Jason Mraz

I Won't Give Up 

http://vimeo.com/39450337

PJ and I went to see the Zack Brown Band at the Hollywood Bowl and it was pretty awesome.  We even had a surprise visit from our old San Diego buddy, Jason Mraz. This song is nice.

It's been a long time...

I haven't blogged in so long. Maybe I will start again. 

Here is an excerpt from Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp:

"You must regard parenting as one of your most important tasks while you have children at home. This is your calling. You must raise your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord...There is nothing more important. You have only a brief season of life to invest yourself in this task. You have only one opportunity to do it. You cannot go back and do it over...

Parenting is your primary calling. Parenting will mean that you can't do all the things that you could otherwise do. It will affect your golf handicap. It may mean your home does not look like a picture from Better Homes and Gardens. It will impact your career and ascent on the the corporate ladder. It will alter the kind of friendships you will be available to pursue. It will influence the kind of ministry you are able to pursue. It will modify the amount of time you have for bowling, hunting, television, or how many books you read. It will mean that you can't develop every interest that comes along. The costs are high. 

How can you measure the cost against the benefits?"

I like this.

Like Father, Like Son

PJ and I went snowshoeing last weekend with some great friends, Matt and Caroline and their two kids, Rylan and Meira. We paved trail on a private 80 acre property of some friends of theirs in Eagle River. It was sunny, blue skies and about 30 degrees out....perfect and uncommon, alaskan winter weather.

About halfway through the trip, we found a great place to sled.

Here is a picture of Matt, Rylan and PJ and all the stuff coming down the hill...PJ thought it was funny to do an impression of Gunnar and his huge, often silent laugh.

Gunnar loves life. He is full of it. He loves people and watching the world around him. He loves to smile, laugh, cackle and charm.

He is such a wonderful gift.

Gunnar loves jumping on his horsey!

You're Beautiful

My uncle Paul, and friend, Gracie, sang this song at our wedding during communion. It was definitely one of my favorite parts of the ceremony. This youtube is a little cheesy, but also good:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSCeYfA3seE

I am embarrassed that I still do not have wedding photos up and running, or else I would creatively insert one of Paul and Gracie singing this song and maybe one of PJ and I too! As it is, here is one of us on our honeymoon which is another beautiful memory.

More Tozer

"With the veil removed by the rending of Jesus' flesh, with nothing on God's side to prevent us from entering, why do we tarry without? Why do we consent to abide all our days just outside the Holy of Holies and never enter at all to look upon God? We hear the Bridegroom say, "Let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely" (Song of Sol. 2:14). We sense that the call is for us, but still we fail to draw near, and the years pass and we grow old and tired in the outer courts of the tabernacle. What hinders us? " pg.43

Tozer, The Pursuit of God

As we continue our community group, I am finding that there are highs and lows. The highs are when I feel the Lord's Truth get to me or to others and it is exciting. The lows are when I feel like these Truths get lost in our own talk.

This quote is from a chapter called "removing the veil." Tozer talks about being in the Presence of God. How it is not an intellectual thing but a spiritual thing. How it is not something to simply dream about but something to be experienced. He talks about the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the tabernacle, being torn when Jesus died.

"Ransomed men need no longer pause in fear to enter the Holy of Holies. God wills that we should push on into His presence and live our whole life there. This is to be known to us in conscious experience." pg. 36

This is amazing. I know I don't understand it fully. But even to read it in this book the way Tozer describes it, helps me get a little more why Jesus died and the effect it has for me. I believe that we are meant to experience this closeness here and now. We have total access to the God of the universe, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords....Jesus, the Messiah, our Creator, our Abba, Father.

Tozer talks about the "self-life" hindering us from this oneness. He describes the self life as "self-righteousness, self-pity, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, self-admiration, self-love and a host of others like them. They dwell too deep within us and are too much a part of our natures to come to our attention till the light of God is focused upon them. The grosser manifestations of these sins-egotism, exhibitionism, self-promotion-are strangely tolerated in Christian leaders, even in circles of impeccable orthodoxy..." pg. 45

I don't think I would have had much a clue what Tozer was talking about here, except for a study PJ and I did in San Diego, called "Gospel and Heart. It was all about discovering the idols of our hearts and lives that keep us from worshipping God. These idols can be good qualities about ourselves that we want to protect or that we believe define us in some important way...things that we feel threatened by if taken away...they can be things like our jobs, our relationships...etc. I believe this is what Tozer is referring too when he talks about the self-life.

How tragic to live life within the confines of our own idols-especially when Jesus has died for us and the veil is torn.

Little G Video

PJ and I were having some fun video-ing Gunnar. I've never posted a video, so just wanting to try it out. Enjoy!