Category Archive: Family
Moulding Children
When the biblical cultural mandate for the home is abandoned in the home, the vacuum will not be there for long. Because this is a fallen world, those who take over the process of shaping the children, those who rush to fill the void left by derelict husbands and disobedient wives, will always be scoundrels and fools. It is moral idiocy to leave children alone in order to let them “learn alone” or “make decisions for themselves.” The fact that they are left alone by their parents at home does not mean they will be left alone. By nature, children are malleable. They will either be shaped lawfully, by those commanded by God to perform the task, or they will be shaped unlawfully, by outsiders. But as children, they will be shaped. — Douglas Wilson, Standing on the Promises: A Handbook of Biblical Childrearing, p. 8.
Baby Barach
Moriah has already announced it on her blog, so I should hurry to catch up and share the same news here: Moriah and I are expecting our first baby, forthcoming in early June. Rejoice with us in God’s goodness!
Thanksgiving Update
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers, and especially to my wife and her family and friends. We miss you and wish we could be feasting with you!
Here in Canada, of course, it isn’t Thanksgiving. It’s a normal day. We were originally planning to have a big Thanksgiving dinner anyway, but due to various circumstances we won’t be having one today.
I stayed up late last night to finish Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Nevermind all the controversy among some Christians about the book and nevermind all the complaints that this isn’t “great literature.” It was great fun and I’m looking forward to reading the next one.
And now I’m off to finish my sermon on Mark 2:13-17 and to do some work on the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord’s Day 1.
Yup: I’ve finished with my series on the Belgic Confession and now I’m starting the Catechism over for the fourth time. It’s mandated by the Church Order of the United Reformed Churches in North America that preachers preach through one of the documents that make up the Three Forms of Unity in one of the two (mandated) services a Sunday.
As I say, this is my fourth time through the Catechism and sometimes I wonder how long-term ministers in this tradition do it. Do they just keep churning out the same sermon over and over and over again? Do they have about four or five sermons on each Lord’s Day of the Catechism and cycle them? How do you keep things fresh?
Anyway, that’s what I’m doing today. Happy Thanksgiving, you Americans! Eat lots and lots of turkey and pumpkin pie to the glory of God and rejoice in His goodness to you!
Blessings!
According to Proverbs 31, the husband of “a woman of substance” (in Hebrew, an isheth chayil) will rise up and praise her. And I am such a husband.
For the last month and a half, since moving Moriah and her belongings here, we’ve been getting settled in. At first, the house was stacked high with boxes but gradually order has replaced chaos.
When you move your stuff into an empty house, unpacking and settling in doesn’t take so long. You can simply plug things into empty cupboards and closets. But in this case I already had a houseful and so did Moriah — and we had wedding gifts, too! So we have (no: credit where credit is due) Moriah has been sorting through our old things, deciding what to keep and where to put it.
And to my delight, this house, which was always a bit plain, has been filled wth beauty. Against my neutral backgrounds fresh colours blossom. Bright tablecloths glow against the dark brown of the kitchen table. And my house has become our home.
And the food! I’m eating like a king, and even the leftovers (with which the Lord has blessed us) are delicious. I’ve been eating beef stroganoff, chicken curry, enchiladas with fresh homemade salsa, roast beef and mashed potatoes, tacos, roast chicken, and more fresh fruits and vegetables than ever before.
All of which confirms that what Scripture says is true: “He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from Yahweh” (Prov. 18:22). Moriah,
Many daughters have done well,
but you excel them all.
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates(Prov. 31:29-31).
Honeymoon
Here I sit, in the Coeur D’Alene Public Library, checking my e-mail, catching up on blog entries, blogging myself, and occasionally whispering to my wife, who is at the terminal across from mine. A lot has happened in the last couple of weeks.
As you may have noticed in my last entry, I survived the URCNA’s Synod Calgary 2004. I drove one of my elders’ trucks from Grande Prairie to Calgary for the synod, and then on the Saturday after the synod I rented a car and drove to Spokane, where Chip and Janet Lind picked me up and took me to Moscow.
On Sunday, I attended Trinity Reformed Church, where Blake Purcell (from the Reformed Seminary in St. Petersburg, Russia) preached. The service was very moving, not least because it involved the commissioning of Niki Valchev, the Bulgarian Calvin. I got to know Niki in May. He had been in Moscow for a couple of months and was now returning to Bulgaria to continue working toward planting a Bulgarian Reformed church. I wasn’t the only one who got a little misty as Peter Leithart commissioned Niki that Sunday morning.
Moriah arrived in Moscow late that Sunday night (= early Monday morning). We spent most of the next few days together, getting the last things ready for the wedding. (Thanks to the Greenfields for opening their home to us, and to Mrs. Unger and Bethany and others who ran countless errands for us.)
