USA Today recently came out with a family on record with the most children born to one couple, the Chernenko family of Sacromento, 17 children. Originally from the Ukraine, this family shows that having many children can be a great blessing from God. Unlike other large families that have large incomes to overcome the modern doubts of financial sustainability of so many kids, Vladimir Chernenko provides only a modest income as a security guard and a janitor at a school. The USA Today article shows how God is in control of our finances, our families, and our faith…if we allow him that control.

I’m not quite certain that Wendy and I will make it to 17, but I am certain of the faith that we have that God will take care of us if we do. This isn’t complex theology or detailed decision making. We aren’t masterminding our future or “planning” our parenting as if our children are lab specimins with predictable lives and scientific hypotheses. Our children are gifts from God, and each one of them are blessings to us, to each other, and to the world.

You may have received our family picture in the mail a little late this year. We have been incredibly busy with and exciting year! Camping in the bus, horse camp, debate camp…we’re camping people. New kitten, new Chickens, trip to St. Louis, beaver dams, new businesses, church activities, and lots of double blessings. We’ve got a lot to cover in just one letter, so let me begin. Read the rest of this entry »

Japan is reporting for the first time since 1899 that their population is decreasing. The Yahoo! News article reports that the trend downward is largely in part because its young couples are “increasingly finding children a burden to their careers and lifestyles.” Now Japan, the world’s second-largest economy, joins Germany and France in their population implosion.

By Micah Jeub (with help from Isaiah, Lydia and Dad)

Welcome to Making Micah’s Armor. It took me three days to put all of the following things together to make body armor:

• 99 juice can lids
• 100 pipe cleaners
• 1 rusty cookie pan
• A big and a little board
• A sparkley shirt (fake chainmail)

I got the juice can lids from 3 years of frozen concentrated juice. These tins make great armor. The pipe cleaners are used to tie all the tins together. To prepare the tins, punch holes in the lids with a hammer and a nail. Use the pipe cleaners to weave into the shirt. I used an old shirt that had sparkley things on them. You could use an old shirt, too.

Here’s some tins woven togehter.

Here’s my finished shirt.

I used an old cookie sheet with a flat board for my shield. I put them together with pipe cleaners. I also used pipe cleaners for the strap holders. There are two straps: one for the wrist and one for the upper arm. The shield is very sturdy, enough to hold back your enemies.

Here’s the shield when finished.

The shirt wasn’t sturdy enough alone, so I added a board to its back. I used pipe cleaners to weave it together. Here’s a picture:

I also made elbow, knee and other body armor. Here’s pictures of that:

Here’s me with my armor on! I hope you can make something like this too!

“Never fear the want of business. A man who qualifies himself well for his calling never fails of employment.” Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Now that the celebration is over, I ponder on what the Jeub Family will be doing with its Masters in Business Administration. Our family has never made a large amount of money, so I often quip the avenue now will be to “make a lot of money.” This is tongue-in-cheek, really, because we have many more goals and values than simply making money. Here are the goals of the Jeub Family as of 12/18/05:

1. To grow Training Minds Ministry. This educational 501(c)(3) non-profit ministry provides camps, seminars, local classes, and resources for academic speakers and debaters participating in the National Christian Forensics & Communication Association. This ministry started out as Jeub’s Debate Publications—way back when I was a public school teacher in the 90s. Check out our mission statement. We have big plans for 2006 and are now seeking donors to help finance these exciting educational and ministerial programs. If you would like to help or see the benefits that come out of helping, see our donate page.

2. To develop Monument Publishing. Part of the requirements from the IRS for establishing the educational non-profit ministry was to create a separate taxable publishing arm. Monument Publishing currently publishes works associated with Training Minds Ministry, but we want to broaden its opportunities to include quality publications that tie the “heart and the mind.”

3. Grow Internet Asset Manager. When I was sitting at Commencement, approximately 70 Regis graduates received their diplomas for Masters of Non-Profit Management. The graduate next to me knew of Training Minds Ministry and asked, “Why aren’t you getting one of those diplomas instead?” Good question, of which Internet Asset Manager has a great answer. Non-profits aren’t lacking for non-profit management; they are lacking in electronic development. As I learned early-on working at Focus on the Family, one of the nation’s largest and most influential nonprofit ministries, understanding the Knowledge Age was the biggest need for ministry in the 21st century. I plan to grow this business with the end-goal of powerful ministry.

4. Jeub Family. Why is business—such a capitalistic venture—so important to family? The answer to that is exciting. I believe that business is imperative to accomplishing your calling. As Thomas Jefferson said of business, “A man who qualifies himself well for his calling never fails of employment.” I am not so concerned of employment as much as I am concerned of calling. As a parent of 13 children, my job, really, is to “train up a child in the way he should go” (Proverbs 22:6) …essentially guiding him to his calling. Mom and Dad’s job in the Jeub Family (and I would argue with yours, too) is to empower each child to follow God’s will.

What this will look like I don’t yet know. Like all parents, I’m figuring that out as I stumble through life. This isn’t daunting…this is exciting! Jesus Christ is walking alongside the Jeubs, teaching them and molding them according to His purpose. The four bullets above is what God is laying on our plates now, but I’m sure it will be much different 5 years from now. If that doesn’t sound exciting, I don’t know what would!

I read all of the Chronicles of Narnia to my children about a year ago, and I am very much looking forward to the unleashing of the Narnia movies. We’re slotted to see the movies today at 10:30. I did my share of research before committing to it. Here are some knockout reviews of Narnia:

From Plugged In Online: “Lewis once referred to his Chronicles as a “trifle.” I wonder, though, if he would still be saying that after seeing it brought to life like this and after pondering how much spiritual good his words (and now pictures) have the potential of doing in the hearts of generations he never knew.”

From National Review Online: “To put it in terms of the current war over season’s greetings, the Narnia books aren’t “happy holidays” kinds of stories, but instead verily shout “Merry Christmas!” (Father Christmas is a character in them.) Lewis’s friend J. R. R. Tolkien, also a believer, thought Lewis laid on the Christian allegory too thick. But it is also Lewis’s sensibility that irks the elite guardians of a culture that so treasures skepticism and irony. In the Narnia stories, Lewis is making the case for the opposite, for a child’s openness to what might seem impossible to the narrow “adult” mind.”

From Chuck Colson, BreakPoint: ” You do not have to be a Christian to enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia. Generations of children have loved the books whether they fully understood their religious significance or not. The movie, like the books, is for everyone. But the film, again like the book, is far richer and more meaningful if one grasps the Christian symbolism that pervades it.”

From World Magazine: “Key early moments in the film will strike a chord with the book’s many fans, as they see each memorable setting—the lamppost in the woods and Mr. Tumnus’ cozy cave home. With a few exceptions, Wardrobe’s plot is on target, avoiding the temptation to modernize Lewis’ settings or too greatly inflate the action.”

From The Washington Times: “Let the healing between the forces of theology and secularism begin. “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” recalls “The Lord of the Rings’ ” glory without ditching author C.S. Lewis’ Christian shadings. It’s grand-scale filmmaking done right, a senses-pricking wonder with more than enough heart to make us forgive its occasional excesses.”