Random Thoughts from RevPhil

"Who has the keys?" or "I am my co-pilot"

2009-05-13T20:00:00.002-05:00

Tonight was our last youth Bible study for this school year. We met at Landa Park, played sand volleyball, tossed the pigskin, ate some delicious hot dogs from the grill, and finished up our study on obedience.

We've explored obedience like a map. Check it out:

Some people see a map and feel restricted to only the places the roads take them: "Why isn't there a road directly from San Antonio, TX to Akron, OH? You mean I have to go through Dallas, Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati, and Columbus? How restrictive! If it were up to me, I would pave a road straight from where I am to where I want to go! Staying on these roads is a drag!"

Other people see a map and feel liberated by all the places the map can take them: "You mean that by following these roads I'm free to see Dallas, Texarkana, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Louisville, Cincinnati and Columbus on the way to Akron? How cool is that! I'll bet there's new, exciting things to see in all those places, and thanks to the roads, I get to explore all of them! If these roads weren't here, I'd be trapped where I am, but now I'm free!"

We made a connection between those attitudes and the different perspectives people have on obedience. Such as:

Some people see obedience as a list of restrictions - someone telling me what I can and can't do and when I can and can't do it. To these people, obedience = rules = not making my own choices = no fun. Looking at it this way, obedience is a prison and the warden is a cruel killjoy, creating a situation where I never get to do the things I would like.

On the other hand, the Bible describes obedience as freedom. If we choose, day to day, hour to hour, minute to minute and decision to decision to live in obedience to God's commands, we experience genuine freedom, and have the chance to realize the fullest extents of what human life on earth can be (see John 10 for more about that).

So, either obedience = rules or obedience = freedom, depending on your perspective. Obviously, the human side of us goes directly to the restrictive opinion, and as we explore our relationship with God (or "shine our spoon" - see a previous blog post about that), our opinion of what obedience is can be transformed as well.

Once we've come close enough to God to see that obeying God brings freedom, then we have to deal with our will. To submit to God (decide to be obedient), we have to put our will aside and pursue His. That is not always easy (almost always not easy, in fact), and is probably the biggest obstacle keeping us from being obedient to God and experiencing the full life that Jesus came to bring us.

I remember seeing the following slogan on a bumper sticker: "Jesus is my co-pilot." I appreciate the idea the person was trying to get across, you know, including Jesus in every area of life and all that, but I disagree with the seating arrangement. Jesus didn't come to earth, live a sinless life for 33 years and die a cruel death on the cross to pay for my sins to sit in the passenger seat and be my co-pilot, just in case I ever need Him. Jesus did all that to be the pilot - to drive - to be the guy with the keys. Maybe a better way to get your point across would be a bumper sticker that says "I am my co-pilot, Jesus has the keys" (I may need to work on that a little...it's more theologically accurate, but doesn't really flow like a bumper sticker should).

So, tonight, at our final Bible study, we reviewed those ideas, and to help these principles stick in the minds of our students and leaders, I gave everyone a blank car key with two things engraved on it. Check it:

This side says "WNL 08-09" (stands for Wednesday Night Live 2008-2009). Wednesday Night Live is the name of our youth Bible study.

This side has "John 14:15" on it. John 14:15 - "If you love me, you will obey what I command." If you really love Jesus, He won't be in the co-pilot seat, in the back seat, in the trunk or surfing on the roof of the car. He'll be driving (making the decisions about where you go and when).

I'm hoping that my students put this blank key on their keyring, put it in their pocket, wear it on a chain around their neck, or find some other way that it can serve as a constant reminder to them about the importance of obedience, and give them the chance to make the good (hard) choice to be obedient - this summer and beyond.

Until next time - RevPhil

Your Mom Does!

2009-05-10T08:14:00.002-05:00

A poem I wrote for the Kids' Moment at First Protestant Church on Mother's Day 2009:

Who changes your diapers and washes your clothes?
Who tucks you in bed, and wipes your runny nose?
Your Mom does!

Who clips the nails on your fingers and toes?
Who tickles your feet and your belly and nose?
Your Mom does!

Who holds you so tight whenever you’re scared?
Who gives you a bath and washes your hair?
Your Mom does!

Who loves hugs and kisses (even when you’re sweaty)?
Who helps you look when you can’t find your Teddy?
Your Mom does!

Who makes the best sandwich (with crust or without)?
Who takes you to Schlitterbahn when it’s 100° out?
Your Mom does!

Who covers the fridge with your elementary school art?
Who helps you ask Jesus into your heart?
Your Mom does!

Who teaches you how to tie up your shoes?
Who takes you to museums, Chuck E. Cheese, and to zoos?
Your Mom does!

Who cries for 3 hours on your first day of school?
Who dives in to save you when you fall in the pool?
Your Mom does!

Who makes you put on sunscreen so you don’t get burned?
Who takes you to school, and then asks what you learned?
Your Mom does!

Who helps with your homework and takes out your splinters?
Who makes you hot chocolate so you’re warm in the winter?
Your Mom does!

Who sits in the bleachers and calls out your name,
At every Little League, soccer and volleyball game?
Your Mom does!

Who knows if you’ll pick sour-apple or grape?
Who gives you a band-aid when you get a scrape?
Your Mom does!

Who makes you soup when don’t feel right?
Who lets you climb in for a cuddle at night?
Your Mom does!

Who pushes you forever on the swings at the park?
Who plugs in your night-light if you’re afraid of the dark?
Your Mom does!

Who covers you with sunscreen and blankets and prayers?
Who loves you and helps you through all of your cares?
Your Mom does!

Who’s your angel from heaven, who shows you the way?
Who deserves all your love, today and always?
Your Mom does!

Happy Mother's Day!

Until next time - RevPhil

"Dad, I want a haircut..."

2009-05-04T20:34:00.008-05:00

And there was much rejoicing!

Anyone who knows me very well knows that I am not a fan of lots of hair - especially on guys. I don't think I have a reason for this, I've just always prefered to have short hair - really short - you know, like so short you can't see it.

Well, our oldest son recently decided that he was tired of having the hairstyle that I have, and started growing his hair out. Ugh. I was not in favor of this process from the beginning, but he is almost 8 years old, so it's probably time that I let go and let him start making a few of his own decisions.

Here's what we ended up with:

I'm going to go ahead and refer to this picture as "before."

When I came home from the office today, he said the words I've been longing to hear: "Dad, I want a haircut."

Along with generally just not liking longer hair, this particular haircut was bothering me because I'm the one who gets him ready for school every morning, so I'm left dealing with his tangled birdnest mess of hair. Every day is a struggle. Getting him to hold his head up while I spray the hair, trying to keep him calm while I comb through the hair - it was a disaster, usually ending in tears (his and mine).

So, needless to say, I was excited at his change of heart. Here's the amount of hair we took off:

The basketball is just to give you an idea of the magnitude of hair that I trimmed off the boy's skull. There's probably more hair on the sidewalk right there than I've ever had on my head - OK, that's an exaggeration, but seriously, that's a boatload of hair.

