Last night (Friday), Dad and I went back to the Grand Prairie Speedway to see the sprints. Brooke was taking Amanda to a Karate class so she needed to drop me off in Duncanville early. I ate dinner with Mom and Dad and then Dad and I headed out to the races. We left there around 10:45 PM I believe. We knew we were going to be late (actually thought we would be later than we were...but anyway) so we planned for me to ride his motorcycle back to Arlington. I used to have a motorcycle and still have my license.
When Amanda heard that the motorcycle was here, she wanted to ride! This afternoon, we took the motorcycle down to 7-Eleven to fill it up with gas and took it for a spin. We mostly rode around the neighborhoods near the house, but Amanda thought it was great. She kept going on and on about how great it was, how much fun it was, how cool it was, how beautiful it was...I think you get the idea. We had such a great time we are going to try and do it again tomorrow before PaPa comes back to pick it up.
-Rob
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Monday, June 20, 2005
Poor Sully
Sully, our 2 1/2 year old Terrier/Schnauzer mix is having a rough week. Some friends of ours are out of town and we are keeping their dogs (but I already mentioned that, didn't I). Anyway, this is the second time the other two dogs have come over since we got Sully, but it is really hard on him this time. In our house, Boo is the Alpha Dog (she is female, but she definitely runs the roost). Sully has learned to deal with that and is OK about it, but he seems to feel threatened by the other two dogs now...especially the male. Sam, the visiting male dog, is a sweetheart and has done nothing to Sully, but somehow Sully feels his place in the family or the pecking order is threatened. I've never seen little Sully (I call him my "little man" because he doesn't weigh much) walk around with his chest puffed out like he has these past two days. I guess he's trying show Sam who is the man of the house. Yesterday Sully almost tried to pick a fight with Sam. Sam didn't put up with it, but he was still nice (considering he's 3-4 times Sully's size). They're getting along ok now, but Sully puts on a pitiful face any time I pet Sam or give him attention. Guess Sully will either get over it or be very glad when Sam goes home.
Nine
Nine...that's how many points I scored playing racquetball this morning. If you don't know, games are played to 15, so I lost. As a matter of fact, out of three games, I lost three...but I had nine two games. So why is that a good thing? Because my two usual racquetball buddies were not there so I played a pick-up game. Most all of the guys who play pick-up games are MUCH better than me. Today, I played Chuck. I've played chuck on three or four other occasions. The first time we played, I got 3 points when he let up on me (we played at least 7 games and three is the most points I scored). Second time around was about the same. Last time we played (before today), I scored 8 points. Today, I scored 9 points twice. Chuck has a very good serve, and that is where I lose a lot of my points. I mean, the first couple games I played him, out of 25 serves, I hit maybe 5. I'm getting better at returning his serves and that is why my score is better, but I've still got a ways to go. Anyway, I think I'm improving. I really like playing with Keith and Pastor (my racquetball buddies), but I think I improve more when I play "the big dogs" as my friend Bill from the Maverick Club calls them. The Maverick Club is where I play racquetball...I'll have to tell you more about Bill later.
-Rob
-Rob
Sunday, June 19, 2005
A Busy Sunday
This is odd. I am dating this post for Sunday, June 19th since I am going to write about events from that day, but it is actually Friday morning, June 24th. I am certain I already posted about preaching on Sunday, but I can't find the post anywhere on our blog. Hmmm...I either lost a post or am losing my mind!
So, Sunday was a busy day. Pastor is out town at the Liberty Fellowship family summer conference. Liberty Fellowship is the group that Pastor, Stan (our singles pastor) and I are ordained with. Anyway, Pastor was gone so I got to preach. I really enjoy the opportunity to preach and am thankful Pastor David trusts me enough to fill in while he is away.
As I was thinking and praying about this opportunity to preach, I came across Matthew 12:33-37: "A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned." (NLT)
As I read that, I started thinking about all of the things I have tried to keep from coming out of my mouth...hurtful words, curse words, lying, gossip, etc. I remember one period in my life where I determined I was not going to say negative things about people. There were a number of times when something negative would come to mind, but I just determined not to say it. That was a good feeling, and I believe the Lord was pleased with that decision. But after reading this passage from Matthew, I realized that while God was happy that I was not "saying" those things, He would rather take those things out of my heart. Then, not only would I not say them, but they would not even be in my heart.
About this time, Brooke, Amanda and I were over at my parents house. Brooke was inside with Mom while Amanda and I were outside with Dad. While Dad and I were talking, Amanda began crying and came up to me. When I asked her what happened, she took me over to a fire ant hill and told me she was trying to kill the fire ants (because she knows we do not like them). She was trying to destroy the whole mound one ant at a time. Those of us who live in Texas know, theoretically, the best way to get rid of fire ants is some sort of poison bait that the ants will take to the queen/queens. If the queen dies, the mound dies or at least moves.
Later, the Lord brought this story and this passage together. How many times in my spiritual life do I try to overcome sin issues one little ant at a time? Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (NLT) The Lord was telling me that I could fight sin issues in my life one ant at a time or I could give Him my heart, let Him take out the nasty stuff in there and put His "stuff" (wisdom, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) and kill the whole "ant hill" at one time.
Lastly, with it being Father's Day, I thought about the things we give our fathers on Father's Day. What has God told us He would like for us to give Him...our hearts! So I preached a message called "The Heart of the Matter" and used the acronym HEART to look at what God says about the heart and, more specifically, how we can take a a "kill the whole colony" approach to sin by giving our heart to God.
As they often do, my parents came to hear me preach. I always appreciate them coming, and since Sunday was both Father's Day and Mom's birthday, we went out to eat together after church. Afterwards, we all came back to the house and spent a little time together before everybody got sleepy for a Sunday afternoon nap.
Sunday night, we didn't do much of anything. We just relaxed and probably went to be early. It was a busy Sunday.
-Rob
So, Sunday was a busy day. Pastor is out town at the Liberty Fellowship family summer conference. Liberty Fellowship is the group that Pastor, Stan (our singles pastor) and I are ordained with. Anyway, Pastor was gone so I got to preach. I really enjoy the opportunity to preach and am thankful Pastor David trusts me enough to fill in while he is away.
As I was thinking and praying about this opportunity to preach, I came across Matthew 12:33-37: "A tree is identified by its fruit. Make a tree good, and its fruit will be good. Make a tree bad, and its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good words from a good heart, and an evil person produces evil words from an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, that you must give an account on judgment day of every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say now reflect your fate then; either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned." (NLT)
As I read that, I started thinking about all of the things I have tried to keep from coming out of my mouth...hurtful words, curse words, lying, gossip, etc. I remember one period in my life where I determined I was not going to say negative things about people. There were a number of times when something negative would come to mind, but I just determined not to say it. That was a good feeling, and I believe the Lord was pleased with that decision. But after reading this passage from Matthew, I realized that while God was happy that I was not "saying" those things, He would rather take those things out of my heart. Then, not only would I not say them, but they would not even be in my heart.
About this time, Brooke, Amanda and I were over at my parents house. Brooke was inside with Mom while Amanda and I were outside with Dad. While Dad and I were talking, Amanda began crying and came up to me. When I asked her what happened, she took me over to a fire ant hill and told me she was trying to kill the fire ants (because she knows we do not like them). She was trying to destroy the whole mound one ant at a time. Those of us who live in Texas know, theoretically, the best way to get rid of fire ants is some sort of poison bait that the ants will take to the queen/queens. If the queen dies, the mound dies or at least moves.
Later, the Lord brought this story and this passage together. How many times in my spiritual life do I try to overcome sin issues one little ant at a time? Proverbs 4:23 says, "Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do." (NLT) The Lord was telling me that I could fight sin issues in my life one ant at a time or I could give Him my heart, let Him take out the nasty stuff in there and put His "stuff" (wisdom, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) and kill the whole "ant hill" at one time.
Lastly, with it being Father's Day, I thought about the things we give our fathers on Father's Day. What has God told us He would like for us to give Him...our hearts! So I preached a message called "The Heart of the Matter" and used the acronym HEART to look at what God says about the heart and, more specifically, how we can take a a "kill the whole colony" approach to sin by giving our heart to God.
As they often do, my parents came to hear me preach. I always appreciate them coming, and since Sunday was both Father's Day and Mom's birthday, we went out to eat together after church. Afterwards, we all came back to the house and spent a little time together before everybody got sleepy for a Sunday afternoon nap.
Sunday night, we didn't do much of anything. We just relaxed and probably went to be early. It was a busy Sunday.
-Rob
The Fam is Home!
Friday was a GOOD day. Boo, Sully and I got up at 5:15 AM. I hit the shower while the doggies at some breakfast. By 6:00 AM, we were ready to head out to Vicksburg, MS. Vicksburg is that half way between Arlington and Decatur, AL where Brooke's family lives. It was finally time for Brooke and Amanda to come back home and the three of us still in Arlington were very excited to go get them. The trip was pretty uneventful. I listened to "The Shark Mutiny" on CD while driving (still not finished with it...it's the unabridged version) and the doggies rotated sitting on my lap. It got very interesting when they both decided they needed to sit on my lap at the same time. In Louisiana, we stopped for the dogs to stretch their legs and answer nature's call while I also walked around trying to wake up. When we leave at 6 AM, I hit a wall around 9 AM and get very sleepy. We got back in the car, I cranked up Petra on the stereo for a while to wake up and we traveled on. I got back to "The Shark Mutiny" before we got to Vicksburg, but I still didn't get it finished. All the way there I kept checking in with Brooke on the cell phone. Our timing was just about perfect. I had pulled into the gas station where we agreed to meet and was just backing into a parking place with Brooke, Amanda and Brooke's Dad pulled in. We piled Brooke and Amanda into the car, hugged Dad goodbye and six hours later were at home. Dad, as he is prone to do, decided to take the "scenic route" home. After getting lost and after getting stuck at the scene of an accident, he got home about 8 hours later!
We were home just over an hour when some friends who were going out of town dropped off their dogs for the week. They've got two dogs, so with our two, we've got 4 this week. We've kept their dogs before and they have kept ours, so it works out pretty well. It's been an interesting weekend with the new dogs...one had diarrhea on Friday night and left nice "presents" in Amanda's room. The other got hit with it today. Bless her heart, first I had to hose her off outside and then give her a bath. Hopefully we are all over that now and hopefully our two dogs won't get whatever that mess was!
-Rob
We were home just over an hour when some friends who were going out of town dropped off their dogs for the week. They've got two dogs, so with our two, we've got 4 this week. We've kept their dogs before and they have kept ours, so it works out pretty well. It's been an interesting weekend with the new dogs...one had diarrhea on Friday night and left nice "presents" in Amanda's room. The other got hit with it today. Bless her heart, first I had to hose her off outside and then give her a bath. Hopefully we are all over that now and hopefully our two dogs won't get whatever that mess was!
-Rob
Thursday, June 16, 2005
I Met George Last Week
Last week during Vacation Bible School, an older gentleman came to the church asking questions about the church. He said his name was George, he has only been in Arlington a couple months and he was looking for a church. We talked, I told him about the church and he said he'd be back Sunday. He was back Sunday, I said hello and we talked some more. He said he'd like to come meet with me or Pastor David this week, so I told him to give us a call in the office.
He called on Tuesday and came to talk to me. We talked more about the church and a little more about ourselves and then George told me he felt very welcome Sunday morning and at the Life Group he visited on Tuesday night. He said he was not much for sitting around at home by himself and he'd like to volunteer at the church. I told him I'd see where we could use some help and give him a call.
Today, I had a good hour-and-half worth of errands to run, so I called George to see if he was busy (he volunteers at a shelter twice a week and is building up his list of other places he wants to volunteer). He said he was free in the afternoon, so I asked him if he wanted to go run some errands with me and we could just hang out while we ran errands. We went to the auto supply store, Lowe's, Best Buy and Costco. It took at least an hour-and-a-half like I thought it would, and I really enjoyed getting to know George a little. One of the first things I asked him was what he prefer I call him...George or Mr. __________ (his last name). He said he preferred George, but I told him I had to ask because growing up, my parents always taught me to refer to adults (or my elders) by Mr. or Mrs. Nowadays, I settle for Mr. or Mrs. and their first name, but it's still a matter of respect. Anyway, George (81 years old) said he preferred George.
I don't know if I have enough to keep George busy for half a day every week (in my department), but I'm going to talk to other people on our staff and see what we might come up with on a regular basis. Next week, George is going to come help me clean out our pantry behind the stage at church. It was #4 on my clean up list after the attic and two PODS outside. After cleaning the other three spaces I was not very motivated to get to the pantry, so it was good timing to have somebody come along who wanted to help do whatever needed to be done. So I'll see George again on Sunday, and then we'll work together on Wednesday. He's only been to the church once so I hope he still likes it after coming a few more weeks, but I've really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit and spending some time with him this week.
-Rob
He called on Tuesday and came to talk to me. We talked more about the church and a little more about ourselves and then George told me he felt very welcome Sunday morning and at the Life Group he visited on Tuesday night. He said he was not much for sitting around at home by himself and he'd like to volunteer at the church. I told him I'd see where we could use some help and give him a call.
Today, I had a good hour-and-half worth of errands to run, so I called George to see if he was busy (he volunteers at a shelter twice a week and is building up his list of other places he wants to volunteer). He said he was free in the afternoon, so I asked him if he wanted to go run some errands with me and we could just hang out while we ran errands. We went to the auto supply store, Lowe's, Best Buy and Costco. It took at least an hour-and-a-half like I thought it would, and I really enjoyed getting to know George a little. One of the first things I asked him was what he prefer I call him...George or Mr. __________ (his last name). He said he preferred George, but I told him I had to ask because growing up, my parents always taught me to refer to adults (or my elders) by Mr. or Mrs. Nowadays, I settle for Mr. or Mrs. and their first name, but it's still a matter of respect. Anyway, George (81 years old) said he preferred George.
