Archive for category Family
United Airlines, will you do what’s right?
Open message to united airlines:
Today began with eager anticipation of spending the weekend with family in Pennsylvania. We arrived at GSP in plenty of time for our 7 am flight.
We transferred from USAir to United due to unresolved mechanical problems. United said the connection was short but we should make it.
We had a small carryon that would have fit under the seat but the gate agent insisted we plane side check. Of course then we had to wait 10 minutes for our bag.
Ran to connecting gate arriving at 12:28pm. Gate was closed. Flight departure was 12:38 Had to get rental car to Harrisburg PA. Cost $180!!
United, will you accept any financial responsibility in this case? Sure seems like you should.
The good news is we will make it in time for tonite’s 7:30 Sight and Sound performance of Joseph.
A real men’s retreat – wyoming style
May 20, 2010
Dear Men, Fathers and Sons:
If you are still deliberating about coming to the Men’s Retreat tomorrow and Saturday at Camp Grace let me give you twenty reasons why I think you should come:
1) Wyoming is a beautiful state. It is supposed to be in the 70’s here in Colorado. Why spend a weekend here when you can have the 20’s. Big Piney, Wyoming boasts of being the coldest spot in the nation. The reality is that Camp Grace does not own a thermometer, but if it did, it would top Big Piney as the coolest spot in Wyoming. Come to Camp Grace because it is cool!
2) Wyoming has four seasons: winter, winter, winter and road construction. Come and enjoy one of Wyoming’s four seasons. Most folks in Wyoming have more miles on their snow blowers than they do on their trucks. Please come, it will be seasonal.
3) Most of the local restaurants in Wyoming are closed from November through March. It is now May. Most of the restaurants are open now, but you won’t need to stop if you come to Camp Grace, because we are going to have a feast on Friday night. Paul Dickman is looking for steaks. With all the cars going up Fletcher Park Road in the dark in the open range – I think we he will find steak. There are no “vegetarian specials” on the menu in Wyoming. Order steak or you can order the chef’s salad and pick off the three pounds of ham and turkey.
4) Time stops in Wyoming. They measure distance not in miles but hours. There is a sign when you come into Wyoming that says, “Welcome to Wyoming turn your clocks back twenty years.”
5) Folks in Wyoming sleep with a loaded gun by the side of the bed. We are going to have a shooting contest with some of the Wyoming pastors and their church families. I will personally buy a steak dinner for anyone who can outshoot Pastor Driscoll or James Baker’s wife.
6) You don’t have to think through what to wear or bring to wear in Wyoming. Just put on some camouflage and a baseball cap. Folks in Wyoming wear camouflage even to weddings. Wyoming people have a suntan that curves around the middle of their foreheads. Don’t wear droopy shorts in Wyoming – you look like an idiot they say. Do bring warm clothing – remember Wyoming’s four seasons. Again, youth pastors no pink blankets.
7) You won’t need to wash your car before coming to camp. Two-wheel drive vehicles are not permitted in Wyoming. Bring your 4×4’s. If you don’t have a 4×4, use this weekend’s trip to Camp Grace as an excuse to explain to your wife why you now need to purchase a 4×4. Everyone in Wyoming drives pickups and they all wave. It’s called being friendly. If someone waves at you from a pick up truck don’t just stare at them – wave back! Come to camp and meet some new friends.
Wyoming folks love sports. Spotlighting is a sport. Bring your spot lights. There are deer, elk, cantaloupe, buffalo, bear, mountain lions and wild turkey running wild all over the mountain. We will go spotlighting.
9) Men, if you are still thinking about coming. This may put it over the top, our son John likes to purchase fireworks and especially bottle rockets. He would be very pleased to take your kids out into the woods and fields and have an authentic bottle rocket war. He also would be glad to send home with your ten-year old some fireworks and matches. What camp in America allows for this treat? Also, fireworks are legal in Wyoming. Actually, everything is legal in Wyoming.
10) Come to Camp Grace and don’t bring your cell phone (it won’t work) or your computer. Come and enjoy life without electronic devices. Dan Wooster please leave all your gadgets in Denver. The only tower in Wyoming, is Devil’s Tower.
11) Wyoming is a very religious state. They have one more religious holiday than we have in Colorado. It is called the “OPENER” which is held on the closest Saturday after November 1.
12) Wyoming does not have a drug problem like Colorado. If you bring “coke” into a home in Wyoming it better be brown, wet and served over ice. If you bring “Mary Jane” into one’s house she better be cute, know how to shoot, drive a truck, know how to use jumper cables and have long hair.
13) Wyoming is a patriotic state, they have more folks per capita in the Navy, Army, Marines and Air Force than any other state. Wyoming is a safe state. They install security lights on their house and garage and then leave both unlocked.
14) Dave Utter there will be no white water rafting on this trip due to the eighteen inches of ice on the Laramie River. When the ice thaws in August we hope to do some white water rafting. Please come and join us for the Camp Grace adventure camp in August.
15) Wyoming has some beautiful landscaping. Look for statues of deer accenting the blue spruce in the front yard. Note the target practice deer in the backyard that can be reached from the bedroom window upstairs with a compound bow. The drive is worth it all. Great time for fellowship.
16) The preacher this weekend is Gary Robbins, Pastor of Pioneer Baptist Church. Pastor Gary lives in the Laramie Mountains in a home he built with his own hands. It has no power or electricity. You have to go through a number of fences to get there. He goes into down to get his emails at the library. Gary is “half crocodile, half horse, and half bear.” He is the reincarnate, Jeremiah Johnson, the ultimate mountain man. Come for the preaching and to encourage these Wyoming men. Real Men go to camp in Wyoming!
Well, I hope these twenty reasons have pushed you over the edge. If it has, please email Paul Dickman at paul.d.dickman@gmail.com and let him know your intentions. Hope to see you at Camp this weekend.
Heartily in Christ,
Pastor Senn
Taking care of Parents-who’s in charge?
