Nothing like new books from the library.

One month ago we took a 3 day family trip to NYC and I have captured our time on a short video set to music. I like to create videos chronologically so they at least tell a realistic story of our adventure. It was an unforgettably magical time. By the way, sorry that there is very little footage of me (not that you were wanting that). I was always videoing. And when you view it, imagine our son humming. He loves to hum that tune. Especially the high notes.

Direct Link

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/7406312[/vimeo]

I recently attended the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the highlights was the meeting that took place between an African, Jimmy, and his Compassion International sponsor of 19 years. I’ve included the video below. If you’ve never considered sponsoring a child through Compassion International, or World Vision, I’d like to ask you to think about it.

Several years ago my family began sponsoring a little girl through World Vision that is the same age as our daughter. This year we’ve started sponsoring a little boy the same age as our son. For us, it’s a great way to be involved in the life of a child in need, for our children to get a sense that the world is a very small place, and to live out our call to be Jesus in all spheres and domains of life.

More information: Compassion International // World Vision

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/7072300[/vimeo]

New York
To that tall skyline I come
Flying in from London to your door
New York
Looking down on Central Park…..

For the last week our house has been humming this tune by Simon and Garfunkel in great anticipation of our weekend trip to The Big Apple. Brad and I have been three times, but this Friday will mark the first time our children will get to experience this city and I am overjoyed. Some may say I am crazy for taking young children to this place, but I can hardly wait to show our kids what has become our favorite city in the world. Sure, Brad and I will have to have an extra dose of patience and I know there will be moments of whining about tired feet and the threat of rain, but I have learned through their short lives that world travel does indeed shape who they are, their worldview, and oftentimes their personal preferences. This hit home to me as I was admiring the beautiful hills and large unattached homes on the spacious Texas land a few weeks ago to the daughter, and she exclaimed that she preferred when all of the homes were stuck together in a row straight down a street. Much like her time in Europe. I was simply shocked.

The kids love tall buildings, crowded streets, and underground transportation and as they are getting older (7 & 4) I thought we would throw a little map reading into the fun. In fact, we have been studying maps in our “school time” (we are home schooling the kids while we are in the US). They will each have their own little kid friendly laminated home-made map with all of their favorite places to visit. And if you ever take your kids to visit, may I recommend Kathy Jakobsen’s My New York kid book? It is amazing and can get anyone giddy with her illustrations.

Soon we will post photos and of course I’ll be working on a video. The daughter is most looking forward to visiting Chinatown. Cringe. The jury is out…will she end up liking it? What is Brad’s least favorite area of NYC? You guessed it, Chinatown. Should be quite humorous.

New York
Like a scene from all those movies
But you’re real enough to me
But there’s a heart
A heart that lives in New York

One of the things that rests on me as the spiritual leader of my home, and father to my children, is the discipleship of my children. It is not the responsibility of the church, family friends, grandparents, peers, or anyone else to train up my child. It’s on me. And it’s something I take pretty seriously.

As a family we make sure that we eat breakfast together. Of course, with a seven year old and a four year old this is pretty easy. As we finish breakfast we read a passage or chapter from a book of the Bible. Then, starting with Julie and ending with me, each of us pray about the day.

And as a family we finish the day when the kids go to bed with me praying for the family and then me reading another passage or chapter from a book in the Bible.

Over the last few days we’ve been reading the Gospel of John, both in the morning and at bedtime. One of the things we’ve asked the kids to listen for is the things that Jesus says about himself. There’s no better way to understand Jesus than by understanding how he viewed himself. So far the kids have seen that Jesus refers to himself as:

• water
• bread
• light
• the good shepherd

By simply showing the kids these four things and talking through them our kids have a better understanding of the character of Jesus. Not complicated, not time consuming, but well worth it.