For some time now I have been burdened by the thought of what I wanted my children to be when they leave my home and are launched into their own independence. I’m not talking about being a doctor, teacher, or preacher, etc.. but what would they “be” on the inside? What would their character be like? As I began to construct this image of my future adult children, I knew that there would be things that I would need to teach them as the years go by. With three boys, what do they need to know to be godly men? And with Hannah-Grace, what must I teach her to be a godly woman?

There are some topics that need to be put off until the children are older, but there are other topics that need to be taught now. So as I began to pray about these things, I also began to search for resources that would help Kimberly and me in this effort. I know I have the Bible as our foundation, but is there someone out there that has put a list together that we could use as an example. So, I have to let you guys know about some new resources that I came across in this effort. The name of the company is Doorposts, and you can look them up at www.doorposts.net

They need a graphic arts overhaul, but the material is wonderful. I purchased some charts to put on our kitchen walls. One deals with discipline issues and the other deals with chores. I also purchased:

For Instruction in Righteousness (deals with how to disciple children)

Plants Grow Up (helps me in developing a list of what I need to teach the boys)

Polished Cornerstones (helps me in developing a list of what I need to teach H-G)

Goldie Doll (deals with how girls define beauty and look at themselves)

When You Rise Up (they gave me this book for free because I purchased over a certain amount).

Let me add one other comment to this discussion. From everything I can determine, this publisher seems to be geared toward “home school” parents. I can’t believe that I have not heard about this publisher before now. Are these topics things that only “home school” parents ask? I don’t think so. The back of their catalog says, “Doorposts is homeschoolers’ first choice in Bible and character training curriculum!” There are two other quotes supporting the quality of the material based upon homeschooler’s recommendations.

I’m not sure why this bugs me other than it seems to divide Christian families into those who home school, and the rest. The only way you hear about this material is if you are a home schooler, which doesn’t seem right to me. I really had to dig to find it. Is there an underlying philosophy of living the Christian life that has led this publisher to focus only on the homeschoolers? Any ideas?

Last week two men from my church and I traveled to Wake Forest, NC to a conference for college students that focused them on missions. I know, I’m not a college student, but I still feel like I look like I’m 17 (no comments please). Anyway, there were some great speakers and break out sessions covering a wide range of topics.

Before the conference started on Friday evening, we were able to visit a church that had recently constructed a children’s building. It was beautiful, and we were able to pick up some invaluable tips (i.e. we need to have lots, and lots, of storage).

The last sermon that we heard was from a missionary who was commissioned somewhere in the world, and his name was not given (for his own safety). If the people were to find out that he is a Christian they would kill him and his family. I rode home thinking about this man and his family, and the danger he lives in every moment of every day, yet he proclaims Christ and is making inroads in a heavily Muslim and hostile area of the world. Needless to say, when I pulled up to my new home, two cars, children waiting to hug me as I came in, and in a free country, my heart went out to the many around the world who preach Christ only to have those things taken away.

There were a couple of statistics that got my attention:

90% of all missions are in countries that already have the gospel, thereby leaving 10% of missionaries in countries who have never heard the gospel. 95% of all pastors serve in the United States. That leaves 5% of the total number of pastors to cover the rest of the planet. Are that many really “called” to serve in suburbia? But, the question is not “why should we go,” the questions is “how can we justify staying.” And does it really matter where we go?

My heart is to get our church involved in something, somewhere, with people who have never heard the name of Jesus.

You can hear these messages for yourself at www.sebts.edu/chapel/chapelMessages.cfm

Hannah-Grace received a tea set for Christmas and has used it just about everyday since. Today our friend Kara came over for a tea party. She came with fairy wings and Cinderella shoes (complete with boa feathers). H-G wore a ballerina outfit. The boys, including Isaac, crashed the party. They came with their own idea of what should be worn. Caleb wore a Buzz Lightyear outfit, and Joshua pretended to be the waiter.

Everything was crazy. Isaac, pulled up to the table and pulled the napkins with muffins off onto the floor. I spilt a pitcher full of lemonade, and the whole actual party lasted about seven minutes. All had a fun time, and we ended our time discussing about how to do things differently next time. Don’t tell anyone on the “manly-man women haters club” (reference to Little Rascals) but tea parties rock.

Ok, I’ll admit it, I sometimes can be frugal, tight, -- oh, alright – cheap. So, as I have been preparing for the big camping trip in the spring, I came across several times in several books a bit of good advice. During my marathon readings at various bookstores, I read that when camping with children, you should do it in stages.

