4.3 million.  Number of U.S. births in 2006, the highest since 1961, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nielsen recently conducted research on where web users spend their time online. In the survey, they asked participants a number of questions about their web habits including their political leanings and came up with an interesting chart detailing the most liberal to most conservative news sites on the internet.

Not surprising, Fox News and Drudge Report drew the highest number of conservatives while Mother Jones (?) and Daily Kos drew the highest number of liberals.

Where does your news source rank?

Last night, the kids participated in an end-of-year recitation with a few families from our church.

Nicholas recited his favorite scripture, Psalm 27:1, as well as Aesop's "The Lion and the Mouse."

Maddox recited the Apostles' Creed.

The kids also sang one of their favorite hymns, "Great is Thy Faithfulness."

It was inspiring to see all of these great kids display all of their hard work. We heard poems, creeds, scriptures, stories, songs and even had a visit from Abraham Lincoln.

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
John 3:8

Found this incredibly insightful commercial posted on Doug Wilson's website. As Doug says in his post, "The surprise ending changes everything in it, and, for those who are wise there is a profound theological lesson in it for us."

What may be a nuisance to the natural man, is a source of power and grace to the spiritual man.

Jay Lemke writes an excellent piece in this month's Modern Reformation entitled, "It's Time to Stop the Spiritual 'Bait and Switch.' "

Citing statistics from Barna Research (such as 75 percent of Americans believe that the Bible teaches that 'God helps those who help themselves' - a little wisdom from the non-Christian Ben Franklin), Lemke illustrates how Christians in America have grown ignorant not only of their Bible, but especially of the gospel. Today's pew sitters simply look to the church to meet their supportive needs instead of coming to hear the great news that God justifies the wicked (of which they are included, right beside me) .

"So what does the church do to combat this pathetic reality? The modern church, in all its human wisdom, has decided to be something it's not. For example, to show men that the church is masculine and cool, we plan things like rock climbing adventures and paint ball excursions; and we have conferences that teach men how to be better fathers and husbands. For women, it is much the same: Christianity is there to help you be a better wife, raise better kids, and have a more contented life. Not that there is anything wrong with these things per se, but it misses the main point by a mile."

Many may argue that in order to "Go unto the world," we've got to be able to offer something that the world needs. Lemke laments that churches have chosen in poor judgment to communicate the gospel under these false pretenses.

"We'll bring people in with music, food, fun, and games; and we'll make them think that being a Christian is about whatever interests them. We'll play on their felt needs, and we'll do research to determine what "seekers" want in a church.... Finally, after all of that work, once we have people in the church, we may eventually get around to telling them, 'oh, by the way, Jesus died for your sins.' "

He ends his article by reminding us that the Bible is not about improving ourselves, but how Jesus alone sets us right before a Holy God who is angry about our sin. He encourages churches to help their members realize just how much trouble they're in with God and how much God sacrificed to save them. It's only then that they'll be able to see the Bible as a collection of love letters and begin to enjoy reading - and rightly learning, I might add - the word of God.

It really is an excellent article.

Modern Reformation magazine reports this dandy in their June edition:

What started out as a nationwide joke has turned into a small but determined new religion. Seven people in every thousand in England and Wales gave their religion as 'Jedi' in the 2001 Census.

Now, a Jedi church has formed in North Wales. The order has 80 worshippers--whose uniform is head-to-toe black--but is growing daily, said Barney Jones, also known as Master Jonba Hehol. "We will have teachings based on Yoda--the 900-year-old grand master--as well as readings, essays submitted, meditation and relaxation, visualisation and discuss healthy eating."

According to a NY Times article, Crime Stoppers has reported year-to-date increases of 25% to 44% in their call centers across America.

The "pay for crime tips" agency credits their fortune to, get this.... the poor economy.

“For this year, everyone that’s called has pretty much been just looking for money,” said Sgt. Lawrence Beller, who answers Crime Stoppers calls at the Sussex County, N.J., sheriff’s office. “That’s as opposed to the last couple of years, where some people were just sick of the crime and wanting to do something about it.”

On Friday, a woman from Macon, Georgia reportedly was upset when told that she would have to wait until Monday to pick up her reward.

“I’m in a bind, I’m really in a bind,” she told the hot-line operator. “There’s a lot of stuff I know, but I didn’t open my mouth. If I weren’t in a bind, I wouldn’t open my mouth.”

