For mdog

Well, I have been laxed in my posting lately... and I should post something profound as it is New Years Eve day. But at this point I have nothing profound to say. I'm storing up all my profundity and one day... it will all ooze out.

I have been spending time with my parents... I feel time is short. I'm not sure if they are coming back next year... they might stay in Florida. So time is precious. But I wanted to post something...seeing I'm getting near death threats from the meanie mdog. :)

Hopefully more later... if not... happy new year.

A bit too late

I really could have used this BEFORE I left for Honduras. Oh well, at least I will be prepared for next year.

Wow....how... ah...

Relevant?

I wish I could say otherwise, but this one is real. Central could never be so cool.

Back to Ohio

Was it really just two days ago I was in Honduras? Was it really this week that we were building a cafeteria for the children in Neuva Esparanza? Was it really this week that I spent a week without a cell phone, watch, computer, commitments other than loving and serving. I'm having a harder time reflecting on this experience this year for some reason. It could be because it was harder in some ways than last year. But it could be that I enjoyed it so much more than last year. In many ways Honduras felt like home.

I guess it is impossible to put into words all the feelings have or things we experienced. I'm not sure I'm even willing to try. But the posts will unfold as I work through all that I have to process. So I will blog for me... when I'm ready.

Until then... please feel free to go to my Flickr and see the images that might help capture a few thousand words. If you are really into it, you can go to the MDL Flickr I set up and look at hundreds of them as I post them over the coming weeks.

Some things, people and experiences change you forever.

iPhone jerk

Well, this is an appropriate post to make before I leave to fly to Honduras. I hope you all have a good week, and if you think about it, pray for our team as we spend the week at Montana De Luz.
.
The story is a "Squawk" from the tracking web site, Flight Aware. Many thanks to Tyler, who was watching his wife fly to her destination during my sermon on Sunday, and subsequently pointed me to this site.

And now... for you iPhone users...how NOT to use your iPhone.

One of our subscribers sent me this story today. We all knew this one was inevitable when the latest iPhone commercial rolled out -- now didn't we?

"Oh joy! I can't wait for the next ground delay or long taxi due to weather somewhere to get a smart ass with a freakin I-phone shoving it in my face saying "It's NOT raining there... SEE !" Too late ... already happened to me. We push back, get advised of a ground stop in MEM due to storms in the area. Go to the penalty box and wait. My Captain does the lecture over the PA... not one minute later, we get dinged from the F/A "Some guy with an IPhone says the weather is good, and wants to know what the real reason is for the delay. Is something wrong with the plane?"

I want to tell this clown what he can do with his IdiotPhone - but the Captain does it even better. He gets on the PA and makes the following announcement :

"If the passenger with the IPhone would be kind enough to use it to check the weather at our alternate, calculate our fuel burn due to being rerouted around the storms, call the dispatcher to arrange our release, and then make a phone call to the nearest Air Traffic Control center to arrange our timely departure amongst the other aircraft carrying passengers with IPhones, then we will be more than happy to depart. Please ring your call button to advise the Flight Attendant and your fellow passengers when you deem it ready and responsible for this multi-million dollar aircraft and its passengers to safely leave."

Needless to say, the pax was pretty embarrassed. The F/A later told us the rest of the plane was outright laughing at this dude. What a clown."

Technology...

You just got to love it.

glumbert - The Most Perfect Technical Glitch

Dustin and Jennifer

Thursday I did a photo shoot of Dustin and Jennifer. Honestly, I was disappointed because it was raining. I had all these ideas for a fall/outdoor shoot. I even scouted some locations. Wrote some ideas down in a notebook.

Rain and cold.

And the light was terrible.

So we spent the majority of the time on the couch.

Which brings me to a question: You photographers out there... how do you choose your best shots? I am going to post more on my Flickr than most people would post... pretty much a series of shots I took. I like them for different reasons. I guess if I were a pro, I would given them all of them as proofs and let them pick, but as I look at the shots, I like them for different reasons: light, composition, expression. So I plan ask you to vote. Also, I don't process my pictures much... so any ideas on exposure, cropping, etc, fire away.

Sorry to be so photography oriented lately... I just find it relaxing. And I'm really at a point right now where I need a hobby. :)

If you are interested in this kind of stuff, surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think.

Car Phone Salesman

America's Got Talent. American Idol. Yea, does anyone else find Simon annoying? But it is always surprising to me the people who come on these shows and actually think they have an ounce of talent. I mean, how deceived can you be? They are giving away a million dollars! Come on!

Then you have Simon who gets to tell them they suck (and you are actually on his side for once). And you know it's coming. You know when you see them walk on the stage that this is really going to be bad. And you can see it in the faces of the judges. I mean, you don't want to judge someone before they even sing...but really...

Meet Paul Potts.

Paul Potts sells car phones and has a life dream of singing... wait for it... opera.

Help for parents

Oh my.

Just some rocks

My daughter has been having a difficult time adjusting to pre-school. For the most part, she does well with adults, but she just doesn't relate to kids. She doesn't like new places or new situations. And it's really hard, as a parent, to see her struggling with adjustment... and at age 3. Funny, a friend and I were talking about this a while back, but there is a lot of subtle pressure on parents for their kids to be "normal" (whatever that means). "Well, my child walked at [age]... well my chid can write her name... well my child knows the Periodic Table of Elements..." There is a line in "Beauty and the Beast" where Bell's father says, "What, my daughter, odd?" None of us want our kids to be "not normal" -- and there is always this pressure to compare.

