a Family for Families

Noor Promise: Listening to Your Kids Pray

2012-01-02T01:50:00.000-08:00

I just finished 4 seminars at SBTS and most of the learning has been about how to help families learn to disciple their own children. It is a tough task! Stats say that only about 7% of Christian parents do any form of regular Bible reading and prayer with their kids at home. Most think that is the ministers job, dont know how to do it or are simply too busy to take the time at home to disciple their kids.
But the benefits are profound when we take the time and get help to learn how to do spiritual disciplines with our wives and children!
For instance we always read a bio about a courageous and godly person at bedtime w our younger kids and then pray. Recently Noor who is learning how to pray be listening to her brother and sister said to her mom, "Jesus whispers in my ear." Of course Robin asked, "what did he say?" She said, "I am pretty and he loves me." Another time she said the same thing, "Jesus whispers in my ear." Robin asked what did he say, "she said he said he needs my cell phone because his is broken!" Ha.

My point is that we learn alot from our kids about what is going on inside them when they pray with us! You dont have to be a Bible scholar just sit down talk, read the Word and pray with your wife and kids.

What we do with our kids will likely be done by them with their own children one day, so we can affect eternity and future generations by what we do today!

Yusef on Manhood

2011-12-31T04:26:00.000-08:00

With all the turmoil in Syria it has brought up again our desire to give thanks to the Father for saving Yusef when he was born pre-mature in Syria in the summer of 2002. His lungs were underdeveloped and he got septicemia and another infection at birth. He labored for life for 2 days and the Father worked thru some friends in another country to get a Red Cross ambulance to take him out of Syria to another country! I was never so glad to hear english than that night as the doctor walked into the front doors of the hospital to help Yusef. God was certainly good to us! On a humorous note Yusef has 3 points on manhood that he has shared with his family over the past few years.
1. Men dont cook! One morning after spending the night with another family he saw uncle dan cooking pancakes for his family and he said, "uncle dan men dont cook."
2. Men dont learn anything from their moms! Another time uncle dan asked Yu what he learned from his mom and he said, "nothing."
3. The talk is important! (which Yusef has only had the beginning part of so far) We were visiting with another family and there was an engaged couple there who was just 2 months away from their marriage and Yu asked, "has he had the talk yet dad."

Yusef like most men needs to learn that Biblical manhood teaches a young man to not look down on women, use them or give up his God-given place to lead, but rather to be a servant leader, protector and a provider for the women in his life.

Beautiful Girls

2011-03-10T01:57:00.000-08:00

The times are changing! Life is like this. All parents say, "enjoy them now because they grow up so fast!" It is strange to see your little girls grow into young women before your eyes, but it does happen. It is amazing to see and watch. My job as a dad is to be sure that I am there loving their mother and leading them day by day. We are reading through Esther with the older girls and it provides us with a great picture of what a dad should be in the life of his daughter. Mordecai (by the way means warrior, men need to be a gentle warrior for the sake of their loved ones) adopted Esther when she was young. He taught her and guided her and she learned that he was good and she obeyed him. When she was taken into the palace of the greatest ruler of the day, Mordecai still came by everyday to see how she was getting along. That is a good consistent dad! I read a quote recently about Jonathan Edwards, the last of the American Puritans. He was a great man, maybe the greatest scholar and thinker that America has ever produced! The quote said, "Edwards read the Bible diligently everyday to his 11 children and prepared them for worship, his own children benefited greatly from his ministry, committing themselves to lives of holiness and service." I want to be like that!

The Time When Kings Go Out To Battle

2011-03-09T02:29:00.000-08:00

I am sitting not too far from where we believe that King David sent one of his best men to die in battle. If you know the story you know that the cause for this terrible thing was that the king had taken this man's wife for himself and now she was pregnant. He was caught by the cords of his own sin and had a choice to make. Would he confess and repent or would he cover up. For over a year he covered it up until God sent his prophet and David's friend Nathan to confront the king. It took courage, humility and wisdom to do what Nathan had to do. He confronted the king and David repented but the consequences never left his house. What was the cause of this sliding into sin? How did a man who God said is a man after my own heart get to this place? It is clear in the first verse of the chapter, "At the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab... But David remained at home! He stopped battling against sin, he gave up a responsibility to someone else that was his responsibility to carry. He committed a sin of omission, he did not do what God called him to do! This is an easy sin for us men to commit! We get tired, we get discouraged or we get fed up and so we just quit!! But we cant there is too much at stake! Our wives, kids, friends and future generations will pay the cost for what we do not do that we should have done. We need to go out everyday to do spiritual battle. We need to love, share about Jesus, serve and stay clean. The consequences for not doing this are deadly.

