Raising Heck

Look at Jesus

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

— Hebrews 1:3 (NIV)

Have you ever wished you knew what God the Father was like? You know, how, what, and who He loves? Whether or not he really loves, or even likes you? I have.

I have found myself several times in my life wondering what God thought of me. I have, at times, doubted his love for me. How could he love someone like me? I am a mess, a wreck, a wretch. There is just one problem with thinking about God in this light: The Bible.

All we need to do is look at what the Gospel teaches us about ourselves and about God's love for us. As I read the passage above, the thing that struck me is the reality that if we want to know what God is like, if we want to know what, who, and how he loves us, then all we need to do is look to Jesus.

In Jesus we see just how much God loves us. YOU are Loved. Did you know that? Look at who Jesus went to in the Gospels. It was the lost, broken, and rejected. Jesus went to the failures, the ones who knew how screwed up they were, and he offered them Grace. FREE and AMAZING GRACE. This amazes me and causes me to worship God.

How about you? Have you looked at Jesus lately?

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-26T07:44:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T12:32:00.000-08:00

This is SO GOOD! It's my new favorite Christmas song and video. It's Dustin Kensrue's new one. Enjoy.

The Elisha Foundation

2011-11-15T11:06:00.001-08:00

Let me tell you something about our family. Our family has a big heart for children with "special needs" and the families who love and raise them. There is something so wonderful -- so intrinsically beautiful and innocent -- about a child with special needs. I could go on and on about this, but I will save that for a later date.

For now, I want to highlight an amazing ministry, The Elisha Foundation (TEF), out of Bend, OR. TEF is a non-profit organization serving children and families dealing with special needs. This is a video that talks a little bit about their heart and they do. I encourage you to check it out. Enjoy.

I Am Weak.

2011-11-11T18:33:00.001-08:00

Days like this remind me of how extremely wicked, selfish, broken, and in need of God's grace I truly am. I am not even close to the man, the husband, or the father I want to be.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving me even though I am unloving and unlovable. I am humbled and broken.

I get angry, frustrated, and bitter towards the people I love all to quickly . . . and it makes me sick. I want to be, and hope to be, and cry out to be a better man. Not because I should be . . . but because it breaks my heart that I am not. Jesus has loved me so ridiculously and, yet, my love is weak and does not reflect the grace I have been shown.

Thank you, Jesus, for loving me even though I am unloving and unlovable. Please teach me and overwhelm me with your Grace.

Dinner Is Served

2011-11-10T19:59:00.001-08:00

The Heck House has been cooking Dairy Free for about four years now. Eli and Wyatt both can not tolerate having any dairy (this includes butter, cheese, etc. most people forget those little things). When they have dairy their skin gets rashes, their stomachs hurt, and they turn into the whiniest little monsters you ever did not care to meet in your life.

Over the last few months, though, we have decided to take out wheat and gluten as well. We are still have some issues Eli's body, so we have been researching different diets and adding things in.

In the past, Taneesha and I have continued to eat dairy even though the two boys cannot. Recently, though, we have been noticing a lot of our own issues regarding our diet. In light of this, as well as trying to build healthier lifestyles, we are all, as a family, committing to eating well. We are slowing adding in only dairy, wheat, and gluten free foods and drinks. This is not easy, but it is also not as hard to do as you think. We have been able to find a lot of foods we can eat that are still, surprisingly, amazing tasting!

This was tonights main attraction: Chicken Breasts with Cherries and Kale. This was super good and super quick and easy! We got the recipe from a website called Elana's Pantry, which has become a wonderful resource for our family. The recipes or EASY and taste AMAZING.

Some may be wondering what our kids think about all of this. Surprisingly, they are doing really well with it and have been eating and enjoying most everything we have made so far.

This will be hard, we know, but we are trying to be intentional about how we live and what we eat and what we teach our kids in doing this. We see that changes need to be made in our lifestyles and our diets. This is just one step closer to reflecting good stewardship of our bodies and health. We want to WORSHIP Jesus in all we do. Even in how and what we eat.

Emma Love

2011-11-09T17:42:00.001-08:00

Two months old today. It goes by so fast.

A New Song by Mumford & Sons

2011-11-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

Check out the new song: “Ghosts” by Mumford and Sons:

Reformation Day & Halloween Festivities

2011-10-31T21:44:00.000-07:00

One thing that is nice about being in Oregon is that we get to experience a truly Fall season. In California, on the Central Coast, we experienced this season in theory, but never quite in actuality. There is just not enough trees back home. All of that to say, we enjoy celebrating our Fall holidays in the Heck House. Though we don't really get all into the whole Halloween thing, we do like to redeem the parts of this time that we can (here is a good article on the topic of Christians and Halloween if you wish to check it out). We also like to include a little shout out to our Reformation forefathers. The pictures that follow are a display of a little bit it the Heck House Festivities.

Let the carving of the guts begin.

