Do Words Matter?

Think words aren't important? Think about how God "spoke" and it was. Think about the gospel of John..."In the beginning was the 'WORD' and the 'WORD' was God..." James says the tongue can be like a spark that sets a whole forest on fire.

Think people don't want to influence future generations by controlling the words in their lexicon?

Now ask yourself why the words "sin", "saint" and "disciple" among others (list below) are not included in the newest Oxford dictionary for children (note these words were in previous versions)...

Here's the list of Christianity related words removed this year:
Carol, cracker, holly, ivy, mistletoe, abbey, altar, bishop, chapel, christen, disciple, monk, nun, pew, saint, sin

Another I found interesting: "Interdependent" was added while "self-sufficient" was removed. Could the independant, stand-on-your-feet American ideal be over and a communal age already begun? Bbefore you scoff go back and look at Obama's main tenets...most of them are right out of the socialist/communal approach (no political commentary intended, merely observation).

The times they are a changin'

Give Me Everything You've Got!

When I saw the Movie "Facing The Giants" a couple years ago I was touched by a powerful scene which produced a "goosebump" moment for me.

The whole scene is a metaphor for me about how God is by our side pushing us on, believing we can achieve what we don't even believe about ourselves. I can see Him by me in the tough moments in life, saying, "You can do it! I believe in you! Now give me everything you've got!"

Like all the best coaches, He won't accept my excuses and preconceptions about my own weaknesses. "You can do it!" He won't let me live by fear. "You can do it!" He won't let me settle to hide behind the wall of my comfort zone. "You can do it!"

He won't buy my lies about it being too hard. "Give me everything you've got!" He promises to support me when I grow weary. "Give me everything you've got!" He is my sustaining strength when I am overcome. "Give me everything you've got!" He leads me to places I didn't think were possible to reach. "Give me everything you've got!"

This is 6 minutes long, but if you're looking for inspiration...

Stop Calling Me Squirt

In the same vein as Jen's humorous conversations with Carson (though maybe not as funny)...

From two nights ago:

Ethan (while playing with toys): Stop calling me squirt!
Me: What?
E: Stop calling me squirt.
Me: What's that from?
E: My tummy.
Me: 'Stop calling me squirt' comes from your tummy?
E: No that's just a noise.
Me: Oh your tummy made a noise?
E: Yeah.
Me: What is 'stop calling me squirt' from?
E: Noses* (*what he calls Moses)
Me: (Realizing he means the Veggietales rendition of the story of Moses)...Ohhhhh

My Shelter

Today the pressure is pretty high on a couple things (work in particular). I just happened to listen to (or was guided?) to two great worship songs this morning that remind me not to let that pressure change my outlook. (I've put both songs below to share)

The first song is one Becky sang a while back..."He has made me glad". It's a perfect reminder that I am not in control, that I don't need to be in control, and that my Lord is my help!

That then reminded me of this:

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.


The second song is a powerful song about the cry from our depths ("From the inside out"). We were made to love and be loved by our creator. May my soul embrace its creator, and author!


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Get 'em! Get 'em!

2 posts, so scroll down
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Oma and I took Ethan to his 2nd ever Beavers game on Thursday. All the better that it turned out to be the 2nd time in 41 years the Beavers beat a #1 ranked team! What a great time we had!

The best part was how Ethan reacted. He was pretty unsure at first, but really had a blast. I think he fed of the buzz of the crowd and was going pretty nutty at the end. So many fun / cute moments to share, but I think my favorite was "get 'em!"

Several times when the Beav's were close to sacking the opposing quarterback or tackling the opposing running back I would yell "get 'em!, get 'em!". Later, during a t.v. timeout when the crowd of 43k people was pretty quiet, Ethan broke out with "get 'em!, get 'em!" thrusting his arms forward. The whole group around us thought this was great stuff.

Getting psyched at home with a new Beav's jersey.
Dada and I are tough in our Beavs gear! Maybe I'll play for them some day!
I just like this shot (1st quarter). All the orange across the way are people, not seats.
Oma and I love the Beavs!
No time for pics! Just football.

Get 'Em! Get 'Em part 2

Celebrating with the crowd at the end (this is like bed time + 3 hrs and still going strong)
Yeah right!
Totally by accident but this photo gives the sense of the rush. Stare at it, you'll see it's moving!
Go Beavs!

Again!

Two posts so scroll down for more...

Scenes from the Sunriver North Pool this past week. Lots of laughing and lots of "Again!".

Sarah, "Oma" and I took the kids to the pool on a nice sunny day without cameras. Ethan had so much fun we knew we had to come back for pictures. So the next day, despite cooler temps we braved the outdoor pool and, well, see for yourself!

I like the next one...kind of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" or "Matrix"

Again!

2nd Post: the slide (the main reason we came back!)