Last week, I went to pick up my daughter at pre-school. All the kids were out playing on the playground. They were sliding down the slide. Playing tag. Laughing together.

My daughter was off by herself.

She was alone; laying on the ground, examining some rocks very closely. She looked so lonely... but more likely, she was just "lost in her own world" of concentration. But the scene seemed pitiful to me. I almost cried.

"What, my daughter? Odd?"

She saw me, ran to me and said, "I want to go home, Daddy!" So I picked her up and we went home.

Later, we were sitting around the table, talking about her day. "So, what did you do you do today, Lydia? [response] Why didn't you want to play with the other kids? [I don't know] Why were you laying there alone?" And she reached into her pocket, and pulled out these rocks. She said, "I was picking out these rocks for you, daddy, because I love you. Here you go."

So they are just some rocks. But they remind me of this amazing gift of a very thoughtful child. My daughter. No, she is not "normal." But I am not sure what normal is... and I love who she is and who she is becoming.

I can't believe...

I can't believe I'm about to post an email forward. Now nobody get any ideas. I generally hate it when people forward stuff to me. I use email largely for work and I don't need any cute stories... especially if they end with "Forward this to 10 of your best friends." And the truth is... these didn't come from email, but they sound like they should.
________________________________________

I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

Garden Rule: When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant.

Have you noticed since everyone has a camcorder these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they used to?

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I'll squeeze these dangly things here and drink whatever comes out?"

Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there? I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its rear end."

If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a song about him?

Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?

The Laura S shoot, the sequel

Well, Laura was a real sport, I needed the practice, and I actually had an hour of time free...so I grabbed my camera, ignored the rotten light and we made the best of it.

I am learning more how to tell people to move... and although I gave one direction pretty poorly (which caused lots of laughter and will remain between Laura and me) I think I did better this time. I came up with some new ideas, tried some new things, and am feeling more comfortable giving direction.

And Laura did a fantastic job.

Maybe it will just take me shooting tons of pictures and working with lots of people.

Again, if you don't mind, surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think.

The Laura S shoot

Surf on over to my Flickr account and tell me what you think. I'm still really new at taking pictures of someone other than my daughter or wife. And to me, most of my pictures look the same... like I'm shooting senior pictures! My goal over the next couple of months is to get more creative with posing people... to bring out more personality.

Now for something different

I've been a fan of Julian Beever since 1999. I saw one of his chalk drawing in Chicago a number of years ago... and it is really stunning. His work has been the subject of email spam for a couple of years, but to see it live is something you will never forget.

He uses a technique called anamorphosis - which is a way to do perspective art so that something "abnormal" looks "normal" when viewed in a strange or different angle. Done well, anamorphosis can create the illusion of three dimensions. I actually studied this process taking some art classes and as a magician... it's actually used a LOT in magic (but don't tell anyone!).

So... I think Julian's work is a feast for the eyes. I have included some pictures here, but for more of his work, you can surf the web and find a bunch of stuff.

The "gospel"

"I guarantee there isn't a homeless person in Portland who couldn't tell you the gospel verbatim. They've had to listen to it three times a day to get a sandwich. They've heard about Christ, but they haven't seen Christ. Who will sit next to them while they panhandle, who will enter their world? I've had friends doing that for 15 years. That is seeing the gospel."

-Rick McKinley pastor of the Imago Dei Community in Portland, Oregon.
Taken from "Dei Laborers" in the Fall 2007 issue of Leadership journal.

You've heard of road rage?

Now... it's water rage.

Sometimes you really have to wonder about people.

______________________________________

Man faces court over water-rage attack

1:24pm: Grandfather dies after being punched and kicked for watering his lawn.

Ken Proctor, 66, was watering his front lawn on Formosa Street in Sylvania, about 5.30pm yesterday when another man, 36, who was walking past the house, allegedly challenged him about water restrictions. The two argued and Mr Proctor turned the hose on the other man, wetting him,
police said. The 36-year-old allegedly attacked Mr Proctor, punching him, pushing him to
the ground and then kicking him.

Mission and Masturbation

How's THAT for a blog title! (I've been gone way too long!)

So I don't always agree with John Piper (sorry Jeff), but I really like this quote from Christianity Today:

"So many young people are being lost to the cause of Christ's mission because they are not taught how to deal with the guilt of sexual failure. The problem is not just how not to fail. The problem is how to deal with failure so that it doesn't sweep away your whole life into wasted mediocrity with no impact for Christ. The great tragedy is not masturbation or fornication or pornography. The tragedy is that Satan uses guilt from these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had or might have. In their place, he gives you a happy, safe, secure, American life of superficial pleasures, until you die in your lakeside rocking chair."

Yea... what he said.

"The tragedy is that Satan uses guilt from these failures to strip you of every radical dream you ever had or might have."

I often wonder how many people are stripped "of every radical dream" they have because of past sin. I wonder how many people don't go into full-time ministry because they don't feel they are "good enough." And so, rather than fulfill their calling in full-time ministry, they become "successful" in some other field.

Now, to be clear -- all jobs are equal and all jobs can be ministry. A Christian accountant is no less holy than a Christian pastor. UNLESS, that accountant is called to be a pastor and didn't respond.

