Bird Droppings

Silence

2010-11-10T16:19:00.002-05:00

I have been silent here for a long time. Too long. Not that I think I have something profound to say, but perhaps it's indicitive of a larger, life "silence". What impact am I having on my family, my church, my workplace, my culture?

It's time for a change.

2010-05-14T15:09:00.001-04:00

~x(

So...What's going on?

2009-09-02T20:29:00.002-04:00

One question we get asked a lot is “Are you guys still planning to move to North Carolina?”, or some variation like, “I thought you were moving to North Carolina?” The simple answer is we still are planning to move. The hold-up is, and has been, selling our house. When we tell people that, we usually get some version of, “God can do it, even in this market”. I couldn’t agree more, I tell them. Then I mention that we have taken our house off of the market for a while. That’s where the fun begins. To understand where I’m coming from, we have to agree on a couple of things…

1) Nothing is impossible for or with God. I know—“Duh”. But seriously, this is very important to remember.
2) Nothing is harder or easier for God to do. To God, there are no “big” miracles. Raising someone from the dead is no more difficult for God than healing someone’s cold. It just isn’t. God is all-powerful.

We are trying to move to North Carolina, believing that is where God wants us to be. To do it, there are several things that need to happen, and selling our house is the biggest, but not the only, issue. There are foreclosures and short-sales in my neighborhood that have significantly driven down home prices. To sell our house for what we owe on it, we would have to sell it for about $30,000 - $40,000 above "the market". I don’t doubt that God can make our house sell for what we owe, even if that price is that much more than similar houses in our neighborhood. Of course, once our house sells, we will have moving expenses, maybe about $10,000 between moving, getting up there, and getting settled. Selling our house for $40,000 - $50,000 above the market price is no harder for God than $30,000 - $40,000, right? We will also need to raise support so that we are not a burden on the church. If we were able to sell our house for $100,000 over the average market price, we would be able to begin working in the ministry right away. God can make that happen.

Okay, at some point while reading that last paragraph you said something like, “Uh…yeah God can do it, but that’s a little ridiculous”. The problem is, someone else will read the same information and pick a different “ridiculous” point. Maybe yours is at the $30,000 mark and someone else’s is at the $50,000 mark. Who is right? I’m willing to bet almost everyone bailed at the $100,000 mark. And yet we will all still agree that nothing is impossible and nothing is hard for God. Keep in mind that we are not trying to be selfish—these additional monetary obstacles (moving expenses, raising support) are real and need to be addressed. They can be overcome with the sale or without the sale of the house. It’s all a matter of timing.

So, why did we take the house (temporarily) off the market? We looked at the circumstances (the housing market) and after praying about it, we felt that ringing up what the realtors refer to as “days on market” was not a good plan. Is that a lack of faith? We don’t think so. We are trying to use discernment, and at this point we believe this is the right thing to do. Frankly, it hurts to feel like we are not moving forward. We just want to make sure that we do this the way we are supposed to. We are working with our mortgage company. We are trying to pay down existing debt and not take on any new debt. We considered renting our house, but believe it is not the right thing for us to do. In the meantime we are trying to stay faithful and to be ready for when we are supposed to put the house back on the market. I hope it’s soon, but I hope even more that I don’t try to run ahead of God’s timing.

There you have it. What’s changed? Nothing. A lot. I hope this explains things a little more clearly. Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Rough Week

2009-04-24T23:56:00.003-04:00

I realize I'm pretty much just writing this for myself; I don't think anyone else reads this. Blogging this infrequently will cause that. That's okay, I suppose.

Rough week. Wednesday was my brother's birthday. Had he not died last year, he would have been 45. It was going to be difficult anyway, but then I saw a post by one of his kids on facebook, and that made it even harder. Even more than myself, mom, or (remaining) sister, they are going to have to deal with his death, and how it happened.

Today was the one year anniversary of my sister Andrea's death. It hit me harder than I thought. Maybe it's because it came right after my brother's birthday. More likely, it's because I never really dealt with it. I mean, I cried and grieved, but never really let go as completely as I should have. Instead, I just packed the emotions down like I usually do. I suppose one day the the lid's going to blow off, but I guess not today.

God is good. Completely, and all the time. I know that, but even when you know that someone has gone on to heaven, you still miss the phone calls you can't make to talk about stuff, the memories you can't share, and all of the "stupid stuff" we take for granted.

I miss my brother and sister. And it hurts.

A Point That Sometimes Gets Missed

2009-02-24T10:11:00.004-05:00

Someone I know recently referenced Matthew 7:1-5. Now, I don't know whether this person was saying that they were the person with the plank in their eye, or whether they had someone come at their speck while that person had not taken care of their own plank. Either way, it reminded me that there is a point that often gets missed in these verses.

The main point is to make sure you are taking care of your own business before you go jumping into someone else's. Many times, however, these verses are quoted by the people being rebuked as a way of deflecting the correction. In the verses, Jesus does not say that the first person doesn't have a speck in their eye, only that the person coming to them needs to make sure they are looking at themselves and fixing that first. Whether or not they do that doesn't change the condition of the person with the "speck".

If we are wrong (or doing wrong) the condition of the person pointing it out doesn't excuse us.

Especially For Claude And Jason

2009-01-08T09:24:00.003-05:00

Watch it twice—once for the main video, and the second time for the stuff scrolling at the bottom of the screen.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

Can't Think Of Anything To Blog About

2009-01-05T10:34:00.000-05:00

Big Numbers

2008-12-15T10:40:00.005-05:00

For the last 22 years, Kings Avenue Baptist Church has put on a "Walk Thru Bethlehem"; a free event that is designed to give people an idea of what it was like in Bethlehem when Jesus was born. Everyone that goes through hears the Gospel, and it has been used to lead many to Christ. It takes a lot to put it on, and every year it seems we wonder if it's worth it. Every year we decide it is. I was thinking about it this year and came to the conclusion that even though it is by no means a perfect event, at least we are doing something. In the first 3 days, 35 people had accepted Christ, and 180 had rededicated themselves to Him.That doesn't mean we get to stop spreading the Gospel now that it's over, or that we couldn't be doing it some other way, but people are being reached, and souls are being saved.

There is something really cool about seeing a couple of hundred (or less!) people coming together to put on a event like this. God has a track record of making a lot out of a little.

Whether it's the economy or what, I don't know, but it appears this was our biggest year yet. The crowds got bigger everyday, and on Friday and Saturday we even had to stop letting people in for a while because we ran out of parking.

So, how many people got to hear the gospel message over a four-day period?

7,078

God is good.

Not As Thankful As I Should Be

2008-11-28T10:06:00.003-05:00

I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a wife and daughter that love me, and family and friends that are better than I deserve. More than anything else, God loves me, has saved me, and even wants to use me to serve Him. I am really thankful for that.

But I'm not as thankful as I should be. I know that I have been given more blessings than I could ever deserve and I have received more than I've lost, but this year the losses hit hard. I've had a sister and a brother die less than four months apart, and I'm feeling that loss a lot right now. It's not that I didn't feel it initially, but it's the holidays, and well...you know. The fact that how I'm feeling is considered "normal" or "understandable" is really little comfort. I try to not let all of this effect Shanna or Abbey, but that doesn't always work out. I'm probably also still holding on to some resentment or hurt feelings toward others that were created during that time. I shouldn't be, and I understand that, but I'm just being honest. I need to do a better job of forgiving others even when they don't ask for it, want it, or even realize the need for it. I need to show the mercy, forgiveness, and understanding God (and many, many others) have shown me.

I owe God more thanks than I could ever give Him, but He loves me anyway. I have so much to be thankful for, and I am truly thankful. If it doesn't always show, I apologize.

What You Don't Do Doesn't Count

2008-11-17T09:57:00.004-05:00

Ok, maybe it counts a little, but not much.

On Pastor Jason's Blog he is talking about marriage and a conference he is hosting. I thought I would just add my own thoughts on the topic, but if you don't want to read the whole thing I'll sum up my philosophy for you:
You don't get points for the things you don't do.

Not being a jerk isn't the same thing as being nice. We have to be active participants in our marriages and families. Here are a few thoughts I have on the subject:

You don't hit, but do you hug?
You don't yell, but do you communicate?
You don't cheat, but are you meeting his/her needs?
You don't stay out all night, but are you really home?
You don't tear down, but do you build up?

If I went on, it would probably sound even more trite, but I think you get the point. We need to be doing things to make our marriages and families work. When Satan successfully attacks a marriage or family, it impacts not just that family, but all of their friends, their church, and really our whole society. And it can do that not just for now, but for the generations that follow.

What suggestions do you have on how we can strengthen our marriages?

Would You Be This Man's Friend?

