Blessings

Deuteronomy 28:2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

God is amazing! It's a massive understatement. What amazes me soo much is that He's the God of the Universe at the same time He's the God of my next breath. I'm reminded over and over that God is sovereign and that His greatest desire is to pour out his blessings on His children. I always enjoy the Christmas season and shopping for gifts for others, but even more so, I enjoy the giving. Now I'll be frank...I despise obligatory giving. You know when a gift is obligatory when your first thought is "what the????" or "who can I regift this too next year because I sure and Hades don't have any use for this junk". That that aside, I love giving to people who have needs that they didn't know how they would be filled. Beyond that, God wants to use us to do just that. During this holiday season in particular, God has opened up his flood gates of blessings to us...but you want to know the interesting part....each time it has been right after we've obeyed him by giving to others. We committed X dollars to this person in need...within a week we receive a financial gift (unexpected) worth 3x that. A week later we receive another unexpected financial "gift" and we turn around and give it to a family member in need...the very next day we received 15x that gift out of the blue....talk about knocking you on your knees to thank God for His many blessings!!!

Here's what hit home the most for me. I've always been a tither. Tither Paul. I'm not saying that to toot my own horn because it was just something I was taught to do. 10% gross of the top goes to God and you budget on the rest. I'm an excellent tither...but I'm not a good giver. God spoke to me in ways that I could understand and told me that He expected more of me. He desires my tithe out of obedience and my offerings out of Love. WHAT? <---that's what the 4 year old in me yelled back. I'm now becoming the kind of giver I think God wants me to be. I'll tithe because it is the least I should do...and I'll give offerings over that to Him because He deserves all that I have to offer. In my case just tithing is not being obedient, giving above and beyond is....and God has blessed that and poured out more and more blessings on us....Amazing....simply Amazing!

Thanksgiving Memories

We didn't have a fancy Thanksgiving, but we did have a wonderful one. Dinner was at MawMaw's house...why MawMaw's you might ask? It's only the smallest house in the family. It's kind of like what draws college kids to try to cram as many people into a phonebooth as possible. Actually, holidays in the Ingram family ONLY happen at MawMaw's house....so it's off to Evadale we go. We had a wonderful dinner. Here's a sampling: baked turkey, fried turkey, ham, Ribs, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, shells n' cheese, dumpling gravy, mexican corn cassarole, and that is just the main course...there were cocktail weenies, cheese dip, ect. for appetizers and way too much to list for dessert. Fortunately, I did very well with portion control and did not stuff myself. Following dinner all the nephews and cousins played outside. I teamed up with Caleb to play my two nephews in a soccer game (glad there were no pictures of that). All the Grandkids and Great-Grandkids play together so well. Here you have Keaton, Caleb, Madison, Jacey, Bryce, Kody, Bailey, Aiden, Kaden, Layne (standing and not so little) holding Brayden, Jestin, and Carsten. With the wide range in ages of Sam's siblings the Grandkids and Great Grandkids are all close in age so far. Can you believe that 6 of the kids here are great grandkids....including Layne who is holding Brayden who is the latest grandson...weird.

Later on we had some friends over to watch some football on the big screen (the video projector on a huge wall makes the game pretty life like), each shrimp cocktail, snacks and some awesome pies. It was a wonderful day to enjoy just being around family and friends. I hope yours was equally as enjoyable.

Removing the Doubt

Today as I was doing a short devotional I realized that I didn't have the current month's STAND FIRM magazine from Lifeway, but I had the October edition. I knew I hadn't read October 20th's daily devotional so I decided to do it today. WOW, what timing....the type of timing that helps strengthen our faith and remove the doubt. Here is what I read.

QUIET FEAR

Dave had been a Christian for decades, but was embarrassed and scared by the waves of doubt that sometimes swept over Iris soul, lie had taught men's groups, youth groups, Sunday School— name the ministry and Dave had probably helped out. Many in his church regarded him as a Bible scholar. He knew the correct answers. But some times late at night, the questions rushed at him with the force of a locomotive. “What if his is all just happy talk? What if humans invented the idea of God because we were so terrified of death? Worse yet, what if there is a God but He is just setting us up?’’
DOUBT DIMINISHED
Swallowing his pride and fear, Dave poured out his doubts to a close brother in Christ. "Join the club," was the reply. The two friends swapped stories of their struggle with doubt, and in the act of verbalizing the doubt and reminding themselves of the truth they knew, the crisis of faith shrunk from a howling wolf to a small but irritating poodle. We all doubt. It is part of the life of Faith. Jude instructs us to have mercy on those who doubt. Don't criticize them, panic over them, or dismiss their fears. Have mercy. Listen. Show grace. Empathize. The rocky path of belief is often strewn with doubts along the way. We should expect that, since an untested faith is really no faith at all.
BOTTOM LINE
Show mercy to the doubters—including yourself!

