Another day, another dollar...

I got to re-seat a toilet today. Ever done that? Have you ever seen what a wax ring looks like after having been under a toilet for several years? (did you know that your toilet sits upon a wax ring to keep it from leaking on your floor when you flush?) They aren't pretty. However they are amazingly good at what they are designed to do. They fill every available space around the drain of a toilet and keep the water from going places it shouldn't. Even after all these years this ring wasn't leaking (there were other problems that required the replacing of the ring.)

How good are you at what you do? It is amazing to me how much more enjoyable a task is if you are good at it. One of the first times I spent any time with Kathy's family after we got married, they taught me to play pitch (a card game.) I was partnered with her dad, and I had no idea what I was doing. we got beat pretty bad, and I thought I'd rather not play that game anymore. However it is a favorite at their house so I had to suck it up and keep at it. While I am in no way an expert, I have come to understand the game and enjoy playing now. There's something to be said for practice.

I've been working on memorizing the book of Ephesians, I think I mentioned that awhile back. Today I finished with chapter one. It's been an engaging exercise and I am slowly coming to recognize some of the benefits of memorizing. Saying these verses over and over kind-of drills them into your head. You might not pay real close attention to the message at first while your trying to get them down, but eventually you start to grasp the words you are repeating. Did you know how obsessed Ephesians 1 is with the grace of God? It's like the writer was trying to pound it into someones head and they weren't quite getting it. Yet as you read these words, your realize, why shouldn't we be obsessed with God's grace? How else are we supposed to get through day by day when we know how much we mess up without a clear picture of God's grace firmly planted in our minds. Living like we are forgiven sinners who have been blessed by God's grace doesn't come easily, it's a practiced thing.(here's the tie in with the beginning) I want to be good at it...

I know this is getting long so I will stop for now. After this final admonition...go read Ephesians 1, and thank God for the grace that He freely lavished upon us in the One He Loves...

Songs I've been thinking about...

Do you ever hear a song that just works itself into your brain and makes you think? I know there are songs like "this is the song that never ends..." that get stuck in your head and just keep rotating around in there, but i'm talking about songs that get in your head and do more than just float around. Songs that start your brain going on an idea and  make you think about life, love, or other mysteries.

Matthew West has a song on his new album called "My Own Little World", Brandon Heath released a song this past year called "Give Me Your Eyes" and I am sure there are others out there in this vein. The basic concept in the songs is that we as Christians often don't live out our faith. Why is that do you think? I recently read a conversation where a gentleman said that he thinks the Jesus of the Bible is simply another "myth/legend" created by man to help us govern ourselves. He went on to say that he had chosen not to believe in Christianity because it was so inconsistent. Do we really live what we say we believe? Do we even really know what we believe?

I think the inconsistence in the Christian faith comes from a couple of different problems. First, I don't think we truly know what we believe... 
⁹ How can a young person stay on the path of purity? 
   By living according to your word.
¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart;
   do not let me stray from your commands.
¹¹ I have hidden your word in my heart
   that I might not sin against you.
¹² Praise be to you, LORD;
   teach me your decrees.
¹³ With my lips I recount
   all the laws that come from your mouth. Psalm 119:9-13

I've spoken before about my conviction that I have not worked to hide God's word in my heart, and I am starting to remedy that slowly. But truly, how many Christians have truly studied the Bible and based their worldview and lifestyle upon its words? If we were to judge based solely upon the "fruits" of their lives, many of us have missed something here. How can we truly know and believe something that we haven't studied and accepted? 

Secondly, I think there are many times that we have studied something in the Word and we simply choose to ignore it. I mean does God really want us to place Him first in our lives? Before family, work, hobbies, food, sleep, etc... In this command that is found several times in Scripture, we find ourselves lacking true conviction (myself included). I don't place God first in my life everyday. I might want to think I do, and sometimes I might even accomplish getting Him up there pretty close, but the way I spend my time, money, and energy are a testament to the fact that there are other things that often come before God in my heart and mind.