While my 15 computer science students compete in a gruling head-to-head programming contest here at Mercer University, I came across an interesting book – The Contemporary American Family. What makes it interesting is the publish date – 1934 with an update in 1947. Here is the definition they give for family from the 1930 census – a group of persons related either by blood or by marriage or by adoption, who live together as one household usually sharing the same table.
Here is a statement from the book that caught my attention as I consider my God given responsiblity to my mother. “During the last decade there has been a marked drift from the former American ideal of self-responsibility and a greater dependence upon the state, especially in the attitude of children toward their aged parents. The disposition to look toward the state for security has also lessened emphasis on thrift, formerly in America a necessary and much emphasized domestic virtue.”
Wow, that reveals 2 dangerous results of big government – ignoring our God given responsibility to take care of our parents in their later years and the need to spend wisely and to save money. The two are tightly related. If we don’t spend wisely and save but rather look to big government to take care of us then we will not have the means necessary to take care of our parents and will of course look to big government to do so. This is wrong! We must teach our children to save and be industrious. Our future depends on it!
I trust we will return our hearts to the Bible regarding our family. Here is the very clear charge from 1 Timothy 5 to children to take responsibility of caring for parents.
Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.
Happy 17th Birthday Joseph
Thinking back over the past 17 years brings great joy to your Mother and me. Having a birthday the week of Christmas has meant you never really know where we will be celebrating your birthday! Well here we are on our journey to another family ski trip to the Colorado Rockies. Here are a few memories to help you remember the days of your youth as King Solomon urges in Ecclesiastes 12 – Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth.
Happy Birthday Joseph Daniels Wooster!
famous BJES field day with good friend Ben
loves his big sis Sara
friends for life!
he has always had a gun – ask him what he got for Christmas this year!
grand Tetons 2002
diamond head Hawaii
king of the rock – first day of school 200?
first day of school traditional photo
ski trip in the Rockies
Clearwater Beach Florida – do these boys need a tan or what!
blessed with great teachers at BJES like Miss Pegram!
ask Joseph to tell you about this memorable day in the Wooster family history book!
loves those guns
lovin my son up in Nova Scotia – forest glen bible camp
cedar point with nathaniel
creation musuem – our favorite stop on the way to anywhere!
Try outgiving God!
Posted by admin in CpS 111, Family, Internship, Ministry on November 30th, 2009
Sleep – something I cherish. It is most rare that I don’t enjoy it or want at least 6 hours of it.
Money – something I have that I can do many things with. Save it. Invest it to get more of it. Spend it on myself and members of my family. Give it away to worthwhile endeavors. Give it away to unworthy endeavors.
Time – something I have a finite amount of. In ways it is similar to money except I cannot save it for future use. I can do many things with. Invest it, but not to get more of it. Spend it on myself and members of my family. Give it away to worthwhile endeavors. Give it away to unworthy endeavors.
Relationships – something I can use my time and money to grow. Something God initiates for his glory. The older I get, the more I cherish good relationships.
Bible – my guidebook for life. The Word of God. Wisdom. Something I can choose to obey or disobey. My compass. My rebuke.
God – my Creator in whose image the Bible tells me I was created. My Savior, the one who gave his only Son, Jesus, in order to restore my broken relationship with Him.
So how do I relate these topics to today’s blog? Sleep, money, time, relationships, Bible, God?
Psalm 37:23 says “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.” While I cannot claim to be a good man, it is my heart’s desire to do good and honor the One who has redeemed me and made me perfectly righteous, Jesus Christ. I believe every day consists of divinely ordered events which bring us into relationships with each other in order to bring about His perfect will and for His ultimate glory. Such was this weekend. We are in PA (the Harrisburg area) visiting with our daughter Sara and son-in-law Caleb. We have enjoyed time with family and even got to eat at the most amazing place – the largest smorgasbord I have ever seen! Shady Maple, is called by a fellow BJU professor, Dr Dan Olinger, the “Disneyland for people who eat”.
So we are on our way to their church, Mount Calvary Church of Elizabethtown, for the Sunday evening service. Along the way I was thinking I would like to invite the Pastor and his family out for a meal after the service. But upon arriving I learned the Pastor, along with most of the men of PA, was to be in a deer stand in the PA woods by dawn in order to participate in the opening day of deer season. Therefore he would be leaving right after the service. Now this event is pretty amazing, in fact Caleb is there right now awaiting his chance to bring down the elusive 12-point buck! This event is part of the reason, in the providence of God, we are even here this weekend, as my son Joseph was interesting in going on his first hunt, a story for another blog.
At the same time we were driving to church, an amazing Filipino family was calling around to find a church where they could present their church planting ministry that evening. They called Pastor Chan and he invited them to come share during the service. It was during their short presentation the Lord began to lay on my heart a desire to get to know them. Pastor Chan said they were in need of a place to spend the night. Not wanting to rob any of his church folks the blessing of ministering to this family, I was after all just a visitor myself, I decided to wait around and see if anyone jumped at the opportunity. No one did, so I did! Now wanting to keep peace in my own family, I quickly decided against inviting them to spend the night in Sara’s townhouse. Instead we took them to dinner then on to see Hershey’s famous Sweet Lights, an awesome display of Christmas lights, albeit without once using the word Christ or Christmas! 
Their 3 little girls (grades 5th, 4th, K5) absolutely enjoyed seeing all the lights and displays!
Finally we checked them into a Hampton Inn for the night for a good nights rest before continue on to Ohio, the next leg of their American journey. Now comes the sleep part. About 5Am I wake up, after being shorted 1 hour of my desired 6 hours, thinking about this family. Have they ever stayed in a hotel before? Do they know about the complimentary breakfast? Will they know when to check out? Finally my mind says STOP, you are not God! God chose to use me to help them along their way and perhaps wants me to invest more of my time and money into their ministry, but I need not worry about all these details. Of course next time I have the opportunity to put a family from a foreign culture into an American hotel, I’ll be sure to spend a little more time making sure they know all they need to. I did call the hotel this morning and asked them to make sure the Filipino family got breakfast before they left. 
