I'm Not Dead...Yet!

Well, it turns out that I am not, in fact, dead. Just overwhelmed. Not sure why. Nothing new has been going on to make me feel overworked or whatever. I think I might have a touch of, what is it called, "Seasonal Affective Disorder"? The weather here has FINALLY broken - and, as much as I'd rather be cold than hot - I love the sunshine...

So, this isn't so much a resurrection as a reunion, I guess. I'm finally back to being ME...

Lots of stuff has been going on with Lori and the girls - things I should be blogging about...

I just joined up with two other guys for an intense "accountability group." We ask some really hard questions... well, heck, here they are:

1. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and your actions?
2. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate sexual thoughts about another this week?
3. Have you lacked integrity in your financial dealings or coveted something that does not belong to you?
4. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this week?
5. Have you damaged another person by your words either behind their back or face-to-face?
6. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this past week? Explain.
7. Have you continued to remain angry toward another?
8. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune?
9. How is your prayer life?
10. How well have you kept up your devotional reading? What are you going to do about it?
11. Have you been completely honest with me?

Those questions come from some "Life Transformation" materials that one of the guys had. But they're tough questions. Obviously we can't deal with all of them every week - but it should become obvious which one each of us will have to deal with every week - and then we're going to do a random thing with the first ten (#11 is a given, I think...)

So, that's a little scary. The three of us know each other pretty well socially - but this digs pretty deeply. But we're Methodists and kind of tagging on to that heritage. Wesley had 22 questions for his Holy Club meetings. Questions that those people were expected to ask themselves every day:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?

So, I can ask myself these questions every day. I think it's a pretty good relationship test. It's funny, I don't have to sit down and ask myself 20 questions about being a husband or father - though I fail in those areas every day too... Hmmm, not sure what that says about me...

More to come....