Merry Christmas! And Here is Luke's Account

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In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.


So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

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Hoarding Life

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Heard a great sermon on Sunday. My pastor, Pete Alwinson, is talking about Peace this Advent season. One of the points he has made is that the Christian faith often causes one to lose peace - the peace that is found in complacency in particular. He used this great quote from Wm. Barclay:
I can see how I "hoard life" sometimes. I want it to be comfortable. I want my family to be comfortable, and my job to be comfortable and my church to be comfortable... Working in ministry makes it even easier to be like this, because I've always got a convenient comeback to those feelings that maybe I'm not really living my life in a way that builds the Kingdom as effectively as it could. I can always hark back to some ministry experience that blunts the barb of Christian conscience.

There is no place for a policy of safety first in the Christian life. The man who seeks first ease and comfort and security and the fulfillment of personal ambition may well get all these things, but he will not be a happy man; for he was sent into this world to serve god and to serve His fellow man. A man can hoard life, if he wishes to do so. But that way he will lose all that makes life valuable to others and worth living for himself.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on myself. I just want to be honest with myself about the ramifications of my faith.  Patrick Morley quotes Dr. Schaeffer in his book, The Man in the Mirror, and points out the two "impoverished values" of personal peace  and affluence.

Personal peace means just to be let alone, not to be troubled by the troubles of other people, whether across the world or across the city -- to live one's life with minimal possibilities of being disturbed...Affluence means an overwhelming and ever-increasing prosperity -- a life made of things, things and more things -- a success judged by an ever-higher level of material abundance. (from Frances Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live, 1976)

I want to be sure that I am not committed to ease, comfort, ambition, personal peace and affluence - that I am not "hoarding my life" - so that I miss out on what I could be doing to make a difference in the world.


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Broken-Hearted at Christmas

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Seems like Christmas is a rough time for a lot of people emotionally. I suspect it's the contrast between the joy that is expected to permeate the season and the reality of unmet expectations, broken relationships or just that general feeling of, "is this really as good as it's going to get?"  

Got this Weekly Briefing from Pat Morley at work today. A great message for the Christmas season.

My heart has been broken many times -- left out, made fun of, rejected, feeling alone, feeling unloved, depressed, broken promises, shattered dreams, betrayal, falsely accused. And then there are my sins of which I am ashamed and over which I grieve.

What is breaking your heart today? Maybe an injustice -- by you or against you. Maybe you're grieving, or need to grieve, what could've been -- a son on drugs, a daughter who has wandered from the path, a spouse who seems distant, or parents who got divorced. The closer the person, the deeper the hurt. (excerpted from To Anyone With a Broken Heart, Weekly Briefing Volume 351, December 14, 2009. Read the rest of the article.)

I'm praying that we would all feel the real presence of God this season -- His peace, love and comfort in the midst of a trying and difficult world. If you know Him, don't forget to talk to Him. If you don't, just talk to Him, He'll hear you. If you want to talk to Him and don't know how, email me (baclemmer@maninthemirror.org). I know Him and I'd be happy to introduce you.

 
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Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cckaiser/ / CC BY 2.0

Great Times Climbing in Ch-ch-chattanooga

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That's the sound of my teeth chattering. Took my son Jake to Tennessee last weekend to camp and climb. We had a great time (mostly). The highlight was probably waking up Saturday morning to snow on the ground! We went with friends from the gym, including my buddy Ike who is the camping and climbing uber-guide.

The climbing crowd is really interesting. Kind of like surfers in the laid-back mentality and the relational style. I heard the phrase, "Awesome dude!" about a million times. A fair amount of drinking too, so not super kid-friendly, although I doubt most of the adults saw it that way.

Jake had a tough day at the comp on Sunday. We had climbed outdoors two days already and we were both pretty tired. He still ended up finishing 4th in his age group!

Here was the most interesting part of the weekend to me: surrounded by young, energetic people, all of them really love the outdoors and the challenge of climbing, yet no realization of where all of this must have come from. An appreciation for beauty and creation, but no affinity or interest (it seemed) in the Creator. I loved what we were doing and even who we were doing it with, but I still felt pretty out of place.

Stop Taking the Bible So Seriously

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Can't believe I'm posting something this irreverent-sounding, but this guy makes a great point. (David Hopwood on the church.wrecked.org site.) The Bible is a living, breathing work of art and truth, not a list of rules combined with a history textbook.

