Burning Question: Are You Trying to Tell me Something?

So during my morning reading time I was reading a Christian book that quoted a book called Half Time. This intrigued me but I went on. Later in the morning I was reading a separate book and it referenced and quoted Half Time as well. So the question is, is God telling me to go read this book as well? Or perhaps the bigger question is, does God use books other than the bible to speak to His people?

Soccer: I won again!!

Sunday it was me against my two boys aged 5 and 8. I smoked them! Of course I let them score a few, but this 41 year old handed it to them!

Last night It was me against the two of them AND our 3 year old neighbor. I WON AGAIN!!!

No performance enhancing drugs were used on either side, and sportsmanship was in the air. However my only concern is that I'm beginning to believe that their post game debriefing may include the phrase, "but we will live to fight another day." At my age, I'm beginning to wonder whether "my team" can say the same.

Bring on the ibuprofen!

Why blog?

This blog has become a hobby of mine. When I set out to blog, I didn't have a good reason to do so, but this has changed. There a multiple reasons why I post and some of them follow:

Often I have family members and friends that I admittedly do not call/contact frequently enough. They want to see pictures. Not of me (as you can tell by previous posts), but of my family. I know they like seeing how they're growing and learning about what they're doing. I also get to tell them what's going on and what I'm thinking or feeling, which brings me to another reason.

Having a blog allows me to publicize my opinions and my passions. I typically try to do this in a non-offensive way, but by doing this, it becomes a sort of release for me. A good friend of mine started a blog about the same time as I did. His purpose was to express spiritual beliefs and spiritual truths. I never thought I would do this on here, but more often than not, I'm learning something about God and what He is telling me, I just want anyone willing to read it to know what it is. Oh, and those who are wondering, yes, He DOES talk to me, and sometimes I even listen! This blog also allows me to throw around other opinions too.

Frankly another reason I post is for the sake of humor. Before I became a somewhat serious person, I was known to say "humor at all cost!" I back off from this now, because I've decided taste should win out, let alone other virtues. But I love trying to make people laugh. It's a beautiful sound, and I like to think I can do it occasionally. I try to work it in to almost all of my posts, and sometimes post solely for this reason.

One of the more fascinating things about blogging is that it becomes a connection tool as well. If you comment on someone's blog, they may in turn come to your site and comment as well. This is great as it allows for connections to be made with people you may not otherwise get to (virtually) meet. Of course, comments for me are a great thing in and of itself. Nothing like a nice dialog or debate on a topic.

Thanks to Google Analytics, I can also get an idea of where people are when they visit the site. This is also encouraging. Often I can tell who hits the site based on what city they are viewing the site from. There is a modest little readership out there, which is encouraging. I suppose if nobody read this, it would essentially just be a journal of "polished thoughts." I appreciate the fact that people visit.

One of the harder parts of blogging is the self-imposed pressure. If you do not keep posting, then readership dwindles. So you constantly think about what you should write about. Often posts are written but the editor in your brain scraps the idea before it's actually posted. I keep telling myself that shorter is better (See footnote below). It's interesting how consuming a blog can be.

So anyhow, in case you were curious, this is why I now blog. It's not why I started, but it's why this drivel ends up out there for the world to see. OK, maybe not the WHOLE world, but it sounds good doesn't it?

Footnote:
This post was suppose to be a short one actually too, but posts can also be organic and run out of control.

Rearranging Furniture

Every so often, my wife wants to move the furniture. Usually this happens more often than I would prefer, because it requires me to think along with her. Usually the time of day she wishes to do this is after my brain has hung it's hat and is slowly turning to mush. There are so many combinations and permutations to consider with my handicapped brain activity. But I must admit that I rarely regret the change. It's usually nice to see something fresh. (If you don't believe me ask an Obama supporter).

Thankfully when it comes to the blog, I can just preview new templates on blogger.com and choose the one I think looks nice. A nice Fresh change now that spring is fast approaching.

Daylight Savings Time

Just one simple statement about the opportunity to "spring forward" at this time of the year.

I love Daylight Savings Time!!!

Can I get a witness?

Eight Years!

