Posts
Happy 23rd Birthday Babe!
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Blanco Danco!
Blanco is 14 weeks old today! Big deal, right? Well, he thinks he's a "big deal". This past weekend we gave him a haircut. It's basically the "dog mullet" . . . "Business on top, party down below".
Friday, July 13, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
A rough cut
From Wes-
I have recently been wrestling with a measure of discontent at work.
For almost 30 years my dad has worked for Federal Express. He is a smart and talented man capable of succeeding at many life ventures. He has a knack for
knowing how to do things that he has never done before, be it carpentry, construction, mechanics, pluming, masonry, stained glass, you name it, and my dad could do it. Of these skilled labors, he succeeds most evidently in carpentry. He is a master at turning a slab of wood into something beautiful.
Maybe what is equally impressive is his perseverance. I mean, 30 years of blue collar work and never once have I heard him ache and groan for something else. It seems like he decided a long time ago that this is what he wanted to do with his life. I am proud of him for it.
Meanwhile, I set at a computer desk, in my temperature controlled office, with the kitchen and its beverages just a walk down the hall. I feel spoiled and selfish.
I wonder sometimes if it is truly God's call in my life to be a full-time professional minister/missionary or if it is more so a desire to be doing something “else”. Believe me; I know that there are plenty of moments in ministry that aren't "fun". With the world and all of its brokenness, and a life dedicated to a ministry of reconciliation, it can’t be all fun.
I ache to be used in bigger ways for God’s glory.
Sometimes I feel like that “slab of wood” that my dad picks out to do something special with. I feel dull, rough to the touch, rawness, but wanting to be turned into something profound, something beautiful. I wait patiently and prayerfully as parts of who I am are chiseled slowly away. Those parts of who I am are given up often times too begrudgingly. I get impatient, anxious for the next stage in life and a clearer image of who I am supposed to be.
This ancient hymn is the song of my heart this morning.
Oh! To be like Thee, oh! To be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
-Thomas O. Chisolm
I have recently been wrestling with a measure of discontent at work.
For almost 30 years my dad has worked for Federal Express. He is a smart and talented man capable of succeeding at many life ventures. He has a knack for
knowing how to do things that he has never done before, be it carpentry, construction, mechanics, pluming, masonry, stained glass, you name it, and my dad could do it. Of these skilled labors, he succeeds most evidently in carpentry. He is a master at turning a slab of wood into something beautiful. Maybe what is equally impressive is his perseverance. I mean, 30 years of blue collar work and never once have I heard him ache and groan for something else. It seems like he decided a long time ago that this is what he wanted to do with his life. I am proud of him for it.
Meanwhile, I set at a computer desk, in my temperature controlled office, with the kitchen and its beverages just a walk down the hall. I feel spoiled and selfish.
I wonder sometimes if it is truly God's call in my life to be a full-time professional minister/missionary or if it is more so a desire to be doing something “else”. Believe me; I know that there are plenty of moments in ministry that aren't "fun". With the world and all of its brokenness, and a life dedicated to a ministry of reconciliation, it can’t be all fun.
I ache to be used in bigger ways for God’s glory.
Sometimes I feel like that “slab of wood” that my dad picks out to do something special with. I feel dull, rough to the touch, rawness, but wanting to be turned into something profound, something beautiful. I wait patiently and prayerfully as parts of who I am are chiseled slowly away. Those parts of who I am are given up often times too begrudgingly. I get impatient, anxious for the next stage in life and a clearer image of who I am supposed to be.
This ancient hymn is the song of my heart this morning.
Oh! To be like Thee, oh! To be like Thee,
Blessed Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
-Thomas O. Chisolm
Monday, July 2, 2007
What I fear most . . .
Recently I completed Irresistible Revolution, by Shane Claiborne. The book challenged me in ways that I had never been challenged before. I know that I am one of many, who have been touched by this book and others like it. I believe that the Church (Christ’s Body) in America is on the verge of a revolution, and that it is gaining momentum. Hearts all over our nation are longing to become impassioned by something they believe in and something they can participate in. They are searching for something fresh, no longer stagnant, but ever changing in correlation to the environment it finds itself. Something not tossed around by the culture or conformed by, but that is relevant. Well I am on board! My soul bursts with excitement knowing that there is revival taking place.
What if the word’s “church” or “Christian” would trigger thoughts like: haven, love, and faithful instead of hypocrisy, judgment, and boring? What if Christians were almost as loveable as Christ to those who are broken and in need of healing?
My father-in-law warned me that Claiborne’s book would “mess you up” and, well . . . it has. I have been sent a gut check, no, a heart check and I am afraid of the results. The question that reverberates within me that is so frightening is this: Will nothing change?
Will I continue to leave Jesus’ words to the Rich man (Mark 10:17-31) and to Peter (Mark 8:34-37) for interpretation? A matter of opinion and situational, or are they words for my life? Are they words for all of our lives? How many times have you and I been the rich man? I’ll tell you! Every time we read the passage and walk away with everything we had before we came.
Will nothing change? Will my life be a pursuit of wealth and success? Aiming for a beautiful new home, dependable newish cars, romantic dates to popular restaurants and the latest blockbuster, exciting vacations, a comfortable savings account, and a worriless retirement? Oh don’t get me wrong, it would be garnished here and there with subtle undertones of commitment to “carrying my own Cross” and a hint of “compassion” from time to time for the weak, the forgotten, the burdened, the searching, and the sinful like me.
I’m sorry but that is exactly the lifestyles that have gotten the “church” to where it is today. I want to be different. I do want to be changed and I don’t want to accept just pieces of Christ’s life. I don’t want to explain away anymore the radical lifestyles of Jesus and his earliest followers.
I want to be changed.
This verse summarizes both my biggest life ambition and my biggest fear. I John 2:5-6, “But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Would you pray for Ellen and me to be formed into the truer likeness of Christ? Pray that we and others would change.
What if the word’s “church” or “Christian” would trigger thoughts like: haven, love, and faithful instead of hypocrisy, judgment, and boring? What if Christians were almost as loveable as Christ to those who are broken and in need of healing?
My father-in-law warned me that Claiborne’s book would “mess you up” and, well . . . it has. I have been sent a gut check, no, a heart check and I am afraid of the results. The question that reverberates within me that is so frightening is this: Will nothing change?
Will I continue to leave Jesus’ words to the Rich man (Mark 10:17-31) and to Peter (Mark 8:34-37) for interpretation? A matter of opinion and situational, or are they words for my life? Are they words for all of our lives? How many times have you and I been the rich man? I’ll tell you! Every time we read the passage and walk away with everything we had before we came.
Will nothing change? Will my life be a pursuit of wealth and success? Aiming for a beautiful new home, dependable newish cars, romantic dates to popular restaurants and the latest blockbuster, exciting vacations, a comfortable savings account, and a worriless retirement? Oh don’t get me wrong, it would be garnished here and there with subtle undertones of commitment to “carrying my own Cross” and a hint of “compassion” from time to time for the weak, the forgotten, the burdened, the searching, and the sinful like me.
I’m sorry but that is exactly the lifestyles that have gotten the “church” to where it is today. I want to be different. I do want to be changed and I don’t want to accept just pieces of Christ’s life. I don’t want to explain away anymore the radical lifestyles of Jesus and his earliest followers.
I want to be changed.
This verse summarizes both my biggest life ambition and my biggest fear. I John 2:5-6, “But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Would you pray for Ellen and me to be formed into the truer likeness of Christ? Pray that we and others would change.
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