"Doubts are the ants in the pants of faith. They keep it awake and moving." - Frederick Buechner

God's timing for this message was perfect in my life. I have found that when I'm not able to attend worship over a period of a few weeks and my daily Bible study and prayer life is on sabatical, doubt starts to creep in more and more. This also happens when I see world events unfolding that are not God honoring and I stop to question why a sovreign God would allow these things to happen. I find that my "intellectual" side starts to question God. I fall into the same trap that the humanists do in thinking that somehow my opinions and thoughts are somehow more valid than those of God or worse, that I have better ideas than Him. During these times I have to return to two things: Experience and Faith.
Experience tells me that my doubts are unfounded because God has been very real to me. He's given me direction when I needed it, peace when I couldn't find it, healing when doctors were stumped, and protection when my own flesh was trying to drag me to destruction.
Faith tells me that my doubts are unfounded because God is bigger than intellect. The problem with doubt is that we are putting faith in our own understanding instead of the creator of the universe. At one time people thought the earth was flat and the center of the universe. They thought that drilling holes in people's heads would relieve headaches. They believed that we all evolved from pond scum over millions of years....wait...they still believe that....
Ins the midst of the doubts, I turn back to God's Word and the simple truth that "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, little ones (like me) to Him belong, they (we) are weak but He is strong."

Nine down, many more to come

Last night we ran into an old acquaintance while picking up our kids from Awana. Since we don't see he or his wife very often we asked how his wife was. His response caught us off guard. He said, "I don' t know, we've been divorced a month." He seemed ok with it, but I just can't imagine.

Martin Luther wrote, "There is no more lovely, friendly, and charming relationship, communion, or company than a good marriage."

Samantha and I are blessed to be able to say that we enjoy a good marriage. Today we celebrate our ninth wedding anniversary. We're definitely not the Cleavers or even the Huckstables, but we're also not the Simpsons or Bundys. Somewhere in the middle we're two people with different backgrounds who look at the trivial things in life differently, but who both try to look at the important things in life through Christ's eyes. We have a common bond in Christ that forms the glue that holds us together and causes us to love each other more and more every day. Throw on top of that three absolutley wonderful gifts from God and what more could a person ask for. I am truly blessed beyond what I deserve.

Thank you God your gifts in my life, I'll try harder to be worthy of them and to treat them with the same level of love, grace, and mercy that you have shown me. Amen

Souvenirs from Lubeck, Germany

I really enjoyed my time in Lubeck, Germany last week. It was my first time east over the big pond and I don't think it will be the last. The trip did reinforce what some of my friends had warned me, that much of Europe is entrenched in a Godless culture. While I see America headed down that slippery slope, I'm thankful that the decease of godlessness has not fully set in. As bad as it seems sometimes in our culture, it can always get worse when men are left to their own devices over a long period of time. I this case, we'll call it European History.

I was amazed at the city of Lubeck itself. The history of the city goes back over 1000 years. Many of the structures from the 14th and 15th centuries still stand (amazingly surviving both World Wars). The city is called the "city of the seven steeples" due to the seven massive steeples from 5 cathedrals all located on an "island" in the center of the city. Despite the massive and beautiful architecture, there was very little in the whole country that pointed to God. It was as if both the cathedrals and God were both just a piece of history that were significant at some point in the past, but no longer were relevant in their daily lives.

More disturbing than Lubeck was an evening that we spent being dragged around Hamburg. I say "dragged around" because after approximately 30 seconds I was ready to go back to the hotel and stick my head under a pillow. I think our hosts were mostly interested in getting as much free alcohol as they could while bouncing us from bar to bar and seeing our reaction to their "entertainment" district. Even in the most liberal and sleazy of US cities (LA, Detroit, DC...)the Hamburg entertainment district would be the red light district on the bad side of town. The sex industry has mainstreamed itself right into the commercial culture. On the main street there was sex shop, sex club, sex shop, bakery, sex shop, McDonalds, sex club, sex club, pharmacy (I guess a must have if you have some much promiscuity).... If ever I had a picture of Sodom and Gomorrah, this was it. I thank God that we in America are still prudish enough to care what our children (and adults for that matter) see on the street.

After the hellish night in Hamburg we were able to get some souvenirs from Lubeck the following night. I brought home some German and Swiss chocolates for Sam' and I, some slippers and socks for the girls, and a new game called Make N Break for Caleb which he absolutely loves. We kind of had to fudge on the instructions since they were all in German. For me I brought home a soccer jersey and a sinus infection that is only now starting to fade. More importantly, I brought home lots of memories, some good, some bad, and a new appreciation for a country that may be wondering away from it's roots, but that still in some ways reflects the Christian foundation that it was established on.

Ich bin sprechen Deutsch

I have 7 days until I'm headed to Germany for 6 days on a business trip. I'm excited about going so I've been working on my German. I thought I'd share what I've learned so here you go:

Where is the restroom please - Ich muss hier, um zur Toilette oder urinieren Ich werde in meiner Hose.

What are you serving me for dinner? - Was zum Teufel ist das?

Hello, how are you? - Hallo, Sie haben Achselhaare

Do you speak English? - Weißt du, Englisch, weil ich bin zu dumm zu sprechen Deutsch

How did you know I am American? - Wie haben Sie wissen, ich bin genial

I don't have everything down exactly, but a friend who knows German said that this was a good start and people will be impressed when I spout these out, so we'll see. I'm not sure why, but every time I repeated the lines in German, he would laugh profusely..?

