Michigan, my home state, I love you.
But...
If I were in charge, you'd get no delegates seated, instead of the half you got. You broke the rules.
Deal with it.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
New Year's Day
I don’t like New Year’s resolutions, mostly because I make them, break them, and then never do anything with them. The last time I made New Year’s resolutions, here’s what I resolved to do:
1. Learn to play the guitar. Now this one I really, really tried to do. I paid $200 for 3 months worth of lessons. I actually started to get ok at it, but then I realized I didn’t want to play the guitar, I wanted to be a rock star. I can’t sing (and I didn’t have the money to pay for another 3 months of lessons), so there went that resolution.
2. Lose 25 lbs. The doctor told me that if I did that, I could probably quit using my C-PAP machine and sleep without the mask. Have you seen me lately? I’ve ballooned up quite nicely.
3. I have no clue what the third one was. I know I made three, I know I broke all three, so who cares about the details.
I think the reason that I don’t like the resolutions is that I don’t pick them back up again. I think trying to be healthier will be better for me in the long run, and learning to play the guitar, well, I’ve just always wanted to do that. It sucked when I realized that God hadn’t wired me to play music, but he did give me a love for it. But I think the reason people make those resolutions is because they want to change. They want to be better people in one way or another. I can admire that.
But, what if, we resolved that every day was New Years Day? We’d have the chance to start all over every time we woke up in the morning. If you screwed up on Monday, Tuesday was an opportunity to make it right. Most people I know don’t live like that. They screw up Monday and they walk around the rest of the week worried about what happened. They don’t realize that every day is chance to start all over. One more chance to get back on the track that will lead us to who God created us to be.
Thank you Jesus for second chances.
I believe it's possible
I believe in new beginnings
'Cause I believe in Christmas Day
And Easter morning too
And I'm convinced it's doable
'Cause I believe in second chances
Just the way that I believe in You
- ‘New Year’s Day’, Carolyn Arends.
1. Learn to play the guitar. Now this one I really, really tried to do. I paid $200 for 3 months worth of lessons. I actually started to get ok at it, but then I realized I didn’t want to play the guitar, I wanted to be a rock star. I can’t sing (and I didn’t have the money to pay for another 3 months of lessons), so there went that resolution.
2. Lose 25 lbs. The doctor told me that if I did that, I could probably quit using my C-PAP machine and sleep without the mask. Have you seen me lately? I’ve ballooned up quite nicely.
3. I have no clue what the third one was. I know I made three, I know I broke all three, so who cares about the details.
I think the reason that I don’t like the resolutions is that I don’t pick them back up again. I think trying to be healthier will be better for me in the long run, and learning to play the guitar, well, I’ve just always wanted to do that. It sucked when I realized that God hadn’t wired me to play music, but he did give me a love for it. But I think the reason people make those resolutions is because they want to change. They want to be better people in one way or another. I can admire that.
But, what if, we resolved that every day was New Years Day? We’d have the chance to start all over every time we woke up in the morning. If you screwed up on Monday, Tuesday was an opportunity to make it right. Most people I know don’t live like that. They screw up Monday and they walk around the rest of the week worried about what happened. They don’t realize that every day is chance to start all over. One more chance to get back on the track that will lead us to who God created us to be.
Thank you Jesus for second chances.
I believe it's possible
I believe in new beginnings
'Cause I believe in Christmas Day
And Easter morning too
And I'm convinced it's doable
'Cause I believe in second chances
Just the way that I believe in You
- ‘New Year’s Day’, Carolyn Arends.
How's This for Random?
Ok, I have my iPod on shuffle.
Whatever song comes on next, I will blog about something in my life that has to do with the song that comes on.
And the winner is....
Whatever song comes on next, I will blog about something in my life that has to do with the song that comes on.
And the winner is....
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Friday was the first of our 'Fasting Fridays' at our church. We're spending Fridays specifically praying for our campuses and encouraging people to fast on that day. I decided to fast after dinner on Thursday night until dinner on Friday night.
It's been interesting so far. This is the first time I have ever intentionally given up something in order to focus on God. And so far, it's been pretty easy. That is, until I got hungry.
Thursday night for dinner we had Fazzoli's for the first time, and it was pretty good for drive through Italian food. Samuel and Avery both loved it. I had the Rigatone with Sausage..yummy. And the breadsticks were pretty good, too. So after we got Samuel and Avery down for bed, I went to the pantry as I usually do for a snack before I headed downstairs to watch whatever sport was on and I remembered I was skipping that. Ok, no big deal. There were only minor tummy grumblings, so I ignored them.
Friday morning I got up and got Samuel and Avery breakfast before I headed to the hospital to pray with someone before they went into surgery. I have been getting into the habit of eating breakfast with my kids, so it was a little odd for me to skip breakfast. The kids didn't notice I didn't eat with them, so that made it a little easier to do.
