Film Academy

We bid a fond farewell to our company this morning and now Peter and Rebecca leave for the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival. So . . . probably nothing on the blog for a while.

You might enjoy visiting our site that we have been working on the last while--Psalm Cds are now available (shipping after November 7th): The Genevan Foundation

We'll be back in November!!

Operation Orange: Off to the Battle

In God's amazing providence, Nathan left Saturday morning to spend the next seven weeks in Orange County, California.

Nathan will be working for Jim Gilchrist who is running on the American Independent/Constitution party for US Congress. A Christian pro-life candidate and the founder of the Minuteman Project, Mr. Gilchrist' platform is primarily based on immigration policies--a vital issue for Californians and our whole country.

This special election is shaping up to be a very close race. In California one must get at least 50% of the vote to win the election. Since Mr. Gilchrist received 17% of the vote in the primary the opportunity looks very interesting. The political landscape in this southern California county looks quite similar to what Alabama experienced in the election for Tom Parker.

We are excited for Nathan as he will serve as Grass Roots Coordinator, but will miss him terribly over the next few months.

Stepping Stones - Rebecca

"Are you willing to be a stepping stone

to future generations?"
Question posed at the Chalcedon 40th Anniversary Conference

Sometimes, as a home-educated child of this generation, one can think: "I am it. I am the smartest. I am the top dog." But I must remember that I have been entrusted with this treasure to use it.

This gift is not so I can sit back on my figurative laurels, waving to throngs of followers. This legacy is a responsibility from God. It has been entrusted to us for us to faithfully pass it on to the next generation. "For everyone to whom much is given, much will be required; and to whom much has been commited, of him they will ask the more." (Luke 12:48b)

I am only a means to an end. I am a stepping stone. My generation must be humble, realizing that we do not, nor can ever "have it together". We must always be renewing our minds and lives according to scripture and seek to teach those who come behind us to be faithful.

I often wonder to myself, who were the millions of faithful young women through the ages of whom we've never heard? How about a Christian Byzantine nobleman's daughter? Or a peasant girl in the medieval times? How about a young woman, daughter of a French Huguenot pastor, brutally persecuted for her faith? Or a Christian girl in China, discipled by a missionary family?

These unsung heroes were content to remain oblivion. But that does not mean their life was in vain. They were willing to be forgotten in the light of the glory of Christ and his bride. But they are remembered as my models of faithful daughters, wives and mothers who self sacrificially gave and gave, all for the glory of the Lord and his Kingdom work.

Titus 2:3-5
" . . . The older women likewise,
that they be reverent in behavior,
not slandereres,
not given to much wine,
teachers of good things--
that they admonish the young women to love their husbands,
to love their children,
to be discreet, chaste, home-makers, good,
obedient to their own husbands,
that the word of God may not be blasphemed."

New Trees

Yesterday we headed up to Louisiana, Missouri to pick up some trees at Stark Brothers Nursery. Accompanying us were three members of the Gibson family who are on a visit from CA: Joe, Jessica, and Josh. What fun to be able to spend the week with them!!

What a beautiful drive! The trees are just starting to change colors up north where Stark Brothers is located. We can't wait to see the kaleidoscope in our own backyard.

Our destination for the afternoon. We found several shade trees to purchase and did some research on bareroots for an orchard.

After picking up the trees, we swung by the the grand ole' Mississippi.

Marking out the tree's new home. Joe and Peter very kindly dug the holes for the trees . . . once we get the amendments then we'll plant them!

Grable Family Visit

We have just completed a wonderful week long visit with our dear friends the Grables. This adventuresome family recently made their move from corporate America and are courageously stepping forward in establishing their own business. To celebrate the beginning of their new life they are traveling around the country for a month. What fun to watch the Lord direct their family! They are a wonderful example of a husband and wife team working together for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.

Scottish Games

Saturday found us driving south to visit the 5th Annual St. Louis Scottish Games. What a joy to have the sweet Grable family out for a visit this week to accompany us.


Walking to the games with the Grables.


Look at that Scottish smile!


Some of our group--fun at the festivities.


Evidences of an English Heritage.


We enjoyed the Boatwrights, a home school family who plays celtic style songs and hymns.


Blue Pipers Marching.


Caber Toss a la' feminine style.


Beth and Baby Grable.


At the close of the day, we were treated to an unbelievable experience. 100 Bagpipers and Drummers, all playing together. The tunes were quite incredible when played with this mass of musical talent.


Some of the family listening to bagpipes.

Happy Birthday Joel!!