Here's the final product:

Much better! And just to put your minds at ease, I remind you, this was HIS idea! And he likes the results!

Somedays it's so easy to make your dad proud and happy!

Until next time - RevPhil

Enchanted Rock (brought to you courtesy of the Swine Flu scare)

2009-04-30T22:21:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was a long day.

The kids were home from school. Wife of RevPhil was home from school. It rained. We were in the process of determining what activities were cancelled, how long they would be cancelled for, and spreading the word about those decisions (not always smoothly).

Being inside with your mom all day is only exciting for so long, you know. So needless to say, yesterday had it's share of tension (dad, mom and kids all included).

The prospect of repeating that pattern today was not attractive to me or Wife of RevPhil, so we had a brainstorm: pack up the kids (along with a few books, a rented DVD and their DS's) and take a road trip to Enchanted Rock (for those of you unfamiliar with it, check this link: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/enchanted_rock/ )

I went there last year with the youth as a warm-up for our spiritual adventure trip to Colorado last summer, and I've been wanting Wife of RevPhil and the kids to experience it, too.

So we all piled into the van and took the 2 hour trek - and we had a great day! The ride was nice (kids were busy with video games and The Velveteen Rabbit on DVD), and the weather was perfect when we got there (sunny, warm but not hot, and with a nice breeze to boot). Wife of RevPhil and the kids were a little surprised at the strenuous nature of the climb, but we all made it to the top and saw some great vistas (and took a few fun pictures).

This one was taken at the beginning of the trail on the way up.

This one was taken near the top as we started back down.

The only question that still remains..."Hey Dad, what are we doin' tomorrow?"

I have no good answer to that.

Until next time - RevPhil

Curse of the Swine

2009-04-29T08:56:00.002-05:00

We're shuttin' it down!

The swine flu outbreak is causing extreme reactions in our area. There have been confirmed cases in neighboring counties, so as a precaution all the schools in our county have closed for the remainder of this week and all of next week.

The health department is recommending that everyone avoids gatherings of 20 or more people to keep the spread of the germs down.

So...

That means no youth Bible study tonight, no nursery, Sunday School, Kids' Connection (junior church), and no Confirmation Recognition service. Everything youth and children related is called off through Sunday, May 3. Decisions on adult services will be made today for this weekend, and further updates will be available here, on facebook and at www.firstprotestant.com

Cue up your favorite movie, pop a bag of corn and get ready for a marathon! Stay in and stay healthy my friends!

I'm cooking up some bacon right now to get my frustrations out.

Until next time - RevPhil

Is "dude" all inclusive?

2009-04-26T18:10:00.003-05:00

"Dad, what's a girl dude?"

My 4-year-old asked me that this afternoon. That got me thinking - I don't think there is one! I really don't like "dudette" - it doesn't roll off the tongue.

Don't take this the wrong way, ladies, but I think that even though the term "dude" is normally applied just to guys, it can apply equally appropriately to both guys and girls. Check out the following examples and see if you agree with my analysis:

1. "Dude, how you doin'?"

2. "I walked in and there was a room full of dudes."

3. "Whoa, that's a DUDE!"

4. "Dudes, what's up?"

5. "Come on, dude, let's go!"

1. Both

2. Guys

3. A guy

4. Both

5. Both

Now, I understand that not everyone sees my favorite word that way, but that's OK. Just don't be offended when I greet you with a heartfelt "Dude, what's shakin'?" (regardless of your gender).

Later. (dudes) - RevPhil

Come Sail Away

2009-04-24T18:52:00.002-05:00

God's will.

One of the most important aspects of the Christian life is the concept of God's will. From an early age, and continually along our journey with Christ, we are reminded that God has a divine plan for our lives - that He has put considerable thought and planning into the smallest part of each of the days we spend on earth.

The sticky wicket in that line of thought is this: each day, each hour, each moment we are faced with decisions such as what we think about, what we say and what we do. The sincere hope of a disciple of Jesus is that in each of those decisions, we can find ourselves living in accord with God's plan for us, God's will for our lives.

For much of my life, I likened that process (albeit unconsciously) to walking a tightrope (no connection to my previous post is intended :). My genuine desire has been to find God's will, and make the decisions necessary to have His will become a reality.

Unfortunately, because I approached God's will that way, I found myself constantly on edge, worrying that any slip or mis-step on my part would cause me to fall out of God's will for whatever period of time it would take me to recover and get back to where God intended for me to be.

Living with that mindset is a stressful experience! You can imagine the intellectual strain you would be under if you had to walk a tightrope everywhere you went! Every step is measured. Even a slight breeze in any direction causes a major adjustment and is a source of worry.

I really don't think that having a personal relationship with a loving, graceful, merciful (I could go on) Savior who has a plan for my life should be such a stressful, joyless experience! That doesn't jive with God's character. He didn't rescue us from the painful, eternal effects of sin in our lives to give us a strained life! He put on humanity and humbled Himself to die on the cross as a sacrifice for the sins of the world, so that we could be restored to a right relationship with Him, and spend eternity exploring and enjoying Him with joy and gladness.

So I've changed my approach to God's will. I'm not walking the tightrope anymore.

Here's the way I'm seeing it now. I picture my life as a journey across a lake in a sailboat. God's will is the wind. Sometimes it's strong and directs my boat in a certain direction, sometimes it's gentle and my boat just sits. The water can be calm, and it can be stormy, but the constant is the wind - it's always guiding my boat exactly where it should be.

My role is to keep the sails up, ready for the slightest breeze to lead me - to be sensitive to the direction of wind and not try to steer the boat myself. By doing that, I allow the wind to decide where I go, how fast I get there, and how long I remain there.

And that is a much more joyful and less stressful way to live. God's will leads the journey across the lake, what kinds of water I travel through and as long as I have my trust in the wind, I know I'll be just where He wants me to be, so I can savor each moment, each experience as a gift from my Redeemer, who loves me and has had a plan for me since before I was born.

So - come sail away, come sail away, come sail away with meeeeeeeee...

Until next time - RevPhil

Walkin' on a Wire

2009-04-11T10:12:00.003-05:00

On June 30, 1859, Charles Blondin became the first man to cross Niagara falls by tightrope. A large crowd (between 25,000 and 100,000 depending on which account you read) was there to watch him cross 1,100 feet on a 3 inch wide hemp cord suspended between 160-270 feet above the water.

Over the next year he crossed the falls many more times, each time making the trip more elaborate and exciting. On different trips, he: balanced a chair on the rope, took pictures of the crowd, cooked a meal on a small portable cooker, did flips, was blindfolded, in a sack, on stilts and carrying a man on his back.

As the story goes, on one occasion a large crowd gathered to watch Blondin's amazing antics on the wire. He was playing to the crowd and asked, "Who believes I can cross the wire pushing a wheelbarrow?"

