The Ort Family

I heard the following read at church, and wanted to share it here as well.  Celebrating Christ coming to earth should cause us to meditate on Who He is.  This sermon excerpt expresses well the awesomeness of our Lord in showing to what great extent He humbled Himself.

“He, by whom time was made, was made in time.
And He, older by eternity than the world itself, became younger in age than His Own servants in the world;
He, who made man, was made man;
Through a mother whom He brought into existence, He was given existence;
Hands of a woman whom He formed, carried Him;
Breasts which He filled with milk, He nursed;
In a manger, He Who is the Word cried as a baby, in speechless infancy – and ever since has left all human eloquence speechless!”
translated into English from a Latin sermon by Augustine of Hippo

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity.

1 Timothy 4:12

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Last Saturday, we attended the Do Hard Things conference in Dallas.  The Rebelution – A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations – is an organization started by two homeschooled brothers.  Alex and Brett Harris, 19-yr. old twins, proved to be excellent communicators during all the talks they presented.  Their father, Gregg Harris was an encouragement via cassettes and publications to my parents when they were learning about homeschooling in the 1980s, and gave an excellent presentation on our sin nature which culminated in attendees rejoicing that the Lord saved some people at the conference.  Below the photos is a list of notes from the conference.

Brett, Gregg, and Alex Harris during one of many book-giveaways during the conference.

 

Alex speaking

 

Gregg Harris speaking

 

Alex and Brett Harris spent the breaks speaking with conference attendees.

 

Browsing Book Tables

 

Do Hard Things for sale

 

Paul Stefan and Ana Marie speaking with a friend

 

Daddy reading in a new resource added to our library

 

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The first use of the term "teenager" was in 1941 in Reader's Digest.  

The current ceiling of expectation SHOULD be the floor. 

God has high expectations for ALL, regardless of age or any other factor. 

What is expected is accomplished.

Culture expects us to survive but not to thrive.

Have you reached your limits or just fulfilled the basics?

Until we get past our own strength, we won't need to rely on God's.

You don't get anything without effort.

Do Hard Things looks like:
1) getting serious about fighting sin in your own life
2) battling discouragement and complacency
    You will always face either of these temptations
    Do what's hard for you.
3) doing more than is expected
    Vikings had the strength to win their battles because they rowed themselves to battle                         
    Strength is built up, not inherited.
4) getting over fear of failure
    All effort, even failed, produces muscle.
    "When you reach for the stars you may not quite get one, but you won't come up with a handful of mud either." Leo Burnett
5) different for each person
    Men and women have different hard things to do.  
6) doing small things for the most part
    Obey Him in private because it's for Him.
7) your best life, which is not the same as easy
    "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting.  It has been found difficult; and left untried." – G.K. Chesterton

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heart  = wanter

What we want in our heart defines who we are.We do have freedom of choice, but our choices are limited by our nature.  A sinful nature is only capable of choosing how to offend God next.

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Companions:

1) not just alone
    2 Tim. 2:22
    Eccl. 4:12
    Pro. 27:17

2) not just with peers
    Pro. 13:20
    1 Cor. 15:33
    Eph. 6:1-3
    Pro. 20:21-There can be a beneficial alliance between older and younger – strength + wisdom.

3) not just with people  
     books, movies, internet etc.   
     Choose wisely what you read, watch, and listen to.

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Practical applications:

1) have a hero  
    inspiration and assistance    
    gain their experience by reading their biographies

2) make friends with dead people (authors)
    read books that have stood the test of time 
    read great books, not just good ones

3) take advantage of the Rebelution
    visit the website
    find companions (ie. the Rebelution forum)

4) find the secret rebelutionaries by being an obvious rebelutionary
    spread the message by your life
    light a fire under others by your example

5) ask older Christians "What do you wish you had known when you were my age?"

6) seek God
    the ultimate Companion
    know Him to live for Him

7) change something
    just being excited doesn't change anything
    structural(real support), not behavioral(emotion) change
    sin and weight(not necessarily sin) both keep you from something
    you can't change something in your life until you change something

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You can do hard things because CHRIST did the ultimate hard thing. 

