I give guitar lessons & that's my "extra" cash. We're spending Christmas in Chester Ca, where my sister-in-law runs a second hand store. Because it's in the mountains, 10F this morning, there are a ton of beanies at her store. In SC a beanie costs $3 at a second hand store. In Chester, today, they're 50 cents. I told my wife, "I'm gonna' go buy 40 beanies today," & of course she said, "Great idea."

Being the godly man I am I told God, "This isn't what I want to spend my money on, but I know it blesses your heart; this is the best use of my money." Two thoughts fought in my head like heavyweight fighters: Selfishness vs. Selflessness. That said, we went & picked out 40 beanies, which was all they had. As we approached the check out line, beanies bulging out of my arms, a woman offered to help me put them in a bag. I thanked her & walked away. She then approached my wife & said, "here's a gift certificate I wanted you to have," which my wife thanked her for. I asked her how much the gift was for: $20...enough for 40 beanies.

Ironic on several levels.

This comes as my friend, Ronee, has come under criticism for her work with the poor in SC. I asked her if she could use more beanies & she said: "absolutely!"

I guess God wants these beanies delivered to SC. I guess God blessed the direction my feet took me & not the direction my heart wanted to go. I guess God is faithful to the unfaithful.

Thanks God.

Return Stolen Bike Part 2

So, we return the bike & needless to say the police officer was totally perplexed. He kinda' looked at my friend & didn't know what to say other than, "You stole this bike 10yrs ago?"; it was great! Well, I get a phone call from my friend because the police officer called him later in the day. Without us knowing it, someone from the Santa Cruz Sentinel (the local paper) was in the room & overheard what was going on. They asked the police officer for my friends info, 'cuz they want to do a write up on an unbelievable story! What would possess a man to give back a bike he stole 10yrs ago without getting caught? Why would a man want make his wrongs right?

Today I get to go to the police station to give back a bike that was stolen 10yrs ago by a man who has committed his life to Christ. It's wonderful to see people being healed by God, taking inventory of their past in order to walk into the future God has for them.

Merry Christmas:
"In other words, eternal life is not the by-product of some enlightenment or knowledge acquired mystically. Eternal life is historically anchored in what we may call the scandal of particularity unique to Christianity. The life of God has been channeled to us through a historical event, an event that John says has been verified by people who saw it."

Formally Winter

Winter Formal Charity Dinner

Good old Mark Twain:
Some men worship rank, some worship heroes, some worship power, some worship God, and over these ideals they dispute and cannot unite -- but they all worship money.

Entitlement:
When your dog sits next to the table waiting for scraps, so you toss him some. Instead of catching it he allows the food to pass by his snout, hit the floor, where he is given enough time to discern if it is worthy. Then, he walks away leaving you to pick the scrap off the floor.
Entitlement.

At the Vets Hall we're never totally sure what room we're going to meet in. We were informed that this week we can't get into a room until 11:45, which is 45min after everyone gets there. What to do? So we're going to have a collective preacher exercise. Break up into groups &...

God left us the Bible in order that we might know him. It helps us to understand who He is, who we are as His children, & how we are supposed to act in our relationships with Him & the world around us. So, reading, appreciating, & applying His word to our lives is a very important responsibility.

Today we, actually you, are going to read, contemplate, & understand how to apply God’s word to our everyday life. We are the collective preacher!
Assign:
Scribe (someone who will write down what you find)
Speaker (someone who will share what you found)

After reading your text:
First: What is the purpose, the heart, or the meaning of the text?
Second: Is there another example from Scripture or life to draw from?
Third: Think of a story, whether personal or not, that relates to this scripture.
Last: How can I apply the truth of the scripture to my life? What does this mean for my everyday life? How does this truth help me to be a disciple of Christ?

When we get together you are going to share what you found. You are going to tell us what this text is about, give us another example from scripture or everyday life, share a story that relates to the truth you discovered & help us recognize how we too can live out the purposes of God by applying His word to our lives.

Gospel of Matthew—Chapter 1
18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

I try. Is that so bad?

I try to convince the blind they can't see; reassure the hungry they aren't full; remind the sick they aren't healthy; warn those with money they aren't rich; notify the lame they aren't walking; inform the successful they aren't important; let the educated know their education isn't informed; advise the dead that they aren't alive.

Such are the complications of my (& yours if you follow Christ) vocation. This vocation was given to my at my baptism; yours was too. It's not a terribly popular message, but...it's part of Christmas gift.

For all the: poor, sick, blind, ignorant, dead, lame, uneducated people in the world--I have good news.

For all the rest--Your good news is at 7pm tonight; & p.s--you've always been in recession.

Why is it that when we talk to God we're said to be praying, but when God talks to us we're a lunatic?