Goes to prove....to every cloudy economy, there is a silver lining.

Yesterday was the annual "Home School Olympic Day." Several hundred home schooled kids gathered for a fun day of sports and competition.

This was our first year to participate and as you can see, fun was in the air.

Just got home from a great time in Branson. The highlight for the kids was definitely their time at Silver Dollar City.

For the past year, I've been reading through Bruce Waltke's commentaries in The Book of Proverbs. Even though it's a somewhat difficult read, this book is tremendously helpful in bringing out the richness and amazing depth of this well-known book of the Bible.

Today, I read Waltke's take on The Wise and Wealth.

Money has a way of supplanting one's trust in God. A rich person in Proverbs is not merely a person who has more than enough to take care of his physical needs but one whose heart clings to his possessions for security and significance (10:15; 18:10-11; Ps 49:6-7). He depends on himself, not the Lord, for his life (28:11); thus he is a fool, living in the realm of death.

Moreover, money's value is limited (3:13-18). It can build a house, but not a home; it can put food on a table, but not fellowship around it; it can give a woman fur and jewelry, but not the love she really wants. Wisdom, however, gives both material well-being and spiritual life.

On the other hand, money has value. It saves one from spiritual losses associated with poverty. Agur recognized that too little money would lead him to steal and so defile his conscience and alienate him from God (30:9)....Money also enables one to be righteous in the sense of serving and enriching the community (11:23-28; Eph 4:28).

Enduring wealth is received through honoring God with one's first fruits (3:9-10), generosity (11:23-28), hard and timely work (10:4-5), contentment, not indulgence (21:17), patience (13:11), and providing for one's income before building a home (24:27). As these means of obtaining wealth show, it's a matter of character, not of method.

Just received these pictures from our good friends in Birmingham, Andy and Mollie.

Mollie's family hosted all of us for a great weekend in their beautiful home in Monroe, Louisiana. While the guys went duck hunting (at their world-class duck camp, I might add), the girls got caught up on all the happenings in Monroe.

Kristin and friends recently had a fun "ladies night" with pictures to prove.

Every week, I probably get three or four voting proxies from various companies in which we own stock. These proxies ask shareholders to vote on a variety of topics from bylaw amendments to executive compensation.

This year, I have not voted in favor of one proposal where the company has requested to issue stock or stock options for additional compensation or bonuses for its executives.

The reason? For the past eight years, I've watched shareholder value in many large companies essentially remain the same (and in some cases, drop), while a very small group of senior executives have made off with an exorbitant amount of cash.

When you look at the governing bodies of these companies (the board of directors), most of them are acting senior executives themselves. I've wondered if they have the ability to truly recommend what's in the shareholders' best interest when the person whose compensation package they are voting on, may one day be voting on theirs. It sure appears that there is a fraternity among senior executives whereby they look out for each other's best interest over those of their shareholders.

This brings me to a perfect example. Forbes magazine just ran an excellent article on how public companies are more than overpaying executives who are not performing. If you have time, you should read the entire article. I can summarize the story by giving you the facts of one example (of many):

Gary Forsee became CEO of Sprint in 2003, and negotiated a pay package that assured him riches whether he failed or succeeded.

Sprint paid him $6.5 Million in cash and stock to leave his former company. Sprint bought his existing Atlanta home to allow him to move to Kansas City. Sprint paid between $1.5 Million - $5 Million each year he was employed.

During his tenure, Sprint's stock fell from $25 a share to $7.40 a share.

At the end of 2007, Forsee was fired "without cause." Sprint gave him a $40 Million severance package. Sprint also paid for "outplacement services" that landed him the job as President of the University of Missouri.

Whatever happened to the old-fashioned notion of paying for performance? If you're a shareholder, you can always let your voice be heard by voting with your proxy.

Tax-funded U.C. Berkeley now has a school supported website to educate students and visitors about evolution.

Organized under the school's Museum of Paleontology, the site not only gives visitors the A-Z on evolution theory, but also makes K-16 lesson plans available for teachers worldwide to download.

In looking through the site, I found no balancing views on creationism - much less, six-day creationism. Under their "frequently asked questions" section, there was one question about what different religious groups believe about evolution. Not surprising, they had only a few statements from a small group of liberal denominations.

What gets me, is that tax-paying Christians in California would laugh at the thought of Berkeley teaching six-day creationism, but their taxes are allocated to support this kind of anti-God orientation.

