LOST: A show about Junk in the Trunk

Finally it's here. The 4th (I think) season of "LOST." Amy and I are huge fans of the show. For some reason they decided not to air any new episodes this fall, but instead to wait for the Winter. I really don't understand what goes on with all that stuff. It really makes me mad that TV shows can basically do whatever, and I'll still be hooked. Guess the problem really lies with me then. Hmmm.

Regardless, one of the things I like so much about "LOST" is that the everyone on the island has some serious baggage. EVERYONE. They all come from family situations that leave something to be desired: shame, poverty, abuse, neglect, alcoholism to name a few. 

All of the junk starts to come out immediately after they crash on the island. In fact that's why very little ever seems to actually happen on the island; the episodes consist primarily of flashbacks to their lives before the island. Yet no one ever actually talks about their junk. They're ashamed.

 

The church is no island. But it does bear some resemblances with the island on "LOST." When we're in the church, junk does come out. The closer we're in relationships with others, the closer we are to seeing their junk-and them seeing ours. That's normal. If we leave for another church, we'll get their junk, and bring ours with us. If we become cynical about the church, and isolate ourselves-calling everyone hypocrites-then we're simply in denial about our own junk. 

But unlike the 'island folk,' we need not be ashamed of our junk. Our junk is covered by the blood of Jesus, and so we can admit it freely (though easier said than done). 

And yet like the island, our junk will come out. Fortunately for us, our junk isn't seen by millions of viewers, but primarily before one who has taken that junk to the cross. While our junk will remain until we leave this 'island,' it doesn't need to alienate and destroy our relationships. Just some thoughts to pass on from one junker to the next. 

A better voter turnout: for me that is, not Guliani

Yesterday Amy and I performed our civic duty of voting. And we were rewarded richly with an "I Voted" sticker for our 5 minute effort. Not bad this year.

Last year, on the way to vote, we got into an accident. An unsuspecting teenager rear ended us and did about a grand of damage to the Civic. In addition, I partially tore or bruised (I can't remember what Doctor Pops said) my labrum. So it was an accident that had repercussions for several months until I was able to get back to working out. 

This year I printed out the directions to the precinct. Last year we were actually heading in the opposite direction when we get nailed. Unbelievable. 

For some reason it was part of God's plan that we got into that accident. Why? I'll never know. But I'll also never care, so no problem.

But it is interesting to know that there are myriads of 'little' choices that we make everyday that can have big consequences-good or bad. However that shouldn't make anyone freak out or over-analyze stuff. 

Only 'good' things are going to come to Christians (whether they cause pain or not-the 'good' is our sanctification), so we can relax. Even the hairs on our head are numbered so God is involved in working all things, even small decisions, for this 'good.' So we can move forward in confidence, be responsible-try to remember to print out maps if needed-and trust God with what happens. 

Forgiveness

During Christian Ed this past Sunday, we began a series on Marriage and Relationships. Most of the brains behind this 'operation' come not from inside my noggin but from that of Bryan Chapell's Each for the Other. I've found this the most easy to read, informative, challenging, and well illustrated of marriage books. 

Based upon the famous wedding/marriage passage in Ephesians 5, Chapell identifies several general commands which explain how the husband is to love the wife. Some include Prioritizing Partnership, Providing Care, and Communicating Forgiveness. We camped out on that last one briefly but found it nevertheless quite challenging. 

For the husband to communicate forgiveness, he must be willing to be an open repenter, even the lead repenter in the house. Not necessarily a Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor way (who was ALWAYS wrong; I never heard Jill apologize-but you can correct me if I'm wrong), but one who is quick to admit his own need of forgiveness. 

One of Chapell's subpoints under Communicating Forgiveness, was to offer forgiveness not as one who forgives out of obligation, but one who forgives because he needs forgiveness himself. 

Probably we've all experienced people who offer forgiveness because WE need it. Its really quite condescending. 

But to offer forgiveness because THEY need it as well (not necessarily for the same action) is something quite different. Its freeing. It creates an atmosphere of grace where repentance, faith, and forgiveness can become a regular part of life. As it should be.

Another infamous Jackson: not Janet, Michael, or Tido, but Andrew

I've been watching a special on PBS (I DVR'd it-possibly one of the best inventions ever) on Andrew Jackson. Its been very informative on both the good and evil things President Andrew Jackson did before and while in office. 

Just a fun fact, he was the first President to bring campaigning to the presidential race. And of course with campaigning, came the first mudslinging. Lovely.

