Who Did This To Me?

I have been reading about Joseph in Genesis and really like the lesson God is trying to teach us through his story. Here is a man that was sold into slavery by his brothers and then later thrown into jail even though he was innocent. He never doubted God and ultimately he was released from prison and put in charge of Egypt. The amazing part to me is when he reveals himself to his brothers. He doesn't point the finger at them and blame them for the troubles he went through for so many years. In Genesis 45:5 Joseph tells his brothers "And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you." And he further says in Genesis 45:8 "So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household and ruler of all Egypt."

It feels like society trys to tell us that there is always someone to blame for what we are going through. Furthermore, that someone is responsible and needs to pay for what happens to us and that there has to be some sort of immediate resolution. It's not easy to put our faith in God's plan and purpose. As Joseph showed, we may not get resolution or answers for quite some time; however, God has a plan and one day we will look back at the trial we were going through and say "...it was not you who sent me here, but God."

Meet the Elephants

The circus has come to town. No, No, No, I am not talking about the daily events of our household or those of us in it. I am talking about the real circus. One of the cool free events they do when they arrive is have a meet the elephants out front of American Airlines Center for everyone to see. They also have clowns entertaining and this year they had the star of this year's Circus, Bella, perform a highwire act between the buildings that align the plaza in front of the AAC. This guy was about 5 stories up with no net under him. The greatest part was right when he was about to make it across, he says: "I would like to thank the One and only, Jesus Christ." Pretty awesome.

Grandpa Dave and Uncle David Come to Visit

We had the chance to spend some time with my father and brother this past weekend. They came up from Houston to visit and we had a great time catching up. I don't think it was 5 minutes they were at the house before Caleb had convinced David to play cars with him. David finally had to cry "Uncle" after quite awhile of crawling around the floors racing Caleb. Abigail loved sitting with Granpa and Ethan had fun joking around and playing with both of them. It was a great visit and we miss them already. Oh yea, check out Caleb's cap in the pictures. He gets out of the car and says to me: "Hey dad, do I look funky?"

Reminder - God is Able, Just Let Go

I'm driving into work this morning and my mind just seems to be filled with lots of different thoughts. Things that need to be done, issues that I am working through, how to make sure and meet the needs of my family, etc. Then this great song by Mercy Me comes on the radio and reminds me that there is One greater than me who can take care of all these things if I just let go. Here is a part of the song that really hit home for me this morning:

I Know - by Mercy Me

No matter what it is you're going through
even if you think you're far beyond where hope can see
I know there is a hand that's reaching out for you
because He did the same for me

It wasn't that long ago when my own world fell apart
and everything here inside of me said to let go
I found myself crying out to the One who knows my heart
and holding tight to the few things that I know

I know, I know that God is able
I know, I know that He still reigns
I know, I know that love has found a way.

Lego Castle - Engineered by Caleb

It started with "hey Caleb, you want to play with the Legos?" and this is what we ended up with - Caleb's Castle. He has such an awesome attention to detail. Everytime he built something on one side of the castle, he had to make sure and build the exact same structure on the other side. The engineer in him really shows. When we got done making it, Caleb says to me "Dad, I don't want anybody to touch my castle" (translation - Ethan and Abigail better not come near it). So, we moved it into his room for protection. I have since been asked to particpate in the construction of something for both Abigail and Ethan. Anybody have some extra legos lying around??

Coolin at the Car Wash

What do you do when it is hot outside, but you want an activity to do with the kids other than going to the pool again? Car Wash!

A Different Point of View

Life through the eyes of a 5 year old. Ethan got his hands on the camera for a few minutes. I think we ended up with about 30+ pictures from his point of view. These are just a few. Also, he has a new reality TV show called the "Ethan Show." He walks around with a toy video camera "filming" us and asking us questions like: "What's one thing you really like about Ethan". When he is done with a shot, he looks into the camera and says "That's a wrap on this segment of the Ethan Show, join us next time for a new episode." I may have to call the Entertainment Channel and suggest a new slogan - "The E stands for Ethan"

Pine Cove

Last week we went to a family camp called Pine Cove in east Texas. We had a great time as a family. The kids spent part of the day with counselors doing all kinds of activities. They rode horses, shot BB guns, rode on a zip line, lots of swimming, got out on the lake in a tube behind a boat and played all kinds of games. Rachel and I had the chance to spend time together and we also had plenty of family time as well. We rode jet skis and went on a trail ride. The counselors from the camp were awesome and took care of everything for us and the kids. They make sure that you don't have to worry about anything including serving you at all meal times. It was a great experience. The best part about it is the feeling you leave with knowing you had an opportunity to grow closer to God through the experience. We got to listen and learn from a wonderful speaker and also grow closer to our children through daily teachings from the Bible. We left with knowledge that will continue to help us grow as a family.