2008-11-12T11:44:00.002-05:00

It's good to have friends like Claude. The point of my last post was how copying music that you didn't pay for is stealing and Claude (correctly) seems to have applied that to all copyrighted material. Well, the image I used on my last post was of a particular family of mp3 players made by a company whose name rhymes with "scrapple". Anyway, Claude asked where I got the image—implying that I didn't get approval to use it. He was right. Despite the fact that I wasn't using it for commercial use and there was no money being lost, I did not obtain the rights to it, so I shouldn't have used it.
I went on the "rhymes with scrapple" website, and journalists are allowed to use the images for publication, but it didn't specifically state whether the use extended to blogs. I looked further, even called a couple of numbers at the company, but couldn't speak to anyone. So that left me with a decision...Do I interpret their rights of use the way that favors me, or do I take it down?

I took it down. I went to the Sandisk website, and they have lots of images that are free to download, so I replaced the image from the "rhymes with scrapple" company with a Sandisk mp3 player.

I'm glad Claude's my friend.

By the way. I didn't get permission to use his image, and I don't care!

What Is Stealing? Pt. 2

2008-11-11T13:12:00.005-05:00

"Everyone is doing it."

"It's harmless."

"It's easy."

"They make too much money anyway."

"I mean, downloading a song or two of a particular artist is not going to hurt them."

Don't worry, I know about the plank in my eye. This is just something that's been on my mind. Not targetted at anyone.

YEA!!!!!

2008-11-09T18:16:00.004-05:00

Look, I know it may sound silly, but it has been bu-huh-hug-ging me for a while that I could not register my name as a domain name. It was already owned by someone that, in my opinion, was either a cyber squatter or domain shark (I'm not sure there is a difference). Well, I waited for a couple of years, kept checking to see if it was available, and even recently sent a request to ICANN to see if anything could be done about freeing it up for someone that wanted to actually use the domain name. Although I never heard back from them—and I don't know if it did any good—www.jimbird.com finally became available. As soon as I found out, I was all over it like stink on a monkey. And praise God, I didn't have to bid for it, or try to buy it away from someone. All I had to do was pay a whopping 10 bucks and it was all mine. Vanity? I hope not. Easier to get to for myself and others? I hope so. Now www.jimbird.com will bring you to the www.discoverychurchjim.blogspot.com site, plus, I can do more things with it in the future.

That's me up top doing the "happy dance"!

What Is Stealing?

2008-11-04T21:48:00.000-05:00

How do you define it?

Stop Worrying And Pray

2008-11-03T14:50:00.004-05:00

This is actually advice to myself as much as anybody. The fact is, by the end of tomorrow, one of these two guys is going to be our president-elect. Since I'm not licensed for ministry yet, I'll go ahead and say it—I'm voting for McCain. But being me, I've been spending way to much time worrying and stressing about the outcome of the election instead of resting in the fact that God is in control. I can only do two things—Pray and vote. One of these I can only do once, the other I'm told to do "without ceasing". Nothing there about stressing out.

Guess I've still got some work to do.

My Two Cents

2008-10-31T23:43:00.005-04:00

Something I have been thinking about for awhile came to my attention again recently and I've decided to throw my two-cents in.

I hear a lot of descriptions used to describe churches nowadays: Traditional, Contemporary, Cutting-edge, Mainstream, etc. Throw in buzzwords like "relevant", "seeker", "fundamental" and others and the conversation get even more bizarre. Depending upon who you talk to, the style of worship is either the problem with, or the solution to, the condition of the modern church. It's either, "The messages in these new types of services are watered down", or "People don't respond to the old style anymore".

What a bunch of crap. All of it.

Look, I know that's crass, and I probably have some repenting to do, but I don't think that style is nearly as important as genuineness and focus. I think a lack of those things will kill more churches than whether you sing along to a guitar or an organ. As individuals we need to be genuine, and our churches should be too. Should a healthy church be growing? Sure. But it is by no means a sole indicator of health. When cells divide and grow to form a persons' body (and yes, life begins at conception) that growth is awesome. When a small group of cells grow into a massive tumor, it sucks.

I have friends at churches that would be considered pretty traditional, with some modern praise songs thrown in. At least two of these churches are thriving despite not being "cutting edge". The preachers are...well, preachers, with pretty much everything that you picture when you hear that word. Jacket and tie. Three points and a poem. Guess what? People still come. Why? well, in my opinion it's because they (those churches) are focused on spreading the Gospel message everywhere they can, and they genuinely care about people—especially lost people. I also have friends that are going to great contemporary-style churches that are doing the same thing. The pastors dress however they want and their sermons are anything but traditional. However, in both cases the style of worship is largely irrelevant to the success of the church. When people come in, they are attracted to the mission, purpose, vision, and focus of the church

You know what? Chis Tomlin is a genius. Turns out, so was Fanny Crosby. In my opinion, if you miss either, you have lost a lot.

Please don't get me wrong here. If you can't stand hymns, maybe you should find a church that doesn't sing them. If you don't like modern praise songs, same thing—go somewhere else. Be true to who you are, but allow those churches to do the same, and don't think worse of them for it. By the way, one of my friends at one of those thriving traditional churches said when he first started going there, there were some things size and style-wise that he didn't care for. However, he saw the heart of the church, how "real" they are and how focused they are, and he found an unexpected church home.

God is big enough to have more than one style of church, and one is not better than the other. One of them might just be better for you, and that's ok. The guy reading his King James Bible isn't necessarily any less genuine than the guy that reads The Message.

Sometimes I think we are just focusing on the wrong things. Again, if you want to go to a church where the pastor only stands behind a podium, or one where the pastor rushes around at a frenetic pace, I don't care. Both are fine. But when we think about churches, are we thinking most often of what we like, or what they are doing for God? There is nothing wrong with hymns or praise choruses, electric guitars or pipe organs. Neither is better than the other. But you know, I'm willing to bet that if you find a church that genuinely cares about it's members and it's community, understands that the world desperately needs Jesus and is trying to get the message out that Jesus is the only way to be saved, is actively trying to meet people's needs, and has a vision for what God has called them to do and how they should do it—if you find that church, you will find a healthy, thriving, growing church. And as for the questions of contemporary, traditional, etc.?

You'll probably find it doesn't matter.

I Don't Have Any Council Pics!

2008-10-31T23:41:00.002-04:00

We spent some awesome time with the Councils, but we don't own a camera, and the pictures that were taken have not been shared with me yet.

Does this count as a post?

I Will Eventually Get Back To Blogging

2008-10-09T09:39:00.002-04:00

...just not today.

Go See This Movie This Weekend—Don't Wait!

2008-09-26T11:11:00.004-04:00

Go this weekend. Opening weekends not only determine if a movie will stay in that theater, but also if it will get released to more theaters. If you have the ability to go and you don't like most of what Hollywood puts out, go this weekend.

Way To Go Pirates

2008-09-06T23:21:00.004-04:00

What was the lead story on Sports Center tonight? ECU beating WVU.

2 Games

2 Ranked Opponents

2 Wins

Nice

Know What I Mean?

2008-08-18T12:59:00.001-04:00

The Church At Sardis

2008-08-13T22:49:00.004-04:00

Revelation Chapter 3:1-6
1"To the angel[a] of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits[b]of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. 3Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. 4Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. 6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Jesus doesn't take long to get to the point with the church at Sardis. He judges them quickly: they are dead. Unfortunately, they have a reputation for being alive. Why is that unfortunate? Think of it this way: You're new in town, and you are looking for a church. You ask around and you hear about a church that's supposed to be pretty cool. You go, and the music is good, the preaching is sound- all in all, things seem good. But after a while you realize that the church isn't doing anything. It turns out, the church had been alive in the past, but at some point...it just stopped. But of course, now you have been there for awhile, it's comfortable, it's a pain to look around for another church, and before you know it, you're dead too. If only the reputation had matched the reality.

The church at Sardis still had their good reputation, but Jesus isn't fooled. He tells them what they are and isn't mincing words. But how did they get that way? Why did they die?

According to historical records, Sardis was once one of the greatest cities in the world. it was on a hill, it was an acropolis. It was almost impregnable. However, two times in their history — and before the time Revelation was written — the city was conquered. How? They didn't keep watch. They thought they were secure, and left themselves vulnerable to attack. Basically, they were living in luxury and security, and didn't believe they could be captured.

In chapter 3, verse 2, the NIV says "Wake up!". In the Greek (yeah, I know, but it's important) the idea is to keep watching/be vigilant/be watchful. The city of Sardis had a problem watching out for its enemies; the church at Sardis had the same problem.The fact that Sardis was conquered twice in part because they were not watchful would probably have been known by the people of that time, making that warning even more poignant.

I think there is a good lesson to be learned from the church at Sardis. Frankly, I think the names of many local churches today could be substituted for "Sardis" and what Jesus said about them would apply. Beyond our churches, we can look in our own hearts and see if how Jesus describes Sardis is how He would describe us.

Next time we'll look at the commands Jesus gave Sardis and how they apply to our churches and ourselves.

