Matt's been reading...

An Hour Before Daylight, by Jimmy Carter (former U.S. President)
I'm still reading this book and it's quite fascinating to think that a president of the United States grew up dirt poor, learning the value of hard work, and the ability to judge people on their merits and not by the color of their skin. I didn't know a whole lot about the man, Jimmy Carter, but now have so much respect for him. I wish every politician had to learn to make due with less before coming to office. Their big ideas might be based in a bit more reality and their promises might ring a bit more true.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place, by Aron Ralston
A remarkable story of an average guy doing what he loves and getting caught in a crazy situation where he has to decide to die or cut his arm to survive. I might be fooling myself but I see a lot of myself in this guy. True, he didn't do some things he should have to better insure his safety but what guys hasn't made dumb decisions when out on an adventure. The saddest part of this book was not the loss of his arm but the apparent lack of any faith in God. If it were I whose arm was caught under a boulder I'd be sending up a whole lot of prayers after I figured out I was stuck. So typical eh?

The Secret Message of Jesus, by Brian D. McLaren

This book presents an interesting premise I had never before considered, that Jesus intentionally hid the full meaning of His words in scripture for various reasons but chiefly to draw in the person that was intrigued but not the simpleton. I don't know that I have fully bought into this idea but I am warming up to it. He goes into Jewish culture and history and context and his idea seems to make sense. Interesting stuff!

Total Abandon, by Gary Witherall

WOW! That's all I can say! Amazing is this man's devotion and reliance on Christ during the toughest days of his young life and even younger marriage. Imagine living a world away in a totally confounding and intense culture trying to share the love of Christ with people that you can't understand or speak to and having your wife taken from you in an instant at the hands of a terrorist. I have so much respect for Gary Witherall and actually got to listen to a missionary mentioned in the book, Cheryl Phenicie, who thought the bullet was meant for her. I would highly recommend this book to anyone needing to pull themselves out of their humdrum lives or a pity party they have found themselves in.

The Way of the Wild Heart, by John Eldredge

In a lot of ways this book just expands on Wild At Heart but it goes much deeper into some of the concepts and I did enjoy it. It talks a lot about the stage every man could/should go through in life—Beloved Son, Cowboy, Lover, Warrior, King, Sage—and points out how few of ever get through all the stages or at least not smoothly. It made me do a lot of soul-searching and trying to identify if I had adequately moved through all the appropriate stages at this point in my life. Many ways I still feel like a Cowboy and Warrior but can't wait to be King.

Bringing Up Boys, by Dr. James Dobson

I'm slowly working through this book with Katie when we find time. Dobson has a way of going real deep and "clinical" real fast so we read this in small doses and then reflect on it for a while. I pray it will yield even more insights for us as to how to raise our little man Sam!

 

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Hands down—THIS IS MY FAVORITE BOOK I HAVE READ IN THE LAST 5 YEARS! (and probably top 3 of all time) I don't know where to start. I was so inspired while reading this that I can't tell you how many times I got goose bumps seeing how God worked in a situation. Talk about trusting God! I feel wholly inadequate after hearing what these people put on the line to follow God's prompting at this crazy time in our history. This is definitely a page-turner that I couldn't put down. I know what you're thinking. Something like this, "I know this is a famous book and everybody and their brother has read it and I'll get around to reading it someday." Get a copy TODAY! It's just that good! The funny thing is I got this book for Katie for Christmas last year and I kept waiting for her to read it and she didn't (still hasn't) so I finally read it and am so glad I did.


A Thousand Shall Fall, by Susi Hasel Mundy

I just finished this book on Thursday night, Nov.1, and was so encouraged and inspired by it. It reminded me quite a bit of The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It tells of a family living in Nazi Germany during World War II and how they struggle to hold on to their faith during this time. The husband, Franz Hasel, is drafted at age 40 into Hitler's bridge building Pioneers 669 company and had to leave 4 kids and a wife at home to fend for themselves. They encountered extreme persecution for their beliefs as Seventh Day Adventists mainly for their strong insistence on keeping the Sabbath during war time. He encountered many death threats for not saluting "Heil Hitler" and for calling him as scheister. He even chucked his ruger for a painted wooden one so he wouldn't be tempted to kill anyone during the war.

God's mighty hand of provision is shown so many times it's silly! Miracle after miracle. If you need some inspiration in your life and especially encouragement in your faith, give this book a read. I thoroughly recommend it.

Sam's first poop!

Look what I did mommy!



Sam Proudly points to his specimen!

Oh boy. He hasn't done it since but I thought it was blog worthy. It happened on 9/28/07. He even peed a little bit too. Hopefully he will regain his interest before our next little DeCoste arrives.

A funny moment any parent can relate to

Labor Day 2007 Balloon Classic in Colorado Springs

Grace and Matt feed the chipmunks in St. Elmo, Colorado

Grace's fancy hair!

Daddy/Daughter hike in Garden of the Gods

(By Matt)

Something funny happened this morning that I just had to share. I'm laughing now as I think of it. It was early... for me anyways... around 6:45 a.m. and I had just rolled out of bed, bleary-eyed to spend a few minutes with God.

