Big Cities

As I was reading my devotional today I came across this passage:

13 Harness your chariot horses and flee,
you people of Lachish.
You were the first city in Judah
to follow Israel in her rebellion,
and you led Jerusalem into sin.

At the surface you may think to yourself. Jamie what in the world did you get from that. Well after further study I realized what happened to Israel in their quest for prosperity. One of the largest cities was Lachish at around 14 acres. It also seemed to be quite advanced after archaeological digs. It seemed as though Lachish had a lot to do with Israel's sin and rebellion. As for the chariot horses some believe that had to do with the importing of Egyptian horses. The horses was probably not all of what was moved into Lachish. I am sure customs, beliefs and other Egyptian thoughts were spreading throughout Israel.

So here is what I noticed for it all:

In the U.S. today some of our largest cities are full of different thoughts, customs, religions and traditions. Some are good and some are not so good. Then those things seem to filter down to the smaller towns until those are accepted and practiced everywhere. You can see it throughout the elections. The decisions are really made in the larger cities for each state. But if we are not careful our Lachish will surface and lead us to a path away from God. In fact that has already happened. That to me will be the downfall of our great country. You may disagree with my theology, faith and thoughts but one thing you can not disagree with is the decrease in morals and ethics.

Don't get me wrong I love big cities but I can also see their danger. Be careful America in what we accept. It can lead us down the path of destruction.

A day with Micah

Today our church took a group of children to "Maggie's Jungle Golf". The grade levels were from 1st-6th so the girls were left home. That is ok because us guys need to get out and spend some time together. Micah doesn't really have the putt-putt golf thing down very well so he struggled for a while. The competitive father in me wanted to help him putt better so he could make the par. Then it came to my realization that I was about to do something that I hate concerning parents and sports. That is take the fun out of it and make our children compete in EVERYTHING. So I sat back and let him whack at the ball, scoot it across the green and putt out of line. You know what....? I found myself actually enjoying watching him have fun at something. The day will come on it's own when the start working for scores. I need to enjoy the time just letting him have fun without worries of losing.

Then the same thing happened when we when to Gatti Land Pizza. After we all ate we headed to the game room. There were video games all over and some gave tickets. Most of the kids went to the games that gave out tickets so they could start working for prizes. Micah headed to some video games and then occasionally toward one that dealt out tickets. In my mind I was calculating how many tokens we needed to play on ticket games. I at first wanted to encourage him to play those so he could get prizes. Then again I pulled back and let him have fun at whatever. Over the course of time he collected 25 tickets which could only purchase one of those army men that have a parachute on it's back. You know what....? He had fun and wasn't worried about what everyone else had.

So to all of those parents out there pushing their kids to WIN WIN WIN! Pull back from that and let them have fun. If we fail to let them be kids their childhood will be wasted in competition. The grow up too fast anyway.

Have a great evening!

Billyboard Bear

OK it is high time I addressed this issue. I don't even know how long this billboard has been up there but from day one I noticed it. It drives me crazy as well as Buffy. Buffy's reason is different than mine. So I will discuss hers first. Here is the picture one:



If you will notice every doctor on this board has a white coat except one. Why is this? Is she the office "rebel"? Was her only white coat dirty or at the cleaners? Maybe it was a mistake. Perhaps she didn't get the memo. Anyway you see it things like this stick out to us. But I feel mine is much different. Let see PICTURE 2!




If you notice the syrup looks just like a teddy bears. Not only that but the butter could be seen as the bears tummy. This board every time I go to church drives me crazy. I don't know if I want to eat pancakes or just buy my kid a stuffed animal.

So in full view this is the "Billyboard Bear" :




So maybe this will give me some "release" from the tension inside of me from this crazy sign. LOL!

To those hidden readers...

At one time I thought there were less than 5 people that even grace my blog. I normally use this a an online thought log. Over the last year or so I have noticed that I have "hidden readers". That is pretty cool and it helps me to also see that I have stalkers...lol! No, but really I would love to thank all of those that come by and visit the site. I am making a slight request of you. To those that read this blog please post in the comments. It can be as simple as a :) on the comment.

Also I am working on a blog that will should have you all in suspense. Here is the hint:

"Teddy Bear Pancakes"

Post Church Service Groups

As a pastor I have noticed that after we say Amen at the end of the service people immediately head to their perspective groups. Some will meet in this corner, others in another and then some might meet out in the parking lot. Why do we do this I ask? Is it because we feel most comfortable with these people? Is it because we want to talk about other groups? Or is it because we just do? Who really knows the answer to these questions? What I can say is that it happens. It shouldn't but it does. Although we see that the disciples had a hard time with it:

John 4:1-42

Here we see that Jesus is resting at a well in Samaria while the disciples head to town to but some food(John 4:8). As Jesus is waiting a Samaritan woman comes up to the well at different time than most. This woman was considered a sinner by her own people and she was out on her own. Jesus speaks to her and asks for some water. This astounds her due to the fact that Jews don't associate with Samaritans. Well Jesus in his own way proves to her that he is the Messiah and that she can receive salvation (John 4:10). She hurries off to tell others in town about Jesus. The disciples return to be shocked and astounded that JESUS is talking to this SAMARITAN woman. What in the world was he thinking? Doesn't he know that we are not part of that group?

