Easter Dinner at Mattern's

Easter in Indiana at the Mattern's brought back some great memories for me.

The first memory was of Grandpa Bud barbequeing pork chops nearly every Sunday afternoon in the summer.

I can remember going over to Jackie's house and thinking that there wasn't any better way to fill my stomach than to eat one of Bud's pork chops. I've spent 25 years trying to recreate them and fail to do so.

Well, Bud has met his match on Sunday. Maybe its because I've lived in the big city of Lexington too long, maybe its because Bill knows meat because he has worked in a meat shop all his life, but Bill put out a spread of ham, ribs and prime rib that was fabulous.

The second memory was of Easter afternoon activities at my Grandma and Grandpa Eby's after everyone had filled themselves and taken naps. Sometimes we went mushroom hunting. Sometimes we went flying in Uncle Gene or Cousin Craig's Cessnas but it was always something exciting.

This year, Becca got to experience one of those exciting activities with her Cousin Dustin. Dustin bought a old John Deere last year and restored it. His father-in-law also found an old seed spreader that when equiped with a couple bails of hay, served very well for a Sunday afternoon ride for Heather, Becca and Maria. Uncle Bill even threw Louie on the wagon before it took off.

Family Pictures

One of my favorite activities at Grandma's house is studying the two dimensional snapshots that make time stand still during various stages of the Etsinger family life. As Bud and Ruby approach 80 years of age, they sure do have a lot of frozen in time memories.

What is even more enjoyable is the time that I can sit in their back room and listen to them recount those memories. I am always amazed at how sharp their memories are of those joyous, sad, funny and difficult times in their lives. I struggle to remember those things more than a year.


This weekend Ruby reminded me of how instrumental she was in convincing Jackie to like me over 25 years ago. I've heard the story before, but this weekend, I told Adam how instrumental his Grandma Ruby was in convincing me to like Jackie. She may not have known she was doing it, but she was. You see, I was convinced that Jackie would turn out to be like her mother. A mother that loved her God, loved her husband, loved her children through thick and through thin. She loved with time and she loved with sacrifice and she loved with hard work. Who could turn down a deal like that?

Well, there was one other thing. Ruby always dressed Jackie simply and wanted to make sure her daughter was always working on the farm. I got to watch my sweetheart grow up hard at work and I knew her as a friend before I noticed that she was nearly as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside.

I wish I had a picture of her in her workclothes coming in from the pig barn.

Easter Egg Hunt at Etsinger's

We got to go to sunrise service at Union Center Church of the Brethren (Jackie's home church) this last Sunday with Grandma and Grandpa Etsinger.
After hearing a Romans 6 Sermon from Pastor Ruth, Jackie continued her religious dedication to an Easter Tradition for the kids (Egg Hunt).
The whole family enjoyed watching Becca gather eggs. Adam was coerced to gather eggs as well.

Grandma Ruby placed one quarter in some of 35 plastic eggs. There were also a few eggs filled with candy. Jackie and Carmen hid the eggs while I took Adam and Becca to Grandpa Sam's barn to check out Ben's pigs and the barn cats.

After the egg hunt, we packed up everyone (except for Carmen) and headed for Jackie's sisters house about three miles away.

It turns out that Carmen missed both cars that were heading in that direction while she napped on Grandma's couch.

Family Retreat, Ministering on the Hill

Rick Underhill introduced the idea of having a family retreat on the hill in a share time on Saturday evening.

His vision was to have twelve to fourteen families at various stages of life staying together on the hill. I think it is a great idea. Our own family experienced a great week with strangers of varying world views when we stayed at a guest ranch in Bandera, TX for our 2003 summer vacation. Jackie and I have never been on a family cruise, but I am sure that they offer the same variety of culture and people.

This weekend that Rick proposed would help reinforce God's way of rearing children with discipline, hard work, creativity, time and absolutes in scripture. Rick's main goal was to prove to his kids that he wasn't the only person in the world to think the way he does. Rick suggested several topics for study and we also agreed that there needed to be projects. Bob stated that driving nails is the best family activity on the hill in keeping the children busy and safe. I'm all for it.

On Sunday morning, Tony shared about the joy that he experienced watching his son play with three other boys all weekend. There were probably 50 men that hadn't a clue that this was really the first time that Matt had interacted socially with other boys. As Tony described the experiences of being away from home prior to this weekend, we all realized what a mighty work that Lord had done through a few Godly families and their young boys this weekend. There were very few fathers with a dry eye there this morning.