But of course the evil that men do lives after them, said Mark Antony (not the singer married to J-Lo). So I'll speak of some evil.

Perhaps one of the darkest points in his office-and as some have even pointed out, even in American history-was the removal of Cherokee Indians from East of the Mississippi to West of the Mississippi. 

The Cherokee Indians had actually taken Thomas Jefferson's advice to assimilate into the European way of life. So they began schools, a newspaper, wore clothes, lived in houses, etc.... Yet they were still 'savages' which needed to be removed for civilization to take place, prosperity, and 'religion' (words from Jackson).

While the Supreme Court actually heard and voted in favor of missionary pleas to keep the Cherokees there (they got something right!), Jackson informed Georgia they had no obligation to honor the Supreme Court's decision on account that the Cherokees were not really a nation. Not really sure how that would go over today.

The irony of it all, is that the Cherokees helped Jackson's militia defeat the Creek Indian tribe, which put his name on the map. 

Well, as you know, the Trail of Tears took place, and over 2000 people died on the journey. According to missionaries who remained with the Cherokee (at least they had some white people to trust), many were allowed nothing but the clothes on their back. 

Does this story bother me so much because I'm 1/32 Cherokee or that I'm married to a 1/4 Pamunkey Indian? No, it bothers me because it is pure evil. I like America, but we have many skeletons in our closet that we forget about (I guess that makes them skeletons in the closet and not skeletons laying on the floor). Let's not pretend that this nation, until recently, has operated under Christian principles. Removing the savages, and the missionaries ministering to them, so we can practice prosperity and religion. Nice work guys.

Shopping Carts

Last night my wife and I made the ever popular last minute trip to Wal-Mart. As we pulled into an empty space, we noticed what didn't surprise me in the least: a shopping cart in the middle of it. 

So bring the swift reactionary driver that I am, I pulled into another space about 20 feet away. Lo and behold there lay another cart, though this time the cart was kind enough to let me pull in just enough so that my back side wasn't 'sticking out.'

And then I noticed the "Return Carts Here" sign just about 10 feet away. I crowned myself citizen-of-the-week after returning the cart to its proper home. I'll never understand why people can't walk an extra 10 feet to put their carts up. Instead they choose to leave them in parking spaces. 

I believe, though I don't have any 'real research' (just observation from my many trips to supermarkets and other large stores) that Wal Mart regularly 'leads the league' in most number of carts found in parking spaces. 

I'll never understand the mindset that says,  "Just leave the cart here."  I guess its the same mindset of people who throw trash out their windows. 

I'll stop ranting now because I feel a little self righteous. And I just listened to a sermon yesterday that reminded me how we all fall into that trap. Nevertheless, if elected President, or any office with real power for that matter, I would propose stiff penalties for leaving carts in parking spaces. Nothing like flogging or public hanging, but more like a night in jail or community service or something.  

F@#$ Jesus

On the way home from my small group at Bradenton Christian School this morning, I heard something shocking on the radio. Dana Jacobsen, of ESPN'S  "First Take," was heard saying, "F@%$ Notre Dame, F!$% Touchdown Jesus, and F%$# Jesus!"

The drunken Jacobsen did this during a roast, and was apparently 'trash talking' fellow ESPN worker Mike Golic.

I wouldn't have expected Ron Diaz from the Ron and Ian Show to have cared all that much. After all, about 1/3rd of the show is dedicated to talking about and looking up sexy women on the net, and Karma is about as close to God as you get. Yet he compared this guffaw to Don Imus comments, and said it was even worse. Clearly a believer in God, Ron took great offense at this and wondered if the week long suspension was strict enough.

I guess you just don't touch the name of Jesus. Even if you don't follow much of anything that he says, you don't want to say such words. If that is the case, I wonder how many people at least respect Him somewhat, and would be interested in studying more of the life of Jesus. 

We may be surprised. The study that our community group is doing right now (as a discipleship tool) is also being used by many as an outreach tool for all kinds of demographics. I know one lad who invites a group of men into his house for beer and fellowship, and then they spend some serious time in this Jesus study.

Regardless of whether you think the suspension was too light, I'm just thankful that someone saying "F&^% Jesus" is getting disciplined. Of course the same thing or worse (probably worse) would happen if someone cursed Allah or Mohammed. That I know. But I'm surprised that anything happened. And I'm glad it did. 

To read one brief article that may give some more details, click here.

Trusting a tire guy

I ‘like’ to give my money to local Mom and Pop businesses. First of all, they’re local. Second of all, I’ve found several which have earned my trust, and therefore my business. It’s good to find a place you can trust.