So... as a pastor, let me ask you... if you are reading this and you have sinned (which should cover just about everyone, right?); the question I have for you is how do you view that sin? Are you being beat down by it? Is it keeping you from "every radical dream you ever had or might have?"

The gospel is not about sin avoidance. Yep, it's good to avoid sin. But the gospel is this great news that a new way of living is available. A radical dream. And we should willingly, excitedly, arrange our lives in such a way as to live in that God dream.

In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.

Create a Caption

Yea, I'm a bum

Yea, I know I haven't been posting much. I will try and work on that. But I have been reading all of YOUR posts! (For you bloggers out there).

Nothing right now, but if you don't mind... surf over here. Read and comment. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Prayer

This is from a seminary professor of mine:

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.

The two survivors, not knowing what else to do,agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing the first man prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit.

The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land.

On the other side of the island,there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic,all of these were given to him.

However,the second man still had nothing.


Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that his wife and he could leave the island.In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.

The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings,since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming,

"Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered, and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

-----------

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

I'm so sorry.

No really, I'm so sorry for sending you to this link. I really am. It's in bad taste. In fact, you really don't need to click here. Because if you do click here, you will be really sorry. I'm warning you. Don't click here. Jeff D. gave me this link if that helps you not to choose it. But really, don't click here.

You did it, didn't you?

Time

Tomorrow, my daughter goes to her first day of pre-school. My wife and I were just talking about how it just doesn't seem like it has been three years. Time is flying by so quickly. It's funny, as you are going through life, sometimes days seem to stretch on... time can feel like an eternity. But it really is just a blink. A dot on a page. Often we don't see this until hindsight; until it's too late.

I suspect, three years from now I will be typing on this keyboard, posting pictures saying, "I can't believe she is in Kindergarden. I can't believe she is already 6."

I wonder what my daughter will be like when she grows up? I wonder what our relationship will be like? I wonder if she will walk with God? I wonder if she will think of her childhood with the same warmth that her mom and I do?

I'm lucky to be her dad.

Tired

What sustained me...

From one of the books Mdog lent me to get me through the "post surgery days," I give you:

"Great Lies to tell Small Kids."

Rain is Jesus' wee-wee
Wine makes mommy clever
Milk feels pain
A slice of cheese will play a short film about cows if you insert it into a DVD
One in ten fish are afraid of water
Mugs are just cups who've been to the gym
If you try a vegetable, you might like it
It was grandpa who burned all your Barney videos, not us
Most birds wear parachutes in case they suddenly forget how to fly
You know the mug in the Kitchen? The one that says "World's Greatest Dad?" There are only 3 in existence. They are awarded just once every 100 years.

... a plot

...When I came to ask them I found they had really no proof of this unavoidable repetition in things except the fact that the things were repeated. Now, the mere repetition made the things to me rather more weird than more rational. It was as if, having seen a curiously shaped nose in the street and dismissed it as an accident, I had then seen six other noses of the same astonishing shape. I should have fancied for a moment that it must be some local secret society. So one elephant having a trunk was odd; but all elephants having trunks looked like a plot. I speak here only of an emotion, and of an emotion at once stubborn and subtle. But the repetition in Nature seemed sometimes to be an excited repetition, like that of an angry schoolmaster saying the same thing over and over again. The grass seemed signalling to me with all its fingers at once; the crowded stars seemed bent upon being understood. The sun would make me see him if he rose a thousand times. The recurrences of the universe rose to the maddening rhythm of an incantation, and I began to see an idea...

A man varies his movements because of some slight element of failure or fatigue. He gets into an omnibus because he is tired of walking; or he walks because he is tired of sitting still. But if his life and joy were so gigantic that he never tired of going to Islington, he might go to Islington as regularly as the Thames goes to Sheerness. The very speed and ecstasy of his life would have the stillness of death. The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning; but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life.

The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE...

I had always vaguely felt facts to be miracles in the sense that they are wonderful: now I began to think them miracles in the stricter sense that they were WILFUL. I mean that they were, or might be, repeated exercises of some will. In short, I had always believed that the world involved magic: now I thought that perhaps it involved a magician. And this pointed a profound emotion always present and sub-conscious; that this world of ours has some purpose; and if there is a purpose,
there is a person. I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller.

[Orthodoxy, GK Chesterton]

God gets sued

God, according to the Bible, is omnipresent. God is everywhere.

This means, according to State Senator from Nebraska, Ernie Chambers, God can be sued, since he resides in all the United States. Specifically, Senator Chambers is suing God for what the insurance companies usually call "acts of God"-- namely natural disasters, such as the tornadoes that recently struck Kansas and Nebraska.

Check out the story on msnbc.

Of course the Senator is going to have a difficult time getting God into court, one would think. Those of us over 30 all learned that this is a bad thing to do from the movie, "Oh God!" with George Burns. In fact, God will have a much easier time getting Senator Chambers into court, in due time.

But the story raises an important issue, which one of my seminary professors pointed out: "To what extent should God be blamed for what might be called random natural disasters? I am not talking about specifically targeted judgments like those depicted in Exodus or Revelation. I am simply talking about your average generic twister that causes mayhem for God's people and everyone else in its path. Think of hurricane Katrina and the mayhem on the Gulf coast, not just on sin city in New Orleans, but also on the First Baptist Church in Biloxi."

