A Little Theater?

Cedar recently performed in the Cottage Theater melodrama.  Cedar and about 12 other kids worked for 2 weeks and then performed the play on 3 different nights.  It was fantastic and Cedar did a great job with her lines.

Building a Moral Tool Belt

As parents of young children, my wife and I have focused our parenting on helping our kids build a "moral tool belt."  Basically, we want to teach them principles from scripture that they can put into practice as they go through life.  Then, in various situations, they can make better decisions by accessing their "tool belt" or by applying a Biblical principle to each situation.  For instance, we help our kids to do the dishes, not because it's a meaningless chore to keep them from fun, but because we are part of team and each player has a role to play; or maybe even something good about stewardship.  So, the goal is to give them tools for decision making in the future.

I say all of this because yesterday at our preaching group, one of the pastors brought up an interesting study.  The study has to do with the conscience of us Westerner hemisphere people versus those in the east.  The study seems to indicate that because of our "Christian" foundation we in the west feel guilty about doing something before we are caught (for the most part).  While shame = guilt in other parts of the world, so if I am shamed, regardless of whether I did something or not, I feel guilt...

Not quite sure the ramifications of this thought... but a thought none the less...

Jude and Heavy Equipment

A lot of times we parents struggle with how to really teach our kids the why of life and correction.  If we really want our children to make the right decision, we have to explain to them why it is the right decision.  If we never give a reason why, then the correction we give is for the "now", not for future action.  Sometimes though we can get caught up and expect our kids to grow up too fast.  We must make sure that the information they are receiving from us is appropriate for their age.  For instance, we must teach our little ones to share because other people  are special and we want to be kind with our words and actions.  If we simply tell our kids to share, they are missing out on a key ingredient in their interaction with us and beautiful learning experiences.

We have to be appropriate with those learning experiences though.  At the age of 2, my son is not ready to drive a car, or a tractor for that matter.  There are many things he must learn and experience before he gets the "here's where the gas pedal is" lesson.  Children this age are in need learning simple truths and developing a trust with mom and dad.  If you show your trust worthiness through simple contacts with your children, they will trust that you will explain the reason why within time.

As children age, the appropriateness of what and how they are taught changes.  For instance by the age of 3 kids can learn how special others are in the eyes of God, for that reason we are kind, loving and share.  At the age of 3 they can even comprehend why we clean up after ourselves and take care of our things.

As children age they begin to develop a deeper understanding of why.  By the age of 12 they can capture and understand why saving money, or being a good steward is important.  They dig deeper into how their decisions affect others, and how their actions and body language speak volumes.  They can capture the reason we respect parents, elders and authorities.

If all of this works well, and we capture the why of my actions, your teenage years will be defined less by explanation and more by discussion.  Want a civilized conversation with your kids?  Teach them the why now... and see what a difference it makes in the long run.

God's Word and God's Creation

I had a great last couple of days. On Monday evening I arrived in La Pine, OR at a great friends home. We had a splendid dinner and then traveled to a look out at the top of Round Mountain. We met the couple stationed at the Look Out, they have been volunteering/working for the Forest Service for more than 16 years. What an incredible sight it was, a 360 degree view of amazement. We arrived just before sunset, as the sun was dropping behind the mountain horizon.  Joe and Shannon graciously allowed us upon their perch and gave us a tour of their home for the summer. 

The expanse of the sky was brilliant and God's amzaing picture perfect artistry was breath taking.  I walked around the scenic view over and over again, taking in the vastness of the world that was at my finger tips.

The next morning we rose to smell of bacon and then spent some time in the 51st Psalm.  As beautiful as God's creation is, God's Word has depth, beauty and expanse.  The Psalms come to life as we read them together, and apply them to the lives of our churches and more importantly, to our very own lives.  We then proceeded to the top of a mountain that overlooked the twin lakes, Paulina and East Lake.  The road to the top was narrow and windy but when we reached the top the view went on forever. 

The lakes were clear enough to see to the bottom of and the jagged rocks challenged a few of us to climb.  (I'm not one of them).  There stood a tree, growing from the rocks beaten by the elements and yet the expression of this tree was of strength and beauty.  In life, we too face adversity, tough winds but if we allow God to shape our stories, he brings beauty from the rocks and strength through the wind.  His Word is powerful enough to change the hardest of hearts.

Abi demonstrates "WORK"

Cedar demonstrates "WORK"

AJ's demonstration

Making Butter...

We recently bought a share of a jersey cow in order to receive some awesome raw milk.  We have been blessed by the milk and have had a lot of fun making stuff with that milk.  Below are a couple pictures of the butter we made.  The process was rather simple, as we skimmed the cream off the top and shook it in a container by hand until we had butter.

Later on I also made yogurt using the milk.  It is a lot of fun creating such great stuff using the milk.  If you have any interest in the milk or the process of making either of these, let me know.

Baby Elliott is Here

On January 3rd, Elliott David entered this world much to the delight of friends and family. Here are a few fun pictures of the day.

Christmas fun

Jude loads up his dump truck

Brilliant!

Jude Turns 2

I am Officially Podcasted

Some of you hear me way too much, others may not hear me enough...  If you would ever like to subscribe to my podcast, click here.

Or you can also hear the audio at www.6thandgibbs.com

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Sunriver 2011

Karley Turns 11

I know what you are thinking, that was in February and you are right.  Well, sure but a month later isn't too bad isn't it?  We all had a blast with at her party.  The best part was that in her basketball game, she scored her first basket of the season! just before we partied for her birthday.

 Here is the party crew!  Most of it at least!

 Here we are playing an exciting game of "CHUBBY BUNNY" the goal:  Say chubby bunny with as many marshmallows as you can cram in your mouth.

 Karley trying to win the game!

 The Birthday girl next to her favorite friend Natalee.

Happy 11th Birthday!

A Valentine Gift from Grandma and Grandpa Earlywine

Nut Cracker 2011

Every year our girls are a part of the Nut Cracker performances here in Cottage Grove, through South Lane Ballet Company. You can see in this video, Cedar, Abi and Karley doing their parts. Abi is one of the mice, and Karley is a Candy Cane Princess. Cedar was a helper with multiple groups, so she is both in the mice and the Candy Canes and something else too. PS bonus points for the person who can guess the background music, and no, it's not from the Nutcracker.

Jude Devours a Carrot

See how quickly carrots are here and gone in the Earlywine family!

AJ's Recitation "The Defense of the Alamo"

AJ gives the recitation here that he gave at school.