First to the Jew, then the Gentile

Moving Time

2008-04-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

My blog is finally moving to a new site. If you'd like to continue to read my thoughts on theology, life, and family, visit my at my new blog: Enriched Affections (enrichedaffections.blogspot.com)

Lucky? Or Twice blessed...

2008-03-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Our first week with Selah and Charis together has been a blast. We heard from so many people that we really got lucky with Charis as she was sleeping through the night at 8 weeks and on a regular parent directed schedule of eating every 3 hours. She never cried too much, slept really well, and even early on allowed Moriah and I to sleep for long periods of time. Everyone said, "That's the first one. Just wait 'til your second and things will be different. You got lucky with this one." Well, we are still waiting. Maybe number 3 will be the hard one, but I doubt it. Last night Moriah and I both got 8 hours of sleep. Granted they weren't continuous, but they were long and very restful. We went to bed at around 11:30pm during Selah's last feeding. I stayed up with her after she cried a bit to get her to calm down. She drifted off at around 12:15pm. Moriah had already been sleeping for an hour by then. I brought her back into the room a little after 1pm (once my Bond movie was done), and laid down myself. Selah slept until 3:30pm. Then Moriah fed her and everyone was back asleep within the hour. We figured, hey, she'll be up in a few hours so no need to set an alarm. The next thing we know, we hear Charis talking in the next room. As we glance at the clock, we see 8:45 staring back at us. Selah awoke peacefully and ate at 9 as I hurried to get into work.

I don't know if every night will be like that, but we are thankful for our little one who lets us sleep. So, for those of you who say we got lucky again and it isn't fair, I say don't chalk it up to luck, chalk it up to good parenting and a good God smiling on us. As we guide our children with the principles we've learned from our parenting class and Babywise, we've seen great progress that makes us wonder just how people can do the "On-demand" feeding. If that works for you and you enjoy being at the beckon call of your kids, more power to you. Personally, I'd rather sleep in. More to come later...

Settling in for now

2008-03-25T08:44:00.001-07:00

Selah is doing so well. We've had a few days to adjust to our new addition, and we are very happy with her progress. At her check-up on Sunday, her weight was down a little (to 7lbs., 3 oz.), but by her doctors appointment yesterday she was back up to 7lbs., 7 oz. There is no sign of jaundice, so we are pleased as punch. She's even giving us time to sleep at night. It takes a little while, but around 1am she gets into a good cycle of sleeping about 2.5 hours, feeding for 30 minutes, then sleeping for another 2.5 hours, so Moriah and I have been getting a good amount of rest.

Charis seems to be adjusting well. She is starting to whine more, knowing that when Selah cries, she gets attention. We are adapting to that quickly and nipping it in the bud (literally). Charis has been a great helper, bringing blankets, gently patting the new baby, and being a little quieter when Selah sleeps.

Today is Moriah's first day alone for a good amount of time with both girls while they're both awake, and so far she is doing well. You can continue to pray for us all as we adjust to the changes. God has been very good and faithful so far and we are fully expecting Him to continue in that goodness. That's it for now. More pics and video to come later.

Going to the doctors for the first time

A Great Start (And Happy Birthday Jordan)

2008-03-22T07:35:00.001-07:00

The first night has passed, and we are enjoying a great morning watching Prince of Egypt (very appropriate considering the time of year) and enjoying our hospital breakfast, which isn't too bad. Selah is sleeping and doing great. She has only lost 1 ounce which is great. She is eating very well and has already had 4 very good feedings from Moriah. Moriah is doing great as well. She looks beautiful after her shower and quite unlike she just went through 12ish hours of labor yesterday. We actually got some good sleep last night. Selah has been eating and sleeping, but about every 5 hours she has a good feeding. Those will increase throughout today and tomorrow until she is feeding about every 2-3 hours. We both got about 6 hours of sleep with interruptions of course, but we still got some good sack time.

Our plans for today are to just take it easy, enjoy our new little girl, and welcome all our friends and family to see the new one. We are excited for Charis to get to know her sister a little better, but we know that will happen best at home. Speaking of which, we are planning on being home tonight before bed, so if you are planning a hospital visit, make sure you don't put it off until too late. Everyone is welcome to come and visit, just call first to make sure we aren't feeding her, and I believe that from 1-3pm is nap time, so that time is off limits for visitors.

Also, I want to give a shout out to my younger brother Jordan. His golden birthday is today (22 on the 22nd). I hope it's a good one.

That's about it for now. I'll leave you with a few more pics to enjoy.

Moriah, looking amazing this morning!!

A little whiny after a good feeding (I think she looks like Great Grandma Lucy)

Selah with Grandma and Grandpa Huff

Selah Is Here

2008-03-21T15:43:00.001-07:00

Well, our little daughter is here. She was officially born at 4:41 pm CST. She weighed in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and is 19.5 inches long. She scored a 9/9 on the APGAR test, which is pretty good I guess. She is eating dinner right now and enjoying spending time with all of her loving Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and of course her big sister (who will be here any minute). I'll leave you with a few pics to enjoy. I hope all of you have a great evening and think deeply about why this is such a Good Friday; not just because of Selah, but ultimately because of Christ our Lord, who gave His life as a ransom for many on this night so long ago.

This is within 2 minutes of her being born

She quickly quieted down when I started singing

7 lbs., 12 ounces (she beat her cousin Noah)

Update #3: 2:15

2008-03-21T12:17:00.000-07:00

Well, they finally checked her and even with all the slow progressing, she is at 7 cm and they are putting in the epidural right now. Gotta go

Update #2: 1:15pm

2008-03-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

Well, things have really slowed down. Contractions are very light and are spread out between 15 and 20 minutes. The doc has spoken with the nurse and they are going to get the Patosin going as well as break Moriah's water which should kick her into labor very nicely. Right now, Moriah is finishing her liquid lunch (frozen cherry stuff, jello, juice, etc.) and when she is done, they'll begin all the fun stuff throwing her into labor. If you could pray for her (and me) as we've been at this since 4am and are a little tired. But, we are still pumped for little Selah to arrive, hopefully before dinner time. More to come later...

Update # 1: 12 noon

2008-03-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

So, it looks like I'm going to rock in my NCAA picks for today. The two upsets I picked are looking good (Saint Mary and W. Kentucky to win) and I'm tied for second place with my points. Oh, I guess you are all wondering how Moriah is doing. Well, she is bouncing around on a pregnancy exercise ball thing and full of energy. She is still dealing with contractions, but thankfully, NO BACK LABOR this time! Yay! That is making the contractions a lot more bearable. Charis and Moriah's mom will be here soon, so that is it for now. Another update should be coming in about an hour or so. Later...

SELAH IS COMING!!

2008-03-21T07:40:00.001-07:00

It is around 9:45, and we are in the process of labor. She is progressing nicely and it looks like sometime this afternoon we'll be welcoming Selah Joy Huff into this world. It's certainly a good Friday. Right now, Moriah is getting her I.V. and preparing for an epidural at some point. She is such a trooper with these contractions. Well, I'll post some more in a little bit, but I need to be with my honey now. Later...

An Early Morning

2008-03-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

As I sit here in my office, early to work by half an hour, I ponder my morning. I had agreed to be a debate judge for some of our homeschooler families today, and I needed to be in Naperville (about 20 miles away) at 8:30 this morning. So I woke up early, got all spiffed up to look professional, and left at around 7. As I pulled onto I-88 at around 7:30, I double checked my directions and noticed, in bold type, "Thank you for volunteering to be a judge. We are expecting your arrival at 8:30 am on Thursday, March 20th." What?! Today is the 13th of course, so, after feeling mildly retarded and regretting the extra 2 hours of sleep I missed this morning, I got off at the next exit and made my way to work. At least I'll get to clean up my office a little bit more and I won't be so far away if Moriah goes into labor.

Speaking of labor, I am so pumped. Waiting for "the call" from Moriah is kinda like holding a lottery ticket and waiting for the numbers to be announced later that day, except I know I already won. As soon as she goes, I'll try to keep this blog up to date with all the fun details and pictures of the new baby. For now, Moriah and I are catching up on long term projects of cleaning and organization.

Speaking of organization, it had fun cleaning out our Youth Ministry filing cabinet yesterday. It was interesting to read my own senior profile I filled out 8 years ago when I was a senior in High School (I feel old sometimes). It was encouraging to see that my goals back then of being a pastor are still being worked towards. God has been so faithful over the years and I'm looking forward to where He leads our little family next.

Speaking of next, I'll post some more next time. Later...

False Alarm, and notes on the picture from last week

2008-03-07T07:24:00.000-08:00

The false alarms for labor have officially begun. Moriah is getting a little perturbed at everyone asking her how she's feeling every 5 minutes, but that comes with the territory when you are within 2 weeks of the due date. My dad is also freaking out a little because our Men's retreat is tonight and he keeps thinking that I will be unavailable because of the baby, which could still very well happen. I'm just ready for this kid to come out so we can get on with it. I feel like everything in my life is on hold until she arrives, so I'm excited for whenever she comes. The kids in youth group are guessing I'll get the call from Moriah while I'm singing during the first session of the retreat tonight. That would be kinda fun, but I hope that everything will wait 'til Saturday afternoon after my responsibilities for the weekend are officially over.

Here's a note about the picture from last time. I think that new title to Joel Osteen's book perfectly sums up what his ministry is all about. If you've ever heard him speak, you'll find it is hard to see a difference between him and a regular motivational speaker. Perhaps he'll throw half of a scripture verse, out of context of course, in there to make it sound like a real sermon, but that's like throwing a bit of sugar into a pile of dirt and calling it a dessert. The real danger of his ministry is how it treats all the symptoms, like depression, loneliness, and lack of success, without treating the problem of sin. Perhaps if he taught from the whole council of God, he would notice that when the problem of sin is taken care of, those other so called issues pale in comparison to knowing Christ fully and understanding His forgiveness and grace. So, if you are interested in becoming your own savior, I recommend Joel Osteen. If you are interested in Christ being your Savior, I recommend the Bible.

Finally Back

2008-02-29T13:02:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's time I begin writing on this thing again. I know many of you have long since given up on checking for updates, but it's good for me to write all the same. So, here is what's happening with me these days.

Church has been great. Paul is speaking through the minor prophets, we just began small groups every other week, and I'm teaching through Acts with the youth in Sunday school. Everything seems to be running smoothly and I can't wait for spring to finally get here. I have been enjoying my discipleship group's study through Romans. We'll be continuing that tomorrow. It is always nice to get back into that theologically rich book and see what God has in store for our minds each week. We just got back from camp a week ago and I have to say it is my favorite Winter Camp I've ever been to. The combination of sweet worship, impactful teaching, and great spiritual fellowship amongst the students made it a very special weekend. I'm hoping we can get the same speaker back for next year.