Our first son, Christopher turned 8 on Friday and we had a party for him on Saturday. Lot's of fun!
It's hard to believe he has been with us for eight years now!Coincidentally, eight years is also exactly how much his mom and dad aged while hosting a party of nine second graders.

School Project

So my second grader was required to create a poster of a notable figure for Black History month. After giving him a few different choices, true to his form, he chose Tony Dungy. I was actually very pleased with this choice for a few reasons. First, he's a football player/coach which is cool. Second, he is a leader with great character and standards. And third, he's a Christian who is not ashamed to share his faith when anyone who will listen. Coach Dungy is soft spoken and with integrity. He is well-liked with his players and appears to have a great gift for leadership. He has recently written a book, Quiet Strength, that will be on my short list of "next reads."

Anyhow, working on a school project with a second grader is a challenge in itself. And this is not his fault, but I think it has to do with his parents, or more specifically his dad. The teacher asks us to name three accomplishments, three goals, three interesting facts as well as the basics such as where he was born, etc. I suppose things are different now than 30 years ago when I was roughly his age. (OK, 33 years ago to be exact!). We didn't run off to the library. we didn't even have to dial in to the internet. We just opened my laptop and began "googling." Ahhh, life gets easy in some aspects. So despite having the wireless and multiple computers in the house, I, er, I mean, we had to track down all of this information. This isn't easy. I had to find three of his goals. I don't know if I can find three of MY goals! I, er, I mean, we checked a number of websites. One of the websites had the writer saying that Tony's goals was to get the most out of his players. That seemed good. We struggled to find the second goal when I came across a quote from Tony where he essentially said we shouldn't get caught up in goals but should focus on purpose. For Tony, it was to Glorify God in everything he does. What a great goal! So we added it. Now I knew I, er, we, were really stuck. He admits there is too much emphasis on goals. So after thinking about this for a while, we eventually settled on one he has obtained already as a player and a coach, which was winning a Super Bowl. Well, this seemed to suffice, since I got, er...I mean, well Chris got an "A!"

Another thought on Rusty Hardin

A while back I posted regarding the high profile attorney, Rusty Hardin. The selfish side of me has sort of wished he wasn't so high profile. See, I went by Rusty up through part of college, so any old friends who choose to "google" me will find him. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I suspect I don't have too many old friends looking for me, but I'm sort of a nostalgic fellow, so I'd hate to think someone who might be looking for me couldn't find me. Then it occurred to me that thanks to Roger Clemons, and others over the past few years, people are probably reminded of me every so often which I hope is a good thing. And besides, now that I've posted about Rusty myself, I'm starting to get people hitting my site who are likely looking for him. I suppose it all equals out.

Side note: I love Google Analytics. It allows me to see lots of data on who is hitting myself and where they are when they do so. It doesn't tell me who exactly is hitting it though....the ACLU may have a problem with that. (I would too!)

Social Etiquette or Social Deception?

Raising my boys is a lot of fun. It's also a challenge for someone who does not believe in even "white lies." I thought of three instances of this challenge when talking to my wife today. Observe the following scenarios:

1. You're over at a friends house with your children and they serve your child liver
2. Your son is having a Birthday party and wants to invite everyone in his class with a couple exceptions.
3. If someone gives your son a gift he already has or doesn't care for, what should he say?

I don't know if there's a way around it, but all of these put us in a position to at least withhold information and at most deceive someone.

• For the first one, we tell them to leave it on the plate and eat the things you like, but NEVER tell them you don't like it. When they are older we will probably tell him to eat it anyhow.
  
• For the second one we say, invite them anyhow. Even though we don't like them, we don't want to hurt their feelings. Anyone who has made out a list for a wedding knows that this is extremely important!
• On the last one, you usually feign pleasure in the gift and while wondering where you can return the gift in hopes of getting a store credit. OK, that last part is more me than one of my son's, but you get the drift. We tell our sons to thank them nicely.

Interesting isn't it. Our society has a hold on us in ways we just deem completely acceptable despite it being borderline deceptive.

