The Phillips Family

my angel

2010-09-14T05:45:00.001-07:00

"Lady Day got diamond eyes
She sees the truth behind the lies
Angel"

Ephesians

2010-09-02T08:45:00.001-07:00

what a wonderful book…such a crucial addition to the christian worldview, providing major answers to the nagging question of “who am I?”

Ephesians answers this question with a resounding “you are a child of God, who right now, despite your feelings of brokenness and inadequacy, is filled to the fullest with what is really essential for life…JESUS.” Paul spends much time pounding home the point that we, as believers, have everything we need for “success” in life RIGHT NOW through Jesus. Our identity is secure IN CHRIST, not in our own efforts, strengths and accomplishments. Paul’s words to us through this book take our eyes off of our own accomplishments and failures, weaknesses and shortcomings and put them squarely upon a victorious Jesus, who through his death and resurrection has now ascended to THE HIGHEST place spiritually, and has now taken us there too!

In Christ the striving ceases as we all realize that we are as spiritual, as whole, as complete as we WILL EVER BE in THE area that matters..CHRIST JESUS. HE has given us everything we really need. What an awesome truth, for which I am thankful.

The challenge of Jesus

2010-06-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

a few years ago NT WRIGHT wrote a book entitled "the challenge of Jesus" wherein, among other things, he underlines how impossibly difficult it would have been for any first century Jew to accept Jesus' claims to be the Messiah apart from the testimony of His resurrection. I agree completely. Jesus' life, mission, and agenda (aka "his Kingdom") was and is so "not of this world" that its hard to believe a word of it apart from the historical reality of his resurrection. And I'm convinced that his resurrection IS a historical reality. I think Lee Strobel puts it well when he says that he arrived, in his conversion experience, to a place where he realized that given the facts surrounding the resurrection narrative it took more faith to continue in disbelief than to succumb to the evidence. So now having found myself in a similar place, where the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that Jesus WAS and IS exactly who he said he was (living, eternal, God, Messiah) the challenge for me now is to accept the other more peripheral, but equally radical, statements he made...and Matthew's gospel is full of them.

"blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil things about you on my account. Rejoice and be glad..."

"don't worry about what you'll eat, drink or wear...your father in heaven knows that you need these things."

"dont store up treasures on earth...for where your treasure is your heart is there as well."

It occurs to me now that if Im as convinced as I say I am that his claims to be Messiah/God are legitimate, than I'm obliged to live like the rest of what he said is just as certain and trustworthy.

Fasting

2010-05-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Been thinking about the idea of fasting lately. It has come up several times recently as we've been plowing through the Old Testament with the students. Daniel fasted as he prayed for an interpretation for Nebuchadnezzar's dream. Esther fasted and prayed for favor with Xerxes. Isaiah and Joel both speak of fasting. Isaiah mentions it as he tells Israel to "fast" from sin instead of the empty ritual fasts some were engaging in. Joel incorporates fasting into his calls for repentance.

Personally I have never much liked the idea of not eating. "What's the point" I think.."I mean God hears me hungry or not right?" And I've got plenty enough Episcopalian in me to surely deny that there could really be something to the mystery of a fast; something about the power of God breaking into my current reality through ernest and consistent prayer. It's just easy enough to face an uncertain future hoping for the best, and call it good at the end of each day "trusting" that things will all pan out in the end. Whatever that means. My general posture has been to say "Oh, things will work out" and then rubber stamp whatever happens as God's best, and His ideal; His will. For just a moment recently the fog has lifted enough for me to notice that I may have lost the trail, and that if left to my own devices long enough, I'll hike around in circles forever feeling just "productive" enough to keep moving and never realizing that in some areas I'm aimlessly wondering through life without the power of God's presence, and mostly because Im too lazy to ask for it.

Just today I feel as though I've been jarred awake just long enough to notice that Life's doing 70 mph and I've fallen asleep at the wheel. the challenge now is to role the windows of my heart down fast before I slip back into the dangerous slumber that caused me to hit the rumble strips in the first place. I think fasting might be a good way to start. The hungry part of me hates the thought, but then again there's a part of me thats beyond hungry...down right starving...and food can't help me there.

another year over...

