A high point of the year

When Kurt chose to get baptized in November.

Cecil & Virginia

Cecil and Virginia talk about their lives in this video from Thanksgiving 1999, Reno - Nevada.

Mom & Dad - 50th

Mom & Dad celebrated their 50th anniversary this summer!

Summer Overview - by Kurt Schnaubelt

I am finally done with North Barrington Elementary School. Over the summer I have had two baseball teams. My travel team was very good, it was called the Mustangs, we had all the best players that were in the house league. My other team, the Pirates, were undefeated until the playoffs, we took 3rd out of 9. I went to a church camp in Wisconsin without Bruno because he was in a baseball tournament with his Power Pipe team. It would have been better if he was there but anyway everything was fun. And I really liked my counselors Bret and Trevor because they are unique. I had also gone on vacation to Grand Haven in Michigan it was fun, but not one of the better times to remember because I had missed out on stuff. But I would’ve loved it if mom let me stay home and play in my baseball tournaments. Bruno has been gone a lot this summer. But when he is back we have a lot of fun. For flag football I am on the Miami Dolphins, I don't know many people on my team I wish they lt you send buddy requests. My coach wants us to practice the fundamentals and basics.

I went to downtown Chicago and I gave lunches to the homeless, it made me feel really good. I gave out 5 lunches. At camp I had been this kid’s friend for the week, no one liked him, because he didn’t like to share. Also gave Klaus a birthday present even though I didn’t have to. They got him a gift card for his X-Box One, he hasn’t done anything with it yet. I wasn't annoying to Ingrid when she took $5 from me. This is what happened: Ingrid, Bruno, Payton and I went to dairy queen. I had $10 and I bought something that was $5, she put the change in her pocket, and I didn’t say anything to her.

I am not excited or nervous about middle school. It is just a new place, and more people, it's not that big of a deal. It’s just a little different, because I have a different teacher every period. Also there is more kids.

Peter at LGYC

Peter was with the high school crowd at Lake Geneva Youth Camp this year. Here he is with his counselors Kurt and Roscoe.

Biltmore Caddies

Erik & Steven got there first real job this summer. Some good money, but they have to get up early and it's hard work. Very proud of them!

Chickens, again!

We are giving the chickens a go again with a new and improved coop/cage. So far it has proved to be raccoon proof.

Haircut

Kurt locked himself in the bathroom last night and decided to give himself a haircut. He later said he went in to look for hair gel, but got a different idea when he saw the clippers.

Fox River Cabin

We are buying this property, we close on it in about 3 weeks. Annie just sent an update to my parents, which sums it up pretty well. Here it is ...

After 15 years of thinking we would move back out west, down south, or even up north to Lake Geneva, I have finally accepted that we are staying in Illinois at least until the kids graduate from High School. As I've always said, I love this neighborhood and our community and our home has adapted well from 0-3 children over the years. Jeff has been looking at riverfront properties online for awhile now. He found a great one over New Years break, but before we could even look at it, it was under contract. This one, he spotted when he was on a layover in NRT. I asked Diane if she had time to show it and I saw it the next day. The lot and the garage alone are worth the $. The house is not in great shape, although the photos don't look too bad. It will need to be gutted, but because of it's size (715 sqft), it won't take much $. Diane has an architect friend who is going to draw up some plans that could include a second story since we know we already have to replace the roof. It's a 1.5 mile bike ride to Silver Lake which is quite a cute little town. There are a couple of diners (that have fish frys), a Dairy Queen, Italian Restaurant and the Packer Inn. There is also a bike trail system that brings you to the park where Kadi's kids play soccer. There is also a bar/restaurant 1/4 mile north of the house. I think it may only be open on weekends right now. The land across the river is a flood plain, so it will never be built on and has amazing sunsets. It has a deck overlooking the river which Diane said would not be allowed to be built today, but as long as we maintain it, we can keep it. The neighborhood isn't fabulous, but it's not too bad. The immediate neighbor to the south has kids and a nice, well kept, updated home. The house to the north is a tiny abandoned cottage. We hope you'll like it, and we welcome your kayaks, fishing poles and bikes. Our intentions are for it to be a place for family to gather and enjoy the river.

Kurt / Compassion

Kurt was bored the other day, so on his own initiative he created a flyer for his friend's sister, Bridget Kennicott, who has Batten Disease. He knocked on doors around the neighborhood and collected a total of $80. There was no formal fundraiser going on, he did this all on his own.

Annie's Winter Update

Occasionally Annie will come out with an "update" email (usually to my parents), they are wonderfully written. The latest is a great snapshot of our family life. Here it is.