Family time hasn't been easy to set aside, but Moriah and I are managing. We guard our Monday nights pretty closely. Charis is growing up so fast. She's now saying things like go, wow, hi, bye-bye, and map (from Dora the Explorer). Thankfully, she hasn't discovered "no" yet, but we know that is coming. She will be joined by a new baby sister in just a few weeks. Selah Joy Huff is due March 20, but could come at any time. We are so excited.

Personally I feel energized for the upcoming year. A lot is happening in 2008. A new baby is coming, my position at FVBC is being evaluated and determined for the future, we're getting a new pastor, and the Cubs are going to win the World Series. I've set a goal to be proficient at the guitar and drum set by the end of this year, and so far, things are going well. Ethan H. is a great drum teacher and I'm picking it up pretty quickly.

Well, that's it for now. More to come soon hopefully.

P.S. I just love that new book by Joel Osteen. I'll talk a bit more about that next time.

Movin' Right Along

2007-11-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

Life has settled down a little bit. I feel like it is the calm before the storm of fall and winter events and the Christmas season ever approaches. There are so many things to right about, so I will just focus on two of them, my family, and my family.

My family has been awesome lately. It seems like every time Charis opens her little mouth, cute and adorable things come out (except when she threw up for like 10 minutes all over me multiple times the other night... sometime later for that story perhaps). Now that she is walking, it is strange to see such a little person toddling around the house, exploring the wonders of things like hinges, drawers, and of course, the exciting computer keyboard. Each little thing that we as adults just take for granted it a new wonder for this little one. And, just when I think Charis is done exploring the world, I have Selah to look forward to in just a few months. My family is great.

My extended family is also wonderful. I haven't seen either of my brothers for several months. One has been away in PA at college, the other in Uganda for 6 months. The will both be coming home on Nov. 20 for Thanksgiving. I am so excited to see these two men again and to download what God has been doing in each of our very different lives. There is nothing quite like a close brother to share feelings and ideas with. Needless to day, I am very much looking forward to it.

With that said, we recently had some pictures done for our family, so I will leave you with those. Ya know, sometimes it's just great being a Huff.

My Two Special Girls

The Huffs

We had no idea we were swinging her that high

Too cute for words

Touchdown Bears!! (I hope)

Happy Reformation Day

2007-10-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Reformation Day everyone!! I can't believe it has been 490 years already. The Doctrines of Grace and the Solas have certainly come a long way since then. I feel so endebted to the men of the reformation for what I even know and am passionate about today.

For most of you out there, today is Halloween. But for believers, today holds a special historical meaning. Here's a little history of the day in case you are in the dark.

November 1st is "All Saints Day" on the Roman Catholic calendar. It was (and is still) one of the most sacred Holy-Days (Holidays) of the church. They believed that the day before All Saints Day, All-Hallows Eve (Halloween), was a day of incredible mischief by demons who would try and attack those who were about to celebrate All Saints Day. The people would therefore wear costumes to avoid being recognized by these evil spirits. This would ensure their safety as they prepared to go to church the next day.

On All-Hallows Eve, October 31st, 1517, a professor from the college in Wittenburg by the name of Martin Luther, nailed 95 thesis ( http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/95theses.htm ), or thoughts, to the front door of the church. This location would assure that everyone in town would see them as most people would be at church early the next morning. These thesis spoke to many issues the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) had erred on. Things like indulgences, Papal authority, and works based salvation. These 95 thesis started a whirlwind of controversy and were eventually called heresy by the RCC.

Despite this condemnation, the word spread like crazy and the Protestant Reformation was born. Inspired by his stand against the established church, men like Calvin, Knox, and Huss preached the essential doctrines of the Solas (Scripture Alone, Christ Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and the Glory of God Alone) and called for reform in the church. We have them to thank for the Biblically centered faith the Protestant faith enjoys today. The reformed tradition still holds the Solas as the central truths of scripture.

That is why I celebrate Reformation Day every October 31st. Thank God for men who stand on God's Word as their sole authority and point the rest of us to Christ, by grace, through faith, to the glory of God alone.

Selah Eden Huff

2007-10-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

Well, the results are in and another girl is on the way for the Huff's. I am so excited to have another little angel in the house. There is something about having girls that makes a father feel very protective and needed as that protector. The doctor said she looks really good and everything is perfectly on schedule for the mid-March delivery.

However, there are a few things I'm not looking forward to:
-Two teenage girls in the house at the same time
-Two weddings to pay for
-No one to carry on the Huff family name
-All the women of the house being on the same cycle
-Watching 300 alone for the rest of my life
-Romantic Comedies and chick flicks

But, overall, I would say I'm really pumped about having another girl. Maybe she'll be an excellent female drummer in a worship band or be a missionary to Brazil or marry a great husband. Wherever God leads little Selah and Charis, I know He will be faithful. Our prayers are with our two beautiful daughters. Later...

LA and first steps

2007-09-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Our Vacation has been great so far. Charis has been a super kid and a real trooper. She hasn't adjusted at all to the new time zone, so we have been waking up at 6:15 each day, which isn't too bad because we haven't totally adjusted either. San Diego was great and we actually saw tons of wild animals at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego. There will be more to come about that later. Today we are in LA, visiting friends from of old. Charis is liking it here, and there must be something in the air or the water, because she has had tons of energy without very much sleep. She even started walking on her own today. She is walking all over the place now and sometimes just standing and looking around. I hope you enjoy the videos of the first steps below.

Today we also stopped at Grace Community Church, and Charis enjoyed preaching from behind John MacArthur's pulpit. I hope he doesn't find out that she's Amill (inside joke). LA was just like we remembered it, dirty and huge, but the traffic wasn't too bad.

Tomorrow we are off to Santa Cruz and the beach. We're having a great time, but miss you all at home. The cities are nice here, but nothing compares to Chicago and the beautiful lakefront skyline. More to come later...

Recovering and Ready to Go

2007-09-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week. I am thankful to say that I survived the lock-in at our church over the weekend. It was brutal staying up all night, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The events kept my attention, and between Sardines, water-balloon fights, midnight worship, and the classic Robin Hood cartoon, the evening passed pretty quickly. I think I was most pleased with the time of worship we had at around 2 am. We gathered in the sanctuary and the students requested songs from the past two years of youth group meetings. We sang together for almost an hour and there were still hands up to request more songs. We ended up adding another time for singing at 6 am that morning, and it was a sweet time to just sing and rejoice in the Lord, even in the midst of our fatigue.

Overall, I am very pleased with where our youth group is spiritually. They requested songs like In Christ Alone, and Dear Refuge of my Weary Soul and really sang them. Those are not easy songs to understand, even for adults, yet our students cherish the lyrics and the tunes. The students have also initiated a weekly discussion group where they talk about the recent sermon from Sunday or what they've been studying personally from scripture. One of our leaders hosts this, but the students are the ones initiating and executing this every week. There is also a growing number of students in discipleship groups. I am so thankful that God is working in the hearts of these students. It isn't just emotional hype and good times when we gather, it is actual mental and spiritual growth godliness. Praise God for His faithfulness.

Well, I leave for my final vacation of the year on Friday. We'll be heading our to the West coast to see my parent's families. That means San Diego, LA, and San Francisco all in one week. I'm looking forward to it, not only because I haven't been out to CA in a long time, but because this is my first time out there with Moriah and Charis. Neither of them have been out to the Pacific. I'm sure Charis will be drowned in love from both sides of the family. I'll make sure to post some pics from the trip. Until then, adios...

The Trivial and Not So Trivial

2007-08-29T07:16:00.000-07:00

Well, August is almost finished, and I think it is about time I weighed in on a few issues that have come up over the past few weeks. I will first be discussing the trivial (Cubs), and moving to the not so trivial (Pastor Paul's preaching), and finishing with a few thoughts on the weather.

First of all, I had a chance to see the Cubs play last night with my dad. It was his birthday present to me and I have to say, I had a blast. Granted it was very hot (about 95 with no wind) and there was a rather large Boston Red Sox fan scrunched against me, and the Cubbies were losing going into the 7th inning, but it turned out great. They managed to rally back and took the game 5 to 3. They held onto their 2 game lead for first with two more to go against the Brewers. It was great to think of the heritage of that old ball park. Over a hundred years worth of fans have passed through those seats. Dad told be about his grandpa, how he would come to as many games as possible from the 30s to the 60s, smoking his cigar and cheering on his team. I hope our little girl can have those kind of good memories from her grandparents. All in all, it was a great time with some long lasting memories. Now, onto the not so trivial.

Over the past year, and especially over the past few months since Paul started his sermons on Galatians, I have heard a lot of talk about his sermons. Some of these comments are good, but many are critical, saying things like, "I feel beat up" or "Why does he emphasize sin so much?". I believe these comments come from a consumer saturated congregation. Let me explain what I mean.

Our culture has programmed us to have certain expectations going into every situation. We go into a comedic movie expecting to feel happy at the end. We read a certain type of book or listen to music expecting a certain emotional reaction. When we listen to radio like K-love :"Positive and Encouraging" or listen to messages on Moody, we generally feel encouraged and somewhat good about ourselves. There is nothing wrong with this as a lot of scripture is encouraging. However, the danger comes when we come to expect all of preaching to make us feel like K-love or Joel Osteen. When we hear a message and don't feel "Positive and Encouraged", we think that the preacher is being too negative and needs to lighten up. Perhaps it is the Holy Spirit convicting us of our sin through the preacher, and we just don't want to deal with it.

That, I think, is why people are reacting negatively to Paul's preaching. He preaches the Word. If you have read the beginning of Galatians, it isn't a bed of roses. There are many challenges to genuine faith and not mixing it with our own sinful ideas about justification. When that conviction comes to our own hearts, we are not used to it. We approach church hoping to feel better when we leave than when we came. If that doesn't happen, perhaps we need to adjust our mindset. My father very wisely said, "When you come to church, don't come looking to analyze the preaching and the preacher. Come with a heart that says, 'What does God have for me to learn about Him and myself today?' Then you will be free to worship God for the whole service." If more of our congregates had that mindset, I think a fresh wave of humility and fruitfulness would characterize us and God would be pleased with our hearts. So, I say, keep up the preaching Paul. I would rather be warned of my sinful heart than coddled by a preacher that echoes the sympathies of the world.

Lastly, I have been amazed by God's strength poured out in the weather of the past week. Huge trees have been uprooted, rivers have swelled, and houses have been flooded. It is so amazing that God has guided every little droplet of water to its final destination, just as He guides each of our decisions, even the small and tiny ones (Prov. 21:1). What a great and sovereign God we serve.

Number two is on the way

2007-07-31T13:59:00.001-07:00

Well, practice makes perfect, as they say, and number two is finally on the way. Yes, that is a positive pregnancy test (with the cap on of course) in Charis's little mouth. We are very excited. We've known for several weeks now, but God in his providence ordained this time to reveal it to the watching world. You'll have to read Moriah's blog (ahufflife.blogspot.com) for more info on that. We're calling this little one "Colby" for now. It's derived from a combination of Caleb and Sophia (our original names for the next child) which makes the word Caso or Queso of you are spanish. Queso is spanish for cheese, and we thought colby cheese tasted pretty good. But since then we've changed the names to either Micaiah or Selah, which make either Mise or Semi, neither of which sounded cooler than Colby, so Colby is it for now, until we know the gender 15 weeks from now.

