Here and Now

Last night at 7:30 we began a 24 hour prayer vigil here at Christ church which is going to end in just under 3 hours as we begin our Ash Wednesday worship service. We blocked it out into 48 half-hour time slots and most were filled by the time the vigil started - but there were a couple openings. So I thought I'd take the "least desirable" of what was left - two slots back to back - 1:30 and 2:00 AM. Oof... Set the alarm for 1:30 (you didn't really expect that I'd still be up, did you? Heh...not so much anymore... Anyway, I hauled myself out of bed at 1:25, went downstairs and started to pray. And at some point - please, pretend to be surprised - I fell asleep. All I know is, I was talking to God and then all of a sudden I was snoring (woke myself up by snorting, no less) and looked at the clock and it was 3:45. Immediately, I heard "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" But I didn't know it was Jesus' last night as a free man....

We're gearing up to celebrate the U2charist again this year. I'm really looking forward to it. I know some people can't get over the fact that Bono drops the f-bomb or that he smokes or whatever - so he's not "christian enough" for some people. I believe in his relationship with God through Jesus Christ - I believe that it is genuine and deep and passionate. And that's enough for me. Now, don't tell anybody, but I've dropped the f-bomb a few times myself...and, though I don't smoke, I do indulge in self-destructive behavior (have you seen me at a Steak N Shake? I can REALLY put away the fries... and there's a whole post on here about evil donuts ). So, yeah, I get it. I'm trying to "work out my salvation with fear and trembling"** just like everybody else. Yeah, I don't get the ear of presidents (hmmm, do you suppose Pres. Obama reads my blog? heh) and millions of fans. So what that means is my life is less scrutinized. Bu...

I had an "Oh Crap!"** moment this morning. My friend Aaron posted this blog post which linked to this blog post . Yeah, it's Monday morning. My blog surfing hour of the week. Anyway, that "Stuff Christians Like" post was fine - I was going along with the guy's self-deprecation for not writing to his sponsored kids in Africa. Yeah, sounds like a good idea, you really should do that guy. You're right to feel guilty. But then he brought God into it. Not even subtly. I mean, at least he could offer me an escape clause, after all - I was agreeing with him that HE was wrong in how he wasn't giving his TIME to God. But...then it wasn't just about him. In 2 Samuel 24, David wants to build an altar to God on the threshing floor of a guy named Araunah the Jebusite. Araunah, possessing perhaps the only obscure Biblical name none of my friends have used for their kids, offers to give David the threshing floor for free. David's response is instan...

We've been listening to a lot of old music (heh - you know, from the 80s) because I'm loading up my iPod. I pulled out some old Kenny Marks a couple weeks ago because Lori asked me if we had one of his songs - "White Dress." She wore a white dress And a rainbow ribbon in her hair One candle burns on a birthday cake Mom and dad are there Wishing they could be like her without a care She wore a pink dress To her school on her very first day Mom and dad drove here there and they cried As they drove away Tears for her, but more tears for yesterday She wore a blue dress And rode her bike to the corner store Daddy said now he's leaving for good And he slammed the door No goodbyes, no more daddy anymore Well, as she grew up, they grew apart It'll never be the same And they watch love go with a heavy heart And they wonder who's to blame "It's not your fault daddy went away He went walking out the door And it's not your fault daddy had to say He didn...

Rachel goes to school here in Bethel Park. She has a great teacher and she's making some friends. The Bethel Park mascot is the Hawk - they're the Bethel Park Blackhawks and their football team went to the state finals this year (and lost in the fourth heartbreaking quarter). So, anyway, I don't know why the girls were talking in the back seat of the Pilot about hawks but Elie says, "Dad, what do hawks eat?" (Heh, I alwas get these kind of questions - Lori always gets the theological questions - I guess the girls have learned that if they don't want an answer about God that takes 20 minutes and mentions the Desert Fathers then they ought to ask their mom). So, Elie asks, "Daddy, what do hawks eat?" I said, "Hmmm - smaller birds, mice, rabbits, fish...I suppose..." And Rachel says, "Other football teams..." I thought that was awesome. Rachel's getting puns now and she has a quick sense of humor and it's so cool to be able t...

I nicked myself shaving yesterday. Happens every once in a while, and I know it's no big deal. But it is annoying. I've been shaving for about 2/3rds of my life - every day for 25 or so years (well, there was a beard briefly in college - and the occasional vacation scruff...but just about every day) so that's like 9000 times... It's a daily routine, it's ingrained in who I am. I still mess it up. Go figure. And shaving isn't complicated. So, is it any wonder that I still mess up being a dad, a husband, a pastor, a Christian from time to time? I mean, that's complicated stuff - even if it is the ingrained and daily - I'm still pretty capable of messing it up. No, nothing happened. No deep confessions. No big problems. Just a little observation born of a tiny red spot on my cheek yesterday morning. The beauty of my family and my God is that we live in grace. Yeah, I mess things up in small ways all the time (like a little nick when shaving) and...

I just went to a blog and music started playing and I couldn't find the "stop the music 'cause it's not what's already playing on my computer and my ears are getting scrambled" button so I quickly hit the back arrow and got off that page. I appreciate that you love your music and want me to love it too. But, the thing is, I'm already listening to something when I go to your site - and it's almost certainly not even in the same key. I went to your webpage or blog or whatever because something interested me. If you want to share your favorite indie/celtic/folk/punk/jam band with me - just ask, please. I'm a fan of Wovenhand and 16 Horsepower, so, yeah, I'll probably like it. But it's probably not what I'm listening to right now. And if there isn't a great big this-is-how-you-shut-the-music-off button, I'm off your site faster than...um...well, really fast, okay? Minor rant over...

I'm doing staff devotions this morning in (oh man...) 8 minutes... Maybe I won't get this posted before I go... One of the most frustrating things Jesus ever said appears in Matthew 13:51. He has been telling kingdom parables and then he asks the disciples, "Have you understood these things?" And they say yes. Now, what frustrates me about this is that I don't understand all these things. The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who puts yeast into dough until it's all mixed in... Um...huh? The kingdom is like a pearl so valuable that you'd sell everything else to buy it. Or a field with a treasure in it so you sell everything and snatch up the field before somebody else finds the treasure (okay, it doesn't really SAY that last part exactly that way...but remember, I said I don't really get these parables completely...so that's how it reads to me). Brian McLaren in his book The Secret Message of Jesus (and I'm paraphrasing here) says that we...

Yeah I've been away from blogging. I have a reason - someone told me they read it. I didn't say I had a GOOD reason. I just realized that whenever someone says to me something about following my blog...I stop blogging (last time it was only about six weeks - November 2007-January 2008) but this time it's been a struggle since the fall sometime. Why? Dunno - I'm weird, I guess. Yeah, that's a revelation to all of you who really know me. I think it's the need to produce something interesting. When I started this whole blog thing, it was for me - and for my family. Stuff I thought and cared about. But I didn't really expect anybody to really read it, you know? Before I came to Christ UMC someone asked me why I blog... And I still didn't have a good answer. I said something about making the connection between Sunday and weekdays - the continued connection of community...and, I don't remember. I still don't know why I blog (when I do). But I...