Posts
Thursday, March 13, 2008
62 Months
Yesterday we celebrated our 62 month anniversary... that is 5 years and 2 months of togetherness. *S* In a way it is hard to imagine that this much time has passed so quickly, but on the other hand it seems like we have known each other forever. God has been so gracious to bless our relationship throughout the years. We are truly each others bestest friend and we wouldn't want it any other way!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
The Influence of Babies on Single Men
By Doug Phillips at visionforum.com
Some of the manliest and most visionary single men I know spend time in the company of babies. And they love it. They love to hold them, play with them, and rejoice in the hope which is new life.
They do this because they have rejected the culture of radical individualism that teaches men to view their lives in isolation of families and Christian community. They do this because they are around other men — now husbands and fathers — who speak of covenant, generational faithfulness, and the duty of men to raise up a godly seed.
They acknowledge that their own mission as men will likely someday be directly tied to their role as fathers. As single men, they prepare for fatherhood and they begin to pray for the babies that the Lord may choose to send to them. They recognize that children are a rich blessing to be greatly desired by any man who is, well — a man!
To this new breed of men, babies are a reminder that we are all heirs to the past and ancestors to the future. They remind them of their priorities in Christ. The presence of babies in the life of single men is an encouragement to pursue a Psalm 127 vision that someday their own families will be mighty in the land. Babies are a reminder that our spiritual fathers, like Abraham, were men who longed for the hope of children. They remind them that the greatest example of manhood in all of history rebuked other men who would not “suffer the children” to come.
The result is that single men who are around babies and family culture become highly motivated to “get their act together.” They experience positive, holy peer-pressure to set aside childish things and to be about the business of men. This means that they must prepare their fields without (Prov. 24:27) so they can start families of their own and have babies. Malachi 2:14 reminds us that “real men” acknowledge that the pursuit of a godly seed is not merely an afterthought. It is one of the key reasons delineated by the Creator for marriage. For all of these reasons, the presence of babies in the life of single men not only tenderizes their hearts to the preciousness of children, but it motivates them to be men of God.
In contrast, individualistic cultures prioritize lifestyles that have the tendency of inoculating young men against healthy, manly feelings toward babies and children. Our modern culture is radically individualistic. Not all of the expressions of individualism are inherently wrong, but the net effect has been devastating for our view of babies and manhood. For example, the modern trend of never-ending formal education tends to give men a “dormitory” vision of life, and to push marriages back later and later. The Bible encourages husbands to rejoice in the wife of their youth, which is why Christian culture self-consciously prepares men for marriage and family leadership sooner, rather than later in life.
Individualistic cultures breed materialism, the great foe of manly maturity. Materialism is poison to the single man. Success is defined by the acquisition of things, rather than obedience and the pursuit of spiritual objectives. Marriage and babies are largely viewed as an encumbrance to personal freedom. In addition, materialism trains men to demand immediate gratification. This leads to sexual impropriety, indebtedness, and even impatience and anger. In contrast, cultures that force men to deal with babies and children tend to encourage the manly disciplines of self-sacrifice, patience, and kindness.
Individualistic cultures are family-fragmenting by nature. The consequence is that the hearts of our single men become invested in destructive peer culture, rather than a balanced, multi-generational Christian community.
The simple truth is this: The longer men are away from babies, the more selfish they tend to become.
Single men need to be engaged in manly pursuits. They need the company of sturdy men and the influence of older, wiser men around them. But they also need to be around babies.
Frankly, men are designed to battle, but they need to know for what it is they are fighting. They fight for the King and for His Kingdom. This fight includes the defense of women and the little ones our wives have brought into the world (Neh. 4:14). But how will our men know the preciousness of the treasure they seek to guard if their love for babies is never cultivated?
We need men who learn early in their lives to treasure children. Men who love children tend to be the most visionary, stable, and self-sacrificing. We need a new generation of visionary young men. Visionary young men aspire to live lives of significance that transcend the here and now. This is why we need to place babies in the hands of our young men, and then talk to them about the true dreams and aspirations of the righteous man (Psalm 112, 127, 128).
Posted by Doug Phillips on January 30, 2007 Permalink
Some of the manliest and most visionary single men I know spend time in the company of babies. And they love it. They love to hold them, play with them, and rejoice in the hope which is new life.
They do this because they have rejected the culture of radical individualism that teaches men to view their lives in isolation of families and Christian community. They do this because they are around other men — now husbands and fathers — who speak of covenant, generational faithfulness, and the duty of men to raise up a godly seed.
They acknowledge that their own mission as men will likely someday be directly tied to their role as fathers. As single men, they prepare for fatherhood and they begin to pray for the babies that the Lord may choose to send to them. They recognize that children are a rich blessing to be greatly desired by any man who is, well — a man!
