Happy Birthday, My Beloved Jill!

This post is for belated birthday blessings (her birthday was October 1) to my dearly beloved bride and my precious help-meet Jill!

Jill,

I love you very much and I extend joyful birthday blessings from the depths of my heart!  I thank the Lord for your genuine Christian commitment, your willingness to homeschool our children, your faithful care for our family, and your desire to live in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord and consistent with His Word.

It is my earnest prayer that our relationship as husband and wife would be a great picture of the message of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ as is so beautifully illustrated in Ephesians 5.  May the people that are around us be able to look at our lives and see our love for one another and as a result see the power of the God whom we serve.

You are indeed very precious to me and I am grateful for all of the blessed memories that we have together, including how we have matured in the grace of our Lord together through our time together as a married couple.  I pray that God will fill your coming year with overflowing joy, unparalleled peace, and steady growth in righteousness.

I love you dearly and pray that the Lord will make His face shine upon you brightly.  Happy birthday, my dear Jill!

"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil." (Proverbs 31:10-11)

Forever Yours,

David

Happy 13th Birthday, Amara!

We recently had the very joyful and blessed privilege of celebrating the 13th birthday of our dear daughter!  We are incredibly thankful to the Lord to have Amara as a part of our family and it is an honor to provide this post in honor of her birthday.


Amara,

Happy birthday, our precious daughter!  You are now 13 years old (!!) and we look back at these years that the Lord has given thus far to our family with hearts that are filled with gratitude.  Turning 13 is certainly a milestone and we see that you are growing out of girlhood and growing into womanhood.  We praise the Lord for your professed salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ and we know that this salvation will serve as a solid foundation for your future.  As you continue to grow, remember the following words of wisdom from God's Word in order to guide you along the right path:

• Inner beauty is of greater worth than outward beauty and adornments - As we are told in 1 Peter 3:4, "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." (KJV) By no means do we believe that this verse (or any verse in Scripture) is teaching that you should be as plain and as unattractive as you can make yourself--for that can be at least as self-focused as the one that is always trying to impress others with their clothes, hair, jewelry, and make-up.  The key is that the inner beauty should be primary and the outward beauty should be a consistent reflection of that inner beauty.  In 1 Timothy 2, we read that this inner beauty should manifest itself in the adornment of good works.

• Words are powerful and must be used with wisdom - Amara, your words will have a tremendous influence on others.  It is of the utmost importance that you take great care with your words and always strive to use them in a way that will be building others up and showing them grace rather than tearing them down and filled with harshness.  Your words can either be a soothing balm or a deadly poison.  Ephesians 4:29 provides a key to determining what words you should be speaking.  It states: "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers." (KJV)

• Live by the principle of honor - Showing honor to those that are in authority over you will bring God's favor.  There are so many examples in Scripture where those that show honor are blessed as a result (for example, the Recabites as recounted in Jeremiah 35).  In Ephesians 6:2-3, the Bible says: "Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."  Showing honor is a condition for it being well with you and notice that the connection between honor and blessing is one of the precious promises of God.  Even more important than showing honor to us as your parents is the honor that you show to the Lord.  You will show that honor through how you speak to God, how you speak about God, how you read, study, meditate, and memorize His Word, and how you order your life in obedience to what the Bible teaches.

• Be diligent and disciplined - God has ordered this world such that we need to work--and we should be working hard six days out of every week and reserving the Christian Sabbath for a day of rest.  We must be diligent and disciplined with all of our time, as the Bible teaches us in Ephesians 5:15-16 "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.  Redeeming the time, because the days are evil." (KJV)  God owns all of us and it is for His purposes that He created us.  As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have been bought with a price.  God, therefore, is the owner of all of your time and you need to make sure that you are using your time in the manner in which he has prescribed in His Word.

• Do all to the glory of the Lord - Everything that you do should be done to bring glory to the name of Jesus--from those things that people would consider big to those things that people would consider little.  The Bible states that "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31, KJV)  I am always struck when I think about this verse at how amazingly comprehensive this verse is as it includes even the daily, normal, ordinary, and common tasks of eating and drinking.  Since it is true that our eating and drinking should be done for the glory of God, then indeed every aspect of our lives should be ordered to glorify the Almighty.

Amara, may these principles be a help to you in your growth in the coming year and may they serve you well even beyond your next birthday and be a helpful guide for the rest of your life!  You have an exciting future ahead of you as you focus on inner beauty, take great care with your words, live by the principle of honor, consistently live in a disciplined and diligent manner, and do everything for the glory of the Lord!

Happy Birthday, our dear daughter!  We love you very much!

Love Always,

Dad and Mom 

Happy 5th Birthday, Tirzah!

Tirzah at her birthday party--excited to start opening presents!

Our dear daughter, Tirzah, recently had her 5th birthday!  What a delight to have watched Tirzah grow over these past 5 years since her birth.  We are very grateful and blessed to have her as a part of our family and it is with joy that we provide this birthday post to honor her.

