This morning, I was reminded of our family vacation to Flagstaff, Arizona five years ago. While we were there, we hiked Sunset Crater, a volcano whose trails were covered with ash and old rock-like lava flow. In the midst of the dry, dormant landscape, we saw occasional trees growing.

It was this scene I was reminded of when I read this from Isaiah 41 this morning:

The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none,
And their tongue is parched with thirst;
I, the Lord, will answer them Myself,
As the God of Israel I will not forsake them…

I will put the cedar in the wilderness,
The acacia and the myrtle and the olive tree;
I will place the juniper in the desert
Together with the box tree and the cypress,

That they may see and recognize,
And consider and gain insight as well,
That the hand of the Lord has done this,
And the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The hand of the Lord is able to bring forth life in the midst of a desert.

We began the school year in stages this year.

Jake’s first day was on a Thursday, homeschool began on the following Monday, and Derek’s first day was Tuesday.

Our official first-day-of-school picture was taken on Derek’s first day: the third first day of school.

Jake: 12th grade
Derek: 9th grade
Peter: 6th grade
Jeremy: 4th grade
Ruthie: Kindergarten

The three footballers in the family have already been practicing for some time now, however the season officially kicked off with a tournament Peter was part of last weekend.  Their team was invited to participate in a jamboree at the Chicago Bears’ training facility, Halas Hall.

The grounds are typically not open to the public, so there was quite a process just to get in.  Security guards checked a list of names to ensure we were on it.  Security guards told us where to park. Security guards made sure we didn’t bring anything but our selves into the building.

See that coffee in my hand?  I had to literally gulp it down before setting foot into the building.

Once inside, we were blown away by how beautiful the building was. The boys warmed up.  I like this shot of Peter–directing traffic.

Then they took the field, and because it was a scrimmage format, the coaches were allowed to remain on the field.

This was a good thing for the boys’ first game, since their opposing team was both bigger and older.  They got whomped.

Peter is following in his brother’s footsteps and filling in as center. It’s not his favorite position, but he’s a good sport about it.

On the other hand, he does love tackling.

The team.

Q:  What has captured the attention of these guys?

A:  Inspired by his summer job, Jake made an antenna from materials around the house and put together a program that receives all sorts of radio signals, including airplane and police signals.

Q:  What is (almost) everyone intently looking at in this picture?

A:  Window washers, climbing over the edge of the 56th floor of the building.  All in a day’s work.

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

I couldn’t help but notice the contrast in the sky yesterday as I was driving home. (I may or may not have taken this picture while driving 50 miles per hour.)

The scene made me thankful to God that I do not have to dwell in the past and all its darkness. He has made me free to strain forward, to press on.

My cousin got married last weekend in Michigan. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, and God provided perfect weather conditions. Here’s the bride with her brothers.

It was a great time with family. Ronnie and Derek talked football.

Ruthie posed with the princess bride.

The boys were excited over the Arnold Palmer drink stations…

…as well as the bbq rib reception dinner. All the guests wore “I *heart* Ribs” bibs. This was in honor of the bride and groom’s first date at a bbq joint.

After the wedding, we headed down to the lake for a late-night swim.

Then woke up the next morning for some more beach time.

The waves made for good body surfing.

The wind was so strong that Ruthie didn’t even need to hold onto her innertube.

Such a great time with cousins!

Seeing eye to eye?

There were a few FCA camps going on concurrently in and around the city of Chicago a few weeks ago. We were able to get the kids involved–along with some of their friends–by making gospel bracelets for the campers.

We had a loom band party around the kitchen table. The boys organized the bands into bowls by color.

Then the kids got to work.

Derek kept things exciting by timing them for 10 minute intervals while they worked toward a team goal.

Those young fingers flew, and after just a couple hours, they had made over 150 bracelets!

A couple days later we drove to Austin and handed out the bracelets after the campers heard the gospel message. They were received with delight by campers of all ages.

We are praying that the bracelets would remind the kids of the good news of Jesus, and that like seeds falling onto fertile soil, would grow up to bear much fruit.

Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:8-9)

Later, we drove to the beach where the FCA wrestling camp was hosting dinner, and we dished up burgers and hot dogs for the campers and coaches.

Here’s a key to the colors of the gospel bracelet:

Each color represents an important Bible truth about Salvation
BLACK – Sin Romans 3:23 | All have sinned
RED – Blood I John 1:7 | Jesus’ blood covers all sin
WHITE – Pure Psalm 51:7 | Jesus washes away confessed sin
YELLOW – Heaven John 14:2 | Believe on Jesus and receive Eternal Life
GREEN – Grow 2 Peter 3:18 | Grow in the knowledge of the Lord