Life in the Big Potato

No matter how bad you think your life is going, remember, it could be much worse. A friend who lives in a difficult part of the world offers this reminder . If you look at your problems in light of the daily fear and turmoil that many people in the world face you just might feel a little guilty for complaining. You could be a child soldier in Africa. You could be a woman sold into slavery in South Asia. You could be a mother who lost all her children to fighting in Columbia. So when you send your kid off to school, go to your air-conditioned workplace, go to college where you will get an education that puts you in the top 10% of the world in education, pay only $3 for gas, or watch people on the news criticize the government; just take a moment to be grateful. Please pray that the Gospel will pour out on Iraq and people will experience the only real hope they have of peace. What other solution is there?

When buying a house, especially in a place like North Idaho, you really want to look for a place with a view. They aren't hard to come by. Out on the prairie where we live you can look in any direction and see mountains. All you have to do is find a house without trees or other buildings blocking the view. For a little bit better views you can drive up one of the mountains. There you will find some houses perched on the side of the mountain with vistas overlooking the prairie with mountains beyond or even a river or lake. For really spectacular views, though, you have to put forth some effort. If you really want to see something memorable you'll have to drive or hike to places where they haven't yet attempted to build any houses. You might have to wake up early to see the sun rise or camp out overnight so that you can see the sunset. Just for a good view some people will put themselves through the risk and pain of climbing at high elevations and extreme temperatur...

Monday evening I had a unique experience. I now own a home which means I get to cut grass. I bought a used push-mower for $34. So Monday evening I decided to put it to the test. The weekend had been beautiful with temperatures into the 70's, but when I went out to mow I had on jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and my super warm SWBTS hoodie. The wind was a steady 15-20 mph out of the west and very cold even though the sun was shining brightly. In the distance I could see storm clouds, so I tried to hurry and get each section of my yard done before rain hit. As I was contemplating the ridiculousness of mowing grass in the freezing cold I felt something cold hit my cheek. I looked around me without slacking my pace and I saw tiny pieces of ice bouncing of my mower. The sun was still shining and the wind was still blowing, and all around me tiny white meteorites were striking the ground. I know that when it is raining or lightning you are not supposed to cut the grass, but I've...

We had over 130 men from the community show up for NorthStar's 3rd Annual Beast Feast wild game supper. We served different dishes made with elk, buffalo, bear, caribou, and even alligator. During the day from 12-4 we had games for kids such as BB gun target practice, a hunting video game, a craft table, face painting, and give-a-ways. Bubbles the clown even showed up. Dinner started at 5pm. Chuck Buck the chairman of Buck Knives, was the keynote speaker. He shared some about the company and some about his personal life. And he shared about how God had had a major impact on both. After Chuck spoke we drew tickets for the give-a-ways. We gave away a bunch of knives and some fishing gear. Almost everyone received a Buck Knives bandage dispenser. The wrapper of each bandage reads, "Oops, it really was that sharp!" The goal of this event was to serve the community and share Christ. We met both of those goals. Glory to God.

This Saturday NorthStar Church is hosting the 3rd annual Beast Feast. We are having a wild game supper for men only. The supper will feature food like, buffalo, elk, bear and even catfish and alligator! The keynote speaker will be Chuck Buck of Buck Knives. Buck Knives is head-quarted in Post Falls right next to where Jana works. We are expecting as many as 200 men for the supper. Please pray for this event. Chuck is planning on sharing some of his testimony and giving the men a chance to respond to the Gospel. This is also a great chance to let people know about NorthStar and just show that we want to serve and be a part of the community.

I saw the movie Amazing Grace . It made me think a lot about social change and whatnot. As Christians, why are we doing what we are doing? Is Heaven our only goal? Have you thought about why God is doing what He is doing? Surely, God's ultimate goal is not to collect all of the nice, well-mannered, moral people of the world to himself. Surely, He is not watching the masses cry out in pain only to look away and dote on those who have been honored to hear about Jesus. The world (some of it) points a finger at God and screams out, "Why aren't you doing anything?" The answer is that He has done and is doing just the right thing. The problem is there are many things that appear to be a good solution to the world's problems. More technology, better medicine, free education, more laws, less taxes, free trade agreements, better weapons, gun control... the list never ends. But none of those things will permanently heal the hurts of mankind. They are bandages on wou...