My ‘check engine’ light went on yesterday, so I did what I was supposed to do: Have someone else check the engine. So today I came to a place that really specializes in tires. But they were willing to check it out and not charge me 68 bucks just to look at it (like the Mazda dealership yesterday).

Apparently the spark plugs needed changing, as did a corrosive wire. Thirty minutes later a dude came to me and explained that one of the wires, which didn’t technically need to be changed, wouldn’t come to the shop until 3pm today. So he awaited my decision as to what they should do.

I simply asked a question that I always ask when I trust someone: “What would you do in my case?” If that person knows more about the situation than I do, that advice usually gets put into practice. That’s the advantage of having people one can trust.

I just can’t read everything (I read really slowly, which makes ‘everything’ that much more impossible-as if something can be ‘more’ impossible than something else), I can’t do everything (I pastor, husband, fish, watch football, workout, play guitar), and I can’t know everything (I’ve even forgotten a lot that I’ve learned-sorry Mom and Dad, my educational benefactors).

So I often have to rely on knowledgeable people I trust to assist me in decision making. Having people you can trust makes life a lot easier. And that is by design.

A local church community, the Church at large, and even those in the community all play a role in helping us make tough decisions.

The Letter Jacket

On special holidays, Amy and I usually do something really special and fun. On Labor Day, we painted. On MLK Jr. Day, we threw out-or gave to Goodwill-everything we didn't use to make room for "Little T's" closet. 

At least we can look back on our day, and see the results of our hard work. I mean, you can't really see the fruit of fun activities like going to the beach, or fishing (if you don't bring anything home to clean), or to a movie. But we can now look through the closets, and see something the closets hadn't seen in a long time: empty space and organization.

 

When I was going through the office closet (now it's "our office" and no longer "my office"), I came upon my High School letter jacket. That jacket represented hours and hours of hard work, running many miles each week-which made me look emaciated-to achieve the name, pins, bars, and awards 'forever' stitched on that jacket.

So at lunch time, I was very quiet. I became incredibly reflective. Here are two thoughts that came to mind:

1.) No one really remembers

No one besides my family will ever remember that I was district champ in the 800 meters my senior year, and anchor of the 1st place 4 X 800 relay. Winning races in Track became some of my main goals in life, and yet no one really cares anymore. Perhaps the achievements and accolades we all seek, though different than district championship crowns, will be forgotten quicker than we think. Respect from peers, big houses, possessions, any sort of 'glory' now will really not last. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we'll consider them rubbish (Phil 3:8), that we may truly seek the true Glory that comes to children of God in Christ.

2.) At the same time, memorabilia, isn't necessarily bad to hold on to. 

It can remain simply a memento, or even monument/Ebenezer (if it never leaves my closet) to remind me that God gave me the speed, endurance, perseverance, and opportunity (the previous district winner chose not to run my senior year). So instead of 'my glory,' it becomes a tribute to Christ. It was too hard to throw away. For now it will become a tribute to a different glory instead of the rubbish I had originally planned before lunch.

Tornadic Camping

This weekend, we took the youth group camping. I say "we" because I didn't, and would never dare do anything like this alone. An elder and another young adult came along and were incredibly helpful. I'm forever grateful for all those who've helped serve alongside of me (for free!), and particularly grateful to have had their help this weekend.

On Friday evening, we set up the tents in the dark, but were aided by the lights from my Mazda Protege. After an hour or so, we had all three tents up, including the portable Hilton: which sleeps probably 8 or so. 

Saturday was fairly eventful. We spent some time doing morning devotions. The youth were to take a colored sheet apropos to a specific setting and actually go there. For instance, if the devotion was on 'rest,' then they were to go to a tree, 'living water' a lake, 'running the race', an athletic field, 'boundaries' then a road or fence, etc...

The only complaint was that there was not enough devotion times. Not a bad complaint. My only problem was that I had no bible: I had already given my two spares to folks who forgot.

We played Human foosball, which only pictures can describe, and enjoyed a delectable lunch and dinner. The only downside with the dinner was the torrential rain and the tornadic activity in the area. So we ate quickly and went to a shelter for a few hours. The rain subsided, we went on a hayride, the tents got wet, 6 folks 'slept' in cars that evening. But we survived-of course my tent only got 'moist'  and we used two towels to dry it up enough to sleep.

