment required to purchase larger pots and to do the hard work of transplanting them and adding in the extra dirt and nutrients. I have known in my heart that it’s time for them to be transplanted but week after week, I’m content to do it “next time” or not at all. So, things stay the same while I only do what’s needed to keep them alive and at their current level of growth.

How much do we limit ourselves by simply being content where we are and not being willing to do the work and confront the hardships required to reach our full potential, beauty, and contribution in the world to others? But what about when it’s more than just getting out of our comfort zones? What about when pain and hurt are involved?

Yesterday, I was walking behind a woman who was pretty large. (This is not an attack on large people but meant as an object lesson.) She was dressed nicely and presented herself well. She demonstrated her unhappiness, however (I thought) with her size by the great trouble she went to in order to try and conceal her “largeness” by the types of clothing she purchased and the way that she wore them.

This is not an attack on largeness and not meant as a judgment, but it made me wonder why we so often go to so much trouble to cover up symptoms and conceal the things we don’t like about ourselves instead of choosing the harder and more challenging task of confronting the cause. It would be much harder to change her eating habits and to go out and exercise regularly and achieve the look she really wants. Instead, she is content to purchase bigger clothes and continue to shift around the problem and let the problem dictate her behavior. The problem is the boss and she reacts. It’s like an invader who takes more ground and she adjusts her life to what the invader takes.

In earlier years, my wife and I often tried to have regular, morning time prayer and study of the bible. This often led to disagreements, fights, hurt feelings and the like and so for years we have stopped doing this. We concluded that we would be better off seeking God individually instead of together. While this might be necessary in the short term, in the long term we would be wise to continue trying to grow together and not give up on being able to seek the Lord together. But it’s so much easier to just avoid conflict and stay away from discovering and conquering the problem. The invader keeps his ground and we work around him instead.

My grandmother had two Siamese cats in her younger years and loved this pair with all her heart. When they died it devastated her and although she always continued to love animals, she would often avoid the act of getting other pets because “it would just be too painful to go through that again.” I always felt like the person she was robbing the most with her attitude was herself, although we all lost out on the joys of having a pet because of this attitude. She was missing out on stretching, loving, and growing again because the pain of loss had become king and ruler of that part of her heart. Fear of this pain ruled the way and prevented all around her from growing in a new relationship as well. She did eventually have an occasional pet but this is often a hardship we face. Learning to overcome what loss feels like and to love again.

For years, I would cringe at certain types of music or movies and with certain locations and many other things because they all reminded me of one painful experience or another. Previous loves and hurts I had experienced or certain phrases I once said to someone or if I knew of a saying a previous love of my wife’s had said or used, I would avoid it. But I one day realized that I could take control and make those mine. Pain and hurt had become the walls around me controlling what I could do, where I could go, etc. I one day decided to take ownership of these things, break down their associations with the past, and be free to enjoy them again and associate them with things healthy and positive in my life. I am so much happier now.

I guess I just wanted to talk about the biggest challenge I face and I think a lot of us face; ourselves. I wanted to talk about taking ownership and control again and encourage myself and others to challenge the problems we have inside of us instead of laying one bandage on top of the other.What about you? What are your thoughts and would you like to share your challenges or observations?

Photo found at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bonsai_Tree_071.jpg