"The more I've got to know it the more I have discovered it's jokes, shocks, puns, wisecracks, pathos, horror, riddles, idiosyncrasies and subtleties."

OK, how about, stop being so serious about the Bible? Still not quite there...

I like to point this out to people who read stories like the woman at the well so sterile-ly. Come on! A single woman was hitting on a rabbi. Trying to make him uncomfortable. It was like a goth teen getting in a businessman's space just to see if she could rattle him. Of course, it ended up changing the woman's life. That's not "serious", that's miraculous! That's the power of Christ - power we actually have at our disposal. (Eph. 1) Much more interesting than a history textbook.

The Bible is full of real stuff like this. That's one of the reasons I love it so much.

Now, of course we should take the Bible seriously. But maybe we just shouldn't be so serious - flat, emotionless, legalistic, angry, you get the picture - about it. It really misrepresents it. It's the living word of God. It's the greatest story ever told! And it's all true... Amazing.

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Pomona Highlights

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I had a great weekend in Pomona last week. Highlights:

• My new BFF Lynn Guerin acted as host for the weekend. A great servant's heart. He is a pretty amazing guy. One of his accomplishments is helping put together the John Wooden Course. Hanging out with John Wooden has got to be so cool!
• Meeting with 27 leaders from 15 churches to talk about men's discipleship. My favorite part was hearing the guys share their struggles and then hear them encourage each other with ideas.
• Went to the Influencers Bible Study on Friday morning with 150 guys. Maybe the first men's Bible Study I've seen singing work really well in a long time. Amazing talk too. "Quiet brilliance", I would call it.
• A breakfast with my friend Angelo Ismirnglou-one of those awesome high-energy, visionary guys. He's going to do great things in the Brotherhood of St. Andrew!
• Then 100+ guys at Pomona First Baptist Church doing a Rewired Seminar. Had a weird experience when I pulled up realizing I had been there before 3 years before. They knew. That's why they brought us back.
• A couple of hours jammin' with Mat Kyser and the men's leaders from The Village Church in Irvine. What a great group of guys. I went to their church on Sunday as well. An amazing service on the topic of adoption. Matt was channeling Mark Driscoll style-wise.

The weekend was fun, and a huge encouragement to me. OK, so I didn't surf. But hey, it's California!

Sunflower Seed Christianity

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Have you ever eaten sunflower seeds? You chuck a bunch in your mouth and crunch on them. You extract the meat part of the seed, and then you spit out the husk. It's trash. A little salty, perhaps, but not edible.

In Revelation 3, God tells the church at Laodicea:

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Francis Chan imagines presenting the people of his church to God at the end, and having God go, pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft!-pfft! Spitting them out because they are lukewarm. As I watched this great video, I had to ask myself:

Would you be willing to give away as much as you kept?
Would you be willing to sit on the grass every week for church, so the money it would take to build a comfortable building could be used to help others instead?

Are you willing to really teach what Jesus taught? Live like Jesus lived?

This is such a challenge to me personally. 

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Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akumaru/1157598310/

Intolerance in the name of tolerance is hypocrisy

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Not that I am a big fan of pageants, but how in the world

did we get to the place where a culturally way-out-of-the-mainstream paparazzi blogger would help decide who would represent our country in any kind of international contest? More than that, why are we asking 20-something year old young women to opine on gay marriage and government bailouts? I think that fact that these women had actually thought about these things puts them miles ahead of most people, regardless of age.

Kudos to Carrie Prejean, Miss California, for speaking truth instead of lying to win a contest. I believe your willingness to stand for what you believe will reap you great benefit.

And to the judge who personally attacked Miss Prejean in his blog the next day: intolerance in the name of tolerance is hypocrisy.

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Transformed from darkness to light...but a dim light at first

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Great quote from Pat Morley today in his Weekly Briefing on the nature of discipleship:

"We do not become disciples through a single life-changing event—transformed from darkness to light, yes. But it is dim light. Instead, we become disciples by steady plodding, by the regular intake of God’s word, by a consistent diet of preaching, by constantly rubbing shoulders with fellow pilgrims."

http://www.maninthemirror.org/weeklybriefing/wb319.htm
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Send My Friend Josh to Thailand for a Missions Trip, please!

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My friend, Josh Wayt, is a college-aged guy with a heart for Christ. (He's the one on the right in this picture.) He has only been a Christian for a few years, but he is totally invested in becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. He's been involved with Campus Outreach - a college ministry - for awhile, and he is now preparing to go to Thailand for 2 months of intensive mission work and training.