God has been so good in changing our hearts to come to love this little one. We're already praying that God will redeem Colby's little sinful heart and that He will continue to bless our family. Colby should be arriving sometime in March of 2008, about 18 months after Charis. More info to come later. Adios muchachos

So good

2007-07-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well, we did finally see the movie, and I have to say it was worth the wait. I was very pleased with how it was filmed, the acting, the music, it all was very good. There is now a Harry Potter movie I can say I enjoy watching, unlike the previous four. More to come later...

The Idol of Harry Potter

2007-07-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

My plans for last night were great. I was going to hang out at the in-laws for a bit before heading off to see the Harry Potter film at the midnight showing. We arrived there 1:30 early and were already way back in the line. However, as God would have it, we were the first ones into our particular theater. After we got in we began the arduous process of waiting that last hour in our seats. It went by reasonably fast, with good conversation and a deck of cards to pass the time. However, when it was after midnight with no movie, we began to get a little antsy.

But, as expected, the movie started... then it stopped. A minute into the second movie trailer, the picture died and the lights came up. We proceeded to sit there, wondering what was going on, for the next 40 minutes. At about 12:45 am, the manager came in and told us that there was a problem (duh), and it should be resolved in the next 15 minutes. By then we were considering leaving, but we figured that 15 minutes wasn't that bad considering we had been there for almost 3 hrs already.

Well, the 15 minutes came and went. At around 1:10am, they said they were going to give it another try. The preview came back on with the picture split neatly in two horizontally. 10 seconds into that, the manager stopped the film and told us that the show would be cancelled. She said that they would sign our stubs so we could come back and see it some other time.

As all of this sunk in, I was amazed at the responses of people around me, even believers. Most of the people in the theater were visibly upset, yelling at the manager, complaining loudly to other movie-goers. I have to admit, I was frustrated, but it was only a movie. Granted, I was anticipating this movie more than others I had wanted to see, but was it worth getting so upset over?

C.J. Mahaney in his message from New Attitude told us that we can tell if something is an idol based on how we react if we don't receive it or if it is taken away. Let me tell you, many idolaters, including myself, were revealed because of our reaction when this movie was taken away from. It is amazing what God chooses to use to reveal areas of sin to us. Harry Potter mania is a great distraction from so many other good things. It has its place and I am still looking forward to seeing the movie (hopefully) tonight and reading book 7 later this month, but I can't place so much emphasis on it that it causes me to worry or get angry.

I hope the rest of you out there who stayed up late enjoyed the show, just remember that an idol can be a great thing God has given us to enjoy, but is wanted too much. Don't be satisfied with movies and books. They only last so long.

Camp, Future Grace, and Harry Potter

2007-07-10T08:56:00.000-07:00

I know it has been forever since I've updated my blog, however, I hope you've been keeping up with the family blog at ahufflife.blogspot.com . God has been so good over the past few weeks. I have been greatly challenged in some areas of my life and convicted in others. Here is one of the highlights.

At summer camp this past month I was confronted with a nagging tendency of my heart to always want to be in control. Many things happened throughout the week which tried my patience and threw my plans for a loop. It took a little while, but eventually I rejoiced in what God was teaching me through these little trials. He has been so faithful to conform me to the image of His Son in whatever way He sees fit, and I trust He will continue.

Speaking of continuing and looking to the future, I have had the privilege of teaching through Piper's book, Future Grace in our Sunday School this summer. I has been great refreshing my mind with truths about the Debtor's Ethic, Anxiety, Free Grace, and Pride which Piper hits on in the first few sections of his book. The students seem to be grasping the concepts well and I hope their minds will begin to change with the new perspectives Piper is introducing to us. I am continually amazed at the way God uses simple men to impact the world. I hope all of our prayers is that God will be able to spread His Kingdom more through us simple creatures.

Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to update a little more often now that the craziness of camp is over.

One more little nugget of joy. Moriah and I are very much looking forward to our movie tonight. Yes, we are going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We've been looking at previews and are hoping for a great time. It will be a little sad to be away from our cute baby, but date nights are always fun, especially when Harry is involved. Talk at ya later...

To God Be the Glory, thoughts on Na

2007-05-30T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wow! What a weekend. I can't believe I received so much in so little time. There are so many precious memories from the past few days that I'm sure I'll be writing. CJ challenged us in the last session to pick one thing that impacted us to put into practice right away, so here is my main application.

John Piper spoke to us about God's main pleasure, Himself, and a pen-ultimate pleasure, our obedience. One statement that really stood out to me was, "Don't waste your life making yourself look good. Spend your life making God look good." Piper said we needed to be a telescope that others could look through to see a huge God in terms they could understand. We need to make the huge God knowable through our actions. Instead, we typically act as a microscope, make our insignificance look big. I was convicted of making myself bigger than I ought and taking away from the glory I should be reflecting to God. Needless to say, I will not look at my motives behind leading worship and serving our great God the same. If you want to hear the very impactful messages, they are free online from www.sovereigngraceministries.org . Just click on the big picture of John Piper on the homepage.

I hope I revel in God's mercies anew because of this weekend. I trust God will continue to work His will in my broken vessel. I have to say, it was an awesome experience to sing Amazing Grace and Holy, Holy, Holy with 3,000 other deep thinking, like-minded individuals. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Bob Kaughlin and his sons Devon (lead guitar/ vocals) and Jordan (on drums) leading us in worship

New Atittude, Here I Come

2007-05-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

Well, the New Attitude conference is finally here. This weekend I'll be hearing from the likes of John Piper, Mark Dever, C.J. Mahaney, and Josh Harris, not to mentions being led in worship by Bob Kaughlin, men that I admire and respect for their gospel work. I am praying that God will use His word to challenge my heart. Sometimes I feel as if I'm in a rut of doing the same thing every week in ministry, and my times with God can feel the same way. I trust God will do His good work in my life through this weekend.

On a side note, I'm gonna really miss Moriah and Charis. This is the longest time we'll be apart since Charis was born, and they have really grown on me. I trust God will do great things in both our lives during this time, and it will be a sweet reunion when I return. To God be all the glory.

http://www.newattitude.org/conference/

Behind a Frowning Providence, God Hides a Smiling Face

2007-05-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of preparing a few lessons on the book of Ruth. As I read through this great story, I feel overwhelmed with trust in God's sovereignty. Knowing the end of the book, I can trace God's hand as it moves Ruth and Naomi through dark storms into the bright sunlight of His grace. I don't understand how people can read Ruth and not see God's hand each step of the way. To deny God's sovereignty over dark providences empowers created beings over the Creator.

As I study, the teaching of Dr. Art Azurdia have been very helpful. http://www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com/sermons.htm

His insights on God's providence and the ultimate hero of the book of Ruth (Christ) have been very refreshing to hear. The more I read of the scriptures, the more I see that they are all about Christ. Here is a quote from Azurdia about looking backwards to truly see clearly looking forwards. Regarding Ruth he says:

"At times beloved, the only way to interpret God's providence for your life is to begin at the end of the story... We know how this story ends. We know, going in, the glorious intention of God: Boaz will become a redeemer for Ruth. Ruth and Boaz will supply a redeemer for Naomi. The covenant nation will be given her greatest king and a nearly extinct family in Israel will be continued to ultimately issue forth the Savior of the human race, Jesus Christ."

Each step of the story is a piece of the puzzle of the revelation of Christ.

On a personal note, God is treating us well, much better than we deserve. Charis is growing like a weed and is a joy to see. Her smile chases away the most stressful of days. We had a great Mother's Day. I'm glad we can set aside time to honor our mothers, but it just doesn't seem like enough sometimes. It has been great to live with a mom and see her grow in that capacity. Moriah is great and I couldn't ask for more of her. She constantly amazes me.

Anyhoo, that's it for now.

Filling some Big Shoes

2007-04-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

My roller coaster weekend is finally finished. My dad has been out of town, and I have had the priviledge of filling his shoes for the past weekend. This included teaching in our men's bible study on the Sovereignty of God over election and salvation and leading worship in our main services morning and evening. It was a long weekend and took a lot of energy, but before I pat myself on the back too much for getting it all done, I have to remember that this is what my dad does every week of his ministry here, and he does an excellent job. Ministry is a blessing for my dad, and even with the expanded work load he has had with the loss of a few pastors over the years, he takes it all in stride and continues to do his work heartily, as to the Lord, rather than men. He's a great example and I hope to be more like him as I pursue my ministry.

I was very pleased particularly with the discussion on God's sovereignty during the men's Bible study. There was no debate for the purpose of arguing, just good discussion about man's inability to effect his own salvation and God's ultimate control over all things. There was a bit of discussion over the difference between foreknowledge and foreordination, but I think Jonathan Edwards puts that debate to rest with this great quote:

"Whether God has decreed all things that ever come to pass or not, all that own the being of a God, own that He knows all things beforehand. Now, it is self-evident that if He knows all things beforehand, He either doth approve of them or doth not approve of them; that is, He either is willing they should be, or He is not willing they should be. But to will that they should be is to decree them."

The very fact that things happen testifies to God's decreed will over all matters. And in that truth I trust He will continue to give me grace as I pursue ministry. God is good, gracious, and truly holy, holy, holy.

Christ, the Cubs, and Conversion

2007-04-10T11:54:00.000-07:00

Well, I was encouraged to blog more by my brother, so I will do my best. As I sit here listening to the Cubs, I can't help but smile at the blessings God has poured out, particularly through my church. The Cubs seem to disappoint without fail as often as I am encouraged by Christ and the church. God has been so good recently and has encouraged me with several good books. I am currently reading through Mark Dever's 9 Marks of a Healthy Church and just finished my papers on Conversion and Evangelism. Here is an excerpt:

"Perhaps the shelter of their family or the comfort of a nice church culture has lulled [youth] into a sense of peace about their own eternal state when there should be no peace at all. All I have to go on is the fruit I see. This makes it difficult to really get to the hearts of students. Many of them appear to be genuine and do all the right things. I am grateful for the impact the Lord has allowed me to have on their lives, but my goal has to be confirming in their hearts what true conversion is. The more they understand, the more they will be able to tell if they are truly converted. Beyond that, I can do nothing but pray and trust the Lord to work through His gospel."

God has challenged my heart to not focus so much on results but to focus on getting the gospel right and let Him do the rest.

Other than that, things are moving right along. As usual, I haven't found a speaker for summer camp yet. My list is down to Josh Harris and C.J. Mahaney, but we'll see who God brings. I'm looking forward to the New Attitude conference in May. The lineup of speakers looks challenging and I hopeful as to what God will do in my life and in the lives of the students that are coming with me. The big things this week are teaching on God's sovereignty in Men's Bible study on Saturday and leading worship for the main services on Sunday. I'm pumped about both of those opportunities. That's it for now...

