Pictures of Christmas Eve with the Roths

Lunch started at 2. . . or 3ish! We all enjoyed yummy food and lots of laughs round the tables! It can get quite crowded in Grandma Roth's house when we all pile in! Later we sang some carols, read the story of the birth and coming of Jesus, and then opened gifts.

Lauren, who looks very good I might add, for just giving birth a month ago!

Lorena Kay!

Chuck and Cita

Clair, Clifton, Curtis, Chuck

Clair and Tina


At 10:30 PM we all met at the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for the annual candle light service! It's such a great tradition.

Advent!

Hey guys. Just thought it would be fun to share how our individual families are celebrating this Advent season!

One of my favorite things about the Christmas season is the anticipation that builds and builds all the way til Christmas Eve when you can hardly stand it any longer and then. . .Christmas morning finally comes! We celebrate the lowly birth of God himself, born to save us!

So anyway, I'd love to hear about any traditions you have or would like to start in your homes during this season of anticipating and remembering our Savior's birth. I was challenged this Saturday to also let this season be a time to anticipate His coming! He has come and He will come again!

CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES ON CURTIS AND LAUREN'S BABY!!! See Caleb's Post below...

Over the past few years in planning worship services for Thanksgiving Services one passage in particular has become my main go to scripture to remind us of our need to have a mindset of thankfulness. Maybe you have heard me make these points in the past but I need to hear them again.

The principle is really paralleled in two places in Deuteronomy once in chapter 6 verse 10-15 as well as chapter 8 verses 6-10.

First there is this warning in chapter 6...

10 “So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build, 11 houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant—when you have eaten and are full— 12 then beware, lest you forget the LORD who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Then this admonition in chapter 8…

10 When you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you.

I’m sure the children of Israel had the same tendency as I do to enjoy the things they’d been GIVEN and to forget from WHOM it came. Many times I have caught myself going through the motions of Thanksgiving before the meal. Going around and telling the things we are thankful for and getting the spiritual stuff out of the way so we can really dig in to the feast. Then forgetting the PROVIDER the rest of the day. This passage reminds me that the most important time to remember the PROVIDER and the provision He has made is AFTER we are full of that provision.

Unfortunately, we sometimes are the most thankful when we have the greatest need and the least thankful when we have plenty and this simply reflects our view of our need for God… “Lord, I hardly have anything you’re all I have, thank you for these little things so many take for granted!” versus “Wow, I’ve got all this stuff, yep, I guess I work pretty hard, turns out I don’t really need the Lord’s provision so much after all.” It comes down to a basic view of the physical vs the spiritual – let’s face it we tend to focus very little on our spiritual blessings in Christ than we do on our physical blessings in this world. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be thankful for the material things, however, our hearts cry should be saying, “All I REALLY have is YOU, Lord, YOU transcend all this stuff – you have given it and you may take it. Blessed be Your holy name!”

What we need is a consciousness of our complete and utter dependence on God at all times for all things and I believe that is what God through Moses is saying in this passage – Keep on remembering where all this comes from and keep on obeying what the PROVIDER has commanded.

That is what happens when we get full AND we remember to be thankful!

Happy Birthday Cita Marie!

Cita we love you and are so blessed to be family with you! Your joyous spirit and generous heart are such a blessing. Hope your birthday is super!

Sunday with Clifton and Sally

I thought I would share our Sunday with you.  I hope you welcome the thought.  I don't mean to force it on you...just thought I would share.  

This is not our usual habit, but before we even got out of bed this morning, Sally suggested that we invite our friends Jake and Lacie over for breakfast...so we did.  We woke them up and they came over and we enjoyed our pancakes, eggs, sausage, coffee, and milk with them.  I have to say that it was a very helpful way to start this day on which we focus on the gathering of believers.  

They headed home around 9:45 and we finished getting ready.  Sally and I are on the Connecting Team for the 11:15 service at Sojourn.  Here are some pics to give you an idea of what that is like...not a perfect representation, but nonetheless some that I took this morning...

through the glass

in the gallery

the visitor info table

folding before the service

Brad...he is the leader at the 11:15

So, that is how it started...  

