ends and beginnings

The end of another year.  What did you do today?  What will the coming year hold?

For some there are new babies to hold.  For some the year 2012 will be filled with delight, others will find this to be the most challenging of all their years.

 We will all learn and grow.  For this family, the Kropp 7, we want to live BIG in 2012.  Our days will be full of serving.  I am trusting in our God to fill our empty, clay jars with his excess, His satisfaction. 

May this coming year bring you much.  I pray for God to reveal His character of Love to each of you. 

Here it was in the mid to upper 70s.  Yep, December 31st, warm and sunny.  I love the hot, the sun - don't need the cold. 

Our boys played a game of basketball, then we all went for a hike.

The little dude with the dreads lives down the block.

Tom looks exhausted!

Brothers from different Mothers!

Hmmm.  I thought perhaps we'd come out with 6 boys rather than just 5.

Awe, thus the severe warning!

No - you may not do that!

But please?  Dad, how about tomorrow?

Ransom born

Christ came in flesh, born of a virgin, lived without sin.  That is the best news the world ever received.  Did you comprehend the depth of that day yesterday?  It's hard to settle in on the truth of God's answer to our separation from Him.

Our Creator in flesh, making a way to justify us to Himself.  A ransom had to be paid, we sin and fall, our imperfection can't pay the price, we would all have to die.  But One without sin, could pay the price, suffer the separation on the cross from our Creator, thus settling our debt once and for all.  satan lost.  Ransom paid - your ransom paid.   

Not only did He come in perfection to die, but He showed us how to live on this earth.  Christ taught this flock of wandering birds how to find their way into the barn on a snowy night, just follow Him. 

May God Bless you with more of Him.  I pray that He will give each of you a revelation of Himself and His perfect, loving character in this coming year. 

And here is a gift, free music from Christianity Today's 2011 music award winner, Josh Garrels:
http://joshgarrels.com/

Christmas 2011 thus far

Some pics for my family of my family this season.

While our three oldest boys were at camp church, EQ and Bis built the tree.

It was sunny, but a bit cold for patio dining.

He ate the whole thing!

Uncle D and Aunt K are here from St. Louis.  We took a drive to Bastrop for burgers, then drove through some of the burned out neighborhoods.   The burned out homes are so random, it's very odd how one house is untouched and the next house is burned to the ground.  1400 homes were lost in the Bastrop fires. 

 We all went to the track this morning.  EQ likes to jump. 

So does Tom!

Yo, not so much.

Here he is jumping next to the hurdle, you can see he has plenty of height, it's the courage he needs. 

Then the guys played some football, it started to rain, and the wind began to blow...

 My new most favorite picture!  Yo and his Uncle D.

Not sure how man can play with his hands in his pockets...

 That's your plan?  We're losing and that's all you can come up with!

Aunt K and Bis ran a few miles. 

We're off to play laser tag and do some bowling.

exciting news from the island

News came from Boracay this morning.  We've felt a bit out of the loop way over here, but now we've learned some fun stuff.  Mair Gault wrote to those of us planning to go to Boracay for short or long term.  Her aim is to get us connected and answer our questions. 

The Gault family from Canada arrived on Boracay to teach at the Agape school in August; they'll stay for a year.   The Gaults have 3 girls, ages 10, 12, and 14.  They have a blog at:
http://gaultsonboracay.blogspot.com/

The Russell family are preparing to move to Boracay for 2 years, just like us.  They have their plane tickets for February 1st.  They are farm folk from Pennsylvania.  And get this - they have 11 kids!  They also have a blog:
http://dozenrussells.wordpress.com/

Two of the Russells' kids will not be moving with them, but 9 will!  and 8 of those are boys ages 15 years down to 18 months. 

I am very happy to know that our boys will have lots of kids to play with, both islanders and North Americans.  It will be great for them to support each other, and complain to one another if needed. 

The Russells have this video on their blog - a thank you to them. 

Prepping our home for selling is going well, it looks very nice.  If only I could get the grass to grow...

After New Years we'll get serious about re-homing out pets, and selling our cars. 

Peace

now for some good news

If any of you follow the Livesay family in Haiti (and all of you should) you will be thrilled to tears to learn that the Heartline Hospital fund program was chosen as the winner of the Giving of Life Award.  They won - $50,000 towards the building of the hospital.  I pray for this weekly, it is great to feel part of something so BIG!  If you have no clue of what I speak - then click on the Livesay link and read up.

 The Livesay tribe also creates a Christmas drama or musical each year.  Check out this production.  Shot in Haiti, where Troy and Tara live and serve along with their kiddos.  The Livesay family have served in Haiti since long before the quake.

Have a wonderful weekend.

hate

Hate is such a strong word.  A word we caution our kids about.   "Reserve that word for when you really need it."  "You don't hate spaghetti, you just don't like  it."

Our pastor talked about hate a short time ago.   He spoke from his heart about how he hates sin.  He longs for a world without pornography, adultery, falling short, and then the big one cancer.  He stood before us and talked about how much he hates cancer.  He is sick of cancer taking the people of his flock.  He hates.  It was good for me to hear him talk with such honesty. 

cancer

That walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Those who have not walked that path have no idea of its depths and darkness.  Those of us who have loved ones on the trail, can only hope and pray and cry out. 

My beautiful little Mom, fighting cancer, again.  I hate cancer.  I don't know why it has come again.  I don't understand this plan of God's.  Yes, I do trust in Him that He is in ultimate control.  And I pray that this time of fighting will draw my Mom and her Man closer to Him, the Savior, the Rest, the Redeemer, The Leader of the fight.  But I don't like it. 