To this new breed of men, babies are a reminder that we are all heirs to the past and ancestors to the future. They remind them of their priorities in Christ. The presence of babies in the life of single men is an encouragement to pursue a Psalm 127 vision that someday their own families will be mighty in the land. Babies are a reminder that our spiritual fathers, like Abraham, were men who longed for the hope of children. They remind them that the greatest example of manhood in all of history rebuked other men who would not “suffer the children” to come.
The result is that single men who are around babies and family culture become highly motivated to “get their act together.” They experience positive, holy peer-pressure to set aside childish things and to be about the business of men. This means that they must prepare their fields without (Prov. 24:27) so they can start families of their own and have babies. Malachi 2:14 reminds us that “real men” acknowledge that the pursuit of a godly seed is not merely an afterthought. It is one of the key reasons delineated by the Creator for marriage. For all of these reasons, the presence of babies in the life of single men not only tenderizes their hearts to the preciousness of children, but it motivates them to be men of God.
In contrast, individualistic cultures prioritize lifestyles that have the tendency of inoculating young men against healthy, manly feelings toward babies and children. Our modern culture is radically individualistic. Not all of the expressions of individualism are inherently wrong, but the net effect has been devastating for our view of babies and manhood. For example, the modern trend of never-ending formal education tends to give men a “dormitory” vision of life, and to push marriages back later and later. The Bible encourages husbands to rejoice in the wife of their youth, which is why Christian culture self-consciously prepares men for marriage and family leadership sooner, rather than later in life.
Individualistic cultures breed materialism, the great foe of manly maturity. Materialism is poison to the single man. Success is defined by the acquisition of things, rather than obedience and the pursuit of spiritual objectives. Marriage and babies are largely viewed as an encumbrance to personal freedom. In addition, materialism trains men to demand immediate gratification. This leads to sexual impropriety, indebtedness, and even impatience and anger. In contrast, cultures that force men to deal with babies and children tend to encourage the manly disciplines of self-sacrifice, patience, and kindness.
Individualistic cultures are family-fragmenting by nature. The consequence is that the hearts of our single men become invested in destructive peer culture, rather than a balanced, multi-generational Christian community.
The simple truth is this: The longer men are away from babies, the more selfish they tend to become.
Single men need to be engaged in manly pursuits. They need the company of sturdy men and the influence of older, wiser men around them. But they also need to be around babies.
Frankly, men are designed to battle, but they need to know for what it is they are fighting. They fight for the King and for His Kingdom. This fight includes the defense of women and the little ones our wives have brought into the world (Neh. 4:14). But how will our men know the preciousness of the treasure they seek to guard if their love for babies is never cultivated?
We need men who learn early in their lives to treasure children. Men who love children tend to be the most visionary, stable, and self-sacrificing. We need a new generation of visionary young men. Visionary young men aspire to live lives of significance that transcend the here and now. This is why we need to place babies in the hands of our young men, and then talk to them about the true dreams and aspirations of the righteous man (Psalm 112, 127, 128).
Posted by Doug Phillips on January 30, 2007 Permalink
Simple Hospitality
We are planning to have guests over in the very near future to fellowship with and practice hospitality toward them. Dear Lord, please continue to teach us in this area of our lives.
Here is a wonderful article about the basics to hospitality.
Here is a wonderful article about the basics to hospitality.
Monday, March 10, 2008
A Full Weekend
We had an incredible weekend!! Saturday morning we went to have Marianne cut Tony's hair. Mom called to let us know that Sears was having a really good sale... so we went there and bought Tony two button down dress shirts and myself three shirts that will be good for layering. I praise God for good sales! :)
From there we went to our Bible study at Wilber's BBQ. This was our third meeting and we had 11 people in attendance: Harlan & Blair, Hilton, Roger, Paul, Kevin, Emmanuel & Chrystal, Miriam, Tony & myself. The fellowship was so sweet!! Paul brought forth the message; I'm still looking back on my notes and am amazed out how much Truth is in that one verse: John 1:14. Jesus is the God man! This truth should effect our Worship, Witness, Weakness, Humility... We also recieved the great news that God has led Paul to "a sweetie" named Lisa. This news was just so exciting to our ears!!
We then went to my parents house to visit. Dad & Mom had both been sick with the flu, so we hadn't seen them in a couple weeks. We enjoyed a piece of yummy chocolate cake and talked about lots of different things. We were waiting for Brittany to get home from work too. Beecher (her boyfriend as of Wednesday) was supposed to be picking her up for a date that night. Brittany had went through the trouble of switching her schedule with someone in order to have the night off... and he ended up ditching her. She was heartbroken. So I decided that we could have a sister night instead. I know it's not the same, but I tried to comfort her. We dropped Tony off at Books A Million (where James Taylor joined him to discuss theology), and we went "shopping". We didn't actually buy anything, but it was still fun. We ended the night back at Books A Million. I ordered a Strawberry Smoothie; Brittany wanted a frappe, but they were out of the frappe base. So instead she got the Joe's frozen drink. It was really gross! We think that the machine wasn't mixing it right because it just tasted like air. So the guy was nice enough to let her exchange it for a Strawberry Smoothing like mine. Much better! :) Back at my parents house, Matthew and Anthony were cooking shrimp and chicken on the grill (I know, it's a weird combination, but it was really good!). Then Joey came home, so we were able to talk a while with him. It was a great time of fellowship with my siblings. I pray that we will continue to each be strengthened in the faith and become the best of friends! We didn't get to bed that night until 2am... considering the time change.