Since I had the camera with me, we stopped on the way home to capture some of colors on Southern Parkway...

We arrived home and Sal finished a wonderful pot of soup...

and we ate it...while i put this post on the blog...and here we are...

That is our Sunday so far...and it has now been shared with you.  

WE LOVE YOU ALL and PRAY FOR YOU much...

Peace,

clif

My Last Post Until After the Election

Well, at the risk of over promoting the words of a man, I offer this video from, guess who....
Piper. The only reason I think that these words are extra valuable is because I think that they are thought out with all of SCRIPTURE in mind. This video sums up a lot of what I have mentioned on the blog and also brings in a few other things...so watch and comment...I hope you all are doing well and resting in the greatness of our GOD! Oh, by the way...did you see this picture to the left...simply unbelievable.

More Thoughts on Christians and Politics

I must admit that the last post was somewhat of a re-action to some of the "political talk" that I heard coming from the mouths of some of my family...(you guys). My concern is not that you change your political views, but more importantly that you change the way you THINK and TALK about them. As belieivers, we are called to think and to talk differently concerning politics and human government. (Now, if your political views cause you to place American government and politics on a higher plane than that of the Kingdom of God, than I am concerned about your veiws and not simply your talk, and IN A SERIOUS WAY!)

If you have not read the last post, I encourage you to go back and read it and comment on it. There were some comments added recently, so do go back and check those out too.

Today, however, I wanted to spur on some more thoughts about how we as Christians are called to view politics through a different lens than the rest of our culture...

Please click this link and read an article by Randy Alcorn (author of The Treasure Principle and other good books).

I'm not Voting for a Man, I'm Voting for Generations of Children and their Right to Live

Let me know your thoughts...because you should be thinking about it. If you aren't thinking...START (Ezra 7:10, Eccl. 12:9)!

Do you really want "More of the Same?"

Our pastor just finished a 2-week series on the Church and Politics. It should be noted that we have been going passage by passage through the book of Romans for almost a year now and providentially we came to Romans 13 two weeks ago. Amazing how God works that! I love the fact that our pastors do not seek to preach thier own opinions but simply study the Word and preach what it says...they don't skip over difficult passages nor do they assume that we already know what a verse means. I thought I would share this outline with you from last week. If you listen as you talk and as others talk, you will notice that often we take on the same way of thinking and discussing politics as does the rest of our culture. As believers in a soveriegn and omniscient God we must not be the sources of "more of the same." PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!



The outline from Andrew Jackson’s article, “How to Engage in Politics Without Losing Your Soul,” printed in the Christian Research Journal has been adapted for this sermon.

DO SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

DON’T EQUATE THE BIBLICAL KINGDOM OF GOD WITH ANY A) HUMAN POLITICAL PARTY B) NATION.

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (MATTHEW 6:33).

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place” (JOHN 18:36).


DO LOOK TO CHRIST ALONE AS SAVIOR
DON’T ELEVATE ANY POLITICIAN TO SAVIOR-LIKE STATUS.


But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (I PETER 3:15, CF. PSALM 146:3; JEREMIAH 17:5;ROMANS 14:9)


DO PRAY
DON’T PRAY SELECTIVELY

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (I TIMOTHY 2:1-2).


DO STAY UNITED IN CHRIST
DON’T DIVIDE THE FAMILY OF GOD INTO POLITICAL TRIBES.

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them (ROMANS 16:17; CF. COLOSSIANS 3:1-8).


DO LIVE A LIFESTYLE OF REPENTANCE, FORGIVENESS AND LOVE.
DON’T FORFEIT YOUR FAITH IN YOUR POLITICAL WALK AND TALK.

“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner’’’ (LUKE 18:10-13; CF. ROMANS 13:13-14).

When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match

My Ethics professor, Dr. Ken Magnuson, shared this article at the beginning of class today. I felt it worthy of sharing...please read and share your thoughts...




