I Ain't As Good As I Once Was...

Toby Keith wrote a song a few years back that kind of summed up how I feel right now... Let me explain... Being that this is 'spring break' for my students - we opted to go out and enjoy the beautiful 78 degree day and play Ultimate Frisbee... Now - I'm not talking about just gingerly throwing the disc around - I mean 'Ultimate Frisbee'... We ran - we jumped - we fell - and laughed a lot... Maybe that's why my side hurts...

Like always - we played much longer then I originally planned... What I anticipated being an hour workout turned into a 2 hour 'Battle Royale'... It was a blast, though... Everyone included each other in the game... All touched the Frisbee (notice I didn't say, "catch the Frisbee") and had a great time...

I grew up fairly athletic and enjoyed playing a variety of sports that I, normally, had marginal success at... Even at 30 - I still like to do my best... Unfortunately - like Toby Keith - I ain't as good as I once was... So my body may not be happy - but the memories with my students playing Ultimate Frisbee makes it all worth it... Now - if I can only get up!

Fully Human, Fully God

One of my favorite aspects of my job is the studying and the preparation that goes into aligning my message each week... Over the past few weeks - that study has taken us through the book of 1 John... I thought it quite interesting that this letter was penned to combat the heresy (what a fun word - but another blog another time...) of the Gnostic's...

Here we are 50-60 years after Christ's ministry here on earth - and people are already jacking with the theology of the church... The Gnostic's had some different thoughts: 1) All created matter was evil which meant that The 'Creator God' was an inferior God, and that Jesus couldn't have been fully human and fully God because man = matter, therefore man = evil... Hard to follow? Tell me about it... 2) The body is evil, BUT the spirit (soul) is separate from the body - so you can do whatever you want physically because it doesn't effect your spirit... Which is partially why the concept that Jesus didn't really have a body, but was more of a hologram came into play... WHAT?! Jesus was nothing more then VG like Star Wars? Yikes!

John wrote the early church to assure them that Jesus was truly FULLY HUMAN, FULLY GOD... If Jesus isn't fully both - then He's a liar... That most certainly isn't true... He was born of both God and Mary... Lived some 33 years on this earth... Spent much of that time as a carpenter and provider for His family... And He spent about 3 years ministering to the children of Israel, Samaritans, Gentiles, Men, Women, and Children... He loved lepers, paralytics, the blind and the lame... He loved tax collectors, prostitutes, fishermen, rich people, and the poor... He even loved those that nailed HIS BODY to the T-Shaped contraption we call the 'cross'...

It's not surprising that those of this world would try to discredit Jesus... They still try to do that today... But I'm sure those that felt His touch, His love, and His healing had no doubts that He wasn't just a hologram... They knew who He was... FULLY HUMAN, FULLY GOD!

Only 57 To Go

My wife and I celebrated our 3rd year as two bonded in holy matrimony... But I guess it shouldn't be two at all... When we betrothed - we became one... "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh" (Matthew 19:5)... But if we are one flesh - you'd think I'd agree with myself a lot more - Ha!

As I look back and remember that day 1,096 days ago (that sounded more dramatic than 3 years...) - I realize that it seems so much longer then that... I feel as if I've always been with my wife... That is odd because I've dated several girls/women in my life - many of whom my family wasn't particularly fond of!!! Some of stated persons I dated for periods of 2 years or more... I can remember what it was like hanging out or dating... I can remember dances and movies I saw with them... I can remember a great deal of specifics from each relationship... But as I've been with my wife for over 3 years now - I've realized something... There's a difference between 'remembering people' and 'having memories with people'... Memories are thoughts or situations that 'take you back' to that special moment...

I have memories of my family: Pizza at Joe's on a Friday night, Christmas dinner where the part of my father was played by an old VHS camcorder, or the time that my mother broke us into the orthodontist's office on the wrong day for my appointment (the policeman didn't think it was so funny, though...), or the kitchen lady in the hair net saying, "You want some ger-ravy?" Now - not every circumstance about these memories were very fun... My dad wasn't at dinner because he was with his dad at the hospital awaiting the passing of his dad... The kitchen lady in the hair net worked in the cafeteria of Evansville hospital as we were waiting for my sister to recover after being shot in the face with a 22... But even so - these memories always take me back to those moments...

My wife and I have made memories, too... Some good: The day she brought over the leaf blower, our first Thanksgiving, the day we got engaged, the double rainbow we saw driving to Edwardsville, eating at IHOP after our honeymoon, the Saturday morning she peed on a stick... Unfortunately - some bad: Spending 19 days in the hospital, holding each other in tears behind a curtain, giving our 2 month old baby shots in his legs twice a day for 3 straight months...

Memories are some of the glue that hold a family together... And I look forward to the many more memories to come...

One of the most important things to do to keep your marriage strong is to communicate - even if it ticks your spouse off!

Couldn't Even Catch a Cold!

Isn't it interesting that if you are wanting to insult a baseball or football player - you might call them names such as "butterfingers" or "Hands"... One I think is quite insulting is "You couldn't even catch a cold!" What? You telling me that I am SO terrible - that I can't even catch that terrible sickness that everyone gets and that never leaves? Bummer! I guess the effectiveness of that statement comes from the fact that it seems so easy to 'catch a cold'... And once you've caught it - it's almost impossible to drop...

