Merry Christmas Letter! 2007

Merry Christmas Family and Friends!

December, 2007

The holiday commercial craze can sometimes take the joy out of Christmas, but through the eyes of our three year-old, we’re reminded how wonderful this season can be. On our hearth sits a miniature nativity scene with signs of Christmas discovery. The three wise men have chips on their feet from their "travels" across the rocky stone. Added to that is the recent discovery that one of the magi is missing a gift. All is evidence that Christmas should never seem old or mundane.

This was a fun and busy year. In January, we moved into our new house. Though there are still many projects left to be done, we feel wonderfully blessed with the added space, beauty and conveniences. February brought the birth of our happy little man Silas – 3 weeks after moving in!. He arrived in fine style, with a quicker and in some ways easier birth than Maggie’s. In April we took a trip to the ocean for our anniversary – with kids in tow. Over the summer, we enjoyed the SPU Writer’s conference, family camping, and attending a 100-year birthday party for Molly’s Great Aunt! In July we celebrated the birth of a new niece, sweet little Jillian. In August and September, we visited Todd’s Grandmother in Utah, shortly after the death of his Grandfather who will be missed. While we were there, we took her to see Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon – which were stunning! Molly’s Grandma Dorothy also passed away in her sleep this year, just a few days before Christmas. We know that she had a joyful reunion in heaven with Molly’s Grandfather and Dad.

It seems that every year, we pick up new interests and tasks. Todd has become involved in the local Firefighter’s Union, and has also taken on some Chaplain duties. He’s been active in teaching Sunday school and preaching. Molly’s role as Mommy has been even more fun and busy with two kids who wear her out and make her laugh at the same time. They are so fun! She has also felt especially blessed as of late with good friendships and late night discussions. She’s started doing some mystery shopping and loves it. In her spare time, she’s enjoyed digging deep into some theology and discussing ideas with friends online. Both Todd and Molly have especially been challenged and loved by our Home Builders group that we meet with twice a month. We look forward to great times with our friends.

Maggie is a bright, extremely expressive, happy little girl who always keeps us in stitches. This Christmas she keeps asking us if we’re going to give Jesus gold, frankincense and myrrh for His birthday. She talks up a storm, loves taking care of her brother, sings loudly, loves dancing, swings, candy and camping! She enjoys her Sunday School class and all her friends there and likes to play with her cousin Mishayla and her friend Esther. Recently we took her to her first two plays – Narnia and Sound of Music!

Silas is a happy little 10-month-old who also keeps us chuckling. He is definitely a little man, wanting to show off for us. If he notices anything he does that makes us laugh, we find him doing it much more often, from bouncing in his chair, to wagging his head back and forth and grinning – all for a little response from the audience. Our little lumberjack smiles freely to his fans and is already sporting four front teeth.

Throughout the year, we’ve enjoyed several books. Our favorite has been one written by our good friend Mike Trillo, entitled What Does God Really Want? http://www.whatdoesgodreallywant.com/ Mike does a great job of sharing the truth of God’s eagerness for friendship with us. Some other favorites have been The Supremacy of Christ in a Post-Modern World (Piper et al.), Emotionally Health Spirituality (Scazzero), Living from the Heart Jesus Gave You (Friesen et al.), as well as (of course) several marriage books.

A key passage for us this year has been Ephesians 3:16-19 "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

This hit us that the love of God is not just about knowledge in our head or a belief that He loves us, but an absolute filling up of our inner beings with His love that surpasses knowledge. This includes our emotions, as well as our mind and spirit. It is one thing to believe He loves us, but we now are learning how to feel His love as well. Both are important. This kind of love provides the foundations for all of life and gives us the ability to love others. This fresh awareness and wonder of His kindness has borne the fruit of beautiful praise times together. We are awed by his new ways of showing us His love.

In the coming year, we look forward to: spending time with Grandparents, (both Todd’s dad, Richard , and his mom, Marie retired this year – Congrats!) landscape projects (Todd’s favorite), "Mommy and Me" Ballet lessons with Mishayla and Esther, an anniversary trip without children :-) and of course – more writing!

