The day after

Well, we have a new president-elect. I know a lot of people are upset, and probably rightfully so. I voted against him myself. However, today the verse that's been going through my mind is Ephesians 5:20:

"always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Yep, it says "for everything." So I found myself thanking God that President-elect Obama is our next president. As a lot of Christians have been trying to remind themselves today, nobody gets elected and God goes, "Ohhh.. shoot! That was today??! Should have been paying more attention." Our ways are not God's ways, nor are our thoughts His thoughts.

So how could I thank God that Obama won? Well, there are a couple of things I thought of.

1) The purpose of our lives on earth is to glorify God, right? Well it could be that the things that are about to happen in our country will cause people to fall on their knees and glorify God.

2) Maybe God is showing us just Who is in control here. We Christians sometimes think we know more than God. Maybe this is a wake-up call that there is a big picture at work, and that we don't know every part of it.

3) Maybe it's time for Christians in America to face some persecution. Doesn't the Bible tell us in Philippians 1:29, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him"? I would hazard a guess that not many of us have been truly suffering for Christ lately. Many are very afraid of liberties that could be taken away under Obama, but we were never promised an easy life. In fact, quite the opposite. So instead of fearing persecution and suffering, I propose we try to be thankful for it since it identifies us with Christ.

4) And lastly, it might be to show us Who we need to rely on. I think we all say we rely on the Lord, but when the rubber hits the road, do we really? What if all of us start getting taxed like crazy and we have no money left to feed our families? What if the health care system becomes totally socialized and turns into an utter failure? What if we get attacked by terrorists again? If any or all of these things happened, would we still rely on the Lord? We may have a chance to find out. I don't think it would be a bad thing for our faith to be put through the fire. I pray we'd come out refined and more emptied of ourselves than ever.

These are just a few of the thoughts going through my head today, the day after. Yesterday I was all about standing up for the Lord and opposing evil. Today I'm faced with what I thought was the worst possible outcome, yet I'm asked by my Lord to be thankful for it. Praise God that this world is not our home.

My better half

Brian started a new blog; check him out at www.find-the-words.blogspot.com.

Teaching math concepts to a 3-year-old

Today Colby brought home worksheets from school showing how they had been practicing with the concept of zero. Following the suggestion on the bottom of the page, I started quizzing him about things we have zero of at home.

How many sisters do you have?

How many cats do we have?

How many older brothers do you have?

Colby happened to be eating jelly beans at the time, and he quickly caught on and said, "and when I eat all of these jelly beans, there will be zero left!" He gets his brains from me.

I left the room but could hear the conversation between the brothers continue:

Colby: Hey Tyler, you see these jelly beans? See, I have some now, but I'm going to eat them. After I eat them, how many will I have?

Tyler: Coffee!!!

______________________________

And in case you think the kids are the only funny ones around here, witness the exchange that took place earlier this evening:

Tyler: What's a tuba?

Brian: A little more than a one-ba.

The tooth comes out!

It seems like only yesterday his first tooth was coming IN, but.....

After only two days of wiggliness, Colby's first tooth came out! The anticipation leading up to the big event was a little stressful for him, but in the end he was very brave and let Brian get it out for him.

Shortly after the tooth came out, he had to call Grandma & Papa and tell them the news.

Here's my cute boy with his tooth missing, along with one of the apples that did most of the hard work for him.

We found the last phrase in this video to be quite humorous:

Try, try again

"'Trying' is quitting with honor.'
- Ropes course guy on The Biggest Loser

Uh, no

Driving north on the 14 freeway, there's a bulletin board that states,

"Pets are people too. Love them. Don't abandon them."

Uh, no.

I'm assuming it's a reaction to so many people leaving their pets behind when they lose their houses. Fair enough. Yes, love your pets. Yes, find them a home or at least take them to the animal shelter if you can't take them with you. BUT..

Pets are *not* people. People are people. There's a big difference.

Yes on 8

Just to clear up any confusion, if you vote YES on Prop. 8, you're saying that you want the following phrase added to the Constitution:

"Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California."

From the ProtectMarriage.com website:

Vote YES on Proposition 8 to overturn the outrageous Supreme Court decision and restore the definition of marriage that was approved by over 61% of voters. Proposition 8 is NOT an attack on gay couples and does not take away the rights that same-sex couples already have under California’s domestic partner law. California law already grants domestic partners all the rights that a state can grant to a married couple. Gays have a right to their private lives, but not to change the definition of marriage for everyone else.Passing Proposition 8 protects our children and places into the Constitution the simple definition that a marriage is between a man and a woman.


I will be voting YES on Prop. 8 and if you're in CA, I urge you to do the same.

More Kid Quotes

Recently overheard while the kids were doing a puzzle together:

Colby: "You're the best brother. You're the best brother I've ever had in the whole world."

Tyler: "Yes, I AM!!!"

New Favorite

I loved this song the first time I heard it, and it's fast become my new favorite. I want it played at my funeral.