So I’m up at 5Am and can’t go back to sleep. I figure God wants me to spend some extra time in prayer, so I do. I’m wondering is last night was just some “chance encounter” or if God truly wants me to be aware of this family and be able to help meet the needs of their ministry. The final clincher comes as I read Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening devotional for November 30. I am amazed at God’s grace and mercy in leading the paths that I take for His glory!! I don’t believe it is possible for a Christian to out give God!! If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to give it a try and see what happens.
Spurgeon’s Morning & Evening devotional for November 30
- 2Ch 25:9 And Amaziah said to the man of God, “But what shall we do about the hundred talents that I have given to the army of Israel?” The man of God answered, “The Lord is able to give you much more than this.”
A very important question this seemed to be to the king of Judah, and possibly it is of even more weight with the tried and tempted O Christian. To lose money is at no times pleasant, and when principle involves it, the flesh is not always ready to make the sacrifice. ” Why lose that which may be so usefully employed? May not the truth itself be bought too dear? What shall we do without it? Remember the children, and our small income!” All these things and a thousand more would tempt the Christian to put forth his hand to unrighteous gain, or stay himself from carrying out his conscientious convictions, when they involve serious loss. All men cannot view these matters in the light of faith; and even with the followers of Jesus, the doctrine of ” we must live” has quite sufficient weight.
The Lord is able to give thee much more than this is a very satisfactory answer to the anxious question. Our Father holds the purse-strings, and what we lose for his sake he can repay a thousand-fold. It is ours to obey his will, and we may rest assured that he will provide for us. The Lord will be no man’ s debtor at the last. Saints know that a grain of heart’ s-ease is of more value than a ton of gold. He who wraps a threadbare coat about a good conscience has gained a spiritual wealth far more desirable than any he has lost. God’ s smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart; his frown and a palace would be hell to a gracious spirit. Let the worst come to the worst, let all the talents go, we have not lost our treasure, for that is above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Meanwhile, even now, the Lord maketh the meek to inherit the earth, and no good thing doth he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
How to catch a hummingbird
I posted this in the “pre blog” days and decided it was time to archive it into something more current. Of course this begs the question of “what will happen to all our web content when the web technologies used to interface with our present bits becomes obsolete?”.
One Sunday afternoon while studying in his bedroom, Jonathan had an idea. “I wonder what it would be like to actually hold a hummingbird in my hand?”, he thought to himself. You see, we have several hummingbird feeders located on windows around our house so we can enjoy the beauty our God has placed in these little creatures.
This year at our family breakfast and dinner times we have been marveling at these wonderful, amazing little creatures God has created for our enjoyment and pleasure. In fact Joseph found a great little website all about these little creatures – www.hummingbirds.net
So Jonathan decided to set a trap to see if he could catch a hummingbird. He tid a string to a stick which was holding up the book to the left of the feeder. When the bird came in to get a drink, he pulled on the string causing the book to fall into place and the bird had no way out!
Next he sat patiently (he is a man of much patience, just like his wonderful Mother) at his desk faithfully working on his homework.
Pretty soon a little fellow could not resist the eating temptation so he flew into Jonathan’s well set trap! The rest can be seen in the following photos, some of which were taken by Jonathan himself as he held these fantastic little beings!
It is to the creativeness, curiosity, love of life and God’s creation, patience, exciting spirit, and amazing thinking skills of my son Jonathan, that I dedicate this web page! May you never lose these qualities of life and always seek ways in which to use them for the glory of your Savior, Jesus Christ!
Dad
Parenting by the BIT
Parenting is not for the weak of heart! First lets consider some famous quotations about the subject before we dive into a parent’s role in guiding his children through the challenging and exciting waters of modern technology.
- Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. ~John Wilmot
- The trouble with learning to parent on the job is that your child is the teacher. ~Robert Brault
- To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while. ~Josh Billings
- Your children need your presence more than your presents. ~Jesse Jackson
- Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you. ~Robert Fulghum
- It behooves a father to be blameless if he expects his child to be. ~Homer
- The trouble with being a parent is that by the time you are experienced, you are unemployed. ~Author Unknown
No one wants to “claim victory” in the job of parenting and I certainly am no exception. But I see the need to share with parents some concerns and guidelines when it comes to Worthwhile Parenting in the Information Age. We live in a world with an explosion of information! We have access to more and more information at the click of a mouse or touch of a finger or soon perhaps, the thinking of a thought! Does this impact how we parent? If not, then in my opinion we are missing out of some of our responsibility to “train up a child in the way he should go”, as admonished in the Bible. My desire here is to help parents have a “partnership in the gospel” (Phil 1:3-6) as the seek to raise godly children in an ungodly world. This is one of the biggest benefits of being part of a good, Bible teaching, Gospel preaching local church!
My desire is to encourage Christian parents to set their children on a lifelong pursuit of fulfilling Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” We need this first in our own lives and then in the lives of our children!
Most of this information is delivered to us via technology. So is technology the source of the problems or simply a magnifier of them? Is technology something new that we have to deal with but our parents and grandparents did not? Of course not! Technology is simply the accumulation of knowledge and the application of that knowledge to building tools and solving problems. As Christian parents, those wanting to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and bring up our children to have an eternal relationship through Him with God – their Creator, we need to be careful to not follow the world’s teaching that technology demonstrates that man is getting better and better and will one day usher in a perfect world. This is evolutionary teaching and does not start from the mind of God, as revealed in the Bible, but starts with human reasoning. Man is not getting more intelligent. In fact, at the Creation, man was at his highest level of intelligence – before the Fall. Corruption, death, disease, and sin have all taken a negative toll on man, including his intelligence. Modern man only appears more intelligent because of technology – the accumulation of information.
Scripture has much to say about information and knowledge. Adam and Eve where clearly told by God to stay away from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They choose to disobey. Tragic consequences from which we have the Gospel – the good news that God had a plan for our redemption! Proverbs is filled with references to knowledge. The knowledge of God is a life long pursuit for the child of God. As parents we seek to educate our children using information. For centuries access to “all the world’s information” was impossible in one’s lifetime. Now, with technologies like the Internet, we have access to more information in a single day than our forefathers had in their entire lifetime!
