Advent Conspiracy

I saw Christmas lights last night! Already! Which got me thinking of a movement I really like called Advent Conspiracy. Check out one of their previous promo videos above. Christmas can still change the world!

If you or your family are looking for some creative and practical ways to bless people around the world this Christmas, check out World Vision Gifts site or the Vox United site. Or, just look around you!

No Doe (or Buck)

I got a chance to get away this past Monday afternoon through Wednesday night for some bowhunting. I spent a couple nights up north bunking with my brother Dave in Falmouth and getting some hunting/woods time in with my dad. It was my first time getting out in the woods with a bow this year! Saw some deer (nothing to shoot at). Good times, though.

Jacee

We noticed this last spring, but a picture of Jacee continues to be the first picture in a series of scrolling banner pictures on the Holland Christian Schools website. Even her brother thinks that is pretty cool!

World Vision Experience: AIDS

This morning Steve took our church staff to Fair Haven Ministries in Hudsonville where we participated in the World Vision Experience: AIDS. It was really well done! A powerful experience! It's a huge visual exhibit with rooms and corridors that you journey through individually. You are given a digital audio player and you become one of four African children. The audio guides you through the exhibit using props and photos as you experience life through the eyes of your child (the stories are true stories of real children in Africa).

There is no cost to go through the experience. The World Vision Experience: AIDS will be at Fair Haven from November 1 to November 8, from 10 AM to 8 PM daily. You can see a photo of the exhibit on the Fair Haven web page.

Or, you can check it out at the World Vision Experience: AIDS webpage here.

I went through the experience as Mathabo.

Trick or Treat!

Magglio Ordonez (with short, blond hair), an infantry trooper and Pippy Long Stocking.

This Year's Pumpkins

Lego Table!

Our friend Bryan helped me build a new Lego Table for the kids (I say "helped" loosely, as Bryan built the whole thing - I just painted it and glued the top on!). The kids LOVE it. It's already full of creative lego projects!

Fall Pics

Instead of paying for school pictures each year, Tori takes her own with our little 5 megapixel point-n-shoot camera, gets wallet-size made and gives them to the kids to "trade" at school. Here's some of the ones she took this year. I know it's cliche, but holy cow - "they're growing up FAST!"

Jack-O-Window!

My wife Tori is AMAZINGLY CREATIVE (and also just amazing). She sees stuff in magazines, then a day later I see it in my house. She can make anything! So the other day I get a call and she asks me to pick up 5 pieces of black poster board on my way home. I assume it is for the kids. But then I drive home the next day and see that Levi's windows have been transformed into a giant jack-o-lantern! Amazing what a little tissue paper and poster board can become!

Simple + Intentional + Ongoing = IMPACT!

Catalyst 2009 Compassion Moment from Catalyst on Vimeo.

My buddy Dave turned me on to this video. I've watched it a few times now (though not without crying!). POWERFUL! The context for the video is a church leader conference called Catalyst. The first few minutes of the video are some of the conference leaders sharing, then a Compassion International “commercial” then you get to the powerful part.

To me this was a great reminder that simple, intentional and continued expressions of love can/will have powerful kingdom ripples! Be compassionate to people who need it!

Dude Perfect

Check out more at www.dudeperfect.com!

Father / Daughter

Just ordered tickets for Jacee and I to attend Winning at Home's annual "Father / Daughter Winter Ball" happening on Friday, December 4. Now as long as Jacee doesn't read this it will be a surprise (like she would read her dad's blog - boring!).