Getting My Head Examined

It may be time for the examination. People have been telling me since high school that I needed one (I had an excuse in high school). After yesterday's craziness I almost duplicated it today. I knew I was scheduled to speak at a local school's FCA gathering today and I had a certain school in my head. Of course the school I had in my head wasn't the one I was scheduled to be at. Fortunately, (sovereignly, sorry didn't mean to be theologically incorrect) Laurie clued me in and I was able to confirm the right location. Otherwise I would be wandering around the halls of a school looking for an audience while across town there would be an audience sitting around looking for a speaker.

Bronx Bummer

If you have ever had to tell a child that his puppy has just died you know the feeling I had this morning. Let me rephrase that…if you’ve ever had to tell your child that you just ran over their puppy you know the feeling I had in my stomach this morning. I don’t have a puppy so I’ve never had to tell my son that…but I can imagine if I ever did it would feel like I felt this morning.

My son and I have some things in common…and some differences. One of the things we have in common is we both love the Yankees. So you can imagine his excitement when I told him he’d be going to his first New York Yankees baseball game this year. The date was set…plans were made…we are going to Tampa to see the New York Yankees vs. the Tampa Bay Rays. Today was supposed to be the day…or so I thought.

It began to unravel yesterday at lunch. I’m eating at Po Boy’s where they are showing baseball highlights. I’m watch…with satisfaction…to see the Yanks beating the Angels. Good. But aren’t the Yanks in Tampa all week for a week long series? I didn’t think much more about it…until later that night.

Laurie and I went to the late movie to see, ‘The Translator’ after church. It was decent. Too many things that made you go…that would never happen…but that’s a different blog. After the movie Laurie is checking some e-mail and stuff on the computer so I sit down and turn on Sports Center. There’s the Yankees. They lost to the Angels in New York. Bummer. But weren’t they going to be in Tampa all week for a four game series? Oh, well. Guess not. The Rays lost to Toronto. Toronto? They are playing a night game in Toronto and than flying to Tampa Bay to play the Yankees tomorrow? That’s the game we’re going to. We have tickets so I guess so. That’s going to be a long day for them. Stinks for them…go Yanks.

I run up to the church to fax something for Laurie. On my way home it begins to hit me. There is no way the Rays would schedule a night game in Toronto followed by a game all the way back home in Tampa. Something’s wrong. My stomach began to sink. What have I done? I get home look at the tickets and realize my worst nightmare. Yankees Vs. Rays Section 127 Row UU Seat 18…MAY 5th. I was off by a week. Uh oh (cleaned up version). This is going to be a difficult conversation with Josh in the morning. My mind began to scramble. No big deal. We’ll just go next week right? Wrong says, Laurie…that is the class field trip to Sea World. I sunk.

At this point I feel like a dad telling his son, ‘not only is your puppy dead, it’s dead because I ran over it.’ The next morning arrives. I go and tell Josh…he say’s, ‘yea right’. ‘No, I’m serious Josh. I goofed. I’m very sorry but I blew it.’ He just rolls over and lies on his face. Great. Now what?

I begin to picture my son 20 years from now in some recovery group saying, ‘yea, my dad promised we’d go to that Yankees game.’ That wasn’t the only time my dad let me down. But I sure remember it’.

But, it’s all good. All is well that ends well. The Sea World Trip turns out to be on Friday, not Thursday, so it may all work out in the end. I only hope. We’ll see. I’m not making any promises!

 

Wearing Someone Else’s Shoes

‘Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you’ll be a mile away…and you’ll have their shoes’

I recently read this…it is funny…unfortunately like most humor we find it funny because it is something that is familiar to us.


tags: humor

Moldy Bread & Discerning the Will of God

God is so helpful…if I’ll just ask. But no, I want to figure everything out myself thank you very much. God ways are so good. But no, I want to do it my way. That’s the trap Joshua got himself into in Joshua 3:3-18. This is a great story. It reminds me so much of my life. I want to figure everything out so logically develop a plan that in my mind will work and than execute it. And God is saying, ‘I have something so much better if you’ll just ask me.’ The key verse here is Joshua 9:14, ‘So the Israelite leaders examined their bread, but they did not consult the LORD.’ I want to continue to examine the bread. But I don’t want to move until I consult the LORD.