Musings on Being an Uncle

2007-03-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

So, if you haven't heard yet, I am getting either a neice or a nephew from my brother and sister in law (that's Jordan and Crystal (http://www.boymetgirl.blogspot.com/) if you are a little slow today). I wonder if it's going to be harder being an uncle or a dad. I think the uncle is the cool person in a child's life. They take them to baseball games and slip them money and candy when parent's aren't looking. It's expected of them to be fun and cool. That's a lot to live up to. What if I'm not cool? What if I don't have candy or my cell phone is out of minutes when they ask? Can I ever recover from something like that? I'll just have to wait and see. I'll take being just a regular dad over the pressure of being an uncle any day. But I think I will still enjoy both.

In other news, I am really excited about Oasis tonight. It's been a busy day, but I'm pumped about worshipping God and the music we have for evening is excellent. Grace Unmeasured from sovereign grace is a great song and it expresses the gospel so clearly. Paul is speaking tonight on Discipleship and it should be a good challenge from God's word.

I'll leave you with a great quote from Charles Bridges, The Christian Ministry:

"In directing the ignorant in the way of heaven- in awakening the careless and insensible- in subduing the rebellious- in dealing with the entanglements of tempted consciences- how inefficient would be all the force of philosophical or historical illustration! One simple declaration of the Gospel, on the other hand, would, with the Lord's blessing, remove darkness, melt away stubbornness, and bring in all the consolation of heavenly light and peace."

Charles Bridges is a stud.

Back and Ready to Go

2007-03-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to be home from vacation. It was such a great time to get away from everything and just relax, but there is a better work that needs to be done here at home. Moriah and I missed everyone and I'm looking forward to Oasis tonight and getting back to all the Bible Studies. I just want to give God all the praise for what He's done in our lives over the past few months. Having a baby around makes us appreciate all the more what God has done for us in our helpless state. We are so thankful for the closing of our house next week, the work that God has provided for us to pay off debt, and the excellent ministry opportunities we both have here at FVBC. Anyhoo, that's all for now. I hope God is doing great things in all of your lives as well. Later...

Off to Florida

2007-03-02T05:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I'm off to Florida. I can't say that this vacation isn't needed. To be honest, it will be nice to have some time away for a week to get refreshed and refocused on the right things. I'm hoping to get some good reading done in my Edwards biography as well as in 9 Marks and the Christian Ministry. Musings should be excellent as I work everything out and in.

I will leave you with a few links to occupy your time. You can either click on either the watch or listen link or just download them with a right click. These were the sermons from RC Sproul that impacted me the most from the recent Desiring God Pastor's Conference in MN. The last one especially was impactful because it reminded me of the terrifying prospect of facing God's justice, yet the freedom of being in Christ. Enjoy the listen and I'll see you in a week.

The Holiness of God

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/EventMessages/ByDate/1978_The_Holiness_of_God/

The Holiness of Christ

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/EventMessages/ByDate/1979_The_Holiness_of_Christ/

Holiness and Justice

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/EventMessages/ByDate/1980_Holiness_and_Justice/

Winter Camp Wonderings

2007-02-22T08:29:00.000-08:00

Winter Camp has come and gone. All the planning and scheduling is finally over and now we get to reap the benefits. It has been so encouraging to see the growth displayed by our students. While we have grown numerically, the spiritual growth has been fantastic. Personally, it has been a struggle to see people leave the church for various reasons. As a person in ministry, you always wonder if you had something to do with it. On the other hand, seeing growth within a ministry is humbling because you know God has used you to accomplish something special.

Right now I'm listening to Worship God Live from sovereign grace. The lyrics are so encouraging because they express an unashamed, Christ-exalting, God-honoring, Calvinistic approach to song writing. The writers take their texts right from historical writings on the Bible as well as directly from the Bible itself and they strive to make God as big as we possibly can with out limited human abilities. That is something lacking in today's CCM music. Lyrics typically come from personal experience or personal testimony about what the Bible means to them. Songs should be grounded in theology, not man-centered, self-help thinking. We need more Luther, Calvin, and Edwards in our songs and less Joel Osteen and Rick Warren.

Here are some lyrics that express what I'm talking about:

You are the Way

by Pat Sczebel

Verse 1

Dead in transgressions and sins, without God without hope in this world

Then the glorious light of Your gospel broke in

The Father stood up from His throne, opened His arms and called out my name

Grace irresistible drew me, opened my eyes to see

Chorus:

You are the way, You are the truth, You are the Life, Jesus

The only way, the only truth, You are my life, Jesus

Verse 2

You are the source of new life, the giver of every good thing

Withholding nothing You lavish Your kindness on me.

You emptied Yourself, became poor, humbled and poured out to death

Now highly exalted above all, Your name alone can save.

Justified

2007-02-15T13:17:00.000-08:00

Verse 1
To gain a people, a holy bride,
Christ was humbled and left His Father’s side.
He lived and died to honor God alone
and now He sits beside Him at His throne.
From every nation, from every creed
Soon all before Him will bow on bended knee.
For He is King over earth and heav’n
And to that kingdom there will be no end

Chorus
The wrath of God is satisfied for us
Christ’s sacrifice has proven He is just
The death He died has given us new life
Christ paid the price, now we can be justified

Verse 2
Though we were fallen and dead in sin
He called a people that could not choose Him.
And if He calls we cannot reject,
For with His blood He saved our souls from death
This gift of grace that paid the price for me
Has cleansed my heart and set me free.
In bondage I was chained, a slave to sin.
But now my will is captive, owed to Him

This song encapsulates why I love Christ. That he would choose to die for declared enemies... How can I not be bound to do His will?

God's Sovereignty over Breakfast Cereals

2007-01-24T07:39:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday I had the priviledge of teaching our Sr. High Sunday school about one of my favorite topics, God's sovereignty. We are going through the doctrine of Salvation, and once we got to election, I knew we had to have a better grasp on God's sovereign nature before we went any farthur (In know my spelling is atrocious, sorry...) The discussion began with two table discussion questions. 1. What is God in control of? & 2. Define "free", than answer, Does man have free will? Needless to say, they sparked some great conversation. For those of you struggling with this issue, here's what we came up with.

-God is sovereign over everything, even the breakfast cereal I eat in the morning. Prov. 16:33- "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision comes from the Lord."

-God ordains everything to happen exactly how it happens, in every detail, big or small, good and evil. (Job 2:10, Amos 3:6, Lam. 3:38, Ps. 115:3)

-Man is still held responsible for his choices, even though God ordains or determines those choices (Rom. 9:19-23)

-Man does not have free will, in the sense that he can do whatever he wants. He is only free to live within the nature God has given him. But even within this truth, God still determines the free choices man makes.

-God doesn't simply allow things to happen. This implies that God is not in complete control and would contradict the above mentioned passages

Well, it was a great discussion. The ultimate conclusion was praise to our God for being in control, yet still holding up responsible for our actions. These seemingly contradictory ideas can only be true together with an almighty God making it so. Praise Him for His sovereign ways. In great contrast to this, we have the Pensacola "Joy Quartet" with their song, "I Give You Freedom" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrczyFvkv8Q ) If you havent' seen it, it's a kick in the pants to a god that isn't so powerful.

On a personal note, things are going really well here in IL. The jobs are great and I love being a dad. I'm sure Moriah has more details on that on her blog (ahufflife.blogspot.com). That's it for now. Later....

The Family is Moving

2007-01-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

Hey all, the family blog is moving to www.ahufflife.blogspot.com, so check us out there!

This blog will remain open and used by Josh, so feel free to check back here for his thoughts. (Charis and I are giving him his blog back.)

Christmas Celebrations!

2006-12-26T14:44:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas festivities this past weekend. We had our Christmas Eve tradition of an evening service at FVBC and then soup in bread bowls at the Huff's. We always read some Christmas stories and open one present. It is a special tradition with the family and having Charis there made it all the more (but definitely more distracting - how do you keep a 4 month old occupied during a solemn reading of a Christmas story?)
Christmas day was spent all over the place. We had our own little Christmas in the morning. Josh made his infamous omelets and monkey brains. Then we had Charis open her presents (before she fell asleep for her morning nap). When she was asleep Josh suprised me with a pink Blutooth headset for my phone plus lots of fun GIRLY movies! Yea! I got Josh the Indiana Jones trilogy, Jonathan Edwards bio and brown shows. (Who buys another person shoes? But he actually likes them.)
We went to my parents around noon and opened more gifts ("Huff university" apparal, my wedding album, cute clothes for Charis and Josh got two nice suits). In the evening we went to his parents house and had prime rib - yummy! They spoiled Charis with great toys, Josh with a new journaling ESV Bible and me with gift certificates to my favorite restaurants. Afterwards we watched Pirates 2 and again I can't wait for part 3 to come out so I can see the resolution to so many unanswered questions of part 2.
Just when we thought it was all over we saw the youth at the church when we got home so we invited them over. They stayed very late, but it was fun to hang out with them. It was a great Christmas and, like most of us, there is still more to come with friends and family.
Oh yeah, Charis update: She is on a new schedule that works great yet she is becoming more aware of her surroundings so feedings and naps are getting harder for her to submit to. And I am trying to teach her to roll over! So fun!
Merry Christmas!

I am so darn cute!

Christmas fun with Daddy

I loooove my glo-worm!

Mommy and me in our matching fleece

Drool, colds, and Christmas time

2006-12-18T16:29:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah!!! All is well here in the beautiful Mission's House in IL. The Christmas banquet is over and Christmas day is fast approaching (only 6 more days). Moriah has been the best wife ever and done all of the Christmas shopping. I hope you all like your presents. If not, she got them, not me ;-) .

The little baby is doing alright. She is going through the back end of a cold right now. Her nose was like a faucet on Sunday, so we couldn't bring her into the nursery, but she seems to be doing fine. She doesn't complain about it and is her usual, incredibly cute self. I got to hang out with her for most of the afternoon on Sunday while we watched the marathon Bears game (I couldn't believe it lasted for 4 hours). She cheered them on the whole time and we had a blast singing together and talking football strategy.

Some vital statistics for you to know would be that Charis is now (unofficially) 25.5 inches long and a little over 12 pounds. She is getting so big and I know she'll just keep on growing. She sleeps for about 12 hour stretches now. Everyone keeps saying, "Wow, you got lucky with that one," but we know why she's doing so well. If you want to know, you'll have to talk with us offline about that little secret.

The presents are almost all wrapped, and I have to go make some dinner, so I'll leave you with some more cute pictures to last you for a few days. Bye...

Presents? Is it time for presents yet?

Now? Is it time now?

We're FINALLY Back!

