Ramble Zone

A little update

2011-10-13T12:14:00.002-05:00

It's amazing how destructive water can be. We had a Tropical Depression roll through yesterday. It rained all Tuesday night and when we awoke at 5:00 on Wednesday I knew something was up. Windy. Really windy. During the rainy season, normal rains are caused by day time heating. Wind and rain in the morning means a big boy is coming through.

We are fine. We have food. We have power back and water. Schools are closed until Monday. So far 15 have died from mudslides, drownings and electrocutions from downed power lines.

There are four principle routes out of Xela. The south (to the Pacific coast) is blocked by 20 landslides. The North is also blocked - landslides. West (to Mexico) is blocked by ($1 is you can guess - landslides). East (the main highway to Guatemala City) is blocked by landslides and washouts like this one:

I drive right by there all the time - would have yesterday had not rain and my wife told me "No." That is what remains of 4 lanes. If I remember that spot I think it's probably a 150 drop off. That little pickup has the mountain to his right and the drop off to the left. Stay frosty, amigo.

This is here in town, in Xela. Zone 2 suffers when it rains as they are in the lowland and the drains quickly clog with debris:

The next is from Almolonga, a suburb of sorts of Xela, about 20 minutes away. Not a good day for that Toyota.

Again, we're all OK and are currently looking at how we can be most useful in the recovery. Please pray - disasters are an amazing time to demonstrate very clearly the love of Christ to people.

what I learned today

2011-09-21T11:51:00.002-05:00

You learn something new every day. And today I heard this story of two Moravian missionaries to the West Indies. Here's a neat youtube video of someone preaching the story:

Now, I'm a missionary. We get patted on the back and thanked for what we do. And I'm ok with that because...what else am I going to do, slap people's hands away? We get put on a silly pedestal both in the US and in Guatemala because missionaries are...I don't even know. I guess people think we're special.

Well, we're not.

Those two young men who sold themselves into a lifetime of slavery, they are special. They are radical. They are the real deal. Jenny and I always say that if we didn't have kids (or at least little kids) that we would want to go somewhere the gospel is not. You know, out to the boonies where they speak in clicks. But what kind of faith is that? Really? I know that we have a responsibility to our family. I get that. I embrace that. I even fight for it. And we're not leaving Guatemala anytime soon because the Lord called us here and we have work to do. And that work is valuable - it's making disciples and serving the Body of Christ to help her be more healthy. I also understand that not everyone is called to that kind of sacrifice, to that kind of mission. I don't expect everyone to jump on a boat and sail to the outer reaches to preach the gospel where there are no roads or lights or Coca Colas. But shouldn't we expect a little more of one another?

Anyone who knows me very well knows I struggle with ups and downs. I struggle with doing too much or too little. I struggle with self-discipline. I get easily distracted. [squirrel!] and get off track, off task and out of whack. To think that these two men went to an island so that people who were truly slaves could know the Jesus who gives a freedom that none can take away makes me evaluate my life and ask myself, "What entangles me? What is of value? Am I really giving my life to Christ or just pretending?"

Paul tells us in Ephesians to be careful how we walk, not as unwise men (and women) but as wise. We are to redeem (or make the most of) our time because the days are evil. Do I really believe that? Because if I believe it, I ought live my life in a way that reflects that reality.

That story of the Moravians just makes me want to ask the Lord, "What else do you want me to do and how can I do what I'm doing better?" If to live is Christ and to die is gain, what does that actually look like? Does that mean I get to do whatever I want? No. Does it mean I get to live an amazing life in these few short years I walk by faith? Yes.

I fear for the future in the Americas. Not just in the US, but here in Guatemala. When Christianity becomes a product we analyze and sell and market and tweak instead of a reality we live we lose the whole point. When church becomes something we maintain instead of a community who loves a person and is chomping at the bit to tell the whole world about his love and how to walk with him we stop being disciples and just play church.

Whew. What a mind blowing day. Ok...I'm off to apply what I've learned before another squirrel derails me.

Oh, goodness

2011-09-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

We get an ABC feed out of L.A. On September 11 we were able to sit with our kids and watch and listen and answer their questions. Ten years is a lot of process time so we viewed those events through a decade of rumination. Our oldest is 5 and was the source of every inquiry as we watched planes crash and buildings fall and leaders lead and people serve.

We watched President Obama read Psalm 46. It's pretty cool when the president reads any Psalm, but Psalm 46 is particularly marvelous. It begins:

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change and

Though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea."

That's a lot to hold onto. Say what you will about President Obama, he is a very important man and he read a text far more important than he. The Psalm ends like this:

"The LORD of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold"

That's huge. You can say God all day long, but you say the God of Jacob and you narrow things down dramatically. There's only one of those: the God of Jacob. And he is with us. That's huge.

While watching the coverage I saw a speech that then President Bush had made shortly after 9/11 where he said this:

"Our war is a war against evil. This is clearly a case of good versus evil, and make no mistake about it…good will prevail."

Say what you will about Bush, that's a pretty good line in a speech and it resonated deeply in the heart of Americans. But it brings up a question that is immensely important:

Who defines good and evil? If there is a good vs. evil they have to be different. A house divided cannot stand, right?

I have had this conversation with numerous folks: What is good/truth/right/wrong? Some things seem (at least to most people) universally wrong: killing children, corporate theft, abuse of the weak. Other things are less clear to folks: sexual promiscuity, abortion, lying. You could add or subtract any number of things from either list. And that seems to be the issue: how do you determine what is "good" and what is "evil"?

We throw the word "good" around quite a bit. "He's a good person." I've heard many people say, after a person behaves heinously, "I don't understand. She's such a good person."

Hmmm.

I have been influenced greatly by A.W. Tozer. His book Knowledge of the Holy is...anointed. The Lord used that man to put some amazing things into words and onto pages. He says this in a chapter titled, "The Justice of God":

"Everything in the universe is good to the degree it conforms to the nature of God and evil as it fails to do so."

That clears things up. Doesn't it?

What goes through your head when you read that? Does it seem fair? Unfair? How do you define "good"? If I let God define the standard, then the pressure is off of me. I just point to him and say, "He's good. Anyone that doesn't act like him is not behaving 'good'." Bad grammar, same point. He is the standard. He's God - we're not. When we blur that line everything gets fuzzy. To fully explain to us how God acts, he sends Jesus as the incarnate diety: God with skin on. He's the revelation of all that we need to know in order to understand that which is good.

Our culture tends to shun judgment until we see something clearly evil. Then we cry out, "Justice!" and want something done. We have defined good to suit our comfort instead of placing ourselves under the God who IS good and then when we need clarification going to the Bible (his revelation of himself to us) to clear things up. If a man took a kitten and cut her up into little pieces while she was still alive (a truly horrid thought) we would rightly cry out. We would be vehement! We would cry out not merely for justice but for vengeance.

You see where I’m going, of course. Where is the outcry against abortion? Infidelity? Lying? Our world has made goodness a matter of convenience and deflection. They have to be good, but I don’t. We like to point fingers and judge intentions and try to cover up the grace we so desperately want for ourselves.

It is not easy too look to God and say, “What you say goes.” Doing so requires the rarest of attitudes: humility. The rare occasions where I am humble come from the collision of my sin and God’s goodness. I see myself in light of his majesty, holiness and grace and can but bow my head and plead, “mercy” to the God who is good and does good. And I find him always merciful. Always gracious. Always good. Most pointedly when I am not.

When I need to know what is good (or evil) I have only to look to God and I have my answer. He has given it to us not in search engines or periodicals or think tanks but in the strangest of forms: a person named Jesus. He is the goodness to which we are all compared and we are good or evil to the degree in which we conform to his nature.

Whew. I am deeply thankful that I am still in that process and that God has not given up on me. He certainly has his work cut out for him.

cartoons and spirituality

2011-09-03T08:28:00.000-05:00

And this is the Ramble Zone so, here's some Ramble.

Saturday Morning.

I guess that has a different ring for different people. My formative years were the 1980's. While that decade gave us Twisted Sister and zippered jackets it also produced some darn good cartoons.

Which we watched on Saturday Morning.

I didn't have cable until I moved to Guatemala. Strange, but that's how it worked. Saturday meant no school. No getting up early for school. No homework. It meant my mom got to sleep in. I woke up, got cereal (typically one of the 9 varieties of Chex or new-comer CrisPix; Lucky Charms and other such sugary breakfasts were a rare indulgence) and turned on one of the networks.

Looney Toons reruns. Thundercats. He-Man. G.I. Joe. The one season of M.A.S.K. Oh, how I loved these shows. Part of the wonder was the limited availability. Limited things always hold more wonder. It's a tenet of human nature that marketing gurus have manipulated for profit time and again. And we still fall for it because we're silly. Really, we are.

I have heard that as video killed the radio star, cable killed Saturday morning cartoons. Cable took the mind-mushing Toons that I could only get from 6-10am one day a week and gave it a Network. Kids could watch cartoons for hours. Every day. So when Saturday came along, why wake up early and cram snap crackle and pops into your face before dawn? And so died the wonder.

We only let our kids watch cartoons on Saturday Morning. We probably shouldn't let them watch at all, but we do. And while they watch them in Spanish, the wonder still exists. They are excited about it because they are forced to delay gratification.

Delayed Gratification. Oh, that we as a people would practice this more. And we are sorely out of practice. I want that TV now. I want a new car now. Give me a balanced budget now. I want a new iPad or Tablet or...now.

Give me the bliss of wedded love now (before we're married). Give me my dream house. My wardrobe. Give me my buffed and polished and perfect masses - in church. Give me a 25 minute sermon that makes me feel just bad enough to feel good about myself because surely I'm not as bad as that other guy. Give me music that I like to listen to but which never moves me to participate in actual worship because sometimes worship takes awhile and I want to feel good now. Give me spiritual maturity. Now.

Somehow we have let the network mentality invade our churches. We have become consumers manipulated by marketeers and sacrificed our Christlikeness on the altar of Now. Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self Control. Against such things there is no Now.

We say we want to bear fruit but refuse time in the garden. Time with the gardener (submission) Time for pruning (cutting off). Time for root building (little show). The spiritual life cannot be grown on credit. It's a cash only, give what little you have system. Give your mustard seed, your loaves and fish, your 2 copper coins and watch God grow an orchard, feed a football stadium and return your investment in a way that would make a day trader blush.

It's Saturday Morning.

What have you been waiting for?

learning

2011-08-22T12:12:00.001-05:00

Well, Jenny up and added another blog, Tales from the Branches. I thought I could get away with not doing one blog, but the burden has overcome me and so, after most of the Summer off, I had to begin again. Why? I don't honestly know...to channel my inner George Mallory, "Because it's there."

I have a daughter.

That's her. She is the apex of lovely. Anytime eyes take up a third of the face, they can be considered "large".

We also have two sons. They are boys, as sons tend to be, and I get them. I get boys. I do. I was one and still have some boy left in me that I choose to blame for not writing more blogs. It's childish, I know, as boys tend to be.

But girls...they remain a mystery.

I am married to a girl so one would think I would understand girls better. But any man who says he has reached the end of learning regarding his wife is standing on the Western edge of Ireland and shouting, "Look, I have reached the end of the world!" and discounts the vast undiscovered continent from which I now type.

So, I'm learning.

My daughter was different from the get-go. She never liked to be thrown 10 feet in the air as did my first son. She didn't play rough. She snuggled. She wore pink. And while I am not some neanderthal buffoon, I just had a harder time connecting. It took me awhile and it took my lovely bride warning me a year or so ago, "You're missing it. You are missing her wonder."

And so I applied myself to knowing her. It required effort where ease had been the rule. Boys bond by doing. So we just did stuff together. Girls...they just want you there and they want you to listen. So I started listening to my daughter. And she talks. A lot. Her words are a monsoon which gather in tributary mass and pour forth great rivers over my ears. So I listen. And respond. And listen more. And watch her tell me about why she wants to wear princess dresses and how her hair brush works and why her pink bear is her favorite bear even more than her sock monkey which isn't her favorite because it's not pink and not her favorite. And then she crawls into my lap and opens the azure lighthouses that are her eyes and tells me that she loves me.

And I am loved.

Not with some greeting card phrase or flimsy sit-com love. I am loved purely because I am her daddy and for no other reason. She loves me wholly and fully and simply. It is undeserved and unmerited.

And I am transformed.

God loves little children. They are, among all creatures, special to him, dear to him. And I see now, if only just a sliver, why he does. They love him just because he is. And he deserves and merits that love whereas I do not. And yet I receive it from my daughter. Who loves me. And whom I love.

better safe than sorry

2011-05-24T09:59:00.003-05:00

I didn't want to say anything regarding Harold Camping and the May 21st prediction that Jesus would rapture the church and destroy the world. I never thought it was a hoax or an idea formed of malicious intent. I just thought the guy was wrong. But I read this article today about Mr. Camping's apology and just wanted to say a few things. A segment of the article says this:

Camping, who made a special appearance before the press at the Oakland headquarters of the media empire Monday evening, apologized for not having the dates "worked out as accurately as I could have." Through chatting with a friend over what he acknowledged was a very difficult weekend, the light dawned on him that instead of the biblical Rapture in which the faithful would be swept up to the heavens, May 21 had instead been a "spiritual" Judgment Day, which places the entire world under Christ's judgment, he said.

The globe will be completely destroyed in five months, he said, when the apocalypse comes. But because God's judgment and salvation were completed on Saturday, there's no point in continuing to warn people about it, so his network will now just play Christian music and programs until the final end on Oct. 21.

There's something to be said for just saying, "I was wrong. I'm sorry." and leaving it at that. My issue all along has been with his hermeneutic - his method of interpreting the Bible. His is inconsistent and he does something called eisegeses, where he reads his ideas into the text and then uses the Bible to support what he says rather than reading the Scripture and then basing your thinking upon what the Bible says.

It's really very important that we have a consistent way in which we study (observe, interpret and apply) the Bible. Because the stakes are quite high. The Bible is not a work of fiction. It's not a secret tome discovered deep within a mysterious temple. We don't need a decoder ring to figure it out. We need faith and the Holy Spirit. God made it really clear how to know if a prophecy is from Him: It comes true.

The recent discussion on hell and it's reality stem from the same issue: how to you interpret the Bible. While I don't have the time to address that issue, it is paramount that we submit whatever we teach (and are taught) to God's authority through the Bible. It's His revelation to us, not our understanding of Him which must drive our thinking. We so often get it backwards. We think we understand God and so read the Bible to support our argument rather than look to God and say, "Help me know you truly."

A follower of the May 21st movement said this:

"I was doing what I've been instructed to do through the Bible, but now I've been stymied. It's like getting slapped in the face."

That is so very sad. This man had been taught error and he lived it out. There's a reason James 3:1 says, "Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren, knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgement." What we teach matters. Anyone who says, "The Bible says ____" better darn well have his ducks in a row or people get hurt.

We'll see what happens October 21st. Maybe the Lord comes back that day. More than likely not, but I don't trust in likelihood and predictions. I trust in the Lord. And He told me that no one knows the day or hour of His return. Why would He have said that except that folks would try to tell us the opposite and He knew I would need to conform my thinking, my hopes and my life to His Word and not the words of a kind, well intentioned, but incorrect fellow human.

I am upset at Mr. Camping because he taught error and hurt a lot of people in the process. But I'm not angry with him; I don't hate the man. God is not mocked and He does not lie. We humans can say all kinds of silly things and it doesn't change the God who cannot change. It doesn't damage God's reputation when we are dumb. It doesn't neuter Him or thwart His purposes. It does not make God less or reduce Him or hurt His feelings. Though we often think to the contrary we cannot stop God from doing what He wants to do. No amount of bad press will hinder His return. But what we say matters, especially when we say God said it and He didn't. That makes us the liar, not God. It serves as a humbling reminder to be very, very careful what I teach when I say I'm teaching the Bible.

Paul gave Timothy this solemn warning:

Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (2 Tim 2:15 Amplified Bible)

May the Lord help me do just that.

stay tuned

2011-05-19T12:20:00.003-05:00

I've been reading through Romans and, like every time I read through Romans, I'm just blown away by God.

It's always dumbfounding to me how people so easily dismiss the existence of God, much less the salvation He so mightily achieved for us. Maybe more people need to read Romans. But that's not what I wanted to say today...

So I'm chugging along and get to chapter 12 which has maybe the biggest "Therefore" in the Bible. After all that Paul has said, it comes down to this: : Live the God life.

Really live it. Don't fake it, live it. It's the real deal. I love how The Message puts 12:9-10

"Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle."

Practice playing second fiddle. Wow.

Being a Missionary is a strange job. It is particularly strange in Guatemala because there have been lots of missionaries who have done way cooler things than I am doing and have lived way harder lives and yet there are still a lot of missionaries here. Does Guatemala need missionaries? Yes. I mean, if I say "no" I have to move so, we'll go with "yes".

But here, in a land full of needs, missionaries get lifted onto silly pedestals. And we get this sort of status that is nothing short of...well, silly. It's a title and an honorable one. But you know what connotation it carries: helper. doer. bringer of things (money, teaching, supplies, etc.). The only problem is that often, Guatemalans expect me to to what they must do. They want me to disciple their churches - but that's not my responsibility. My job is to disciple leaders and then they are to disciple their churches. My job is to play second fiddle to them, helping them carry the melody as God conducts the great Orchestra that is His Church.

Practice playing second fiddle. Can I tell you that sometimes I get out of practice? Sometimes I forget the pedestals are silly and think, "Wow, I really must be something." You know what the conductor calls a 2nd violin who plays out of turn? Disruption. Commotion. Noise.

It's easy to forget your place when you let the world influence your thinking. It's easy to forget the joy of harmony. When I don't let God conform my mind to His, I get out of tune and everything is...off. I think myself better, bigger, smarter than I am. I forget that it's about what God has done. He's the conductor, composer and creator of all the instruments and all the players in His orchestra and forgetting that skews my perspective.

So how do you practice playing second fiddle? You serve. You let God set your perspective and you love "from the center of who you are." It's a good job, second fiddle. I just need to stay in tune.

easy is overrated

2011-04-23T10:14:00.004-05:00

Today may be my least favorite day of the year.

Here in Guatemala, Semana Santa (Holy Week) is pretty much finished after the crucifixion. Not entirely, of course, but there are few parades or sawdust carpets in the streets or even much emphasis on the resurrection of Jesus. Today is pretty tranquilo, it's low key. Not many folks are out. Stores are closed. And it's a reminder of what must have been the longest day for the followers of Jesus.

The gospels give us almost nothing of Saturday. All were told is that they rested. It was the Sabbath and Jesus was dead so no one could touch him and remain ceremonially clean. The man they thought would become their king had died and they woke up today soaked in that reality.

I have come to the conclusion that unbelief is the easy way out. Atheism or his less decisive cousin agnosticism doesn't have to struggle with much. When pressed with hard questions about God they either deny He exists or say, "I don't know". When confronted with the reality of Jesus, they simply say, God doesn't exist so Jesus can't be God. Therefore all his claims to deity were false. It's easy, clean, simple. I don't believe it therefore it does not exists therefore I don't have to deal with it.

But reality is a tricky fellow. I can deny reality all I want but eventually I either face it and deal with it or ignore it and am overwhelmed. There was a 9.0 earthquake in Japan. That's reality. People get cancer and it kills them. That's reality. Sweet, beautiful children die. Reality. There was a man named Jesus who said He was God and a bunch of Jews hated Him (a bunch loved Him) and the Roman's crucified Him. He died. Reality. He rose from that grave as an entirely new being: a resurrected person. And He walked around and ate and phased through walls and floated up into the sky saying that we need to tell the whole world about Him because He's comin' back.

Reality?

See. Atheists have it easy. They just deny it. They don't believe and by their unbelief relieve themselves of any responsibility. Because once you know, that's it. You have to deal with it. Agnostics claim not to know. So they don't have to deal with it. Ignorance is bliss, right?

Is it blissful to remain ignorant of colon cancer? A heart defect? A man stalking your children? I sure want to know about those things. Why? So that I can deal with them and face them and live!

The Bible says that every person is dead with out Christ. Spiritual zombies. Walking around and shopping and pulling weeds and riding roller coasters but all dead and nasty on the inside. The question is: do you believe that?

Reality is that God determines what's real. People can ignore it or deny it or say with arrogant indifference, "I dunno", but reality doesn't change.

And when I accept that Jesus died and lay in that tomb on Saturday and walked out of it Sunday, I have a new reality to deal with. I have to face the consequences of that reality. And with that reality comes something really difficult: Questions.

"If God is good, then why _____.?"

"Why did my baby die?"

"Why is God silent?"

"Why did my marriage fail?"

"Why did so many people, children, babies die in (insert your favorite historical horror)?"