Beth (and John) -

Happy New Year! I'm just checking in. It's been awhile since I've spoken to you guys. I know you are busy and now that you are with your friends in the Keys, I'm sure things are Go, Go, Go!

We've been doing great. Kids are finally back in a schedule (hectic as it may be). Peter and Erik are definitely struggling more than Kurt. I think it's a combination of middle school rigors and study habits.

The last couple Friday nights we have taken the boys skiing at Wilmot. The ski club was there so it's fun to ski with friends (and for Peter, check out girls).

Peter is having a great year with swimming. We're hoping to talk him into trying out for the high school team next year. It's no-cut and very supportive. I took him to a HS meet last week and he seemed positive about it.

Erik is still doing gymnastics. The January meet got cancelled, but he's got a couple more coming up in Feb and Mar and is getting stronger every day. He is actually getting quite ripped in his abs and his chest looks fabulous.

Kurt is super busy with soccer, baseball and basketball. It's hard to keep track of his comings and goings but he is really improving and developing. I hope sometime this spring you can come down for a soccer or baseball game. He's quite fun to watch.

Jeff took P & E to the farm on Sunday to bunny hunt. No bunnies, but they did some shooting and driving lessons and had a good time. I guess they stopped at Wally's on the way up and saw his hunting room.

We had a fun gathering here on Sunday night. Teri, Tim, Angela, Kadi, Jeff and the boys. We had a big dinner and it was great catching up. Tim's girls are in an exciting time of life right now, just starting their careers. Angela is pretty excited about her new fiancé and how healthy she feels. I think she flew back to Denver today.

I really wanted to take the boys to Cancun with us this year, but they can't really afford to miss any school. We are going to go February 22-26. If you feel like joining us, we're planning on staying at the Riu Cancun. I'll probably make the reservations soon.

We also booked our Spring Break trip to Cocoa Beach again. We had so much fun last year and it was easy and affordable. Our same neighbors are going too. I think we are going to be there during the same time that Jennifer and Ed are going to be on the other side of the state. We are staying at the Wakulla Suites, March 20-27. Just in case you'll be in the area.

My parents are in Arizona for the next month. Dad is playing golf. Mom is hanging out and swimming.

No snow in Tahoe. The lake looks REALLY bad. Dad's boat is sitting on the ground at the dock. But business is still good. People are still going there for vacation...

I need to get going, kids will be home in 10 minutes.

I love you and miss you,

Annie

Love Wins

This book really resonated with me. I first read it about a year ago after learning that it cost Rob Bell his pastor job at Mars Hill in Grand Rapids. I just read it a second time, here are my notes.


It's a Mystery

When you deeply explore your faith, you cannot help but have questions. It is not wrong to have questions. It’s healthy to ask why we believe what we believe, and we should try to separate what is of God, and what is from us. Over the centuries, we’ve had a bad habit of turning speculation into dogma. Catholics have their salvation formula that involves mortal & venial sins and the sacrament of confession, as I explained in the My Story post. Most Evangelicals believe that salvation comes as a gift from God when someone repents and accepts Jesus as the truth. Both doctrines have a select few going to Heaven, and everyone else going to Hell for eternity. There is no scriptural basis for the Catholic position. But there are passages from the bible that seemingly support the Evangelical stance. However, what Rob Bell points out is that Jesus’ central message was about love, and not saving us from Hell. And the Hell that he is saving us from may be far different than what most of us have been taught. And, that Heaven may be more inclusive than what most of us believe. Bell believes the Jesus story has been hijacked by teaching that the central message is that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful & joyous place called Heaven, while the rest of humanity spends eternity in conscious torment and punishment with no chance for anything better.

Fact ... the exact way to heaven is a mystery, and the reality of heaven is a mystery. Our trust in God's goodness can relieve our worries.



Interpreting the Bible

Taking the bible literally, without understanding that Jesus spoke a lot in hyperbole and used metaphors is a mistake.

It is possible to be wrong (like the Pharisees) if you choose to take the bible too literally. It was written in a foreign & ancient culture in foreign & ancient languages (hebrew & greek).

I don’t think God meant for everyone to be biblical scholars and have it all figured out. I believe the message is much simpler than that.

Scripture lacks absolute clarity. We extrapolate dogma at our own risk.

"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John Ch14)
He doesn't say how, when or in what manner. And he doesn't state that those coming through him will even know that they are coming exclusively through him. He is simply saying that whatever God is doing in the world to know and redeem and love and restore the world is happening through him. To interpret this in an exclusive fundamentalist way, you gotta ask yourself ... are you certain? 100% certain? No room for God to mean anything else? Think of the Pharisees. And if Jesus is God, and God is Jesus, then what is stopping God/Jesus from being known in some other form, or in someone's conscience that doesn't know the Jesus incarnate story? Could there be one mountain, but many paths? This does not mean that Jesus and the cross and resurrection doesn't matter. Yes, Jesus is saying the he alone is saving everyone, but then he leaves the door way way open. Leaving all sort of possibilities, and it's not our job to define it any further... that's left to God. Trust in him.

