Almost here...

Credibility

Gman, this one's just for you if you haven't seen it already...

This has been debated on CBSportsline, Slate, and tons of other sites, but, check out this claim. Haven't seen this trick since my days in Jr. High gym class! In attempting to sell his shake, he's sold any semblance of credibility as well.

A Crack in the Wall

When you own a home, there are a certain number of ‘projects’ that are always lurking for you. When these are done, several more will rise up in their place. Having just bought a house, here are a few of my projects: refinish old wood floors, remodel bathroom, install flooring in kitchen and dining room, put up fence in backyard, resuscitate grass, uncover window that was boarded up for no apparent reason, re-rock fireplace, paint, replace fake wood paneling… These are not all short-term projects, but things that we’d like to get done in the next few years. None of them are absolutely essential, just things we’d like to do.

LuAnn and I have talked about another project, as well. Our kids will be using the basement, so we’d like to put in an egress window (basically a window close enough to the floor, and big enough, that you can escape a fire - or more accurately, so that a fireman can climb in and drag you out). This involves a pretty substantial removal of basement wall concrete in order to install the larger window. Translate that – big, hairy, & expensive. This is something that we’ve decided can wait a while.

That changed Wednesday night. Instead of hitting golf balls with friends as I had planned, I was tearing out soaked carpet (and the tile it was glued to) and shop-vac-ing (yes, I know that’s not really a word) water out of the basement. (Eric, thanks a ton for your help!) Apparently, the wall between the inside bedroom and the outside flower bed is not watertight. Who knew!

As we proceeded to clean up, we took some panel off the wall to discover a gaping hole in the wall. (Ok, it wasn’t gaping, and it was more of a crack than a hole, but… that’s where the water was coming in so I’ll call it a gaping hole if I want to.) And, once the wall is repaired (still waiting for bids on how that job will go), that’s where the egress window will go.

It’s funny how something you’d been thinking about doing can become something you must do NOW. Maybe there’s something going on in your life like this. Maybe God’s just revealed a huge spiritual crack in your wall that’s begging to be fixed. Maybe you’ve got a hole that’s letting things leak into your life that don’t belong there. Maybe there’s some area of ministry you’ve been thinking about for a while, and NOW is the time to act.

Stop thinking about it. Do what you must do.

Speaking of College...

According to a note on CNNMoney.com dated May 2, 2006,

"Nearly 2/3 of college students now use loans to finance their education, up from 46% in 1990. The class of 2004 graduated with an average loan debt of $15,622 for the public school students and $22,581 for those who went to private schools. A 2006 graduate with a consolidated debt of $40,000, they will owe a payment of $243 a month until they are 52. As they begin eyeing their senior discounts, they will have paid over $47,000 in interest alone on that loan."

Yikes! And that's just under-grad. I hate the thought of so many students marching proudly into such a deep debt. That's a decent car payment. So skip college and buy yourself a new car every few years instead. Just kidding! (The angry parent letters are already starting.) The education received in college can determine or at least shape much of a student's future. Very seldomly would it be a good idea to skip it!

But it's expensive. Maybe it would be better to take it a little slower (forget about graduating in 4 years) and leave yourself some time to work. Find a job (as humble as it may have to be) and pay for school as you go. Work summers. Cut back on what you don't really need. Spend what you have wisely. Save. Graduate in 5 or 6 years with a student loan payment of zero.

Or maybe you're fortunate to have parents paying your way through school. If so, appreciate it. Don't take for granted that gift. When you get your first post-graduation paycheck, call home and thank mom and dad for making sure you won't be paying for your education til you're ready to retire.

Or maybe I'm out of my mind! Maybe there is no other way than the 'way of Stafford'... nah, there's gotta be a way. Hope you find it...

Scrambled Code

One of the aspects of conservative Christianity that I really don't care for is our penchant for banning. Afraid our children will be led astray by the latest Pied Piper??? Never mind teaching them to think critically and make good choices... just ban him. Ticked off that some company's policies will benefit some group you don't like??? Don't try to reason with them, don't examine your own heart toward that group... ban the company.

In this case, it was a movie. Now this bandwagon was far from full, but the debate has been pretty hot. With the Da Vinci Code showing up on screens this weekend, things are coming to a head. But wait! What's this? The movie stinks, you say?

