Well, as Candice mentioned in her previous blog, she falls asleep pretty easily. So, I thought I would take the time to chronicle what's been going on in the past few days.

After Fairytale Town we made it to the vacation rental. I have to say that one of my highlight's on this trip is the interaction that I've had with the kids. Time with them is what is dear to my heart and its such a blessing that I don't have to be on vacation to be with them. Seeing Bailey's utter excitement as she goes down a slide, or seeing Beckham crawl on grass for the first time, or chasing Brooklyn around the pool: these are the times in life that I will remember when I am old. I won't remember where we slept or what we did. I will remember the joy on their face that is a result of the goodness of Christ being at the center of our family. Thats what life is all about. The Lord has made us rich in joy. That's something money can't buy.

The highlight all the good things that happened today though came as we were sitting out in the lawn visiting. Brooklyn was running around the house and came across a small, leather case in the side yard rock bed. Inside she realized it was an Ipod. She ran back to me all excited and said, "Dad, look what I found! Can I keep it?!"

Classic case of a moral dilemma.

We had all the reasons in the world to keep the Ipod. Brooklyn deserved to have it. She found it. The rental owners would have no idea that we took it. The owner probably thought it was long gone so probably had written off the loss long ago.

Yet we didn't keep it.

The difference between a life centered in Christ and a life centered around any other thing under the sun is faith. True faith is evidenced by works. Works that are completed through faith can be done by simply making a decision in a lawn chair on vacation that may break the heart of your child, the greatest pain I could imagine, but please God in the process. Though this decision was not to the degree that Abraham experienced before he was about to Sacrifice his son Isaac, I can see the clear similarities. Is God #1 in my life or is my children? God is.

What is True Faith?

One of my favorite passages of scripture is Hebrews Chapter 11. The following verses from that chapter is the rationale for the way Candice and I make these moral decisions in life and pray that our kids will understand more and more as they grow up.

13

All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.

14

People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.

15

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

16

Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

I long for Home.

Shortly after the decision was made and the rationale explained to Brooklyn, my dad took Brooklyn to the motorhome. Just then the son of the vacation rental owners showed up. As my dad explained, the Ipod belonged to this kid's friend. This kid was extremely excited to get it back for his friend and thanked my dad twice for giving it back to him. My dad gave the credit to Brooklyn. I can imagine the joy on her face experiencing the joy that comes from receiving credit for doing the right thing. Money can buy Ipods. Money can't buy this. As I said before. We are rich.

I spoke with Brooklyn again about how proud I was of her. Tomorrow we head up to Lake Tahoe and I promised that I would get her something special at some point during the day.

Our Beacon of Light