That’s about right…

As a final mini-update on Ruth, we came home Monday! The doctors were quite pleased with her progress breathing, along with the reduction of her mucus/coughing. Thus, they let us go. We were ready to be released…

During our time, we were literally showered with love and prayer from so many – it’s hard to individually thank all of you… so this will be my attempt…

A BIG THANKS TO:

• Chris and Becky Boggus (and Angel) for watching Adele immediately Saturday afternoon.
• JR and Chelsea Pershall for bringing lunch on Saturday and watching Adele evening.
• Seth and Meredith Summers for bringing dinner Saturday night.
• Elliot and Julia Lee for bringing dinner on Sunday night.
• Michael and Jennifer Taylor for providing dinner last night.

Again, we’ve felt so encouraged and loved by our community. I mentioned to one of our friends that they didn’t need to bring us dinner, and she responded: “It’s not every day your infant is in the hospital.“ For them and all of you, we’re grateful. It’s often that I tell students that you cannot do life alone, but it’s moments like these that I remember what that tastes like.

In all, we’re thankful to be home, and looking forward to finding the new normal.

To say we’ve progressed well would be an understatement: we’re doing very well. The doctors took Ruth off the oxygen machine early, and off fluids this morning. The potential congestion has not settled in her lungs, and she’s eating very well on her own.

This means we go home sooner rather than later. This is great news.

The doctors encouraged us to bring Adele up to see Ruth and Abby today since it had been since Friday that she’d seen them and had been asking 1,000 questions where they were. So, we ventured up to the hospital this evening, and I think it did more for Abby than Adele!

We’re hoping for a good report in the morning on Ruth’a blood work, and once we’re clear, we should be able to come home!

Once again, God has been faithful to reveal his presence throughout. Thanks for all your prayers, we’ve felt them.

Another pic… much improved!

Around midnight we took Ruth to the ER. Actually, Abby took her since Adele was asleep and there wasn’t much two of us could do sitting there.

We knew most of this week that Ruth wasn’t feeling up to par – we just didn’t know the extent of it. Initially, we thought she had just a cold and would recover like any other infant does, with rest. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

We called our doctor and she recommended we take her to the ER and we’re glad we did. She was running fever, wasn’t breathing as well as she should be, and wasn’t taking in enough fluids. After six hours in the ER, it was determined that Ruth had RSV.

It’s not too bad, and we caught it early – so we’re thankful for that. As of now, there isn’t any fluid on the lungs and we should be staying in the hospital for a few days.

Pray for Abigail, as she’ll be the primary one in the hospital.

Pray for me as I put my “mom pants” on and take care of Adele this week.

Here’s a little pic of Ruth:

This is why Dirk is great…

Tonight we had our friend Paul Matthies. Paul is a long time friend of the Wilks family and is one of the kindest, godly, and wise fellas I know. We are thankful to know him.

We were able to snap a quick picture with him & the girls before he left.

I have no words but hers…

You can read more about this HERE.
You can read about how the Captain “tripped” onto a lifeboat before everyone evacuated HERE.
You can read the transcript between the Captain and the Coast Guard HERE.

In the end, people lost their lives and families lost their loved ones, simply because when disaster approached (due to apparent tomfoolery)- the Captain, who is to be the leader of a ship, chose to seek out his own good rather than the good of the people he was in charge of.

This story would be evince of poor leadership, judgment, and integrity. I hope that when I’m faced with a moment of crisis, I would be faithful to do what I had committed to do. I hope that for you as well.

[via]

You may not have 17 minutes to watch this, but the point is clear: racial harmony IS biblical. May we be diligent to live our lives out of our convictions and not convenience. Grace to you all…

Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

This is absolutely amazing. I have no idea how they filmed it, but the consequences for the Honey Bees is… well, sad.

[via] [HT: 22]

Personally, I think this is an excellent commercial… Unicorns and gold.

[via]

Is she not the best!? God bless her!

Ted, along with the majority of the world cringe every time we see this font used… especially when you’re upset. Right Dan Gilbert?!

But here are a few of my favorites:

You can waste the rest of the day here: http://comicsansproject.tumblr.com/

Pops & Granma (my folks) gave Adele her very own shopping cart. Abby & I have wanted to purchase one for some time, but never found the right opportunity. You may have noticed how she stacked her “purchases” – yes, she did that on her own.

“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged, for by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1954), 23.