Dad, cutting the tops off of our of our pumpkins so the Punks can get to the guts.

(We like to enjoy the roasted seeds)

Lukas' creation

Wyatt's creation (okay...so he needed a little help)

Eli's creation

The Reformation Celebration!

Charles Spurgeon

Martin Luther

Jonathan Edwards

The Reformationists!

(Maybe we should start a band?)

Graceyn, the Sleeping Angel

2011-10-29T17:22:00.001-07:00

Here is Graceyn; she fell asleep while holding tightly to the sacred Costco receipt. The privilege of being the one to hand the Costco receipt to the attendant as we are exiting the building is one that is highly sought after in our family Graceyn was proud to be the one granted the opportunity this morning. She held her receipt with the little pink heart on it with pride. Then, she continued to grasp it tightly as she fell asleep on the way home.

Kids are awesome.

A Picture Worth A Thousand Words

2011-10-26T19:52:00.000-07:00

This boy is one happy camper. How can you look at him and not smile? Oh yeah, and he has Down Syndrome.

Kids Are Awesome

2011-10-26T12:42:00.000-07:00

There are times, and this was one of them, that I really enjoy being a dad.

Eli and Graceyn enjoying a good book.

Miss Graceyn on a Fall Day

2011-10-26T12:40:00.000-07:00

Smile!

No....with your eyes open, silly girl.

A Walk In the Park

2011-10-26T12:37:00.000-07:00

The other day we are all able to get out and go for a walk to the park. I love it when we get a chance to hang out together as a family. Enjoy.

The boys, showing off their mini-gourds.

All snug and ready to go.

Pink little diaper booty.

Peek-a-Boo!

Pre-Fall Weather

2011-10-26T12:32:00.000-07:00

We are in full Fall weather. It is getting colder and colder each day. These pictures, however, where taken before the cold weather settled in. These are some pictures of Graceyn and Wyatt playing together in the backyard. They are getting so big so fast. Enjoy.

Sisters

2011-10-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

When we found out that Emma Love was, in fact, going to be a girl we were very excited. We wanted, in light of the previous situation (3 older brothers), Graceyn to have a sister. I had a brother growing up and that was fun for me. Taneesha, though, only had a brother and always wished she could have had a sister too. There just seems to be a special bond that sisters have, and we wanted that for Graceyn.

Now that Emma is here, we can already see how much fun they are going to have together. I (we) look forward to seeing them grow up together and to get closer to one another. They will need to bond together if they are ever going to have a chance to hold their own with their 3 brothers in the house.

Here is a few pictures of the little girlies hanging out together.

Can you spot the real baby?

Smile!

Fun With Tents

2011-10-26T11:05:00.000-07:00

So, the other day it was raining so I decided to get out the littler kids' tent for them to play in. I figured Wyatt and Graceyn would think it was fun. After setting it up, I went into the kitchen to start getting lunch ready. A few minutes later I heard them all laughing and talking together and thought I would peek in to see what was up. This is what I saw:

Here it is . . . the tiny little tent.

Here they are . . . four of them . . . crammed into the little tent.

If you are wondering, Lukas has the doll because he was holding it for Graceyn while she was drinking her Rice Milk.

The kids crack me up.

A Subversive Idolatry

2011-10-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

I finally have some time to finish up some old thoughts and post them on here. This post is one I started back in April. I figured I might as well put it up instead of keeping it as a draft. Here it is:

In our community group we are going through a video series on marriage. The main point of the curriculum sees to be pointing out that wives have a deep need to feel loved, and husbands have a deep need to feel respected. The funny part is that, in regards to most of what the speaker says and asserts, Taneesha and I are backwards in our roles. Apparently, most often, according to the speaker, I see and hear the world through a pink filter, while my Taneesha sees and hears through a blue filter. Interesting . . . perhaps I should worry? I think not. I can speak to that another time.

The speaker's main message is that when a man speaks or acts in ways that are not perceived as loving by his wife, she will most often respond back to him in ways that seem disrespectful. But, when a man does not feel respect he acts without love, and a wife who does not feel love acts without respect, and . . . the cycle goes on forever, creating an ever increasing cycle of strife and craziness.

This description, in many ways, makes sense to me. Regardless of the reality of our own often backward roles and responses, the principle seems to be true. But I am beginning to see a deeper issue than the one that is lying on the surface. To me, there seems to be a better question that needs to be asked and addressed. Why do we respond so negatively to our spouse, or anyone else, when we feel either unloved or disrespected? Why does this bother us so much?

I believe at the root of the issue lies idolatry. I am becoming more convinced all the time that at the root of all sin, all social and relational divisions and pain is idolatry. When we take a something good in our lives -- a thing, a person, a relationship, or idea -- and make it an ultimate thing, it has become an idol. An idol is anything other than God that we place our hope in as our source of joy.

