Lowe Tribe

Do you remember the days when you went to VBS?  I remember some of them…I remember raising money for the missionaries (it was the boys against the girls) and the winning group being able to watch the leader of the opposing group get honey dumped all over them.  There are a few more faint memories that I’m sure are floating around in there, but I never have been one to be good about remembering stuff.  Well this week Olivia participated in VBS at our church here in Grand Ledge and had a good time singing, playing games, listening to Bible stories and interacting with other children.  The theme was “Heroes” and so on the last day they brought in police officers and vehicles, a helicopter, firefighters and their truck and an ambulance among other things.  There were also bouncy houses, and a bouncy slide along with free root beer floats and hot dogs….and I thought that the honey thing was cool.

Pictured are Jonathan, Priscilla (our neighbor), Olivia and Ayla in the bouncy house.

Where’s Waldo?

Of course Jonathan started yanking on the joy stick as soon as he got into the helicopter.

Every day I pray, but there are only a few things that I pray for daily.  That God would grant my children repentance leading to salvation is at the top of that short list.  I am blessed to be a father that had a father who prayed for me as well.  One of the things that I am coming to realize more each year is the GREAT blessing that it is to have been raised by a father who seeks after God.  While some people are struggling with the curses of generational godlessness, I and my siblings have had the equivalent of what the Old Testament Jews experienced by being born into a Jewish household that feared God and followed his law.  I pray that the solid foundation that my father laid for me would be something that I lay out for my children and maybe even build upon as God grants me wisdom.  Thanks dad, for being faithful and for challenging me to be faithful.

A father and his sons

I was able to grill some steaks for Father’s day before going and playing some golf with dad, Ben and Micah.

Kimberly made some homemade bread to go along with the steak, beans and applesauce.  I have to say it was REALLY good but a little much as I had to rush off to play golf.

It’s been almost a month now, but I thought that I should say something about turning 28 because it’s so….old.  I used to enjoy the joint birthday parties that Simeon and I would have only a day after my 35 yr. old brother Matt  (Simeon and I were born on the same day five years apart and Matt the day before us but seven years before me).  Now since we’re all split up it’s still enjoyable because I get to spend it with my wife and kids, but it definitely has changed.  This year was pretty low key….I framed all day in Ann Arbor and then came home to a delicious home cooked meal from my beautiful wife and a chorus of “Daddy is the king!, Daddy is the king!” from my kids as I walked through the door. Afterword we had cake and opened presents and then my mom dropped by to say happy birthday and give me a present.

The kids were ready and waiting for me when I walked in the door.

After dinner we had cheesecake that Kimberly had made

One of my presents was books…something that I have come to love in the past few years.

On another note, our little curly locks has gone to something a little bit more masculine…it was just time.

Before

After

It has been said that two are better than one, but I say unto you that MANY are better than two.  At least that is what my parents philosophy has been.  Last year while we were in Bolivia my family had a memorial day weekend get-away at a lake up north.  This year we decided (mostly because Kimberly and I are too cheap) to do something similar but instead of spending the money on a cabin/house up north to just make it a fun time at my parents house.  We took Fri-Sunday and spent the time swimming, going to the Detroit zoo, participating in quad “time trials”, canoeing and just hanging out.  It was a lot of fun and exhausting at the same time. 

Simeon and Michelle show a lot of team work to get the hot dogs cooked

The zoo was fun, but I think next time we decided that Potter’s Park here in Lansing would be enough.

Tim and Simeon came up with the family T-Shirts…across the bottom it says,”Lowe Family….multiplying since 1979″

Jonathan enjoys some of the sights of the zoo

Tim shows Jonathan one of the animals…Jonathan being the baby of the family at the moment gets tons of attention…that’s going to change in the next few months as both Ann and Becky are pregnant.

We had plenty of time to cool off in the pool and a beautiful weekend to do it.  Kimberly’s brother Jason and his two boys were able to come over for a few hours and join us around the pool…Jason even got in on our quad time trials.=)

While most of us were gone canoeing, my mom and Kimberly stayed with the little kids and had some fun on the slip & slide.

Not sure what this game is but I’m pretty sure it looks like some sort of Voodoo the girls learned in Bolivia…we’ll have to discuss this one.

Topping everything off with ice cream is the perfect end to an enjoyable and blessed weekend.

This year on Easter we had a Seder at my parents house as a way to remember how God had triumphed throughout history and ultimately how he overcame sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Although we do not have a Jewish heritage, we are part of true Israel (Rom 11) and partake in the blessings that are being and will be bestowed upon the adopted sons and daughters of God, namely, the remnant chosen by grace (Rom 11:5).  Whatever your view of Israel and the church, one thing is certain, those who have been called and chosen by God are fellow heirs with Christ  because of his great love.  I know that Easter has come and gone, but the sweet aroma of what has been accomplished has lingered throughout history and will for all of eternity.  So remember with me today, and reflect on the significance of what it means to live THIS MOMENT for our risen Lord and Savior.