Evangelicals cling to John 14:16, Catholics cling to Matthew 16:18. Both should stop trying to make their interpretations black & white.

The Pharisees and many other Jews in the time missed Jesus by believing that the Messiah would bring sociopolitical liberation and rid the land of the Roman occupiers. Jesus was also often critical of them for taking the laws of the OT too literally. Are some of us doing the same, right now, with our interpretation of the NT?



The Jesus Message

Like Bell, I agree that the central message that Jesus had was about Love, and not about saving us from Hell.

God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus. He loves every one of us. Jesus message was all about love, peace, forgiveness, and joy.

Is Jesus' message primarily about how to get into heaven and how to avoid hell? Is that what life is all about, a game of doing something here, to get somewhere else?

Should the story of Jesus be minimized into simply a rescue story? Rescuing us from who/what? God himself?

I believe the message God had for us was simple, it's a message of love, and God didn't intend for everyone to be a biblical scholar to understand it.

2 greatest commandments … love God, love everyone else.

Jesus talked mostly about the Kingdom of God. Which scholars believe means is a place/time when God’s reign/rule/authority is at hand. That God is ruling on earth as he is in Heaven, with the ministry of Jesus.



The Problem with Hell

Is this how it is?
If you don't believe the right way, and you get hit by a car and die, God would have no choice but to punish you forever in conscious torment in a place called hell. At one moment God is a loving and forgiving father who goes to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with you, and in a blink of an eye, he becomes a cruel, mean, vicious tormentor who would ensure that you had no escape from an endless future of agony. Loving one moment, vicious the next. Kind and compassionate, and in a blink of an eye cruel and relentless. He punishes for eternity for sins committed in a few short years. If there was a human dad who was that volatile we would call child protection services immediately. How is it possible to love a God like this? That God is terrifying and traumatizing and unbearable. If this is true, then the Jesus story can be simply broken down to where Jesus came to save us from God.

Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select few "make it to a better place" and every single other person will suffer in torment and punishment forever?

Has God created millions of people over tens of thousands of years who are going to spend eternity in anguish? Is this the definition of a loving God?

Evangelicals and Catholics have a predicament when trying to adhere to their Heaven/Hell formulas when dealing with the death of children. For years, Catholics solved the problem with the invention of Limbo, a place that is neither Heaven nor Hell. Evangelicals mostly believe in an age of accountability, which is somewhere around twelve. But these are man-made assumptions, it's not biblical.

Hell ... could it be our refusal to trust God? To reject God's grace, to turn from God's love? Resisting God can lead to misery.

The reality of God's essence is Love. God doesn't want to inflict pain on anyone. He extends an invitation to us, and we are free to do with it as we please. If we reject it, we bring on our own hell. We are free to do as we please. Heaven is about thriving in God's world of peace and joy.

There are all kinds of hells, because there are all kinds of ways to resist and reject all that is good and true and beautiful now, and we can only assume we can do the same in the next life. There is hell now, and there is hell later. Look at the story in Luke about rich man who dies along with Lazarus.

When someone who does not know Jesus prays to God, does God ignore them? God is Jesus, Jesus is God. Could God not choose to have multiple avenues to himself beside Jesus? Jesus is God, God is Jesus. Jesus could make appearances elsewhere on this earth or on some other planet. What is stopping God from doing it elsewhere, and doing it as a different being? God can do anything he wants. You can love Jesus, and love God, and not have everything figured out ... who goes to hell, how people get saved, etc. You can just trust in God's goodness, and that he will take care of things in a just and good way. Period.

Old Testament doesn't talk about hell.

Jesus talks about hell in the new testament about 12 times. The greek word for hell in English is Gehenna. Ge means "valley", Henna means "Hinnom". Gehenna, the Valley of Hinnom, was an actual valley on the south and west side of the city of Jerusalem, which was the city dump. There was a fire there, which burned constantly to consume trash. Wild animals fought over scraps of food along the edges of the heap, their teeth would make a gnashing sound. Gehenna was a place with the gnashing of teeth, where the fire never went out. Some of the new testament writers use the term "Hades", which is a Greek term for the realm of the dead. Or "Tartarus", which is a term borrowed from Greek mythology referring to the underworld.

