Kids

I'm grateful that life has direction. This wouldn't be the case if it weren't for the truth of the Gospel.

Last night I sat and talked with a young man, 15 years old, for a couple of hours and he asked me about life.

My life growing up was spent two-faced. A summary I like to give for my teenage years is that inside my home I said "shoot", outside my home shoot turned to shit. I spent my days as a chameleon. On Sundays I went through church motions, on Mondays I kept up with my friends, at soccer practice I fed my ego, and in the summers I did the same thing with the occasional church camp mixed in.

I completely ignored the pleas of adults in my life to stay away from sin and the consequences of it, or certain friends. I was selfish, ego-driven, and wrong.

This continued until I was in my 20's and I was broken. God allowed me to fall so deep in sin that I couldn't lift myself back up. It was messy, painful, embarrassing and it hurt. And I'm grateful.

After that fall, my life made sense in so much as it was a way for me to remember my mistakes and where they got me. A way for me to remember and point myself back to God and remember how it goes when I don't put the Gospel first. These were good things to know and to realize, but only part of the picture.

That's how it used to be. I've started to change. Titus 2:11-14 says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works."

What a joy! Now my life makes sense in my own pleas to this young man to renounce ungodliness! Turn from his sin and move towards life! As he shares his stories with me and his struggles I can plead with him and remember my pain, not for my own sake, but the Biblical mandate to train young men on how to become real men. To point him towards the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Those people, my parents and family--my church, weren't trying to ruin my fun or look down on me. They were telling me what they've learned. What they've learned about the real rhythm of the universe. I'm grateful for it.

Do you invest in the life of someone? You should. But only if you want to change your own.

Total hotties. 

Refreshment

I feel like life the last week has seemed quite different...in a good way. The days seem fuller. I'm smelling things, feeling things, talking to people, eating good foods, laughing, getting frustrated, stumbling.

But why is it fuller? Why do I feel noticeably different?

So it's led me to stop and reflect and think, "What have I done differently?"

My footsteps for the most part haven't been my own. I've been obedient with the help of my wife and my friends who are challenging me to do so. The business I find isn't of my own choosing, but rather of my own obedience. I'm finding my rest in Him.

It's worth sharing. And remembering.

Burned out in the Bible Belt

Last night I was at a bar with some friends. Good times. Everyone left except me and one other and we were talking about life, which turned to religion, which turned to Jesus and what he's taught us in our years. Our waitress came up and asked us what we were talking about and my friend told her, "About Jesus." (More or less a paraphrase) and asked her what her views on the subject were and she told us a story that just made me hurt.

She doesn't like Christians. She said her brother has a son who is now six years old. Six years ago her brother's ex-girlfriend's mother threw a baby shower for her expecting daughter and invited her neighbors to come to the party. The "Christian" on the block was invited and refused to come. In the words of our waitress, "She told my mom that she wouldn't come and support a child being born outside of marriage but that she would still give a gift because it's not the baby's fault. Can you believe that?"

The trouble was, I could believe it. I wasn't hurt because of her views at all, I really admired and appreciated her honesty. I was hurt that something like that would happen by someone claiming Christ. It's so painful to think of the hurt that woman caused while thinking she was in the right. My friend told her that the woman probably wasn't a Christian because that's not what Jesus' response would be. And I told her about how we're all creatures of God's wrath (Eph). The neighbor's attitude was so opposite to the actions of Jesus (who met prostitutes at wells, invited tax-collectors to eat, humbled himself to become sin).

I laid in bed last night wide awake thinking about it. I'm still haunted today about that story though. Jesus hung out with the lowest rung of society--intentionally. It was the high-class people who "had it all together" that didn't like what he had to say. Matthew 37-39 talks of the greatest commandment - to love the lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. So in loving God we love our neighbors - people, believers and non-believers alike--Republicans, Democrats, Muslims, Hindus, bums, prostitutes, tennis players, country music singers, our bosses, those who have wronged us, those who have done us no harm at all. There isn't a disclaimer that says anything about "unless they have a child out of wedlock".

Living in the BIble belt is scary. So many people that claim Christ but don't live it, making it an extraordinary painful task for those who claim Christ and live it to witness to both groups. The secular world down here has been burnt out by the hypocrisies of Christianity and it hurts me to see.

