From the "Government Spending" Report

Here's an article that once again shows just how stupid "smart people" can be. Forget looking for any kind of real cures, nah. What we need is for the world's scientists to spend their time and our money on bigfoot.

One Shot

I'm still trying to figure out how to say this, so bear with me (it's pretty late, too, so I make no guarantees that this will make perfect sense).

I keep coming back to this thought of only having one shot at raising my kids. We really only get one chance to be a parent to them. This time right now is never replayed--you can't record it, TiVo it, download it, or check out the source code of this time with them, and then change it in their memory or yours. We get one shot at raising our kids and then it's done.

I will father them for a little while and then they will go through a transition where they begin to take real ownership of their decisions, become their own person, forge their identity. That is when our relationship will change ... they will make the decision to continue to be fathered by me or not. A lot of that will depend on how I have done until that point. This transition will bring in a new aspect into the father-to-child relationship: friendship. They move from being "just the kid" to being so much more. It's a friendship based on history and trust and lots more things I don't understand. It's a brand new era. But it starts now, with the raising of them.

We only get one shot at it. So my philosophy is that, at any given point, I want them to feel love. Whether I'm feeding them, correcting them, disciplining them, playing hide and seek with them, dancing, singing, walking, talking or running around the house with them, I want them to feel love.

I only get one shot, so I'll take my chances with love.

Ends in -ee

Kayla is talking away. Most of it is in a language we don't understand, but we don't let on (her two year-old self-esteem is fragile, so I'm told). The words that we do understand usually end in -ee.

Flow-ee (flower)
Waff-ee (waffle)
Waw-ee (water)
Now-ee (Maddie ... um, yeah, I don't know how to justify that one)
Dadd-ee (well, that one's right)

It is very cute, I just fear the day when we actually have to teach her English.





Maddie is our bee-bopper. She'll dance to any beat and just loves to sway and kick her one foot to any and all things resembling music. A born rocker! Just wait 'til she can use real words.

What Can Brown Do For You?

There are some bananas on our counter.

All I can say is that brown is generally not a good color for food ... except chocolate.

Reverb

Maddie has found a big, bright, yellow bucket that we keep some of the girls' toys in. It's big enough to fit my head in it [any remarks along this line will be treated as an act of war]. She is holding it up to her face and singing into it and then laughing ... apparently it sounds funny. Then she peeks out at me to see if I'm hearing the same thing she is ... singing in the shower isn't far off. Ah, the joy of discovery.

Simplified

I'm usually not impressed with kid's books, but we found a kid's Bible that is pretty good at simplifying things. It's The Beginner's Bible by Zondervan/Zonderkidz. Here's an excerpt from Genesis and Revelation.

"In the beginning, the world was empty. Darkness was everywhere. But God had a plan."

Many years later, the disciple John lived on an island [Um, yeah, let the reader understand...]. While he was there, an angel came to him in a vision. In the vision, a bright light surrounded Jesus. He spoke to John, 'Do not be afraid. Write a book about what you see and send it to the churches.' In the vision, John saw God sitting on His throne. A rainbow sparkled all around Him. John saw that everything bad on the earth had come to an end [Um, yeah, let the reader understand ... again.]. Then John saw a new Heaven and a new Earth. God said, 'There will be no more death or sadness or crying or pain. I will live with My people forever.' Then Jesus promised, 'I am coming back soon.'"

And how about the lesson of the Prodigal? "Jesus explained the story. 'God is like this father. He is full of love and joy when people who are lost come back to Him.'"

Simple as that, people.

For a kid's book, that's pretty good. And it does my heart some good too.

I Said Fan, Not Lunatic

Somebody messed up the premiere of 24 for lots of somebodys in the Midlands. The reaction is pretty strong. Loony at points. But I don't think I've fallen that far yet.

"The '24' mishap might remind another generation of viewers of a national TV goof on Sept. 17, 1968, when NBC cut off the last hour of a pro football game to show the made-for-TV movie 'Heidi.' As a result, football fans missed it when the Oakland Raiders scored two touchdowns in nine seconds to beat the New York Jets.”

Final score: Raiders--14, Heidi--1, Fans--riot.

24 Fan

How bad is it that one of the big excitements of my week is the premiere of 24? I can't tell you how stoked I am to be able to see four hours-worth back to back.