Would you help Josh out? This is probably one of the toughest times there could be to raise funds for mission work. I am writing Josh a check. Honestly, it's not in our family budget, but we'll make some different decisions so we can help Josh out. Please prayerfully consider doing the same. If just 50 people write Josh a $100 check, he'll have enough, plus be able to help some of his teammates out as well with money from his own connections.

Make checks out to Campus Outreach Florida. And they can be sent to him at 45 South Lake Jessup Avenue. Oviedo, FL. 32765. Here is Josh's support letter:

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well. In the past two years I have become increasingly involved with a ministry at my university called Campus Outreach. The Lord has been so faithful in using this ministry and its leadership to teach me more of Himself and His will for my life. I am truly excited about His call to labor and build laborers for His kingdom. God has blessed me with the opportunity to go to Thailand this summer for further training and experience in this call.

On May 29th, myself, and seven other students will be departing for our two months of training and service in Khon Kaen, Thailand. Khon Kaen University has been staffed for over twenty years by Campus Outreach. Our group will be teaming up with the staff and students from Campus Outreach Thailand, and assisting them with their service and ministry to the surrounding community. Every morning our group will receive training in the word and evangelism. The latter half of our days will be spent ministering on the local campuses for several hours. This ministry will include
building relationships with students, evangelism, and hopefully, the opportunity to lead bible studies.

The trip is being funded entirely through donations. The total cost will be five thousand dollars. This will include housing, food, and any other expenses. I am very excited about the opportunity to serve and to minister, and ask that you would join me in ministry. I am asking for your support and prayers for this trip. If you are able to assist, please forward any donation to me with the check or money order payable to “Campus Outreach Florida.”

I thank you in advance for your prayers and support. God bless.

In Christ,

Josh Wayt

So please join me in supporting Josh. Send him to Thailand with me!

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Mark Driscoll on Men Who Act Like Boys

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“Too many men act like boys, and too many boys think ‘if I get married it will make me a man.’ And it never works like that. Boys who get married don’t become men, they ruin women, and sometimes children along with them.”

I love this guy's ability to communicate Biblical, reformed, covenant thinking in up-to-date terms.

http://tinyurl.com/cwr9yl or watch below.

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pain

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Talking to my friend Kevin McMillan last week about my son who suffers from migraines and my daughter who has some stomach issues. Kevin can relate. Since I've known him as a seminary student moonlighting here at Man in the Mirror, Kevin has bravely fought Crohn's Disease. (Kevin might not say "bravely", but since I never actually saw him cry, I'll call him brave.)

We were talking about a profound statement my son had made after a middle school youth group retreat. For some reason, the retreat theme was 'suffering' - I know, odd for 10-12 year olds. But even though the kid has these migraines that hurt so bad they make him puke his guts out, he told me that some people suffer a lot more than he does. And when he has a migraine, he is thankful that it's not worse. Pretty deep for a 10-year-old (at the time).

Kevin made a profound statement, at that point. A great observation:

The greatest pain is the pain in the moment. But the
One who created the moment is greater than the pain.

When you're going through your own pain, it can be so consuming. You might not feel like you can ever survive it. Why? The greatest pain is the pain I am experiencing right now. But, in the midst of that pain, the comfort is that God is the One who created the moment.

Peter says that character is produced through suffering. Perhaps part of developing character is learning the lessons from the pain: I will get through this. I am stronger than this struggle. I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me.

We can say those things so easily. Perhaps one of the "gifts" of suffering is that it helps us learn to believe them.

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photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/missrogue/522823385/

x-treme rock climbing = x-treme victory

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the first sport climbing series competition in florida for 2009 was this past weekend. the whole family went on the 4 hour drive down - left at 5 am. ugh!

the gym - x-treme rock climbing miami - was extremely cool. high walls, roof climbing, even a stalagtite.

cassidy was awesome. she climbed in the youth female b category and she WON! this picture is actually from the bouldering competition she won last month, but it's a cool picture of her hanging off a climbing wall.

you can actually watch her climb at the miami gym here. she makes a scary move at the end that looks like she's going to fall - but she just goes for it and holds on, hanging by one hand.

jackson couldn't compete with his arm still in the cast. we go to the orthopedic doc tomorrow to find out if he (a) keeps the current cast, (b) gets a new cast or (c) gets the cast off and starts rehab. obviously, we're hopin' and prayin' for option c.

the team aiguille kids - our gym team from aiguille rock climbing center in longwood, fl - entered 8 of the 10 divisions and won 5 of them, taking 1-2-3 in 2 of them. our kids really, really climbed well, especially for the first competition of the season. we're proud of them all.

coaching rock climbing is way different than coaching soccer. that's for sure!