It's easier to say, "I don't know" or "There is no God so the answer is 's*** happens'".

If the tomb was empty, then I have a problem that only God can fix. If the tomb was empty than the whole wide beautiful world has a problem that only God can fix. And He's not real keen in the suggestion department when it comes to fixing what's broken. He does it His way and we either conform to His reality or stay broken.

I have a reality that my life is not my own. That I must decrease and Jesus must increase. I must die to myself and allow Christ to live through me. And part of me would rather not deal with it. It's easier to be lazy, lustful and proud. But that's not reality. It's a lie. Because it's not easier to be those things, is it? Because those things kill and I want to live. They destroy everything and a life that builds something good out of that which is broken.

I believe. And I'll face all that comes with that. Because the alternative is to look into that empty tomb and just turn and walk away. To look into the face of a man who says He's God and then proved it by what He did. To see glimpses of a life more abundant and joyful and real that I could ever imagine and simply say, "Oh, I don't know. I think I'm doing ok on my own."

Give me questions with no good answers, please. I'd rather live real life. And I'd rather start today.

time again

2011-04-17T07:19:00.004-05:00

I believe this is my longest stretch without a blog. Nothing deep or spiritual, I just have been busy and haven't blogged and don't really have a reason - I was just doing other things. But I think it's time to blog again.

This morning at church I am subbing for a brother and teaching Sunday School for the adults. They asked me to teach something on raising children, disciplining children. Not discipling, disciplining. So it's on to Proverbs we go. It is amazing the wealth found in those 31 chapters and for the next two weeks we're going to mine a teeny but of it and see what we come up with.

For certain: children need discipline and it is the parent's responsibility to give it. What truth there is in Proverbs 23:24:

"The father of godly children has cause for joy.

What a pleasure to have children who are wise"

Our kids are 5, 3 and 1 and we can already see this reality. Lord, help us raise wise children! Because honestly, without Him, there's not going to be a lot of wisdom. I'll let you know how it goes!

delight

2011-01-17T10:28:00.004-06:00

I thought I would juxtapose the previous post. Famous verse:

Psalm 34:7 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart."

I don't think I've ever heard it preached but I've sure talked about it with a lot of people and it often ends up that people go at it backwards. They have desires and they want them fulfilled so they read this verse and think, "Ok. To get what I want I need to delight myself in the Lord." so they work on that and basically miss the whole point.

I was using this really cool tool I found called the Visual Thesaurus and here's what I found: pleasure, happy, enjoy, revel in, gives extreme pleasure, source of happiness. Some of the root of the word is where we get our word delicacy. So let's unwrap that a little.

I had to ask myself the question(s):

Do I enjoy the Lord?

Do I take pleasure in Him?

Do I revel (like a dog rolling in the grass) in the Lord?

Does He make me happy? Laugh? Jump up in the air?

Is Jesus the source of my happiness?

Think about that. I mean the Westminster shorter catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Do I do that? Enjoy God?

I teach about Him. I trust Him. Rely on Him. Pray to Him. Cry out to Him. Ask Him to help me. I revere Him. Fear Him.Know Him. Love Him. But do I enjoy Him?

Lots of people tell me in great wisdom to enjoy my children while they are little. We have a 5, 3 and 1 year old so there is lots to enjoy. And I do. I simply take pleasure in them. In holding them, smelling their hair, kissing their bellies and pretending the tractor plowing the cornfield is a T-Rex. They are a great source of happiness in my life and in Jenny's. I laugh and smile and feel happy when I am with them.

So David in this Psalm tells me to delight in the LORD. All caps. That's Yahweh, "I AM". The one true God. Delight in Him. Take pleasure in Him. Let Him be the source of my happiness.

Dare I say it... David says to feel happy with God. Feel pleasure in Him. Yes! You can't delight without feeling something. And God ought to make me feel happy. I ought to take joy, delight in Him. If I am delighting in Him, if He is truly the wellspring of my mood, my happiness, my enjoyment, then I don't think I'm going to care about whatever other desires I had before I was enjoying God. He will outshine them. It's like using a match to read a book then stepping into the noonday sun. The match can't even cast a shadow in that light. And neither do my desires - whatever they may be - compare with the delight that I can have in God. I can enjoy Him. And He can be the infinite source of my happiness.

Imagine a church what walked through the day full to the brim with delight in the Lord. A people who were happy. Who rolled in the grass with joy because they have a relationship with God. Wow.

So today I will delight in the Lord. I will take pleasure in Him. He will be the source of my happiness and I will have a run with my tongue out and roll in the grass kind of of joy in walking with Jesus today.

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice!

Wow. Now I have to stop blogging and translate "The Cross: God's Solution to the Sin Issue" into Spanish. And I'm going to revel in it!

down day

2010-12-02T09:10:00.004-06:00

I am simply discouraged today. Yesterday some friends of ours (gringos) were in a car accident. They are ok but their rear axle is bent which makes driving rather awkward. They were following us to church where we are helping with VBS and we were stopped at a light. I heard the crash-bang that only car wrecks make and hopped out to help. A guy in a new BMW said he fell asleep and swerved from the right lane into the left and hit their stationary vehicle.

Insurance? No. Police? 8 of them. Lawyers? 3. Compensation from the guilty driver? $0.00. I put the decimal places in because more zeroes look sadder. The driver changed his story, got aggressive, said that gringos treat Guatemalans like trash and once his buddies got there he clammed up and said that my friend had actually hit him and damaged his car. Hmmm. That was especially nice of him.

I wrote a blog once about the hymn I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day and I feel a whole lot like hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth good will to men. Injustice is everywhere here in Guatemala. I am weary of a childish Church doing nothing and a government more influenced by nefarious drug lords than democracy. I am weary of dishonest, prideful people talking advantage of the weak and the poor and the foreigner. How contrary to the character of God to do those things. All it takes is 1 person doing the right thing. One person. But I don't control anyone but me. So I have to point my finger at my own face and ask myself, "What is required of you?"

Churches here are more concerned with getting bigger than growing up. More concerned with experiencing the rapturous gifts than exercising spiritual disciplines. They want people to live holy lives but they aren't equipping them to fall more in love with Jesus. What in the world are you doing, Church, if you are not growing more deeply in love with Christ? That's the impetus for all the good and all the hope and all the change we can imagine. It's not buildings or programs, it's a PERSON that we love and He leads us and helps us and empowers us to do the impossible: Be a Christian in a crappy world.

My lovely wife gave me a desk clock with this engraving:

"Every man complete in Christ...For this purpose I labor,
striving according to His power, which mightily works within me"
Colossians 1:28-29

In Honor of your Ordination
April 20, 2008

My weariness, disillusionment, disappointment and frustration are no excuse for me to forget my purpose. I was not called to comfort and ease but to labor, striving according to the power of the Prince of Peace. Today I am discouraged but not defeated.

While writing this the doorbell rang. It was little Maximo and Edgar the shoeshine boys, just 9 and 10. They live 90 minutes away and come on Thursdays to wash the car and get some some food and talk about Jesus. I had to stop letting them wash the car because an older boy beat them up and told them to stay away from our house because he wanted the business. So they come for some bean tostadas and juice. I got them a Bible and the gospels in comic book form. They are reading it and we talk about it and I ask them questions.

But honestly I have no idea what I am doing. I can't relate to these boys who wake up at 5am and take an hour and a half to two hour bus ride one way every day to Xela to shine shoes and formerly wash my car. They make Q25-35 a day or about $3-4. Maximo is the oldest of 5. His mother died last year and is grandmother died in Sunday. He doesn't get vaccines or vitamins or watch cartoons. He and his 9 year old buddy walk by themselves all over Xela with no one to protect them or give them socks or let them be little boys. I can't relate. But I can't just do nothing either. So I do what seems just short of nothing and hope God can take that little and transform the world of 2 little boys.

God is not dead nor doth He sleep. Even when I feel like He's not doing a whole lot, He is. Because that's who He is. And another day I will see another glimpse of His work to lift my sagging faith.

yet another Psalm

2010-11-09T13:49:00.002-06:00

I love that God is so much bigger than me.

Psalm 24:7-10

Lift up your heads, O gates,

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in!

Who is the King of glory?

The LORD strong and mighty,

the LORD mighty in battle.

Lift up your heads, O gates,

And lift them up, O ancient doors,

That the King of glory may come in!

Who is this King of glory?

The LORD of hosts,

He is the King of glory.

I need a big God. Not some little god of carven image, formed by the hands of men. Not some god-of-my-imagination who fits into my little box and makes me feel good about myself. Not some god I can manipulate and trick into blessing me. I need the King of glory because life is too hard for me to make up my own solutions. I need to be able to turn to God and say, “Help me, Lord!” and Him to answer me. I don’t need a god-of-my-therapy who makes me the focus and talks about my problems. I need the King of Glory to burst in and redeem me. I need God who commands the angel armies. I need God who spoke and made creation. I need God who is my shepherd, my comforter, my redeemer. I need God who can rescue me from my sin and temptation and set me free to walk where the road is flat and narrow and true. I need God who can transform me from within. I need God who is bigger than the boogie man, who crashes through the wall to rescue me. I need that – we all do.

The problem is when I try to do it myself. When I ask the question, “who is the King of glory?” and look into the mirror I write my own tragedy, maybe a farce, surely a failure. When I gaze squint-eyed at the problems before me I think that I’m blinded by their intensity and miss the reality that it is the King of glory standing in front of me, leading me, and it is not the issues of life that bear down in blazing fire but the glory of God resting between me and whatever it is I think is bigger than Him. He is my pillar of fire between me and the chariots of Egypt. He is the all consuming fire that devours rock and soil and sacrifice. He is the quiet whisper on a gentle breeze reminding me to trust Him and to never be afraid. He is my King of glory – but not because I need Him to be. He is the King of glory simply because He is the King of glory. And I need Him to be who He is...which is good. Because my needs must conform to His identity. Which is also good...because He conforms my identity to His, and not the other way around.

Who is this King of glory? His name is Jesus. And I'm so happy to need Him.

pear juice and zombie comics

2010-10-28T16:19:00.005-05:00

I'm sitting here at 3:19 while my 4 year old peruses my Calvin and Hobbes collection in search of the elusive"zombie comic". He does this every few months. I love Calvin and Hobbes. I should say I like them a lot. I love my son. Words have meaning and I cannot share that verb with paper and ink.

I should be working. I was, but then my boy came in to ask if his rest time was over. I have no idea when it started (I was working then) so I had no valid answer and thus began the "zombie comic" exploration. Maybe more of an inquiry. Either way he's looking through comic books that make me happy and that makes me happy.

He's finished looking. Empty handed. A life lesson: we don't always find what we're looking for. Now he wants a snack of pear juice and apples. Again - no go. We're fresh out of pear juice. I don't think we ever had any but he knows that we have pears and that pears have juice so he wants me to get the juice out of the pear and give it to him.

Did I mention I ought to be working?

His mother just came in and now my little boy is upstairs with her in his Danny White jersey that used to be his uncle's and I'm here in my office with a pile of comic books and no desire to continue preparing to teach Sesion 4: "El Problema del Galataismo" on Sunday.

Did mention I love my son? If we had some pear juice I'd have a better excuse to quit early. Oh look I found one. Google found it for me. I think I need to go show it to someone.

A few gentle thoughts

2010-10-15T10:37:00.004-05:00

Wow. I start a lot of blogs that way in large part because I blog so infrequently I have too much to ponder.

In the past month we've had three different sets of house guests, 3 kids with fevers, and it stopped raining. I've driven way, way too much on scary mountain roads plagued by homicidal bus drivers, had a wonderful time teaching at 6 different places and climbed into the grave of a 4 month old to lower down a casket for our friends. Contrast? That's life. I recommend you read Jenny's account of her experience after the death of our friend's little baby girl here on her blog. It is needed reading for a glimpse into this culture and to simply share life with us.

Psalm 18 is one of my favorites.

"I love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge."

Hard to go wrong after that intro. I've always spent a lot of time on the first 3 verses and as happens in my Bible, not much is underlined in the other parts. But the Psalms are like, well, I don't think there's a good simile. They are the Word of God. Living. Active. Through them God cuts into my soul and cleans things out. He changes me. Teaches me.

Check out verse 35:

"You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And your gentleness makes me great."

Your gentleness makes me great.

How backwards is that? We get made great through education, money, power, fame. Right? Oh the world has things so backward. God's gentleness makes me great. The NIV renders it, "You stoop down to make me great", the NET, "Your willingness to help enables me to prevail."

How is it that God, who is awesome in the only true use of the word, who is holy, set apart, entirely other than me, how is it that He stoops? That he is gentle with me? That He is willing to help? It doesn't make any sense. I'm not all that special. I'm just not. I'm not uber-smart or super strong or dashingly handsome. I don't bring anything to God's table. I don't make God better by His helping me. But the reality is that it's not about me, but Him. He is so gentle, so condescending - not patronizing, but He voluntarily comes down to the level of an inferior. He descends down with me, condescends from His high and lofty wholly otherness to meet with me, with you, with anyone who wants.

Psalm 18 is about God's interaction with His children. It's about crying out to Him and His responding with earthquake voice and lightening hands that lay bare the very earth. And those same hands which produce fireballs and hailstones to smite the wicked come down to hold us in gentleness and lift us up in salvation.

I need a God like this. A father who can do anything. Who protects and fights for me when I am weak and afraid and surrounded and drowning. Who stoops down into the pit that sometimes, honestly, I dug for myself; and He lifts me up to see His face. To be with Him so that He can change me and renew me. Because He loves me. Because He loves me, I love Him. And I want to be like Him. I want my gentleness to make my children great. I want to go out to all the people who I, in my deceitful heart see as beneath me and I want to be gentle with them, to condescend to their place. I want to serve them. Wash their feet. Feed their bellies. Mend their wounds. I want to do that so that when I tell them about a God who emptied himself and took on the form of a bond-servant, that they will believe me. That when I tell them about a God who loves them so much that He sent His one and only Son to die for them, Jesus, who was slain before creation - who died for them and rose again so that they can have life forever and abundant by believing on His name - that they will believe me. I want to do that so that they will believe me when I say I know this God of grace because I showed grace to them.

How will the world know I am a disciple of Jesus? By my doctrine? By my T-shirt? By my big worn out study Bible? They will know I am Jesus' when they see me loving them like He did. When they see me loving my brothers and sisters as He did. When they see me consider them as more important than myself. Then they will know because God has shown them and He did it through a normal, average white guy. Not because I did anything. But because God showed us mercy and demonstrated His grace by coming down to our level and loving us there.

And He's still here. My rock, my fortress, my deliverer. Down here with me. With you. With all of us. Doing His thing through His people for His glory. Awesome.

one of my least favorite chapters

2010-09-08T12:06:00.003-05:00

"Then it happened, in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle..."

2 Samuel 11. I hate this chapter. It sits there as the watershed event in the life of David - after this, things go downhill. He was doing so very well - chosen by God to lead Israel because he was a "man after God's own heart." Oh, how I want to be such a man! But he was just a man: vulnerable. human. deficient.

After living his life in utter nobility, in righteousness, and walking humbly with his God, David became complacent and opened himself up to temptation. He was supposed to go out to war against the Ammonites. He shouldn't have been there, on that roof, up at night, watching Bathsheba bathe.

But he was. He was exactly where he didn't need to be. Where he should not have been. And he knew it.

I don't know much about Bathsheba. She's been thrown under the bus by some. It's not her fault she was beautiful. Maybe everyone bathed on their roof? I just don't know. But I don't blame her. The Lord doesn't seem to place any upon her so neither will I. But I blame David. He did what was evil in the eyes of God. Then he covered it up with more evil. Cause a woman to have an affair, then kill her husband to cover it up? A husband so pure, so noble he almost gleams off the page of Scripture. Kill your best to cover your worst. All this from a man after God's own heart.

I hate this chapter. But it's in there. God put it in there. And I have so very much to learn by studying it. I am young. And too often stupid, rash and foolish. David was a man unique in history for his love of God. He loved the Lord so truly. Trusted Him so fully. Yet the autumn of his life was misery because of his sin. God spared his life but not his consequences.

The reality of life is that I cannot ever be OK with sin. I cannot ever think, "Oh, one little taste won't hurt". Because it will. Because sin crouches at the door. Waiting to be invited. Waiting to pounce. Like Hobbes waylaying Calvin after school, sin takes people out, blasts them clean out of their socks. Sin wants death as payment. Death of trust. Death of relationships. Death of good.

But I worship a King who was tempted just as David, just as me, and did not falter. Did not waiver. Did not fail. Jesus is my king. He sits on David's throne. He is without sin. He died and took my bill from me - took away my debt that I so very much owe - and paid it with his own life. Then he mocked death by dying and becoming alive again. Where is your victory, o sin? Where is your sting? It's in the risen hands of my Lord, in his side, on his brow. He defeated that which defeats us all so that in him we can all have life: real life. Abundant life. Life that can fail and yet matter, because Jesus loves us enough to finish what we cannot.

I hate this chapter. But I need it. I need it to remember. To reinforce. Reinvigorate. I need it because so many suffered because of what David did that I do not want to disregard so massive a failure and doom myself to repeat it.

We don't, but we should.

2010-08-19T07:30:00.004-05:00

Hmmm.

Edit: after posting I realized that this could come across as political in nature. I didn't intend that. At all. I mean at all, at all. I meant to discuss my disagreement with the content of the Wilcox quote and not President Obama's faith or demonstration of his faith. This is not a critique of Obama or Obama bashing - I just think that Christians ought to be easy to spot in public because we ought to behave differently. How that applies to the President is another matter. The title has nothing to do with the President.

While reading an article this morning regarding polling on President Obama's religious views I came across this quote from Dr. Clyde Wilcox, professor of government at Georgetown University:

"It's a troubling thing," Wilcox said. "I think it would be good for all of us to stop invading the president's spiritual privacy. We don't know what anyone's true faith is. It doesn't tell us about what their true core values are."

We don't know what anyone's true faith is.

Goodness. We certainly should.

The Book of James (ch.1) tells us, " If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

John chapter 2 tells us this, "But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard."

These are not easy words. I don't like reading them. It forces me to do something I hate: examine my own heart. I don't like doing that because I don't like what I find. James and John make it easy: examine your behavior. Your behavior demonstrates the nature of your heart.

Do you claim faith in Jesus? Good. Then you should be looking after the helpless. You should be unpolluted by the world in which we live. You ought to walk (live like) Jesus. Then the rest of us will know what you believe. Oh, and this is nothing new - it's been this way from the get go.

I know what lot's of people's true faith is. It's actually not that hard. You just look at what they do. Give people grace - don't just look at an instant - look at their whole life. Don't just examine their failures. And goodness, take a look at yourself before you level the critical gaze.

We don't know what anyone's true faith is. It doesn't tell us about what their true core values are.

But it should. I can't speak for any other faith - but for those who claim to follow Jesus - our lives ought to make it really easy. And it has nothing to do with how we vote in November. It ought to be the easiest question in the world: "Is Brandon a Christian?"

Lord, let me live in such a way that people can answer without hesitation.

just to keep Mike off my back :)

2010-08-17T11:08:00.004-05:00

Well, the Crossroads team arrived safely back home to 100+ August temps on Sunday. They were simply a wonderful team. Truly a blessing. Jenny and I had been trying to get a foot in the door to serve at a nearby orphanage for 3 months and after just 4 days of the team working there the directors trusted us and were hugging us and planing what we can do next. Amazing! Thank you all 11 members of the CBC team.

Basically, we asked what was needed. And they needed paint. Paint put on things. Things like doors and banisters. It started with 7 doors and every day the director added a few until we ended with 17. The men took heavy metal doors down the hill to a workshop (situated between a pig-sty and the chicken coup) and sanded and painted the doors. We did this pretty much all day, except the first day when we were asked to break up and move granite boulders. After we moved 4 (that's right, 4) in 3 hours, we decided that the rest needed to remain as a retaining wall. Ever try to split a boulder? It's hard. After a few hours, the Guatemalan handyman who works there asked us why we hadn't yet split the boulder. I told him us gringos had no idea what we were doing. So we sanded and scraped and painted until we ran out of time to do it. Here's some door pics and John being studly with the paint pistol.

The ladies painstakingly sanded the detailed banister for 2 days in the morning and taught the kids in the afternoons. They taught them some English and also taught them how to make crafts that they can sell at the fair in September. They ladies were true champs and because of them they kids now have new knowledge and skills...not to mention 150 feet of freshly painted banisters.

It was truly a joy to serve with this team. They were simply wonderful. And only 4 of the 11 came down with tummy issues. That's success in my book! Though maybe not for those 4.

Here is a look around the orphanage as we got ready to leave.