How much free publicity did this movie get because so many were so eager to picket and ban and rail against a movie that probably would have flopped on its own anyway?

Don't get me wrong. It's vital for Christ's body to stand up and proclaim Truth, and to point out the deception our enemy uses to dupe the masses. But, can we find a better way?

going home

We just got back from about a week long trip for graduations and receptions and to visit some missionary friends who are staying in IA til their new baby has his passport. Scott and Kelly and baby Nathaniel are doing well (despite the laryngitis and pink eye) as they prepare for a few last visits with family and supporters, then the return to their language and literacy work in Papua New Guinea. We had a good visit. Scott was a very good friend growing up (as well as LuAnn's cousin) and it was great to see them again before they take off.

It was also great to see the graduating students from my former ministry. These kids were just starting in Jr. High when I started in Auburn. One of the girls was baptized on our first Sunday there - you could just see her head popping up over the edge of the baptistry, now she's flipping her tassel. It was humbling to see how they've grown and how God continues to work in their lives. I had promised them when I came here that I'd come back for graduation this year. I had enough barbeque sandwiches to last for a really long time (at least 'til next year's receptions). Lots of late nights piled together and topped off with an overnight drive to get back, though... I'm tired.

Even if it was 4:00 in the morning, it was a great feeling to come back from our trip to our house instead of the apartment. Just felt more like coming home. It's a funny thing we have with this idea of home... When we first went to Auburn, I definitely felt like a stranger in a strange land, but it became home - those people became family. And now, a new home is developing for us here in Scottsbluff. Our family is expanding.

Kind of reminds me of scripture talking about being foreigners. We have a better home. We're on our Way there now. And the family we're bringing with us should keep expanding...

Fire/Water

"More than 2,200 wildfires have burned over 44,000 acres in Florida since Jan. 1, according to the state Division of Forestry." - from an AP story Tuesday

That seems strange in a state that is nearly surrounded by water (1100 miles of coastline), and nearly submerged in water. Home of the Everglades. The highest point above sea level is less than 350 ft high and the mean elevation is only 98 feet. There's water everywhere - but the equivalent of 70 square miles has burned this year alone.

I think often we fall into a pattern of living that is very much like these fires in FL. Surrounded by the Living Water to sustain life, but still burning out. Stop and drink. Drink deeply and live. Drink, and be satisfied.

Ok, now breathe...

Spring Thing 2006 has officially concluded. There are a few loose ends to tie up as far as reports and expenses and evaluation, but the weekend went well. (Any of you who were there feel free to disagree if you want to.) Couple weeks ago, I asked our congregation to be praying that the Spirit of God would blow life into the skeletal schedule of events. They did. He did. Here's my article from this week's Westway newsletter...
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According to the “Human Anatomy Online” website “The average human adult skeleton has 206 bones joined to ligaments and tendons to form a protective and supportive framework for the attached muscles and the soft tissues which underlie it.”

In the last couple weeks, when I asked you to pray that the Sprit of God would blow through Spring Thing, giving life to the skeleton that had been planned, I had no idea just how He would do that. Ezekiel was amazed to see a valley of bones come to life – I got to see something very similar this week. Look at this math…

3 states + 11 cities + 15 churches = 206 students and student loving youth leaders at 1 great weekend! The Holy Spirit was definitely present, joining us together in His Body and breathing life into us all. On the very first night, our speaker, Tory Satter, commented to me about the overwhelming sense of community that he could feel in the students and adults that were present. It was not natural. We had been joined by the ligaments and tendons of your prayers.

Thank you for praying. Thank you for opening your homes. And special thanks to those of you who cleared your schedules to be here and help. Nancy, Missy, Andi, Joel, Joe, Marcia, Greg, Matt, Cody, Trevor, Drew, Adam (& crew), Rodd, Aaron, Scott, Dave… I can’t thank you all enough.
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For me, this was the first of what I hope will be many such events. There were a few things that I'll do differently next time, but this time overall went very well.

Stressful weekend ahead...

There is the back.

And here is the front.

We're closing on Friday! After quite a process and many concessions (all on our side), we're finally closing the deal on our next house.

