Learn by Paradox

Just one post this week. I’ll start again early next week. Enjoy the New Year!


Learn by paradox:

That the way down is the way up.

That to be low is to be high.

That the broken heart is the healed heart.

That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit.

That the repenting soul is the victorious soul.

That to have nothing is to possess all.

4 "Looking Back" Questions

Just in case anyone is out there who happens to stumble onto this blog during this busy time, here’s some questions for ya with my answers first. Please feel free to post a comment with yours:

1. Name 1 toy you owned when you were younger, that meant a lot to you.

Mine would have to be the train set my brother and I built depicting a war scene from WWII, complete with hand-painted tiny military guys from both armies.

2. Name 2 games you enjoyed playing as a child.

I loved playing Monopoly. Something about buying stuff and sticking it to the guy who’s struggling always appealed to me. My friends and I also played war games all the time with our air rifles.

3. Name 3 foods you didn't like as a child, but do now.

Most vegetables
Most fruit
Pie - Any kind

4. Name 4 foods you didn't like as a child, and still don't like.

Pickled anything
Cabbage
Lima beans
Anything that has green olives in it.

The Gift of Fun

“It’s not the gift; it’s the thought behind it.”

You’ve heard that before. Well, there’s a story that tells of these two brothers putting a lot of thought in the giving of a pair of pants that they gave back and forth to each Christmas. First, the pants were tied to a car wheel and run over snow and ice, wrapped in a lovely box, and given. When the other brother got them the next Christmas, he placed those same pants in a form where wet cement was poured and allowed to dry. They were presented that year along with a sledge hammer.
The next year they were placed in the framing of a small tool shed, and the entire shed had to be ripped apart in order to get to the pants. Now, the next year, the same old sorry, miserable pair of pants sat in the front seat of a car which was demolished, compressed into a flattened piece of metal. It took a tractor and crowbars to get to that same pair of pants. Again, it wasn’t the gift—it was the fun and joy in giving it.
My family had a ball (literally) that was about the size of a ping pong ball that traveled to each other’s houses during the Holidays and was always placed in the host’s bed so that you laid on it that first night. That ball made its way around Canada every Christmas, forgotten every year, only remembered when the “picked-on” would lay on it! That reminds me, I wonder where that ball is...hmmm…
John Whittier said this about giving: “Somehow not only for Christmas, but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you.

Ten Best Things about the Holidays

Hey, sorry about no post yesterday but I can describe my night Sunday and my day Monday in two words: Food Poisoning. ‘nuff said.

Here’s a list for you of the Ten Best Things about the Holidays:

1. Snowball fights
2. Being with family
3. The FOOD!
4. The look on little kid's faces when they open gifts
5. Watching kids at the mall with Santa
6. Staying up late on Christmas Eve assembling kids’ presents
7. Picking out and decorating a tree
8. Christmas carols
9. Christmas lights around the city
10. Days off from work!

Do you have a top ten? Let me know what your top best things about the holidays would be?

Ho Ho Get Me Away From Here!

When my youngest was three, she attended a preschool at our church. They asked me to be Santa that year. Don't do it guys! Resist the urge to make all little children's dreams come true! I came into the school and everything was going fine, no children crying, until Keeley saw Santa. She was scared, and ran away screaming and hid. As if this wasn't bad enough, when we finally found her we decided that it would be a good idea if I pulled my fake beard down for her to see that it was really dad. Oh no. That made it worse, she cried even harder. She still talks about it to this day and was just able this year (she's 8) to again sit on Santa's lap. Here are some scared of Santa pics I found .

Run away...

Double the fun...
whatever THAT is, it scares me too!

The kids seem to be OK, but I think I saw this guy on America's Most Wanted!

One Question: Why take the picture?

Thanks for the Memories...Part 2

Do you have snooping children? Perhaps like the Dennis the Menace comic strip where he rushes into the room, with his mother standing there with her mouth wide open, and he says, holding a big box in his hand, “we’d better tell Santa to forget about the train set I asked for. I just found one on the top shelf of dad’s closet!” Here’s a good idea for you parents out there with snooping children around Christmas time (except your kids cannot read this article or it won’t work, and here’s a message to my kids: your presents are not on the top shelf of my closet!). Charles Swindoll tells this story about one set of parents who were sick and tired of their children trying to find their gifts. They enlisted the help of their neighbors one year! They would keep all the neighbors’ presents in their own closet, while the neighbors kept theirs. Naturally the kids peeked, but both sets of parents acted like they didn’t know anything about it. And then, Christmas Eve, when all the kids were asleep, they would swap and wrap al the gifts. He said that you should have seen his kids when they looked out in the street on that special day and saw bicycles being ridden they thought they were going to get for their Christmas!
I love watching children at Christmas time. The best response ever to Christmas was by my oldest daughter when she was about 2 years old. We usually leave a couple of gifts unwrapped so they can see that Santa came. She came running down the hall and looked around the corner and saw the dollhouse she wanted and stopped and put her hands to her face for just a second. Her eyes sparkled. It was a Kodak moment (too bad it happened too fast for tired dad to get a snapshot of it!). I had six nieces and nephews around at Christmas when I was in college so it was always fun to watch all of their reactions to things, seeing the two brothers’ fight over what they thought was theirs. That special time of opening the gifts is always great. And the wonderful thing is that each family has the unique ability to make a lasting memory each time they get together. Remember to do that when your family all comes home and gathers for the Holiday season. Make a memory or, better yet, just sit and watch the kids open their gifts. Regardless of how we do gift giving this year, remember why we give, remember to give as we have been given, and watch your closets, parents!

