Random Thoughts on a Monday

• The last time I was at this Panera was the morning of the Inauguration
• This laptop needs a serious tuneup and memory boost
• Sorry I dozed in and out of the Sunday Night game so much. The Colts made an amazing comeback. I know Belicheck is getting hammered for trying to go for it on 4th but who really ants to give that ball to Peyton with 2 minutes when he is locked in like he was late last night. Great game.
• Pondering if Weis really will get canned at ND. I'm not saying I love the guy. Pretty much anyone I talk to says hes not a very nice person. I question how bad another rebuild (new coach) will set the program back. I know we aren't winning the big games but improvement has been noted. I'll g on record now that if Charlie gets axed, Jimmy Clausen is gone to the NFL for sure.
• This is the first opening of deer season I have missed since I started hunting. I wish I was hunting in many ways; yet the rain outside and the fact that I wasn't really having that much fun because I usually feel like I should be somewhere else, doing something else plays a factor.
• so many to dos on my list. I get distracted and often get nothing done.
• I'm glad for the days I've taken off work, i just need to unplug from it a bit so that I get some enjoyment from them.
• Excited about the HS wrestling season starting next week. Excited that my son is on the team this year as well. Trying to decide if posts to Twitter or Facebook are the best way to pass along updates from the matches. Many times, especially on the weekends, the JV and Varsity are at two different places.
• this is not a very good day to burn all the leaves from my yard
• I keep thinking about all the things in life that make us scared and unsure of the future. For a while now I am constantly reminded of Jesus' words; "in this world you will have trouble" and "these things must happen so the end will come". Not sure how that all fits together but that's what I'm being reminded.

Random Thoughts ...

• I always think that it would be better if there were more hours in the day; I'd likely just make a mess of those as well


• Football season is almost here -- high school (my son is on the freshmen team), college (read Notre Dame), NFL.


• Hunting season is almost here -- Gotta get the gun cleaned up and sighted in, check the bow, get out and scout a bit.


• the last month has blew past me. General Conference, 4H, family camp made the time fly.


• I'm pretty excited about the way things are looking at work. A long way to go for our department but I think we are pointing the right direction.


• Gotta get the book reviews for the last two books I read finished


• I need to clean up my Bloglines account. Too many blogs and not the time to sift the material.


• staying focused is hard. so many distractions, so many good paths to choose.
• baseball season is always great. But it sure seems better when both the Sox and Cubs are battling for 1st place.
• we're so busy looking for our next "blessing" that we rarely notice how blessed we are
• 
  

Nose says to grindstone; "hello"

Had a great week off. Got some things done. Some others intended, not so much. Looking at the upcoming week(s) I see us on the run for a preiod. It was a timely slow down. The off week included quite a drop in personal web time as well. Been spending a bit of time skimming through the blogosphere posts I missed in the hopes of putting a Link Dump out tonight. Some of my highlights from the Srimg Break week of vacation I took:

• got at least 6 or 7 hours sleep every night
• got some needed work done at my mom's place
• had a great 2 days at the Kalahari in Sandusky
• a thought provoking Good Friday Service
• great Easter celebration
• great Easter lunch by my wife
• watched a few movies (saw Bedtime Stories, Seven Pounds, and Quantum of Solace)
• a lazy Sunday to finish out the week and recharge before going back to the grind

I Just Have One Question ...

Many say that a President is defined by his first 100 days in office. Obama is just past the 50 day mark and has definately been busy. That said; I would like to ask the following question of those who voted for him last November:

Is this what you voted for ??

Is Socialism part of our mission?

I will be working on some posts coming up to the election that largely deal with the issue of Socialism. One of the candidates is, I feel, truly wanting to lead our country in that direction. I have a lot to process and put into intelligent thought. Here are some of the points/ thoughts I am working out:

• what is socialism?
• is socialism a Biblical model based on the early church?
• is socialism a good model for modern churches?
• is socialism a good model for government?
• would it really help our economy if truly implemented?

In the meantime, don't be afraid to add a thought or two on the subject if you have any.

