Snapped these when we weren't being followed

Me, myself, and ?

A beautiful day in Union Square, but have our identities been foiled? Will the Greenhouse 5 make it back for next week's episode? Is this the end of their supercrime fighting?


I clearly spotted them by the ice rink...


Then again with the 3 little superheroes...


Grammie was even being followed...


A mere reflection?


More subtle, but obviously there...


Stay tuned.

Capitol(al) G

That's a "G" for Greenhouse and an "A" for Arnie.

Under a blood red sky

I'm not even a U2 fan. Pictures speak for themselves...

Cosmic Boy Turn(ed) 10

Can you tell a good time was had by all? Not sure what we fed this bunch, this is how they ended up...

Camera phone to the rescue...

Yes, somehow we managed to forget the memory card from the camera on the last camping trip, but the trust low res camera phone managed to snap a few pics...

Spotlight on Cosmic Boy

Who, you say? Cosmic Boy? Ah, superheros are more powerful when their fame is kept under wraps. Cosmic Boy first appeared in Adventure Comics, the founding member of the Legion of Super-Heroes, the original leader in all incarnations of the Legion. His character has been fairly consistent, with a serious attitude and a strong sense of duty.

Check out this description of him published on Wikipedia..."Cosmic Boy is like the all-around leader who puts it all on his shoulders, but he's magnetic. His powers are all about magnetics, and so it carries over to his personality. An he struggles to bring all the Legion back together. He's like, 'We can do this. We can bring it together' It comes naturally to him."

Ten years ago today, our Cosmic Boy blazed a trail into the Greenhouse5, transforming the Greenhouse2 into the Greenhouse3. In a style that has proved uncharacteristic, he seemed to be in a hurry to get out, causing Mr. Incredible to put the transport vehicle into hyperspeed to complete the mission without altering the flight plan.

Cosmic Boy is a joy to all who know him, like his alter-ego, he's magnetic. His leadership is beginning to shine too, leading the budding superheroes in our legion, with a style that at times shows a flair much like my own. He's responsible, capable, and an all around good young superhero. Happy Birthday Cosmic Boy, AKA Sheepdog, we're proud of you!

It's still a wonderful life

Well, despite making it to the top 3 for the part of "Tommy Bailey" in a local production of "It's a Wonderful Life", Cosmic Boy didn't land the role. Well, we of course thought he was well suited for the part, but since we originally had him audition for role "just for the experience", we have to look at the positive and be thankful he made as far as he did! He's got the auditioning experience under his belt and there are some lessons learned. Good job Cosmic Boy, mom and dad are very proud of you!

The Greenhouse5 response to the DNC

Expectations

Alright, I'm sure there's some theory out there, I'm sure there are academic studies of why or why not expectations for your kids are good or bad. I'm sure my kids will need some couch time at some point when they get older. But darn it, when I take my kids out, I have some :-)

So, in the category of "Rants", I pass on this tale...a similar tale no doubt could be penned by any of us.

Wonder Woman and I were on a plane with a 3 kids, one of which I'll call BamBam - age 4, and a mom behind us. Wonder Woman had to move to a different seat because BamBam was literally beating her chair with his fists and feet. This was of course after he sang nonsense loudly for a period of time. Luckily, this all stopped when mom pulled out the electronic medicine, aka fancy gameboy of some variety, DS or something (I believe he at least 2 of them on the plane). Ritalin with batteries.

However as the plane began it's descent, mom had to turn off her iPod, fancy smartphone, and laptop and again deal with BamBam; she apparently is inflicted with the same computer virus as her child. He began screaming "I want my DS!!!" At first the straightforward approach, "I'm sorry honey you can't have it right now". Then, she tried the lying angle, "Honey, it's out of batteries". As the conversation continued, she said things like "Let's talk about this OK?", or "See...mommy had to turn off her iPod too", or "This is the rule of the plane honey." or "This is also the rule of the pilot, he says people can't do this right now." Hmmm, do you think any of this worked?

Now, we move on to the sibling interaction. As this went on, the princess child, the only girl who obviously seemed to have a shopping connection with the mom, called him a "Brat". Actually she was right. But this transformed the conversation from the DS to the sibling rivalry. I heard the "Don't we want to be friends?" line, followed by the "Let's say sorry" at which the daughter mumbled out a pretty good, "I'm sorry" (for what?) Now my favorite line, with the mom's prompting to "BamBam", "What do you have to say?"...."Nofing", said BamBam. I just about laughed out loud. Geez. As the plane landed, mom turned on the phone and never had it away from her ear even as I saw her pass baggage claim.