James Davis would be proud of the activity that was provide for those four young boys while the men were meeting. A family from Texas brought four marshmellow guns made of small diameter PVC that propelled what must have been several bags of colored marshmellows over the course of the weekend.

An American Hero

After a weekend devoted to men in history that were poor leaders and great leaders, we got to hear from an American Hero that added a personal perspective to a significant part of world history.

Bob's father was drafted in 1943 and learned Morse Code just in time to be trained as a voice radio operator at Normandy on June 6th, 1944 when he participated in the D-Day invasion and never stopped fearing his next breath would be his last until he was relieved on December 29th. During that time, he carried a body bag for himself and was trained never to help a fallen soldier (that was the medics' job bringing up the rear) and never to fear the sound of the bullets. The bullets approaching him didn't make a sound.

He learned the job of the voice radio operator through a series of mistakes and was trained remotely by other operators. It was interesting to learn earlier that Ham radio was the lure that pulled Bob to Vanderbilt's electrical engineering program. Hearing this story from Bob's hero explained a lot to me about why Bob has always called his father his hero.

He told us that he has relived the invasion in his mind every June 6th since that day. He recounted a few mistakes in direction from his leadership, a few misunderstandings of the French that saw his troops as heroes as they chased the Germans out of France. One French farmer cursed at the Germans for killing a cow that the American troop had unintentially hit. Another time the civilian people in Paris followed his troop for three days after being freed. In order to move forward without the people, the American army had to scare the French back toward Paris.

Just like his son, Bob's father viewed his earthly experiences as secondary to what he learned when he returned to Kentucky and learned the principle of the cross. Although he came to know the Lord at the age of 14, he didn't find his own identity until he well past the age of 30 or 40. It was encouraging for me to hear him "narrow down" and lump together the decade that I have just completed as if that was insignificant in the vapor we call life.

Thanks to Bob (and my pastor/teacher, Mike), it was fairly simple for me to gain the profound perspective of who I am in Christ in my early 20's.

Who knows what would have happened if thousands of men had not given their lives in World War II for our freedom to study the scriptures in our homes today. In no way do I want to dishonor their sacrifice, but it is trivial compared to the cross that enabled the sacrifice, service, obedience, good fight and sense of wonder within us.

It was the creativity of the largely uneducated Allied troops that overcame the poor direction of Germany's leadership and limitations of the German resources that ended that war.

Spring on the hill ( B.A.S.I.C )

Matt and I got a chance to take some pictures over the weekend. The top picture is in the old Manna house which is now exclusively a dinner hall. This freed up a great deal of time for us to move from dinner directly into the new hall (pictured below) for worship and teaching.

We also enjoyed several periods of free time to roam the farm appreciating the red buds, dogwoods and the new varieties of magnolias that seemed to fall from the sky over night.

The new dorm room that our youth helped build last summer housed us for both evenings. It was a wonderful place to sleep, fellowship and sharpen one another. Young Adam bonded well with several people. This back porch was one of Adam's favorite places.

The younger guys got a chance to play frisbee on Saturday afternoon in the open field. Us older men just took pictures. Duane was quite impressive with his roundhouse throws. Almost as good as Chuck Norris.

Restoring a Sense of Wonder

Friday night on the Hill was largely worship, but Bob introduced the topic of man's role of leadership to the group and our failures throughout history to be leaders.

I've been reading about 360 degree leadership which involves leading up, leading across and leading down. You can lead anyone at any level until you lead yourself well. This is very consistant with Bob's fundemental emphasis on knowing who you are in Christ before you attempt anything in life.

Here are a few of the notes I took on Friday night:

The Goal of a Teacher

• To make the simple profound
• To make the profound simple

Trust in man ( any man ) is futile, man is free to fail and he will.



Faith restores a sense of wonder that we need at every stage of life. As men, we need to steer and fan the faith that restores the sense of wonder in our children to the right amplitude, direction and purpose.

• From birth to age 3, children are amazed at what is beyond an open door
• From age 3 to 10, children are amazed by their ability to open a door
• From age 10 to 100, children wonder why the door is opened for them

What a privilege we have to watch our children progress through these stages only a few years behind us.

Hutchen's Hot Pig ( Benton, KY )

Western Kentucky is known for it's Barbeque and we experience some of it at Hutchen's Hot Pig. Matt and I had a pulled pig sandwich and a side of pigtails (known in other parts of our great country as "really greasy curly fries")Adam ordered a pork chop that was really good, but late, which caused us to sit longer in the smoke filled room listening to and watching God sing a severe thunderstorm to us. I am normally hyperly opposed to any hint of smoke, but in this part of the country, and certainly in this restaurant, it seemed fruitless to complain.

