It's No Big Deal

Found this great little post entitled 5 Little Mistakes That Led to Huge Catastrophes. And with a lot of fun, interesting posts, it got me to thinking...

How many times have you and I said, "It's no big deal," to someone who is bringing some much needed light to a dark "issue" in our life. Whether those issues were/are spiritual, moral, ethical, legal, marital, parental, or relational, when confronted with them we blew it and them off. It's no big deal. I can handle it. I know...I know...I'm working on it. Is what we say to them. And the funny thing is that a lot of times those issues are little in relation the grand scheme of things: half-truth to a spouse, safe lies to "protect" our kids, "sick days" from the office, cocky attitude on the field, wandering eyes at the opposite sex, hanging around the pool gossip to "overhear" the latest scoop, the playful/innocent sexual innuendo, and the list could go on and on.

Many of these little mistakes have lead millions of men, women, teenagers, and kids down a path of soul seduction and compromise that can/will kill our hearts and hurt/destroy relationships. I know it's true in my own life especially when comes to the issues of half truths and exaggeration - otherwise known as lying. It starts off as an easy way to protect myself from personal/relational pain then works it's way into an unhealthy pattern of behavior that becomes a destructive way of life.

At least that is me. Oddly enough that is a couple of godly guys, Abraham and David, in the Bible. We are all susceptible. No one is immune. That's why the psalmist told us to guard our hearts.

I know I have to continue to be ruthless about being open to change the "no big deal" things in my life when others point out their potential harm. It could be the difference between life and death.

Jesus, continue to press upon me the need I have and the desire I want to be humble and teachable when others try and help me uncover the little mistakes that could lead to huge catastrophes. Help me to embrace your Light and disdain the darkness. In the gracious and truthful name of Jesus, Amen.

Lord, Save Us From Your Followers

This is one documentary (Lord, Save Us From Your Followers) that looks pretty engaging in light of it's honesty and spirit. You can check out the full film on the movie's web site here. Here's a sampler that in and of itself is really good.



(bu to subversive1)

Prayer Of The Weak

O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and guide, we may so pass through things temporal, that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Political Responsibility

My political responsibility vow is this: I will no longer put my head in the sand. I will no longer vote blindly. I will no longer claim there is too much to know. It is my responsibility to do my very best to be in the know, to understand, and to participate in the political process accordingly.

Here's a great little spot from a blog I track - Revolution in Jesusland - about how we the people live out WWJD (with democracy or three million dollars). Good stuff.

"We do not live in ancient Rome; 2,000 years of redemptive history have changed the world; to act as though we are living under the same circumstances as Jesus’ first followers is to disregard what thousands of generations of martyrs lived and died for. Instead, we should be fully engaging — as Jesus did — with the world as we find it. In our case that means engaging our people through the democracies that our ancestors left us…"

Then I have to ask again...why didn't Ron Paul get the Republican (I know, I know, but seriously.). This explanation of the "mother of all bailouts" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is good. Well worth the 7.5 minutes.



Get in the know, friends. Get in the know.

Slow Posting

Sorry for the lack of postings lately. This three week intensive course on group counseling, as well as, finishing an online class is working me over, big time. Plus, I'm prepping for a two weddings in the next three weeks along with serving/leading/teaching with the student ministry (dv8) at the church we attend (Far Hills Community Church - pray for that local body...we sure could use it!).

That's not to mention the hubby duties (which I have been totally slackin' on lately - bad, Seth!) and daddy duties that are priority numero uno. I'll be more consistent in a week or so. Thanks for stopping by. Peace and later!

Prayer Of The Weak

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Year Of Living Biblically

Some time ago, I blogged here on a guy named A.J. Jacobs and his one year experiment of living biblically. He has since written a book about what he dubs as his most profound personal experiment yet. So when I saw that he gave a talk about it at my new favorite web site, TED, I could not pass up the opportunity to post the video so that you could hear about his experience and learned lessons right from him.

His insights are interesting and thoughtful. Though I don't agree with some of what he concludes, I do, however, appreciate his honesty, sensitivity, humor, and perseverance to carry this thing out to "it's logical end" and sharing his story with us.



footnote - I'm not sure even I have the stones to live a year biblically like this guy. But then again, I'm not sure I'd want to apart from the grace given to me by God through Jesus.