Thought Provoking... LB Graham

Christianity is not about moralism, and Christian fiction shouldn’t be either. Christianity revolves, not around good behavior, but around God’s mercy shown to man in the death and resurrection of Christ. However, even though we know this to be theologically true, I think we struggle to remember this as we go about our daily lives…

We too easily forget... a pictoral reminder

I don't wan't to use a lot of words this morning. I timed this post with the impact of the first plane. DO you remember where you were that morning? How you felt? What you thought?
Sometimes we need to remember what we have come through so we know where we should be going...

Questions to ponder

I found the following thoughts at THIS POST from realministries.org and found it provoking. WHat answers/ thoughts come to your mind as you go think on them?


1) The future leaders of the Christ following movement are still lost. What are we doing to find them?
2) The generations 22 and younger are profoundly shaped by the technological revolution of recent decades: the Internet, Cell phones, iPods, Social Networking sites. Many are capable of building personal web pages much more edgier than any ministry website. Children play on WebKinz, TyGirlz—toys that exists simultaneously in both the cyber world and physical world. How is the Gospel best inculturated in such contexts?
3) 97% of churches in North America are stagnant or declining (75%) or growing only via transfer growth (22%). How should the Christ following movement respond? Is it worth the pain and effort to transition these communities into missional centers that reach lost people or is it better to focus on on creating new faith communities that are seeped in a missional ethos from the beginning?
I would opt for the latter in most cases. Staff the 97% with “chaplain” pastors and deploy the most gifted and entrepreneurial leaders to focus on launching new communities (perhaps recruiting core mission groups) from existing bodies.
4) Given the decay of many church properties and the expense of buying new ones (particularly in urban areas), what role will the church building play in the future?
5) How will theological education be delivered in the 21st century?

New Year, Same Insanity...

I can't believe it's already the 3rd. I have had several posts in draft for a while and fully intended on a New Year's Eve/ Day rush of posts to clear the slate. However, life has been hard at work. Beginning around 7PM Monday evening the snow arrived. As of this morning by best guesstimate is approx. 22 inches in my yard. There has been a lot of shoveling going on. The snow blower is out of commission currently. The shoveling is going a LOT slower due to the fact that I pulled a muscle(s) in my back moving the fist 6-7" of wet snow at about 2 AM Tuesday. I am glad that my wife and boys (sometimes) are glad to pitch in.
I then spent a few hours in the ER Tues night with my mom. She fell and thankfully nothing is broken but she is sore and moving VERY slow. Add to the fact that with n laptop we have one computer that 5 people want to use on a dial up connection (If anyone at Verizon happens to see this, please get the phone lines upgraded in my area so I can get hi-speed!!!!!!!) and I spent basically no time online during my two days off. Plus sitting in one place for very long is uncomfortable with my back at this point. If all goes well I have the following posts that should launch in the next 36 hours...

1. the final couple book reviews from '07
2. a review of my reads from '07 along with my '08 goals
3. a new link dump
4. possibility of a few movie reviews
5. NFL playoff predictions

TTFN

Thought provoking comic strips

The Ongoing Adventures of ASBO Jesus has become one of my favorite views/ reads on my feedreader each day. These comic strips are extremely well done and thought provoking. Here are a couple of recent favorites...

Cruise Ship or Battleship??

Which of these ships should the Church be most like? Which one most represents the typical local body? Is there room for both of them on the seas? I'll be discussing it in upcoming posts. Feel free to add your thoughts.

The Day the world changed -- part 4

This blessing seems a bit odd in some ways. It has however provided us insight to God's grace and a sense of relief. That is the fact that as this amazingly horrible crash occurred, no other people or property were damaged, injured, or worse.
We may never have complete insight into what actually happened in those last moments but we have been able to put together that for some reason dad's van was travelling at a high rate of speed in the center of a 4 lane road. As he approached the area where the road curves, which so happens to be right at an intersection, he continued on straight. His path took him across a lane of traffic, over a curb, along an embankment with about a 30 degree slope, past a tree and several utility poles, across a side street with an oncoming carload of teens and finally into a loading dock.
The list of might haves, could haves and what ifs in this thing is amazing. There were so many vehicles on the road at 12:30 on a Saturday, yet not one was damaged. When the van left the road and crossed the curb it went straight rather than into a furniture store where a woman sat behind her desk. The van did not roll on the embankment. It missed the tree and poles, only grazing a support wire. The teens saw the van coming and stopped to let it pass. The van hit a concrete wall and did not go into/ through the warehouse where there were people working inside.
This brings us circled around to the subject of coincidence... I cannot bring myself to believe how one could chalk all of these things up to mere chance. As much of a painful thing this has been, we have been buffered by the knowledge that no other families had to go through this and that there is minimal follow up insurance wise because of what or what did not happen. All of these things do not lead us to jump for joy, rather to nod in thankfulness to a Father who cares.