We read through a booklet that led us in how to perform a Seder.

Each food was representative of something that we were to remember

I’m not sure what Olivia is holding here, but I think it’s a lady bug…the girls were trying to domesticate lady bugs on Easter since they don’t have any real pets.

We were trying to get all three kids together to take their picture on Easter, but as you can see Jonathan doesn’t like to sit still for two seconds…I think this is the best picture we got.

I’m just now getting around to blogging about things that happened a month ago, but it’s just been one of those months.  Mid April saw Dad, Tim, Ben and I take a few days out of our work weeks, along with about 7,000 other people, to drive down to a pastor’s conference in Louisville, Kentucky.  It was something that Matt had originally invited me to but he had to withdraw when he had his fourth brain surgery (wimp) just a week or so before the conference.  We all were wishing he was there, but had a great time anyway.  Among the featured speakers were John Piper, Al Mohler, R.C. Sproul, C.J. Mahaney and John MacArthur.  I really did enjoy the conference, but more than that I enjoyed the conversation that it inspired among us and the time that we were able to spend together.  Another bonus is that each of us came away with twenty new books…I should be set for more than the two year period before we go again in 2012.

This was the theme of the conference.

There were three times I believe when some of the speakers came together to answer questions or discuss a specific topic as a panel.

Many of those who attended were pastors but there were plenty of people like us who are just every day lay folk.

Surprisingly enough none of us were asked to speak…

This past Tuesday I received a call at work from my wife who had obviously been greatly upset by something…the problem was that I couldn’t understand her as she recounted to me what had just happened.  After taking some deep breaths and calming down she was able relay the afternoons events to me although through tears.  She had been over at my parents house visiting with my mom and watching the kids as they played nearby outside.  After a few minutes she realized that Jonathan was nowhere in sight and politely excused herself from the conversation to look for him.  As she scanned the yard she realized that the pool gate was standing open…immediately her heart began to pound and she made a beeline for the pool.  As she ran she spotted the girls standing by the pool staring into it.  In an instant she was inside the gate and witnessed a mother’s worst nightmare…our seventeen-month-old face down in the middle of the pool kicking and struggling.  She dove into the cold water and came up with Jonathan in her arms…instantly he began to cry.  “Thank you Jesus!, Thank you Jesus!” Kimberly said as she realized that he was going to be okay.

It was a sobering, eye opening experience that once again reminded us of how fragile and uncertain life can be.  We are so thankful to God that he saw fit to have grace on us and to spare little Jonathan’s life at this time.  It’s times like these that show us how we can take for granted the things (even children) that we become accustomed to being around day in and day out.   Since Tuesday Jonathan has been doted over and held and kissed even MORE than before.

I know the curls are deceiving but yes he is a boy.

Number 5:

Anyone who knows me knows that I have a little bit of a competitive streak.  In fact, my competitive nature has often been my downfall.  Competition can bring out the best in an individual, but it can also bring out the worst and I fear that it has more often been the latter which has been brought out in my case.  I love competing (and I love that I will compete vicariously thorough Jonathan once he is of age=), but the older I get the more I realize that competition should be something that we are able to do all the while maintaining a God-centered attitude.    Even this past week while playing pickup-basketball I fell into the trap and got caught up in the game.  I failed to show love to those who I was playing against and it was too late when I realized that my attitude wasn’t in the right place and I was no longer focused on enjoying the game and shining Christ.  I believe that competition can be enjoyable and contribute to a healthy lifestyle, but when I compete with the ultimate goal of winning, it becomes about me and my pride.  One thing that helps me as I go into a situation that is going to be competitive is to be in continual prayer and focus on God and what my motives should be for playing.  This is often a challenge during the game, but something that should be done none the less.   So next time you see me at Olivia’s 4-5 yr. old soccer game and I’m screaming at the ref to give Jimmy a red card, you might want to remind me that my focus might not be in the right place.

I realized that some of you may not have been recently updated on how Ayla is doing now that we are back in the States.  Ayla is doing so much better and has been diarrhea free for the first time in 2 years.  It has been a huge relief for us as parents and we are glad to see her doing so well.  She is on a special diet which she was on before we left Bolivia but we are finally seeing such a positive change in many areas of her health.  We also started having health issues with baby Jonathan about 2 months before leaving  Bolivia but he is doing well on a gluten free diet.  It is amazing to me as a mother to see how much health or the health of our children can affect our moods and stress levels.  I pray and hope to someday be more like Job in my faith even in the middle of great suffering.  I pray that I can boldly speak in faith, “thy will be done” in every circumstance.  That is not to say that I am not praising Him for healing our daughter! Good health is an amazing blessing that I hope never to take for granted again!