I met with a pastor friend of mine today... he son has Cerebral Palsy. Is this God's fault? Is it God's will?

Recently, John Piper had a post about the disastrous collapse of the bridge over the Mississippi in Minneapolis. His view was that, however random it might seem to us, this actually was the will of God...and, in essence, we should just suck it up. God is sovereign and he disposes things as he will, and according to his sovereign pre-ordained plan.

Is this really what we believe about God? Does God's sovereignty REALLY mean that God causes everything?

You are welcome to post your thoughts, or, for a slightly lighter view on this story, go here.

Trade in

Tonight I feel like a failure as a parent. As I write this, my daughter is eating...finally. But this was an evening of temper tantrums, screaming, whining... and that was just me. Then there was my daughter.

If you have never had kids you can't understand the frustration. I'm sorry. I used to hate when my friends would say that before I had kids... but it's just true. There are some things you can't appreciate until they happen to you. But the frustration of hearing your kid screaming... and you can't stop her... wow.

The problem is it is a mix of things. She is hungry (but won't eat). She is tired, but can't go to bed. She missed her mom... can't do anything about that. And probably a good deal of it is around my limited mobility... I can't direct her or play with her or even pick her up.

Yep, parenting is a joy, but it can be hard.

Brat

My wife is about to leave for a multi-day conference. I'm not very good at being alone, to be honest. We have been married 14 years and a still tear up when she leaves (I used to go into weeping spells, so tearing up is an improvement).

Her boss called her to tell her that the agenda was sparse tonight and she could come in the morning, rather than tonight. Which means she would have to leave at 6 am. But my wife is not a morning person (now THERE is an understatement). And I know it would be best for her to go tonight, even though MY preference would be for her to stay.

But I want her to stay so I decide to pull out the big guns.

I wake up my 3-year-old from her nap, and she and her daddy have a private meeting. The next thing you know she walks into our bedroom, walks over to mommy, wraps her little arms around her leg and softly says, "Mommy... stay?"

[Insert sound of my wife's heart breaking]

Now, if that were the end of the story, I would not be sleeping alone tonight, but unfortunately, there is more.

My wife says, "Aww, that is so cute." [at this point I still think I'm going to win]. Then she turns to my daughter and says, "Did daddy put you up to that?" and without missing a beat, my daughter smiles and says, "yea."

Brat.

Holy People

"The truly holy people I’ve met in my life are really interesting people. They’re a mix of the most incredible godliness and at the same time, the most unbelievable earthiness. I know a woman who curses like a sailor, but she’s the most holy woman I know. She is! I’m not kidding.

We’ve created this image of what holiness looks like that’s just nonsense. Good holy people probably drink too much some times, and have colorful language, and there’s plenty of room in the Bible to see people like that. We have to see life for what it is, entirely more complicated then simple. Spirituality is not simple; it’s complicated. It gets messy sometimes."

Mike Yaconelli - Founder of Youth Specialties.
July 24, 1942 - October 30, 2003

Profound

For one of the most profound things I have read all month, go read Kevin's September 13th reflection.

Shameless Begging

I'm going to be doing a message on forgiveness in a couple of weeks. I would like to include some real stories of people who have experienced forgiveness: either you forgave someone who offended you, or received forgiveness from someone you hurt.

Would you take a moment and share your story of being forgiven or forgiving someone?

These need to be kept to a paragraph or two. It would include some details of why you needed to forgive (or be forgiven), and a bit of the struggle to forgive. A key to them is to have the concept of "Before I forgave (or was forgiven I felt...)" and "After I forgave (or was forgiven I felt..." ) So, as an example... as a part of your story it may read something like:

"Before I forgave him, I carried around a lot of anger and resentment. It affected not only my marriage, but my relationship with others and, ultimately, my relationship with God. Now I feel the freedom to love again... not only him, but also God and my husband."

I would really appreciate your contribution. It may or may not be used.. but in any case, reading them will inform my thinking as I write. The key is that there is a time crunch of only a couple of days -- really the sooner the better. I need these by September 17 at the latest.

Feel free to reply anonymously.

Okay, time to post again

First, thanks for all of your comments. If I could just get you all to comment all the time, we would have quite a blog going here! But then again, I would feel pressure to say something interesting all the time. That's way too much pressure. But it is nice to know people keep in touch.

To the (at least) 8 readers I know who read this thing but STILL didn't post...

pfffftttttttttt

:O)




So, I have a couple of post stored up that I will unfold in the coming weeks. I enjoyed my sabbatical, but it's nice to be back.

Break

So I'm on a study break/sabbatical of sorts. It's impossible to do what I need to do as I can't leave the house... and it is way too noisy here to work. So I have no idea how this will work out. But I'm going to take some time away from the computer and email... and yes... even blogging and checking blogs. I say that, but I might use my blog to work on sermon stuff... as I have done in the past. But for now... I'm taking a bit of a break.

But you can offer me a sabbatical gift.

Okay?

I know a lot of people read this thing. Many of you email me. So, for my present, you can all post and just say "Hi, I actually read this once in a while."

Now, I know you won't. I have found that when I ask people to post, they never do... but I thought I would try this... I would love to know how many people read this thing.

So, stop by and just say hi.

And for you... just something to remember me by as I take a break. Enjoy.

Saint

Thomas Long defines a saint as follows: "Saints are figures out of the Christian past whose lives have been insufficiently researched."

