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Monthly Archives: March 2009
Amazing Debate
I’m not sure how many of the three of you caught this debate last night on ABC’s Nightline called "Does Satan Exist?". It was held at Mars Hill Church in Seattle and was between Pastor Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill), Annie Lobert (Hookers for Jesus) and Deepak Chopra (a psycho humanist) and "Bishop" Pearson (see Matt. 7:22).
It was very well done, and ABC has some clips on their website for those that missed it. Very worth your time. There are questions that get raised that are questions that we (followers of Jesus) need to think through, and prepared to answer.
Why “Do Church”?
From the people at Desiring God – John Piper’s organization.
Desiring God Blog |
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Posted: 25 Mar 2009 07:47 AM PDT (Author: David Mathis) Martyn Lloyd-Jones on what the church is for:
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D-Day + 1
So, we spent today getting settled in. We’ve managed to clear away the boxes, find places for things, and take an inventory of items that were misplaced or sent to the wrong location. All in all, it can be said that D-Day was a success. We were able to move nearly everything out of our house in 1 day. All that remains is some debris in the garage, miscellaneous tools, and a lot of empty paint cans that need to go to the recycle place.
I think we held up pretty well too. I remained pretty focused on the job at hand – trying to keep everyone busy so that they wouldn’t feel like their time was meaningless. Once the house was emptied and cleaned and vacuumed, Dawn made her way through and came out a bit teary-eyed. As we talked later on the drive to my mom’s she voiced her frustration with herself – she (like me) is fine with the move in her head, but when we talk about it with others, or see the empy house we start to get all emotional. I know that’s normal, but it still surprises us.
I also think that once I stop back by the house to get the rest of the remnants out, and have a chance to see the house again, I’m pretty sure it’ll really feel like it’s all actually happening. If that makes sense.
But, overall, we’re doing well, and we’ve really appreciated all the prayers and support from our many friends. We’re are extremely blessed.
Dear Diary…
This post is an attempt to vomit my thoughts onto something, so I don’t wind up keeping it in and eventually swallowing it again – because… that’s just gross.
A little background…
Today, after nearly 12 years of living in our little home, we are leaving it. No, we haven’t sold it. No, we’re not renting it out. No, we haven’t been found guilty of tax evasion. We simply cannot afford our house any longer. No, we didn’t get one of those Adjustable Rate Mortgages. Our income has dropped significantly over the past year or so, and rather than fight and scrap to keep our house (which we could have done – we could have restructured our loan for a time until we were able to make our normal payments again), we’ve decided to do what’s callled a "Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure", which means we basically give the house back to the bank rather than them taking it later. And so, we are moving in with my mom for a time, until we can payoff some of our Medical & Tax debt and get our perverbial feet back under us.
Maybe all three of you that read this already know all this, but now you’ve heard it from the source.
So, for me – I’m still waiting to find out how I feel about all this. Lately, as we’ve worked to get things organized to make the moving process go as smoothly as we can, I’ve been pretty focused on the job at hand, and haven’t given myself time to think or feel. The times I have noticed how I feel, are the times when I tell people we’re moving in with my mom. Don’t get me wrong, I’m EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to my mom for taking us in. But, there is this prideful, sinful part of me that wants to be approved by others and doesn’t want them to think that I’m "that guy" that’s 31 and lives with is mom. Why do I care what others think about me? I’m getting better at not caring, but I still do.
Another time I noticed my feelings getting the best of me, was at the thought of moving from our dear friends that live within walking distance. Granted, we’re not moving across the country, but there’ll be a considerable drive now. And, I think that’s good – to be sad over such a distance between friends. That’s something that us Americans can usually care less about. We don’t let anyone "in" so that we can be independent and "free" to leave when we want. I am grateful for my community of friends here, and there is going to be a great void in our lives as we "mourn" losing them.
And, just thinking back on our hopes and dreams for our family. And, how we’ve just known that we are going to live here for the rest of our lives – in our simple little house, overrun by our big family. Dreaming of the day when the boys would bring their friends and dates here to meet us, and go to dances and playing basketball in the street, and all that stuff. But, we submit all our dreams to our God, who is in control of ALL THINGS, even this – and we trust that wherever we wind up, as long as our satisfaction is in Him and not our possessions and our dreams, we will be right where we need to be.
It looks like that’s all the vomiting I have for now. I think I should stop before I resort to the dry heaves, because no one will be happy with that….
Bracket Busters
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t remember a year when there have been this many big upsets this early in the bracket. Usually there’s maybe one 12 seed that pulls off the miracle to beat the 5 seed, maybe there’ll be two, but I swear this year we’ve got 13’s beating 4’s, and almost every 12 beating their 5. 10’s are beating 7’s regularly. And even 2’s are almost geting beaten by 15’s! It’s ridiculous! And, what’s even more ridiculous is my bracket.
