Kiddiez

Yesterday made me think twice about having children someday. I was in the post office waiting for my passport application to be sent, and a family of five was in front of me. They had one child a little over one years old desperately trying to escape the confines of the building. Despite every attempt resulting in his capture, every time his parents set him back down on the ground, the second they turned away he started charging for the door. It's amazing how a child that young knows to wait until his parents are not looking to try something brash, but he still can not figure out that no matter how many times he reaches for the door handle, he's just not quite tall enough to turn it.

After observing the little toddler, my attention was drawn to the oldest boy (I nicknamed him Brace-face). He was around the age of 12 or 13, right when adolescent boys think everything they say is funny, but in all actuality they are just polluting the air with their stupidity. He kept trying to crack jokes, but his parents weren't paying attention to him because they were too wrapped up in trying to get passports, and his younger siblings were too enthralled with the discovery of gold inside their nose.

Which leaves me with the last kid. The middle-child. The gem. She knew the meaning of perseverance. Not so much the way we like to know it...persevering through a job loss, or a hard scholastic course, or a race...more like persevering at making everyone wanting to kill themselves. That little girl single-handedly made my trip to the post office last 10 minutes longer than it needed to be. Why, you ask? Because she couldn't decide her hair color. It went from dirty blond, to blond, to reddish-blond, to brown-blond ("Is brown-blond a color?" her mom asked), to get this, TAN. Yup. The girl insisted that her hair was tan. In fact, she was so convinced that it was tan, that she said it at least 20 times, despite her mom's insistence that that was not a viable option of hair color. "Tan, mom. It's tan. Don't write brown-blond!" (which I guess they decided WAS a hair color). Finally her mom told her to shut up, and I began the application process 5 minutes later.

Sooooooo...kiddies. What a...hoot? Try pain in the butt.

Mi Vida

I have often wondered what the world would be like without me. What aspects would be better? What situations would be worse? How would my friend's lives be changed? How have I impacted them - positively or negatively? After pondering over these questions, some of the answers encouraged and frightened me. But whether or not you like it, World, I am here. Until God decides to take me, you are stuck with me. Which compels me to beg the question, "What will I do with the life I have been given?"

Just Do It

A little devo translated into layman's terms by me from the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon.

"Do as You have said." 2 Samuel 7:25

God's promises were never meant to be thrown away like trash; he intended that they should be used. God is not stingy with his blessings. Nothing pleases our Lord better than to see his promises put in motion; he loves to see his children bring them up to him, and say, "Lord, do as You have said." We glorify God when we beg for his promises. Do you think that God will be any poorer for giving you the riches he has promised? Do you think that he will be any less holy for giving holiness to you? Do you imagine he will be any less pure for washing you from your sins? He has said "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; although they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." Faith clings to the promise of forgiveness. When a Christian grasps a promise, if he does not take it to God, he dishonours him; but when he runs to the throne of grace, and cries, "Lord, I have nothing to offer but this, "You have said it;'" then his desire will be granted. Our heavenly Banker delights to cash his own checks. Never let the promise rust. Draw the word of promise out and use it. Don't think that God will be annoyed by you reminding him of His promises. He loves to hear the loud outcries of needy souls. It is his delight to help us when we are in need. He is more ready to hear than you are to ask. The sun is not tired of shining, and neither is God tired of giving His gifts. It is God's nature to keep his promises; so go at once to the throne with "Do as You have said."

Huh?

So I was in the gym today and I realized that most of the guys were wearing sleeveless shirts, myself included. Provocative. Then I began to wonder, are men's sleeveless tees the equivalent of women's spaghetti-strap shirts?


Oh, and I'm really into unicorns lately.

Top Bunk

Three reasons the top bunk is lame:

1. Trying to make your bed while it is 7 feet in the air and accessible from only one side.
   
2. Starting out with sweatpants and a shirt and progressively removing a layer of clothing as the night transpires because your Ecuadorian roommate wants to bring his homeland to the dorm by turning the heat up to 80 degrees. Fortunately, heat rises which only adds to the warmth being blasted from the vent that is mere feet away from your face.
   
