Happy 15th Birthday, Aidan!!

Seeing our children grow in godly maturity is one of the greatest blessings that God provides to us on this earth! Birthdays are a great time to reflect on the growth that we see in our children and offer praise to the Lord for that growth.

Happy Birthday, Aidan! We are so grateful to see you growing and maturing in godliness. We see that you are becoming increasingly responsible and other-centered. The future is full of great hope knowing that God has a plan and a purpose that He is working to accomplish - including using you in good works that He has prepared for you in advance (Ephesians 2:10).

Aidan, we are blessed to celebrate your birthday, which is a celebration of your life and God's grace working in and through you. Our prayer for you is that you will continue to grow, learn, and mature into the man that God has called you to be. We are committed to helping you in that process by discipling you along the way and by helping you develop godly character.

Aidan, we love you very much and are filled with gratitude that God has allowed us the privilege of being your parents. We will always strive to show our love for you and seek what is best for you. We will pray for God's blessing on you and that with that blessing you will be fruitful and productive for His kingdom work.

Happy 15th Birthday, Aidan!

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 5 - Final)

This is the final part of the letter celebrating Jordan's entrance into manhood, concluding with the last gift categories that we selected and our excitement and commitment as his parents to helping him in his future! It was indeed a very special and very blessed evening together as a family and one that we pray will be etched into Jordan's mind giving him joyful inspiration for the coming days, weeks, months, and years.

• Forging Your Character – In this special category will be resources that will be helpful in the development of godly character in your life. The gifts that are a part of this category will be books, teaching videos, and audio resources that will be challenging your thinking to build the foundation of your life on God’s perfect and inerrant Word. These resources will help you take every thought captive to the lordship of Christ and will serve as a starting point for your family library so that you can pass on the knowledge and wisdom that you gain to your own children.

• Planning for Your Future Family – The future is filled with great hope because we serve a God who is the giver of that hope. One of the greatest gifts that God provides on this earth is the gift of family. Our hearts are continually filled with gratitude that God has allowed us to raise you in accordance with the teaching of the Holy Scriptures. We are praying for your future family—that you will be blessed with a beloved help-meet who will be unified with you in purpose and that you will be blessed with the treasure of children. The Bible teaches that a good wife is worth far above rubies and that children are a heritage, a gift, and a blessing. The gifts in this category will be targeted toward helping you in your role as a husband and father, as well as blessing those that will become a part of your future household.

• Blessing Your Faithfulness – A faithful, covenant keeping child will be blessed by the Lord in many ways. As you are obedient to God’s commands, you will know His favor. This does not necessarily mean that you will be given an easy road to travel or that everything will always follow the course that you desire. However, you can always maintain the perspective that God will work all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Being a child of His, you are included in that promise! We pray that these gifts will be a great treasure, will be a continual reminder of the blessing that results from faithfulness, and will give you a tangible reminder to share with the next generation of the favor that you receive from living a life that is dedicated to the principles of the Bible.

We love you very much, Jordan! We are grateful that God has allowed us to be your parents, we rejoice in you entering into manhood, and we are very excited to be helping you plan and prepare for the future! May you live by the verse that we have chosen to be etched onto the plaque for the special Captain’s Trunk that we joyfully selected for this very special and memorable occasion:

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.

(Proverbs 24:3-4, NIV)

Pursue wisdom, understanding, and knowledge in the fear of the Lord and you, as well as your household, will be blessed!

Love Always,

Dad and Mom

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 4)

After the challenges that we gave to Jordan, we provided him with special gifts all carefully selected for their significance and their fulfillment of specific categories that we had decided would be important for Jordan's future. This post contains a part of those gifts.

With this celebration, we have selected many special gifts for you—gifts that will aid you in preparing for and establishing your own household. This celebration is more than a single, one-time event since we plan to give you additional presents in the coming years in the particular categories that we will outline today—provided that you will be a faithful, covenant-keeping son. It is not the intent that each year will have a representative from each category—but that every year there will be a significant addition to one or more of these groups. Each of the areas that these classes represent will play a very important role in you being a godly, righteous, and holy man. Here are the categories that we have selected for helping you in establishing your future household:

• Saving for Your Future – To start and maintain a household, you will need financial resources. Let us remind you that everything that you have is a gift from God, that He is Jehovah Jirah providing for our every need, and that our future is in His hands. Do not allow the savings for the future become your security. At the same time, it is important to be planning for the days that are to come, which will include monetary savings. Your role as the provider for those whom the Lord will graciously give to you is a great privilege and responsibility. To help you, we will be providing you with financial gifts that are intended to serve as an assistance in your saving for the future—for both yourself and for your own family.

• Building Your Home –A home is a big investment in terms of the finances required and the time that is needed for its upkeep. The home should be a place of industry, education, hospitality, and ministry to others. In order to establish and sustain housing for yourself and your family, you will need to have tools. These tools include construction tools, as well as aids that will be used in caring for and maintaining the dwelling for which you will be primarily responsible.

• Remembering Your Heritage – Everyone has a heritage and it is our prayer that you will have a godly legacy on which to build for your future and the future of your family. Our heritage is filled with the work and the providence of Almighty God and this category will be reminding you of the family history that is a part of your past. May you be filled with gratitude as you reflect on your heritage and may the gifts that are in this category serve as reminders to you of how you are an heir to the past, as well as the importance of passing on the legacy of faithfulness to the generations that are yet to be born.

