Enriched Affections

Nothing too long today. I'm working through a few things personally, and hope to get back to regular posts this coming week. However, with Mother's Day coming I wanted to share an old original I listened to recently. In my daily reading I'm just getting into 1 Samuel. It took me back to many years ago, reflecting on the goodness of God and writing this song based on 1 Samuel 2: And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the Lord;     my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies,     because I rejoice in your salvation. “There is none holy like the Lord:     for there is none besides you;     there is no rock like our God. Talk no more so very proudly,     let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge,     and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty are broken,     but the feeble bind on strength. Those who were full hav...

Buffering... 30%... 40%... Buffering... "Daddy, why's it keep doing that?" asks my cute little 3-year-old for the seventh time. Here we are, trying to enjoy a quiet evening with some ice cream and 101 Dalmatians. My three daughters are patiently waiting for the scene to unfold on the screen, yet we are stuck watching "Buffering" instead of seeing if Roger and Anita will fall in love after they fall into the lake. Why does this keep happening? Well, the long answer is complicated. Maybe the bandwidth is overloaded on our particular router. Perhaps too many users are accessing the same file. Maybe our BluRay player is updating itself while we are watching the movie. Maybe the signal sent to the house is being split around the neighborhood and we got the short end of the Mbps. All of these reasons swirled through my head as I prepared to answer her question. And then I realized that my daughter is three and still doesn't grasp the concept of snapping ...

This past week our family traveled back to IL to move the rest of our stuff to our new home in TN. On Tuesday, as we prepared to leave, we assumed it would be a smooth trip, tying up all the loose ends, and moving us ahead to be able to fully focus on our new ministry. As we left on Wednesday afternoon things quickly took a different turn. The trailer we hoped to attach to our van couldn't be rented due to faulty electronics. Everything didn't fit into our moving truck, causing us to have to rent another vehicle. On top of that, our prospective buyer, who was supposed to move in on Saturday, decided to delay his move because of a delayed appraisal and higher than expected costs to repair some items that popped up on our home inspection. These are just a few of the discouraging things that happened during our brief time in IL. Granted, we did have some great help loading our truck from some wonderful friends from our old church. We got to spend a lot of time together as a fa...

I like being comfortable. I enjoy a routine, knowing what's coming next and how to get there. It's the comfort of that purple line on a GPS, a filled in calendar on my smart phone, or a clearly marked Order of Service for the time of weekly worship. The comfort of the known only comes after being in the same place, doing the same thing, for a long time. For the Huff family, all that got thrown out the window a few weeks ago. Now we've hit the "Restart" button on life and are beginning anew with everything down in beautiful Hixson, Tennessee. We are firmly in the unknown, learning new streets, new faces, and new routines. But it isn't completely new. We are still with the same family. Sure, the names and faces are different, but we're still related to one another through Christ. Plus, our little family of five is back together, bringing some known quantities. And, most importantly, our God remains the same, yesterday, today, and forever . Over the pas...

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9 This is one my favorite verses in Proverbs. It reminds me that I can plan and plan, but ultimately it is God's plans which will stand in the end. Take the past few weeks for instance. We planned on selling our house quickly and moving to TN together. God planned for us to not sell quickly and for me to move to TN first, leaving my family back in IL. We planned on sending our kids to public school in TN while we looked for a home. God planned for the kids to stay in IL while we tried to sell our existing home. We planned on sending our kids to public school in IL until we found a permanent place to live in TN. Then the kids would go to school in that district. God planned for us to consider other options that would enable us to be together as a family sooner. We planned on homeschooling our kids beginning the second week in August so we could at least live together in TN until...

July is halfway over. That means, at least for my family and I, there is really one big thing left for the summer. Camp and the Senior Trip are finished. VBS and the Missions Trip are complete ( I'll be posting some observations from all these in the coming days ). Now it's onto the move. As many of you may know, we are moving to a new church and ministry in Hixson, TN. It is a bittersweet parting from our 22 years in IL, but we are excited to start this next chapter. The only problem is that there is still the big unanswered question regarding our house, and all the other questions attached to it. The answer to this question will determine how the next few months of our life looks, and to be honest my wife and I have really been wrestling with it. When will our house sell? Who will buy it? How will we be able to move to TN if is isn't sold? Will we have to live apart for a time? Where will I live in the mean time if we do live apart? All of these questions are reasonab...

Josh & Moriah - June 19, 2004 Nine years ago I was within shouting distance of married life. I was enjoying my final day as a single man, thinking back on almost five years of dating and looking forward to who knows what. I knew who I was marrying and what I hoped to do, but the rest of what my life would become was just potential. I knew nothing of the joys or trials that would come. I didn't know that my appendix would rupture, my wife's job would fall through, or that I would be entering the ministry within just a few months. I couldn't have imagined that in a few years we would be the parents of three beautiful children. As I look back on the past nine years of marriage I can't help but be amazed at what God has done. Throughout all the job changes, moves, births, deaths, and everything in between, God has completely taken care of us. There have been moments where I have doubted, but never a second where we weren't firmly in God's sovereign hand. ...

