Six under six, I think?

There's a certain family I know. They used to do blog posts every now and then. Not so much anymore. So I decided to write a post for them, or in honor of them, as it were.

They are remarkable for how they seek to live their lives in obedience to God and His Word, no matter the cost. The most visible example of this is their children. Here's a recent photo of proud "Papa D" with his 5 blessings ages 5, 4, 3, almost 2, and 7 months (give or take a month...I forget the last two's birthdays...that's right, no twins).



The "D's" have just announced that #6 is due in 2010!

Now I say they choose to live in obedience to God, no matter the cost. Having as many children as possible is not the obedience I speak of, however. It is deeper:

Luk 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Mat 6:25-33 "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?... But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Psa 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

Psa 127: 3-5 Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Rom. 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We are too easily conformed to this world. We are reluctant to sacrifice ourselves beyond our comfort zone. We trust in our ability to provide for ourselves instead of trusting the providence of God. And, we forget that "Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion's children know." (John Newton.)

The "D's" don't do this perfectly. Neither do I. None of us can at all without the gift of God's grace.

Just wanted to give a shout out to their faithful example of humble submission to God and rejoice in the creation of another fallen representation of His image!

The Real "O Holy Night"

Dan Phillips has a great post about the original French lyrics to the carol we know as "O Holy Night."

If you're like me, you'll never be able to enjoy the English-language version again.

Minuit, chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle,
Où l'Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle

Midnight, Christians, it's the solemn hour,
When God-man descended to us
To erase the stain of original sin

Et de Son Père arrêter le courroux.
Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance
En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.

And to end the wrath of His Father.
The entire world thrills with hope
On this night that gives it a Savior.

Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur !

People kneel down, wait for your deliverance.
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, here is the Redeemer!

Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave :
La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert..
Il voit un frère où n'était qu'un esclave,

The Redeemer has overcome every obstacle:
The Earth is free, and Heaven is open.
He sees a brother where there was only a slave,

L'amour unit ceux qu'enchaînait le fer.
Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance,
C'est pour nous tous qu'Il naît,
Qu'Il souffre et meurt.

Love unites those that iron had chained.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude,
It's for all of us that He is born,
That He suffers and dies.

Peuple debout ! Chante ta délivrance,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur !

People stand up! Sing of your deliverance,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer,
Christmas, Christmas, sing of the Redeemer!

Here's a wonderful French tenor singing it. I highly recommend reading both the French and the English translation while he sings. It's powerful.

Two down, one to go

Here's a little clip of Phillip playing piano with the kids orchestra and choir. He's in the green shirt. That's as close as I could get since I had to sit in the back with the munchkins, who enjoyed the concert way more than the rest of us :-)

How Many Kings

I am NOT trying to convince anyone to become a fan of contemporary Christian music (Nora), but this is a sweet song and does this guy have some pipes or what?


HT: Biblical Christianity

Reformation Heritage Books

Just had to do a "shout out" to RHB. If you are looking for some good reading, give them a browse. I just placed an order and it already shipped.

So, here in CA I went to the web site,
entered my visa #,
someone in Grand Rapids MI packed up my stuff
and put it in the mail
within 10 min.
Wow.

Now I do a lot of business with Amazon and they are great, but I feel good about supporting this solid, like-minded ministry when I have the chance -- and they're quick, efficient and discounted! Must be that protestant-Dutch work ethic.

Sign up for the newsletter or visit the blog heritagebooktalk.org

Sick over the state of state education

the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Schwarzenegger and state Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, that would have allowed children in the lowest-performing schools to transfer to any school in the state or let their parents force overhauls that could include firing teachers or changing the school into a charter school.

The open enrollment proposal, in particular, drew ire from teachers unions, who questioned who would pay for students to go to other districts or schools. Civil rights organizations and some parents groups, by contrast, said empowering parents would make a huge difference to struggling minority students who tend to be stuck in failing schools.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/10/MNTC1B15LP.DTL#ixzz0ZIv2bfXq

In other words: Sacramento politicians decided they know better how your children should be educated. We wouldn't want to leave these important decisions up to ordinary parents.

What Phillip's been up to

I just don't get to snap too many cute pictures of Phillip playing in the leaves or loosing teeth these days. For one thing, he's just not cute anymore. He's officially taller than me, smells bad, and does this when I get the camera out anyway:

But he is quite handsome. Ask the girls at school.

Several weeks ago Phillip volunteered to play piano for his music teacher's Christmas concert.

2009 Christmas Concert Promo from Muntean School on Vimeo.

One of the pieces he's accompanying is quite challenging and, after some procrastination and stalling, he finally has applied himself to the task of getting it "performance ready."

All things equal, we would not participate in such a holiday extravaganza. Cute kids dressed up in green and red performing nostalgic, religious songs and skits is not our ideal of God glorifying worship. However, this will be a great experience for Phillip. He's had to prepare, he'll have to deal with nerves and pressure, and he's grown as a musician.

That said, if anyone would like to come out and endure...(er, uh, I mean...support!) Phillip's concert with me on Tuesday you're more than welcome! He also has a music concert at Cornerstone this Friday night -- let me know if you want info on that too.

(I'll try to take pictures or video of it and post it here afterwards)

I think this is right

ht: Challies

Tiger is the greatest competitor I have ever, ever seen in my life. I hope he will continue to stun me with his golfing ability. I am not going to stop watching. But in the meantime, may the lesson we learn from this as a society get legs: God is God, and we are not. Getting caught is not the worst sin. And there is a peace that comes from obedience. All three of these lessons seem to me to be as old as the very garden where the very first tiger was created, thousands of years ago.

Cheaters, and Tigers, and Idiots -- Oh My!
by David L Bahnsen

Yes, he's his son. Gonna start following...

Leaf-raking time

and Sarah finally lost her top front tooth which has been inhibiting her ability to eat apples for MONTHS! Yeah!