Tirzah,

Happy 5th birthday, my dear and precious daughter!  I am so happy to be your Daddy and I am so glad that God has given you to this family.  You are a great blessing from the Lord and you are truly a gift from God.  It has been exciting to see you grow and develop over these past 5 years.  When we brought you home from the hospital as a newborn baby, you couldn't walk, talk, feed yourself, or hold up your head.  But now you can do all of these things and so much more--like write the letters of the alphabet, spell your name, and say Bible verses from memory.  I am so very pleased when we are reading God's Word as a family and you remember something from one of the Bible books that you have.  It is a blessing when you run off to get that book so that you can show us all how your book is telling about the same events and people that we are studying.

The Bible is so very important and is the most important book that has ever been written or that ever will be written.  It is the only book that God wrote.  Always remember that the Bible is true and everything that it teaches is right!  There will be people that try to tell you that the Bible is wrong about this or that--but it is the people that have it wrong and not the Bible.  The Bible is perfect, just like God is perfect.

I know that God has a plan for you since the Bible tells us that God is in control of all things and will use all things for His purpose.  I am very excited about the future that God has for you and I look forward to training and teaching you day by day from Holy Scripture.  I pray that God will save you from an early age, that you will love Him wholeheartedly for your entire life, and that you will joyfully serve Him in everything you do.

I love you, Tirzah!  I hope that my love for you will be a good reflection of the love of God and that you will be able to more easily know the character of God through my example.  I love you very much, Tirzah, and I am committed to being a godly influence on you.

Happy 5th birthday, Tirzah!

Love Always,

Daddy

Happy 20th Birthday, Jordan!

Jordan with his birthday cake made like a root beer float--complete with straw!

We recently celebrated a very joyful and blessed time as Jordan turned 20 years old!  It is amazing that it has really been 20 years since we first set eyes upon him after he was delivered safely into this world by the hand of God at 11:41 A.M. on June 21, 1994.  Jordan has been a gift from the Lord and it has been a great privilege, as well as a tremendous responsibility, to be his parents entrusted to train him according to the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Jordan,

Happy 20th birthday, our son!  Our hearts are filled with gratitude to God Almighty for bringing you into this family and we have great hope for the future that our Lord has planned for you.  We pray for God's hand of blessing to be upon you and we are excited about the good works that God has before ordained for you to accomplish (Ephesians 2:10).  We are petitioning that the Lord will use your recently opened historical poster and postcard business for the building up of His church and for bringing honor and glory to the King of kings.

As we look back on the 20 years that we have had you as a part of our family, we thank the Lord for this time.  You have added a great deal to our home with your interests in history, geography, and theology.  God has indeed given you many gifts and talents, which have become more and more evident as the days, months, and years have progressed.  We have many fond memories of watching you develop into manhood and consider it a great treasure that God has allowed us to be your parents.  As our mind scans through the years from your birth until today, there is indeed a joyful pantheon of times, places, and events involving you.  From your probing questions to your sharp wit to your well-studied responses, we have benefitted from them all.  For the ways in which God has used you in our family, we are indeed very thankful.

As we look ahead to the future, we are excited since we know that the Lord is in control of all things and will be working things for His glory and for your good.  If you will faithfully serve the Lord all of your days, you will be blessed.  With that in mind, we charge you with growing and developing the following character qualities in greater and greater measure:

• Godliness - This quality is absolutely foundational for living a life that is pleasing to the Lord and will be the bedrock upon which the remaining characteristics will be built.  In 1 Timothy 4:8, we read that "godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (emphasis added)

• Humility - The Bible teaches that God will oppose the proud, but give grace to the humble (James 4:6). Pride is an ugly dragon that must be slain in order to have God's grace upon you.  Battle diligently against the attacks of this formidable adversary.

• Servanthood - Just as Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve (Mark 10:45), you too should live a life of service to others.  Those that live for themselves are those that are the most miserable, but those who are willing to serve will be the most joyful and fulfilled.  Be among those who serve with enthusiasm and gladness.

• Wisdom - The book of Proverbs is consistently brimming over with the importance of gaining in wisdom.  It is this attribute that is more valuable than rubies (Proverbs 8:11) and is referred to as the principal thing (Proverbs 4:7).  It is wisdom that results in proper application of the teaching of Scripture to the life situations that you face day by day.

• Love - With Christ as your model, you should show a love for God and a love for others.  Your love for God should be shown by your obedience to Him (John 14:15) and your delight in His commandments (Psalm 119:47).  Your love for others should extend not only to those that you like, but also to your enemies (Matthew 5:44).  That kind of love should keep you dependent upon God, Who is the Only One that can supply something that is so counter to our own sinful nature.

May this brief list of character qualities be a help to you in encouraging you in a path of righteousness and may you live a joyful, productive, and consistent life that will cause others to glorify God based on your good works (Matthew 5:16).

Happy Birthday, Jordan!  We love you dearly!

Love Always,

Dad and Mom

Happy 17th Birthday, Aidan!