 

Sunday morning I gave the quickest sermon I've ever given. Probably 12-15 minutes tops. The temps were in the high 30's-low 40's and kids hadn't slept (and it didn't help that they didn't think about checking the weather report!). A tough crowd to say the least.

 

But God was good to us this weekend. And like the Psalm I preached on (Psalm 91), "no evil came near our tent. (GIV-Geoff's Int'l Version)"  At least not real evil. Just some moisture, and not the tornadic activity some feared. 

It was a restful weekend, but similar to what T.S. Eliot wrote in the Journey of the Magi, "I shall be glad of another rest." Rest in my bed. 

The Chair vs. The Dictator

Last night I had my 2nd Candidates Committee meeting as the Chair. Our committee of the presbytery is responsible for bringing those seeking to be ministers 'under care' (our supervision, testing of gifts, encouragement, approval of internship). 

I had to do a decent amount of work in contacting folks, organizing (my greatest strength, yeah whatever), preparing our agenda, etc...

Each time I talk with a candidate and they ask me if something is going to be OK or not, I have to say "As a committee, we will discuss it and I will get back with you." 

Just last night I complained to my wife that since "I do all this work, I ought to have some real 'power' in making decisions. But last night I was reminded why I shouldn't really aspire to this power. 

The previous meeting we had 2 in attendance (including myself) and a third via tele-conference. Last night we doubled our attendance with 4 actual bodies/minds present. I had not expected the meeting to take as long as it did. But it took some time because different men provided wisdom that I just didn't have. 

They saw things slightly differently at times, but we were all able to come to agreement on several different issues. Looking back, even though I sometimes would like to be the "Dictator" of the committee, I'm now happy just to be the "Chair." Because God provides greater wisdom in community than in isolation, I'll try to stick to the title and job description of the "Chair," no matter how much extra work I do.

Staying in the city

On Tuesday morning, I attended a church planting meeting. As a presbytery, we are hoping to see some serious church planting activity in the next several years. And as part of that process, we will be having monthly meetings to network, grow, be challenged, and encourage one another in the process.

Anyhow, one pastor explained his vision to me. His vision is not just for his church, but for the city and the culture. Changing the culture of an area involves reaching all different kinds of people in that given area: across racial, economic, social lines.

And to accomplish this, he explained to me that it takes time. So much time, that he said, "I will probably be dead by the time we start to see change at a deep cultural level. But my hope is that my grandkids will see the fruit of this labor."

With his church, he really challenges all those who seek to be leaders to really consider giving their whole lives to their city of Lakeland. Now he understands that God may call people elsewhere, but to prayerfully consider giving their whole lives to their city to see God's invisible Kingdom made visible. Sometimes that might mean forsaking a raise here or there, among other sacrifices.

First of all, though a novel thought, this really does make sense to me. Second of all, God does call people to move (perhaps sometimes regularly), so it is not a measuring stick of spiritual maturity. However, I do think its something that many folks (not all) should at least consider.

In our transient world, this is quite a sacrifice. But most missionaries look back on their lives and feel they never really made a sacrifice. I would doubt that this would be any different.

Just some thoughts I'm chewing on now.

The Beach Wedding

On Monday evening, I did something a little out of the ordinary. A young couple who have been coming to church, and with whom I've done a few pre-marital counseling sessions, asked me to marry them late last week. They had originally planned a much larger wedding, but circumstances called for a change of plans.

They had always intended for a beach wedding, so a beach wedding I it was. On the South end of Coquina Beach, out of the way of the powerful and frigid northerly wind, I married this couple. It was a fairly short ceremony, without singing and a long homily (I was actually as short as I intended: 5-7 minutes). And this was the intent, for we were trying to complete the ceremony by sunset, not to mention it was quite cold. My decision to wear sandals exacerbated that feeling.

Regardless, the ceremony was meaningful and lovely (if a dude can say that word). I opened up the service with the reminder that they were still making vows before God and a few witnesses (5 others besides the three of us), and that there was nothing less sacred with a beach than a church building.

The call to worship was from Psalm 19. This Psalm declares that all of creation shouts to us of the glory of God and His character: the skies, the earth, the setting sun (which was apropos). Also declaring the glory that evening were flipping dolphins, baitfish jumping, and even a shark cruising 'fins-up' the pass. 

Unfortunately with the latter, I stopped in the middle of my homily to say, "Cool, look at that shark!" Of course it quickly went under, and I apologized. Then it was game on as usual.