I don't know if I have enough to keep George busy for half a day every week (in my department), but I'm going to talk to other people on our staff and see what we might come up with on a regular basis. Next week, George is going to come help me clean out our pantry behind the stage at church. It was #4 on my clean up list after the attic and two PODS outside. After cleaning the other three spaces I was not very motivated to get to the pantry, so it was good timing to have somebody come along who wanted to help do whatever needed to be done. So I'll see George again on Sunday, and then we'll work together on Wednesday. He's only been to the church once so I hope he still likes it after coming a few more weeks, but I've really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit and spending some time with him this week.
-Rob
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Another Visit From Dell
Well, Dell computers came to visit me again today. To be more specific, the Dell installation technician came to visit me again. If you read our Blog in April, you know that I bought an extended, four-year, at-home warranty on my Dell computer. I cannot tell you how glad I am that I made that decision!
In April, Dell replaced about $1,200 worth of parts in my laptop...motherboard and heat sink (i.e. cooling fan). It was free to me because of the warranty. Well, I started having trouble a couple weeks ago when working on my computer...it showed it was running on battery power and not on AC power even though I had the AC cord plugged in. After much wiggling of the power cord, I got it to work again. This week, same problem. I called Dell...CORRECTION, I did online chat support with Dell. (That is a whole other story...online chat is easier because if you call, you are literally transferred to a call center in India. The techs there are very nice but have such a thick accent it is hard to understand them). The short version is, they told me they would replace my motherboard and the bottom plastic part of my laptop case. Of course, this was supposed to be done in one business day according to my warranty, but it took two.
So the guy shows up (after miscommunication on Dell's part as to which phone number and address to give the technician). As I watch him take apart my laptop (absolutely fascinating!), I notice the "new" motherboard has a big sticker on the bag which says "refurbished". I'm thinking to myself, "What in the world can you refurbish in a motherboard?" So I asked the guy. Guess what parts are refurbished? How about the little plug in ports...you know...the part that went bad on my motherboard so that the AC cord would not work.
Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I'm thinking in the two (or is it three?) years I have left on my laptop, I'm going to be calling Dell again and getting a fourth motherboard put in! I certainly don't want to call again as it is somewhat of a hassle to get them out in TWO business days, but I haven't done too well with refurbished motherboards.
Do I still recommend Dell? Yes, I'm know you can find "horror stories" on the Internet on just about any brand computer. And to their credit, Dell has made it right with my laptop, it's just been a hassle. I can tell you this, I sure am a big fan of extended warranties. Brooke's Toshiba has no warranty and it is at least three years old with no problems, but I'll never buy another laptop again without an extended warranty.
-Rob
In April, Dell replaced about $1,200 worth of parts in my laptop...motherboard and heat sink (i.e. cooling fan). It was free to me because of the warranty. Well, I started having trouble a couple weeks ago when working on my computer...it showed it was running on battery power and not on AC power even though I had the AC cord plugged in. After much wiggling of the power cord, I got it to work again. This week, same problem. I called Dell...CORRECTION, I did online chat support with Dell. (That is a whole other story...online chat is easier because if you call, you are literally transferred to a call center in India. The techs there are very nice but have such a thick accent it is hard to understand them). The short version is, they told me they would replace my motherboard and the bottom plastic part of my laptop case. Of course, this was supposed to be done in one business day according to my warranty, but it took two.
So the guy shows up (after miscommunication on Dell's part as to which phone number and address to give the technician). As I watch him take apart my laptop (absolutely fascinating!), I notice the "new" motherboard has a big sticker on the bag which says "refurbished". I'm thinking to myself, "What in the world can you refurbish in a motherboard?" So I asked the guy. Guess what parts are refurbished? How about the little plug in ports...you know...the part that went bad on my motherboard so that the AC cord would not work.
Maybe I'm just being pessimistic, but I'm thinking in the two (or is it three?) years I have left on my laptop, I'm going to be calling Dell again and getting a fourth motherboard put in! I certainly don't want to call again as it is somewhat of a hassle to get them out in TWO business days, but I haven't done too well with refurbished motherboards.
Do I still recommend Dell? Yes, I'm know you can find "horror stories" on the Internet on just about any brand computer. And to their credit, Dell has made it right with my laptop, it's just been a hassle. I can tell you this, I sure am a big fan of extended warranties. Brooke's Toshiba has no warranty and it is at least three years old with no problems, but I'll never buy another laptop again without an extended warranty.
-Rob
SprintPCS Bill
It is so! Aaaggghhhhh!!
(see "Say It Ain't So" entry on Wednesday, June 8 for context)
(see "Say It Ain't So" entry on Wednesday, June 8 for context)
I'm Relieved
I just got off the phone with my good friend Shaun, and I am relieved! Shaun and I have been friends for about 4 years now, I guess. Shaun was a youth pastor in New Mexico before moving to Arlington and he worked with me in the youth ministry here. He ended up taking over the newly-formed Jr. High ministry and ultimately taking my place as youth pastor when I transitioned to Administrative Pastor.
Over the years that Shaun and I have been friends, he has had so many heath issues to overcome I cannot keep track. It started with cancer. He went through treatment for that and all that goes with it. They had to cut out something in or near his vocal chords, so they told him he would never talk again after surgery. God had other plans for Shaun and with the help of an artificial vocal chord (not exactly, but close enough), he can still talk. Then he back problems...major back problems. During his back surgery, his doctor messed up and ended up killing a muscle in Shaun's leg. The leg swelled up and hurt him so bad he could not walk on it or even sleep. That required another surgery to take the muscle out of his leg and the doctors told him he would not be able to walk (at least not "normal"). Again, God had other plans. And then, one of the many surgeries had another complication...they nicked or cut his vegas nerve. This appears to be a MAJOR nerve that has to do with your digestive system, heart and many other major systems in your body. This left Shaun unable to keep down solid foods permanently. It has also messed with the chemical balances in his body so that he has to contend with depression and mood swings. Through all of this, Shaun has been quick to give God glory for every victory along the way and has kept a positive attitude that I do not think I could have maintained. I really admire him.
And then there was the call from the doctor this past Monday. Shaun has been feeling terrible and extremely fatigued recently. Last week he went to see his doctor because he thought he was having a heart attack. They examined him and ran some tests to determine he was not having a heart attack, but they also did some blood work. On Monday, the doctor called Shaun and said, "You test results came back not good. You need to come in and see us immediately." Shaun could not get into the doctor until 5pm Tuesday, so you can imagine the torture he, his wife and kids went through.
I wasn't able to talk to Shaun until this morning, when he told me the good news. The "bad results" had nothing to do with cancer. Because Shaun cannot eat solid food, he has developed a bad bacteria infection in his stomach. This infection could easily account for the fatigue, nausea and even symptoms of a heart attack that Shaun has been having. They have him on three antibiotics and after this is treated, he will have to be on medicine twice a day to keep this from redeveloping. I'm still praying for my friend that God would heal him of this infection and even work a miracle of total healing in his body...but I am relieved.
-Rob
Over the years that Shaun and I have been friends, he has had so many heath issues to overcome I cannot keep track. It started with cancer. He went through treatment for that and all that goes with it. They had to cut out something in or near his vocal chords, so they told him he would never talk again after surgery. God had other plans for Shaun and with the help of an artificial vocal chord (not exactly, but close enough), he can still talk. Then he back problems...major back problems. During his back surgery, his doctor messed up and ended up killing a muscle in Shaun's leg. The leg swelled up and hurt him so bad he could not walk on it or even sleep. That required another surgery to take the muscle out of his leg and the doctors told him he would not be able to walk (at least not "normal"). Again, God had other plans. And then, one of the many surgeries had another complication...they nicked or cut his vegas nerve. This appears to be a MAJOR nerve that has to do with your digestive system, heart and many other major systems in your body. This left Shaun unable to keep down solid foods permanently. It has also messed with the chemical balances in his body so that he has to contend with depression and mood swings. Through all of this, Shaun has been quick to give God glory for every victory along the way and has kept a positive attitude that I do not think I could have maintained. I really admire him.
And then there was the call from the doctor this past Monday. Shaun has been feeling terrible and extremely fatigued recently. Last week he went to see his doctor because he thought he was having a heart attack. They examined him and ran some tests to determine he was not having a heart attack, but they also did some blood work. On Monday, the doctor called Shaun and said, "You test results came back not good. You need to come in and see us immediately." Shaun could not get into the doctor until 5pm Tuesday, so you can imagine the torture he, his wife and kids went through.
I wasn't able to talk to Shaun until this morning, when he told me the good news. The "bad results" had nothing to do with cancer. Because Shaun cannot eat solid food, he has developed a bad bacteria infection in his stomach. This infection could easily account for the fatigue, nausea and even symptoms of a heart attack that Shaun has been having. They have him on three antibiotics and after this is treated, he will have to be on medicine twice a day to keep this from redeveloping. I'm still praying for my friend that God would heal him of this infection and even work a miracle of total healing in his body...but I am relieved.
-Rob
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Movies That Make Me Cry
I hate movies that make me cry. I really hate the ones where a mother dies and the father has to raise the little girl alone. I guess that would be my biggest fear. But tonight, I watched one of my favorite movies. I have to watch this movie late at night or when I am by myself because I ALWAYS cry when I watch it. Even though I hate movies that make me cry, this has got to be one of my all time "favorite" movies. For the third or fourth time, I watched "We Were Soldiers" starring Mel Gibson tonight. And I think I set a new all-time cry record.
I won't ruin the movie for you if you haven't seen it, but I will tell you it traces the story of a Lt. Col. leading his men into war in Vietnam. You watch as his men fight bravely and then many of them die. Back home, their wives come to the door, children in their arms, to receive the telegram, "The State Department regrets to inform you...". It is heart-wrenching.
So why would I call this one of my all-time "favorite" movies if I don't like movies that make me cry? Because I cannot help but thank God for every soldier who has ever fought or ever will fight for our great nation. I cannot imagine what would be going through my mind as I tuck my daughter into bed and lay down beside my wife for the last time going off to war. I cannot imagine what a wife could say to her husband as she kisses him goodbye for what could be the last time. At the end of the movie, they show a picture of the Vietnam War Memorial where all the soldiers' names are written who gave their lives for our great country. I love this movie that makes me cry (even as I am writing this), because it reminds me what a blessing it is to live in America and the price that so many paid for me to enjoy the freedoms I have today.
God, thank you for the freedoms you have given America. Thank you for the men and women who have given their lives for this great country. Protect those who are serving even now...keep them safe and bring peace to their families. Forgive us as a nation for turning our back on You...the One who has seen us through these wars and given us the liberties we enjoy today.
If you are a war veteran or are currently serving our country and happen upon this blog...THANK YOU.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
-Rob
I won't ruin the movie for you if you haven't seen it, but I will tell you it traces the story of a Lt. Col. leading his men into war in Vietnam. You watch as his men fight bravely and then many of them die. Back home, their wives come to the door, children in their arms, to receive the telegram, "The State Department regrets to inform you...". It is heart-wrenching.
So why would I call this one of my all-time "favorite" movies if I don't like movies that make me cry? Because I cannot help but thank God for every soldier who has ever fought or ever will fight for our great nation. I cannot imagine what would be going through my mind as I tuck my daughter into bed and lay down beside my wife for the last time going off to war. I cannot imagine what a wife could say to her husband as she kisses him goodbye for what could be the last time. At the end of the movie, they show a picture of the Vietnam War Memorial where all the soldiers' names are written who gave their lives for our great country. I love this movie that makes me cry (even as I am writing this), because it reminds me what a blessing it is to live in America and the price that so many paid for me to enjoy the freedoms I have today.
God, thank you for the freedoms you have given America. Thank you for the men and women who have given their lives for this great country. Protect those who are serving even now...keep them safe and bring peace to their families. Forgive us as a nation for turning our back on You...the One who has seen us through these wars and given us the liberties we enjoy today.
If you are a war veteran or are currently serving our country and happen upon this blog...THANK YOU.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
-Rob
Monday, June 13, 2005
The Fam is Not Here
It is 12:45am and I should definitely be in bed. I just got back from seeing Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. Jason called and asked if I wanted to go see it with him and his dad (Pastor David), so I went. I really don't see how Star Wars has such a huge following. I mean, the movie was OK to me, but I'm in no hurry to own the series. I don't think I've watched any of the ones we do own more than once. I don't get many replies to my blog, but I may get some irate Star Wars fans writing me on this one.
But I'm up late because Brooke and Amanda are not here...and it stinks! Brooke's sister has been sick and in the hospital, so she wanted to go visit them this week and help take care of her sister's two kids while her sister is trying to recuperate and find out exactly what is going on. Saturday, I drove Brooke, Amanda, Boo and Sully to Vicksburg, MS where we met Brooke's parents. Brooke and Amanda headed to Alabama while Boo, Sully and I headed home. This was the first time we took the puppies on any kind of road trip, and they did great. They slept some, but mostly they just rotated one dog and then the other sitting on my lap on the way back. 13 hours in the car and nobody got car sick or had an "accident" in the car, so it was a good trip. I think I'll take them with me when I go back to pick up Brooke and Amanda.
Had my first meeting with our Life Group leaders tonight. I think things went well. I've had meetings with adult youth leaders before, but this was my first meeting with adults who actually work with adults. It was a good feeling... part of the transition between youth pastor and administrative pastor (working with adults now). We had a good turn out, some good discussions and I hope the short teaching I shared tonight will be something they can use in their groups. I'm a notes freak, so of course I gave them notes from what I was sharing. Unlike teenagers, they at least took their notes home. I have no idea if they will use anything I shared tonight, but at least I didn't have to go around the room and pick up notes to each other written on the page I had provided to takes teaching notes on (I think all youth pastors know how I feel). Anyway, it was a good night.