When your world falls apart

Below is a note from a College friend of mine. Bill is an awesome Christian friend and was a solid example to me while at Purdue. His heart is heavy and I know the world seems suffocating to him right now. Please read it and lift up Bill, Natalie, and little Adah in your prayers.

Bill Tibbetts writes...
A father's heart is shattered right now. Adah showed signs of a cold about a month ago, and it was treated as that...a cold. Time progressed and it never got better, in fact, she was worse. After many doctor visits we found ourselves in the emergency room yesterday. One test after another led to the discovery of a restricted cardiac myapothy. This is a chronic heart disease that can be terminal if not properly treated. Essentially, her heart doesn't have the ability to relax; it's constantly working at a high rate (as if you were jogging every minute, of every day, your entire life). Her exrays showed that her heart was about four times it's normal size, pressing on her lungs and stomach. Further, the hurt is pumping a fluid into her lungs and stomach, causing a massive swelling of her body. The first step is to manage the symptoms (cough, liquid, swelling, etc). After which, they will do an examination of the heart. Best case scenario is that she they can remove a film from the exterior of the heart. Worse case scenario is a heart transplant. We honestly don't know that much at this point.

The doctors keep saying over and over that this is a very rare case (less than 2% of children experience this). We don't know if it's genetic or caused by a virus. Because it's so rare, very little is known about it. In fact, there are only 2 or 3 doctors in the US that know anything about it. The doctors keep telling us that we are at the right place at the right time.

No words can describe the devastation that we are feeling right now. No parent should have to wonder if every kiss, hug or "I love you" will be the last. I wish with all that is in me that I could say that my faith is getting me through this, but I feel very weak right now. We can not even wrap our heads around this...she went in for a cold and now we're facing life or death. I want to walk in there and claim the name of Jesus over her, but I feel like I have no emotional or mental strength to gather such faith. These feels like a compete nightmare.

So, friends and family, we welcome your prayers and support. We will not be able to respond to every email or phone call, but don't hesitate sending the messages and words of encouragement. We have been DEEPLY blessed by our friends and family from North Central University. They have gone above and beyond to take care of us in every possible way. When this all hit last night, we felt so desperately alone because we're so far from 'home'. One email was sent out and we had NCU people at our door first thing in the morning. We are working on a CaringBridge website to keep everyone posted. I will provide updates as soon as I get any. Again, thank you for all the love, support and encouragement. Your prayers are being received.

Samantha and I know through our own experience dealing with Caleb's brain tumor the heaviness and desperation you feel as a parent. We also know that God has this same heaviness on His heart for each of his children that has terminal sin in their life and refuses to have that sin removed by the blood of Christ. Our body is temporal and imperfect, but our spirit is eternal and Christ longs for our spiritual healing far more than our physical wellbeing. Please join me in praying for Adah, that this precious little girl will be healed physically and that God will use this for his Glory and that many will be spiritually healed as a result of this situation.

Weekend Crisis

This great nation has entered a time of crisis and frustration. Things have been too good for a while now and it's time for the natural balance to return. You knew it couldn't last forever! The Cubs were swept in the first round of the playoffs and we can all go back to our normal life of crisis and frustration with our lovable losers. The natural balance has returned and there is no longer a member of the National League Central contending for a place in the World Series. I'm amazed that the team that had one of the best pitching staffs and the best scoring offense in the NL was so putridly awful against the Dodgers in the divisional series. Fortunately the White Sox are still in it. As a true Cubs fan, I'll post my "maybe next year" banner and wait to see if the Cubs are able to win a single playoff game anytime in the next century (they've now lost 9 in a row over the last 3 trips to the playoffs).

Two final things: Financial crisis, what financial crisis? Remember it's not the hare that wins the race. And, thankfully it's Football season!!

Oh, by the way...

So, after all of the testing supposedly comes back negative and Bailey is clear to "just having a stomach virus", nasty as it was...that wasn't quit the whole story. Sam' got a call from St. Elizabeth's lab today to inform us that Bailey's test from her panel run on Sunday turned out to be positive for Salmonella. No mater what it was, she appears to be rebounding from it. She played and ate normal today although everything still goes right through her. What we can't figure out is WHERE she got Salmonella in the first place. We are always careful to cook our chicken, meat, and eggs fully and all of the food that could spoil from the hurricane was thrown out a head of time. On top of that, Keaton, Caleb and I are all fine (knock on blog-wood) and we all eat together as a family most of the time. Sam' has had some problems of late, but not anywhere like what Bailey was going through. I guess we'll never really know for sure, but we will be sure to be very careful to try to avoid this in the future. Thank you all for praying for our baby and please continue to do so as she still is trying to put it all behind her (no pun intended).

Free Advice for the Day: If you daughter is ill and happens to drop her toothbrush in the toilet that she just "got ill" in. Do not assume that it is only a small toothbrush and will just flush away down the little hole never to be seen again. While you may never see the toothbrush again, you will likely see some other things you didn't want to see for very long a couple of flushes down the road. Even if it means leaving some undesirable stuff in the toilet for a little while, please call your husband at work and ask him what to do. If your husband is not a Handy Manny, than call the local plumber before you flush, it may just save you a call to him after you flush it. Not saying that any of this happened in our household, but just in case you are ever in this situation....