Just consider your own experience with computers. My first computer had 48K bytes of memory and could store 128K bytes on a disk. My current computer has 4G bytes of memory and can store 1T bytes on disk. For those curious about the relative size of kilo-bytes and mega-bytes and tera-bytes, I recommend Powers of Ten.
Not to get too technical here, but information, digital information, the stuff the computers deal with, is stored using lots of 1’s and 0’s. The term we use is BITS, a binary digit. So all information that is available today on the Internet, such as photos, blog pages, ipod music, youTube videos, WallStreet stock performance, all has its basis in the BIT. I like to call it the “bit world” or the “bit business”. It refers to all things digital. And it’s a world that is changing our very economy, our education, our entertainment and yes, our parenting! Most children are probably far more exposed and comfortable with this digital information. As parents, we must not relegate our responsibility of teaching our children how to deal with this recent knowledge explosion to the world. The results would not be pretty!
My desire here is to elevate the awareness to parents that the information age presents both opportunity for good and evil for our children. I personally believe that no thing in this world is inherently evil or good. God is the creator of that is. Evil comes in the way in which we use the things God has created & our attitude toward those things. People have the capacity for evil actions and because of the power of the Gospel, good actions. The difference is a matter of choice – choices driven by information. The information your children have access to will impact their choices. In the bit world we have a phrase “garbage in, garbage out”. The results you get from a computer will be only as good as the information you put into the computer. People are similar when it comes to the knowledge they have been taught. Teach a kid he is an evolutionary accident, a result of random processes and chemical reactions which have been occurring over the past 4 billion years and you will get an adult who has no sense of accountability or responsibility and will live life for himself. In contrast teach a kid he was created in the image of God and that his life has purpose through Jesus Christ and you will get an adult who has a completely different outlook! So information matters!
If you agree that information matters in the life of your child and the Internet is a huge source of information – both good and evil, then as a parent you must take charge of how your child interfaces with this technology. We must teach our children
- what God’s Word teaches about information
- how to discern between good and evil
- how to guard their heart against the many forms of wickedness found on the Internet
- how to make God honoring choices on their use of technology
- technology produces tools which can be used both for good or evil
- technology tools can be used effectively for the spread of the Gospel
A little background on where the Internet is heading will provide parents with an understanding of what they have to deal with. During the 90’s the Internet was a place to find information via web pages. They made up “the Web”. For the most part these were very much like newspapers and magazines. This age of the Internet was coined “the read only web” because while it was very easy to read web pages, it was most difficult to write them. Starting in the early 2000’s it became easier for anyone to publish digital information via the Web. This is referred to as Web 2.0 and called “the read/write web”. This has generated an explosion of the amount of information. This is the technology which has brought us things like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogs, & Twitter.
Suggested parenting activities to help your teens
- filter all internet access (home, friends, phone)
- give your teen a biblical perspective on information
- randomly inspect their tweets, texts, facebook (make them give you their password, but promise not to post on their behalf)
- give your teen a biblical perspective on trust
- ban MySpace!
- have constructive conversations with your teen (ask the 4 age old parenting questions)
- no computer in the bedroom
- teach discernment
- tools to help monitor facebook activity
- ask your teen “how do you know so and so?”
How does a parent protect his children from the worthless parts of the Internet while teaching him how to use and learn from the worthwhile parts? I like analogies. They help folks understand things they don’t understand by connecting them to things they do. Back in my teenage days, good parents had a set of 4 questions they would ask their teen before she was allowed to go out for the evening.
- What are you wearing?
- Where are you going?
- Who are you going with?
- When are you coming home?
These questions should the parent was concerned about their child and wanted to protect them from evil companions while at the same time allowing them to grow up to make worthwhile choices. I’d like to suggest applying these same questions to our teens’ use of the Internet.
- What are you wearing = what are you publishing in your profiles, photos, blogs, videos?
- Where are you going = what websites are you accessing?
- Who are you going with – who are your online friends?
- When are you coming home = how long will you be online?
When you start asking these questions, be ready for the one of the most commonly used arguments from teens to parents – BUT YOU DON’T TRUST ME! Answer: According to Scripture, I cannot trust myself! Jeremiah 17, Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.“ – Jer 17
In Mark 7 Jesus said “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
So the answer to “you don’t trust me” is a resounding CORRECT! And I don’t trust myself. That’s one of the reasons I belong to a good local church – accountability and encouragement to guard my heart.
But don’t stop here. Discuss the issue of trust and how your child can “earn trust” and of course how they “loss trust”. I have found the “trust bank” to be a tangible way to help younger children learn how trust works. I say its like a bank account (piggy bank for the younger ones). You make deposits and you make withdraws. And if you really mess up you might be bankrupt! This also provides a great way to teach lessons on money and how to deal with it biblically.
A good life lesson for parents, teachers, employers, anyone who has authority over another, is to INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT. In other words it is not simply enough to say “this is how to do it”, but you also need to take action, have a plan, that involves follow up to see if the job is being done right. Here are some suggestions on things you should inspect regularly (perhaps randomly) in your teen’s life regarding his/her information technology life.
- Text messages
- Emails
- Facebook friends
- Facebook profile
- Digital camera
- Ipod music
- Browser history
- Avatars
One method for getting more involved in your teenager’s life is to ask questions. We have to be a little careful and a little creative to do this effectively, but when done right our questions can be the keys which unlock our teen’s heart thus allowing us to 1) know where they are 2) help guide them in the way they should walk. I’d like to suggest you first establish some ground rules to provide your child with the safety and assurance they are going to need before they are willing to open up and answer our heart probing questions. If they feel threatened by our questioning then they will either clam up or simply give us the answers they think we want to hear. Neither scenario is very beneficial to good parenting. The book 201 Questions to Ask Your Kids gives some great advice on how to generate good conversations with your children.
I think there is an art of conversations that you can develop with your children that will allow you to teach them how to guard their heart in an evil world. Kids often shy away from conversation because
- it means trouble, not fun;
- it’s not about something they really care about;
- the questions are too broad, too hard for them to organize into any easy, focused answer
- Result? Monosyllabic answers and very short conversations.
