Happy Halloween!

White water rafting

Yesterday we went whitewater rafting down the Nantahala River with the ESBS. It was a beautiful fall day and some people even jumped in for a swim!

How Sweet the Sound

Last week, Mark Masucci, a guest teacher from Canada traveled to the ESBS to teach Romans. I had the opportunity to sit in on a couple classes while Tom entertained Anna. I walked away with a renewed understanding of grace that has really encouraged me this week. I am truly amazed by what God has done for me.

In Romans 4:17, Paul calls Him "the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." He then goes on to describe Abraham as this faultless guy who always believed what God told him, was always hopeful, and was always confident in God's promise to him. The truth is, Abraham often doubted God and he often took matters into his own hands. He even sold his wife to a king (twice) when she was to be the one bearing the son that God had promised. (You can read about all of that in Genesis 15-22.) Yet God, who "calls things that are not as though they were", saw Abraham as completely and perfectly righteous. Why? Because even though he didn't always live it out perfectly, "Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Paul goes on to explain: "The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness- for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." Because of what Jesus did for us through His life, death, and resurrection, we are considered 100 % righteous before God. That means that God actually looks at us and says- "You have never failed. You have always done what you ought to have done in every thought, word, deed, and attitude." He did this because His love for us is so great and He wants to have relationship with us. When we consistently remind ourselves of what Jesus did for us and how the Lord views us, then we can respond with thankfulness and live lives that glorify Him. Our lives will be free from obsession over ourselves. We won't beat ourselves up over the things we should do or shouldn't do. Instead, we will be captivated by Jesus and the new life He has given us because of what HE did.

God captured me with this truth years ago. But this week, He made it fresh again. And I just think, wow, how mysterious He is that He knows about my sin and shortcomings, but He says they are not there. If it's possible for Him to do that, I have increased faith that all things that are within His will are possible. He can bring justice to people who are being oppressed today in other countries and in our own nation. He can bring healing to people we know who are hurting. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound!

Anna's New Groove

Anna is two weeks old!...and a great dancer.

Little Anna

Anna is doing really well...better than tired mommy and daddy. She had her first doctors checkup yesterday and everything is fine. She has a 13 inch head (small like grandpa Phillips...ha ha).

Anna Grace

Sorry about the delay everyone! Anna is doing fine, sleeping 2-4 hours at a time and eating well. The only thing is that she poops black tar (not sure whats up with that...maybe we could sell it to the gas companies?) Julia's doing well too! We'll post some more pics soon....!

Anna Grace Update

21 inches long...dark brown hair like mom...huge hands (not sure where that came from)...happy and healthy so far

Anna Grace

Anna Grace Phillips, 8 pound 8 ounces, born 2:25 pm, sept 24th, 2008!!!!

pushing

Julia's completely dilated and were beginning to push! yee haw

hangin in there

Julia seems to be able to control her contractions better now. She's managing the pain well and not giving into it at all. I think were gonna make it ok. She may be nearing transition.

6 CM

Julia's at 6 cm...and the midwife thinks that she could be only a few hours from transitioning into pushing. this is the most painful period, and Julia's doing great, but hurting a lot. pray for her that she'll be able to manage the pain. she feels very tired.

getting intense

Julia's doing great...so far no pain meds at all...no abnormal interventions...things seem to be progressing ok. she's experiencing pretty painful contractions now, more so than before. The baby will for sure be born today (9/24)...the question is when...If things continue to progress it could be mid afternoon.

progress

5 cm as of 8:05. The water bag continues to break. It took us all night to get from 2-5 cm...the midwife says things should progress faster now. we're gonna get in the tub in a minute.

sunrise

so its 7:30 am...let me tell you..."labor" is the right word for it. We really dont have a good measure of the progress other than the fact that the contractions seem to be getting more intense (judging from the loudness of the moaning etc..etc..) I think we'll know something about where we are at 8:30. apparently she might be checked then

Almost here...

Its 4:15 am...we're in the hospital. Julia's having regular contractions that are pretty strong. It looks hopeful that the baby will be born in the next 24 hours.

What to do when baby is overdue

What do you do when it's been a week and the baby is having too much fun in the safety of the womb, denying the reality of the world that waits for her? You have fun too! My mom came up this weekend and we've been having fun exploring in the mountains. Tom, Mom, and I went hiking on Sunday afternoon. Yesterday Mom and I went to the apple orchard and picked ourselves a bushel. We became great friends with the lifelong owners of the orchard. The husband asked Mom how long she'd be here and when Mom said, "Until they kick me out," he responded, "Well, good luck with the new mother. You'll be fine with the baby." The wife gave me a hug when we left and said that our baby would be needing apples and for us to all come back when she's born. Apparently apple slices come in handy when the baby is teething. You learn something new everyday!