I Will Endure by Robin

2010-12-05T01:50:00.000-08:00

I WILL ENDURE

I will endure
September 11, 2001,
God focused the world's attention
on those not yet won.

I will endure
Our young family walked the streets of B-----.
The family must share by bearing His fruit.

I will endure
Upon our arrival in this new land
It was obvious on our own we could not stand.

I will endure
Large tanks, shooting and weekly car bombs.
Holy Spirit, my comforter keep me from the stinch of fear as a mom.

I will endure
Two little ones by our side.
Much like young David did look with Saul's equipment oversized.

I will endure
In a Islamic nursery our little ones stayed
while mother and father studied Arabic all of the day.

I will endure
Sick and dying our newborn laid.
In the Father hands our only son stayed.
Thank you!

I will endure
Our Redeemer and Savior,
we daily prayed
grow our faith, don't let it fade

I will endure
Apart from God our effort was in vain
Residence in country was impossible to obtain

I will endure
Twenty one moves in the last 9 years.
It wasn't easy and there were a lot of tears.

I will endure
House from house we continued to move.
This discomfort I struggled with and wanted to remove.

I will endure
Ahh, Let me pull in all my stuff
You see it was comfort I desired and not for it to be so incredibly tough.

I will endure
Bitterness arose in my tired heart
My child, my child don't carry My part.

I will endure
God, teach us to number our days
What happens next was the biggest surprise of our Middle East stay.

I will endure
In the darkness we laid in our bed
and listened to the sounds of jets and bombs that streamed overhead.

I will endure.
Our Father how would you have us to pray?
"Pray for the Muslim rebel and the Jewish pilot both
alike in their need for My grace."

I will endure
Just when I think I got it all figured out
You take evil and allow joy and grace to flow out.

I will endure
S----, L------, America, Cypress and J----- is this our home?
No my Father, It's in heaven with you before your thrown.

I will endure
Why God? I would sigh...
and His reply,
Child you have need of endurance, my grace I have supplied

I will endure
To God be the glory and to Him I gaze.
I have determined that my life will be an offering of praise.

THANK YOU FATHER!

2010-10-21T00:53:00.000-07:00

I turned 42 years old yesterday and have been thinking about my life. If the Father gives me a full 80 years and i divide my life up into 4 quarters, then i am at the beginning of the 3 quarter! All sports fans know how important it is to come out of the locker room ready to compete at the start of the 2nd half! It many times determines who will win the game!! Because as the 4th quarter roles around strength is waining and what you were earlier determines your success and your ability of affect others. I am a believer in Jesus in fact He changed my life completely on Father's Day 1993, neat considering I did not grow up knowing a dad. And i am a husband to a beautiful wife and a dad to 5 wonderful children and young adults. It really matters who I am and who I am becoming! God has invested in men alot of power and that power means we have a great responsibility to use if wisely. I recently asked a dad how I could raise girls like his girl who is a kind person and a hard worker, he said to me in Arabic, "you be good and she will be good". Alot of truth in that statement. And it reminds me of Deut 6 where God give us the way to raise a Godly family and affect a society for good and God, "you love God with all your being and then impress My word on your children in the life of the home." Don't look for others to do it dad and mom you have to do it! Men are to be leading, protecting and providing. We are to be authorities who are kind. Kids won't rebel against that kind of authority, they will run to it! I saw a dad baptize his son this summer but before he did he wanted to be sure that his son understood that he was deciding to follow Jesus as his own choice. So he asked him, "son do you trust in Jesus to save you from your sins?" The answer was yes Dad. "Son are you doing this because I want you to do it?" The answer came, "Yes Dad!" This is not what the dad expected! Now I know that the dad just wanted to be sure that his son understood his decision, but I have thought about this alot and i think that we may be so individualistic in our western minds that we miss the lesson here. It is in the heart of that boy to follow his dad's example! He can't help it! God put it there and God wants fathers to be leaders, leading their families in His ways and being used to change other homes one at a time and leading us to revival in the land. Father let is be so! Thank you!
Here are some things I have to be doing!
Love God as my Father and love His son Jesus
Love my Bride and give her a good life and take care of her
Be a one woman man be clean, porn will kill you inside and make you man who lives in an unreal world and cant engage a real woman
Be involved w my kids at home
Make home a fun place to be
Work hard
Have a vision for our life and how to raise our kids
Seek God's dream not the American dream
Do EV with your family around
Stand up for something in a broken culture
Serve others together
Lead with love
Open your home to others dont let it be only a private place
Eat with lost people

