Lego Winter Village 2017

This year as we are in a larger home we had the ability to build our Winter Village more that twice the size it was last year!

First the crew had to work hard to lay the track.

The crew worked very hard to get it just right.

After the track was laid, the new station began to take shape.

Some finishing touches and the station was looking good.

It even had a nicely equipped coffee shop

Post the schedule

and hand the station off to the station master

Next up, what is this??

Careful with the tile work...

and the masonry.

Up go the walls

and the door

Meanwhile, the crew got going on another building

but the bakery was done first

Then the carousel went in

What is this but a whole trainload of more pieces!

Check out all those tiles!

The village really started to take shape!

Bakery is ready for business!

As is the Post Office (complete with its official Canada Post sign)

the Toy Shop is go to go as well!

An aerial shot with most of the major work done

Of course the big guy needed his place

but if you are on his naughty list, look out because he has a bin of coal!

Of course there are cats ready to pounce

and other critters for your viewing delight.

Be sure to grab some hot coco

and check the presents under the tree

Marshmallows over the fire

and a train load of toys!

The highlight of the village though is Santa's workshop on top of the mountain!

Climb the stairs if you dare...

but watch for what lurks below...

If you're adventurous there is a more challenging route

of course you could also throw snowballs at your sister...

The back of the train station needed a little work on the back.

The wide shot of the finished village

Santa's workshop!

Santa has caught the eye of the officer with the radar gun!

Not sure this is where our little adventurer meant to end up

Fresh pies from the bakery!

A new danger lurks below the mountain.

Our local hunters....

Finally, the tree is getting pretty crowed with all those presents!

Review: The Whole Bible Story Illustrated Edition

One must always be careful when using words like "Whole" and "Everything" when titling or describing any kind of guidebook, especially when it covers something as deep and immense as the Bible. That said, Dr. Marty does a wonderful job at walking us through the whole story of the Bible in this book. I really did enjoy reading through this book to see how he hits on the highlights of the Bible and gives explanation to what's going on throughout the Bible.

One of the things that can be hard to wrap our minds around when reading through the Bible is that things aren't quite in chronological order. The key thing Dr. Marty accomplishes in this book is laying out the story of scripture in a linear fashion. As his main concern is moving through the whole story he does, as noted in the introduction, skip over most of the non-narrative sections of the Bible. This includes much of the wisdom literature and prophets of the Old Testament and the Epistles of the New Testament. Some may think this goes against the assertion that he is telling the whole story of the Bible but it really does fit with how he is trying to give us a big picture 

This is a newly released illustrated edition, and though I believe the text of this book certainly stands on its own, the charts, pictures and maps included with the text give great visuals that add to the text. Each chapter also includes a list of main characters and settings which help one to know the who and the where. Finally each chapter ends with a summery. 

Overall, I think this is a great book to help one get an idea of the big picture. I think the best way I can describe it is as a narrator to the story of the Bible being told in a linear fashion. It would make a great text for an overview of the Bible class or for personal study. As mentioned already, this book does pass over most of the non-narrative material so it would not be appropriate as a Biblical survey text. If you are wanting to know how the events of the Bible unfolded in order, along with what the historical context of the events, this is certainly the book to read.

I did receive a copy of this book from Baker Books in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Immeasurable by Skye Jethani

I have thoroughly enjoyed Skye Jethani's contributions and thoughts on the Phil Vischer Podcast over the last number of years, and due to that have found his writings thoughtful and challenging. When given the opportunity to get my hands on a copy of his latest book "Immeasurable" for the launch week, I jumped at it. Skye has been asking many of the questions many of us who have been deeply involved in the church for a long time are asking. Questions about how the church is run, how much its reflecting the world around us when it should be the other way around. Questions about the way we hold up the pastor who leads thousands when there are thousands of us leading dozens. 

In this collection of 24 essays, each addressing one dimension of the church today in North America, Jethani continues to strike a cord. Hitting on topics such as the dangers of ambition, the idol of effectiveness and ever present Evangelical Industrial Complex. With thoughtfulness and wisdom, each chapter will having you nodding in agreement with things you've felt but not been able to express or having to pause and reflect on your own motives and methods. I found that though this is a relatively short book, just over 200 pages, it packs a real punch and cannot be breezed through quickly. 