The Bellevue Leader reports, eleven homeschooled students met for the first time to discuss the value of entrepreneurship and to display business ideas in which they were involved.

Janita Pavelka, a homeschool teacher and licensed entrepreneurship instructor, facilitated the day and commented on the value of a project like this:

"I thought, 'This is great to own your own business'. Why don't we teach children how to do it and give them a sense of confidence and working with the public - the skills that you can't learn in a book that you're going to learn from meeting the public.

Using Nebraska's 4-H "EntrepreneurShip Investigation" curriculum, Pavelka said the students were able to experience the details involved in starting their own businesses.

Some of our favorites from the Article:

A's Awesome Popcorn (www.freeweb.com/pavpacksales)
Amanya Pavelka, 7, makes gourmet popcorn. Flavors range from the traditional (cheddar cheese, butter) to the fancy (pesto, spinach dip, white chocolate cinnamon).

The Pretzel Dipper
Aunie Millon, 17, dips pretzel rods in anything sweet. From Snickers to Butterfinger to sprinkes. "Everybody loves these," Millon said, "especially kids because they're fun."

Michael's Movies
Michael McNulty, 14, has been making slideshows for four years. People send him pictures and he puts them to music on a computer.

Though their ideas are simple, the principles they are learning are great. The best lesson learned may be teaching these kids how to take ideas and turn them into ways to provide for their families when they're older.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Kristin and I have begun reading a wonderful book on Biblical parenting called Shepherding A Child's Heart. This book is a great reminder that our hope as parents is more than good behavior from our kids. Our hope is a good heart. The author of the book, Tedd Tripp, repeatedly reminds us that the behavior our kids exhibit is an expression of the overflow of their hearts. 

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the heart, the mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

The book covers a wide array of parenting topics such as a biblical view on parenting, child development, parenting goals and training methods. Tripp will be the first one to tell you that his books don't offer a new seven-step plan for trouble-free kids. We can tell you from what we've read so far, the core issue in all of his topics is shepherding the heart.

By the way, we came up with this book after surveying several families we admire who have wonderful kids. They all recommended this book as a good starting model for Biblical parenting.

You can click here to buy a copy from Amazon, if you're interested.

Though I probably couldn't get away with using this myself (my hunting buddies out in Western Oklahoma wouldn't stand for it...), Nubrella has come up with a new take on the classic.

Maybe this would work for some of you urban warriors.

According to a NY Times article, a New York woman helped police arrest a person responsible for stealing her Macintosh laptop. She used the built in feature called "Back to My Mac," which allows the user to gain access to their laptop remotely.

Once on-line remotely, the woman was able to activate the built in camera on her stolen laptop, and watch the thief live. She then snapped a picture of the thief, described him to one of her roommates, who instantly knew who it was by the description of his tattoo.

Hours later, the Mac was Bac and Jac was in Jail.

Only on a Mac.

Pictured are the key ingredients to the 1-4-3 double play: Jack Henry, Nicholas and Christian. Play Ball!

....Because I can protect my kids from this:

An elementary school in Haverford, Pennsylvania gave parents a one-day's notice last week before counseling 100 THIRD-GRADE students on how to treat one of their male classmates who decided to undergo a gender change.

The students were informed that the boy soon would begin wearing girls' clothing and taking a female name and they were asked to accept him as a girl and not to make any unkind remarks.

According to the article, some sane parents contacted the principal and asked that their children be excused, while others voiced their anger on the Haverford Township's blog site.

One parent simply asks,

"Why is the school introducing this subject to 8-and 9-year olds? Why were we not notified sooner. We received the letter today, the discussion is tomorrow."

I'm not making this stuff up, folks. You can read the entire article here.

Just when you think it can't get any weirder...

In 1704, Puritan Matthew Henry wrote a practical sermon entitled, "A Church in the House." This sermon was an encouragement to help fathers develop spiritual life in their homes. He says that "every house should be a little church." Not that it replaces the church, but that it becomes a fountain of blessing for both church and community.

Biographer J.B. Williams recounts the spiritual disciplines practiced in the Henry's household. The simplicity of his method was genius and serves as a good model for the rest of us dads.

Williams writes:

"He was comprehensive, but neither tedious nor hurried. The exercise commenced by invocation...Unless the chapter was short, he divided it into sections; confining himself generally to eight to ten verses, of which he gave a brief and edifying explanation."

"Prayer succeeded singing. The whole was usually comprehended within the space of half an hour, or a little more."