Adam wanted to go back on Saturday for his own Hot Pig sandwich, but Matt and I were still rather lethargic and opted for smaller snack in Murray.

Kentucky Dam ( Part of the TVA )

On the way to the Men's retreat in Hardin, we (Matt, Adam and I) stopped at the Kentucky Dam which is part of the Tennessee Valley Authorithy, one of FDR's largest projects in the New Deal.

Adam and Matt gravitated immediately toward the swirling water and the signs indicating Danger. Adam ran up the stairs after the trip down to the surface while Matt and I discussed Adam's heavy breathing after completing the ascent. We suggested that he run up and down a few times, but he was eager to get to Bob's.

Adam also swung from one of the original turbines that turned the great generators 60 years ago. During that time, I'm sure there were lots of jobs involved with monitoring water levels, energy levels, pressures and safety of all kinds for the employees. Today, I would imagine that most of the monitoring is done by computers remotely from another state.

Here's the text describing the turbine on one of those plaques from the self guided tour:
Imagine this 102-ton carbon-steel turbine spinning at 78.3 revolutions per minute. Picture more than 78,500 gallons of water per second rushing through the intake to spin its heavy blades, which generate 37 mega-watts of electricity. Measuring over 21 feet wide and nearly 12 feet tall, this adjustable-blade Kaplan propeller-type turbine, the first to be installed at the Kentucky Dam, began commercial operation in 1944. Although it's huge, it plays only a small role in TVA's balanced river system.

Kentucntucky is no more

When we purchased this house in 2000, Adam moved into the room that we like to call the "Kentucntucky" room. It seems that the previous owner couldn't get the border to match up at the beginning and the end. This week marks the end of the Kentucntucky room as Jackie tore down the border and the other blue and white accessories and pictures.

Next week during Adam's spring break, we are planning to "makeover" his room in a new theme that will also give him more room for his drums. Much to his mothers chagrin, he has chosen plywood and 2x4 for his new theme. We'll see if it sticks.

Adam and I both think that Purdue has colors that are more compatible with his plywood theme. No borders though, we don't like the combinations of Purdue if we can make them start and finish between words.

Becca experiences heaven on earth

Becca passed up a weekend at home alone with her Dad in order to attend her last "Raising the Roof" Upward Basketball party. Instead she chose to go to Indiana for Stephanie's wedding shower. Now, everyone knows that Becca loves a party, so what was the draw?

New Pets! Her Aunt Cheryl, who hosted the shower, had just received a new German Shepherd named Reggie. This dog likes to carry cats around the farm. Pictured, you can see Becca's recently washed purple coat. It is now black and brown after a weekend with the dogs.

After meeting Reggie, Becca headed straight to Grandma and Grandpa Eby's to meet their new Rat Terrier which was nameless.

Granpda presented the nameless pup to Becca and she determined that Cindy was the right name for this dog. Grandma and Grandpa were calling it "Babe" but weren't able to yell Babe loudly enough to get the attention of the dog.

After spending all Friday afternoon on the garage floor with Cindy, Becca had soiled her mittens and her hair and her coat and and and.

Cindy loved to chew on Becca's hair, I didn't get a picture of that, but you can see that neither Cindy or Becca were afraid of getting close.

Ahhh! I look like Carmen!

The other day, Adam went into the guest bathroom to check out an injury to his forehead and we heard a scream followed by an exclamation, "I look like Carmen!". Since Adam is letting his hair grow out for the first time since he received a butch at the barbershop some 8 years ago, he never had a chance to pull his bangs back like his older sister does every day.



After a quick recovery from the shock, Adam is now attempting to imitate Carmen's facial expressions for all of her friends at school, church and volleyball. What a brother!

Flight Champions!

Carmen's Team finished strong on the final day at Columbus. The team had a few players and a coach missing, but managed to win the four team tournament. Carmen can't stand to lose, so this day is a shining moment in this season. The girls all joked that they were the best of the worst or the biggest loser.

Despite all the jokes, the team did seem to play well together that day.

Back in Columbus

It has only been two weeks since the Dare2Share Revolution, but Carmen, Adam and Jackie have returned to Columbus. This time they have come for a different purpose and they have invited Becca and I to join them.

