WalkerFamilyLife Blog

Yesterday was the 25th anniversary of my first date with Karana. To celebrate I shared 25 of my top memories with her on Twitter and Facebook, one every 25 minutes. If you missed them, here was the list:

1. The first date and the first kiss. My what a wonderful life that day started!
2. The first day we reported for work at FamilyLife and how thankful we were for God’s provision
3. Rose petals
4. Sitting up all night in the Orlando airport waiting for a 6am flight to get home to our kids after the tornado.
5. Coming back to our hotel room to learn that a tornado had hit our home but that the kids were safe
6. Driving you home from working together at Sonic so your Dad wouldn’t worry
7. Lots of “Surprise Christmases” when we’d wake the kids up early on a random December day to open gifts
8. The way Rebekah screamed whenever she first saw us in Korea
9. The look of shock on your face when a friend told us a stranger wanted to give us the adoption money
10. Praying over a list of costs for out last adoption and asking God to provide if it was meant to be
11. The way Kyle smiled and laughed at everyone on the plane
12. Calling you when God answered our prayer for guidance on our first adoption by Dennis Rainey asking “Do you have room?” on FLT
13. The curly-haired smile of our little “Sweet Potato” and how it lit up our hearts
14. When Christine was born and the nurse said, “You just gave birth to your best friend.”
15. When Gene was born face up and the Dr bent him at the waist and said “Hi Mom!”
16. You pulling my hair in a contraction with Gene when I was trying to remind you we had decided no drugs.
17. Giving my parents mugs for Christmas 1989 that said “Grandpa” and “Grandma.”
18. Our honeymoon at Disney World as two kids who couldn’t believe we were really married!
19. The way you kept the kids away when “Daddy was working on his thesis.”
20. Coloring a FamilyLife logo divided into 100 parts each time we got 1% closer to reporting
21. When you agreed to take IBS classes with me then I abandoned you because my boss said I had to withdraw
22. Watching “Sabrina” together at the Arcadian Inn
23. Wandering through NamDaeMun street market haggling for Hanboks in Korean with calculators
24. Arriving at our hotel room for Ministry Preview full of questions and expectancy at what God would do.
25. Buying our first house together and being amazed at how God had provided so well

I have been blessed with a wife who has joined me on the amazing adventure of following God where leads. It has been the a rich life full of the best that life has to offer.

I am also very thankful for the teaching that we received from parents, church and through the ministry of FamilyLife. If you’re looking for a richer marriage, now’s a great time to learn what we did at the Weekend to Remember because through Monday it is Buy One Get One Free!

Roy H. Williams hits it dead on in discussing what can often be a holiday disappointment and the absolutely right way to approach it.

The MondayMorningMemo© of Roy H. Williams, the Wizard of Ads®.

If you don’t subscribe, I’d recommend it. Roy always has something thought provoking to say, sometimes about marketing, sometimes about life and sometimes about his faith. Excellent writer and worth the read each Monday morning.

Press release today from Sherwood Pictures:

COURAGEOUS
Honor Begins at Home
www.CourageoustheMovie.com

ALBANY GA – Nov. 15, 2009 – Sherwood Church, home of the hit independent movies FLYWHEEL (DVD only), FACING THE GIANTS, and FIREPROOF (2008’s top indie film), at its Sunday evening service tonight, announced the theme and title for Sherwood Pictures’ fourth movie.  Senior Pastor Michael Catt, Executive Pastor Jim McBride, and ministers Stephen and Alex Kendrick—collectively the leadership team of Sherwood Pictures—made the announcement.

“The movie is about fatherhood and the title is one word:  COURAGEOUS,” Alex Kendrick said, briefly outlining the plot.  “Four fathers who are all in law enforcement—who protect and serve together—go through a terrible tragedy,” he said. “They begin looking at their role as fathers . . . and they begin challenging one another to fulfill God’s intention for fathers.”

That single-word title, Pastor Catt said, echoes God’s call for men to “rise with courage” in their homes and as leaders.  This at a time when 4 of 10 marriages end in divorce* and more than a third of all children live away from their biological fathers.

“The statistics on fatherless children are devastating,” McBride said. “And because the family is the building block of society, one important place to rebuild families is through fathers who stay and lead and love.”

“God led us,” co-writer and producer Stephen Kendrick said to the audience of church members, many of them volunteer crew, cast, or catering in earlier Sherwood movies.  “We believe God is calling men to rise up with strength and with leadership in their homes, with their families and with their children.”

“For more then a year we’ve prayed to be sure that we’re pursuing God’s idea and not our own,” Catt said.  “With action, drama, and humor, this film will embrace God’s promise in the Bible to, turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”

Focusing on Fatherhood

“We focus on the crucial role of father; it’s not just to be a father who loves his kids,” said Alex Kendrick, co-writer/director of COURAGEOUS.  “It’s to be engaged with a purpose—to be a father on purpose.”

All four leaders of Sherwood Pictures are husbands and fathers.  Pastor Catt has two children; Pastor McBride has four; Stephen Kendrick has four; and Alex Kendrick has six.

More Than a Movie

Sherwood movies entertain as they touch audiences where they live, and they show the means to live more fully through faith in God.  FLYWHEEL focused on compromise and business integrity; FACING THE GIANTS on despair and hope; FIREPROOF on a dying marriage rekindled.

With previous Sherwood movies, fans, churches, and organizations across the country (and world) became “partners” in the movie’s impact—giving prayer support for production, distribution, and the movies’ messages. Ministries and outreaches used the films in creative ways.  Churches built series and group studies on the topics; Sunday schools seized the momentum of good entertainment that emphasizes life-changing truths.

