Owen's American Hero

Some days you come home from a long day at work and are presented with a precious jewel that makes you smile. You can imagine the joy to this father's heart when Owen brings home this from his first grade class. I asked Owen to finish the line This is my hero because..., he said I love him and he's so good. I then asked him to describe the picture for me, and he explained he's the small person on Earth and God is the one with big hands up in the sky. :)

Five Days in America

Five days in America. It's almost unfathomable that it's only been five days since we set foot back in Maryland. I remember how quickly life thrusts itself back in one's face from last year's trip, but it still is difficult to comprehend all that's happened in the past week. It's an odd feeling, like being in the gulf between two worlds. Time has raced by, and I fear I will never be able to back-post the many stories and events that never made it into this year's blog report. The most sleep I ever got this trip was one night of six hours, most nights were four hours, and one night (the night of the long blog posting) I only dozed for less than three hours. One thing I did manage to do was put together the following slide show from some of the 300+ photos collected by Wendy, Dr. Logsdon and myself during our trip. I hope it gives you a taste of the people and ministry that continues in Apizaco, Mexico!

Where to begin.....

I can't begin to describe the past two days, and I'd be up until daybreak to capture the entirety of what we've seen God do here. This post will inevitably fit into the "you had to be there" category, but here it goes....

Our morning's VBS went very well, with nearly 60 children present. Each day we have scoured the local community giving out flyers for our week's activities, and each day we've had 10-15 new children come. In the minutes before closing I had a father come up to me and speak in good English "Do you know anyone in Chicago, Illinois? I am leaving for Chicago on Friday and want to find a church of the same religion as you to find God". To completely butcher an amazingly long and awesome story I'll sum it up by saying that he gave me the phone number and address of his Uncle who he will be staying with in Chicago, and I agreed to find a bible-believing church in his local community over the Internet. I then asked him if he died today does he know without doubt where he would spend eternity. He was unsure, so I shared with him the Gospel illustrated by the six-colored bracelet we've been using here in Mexico. I shared with him that he didn't need to wait until he reached Chicago to learn of God's love, and after hearing the story of salvation in the Bible he decided to turn his life over to God and accept Christ's gift of eternal life through his death on the cross. Please pray for Samuel, as his journey to Chicago will be long and dangerous. Also pray for his wife Anna who will be left behind with their two children while Samuel works in America.

After VBS we left for lunch, but first had to drop off clothes for cleaning at the local laundry one block down from our restaurant. This is the same laundry we used last year, as well as many other teams before us. Today the owner seemed agitated, and said that he didn't have time to launder our clothes today or tomorrow. Surprised, we asked if there was another laundry nearby. We followed his directions two blocks down, and the owner said that she would have our clothes clean today, and volunteered to stay open after her normal closing time of 8pm because we said we couldn't return until near 9pm. On our way out, she asked Abel if he was a Christian (based on two tattoos on his arms). She then asked if he could share a message from the Bible, because she wanted to learn more about God. We agreed to do so when we returned to pick up our clothes that night. It was not lost on anyone in our group that this was a God-appointed meeting.

After lunch and a brief rest we returned to the mission in San Andres with plans to launch into the nearby community to pay return visits to a handful of homes that prayed to receive Christ during visits from last week's team from LBC. We arrived at the Mission in San Andres to steady rain, but just as we were pondering how we were going to walk the streets without knocking on doors looking like drowned rats the rain cleared and the sun shone through. We visited 5-6 homes in San Andres, several of which opened up their homes for lengthy conversations. Two mothers still had the six-colored bracelet on their wrists that were given to them last week when they prayed to receive Christ. One mother is arranging for a home bible study at her house tomorrow at 7pm. Another is bringing her children to VBS tomorrow and the film tomorrow night. One even remembered the names of the team members who visited the week before (Jorge and Katiy). It was a very good night of following up with and fellowshipping with new Christians.

We then moved to visit two homes in Royal Woods, another community on the suburbs of Apizaco where a mission church is being considered. The first home was thrilled to be visited by fellow Christians, and received Dr. Logsdon and Jorge for some 20 minutes. Dr. Logsdon shared this week that the Potomac Baptist Association is looking to build a Christian church mission in this community of Royal Woods because of the population density. More on this in a minute (the story gets better).....