Carmen's volleyball team is just one of approximately 85 teams playing at the Columbus Covention Center. They are playing at the opposite end of the complex from the massive area where Dare2Share occured but that didn't stop Adam from showing me the place to get "the best coffee in the world".

On Saturday night, we all went out to Johnny Rocket's at Easton Mall after the pool play was over. Adam and Becca also spent a good deal of time in the hotel swimming pool and hot tub. The outdoor temperature never climbed above the teens, so Adam didn't get a chance to play basketball in the courtyard.

After a better day of pool play on Sunday, we all went out to Buca di Beppo off of Front Street. It was a great place to eat with a large group of people. Good Italian food served family style in classy decor that displayed heritage of Italy and lots of art from the Catholic Church.

While refereeing a game, Carmen was embarrassed to see her mother and brother, sharing an iPod and jumping up and down to Revolution. She just can't take them anywhere.

The Fountain of Living Water

It's not an incredible revelation, it's probably something that many of you have seen for years in Daniel 1:8, but it took a series of events for me to see the significance of the symbol God chose to describe His Son.

1. Mike described hunger as a NEED, not a want
2. Matt carried around a cool water container
3. Adam wanted a cool water container ( like Matt's )
4. Carmen got weak, visited the doctor, who told her, "You NEED to drink more water!"
5. Matt got Carmen a matching cool water container
6. Last month, I was staring at Matt's cool water container when it all came together

Growing up in a conservative family in a conservative town surrouned by Amish communities, I've always thought that Daniel was denying his own appetite and setting God up as the only explanation for Daniel winning his unlikely contest. Kind of like Elijah asking the people to water down the wood on the altar before he asked God to ignite the wood with flames.

There are lots of tempting WANTS in the world that distract us from what we NEED. In Daniels words, they "defile" us. We are all jars of clay of many sizes, shapes and imperfections, but we were all created with a single purpose, to hold the daily portion of plentiful Living Water never to thirst again.

Do you see why God was so frustrated with Moses when he struck the rock?

We all NEED Living Water, we NEED a thirst for God that is rationed daily.

Don't let sugar, caffeine, flavoring or color distract you from God's pure, cool, clear, Living Water.

Some Scripture about what I see...

Jeremiah 2:13
"For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jeremiah 17:13
O LORD, the hope of Israel,All who forsake You will be put to shame Those who turn away on earth will be written down,Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.

John 7:38
"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

Daniel 1:8 ( This is where I started from at first glance of the container)
But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.

48 Minute Challenge...

Since Josh and Kelley were really pushing the adults to a 48 hour challenge like the youth received at Dare2Share, I would like to begin pushing you all to do the same by sharing my experience.

Within 30 minutes of the challenge, the church received a phone call on what I thought was a non-functional phone in the kitchen. People passed the phone call around until it got to me and I took the gentleman's phone number and then called him back on my cell phone from the sanctuary where I could hear him.

His name was Charles Kelly and he had a speech impediment and a back problem from a work injury. He was wanting to drive his family to South Carolina that afternoon in order to surprise his mother-in-law for her birthday the next day and was going through the yellow pages calling churches for gas money.

The more I listened to this man, the more I knew that he had called the church at that time for a reason. He wanted $40 which I didn't have. I put him through a few tests to determine if he was telling the truth about the trip to SC. I told him that after he was all packed with his family, that I would meet him at the intersection of Richmond Road and I-75 so that he wouldn't lose any time coming from the North side of town.

Then came my opportunity to beat the 48 minute challenge, I asked him if he knew Jesus and he said "yes". I then asked him why his church wasn't interested in helping him get to SC. He told me that he used to go to church on Liberty Road but one time he inquired of his pastor about a trip to Promise Keepers and he was told he couldn't afford it. He hasn't been back to any church since.

Charles called me back at 5:15 to let me know that he was packed and ready to leave and he wanted to meet me at Walmart on Richmond Road so that I wouldn't have to drive as far. I told him that I had to take my kids to church at 5:30 so he could meet me there. ( God's plan, not mine)

I was hoping to drop off the kids and then go to the bank to get some money, but Charles and his family pulled into the church parking lot right behind me. I explained to him that I only had $20 so if he had an empty gas tank, I would pay him in gas at the gas station down the road.

While we were pumping gas, I had the chance to invite Charles, his wife Rebecca and his son Bobby to church when they return to Lexington since they know where it is and they know that we care.

Please keep Charles and his family in your prayers. I have his phone number so I will be calling him again.