It's the ramble zone

2010-08-02T07:36:00.002-05:00

I keep wanting to blog. I really do. I blame facebook. :) My generation is good at blaming. I think we learned it from the Boomers.

So we have a team of folks coming to Guatemala Friday. They are from CBC and we pretty much could not be more excited. They'll be working with an orphanage nearby.

So being a parent is really hard. They should teach that to highschoolers instead of how to roll a condom onto a banana. Of course actually parenting a child is quite different from making one so maybe that disconnect is too much for a 17 year old. But I don't think it is. Anyway, I say it's hard because you're just not allowed to be selfish and stupid without it affecting your children. If you snap at them, that's bad. If you are too lenient, that's bad. Jenny and I have come to the conclusion that we are amazed at how much training people get for all manner of things and yet any pair of idiots can make babies and fail to raise them in any beneficial manner. Then you get generational idiocy...but that's another blog.

Ah...I hear one of our children now. Off for another day.

a few weeks ago

2010-07-02T09:35:00.003-05:00

So this team of 15 people came from two different churches in two different towns to tell people in my town about the love of God and the reality of the gospel. They came to encourage and spurn on 5 local churches which are pastored by guys I serve and teach - the largest having maybe 80 members - the smallest less than 20.

Each day for 5 days the team broke up into groups with 2 team members, a translator, and at least one member of the local church. We walked around the town, knocking on doors, talking to people in their stores, on the streets and one amazing sister even jumped on a chicken bus and worked through a tract with 50 fairly captive Quetzaltecans. Each day we were in the neighborhood of the church and we invited everyone we saw to a service that night at the church. It was a short service by Guatemalan standards: 60-90 minutes. We sang, gave testimonies, and preached the gospel.

Since I'm the missionary I was both translator and church member for my groups. For the first 2 days I was blessed to be with Jeff (a successful businessman and life-long church goer who only in the past year has given his life to Christ) and Allison (a college student and veteran of mission trips who is hitting the point in her walk with Christ where she's asking herself. "What does all this really mean?").

All I did was encourage them and say what they said to people. God did everything that mattered. He gave these two courage - real courage - to talk to people they didn't know, to pray for them, to ask them, "Hi. Can I tell you my story? It's about Jesus, and really, it's his story. Do you have a few minutes?" And then off they'd go. It was amazing. Amazing because God was doing it. I merely translated as I witnessed vessels filled with the Holy Spirit talk to people about the most important thing: The gospel. We walked and in between houses and tiendas (little stores) we munched Tortrix (Guatemalan Fritos) and built each other up.

Those first two days were a pretty heavy strain on my brain. Translating is hard. It's really better called interpreting because you just can't say it in English and it make sense in Spanish unless you tweak it a little...sometimes a lot. And those who know me know me to be slow paced. I'm the turtle. My first response in crisis is, "Give me a second to think." and that's not an option when you are translating a conversation. The second night I was translating for Matt, one of the pastors and my covenant brothers, and I could not say the word, "Bueyes" - Oxen - from the parable of the great banquet. It's pronounced "Bwea-yaes" and I kept saying "Boo-ae-yes" until I finally said, "Vacas, vacas" "Cows, cows, the guy was buying cows!" and Matt and I laughed and hugged it out.

I was relying on myself that night. I was trying to translate as best I could and my best wasn't cutting it. So the next day I just let the Lord do it. He used all the time I have spent learning Spanish and all the vocabulary that was buried in my brain, but all I can explain is that He did it from then on out. Matt and Treb (the other pastor and covenant brother) preached 3 sermons each, one long one on Sunday, and the Lord communicated the gospel so that some 40 people make professions of faith that week. God did that. God does that. It's what he does. He saves people and he uses imperfect disciples to do it.

I have been in 'ministry' for a long time. I use 'ministry' because every believer has a minsitry - I've just been getting paid for it. I have told a lot of people about Jesus, about the state we are all in before we put our faith in him, and about our need for his redeeming love to save us. I have implored people to accept his offer of grace, often to groups of people. But I have never in 13 years of minsitry had a person pray to accept Christ as their savior in front of me. I was always happy to tell the story, but just wanted to experience that.

Our 4th day I was walking with Treb and Cindy. As Cindy was telling the story to a lady on a corner, Treb noticed the guy next to her leaning in to listen. So Treb and I started talking to the guy. I know Treb. Really well. And translating for him is a cinch because I just say what I would say and that's what he's saying. It's really fun when we're preaching together and I can finish sentences he begins while he's still saying it. God is is just so much fun to serve. Anyway, we talk to this guy. And he just kept saying, "Yes" when we'd ask him questions.

Do you want to hear about God's love for you?
Yes.
Do you know that there is bad news - that you are separated from God by your sin?
Yes.
Do you want to have a relationship with God that begins today?
Yes.
Do you understand what by praying this prayer and believing only in Christ that you will be saved?
Yes.
Do you want to pray with me right now?
Yes.

This did not occur in some quiet coffee shop. We were standing on the corner of a highway with chicken buses and dump trucks rumbling by. We were 10 feet from the road because that's where were were when God moved in this man's life. This guy's family was standing behind us, waving their arms to try to distract him and get him to drive them away. And he just kept saying yes.

And Treb led the man to the Lord and I said what he said so the man could understand.

It was amazing. Awesome. Life-giving. And I got to experience that with one of my dearest friends on the corner of a highway in Guatemala. God is good, isn't he?

Over the course of the week I was so very, deeply blessed to translate for Treb and Matt as they preached (literally) the gospel and implored sinners to receive the grace of God. "Today is the day of your salvation" we boomed from 5 different pulpits. And because God was working, people came to him.

We simply walked and talked with people. Most just walked away. I'll be honest. Most were just too busy. Many were our brothers and sisters in Christ who invited us into their homes and prayed for us. We prayed for sick children and broken families. We encouraged scared people and gave candy to kids and told them Jesus loves them. We bought cokes and watched the World Cup and walked around the city where God has us and it was simply wonderful. We filled out information cards so that the churches could follow up. And we enjoyed life in the Lord.

So that's what I did a few weeks ago. Ten 14 hour days wore me out, but it's worth it. It's always worth it for the gospel. And next week I am going on vacation. So that I can keep doing this until I'm too old to walk. Then I want to tell the other old people who are too invalid to get away about Jesus until he takes me home and I can see that man on the corner who was the first person I ever saw redeemed in front of me and then we can worship the Lord face to face forever.

a little preface

2010-06-23T06:56:00.003-05:00

It's hard to believe I get paid to do this. It really is. My job is to tell people about Jesus and help them follow Him. I do other things, but that's my job. It's amazing and I'm sitting here this morning wondering how in the world God lets me do it. And make no mistake, He's the one who really does all the work. He is the maker and filler and pourer of goofy human vessels, of which I am proudly included.

13 years ago I began to meet with a group of equally goofy vessels. We were in college or just out and were all connected to this college ministry called Late Nite which in itself was an amazing work of God made up of kids who had no idea what they were doing - but that's another tale. We met on Monday. 7 pm. Mostly we met and chatted about life and struggles and God. There was one rule: No b.s. It was real, gritty, ugly, silly and God was there doing things. Over the next 3 years some of the guys graduated and moved and we added others so that during that time we totaled 9 guys who I call my Covenant Brothers. Of those 9, 7 of us are in full time Christian minsitry, 1 is a doctor paying off loans so he can be a missionary, and the other one has walked away from Jesus, to the deep ache of my heart. 6 pastors and a missionary came out of that group of band nerds, jocks, former pot dealers and a preacher's kid. Only God does that.

Two of those guys are now pastors. They came on a team of 15 to visit us in Xela and help the local churches by doing street evangelism and inviting people in the neighborhood to one of 5 special services at different churches. They came about 2 weeks ago. And God, who alone can use utter doofases for His glory, did it again.

I'll tell you what all He did in the next post...which will not be another month from now. Promise :)

Stole this from someone else

2010-05-27T09:21:00.001-05:00

This is from a website done by some US Expatriates here in Xela. It is all true:

By Barbara Veres

After living in Guatemala over a year in the Peace Corps, I have come to enjoy many things about Guatemala. Here is my Top 10 List:

#10. Being called bien gordita (nice and fat) is a compliment.

#9. It’s perfectly acceptable to own your own machete and walk around town with it hanging around your belt.

#8. Procrastinate much? No tenga pena! Showing up 30 minutes late to a meeting will just give you some points for culturally integrating – and save you from waiting around for 30 minutes.

#7. The first and most widely debated topic of any meeting is what the refacción (snack) will be. Can take up to 15 minutes (after waiting 30 minutes for the meeting to start). An additional 15 minutes to write everyone’s six names for them, then having them thumbprint you to prove the Q40 wasn’t embezzled.

#6. After getting asked where in the US you are from, 1 out of 2 Guatemalans will say they have either been there or currently have a relative in the same place.

#5. Two words: street food. Cheap, yet delicious. Stool test not included.

#4. After being here for a while, you sit impatiently waiting for tortillas while your food gets cold because you can’t eat without them.

#3. You thought the first time you stepped up on that shiny yellow school bus in kindergarten was going to be cool – little did you know you would be on that very same bus 18 years later, in a different country and totally pimped out blasting anything from Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” to Nigga’s “Te Amo Tanto” – AND have to pay your fare to a guy who is best described as the Indiana Jones of Guatemalan transport while the bus barrels down the Inter-American highway at top speeds, securing your luggage on top of the bus. (Whew!)

#2. Catching a ride in the back of a truck when the bus hasn’t come by for hours is just doing what you need to do – even if it’s with livestock.

And the No. 1 reason why Guatemala is awesome is…

#1. “Fíjese que…” can be used as an excuse for pretty much ANYTHING.

snap. crakle. pop.

2010-05-10T07:27:00.002-05:00

It's Mother's Day today in Guatemala. They do it on the 10th instead of a Sunday. Why? No one seems to know. Anyway, it's the same deal: flowers, cards, advertising avalanche. Guatemalans enjoy celebrating pyrotechnically. The birth of Christ? Boom. Birthdays? Boom. Mom's day? Ditto:

Typical fashion is to set a string of firecrackers off at dawn. Or around dawn. Or before. Today I think they started around 4:30; faint pops in the distance like kids stomping on bubble wrap in a classroom down the hall. And it has continued. I sort of like that part of Guatemala now. I didn't used to, but after awhile traditions become just part of life. Our kids sleep right through every crack and pop. I don't, but then again, we have a 3 month old so uninterrupted sleep is sort of this distant fantasy that Jenny and I giggle about and try to remember.

So, here's to mom's in Guatemala. Let's blow something up.

Seriously

2010-04-30T07:32:00.003-05:00

I was captured by aliens and forced to slave away in the iridium mines of the Nebucore system! By sheer craftiness, I sneaked by my Gorgon overlord, broke into the ventilation shaft, climbed 7 miles on my face and elbows to the surface, singlehandedly defeated a battalion of battle dwarfs, released the captives, saved the princess, hot wired a star cruiser and warped back to planet earth. En route I balanced the Federal deficit, ended world hunger and solved a Rubik's Cube. I got back home late last night in time to put the kids down and give my wife a foot rub before sleeping 6 hours and running a marathon.

And that's why I haven't blogged.

Or I've just been really busy working at a job I love.

So, anyway, for those folks who graze this blog occasionally, I'm still here.

Easter Monday

2010-04-05T07:19:00.004-05:00

So for some reason I love Easter Monday. It may have something to do with the Sousa march "Easter Morning on the White House Lawn". I love me a Sousa march. But I think it has more to do with what was celebrated the previous day.

I just love Easter. I love Spring. Life pops up again after a winter nap. I don't really get that here in Guatemala, the "Land of Eternal Spring" as they call it. It feels like Spring all the time which is nice, but the thing I like about Spring is the change, the transformation, the difference. Brown to green. Cold to warm. Dormant to life.

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the most significant event in the history of humanity, ought to remind us that there is more than just this life. It's a little taste of eternity and it all began that glorious day when the angel sat atop the stone that sealed in my Lord and said to the women, "He is not here. He is risen, just as he said he would." That's my favorite sentence maybe in the whole Bible. The reality of that statement is a sonic boom that shatters all my doubts and fears. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow says the great old hymn. Because He lives, I can face today. I can face my yesterday. And I can do whatever He has for me to do because that tomb was empty. Tombs are not the place for Christians. Where death and sadness and darkness rule. Our place is in the brilliant light of day, knocking on the stones which keep others in darkness and asking the risen Jesus to bring them out from death and in to His marvelous life.

So that's why I like Easter Monday. It's my "What do I do Now" day after remembering what has been done for me. Now I just need to find a recording of that Sousa march...

order up

2010-03-24T07:15:00.004-05:00

My, my, my.

I must admit I find it hard to blog on a regular basis. This is, of course, quite evident. It's not so much a lack of desire as it is having 10 or 20 minutes to sit and type something worth reading. But anyway.

I'm sitting here on a lovely cool morning listening to a little bird and coffee maker symphony. I like routine. I do. I'm not freaky about it, but I function better when there is some consistency to life. I used to think that meant I lacked flexibility or spontaneity and therefore creativity, but at this phase in life a little order is in order.

I simply have a lot of things to do that require disciple to do them. Everything from exercise to things with work and supporters to family require that I actually plan them and do them. I can't just float through like a dandelion puff. When I do that I get blown around too much. And I'm not really talking about seizing control and pumping it up in the air in victory. I'm just talking about asking the Lord what He wants me to do, then planning it, laying those plans before Him, and then doing them. I can't control all the peripheral stuff like the washer leaking and kids getting sick, but I can arrange life so that I have opportunity to do things that matter. Actually, I think that boundaries are a great conduit for creativity, but maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Anyhoo...probably a funny post for a blog named Ramble Zone, but that's where I'm at today. The coffee is ready, and now so am I.

I just noticed that the time stamp on Blogger is on daylight savings time, where as I am not. Blogger is an hour ahead of me. That's strange for some reason. Ok then. Time for coffee.

Sunday stuff

2010-03-07T07:40:00.002-06:00

It's Sunday morning and we are not going to church. We have been working since Wednesday to unpack and wash and fold. We have been looking for lids and replacing bulbs and restocking the pantry. We were gone for 3 months and brought 10 checked bags full of...stuff...back to our home. We had moved our other stuff so that another family could move in and watch our home during our home assignment so they they would have a place to put their stuff and do the things they needed to do while they did a fantastic job of taking care of our stuff that we had put away.

So when you unload 10 bags you get this swarm of stuff all over the house. This swarm had nowhere to nest because we had to take our pre-existing stuff and figure out how to blend it with our new stuff swarm so that all the stuff has a place. This has taken longer than expected.

I blame the children.

We have a boy(4) and a girl (2) and a 5 week old son. They require 27 hours of attention, per child, per day. They do not meet their required daily allowance. Why? Because Jenny and I need to do other things like run errands and balance the checkbook and organize the stuff. Now, we don't ignore the children. Yesterday, in fact, while a pile of stuff lay unattended, I spent far too long playing Hi-Ho-Cherry-O. Though, admittedly, one round is too long and we played a lot more than that. Do you know that those cherries fit perfectly inside the nostril of a 2 year old? And they have 2 nostrils. We are currently short 2 cherries from that game but they haven't yet shown up in a diaper so we're holding out some hope. I began this post at 7:13. It is now 8:06. It doesn't take me that long to type, but in that time I have had to get a snack for the kids, then a drink, change a diaper, reheat coffee, get a different drink, find tiny princess house shoes, pull a finger out of a pop-up-book and mend a wounded soul. I have taken 9 round trips upstairs and am now drinking cold coffee because I simply don't care. My beautiful and talented bride is thankfully sleeping (a rarity) with our 5 week old because she has not slept more than 3 hours in a row since Halloween and that leaves me with only 2 munchkins, a Labrador and a cat who keeps sleeping on my pajama pants.

The 9 loads of laundry that were washed and dried yesterday need to be folded today and put up because in 3 days we have to pack again to leave for a week. Of vacation. Where we will most assuredly collect more stuff and have no place to put it. I hear the tiniest munchkin grunting on the monitor (baby, not lizard) and the eldest munchkin and his tiny blue eyed minion need to break fast so I can change the tiniest munchkin and give his mother a little more rest.

It's Sunday, see. And we're not going to church. We will be gone the next 2 Sundays and it's better to let everyone know you're back when you can actually say, "Yes, I 'd love to" instead of, "No, I can't". So, that's where we're at this Sunday morning.

On second thought, maybe I'll just blame the stuff. It will have fewer issues as a teenager.

ok then

2010-03-05T10:45:00.002-06:00

A Month and a day. We're back in Guatemala. Anyone still out there?

My plan to blog while on furlough proved a pipe dream. We're getting some semblance of normalcy back and with some normal come some blogs.

Life is good, God is better, and I have a lot of things in storage that I'd like to unpack - both literally and mentally.

baby tired

2010-02-04T07:20:00.003-06:00

Whew. It's an odd time after a baby is born. Your whole life is focused on an event - a very important event - and then in a moment, it's over. Jenny's not pregnant anymore and our baby is out where we can hold him and kiss him and change his diaper.

It's amazing how different life is now. When we go somewhere, he needs a carseat. Our family now has 5 people in it. His needs and desires get thrown into the decision matrix. Our baby girl is now a big sister. Our son has a brother. We completely fill up a sedan. And that is how it will be from here on out. Our family has changed. And it's wonderful.

He's eating great and sleeping great and Jenny and I have that strange sense of being proud of our baby for just doing what he does even though we don't have much control over it. Being a parent is so weird.

Weird and wonderful. That sounds about right for now.

a Few pics

2010-01-30T18:20:00.002-06:00

Woohoo!!!

2010-01-28T10:22:00.001-06:00

Keegan Robert Scott arrived at 9:30pm last night. Baby and mommy are great. He weighed in at 7lb10oz, 19.5 in. and looks just like his big brother.

Pictures later

gotta go

2010-01-27T09:20:00.001-06:00

And Jenny's water just broke....

and we're still waiting...

2010-01-26T07:47:00.002-06:00

Well, Jenny is 5 days late. I have heard these can only come out by praying and fasting so, maybe that's the ticket. Normally, we would not be worried in the least, but I need to go out of town on Friday for a mission's conference. I most certainly need to leave by Saturday at the latest, latest, latest!

And I am not supposed to be anxious about any of this.

But I am. I normally am not a worrier, but I can't seem to trust the Lord on the timing of this. A lot of factors play into my excuse. We are low on support and so I really, really need to be there for the CBC mission's conference. Also, I am preaching on Sunday and I must be there for that. If Keegan has not come we are considering inducing Jenny on Friday - something that we really want to avoid - so that I can leave on Saturday.

So...if you read this, please join us in asking the Lord to bring that baby. Because there's absolutely nothing I can do to get that critter out on my own.

pick up

2010-01-19T07:04:00.003-06:00

No baby still. but the due date is tomorrow so...hopefully he comes soon. It's amazing how many people (by far the majority) assume that Jenny will be induced on her due date as opposed to just going into labor. Not sure why that's amazing.

Ok. So, we have needed a loaner car. Not so much needed one up until this week, but we have been letting people know of our need. And yesterday we got a call from a guy who works for a dealer here in town and we went to pick it up. He just gave us the keys. No signing. No nothing. Then he called the guy at their detail shop and said, "I'm sending a young couple over to you. If they need anything, do it."

We were just amazed at how the Lord provides and how He uses people to be the conduit or the vessels for His provision and blessing. The reality that God has designed us to be part of His work here on planet earth is so wonderful. It is a reality that too few experience. There are a whole bunch of people in Haiti who are at this very moment experiencing the joy of being a vessel and of receiving from a vessel, the love of God in the form of food and water and a searcher digging through rubble. Only God takes something so horrible and brings something good up from all the horror.

Anyway. So now we have a car. It's a Lincoln Zephyr. We asked the Lord for a car and he gives us a Lincoln. Amazing.

no baby yet

2010-01-16T07:24:00.002-06:00

So...my semi-plan to blog more regularly has fallen completely apart. I'm just busy doing other things and don't think about it when I'm near a computer so...it remains undone. Saturday morning is, in Guatemala, when I usually blog so I thought I would do that again.

I have an aching back. For those who live with back pain, I'm really sorry. I found out I have a degenerated disk in my lumbar so, hopefully it will get better. I wish I could visit our friend Dr. Jeremy. I trust him.

Jenny is due in...4 days. I'm SO excited to meet Keegan. Jenny's just fine letting him bake. She says it will never be easier to take care of him than it is right now. And she's right. But she gets to spend every moment with him and I don't so I'm ready to meet him and kiss his sweet face.