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the bobblehead gospel

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working with david delk on a new series called "the bobblehead gospel". not sure if we'll keep that title. it's based on the concept that too often we create this watered down version of the gospel that is basically designed to sound good. it's not really about following jesus, but about using him to make us feel better about doing what we want to.

here's a couple of videos for the song 'plastic jesus'. one is just a bobblehead jesus with billy idol singing the song in the background. great version of the song. the other is from one of those all-time classic movies, cool hand luke, where paul newman's character sings it when he finds out his mother has died. not sure what the connection is between the song and his mom - maybe it was her favorite...but i digress.

i'll write some more about each of the lies of the bobblehead gospel we are teaching about. who knows, maybe you'll see it in a book some day. enjoy the videos!

Sing it Billy, Sing it!

What a great piece of movie making

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how fascinating!

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love this video from pop tech. benjamin zander talks about music and life. the best part of the whole thing is his approach to handling a mistake. rather than saying, "oh, dang! i messed that up!" he urges us to look at mistakes as a splendid opportunity to learn. to say, "how fascinating!"

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men follow leaders

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I spoke at a men's retreat for Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland, MI last weekend. Did the Seven Seasons of a Man's Life seminar for them. I woke up Friday morning for my flight and knew I was sick. Sore throat, sinuses. By the time I got up Friday night, I was pretty stuffed up. Somehow (HS, of course) I made it through the weekend. The guys were awesome. And the most awesome was their pastor.

Gerald Ferguson has a heart of gold, and you can see it in his men. I've been to many churches, and it's amazing to me how often the men are a reflection of their pastor. If the pastor is aloof, the men are too. If he's arrogant, his men are not fun to be around. But when he is kind, considerate, and visibly loves Jesus, you can tell it from looking at his men. Men follow leaders.

Like Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

I would add a corollary: If you are in a position of leadership, follow the example of Christ, because others will do as you do.

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the unshakeable kingdom - the fascinating ways God works on us in crisis

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my pastor's sick, so i taught our ironman men's bible study tonite at willow creek. we talked about crisis and how men deal with it. the guys were awesome.

ways guys deal with crisis that they came up with, with bibical examples:
anger - like naaman
blame - like adam
shame - like david
lying - like esau
withdrawal - adam again
isolation - still like adam
denial - can't remember which biblical character we came up with for this one
violence - like peter

pretty deep and emotional stuff from a bunch of "ironmen". good, honest stuff.

why does crisis happen? we looked at hebrews 12:

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

for one thing, discipline. but just as an earthly father's discipline brings us what they think is best for the time we are on earth, the heavenly father disciplines us for what will always be our own good, so that we can be holy and have a harvest of righteousness. cool stuff! oh yeah, and it's painful. great.

later on in the chapter, the writer of hebrews (apollos, perhaps?) tells us what this discipline is accomplishing in our lives:

25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."

that last bit refers to Deut. 4, where the israelites are being warned against worshipping idols! so, the shakable kingdom is a life where you worship anything other than God. "making money is what it's about." "i have to have this job to be happy." etc. these become idols in our lives.

the unshakable kingdom though is a life built on worshipping, trusting, relying on God alone - like the man who builds his house on the rock.

so, in a crisis? remember, our God is a consuming fire. if you are living in the shakable kingdom, he loves you so much that he will burn away the idols so that all you have left is him. not so fun in the short term, but eternally exhilarating!

if i am in a crisis and i am losing things - my house, my car, my job, my cable, my ability to send my kids to private school - it's worth asking yourself, "is this God loving me so much that he's willing to move me from the shakable to the unshakable kingdom?"

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"i'm taking jake to the hospital!"