- Agree to NOT interrupt your child’s answer!
Here are some suggested conversation questions to help you get the ball rolling regarding the Internet. I’d love to get some more feedback from parents on questions you have found worthwhile in helping your child learn how to deal with all the information & media that is blasting their world. Just add a comment to this blog post.
- What is the Internet & how does it affect my life? Can it help me? Can it hurt me?
- What’s the difference between “so called science” and technology?
- Who did you text /email /tweet/ message/ friend/ follow today?
- What do you do when someone you don’t know friends you on Facebook?
- Has anyone sent you an email that made you feel angry? Uncomfortable?
Another heart protection activity to teach your teen is biblical discernment. Hebrews 5:14 (ESV) says, “Solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Here’s a list of things that will help be a discerning individual
- Imitate God
- Distrust your heart
- Think biblically
- Involve others
I think it all comes down to
- having a clear biblical view of information/knowledge
- having a clear biblical view of the depravity of the human heart
- having a proper parent/child relationships regarding trust
- inspecting what you expect – a fundamental parenting activity
- pray for wisdom
Finally, here are 2 resources I think will help parents
- how to ask your kids questions (from the book 201 Questions to Ask Your Kids, published by Harper Collins)
- Pure Intimacy – straight talk to parents on real issues your teens are facing with issues of sexuality (by Focus on the Family)
- Facebook Rules for Teens (by Dr Bill Lovegrove, BJU faculty)
- Christians in Cyberspace (by Dr Bill Lovegrove)
- YouDiligent - software to help monitor Facebook content
Lord bless you are seek the lifelong pursuit of fulfilling Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Do it for the glory of God & the spread of the Gospel!
Cubs Game Trip almost strikes out!
my son Jonathan & I were aboard delta flight 1936 out of atlanta to chicago to join his girl friend amy baus’ family for our very first chicago cubs game tonite. we had a most uneventful first leg from ashevill earlier in the morning. the plane was heading toward its crusing altitude of 30K feet, the flight atttendant had just imformed us we hadpassed thru the magin “ok to use electronic devices” barrier when all of a sudden we hear & feel some sort of explosion liike we hit something. the flight attendant made some stange remark, then silence for ahilw. finally the pilot comes on, after doing 180 banking turn, and says the right engine went out & he was returning us to atlanta. he further informed us not to be alarmed at all the emergency vehicles that would welcome us back! he finally lands us after what seemed like forever! it was a rougher than normal landing as it felt like the plane kept wanting to bank to the right. the entire group of very tense passengers broke out in cheers & applause for the pilot! it was quite the addition to an otherwise boring trip to the ole ball game! just another day in God’s sovwreigny designed world! 
Wooster Family Christmas Letter 2008
Merry Christmas from the Wooster home to your home!
We rejoice in the time to reflect on God’s gifts to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. God gives us each breath to live and provides daily strength. He also offers to each of us eternal life by faith. Taking time to reflect on and rejoice in the past year’s blessings is good medicine for a sick economy. Our desire is to glorify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Sara & Caleb send greetings from their new townhouse in Harrisburg, PA. Caleb passed his CPA exam and continues the busy work as an accountant for a public accounting firm. This fall he squeezed in some time for hunting and got a nice 8-point buck.
Sara has experimented with some venison recipes and has enjoyed decorating their home. Her work as a Financial Advisors’ Associate also keeps her busy. This year both Sara & Caleb have enjoyed becoming a part of the Mt. Calvary Church family. We are all looking forward to a week together in Colorado over New Years!
Jonathan met and ministered to many people this year. He played the role of “boy” in Shakespeare’s Henry V where the audience was mesmerized by his performance. This summer he was a counselor at camp where he saw the power of God’s Word change lives! In the fall he traveled to the west coast with the BJU music ministry team. Dodging two hurricanes and traveling 16,000 miles, the team presented testimonies, sang, and shared God’s Word with those in 80 churches and schools. We are confident God will use this experience to direct him to a ministry after he completes his studies in a few years.
For Joseph it was a year of recovery from knee surgery. We praise the Lord he had a full recovery and was able to play soccer. He played goalie and was only scored on 4 times in the county, making him the best goalie in his age bracket for the 3rd year in a row. He spent some time this summer working on Grandpa’s farm and found it is hard work. His sophomore year in high school has included soccer, trumpet, and writing for the school newspaper. He is growing and maturing, and is now 6 ft. tall. Yet, Sara & Jonathan remind him that he is the “little” brother.
Dan continues to teach computer science at Bob Jones University where his students challenge and delight him. The computer science team won first place in the regional competition this fall. This was a year of growth for The Worthwhile Company as they moved to their own building! He also took up motorcycling and loves taking short trips into the mountains on sunny days! He & Jonathan began a journey to visit every major league baseball stadium. This year they hit Detroit, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He & Joseph took in their very first Ohio State Buckeye’s football game!
Karen was delighted to spend some time with Dad following heart surgery in March and his appendectomy in July. I know his legs cause much pain but he continues the work before him. At 79, he is still milking the cows and feeding 1,000 pigs along with the crops. Mom had a new battery in her pace maker and keeps going like the energizer bunny too. Must be where I get the determination.
My days include bookkeeping, paying bills, sending notes of encouragement to many college students, and keeping up with Dan. The flexible schedule allows time to be available for Dan’s Mom who has knee replacement surgery coming up on Jan. 13th. The Ladies Bible Study and teens at church are also a special opportunity to share God’s Word.
Joy is not the absence of difficulty. It is the delight in my God which gives me the strength for each trial.
A Worthwhile Solution to the Credit Crisis
Posted by admin in Education, Family, Internship on October 13th, 2008
I ran across this website today in Chicago @ An Event Apart and I believe it to be one of the most practical and worthwhile solutions to America’s credit crisis! It encourages people to save before spending. A very “old time” idea, one which I feel we have gotten too far away from and hence the biggest cause for the mess we find our economy in. People and governments have become drunk with credit. We no longer consider saving for a vacation or buying a car or a big screen TV or ….. Our culture encourages the “you deserve a break today”, “have it your way”, “why wait”, “go for the gusto” attitude. Credit is the fuel which drives this mentality and we have reached a fuel shortage of huge magnitude!
