Christmas At Ninth & O Baptist

The past couple weeks have been an exciting time of attending Christmas events at our church, Ninth & O Baptist. Two weeks ago, the Sunday evening service was "Family Night and Christmas Cookies." All the children went to the worship service with their parents; there were no children's activities or nursery. The service was brief, with a few people sharing their faith stories of how God has worked in their lives, and the children's choirs singing. Afterwards, everyone mingled in the worship center, where tables of Christmas cookies were set out. My boys loved it...the cookies especially, but also playing with all the kids and hearing the music.

Then, last Friday night, our Sunday School class had a Christmas party at church with the senior adult class. We had a wonderful dinner. Calvin and Teddy each had two helpings of sweet potato casserole. It was nice to meet some more of the seniors at church. We've met so few at this point. The seniors doted on all the children in our group. Anyway, it was just a great night, tons of fun. Calvin made a new friend named Gracie; they chased one another around and fought "monsters" hiding around the Christmas tree.

On Sunday evening, the church's choir and orchestra performed a concert entitled, "Love's Pure Light." It was fabulous! If they had done the same concert three nights in a row, I would have been there every night. The songs and narrations helped me set my heart on Jesus during this Christmas season. They sang about Jesus being Emmanuel, God with us. Ever since the concert, I have been meditating on Emmanuel, God becoming flesh and making his dwelling among us.

This coming Sunday, we will attend yet another party at church, this time for all the families of preschoolers. That should be a riot. I will be leading the group in Christmas carols

Teddy Dean is definitely related to his daddy

Well, Teddy Dean has proven that he is related to his daddy. He is a major carnivore. He loves sausage, fried chicken, hamburger, turkey, pepperoni, etc. If it is meat he will devour it.

WOW!

Today is one of those days I have been dreaming about since I knew that I would be living in Louisville. It is December 11th and the temperature is 66 degrees! Kim and the boys went for a play date in the park with some friends and did not even think about putting on a jacket.

Thoughts On Moving

Well, we are moved into our new home, a house in Louisville that we are renting from some acquaintances. Our move has had its stressful moments, but we are safe and sound and somewhat settled in.

Even though we are unorganized, have a Green Bay Packers blanket covering one window (Ken doesn't mind), empty boxes strewn about the back entry, and all the wall hangings piled up in our bedroom, we are enjoying the house and feel very blessed by what God has provided.

The first big blessing is that we have three bedrooms. Teddy is sleeping in his own room for the first time, which means Ken and I have our own room again! No more sneaking in and out of our bedroom (which didn't really keep Ted from waking anyway). Everyone is sleeping much better with this arrangement.

The house has mostly wood floors, which is fun for the boys. Calvin calls it our "wood home"; he has been busy racing all his cars. The boys are loving the extra space to play and chase each other.

We are enjoying how quiet the house is compared to our apartment. This is also making for better sleeping for everyone. Ahhhh....

And, one more wonderful thing...no cigarette smoke from neighbors.

Here are some of my opinions about moving in general:

• When the kitchen is unpacked, it feels like home.


• In-town moves are tons easier than out-of-state moves.


• When there are more urgent family and household needs than can possibly be tackled immediately, take Carolyn Mahaney's advice to focus on food and clothing. I will add to that beds and garbage removal. Very important.


• The children adjust easier than I do. I guess I'm 28 and unflexible.


• Being without a telephone for a few days is challenging. But payphones do still exist and work quite well.

Please email us to get our new address.

A little break...

We will be offline for a few days. We are moving into a house tomorrow. Blessings!

Thankful Today

It really is the Christmas season now, but I am still caught up in the Thanksgiving season. I've been thinking about all the good gifts God has given us. Here are just a few things I am thankful for today:

1. My boys are playing contentedly by themselves right now.
2. Infant Tylenol (Teddy is teething).
3. The house we are moving into on Saturday! God has provided beyond what we could ask or imagine.
4. The kind strangers who assisted me when I had car trouble three nights ago. And the teachable moment with Calvin afterward. We drove away singing, "God is so good," and "He cares for me."
5. The three families who invited us to their homes for Thanksgiving; we could only accept two invitations. We were blessed by the hospitality extended to us.
6. The warm, sunny weather today. The boys and I went this afternoon to one of our favorite playgrounds and played in the sunshine.
7. The fun Christmas event I went to last night called a Christmas Exchange. It sparked my creativity for gift-giving and evangelistic hospitality.

God gives us good things because He is good.

Ken's top ten books

Kimberly and I love to read. We are reading constantly. There are some books that we would love to read again and again. Here is a list (in no particular order) of books that I will read again and again.

The Firm by John Grisham
The Lord of the Rings series (including The Hobbit) by J. R. R. Tolkien
Christianity & Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
The Cross of Christ by John Stott
According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy
Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever
Tell the Truth by Will Metzger
The Peacemaker by Ken Sande
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware
Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament by Christopher J. H. Wright