Prayer Request - Bailey's Tummy

Please be praying for Bailey. She has run a fever, vomited, and had diarrhea all weekend. Sam' took her into the ER yesterday and they kept her there all day to hydrate her, but they released her at night because they couldn't figure out what was wrong. She was up all night making hourly trips to the bathroom, so needless to say Sam' and I are both tired as well. This morning she was back at her pediatrician's to get checked out and they sent her out for blood work. So now we wait until later this evening to get those results back before we know what to do. This could be anything from Staph or Salmonella to Bailey swallowing a button that her body just can't seem to pass. We'll just have to wait and see, but until then, please keep her and us in your prayers. Thanks.

Catching Up with Technology

Praise God the storms have passed and life is getting back to normal, at least to some extent. My temporary assignment at work has been completed and I am no longer planning meals, lodging, or cleanup for anyone. It was fun while it lasted and I think that I may actually have enough experience to run FEMA now.

Throughout last week I felt like I was relegated to using an old rotary phone. The display on my cell when out right before the storm hit and I had ordered a replacement phone. The problem was that FedEx decided that a hurricane was reason enough not to deliver my phone on time. I spent a week of making phone calls and communicating with people on a cell phone that I couldn't see wath I was doing. No text messages, no missed call screen, no contact list...nothing. On Monday I was finally able to get my new phone a Motorola Moto W755. It's no iPhone, but it's definitely miles ahead of the old StarTrek Communicator that I was using. Now my task is just entering in the 2 years worth of phone numbers that I had saved only in my phone. Next time I think I'll back it up every so often.

Not only did we go up in the phone technology area, but we finally broke down and got Dish Network installed. It was a little knee jerk, but we had been talking about it for a few months and I really was wanting to get the channels that they play football on more often...ie ESPN and NFL network. I'm also glad to have the Fox News Network, HGTV, and the Weather Channel. The cost was about the same a cable with more channels and a DVR which we missed from when we had digital cable years ago. Now the only challenge will be that we don't try to catch up on all of the "cable" tv that we've "missed" over the last year of living only only basic. It shouldn't be too hard, but the temptation is always there to spend too much time mouth breathing in front of the idiot box. In order to combat this I've armed myself with "Red" by Ted Dekkar. I'm not a fast reader. My ADD kicks in and I have to reread pages at a time so I don't miss something while I was day dreaming. My goal is to finish the book by October 31 so I can take "White" (the last book in the series) with me on my flight to Germany. The first flight is overnight, so I won't be reading much then, but the layovers and return flight should give me lots of time to read.

There's much more to tell and postulate about, but for now I guess I'll just leave this here. My focus this month is as Dave Ramsey says, "Live like no one else, so later I can Live like No One else". Graber out.

What's your House built on?

We survived the storm with NO damage to our house or property. It had to be God's hand on us because we have not found a single house that fits that description in the whole town. We don't have a fence picket or a single shingle out of place. All of our neighbors sustained at least fence damage or roof damage. We had NONE, Praise God.

Get this....we heard on the radio that it would be 2-4 weeks before power would be restored. We got it back at about 7pm this evening. The phone land line and DSL came back at that time as well. We are back up with all utilities and conveniences the same day the storm rolled through....Amazing!!! Now we must be a blessing to others since we are so greatly blessed.

Did I mention that when we were pouring the foundation of this house, Samantha and I snuck onto the job site and buried a Bible under the front porch and prayed that God would use this house for His purpose? Not saying that NIV Bible protected this house, but it's not beyond the Saviour that it talks about to use anything for His Glory!! Now off to find some wind blown souls who need to be ministered to.

Hunkering Down

Just a quick update on where we are. At home, yeap, we are here. We've canceled our reservations in Little Rock, which happens to be in the path of the storm as well. We've made all of our preparations and we are ready to ride out this storm here in Lumberton. We are on high ground in Lumberton without rivers close and the storm surge is much lower than our elevation of 54ft. We have no trees around our home (let alone in the neighborhood) to be concerned with, so we're staying along with everyone else on our street. I'll post some pictures later as I document the storm and our ride out adventure.

One thing that Sam' and I have found interesting is this concept of "hunkering down." Sam' first asked if that was actually a word and I wasn't sure. As we've continually watched the local news casts, we've learned that it is what Texans do during hurricanes. In most cases it involves firearms, EasyCheese, and poker chips. We're not sure we are adequately suited to actually "hunker down" but we figure we can button up the house and ride this baby out.

Round 2

Bearly a week has gone by and nothing has really changed. We are bracing ourselves for another round with another hurricane. Can't these things just go somewhere else? It was a nice long drive up to Michigan for Gustov and then it didn't even hit our area. I'm not complaining. I'd rather have a miss than a hit, but you the natural reaction is to be upset that you went through it all for nothing. Now Ike is staring us down and it looks like we are right in the crosshairs. There is still lots of time for Ike to turn away from us, but we are right in the middle of the "Cone of destruction." My biggest fear is that after Gustov sent everyone packing, some people won't have the means or feel inclined to evacuate again. I can already hear people saying, "well Gustov missed us and we spent all this money evacuating, I can't afford that again so I'm just waiting this one out." That could be a deadly mistake. We are getting ready to evacuate again if we have to, but work will have a say in that as well. It looks like we'll make reservations in Little Rock and see where to go from there.

