Drumroll . . . .

Thank you to all the participants in our most recent Birthday Game!!

The correct guessers and finalists are as follows:

• Anna
• The Beatty Milkmaids
• Chris Emlyn
• Dreamer
• Katie's Brother
• Martha A.
• RMS
• Mrs. Zes

And the Grand Prize Winner of the CD is . . . drumroll please . . . .

. . . RMS!!!!!! Congratulations!! Your CD, O Sing a New Psalm, will be in the mail Monday.

P. S. Andrew fired off a few celebratory rounds on his cap gun in honor of your name being drawn. : )

Last Chance

Don't forget to vote before 12 noon CST.

Now That is a Lot of Pictures

As promised, here is a photo journal of our trip up to visit with the Erber Family.



We saw this encouraging sign on our drive through Illinois. At that point our car was encased with ice (on the inside of the windows), we all had all our hats, gloves, scarves, and coats on, and our defroster/heater was threatening not to work. The Erbers were very kind to keep their house nice and toasty warm for us transplanted Californians.



This was the first real introduction to sledding for the Serven kids.



In order to get to the Opera House and the Messiah, we took a 1 1/2 hour train ride filled with talking, laughing, singing and snacking. Joel was so cold waiting for the train, in this picture he was literally shaking like a leaf. : )



Jonathan Erber led us in several caroling warm-ups on the train.



Converted. No more blog and no more cheap digital cameras.



Andrew had fun exploring the second story of the train car.



Ah yes. We have arrived.



Our intrepid leader Josh Erber got us in as close to the doors as possible. While waiting, we joined with friends and strangers breaking forth in carols of praise.



The plan upon arriving at the Opera House was simple--get there early and sit on the main level in the front. Easier said than done. After getting a few seats in the alto section for some of our 78 member party, the rest of us started the long walk up the stairs. It seemed as soon as we arrived at the next highest level of the balcony, invariably the ushers were just announcing "I'm sorry, but this level is full--try the next highest level". Eventually we made it to the top level and nose bleed alley. We got settled into our seats, trying to make the best of being many stories up, far away from seeing and hearing much of anything . . . but God was gracious. It was like the parable when the wedding master says--"No, you come sit up here--right down in front."

What a privlege to hear the 3000 voices lifted in harmony around us singing praise to the Savior. Mrs. Moeller wrote a beautiful post encapsulating my thoughts on the experience of singing the Messiah. You absolutely must read it. As we completed the oratorio, the tears were flowing. How great the grace and mercy of our God.



Our Accompanists. 1 conductor, 4 soloists, and 200 orchestra members.



Most of us did not feel the contra tenor did the alto part justice. I will refrain from pontificating. But if you are curious, read Messiah for the story of the young woman for which Handel composed the part.



Our group of 78.

After the Messiah, we traipsed through the darkened streets of Chicago for a midnight tour of the city (before our train returned home).



The bucket man. 'Nuff said.



The way home from the Opera House saw a rollicking group of songsters and warblers. A good variety of songs were sung--anything from Broadway musicals, cowboy songs, Christmas carols, etc. and at the stroke of midnight, everyone broke out in "Happy Birthday" for one of the Serven B'days. (No bonus clues : )



When we arrived home from the Messiah, a beautiful phenomena awaited us--frost covering all the trees. The picture does not do it justice.

The next morning found us waking at a late hour (some people were hungry at 3 a.m. when we arrived home: ).



Family worship in the morning time with the Erbers, Moellers, Beattys, Fowlks and Servens.

Then off for some sledding . . .



Our sledding crowd.



The Servens watch some real sledding.


Hey. This looks like fun!



Beth and Jessica plan their next route down the hill.



Ready to go.


Exchanging goofy songs--1814 . . . .


and Ebenezer Bleezer.

What a fun blessing to spend these snowy days with the Erber family. Thank you so much for your hospitality and friendship. : )

Birthday Game

Dear Everyone,

Our Nine Days of Feasting are in full swing. In honor of all the occasions over the last few weeks (and because we are still too busy to write up a real post), we have a game for you.

The Object:
Guess each of the birthday persons new age.

The Process:
Leave a comment (one per person--make sure to sign your name) with each birthday persons guessed age. This contest starts now and will be completed at noon on December 31st. If more than one person guesses all the correct ages, we will draw a winner. Once we announce the winner, if we don't have you address you can e-mail us.