The Day my world changed -- part 3

I will be continuing to share from the numerous lessons and blessings that have come our way in the wake of my father's death. This one was one of the first, but we would not fully understand it's fullness for several days.
My dad had left the house to run 2 errands that day. He needed to pick up 3 prescriptions (2 for him, 1 for my mom) and then he wanted to pick up carryout for their lunch that day. He had accomplished his stops and was on his way home when the accident happened. As the news reached us and the afternoon unfolded we discovered an amazing thing. The impact of the accident damaged or destroyed most everything in the van; including the prescriptions. Excapt for mom's. The police chaplain was able to get the bottle for my mom who would be needing those medications that evening. One solitary pill in her bottle was broken, the rest were perfect. All of dad's were broken and or contaiminated in the crash. IT has been especially in these "little things" that we have found our solice that even if we do not like it, or understand that situation, God has had it in His control.
It would be easy to check this off as a mere coincidence. The only thing is that there are really no such things as coincidence or luck. Add to that the fact that there ahave been far too many of these "coincidences" in the past 3 weeks to pass them off as such. Romans 8:28 is viewed in many circles as a platitude and has been used in ways that have made it a cliche. The fact is that as stated in my first post on this topic it is TRUTH. Sometimes the truth is obscured by our personal preferences or just the simple fact that we do not want to accept it. As I look at that scripture again I begin to see just how great it is. In fact, taking the next segment of the passage and including it only makes it that much more remarkable and powerful. (read Romans 8:28-39)
Volume upon volume of commentary has been written on these words and I do not suppose that my thoughts would hold a candle to the insight and scholorship that many who have explored this passage have shared. I do see a few keys that stand out to me as I read this with a new perspective of life:

1. we need to remember that we are called according to HIS purpose, not ours. (vs. 28) We so often look at the blessings of God as given just because we as individuals are special. It's not all about us.
2. If God (the real Creator of the Universe) is for us, who can be against us? I can't add much to that thought.
3. Christ is in heaven working on our behalf (vs. 34) That's a pretty high level advocate if I ever heard of one.
4. How much better would we be if we could grasp and apply the fact that we have been called to become MORE than conquerors. We seem to want to settle for the fact that we win. That is true, but as is the norm, God has raised the standard. What would my life look like if I applied this verse alone?
5. Verse 38-39: "For I am convinced that neuther death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A bottle of medicine seems like such a minor thing in so many ways. But God cares about those things as well.

The Day the world changed - Part 2

I mentioned in a previous post that there were/ have been numerous things that have reminded us that the Father has all of this under His control. One of those was what we found in dad's Bible.
Dad was persistent in doing his Scripture reading and devotions. If for some reason he missed, it became a mission to not only do the next one but to make up the missed reading. When his Bible was opened we knew that he had not done his devotions for Saturday the 25th. His Daily Bread booklet was stuck (as usual) in the pages he last read. In this case it happened to be Psalm 116. You can read the devotional that he read as his last while here on earth HERE.
The gist of all this is that we believe that God had this as a message for us. We also see that this lesson could well have been a preparation for dad. We were reminded quickly that we were not alone in our time of grief.
The obvious question is "If God understands so well why would he allow the painful situation?" All I know is that I have to reminded that His ways are not mine. God does that which will bring Him the greatest glory in the end. I feel like I have been in so many ways reaching for platitudes and cliches. I then have realized that these are actually the truths that I have learned in my personal journey. Truth is much more than a cliche. It is an anchor that we can hold to and be supported by when life crashes over us like a rogue wave (guess Ive seen too many episodes of Lobster Wars and Deadliest Catch :). The distinguishing mark is that truth is truth no matter the situation of circumstances. That is why we can learn so much from Job. That is why we find comfort and resolve to live on in Psalm 116:15:

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

Next: medicine bottles and utility poles...