Kidsenses Friends

Ciao KidSenses

Tomorrow will be my last day at KidSenses for a while. I will miss all my crazy friends there!

Stork Update

She has not arrived yet! Yesterday the doctor said she is about 7 pounds and she has dropped, which means she'll probably make her appearance some time in the next week. Sometimes I feel a little like a ticking bomb :)

Waiting Game.....

Today is Julia's due date! and we're all waiting for the newest arrival to the ESBS community....its hard to think about much else right now

Advent of Arrival

See with open eyes, even blink
Reach ten tiny fingers towards us, even grasp

Sunlight will warm your naked skin
while our songs surround you
when will you first smile?
soon

I have waited for snow to melt
and colors to bloom
and green to climb mountains
and leaves to fall

Never before have I waited
for a life to fill our days

-Julia

In 2007 we picked up a 1978 "Tasar" sloop rigged dinghy. She'd been neglected for a long time. After some TLC she was as good as new (from a distance anyway)....these are pictures from our first sail.

unChristain: What a new Generation thinks about Christianity and Why it Matters.

In the book of Titus, chapter 2:2-10 Paul lays out several lists of lifestyle issues that he wants the church to be demonstrating.  While studying those lists today in preparation for my lecture series I began to notice some interesting connectives.  Three times in those verses Paul connects the lifestyle issues he wants to see in the churches to the idea that the church is to demonstrate these traits in front of a watching world (2:5, 2:10, 2:8).  2:5 is the best example, Paul implies that NOT doing these types of things will discredit God's word.  This is interesting, very true, and in my opinion one of the major reasons why people my age (25-35) are so disinterested in Christianity.  David Kinnaman just wrote a new book entitled "unChristian, What a New Generation Thinks about Christianity and Why it Matters."  Its a brilliant book, and in it he suggests, among other things, that todays generation of twentysomethings have just simply grown tired of a Christianity that produces people who really don't look any different from those who don't profess to follow Christ.  This is a real problem, because the underlying assumption then becomes that Christianity is powerless,fake, and empty.  Unable to produce the degree of change in someone's life that would warrant a closer exploration by those who look on.  Sad.  And its our job as believers to do something about it...to out of loving response (Titus 2:11) live lives that bear witness to the power of the Gospel and the reality of a living God.

Philippians

The students have just begun studying Philippians.  I'm excited to be two weeks into year 3!  This is going to be a great year.  Last night as I read Philippians  I was so floored by the example of humility we see in Jesus.  What a God we serve!  A humble King; it makes me want to follow Him more and more.  Im excited for the students to see Jesus like they've never seen him before.  What a journey they are just beginning.  I feel honored to be able to tag along for the ride.

Titus: little book, big message

I've been so floored by the message of Titus, a book that has gotten so little attention in my life so far, but is now proving to be such a blessing.  The message is simple, clear, and so necessary for me now.  It is the grace of God that produces in me the things that I strive for/know I should be.  I thought I knew that, and to some degree I do know that, yet it is a constant challenge to remind myself of God's grace.  Paul knew that in doing so we would find the strength to press on, letting go of the past and focussing on what lies ahead.  What a truth!  It is in meditating on the grace of God that we find strength for today, and hope for tomorrow.  It is in constantly reminding ourselves of who we are, and Who's we are, that we make sense of the world in which we live.  What a message!  and so applicable!  So read Titus!!  

Hello Everyone!
Baby Phillips is now 37 weeks old! That means that she could come any day now and be healthy. Our midwife said she is around 6 pounds right now. Stay tuned for more updates.
Love,
Julia

We've been learning about our different personalities in ESBS staff training. I'm learning that according to the Myers/Briggs (spelling?) test I'm somewhere in the neighborhood of an ESTP/ENTJ personality.

Reading Titus

I've spent some considerable time in the book of Titus lately; gearing up for teaching it this fall.  I've been really enjoying the message of the book...Martin Luther called parts of it "the gospel in a nutshell."  I appreciate how the grace of God, and our knowledge of it is so directly linked to right behaviors (lifestyle).  The link between the two is so clear in Titus.  What a needed message for us today...how is it that we as Christ followers should move forward addressing the lifestyle issues that come up everyday in our lives, and in the lives of those around us?..interestingly I think one of Paul's answers is "know the truth of the gospel."  Right belief will lead to right behavior.   

If this is true could it then be that a major driving force behind so much of the scandal today in the church on an organizational level, and so much heartache on an individual level, is a result of an incorrect view of God/a misunderstanding of the gospel?...I think this is often the case...what you believe really does determine how you live...

ESBS 2008

The ESBS is gearing up for its third year at Camp Lurecrest.  Classes begin August 25th.  

welcome!

hello friends:

Thanks for visiting our blog!  we're excited to share life with you.  Please visit our blog often for updates on our work with the ESBS at Camp Lurecrest, as well as updates on our growing family!...new addition coming VERY soon!