Tonight's team meeting ran until 11pm, and included a powerful time of prayer for all that's happened this week. I don't know the exact number, but we have had more than 10 individuals decide to accept Christ and His gift of salvation during the team's visits thusfar. The prayer time included prayer for each of these new Christians, especially that they will seek out a local church body and grow as newborn Christians.

One of the other things that happened this week is that one of our local (to Puebla) team members (Alejandra) spent time Monday night with the night clerk named Francisco at our local hotel and found that he was seeking the Lord and had a hunger to learn more about the Bible. Alejandra led Francisco to the Lord that night, and Francisco had asked that someone share more with him on his next shift (tonight) as he wanted to learn how to read the Bible. Tonight Alejandra and I spent nearly 90 minutes explaining the Bible, sharing scripture throughout the New Testament to describe and illustrate God's love for us and desire for us to accept His offer to reconcile us to him through Jesus Christ. Francisco absorbed and understood everything we shared, and our Q&A session revealed what appeared to be a heart genuinely seeking to build a Christian walk and one that understood everything that was shared. I believe it to be a clear example of God demonstrating the promise in His word that all who seek and ask for wisdom through reading God's word will find it. We exchanged phone numbers and addresses with Francisco, and asked him to show us on the map of Apizaco where his home was. After some time to get orientated, his finger fell smack dab on top of the small community named Royal Woods, where we visited tonight and the PBA is hoping to start a mission church.

All this is only that which I saw and experienced today. I haven't taken the time to list the stories shared tonight by the other team members, but suffice it to say that there was many more examples given by the other team members.

I will close with a prayer request for our activities tomorrow, but which also is a long-term prayer need for this town. David, a local church planter from Puebla, shared that last week he visited the home of a dear lady in San Bartolo named Yolanda. She had accepted Christ several years ago during a previous visit by John Fields and an LBC team. David went into Yolanda's home last week for a home bible study, and preached on holy living. He closed by challenging everyone there to consider taking a sack and putting away anything in their home that took away from their focus on Jesus Christ. The next night David returned to Yolanda to see how she was doing. When he prepared to leave, Yolanda produced a sack she had filled that day based on the words shared from the Bible the night before. David took the sack, and without looking into it turned to leave. He then felt a strong tug on the sack and turned expecting to see their young boy pulling back as if the sack included his favorite toy. Instead he saw no one, and his co-visitor later said that she saw a nearby curtain flutter as if something passed through it. When David left the home, he looked inside the sack to find it filled with idols that are common in the homes of this area and deeply ingrained in the traditions and beliefs of the people. David is certain he experienced a very real manifestation of the spiritual struggle that actively pulls at the surrounding community. Yolanda's parents just two days later (last Friday) were struck by a car, and he mother was hospitalized with injuries that threatened to claim her leg. We learned today that her mother had been released from the hospital, but then suffered a heart attack. They prayer request is this: these are circumstances that underscore to the family the reality of the spiritual warfare surrounding them, and are intended to make them question their decision to be obedient to God's word and seek God only. I ask that you join me in prayer for the health of Yolanda's mother, but more importantly that the entire family not be tempted to return to the inclusion of idols in their belief and understanding of God.

Tomorrow is going to be another full day. In addition to VBS, hosting a leading doctor from Puebla for four hours of free medical consultations, and showing a movie in the evening we also hope make several additional home visits in San Andres to follow up from last week, honor our commitment to lead a bible study in the home of one lady in San Andres, and send a team up to San Bartolo to pay crucial follow up visits with Yolanda and several other key brothers and sisters in Christ there. It will have to be a God-thing to make all this happen, something that we have become accustomed to seeing this week!

And now to find a bible-believing church in Chicago for my new friend Samuel.....

Buenos Noches. :)

El Primer Día

The scurry of the inevitable last-minute preparations quickly melted away when the children arrived on our first day of VBS today, and in three short hours our hearts were melted for the children of this small community known as San Andres. 48 children from the surrounding neighborhoods joined us today. This was heart-warming for the church because there are only four children who regularly attend worship in San Andres - meaning the majority of those today were new visitors from the surrounding area. These numbers are building on the work done by John Fields' team last week, and is exciting to see. One of the local interpreters said that most of the children have little to no entertainment during the summer months, and these events bring great memories for them.