Lord forgive me for the countless times I examine the bread but don’t consult You.


tags: God Bible Christianity

Things Are Not as they appear 

Joshua Did What He Was Told

The LORDs Commander Confronts Joshua

As Joshua approached the city of Jericho, he looked up and saw a man facing him with sword in hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you friend or foe?"
"Neither one," he replied. "I am commander of the LORD's army."

At this, Joshua fell with his face to the ground in reverence. "I am at your command," Joshua said. "What do you want your servant to do?"

The commander of the LORD's army replied, "Take off your sandals, for this is holy ground." And Joshua did as he was told. Joshua 5:13-15

I love the last six words of that passage, 'Joshua did as he was told'. I read that and think, 'who wouldn't?' If God Himself (most people seem to think this is the Angel of the LORD another term used to describe the preincarnate Christ)appeared to me and gave me some instruction I'm pretty sure I'd get right to work on that. Yes, sir...whatever you want. Or would I? If I am real honest with myself I'll see He has given me plenty to do...He's given me 66 books contained in one volume known as the Bible with my marching orders...how am I doing? It may not be as dramatic as a face to face encounter but it is as authoritative. And yet I usually do what I want, when I want and how I want to do it. God, teach me to obey what I already know to do and quit sitting around for You to give me some dramatic appeal before I'll become obedient.

tags: God Bible Christianity

Got 'er Done

Local standout Bryan Henry pitched into the eighth inning giving up only 2 runs to the Gators as the 'Noles took the game 4-2. The 'Noles who haven't carried very big sticks all year went deep twice in route to the win. Way to go 'Noles. This game was huge as #14 Florida State was coming off of a dissapointing 0-3 series against Georgia Tech last weekend. They travel to Miami this weekend for a crucial ACC series with the 'Canes. Go 'Noles and congratualaition to Bryan Henry on a great game. Where does Florida High get all these kids anyway?

tags: baseball Florida State Collegebaseball Seminoles

Fashionable Theology

We like to make fun of people who are out of date with their clothing fashions. As a matter of fact people have been known to make fun of me from time to time for 'old school' wardrobes. That’s all good fun. Making fun of people for having an ‘old school’ theology is not as funny. Theology simply means, ‘the study of God’. We live in such a fluid culture…everything changes and changes fast. This keeps life interesting. That is fine when we are dealing clothes, cars entertainment etc. These things were made to be temporary. So change and change often. Who cares? But if our thinking about God becomes as fluid and changing as our wardrobe we have a problem. James calls this person the ‘double minded man’ He says of people with an unstable belief in God, ‘they waver back and forth in everything they do’. Fashion is published in magazines. That’s because it changes often and so periodicals make for an ideal medium. Truth about God is published in a book that has been around for thousands of years, the Bible. It does not change. That is where we should get our beliefs about God. Others may help us understand and flesh out what it means to follow the Bible in the 21st century but all of these thinkers’ ideas must be compared to and put up to the scrutiny of the truth that is found in God’s Word. So we should read and think…widely and than compare what we read to the only source of error proof truth…the Bible. We seem to have lost our zeal for the truth of His Word. We will become excited about a new book by (fill in your favorite author here) and yawn at the prospect of reading truth from His Word. I find myself in that boat a lot. Even when reading a Christian author I find myself reading Biblical quotations in the book rapidly and without careful thought in order to get back to the author’s Word. Why? Because I fall into the trap of believing books written recently must have more relevance than God’s Word. This is a lie that I must not believe. God’s Word is as relevant today as it was the day it was written and when we read it for what it is…error proof truth…and apply it to our lives we will be amazed at how amazing life becomes.

tags: God Christianity Bible theology

Weekend Update

Weekends never go as planned. Originally, Laurie and I planned to go to a movie with friends Friday night. Didn’t work out…Josh had a baseball game…which typically I do not miss but his grandmother was going and we planned this movie night before we got the schedule so we decided we’d miss a game. His grandmother would be there to show the love, Drew would be at the church with the youth and we’d have a good time at the movies. Hitch…something happens and grandma can’t go…so we spend the evening watching Josh play. Which was great and we enjoyed every moment of it…just not what we had planned.