The bill

I just got the bill for my knee surgery. Actually, it's not that bad, or at least as much as I thought it would be. The total was $19,455.30.

If you are interested, this includes several charges, including, but not limited to:

Operating Room Services = $12,315
Anesthesia = $1,454
Recovery Room = $4,743 (This seemed really high to me, but I slept through most of it.)
And $104 for "Physical therapy" -- a person who spent about 10 minutes teaching me to use crutches.

We will have a special offering Sunday. I expect all of you to "reach in them jeans and pull out them greens."

What do people do without insurance? A good blog post itself.

Life on the couch

As a part of my recovery from surgery, I can't use my quadriceps muscle in my right leg for 6 weeks. Basically, what that means is, if I want to move, someone must move me. This can be quite humbling and even a bit humiliating, as I am dependent on everyone.

In the midst of this, there is a certain amount of trust that must take place. For one: I have to trust that people won't drop my leg. But there is yet, even a deeper trust. People can wonder around my house and I can't see them. They can play with your stuff when you are not looking. You can't get to, or even keep an eye on your stuff... so you have to trust that your friends, for example, won't play with your camera.

Quote of the Week

"The modern, essentially atheistic mentality despises mystery and considers enchantment and befuddlement an affront to its democratic right to know--and then use--everything for purposes of individual fulfillment. This flattened mind loves lists, labels, solutions, sweeping propositions, and practical principles. The vast, cosmic claims of the gospel get reduced to an answer to a question that consumes contemporary North Americans, though it's hardly ever treated in Scripture: What's in it for me?"

-Will H. Willimon, bishop of the United Methodist Church, Birmingham (Alabama) Area.
Taken from "Power Pointless: The way we distill the gospel for presentation can take the life out of it" in the Summer 2007 issue of Leadership journal.

Celebrating what is right with the world

Although, it seems that they should have figured this out earlier.

Celebrating what is right with the world

Since I was about 5, my family has owned a cottage on a lake in Northern Ohio. It's not fancy, it's not big, but it is one of my favorite places in the world. I have so many memories of that place that I could write a hundred blog posts on just them alone. But I will spare you that!

This picture was taken just after sunrise on the morning of my injury, basically from my front porch. For a few more, see my flickr account.

Celebrating what is right with the world

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Cheerful Gift, part 2 - the rest of the story

After years of ministry, I have found a new calling: scam-baiting.

Those of you who have received a real email from me know that my signature line is: "SPAM is evil... who really ever buys something from a spammer anyway?" I hate SPAM. I hate what SPAMMERS have done to an otherwise great tool for communication of information.

Well, apparently, there is a large group that has some fun with the SPAMMERS. They are called spam baiters... or 419ers.

So, what is scam baiting? Well, put simply, you enter into a dialogue with scammers, simply to waste their time and resources. Of course, in doing so, you also keep the scammers away from real potential victims.

Honestly, I don't have the guts to do this. (Although read the section about "Is it dangerous?"). But I would love to do this. So spend some time and so some research. Maybe we should all join the 419 team.

iPhone? Big Deal!

Yea, you may have an iPhone, but I will be able to talk to Jesus.

Cheerful Gift from God

Dear in christ,

May the peace of the almighty father be with you as you read this massage, as it is obvious, that this massage will meet you with great surprise.
I am Mrs. Juliet Bine from Liberia. I am married to Mr.Jean Bine who worked with Liberia embassy here in Ivory Coast for nine good years before he died in the year 2004.

We were married for many years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only Eight days. Before his death we were both born again Christian. Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $(2. Million ) USD Two Million Dollar in a Metal Truck Box as a Family Valuable in a Finance Security Company here in Abidjan.Recently, my Doctor told me that I would not last for the next Eight months due to cancer problem.

Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church or a God fearing person that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church or a God fearing Person that will use this fund for orphanages, hospitals, schools, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavor that the house of God is maintained.

The Bible made us to understand that "Blessed is the hand that giveth". I took this decision because I don't have any child that will inherit this money and my late husband's relatives are not Christians and I don't want my late husband's efforts to be used by unbelievers, I really want it to be to the Glory of God and the service to humanity.

I don't want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly way. This is why I am taking this decision.I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be in the bosom of the Lord. Exodus 14 VS 14 says that "the lord will fight my case and I shall hold my peace".I don't need any telephone communication in this regard because of my health hence the presence of my husband's relatives are around me always. I don't want them to know about this development.

With God all things are possible. As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the relevant documents that will legalize you to have access over this fund.I will also issue you an affidavit that will proove you the present beneficiary of this fund in the Finance Security Company.I want you to always pray for me because the lord is my shephard.

My happiness is that I lived a life of a worthy Christian. Whoever that Wants to serve the Lord must serve him in spirit and Truth. Please always be prayerful all through your life and pray to God to forgive me my sins.
Any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing for another church or a God fearing person for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein. Hoping to receive your reply.

Remain blessed in the Lord.
Your's Sister In Christ,
Mrs. Juliet Bine.

___________________

To be continued....

Gender Battle

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine.

"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."

"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."

A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"

Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun.

Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computadora") because:

1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;

2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;

3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and

4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.


The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ("el computador") because:

1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;

2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;

3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and,

4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.

I'm sure you know who won!

(I got this off a blog of one of my former seminary professors)

By the way...

