This is excellent-C.J. Mahaney on "Roles, Goals and Scheduling"

"Currently Amazon.com lists 90,864 books under the topic of “time management.” Titles range from Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen, a helpful book I recommend, to Time Management for Dummies, a book I have not read, although it appears I represent the target audience.

“Time management” books are hot and it’s obvious why—we all want to discover some previously unknown secret that will enable us to become more productive. Yet in this series we have discovered that getting more things done does not mean we are getting the right things done.

Or to put this in a little triad: busyness does not mean I am diligent; busyness does not mean I am faithful; busyness does not mean I am fruitful.

In the past several posts in this series, we looked at procrastination: putting off until the last moment tasks that are important (and presumably most difficult), and instead devoting ourselves to what is easy and urgent, but not as important.

My busyness may be procrastination in disguise.

But today we transition in this series from discussing the hindrances to biblical productivity (procrastination, laziness, and the tendencies of the sluggard) to looking at how we can effectively plan and prioritize.

From my study of this topic and my observation of those I admire (and desire to emulate), it appears to me that being faithful, productive, and fruitful for the glory of God requires that I accomplish three things:

1. define my present God-given roles,
2. determine specific, theologically informed goals, and
3. transfer these goals into my schedule.

Over the next several posts we will develop these three in some detail.

But you may be thinking to yourself, why go through the trouble of determining these roles, creating goals, and fitting all this into my schedule? Why not take life as it comes?

Perhaps you dislike—or even despise—all things related to planning. Perhaps you, like me, can identify with my friend Michael McKinley when he recently wrote: “I would rather stick a fork in my eye than sit in a planning meeting.” Mike has painfully and creatively captured my tendency to postpone planning, and if possible, avoid planning altogether. But while I think of myself as an all-about-the-moment guy, my avoidance of planning is to the detriment of my schedule and (more importantly) to the detriment of my service to my family and church.

Here’s why.

The problem for those of us with this fork-in-the-eye approach to planning is that during each day the most urgent requests will compete with and distract from the most important goals and priorities of our lives. Each day the number of requests we receive normally outnumber the time allotted for the day. My experience confirms that if I fail to attack my week with theologically informed planning, my week attacks me with an onslaught of the urgent. And I end up devoting more time to the urgent than the important.

And at the end of the week there is a low-grade guilt and dissatisfaction in my soul, because I’ve neglected to do the truly important stuff. I want to have as few weeks like this as possible in whatever time remains for me to serve the Savior. I’m thinking you do as well."

How to give the perfect man hug

First attempt with new camera of great news

The farthest depravity

Today I hear that a person reached the farthest depravity of materialism.  Not in a third-world country, no, but in NY.  A Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death by a mob trying to bust in the store.  

Wow.

BAM

"The Roman authorities found the Christians (as they found the Jews) a social and political threat or nuisance, and took action against them. The Christians, meanwhile, do not seem to have taken refuge in the defence that they were merely a private club for the advancement of personal piety. ((which is modern Chty in America!))They continued to proclaim their allegiance to a Christ who was a 'king' in a sense which precluded allegiance to Caesar, even if his kingdom was not to be conceived on the model of Caesar's. This strange belief, so Jewish and yet so non-Jewish (since it led the Christians to defend no city, adhere to no Mosaic code, circumcise no male children) was...a central characteristic of the whole movement, and as such a vital key to its character."

BAM.