The Servant Song

Back in 1994, I rode a borrowed ten speed 134 miles in one day from Louisville to Bloomington with a group from FCA enroute to Indianapolis for a Promise Keepers event. I remember collapsing at a United Methodist Church that night and thinking my inflamed knees would never be useful again. The next morning we rode another 65 miles and it seemed painless compared to the Southern Indiana terrain of the previous day.

The worship at Promise Keepers was incredible under the great leadership of Morris Chapman but there was one particular song that was very important to me.

It was important to me because of something that happened when I returned to Lexington and was holding then 9 month old Adam standing on my knees facing me as I sang this song again during a testimony time from those that had attended Promise Keepers with me.

God told me that Adam was not my son, but my brother. God told me that Adam was as much His son as he was mine. At 9 months old, this boy was more interested in food than being a son of God, but God clearly showed me that He wanted Adam for His own and it was my job to raise him as my brother.

Here are the words of "The Servant Song" by Richard Gillard:

Brother, let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant, too

We are pilgrims on a journey
We are brothers on the road
We are here to help each other
Walk the mile and bear the load

I will weep when you are weeping
When you laugh I'll laugh with you
I will share your joy and sorrow
Till we've seen this journey through

When we sing to God in heaven
We shall find such harmony
Born of all we've known together
Of Christ's love and agony

Brother, let me be your servant
Let me be as Christ to you
Pray that I may have the grace
To let you be my servant, too


Tomorrow a 12 year old Adam will be sharing his testimony from a different conference. He will standing in that same building where he once stood on my knees. There will be many men watching, each one an important part of his life as our brother. God is faithful to deliver on His promises.

In the crowd of witnesses tomorrow will be a great servant, Matthew Hind, who has pressed my son, our brother, into mountain biking and servanthood. Another witness will be Michael Harrington, who has pressed him to worship. There is an entire crowd of other brothers that have helped to rough him up a bit ( a very necessary part of growing up )

Is a Bottle Defined by its Contents?

In Kim's comment to "What do you see?", she posed a question from Matt. The answer to this question is almost giving away what I see, but I think it is only fair for those viewing the blog and not attending the Celebration to know the answer first.

Matt's question: Would a water bottle be a "water bottle" if it didn't have water in it?

I hope these images will help to explain my answer.


Kevin's answer: A container is designed for a purpose, the contents of that container do not change its purpose. A container is not defined by its surroundings, capacity or fullness. Said more clearly, a container is defined by its creator.

Do you see what I see about the water bottle now?

He giveth quietness

Monday night, Matt and I enjoyed an awesome time of prayer guided by Dr. Scott, his music, and his depth of experience and wisdom. Matt was on a high coming back from Dare2Share and I was on an adrenaline high from work ( what's new ).

The songs that Dr. Scott selected screamed "Peace", "Quiet", "Selah" if you can scream those things. We shared praises, ministered to one another in prayer, interceded for the body and then were blessed to see Billy Henderson. What a night.

Dr. Scott returned home to find this for his devotional reading, I think it is worth sharing that God wants us to have His Peace:

He giveth quietness. (Job 34:29 KJV)

"He gives quietness in the midst of the raging storm. As we sail the lake with Him, reaching deep water and far from land, suddenly, under the midnight sky, a mighty storm sweeps down. Earth and hell seem mobilized against us, and each wave threatens to overwhelm our boat. Then He rises from His sleep and rebukes the wind and the waves. He waves His hand, signaling the end of the raging tempest and the beginning of the restful calm. His voice is heard above the screaming of the wind throught the ropes and the rigging, and over the thrashing of the waves. "Quiet! Be still!" (Mark 4:39) Can you not hear it? And instantly there is a great calm.

" He giveth quietness" -- quietness even in the midst of losing our inner strength and comforts. Sometimes He removes these because we make too much of them. We are tempted to look at our joys, pleasures, passions or our dreams, with too much self-satisfaction. Then through His gracious love He withdraws them, leading us to distinguish between them and Himself. He draws near and whispers the assurance of His presence, bringing an infinite calm to keep our hearts and minds. "

Jesus,
Tim

What do you see?

This image is particulary interesting to me. I see something here, do you see it?

Christmas Card 2005

We have really enjoyed receiving all the updates from old friends and distant family this year via the Christmas letters. This year I've decided to post the contents of the Christmas letter here for wider distribution.

Family is very important to us today. It also played an essential role in the first Christmas. The lineage of the Christ child was one of the longest promised, most prophesied blessings a family has ever received.

