My Daily Bread spoke to me today.  Our Daily Bread is a little book that contains small daily devotions.  I keep mine in my bathroom; that way I can flip through it while I’m bathing a kid, or, er, whatnot.  Lately I’ve been struggling with being overwhelmed by back-logged home repair and organizational projects that I know I really shouldn’t waste time and energy worrying about.  Some people would say’ just do it’ – then I’d be less overwhelmed as the things start to get done, but with 4 kids, I just don’t have the time (see my post about Poison Control and you’ll see what happens if my kids are left unattended for mere minutes), and I’m tired all the time and also kind of lazy.  So anyway, I’m trying to just let go and not think about my To Do list, and here is the Daily Bread for today; maybe it will help others in my boat too:

It’s been a long, cold winter, and I am eager for warm weather. I’m tired of seeing bare trees and lifeless brown leaves covering the ground. I long to see wildflowers poke through the dead leaves and to watch the woods turn green once more.

Yet even as I anticipate my favorite season, I hear my mother’s voice saying, “Don’t wish your life away.”

If you’re like me, you sometimes hear yourself saying, “When such and such happens, then I will . . . or, If only so and so would do this, then I would do that . . . or, I would be happy if . . . or, I will be satisfied when . . .”

In longing for some future good, we forget that every day—regardless of the weather or our circumstances—is a gift from God to be used for His glory.

According to author Ron Ash, “We are where we need to be and learning what we need to learn. Stay the course because the things we experience today will lead us to where He needs us to be tomorrow.”

In every season, there is a reason to rejoice and an opportunity to do good (Eccl. 3:12). The challenge for each of us every day is to find something to rejoice about and some good to do—and then to do both.

Just as the winter turns to spring,
Our lives have changing seasons too;
So when a gloomy forecast comes,
Remember—God has plans for you. —Sper

Every season brings a reason to rejoice.

Basically all my life I have had a Sunday tradition…  September through January anyway…  NFL FOOTBALL!!!

And that my friends, has not changed.  I love watching football, I really enjoy almost every aspect of the sport.  Every Sunday in the fall my heart is pounding strong!

More recently our family has started the tradition of going to breakfast together.  We have done this (almost) every Sunday for the past 2 years and it has been a great way to connect as a family and enjoy even more of the bonding time with the “fam” that I love.  Breakfast with the family on Sunday is even sweeter than football…

Getting to sit down to a relaxed meal together and share our week is just a delight.  We get much more family time than most other families to begin with, but more is always welcome!  And, the Sunday breakfast time is extra special because it is a fixed time — it is our time.  Much like Tuesday nights have become a Lisa-&-I tradition of “date night”.  Yes, Tuesdays are equally cherished.

Anyway, back to Sunday…

Our new tradition is one that has been in the works for some time now…  What is it?  To go to church!

For a while my wife and I have been contemplating regularly attending Sunday service and getting involved with a church.  But this is a decision we did not take lightly.  We wanted a church that felt right for us.  One that was inviting and open — not judgmental and condescending.

I had a terrible experience with the (Catholic) church growing up — one that left deep wounds and filled me with much doubt.  Not doubt about God but doubt about religion.  And, not about the message of religion but of it’s messengers.  There are good people and not-so-good people in this world and unfortunately the same is true everywhere — even in the church.  I met many good people I am sure in my childhood with the church.  But it was the bad one(s) that filled my mind with an incurable pain.

However, for the past several months I had been carrying a terrible burden.  Someone I am not at all close with had (unintentionally?) confided something to me — something absolutely HORRIBLE — and I did not know what to do with the knowledge I had been “forced” to receive.  I was losing sleep and filled with an awful feeling of uncertainty as to what was the ‘right’ thing to do.

This was not the kind of thing you gossip and it was not the kind of story I wanted to pass-on or burden any of my friends with…  Only Lisa knew what was on my mind.  However, one other name kept coming to mind — very oddly it was the name of someone who I did not have a close relationship with…

Mark Pittman was one of the cast members in School House Rock Live!  A show which I directed with my lovely wife.  All casts bond, but I had no particular closeness to Mark; in fact he and I didn’t really seem to gel.  Not that he wasn’t nice and not that he-and-I didn’t get along…  I was just much closer to other cast members.

Anyhow, Mark’s name kept coming into my mind whenever I would think about this ‘event’.  I do not know why…  So, finally after discussing it with Lisa, we decided to just go with it.  I called Mark who is a pastor at New Hope Community Church.  we arranged to meet at his office the following day.

Mark admitted to me that he was as surprised to get a call from me as I was to have been calling on him.  Nonetheless, here we were.

I had a lenghty discussion with Mark about the burden I was carrying and the solutions (in terms of faith).  I had an almost immediate feeling of comfort come over me — even with the emotional/intense nature of the issue at hand.  Mark gave me advice from the perspective of the bible; which in fact was exactly what I was seeking.  I had confidence in what I had to do and a peace about the situation I had not been able to find on my own.

