Saturday, September 5, 2009

Baptisms


So, on August 22, Hogan, Owen, and Leannora were baptized. I am still trying to get a grip on the whole baptism thing. I know every parent has different beliefs on this one, but anywho, here's what we did. I haven't pushed them on it. But, I have made it clear that Jesus instructed his disciples to make more disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Spirit. As far as I can tell, it's just a simple testimony to yourself and any witnesses (if any). It seems to be an outward sign of and inward reality (purification/sanctification). God instructed the Iraelites to wash certain items or people to sanctify them for service in God's temple.

Anyway, the three children all asked me if they can be baptized. So, I did. We had some family and some church meet down at the Rock River at a boat launch behind a little tavern in a little town called Indianford. It was fast and simple and done. However, Owen didn't like the crowd, so I baptized him before everyone got there.

So, I told them since they're baptized disciples of Messiah, it's their job to continue walking with Him, learning His teachings... and then to make more disciples and baptize them.

So, that's the best of my understanding on the subject. I'm just thankful that they are learning to really know God. Praise to God!

Mark

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

home

we're home!
we took our house off the market a couple weeks back.
ahh, it feels good to know this is home!
so we do not have any plans to be moving soon.
it is good.
and we'll just have to wait and watch for God to provide.

we're officially homeschooling 2 children this year!
wow!
and life seems to get busier by the minute at times.

well, i've been feeling pretty brainless these days.
always seem to be catching up to whatever just ran by.
just thought i'd share a simple update.
more pictures another day.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

summer stunts

owen, our amazing climber. a boy after his daddy's own heart.
owen is climbing a light pole in a church parking lot.
notice able below. in a couple of years he will be up there with owen!

this house selling stuff is crazy. i'm not sure where the summer has gone and what to expect with the rest of it ahead. evenso, we've still had lots of fun and God's streamlining program is working nonetheless. i guess we've hit lots of depths and heights in the whole process. it's been good, bad, ugly, and great. good in that we can always trust God. bad in our responses to His work. ugly in seeing our sin and fleshly spirituality. yet great as the convictions are covered over with His love and the challenges are producing a fruit of desiring Him in a wonderfully refreshing way.

a few highlights of summer so far . . .

sunshining our little white ones

visiting grandpa bill and grandma sara at their farm in iowa

this isn't the best perspective, but if you look close
you might notice that hogan is missing his 2 front teeth!


sending summer smiles to ya'll from the bunch of us milligans
we'll try to keep you
POSTED
on our happenings

shiloh sweetness





here's a few shiloh pictures at 3 and 4 months old. she's a sweet little lady and SO loved by her big brothers and sister. just lately she's been learning to laugh, finding her feet, and enjoying her fingers (especially sucking her thumbs). i wish i could describe her delightfulness and the joy she brings to our family. babies are just sooooo wonderful! we hope God will bless us with a bunch more. and we pray that our Lord and Savior will show them His great grace as we are increasingly convicted and humbled by our many weaknesses. we alone are so inadequate to the responsibility before us, yet God is sovreignly strengthening our family.

i'm typing one handed with shiloh on my lap. she doesn't want to miss out on anything!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

A little man's thoughts on creation.

I certainly don't have much figured out, but here are some of my thoughts about Ken Ham and the Creation topic in general.

For starters, I must declare that creation science/theology has a special place in my heart. Not only do I just enjoy thinking about it, but God used creation science to give my parents and brother (and me) a deeper relationship with God. Before my family was walking with Christ, we were all evolutionists (and we mocked those ignorant creationists). We all had a hard time trusting God's word. We thought it was just stories, or something. If evolution were true, it was clear to us that the Bible could not be. I was saved without reconciling this. But, the rest of my family explain that once they saw a series of messages about how unscientific evolution really is, and how true the Bible is (scientifically), they were able to accept the full message of the Scriptures (though there is more to the story).

As far as I can tell, people are all different. Some don't care about science, or logic, or the ramifications of the creation account. Some do. And some are in the middle. Etc. I know some pretty awesome brothers and sisters who don't care about the science of Genesis. I also know brothers who would not trust God because of the evolution lies they bought into. I think it is cool how God uses an amazing variety of scenarios to help lead people to trust Himself. So, as a community of Christ followers, I think that it is valuable to encourage different ministries in their outreach to different groups of people. With the creation topic, I think it is perhaps emphasized so heavily because evolution has been so strongly foisted upon our culture. I find that many of the teachers/ministries that we enjoy learning from tend to be reactionary to some false teaching or another. So, we are learning to glean the main ideas and leave behind the over-emphases (or so we try).