Mexican Refugees Out of Harm's Way

We are out of there! Some would call me an extremist, but I think Michigan is a great place to ride out a hurricane. We made the 19 hour drive yesterday with no problem. We were actually commenting on how this was the best trip yet for driving the whole way in one shot. The freezer and fridge were emptied and towels put at all of the windows, but beyond that it's in God's hands. We're following the storm on the weather channel and it looks like we won't get impacted until some time tomorrow.

Once we let my parents know that we were coming my dad called my 90 year old grandmother and told her that they were going to be housing refugees from Texas. She said, "ohhh? Well, do you know anything about them?" He said, "Yes, they have twin girls and a little boy." She said, "Well, are they Mexicans?" To which my dad busted up laughing. He said, "No, it's your grandson!" Glad to know she thinks of us often and was concerned.

Caught in the Whirlwind

My how time flies. Not just because I'm having so much fun, but merely because life is thrown at us so fast. I can't believe that August is almost through and fall is just around the corner. (Not that we really have a fall in Texas, but I have fond memories of a real Autumn in the midwest) If not for some strong tendons and intestinal fortitude I don't know if I would could have kept my head on straight over the last two weeks.

Caleb is starting kindergarten on Monday, but we haven't been so sure for the last two weeks. He caught silent pneumonia two weeks ago and as of Monday of this week he was nearly hospitalized because the initial treatment was not working. We have not been out of the house with him other than some very short errands for two weeks. During that time he was to celebrate his 6th birthday, have his birthday parties, and just enjoy the end of the summer. Instead he has slept a lot and eaten very little. He's currently at the doctor for a follow up visit, so hopefully he's kicked this thing and we'll have our little boy back.

Sam' has gone stir crazy in the house looking after Caleb during the days (and me during the nights). She was able to get out with each of the girls this week for a Mommy/Daughter date night. Keaton and mommy shopped and did the girly things. Bailey and mommy trained for the decathlon and did the Bailey things. It's great to see just how different their little personalities are. Last night Sam' did a Mommy's night out with some friends and had a great time.

I'm glad she's getting out this week because next week it's all her and the kids. I leave to fly out to Anaheim, CA on Sunday morning for a OSHA conference (yippeee...uhh no). On Wednesday I "get to" make the flight from LA to New York. Something about five and a half hours in the stowage sections doesn't make me giddy. The consolation here is that I may get to see the statue of liberty for the first time...we'll see. The last leg of the trip is back into Houston around 6pm on Friday night for the Labor Day weekend.

There is soo much on my plate right now, I'm starting to get dizzy, but this too shall pass. I'm really looking forward to the Olympics being over with as well so I don't feel compelled to stay up until 11:30p each night watching the live action. Fortunately I was able to take a vacation day today to spend with my family....I guess it's kind of the calm in the eye of the storm. I've just gotta brace myself again for the rest of the whirlwind.

Please step Away from the Powerpoint!!

OK, so I've had this pet peeve about PowerPoint for some time now. Everybody thinks that just because they have it and can use it that they should. I would love for congress to pass a law stating that if you don't know the basics of presenting with PowerPoint that the people who you are abusing with it can assault you and beat you over they head with your laptop. I've sat through my share of terrible Powerpoint presentations everywhere it can be used (Church, Work, School...).

You might be thinking, now that's a dumb thing to call a pet peeve, but how much of your life have you wasted due to bad powerpoint? Someone may have a great message, but it is lost in the improper use of Powerpoint behind them. Top executives at our company would rather see powerpoint slides that a project proposal written up like it should be. You can't cover all of the details of a $5M project in 30 slides...it's just not possible.

So why is it so bad? Ignorance I guess. I guess some people think that cutting and pasting text from a paragraph onto the screen then adding a piece of Microsoft standard clip art is adequate. Not only that, then they will proceed to read to you what is on the slide. This may actually be not so bad because they are usually the only one close enough to read the infinitely small print anyway.

So, what is the right way? It's basic. Contrasting colors, smart graphics, and large fonts with only the main topics or subtopics. As a presenter, you should know what's on your Powerpoint so well that you don't have to look at it. It is an aid, not an outline!! Maybe some time I'll actually have enough time to teach on this, but until then....watch for flying laptops!!!

Negatives go up, positives go all around

With a new session of Financial Peace University (starts Auguest 17 at 4pm on Sundays for 15 weeks at Calvary Baptist Church) about ready to start, I'm now on a email list for FPU facilitators. Today I got the first newsletter via email and it had a great little article on gossip and it's affect on the work place. In general it said that gossip is defined in business as any negative comments, whether true or not, that is shared with someone who does not have the ability to change things. Sounds like a good definition to me. The quote that I pulled from it that will go up in my office is "negatives go up, positives go all around." Not only will it go up on the wall, but I'm going to have to practice it myself. It is a tough task when you are as cynical as I am. I'll have to rely on God's strength.