It reminds me of my high school tests. Whenever I’d get them back, I’d get like 73% and as I looked over it, I’d say, "That’s the wrong answer! Why did I answer that way? Of course that’s wrong! What was I thinking?!" and I could hardly remember even taking the test, let alone my rationale for answering the way I did. And, as I look over my bracket this year, I have the same reaction – "Why did I pick every frickin’ school from Utah? I never pick the mormons! In fact, I always pick AGAINST them. What was I thinking?!"
But the greatest thing about the entire tournament is watching these incredible comebacks and HUGE last second shots, and trash talking the heck out of my friends and comparing my bracket with theirs. Sometimes it’s incredibly frustrating and totally exhilerating all at the same time.
One of the best games I’ve watched was last nights game between Siena and Ohio State. 2 overtimes and a last second 3 to win it – you just can’t beat it.
Long live the Bracket…. and GO UNC!!
Our “Baby” is All Grown Up
Today is our youngest’s birthday. Micah turns 3 today. And I hope I don’t forget how his birth day came about.
We had gone to a scheduled checkup with the Midwife (yes, we’re "those" kind of people – the kind that are totally fine giving birth in a dumpster or in the backseat of a dirty city cab, because we’re just that uneducated that we don’t find it necessary to give birth in the "safe and clean" hospital just because everyone else is doing it…), Dawn was in the room with the midwife, and I was walking with our then three boys outside to keep them entertained. I had a full day of work, and was already behind schedule due to this appointment. I came in to see how things were going, and the Midwife looked at me and said, "I think we’re going to have a baby today." To which I graciously replied, "Today? – I’m working today. How ’bout tomorrow." To which the Midwife smiled and said, "Well, I think we’re going to have a baby today." And I just stood there in shock, and tried to figure out what to do next. Soon, my mom came to pick up our boys, the necessary people came to help with the birth, and by that evening we had our fourth son.
People always ask when we’re going to stop calling Micah our "Baby". I don’t know how to answer that question, because to me – he IS our baby. Everything from his cute little dimples on the backs of his pudgy hands, to his adorable little voice, to his slightly "large" physique give daily evidences of his Baby-ness. And, honestly, I don’t want to have to stop calling him "Baby Micah". Because that will mean that he’s growing up, and finds me and Dawn even more unnecessary than he does right now.
And just the fact that our youngest is three today – that by itself is just plain scary. I remember when each of our boys were three, and that seems to be the age where they grow out of their baby-ness and start becoming boy-ish. I’m sure that made complete sense.
Well, happy birthday to Micah – Daddy and Mommy love you more than we should, and we are SO thankful that God has blessed us with you!
We love you!
One of “Those” Days
I’m going to try to remember this video on those days when I feel a little off – you know, when you’re not firing on all cylinders…
Band of Brothers – Part 2
Not sure how many of "you" actually watched the Band of Brothers clip – nor do I care. But, this is where I go on and on about what I got out of that great movie. So, either read on, or skip this post…. you’ve been warned.
I learned that men do things – like fight a war and overcome fear – simply because they have to. And, honestly, I’m just fine with not fighting and being overcome with fear. Granted, my battles don’t involve heavy artillery, but they’re costly and fatal nonetheless.
"For we do not wrestle (battle, fight) against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."
Also, I learned that as a man you lead. This is no secret, but somehow it is a lesson that I’ve failed to learn. In the movie, you see Lieutenant Winters stepping up, and seeing what needs to be done to defeat the enemy, and he communicates clearly with his troops so that everyone paticipates in the battle. And they win. Now, there are casualties, but they persevere and they fight. I, on the otherhand, tend to wait for someone else to lead, and hope for a quick death once the fighting starts. Could I be more pathetic? And, at least for me, I don’t easily see the casualties until it’s too late. My casualties are when my kids go crazy as a result of my inferior leadership, or when my wife looses it (rightfully so) because she’s tired of being the leader. And if this goes on for too long, we all become a statistic.
Later in the movie, Easy Company gets different Commanding Officers as Winters gets promoted because he’s such a bad-"A". Just about everyone of their subsequent leaders proves to be pathetic. They’re either passive or indecisive or just not up to the challenge. And, as a result – people die. It’s not like they have the luxury of working under a bad leader and winding up with a pay cut or the possibility of losing their job. When their leader sucks, they lose their life. The same goes for my family, my work, my spiritual life… everything. The degree to which I lead translates directly to the degree of success all those areas experience. Nothing new, just a new perspective for me – I guess.
The only leader that comes close to Winters (in the movie) is this guy called Speirs. This dude is like every big shot movie superhero wrapped into one – with one exception – Spears is a real person. There’s this battle for the town of Foy, where Easy Company had a particular douche of a CO, Winters sends Speirs in as his replacement. And, you watch Speirs completely handle the entire situation like a man. Here’s the scene – relax, this one’s only 3 minutes and the language isn’t as bad. And – it’s really cool.
Unfortunately, my default mode is to be like the douche CO rather than Spears. God, help me work towards a "Speirs-like" intensity to lead.
A reason to fly Southwest
This is nothing short of incredible…
Thoughtful Regurgitations 