Well, I think it's safe to say I will NOT be getting up at 5:15am to play racquetball this morning. I usually play 3-4 times a week, but we'll have to see this week. With everybody gone, I'm very likely to come home from work, take a nap, eat dinner, work on my sermon for Sunday and then stay up late watching a movie (at home next time). When I do that, I'm not very motivated go get up early in the morning.
Having said that, I'm off to a well air-conditioned room for a good night's rest. I HATE it when my family is not here and I don't like sleeping in the bed by myself, but at least the dogs won't be laying on the 1/3 of the bed my wife allows me...they can sleep on her 2/3 of the bed tonight!
-Rob
But I'm up late because Brooke and Amanda are not here...and it stinks! Brooke's sister has been sick and in the hospital, so she wanted to go visit them this week and help take care of her sister's two kids while her sister is trying to recuperate and find out exactly what is going on. Saturday, I drove Brooke, Amanda, Boo and Sully to Vicksburg, MS where we met Brooke's parents. Brooke and Amanda headed to Alabama while Boo, Sully and I headed home. This was the first time we took the puppies on any kind of road trip, and they did great. They slept some, but mostly they just rotated one dog and then the other sitting on my lap on the way back. 13 hours in the car and nobody got car sick or had an "accident" in the car, so it was a good trip. I think I'll take them with me when I go back to pick up Brooke and Amanda.
Had my first meeting with our Life Group leaders tonight. I think things went well. I've had meetings with adult youth leaders before, but this was my first meeting with adults who actually work with adults. It was a good feeling... part of the transition between youth pastor and administrative pastor (working with adults now). We had a good turn out, some good discussions and I hope the short teaching I shared tonight will be something they can use in their groups. I'm a notes freak, so of course I gave them notes from what I was sharing. Unlike teenagers, they at least took their notes home. I have no idea if they will use anything I shared tonight, but at least I didn't have to go around the room and pick up notes to each other written on the page I had provided to takes teaching notes on (I think all youth pastors know how I feel). Anyway, it was a good night.
Well, I think it's safe to say I will NOT be getting up at 5:15am to play racquetball this morning. I usually play 3-4 times a week, but we'll have to see this week. With everybody gone, I'm very likely to come home from work, take a nap, eat dinner, work on my sermon for Sunday and then stay up late watching a movie (at home next time). When I do that, I'm not very motivated go get up early in the morning.
Having said that, I'm off to a well air-conditioned room for a good night's rest. I HATE it when my family is not here and I don't like sleeping in the bed by myself, but at least the dogs won't be laying on the 1/3 of the bed my wife allows me...they can sleep on her 2/3 of the bed tonight!
-Rob
Friday, June 10, 2005
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Say It Ain't So!
Holy Smokes! I logged on to the SprintPCS web page and viewed my bill for next month...almost $250! Say it ain't so! When I click on "view my invoice", what comes up is my last two payments and the amount I owe for this month (that I just paid this week). I am REALLY hoping that $250 is some total of a bill I paid last month that maybe arrived a day or two late combined with the payment I already paid this month. Guess we'll wait and see.
So here's what happened. I was on the Fair and Flexible Plan...and very happy with it by the way. We got 700 anytime minutes, free 7pm nights and weekends, free PCS to PCS calling and just $5 for every 100 minutes we went over all on a shared plan. I wish bills were more like the Energizer Bunny...I wish they'd keep "going and going" instead of "coming and coming". But since the bills kept coming, and since new doctors keep sending us their bills, I decided we needed to cut the budget in several areas. I cut our cell phone plan back (a LOT) and cut off all the extra services on our home phone. Made a few other cuts here and there, and for a week or two, it seemed like it helped. Now, Sprint did tell me NOT to go over my minutes on my smaller plan. Whereas I paid $5 for every 100 minutes I was over on the Fair and Flexible Plan, I would not pay 41 cents each MINUTE I went over on this new plan. Well, by the time I checked our minutes for the first time, we were hemoraging bad...WAY over our minutes. And then it took another week for Brooke to figure out that every time she checked her voice mail from her cell phone (because we quit taking calls), it was costing us 41 cents a minute!
I have had a love/hate relationship with SprintPCS. I think it all depends who I get on the phone. Sometimes I get somebody who is very helpful and sometimes I get somebody who wants to make me think there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON EARTH they can do to help me. When I tried to find a smaller (i.e. "cheaper") plan, the person I talked to was not very helpful. When I realized how far we had gone over our minutes (in our defense, we get a LOT of work-related calls on our phones) and called to go back to my Fair and Flexible Plan, I got a helpful person who gave me 60 minutes instant credit on my current bill. Granted, I'm still going to have to take out a personal loan to pay SprintPCS this next month (not literally), I still thought the gesture was nice. They gave me the credit before I switched back to my bigger (i.e. "more expensive") plan.
So, I'm not yet sure what is the lesson to be learned here. I guess, "Don't ever get a cell phone, because once you have one, you never realize how much you use it"? The part that is frustrating is the fact that I was trying to save money and cut back on the budget, but in reality, I threw the budget out of whack for a couple months to come now! But we'll make it...and boy oh boy...we ought to be on Sprint's "A" list this month.
-Rob
So here's what happened. I was on the Fair and Flexible Plan...and very happy with it by the way. We got 700 anytime minutes, free 7pm nights and weekends, free PCS to PCS calling and just $5 for every 100 minutes we went over all on a shared plan. I wish bills were more like the Energizer Bunny...I wish they'd keep "going and going" instead of "coming and coming". But since the bills kept coming, and since new doctors keep sending us their bills, I decided we needed to cut the budget in several areas. I cut our cell phone plan back (a LOT) and cut off all the extra services on our home phone. Made a few other cuts here and there, and for a week or two, it seemed like it helped. Now, Sprint did tell me NOT to go over my minutes on my smaller plan. Whereas I paid $5 for every 100 minutes I was over on the Fair and Flexible Plan, I would not pay 41 cents each MINUTE I went over on this new plan. Well, by the time I checked our minutes for the first time, we were hemoraging bad...WAY over our minutes. And then it took another week for Brooke to figure out that every time she checked her voice mail from her cell phone (because we quit taking calls), it was costing us 41 cents a minute!
I have had a love/hate relationship with SprintPCS. I think it all depends who I get on the phone. Sometimes I get somebody who is very helpful and sometimes I get somebody who wants to make me think there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ON EARTH they can do to help me. When I tried to find a smaller (i.e. "cheaper") plan, the person I talked to was not very helpful. When I realized how far we had gone over our minutes (in our defense, we get a LOT of work-related calls on our phones) and called to go back to my Fair and Flexible Plan, I got a helpful person who gave me 60 minutes instant credit on my current bill. Granted, I'm still going to have to take out a personal loan to pay SprintPCS this next month (not literally), I still thought the gesture was nice. They gave me the credit before I switched back to my bigger (i.e. "more expensive") plan.
So, I'm not yet sure what is the lesson to be learned here. I guess, "Don't ever get a cell phone, because once you have one, you never realize how much you use it"? The part that is frustrating is the fact that I was trying to save money and cut back on the budget, but in reality, I threw the budget out of whack for a couple months to come now! But we'll make it...and boy oh boy...we ought to be on Sprint's "A" list this month.
-Rob
Sunday, June 05, 2005
120 degrees, Easy
Vacation Bible School starts tomorrow, so we spent the better part of the afternoon decorating the church sanctuary. It's pretty cool really. The theme for VBS is "Ramblin' Road Trip" so Brooke chose to decorate the sanctuary with tents, camping gear, a "road" made of black plastic with yellow stripes on it (complete with "vehicles" borrowed from kids at the church). I'll try to post some pictures later, but it looks good.
I forgot to mention that the sanctuary decorations included these "tree things". If I can post some pictures, I'll clearly label the "tree things". Anyway, these were stored in the church attic. Let me help you get a clearer picture...climb the steps to the baptistery, climb the ladder into the attic and then climb up into the rafters of the attic. There you will see the "tree things". Before I cleaned out the attic, this was the only place these things would fit...but "fit" really isn't a very good word. If you hold your mouth just right, twist, turn and otherwise manipulate in every way you can imagine you can get those things down. The outside temperature was probably only in the upper 80's today. Safe to say it was 100 degrees in the attic...I'm guessing it was 120 degrees, easy up there in the rafters. When I came down, it looked I took a shower with my clothes on! Of course, I smelled kinda funky, too.
Oh, but I forgot to mention one other item...actually getting up into the rafters. I had a stool to stand on and I was trying to hoist myself up into the rafters from there. Now, those of you that know me know my arm-size to stomach-size ratio does not favor pulling myself up. I don't know the exact measurements between the rafters, and although there is not a lot of room left, it is sufficient for my girth. However, I knew it was going to be a challenging climbing up to the top of the stool, grabbing the rafters, kicking my legs up onto the rafters and trying to pull myself up. To make things worse (you thought it couldn't get worse?), a couple college girls working with the children's department came up to try and help while I was doing my monkey impression. To their credit, they left rather than laugh in my face (that's what they told Brooke).
Anyway, all 30-40 "tree things" came down out of the attic. I went home, took a shower, changed clothes and drank a 50 oz. lemonade and am not much worse for the wear. The good news is, since I cleaned up the attic a few weeks ago, there is room to put the "tree things" on the floor in the attic so nobody has to crawl up in the rafters anymore.
-Rob
I forgot to mention that the sanctuary decorations included these "tree things". If I can post some pictures, I'll clearly label the "tree things". Anyway, these were stored in the church attic. Let me help you get a clearer picture...climb the steps to the baptistery, climb the ladder into the attic and then climb up into the rafters of the attic. There you will see the "tree things". Before I cleaned out the attic, this was the only place these things would fit...but "fit" really isn't a very good word. If you hold your mouth just right, twist, turn and otherwise manipulate in every way you can imagine you can get those things down. The outside temperature was probably only in the upper 80's today. Safe to say it was 100 degrees in the attic...I'm guessing it was 120 degrees, easy up there in the rafters. When I came down, it looked I took a shower with my clothes on! Of course, I smelled kinda funky, too.
Oh, but I forgot to mention one other item...actually getting up into the rafters. I had a stool to stand on and I was trying to hoist myself up into the rafters from there. Now, those of you that know me know my arm-size to stomach-size ratio does not favor pulling myself up. I don't know the exact measurements between the rafters, and although there is not a lot of room left, it is sufficient for my girth. However, I knew it was going to be a challenging climbing up to the top of the stool, grabbing the rafters, kicking my legs up onto the rafters and trying to pull myself up. To make things worse (you thought it couldn't get worse?), a couple college girls working with the children's department came up to try and help while I was doing my monkey impression. To their credit, they left rather than laugh in my face (that's what they told Brooke).
Anyway, all 30-40 "tree things" came down out of the attic. I went home, took a shower, changed clothes and drank a 50 oz. lemonade and am not much worse for the wear. The good news is, since I cleaned up the attic a few weeks ago, there is room to put the "tree things" on the floor in the attic so nobody has to crawl up in the rafters anymore.
-Rob
Friday, June 03, 2005
Book I'm Reading
I like to read and I'm trying to read more often, but I'm still pretty slow. I'm not the fastest reader around (I have a very high comprehension rate, though), and then I can't read most books without underlining the "good stuff". When you figure that I don't set aside enough time to read, I read slow and then I have to underline everything, you might imagine how long it takes me to finish a book.
But anyway, the book I am not moseying through (is "moseying" a word?) is Making Small Groups Work: What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend. It is an excellent book so far (I'm on page 67 of 292!).
One chapter is entitled "The Ingredients of Grace, Truth and Time". This is what they said about grace and truth:
Jesus was the realization of grace and truth together. He was total unmerited favor. He loves us, accepts us, and helps us when we don't deserve it. He favors us and brings us favors, just because he loves us. He also give us truth-the truth of God, the truth of life and how we should live, the truth of who and how we really are. Jesus offer the love that gets us to face and deal with reality. The safety of his forgiveness and grace take the shame and sting out of our daily failure to live up to his standards. The exciting thing about experiencing grace and truth together is that we can become friends with the standards. The way we "out to be" can become a goal, a direction, instead of a judge. Because of grace, we can begin to say, "I want to see where I need to change, so I can be and do better. Show me the truth and where I am in relation to it." Jesus' grace enables us to become friends with truth.
I don't know...maybe taken out of context of the whole chapter that doesn't make much sense. I really appreciated "The exciting thing about experiencing grace and truth together is that we can become friends with the standards" because I am my own harshest critic. Too much truth about who I am is hard for me to handle. But as I've been spending time with the Lord journaling, I have noticed how he deals with issues in my life with grace. I never feel like He is putting me down or even "yelling at" me even when He is correcting me. I can relate to the need for a balance of truth and grace in my life.
The book goes on to talk about how doing life together as a group enhances (or can enhance) this truth/grace balance as members deal with one another in truth and walk in grace. As group members we have the opportunity to demonstrate the balance of God's truth and grace to others and help them mature in Christ. This books is showing me how God never intended for us to grow in him by ourselves...he intended for us to do it together. It is making me appreciate the people God has put in my life and giving me an excitement about working with the Life Group leaders in our church.
-Rob
But anyway, the book I am not moseying through (is "moseying" a word?) is Making Small Groups Work: What Every Small Group Leader Needs to Know by Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend. It is an excellent book so far (I'm on page 67 of 292!).