Adam (the first Adam, not ours), Noah, Abraham, Ruth, David and many more were among the ancestors of Christ that celebrated the Savior’s birth to the virgin Mary.

I’ve been converting VHS and 8mm videos to DVD so that we can all remember special moments like first birthdays, first steps, first bike rides, baptisms, programs, sports and other memories. We are still making family memories everyday. That is the life and hope that Christ offered to us that first Christmas and even more so in His death on a cross and His resurrection. One of our favorite memories this year was our family vacation to Maui. The weather and natural beauty was breathtaking.

Jackie and I both turned 40 this year and we are looking forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary in 2006. We are proud of the choices are children are making in this world that is full of negative influences due to the fallen nature of each of our physical births.
In varying degrees, everyone that we send this letter to has an impact on our family and we thank you for being a part of the antidote to those negative influences of society.

Spiritually, we celebrated the rebirth of our youngest daughter, Becca and her baptism this year.

Physically in the last few years, Jackie’s sister has made it through a near fatal infection and Jackie’s mother has finished cancer treatments successfully and is now regaining her strength.

We are thankful for family and life.

Christmas Card 2005 - Jackie

In late 2004, several of Jackie’s friends from NWHS got together in Chicago to celebrate turning 40. Lori Wagner hosted the event for lots of fun and pampering.

Jackie’s life revolves around her children as any of you might know. This fall, she served as the team mom for Carmen’s Volleyball team and Adam’s Football team simultaneously. Either would be a challenge.

She has made a couple of changes this year. In the first three months of 2005, she decorated the house we moved into in 2000 with guidance from a close friend. In June, Jackie had LASIK surgery and could see without glasses just in time for our family vacation. (Becca discovered that she no longer needs glasses during an annual checkup in August)

Besides running after our children, she is hostess for the Sunday evening Biblical Financial Classes and other meetings, parties and gatherings that we hold at our home. It would be hard for me to imagine a more Proverbs 31 woman to support me.

Christmas Card 2005 - Carmen

Carmen will be graduating from Southern Middle School this year and is doing well academically. She is obsessed about completing every homework assignment that is given to her. The word optional means nothing to this girl.

Carmen made a difficult decision to play volleyball for her middle school instead of the high school early in the year and really helped several younger girls appreciate the sport that otherwise may not have been challenged.

She is looking forward to playing a second season at BAVA (Bluegrass Area Volleyball Association) and her first year at Tates Creek High School.

Her third year as part of the teen tribe at Tatesbrook was rewarding. The youth sponsors there are special people that love and care for all of the youth with special attention that is rarely seen in the world today.

Carmen has demonstrated great discipline by reading through the Bible at a younger age than either of her parents.

Christmas Card 2005 - Adam

Adam continues to work hard on the things he enjoys. He has been taking drumming lessons for nearly two years. The highlight of his career so far is the chance to play for the worship band at church during a youth led service.

He has been helping his Dad set up the music equipment every Sunday morning for five years so he is very familiar with all the work that goes into music. He occasionally mixes the music on Sunday as well.

Football is also a passion. After an undefeated season and winning a hard fought double elimination tournament in 2004, the 2005 season tested the Tide as the team moved up an age group. Adam will likely never forgive his father for letting him miss the NWHS State Football Championship Game. He still dreams of playing for NW some day.

As a 6th grader Adam is in the youth group. He is more laid back about school than Carmen, but still does well.

He's also been playing minor league baseball with the Pirates, minor league is less practice and more fun. All the neighborhood boys play on different teams in the minors, so it is more social and exercise than it is baseball fundamentals.

Christmas Card 2005 - Becca

Becca loves American Girl dolls and thanks to her Uncle Keith and a very publicized desire to collect more, she has enough stuff to keep her busy. The whole gang frequently watches Disney with her on the couch. Buster even wears the horse saddle occasionally.

Becca is doing very well in 4th grade and has a great teacher who makes learning fun. (Kentucky teacher of the year a few years ago)

She continues to participate in the Girl Scouts and adores horses (and all other animals). This summer she was able to go to a horse camp with another girl from her troop.

Her Uncle Bill is convinced that we need to move to a horse farm somewhere, but that option hasn’t presented itself to us yet.

Becca is now in her second year of Upward Basketball. She loves the exercise, competition and fellowship associated with basketball.

The most significant thing to happen in Becca's entire life on this planet occured in February during Upward Basketball season when she brought her Upward Bible down to me on Sunday night to tell me that she wanted to accept Christ's gift of salvation to her.

