The Gospel Message, simplified

This is an amazing message I heard the other day from a man named Rev. Joby Martin, from a chapel message he did at Compassion International.  A great message from a great man!

The little things in life

As I look back over my pictures, I'm amazed to see so many seemingly little things that I love so dearly!

A full moon

Sitting around the fire with my family on a long summer's evening

Cute little brothers

 

The clouds during a sunset

Well-loved tractors

Apple pie

And though I never thought I'd say this... cornfields!

Book of the Week: The Gold of Exodus, by Howard Blum

The Gold of Exodus has made me think about the Bible in a much different light than I originally did.  It helped me realize that all those careful calculations in the Old Testament are actually there, well, for a reason.  And now I've decided that one of those reasons was for us today, to better believe and more literally interpret the lists and meticulously documented histories of the Old Testament. 

The book is a non-fiction narrative taken from 1979-1995 or so, when the Saudi Arabian government was working on "Project Falcon."  Most of the book focuses on two unlikely companions, a self-made millionaire, Larry Williams, and a police man/mountain climber/former football player, Bob Cornuke.  The Gold of Exodus follows their journey from America to England, and finally Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they found Mount Sinai, or at least the mountain they (and some other archeologists) consider to be Mount Sinai.  The thing I really liked about this book was how easy to read and exciting it is!  As it said on the inside cover, it's "part high-tech treasure hunt, part modern-day spy thriller, and part biblical detective story."  Most non-fiction books are hard to begin, but this one takes you to the middle of the story and makes you feel a part of it from the very beginning.

Howard Blum has used actual Scripture that the men used to make their calculations throughout the book, or at least Scripture references.  When there was a reference, or even when I wanted to check something to see how "real" what they were saying the Bible said really was, I was able to go right to the true source for information.  It helped me get a better grip on what the Exodus was like for the Israelites.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in Biblical history and archeology, or just a bookworm who needs a new book to read! J

Air show

We went to an air show last weekend—the first that I've ever been to.  It was a lot of fun for the little kids—Samuel and Emily actually got to "ride" in a military helicopter.  Of course, a non-stationary helicopter is more fun, but that's okay.  They didn't mind too much.

Rose, who's been interested in aviation over the past year or two, was very excited to see the Thunderbirds.   

One of my own favorite parts were the parachuters: 

Some of the planes made me want to learn how to fly myself!

So that was the trip to the air show... I would definitely go again if I could!  I never thought about the amazing maneuvers that pilots can do when they become good! 

New Music: Gungor

This is "Beautiful things" by Gungor... one of the songs I fell in love with while at camp.  Not exactly well known, but it should be!    It's really amazing to think about the fact that God made beautiful things out of the dust... and out of us.