Pillars

I Timothy 3:15
“but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
The Church is the pillar and ground of the truth, not the state. The state has a viable place. It is indeed a noble place for a Christian to “bring in the kingdom, but the Church is the house of God. The Church, the New Testament says, has the keys of the kingdom.
To think that democracy and having with it a slick president can save us and fix all our problems is blasphemous. This error is strong in our country. We must repent of our almost messianic and religious fervor for the impotent American political system to save and to do much real good.
The Ephesian Christians that received this letter from Paul would get Paul’s point exactly when he wrote that the Church is the pillar and support of the truth. Why would they? Because when Paul mentioned the words “pillar” and “support” of the household of God it most likely would have reminded them of their own city, Ephesus, where the Roman Empire had put huge pillars of the goddess Artemis. Her image was carved into the pillars that supported the temple. There were six pillars their where in Acts 19 the people cried out for at least two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” It is obvious that they would be passionate about voting in Artemis, were she on the ballot in the local temple! Rome, her Caesar and her gods were quite methodical and careful to make sure that the whole world knew that she was the true truth and power of the world. Rome was very much a religious state of nationalistic fever. Paul is saying to them, Jesus’ kingdom is the true truth and you believers are the true pillars of this truth being the pillars of the household of God, not the giant and magnificent 6 pillars of Artemis holding up that idolatrous house.
May we always remember that Jesus is Lord over all spheres of power in the world, including the American Empire. Some would protest that we are not anywhere close to that of the brutal empire of Rome. That may be true, but the time to recognize our swift movements to more and more evil empire are never greater than now. The Church is the household of God and those pillars and supports of the truth are those members of His body, you, the Church. Let us ask God for forgiveness for our own idolatries and our nation’s idolatry of the state over Christ. Let us kneel before our King confessing our sins, our nation,

The Q. the LORD and the world, ask every prosperous American:

How are you investing your blessed access and prosperous advantage of knowledge, money, and time for the Kingdom to come on earth as it is in Heaven?

Get ready!

It seems very clear that our fellow Americans are determined to make our lives a little worse.

We are all familiar with how incredibly annoying it is to have to run the guantlet of dealing with government institutions like the local "Dpt. of Licensing" just to get your tags, and license. There is no competition for business there, and they know it. So therefore, the norm is for the employees to glare at you and show visible signs of great annoyance that you are actually there and will likely intrude upon their mandatory break in 2 minutes and-counting!

At the post office, the employees are quick to talk about their "salvation" breaks too, largely because they are so tired of having to deal with all the rules they have to explain to people. With government jobs like that, there just seems to be a lack of personal zest in the employees who are not in an exciting job that is competitive and that offers great profit.

And then there is the doctor's and dentist's offices. Need I explain the dysfunction there? "Oh, you have a snuffle Jim? Well, why don't we do an MRI and an EEG just to make sure that you don't sue me, for improper medical care. Woops, did I say that?!"

I guess we as a nation just want more annoying and bureaucratic agencies and institutions to deal with!

Man, aren't we bright!

Maybe it is a good thing that Osama Bin Biden Hussein Obama has won the election. At least it might help wake up some Christians that thought that Bush's dynasty was Christian. We have a lot of antithesis now. Maybe it will spurn us on more to study the basics. The basics like personal liberty, and competitive capitalism. The basics like healthy economics and the Constitution.

And we'll need to. We have now a pretty boy "in the pulpit." And he is going to use that pulpit to shame all us Christians and how we aren't "coming together" with the world and how mean we are to the poor etc. etc.,

We have a black nationalist now, and a soft communist. Oh, for Alan Keyes!

Well, I'll be reading Ron Paul, how about you?

A Shepherd has to be simultaneously strong and gentle

Strongly reminded today about the great sin of not rebuking a sheep when it is necessary. It is not actually, the sin of being "overly gracious" when a pastor fails to rebuke, it is actually not loving them at all. In order for a pastor to deal with sin rightly sometimes, he needs to be quick to rebuke someone in the middle of someone's sin. Oh! for the wisdom to know how and when to firmly rebuke another, and when to keep quiet... Lord help..

H.L. Mencken-a fool, but a good writer

Even a pagan scoffer, can be prophetic:

(Speaking on architecture)

"When men really begin to build churches like the Bush Terminal there will be no religion any more, but only Rotary. And when they begin to live in houses as coldly structural as step-ladders they will cease to be men, and become mere rats in cages."

Our Irish Hike

Goa' Fightin' Irish mun'

R.L. Dabney

"Love and labor will make the small mind great.... Blessed be God, the church has often found that plain talents, faithfully improved for God, by love and zeal, have accomplished the largest good."

This is the need of the hour...

2 books that you need to know about

Wise Words by Peter Leithart and his story in it, "The Bleeding Tree," has to be one of his best stories ever written..

Life is all about sacrifice and dieing, for Christ, for glory.

The second book, Leadership and Self-Deception is very simple, easy to read and short, but is crucial to reflect upon.. Read it for your family's sake and for all your relationships.