Mark also talked very briefly about church in general.  I made a comment on my past experience and the fact that I just wasn’t sure about my comfort level with the church concept — because of what had happened in the past.

Although he made the assumption (incorrectly) that my wounds were related to the teachings or the interpretations of the Catholic faith — I still felt healing occur as we enguaged in a discussion about the church.

Afterwords my wife and I talked about the experience and both agreed that we should attend a service at New Hope.

The service itself was amazing. Full of energy, music, emotion, and message.  The highlight of the service was a group of individuals coming on stage each with a cardboard that on one side they had written their personal struggle and on the other side their newly found saving…  For example, one read “Addicted to Drugs” and then was turned over to reveal “Addicted to God’s Love”.  This was all done to music and was very dramatic and moving.  Both Lisa and I had tears flowing from our eyes.

So, yep.  I think we’ve found a new Sunday tradition.  Or maybe I should say a new Sunday tradition found us…? But I am happy to say that along with football (GO BEARS!!!), and breakfast, we will make attending Sunday service a part of our day.

THE IMPORTANT NOTE:
The kids also had a blast.  Both learning about God’s message and playing with other kids their age.  Each child was in a separate room with other kids in their age group.  I felt this was a much more productive way for the kids to be introduced to church (through fun interaction) — versus when I was young and basically sat BORED and listened to sermon after sermon that I did not understand nor did I care about…  I WAS A KID; SITTING THERE WAS BORING!!

Because I barely have time to fit in the writing of this current blog post, I can safely say that with 4 kids running around (Christmas break = parental nightmare) this will be my last blog post of 2008!  What better way to go out then but to experiment with the new polling feature of tangents.org and make a New Year’s themed poll?  Enjoy, and have a very happy and safe New Year’s celebration!  Here’s wishing you the best of luck in 2009!  Check all that apply:

[poll id=”3″]

Merry Christmas!

As a Christian, I believe we, as individuals and as a country, should put our trust in the Almighty God.  That’s why I was a bit disappointed to see that, though not a majority, a large number of people in this country do not believe this trust should be shown on our money.  This is the email forward I got today.  I removed some of the message, such as email addresses and other comments except the last.  Yeah, I know- where have I been.  Well, I’ve just been taking a break I guess.  Regular posting will resume soon.

MSNBC is taking a poll on weather we should remove In God We Trust from our currency.   Thought you might want to give your opinion too.  As Greg says a little lower, I am saddened by the results of this pole.

Here’s your chance to let the media know where the people stand on our faith in God, as a nation. NBC is taking a poll on ‘In God We Trust’ to stay on our American currency. Please do it right away, before NBC takes this off the web page.

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MSNBC poll is still open so you can vote.

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VOTE SEE RESULTS HERE:

https://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/

Today is the Mother/daughter banquet at church. I am not very thrilled about it. Firstly, because I had to pay $11 for a stupid ticket even though I will not eat the food they are serving. I asked if I could pay for the child’s ticket, since I most likely would be eating the kids food and about as much as they would eat, but of course, that did not go over very well. And I had to buy a ticket because I have to be there! I am in a women’s enasamble at church and we are singing at the Mother/daughter banquet, so it would not have been very good if I did not show up. 🙁 Then I have to wear a dress or skirt to this thing. The theme is God’s Little Princess. Well, God loves us even if we do not wear pretty dresses and stuff. He made us all different and yet, we all are supposed to wear pretty clothes to this banquet. Though it is giving me another excuse to make a new memory with my prom dress!

Though that $11 for a stupid meal is still getting to me! I do not eat very much and I am a very picky eater. I saw the meal menu and what can I say besides… EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW!

One day in heaven, the Lord decided He would visit the earth and take a stroll. Walking down the road, He encountered a man who was crying. The Lord asked the man, “Why are you crying, my son?” The man said that he was blind and had never seen a sunset. The Lord touched the man who could then see and was happy.

As the Lord walked further, He met another man crying and asked, “Why are you crying, my son?” The man was born a cripple and was never able to walk. The Lord touched him and he could walk and he was happy.

Farther down the road, the Lord met another man who was crying and asked, “Why are you crying, my son?” The man said, “Lord, I work for the school system.”

And the Lord sat down and cried with him.

_______________________

According to a radio report, a middle school in Oregon was faced with a unique problem. A number of girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls into the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it was to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to clean one of the mirrors. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it into the toilet and then cleaned the mirror.

Since then there have been no lip prints on the mirror. There are teachers and then there are TEACHERS.