The VBS event went almost without a hitch until Pastor Jorge fell with a badly twisted ankle on the rutted soccer field. Later visits to a local doctor for x-rays showed no break, but anyone who has badly turned their ankle understands the pain can be almost the same. He is out of commission for at least two weeks.

After lunch five of us left to scour the neighborhoods surrounding San Andres to give out flyers inviting the children to the VBS activities, and to announce two days of free health exams by both Dr. Abel Williams (from Puebla) and Rebecca Cromwell (from Maryland). I paired up with Dr. William's son, Abel Williams (Jr.) and we distributed at least 75 flyers - many of whom expressed interest in coming. Patrick Walsh paired up with Pepe Rojo to distribute the same. Pastor David launched off solo in a third direction. All told some five or six individuals listened to the Gospel and prayed to accept Christ today.

Worshiping together in Christ

We began today in Puebla, having breakfast together before checking out of the Hotel Panamerican. There are two paths to drive the 40+ miles from Puebla to Apizaco, the "bumpy" road (sliced by speed bumps every mile or so) or the "pothole" road (the toll highway). It took us 45 minutes to dodge both the potholes and the waves of cars streaming by at 140+ kph (85+ mph) to reach San Bartolo for a worship service at 10:30am. It was wonderful to see and worship with the friends made during last year's missions trip with Leonardtown Baptist Church. The dirt floor had been replaced with a concrete pad, and restrooms have been added (roof and doors to follow!).

From San Bartolo we quickly left for a second worship service in San Andres at 12:30. It is in San Andres that we will be spending the majority of our time this week leading a Vacation Bible School for children, offering medical services to the community, and hosting home bible studies. Pastor John Fields led a team from Leonardtown Baptist Church last week that spent time in both San Bartolo and San Andres, and the tent used in their sports camp activities was left up for our week. This picture is of the small two room concrete building the church is currently renting, with the big top tent set up in the front courtyard.

The service in San Andres was followed by a planning meeting with the Pastor and his wife Violeta, then lunch served by the church families (at 3pm much to the dismay of several of our team members!). We arrived at our home in Apizaco, Hotel Grysell's around 4:30. Some rested for the afternoon, others of us spent a few hours walking the streets and central plaza of Apizaco. The Gospel was shared with several individuals on the street, one of which asked our group to lead him to
understand and accept Jesus Christ as his savior.

We ended the evening with a team meeting at 8pm for prayer and final planning of our week. We then used Daniel Newberger's Skype account to video conference with John Fields in Maryland - technology is a wonderful thing!

Yo estoy en Mejico, otra vez!

No problema entering Mexico today, the flights were on time and the logistics came together well. Six team members flew out today, where we joined two others who came down with the LBC team lead by John Fields and are staying into this week. We are joined by four local men who will help interpret for us, Pepe, Pastor Eduardo, Pastor Jorge, and Abel Williams. Abel is the older brother to Liz, our interpreter on my trip last summer. Abel lives in Bel Air, MD nine months of the year, and returns to his family in Puebla during the summer months.

After settling into the Hotel Pan American in Puebla, several rested in the afternoon while others of us took in the sights and sounds of the local market in downtown Puebla. We later joined together and made our main shopping event of the week in Puebla, buying supplies both for ourselves and for hygiene kits we will be giving to families in Apizaco. We then joined seventeen others who traveled today from Taneytown Baptist Church and had a huge cookout at Lucy's home in Cholula, just outside of Puebla. It was a wonderful time, and it was good to fellowship with others who will be spending their week in Puebla.

And with this, I am quickly running out of steam. 21 hours of traveling have worn on us all. An evening of rest and a day of worshiping with two different churches tomorrow is sure to recharge the batteries.

Vamos a México mañana

389 days. They go by fast. It's been over a year since my first missions trip to Apizaco, Mexico with friends from Leonardtown Baptist Church (LBC). Tomorrow I leave for a return visit to the same city. This year I will join seven others from various churches in the Potomac Baptist Association and help lead a Vacation Bible School for the children in the small town of San Andres on the outskirts of Apizaco. We are following in the heels of a team comprised of LBC members who worked in the same town this past week, spreading the word of our team's pending arrival.