“It’s been the Bible’s story of Jesus multiplying the boy’s fish and loaves,” Alex Kendrick said.  “God has multiplied these movies beyond our wildest dreams.”

Principle filming of COURAGEOUS begins March 2010 in Albany.  Like the previous three Sherwood films, COURAGEOUS will be marketed by Provident Films.

Sherwood Pictures is a ministry of Sherwood Church of Albany, Georgia, under the leadership of Senior Pastor Michael Catt and Executive Pastor Jim McBride.

To learn more, visit:

• COURAGEOUS www.CourageoustheMovie.com
• COURAGEOUS Pressroom www.CourageoustheMovie.com/pressroom
• Sherwood Pictures www.SherwoodPictures.com
• Provident Films www.ProvidentFilms.org
• Sherwood Baptist Church www.SherwoodBaptist.net

This was posted on Dennis Rainey’s facebook page recently and Dennis passed it along to some of us. We both thought it was well said and representative of how we should be responding to the culture. It was attributed to Tom Schmidt pastor of Christ Pres (PCA) of Clarkesville GA. It might be good to share/discuss with your family.

By the perspective received from the media you would readily conclude with me that Michael Jackson’s life story is tragic. The desperate alterations of his appearance in repeated surgeries, his apparent drug addiction, the odd and dysfunctional web of marriage and children, his highly questionable fixation on young boys, the enormously extravagant financial insolvency, all these things are all the more heartbreaking when juxtapostioned against his incredible talent. Review any video of his performances and you observe breathtaking timing, a keen sense of musical style, athletic performance, and a wonderful singing ability. He obviously worked hard at his craft. In many ways Michael displayed an image of a gloriously wonderful Creator.

I wish I could have confidence that Michael is with his Creator now. The combination of his admirable qualities with tragedy evokes from us a yearning for redemption and triumph. Perhaps Michael has found redemption, I don’t know, I’m not the Judge of mankind. But I hope my life story leaves more evidence than Michael’s that redemption was at work in me. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father, but through me.” Someone might ask, did Michael know Jesus? A more pertinent question is, do you know Jesus? If the Spirit of God is a work in my life through my relationship to Jesus Christ then there should be evidence of such a thing. Hopefully, as a person grows older, there is a growing body of evidence. A Chinese proverb says, “When you see a good man, emulate him; when you see a bad man, examine your heart.” Will your life story be a tale of tragedy? Will you make an investment in self-indulgence, sensuality and immorality that dominates any remembrance of you and wrecks havoc in your personal relationships?

Michael Jackson’s brokenness is not confirmation of his damnation. It is confirmation of his fallenness. We all have that, and we all live with varying degrees of brokenness. Jesus came to seek and save the broken. His love can heal our hurts. His redemptive work can turn our tragedies to triumphs. When I follow Jesus Christ he leads me away from the destruction that I would readily make of my life. I want that for you and me.

It’s something worth dancing about!

Just returned from a great week of camping with Kyle and our Boy Scout troop for a week in the 100+ degree heat. Lots of good memories with my boy! Here are some pics.

For those of you who remember the story of Molly last year, read this latest post from Barbara Rainey about their daughter’s most recent challenge. If you haven’t read it, you need to.

Last Wednesday, popular speaker Voddie Baucham was in Little Rock to be interviewed on FamilyLife Today about his new book “What He Must Be if He Wants to Marry my Daughter.” While he was at the headquarters, Voddie took a few minutes to address our staff about conflict resolution and properly understanding Scripture. Listen here to what he shared.

Just returned from a trip to Shiloh, TN to take our Boy Scout troop, including my youngest son, to see the 147th anniversary celebration of the Civil War battle that took place there. It was a beautiful weekend that the adults and kids really enjoyed. There were some great memories!

Here are a few pics:

We hear a lot about quality time with our kids.

In the midst of all that’s on our schedules today, it can be tough to get large quantities of time together, especially for larger families like ours. In the Five Love Languages, Gary Chapman talks about the fact that for some people, time equals love. So, if we don’t make sure to plan time with our kids then we’ll fail to meet a critical need.

That’s hard for a task-driven person like myself. I usually have more on my plate than I can possibly get done, but I also usually think I should do it all. That can tend to put me in a position of being reactive with family time rather than proactive. I’ve found a few tips to be helpful:

• I schedule regular date nights with my daughters, even from the earliest years. I did this with my oldest last night and these are often the best conversations. I try to leave as much time as possible because once a child starts opening up, you sure don’t want to stop them.
• We pick our kids activities with the goal of time together in mind. For us as a large family, we try to pick activities that multiple kids can do so that there’s less time shuttling and more time doing, and so that the activity can be experienced as a family, not just an individual. This doesn’t apply to everything, but where it does apply it has sure helped.
• Work spiritual learning time into the daily schedule. For our family, we have morning Bible study before Dad goes to work. This is a key time for discussing real life issues in the context of Scripture. This doesn’t take a lot of prep so don’t let that stop you. I just share what I’ve learned. At times, we’ve just read through Scripture together (don’t try to do too much at once, leave time for talking). Right now, we’re reading through John Piper’s What Jesus Demands from the World. Whatever. Just make sure you make the spiritual a priority
• I try to never run an errand by myself. I take a kid with me and we just talk.

That’s what I do. What’s worked for you?  Share your thoughts below, or find me on facebook and join our new WalkerFamilyLife facebook group.  

I just returned from our first campout with Kyle as a Boy Scout. Here are some pics: