"All women have balancing acts," Mrs. Sanford says about her hectic schedule. Mrs. Sanford also admits, "Raising children is difficult." Therefore, she takes seriously her mothering responsibilities, and as with all things in life, Mrs. Sanford gives her best.
Ugh! Today, I feel like I'm reaching a mile stone birthday. I went to IN (typically a 7-8 hour drive) to help Uncle Bill (Great-Uncle) celebrate his 90th Birthday, which is actually today. It took 10 hours heading North and 11 hours heading back South. Two kids sure change the dynamics of long trips.
Regardless, we had a blast. Well, other than the fact that my wife was extremely sick and couldn't spend much time with the extended family. I, on the other hand, saw most of my cousins and their kids, and I got to spend some time with the great folks of Community Bible Church (Milton, IN).
Several pictures were taken and every one signed a guest book. As my cousin Tod said, "Uncle Bill can look back in another 20 years and remember who celebrated his 90th birthday with him."
Well, next week I celebrate my little birthday. I'm 60 years and 8 days younger than Uncle Bill.
Today, CNN called my neighborhood an excellent vacation spot. HMM. This isn't the first time that's been said. I wrote a column at SCHeadlines.com when HOTWIRE wrote a similar article.
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On a beach, kicked back with a good book and a light breeze blowing off the ocean, my little girl building sandcastles and splashing in the water, and a long walk with my wife between beautiful sanddunes and a majestic ocean -- now that's my idea of a typical vacation.
Recently, however, my wife and I took a short time off at an inn here in the upstate of South Carolina. The time was just as enjoyable and relaxing. According to Hotwire.com, it appears we're not the only folks relaxing in the upstate. Relaxing vacationers have found my very own neighborhood to be an excellent deal for vacationing.
I can't say the word.
I'm not much for rom*nce stories; however, every good story must have some rom*nce in it. And that's exactly what our story has. STOP! Promise me you'll read the post below.
My story does have rom*nce, in that a brave Hero fights for His bride. The brave Hero willingly pays the greatest sacrifice in order to have a pure relationship with me. At times I turn my back, I have even called out in rebellious anger, "Stay away!" Yet, He pursues. Because I'm great? No, because my Hero is loving. This love hung Him on the cross. And He still pursues, not that I may feel good (remember you're reading the post below this one), but that His name be magnified.
Here I stand, humbled by the loving pursuit of great Hero.
I love to sing about a relationship with the Savior. I'm not talking about a lovey-dovey, "This is my friend," that most contemporary artists want Christians to dwell on. The love Christ has for me is much deeper than making me feel good about who I am. I'm tired of songs (like this, this, and this--just click on LISTEN after following the provided links) that could just as easily be sung in a lounge about two lovers, and then at the end of the song the artist might sneak in, "That's my Jesus." Even the world, such as this journalist at NY Times, can see the humor, even sickness, in such foolishness.
I'm not discounting CCM here with a wide brush. Nor am I tying myself strictly to traditional, high-church music; though I do appreciate the doctrine and enjoy them in church services. To be honest, I love and often even prefer what we call WORSHIP AND PRAISE music (such as this, this, and this).
Again, I'm not painting with a wide brush. I'm not saying that all of traditional hymns are fine. Actually, I don't agree with and won't sing all hymns. In the same manner, I'm not approving W&P across the board.
Today, I gave the final for Youth Ministries. At the end of the final, I gave my farewell for the summer and to many who graduate, perhaps my final earthly farewell. I wrote:
To my students:
Ministry offers one of the greatest journeys anyone can choose. Ministry’s adventure brings joy and thrills as well as discouragement and heartbreaks, and though the requirements are burdensome, the rewards are far greater than the burdens. In ministry you will make friends, and you will discover enemies. Furthermore, in your ministry, a battle will rage on with a dreadful villain. The villain will prowl around your family and your people: he will seek to devour you and those you love. Therefore, you must learn to rely on the Hero of your ministry, for He is a match too strong for the villain. Even in the seemingly small tasks, you must learn to trust in the Hero, else the villain becomes the victor in your ministry.
I pray that throughout the rest of your ministry, you will maintain an unquenchable passion for God, for He alone gives strength to minister. I pray that you continue to know the true “joy in serving Jesus.” May your joyful service be Christ-centered, God-focused, and people-loving.
Today, my lunch plans fell through. I intended to eat with a student, but his finals schedule kept him busy. So, I went for a quick grab at JACK IN THE BOX.
The teens at church assured me how awesome JITB is. Since the 1993 death, I've not been all that interested in trying the place out. Since Jack in the Box is about .5 from my office, I decided to finally give it a try.
To keep this a short blog--I'll never go back.
My wife and I continue through the six part series of John Eldredge's EPIC. I must say that John is a much better writer than orator. Of course that's not to say that The Epic is not worth viewing, I just really like his writing style.
In Act 2, John remembers the all-time greatest villans--from the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader, to the evil wizard Sauron. Think of your favorite stories. Most likely you can recall a bad guy. Even children's stories have the wolf that huffed and puffed and the witch with poison apples. In the story, the main characters responded and live in the reality of a "bad guy." You know, our story has a villan too--the worst of all sorts. Peter, in 2 Peter 5:8, reminds Christians, "Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."
Jedi's trained against and fought the Siths, the fellowship avoided and drew swords against the Orcs of Morgoth, and the three little pigs ran from the big, bad wolf. Let's be honest, had Frodo and Sam not been aware of their villans, Tolkien's book would have ended in just a few short chapters with a victorious villan.
Unfortunately, most Christians don't live with the reality that the Enemy wants to utterly destroy them. Christian, your villan has a plan of attack. He will surprise you and completely devour you. Live in this reality. Live knowing that your villan prowls around waiting for your weakest moment, and you cannot handle his forces. Live knowing that your story's Hero can single handedly defeat your villan. Live to be a victor over the villan.