This was my first beach wedding, but I'm a big fan of the beach wedding now. So many things to remind us of the glory of God. And there were no bikini's in the winter in the winter to 'steal the thunder.' However, if I do one again, I will NOT be facing the water. Because if a shark cruises, a snook crashes bait, or a school of mackerel start jumping, I can't help but pause in amazement over God's amazing creations, and interrupt the ceremony.

The picture is of Greg, Sam, me, and Sam's Dad. I'm also now a fan of the sweater and blazer look. You'll probably be seeing more of that from me if it stays cold.

PC and Mac vs. New and Old songs

I finally got my Macbook up and running this weekend. I did my best to screw it up by inserting a disc that didn't need to be inserted. As a result it did some bad things, and then nothing at all. Fortunately a gentlemen at Apple walked me through (over the phone of course) the process. An hour and a half later of reinstalling ALL the stuff, and I was good to go.

I think that the Mac will be hard to use at first. I'm used to doing things a little differently. And honestly, I'm comfortable with my computer-even though its slow. Really slow. At least I know how to do what I want it to do.

But if you think about it, everything that is new is probably going to be weird or hard at first. Praying out loud, praying with people, sharing your faith, building new relationships with neighbors, etc...All of which are part of being a Christian, even though they might make us feel weird at times.

Singing new songs or new arrangements of songs in worship is also weird, and sometimes hard. Some songs seem harder to sing than others. And some folks like to claim that most new music is harder to sing.

But if you're honest, most songs that you've never sung before (or are not familiar with), with the exception of Hansen's "Um-bob," are difficult at first to sing. If you don't know what I'm talking about, be glad.

There are many 'old' songs we sing at our church that I've never heard before. And guess what, they're hard for me to sing. Sometimes really hard. But Amy and I try our best, and we know that they are not hard for everyone (because they're familiar to many)-and you will never see us with our mouths shut. We'll sing because we like who we're singing to.

And with newer songs or arrangements, I can only trust that people will show love and do the same. Even though it will be hard at first. Like using a Mac.

I'll update you in a few months to see if this whole PC to Mac switch is really a good analogy. It might be a bad switch for me and never become familiar and easier-thus making it a bad analogy.

Many folks have just as strong opinions on this issue as they do on worship songs!
But know this, I'm not trying to argue that one computer or one worship form is better than another. I think they (computers and worshipers with varying tastes) can exist in one congregation.

What do you mean by that?

Amy and I went out for a delicious meal at Troyer's (an Amish style restaraunt) on Friday night. If Hooters is at one one end of the waitress uniform spectrum, Troyer's is probably at the other end of it. In addition to the non-flattering uniforms, we noticed that some of the waitresses had some sort of head scarf (if that's what you call it).

So I asked our waitress if those women with the head scarf things were, like, veterans who had worked their way up to the head scarf status (although that doesn't necessarily seem like a desirable goal to shoot for). She explained to us that those were the 'conservative' Mennonite ladies. She was a lot more 'liberal.' And BTW-there were actually NO Amish waitresses at all, so I'm thinking about a false advertisement suit.

These words 'conservative' and 'liberal' are loaded with meaning. So I was curious about exactly what she meant by the word 'liberal.' Thus I inquired a bit.

Those who were conservatives didn't believe in much electronic stuff. 'Liberal' meant that she was open-minded. So we inquired in regards to her open-mindedness: about life, church, social issues, etc...?

Since we had very limited time (Amy reminded me to let her go since she technically was working), I couldn't exactly figure out what 'liberal' meant. It could have been liberal in the sense that she drives fast cars, uses an Ipod, believes in signing more modern music in church, or using power point slides for worship and preaching. Or she could have meant it socially. Or she could have meant 'liberal' in the sense of accepting every religion as equally truthful (I did notice a book in the store library while I was waiting that was a little concerning to me).

Regardless, I'll probably never know what she meant by that word, even though Amy advised me to leave my business card on the table. Nevertheless, there are scores of words loaded with meaning. The only problem is that they mean something to one person and something totally different to another in a different context.

Then how can we know if we're saying the same or different things? Do something I don't like and am not good at: take time, ask the question "What do you mean?" and (this is the hardest) LISTEN.

Otherwise you may be fighting with someone you actually agree with (been there, done that) or agreeing with someone (or them agreeing with you) who you should be 'fighting' (been there as well).

Thoughts after my pulpit supply

This morning I had the privilege of preaching at a sister PCA church in Sarasota. They are currently without pastor and have been bringing in folks for some time now to come and preach.

