« July 2007 | Main | September 2007 »
August 29, 2007
8 Tubes and a Half Mile
Matthew just learned to ride his bike. We actually took the training wheels off last fall, and he rode back and forth on our street a couple of times (ending with crashes) before deciding it was too scary. For the past several months, he avoided the bike and chose instead to ride his Razor. Finally, after some time passed, we convinced him to try again. He had already learned balance from the Razor, so it wasn't too hard for him to get comfortable on the bike.
Now he wants to go for rides every evening. So except for tonight when we finally got some much-needed rain, we've been venturing out as a family for rides around the block. Doing this has reminded me of family bike rides when I was growing up. I never really thought about it much, but those are some of my best memories of childhood. I remember rides with my mom or dad out in the country, a place we would stop to rest that we dubbed the "shady spot", and even getting in major trouble with Mark once for speeding down a hill away from Dad on a busy road (sorry Dad).
I want to build memories like that with my kids--time spent with no agenda, away from the TV or computer screen, just enjoying the world around us and each others' company. It's one of the reasons I'm glad we have worked to keep our evenings relatively free this fall. I hope we are making memories that will last a lifetime.
Posted by jvp at 9:53 PM | Comments (1)
August 23, 2007
The Struggle of Letting Go
We're approaching the 1-year anniversary of my brother and his wife heading to West Africa to be full-time missionaries. Dad recently wrote a very honest reflection about his and Mom's struggle with, and eventual acceptance and blessing of their decision to go. An excerpt:
As Mark and Parker continued through the process, Janis and I were hoping (and selfishly praying) that God would help them to see that they were already serving as very effective missionaries to the youth culture – and that “if it was God’s will” (as it was our will) that something would come up to block the process.
It's called "The Struggle of Letting Go: A Perspective from the Father of a Missionary".
Reading Dad's article reminds me that I have no idea where God will call my kids. When we dedicated them at church, we acknowledged that they were not ours, but rather God's, and only entrusted to our care for a short while. I need to be constantly reminded of this fact. Is this how I am approaching my parenting and my prayers for the kids? Or am I, like Dad once did, just asking God to bless my plans for their lives?
Thanks for the humble and encouraging article, Dad.
Posted by jvp at 10:59 PM | Comments (1)
August 21, 2007
Run JVP Run
I started running for fitness a few years ago when Chris Gerber drug me and a couple other guys out at lunchtimes to run on the Evansville greenway. At the time, I thought it would be a good activity to get in shape, but I expected to hate it. I have never been naturally athletic, and in my high school gym class I couldn't even run a mile without stopping to walk.
Well, it turns out I loved running. I haven't stuck with it continuously, I have gone through spurts over the years. But as of right now, I am running regularly, and staying motivated by setting a goal of running the Evansville Half Marathon in October. I have been tracking my runs with a Google Spreadsheet, and running an automated script to produce the sidebar box on the front page of my blog, as well as some statistics and graphs of my progress.
Posted by jvp at 12:38 AM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2007
School Time
It's back-to-school time and Matthew is now starting first grade. He loves school and was excited about starting up again. I've posted a few pictures from his first day.
The beginning of this school year marks some major changes in our family life:
1. Matthew is now in "full-time" school, which means Amy only has two more hours a day with him than me (3-5 PM). This has been sad for her, another little step in the progressive "letting go" process.
2. We are adjusting to the reality of having our schedule set by the school calendar.
3. Amy is going to be teaching at Mollie's preschool, during the hours that Mollie is in Pre-K. This will be the first time in 7 years that she has worked outside the home!
Amidst all of this change, we're trying to figure out our fall schedule. What activities can we commit to? What ministry areas at church? How do we protect our time together as a couple? As a whole family? We're trying to make sure our pace doesn't become hectic, which is hard when so many "good" activities are available.
Posted by jvp at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
August 11, 2007
Mission: Not impossible
The Evansville Courier & Press ran a story today in their religion section about CFC. The story focused mostly on our missions efforts, and I was quoted briefly talking about the recent Czech trip.
Posted by jvp at 6:54 AM | Comments (0)
August 10, 2007
Bedtime Song
I'm sure any parent of young children can relate to this... a very sweet and funny video about bedtime and life in general with young kids.
HT: Justin Taylor's excellent Between Two Worlds
Posted by jvp at 3:54 PM | Comments (0)
August 8, 2007
Rare occurrence
When my brother went to West Africa last year as a missionary, learning to deal with the brutal heat was a major adjustment for him and his wife. However, this week, they have been enjoying a rare cool stretch, with daytime highs in the upper 80s and lower 90s. And of course here in Evansville we're in the middle of a nasty heat wave. So, it turns out, it's actually hotter in Evansville right now that in Niger! Of course, Evansville probably won't ever be able to top this.
Posted by jvp at 1:30 PM | Comments (0)
August 6, 2007
Rock Cafe Video
I put up a short video from the Czech trip Rock Cafe concert on the trip blog. Check out the video here.
Posted by jvp at 7:00 AM | Comments (0)