"When prayer was over, his children received his blessing, which he pronounced with great seriousness, solemnity, and affection."

"The better to engage the attention of his family, he required from them, at the close of the exercise, an account."

"On the Sabbath, the same order was observed, the household assembling about eight o'clock (a.m.). ...His public engagements on that sacred day were not allowed to interfere with the observance itself."

"The (family) worship being concluded, Mr. Henry took his family to the (church) assembly. After dinner he sang a psalm,... and offered up a short prayer."

"Sunday evening, he generally repeated, in his own house, both Sunday sermons; on which occasion many neighbors attended; the repetition was followed by singing and prayer. Two verses of a suitable hymn were then sung; the blessing pronounced, and the younger children catechized. After supper, he sang the 14th Psalm; then catechized his elder children and servants; heard them repeat what they could remember of the sermons; and concluded the day with supplications."

Henry's sermon on Family Worship is available in a simple to read book. You can order it here, if you're interested.

Perhaps the most enjoyable 30 minutes we spend each week is listening to Michael Horton's podcast on The White Horse Inn.

Dr. Horton is a professor at Westminster Seminary in California and facilitates round-table discussions on topics that are relevant to the modern church.

This weeks discussion is excellent - "The Case for Theology & Apologetics."

How important is it to know what you believe and why you believe it? Should the average Christian be informed about doctrines like justification and propitiation, or are those only for academic types? On this edition of the program the hosts discuss these question and interact with some on-the-street polls taken at a recent pastors convention.

If you've never heard Michael Horton, click here to listen to this weeks broadcast.

ABC's Nightline ran an excellent piece on how modern farming and food processing has changed the nutritional content of most food we buy.

This printed script doesn't cover all of the details, but does a pretty good job in giving an overview of their report.

We were interested to learn that in order to get the exact nutritional value out of the same Sweet Red apple you bought in 1960, you now will need to eat three.

In 1647, the Assembly at Edinburgh issued a decree called "The Directory for Family-Worship." This guide was to help Christian fathers understand what was expected of them regarding private worship in their homes. Not only were fathers expected to regularly lead their homes in family worship, they also were reproved by the church if they failed to do so.

...the Assembly doth further require and appoint ministers and ruling elders to make diligent search and enquiry, in the congregations committed to their charge respectively, whether there be among them any family or families which use to neglect this necessary duty; and if any such family be found, the head of the family is to be first admonished privately to amend his fault; and, in case of his continuing therein, he is to be gravely and sadly reproved by the session; after which reproof, if he be found still to neglect Family-worship, let him be, for his obstinacy in such an offence, suspended and debarred from the Lord's supper, as being justly esteemed unworthy to communicate therein, till he amend.

Did you catch that? If it became known that a father was not leading family worship at home, he would be talked to privately by the elders. If he still refused to lead his family, he then would be reproved by the session and debarred from the Lord's supper until he began fulfilling his duty. Wow.

This weekend, I heard a speaker give a great lecture on the history of the United States. He spoke on 17th century Puritans who committed to lead their families in worship TWICE A DAY. These fathers took the responsibility of training their families very seriously and they raised a generation of young men who went on to write the majority of declarations upon which our country was founded. Pretty impressive.

I'm not doing a really good job in leading our family in private worship. I have plenty of room to improve and I plan to do so. Still, I'm amazed at what our kids are learning.

Today at lunch, we were talking about what our kids were going to recite at their year-end recitation. It was pretty amazing to hear them talk through which scriptures and creeds they wanted to say. Our six-year-old decided to recite a scripture and a story and our three-year-old wants to say the Apostles Creed. They also decided to sing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" instead of "A Mighty Fortress."

Just think what would happen if I took family worship as serious as they did in 1647.

Derek Webb nails the state of the typical American Christian in his song, "A New Law."

For the past several months, Nicholas has been collecting aluminum cans and selling used wheelchairs in the newspaper to earn money for his savings account.

We set a lofty goal for him to reach with the reward of a new bike, if he were able to accomplish it. And wouldn't you know it, last week was the big week when the last bar on the chart was colored in.

Next stop: The Bicycle Store.

John Wesley is rolling over in his grave, as we speak.

The reason? According to a CNN story, the University named after the father of the Methodist church is now among over two dozen U.S. colleges that now allow boys and girls to room together in their campus dorms.