Its amazing that a church without a pastor would grow as it has. There were very few empty seats this morning, far fewer than there were last time I preached (when we found out Amy was pregnant, and she's about 21 weeks or so; I lost track). The fact that it had grown significantly in size and giving, and perhaps in health as well (they were going to reach out through a homeless ministry this afternoon) showed a lot about God's faithfulness to this church.

No pastor, no problem. If God desires a church grow, it shall grow. And in the absence of a pastor, the newly installed elders have begun to take charge of ministry, lay leaders are continuing lead, and people are really giving sacrificially. Nevertheless, I do hope they can call a pastor or stated long term pulpit supply sooner rather than later.

But it is interesting though, that the main things which seem to be attractive to visiting folks were this: friendly community, good music (though not my particular 'taste') and something for the little one's (children's ministry) and bigger one's (youth group). There's probably been great preaching at this church for a time; but hearing the same pastor week in and out has obviously not been a high priority.

Of course I didn't interview anyone; these were just some of mine and Amy's thoughts as we drove home.

Solicitors wanted

Solicitors. You either love them, or you hate them. Just kidding, you probably hate them. But how should Christians respond to solicitors or telemarketers over the phone? I mean we are to love our neighbors, even our enemies. And they probably fit somewhere in the middle, although closer to the enemy side of things if you ask me.

Amy and I went out to dinner with a couple from church the other day and this conversation came up. The wife mentioned something like, "You probably think I'm a bad person for dealing with them in this way." I thought nothing of the sort. In fact, what she explained to me showed she had absolutely done nothing wrong.

Then this week (and you might think I'm a 'bad' person), but someone with the police department called looking for money for a specific benevolence fund. We already give 10% to the church, some to missionaries, sponsor a kid in Bangladesh in addition to random things here and there. So I didn't feel like I was hoarding money which God has provided. Since one of the reasons we work is to be able to have something to share with those in need (Eph 4:28).

Anyway, this officer's presumption that I would give an expected amount, and the fact that solicitors rarely call when you're not really doing anything-I was cleaning up the kitchen-led me to say ,"Thanks for calling," and then hang up. Of course that wasn't good enough as I could hear him continue to solicit as I quickly hung up (why is it hang 'up' when you're clearly putting the phone 'down?') the phone.

I can't imagine being a telemarketer. I really can't. I also can't imagine asking for money for a good cause. So how should we deal with the latter, and even the former? Should we let those soliciting for good things talk first (or is it just wasting their time) because it at least shows love? Should we actually listen? Or should we cut people off if they're selling stuff we don't want? Does it matter how rude we are (I mean there is a person made in God's image on the line)? Or is this just a time to be firm, and by saying "Thanks," we can cross the 'love' component off the list? Just some thoughts.

I personally am quite firm, and don't feel bad unless its for something good (usually not for the lack of giving, but how I treat the person). But please respond and let me know what you think. But I'm not soliciting, mind you. I'd just love to hear your thoughts. Thanks.

Providence explained through Winn Dixie and Fed Ex

The last two days I've been reminded of God's providential involvement in my life. He is always involved, but sometimes He reminds me that I need to not get so frustrated when little things thwart my plans. For instances....

First instance
Amy and I are driving home from the gym on Tuesday and she asks me to stop at the grocery store. I wasn't excited because it was already quite late, and we still needed to make dinner and do some other things in the house. I don't know much, but I know you don't say "No" to a pregnant woman.

Well as we were checking out, a woman who we had kind of lost contact with, shows up with her brother. Fortunately her brother speaks near perfect English and was able to communicate well with us. We got her new phone # and she specifically requested one of our members to pick up her kids for church this Sunday. Had we not gone through the self-checkout line, we probably would have not seen her come inside. Pretty cool.

Second instance
I ordered a Macbook computer after getting back from Xmas. More about that later (its still in the box right now). Of course Fed Ex tries to drop it off at 4pm one day, and 11:30 am the next day, so I had pick it up at the Fed Ex place. I grabbed the necessary paper-drop-off-thing and headed out. When I stopped by the pharmacy, I realized I grabbed the paper-drop-off-thing without the pick-up address. Frustrated, I drove back home (all of a 2 minute detour).

And as soon as I got home, a neighbor backs into my driveway and we talk for about 10 minutes.
He asked me if the Homeowners meeting would be at "my" church. It is by the way. I'm hoping that may be the next step in seeing some more neighbors come to Hope.

Anyway, in our time of conversation I learned a bunch about him. Our usual conversations last about 30 seconds, so this was huge. All because I picked up the wrong paper-drop-off-thing. God used my lack of attention to detail as part of His plans that day. Sometimes I need reminding that all things really do unfold according to His plans. I can't thwart them through my responsibility or lack of responsibility.

