So, I just got this in the mail yesterday from a good friend of mine, Tom. Tom cut this out and sent it to me. It is in response to this post that I wrote several weeks ago. Here it is ladies and gentleman. The diaper dude bag.
I think that someone read my post and quick fabricated one… (maybe…) Anyhow, I thought that was awesome. Thanks Tom!
So, you might not know this about me yet; but I come from a long line of great fisherman. My dad is a great fisherman, my grandfather was a great fisherman and many men before me have been great fisherman in my family. So, in the spirit of Deuteronomy 6:7-9 I figured I better get started with my son as soon as possible. You know, Deuteronomy tells us that we should teach it diligently to our sons and talk about it all the time, and so on and so forth. {Check that passage out if you haven’t read it recently, it’s a good one.} Also, in the spirit of Proverbs 22:6 I was beginning to feel very convicted about it all… {another great passage} So, here it is.
I put together a little video of Noah’s first ever fishing expedition.
~Peter
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=x-BkIz26Mnc]
You want to know what ticks me off? Church’s and Youth Groups that are surface level and shallow. There I said it. I’ll be honest. It truly cuts me to my core. This is so frustrating, because God created us to live for so much more than just a shallow “surfacey” existence with one another. (sounds like a good song, maybe John Foreman should write one.) As Christians we should be setting the bar for what it looks like to have relationships with one anther, and what it looks like to belong, and have a sense of importance and acceptance, and genuine love from others. We have been wrestling with this thought and others recently in our student ministry here at FBC. We have titled it, “Our IPODS are different”. We have been checking out and studying 1 Corinthians 12 & 13. The basic idea is that we are each made incredibly different. And that is a good thing. God made it that way. Yet, why then do we want everyone to look like me, act like me, and be like me? And then here’s the kicker: If you aren’t like me, then we just can’t be friends.
How do we develop community? What ways can we grow together; Youth Group’s, Church’s, Blogging communities, Scouts, Biker Clubs, even knitting groups… How can we grow together and develop a sense of belonging? This has got to be the most difficult question. If I had the answer I would publish a book and sell it. I might call it something like, “The Purpose driven life” or the “Purpose Driven Church”, or even the “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry”. I have read all three of those books. They are great books. But right now I am looking for more.
I want our ministry here at FBC to be one which is defined by love; Love for God, Love for others, and Love for Family. How do we do accomplish this? Do you guys have any ideas? How can we communicate love to each other in a real, non romantic way? How can we start right now and make a difference on our community here in Doylestown PA?
~Peter
Happy Father’s Day! This morning we woke up got ready for church and went out to breakfast. We had a great breakfast. Here’s a shot of Grace and I at breakfast this morning. Pancakes were in order for all of us. We had a great day today celebrating father’s day.
We also had a great service today at church. Today we had one service and it was great being together as a large group. We were celebrating three different events. Today was the ingathering day for our Talent Offering, it was also the celebration of the focus on your family covenant day, and of course it was fathers day.
First things first: The ingathering of our talent offering. Applying the principles found in the parable of the talents, Matthew 25:14-30, our church gave out a little over $20k on Palm Sunday. The congregation was told to go and try and invest it, or make more with the seed money that we were given. Today alone we received $76k. How awesome is that? That is great! We are trying to eliminate a $600k debt for our building. So, we are moving forward! This is incredible.
Secondly, a few months ago we as a church went through a six week long campaign focusing on the family. It was called, “Focus on Your Family”. This was a great 6 weeks. Today after much thought and training we were able to acknowledge many families as they made a covenant to help their family grow closer together and closer to God. Praise God for all of those families in our church who have taken this very important step.
Third! Father’s Day!!! Check out this sweet present that my kids gave me today! (well, really that Tiffany made for me!)
I got two canvas’ each one made by one of my children. They are going to hang in my office! I am so excited to hang them. Here’s a close up of each.
Noah’s:
Grace’s:
I grew up watching my Dad love his family, and his wife with all that he has. My Dad has influenced my life is so many great ways. He has taught me how to love people, love God, and love my family. Thanks Dad! I have the greatest memories of my Dad when I was growing up. I remember playing whiffle ball in the driveway, throwing frisbee, bike rides, water rockets, fishing, sailing, working on my car, laughing, talking, and enjoying a good Hot Dog at Jimmy Johns. I can only hope to be half of the man that my Dad is. I am grateful for my Dad. Thanks Dad for being the greatest dad I could ever ask for! I love you.
Tonight a student asked me if it is fun being a dad. What do you think I said? I love being a dad to Noah and Grace. I have huge shoes to fill. I’m gonna keep on trying!
Happy Father’s Day to all you dad’s out there.
~Peter
All I have to say is PACKING DAY! Boy oh boy… I am really tired of packing. Today was a great day. We went surfing this morning, spear fishing after that, and then up to the beach. Surfing was okay. The waves built overnight, and we had a fun little session out there. Spear fishing was weak to say the least. There was a major rip, and it was generous enough to give me my life back! 🙂 I was getting sucked out to sea. Ah well, it made for an even more interesting spear fishing session. The beach was perfect, and the weather was phenomenal. We had an awesome week of weather overall, and a great time together with our family. Noah and Grace love the ocean. It has truly been a great vacation! We drive home tomorrow morning early!
The van is officially packed, minus some pillows. Here’s the official shot of the van…
PA here we come. See you soon Doylestown. Its been real Hatteras.