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not what you want to hear your wife say when you answer the cell phone. our son fell out of a tree and busted his right arm - broke the ulna close to the wrist, and dislocated his elbow. we met at florida hospital south. they have a special pediatrics emergency department. they took good - if a bit slow - care of him.

his arm looked gnarly. i have pictures but it's just too gross. things are bending in the wrong place and his elbow is just wrong looking.

in the end, they drugged him up, kicked us out, and manipulated his bones back into place manually. i'm glad we weren't in the room for that part!

through it all, my 11 year old son was as brave as you could possibly expect a kid to be. he did everything they asked, suffered thru 2 sets of x-rays as they moved it all around, and told us when he needed more pain meds.

jackson is a stud dog. it's not that he was stoic or fearless - it was that while he showed his pain and fear, he didn't let it overwhelm him. he handled it with maturity way beyond his years. he asked us to pray for him a couple times during the afternoon as we waited for treatment - what a treat when your son asks you to pray for him in a public place.

my son and i have had a running conversation for several years about fear. it started when he was about 5 and learning to swim. we've always said that it's ok to be afraid, just don't let your fear keep you from doing something you want or need to do.

he lived that this week. he's my hero.

"have I not commanded you? be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not
be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

joshua 1:9

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most of the dudes are chicks

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one of the greatest frustrations i run into when i talk to guys about their churches is just how feminized it is. from love songs to jesus sung in the key of falsetto to a 5:1 ratio of women's activities to men's activities, to sermons about feeling better about yourself, a lot of guys are just tired of this "chick-ified" version of church. and the ones who like it, well...

here's great video with mark driscoll that points out how important it is to reach guys, and gives a little editorial on the state of men in the church.



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courage and victory!

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the kids competed at the american bouldering series florida regionals at aiguille rock climbing gym today. in the morning, jackson took 4th in his division and cassidy won hers in the youth competition. kind of a weird competition, where the kidsstay sequestered until its time to climb. they don't see the route til its time to climb it and then then have 5 minutes each to climb 5 routes with 5 minutes in between.

in the afternoon, they participated in the 'citizen's comp', basically, the adult competition with everyone who wanted to compete from around the state. jackson climbed himself into the advanced category (!).

cassidy entered the open division - basically, the best climbers in the competition. she made it to the finals, and finished in second place! my 14 year old beat every woman in the comp except the 24 year old who flew in from Kansas City for the event! what's more, cassidy has been sick all week and hasn't climbed since last saturday. she was in bed from sunday through thursday, and felt awful most of the day. she is amazing!!!

i'm so proud of them both. jackson for coming along so quickly, and cassidy for overcoming ridiculous odds and finishing second to someone with 10 years more experience, and beating everyone else. my kids ROCK (climb)!

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climbing comps and stuffy noses

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tomorrow's the big day - regional bouldering comp and then a citizens comp in the afternoon. cassidy's been sick since sunday morning. in bed sun morning to thurs morning almost non-stop. she made herself take a 1-mile jog/walk this afternoon to get her muscles going. she's either going to rock and roll or crash tomorrow! what an adventure!

jackson is determined to climb better than ever. he will, too. he's a stubborn kid. once he decides to do something, he gives it his all.

i haven't decided if i'll climb in the afternoon or not. 'game time decision.'

watching a movie with my family and in-laws this evening, i really had a sense for how much i am blessed. we get on each others' nerves sometimes for sure, but it's nice to be with a group of people who really love each other.

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jason castro is a follower of jesus!

someone sent me this website: http://www.iamsecond.com/

really cool site. they have a collection of videos of people talking about their faith. jason castro, the "over the rainbow" with a ukelele singer from american idol, has this incredibly cool testimony on it.

what an encouraging thing to watch today! a gift...

here's a youtube video of him singing 'hallelujah' on idol. watch his iamsecond video to see what he says about this song.

boulderpalooza!

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my kids rock!!! my son took 3rd place in his age group (beaten by a couple of boys with a lot more experience than him). my daughter took first in her age group, and beat a 17 yr old for first in all the girls.

they are so awesome!

ever heard of a "mountain pie"?

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no, it's not the leavings of a cougar... it's two pieces of bread, buttered, put into this folding skittle on a stick with some jelly, preserves or even pizza fixings inside, and then stuck on a fire to grill up. when it's done (correctly), it looks like a grilled cheese sandwich.

you heard it here first. mountain pies. brought to you by my brethren brothers in maryland.

check 'em out on York Blog:

behavior modification vs. heart transformation

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this is one of the biggest ideas for the man in the mirror seminar, 'rewired.' as i teach it this weekend in maryland to guys from the frederick church of the brethren, God is speaking to me all over again about the importance of believing in Him, in His power, in His grace, in His accomplishments, rather than my own.

in romans 7:5, pauls talks about "the sinful passions aroused by the law", saying that the law itself results in sinful passions - i think he means that when we decide we'll follow the law, motivated by our desire to make our own salvation, then all it ends up doing is making us want to sin.