One chapter is entitled "The Ingredients of Grace, Truth and Time". This is what they said about grace and truth:
Jesus was the realization of grace and truth together. He was total unmerited favor. He loves us, accepts us, and helps us when we don't deserve it. He favors us and brings us favors, just because he loves us. He also give us truth-the truth of God, the truth of life and how we should live, the truth of who and how we really are. Jesus offer the love that gets us to face and deal with reality. The safety of his forgiveness and grace take the shame and sting out of our daily failure to live up to his standards. The exciting thing about experiencing grace and truth together is that we can become friends with the standards. The way we "out to be" can become a goal, a direction, instead of a judge. Because of grace, we can begin to say, "I want to see where I need to change, so I can be and do better. Show me the truth and where I am in relation to it." Jesus' grace enables us to become friends with truth.
I don't know...maybe taken out of context of the whole chapter that doesn't make much sense. I really appreciated "The exciting thing about experiencing grace and truth together is that we can become friends with the standards" because I am my own harshest critic. Too much truth about who I am is hard for me to handle. But as I've been spending time with the Lord journaling, I have noticed how he deals with issues in my life with grace. I never feel like He is putting me down or even "yelling at" me even when He is correcting me. I can relate to the need for a balance of truth and grace in my life.
The book goes on to talk about how doing life together as a group enhances (or can enhance) this truth/grace balance as members deal with one another in truth and walk in grace. As group members we have the opportunity to demonstrate the balance of God's truth and grace to others and help them mature in Christ. This books is showing me how God never intended for us to grow in him by ourselves...he intended for us to do it together. It is making me appreciate the people God has put in my life and giving me an excitement about working with the Life Group leaders in our church.
-Rob
Watching the Weather
We've been watching the weather all day...outside, on TV and online. We are supposed to have a Block Party at the church tonight. We are inviting our neighbors to come hang out with us. We're gonna have free hotdogs, chips and something to drink. We're renting some blow up games (a bungee run and velcro wall), bringing in a couple jump houses (thanks to Randy at Quick Signs), face painting and other stuff for kids. The weather originally severe storms would be here between 2 and 7pm. Since the Block Party is from 7 to 9pm, that would have been a problem. We did get some rain around 2-3pm, but nothing serious and it seems to be clearing off now. The Block Party is a "go" so we're just trying to get in touch with the guy who has the blow up games to make sure he still plans on having them here. Lots of work going into tonight...hope we have a good turn out from the neighborhood.
- Rob
- Rob
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Lots Going On, Not Writing Much
Wow, compared to previous months, it seems like I'm not writing much right now. It's not that nothing is going on, I guess that we're just busy and not that much seems exciting enough to write about.
We've been busy this weekend, but it's been kinda fun. Vacation Bible School begins a week from Monday, so Brooke is very busy getting ready for that. She wanted to do a promo for it during service today, so we've been working on her idea. We know a guy at church who has a BIG Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and since the theme for VBS this year is "Ramblin' Road Trip", Brooke put the two together. Brooke's basic idea was to have a short intro video giving all the info about VBS, then she would ride motorcycle (as a passenger!) into the sanctuary and make an announcement. So, we went out and shot some video on Saturday with our friend who has the motorcycle, and I started editing video. The video starts out the song "Born to be Wild" playing and a question pops up on the screen "Have you been on a road trip?" Then there is video of Ed on his Harley. The video goes back and forth between shots of Ed on his motorcycle and info screens about VBS. At the end, it says "Don't miss a single day....because you never know what is going to happen next." While this is on the screen, you see a shot from the back of Ed's motorcycle as he turns into the church parking lot and rides up the ramp in front of the church. The video ends, the sanctuary lights go out and then you hear Ed crank up his Harley. Ed and Brooke rode into the sanctuary, Brooke made her announcement and then they rode out. It was pretty awesome...and fun to do. We went out to eat with Ed and his wife Pat tonight and then helped Ed get his bike out of the sanctuary and take it home. We had a lot of fun.
Amanda is out of school now, so after having something to do and LOTS of people to be with seven hours a day, five days a week, she is getting bored. She comes to work with Brooke and I Monday-Thursday from around 9:30am to anywhere between 3:30-4:30pm. She's got some movies to watch, the church playground, pictures to draw and a 1st grade computer "game" and workbook to go with that. We hope to find some other VBS programs for her to attend and maybe swim lessons or a karate class. Of course there is our own VBS coming up in another week and a trip to Alabama in July.
I'm still learning how to "fix" more stuff with my new job. I worked on our washing machine and home to stop a leak and got the water flowing again in one of the "fixtures" in the Men's' Room at church. I guess I'm good enough at taking things apart...the challenge is trying to figure out what is wrong after I get the stuff apart.
I'm getting to preach on Father's Day, so I'm already praying about and preparing for that. I'm a little frustrated right now...I thought the Lord laid something on my heart to preach, but it's not developing very well. I'm not sure if the Lord just gave this to me for my benefit or if I am supposed to preach it, so I'm still praying about it. In any case, I'm excited to have the opportunity to preach.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We are going over to Mom and Dads for burgers and just to hang out. It will be the last day off this week. Tuesday Brooke has ladies' Bible study and I have to mow the lawn. Wednesday night Brooke works children's ministry at church while I drive the bus for Jr. High youth group and have Life Group at our house. Thursday Brooke has a PTA meeting. Friday our church has our "Block Party" (we're inviting the neighborhood out for free food, blow up games for the kids, etc) and then Saturday is a work day to get ready for VBS. Fun fun fun!
So I guess it's about time to get Amanda Kay into bed. Think Brooke and I are going to watch "The Italian Job" and then I might watch some violent war movie after that to relax.
-Rob
We've been busy this weekend, but it's been kinda fun. Vacation Bible School begins a week from Monday, so Brooke is very busy getting ready for that. She wanted to do a promo for it during service today, so we've been working on her idea. We know a guy at church who has a BIG Harley-Davidson motorcycle, and since the theme for VBS this year is "Ramblin' Road Trip", Brooke put the two together. Brooke's basic idea was to have a short intro video giving all the info about VBS, then she would ride motorcycle (as a passenger!) into the sanctuary and make an announcement. So, we went out and shot some video on Saturday with our friend who has the motorcycle, and I started editing video. The video starts out the song "Born to be Wild" playing and a question pops up on the screen "Have you been on a road trip?" Then there is video of Ed on his Harley. The video goes back and forth between shots of Ed on his motorcycle and info screens about VBS. At the end, it says "Don't miss a single day....because you never know what is going to happen next." While this is on the screen, you see a shot from the back of Ed's motorcycle as he turns into the church parking lot and rides up the ramp in front of the church. The video ends, the sanctuary lights go out and then you hear Ed crank up his Harley. Ed and Brooke rode into the sanctuary, Brooke made her announcement and then they rode out. It was pretty awesome...and fun to do. We went out to eat with Ed and his wife Pat tonight and then helped Ed get his bike out of the sanctuary and take it home. We had a lot of fun.
Amanda is out of school now, so after having something to do and LOTS of people to be with seven hours a day, five days a week, she is getting bored. She comes to work with Brooke and I Monday-Thursday from around 9:30am to anywhere between 3:30-4:30pm. She's got some movies to watch, the church playground, pictures to draw and a 1st grade computer "game" and workbook to go with that. We hope to find some other VBS programs for her to attend and maybe swim lessons or a karate class. Of course there is our own VBS coming up in another week and a trip to Alabama in July.
I'm still learning how to "fix" more stuff with my new job. I worked on our washing machine and home to stop a leak and got the water flowing again in one of the "fixtures" in the Men's' Room at church. I guess I'm good enough at taking things apart...the challenge is trying to figure out what is wrong after I get the stuff apart.
I'm getting to preach on Father's Day, so I'm already praying about and preparing for that. I'm a little frustrated right now...I thought the Lord laid something on my heart to preach, but it's not developing very well. I'm not sure if the Lord just gave this to me for my benefit or if I am supposed to preach it, so I'm still praying about it. In any case, I'm excited to have the opportunity to preach.
Tomorrow is Memorial Day. We are going over to Mom and Dads for burgers and just to hang out. It will be the last day off this week. Tuesday Brooke has ladies' Bible study and I have to mow the lawn. Wednesday night Brooke works children's ministry at church while I drive the bus for Jr. High youth group and have Life Group at our house. Thursday Brooke has a PTA meeting. Friday our church has our "Block Party" (we're inviting the neighborhood out for free food, blow up games for the kids, etc) and then Saturday is a work day to get ready for VBS. Fun fun fun!
So I guess it's about time to get Amanda Kay into bed. Think Brooke and I are going to watch "The Italian Job" and then I might watch some violent war movie after that to relax.
-Rob
Friday, May 27, 2005
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Amanda Lost Her First Tooth
Amanda lost her first tooth today...complete with the appropriate amount of celebration and pride. We knew she would lose the tooth not because it started getting loose, but because the new tooth started growing in behind it. As a matter of fact, for a while we thought we were going to have to let the dentist pull the tooth because the new one was growing in and the old one was not getting loose. Amanda finally started pulling on it and it started getting loose. Wednesday night Mommy "helped". Today, Amanda wiggled on it all day at school and this afternoon Mommy successfully extracted the first loose tooth. Tomorrow, Amanda gets to take it to school and they will give her a special box on a necklace to put the tooth in. This, of course, is all very exciting. One down and...how many to go?
-Rob
-Rob
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Isaiah 55
I read this during my devotion time this morning. It is from the New Living Translation.
1"Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink--even if you have no money! Come, take your choice of wine or milk--it's all free! 2Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength? Why pay for food that does you no good? Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!
3"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, for the life of your soul is at stake. I am ready to make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the mercies and unfailing love that I promised to David. 4He displayed my power by being my witness and a leader among the nations. 5You also will command the nations, and they will come running to obey, because I, the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, have made you glorious."
6Seek the LORD while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7Let the people turn from their wicked deeds. Let them banish from their minds the very thought of doing wrong! Let them turn to the LORD that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
8"My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
10"The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. 11It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. 12You will live in joy and peace. The mountains and hills will burst into song, and the trees of the field will clap their hands! 13Where once there were thorns, cypress trees will grow. Where briers grew, myrtles will sprout up. This miracle will bring great honor to the LORD's name; it will be an everlasting sign of his power and love.
Tuesday, May 17, 2005
Amanda Graduated Kindergarten
"They" say time flies when you are having fun. Is that why your kids grow up so fast? Amanda Kay graduated from Kindergarten today...although she still has another week of class. Is it just me, or does that seem strange? I guess it's because they have to have award ceremonies for each grade, they only have one cafeteria/stage and doing the whole school at once would take forever.
But anyway, the important (exciting) thing is that Amanda graduated from her first year of school. She has learned a lot, and we are thankful for a good school and a great teacher this year. After pre-K at a Christian mother's day out program, Brooke and I talked and prayed about the options for Amanda's schooling. Having youth pastored for many years, I felt Christian kids needed to be in public schools...if you take all of the Christians out of public school, what is going to happen? But after having Amanda come home from "school" for three years singing Bible songs and quoting memory verses, it was hard to think about sending her to a school that, for all intents and purposes, tries to act like God does not exist. After more prayer and discussion, we sent Amanda down the street to Corey Elementary. God was very good to us gave us Mrs. Childers as Amanda's teacher. We found out Mrs. Childers was a Christian when we invited her to "Teacher Appreciation Sunday" at our church at the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Childers said she could come to the reception after church but she felt she should go to her own church service. Mrs. Childers is a grandmotherly type who has been teaching for a number of years. She is very patient and an excellent teacher. We could not have asked for a better teacher, and we have been so thankful for her this year.
So Amanda is now ready for her last week of school before her first official summer vacation. She is excited about first grade next year and looking forward to swimming this summer.
- Rob
But anyway, the important (exciting) thing is that Amanda graduated from her first year of school. She has learned a lot, and we are thankful for a good school and a great teacher this year. After pre-K at a Christian mother's day out program, Brooke and I talked and prayed about the options for Amanda's schooling. Having youth pastored for many years, I felt Christian kids needed to be in public schools...if you take all of the Christians out of public school, what is going to happen? But after having Amanda come home from "school" for three years singing Bible songs and quoting memory verses, it was hard to think about sending her to a school that, for all intents and purposes, tries to act like God does not exist. After more prayer and discussion, we sent Amanda down the street to Corey Elementary. God was very good to us gave us Mrs. Childers as Amanda's teacher. We found out Mrs. Childers was a Christian when we invited her to "Teacher Appreciation Sunday" at our church at the beginning of the school year. Mrs. Childers said she could come to the reception after church but she felt she should go to her own church service. Mrs. Childers is a grandmotherly type who has been teaching for a number of years. She is very patient and an excellent teacher. We could not have asked for a better teacher, and we have been so thankful for her this year.
So Amanda is now ready for her last week of school before her first official summer vacation. She is excited about first grade next year and looking forward to swimming this summer.
- Rob
Monday, May 09, 2005
Book I'm Reading
I really enjoy reading. I was going to say "I love reading", but I don't think I do it enough to say that. But since I've switched jobs and don't bring so much work home, I've been reading more.
Right now, I'm about 2/3 the way through "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw. It is a number of short biographies about people who fought in or lived through WWII. I wish I could describe what I feel as I read about these incredible people. I think I agree with Tom Brokaw this time (that feels odd)...they were truly the greatest generation. When I read what they gave for this country...sometimes I tear up and frequently I find myself saying "thank you, God, for these men and women."
There's so many stories to share...there's no since in my trying to rewrite the book. But I just finished a section about black servicemen during the war and the prejudice they had to endure. Here they were, volunteering to fight, willing to give their lives for their country, and they were treated so horribly. A couple men recounted being stationed in Ft. Hood, TX where German and Italian POWs were kept. At times, the prisoners were allowed into the base PX but the black servicemen were not! When I read this part, I found myself saying "forgive us, God." It has made me want to rent the movie "Tuskegee Airmen" and find some other books to read their story.
