I have signed The Manhattan Declaration, have you?

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Here is a Southern Baptist Seminary President and member of the Gospel Collation on why he signed his name to the declaration.

I am of personal conviction it is so much better to state what I am for instead of making a case about something I am against.  This declaration is just that.  It brings about the convictions of Bible believing followers of Jesus into the culture of today.  I am laboring in my city to see her a better place.  To see her made good though the obedience of followers of Jesus.  And to that end I have placed my name on this declaration.  And not only do followers of Jesus value this three things covered by the declaration but so do many others in my generation.  It is time to take a stand and declare we value the family.

Today was a great day.  I really enjoy my family, all of them.  I am really blessed to have a mother who loves me so much.  In addition to my mother I am equally as blessed to have “new” family as well.  This new family I am referring to is the one I gained when I married Jennifer.  This month Jennifer and I will celebrate our 8th year of marriage (June 30th)!  I know, I can’t believe it either, “Jennifer put up with Jake for 8 years!”

It was about 10 years ago I had the honor of first meeting Jennifer’s side of the family.  The first group I met besides her Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister was Team Wulz.  I met them the summer of 1999 when Jennifer, Justin Spargur and I were road tripping it to Michigan to work for the summer.  I had just received the news on my birthday that my father had died and the very next day I met the Wulz Family, May 29th 1999.

They are loving, compassionate, fun, light hearted, active, generous, and so much more.  They are a joy to be around.  Richard, RoRo, Eric, Rachel, Emily and Lauren.  Yeah, I know they can make up a team for court volleyball.  I am very honored to have gained them as family and friends.  It is funny to see the circle of life in things.

The second time I met Team Wulz was in Enid, Oklahoma at Grandma Schmitz’s house for a Christmas celebration in 1999.  Imagine around a 1,500 square foot home and over 27 people living together for a week.  It was totally chaos filled with joy.  Anywho, Rachel, Emily and Lauren were around 6, 3, and 3 years old (respectively) and full of energy.  They would use me as a jungle gym and I would chase them though the house.  They would dog pile on top of me and it was a “hoot” to say the least.  Now, 10 years later I have a 6 year old daughter, Madison, so adores Rachel, Emily and Lauren so much.  And you know what?  They love Madison too!  It brings so much joy to my life to know that I was able to play with Rachel, Emily and Lauren when they were young and now they in-turn are having so much fun playing with my children.

My intention tonight was to write an insightful blog about what I am reading and how it is changing the way I relate to the Gospel and Jesus but I felt moved to share with you how much this family, Team Wulz, means to me and my family.

It is my hope that you too have family out there who, like the Wulzs’, brings you great joy!

I am off to bed.  Tomorrow is day 10 of the Rasmussen/Houchin summer 2009 family vacation.  We have descided to say an extra day here in Plano Texas.  This means we will be hitting the road on Wednesday and getting home, we hope, on Thursday.  Until tomorrow…

The day at the Lake is/was totally awesome.  Maddie totally loved the boat.  Jennifer and I tubed together and rode the jetski together.  I didn’t even scare her.  It has been awesome to spend time together for sure.  It is amazing I have known Jenn’s side of the family for 10 years now.  I am excited to head to Texas tomorrow to see more family.  But not after more lake time!  Also praying for Andrew Johnson who is in NICU in Tucson Arizona!

Made it!  Here is some of the family.  Good times tomorrow for sure.

I can’t get over the impact that my parents are having on my kids. My parents are the best grandparents that I could dream of for my kids. Riley has a speech delay. He can say far fewer words than he should be able to say right now. One of them is Nana. And he says it with great enthusiasm. When I ask if they want to go to Nana and Granddad’s they scream with excitement and Riley starts jumping up and down and kind of panting like a dog.

My mom and Maddie seem to have a special bond. They do all sorts of things together that I either don’t know how to do, am too busy to do or don’t think of doing with her. They plant flowers together, clean together, cook together, learn about Ostrich eggs together, feed ducks together, make scrambled eggs from an Ostrich egg together, play on the computer together, fill bird feeders together. One day when we were on a walk Maddie pointed to a bush and said “you know the rain smell, well it comes from that bush”. She learned that from my mom.

Riley has a special bond with my dad. Riley thinks he’s the best thing ever. He plays games with both my kids, makes them laugh and scream, reads them stories, watches movies with them, takes them to the dollar store, comes to watch Maddie’s swim lessons, takes them on walks.

Jake and I do lots of these things with our kids too. But the way grandparents can be with the kiddos just seems different than the parents. They seem to love differently, maybe a little more patiently. Not all kids are as lucky, some grandparents just don’t do the job as well as others. I’m so thankful that my kids get to experience the full on wonderful relationship of Granddad and Nana.