If you ever get the honor to meet them, Rachel and Ali are a couple of good eggs. (Here is a picture of me, Laura, Mdog, Rachel and Ali hanging out when they were in Athens!)

I have a bionic leg

That is really what they call it.

But it sure doesn't feel that way!

surgery

I'm about to leave for surgery.

I would be lying if I told you I had the "peace that passes understanding." In fact, I don't. For some reason, I'm pretty nervous.

But my feelings are fallen. "My heart is deceitful among all things." Because God is with me.

Learning to "walk with God" with only one good leg is a bit harder. It requires you lean into something -- crutches, if you will: your friends and community... even God Himself.

the knee, part 2

[When we last left our now lame hero, SuperRev, he was given a medication to make him forget... but because of his incredible superpowers, he remembered absolutely everything. "@#$@#!" yelled SuperRev. He didn't really hurt, he just wanted the Evil Dr. Emergency-Room to know that he Evil medicine wasn't working. Now, the saga continues.]

So nurses make or break a hospital. Yea, I guess you need a good doctor, but it's the nurses that make the stay bearable or a living hell. I had 3 great nurses, and one that got her training from Ed Debevic's. She was pretty surly and complained about how understaffed they were and how much she had to do and how she could do what she needed to do if only they had enough staff, but because they didn't "this might hurt." [It did]

But the others were very gentle and compassionate. I remember one saying, "Wow, that must hurt. I know this is hard, but you are doing a great job." A note to any of my readers who may be in the medical field: that thing where people fall in love with their nurses... I can see why that happens. And you know, I'm not sure it's a bad thing. (I say that as a married pastor.) Maybe it's true for women as well, but sickness is very emasculating for guys. You are weak. You are needy. You hate to ask for something but you need it. When someone is proactive and shows compassion and treats you like a human being... it really does stand out and it does have an effect. To be honest, it's very healing. It makes you feel stronger. So all of this is to say, "Thanks to the nurses at Magruder Hospital. You rock."

So the doctor gave me that IV medicine that "would make it so that I would not feel or remember the pain" [ha ha] and set my knee. According to the X Rays I had just dislocated my knee, but he admitted that when he popped it back, it wouldn't stay. So he was about to send me home (on the 4-hour-car-ride) but when he got me up... well... I screamed like a 6-year-old girl.

Upon seeing me scream like a 6-year-old girl, the doctor came to the conclusion that he "might not have completely diagnosed my ailment." He then sent me down for a CT scan only to discover that I "may have done more than simply dislocate my knee." By now it was 11:30 PM and he still was going to just have me drive home then (4 hours) to see my doctor in the morning. After my wife and I begging to be admitted for the night (rather than loading me into the back of the van and having my wife drive through the night), he decided that might be best. (Where do these guys get their training?)

So I slept the hospital, and my wife slept on a couple of chairs in the room. Other than the occasional pain shot and some Morphine to keep me calm, it was a very uneventful several hours of sleep.

To be continued...

The knee, part 1

Well, if you have not heard, this past Saturday, I was in a biking accident and blew my knee out. "Biking accident" makes it sound like I was on the Tour De France but it was much less dramatic than that. We were on Put in Bay and rented those cheap bikes where you have to back pedal to stop -- remember when you were in elementary school? I had to make a sudden stop and I was on the top of the circle and pushed back.

I heard this loud pop.

I felt this excruciating pain.

The next thing I knew I was laying on the ground with a police officer hovering over me. She was asking, "Are you okay?"

I mean how do you answer that question and not be a smart aleck?

"Sure I'm okay! I always lay in the street, surrounded by people, holding my knee and screaming!"

Fortunately, the Police officer was right there, she called the EMT and they were there in minutes. They cut off my favorite pair of pants, secured my leg and loaded me in the ambulance. They said that they would put a splint on me but since they didn't have a hospital, that is all they could do is secure the leg. It was then that it hit me that I was on an island.

Surrounded by water.

Very choppy water.

Now, the funny thing is they asked me if I wanted to take the Life-flight Helicopter. I mean, I blew my knee... it's not a gunshot wound to the chest or anything. So they loaded us on the jet boat (yes, we all had to pay for the tickets, including the EMT person), they wedged my bed against some chairs, and across the water we went. [SPLASH! JUMP!]

They took us to the hospital in Port Clinton and admitted us to the Emergency room. My wife told me the hospital was really small, but all I can say is they had some nice doctors, nurses and some really nice ceilings -- no water marks and mostly drop ceilings. They used can lighting rather than a lot of Flurescents. You notice these thing when you are laying on your back for a day.

Like most emergency room visits, the majority of time was spent waiting. They did some X Rays, poking and prodding, they gave me meds for pain and the emergency room doctor tried to re-set my knee. ["Now, we are going to give you this medication and you won't remember anything. You won't be asleep, but you won't be aware of what is happening" -- for the record, I remembered EVERYTHING.]

To be continued...

The Discovery of the Century!

For Jared and Tobias

Will it blend?

Don't you wish you could do this?

Sprint Boots 1,000 Customers for Excessive Complaining

Hundreds of cell phone customers are being given the boot, accused of being too high maintenance. Sprint-Nextel is disconnecting more than 1,000 subscribers on grounds the clients call customer service too often and make “unreasonable requests.” The 1,200 people getting dropped will have to find a new carrier by the end of the month.

Why didn't I think of this?

