Genealogies!!!!!!

One thing that surprised us about copying the Bible was the value of the genealogies. Contrary to what we once thought, they are actually very meaningful. And we have noticed that as our children have become familiar with genealogies, especially through Bible copy, they are able to process them and make sense of them and use them.

We have found genealogies to be one of the biggest helps in working towards Bible "fluency" as we have started to call it. (This is different from "sprituality" of course, but we are told to sow generously!!)

Of course, as ancient documents go, genealogies are one of the things that give legitimacy to a work, because they anchor the document in history. So we have to un-brainwash our minds from thinking they are boring; genealogies actually help substantiate the reliability of the Bible! Duh!

We got an interesting article excerpt along those lines from our Berean Call email list.

The people of Niger have a long history and deep family roots. One way you can get their attention is to tell a story. Another way is to show a genealogy.

This was one way it became apparent that genealogies would be a way to share the Gospel. Tom Dudenhofer with Audio Scripture Ministries says, "I've got to admit, I've never even thought about the book of Genesis as being an evangelistic tool."

Here's what happened: an ASM missionary shared that he met with an individual whose father was a qur'anic scholar -- someone gave him an Arabic Bible. Because he could read, he began to investigate Scriptures, starting with the book of Genesis.

When he finished, he began to tell people around him that "this book [the Bible] is True" because of the better record of genealogies and the accuracy of recounting historic events.
Then, he took the next four years and read through the entire Bible. He came out of that process and said "This Bible is Truth" and began to follow Christ.

Dudenhofer had a "light bulb" moment. "They understand the importance of the genealogies. To them, it's very significant. The thing that seemed to catch their attention was the accuracy with which God's Word recorded those genealogies. In other words, they were there with purpose."

http://mnnonline.org/article/15034

(Missionary Network News, 12/2/10).

(Updated to correct spelling!! : ) )

Dinner at Klein O Velli's!

Last night was the long-awaited "restaurant night". The last time we had done this was back in Minnesota, many years and many babies ago! We had the idea of heating up all the leftovers, none of which were sufficient for a meal for everyone, and making up a menu, and playing "restaurant".



So, all week long, we planned on doing restaurant, and the little boys were especially excited about the idea. In addition to leftovers we made some dishes from random ingredients we had in the fridge, too. While we were busy in the kitchen, Mommy and Sammy worked on the menu, and Sarah worked on creating the proper ambiance...



The key to having people want to eat in your restaurant, in addition to having them be members of your family and unable to drive elsewhere, is an appealing menu. Click to read ours!



We had to strike a proper balance between servers and customers. For some reason, all the younger ones wanted to serve, and the older ones wanted to consume.



Garlicking up the free Panera bread our neighbors bless us with every few weeks.



At Klein O Velli's, the customer is always cozy!



Everything looked so delicious, Joshie had a hard time ordering.




Sammy anxiously waited for the orders to roll in.



Crispy Crunchy Clean Celery Broomsticks were a hit --- with Mommy, at least.


Our chefs prepared Orange Wagon Wheels for the first time. Joshie ate enough of these for a whole pioneer train!



The older siblings knew money was no object as they perused the appealing offerings.



Susanna cheerfully and professionally took orders, then ran squealing to the kitchen to alert the crew.


The big kids enjoyed good conversation during the wait for their meals.





"Do I serve from the right or from the left? Oh well."



"More wagon wheels!" Joshie called! Each wagon wheel began intact, and eventually Joshie ate a hole through the center, exposing his hard working teeth and tongue. Q-T!!!



Of course, the kids knew for it to be a real restaurant, we needed Customer Feedback cards. So, we made some up for our customers, and provided pens. Our restaurant was graded on the important qualities of: service, cleanliness, hospitality, food quality, speed, order accuracy, flavorliness, peacefulness, orderliness, and whiteness of teeth.

After all, it wasn't a real restaurant.

More good stuff!

As we have often observed, moving around all over the place has allowed us to meet many precious people from all over. Then, as we continue in our pilgrimage, we meet others who we wish we could introduce to the previous folks, and sometimes that works out.

So, after we left Wisconsin for the first time, we went to the Texas border. Moving to Texas really changed us a LOT in many ways. And it was there we met dear friends who worked in Mexico. These folks were acquainted with a dear brother, now with the Lord, from Wisconsin! How we wished we would have known of him while we still lived in Wisconsin, but it was only by moving to Texas that we heard of him!

However, during our 4 years in Texas, the Lord orchestrated things so that we still had work connections in Wisconsin, and finally, wound up re-re-locating up there. While that was a HARD HARD thing, to leave the doorstep of Mexico, it allowed us to become better acquainted with the family of this man. We were blessed to be able to go up to northern Wisconsin a few times a year for really good fellowship....and to meet others ... and I suppose it will continue.


Here is our dear sister, Sharon, with her late husband, Glenn Conjurske, who went to be with the Lord in 2001, which was the year we moved to Wisconsin the very first time (but didn't know of these folks). She is a sweet and hospitable lady, and we greatly miss taking over her humble abode!

Anywho, this departed brother left a legacy of wonderful exhortation and encouragment, and we just found much of it is on the web. In particular, we would direct you to a wonderful message called "Casting Nets Into the Sea". I can't give you a direct link to that message, but you can find it listed here. We find this message a great complement to the booklet we offer called "How Your Children Can Have Success" Glenn's messages are available for listening on your computer or downloading.

Hope you can enjoy these soon!