Greek Mythology, Spirit Man, and "Christians"

Yesterday's Bible Study lesson was from Acts 17 where we find Paul in Athens discussing Jesus with basically everyone from the Jews, to the customers in the market, to the Epicureans and Stoics. It is a pretty interesting passage because it reminded me of people today. Paul was in Athens because he was chased out the Thessalonica and Berea by the Thessalonian mob. When he arrived in Athens he was pretty disturbed by what he saw. People everywhere were worshiping idols in temples dedicated to gods of every shape, size, and importance. What amazes me is that the Athenians actually believed in these gods. If you've studied any Greek mythology you know the soap opera-esk quality of the gods. Zeus kills Cronus and frees his siblings from his belly. Zeus marries his sister Hera and has many kids while cheating on Hera with mortal women. Athena jumps out of Zeus' head, Aphrodite marries Hephestus, but has an affair with Ares and on and on. It reminds me of your typical SE Texas white trash family. Where to people come up with this stuff. No wonder Paul was disturbed. Serving one true God who came to Earth to redeem mankind and who wants a personal relationship with you and wants you to stay away from graven images of Him, but rather worship him in Spirit and in truth seems almost boring compared to the tales of the Gods. That's just it though...if God was unholy and acted just like us, why would he be worth worshiping? Even more disturbing was what I saw still happening today on the National Geographic channel. In the far east a man the call the "Spirit Man" is cast into a crowd of men that has gathered to touch him to cast their bad luck on him for the year. Did I mention that the crowd was like 500 men and ALL of them want to touch this one guy. After two hours of crushing pressure the poor guy was unconscious and had to be pulled in a tug of war through a shrine window to safety. After 8 hours he has to participate in another ritual to cast off the bad luck for the whole village. The poor guy couldn't even walk so they dragged him around for the ritual while he hung limp in their arms. Again - I just don't get it. Where does this come from and why do people still believe this?
Then again, we see people everyday who call themselves Christians and we even acknowledge them as such. People who go to church regularly, maybe even Sunday School. We assume because they can answer the softball size questions that we throw out that they truly have a saving belief and relationship with Jesus Christ. Deep in their heart, they despise what Christianity is all about. The lust for things of the flesh with pornography, they lie and steal at work, they mentally or physically abuse their wife or their children, they cheat God out of his money and all while telling others that they love Jesus.
Which is more scary? Those who are cold and don't know a lick about Jesus? At least they can plead ignorance (not that it's going to help). Or those who are lukewarm pretenders who acknowledge Christ with their lips but deny Him with their life? Revelation 3:16 makes it clear what Jesus thinks when he says, "So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Lord, Help me see the idols, speak the truth to those who are without it, and stoke the fire to keep me from cooling to lukewarm. Amen.

Win Some, Lose Some

Well, we finally won our first softball game. It was pretty impressive even if it was against the worst team in the league. It was an epic battle of the bottom of our league. We have a lot of potential on our team, just not a lot of practice. As with the first week, fly balls were an issue. Several balls actually hit our fielder's gloved, but didn't stay there for very long (or at all). After winning the first game, we ran into a team that has been playing together for years. We actually didn't get a person past first base in the three innings we played. They on the other hand hit the ball all over the place. I noticed as well that they had some pretty fancy bats (in the $150-250 range). Don't get me wrong, the bat doesn't swing itself, but you don't see Tiger Woods playing golf with an old Dunlap steel driver either. End of the story is that we got skunked by over 20 runs in the third inning and our list of casualties is starting to grow. Braun pulled a quad, Sammy did something to his knee, Jon got hit in the knee, and my knee feels just a bit tweeked. Next week, I manage the team and we're going to switch things up a bit to give some people an opportunity to play different positions. Should be interesting.

By the way, the Cubs just finished a four game sweep of the Brewers on Thursday. Go Cubs Go!!!

Mornings with Chuck and Alistair

So, my morning routine is pretty consistent. Wake between 5:40 and 6:00 and out the door around 6:30-6:45 to head to the office. If I leave any later than 6:45 during the school year it adds an extra 10-15 minutes to the drive due to school traffic. Most mornings I listen to XM channel 170 FamilyTalk. Truth for Life with Alistair Begg is on a 6:30 and Insight for Living with Charles Swindoll is on at 7:00. I'd have to say, along with Walk in the Word with James McDonald, that these are my favorite radio programs. This morning Alistair's message was about the City of God and the City of Man and how Christians tend to try to take things from the City of Man and "Christianize" them with the end game of isolating ourselves from the City of Man (ie don't Jazzercize at the Civic Center when you can "Praisercize" in the Church basement). What we miss in this is an opportunity to be salt in the world. Instead we're just salt staying in the shaker...pretty useless. The other example he gave was about John Lenin when he wrote the song "Help". He was at his lowest and no one was there to help him. Many pious Christians were too busy condemning songs like She Loves Me and I wanna hold your hand to recognize that Lenin was a lost soul just like any other and was calling out for help.
If that wasn't enough to get your juices flowing, Charles Swindoll follows that up with a message on fatherhood. What a challenge!! Arguably one of the best I've heard. It wasn't just the don't do this and repent of that type of message, but one that really challenged father's to be the type of father than God wants us to be. It's hard to explain how the message was presented, but it was one of encouragement. He talked about the difference between quality time and quantity of time. He talked about how much our children look to us and our relationship with God and our wife. He then talked about the emasculation of males on tv and by society and how man are not to be weak, but also how men are to be tender. I think the perfect example for obvious reasons was Jesus. He was caring and tender, yet he was also powerful, bold, and controlled. I've heard that meekness is not weakness, but rather Power under control. As my children grow up and I see more and more, my son wanting to be like his dad, I pray that I can effectively model power under control for him so that he can become the Man of God who is salt and light to the City of God.

