Back from Vacation

First night - at Point Park on Lookout Mountain
First night - at Point Park on Lookout Mountain

Our family vacation this year consisted of two weeks of travel to my parents and then to Lacey’s parents, along with a retreat for Lacey and I mixed in. We spent 49 hours on the road, including 33 hours with the kids, 16 hours just Lacey and I, and 15 hours with the former family dog (we found Barney a new home in Illinois). It was truly great to spend quality time with family and reconnect with friends. But it is also great to be back home and we are excited about what God is doing in our lives here in Jacksonville and especially at Harvest!

Chase shooting my old Red Ryder - first time for him to shoot a BB gun.
Chase shooting my old Red Ryder - first time for him to shoot a BB gun.
14th anniversary for Lacey and I at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for the Harvest Senior Pastors and Wives Retreat.
14th anniversary for Lacey and I at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin for the Harvest Senior Pastors and Wives Retreat.
Family picnic at the Chimneys campground in the Smokey Mountain National Park with Grandmama and Grandaddy and our cousins
Family picnic at the Chimneys campground in the Smokey Mountain National Park with Grandmama and Grandaddy and our cousins

On Vacation

Sorry for the quiet blog. I had a lot to get done in preparation for vacation. Now I’m on vacation. I do hope to blog sometime next week, so check back then.

Since I’m quiet this week, perhaps you would be interested in visiting a few of the blogs I try to keep up with regularly:

www.timellsworth.com – Tim is a good friend of mine and although he does not blog nearly as frequently as he used to, when he does, it’s good.

www.albertmohler.com – The President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is one of the most influential and compelling voices in evangelical American Christianity. He is great with book reviews and recommendations but his specialty is social commentary from a biblical perspective.

www.whatsbestnext.com – I like this site because it gives me great ideas and tips for greater productivity and effectiveness.

http://matteroffactsite.blogspot.com/ – Ordinarily I’m not a regular reader of blogs whose target audience is Christian women, but I make an exception for my cousin, Sherri. She is a godly woman and a very creative writer with a great sense of humor (think Erma Bombeck).

http://purgatorio1.com/ – just for fun.

8 Minus “Jon & Kate”

I have never watched a single episode of the popular television reality show “Jon & Kate Plus 8” but I have noticed that suddenly some of the blogs I follow are suddenly all abuzz about the apparent marital struggles of the famous couple.

Here is a fascinating article by Julie Vermeer Elliot about the potential disintegration of the Gosselin marriage and what it says about American evangelical culture.

What really strikes me as sad is not only the train wreck of pain these two young people are marching toward, but the collateral damage the eight children will experience.

I could only wish that people will tune the show out and therefore help bring the couple back down to earth. Unfortunately, the opposite will probably occur: ratings will probably shoot through the roof.  How many more families have to be destroyed by the lure of fame and wealth for us to finally realize these idols don’t deliver what they promise?