I as a parent have expectations for my child. I am the parent. So, in this case and many others, I heard more "I'm sorry" from the mom than I did from any child. And since the mom had no authority, she had to call on anyone around who had some. People often say when they find out we homeschool, usually while in the "I could never do that" wavelength, "I can't teach my kids, they'll never listen to me!!" Well, I'm not telling anybody to homeschool, that's not for everybody, but don't let that be your reason. You must have expectations for your kids, and by golly set the bar high.

So, an extreme example, yes. But as I reflected on the little superheros, I thanked God for them repeatedly. Then as I picked them up from Ms America and her driver who watched them while we were in Seattle, she commented "They do fight a lot, don't they!?!" Ooooops :-) Well, at least she says, "...but they work it out"

"Ordinary is not good enough. Normal will not change the world. We are No Ordinary People, created by No Ordinary God, for No Ordinary Purpose." Denise Mira

Facebook, preachers' kids, and my kids...oh my!

More fallout from the Facebook realm; Wonder Woman recently stumbled upon the blog of a friend from her past (actually the blog of the wife of a friend from her past, but close enough). This friend was a preacher kid as was his wife. I'm not going to link the blog because quite frankly it crossed a line of respect in my opinion, nor do I want to call attention to that friend; if they want to do so, they can do it on their own ad dime. However, in summary, the theme of the blog is mocking Christian culture. I think it's up to #25 of a series of points (and growing); things like acting happy, youth pastors, worship teams, homeschooling, and other stereotypical themes/actions. Now the best critics of anything are typically people who come from the inside, so she's got a lot right. I don't know her well enough to know how far her mockery goes, whether the mockery ends at the culture or continues through to the message.

But my thoughts are on "What happened?" To her, and to others. What's evident and/or missing in "Christian culture" that repeatedly drives away some so close to it?

For the sake of this blog, I'll throw out a few examples of who I'm talking about. One one hand, there's the preacher kids (PKs) mentioned above. It's not too much of a stretch to label myself as a "preacher kid" to some extent, maybe some more details on that later. But my step-siblings, PKs through and through, have staunchly rejected Christianity in practice though I'll certainly leave it to God to judge their hearts. They like to talk of the hypocrisy thing, either of their own families, or equally as likely of the sheep in the flock. Unfortunately, not an uncommon tale.

Then there's the some other folks we've known. Maybe not PKs, but grown up in church, came to the church in their youth, or even worked in the church, who, if they haven't turned their backs on Christianity now, are skeptical and in the shadows if they even come to church at all. The adult who says, "Everyone is a hypocrite", or the former youth leader who says, "Parents were looking to me to parent their kids, and if I asked them to step up, they simply took their kids elsewhere. How is that a good thing?" These people may or may not still have zeal for Christ, more than often not. Unfortunately there's many we know in this category too.

Then there's some I know who still have the zeal for the message and passion for Christ but too have become so disillusioned with the culture that they avoid the church. The subtle difference between those above would be that they are still living a life with the fruit of a Christian. They are not disillusioned with the core, message, but question the cultural workings out. He/she might say something like "I'm looking for an environment where it's not a spectator sport."

So what is the deal? Without a deep dive into theology...predestination, foreknowledge, etc, I ask these questions... Would Jesus be pleased with my Christian culture or would he turn over my tables? Do we spend to much time amongst ourselves and not enough time outside "the club"? Are we living like we believe the message or living according to some written/unwritten "Christian" rules? Will my kids see a true yearning to please God or a religiousity to an organization? Have we created an institution where people can be comfortable with the organization as well as an active participate but not a passionate follower?

In the end, God draws people to Him. I don't necessarily completely understand it, but the Word is clear on this. But with that said, I want to influence my environments, church, home, and other, such that it's the real deal. Time to reread Matthew 13. If someone said it would be easy, they were wrong.

When you live in SCAL

you just never know who you'll run into...

Cosmic Boy comes apart

Or should I say, Cosmic Boy gets apart. Take 3, Cosmic Boy gets a part...yes that's it. Cosmic Boy lands a part in the drama camp play, good for him! It definitely seems to be his thing. Dynagirl will be mystifying us with some sort of Scottish Breakdancing. Or is it Welsh Waltzing? The French fandango? Well it's European and she twinkles her toes about, guess I better learn the specifics.