Rained Out

Puddles, Puddles everywhere and not a drop to drink! All week long, I get geared up for Thursday night softball. Double headers for the next 8 weeks means lots of fun at the ballpark. Obviously mother nature in SE Texas has something else in mind. Our normal daily rain, bolstered by the outer rain bands from Hurricane Dolly, left the Beaumont fields a muddy mess. No softball this week. Fortunately we get to tack it on to the end of the season. I can't complain too much since I did get to play basketball on Wednesday night. Not my first choice in sports....not even my second, third, or forth choice...but it is a sport and we get to run up and down the court. It beats sitting at home and watching "So you Think You Can Dance" every Wednesday evening. Instead of playing softball I was treated to a wonder meal of Bayou Shrimp that Sam' made and the whole family went for a walk around our neighborhood. We did make it back in time to catch the result show for "So you Think You Can Dance" (see you thought I was joking...) and I listened to the end of the Cubs game on mlb.com. Now it's Friday and I'm contemplating what activity I can do tonight to burn some more calories. Maybe I'll just vacuum out the pool and take a swim afterward. We're paying for the pool so we might as well use it.

Anyway, this has gotten me thinking about exactly what my favorite sports to play are.... here is a stab at ranking them....remember this is playing them...not watching them.

1 Football
2 Volleyball
3 Softball
4 Golf
5 Basketball
6 Ultimate Frisbee
7 Tennis
8 Bowling
9 Soccer
10 Racquet Ball

I didn't include Croquet, Bocce Ball, Sporting Clay Shooting or Ping Pong because I have a hard time really thinking of them as sports. They are more games than sports. Hockey also missed the list, but only because I don't have skates anymore and street hockey just isn't the same.

Perspective

It started as a busy day back at work. The case sealer on the synthetic line had problems last night, PPMS was collecting dust on the shelf, my desk has been a mess for weeks because I've been out of the office or in the plant and haven't spent my lunch hours cleaning it off. The maintenance supervisor doesn't have any updated information for me and the plant engineer is sitting in my office discussing Cost of Goods credits on a $5M project that we are getting ready to roll out. Basically, my day is buzzing by. Other than 20 minutes of Alister Begg on the way into work, I haven't focused on God or anything other than work since I woke up. Then the phone rang and a sweet little voice on the other end says, "It's loose, the fifth one to the right in the back..." I had no idea what Caleb was talking about...then I put two and two together and realized that he was so excited about his first loose tooth that he wanted to call and share the news with me. What a sweet kid. It changed my morning. Instead of focusing solely on sprockets, cylinders, and mistake proofing equipment, my mind went to my family; To a wonderful wife who is battling the stomach flu herself but is willing to do anything for one of the twins who has signs of the same flu bug coming on; To my other daughter who goes out of her way to tell people what she likes about them; and to a little boy who wants to grow up to be just like his dad.

Nothing in my life changed in those moments. My family was there all along, but my perspective was refocused and the stress of the day was lightened just knowing that no matter what I did at work there would be three little smiling faces running to me when I got home and one of them would tell me how much she likes my shoes.

Gap Analysis - Busy Weekend

The run down between Thursday afternoon and today is actually pretty long. My life is definitely not boring. It seems at times to happen at light speed. So fast that I think I could actually pass Chuck Norris running around the world and block him from punching himself in the back of the head (see prior post). As I get busy, I tend to get worn down over time...all the go go go and no slow slow slow eventually leads to uh-oh. I was planning on having a peaceful weekend at home with the kids out of town with Samantha, but plans change and Samantha is now sick on the couch with a 102 fever and the kids are in bed for the evening...but that's the current situation....how exactly we got here is like going back three years just to cover the three days.

Thursday night's softball games were about what one could expect. My issue was that I didn't expect us to drop so many balls or throw so many around to give up free runs....it was pretty pathetic with signs of promise. We'll see as the season goes on...on the bright side, we're only 2 games out of first place.

Friday at VBS we had the normal last day stuff and both Brother Nathan and I got pies in the face. The kids (who weren't to get wet) got soaked in the foam pit. Go figure...it's not rocket surgery...but what did you think the "foam" was made from?

At the same time Sam' had a dermatologist appointment and had two moles removed..from there it has been down hill for her. Her ear hurt due to the mole removed there so she got a head ache from sleeping stiff and now she has been in and out of the flu like fever. It's tough to watch her not feeling well. Rather unwisely we still decided to go to Houston for a friend's birthday party which was a lot of fun. I enjoy see the Iveys when we get a chance. Sam' decided to stay with the kids overnight (original plan was to stay two nights). She was feeling better until she went to bed...it was more down hill from there. She's home now, but still pretty much out of it. I think the kids see it as time to get away with back talking because they didn't behave at all in Houston after I left. They're still young to try to reason with, so it's hard to deal with after the fact.

Today was the normal Sunday routine by myself which meant it was easier and I was on time, but it's still tiring....and with that I think I'll retire so I have the energy to make it through tomorrow.