Things I have learned...so far

I have just completed my year at age 40. (This is different than completing your 40th year. You do that at age 39). It was the hardest, depressing and yet rewarding years I have traveled to date. The twelve months included a farewell to thinking I was still physically young and a hello to mortality. I think the latter of those two was the harder part. (It was also the most rewarding part as well, but that's probably too deep and too long of a post for now). I've discussed this with one of my friends at work and we agree that people usually go through a period of self evaluation during their decade ages. (In other words we look back at age 20, 30, 40…). This is probably a good thing. Perhaps we should do it more often. So anyhow, I figured at age 40 I could impart some of the things I have learned so far and hopefully others will be better off for it.

• I'm not nearly as good of a father as I thought I was. I've learned over the past year that things that I thought my kids really liked, well….they didn't. Just because your dad was vacant in my life doesn't mean I should hover in theirs. Don't get me wrong, they still love me, and they honor me well, especially on my birthday when I usually request and receive toys. :-)
  

• Condominiums and Townhouses make more sense than ever! Let's just say I have a lot of bushes, and fairly large yard and Charlotte, NC gets pretty warm when grass and bushes grow.

• It's not growing back. Despite hopes that it was a phase and I could somehow defy genetics, I believe I am losing the follicular battle. I will be wearing my hair short from here out whether I like it or not. The idea of wearing someone or something else's hair on my head or spreading chemicals on my scalp in hopes of some few additional sprouts is out of the question. The up side is that I no longer have to worry about having a comb either. :-)

• I'm never going to have a washboard stomach. For the longest time, I thought with a little work and a healthy diet, I too, could have that "six-pack."Well thanks to Peyton Manning I now know this just isn't likely.A bit depressing, but I sure did enjoy that Brownie a la mode last night.

• It's important to stretch…before everything! Young boys are known to pull the "Tom Cruise/Risky Business" slide across the floor while wearing socks. (NOTE: Cruise did this in just his underwear, but anyone who has seen the movie would know that he also lacked discretion in other things as well. Pants are recommended). Anyhow, if an older gentleman were to say, gather speed while going down a flight of steps with a hardwood floor landing and then lunge forward on the last step with his right leg extended to pull off the Cruise slide, he could perhaps pull a calf muscle. Now, I'm not certain about this, but this is what I heard. I also heard that the same muscle will stiffen up and ache every morning this person climbs out of bed as if to laugh at the increasing fragility that his 40 year old body has. But again, this is only what I've heard. Come to think of it, I don't know why any 40 year old would even think of trying to pull off a stunt like this.

Okay, that's enough for now. Lunch is over and I have to limp across campus.

The ideal morning

This is something I've really come to relish. Of course, any High School and College friends who had to wake me up at lunchtime to go do something won't believe me, but this is what I've become in my old age. I love my mornings! Especially if they look like this:

I wake up somewhere between 5 and 5:30 AM when the house is cold and completely silent (since the only snorer is now awake). This is without an alarm clock, which is one of the reasons I like it so much. It's just me wanting to start my day. It was never like that as a kid. Twelve hours of sleep, from past midnight until that time the next day was my ideal morning. (Boy I wasted a lot of time!). Anyhow, the house is cold enough that I need to put on sweats and a hoodie.

Then I go downstairs and brew some quality coffee. Sorry, Folgers and Maxwell House, this isn't or you. You can blame Gevalia for making me a coffee snob, but it's part of my morning package to have good coffee.

After the coffee is made, it's just me, the mug, and God. Spending some time in prayer and in scripture is something I think I honestly haven't enjoyed in the past nearly as much as I have the last few months. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it for as long as I've done it, but lately, there is an additional richness to this time, and it doesn't have to do with the coffee. After this, I usually continue in the quiet with another Christian book, (which is usually linked on the left side of this blog). It's a great start to the day.

After waking up the family, if I have a few minutes, I will read something else a little lighter. but then it's time to roll. I guess you may wonder why i'm sharing this. Well, I guess age has mellowed me enough to share the simple pleasures that I refused to enjoy when I was younger. And lately I'm enjoying it so much it just seemdd wrong to keep it to myself. If you haven't tried spending this time alone with God, I highly recommended it!