Sin - the viral infection of our soul - is very similar to the 'common cold'... It can show it's evil head when we least expect it... Our lives can seem as 'healthy as an ox' - and then we make a big catch... It starts out with the soar throat - the watery eyes - the sniffles... A cold? No way - it's just allergies... We go day after day - trying to cover the symptoms with Nyquil, Dayquil, or any other type of 'quil' - to the same result... We now have a full blown 'Cold'... Sin is like that, too... It may start out like 'no big deal'... We rationalize and try to cover it up with superficial fixes, but it continues to fester in our bodies... Then it hits us - we are in the middle of our sin... The worst part of that is how far from God we are... You can't be neck-deep in your stuff and feel the comfort and warmth from your Father's love... We have to stop what we're doing - repent - take time to rest in Him - and take those vitamins (His Word)...

When we get healthy - how do we stay that way? Here's your prescription: You continue to rest in Him - take your daily dose of His vitamins - and be weary of those that are sick (and contagious) around you - and visit the Great Physician daily... repeat this for the rest of your days - and you'll be just fine!

"O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me." (Psalms 30:2)

It's always fun to change our staging in the auditorium. Running cables and hanging lights, though tiring, makes for a beautiful picture. A fun day, indeed!

We had our first encounter with veggies tonight-green beans! Surprising enough, he liked it! Maybe he will be one that always knows what's good for him. Maybe?

What's a greater victory: To work with all your soul to win gold medals or work to win Souls for streets of gold? Where will we finish on the final podium?

We went Hi-Def today. It's funny, though. No matter how clear the picture- it doesn't compare to the view God has. He sees EVERYRHING! Psalm 139:12

A Night of Romance

You hear it often said that when you fall down - you've got to "get back on the horse"... Well - I have definitely 'fallen' out of habit of blogging... I have had to battle some inconveniences in my life: Sickness, late nights, early mornings, a baby requiring most of my attention... But no excuses... I'm a slacker and must improve... So here's my first step towards 'Blog Rehabilitation'... 

Our ministry tried doing something different this year for a fund raiser... Normally - we do a banquet/dinner complete with entree, baked potato, roll, salad, cheesecake, etc... It's normally done in late March and is accompanied by live music or a theatrical program of some kind from our student ministry... This year we went for a different approach... We put on a Valentine's Dinner, instead... We asked our married couples to purchase a ticket and come and enjoy a romantic evening of dinner and dancing... As the sweet sounds of the violin filled the air - We began with an "Olive Garden-esque" salad - followed by a heaping plate of penne pasta and meatballs smothered in marinara... And yes - there were plenty of rolls to go around... For dessert - chocolate fountains (which ended up being more like fondue) where our 'love birds' dipped strawberries, bananas, angel food cake, and marshmallows into the streams of gooey goodness... 

After a fun quiz of romantic history - we made our way to the gym where our couples were treated to a 'fox trot' lesson... They twirled - they swayed - they spun - and they laughed as they circled the gym saying to themselves, "slow - slow - quick, quick"... What a pleasure it was getting to spend Valentine's Day enjoying the gift of marriage with these fine people...

It is so important for the Body of Christ to take marriage seriously... It's an area where we don't always provide a great deal of opportunity for enjoyment, or creating intimacy... Between our work schedules, activities, kids, and (even) church stuff - we can miss out on one of the BIGGEST parts that God meant for marriage - FUN & INTIMACY!!! God never intended for any of us to ' suffer through' our marriages... He wants us to love it... He wants us to love each other in such a way that is reflective of how much HE LOVES US...

"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her..." (Ephesians 5:25)

So - I hope that none of us wait another 363 days to be loving to our spouses... A night of romance can happen more then one day a year!

What Do You Do? When things are tough do you A. Become discouraged or B. Become inspired. Opposition is merely a reason to achieve success! Phil 4:13

Short Blog. It seems that there's a great deal of stuff going on in this world. Famine, quakes, recession, and more. So why don't people see a need for God?

A wonderful day with the boy! Dad Days never get old! But I could do without the urine showers though. Oh well - hazards of the job, I guess! Well worth it.

Powerful worship always excites me. Today our student service was wonderful. We are learning how to serve from the greatest example-Jesus Christ. Mark 1 & 2.

A full day of rest! It's amazing how much the body can improve from a day of R & R. Now - if I can do something about the cold weather!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Oh, blogger - how I've missed you... I finally had a few moments to jot down a few thoughts after a few week dry-spell... So here I am... And for most parts of the country - it is frigid... Maybe that's not enough to describe the bitterness that is the month of January... How about "COLD!!!" It's bad enough in the Midwest that we are not to have exposed skin for more than 15 minutes or frostbite might become an hazard... "Jack Frost nipping at your nose" isn't so fun to sing about if it's true... 

The icy temps inspired my mother to blog on a topic the other day that I thought was quite appropriate... The idea that governments are spending billions of dollars on research and fighting 'global warming' and that Al Gore is winning the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts is seeming a bit superfluous... If all over the country states are having the coldest winter they have had in several years - Shouldn't that say something..? I guess not... Because people in places of authority would have to admit that they are wrong and how often does that happen?

I know God has everything under control, though... We aren't able to destroy the earth because He already has a plan for the end...

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare." (2 Peter 3:9-10)

So go ahead and bundle up now - because God will bring the heat when He's ready!