Thanks for the Memories...Part 1

Bob Hope’s signature song is not as meaningful to me as it is to some people (mainly because I am much too young to remember all of that) but I do have many memories for which I am thankful. Growing up in Canada, the Holiday season meant two things: snow and street hockey. We spent many a Christmas season with lots of the white stuff. Can you say ice fishing? Ice fishing never really excited me.  I could find a hundred other things to do in the cold where you actually got to move your frozen body every now and then! Like street hockey!
Everything we did as kids in the neighborhood centered around snow activities: Did I mention street hockey, making hockey rinks in someone’s backyard, building snowmen and forts, throwing snowballs at girls you didn’t like (but through the miracle of hormones you realized later that you actually liked these girls but had no idea what was going on at the time!), and, best of all, hooking one of your friends Saint Bernard up to the sled and taking rides around the block!
These are great memories for me because they involve being with friends, family, and Saint Bernard’s. I am struck by two thoughts about God and memories. God warned his chosen people the Israelites to remember who led them out of Egypt to the “promised land” and to remember everything he had commanded them. He said that everything would go well for them if they did (see Deuteronomy 6:1-12). Jesus encouraged his followers to remember him in what we call communion. He did this so that we would remember what he did for us. God wants us to remember things and events here on earth; he wants us to cherish these moments with our family and friends (and dogs!). He ultimately wants us to remember him though; remember that he is God. Go create some lasting memories with your loved ones this year!

11 MUST HAVE TOYS SINCE 1900! Some of My Personal Faves and Some That Others Liked

11) Crayola Crayons (1903) - The average child wears down or eats (or tries to eat) about 525 crayons by age 10! 2.5 Billion crayons are sold each year. I just always broke mine because I pressed too hard. I was never good at coloring anyway. Little known Crayon Song: Harry Chapin’s “Flowers Are Red…” My theme song.  Color outside the lines people!

10) Lincoln Logs (1916) - Lincoln Logs were invented by John Lloyd Wright, the son of architect Frank Lloyd Wright. I don’t remember having these but I always found an excuse to go play at my friend Jonathan’s house ‘cause he had all the cool toys.

9) Madame Alexander Collectible Dolls (1929) - One for the girls. Madame Alexander was the first to create a doll based on a licensed character (Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With the Wind), Barbie and the rest of collectibles came soon after.  Note: I don’t understand the purpose behind having “collectible”  stuff that you stare at and don’t play with.

8) Monopoly (1935) - Just goes to show you... Nothing! My favorite game!!

7) Scrabble (1948), Clue (1949) - A two for one for this decade! Two more fun board games. Take your pick: thinking and spelling verses vs. a keen detective mind!

6) Mr. Potato Head (1952) – Did you know? The original Mr. Potato Head contained only parts--eyes, ears, noses and mouths--parents had to supply children with real potatoes to play with! Eight years later, manufacturer Hasbro decided to include a hard plastic potato "body" with the toy to replace the real spud.

5) Etch-a-Sketch (1960) – Hated it. Not artistic. My Brother-in-Law can make a Picasso from an Etch-A-Sketch, I make lines…. But here’s some info: How does the Etch-a-Sketch work? A stylus is mounted on a pair of orthogonal rails, which move when you turn the knobs. A mixture of extremely fine aluminum powder and beads (which help the powder flow evenly) lines the Etch-a-Sketch's interior. When you turn the device upside down and shake, this mixture sticks to the inside face of the glass. And when you then turn one of the knobs, the stylus scratches off the aluminum dust to create a line on the screen.

4) Rubik's Cube (1978) - Invented by former-communist Erno Rubik, the cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 different possible configurations and only one solution. Hated this as well because geeks everywhere had to flaunt their Rubik skills in my face!


3) Cabbage Patch Kids (1983) - In 1985, the peak of the Cabbage Patch Kids craze, doll sales totaled $600 million. In 1985, I stood in line with my sister-in-law to buy not one, but three for my nieces. What’s up with the what-seems-like tattoos on their behinds?