3. Waking up in mid-air only seconds before crashing to the floor.

Considerate Counseling

If a friend comes to you seeking advice, give it. It is your duty as a friend to give adequate consultation, but be careful. Proverbs 10: 19 says this, "When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise" (NIV). Before giving advice, consider these thoughts:

1. Is it unselfish? - Advice given in the best interest of your friend, not your own personal agenda.
   
2. Is it specific to your friend? - Give advice that is indicative to your friend. DO NOT live vicariously through them.
   
3. Is it sensible? - Showing good sense and judgment.
4. Is it Biblical? - Reflecting God's word and His heart.

Alternatively, you should also carefully consider points 1-4 when receiving advice. Also, scrutinize your source. Is the friend someone whose consultation should be taken at face value, or with a grain of salt? All too often one receives detrimental advice because their "friend" is jealous. Or maybe the friend does not want you to succeed. Or maybe they just do not want you to be happy because they are devoid of happiness in their own life. Consider the source and choose carefully your closest advisers - they shape who you are and what you will become. James 3: 4, 5 puts it so well: "...a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches" (NLT).

Above all, no source of advice should be considered higher than God. You can receive confirmation of a decision through His word or even an audible voice. Unfortunately, sometimes God can be hard to hear...or maybe it is because we are not listening? Whatever the case, God also gave humans the freedom to make their own decisions and make logical choices. Is it possible that sometimes God does not make His will clear to us because He knows that we have the capacity to make the correct choice? Do not put all of your stock in the consultation of others. After all, they are just people, right?

"Test everything. Hold on to the good."
- 1 Thessalonians 5: 21

Heroes For Today

For the last year, my family has gone through struggles and challenges that have changed us forever. My father is a pastor, and even though he is not currently serving in a church, I suppose being church-less doesn't change his call and passion. Up until last January, my family was comfortable with our rural Iowa home, familiar friends, and security. We felt unbreakable. My parents were undoubtedly going to grow old and retire in residential Altoona, Iowa.

But God had other plans. Granted, my parents are still living in the same home that they have been breaking in for the last 5 years, but things are different now. Modified. Gone is the security of a stable job with a fixed income. But it is about more than just the money, it is about the friends and the years of building meaningful relationships in the church, only to have them ripped away that hurt us.

Despite the drastic adjustments in friends and finances, my parents hit the ground running. They immediately struck out, perusing suitable jobs worthy of their educational achievements. Four years in school and thirty-three plus years of experience should have yielded some sort of pastoring position, right? Wrong. My dad searched high and low for a job as a pastor and each time, they were faced with a dead end. But did that get a brother down? Oh no it didn't. Instead of giving up, sitting at home and grumbling about all the misfortunes life had thrown at him, my father sucked it up and realized that God had a plan and a purpose. He took a job at night in a grocery store chain called Hy-Vee, and took a substituting job by day. Although coupons and grocery shopping has always been a passion of my father, I doubt stocking candy is where he imagined himself in his mid-fifties. But my father was not alone in his struggle. My mother took on over 40 piano students and a part-time job at a daycare down the street from our home. Currently both of my parents are putting in more than 50 hours a week. Instead of building their 401k, they are working harder than they ever have just to scrape by.

Do not misunderstand the reason for this post. It is not to receive pity. Instead, it is to honor and recognize the hard work of my parents. My heroes.

Psalm 34

I heard a pastor in Des Moines reference this Psalm in one of his Sunday morning sermons. I thought that it could make a great song. Unfortunately, not one sole version satisfied me. In an effort to create a "Super Psalm", I gathered print-outs of 5 or 6 versions and combined them all into this with a little tweaking of my own here and there. I'm calling it, the NCEV: New Chris Eclectic Version.

Psalm 34

Verse 1

I will praise the Lord at all times.
My lungs expand with His praise.
I live and breathe You God
Let all who are helpless take heart.

Verse 2

Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness;
Let us exalt His name together.
I pray to the Lord, and He answers me.
He frees me from all my anxious fears.

Verse 3

Those who look to Him will shine with joy;
No shadow of shame will darken their face.
When I was desperate, I called out,
and He saved me from my troubles.

Chorus

Great is the Lord, and worthy to be praised.
Great is the Lord, He meets us at our need.
Great is the Lord, for He is Holy and worthy to be praised.

Bridge

Worthy, Holy, Righteous, Magnify His name.