Charles Finney--that great con-artist

"In short, I tried to shut them up to present faith and repentance, as the thing which God had required of them, present and instant submission to his will, present and instant acceptance of Christ. I tried to show them that all delay was only an evasion of present duty; that all praying for a new heart, was only trying to throw the responsibility of their conversion upon God;" !!

We have the duty to repent of our sins, yes, (which is only of God) but Paul "planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth." I Cor. 3:6

So, remind me Finney how this doctrine of yours doesn't produce works-righteousness and tremendous confusion on how God's Spirit really works?? You are the father of so much heart-ache and confusion in this country the past 184 years.. I remember distinctly these "new-measure" manipulation tactics going on in my years at a baptist church. Adult Christians who were faithful as covenant members all their lives, going up to the front to "surrender their lives to Christ for the first-time." God have mercy on the church, one, holy, catholic and apostolic....

We live in a vast canopy, overshadowed by the prestige of history

"We do not really measure the classics; they measure us." Hughes Oliphant Old

Our church direc. pic

Family Camp '08 with R.C. Sproul Jr.

Air show in Spokane-complete with F-22!

Texas men

Whew-weee!!

The Troll by U of W in Seattle, July

Grateful

Just thinking how grateful I am for God's goodness. To be born in '79 after the horrendous '60's and following in after the reform and maturity of the swishy evangelicals of the Jesus People movement. I believe that God has caused a tremendous revival and reform in American and classical evangelical Chrisitanty, at least in many Reformed churches.
We have a great legacy in old school evangelicalism, part. from the Reformation on. And now I believe, that many Reformed churches are barely beginning to stand on the shoulders of our great fathers--Luther, Calvin, Bucer, Chalmers, Davies, Spurgeon, Edwards, Whitefield, and many of the Puritans--while humbly and carefully building and reforming that tradition to be more classically Christian. Also, more Hebraic, covenantal, and biblical/theological so that we are stretching from the 1st Cent. to the Reformation better. Yet, all the mean while not losing the foundation stones that our fathers set. But, we have much to learn and heavy shoes to fill.

Somehow, the lines have fallen in pleasant places to many young reformed people around my age. My parents aren't divorced. I have somehow been preserved from the debauchery of the media filth of the 80's and 90's...though barely. I can remember distinctly, mind you when my grandmother (not knowing what we were getting into, and I had a bad conscience even then) took me to see whatever movie i wanted to see. We saw Predator 2, a very debauched movie, and i was exposed and drug through much garbage in my young days... But God's grace is strong.. Somehow i was able to get through high-school. Boyce College was revolutionary and transformative for Jana and I during those years. And how we were able to be a part of the renaissance and reformation in Moscow, is a great joy and mystery to me.

So, here we are in Spokane.. Without debt, by the grace of God. And we have a simple life to the parish of Christ Church. Four beautiful children and a gorgeous wife, and the possibility of finishing Greyfriar's Hall in 3 years.. It is all to the faithfulness of Jesus and the assurance of His promises.

William Perkins

“speech is gracious when it comes from a grace-filled heart.” Hughes Oliphant Old on the life of William Perkins (1558-1602) Perkins was a giant in the beautiful symmetry between learning and godliness.

Good Movie

A Raisin in the Sun was a fantastically non-modern film that Jana and I had the privilege of watching the other night. Very slow moving compared to the A.D.D. movies put out for adults today. It was noble, as they put out this movie on race and struggle being black in 1961.
Today, race-movies are beyond getting old. They are beyond boring with the same old race issues being constantly churned up. Racism still happens of course. But let's make some movies people on other bad things in society that need to stop for a change! Man, and Hollywood goes after Christians for preachin' on the same things all the time, give me a break!