2010-05-18T19:20:00.003-07:00

hard to believe we're about to end another year with the ESBS. It's been a great year. Worth it for sure! We're going to miss this years students. We've really enjoyed them. This picture was taken a few weeks ago as we all ate dinner together out on the back deck of the henson haus. We're gearing up for a full summer (4 weeks of summer camp work and then preparation for next years school). We have three students enrolled currently for next year's program.

2010-04-18T08:32:00.001-07:00

2010-04-18T08:30:00.000-07:00

Easter

2010-04-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

interstate serenade

2010-03-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

last week we were on our way to West Virginia when we got stuck in traffic for an hour on the interstate. This bus was stopped next to our car. These students were part of a high school choir, coming home from a concert. They spontaneously began performing for Anna...she loved it.

biltmore house

2010-03-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

God let us name the animals

2010-01-29T04:48:00.000-08:00

This morning I was up early grading a students work on Genesis. So far I haven't gotten any farther than chapter two. I have been so floored by what I'm seeing in God's character through Genesis 1 and 2. The trip wire for my thinking this morning is this "God let Adam name the animals." I started thinking about that, and it began to occur to me that this one fact reveals the character of God in unimaginably awesome ways. It goes beyond this one fact though. The story continues and we see that God created this fine world, this good world, and then put mankind in the middle of it and told them to "subdue" it.

Here's whats jumping out at me today. God creates this AWESOME world, a world that he's thrilled with. A world full of all sorts of crazy plants ad animals, and then he lets man, a young man, a new man, begin assigning lasting names to them all. Here's what hes saying essentially... "heres my awesome world, now have at it, make it your own." I think this is what God means when he says, "subdue and have dominion" over the Earth.

God does not say "heres my perfect world, ITS PERFECT! so try not to wreck anything."..which is probably what I would have said. No, God knew that there would be some wreckage involved, but he still handed us the keys...and not reluctantly either! He handed us the keys to His world with joy, knowing that one day Michael Angelo would turn a cold block of marble into a masterpiece the world would marvel at forever...and the coolest thing is that God saw that coming...he saw it coming and was excited about it...and is still excited about it...the creative potential of mankind is miraculous, because it comes from a miraculous God in whos image we are made...and praise Him that he lets us learn to paint with beauty on the canvas of his wonderful creation, even when it means we're going to make a mess sometimes .

30

2010-01-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

I turned 30 yesterday...what else is there to say about that.

Job: answers aren't enough

2010-01-02T13:41:00.001-08:00

so catchy titles aside, there's some goodness here for anyone who's interested in digging for it. Here's what I mean. the book of Job, in my opinion, is one of the greatest masterpieces of wisdom literature ever produced. From the vivid imagery and poetic beauty right down to the heart of the meaning of the book, its worth every bit of your time and will certainly reward the serious student!

At first glance Job is a book about a guy who questions God during hard times, and who receives all kinds of bad advice from well intentioned friends. It is that, and so much more. As a theodicy, we see Job putting God on trial, questioning his ways, and even accusing Him of injustice. As you think about it though, it is even more a book about God putting man on trial. The prologue tells us that Job's troubles came to him because Satan accused God of receiving devotion simply because of the blessings his followers receive. The trials Job endures were given to him in this sense to put him on trial in front of the court of heaven...and to prove to Satan that man (at least one man) will love God for God alone, and not for His blessings. Wow. Interestingly, Job's friends, and Job to a lesser extent, see the trials as an indication and result of Job's failures and sin in God's eyes. The prologue tells us the opposite. Job's trials came to him, and not to his neighbor, precisely because of his ability to handle them and prove Satan's accusations wrong. God knew that Job would love Him for Him alone, and not just for his blessings. thats some deep water if you ask me.