Giving has been a little down.

Blue Like Jazz... the movie.

Yep.

From Donald Miller's blog.

"Steve Taylor and Ben Pearson have been in Portland for the past week and we’ve pretty much completed the screenplay for Blue Like Jazz the movie. We’ve been working on the script for about a year, either with me flying to Nashville for a week at a time to sit around a table and hash out the story, or with Steve and Ben coming to Portland to stay at my house. When studios became more excited about the screenplay, we felt the need to wrap it up, and in the last few days we’ve pretty much done so. And I dont know if I’ve had more fun, or been more challenged, with any other writing project. I’m excited to see how the guys end up shooting the story.

To say we’ve given the book a Hollywod treatment is an understatement. The book itself would be, of course, difficult to turn into a movie, and so we took creative liberties. But in my opinion, the movie will be infinitely better than the book. Essentially we’ve taken the major, real life characters from the book, and gave them a story all their own. The end result is provactive and humorous and in my opinion quite moving. I cant wait for people to see the film.

We think production will be able to start next year, and the film will be shot on location in Portland. And I am as excited about showing off my town as I am about telling the story. I will keep you posted."

"...not well liked..."

"In contrast, Diogenes, one of Antisthenes most famous followers carried the cynical philosophy to its farthest extreme. Diogenes was not known merely as one of "The Dog Philosophers," his personal nickname was "The Dog" and Plato referred to him as "Socrates gone mad." He denied all physical wealth and pleasure; he lived in a barrel and his only possessions were a robe to cover himself and a walking stick. There is an antecdote of questionable historical accuracy that demonstrates the character of Diogenes: One day Diogenes was sitting on a hill next to his barrel enjoying the warm rays of the sun when he was approached by Alexander the Great. Alexander asked Diogenes if he was the infamous Diogenes of whom the Athenians had spoken. Diogenes replied that he was. Alexander asked Diogenes if it was true that he had no desire for anything. Diogenes looked up at Alexander and said that he only wanted one thing, with that he asked Alexander to move a little to one side because he was blocking the sun. After the encounter, Alexander reportedly stated that if he could be anyone other than Alexander he would want to be Diogenes. Although Diogenes' behavior was sometimes amusing, he was not well liked in Athens primarily because of his writings encouraging incest and cannibalism."

Sort of a strange way to close a paragraph, eh?

The Kingdom

"Here at the cross is the man who loves his enemies, the man whose righteousness is greater than that of the Pharisees, who being rich became poor, who gives his robe to those who took his cloak, who prays for those who despitefully use him. The cross is not a detour or a hurdle on the way to the kingdom, nor is it even the way to the kingdom; it is the kingdom come."

(John Yoder, The Politics of Jesus, p. 51)

Wanna Race?

Preaching again

Wow, this weekend will be the first time I have preached in 4 weeks. I hope I don't suck.

I guess A. now knows how celebrities feel. I mean, one moment you are in front of the camera and you are looking great. Hair is nice, makeup great, expression perfect, lighting right on...










But then you let your guard down once... and some guy with a camera snaps a picture and it makes it on the cover...

I'm so proud... and jealous

Paul,

Hi. You are the first recipient of an email from my iPhone. I'm sitting next to my mac, so this is kinda silly but fun.

Jared

Sent from my iPhone

The J Family Shoot

I spent the evening at the J house taking some pictures of their kids. For more, see my Am8ture Flickr account.

40th Birthday

So Saturday I celebrated the big 4-0. My wife kidnapped me on Friday and took me to Cherry Valley Lodge for the weekend. She arranged it so I didn't have to preach on Sunday (a big thank you to Andrew for stepping in for me!)

It was a relaxing weekend. The lodge was nice. It seems they do a lot of weddings and events. It is set up around a court yard which has a pond and a path to walk around it. For a created thing, it is very well done. We got there late, had a late dinner in the lodge and then just hung out for a while.

The room was nice, kind of a suite-type set up with a living area, balcony, fridge... and a 16:9 flat panel TV which swiveled so you can watch it in the living room, bedroom or in the tub! (On Saturday we paid $11.50 for the in room movie and watched "Blades of Glory," but man, it's tough to beat Bob and Larry!)


Saturday afternoon we got up and went to Granville. Granville is one of those old, towns with big houses and tree-lined streets. We just wandered through the streets and went in stores and walked around. Again, for me, the key to a good vacation is moving slow with no agenda that I have to make up.

We had lunch at a place called the Buxton Inn. Nice place. Then we just wandered around. The truth is that this week was just slow moving... which is exactly what I wanted.

Okay, I have work to do. I will write more later.

"It ain't a sin to buy the car..."

When the lead of the news story is, "When it comes to luxury sports cars, Ferrari begs to differ with the Pope," you know it's going to be interesting.

Apparently, the Vatican issued a document warning against using a car "as a means for outshining other people and arousing a feeling of envy."

Now, say what you want about the Vatican, but as Christians, I'm guessing we all can agree with that, right? We don't want to use our stuff to make other people envious. Also, although not specifically stated, I think we can all agree that we need to be good stewards of our money and that there might be things that would be wiser kingdom investments than other things.

Well, Ferrari's general manager, Amedeo Felisa, told Reuters this week he was convinced that "buying a Ferrari was not a sin."

"I hope not -- but you should commit at least one from time to time," he said.