Ron Paul

Just finished listening to Ron Paul's Revolution: A Manifesto. This is an absolute must read in my opinion... Just about every power hungry and vain presidential candidate comes up with a campaign book with a doctored photo of himself on the cover, and probably written by various editors and yes-men at that.
This book though, is not like that. Ron Paul is a giant of an intellectual. Even if some Christians disagree with him on this or that, you still have to deal with the massive of amount of wise and sound knowledge he has to offer. I've said this before, but I truly did not even think such a man as himself existed in Washington. I am so gratefully wrong about this. Consider his sound thinking esp. in foreign policy, medical care, economics, and personal liberty compared with the swiftly moving socialistic country we are becoming. He truly is so much further down the road of Christian maturity as it pertains to the issues of the day than most Christians are.
I do believe that many Christians (including myself) have been slowly roasting in the pot like frogs who can't detect the coming boiling water.
All of his stuff is pure meaty content, no fluff, no conspiracy, just wise and well-informed common sense.

He says that we are about 9 trillion dollars in debt right now as a nation. And we wonder why so many Americans are in debt. In fact, it is the extreme rarity that an American household is not in debt.

Brian Regan - I Walked on the Moon!

Enjoy!

Erasmus--Praise of Folly

(The Stoic) ...strips his wise man of every emotion. In doing so he leaves nothing at all of the man, and has to fabricate in his place a new sort of god who never was and never will be in existence anywhere. Indeed, if I may be frank, what he created was a kind of marble statue of a man, devoid of sense and any sort of human feeling."

Erasmus has some great and funny satire against Romanism and Scholasticism on pp's 152-165 of his Praise of Folly that would not have its effect here because I would have to write so much of it down for context. Go and check it out, you won't be disappointed..

the ugliness of modernism

This quotation really captures the modern cultural man in many, many ways... Speaking of the joy of the liturgy in worship, of meeting the Lord in the place of His Spirit, Alexander Schmemann says this:

.."And it is this joy of expectation and this expectation of joy that are expressed in singing and ritual , in vestments and censing, in that whole 'beauty of the liturgy which has so often been denounced as unnecessary and even sinful. Unnecessary it is indeed, for we are beyond the categories of the 'necessary.' Beauty is never 'necessary', 'functional', or 'useful'. And when, expecting someone we love, we put a beautiful tablecloth on the table and decorate it with candles and flowers, we do all this not out of necessity, but out of love. And the church is love, expectation, and joy. It is heaven on earth.....it is the joy of recovered childhood, that free, unconditioned and disinterested joy which alone is capable of transforming the world. In our adult, serious piety we ask for definitions and justifications, and they are rooted in fear--fear of corruption, deviation, 'pagan influences,' whatnot. But 'he that feareth is not made perfect in love' I Jn. 4:18 As long as Christians will love the Kingdom of God, and not only discuss it, they will 'represent' it and signify it, in art and beauty......." "Evangelical and Modern Christianity are constantly referring to 'modern man' as the one to whom they are directing their 'ministries.' This 'modern man' is the one who uses electricity and computers, who has been shaped by the new technological society and the scientific worldview. He is the one who is stressed out, burned out, and has all these 'needs.' The modern man has come of age as a deadly serious adult, conscious of his suffering and alienation (or constantly being reminded of them) conscious of sex but not of love, of science but not of mystery, of the function of this or that but never of the beauty of this or that...Based on this analysis, 'modern man' needs therapy, money, housing, a job, etc., No mention is ever made of beauty, poetry, art, singing. Damning omissions which condemn the modern technological and therapeutic world-view, for all its 'practicality,' as being a very truncated view of life indeed."

4 Part review of "The Dark Knight"-- Part 1

I saw the Dark Knight last night. My following comments are a bit of a reflection on the movie, so if you haven't seen it, you may want to wait to read the rest! Wow. I was surprised by the deep themes and darkness, hence "dark knight" I guess! Joker was definitley a picture of a serial Killer, a consistent evolutionist. Batman was facing the boring and typical identity crisis thing. THe commissioner was definitely the hero. Two-Face is a picture of an idolater who turns to the dark side through his idol. Lots of political mssgs in the movie. Hence the black man retiring over the wire-tapping issue. "Nobody cares about a bus full of soldiers blowing up." THe joker is identified as a terrorist who tortures and kills people and then sends the videos in to the public. The movie pokes at lots of things. It makes you think again like other movies, about the relentless question of Hollywood--