First we need to think about what we are teaching the next generation about money. Here’s an excellent article on how to teach our children the impact of savings vs spending.
When you are ready to start saving for that next project, check out this intreguing website that is designed to encourage you and those who know you, to save for your project. SmartyPig.com
Question from China: How Do You Teach Your Children to be Rich?
Posted by admin in Family, Internship on August 10th, 2008
Gary, a Chinese friend Joseph & I met in Datong, China, asked me a very thought provoking question this week – “how do I teach my children to be rich?”.
I got thinking about what the Bible says about riches. Over 2000 verses speak about money & riches. This would seem to be the best place to teach children how to handle riches properly.
I like to read a chapter of Proverbs each day. I encourage each of my children to do the same thing. Especially if you hit a “dry spot” in your walk with the Lord & don’t know where to read. Today’s proverb speaks about riches:
Proverbs 10:4-5 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
Here are just a few Bible principles on wealth:
- give to the Lord no less than 10% of all your income (before taxes – this is the first fruits principle taught clearly in Scripture)
- work hard
- stay out of debt – avoid it like the plague
- give to the needs of others
- don’t set your love/focus on money
- invest/save for the future, don’t spend all you earn
For my sons I would like to help each of you find an investment – stock, land, something that increases in value – even baseball cards or stamps! Sara sorry I didn’t do this with you before you married, but I am confident God has given you a husband with whom you can invest. Work with him. Support him. Encourage him. Work together.
In the end, I suppose the best teaching on this topic comes by example. As a parent, that’s a pretty daunting thought! Lord help me have the right perspective on riches that I might pass it along to my children for your glory!!
The Mother of Hope
For many years, part of our backyard has been the home for a pet rabbit I like to call “The Mother of Hope” (MoH). As one of God’s creations, she existed to bring glory to her Creator and pleasure to her Keeper, my lovely wife Karen. You see MoH brought glory to her Creator by doing exactly what she was created to do – be a rabbit. J And a good rabbit she was. She gave birth to many other little rabbits and took great care of them. She was a strong creature who enjoyed many good years of life under the care of the BEST RABBIT KEEPER on the planet, my dear wife Karen. Thru Karen’s unconditional love she has for her rabbits, I have learned yet a little more about the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father toward his children. Karen took excellent care of MoH, day in and day out. Never did she complain. She enjoys sharing love and kindness with her rabbits. I can see a little bit of rabbit in my wife. She is quiet, gentle, doesn’t like sudden changes, enjoys being cuddled, rarely complains, and takes great care of her children.
God’s timing is perfect, even in the death of a pet rabbit. If he knows when a bird falls from the sky, I am certain he knows when a rabbit dies. You see today was a very big day in the history of The Worthwhile Company. We are moving into our very own building! I have been anxiously awaiting all that would involve and was ready to jump in with all the energies God has given to me. But yesterday afternoon the Lord started preparing for MoH’s departure. I was run off the road by a logging truck. This resulted in my having to take a little extra time this morning to go hunt down the owner of the logging company so I could explain what one of his drivers had done. That put me “behind” in my intended schedule of picking up the moving truck and getting things ready for the big move. I came home to take a quick shower and get going. As I was getting ready to go, that’s when Karen, on her daily, never tiring routine of feeding the rabbits and giving them a bottle of ice to help them coop with the heat of the day, discovered MoH had suffered a serious stroke. I cannot tell you how thankful I am to know the Lord redirected my steps so I would be home at this time! It gave me an opportunity to demonstrate to my lovely Karen, how much she means to me and how much I love her, unconditionally! I was actually amazed at how God has given me a desire to be with Karen, rather than be helping my great Worthwhile employees move the office.
Now some may think the death of a pet is no big deal. I believe God gave us animals for object lessons to teach us how to love unconditionally and to help us understand the reality of life that we must all face death. The Bible says “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” Are you ready for the day? Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no man comes to the Father but by me.” That’s pretty specific. If you don’t have a living relationship with the Creator of the Universe, then repent of your sins and accept the free gift of forgiveness of your sins so you can experience the greatest relationship in all the world – a born again child of God!
Jonathan (Boy) Steals Everyone’s Heart!
It can be a pretty scary thing for a parent the first time their child gets on stage before an audience of about 3,000 and has the entire stage to himself! My son, Jonathan, was in his first Shakespeare play tonite at BJU where he played the role of “Boy” in Henry the 5th. He was most effective in winning the hearts of the audience through his boyish charms and desire to be honest and true to the king of England. The evidence of his victory over all the hearts came at the climax of battle when he was suddenly and unexpectedly stabbed to death! It was like the audience lost their very own child! The sighs and cries could be heard throughout the auditorium.
A Tribute to My Life Long Friend Gary Stewart
When I received news (humanly speaking bad news, Divinely speaking good news) of Gary’s Home going, the Lord took me back in my mind to my early days with Gary. We went to the same high school, Whitmer High in Toledo Ohio, and were both very active members of Lewis Avenue Baptist Church. At Whitmer I remember Gary as very active in speech and debate kinds of things, something for which I was forever envious of him! He had a way with words. He had a way with people. He was a bit “nerdy” in high school, but I suppose so was I and that might have been one of the things God used to bring us together as life long friends. Gary was an outstanding student, always near the top of his class. I admired him.
At LABC, we both grew to love the man God had sent to shepherd the flock, Pastor Les Hobbins. Many times we shard with each other the countless blessings (and sometimes frustrations) Pastor Hobbins had been to each of us personally. Gary loved his pastor very very much! It was also at LABC that Gary came to know one of the Christian school teachers, a young lady named Sherri who became his life long companion! Through all the years of sharing with our joys, challenges, blessings and frustrations together, I have NO memory of Gary ever expressing dissatisfaction with Sherri. He loved her dearly and was just thrilled that God had blessed him someone who loved him just as he was.