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is in ministry and needs a refresh and refocus. If you're one a board, read this and consider how you measure your pastor and church's performance. If your a church member, read this and consider the influence the consumer age we live in had shaped your view of ministry and how you view the church and its leadership.

I have to thank Moody Publishing for providing me a copy of this book for an honest review. I must also thank Moody for publishing such a high quality book that will bring much value to the broader church.

Review: The Big Pig Stampede

One of my favorite places is the bargain book table. I love going through the stacks of books that seem to just not be popular enough, or perhaps too popular at some point, and just need to clear the shelf space they are taking up. I've found some real gems at deep discounts. One of my most recent finds was "The Big Pig Stampede" by Bob Hartman.

This book follows the misadventures of 'Goat Boy' the son of a travelling merchant in Judea. Goat Boy, along with Bug and Bug's cousin Lump, travel with their fathers setting up shop to sell their various wares from village to village. Life is pretty routine for them until one day a friend of Bug's who is serving at a big wedding tells them the party has run out of wine. The boys gather up all the wine their father's have to sell and run off to the banquet. Once they get there however, they are told there is plenty of wine because a rabbi named Jesus turned a whole bunch of water into the best wine anyone had ever had.

This is but one adventure their little group has as their fathers decide to follow Jesus where ever he goes because where Jesus go, the crowds go and crowds mean customers.

The book is entertaining to say the least but also gives a very interesting perspective on the ministry of Jesus through the eyes of a young boy who is just going about life. In my opinion, Hartman has done a very good job at weaving a story kids can relate to with the events found in the Gospel clearly seen in the background. One could easily launch from each chapter of this book into the appropriate Gospel account. The book is also easy to read and would be accessible to any child starting to read basic chapter books.

All that to say, this is a book that certainly rises above the bargain table.

Review: Tech-wise Family

As a parent, I'm concerned about what my kids are exposed to and how they learn to interact with the world around them. As someone who is quite tech-savvy and worked in the tech sector, I am also very familiar with what is out there and what my kids could get into. How technology is shaping our culture needs to shape our parenting. 

This book is very easy to read and filled with wonderful wisdom. Crouch does a good job at laying out the issues technology creates in our lives and provides easy to remember (though at times hard to implement) guidelines for keeping technology in its place. I very much appreciated the intro and way Crouch differentiates between tools and technology. He also makes a great distinction between leisure and rest. I think the book is worth reading, just for understanding those distinctions.

After the introduction, the book is broken up into short chapters, each unpacking one of their family's tech-wise commitments. Now each family will be different and some of these will be harder than others. What I really appreciated about these was the reality check at the end of each chapter where Crouch admits where their family falls short of this. This admission of not quite being there but wanting to be, adds a dimension of genuineness and encouragement. 

This is a book that I will most definately be recommending widely and will be a part of our family's toolkit as we walk through life.

(I received a copy of this book from Baker Publishing for review purposes)

Leadership and Success according to Lightning McQueen

We recently took our kids to see the latest installment of Disney/Pixar's Cars franchise, Cars 3. We don't usually splurge on a new release at the theater but if you know our little guy, you'd understand why we made an exception for this one. Overall I have to say this was a great movie and hats off to Disney/Pixar for telling a great story. This is one that we'll pick up for our family when its available, and I'm sure it will be played many times.
As we walked away from the theater I was really struck by how much one can learn about leadership and true success from this kids movie. Now if you haven't seen Cars 3 yet, I'd encourage you stop right here, go see it, and come back because I'm going to roll out some major spoilers here. If you've seen it, or you're OK with knowing the plot line of a kids movie read on.

If you don't change, you have a shelf life

The movie begins with montage of Lightning McQueen still dominating the Piston Cup circuit. He's at the top of his game, everyone is cheering him on, everyone wants to be with him. He's made it to the top and he's going to stay there. That is until one day, a new racer suddenly comes flying up from behind and wins the race. Lighting can't believe it but he keeps racing. It turns out their is a new batch of rookies coming up who are younger, stronger and... cooler. The fans begin to switch allegiance to these cool young winners and one by one Lightning's peers are pushed into retirement, with Lightening sure to follow. Lightning had just kept doing what he had always done and as long as it was working he didn't need to evaluate or improve himself.