Once again, it is a great joy to be celebrating a birthday for our second-born son, Aidan.  We rejoice in having Aidan as a part of our family and it is an incredible blessing to be seeing him grow in maturity and godly character.


Aidan,

We are delighted to be celebrating your 17th birthday and we are filled with joy as we reflect on the time that you have been a part of our family!  We praise the Lord for the work that He has done in you and through you as we have seen you grow in character and maturity.  It truly has been a great delight to see you be able to stand up and defend the truth of God's Word.  We appreciate your humor, your kind manner, your consistent care for others, and your willingness to contribute to our family discussions, particularly those discussions around the Word of God.

Aidan, we look to your future with great hope and we offer these truths to you to encourage you for the days, months, and years that are ahead of you:

• Rejoice in knowing that the Lord will complete the work that He has begun in you (Philippians 1:6)
• Rejoice with the knowledge that God has foreordained good works for you to accomplish and it is for these works that you have been created (Ephesians 2:10)
• Rejoice in the hope that God is working all things together for good to those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28)
• Rejoice in knowing that you serve a risen Christ, Who is victorious and will place all things under His feet (1 Corinthians 15:25)
• Rejoice in being given the privilege of being called a child of God and that you will have the blessing of being able to see Christ as He is (1 John 3:1, 3)
• Rejoice in realizing that Christ who is in you is greater than the evil one who is in the world (1 John 4:4)

May these truths encourage your heart, fill you with gratitude, and spur you on to accomplish great things for the Lord!  We are indeed very grateful to be celebrating this birthday with you and consider it a great blessing to be your parents.

Happy birthday, Aidan!  We love you very much!

Love Always,

Dad and Mom

Happy Birthday, My Dear Jill!

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord." (Proverbs 18:22, KJV)

It is with great joy that we celebrate my dearly beloved bride's birthday.  Indeed marriage is a blessing and a godly wife is one of the greatest earthly gifts that God gives!  Marriage can be a great testimony of the power of the gospel since God has made it that marriage is an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the church (see Ephesians 5).  It is my sincere desire that as a couple we can be shining forth a godly example of this divine relationship.

Jill, I am very grateful that you are one of God's children and that we can be working together to seek first the kingdom of God.  I am blessed and encouraged by your consistency in proclaiming the truth of God's Word and I appreciate the questions that you bring about what you hear and read to ensure that we are thinking through these issues from a biblical perspective.  Your willingness to discuss these issues has helped all of us in our family (including me) to strive to look to Holy Scripture as the basis for our conclusions on each matter.

I pray that God will give you a very joyful birthday celebration, that you will feel very loved, honored, and blessed!  You are my dear and precious sweetheart!  Happy birthday, my love!

In Christ,

David

Happy 12th Birthday, Amara!

It is with great joy that we celebrate Amara's 12th birthday!  Over the past year, Amara has really grown up and is becoming a lovely young lady.  It is a blessing to be able to train Amara in the ways of the Lord and to see her grow and learn.

Amara,

Happy birthday!  We are indeed very grateful to the Lord that He has given you as a gift to our family and we praise God for allowing us the privilege of raising you as our dear daughter.  We have many joyful memories of the past with you and we look forward to the future knowing that the Lord has a plan and a purpose which includes giving you good works to accomplish that He has prepared in advance for you to do (Ephesians 2:10).  We love you, Amara, and we are committed to parenting you according to the truth of the Bible.

This year, we offer to you both a challenge and an encouragement in the following areas:

• Gratitude - In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, we read the following words: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  What powerful words that God has given to us by giving us direct insight into His will.  Remember that as you show and cultivate a heart of gratitude, you will be walking in a way that is consistent with God's will.

• Humility - The Bible teaches us the dangers of pride and the blessings of humility.  This principle is so important that God Himself will be opposing those that are prideful and giving grace to those that are humble.  Therefore, our encouragement to you is to follow the biblical admonition to "be clothed with humility." (1 Peter 5:5)

• Diligence -  It is of critical importance that you be working hard and that you have an affection for work.  Without diligence, what you do will be of limited effectiveness and will have limited lasting impact.  The Bible teaches that we should observe the ways of the ant and emulate the model of diligence.  In Proverbs 6:6-8, we read: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest."  Notice how the diligence of the ant is not based on having someone or something else to prod it along.  Learn from the ant, follow after her ways, and you will be wise.

• Servanthood - Service to others is a great gift that you can give to them and can provide you with joy and fulfillment unlike other activities.  View it as a privilege to serve others and look for opportunities to be able to bless those around you in this way.  If you keep your eyes open and have a heart to serve, you will be able to have many different ways that you can be a servant--not only in the future, but also right now.  Galatians 5:13 says: "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another."

If you strive to grow in each of these areas and commit them to the Lord asking for His help, you will become more godly and righteous with each passing day.  In this growth, you will be blessed and you will have a great influence on others, spurring them on toward love and good deeds through your example.

Happy birthday, Amara!  We love you very much!

Love Always,

Dad and Mom