The personal blog of Stephen Jones (We have moved. Please visit "Pinch of Clay" for my latest posts)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
A Year to Remember
Here are some of this year’s highlights…
Abigail. Our third child, Abigail Adelle Jones, was born on February 10, 2011. She is cuddly and playful and such a sweetheart. She cut her first two teeth at 3 1/2 months, and now at ten months she has 14 teeth! Just like her Grandpa.
Abby was born right on time, after teasing us with 16 weeks of false labor. The delivery went quite smoothly. But unbeknownst to us, a small piece of placenta was not expelled from Natalie’s uterus. Which leads us to our next memory...
Hospitals. After delivery, Natalie endured severe cramping and heavy bleeding for five hours. It took a D&C, four units of blood, four days in the hospital, and a lot of prayer to nurse her back to health. She had intermittent cramping and bleeding for another five weeks until a second D&C that removed more embedded placental tissue.
Before she was born, doctors noticed that Abigail had a kidney condition called hydronephrosis (fluid on the kidney). At first we weren’t sure if she would lose her right kidney altogether, but further testing revealed only a small defect where the ureter and kidney attach. A repair surgery took place in September at Loma Linda (where Dylan had his heart surgery in 2007). It went very well...until that night when Abby had internal bleeding.
What should have been an overnight stay turned into almost a weeklong stay with time in ICU. But again, God was kind to give us excellent doctors and nurses who knew just how to help. And He gave Mommy and Daddy the strength to endure. Once over that hump, she’s been doing great! We’ll get an ultrasound done in January, and follow-ups as she grows older, but it appears at this point that she is doing just fine and should have two perfectly healthy kidneys. Praise God!
In August, Natalie began to experience chest pains. It felt like a heart attack but, thankfully, turned out to be a gall stone attack. She had emergency surgery to remove the gall bladder, but then did not recover well. Her blood pressure dropped and she had internal bleeding. (Which, by the way, the Lord healed. When the doctor took her back into surgery the next day, he saw the old blood, but found no new bleeding. It stopped even before the doctor got inside!) Natalie’s mom stayed for a full month to help with kids and chores while Natalie regained her strength. Stephen’s mom also came to help after Abby’s surgery. Thank you, family, for your sacrifice this year!
From September 2010 through October 2011 we counted ten ER visits for our family, four operations for Natalie, one operation for Abigail, and constant doctor visits and intense moments. We’re very thankful for a window of rest the past couple months! But we’re also thankful for the trials God brought us through and the lessons He taught us. We’ve never felt so helpless, so dependent on God, so thankful for His love, and so mindful of the power of prayer. Thank you all who served us and prayed for us this year.
Arizona. 2011 was not all drama. We enjoyed some fun moments too. In June, we rented a house along with Stephen’s parents in Flagstaff, AZ for a week. This was such a great way to meet up with them. We spent a full day at the Grand Canyon, visited some caverns, and got to look at the sun and Saturn through special telescopes at the Lowell Observatory.
On departure, our family headed south to Phoenix and the Southern Baptist Convention. The kids had a blast riding the light rail train each day to the Convention Center!
Family. On July 15th, we celebrated 11 years of marriage by heading up the Palm Springs Tram for dinner and a hike in the gorgeous mountain scenery. Thank you, Lord, for best friends in each other!
Heidi turned three on February 20th. (She still talks about her princess birthday cake!) Dylan turned six on November 17 and started first grade this fall. He is reading well and really enjoys science. Natalie is teaching the kids at home and does a great job. Dylan recently lost his fourth tooth, just in time to sing All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!
Camping. In August, Stephen took the older kids camping for two nights in Idyllwild. Heidi was so excited to go this year! They arrived late, so they had to scramble to find a good site and set up camp in the dark. When they awoke in the morning, they discovered a rock nearby that the kids loved climbing on. With a little imagination, that rock became a pirate ship, a castle, and a hideout for bad guys.
Ministry. This was an encouraging year as we saw the Lord work in many lives. More and more families are coming to the church and getting involved. We had good attendance at VBS with two girls accepting Christ. We also did outreach at a local parade, a fair booth, a car show, at Halloween, and by donating money to our local high school to help renovate their faculty lounge.