A word on God's provision. We, as missionaries, are more acutely aware that God is our provider because we have a salary which comes to us directly from other people. I realize that everyone has what they have because it comes from the Lord, but we can't look at our paycheck and say, "We earned this" because, really, we didn't. People gave it to us. Anyway, we ask the Lord to help us a lot and He does. It's fun.

Recently we have been asking Him (and other people) to provide a vehicle for us to borrow for when Keegan comes. Including Jenny's mom, that will make 6 of us - more than can fit in her Honda - and if I need to travel somewhere it's rather complicated. So, we asked the Lord for help and then we let our need be known, and we get a call from Mr. Alderson of Alderson Motors here in Lubbock. He pretty well known around here as the man that sells everyone their Cadillacs and Lexi and Beamers. And he's going to get us a car next week.

It's just funny what you sometimes get when you ask the Lord for help.

Also, we're teaching at a Sunday School class through the book of James. We were supposed to go through a chapter a week but we're starting week 3 on Sunday and we hope to finish chapter 1. There's a lot to apply in James. It's rather convicting preparation. But good.

OK. I am off to go get doughnuts - something I can't do in Guatemala.

sorry...

2010-01-10T20:17:00.003-06:00

I forgot to update here, but we flipped Keegan over! It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Jenny had an ultrasound Friday and he's still head down. Now she's...VERY uncomfortable...and we're waiting for Keegan to come on his own. Hopefully so that I can preach on Jan. 24th and the 31st!

off to have an external cephalic version

2010-01-05T07:01:00.002-06:00

Well, so far my plans to blog even semi-daily have been derailed by life and college football. I confess I have not fought the temptation to watch.

This morning we will go into the hospital so that Jenny can have a procedure done which will help flip Keegan so that he's head down, allowing Jenny to have a normal birth as opposed to a C-section. Jenny's been doing just about everything imaginable from playing music to seeing an acupuncturist. But mostly we have asked people to pray, and it is in the Lord that we trust, not those other things. Trust God and work your butt off is sort of a Scott family phrase so we're trying to keep up with that.

We go to the hospital at 9 and the procedure is scheduled for 11. We'll let you know as we are able. Lord willing, all will go well and we'll come home today with a head-down Keegan and wait for Jenny's body to do the rest. Thank you for praying, folks.

one happy day

2009-12-30T08:49:00.003-06:00

Today, nine years ago, at 2:00 pm in the afternoon, I became the happiest man in history.

Jennifer Robyn Moore became Jennifer Robyn Scott by becoming my wife. She was resplendent in her beauty. I could hardly keep from bolting up the aisle to meet her when the doors opened into the sanctuary. I was, and remain, engulfed by her her beauty. She is my best friend, the person with whom I want to spend every moment, share every secret, live every breath.

I love you, my angel. I love you, Jenny. Solomon said it way better than I can:

"All beautiful you are, my darling;
there is no flaw in you.

Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,
come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
from the top of Senir, the summit of Hermon,
from the lions' dens
and the mountain haunts of the leopards.

⁹ You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;
you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
with one jewel of your necklace.

¹⁰ How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!
How much more pleasing is your love than wine,
and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
milk and honey are under your tongue.
The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon."

W O W.

Thank you, Lord. THANK YOU LORD!

And thank you, Jenny. I love you.

upside down

2009-12-29T07:44:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we went to see Jenny's OB. Things seem to be fine but the Dr. wanted us to go in for a sonogram just to check things out, given that she hadn't seen Jenny since July. All Keegan's parts seem to be working just fine. We saw his sweet, mushed little face. He just happens to be in the wrong position.

At this point he ought to he head down, ready to meet us. Instead he is folded with his feet in front of his face and his tush headed down. He's breech. Given that Jenny has birthed our first two naturally and without complication we were assuming the same with Keegan. Ah, assumptions. So now we are praying that the Lord will turn that little fella around so Jenny can give birth as she was designed. Would you join us in asking the Lord to help us? There are apparently techniques to get the baby in the right position and we'll be talking with the OB but it's really up to the Lord.

We're dealing with a little frustration and trying to prepare ourselves mentally for either a natural or Cesarean birth. I'm not sure if that's a lack of faith or simply acknowledging that the Lord is not obligated to do things our way, but we are certainly believing He will help us, knowing He will be with us either way.

hello, Monday

2009-12-28T07:57:00.002-06:00

Well I figured that if I want to blog (for whatever reason) that I just need to do it, even if it's just to have some form of discipline in typing out some thoughts. Goodness. That was an awkward sentence. Anyway..so the point is that I need to come up with some sort of short term goal or project. Your ideas are welcome because I don't think I have any good ones. Today I am just blogging to do it and get into a habit of doing it.

Alright then. Tomorrow then.

And a month goes by

2009-12-22T07:43:00.002-06:00

Well. Anyone who who reads this may have noticed my lack of posts for...a MONTH. Wow. That's a long time.

We were getting ready to leave for the US and I just didn't have the time. Once we got to Texas we were busy for what seemed like every waking moment (and some moments when we should have been sleeping) and when we weren't busy, I would rather have talked with my family than blog.

Well, now we are in Lubbock and have eased up a little and I have time again.

Anyway, to those folks who read this, I'm back. It's 7:48 and my whole family is still asleep. A true Christmas miracle!

predicando

2009-11-30T06:45:00.004-06:00

Goodness, it's been awhile. Last week was some what odd and exceedingly busy so I just never posted anything. This week is somewhat busy and a little odd because we leave for 3 months on Monday and there are an insane amount of things to do.

I got to preach on Sunday at our home church and that was a lot of fun. Some of you said that you wanted to see it and Jenny recorded a short video so, here it is.

toons

2009-11-21T07:00:00.004-06:00

This morning I woke up. Normal day. Went into the oldest boy's room. He was the reason I awoke. I noticed it was 6:30 and I wondered why we forgot to set the alarm. It was late. And then it hit me: It's Saturday. Woohoo!

I have only lived in two cultures and both of them set Saturday aside as a special day. Even the word - Saturday - looks fun. Here Saturday is often a half work day but by noon everyone's off and they go to the market or to a hot spring or a bath house to soak and warm up. They eat out or shop and have birthday parties. It's a good day for laundry or cleaning or taking a day trip. It's Saturday and we like it.

I'm sure there are roots to it, Saturday being the Sabbath, but for me it all starts with cartoons.

When I was a kid, Saturday was the one day of the week where I was allowed to wake up and just watch TV for a few hours. By about 10 the cartoons had thinned out and it was time to go do something else, but those were good days for cartoons.

See, we didn't have cable and there was no cartoon network. We had CBS, NBC and ABC and if you wanted cartoons, that's where you got 'em. Well, PBS was in the ring and they competed heavily with Marty Stouffers Wild America (still a favorite) but mostly it was cartoons.

And they were 80's Cartoons - with a few late 70's thrown in.

He-Man
Smurfs
Snorks (strange)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
G.I. Joe
Scoobie Doo
Thundercats
Schoolhouse Rock
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Teddy Ruxpin (a brief foray)
Dangermouse
Underdog
Starblazers (my brother just loved this...mainly because it's awesome)
Dungeons and Dragons (and no, I'm not an evil warlock)
The Ghostbusters
The Real Ghostbusters (never discerned the difference)
The Jetsons
The Incredible Hulk
M.A.S.K. (short lived, but VERY cool toys)
Transformers
Voltron (never owned any toys from that - too much like Transformers I guess)
The Super Friends Hour

Of course, separate from all those and standing as a legitimate art form and cultural influence is Looney Tunes. Fritz Freeling and Tex Avery are pure genius. The Rabbit of Seville, Duck Amuck. Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, Carl Stalling - Leon Schlesinger knew what he was doing. There was no competitor to those guys. Just look at this and tell me what you hear, think, feel, remember:

I mean, you can HEAR the music! It was genius. Cartoon genius. And somewhere my brother has a set of 12 VHS tapes of this. Wow.

So...enjoy your Saturday. If you can catch a cartoon or two (especially from the above list) go for it. A bowl of Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs would accompany nicely.

help, please

2009-11-18T06:07:00.003-06:00

Those who know me understand that my God given gifts do not include organization. I'm not disorganized in the classical sense; I don't wear shirts backwards or have messy hair. But I am forgetful and I get distracted easily. I just do. I'd rather sit and talk with someone about life and God than plan out how to make that meeting more efficient. My brain is not that linear - that's why I named this blog Ramble Zone - because that's what I do. Anything coherent and sensible is typically the product of re-writing more than writing.

Well, we leave for the Greatest State on Earth (that would be T E X A S ) in about 2.5 weeks. And while that makes our kid's Grammy and Mimi hum with happiness, it's enough to make me start drinking. That's a joke by the way. I already drink. I'd just drink more. More water. More milk. More juice. You mix disorganization with dehydration and we're talking trouble.

Anyway, we have a lot to do. So I made a list several weeks ago. Yesterday I looked at that list and then re-made another list adding all the other things I thought of that need doing and then combined the two lists and then freaked out a little and called in reinforcements in the form of my beautiful and talented bride.

About 10 years ago, God looked at me and said, "It is not good for Brandon to be alone" and he sent me my Jenny. While in the throws of romantic rapture I knew only that I loved her and that I wanted to spend my life pursuing her and loving her more. And honestly, that's about as far as I went. All my energy was turned to romance - and that's good.

Yesterday, however, I didn't need a hallmark card. I needed help. And the Lord has given me a helper who is, without argument, par excellence. She sat me down and helped me turn my list which contains enough work for 2 months into something that I could flesh out and finish in 2 weeks. 2 weeks of non-stop insanity, but 2 weeks. And for that, Baby, I love you. I need you. And I thank the Lord for you.

And now I need to get to work.

just go already

2009-11-16T06:12:00.002-06:00

Friday I went to visit our friends the Ekstroms to get more of their story. I got their timeline filled in from '51 to '80 or so. When you've walked on earth for that long you have a lot of stories. Most of theirs are just too interesting to pass up.

I had a really hard time leaving on Friday morning. Late night. A sleepy, disorganized morning, couldn't find the key to open my gas tank - I was frustrated. But Jenny convinced me to go and I went. I only got about 2 hours talking with them becasue a Brazilian missionary came for an un-expected visit to meet Helen, whose brother teaches at a seminary in Brazil. But while I was chatting with Helen in the kitchen she started talking about college students and how difficult a time they are having here in Guatemala. No one is preparing them for walking with the Lord in college. They have never been taught about the many world views or humanism and how those things are contrary to what they have grown up believing and many, many of them are falling away.

Xela has more than a dozen colleges and a few larger universities. Don't think University like in the US. Think more the size of a community college - well, smaller - but still a university. Anyway, we live here. And there are lots of college students. And we have a lot of experience with college students and pastors here are often scared to talk to college kids because there is a huge education gap and they feel they don't know enough. And Helen put those things together while we stood in her kitchen.

So now we are looking at how we can serve all those college kids and help the pastors learn how to prepare their kids for the philosophical battle they will face in college; how they can help them remain faithful in a place where their faith will indeed be tested and ridiculed.

I thought I was just getting a story on Friday but the Lord is always working, even when we're grumpy. Meeting with two people who love Jesus as much as the Ekstroms and talking about how God has used them and brought them through almost 6 decades of ministry tends to stir things up a little. This time it gave us a new vision for minsitry. Which is pretty cool when you consider I almost didn't go.

It's Friday, right?

2009-11-13T06:15:00.003-06:00

Man, I need to go on furlough so I can have more time to blog.

Ha. While we will have more 'time' I am going to spend it mostly talking with people but maybe I can squeeze in a few more blogs.

Today I get to drive to a town called Huehuetenango and visit with the Ekstroms, the missionary couple in their 80's. I'll be talking with them about their story and trying to fill in details of 160+ years of combined life. I am planning to write their story and I admit that I am terrified to begin in earnest. I honestly have no idea what I am doing. That's not a reason to avoid doing something, of course, but it makes it scarier.

I hope to be able to begin writing when we are in Texas so maybe more blogs are out of the picture. See, the thing with writing a blog for me is that if I don't get it done in the morning before the kids get up it just won't get done. I feel weird blogging when I have work to do and after the kids get down Jenny and I are often in zombie mode and go to bed at 9:30. But I am trying to at least get more than one a week done. We'll see. The fact that 'blog' is not in the blogger auto-dictionary is just silly.

Last night we had a Canadian couple and their 3 kids over for dinner. It was just a ton of fun. We really, really enjoy just sitting and talking with them. The got here at 6 and left at 10:30 and the time flew by. Their kids are a little older and played with our kids for hours. And to date I have never met a mean Canadian. I'm sure they exist, I just haven't met one I didn't like.

And with that, I need to get ready to leave. It's always fun hanging out with the Ekstroms - they are truly an amazing duo.

biscuits and eternity

2009-11-07T07:47:00.002-06:00

Well I've been trying to write this blog on being a dad and it's just not really very good. So instead of not posting or posting something that needs to stew, I'll just come on here and ramble.

Today we're going to a town about an hour from here so Jenny can teach at the anniversary of a church's women's ministry. She has been working like a madwoman this whole week because she also will teach on Sunday and life here goes on. She is my proverbs 31 wife and while many daughters are noble, I sure think that she exceeds them all. I've been trying to take up the slack during off work hours so that she can prepare. It's been fun to serve her like she serves me all the time. Not that I don't ever do anything around the house, I'm just doing a little more than usual.

We met some new friends here yesterday. Jenny and I took a date to the grocery store (as busy as we have been, we take what we can get - kid free time is a date!) and met this nice fella from Canada. He and his wife (they are a little bit older than us) came over last night for what was supposed to be 5 minutes and turned into 2 1/2 hours. They just moved here a few days ago and are in that entry phase of utter chaos and had a lot of questions. It was really fun to be able to be helpful to someone and to hopefully make their transition a little less stressful. The Body of Christ is simply amazing.

When I finish here I am going to go make biscuits, a recipe I have finally mastered. The secret to incredible biscuits? Butter and sour cream. And you gotta treat 'em easy. Biscuits are fickle. But man o man, in a country where biscuits simply don't exist, it has been worth the effort. I'm not going to say they are Crackle Barrel yet (they put cocaine in theirs I am certain) but they are good enough to make a southern boy happy, which is about all we need around here.

You know, the Christian walk is anything but static. Anything but boring. God is simply not boring and when He says, "Follow Me" and you actually follow Him, your life will be interesting - no matter what country you life in. If you get arrogant, He will humble you. If you get stagnant, temptation comes to test you. If you are tired, He lets you rest in Him. If you are bored, there is so much to do that every fiber of your being (physical, emotional, spiritual) can be worked to exhaustion. The Word of God is living and active because GOD is living and active and following Him is just that- living and active. It's fantastic! And I'm not even very good at it. I'm inconsistent and selfish and immature and it drives me crazy some days. But the Lord is not surprised by me. He's not freaking out of saying, "What am I going to do with you!" like some exasperated parent of a fit throwing toddler. For crying out loud, He's the God of all creation. All Authority is His. All Power. All Knowledge. All Glory. All everything. And He, at least in part because He loves us, has given us this great adventure of a life lived by faith here on planet earth before we enter eternity where faith and hope will pass away and only love will remain.

So, I'm off to make biscuits. And drive and take care of our kids so my amazing wife can teach some women how to walk with God a little better. And I'm looking forward to spending today with the God who is with me - even to the end of the age. Which certainly includes today.

review

2009-10-31T09:07:00.004-05:00

Man, I really need to blog more than weekly. I have no imperative for doing so other than once a week seems too far between posts.

Anyway, the week in review. Weeks go really fast, don't they? Some faster than others, some a weird mix. I was supposed to teach a group of pastors this week at a prayer meeting. The pastors here meet in varying locals to pray for and encourage one another. Normally it goes something like this:

9:00 - sing hymns and songs and pray
10:30 - drink some kind of atol (a hot drink normally made from rice or corn) and eat some kind of bread
11:00 - pray more
11:30 - Someone preaches
12:30 - sing more songs
1:00 - eat lunch
2:00 - drive home

So, when I go out, that's what I normally do. It's usually somewhere within 2 hours of the house so I leave at 7 and get back around 4. Not too bad.

This last Tuesday I went out to a great little place of which I forgot to take a picture (again) and met with the pastors. I was excited because I finally brought the camera and remembered to ask one of the pastors to take a picture of me preaching so all you folks will actually believe I do it. But when it came time to go up front, another guy was teaching! Basilo, a good friend of mine, said, "Oh, you had something ready?!" and I told him not to worry about it. So I spent about 8 hours getting something ready that I didn't' use...but I have a great little sermon with cool handouts ready for next time! All printed up and ready to roll.

I also went to a breakfast meeting yesterday at 8:00 (for which the guy did not show) and wasted an hour after that standing in line at the bank.

I was very busy accomplishing nothing. Sigh. That's life sometimes. I did get a good deal of time in preparing a sermon over Matt 28:16-20 which has been a ridiculous amount of fun.

So, add in normal filling out of forms and errands and planning and whatnot and you have a week done and gone.

I want to talk about being a dad and the shoeshine boys and how someone stole our neighbor's dog. Man. It's a bad world out there.

not a scholar

2009-10-24T08:50:00.002-05:00

I must admit that part of my job is to study the Bible. That may be part of the reason I do what I do. I am no Bible Scholar. Not that Bible Scholars are bad, they are actually very helpful, I am just not one of them as anyone who knows me and also knows a Bible Scholar can clearly see. I'm not actually certain what is required to have the title, "Brandon Scott, Bible Scholar", but I am certain I do not meet the requirement.

Anyway, so I've been looking at Proverbs 9 where Wisdom and the Woman of Folly or Foolishness are personified and contrasted. I really recommend you take just 5 minutes and read it. It's only 18 verses. And it's really fascinating because, well, we all hear both voices in our life. One calling us to wisdom and a life lived in awe of God, the other to a life of foolishness and perceived pleasure. One leads to a life of, well, life and meaning. Tho other leads to death.

What's fascinating is that both sound the same at the outset. Both say, "Are you confused about life, don't know what's going on? Come with me." So how are we supposed to know which one to follow? Verse 10 says this:

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Ah! Even the structure of the proverb points to this verse as the center, the key. Fearing God is not like fearing an angry bear. It is a reverent awe, not so much an acute terror. Now, people faced with God's wrath, they ought to be afraid, ought to feel abject terror. But we are called to be awed into silence, to kneel and understand that God is the Lord of all and we, we are not. He is utterly other than we. He is not like us. We make a grievous error when we believe God is like us. When we make the Creator like the created. He made us in His image - not like Him. Not anymore than a picture of a tree is a tree. And yet...we can know Him. "Knowledge of the Holy One is understanding", says the proverb. Jesus says, in praying to the Father, "This is eternal life, that they may know you, the one true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent." That we can know God, being utterly unworthy of such knowledge just blows me away. That we can live a life of wisdom and understanding by having an attitude of humility and awe and by knowing God is just so amazing to me.

The call of God is an invitation to life. It always is. A life of understanding, of wisdom, of peace and hope and joy. A life lived not by sight but by faith. A life lived by the power of another world. A life...lived.

A life really lived.

a good talk

2009-10-22T07:33:00.002-05:00

We had a meeting yesterday with about 15 pastors where we discussed the role of women in ministry or the role of women in the church. In a machismo culture it was a truly great discussion where we talked about what the Bible says and where we are at fault and how the culture tries to press us into its mold. I was really proud of the pastors for accepting the responsibility of being men who place themselves beneath the authority of the Bible and then try to figure out how to do minsitry within that reality. It's not an easy thing to do when there are a lot of voices (very loud, sometimes passionate voices) telling you a variety of things, most of which are contrary to what you believe.

It was a good time. It's amazing how much you can have in common with people who believe in the same Lord.

While it lasts

2009-10-17T07:39:00.003-05:00

Saturday mornings are a time when we allow our children to rot their brains by watching cartoons and eating cereal so unnaturally colored and devoid of nutrition and that the cereal people are forced to add in vitamins just to avoid prosecution. But they like it. Of course it tastes good and is crunchy. I just ate a little blue ring that tasted like stale blueberry syrup. My daughter is giving them to me one by one. Surely nothing given to me by so beautiful a courier could be bad? The chewing surfaces of my teeth are now smooth, filled to the brim with a rainbow of fruit flavored pseudo grain. A swig of room temperature coffee and all is well.

Our tiny backyard has been overrun by black woolly bear caterpillars. They are an appropriately named creature. Our son enjoys collecting them and storing them in a liter yogurt container with holes punched in the lid. It's a sub-standard prison, but the alternative is death by garden shears or being flung over the razor wire wall into the neighboring corn field so all together it's not a bad deal. He plays with them in the sand box: gritty, fuzzy pre-metamorphosed worms spilling from his hands. He piles them in his dump truck and buries them in the sand and shrieks with delight when they wriggle to freedom, tiny Shai-Hulud ruled by their blue eyed master in a green plastic turtle. It's fun. And boys who can play with dirt and bugs make better men. Of this I am certain.