The Great Romance

I just finished reading a trilogy by Ted Dekker called The Circle. I highly recommend it...there are 3 books: Black, Red, and White.

I suppose at times it reads a bit like a teenage thriller/fantasy, but due to its deeply compelling sub-plot (which I would argue is more important than the main story line) I came away moved by God's passionate, irrational and almost irresponsible love for us. There are wonderful metaphors in this story (especially in the final book White) helping remind the reader about our Maker's complete abandonment to love ("The Great Romance") and ultimate sacrifice to claim His "bride". Suffice it to say I had many goosebump moments.

Even if you're not into that, the main story is fun and action packed...A man literally living in separate realities trying to stop the end of the world in one reality, while interacting with Good and Evil (quite literally) and God Himself in another. I'll have to check out Dekker's other books in the series (apparently he went on to write several more).

I have also read a book by him called Obsession with some of the same themes which was a quick, high pulse read. It's got a very different theme (much more based in reality) and I enjoyed it too.

Happy reading!

Remind me Lord

I get so busy and focused at work. It's good to be reminded of God's presence. Today I'm beginning a review of over 300 pages of internal documents for the big project I've been hired on.

It's a kind of "buck stops here" effort since I am the business lead for this content. Since other folks put together the 300+ pages I am now reviewing to ensure the content is correct and up to the right level of quality.

Since I'm bunkered down reading, I put on the ipod and wanted mellow music so I put on my worship mix. I rarely listen to music at work and as the songs are playing I find myself remembering whose hands hold me even when I forget and focus my energies somewhere else.

May I remember more often! Here's a sampling of the last couple songs that reminded me...


SeeqPod - Playable Search

Life's score

(before you see lots of words and click away, note the end of the post. You can skip to after the equal signs below if you don't want to read)

Music is something that speaks to us all. It's wonderful how God created music to touch us, speak for us, speak to us, and move us. We can celebrate with it, cry with it, laugh with it, praise God with it, contemplate and share.

I've always believed music has power which is exactly why Satan, the father of counterfeit, so often imbues it with a negative message, and why I am strict about what I'll listen to. By no means does that mean I only listen to "Christian music" because, as mentioned, God created music and gave us creativity. However I take the Bible seriously when it says to judge something by its fruit. If the fruit of a song or artist is anger, rage, depression, jealousy, or a tearing down of fellow children of God then it's not getting in my ears. Music ministers to our inner spirit, thus I view music as ministry and refuse to let my money go to support a negative ministry. Instead I look for music that lifts me up or inspires me.

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Anyway, I've tried to get away from preaching in this space, so I'll stop there.

The point of this post is that I've found something fun to share with friends and family who frequent this space. It's something called "seeqpod". You can host music on your blog with it. (By the way...I wholly disapprove of stealing intellectual property and as far as I can tell this site is completely legal. If I find a song on it I like, I will purchase it.)

These days a song that I have been enjoying is called "Beautiful World" by Colin Hay. There are some lyrics in it I don't agree with but the spirit or fruit of this song for me is one of thankfulness for the simple things in life. I often turn it on in the car after a hard day of work (most days for me lately) and think about how work is not very important. I think about a hug from my son, a kiss from my wife, a giggle from my daughter. It's a beautiful world and I'm thankful for the many graces of God.

Enjoy! (and here's hoping I did this right)

Family

More from our beach trip a couple weeks ago...

My beautiful family...

A safe, relaxing place...
Abby and Jack...BFF

I'm gonna get you!

I love my little buddy...these are from a recent hike (more pics to come)

A few more pics from our family beach trip (to add to Mike's post). Sarah and I took 300 pics over the week, so I'm sure she'll have more to add!

The Shack

I feel silly passing this along, since it says to "get all your friends to read this" right on the back of the book, and I don't like following things like that. Nonetheless, I can truly say this book impacted my heart and mind in ways I couldn't predict.
I won't spoil the story since part of its power is in the way it will surprise you. I also won't try to say it is theologically perfect, but that is part of its beauty. It is a story meant to remind us about Love (caps...as in God is Love). It reminded me about the God who seeks relationship (not hierarchy) with me. It made me search myself deeper than I usually dare.

Since I only just finished it this afternoon, the responses and emotions are too raw and undigested for me to have words to share here. What's more, the experience (for all of those who read this book) is probably intensely personal, so I don't even know what to share.

I am in awe of the God who loves me and who wants to be one with me. He doesn't seek to judge me, but to redeem me. I am still unwrapping that one. wow

"Post" post

Posting these pics after the fact (happened about 4-5 weeks ago I think?)

The day after I got back from Europe, we went up to play in the snow. Family fun for the Thompsons, even little Abby who was like 8 wks old.

Can I eat it all?
Let's do that again! If only we could all be this cozy A boy's paradise

Never one to miss an opportunity for a memory...Our Sarah
Ethan's first Snow Angel

Baby Blues or Browns?