I don’t remember much about Saturday afternoon other than being tired…all day long. Not sure why. I had plenty of sleep. Seems like a theme in my life lately. Plenty of sleep…still tired all day. Maybe my growth spurt has finally arrived.

Saturday night I went to, ‘Singing in the Rain’ at Godby High. It was great. Thoroughly entertaining. Shout out to Erin G. (so smooth, made for the part), Meghan B. (she was not the lead on this particular night but even in the secondary role she manages to shine!), Libby W. (hilarious), Kelly A. (she’s got rhythm– glad he didn’t drop you!)

Oh, yea. Now I remember Saturday. I got up way to early to go biking. No wonder I was tired all day.

Sunday am – mission conference. Good. Made it impossible to complain about anything…ever…when you know the sacrifice people are making for the Kingdom. Calyn did a great job putting our skit together…despite what she had to work with I think God blessed it.

Sunday pm – tired again. Not sure why. Played basketball. Scott jammed my finger with his eye. My finger is still a little sore. The TREE drama team did a great job at ROC. There was a mishap which buried some critical lines because of the laughter (not surprising…remember…we are at war!) Ever noticed how babies always start crying during an invitation?!?! Joel spoke about something he knows well…living in community. He did a great job as always. Being around Joel makes me love Jesus more. I need more friends like that. You can hear a portion of his talk here. Sorry we didn’t get the whole thing. Ran out of memory.

What Kind of English Do You Speak?

My Linguistic Profile:

65% General American English

30% Dixie

5% Yankee

0% Midwestern

0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

tags: language culture dialect

The Mushy Middle & the Misery of 'partially following' Christ

In triathlon training there is a concept that many athletes fall prey too known as the mushy middle. The concept is this...your body needs two things in order to improve fitness...hard training and rest. So every training session should either be intense, designed to stretch the limits of the body or it should be rest, designed to keep blood flowing through the body but not reaching the intensity level where the body will be broken down. The unproductive mushy middle lies in between. The body is not worked intensely enough to make gains but at the same time is worked to the point where rest in not given to the body in order to overcome fatigue and nagging injuries do not receive the down time that they require.

As much as I hate to admit it I find myself in the 'mushy middle' spiritually a lot of times. Jesus never called disciples to ‘kind of’ follow Him. He never invited anyone to ‘try Him out’. It was always all or nothing. And yet I find myself picking and choosing which areas of my life I am going to surrender to Him. There is no joy in that. Joy in following Christ always follows complete surrender. I hate riding in the center of a roller coaster. Put me in the very front where the view is the best or put me in the back where it will shake my gizzards out but not the middle. Spiritually the mushy middle is a miserable place to be. There is a time for rest and refreshment and there is a time for ‘going all out’ spiritually. Unfortunately many of us spend out time spinning our spiritual wheels doing neither. We want the best of both systems…spiritual and secular…so we receive neither.


tags: God triathlon fitness
Christianity spirituality

My Favorite Day of the Year

Tonight reminds me of why I love April 16th so much. It is the day of the year farthest away from tax day. Boy do I miss the days of 1040EZ forms and refunds!

tags: taxes

The Makeup Call

My son Josh got a first hand lesson on the pain of being the victim of the makeup call. In baseball the makeup call is when the umpire has blown a call earlier in the game so in an effort to ‘make good on it’ he makes another wrong call… this time in favor of the opposing team.

My son’s team, the Yankees was batting. With two outs a player was tagged out at third, a run scored but after the third out was made. The ump counted the run. It was a mistake….and he knew it.

So in the bottom of the inning Josh was pitching with his team leading by one. There were two outs, a man on third and a full count. Josh pitches what was clearly strike three. Game over right? No. The ump calls it a ball. The Red Sox continue their at bat with the tying run on third. Josh, pitches, the ball gets by the catcher the man scores from third and the game ends in a tie 6-6. That’s baseball. It seems unfair…but its part of the game.