I know that I could spend way more time talking about this, and that I've barely scratched the surface of all there is to discuss here, but it is after midnight and I am tired. Here's the song by Matthew West...you should check it out...I hope it gets stuck in your head and makes you think a bit...

Sleep

Riley Armstrong recorded a song several years ago called "Sleep". It's all about how he never gets enough sleep. If you've never heard, you should look it up...it's quirky. I tend to stay up way later than I ought to. It's amazing to me how quickly an evening disappears. I get home around 5, we make dinner, eat and spend some time playing with Addie. By the time the kids are in bed and Kathy and I have time to relax, it's usually after 9. Spend a couple of hours on our own pursuits, and then it's after 11 when I go to bed. I remember a time (college) when staying up till midnight, 1 am didn't even phase me. Now-a-days I feel like I've been hit by a truck next morning if I stay up past 11:30...and it is now 11:49...what does that say about my brain...why am I writing at this time of night..

I love sleep. However, I like spending time with my wife, surfing the net, watching movies, reading, even cooking. Do you ever find yourself with not enough time to accomplish what you want to accomplish? But then, I think about the things I want to accomplish in the evening and I realize that other than spending time with my wife and children, all the other stuff is pretty much useless. We fill our lives with things...stay up way past our bedtimes...to accomplish things that are meaningless. It's vanity, a chasing after the wind according to Ecclesiastes. Maybe we would all sleep a little bit better and be a bit more fulfilled if we spent our time  "accomplishing things" that grow our relationships, with others and with God...

Prayer Request and other thoughts...

I think my children are precious...you might not agree, but you'd be wrong...


I have a request to make of those who read my blog. I am currently being considered for a ministry position and I would ask that you pray for myself, the church, and my family while we go through the interviewing process. I would ask that you pray for God's will to be done and that we would all have a peace about that will. I do not want to go to a church simply for a job. I want to go because God is leading us there. I am excited about this possibility while at the same time nervous. I'd ask you to pray that God would calm my spirit as I talk with the church and that I would hear His voice as I make decisions. Thanks...

Other thoughts (random thoughts in no particular order)...

1. I love Christmas lights...I often think about leaving some up year round just so I can look at them...
2. Pinochle is a very fun game...If you've never played it, you should give it a try...
3. Crystal Bowersox's debut CD comes out December 14th...She was the runner up on American Idol this year...I hope it is as good as I want it to be...
4. Step Up 3 comes out on video soon...I totally enjoyed these movies. Not completely sure why. I'm not a dancer (in fact my wife laughs at me when I dance with Addie). But, for whatever the reason I really enjoy these movies and I can't wait to watch it again...
5. Tomorrow is Sunday...I hope you experience God in worship with a body of believers...God bless you tonight and thank you for your prayers...

Colorado

Thanksgiving in Colorado...check out the view from my in-laws back porch...This picture doesn't do it justice.

We didn't get subjected to any invasive searches at the airport, but we did have an extremely long wait. When we arrived to check in, we found out that our plan had been delayed by an hour and a half. We had gotten there early to make sure we had time to get the kids through security, so we went ahead and headed for the gate. When our plane arrived, there was a problem with the windshield and they had to ground it. Thus we were told we would have to wait for another plane that would arrive in another hour and fifteen minutes. Finally after being in the waiting area for four hours and forty-five minutes, we boarded and took off. After landing, my father-in-law picked us up and we started the 3 hour drive to their house. It was a rough start to the trip with a two and a half year old and a seven month old. However, now that we are here, life is good.

I love visiting my in-laws. As I've stated before, they are very similar in world view to my family. They also enjoy playing games. We play pitch, spades, hearts, and pinochle with cards; forty-two with dominoes; Settlers of Cataan and Munchkin board games. Tonight we played a new game called "A Game of Thrones" based upon the novels of George R.R. Martin. Lots of rules, but once you got the hang of it, it was fun. Games and more games get played when we are together, and it is a lot of fun.