On Wednesday night, I had my bachelor party at Roy and Bev Atwood’s place. Roy provided various smoked meats, Janet Lind made a great potato salad (as well as a bathrobe with a clerical collar), and I had a good time sitting around and talking with Steve and Nathan Phillips, Randy Churchill, Charles Chambers, Alex and Calvin Barendregt, Tim Gallant, Steve Hofstede, Roy Atwood, Dave Nieuwsma, and Chip Lind.
On Thursday evening, we rehearsed. The rehearsal was a bit chaotic (in spite of Moriah’s clear instructions about the order of service). Afterwards, my parents hosted a rehearsal dinner at La Casa Lopez, in downtown Moscow. It was a greatly enjoyable evening, enhanced by an aria sung by one of the servers, the soon-to-be-blogging-again Rijel Glasebrook. (Thanks, Rijel! It was beautiful!)
On Friday, Keith and Jenn Griffioen, who had arrived Thursday night, took me out to wander the mall and relax a bit. In the afternoon, we had our wedding pictures. Mark Lamoreaux did a fantastic job with our engagement photos, and we’re eagerly looking forward to seeing the wedding pictures.
A little after 7:00, I followed Peter Leithart down the aisle, with Tim Gallant, Bill DeJong, Chip Lind, and Keith Griffioen following me. A few minutes later, to the sounds of Handel’s “Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,” played by Matthew Pelcher on the organ and Keith Griffioen and Randy Churchill on trumpet, the bridesmaids (Bethany Unger, Heather Stewart, Sarah Prentice, and Lindsey Leithart) came down the left aisle. Payton Comis (flower girl) and Smith Leithart (ring bearer) came down the centre aisle. And then, “fair as the morn, clear as the sun, terrible as an army with banners” and glorious in candlelight white, came Moriah with her father.
I descended from the platform to receive her from her father, and brought her up to stand with me in front of Peter Leithart. Dan Dillard prayed, Chris Morris read Scripture, and Peter Leithart preached a beautiful sermon.
After the wedding, we headed to the reception at the Logos Gym. Natalie Greenfield and her jazz band, which we called JazzNRG, performed for the first hour. Chip Lind was the MC, and did an excellent job. Moriah and I danced to “The Lover’s Waltz,” performed live by Katie Saunders and Nathan Phillips and eventually some of the members of JazzNRG. I have rarely danced before, but the quick Thursday dance lesson by Mathdaniel Johnson at the Greenfield’s payed off! Matt Dau was the DJ and Moriah and I had a lot of fun dancing.
Shortly before 11:00, we took our leave, to the sound of our guests singing Psalm 128. We drove to Spokane, and now we’re spending our honeymoon in beautiful Coeur D’Alene, which brings me to where I started this entry (and to near the end of my allotted time online). You can read more about our honeymoon on Moriah’s blog. We’re having a wonderful time!
Happy Valentine’s Day
Happy Valentine’s Day, Moriah! I love you very much.
(No, I don’t know why the heart is named Conrad. I do know that this gigantic chocolate heart “weighs approximately 2,028 pounds (922 kilograms), and stands 16.4 feet (5 meters) high and 16.4 feet (5 meters) in width.” It’s a bit larger than mine.)
Machka’s Ride
My sister is riding another 1200 km bicycle ride. Last summer, she rode in the BC interior: Kamloops – Jasper – Lake Louise – Vernon – Kamloops. This summer, she’s riding in France: Paris – Brest – Paris. That’s 1200 km in less than 90 hours from start to finish, including time spent sleeping. Last year, she did it in 88 1/2 hours.
You can follow her progress here. Her nickname is “Machka,” and she’s in the first column. Go, Char!
Charlene’s Ride Again
My sister has written up her account of her 1200 km ride.
Charlene’s Ride
As I reported a while back, my sister Charlene rode in a 1204 km race through the mountains of British Columbia and Alberta. They’ve now posted her times. You can find pictures of the ride here and here.
Here she is recovering somewhere along the way:
And here is Char with my dad, who was working as a volunteer:
Char’s Achilles tendons are still killing her, but other than that, she’s feeling pretty good. She spent a week with our grandmother out in British Columbia and is now back at work. I haven’t talked to her since the ride, but I hear that she’s planning to write up an account and I look forward to reading it. (And for those who wondered, yes, she did pass a couple of bears, one of which was fairly large.)
Charlene
This past week, my sister Charlene took part in a 1204.3 kilometre bicycle race in the mountains of British Columbia and Alberta. The ride started in Kamloops, BC, headed north through Clearwater, east through Jasper, Alberta, south to Lake Louise, and then west to Kamloops again. You can see a map of the route here.
Charlene has ridden 200, 400, and 600 kilometer rides already this year, but this was her first 1200. They’re supposed to have posted her times here, but they haven’t yet. She is listed, however, on the final results page. Scroll down till you find Rider # 512, Charlene Burwood. She completed the ride in 88 hours and 33 minutes, counting the few hours in which she slept.
Congratulations, Char! I’m proud of you!