Sometimes I listen

2008-08-11T22:28:00.002-04:00

You know, it seems like lots of time is spent by pastors trying to figure out how to get people to listen to and remember their sermons. Alliteration, mnemonics, acrostics, topical preaching, expositional preaching... everyone has their own style. I don't know that one is better than the other, and there is nothing really wrong with any of them.

I've heard all of them over the years, and you know what? I can't really remember too many of them. It's not that I haven't learned anything, it's just that I can't remember what the 3rd of 5 "P"'s was on a particular Sunday, or what the second "O" in D.O.OF.U.S. was. Okay, I made that one up. Anyway, I can't think of too many sermons that I can go back to and remember the passage and the application.

There is at least one, however.

It has to be around 15 years ago, but I still remember this one. Like most messages, it's probably been preached a million times by a million pastors. It's about the Church in Sardis, and it's found in Revelation chapter 3. My next few posts will be going over this, and I look forward to any feedback anyone may have.

Bay-what?

2008-08-08T11:40:00.005-04:00

The Olympics start today. Looking forward to watching gymnastics with Abbey, but other than that... not really interested. One thing — and I know it's trivial and stupid — that is bugging me is that the name of the city where the Olympics are being held I, and everyone I know or have heard, pronounce "Bay-zhing". Now, all of a sudden, a lot of the talking heads are pronouncing it "Bay-jing". According to Webster's, both are correct, but I can't help but think some of this is just people trying to sound "cool".

Maybe I'm just jealous because I can't think of a cool way to pronounce "Gibsonton".

How Does He Stay So Humle?

2008-08-04T15:27:00.002-04:00

I was trying to go to Jason's blog today and accidentally typed his name (with a space) in the search field instead of the address bar. Guess what? The first 10 references have to do with our very own Jason! Not some other wannabe or poser, but the "real deal". I'm sure Jason is used to people wanting to be as tall, kind, handsome and talented as he is, but now he will have to deal with people wanting to be as famous as him too!

Can You Hear The Crickets?

2008-08-04T09:43:00.005-04:00

So far, there has been no interest from anyone in buying our house. The Realtors haven't even been snooping by. Just the sound of the crickets. We are not discouraged (too much). We know this is a process, and God can make it happen suddenly and unexpectedly if He wants to. What we see as a lack of activity is really irrelevant in terms of what God may be doing. Our prayer is that if it is God's will that we sell the house — and we believe it is — that it will happen in His time, and that we will be faithful in doing the things He wants us to do.

Care to join us in that?

I Give Up!

2008-07-29T10:23:00.016-04:00

Ok, I give up. I was trying to wait until I had the chance to do this right- captions, editting, etc. Well, apparently that day isn't coming anytime soon, so here are pictures from our recent Knoxville/Asheville/High Point/Greenville trip. It was AWESOME to see the Councils and Stancos. The Discovery folks, too, even though I didn't get any pictures because I had to FedEx my work camera to the Colorado office. Here are the pics!

I Love This Website

2008-07-24T09:44:00.005-04:00

Like (I hope) most parents, we try to be careful with what we let Abbey watch. Oh yeah, and what we watch too. Anyway, pluggedin online is an awesome tool for that. When they review a movie, they give you factual information about the content, don't get too "preachy", and allow you to make an informed decision. The elements they review are:

Positive Elements

Spiritual Content

Sexual Content

Violent Content

Crude or Profane Language

Drug and Alcohol Content

Other Negative Elements

Conclusion

We all make our own decisions about where we draw the line on what we allow our kids to watch (or ourselves for that matter). This website is a good tool to help you do that.

I Have Become Claude

2008-07-22T21:00:00.002-04:00

After all of the grief I have given Claude about his lack of blogging, it's been over a week for me.

I am ashamed.

Help Save The Planet

2008-07-09T11:23:00.003-04:00

I have decided to do my part in the fight against climate change by doing...nothing. Well, as little as possible anyway.

Every day, all over the world, people are exercising by going out jogging, going to the gym, playing sports, etc., and I believe this is bad for the planet. You see, when you exert yourself, you raise your core body temperature. Multiplied by the millions of people exercising, you can see how this can raise the overall temperature of the planet. Also, during exercise you increase your breaths per minute, releasing more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that our rainforest-depleted planet can no longer efficiently turn into life-sustaining oxygen. Furthermore, exercising causes your clothing (especially your shoes if you run) to wear out more quickly. These items then have to be replaced, and their replacements are made in factories that spew the very pollutants into the air that lead to an expansion in the hole in the ozone layer. And not to be indelicate, but many of these same people like to eat "whole" or "raw" foods, which can lead to an increase in, shall we say... personal methane production. All of this leads me to one inevitable conclusion:

Healthy people are responsible for global warming.

Well, I won't stand for it! I feel as a responsible citizen of this planet, I must do my part to fight global climate change. I encourage everyone to exercise less, and generally exert yourself as little as possible in an effort to save our planet. It may seem extreme, and you may be thinking, "Can I really make a difference?". While individual lethargy may not have much of an impact, when millions of people band together to do as little as possible, we can accomplish much. Please join me in my (lack of) effort to save our beautiful planet.

Rough Day

2008-07-07T14:39:00.003-04:00

Had a rough day yesterday. My sister Andrea's husband had given us (my other sister and myself) a bunch of her personal items to go through to see if there were things we wanted. These were mainly "pre-marriage" items— photo albums from childhood and teen years, old books, etc.

Frankly, until this weekend I couldn't bring myself to look at the stuff. To many memories. Too many feelings I didn't want to deal with. Looking at things and "remembering when" or seeing something you want to have as a remembrance, but then realizing you have to have it as a remembrance because the person it belonged to is no longer here. Wishing I had been a better brother. Laughing when I showed Abbey an LP and asked her if she knew what it was (not a clue). At least there weren't any 8-Tracks. Glad my wife was there, yet wishing I was alone. Like I said, rough day.

The important stuff we leave behind is the impact we have for Christ on other people's lives. How are we showing the love of Christ to other's? How are we representing Him? Can people see the difference he has made in our lives? How are we serving him? Andrea left a lot of that stuff with me, and it means more than an old book or photo album ever could.

It's Simple Really...

2008-07-05T23:05:00.002-04:00

I have to thank Randy Strickland
for bringing this topic up. The Rays are in first place- by 4 games as of today. After so many years of futility (the best they have done in the
past is 4th place) they are winning! And the way they are winning- pitching and defense- bodes well for the rest of the year. The pitching should stay solid, and defense generally doesn't slump. If they can start hitting with consistency...look out.

So, to what do they owe their success? Developing their own players? Yup. Strong defense and an improved bullpen? Sure. A confidence that they are never out of games? Oh yeah. But I wonder if their is something else at play. Something bigger. Something larger. Something more meaningful. This is the year they dropped "Devil" from their name, and they are suddenly experiencing greater success (blessings?) than ever before. Coincidence? Well, yeah. But it's also kinda funny.

GO RAYS!

Would You Trust This Man To Sell Your House?

2008-07-02T09:26:00.002-04:00

Well, I'm going to. This is Vaughn Rice, a/k/a Mr. Vaughn, a/k/a Fran's husband, and as of 6pm today, he is my realtor. Shanna and I have been trying to sell our house "by owner" for long enough. Now, we're calling in the professionals. The market here is still...um...sucky, but that's okay; God is in charge. Vaughn is a good, Godly man, and knows his craft.

Please join us in praying that our house will sell quickly and for enough money to pay off the mortgage companies without us having to carry a balance.

Let's Go Vaughn!

What's Your Favorite Flavor Of Bubble Gum?

2008-06-17T14:53:00.002-04:00

Mine is regular "bubble gum" flavored.

One Way Relationships

2008-06-13T20:43:00.007-04:00

I've been giving some thought lately to what I refer to as "one way" relationships. Everybody has them. Sometimes it's friendships, sometimes it's in employment relationships, sometimes it's family, hopefully it's not in your marriage. Regardless of what part of your life they are in, the defining characteristic is the same: one person in the relationship is putting in way more than they are getting back from the other person.

As Christians, we are supposed to be serving others, giving of ourselves, not doing things for what we get in return, etc., and I get that, but that's not what I'm talking about.

I'm talking mostly about our "voluntary" relationships— friendships, employment, etc. At what point do you shut it down when you realize that no matter how much you put in, the other party will continue to take while giving little or nothing back. I'll use marriage as an example: If the wife is always doing things for the husband, and he not only doesn't reciprocate, but he also never (or rarely) expresses heartfelt gratitude, how healthy is that relationship? Now, suppose that it is not a marriage (which should be a lifetime commitment) but a friendship or employment situation. At what point- if any - do you say, "You know what? this isn't worth it. At this point, I'm still giving only because the other party is so willing to take." When is enough "enough"?