Well, if Amedeo Felisa says it's not a sin to buy a Ferrari, than it is not a sin! I mean the general manager of Ferrari would know. He would know that spending anywhere from $200,000 to over a million on a car would just please the heart of God.

I'm I being cynical here? I hope not because I gave it up.

Oh, and oddly enough, this story was in the same edition.

Headline: "Africa faces better food year but crises remain"

Thoughts from a week at Willow, part 2

"Cynicism lacks courage."

--Nancy Beach

Some of my creative team was picking me up at Lakeside so we could drive to Willow together, so I rode to the West Ohio UMC Annual Conference with a friend and colleague of mine. During the drive, we talked about life, ministry and relationships. At one point, she bluntly said that she thought I had become "resigned" about certain areas in my life. Whereas I didn't like to face that truth, I knew that the word "resigned" was a good description of how I felt. I was losing hope.

I thought about that through Annual Conference. "Me resigned? Even cynical?"

On Tuesday my creative team team picked me up and we were off to the Willow Arts Conference. And in the very first session, Nancy Beech said these words:

"Cynicism lacks courage."

Ouch.

Cynicism is popular right now. I think in our attempt to be authentic, in our attempt to be honest, in this "question authority" culture, to be a cynic is almost cool. This is even true in the Church. It is almost a virtue to be against things.

But that is not the gospel.

I'm not sure I could make the argument that Jesus was a cynic in any way.

And I'm supposed to be like him.

Nancy pointed out that teachers, artist, musicians, usually by our wiring, are more negative; A bit more cynical. "More likely to wear black."

But here's the thing: if we, who are the church, aren't filled with hope, if we who are the church don't see the positive in people and situations and even institutions... then where is the hope? This is especially true for those of us who are leaders.

Leaders are brokers in hope.

Now, this is not, "Jesus will kiss you boo boos and make everything right" kind of hope.

This is not "Happy, Happy, Christian" kind of hope...

But it IS being deeply rooted in the truth that the Kingdom of God has come near. It is now possible for us as ordinary human beings to live in the presence and under the reign of God.

So for my 40th birthday (tomorrow), I have decided to crucify cynicism.

Now, I know it will rise again. I know there will be times it will come out. But I refuse to feed it. I refuse to deal in it. I refuse to wallow in it.

Rather, I want to deal in hope.

Thoughts from a week at Willow, part 1

"[This] can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specially enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again,' and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.

It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun, and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."

--G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy


"Creativity is a moment when we see, not redundancy, but opportunity."

--Nancy Beach, Willow Arts Conference

I feel that most of us are too "old" to see God in the moment. Most of us are too caught up in the minutia of life and the tasks at hand, to notice what a child would notice. I go for a walk and I want to get where I'm going. My daughter goes for a walk and it is the opportunity to point to every street sign, flower, dog... etc.

I often walk to this little restaurant several blocks from my house. I have passed this building countless times and never noticed it. It is actually a pretty neat building. A couple of weeks ago, I was out walking and for some reason, I noticed it. I walked up to it... I noticed the texture of the wood. I looked at the nails that held it together. I noticed the tin pealing off the roof. I really thought it was beautiful.

Nothing profound here, but maybe there is something to getting so caught in the repetition of our life that we miss out on all that is around us. Maybe one of the keys to creativity is breaking out of routine every once in a while to see things in a fresh way. This is one of the reasons I like photography. I try to force my self to see things in a different way that I normally would see them.

But doing new things takes effort. It takes some risk. I guess the question is, "Is it worth it?"

Happy Father's Day

There's no place like home...

I'm home from Chicago. I had a great time with Amy, Beth and Tyler. Willow was wonderful. The conference was great. But I like where I am and the people I'm with.

It's good to be home

Heros

If you look up the definition of the word "hero," most of it is about bravery, risking life, fighting in wars, etc.

To me, a hero is someone who makes your life better. Someone who, when you are around them, you want to be more like Jesus, even if that means just being more like them.

I'm not into hero worship... I'm not all that impressed by celebrity... but if you know me, you know that one of my "heros" is John Ortberg. Today I'm in an all-day seminar on preaching and teaching by John. I'm sitting in front, at most, 6 feet from him. I've heard it all the content before, I'm not really even taking notes, but that doesn't matter. I have found over the years that there is something about being in the physical presence of my heros that just gives me life. You may not understand it, you may not even agree with it, but I think it is good to have heros: people you admire and respect for who they are and what they do.

And I think it's good to share that admiration with them (Everyone assumes they don't need it.)

So after this last session, I walked up to John, and (pretty wrought with emotion because I'm really neverous) I said, "I feel really silly doing this, but I wanted you to know that, not only have you have had a profound impact on my teaching, but also my life and theology. There have been times when you were teaching that what you said hit me so hard that I had to pull off the side of the road so that I could just deal with what you were saying. And I wanted to just tell you that and thank you."

And with my soul laid pretty bare and him holding this moment in his hands, he looked at me and with a sincere smile said, "Wow, thanks. That was so kind of you to say. And there is no reason to feel bad about that. I have people like that in my life... and I'm honored to have played that role in your life. Thanks."

Then I asked him to sign my journal and if I could get his picture with me... and we are both laughing because the guy using my camera was absolutely clueless (hence it is out of focus and a horrible shot... but it is more meaningful that way because now it's a story.)

There are some people who you meet, and when you meet them they just seem taller.