The end of the Semester is right around the corner and the days are a blur right now. My head is filled with questions about the authorship of the Gospels, how i am going to pay my rent and my tuition, what classes i can afford and handle this summer, and will we ever see just a little prosperity during this season? i find myself not necessarily wondering if God will provide, but what we are to learn as a family being this far down the edge of the cliff?
God is ruining our dependence on finances and i believe He is doing it on purpose and with a future purpose in mind. mickie and i have always been poor to some degree all of our thirteen years together, but we are hitting an all time low. Now please don't misunderstand; we are not poor at all compared to the world, so i mean lack of money only. It would be ridiculous to not recognize how overwhelmingly blessed we have been in all areas aside from finances. Praise be to God cause His ways are higher than our ways!
We are blessed in what i consider to be the things that really matter:
1) Children
Psalm 127:3-5
3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
2) My Beautiful Spouse (i am not speaking for mickie causes the LORD knows i ain't beautiful!!!)
Proverbs 18:22
22 He who finds a wife finds what is good
and receives favor from the LORD.
Proverbs 12:4
4 An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who shames him is like rottenness in his bones.
3) Most important is a growing relationship with Yeshua our Messiah
Philippians 3:7-9
7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
O' LORD let that be my aim today, tomorrow and forever; to forsake all things for the surpassing greatness of knowing You. Let me never grow distraught for not having the things that the world seeks after. But instead let me remember what is important to Your heart. May You be glorified in all we endeavour to do and say. By the blood of Yeshua in the power of the Spirit and for the Glory of the Father, Amayn.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Colored Chickens
Here are some cute pics of the kids and their cousins. Check out those colored chicks:
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Heavy thoughts needing rest
It has been a long work week for me. Six days in a row and i finally got a couple of days off. The kids got back from their gram and pops and they were asleep when i got home tonight. i had to go into their rooms and look at them. i missed them even though they were only gone for a few days. Baby chloe stayed with us and she gobbled up the love of both her parents. The three of us went to Red Robin last night for dinner and the nice waitress told us that one day we would get really good at eating with one hand. She said this because mickie was holding chloe as she ate her dinner. we bothed laughed knowing that we had learned that lesson six years ago with Abigail.
It is strange to think that we have been parents for six years now and i wonder where the time went. It is as if time doubled or even tripled in speed once we had children. Years go by like days and yet i can recall less about the past than i would like to. i was listening to a derek webb cd, "The Ringing Bell" today on my way home and was hit full force by a fact that our lives if not lived for the right reasons are a waste.
He sings: "They say we are just trying to stay alive, but it looks more like a way to die." i wonder how much our lives look like this? i started to think that just "existing" is really just a miserable way to die while living. No chance of going in reverse during this life. Yesterday is gone, today is here, and tomorrow has enough trouble on its own. This world is full of people finding different ways to die. They die with toys, houses, money, fame, acceptance, being right, feelings, and a whole host of facades.
May we never settle for "existence", but push onward into the upward calling of Christ. Tomorrow do not just exist, but live. And life is only found in Yeshua because He came to give us life and life abundant. Not existence, but life!
The worse thing would be to get to the end of your life and find out you missed it; you missed the point of God forming you in your mother's womb, counting the hairs on your hand, and breathing His breath in you so that you could glorify Him through a relationship with Him. Life is only found in God and anything else is just another way to die.
Shalom!
It is strange to think that we have been parents for six years now and i wonder where the time went. It is as if time doubled or even tripled in speed once we had children. Years go by like days and yet i can recall less about the past than i would like to. i was listening to a derek webb cd, "The Ringing Bell" today on my way home and was hit full force by a fact that our lives if not lived for the right reasons are a waste.
He sings: "They say we are just trying to stay alive, but it looks more like a way to die." i wonder how much our lives look like this? i started to think that just "existing" is really just a miserable way to die while living. No chance of going in reverse during this life. Yesterday is gone, today is here, and tomorrow has enough trouble on its own. This world is full of people finding different ways to die. They die with toys, houses, money, fame, acceptance, being right, feelings, and a whole host of facades.
