Funny Job Contradictions

A hairstylist with a bad hairdo.

A dentist with bad teeth.

A fat doctor who smokes.

A lawncare company without their lawn cut.

A paving company with potholes in their dirt parking lot.

A web designer without a website - or more sadly, a crappy website.

A minister who doesn't believe in God.

Daddy?

Something that I have been learning a lot of lately is how much of an influence a father has in the life of a child. It has been proven that a father is the crucial influence when it comes to building the self-esteem and character of their child... whether that is in a negative or positive way. If the father is distant and uninvolved in the lives of his children, this is the idea that the child grows up with of what a father is supposed to be like. If the child never hears, "I'm proud of you" or "I love you" from their fathers, they grow up trying to always please their fathers and always missing the mark, or so they think, because they never hear and know that their fathers are proud and love them. This is something that stikes the self-esteem and character development of the child because that is all they see and grow up with, which affects the rest of their lives. Or if the father leaves the mother and the family due to different circumstances, which the child unavoidably sees or finds out, this is the image of "daddy" that they grow up knowing to be true.

People who grew up in family situations like these; with fathers who are less than perfect (and who's father is?) can easily confuse and see a fuzzy picture of who God really is as our Heavenly Father. If they have experienced abuse or hurt by their fathers, when they hear the word "Heavenly Father" the only thing that possibly pops up into their minds are the images of the hurt, abuse, them leaving, them just being distant... etc... and it is difficult to see any other image when thinking of any father... even the Heavenly Father. And this is how we end up relating to God - especially when the knowledge of Him is limited.

Anyway, I just say that to say this: As a father, this new found (yet not really that new) knowledge really makes me think about how I interact with my son... and someday, other kids.
I want to have a growing and healthy relationship with them. One that will give them an accurate (as accurate as a human being can give an image of God) image of God and Who He really is and how much He really cares for them. Not an image that will distort their perception of what it means to have a Heavenly Father.... an image that will give them a heartwarming (because of the Holy Spirit) feeling of our Father in heaven.... a healthy and productive image. One that will leave them with nothing more than a vibrant, healthy and growing relationship with Him.... not some staunch, man made religion that turns so many people away from Him.

What do you think? Do you think this is possible?

New things a-stirrin'

So, we're finally trying to take the plunge. My wife and I are looking into buying a house in the near future and we are in the pre-approval stages of getting a mortgage. Seems like everything will be a go and we're pretty excited. We have looked at a couple (and found 1 we really love) and are going to look at about 5 more tomorrow... EXCITING.... We shall see what God has in store. Just thought I'd share.

Concerning the worship in our church services

The church has debated, for as long as I can remember, about what is worship, what is good worship, and what is enough or too much. Unfortunately, my mind as well has been caught up in trying to sort through this meaningless discussion - meaningless because the focus on worship is misdirected. For I believe that we face a much worse scenario: that our worship is more for us than for God. In other words, we like to sing, don't we!? Sure we do. And we like music, don't we!? Of course we do. So how much of our singing is really for "us", because we like it, instead of truly being for the Lord? We feel comfortable excusing our desire to sing to music because it is easily justified as worship, pleasing to the Lord's ears. But is not our heart, mind, and spirit more pleasing to him? when we are truly thinking about him with a pure heart? And yet I find, so many times, that we are so distracted by our thoughts or others around us when we sing. In short, we all like to sing; we all like music; therefore, we all like to sing to music. Then is our worship more for us than God? I believe it is.

Let me put it another way. Someone in my church service recently mentioned how important worship is, especially in our worship service, maybe even the most important. It got me to thinking, is it really that important? Is worship music and singing really that important? - important to who, anyways? - or do we make it that important? Sure, I believe we should be singing hymns to the Lord, but like this? It just seems so stiff, so mechanical, so rigid, so methodical, so ritualistic, so technical, so forced! We do it at the exact same time the exact same day. Is it really that meaningful - especially assuming that it is so important to God, important that we worship him in this way? Should it not come from within, when we feel so moved or inspired? I think so. Too much structure. Too stale and static. Sure we like it, and sure we'll keep going on doing it, but for what? I doubt God is much moved by it.

City Life

City livin'...stopping when the light is green, moving when the light is red

City livin'...feeling like a grocery store across the street is too far away to walk to

City livin'...having three more cars make it through a red light

City livin'...knowing exactly when the light changes green in front of your house (5:35, 5:37, 5:39, etc...)

City livin'...saving 5 minutes in your potentially 20 minute commute to work if you catch the string of green lights

City livin'...having enough restaurants to eat at a different place every week of the year and still have plenty yet to discover

City livin'...always wanting to do more than time allows for...oh wait, that's most of us!

In Response

My heart, mind, and spirit respond to this year's email promotion of our children's camp theme.
Oh my gosh, how much can we do this theme?! Fruit of the Spirit, again?! Sheesh, how original, how inspired. I'm sorry, but I really don't think this is what God wants the kids to go away with. More of the same, more rules, more laws, more obligations that they don't feel the need to follow, more burdens, more pressure...pressure to perform in a spiritual existence that does not exist for them yet, pressure to be the person they are not, and cannot be on their own, pressure to live up to a set of standards that were never meant to be lived up to on their own. It's the fruit of the SPIRIT, damn it! Cant' you get it through your thick skulls? The SSSPPPIIIRRRIIITTT!!!!!!! It's the fruit of the Spirit, the SPIRIT. It's not called the fruit of man, and yet that's what we're teaching them when we tell them about the fruit of the Spirit. We only emphasize the fruit. We forget about the Spirit. We forget about telling them about how it is the Spirit who manifests this fruit in our lives, not ourselves. It's the fruit of the SPIRIT. You don't teach the fruit of the Spirit to children, acting as if they now need to live up to them, to do them, to follow them. Teach the Spirit, not the fruit!

Do we somehow feel let off the hook if we teach what and what not to do. Do we somehow feel released from our true obligation when we teach them a set of rules, standards, guidelines to live by. Do we somehow feel like that's what the Christian life is all about??? What the frig are we teaching these kids about Christ, about the Church, about God??? We're teaching them that it's all about following the rules, obeying the law, keeping the list of do's and don't's. We are not called to 'live the Christian life'; we are called to Christ living through us! Man, how can you, how dare you, burden these kids again...again and again and again. How can you put so much pressure on them? Because you're NOT going to be teaching them the Spirit - I know that; you're going to be teaching them how to live the fruit - alone! by themselves! on their own strength! I know it! How foolish, how lazy, how meaningless, how disgusting. Aargh, find the SPIRIT!!! Stop teaching the fruit!!! Teach the SPIRIT!!!

He Alone

"He alone stretches out the Heavens and treads on the waves of the sea."

~Job 9:8

"He alone is my Rock and my Salvation..."

~Psalm 62:6

Empty Deception

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”

~Colossians 2:8