And so our Saturday is. It will change. As our children grow and sleep until 11, these mornings will pass away and I will have to rouse them from sleep to go and do whatever teenagers will do in a dozen years from now on a Saturday morning in a place I do not yet know. So I will enjoy it now. While it remains. For I am sure I will miss it when it's gone.

hungry people

2009-10-11T08:53:00.002-05:00

Sundays are wonderful days. For believers we either get to go to church on Sunday or, if we're one of the 'professionals' (a truly silly and misleading title), we get to teach and preach and serve on this first day of the week.

God is so good to give us this day to meet together. To remember that on this day the greatest news ever spoken was uttered to a small group of broken, defeated women who had come to execute their duty to their fallen Teacher.

"He is not here. He is risen"

I let out a whoop every time I read that in the gospels. It's more exciting than last second touchdowns or triple plays or clearance sales at Gymboree. And this coming from a man who truly loves the game of College football and is married to the greatest woman in the history of forever who truly loves shopping with her momma - I think maybe even more than I like football.

I guess to even compare the defeat of death and sin by the resurrection of Jesus to football or shopping just shows how very little I understand it and how tiny I am in my thoughts when compared against the glory of God and His plan and love for His children.

And that's why I love Sundays. It is the day when we all come together to remember. To worship together. It's not the only day we are to worship, mind you. We must do that every day. Intentionally. Consistently. But often we limit our walk with Christ to Sunday. Could you imagine if your child only ate once a week? Only grew on Sunday? How tragic would that be? To what lengths would you go to get them to eat every day. To grow a little everyday.

See, Sunday is not the day we go to 'get fed' as I hear so very often. It is the day we go to be together. And get fed together. Far too many people tell me that they are not, "being fed" at church and while this is problematic, the greatest and deepest problem is with the person telling me that very thing. If you feel you are not being fed at church it is most likely because you have starved yourself all week and expect to gorge on Sunday, hopefully enough to allow you to fast the rest of the week. This is not how things are designed to work. And it turns us into takers instead of givers on Sunday and robs all the rest of the body of your spiritual service and worship. We are a one another body, but starving people are only intent on satisfying their hunger. They have energy for little else.

The solution is to take your walk with Christ seriously and to walk with Him a little every day so that on Sunday you can be dedicated to the body instead of distracted by your hunger. I wonder how different our churches would be were this the case. Were our members waking up and putting on their nice clothes and going to church not to be served, but to serve. To worship together by serving one another as a filled people.

I daresay it would be better than football.

Not by might, sister.

2009-10-08T09:36:00.002-05:00

I just had to share this, though many of you may have seen it. Don't you ever tell me you are too old to be used by God!

thoughts on a thursday

2009-10-08T07:24:00.002-05:00

Last night our 3.5 year old son decided that it would be a good idea to pee in his toy box. So he unzipped, did the deed, then kept on playing with his toys. Took me a few minutes to notice.

I was rather upset.

I'm not anymore, but I admit I was a little shocked. He's our first, so I guess he gets the brunt of our inexperience and has the unique job of breaking us in to parenthood.

There are things that I need to learn about God that are only possible once I became a father. I don't think that being a dad is necessary to spiritual growth. But it sure puts things in focus. I understand a little better how much God loves us as his children. My love for just our 2 sweet kids is just the faintest reflection of God's love - if even that. A fleck of sea spray compared to his ocean. A molecule, a proton in his universe. I don't know how to go larger in the difference, but you get the point. I don't have to work to love my kids. I just do. Because they are.

I discipline them because I know they need it if they are to survive and thrive in the world in which we live. I teach them what is dangerous or useless or beneficial. I get disappointed in them but never stop loving them. I mean, both our children have a combined age of less than 6, so I'm not so much disappointed as I am flabbergasted momentarily at the creativity with which they demonstrate their sinful natures.

When Jesus wept over Jerusalem and expressed his desire to put them under his wing as a mother hen - I get that now like never before. Every day, however, is a new test as a parent. A new...something to keep us on our toes. Marriage and parenthood are the primary crucibles in which the Lord makes me more like Him. They are the testing ground, the examination, the weight room where no bombs explode, no Scan-trons are bubbled in and no bar bells clang but growth happens. And I can't really explain how other than that the Lord uses my wife and kids to grow me up. A lot. Every day.

While, were we not to have children, I would have more time to meditate and read and study, I would not be very grown up in my faith. I just wouldn't. I don't think that's axiomatic; it doesn't apply to everyone. But it sure applies to me. And I am so thankful that the Lord, in his marvelous wisdom and grace chose to bless me with such beautiful and brilliant and sometimes belligerent tutors.

And so begins another day to grow a little more. Of course the bonus of toddler snuggles and kisses and giggles helps soften the blow. At least a little. Or maybe more than that.

Good times in the OT

2009-10-03T07:41:00.005-05:00

There is a book of the Old Testament that mentions sin more than any other. One that contains more of God actually speaking than any other book of the Bible. One whose theme is holiness and worship.

Can you guess?

It's Leviticus. And along with Numbers and most of the prophets are among the most unread books of the Bible. Which may be why so many misunderstand what God teaches us in the New Testament. A college student once asked me why he was having such a hard time understanding Revelation. I asked him if he had read the other 65 books before it. He said no. Then I asked him how well he would understand any book if he just read the last chapter. But we do that all the time. Heck, I do it all the time.

So here's a look at just 3 verses:

Leviticus 1: ³ " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to offer a male without defect. He must present it at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting so that it will be acceptable to the LORD. ⁴ He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him. ⁵ He is to slaughter the young bull before the LORD, and then Aaron's sons the priests shall bring the blood and sprinkle it against the altar on all sides at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting"

INCREDIBLE!

Goodness there is a lot of theology packed in there. One of the themes of Leviticus is God's holiness and how we are to relate to him as a sinful people. Sin causes problems. Big problems. It even defiles the place where it occurs! In order to have a relationship with God, something has to happen. And when sin is the problem, something has to die.

This is a model of what the Tabernacle could have looked like. We're just going to use it to see where things were placed:

Here are God's instructions to the Israelites for how to worship him. If you have cattle, this is what you are supposed to do. Take the best, a perfect male from the herd. You go into the front gate where priests stand to help in the sacrifice. In front of you is the Tent where the presence of God sits in a cloud. You cannot enter that tent, unless you want to die. Only the priests can enter. And into the presence of God? Not you. Because inside that tent is a room called the Holy of Holies where the Ark sits, atop of which is the mercy seat, where God chose to be present. And only the High Priest can go in. Once a year.

So look at that model. What's in between you and God?

An altar. Blood. A big basin to wash. Priests. A veil. The fire on the altar never went out. Heady incense is burning all the time. The smell of roasting meat and burning fat and burning grain mixes with the incense and the wood smoke and the sweet stench of freshly spilled blood. You hear the lowing of cattle, the bleating of sheep and goats. The swishing of robes and the muffled voices of the congregation. You feel the heat of the animal beneath your hands. It is full sensory experience.

You take your bull (if you are a man) and you walk into that gate. You place your hand upon the animal and you slit it's throat, the blood pouring onto your hand. The priest sprinkles the altar with blood. You are to skin the bull and cut it up into pieces. The priest places the animal on the altar and the fire consumes it.

In laying your hands on the bull you performed something called imputation, a transference of guilt. You transferred the guilt of your sin to that bull and you took it's life in place of your own. The priest then atoned for or satisfied God's holy demands on your behalf. It is an act of propitiation. A death occurs because one must occur to pay the ransom for your sin. It's you or the bull. You then leave the courtyard where the altar burns your bull but you cannot approach the LORD in his Holy Place. You have merely paid your debt to Him.

You have worshiped your God.

Christians don't have to do this. Do you do this? PETA would sue you into poverty if you tried.

Long after Leviticus was written, God sent the perfect Male. From our herd. He was acceptable to the Lord. He was the Lord. We (as a race) laid our hands upon him and we slaughtered him by nailing him to a cross. He looked down on those who killed him and said, "Forgive them Father, they know not what they do."

They were sacrificing. For all of us. But they didn't know that. They imputed, transferred sin to the perfect Lamb who was slain. His blood made it so that we needed no more bulls. No more goats or sheep or doves. At the death of the Lord of all creation the veil in the temple tore in two from top to bottom. It was finished.

We simply cannot understand what happened to Jesus and all that is taught in the New Testament without understanding what happened in the Old. Look at that model of the tabernacle. Christ has accomplished all that the tabernacle and the sacrificial system had to offer and we receive it all through faith in what he has done. For those who believe, there is no more altar of burnt offering. No more wash basin. No need to be made clean. No more priesthood. We have been made the priesthood, the Lord Jesus our high priest. No more need for atonement, imputation, propitiation. The temple, the tabernacle is no longer needed. We are the temple, filled with the Holy Spirit, the presence of God. Christ Jesus came and tabernacled among us. It's huge. The hugest thing that has ever happened. And it is finished. Once for all. No more veil between God and his people. We can approach the throne of grace, the mercy seat, the presence of God.

Now read this and think about how awesome, how wonderful, how marvelous is this truth:

Hebrews 4:14 "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Let's approach together. With confidence. Let us hold firm the faith we profess. We need help. And we will receive it.

fri-day

2009-10-02T07:35:00.003-05:00

I started Leviticus yesterday and I must say that for the first time I am excited to read it. But I doubt you want to hear about that.

This has been a fairly pedestrian last 10 days or so. Just not much exciting has happened. I mean, there are problems with kids and laughs and issues. Life. But not anything terribly exciting. Sometimes life just plods along. I'm not complaining either. It's sort of nice.

Jenny has just 16 weeks left in her pregnancy. 16 weeks and we 4 become 5. Wow! We're already 5, but the 5th needs a bit more baking before he or she is ready. This will be the 3rd time we've done this but you don't get any less excited about having a baby. It is truly one of the more miraculous things that happens every day. The main difference is how exhausted we are. Taking care of a 3 1/2 and a 1 1/2 year old is...tiring.

Ok. Well, I doubt this blog will incite much debate. I guess, of course, one could always get upset about something.

good books make you think

2009-09-29T09:54:00.002-05:00

I recently (yesterday) re-read Every Man's Battle. It's really a very good book. But I wanted to steal a quote which they cited from a Leonard Ravenhill book entitled, Revival Praying,

"This present day is like an arena whose terraces are filled with the militant godless, the brilliant and belligerent skeptics, plus the blank-faced heathen millions, all looking into the empty ring to see what the Church of the living God can do. How I burn at this point! What are we Christians doing? To use a very tattered phrase, are we just "playing church?'"

I once had a college student quit volunteering with middle school kids because he said he couldn't' stand the fishbowl. I asked him what was wrong with the fishbowl and he said he couldn't live like he wanted to with everybody watching him. I asked him if had listened to what he just said. He didn't see a problem with it.

I'm not trying to point fingers. I'm really not. Nor sling mud. We all just get muddy then. But I am wondering at what point will people take seriously the call to walk with Christ.

I am not talking legalism here. Legalism is faked righteousness through outward behavior to make ourselves good enough for God to love us. It's outward appearances without inward transformation. I'm talking about our outward actions matching our inner belief. I'm talking about transformation that manifests itself in a changed life, not merely a personal, inward change that only I can see. That's part of the deal, but a little like rebuilding the motor in a car but never putting it back into the engine compartment and connecting it to the transmission. Sure you have a good motor, but what's the point of a motor if it isn't motoring something along?

The first verb of the Great Commission is go. There are a lot of verbs in the New Testament regarding how believers are to act, what we are to do, how we are to live. Be holy. Do the work of a evangelist. Be men of courage. Love your neighbor. Be on the alert.

We are a people who do because we are. We have been transformed and are being transformed, but the church in general (at least the church in the US and here in Guatemala) often has little outward impact on the world in which it is found.

The Great Commission commands us to Go. Make. Baptize. Teach. We are commanded to not have a hint of sexual immorality; flee from it. To consider others more important than ourselves. To love the Lord with every facet of our being. To not show partiality. To not embitter our children. We are not to get drunk or stay angry. We are to be a people who reflect the very holiness of God.

Alas, we are poor mirrors.

I certainly do not live a perfect life. I truly do not. But I want people to examine my life, evaluate it, and point out where my behavior is inconsistent with my belief. Why?

Because the world is watching. The militant godless, the brilliant and belligerent skeptics, the blank-faced heathen millions are watching to see what the people who call them to salvation really do. How they really live. If it's really worth it. If it really works. If God is real, then so should be our transformation.

A terrible thought, that last one. But see, God is real. And His reality is not based upon my faithfulness or my belief. My failure does not impact His deity. He is not made less or more by our belief. He is God, has always been God, and will remain God even if not one single person believes in Him. He is wholly other than we and will remain so for eternity.

But I do believe. And so do a whole bunch of other people. And I want the God in whom I believe, the Savior in whom I trust, the Spirit who fills me and guides me; I want them to rule me. I want them to change me. And I want them to change the world around me for God's glory. I want us to stop playing church and start living Christ. And I want to start today.

please get a new plate

2009-09-25T07:16:00.003-05:00

I really ought to stop saying I have things I want to blog about and just blog about them. So here's a little Random Buffet.

- I've been keeping up with the UN and G20 events over the past few days. I find politics and world leaders generally interesting. But the UN is like a mish-mash therapy group that never does anything but talk. They just let people say whatever they want to say and then ask for money. How do you give a man (Ahmadinejad - president of Iran) who denies the Holocaust a platform for discussion? Can you imagine what people would do if he said that Dr. King was never murdered or that 9/11 was faked? It is almost as ludicrous as saying there is no moon and kittens are evil. The idiocy of my fellow man baffles me.

- People need to stop getting divorced. Quit using the Bible as an excuse while you blame the other person. If your spouse leaves you, that's different. You can't control other people. But if you aren't going to stay married don't get married. Just live together - if your going to sin you might as well be blatant about it. Or don't be in relationships. Didn't we learn a long time ago that lying is bad? Unless you said something different on your wedding day than all the rest of us, you can't stop being married until one of you dies. I know it's hard. Life is hard. Things that are difficult grow us up. And if you want a divorce that's clear evidence that you need to grow up.

- Being a parent is really hard. For me, being married is just fantastic. "A wife of noble character is the crown of her husband" says the Proverbs, and man is that true. I guess that applies to husbands of noble character as well. Anyway, being a parent is really, really hard. It just is. I guess if we didn't give a hoot about out kids it would be easier, but since we love them and want them to love the Lord and understand who He is and to live lives that honor and please Him, we have our work cut out for us. They aren't born knowing how to behave. We have to teach them. The lie. They scream. They press their little (but powerful) wills against our own to see who will win. They make messes and break things and disappoint us. They eat gross things and get body fluids everywhere. They climb on us and poke us in the eye and spread toothpaste all over the bathroom. They track in grit and beetles and smear yogurt on their Sunday hair. And our two children have a combined age of about 5. What will the next decade bring?

And yet we love them. Just. Because. They. Are. That's the answer I give my 3 year old when he asks my why I love him. Just because you are. And all the messes and breakage and punches to the groin and stabs in the heart change none of that. I learned that from God. Because He so loved us that he gave us his only son and the Great Lie is that somewhere, somehow, someone told us that God doesn't love us and we lived our lives according to that lie. But we, if we do nothing else, will have children who never doubt their parent's love. We have and will make mistakes as parents, but the one mistake will will never make is letting our children think we don't love them. And that's what makes being a parent so hard.

That went longer than expected. I was going to talk about my Quest for the Perfect Biscuit but that will wait for another time.

Hello, Sunday

2009-09-20T16:29:00.002-05:00

Well it is now Sunday afternoon. What a wonderful thing, Sunday afternoons.

We had a busy week being hospitable and enjoying lots of company. We had the Foote family (6 total) stay with us for 2 nights and fed them lots of food. Starting Wednesday at dinner we fed 12, then 14 for breakfast (homemade biscuits and gravy) then 24 for lunch on Thursday. It was a lot of fun. Like a family reunion.

I thought I would get time to blog a little more last week but proved myself wrong. I am quite good at that.

There are probably too many things to type up so I'll have to put things on the back burner and just blog as I have time.

After church today we tried a restraunt down the street for lunch. Q79, with a tip. That's $9.63 for the whole family. Not bad. We'll see if any of us gets sick. That's always the kicker.

We now get an ABC feed (channel 7 out of L.A.) and were happy to see Texas Tech vs. Texas last night. What a hoot. I think the Cowboys play tonight and if we get that, I am going to watch it. Unless the power is off again in which case...I won't.

One of the things I have been thinking about is how important it is to teach people how to think. If anything is an obstacle to work in the church here it is that people have not been taught how to think for themselves. To look at an issue (pick your poison) and distill it down to the actual problem, then evaluate it according to what the Bible teaches and make decisions accordingly.

Most leaders here repeat what someone else taught them without evaluating what was taught, using Scripture as the base for understanding.

I have noticed that people say that the Bible can mean so many different things that it's impossible to be sure what you believe. The Bible means something different to everybody. But that just isn't true. The Scripture is God's revelation to us - not to confuse us - but to teach us who He is and how to live and act and love here on planet earth.

Certainly there are passages that are obscure and very difficult to understand - but the main things are the clear things and the clear things the main things. I confess I grow weary of the Bible being used as a collection of proof texts instead of the living and active Word of God. We are under the Bible's authority, not the other way around. And the body of Christ has spent so much more time arguing the minutiae instead of obeying the obvious that I wonder some days how we are functioning at all.

I'd better get off my soap box before I upset someone. Not that many people read my blog (at least I don't' think they do) but I'll save that last point for a post in itself...I'm off to take a nap.

Country Cousins are go

2009-09-14T07:04:00.003-05:00

This week ought to be fun. We're on a team with 5 other missionary couples who are spread out over a good chunk of Guatemala. We call ourselves the Country Cousins because only one of the couples lives in Guatemala City. Including the kids there are 4 generations spreading from 21 months to 84 years. It's wonderful. But this month they are all coming to our house! We're so pumped. As strange as it seems, we just love having adult Americans stay with us overnight. We love Guatemalans, of course, but it's fun to sit and have conversations in English and play a board game without explaining everything.

We get to plan meals for people with dietary restrictions and think about what people would like to eat that we can make a lot of for not much money...and we're truly enjoying it quite a bit. We need to go to the Market today and buy all our fruits and vegetables because Gladys has tomorrow off for Guatemalan independence day and without her it takes us about 4 times as long to clean and bleach all the produce. She's a machine.

It will be a lot of normal life with all the preparations thrown in. But it's fun. It's practicing hospitality and for us it is simply a joy. I hope everyone else enjoys it as much as we do.

Hopefully I'll have some time to blog about something more substantiative tomorrow.

Never Forget

2009-09-11T07:14:00.002-05:00

To the nearly 200 terrified people who jumped to your death - I remember.

To the 411 firefighters, cops, paramedics and port authorities who perished - I remember.

To the people of flight 11, 175, 77 and 93 - I remember

To the 327 foreign nationals who died on our soil - I remember.

To the 125 who died at the Pentagon - I remember.

To the 19 who murdered them all - I remember.

hoot

2009-09-09T07:31:00.003-05:00

We're on this team called a Transformation Team or T2 for short. Aside from the fact that it reminds me of the best Terminator movie (hands down), I think it's a pretty good name. And a marvelous idea. The actually comes from the phrase, "transformed to transform" and is basically how our mission is being run. A bunch of disciples fulfilling the great commission.

Our team meets once a month and we're called the Country Cousins mainly because we're sort of spread out over Guatemala. One couple from the City, us 4 hours away, another couple 2 hours from us, and 3 couple more or less living near Lake Atitlan (a really cool lake that is behind us in my profile pic). So we most often meet in the middle at the lake.

But this month everyone is headed out to our house. 6 couples. We could not be more pumped. Jenny and I have discovered the delight of hospitality. We both come by it genetically through our most hospitable moms. Learning how to host people and practice hospitality as a couple has been such a delight. We love it. We love feeding people and planning meals and eating and even cleaning up afterwards because we love people and that's part of how you do it. They'll be about 20 of us crammed into our house and we hope it's a hoot. If you don't know what I mean by, "It's a hoot" you have also probably never had really good sweet tea or butter roll and need to visit your Southern friends and let them teach you what it means.

We won't meet for a week. Can't wait.

the art of living

2009-09-05T08:57:00.005-05:00

Normally I get all excited about a Psalm and then blog about it. I still love the Psalms, but there is a well known book right next door that may contain the most well known (if not least applied) verses in the Bible.