The crowd went bananas! The believed in Blondin! And he did not disappoint - he walked, ran and danced across the wire while pushing an empty wheelbarrow.

Blondin wasn't finished - he asked the crowd, "Who believes I can cross with a full wheelbarrow?"

Once again, the crowd went crazy! The believed he could do it - and he did!

Now, Blondin upped the ante even higher. He asked, "Who believes I can cross with a MAN in the wheelbarrow?"

This got the crowd's attention. They had seen Blondin do amazing things on the wire - and they believed he could amaze them again! The crowd roared their approval - voicing their belief in what Blondin could do on the wire.

He continued, "Who will volunteer to be that man?"

Crickets.

The huge crowd, so frenzied in their support and belief of what Blondin could do just a moment ago, was completely silent.

They didn't really BELIEVE, did they? They sort-of believed in a hypothetical, imaginary way, but when they were asked to put their belief into action, their hiney into the wheelbarrow and their life in Blondin's hands, that hypothetical belief faded.

The point at which our belief becomes genuine is when we are willing to put it into action - when we climb into the wheelbarrow.

Check out James 2:14-16 from The Message:

Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape - that seamless unity of believing and doing - what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

So what's your belief status?

Are you beleiving from the sidelines, cheering the amazing accomplishments of Someone with amazing skills, appreciating His deeds and lifestyle, agreeing with His teachings and principles...

or are you IN the wheelbarrow?

Until next time - RevPhil

Another Brother from my Mother

2009-04-06T06:14:00.001-05:00

If you've ever asked me how many siblings I have, I'm sure that my answer has been that I have one brother, 5 years younger.

Unfortunately, I now believe that I've been answering that question incorrectly for the past 25 years or so.

Slow down, slick - it's not like that. Let me start at the beginning.

I believe that life begins at conception. I believe what Psalm 139 teaches about when life begins - check it out:

Psalm 139:13-16 - For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be.

I've believed that for a long, long time - as long as I can remember. I've known that from the moment I was conceived, God knew me, God loved me and God had a plan for what my life would be. I've never doubted the truth of that - ever.

Later on, when "Wife of RevPhil" and I started having children of our own, I believed those same precious thoughts about them - that from the very first second of their existence, God was intimately involved with them.

I know what you're thinking: RevPhil, where are you going with this? Hang on, slick, I'm gettin' there!

Back in 1981, when I was 6 years old and my brother was 1, my mom was taken to the hospital because of severe pain in her abdomen. The doctors had several possible ideas about what might have been causing it, but what it came out to was this:

After my brother was born (via C-section), my mom had her tubes tied to prevent future pregnancies. Now, a year later, what happened was that determined little sperm had found his way through the ties and cuts and cauterizations of one of her fallopian tubes and fertilized an egg. This was causing her pain, because that now-fertilized egg was trapped up inside the tied-off end of her fallopian tube, unable to make it into the uterus. At the time it had to be removed, it was the size of a grapefruit.

Let's take a time-out here to remind ourselves what we've just stated about the beginning of life. From the time of conception (a sperm fertilizing an egg), we believe life has begun, and the Bible indicates that God is intricately involved in the formation of that new life.

Translation: I have "another brother from my mother!" (or sister) In fact, I've thought of this little one before, and always sort of considered it to be the little sister I never knew. I've had conversations with my dad about it, and he thinks of it the same way - he looks forward to meeting his "other kid" when he gets to heaven.

But I've never answered the "how many siblings do you have?" question with this in mind.

Why not? There's no doubt in my mind that life begins at conception, which means that I've been leaving this life out of my conscious thoughts, conversation and behavior.

I suppose it might be that it's just plain easier to not get into it. At the stage of a relationship when the answer to this question is typically exchanged, this might be a deep subject to breach. But, truthfully, I've never deliberately thought about it until recently. I've never known anyone who has answered that question this way.

It's time for my answer to the sibling question ro reflect my heartfelt conviction about when life begins. I'm not going to (consciously or unconsciously) deny the existence of one of my family members anymore. And who knows but that because of my sincere answer, God may open an opportunity for me to share about His definition of when life begins. That might make someone I've just met a little uncomfortable, or think of me as a whack-job, but I don't really care - been there, done that, got the t-shirt.

So - how many siblings do I have? Two - I have one brother who's 5 years younger and another sibling 6 years younger that never made it out of the womb - and I'm as excited to meet him or her as can be.

Until next time - RevPhil

Is your piggy bank full?

2009-04-04T08:55:00.002-05:00

In each of our relationships, we have something like a "trust bank" for the other person. The more we trust them, the more they have "in the bank."

When someone keeps a promise to us, we make a deposit in their "trust bank."
When someone helps us out of a difficult situation, we make a deposit.
When we have a need, and someone fills it, we make a deposit.

On the other hand,
When we're betrayed, a withdrawal is made from the betrayer's "trust bank."
When we realize that we've been lied to, a withdrawal is made.
When we need help and someone isn't there for us, a withdrawal is made.

You may have never thought about it in these terms, but I think you know what I'm getting at here. Our experiences with people either build trust or destroy trust, laying the foundation for how our relationship will be in the future. The more trust we have in a person's account, the more likely we are to rely on them, to put our safety or our feelings in their hands.

Hopefully, the people we love the most are also the people we trust the most - the ones we know we can trust, know we can count on, know we can believe in - and we have that level of trust in them because we have evidence that they have proven themselves trustworthy in the past.

Just like we keep list of accounts on the people we have relationships with, each of us keeps a "faith account" on God as well.

When we see a promise that God made come through, our account on God grows.
When we see God's hand at work in our life or in our family, our account on God grows.
When we understand some new aspect of God's character, our account on God grows.

On the other hand,
When we're in the middle of a difficulty and have a hard time seeing God, our "faith account" on God shrinks.
When we don't understand where God is taking us / the plan He is working out in our lives, our account diminishes.
When we can't see God's goodness because of some circumstance in front of us, our account on God goes down.

Because our relationship with God is the most important thing in our lives, it's important for us to find strategic and creative ways to keep our account on God going and growing strong each day. There's a couple of things we can do to accomplish that:

1. Remember the promises God has kept

People in the Old Testament had an interesting way of remembering when and where they saw God keep a promise to them.

We're all familiar with the story about Moses parting the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to escape Egypt on dry land. What you may not remember is that God repeated that miracle 40 years later with the Jordan River. After Moses died, Joshua was leading the people into the Promised Land, and the Ark of the Covenant was leading them. As the priests carrying the Ark put their feet into the Jordan, the waters parted and the people walked across. It was an amazing experience of God showing His strength and power to His people. Here's what happened next:

Joshua 4:1-9 – When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight." So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

Now, this same thing happened lots of times – whenever people had an experience with God that reminded them of God’s strength, power, faithfulness, or forgiveness, they would build an altar at that place – they would grab a bunch of stones and stack them up as a monument to God’s character and every time they saw that altar, it would remind them that God loved them and that God kept His promise to them. When their children saw those altars, they would tell them about when it was built and how God showed his love and care and faithfulness to them.