We leave at 0600 tomorrow from Reagan National Airport. For those interested in tracking our flights, here are links to our flights using FlightAware.com:

* DCA to Houston, Flight CO559, Saturday, Aug 2nd
* Houston to Puebla, Flight CO3135, Saturday Aug 2nd
* Puebla to Houston, Flight CO2129, Saturday Aug 9th
* Houston to DCA, Flight CO458, Saturday Aug 9th

A late look at the weather forecast for Apizaco makes me glad I packed an extra sweater!

I hope to post a few updates while in Apizaco this coming week. This has been an extraordinarily stressful week leading up to this trip. Only tonight have I truly been able to begin thinking about the week ahead, and the excitement is building for me. I've kept thinking about the faces of the children from last year, and the joy of sharing time together in worship with Christian brothers on Sunday. This year we will be involved in adult evening bible studies with the men and women in Apizaco. I would welcome your prayers for safe travel for our team, for the men and women we will meet, and also for Barb and the boys as they will spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa on the farm in Pennsylvania!

Music Monday: Slow Fade

Have you ever read and seriously considered the lyrics to Casting Crown's song Slow Fade? I never had until I went to a Casting Crown's concert last November at a friend's invitation. Their hard-hitting, message-centered lyrics are more five minute sermons than contemporary Christian music. In August I have the opportunity to lead a short Sunday School series that will center on the lyrics of several powerful "Modern Psalms", starting with Slow Fade. If you're interested, I will be building the lesson notes on my personal wiki page here.

Music Monday: He's My King: Do You Know Him?

How do you describe the indescribable? Dr. S.M. (Shadrach Meshach) Lockridge puts a dent in it with his speech "He's My King: Do You Know Him?".



Read more about Dr. S.M. Lockridge here.

Music Monday - Clear the Stage

My good friend Kraig Smith passed along this song by Ross King titled Clear the Stage.



The lyrics are as follows:

Clear the stage and set the sound and lights ablaze
If that's the measure that it takes to crush the idols.
Chuck the pews and all the decorations too
Until the congregations few then have revival.
Tell your friends that this is where the party ends
until you're broken for your sins you can't be social.
Then seek the Lord and wait for what he has in store
and know that great is your reward and just be hopeful

Cause you can sing all you want to.
Yes you can sing all you want to
you can sing all you want to
And don't get me wrong, worship is more than a song.

Take a break from all the plans that you made
And sit at home alone and wait for God to whisper.
Beg Him please to open up his mouth and speak
And pray for real upon your knees until they blister.
Shine the light on every corner of your life
Until the pride and lust and lies are in the open.
Then read the word and put to test the things you've heard
Until your heart and soul are stirred and rocked and broken.

Cause you can sing all you want to.
Yes you can sing all you want to
you can sing all you want to
And don't get me wrong, worship is more than a song.

Anything I put before my God is an idol.
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol.
Anything I can't stop thinking of is an idol.
Anything that I give all my love is an idol.
We must not worship something that's not even worth it.
Clear the stage and make some space for the one who deserves it.

Cause I can sing all I want to.
Yes I can sing all I want to
I can sing all I want to
And still get it wrong, worship is more than a song.

And you can sing all you want to.
Yes you can sing all you want to
You can sing all you want to
But don't get me wrong, worship is more than a song.

Universalism would bring the end of Christian influence

Stumbled across a thought-provoking opinion piece by Tim Wildmon of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Don't ask how I find these... :)

An excerpt: But the Pew Forum survey found that "57 percent of evangelical church attendees said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion." "The survey shows religion in America is, indeed, 3,000 miles wide and only 3 inches deep," said D. Michael Lindsay, a Rice University sociologist of religion.

Olive Garden Stuffed Chicken Marsala

One of Barb's favorites, copied from Flora's Recipe Hideout....

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
---CHEESE STUFFING---
1/2 cup smoked provolone or gouda cheese
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato flakes, if in oil, drain first
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

---CHICKEN---
2 pounds Skinless boneless chicken breasts
4 ounces cooking oil
2 cups flour
salt and pepper, to taste

---SAUCE---
1 small onion, chopped
6 cups button mushrooms, thinly sliced
24 ounces marsala wine
8 ounces heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.

