I just read this in Mark Batterson's "Wild Goose Chase":
"I'm afraid that our therapeutic approach to faith sometimes causes us to minimize our sinfulness in a human attempt to feel better about ourselves. But all that does is short-circuit our understanding and appreciation of God's grace. We can't appreciate the full extent of God's grace until we realize the full extent of our sin. Then, and only then, can we chase the Wild Goose (the Holy Spirit) and His will for us with passion."
Reflecting on this I was reminded of a conversation I had with a friend once, confessing my struggle to faithfulness and holiness. I had been dealing with some sin my life and wasn't seeing God bring about healing and restoration in my life. I was then doubting whether I should even claim the promises of God and just return to Him the distance coldness I assumed of Him. Would just indulging my sinfulness be easier than pursuing God's righteousness? Wouldn't that at least offer me that which God was holding from me? My friend wisely recognized that these were just my emotions and moments of despair and didn't panic to "fix" me or correct my theology. Instead he encouraged me to pursue the evil in me. To honestly see how unrighteous I could be. I scoffed at him thinking he was mocking my personal pains. But he looked me in the eye and challenged me to indulge all my pride, lust, greed and wickedness. I tried to sleep that night considering the permission granted me to engage in all that I spent a lifetime wrestling to avoid. Batterson quotes C.S. Lewis in his book:
"When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less."
My God's grace when considered in light of my potential for evil is more and more unfathomable. There is no sin so great that God wouldn't dare remove the burden of it's weight from you and flick it off to the most distant galaxy. If God's grace seems small today, maybe your sin is small. To which I grant you permission to pursue your sin. As I just considered my potential for evil I rediscovered a God who's is holy and wild and greater and worth more than any other pursuit. I trust you will too.
p.s. i was originally typing this on my phone and when i tried to save it for further editing it published...sorry to those you read the incomplete version first...
I'm sure the Yankees and several other MLB teams are not only scouting this kid, but are secretly offering his family some signing bonus cash. Also with a name like Jericho Scott, well it just sounds like a major league name.
I am really anticipating this album. You can currently purchase 2 for $15 HERE. Buy one and share one. Curious why it's called Volume II when there hasn't been a Volume I, well read this hysterical interview of Andrew Peterson (the musician), conducted by Andrew Peterson (the interviewer), interrupted by Andrew Peterson (the author) and a brief appearance by Andrew Peterson (the clown-like children's song writer).
So recently I purchased the three seasons of Veronica Mars and quickly went through them. Then I went about sharing it's crack cocaine addictiveness with my community of friends. Currently the dvds are making their rounds. Here is a small clip from season 3 (don't worry no spoilers here)
I show this to you, because at the end of the clip Veronica uses the phrase "Boom goes the dynomite". Maybe you've never heard this phrase before, in which case watch this dreadfully pain-filled youtube classic.
I love so many things about this clip, but just a couple to point out would be these: First: "boom goes the dynomite"...awesome! Second: he refers to Reggie Miller as "the man". And third: The non-reaction by the other news anchors, and his reaction to them. I was listening to Dan Patrick's radio show yesterday morning on my way to work, when he interviewed this guy, who current does investigating reporting in Waco, TX. So glad I'm not him, but I do love his catch phrase.
Yesterday The Gang, my community group, gave me an awesome gift for my birthday. This is a great gift as I stop in there about once a week. Sometimes I roam the thousands of CD’s searching for that rarity album that I must have.
Side Note: Once I found Can You Hear Us Now by David Crowder Band at this CD Exchange. This was back in 2000, I think. I didn’t even know it was out yet. So I quickly purchased the album and began playing all the time. About a month later I’m at a youth leaders convention that DCB was leading worship at, and I caught the boys during a break and asked them to sign my album. The guys began to freak out. What I failed to realize was that the album wasn’t even due for release for at least another month. They asked me where I got it and I told them, “at a CD Exchange in San Antonio”. A couple of the guys shoulders just sank. They had passed the CD out to local Christian bookstores in hopes of getting them to prominently displaying them upon their release. We concluded that some moron at the Family Christian bookstore took the CD and just sold it. David and the boys signed the album, “first copy ever!”. Please don’t ask me what happened to that album…it makes me cry.