Maybe I can relax a bit more when my plans change. And then maybe my blood pressure will drop even further (if it still needs to).

Cuban Coffee and Confession

Yesterday I learned two very important things. One of them related to health, one of them related to prayer.

First of all, unless you regularly drink a lot of coffee, do not have Cafe con Leche (literally Cuban coffee w/milk) before you go to your annual physical. Before I had to put on that lovely gown they give you, one of the 'nursish' (I don't know what here real title is) took my pulse and blood pressure. My blood pressure was 160 over some other large number, and she was really concerned. My pulse turned out to be 101 beats a minute, which in case you're not up to date on pulse rates, is WAY HIGH!

I was a little 'on edge,' probably mostly (not blaming everything on the Cafe con Leche) due to the coffee. After the physical it went down to 130/90 or some not as high number. But now I've got to go somewhere else and find out exactly how much the coffee was to blame for my pulse and blood pressure.

The second thing related to literally practicing what you preach. I preached this past Sunday on 3 components of prayer (Corporate, Confession, Confidence) found in James 5:13-18. When it comes to praying for the congregation, I use Outlook to divide people into different groups and pray for specific people on specific days:
Tuesday-College/Wed-Outreach/Thursday-Youth/Friday-Young Adults, etc.....

Well I preached on taking confidence that when we pray, it does make a difference, even when we can't see it. Yesterday I was extremely convicted for not regularly, and certainly not confidently, praying for a youth outside the church. He hasn't come to youth group or church in a long time, although he once came off and on. Well, one of our youth still has contact with him and said that he was actually planning on coming to church last Sunday. I had no idea.

And it is true we often have no idea what's going on in people's hearts. Another youth that I had been praying for regularly and desperately, just showed up at church two weeks ago without invitation or ride from a member. You never know what God is doing behind the scenes. I need to practice more often what I preach, specifically this area of Confidence, that our prayers do make a difference. I've seen it too many times to justify 'giving' up on certain folks outside the church, or on the fringe.

However-I'm not tooting my own horn-I just realized that I at least am practicing one of my "C" points: Confession. So at least I hit one out of three! A 333 average is at least a start, and darn good in baseball, eh?

Anyhow, if you want to hear my sermon on prayer, click here

"The Waitress:" A helpful discussion

Sunday during the Christian Ed hour we had a very involved discussion on the movie The Waitress. If you haven't seen it before, its a movie about a dissatisfied pregnant woman who has an affair with her married doctor (of all people). Actually there are other affairs going on in the movie as well. To make matters weirder, the main character's husband is an incredibly insecure, controlling scumbag, so as to make the affair look not so bad. I liked the movie so much because I enjoyed it while at the same time I felt precarious and disturbed (wondering if I should really 'pull' for the Waitress). That's what I enjoyed most about the film.

Regardless of likes/dislikes (it was probably 50-50), our discussion was very helpful to me, and I think to most of those who participated. A few things came out of our discussion.

First of all, before we talked about what we didn't like or what was 'bad' about the movie, we had to say something positive. That's what Paul did with the Athenians (Acts 17), and so I think he leaves us a biblical model to follow. Here's what we discovered.

Positives depicted

1.) Affairs are very clearly depicted not so much about love, but escape and adventure, and how they make one feel (contrary to love-concerned for the happiness of another). And they really do hurt people.

2.) Andy Griffith's character (who was worth the price of admission alone) did not approve of her affair, and continued to be the voice of reason and wisdom throughout the movie. Randy even compared him to being sort of a Proverbial character. While old and seemingly crotchedy at times, Proverbs come to us via the Holy Spirit working through a heart of experience, love, and fear of the Lord. Nice work Pastor Randy.

3.) There was never ANY thought of abortion throughout this unwanted pregnancy from ANY woman in the film. The only one who mentioned it was her husband, but he didn't want to go to Hell for suggesting and having her follow through with it. In an abort first, ask questions later media/movie world, we were all pleasantly surprised with this.

Negatives

There are always negatives as well. Perhaps most unsettling was the depiction of marital infidelity and lack of commitment to wedding vows. Someone mentioned that this was what we should expect from our culture. True, but it is also something that we've seen out of the church as well. Divorce is unfortunately nearly as common in the church today. And that is to be expected since people don't commit to anything these days-why should it be different with marriage?

