Tomorrow, we will be heading for Columbus for Dare2Share. There are over 30 eighth graders and graduates from Southern Middle School. Some of these teens will be experiencing this weekend training for the first time and some have been there several times.
We will be staying at Beechwold Christian Church. This is the third year that they have hosted a group from Lexington and it is exciting to see the similarities in their vision, the calling that God gave to me when I was a teen, and the theme of this year's dare to share.
It is also exciting to see these friends of my children desiring to know God.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Future Quarterback
This young man was very patriotic in 1971 as he participated in the 4th of July parade in Wakarusa. At this point in his life, no one would have guessed that he would lead his high school football team to a State-Runner up finish and compete with Jeff George to replace Jim Everett in the Cradle of Quarterbacks.Jim Everett headed for the Los Angeles Rams where he would hand the ball off to Eric Dickerson who later returned to the Indianapolis Colts. Jeff George won the position at Purdue for one year, but then transferred to Illinois.
Can you name this little fellow?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Digital Memories for Keith's Birthday
My little brother will be turning 40 next month and he asked me to go through mom and dad's slides and get them converted to digital for his birthday.
It has been a lot of fun looking at these pictures that have only been projected faintly on a silver screen. With color correction, these memories have come alive.
Happy Birthday Keith!
It has been a lot of fun looking at these pictures that have only been projected faintly on a silver screen. With color correction, these memories have come alive.
Happy Birthday Keith!
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Read Great Books
While shopping for a Christmas present for Jackie in a bookstore, a book titled "Good to Great in God's Eyes" caught my attention. The subtitle was also intriguing: "Ten Practices Great Christian's have in common".This book grabbed me from a couple of different angles. The title and appearance were very close to one of my favorite books, "Good to Great" which transformed the way I believe a successive company should be developed over a long period of time.
The subtitle also reminded me of a book I read back in 1992 by Kent R Hughes that interviewed great Christians to see what they had in common.
It also said "Ten" things, which implied there was a list. I love lists.
So, I bought the book to see what Chip Ingram had to say.
In the picture on the left, I put "Disciplines of a Godly Man" on the bottom of the pile to point out the books that I have read after knowing what Godly men read. I put Chip's book very near the top since it represents a second opinion about what men that are "Great in God's Eyes" do.
Note: this is not a complete stack of my favorite books. It's just the top 10% of what I have here in the house. Some of my favorite books are loaned out to friends and some are on a bookshelf at work ready to be referenced.
Here's the list of ten practices that Chip proposes are common to great Christians:
- Think Great Thoughts
- Read Great Books
- Pursue Great People
- Dream Great Dreams
- Pray Great Prayers
- Take Great Risks
- Make Great Sacrifices
- Enjoy Great Moments
- Empower Great People
- Develop Great Habits
Books have shaped my perception of God, my confidence in the Bible, my marriage, my ministry, and my relationships with other people. They've done the same for countless other Christians throughout history, some of whom have impacted the kingdom of God on earth quite dramatically.... that's why I'll never regret the practice of reading great books.
As I was reading chapter three, I decided to compare my favorite books with the list that a great person like Michael Card has read. I fall short. I need to read more great fiction and more great history.
A quiet, cold day at home
Today is one of those rare days where no one needs anything right now and there is no noise. A day like that defines all people.
Adam took off yesterday to spend some time with some great people in Hardin, KY. I don't know what Bob will be talking about but the people that gather there are incredibly interesting and I always leave there inspired to be a better person.
Jackie and Becca took off this morning for Nashville, TN with some great people. Emily, one of Becca's friends, invited Becca to go along with her to Nashville while Emily's class headed for Chicago. Looking at the weather this weekend, I think Emily made the right choice. Jackie talked with Carol and just yesterday decided that she would go along to make it a foursome. Jackie and I will be spending many weekends with Carmen at volleyball tournaments in the next few months, so this is some great Becca time and Jackie couldn't pass it up. I'm sure there will be some great Carol time as well.
Carmen will sleep late and be quiet and productive all day long, so there will be peace and order with Carmen. Of this, I have no doubt.
After seeing Jackie and Becca off this morning at 9:00, I shut all the TV's off and read for half an hour in uninterrupted peace.
Adam took off yesterday to spend some time with some great people in Hardin, KY. I don't know what Bob will be talking about but the people that gather there are incredibly interesting and I always leave there inspired to be a better person.