Another thought regarding public preaching

It occurred to me this morning, that my opinion stated below sounds more like a broad stroke than what it actually is. My wife and I both took part in Open Air Preaching while in Birmingham and Bradford, England. My wife even got to see some make decisions for Christ through this method (and the follow-up conversations that occurred afterwards). I have no problem with public preaching, and I'm sure some campus preachers can bring people to a point of decision as well. I believe the general distinction is that if these occurrences are done by speaking the Truth lovingly and truly loving those who are listening, then not only is there a better opportunity for the listener to understand and accept God's love for them personally, but people may realize the joy and peace that is evident in the one sharing the Gospel. I suspect that preachers who continue to harp on the negative consequences of someone who has yet to make the decision are less likely to show the love and grace that God so freely gives to us.

There. Hopefully that clarifies what was written previously.

Signs of Spring at UNC Charlotte

Please answer the following questions:

A: American Robin

B:Brother Micah

1) Which of the above sightings is the best indication that Spring is in the Air at UNC Charlotte?

2) Which of the above is the best indication of God's creation as well as his provision and love for mankind?

Key: 1-B, 2-A (Ironic isn't it?)

Just yesterday morning, I mentioned to my student worker that with the weather turning nicer, it was about time for the campus preachers to hit the university. Sure enough, one was out at the Belk Tower (our free speech zone) "hollerin'" at the students later that day. Not only do these preachers use R-rated name calling to try to arouse the ire of college students, but they seem to show absolutely no love for the ones they accuse. They are a source of entertainment for the students who only seem to laugh along while they spout "half-truths" about what the Bible says. When I hear them, I find it amusing and sad all at the same time. Except for one, they all seem to be in it for the show. They love the negative attention.

Now the one I like, he's a different story. He will go into the zone and essentially recite scripture. And the verses he recites are not all doom and gloom. He doesn't engage in dialog/arguments while up on the area around the tower, he just declares scripture. Not the technique I would choose, but I commend him for how he does it. When he is taking a break from his recitation, you will see him standing close to one person and sharing with them, or talking to them quietly. He seems to show the students a genuine respect and compassion. His motives seem true.

Now the American Robin, well, the real sign of spring for many of us can also remind us of the many wonderful creatures God created. And not only that, consider the following verse:

"Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!"
-Luke 12:24 (You can read the whole chapter for complete context)

Perhaps this is a good verse for those preaching at the tower to begin their dialog.

Fun Run!!

This past week, my son's school, Back Creek Christian Academy, held a fund raiser to help with school supplies, projects, etc. Most of the school day is held in modular buildings behind the church and eventually they hope to raise funds to have a permanent building. Despite the modular walls, Tina and I love this school. We see discipline, fun, education and God's word all within the given school day and my oldest son is maturing and learning well in part because of their devoted teachers and staff.

This past week, the school held a "Fun Run" where the kids were sponsored per lap (or lump sum) on a small "racetrack." They had about 30 minutes to run up to 40 laps. I was privileged enough to come and cheer on the kids and got to snap a few pictures as well. My son was able to complete 38 laps in that time. I was pretty impressed. The group that came in to organize the fun run was a top notch organization with mostly young adults doing the work. They were encouraging to the kids, respectful to the parents and even helped out around the school during the day. The group was called Boosterthon and my wife and I were both very impressed with their organization.

Pair o' Dime Props: Jennie Lee Riddle

Who? You ask. Well, I barely know who this person is myself, but about a month or so ago, we sang a song at my church that I thought was absolutely wonderful. Often songs sung in church appear to be focusing on God when in fact we're focusing on what he has done for us. Lately I have been led to earnestly try to remove all focus from myself and my concerns and and try to worship completely and unconditionally our Creator. This is easier said than done. Often our thoughts obstruct the view of Who we are worshiping. Well, the props go to Jennie Lee Riddle who wrote "Revelation Song" which to me is one of the most truly worshipful contemporary praise songs out there. She was obviously inspired when we wrote this and I know there are many who absolutely love singing and hearing this song. Of course, if she could respond to the "Props" she would probably redirect the compliment to God too. (Isn't that cool?)

Below you will find a YouTube version of her song sung by Kari Jobe, (who does a great job with it), and the lyrics which to me are so powerful.



Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song, to him who sits on
Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be
to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder
At the mention of your name
Jesus your name is power
Breath, and living water
Such a marvelous mystery
Yeah...

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You