The dawn of a new day

We give the boys and girl various chores they are required to perform as part of our family. But we also let the kids work out in the yard on special projects for their own money. We want them to learn the value of work, the responsibility of money and the joy of giving to God.The other day, they asked if they could use their own money to buy themselves happy meals. No cooking and paying for yourself? SURE!Andrew even offered to pay for Sandy and me! We held back from ordering the double quarter pounder with cheese super sized.It's been special to see the kids get excited about giving their money to missionaries or to buy gifts for each other on their birthdays. Now, we get to partake as the boys and girl start spending money on meals for us too!

Cucumbers

How big can cucumbers grow?Apparently, pretty big. The one on the left is a normal picking cucumber. The one on the right is a cucumber on steroids.They snuck up on me and grew like gangbusters in the last few days. Today was our first harvest of the summer. Oi kimchee (a Korean cucumber dish) for all!

Professional

The other day, Matt decided to wear a tie. But instead of wearing one of my old ties, he decided to make his own. So he very meticulously folded a kleenex and taped it onto his shirt. When I asked him why he wanted to wear a tie, Matt answered, "Because I'm a professional" as if it was totally obvious.And of course, little sister wanted a tie just like big brother.

#14 - A Game Plan for Life

I got this book for Father's Day last Sunday and somehow, I finished it by Tue. I had a couple of sleepless nights and the book was a short and easy read. But I think I've turned into a bit of bookworm nerd somehow since moving to Kansas.
The book was a lot of fun to read. It focuses on the idea that everyone should be mentored and at the same time mentor others. It has a lot of great stories and quotes from Wooden. It focuses on 7 mentors in his life and 7 people who consider him a mentor. Here are a few quotes:

• A large part of using time efficiently is creating a clear sense of expectations...players tend to work harder throughout practice when they know what is expected of them, because they know what is expected of them, because they know what they are supposed to be doing and what the reason is behind it. In this manner, organization can be a way to create not just efficiency but also motivation.
• Athletes play better when they feel connected to their team. An organized classroom, practice, or office can be one of the first steps toward developing this bond. A well-ordered atmosphere with clear goals can establish a positive dynamic that is hard to shake.
• His organization didn't make him less personable or more removed; it just made me feel that my time was valued and my effort served a purpose.
• Never mistake activity for achievement!
• Be quick without hurrying
• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail
• The worst things you can do for the ones you love are the things they could and should do for themselves
• Discipline yourself and others won't have to

Wooden seemed to be an amazing man in many ways. Being an organizational guy, I loved his organizational efficiency. He applied these principles to a basketball team. I am trying to apply them to a church. And I loved that he did it for a greater purpose and not as an end in and of itself. Too many organized people seem to strive after it for selfish aims of control. He appeared to be a man of great integrity.

The late John Wooden recently passed away and I sure hope he is in glory with Jesus right now. He talked about having faith in Jesus in the book, but the one thing that didn't sit well with me is how he thought that anyone could believe whatever they wanted. He felt that he needed to respect everyone's beliefs and that he shouldn't try to tell others about his beliefs.

Since Jesus commanded His followers to "preach the Gospel to all nations" and that He alone was "the way, the truth and the life," it seems hard to reconcile what Wooden wrote with what the Bible says. However, I am interested in reading more of Wooden, especially about his famous Pyramid of Success, as this was the first book of his I have ever read.

Happy Father's Day!