When the "Want To" and the "Ought To" Don't Match

By John Piper

If your "want to" does not conform to God's "ought to," what can you do to have peace? I see at least five possible strategies.

1. You can avoid thinking about the "ought to." This is the most common strategy in the world. Most people simply do not devote energy to pondering what they should be doing that they are not doing. It's easier to just keep the radio on.
2. You can reinterpret the "ought to" so that it sounds just like your "want to." This is a little more sophisticated and so not as common. It usually takes a college education to do this with credibility, and a seminary degree to do it with finesse.
3. You can muster the willpower to do a form of the "ought to" even though you don't have the heart of the "want to." This generally looks pretty good, and is often mistaken as virtue, even by those who do it. In fact, there is a whole worldview that says doing "ought to's" without "want to" is the essence of virtue. The problem with this is that Paul said, "God loves a cheerful giver," which puts the merely "ought-to givers" in a precarious position.
4. You can feel proper remorse that the "want to" is very small and weak - like a mustard seed - and then, if it lies within you, do the "ought to" by the exertion of will, while repenting that the "want to" is weak, and praying that the "want to" will soon be restored. Perhaps it will even be restored in doing the "ought to." This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy hides one of the two contradictory impulses. Virtue confesses them both in the hope of grace.
5. You can seek, by the means of grace, to have God give the "want to" so that when the time comes to do the "ought to," you will "want to." Ultimately, the "want to" is a gift of God. "The mind of the flesh is hostile to God . . . it is not able to submit to the law of God" (Romans 8:7). "The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God . . . because they are spiritually appraised" (1 Corinthians 2:14). "Perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 2:25).

The Biblical doctrine of original sin boils down to this (to borrow from St. Augustine): We are free to do what we like, but we are not free to like what we ought to like. "Through the one man's disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners" (Romans 5:19). This is who we are. And yet we know from our own soul and from the Bible that we are accountable for the corruption of our bad "want to's." Indeed, the better you become, the more you feel ashamed of being bad and not just doing bad. As N.P. Williams said, "The ordinary man may feel ashamed of doing wrong: but the saint, endowed with a superior refinement of moral sensibility, and keener powers of introspection, is ashamed of being the kind of man who is liable to do wrong" (First Things, #87, Nov. 1998, p. 24). God's free and sovereign heart-changing work is our only hope. Therefore we must pray for a new heart. We must pray for the "want to" - "Incline my heart to Your testimonies" (Psalm 119:36). He has promised to do it: "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezekiel 36:27). This is the new covenant bought by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 8:8-13; 9:15).

Looking to Jesus, my life,
Pastor John

Baby Child

If the Lord is willing...In February of 2009, Sally and I will be parents of a baby girl. Early indications say that our child is Asian...which is weird because both of us are from European and Native American descent. Anyway, here is what all of the Doctor's technology is saying that our baby should like around 10 weeks or so...

Believe it or not...IT'S A GIRL!

"Revelation Flash"

Thought I would share a very helpful illustration from our church notes on Sunday.






“Revelation Flash” by Michael Winters



Romans 11:33
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!


A single flash blows out a brilliant flowering tree in the dark of night. This isn’t a high quality
photo, but the represented subject – the flowering tree – is obviously a marvelous creation in
its own right. The low technical quality and the power of the camera flash begins to create
a metaphor about how God’s revelation of himself works if you equate the flash of light
with his revelation. Without the flash of revelation, the image would be black. Our eyesight,
or the lens, could be equated with our fallen humanity, blurry and only capable of taking
in a limited view. The revelation flash enables us to see a brilliant, a dim, an incomplete, a
powerful vision of God’s imagination. We can respond in praise!

the swing

Well, most of you know that Sal and I have had the opportunity to build some fairly strong relationships with our neighbors here in Louisville. We live on, what we often refer to as, the "5th Bloc." Anyway, we have decided to dedicate our porch swing to taking part in our efforts to love our neighbors. We are now the proud owners of a digital camera (finally up with the times) and we plan to use our camera to photograph those people who come over and sit our swing, as this has included a fairly wide range of folks. We hope to take those pictures and then create some sort of artwork that would represent our passion and hope for taking the Good News to the "5th Bloc." So...in light of that, I thought this would be a great time to ask each of you to share about your neighborhoods and the relationships that you have been able to build with those living on your block and on your street...So...who will be first to share?