2) Tickle-Me Elmo (1996) - Trying to buy this toy could result in stampede deaths in 1996! I am just glad neither of my kids wanted one.

1) XBOX 360! (2005) - Everybody wants one but there are no more left. Plus many who special ordered one didn't get it! Others are told they won't arrive until February! They are selling on EBay for more than $1400! There were even two confirmed muggings at the opening of the sale and one drive by shooting at a line at Circuit City. Just goes to show you... video games make people violent!

What toy did you want when you were a kid?

Worn-out Knees

Anyone need a boost to their prayer life? A shot in the arm for getting back on track for communicating with God? Have you ever tried a prayer walk? Sometimes in the ordinariness of our lives, the routine, the same-old, same-old, we get stuck in prayer patterns as well.  Let me just first say that I do believe we need to be thoroughly stuck in the habit of praying, sometimes the type and style need a boost. Back to the prayer walk. This type of activity can be powerful because you tailor it to what you need o be praying about. Here’s how it goes:

First think of about 6 things/people/situations that you need to be praying about.

Next, assign a place around your home or office or wherever that you can go and be in the place, praying about that particular subject (example – when I did this at a previous church I worked for, I did this with a men’s class I was teaching and we went down in the middle of class outside the youth class and prayed for the teenagers)

Repeat this for each prayer subject.

Now, get praying.  What I found when I’ve done this before is that I pray longer, in a more specific manner, and it gets me away from what I call “selfish prayer”.


I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me seemed insufficient for the day. Abraham Lincoln

Hey, Funny Face!

Funny faces… we all can make them. You know yours. I know mine.  This is my daughter’s signature funny one. What are they for? Do they actually make some sort of contribution to mankind? Well, I’ve pondered this and here are just some of the times you can use a funny face (along with the face to make). Hopefully this will contribute to a healthier, happier population, and, like always, feel free to post your own funny face example (complete with photo would be great):

When you’re playing the incredibly-irritating-but-still-popular-in-some-places game of, “(insert person’s name) If You Love Me Won’t You Please Smile?” Here’s to the face you make out of no-where that finally breaks the other person so the game moves on or, hopefully, ends right there. Face: It just better be a good one! Practice ahead!

The first time you smell a dirty diaper and you know you’re going to have to be the one to change it. Face: a mixture of turning your nose and panic.

The funny face game; Copyrighted by myself, my wife, and her brother (good for long trips in the car). You say a person’s name (preferably a person who is there… in the car) and count to three and they have to make a funny face. Face: Anything you can come up with that fast has got to be good. Bring the digital camera.

The faking face: when you spouse asks you to go somewhere (Husband: shopping for anything, Wife: any professional sporting event). You sound interested, and even put on a good face (you faker). This one is not actually funny but, if you think about it, the fact you’re faking what you really are feeling is funny, although, the spouse will not think so, not that I have any experience with this or have ever successfully done it. Face: Like #10, this had better be a good one…

Simply: the face of a little child when they smell something they are not used to. This could be anything from mom shoving baby food in their face (you know, the wieners in a jar stuff) to smelling a woman’s perfume in a store, making a face and then saying out loud,“What stinks?!”

Touched By God

How’s this for making a point. I cannot remember where I found this, but it’s good. It’s old, but it’s good.  


Longfellow could take a worthless piece of paper, write a poem on it, and instantly make it worth thousands of dollars -- and it's called genius.

Rockefeller could sign his name to a piece of paper and make it worth millions of dollars -- and it's called riches.

A mechanic can take material worth only five dollars and make it worth five hundred -- and it's called skill.

An artist can take a fifty-cent piece of canvas, paint a picture on it, and make it worth thousands of dollars -- and it's called art.

Jesus Christ can take a worthless, sinful life, wash it in His blood, put His Spirit in it, and make it valuable to God -- and that's called sanctification.

The Lord is in the business of taking rough, raw material and using it -- transforming men by His power to be the extension of His work in the world.

Note: Just when you think you don’t have much to offer remember its God that blesses you with something to offer this world.  It’s his redeeming grace that gives us a message of hope for everyone. He transformed us into what he wants. God touches us and each of us, in turn, has something to give. We can put our valuable mark on something because God has done that for us through his Son. What raw material do you have that God can use?

Kingdom People...

Jesus talks constantly about the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven. We are a part of it if we are followers of Christ. But what characterizes God’s people being “Kingdom People?” What makes Kingdom citizens different than anyone in the world? What characterizes a “kingdom person”?  Here are three things that do. Kingdom people:
1.     Live in Faith.
2.     Offer Forgiveness and Reconciliation.
3.     Seek First His Kingdom.