The day my world changed

Today marks exactly 2 weeks since I last wrote a blog entry. Not that I haven't thought of it. But each time I either wasn't in a place it web access, didn't have time, or just plain did not feel like it. On Saturday August 25th in the early afternoon I received a call that I wish never came and I pray that no one else ever would have to endure.
On the other end of the line was a police officer, I could hear my mother crying uncontrollably in the background, who asked that I come to her house immediately. As I look back I think that I knew what was happening already. The brief conversation in the next few seconds solidified the notion. As I was running out of the house I called to my boys to tell that I had to go. One of my boys had been on the phone with my mom about 10-15 minutes before. He then told me that she said she was a little worried about grandpa (my dad) because he had been gone longer than expected. I sped to their house pleading to the Father that it wasn't what I thought.
The officer met me outside the house and explained to me that my dad had been in an accident and had passed away. The world I know was different in an instant. Everything seemed to speed up and slow down all at once. I went inside to be with my mom. I called my wife and told her, and told her that the boys needed to be told. A couple of hours later I had to tell my daughter as well. So many thoughts, questions, emotions. How? Why? Who?
As we began to gather more information about what had happened we began, and continue to this point to see that God had His hand on all that happened. How can that be? Certainly the Heavenly Father knew that I needed my dad in so many ways; my mom needed her husband; my kids needed their Papo.
There have been so many lessons in the past two weeks. I will be writing much more about them as I process them myself. Let me begin first by saying that I realize that in these situations you come to know and test what you hold as belief. Another point is that I cannot see how people who do not have the "blessed hope" within them or have a strong church and physical family around them cope in times like this. The thoughts, prayers, meals, cards, and hugs have sustained us. We are thankful for each one!
God is sovereign. His ways are not mine, and that is a good thing. I came to realize on the day of the viewing that I should not be as much sad about my dad as I am jealous. He has entered into that which we all aspire to. That leads me to what we found in his Bible...

Anniversaries, Fairs, dogs, fires, camps and the like

Its been a few days since my last post; time flies while life keeps chugging along. Here are a few things that have been going on and some random thoughts that surround them.

• Friday was our anniversary. 16 years ago Micki and I said "I do". I can remember the time that I thought that that was an eternity. I can't honestly think that it has been that long. Time sure moves. It has been great and I can't wait to celebrate the next 16. Next time I hope the steak dinner I buy her isn't at the 4H fair though :)
• Speaking of the fair; Friday and Saturday were the agility and obedience judgings for Caleb and Chili. The dog had been doing quite well in practices leading up the fair. This is the first year of "off leash" portions of judging. In both competitions it started well and came to a crashing halt about halfway through when Chili decided that he was done and wouldn't listen. Disappointing for sure. Thankfully Caleb still has showmanship. I think that he can do quite well on that one!
• We got to walk around a bit Saturday at the fair. We took in a few of the harness races, saw the Star Family Circus (pretty good show), and saw an acapella group called Tonic Solfa. They were good and did an interesting rendition of "The Lion Sleeps" using the voices of The Muppets. Micki and Bethany took in a clogging show and we ate (I'll be adding a post about fair food soon)and checked out the commercial exhibits before calling it a day.
• The church across the street from ours burned down Friday night. It is sad for a couple of reasons. It is always tough to see a congregation of believers struggle through this type of loss. It is also the building that our church met in before moving across the street. 130 years of history gone in a couple of hours. Thankfully the CHURCH is not a building but the people.
• As we race on through this week we have a "camp" theme. With fair activities tied around them we have a cheer camp, a picnic at a camp ground, and the beginning of Family Camp. Looking forward to being with people at all of these events.
• Looking forward to the Tractor Pulls on Thursday (time to be a little redneck!)
• Only 5 weeks until the first ND game.
• If you are a CRMCer, make sure you are checking in at CRMC Campfire
• Hope you have a great day/ week

Random...