The Prize:
A second edition "O Sing a New Psalm" CD from www.genevanfoundation.com

Questions?
Leave a comment and we will try to answer.

Joying in the Celebration of Christ's Incarnation,
The Serven Clan


Birthday Person No. 1








Birthday Person No. 2


Birthday Person No. 3









Birthday Person No. 4

Back from Chicago!!

What a wonderful visit we had with the Erber family!! More pictures to follow . . .

Hanging O' the Greens and Other Miscellany

Preparations to celebrate the Incarnation of our Savior are in full swing.

One of our Nine Days of Feasting traditions is to have an evening set aside to decorate our Christmas Tree. The night always ends with all the lights out, except the ones on the tree itself. We all scrunch and squeeze our heads under the tree, gazing up through the branches. This whole process has been affectionately dubbed "The Hanging O' the Greens".

All our travelers are home! Almost half our family was scattered around various parts of California for the last several weeks (Nathan: Southern CA; Dad: Northern CA; Mom, Ben, Sarah: Southern, Northern and Central CA). The other section of Servens held down the Missouri fort. We are so thankful to the Lord that he has brought everyone safely home.

Monday will see us leaving for a short trip up to Chicago and the Erber Family. We are excited to be able to join with them in singing the Messiah. Complete with full orchestra, soloists and a foreign conductor, the evening at the Opera House should be a night to remember.

In preparation for the Messiah Sing along, I've been reading a book titled: Messiah! A New Look at the Composer, the Music and the Message. The first half of the book gives a good overview of Handel's life through the lens of a biblical world view. This is rare when reading other biographies of Christian musicians. Many times the biographer, a secularist at heart, will distort the life and message of the composer, twisting it to communicate a dark vision. Not so with author N. A. Woychuk. He writes an engaging biography of G. F. Handel true to his trust in the Savior. The second half of the book Messiah goes through the scriptures that Charles Jennens assembled as the text for Handel's Messiah. Each of the scriptures are explained from a biblical viewpoint and then notes are made on the composition of the music.

Everyone always touts the Hallelujah Chorus as the high water mark of the Messiah. While it is true that this is the most recognized chorus of Handel's work, most people have an inaccurate picture of what we are "Hallelujah-ing" about. If you look at the sequence of the verses from "Part the Second" in the Messiah you will see a fascinating occurrence. We are saying Hallelujah to the Lord because he has defeated the wicked kings and nations of the earth and has established himself as the sovereign Lord over all.

Here is a little context from the verses immediately previous to the Hallelujah Chorus. Notice the imprecatory nature of the meditations:

• Why do the nations so furiously rage together? Why do the peoples imagine a vain thing? The Kings of the earth rise up, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His anointed.
  
• Let us break their bonds asunder, and cast away their yokes from us.
  
• He that dwelleth in Heaven shall laugh them to scorn, the Lord shall have them in derision.
  
• Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, Thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potters vessel.
  
• Hallelujah! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. The Kingdom of this world is become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. And He shall reign forever and ever. King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Hallelujah!

It is no coincidence that the kings of this earth traditionally lead the people to stand at attention during the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. The first kings and queens who rose no doubt were acknowledging God's sovereignty over themselves and the country they served. Do you think nowadays presidents and kings understand what they are doing?

The King of Kings does reign over the nations of the earth and in the hearts of His people. What a wonder it is that he came to earth incarnated as a baby, not only live a perfect life but die a perfect death and be raised up into glory all on behalf of his beloved people. Thanks be to God for this gift indescribable.

A Wedding

Over the years we have had the privilege of witnessing many weddings. Each solemn and binding covenant is beautiful to behold: a man and woman who unite together, purposing to serve one another in the bonds of sacrificial love. After the vows are taken, it is even more precious to witness the lifelong fruit from the marriage. Through good times and bad, husband and wife remain in constancy walking alongside each other always by God's grace.

There is one wedding we wish we could have attended. But in God's providence it was impossible.

We children feel like we were witnesses as the strains of triumphant organ music greeted the people. We've heard the stories about the last minute preparations and miniature catastrophes so common on wedding days. We've met the people who attended the wedding. We've seen the pictures of the glorious bride and groom. We've heard the sermon that was preached and the songs that were sung. We've even smelled the musty fragrance of the corsage and boutonniere that long ago bedecked the happy couple.