I want to contrast what the world says about how to live here with how a “kingdom of God” person would live. Here are just some of the disparities:

Pride is important vs. Give all your rights to God
“Hitch your wagon to a star” vs. Humility is essential
Success vs. Jesus is Lord
Professionalism vs. Obedience
Competition vs. Servanthood
Maintain your rights      vs. Service
Negotiate for the best deal vs. Obey God’s commands
Excellence vs. Christlikeness
Save your life vs. Lose your life for my sake
Affirm Self vs. Deny self
Accomplishments vs. Character
“You don’t have to take that!” vs. Take up your cross
Live to die vs. Die to live
Rule and be served vs. Serve in order to rule
Things will make you happy vs. Godly character brings joy
Walk by sight vs. Walk by faith
Get revenge vs. Do good to your persecutors
Eat, drink, and be merry vs. Seek first the kingdom of God

I Love To Laugh

Charis Conn, editor of What Counts: The Complete Harper's Index said that the average number of laughs a person has in a day is 17. I’d say that would need to be the minimum at best. I also think that the art of being able to laugh at yourself is a key to healthy living. You know, the best way for me to get a laugh when I need one is to watch the “I Love To Laugh” scene from Mary Poppins with that wonderful actor, Ed Wynn, who plays Uncle Albert. His laugh is truly contagious! Today I am posting a list (I know – list day isn’t until Wednesday!) of ways to cultivate a sense of humor:
1. Catch yourself in some amusing inconsistency and then laugh at yourself. This is the foundation of a healthy sense of humor.
2. Note the inappropriate or funny things people say or do in public, and draw parallels between those silly behaviors and your own. Positive humor goes beyond mere criticism to a recognition of our common plight as less-than-perfect human beings.
3. Include in your regular reading diet published collections of wit and humor, humor columnists, comic strips, and stories by writers with a well-developed sense of humor.
4. Occasionally do something harmlessly absurd and totally out of character for your spontaneous entertainment.
5. Avoid sarcasm, ridicule, and excessive teasing. They hurt rather than heal.
Good stuff. Speaking of being able to laugh at one’s self, I wish to thank my church for giving me the opportunity to do just that last night. You know who you all are!


Note: Comic Sans Rules! Join the revolution!  You people using Times New Roman because you can’t figure out how to change it or just don’t want to do anything different are the ones that need help!  Be a fan of Comic Sans!

Laws of Golf, Part Deux...

I'm hanging outdoor Christmas lights today, so here's the rest of these rather than writing something original. Hey, it's my day off! I'm already doing a "honey-do" as it is!




LAW 11: Golf carts always run out of juice at the farthest point from the clubhouse.
LAW 12: A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player, a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent -- or some similar combination.
LAW 13: All 3-woods are demon-possessed.
LAW 14: Golf balls from the same "sleeve" tend to follow one another, particularly out of bounds or into the water (See Law three).
LAW 15: A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.
LAW 16: "Nice lag" can usually be translated to "lousy putt." Similarly, "tough break" can usually be translated "way to miss an easy one, sucker."
LAW 17: The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.
LAW 18: The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.
LAW 19: Golf should be given up at least twice per month.
LAW 20: All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until the sunset.

Conference Notes: God's Story/Our Story

Today I am including some notes from the conference I attended on Tuesday. Ravi Zacharias from RZIM spoke (see link to the right) as well as a couple of his colleagues. One speaker, Stuart McAllister, made some challenging remarks about how to reframe our vision from a Christian worldview. I am going to share some of his comments today.

If we can start thinking of our worldview from Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it…” we can then better define what’s going on.

We then realize we are in God’s story, his narrative, and better yet, we are the main characters.

We realize that we live in a created order and the God we serve is loving, Holy, personal, and good.

We are His fingerprints, recipients of His gracious action again and again.

We recognize He is purposeful and that He is at the heart of this world. We are like him (Imago Dei) but He is above us.

We understand that we live in a disordered realm, and things are now damaged, bent, and twisted. Things left on their own don’t just get better. It’s our job, like tending a garden.

We ultimately come to believe that God has taken the initiative beginning the reconciliation of all things, in and through the personal work of Jesus Christ.

Here are 3 things to consider:

1. The world that is, is not the world that was (Creation to Fall)


2. The world that is, is not the world that must be (Struggling after the Fall)


3. The world that is, is not the world that will be (Redemption – HOPE)

The selling of gloom and doom will not bring an answer for the world’s hard questions about God. Only the engaging of all in God’s story of love through Jesus Christ will we bring about the delivery of hope!

Wednesday: A Story & A Point

I am sorry about there not being a post yesterday. I went to a workshop all morning (I will post something from it tomorrow). Wednesdays are going to be a day where I will tell a story and make a point; pretty simple. Enjoy.