Shell probably ‘kick’ me later for this, but I couldn’t help but post this picture.

She’s even “calling” someone to pick some up from the store.

I thought it might be nice to offer some way of “suggestion” as to some blogs you might be interested in reading this next year. These are ones that I typically read every week… I left of “personal friends” b/c so many of them have blogs and I didn’t want to leave anyone out, so this list is excessively from people I have never met.

These are in no particular order:

• Eric Geiger – Eric is the Vice President of the Church Resource Division for Lifeway Christian Resources. He combines a heart for the church, her mission, and strategy.  http://ericgeiger.com/
• theResurgence – this is a resource every Christian should read every day. They provide a lot of helpful material every single day. http://theresurgence.com/
• Crossway Blog – They tend to provide updates on new releases, along with video interviews of (you guessed it) authors. http://www.crossway.org/blog/
• Gospel eBooks – Speaking of books, if you own a kindle and are looking for cheap or FREE gospel books, they help you know what’s out there. http://gospelebooks.net/
• Abraham Piper – He is the son of John Piper, and runs http://twentytwowords.com/ – but you can find more on the personal side at http://www.abrahampiper.com/
• Daring Fireball – I don’t always agree with his language, or his views, but if you’re an Apple Fanboy, you need to read this guy to stay on top of technology. (NERD ALERT) http://daringfireball.net/
• Brad Lomenick – He heads up Cataylist, which is for young leaders. He has great insights into mine and the coming generations. http://www.bradlomenick.com/
• Kevin DeYoung – This dude is a power blogger. Kevin is always thoughtful and measured in his approach to what he writes. If there is something on his mind, he will let you know… with more information than what you thought you needed. http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevindeyoung/
• Ed Stetzer – This would be my “company line” blog that I read. He works for Lifeway with the Research team, so if you like stats… and the mission of God, this is your guy. http://edstetzer.com/
• Tullian Tchividjian – author and Pastor, this guy constantly challenges what I thought I knew about God’s grace.  http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/
• Bob Kauflin – He is a worship leader who consistently challenges me to think much of God in everything. http://www.worshipmatters.com/
• Desiring God Blog – Love the resources. The posts are short. http://www.desiringgod.org/blog

What are some of your you are looking forward to reading this year?

When I was a kid, I religiously read the Choose Your Own Adventure books (see http://www.cyoa.com). I loved the non-reality of making the “wrong decision” (which lead to death), or the “right decision” (leading to success, or the next page) the book brought me. It was well, and adventure. Psalm 1:1-2 states:

        Blessed is the man

                who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

        nor stands in the way of sinners,

                nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

        but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

                and on his law he meditates day and night.

Obviously, we could read more about this verse but for the sake of time, I want to jump straight to it’s application. The blessed person is the one who takes delight in the law of the Lord by meditating day and night on the law. In view of the context, he referring to the Torah, but I think it’s application bears out on for us the entire counsels of the Word.

The beginning of a new years affords us the opportunity to reflect on what we will delight in throughout 2012. My hope is that you would consider delighting in the majesty of God in His Word. There are magnificent things in the Bible, we just have to observe them as we watch the Holy Spirit revive our heart’s affection and mind’s attention to the glory of the God who made us.

So, it’s time to choose your own adventure through the Bible this year. You know your needs and your heart better than I, and there are numerous reading plans through the Bible you could take this year. But I encourage you to pick one, and stick to it, because as Winston Churchill once said; “he who fails to plan is planning to fail.”

Which adventure will you choose?

M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan (This plan is based on the M’Cheyne reading system, featuring four different readings each day; two passages from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. In one year, you read the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice.): http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.one.year.tract.pdf

ESV Study Bible Reading Plan (This plan includes readings from four sections of the Bible each day: the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, Pentateuch and History of Israel, Chronicles and Prophets, and Gospels and Epistles.): http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.esv.study.bible.pdf

5x5x5 Reading Plan (Read through the New Testament in 5 days a week, 5 minutes a day.): http://www.navpress.com/images/pdfs/9781576839768.pdf

Read it Historically (the order in which they were written): http://www.blueletterbible.org/reader/daily/PDF/Plan5.pdf

Read it Chronologically (the order in which they took place): http://www.esv.org/assets/pdfs/rp.chronological.pdf

Hope this helps as you plan how you engage the Scriptures in 2012!

Yes, dancing is a regular occurrence in our house… and I’m Baptist.

[via]