Part 2

Dark Knight Part 2-- which is, what is really good. Who is really good? Can anyone be trusted? What is the true nobility? Notice the portrayal of the prisoner who throws the detonator out the window, and neither ship blows up the other. "THere is still some "good" people out there", the movie says. Which is true. However, those good people are only good because of Christ. Hollywood of course, never gets that biblical and leaves it to the individual's own righteousness from within themselves--the relentless message of Hollywood. In some sense, its about what "principle" to live by and indeed some noble sacrifice--the commissioner's and batman's decision to save Harvey rather than the girl. Evil, is found within all of us, says the Joker..."Those schemers, he calls the "civilized" people. And indeed he is like the satanic tempter to Harvey. It is only the "good" that keeps us right. And there are those good. Hollywood just never can get beyond the blindness of the self.

Part 3

Dark Knight-=Part 3. Joker is a picture -a literal "picture" of a man who is not hiding behind the facade of a Christian worldview. All common grace has been removed from him. MOst of the pagans in America simply borrow the ethics of Christianity then spit in the face of their Creator. The Dark Knight, is similar to many other films in America where the conciousness of the director is sending little modern political messages ((i.e. notice in the Bee Movie when the bees are pulling down the honey bear like the soldiers did to Saddam's statue in Baghdad--hence implying that the bees were wrong to do what they did, stop making honey..or invading Iraq)) and Hollywood is repeatedly asking and searching the question of what is the real "good" and the truly noble. All the mean while they continue to come up with Christian truths of morality, but in the end, it is the goodness of the person themselves...And this, I believe, has been the message of too many naive Christians---You do...

Part 4

Dark Knight Part 4 ...your part, and (Fill in the blank_________ some Divine god out there does his part, all according to the whims of what god floats your boat, oh, rich and prosperous American. Jesus says, How long O America, will you borrow Christian morality and attribute it to yourself? How hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven!

Red Neck Hot Tub

See, God does "feel" pain and hurt when his people sin!

Ezekiel 6:9
"Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.

When is the last time you heard that from a Reformed pulpit!

I love how the obscure and wiry prophets screw with every-one of our neat little hair-dos, most of all mine..

Bertrand Russell

Most men would rather die, than think. Many do.

God's ironies

A truly egalitarian message

Greek

I am reading Ephesians in Greek 20X, and I am about to go bananas!

We must be more intentional and disciplined with community life

“Perhaps the greatest single weakness of the contemporary Christian church is that millions of supposed members are not really involved at all, and what is worse, do not think it strange that they are not.”[1] --Elton Trueblood

---

[1] Bill Hull, The Disciple-Making Pastor (Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1988), p.19.

Good 'ol Spurgeon

“Young Brothers… you must eat your way into the ministry! You will never be able to say to others, “Eat what is good,” unless you have feasted upon those things yourselves! Unless you have an inward appreciation of their sweetness and have sucked them into your very being, you will never be able to talk with power to others concerning them. Paul wrote to Timothy, “The husbandman that labors, must first be partaker of the fruits,” so Christian ministers, Sunday school teachers, and all workers for Christ must eat that which is good if they are to be used in feeding others with spiritual food!”—1902, Sermon

Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Some other thoughts on my current reading of Calvin's Institutes

Michael Servetus, the heretic who was killed under John Calvin was onto Calvin on some points. Servetus himself I'm sure was a deeply confused and hard hearted man. He lived quite a while espousing his heresies around and given plenty of time to repent, but he wouldn't. I do disagree with his being killed. He did have some interesting points that showed some inconsistency on the part of Calvin I think. Calvin, in Book 4 Chap. 16 of the 2nd Vol. of the Institutes, interacts with Servetus on his heretical Anabaptist views that only adults should be baptized. Calvin demonstrates why children should be baptized. Servetus, in one part, says that whoever is baptized should be admitted to the table. Calvin then tries to say that no, if you are baptized you don't come to the table until "the time of examination..." I do think John Calvin was inconsistent here in not allowing children to come to the Lord's Supper on account of their baptism and faith that God has given them by grace. Instead he says, "by baptism they are admitted into Christ's flock, and the symbol of their adoption suffices them until as adults they are able to bear solid food." So, we can come to the Table only when we can eat and bear spiritual "solid" food? But how do we grow in faith? Little children, spiritually and physically, grow to mature faith and mature physical stature through eating basic faith/food until we all grow up unto the head, the matue man, unto Christ.