A friend of mine introduced me a while back to the concept of "unequal sharing". Basically, he was being more open and transparent than I was. He mentioned that in a previous situation where that had been the case, he stopped being as transparent, because for a sustained period of time he was putting way more of himself out there, and there wasn't any real reciprocity. It would have been easy to say to him, "Hey, you decided to put yourself out there. Nobody forced you". It would have been easy, and it would have been wrong. I'm glad he said something to me and I hope I've grown because of it. Generally, we know what is expected of us in relationships. Even if the other person lets me get away with it (not holding up my end), I'm still responsible for my actions.

So, where are your dividing lines? When do you stop allowing yourself to be used up? How do you stop yourself from being the one that is using up others? I've been on both sides of this issue, and I'm interested in your thoughts.

Oh, and by the way, my marriage is fine. It was only an example. :-)

Since Talking About Prayer Generated No Interest...

2008-06-05T15:26:00.003-04:00

...I'll give you my opinion of the Kimbo Slice fight last Saturday. While most people (including me) were disappointed in his performance and the fight in general, and while it's true that almost any mid-to-top UFC heavyweight would have destroyed him, I'll go ahead and say I don't think he is over-rated. He is, however, over hyped. Lots of people were saying that the guy he fought was a "tomato can", "stiff", etc., and while that may be true, this was only Kimbo's third professional MMA fight. He didn't make the promoter or CBS put him in the headliner slot. And can you fault him for taking the payday? The guy has a long way to go, and I'm really no fan of his, but I think the backlash may be a little excessive. Let him fight a few more times, see if he can increase his skills, and see how he does against better competition.

I guess I should try to make some spiritual application here, huh? Hmm... Let's see...

Got it! You should not allow yourself to be consumed by other people's expectations of you. We are all people "in process" that God is working on and through. Hopefully we are each a little better today than we were yesterday, and I hope that we will be better tomorrow than today. No matter what though, our accountability is to what God has called us to be and His expectations of us.

By the way, I had trouble deciding on one thing for what my "One Prayer" would be, going between "that we would be committed" and "that we would be consistent". They oftentimes go hand in hand. Since I need to settle on one, I will say "that we would be committed".

...What Would You Pray If...

2008-05-30T17:17:00.005-04:00

...God would answer one prayer for the church at large?

This is a series that Discovery Church is going to be doing along with about 1,200 other churches around the nation. You can get some of the details by clicking here for Pastor Jason's blog, but I'm curious- What would you pray if God would answer One Prayer for the church at large?

You tell me yours, then I'll tell you mine. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Spend The Time To Watch This

2008-05-29T10:47:00.002-04:00

First, thanks to James Council for posting this.
Second, from what I can tell, the first type of Laminin wasn't discovered by man until 1979, whereas the book of Colossians was written before 100 A.D.
Third, Colssians 1:17 "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together."

This is really cool. Thanks, James.

Way To Go Abbey!

2008-05-27T15:13:00.007-04:00

We are really happy with Abbey's report cards, but recently she took the Stanford Achievement Test, and... wow. I don't mind bragging on my kid a little bit here because really, I believe God has so much more to do with this than I do.

I'll confess, I don't understand all of this report, but her grade equivalency's and national percentile comparisons were pretty high. Of course, since Shanna wants to home school next year, she's a little more intimidated, but oh well!

Way to go Abbey! Mommy and Daddy and proud of you! Thank you God for all you have done!

Milkshake Moments

2008-05-26T00:37:00.003-04:00

There is an author, Steven Little, that just wrote a book titled The Milkshake Moment. This is how it came about. Mr. Little is a speaker that travels around the country. While traveling, he decided to do an experiment. When staying at a hotel, he would order to his room a vanilla milkshake— whether or not it was on the menu. Well, here's how he explains it: "More than half didn't have the item on their room service menu, but, when asked, could send up a bowl of ice cream, half a glass of milk and a long spoon -- or everything it takes to make the treat. So, why couldn't they just deliver a Milkshake Moment? Because the organization’s processes, systems, and rules didn’t allow for it, and therefore the milkshake simply doesn’t exist."

He goes on to explain that all kinds of businesses have trouble with these milkshake moments. They know how to take care of the customer, but they are shackled by policies or processes that prevent them from doing it. By trying to streamline and standardize, businesses forget to look at the big picture— "Are we doing what's best for the customer?".

That got me to thinking about the church and ministry. How many things don't get done for Christ because we have to go through "channels" or look to our policies before we minister? Don't get me wrong, God is a God of order, but Jesus was pretty clear about trying to look at the big picture and not just the "policy".

So, what keeps you from delivering Milkshake Moments? What can you do about it? I'll be interested to see what you have to say.

I Need To Leave It There

2008-05-18T23:19:00.003-04:00

I know where to go when I have a problem. I know who to go to. I know that the Bible says I can boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence, and that I shouldn't be anxious, and that I can give God all of my worries. I know I am supposed to give these things to God, and I used to think that I did that. What I've come to realize is I oftentimes don't give them to God, I just bring them to God. I try to bring things to Him and lay them at His feet, but when I'm done praying, I pick them up and take them with me.

How about you? How are you in this area? If you do this well, what's your secret?

So Close And Yet So Far...

2008-05-05T14:11:00.004-04:00

I am sitting in a +$200/night hotel in Orlando, and it's not costing me one cent. I got here Sunday, and I check out Thursday. One of the nights I get to go see the Iron Man movie and Universal Studios Orlando, and again, it's all paid for. Sounds like like fun, right? Not so much.

I'm here for work at a convention, and although Orlando is only about an hour and a half from my house, I need to stay here because of the times that things are happening. That means 4 days away from home, and that's the part I don't like. Don't get me wrong, some events will be fun, but on the whole, I'd rather sit on the floor and play Clue Mysteries with Abbey and Shanna at home than go to a theme park without them.

There's no question that four days is no big deal to many people. Lots of military families spend months or longer apart, and that's just one of the many sacrifices they make. I'm not trying to whine, I'm just trying to say I love my family. The wife and daughter God has blessed me with are more awesome then I could ever deserve, and I like to hang out with them.

I have to admit, though- Iron Man should be pretty cool.

Surprises, Part 2

2008-04-29T15:41:00.002-04:00

As I mentioned previously, my sister's funeral was yesterday. One of the things that surprised me, but maybe shouldn't have, was how many people showed up to support us. People that didn't know my sister but just wanted to let us know they care that we are hurting. Greg and Deanna Dawson, Pastor Chuck Richard, Pastor Wayne Moore, Shanna's friend Tabitha, Bill and Evelyn Brown, and Rita Woodard, who is not just a good friend, but also Shanna's boss. She came not just on her own behalf, but representing the school. She said that lots of others wanted to come, but understandably, they had to be at the school. Today we received flowers from The Joy FM , the radio network that I have done some volunteering for. I was really surprised by that. Then again, those are some awesome people down there.

Knowing that there are people in our lives that are willing to be the hands and feet of Christ and prop us up is very humbling, and I hope I have learned from them.

I can tell there are some rough days ahead, not just for myself of course but the whole family. I have to try to do for my brother in-law what others have done for us- be there for support and encouragement. Knowing that Andrea was saved relieves some of the pain, but she is missed already.

When Andrea first went into the hospital on the day after Thanksgiving, her lungs ans heart had already stopped. In the first couple of weeks we didn't know if she would live. Eventually of course, she came around, began the slow process of recovery, and eventually was able to walk out of the hospital. That's probably made her passing harder to take- we thought things were getting better. But really, we can't complain. Not just because God is in control and we don't deserve any of the blessings he gives us, but also because every day we had with her after Thanksgiving was "bonus time".

Most of us have said when someone dies, "I wish I could tell them..." or "if only we could have.... one more time". Well, we got that. Both in the hospital, and over the almost 30 days she was out of the hospital, we got to take care of those "ifs" and "I wish"'es. As a family, we got to spend time together, go out together, celebrate together, express our feelings, say our "I love you"'s. Was it enough? No way. She was out of the hospital for less than 30 days. But if she had been out for 20 years, I would want 20 years and one day. The point is, there's never enough time. I can choose to be bitter about losing her, or I can choose to be grateful for the time we had- especially the "bonus time". So, while it's not easy, and while I am sad for having lost my sister, as best as I can, and by the strength and grace God gives, I choose to be thankful.

Surprises, Part 1

2008-04-28T22:56:00.003-04:00

The funeral for my sister was today. I think it went about as well as can be expected. Lots of laughter. Lots of tears. Quite a few surprises. Some of those started in the days before the funeral.

I'm not easily surprised. It's not that I'm soooo smart that things can't get by me- it's just that I think I generally know what to expect in certain situations. The past few days, I can say I've been surprised and humbled.

As word spread about my sister passing away, I was surprised when we heard from certain people. I was surprised when we didn't hear from some others. I was surprised at how some people expressed their support, especially for my wife.