The one thing that keeps going through my mind as I read this book...what would happen if we had a war like that today? Thank God for those serving (and dying) in the battle against terrorism. But I just can't help but think that things would be different today if our whole country had to sacrifice like everyone did back in WWII. The soldiers, the wives who had children who never saw their father, the parents sending their young men off to die, those who worked the long hours in the factories, gas rationing...the list goes on and on. I think Mr. Brokaw got it right...they were the greatest generation.
- Rob
Right now, I'm about 2/3 the way through "The Greatest Generation" by Tom Brokaw. It is a number of short biographies about people who fought in or lived through WWII. I wish I could describe what I feel as I read about these incredible people. I think I agree with Tom Brokaw this time (that feels odd)...they were truly the greatest generation. When I read what they gave for this country...sometimes I tear up and frequently I find myself saying "thank you, God, for these men and women."
There's so many stories to share...there's no since in my trying to rewrite the book. But I just finished a section about black servicemen during the war and the prejudice they had to endure. Here they were, volunteering to fight, willing to give their lives for their country, and they were treated so horribly. A couple men recounted being stationed in Ft. Hood, TX where German and Italian POWs were kept. At times, the prisoners were allowed into the base PX but the black servicemen were not! When I read this part, I found myself saying "forgive us, God." It has made me want to rent the movie "Tuskegee Airmen" and find some other books to read their story.
The one thing that keeps going through my mind as I read this book...what would happen if we had a war like that today? Thank God for those serving (and dying) in the battle against terrorism. But I just can't help but think that things would be different today if our whole country had to sacrifice like everyone did back in WWII. The soldiers, the wives who had children who never saw their father, the parents sending their young men off to die, those who worked the long hours in the factories, gas rationing...the list goes on and on. I think Mr. Brokaw got it right...they were the greatest generation.
- Rob
Sunday, May 08, 2005
Happy Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day, Brookie!
We sorta celebrated Mother's Day yesterday at our house. It started in the early afternoon as Brooke went to a baby shower. Amanda Kay and I got into the car and went shopping! The first place we headed was to Luna's Salon and Spa to get Brooke a gift card for a pedicure and manicure (she loves that). Next, Amanda wanted to head to the movie store to get Mommy a movie for Mother's Day...we picked "Oceans Twelve". Then, we went in search of the perfect roses for Mother's Day. One store had a beautiful arrangement of multi-colored roses (some very pretty purple ones included), but Brooke likes pink, so we headed to yet another store. When we found the pink roses, we hurried home to get the roses in a vase, wrap the movie and make a couple cards. We soon found out the rose vase at home had somehow "disappeared", but we borrowed one from the church and I still don't think Brooke knows the difference. I'm wondering if she didn't take her vase to church and it got left there, 'cause the one I borrowed looks pretty much exactly like the one that used to be here. Anyway, the roses got in a vase, the movie got wrapped and we made a card from Daddy and a card from Amanda. Since Brooke had to work children's ministry both services today, we had Mother's Day yesterday. Well, we gave her the gifts yesterday, but we loved extra on her today, too.
Brooke and I have been married 12 years this year, and she has been a mother for six years now. She's pretty special to me, and in closing today, I wanted to share what I wrote in her mother's day card. I don't know how romantic it is, but I tried to express how much she means to our family.
Brookie,
I don't know how you do it...all you do for your job at church and then all the stuff you volunteer to do on top of that. And then, if that is not enough, you come home and cook, wash clothes, grocery shop, help do homework, give Amanda a bath and whatever else needs to be done.
I guess because you somehow balance all of this so well I take you for granted. You're kinda like one of those beams that holds up a big bridge...people don't often think of the beam when they look at the bridge spanned over a river at sunset. It's a peaceful scene and people go about their everyday lives going back and forth across the bridge. If the beam wasn't there to hold it up, it would be an ugly heap of junk in the middle of the river. People looking at our life as a family see a beautiful bridge spanning the river at sunset. Amanda and I can go about our everyday lives because you are there...always.
I guess the picture of a bridge beam is not very romantic, but it does describe what you do in our family. You support us, make us look good to others and give us the foundation we need. You hold us up and you hold us together. Sometimes we're the majestic Golden Gate Bridge and sometimes we're the Bridge Over Troubled Water...but we'd be nowhere without you. Thank you for being the beam that hold our family together. I DO appreciate and recognize all you do for me and Amanda.
I love you,
Rob
We sorta celebrated Mother's Day yesterday at our house. It started in the early afternoon as Brooke went to a baby shower. Amanda Kay and I got into the car and went shopping! The first place we headed was to Luna's Salon and Spa to get Brooke a gift card for a pedicure and manicure (she loves that). Next, Amanda wanted to head to the movie store to get Mommy a movie for Mother's Day...we picked "Oceans Twelve". Then, we went in search of the perfect roses for Mother's Day. One store had a beautiful arrangement of multi-colored roses (some very pretty purple ones included), but Brooke likes pink, so we headed to yet another store. When we found the pink roses, we hurried home to get the roses in a vase, wrap the movie and make a couple cards. We soon found out the rose vase at home had somehow "disappeared", but we borrowed one from the church and I still don't think Brooke knows the difference. I'm wondering if she didn't take her vase to church and it got left there, 'cause the one I borrowed looks pretty much exactly like the one that used to be here. Anyway, the roses got in a vase, the movie got wrapped and we made a card from Daddy and a card from Amanda. Since Brooke had to work children's ministry both services today, we had Mother's Day yesterday. Well, we gave her the gifts yesterday, but we loved extra on her today, too.
Brooke and I have been married 12 years this year, and she has been a mother for six years now. She's pretty special to me, and in closing today, I wanted to share what I wrote in her mother's day card. I don't know how romantic it is, but I tried to express how much she means to our family.
Brookie,
I don't know how you do it...all you do for your job at church and then all the stuff you volunteer to do on top of that. And then, if that is not enough, you come home and cook, wash clothes, grocery shop, help do homework, give Amanda a bath and whatever else needs to be done.
I guess because you somehow balance all of this so well I take you for granted. You're kinda like one of those beams that holds up a big bridge...people don't often think of the beam when they look at the bridge spanned over a river at sunset. It's a peaceful scene and people go about their everyday lives going back and forth across the bridge. If the beam wasn't there to hold it up, it would be an ugly heap of junk in the middle of the river. People looking at our life as a family see a beautiful bridge spanning the river at sunset. Amanda and I can go about our everyday lives because you are there...always.
I guess the picture of a bridge beam is not very romantic, but it does describe what you do in our family. You support us, make us look good to others and give us the foundation we need. You hold us up and you hold us together. Sometimes we're the majestic Golden Gate Bridge and sometimes we're the Bridge Over Troubled Water...but we'd be nowhere without you. Thank you for being the beam that hold our family together. I DO appreciate and recognize all you do for me and Amanda.
I love you,
Rob
Thursday, May 05, 2005
Enjoying My New Job
I'm enjoying my new job as administrative assistant. People ask what I do, and I can actually tell them now (I was developing a job description for a while). One of the roles I'm just getting into is leading our life groups at church. Right now, I'm just touching base with our leaders once a week via e-mail to find out what is going on in their group, who attended and to pass on a few tips that hopefully help them as leaders. I also help them find curriculum for their group and will soon begin a leaders' meeting every six weeks or so.
One of the things the Lord taught me my last 2 years as youth pastor was to relax in who He made me to be. When I first joined the Arlington Youth Ministry Network a number of years ago, I was intimidated by most every youth pastor I met. It seemed most everybody was more outgoing, more of a "people person" and had more kids than I did. In 2000, we did an event called CRASH which was a city-wide evangelistic outreach. Everybody was asked to be part of a team...promotion, program, fundraising, school assemblies, etc. I noticed that these teams would need to communicate with each other and there was no system in place to allow them to do this. When I volunteered to do this, I was overwhelmed at the response...the guys were THRILLED to have someone do this. They had the outgoing personalities, the people skills and whatever else, but administration was not their thing...I had found my "nitch". The Lord used that experience and my time with the Network to teach me to relax in who He made me to be. It wasn't until my last two years of youth pastoring that I felt like an adequate youth pastor. It was not so much how I had changed over the years...I just finally figured out that God made me the way He did for a purpose, and he put me into the job I had for a purpose. As long as I was leaning on God, I could do a GOOD job.
Having said that, I'm trying not to have to relearn a lot of those lessons as I transition to working with adults. Trying to help adults lead other adults (in our life groups) has been a task that has kept me humble and seeking the Lord. Just this week I was praying about the life groups and what to share with the leaders in an upcoming leaders meeting. I was starting to feel inadequate, and the Lord reminded me HE was the one who had something to say that would help our leaders. He shared some of this "good stuff" with me through an article I had skimmed over previously (He brought me back to it) and then showed me how that applied to our groups. I'm excited to have this opportunity to stretch my faith and grow in who God created me to be.
Besides life groups, I also do "administrative stuff" and "maintenance stuff" around the church. The administrative stuff comes naturally...the maintenance stuff I am learning. Sometimes I get to combine administration with maintenance...like this last week. I cleaned out and organized our church attic. It took most of my day on Thursday, but it was rewarding looking at it when I was done. I've trimmed hedges, added baseboard trim inside the church and pulled some NASTY vines off a fence line.
All of this maintenance stuff has rubbed off at home, which makes Brooke happy. Ever since we moved into the house, our back screen door has not stayed closed because I needed to replace the latch. This is a simple job I could have done when I was in high school, but not liking "handy man" tasks, our door has not been fixed in the six years we have been here. I was at Lowes the other day buying stuff for the church and saw door latches. I spent the $2 to get the latch and fixed our door. Now I'm asking myself...why didn't I do this six years ago? I also fixed a door in the house that would not stay closed and...are you ready for this...finally finished painting the kitchen! We started painting in the kitchen in December, and it is finally done. Yea! Brooke thinks we are going to start on the main bathroom next...but I don't know about that.
I was thinking the other day after I ripped all that NASTY vine off the fence and again after I finished cleaning the attic...I need to take more "before and after" pictures. Nobody can really appreciate the work that went into clearing the vine off that fence line...and how do you explain to somebody what the attic looked like before you took that dumpster-and-a-half of junk out? Anyway, I'm learning new stuff and enjoying my new job. At least there's a lot of variety!
- Rob
One of the things the Lord taught me my last 2 years as youth pastor was to relax in who He made me to be. When I first joined the Arlington Youth Ministry Network a number of years ago, I was intimidated by most every youth pastor I met. It seemed most everybody was more outgoing, more of a "people person" and had more kids than I did. In 2000, we did an event called CRASH which was a city-wide evangelistic outreach. Everybody was asked to be part of a team...promotion, program, fundraising, school assemblies, etc. I noticed that these teams would need to communicate with each other and there was no system in place to allow them to do this. When I volunteered to do this, I was overwhelmed at the response...the guys were THRILLED to have someone do this. They had the outgoing personalities, the people skills and whatever else, but administration was not their thing...I had found my "nitch". The Lord used that experience and my time with the Network to teach me to relax in who He made me to be. It wasn't until my last two years of youth pastoring that I felt like an adequate youth pastor. It was not so much how I had changed over the years...I just finally figured out that God made me the way He did for a purpose, and he put me into the job I had for a purpose. As long as I was leaning on God, I could do a GOOD job.
Having said that, I'm trying not to have to relearn a lot of those lessons as I transition to working with adults. Trying to help adults lead other adults (in our life groups) has been a task that has kept me humble and seeking the Lord. Just this week I was praying about the life groups and what to share with the leaders in an upcoming leaders meeting. I was starting to feel inadequate, and the Lord reminded me HE was the one who had something to say that would help our leaders. He shared some of this "good stuff" with me through an article I had skimmed over previously (He brought me back to it) and then showed me how that applied to our groups. I'm excited to have this opportunity to stretch my faith and grow in who God created me to be.
Besides life groups, I also do "administrative stuff" and "maintenance stuff" around the church. The administrative stuff comes naturally...the maintenance stuff I am learning. Sometimes I get to combine administration with maintenance...like this last week. I cleaned out and organized our church attic. It took most of my day on Thursday, but it was rewarding looking at it when I was done. I've trimmed hedges, added baseboard trim inside the church and pulled some NASTY vines off a fence line.
All of this maintenance stuff has rubbed off at home, which makes Brooke happy. Ever since we moved into the house, our back screen door has not stayed closed because I needed to replace the latch. This is a simple job I could have done when I was in high school, but not liking "handy man" tasks, our door has not been fixed in the six years we have been here. I was at Lowes the other day buying stuff for the church and saw door latches. I spent the $2 to get the latch and fixed our door. Now I'm asking myself...why didn't I do this six years ago? I also fixed a door in the house that would not stay closed and...are you ready for this...finally finished painting the kitchen! We started painting in the kitchen in December, and it is finally done. Yea! Brooke thinks we are going to start on the main bathroom next...but I don't know about that.
I was thinking the other day after I ripped all that NASTY vine off the fence and again after I finished cleaning the attic...I need to take more "before and after" pictures. Nobody can really appreciate the work that went into clearing the vine off that fence line...and how do you explain to somebody what the attic looked like before you took that dumpster-and-a-half of junk out? Anyway, I'm learning new stuff and enjoying my new job. At least there's a lot of variety!
- Rob
Tuesday, May 03, 2005
Off to the Races
This past Friday night, Dad and I went to the racetrack in Grand Prairie. Dad knows the guy who owns the racetrack and has been before. He mentioned that there were going to be sprint cars this past weekend and I asked him if I could go with him.
I haven't been to a sprint car race since I was in high school...maybe my freshman year of college about 17 years ago. Dad and I used to go to Knoxville, IA for the World of Outlaws national races. The racing was always good, but the thing I liked best was the fact that Dad and I did it together. When Dad mentioned sprint car races again, I wanted to go.