Monks are Hunks!! Skunks are Punks!!

Tonight is our first softball game and our team is called the "Monks." Not a bad name for a softball team, but it is ironic since we're a Baptist Church team. I'm hoping that we are able to talk on the field, but I guess being the monks gives the players the excuse for not calling the ball. Typical SE Texas summer softball is hot anyway, but the wool robes we are wearing for uniforms don't help in the slightest. Regardless of the uniforms, it 's definitely better than being on a team call the Skunks (our intrachurch rival)

What's up with all the Chuck?

Let me preface this with a big, "I'm not a Chuck Norris fan", but several months ago while exiting a Walmart bathroom I was waiting for my son to finish so I started reading a poster on the wall about Chuck Norris. I found it to be hilarious!! I find it the whole Norris as a tough guy thing funny because Chuck Norris is such a small guy and most of his fight scenes are extremely staged....like why don't all six guys try to hit him at once instead of dancing around him while each one gets taken out. I happened upon Delta Force two nights ago...man those guys had bad aim. Chuck never was hiding behind anything as he dodged bullets and was never touched. Anyway, I digress (so what....it's my blog). Here are some of the types of things that were on the poster:

• When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.


• Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.


• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.


• Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.


• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.



• Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.


• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.


• There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.


• When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.


• Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.


• Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.


• Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.


• Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.


• Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.


• Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost


• Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.


• Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

OK, so some are just plain dumb, but since then I've seen them popping up all over the place. I wonder what Chuck is thinking about all of this? I wonder if he's getting any royalties out of any of the products? I guess it really doesn't matter, I'm sure he's not wanting for anything. My understanding is that he's a pretty devout Christian. I know that can mean a lot of things in today's world....everyone thinks they are Christian which really waters the whole meaning down. Instead of asking someone in America if they are a Christian, the pollsters should ask a more detailed question. Maybe are you walking everyday with the Holy Spirit? or Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that goes beyond just knowing his name? I bet if we boiled it all down, less than 10% of America would be actually Christian and I dare say even less. More people probably thing Chuck Norris is actually a hero than think the Creator of the Universe could actually do all those things on the Chuck Norris poster...but doesn't have to. What a perspective....no wonder our culture is where it is.

Origins of Humor

Day three of VBS is in the books. It's been a busy week with both work and VBS, but I've been able to manage. The tough part is switching from VBS mode in the morning to work mode in the afternoon. I'd much rather be at VBS all day, but then again, who wouldn't. All I have to do is help the kids have a fun time at the Rally, compete in some "physical challenges", then cruise the halls talking with the kids and goofing around with them. It's not quite the same as being in a chicken costume like last year, but it's fun none the less. We had over 60 kids come forward today saying that they gave their life to Jesus. Out of the three boys that I talked to, one didn't understand anything about what he just did which really means that he was just following the group and two had already prayed to accept Christ and were baptized, but still prayed the prayer again. It's tough with kids this age because it is really hard to know whether they "get it" or not. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if I think they do or not. If only one kid were to "get it" then the whole week would be worth it to me.

VBS is a lot of fun for a goof ball like me....like today....I played with beach balls, swam in bubbles, played the cow bell, shot kids with squirt guns, played on the preschool play ground, rode a mechanical surf board, and ate ice cream with a group of three year olds so i could smear the ice cream all over my face like they did. On a more serious note, I got to counsel with Quinton, Trevor, and Gipson, pray for a ton of kids, sing in worship, and make some little kids smile. I love striving to be a man of God, but showing people that being a Man of God or even a deacon, doesn't mean that you have to be stuffy or rigid.

I know God is the author of humor. Just look around. Look at the Duck billed Platipuss, or the giraffe or elephant. He had to be laughing when he made them. I think God also laughs at people....like scientists who think that world evolved from nothing or people with OCD who think they can control things that only God can control. I know He's a loving God or he wouldn't have sent His son in our place, but I think he sees humor in our idiocy as well.

I'll leave with that for now.

Did I mention I like Fantasy Football.....no......well more on that in the future.

Let there be Blog...

"and Paul said, 'Let there be Blog' and there was his blog" and so it begins.

I don't exactly know how I intend to use this blog, but I thought it was a chic thing to do. I mean, anyone who is anyone has a blog. I was beginning to think that I wasn't normal because I didn't dump my opinions, pictures, videos, and the like out into the collective consciousness that is cyberspace. But here in lies the dilemma.

What do you blog about?

A blog is not exactly erasable once it's published. It's like the word "logos." More than just meaning "word" it carries the connotation of words that are alive and once spoken have a life of their own. Not that I would suggest this, but tell a close loved one they are fat, even in jest, and you will understand what I mean about words having a life of their own. Simply put, I can't just rant about anything that I don't want to address head on, because as sure as dogs lick their butts, it will come back to get me. So I guess this will just be about trivial things that I'm thinking or doing, daily happenings, philosophy, blah blah blah...

I'm thinking this could be pretty scary, since it's all coming from my head in free form which can get pretty weird. I'm not exactly where I got my sense of humor, but it lies somewhere between bust a gut improv to wife rolling her eyes idiotic. Anyway...I'll get back to thinking about what is to follow and you get back to doing whatever you were doing on here.