Happy Birthday to the Baby's "Baby Mama"

Happy Birthday to Lauren!
Lauren,
Hope all is well and that you are adjusting well to the pregancy.
We are all so grateful to have you as a part of our Fam.

cwjr

The Real Storm and God's Gracious Shelter

You know...I think sometimes it is very easy for us to forget what the REAL storm of life really is. I know that at times I am distracted by those trials that cause my life to be uncomfortable and I want God to shelter me from those. Of course it is not wrong to ask for God to deliver us from a trial or test, but I was just reminded when listening to this song this morning, of the REAL STORM that exists in all of our lives...SIN. God has mercifully and graciously already provided shelter from that storm. Rest confident in that! I pray that these lyrics cause you to worship as they did for me...

I Have a Shelter

By Steve & Vikki Cook and Bob Kauflin

I have a shelter in the storm
When troubles pour upon me
Though fears are rising like a flood
My soul can rest securely
O Jesus, I will hide in You
My place of peace and solace
No trial is deeper than Your love
That comforts all my sorrows

I have a shelter in the storm
When all my sins accuse me
Though justice charges me with guilt
Your grace will not refuse me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
Who bore my condemnation
I find my refuge in Your wounds
For there I find salvation

I have a shelter in the storm
When constant winds would break me
For in my weakness, I have learned
Your strength will not forsake me
O Jesus, I will hide in You
The One who bears my burdens
With faithful hands that cannot fail
You’ll bring me home to heaven

© 2008 Integrity’s Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP) (Admin. By Integrity’s Hosanna! Music) Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI)(Admin. By Integrity’s Praise! Music)

We Have Heard the Heartbeat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love to you all,

Clif and Sal

Memorial Weekend trip to the South

After a snowy, frigid and somewhat extended winter in Wisconsin it was time for the Caleb and April Roth Family to take a trip to the warmer southern states. Granted our house didn’t quite look like this when we left but we did get a frost while we were gone.

As we traditionally do we stopped on our way down at some friends of ours in the New Castle, Indiana area. We went to prayer meeting Wednesday night with the Irwins and stayed the night in their beautiful house with their wonderful family. They have quite the arsenal of weapons (toy) as well as good cowboy/soldier dress up gear. April and Sarah went to high school together in Michigan and enjoy having their children play together while they catch up.

We left Indiana on Thursday morning and headed to Hixson, Tennessee. It is always so good to see family again!

Friday morning Mom got some more use out of her Tennessee Aquarium passes and took some more of her grandchildren to see the penguins, butterflies and sharks. Lorena and Landry came along to give Cita a bit of break from her hectic week and so that she could get prepped for camping on the Community Baptist campsite – we also stopped at the river walk for the first of many outdoor meals during our stay.

We also made a quick stop by the Chickamauga Battlefield so the kids could get this great picture on a canon and see a real arsenal of weapons (not toys). Ryrie and Regann stayed the night with Aunt Cita and family which included a breakdown (out of gas) at Baskin-Robbins (there are worse places to breakdown). Ryrie felt that staying in the truck with his seatbelt on was the best way to wait for help to arrive.

On Saturday we had a great little cookout out at Grandma and Grandpa’s. Curtis and Lauren came along with Lauren’s sister and her husband as well as Lauren’s folks – it was good to renew our acquaintance with them and spend some time with Curtis and Lauren.

Sunday’s are always very important days for the Roth clan as we come together to worship God and this Sunday was no different – a good portion of us went out to Community Baptist in Hixson Sunday morning. Dad led us through a time of remembrance as it was Memorial day weekend and he reminded us of the privilege we have of living in these United States and exhorted us to thank God for His sovereign placing of us here. I was privileged to bring the message of the morning from Psalm 119:89-96 reminding us of the importance of God’s Word in our lives and how that should be fleshed out biblically. We used a bit of a different format with the message and sang a few hymns throughout to reinforce the truths we were hearing. I plan to use the same message this Father’s day here at First Baptist West Bend as we exhort our fathers to keep God’s Word saturating their homes and lives.

