Video of our New Apartment!

I decided to do a video instead of pictures. I think it gives you a much better idea about the apartment. Sorry if it makes you dizzy though. haha. Enjoy!

I don't argue! Yes, you do!

"In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against you. You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your lives shine brightly before them.”
-Philippians 2:14,15 (NLT)

The Challenge: Think of the person you argue with the most (could be a family member) and try to not argue with them for a month. The “easiest” way to accomplish this is to “take it like a man” and keep your mouth closed when every bone in your body is telling you to defend yourself. (If arguing isn't that hard to give up, try not complaining for a month!)

This probably won't mean much to you until you are at a point in your life when you want to start living as an example of Christ. I must warn you that this is no easy task. When you choose to follow Christ to the extent of calling yourself an example of Christ, you will be forced to examine every area of your life. You will be forced to give up your selfish desires, your plans, your pride, your whole life in order to follow Christ wholly. Arguing is one area we need to address if we concerned about being a good example of Christ.

I tested not arguing with my wife, Kate, and the results were remarkable. It was hard at first not to react when I really, really wanted to defend myself or prove her wrong. About a week later, I realized I was actually getting in the habit of not arguing! When one of us would say something a little harsh, I didn't automatically jump into it with all my guns locked and loaded. Entire days were redeemed – less stress, less hurt feelings, more love. I noticed this too: The more I stayed away from arguing, the less Kate argued too – it's contagious!

Anyone can see a difference in how we treat each other now. In fact, that's the point – we are supposed to exemplify love towards each other. Think about it: If we can't love those closest to us, how can you expect to love the unlovable – those Christ called us to love?

“In everything you do, stay away from complaining and arguing...”

A New Home...

    

After Kevin losing his job this past August we have lived in a camper in his brothers yard and then with his parents in a 2 bedroom apartment. We have had some pretty tight quarters these past 5 months. We have gotten closer to Kevin's family, learned a lot of new lessons, grown closer together as a couple, and most of all grown closer to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We have learned to trust God in EVERYTHING. When the car starts acting up and we start worrying we immediately catch ourselves and think..."It's nothing God hasn't taken care of before!" We lay our burdens and worries at the feet of Christ and remember why He sacrificed himself. He desires to have a relationship with us and show us the Power and Glory of His Father. It is so comforting to know and really believe that worrying is overrated because God is in Control. 


Now, our Lord has blessed us with the opportunity to have our own place again. We are moving into an apartment this Saturday. It is in the perfect location for our jobs and also the perfect lease. We truly believe that God's hand was in this situation all along. Praise God! Who better to have their way in our lives then our very own Creator. 


I have also been hired with Boys and Girls Town of Missouri at their Ozark Family Resource Center. I will be working with abused and neglected children from birth to 18 in the Family Resource Center where they live for the time being. I am excited to have a challenging but rewarding job. These are the jobs I strive for. Here is the site if you want to take a look:
http://www.bgtm.org/aboutus/springfieldcampus.htm

Kevin continues with his job at Classy Llama Studios and is enjoying it thoroughly. He works with such a great group of guys who really encourage and challenge Kevin in his work and also spiritually. 


 Well, I pray that as you all meditate on the past year that you will see the many blessings, challenges, and lessons learned, that the Lord has bestowed upon us. He is a great God! I pray that you may all find HIS Joy and Peace that passes all understanding as you enter into this New Year. 

I Gots Intelligence

"Your attitude should be the same Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.” -Philippians 2:5-8 (NLT)

The Challenge: Can you give up the personal “rights” you have given yourself in order to serve others first?

We all have this secret list of personal rights, or liberties, which we've given ourselves. For me, I feel like I have earned the right to be known for having a slightly-above-normal level of intelligence. You know it's a sensitive liberty when you get angry at someone attempting to take it from you. I can vividly recount times when I have gotten so angry at someone who implies in some way that I don't know what I'm doing. It's pride – one of my sensitive liberties is a selfish pride in my “intelligence”.

Can you think of any sensitive liberties you have in your life? You can usually tell it's a sensitive liberty by the way you react when someone tries to take it from you. Chances are, you're also thinking of yourself first, before you think about others.

Oh, we all have our sensitive liberties – but should we grip them as tight as we do? No. Look at Christ – God incarnate. He had all the rights in the universe, but did he demand those rights from others? Not while he was on Earth. Read this again:

“Your attitude should be the same Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross.”

I'll let God's Word do its work.

Our Sacred To-Do List

"Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only of your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing." -Philippians 2:3,4 (NLT)

The Challenge: Can you give-up your to-do list each day and ask God for a copy of His to-do list?

I wonder how different the world would be without wristwatches – or time itself, for that manner. It seems like everyone is so busy these days. I laughed really hard the other day when my co-worker said he didn't have enough time to make a schedule that would help him manage his time better.

We like our agendas (written or unwritten) – our sacred to-do list. We hold it so close each day. Just ask dad to go for a nice autumn walk on a Sunday afternoon – you'll see our football agendas are right up there on our priority to-do list with breathing... and pumping blood to all major organs. Yes, maybe we hold our agendas too close sometimes. Maybe we put our computer time too high on our to-do list and our Father-Son time (or Mother-Daughter time) not high enough. Actually, maybe we put our whole to-do list a little too high sometimes.

Take some time this week to ask yourself this: Who's to-do list am I more concerned about – mine or God's?