Filed under: General
… I am married to a Woman. So, that is why when I come across a resource like this it strikes my interest.
Filed under: General
After a lot of back and forth, wading through some uncertainty, reading and praying my Wife and I decided before Emery was born that we would go through with the vaccination route. While for some this may not seem like such a big issue, when you consider the debate that revolves around the topic, it becomes a much bigger hurdle to jump.
On the one hand, you have years of Vaccinations (my Wife and I included) with no apparent negative impact. On the other, you have more and more cases everyday claiming that as a result of Vaccinations children are being “sentenced” to a life of Autism.
While there are Staunch Opponents and Passionate Advocates of vaccination, when it comes right down to it, the issue is one of those gray areas that comes down to a personal decision and prayer.
If the case against was cut and dry (1+1=2) this would have been a very easy decision.
If the case for was cut and dry (1+1=2) this would have been a very easy decision.
Unfortunately, neither of these are the case. So, today I am trusting God and Praying for both my Girls…
He is in control and knows what is best. He loves my Daughter far more than my Wife and I ever could. And above all else, HE is always Good, Loving, and Holy.
I realize that this issue is not that big of a deal for you Seasoned Parents out there, but it is something that is pretty weighty to my wife and I.
Emery will be getting her shots in about an hour and my Wife will have to endure the tears. After that, I am sure a few days of fussiness will follow. So, if you think of it… We would appreciate your prayers on our behalf.
Filed under: General
An interesting post as my thoughts drift toward my desired future ministry.
“All too often, our online identity is very different from our offline identity.Our Facebook status projects what we want others to think of us, not who we truly are. Our blog posts are shrouded in airs of intellectualism or edginess. We all face the temptation to project a false image of ourselves because we find the real image inadequate. If we are honest, the real image is nowhere near as attractive as we want it to be. We want to be more beautiful, more successful, more creative, more virtuous, more popular, and more intelligent than we actually are. We all have an image problem. The problem, however, is not that we lack beauty, success, creativity, virtue, popularity, or intelligence. The problem is that we believe the lie that obtaining those images will actually make us complete, happy, and content people.
Believing the lie, we fight rigorously to obtain (or retain) our image of choice. We discipline ourselves to lose weight, climb the vocational ladder, learn new techniques, make moral decisions, and strive to be in the know, all to gain the image we so desperately want. The image we believe will make us truly happy, content, and complete. We will fight with whatever it takes—money, time, sacrifice, overworking, and the occasional white lie. We fight and scrap to obtain our desired perception. Why? Because we believe that being perceived a certain way will make us truly happy. We believe a lie. We express faith in what is false. We depend on the undependable. Once we realize that we are building our identity on things that are untrue and unreliable, we can begin to sink our identity into what actually is true and reliable. This kind of image building moves us towards Jesus.
Christianity is about image. It affirms that we were created in God’s image (Gen 1:26-28), which was wrecked in our fall with Adam (Rom 5:12-21), and so desperately needs renewal in Jesus (2 Cor 3:18). The gospel restores and renews our image. It holds up the image of Jesus as most glorious and desirable (2 Cor 4:6) and aligns us with him. Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) and his face reflects the refulgent beauty and glory of God. The gospel is about correcting our vision and reshaping our image so that we can see and reflect “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor 4:4).”
(Dobson, Jonathan. Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship 14-15)
My last post came from the Labor & Delivery Room while my wife was sleeping (as a result of this amazing thing called an Epidural). In those moments leading up to the birth of Emery Grace I was, needless to say, lacking the ability to think clearly.
Since that day my wife and I have enjoyed the New Normal. We have logged a total of 2 months in our Parenting journey together that have been fraught with new challenges, interesting situations, a lack of real Parenting (really, do you actually parent a 9 week old?). I would like to say that I have undertaken this new responsibility like a duck takes to water (or like Emery to the Bottle) but I am painfully aware (at least at times) how irresponsible I have been or am being.
People ask how the past 2 months have gone. We respond that they have been pretty smooth. Emery is a happy baby who sleeps the vast majority of the night. She grins most of the time that I am home and makes the best noises when I sing my rendition of “A Peanut sat on a Railroad Track.” Amber and I were married for a month short of a year when she was born, but it is hard to imagine what it would have been like to not have her with us right now. Children really are a Blessing for God.
Personal failures now seem much larger now. Those things that I viewed as being bad habits or little hang-ups have become the battles that they should have been my entire life. Those areas of selfishness which appeared to me as entitlements now show to be a true hindrance to my marriage relationship. How do you correct 20+ years apathy? Only by God’s Grace…
Filed under: General
Yes… you read the title correctly. No… you do not need to work on your reading comprehension skills. I am, truthfully with no hint of falsehood, writing this post from the Labor and Delivery room in a Hospital.
My thoughts right now… FRAGMENTED!
Am I processing what is going on right now… PROBABLY NOT!