After we prayed together, the whole family "interviewed" her to make sure that she understood the change that had occurred from the old to the new.

In September, Jackie's mom and dad were able to travel down to Kentucky to see Becca get baptized.

Etsinger Christmas 2005

Every year for I'm guessing around 20 years, the Etsinger grandchildren have piled onto a couch for a picture near the Christmas tree. When Carmen was a baby, they all had trouble making her smile, and every year there has been something funny about the assembly, but this year with nearly half of the grandchildren married or engaged, it just didn't happen.

Tradition is good for a time, for a season, but there are reasons to move on. For those of us who gathered there, it was good to see a shift of the attention from the grandchildren to the grandparents.

Ruby just finished her cancer treatments, was fighting bronchitis, but still putting all of us first as she always does, just with less energy and more sacrifice. We all continue to learn a great deal from this tremendous lady.

Christmas memories that will last forever

I'm reading a book about leaving a legacy as a Father and it has encouraged me to keep on recording things and sounding like a drone to my children as I tell them the same things over and over again. Sometimes I wonder if they appreciate it... especially when they make fun of the way that my voice puts them to sleep. (hinting at boredom)

Back to the book "Letters from Dad". I haven't finished the book yet, but the premise so far is this, write things down, record them, present them well, and save them forever. The testimonies in this book about the results of a well presented gift are amazing. I just received a well presented gift in the form of a Christmas card from my youngest daughter, Becca.

I was just thinking about how special it was that she took the time to write out a colorful card with a custom message that encourage me at the same time that it was exercising her God given, inherited gift of writing letters. ( Her Grandma Etsinger puts us all to shame in the "letters per day" measurement )

Later, I discovered that this was a "Form Card". Carmen's guinnea pig "Moe" received a similar card, as did Adam's crab "Gary". I haven't seen the one to our dog but I'm sure she did not leave him out.

It is still my favorite Christmas gift so far.

On that very first Christmas, a Boy was born

As I reflect on this year and look forward to Christmas, I am reminded of one of the best books that I read this year entitled "Wild at Heart" by John Eldredge. In his book, he describes the male characteristics as those that were placed there by God.

As I watch my son, Adam, grow up... in wisdom, stature and knowledge. Sometimes, I wonder if he will survive and then again, sometimes I hope that my girls (Carmen and Becca) are able to find a young man that is as "Wild at Heart" as he is.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song about another boy that was "Wild at Heart" that always makes my heart leap as I listen to it near Christmas time. This baby was the baby that gave us all the joy of Christmas, and family, and purpose, and the heart to be wild.

This Baby

Well, He cried when He was hungry,
Did all the things that babies do;
He rocked and He napped on His mother’s lap,
And He wiggled and giggled and cooed.
There were the cheers when He took His first step,
And the tears when He got His first teeth;
Almost everything about this little baby
Seemed as natural as it could be.

But this baby made the angels sing,
And this baby made a new star shine in the sky.
This baby had come to change the world.
This baby was God’s own son, this baby was like no other one.
This baby was God with us, this baby was Jesus.

And this baby grew into a young boy,
Who learned to read and write and wrestle with dad;
There was the climbin’ of trees and the scrapin’ of knees,
And all the fun that a boy’s born to have.
He grew taller and some things started changing,
Like His complexion and the sound of His voice;
There was work to be done as a carpenter’s son
And all the neighbors said He’s such a fine boy.

But this boy made the angels sing,
And this boy made a new star shine in the sky.
This boy had come to change the world.
This boy was God’s own son, this boy was like no other one.
This boy was God with us. This boy became a man,

And love made Him laugh and death made Him cry.
With the life that He lived and the death that He died,
He showed us heaven with His hands and His heart,
‘Cause this man was God’s own son.
This man was like no other one,
Holy and human right from the start.

This baby was God with us, this baby, this baby was Jesus; this baby was Jesus, this baby was Jesus.

A matter of perspective....

While you admire the beautiful landscape of this horizon, notice that without perspective you really have no idea how big things really are. I was never able to capture a good photograph of a sunset over this horizon, but it was absolutely gorgeous.


If I place a few people in the foreground of the scene, you start to imagine the size of these islands, but it really doesn't fill in all the blanks.

To really know these islands, you must go there. One day, we climbed aboard a boat and headed out to those islands at what seemed to be a high rate of speed. We traveled for an hour to reach them, enjoying every minute of the sunny, windy, wave tossed trip.

The same thing can be said of many things in life, you must go there to gain the proper perspective.