God has given wine to gladden man's heart...Ps 104:15

Deuteronomy 14:26
And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.



On taking vows against alcohol Calvin says: "If you vow abstinence from wine as though something holy inhered in this act, you are superstitious; if you look to some other not perverted end, no one can disapprove."

Dove Evolution Parody

Too painfully accurate of too many Americans!

What if Firefighters Ran the World?

This was one of the best commercials I have seen in a long, long time!

Just what is robust manliness in a sentence?

"The Puritans were manlier Christians just because they were godlier Christians." J.I. Packer

Good kids

Resurrection Day with 3

A time for firsts

-Hannah’s losing her first tooth, then Mom accidently throwing it away. This was March 2008, and yes, she still got a visit from the tooth fairy!
-I really do believe I have spotted some of the first little faint grey hairs on me-head. March 2008
-Julia is absolutely beautiful. Our happiest baby yet, but not the best sleeper. She has six teeth right now, March 2008. 4 top and 2 bottom. I believe her first words were “Mama.”
-We joined Christ Church, Spokane on March 30, 2008.
-I killed our pesky and annoying little buger mouse last night, March 29, 2008 with a broom. Then I displayed the spoil of victory to my household!
-I believe it was Sunday March 9, 2008 that Julia Hope Alexander had her first communion.
Hannah Nicole can now ride a bike on her own with only a little bit of shadowing only one time. This happened around March 17, 2008. Also on St. Patrick’s Day, we brought home our first table, a real feasting table, that we believe will fit 12 easily! Jana found it at a Christian thriftstore for only $25.00 With some sanding and staining and such it will be quite nice.

A children's story

Okay, here is a children's story. After reading so many little kids books, you begin to think like them. Hannah actually helped me, coming up with some good stuff too!


A--In Hive “A” there once lived a Bee Named Cee, and an elephant slept nearby, named Dilly.
B--Cee was a Bee, and he was quite naughty.
C--Cee never obeyed his parents.
D--One early morning before the sun even came up, a Deer ran straight into Hive A.
E--The deer ran into the sleeping Elephant’s side, waking him up very rudely.
F--Our angry elephant, being so sleepy, Flopped onto his side.
G--Then he Groaned with pain and anger being highly annoyed.
H--The Hive circled around our elephant stinging him mercilessly because they thought he knocked down their hive.
I--Greatly Irritated, Dilly the elephant…
J--Jumped up straight from his side and…
K--Kicked relentlessly after the Hive, especially trying to kick the bee named Cee. Cee was an angry bee that kept trying to sting Dilly’s eye.
L--Dilly Loudly snorted while looking for the bee named Cee.
M--Cee, being very mad, Mashed his stinger straight into Dilly’s nose.
N--But Cee did not feel any better now that he released his stinger, and he Nastily kept going for poor Dilly’s eye.
O--Quite Overheated, Dilly suddenly felt the great desire for a swim.
P--Dilly Pounced after the pond.
Q--Quaking violently, the earth shook as Dilly bounded away from the hive and especially the bee named Cee.
R--Cee Raced after Dilly perplexed at his attempts to run away from such a fast hive of bees.
S--Swimming joyously, Dilly was able to relieve himself of stings for a few seconds.
T--Sticking his Trunk out, Dilly knew that Cee would take the bait, for he knew that Cee would sting any part of his body that came out of the water.
U--Under the surface of the water the long Nose of Dilly sucked up Cee straight down to his insides.
V--Immediately Vomiting Cee up, Dilly…
W--Washed off, and Whacked Cee to the ground under his great foot.
X--The Veterinarian doctor took an X-Ray of Dilly because he complained of Bee pains, and somehow thought that Cee was in him, even though he didn’t remember that he had smashed him you know.
Y--Yelping aloud, Dilly did not like the X-Ray, even though there is no pain in X-Rays you know.
Z--The next time Dilly dreamed many Z’zzzz’s, he dreamed that Cee turned into one big fat drop of honey straight into his snout, and he smiled.

By Ben and Hannah Alexander