Defocus on the Family

Do Christian’s place too much emphasis on the family?

Reading through 1 Corinthians 7 I get the feeling that American Christians have defined themselves as married couples with children and anyone not there yet is still maturing. It’s a blanket statement with absolutely no scientific support. But it sure feels true. Paul states throughout this passage that it is better to remain unmarried. That married people have their attention divided between serving God and serving their family. Can someone serve God by serving their family–no doubt. But Paul seems pretty adamant here that it is God first and starting and serving a family second. He admits that he is speaking from wisdom and not a command from God and can hear people gasping at the thought of not being “fulfilled” by getting married and raising a family.

But I have to ask the question: Do we place too much emphasis on the family as Christians in America?

Father’s Day Part 2

So it was indeed a grand day. Perhaps one of the bestthe second best of 2009 so far (there was that flyfishing trip to Taneycomo back in May).  Of course, the day started like most Sundays for me. Off early to the church to set up and prep for the morning service. Service went well. Eve helped me on stage raffle off some prizes to the father’s at church that morning. (I’ll post that video later). So after church we had lunch, the place of choice was up to me so I chose a taco stand. You know those trailers/trucks that pull up on some corner lot and park serving tortas and tacos? Never had one and we found one at 31st and Garnett. Father’s Day special: Taco’s $1 each. So I ordered three. Didn’t realize how small they were, but delicious! Definitely going back that route sometime. Then we got home and they had made a banner and hung it on the garage door. Felt like I’d just come home from war or something. Blew me away! Inside on the kitchen table was waiting for me a sunday paper and a gift basket. Inside the basket: 1 20oz Dr. Pepper, 1 copy of The Dark Knight, 1 bag of David’s Jalapeno Salsa Seeds, 1 “Learn French” CD, 1 decopauge rock made by Eve at VBS, and the basket itself was decorated by Eve with all kinds of wonderful sayings and scriptures. Then I got a call from my friend Jeremy and we decided to go play disc golf at Riverside Park (41st street). It was SOOOOOOOOO hot! But we had a great time nonetheless. Then back home in time for dinner ordered from Marco’s Pizza (this pizza is totally off the hook!).

It was a perfect day! I love being a dad to the best little girl in the world! I love being married to her mom!

How was your father’s day?

Father’s Day Weekend Part 1

So it’s Father’s Day weekend and I am a big gift whore. I love receiving gifts. I know. It’s better to give than it is to receive that is unless you are me. (a little Dr. Seuss moment for you) So the other night Missy (my wife) is on the phone talking to a friend going on and on about all the wonderful gifts she had planned for me. So I had to go into the other room and let her know that I could hear every word! Father’s Day fail #1. Then the next day my wife and my daughter and I are all sitting on the couch having some nice wonderful family time, when Eve (my daughter) starts snooping through Missy’s purse. She pulls out an item and holds it up and asks out loud “What’s this?” Father’s Day fail #2.

Now if you know my wife much at all, you know she’ll pull this out yet!

What are you doing for Father’s Day?

My New Mantra

“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NLT)

Not that talk is all bad, but I often replace or usurp God’s power by my own “clever” words.

Shame.

What’s your mantra?

Sermon Graphic

Thought I’d share my latest design with you all. We started a new series this past Sunday titled “The Nature of Things” (you can catch Pastor Mike’s message here). This short 2 week series is actually part of a broader summer emphasis we are calling “Made in the Shade” based on Psalm 121. So I found a very nice tutorial once I had an idea of what I wanted. I creat it in Illustrator and we are using various elements of the overall image as we work through each subseries.

So for “The Nature of Things” we are using the tree and its elements to visually help us.

Love to hear your thoughts and feedback.

PS I am still using Adobe Production Studio CS2 if you would like to help me upgrade to CS4 that would be awesome!

SCREAMING KIDS HEADACHE

This morning is focused on our upcoming Backyard Bible Clubs (July 6, 7, and 8). I am going through the Oriental Trading Company catalog looking for cheap stuff to buy for our crafts and giveaways. I feel like I just tried to sit down and eat PBJs with Barney. 

I need an adult moment now.

What brings a headache faster than lightening for you?

Photo

Ran across this photo in the Iran elections twitter stream. An Iranian protestor works to rescue a beaten policeman.