A new painting every morning...

One of the most significant paintings that I have ever seen is painted by God every morning at the top of Haleakala.

Our family got up at 3:00 AM one morning and drove a few hours to experience just one of those sunrises over the clouds of Haleakala. The beauty of that moment can be described by this photograph, but the crispness of the cold, pure, thin air up there is lost in these two dimensions.

God paints a unique sunrise in this spot 365 days a year, year after year, no matter what we are doing or where we are. Most of us are called to live our lives under the clouds, but pictures like these give us great hope.

Wakarusa Rejected the Eby Tree....

Well, I spoke to mom and dad today and they explained to me the problem that the Wakarusa Fire Department had when they cut off the top 15 feet of the Eby tree.

Apparently the trunk of the top 15 feet was still 15 inches in diameter and would not fit into the tree stand for the town square.

As I reflect back over the life of this tree, I recall a time long before airsoft guns, way before paintball, before laser tag was even a thought. Back in the 70's Todd Crist would stand at the top of the hill behind our house with a BB gun and shoot at Scott Crist who was running as fast as he could to get behind that very pine tree.

Scott had a huge welt on his leg after that incident.

Photo Courtesy of Gene Klein in 2003

Starting a Christmas Letter

We took a year off from the Christmas letter last year and therefore have many topics to choose from in this year's letter to get you caught up on the lives of the Eby's.

• Two seasons of Storm Volleyball ( Carmen )
• Two seasons of Tide Football ( Adam )
• Jackie's sister's miraculous recovery ( Cheryl, Bill, Jackie, Carmen, many others )
• Becca accepting Christ as her savior ( Becca )
• Becca's Baptism ( Becca and Dad )
• Two years of drum lessons ( Adam )
• Two years of school ( Carmen, Adam and Becca )
• Graduation from elementary school ( Adam )
• Beta Club trip to Chicago ( Carmen )
• One complete season of Bluegrass Area Volleyball Association ( Carmen )
• The start of a second season of BAVA
• NorthWood Class of '84 20 year reunion at Amish Acres ( Kevin, Becca )
• Jackie turning 40
• Kevin turning 40
• Kevin's Dad turning 80 ( not retired yet )
• Kevin's brother's retirement ( at age 37 )
• Two vacations in Indiana for the 4H fair
• Vacation in Maui

Each person in our family has a favorite memory from each item on this list as the events mark milestones along the path of our lives together.

This year has been very difficult for a number of reasons. Change is always difficult and it is especially difficult for those of us that like to maintain traditions. One of the many things I have observed in this year of us parents "turning 40" is that our friends are gaining wisdom and our children are growing up. That might seem as basic and obvious as gravity to some, but for people like Jackie and I that always expect more from each other and those around us, this is an answer to prayer that deserves a moment to celebrate.

While Jackie and Becca are decorating the tree with the sound of Point of Grace Christmas music, this seems like as good of a time as any.

How tall is this Christmas Tree?

If you make a trip to downtown Wakarusa this season, you can see the top part of the tree on the left.

I've included a handy "Carmen Scale" so that you can figure out how tall this 40 year old tree is as long as you know that Carmen is 5'3" and her picture here is about 5'6" including the grass beneath her feet.

It really is amazing that this tree survived its early years while Keith was learning how to mow the yard with a lawn tractor nearly 30 years ago.

Here's an Elkhart Truth interview of Mom and Dad that I'm sure you will enjoy.
A Christmas tree for free

A Tight Squeeze

Seeing this today, one might suggest that PhotoShop had been involved in this tight squeeze..

Back in 1983, the only way to do this was to cram people into a real booth.

Thanks to Mike Drudge for finding this photo and sharing it. Many of these high school student visitors to the Museum of Science and Industry get together annually for dinner with our spouses

( Wanda, Kevin, Mike, Lori, Steve and Tammy )

NorthWood State Champs ( One week later )

It has only been one week since the NorthWood Panthers finished an excellent season and all who have ever been involved with that great program are just coming out of the shock....

Reflecting on the comments from the press, I know that those many years of anticipation created great character within all of us

• Indy Star report


• IHSAA got it right


• Elkhart Truth (Long Awaited Championship)


• Elkhart Truth (Community Celebration)


• Hoosier Authority

THANK YOU 2005 PANTHERS

BAVA 13 Year Old Team

Carmen's first year of club volleyball was eye opening for us. There was a great diversity in intensity from player to player.

It was quite a step up from Southern Middle School volleyball.