Since many children get their eye pigment later, and since Abby's eyes are pretty dark Sarah and I think they might turn brown.

However, as you can see (if you're able to blow these up...sometimes I don't do this right), they sure look blue right now, so we're not too sure. Either way they are awfully cute!

Back to normal

Ethan has a cold and woke up crying last night. I went in to calm him down, which took a little while. I came back to bed pretty tired (this was after midnight) and said to Sarah "well, we have two kids". Meaning I knew Abby would be getting up crying soon too. The thing is, I didn't care much.

That was because, when he calmed down he snuggled in and fell asleep on me. Ethan is so sweet. I look forward to bed time each night when we sing together and pray together. Even though I was tired, I loved having a chance to hold him again.

What a wonderful boy!

Charity

(Caution...this is a more intelectual post, straying from my normal style)

I stumbled on this interesting book review article about a book called "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism".

(Personal note: Liberal does not equal Democrat and Conservative does not equal Republican. For example, I am a registered Independent and consider myself conservative.)

The compelling facts shared in the article (no doubt there are many more in the book) highlight what I have long felt was the hypocrisy and fallacious myth that somehow liberals are more charitable than their conservative counterparts.

You know the myth I speak of. The conservative is the cigar smoking, balding, old white male with a little bit of racist undertones in his behaviors. He's the oil tycoon who wants to kill all the whales. In the meantime, the liberal is the gentleman/woman who loves all people and just wants to solve social injustices.

For me it comes down to two ideological underpinnings:

• 1.) I believe my response to Christ's love is to love the world and to share any blessings I am given. 1.a.) Any monetary blessings I have are not mine, but are God's.
• 2.) I believe government by definition is innefficient. That is, the private sector (not-for-profits and for-profits) can serve the poor and needy much MUCH more effectively. Translation: If given the choice, I would willingly give my money and time to charity, rather than funneling it to the government and abdicating my personal responsibilty.

Many liberals on the other hand feel the government should collect money into a vast centralized pool, and distribute it from there. (Note to John Edwards: That might help the cultural "elites" sleep at night but it feeds a lot fewer mouths.)

Check out some of the facts in the article (and perhaps the book) and you may come away feeling (as I do) that many liberals talk-the-talk, but (speaking in a generalization) more conservatives walk-the-walk when it comes to helping the poor and needy through personal sacrifice. It's easy to give someone else's money away, but we should all remember God's personal calling for us.

"Having a baby changes everything"

That's the tag line from some Johnson and Johnson commercials. It's so true.

This blog went from being focused on running with a few spiritual and personal thoughts from time to time and is now focused on all things baby with a few running recaps here and there.

To that end, last night, there was wild celebration in the Thompson house because (drum roll)...

Ethan peed in the potty! I'm sure this is "TMI" but every once in a while I show Ethan how Dada goes potty (I show him sitting down, because imagine the mess a 2 year old would make standing up!!) See I told you, "TMI".

Anyway, I didn't expect Ethan to do anything as he sat on his Elmo potty, so I said, "are you all done? Do you want a diaper?" He said no, so I waited a moment more, and then...I heard "tinkle, tinkle, tinkle". I was so excited!

We had a lot of celebration, and then the humorous realization that I am indeed a parent and what may have seemed ignoble before, was now a reason for major celebration.

Ethan and Dada Shoot Hoops

Sarah and I gave Ethan his first basketball hoop and ball for his 2nd birthday. He's been to a couple games to watch the team I'm helping Jim coach, so he knows what basketball is.

Ethan was very excited and kept saying "ball!" "boys!". That's because we had talked to him about the boys who play basketball when he saw me coaching.

Needless to say, Dada was probably the one with the biggest smile in the room.

What "Abigail" means to me

Sarah and I had such a hard time choosing names this time. We thought about Emma, Ava, Olivia, Nicole, Hannah and many others, but ultimately settled on "Abigail" / Abby in large part because it means "a father's joy".

Even before I met her, that was exactly how I felt about her; joyful. When I found out we were having a girl I had this overwhelming sense of completeness. I'm deeply in love with my wife, I have the most wonderful, sweet, fun son whose personality I love, and I have a beautiful daughter who I know will steal my heart.

I feel like the main character at the end of Facing the Giants when, in prayer, out of thankfullness for all God did for him, he says "God, I'm overwhelmed". My cup runneth over!!

More Abby Grace pics

Sarah's cousin Ana

Jenna and Sarah BOTH in the hospital at the same time. Mike joked about the future Mr/Mrs Isaac Sady and while I love the Sadys I cringed. No boy will be good enough!
Sweet cousins and BFF!
Already snuggling with Oma

Ethan got gifts from Abby each time he came to visit. He loves Thomas the train.
You had me at "waahh". I'm in love!