Also on Friday... about 200 youth and youth leaders will descend into our nice little valley for the Spring Thing youth rally that we're hosting (see post below).

Now if I could just figure out how to get a little separation in the big, hairy stressful things in life... Actually, my freshman year of college I took a life stress evaluation survey thingamading for psych class and had been through like 13 of the 15 most stressful life events within 6 months. How did I get in this pattern??? Oh well. I get to buy a house Friday morning and race go-karts Friday night. Who can complain?

Only One More Week...

Only one more week until a couple hundred students and youth leaders converge on WestWay for the weekend! Things have come together pretty well. Pray for good weather - we'll be going to the Great Escape (mini-golf, go karts, etc...) Friday night!

Shaped by God's Life

One last phrase from the first chapter of 1 Peter:

"...let yourself be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, 'I am holy; you be holy."

Because God is holy and it is this Holy God that has called us into relationship with Himself, we should be holy. That's not some ritual cleaning type of holiness, but a real and practical way of living life.

We are not shown to be holy by our collection of perfect attendance pins. We are not proved holy by the stillness of our prayer or the size of our offering check or the volume of our singing. Holiness is evidenced in the way we live our lives. It is seen in our treatment of the idiot drivers around us and the teachers that give us too much homework and the bosses that overlook our hard work and our parents and coaches and that kid that's always in the background and the one who's obnoxiously calling attention to himself...

Is your way of life shaped by God's life?

Photo Fun

Got my wife a new camera, so I'm messing around with it before she gets it! Probably will never get to pry it out of her hands again, so I'll have to enjoy it while I can.

This is a partial view of the corner of my office. (And no, they're not posing, they're just like that!)

"Are You Conscious?" or "God at Work" or "The Traveling Excitements of My Family of Five"

A third phrase from the first couple chapters of 1 Peter that really stands out to me is this: "Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God."

Echoing the thought that we are foreigners on this earth, Peter urges us to live in constant awareness of God being at work. He's at work now, so what's He doing? How should I be responding to His working?

Last week, my brother in law and his wife had their first child, Kole Malachi. They only live a few hours away, so we left Thursday night for a visit. On the way home Saturday, we had a little 'incident' on the road. Now I know some of you that will read this live in higher traffic places like LA or Denver or Tryon (ok maybe not Tryon) and this may be a commonplace kind of thing, but I'll have to admit to being pretty shocked at this type of road rage in the land of big skies, wide open spaces, and long stretches of clear highways...

Here's what happened. As we left one small town, I brought our mini-van up to the speed limit (yes, I specifically checked because I remember my dad getting a huge ticket in this vicinity once for a couple mph too many.) Set the cruise and settled in for the next 10 mile stretch to the next little town. A car well ahead of me put on his blinker and slowed down to turn left - then just kept driving down the road. I quickly caught up to him and slowed down to about 45 mph to stay behind him thinking he'd be turning any moment. I didn't want to pass him because I didn't know where he'd be turning, so I thought I'd be polite and stay behind him. Apparently he didn't think it was as polite as I was.

After what seemed like forever, but was probably about a mile, he was going about 35 on the highway (where the speed limit is 65) and I could tell that the moment we'd all been waiting for had arrived! Behold, a dirt road emerged from the fields on the north to show those who were eastbound the way home. Surely, he was taking this road. Yes, he's turning! He's sliding over into the other lane (which is ok, because there's no oncoming traffic for miles).

As he begins his turn, I move to the right to pass, halfway into the emergency lane of the highway (which the nice state trooper I'll meet later in the story says is perfectly legal as long as you stay on the pavement and the car you're passing is indeed turning left). This is where things get ugly. The car in front of me suddenly slams on his brakes and pulls back in front of me (it was a move that has made many NASCAR drivers proud and many other NASCAR drivers boil over with rage). But instead of pushing him out of my way like Busch may do to Biffle, I hit my brakes and passed on the now wide open left. As I did so, I saw much wailing and flailing of arms - instructing me to pull over. I don't think so!

As my heart catches back up to the beat that kept going when I slammed on the brakes, I check my mirror and find to my dismay that him who had gone before was now coming behind - rapidly! (All joking aside, I was scared he was going to hit us.) He pulled up next to my left side and began waving and pointing and mouthing for me to pull over. There is no way I'm pulling over on this stretch of highway to talk with him! So again, as he tries to cut me off, I do the old crossover and pass him back, to which he again speeds up to my bumper.