It's been said that Psalms is for the heart and Proverbs for the head. All those little verses were designed to stick in our brain. Like "Got Milk?" and "Where's the Beef?" and "Just do it.", we remember them. They are axiomatic, aphoristic. They click with us. We get them. They make sense. When we read one we say, "oh yeah, that's so true."

Like these:

25:20: " Singing light songs to the heavyhearted
is like pouring salt in their wounds."

25:11: " The right word at the right time
is like a custom-made piece of jewelry."

What did you think when you read those? They are so true. They make sense. They are true to life. What's worse than someone being cheery when you are sad? And how precious is it when someone speaks just the right words to you at just the right time? Worth more than gold. They make sense because that's how life is. It doesn't matter that they were written 2,700 years ago.

I have heard the Bible called "God's Instruction Manual". To be honest I find that description pretty awful. It puts the word of God on par with books that tell us how to clean a waffle iron or set the time on our DVD player. But I understand the sentiment. If you want to know how to do life, go to the Bible. The beef I have with the phrase is that the purpose of the Bible is not only to instruct but to transform. God wants us to study His word so that we will be changed, not just instructed. Maybe we can change the phrase to "God's Transformation Manual" but that's just awkward so I'll drop that altogether and get back to what I was talking about.

The thing about Proverbs is that they ought to be savored, mulled over and thought about. They are easy to memorize. You probably have a few memorized even if you don't know chapter and verse. Just about every aspect of life is talked about in the Proverbs from sex to money to marriage to how to be a friend. It is a book about the art of living. And it's one that is best read slowly and thoughtfully and repeatedly. With 31 chapters you can just pick the date and read that chapter.

But the kicker with Proverbs is application. Think what a difference it woudl make it we applied just these few:

^21:23 Watch your words and hold your tongue;
you'll save yourself a lot of grief.

16:18 Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.

Just those two. Wow. If I actually applied those to my life...wow. Want to avoid destruction? Want to avoid causing yourself a lot of grief? Hold your tongue. Don't be prideful. Amazing. True. Simple. Proverbial. There is, literally, a lifetime of instruction in those 31 chapters, all of it meant to change our behavior. All of it meant to help us be people of wisdom. To be people who live life well. To be artists at life and thus reflect our Creator.

So let's see...today is the 5th. Chapter 5 starts off with this, from The Message (fantastic for Proverbs)

Dear friend, pay close attention to this, my wisdom; listen very closely to the way I see it.
Then you'll acquire a taste for good sense; what I tell you will keep you out of trouble.

That sounds like a good start to me.

in passing

2009-09-03T07:33:00.003-05:00

Someone once told me to always remember the phrase, "This too shall pass." It sounds like something my mom would say but I can't remember if it was her or another sage so it shall remain in the general wisdom compartment of my brain.

It sure is a handy phrase.

Today I think I'm basically over whatever it was that made me sick. That makes 5 days of it. The kids are just about better, minus a cough. It passed. I know several of you have been praying for us. Thank you.

Last night when our son awoke at 1 something because he wanted me to adjust his covers? This too shall pass. Not that I wasn't upset, mind you. I was. But that simple little phrase helped me kiss him and tell him not to get up anymore and go back to bed without yelling or getting all rilled up.

I don't have time to write all the things that have passed but next time you're in the foxhole (even if in reality it's more like a pot hole) remember, "This too shall pass". It certainly helps me.

a bit better.

2009-09-01T08:54:00.002-05:00

Thanks for your prayers while I'm sick. The kids are on dr. prescribed meds and are doing better. I'm over-the-countering it and improving slowly. I haven't had a cold/flu like this in a couple of years. It's not much fun.

I am thankful that we live in a time where medicines are available and mostly affordable to treat the symptoms of such an illness. For most of history people just suffered more. Of course, they had treatments of some kind, but not like we do today.

Anyway. I had to cancel going out to a pastor's prayer meeting today. I waited until this morning to see if I could go, but there was just no way. I'm bummed but that's life.

On a bright note - Jenny made home-made Pop Tarts and they are basically one of the best things I have ever eaten. Goodness. And I can't even really taste them. I can't wait to eat one when I'm not sick. Head to her blog to see about how she did it.

bleah

2009-08-31T07:20:00.002-05:00

Wow. I don't know if this is the Flu or what, but we are worn out. Jenny's the only one who hasn't come down with it but given that our daughter woke up every hour last night she may not be that far behind.

I hope medicines can make today somewhat productive. My sinuses a throbbing so much that my teeth hurt. About another 15 min until the Tylenol kicks in.

I have nothing profound to say. Even if I did it would come out rather nasally.

fever and Exodus

2009-08-29T15:00:00.002-05:00

3 of 4 of us are down with some sort of fever. Bleah. My poor wife is having to take care of everyone. Of course she's amazing so the kids could not have better care and I'm able to get better. Maddie's had it for 3 days so hopefully we'll be over it quicker.

We're sitting watching Annie and trying not to feel too awful. Listening to Annie, Daddy Warbucks, FDR and Elenore sing Tomorrow certainly helps.

College Football season begins next week. 1 week until my Red Raiders begin to play again. As unimportant as it really is, I do enjoy that sport a whole heck of a lot. It's just fantastic.

I've been reading through Exodus. It is such an amazing story of God's power and sovereignty. The phrase "That they [or pharaoh or Israel, etc.] may know that I am the LORD" is repeated all over the book. I haven't yet counted how many times it occurs (maybe one of you know) but it is an amazing theme of the book: knowing the LORD.

God had not yet revealed Himself as Yahweh (often rendered LORD) until He revealed Himself to Moses in the burning bush. The name means, I AM WHO I AM or simply I AM. The quintessential title of being. God is the one who always was, who is, and who always will be. Of course, He has always been the LORD, we just did not know it until the burning bush. He has not changed and will not change. When He wants us to know that "He is the LORD" it is an invitation open to every person to know God and to submit to his authority and be transformed through His salvation. It is to be taken from slavery (Egypt) and into freedom (the Promised Land). It is to trust and obey, to walk with Him, even if that means 40 years in the desert for Moses herding sheep, then 40 more years in the desert leading a rebellious people. It is to know the One True God and never be the same. And it is open to everyone who will believe, who will say to God, "Your way is the only way and it is the way I will go".

It's they way I hope will mark my whole life: the way of obedience to the Lord I love. Whom I love only because He first loved me. But who has changed me forever. Even on days when I feel really cruddy and my kids are sick - I know that the God who opened the Red Sea and gave food and water in the desert and clothes that never tore for 40 years is with me. He loves me. He loves you. And will lead you into a life you never imagined. If only we will follow.

the right kind of tolerance

2009-08-26T06:54:00.004-05:00

Well, yesterday I was supposed to drive 3 hours on paved roads to a pastors prayer meeting to teach and then drive back home. I ended up driving 4.5 hours partly on not-even-sort-of-paved roads, crossed 3 rivers (I think the same river 3 times) without a bridge (sorry Justin..I forgot my camera...argh!), and taught. On the way back my pastor friend Rosaniel told me of a shortcut on even worse roads that ended up being blocked by a semi trailer that ended up being an hour longer because we had to drive through a forest on a road not much wider than a sidewalk.

Sometimes things turn out differently than you planned. Even in Australia.

I've heard it called a "Contingency Tolerance" - how well you adjust when things don't go as planned. I know some people with a really high Contingency Tolerance. I am not one of those people. By sort of de-facto training I am growing in this regard. Yesterday is an example. Either run with it or get all freaked out. People often say, "Be careful what you pray for" because if you pray for God to help you become more patient you may have a day where He actually helps you develop that characteristic. I now think that is a silly thing to say. I know it's most often said in jest, but I have heard some folks (even myself to myself at times) seriously tell other people to NOT pray and ask God to help make them more patient/kind/generous/forgiving/gracious/humble/faithful/loving for the somewhat puerile reason that it could lead to them have a bad day.

Heaven forbid we ever do anything difficult, right? Heaven forbid I sacrifice the great god Comfort for a little maturity. To quote a favorite theologian of mine, "Good grief."

I've said before that comfort is overrated. But I think it may be worshiped instead. We gear our lives for comfort. Ease of use. Remote controls. Laptop computers. Drive through. Phones that surf the internet, take pictures, play games and plan your day. We trust technology more than the God of creation. More even than our own brains. The spell-check on Blogger wants me to capitalize internet and yet doesn't even have Blogger in it's lexicon. Spiritually, I wonder how far we are from the fatty floating-lounger people of WALL-e. Just floating to church. Floating to work. Spiritually doing almost nothing and becoming quite fat and lethargic in the process.

Yesterday I was tired. Really tired. I woke up at 4 after the kids had gotten up at 11 and 1:30. Before I got up to teach we had a 15 minute private prayer time where we all knelt on the floor next to benches. I prayed for 5 minutes and then fell asleep. Just like the disciples in the garden. And I'm human. We all are. Which means I'm weak and get sleepy. I snoozed for maybe a minute or two, but woke up refreshed and really excited to teach where before I was not all that excited because I was just...tired. God uses our weakness. Teaching energizes me. I mean really it does. In 3 minutes I went from being asleep with my head bowed on a bench to feeling so alive I wanted to hop around.

I think hard days can be a little like that - energizing. Now, when they are over, we're often beat. But we have learned from it. We've grown. Maybe we've been grown is a better way to say it, but we've been...uncomfortable. And we're better for it. And when our Contingency Tolerance is stretched, we're able to run with things a little better and in our flexibility and maturity find a little more joy. When we get stretched, we find we have a little more breathing room, a little more...space.

At least that's how it is with me.

oh man

2009-08-21T06:58:00.002-05:00

It has been a good week. Started out terribly busy with a 3:30 and 4:30 wakeup two days in a row and too much driving but finally evened out to a pretty normal week.

On Tuesday I met with a group of 20 pastors (and 2 of their wives) for what I thought was a pastors' conference. Turned out to be this little meeting outside which, had I known, I would have brought a better hat. Anyway, we went through a passage in Philippians 2, part of which says this,

"³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves."

Well, we talked about it and challenged each other and then played soccer for 2 hours. It was great.

But I have been haunted this whole week. I mean, go back and read that verse again. In the context of the letter Paul wrote, he's not telling this to some group of baby Christians but an incredible church fellowship whom he loves deeply. If the life of Christ in you matters at all, if being a Christian has made any difference to you whatsoever, then do this thing. Have the attitude that Christ had when he became a baby and remained obedient to the point of death by crucifixion.

Have humility in regard to other people! Look at them and tell them, "You are better than me." "You are more important than I am." "I am less important than you and I will demonstrate that by how I treat you."

It's mind blowing!

How much more contrary to my own nature can I be asked to think? Good gracious I do not do this well. I want to be right or smarter or holier or more clever or funnier or better looking or richer or nicer or more talented than everyone else. Not LESS then they! I want to be BETTER then them.

Oh, my soul.

What did my example do? He washed the feet of dock workers and IRS agents. He touched people with AIDS and ate dinner near hookers. He told the great preachers and pastors of his day that they didn't get it at all - they had it all wrong. He, the only person who did not deserve to serve us, served us and died for the people who hated him saying, "Father, forgive them, they know not what they do."

In the mystery of the Incarnation, God got tired and hungry and thirsty and died so that we could be saved. I won't even get uncomfortable. I don't understand the God-man, my Jesus, and what all happened for him to be "found in human likeness". But I know what he did. I know what his attitude was. It was that of a servant. He looked to the broken and the stinky and the dirty and the self-righteous and said, "I consider you as more important than myself" and he gave his life so that we could all be saved.

If I applied even 2% of that, my entire life would be revolutionized and the lives of all the people around me as well. If I took one person, every day, and said, "You are more important than me and I am going to treat you like it" I can't even imagine what a difference that would make. Change my attitude to change my actions. Wow. I am challenged.

So, anyway, that's been stuck in my brain all week and I am constantly reminded by that verse, evaluating what I just did in light of that verse, and thinking about what I need to do differently. I'm so thankful the Lord is patient with me. If he were like me, I would have no hope at all.

My, it's early

2009-08-17T04:49:00.002-05:00

It's 3:49 in the a.m. and the coffee is juuuust about ready. I have a 9:00 am appointment to sign a paper for us to get our permanent residencies here. The only problem is it's in Guatemala City. So I'll drive 4 hours, sign the papers, give the lawyer some passport type photos, purchase some laundry detergent, and drive back home in time for dinner. I have 6 hours of sermons so, that ought to help pass the drive. You're on the menu, Brent.

Tomorrow I get to preach over Phil 2:1-11 and I'm, as always, scared and excited. But I trust the Lord will be gracious and get His message across. Hopefully I won't get in the way.

Coffee's done. Time to caffeinate.

The low road

2009-08-14T15:33:00.003-05:00

Ugh. I lost almost my whole morning cleaning out a drain box in our yard of 30 lbs of fat and food that had backed up the out drain for the house.

I was preparing for a sermon on Philippians 2:1-11 so, maybe it was an object lesson.

Some days life stinks. Literally. And today stunk really, really bad. I washed with all manner of cleaners getting the stink off my arms. Thankfully I have the afternoon to prep!

The High Road

2009-08-13T16:51:00.003-05:00

I drive around often in this county where I serve and see so many things that have become standard, normal, ordinary. One of the things that always amazes me is how beautiful this country is. I took this video yesterday while driving to meet with some pastors. They call this stretch of road "Alaska" because it is the highest point on the fabled Pan American Highway at nearly 12,000 feet. It's normally cloudy and very windy, but not yesterday. The video starts with me looking almost due West - Mexico is in the distance. The volcanoes you see are actually all in a line from east to west and come up from the Pacific coast. Were it clearer, you could see the Pacific. The factory is making gravel and concrete. They take landslide rock and pound it into gravel for asphalt and concrete to make the roads. The volcano I point out as erupting is right near Antigua, Guatemala - a well known tourist spot. The other set form the rim around the crater lake Atitlan. For a flatlander like me, I can't get enough of these views. Mostly the Guatemalans just walk right by and don't think much of the vistas provided. I could have stayed there all day, but was trying to get to a meeting for which every white guy was early and every Guatemalan an hour late. Maybe I should have stayed and enjoyed the view a little longer.

talkin' politics

2009-08-13T07:14:00.002-05:00

Yesterday we had another Non-Formal education meeting with about 7 pastors. We had hoped for more and are changing some things around to better fit their schedules, but you teach who shows up! We talked about the Christian, or more specifically, pastors in politics. It was a fantastic discussion and just a ton of fun. I can't believe this is my job.

With more than a dozen political parties, political ties can split a church. Don't get me wrong, we have our problems in the US with the Republican = Christian myth and pastors letting candidates stump from the pulpit on Sundays and other things but it is, like most things, worse here. Some of these pastors have elders with opposing political affiliations who hate each other. Brother's in Christ hating each other over politics.

We broke down and discussed civic vs. political duties because many churches just ignore things like municipal codes or getting the right governmental forms because they view themselves as separate from the world. We talked about the privilege of voting but also the higher calling of ministry over politics. The pastors agreed that it's just not a good idea for a pastor to become politically affiliated because then he can't deal with all the divisions in his church because the opposing party folks won't listen to him.

But then the pastors asked what do they do, practically, if two guys running for mayor both go to their church. Who do they support? How do they pray for them? Basically, they said they pray that the Lord's will be done and that the candidate would be honest and mature in their faith and serve the people with Christ as their example. An amazing thought in a country totally inundated at every governmental level by corruption. It's horrible. And most "Christian" candidates are just as bad as the rest.

It would be wonderful for mature, faithful believers to reach high political office here and really bring some light into the corruption. But it would be costly. Like Daniel, they would have to be above reproach, something that is achieved over a lifetime. It was just a fantastic discussion of real life, in the trenches ministry. May the Lord bear fruit from it.

A challenging read

2009-08-10T17:03:00.004-05:00

I finished The Heavenly Man yesterday. It's a book about a Chinese brother named Yun and his life and ministry in China. It's his story. Actually, it's the Lord's story through Yun, but it's an amazing story either way.

I won't give too much away, but the book is like reading Acts. Amazing. He was tortured, imprisoned, and made a fugitive because he preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, but he loves his Lord and never denied Him, never once! I recommend that everyone who calls themselves a Christian read the book. I mean that.

I wanted to post some of his observations and comments on the Western church (Europe and the US) that he observed after his escape from China. It's only a few pages of a 300 page book, but his words truly struck me.

When I'm in the West I see all the mighty church buildings and all the expensive equipment, plush carpets and state-of-the art sound systems. I can assure the Western church with absolute certainty that you don't need any more church buildings. Church buildings will never bring the revival you seek. The pursuit of more possessions will never bring the revival you seek.

The first thing needed for revival to return to your churches is the Word of the Lord. God's word is missing...Not only is God's Word missing, but obedience to that Word. There's not much action taking place.

When revival came to believers in China, the result was thousands of evangelists being sent out to all corners of the nation, carrying fire from the altar of God with them. When God moves in the West, it seems you want to stop and enjoy his presence and blessings too long, and build an altar to your experiences.

You can never really know the Scriptures until you're willing to be changed by them.

I've seen people in Western churches worshiping as if they're already in heaven. Then someone invariably brings a comforting message like, "My children, I love you. Don't be afraid, I'm with you." I'm not opposed to such words, but why is it that nobody seems to hear a word from the Lord like, "My child, I want to send you to the slums of Asia or the darkness of Africa to be my messenger to people dying in their sin."

Yeowch. And that's not all. But that's enough to think on.

What do you think? Does that challenge you? It challenges the heck out of me. So much as to ask, "What are we even doing?" That's a good, and really scary question for me.

a call for help

2009-08-08T07:40:00.003-05:00

Man, has it been good to get back to normal. By normal I mean that I have my wife and children in the house with me while life and work happen. By normal I mean sleep deprived life with 2 toddlers, poopy diapers, screaming meltdowns, "Watch me" "Hold me" "Mommy!". By normal I mean cat puke and bills and dirty dishes. And I love it.

So, I was reading Psalm 35 yesterday. If you're wanting to start reading the Bible - or if you're not wanting to and feel like you ought to or need to or should - just read 1 Psalm a day and ask the Lord to help you get hungry for His word. Just 1 Psalm a day.

I've talked before about our need for a hero. Someone to save us. To comfort us. Someone greater than us. I mean, heck, I sure need one. I need someone greater than me not only to answer the question of eternity but to help me now. Today. Wherever I am. I'm a broken man in a broken world. Surely there is someone who can help when things fall apart. Someone to rescue me.

Here's how Psalm 35 starts:

¹Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; Fight against those who fight against me. ²Take hold of buckler and shield And rise up for my help. ³Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me; Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."

A buckler is a small shield that a warrior held in their non-sword hand to fend off blows from an attacker. Looks like this:

Listen to David's language here. A warrior uses a buckler to deflect blows in order to strike against an enemy. But not just that. He wants the Lord to take the spear and the battle-axe and go after those who are attacking him.

Imagine yourself back in the age when people fought with swords and axes and shields. And imagine a bunch of really bad guys are coming after you. They have swords and armor and spears and axes and you, you've got nothing. And you call out for a defender, a champion, a warrior to protect you. Imagine between you and the onslaught stands the LORD. And instead of you fighting your enemies, instead of you being overwhelmed and beaten down and defeated and crushed beneath the weight of their malice and destruction God stands in your place and fights for you. He takes the blows and fights the fight in your place. And in the very heat of battle the LORD bends and whispers in your ear, "I am your salvation."

I don't know what you battle. I doubt it is hordes of evil warriors. But maybe it's a layoff or financial problems or an addiction or a divorce or abuse or whatever sins continue to entangle you as you walk with the Lord. Whatever it is, the Lord has not left you. He does not want you to be overwhelmed. He does not want you defeated. He wants you dependent. He wants you to trust Him to be enough to listen to Him whisper, "I am your salvation" and to let Him fight for you, for us, what would otherwise simply overwhelm us.

While we can get out there and fight on our own...it sure seems silly given who has offered to defend us. I often think I can fight my weaknesses better on my own. If I try hard enough or work more or study harder or act better I can fix myself. The apostle Paul said that he will boast in his weakness that the power of Christ might rest with him. He'll be ok with being weak, knowing that God is so very much greater than he is that to get in front of Him while He is defending you is maybe the silliest thing we can do.

that was longer than expected

2009-08-05T06:59:00.002-05:00

Hello.

My name is Brandon.

I live in Guatemala.

Wow. What was planned as a 7-10 day trip for Jenny and the kids turned into a nearly 5 week not 7 day trip. 2 weeks ago today I saw them for the first time in 3 weeks. I smooched Jenny at the airport so much we got stares and giggles. Then I stared at her all goofy faced until we got to her mom's house. I cried when I held my babies and then we finished packing her mom's house and moved the next day. Mostly my trip was packing, moving, and unpacking, but it was with my family which was the point.