Pretty sure I found Clark Kent

I'm quite certain, com'on, you can see it...take off the glasses, add a cape, yes, I think it might be him!


Maybe you could see it better if I got one of him with the glasses slightly off....

Cosmic Boy helps erect cosmic shield

This week, Cosmic Boy helped with repairs to the cosmic shield damaged from a winter meteor shower. Also fashioned a new portal thru the shield, don't have pictures of the old one but trust me, it wasn't keeping out any aliens...Popeye wouldn't have needed any spinach to knock it down.

Mr. Incredible and Dash have first boxing match

Probably won't be the last. Guess who won?

A few thoughts on parenting

Ephesians 6:1-4 1Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2"Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— 3"that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."[a] 4Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.

Parenting is an interesting topic. And not unlike politics and religion, it many times seems to have a emotional reaction when discussed. The spectrum of reactions similarly ranges from people who want to discuss to people who have no interest in discussion to people who are offended by the topic even being raised.

My previous church was big on "Growing Kids Gods Way" back in the early/mid 90's. The founder of that training even visited our church and I had opportunity to have lunch with him at a table of less than 8 and hear first-hand facilitated parenting classes from him and his wife. Quite frankly, I found him arrogant and rude. He also came under a lot of scrutiny by both the secular and religious communities. However, some of the material was useful, and especially for the right people who need exact instructions, it had some merit and there were no doubt things to glean.

The focus on Biblical parenting instruction at our church led to Wonder Woman and I studying and learning on the topic well before we had children. At that church we also were a part of training by John MacArthur, Ted Tripp, Chip Ingram, and others. We constantly thank God for the training we received, believing of course that God gave/gives us natural ability to parent by trusting Him, but realizing that there is great wealth in relying on those who precede us, who have shown the test of time, and that have been called to share the wisdom. Some of the specific things we do are a direct result of that training and the convictions God gave us from it; things specifically like worshiping together on Sunday mornings, like looking in the mirror for the responsibility of spiritually training our children rather than relying/expecting it from the church and of course many others.

So, I say all this, not to purport myself as an expert in parenting (in fact far from it) but to establish that I've certainly given it some thought and study (as we all have!). If you've read this far, you're at least the type that doesn't run to the hills at the mere mention of the topic!

One thing I've realized is that we tend to recreate ourselves (certainly with exceptions!, I know it's similar in thought to this). Not a revolutionary thought, but one that deserves some thought and many times bounces off the surface without sinking in. When it comes to the struggles my children have, I often have to look in the mirror. Then I have to dig deep and ask myself and God to help me change so I can model that to them. One thing for certain, they change easier than me, if I can do it I KNOW they can, furthermore there is merit in doing it myself. Talk the talk, walk the walk.

Another thought is that of the wealth and simplicity of much of the Biblical instruction God has given us. The Ephesians 6:1-4 passage is a cornerstone of our house. Couple that with Luke 6:45, and you've heard much of what we say to our children when it comes to times of chastisement and the times in between. The simplicity is this...we learn to obey God by obeying my mom and dad. When I obey mom and dad it goes well with me. Mom and dad can see what's in my heart by what I do and say. Even if I "obey" mom and dad, but do it with a bad tone or attitude, I will not receive the blessing of joy because my heart is not right, in fact there will likely be consequences. Mom and dad want my heart to be right to so that you can enjoy (have joy) life and live long and prosper (Vulcan theology?), and furthermore bless others and bless God. Remove "mom and dad" and put "God" in there and you can see how it moves naturally/directly from obeying mom and dad to obeying God.

So the words "obey" and "heart" are huge in our house. The discussion between Wonder Woman and Mr. Incredible constantly focus on these 2 words. I'll have to ramble more later, as I think I've got some fires to fight. Maybe Wonder Woman will ramble a little too.

Mr. Incredible breaks silence, little superheroes complete training

The training was intense, with temps reaching up to 115 degrees. The Greenhouse5 enjoyed their time w/ their church family, approximately 180 people enjoying (?) the biggest heat wave of the year while camping at Lake Mendocino.


We ended the stay in Cloverdale, with each of the little superheroes earning their "levitation" and "walking on water" badges. Oh, they grow up so fast, brings tears to my eyes, don't think I was flying until I was at least 12.








But wait, who's the guy in the hat? Is that another superhero??????

Dynagirl turns eight, ain't that great?!

Dynagirl had a little girly party as well as a family party and the Greenhouse5 are partied out! Thanks to all who came and helped celebrate!