There are many stories that have circulated concerning the Titanic. My favorite one is probably one that goes unnoticed.  It doesn’t have to do with heroic rescues or death and destruction; it enlightens us about priorities.  It concerns a frightened woman who had just found her place on a lifeboat that was about to be dropped into the water.
     She thought suddenly of something she needed in spite of everything that was happening around her. She asked for permission to go to her stateroom. She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She came to her room and pushed aside her jewelry and reached above her bed and got three small oranges and found her way back to the lifeboat and got in. Death boarded the Titanic that day. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.
     In Matthew 16:26 Jesus says this: “What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself. What could you ever trade your soul for? (The Message)” What is your priority in life?  What is the one thing that drives you?  That you lay awake at night thinking about? Priorities change when we’re confronted with the fact that whatever it is we hold so dear may not be around much longer. The phrase “getting your priorities straight” is wise enough when someone is on a self-destructive path. But what about those of us that just need a more fulfilling priority?  As you make plans, watch your priorities. Is God in charge of them?

Theme Days Coming...

OK, I'm back! Thanksgiving trip completed, 1000+ miles later, we're back! I am sorry for the missing days but I was not able to post where I was, so I came up with some ideas for the future.

In order to put some organization to this space (and my thoughts), I’ve decided to give themes to different days on this blog. For example, Monday is going to be “LIST” day (I’ve got a book of lists that are somewhat thought-provoking). I haven’t decided what all of the other themes will be yet; we’ll do it as we go. Here’s a good place to start…

Traits of a Successful Person (Scriptures added are mine)

• Consciousness of an honest purpose (John 17:3)


• A just estimate of oneself and everyone else (Romans 12:3)


• Frequent self-examinations (See Romans 12:3b again)


• Steady obedience to what one knows to be right (1 John 2:5-6)


• Indifference to what others may think or say (I’m going to address this tomorrow)

OK, it’s amazing how you can find some secular book sources and, without knowing it perhaps, the author hits on some solid biblical truths! Hey, let me know if you find anything like this…

Experience...

A young man once asked an older man, “What’s the secret of your success?”
“Good decisions,” the older man replied.
“How do you learn to make good decisions?”
“You get that by experience.”
“How do you get experience?”
“By making bad decisions.”
Although this wouldn’t be the recommended way to learn how to make good decisions, most of us can look back on our lives and see how this little scenario played out for us. For us parents there is nothing more we would like our children to avoid than the same bad decisions we made. Unfortunately, as they get older our influential role decreases and we have to do the thing that parents fear the most: watching. We watch our children succeed (that’s the enjoyable part) but we must also (gulp) watch them fail. We love them, pick them up, dust them off and then the watching starts again!
This is not to say that we cannot, and I must say we should, equip them with all of the wisdom and skills they need for this life journey. The book of Proverbs in our Bible was written for the Hebrew people to be a kind of book of common wisdom (sense) for parents to use to teach their children. While we may have a huge selection of parenting books, manuals, and other helpful materials I find the most encouraging statement to come from that same book of Proverbs. Proverbs 22:6 says this, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it,” or as the Message Bible puts it, “Point your kids in the right direction- when they’re old they won’t be lost.” I find comfort and encouragement in those words. Yes we have our work cut out for us and sometimes things don't turn out exactly as we had planned, but maybe we need to look at parenting like a gardener would. We are planting seeds. They may not show growth for a while, some may not show fruit for a while either. But when they do, what a beautiful sight it will be, and God will receive the glory!

Guard Your Heart

I caught a pretty bad virus about a year ago. I was sick. What a hassle! What an inconvenience! It ended up taking me the better part of a week to get over it. I even had to spend $80.00 on a new hard drive, sit all day in my office reinstalling software… wait, I wasn’t specific about the virus was I! It was a computer virus! Sorry to mislead everyone, although at one point that week I think I would rather have had the physical virus. I am now a devout believer in virus protection software. Oh yes I had it before but I must confess that it wasn’t quite up-to-date. Now I am going to be vigilant about trying to keep up with every evil virus out there.
You know, all of this talk about viruses, protection, guarding my computer, and so on reminds me of one of my favorite Bible verses, Proverbs 4:23. It says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Doesn’t this verse conjure up images of some sort of warfare or battle? That’s how I felt this week when I was dealing with my dead computer. It was war! I ended up being convinced (again) that I needed to protect my computer. Isn’t that similar to how we need to protect ourselves from what is evil “out there”? We need to be extra careful about what we put in our minds and hearts (and what is put into the minds and hearts of our children!).
A few years ago when I was a youth minister, our youth group decided to make this verse our theme for the school year. They put the verse into their own words and made it something worth adhering to: "Sin is toxic!" They wanted a constant reminder about what they needed to be focused on and reminded of what they needed to not let into their lives. Listen to words of this proverb in The Message: “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.” I guess it applies to computers too, but more powerfully to people. Stay vigilant!