Here it is Christmas.  We are walking through Advent.  Come! we implore. 

My Mom walks a different walk. 

Lord that your light would shine through the dark and light up the path for my sweet Mom, warm her with your love, shelter her under your wings.  Send your Comforter to comfort her, give her that Peace that passes all understanding.  Amen

the Christmas push

The Goodfellows in Peru posted this video on their blog.   Sarah talks about how their family does Christmas differently from many families they know.  Ann at a holy experience wrote this week about how their Christmas looks different from other families. 

Funny how this has been on my heart and the heart of other moms around the world.  I told Man that I hope when we (if we) return from the Philippines, I want for us to make Christmas about Jesus. 

This morning Matt Carter, our senior pastor, talked about how he has struggled to unbrainwash his kids.  Kids connect Christmas with presents as soon as we teach them that truth.  Then some parents, like me, panic down the road and wonder what we've done.  Our kids miss Jesus.  They focus on the gifts; they've learned what we've taught them.

Ann Voskamp shares that it has been 10 years since there were gifts under their tree.  10 years of Christmas for Jesus!  In the days leading up to 12/25 her kids pour over catalogues for Compassion International, World Vision, Heifer International, etc.  They decide on what they will buy for whom this day.  Each day is a new gift in the Name of Jesus.  Chicks for a family in Kenya, a goat for a family in Guatemala, a rickshaw for a family in India.  No gifts under the tree.  I love that.  My heart yearns for such giving in my children. 

Don't get me wrong, we love gifts.  Grandma's love to give gifts, and we are blessed.  We may celebrate New Years with giving each other gifts for the new year.  But Christmas, it will be for Him. 

Christmas is about Jesus.  The Gift of gifts.  It is the beginning of the story of redemption from sin and death.  It is the pointing of our hearts to the cross, where God won!   Perfection paid the price for our sin, so that we can spend eternity in Heaven. 

I pray that you, too, will spend differently the resources entrusted to you. 

to do or not to do - that's a fine question

Is your commitment to God defined by what you don't do?  I don't do drugs, I don't steal, I don't sleep with my neighbor's spouse, I don't kill.  I don't sleep in church.  This is a passive approach. 

OR is your commitment defined by what you do? I Love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.  I love my neighbor as much as I love myself.  I obey my Creator in going, telling, teaching and baptizing.  I take notes at church with a mind to telling others what I have learned.   See how this is more active?

In the Old Testament being a believer in the One True God meant you followed the rules - it was defined by what you did not do.  Now you were still to care for the poor, that has always been prominent in God's teaching.  But rules ruled the day, and many of those were about appropriate sacrifice to pay for our daily sin.

I see that in the New Testament Jesus teaches us to go, make, do, give, serve.  The whole game has changed.  We are now saved by the Gift of Grace, the gift of perfection hung on a cross, blood covering us, the filter by which we are now perceived by The Creator - if you accept His free gift. 

But are you an Old Testament believer or a New Testament believer?   Many churches in which we gather by the thousands teach us how to be good.   We are holy because of what we don't do.   David Platt observes that the American church is perhaps the only organization in the world that defines success by what we don't do. 

Reaching the world with the Gospel means going, showing, teaching and serving a world in need of Jesus.  

Imagine the impact if all of our church leaders, across every denomination,  actually taught us how to be an Acts church, and if we the people would be disciples.  If the media talked about all the good that the Christian chuch is doing, for the nations, for the world, for God's beloved; wow! 

kids for Jesus

Our three older boys are at church camp this weekend.  None of our kids has ever been to camp.  I feel humbled that our 3 are able to spend time at camp with all that comes along with kids gathered to worship and love.  I am expecting great things. 

When we dropped them off at church last night they were so excited, they didn't even look back at us, or give us hugs!  I will pay them back when we pick them up on Sunday by wailing and crying at their feet! 

One quick pic of #1.

Tom, a little nervous?.  Yosef all giddy.


Yesterday was also the last day of the term for our homeschool coop.  Yo and EQ took drama and performed in a play for the school.  I was the assistant.  Yo played the angel, and a camel.  EQ was Joseph, a rat, and a wiseman. 

Man was the videographer; he apologizes if you get motion sickness.

Okay so I tried to upload the video and it would not work.  I'll try another time.

And then another gift sent along from Ann at a holy experience.  This 16 year old boy/young man, and his music for Jesus. 

I really love this, and yes it made me cry!

This guy, Quigley is his name, performed all of the music on this video.  His sister helped with the camera.  He did all of the instruments and vocals.  Awesome!

I hope you provide your kids with much to inspire them in this Holy day season. 

Advent - come

Ann over at A Holy Experience has a free e-book to print for the season of Advent; it is a blessing.

Ann will also share her book on lent, the 40 days leading up to the resurrection of the world's Savior, for free.  We enjoyed the countdown last spring.  Just click on the link to her site and sign up for her posts to be delivered to your inbox, then you'll get the links for her two little books packed with Big things.

We made a Jessie Tree and the boys love the reading each night after our dinner of more than enough.  They get to take turns finding the 'ornament' for each night.

Ethan has always been our hat kid.  I love hats, but look goofy in them.  He is adorable in his newest hat:

And, it's park day!  Sunny but cold.  We woke up to temps in the 20s here.

Pink all in a row.  Oh to have a girl!

Yosef took this excellent photo of a squirrel and his nuts.  (ha ha, that's kinda funny)