50 Great Recipe Ideas Using A Can Of Pumpkin

Click here for some great ideas!  Let us know if you hit on a good one!

10 Things To Ask Your Kids After School

Here are some ideas to get the conversation started from Scholastic.com. 

Tell me about the best part of your day.

What was the hardest thing you had to do today?

Did any of your classmates do anything funny?

Tell me about what you read in class.

Who did you play with today? What did you play?

Do you think math [or any subject] is too easy or too hard?

What's the biggest difference between this year and last year?

What rules are different at school than our rules at home? Do you think they're fair?

Who did you sit with at lunch?

Can you show me something you learned (or did) today?

God's Creation Is Perfect

My wife and I were married in 1995 (I checked the date just to make sure!).  We went to Vegas for our honeymoon. While we were there, we ran into the coolest photo booth. It allowed you to morph photos of two faces. The computer then merged them together into a separate photo to see the “morph”. One of these morphs allowed you to see what a child might look like from the two images that combined. Being newlyweds we thought, “What great fun! Let’s pop a few bucks in the machine and see what our child will look like!"  This was revolutionary technology, right before Photoshop and the PC craze started to take hold. Above is the image - our “morph” if you would like to call it that.

I haven’t seen it in a while and just sort of stumbled on it this past week. What dawned on me today was how much I love own my daughter. I love her beauty, her spirit, her stubbornness, her playfulness, her love for animals, and her love of life. She is seven…about the same age as the little girl in the picture you see above. He knew the perfect creation to bless us with. One that continues to blossom, to grow and question the world around her. May I say this: God did a way better job at creating my daughter than any computer could ever possibly do!  Here is a picture of Lindsey and my son Brady.

Blessings,

Jack

LOST. The Jack Version (Not the TV show)

Here’s the thing, I can’t find my way out of a paper bag. It’s been this way all of my life. The ironic thing is that my Grandfather and my Uncle drove a truck all over the country. They drove the big rigs without any stinking GPS! Speaking of GPS devices, I happen to love mine. It has changed my life! My father is the same as me, directionally challenged. It’s comic, it’s tragic…it stinks.

Now I know there are those of you that say, “Hey, just pull over and ask for directions”. No, No. I’m sorry I just can’t do that. As a man, I shouldn’t even have to explain why this is not possible. I did find something that I found interesting, EHow.com had suggestions on how to develop a sense of direction. The first step was to know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Okay, got it. I just have to figure out which way is east. How do you get your bearings without GPS, map etc?

Meanwhile, check out the article I discovered on gaining a sense of direction here.

Blessings,


Jack

The Lawn Whisperer

I love grass. I love growing it, mowing it, aerating it, de-thatching it, fertilizing it. I love the smell of a new garden hose. I love evaluating sprinklers and their spray patterns, reach and gallons per minute.

Now, my dad was not a passionate person when it came to lawn care. So, I realize that I may be making up for lost time in this area of my life. That said, there is simply something to be said for great looking grass and perfect edging. I’ll tell you a little secret. Women size each other up upon first meeting each other…clothing, hair makeup. Say what you want. I know it happens. For men, we size each other’s lawns up. It’s an unspoken phenomenon.

There is a certain “code of conduct”, if you will, among those who value the fescue. One critical point is about commenting on another mans lawn: Never offer criticism on another guy’s lawn. I have suffered from lawn envy early in home ownership and trust me I knew I didn’t measure up. The last thing I needed was some grass seed slinging smart guy telling me how I should toughen up my turf. I am proud to say those days are long gone now. I have an emotional connection and investment with the grass. It starts with selecting the perfect seed right through to the weed and feed.

I am the lawn whisperer.

I leave you with this tip. NEVER, NEVER, NEVER WATER YOUR GRASS IN THE AFTERNOON. You will literally boil your grass. Do it in the morning before the soil heats up. Don't do it in the evening either. That is like putting your lawn to bed with wet feet.

There is a manicured lawn man in all of us. If you listen closely you can hear your lawn calling to you “love me, weed me, feed me." I urge you answer that call.


--Jack

Am I A "Jerky Christian?"

