Life Verse

For sometime I have been stewing on this idea. Some people have a verse in the scriptures that when they want to summarize who they are or who they want to be that speaks strait to the core of them. Now for sometime I have rejected the idea of this on the principle that all the scriptures should speak strait to the core of our being. But the more I think about this I don't have any doubts that one particular verse or section of verses can speak to me more than others. Reason being that we are all in the image of God but we are all gifted differently. So with that said i believe I have the verse that speaks closest to who I am and who I wish to become.

1 Thes 4:10b - 4:12 : "But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more, and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands, just as we commanded you, so that you will behave properly toward outsiders and not be in any need."

I love this verse! I think it speaks volumes to who I am and who I want to be. God did not gift me/ call to be a vocational minister. He did not call me in to vocational missions. He did not call me to go to Seminary. He called me to be married to the most amazing woman in the world, raise a family(work with my hands), and behave properly towards outsiders(people whom don't proclaim Christianity). God put these items(my wife, my kids, and my mission field) in my care and I will do everything I can, relying on his power and wisdom to guide me, to "excel still more".

Politics and Religion Pt.1

Well being that this is another election year(seems like every year is one but that is another post) I figured it was time to put a few things out there just because this is my blog and I can.

Something that has weighed heavy on my heart for a few years now is how the evangelical Christian community deals with the election years and politicians. Now most would NEVER admit it but the truth of our humanity is never on a greater display than during this time. See our hearts crave the return of our Savior. We long for it in the very depths of our souls and don't even seem to sometimes recognize how it affects us. Look and listen to how people talk about the presidential election. They will say things like "If we elect him again this country will go to hell" or "This man can save this country from the destructive path we are on". Those are just two of the many many statements you will hear.

Now in the light o this how should we as Christians really respond? To answer that we have to understand what these elections do to our hearts. We crave so greatly to have our Savior return, redeem us, and bring us all to his Glory that we put the weight of this charge on to a earthly man whom can not give it to us. Then when he doesn't live up to our heavenly expectations we feel let down and disappointed. Some might disagree with me on this(most probably will) but if you sit back and evaluate it you will see that it does happen.

So how should we respond? By realizing these are earthly sinful people. Once you realize they are all fallen just like us then we can start to evaluate them in a light that is healthy. No president or member of congress has the power or authority to drive this country to hell or bring it to glory. Do we get that fact? Lets say it one more time, "No President or member of congress has the power or authority to drive this country to the gates of Hell or bring it it the throne of Glory." Only God has that power! Are you living your life in the truth of that fact? Im trying hard to make that part o my daily life but sometimes i fail and need to be reminded again of this fact!

Football Time 2010

....yes I know I am one week in to college football but I had this post drafted before that I just never proof read. So here we go.....(Edited from draft)


Ok so I looked over my picks from last year(champions and what not) for NCAA and Pro and discovered I'm not real good a predictions but they are fun so I am going for them again. Since I'm an unabashed SEC homer I will only predict the SEC and the overall NCAA Champion. Unfortunately for all I think Boise State will be in the national championship game because they only have one true game to win. So this year is who is competing to face Boise. What a sad fact! (Edited from draft- I was right on with Boise beating VaTech)

SEC East - Georgia
SEC West - Alabama
SEC Champion - Georgia

NCAA Championship - Georgia vs Boise State

After a crazy off season for my Vols with the departure of the Lane Train Im not sure what to make of Dooley. Good background, been successful everywhere he was, and he seems to have a grip on discipline for a team that has struggled with it. The loss of Brown at RB will hurt but we have a favorable schedule. 8 - 4 with losses to Oregon, Bama, Georgia, Auburn. Improved but more improvement to make

Pros
AFC East - Miami
West - Chargers
South - Colts
North - Bengals
Wild Card - Texans
Wild Card - Ravens
Champion - Ravens

NFC East - Giants
West - 49ers
South - Panthers
North - Packers
Wild Card - Vikings
Wild Card - Saints
Champion - Packers

Super Bowl - Packers(I think it is their year with so much talent)

Proverbs 1

As i mentioned in my previous post I am going to work on a serious of post for my son based around my study of Proverbs. God has given us all the "one-liners" we need to instruct and teach our children in His ways if we are just willing to use them. So I started with Proverbs 1. I don't know how long I will spend in this book. Most people do a Proverb a day. Not sure if that is where this is going yet or not, we will just have to see. As for Proverbs 1.....

I have read through the Proverbs many times and one of my favorite verses of Scripture is Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction." I think if you had to put a big bow on the book of proverbs this verse is it. Now just a few notes I wrote as I read.

- Prov 1:5 "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel"

- To have knowledge is to have understanding of information about something. To have wisdom is the ability to apply knowledge to daily life.

- Major Themes of Proverbs 1

* v. 1-10 A call to knowledge and wisdom

* v. 11-19 Evil seeks possessions and destruction

* v. 20-33 Judgment

- Prov 1:31 "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way and be satisfied with their own devices"

Lesson's to my Son

I decided some weeks ago I had a lot of little tidbits of knowledge and wisdom I wanted to pass down to my son I started formulating a way and manner in which to do so. My dad taught me so much about what it means to be a man that I feel like I need to pass that blessing own to my son(never mind it is a biblical mandate). So when I started thinking about it I could not wrap my mind around a "method" to get this to my boy. Even doing a blog post did come to mind but the manner I was going to go about it was completely different than where I am now.

I had decided I was just going to put out the "one-liners" on the blog with a little bit of information about each one then in a couple of years I would just go to the blog when I had a lesson to teach. Well as so often is the case God had other plans. Yesterday while assembling my new Grill that I got with my Christmas gift card God started to speak to me. As I was thinking about all these little clip of information I wanted to pass down I kept coming back to thoughts of which I considered those of the evil one. Thoughts like "are you living these out?", "How can YOU teach these", and "Why would the boy listen to you?" Because I had cast them out as not my thoughts or God's voice I kept on pondering until this morning....