If my wife weren’t sleeping right now, would I be doing this… ABSOLUTELY NOT!
So, since I shouldn’t be on here long and I really am not thinking all to clearly I am going to give some thoughts in bullet points:
- My wife is amazing! I realize we haven’t been married for more than a year (11 months tomorrow), but I have never been more proud of her (or anyone else for that matter) than I am right now. Both of us are scared, uncertain, anxiously awaiting the arrival, yet she is the one who has endured the discomfort and pain with enough strength after a contraction to smile at me and laugh at my poor attempt to make her laugh. She is wonderfully amazing.
- I am a tad bit frightened! Talking with my Dad yesterday he asked me if I was ready. Really? Can someone be ready? I think I have been more concerned with the outward details over the past 9 months that I have forgotten what all of this means: A new life… A Baby girl… A daughter. Though frightened… excited.
- Tears pretty randomly come to my eyes! Majority of the time they come as a result of me thinking of holding the Baby. Imagining looking at her wrapped in a receiving blanket in my arms is enough to send a strange chill through me.
- God is so good! He blesses beyond measure. He protects in all situations. He has had this all planned out since the beginning of time for our good and His Glory.
Filed under: General
Here I am at work multitasking. Believe it or not, all within the course of ten minutes I have read and article, began the process of eating lunch, taken two Customer Service chats (just started three more), answered multiple emails, and now I am blogging.
Well, the article I read was about that handy (which in this context means ‘annoying’) application on Facebook called Living Social. If you have any knowledge of Facebook you know what I am talking about. It is the reason that you know your “friends” five favorite Japanese Animation Characters, the five favorite things within two inches of their hand,as well as the always useful five favorite aged cheeses.
Well, the article was interviewing the creator of the application. The typical stuff was being covered, nothing too out of the ordinary until the last question:
“List your least favorite things about Facebook.”
To which the the creator of the application responded:
“One, apps aren’t a part of Facebook on the iPhone, even though they’re an integral part of the Facebook experience. Two, I wish Facebook would figure out news. And three, I wish Facebook would just hurry up and buy Twitter so there’d be less noise in the world.”
That last statement (emphasis mine) caught my eye. Sure, the statement might not mean what my redeemed mind automatically runs to, but the truth of what was said remains the same – we live in a noisy world!
Amidst the Twitter posts, the Facebook news feed, the chimes of the iPhone, the comedic Youtube videos it becomes far to easy to neglect the need for stillness and quiet.
(Wired – Hotseat: The Creator of Facebook’s most Annoying App Explains Himself)
I found myself asking a question tonight that may, at first glance, seem harsh and not at all Christ-like. The question is as follows:
What is the worth/benefit of the ‘Senior Saint?’
Or, to state it a little more bluntly:
What do ‘Old People’ have to offer?
As I stated before, this does seem a tab bit harsh and unloving. So, before all of you who never respond to any of my posts decide to respond all at once to my errant attitude, allow me chance to expound on my question.
Though it would seem as such, this question does not come out of a desire to rid the Church of all members 55 and older. I do not wish any ill will and I hold no malicious feelings toward the older crowd. Quite the contrary in fact! The question asked flows from a heart that is burdened and desires to know and understand the past generation of Christian Brothers and Sisters.
Needless to say, the differences between the Generations in Christian Culture can be astounding. Though sometimes the distance between the Generational Gap seems contrived, all too often the Christian stereo-types are true to form.
We all know what these stereo-types are when it comes to the Church. You have those who value History and Tradition and desire to stay the same on one side of the equation and you have those who cannot seem to help but change and re-evaluate on the other side. You have the ‘way things were’ and you have ‘the way things could be.’
Along with these opposed viewpoints comes tension. Tension, without staunch determination for unity, often brings division. Division is soon followed by hindered ministry.
Perhaps it is where I am at in life. I look around the Church and I see within the Twenty-Something crowd (and younger) potential. I see the countless possibilities for ministry and Spiritual victories. I see God’s Truth and Gospel being spread to the endless corners of this globe and a multitude of tribes, nations, and people being redeemed by God’s Lamb. I understand this group. I see the benefit. I can grasp the worth.
My eyes then fall on the elderly. Weak, hobbled, frail. What could have been seems to be years in their past. The potential that once was there – dwindled. Where is that benefit? What do they have left to offer?
At this point, the discussion turns to Biblical passages that deal with the Body of Christ; each part of the Body with its purpose, each part with a special use (Romans 12: 3-8; I Corinthians 12:14-26). I understand that Truth and can see the practical out-workings of that Truth in my generation, but does this mean that the Elderly are regulated to their respective prayer closets? Doubtful!
Yet, somewhere something got lost. That something, in the midst of the Generational Tension, would appear to be the answer. What is missing? Understanding of each other (young and old) and a deep understanding of God’s Truth.
Thus, we have come full circle and the question that was asked at the beginning needs to be answered:
What do ‘Old People’ have to offer?