Thank God For Backups

Saw this index card at one of my favorite little blogs and thought it was appropriate given the hard drive on our desktop just crashed. Gotta love the external hard drives!

(bu to indexed)

FEIST on Sesame Street

Who says Sesame Street isn't hip?



(bu to Digg)

Here are a couple of other classic "music videos" on the Street:

Stevie Wonder



Nora Jones



REM



Goo Goo Dolls, Billy Joel, James Blunt, India Arie, Patti LaBelle, Alicia Keys, and Chris Brown to name a few others.

Prayer Of The Weak

O Lord, mercifully receive the prayers of your people who call upon you, and grant that they may know and understand what things they ought to do, and also may have grace and power faithfully to accomplish them; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Sarah - My T.V. Addict

So my mom shares with me this priceless conversation that she and my six year old daughter, Sarah, have while outside playing in the yard. It went something like this:

Sarah: Can I go inside and watch a show on t.v.?

Granny: No. I don't think so. Let's stay outside and play some more.

Sarah: Well, can I at least go in and watch a commercial?

Too classic. She's a media junkie like her daddy. I sure do love that little girl.

Great New Club For My Bag

I love golf. I suck at golf. But you know, I find golf teaches me about God and life sometimes. There really are some great analogies to take away from amazing and infuriating game. One of the analogies I take away is that you can never have enough clubs in your golf bag.

That is particularly true of how we share the story of God and our story as a Christ-follower. Lots of grew up sharing these stories and their impact with evangelistic "clubs" like the Roman Road, the Four Spiritual Laws, Evangelism Explosion, and Your Most Important Relationship. All of them have some unique and important principals that help certain types of people who are far away from Jesus come another step closer to knowing Him, loving Him, and following Him.

However, all of them fall a little (and some way) short of capturing the fullness that is the gospel story. Thus when I came across "The Big Story" or as some have dubbed it: the Four Circles.
Here are the four big ideas that the communication diagram shares with listener:

1. designed for good
2. damaged by evil
3. restored for better
4. sent together to heal.

It's a very biblical, full, missional tool that really communicates some of the big ideas that God weaves throughout the Bible. You can check out an interview with the creator of the design here at Christianity Today Online. You can also check out the creator walking through a drawing of the Big Story here. Some really good stuff.

So here's my question: what story, tool, or design points do you carry in your golf bag to share with people the good news found in the story of God and embodied in the person of Jesus?

Rules Of Thumb

Found this quirky little website - Rules of Tumb - the other day. Not sure how totally helpful or useful the information is, but there are some "rules of thumb" on the site that that you might be able to use.

Here are a few random "rules" that I found:

Religious - ADDRESSING THE CLERGY
When in doubt, call a Protestant minister or a rabbi, "Doctor." Even if the person isn't a doctor, he (or she) will be flattered.

Cooking - MAKING HOT FUDGE
Your hot fudge is ready when you can write your name in the surface with a spoon without the letters disappearing before you finish writing.

Weather - FORECASTING THE WEATHER
Raccoons feed heavily 48 hours before the approach of a large winter storm.

Prayer Of The Weak

O God, you have taught us to keep all your commandments by loving you and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of your Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to you with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Presto

Pixar's newest digital short is entitled: Presto. It's being shown before Wall-E. Simply said: these guys are good.

Toothless Wonder

My Sarah is a toothless wonder! She's been waiting for this day to happen for at least a year. She was continually asking when her tooth was going to fall out...and then it finally did with the help of an apple (which is good b/c I was getting ready with the old slam-the-door-with-a-string-tied-to-the-tooth trick).

When ask what she thought the tooth fairy would bring her, she said, "A dollar...AND a penny!"

Creativity and Education (And Parenting, Spiritual Formation...)

I was talking to my good (and very missed) friend, Tim, today. We gabbed about a lot of things: church, books, ministry, parenting, vacations, etc. But as we were talking he reminded me about a great web site called TED. It is devoted to sharing and spreading ideas from brilliant thinks from such fields as technology, the arts, education, religion, business, and culture (to name a few).

I came across this video about creativity and education. But if you don't work directly in the field of education, but tangential to it say in youth ministry, parenting, social work, counseling, etc, I still think you'll find it very interesting, informative and inspiring. Plus, you'll get a good laugh...this guy is pretty funny.

Video is just under 20 minutes. So grab a coke and enjoy!



(bu to Tim via cell phone conversation)