Shanna is one of the only employees at the school that are not salaried. That means that some of her vacation/sick days get used up for times like Christmas break and other holidays when she otherwise wouldn't get paid. At this point in the year, she has no unpaid leave. Obviously, she was going to take whatever time she needed, and the folks at the school were going to allow it, but then came the surprises.

The staff was there for Shanna all day Friday, giving her whatever emotional support they could, and grieving with her. More than one person told Shanna that they would be willing to give her some of their unpaid time off so that she didn't have to worry about the financial impact of missing work. One person came up to the school just to offer their condolences and to ask if they could help with the reception arrangements and duties. This is someone that didn't know my sister, but knew us and reached out to offer help. I received some encouraging emails from people that I didn't necessarily expect to hear from. Pastor Chuck stayed in contact to see how we were doing. Other friends stayed in contact to see how we were doing. These people reaching out was humbling and appreciated more than I'll ever be able to express, but I'll try, and I hope this is a small start.

There were more surprises at the funeral today, and I'll try to get to those tomorrow.

My Sister Has Passed Away

2008-04-25T01:12:00.002-04:00

Unfortunately for my family, my sister passed away today. Although she was released from the hospital about a month ago and was doing pretty well, we knew she still had a way to go in her recovery. She passed on peacefully at her home. God gave us an amazing gift over the last few months, and I'll talk about that more in another post soon.

At times like this my head and my heart battle. In my head, I know that my sister, who is a believer, is no longer struggling. No longer in pain. No longer having to fight. That her lungs are restored, and she is able to sing — which she loved to do — better than she ever has, to the One that she loved to sing about, and she gets to do it in person.

But my heart hurts.

It hurts for my brother-in-law, who lost his wife of twenty years; for my mother, who has lost a child; for my other sister and brother, who lost a sibling and friend; for my daughter, having to deal with this type of loss for the first time; for my wife, who had to wait 22 years to get 2 sisters and now has lost one; and for myself, losing a sister, a friend, and someone that "got" what I am doing.

In Philippians chapter 2, Paul says he is glad that God healed Epaphroditus, saying that by healing him God spared him (Paul) "sorrow upon sorrow". I figure if Paul — who it's safe to say had a pretty Godly perspective on things — would feel that kind of grief, then the rest of us can too. I don't think that just because as Christians we understand that when a believer dies they "go to a better place", that means we shouldn't grieve. Allowing ourselves to grieve is a good thing I believe, and there is comfort that we don't grieve like those "who have no hope" (1Thessalonians 4:13).

I appreciate everyone that has been praying, and ask that you continue to lift up my brother in law and the rest of us, asking that God will provide peace, wisdom, and comfort.

I love my sister, and knowing what I know about God and Heaven, I wouldn't pull her back from where she is even if I could.

But that doesn't mean today didn't suck.

And then the Hazmat Team Showed up...

2008-04-23T00:53:00.002-04:00

Today I picked my wife up from work, and then the two of us, plus Abbey went to Dinner with my mom. Well, we left early because Abbey was feeling sick. We went home, and as soon as we opened the door...YUCK! There was a strong smell in the foyer, almost a strong insecticide/gas/paint/I-don't-know-what-smell. We looked around for an hour or so, but couldn't find the source. It was mostly toward the front of the house. At this point, Abbey was getting more sick, and we were getting light-headed, so we called my in-laws to come get her, and drove to the fire station to get some advice.

The fire captain and a couple of his guys came to the house and agreed- yup, there is a smell. They couldn't find the source, but they were concerned about it being from a flammable source or that it might otherwise be toxic, so they called...

THE HAZMAT TEAM

No, they didn't show up in the cool hooded jumpers like in E.T., but they did have cool "sniffing" gadgets. They too agreed there was a smell, but their sniffing gadgets couldn't tell them what it was, only that it isn't flammable. They couldn't guarantee it wasn't harmful, but thought it might not be. They recommended we not sleep there tonight, run the air conditioning, and check it tomorrow. If the smell isn't gone, there are people in the phone book that handle this kind of stuff.

"Smell Busters", I guess.

It figures. Earlier in the day, someone indicated to Shanna that they would be willing to support us in ministry. Then this happens. We can't let the devil steal our joy. God is Good. All the time.

Things I Like About Discovery Church

2008-04-20T21:11:00.005-04:00

I thought I would list some of the things I like about Discovery Church. They are in no particular order.

10. The people

9. Second Saturday service

8. How many churches have their own basketball court after only two years?

7. So many people help set up for service and tear down afterward

6. Outlet groups are meaningful

5. Claude's creativity. He makes hard stuff look easy

4. Randy's heart

3. The look on Davey's face when someone else is singing and he is just playing and worshipping

2. Jason's willingness to try just about anything

1. The people. Yeah, I said it once before, but they are that cool.

Something Is Bugging Me

2008-04-15T23:17:00.002-04:00

BEWARE: This is a long one...

It seems that I've been dealing with the topic of finances a lot lately. Several of my friends have gone through a Crown class (I couldn't- I was out of town too much for work), I wrote some small group material for Discovery on money and stewardship, and now Kings Avenue is doing a study in all of their Sunday School classes on giving. They also have another Crown class coming up, and I hope to be able to attend it.

Here's what's bugging me: In my research and from what I've heard from the pulpit over several years in different churches, I've heard variations of the following over and over:

"Jesus spoke more about money than He did any other topic", or "Jesus spoke more about money than about heaven".

Here's my problem: No.

No, I don't believe He did. Now, I'll admit that I haven't researched all of the supposed 2,350 verses in the Bible that deal with money and possessions, and I haven't looked at every one of these verses that Jesus spoke, but from the research I have done, I'm not buying it.

Let me give you an example. This is one of the 2,350 verses on money:
"If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has
something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your
brother, and then come and present your offering." Matthew 5:23,24

Is Jesus speaking about money here? He is referencing money, but is He talking about it? I don't think so. I think He was talking about forgiveness, reconciliation, and a clean heart. Or look at Matthew 25:14-28, the parable of the talents. Read it and ask yourself, "What is Jesus talking about?". Is money what comes to mind? It doesn't to me. I think of faithfullness, of trusting my master, of needing to be a good steward of everything, not just money.

Here's my point: When we say that Jesus spoke about money more than any other topic, that makes it sound like His focus was on money, and I don't believe it was. I believe that Jesus knows how important money is to us, how it can trap us, and how using and struggling with it is common to most, if not all people, and he used that to teach us the larger, more important lessons about faith, trust, love, Heaven, etc. More often than not, I believe those are the things He was talking about.

As I said, I hope to attend a Crown class soon. I think they have a great, biblically-based program and I am sure I will learn a lot from it. I also believe that the Bible, and in this case Jesus specifically, have a lot to say about money. I just think that we need to make sure when we read scripture we understand what Jesus is really talking about.

A Change In Focus

2008-04-09T09:25:00.005-04:00

Since I started this blog, much of what I've blogged about has been on the personal stuff, like the one I'm going to do soon about Abbey taking 2nd place in speed and 3rd place in design at the AWANA Grand Prix this past weekend. This has been a great way to keep family and friends (all 5 or 6 of you) up on what's going on.

Going forward, I plan to focus more on Spiritual matters- what God is doing, observations from scripture, that kind of thing. I'll still post the family stuff, but I hope to balance that with things that apply to Discovery Church, how I see God moving, and that kind of stuff.

I look forward to everyone's comments on my posts.

-Jim

FIRST, OBEY.

2008-04-05T21:42:00.003-04:00

Last week, my pastor was preaching on John Chapter 21, and talking about how some of the disciples had decided to go fishing and what a bad night they had and how Jesus told them to try one more time... you probably know the story. Anyway, I don't know how many times I've read this and heard the story over the years, but this time I noticed something I haven't noticed before.

Like I said, the disciples had been having a bad night of fishing. Why were they fishing? Well, possibly two reasons: first was commerce. Their world had been turned upside down. Jesus had died, and although they saw that He had been resurrected, they didn't know what was next. So what did they do? They went back to what they knew— fishing. Second may have been food. People have to eat, right? Well, they were not going to eat or make money this night.

They weren't catching anything. Then, Jesus calls out to them and tells them where to cast their net. Although they don't expect it to work, they do it anyway. Sure enough, they catch a huge amount of fish.

Here's what I've missed: When they came onto shore, what was Jesus doing? He was cooking fish! You see, the fish they caught wasn't needed for provision- Jesus already had the provision. Jesus could have said, "Hey! don't worry about having a bad night of fishing. I've got plenty of fish here.". He could have, but He didn't. He was ready to feed them from what He had, but He wanted them to obey. After they obeyed, Jesus shared what He already had ready for them.

What I Meant To Say Was...

2008-03-31T07:45:00.005-04:00

Christianese: the contained terms and jargon used within many of the branches and denominations of Christianity as a functional system of religious terminology. It is characterized by the use in everyday conversation of certain words, theological terms, and catchphrases, in ways that may be only comprehensible within the context of Christian belief.

