The Joy of God's Promise

Sept. 2, 2008, right off our front porch. This was probably my very favorite picture of 2008. Not only was the rainbow absolutely brilliantly beautiful, but you can't miss the real beauty, joy and bright future in the faces of these little "pots of gold." God's blessings are SO beautiful!

First, let me say I'm not a Carrie Underwood fan. In my view, she tries to straddle the fence between "preening Madonna hottie" and "clean country girl," and for me it's like sewage in a glass of ice water. I'm not impressed with her other music...the album ("Some Hearts") had a lot of moral junk bookending "Jesus Take the Wheel."

The song is a nice tune and good point. I admit, sometimes God will use scary events to wake us up to the fact we've left Him on the sidelines and are playing Life according to our own gameplan. And that part of the song is dead right.

But I just can't shake the silliness of a mom throwing her hands in the air and screaming for God to suspend the laws of physics after she's gone spinning out of control.

So if you've heard the original song, you'll understand why I think this spoof is so hilarious. (PS--Tim Hawkins is a great Christian comedian; please don't think this is meant to be sacriligious).

Original: "Jesus Take The Wheel"

Spoof: "Cletus Take the Reel"

They're growing up SO fast! What wonderful kids...a dad couldn't be prouder.

We're trusting God will show you great and amazing things during 2009. 2008 was a year of challenging transitions for us, but looking back we can see how God was moving and directing. I (Kurt) certainly learned that life takes unexpected twists, and that we can easily drive off the road if we don't surrender the driver's seat to the Lord. (OK, go to my other post on "Jesus Take the Wheel").

I'm continually amazed at how God is using each of us. It's especially wonderful to see each of our kids developing talents and a desire to use them for God's service. "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth." III John 1:4 We can't wait to see what's ahead. We trust you have the same Faith, Hope and Love for the Lord.

Kelton: Mary Did You Know?

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We pray that all of you had a wonderfully Merry Christmas, and were able to spend time with family and friends. Gifts are nice, but family is most important.

Of course, we celebrate a true Event, the Birth of Christ. We hope you were able to make that a focal point of your day, and that the family celebrations are all the more meaningful for the reality of the Hope, Love and Joy that Faith in Jesus Christ brings us.