I put on one of my favorite worship songs, God of Wonders, real quiet so as not to wake the family. I'm lost in worship and reflection, swaying and singing with my eyes closed in the living room when in the background I hear a toilet flush and my daughter, Grace, blurted out, "Daddy, I don't have to wash my hands 'cause I only went pee. I didn't poop."

As you can imagine, I was no longer focusing on my God of Wonders but on my daughter that had just rolled out of bed to use the restroom. I responded, "Grace, wash your hands anyways."

"But daddy, I only went pee, I didn't poop."

"Ok, Grace."

Back to my God of Wonders. I began entering back in to worship and as soon as I had my eyes closed again..."Daddy, what are you doing?'

"I'm singing to Jesus because He likes it when we sing to him."

Grace replied. "Oh."

Once again, I close my eyes, quicker this time, and sing the words out loud, "God of wonders beyond the galaxy...".

From her perch atop our stairs Grace inquisitively implores, "Daddy, Larry is a cucumber right?!" With this, I lose all train of thought and can barely contain my laughter. I keep my eyes closed, back turned to Grace, a smile creeping across my face as I slowly crank the volume knob up to try to focus on the song and drown out any more interruptions.

I force myself to sing the next line, "the universe declares your majesty, you are..."

Again, a bit louder this time, "Daddy, Larry is a cucumber right?!" Now, any chance of ignoring her is out of the question. I do the only thing a parent can do. I turn off the music and motion for Grace to come sit in my lap. I give her a big kiss and answer her most important question. "Yes, honey, Larry is a cucumber and I love you."

Confident in my love and knowledge of Veggie Tales she looks deeply in my eyes and says, "Yep, he's a cucumber. I love you too daddy."

I think that has been my best morning devotional ever! Thank you Lord for little interruptions that truly remind us of what is important. That modeling prayer and worship for our kids is so important but so is being available to them for early morning hugs and kisses.

I love you so much Grace!

–Daddy

Do you ever forget the value of your time?

Sam is a beautiful butterfly!

Is their anything better than a cat nap?

Sam loves his designer glasses! ;)

What can I say? He's a cute kid.

A dad and his boy!

Hmmm...I think there's a resemblance.

(By Matt)
I know I do. I can go for days and days and get caught up in the mundane tasks of my job and find myself going through the motions at home. Warm the babies bottle, clean off your dishes, get off the computer before your wife notices how long you've been gone and haven't been helping with the kids...on and on and on.

And then something happens. You get a glimpse into the preciousness of your time. I was walking with my 1 year old son Sam to the park by our house. Just a dad and his boy enjoying an early spring evening when all of a sudden I just stopped in my tracks and stared at Sam. I was struck by how beautiful this little boy is and how much life he has before him. A whole lifetime yet to live. I began to think about life and relationships and how precious they are.

If I died tomorrow would Sam ever know how much I loved him? Has he felt every day of his life the love I truly have for him? Have I held him and given him enough hugs to last a lifetime? I came to the realization that you can never do enough loving. There is no such thing as too many hugs or "I love you's."

I am inspired to make each day count. To thank my heavenly Father for the privilege of raising a beautiful boy and a loving girl. Thank you Lord. Help me to never be to busy and caught up in life to show love to my children and invest in the lives of other people. Help me realize that no amount of busyness will ever take the place of intentional time spent with those I love. Thank you for blessing me so richly. For the laughter and the hugs and the "Daddy, will you snuggle with me's?"

Sam, Grace—I love you with all of my heart!

My first race since high school, a fresh insight into scripture

(By Matt)
On August 19, 2006, I ran in the Pikes Peak Ascent, a 13 mile uphill climb that ends on the mountain top. It was my first official race since running in high school track. I had trained for it for the past few months and knew I could do it as I have climbed the hill before. But something happened on race day that I hadn't planned for. 

I was struck by the buzz of the pre-race atmosphere. We all had a big hill to climb and in just moments we would be striving the best we could to attain the summit. Some would dash up ahead only to fall back after losing steam. Some would find a comfortable pace and steadily plod their way to the top. Others would falter and drop out all together. It was interesting watching all these people of every shape and size all there for the same reason—to climb that hill! We knew at the top there would be rest and a gold medallion that they would put around our necks. They would say stuff like "well done" and "great job" and we would be able to sit down finally! 

On the journey up the hill I couldn't help but think of those scriptures in the Bible that talk about pressing on toward the high calling and running toward the goal to win the prize. [Philippians 3:14 (CEV)-I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.] In the microcosm of a single 4 hour race, I got more of an understanding of those verses than the hundreds of times I have read them out of the Bible. 

Thank you God for giving me the strength to run the race and for the insights into Your Word. 

Labor Day Balloon Classic

(By Katie)
We went to Memorial Park on Labor Day to see the hot air balloons.  Grace and Sam loved them.  What a beautiful morning.

Birthday's Galore

(By Katie)
Sam turned 2 on August 31st and Grace turned 4 on September 2nd.  I can not believe that we have a 2 and a 4-year-old.  Where has the time gone?  The Lord has so richly blessed us.  This is my first time blogging so hopefully I will figure it out and keep the blog updated.  I am mainly going to use it for pictures as I am not the best writer.  Good times!

Katie