Caption?

Parallels

I have been fascinated recently by the events of two countries. First, is Niger. The President of Niger has served two terms of 5 years each and according to the constitution is not allowed to run for reelection. Amid all this he has dissolved the parliament and scheduled a referendum on a new constitution for August 4. This past Sunday “a large” group of anti-referendum protesters turned out to demonstrate this move. During the protest one of the protest leaders with a history of illness had to go to the hospital where he later died. The demonstration was reportedly peaceful.

The President of Iran was declared the winner of the weekend election there. Iran has an interesting mix of democracy and theocracy. The main ruling body body is made up of religious clerics who appoint a leading cleric whose decisions trump that of anyone else (including the president). It has been interesting to read the reports of protests throughout the capital city of Tehran. Citizens even taking their angst out openly against secret police.  (Apparently secret police are never as secret as intended.)

Two countries at the crossroads. Two muslim countries. Two leaders who are reportedly holding onto power. Two important players in nuclear politics. (Niger is the 2nd leading exporter of uranium and Iran is notorious for its “nuclear program”.)

It always intrigues me why things happen the way that they do. With Iran I hope the revolution continues and culminates in broader freedoms for the people of Iran (especially religious freedom). With Niger I hope that the President changes his mind and steps down. I especially hope that he does not try to sieze control of the army and use force to keep himself in power. Africa in general does not have a great track record when it comes to democracy, but there is no better time to start than now.

What other parallels do you see? What outcomes do you hope for?

FOOLISHNESS

What does it mean to be a fool?

"I Pity The Fool"

SOLD

iPhone

I posted my iPhone on Craigslist yesterday morning around 11am. I got back to the house to check my email at around 4. I had at least 5 to 7 responses and immediately began responding. By 5pm I had already arranged my first meeting and by 6:30pm I had $300 cash in my hand and said goodbuy to my iPhone. So it has been about 1 week since I deactivated it and I wanted to share my thoughts.

First, let me just be up front. I did not get rid of my iPhone out of social awareness that I could take the $30 a month and spend that on homeless babies or some other very worthy cause. Certainly that is much more of a possibility now, but that is not what motivated me to get rid of it. So why?

1. The burden. I am a fiend for porn if I am not careful. The iPhone made it all too easy to not be careful. Everywhere I went, all day long, that phone seemed to weigh heavier and heavier in my hand as the temptations would grow. So over the last few days I have felt a freedom that I have not felt in quite a while. I cannot put a price on that freedom.

2. The time. When I bought the iPhone I was so excited about the email function. I would be able to stay on top and respond to emails virtually at anytime and at any location. As a part-time college instructor often teaching two classes at once this was a major benefit for me. I could quickly respond to student crisis as they arose rather than being overwhelmed when I logged on throughout the day. Not only this but as I began to download and use other apps this “time-saving” argument seemed to justify itself more and more. I could keep up with my Google Reader. I could post more with WordPress. I could keep in a constant state of tweetasy with Twitter. The reality. Those things all fell to the wayside. Why? There was so much other stuff to do with the phone. In the time since I have stopped using the phone. I have kept up with my Google reader. Posted more on WordPress. The tweets remain about the same. But the best part. Now at home when I’m home and away from the computer, I am unplugged. I can’t just whip out my phone and hop on the internet spending time looking at all the latest apps, or even just surfing the web.

3. The money. Ok I made the above disclaimer about the financial aspect of getting rid of the iPhone, but it is still a part of the decision. Our monthly cell phone bill jumped from about $90 a month when we were with US Cellular to over $140 a month with AT&T. At least $30 a month is dedicated to the iPhone.

I want you to also know that this has been very hard for me to give up. I now use this antiquated Nokia flip phone with about the crappiest camera I’ve ever seen. It is humbling. My daughter’s friends now have nicer phones than I. Unmistakeably, this humility is a large part of the process for me. To realize that I am not the summation of all my techy toys. That in fact life does exist in a structured and manageable form without a phone that can literally do everything for me at anytime in any place. Sure I miss my iPhone and I hope that some day I will be able to get another (when I can trust myself and it makes more financial sense). But until then I’ll enjoy the time I have with my little Nokia.

So technology aside, what are other things that we have come to rely on thinking that life can’t be survived without it?