Sunday afternoon brought on another cookout with some of the church folks and the Clair, Cita, and Caleb clans. Sunday evening some of us darted down to our old stomping grounds at Calvary IBC to see some old friends. It was a precious time – Dan Spriggs, of course, forced me up to sing even though I didn’t have a tie on! I was thrilled to be a blessing!

Monday we had a great Memorial Day complete with some play time in the sprinkler/slip and slide for the kids and an evangelistic picnic with the Community Baptist Church folks – we had a good number of unchurched folks out and Dad shared a clear gospel message. The children enjoyed an inflatable jumping gym/slide.

At that point our kidos were pretty well picnicked/cooked-out. They don’t get to eat outside quite that often as their dad is still quite the city-slicker (and a control freak). Andric loved it all though, he would just graze around taking handout food from anyone who would give it to him. We took some time to snap a shot of all the grandkids. It was nice to have Cary, Amanda, Audrey and the beautiful Caris there.

Monday night April and I went over to visit Curtis and Lauren’s new place. They’ve done a lot of work to it and it is looking very nice! We also sneaked over to Starbucks for a frapuccino – thanks to Aunt Cita for helping get the kids bathed and in bed so they weren’t so stinky and cranky for Tuesday’s drive and so we could stay out a little later than we normally do.

Tuesday morning we left early to head up to Louisville to see Clif and Sally where we were lovingly greeted by Tara their friendly dog. Clif graciously took us around Louisville a bit and the kids got to play on a great playground and we also took a walk around the Southern Baptist Seminary campus which is quite a lovely place. That evening we met up with Sally and went to their last community group meeting which was a great experience for us – our boys had a blast pushing around the fire engine with a bunch of little girls in it that they didn’t know.

By Wednesday morning we were ready to head back to Wisconsin but not before a quick jog over to Michigan to drop of Ryrie and Caedrin for a week long visit at Grandma Running’s. When we got back we were excited to see a new garage door and opener on our garage. It is a big blessing because now we can put our van in the garage and out of the weather. Summer is almost here and it is finally feeling like it in Wisconsin.

Hope you all enjoyed seeing us as much as we enjoyed seeing you!

Clearly Willing to Protect (Clair William)

He'd better be willing to protect! Clair's birthday is this week (may 29th) so I thought I would take a few moments to honor him. Just for fun, I looked up the etymology of his name and was not surprised to find out that it has clear implications upon his life. Clair, derived from the latin clarus is where we get our English word "clear." William, comes from the Germanic name Wilhelm, which was composed of the elements wil "will, desire" and helm "helmet, protection". Hmmm....very interesting. I mean look at this picture...Clair, you are certainly not lacking in responsibility. The truth of the matter is, that as husbands and fathers, we should all have some serious clair william in hearts. I mean to say that we must all be willing to protect and guard our families, and not only that, there should be no blurriness about it, our duty should be clear and specific.

Clair you have 8 amazing blessings. Thanks for loving them and protecting them. Everytime I am around you, I am impressed by your specific acts and words of love for your wife and for each of your children specifically. Keep it up. Bro, thanks for being such a hard worker, your sweat has been a great example to me over the years. I respect it greatly. Happy Birthday! I look forward to seeing you sometime soon.

cwjr

Grandma visits Chatt-town

Grandma recently came to Chattanooga to visit her eldest daughter. . .our very own Donna Roth. Here are a few memories from the trip.

Mom said while chuckling, "the main thing we did while we were together was walk our dogs!" Aren't they cute!

For Mom's birthday Cita,Chuck and family & Curtis, Lauren and family :) took the birthday girl and family out to Red Lobster. Looks like grandma enjoyed herself!

What's not to enjoy!

On Grandma's request the group stopped by the aquarium to visit the penguins!

WE LOVE YOU GRANDMA SCHMEID!