I should have known better. I speak Christianese pretty fluently, so I should have anticipated this.

Yesterday, I told someone at church "my sister went home Friday". Oops. You should have seen the look on this persons' face. My bad. I should have said, "On Friday, my sister was released from the hospital to continue her recovery at home". Instead, they thought she died and "went home" to Heaven.

So, for any that only looked at the title of my last post but didn't read the whole thing, Andrea is not dead. I had dinner with her last night, in fact. She is continuing her recovery at home and can still use people praying for her.

I'll try to be more careful in the future. Who knew being a polyglot could be so much trouble!

Thanks for praying and continuing to do so.

-Jim

Going Home

2008-03-28T23:49:00.005-04:00

Here's what you need to know first:

Roughly 15 years ago my sister Andrea was treated for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The radiation treatments left her lungs weaker than a healthy person's, and she has been on oxygen ever since.

The day after Thanksgiving this year (November 23rd) Andrea, who had been battling a upper respiratory infection for a few weeks decided to go to the hospital. She wasn't feeling better, and the year before she spent 8 days in the hospital with similar symptoms. She wanted to keep that from happening this year and thought by going to the hospital she could make it a short stay.

Didn't happen.

While her husband was driving her to the hospital, she stopped breathing and slumped over. Her husband had to make a decision- call for an ambulance while they were on the road and wait, or keep driving. There were risks either way, but he decided to keep driving. He also did one other critical thing. He cried out to God.

By the time they got to the hospital, her heart had stopped also. They got her heart started, put her on a ventilator, and then the wait began.

Over the last four months we have wondered: will she live/will she wake up/will she ever breathe on her own/will she be mentally the same/will she have to go to a nursing home/will she be able to get out of bed... you get the picture. The first couple of months were really tough, and a lot of awesome people were praying for her.

In the last 4 -6 weeks, there was a really strong turn for the better. In the last couple of weeks, a timetable to leave the hospital was talked about for the first time. Today, after 4 months in two different hospitals, Andrea got to go home. She got to stand up from a wheel chair, walk over to the car, throw her own stuff in the backseat, open up her car door, and GO HOME. She still has a way to go. She still has a trache (for a little while we hope), but she got to go home and continue her recovery there.

God is good, and would have been no less so had He not granted our request for healing and taken her to Heaven instead. I'm really glad He said yes, though.

I know I'm biased, but this is one of the coolest videos I've ever seen.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T19:08:00.002-04:00

I hope everybody has had a great Resurrection Sunday. We spent a lot of time with some of our family (or that some time with a lot of family?) and generally had a good day.

I've been thinking about something since around Friday, and I invite you to share your thoughts. It started out in a conversation about "celebrating" Good Friday, and how we don't really celebrate it as much as we "observe" it. We celebrate Easter. We celebrate our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rising up from the grave. But I got to thinking- why do we celebrate it?

Don't get me wrong- I am glad Jesus did what he did and that by accepting His free gift of salvation I will be in Heaven with Him forever when I die. But still...

Christ rose from the grave (hallelujah!).
But to rise from the grave, He first had to be put in the grave.
He had be put in the grave because He died on the cross.
He had to die on the cross because God needed a perfect sacrifice.
God needed a perfect sacrifice to atone for my sins.
Because I am sinful, I couldn't be the atonement (duh). Jesus is the only one that could do it.

So I guess what I'm saying is, I feel a little weird celebrating Christ's resurrection without paying attention to the fact that He wouldn't have had to die in the first place if it wasn't for us. I am happy that Christ rose from the dead. I celebrate His resurrection. I just want to be careful to remember, and be thankful for, and celebrate His love for us and obedience to the Father that put Him through this. I want to celebrate the fact that God is so good that he would know how greatly we deserve condemnation, but that His mercy and forgiveness are greater still. I want to celebrate "agape". I want to never forget that what I celebrate cost Jesus dearly.

Ok, I know — a little heavy today. Again, it's actually been a good day. I am happy, and I am celebrating. If you are a Christian, you should too. I just want to make sure I remember why I am able to celebrate.

NOW SMILE! CHRIST IS RISEN!

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8

Dancing for Jesus

2008-03-22T17:57:00.003-04:00

This is a video clip of Abbey and some of her classmates doing a dance presentation during chapel this past week. If you don't know, she's the one in the middle of the back row. Most of these kids don't take dance (I think) but their teacher, Sophia McMorris, likes to do creative things with her class. I thought that the out-of-towners, and "no longer at KABC-ers would like this.

Cast Your Vote In My "Crying" Poll On The Right!

2008-03-20T14:35:00.003-04:00

Feel Free To Elaborate:

Dealing With Disapointment

2008-03-20T00:08:00.003-04:00

Last week, I heard from a couple of my AWANA leaders about their level of frustration regarding how much they are having to do because a) they started the year with too few fellow leaders, and b) many of the leaders that did sign up either have a problem showing up at all or at best show up late. This leaves the same people doing all of the setup, plus having to watch the kids before we get started. These folks are getting stretched too thin, and it wearing them down. I tried to encourage them, but after awhile it just gets to be too much.

A few days ago, I sent an email to the entire team(at one of the director's request) pointing out to everyone how important they are to me, the kids, and each other. I laid out the importance of of helping one another out, what is expected of everybody, and the saftey issues that can arise when they are not there.

Tonight was the first night after I sent the email, and the results were no better. Now, it's possible that they don't check their email everyday and I only sent it a couple of days ago. Maybe they didn't see it. I don't know.

For my part, I wonder if I haven't been an effective leader. I confessed my shortcomings in the email. Maybe I should have addressed this earlier. Then again, how much responsibility can I take for other people's actions? I thought discussing it in broad terms would help people to realize I'm talking about a team, not just them, but I don't know if that was effective. I can go to each person individually, but I don't want to push them further away. Although again, I can't really control their reactions.

I'm concerned for the future of the club. Claude left me a good, well-running club and it's falling apart. I plan on being in NC next year, but I want to leave things in good shape. The commitment I made to AWANA is one of the reasons Shanna and I stayed this year.

Some of this is venting. Some is probably whinning. My next step is to try and get the pastoral staff more involved- either in recruiting help, or helping out themselves.

So I'll ask this question: What would you do?

The Three "E"'s Of Concert-Going

2008-03-17T19:20:00.003-04:00

One of the things that has simultaneously helped to keep me sane and yet threaten to rob me of my sanity (just trust me) is that I have been blessed to coordinate volunteers at concerts for The Joy FM (http://www.thejoyfm.com/). I know I've mentioned this before, but it can be a lot of fun.

Last night was tobyMac, and Abbey really wanted to go. Well, my contact at the station, Bryan, came up with tickets for Shanna and Abbey. We decided not to tell her because Shanna has been so sick (two runs of antibiotics and still not well) and if she couldn't go, I couldn't take Abbey because I am there to serve and I couldn't do that effectively and watch her. Besides, we thought it would be fun to surprise her.

Sure enough, Shanna wasn't well enough, and I went alone. Even though she didn't know we had a ticket for her, Abbey was disappointed that she couldn't go. Well, it turns out it was a pretty easy night, and once the show started, there wasn't much to do. There were two opening acts- Matthew West and Jeremy Camp (technically a co-headliner, I think). I talked to Bryan and asked if I could run home and grab Abbey, come back, help pack up, then go watch tobyMac. He said "sure".

I called Shanna, so she could get Abbey ready. She said Abbey was so happy and she was bouncing all around. I picked her up, we raced back and... Bryan and the other volunteers wouldn't let me do anything. They told me to take my daughter and enjoy the show. After a little resistance, I agreed. I had a great time hanging out with my kid. God really blessed me. Oh, and the concert was cool, too.

Here are my "Three "E"'s of concert-going":

Excitement:

Enjoyment:

Exhaustion:

Nite-nite, sweetheart. Mommy and Daddy love you.

T&T Bible Quiz 2008

2008-03-17T00:26:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything new. If Claude ever read my blog, I'd be in for some serious payback. So, for the 4 of you that read this, thanks for your patience.

Here are some pictures of our AWANA T&T Bible Quiz Team. We had one team come in third, and the others... well, they didn't come in last, anyway. You know, I can be a competitive guy, but when it comes to these kids, I've got to tell you, winning is pretty far down on my priority list. It's not that winning isn't cool or exciting, but I just think there are bigger priorities.

What I want to know is, did they prepare? Did they practice? Did they do their best? Did they represent Christ well? Did they represent our church and themselves well? These are the things that I care about. As these kids are growing up, they are going to learn that they won't always be the smartest or fastest, or whatever. And other times, even when they are, they can still lose due to circumstances beyond their control. In those moments, the character lessons that are being built into these kids now will be invaluable.

