IT'S ABOUT TO GO DOWN

Howdy to all 4 of you who read my blog. I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your time and attention as I babble about whatever it is I'm babbling about at the moment. You reading my blog is very special to me. I hope it's been entertaining, thought-provoking, or at least interesting. It's been a lot of fun for me. That's why I'm excited to announce a change of venue. Over the next few days I'll be moving my blog to WordPress. I'll post the details as soon as it's ready. I hope you'll join me there and discuss the fun things I have in mind.

Have a blessed week by blessing someone!

Peace, Love, and Good Blogs

JESUS AND...

This past Sunday at church we were challenged to confront ourselves concerning the idols we worship. I think that's one of my favorite subjects in church services; not because I like to judge people for their idolatry (God knows my idolatry all too well!), but because it reminds me what holds - and should hold - the utmost importance in my life.

Right around Christmas I saw this video on Twitter. It may be offensive to some (perhaps to many) but it encompasses the message that we serve idols ... often more than we serve God.

**DISCLAIMER** The following video has some language that may not be suitable for young ears. If such language is offensive to you or your young readers/listeners, please refrain from watching the clip.



The idol of stuff is a great big idol in the U.S. When we really get real about what we worship (especially those of us who claim Christ) it quickly becomes a severe case of "Jesus and..."

We're commanded to love God with everything we have - our heart, soul, mind, and strength - and to love people in the same way we love ourselves. (Luke 10:27) Also we are told that through God's riches we would have our every need supplied; we were never promised to have our greed supplied. (Phil. 4:19)

So what's the deal? Why are we so wrapped up in this idol we call "Stuff"? It's not going to love us unconditionally. It won't always be there for us. It won't last forever. (Matt. 6:19-21)

Jesus will. (Matt. 28:20b)

Will you choose to worship Jesus and Stuff, or just Jesus?

Peace, Love, and Jesus

SPORTS vs. GOD

"Why is it that we can jump up, throw our hands in the air, clap, yell, cheer and celebrate at a football game, but if we demonstrate the same behavior at church we are judged almost to the point of condemnation?"

If you've been in a church setting for even a little while I'm sure you've heard this question asked. Well, I don't know if I have the "right" answer, of there even is a "right" answer, but I do have an answer.

Think about this: We do not and cannot know everything we want to know about God.
However, we can, and often do know everything we want to know about our favorite players. We can learn about his strengths and weaknesses, we can find out what motivates him to be the best, we can even know how long he will be signed with a team and the amount of money he'll make during that time (thus proving the point that most guys love stats ... more about that later). All of these things are fun to know, but don't really make all that much of a difference in our lives. The fact that the Cowboys signed the best receiver in the draft doesn't mean automatic success for the team. 

That is not necessarily the case with God. The fact that He sent the Savior to the world means automatic eternal life for all those on His team. We know a lot of stats from the Bible and from the stories of people who have experienced God, but we don't know the half of it. We know that love motivates God to give us grace. We know God will be signed with His team forever and that He doesn't need money because it's all His anyway. We also know that He has already defeated sin, death, the grave, and the world. There it is; God has already won, but we never know what team will win the next game. As the old NFL saying goes, "Anything could happen on any given Sunday."

Don't get me wrong. I love sports. I love rooting for the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, and Tennessee Titans in football, as well as the Spurs, Lakers, and Thunder in basketball, and the Rangers, Braves and Cardinals in baseball. I love rooting against the OU Sooners in any sport (sorry, Sooner fans. I still love ya!). 

The fact that I love sports, though, could be disastrous for me if I'm not careful. I could let my love of sports overwhelm my love for my wife, my family, or my God. I could end up worshipping sports instead of God. That causes me to think very carefully and make sure I keep my priorities in check.

Do you get what I'm saying? Do you understand the significance of this dilemma? What should we do about it?

What do you think about the sports vs. God debate?

Peace, Love, and the Dallas Cowboys

I HAVE A DREAM

The speech that changed America. Watch. Believe. Act.



Peace, Love, and Freedom

BUT...

Steph and I were talking about stuff the other day and before we knew it we were fussing about whatever it was we were talking about. I don't remember exactly what our subject was. What I do remember is how the fussing started. I said something to the effect of, "I agree with you, but..." That one little word had a huge impact on the direction of that conversation. Had I not used those three letters I would have saved a lot of time and energy trying to explain myself.

See, the word "but" has the power to throw a conversation into reverse in under a second. When we say "but" we negate everything we said prior to that word. For example, "That show was great, but I wish there hadn't been so much singing." Even if the singing in the show were the best ever, the person who made the comment wasn't a fan of singing (shame on that person!).

In the case of my conversation with Steph, I ruined the good vibe by using that word. Even though I was giving my opinion - and my opinion is highly valued by my wife - the fact that I had already agreed with her was completely overshadowed (and nearly nullified) by "but." I'm learning that if I can keep the "but" out of the conversation it will end much better for me. Of course, "but" is appropriate in some situations. We have to be careful how we use "but," though, so it doesn't cause us problems. In other words, keep your "but" out of the way and you'll be just fine.

How has your "but" gotten you in trouble? How did you correct it?

Peace, Love, and Good Speech

TWO DOWN, A LIFETIME TO GO

After two years of marriage Stephanie and I are still falling in love with each other every day. 2010 had its fill of difficult situations but we made it through each one with God's help. We are learning more about each other all the time. We're still getting to know each other which makes things tough at times, but once we have worked through an issue we get that much closer to each other.

Is it difficult? Not all the time.
Is it easy? Not all the time.
Is it like any other relationship we have (parents, siblings, friends, etc.)? Not all the time.

Steph is my best friend and I'm hers. Best friends are unique because they care about each other and get on each other's nerves all at once sometimes. It goes far beyond tolerating each other. It means that we know each other well enough to be certain that we are madly in love with each other regardless of what we're fussing about at the moment. The trick is to remind each other of that truth. Sometimes it's a lot easier than other times. But that's life, right?

I'm praying that this year reveals a lot more of that true love, respect, and trust that is making us better for each other all the time. When we're better for each other, it's a lot easier to be better to each other. When we're better to each other, it's a whole lot easier for us to get through the tough times. That makes it perfectly simple for us to live out the words of this song:



Happy anniversary, Baby! I love you now!!!

Peace, Love, and Great Marriage