Another thing to consider when reading is this: Job spends a lot of time looking for a reason for why he has suffered so much. He never really gets one. We, as readers have priviledged information from the narrator. We have the back-story, Job has none of that. All he knows is that his life has fallen apart, and it doesnt seem to be a result of anything he's done. Interestingly, and importantly, God, in his response to Job's questions, never fully explains the backstory to him. God never gives job a full understanding of why his troubles came. In this sense, God doesnt answer the "why" question Job is asking. At least not the way Job wants him to answer it. Instead, God goes deeper, into the heart of the matter, and shows Job that for him at least, the "why did this happen" questions are rooted in pride and a position of feeling as though Job himself knows how to run the universe, and certainly the events of his own life, more proficiently than God. This is the real issue at stake. Its bigger than Job's circumstances. For Job, the challenge is to submit to God and admit that His ways and wisdom far exceed his own. In this sense, having precise and reasonable answers for Job's suffering wont really solve his issue. His peace comes as he submits to God's authority and wisdom, admitting that even if "answers" dont come, God is worthy to be worshiped, and his ways are right and true. This is where Job lands, and this revelation comes to him before his life is repaired....wait a minute...maybe we should say that it was precisely this revelation that WAS the repair that needed to take place, even more so than the physical restoration that would follow....and the coolest thing of it all...the thing that makes me want to just yell yeah God...is that God knew the end from the beginning. He knew that Job would be repaired in this area. He knew Job would submit and love God even when answers dont come..remember, the prologue tells us thats precisely why Job was chosen in the first place.

What can I say...God really does know the end from the beginning. He has no counselor. His ways are far above and beyond our own, and He is worthy of our worship even when, especially when, answers aren't enough.

the humility of Jesus

2009-12-28T04:47:00.000-08:00

just thinking this morning about Christmas, and what it says about the nature and character of God...thinking about what Paul said about Jesus to the pridefully Roman church in Philippi...

"let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness, and being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

What a God we serve. The reality of Christmas is this, that our God, who rules the universe, and who spoke it all into existence, wrapped Himself in human flesh and washed the feet of his disciples, even those who would betray Him. There is no greater example of humility. Our God really is an awesome God...and Christmas speaks to that in the biggest way. The story of Christmas elevates Jesus far beyond simply being a good teacher, or a good example to follow. If we are to believe the claims he made about himself, and the testimony of his early followers, then he can be nothing less than THE HUMBLE KING of the universe, who exemplified humility in a way none of us could ever emulate. The reality of Christmas calls forth in me this morning one main response....worshipful gratitude.

she looks like my mom...

2009-12-17T11:26:00.000-08:00

ESBS Christmas party

2009-12-17T10:56:00.000-08:00

we had a great time celebrating together. lots of good food, christmas carols, gift exchange, and an awesome gingerbread house competition...(which my team won...yeah!

fear the lion

2009-12-10T08:48:00.001-08:00

Anna at the beach over Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T06:41:00.000-08:00

Ross and Jennifer get the credit for taking and editing this awesome photo!

Bike trip in WVA

2009-12-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

In October we took a 4 day bike trip in West Virginia on the Greenbriar river trail. It's a rails to trail conversion that stretches across about a 80 mile swath of beautiful countryside near snowshoe mtn wva. We took four days to ride just over 100 miles on it, camping along the way. Anna rode in her custom bike carrier...snug as a bug, and happy as could be. We all had a great time, and we're looking forward to tackling the New river trail next, before Anna gets too heavy to pull.

thanksgiving in Florida

2009-12-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

We had a great time in Florida for thanksgiving visiting Julia's grandparents in Ponte Vedra beach. The whole family was there. Julia's parents, Ross and Jen, the uncles...it was a great time. Tom had to come home earlier than Julia, and he made the mistake of driving on Sunday after Thanksgiving (oops)...it took him 10 hours to do what otherwise would have been a 7 hour drive...taking backroads all over Georgia to avoid I 95.

Dispite the trip home, our time in Ponte Vedra was wonderful as always.

Anna's First Birthday

2009-11-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

I know we must have masses of Phillips' family followers who have missed their monthly dose of Anna news. To the faithful few, I apologize for our delinquency in updates. Anna is now 14 months old and loving life! Her first birthday party was tons of fun and fortunately, the paparazzi was there so we have lots of pictures to share. Enjoy!