• I am excited to continue our SS series on Haggai. so much for us to learn in two chapters.
• the baseball portion of my little league coaching season is officially over. some things were good as always; in some ways it was a rough season. On the upside my daughter is an all star in softball and has a couple more weeks and I get to help coach.
• Amazing that the Cubs have won 7 in a row. Could there still be playoff baseball in Chicago this year? Is the streak and the Barrett trade's timing just a coincidence?
• Almost time to start getting excited about the upcoming ND football season. 2 months until the first kickoff
• new dads like Perry Noble do a great job of reminding me about how the father/ child relationship is a great model of God/ us.
• there are SO MANY things that I want/ need to get done in the next month and a half that I feel like I don't even know where to begin -- need to remember the illustration about how to eat an elephant!
• our church softball team still has a perfect record... you guess which way
• excited about the upcoming General Conference in Portland, OR. never been anywhere near that far west before.
• recently found this list of discipleship quotes that will be a great resource for a long time to come.
• spent the day fishing with a friend on Wednesday; need to make more time for that!
• July will fly by: General Conference, 4H Fair, our 16th anniversary, Camp
• i need to update my reading list on the sidebar
• need to make time this week to set off some fireworks
• thankful for a great wife, kids, family, church family

The most important things... NFL Draft Edition

I know a guy that is so worried about what will happen to Brady Quinn in the draft on Saturday that he h as spent extra time this week setting up his cell phone so that he can get to the Internet but also so that the draft results are texted to him live as the picks are made. All because he has to be at work and cannot watch it live on TV. He does not know Brady personally, is not related, and obviously has no stake in the fortune he is about to acquire. The question comes to me; why is this so important to him? There are numerous rabbit trails to take on this but let me also add that this is a guy who is by his own admission struggling in his marriage and with his kids. He is also struggling to see any relation to how God fits into the equation of his life's circumstances.

I love sports and ND football as much as I think many but I am thinking that should I get to this point; I deserve whatever household item my wife deems fit banged off my noggin. I do not bring this up to cast stones in this guy's direction but rather to point out that the dangers of taking our focus off the important things that come in life and focusing on things that have no lasting meaning.

Robert Frost
"The reason why worry kills more people than work is that more people worry than work."

I am afraid that the above is too often true of us. Whether we are talking about our relationships (God, spouse, kids, co-workers, etc...) Or in dealing with ourselves we would rather stand back and analyze the situation than take action. I could say that "I need to lose 20 pounds" but unless I take the actions necessary to make a difference it is nothing more than a good thought. It's time to stop letting all those good thoughts be just that. Things that God is reminding me I need to make a priority:

• letting my wife know how important she is by words AND actions (ie. knock some things off the honey do list)
• tell some people around me how important they are to God
• creating more memories/ experiences for my kids

What is it that you need to focus on?

By the way, I hope Brady is drafted by the Bears in a last minute trade. It's only 4 months until the first ND game!

Sometimes you have to ask tough questions

Craig Groeschel posted this last week on his blog. The jist being the three questions:

1. If you weren’t on staff at your church, would you worship there?
2. If you didn’t know ANYTHING about Jesus, what would you know about him after a normal weekend at your church?
3. If you had a loved one who didn’t know Christ, and they had one week left to live, would you take them to your church or another?

I have challenegd myself with these questions and I think that we all would be wise to do so. Are you happy with the answers that you give? Make you feel uncomfortable? My main thought is that if we are unhappy with any of these we should not just sit on our hand and complain about it. It is time for action. We need to have an active role in our local body becoming the kind of church it should. My 2 cents...

Finding purpose in 2 conversations

Two things I was reminded of this evening while at wrestling camp:

1. You often never get to the things that you plan
2. We need to be ready at all times for an outreach conversation

I had planned to sit back, watch the boys wrestle, and read/ take a few notes from one of my current books. Turns out, that lasted for about 5 minutes. I had one conversation regarding the prioirty that sports (specifically wrestling at this time) has in our lives. I was able to talk about how we have established church as a priority the majority of Folkstyle tournaments are out of the question for us, because they are on Sunday. Not because wrestling or a tournament on Sunday is necissarily a bad or sinful thing; but because if we chose that we would be choosing to miss our worship service for approx. 8-10 weeks in a row. Good conversation.

Next thing I know, a dad from Little League (LL) slides up next to me. We spent the next 40 minutes or so just talking LL, kids, life stuff in general. No blatant spiritual connection; just getting to know one another better. This is a man who I have talked to several times in the past few years. Never worked directly with him, kids never on same LL team, or anything, just an aquaintance. It struck me that it might not continue to be that way, God seemed to show me that he may be someone I will have coninued contact with. Time to help scatter seed, throw a little water and aee what grows under the direction of the Holy Spirit. It really is fun when God lets you in on the things that He is working out in other people.