We rejoice that the Lord has blessed us with our sweet Joel. What a treasure of a young man! We are excited to watch the Lord grow him into a mighty warrior for Christ.

Sermon: Covenant Renewal

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
Romans 12:1

The Bible teaches us that we have three enemies to face throughout our earthly life: the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Some Believers have wrongly asserted that those Christians who are truly spiritual have no real struggles in life. All mature Christians know the falsehood of this assertion. The sober truth is that the Christian life is full of struggles. Fortunately, our Lord forgives us and restores fellowship with us when we repent from our sins.

The Bible also teaches that the Lord renews the promises and provisions of His covenant with us, much like He did with Jacob. This does not mean that the Lord establishes an entirely new relationship with us, but that He renews that relationship by restoring the broken fellowship. We see this same pattern not only in the people of the Old Testament, but also in the lives of the Apostles: Peter, James, John, and Paul. Whereas the covenant renewal that Jacob experienced came about infrequently, the covenant renewal that we experience comes about weekly as we gather for worship, sit under the preaching of the Word, and partake of the Lord's Supper.

1. Covenant Failure (Genesis 34:1-31)

• He Failed to Protect His Daughter (vs. 1-4)
  (1) Now Dinah the daughter of Lean, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the women of the land.
  
• He Failed to Seek Proper Restitution (vs. 5-12)
  (5) Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah. But his sons were with his livestock in the field, so Jacob held his peace until they came.
  
• He Failed to Restrain His Sons (13-31)
  (13)The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor decitfully . . . (25)On the third day . . . two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males . . . (27)The sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the city, because they had defiled their sister.

2. Covenant Renewal (Genesis 35:1-29)

• He Sanctified Himself and His People (vs. 1-8)
  (3) Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an alter to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.
  
• He Made Sacrifice Unto the Lord (vs. 9-15)
  (14) And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.
  
• He Honored Rachel in Her Death (vs. 16-21)
  (19) So Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem), (20) and Jacob set up a pillar over her tomb. It is the pillar of Rachel's tomb, which is there to this day.
  
• He Restored His Relationship with Isaac (vs. 22-29)
  (27) And when Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kiriath-arba (that is Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned.

"Covenant Renewal"
Genesis 34-35
October 9th, 2005
Pastor Marcus Serven Covenant Family Church (RPCGA)

Ruffled Feathers

Congratulations to PJ Serven and Cole Carpenter on being accepted to the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival!! Click here to read a description of Ruffled Feathers.

Don't Try This at Home

Moore for Governor

We were excited to hear of the intended gubernatorial race of Judge Roy Moore in the state of Alabama. Thanks Caleb for the reminder.

Judge Roy Moore's official website

With that in mind, would you vote for Judge Moore if you lived in the state of Alabama?

The results of our last poll were very fascinating to us. And yes, we believe the last group is biblical--we just did not know we have so many reformed readers visiting our blog. : )

Was Hurricane Katrina . . .

• A fluke disaster, surprising God? 1 vote/2%
• An occurrence that God allowed? 7 votes/13%
• Part of God's sovereign plan for His-story, which He predestined to happen? 45 votes/85%

Road Trip

We were so happy to have our Nana out for a visit this week. Saturday brought an opportunity for a short road trip north along the Mississippi River, which naturally we did not turn away. We missed having Dad with us, but were so glad to have everyone else all together for an everyday adventure.


Car break on the side of the road. After a hour and a half of windy roads yet beautiful scenery, we finally arrived at our first destination: Hannibal, Missouri--boyhood home of Mark Twain.


The infamous fence.


This looked like fun to climb. We left Mom and Nana to wait for us at the bottom . . .


. . . 244 steps later, we reached the top! Joel, who rode alternately on Nathan and Peter's shoulders, exclaimed as we reached the top, "Whew! This is hard work!" : )


What better way to take a walk?


What a blessing to have our beloved Nana for a visit.

One fun discovery we made while in Hannibal, was the Jam Factory. Originally, we thought the jam to be of the sweet and sticky variety, but to our great pleasure, it turned out to be of a musical nature.


Rebecca tries out playing the Bowed Psaltery for the first time.


Peter shows his skill on a "Washboard Tie".


Our group: minus Nana, plus Mark Twain.

The second part of our trip was to head west to scout out Mark Twain Lake in our quest to find a body of water to replace the Pacific Ocean. No small task. But each time we look, we get closer to our goal.


After much searching, we finally found a "beach". Well, actually it was a boat dock. All the beaches at Mark Twain Lake had been shut down for the fall and winter.


Not quite like the Pacific. But at least it was cool, windy, wet and not crowded. What a wonderful day to spend together.