In addition to discussing characters, positives/negatives, worldviews presented, I was simply blessed to be with a number of different thoughtful minds. Several women helped me see some specific flaws in the main character, as well as some good traits with the hated husband. These women weren't digesting the perhaps pro-feminist theme! Way to go ladies.

Anyhow, I hope others learned as much as I did. I still like this movie a lot. But the discussion made me question some of the things I liked about it and see some other likeable things I ignored. Whether you like this movie or not, it does bring about some intelligent discussion.
Watching a movie by myself can be good, but only through discussion in community can we get the most out of them.

The ordinary doesn't have to be dull

This post is kind of weird, and if you don't like it, I apologize. What I mean by 'weird' is that it is a blog post about my blog. But in no way is it meant to be conceited-as though anything is ever 'meant' to be conceited. Now let me explain.

Someone in church yesterday encouraged me greatly with some kind words about my blog. Only those who receive encouragement understand how important it is!

Anyway, he told me that I see God in everyday life. And that was what he appreciated most about the blog. I told him, "You get it!" For that really is one of my hopes in this blog. Everyday as we go through the mundane, ordinary experiences (although getting ultra-sounds is not all that mundane or ordinary unless you have like 20 kids), we have opportunities to turn them into 'devotions.'

Since all of life is to be offered to God as worship-not just corporate worship on Sundays (although this is a non-negotiable, even though people try to negotiate out of this privilege/responsibility)-we ought to look at our world with a 'devotional' eye.

At times it is seeing comparisons and analogies in movies or in our experiences. Other times it is simply reflecting on the beauty of sunny Florida, or the people around us at the grocery store. Wherever we look, if we look closely enough, we can see the world declaring His glory-even in the movies of fallen humanity. Psalms 8 and 19 remind us of these truths.

While a typical devotional life may start very early in the morning for some (not that early for me), it really doesn't need to stop. And it doesn't have to if we can train ourselves to see God in the ordinary. The ordinary can be quite devotional if we let it.

No privacy before birth

Yesterday was really busy. I just got back in town, had to prepare my sermon for this Sunday. But time was limited after a later than usual start, and the fact we had an Ultra Sound scheduled for "Little T" (little tyke). Well that last part turned out to be the more fun part of the day (although sermon prep came and went more easily since I finished my outline before I left for VA-if only outlines would make themselves!).

Apparently "Little T" is probably a misnomer. Although only 20 weeks young (or T-19), he has the legs of a 21 weeker. Even now the kid is all legs! We don't expect that to change until late high school.

One of the more shocking things about our time yesterday happened as the doctor told me to turn to the side. I thought she was trying to make me miss the penis, or lack thereof, as she maneuvered the magic pen (like Mortimer on Bill Cosby's "Picture Pages"-although it didn't make any cool sound).

But no, she was checking out my profile. Apparently "Little T" and I have the same 'gently sloping nose.' I was thrilled. But she said my gently sloping nose was a good nose. I'll have to take her word for it. Its not that I hate my nose; its just that I never thought it was a 'good nose.'

Also, "Little T" would not stay put to pose for pictures. He was all over the place. At least he didn't do anything embarrassing like pick his nose. But I'm not sure kids get 'boogs' until they actually get out of the womb. After some poking around, we left him with his privacy. Regardless, some things you can learn from an ultrasound.

I'll try to scan some pictures and put them up here so you can see "Little T's" gently sloping nose and gargantuan, mammoth-like femur that belies that of 21 'weeker.'

One more thing I learned-or rather was reminded of-is that God's process of growing babies inside peoples stomachs is like, really in depth, cool, and amazing. Everything just knows where to go. Wow.

A New Year

I'm really not one for New Year's celebrations. I don't think there's anything wrong with them; I really just don't get them. Why stay up to 12:00 am just to see a new year officially begin? Since the Clemson/Auburn game ended before midnight, and I didn't feel like waiting an hour to see that dude jump his motorcycle across a football field, we turned in early.

But before Amy and I went to bed that night our prayers did at least take on a somewhat festive tone. In our short time of thanksgiving, prior to our regular supplications for a healthy baby, family concerns, and for fruitful fishing (I'm kidding), I led us in a brief time reflecting on God's faithfulness in 2007.

I guess its really not a whole lot different than what we ought to do at Thanksgiving. But faithfulness goes beyond just having provisions-its God's presence with you when provisions are low or absent. Before starting a new year, I did find it helpful to remember how God was with us through the thick and lean times.

NowI think I'm about ready for this new year to start. Not bad, I'm only 3 days late.