Moving Day Number 21

2010-10-14T04:05:00.000-07:00

About 10 years ago the Father worked in our lives and brought both Robin and I to the place of surrendering the control of our lives over to Him. He led us to make a step of faith and move our then very young family overseas. Since that day we have seen His faithfulness through a medical evacuation in which Yusef's life was preserved. And a military evacuation that relocated our then family of 6 to another country in the region. And all this time He has been faithfully watching over us and strengthening us. We just recently made move number 21 with our now family of 5 children and Robin and myself. For sure the moves are tougher and although we are not old, we also realize that we arent 20 either! I think that we realize that "home" is a very special word in the english language and in the Bible. Jesus promised that He was preparing a "home" for us and we know that this world is not our home, although we enjoy the good gifts that He has given us here. Home is a place that can only be created by the love of God. It is really easy for us from the west to spend alot of time creating a beautiful home on the outside but the real life in the home comes from a genuine relationship of love btw mom and dad and unconditional love for our children.

Noor Likes Candy!

2010-10-09T00:25:00.000-07:00

Corrie was enjoying playing with Noor. She wanted the piece of candy but she was scared to touch it because of the "hairy" toy that Corrie had put it on top of!

Yusef Celebrated his 8th Birthday on July 8th!

2010-09-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

Yusef was born in a ME city on July 8th, 2002, he was 6 weeks premature and contracted septicemia and a throat infection on his first day of life. On his first night he turned blue due to not getting enough oxygen from his underdeveloped lungs. I had to leave Robin at the unfamiliar hospital alone that first night because i had to go home to take care of our 3 and 4 year old girls. We had very little knowledge of arabic language and no friends in the city on those first 2 days of his life. We struggled greatly with fears of his death and when we could do nothing. God came through in power! A couple that we barely knew at that time in a neighboring country heard about the sick baby and the husband said to his wife we have got to do something or that baby is going to die! They immediately called their friend a believing Maronite who started making calls and by that night had a Red Cross ambulance with 2 doctors on board heading to us. At 1:00 am the doctor walked through the doors of the hospital and i was never so glad to hear english in my life. He checked Yusef out, did some work on him and put him in the incubator in the ambulance and off we went to a modern hospital in another country. We got through the border with little paperwork and arrived at 6:00 am. Yusef stayed in the hospital 3 weeks and then we got to bring him to our new home.
The wonderful man that God used to save Yusef's life said a few weeks later, "it was like fire in my bones i had to do something to help that baby and i know God has a plan for his life!"

we are grateful to God for Yusef's life and for an unselfish and courageous group of friends who did what others may have been too busy to do and to many friends whp prayed for us!!!

Our Summer Stateside Song Became Baby Because Noor Loved It!

2010-08-31T22:48:00.000-07:00

Isn't she a great dancer! If you listen well you will hear Corrie say that she taught her all her moves!

Zack was excited to catch his first fish of the day, but gpa only caught a stick!

2010-08-20T12:58:00.000-07:00

SUMMER HIGHLIGHTS

2010-08-20T12:43:00.000-07:00

We spent July 4th at the grandparents house on the lake and had a wonderful time swimming, fishing, eating and enjoying oneanother. All the kids caught a fish!
Yusef caught a bass!

Debriefing at RVA

Yusef got a bow for his 8th bday and already knew how to shoot thanks to the G family!

Hot day in the nations capital! We went to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Vet Wall and the WWII Memorial.

Summer 2010 in the States: Friends and Family and Fun

2010-08-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

11 Grandkids boy Sid and Lynda are blessed!
3 Beautiful Ladies
The Boys!
Zack and Mom!

Young Adulthood Ceremony

2010-05-16T01:56:00.000-07:00

We have begun a new thing in our family. Actually it is an old idea, but one that has been lost on western civilization. We had with our HC a coming into young adulthood ceremony for Hannah our eldest child, she will turn 13 this summer. We as parents gave her a charge to walk with her Heavenly Father, take responsibility for her life and choices and be a good example to others! All the other adults in our group of friends and the other young adults from about 12 and up also spoke into her life, then we capped it all off with the gift of a silver bracelet and prayer of blessing over her life and a meal together! It was really special. She is a sweet, smart and creative young lady. She is changing, learning new things and having those same growing pains that we all have in major times of change. So pray for us as parents for God's wisdom and strength!