Then Jesus cuts to the point. The disciples didn't get any food (John 4:31-33). The question is to me ...did they really look. Or were they blinded by disgust in town. I can just see them in a tight knit group heading through town. They really don't talk to anyone then they just give up and head back.

Jesus uses this as an example to show them that they need to open their eyes and see that the Samaritans are open to salvation. Then it is proven through the people headed back to Jesus and their eventual proclamation of him being the savior.

I think churches today need to open their eyes. If they look they will see there are people within feet of them read to hear the Good News. The only thing that is stopping God's people is their pride. Let's break these groups and go to the fields. For soon they will spoil.

Page slobberers

Last night me a Buffy got into a discussion again. I notice while she turns the pages she has to lick her fingers first. I know there are a mass amount of people that do that. That is why there is a company making a killing on this weird wax like substance that helps you to "take hold" of pages.

Take Hold Finger Tip Grip

After that advertisement I must get back to this subject of licking your fingers before you turn a page. I don't mind if my wife or kids do that at home but, where does it become socially and environmentally wrong? I know one place for sure. The Doctors office! I have actually seen people licking their fingers to turn a page at the Dr's office. No wonder half of them keep coming back to the Dr in a couple of weeks. They have contracted some other communicable disease from the pages of the book they just slobbered on. So note to self don't read magazines at the doctors office.

Finally last night we discussed how are you suppose to turn a page without doing that. I simply angle my finger in the right position and turn it. But I guess it is a habit to do it the other way. And believe me I have plenty of bad habits of my own.

So:

Wife ...kids = ok

Family, friends and doctor's office weirdos = not ok

Birdie

Yesterday I went golfing with 2 of my youth (Zach and Chris) and one of their teachers from school (Sam). I have been perfecting my iron shots and have really been looking forward to seeing if that worked. As a whole I really did do better than normal and I played better than I ever have. In no way would I want you to think I was good though. I can't really even play but yesterday was the best.

To get back to my story we were on a par three and it has been my Everest. It has a creek on one side and I always seem to put it in the drink. The hole is a straight shot but somehow I seem to always mess it up. Yesterday I picked my iron and prepared for my shot. I squared up and took a long smooth swing. The ball traveled perfectly on the green and I heard this CLAAANG. I had hit the flag pole and the ball landed an inch or two away from the hole. Needless to say I had a 2 on a Par 3 and I was excited this is the first birdie for me ever and was almost a hole in one.

Now I have seemed to at least use a iron more correctly I need to move on to the woods. I have to get rid of a wicked slice. Then I might be able to pretend to play par 5's. Wooot hooot!

Mission to Arizona 3?

As of this week I have been considering a mission trip to Arizona again. After chatting with Dr Cecil from Mid-Continent University the old Arizona Mission fire has been rekindled. He has asked me to head up a team this year to the Tohono O’odham reservation. I have seriously considered and have decided I will go in March. I was doing some research on this tribe because I was wondering why they would change their name from Papago to Tohono O’odham. Actually they were always the Tohono O’odham but when the Spanish arrived they name them Papago. So this tribe is headed back to their heritage.

I am excited to head up a team but more excited about ministering to the Native Americans. God has given me a burden for this group of people. And I will jump at the chance to minister anytime I get. So if you would like to go on a mission in March and you are from college to whatever please let me know.

Alien and the saucer

Yesterday we took the kids out to play for the first time in months due to the hot weather. They had a great time running around getting filthy. We also started tossing the Frisbee around and trying to teach the kids on how to actually get it straight. We in the midst of all of this Abbi realized that she looked scary with all the dirt on her face. So she went to the car and peered into the side view mirror. All of a sudden she takes off running at the speed of a cheetah across the lawn. *She is screaming "I'm a alien, I'm a alien!" over and over again (she looked like one with all the dirt on her face). At the same time a tossed the Frisbee and it headed toward her. This toss somehow went over her head and she ran into it. The Frisbee hit her directly in the eyebrow and she feel to the ground. I ran over to comfort her and see what actually happened. The little scratch is there to prove the incident. I can't imagine how in the world I could have ever done this. What are the odds? I sketched the incident:


The black box is our house. The small open square is our driveway. The two lined objects are swings. The first X represents her take off from the car. You can follow her run across the lawn. The dotted line is my throw. Then the final X represents the actual incident. The toss was about 50 yards. Here is a picture of Abbi after this event:




Yes that is right folks it actually cracked the Frisbee. You can't make a father feel more guilty than that. I in no way would I ever have done that on purpose. But after checking her out and thinking about it the incident was a little funny.