We were again delayed trying to come home. I missed a meeting here in Guatemala on the 31st because we could not get an open flight. There was one that opened up but we were not packed and missed it. Anyway, we finally got 3 seats on a plane because 3 people's connecting flights were late and they missed the Guatemala connection. Thanks people I will never know! Your incredible frustration enabled us to get home.

We flew in Sunday night, drove home and arrived around 4:30 on Monday afternoon, furiously unpacked and then left at 7:30 to drive two hours to our Team meeting. We got home around 5:30 last night and were all asleep by 9:30.

It's 45 outside this morning and only 62 in the house. After being in Texas for 2 weeks in July and August I'm freezing and loving it. Not being able to touch your family and smell their hair and hear their laughter means that something is wrong and needs to be corrected. You husbands out there know that we need our wives far more than we could ever imagine. We don't work right when they're not near.

Both Jenny and I are so very happy to be here. It's our home. But we miss our families terribly. Many folks want to get away from their families - the further the better. We are not those folks.

Ok. Off to start today.

In case no one has told you, the Lord is good and does good and above all things can be trusted to do what is best for us. Just thought I'd remind.

just 2 days, 2 hours and 13 minutes.

2009-07-20T08:29:00.002-05:00

Today I begin the 2-day journey to see my wife and babies. As an enormous bonus I will get to see my mom (first time since October) and brother and sister-in-law and two of my closest friends en route. I'll drive 150 miles in 3 1/2 hours through the beautiful mountains of Guatemala, try not to get killed by a chicken bus, spend the night with missionary friends and enjoy their wonderful hospitality, wake up at 3:45 am on Tuesday and have lunch in Dallas with my friends. I'll get to hug my mom and brother and his wonderful wife. I'll only get 24 hours with them, but I certainly will enjoy it. Then on Wednesday I will fly 300 miles in 40 minutes to see my love and heart and life, Jenny. I will wake our son up from his nap that day and I will hold him and laugh and kiss his face until he wants down to run. I will get to hear my daughter say "daddy" and nuzzle her tummy while I changer her diaper - a task I am looking forward to.

I'm not sure when I will blog again...maybe next weekend.

This was not a planned trip. Well, not planned in advance. A little spontaneity is good for the soul.

how little I know

2009-07-19T13:13:00.002-05:00

Things I know:

Jesus loves me (the Bible tells me so)
Jenny loves me (I have not yet figured out why)
My children love me (just because they do)
My family loves me (or they would have killed me when I was 11)
Other people love me (they tell me and show me)
I love all of the above.
God is good and does good (see above about Jesus)
The Bible is the word of God and enough for me (just read it to find out why)
Steak is best cooked over mesquite (you can argue if you like but you would be wrong) ;-)

Things I don't know:

Most everything else.

I had someone tell me that I think I know everything. It was on a blog so, don't worry, I'm not hurt. I thought I was answering a question but apparently I did a poor job of creating understanding between us - not surprising given that blog comment is second only to throwing rocks at each other as a means of communication. I just wanted to clarify out there on the internet that as many things as there are to know out there, I know very little.

To be honest, how much I know is not all that important to me. People in general really know very little when you consider how much there is to know. Paul said that knowledge puffs us up. He would know. He knew a heck of a lot more than I ever will. And he was right. Still is right. I get caught up in knowing, some days. I think if I know more of the Bible or more history or art or education techniques that I'll be better, do better.

It's silly, I know, to think that. But I am, often, silly in thought and action.

A dear friend once told me that I'm not the smartest or the best Bible scholar or the most pedigreed. I'm not the best preacher or teacher or planner. He told me that my secret weapon is my love for the Lord. And that is what would make me stand out. I'm still trying to figure out just what he meant, but maybe figuring it out is not what is important. Maybe knowing I love the Lord, however imperfectly, is what is important. Maybe actually loving him is far more important than knowing things about him. Maybe being in love with God is more important than being able to explain something about him. Maybe I have no idea what I'm talking about.

I'll take those things I do know and hold onto them. Some of them may pass away and I won't know those things for certain anymore. But some of them will not pass away. God does not lie. He does not trick us or play shell games with us. He is the potter. And today I am so very thankful to be the clay. Clay doesn't know very much. But it is made and molded and held in the very good, the perfectly wonderful and powerful and loving hands of the potter. And today, that is enough for me.

I ought to blog more often

2009-07-18T09:10:00.002-05:00

Goodness I have a lot on my mind.

First, however, is that I get to come to Texas for a few days so I can finally see my family. I will see them on Wednesday, July 22nd at 3:45 or so in the p.m. after 20 whole days. I have decided that is too long to not see my wife and children. Did I mention 20 days already? You will not hear me complain about the heat. I have been wrestling with depression/sadness or maybe just missing those-who-have-my-heart really bad since they left, but having a definite time and date when I will see them really helped lift that fog.

For a little controversy...I'll go ahead and say it: The U.S. is not a Christian nation. We never were a Christian nation. God has not promised us anything because we are the United States of America. Half of our founding father's were not believers. We are a nation founded on basically Biblical morals and ethics and we have strayed from much of that, but to call us back to our "Christian roots" is just ignorant. I'm not sure what the hang-up is with this but it's a big world out there and the US is only 233 years old. It's the best dang place in the world and the best republic in history and I love it. I really do. But what will make a difference in our nation is Christians living like Christ. Vote. Run for office. Walk humbly with your God. That's how things get done.

I was watching this special on National Geographic (the best magazine ever) about the Hubble Telescope and all that it has done. You all have seen the deep field and ultra deep field images like this one:

Source: Hubblesite.org

They basically took the telescope and pointed it at the darkest part of the sky and left the shutter open for 28 days. And this is what they saw. Look at that! We thought there was noting and what do we get? Millions of galaxies. Not just stars, but galaxies. I love astronomer language because they use creation words like 'formed' and "mysterious forces". They look at this, and rightly, they wonder. Then they try to figure out how all this occurred randomly from an infinitely small, infinitely dense point of matter. Never mind that you cannot have something infinitely dense or small. Infinite truly applies only to God. It means to have no measure, endless, limitless. But when you expect to see nothing and encounter the awesome creative power of God, you use what words you can.

Also, after some thinking, I have again come to the conclusion that there is no substitute for personal Bible study/prayer time and involvement in the community of believers. There's just not. You can augment with other things like sermons and devotional books or worship CD's or tunes on your iPod (all really good things) but if you're not reading your Bible and spending time worshiping with and serving, and ministering alongside other believers, good luck growing. I say this from the field of experience, not the pulpit of piety.

Learning another language is hard. Learning Spanish is easy. Learning to speak it with precision and eloquence is incredibly difficult. I have this scale from 1-5 that I got in pre-field training on how to learn a language. 1 is basically tourist level: order food, read a few signs, keep your dictionary close. 5 is speaking like a native, writing poetry in that language, etc. After more or less 2 years here, I'd say I'm at about a 2.5, maybe a 3 on a good day. I may never get to a 5, but I'm going to shoot for it. And that requires work. A lot of hard work. It just never ends, the need to work, does it? And among the pastors I work with, 6 Mayan languages are spoken that I know of. I was at a meeting Wednesday with 6 men (me included) and among those 6, we spoke 5 languages. Amazing! Thankfully we all speak Spanish.

Ok. Sometime today I have to make a snack for our Sunday School for tomorrow. Snacks for 20 Guatemalans. Any ideas?

I'll end my ramble here.

Just so you'll hate me

2009-07-13T14:31:00.002-05:00

Yes, I live in a 3rd world country.

Yes, I get sick a lot.

However...
Current temperature in Flower Mound, TX: 103.7 F
That's not an FM Station, folks.

Current temperature at my house in Xela: 64.6 F

If the sun comes out it might warm up to 70, maybe 75. If it hits 80, watch out.
It was 53 when I got up this morning.

Just thought I'd remind you folks its only the middle July. Only two more months of this.

It was fun

2009-07-13T13:07:00.002-05:00

I had a wonderful time with the Ekstroms. It was fun just to spend time with them. I got a few hours of video so I have an outline of their time here. Now we need to fill in 50 years of stories. Amazing. God is good. No matter our experience or our stories, God is good and He does good. I don't think enough people really believe that. They don't believe it because the don't know Him. As for why they don't know Him, I admit to being at a loss.

I was able to spend a lot of time just talking with David about the Bible. He has most of it memorized. As a Bible translator, that's what he did - go over the Bible day after day after day. He doesn't have it word for word, but he knows the structure of every single book. The outline, the theme, the subject of each chapter. We talked for hours just about Revelation and Daniel and how few people ever take the structure of the book into account. It was fascinating and wonderful.

Friday night I was horribly sick. I'll spare you the details, but spent Saturday laid out on the couch. I actually laid on the couch for an entire day. Ate some crackers and took fluids. I don't recall the last time I did that. It was a strange experience. Sunday I was also recovering but the power was out so I sat and read all kinds of books until it got dark. It was a good day.

My wife and children are in Lubbock and are trying to return Stand-by and can't get back until Sunday at the earliest. I'm at day 10 and have sort of resigned to things. While I have a lot to do, you just can't work every second of the day. And the downtimes fill with loneliness like sea water into a breached hull. My beloved and my babies took my heart with them and I am simply incomplete without them. You can argue with me theologically if you want that I am complete in Christ and other things, and you would be right; but on this earth the only people I really, really, really need are those three. I can manage with them around and without them I am, to a great degree, lost. I have experienced to the smallest degree a bit of the loneliness a divorced man must feel and I cannot imagine bearing the full weight of such sorrow. Only the Lord would get me through. As He is now.

So, I'll begin to transcribe things and start an outline. I have no idea what I'm doing writing a biography - I'm just doing what's in front of me. May it honor the Lord.

OH! One huge piece of great news: I can now get my minivan serviced in Xela. Sounds silly? Well...it's NOT. It's fully awesome. I can now drive 3 miles instead of 300 to get my oil changed. It's nice.

I have a lot of things I would like to blog about that have popped up from books I am reading. One about WWII...the world needs non-passive leaders. If Neville Chamberlain taught us anything, it's not to appease evil men. They must be removed. I'm also reading a book called The Trivialization of God: The Dangerous Illusion of a Manageable Deity. My, it has some great quotes.

I'll probably be blogging more than normal until my heart returns in the form of my beautiful bride, a loquacious 3 1/2 year old and an 18 month old doll-faced dynamo. Gotta plug the holes with something.

Should be fun

2009-07-09T07:53:00.002-05:00

I've talked about David and Helen Ekstrom before and today I'm going to visit them. They live 2 hours from here in a town called Huehuetenango. They have been in Guatemala for a very, very long time and everybody tells them that someone ought to write their story down. So I'm going to start doing that today. Please pray for my safety on the road and for a sweet time of fellowship and encouragement with David and Helen.

I should be sleeping

2009-07-07T04:08:00.002-05:00

I say that because it's currently....3:09am. And normally I would be sleeping. I was sleeping. Very happily, I might add. Until I heard my neighbor screaming.

Anyone who has stayed with us knows that across the street lives two kids. Older high school aged kids. They can drive. It's sort of weird to have two teenagers living in a huge house all by themselves and I'm still not sure why they do but, hey, they do. And when one of them comes home, particularly the kid with the blue hatchback, his music is really loud until he pulls into the garage and sometimes he wakes our daughter up from a nap and it's one of those annoying things served up to us occasionally because we have neighbors.

He was the one who woke me. It's weird how you wake up sometimes, incorporating reality into a dream. Well, I wasn't dreaming and he kept screaming at someone so I stopped hoping he would stop yelling so loudly so I could return to my cozy slumber and I got up to peek out the window. I thought maybe he was just playing.

But when I looked out my bedroom window across the street and saw his car on fire in the garage I knew he wasn't just being youthful.

So I got dressed and got the fire extinguisher from the kitchen and wished I had woken up a little sooner and I ran outside. They had taken the hose from in front of my house but in their haste broke the screw-on end off and had no way to get water to the fire. I had a small home-sized extinguisher. Now, the car was parked hood first in a garage and very much on fire the I'm not about to put myself between a burning car and the corner of a concrete box so I sneaked up as close as I could (about even with the driver door) and began to put out the fire, thinking, "These crazy kids...they need an adult around."

It's amazing how quickly a fire can get too big to handle with extinguishers and garden hoses.

It's also shocking how little white stuff is actually inside those red extinguishers. In the movies it seems like more. You're supposed to be 6 feet from the fire and I think if I would have been in front of the car and could have hit the bulk of the flames, maybe I could have gotten it, but that wasn't an option. And about 4 seconds later, I was running to get the hose from the back yard (you'll remember the kids popped the nozzle off mine) and hook it up to their house. Well, the kid-who-owns-the-blue-hatchback tried spraying the car while I stood at a safe distance. I didn't really want to get blown up. I didn't. But the car kept burning. There were other neighbors out then and someone had called the fire department. But those guys were either really far away or asleep or I don't' know, but it took them a long time to get here while we all just stood back and watched the car burn and pop. There were a few small explosions but the tank never blew.

It was then that I was thankful they don't build houses here out of wood. Had it been a wood frame house, the whole thing would have burned down and most of the neighbors before the brave firemen arrived. I asked the kid how it started and he said he was in the house and smelled smoke and his car lights were on fire. I have no idea what happened, but however it started, it was cooking pretty good.

Well, I thought it best to move my car to a safer distance, so I pull the minivan out and parked it and as I'm walking back the firetruck pulls in. Those guys just hop off the truck and run in hosing things down. Much braver and better equipped and trained than I, it took them 5 full minutes to get the flames out and I felt a little better about my lack of extinguisher skills. They brought this really cool gas powered fan to blow out the smoke so they could finish up all the hot spots and I began to gather my hoses and bring them back home.

I haven't seen the car yet, but it burned like a yule log for about 15 minutes so I'm sure it's completely ruined. But I realized how little I know my neighbors and how nice it is to have other people around when things are on fire. I also realized a little more how much of a foreigner I am and how much I will always feel that way no matter how long I live here because I simply will never be a native Guatemalan. Sure I speak Spanish, but it's different. I'm not from here. They know it and I know it. But when your car is on fire none of that really matters. It's only afterward when things have calmed down a bit and everyone but you is standing and chatting in little groups that you realize you still don't quite belong.

I'm going to get another couple fire extinguishers soon. I might just buy a big one. I'm getting one for each car as well. You may want to invest in something similar.

Well, it's close to 4:00 and I have to get up in two hours. I just couldn't get back to sleep but I'll go try again. I get to preach again later this morning to some pastors and I'm still pretty nervous. We're going over Romans 12:1-2. I can't think how a car fire applies, but at least I'll have a good story.

Happy Independence Day

2009-07-04T09:06:00.002-05:00

Here it Guatemala its just another day. But not for me. I am very thankful I was born in the time and place in which I was born. It is a great thing to be a citizen of the US and I am proud to say that I am. In case you have never read it, here is the Declaration of Independence. You've at least got to read the first two paragraphs. The men who drafted and signed it were declaring independence from the greatest military force on the earth and it was not taken lightly. It led to a war in which many suffered. What a document.

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock

New Hampshire:
Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts:
John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island:
Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut:
Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York:
William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey:
Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania:
Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware:
Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland:
Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia:
George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina:
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina:
Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia:
Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Mapas

2009-06-27T09:03:00.003-05:00

I love this map. And it is a map. Doesn't it give you comfort, knowing that if you were lost at Cuatro Caminos Guatemala, this map has been given by the government of Guatemala to help you find your way?

See, for me, the map makes plenty of sense. I live here. See that little arrow? That means, "You are here". See, like everyone always says, you can't know where to go unless you know where you are.

But that's not actually enough, is it?

You have to know a lot more than just where you are. You have to know where you want to go. And you have to know how to read. And for this sign, you have to know how to read in Spanish.

Or...

You have to know someone who knows all those things.

Some of you may think that I know all these things. That because I am a missionary I look at all the maps and know where I am and where I need to go and how to get there. That I have things figured out. You would be wrong.

Some days I look back and wonder how I got here. And I look at where I am and wonder what I'm doing. And I look to the future and I am afraid. And on days like that, I either turn to the Lord or I freak out. Not much middle ground for me.

Yesterday was one of those days. And the Lord showed me these things:

Psalm 32:
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly pray to you
while you may be found;
surely when the mighty waters rise,
they will not reach him.

⁷ You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah

And then the Lord responds with this:

⁸ I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you.

Proverbs 16:

¹The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.
²All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the LORD weighs the motives.
³Commit your works to the LORD
And your plans will be established.

This is not a joke. The very day I was looking to the desires of my heart and asking the Lord, "What is going on? Am I insane?" He leads me to these verses in the Bible.

"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you and watch over you."

Yesterday I was looking at the map and I was just lost. I could see the arrow but I didn't know what all the squiggles were. And I felt afraid. I needed someone to show me the way. And I still don't know the way. But that doesn't really matter. Because I know the person who knows the way. And I tell you what, that's enough for me. Because He tells me He will teach me in the way I should go and that He will counsel me and watch over me.

My job is not to figure out the way. It's just to trust the person who knows the way and enjoy the ride with Him. I know some of you are thinking this is overly simplistic. But on a day like yesterday, I'll take simple and true an helpful over academic and complicated and confusing. Call me simple. Call me whatever. I'm a follower and I'm not ashamed to admit it. I follow Jesus. And He can read that map.

blog

2009-06-24T18:16:00.003-05:00

I was going to say that I've been too busy to blog, but that's not entirely true. BabyM and I had a case of the Guatemalan Tummy Tussles. Imagine millions of microscopic Mexican wrestlers in your intestines and that's pretty close. That took it's toll over the weekend. We have had computer issues that I am slow to resolve given my general ineptitude at computer related crises. Both the masked microbials and the microprocessor woes are jsut about over. And that's a lot of m's.

Some Guatemalan friend of ours, the Lopez family, came to Xela yesterday. They live 5 hours from us in a town called Jacaltenango, where they moved a few months ago. They ended up staying the night and we were able to share a few meals with them before they headed home. Life is hard for them there. It just remote and their kids were roughed up in school. Nellie, the wife, had a good chance to talk and cry with Jenny last night. Rene, the husband, told us that they, for the first time, looked at us as having given something up to come to Guatemala. We live in a nice house here and don't have a horribly difficult life. But we do not live in the US, our home. He said he can see that we really sacrificed to move here and leave our country and our people and our family.

I don't feel like we suffer here. but it was so cool to have a Guatemalan share the sense of...foreignness..with us. We are extranjeros, strangers, foreigners here. And he, for the first time with a Guatemalan, got it. It was really neat.

Kelly, the gal staying with us, has experienced more frustration than we ever have in getting a project going. It's taken close to 2 weeks for our church to get in motion just to let her paint in the nursery. Incredible. Two weeks for paint. It's a different culture.

Oh, by the way, Jenny is pregnant! 10 weeks along this week. :-) She is utterly exhausted. Being pregnant is hard. Being pregnant with a 3 1/2 year old and a 17 month old is...really hard. Please pray for her. Thankfully, the 1st trimester is drawing to a close. But it ain't over yet! I love her far more than my own life and its rough to see her be so worn out.

Ok. I'm making mashed potatoes. They are ready for me to bring the mashin'

Mothers constantly amaze me

2009-06-18T09:21:00.003-05:00

I am married to, in my opinion, histories most amazing woman. I know other's will say it's their wife, and they should. Her role as a mom has only increased my love for her and respect for her in how capable she is.

I read this story and thought, "That's what Jenny would have done." Here's to moms and the Momma Bear in each of you:

A Canadian mother has fought off a cougar with her bare hands after it pinned down her 3-year-old daughter in a forest.

The child, Maya, escaped with only superficial wounds after the attack near the town of Brackendale, 40 miles north of Vancouver.

But the cougar, an adult male, was tracked down and killed by conservation officers on Wednesday, reports said.

The girl's father Pablo Espinosa told public broadcaster CBC that his daughter thought the wild cat wanted to play.

Maya asked: "Why didn't the kitty play nice?" Espinosa said.

The girl and her mother Maureen Lee were walking on a wooded trail with their dog when the cougar pounced.

"All of a sudden it just flew on her, rolled her a couple of times and grabbed her," Lee told CBC.

"She was on her back and (the cougar) had his paws on her head, and I just knew I had to react quick.

"So I just jumped in there and wedged myself between the cougar and her on the ground."

Then "I just got up and threw it off my back and grabbed" Maya and ran, she went on.

She fought off a COUGAR. Incredible.

Here's the link for those who want it

Today is Tuesday

2009-06-16T07:20:00.002-05:00

Just in case anyone was wondering.