I’m a Christian, and sometimes I’m a jerk. There. I’ve said it. Those who know me well know this to be true...sometimes. I’ve been thinking about a post on CNN’s website that I saw by Jonathan Acuff, who writes the blog www.stuffchristianslike.net and recently released the book "Stuff Christians Like." He talks about how bitter we Christians are online. We are the first to shoot our wounded and the first to correct our brother…through Christ, of course. In other words, there are some of us who are jerks online but show a different face to the rest of the world

I’ve heard it said that real life is offline. This is true. Yet, with social media, it’s so easy to do what I like to call a “hit and run,” which for me, is a snarky little comment on a Facebook post, news story, etc. I’m pretty sure Jesus would like me to represent myself the same online, at work, and with my family. There are days that I am better at this than others.

In John 13:34-35 Jesus says: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Love God, love people. It’s pretty simple, right? Not for me! I remember, my pastor describing Church as a giant table where we are all trying to be fed. Sometimes, we bump elbows with each other and they are jerks. We bump into them and we become jerks. The fact is, we all fall short of the glory of God. Am I the same Christian on Wednesday as I am Sunday at 11 A.M.? Not always. Often, I have to make the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

I have to remember people are watching me. I have to remember the thing that turned me off of Christianity before I became a Christian was the hypocrisy I saw. I have to remember not to be a jerk today.

Check out Jonathan’s post here. Let me know what you think.


--Jack

This Life is Just a Dress Rehearsal

I've been pondering an e-mail one of our account executives sent me. This is a portion of an interview with Rick Warren by Paul Bradshaw. I want to share a portion of it with you.

In the interview, Rick Warren said:

"People ask me, 'What is the purpose of life?' I respond: 'In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body-- but not the end of me.

I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.

Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.

We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer.

I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore.

Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life.

No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.'"


-------------

What a novel concept. Think of someone else instead of me! It's funny. If I look at the people in my small group, where I work, or my neighbors, it's so true. We've all been through something, just been through something, or have something coming up we will have to deal with.

Right now, for our family it's a house we just can't seem to sell. It's a burden. But, in the grand scheme of things, Not so bad. It could be much worse. We are healthy and have a Creator who loves and thus far has provided for ALL of our needs. It's about 100% certain that I will forget the fact that He will continue to provide for me and my family. My faith seems to have a short memory.

I love this interview with Pastor Warren. Such a unique perspective on this business of life. I believe that God is concerned with everything in my life, both big and small. But he is most concerned with my character and not my comfort. He is more interested in my preparation for life beyond this one where I am with Him in eternity than whether or not I get the new iPhone. How am I living to serve Jesus and tell others about my King? That's what it is all about.

Okay, I would still like an iPhone.

Jack

“What a Daughter Needs from Her Dad”

So I’m reading a new book, "What a Daughter Needs from Her Dad," by Michael Farris. It’s not very long. Only 175 pages...small pages. Thank you Michael for making this a small book for men. To be truthful, this is not my first attempt at this book. My wife gave it to me after Lindsey was born.

To say to you that I am reading again is risky business. I have a touch of the A.D.D. I read a bit of a book and get side tracked and forget that I was reading it. That reminds me. I’m still reading the “Love & Respect” Book by Dr. Emerson Eggerich. I started that several months ago and forgot about that too. Life seems to get in the way. To top that off I’m not the most organized person. As the saying goes, “It is what it is.”

Back to the Michael Farris Book. Lindsey is seven and she is wonderful, creative, stubborn, delightful, and someone I am proud to call my daughter. I see me in her. That being said, I also have this nagging feeling that it’s all slipping by too fast. I don’t want to get to her 18th birthday and wish I had been a different dad. That is why I have decided to give it another shot.

Right now I’m in the midst of reading about the types of fathers we should strive not be. There is the "Sugar Daddy" who gives his kids material things in place of his attention. There is the "Father Figure" who is only a father by name only. The "All-Male Dad," the "Push Over Papa," and more. Instead of these negative types of fathers, we should, as Paul states in Ephesians 6:4, "Raise our daughters in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Let me know if you have this book or have read it. I’m anxious for your thoughts.


Blessings,

Jack