So I began stage one, camp inside. We cleared out a space in our basement, and set up the tent. This outing doesn’t help us to determine how well the tent keeps out rain, but we did test it’s limit on capacity. H-G, Joshua, Caleb, and I settled down to what turned out to be a long night of tossing and turning. Concrete floors convinced me of the wise investment in an air mattress. We turned out all the lights, turned on our “indoor lantern,” flashlights, put in Air Bud in the VCR/TV, and went “camping.”

When the movie was over, and we all started to really go to sleep, Joshua jumped up and said, “I’m going to sleep in my bed” and there was no convincing him otherwise. H-G was all over the place, all night, and Caleb snored light a freight train. The next day, I even felt like I was hit, by freight train.

Ok, enough complaining – I had a fun experience with my kids, and now that it’s all over, I did pick up a couple of things that I had not thought about to prepare for the trip. For example, I don’t believe there will be a TV in the campground, so I will need some ideas to fill some time (especially if it rains and we are trapped in the tent.)

Over the ten years Daybreak Community Church has been in existence, we have been able to influence many people. Our stretch touches people all over Frederick, and even the world. We are a unique and very special church family. So, over the years there have been people who have come and gone (for whatever reason). And from time to time, these friends (who are all over country) bless the church that means so much to them. One of Daybreak’s friends has sent me (as a wonderful gift) a stack of the “Building Blocks” children’s journals. I wrote about these a little over a week ago. They read my blog, looked them up on the web, and ordered them for the children. What a big heart!

So first, thank you friend, you know who you are, and this was a generous gift to our children and church. Second, I would like to make these journals available to our members at the welcome table on Sunday. There was also another friend of Daybreak who gave toward our Capture the Vision building campaign, and he even lives several states away (so thank you friend as well). Sometimes we become myopic in our field of view regarding the fruit that we see. The slow progress on some issues seems slow, but God uses friends from afar to remind us that we are making a huge impact and our scope is broader than we know. We are making a difference. So, thank you Daybreak Friends for your encouragement and reminder of how we have helped people over the years.

Today was Daybreak’s annual business meeting. A gentleman from our Finance Team presented the numbers, there was one question, and then we voted. The whole official meeting took around seven minutes. I then gave an update on our building. All together the meeting took around 15 minutes. One of the biggest blessings that God continues to show his grace in our church is the unity that we share. Many are shocked to hear that as a church we can handle our official business so quickly. We try to give as much information ahead of time as we can, answer any questions ahead of time, and encourage people to pray for our budget, so that by the time we officially meet there is nothing left to discuss – just to vote.

So, if all things go according to schedule we should be moving dirt around and beginning construction by early summer (of this year). God has blessed and provided in abundance and we are moving forward.

Call it “Cabin Fever,” if you want, but I can’t seem to shake the desire to go camping. I’m not talking about the camping where you go to a cement slab in the woods (or should I say down a road), complete with running water and a bath house. That’s just being uncomfortable outside. I want to hike into some “real woods” where no one is around and decide where I want to put the tent. It’s the idea of being like the show, “man v. wild” There might just be a need for me to urinate on my t-shirt and wrap it around my head (let’s hope not). But you get my point, I want to really go camping and hiking.

It all started when Kimberly and I received some extra money at Christmas time. So, I got to thinking. The boys are old enough (at least by spring) to take on an overnight camping trip. This is something that I have wanted to do for sometime, it just never seems to work out. So I started shopping on the web. I found some great deals and now have about half of the “stuff” I think we need to start our expeditions. The only mistake I have made so far, is that I ordered three porcelain covered metal cups (the green or blue ones with the little white dots), but when they arrived they are smaller than an espresso cup. So they have been donated to H-G’s tea set. So the old saying is true, “little price, little cup.” – or at least that’s my new saying. We’ll see if it takes off.

Another reason for wanting to do this is I want the boys to be apart of Cub Scouts when they get to first grade, and eventually to Boy Scouts if they are interested. It may be we have this “camping trip” in the Spring, and that’s it – I hope not.

So I have read lots of articles on the web, I even spent an hour last week in Barnes & Nobles skimming through camping and hiking books. I even set up the tent I purchased in the basement, and have practiced packing the gear, and unpacking it again.

Now, I wait. Come on Spring.

By the way, if you know of some great spots, or where to get some good equipment let me know.