Our New Home

2009-08-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

This morning as I was making some food for Anna, I looked out the window and there was a turkey in the driveway. Yesterday there was a deer in the same spot. Our home borders the state forest land, so I am sure it is a surprising open spot of civilization for many furry creatures. Anyway, when I saw the turkey I tried to take a picture of it. Since I had the camera out, I took some more pictures to show you all our new house that we are absolutely enjoying. The location is perfect for us. We can walk to downtown Lake Lure where there is a beautiful park and access to the water. There are amazing walks around our neighborhood too. Yesterday Anna and I walked to the small farmer’s market and the post office and then we went for a jog in the park. It felt so metropolitan (ha ha). We have posted some pictures, though we haven’t done much decorating yet. I’m sure some of these shots could be candidates for the “before” photos on an HGTV interior design show. But, we love it. I am constantly amazed that we live here. We believe that the Lord provided this home for us. We’ve been looking and waiting for a house for about 3 years now, but the market in this resort town has been way out of our price range. So, when we purchased this house at an auction, with no one bidding against us, it felt like an unexpected gift!

Of course, no blog update would be complete without pictures of Anna. She is at the stage where she constantly wants to walk (with our assistance) and climbing stairs is her favorite pastime. When I’m not helping her walk, I’m honing my skills as an object interceptor. Sometimes I fail at that, which is how I have become a professional at the finger sweep.

Hot Fun in the Summer

2009-07-15T07:00:00.001-07:00

From 7.13 blog update

Camp Lurecrest is in full swing for the summer. As I write this from Tom's office, I can hear him out on the basketball court playing dodgeball with some campers. It sounds a bit painful, but he is enduring the bouncing ball, as well as their yells of, "Come on preacher man!" This is Tom's second week as the camp pastor and it is going really well. He is keeping the campers laughing, as well as communicating God's love for them. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for him!

Anna is also enjoying the joys of summer. She has been swimming in the pool at camp, as well as the lake. Below are some pictures of a cookout we had at the lake with our good friends and Anna's little friend, JP.

We also just purchased our first home last month! We are really enjoying it and feel so blessed to have received it. It's on a mountain and surrounded by trees. In the winter, there is a view of Rumbling Bald Mountain (very rocky and beautiful). Below are just a couple pictures of the house on the day we bought it. We had a bunch of friends over for ice cream and they are sitting on the floor of the empty kitchen there.

Beach Fun!

2009-06-11T11:02:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!

We are hanging out at Ocean Isle for a few days. Anna loves crawling around in the tidal pools and splashing in the waves. It has been a while since we've posted pictures, so I also posted a few pictures of her from back in April. She is growing fast. Right now she is crawling around, pulling up on everything, and she loves to walk when we hold her hands. She says, "hi", and waves to everyone, and her vocabulary also consists of the words, cup, cat, dog, and bye.

Great Grandparents in Virginia

2009-04-09T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here's Anna with her great grandparents in Virginia, Helen and Linnie. As you can see, she isn't too sure about that avacado.

Having Fun in March

2009-03-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

March has been a busy month for Baby Anna. It snowed almost a foot in our area during the first week of the month and we went on a fabulous blue sky hike. Only a couple weeks later, Anna woke up from her car seat to find herself in Florida with numerous members of the Wilsie clan loving on her. (Pictured are her great grandparents, Patsy and E.B., and her 2nd cousin, Andrea.) Anna also celebrated Grandma Phillips' birthday with her and hung out with her rock star Uncle Jon and Carolyn in Asheville (check out Jon's music at http://www.myspace.com/jonathanlindsaymusic ).

Wait a second...do you mean to tell me that I am actually 5 months old?

2009-02-25T13:24:00.001-08:00

From Boone weekend 2/22

Yes! Baby Anna is 5 months old as of Tuesday. She is having so much fun being a baby. We just introduced her to rice cereal and she is devouring it. She also laughs now when we tickle her. She is such a sweet girl and loves to smile and be around other people.

2009-02-18T16:23:00.000-08:00

Lots of friends and family have given Anna hats as a present, so today she decided to model a few for everyone. There are also some pictures of Anna in her backpack during a walk we took with her buddy, JP.

Inductive Bible Study Seminar

2009-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

We just had our first Inductive Bible Study Seminar at Lurecrest. It was a lot of fun. We took participants through the book of Titus teaching them the basics of inductive Bible study as we went. We're planning another IBS day seminar in Charlotte March 21st.