According to 20-year-old sophomore, Erik Youngdahl:

"People are shocked to hear that it's happening and even that it's possible, but once you actually live in it, it doesn't actually turn into a big deal."

It gets even more ludicrous:

"Parents aren't necessarily thrilled with boy-girl housing.

Debbie Feldman's 20-year-old daughter, Samantha, is a sophomore at Oberlin in Ohio and plans to room with her platonic friend Grey Caspro, a straight guy, next year. Feldman said she was shocked when her daughter told her...

...Still, Feldman said her daughter is partly in college to learn life lessons, and it's her decision."

At what point do dads say, "over my dead body are you going to one of these colleges." You have to wonder if these parents can be tried for neglect.

Which of these "please tell me this isn't true" stories is real?

This one.

or

This one. (compliments of our good friend, Brandon Dutcher).

T-ball season is in full swing around here.

That can only mean one thing: Being bat girl and snacks after the game.

"Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned him,
and to which God has called him."
1 Corinthians 7:17

Today, Kristin and I completed the two day trek to home schooling's Mecca: We attended the annual OCHEC convention (Oklahoma Christian Home Educators Consociation). This pilgrimage is where hundreds of home school families across Oklahoma come together for two days to listen to speakers, attend workshops, and most importantly, plow through rows of vendors that offer every kind of curriculum known to mankind.

Let me say one thing before going on any further - these home schooling moms are amazing.

After one year of watching my wife home school our two kids, I've found a new respect and admiration for her commitment to our family. I've watched her diligently teach our kids that God is the author of everything - in history, science, math and language. I've watched her patiently correct and re-correct and re-re-correct our kids missteps along the way.

She's worked with them on Bible lessons. She's Catechized them. She's worked with them on their manners. She's taught them reading, math, science and history. She's been the P.E. teacher, the piano player for hymn time, and she even teaches a pretty mean 5-year-old cookie making class.

Sunday nights, she prepares a curriculum for the upcoming week. Monday, she does the laundry. She cooks three meals a day, keeps our flowers watered and our home clean.

I think you get the picture. It's a bunch of hard work. And, she does it all with out complaining.
So why do I tell you all of these glowing things? Is it because it makes her look like some kind of Superwoman (and me some kind of Superman for marrying her)?

Not hardly.

The reality is, there are plenty of days when dressing up in nice clothes and going to a "real job" looks pretty attractive.

I think what's hit Kristin has been the reality (and soberness) of her calling. She's a mom.

She's been given the task by God Himself to sew Godliness into our family for generations to come. Just imagine the weight of that. Knowing that God has called her to be the mother of two souls that will last forever. And those two souls will in turn, shape the lives of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Pretty sobering.

Kevin Swanson, who spoke at this weekends conference, made a great point that highlights the importance of training our children. He asked pragmatically, which was more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission - giving a 3 hour speech to 10,000 people or spending 10,000 hours with three people. I thought the same thing.

So to my sweet wife, and all the other Supermoms I saw this weekend, a big Hat Tip to you. You've earned every bit of praise you get!

Your children call you blessed and your husbands sure appreciate you.

Last week, Nicholas met with the session at Heritage to determine if he has enough maturity and understanding about the significance of communion to be admitted to the Lord's table. Imagine our joy to hear our six year old answer the following questions:

Pastor Shawn: Nicholas, do you sin?

Nicholas: Yes, sir.

Pastor: Does God punish sin?

Nicholas: Yes, sir.

Pastor: Will God punish you for your sins?

Nicholas: No, sir.

Pastor: Why won't God punish you for your sins?

Nicholas: Because Jesus died for me.

Pastor: In communion is the bread and wine ordinary bread and wine?

Nicholas: Yes, sir. But it represents Christ's body and his blood.

Pastor: Why do we take communion?

Nicholas: Because Jesus commanded us to and because it makes us spiritually stronger.

Elder Nelson: Nicholas, can you live a good enough life to earn any part of your salvation?

Nicholas: No, sir.

Nelson: Can Pastor Shawn, or your dad or mom?

Nicholas: No, sir.

Nelson: Could Jesus?

Nicholas: Yes, sir.

Pastor Shawn: Nicholas, say you were to die and upon going to heaven, God were to ask you, "Why should I let you into heaven?" What would you say?

Nicholas: Because Jesus died for me.

Elder Muse: Nicholas, when you pray, what do you pray for?

Nicholas: I thank God for different things and ask him to forgive me.