My proudest moment that day? At the end, one of clubbers was called up to the front, being told she got 100% in the quiz. Well, even if I hadn't been watching the quiz, the look on her face told me she knew this was wrong. She went up and got her ribbon and sat down. We figured out that they confused her with one of her teammates. That kid deserved to be recognized, and (of course) his dad was there too, so not only did we have to fix this, it needed to be done publicly. My point? The child that had to give up the ribbon didn't pitch a fit, didn't seem disappointed, knew it belonged to the other kid, and gave it over with no problems. To me, that made her a champion.

I'm proud of you, Jordan.

Here are some pics:

A New Warrior Is Born

2008-03-06T23:26:00.008-05:00

Joshua James Snapp was born today at 1:13 pm. He is 6lbs. 10 oz. and 18 inches long. Don't know which parent he looks like, but he is already taking after him momma- he was three weeks early!

Those of you that know Cindy will find this amusing:

Today Cindy (still in her pajamas) brought Jordan to school. My wife, knowing how hard Cindy has been working lately "ordered" her to go home and go back to bed. Cindy said no, she had a doctor's appointment (regularly scheduled OB appointment) to go to. Shanna said fine, but then "go home and go to bed!"

So... Cindy goes to her appointment (I assume after changing). Remember, this was a regularly-scheduled appointment. No big deal, right? Wrong.

At the doctor's office, Cindy finds out she is already 7 centimeters dilated. The doctor tells her that she needs to go to the hospital now. Cindy is okay with that, but wants to drive herself over there. I'm guessing the doctor knows her pretty well, because he said no, the ambulance is on it's way to take you.

Well, other than a little early concern about keeping Joshua's body temperature up, mommy and baby are doing well. Daddy and Jordan are as happy as can be. Please keep them in your prayers. Here are some pictures:

Welcome to the outside world, Joshua!

Mommy and baby...

The Snapp Family, Version 3.0

I got to hold him!

Ever Have One Of Those Days?

2008-03-05T16:16:00.001-05:00

I'm having one today.

Don't Tell Claude!

2008-03-03T16:15:00.007-05:00

Well, don't tell him until I get up there! I have a feeling he couldn't resist trying this. Of course, he never reads my blog, so there is no real danger. I admit I haven't tried this, but it combines two of my favorite things: beef and deep frying!

Here's a recipe: http://www.culinarycafe.com/Holiday_Favorites/Fried_Prime_Rib.html

Joke #2

2008-02-28T10:54:00.002-05:00

I liked this one too...

A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.

Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.

"Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my Goodness!
You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter.
Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER? They're going to STICK! Careful . CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never!
Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them. Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"

The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"

The husband calmly replied,
"I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

Joke #1

2008-02-28T10:50:00.003-05:00

Saw this and thought it was funny...

A redneck was stopped by a game warden in Central Mississippi recently with two ice chests full of fish. He was leavin' a cove well-known for its fishing.

The game warden asked the man, "Do you have a license to catch those fish?" "Naw, sir", replied the redneck. "I ain't got a license. You must understand, these here are my pet fish."

"Pet fish?"

"Yeah. Every night, I take these here fish down to the lake and let 'em swim 'round for awhile. Then, when I whistle, they jump right back into these here ice chests and I take 'em home."

"That's a bunch of hooey! Fish can't do that."

The redneck looked at the warden for a moment and then said, "It's the truth Mr. Government Man. I'll show ya. It really works."

"O.K.", said the warden. "I've got to see this!"

The redneck poured the fish into the lake and stood and waited.

After several minutes, the warden says, "Well?"

"Well, what?", says the redneck.

The warden says, "When are you going to call them back?"

"Call who back?"

"The FISH", replied the warden!

"What fish?", replied the redneck.

Casting Crowns

2008-02-24T23:41:00.004-05:00

Ok, I know I complain about being too busy, but there are some things that I just can't say no to. Well I could, but I don't wanna.

I have been blessed to be able to be a coordinator of volunteers for several concerts for our local Christian Radio Station, The Joy FM (www.thejoyfm.com). I have been able to work concerts for Chonda Pierce, Mark Schultz, Winter Jam (Mercy Me, Skillet, Newsong, Mandisa), Chris Tomlin, and tonight Casting Crowns.

After doing the volunteer thing (handing out flyers, getting people to sign up for giveaways, etc.) I got to sit and listen to the band. Even though I was in the fifth row, the camera I had couldn't really zoom in too well. Someone I was sitting with is supposed to send me some pics, and when they do I'll post them. For now, here are a few pictures of of me with Bill Martin (morning DJ) and Bryan Scott (events department and my main contact for this stuff)and some of the volunteers.

Sometimes I think I should stop doing this stuff. It's not a "must" thing in my life, but I really enjoy it and besides...

...next month is Toby Mac.

Some of the volunteers

Me and Bill Martin

Me and Bryan Scott

...But Not Forgotten

2008-02-18T21:34:00.004-05:00

This is a picture of Abbey (on the left) and her best friend Madyson Council taken about 3 years ago (and yes, my child uses the term "bff"- ugh! I hate that term.). Anyway, Abbey and Mady met in AWANA and became best friends right away. A couple of years later, Mady accepted Christ as her Savior, and it was on the day that Mady was getting baptised that Abbey's heart was opened and she got saved!

Well, over the summer Madyson moved to Knoxville, Tenn. Even though they don't see each other much or talk too often, Mady is still in her heart.

Speaking of hearts, when Valentine's Day was approaching, Shanna had to go and get the Valentine's Day cards for Abbey that she needed to pass out to her class. Abbey was excited at first because they were "Kim Possible" cards, but even more excited that there were over 20 cards in the pack. Why? Because there are only 12 kids in her class, and since she knew she had more than she needed, Abbey exclaimed, "I can send one to Mady!".

Now if only Shanna and I will get her to the Post Office...

Culture Clash

2008-02-17T18:05:00.007-05:00

One-third of the people that read this blog have asked for updated pictures of my family. Sure, only three families actually read this, so that means only one has asked, but I'll still take it as a mandate!

My daughter, Abbey, has to do a project called "Culture Clash" for her 3rd grade class. Basically, she has to learn about a country, cook some of their food, and wear an outfit that represents that culture. Abbey chose Italy/Sicily.

Here are some pictures of Abbey making Eggplant Parmesan with my mom.

People With Vision

2008-02-13T11:34:00.005-05:00

Met briefly today with some friends that are part of a new Restaurant Chain called Hungry Planet. As a subsidiary of S3 Partners (http://www.s3partners.com/) the concept is well funded and is poised to make a difference in the communities in which they build. There is some information on their site, but the basic idea is this: They build a "real" restaurant- not some "hey, why don't we try this on a shoestring budget" type of thing. Think of a higher end Panera (my words, not theirs). The restaurant is owned in part by the corporation and in part by investors. 100% of profits go to ministry. The last I heard it would be 50% to the community in which the restaurant was located, and 50% to oversees missions. I believe they are already bringing clean water to some areas in Africa that didn't have it.

I don't pretend to be an expert on Hungry Planet, but I am excited to see Christian businesspeople honoring God by only excepting excellence in what they do, and doing it to give back to Him.

And yes, Eastern NC is in the plans, but it may be a while.

I'm Curious About Something...

2008-02-07T22:47:00.000-05:00

...yep, I can make a short post.

Good to know.

When Is It Satan?

2008-02-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

A few years back (more than I care to count, actually) I was having a conversation with a man about different versions of the Bible. Now, this particular person was a "KJV Only" guy. In fact, he said to me something like, "The fact that the King James version of the Bible is still the most popular translation is proof that God's blessing is on it, and it's the best choice". Well, at the time I was managing a Christian Bookstore and new the numbers, so I shared that no, the KJV is not the most popular translation anymore. To that he replied something like, "That just goes to show you how Satan has infiltrated the church". The point is, he believed the KJV was the best translation (or God's annointed translation), and if the facts on populartity supported his viewpoint it was God, and if they didn't, it was Satan. Either way, his mind was made up, and facts would not faze him.

So what's my point? Well, it's this: My family and I and preparing to move to North Carolina to work with Discovery Church. There are lots of things to do- sell the house in one of the hardest-hit areas in the country for dropping real estate prices, raise two year's worth of support, work on outlet group material, work on my strategic plan for when I'm there, etc. All of this has to be accomplished while still holding a 40+ hour/week job so I can feed my family and keep the mortgage up, keep up with my current church commitments (this is the busy time of year for AWANA, plus I'm a yokefellow), and try not to stink as a husband and father.

On top of that, we are currently financially hurting. We run a pretty tight budget as it is, and this week we have spent a couple of hundred dollars due to doctors visits, prescriptions, etc. That followed a car repair bill that that was over $400 and didn't include the 3 tires I still need to get for my car.

I still haven't made my point, have I? Ok, here it is: How do I look at these trials acurately? Is it Satan coming against us for trying to do something for God? Is it a matter of people get sick sometimes, and tires wear out? Is our spending out of line, or are we not being careful? Is it God trying to tell us to stay put and not move?