I remember when I learned Gary was “in the computer business”. My first thought was “oh no!, he’ll get all the business in the computer industry, leaving me with nothing!” I knew from experience that whatever Gary put his hands and mind to do, he would be the best in the field! If Gary put his mind to it and believed God had lead him to something, he did it! No obstacles or discouragements would keep Gary from doing what he knew God wanted him to do. He was a gifted communicator, outstanding business man, highly intelligent, and possessed unbelievable people skills! Whether Gary was with his friend the Governor of Georgia, or a missionary headed to the field, or someone I brought down to Atlanta to meet him, Gary made them feel welcome and special.
My most cherished memory of Gary was that of “an angel of mercy”. Several times in our lives, our paths went different directions. He went to Tennessee Temple, I to Bob Jones. He lived in Toledo, then Atlanta, I in South Carolina. But Gary had this uncanny sense of just when to contact me. Sometimes it might be a year or two without hearing from him and then wammo, like a lightning bolt from the sky, Gary would appear. Just wanting to check up on me and see how I was doing. God used Gary in some very special ways in my life.
When I was preparing to work on my masters degree at BGSU in Ohio and was making plans to marry the love of my life, Karen Thurston, I needed a place to live. Gary came to me “out of the blue” and said, “Hey Danny, I need a roommate in McClure Ohio. Interested?”. What a blessing! McClure Ohio sat right between BGSU and Grand Rapids Ohio, the place Karen took her first teaching position (Bethany Christian School). I moved in with Gary until Karen and I got married. This of course led to Gary being part of our wedding, a most memorable event.
During the first year of our marriage, Gary came through many times to help us in times of need. The event God has used for the past 27 years to remind Karen and me of God’s goodness in always providing for our needs, came in the winter of 1981. We were living in an old farm house between McClure and Bowling Green Ohio. It was a most cold and snowy winter. The house was heated with propane or heating oil. The tank had to be filled, but we had no money! I was a poor graduate assistant and Karen was teaching. I think our combined wage for the year was around $10K or $12K. I was very concerned about how we would be able to pay the heating bill. Well, once again, Gary, “my angel in mercy” stepped in, but in a most unusual way!
A few weeks prior he had come to mee and asked if I would right a computer program to predict how long it takes to grow a radish. You see, McClure just happens to be “The Radish Capital of the World“! And of course Gary worked for George Weasel, the owner of the TemCole Radish Company. And George wanted to know how long it takes to grow a radish under certain growing conditions. So working with Gary, I developed one of the world’s first computer programs to answer this most important question! (we’ll in the radish capital of the world, you better believe radishes are pretty important! )
Back to the heating bill. The day the bill bill was due, Gary called me up and said, “Hey Danny, stop by and I’ll give you a check for the work you did”. Wow, that was God’s way of using Gary to remind me how the Lord uses relationships in this life to glorify himself and accomplish his purposes on the Earth! What a blessing. Gary was right in the middle of it all, being used by God to be a blessing to Karen and me. Reminds me of how God used Joseph in the early days of Jewish history to be right was God wanted him to be in order to be a blessing to the children of Israel! Gary was our “Joseph”.
Gary always expressed interest in my children. Calling or emailing to see how they were doing. And he as always there to provide financial support to assist and encourage them in the various summer ministries and mission trips the Lord has allowed them to be involved in. He has helped Sara when she served as a counselor at Camp Ironwood in California. Jonathan on his missions trip to Australia. He even helped me on a ministry trip my family I took to help Harvest Ministries in Guam.
Ashley and Trevor, your father would always talk of you during our meetings. He was most proud of both of you. He mentioned many times how inadequate he felt to be your father, but it reminded him of his need to pray and ask God for wisdom and directions. He loved you both dearly!
Sherri, you were the love of his life. Never did I ever hear him talk of another. He was so proud of the impact you were having on his children as well as so many others through your teaching ministry. He loved you dearly!!
Gary, I shall miss those unexpected phone calls, text messages and emails, but every time the Lord sends an angel mercy my way, I shall be reminded of my life long friend and angel of mercy, Gary Stewart! To God be the glory!!
Your Life Long Friend,
Danny Boy (the name Gary always used for me)
Christmas Letter 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
You may have noticed the sixth person in our family picture this year. On October 20th, we celebrated a very special occasion as Sara and Caleb were united in marriage, and we joyfully welcome him to our family
We started 2007 by taking our annual family ski trip to
Joseph finished junior high then began high school this fall. Soccer continues to captivate his attention. His brother and sister have been glad to see his maturity in many areas—though Joseph would still like to catch up to Caleb in height. He was quite a hard worker as he and his friend Ben Nicholas helped out at Forest Glen Bible Camp. Then later in the summer he spent two weeks at Woodlands Camp in the S.A.L.T. leadership program. Last week he had an unexpected knee surgery and is taking it easy. We are still waiting to see what is next in determining the cause of the cartilage degeneration.
Jonathan is very busy with school, so we enjoy seeing him over Christmas vacation. In January he moved into the residence hall for the semester and made many friends. He learned sign language to communicate with his friend Eric. He was also a blessing to many as he spent the summer in
Sara finished her last year at BJU as a society president and sportswriter. Graduation was a busy time with saying goodbye to many friends and participating in the weddings of her best friends. Caleb and Sara enjoy married life in
Dan & I spent the summer traveling to
This Christmas, we REJOICE in God’s Son, the JOY of our salvation!
Sincerely,
Dan and Karen, Jonathan, Joseph, Sara and Caleb
An Amazing Power of the Gospel Story
I just received this story from some very dear family friends, the Colson family, who are missionaries in Chuuk, Micronesia. It reminded me of the “reason for the season” and the amazing power of the Gospel! I hope many can be blessed by this story, written by Andrea Colson.