2006-12-07T10:44:00.000-08:00

Our internet is finally working, so we can update you with all our new info and the much anticipated pictures. But first the update (which will be brief as I am holding Charis and typing one-handed).
I am completely unpacked with decorations up, including Christmas decorations. I even hung Christmas lights outside. We love our new place. Praise the Lord!
Charis is huge Somewhere during the move she must have had a growth spurt. She is into 3 month clothing and some 6 month depending on the brand.
Our renter moved into our townhouse this past weekend. He is a very nice Christian man and it truly seems like the Lord has brought us together. Please continue to pray for house to be sold though.
We have our Christmas concerts this weekend and Josh still hasn't memorized one of the songs! Next weekend is the youth Christmas banquet so we are crazy busy. (The videos are going to be awesome!)
That is certainly not it, but I need to go before she eats my entire hand. You will hear from us soon...

This is from while ago, but look at those neck muscles!

Gabe and Rebecca came to visit with Gabriella.

Spending time with mommy.

All moved in

2006-11-21T07:25:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened since the blog was last updated. That's partially because of the weekend and partially because our main computer doesn't have internet access right now and was in a box over the weekend. A box you may wonder? Why a box? Well, that's because we moved on Saturday to our new home at 4N725 Grandmas Lane in St. Charles, IL, just across the parking lot from our church. We had a large group help with the move (about 7 students from youth group, a few college guys, and 8 more adults). We packed up the truck a few times, loaded and unloaded, and even unpacked a few boxes in under 4 hours. It was great to see the love people have for us as they came and helped. Thank you all for you participation in this if you were there.

Charis is still doing very well. Sorry for the lack of pictures on this post, but until our computer is back up and running, you'll have to check previous posts to remember what she looks like (she still looks about the same).

Family is home for thanksgiving, and I need to go hang out with them. Talk to you later...

FINE! No More online Poops!

2006-11-13T14:15:00.000-08:00

I have read your comments and we won't any more bowel movements online. If you want to see any of that you'll just have to come for a visit. Thankfully, she doesn't do that very often and most of the time she is very pleasant to be around. I'll just keep posting the tame pictures that are family friendly so as not to offend anyone.

Today I found out that Charis loves jazz music. She was dancing up a storm to it this morning while she was being changed. I'm glad she likes the good stuff, not the annoying country or hip hop that is out today. She'll be our little musical protege hopefully, but if she becomes a soccer nut or into computers like her mom, that'll be okay with me.

Our move out/in date is scheduled for this coming Saturday. We are so pumped to take yet another step in our lives towards wherever God will land us permanently. He has been so faithful and we can't wait to see what He has in store for us over the next few years.

We finally got her to pose with a stuffed animal, after too many tries.

Progress, Poopiness, and Perusing

2006-11-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

Progress: There has been so much interest in our house over the past few days. We have a family that is 99% sure they are renting from us as soon as we can move out, another woman who is pretty interested in renting, and another realtor who has investors pretty interested in purchasing. All in all, God is doing great and unexpected things in our lives. He is so good.

Poopiness: Wow! I can't believe how much poop can come out of a little baby. And it's smell takes over the whole house, even when we eat garlic. Oh well. That comes with the territory I guess. At least we know that she is healthy and doing well.

Perusing: We got a chance to look in detail at our new home today. It looks great. It is perfect for our little family. The layout is very spacious and we can't wait to move in next week. We'll be sharing the larger part of the house with the Trott's who are home for few months from Brazil. They are a great couple and it will be tons of fun to live close to them for a while. Later...

PEEK - A - BOO

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

2006-11-06T20:25:00.000-08:00

Well, I am officially the new Pastoral Assistant for the associate pastor of children, youth, and adults. The vote to establish the position was on Sunday and it passed, praise God. Today was my first official day and I am very much looking forward to working for at least the next two years at Fox Valley Bible Church. God has been so good above and beyond all we could ask or imagine. My responsibilities are largely similar to what I was doing before, but with more of an emphasis on discipleship and more full-time.

We are also moving. The church was gracious enough to offer us the large apartment in the Mission's House. We were blown away when we first heard the offer, but it meets our needs perfectly and we are so thankful God provided it. Now we just wait and see when God sells our house. Even in this terrible houseing market we have 3 very possible prospects for buyers for our house. We are praying that one of them works out in the near future. Whatever God decides, that's the best move for us. So the next two weeks are full of packing and moving and youth events for us. We are loving life right now and so pleased to be moving on to this next chapter of our lives.

Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement. Don't worry, more pictures of Charis are coming soon (I know you read this only to see how she's doing). Anyhoo, that's all for now.

Such a Fun Little Girl

2006-11-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

Charis has been so much fun lately. She is making cute little noises all the time now, but especially when she sees Moriah or I. She's got a cute little chuckle that she does as well. It's almost a laugh, and it's very entertaining.

We had a sad day on Tuesday for her. She got her vaccination shots and was crying a little. Moriah said it was so hard seeing her cry like that out of pain. But now she is safe from a number of things going around. She got a bit of a fever from it, but she is doing fine now.

On another note, we had someone walk through our house on Tuesday. We haven't heard if anything will come of that, but it just is another step in God moving this property. We can't wait to see how He will work all this out, but He is strengthening our faith daily through His provision of extra work for both me and Moriah. Keep praying though.

That's it for now...

Check out the pudgy little cheeks

I'm barely holding her up. Her legs are getting so strong

So cute....

Sleeping Through the Night

2006-10-30T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well, our little Charis is finally sleeping through the night. She has been sleeping pretty well for around a week now, going up to 7 hours at a time. But two nights ago she slept for over 9 hours without a feeding. She has been doing well ever since. Once she goes down at night she talks herself to sleep and then is out until morning. We've decided to keep her in her basonet for now, but she has almost grown out of it. She's around 23 inches long now and she'll be moving into her crib very soon.

We also had a fun time at Steph Granquist's costume party over the weekend. Charis went as a little pumpkin and got the most votes for the cutest costume (was there any doubt?). We love that she is being adopted by the youth group and that she is comfortable being passed around. She's getting a lot better at being content with other people holding her rather than just Moriah or I. Even in the nursery at church she smiles and sleeps, but doesn't cry. We're kind of waiting for her to jump to the next level and cry for everything, but until then we are very much enjoying her little noises.

We also had our youth bonfire over the weekend. Charis stayed with Jordan and Crystal and only cried at the end 'cause she was hungry. It is so nice to have family around for things like that. The Bonfire went very well and was a good time of bonding for the students. Hopefully that can continue throughout the rest of the year.

I'm off to work, so adios amigos...

All dressed up for the party

The cutest lil' pumpkin ever

Fresh and clean after a bath

New Diapers and Prayer Requests

2006-10-26T07:24:00.000-07:00

Life has been very interesting for us lately. Moriah and I have been feeling a strong burden to pray for our house to sell. Even though it isn't a "seller's market" and this is typically the worst time of year to sell a home, we know God can do anything. We have also enlisted the prayer support of our church. We prayed as a youth ministry last night about it in our prayer meeting and we are anticipating what God will do. Even now we have a few offers to rent our house until it is sold which is the next best thing to selling it. It takes care of most of our mortgage payment while still allowing us to keep the house on the market.

As for everything else, most of you know by now that the church is voting on establishing a few new positions in our constitution. One of those is a pastoral assistant. If it passes (and we are praying that it will), the elders have decided to ask me to fill that role for the next 2 years. This is a dream come true for Moriah and I. We have desired to serve in ministry at FVBC every since I finished high school and to do so in this capacity is perfect at this time. We are both grateful to stick around here for a while, not just because of the church home we love, but also because we'll be close to both sides of the family.

Charis is doing great too. She moved into her next size of diapers today. I can't believe how big she is getting. Her old diapers (the Newborn size) were starting to fill up rather quickly. After leaking through two of them, we decided to bump her up to the next level. She is so cute and I hope you enjoy the pictures.

She's a lot more excited about her full diaper than we are

"Hi everyone... I'm the cutest ever!"

"Haha, I peed on your bed. Whatcha gonna do now?"

7 weeks and counting

2006-10-22T12:17:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is getting so big. I can't believe she is over 7 weeks old already. She's starting to make very cute little noises and following things very well with her eyes. She can turn her head very well when she has her tummy time. Everything seems to be going well and normal. I guess that's pretty typical for the 1st one and why most couples move on to the 2nd. That's when the problems start. Well, whatever happens, we're looking forward to a nice family, whatever God provides.

Both sets of our parents are vacationing in the Caribbean this week. We are so jealous, but they deserve the break. 10 days on a cruise for each should bring them back rested and refreshed, and with tans to make us all jealous. We love them all and can't wait for them to be back.

Moriah continued her job this week and is enjoying it much more. There isn't a ton for her to do sometimes, but at least she can focus on Charis and gets paid for it. I start my extra shifts at Bennigan's next week, after the parents all return. Moriah and I hope that the extra work from both of us will be able to tide us over until the house sells. Again, we wait on God's timing and trust that He'll do what's best for us.

Well, that's it for now. Later...

She's getting so long

Fresh and clean

"To poop or not to poop... that is the question."

Nothing like a lazy Saturday morning

Out the Poop-shoot

2006-10-17T20:34:00.000-07:00

Well, our precious little angel made quite a mess of herself today. As you can see from her expression, she was a little mischevious this afternoon with Moriah. There she was, minding her own business, when nature made a call.

Moriah was working her first day as a nanny and things were going just fine. The day was moving slowly, but surely, when a few noises from Charis's direction caught her attention.
"Wonderful, a bowel movement at last" was her thought. Little did she know, this was the beginning of a long hour of battle with the bowel.

She very happily took Charis and changed her diaper, which was a little poopy, as she had expected. Blissfully thinking that things were over for now, she continued reading and going about her business. However, Charis continued about her business as well. A few minutes later, more noises and more poop. This time, the real deal was upon her. The formerly clean diaper was filled with poopiness. Thankfully, she got there in time. The diaper was replaced with a fresh one, and again, she thought things were over.

A few minutes later, there were more noises. This time a little deeper, almost as if an old man had come back to return cold coffee for a third time and was really upset, yelling at the waitress, impatient to be out and about. Moriah picked up little Charis and felt a puff of air.
"I remember thinking, 'was that just a puff of air?'" Moriah said later. After further investigation, we believe the puff of air opened up the seal at the top of the diaper, allowing some poop to escape out the back and travel up Charis's back, unbeknownced to Moriah. Moriah proceeded to lay her down and open the yawning chasm of the unknown. There she was, face to face with an explosion.

As she changed the diaper, she realized her error. Too late for her to do anything, she noticed the poop coming out the back, already spreading on the onesie and making its way to the soft hair of little Charis. Quickly, she assessed the situation. She rushed her to the sink, which was full. With the speed only a mother can have, she cleaned out the sink, loading the dishwasher in the process, preparing the way for her child to be cleaned. It took a while, but she rubbed all of the poop away, saving the baby-soft hair, and losing only one outfit in the process. What a Mom... what a Mom.