We also look forward to hearing from you! You are in our prayers and thoughts. God bless you as your Celebrate Jesus this season!

Love
Todd, Molly, Maggie & Silas

Merry Christmas Pictures 2007

Here are a few "Merry" Christmas pictures. For more family pictures,

and quite a few more friends pictures, check us out at facebook.com and ask to be our friend!

SNOW!!!

Here's a few photos of Maggie enjoying the weather.

Fall Fun

Jesus and Morality

By Todd

Morality is one of those “hot topics” that we see waved like a banner above many a church body. We cry out for purity among the body and lament over the rise of teenage pregnancy and STD’s. We do this because we are immersed in a culture that is saturated with immoral behavior. Consequently, the “church” has responded to correct the flaw by lifting the standard of proper behavior. We have advocated for the rights of the unborn, declared the detrimental effects of pornography, and called on our government for a higher moral standard, yet to what end? Is our desire to see greater morality alone?

When we place moral behavior on the pedestal, we may see some positive effects for a time, but it will not be lasting. We can compel others to moral behavior with the threat of discipline and enjoy the temporary fruit of peace, but it will be a false peace. Our children will temporarily display the behavior we aim for, but there will be no firm grasp, no inner desire for morality. We may be satisfied with moral conformation without ever looking at a person’s heart.

Today, there will be many moral people entering into Hell. They have sought to make morality their god. They have even endured ridicule and persecution for their odd behavior. They have felt justified in their actions, saying, “I do the right thing, because it’s the right thing to do”. CS Lewis says “Duty is a crutch used in place of love”. Unfortunately, we have made our duty to morality our god and proselytize outward conformation, not inner change. Without a change of the heart, our morality is nothing but wood, hay and stubble which will vaporize in the end.

Jesus said He “must be lifted up…” (John 3:14) Have we lifted the Son of Man? To whom do we bow – good behavior or Jesus Christ? I find that in my life, I govern much of my behavior by what I think is expected of me, especially when in the company of other “moral” people. A friend of mine would say it is out of fear, and I would agree. For fear of being ostracized, I do the “right” thing, and Christ goes on un exalted in my life. I may be temporarily satisfied for choosing the right path, but for whose honor? To whom have I bowed the knee?

Enter the Christ, Who makes all the difference. When Christ is lifted up, all priorities, decisions, and judgments rest upon Him. He is exalted and everything else takes a back seat. He must increase; we must decrease as John the Baptist said. Our decisions revolve not around ourselves or others, or what we think others expect, but around Him alone.

The choice to give Christ the reigns should not be out of coercion or reluctance. No, it is out of a realization that we are in need of Him as much as we need water or food, and that life itself does not exist without Him. He is The Resurrection and The Life. We give control out of desperation to live life as He meant it to be lived. If we suddenly found ourselves at the controls of a 747 while at 20,000 feet in the air, we would eagerly hand it over to a qualified pilot out of a desire to experience life (and not death) in the near future.

Out of sheer delight in Him and desire to experience Him to a greater depth, a follower will exalt Christ. When He is exalted, moral lifestyle comes as a response of worship. Life is seen as a gift, an opportunity to display affection for Him alone. Moral behavior then becomes the byproduct of love and the effect of devotion. Morality is no longer the goal in life, but the result of chasing after the goal of knowing and loving Him.

When our lives are dictated by the presence and character of Jesus, all we do is in effort to imitate Him. His character, His love, His motivation come through us. We receive strength not by our own efforts or resolutions, but by the power He gives us. Our motive is borne out of praise for Him. As He is holy, so we desire to live out a holy life. He brings an enabling strength to be moral that we do not have on our own.

When Christ is central, morality becomes joyful expression, not dry duty. A very present strength enables the believer to stand strong and take joy in the expression; not finding frustration at every turn. When others ask, Christ is easily given as the source of that strength. In this, Christ is exalted