If we're going to keep our "faith bank" on God filled up, we have to take the same approach! I’m not really suggesting that we go around building piles of rocks, although if you can do that, great! But I think we can accomplish the same thing without the rocks.

We can commemorate the times that we see God’s promises in action by marking the occasion:

We can keep a journal of answered prayers – reminding ourselves that God listens and answers the sincere prayers of His people.
We could draw a picture or write a poem about the experience, then every time we see it or read it, we remember how God proved Himself.
When we read a promise that God has kept in our life, we can simply circle it in our Bible and write the date.
We could put a sticker on the bathroom mirror, sort of like the buckeye leaf stickers the team manager puts on an Ohio State football helmet after a big play.
It might be something simple like circling the date or putting a star on our calendar – or putting it into the calendar application on our cell phone.

You may not like any of those ideas, and that's OK - the truth is that it doesn’t matter what we do – the point is that we create a way that helps us remember that God always keeps His promises – something we can look at and see that our faith in God is safe – that we can rely on Him and put our lives in His hands.

It’s important for us to do that because there will come a time when you need that reminder. Something will happen that makes you wonder if God has forgotten you – or even worse, that He has left you or forsaken you.

In that moment, we need an altar to remind us that God keeps His promises, that He loves us, that He has our best in mind, and that He’s always there to help us and care for us.

We keep our “faith account” on God full by remembering that He is good and that He always keeps His promises. And we have to be deliberate about remembering - I used to be able to remember lots of stuff without hardly trying - the older I get, the more strategic and intentional I have to be about remembering. Otherwise, I end up walking back and forth to my car 12 times every time I leave the house.

Knowing and remembering that God keeps His promises is crucial – but along with that, there's another step:

2. We have to know just what God has promised!

The more of God's promises we know, the more opportunities we'll have to see Him prove Himself true and faithful.

If you know that God promises to love you forever, you'll be able to see Him prove Himself true to that promise over and over, day after day.

If you look a little further into God's promises, and remember 9 more, you'll have 10 times the chances to see His character and goodness in your life.

If you learn 99 more promises, you'll multiply your chances to commemorate God's goodness by 100 times!

Here's a few promises to get you started:
Psalm 30:5 - For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.

Psalm 34:19 - A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

Isaiah 43:2 - When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.

Mark 11:24 - Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

John 6:35 - Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”

John 12:46 - I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

John 14:1-2 - "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you."

John 14:12 - I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Romans 4:21 - being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.

Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2 Corinthians 12:9 - But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

1 John 2:25 - And this is what he promised us—even eternal life.

Revelation 21:4 - He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

Do you have a favorite promise? A favorite story of God's faithfulness and strength in your life? Another great approach to keeping your piggy bank full is hearing the encouraging stories of God's goodness in the lives of others!

So share your stories and let's fill up those banks!

Until next time - RevPhil

Shine your spoon

2009-04-02T08:28:00.004-05:00

What if you couldn’t see the people you love face to face?

What if the only image you could see of them was a distorted reflection like you would see in a spoon or another shiny piece of metal. What would you do?

If you couldn’t see your loved ones face to face, wouldn’t you work as hard a possible, day by day, moment by moment, to get the best possible vision or reflection we could? Wouldn't you be spending hours on end shining that spoon so the reflection improved?

In her book Living Love, author Jill Briscoe says that people in Paul’s day didn’t have glass mirrors. They only had pieces of highly polished bronze or copper. When they looked in it, they saw an imperfect reflection.

Imagine the Apostle Paul carrying a small pocket-sized piece of bronze as a mirror – whenever he looked into it, he saw a poor reflection of himself. Paul probably never really knew what he looked like! No wonder he used this parallel to talk about seeing God.

1 Corinthians 13:12 – Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

We won’t get a face to face look at God until we finally reach heaven, but we can work on shining our spoon each moment, each day to get a clearer reflection of His person and character.

Would you rather see your loved ones in the fuzzy, distorted reflection in a spoon or in the clear, correct image of a modern mirror?

No question! The mirror! Why? Because you want to memorize every feature of your loved one - you want to know each freckle and dimple and see the way each and every eyelash lays on your loved one's face. Your great love for them gives you an unquenchable desire to learn and know more and more about them.

The same is true in our relationship with God - we can choose to continue to see our Savior through a distorted reflection, or we can shine our spoon, so that each time we look at Him, our view of him becomes clearer and clearer.

So - how are you going to shine your spoon today?

Reading His words, praying and talking to like-minded friend are all wonderful approaches (and the likely responses one would get in a Sunday School class). And they are activities and spiritual disciplines we should all be involved in on a daily basis anyway.

I encourage you to think a little bit deeper - what can you do today to see your Redeemer more clearly today? - how can you get a sharper image of who He is and what He does?

I'd love to hear your shining tricks!

Until next time - RevPhil

25 Random Things

2009-02-02T22:44:00.004-06:00

I posted this on my Facebook a few minutes ago, and just thought I could get an easy post out of it here too :)