But even though we never attended the wedding, we are fruit from it.

Twenty-six years ago today Marcus Serven and Cheryl Macfarlane were united togetherin covenant marriage. Through the years they have been a picture to us children of faithful love that persistently encourages one another, working together in a common vision for God's glory.

Hearing the story of how God drew our father and mother together gives us children confidence. The Lord brought our parents together to be our parents and not anyone else's. He knew exactly who would excel to train us in righteousness. We joyfully watch for God's sovereign wisdom as we contemplate our future spouses. God has already chosen who will be the mothers and fathers of our dear children. He even knows who will be the spouses of our descendants. Over the years, we have learned to trust God more and more as we see His perfect love in giving us these parents. We know He will do the same for our children.

We have a goodly inheritance. We are blessed this day by our father and mother's love and commitment. Just as our parents have been to us, we children pray that we would be a true and faithful example of Christ and the church to our children, grandchildren, yea even to a thousand generations.

We truly rise up calling them blessed.

"Love suffers long and is kind;
Love does not envy;
Love does not parade itself,
is not puffed up;
Does now behave rudely,
Does not seek it's own,
Is not provoked,
Thinks no evil;
Does not rejoice in iniquity,
But rejoices in the truth;
Bears all things,
Believes all things,
Hopes all things,
Endures all things.
Love never fails . . ."

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Wisdom from the Puritans

"How do we know when we have forgiven another?"

"When we resist all thoughts of revenge; when we will not do our enemy mischief, but wish well to them, grieve at their calamities, pray for them, seek reconciliation with them, and show ourselves ready on all occasions to come to their aid in distress . . . . We are not bound to trust an enemy; but we are bound to forgive him."

Thomas Watson, Body of Divinity (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust) 581.

Proverbs 19:11

"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,

And his glory is to overlook a transgression. "

The Nine Days of Feasting

We are about to enter a very special time in the life of the Serven Clan. For two and a half weeks in our immediate family, we have nine separate and distinct joyous occasions.

• One anniversary
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas Day
• Four birthdays
• New Years Eve
• New Years Day

Each of these days, though not more "holy" than any other day of the year, are days special to our family. These are days of thankfulness, feasting and celebration as we praise God for His providences in our lives.

And just like in your family, each day has it's own traditions and festivities. Music is an important part of our Nine Days of Feasting. We dug out our old record player and have been enjoying the scratchy music of our great-grandparents, grand-parents and parents. Some of us kids are also old enough to remember life before CDs.

During the Nine Days of Feasting we also enjoy making our own music. We love to break out our instruments to play or lift our voices as we sing Christmas Carols, goofy songs, Hymns, and Psalms--all things to God's glory.

If you need some help learning to sing 4 part harmony for the Psalms or if you have your own variation of the "Nine Days of Feasting" at your house and you are looking for that perfect gift, consider these teaching CDs available from www.genevanfoundation.com

O Sing A New Psalm

Songs of the Remnant

P. S. If you want to receive your CDs before Christmas, make sure to place your order on or before December 17th!!

Operation Orange: The Victor Writes the Histories

Since this post is about what I have been doing in CA, I thought I might as well write and give, from my perspective, what has gone on. As indicated in the title of this post, you will probably not hear this spin anywhere else. Yet I beleve it is true. In summation, this election was decided in favor of John Campbell one month ago when the majority of the absentees ballots were cast.

Regretfully, as a campaign, we had neither the volunteer base or the
resources to effectively get our message to the absentee voters in
time. This was clearly seen in the fact that the Republican garnered
53% of the absentee vote. However, on the actual day of the election,
Jim received 35% of the vote, the highest voter percentages of the
day.

The message of this election is as follows. Third Party candidates can
win, but not without the early support of an excellent campaign staff,
rabidly dedicated volunteers and donors who are able to assist
financially early in the campaign process. Donations that come late
in the process are of course very helpful. While I do not
agree that "money equals speech" I do believe that "money equals the
ability to speak". Money is the key that opens the door to the ears
of the constituency. It allows you to put your message in the press,
in the mail, on the air. This fact was very clearly demonstrated and
it is a lesson that I hope is not lost on those in the principled
politics movement.

