~Quick Update~

Okay, Debbie keeps bugging me about updating my blog, so here it is.....

Emily is still growing like fire... She grows so fast and everyday I think she learns 50 new words. Some words I am not sure if I even know but again she is smart like her mother. I gave her a bath tonight and she had to show me the right way to wash her hair, how to put up her dirty stuff and got mad when I didn't use the right soap. She once again fell down the steps while playing outside. It was not as bad as before as it was only two steps in the front yard. He does look like she was beat and ran over by a truck... She has skin like her mother too and one tap and she is red all over for days. Here is a picture of her new fav thing to do... It's not that she like taking all the kitchen stuff out it is that she wants everything color coded and does not like how the girls put things up after washing them. Like I said she is a smart girl.

Speaking of truck you maye have seen pictures of my new Dodge Ram truck. I love it, it was just want we needed for the farm. I got a good deal on it too so you can't beat that. When I went into the car lot to look for something I was not planning to get a truck we where going to look at a mini van that they had on one of the ads here in town. After looking at the van I was just not sure it was a good fit with how it ran and looked. But before I left I spotted the truck and fell in love with it. I think Debbie likes it too, but she is not one to tell ya.
Now speaking of Debbie she has been sick the past few weeks and been in bed for a lot of it. A lot of sickess has been going around the house with the girls and everyone. I was sick for a good week. Debbie just got to a point where she could move and work again and then her ear gave her a run for the money. we had to go into the ER becouse the pain was too bad for her to handle, and if you know debbie you know she can handle a lot. She is currently on a lot of meds and more bed rest. I have been running things for the past week as she has been in bed. I am tired and so ready for sometime off.
As far as myself I have been fine for the most part. I have been very busy with the kids and trying to keep well from everyone being sick. I did get to sell a few items on ebay this past week and got most all of them sold at this point for great deals for me :) I sold all of our verizon cell phones as we don't need them anymore. If you had not heard we move phones after being long time users of verizon... We needed something cheaper. In other news Debbie wanted a new dog so we are currently dog sitting two dogs for the weekend to see which one we like the best. on sunday we will pick one and give the other one back. I hope we pick the right one, So far they are both so sweet. I will give more info about them or should i said the one we keep later. Okay... Well time for bed for me before I fall asleep at the computer.

In His Grip,

Jonathan

There is one other thing I could talk about but Debbie says I have to wait until next week to talk about all that. :)

~Happy St. Patrick's Day~

"May you never forget what is worth remembering or remember what is best forgotten".
-Irish Blessing

~Best thing I have heard in years~

Caution! The following (from James Emery White) could offend some who have false expectations of the role of a church:


I love the church. I have given my life to the church. I believe, as is often said, that the church truly is the hope of the world.



But that’s not the church’s job.


Sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Here you go:


Make me close to Jesus!
It’s not the church’s job.


Save my marriage!
It’s not the church’s job.


Raise my kids!
It’s not the church’s job.


Give me friends!
It’s not the church’s job.


Feed me!
It’s not the church’s job.


It is not the church’s job to give you the life you want, or hope for, much less the one that you are expected to forge through a relationship with God through Christ under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The church cannot ensure that all goes well with you. Most of life is your responsibility.


Why do I say this?


To defend the church.


Why do people often come to a church? To get fixed, find friends, renew faith, or strengthen family. All well and good, and the church can obviously be of enormous assistance in all four areas. But the church can’t be held responsible for these four areas of life, nor should you expect it to.


Let’s try and drive this one home:


The parents of a middle-school student drop their child off at a middle-school ministry. The child does not change into a model Christian student. The parents immediately search for a new church with a more effective middle-school ministry.
What is wrong with this picture? What is wrong is the complete absence of any sense that spiritual life is the responsibility of that middle-school student, not to mention that spiritual leadership within the family is the responsibility of her parents.


Instead, we have a mentality of “drop-off parenting,” which is just part of the mentality of a “drop-off church.” We drop our wives off at a women’s ministry to get them to be the wives or mother’s we want; we drop our husband’s off at a men’s Bible study to get them to be spiritual leaders; we drop ourselves off at a service or recovery group to fix our problems, or a Bible study to renew our lukewarm faith.


It reminds me of the sixties and Timothy Leary’s famous line regarding not only the benefits of LSD, but the spirit of the age:




“Turn on. Tune in. Drop out.”


That is not the way to approach the church.


There comes a time when personal responsibility kicks in.


The church exists to coalesce and enrich; to coordinate and inspire; to provide order and leadership. It exists to pull together the collective force and will of those who follow Christ in order to fulfill the Great Commission given it by Jesus Himself. Yes, it serves the family trying to raise a child; it seeks to heal those who are broken; it provides the richest of communities for relationships; it offers the necessary resources for a vibrant relationship with Christ.


But it cannot circumvent the choices and responsibilities of the human will.
It cannot do life for you.


That’s your job.