1. This kind of note or email chain annoys me greatly - I typically avoid them. I apologize in advance.
2. Whenever I have the choice I drink Diet Coke. Diet Pepsi and Diet Dr. Pepper have a funny aftertaste and regular soda has the consistency of syrup - yuck.
3. I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people. I have good intentions - I exchange emails, phone numbers, addresses, etc., but I frequently fall into the "out of sight, out of mind" thing.
4. I like playing video games - not the shooting / hunting / bombing / bloody kind, though. I started old school back in the 80s with Atari 2600 and today I rock the Nintendo Wii and DS with my kids.
5. I'm a board / card game kind of guy. One of my favorite things to do is invite a few friends over and play euchre, pounce, loaded questions, spades or some other table game.
6. I'm uber-competitive. If I'm doing something, I'd like to do it better than you. And if you happen to do it better than me, I'll practice like mad until I can beat you. It matters not the nature of the game - ping-pong, monopoly, knock-out, laser-quest, whatever. I like to win.
7. I'm an official member of the American Cornhole Association. Get your mind out of the gutter - it's a game played with 1 pound bags of corn and it's fun!
8. I get sunburns. Easy. In order to go outside in the summer I have to either plan ahead and bring my own shade or take a bath in sunscreen to avoid morphing into lobster-man.
9. Vacation = ocean. I grew up spending a lot of vacations at the beach - Myrtle, Ocean City, Clearwater, Rehoboth. I don't really feel like I've been on vacation unless I've been in the ocean. P.S. The Texas coast doesn't count.
10. I'm a complete wuss when it comes to needles. I avoid them whenever possible. I really want to be the kind of person that donates blood, but I just can't bring myself to do it.
11. I read all the Harry Potter books. I started out totally indifferent when Harry and the crew first hit the scene, but I found them to be entertaining once I started reading them.
12. I enjoy order and organization. I like things to be parallel or perpendicular to each other. I arrange the items on my desk and work area to conform to this standard, and I notice immediately when something has been moved.
13. I don't really like cold cuts. Some people get excited about lunchmeat sandwiches and meat trays, etc. No thanks. I'd rather have peanut butter and jelly.
14. I almost always have a runny nose. I'm not sure why this is, and I really don't care to find out (see #10). I'm used to it, I breathe through my mouth when I have to, it's all good.
15. If I'm going somewhere in a car, I prefer to be driving. I stink as a passenger.
16. I don't enjoy doing much of anything that involves me moving without having a lot of control over how fast I'm going and being able to stop when I want to. For example: roller coasters, roller skating, ice skating, skateboarding, skiing, other people driving (see #15), big slides, etc. All not fun.
17. I don't like yard work. (see #8 and #14) Mowing the yard, raking leaves, trimming bushes, planting flowers, weed-wacking, mulching...not interested. The guy across the street's yard and bushes are better than mine? Great!
18. I wish people would stop parking in the street. That's what a garage is for! Stop taking up valuable driving space with your vehicle, please!
19. If I have the choice, I'd rather be cold than hot. You can always add layers (and I like wearing long sleeves), and after a while, there aren't any more layers to take off and you're still hot. I miss being cold. Whenever someone tells me they're cold, I say, "enjoy it while you can!"
20. I don't like having things in my pockets. When I have to, I always put my wallet in my back left, my keys in my front left and my phone / change in my front right, but I'd rather have everything in my backpack and empty pockets.
21. I like playing and watching most sports. Favorites to play: basketball, football, soccer, ping-pong, softball. Favorites to watch: football, basketball, olympics, UFC, NASCAR. Notice that hockey does not appear on either list - not even remotely interested.
22. I change my facial hair pattern a lot. Sometimes I go with a full beard, sometimes goatee with mustache, sometimes without mustache, sometimes sideburns, sometimes not. The only constant is that I almost always have hair on my chin. I'm not sure why - that part just always manages to stay.
23. I'm still getting used to my new glasses. I bought them knowing that I didn't like them as much as my old ones, but acknowledging that I would regret getting a new pair that looked just like my old pair.
24. I don't like cake. Cake is just an excuse to eat icing. Whenever I see people eating the cake and leaving the icing, I want to shake them and say, "come on dude!"
25. I have an amazing family. My wife loves me and works hard to make our home nice and keep it running smoothly and my kids are the bomb. They're healthy and smart and they listen (most of the time). I never really spent much time thinking about what my family would be like, but what I lucked into is leaps and bounds beyond any expectations I could have imagined.
OK, done! Now I guess it's your turn!
Until next time - RevPhil

100-0

2009-01-26T18:59:00.003-06:00

OK - so it's been a while...I've been following a story for the past few days and couldn't help commenting. Courtesy of my brother, here's the link to the first part of the story:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=50399786490&h=pzquS&u=aDhIb

My initial reaction was disgust. How a coach can allow and even encourage such a lopsided victory over a clearly inferior opponent is beyond me. I've been playing, watching and coaching various sports for my whole life, and I've never come across something even remotely like this.

Anyone who's played basketball before knows that the concept of a shutout in sanctioned competition is unheard of - let alone to do it while scoring 100 points. What satisfaction can there possibly be in beating a team so grossly?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those guys who's in favor of not keeping the score, of calling everyone a winner, etc. Growing up playing sports, I learned a lot from winning and losing, and I want my children to learn the same lessons.

Having said that, what benefit is there in winning by such a wide margin? I don't understand.

And the story doesn't end there! Here's chapter 2:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=50399786490&h=pzquS&u=aDhIb

And chapter 3:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012409dnspoacademy.4194876.html

And chapter 4

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dnsptcoach.16be742.html

And then today:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/012609dnspocovenantnu.2781526.html

So much going on here. I'm curious about your thoughts. Am I way off base here? I completely agree with the decision to fire the coach. First, because he clearly is not the kind of person I would want coaching my child. Secondly, if you fire off an email to the newspaper directly disagreeing with your employer, losing your job is pretty much a given.

I can't say I agree with all the attention and gifts and interviews, etc. that are being showered on the losing team, either, though. Losing by 100 points is pitiful. Going through an entire basketball game and only getting 7 shots to the rim is sad. Not scoring even a free throw at some point is unbelievable. I'm thinking that the losing coach probably needs to lose his job, too. If you're not able to get anywhere near what could be considered competitive, it's time to think about a change.

OK, I'm officially losing momentum.

Until next time - RevPhil

Black Friday

2008-11-28T20:31:00.003-06:00

Today I did something new.

For the first time in my life, I went to the store on "Black Friday" - the day after Thanksgiving, and the unofficial first day of the Christmas shopping season.

I must say that at the location I visited (which shall remain a mystery), it was not as bad as I thought it might be.

I visited the store on Wednesday night, prepared to buy my stuff and be done with it. After talking through my potential purchase with the clerk, though, I realized that I could probably save around $75 by waiting 36 hours and showing up today. After a short period of consideration, I decided that $75 was worth some trouble, and I promised the clerk I would be back at opening time on Friday (in return, he held my items back with my name on them).

The store was scheduled to open at 6:00am. I was in bed by 10:30pm, with my alarm set for 5:00am. I have to say that I could have slept better...the excitement / stress of what I was about to experience was too much. In the few moments of sleep that I did get, I dreamt about what would happen when I arrived at the store - so lame.

So anyways, the alarm goes off at 5:00am, I quickly brush the teeth, throw on some game pants and a hat and I'm out the door. I go by Wal-Mart on the way to my store, and I've never seen so many cars crammed in the parking lot - needless to say, at this point, I'm tickled that I'm not visiting Wally.

I arrived at the store at 5:15am and found about a dozen other folks waiting outside the doors. It was very friendly! We were all talking about which items we were there for, how much they were asking at other stores, what else our kids had asked for for Christmas, etc. Everyone was cheerful and nice. The manager came out of the store several times to see what the different folks were waiting for, and had everything lined up. Here's how nice it was: one of the ladies took Starbucks orders and went to satisfy everyone's caffeine fix in exchange for the rest of us holding her place in line.

The doors finally opened, we got in and then it got a little hairy as two clerks attempted to satisfy all of our buying - it took what seemed like forever. But, once again, everyone was friendly and kind and we all got the items we came for and left without any hurt feelings or bruises.

In the course of talking to the other folks at the store, though, I did hear of a couple nightmarish incidents on this Black Friday:

1. According to the report I heard, there were so many people that the outlet centers in San Marcos that people were parking across the expressway because there was nothing available, then trying to run their items back across to their cars. Bad idea all the way around - playing chicken on I-35 and walking a half mile in the dark with hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise...ugh.