Don't let the past keep you from adapting to present realities

The trouble was he kept doing things the way he had always done them. Then one day, the unthinkable happens, a rookies beats him. It is but the first of a string of losses to the newer, younger cars. Lightning keeps pushing himself, insistent that he'll get back on top. He won't change his ways, even as his peers are retired one by one. It isn't until he crashes and burns does he even inquire as to what's new. The young racers it turns out, train hard and make use of the latest technology and methods. These new racers are such a disruption to the status quo that no matter how skilled or experienced the older racers are they just can't keep up.

Even when he is given the chance to train like the young racers he messes up. He lacks the discipline and humility to try things a new way. He refuses to put in the work and to adapt, he continues to live off of his past successes. Out of frustration he tries to keep doing things his own way, ignoring the advice of those trying to help him and he ends up in a pretty mucky mess.

Don't chase after the new and forgo the wisdom of the past

Finally, Lightning comes to his senses after a very eventful race, and realizes that the only way he made it as a race was learning from his old and wise mentor, Doc. With Doc no longer around, Lightning sets off to find Doc's old mentor, Smokey. He figures that if he learned as much as he did from Doc, he should seek out the wisdom of the one Doc learned from.

Sure enough, in a backwoods town he finds Doc's old pit chief, Smokey, and the old racers that Doc ran with. Smokey tells Lightning, he will never be faster, but he can be smarter. It takes hard work and discipline and some techniques that both Lightning and his new trainer question, but he sticks with it. He trains hard and gets to his last race and in an interesting twist its one of the moves learned from these old guys that wins the day.

Your greatest moments aren't when you're winning but when you're helping others win

I believe one of the greatest parts of this movie is when Smokey is telling Lightning about the letters Doc used to write him. Smokey tells Lightning that in spite of all of the success Doc had in his own career, his best days were the ones when Lightning was winning. He had come to understand that his greatest joy was not in his own success but in helping someone else be their best. Lightning comes to realize this himself when he puts Cruz into the race with the line "It's my last chance to give you your first chance!" Lightning sets aside his own chance at victory and glory to watch someone else, who he saw the potential in, step up and show what they could do.
There is a great lesson to be had here, one of humility and recognizing that the time comes when we have to step aside. The choice to use one's "last chance to give you a first chance" is hard to make. The choice to step out of the spotlight so someone else can step in is risky. They might make a mistake, they might fail but most of all, you have to give up control. An amazing thing happens in the movie, that often happens in life, when one stops being the star and starts becoming the coach and cheerleader, when the mission and the team comes before personal glory, both win.

So look around you and see who you can give a chance, who you can cheer on and don't forget to be adapting in light of both nee development and past wisdom.

Review: The 25 Biblical Laws of Success

I have to admit I'm inherently suspicious of any think that claims to show how the Bible can bring about success in your career and business. I feel there are far too many books with such titles that attempt to lay down a set of steps to an end that simply attach proof texts to each step to be biblical. I do not feel this book falls into this category and in particular, appreciated the author's introduction and conclusion where they clearly point to Christ and reinforce that being successful in business is only temporary.

The 25 Laws are broken up into 5 parts; Wisdom, Work, Values, Relationships and Personal Growth. Each part contains 5 short chapters covering one of the laws. Each chapter contains both a scriptural backing as well as examples from the world around the authors. There is then a final section containing 7 sins against success which outline things that can derail one's success. Each chapter is short and easy to read with most chapters being about 5 pages. This makes it a book that is easily digested in small bites, which I would actually recommend. As each chapter addresses a single issue, most are worth a time of reflection, depending on where the reader is at in their own lives. The drawback to these short chapters is that they can at times, feel pithy and simply a collection of sayings and Bible verses, but it does make for an easier read.

If you have read a range of leadership books, particularly of "laws" of leadership books, much of this may sound familiar. If that is the case, one thing I did appreciate about this book is that the authors are not American and thus do approach the topics from a different perspective, which is often refreshing. If you haven't read much in the way of Christian leadership books, this could be a great place to start. This book could also be a good one to work through with a small group of people seeking live their lives in a more biblical manner and to build up their character. Overall, I'd say this is a good book in that it is clear and concise but at the same time is another take on good principles that have been covered by many others.


*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.