We shared the gospel with many visitors at our Christmas service, and Stephen had the opportunity to lead a man to Christ just a few weeks ago. We also enjoyed many guest missionaries this year including Mikko Sivonen, Tim Kunkel, Philippe Viguier, and Jeff Thomas.
Stephen had the opportunity to serve on the California Southern Baptist Focus 21 Task Force. He also enjoyed teaching as a Course Administrator for The Master’s College Online program and as an Adjunct Professor at California Baptist University.
We were blessed by the group Majesty from The Master’s College who came out to sing in October. Plus they were able to stay a few extra days and help paint our sanctuary, hallway, remodel Stephen’s church office, organize the library, and help with outreach. They were a tremendous encouragement!
God provided for us to re-roof our sanctuary before the winter rains arrive. This was an enormous amount of money for our little church. Several times, money came from people we didn’t even know and once from over a hundred miles away. Praise God!
Yes, it’s been quite a year. But we serve quite a God --One who promises never to give us more than we can handle with His Spirit, His Word, and loving friends like all of you. We love and pray for you. Happy New Year!
Love,
Stephen, Natalie, Dylan, Heidi, & Abigail Jones
Friday, December 23, 2011
Books, books, books
“Before that evening when Bob told me the gospel, I literally knew nothing of God or His Word. I’d never cracked open a Bible. But from the day of my conversion I couldn’t get enough of Scripture or Christian books. Not long after my conversion, I got a job at a Christian bookstore just so I could read as much as possible” (Living the Cross-Centered Life, p. 148).
Donald Whitney observes, “I’ve always found it to be true that growing Christians are reading Christians. For some it’s a habit they find hard to develop…But let me encourage you to find some time to read anyway, even if it’s no more than one page per day and one book per year” (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, p. 221).
Here’s a list of books I read in 2011. Some were deeply convicting or comforting; others were purely amusing and relaxing.
A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Kindle Edition by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (in progress)
The Bible by God (I’m currently reading through the New Testament)
The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha
“But God…”: The Two Words at the Heart of the Gospel by Casey Lute
The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and Jason Wright
Cruciform: Living the Cross-Shaped Life by Jimmy Davis
Getting Back in the Race: The Cure for Backsliding by Joel Beeke (in progress)
The Evangelicals: What They Believe, Where They Are, and Their Politics by Christopher Catherwood
Flip Flop Fly Ball: An Infographic Baseball Adventure by Craig Robinson
Heaven Revealed: What is it Like? What will we Do? … And 11 Other Things You’ve Wondered About by Paul Enns
How to Meet the Enemy: Arming Yourself for Spiritual Warfare by John MacArthur (in progress)
Intentional Parenting: Family Discipleship by Design by Tad Thompson
Licensed to Kill: A Field Manual for Mortifying Sin by Brian Hedges
Living by God’s Promises by Joel Beeke (a couple chapters)
Navajo Code Talkers by Nathan Aaseng
The Next Story: Life and Faith after the Digital Explosion by Tim Challies
Presentations in Action: 80 Memorable Presentation Lessons from the Masters by Jerry Weismann
The Organized Heart: A Woman’s Guide to Conquering Chaos by Staci Eastin
Pujols: More than the Game by Scott Lamb & Tim Ellsworth
Sexual Detox: A Guide for Guys who are Sick of Porn by Tim Challies
The Sword: A Novel by Bryan Liftin (just started this one)
Trusting God: Even When Life Hurts by Jerry Bridges
What Every Body is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People by Joe Navarro
What is the Mission of the Church? Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert (in progress)
Each of these books had a unique role to play and shaped my thinking in new areas. It’s hard to know which influenced me the most. Apart from the bible, I think it’s a three-way tie between A Praying Life, Trusting God, and Heaven Revealed. All of them ministered to me deeply as my family went through so much suffering this year. They really became dear friends that brought comfort and food to my soul, and helped me better care for my wife and others.
So what have you been reading lately? What was your “Book of the Year”? Do you have any books you plan to read in 2012?
Thursday, December 22, 2011
A fickle crowd?
"I read a blog post by Kevin DeYoung that argued that it was two different groups of people. The ones shouting "Hosanna" were Galilean pilgrims and the ones shouting "Crucify Him" were the Jerusalem crowd. What are your thoughts on this?"