2. One person at Wal-Mart was knocked down and had his gaming system swiped by three burly dudes with a video game addiction...not nice.

3. An older lady at Wal-Mart had the item of her choice. A younger lady came up and asked to look at what she had. She handed it over, and the younger lady took off running with the item...flat out mean!

Black Friday at its best and worst, I guess.

After my experiences this morning, pleasant as it was (for me), I don't plan on taking part in this cultural phenomenon again.

I suppose one could consider the state of society at a moment like this - our need to consume and consume at the expense of everyone and everything else. I'm not going to go there. I've lamented that and allowed Christmas to be diminished for me for a long time.

I'm getting to the place where I really think that Christmas (in America) is more of a cultural phenomenon than a spiritual celebration. I'm over the fight for saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." I'm going to say "Merry Christmas" and "God bless you" and if that bothers someone I guess I'll deal with that when it happens. I'm not going to yell at anyone because they don't.

I'm going to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and commemorate the wonderful truth that He came down from heaven to give His life as a ransom for many and to take away the sins of the world. I'm going to teach my children about that, and encourage them to remember and celebrate those beautiful realities throughout their lives.

I'm also going to spend way too much money, buy them too many presents and take cute pictures of the surprised, smiling looks on their faces when they open them.

OK - I've officially digressed into rambling. Feel free to post your thoughts, concerns and comments!

Until next time - RevPhil

To vote or not to vote...

2008-11-03T23:22:00.003-06:00

Maybe you've had an experience like this:

You and a group of friends are ready to go out, and you're trying to decide where to eat. It can be a difficult thing to decide - some people don't eat certain foods or don't like certain types of restaurants, others feel like eating something specific, and some have a list of a few places that they're in favor of.

As that process begins to work itself out, there's almost always at least one person who refuses to take part in the decision-making process. They'll usually say something like, "I don't care where we go, I'm just happy to be with you guys." or "Whatever you decide is fine."

That frustrates me to no end. Why not participate? What's the problem? You're here - you're part of the group - do your part and help us make this decision! You're going to eat when we get where we're going, why not share your thoughts and ideas about where to go? Who knows? Your idea might trigger something in someone else - you might have a suggestion that no one else thinks of that would make our outing amazing! Or your suggestion might be lame and we'll move on to something else. But that's not the point.

I don't see the virtue of sitting this one out. It seems a little like a cop out. Don't get me wrong - it doesn't make you a bad person (or a bad Christian) or anything like that, but why not participate in the process? No one's guaranteeing that we're going to do what you suggest, but what harm is there in helping the group decide?

The way I see it is that your input could impact the group for the better - what you say could be exactly what it takes for our night to be wonderful, and that would be good. If you don't give your two cents, we'll probably all be OK and have a good time, but we'll miss out on what might have been a good idea from you.

What benefit is there from you sitting out? Is there a benefit here? I don't see it.

That scenario mirrors my thoughts on the upcoming election tomorrow. The most high-profile thing on the ballot tomorrow is obviously the Presidential election, but there are a lot of other offices up for grabs and issues all over that we, the citizens of this country (and our local communities) have the opportunity to have a voice in.

Why not take advantage of that opportunity and participate in decision making process? How does sitting this one out benefit the community at large?

Is your vote going to be the one that makes the difference one way or the other? Maybe, but probably not. We all know the schtick about the value of a vote, etc. I'm not going there.

The bottom line for me is this: I can't see the value you add to the community / city / country by abstaining from the vote.

Is it wrong to not vote? Probably not. Is it a sin? No. Does it make you a bad person? Negative. A bad Christian? I don't think so. Does it harm the community / city / country? I doubt it.

But...does not voting make you a better person? No. A better Christian? No. Does it make you a better citizen? Uh-uh. Is there any benefit to the community / city / country? No.

As a disciple of Jesus in the community / city / country I live in, I'm called to love and serve others in His name and do what he would do if He were in my place.

For me, I think that means participating in the community / city / country and prayerfully taking the opportunity the God-given government gives me to voice my viewpoints and cast my vote. Is that the end of my responsibilities? No way! But I think it's part of it.

So I encourage you to make your way to the polls tomorrow - pray for guidance and cast your vote in accordance with what you believe is right.

My two cents...until next time - RevPhil

Mini Sabbatical

2008-10-27T19:11:00.003-05:00

Well...

Remember me? It's been a while, and I'm not sure why...for some reason I just haven't felt like blogging lately - I can't really explain it.

I've been busy - I know, I know, that's lame - but it's accurate. Ever since school started and everybody went back to school, my schedule has been thrown into chaos. I'm not finding a happy place yet.

I have new responsibilities at work. When the first school director transition happened, my involvement at the school expanded a lot - that is to say that I was very rarely involved before and now there are several things I'm doing to minister to the kids, families and employees there - and I think that's a good thing! I'm just not finding a happy place yet there, either.

I've got a "FOR SALE" sign in my Mustang, and an ad on Craig's List. This is bummin' me out. Don't get me wrong - no one forced me to put it there. I'm just driving so much - taking kids to school, picking kids up from school, dropping off papers at the school, going to and from work, etc., that gas mileage and car wear and tear are beginning to concern me a little. I've dropped some major coin into the Mustang in the past 16 months, and I'm a little gunshy about how much the next repair may be. All that's the practical talk - now the sentimental / emotional stuff: my Dad gave the car to me. He and I have been talking about / looking at / admiring / drooling over Mustangs for as long as I can remember. I remember when he was shopping for it - looking through ads together, listening to him haggle with guys on different cars, dreaming about driving together. Ugh - the thought of someone else driving my Mustang is not favorable.

Along with all of that, I haven't really felt like I've had much to say. SHOCKER! I'm not usually the one at a loss for words, but recently the thought of putting words out there has not been exciting me.

OK. Now - about this mini-sabbatical thing. This week I'm on what First Protestant Church refers to as "study leave" or a "reading week." It's two weeks a year to plan, read, reflect, refresh in a vocational type way. I'm hoping it does the trick for me. Here's what I hope to accomplish this week:

1. Planning
I'm going to do some planning / studying / plotting for WNL (youth Bible study), FOCUS weekend, FPS chapel and Kids' Connection, along with other FPC-related projects.

2. Reading
I like to read fiction. My favorite author is Ted Dekker (dude - he's killer) and he has a few books out I haven't read yet. I'm hoping this gives me some refreshment / relaxation.

3 Lunches
I'm going to have lunch with each of my kids this week. Elijah on Tuesday, Phillip on Wednesday and Katy on Friday (I had lunch with Anna a couple weeks ago for those of you who were wondering :). On Thursday I have a tentative appointment with a friend I haven't seen since high school who lives with his wife in Austin.

4. Geo-caching
I really like doing this, but I don't ever make the time. Maybe this week I can squeeze in a few caches and put the traveling bugs I've had for the past 4 months back in play.