Laws of Golf...

Just some humor for a Saturday.  Golfer guys, you’ll be familiar with most all of these. I’ll do the rest of them another time. Enjoy!


LAW 1: No matter how bad your last shot was, the worst is yet to come. This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a summer and, eventually, a lifetime.
LAW 2: Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell about the former.
LAW 3: Brand new golf balls are water-magnetic. Though this cannot be proven in the lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its attraction to water.
LAW 4: Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play. If one does, the tree is breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.
LAW 5: No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all his playing partners must solemnly chant "You looked up," or invoke the wrath of the universe.
LAW 6: The higher a golfer's handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an instructor.
LAW 7: Every par-three hole in the world has a secret desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole, the greater its desire.
LAW 8: Topping a 3-iron is the most painful torture known to man.
LAW 9: Palm trees eat golf balls.
LAW 10: Sand is alive. If it isn't, how do you explain the way it works against you?

Plan Some Family Fun

The rapidly approaching Holiday season gets me thinking about a number of things, like avoiding malls and any store altogether and doing all of my shopping online! No really, it gets me thinking about all of the time that families spend together during this time of year.  Family members flying or driving all the way across the country so they can spend time together.  It sounds great in the planning stages but then people that have the same old relationships get stuck in a house together for too long and the temperature starts to rise.  Does this happen to you?  Does your family need to break out of a rut of spoiling Holiday times together?  How about some fun? What does your family do for fun? What I mean is this: What does your family plan to do for fun?  Plan fun?  Doesn’t sound like fun you say?
Here’s what Bob and Annie Schuckert, quoted in Our Families magazine say: “We had a tradition of the entire family playing croquet when the children were little. Soon the children were grown, had families of their own and were scattered all over. Everyone would come home at Christmas and other times and we played croquet. We now turn on the lights on the backyard and the entire family plays croquet from about 10:00pm until about 2:00am. It started years ago when one of the kids did not arrive until about 8:30pm. Then around 10 someone suggested we play a night game. We all played and had so much fun that we have been doing it ever since”.
My wife, her brother, her father and I started something a few years ago after one of us got the first video camera for Christmas.  We started staying up way too late and making funny films. From making fun of the shopping channels to “chin people” (only my family will laugh at just the memory of that one), there is very little planning that goes into it.  My kids have become involved and we have made it into something that is expected at Christmas time and other family gatherings.  Sometimes everyone stays up a bit too late for me and usually I am the cameraman. Also, it is only funny to us, but isn’t that the point?  Do something fun for your family.  Make it a tradition.  Starting this year.  Even if your oldest child is embarrassed to mention this fun family tradition at school!  See what it does to those old family patterns!

Promoting & Protecting Purity

Promoting and Protecting Purity

Protecting our country, our lifestyle, our way of life has been something that has grabbed everyone’s attention over the last few years.  We want to make sure we are safe.  We want to make sure our families are safe. People have begun to resort to “extra measures” in order to protect themselves against possible threats. Let me just say that being safe is always a good thing. But let me push the envelope a little further and ask this question, “What are we doing to protect our souls, our spiritual walk with God?”
Someone said, “Holiness is the everyday business of every Christian.  It evidences itself in the decisions we make and things we do, hour by hour, day by day.”  Sometimes it seems that our battle is by the hour or even by the minute.  What can we do DAILY to protect ourselves, our marriages, our children, and the church from the constant attacks against us?  These attacks aren’t as obvious as flying planes into buildings. These attacks are on our daily lives.  The attacks I am speaking of threaten our faith journey.  It may come in the form of some temptation to do something we know is wrong.  It may come as a life-threatening illness that shakes our faith.  It may take shape as a spouse or loved one abandoning or leaving a family. It may just be the onslaught of daily pressures that stress us out from work or with our family’s daily routine. Whatever the form, we have opportunities every day to protect what the Bible calls our holiness (which does not mean we have a “holier than thou” attitude but rather holiness means we try to live our lives for God!) or our purity (keeping ourselves clean from evil). There are some things we can do to ensure we are protected.

First, we need to RECOGNIZE the destructive forces that are already at work in our lives.  Here’s something you can do: Individually, come up with five potentially destructive elements that may have more of an influence in your life, marriage, and children than you want them to have.

Then we need the REMOVE the impurities. Spend a few minutes in private prayer about impurities in your life, where your purity has been attacked, and pray for God’s deliverance.

REPLACE them with a growing love for God’s word, holy living, and service in the church. Try doing this exercise this week: Read 1 Peter 1:13-16. How would you define the commands here or put them in your own words?  Which one command sums up everything? How?  Based on these commands, how would you define “holy”?  How can living a holy life protect you from attacks on your purity?

Lastly, we must RESOLVE to seek God, especially in prayer. What steps can you take in order to know God better or to seek Him? May God richly bless your efforts to protect your family’s purity.