Anyways. This is a large gift from such a cool group, so I thought I should make a public declaration to use this for good and not for evil. I will also try to use it for the better-ment of the group. I’ll most likely get some TV series with it which we can pass amongst each other, and a CD or two depending on what’s left over.
Here are the albums I promise not to purchase: Click HERE. And here are the TV shows I promise not to purchase: Click HERE.
If you have suggests on what to purchase and what to avoid, PLEASE leave your comments.
This is my birthday cake. My mom made the cake and dropped it off at Rachel's house, knowing that I would be attending my community group. Then my princesses decorated it...I'm amazed that there was "tink" cake decorations available somewhere. I've had that little nugget in my mind for a few years. When I wink at someone it always felt as if a small sound was needed. It had to be something delicate, yet not un-manly, reflecting the wink. I came up with "tink"... I've thought it for a long time, but only recently shared it...suddenly it's a hit. Weird birthday treat.
This is great. I love the way EA Sports is interacting with fan video and playing along with the obvious flaws of their previous game. Great discussion tool as well.
Three songs have dominated the disco in my head today and I thought I'd share them with you. I italicized the lyrics for you that were really hitting me difficultly. I have to apologize, because when I have mind dumps...the crap tends to hit the floor. Watch your step.
First: The Silence of God by Andrew Peterson
There are some YouTube video out there, but they were attached to some slide show so I didn't want to post on here, but if you want to hear the song, you can find it here.
It's enough to drive a man crazy; it'll break a man's faith
It's enough to make him wonder if he's ever been sane
When he's bleating for comfort from Thy staff and Thy rod
And the heaven's only answer is the silence of God
It'll shake a man's timbers when he loses his heart
When he has to remember what broke him apart
This yoke may be easy, but this burden is not
When the crying fields are frozen by the silence of God
And if a man has got to listen to the voices of the mob
Who are reeling in the throes of all the happiness they've got
When they tell you all their troubles have been nailed up to that cross
Then what about the times when even followers get lost?
'Cause we all get lost sometimes...
There's a statue of Jesus on a monastery knoll
In the hills of Kentucky, all quiet and cold
And He's kneeling in the garden, as silent as a Stone
All His friends are sleeping and He's weeping all alone
And the man of all sorrows, he never forgot
What sorrow is carried by the hearts that he bought
So when the questions dissolve into the silence of God
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
The aching may remain, but the breaking does not
In the holy, lonesome echo of the silence of God
I've been making some big decisions lately. And then reneging on those decisions and starting all over. I think I missed my quarter-life crisis and opted for a third-life one instead.
Numerous people have encouraged me to listen to God, but I can't decide if He's not speaking to me or that there is just too much raging around me. And when you're counsel can not come to a consensus you can often feel like a dizzy child who's spun around a bat.
I love that this song reminds me that "the aching may remain, but the breaking does not". If you know this album of AP's then you might know that the following song decides that after the last tear falls it is God's love that remains.
Second: Welcome Home by Shaun Groves
Take, me, make me All You want me to be That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Welcome to this heart of mine I've buried under prideful vines Grown to hide the mess I've made Inside of me Come decorate, Lord Open up the creaking door And walk upon the dusty floor Scrape away the guilty stains Until no sin or shame remain Spread Your love upon the walls And occupy the empty halls Until the man I am has faded No more doors are barricaded
Chorus: Come inside this heart of mine It's not my own Make it home Come and take this heart and make it All Your own Welcome home
Take a seat, pull up a chair Forgive me for the disrepair And the souvenirs from floor to ceiling Gathered on my search for meaning Every closet's filled with clutter Messes yet to be discovered I'm overwhelmed, I understand I can't make this place all that You can
repeat chorus
I took the space that You placed in me Redecorated in shades of greed And I made sure every door stayed locked Every window blocked, and still You knocked
repeat chorus
Take me, make me All You want me to be
That's all I'm asking, all I'm asking
Have I cluttered my life with so much of my own wants, and must haves, and sentimental burdens, and all the crap that prevents me from loving like Jesus loved? Does this stuff rule my space and time? I haven't removed Jesus, I've just pushed him into a corner.
