21 October 08 - 14:19A Good Day
One Saturday, things started out so well that I began taking pictures of the day. By that night, I had a full file of pictures that I titled “A Good Day”. It was in early August, the day was sunny and warm and was filled with Doritos, chicken salad, inflatable swimming pools, popsicles, walks, lakeside picnics, ducks, hot dogs, blackberries and board games ‘till midnight. Those things might not mean much to you, but it was worth a lot to me. And when “Good Days” are few and far between, you tend to take note when they come by.
There are things in this world that make us happy. There are things that make us sad. Things that make us angry. Things that make us afraid. But things are things, and just like our emotions, they are only fleeting; because time continues to roll by. Yet it is this notion of fleeting time that will one day bring us to the end, and beginning, of it all. One day we will reach the end of time…and the beginning of eternity. ...
(more)
21 October 08 - 13:49Order in the Court
A couple of months ago, my family was called to court. Well, not my family exactly; it was my wife, Carra. But as a family we are all in this together, so I and Sophia both went with Carra to appear in court and support her as she stood before the judge. So what brought Carra in? What evil deed did she perpetrate to warrant her being thrust upon the mercy of the court? If you can believe it, she had the gall to drive with a headlight out. Gasp! And…to make matters worse, she had used the car insurance card earlier in the week to purchase a tire warranty, so she couldn’t find it when the patrolman asked. All in all, it was a very hefty ticket.
There was a glimmer of hope however, the patrolman said that if we fixed the headlight and then brought proof of the fixed headlight and proof of insurance to the court and presented it to the judge, then he thought she would possibly drop the ticket. So, the insurance card was found that night and the headlight was fixed very fast and very easily ...
(more)
07 October 08 - 12:03The Right Tool
Back in the Spring, Carra and I spent a Saturday afternoon working in the yard. The previous owner spent a lot of time and money on the landscaping and there are lots of various plants in our yard that we really don’t know how to care for. The thing that initially motivated us was the fact that the enormous rose bushes had taken over the backyard with their vicious thorns. So we decided a day of plant, bush, hedge, and tree trimming was in order. When we began, we realized that we didn’t have any trimming equipment. We also had no money to buy any, so after rummaging in the garage, I found a hacksaw blade and we went to work. Trimming occurred, but only at the expense of exhausting work and terribly sore hands.
The fact is that a hacksaw blade is in no way created to trim plants and trees. Sure, you can make it work, but it is the wrong tool for the wrong job. Once we finally bought a trimming saw, the difference was amazing! Trimming was a snap; even enjoyable if you can believe it. ...
(more)
22 September 08 - 15:25Stray Dog Strut
My two dogs, Roscoe and Buster have been very busy lately. They’ve decided that before the summer weather is entirely gone, they need to get some yard work done. Not only that, but they’ve also decided to become more social in the neighbor hood; to get out and visit their neighbors more. Being the efficient and clever rascals that they are, they’ve combined their two projects. By displacing a load of dirt underneath the backyard fence they’ve also created a nice gateway they can use to go see the dog that lives right behind us. The first time I found them on the other side of the fence, the hole wasn’t quite big enough and Roscoe couldn’t get back even though he went through the first time. I had to dig more to get him back over then I plugged the hole up with bricks. After a couple of days, Buster had busted out again (Roscoe hasn’t gone back across). So I piled bricks into that hole. After another couple of days, the original hole was opened back up because Buster had removed all the bricks. ...
(more)
16 September 08 - 13:40Darkness Falls
Last night, my family and I went for a walk on the college campus close to our home. We knew that there were nice trails there, but we had never been. It was getting late and on a whim we decided to go. We found the trails and started walking as the sun was already setting. We basically only had time to see where the trails were and where they went before it got dark. We found ourselves walking back to the van in dark, unknown woods. It wasn’t terrible because the trail was wide and nicely paved. Had we been on a dirt path farther away from civilization; we would’ve been terrified, and possibly lost.
My bible reading today was John chapter 12. In verse 35, Jesus says, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going.” We’ve got to follow Jesus, the Light. If we don’t, spiritual darkness can overtake us really fast. ...
(more)
08 September 08 - 10:50What's that Smell?
My daughter’s first day of Kindergarten was Friday. This morning, her mom and I took her to her first full classroom/full day. It is a milestone. Even though she has been in daycare and preschool for several years, Kindergarten feels like a big step…a big, new phase. It reminds us that life goes on.
Life keeps moving and going and changing and let’s face it: sometimes it is not what we want. Sometimes life is hard. Sometimes life just plain stinks. Wait…can a pastor say that? Can a Christian say that? Well, it’s true, and the bible confirms it. The bible doesn’t hide the fact that not only will there be days that are bad, but sometimes life will be bad. I’m sure we can all agree on this point, but the real question is, where is God when life isn’t what it’s supposed to be?
We need to remember that God is always there. He is there and He is active. God works and He is always working (Jn 5:17). He doesn’t get caught napping. He doesn’t get distracted. He is active and He is aware. He ...
(more)
28 August 08 - 14:22Keeping the Sword Sharp
The Bible is known as the Sword of the Spirit. For many people, this analogy is lost. It’s kind of like the guy that always uses a football analogy to explain everything, and you’ve never played football a day in your life. (Oh, wait! I did that two blogs ago, didn’t I?) Well, the truth is, it’s really a simple analogy. The Bible is your weapon and your tool. You need it to fight, to survive, to live, and to thrive. Another way to think of it may be as a survival knife in the hands of a wilderness explorer or a Swiss Army knife in the hands of MacGyver. (you may have to Google that last reference if you’re under 25…0k, 30)
Without getting much deeper into the sword analogy (that’s for Sunday’s sermon), it goes without saying that your weapon must be sharp. How do you do this? You’ve got to read the Bible. It is the simplest thing in the world, but something that many of us struggle so badly with. We must read the ...
(more)
19 August 08 - 21:00Not Against Flesh and Blood
People hurt us. They do bad things, mean things, stupid things and evil things. And we do it all right back. It is tough being human and it is even tougher to live with humans. We struggle a lot in life, and most of it is with each other. Yet the bible teaches us that it doesn’t have to be this way.
God equips his followers with armor that enables them to fight the “forces of evil” in the world and not the people that are affected/infected by the evil. In Ephesians chapter 6, Paul says that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”(v12) I think that we often forget the “flesh and blood” part of this verse and all too often end up blaming, hating and hurting one another when conflict arises. ...
(more)