Ocean Isle

2009-02-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the ESBS went to Ocean Isle for a time of rest and reflection. We all had a great time...played tennis...swam in the ocean...went for walks...good times of fellowship. It was Anna's first trip ever to the beach! My Dad said that Ocean Isle was the first beach that I went to also. Anna enjoyed watching large birds fly by as we walked around the sound one morning. She is growing fast and is in the 100th percentile for her height and weight (18 pounds now!) She loves to gaze at her hands. We have also discovered that she has a good sense of humor because she loves to laugh at our silly antics.

The Flood of 2009

2009-01-28T08:31:00.001-08:00

Today is the first day I have used a brush in 1 1/2 weeks. On Saturday (a week and a half ago), we arrived home to find a growing puddle of water outside of our door. When we walked in, our feet sunk into the carpet and water squished into my socks. Daylight was fading and the electricity wasn't working. So, we quickly looked for flashlights to figure out the source of the water flow. It turned out that a pipe to the sprinkler system had frozen and burst in our closet. Tom was at the apartment that night until 2 am working with a restoration crew to try and fix things up. Our friend Carlos was staying with us for the long MLK holiday weekend, so we all packed a few essentials and moved into a house at Camp Lurecrest. We're still there and probably will be for another week or so. They have torn up our carpet, torn out the drywall, repainted, and now we're just waiting for them to put down new carpet and clean up some of the mess. So, it's a bit of an inconvenience, but we are doing fine. Most of our stuff survived without too much water damage. We moved out all of our books and framed artwork after the cleaning crew blew moisture all over them without using dehumidifiers. That was probably the most disappointing damage. And today, I finally decided I would do anything to get my brush and face lotion. I spent about 15 minutes climbing over furniture piled in our bathroom and moving it to get to my toiletries. So now I'll finally be a clean woman again.

Santa's Little Reindeer

2009-01-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Santa's cutest little reindeer has escaped! (Thanks Sarah!)

Growing Girl

2009-01-01T10:30:00.001-08:00

We are enjoying watching Anna grow! She is a very vocal little one and is making all kinds of coos and new sounds. She is in the stage where she is becoming aware of herself as a seperate person. She loves to look at her hands- they fascinate her! She also loves to clasp her hands and put them in her mouth. I absolutely love being a mama. It is amazing how naturally I have evolved into this new role. I don't mean for that to sound conceited- it just surprises me that I could go from struggling if I got less than 8 hours of sleep (before Anna) to being elated if I get more than four. Or that finding chunks of curdled milk in my hair (hidden from previous spit ups) doesn't phase me. It's strange how easy it is to consider Anna's needs first. And it's fun! Her life is such a gift to us. I think one of the neatest things she has taught me so far is to cherish the present. I have never been able to just enjoy people and enjoy the moment as much as I can now. It is the outcome of a constant understanding that each moment with Anna is unique. I am watching her grow. She will not be the same tomorrow, so I have to enjoy her now.

Happy New Year's

2009-01-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year friends and family!

We have had a Christmas filled with wonder. Being with Anna Grace during this season has made us marvel even more at the mystery of God being born as a baby. When you think about shepherds and kings coming to bow before a tiny baby, it is obvious how humble God is. First, He came to us to meet us where we are instead of demanding us to be a certain way before we came to Him. Manifested as one of us and as a helpless infant, He accepts all of us, from shepherds to kings. What a mystery! Sharing life with our own baby has made this truth even more real this Christmas.

We hope you enjoy perusing a few of our Christmas pictures. You will see that Tom gave the sermon on Christmas day at my parents’ church in Virginia and I sang a solo of Ave Maria. We both received standing ovations.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T16:16:00.000-07:00

White water rafting

2008-10-27T09:01:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

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

Little Anna

2008-09-30T14:13:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-27T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T11:59:00.000-07:00

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

Anna Grace

2008-09-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

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

pushing

2008-09-24T08:43:00.000-07:00

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

hangin in there

2008-09-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T07:12:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T06:22:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-24T04:32:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-09-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

Ciao KidSenses

2008-09-18T08:22:00.000-07:00

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

Stork Update

2008-09-17T06:28:00.000-07:00

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.....

2008-09-16T11:35:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-10T17:04:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-05T12:47:00.000-07:00

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.

2008-09-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

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!!

2008-08-27T09:24:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-13T12:54:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T14:26:00.000-07:00

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

welcome!

2008-08-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

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!