Sometimes life can throw us some ‘makeup calls’. In college they called it the ‘kick the cat’ syndrome. You have a horrible day at work so you come home frustrated and tired the cat gets in your way so you kick it. It’s not the cat’s fault you had a bad day...just like it wasn’t Josh’s fault the ump blew the previous call. Ever been the victim of a makeup call? Spouses experience it when husbands take a rough day at work out on the family. Adults experience it when students assume all adults are mean because one has treated them badly. Students experience it when they get labeled as ‘bad’ because of what other students have done. No one likes the makeup call. Let’s make our calls on a case by case basis.


tags: baseball ministry youthministry psychology

Spider Man, Darth Maul & Napolean Dynamtie

Spider Man or Darth Maul? Drew & Josh had a great time at the Canopy Oaks Carnival tonight. Face painting was a highligth for Drew. Josh had his painted too...with Napolean Dynamite sayings. Drew also entertained the folks with his flips in the moon bouncer. Fun was had by all. 

Greg Shepherd Testimony

Greg Shepherd has the kind of testimony that rekindles the fire in my heart. The first time I heard his testimony was at Northwoods earlier this year. It's the kind of testimony that reminds us of the radical change Christ brings when he captures the heart. If you'd like to hear it click here: Greg shepherd Testimony


tags: God Testimony

Google Satellite Maps & the Battle for the Hearts of Men

Being able to look at any place on earth via Google Maps & Satellite technology is pretty cool. As I posted yesterday it is neat to be able to do that. Will it still be neat when this same technology becomes connected with GPS technology? Parents will no longer call cell phones to find our where their kids are...they'll just go to Google. Instead of searching for an address they'll search for your GPS I.D. and go right to your exact location. It won't be sold that way. It will be sold under the guise of, 'what if your child is kidnapped?' That sounds attractive. But is the payoff worth it? With a solid moral compass technology is a great thing...nuclear power is great...for energy. With no moral compass nuclear power ceases to be used as an energy source and becomes a weapon of mass destruction. When the moral compass is gone (and it is quickly fading) there is no limit to the harm that can be done with that same technology. Technology is moving forward...and I'm for it. There is no stopping it anyway. Technology is not the enemy. Our battle is not with the technical innovator. Our battle is with moral/philosophical innovator who denies that there is truth in the world. The war we must win is with those who would say there is no right or wrong. At that point the winner is not truth it is simply the guy with the most powerful weapon. That is why we need followers of Christ in every field…in every industry. The call to be a programmer at Google, Microsoft or IBM is as influential as any other ministry. We just need to see it that way…as a call. I know students who…go to school and I know other students who are ‘called’ to go to school. What’s the difference? One looks at school as teachers, books, friends, sports, music etc. The other looks at school as an opportunity to influence hearts toward Christ. We are all called. Wherever you are at you are called to be an influencer. Let’s get busy. Let’s be faithful to the call God has for us and influence every corner of our world for Him.

tags: God technology
google Ministry Youth Ministry
Christianity

Northwoods From Space

This is cool. See any address you like from space @ maps.google.com 

tags: Google Technology

How did Christ accept you?

Romans 15:7 "So accept each other just as Christ has accepted you; then God will be glorified."

I hear a lot about how God is glorified when we behave well. And I believe that is true. Changed lives bring glory to God by showing His power to transform. But moral behavior certainly isn't the only way or even the clearest way. This verse makes it pretty clear. God receives glory when we accept one another...the way the Christ accepted us. How did Christ accept us? Was it when we became good? Was it after we 'cleaned up our act' or 'turned over a new leaf'? No. Romans 5:8 says, 'God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.' That is how Christ accepted us...as is. No conditions. No, requirements. He accepted us when we were at our worse. He accepted us despite our biggest mistakes. He loved us despite...us being us. Let's glorify God by accepting one another.

tags: God Ministry Spirituality Christianity
Bible
Community

Self Seeking Spiritualized

“If our entire lives are given to the salvation of our own souls, haven’t we simply spiritualized a life that is essentially self-seeking?” – Erwin McManus (Uprising p. 111)

This is a great book. I have read a lot of books. This one may be the best. Sometimes we read books and catch ourselves thinking… ‘Yea, I wish he would read this and finally change’. This has not been one of those books for me. This has been a book where I find myself saying over and over, ‘Maybe I’ll finally get it this time’. Pray for me. Maybe I will.


tags: God Books Spirituality Christianity