Those of us who fancy ourselves apart of the remnant must realize
that we are a rag tag band of brothers and we must be willing to
support each other. This of course extends to all areas of life, not
just politics. We must seek a spirit of cooperation among those who
would like to see this nation reformed. As with the original 13
colonies, we will stand or fall together. Whatever your opinion is
of our founders or their various states of spiritual awareness, what
Ben Franklin said is very apropos in this situation "we must all hang
together, or we shall certainly all hang separately"

That's all for now, I look forward to speaking to you all in person.

For the Cause,
Nathan Serven

P.S. If you are interested, Rebecca was kind enough to list the final
polling numbers below.

Registration and Turnout
Completed Precincts: 268 of 268
Reg/Turnout / Percentage
Total Registered Voters 405655
Precinct Registration 405655
Precinct Ballots Cast 34844 8.6%
Early Ballots Cast 28 0.0%
Absentee Ballots Cast 58266 14.4%
Total Ballots Cast 93138 23.0%

United States Representative 48th District
Vote Count/Percentage
JOHN CAMPBELL (REP) 41450 44.7%
STEVE YOUNG (DEM) 25926 28.0%
JIM GILCHRIST (AI) 23237 25.1%
BEA TIRITILLI (GRN) 1242 1.3%
BRUCE COHEN (LIB) 880 0.9%

A Faithful Church Body

From faithful orthodoxy every week in the pulpit to faithful orthopraxy serving one another and the Lord, our church exemplifies the desire to glorify God in all aspects of life.

Just a week ago we saw a visual manifestation of love between the brethren as the men of the church gathered to do an "Old Fashioned House Raising" on the Grants new/old home.


Mr. Grant giving instructions.


Pastor Serven and Mr. Munoz.


Prepping the foundation.


More preparation with fathers and sons.


Mr. Hamman and Mr. Schwarb.


Josh Ritter working on the wall.


Raising the walls.

Besides the main task of putting up the walls on the two story addition, there was plenty of work to do in other parts of the dwelling.


Mr. LaMotte and David Fry installing bathtub.


Out on the roof!


Pastor Wightman prepares to tackle the siding.

Operation Orange: 7:30 PM

"The election is decided!! We just don't yet know what that decision is.

"I am at my apartment preparing for tonight's election party for Jim Gilchrist. There will be a bunch of people, probably several hundred of Jim's supporters. There will be lots of talking, lots of news cameras from all the major networks, lots of news reporters from Routers and the Associated Press.

"My role tonight is to serve as Mr. Gilchrist's quasi-bodyguard, black suit and all--to protect him from adoring fans who want his autograph, media people and the like.

"We will not know the results for sure until probably 10:30PM PST . . . unless it's a nail-biter; then it might be a little later. We will all find out at the party for sure. I'm sure the absentees are being counted just not yet reported. You can watch the results here as soon as the numbers start coming in (after 8:00 PM).

"The future is coming whether we are ready or not."

- Nathan Serven

Operation Orange: 4:30 PM

"Jim Gilchrist had a good interview with Lou Dobbs from CNN. Lots of media running around. "

- Nathan Serven

You might find this article from California Conservative interesting.

Operation Orange: 11:50 AM

"Entering data information on undecided voters. We are setting up an "Auto-Dial" to 4000 people, reminding them to vote. We also have a bunch of volunteers in the office calling undecided voters and trying to sway them to vote for Jim Gilchrist.

"CNN has a truck out front. Lou Dobbs is following Mr. Gilchrist's story.

"Sherriff Deputy Hansen just came by to meet Jim. We gave him a signed hat, bumper stickers and introduced him to Mr. Gilchrist.

"It's a busy day."

- Nathan Serven

Operation Orange: 9:45 AM

"Things are going well for Jim Gilchrist. Tons of news opportunities with CNN, NBC, FOX, etc. We are getting ready to do a piece for GeoTV with a 'get out the vote' type release. People are e-mailing tons of spam, viruses . . . and other nasty stuff. We are gearing up for a great day."

- Nathan Serven

Operation Orange: Eve of the Election

Jim Gilchrist's office feels optimistic this night before the December 6th election. In contrast Campbell and his supporters are dubious about securing the victory. Gilchrist's staff will be working hard over the next day, continuing to phone and encourage people to vote their conscience. Jim remains in good spirits and excited to see what tomorrow will bring. Gilchrist is expected to receive a substantial size of the votes.