I rise most days around 5am. It is a time for me to be by myself. I don't have to think if I don't want to, I don't have to read if I don't want to, I can just sit and meditate if that is what I'm feeling, I can watch TV, I can surf the web. It is "me" time. As I walked away from my sleeping wife and warm bed at 5am this morning I was hit figuratively to the floor. God was talking to me yesterday. He was trying to tell me he has already done this series of post for me in the Bible in the book of Proverbs. Why would I re-invent the wheel when the wheel that has been given is PERFECT. So as I walked away I went in to the office grabbed my bible and started with Proverbs 1 this morning. I will in no means learn or pass on everything these snipets of wisdow contain but it is better than trying to make it up on my own.

Missing Home

11 down 5 to go. If you don't know what I am referring to let me clue you in right quick and in a hurry. I decided back in July'ish this year that the next step in my professional career was to get some certifications. I don't remember who told me this statement but it rings VERY true. If you want to be successful, find someone that is successful and ask them what they did to become successful. So I ask someone whom I have a lot of respect for professionally. I will leave the name out as it doesn't matter but he/her was kind enough to give me a little of their story. After listening I spent sometime researching to try to find what was the best option for me. I came to the understanding that the next step was Microsoft Certifications. The MCSE(Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) is the industry standard so I started searching for classes around Louisville and found a 2 week boot camp to get these certifications. Well long story short the boot camp in Louisville was canceled and I was moved to take the class in Atlanta Ga. Remember me saying 2 weeks? ok just wanted to make sure.

So after much talk with Crystal we decided it was in our family's best interest for me to go ahead with the classes especially considering my work(THANK YOU!) was willing to give me the time off to take them. So i arrived in Atlanta on Dec 4th and will not be back in Louisville until the 20th. That is along time to be away from your family and I am really feeling it on day 11. Crystal is feeling it too and it is apparent that this was a lot harder than either of us thought it was going to be. For me it is so hard because of my schedule that i have maintained since I got here and let me shared that quickly:

5am - 7am : wake up, coffee, study, coffee, study
7am - 8am : breakfast and commute to training center
8am - 5pm'ish : lecture/study time/simulation, lunch
5pm - 6pm : commute to hotel, eat
6pm - 7pm : break(sometimes)
7pm - 11/12/1 : study

So as you can see I have literally ate, sleep, breathed, studied, and tested. The class requires 8 test in a two week period so as you can imagine I am overloaded and tired which only helps the situation. Crystal on the other hand is doing EVERYTHING at home and is pregnant with our second child. Talk about the double wammy and is still working 20 hours a week. She is tired and it is wearing on her too.

Finally I really miss my little boy. I get to see him on skype just about everynight we can but still isn't the same. he even looked at the babysitters computer the other day and said "Da-Da". That about crushed my heart cause I miss him and Crystal so much. It is amazing that sometimes it takes being pulled away from something to realize how much you need it/love it.

I have discovered a lot of things about myself I knew but didn't really "know" through this expedience. A#1 - I love my family! It is far to easy in the normal daily life to take it for granted but being away for 11 days(so far) has made me appreciate Crystal SO much more, respect her for how she loves, cares, and cherishes our family, and LOVE her more. I would die for that woman right now and would kill anyone that hurt her in any way. Same for my son. He is such a joy and it is far to easy to lose sight of that on days where all i want to do is rest and not chase him around telling him no and yes. But I will follow him and cherish every moment of it. Finally I have learned I'm not as bad at this learning thing as I thought. So far I have passed every test and with 4 more to go I don't see anything stopping me. so 11 days down 5 more to go. Can Sunday at 1pm'ish get here soon enough?

Authentic

..and I don't mean "authentic" Mexican food you get a taco bell. I mean being authentic as a person, as a man or woman, as a Christian, etc. I had a very interesting conversation with a man at my work today that I highly admire. I will leave his name out as it isn't relevant to this post but the topic is relevant.

He came to my office this morning as ask me what I like so much about my church. As any of my readers have found I reference Sojourn quite a bit. It is hard not to when the place has had such a dramatic impact on my life in the past 2 years. I think I can sum it up with two things.

Number 1 - The first Sunday I went to Sojourn Daniel got up and made a statement to this affect, "We are a church for the over-churched and the under-churched". This statement spoke volumes to me. Sojourn was fresh and new and they didn't just stick to the old models and traditions of church because it was the way it has always been. That isn't to say they don't like tradition but they do want to make sure the tradition isn't just a "tradition" that there is a good relevant reason for it.

Number 2 - Sojourns focus is the gospel. They believe it doesn't just changes non-Christians but it changes Christians too. They believe it an authentic Christian life which includes the reality of hell, the ugliness of sin, our completely fallen selves, and our ever need for a Savior as we couldn't do it ourselves. The people are encouraged to be themselves in community and be AUTHENTIC.

Some people from the older generations want to know how to connect with my generation and the generations younger than me. It is really simply answer(doesn't mean simple in practice) Be authentic! Young people don't believe in the suit and tie Sunday morning where we all come in a sing as robots(that isn't to say that all churches like that aren't relevant as I am using generalizations)and everyone's lives on Sunday morning are all put together nice and tidy. We are pessimist and don't believe that your lives are truly put together but we believe you are simply living a lie(not being authentic). We believe in the Christian faith is something to be rejoiced but it is also messy, ugly, and hard. No single sinners prayer will save someone if they don't truly understand the implications of that prayer. You want to reach a younger generation....Be Authentic!