Well, that was Moriah's first day on the job. Hopefully the rest will be just as fun ;-)

Random, pre-feeding pics

She knows what's coming

She always sleeps with Great-Grandma Shumaker

No Poops (and GO BEARS!!!)

2006-10-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, we think our baby is a little constipated. She hasn't pooped since the huge explosion of a few days ago. Perhaps she is embarrased. We'll give her tonight before we get worried about it. Otherwise, she is doing great. She is starting to make fun little noises when we change her and she is getting really good at tracking things with her eyes. She recognizes us both now, and it is a really neat feeling to see her staring at me.

As far as Moriah and I go, we are still doing well. We are anxiously awaiting the sale of our house. We have been praying about it a lot and know that God will always faithfully provide for us. Now is not the typical time for buying and selling homes, but we know God can do whatever He wants and that now, more than any time of the year, He would recieve the glory for doing this. There are job possibilities out there for me and Moriah is starting her nannying job tomorrow. We are hoping to get something else for her so she can stay at home with Charis, but for now God has provided this, and we are thankful.

On another note, who saw the amazing comeback by the undefeated Chicago Bears? Now, I know what you are saying... the Bears had no right to win the game, but you know what? They still won. Their defense decided to turn it on and won the game for them. That's what championship calaber teams do. They win no matter what it takes or how messy it looks. I enjoyed the anxiety of seeing the comeback. Let's hope it ends in another Super Bowl victory for Chicago.

I still can't believe how small and cozy she is!

She's finally getting the thigh roll pudge

Mmmm, somebody likes to eat

Grunting and groaning

2006-10-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Charis makes so much noise these days. She doesn't peacefully sleep anymore. She is always sighing, cooing, gurgling, coughing, grunting, or trying to pass some enormous bubble of gas out the wrong end (it really smells sometimes). But we still love her anyway. She has been getting more and more used to the outside world these past few days. She made her first of many trips to the mall (which she slept through of course) and got to see grandma, nanna, and great grandma all in the same day. We hope she is worn out and sleeps a ton tonight (we can only hope).

She seems like she is approaching another growth spurt. It seems that she is hungry all the time and working through some things internally. Nothing too gross today, well, except for this morning.

There we were, enjoying our pillow time in the early hours of the morning when we noticed some discoloration on Charis's stomach. Upon closer examination, we found it to be fecal matter, spread all the way up to her naval!! Her diaper was completely full and we quickly did what all good parents do in that situation... try not to throw up and run her to the changing table ASAP. It only took 4 wipes, but we got it all off of her and no permanent damage was done. Thank goodness for the diaper genie. Anyhoo, that was enough excitement for today. We'll be in touch later this weekend. Night...

"Maybe if I burp she'll give me some candy..."

She's always safe with Daddy

I still can't believe how little she is

Apple Picking and other errands

2006-10-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Charis has been so busy lately. She made it almost safely through apple-picking and has been on a role ever since. She got a little too much sun at the orchard, but didn't complain much. She was definetely red and warm though. I was surprised because she was outside so little and it wasn't that warm out. The family sure enjoyed passing her around and trying to keep her awake. It was strange how we missed her even though we were with her the whole day. Oh well, it must be a new parent thing.

She has been sleeping much better lately. She is finally staying up during the day and sleeping at night when she is supposed to. Last night she slept for almost 8 hours (a new record for her). We are hoping the trend continues.

Tonight we had our first date in a long time. We shipped her off to my parents house for a few hours and Moriah and I went to our favorite local restaurant, Tuscana. We loaded up on great Italian food and had a truly enjoyable evening. Now it is off to bed to start the whole thing tomorrow (except for the date). Adios for now...

Out and about

2006-10-06T21:46:00.000-07:00

Charis had such a busy day today. She had a lovely lunch with Grandma, then an exciting shopping spree, then game night at church with everyone, including Aunt Talitha who missed her like crazy. She had the energy to do this because she slept for almost 8 hours straight last night. I couldn't believe it when I woke up to her fussing at almost 6am, expecting to be awake at around 2 or 3 am. Needless to say we were very encouraged to think she is almost sleeping through the night, and at only 5 weeks. We'll give it a few more nights before we are true believers.

She has been such a blessing these past few days. Her personality is really coming out as she sees different people or different objects around the room. Her expressions of joy, confusion, and exasperation are priceless.

Tomorrow is the annual apple picking day. We are very excited and need to get some rest for our big day. Adios...

Soooo adorable

Dazed and confused

Charis loves shower time

The eye-contact is finally here

2006-10-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Moriah had her first really great experience with eye-contact with Charis. She picked her up at the g-parents house and Charis turned to her, locked on, and gave her a huge smile. She was so excited. I'm glad she is focusing better and starting to understand what she is looking at. She seems to like our ceiling fan that is two-stories up and loves lights.

Her feedings are going swimmingly. Moriah is the greatest wife ever. She feeds Charis at night and is gracious enough to let me sleep so I can be rested for my day. There's not really a lot I could do anyway, but I'm glad she lets me sleep. Charis is another matter though. She hasn't been too bad the past few days. She coos a lot and makes her little noises, but nothing major. She isn't fussy either. She only cries when she is hungry. I am amazed (and still waiting for this to kick in) that she doesn't cry when her diaper is dirty or when she is falling asleep. The learning to put herself to sleep is finally paying off.

Only a few days 'til apple picking when she meets the whole family. We are excited to take her to the same orchard Moriah went to when she was just a few months old. It's a great tradition our whole family enjoys.

Well, bed-time is upon us...

Someone likes the camera

Daddy - daughter bonding time on the changing table

Just gettin' used ta her crib yo

What a cutie pie

2006-10-02T12:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back from a busy weekend, and everything went well. After a 6 hour delay I finally made it to PA. It was great to see all the old friends and to support Josh and Janelle in their wedding. It was surprising how much I missed my girls back home. Even though it was just a day and a half, it was hard not to miss them. Needless to say, there was lots of loving and play time when I got back home.

On Sunday, Charis went into the nursury for the first time. She was great and didn't cry, even though she woke up. Overall, she has been a darling and such a joy. The other day she was making some great faces. You can look at some of them below. We can't get over how beautiful she is. What a blessing from God to have a cute little person making each day special for us. Later...

Yes! She can do the eyebrow!

Just the two of us

2006-09-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Daddy is off on a fun trip to Pennsylvania to see an old college friend get married. So it is just me and Charis for a couple days and I am going to try and blog.
Josh left yesterday (after his flight was delayed five hours) and Charis and I went to Nanna and Opoo's house (The Ferrells). I had a yummy dinner, and she had lots of lovings from Auntie Crystal and Uncle Jordan. She did not sleep that well last night. Right when I thought she would finally nod off she wanted to eat again (about 1:00 am) and then fed every four hours, so not much sleep for mommy. Oh, and she spit up an entire feeding last night. I know people say that it really isn't that much, but we were both covered - kinda gross. And in the middle of the night when I was changing her she decided to pee all over the changing table and her clothes. So yes, I had to change her outfit twice last night.
This morning was time for another bath and I decided to take her in the shower with me. It took lots of prep and organization, but who is better at that than me. Looked like she liked it better than a regular bath - probably because of the body heat. And miracles of miracles, I did not drop her!
That's about it. Not tons to do today. We are going to Grandma and Grandpa's house tonight (The Huffs), so that will be a nice excursion. Then daddy will be home tomorrow. We miss him a lot.
Have a good day all.

Having fun with Daddy

An attempt at a family picture

Eating and sleeping... that's it

2006-09-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Charis has been eating and sleeping a lot the past few days. As we try to get her on a regular schedule, she seems to eat less and sleep more, except at night. Nighttime has been a bit of a struggle with her. Some nights she just doesn't want to fall asleep, no matter how she is rocked or fed or whatever. We know it is just a stage, but we can't wait 'til she is on a regular schedule with a regular routine.

On a lighter note, she made the cutest face the other day. I was holding her, making great eye contact, when she crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at me. It was so funny, I couldn't help but laugh. She has brought so much joy into our lives. I can't imagine our family without her.

Asleep, finally

Learning how to conduct for the first time

Sporting the fashionable Brazil Baby T

First Day at Church

2006-09-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

Today was Charis's first time at church. Of course, it couldn't be easy. On the way out the door she spit up all over her outfit and carseat. Needless to say, Moriah was a little late. Once she got to church, she was an angel. She slept the whole time and looked beautiful for the onlookers. She is such a little darling.

Yesterday was her first real bath. She loved the water and didn't cry 'til the very end. I think she was a little cold. So far she is a wonderful baby. We love all her cute little quirks; like when she sleeps, she stretches, but doesn't put her arms down (notice the picture). She'll sleep that way for almost an hour. She also makes the funniest faces when she is ready to eat. Charis is truly a grace gift from God.

She loves her little tub

Snuggling with Mom after the bath

Her time with Nanna

Christocentric Insights

2006-09-23T07:25:00.000-07:00

Last night I had the priviledge to attend our church's teacher training seminar, let by our new pastor/teacher, Paul Alexander. While a lot of the content was review (though still refreshing and encouraging to hear), some materiel hit me in a new way and I wanted to share some of that with you and read your thoughts on it. Here we go:

The Reversal of Babel: In Genesis 11, we read about the tower of Babel. At this time man was supposed to be spreading God's rule and blessing throughout the world by multiplying and filling the earth, but instead he had gathered together to promote his own name and his own rule, defying God. God's solution was to confuse their speech, stopping them from spreading their own rule. Fast forward to Acts 2. Man is again gathered together, but this time, God is ready again for them to spread the message of God's rule through the gospel and God's blessing through Christ. However, the boundary of speech is still with them. God's solution is to reverse the effects of Babel and allow men to speak in language understood by all. Now His blessing can again be spread and his rule can grow, filling the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit and the gospel.

The Partial Kingdom: The Kingdom of God is defined by Graeme Goldsworthy as: God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. In Genesis 12, a kindgom promise is given to Abram that he would have a land, descendants, and blessing. This is promise that would be partially fulfilled in several ways, but never totally fulfilled until the events of Revelation 22 take place. We see Israel as a partial fulfillment of this promise. They have a physical land in Palestine; they are a physical people group; they are under God's rule; they spread God's blessing to the nations around them (specifically under Solomon's rule). However, they are not the total fulfillment of all that the promise intended. They do not spread God's blessing to all nations, they do not contain all of God's promised people, etc. Rather, Israel is a model for the kingdom still yet to come. The aspects of their kingdom point to the fulfillment, which is ultimately Christ. Even the church doesn't fulfill the ultimate expression of the Kingdom, although it serves as an even better model than Israel. Christ is the only one who fulfills God's people in God's place under God's rule and blessing. Christ is the ultimate place: the tabernacle (Jn. 1:14), the ultimate temple (Jn. 2:18-21; Rev. 21:22), and the ultimate Lamb (Heb. 10:10). Christ is God's people (Mt. 1:1- the Son of David, the Son of Abraham; Gal. 3). Christ is the arm of God's rule and blessing (Mt. 12:28, 28:18; Luke 22:20; 2 Cor. 1:20). God's Kingdom is now here in part through Christ and the people of God who are the children of Christ, the true seed of Abraham. This Kingdom will continue to grow and spread until God makes all things new through His established King, Christ. There is no need for a reversion back to previous models, like Israel, or even the church. There is no need to revert back to old sacrifical systems or temples. Christ fulfills all.