This was the first time sprints had been at the Grand Prairie Speedway, and there were stock and modified races as well. It's a dirt track with banked corners, and they wet the track down good...it was a FAST track Friday night. The stock races were ok, the modifieds were very good and the sprint car races were excellent, bringing back the memories of Knoxville some 17 years ago. It was quite an experience from the mud slinging up into the stands, to the noise, to the smell of alcohol that the sprints burned for fuel. I had forgotten that smell, but for me, that is what brought back the memories of "the good 'ol days" when Dad and I watched the races.
At the Grand Prairie Speedway, the pits are outside of the track, so there is pretty much nothing in the infield. Since my Dad knew the owner of the track, we got to go onto the infield for the second half of the races. It gave you a whole new perspective to the race, and besides that, you had to feel just a little important being pointed at by the owner of the track and then being led, in front of the whole grandstand, into the infield.
And as is true for any memory-making event, there has to be a "yeah, and remember..." part of the story. When we think about this Friday night race in the future, I know what we're going to say. "Yeah, and remember how cold it was? Rob took two jackets and was just cold...Dad took one and nearly froze to death!" And then there will be, "Yeah, and remember when Rob wasn't smart enough to go to the restroom before going into the (restroomless) infield for three hours!"
-Rob
I haven't been to a sprint car race since I was in high school...maybe my freshman year of college about 17 years ago. Dad and I used to go to Knoxville, IA for the World of Outlaws national races. The racing was always good, but the thing I liked best was the fact that Dad and I did it together. When Dad mentioned sprint car races again, I wanted to go.
This was the first time sprints had been at the Grand Prairie Speedway, and there were stock and modified races as well. It's a dirt track with banked corners, and they wet the track down good...it was a FAST track Friday night. The stock races were ok, the modifieds were very good and the sprint car races were excellent, bringing back the memories of Knoxville some 17 years ago. It was quite an experience from the mud slinging up into the stands, to the noise, to the smell of alcohol that the sprints burned for fuel. I had forgotten that smell, but for me, that is what brought back the memories of "the good 'ol days" when Dad and I watched the races.
At the Grand Prairie Speedway, the pits are outside of the track, so there is pretty much nothing in the infield. Since my Dad knew the owner of the track, we got to go onto the infield for the second half of the races. It gave you a whole new perspective to the race, and besides that, you had to feel just a little important being pointed at by the owner of the track and then being led, in front of the whole grandstand, into the infield.
And as is true for any memory-making event, there has to be a "yeah, and remember..." part of the story. When we think about this Friday night race in the future, I know what we're going to say. "Yeah, and remember how cold it was? Rob took two jackets and was just cold...Dad took one and nearly froze to death!" And then there will be, "Yeah, and remember when Rob wasn't smart enough to go to the restroom before going into the (restroomless) infield for three hours!"
-Rob
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
A Small Insight
"Peace happens in your spirit, not in your schedule"
- from my journaling time this evening
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Jennifer's Last Sunday
Jennifer came to our church a little over 10 years ago as our children's pastor. Over the years, she has become a dear friend to Brooke and me. Several years ago she transitioned into the role of creative arts pastor at the church, and now she is transitioning again. This time, she is transitioning into her own ministry and will no longer be on staff at the church. Those of us who know Jen knew this day would come. For a while, she had an e-mail address of BigDream@whatever.com. God has give Jen big dreams, and she is off to pursue those dreams. We will miss seeing Jen around, but we wish her God's best. We gave Jen a card, and here's the note I enclosed.
Jen,
Wow, things have changed a bit since you first came to the church and gave Pastor David that 85 page prospectus on children's ministry. Of course, I remember it because I got to type it up being secretary and all. And you know, the thing that makes this all OK now is I KNOW, with your meticulous filing system, you have kept that thing through all these years and are taking it with you as a treasured memory of working at the church. Maybe you stuck it right next to that nice poster you did for me of the comparative worldviews...oh wait, that one is still in your head!
Yeah, there's lots of stuff I could harass you about. I do wish I had been at Wal-Mart with the first, and now-famous, taped envelope. I don't know if I ever got to thank you properly for the opportunity to “dance” to “Getting to Know You” at that kids' camp World Wide Witness did. Thanks so much. And I guess the classic phone call from the marquee will go down in the books now, too. What was that word you were trying to spell? Whatever it was, just remember it was spelled “OK”.
You were my staff compadre through the years. You helped come up with fun staff activities...alternatives to bowling every time! You were the only one who went along with my pranks on Harry. World Wide Witness has lots of fond memories and going to the Liberty Fellowship family conference with the “Sweaty Mommas”. I guess we wouldn't know what Whirlyball was it if wasn't for you, too.
And then there's the stuff I learned from you. If I EVER needed ANYTHING, you were the one to ask. I guess you've been to every specialty shop in the Metroplex. One of the most important things I learned from you was how to delegate and equip people for ministry. I've read lots about it and have been taught it, but you were always good at finding people's gifts and then finding a way for them to use those gifts. You found people I never would have thought of, and that both challenged me and encouraged me to try and do the same.
To be any good, every ministry needs a right brain person as a part of the team. Since I'm about as left brained as they come, you added a LOT to my youth ministry. Thank you for the Wednesdays you threw something together for me on the computer because I did not get the idea until after lunch that day. As I was cleaning out my youth office, I found the torch you made...the one I “borrowed” about five years ago to speak at a Bible club. If it's any consolation, I shared that message 3 or 4 times and used the torch every time. A lot of people thought Duckalien was OK, but I thought it was GREAT! And I couldn't have been Uncle Sam without your help. I've still got the notes from our Titanic night that I've got to scan and give you a copy of, but that would never have happened without you either. I still look in awe at the one wall in the youth building (and the best part is, you used an overhead to get it started!). The youth building had a lot of your creative input in it. Had it not been for you, I guess it would still be black and white with blue carpet.
Out of all the fond memories, the things I learned from you and the fun times, the thing I am going to miss the most about you not being around all the time is your friendship. Over the years, other staff people had ideas for my ministry, but you were one of the few I felt like was “in my corner” when you had ideas. I guess that was it...you had “ideas” more than “suggestions”. Same thing...they just feel different when people share them. You were always a huge encourager and always remembered to ask me how something went after you knew I had planned and worked hard on it. It was always a great encouragement to have somebody I respected in ministry supporting what I was doing.
Several years ago I realized this day would come...they day you would move on to a different ministry. It is the way God gifted you, and I think anybody who knows you thinks this is a God thing. I'm going to miss you being around and your friendship, but I pray God's absolute best for you. I believe in you and believe God is going to use you mightily. If you ever get to an overwhelming place and wonder if you've done the right thing, remember there are people at the Vine who know you, believe in you and believe you've heard from God. He's got a lot of people to bless through your ministry, and I'm thankful to have known you and been blessed by your ministry all these years.
- Rob
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Wow, That Was a Surprise
We went to a prayer conference this weekend. To be honest, I wasn't real excited about it. I know, and believe, prayer is an important part of the Christian's life, but Friday night and all day Saturday listening to somebody teach on prayer seemed like a long time.
When I got there, I found out the title of the seminar was "Communion with God" and the theme was more about how to hear God's voice. When we went to pick up Amanda who had stayed with my parents Friday night and Saturday, my Dad asked me if there was any "simple" thing they taught us about hearing God's voice. I told him "yes" and shared what we learned.
Hearing God's voice is as simple as:
I want to share just one journaling exercise we did. This is pretty personal stuff, and I don't think I will be publishing any more of my journaling time with the Lord, but I want share how awesome this is. The idea to this type of journaling is, keep writing and don't stop. When you are done, you can look at what you wrote and judge if it is from the Lord (or have some close personal friends help you judge).
Here is just one question I asked the Lord, and the response I believed I received from him. I pictured myself walking with the Lord along the beach. I asked him, "Lord, how do you want me to use what I am learning at this conference?" Immediately, I felt "spontaneous thoughts" and started writing. "Rob, you've been reading, thinking and journaling about loving me/living for me from your heart and not from rules. This is a way you can hear what I'm speaking to your heart. I have given you a new heart, I have come to live in your heart when you invited me in. You think too much when you pray, you don't give me an opportunity like this where you are quiet and let me talk. You are my son, and I love you. When you ask for guidance and direction in life, I am not going to ignore you. When Amanda asks you for a drink, even when you don't want to get up, you do it, don't you? Why? Because you love her and you know she is dependent on you. Guess what...I love you and I know you are dependent on me, too. If you will come to me, and sit with me, I will talk to you and answer the questions you have. How else can we have relationship? When you pray, you talk too much. I want you to bring stuff to me, but don't be like Amanda going to the park and talking so much you can't answer her questions or enter into the conversation with her. And it's good for you to picture these peaceful scenes with me. If you want to hear me speak, you need to get away from where you live your too bust life. Next time, let's talk about your busy life and what you can do to better know my peace. (then I pictured Jesus laughing) You had no idea what this conference was going to be about, did you? Guess what? I did! I love you and hope you will use this to spend more time with me."
- Rob
When I got there, I found out the title of the seminar was "Communion with God" and the theme was more about how to hear God's voice. When we went to pick up Amanda who had stayed with my parents Friday night and Saturday, my Dad asked me if there was any "simple" thing they taught us about hearing God's voice. I told him "yes" and shared what we learned.
Hearing God's voice is as simple as:
- Stilling myself
- Fixing my eyes on Jesus
- Tuning in to spontaneity (spontaneous thoughts)
- Write it down
I want to share just one journaling exercise we did. This is pretty personal stuff, and I don't think I will be publishing any more of my journaling time with the Lord, but I want share how awesome this is. The idea to this type of journaling is, keep writing and don't stop. When you are done, you can look at what you wrote and judge if it is from the Lord (or have some close personal friends help you judge).
Here is just one question I asked the Lord, and the response I believed I received from him. I pictured myself walking with the Lord along the beach. I asked him, "Lord, how do you want me to use what I am learning at this conference?" Immediately, I felt "spontaneous thoughts" and started writing. "Rob, you've been reading, thinking and journaling about loving me/living for me from your heart and not from rules. This is a way you can hear what I'm speaking to your heart. I have given you a new heart, I have come to live in your heart when you invited me in. You think too much when you pray, you don't give me an opportunity like this where you are quiet and let me talk. You are my son, and I love you. When you ask for guidance and direction in life, I am not going to ignore you. When Amanda asks you for a drink, even when you don't want to get up, you do it, don't you? Why? Because you love her and you know she is dependent on you. Guess what...I love you and I know you are dependent on me, too. If you will come to me, and sit with me, I will talk to you and answer the questions you have. How else can we have relationship? When you pray, you talk too much. I want you to bring stuff to me, but don't be like Amanda going to the park and talking so much you can't answer her questions or enter into the conversation with her. And it's good for you to picture these peaceful scenes with me. If you want to hear me speak, you need to get away from where you live your too bust life. Next time, let's talk about your busy life and what you can do to better know my peace. (then I pictured Jesus laughing) You had no idea what this conference was going to be about, did you? Guess what? I did! I love you and hope you will use this to spend more time with me."
- Rob
Thursday, April 21, 2005
No One Really Knows the Father Except the Son
Matthew 11:25-27 - {Jesus said} "O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding the truth from those who think themselves so wise and clever, and for revealing it to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." (NLT)
When I read this the other day, I thought "Wow, this makes it sound like God chooses not to reveal Himself to some people." And this seemed contradictory to the Gospel (Good News) message. And then I thought about a group of people who helped clarify this verse for me in context of the whole teaching of Scripture.
In internet chat rooms, I have talked with people about the Lord. They have "arguments" that they feel disproves Christianity or at least makes it look inconsistent. And I have gotten excited at times like this because I have an "answer" to their question, objection, argument or whatever. But then I go from being excited to being frustrated because no matter how effective the answer to their question, objection or argument, they won't change their mind. I got to the point where I wanted to ask, "OK, if I answer or disprove what you just said, will you quit arguing and admit the Bible is right?" I never said it that way, but these "debaters" wouldn't quit debating anyway. I was so frustrated because the answer to their questions was right there in front of them, but they could not see it.
And then I came across Hebrews 11:6 again. "So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (NLT) Christianity doesn't "make sense" unless one is willing to take that first step of faith toward God. The more I study the arguments of the critics of Christianity, the more sure of my faith I am...the more it "makes sense." But I took that first step of faith. If one could debate somebody into Christianity, there would be no need for faith. And, as Hebrews says, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. (NLT) So coming full circle, God doesn't want anyone to die not knowing Him, but He chooses not to reveal Himself to anyone outside of that initial first step of faith. Once we take that first step of faith saying, "God, I believe you are there. Reveal yourself to me", He will.
By the way, I got my screen name, e-mail address, blog address, etc from Hebrews 11:6 because of the impact this verse had on me after talking to these "professional debaters" ... Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. I had to add the "17" because "seekhim" was taken. My birthday is on the 17th of the month.
- Rob
When I read this the other day, I thought "Wow, this makes it sound like God chooses not to reveal Himself to some people." And this seemed contradictory to the Gospel (Good News) message. And then I thought about a group of people who helped clarify this verse for me in context of the whole teaching of Scripture.
In internet chat rooms, I have talked with people about the Lord. They have "arguments" that they feel disproves Christianity or at least makes it look inconsistent. And I have gotten excited at times like this because I have an "answer" to their question, objection, argument or whatever. But then I go from being excited to being frustrated because no matter how effective the answer to their question, objection or argument, they won't change their mind. I got to the point where I wanted to ask, "OK, if I answer or disprove what you just said, will you quit arguing and admit the Bible is right?" I never said it that way, but these "debaters" wouldn't quit debating anyway. I was so frustrated because the answer to their questions was right there in front of them, but they could not see it.