I believe in a hell that we humans have created for ourselves here on earth, where we are riddled with hatred, violence, and intolerance. Love does win as Jesus, the Dalai Lama, and others have preached. We need more of this love, not less.

Do we really believe that God is all-knowing and yet so petty, that he created beings he knows will fail, just so that he can then despise them, and ask them try to break the code to earning his love again, which essentially amounts to a magic prayer?

So God knows those who will reject him, but he creates them anyway, just so he can hate them and punish them eternally?



Salvation

Some believe that you must say a specific prayer to go to heaven. We don't know what the exact prayer is, but the idea is to ask God to forgive you and tell him you accept Jesus and his gift of dying on the cross to pay the price of your sins. Some believe you simply need to have a "personal relationship" with God through Jesus. The problem is, we can't find the prayer in the bible, and the words "personal relationship" are not in the bible.

He gives no definitive path to get to Heaven. Is it about being born again, or being considered worthy? Is it what you say or what you are that saves you? Do we have to forgive others, do the will of the Father, or "stand firm" to be saved?

Jesus said, “no one comes to the father except through him”, but he never specified a formula. Jesus never told anyone to “ask him into their hearts” or say a “Sinner’s prayer”. He never gave altar calls. He simply invited them to follow.

Paul writes that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved”, but again, Paul is referring to a life lived in the footsteps of Jesus, seeking God’s presence—not a magic prayer to avoid Hell.

What Jesus says about Heaven >>>

> Luke 23, the man hanging on the cross next to Jesus says to him, "Remember me when you come into your kingdom," and Jesus assures him that they'll be together in paradise.

> John 3, Jesus tells a man named Nicodemus that if he wants to see the "kingdom of God" he must be "born again."

> Luke 20, when Jesus is asked about the afterlife, he refers in his response to "those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come."

> Matthew 6, Jesus says that if you forgive others, then God will forgive you, and if you don't forgive others then God will not forgive you.

> Matthew 7, Jesus says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom, but only those who do the will of my Father."

> Matthew 10, Jesus says that "those who stand firm till the end will be saved."

> Matthew 19, a rich man asks Jesus: "Teacher, what good things must I do to get eternal life?"

When Jesus talks about "heaven", he is talking about the here and now, and the afterlife.

Heaven, and the Lords Prayer ... God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven ... possible to experience attributes of the afterlife heaven now, on earth. Maybe it’s about partnering with God to make a better world. But the exact nature of heaven is a mystery. Jesus describes it best in parables.

It's dangerous for anybody to try to pin down the exact nature of heaven, and an exact formula for how it is achieved. Jesus didn't do this, and neither should we. It's OK to dream and theorize, but it shouldn't go any further.

Jesus talks about death and rebirth constantly. He calls us to let go, turn away, renounce, confess, repent, and leave behind the old ways. He talks about life that will come from his own death, and he promises that life will flow to us in a thousand small ways as we die to our egos, our pride, our need to be right, our self-sufficiency, Lose your life, and find it he says.

Was the cross & resurrection all about a sacrificial death of Jesus to clean our sins? For thousands of years in the ancient culture that Jesus lived in, people sacrificed animals to have their sins forgiven and to keep the Gods pleased. The sacrificial death had a very real meaning. As it does today, but there is more to it. With Jesus' death, there was actually no more need for the tradition of sacrifice to continue, because Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus dying for our sins on the cross so that we can have a relationship with God is true, but it puts US in the center. That shrinks God's message down to something just for humans. There is more to it. Jesus' resurrection to renew, restore, and reconcile everything on earth as it is in heaven (Col Ch1), just as God originally intended it. Jesus defeated the powers of death and destruction on an epic scale. Our story is part of a far larger story, one that includes all of creation on a cosmic scope.

New Years Resolution

Deeper relationships by spending more one-on-one time with my God, Wife, Kids, and Friends.

2015 Goal

To come in under 2:30 in either the Grand Haven or Chicago triathlon. Here's how it splits.

Swim = 24 sec (per 25 yards) ....... 26/30
Bike = 21.3 mph ......................... 1:10
Run = 7:30 min miles .................. 46:36
T1/T2 = 2:30 min ........................ 2:30
Time = 2:29:06

If I could do better than a 2-beat kick I could probably cut the swim time down by a few minutes, but instead I'm going to focus on getting stronger on the bike, and not going balls out and wrecking my legs for the run. Last year in Chicago I did 21.7 on the bike, and 8:30 on the run. In GH I did 20.7 on the bike, and 8:12 on the run. Obviously, the run needs to get better, but I suffered calf cramps in both those races. Hoping that getting stronger on the bike will fix the cramping issues. And check out what I got for Christmas...