May we never settle for "existence", but push onward into the upward calling of Christ. Tomorrow do not just exist, but live. And life is only found in Yeshua because He came to give us life and life abundant. Not existence, but life!
The worse thing would be to get to the end of your life and find out you missed it; you missed the point of God forming you in your mother's womb, counting the hairs on your hand, and breathing His breath in you so that you could glorify Him through a relationship with Him. Life is only found in God and anything else is just another way to die.
Shalom!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Well needed time off
Well, we finally got some well-needed family time this weekend. i scored a three day weekend and enjoyed many naps with Luke and baby Chloe. Today was great as Abigail excelled in playing catch with a football. She even got hit in the face and it didn't phase her. Momma was proud as she is extremely scared of catching a ball in the face and thus avoids all such games. We enjoyed some evening wrestle time and if you have not played horse with three children on your back, you have not lived. Going to see the chiropractor soon!!
Church at the village is great and we are looking to join a small group or start one for those that commute from Fort Worth. After that we are going to join the Village as Covenant Partners. The kids are looking forward to seeing their Gram and Pops this weekend and Abigail is jazzed about looking for fossils as she will be spending some time in Austin with her grandparents. I am going to try and make Jame's confirmation the following weekend. And if i am correct, he and some others are planning to join us here to celebrate the Passover Seder in April.
Here are some new pictures of the kids:
Saturday, March 1, 2008
We love cause He loved us
Psalm 9:9-11
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
As i was driving to work today, i was listening to Matt Redman's song God of our Yesterdays and he has a bridge where he quotes this Psalm about how we can trust God cause we know His name. We can trust Him because He is faithful when all are not. We can trust Him because He has been, is , and will forever be.
Praise be to Elohim, the mighty, mighty God of all the nations; the unwavering giver of good and the Father of Lights. You are worthy O' LORD of our Fathers and their sons and daughters. You are worthy of our days, minutes, and seconds. Every breath should utter praise to You.
Have you ever felt the love of God so strong that you are compelled to share as if you would burst if you did not? Today was one of those days. i know what John meant when he wrote that we love because He first loved us. Man, what an overwhelming feeling God's love is when it comes on you like a breaking wave. When we are with Him for eternity, how amazing it will be to drink in His love, shaken, pressed down, and over flowing the measure.
It has not been a particularly spiritual time for our family as my work duties have increased and my time at home has diminished. Seminary is a day to day struggle and one day is never like the next.
Our kids are amazing! My bride is amazing! Abigail has learned how to read and she is devouring her kids Bible. Praise God for His mercy in extending grace to her six year old body. The kids absolutely love Shabbat and they get very serious when the blessings are done. mickie says it is funny to watch them dance around when Shabbat Shalom is playing. They love the Challah bread and the Grape Juice that symbolize communion and the bread and wine or Christ.
What an amazing blessing Shabbat has been. my family has been learning so much from Torah and to see them taking joy in celebrating communion as such a young age is joy. Yeshua said:
Matthew 18:2-4
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Yeshua says that whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom. What did that child do? What exactly was Yeshua praising this child for? i wonder if it was not his complete trust in Yeshua? Maybe he had never even met our LORD before and here Yeshua was beckoning him to come forth and be a part of a teaching for the generations. i imagine that the child without hesitation walked into Yeshua's loving arms. That is what we must do to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; walk in faith into the loving arms of Christ.
i pray that my family walks in faith right into the loving arms of Christ. Father, i ask for mercy and grace to lead my family into the loving arms of Your Son. i pray that same blessing for all that we know and love. May you grant them grace and faith. Father use us to bless Your name. Here we are LORD, send us!!!
9 The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the LORD, enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he has done.
As i was driving to work today, i was listening to Matt Redman's song God of our Yesterdays and he has a bridge where he quotes this Psalm about how we can trust God cause we know His name. We can trust Him because He is faithful when all are not. We can trust Him because He has been, is , and will forever be.