2. STUFFING: Combine all cheese stuffing ingredients in a bowl.

3. CHICKEN: Butterfly thickest section to create two lobes - pound until 1/4"-1/2" thick. Place pounded chicken breasts on a plate and place desired amount of stuffing on one half of chicken breast. Gently press stuffing down and fold over other side of chicken breast.

4. Preheat a large saute pan on stove top. add 4 oz oil, heat oil until shimmering. Place approximately 2 cups flour in a pan and season it to taste with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess flour. Place stuffed chicken breasts in saute pan with the preheated oil. Cook each side until golden. When chicken is seared on both sides remove them from saute pan and place them in a baking pan and into the oven for 10-20 minutes. Bake until juices run clear and stuffing and center reach a temperature of at least 165 degrees.

5. SAUCE: Add the onions to the saute pan. stir with spatula. After 2 minutes add the mushrooms, saute mixture until onions are translucent. Deglaze saute pan with the marsala wine - make sure to incorporate particles from bottom of pan. Bring wine to a simmer and add heavy cream. Simmer sauce on low heat until reduced by half.

6. Place cooked chicken breast on a plate and top with onions, mushrooms and sauce. Serve with your favorite garlic mashed potato recipe.

Axis and Allies Gamenight #1

This is the first of a series of entries that have virtually no value to anyone other than myself. I and a small group of men play a board game titled Axis and Allies. Each night we meet for dinner, then play until after midnight. It's effectively a man's answer to Creative Memories Crop Nights. I've played in these game nights for nearly five years. The original crew that invited me included Kraig Smith, Brent York, Matt Cook, and Scott Stringer. They've all moved away, I'm left holding the torch (which is now about the size of a match stick).

This first game night of the 2007-2008 season (these are almost always played over the wintertime) occurred tonight. Most players were busy/out of town due to the holiday season. Allen Acker backed out due to a sinus infection. In the end two played, Rob VanFosson and myself. Here's the game summary:

Host: Darden

The Players:
Darden: USA, UK, Russia **WINNNER**
VanFosson: Germany, Japan

Special Rules:
Salvage (Russia), U-Boat Interdiction (Germany), Enigma (UK), Banzai (Japan), Superfortresses (USA)

Round One Summary:
Russia: Bought mix of infantry and artillery, typical first move, nothing special.
Germany: Rolled two dice for weapons development, winning Jet Fighters. Bought 1 U-boat, 2 Fighters, and tanks. Typical counter-attack to Russia. Took out UK's Mediterranean battleship.
UK: Bought Indian factory, consolidated African tank and Mediterranean Destroyer to India. Forgot to move transport/sub around Australia.
Japan: Did not buy Asian factory. Rolled two dice in attempted weapons development (long range bombers) but failed. Took Pearl. Moved southern fleet against UK's Indian fleet and lost. Japan failed to hold serve.
USA: Bought two bombers and an aircraft carrier. Lept for West Africa due to Germany's land move east, thereby bottling up German battleship in the Med. Otherwise laid low.

Middle Rounds Summary:
Russia: Typical game exchanging blows with Germany. Slowly gained upper hand because Germany's penchant for Jet Fighters failed to replenish ground troops.
Germany: Bought one U-Boat and 1-2 Jet Fighters for first three rounds due to special rules. Slowly lost momentum in ground war against Russia. Lost tank in Africa, failed to dominate the continent.
UK: Cranked tanks into Asia, taking upper hand due to Japan's lack of production capacity on the mainland. Got luck rolls and had two Australian troops island hop from East Indies to Borneo to the Philippines, thereby strangling Japan's IPC's while gaining at one time a 56 IPC production count. Used growing production capacity to build transports, moved first to Norway (Germany left it open), then to Karelia, then to Eastern Europe, then to Western Europe. Germany was left counter-attacking the UK. UK shifted focus from Asia to Europe after Round Three in attempt to deliver knock-out blow to Germany. This starved India (1-2 tanks per round). Late in game Japan began moving troops to Asian mainland using up to four transports, thereby threatening India. Because Germany was weakened, Russia switched to tank production in Rounds 4-5 and helped recover India via counter-attack.
Japan: Eliminated initial US fleets, but failed to remove UK fleet from Indian Ocean until Round Three. Was starved of IPC's due to losses of south pacific islands to UK. Failed to fight for Asian mainland until late.
USA: Bought two bombers per round every round. Moved them all to UK for strategic raids against Germany. Slowly began strangling Germany's production. Never wiped out Japanese fleet, and never significantly pressed Japan. This would have been regrettable if the Allies' concerted effort to focus on Germany failed.