I hope you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday with family or friends. I pray that God reminds you of all the blessings He has placed in your life. Finally, take some time to play and enjoy life...

Missed a day...

don't know where this is, I just liked the picture...

And I was doing so well at the everyday posting...oh well...life happens. So, back to the posting grindstone. I got to teach the youth in Sunday School and evening Bible study today. We had some fun. I thought I'd share a bit of my lesson from this morning here tonight.

The title of the lesson was Grab a Booty. (nice title for a youth lesson don't you think) I started with a story that I read awhile back about a college environmental geology class. The professor took his students on a field trip to climb a mountain and observe some rock formations. Before they left, he had them gather in a clearing and gave them this instruction, "For the next several minutes I want you to go around this clearing and grab each others butts." The students started out fairly nervous, but as you can imagine were soon making jokes and having fun. Once everyone was participating well, the professor called the group back together and told them the reason for this strange exercise. He said "The trail we are about to take is extremely steep, slick, and narrow. You climb it mostly on your hands and knees. If the person in front of you were to slip, the first thing you would see is their butt. If you are uncomfortable or unwilling to grab their butt and catch them, they could hurt themselves and those behind you as they fall. In order to prevent this I wanted you to be comfortable grabbing each others' butts so that if the person in front of you slips you can grab them and push them up until they regain their footing."

I think that often we as the Church fail to "grab a butt" when we see people fall. Instead of catching them in their weakness (awkward moments) and pushing them up the mountain with us, we step aside and even point fingers in judgement about their inability to stay on the trail. This is wrong. 

So, I gave the youth three rules for Christian Booty Grabbing...

1. You must have a relationship...You've got to build a relationship of mutual love and trust with a person to truly be effective in admonition. No one wants to hear they are doing wrong, but it helps if you know the other person is telling you because they love you and want what's best for you.
2. You must be consistent...Your ability to effectively help someone up the mountain is greatly hindered when you do not live what you preach.
3. You must be willing to receive...As you help others up the path, you are bound slip occasionally. Are you will to let someone else grab your butt and give it a push? 

I realize that for the most part this lesson is about accountability. However the point that I wanted to get across even more than being accountable to each other is that we need to treat each other better in the church. I've seen it happen before. A person stumbles and has trouble getting back in right relationship with God and the Church (not all, obviously) gossips, judges, and condemns rather than reaching out in love. As Christians, the world "knows" us for what we are against as often or more often than for what we are for. Christ was for loving people into relationship with Himself and His Father...I think that's what we should be about. It has to start inside the walls...

Snow and Shortness of Breath (or keystrokes)

We had our first snow of the year today! Not sure if this is a good thing or not. We didn't start the tile job, which means I'm probably not working tomorrow (this is good). However, it was stinking cold this morning and very wet. Since we didn't get to start laying tile , we went and did an indoor painting job that didn't last all day and I got to cut out early. This was nice since it gave us time to put up the Christmas tree!

We only got so far as the tree and lights, but I think we will try to get the ornaments put on tomorrow. Addie was funny as we unpacked the box with the tree, some lights, and some odds and ends from Christmas last year. "Look momma a snowman!" "There's a Christmas bear!" "Look momma I'm helping daddy with the branches." (we have an artificial tree so we were fluffing the branches.) She was carrying around about 6 different Christmas items at one point and trying to pick up others.

In an effort to keep this brief tonight (shortness of breath) I'll just add one more cute story. This morning before I left for work, Addie woke and and needed the potty. After she finished, she wanted to watch a VeggieTale. So, in an effort to allow Kathy to sleep a bit longer, I sat down to watch part of the video with Addie. When it was time to leave for work, I opened the door to discover that it had snowed...When Addie saw the snow she declared "When I get done watching my VeggieTale I can go play in the snow, and maybe eat some of it!" Her memories of snow from last winter are playing and eating it. May we all be as certain in life...