To speed this long story up... He reported me to the highway patrol for reckless driving, and about a half hour later I pulled over to explain the aforementioned events to a state trooper. For about the next 20 minutes or so, I gave my side of the story. After asking me if I wanted to press charges against the other guy for reckless driving (a process for which I have neither taste nor time), he said he had to go talk with said 'other guy' and get his version and proceed from there. Last night he called and told me that the guy said I was lying, but that no charges were being filed. It's done....

But, before being relieved at this conclusion I had spoken with my mother in law and told her of our adventure. She seemed a little apprehensive to say so, but told me that during their Saturday night service, she had felt the need to pray specifically for us as we traveled. Not just the generic 'traveling mercies' kind of thing, but really an urgent sense that we needed to be prayed for right now. (Just in case you didn't connect the dots, this was happening to her at the same time the 'incident' was happening to us.)

You can chalk it up to whatever you want, but I'm glad my wife's mom lives "with a deep consciousness of God."

Are you conscious?

Building Stones

"Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God."

Our second 1 Peter phrase. Just so there's no confusion... we're talking about Jesus here. The Living Stone. The Source of Life. Rejected by the builders. Honored by the Creator.

It's awesome to think that as I place myself into God's hand, He joins me to the Living Stone in building a life filled sanctuary where He can dwell. Not only is my life a gift from Him, it is my offering to Him, and it is a home for Him.

"Among the Natives"

There are some great phrases in the first couple chapters of The Message translation of 1 Peter. Phrases that stick in my mind...

"...let yourself be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, 'I am holy; you be holy.'"

"Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God."

"Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you'll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God."

"Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices."

Over the next few days, I want to comment on these few verses, starting with that last one. It is evident today, that 'among the natives' of our world, following Jesus is no big deal. Jesus is seen as one option among many. And many people in our society who do choose to call themselves Christian live lives that look very little like the life of Jesus. A good number of them even seem hostile toward the very Body of Christ.

The stereotypical Christian response to 'the world' seems to be to withdraw into a churchy shell, do everything possible to build an appearance of being holy, and boycott anything that might reveal a crack in that facade. But this is not living 'among the natives'. If all our good is done inside the church bubble, the world will not see it. And they'll hold on to their prejudices.

Thankfully, that stereotype does not ring true for a growing number of Jesus' followers. There are many who have traversed beyond the bounds of the bubble and are living out their following of Christ in full view of 'the natives'. They love them the way Jesus does. They treat them the way Jesus does. They teach them the way Jesus does. And the walls of prejudice that many have built up against the church are giving way to the power of His Coming Kingdom.

May all our lives display Him so fully that others will come to give Him glory with us and celebrate with us when He returns.

Then it dawned on me...

I heard a youth minister today talking about turning 30 before too many years pass. I'm already there, and lately it's struck me that I'm closer in age to my students' parents than to my students! A lot of people are surprised by that. Sometimes, I am too.

They are surprised because a lot of people don't realize how old I am (not that 30 is old - I just get mistaken for one of the kids often). I'm surprised because I feel such affinity for students that I forget that I'm twice as old as they are. I don't know what the proper way to be 30 is, but I'm pretty sure I'm not following it. At least I'm not living the way I always thought adulthood would be.

My life is an odd mixture of adult and student... Example: We've been looking for a house in our new town lately. As we wrestle with decisions about type of mortgage, sufficient bedroom space, garage, wiring, furnace, flooring blah blah blah... I keep thinking, discipleship group hangout room, pinball, coke machine, surround sound PS2 on a wall mounted flat screen... If I wasn't married with 3 kids of my own and purchasing a house to replace the one we sold several months ago, I might wonder about a guy like me.

It's wierd being an adult kid... or, kid adult... or Peter Pan...

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ADDENDUM:::

After I posted this, I found a link on Marko's blog to this Lark News Article (Youth Pastor Hazing On the Rise). Ok, so it's not exactly the same issue, but the article is funny. Just in case you don't realize this... Lark News is satire. If you don't appreciate satirical looks at touchy issues, don't read the article.