The Wilderness Wanderings: As Israel was being prepared for her entry into the promised land and the beginning of her ministry to spread God's message to the nations, she was tested in the wilderness. She failed the test and was judged with 40 years of wandering and ultimately with exhile and rejection. Christ underwent this same test. As he prepared for his ministry, he was also tested in the wilderness, yet was successful. He use the same text from Israel's wanderings and defeated Satan's temptations. After that he gathered to himself 12 men, also an allusion to Israel's 12 tribes. Even in this small example, Christ is seen as fulfillment.

Sorry for the length, but I was excited about what I learned. Keep on studying and unfolding the many layers of our precious scriptures.

-Sola scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide, solus Christus, soli deo Gloria-

Another growth spurt already??

2006-09-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

Charis has eaten so much today. She fed almost every two hours and was awake a lot. It is a little early for another growth spurt, but you never know. Hopefully she'll sleep most of the night. She had a visit from Aunt Megan and they had a great time together. I know Charis is looking forward to seeing everyone this Sunday at church.

Last night was kind of rough. Charis slept a lot, but made loud noises every few moments which kept Moriah awake. Needless to say, Moriah was very tired when the sun rose and ended up sleeping in 'til 11 this morning. Other than that, things have been going swimmingly.

Tonight I had a chance to go to our church's teacher training class. It was great to learn even more about our great God and the bible. It is so encouraging to know that the way I teach Charis the bible as she grows will help her understand and know the one true God. Our prayer is that she will grow not just physically, but spiritually towards a relationship with Christ. Only time will tell how that develops.

On another note, our house is showing very well and we have some interest from a few different buyers. We are continuing to trust God to provide for us and can't wait to see how He will bring glory to Himself through our home and our family.

Check out the long monkey legs

She almost stayed up on her own, but eventually fell over

Scheduling has begun

2006-09-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

The schedule has begun, and Charis is adapting well. We began her on her feeding schedule yesterday and so far so good. She is sleeping better and eating right when we wake her up each time. We ran into a slight snag last night though. At around 4 am Moriah woke up experiencing some pain. It was because, well... you know how on a farm you need to milk the cows everyday or they get too full and start becomming uncomfortable? We'll just leave the explanation at that. Anyhoo, Charis was still sleeping and it had been 6.5 hours since her last feeding. We had to wake her up for her to eat, and then she went right back to bed. We are hoping she'll start sleeping through the night a little early... you never know.

She is still growing fast. I can't believe how we are noticing her arms and legs growing and the pudge getting bigger in her cheeks. You can see her big belly in the picture. I already notice she feels a little heavier when I carry her. She is starting to have better control of her head and her expressions are just priceless. It still seems unreal that she is really here in the flesh.

We would still covet your prayers as far as our future goes. We would really like to sell our house to get out of the mortgage payments. It is getting a little tight, but still manageable. God is taking really good care of us and proving Himself faithful time and time again. We aren't worried about the future, just doing our best to follow His will.

She'll eat anything when she's hungry

Already practicing immodest tanning

Jews vs. Arabs

2006-09-20T07:36:00.000-07:00

I know this blog has been mainly about our new baby, but I recieved this email from my dad and thought it interesting enough to post for you all to read. Enjoy.

The Global Islamic population is approximately 1,200,000,000, or 20% of the world population.
They have received the following Nobel Prizes:
Literature:
1988 - Najib Mahfooz

Peace:
1978 - Mohamed Anwar El-Sadat
1994 - Yaser Arafat:
1990 - Elias James Corey
1999 - Ahmed Zewai

Economics:
(none)

Medicine:
1960 - Peter Brian Medawar
1998 - Ferid Mourad

**************************************************************************
The Global Jewish population is approximately 14,000,000, or about 0.02% of the world! population.

They have received the following Nobel Prizes:
Literature:
1910 - Paul Heyse
1927 - Henri Bergson
1958 - Boris Pasternak
1966 - Shmuel Yosef Agnon
1966 - Nelly Sachs
1976 - Saul Bellow
1978 - Isaac Bashevis Singer
1981 - Elias Canetti
1987 - Joseph Brodsky
1991 - Nadine Gordimer World

Peace:
1911 - Alfred Fried
1911 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser
1968 - Rene Cassin
1973 - Henry Kissinger
1978 - Menachem Begin
1986 - Elie Wiesel
1994 - Shimon Peres
1994 - Yitzhak Rabin

Physics:
1905 - Adolph Von Baeyer
1906 - Henri Moissan
1907 - Albert Abraham Michelson
1908 - Gabriel Lippmann
1910 - Otto Wallach
1915 - Richard Willstaetter
1918 - Fritz Haber
1921 - Albert Einstein
1922 - Niels Bohr
1925 - James Franck
1925 - Gustav Hertz
1943 - Gustav Stern
1943 - George Charles de Hevesy
1944 - Isidor Issac Rabi
1952 - Felix Bloc h
1954 - Max Born
1958 - Igor Tamm
1959 - Emilio Segre
1960 - Donald A. Glaser
1961 - Robert Hofstadter
1961 - Melvin Calvin
1962 - Lev Davidovich Landau
1962 - Max Ferdinand Perutz
1965 - Richard Phillips Feynman
1965 - Julian Schwinger
1969 - Murray Gell-Mann
1971 - Dennis Gabor
1972 - William Howard Stein
1973 - Brian David Josephson
1975 - Benjamin Mottleson
1976 - Burton Richter
1977 - Ilya Prigogine
1978 - Arno Allan Penzias
1978 - Peter L Kapitza
1979 - Stephen Weinberg
1979 - Sheldon Glashow
1979 - Herbert Charle s Brown
1980 - Paul Berg
1980 - Walter Gilbert
1981 - Roald Hoffmann
1982 - Aaron Klug
1985 - Albert A. Hauptman
1985 - Jerome Karle
1986 - Dudley R. Herschbach
1988 - Robert Huber
1988 - Leon Lederman
1988 - Melvin Schwartz
1988 - Jack Steinberger
1989 - Sidney Altman
1990 - Jerome Friedman
1992 - Rudolph Marcus
1995 - Martin Perl
2000 - Alan J. Heeger

Economics:
1970 - Paul Anthony Samuelson
1971 - Simon Kuznets
1972 - Kenneth Joseph Arrow
1975 - Leonid Kantorovich
1976 - Milton Friedman
1978 - Herbert A. Simon
1980 - Lawrence Robert Klein
1985 - Franco Modigliani
1987 - Robert M. Solow
1990 - Harry Markowitz
1990 - Merton Miller
1992 - Gary Becker
1993 - Robert Fogel

Medicine:
1908 - Elie Metchnikoff
1908 - Paul Erlich
1914 - Robert Barany
1922 - Otto Meyerhof
1930 - Karl Landsteiner
1931 - Otto Warburg
1936 - Otto Loewi
1944 - Joseph Erlanger
1944 - Herbert Spencer Gasser
1945 - Ernst Boris Chain
1946 - Hermann Joseph Muller
1950 - Tadeus Reichstein
1952 - Selman Abra ham Waksman
1953 - Hans Krebs
1953 - Fritz Albert Lipmann
1958 - Joshua Lederberg
1959 - Arthur Kornberg
1964 - Konrad Bloch
1965 - Francois Jaco b
1965 - Andre Lwoff
1967 - George Wald
1968 - Marshall W. Nirenberg
1969 - Salvador Luria
1970 - Julius Axelrod
1970 - Sir Bernard Katz
1972 - Gerald Maurice Edelman
1975 - Howard Martin Temin
1976 - Baruch S. Blumberg
1977 - Roselyn Sussman Yalow
1978 - Daniel Nathans
1980 - Baruj Benacerraf
1984 - Cesar Milstein
1985 - Michael Stuart Brown
1985 - Joseph L. Goldstein
1986 - Stanley Cohen [& Rita Levi-Montalcini]
1988 - Gertrude Elion
1989 - Harold Varmus
1991 - Erwin Neher
1991 - Bert Sakmann
1993 - Richard J. Roberts
1993 - Phillip Sharp
1994 - Alfred Gilman
1995 - Edward B. Lewis

The Jews are not promoting brain washing the children in military training camps, teaching them how to blow themselves up and cause maximum deaths of Jews and other non Muslims.

The Jews don't hijack planes, nor kill athletes at the Olympics.

The Jews don't traffic slaves, nor have leaders calling for Jihad and death to all the Infidels.

Perhaps the world's Muslims should consider investing more in standard education and less in blaming the Jews for all their problems.

Regardless of your feelings about the crisis between Israel and the Palestinians and Arab neighbors, the following two sentences really say it all:

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence.

If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel

Moving right along

2006-09-18T09:12:00.000-07:00

It's been over two weeks now, and Charis is doing great. She seems to be falling into a regular routine of eating, being awake, and then sleeping. It has been good for us to know what her cues for feeding are and she is latching on right away. Feedings are taking a lot less time than they were even a few days ago.

I'm a little sick today, so I called off of work and I will be home with the wife and daughter. We are going to be outside a lot, enjoying the weather before it gets too cold the rest of the week. It was great to hang out with both sets of grandparents yesterday. What a blessing to have so much love surrounding our little baby, wherever she goes. I am so glad we are close to family.

As night closes in, Charis is starting to have a rough evening. As I am writing this second half of the blog, she has finally fallen asleep after being awake for almost 7 hours. We think it is too much caffeine for Moriah, but we're not sure. We rely on God more than ever now, and that is a great place to be. I'm going to try and sleep now... night

Her cord has finally fallen out

Alone for some quiet reflection

"What, I have to obey my parents?!"

Growing like a weed

2006-09-16T09:05:00.000-07:00

Her first doctor's visit went very well. She has grown another inch and now weighs 7lbs. 12 oz. We are finally learning what her true hunger cues are and that is relieving a lot of stress in trying to feed her. She is sleeping great and this upcoming week we are going to finally try to get her on a regular schedule.

Yesterday she had her first babysitting experience. Moriah left her at her parents house and came to be with me at the youth film festival at our church. It was only for an hour, but we were glad to be together. Today we take her to the other set of grandparents for a few hours because our neighborhood is having several open houses for new home buyers. Since our house is up for sale, we thought it would be good to be a part of that.

Other than that, not much is going on. Charis is healthy... no more eye goop, and starting to focus on things better. Her eyes don't wander as much and it seems she controls herself a little better when she is wiggling around. She doesn't need as much help from us to fall asleep which is great.