~Peter
Surf Report: Building… Could be good tomorrow!
Water Temp: Stunning, maybe a titch colder than yesterday, but still great
Air Temp: 88
Weather: Is it possible to have another beautiful day in a row? Hmm? Well, the answer is, YES! Gorgeous…
Fishing Report: Not quite as good as yesterday. Spanish Mackerel are in the water, not on the line though! Tried shark fishing tonight, lost our bait continually, however no Shark on the hook…
Today is day 6. It is the worst day of vacation possible in my mind. You are constantly thinking that tomorrow will be the last day of vacation, and then you are trying to cram all of the things that you wanted to do all week into this one day. Total bummer. It even is worse than the actual last day because the suspense of the day coming is torture! Even though it was day six, it was a pretty great day 6. Noah and Grace were having a great time on the beach, and the water was really fun today. We had a Luau themed dinner tonight. Hawaiian Chicken and Pineapple ca-bobs, as well as veggie ca-bobs. It was awesome.
Here is the daily pictorial update:
Tonight we returned to the same spot on the beach to take family pictures with the whole family! All of us trying to smile at the same time! How great is that? Let me tell you what… It was a task and a half. But it went well.
Here is the video… Wait for it to load.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7roU7vm3kr4]
Tomorrow morning is going to be fun. Spear fishing here we come!
~Peter
Surf Report: Just about flat
Water Temp: Perfect
Air Temp: 88
Weather: Smokey from the fire on the mainland…
Fishing Report: Enough Said…
Today was a great day… We had a great day at the beach, a great day behind the reel, and a great day getting our family pictures taken! We had an unbelievable day. We took just about 460 pictures today. Don’t worry, I won’t have all them here for you. I will have a selection of them for you. Check it out… Here’s the daily pictorial update…
Also, here is a movie update!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFuA7O72pv0]
~Peter
Feeling far more relaxed today than when we got here on Saturday!
Surf Report: Choppy, and rougher…
Water Temp: Perfect
Air Temp: 86
Weather: Sunny with a few clouds here and there…
So, I’m married to an OLD LADY! Today Tiffany turned a quarter of a Century! I can’t believe it. It was great being able to spend the day with her. I told her that we went on a destination b-day. Today for her birthday we went to an even more desolate island than Cape Hatteras. We went over to Ocracoke which is just south of Hatteras. It is about 45 minutes to get there including a ferry ride. Pretty neat day. We hit the beach for a while, and swam. Then we had lunch together and walked around. We had a great time! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY AMAZING WIFE!
Here is the pictorial update…
A whole bunch of pictures from our day today. A couple of them are from the ferry, and the rest are from Ocracoke. Happy Birthday Tiff.
~Peter
Surf Report: Smaller hills than the day before,
Water Temp: Beautiful yet again
Air Temp: 84 degrees
Weather: Bright, with hazy skies…
Fishing Report: Still no fish caught. There are two big rays that keep swimming under the kayak. They are very playful, and freaky all at the same time. Pretty cool though. I wouldn’t mind hooking into one…
So far today we have dug a big hole played in it, and then jumped over big waves! The key phrase of the morning was, look daddy, another huge wave. He’s too funny. Now Grace, on the other hand, has it made. She is under her umbrella just hanging out in the pool. She has zero desire to get out of that pool. It is so funny. It’s like we put her on a three foot leash or something. She stays absolutely put in that pool and loves life! The best $4.95 spent all vacation so far. So after a hard morning of playing this is what we got around 12:45…
They both played so hard. I love when they sleep well! I guess I will do some reading now. I’m reading a book called “Refresh, Renew, Revive” by H.B. London Jr. One of my favorite guys. So, I guess I’m gonna go try and “relax, rest, & read”.
I will continue later…
So, here is the daily pictorial update…
Also tonight Noah and I flew the kite again! He was really excited about it. Here’s a quick video of Noah describing as any 2 year old would describe a kite flying…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-WjT664uQ]
We had a great day today. I am looking forward to tonight. Wii Sports Tournament here we come… LOOK OUT!
~Peter
Surf Report: Little hills, no white water…
Water Temp: Beautiful
Air Temperature: 88
Weather: Sunny- Clear Skies
Fishing Report: Nothing caught yet; Saw a huge Ray swimming below the Kayak.
I went out on the kayak for a bit today. I tried catching some waves however, there wasn’t a whole lot to catch… Maybe tomorrow. I started to build and fashion a car in the sand for Noah to play in, but he wasn’t digging the whole car idea. It was more fun to fill in the hole that I had already dug… Unbelievable. When I was a little kid, Uncle Dick, used to dig my cousins and I a big old car equipped with front and back seats. Or maybe sometimes we would get a boat. Listen closely and you too can learn how to build a sand car, or it’s near relative, the sand speedboat. Two basic steps, dig a two level hole. A deep part for your feet, and a shallow part for your rear. Next, take the sand you have removed, and fashion a front. Here is where it get’s tricky. Round the shape in the front for a car, or triangulate the front for a boat! Voila! There you have it. Anyhow, Noah didn’t dig the sand car… Maybe next year.
So here is the daily pictorial update!
So today I accomplished #1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, and had today’s part of 15. Not a bad day if I do say so myself. A bit of an over achiever today {especially for vacation! I better slow it down…}
~Peter