I've been wrestling with the need to find change in my life. Maybe it's part of turning 30 this month, and maybe not. Maybe it's just that life didn't turn out like I had it mapped.
Or maybe it's just that I need to have a little "come to Jesus" conversation...well...with Jesus.
There was a time in my life when I had confidence in the Spirit and took bold risks. And lately I feel like a spiritual dwarf.
Which makes me consider that maybe I'm not the one who's too small, but rather maybe I've secured for myself a God who's too safe and small.
and Third: Fall For You by Secondhand Serenade
The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting
Could it be that we have been this way before
I know you don't think that I am trying
I know you're wearing thin down to the core
But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find
This is not what I intended
I always swore to you I'd never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed
But I have loved you from the start
Ohhhh
But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
It's impossible
So breathe in so deep
Breathe me in I'm yours to keep
And hold onto your words
'Cause talk is cheap
And remember me tonight
When you're asleep
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
Tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
You're impossible to find
Yeah, a little sentimental, background music for a WB show...or EW....or whatever they're calling themselves. But I like it. I bought the cd based on the band name and the album cover only to say, "oh I know this song."
Crap. I hate reacting to cheap scare tactics in movies and on tv. That would also include stupide videos that get e-mailed to you which include screaming witches at the end of a slide show. But I cannot deny the fact that this video got me. Thanks...
Divers shower in between each dive to keep their muscles warm after getting out of the pool. The temperature of the pool water and the air are usually different (the pool is usually around 80 degrees, with the air temperature between 68 and 72 degrees). This difference can cause muscle tightness. To combat this, divers warm up in either the showers or a hot tub.
On a recent road trip a couple of ladies decided to create a list of things I could do to improve myself. How generous of them huh? And while I often, almost to a neurotic nature, worry that there are elements of me to be improved I welcomed their list. What I was unaware of was that this was in actuality a list by the girls to improve me for their own benefit. In fact these ladies just now refer to this list as My Princess List (meaning how I can serve and support the princesses in my life).
I’ll let you decide on what you agree with and what suggestions of theirs am I doing well with and should just ignore.
And please feel free to add any additional suggestions…
THINGS TO IMPROVE ABOUT MYSELF
aka My Princess List
[Thoughts in the parenthesis are my thoughts]
-Try not to make Jamie or any woman feel insecure about her feet. (Even though she often wears flip flops and sometimes walks around with bare feet resulting in dirty, dirty feet)
-Be more mindful of the needs of princesses (Remember, princesses will blame you for anything, including when others lock their keys in their cars)
-Be more interesting (“What…what….what…what..be more constructive with your criticisms”)
-Pay lots of compliments
-Audibly demonstrate compliments given (A smile or head nod is not enough, the words “Thank You” must be spoken, even when the compliment is given back-handedly)
-Find more male friends (as an outlet)
-Bear the princess’ load when needed (via piggy back rides, carrying their ridiculously large purses, etc.)
-Don’t be around Taylor, she’s engaged which is practically married (I don’t remember the context of this suggestion, other than Taylor having just gotten engaged)
-Believe everything Rachel and Jaime say (Now that just seems excessive, right? But they said it so it must be true)
-Learn to…(this suggestion was rather crude so I’ll PG it up by saying)…appreciate toes. (you see I tend to think feet are usually dirty and gross, but they did offer their own toes for me to practice on)
I honestly think Little League Baseball may be the greatest sport ever.
I'm amazed that there was "tink" cake decorations available somewhere. I've had that little nugget in my mind for a few years. When I wink at someone it always felt as if a small sound was needed. It had to be something delicate, yet not un-manly, reflecting the wink.
