Our church’s RiverKidStuf got a great write-up in the Baton Rouge-area newspaper this past weekend, The Advocate. You can read it online at http://www.2theadvocate.com/features/29822044.html.

It’s exciting to see something that we’ve worked on get some good press! I especially love the line that describes RiverKidStuf, simply, as “innovative programming that also gets parents involved [and] children bring their parents” to learn. The show works on two levels so that both the children and the adults appreciate and understand the message.

The whole idea is that parents should be the primary spiritual influence in their kids’ lives, and the church can – and should – support that. Our church, River Community, and the many others that do a KidStuf production, do so to provide a shared experience for the whole family, to get kids and their parents on the same page, better able to talk about the same stuff. This is a great way to help parents, who may not be comfortable talking about spiritual things themselves, talk to their kids about God.

The Advocate’s write-up is definitely worth a read, if anyone’s interested in more info.

So one of the promises Microsoft made to people who forked out the extra money for the Ultimate version of Windows Vista was that they would get Ultimate Extras – exciting add-ins that users of other Vista editions would not be able to use/see.

Prior to today, the Extras have consisted mostly of Windows DreamScene functionality + content (allowing you to play a video in a loop as your desktop background), some different sounds, and a few games. Come to think of it, today’s release does not actually change that – all today’s release consists of is a new game called Tinker and another DreamScene update (i.e., another dreamy scene). Oh, and you can install other language packs too if you want to switch Windows’ language, a neat feature if you’re (actually) bilingual.

As the release announcement on the Vista blog says,

“this is the 6th wave of Ultimate Extras released by Microsoft exclusively for Windows Vista Ultimate users.”

Considering that Windows Vista was released at the end of January of 2007, you would think that there would have been more extras to justify the title of “ultimate”. Lucky for me, I spent the extra $$$ on Vista Ultimate not for the extras, but for the additional features.

Regardless, if you’re looking for a somewhat entertaining game, the Tinker game ought to provide a fair amount of amusement. It’s a puzzle game, where you use the arrow keys to move a little robot around, pushing blocks and other shapes, until you can get the robot to end up on the end disc. Microsoft has kindly provided instructions and strategies here, if you need help or are bored.

This is a long-overdue video our of (first) daughter taking her first steps, from a couple of months ago. Now she is truly a toddler – toddling all over the place – but when I took this video, she was really just crawling.

My beautiful wife and I had a discussion earlier that we often feel insulated from the talk (hype?) about the current financial crisis. That does not mean that we aren’t affected (our 401k is really stinking things up these days), but we seem to only become truly concerned about the economy when we start watching/listening to/reading a lot of news, and even then, the thoughts tend to be short-lived.

The Desiring God blog has a great post up called “Why I Pray for the Economy”, written by Matt Perman. It is worth thinking through, especially for those of us who call ourselves Christians. Here are some of the highlights:

The command to “love your neighbor” implies that we desire, seek, and pray for the welfare of the economy.

It is better for people to be able to work for their living than to have to depend upon others to provide for their needs. [reference to 1 Thessalonians 4:12]

Creative initiatives that are enabled by a healthy economy include both the initiatives of for-profit businesses as well as the social and spiritual good that non-profit organizations are able to do.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

I certainly plan to pray more for the economy, especially as I remember and seek to follow our calling to love our neighbors!

Read the full post for yourself here.