26th

This will be my task for tomorrow morning. My Christmas present to myself.
Today (12/15/2009) Jackson Trey Bicker made his grand entrance! He was born weighing 6lbs 12oz and he is 19.5in long! He and mom are doing great.
We arrived at the hospital at around 6:30am to find that Dana was 8cm and moving fast! Not to much longer after that at 8:01am an amazingly strong and determined Dana gave birth to our little munch! He is incredible and we thank God that he is a beautiful and healthy little boy.
We can’t wait for you all to meet him, but I am sure you will understand that we will need a little time to get our feet under us! Thank you so much everyone for your prayers and support over these last 9 months, we look forward to your continued support as Dana and I seek what it means to be parents! We love you all…
P.s. We may have an little intro video posted soon so keep a close eye out!
Much love,
Ryan, Dana, and Jackson :)
Don’t dare to miss this amazing Video Clip . . but first read the following.
This video shows the winner of “Ukraine’s Got Talent”, Kseniya Simonova, 24, drawing a series of pictures on an illuminated sand table showing how ordinary people were affected by the German invasion during World War II. Her talent, which admittedly is a strange one, is mesmeric to watch
The images, projected onto a large screen, moved many in the audience to tears and she won the top prize of about $130,000.00
She begins by creating a scene showing a couple sitting holding hands on a bench under a starry sky, but then warplanes appear and the happy scene is obliterated.
It is replaced by a woman’s face crying, but then a baby arrives and the woman smiles again. Once again war returns and Miss Simonova throws the sand into chaos from which a young woman’s face appears.
She quickly becomes an old widow, her face wrinkled and sad, before the image turns into a monument to an Unknown Soldier.
This outdoor scene becomes framed by a window as if the viewer is looking out on the monument from within a house.
In the final scene,a mother and child appear inside and a man standing outside, with his hands pressed against the glass, saying
goodbye.
The Great Patriotic War, as it is called in Ukraine, resulted in one in four of the population being killed with eight to 11 million deaths out of a population of 42 million.
Kseniya Simonova says:
“I find it difficult enough to create art using paper and pencils
or paintbrushes, but using sand and fingers is beyond me. The art,
especially when the war is used as the subject matter, even brings some audience members to tears. And there’s surely no bigger compliment.” Please take time out to see this amazing piece of art.
Too Many Babies…
A big enemy to art of renew is we start too many things too quickly. Watch out for too many babies in the crib. Let what you start get to growing before you start something new. There are four stages of birth. Conception brings anticipation then there’s birth, which brings excitement, then there is nurture. Here’s where the demand comes (poop, feeding, and teething.) There is a temptation to start something new rather than finish strong. Next comes maturity. This is where your leadership and influence gains momentum and credibility. People listen because you have a track record. Don’t just talk about building a great ministry, build it. I know ministers who are a legend in their own minds. Let things mature before you start something new.
A recent study by The Barna Group confirms those who attended religious programs as children or as teens are much more likely than those without such experiences to attend church and to have an active faith as adults. Among those who frequently attended such programs as a child, 50% attended a worship service in the last week (slightly higher than the national average and well ahead of those who rarely or never attended as children). Among those who frequently attended religious programs as teens, 58% attended a worship service in the last week. Less frequent participation as a teen correlates with less frequent adult participation. Furthermore, U.S. adults who were frequent religious attendees as children are less likely to have changed central faith views than those who attended less often.