Praise be to Elohim, the mighty, mighty God of all the nations; the unwavering giver of good and the Father of Lights. You are worthy O' LORD of our Fathers and their sons and daughters. You are worthy of our days, minutes, and seconds. Every breath should utter praise to You.
Have you ever felt the love of God so strong that you are compelled to share as if you would burst if you did not? Today was one of those days. i know what John meant when he wrote that we love because He first loved us. Man, what an overwhelming feeling God's love is when it comes on you like a breaking wave. When we are with Him for eternity, how amazing it will be to drink in His love, shaken, pressed down, and over flowing the measure.
It has not been a particularly spiritual time for our family as my work duties have increased and my time at home has diminished. Seminary is a day to day struggle and one day is never like the next.
Our kids are amazing! My bride is amazing! Abigail has learned how to read and she is devouring her kids Bible. Praise God for His mercy in extending grace to her six year old body. The kids absolutely love Shabbat and they get very serious when the blessings are done. mickie says it is funny to watch them dance around when Shabbat Shalom is playing. They love the Challah bread and the Grape Juice that symbolize communion and the bread and wine or Christ.
What an amazing blessing Shabbat has been. my family has been learning so much from Torah and to see them taking joy in celebrating communion as such a young age is joy. Yeshua said:
Matthew 18:2-4
2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Yeshua says that whoever humbles himself like this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom. What did that child do? What exactly was Yeshua praising this child for? i wonder if it was not his complete trust in Yeshua? Maybe he had never even met our LORD before and here Yeshua was beckoning him to come forth and be a part of a teaching for the generations. i imagine that the child without hesitation walked into Yeshua's loving arms. That is what we must do to be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven; walk in faith into the loving arms of Christ.
i pray that my family walks in faith right into the loving arms of Christ. Father, i ask for mercy and grace to lead my family into the loving arms of Your Son. i pray that same blessing for all that we know and love. May you grant them grace and faith. Father use us to bless Your name. Here we are LORD, send us!!!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Blessings over Daughters
Well, it has been a couple of weeks since our last post and boy is it busier than ever in the Brown house. i just completed my first Marathon running 26.2 miles in 5 hours 2 minutes and 18 seconds. Not too shabby for only training for five months. Unfortunately it has turned me into a running beast where i feel the need to feed on more races. i am not sure mickie is all that excited because races=money if ya know what i mean. Anywho, it was a whirlwind tour in Austin for the race and we enjoyed getting to see Lewis and Jackie was a lifesaver at the race by encouraging me and providing much needed Tylenol.
we are excited about this weekend because mickie's youngest brother sean is going to attend The Village with us and he is not an attender of church. we believe him to be a believer, he just has not found a church home as he is going to school at North Texas. he said it will give him something to look forward to each week, so we are stoked.
What a blessing i received this evening as i put my daughters to bed. grandpa and grandma came and bought them separate twin Ikea beds and so praying with them has become an Olympic event hopping from one bed to the next. i prayed with one and then prayed with the other. After that i stood in the middle and raised my hands to pronounce a blessing on them and my oldest moves forward so that my hand would be on her head. Incredible! we have been observing Sabbath and there is a blessing for the daughters in which the father lays hands on them and pronounces a blessing or rather sings it, but to see it sinking in and her eagerness to receive the blessing of her father almost brought me to tears.
Time has been a scarcity in our house and i do not really get to see my family during the week which has been hard. It is a season and not forever. Seminary is getting better and i see everyday that God brought me here to minister to the future Pastors of the world as i have been engaged in many conversations. The spiritual climate here is very warm and it has taken some getting used to coming from Austin. From Office Depot and Sonic, to Starbucks everybody loves that you follow Yeshua. They openly talk about it and engage you about it.
Ba-ruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher na-tahn lanoo et deh-rech ha-ya-shoo-ah b'Meh-shee-ach Yeshua.
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us the way of salvation in Messiah Yeshua.
we are excited about this weekend because mickie's youngest brother sean is going to attend The Village with us and he is not an attender of church. we believe him to be a believer, he just has not found a church home as he is going to school at North Texas. he said it will give him something to look forward to each week, so we are stoked.