5. Nap
I'm usually on a 1 nap a week schedule, and I've been missing it for the past few weeks. I'm not looking to catch up, but the prospect of a possible nap one afternoon this week is wondrous.

6. Blog
I've gotten more than one comment from people who are upset with my lack of recent blog-itude. Maybe with the break this week should provide, I can climb back in the saddle.

7. Wii
I have a couple of Wii games that I haven't even tried. It'd be nice to spend an hour or two here or there vegging out.

That's about it! Here's hoping that me and my happy place can get re-acqainted!

Until next time (sooner than later) - RevPhil

Body Matters

2008-09-23T22:17:00.004-05:00

Paul introduces an interesting topic in Romans 6. He's discussing the concept that because Jesus paid for the penalty of our sins on the cross, we are now dead to sin, and because He rose again, we are alive in Christ.

Then in 6:12, comes this thought: Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.

What that means is that our body matters. God is interested that once we become one with Christ, that we don't continue to allow sin to own our bodies. When Jesus poured out His blood to purchase our forgiveness, He gave us the opportunities to put our physical selves in the position to impact the world for the sake of righteousness.

Check out 6:13: Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.

I love the picture that paints for us. We have a choice to make:

1. We can offer our bodies to God, for Him to use as "instruments of righteousness." We can be the instrument that God uses to implement righteousness on our family, friends and workplace! Wow!

Like an artist uses a pencil, God uses people to write righteousness on the fabric of the world. And we can be that pencil, channeling God's power, wisdom, strength and resources on the people and circumstances around us - our world can be blessed by God through our bodies, if we choose to make ourselves available for His holy purposes.

On the other hand...

2. We can choose to make our bodies available to sin. Even after we've been purchased by Jesus for heaven's sake, sin can continue to wreak havoc in the world around us, through our own body.

Because of our choices, we can allow wickedness to impact our families, our friends, our church, our community - through our physical selves! Ouch.

The choice is obvious! None of us wants to intentionally put our sphere of influence in danger of being impacted by the power of sin and wickedness! Many times, though, that's exactly what we allow to happen by our poor choices.

We must make a definitive decision to give our bodies to Christ, and allow God to begin writing righteousness on our loved ones through us. And, in truth, this is a daily decision, an act of submission to God's will and God's way in our heart, soul, mind and body.

The truth is this: your life is going to serve a purpose. Your life will either write God's joy and fulfillment and blessing on the world around you, or because of your actions, pain, strife and stress will inhabit your world.

It all depends on who you allow to write with your life.

Romans 6:22-23 - But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Until next time - RevPhil

What's in a word?

2008-09-18T11:11:00.009-05:00

I'm going to confess that I borrowed this topic from a friend's blog. I was surfing around yesterday and happened to read his thoughts, and as I began to respond and comment, I realized that my comment was going to be longer than his original post...whoa! You can read his original post here: http://glimpseintotheabyss.blogspot.com/

As you can see, his topic was on our words - why some words are "bad" and others "good." My random thoughts follow:

Wow - what a topic - one that I've been trying to deal with ever since I moved to Texas. It's my observation that many Texans have potty-mouths, and when I got here and started interacting with people, I was surprised to see just how many people used such language so often.

Here's my deal: I understand what you're saying - they're just words - a string of letters hung together - innocent. And some people are offended by them. I appreciate your thoughtfulness in holding back when you know someone's offended, but do you have to offend them first to know that in the future you should use other (less controversial) words of surprise / frustration / excitement?

Would you allow your children to use these words at home? at school? Probably not - "stupid" and "shut-up" are bad words at our house!

So why do we rationalize our own use of these words? Didn't Jesus tell us that our words reveal what is in our heart? (see Matthew 12 for the whole story)

That makes me wonder what is inside of us (me) that drives us (me) to say things that I would punish my children for saying.

If we can adequately express ourselves in ways that reveal the good that God is planting in our heart and life, why do we feel the need to use these controversial words "when we can" (when we're in the company of others who won't be offended by them).

Being a son, I think about it this way: could I use those words when talking to my mom? Would it sound strange if I wished her a happy G*dd*mn birthday?

Being a husband, I think about it this way: could I use those words in a conversation with my wife? Would it sound strange if I asked her to wash the f*cking dishes?

Being a parent, I think about it this way: could I use those words when talking to my children? Would it sound strange if I were coaching my daughter's soccer team and told them to get after the d*mn ball?

Being an employee, I think about it this way: could I use those words when talking to my boss? Would it sound strange if I told him I had too much sh*t to do and he needed to hire some more f*cking help?

Being a pastor, I think about it this way: could I use those words in the pulpit? Would it sound strange if I were giving an illustration and non-chalantly included the word sh*t?

If I shouldn't use these words as a son, husband, parent, employee or pastor, should I try to find other places where I can? Why?

If it's possible that something I do could be offensive (and potentially become a stumbling block to someone else trying to live as a disciple of Jesus), I shouldn't do it. Even if I'm entitled to.

Paul dealt with this concept in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8. The issue at hand back then was eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols, but I think we can make the connection to our words.

So...that's my thoughts...

Yours?

Until next time - RevPhil

Give us a king!

2008-09-06T22:18:00.002-05:00

In 1 Samuel 8, the children of Israel came to Samuel and asked for a king. They were tired of being different from the nations around them, in that God was their king, and not a man. They wanted to be like everyone else and have a human as their leader.

God, though He was the one being rejected as by the people, instructed Samuel to give the people what they said they wanted and to give them the following warning about how a man would reign over them as king:

Samuel told all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king. He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."
But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." - 1 Samuel 8:10-20

You know how that worked out...over the next generations, the kings of Israel (and Judah) did all the things that God warned the people they would - and more! They became murderers, adulterers, idolaters, liars, thieves and led the people into all sorts of terrible things.

Obviously, they would have been much better off to rely solely on God and his leadership and resources. (Duh!)

Where am I going with this, you ask? Election season in our country always reminds me of this situation from Israel's history. We spend so much time and energy (and prayers?) considering who we want to lead our country. We think about it, we read about it, we watch and listen to what others think, etc., etc. Ugh.

This may sound cynical, but at the end of this campaign, we'll have chosen someone to take our sons and daughters and put them into their service, take a bite out of our paycheck and use it at their discretion.

If I could, I would go back in history and tell those people what a huge mistake they were about to make! How great would it be to live in a country with God as your king? I ask you! But, alas, we live in a time and place where there's a choice to be made regarding who will lead us over the next four years.

So, who to choose? Here's my two cents, and the priorities I use when doing my civic duty and casting my ballot on election day:

1. Life
In my opinion, the most important thing I want to know about my leaders is that they will value and protect life at all cost. I need to have confidence that my leaders will stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves - the unimportant, the insignificant, the weak.