The Value of a Godly Family.3

One of the foundations for the family as the prime agent of spiritual nurture is Dt. 6, a chapter which became famous in Israel's history. The chapter begins by reminding God's people that they were to observe his commands and decrees after they cross the Jordan. The reason attached is:
"so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you." (Dt. 6:2)
Note 2 very important things about this. First God expects the family to pass on the faith. The command to parents, far from permitting them to forget about their children, is for them to strive for the goal of handing down their faith to their children and grandchildren. Parents, this challenge is still for you. Not only to have a lively faith yourself, but also to pass on the faith down to your children, and to so equip them, that they will pass the faith on to their children as well. Including yourself, will your love for Christ be passed on to the 3rd generation? It won't be easy. It will take work, and a long-standing commitment. Secondly, we are told what to pass down:
"all his decrees and commands".
It is not half, nor part of God's commands, but the whole corpus. And it is the imperative instructions that we are to pass down. So God gives the family the blueprint in those verses. God does not leave us in the dark about what we should pass on to our children. Then the passage continues with the famous:
"Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is one. Love he Lord with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be you’re your hearts. Impress these on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates." (Dt. 6: 4-9).
God does not call us to present holy worship to our children as one option among many to see if they will grace us with an agreement to attend. He charges parents with the duty to impress these things on our children while they are impressionable. God calls on the believing family to impress these things on our youth - not merely throw them out as options - among many - to believe. Nor do we relay these truths and convey to our children to believe any old things. No, we authoritatively declare the one truth of the one living God, and we seek at every opportunity to impress these on our children. Our homes are to be bathed in the messages of God. All activities are to be infested with his holiness. And regular times will be helpful in most cases.
But don't stop here. Drop down in the same passage to v. 20, to see further, how our children are to be involved.
"In the future when your son asks you, 'What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the Lord our God has commanded you?' tell him...".

The Value of a Godly Family.2

In terms of being the primary place to teach religious values, the buck stops in the home. Do we really want or should we have any institution, group, school, or government mandating how our homes should run or what we should teach? We should also not get caught in the situation where some other agency ends up being the place (because we gave this responsibility to them), where values are taught to our children. At best, let me say that again, at BEST, they should only reinforce what we are teaching at home. The value of the Christian family is that we model for the whole world to see what God wants for His people. We are training agencies for the next generation of God's people. Just look at how many times in scripture the Jewish people are encouraged, no commanded is the more applicable word here, to tell of God and His love and deliverance to the 2nd and 3rd generations. Here are just some of the values that need to be taught in the Christian home, which in turn, increase the value of your family:

Learn about covenant- to love and be loved. (protection, nurture)
Learn grace – to forgive and be forgiven.
Learn empowerment – to serve and be served. (citizenship, work ethic)
Learn intimacy – to know and be known.

The state is not instructed to do this. The school is not charged to this. The church is not even the primary agent to do this. The youth group, may support the home, but it is not called on to do this. Moms and dads are called on to keep this age-old pattern. When our children ask questions as they normally will(and even when they don't!), then we are to explain the teachings of God. Parents are to instill godliness, and set before their children God's commands. At the same time, they will do well to explain how and why we cannot perfectly live up to those, and how God gives grace to enable us to obey. Our homes are the central and most important places for religious nurture.

The Value of a Godly Family.1

Samuel Taylor Coleridge had a dinner guest over who was a free thinker of the late 18th century. Throughout dinner he expounded on the virtues of freedom of choice, how religion prevented people from being truly free, and the evils of training children in the faith, saying no one should have external structure imposed on them. Coleridge, who'd been quiet during the tirade, ushered his guest toward the back door, opened it and said to the man, "Here, let me show you my garden. I'm sure you'll agree that it’s one of the best in the world." There were no rows of bushes, no succulent smells, no organized beauty. There were only weeds and vines, an absence of artistry or botany. The man looked puzzled, and said, "Oh... so this is your garden? Coleridge, the sage poet, replied, "Yes. I have followed your advice. Just as you said, I wouldn't want to impose in any way on this nature. Especially the young vines, I want them to grow as they will. It would be like imposing religion. Isn't this a beautiful garden?"
A tag phrase over the last few years has been "family values". Let me just say this: no real progress will be made in “family values” until real emphasis is placed on the “value of the family”. The family that God Himself has created and we help to grow! Remember that feeling you had when bringing your little baby home from the hospital? Well, maybe not the first day, because your mother (or mother-in-law) was still around, later on when you and your spouse were alone with your little one. Remember the feeling of helplessness, like the responsibility of their whole life was right before your eyes! That’s the feeling I hope to rekindle over the next few posts as we review our responsibilities about the family. As parents our job is to grow a healthy, weed-free family! If you are a part of such a family, give God praise! If you do not have a family yet, tuck these things away and pull them out later when you need them! From today on, help cultivate a family so it can thrive!