First off, Happy Father's Day to my dad and to my father in law! To both our dads, we thank God for you and know that God knew exactly what kind of a dad would be best for us and that was YOU! Praise God for his wisdom!
We had a small celebration here at our house honoring Peter. I let Peter decide on tonight's menu and he chose steak,(the kids and I had chicken) potato salad, and creamed spinach. In addition I roasted beets and put a dressing on them and grilled up squash and peppers with the steaks knowing that he really likes a lot of veggies on his plate and grilled ones are some of his favorite. The kids set the table in our patio room since dad really likes it out there and we had a good time eating. I asked the kids a series of questions that each got to answer about their dad and we got a few fun answers.
Q: What does daddy do at work?
A: (from Matt) "He gives out hugs." Turns out he was confused as to what we were asking.
A: (from Andrew) "He plays the guitar whenever he has free time."
A: (from Ems) "I don't know. He's works on the computer."
Q: When you grow up what thing about dad do you want to emulate?
A: (From Andrew) "I want to be a pastor! The same kind as dad, an equipping pastor." Why? "Because you get to be in charge of VBS and Awana!" You know, all the fun stuff. :)
Q: What is your favorite thing about your dad?
A: (from all) "He's silly and he plays with us!"
Eventually we sat down for dessert and gave him his gifts. The kids have been doing yard work for a half hour each morning that the weather and schedule permits, (and believe me, I WORK them!) and earning money to save up for a father's day present. In the end Peter got a book by, the recently deceased, Coach John Wooden of UCLA. The picture was a gift from Matthew for Peter. He worked for about 2 days drawing that picture (there's more on the back), taking care of every meticulous detail.
Peter is gone right now and doesn't know that I am blogging but I have to say that Peter has got to be one of the most amazing dads around. I knew he would be a good father when I met, dated and married him. I had seen him with children (he was a children's pastor when we met and I also saw how great he was with his niece and nephew as infants) so I had an inkling of how good a father he might be but he has exceeded my own expectations. Exceeded them by A LOT! Like everything else in his life he puts in 110% of his effort into fatherhood. I praise God for what a wonderful father Peter is to our children and thank Him for that regularly. Our children are incredibly blessed to have him as their daddy. Happy Father's Day honey!

Toy Story 3

Andrew wanted to go see Toy Story 3 for his birthday. It just opened this weekend. I was surprised that he was willing to wait 2 weeks after his birthday to go see it. This was his first movie in an actual movie theater...the only movie theater in town...the good old Flint Hills 8.His reaction immediately after the movie, "That was the BEST MOVIE EVER!" But then when he got home and mom asked how it was, he says, "pretty good." I think he's almost ready to be a teenage boy.
UPDATE: The reason we waited so long to take Andrew to the theater is because he gets super scared with any scenes of peril. Toy Story 3 is rated G so I thought he was safe as he's been acting much braver here at home with videos. But just now, he came out of bed, incoherent and scared to death from having nightmares about Toy Story 3. Poor guy!

How sweet it is

My beloved Lakers whom I have been following since I was about 7 years-old, just won the 2010 NBA championship last night over our NBA arch-enemy, the Celtics. Over my lifetime, the Lakers have won 10 championships now - wow!Last night, I had praise practice at church so I ended up coming home at about 9:30pm. I felt confident that the Lakers would win, but I was emotionally prepared for a loss or so I thought. When I came home, Sandy did not immediately tell me the score. That made me nervous. I checked the score online, only to find out we were losing by 6! And had only scored 36 points by half-time (For you non-basketball fans, that's an insanely low number)! Though the deficit was small, panic was setting in.

Since we don't have any tv reception, I listened to the game on the radio. The 3rd quarter started, and the Lakers went down by 13. I was in shock. But as the Lakers started their come back and eventually won the game, I am now more amused that I was probably the only person in the USA who was listening to this game on the radio!

This morning, the first thing Andrew did was ask who won. I wondered what his reaction would be so I had Sandy videotape me telling him the dramatic second half. He was stoked but nothing worth filming. Oh well. We casually talked about the game over breakfast when Emery, very nonchalantly, said, "Dad, didn't you say the Lakers were an idol to you?"

I have been working at simply liking the Lakers (and all sports for that matter) as an amusing hobby that won't take much time or dictate my emotions for many years now. A couple of months ago over a game, I had a moment of despair and confessed my sin to Andrew and warned him about following my poor example. Apparently, Emery was listening! The Holy Spirit speaks from the mouths of babes!

Tonight, I went over to a friend's house who recorded the games on their DVR. He told me that something had happened to the recording and that it only recorded the second half - no problem, the first half didn't sound like it was worth watching. I took the boys over and we sat down and started watching. I was looking forward to seeing what I had only heard about the night before. The game started in the middle of the 3rd quarter, right when the Lakers started making their comeback - perfect! Then as the Lakers were about to take the lead and finish them off with 4 minutes left in the game - kaput! Recording ended! I guess the Lord loves me too much to let me get too excited about these games. No big deal. It's just a game...right?