Jackie and Becca took off this morning for Nashville, TN with some great people. Emily, one of Becca's friends, invited Becca to go along with her to Nashville while Emily's class headed for Chicago. Looking at the weather this weekend, I think Emily made the right choice. Jackie talked with Carol and just yesterday decided that she would go along to make it a foursome. Jackie and I will be spending many weekends with Carmen at volleyball tournaments in the next few months, so this is some great Becca time and Jackie couldn't pass it up. I'm sure there will be some great Carol time as well.Carmen will sleep late and be quiet and productive all day long, so there will be peace and order with Carmen. Of this, I have no doubt.
After seeing Jackie and Becca off this morning at 9:00, I shut all the TV's off and read for half an hour in uninterrupted peace.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Appreciation for Mothers
As Jackie hits the job market, I think this video points out why just about any mother that can raise three kids in today's world deserves great appreciation.
I found this on a blog from someone in Kenya, and find it very ironic that I also heard from some missionaries on furlow in the United States from Ecuador that the energy that is required to raise a family in the United States is excessive. (crazy?!)
Somehow, the best mom's have the energy to do this and creatively eliminate their stress and motivate others to do better.
I found this on a blog from someone in Kenya, and find it very ironic that I also heard from some missionaries on furlow in the United States from Ecuador that the energy that is required to raise a family in the United States is excessive. (crazy?!)
Somehow, the best mom's have the energy to do this and creatively eliminate their stress and motivate others to do better.
Jackie dusts off her resume
No one needs to get out any tiny violins for us, but 2007 was a difficult year financially. Anyone that has spent any time with me, knows that one of the five biblical financial principles that I teach and live by is "Spend less than you make".
As a Christian, I believe the proper perspective is to be grateful for the income and always address the expenditures since that is what He commands us to do well until God changes the income. That is a hard perspective to teach, learn or live. For whatever reason, I believe that God has a reason for the Eby family to live on less income these last few years and I am grateful for the opportunity for Him to continue to teach us how to do this as a family.
So... with each drip, drip, drip of financial events of 2007, Jackie threatened to go back to work, and I pulled equity out of our home to make ends meet. Although this is a violation of several principles, I think it is prudent while we consider more sustainable options that I have suggested like downsizing our home.
She worked full time from 1986 through 1991 as a medical lab technician before having Carmen and continued to work very part time through 1993 before having Adam. When she left the position in 1993, she suspected that she would never get back into medical lab business, but didn't know what new business it might be.
In the first position she has accepted in 15 years, she will be working a flexible schedule at close to minimum wage for a company that makes sure us consumers buy stuff at retail stores because evidently that is something that employees of retail stores don't do. I'm not a big fan of this new job, but I'm grateful that she has taken the initiative and hopeful that it will pay for groceries or gas or the last few years of sports while we trust God to tell us what we should do next.
As a Christian, I believe the proper perspective is to be grateful for the income and always address the expenditures since that is what He commands us to do well until God changes the income. That is a hard perspective to teach, learn or live. For whatever reason, I believe that God has a reason for the Eby family to live on less income these last few years and I am grateful for the opportunity for Him to continue to teach us how to do this as a family.
- The kids' college savings dropped to half the 2006 value. This is my own fault for making investment choices that I continue to hope will recover to a point that will be able to help the kids. This is by far the largest financial impact to us and it has been difficult for me to trust God to restore those investments that we have made a little bit at a time over a period of many years. ( I also am wondering if God has intended for our children to work their own way through school as we did. We benefited from that experience, why wouldn't they? )
- We had both of our vehicles demand some attention. ( 100K+ miles cars from the 20th century )
- In October, we turned around and "suddenly" our daughter was 16 and we will be paying higher premiums for car insurance next year. (50% higher if she doesn't get a car, 100% higher if she gets a car )
- In November, we had wind damage to our 20 year old roof that cost us $5K that we had hoped to spend in 2009 or 2010. We thought we could put that off until at least 2008 even after the visible exterior damage but water damage to Adam's bedroom ceiling forced us to action.
So... with each drip, drip, drip of financial events of 2007, Jackie threatened to go back to work, and I pulled equity out of our home to make ends meet. Although this is a violation of several principles, I think it is prudent while we consider more sustainable options that I have suggested like downsizing our home.
She worked full time from 1986 through 1991 as a medical lab technician before having Carmen and continued to work very part time through 1993 before having Adam. When she left the position in 1993, she suspected that she would never get back into medical lab business, but didn't know what new business it might be.
In the first position she has accepted in 15 years, she will be working a flexible schedule at close to minimum wage for a company that makes sure us consumers buy stuff at retail stores because evidently that is something that employees of retail stores don't do. I'm not a big fan of this new job, but I'm grateful that she has taken the initiative and hopeful that it will pay for groceries or gas or the last few years of sports while we trust God to tell us what we should do next.
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