What a blessing i received this evening as i put my daughters to bed. grandpa and grandma came and bought them separate twin Ikea beds and so praying with them has become an Olympic event hopping from one bed to the next. i prayed with one and then prayed with the other. After that i stood in the middle and raised my hands to pronounce a blessing on them and my oldest moves forward so that my hand would be on her head. Incredible! we have been observing Sabbath and there is a blessing for the daughters in which the father lays hands on them and pronounces a blessing or rather sings it, but to see it sinking in and her eagerness to receive the blessing of her father almost brought me to tears.
Time has been a scarcity in our house and i do not really get to see my family during the week which has been hard. It is a season and not forever. Seminary is getting better and i see everyday that God brought me here to minister to the future Pastors of the world as i have been engaged in many conversations. The spiritual climate here is very warm and it has taken some getting used to coming from Austin. From Office Depot and Sonic, to Starbucks everybody loves that you follow Yeshua. They openly talk about it and engage you about it.
Ba-ruch atah Adonai Eloheinu Melech ha-olam, asher na-tahn lanoo et deh-rech ha-ya-shoo-ah b'Meh-shee-ach Yeshua.
Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has given us the way of salvation in Messiah Yeshua.
Monday, February 11, 2008
we found a church, YEAH!!!!
So life is in full swing here at the Brown abode. Our time together has been shortened due to my newly aquired work schedule and Seminary. i am currently at the training store in Las Colinas so the drive is shorter. But the hours are longer and i am growing more and more tired.
mickie seems to be holding up great. she is a rock of faith amidst our financial storm and she serves to bolster my strength more than she probably is aware of. she is calm when i am freaking out and she helps to align my thoughts when i am like a cat trying to avoid falling into the barrel.
The children are settling in, but my being away has made them more restless and when i am home, they are like spider monkeys on a small tree if you know what i mean? they cling to me for dear life afraid that i might leave again. we know that it is just a season and we will be silent and trust in YHVH.
we have been praying and fretting over finding a church home and the LORD was gracious to answer us this week. we had considered going to The Village Church, but worried about it not being a Baptist Church. The Seminary only gives me a break on tution as long as i attend a Baptist church. So we had pretty much written off The Village until i started to look over their website and found out that they are what i would call a "Reformed Baptist" church; one that started out Baptist, First Baptist Highland Village to be exact, and then re-wrote their constitution and by-laws as well as changed their name. All the while, keeping their relationship with the SBC. SWEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!! Open up mouth cause here comes cake and i am a eaten too. Incredible sermon last weekend and good music. Matt Chandler, who reminds me of Matt Carter, even mentioned Torah several times in his sermon. The families' soul was fed well.
Psalm 34:1-3
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
mickie seems to be holding up great. she is a rock of faith amidst our financial storm and she serves to bolster my strength more than she probably is aware of. she is calm when i am freaking out and she helps to align my thoughts when i am like a cat trying to avoid falling into the barrel.
The children are settling in, but my being away has made them more restless and when i am home, they are like spider monkeys on a small tree if you know what i mean? they cling to me for dear life afraid that i might leave again. we know that it is just a season and we will be silent and trust in YHVH.
we have been praying and fretting over finding a church home and the LORD was gracious to answer us this week. we had considered going to The Village Church, but worried about it not being a Baptist Church. The Seminary only gives me a break on tution as long as i attend a Baptist church. So we had pretty much written off The Village until i started to look over their website and found out that they are what i would call a "Reformed Baptist" church; one that started out Baptist, First Baptist Highland Village to be exact, and then re-wrote their constitution and by-laws as well as changed their name. All the while, keeping their relationship with the SBC. SWEEEEETTTTTTT!!!!!!! Open up mouth cause here comes cake and i am a eaten too. Incredible sermon last weekend and good music. Matt Chandler, who reminds me of Matt Carter, even mentioned Torah several times in his sermon. The families' soul was fed well.
Psalm 34:1-3
1 I will bless the LORD at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will make its boast in the LORD;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O magnify the LORD with me,
And let us exalt His name together.
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