I'm a filthy; sinful hypocrite in need of grace myself. Saved by the blood of Christ.

I hope her story keeps haunting me. I need to cling to Jesus.

Childhood Dream

Ever since I was a kid I've loved the NBA. I think my first favorite player was Michael Jordan. I remember practicing lay ups in my driveway when I was a kid intentionally sticking my tongue out because I thought it would help me make more shots. I was in Clyde "The Glide" Drexler's fan club when he played for Portland. I joined Chris Webber's fan club as soon as he entered the league. My dad took me to a Blazers vs. Pacers game and I was thrilled to see Reggie Miller, Chris Mullin, and the likes compete against Drexler and the rest of the team.

The All Star game has always been a fun event for me to watch...the whole weekend really. Dominique Wilkins vs Michael Jordan in the dunk contest. Seeing all of the league's best players share the court and have fun. I've never lived in a city that has hosted the All Star game until now. And I've never had tickets to go to an All Star game...until now. I feel like an excited kid. The game isn't until February but I know the excitement will be building until then. I'm going to lose it when I go...

Let's hear it for childhood dreams coming true. Chad is super excited.

The Trap I Set For You Seems to Have Caught My Leg Instead

you're a door-without-a-key, a field-without-a-fence
you made a holy fool of me and I've thanked you ever since.
if she comes circling back we'll end where we'd begun
like two pennies on the train track the train crushed into one
or if I'm a crown without a king, if I'm a broken open seed
if I come without a thing, then I come with all I need
no boat out in the blue, no place to rest your head,
the trap I set for you seems to have caught my leg instead!

Life

There really is a lot of joy that is to be experienced by being completely honest with other believers. I'm realizing that it's naive of me to think it gets easier with time to be honest. I've been thinking a lot about what motivates me lately.

I am motivated to get along with my wife because I don't like conflict and it's a lot easier for me to love her when we're getting along. I am motivated not to sin because I know sinning is bad. This has lead me to be prideful about my ability to distinguish right from wrong.

God really spoke to me this last weekend. These are terrible motivations. I should be motivated to be do right in my marriage and personal life out of a love for God. Jesus should overflow through me. My motivation was wrong. Not sinning...that's "right", but not sinning because of recognizing what it says to the God of the universe is an even better motivation.


I want to do what's loving, because it's right.

Evie's growing up.

Why do you do it, motorcycle in the rain guy?

Wyld

My evening with Mr. Justin Tennison:

1. Off to the Rangers game. Two hour rain delay. The announcer came on
and asked that everyone go to the lower level due to the expected high
winds, rain, and hail. Being the defiant lads that we are, we chose to
watch the storm roll in from the top of the Ballpark. It rained a
little, no big deal. Then the rain quickly turned to hail. We ran for
cover and along the way Justin was pelted in the head with the lima-
bean (yes, lima bean) sized hail. We take shelter behind a Rangers
merchandise booth downwind from the monsoon and the gusts of wind are
so strong that Justin, myself, and the poor teenage shirt seller were
having to hold the booth from blowing over or rolling away. Quite fun.

2. On the complete opposite side of the field a chant was started that
caught our attention: "Throw her out! Throw her out!" After some minor
shuffling they indeed did throw her out. Not nearly as dramatic as the
first incident, but it was entertaining.

3. The Rangers beat the Yankees and finally wrapped up the game at
12:30 am. Fun game to be at.

4. The hit and run. We are leaving and in stop and go traffic for some
time and we finally pull up to the last stop light on the road and
BAM! The homeboys behind us slam in to Justin's car. I got out of the
car and they insisted that the damage wasn't much of anything. We were
pulling off the road to exchange info and they took off. Crazy! We
gave the license plate to the police when they came. Hopefully they
find the jerk.

4. A suspect woman asked us for a cigarette while we were airing up a
tire and trying to avoid further catastrophe. You know...the kind of
creepy ladies that walk around in the rain in mini-skirts at 2am.
Another odd occurrnce in an exciting evening.

Now we are driving home in the next storm with sore necks due to hit
and run guy.

Evening: documented.