The only answers I have are...I don't know. I can look at the tangible stuff (budget and spending) and adjust where possible. As for the spiritual side (message from God vs. attack from Satan), all I can say is we have prayed about the move, and we believe this is where God is leading us. If you want to know if I've seen a burning bush, I haven't. Then again, I don't think I need one. I believe what we are attempting to do will allow us to serve God on a deeper level than we would be able to do here locally, and that what we are doing is for His glory and in His service. All we can do is pray that God will bless our efforts, give us wisdom, and help us to be faithful.

We are always looking for people to be praying for us. Will you?

Congratulations Giants

2008-02-03T21:59:00.000-05:00

...and no asterisk needed.

Is There Anything Better?

2008-01-27T23:22:00.000-05:00

Got a phone call today from a friend of mine, Greg Dawson. He wanted to share with me some great news- his son, Parker accepted Christ as his Savior. If I'm correct, this is the third of his five children to get saved (the other two are 3 years and under I believe).It occurred to me that while it made my heart glad to hear this news, and it obviously made his parent's hearts glad, Parker getting saved made GOD happier than anyone else.How awesome is it that God, who is lacking in nothing, wants us to be with him?

Maybe I'm the only one that has had any confusion about this, but for years I have heard something like "the angels rejoice when a person gets saved". I heard someone challenge this thought, so I thought I would look it up. In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son. In each parable, the one who lost something (the sheep, coin, or son), was the one rejoicing. Well, when man sinned, it wasn't the angels that lost something, it was God. Obviously we lost more, but that's not the point here.

In verse 6, the one that recovers what was lost invites his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him. In verse 10 Jesus says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." So, while the angels may be rejoicing also (like the friends and neighbors in v.6), the rejoicing is being done in their presence. So... when someone gets saved, who is in the presence of the angels doing all of that rejoicing?

It's God.

Don't Fence Me In...

2008-01-25T10:05:00.000-05:00

Actually, PLEASE fence me in!

Shanna and I have wanted to fence in our yard for some time now, but it was just too expensive. The neighbors on the left and right of us fenced, meaning all we would have to do is fence across the back and put up gates on either side. Well, that was still going to be around $2,000 and that just wasn't in the budget. Last night I looked out the back door and what do I see? A FENCE! The folks behind us decided to put a fence up! This is such a blessing and we are really happy about it. Now all we have to do is put up two gates- much cheaper. Even though we are planning to move, we may still do this to help along the sale of the house. Praise GOD!

Go ahead Jason, you know you want to...

God Comes Through Again

2008-01-24T00:11:00.000-05:00

God rocks. He just flat out does. Maybe one day I'll just accept that and stress out a lot less.

A Christian radio station, The Joy FM (www.thejoyfm.com), was a part of a concert called Winter Jam. The lineup was pretty impressive- Sanctus Real, Skillet, Mandisa, Newsong, Mercy Me, and a couple of others. Anyway, I've done some work with the station before, and I got a call asking if I could get together 35-40 volunteers- in less than two weeks. Well, I was stressing out hard about this. I didn't want to let them down, but I wasn't sure I could get this many people that quickly.

But as usual, God came through.

Some folks from my church and other contacts signed up and allowed me to breathe easier. Some didn't even come for the concert, they just came to help out, saying they were "just there to serve". Others wound up being asked to do more than was originally intended. When there was an invitation given, people were asked to fill out a little form so the organizers could know who made a decision, maybe do follow up, etc. Well, they apparently ran out of the forms where people were coming forward. One of the volunteers from our group went out of his way to find some of the forms, and then went about finding people that wanted them- and there were plenty.

These people didn't do these things for me, or the radio station- they were doing it for God, and that was awesome.

Hittin' The Road

2008-01-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

On the list of my least favorite things to do, going on a trip and leaving my family behind is near the top. This Saturday I get to travel on business to Alabama. I will be gone Saturday-Tuesday (actually returning late tuesday). Then, I am home Wednesday-Friday. The next Saturday, I get to do it again- this time to Charleston, SC for four days.

Don't get me wrong, I know that there are people separated from their families for much longer stretches than this. Our military men and women in particular have it much worse. While I realise that they have it tougher than me (for that and many other reasons), that doesn't mean I can't say that leaving my family for even this amount of time stinks. This is who I am, and I married a woman that is the same way. It is one of a number of reasons that we are such a good fit. Our daughter isn't used to it either. Again, no one is going to crumble apart from this, but I wish they could come with me.

Anyway, I pray God will keep us safe while we are apart, and use the time for His glory.

You Never Know Whose Life You Might Impact

2008-01-10T11:31:00.000-05:00

A Deacon at my church, Kings Avenue Baptist, passed away this week. His name is Dave Soverly. I only knew him for a couple of years, but he was a good man, active in visitation, and earnestly desiring to please God.

Years before I met Dave, Dave met a man named Patrick Case. Patrick had a company that sold sign letters, but he had an idea for another product that would enable fast food restaurants to put full-color images up on their readerboards without having to purchase expensive LED or LCD signs. Well, Dave worked for McDonald's at the time. He was one of, if not the first, customer for this new product. He allowed Patrick to test them out at one of his McDonald's. Dave was very encouraging, and his help allowed Patrick to develop and improve his product, called Marquee Graphics®.

In part due to Dave's help, Patrick's product became more popular. He began to sell more of them, eventually requiring Patrick to open up a division of his company specifically to handle Marquee Graphics.

I work for that company now.

I began working for National Readerboard Supply before I ever met Dave Soverly. But his generosity and openness to help out an entrepreneur named Patrick Case — when many others would not have — indirectly lead to my current employment.

You never know whose life you may have an impact upon.

Thanks Dave.

Sometimes I hate Matt Redman

2008-01-05T13:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, before you start to question my salvation, let me explain:

I'm not outwardly a very emotional person. At least I don't think I am. I get emotional, I just like to believe I can keep it in check. Especially when it comes to crying in public. I don't mean to get all "tough-guy" acting, but I don't like crying in public. Maybe in an extreme situation, like the death of a loved one, the birth of my daughter, or the day I heard about Die Hard 4 finally being released. Anyway, I like to keep my tears to myself. I'm working on being more open, but this is where I am now.

So, the other morning I'm driving to work and listening to Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go". The bridge of "I can see a light, that is coming for the heart that holds on / and there will be an end to these troubles, but until that day comes...", and I start crying. Not a little tear, mind you, but real crying. And I couldn't stop myself. I tried, but I couldn't. Finally, I began to accept the freedom of how I was feeling, but as I mentioned I was driving to work. I had to get control of myself because frankly, I couldn't see very well. So, I got control.

Frankly, I wish I didn't have to stop. I'm sure there was someting for me to learn in that moment, whether it was releasing frustrations to God that I've been holding onto, or just the fact that vulnerability is a good thing.

If you are not familiar with the song, check out the following link. It's not concert footage, but the person who did it did a pretty good job:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=SIAdgLR1ZGw&feature=related

New Year, New Blog, New Direction

2008-01-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

Well, here we go- New year, new blog, new direction. The first two are pretty self-explanatory, but let me expound upon the "new direction".

My wife, daughter, and I are beginning a journey that is guaranteed to take us out of our comfort zone. We are following God's leading and moving to Greenville, North Carolina to join the staff of Discovery Church. While we were not looking to leave our family, friends, and church, we are excited about where God is leading us. We know there are challenges ahead, but that's okay. God is in charge, and if I do my part, I know He will do His.

There are a few minor (ha-ha) details that need to be worked out first. I need to raise my first two years of support. I have to sell my house in one of the harder-hit areas of the country in the current real estate slide. I need to make sure I leave my current employer in good shape (possibly finding and training a replacement) . I need to find new housing and get things set up to hit the ground running when I get there.

One of the hardest things to remember sometimes is that not only is nothing impossible for God, but also that nothing is difficult. We often think of things in "degrees of difficulty". For God, the degree of difficulty is always the same — zero. In my mind, selling my house and raising support seem like HUGE obstacles, but for God, these needs are as easy to meet as the things I consider "little" obstacles.

Of all the needs we have, the biggest is to find people that will faithfully pray for us. So, here are my prayer requests:

Pray that God will bring people our way that will catch the vision for what we are doing and be willing to partner with us financially.
Pray that we will be able to sell our house for a sufficient price.
Pray that we won't take on burdens that we have laid at God's feet.
Pray that we will remain faithful to God's call.
Pray that our family and friends in Florida will understand what we are doing, and that we will miss them as much as they will miss us.
Pray that...well... just pray!

I look forward to keeping everyone posted on how things are going, and not giving Claude the opportunity to do to me what I've done to him. Don;t worry, he knows what I mean. I'm working on the overall design of this thing, so keep checking back!

God bless,
-Jim