It Was Over When... Japan failed to buy an Asian factory and missed on weapons development. This opened the door for the Allies to focus on Germany.

Cream of Crab Soup

Got this recipe from Richie Stevens, brother-in-law of our former neighbor Amanda Adams. Good stuff!

Ingredients:
1lb backfin crab meat
1/2 stick butter
1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup flour
4 cups milk
1 cup half and half

Directions:
Melt butter in pan. Blend in flour and stir. Stir in broth and simmer 2 minutes. Add milk and half and half, stirring constantly until thickened (DO NOT BOIL). Add crab meat and salt and pepper to taste. We also add old bay seasoning to taste as well. It takes a while to get it thickened but once it gets hot enough without boiling it will thicken.

Blue Ribbon Googled-Last-Night Red Bean Chili

This October our church celebrated it's 25th anniversary with a huge fall picnic. The Men's Ministry held a chili cook-off challenge. Over 20 men across the church were talking it up. Some pulled their family's secret recipe out of retirement. One commented on how he had been soaking (Barb calls it marinating) his beef for two days to get the right zing. I had decided to cook a pot to help feed the masses (a male's version of a pot luck dinner). I enjoy chili, but my couple attempts at cooking it was average at best. So I did the next logical thing - I googled for a new recipe. At 6pm the night before the cook-off.

I shopped at Giant that night, threw everything the recipe called for into a crock pot. And slept. The next day was showdown at the OK Corral. There was some jockeying, some jabbing, some posturing (all in fun) by most. I stayed out of it lest I be found for the poser that I was. There was some good chili that day, and mine didn't hold water against some of them. But what mattered was the judge's results, and in the end this Google recipe (which I can't even trace now) was the near unanimous choice for Best of Show. Three of four judges voted this #1 out of 22, the fourth judge tallied it #2. I've made it four times since, and it continues to receive rave reviews. Head and shoulders above the rest, I now gladly share with you the Blue Ribbon Googled-Last-Night Red Bean Chili recipe.

Ingredients:
3 lbs. ground beef
1 (really) lg. yellow onion
1 (really) lg. green pepper
2 (28 oz.) cans Furmano’s chunky crushed tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano
2 (10 oz.) cans Rotel tomatoes (Original flavor)
2 (16 oz.) cans Goya red kidney beans
2 (15 oz.) cans Hormel Chili Hot with Beans (yes, Hormel)
Diced jalapeño peppers to taste (I use about 1 Tbsp)
Chili powder to taste (I use about 1.5 Tbsp.)
Adobo seasoning to taste (I use about 1 Tbsp.)
Black pepper to taste (I use about 1.5 Tbsp.)
Raw sugar to taste (I use about 1 Tbsp.)


Directions:
Brown beef. Chop then saute onion and green pepper. Throw everything into large crock pot. Cook 8-10 hrs on Low. Best if refrigerated and warmed the next day. Makes 6 quarts.

"I'm watching everything you do Daddy!"

Life has two speeds these days - hectic and chaotic. But you know that already. Then Fantasy Football season rolled in and elbowed into my computer time, so I've set aside using the blog to capture some of the memorable family moments in recent months. And there's been some good ones.

One that I want to remember in 10 years is the night I was driving the boys home one night without Barb when I realized I had been deep in thought for some time. And the boys were quiet (I figured asleep). I glimpsed Cameron leaning sideways in his back seat, so I asked him what he was thinking. "Nothing" was the reply. "Com'on son, you have to be thinking something". "No" was the repeated reply. "So you're just sitting there and your mind's just going buzzzzzzz...." Without hesitation Cameron interrupted me to say "I'm learning how to drive, daddy". Gulp. "Whaddya mean?" was my nervous reply. Then blammo - "I'm watching everything you do daddy!".

I won't capture into words the look of "I told you so" that came from Barb later that night. How'd my boys get this old this fast???? :)

Music Monday - Aaron Shust

I was slow to catch on to Aaron Shust. His song One Day comes with a catchy tune, but it was the lyrics below that made it a favorite for me. It reminds me of James 4:13-14 where the Bible says "Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." One day we will have a day like no other, and this song reminds us that everything we do in the meantime should be preparing for it. Hope you enjoy.