1 corinthians 15:56 says, "the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." so if the law leads to death, what's the answer? next verse: "but thanks be to God! he gives us victory thru our Lord Jesus Christ."

being religious just doesn't cut it. the righteous live by faith...not the law. how's that for the consequences of grace?

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someone who helps get me out of the box

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andy searles is a pastor at aloma methodist church just north of orlando. i love the way he talks (he's british). i think he's a good judge of life partner, as his wife tracie is pretty cool and works with me at man in the mirror.

but mostly, i love the way he thinks. his blog, 'whatever is', is one of my favorites. i read every post thru google reader. but what i enjoy the most if just sitting at lunch and talking about things. he's got great insights, always sees past the surface.

we all need friends (brothers, mentors, whatever) like that. people who challenge us and who make us see the world differently - get out of the ruts we sometimes don't even know we're in. andy does that for me.

i think it's time i took him to lunch again. feeling a little too inside the box lately myself...

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some outrageous video from my friends in montana

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i've worked with harvest church a couple of times in billings, mt, with man in the mirror. these guys have a great ministry with their men, 'harvest wild men.' they also have some ridiculously funny videos.

go here to their video vault and check 'em out. my personal favorites are the 'man law' ones.

this is a fantastic example of reaching men with manly, resonant language. i gotta think jesus is chuckling every time one of these is played.

did i mention ... they have climbing walls in their lobby. so cool.

www.harvestweb.net

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going to maryland for a men's event

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i'm going to frederick, maryland to conduct a rewired event for their men's retreat this weekend. it's always something i look forward to doing, yet i always have to miss something to do these. this weekend, i am missing... BOULDERPALOOZA!


boulderpalooza is in gainesville, and it's the biggest bouldering comp of the year. the kids are going with friends from the climbing gym. they'll have a blast because the gym is really set up well for bouldering. kimberly has a memorial service to go to for one of her best friends mother.


to top it off, kimberly's parents arrive saturday afternoon as well.


anyway, as i prepare for this weekend, i am praying that God would refresh me and speak thru me. the last few months have left me a bit weary, but i have a growing sense that he has something for me - and our family - in the coming year.

here's a video i did a while back that churches use to promote rewired events...
http://mitm.rev-media.com/asx/mitm_wired_high.asx

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our dog's got cancer

...
we have a dog named kernan. got her 4 years ago from the son of a friend of a friend. she turns 12 this month, and she has this growth in her mouth. the vet told us yesterday it's melanoma - cancer.

so, we had to sit with our kids and tell them. that sucked.

interesting to see how they each handled it differently. i thought one would burst out crying and the other one would cry later by themselves. right reactions, wrong kids.

so mom and dad each slept with a sad child last night. we all cried together, and comforted each other. of course, the questions about the next dog started. i don't think there's a good chance of that happening, at least not quickly.

anyway, here's to kernan. a sweet tempered, gray muzzled black lab who wants nothing more than to be with "her people." she'll be with us a lot over the next few months. (i'll post a picture of her soon.)

i never should have gone to see 'marley & me'!

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ouch!

i've got this wicked pain in my right arm from climbing. it's right above my elbow on the inside of my arm. plus, i fell about 6 feet from the top of a bouldering problem and landed standing up with my legs locked - just felt the impact right up my spine. my back hurts too.

i am either an recreational athlete with the aches and pains of training and improving...or just an old guy.

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when the phone rings at 1 am...

it was my 14 year old daughter. from her cell phone. from her own bed. by accident.

seems she was texting her friend and hit a button accidentally. after our hearts stopped pounding, and i got her cell phone from her, it took her mom and i a long time to get back to sleep.

she is so grounded.

on the other hand, if you're going to get awakened by your daughter at 1 am, i'm glad she was safe. safe, and grounded.

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faith, family and climbing

these are the things God is using to give me joy right now.

my faith - my relationship with Him, my relationships with my pastor and brothers at church, my work helping men find an authentic relationship with Him

my family - a wonderful, caring, hilarious and beautiful wife. awesome, smart good-looking, athletic, conversational and sometimes exasperating kids. parents, in-laws, sister, etc. all better than anyone else's i know.

climbing - a new found passion for climbing up walls with little to hang on to. initially with my daughter (who is awesome at climbing), and now with my son, and we're working on mom.