The ride to the hospital was a little different. I had a lot on my mind that morning as I pulled out of the driveway, so I decided to keep the radio off and pray as I drove. I was expecting bells and whistles from God because I hadn't eaten in a couple hours, but nothing. I kept praying anyway. I talked to God about our campuses, my family, my own walk with Jesus. I never heard anything directly from God, but I honestly felt like I was heard, like God was listening. As I got to the hospital, I made my way to where Doug and his family were waiting. We all talked and then they started talking about food and the great places to eat in our area. Great. At this point I'm starting to get a little hungry. And they kept talking and talking about food. And I'm starting to hear my stomach growl. Nice. I bought an orange juice, but that didn't help.
So I get home and it's time for the kids to have lunch. This one is a lot harder, because I have had lunch with my kids almost everyday since we've been here. I had to fight the urge to pick a chip out of the bag or off their plate when they were done. So after that I went downstairs to pray from 12:15 to 12:35 along with the rest of the church...praying is really hard when your stomach won't shut up. It was really, really hard to focus, but I got through it.
Dinner was..shameful. We went to Texas Roadhouse, one of our favorite places to eat (the best one is in Kentucky) and I ate like a pig. Cactus blossom for two? Check! Ribs and steak? Check! Huge baked potato with lots of butter and sour cream? Check!
Somehow I don't think I really fasted.
It's been interesting so far. This is the first time I have ever intentionally given up something in order to focus on God. And so far, it's been pretty easy. That is, until I got hungry.
Thursday night for dinner we had Fazzoli's for the first time, and it was pretty good for drive through Italian food. Samuel and Avery both loved it. I had the Rigatone with Sausage..yummy. And the breadsticks were pretty good, too. So after we got Samuel and Avery down for bed, I went to the pantry as I usually do for a snack before I headed downstairs to watch whatever sport was on and I remembered I was skipping that. Ok, no big deal. There were only minor tummy grumblings, so I ignored them.
Friday morning I got up and got Samuel and Avery breakfast before I headed to the hospital to pray with someone before they went into surgery. I have been getting into the habit of eating breakfast with my kids, so it was a little odd for me to skip breakfast. The kids didn't notice I didn't eat with them, so that made it a little easier to do.
The ride to the hospital was a little different. I had a lot on my mind that morning as I pulled out of the driveway, so I decided to keep the radio off and pray as I drove. I was expecting bells and whistles from God because I hadn't eaten in a couple hours, but nothing. I kept praying anyway. I talked to God about our campuses, my family, my own walk with Jesus. I never heard anything directly from God, but I honestly felt like I was heard, like God was listening. As I got to the hospital, I made my way to where Doug and his family were waiting. We all talked and then they started talking about food and the great places to eat in our area. Great. At this point I'm starting to get a little hungry. And they kept talking and talking about food. And I'm starting to hear my stomach growl. Nice. I bought an orange juice, but that didn't help.
So I get home and it's time for the kids to have lunch. This one is a lot harder, because I have had lunch with my kids almost everyday since we've been here. I had to fight the urge to pick a chip out of the bag or off their plate when they were done. So after that I went downstairs to pray from 12:15 to 12:35 along with the rest of the church...praying is really hard when your stomach won't shut up. It was really, really hard to focus, but I got through it.
Dinner was..shameful. We went to Texas Roadhouse, one of our favorite places to eat (the best one is in Kentucky) and I ate like a pig. Cactus blossom for two? Check! Ribs and steak? Check! Huge baked potato with lots of butter and sour cream? Check!
Somehow I don't think I really fasted.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Has anybody seen April?
No, not my wife..the month.
Just when I get in a decent blog rythm, I seem to get distracted by something else and lose track of it.
That seems to be the theme of this season of my life - distractions. Everything and everyone seems to be clamoring for my attention. This is really the first time where I am learning to pick and choosing where I put my time and focus. What really sucks is when I think one thing needs to be the focus and it turns out something else needed to be.
I still can't believe that I am a pastor. Pastors listen to church music and southern gospel. I listen to Daughtry and hate southern gospel. With a passion. Real pastors aren't supposed to like Batman, Sci-Fi or anything else that I really like. So how did I get here?
Just when I get in a decent blog rythm, I seem to get distracted by something else and lose track of it.
That seems to be the theme of this season of my life - distractions. Everything and everyone seems to be clamoring for my attention. This is really the first time where I am learning to pick and choosing where I put my time and focus. What really sucks is when I think one thing needs to be the focus and it turns out something else needed to be.
I still can't believe that I am a pastor. Pastors listen to church music and southern gospel. I listen to Daughtry and hate southern gospel. With a passion. Real pastors aren't supposed to like Batman, Sci-Fi or anything else that I really like. So how did I get here?
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