Sunday morning we went to church with Paul at Antioch. Then we laughed a LOT at Andy's! It was so much fun. Later we went to Tony's parents house to celebrate Wes' 20th birthday. They talked of how Tony used to always sleep on the couch with his mom sleeping on the other end and how he used to run around with a little flag singing "Born in the USA". I teasingly said that he still does that. Haha. Nathan & Mary came down to look at a travel trailor, so we joined them for dinner at El Koritas. It was a good time of fellowship and we look forward to seeing them again next weekend for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Yay!
From there we went to our Bible study at Wilber's BBQ. This was our third meeting and we had 11 people in attendance: Harlan & Blair, Hilton, Roger, Paul, Kevin, Emmanuel & Chrystal, Miriam, Tony & myself. The fellowship was so sweet!! Paul brought forth the message; I'm still looking back on my notes and am amazed out how much Truth is in that one verse: John 1:14. Jesus is the God man! This truth should effect our Worship, Witness, Weakness, Humility... We also recieved the great news that God has led Paul to "a sweetie" named Lisa. This news was just so exciting to our ears!!
We then went to my parents house to visit. Dad & Mom had both been sick with the flu, so we hadn't seen them in a couple weeks. We enjoyed a piece of yummy chocolate cake and talked about lots of different things. We were waiting for Brittany to get home from work too. Beecher (her boyfriend as of Wednesday) was supposed to be picking her up for a date that night. Brittany had went through the trouble of switching her schedule with someone in order to have the night off... and he ended up ditching her. She was heartbroken. So I decided that we could have a sister night instead. I know it's not the same, but I tried to comfort her. We dropped Tony off at Books A Million (where James Taylor joined him to discuss theology), and we went "shopping". We didn't actually buy anything, but it was still fun. We ended the night back at Books A Million. I ordered a Strawberry Smoothie; Brittany wanted a frappe, but they were out of the frappe base. So instead she got the Joe's frozen drink. It was really gross! We think that the machine wasn't mixing it right because it just tasted like air. So the guy was nice enough to let her exchange it for a Strawberry Smoothing like mine. Much better! :) Back at my parents house, Matthew and Anthony were cooking shrimp and chicken on the grill (I know, it's a weird combination, but it was really good!). Then Joey came home, so we were able to talk a while with him. It was a great time of fellowship with my siblings. I pray that we will continue to each be strengthened in the faith and become the best of friends! We didn't get to bed that night until 2am... considering the time change.
Sunday morning we went to church with Paul at Antioch. Then we laughed a LOT at Andy's! It was so much fun. Later we went to Tony's parents house to celebrate Wes' 20th birthday. They talked of how Tony used to always sleep on the couch with his mom sleeping on the other end and how he used to run around with a little flag singing "Born in the USA". I teasingly said that he still does that. Haha. Nathan & Mary came down to look at a travel trailor, so we joined them for dinner at El Koritas. It was a good time of fellowship and we look forward to seeing them again next weekend for the St. Patrick's Day parade. Yay!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Lots of Sun
I awoke around 11am and saw that the sun was shining bright in the backyard. So I setup one of the lawn chairs, poured a glass of water, and went outside. I soaked up the rays and the wind while reading Leviticus 21-22 and some of "When Sinners Say I Do". It felt great! We are learning that getting fresh air and plenty of sunshine is vital to our health. I praise God for all the things He is teaching us!! I walked around the back yard and examined the buds on our tulip and bradford pear tree. Then I carried some juicer pulp to the compost pile. Tony woke up around 1pm. We ate a bowl of cereal and took our "new" multi-vitamins. Yay! While Tony finished updating Bob's computer, I cleaned the kitchen. Then we went to the Cliffs of the Neuse to enjoy the beautiful weather that God gave to us! We have so much fun together and decided that we should go back real soon and have a picnic. :) Around 3:30 we sat on the front porch and enjoyed a bowl of organic tomato soup with peanut butter; and we decided to have James over for dinner tonight (we're waiting for him to get here right now). I've straightened up the house and baked a yellow cake. Tony has spent most of the evening updating the Versatile Printer website. I thank God for my husband - who works so hard for the glory of God! 