One Day I will leave this body
and I will get a perfect one
That day I will see His glory
shining like the noonday sun
One day, I'll take a walk with Jesus
He might explain the mysteries of life
Some say, I just can't believe it
but I know that one day

We will gather at the Crystal Throne
All these years: we're finally home
I can actually see His face
And all I can do is say,

Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come
We lay our crowns before You
Every heart and soul: adore You:
The God of gods, Almighty One

One Day, death will be abolished
And sin will have its mastery no more
And I know that we will be astonished
At all that our Creator has in store
One day we will meet our Savior
And He will give each one of us a stone
Engraved with our names upon it:
known by God alone

Annual Perseid meteor shower peaks tonight!

I remember my grandfather tell me about one early morning in the mid-60's when he was driving down the lane leading to the farm house when all of the sudden every star in the sky began moving. He saw the Leonid meteor storm of November 1966, (picture is from a similar storm in 1833) an annual meteor shower that peaks every 33 years. Ever since then I have dreamed of seeing a true meteor storm, with rates peaking at 10,000 per minute.

Tonight is the annual recurrence of the Perseid meteor shower, regarded as 'Old Faithful' because of it's reliable-but-not-spectacular nature. The Baltimore Sun reports this year's event is nearly ideal with a New Moon and good weather forecast. I'll be out there at 1am tonight with the dreams of a young boy of seeing the stars fall out of the sky just like my Grandfather saw, but knowing I'll be lucky to see but a few. Hopefully I won't wake up at 4am with ants up my pants!

Music Monday - Rich Mullins

I remember hearing Awesome God for the first time at a Campus Crusade for Christ Friday night gathering at Virginia Tech in 1990 or 1991. I've been a Rich Mullins fan since, and loved the fun little song Screen Door. The lyrics carry the line

Faith without works is like a song you can't sing
It's about as useless as a screen door on a submarine

The quirky lyrics and straight percussion accompaniment I first heard on the CD years ago fits the band's live performance. I stumbled across this fun but grainy video of a live show by Rich and his band of Screen Door - hope you enjoy!

And the countdown's on....

It's August. The last month of summer. Time to get ready for school's return. This year there is new excitement in our home as we are preparing to homeschool our oldest - a new adventure for us. We've seen many of you, our friends, lead the way. Many reasons factored into our decision, but they all seem to fade into memory as the logistics of starting a homeschool for the first time flood in. It seems there's a difference between watching others do it with ease and actually going through the mechanics yourself.

After much consideration and prayer we've already tackled the curriculum decision. We reviewed the full gamut of options available to homeschoolers at the CHAP (Christian Homeschool Association of Pennsylvania) 2007 convention in Harrisburg PA in June. For several reasons we chose to start this first year by continuing with the A Beka curriculum series Cameron started in First Grade at Kings Christian Acadamy. First decision down.

Our next decision was to consider options with several homeschool co-ops in the local area. We looked into the Homeschool Christian Acadamy (HCA) based out of Patuxent Presbyterian church just up our street. We know one of the administrators (Alisa Albers), one of the teachers (Sandi Hepler), and several of the kids there. We enrolled Cameron in a full day of classes. Each Thursday he will take Science, Math Games, Art, Music, Latin, and Phys Ed with 10-15 other First and Second graders. This gives Cameron continued interaction with peers, and gives Barb one day to continue working with several children with her National Institute for Learning Development (NILD) training. Second decision down.

This week we make the final decision on where to register our homeschool for outside supervision. I read the Maryland State Department of Education Fact Sheet on Home Instruction, which states we must choose to have our home instruction supervised by one of the following entities:

1. The local school system.

2. A nonpublic school that holds a Certificate of Approval from the Maryland State Board of Education.

3. A nonpublic school registered with the Maryland State Department of Education as exempt from education regulation because it is governed and operated by a bona fide church organization.

4. An education ministry of a bona fide church organization.

Right now we're considering registering directly with the local county school system. If anyone has any other suggestions or insights we'd welcome your comments!

After this, we then can start focusing on lesson planning. Again, we're open to any tips, tricks, or words of wisdom from anyone out there! Homeschooling will become a central theme in blog posts to come.