And then I came across Hebrews 11:6 again. "So, you see, it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." (NLT) Christianity doesn't "make sense" unless one is willing to take that first step of faith toward God. The more I study the arguments of the critics of Christianity, the more sure of my faith I am...the more it "makes sense." But I took that first step of faith. If one could debate somebody into Christianity, there would be no need for faith. And, as Hebrews says, without faith, it is impossible to please God.
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time for everyone to repent. (NLT) So coming full circle, God doesn't want anyone to die not knowing Him, but He chooses not to reveal Himself to anyone outside of that initial first step of faith. Once we take that first step of faith saying, "God, I believe you are there. Reveal yourself to me", He will.
By the way, I got my screen name, e-mail address, blog address, etc from Hebrews 11:6 because of the impact this verse had on me after talking to these "professional debaters" ... Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that there is a God and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. I had to add the "17" because "seekhim" was taken. My birthday is on the 17th of the month.
- Rob
Wednesday, April 20, 2005
God IS Good ALL THE TIME
Just a quick testimony about the goodness of God. We're in a "don't spend...period" time with our finances right now. We are saving towards Brooke's summer trip to Nicaragua and trying to pay off some old debts, so things are pretty tight right now. Both Brooke and I have been praying about the situation. I had one idea of how to address the situation, but I felt the Lord told me to let Him handle it in His time...so that's what I've been trying to do. Our list of things to buy "when we get the money" has been growing.
Today, I went to the mailbox and found what looked to be a check from one of Brooke's doctors. They had already told us we had overpaid something in the past, so I was looking forward to an extra $20-$30 to help out with something this week. Imagine my surprise when I saw they check was for almost $550! Thank you, Jesus!! We will be able to put a good chunk down on Brooke's mission trip to Nicaragua, get me some shoes, Amanda some clothes, the dogs some heartworm medicine and a few other things we really needed to get.
God IS Good...ALL THE TIME!
-Rob
Today, I went to the mailbox and found what looked to be a check from one of Brooke's doctors. They had already told us we had overpaid something in the past, so I was looking forward to an extra $20-$30 to help out with something this week. Imagine my surprise when I saw they check was for almost $550! Thank you, Jesus!! We will be able to put a good chunk down on Brooke's mission trip to Nicaragua, get me some shoes, Amanda some clothes, the dogs some heartworm medicine and a few other things we really needed to get.
God IS Good...ALL THE TIME!
-Rob
Friday, April 15, 2005
Thank the Lord for Extended Warranties
I don't know about you, but I get kinda irritated when I buy anything from a printer to a VCR and am offered an "extended warranty". Of course, they begin to tell all the things that "could" go wrong with your purchase after the initial factory warranty runs out. In the midst of this, I am almost always tempted to say, "If your product is so great, why doesn't it come with this warranty included in the purchase price?". Of course, I am never so bold as to actually SAY this, but it's what I think. Anway, I refuse the extended warranty most of the time.
When I bought my previous laptop, I was given the "extended warranty speech" at Best Buy. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of the extended warranty, but since I bought the thing on credit, I hated the idea of something happening to it and not having the money to fix it while I was still paying for it, so I bought the exteded warranty. Sure enough, two years later, the thing quit working. I took it in to Best Buy, they mailed it to a processing center, who mailed it to the place that fixed it, who mailed it back to the processing center, who mailed it back to the store. As you might imagine, this was not a quick process. When they told me what was wrong, the guy at the customer service desk said something that stuck with me. I had asked if the problem I had with that laptop (a Compaq) was a known problem for that model. The guy said, "I don't know if that was a known problem or not...all I know is this. It doesn't matter what kind of laptop you have, something can go wrong. I've seen EVERY brand of laptop come through here."
About a year ago, I gave that laptop to a missionary friend of mine (complete with the transferable extended warranty) and bought a Dell. I did not get the top of the line system, but I got a pretty nice one. When it came time to decide on a warranty, I bit the bullet and went all the way. I paid for 3 years AT HOME service and got the fourth year free. This kind of warranty cost over $300, but again, buying the machine on credit, I did not want it to go down while I was still paying for it.
Well, guess what. This past week, my extended warranty MORE THAN paid for itself. The computer started acting up on battery power...if I bumped it, it went off. Things kept getting worse, so I called Dell. While I was on hold (yet another story) it went down and would not boot back up. After an hour on the phone with technical support, I was told they would come to my house and fix it. You can read my post about Dell technical support, but the short version is, if I did not have my warranty, it would have cost me $900 to get my computer fixed! Thanks to the extended warranty, it didn't cost me a dime and I am back up and running. Thank the Lord for extended warranties.
You can see a picture of my laptop all taken apart by the technician who replaced the motherboard, processor and heat sync fan in 30 minutes!
- Rob
When I bought my previous laptop, I was given the "extended warranty speech" at Best Buy. Like I said, I'm not a big fan of the extended warranty, but since I bought the thing on credit, I hated the idea of something happening to it and not having the money to fix it while I was still paying for it, so I bought the exteded warranty. Sure enough, two years later, the thing quit working. I took it in to Best Buy, they mailed it to a processing center, who mailed it to the place that fixed it, who mailed it back to the processing center, who mailed it back to the store. As you might imagine, this was not a quick process. When they told me what was wrong, the guy at the customer service desk said something that stuck with me. I had asked if the problem I had with that laptop (a Compaq) was a known problem for that model. The guy said, "I don't know if that was a known problem or not...all I know is this. It doesn't matter what kind of laptop you have, something can go wrong. I've seen EVERY brand of laptop come through here."
About a year ago, I gave that laptop to a missionary friend of mine (complete with the transferable extended warranty) and bought a Dell. I did not get the top of the line system, but I got a pretty nice one. When it came time to decide on a warranty, I bit the bullet and went all the way. I paid for 3 years AT HOME service and got the fourth year free. This kind of warranty cost over $300, but again, buying the machine on credit, I did not want it to go down while I was still paying for it.
Well, guess what. This past week, my extended warranty MORE THAN paid for itself. The computer started acting up on battery power...if I bumped it, it went off. Things kept getting worse, so I called Dell. While I was on hold (yet another story) it went down and would not boot back up. After an hour on the phone with technical support, I was told they would come to my house and fix it. You can read my post about Dell technical support, but the short version is, if I did not have my warranty, it would have cost me $900 to get my computer fixed! Thanks to the extended warranty, it didn't cost me a dime and I am back up and running. Thank the Lord for extended warranties.
You can see a picture of my laptop all taken apart by the technician who replaced the motherboard, processor and heat sync fan in 30 minutes!
- Rob
Dell Technical Support
You can read my post about purchasing an extended warranty for my Dell Inspirion 5150 laptop, but I wanted to tell you about my experience with Dell technical support. Overall I'm very satisfied with the work they did, but it took a bit of work on my part to get them here.
It all started when I purchased this laptop a little over a year ago. I purchased a three year, at home, extended warranty. By buying the three year warranty, Dell threw in the fourth year "free". I was told if I called one day, the next business day someone would be at my house fixing the computer.
My problems started about a week before I called, but I called Dell technical support last Wednesday. I believe I was on hold for about 10 minutes before I could talk to a real person...and here is where the adventure began. I consider myself a NON-prejudice person (does anybody consider themselves prejudice?), but it does frustrate me when the person offering me assistance has such a think accent that I have a hard time understanding them. I hate to have to ask them to repeat what they said over and over again.
Dealing with technical support on this issue over three days time, it became apparent that Dell (literally) sends it's technical support calls to India (Bangalor, India to be exact)! When I used tech chat, I was told I was speaking to Raghavendra, but I could call him "James". But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On Wednesday, I tried calling technical support but got tired of being on hold for so long. The Dell website recommends using tech chat, so I got in line for that. Sure enough, I got somebody online before a technician answered the phone (my laptop was working at this time). Only problem with online chat tech support when you are chatting with the problem computer...if you have to reboot, you lose tech support. So I had to end up calling back on the phone. An hour later, as my computer went down never to come back on, it was decided my motherboard, processor and heat sync fan would be replaced under warranty. I was told I would receive a call within 48 hours to schedule a time for a tech to come to my home and fix the computer. At this point, I questioned 48 hours since I was told, when I purchased the warranty, that I should have service the next business day. At this point, I was assured I would have my next day service.
Thursday. Heard nothing from Dell all day. Called around 3pm and told them I had heard nothing. They told me I had a "dispatch number" and could expect a call soon.
Friday morning. Realizing that I would be without my computer all weekend if I did not get a tech to my house that day, I called Dell again. While I was on hold, the recording again suggested online tech support chat. I used my wife's laptop and went online while I was on hold. I finally came to realize if it was possible to use chat, this was a better alternative. For one thing, it was quicker. Secondly, the tech support people in India talk with a VERY thick accent, but you just don't hear it reading their response on the screen. Anyway, I was given a number of the company that was supposed to dispatch someone to my location and I called them. Guess what? They had no record of my dispatch number, and even checking by area code, they were not able to find anything.
Another call (make that "online chat") to Dell. This time, I chatted with "Charles" in India. He was able to help me after making a few calls from his end. They ended up giving my case to a different company. I told "Charles" I wanted to use my cell phone number as the contact number (so the company could schedule a time to fix my computer) and was told he had already given them the phone number they had on file for me (which happened to be my work number). I asked him to change the contact phone number since I was not going to work that day (Friday is my day off). He told me I would have to do that myself and gave me the phone number to call.
So I then called Qualxserv to ask them to change my contact number. After being on hold for 10 minutes, they picked up the phone and I explained why I was calling. I was then told I would need to talk to a Dell representative instead and was transferred BACK to Dell.
By this time, I knew that chat was faster, so I opened yet another chat window with Dell. When I got somebody, I hung up the phone (still on hold). After another 10 minute chat, I was told the contact number was changed. Actually, it was not. Fortunately, Pastor figured out what the call was about when Qualxserv called the church to reach me, and he gave them my phone number. They called, showed up Friday and replaced the motherboard, processor and heat sync fan in 30 minutes.
I am pleased with the end result...Dell did fix my laptop under warranty and my warranty more than paid for itself. I was a bit put out having to spend two additional hours on the phone or online chatting just go get the technician out, but the most frustrating thing to me was shipping my call to India. I honestly don't think I am prejudice against Indians, but since I bought my laptop in the US, I'd rather talk to somebody who has learned English as their primary language and who I can understand without having to ask them to repeat something three times. Dell did right by me, but I sure wish they wouldn't outsource to India.
-Rob
It all started when I purchased this laptop a little over a year ago. I purchased a three year, at home, extended warranty. By buying the three year warranty, Dell threw in the fourth year "free". I was told if I called one day, the next business day someone would be at my house fixing the computer.
My problems started about a week before I called, but I called Dell technical support last Wednesday. I believe I was on hold for about 10 minutes before I could talk to a real person...and here is where the adventure began. I consider myself a NON-prejudice person (does anybody consider themselves prejudice?), but it does frustrate me when the person offering me assistance has such a think accent that I have a hard time understanding them. I hate to have to ask them to repeat what they said over and over again.
Dealing with technical support on this issue over three days time, it became apparent that Dell (literally) sends it's technical support calls to India (Bangalor, India to be exact)! When I used tech chat, I was told I was speaking to Raghavendra, but I could call him "James". But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On Wednesday, I tried calling technical support but got tired of being on hold for so long. The Dell website recommends using tech chat, so I got in line for that. Sure enough, I got somebody online before a technician answered the phone (my laptop was working at this time). Only problem with online chat tech support when you are chatting with the problem computer...if you have to reboot, you lose tech support. So I had to end up calling back on the phone. An hour later, as my computer went down never to come back on, it was decided my motherboard, processor and heat sync fan would be replaced under warranty. I was told I would receive a call within 48 hours to schedule a time for a tech to come to my home and fix the computer. At this point, I questioned 48 hours since I was told, when I purchased the warranty, that I should have service the next business day. At this point, I was assured I would have my next day service.
Thursday. Heard nothing from Dell all day. Called around 3pm and told them I had heard nothing. They told me I had a "dispatch number" and could expect a call soon.
Friday morning. Realizing that I would be without my computer all weekend if I did not get a tech to my house that day, I called Dell again. While I was on hold, the recording again suggested online tech support chat. I used my wife's laptop and went online while I was on hold. I finally came to realize if it was possible to use chat, this was a better alternative. For one thing, it was quicker. Secondly, the tech support people in India talk with a VERY thick accent, but you just don't hear it reading their response on the screen. Anyway, I was given a number of the company that was supposed to dispatch someone to my location and I called them. Guess what? They had no record of my dispatch number, and even checking by area code, they were not able to find anything.
Another call (make that "online chat") to Dell. This time, I chatted with "Charles" in India. He was able to help me after making a few calls from his end. They ended up giving my case to a different company. I told "Charles" I wanted to use my cell phone number as the contact number (so the company could schedule a time to fix my computer) and was told he had already given them the phone number they had on file for me (which happened to be my work number). I asked him to change the contact phone number since I was not going to work that day (Friday is my day off). He told me I would have to do that myself and gave me the phone number to call.
So I then called Qualxserv to ask them to change my contact number. After being on hold for 10 minutes, they picked up the phone and I explained why I was calling. I was then told I would need to talk to a Dell representative instead and was transferred BACK to Dell.
By this time, I knew that chat was faster, so I opened yet another chat window with Dell. When I got somebody, I hung up the phone (still on hold). After another 10 minute chat, I was told the contact number was changed. Actually, it was not. Fortunately, Pastor figured out what the call was about when Qualxserv called the church to reach me, and he gave them my phone number. They called, showed up Friday and replaced the motherboard, processor and heat sync fan in 30 minutes.
I am pleased with the end result...Dell did fix my laptop under warranty and my warranty more than paid for itself. I was a bit put out having to spend two additional hours on the phone or online chatting just go get the technician out, but the most frustrating thing to me was shipping my call to India. I honestly don't think I am prejudice against Indians, but since I bought my laptop in the US, I'd rather talk to somebody who has learned English as their primary language and who I can understand without having to ask them to repeat something three times. Dell did right by me, but I sure wish they wouldn't outsource to India.