You owe Him your life.

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On June 15th, we celebrated Father's Day.  We are truly blessed with a dad who seeks to know and follow the will of the Lord above all.  Despite our increasingly busy lives, he still practices what is referenced in the quote below – Fireside Religion.  (Note that in this case "religion" is used referring to Christianity)

"A religion which will not stand the test of the fireside is not worth much!

Do not be dumb dogs, but speak up for your Lord and Master whenever you are."

-C. H. Spurgeon, "Beginning at Jerusalem"

I read this biographical sketch while studying Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, Sixth Edition, by Kenneth H. Rosen (these paragraphs are on page 635 of the International Marketplace Edition of the text).

Leonhard Euler was the son of a Calvinist minister from the vicinity of Basel, Switzerland. At 13 he entered the University of Basel, pursuing a career in theology, as his father wished. At the university Euler was tutored by Johann Bernoulli of the famous Bernoulli family of mathematicians. His interest and skills led him to abandon his theological studies and take up mathematics. Euler obtained his master’s degree in philosophy at the age of 16. In 1727 Peter the Great invited him to join the Academy at St. Petersburg. In 1741 he moved to the Berlin Academy, where he stayed until 1766. He then returned to St. Petersburg, where he remained for the rest of his life.

Euler was incredibly prolific, contributing to many areas of mathematics, including number theory, combinatorics, and analysis, as well as its applications to such areas as music and naval architecture. He wrote over 1100 books and papers and left so much unpublished work that it took 47 years after he died for all his work to be published. During his life his papers accumulated so quickly that he kept a large pile of articles awaiting publication. The Berlin Academy published the papers on top of this pile so later results were often published before the results they depended on or superseded. Euler had 13 children and was able to continue his work while a child or two bounced on his knees. He was blind for the last 17 years of his life, but because of his fantastic memory this did not diminish his mathematical output. The project of publishing his collected works, undertaken by the Swiss Society of Natural Science, is ongoing and will require more than 75 volumes.

The accomplishments of Leonhard Euler were certainly impressive, ones that ought to encourage me to strive for greater accomplishment in all areas of learning that I am pursuing.

During the last few summers, Peter has been hired for quite a good amount of lawnmowing work in our neighborhood.  Since he wasn't able to drive a car to transport equipment, he came up with a creative solution…

Mr. and Mrs. Celick were surprised with a 25th wedding anniversary celebration, and we were grateful to be invited.  They and their children emigrated some years ago from Russia, have made their home here in Tulsa, and are kind friends.

The Celick Family (minus one member) 

Mr. and Mrs. Celick sharing their story. 

The location of festivities. 

Generosity of friends and family. 

Special music was sung in Russian and English. 

Georg Ort, Victor Schulz, Paul Celick

Cutting the cake.

Friends

Mr. and Mrs. Schulz, the gracious hosts and instigators of the surprise. 

A certain act of a certain someone warrants a certain post…

Mommy spent hours upon hours compiling our taxes for 2007.  Due to the lack of financial record-keeping of Paul Stefan and me (which we have determined to change this year), she had no easy time.  Despite our shameful tardiness, Mommy chose to spend her time serving us – even late into the night.  Even when time to get to the post office was running out, she kept calm.  We are greatly blessed with a mother who lays aside herself to serve her family.  Compiling taxes is no simple task, but our mother did it amidst many obstacles, and with an admirable attitude.

"She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27 (more…)

Having posted photos of the damage done by the ice, I think it is fitting to show pictures of God's artistry in the midst of the disaster.  I woke up on Monday morning to a completely crystalized landscape.  Almost everything was covered in ice.  It seemed as though God had been painting a picture all through the night.  His art is definitely unsurpassed!

LEI's quarterly newsletter was sent out this week, and it is partially accredited to the generous service of the Christian Home Educators Fellowship graduating class of 2008.  A group of homeschooled seniors with two mothers and a few extra volunteers gave approximately 5 hours of their time to stuff, fold, and tape the mailing.  Thanks to all who served in this important task!