I think that the book of Genesis has something like preeminence among the books of the Bible (not to demean the rest). Only because it lays the cornerstone of the entire history of creation as well as the character and redemptive plan of God. It also chronicles over one-third of all history (about 40%). Even just the first few chapters (the creation account) reveal the earth, the image-bearers (us), our purpose and charge, the angels and demons, the need for a savior, God's justice and mercy and sovereignty, God's plan for a promised redeemer and overcomer, etc. I also think that if the first book of the Bible is not believed to be wholly true, than the rest loses its credibility. It seems that Satan already knows that. My guess is that evolution is a "doctrine of demons." We should certainly be polite and compassionate while discussing creation, but it just makes sense that it would be offensive to a person who denies Christ. If you just run a search for "Creationist" and start reading the sites and comments and forums, you'll quickly find out how heated this battle is. Unfortunately, many Christians don't use very good manners.

As far as Ken Ham goes, I have found him to be about as solid of an apologist as I've encountered. I have really been encouraged from his teaching (though I still find things that I disagree over). Kim and I went to the Creation Museum last Summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. It is very much geared toward the skeptic. I was delighted with how tactfully and sensitively it dealt with such a hot topic.

Anywho, I guess that's some of what I think. Let me know if I'm way off... or even a little.
Oh, in case you're wondering, I'm the little man of my title. Hogan used to remind me often that I'm just a little man (my stature), and I have latched onto the title. It helps me battle that nasty ol' pride.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

whew!

we're winding down from all the excitement of the past few weeks. this has been an incredible ride. we are sooooo thankful that God has given us this time to trust Him and grow as a family. rather than try to reword all my thoughts so late at night, i'll just copy a part of my family newsletter article which summarizes things a bit more sensibly than i can at this moment. hee hee.

we've surprized even ourselves with this month's news. what was supposed to be an uneventful, quiet month of caring for children with the chicken pox, turned into a very full turn of events . . . kim happened across an interesting property in edgerton. it caught our eye because the yard backs up into a large wooded area just on the edge of town. the house is in need of a bunch of work, but after looking at it with our parents, and considering the asking price, we thought we could make it work. so . .. we make an offer 2 days later. crazy, huh?!?! our offer is contingent upon the sale of our house, so . . . we began the mad rush to complete unfininshed projects, unclutter, and get the house ready to sell. we went back and forth, but finally decided not to do the for-sale-by-owner route. after 2 weeks of intensive work, we listed the house using the buyer's agent as our realtor memorial weekend.
needless to say, we did remain at home through the entire month of may. not only because of homework, but also because we went through 2 rounds of the chicken pox. the children were amazing! we had fun doing special things like watching movies (mark introduced the children to STAR WARS!!! - this also included pulling out our light saber collection - 5 or so of them and one fully functioning homemade by mark back when episode 1 first came out!) we had special snacks - lots and lots of yummy real fruit popsicles, (oh, and uncle joe popcorn to go along with the movies), oatmeal baths complete with a snack of raisins, calamine lotion polka dots and coconut oil massages, and some funny photos and videos of kiddos. they were all wonderful and that aspect of the month seemed somewhat a breeze.the children have also been wonderful workers and helpers with all the other adventurous happenings. we have been amazed at how all of this has brought us together and refocused our daily relating. we all feel so free from uncluttering and organizing our home, ordering priorities, deliberately working at clear communication, and just simply waiting to see what God has for our family. (which is really not so simple as it seems here on page because we have been stretched and challenged incredibly in all this. yet it has been SO GOOD!) so we've all determined to be thankful for what God has given us, and what He will do in and with us, and trust Him to let us be content in whatever happens here or there. it's all good!
i guess i just wanted to update ya'll on the more personal side of things with this praise the Lord post. maybe all of this latest adventure is just to grow us up in Him a bit more. we honestly haven't been content with what He has given us. i think we are learning some important lessons on holding our hands open before the Lord. i read a cool article this past week that seemed to describe my heart in the matter. it said something about not holding an idea too tightly in your hand. instead, give it to the Lord. we should hold things loose enough so that if they fall through our fingers (or don't go the way we hope or plan) that we can trust God's sovreignty. or something like that. anyway . . . i related it to feeling anxious about selling our house. for me, early this week i'd been holding on to our cozy home and not wanting to let it go. but before all this i had been holding on to a dream of land and other stuff and simply not being thankful for the blessings of our current home. hmmm . . . well, my praise is that God is letting me rest in Him without any anxiousness! and i am so enjoying the work that He is accomplishing. that He is setting our family free to know Him more! WOW!

okay. i'll be off now . . .

Monday, May 25, 2009

House for sale

Anyone want a big house?
Here's a link to our house listing: http://www.wisconsinhomes.com/search/search.php?step=quickaddr&search=1&where=streetaddr&street=albion+st

We're on the list at 206 Albion St.

Here's a link to the house we have made an offer on: http://www.wisconsinhomes.com/search/search.php?step=quickaddr&search=1&where=streetaddr&street=707+s+main

It is 707 S Main St.