To me, this reflects Jesus more than anything. Throughout the biographies of his life, you find Jesus protecting and interacting with people who were overlooked by everyone else - children, lepers, the handicapped, the ill. These were the unimportant people, but not in his eyes. He spent valuable time talking with them, praying for them, healing them and teaching them.

I refuse to vote for someone to whom this attitude is unimportant or "above my pay-grade" to decide.

That thought alone generally makes my decision for me. If I need to go further;

2. Less is more.
I want the government to affect my life as little as possible. I want to keep as much of the money I earn in my bank account rather than Uncle Sam's and I don't want to be dealing with restrictions and bureaucracy every time I turn around.

I realize that a certain amount of that is necessary to protect us from our enemies and to care for those less fortunate, but we're in a situation where the government can get out of control. I want less.

I guess that's it, really. Nothing too complicated! I suppose there's not much question about where my vote will go at this point...

Thoughts? What are your issues / ideas?

Until next time - RevPhil

I feel a little bad...

2008-08-30T21:59:00.002-05:00

...very, very little, that is.

It might not be a very nice feelling, but I couldn't be happier that Michigan lost their season opener AGAIN - that Michigan lost their home opener AGAIN - to a non-BCS school AGAIN - that any National Championship talk is OVER in Ann Arbor AGAIN!!! Woo!

Earlier, Wife of RevPhil asked me, "don't you feel bad for that new coach?"

Are you kidding? I feel as bad for those lovely folks up north as they surely did for us after the past two National Championship games - not much.

And now, West Virginia fans can celebrate, too!

Until next time - RevPhil

I've been

2008-08-30T09:59:00.002-05:00

typing weird strings of letters for about the past hour.

I finally gave in and signed up for facebook...

So after I got all my interests / activities / favorite music / books / movies, shoe size, hat size, car tire size, toothpaste, etc., I started searching around for people I might know and requesting their online friendship (based on the principle that I already have an actual friendship with them, I guess).

And - now I'm finally getting to the point - for every new friend request you have to type two squiggly words to confirm that you're not some sort of facebook hacking alien computer that's secretly plotting the overthrow of facebook by requesting everyone as a friend.

Whatever.

enormously e
spiltaken laverty
refuse effervesence
sparkle toes

So hit me up! And have fun with the squigglies!

Until next time - RevPhil

Pot Luck

2008-08-17T16:42:00.003-05:00

So. Here I am again. You may have thought I disappeared or discontinued my blogging habit.

Fear not!

Here are a few "random thoughts" I've had brewing in my percolator lately:

1. Watching the entire olympic women's marathon is not "must see TV." I want a refund. Show me something with a little action, please! I'll even watch archery or trampoline or rowing! If any NBC execs are reading...pretty please don't make us watch the men's, too!

2. Michael Phelps has definitely been THE story for the first half of these olympics. I started wondering what the hype was like when Mark Spitz got 7 golds in 1972. I heard today that it was hype (as much hype as there was or could be in 1972 that is). I also wonder what Phelps will do with his celebrity / notoriety. I've heard words/phrases like destiny, fate, God made him for this, etc. I hope that in 10 years we'll be able to look back and say that winning 8 gold medals was good for him.

3. What in the world was Green Bay thinking? I don't think anyone really believes that they're a better football team without Brett Favre. I understand that it's annoying to have him retire and then un-retire, but please. He led them to a 13-3 record and one pass away from the Super Bowl LAST YEAR! You can't tell me they really think that Aaron Rodgers (as good as he may be) can surpass that in his first year as a starter.

4. I'm ready to get back to full-time ministry to children and youth! Over the past two summers, I've been filling the FPC pulpit while the other Revs have had sabbaticals. That's great and all, and I appreciate the chance to preach and grow in that area of ministry, but I'm SO looking forward to getting back to working with people under 20. You really have no idea.

5. I think I need to improve in the area of my attitude when I'm frustrated / disgusted. I'm beginning to be concerned that I let those emotions show too much / too easily. I'm going to be experimenting with being positive despite frustrating / ridiculous circumstances. I'll keep you posted.

6. I'm enjoying reading / digesting my friends' thoughts in their blogs! Keep 'em coming!

Until next time - RevPhil

You've got to be kidding me!

2008-08-10T18:16:00.002-05:00

OK, so I feel like I've been pretty clear about the fact that we are kookoo for the Olympics. And to be honest, the Opening Ceremony is never really something that I look forward to, or even remember much from.

Until now.

Everything about the Opening Ceremony was stinkin' amazing! The humongous LCD screen, the hundreds of people under the moving boxes, the drums, the tai chi people in perfect circles, the bird's nest, the torch lighting...shall I go on?

I will officially remember the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony. Kudos to those who dreamt up something that took the world's breath away.

Until next time - RevPhil

Cornhole - it's not what you think

2008-08-10T17:51:00.003-05:00

I experienced a new game while I was visiting my family back in Ohio - Cornhole.

I know what you're thinking...that's a name for something else!

But wait! Don't reject based on the name alone! It really is fun!

It basically consists of two 2'x4' sheets of plywood with a 6" hole cut in and 8 "corn bags." (A corn bag is a bean bag with un-popped popcorn instead of beans). Teams stand by their boards and alternate tossing the bag toward the hole. A bag in the hole nets 3 points, and a bag that lands on the board scores 1 point. An interesting twist is that opposing bags cancel each other out - for instance, if both teams put one bag in the hole, neither team gets points.

Games are played to 21 - and it's so much fun!

As soon as I got home, I got busy building my own cornhole boards, and as soon as I get my bags, I'm excited to introduce the game of Cornhole to Texas. I even decorated my boards like a real Texan would:

You can check out the official rules, etc at www.playcornhole.org, the website home of the American Cornhole Association.

I'm looking forward to playing!

Until next time - RevPhil

A Change in Honoring

2008-08-10T17:15:00.002-05:00

So I've been thinking about something lately - since my visit to my folks house.

8 times in the Bible (according to www.biblegateway.com), we are reminded that a principle of the Kingdom is to "honor your father and mother."

I always assumed that I knew what that meant - and I think I did. As a kid, honoring your father and mother has to do with obedience, respect and conducting yourself in such a way that brings your family good thoughts and good things. With children, I think that obedience is the primary way to accomplish this. In fact, twice in the New Testament, Paul flat out states "children, obey your parents."

When I was back home a couple of weeks ago, however, my thoughts about honoring my father and mother (as an adult) began to shift a little. I think at this stage in my life, honoring my father and mother has less to do with obedience and more with finding tangible, meaningful ways to show them that I love and respect them (along with continuing to conduct myself appropriately).

With this new idea in mind, I find myself looking for ways to be intentional about honoring. I saw that my dad had started a couple of projects around the house, so I offered to help out. We ended up spending about 10-12 hours over the few days we were there (and I have the poison ivy to prove it).

I'm looking forward to experiencing and exploring my new approach. Let me know what you think.

Until next time - RevPhil