-Rob
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Quote By Reverend Peter Jensen
Anglican archbishop of Sydney, Australia from "Fear of Criticism Has Made Christians Silent Instead of Significant," Sydney Morning herald, May 11, 2002
"Churches must have the courage to win influence back from a secular world. The role of the Christian churches...today is to speak the truth in love... We have accepted the secular world's verdict that we have nothing of importance to say, and we have adjusted ourselves to this reality. We have become domesticated... Instead of explaining and defending the Gospel, we have sought the path of relevance... The Christian Gospel is the insertion of truth into the untrustworthy discourse of the world. Some of us want to be kind, so loving that we will not speak the truth. The therapeutic model of pastoral care has been perverted into mere affirmations of human behavior. Our love is not love, for it refuses this great test: will it speak boldly, frankly, truthfully?... One of the chief reasons why we have ceased to speak the truth is we are fearful of the reaction of those around us... We have contributed towards the gagging of God, perhaps because we are frightened of suffering. But there is one fundamental task to which we must be committed, come whatever may: Speak the truth in love."
"Churches must have the courage to win influence back from a secular world. The role of the Christian churches...today is to speak the truth in love... We have accepted the secular world's verdict that we have nothing of importance to say, and we have adjusted ourselves to this reality. We have become domesticated... Instead of explaining and defending the Gospel, we have sought the path of relevance... The Christian Gospel is the insertion of truth into the untrustworthy discourse of the world. Some of us want to be kind, so loving that we will not speak the truth. The therapeutic model of pastoral care has been perverted into mere affirmations of human behavior. Our love is not love, for it refuses this great test: will it speak boldly, frankly, truthfully?... One of the chief reasons why we have ceased to speak the truth is we are fearful of the reaction of those around us... We have contributed towards the gagging of God, perhaps because we are frightened of suffering. But there is one fundamental task to which we must be committed, come whatever may: Speak the truth in love."
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Today a Dead Bolt, Tomorrow...
OK, most people reading this are going to say "You've got to be kidding. What is so exciting about installing a dead bolt lock?" To be honest, it wasn't all that exciting other than the fact it was the first time I've done it. You see, at our church, the administrative pastor (that's me) has to oversee maintenance issues. Pastor said the church secretary’s doors (yes, TWO of them) needed dead bolt locks today, so I had a job to do. I called a guy from the church and asked him to help me put them in, and he said "sure". Now, I know the job is not too difficult, but all I could think was, "What if I cut that big hole and it's in the wrong place. I'll ruin a door if I mess up!"
So before this guy came to help, I headed to the hardware store to pick up a hold saw to cut the hole for the lock. While I was there, I found this "kit" (similar to this) that made it look like an idiot-proof job. When I shared with our secretary that the clamp made the job look idiot-proof, she "encouraged" me by asking, "What if the job is idiot-proof and you still mess up?" Anyway, the kit was a clamp that clamped onto the door and showed you where to drill the hole for key part of the lock on the side of the door, and showed you where to drill the hole on the end of the door for the lock part to slide in and out. It worked great! I had never really used a chisel for anything useful before, but I chiseled out the spots for the plates (our sound/techie guy helped 'cause he was there) and it all came out good.
Like I said, no big deal, but for a not-so-handy guy, it was a small victory today.
-Rob
So before this guy came to help, I headed to the hardware store to pick up a hold saw to cut the hole for the lock. While I was there, I found this "kit" (similar to this) that made it look like an idiot-proof job. When I shared with our secretary that the clamp made the job look idiot-proof, she "encouraged" me by asking, "What if the job is idiot-proof and you still mess up?" Anyway, the kit was a clamp that clamped onto the door and showed you where to drill the hole for key part of the lock on the side of the door, and showed you where to drill the hole on the end of the door for the lock part to slide in and out. It worked great! I had never really used a chisel for anything useful before, but I chiseled out the spots for the plates (our sound/techie guy helped 'cause he was there) and it all came out good.
Like I said, no big deal, but for a not-so-handy guy, it was a small victory today.
-Rob
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
Missions Conference 2005
Our annual Missions Conference was held April 3-6 this year. The missionaries who were able to join us were Roger & Linda West serving in Mexico, Jim & Diane Clair from Uganda, Bob Hill (his wife Melissa could not come) from Scotland, Dirk, Elizabeth and Abigail Wood from South Africa, Sandy Carter from Nicaragua and another dear missionary who do not publish being a missionary online due to the people they serve. The Missions Conference is always an exciting and exhausing time at our church.
The conference started on Suday moring and we heard from a number of our missionaries. We continued on Sunday night and heard from everybody. Sandy Carter from Nicaragua met for lunch on Monday with the team going to work with her for a few days this summer (Brooke is heading up the team and eager to go). Monday night the ladies met a Spaghetti Warehouse, enjoyed a good meal and heard from our missionary ladies. During this time, the missionary men, their hosts and staff ("the guys") met at someone's home form the church who fixed us some GREAT burgers!
On Tuesday, the staff went out with the missionaries to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens (see pictures below) and then to the Ft. Worth Stock Yards for some good 'ol Texas BBQ. Tuesday night, the men met at Spaghetti Warehouse and heard from our missionary men.
The conference ended Wednesday night with all the missionaries sharing once more and then the congregation having a chance to pray over them (after giving them a standing ovation as they came forward). We (our church) love our missionaries, thank God for them, pray for them and continue to add to our support list every year. Our theme this year was "God is not willing that any should perish"..and that is our church's heart.
I've posted 60 something pictures here...of the conference, the men on Monday night, the stock yards and the botanical gardens with the missionaries if you are interested.
-Rob
The conference started on Suday moring and we heard from a number of our missionaries. We continued on Sunday night and heard from everybody. Sandy Carter from Nicaragua met for lunch on Monday with the team going to work with her for a few days this summer (Brooke is heading up the team and eager to go). Monday night the ladies met a Spaghetti Warehouse, enjoyed a good meal and heard from our missionary ladies. During this time, the missionary men, their hosts and staff ("the guys") met at someone's home form the church who fixed us some GREAT burgers!
On Tuesday, the staff went out with the missionaries to the Ft. Worth Botanical Gardens (see pictures below) and then to the Ft. Worth Stock Yards for some good 'ol Texas BBQ. Tuesday night, the men met at Spaghetti Warehouse and heard from our missionary men.
The conference ended Wednesday night with all the missionaries sharing once more and then the congregation having a chance to pray over them (after giving them a standing ovation as they came forward). We (our church) love our missionaries, thank God for them, pray for them and continue to add to our support list every year. Our theme this year was "God is not willing that any should perish"..and that is our church's heart.
I've posted 60 something pictures here...of the conference, the men on Monday night, the stock yards and the botanical gardens with the missionaries if you are interested.
-Rob
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Sunday, April 03, 2005
A Fun Site I Found
Hear a greeting to our web site. I created this little audio clip by typing in the text I wanted and then getting a computer-generated reading of the text. I used the little "try it now" type box at the bottom of the ReadPlease order page.
Let Me Tell You About Dirk
Dirk Wood, pictured below, is one of the missionaries our church supports. Dirk and his family have been coming to our annual Missions Conferences ever since I can remember (I've been at the church since 1991). Dirk met my pastor at Bible School, and they've kept in touch ever since. Anyway, Dirk is a missionary with Globe Missionary Evangelism, and you can read more about his ministry HERE.
Dirk is kinda hard to describe in just a few words, but I don't think he'd mind being described as "excited for Jesus"...better yet, EXCITED FOR JESUS!!! Dirk is what you might call an "unconventional" kinda guy. Everything about Dirk points others to Jesus. He's got a pinstripe suit and the pinstripes spell "Jesus". Or look at the outfit he has on in the picture with me (below)...it tells the whole Gospel message. Dirk has been known to "talk to God" on his daughter's play phone (he just so happens to be in a large crowd when he does this, and the Lord inevitably tells Dirk how much He wants those listening in on the conversation to know of His love for them). He loves to stand up on a ladder and preach to crowds on the street corner, or walk down the street wrapped in a ball and chain demonstrating how Jesus set him free from the bondage of sin. Dirk would have to be the epitome of the whole idea of being an evangelist.
But I'm not writing about Dirk tonight because of the cool things he does...ok, not JUST for the cool things he does. I'm writing about Dirk because I admire him. I think he has everything I lack in the area of boldness. I know his brand of evangelism is not the only way to do it, but if God had given me a different personality, I would want one like Dirk's.
When you are as outspoken about Christ as Dirk is, you can imagine there are a lot of people who do not like him and give him a hard time wherever he goes. He's been yelled at, cussed at, spit on and arrested while trying to tell others about Christ. I guess you should expect that if you are going to be as bold for God as Dirk is, but I guess another reason Dirk is special to me is because of the flak he takes from other Christians. He'll tell a "funny story" every now-and-then about some Christian who has gotten upset with his style of evangelism, but I also know there are some churches who won't support him because he's too "wild". I just admire the guy. I don't have the guts to do what he does, but he is ALWAYS thinking of way to present a witness for Christ. I would dare to say that most Christians/pastors/churches who criticize Dirk have not witnessed to as many people as Dirk has led to the Lord (let alone the THOUSANDS he has been a witness to).
God gives us all different personalities and gifts, and I've finally learned to appreciate the way God shaped me. We're all unique, but God definitely broke the mold with Dirk...and I just want to say "thank you Lord for Dirk Wood!" I really enjoyed spending time with Dirk and his family (along with our other missionaries) during our conference this year. Dirk is always good for a laugh and a HUGE challenge to me in the area of being a witness for Christ. God bless Dirk!
-Rob
Dirk is kinda hard to describe in just a few words, but I don't think he'd mind being described as "excited for Jesus"...better yet, EXCITED FOR JESUS!!! Dirk is what you might call an "unconventional" kinda guy. Everything about Dirk points others to Jesus. He's got a pinstripe suit and the pinstripes spell "Jesus". Or look at the outfit he has on in the picture with me (below)...it tells the whole Gospel message. Dirk has been known to "talk to God" on his daughter's play phone (he just so happens to be in a large crowd when he does this, and the Lord inevitably tells Dirk how much He wants those listening in on the conversation to know of His love for them). He loves to stand up on a ladder and preach to crowds on the street corner, or walk down the street wrapped in a ball and chain demonstrating how Jesus set him free from the bondage of sin. Dirk would have to be the epitome of the whole idea of being an evangelist.
But I'm not writing about Dirk tonight because of the cool things he does...ok, not JUST for the cool things he does. I'm writing about Dirk because I admire him. I think he has everything I lack in the area of boldness. I know his brand of evangelism is not the only way to do it, but if God had given me a different personality, I would want one like Dirk's.
When you are as outspoken about Christ as Dirk is, you can imagine there are a lot of people who do not like him and give him a hard time wherever he goes. He's been yelled at, cussed at, spit on and arrested while trying to tell others about Christ. I guess you should expect that if you are going to be as bold for God as Dirk is, but I guess another reason Dirk is special to me is because of the flak he takes from other Christians. He'll tell a "funny story" every now-and-then about some Christian who has gotten upset with his style of evangelism, but I also know there are some churches who won't support him because he's too "wild". I just admire the guy. I don't have the guts to do what he does, but he is ALWAYS thinking of way to present a witness for Christ. I would dare to say that most Christians/pastors/churches who criticize Dirk have not witnessed to as many people as Dirk has led to the Lord (let alone the THOUSANDS he has been a witness to).
God gives us all different personalities and gifts, and I've finally learned to appreciate the way God shaped me. We're all unique, but God definitely broke the mold with Dirk...and I just want to say "thank you Lord for Dirk Wood!" I really enjoyed spending time with Dirk and his family (along with our other missionaries) during our conference this year. Dirk is always good for a laugh and a HUGE challenge to me in the area of being a witness for Christ. God bless Dirk!
-Rob
Saturday, April 02, 2005
We Mowed Today
Who cares if it gets HOT during the summer...I love the weather in Texas. Today was April 2nd, and it was nearly 80 degress (and this is not the warmest day we've had so far this year). On Thursday, it was so danged windy and cold I hated it. I could not imagine living up north, having the temperature be in the low teens and then having a wind like we had on Thursday. I would much rather be in the HOT than in the wind. But like I said, that's what I like about Texas weather...if you don't like it, stick around for a couple days and it will change.
The only down side to so much nice, warm weather is the fact that the grass grows. I do not enjoy yard work. For those of you who don't consider riding a riding lawn mower to be "yard work", I don't really enjoy that either. It's not that the job is so difficult, I've just got other things I'd rather be doing. This is the second time I've had to mow in 2005.
"So what would you rather be do"? Thanks for asking. There are a number of things (a GREAT number of things) I'd rather do than mow my yard...like spend time with Amanda Kay. Well, in Texas, we not only have great weather, but we also are known to be a little smarter than the average non-Texan (non-scientific study). So what you see below is my compromise between doing what I WANT to do and what I HAVE to do.
-Rob
The only down side to so much nice, warm weather is the fact that the grass grows. I do not enjoy yard work. For those of you who don't consider riding a riding lawn mower to be "yard work", I don't really enjoy that either. It's not that the job is so difficult, I've just got other things I'd rather be doing. This is the second time I've had to mow in 2005.
"So what would you rather be do"? Thanks for asking. There are a number of things (a GREAT number of things) I'd rather do than mow my yard...like spend time with Amanda Kay. Well, in Texas, we not only have great weather, but we also are known to be a little smarter than the average non-Texan (non-scientific study). So what you see below is my compromise between doing what I WANT to do and what I HAVE to do.
-Rob
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