Okay, trying to make people say Resurrection Day instead of Easter is just pointless. If you’d like, Happy Resurrection Day! The celebration of Jesus Christ’s victory over death is upon us once again! Hallelujah! No, I wasn’t calling you over, Hallelujah (private joke: there is a boy named Hallelujah in one of the classes I teach). Now that you’re finished cheering, I have a Godtube video to share. Godtube is like Youtube (ya think?) only it’s all about Christ. My pastor showed a video in church a few weeks ago that really shows using dance/drama what God’s love is all about. He loves us so much He went through the humiliation of becoming a man and the pain and suffering of becoming a sacrifice- the sacrifice for us. Anyway, on to the video. Let me see if this works…

<edit> Nope. I guess we can’t embed videos- hey C, any way we can turn this feature on? like embed, target = _blank also gets cut out of the code when trying to make a link open in a new window. Anyway, here’s the link:

[godtube]https://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=ee73e63418003b47d7d5[/godtube]

Well, this weekend it was mentioned that the next church anniversary in September is the its 20th. Yes I know that is nothing compared with some churches celebrating centennials and more. The church I grew up going to is a church like that, but the one I go to now is kind of mega-ish. That is, it is quite large, expands four campuses, and has a couple dozen “plants” following its doctrines and leadership style, but is still nothing compared to the likes of Willow Creek or Crystal Cathedral. Anyway, When I first started going to the church it hadn’t yet celebrated its 10th anniversary. I remember that celebration was done in the school it originally met at before they got their own building. It was still on only one campus, its campground was still in the hands of its previous owners, and even the building they were in wasn’t yet fully utilized. Inside was a big fenced in area of, well, nothing which would soon become the second half of a new improved worship center. Since then much has happened. Besides being on four campuses now (one of which used to be a plant but joined up for a reason I never found out) and having a campground, it has a chapel that didn’t used to be there, used mostly for weddings, a second floor in part of the building (the building was always one floor, with a roof high enough for two), a school, and has undergone much remodeling.

As for me, around that 10th anniversary was when I started working in the children’s ministry. It started with an ambitious children’s drama which took up much of the service time and was scaled back the following year due to the teaching volunteers wanting to, well, teach. I of course knew God wanted me there and so was part of the first cast. This lasted about three years. I even had a short stint at directing in the third year. Well, after the first year I wanted more so I started teaching as well. They put me in fourth grade with another teacher and we took turns week to week teaching the lesson. On the weeks I was also in the drama (there were four casts- one per week of the month with any fifth weekends generally without drama) I would walk the kids down and then go backstage and get into my costume. Believe it or not, I wasn’t the only one who did this. About that time a new combined program for4th and 5th grades was just getting started. The prior year they had it as a Friday night program as a supplement to the weekend services, but now they were making it the weekend service. They started off with just one service on the weekend, but it wouldn’t be long before it expanded to all weekends. Just why they did it this way I am not sure. Anyway, I switched to this service eventually. As I recall they went through a few staff members running it over the years to where it is at now with the current pastor hired about six years ago. I think I am the only one left still volunteering in that ministry from that first year (discounting the Friday night program). Like the church itself, this program has grown and is definitely in a mature state. I reflect on this because there is a high school student who volunteers in one of the services who was one of my first students in fourth grade. He is a senior in high school now. Well, actually from what he says he was a senior because he graduated in January.

I really enjoy working with the kids, and I know God placed me there and has kept me there. In fact, my best spiritual time I think was last summer when I volunteered as a camp counselor for 4th and 5th grade. Also the two summers before. I just wonder if God will ask me to move on soon like the others have, and if so where to? I am still involved with kids ministry drama as well, which after a hiatus of a couple of years came back as a different sort of program. Really, I am deeply immersed in this church and currently have no plans to move on, but eventually God may ask me to. Will I be able to if and when he does? Will I be willing to go where He wants me to? Would I be able to shepherd children myself as a pastor if called to do it somewhere? I can only make sure be ready I suppose in case He does. And how about my own family? Has He been leading me toward this in a way? That is, I am single right now, but is this practice, along with subbing, to lead a family of my own one day, soon I would hope as I am not getting any younger…

Normally I teach first weekend of the month at one of the morning services, but this month for some reason they have me down for next weekend instead. Of course I did have a surprise last night as I wrote. Today there was no leader problem either, just a normal day. For some reason though the boys are more rambunctious at the second Sunday service than Saturday night. I suppose it is probably for the same reason I tend to have more energy in the morning myself. The lesson if I didn’t say was an introduction to the book of Judges. The kids were taught about the cycle that happened seven times in Judges and still happens today. When we get comfortable we tend to forget God and sin. Once in that trap, it leads to suffering. As we suffer we remember God and cry out to him to help us. He hears our cries and saves us, bringing us back to him. Unfortunately the cycle starts over from there. The message we got in the main service was part of the series on family first aid. It was about wrestling with God just as Jacob wrestled with God. While God could just crush us when we choose a path other than that which leads to Him (read: sin), He chooses instead to be gentle and let us wrestle a bit. However, no mistake is to be made on this: He leads us, His children, to a place of submission so we get back on the right path. The message can be heard here:

This Week’s Message