Today while we were visiting at the hospital we saw some friends of ours from the island of Polle. They told us that the mayor of Polle had drowned last night when his boat capsized. The family had brought his body to the morgue, and his teenage daughter was in the emergency room. Apparently, the mayor and his family had come to Weno yesterday to go Christmas shopping, along with some of their friends. They and several other boats were headed back to Polle last night after dark, when the mayor’s boat was overcome by the waves and sank. One of the other boats picked up the rest of the people who had been on board, including the mayor’s wife, but they couldn’t find the mayor and his daughter. The young girl couldn’t swim, so when the boat sank her dad carried her on his back and tried to swim to the nearest island. The girl told her family later that her dad carried her as far as he could, then he told her that he knew he was going to die and for her to save her life. She said he looked up towards heaven and prayed, “Father, I am a sinner; please have mercy on me and remember me.” Just as his head went under the water a five-gallon bucket drifted by. The girl said she grabbed hold of it with one hand and held on to her dad’s head with her other hand. She was finally able to make it to the shore of Eot where she called out for the people of that island to please help them, but her dad had already died.
When Atrina came over this evening to help the teenagers practice their Christmas program, she told Mama that she and Ongichy had shared the Gospel with the mayor of Polle twice and that both times he really listened and was open. She was so glad to hear that he had prayed right before he died. Praise the Lord for that, and also for keeping us safe when we were out on the water Thursday. The same thing could so easily have happened to us if He hadn’t protected us like He did.
To God be the glory!!!
Teaching My Children Computer Science
Posted by admin in Family, Internship on December 16th, 2007
My greatest desire for everyone of my children is that they might find and do the will of God for their lives! He has seen fit to give each of them a unique combination of talents and interests. As parents, Karen and I desire to provide a God honoring home from which they can learn to know God, love God and discover how God wants them to invest their lives for eternity!
To that end, I’ve been thinking how I can best teach my trade, computer science and more specifically the “bit business” to my sons and daughter. Here are the beginnings of some topics I want to start with, particularly with our youngest son, Joseph, as he appears to be most gifted by God for this “bit stuff”. However please let it be known that Sara and Jonathan are also highly “bit literate”, though their strongest talents and interests seem at this time to lie in other areas, which is most exciting for Karen and I to be a part of seeing God work out through each of them!
- how computers work and what are bits?
- what are programming languages and who cares?
- how are bits used on the Internet and how do they move around to accomplish all (good and evil) that they accomplish?
- what are databases of bits and how to program them?
- what is computational thinking (something I want all my children to know) and what impact will it have in the 21st century cultures?
- what is it that The Worthwhile Company does and why does EVERY BUSINESS AND MINISTRY in the world need it?
This is just a start, but I believe represents the majority of the “important” bit business things I want to impart to my children.
We shall see, by the grace of God, what happens next.
UPDATE (4/16/08) I was asked by one of my computer science faculty for the five topics I believe to be most important for a computer literate person to know. Here they are:
- security/passwords/information protection/email spam/phishing/etc
- appropriate use of communication technologies (email, text, phone, blogging, etc)
- computational thinking – what do computers do well and what do people do better and how do they work together to solve problems
- how to select the write tool for the job (word processor, spreadsheet, db, blog, wiki, email, web page, etc)
- fundamental difference and similarity between atoms and bits
“Her Mother & I”
As Karen and I reflect back upon the past 23 years we can only say “To God be the Glory” for the way he has clearly answered our prayer for a life long companion for our little girl. By saying “Her Mother and I” we are confirming:
1. God has answered our prayers for this day which we began presenting to the Lord even before Sara was born
2. God has been preparing both Sara and Caleb for this day
3. God has been preparing the Wooster and Reed families for this day
4. God’s model for the home – a father and a mother bringing up children to know, love and obey God
5. Caleb is now the God given authority over our little girl. It is with great joy and confidence in the Lord that we acknowledge this transfer. God says “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
By the grace of our Lord, we have taught Sara to make choices which honor her Creator. It is therefore our firm belief that she has followed the Lord’s leading in her marriage to Caleb; the one to whom she will submit to love, honor & obey. As a result it is our sincere belief that the Lord will continue the good word he began in Sara under our care, and she will become more Christ-like because of her relationship with Caleb as he aligns their home according to the truths presented in God’s Word.
Sara & Caleb it is the desire of “Your Mother and I” in the sight God and of our friends and family to yield our authority over you and pass it on to Caleb, whom God has been preparing to lead and provide for you until separated by death!
Dan & Karen
Sara & Caleb Wedding Presentation (pdf form – 18M)
In Memory of My Dad’s Best Friend
Life gives us many friends, but only a handful we can truly call our best friend. Don Holder was no doubt one of my Dad’s best friends!
One of my strongest memories of Don was the time he drove from Toledo to our home in Greenville, SC. My Dad was living with us and due to his illness was confined to a bed and a scooter. I really wanted Dad to be able to get out of the house and enjoy the beauty our Creator has put into the Fall season. So Don drove down one weekend and built a ramp that allowed Dad to ride the scooter in and out of our home anytime he wanted!
Don I shall forever remember you as my Dad’s best friend.
Teresa, Mom and I are praying for the God of all comfort, the Creator of the universe, and the personal Savior of all who accept his free gift of life through His Son, Jesus Christ, to comfort, encourage and strengthen you during this most difficult time, designed to draw to you closer to the One who created you!
With Love, Dan & Jeanette Wooster (Greenville, SC)
My Tribute to My Aunt Jayne
My Aunt Jayne was always one to take interest in me. She encourage me in my pursuits. I have very fond memories of staying with her & Uncle Dick at their home in Clio. One of my most vivid memories was one of the first time I spent the night at her home. She had a big staircase with a huge painting at the top. I do not remember what was in the painting but I recall being too afraid to walk up that staircase alone. So Aunt Jayne would take me by the hand & walk with me. She was very kind to me. I also remember the time she gave me the words to the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. It became one of the things the Lord used in my life to teach me my need to accept Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, an event which has forever changed my life.
I shall miss my Aunt Jayne. Her joy of life was most contagious. Her love of the arts lives on in her son John who introduced me to the beauty of string art when I was a young boy.