It's good to be back on the blogosphere after a nice relaxing (yet busy) vacation. On the occasion of Fathers Day I would like to post a song I wrote for my first daughter, Charis. It's a song we still sing to all our girls every night before bed and one they often sing to each other when they are feeling tired. While it isn't one I would necessarily recommend for corporate worship, it is one that could be used for family worship. I hope you like it. "Lullaby for Charis"  by Joshua Huff , released on Enriched Affections  (2010) Here are the chords if you'd like to play along. We usually sing this with "Little Charis" or "Charis, Selah, Trinity" (our daughters) in place of "Little baby." Of course, feel free to personalize it however you want to fit your little ones. Enjoy! (just click & copy/paste this into a document to use) This song is available for download from Amazon and iTunes .

Hixson Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Hixson, Tennessee We serve an amazing God, a God who can do anything. Over the years this has been confirmed in our family's life again and again. We've lived in six different homes since getting married nine years ago, and soon it will be seven. Each time God has done incredible things with our church, job and home, things that can only be explained by pointing to the God who works all things together for good, for those who love Him and are called to His purposes. I could write on and on about these examples, but I'll keep this post about the most recent. After all, I am on vacation. First, a little background. Over a year ago my wife and I began to study the doctrine of baptism, particularly infant baptism. Long story short, we have changed our view and now hold to the infant baptist tradition, long held by several denominations, including the the one we will soon be joining, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). As we moved ...

I love that we serve a faithful God. His faithfulness doesn't depend on our faithfulness, it only depends on Him. That is such a comfort, especially in times where we feel like we have little control over what is happening in our lives. Tomorrow morning our family leaves on the first extended "Just our family" vacation we have have taken since our first daughter was born. We are so excited to have some time together. A lot has been happening lately in our lives with camps, trips, and many other things. While I won't be able to post quite as much until we get back on June 15th, I hope to post a good long update on what God has been doing in our lives on Monday of next week. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend of worship wherever that might be. I'll leave you with part of a Psalm that has been very encouraging to me lately. This is just a portion, but of course I would recommend the entire thing. From Psalm 18 (ESV) 1  I love you, O Lord , my streng...

Today is Mothers' Day. I love that we celebrate this day on a Sunday where we can be reminded of the joy of new life that mothers bring as well as the new life we receive from our heavenly Father. Over the years I've enjoyed the legacy of music, as well as many other things, that my mother has left me. So, rather than feature one particular worship song, here are just a couple "Mothers" songs. The first is a new one from the Getty's that my wonderful wife and mother of our three girls sang this morning in our service. The second is one that my Mom has sang often on this special day as I was growing up. I hope this day is special for you mothers out there. "A Mother's Prayer" sung by Kristyn Getty (2012) "Little Boy on His Knees" sung by Cheri Keaggy (1994) (...not sure who this family is, but the song is what I remember)

When I went to bed last night I had lots of plans. I planned on being offline most of the day today, catching up on reading, maybe going on a bike-ride, and generally having what I would call a productive day. I envisioned my beautiful family (pictured on the left) waking up all healthy and ready to face the day. However, I forgot about Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand." God's plans began to be revealed around 3:00 this morning when our middle child, the one sticking her tongue out, began having the same symptoms our other two kids had the day before. Pretty soon she and my wife were... getting rid of some unwanted food shall we say. By the time the sun was up they were both incapacitated, which meant a "stay at home and try to get work done from there" kind of a day for me. Some might complain about this. After all, the work I was going to do still has to get done. Just because re...

Where do you call home? Is home where the heart is? Is it sweet to you? I'll have to admit, after moving almost a dozen times in my life, it is hard to really call anywhere home. When people ask me, "Where are you from?" what should I answer? Do I say Los Angeles where I was born? Do I say the suburbs of Chicago where I lived most of my life? Do I say central Illinois where I live now? Right now I'm back in my old stomping grounds of Los Angeles, California. I've really enjoyed visiting with family and some dear friends who I haven't seen in years. I do have to admit that CA does feel a bit like home. It is familiar and familiarity brings a certain sense of comfort with it. The beaches and warm weather might help with that as well, but this isn't really my home. Sure, I lived there for a while, but this isn't where I'm rooted. I would also say that home isn't where my family is. Granted, I love my family. I miss them a ton and wish they w...

