Genesis 3:19. “By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Luke 9: 23:  “Then he said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

Ash Wednesday

How bold Christians must be to wear ashes on their foreheads, and I love, appreciate, and admire those that will today!  By no means does an outward form of appearance show what is in the heart of a person, but it is one of the few times in the year that people in droves of numbers actually show that they are followers of Jesus Christ as they go out and about with an ash cross on their foreheads.

I will be at work with Sean then go home to make dinner for Carter and Ammon, so I will not have ashes on my forehead this year.  Maybe, just maybe we will be able to get them next year. I hope and pray so.

Ammon and Carter with their cars

Carter and Ammon’s grandmother, Nana (fondly called Nana Claus during the month of December) gave Ammon and Carter battery powered cars for Christmas. Carter and Ammon have become quite good at driving.

Enjoy the brief video, and enjoy your Thursday as well.

I have never been one to post my music preferences on here. I did mention last year that Carter and Ammon really enjoyed Lady Ga Ga, but that is about it. Our friend and Kindermusik teacher, Anne Hendrix, had written a Facebook post regarding a Saint-Saens’ piece, and it inspired me to find this piece with Yo Yo Ma on Youtube.

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

I heard the legendary flautist, James Galway, perform “The Swan” (Le Cygne) from Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux)  live in Nashville, Tennessee quite a few years ago, and I fell in love with the movement.

Maybe whatever you have on your mind this morning, you can turn off the televisions or CD players or whatever may be causing noise, and listen for these almost 4 minutes and kind of relax, clear your mind, and picture a serene lake in the spring or summer with a graceful swan gliding on it. Have a great Monday you all.

Jumping for Jesus

Carter, Ammon, Sean, and I just placed membership at Christ United Methodist Church in East Brainerd. Christ Methodist has been Carter and Ammon’s preschool since September, and it has been such a blessing for all of us especially for Ammon and Carter.

The video is with Mark Flynn, the pastor. I hope you enjoy this wonderful, short video. His Sunday sermons are equally wonderful.

The preschool experience at Christ Methodist this year has been AWESOME. The director, Kathy Lookabill,  is an educator, a mother, a grandmother, and “works well with others”. It is not beneath her to direct traffic, carry children, pick up garbage, run errands for her staff, or any other such thing. She attends worship on a weekly, regular basis, and she is involved in BOTH the Sunday school program and the preschool program .

Kathy  invited us to church last October, and we decided to go to see what it was like for Carter and Ammon. They love it, and we love it for them. The Sunday school teachers have helped with potty training, they have Bible lessons, and they sing church hymns. The parents and the children are so friendly, and we all seem to be connecting well together. There was also a special Christmas Eve service just for families with young children.  EVERY child (member or visitor) who walked through that door was given the opportunity to be in the live nativity play. It was WONDERFUL. Ammon was an angel, and Carter was a shepherd.

Please wish us luck and prayers on our Christian walk especially the Christian walk of our beloved children, Carter and Ammon.