Life in the Big Potato

A book found me twice so I decided to take notice and read it. Actually I won a set of Christmas books on a blog a subscribe to, and I decided to give the books away as Bunco prizes (I know I'm so resourceful). Well the other day while L and I were eating lunch the doorbell rang, and the UPS man dropped off another set of the same books I had won before. I took it as a sign. The book I am reading is The Gift of an Ordinary Day: A Mother's Memoir , and I am really enjoying the author Katrina Kenison as she writes about the adventure of being a mom and her journeys with her two boys into adolescence. I know I have quite a way to go until I experience that transition; however, I can't forget what one of my bridesmaids wrote on a card she gave me the day I was married to sweet Bennett, "Live in every moment, life picks up speed from here ..." That's pretty much the theme of the book I am currently reading, and what I have found to be so true since I read Shauna...

What is our ministry going to look like in 2010?  Many of you who read these updates are either financial or prayer supporters of our work through Globe Outreach in North Idaho.  I hope that's a big deal for you.  Its a big deal for us.  To know that people are willing to give and pray in order to make our work possible is a humbling thing.  To be honest I don't always think about that.  I don't wake up every morning thinking, "What will FBC Houston (or whoever) do today through me?"  But that is really what is going on.  When Jana and I are here being obedient to God, working for his Kingdom, everyone who prays for us is playing a part in that work.  That is humbling, but it is also a relief.  It is a relief to know that it is not about me.  If it were about me I would be anxious to prove myself to the world.  I would be frantic to justify my faith with results.  I would desperately need to know that I was responsible for producing something. But the truth is I a...

Since about the 1930's the Christian world has been faced with a worldview shaking dilemma concerning the character of God.  If God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and absolutely loving toward his creation, then why, oh my soul, did He allow the creation of the electric guitar?  This question has befuddled red-faced, tight collared clergy and purple-haired, white gloves alike.  What Heaven honoring purpose could such an instrument have? Now I'm no rock music hater.  I quite appreciate it actually.  Just, like most things, I've always seen it as a neutral force in our world that can be used for good or evil.  Of course, most often it has accompanied what many of us would consider more or less, evil.  Did I qualify that enough?  I mean when you talk about rock, especially electric guitar laden hard rock, you immediately get images of tongue wielding, animal biting, frizzy haired, crazies that are one chemical experiment away from becoming a VH1 special.  I should also mention t...