Problems are for Solving

not here yet.

Today is the due date and there have been some contractions that Theresa calls interesting but she doesn’t think the baby will be here in the next few hours—but possibly today.

I’ll keep you posted. I’ll leave the countdown timer in the sidebar until the baby is born and replace it with a birth announcement both here and there.

Theresa has gone late with all five babies (2-7 days) so Thursday would match her earliest. I’m expecting baby to come soon, though, and likely before the end of the week. But then again, only God knows when that baby will push his head out to meet us.

Stay tuned!

I asked Seth yesterday about the anatomy of a collect, and he responded, so I thought I’d try my hand at writing some.

One of the things I’ve been struggling with in my life is consistent, enjoyable time with God in His Word. For the past couple of months I’ve been studying Hebrews, and it’s only in the past few days that I’m really starting to dig into the text in an enjoyable and productive (translation: bearing some fruit in my own worship of and living for God, but then I repeat myself) way. I moved my location for my quiet time from my bed (you know, where I sleep) to the dining room (where we have family worship) and that has helped greatly.

So as I’ve struggled, I’ve not always known what to pray, and I thought it would be nice to have a collect (see all of Seth’s collects by clicking here) that I could pray when I’m struggling with desire to study and am lost for how to pray.

Inspired by Hebrews 1:1-4:

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.

Jehovah Jireh
Who has spoken to us by Your Son
Provide me and fill me with a love for Your Word and a desire to hear Your voice
That I might not stray from You or forget Your blessings to me
In the Name of Jesus Who is the radiance of Your glory
Amen.

Be gentle with any criticism or correction on this but feel free to offer it)–it’s my first and I’m not the most creative brush that hits the pallatte.

The Countdown Continues!

Six more days until Little Engine’s due date now. I thought signs of an early labor were appearing last week and thought for sure we’d have the baby by now. Thursday night, though, the major contractions subsided and while TC is still having regular Braxton-Hicks contractions nothing of note has taken place thus far.

All of her labors have been different and so we’re keeping a close eye. She’ll see the midwife again tomorrow and we’re anxiously looking forward to meeting our little one soon.

Stay tuned for news and pictures.

I’ve decided that I want to avoid chain restaurants as much as possible. I wouldn’t mind if we completely drove them out of Peoria, in fact.

One way to love our neighbors is to frequent their businesses. That way they can help ours. Thinking locally means being willing to pay more for something that doesn’t come from a bigboxmart type store.

Thursday TC and I had what is probably our last date before Little Engine arrives. We had a midwife appointment and then headed down to the riverfront to eat dinner at Kelleher’s Irish Pub. We had a wonderful dinner there of Irish fare and will be back soon–but on a less busy night. Between Bo Diddly and game 7 of the NLCS starring the “local” Cardinals it was crowded and pretty loud. The food and service were great. We bumped into our district councilperson and met the owner and I will enjoy going back and trying more of the Irish specialties.

After escaping the noise we decided to find someplace quiet to sit down and have some coffee. We went to Kade’s on War Memorial. It was nice and quiet, soft jazz playing on the speakers. Fantastic service and great coffee, plus they had loose tea available by the cup. We had a nice time talking there before heading out shopping for a few minutes and then home.

Support local peoria businesses! Eat, drink, spend money–and help build a thriving community here.

TC and I bottled the stout tonight. Due to a small problem with the siphoner (I forgot to put the silt stopper on it) we lost a little yeild, and only ended up with the equivalent of 44 bottles this time (4 shy of the last batch).

I’m more optimistic that this batch will turn out after the great taste of the last batch. I’m trying to get one more brewing scheduled before the baby comes–I’ll let you know what the guys and I decide to brew.

Thank God . . .

… For the Ben-Ezras and Kathey who come to dinner every week and shared a wonderful evening with us, though harried at times.

… For Raquel who cooked a lovely dinner tonight and then was helpful during a minor crisis.

… For my wife who reminded me that I need to trust God even when the boiler plumbing system is leaking into the upstairs bathroom.

… For my dad, who over the phone helped me to come to grips with what I feared was a thousand dollar plumbing issue but ended up being almost nothing. But his helpful advice was everything in the moment of need.

For my parents and sisters who are leaving their jobs and families for a couple of days to come celebrate little engine with us.

Thank you, God. I have been abundantly blessed.

Tomorrow some friends are coming over to brew the second batch of home-brewed beer, an Irish Stout. So today, in anticipation of them wanting to drink a little while we brew, I opened the first bottle from the last batch.

It was gooood.

It’s not the best beer I’ve ever tasted, but it was really good. A nice, complex flavor and a full body. I liked it. And there’s something special about it being my first, and that we made it ourselves made it all the better.

I was nervous because the root beer we made hasn’t carbonated as fast as I thought it would, but it is a great tasting beer, especially for my first run. I’m hooked.

(This post may get me in more trouble with some friends than my recent post on adult beverages.)

Yesterday, in answer to many years of prayers by their grandfather Mutton, four of my five children were allowed to sit and partake at the Lord’s Table.

That’s right. I’m out of the closet. Many of my closest friends have yet to know this but about two years ago I became convinced of covenant communion. I believe that all baptized persons, as a part of the Church of Jesus Christ, should be admitted to the Lord’s Table and partake of that holy meal. I believe the Bible teaches this.

It is a disputed matter, though, and for the past two years I have kept silent on my change of beliefs out of respect for the elders of my church. I have seen this doctrine handled in an ungodly way in other communities in the past. Since the part of the point of covenant communion is that Christ’s entire Body is united in communion at His Table to be divisive in my pursuit of it seemed inappropriate. And so outside of a select group of friends I only spoke with my elders about this change of beliefs and honestly asked them to convince me that the teaching of the church was correct and I was wrong.

Last Sunday evening the elders at Redeemer Presbyterian Church approved the transfer of my family to Providence Church, a local church that shares this belief and as of today I am no longer a non-practicing adherent to covenant communion. The Church catholic, of which both of these local communions are a part, remains undivided and my family has moved from submitting to elders who are being faithful to their vows in the PCA to submitting to elders who are being faithful to their vows in the Covenant Presbyterian Church.

Both churches remain as local links in my sidebar because of this catholic (or universal) nature of the Church. And while there are distinct beliefs and practices that separate us here on earth, we are joined in our Communion in Christ and will be united in an even more special way on the Last Day.