Check back tomorrow for updates throughout the election day from our special correspondent and staff member, Nathan Serven.

Snow!!! . . . ?

As a few solitary flakes of snow drifted down to the ground last week, everyone in the Serven home was jumping, laughing and rejoicing. Our first snow!!! Although those of you from the midwest may scoff at our sillyness, for Californians, this is something you just don't see every day.


Baptized into the Midwest by sprinkling.


Our house looking cold.


Some excited littlies*.


This, kids, is snow.

*The Kiwi term for children--Hello Smith family! : )

Operation Orange: Election in View

December 6th is approaching fast. The crescendo of work continues until the definitive climax--we just don't yet know what the voter's answer will be. We trust in God's sovereignty for the outcome of this election. He already knows what will happen 3 days from now, 3 years from now and even 3 centuries from now.

Nathan has enjoyed his time spent in California working on Jim Gilchrist's campaign. This 7 week opportunity has afforded him times to serve coordinating information and people as they have staged a massive appeal to the residents of Orange County. We attempted to have Nathan himself give you all an update via this blog . . . but time is too full for him to do any writing. : )

Some friends of Nathan's have put up some excellent posts on the subject:
CS Hayden
Matt Chancey

Also listen to a fascinating audio sound-bite from NPR in Los Angeles CA.

Happy Birthday to Sarah!

Lourdes fixing Sarah's hair in a special birthday style

While we were in Texas a few weeks ago, we celebrated Sarah's 13th birthday. Sarah is growing into a young woman. Her artistic touches around the home and kind smiles to everyone are wonderful to see. We thank God for blessing our family with this dear girl.


What a fun privlege to celebrate Sarah's birthday with the dear Torres family.

Humbled - Rebecca

Last night made me squirm.

Mom, Lydia and I had traveled to observe a highly recommended violin teacher. After watching the excellent group lesson of 9-10 skillful children, there was opportunity to meet the teacher.

"Hi! You must be Rebecca Serven", the friendly teacher said as he greeted my mom.

"Oh--no, that is my daughter", Mom responded pointing to me. "I'm just the mom--she is the musician. That's why she would be coming to the lessons with Lydia."

"So, do you play the violin?" the teacher asked, turning his attention to me.

"No, not really. The piano is my main instrument", I answered.

"And where have you played?"

I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach and turned beet red. He was looking for "Carnegie Hall", "The Hollywood Bowl", or "with the St. Louis Philharmonic".

"Uh . . ." I stumbled and tried to prove my musical existence. "Well, I haven't really done that kind of playing . . .(racking my brain--Where have I played over these last 18 years that sounds somewhat credible??)."

I finally stuttered, "I did work as the pianist for our, uh, local High School and Jr. Highs. And I've taught piano lessons for 10 years!"

Sigh.

Even as I write this story out, those same feelings of inferiority creep in. In these times, it is very easy to feel like a smooshed piece of food on the bottom of someone's shoe.

After the conversation though, I started thinking.

I am full of pride. I don't want to be humbled. I want to be the top, prove I'm the best, and be praised for it. My flesh wants to say with affected humility, "Well, I've only played at the Carnegie once or twice."

Musicians, myself included, can easily fall into the "I'm-the-best-and-I-can-prove-it" trap. And it is encouraged in the musical community. Now I must give a caveat here--the teacher with whom I spoke is a genuine, unassuming man who is excellent at his craft. He was merely asking a question that would be polite to ask any aspiring musician of my age. I am criticizing my own propensity to pridefulness.

But then, I realized that I forgot to tell the teacher something.

In the quickness of the moment and wanting to give credibility to myself, I forgot the best part. I've played lots of places. I've played for precious little munchkins, my sweet and affirming family, my dear students, my generous friends and the holy King of Kings. What more could you ask for in an audience?

Sure, the setting has not always been grand, nor the pianos in tune. But I must be confident. Not in name dropping or false boasting, but in humility know that my feeble attempts please the Almighty and Glorious King of Kings. We are called to be humble and joyful in God, who graciously chooses to use His servants for His glory.

James 3:13-17
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy, and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.