Landon's first time to roll over!!!

C'mon guys...do I really have to wear this?

Landon in da hoooooooood!!!

We see this face regularly...he's a happy baby!

Landon's back...back again...look who's back...tell a friend!

Landon had fun being adorned in Tigger gear for Halloween! It was 80 degrees so he didn't stay in it for long!

Landon has conquered his new feat!

Early potty training!

Landon's a droolin' fool!

This is Landon's first fall pictures with his mommy and daddy!

LOSS

Yesterday, my aunt passed away after a long and grueling battle with cancer. My husband came walking in right after I had fed my newborn son and was changing him. With a diaper in one hand and diaper rash ointment in the other, I crumpled unto the bed as he told me that my mother had been trying to reach me to tell me she had passed away that morning.
It's impossible to grieve without that grief bleeding over into the many "what ifs?"
When I was little and could not sleep at night, I would find my mind wandering to the thought of losing someone I love. I would lay there in bed and literally cry myself to sleep. Now that I am grown, the fear is the same. I would say it is my greatest fear. I look at my precious husband and wonder how I could live without him. I gaze into my son's precious face, and know that I would die for him. It seems the more I love, the more I fear losing that which I love. The ferocity of loving someone deeply brings with it the idea of loss. Loss is always a quiet set of waves licking at my ankles. A constant reminder that there is nothing constant about life. I cannot make this world my home. I cannot drop anchor and think this is all there is. This is all that I am created for. I was created for the constancy of Eden. I am reminded of God's order to the nation of Israel while they are in exile. In Jeremiah 29, He tells them to build homes, plant gardens, marry, and have children. In other words, put down roots even though your life is a fleeting thought. And if putting down roots brings with it the fear that those roots will be torn prematurely from the soil, well, I guess that's the whole point of believing in an eternal saviour.


You were born in the summer of loss
The summer our dogs died
And floods swept over our state
We drove you home in a monsoon
And then my aunt released herself
to the cancer that had been waging war
against her body

I held you
Trying to hold you against the tears
Against the pain
Falling into a pool of grief
And seeing your eyes watching me
Realizing I cannot hold anything
I cannot keep mortality at bay
The beauty of you
And I cannot control life

I can only long for heaven
To realize I am not made for this side of life
You are mine but not mine
I am yours but not yours
You were born in the summer of loss
but as we drove you home
my old tires hydroplaning against gathering puddles
I saw a rainbow
and was reminded that death has been conquered
And that you
My precious son
That is what you were born into

Written by Courtney Tate

C'mon mommy...no time for pictures. I'm trying to sleep!

Zoe thinks Landon is her new little puppy! She checks on him all the time.

The Heart of Chronicles

I've been reading in 2 Chronicles in my personal time and I've been struck by the number of times the writer uses references to the heart. When you think of Chronicles, most of us yawn...it sounds like a huge room full of file cabinets with some personality-free individual "chronicling" large manila envelopes. But when you read Chronicles, I'm struck at how much like Vh-1's Behind the Music this book is. On that show, every person seems to have the same story...immense success...success goes to their head...they get into drugs...career spirals downward. In many ways the kings in 2 Chronicles have similar stories...rise to power...power goes to their head...turn from God...God judges them...career spirals downward. But the one thing that separates these kings from one another is the state of each man's heart.

I'm especially touched by the story of Hezekiah in chapter 32 and how God intervened in the nation of Judah. But in verse 31 it says that God left Hezekiah alone to test him, that He (God) might know all that was in his heart. There's a similar situation in Deut. 8 where God reveals that He has been testing the Israelites to see what's in their hearts. It struck me that God can't really reveal what's in our hearts without putting us through some kind of trial. This morning I led a Bible study in Mark 5 with my small group guys...and we've been looking over the story of Jesus casting demons out of crazy man. But Jesus doesn't stop there...He sends the demons into some pigs that run off a cliff and drown. So we have a farmer who just lost his livelihood to Jesus...what do we make of this? Well, the townspeople gather around and determine that Jesus "ain't wanted around these parts". I have to ask the question, why did Jesus do this? Why couldn't he just send the demons somewhere else...why did He have to send the demons into some pigs and destroy one man's bank account? Why did he inconvenience this man? Well, I think He did it for the same reason he inconvenienced the Israelites in the wilderness and the same reason he left Hezekiah to himself in Chronicles...He did it to expose the hearts of the people. They'd rather keep their pigs than celebrate in the joy of a tormented man being redeemed. This is the time that our hearts are truly exposed for what they really are...when God inconveniences us...and we want to focus on fixing the inconvenience, instead of letting God fix our hearts.

This is truly an "inconvenient truth".

Super Bowl Bias

I am forced to confront my own Super Bowl bias. I am one of those people who thought that the Colts were more deserving to win the Super Bowl based on their quarterback alone... never mind the rest of the team. I just can't justify Rex Grossman winning a Super Bowl over Peyton Manning. It smacks of Trent Dilfer. C'mon!! Dilfer won a Super Bowl...and Marino didn't?? It doesn't seem right. I had to pull for Peyton. There is tremendous irony here though...in the ultimate team game, the quarterback position still stands above the rest. I would have no problem with a team winning a championship with a bad defense, bad offensive line, bad receivers or a bad running back. But I can't tolerate a team winning a Super Bowl with a bad quarterback. Don't blame it on me...blame it on the game.

Overflow

Welcome to our new blog...overflow...the high school ministry of Temple Bible Church. My hope is that this will allow some of us to stay connected during the week...going beyond our "programs". I'll post thoughts here about our ministry, and some pics too! For example, if I had a picture of someone on our ski trip being pushed across a grocery store parking lot in a shopping cart directly into a snowbank...I would definitely post that here. I'll also be posting thoughts on faith and what God is doing in me personally...and just other general stuff...I don't know....I'm new at this blogging thing, man. Please, I invite your input and comments. What is up with your life?

My wifey, Courtney and I are expecting our first baby in July. Any name suggestions?