We plan to do this for each of our children as a way to grow them and recognize them as responsible young adults that we expect to fully participate in life! Our culture for the last 100 yrs has pushed "adolescents" to the fringe of society and they feel it! Maybe this is why we are loosing so many of them to dangerous and bizarre rites of passage to prove themselves worthy of trust, respect and a place in our world. Our model Jesus was considered a maturing adult at 12, with expectations and seen by his entire community as a fully participating member and expected to be that! We sometimes see the time btw 13-18 as a time of no expectations and no responsibilities this is not what will grow a healthy young adult to full manhood or womanhood!

By the way, the term adolescence is a fairly new term only about 100 yr old and the way we define it is very important to what we expect from our teens, if we expect and model responsible living we will probably get it! Most kids turn out very similar to their parents! Grace to you!

Easter Beach Trip with Friends

2010-04-13T07:55:00.000-07:00

we went to the beach with friends the Gs and enjoyed some fun in the sun and water!!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-04-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

We recently went on a family outing and took this photo of the kids together, each personality shows through! thanks for your prayers for our kids to grow in knowing His love.

Fun Day at the Car Museum

2010-03-30T02:10:00.000-07:00

14th Wedding Anniversary

2010-03-29T14:25:00.000-07:00

On March 16th we celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary together. Life certainly has changed since that Saturday evening when Dr Mac pronounced us man and wife, we now have 5 sweet children and a new life half-way around the world from NC, loads of experiences and new friends, but one thing is the same He is faithful to us!

Daughter's Date Night

2010-02-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

I had the chance to take our great girls Hannah and Corrie out on a date. We went to see a school play and out to Chilis!! They are growing up fast and the times are changing.

Visit from Sid and Lynda

2010-02-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

Sid and Lynda came to visit in January just before returning to the US after completing their service in Africa.

Noor Walking!! (15mos.)

2010-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Noor has finally learned to walk. She has a lot of folks willing to carry her anywhere she wants so it took her a while longer to walk.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-26T05:45:00.001-08:00

We had a great time together on Christmas this year!
Robin and I enjoyed blessing our kids with gifts and Santa even showed up.

Thanksgiving Night Bonfire

2009-12-04T12:22:00.001-08:00

Sweet Girls

2009-12-04T12:04:00.000-08:00

Good Buddies

2009-12-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Finally Here What A Flight

2009-10-23T07:39:00.000-07:00

Our family received one of the sweetest gifts on Oct 8th when our good friends arrived to begin life and work here together with us.

Baby elephant and rhino orphanage

2009-10-23T07:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our safari and saw 3 of the "Big 5". We saw elephants, Cape Buffalo and Rhinos.

Beautiful day with a beautiful girl

2009-10-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

On Sep 11th we landed in Africa for our 10 day trip to see Robin's parents and it was also our 8th year anniversary of living overseas. He has been faithful to us. PTL

A Beautiful Day in Africa

2009-10-23T07:05:00.000-07:00

Lynda with the kids enjoying the Created beauty, thank you Sid and Lynda for allowing us to see you, your work and the beauty of Africa. Now i know why everyone that i have met who has lived it Africa says that Africa is in their heart.

Miss Mercy turns 6

2009-10-23T06:56:00.001-07:00

Mercy is growing fast, doesn't she look proud of her new bike

Corrie on her 11th bday

2009-10-23T06:49:00.000-07:00

For Corrie's 11th bday she asked to go to the pool w some girlfriends. She is blossoming into a kind and pretty young lady.

Yusef Turns 7

2009-10-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

The Father has blessed in giving Yusef life after a tough start, we are grateful. He asked for a bb gun for his bday.

Hannah's 12 birthday!

2009-10-23T06:11:00.000-07:00

ESL Class

2009-07-05T08:59:00.000-07:00

Our lives have been enriched over the past year as we have had the opportunity to teach esl to people looking for a new start, many of whom have seen their lives changed dramatically as a result of war in their country.

Summer Vacation

2009-07-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

In June we went to our favorite place to take a rest and enjoy time together!

Great 5th Grade Year

2009-07-05T06:52:00.000-07:00

Robin and I are very proud of Hannah and Corrie and very thankful for being given the job to raise them

Great to see Grandpa and Mimi and Aunt Patti

2009-07-05T06:37:00.000-07:00

We were inspired by Paul on his recent visit and so we thought we would update our blog. We thought that you may enjoy seeing some photos from Spring to Summer.