I remember seeing season two with Amy. As soon as it was done, we ran to the video store and got the first season. The end of every episode is a cliffhanger, so as soon as we were done with the first two DVD's we looked at each other and said, "You start the pizza, I'm going to go get the rest of the season." We watched the entire season (24 episodes showing each hour in one day, minute by minute) in a day and a half. It's one of the most intense things I've seen ... I'm locked in the whole time. Okay, I gotta go. It starts in just a little while. See you when I come up for air.

(Not Such A) Surprise!

Apple has done it again:

-Made a laptop 4-5 times faster than its cheetah predecessor...
-Fit a full-on camera into the skinny top edge of the laptop's lid/screen...
-Packed more punch into the jalapeno-kickin' hardware of said computadora...
-Made coveting such a simple thing.

Dose It Seem?

Does it ever seem to you that God's got a huddle going on, but you're not in on the plan?

We're Pregnant!!!!!!

Amy and I are pregnant again!!!! [This isn't the actual ultrasound; we won't get one for a little while longer.]

We're about 6 weeks along, so the bundle o' joy will be here around the first week of September.

For anyone keeping track, that's three kids under three years old. If we're going to be busy, we might as well have the kids all at once.

Sesame

You can tell what stage of life you are in when your local Public Television station changes the time Sesame Street comes on. And it frustrates you. A lot.

Why don't those programmers call me before they make a "life change" like that?!

Truly See

We need to see God for who He truly is and to see ourselves for who we truly are. Anything less is to live in a fantasy, or to die without hope.

My Muse

After moving the girls into the same room (there are some pros and cons to this), I decided to paint the newly-dubbed "office" with an incredible red by Sherwin-Williams called Fireweed. We bought it months ago to use on our kitchen, but it was too dark so we just hung on to it. It's a rich, powerful color and I really like it a lot ... it'll either spark my writing creativity or drive me nuts (as red is supposed to have the opposite effect of the soothing colors like a light green).

After I finished that, I set up my Amy shrine--pictures galore all around the room. Throughout history, creative artists have had a muse that embodied the spark of genius: beauty. And she is mine; my muse, my beauty.




Beauty has come to the room. Now the room is done.

There Are No Words

Sometimes in the course of a conversation, I wonder if I'm still talking to the same person. Real comments from a conversation with a friend:

"I want to truly love people. Love isn't mouth and words, it's actions and deeds."

...And two minutes later...

"It's amazing how priorities change when you have a child ... when my baby started crying, I didn't even flush--I just ran out of the bathroom to see if he was alright."

A New Step

Amy and I have been in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer for a few years now, but we have yet to completely buy into the missionary lifestyle with all its inherent craziness. I've always worked pretty hard (most times having at least two jobs, sometimes three) and so has Amy, so we are not used to the missionary role of raising support.

There's a wonderful sense of security that comes from knowing you are getting a paycheck twice a month. But missionaries are sent so their role is fundamentally different. Their focus needs to be on the task at hand in a more intentional way; not being consumed with finances, and not allowing that to be a deciding factor for spiritual obedience is a great freedom. And walking this out is a great responsibility.

We are at the House of Prayer because we believe we are called here; this is what the Lord has for our family right now. Now we are looking for partners: those who believe in us and/or who believe in the role of the International House of Prayer at this time in history. We are inviting those with the same heart to partner with us in answering the call the Lord has placed on our heart--to be missionaries, preparing the earth for Jesus' return.

God always works in partnership with mankind, so we desire to do the same. Over the next few weeks we will be asking you to partner with us as we step more fully into our role as missionaries in Kansas City. We are excited (and nervous) about this time, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

This is bigger than the Farmer family, bigger than our little missions base, bigger than our minds can grasp at this point. This is about Him. He desires a Bride who, in glory and in suffering, has been made like Him in every way. This is about Him receiving the gift of love from every heart that is willing.

New Year

It's January 1st, 2006. Sunday. Check out your clean slate.



I know it's the New Year, but today actually feels new to me. I think a lot of people feel this way when the calendar flips to reveal a new year. New time. New day. New possibilities. New opportunities to say yes. New ways to take new steps. New all around. Twelve great months to fill up with great things. New things.

There is a Bible verse that says, "For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You (Psalm 86:5)." Another. "Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-23)."

Did you get that? His mercy is abundant and new every morning. That's what I'm feeeling right now. The newness of it all; especially the newness of His mercy. It's abundant and new every day.

I pray you feel the abundant mercy of God today. And begin this year by calling on His compassions; they fail not. He is faithful.