Well, gotta clean up the house. See ya tomorrow...

Sleeping like an angel

She loves the carseat

Doing push-ups

2006-09-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Charis is getting so huge. It seems like just yesterday she was swimming in all of her clothes, and now her arms and legs stretch them all the way out. She's already filling out most of her 0-3 months clothes. I knew that she would grow fast, but this is ridiculous. It's a good thing she is so cute.

She has been doing really well this week. She is eating a ton and sleeping a lot. It hasn't been as much of a struggle getting her to feed lately, thank the Lord. And (get ready to be jealous), at night she sleeps between 5-6 hours without waking up, usually between 2:30 am and 8:00 am. We are so proud of her and her little accomplishments. Like today, she was having tummy time and she lifted herself up like a little push up, picked up her head and turned it to the other side without any help. It looked like she was struggling a little, but she got through it. We can't be more happy with how she is doing.

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. Only a few more weeks before she is out all the time in public. Hopefully she'll be ready for all the attention. Tomorrow is her 2 week check-up (wow, 2 weeks old already!!) and we are looking forward to what the Doc will have to say about our little girl. I'll try and keep you posted. Night.....

Charis is already speaking her mind about things

Time for yet another nap

"Hmmmm, what should I do next... poop, eat, or sleep?"

Baby out on the town

2006-09-12T17:37:00.000-07:00

Charis is doing splendidly. Although she still has trouble getting started for her meals and her eye still has a little goo in it, she is doing great. Moriah took her out on the town today. It was their first trip together, just the two of them, and they went to mommies old work to get some files. How exciting. Charis has slept most of the day, and seems very relaxed about the whole traveling thing. She falls right asleep in her carseat and love the hum of the engine.

Moriah is doing a lot better today too. She is already up and around, running errands, giving Charis a bath, and doing most of the things she did before Charis came. Tomorrow, Charis is going to visit me at work. It will be good to see the ladies in the middle of the day. Well, that's it for now. Later....

Charis does the weirdest things when she sleeps, like raising her hand for a high five or to ask a question...
maybe she has to go to the bathroom

knocked out on the sofa after a hard day's work

Charis has some eye goop :-(

2006-09-11T16:31:00.000-07:00

Our first time with a sick baby has gone pretty well. She woke up last night with a blocked tear duct, causing some swolleness in her eye as well as nasty yellow goo to seal her eye shut. She didn't cry to much about it though. We got some drops for her and the swelling is already going down.

On another matter, she hasn't been feeding very well. It's like she is hungry, but just won't take the food that is right in front of her. Even now at this young age she is showing stubborness and a willfulness to do things her way or not at all. The world may tell us that she's just being a baby, she'll grow out of it, don't worry, but we know why. The sin nature is inborn in all of us. What a picture of that she has been. For all of her cuteness and adorability, she still has those selfish tendencies already. Hopefully we can train her up to obedience and selflessness, but we have time for that. She only 10 days old after all, and we have a lifetime (or at least 18 years or so) to pour ourselves into her and show her Christ's love and show her the grace she was named after.

If you can, pray for patience for us. Not only do we have little Charis to care for, but also life keeps moving on in all other areas. We continue to wait on God for full-time work as well as a buyer for our house. We have no doubt that He will take care of us, and we look forward to how He will bring glory to His name through us. We'll keep you posted on how it all works out.

By the way, she is growing like crazy. She has already maxed out the length of the arms and legs of a few of her newborn clothes. She's going to be a giant...

Isn't mommy beautiful?? I think so

She loves sucking on the pinky

Our little Napper

2006-09-10T00:45:00.000-07:00

Charis is so sleepy. We still have yet to let her wake up on her own for a feeding. She is growing strong though. Her arms and legs seem like they are really long for an infant her age. Also, her hair is getting really blonde. So much for that dominant brown hair gene, but I still have hope for the future.

She has gotten so much easier in the past few days. For those of you who don't know, we were given a nipple shield for her nursing in the hospital, and since the day she was born, she hasn't been able to feed without it. By God's grace, she finally got off of it yesterday, enabling her to get much better feedings. It is so much easier to get her started and once she starts, she does it all by herself.

We went for another walk yesterday with the grandparents (my mom and dad). It is so nice to get out and get some fresh air. It was really windy though, but Charis didn't seem to mind. She slept right through the whole thing.

Well, later this morning is church. My first one without my precious girls. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone and giving all the fun updates, but it won't be the same without them there with me. A camera phone picture doesn't do her justice, ya know?

I gotta get back to helping feed the baby. Later...

Getting a little chubbier

2006-09-08T16:26:00.000-07:00

Charis is almost back to birth weight. She came into this world weighing 7lbs. 6oz. A few days later she was down to 6lbs. 9oz. We made a few changes in her feeding and, thanks to our God, the amazing anatomy of a baby, and some great help from Sue Bixby, she is back to 7lbs. 1oz. and climbing. She has gained 5 ounces in the last 2 days. God is so good and Charis is growing big and strong, just like we prayed. Now that she is feeding properly, she is sleeping all the time, which is nice for us because we can catch up on sleep. She has been such a blessing to us. She has already taught us so much about patience and trust in God. Our prayer life has been great since she came into our world, and we hope it continues.

In other news, I have finally gone back to work, leaving Moriah home alone for much of the day. She keeps busy by getting visits from friends and family and I keep busy by working. But, it isn't as fun as being together as a family. Tonight we plan on taking a walk together in the beautiful evening weather we are having. It will be Charis's first trip in the stroller.

Well, the sun is setting, so we better get to our stroll....

Her hands are so tiny

Sue has been such a great help

Charis after eating 2 ounces from mommy...

Finally getting a full tummy

2006-09-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

Last night was our first night with more than 3 hours of sleep. Charis is finally feeding properly and sleeping like a newborn should. It has been a struggle the past few nights to get her to latch on and take a full feeding, but with the help of some great nurse friends, she is finally getting a full tummy.

She is also learning to sleep on her own. She loves her little swing and rocks herself to sleep all the time now. We still can't get over how cute she is and how amazing God is to give her to us.

Yesterday was a day of a few firsts for her. She took her first trip to the store (Walgreens) to get some more baby stuff for her and Moriah. She slept the whole time and missed it all, but that's ok with us. The more sleeping the better. She also went to Moriah's parent's house for a little bit and met their dog (Nightfall). Nightfall was so confused and just kept walking around the table she was on, sniffing and looking strange. Charis is such a good traveler and we hope she continues to love taking trips. That kind of runs in our family.

Thank you all for your prayers and congratulations. We can't wait 'til you all get to see our little bundle of joy in person. She is truly a grace gift from God.

Everyone loves a changed diaper

Her first bath (don't you just love Moriah's shirt)

It's getting a little easier

2006-09-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

Wow... it's amazing what you can do on so little sleep. But seriously, things have been getting better. Last night Moriah and I got several hours each. She was gracious and let me have 6, getting only 4 herself. It is still amazing to think that just a few short days ago, she was inside of Moriah. We can't get over how cute she is (is it just us or is she totally cute?) and all the adorable little faces she makes. God is truly an awesome Creator.

If you all would keep praying for us, we would really appreciate it. We had our at-home visit this morning from Sue Bixby and it was extremely helpful. We found out why she was losing so much weight (almost a pound since birth) and why she wasn't sleeping or feeding correctly. It was nice to get answers to some of those questions and Charis is finally eating and sleeping regularly. We are still getting used to her little appetite, but eventually things will even out... we hope.

As I reflected on her eating, the truth of 1 Peter 2:2 really hit home. We are to long for the pure spiritual milk of God's word as our newborn Charis longs for her food. If she doesn't get it, she starves and would eventually perish, just as we would perish without God's word. And, just as she is satisfied with every swallow, so we are satisfied as we digest what God tells us each spiritual meal.

Well, I've got to get back to fatherhood. Until next time...

This is her, "What just came out of me?" puzzled look.

The four generations together.

Her first "look"... Zoolander would be proud.

Day 4 and still awake

2006-09-04T11:23:00.000-07:00

We are now on day four of Charis's little life. She is so precious. I could say I am wasted from the loss of sleep and exausted by all the work of maintaining a newborn, but I'm really not. We've been able to sleep a little here and there, but we're having so much fun with her I don't even notice that I'm tired, unless Charis falls asleep... then I'm out.

Right now Moriah and Charis are taking a little nap. Charis has been doing great with feeding and being a good little girl while I change her. The diapers have been a little gross, but after seeing her born, I think I have a new definition of what gross really is.

We had her check-up this morning and the doc said that she looks great. No jaundice (is that how you spell it?) and the normal amount of weightloss for a newborn. She is actually sleeping too much now and, as you can see in the picture, she can hold her own head up, in certain positions. There are so many things that could be freaking us out right now, but with the classes we've taken and the support from friends and family, we feel confident to take on these early stages of parenthood. We'll have to wait and see about the other stages ;-)

We are so excited God has brought this little one into our life. As He guides us through this
time, we are growing more and more confident that God will provide and take care of us all, no matter what. So, until next time, enjoy the pictures...

Charis is finally here!!!

2006-09-02T19:34:00.000-07:00

Well, Charis Moriah Huff is finally here, in person, and I must say she is the cutest little girl I've ever held. She was born yesterday, September 1st, at 3:30 pm after 15 hours of labor by my beautiful and courageous wife, Moriah. She weighs in at 7 lbs. 6oz. and is 20 inches long, so far...

As she came into this world I can only describe the feeling as total awe and wonder that our precious child was here. Granted, it was pretty gross, but also amazing to see a baby born, and then to get to care for her and love her and take her home... I must say it was a little overwhelming, but definetely a good overwhelming. I'll say much more in the future, but I must go spend some time with her. Here are some pictures to dwell on for the time being...

Here is me putting on her first little diaper... the rest are self-explanatory

There ya go. You enjoy the pictures, I'll enjoy her. Bye bye.

A Little Grace on the way

2006-08-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

As many of you probably know, we have a baby coming soon. The official due date is Sept. 4 (Labor Day), although the baby will be ready to go in about 3 weeks. We finally have everything purchased and set up and are ready to go; at least, as much as we can be ready with a new baby coming. We are so excited to expand our family and to become parents. We've actually taken a class with my parents about parenting, and it is amazing how much fear is taken out of this process when you know what you are doing, or at least have a guide to follow. I guess that is that same with any situation in life really. We are trusting in our Sovereign God for a lot of things right now, but this new baby coming is definitely the biggest one.

Her name is going to be Charis. For you Greek buffs out there, that is pronounced with a K sound, like Christ, and it is the Greek word for grace. We thought it appropriate to name our daughter that because it is only by the grace of God that she is coming into our lives.

I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and updates, but so far so good. She is coming and nothing is in her way. We are trusting God to bring her out safe and sound and we'll rejoice when she gets here. Later......

2006-08-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my first blog entry ever. I hope you all visit here often for reflective music, wonderful art, and good home cooking.