I was a bit surprised to see that this is my 100th post. It's been quite a journey since I began this little blog several months ago. I'm constantly amazed at the geographic spread of my readers. I don't know if that is intentional or if someone from Germany or Ukraine did a search for smartphones and Google randomly sent them here. Either way, I appreciate all the kind words and numerous views from everyone. While you all may enjoy this, I think I'm the one that benefits the most. There is something very sweet, and Biblical, about looking back at what God has done and what I'm continuing to learn about Him and through Him. One of those amazing things I can look back on is all the camps I've had the privilege of being a part of over the years. Today, our youth group heads off to Winter Camp where we'll be focusing on the theme of Salt & Light. This is either my 17th or 18th Winter Camp. Add to that 16 or so Summer Camps and you'd think that this ...

It is hard to teach young children about our faith in Christ without the proper tools. This was something Martin Luther knew well. It inspired him to come up with his Shorter Catechism to help instruct children about Christianity with simple questions and answers. Since his time many others have followed in his steps, creating catechisms of their own to help young people know the faith better. A few years ago, our family started doing this too, but we came up with some modified questions, based roughly on Luther and the New City Catechisms . Our kids (all 6 and under) really take to them and memorized them pretty quickly. They have been helpful to us, and maybe they will be helpful for you as well. As you will see, they are very simple which means they don't cover the entirety of what these answers could be, but just give the basics so kids can understand. So, without further adieu, here is a sample of our children's catechism, or "Questions for Kids about Christianity...

After my daughter's last day of preschool, she informed me that she was a little afraid heading into Christmas. When I asked her why, she responded by saying she was scared she would be on the naughty list and that Santa was watching her all the time to see if she was good. I was a little surprised to hear this. She went on to tell me that her teacher told her that Santa was real and would be keeping an eye on her. I'm not writing this to judge how you do the whole Santa thing in your home, but we have already told all our kids that Santa is just pretend, like Dora or the Backyardigans. Yes, he was a person a long time ago, but not like in the movies. They've taken this information in stride and we haven't had any real problems with it. But now I had a dilemma. I had the uncomfortable task of telling my child that her teacher was wrong, a thing I don't like to do. This brings up the larger issue of the true meaning of Christmas and how it is taught. It bothers...

Each Christmas our family puts together a little compilation video of the events from the past year. Some years there is a ton of footage to sort through. In the past few days I think I've sorted through over 300 short little videos to find the best for our little video. One thing I love about doing this is remembering how much I love my family and the rich heritage we have. So many of our traditions, from Hanukkah to singing crazy Happy Birthday songs, are inherited from our family. I am so grateful for these gifts even as I'm grateful for the ones who gave them. One of the most precious gifts I've been given from my family is my love and talent for music. My father is the especially talented one in the group. Last week my mom sent me an old recording of him singing "O Holy Night" from our days back at Grace Community Church in California. I have to say, of all the singers that attempt to sing this song, I love my dad's voice the best. Take a listen, an...

"A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more." - Jeremiah 31:15 quoted in Matthew 2:18 This is a troubling passage; troubling not because it is hard to understand, but troubling because of the story it's attached to. This passage finds its fulfillment in the slaughter of little baby boys, killed by a tyrant king who felt his rule was threatened. He was trying to kill Christ, who was recently born, but failed in that attempt as God provided a way of escape. We could just as easily speak these words today, after another tragic slaughter of young children. It didn't happen a long time ago or very far away. This was very near, in our own country. This morning, in a Connecticut elementary school, a son went into his mother's kindergarten class while she was teaching and killed everyone in the room, leaving 27 dead, 20 of them children. ( story here ) ...

We are finally into December! That means less than a month until Christmas. In our house, December means decorating everything with lights, garland, and bells. Bells mean a lot in our house. Yes, I know that angels get their wings whenever a bell rings, but we have other meanings in the Huff house. We have one attached to our mistletoe at the front door. Whoever rings that can expect a Christmas kiss (either romantic or a loud belly-blowing one). We have bells on our stairway, bells on the mantle, and bells on the tree. The more I hear these little bells ring I think of a song we'll be doing in our Christmas concert this year, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day . I've put the song to a little video if you'd like to check it out. Bells ringing in peace is not something we often think about. However, I think it is very appropriate. In the old days, the town herald would ring a bell to signal an important announcement. We have bells rung to celebrate a marriage or a gre...

I just got back from a few days away. It was great to see family and friends, but it always gets me thinking about my larger family, the one I've been adopted into through Christ. Some say blood is thicker than water, pointing to the strong bond of physically related family. However, I think the bond of Christ's blood is even stronger. If you are blessed, like I am, with many believers in your extended family, then you feel that double blessing of knowing you'll be with the ones you love longer than just this life. Of course, this reminds me of how undeserving I am to be part of this larger family, bound by Christ's blood. There is a song by Sovereign Grace called "The Prodigal" that almost always brings me to tears as it reminds me of how much I've done to be undeserving of Christ's love. But, that is why it is called grace. I can do nothing to earn it. The video below, put to the words of Sovereign Grace's song, really captures what this song i...