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 3)

After the introduction that was posted in part 2, the letter went on to give Jordan a set of challenges for his life. Here is the list of those challenges, which are intended to encourage and inspire Jordan now and in the future:

While the future is one that is filled with hope and promise, it is also filled with much work and will require a persevering spirit in order to succeed. To assist you in your journey we have the following challenges for you to strive to master in the upcoming months and years:

First, seek the Lord, His wisdom, and His righteousness above all else. God should be the foundation of everything in life and each of us should pursue our relationship with Him as our first and irreplaceable priority. It is by the fear of the Lord that we can grow in knowledge and in wisdom. God desires that we focus our lives on His kingdom and not wear ourselves out in the pursuit of the temporal things of this world.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33, KJV)

Second, develop the fruit of the Spirit, which should be manifested in all that you say, do, and think. We want you to dedicate yourself to living a life that demonstrates this fruit and may you keep in the forefront of your mind the verses of Galatians 5:22-23 that outline these vital characteristics:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (KJV)

Third, seek to place others before yourself. Pride and selfishness are a sinful disease that spreads and causes many problems in life. God specifically gives us the following warning in regard to pride:

God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. (James 4:6, KJV)

On the subject of selfishness, God has very direct and specific counsel:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)

How much better it is to be resting in God’s grace by following His perfect direction than struggling against His opposition by self-centered and self-seeking pursuits.

Fourth, seek to be generous and not greedy. Greed is another pitfall that besets many a man and the older you are prior to getting rid of this unhealthy and ungodly attitude the more difficult it becomes. The Bible has great wisdom on this subject, as it does on every matter pertaining to life since we know that God’s Word is an all-sufficient guide for every area of how we are to live. It states:

He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live. (Proverbs 15:27, KJV)

Fifth, seek to have a gentle and sensitive disposition, eliminating all bitterness, rage, and anger. In order to achieve victory in this area, you must not only win the battle of the outward actions being free from anger, but you must also triumph in the war that is in the mind over the very spirit of anger. You must be willing to live in accordance with the exhortation that we receive from Scripture:

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 5:31-32, KJV)

In order to meet these challenges, you need not, and in fact you best not, attempt to do so alone. You have God’s Word as the ultimate standard by which to live, the Holy Spirit to lead you into all manner of godliness, and loving parents who are seeking to prepare you for your life journey.

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 2)

Here is the beginning portion of the letter that I (David) wrote on that very special occasion where we celebrated Jordan's faithful sonship and entrance into manhood.

Jordan,

This letter is being written out of a heart of love for you on a special celebration of commissioning you into manhood! You have a very exciting future ahead of you and as your parents, we look forward to helping you grow and develop into the man that God wants you to be. We are very honored and privileged to be serving as your guides and we pray that you will always be able to look back on your years of growing up in this family with great fondness and affection. We pray that the foundation that is being laid now will provide a firm base that is centered on living a life honoring to your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is our sincere hope that you will be taking dominion for the glory of God in whatever specific areas that He will call you and that there will be many future generations that will continue to build on and further your dominion work.

Birthday Blessings, My Beloved Bride!

Birthdays are a special time to remember and honor the one that is celebrating another year of God's faithfulness, grace, and mercy!

This year I (David) am providing this birthday post to my dearly beloved bride by petitioning the Lord for His blessings on her behalf. God is love and the giver of good gifts to His children.

Jill,

Happy Birthday, my dear and precious help meet! I love you, sweetheart! Here are the specific requests for which I am asking of our gracious and loving Heavenly Father for you!

Fruitfulness - O Lord, please provide to my dear sweetheart a life that is characterized by great fruitfulness. May You grant to Jill a fruitful womb that will continue to bear children for your honor and glory. Give to Jill fruitful hands that will be effective in her service to You as we seek as a family to take dominion for Your Name!

Joy - Heavenly Father, graciously provide my Jill with a joyful, fulfilled heart that will be delighting in her role as my wife and mother to the children with which Your hand has blessed our family.

Contentment - Dear God, please grant my dear bride a contented life that will accept and welcome every situation in which you place her. Lord, give her this blessing and enable her to be able to say “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11, KJV).

Wisdom - Lord, please give Jill Your wisdom and allow her to speak this wisdom wherever she is, whomever she is around, and whatever the circumstance. Give Jill a growing desire to pursue wisdom with great fervor. Allow Jill to be filled with this wisdom and may she influence others with it for Your honor and glory.

Peace - Heavenly Father, please provide to Jill the peace that passes all understanding based on Your perfect character. Enable her to be able to show this peace as a means of testifying of You and the difference that You make.

Hope - Our gracious Lord, please give Jill great hope for each tomorrow knowing that You have an important work for her to do in the ministry of this family and her role in the body of Christ. Help Jill to be spurred on by the plans that You have for her and enable her to share this hope with those around her.

Jill, you are so precious and dear to me and I am grateful to be your husband and your earthly head. I pray that I will be able to bless you with godly leadership and provide you with a love that will be a good model of Christ’s love for the Church. I love you, Jill! Happy Birthday, my beloved!

Celebrating Jordan's Faithful Sonship and Manhood! (Part 1)

The beginning of manhood is one that is marked by becoming a faithful son. It includes a willingness to take responsibility, to be consistent and diligent in work, and to demonstrate mature decision-making. While there is not an absolute transition point whereby one day a boy suddenly becomes a man, the start of manhood is an occasion worthy of celebration. I submit that you will bless and inspire your son by having a time set aside to rejoice and celebrate his manhood at whatever stage you see the characteristics of manliness as outlined in God's Word developing in him by the grace of God.

In February 2009, we celebrated Jordan Jachim's entrance into manhood at age 14 by going out for a celebration dinner at Jordan's favorite restaurant (Macaroni Grill), followed by a very special time of showering him with significant and meaningful gifts starting with a beautiful and very well constructed captain's trunk made from rich walnut wood.

(This trunk was ordered from www.woodnu.com, where you will find a very fine selection of trunks, hope chests, and more.)

Inside the trunk was a very striking brass plaque, which was inscribed with Proverbs 24:3-4:

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.