Have You Lost Your Laugh?

You know, it's not often that SpongeBob can be an inspiration for something, but today the episode that is playing behind me as I write this involves Mr. Squarepants losing his laugh. Now, if you know anything about SpongeBob, you know his laugh ranks just above fingernails on the chalkboard on the irritate-o-meter. It got me to thinking though. We adults sometimes have the tendency to lose our laugh. We take things waaaay to seriously. We need something. Let me tell you about what happened last year during a stretch of time where we had 3 days in a row of snow days (this was in VA, where at the least suggestion of snow, everything stops).
I am beginning to appreciate snow days. Now don’t get me wrong, they are a hassle and a major interruption to my schedule as much as the next person’s, but I am beginning to appreciate them. By “appreciate” I mean being able to do something we adults don’t normally do on snow days: PLAY! Kids get this principle easily. You tell them there’s no school, they cheer (literally in my house), they run to the closet, find their winter paraphernalia and run outside. No time for anything important, let’s play, they say!
It took me a day to get out there because, well, I just was enjoying not having to get up the first day and besides, there was this good book I was reading. The second day I went out with my kids to our street (we lived at the top of a steep cul-de-sac) and made myself a human projectile down the slope! What fun! It reminded me of the times when my friends and I in seventh grade used to inhale our lunches, run to the hill beside our school, sled on a piece of cardboard covered with a garbage bag for a half hour before returning to class. What fun! What freedom! No responsibilities! Just play. I found a little bit of that last year due to my new found appreciation for snow days.
It reminded me of a well-known verse, Proverbs 15:13: “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” This saying that a happy heart can cure some things. Are there some ailments in your life that a good day outside playing with your kids can cure? The look of pure glee on my then six year old as she flies down the hill is enough good medicine for me! Although, my kids received some good medicine as well watching old guy dad wipe out in the snow! Another translation of Proverbs 15:13 goes like this: “A cheerful heart brings a smile to your face, a sad heart makes it hard to get through the day.” Don’t just trudge through another day. Go out and play. Find your laugh again!

Who Am I? Who Are You?

Thanks for the emails and input from yesterday. We're off to a good start. God-discovery elicited some good feedback. I'd like to take one of them and run with it a little today. The quote from one comment went like this: "The more we discover God the more we find our true identity in him." I love those two words, "IN HIM". Identity is an interesting construct. Ah, the age-old question, "Who am I?", "what is my identity?", comes to the surface at different times in our lives. Let's take this in two directions:
First, maybe we need to change the question a little to read like this: "Whose Am I?" (I know the grammar is bad and somewhere in Canada there is a former english teacher of mine cringing). If we ask this question this way it unfolds a different image in my mind. Who am I creates ambivalence, indecision, agitation, pressure (like it's up to me decide who I am in the first place!? Like it matters to eternity who I am anyway!?). Asking the second question starts me on the road of something defined; defined by God, that is. I am His. That can and should be sufficient for me.
The second direction would be to find value in what we were created to be. We find this in Genesis 1:26 when God said, "Let us make man in our own image, in our likeness..." Whose am I? I am God's. What is that like? I am made in in His image and likeness. How can we be confused? Our identity is found in the fact that we are created in the image of God. We are His, and we are made to be like Him.
Another response from yesterday that I might tackle tomorrow is the two-word phrase, "knowing God." those two words are packed with meaning for us. How close can you get to God? So close you KNOW Him.

Forever God's,

Jim


(also, if you want to leave a comment, look down below this sentence to where it says 6 comments (the number may be different). Click on that and a pop-up window will appear, thanks!)

Hey, I'm here!

Hey, everyone. I feel like I am embarking on a journey. A journey not only of self-presentation (it's a bit vulnerable putting yourself out there (here) even though there are protections) but of self-discovery. There it is. The title of my first post: self-discovery. You hear a lot of that hyphenated word on shows like Oprah and Doc Phil, or in counseling sessions. Not much of that in scripture though. Mayeb because that is not what w need to be after: the discovery of ourselves. Hmmm....
The way I see it is God intended us to find Him, not ourselves. I don't tend to find out anything good when I "discover" things about myself (cuz it's usually stuff I need to change about me!). Discovering me is no great task: I'm fallen, I need Him. Period. God wants us to travel down the road of God-discovery. And what an amazing find it is once we have "discovered" Him!
This post is going to be short, but I'm just starting and I really want these things to be a dialogue with anyone who wants to share. Let's share about how we discovered God; or how He found you; And I'll share about how He found me and how I am continually discovering Him. I think that would be a great place to start. Let's just see where this dialogue takes us (hopefully closer to Him).

still discovering...

Jim