Let look at how this fleshes out. We will frame it in the light of the husband, but the same is true for the wife as well. When a husband thinks too highly of himself, when he considers and values himself as worthy of respect and praise, he is setting himself up as his own god -- his own source of joy. So when his wife "offends" his idol of self he responds harshly because this person is not serving him as he feels and believes he deserves. This, at its core, is sin.

If we had a right view of ourselves we would see that we deserve nothing. We would approach our spouses, our friends, our families, etc, from a position of humbleness and humility. We see this most clearly in the example of Jesus. He, above all others, deserved to be loved and respected and honored. This, though, is the opposite of how he was often treated. Yet, look at how he responded. . .in love, and in service. I am reminded of the picture of Jesus looking over Jerusalem and weeping over them (Luke 19:41). He did not demand respect and/or throw a pity party when he did not receive it. He loved and served people regardless.

I believe the same should be true in the marriage relationship. This should be our example. We need to respond to and to love, honor, and respect our spouses, not to get something from them, but simply because this is how Jesus has loved us.

Scott Avett Tries To Sing, Just A Closer Walk (With Thee)

2011-10-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

This is awesome. (1) I love Scott and his brother's music. (2) I love that Scott is at home with his family. (3) I love how this portrays how funny/challenging having kids can be.

U2's "With or Without You", performed by Kye Kye.

2011-10-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here is a little music for your Tuesday soundtrack. Enjoy.

If you say go . . .

2011-10-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Sometimes we, as Christians, are asked by Jesus to step out and trust him. I am not talking about the simple trust of daily circumstances. I am talking about the times he asks us to step out, in faith, and calls us to act in a way that makes no earthly sense. I am talking about the times when he calls us to step out of the boat into the open water - sometimes even shark infested waters. The times he asks us to trust him and to step into the flames.

I am in one of those times right now. I have stepped out and done what Jesus has asked me to do, and now I beginning to look around me and I am starting to get a little worried. I know that some of you know what it is I am trying to describe. You know what it is to not understand why he has called you to do something, yet you know he has, but regardless, things currently suck.

I know Jesus is good. I know his will for me is good and for his glory. I rest in that. I trust in that. I pray that I will be faithful to him as I try to live in light of that.

In these times I am often drawn back to a song that I have enjoyed listening to, worshiping to, and leading other people in worship to. It is a song called, If You Say Go, by Diane Thiel. I have no big or deep thoughts. I just wanted to write this out - if anything, to simply encourage myself and anyone else feeling as I do right now.

Blessings,
Mikael

If You Say Go

Written by Diane Thiel

           D
If You say go, we will go
           Bm7 G      Asus     A
If You say wait, we will wait
           D
If You say step out on the water
         Bm7             G
And they say it can't be done
      D/F#            G      A       D
We'll fix our eyes on You and we will come

     D        G              D
Your ways are higher than our ways
    Bm                G
And plans that You have laid
             Asus A
Are good and true
       D
If You call us to the fire
          Bm              G
You will not withdraw Your hand
      D             A                   G
We'll gaze into the flames and look for You

© 2002 Mercy/Vineyard Publishing
CCLI# 1596342
Album: If You Say Go

One Week Already!!

2011-09-16T16:32:00.000-07:00

Here's some new pictures of Emma Love...enjoy!

The Birth of Emma Love

2011-09-13T15:41:00.000-07:00

We are all checked in and ready to go.

Graceyn is a proud big sister who is obsessed with her "baybay."

Emma Love Heck

Emma Love's big brothers are so proud, and beyond happy that she is finally here.

Graceyn is so excited that she can barely handle not being the one to hold Emma.

Lil' sister time.

Graceyn is in love with Emma Love!

Graceyn is SO MAD that she is not the one holding her new Emma "BayBay"

Time to head home!

Look at those little feet!

And don't miss her sweet little cloth diaper.

Emma Love is pretty hip for her age.

Pictures of Us

2011-07-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

We have been rather negligent in updating our blog. Life at the Heck house is always busy and crazy (just like we like it, just without the busy and a little less crazy at times). Needless to say, the blog often takes the back burner. So, we figured an interlude of pictures would suffice till we can make more time for a proper update. Here you go.

Lukas @ the Zoo

Wyatt's glazed expression while figuring out how to decorate Easter eggs

Graceyn and Taneesha Darling posing for a quick shot between egg batches

Graceyn enjoying some swing time with Mommy @ Laurelhurst Park

Graceyn and Daddy on the slide @ Laurelhurst Park

Graceyn and Daddy taking a break @ Laurelhurst Park

Graceyn and Taneesha Darling @ the creek in Sandy

All the little Hecks taking a break @ the creek in Sandy

Pretty little Graceyn strutting her stuff in the backyard (Yes, she is walking)

Family portraits in Downtown Portland

The "Beastie Boys" in Downtown Portland

The coolest kids in town

Shy Graceyn in Downtown Portland

Trillium Lake

2011-06-17T20:22:00.001-07:00

Took the guys at work fishing today. Got burned but the view was worth it.