Here was my reply:
You've raised a really interesting question about the crowd in Jerusalem during the Passion Week. David Hazard vividly captures the traditional view:
But many scholars, as Kevin DeYoung pointed out, dispute this fact. Thus R. T. France writes,
Yet others remain convinced. William Hendriksen says,
How must we account for this? The fickleness or instability of the human heart and mind apart from regenerating grace enters into the answer. Other factors deserving consideration are:
- The pressure exerted upon the crowd by the chief priests. We are distinctly told, “But the chief priests stirred up the mob to get him [Pilate] to release to them Barabbas instead (of Jesus).” Read Mark 15:11; cf. Matt. 27:20. It was hard to resist such pressure. See John 9:22; 12:42; cf. 20:19.
- The fact that in the end Jesus did not prove to be the kind of Messiah the people desired and were expecting.
- Sinful ignorance of Scripture. With increasing clarity the Old Testament draws the picture of the coming Redeemer: Gen. 3:15; II Sam. 7:12, 13; Ps. 72; 118:22, 23; Isa. 7:14; 9:6; 11:1–10; 35:5, 6; 42:1–4; 53; 60:1–3; Jer. 23:6; 31:31–34; Mic. 4:1–5; 5:2; 7:18–20; Hag. 2:1–9; Zech. 3:8; 6:9–13; 9:9, 10; 13:1; Mal. 3:1–4, to mention only a few of the many messianic prophecies. These predictions associate with Messiah: peace, pardon, healing, righteousness, vicarious suffering, spiritual cleansing.
In all likelihood, there was some overlap between the two groups. The Triumphal Entry probably did include some Judeans coming out to greet and praise Jesus. (After all, Jesus' local teaching, healing, and raising of Lazarus had not been done in a corner.) And the Crucifixion probably did include some Galileeans who had been influenced and corrupted by the religious leaders. This would not be the first time that Galileeans turned their backs on the Lord. (Just recall the feeding of the 5,000, where scores chased after Jesus to make Him king but soon turned back and no longer walked with Him. Jn. 6:15, 24, 66).
What do you think? Whose viewpoint do you find more convincing? And does this have any significance in our understanding of the overall gospel narrative?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Growing in Christ
Our Wednesday night Bible Study on Spiritual Warfare is winding down. So starting January 4, we’ll be starting a new series called “Growing in Christ.” It’s actually a three-year program I’m developing to help produce mature, fruitful believers in Jesus Christ.
I’ve long had a burden for nurturing new Christians, training up mentors, and equipping busy Marines. But I was never quite sure how to pull it off. Though still early in the early planning phase, I think this program will help fill the gap in our discipleship ministry. Here’s an overview:
Growing in Christ
GOAL: To produce mature, fruitful believers in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:13).
STRATEGY: three themes discussed in three years:
1. SERVE HIM (the hands of a disciple)
2. KNOW HIM (the head of a disciple)
- Christian Beliefs
- Bible Overview
- Church History
- Apologetics/Worldview
3. LOVE HIM (the heart of a disciple)
- Am I Really a Christian?
- Bearing Fruit of the Spirit
- What if I Backslide?
Our salvation and union with Christ is the root of all growth and fruitfulness, so we’ll start with “Am I Really a Christian?” From there, we’ll rotate between themes. The full three-year cycle looks like this:
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | |
Winter | Am I Really a Christian? | Evangelism | Counseling |
Spring | Spiritual Disciplines | Fruit of the Spirit | Spiritual Gifts |
Summer | Christian Beliefs | Family | Backsliding |
Fall | Overview of the Bible | Church History | Apologetics/ Worldviews |
By the end, Lord willing, a Christian would be trained in the fundamentals of the faith and would have all the basic tools for a lifetime of continued learning.
Our format on Wednesday nights would be primarily lecture, some discussion, and a small amount of homework each week. I also hope to record these lessons and upload them to our podcast so that others can follow along. Those who have successfully completed a course will have opportunity to guide one or two others through the study in the future.
What do you think? Is this something that would interest you? Anything else we should add or change in a beginning discipleship program? In my next post, I’ll share a more detailed listing of what specific topics we’ll cover each quarter.
Please pray for this new discipleship program, and consider joining us on Wednesday nights!
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