I'm in the process of meeting the area pastors. To do that, I attend these prayer meetings put on my the Pastoral Care Ministry of the Consejo Altiplano. For those of you living in Plano, the name of your town means, "Plain or flat". Just thought I'd take Plano down a notch because I'm from a town named after a 50 ft hill which used to be covered in flowers until Tom Thumb killed them all. Anyway...I digress.

I'm supposed to meet some pastors and either drive with them of they ride with me out to the church. Two different guys said they would call me before today but saying you will do something and actually doing it are not as important here as I am used to. Sometimes folks run out of minutes on their cell phones and can't call. Who knows.

Flexibility is handy no matter where you live. But living in Latin America tends to require more than I am used to. Jenny and Kelley went to take BabyM to the doctor at 5:30 yesterday. They were there for 2 hours just...because. We had a team meeting last Monday but could not attend because people who were supposed to get paid for planting trees to prevent deforestation had not been paid by the government and decided to block all the highways throughout the country to make their point. Which they did. And in the process hurt all the people who did nothing wrong and also choke the economy and generally frustrate everyone but the government. Can you imagine, DFW folks, if people got mad and piled stuff 35 north of Denton, at 635 and 35, I30 and I35 and name your major intersection so that no one could go to work and everyone just sat there for hours on end until they just decided to open the road?

Well, it's frustrating. But it's life so, you go nuts or you roll with it.

At least it's less than a week

2009-06-12T08:40:00.002-05:00

It's funny how much I am a creature of habit. Take a routine away and I'm slow to recover. For someone as naturally un-organized as me, it can be annoying.

So, you folks in Flower Mound and Lewisville (In Texas) took a pretty good beating. Amazing. I'm glad no one (at least to my knowledge) was hurt. But there were lots of lights and signs and trees blown down. My brother Ian had to clean up all over. He has some great picks on his blog Fully Known and Fully Loved

But he had an even better quote:

"While I was chopping and sawing this morning, I did reflect on the fact that the two trees that were uprooted were lost because they didn't have deep roots. There's an analogy there, people, so whatever your roots are, make sure they're strong enough to keep you from blowing away when the real storms come, and make sure they're deep enough to get ripped out from under you. "

He's in really good company saying that. Jesus used a different analogy, but the same idea:

^{Matt 7:24}"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

My roots are not just reading the Bible. The Lord tells me to "put them into practice". I actually need to do what He says. And that's just part of it. I'm not in this thing alone. I heard a sermon the other day reminding me that my faith/walk with Christ is personal, but it is not private. I am a part of a body and bodies are not private to themselves. My fingers touch my toes or scratch my back or slap a mosquito. I need some one to help me in this life. I am a work in progress. I need brothers and sisters to point out things I cannot (or do not want) to see.

Often trees are planted wrong. They then need ropes to keep them from falling over. But if you leave the ropes on for too long the tree does not send out deep roots to steady it in the soil. Sometimes the soil is bad or weak and the tree must send roots very, very deep to get a good hold. But even lone trees with deep roots are more vulnerable. Trees in a forest have their roots intertwined and brace one another when the storms blow in.

I'm often isolated here, but I am thankful for our church here and my transformation team with CAM. I need my fellow trees. And I need personal time with the Lord, talking to Him, studying His word so I will know what to do, letting Him point out where I am wrong and need to change and them submitting to and depending upon Him to change me, transform me. But just as vital, I need to share that process with others. With by fellow trees. We weather the storms a heck of a lot better together.

And a week later again

2009-06-06T09:02:00.002-05:00

Well, since I last blogged, I have
- driven almost 1000 miles
- picked up Jerry and Kelley
- attended a prayer meeting in a place called San Cristobal at the foot of the peak of the volcano" (so the view would have been amazing had it not resided in a cloud
- had lots of fun using the 4x4 on the rainy mountain roads
- Purchased 300 tiny Mayan dolls for Jerry at half the asking price
- Driven Jerry all over Xela running errands
- Been turned back at a roadblock.
- That happened twice
- Driven to Xocomil (a water park)
- Finally managed to get Jerry to Danny (Thanks for being so flexible, Jerry - you rock)
- not slept enough

Well, that's some of it anyway. I haven't had much time to blog. Maybe...Tuesday. Or maybe Sunday. I shall see. If it comes to blogging or napping....well, I bet you can guess which one I'll choose.

thoughts and whatnot

2009-05-30T09:02:00.003-05:00

Boy, I've really fallen behind on blogging. Of course, its not my job to blog, but I know I ought to post more than once a week.

Random thoughts coming:

There's been mucho consternation on various blogs this week regarding things at my beloved home church. Please pray for the leaders. The weakest point of the church is that it is managed by humans and we have a tendency to make a mess of things. On the whole, we're lousy stewards. But God is really good at using lousy. But that's a really big issue so, I'll leave it at that.

I spent most of my childhood watching the Texas Rangers not win, especially in the post season. This season they look pretty good, but they've done that before. And then comes the All-Star break and they slip below .500 and there it goes again. We shall see. Call me after the break.

The weather here has been amazing. Sunny all day with highs in the mid 70's. We got a ton of rain Tuesday and none since. It'll come back, but I'm enjoying the sun. Good time to dry our the sand.

That reminds me...anyone here have a good solution for wet sand in a sand box? I didn't get the lid on right and it got wet and now smells like Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride, not the movie. Anyway, I pulled half into the lid and stirred it yesterday in the sun and hopefully that will help.

Monday I drive to the City to get Kelley (an intern staying with us) and Jerry (a missionary moving here - hey Jerry!) and I'm really pumped about it. Kelley will be with us for 5 weeks or so, just living with us and experiencing life in another culture. Jerry and his family are trying to decide where the Lord is leading them and is visiting to take a look at things. Both are fantastic people and I look forward to the drive and time with them. Tuesday we're going to a prayer meeting that gives us a good excuse to use the 4x4. I can't wait.

I have been thinking a lot about what other people believe and how those things do not line up with what I believe and then thinking, of course, how I am so sure that what I believe is the truth. It forces me to evaluate why I believe what I believe and to decide what things are worth fighting for and for what things I give wiggle room.

The list of things I'd die for is not really all that long, honestly. I'm not going to die to defend the rapture. I believe it's true, but it's not as important as say, who Jesus is. I could be wrong about the rapture. I don't think I am, but it's possible. I am not wrong about who Jesus is. He is God and He is a man. I can't explain all the issues around that. Jesus will say, "well done good and faithful servant" not "well done logical explainer of all the questions" to those who remain...faithful. Not to those who can answer every question. I do need answers to some things: The hope that I have, how we must be saved, who God is, and why love even matters. There are more, of course, but those questions have a lifetime of answers. Some of which I have, others not.

But I do know some things. I know them because God has revealed them. I know that He loves me (and you) and that He has taken care of what was separating us from Him. I know that I trust Him that what He has done is enough. And I know that He is with me. Always, He is with me. And I know that the same rules apply to all of us. I didn't make the rules. Humans don't make God's rules. We obey them. And I know that obedience is sweet and delightful and freeing because the One whom I obey is good and the giver of goodness, sweetness, delightfulness and freedom.

That's enough for me today.

My baby girl is poopy and wants me to read Fuzzy Fuzzy Fuzzy! to her. I'm going to enjoy that.

And a week later

2009-05-26T12:24:00.002-05:00

Jenny did a wonderful job teaching the pastor's wives. There were some strange looks when they broke into small groups and not everyone participated (not everyone spoke Spanish...2 or 3 of the women understand Spanish but speak Mam, their Mayan language) but overall they had a good time.

While Jenny taught about Sarah, I played soccer.

The pastors just all ran out to a soccer field and started a game. Guys in slacks and dress shoes playing the world's most popular sport. I went to play defense so I would not have to run and demonstrate again my out-of-shapeness. And most of the action was on my end of the field. I spent most of time getting burned by men older than me. And I got a hands penalty in the goal box, leading to a penalty kick. But it was fun. I'm just used to using my hands in Football, so it was reactionary to try to grab the ball. Not a good skill in Soccer.

We also had the pastor's in the area over to our home for a prayer meeting. I lead a Bible study of Psalm 103 and it was just amazing to give those guys a few directions on observation, interpretation and application, and they went to town. It was so much fun. An hour was not enough time. But it makes me SO excited to keep working with and learning from these guys. What fun.

I have a whole lot on my mind....but most of that I can't put on this blog.

Oh...one thing I can...CONGRATULATIONs Dagliesh Family! Welcome baby Asher.

fun times

2009-05-19T07:55:00.002-05:00

We (the whole family) are going to a town called Tejutla today so Jenny can teach at a Pastor's Wives conference. How fun is that? We're loading up and driving about 2 hours. We'll get to sing and get to know lots of folks and Jenny is SO nervous so, please pray for her. She's talking on the story of Sarah and we are praying the ladies are encouraged and the Lord honored by what she says.

I'll get to take lots of pics and I'll post them later.

A Hero is Coming

2009-05-16T11:19:00.002-05:00

The world needs a hero.

We look all over for one. We make them up in red capes and pressed suits. We find them in stories and movies but they're not real. They don't do anything. We look to our leaders and tell them to save us. We vote for men and women and we think they can make things right.

They always seem to fail us.

Think about all the hero songs. Everyone from Chris Rice to Tina Turner has a hero song. We tell counselors to fix us and doctors to make us well. We try to buy enough things to convince ourselves and delude ourselves away from the terrifying reality that we need, above all other things, a hero. Because we cannot, no matter how great our technology or how magnanimous the personality, make our world right again, rid it of evil, and end the ever deluging tide swell of human suffering.

We remain a people in need.

We need our hero.

And He is coming.

I read the Bible and I see a God who loves us and who made us and loved us so much that He created us with the great power to choose Him or to choose evil. We mostly choose the latter. He was not content to leave us to the just penalty of our decisions. Instead, because of His great love for us who keep choosing evil, He became one of us and lived and breathed and ate and suffered the temptations and limitations and depredations of being human. And when He claimed to be the one we've all been looking for, when He looked at those around Him and said, "I am your hero", they took Him and beat Him and tore the skin form his back. They mocked him and spat upon the face of He who came to save us and the took him and nailed him to a dirty board and stripped our Hero of all the dignity His eternity has earned Him.

And there our hero died.

But our hero did not come merely to die and prove to us how evil we can be. We, locked in a the prison cave of our own evil desires and actions, and guarded by a dragon so fierce and purely evil that he once looked God in the face and told He who created him that he deserved to rule as God.

And that dragon laughed when we nailed our hero to that cross. He laughed because he knew that we would always kill our hero. That we would always choose to destroy ourselves instead of loving one another. That we would condemn ourselves to eternal torment rather than say we needed the hero we search for in every place, in every story, in every one who says they can save us.

But our hero did not stay down. He rose. He conquered death and the grave and by His great love for us slew the dragon who kept us where we thought we wanted to be. And He freed us. He crashed through the walls and broke us from our chains and said to us, "I have set you free. Follow Me."

And He left us to tell the story of what He has done. But He has not left us forever. He is coming. Our hero. My hero. He is coming back to save us and to make all things right. He will not wear a red cape or a dark suit. He will ride instead on a white horse and His name is Faithful and True. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

And He is coming.

He is my hero.

Come soon, my Hero. Come soon.

thoughts on maturity

2009-05-12T17:05:00.003-05:00

My good friend and mentor, Mike Messerli, had a blog about what a mature Christian looks like and I wanted to share with some of you what I thought. I'd appreciate input from you readers.

In 1 Cor 4:16 Paul said (paraphrasing here), "Look at me if you want to see what a mature Christian looks like." Imitate me.

I think that it is an enormous failure in our churches that people don't know what a mature believer is supposed to look like. It is here too. We are so very caught up in doing that we are forget that doing flows from being. We are disciples and we are to behave a certain way. Disciples behave like Christ. At least we're supposed to. And we are in the process of being made in the very image of Christ.

Two friends of ours here, Dave and Helen Ekstrom, are 84 and 83 and when they drop in for a visit Jenny and I stop whatever we are doing and just chat with them. Someone needs to write their stories down. Anyway, when they leave, we are just amazed. We feel like we have been spending time with Jesus. As we thought about that, we realized that those two people are more like Christ than anyone we have ever met. Being with them feels very much like being with Jesus.

How frustrating for people to not know WHO they are supposed to be like! We are supposed to imitate our Savior and it doesn't take much searching in the Bible to see what He is like. Our process is the person of Christ. He is the genesis, the process, and the goal. He is all and in all so that in all things He will be first.

There are numerous lists to describe how a believer should behave, but the reality of it is that we are to be like Christ. Period. That's our model. Paul modeled Christ and so he could just say, "Imitate me". The catch is that following Christ has a cost that most of us simply do not want to pay. Our comfort is just too valuable. I too am in this process. I have great days where I am really depending upon the Lord. And I have days where I act like a 3 year old. I hope those days at least become fewer as I grow older.

I have been challenged by Mike to write down Dave and Helen's story. Maybe someone has already done that. But someone needs to do it. All that to say, if anyone here has experience writing a biography, please let me know. We'll see them in Friday. And we're looking forward to it.

On toots and T-Rexes

2009-05-09T08:02:00.003-05:00

Our son is 3 and close-to-a-half so it's just fun when he talks. He was not going down well at night so we started limiting his afternoon nap to an hour and a half so he'll go to sleep without full-on riot police intervention.

Jenny woke him up yesterday and he rolled up into the sitting position, nap sweaty with his blankie in hand, looked Jenny dead in the eyes and said, "That T-Rex is gonna have to run a lot faster than that to catch me."

Atta boy!

I'd love to have a 3 year old's dreams.

Of course he also passes gas and walks up to me and says, "Daddy. Smell it. Smell the stinky. Smell it."

Boys.

I'm glad my wife has a brother so she hasn't been just utterly shocked.

boy that was fun

2009-05-06T10:44:00.002-05:00

Man that was fun.

I'm no Chuck Swindoll, but it sure was fun. The regional council travels to various churches every month to have a time of prayer and worship at that church. It's a time for area pastors to meet and be encouraged and hear what the needs are at that particular church and pray for them.

We met at 9:30 or so and sang songs. Then we took praises and we all prayed. And everybody gets on their knees. Then we took requests and a few women who had come shared requests from the body and for their families. We prayed for this little boy in a wheelchair. We laid hands on these people and prayed for them. I tell you what, the US church could learn a few things about prayer from these Guatemalans. We so often make prayer this stale, formal thing. We worry more about how we sound than to Whom we are praying. And these men and women corporately cry out to the God who hears them. They talk and cry and pour their hearts out before the Living Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit and it is truly amazing. I wish I could video it but that would somehow cheapen the beauty of it.

So we prayed until 11:15 or so and then took a break where I ate this REALLY good epanada. Wow. And then at 11:30 it was time. So I just did what you do when you preach and teach. There were 25 or so folks there and it was a wonderful interactive time. The Word of God is living and active. Do you know that? It's not some stale book we read from. It's the words of the Living God and man, I tell you, when the Lord is teaching His people, it is an amazing thing to be a part of. I hope you are at a place that really teaches the Bible , at least on some level. In a class or Sunday School or at a home Bible study. Something. Because if you are not interacting with other believers and in community being taught the Bible you are missing out!

So the next meeting is June 2nd and they asked me to teach then as well. I can't wait! It's just...it's a heck of a lot of fun. I can't believe this is my job.

OK then

2009-05-05T07:37:00.003-05:00

Well I'm off this morning to a pastor's meeting. I only have to drive about an hour to San Marcos where I'll probably get lost (ask the Coreanos - they know) and it's from 9-1 or so and apparently I'll preach sometime during it. I'll let you know how it went. Please pray for me! One, that I don't get lost and two that the Lord is glorified and the pastors encouraged. It will be fun but I admit I'm nervous. But the guys are really neat...you ought to meet some of 'em.

Sunday School house rock. Or why you open a door during an earthquake.

2009-05-03T16:17:00.003-05:00

Jenny and I were in Sunday School today when a 6.1 earthquake rumbled and shook for what seemed like half an hour. You can head to this really cool USGA website to check out details. Along with weather I love me some geology!

Anyway, things started shaking and rattling and I leaned over to Jenny and said, "Just watch the Guatemalans and do what they do". And they sat there for 10 seconds or so and then about half of them started getting up to check on their kids during the quake so up went Jenny. A lady said, "Tranquilo" which means, "Everybody stay calm" and the quake stopped. The kid's probably didn't even know it happened.

We learned that during an earthquake you always open the doors or they can get stuck, trapping you indoors. So next time it starts shaking at night, we're opening the kid's doors so they...well, we're opening their doors.

Just thought you'd like to know what happened at church today.

power perspective

2009-05-02T08:03:00.003-05:00

It's Saturday morning. You faithful bloggers know that my son and I are up watching cartoons. Todays menu: A Bug's Life - In Spanish. Again, Disney does a great dub.

I am very excited and nervous and hopeful and anxious (in a good sort of way) because Tuesday I get the opportunity to preach for the first time at a pastor's prayer meeting. I'm nervous for several reasons: 1. It's my first time to preach in Spanish. 2. Expectations are high for me. This second one is an assumption caused by conversations with people. I think some of these pastors think I am smarter and more knowledgeable than I am. There are many better teachers, more talented preachers, more educated, more experienced. But...I'm here. So, I'll do. And this is why I was nervous.

Until I started studying the passage.

But before I did that, man, I tell you, I could not figure out what to teach. I talked to the Lord and asked Jenny and went over a half dozen passages trying to find the right thing to teach. Something to encourage these pastors. And I got nothin' Drew a blank. For days on end. Ever had that happen? It's really frustrating.

And then some friends of ours dropped by for a surprise visit. They live 5 hours from here and are wonderful saints. Wow. Just a 30 minute visit. And so we were talking and I shared my struggle and one of the passages and they were so excited. Excited! They poured encouragement into my heart. It's incredibly powerful and I had no idea how thirsty I was for it. I mean, it was amazing. Have you ever needed encouragement but didn't think to ask for it and then get some when you needed it most? There's a reason the Bible tells us to encourage one another.

So yesterday I spent the day in Colossians 1:15-29. Wow. W O W. I invite you to read it.

There's this method of outlining a passage grammatically where you break it down into main and subordinate clauses to figure out the correct interpretation based on the grammatical structure of the passage. Sounds fun, right? IT IS! If you want, I'll teach you. It's addicting. Anyway, I hadn't done it in quite some time because, well, I haven't taught in awhile.

Anyway, v.15-18 are about Christ being 1st in all things. You have got to read it.

v. 21-22 say this:
1And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, ²²yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--

Paul goes on to explain how he has suffered on behalf of the church and then to talk about the mystery of the gospel is Christ in us. I'm really skimming over things here to get to my point, but then he says,

v. 28-29 We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. ²⁹For this purpose also I labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.

All this took 4-5 hours of digging etc, but late yesterday afternoon it hit me. Christ reconciled us to Him in order to present us before Himself holy and blameless and beyond reproach. We proclaim Christ (not some philosophy or method or doctrine but the Person of Jesus Christ) so that we may present everyone complete in Him. Jesus wants us to share in His very work! Can you believe that? Oh, the responsibility of it hit me like the roof had cave in and caused me to shove away from my desk put my head in my hands and say, "Oh no!"

But then, as Dave Semmelbeck taught me, I kept reading. The very power of the same Jesus magnified and glorified above all else in verses 15-19..His power mightily works within us.

Can you believe that? AMAZING! Just amazing.

Whew. So. I'm not nervous anymore. Will I make mistakes? Yes. Will I not have the right word in Spanish? Yes. But that's ok. Because the power of Christ, Who is in me, Who is my hope of glory, mightily works within me.

And in you.

Let's get to work.

We should eat more bacon

2009-04-30T09:42:00.003-05:00

In light of the H1N1 (swine flu) quasi-pandemic and given that the virus does not pass through cooked pork, I am hereby instituting an International Bacondemic Alert. We, as citizens linked by technology, geography and humanity, must take a stand. We must eat more bacon.

In order to save humanity, it is paramount that we consume enormous quantities of bacon. BLT's are to be the primary source of consumption given the high vitamin C content of tomatoes. After that, it's a free for all. Well, as long as the tomatoes are not salmonella infected Mexican tomatoes. That would just make us sick with bacteria. And we all know bacteria and viruses are like vampires and werewolves - eternal enemies - so we don't want to up the ante.

Bacon wrapped jalapeños to honor the source country of Mexico are also to be consumed (note salmonella exception). Other bacon recipes are to be added as readers to this blog contribute their ideas for saving humanity.

Pork chops, ribs, smoked hams and pork rinds are also to be allowed, but those will proceed in subsequent Porkdemics.

Go. Eat. Bacon.