Robin's mom and dad and aunt Patti visited and we had a great time seeing the county and spending time with friends!!

1 Year Later

2009-06-19T16:02:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Robin!

Robin's Birthday

2008-06-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

Please remember us as we seek to walk close and clean daily and tell the great news.

Remember Robin and the baby! Strength for her and a full-term delivery.

Remember the girls as they grow and mature into young ladies.

Remember Yusef and Mercy to love Him and others.

Paul, Taz, Joel and Jamaal

2008-06-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed getting to see Paul and Taz in June and spending time with Taz's family.

New Injuries!

2008-06-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

On May 9th, Joel tore his achilles tendon playing basketball, had a surgery on May 10th, wore a cast for 6 weeks and is now healing and learning to walk normal again. Full recovery in about 2-3 months.

Mercy is going to have a little sister!!!!

2008-06-27T08:21:00.000-07:00

We found out in June that we are going to have another little girl. Yusef had hoped for a brother, but it looks like he will be surrounded by girls.

Robin and the girls!

2008-06-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

One day Mercy drew a picture and brought it to her mom in the bathroom and said, "mom this is your baby!" At the same moment Robin was looking at a positive pregnancy test!

New Adventures!!!

2008-06-27T07:43:00.000-07:00

New Home!!

2008-06-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

New Friends!

2008-06-27T07:33:00.000-07:00

2008-06-27T07:32:00.001-07:00

THANKSGIVING EVERYDAY!!

2008-02-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

We hope that you enjoy looking at this blog, as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

May He be your strength today as you walk with Him!

New Friends

2008-02-25T06:18:00.000-08:00

Yahya, Hap, Paul, Joel and the boys.

Congratulations Joel and Michele!!

2008-02-25T06:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks Clary and Barnes families for letting us be a part of your special day.

Learning in Minneapolis

2008-02-25T06:02:00.000-08:00

We had the chance to go to MN together to learn more about His plans. Thanks to those sweet families who took care of our children and let them be a part of your family.

Ha Ha!

2008-02-25T06:00:00.001-08:00

Paul gets the hook out

2008-02-25T05:59:00.001-08:00

WOW!! Early morning catch in the Intercoastal waterway

2008-02-25T05:08:00.000-08:00

Paul, Mark and Joel went fishing in the intercoastal waterway in June. Thanks Paul for getting him into the boat!

A day at the beach with friends

2008-02-24T10:39:00.000-08:00

Nothing is better than a day at the beach with friends.

The Reynolds Family

2008-02-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

We enjoyed a trip to see family out in Albuquerque in the fall.

Goofing off with grandpa

2008-02-24T10:20:00.000-08:00

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged

New Friends

2008-02-24T10:17:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Corrie with some new friends just enjoying each other.

Birthdays are fun!!

2008-02-24T10:03:00.000-08:00

A boy and his fish

2008-02-24T06:43:00.000-08:00

"Yuse cathe fishe" on an early morning in Richmond!

God Keeps His Promises!

2008-02-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

Digging out the pumpkin: Use your hands, YUCK!!

2008-02-24T06:37:00.000-08:00

Robin and Syd B with Gpa T

2008-02-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

"How fast were you just going??" Don't tell Judy!

2008-02-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

BROTHERS

2008-02-23T06:28:00.000-08:00

"A New Home" Our dear Iraqi friends first night in America.

2008-02-23T06:05:00.000-08:00

JR and Misty Reynolds at a Christmas meal at our house at Westchester Key.

2008-02-23T05:57:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Corrie holding their new twin cousins for the first time!

2008-02-23T05:54:00.000-08:00

Grandpa, Yah Yah and Ian playing dominos.

2008-02-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

"Great Times with Family and Friends"

2008-02-23T05:41:00.000-08:00

We are learning that Love is the stuff of life. Living life in community with family and friends is what makes life enjoyable and it is also the place of Growth for each of us!

"Every Tribe"

2008-02-23T05:38:00.000-08:00

Good Friends

2008-02-23T05:36:00.000-08:00

Zane, Si and Yusef playing!

2008-02-23T05:33:00.000-08:00

Yusef and Jacob K-garten Buddies

2008-02-23T05:27:00.000-08:00

"Friends"

Thanks Gables, Oweiss, Steeles, Wagners and others!!

"Love makes life worth living"

2008-02-23T05:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the help, you are a great encouragement!!

"Moving Day"

2008-02-23T05:10:00.000-08:00