Lily Tomlin

One of the things we've been struggling with in SC is that people think we are a cult. Hopefully this sign helps.

My Super-Hero

Psalm 127
A Pilgrim Song of Solomon
1-2 If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks.
If God doesn't guard the city,
the night watchman might as well nap.
It's useless to rise early and go to bed late,
and work your worried fingers to the bone.
Don't you know he enjoys
giving rest to those he loves?

3-5 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

This has been my prayer for many mornings. I can't really build the house & when I do, it doesn't turn out well!

Be thankful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHn83lm6UCY

"You do not even know a man until you have eaten forty pounds of salt with him."

Russian Proverb

What do you think about this:

I don't think it's sin that ultimately ruins us. We all deal with sin; actually right now you have sin you are dealing with & not dealing with; yet you can still function as a child of God & are able to share in God's Kingdom ministry in spite of our attitudes this morning or lustful thoughts this afternoon. Sin exists within you & won't be removed until we are resurrected with Christ. We are presently Saints who sin.

Sin isn't the issue that ruins us: Secrets are. Of course keeping secrets can be sin, but work with what I'm saying. Lusting after something is sin. However, I have lustful thoughts throughout the day: Nice wave! I wish I was more... Nice smile...etc. That said, when I don't tell anyone I'm wrestling with lust, lust grows & becomes a monster in my life. Keeping secrets is deadly. My daily sin is a spark; keeping my daily sin (constantly) secret (we know when we are) is gas & dry wood; then I have a problem.

My daily sin won't work me over. My daily sin, kept to myself, will grow into a beast I am unable to control, & will therefore ruin me.

I have nothing to gain; nothing to hide; nothing to prove; nothing to lose.

How I wish that were true!!

Secrets kill.

Distance or Speed?

If you want to travel fast...travel alone.
If you want to travel far...travel together.
African Proverb.

Are you built for distance or speed?

Is your life set up for distance or speed?

Just a thought: If you aren't content where you're at, doing what you're doing right now, than you won't ever be content. Is this true? Maybe a nugget of truth, but not totally true? What do you think?

BTW: I'm up at UCSC taking an astronomy class & then headed to the junior college for my Ultimate Frisbee class. Having a mobile office is...what Jesus did!!! "Bad church office, Bad!!" Where the people at?

I'm starting to see a common theme in the lives of people: How we deal with conflict really defines a large portion of our life. Too, how our parents dealt with conflict REALLY has an effect on our lives. As I continue to spend time with people I'm realizing many of their, or my, or our, problems revolve around how we deal with conflict. Therefore, to the degree we have healthy conflict we will have a healthy relationship; likewise, to the degree that we have unhealthy conflict we will have unhealthy relationships. How we deal with conflict defines a large portion of our lives.

Conflict can be huge--a fist fight. Conflict can be small--"What type of toppings do WE want on OUR pizza." No matter how big or small, people really aren't equipped to deal with conflict & therefore create a bunch of coping mechanisms: Work, denial, various drugs, booze, chocolate, hobbies, anger, sex, porn, Facebook, seclusion, crowds, laziness, etc. Instead of actually confronting the conflict we allow it to drive us into various habits & many of them self-destructive; which always means destructive relationships, since no one lives in a relational vacuum (no matter how hard we try). As in a recent sermon I gave: "You either speak out your frustrations or you act out your frustrations; these are the only options." Unresolved conflict doesn't go away until you deal with it.

I am often amazed by people’s ability to not DEAL with the actual problems! If only we applied similar discipline to helpful or Christ-like habits; the world would be a different place. Instead we allow unresolved conflict to run rampant in our souls & relationships. So we see repeated themes throughout our relationships. We literally get stuck on stupid, until we deal with it.

Conflicts almost always start small, like a match. However, if the match isn’t dealt with, “before the sun goes down…” it grows, & grows, & grows, until it is out of proportion & then you need helicopters, fire engines, & state financing in order to put out the fire started by the small, often meaningless match. Dealing with my hurt ASAP is very important: “Before the sun goes down.” If not, when the sun comes up, & the heat of the day presses on, the flames of the previous day's match are joined by the new matches of the new day.

Why is conflict bad? I have conflict with myself & others all day. This isn’t because I’m really picky or mean. It is a result of the Fall, but conflict is a normal part of life.

Healthy people have healthy conflicts. Healthy conflicts make healthy relationships. Unresolved conflicts require medication. Unresolved conflicts create unhealthy relationships. It’s great to have healthy conflict, because I’m creating a real, genuine, healthy friendship with someone. Healthy conflict is the beginning & not the END of a healthy relationship! Sadly, in most cultures, conflict is always bad, so we pretend it isn't there until: "Hey Linda the house is burning down. Wanna' talk?"