I'm having problems publishing...sorry
latro

I gave the call to worship this morning. I thought it was pretty good so here it is.

I wanted to be Simon but I was supposed to be Jesus.

Don't mistake what I mean. I have no messiah complex I just was moved by the movie this week. The way Jesus suffered (which is what passion means)

As he is making his way to Golgotha you can tell he wants to get there. Any other man would have stopped and said "I am done. Beat me all you want I go no further. Why would I keep going just to be punished some more." But Jesus kept going. His persistence was visible. It was even foreshadowed as he first picked up his cross. The other prisoners only had the pitibulum strapped to their shoulders but Jesus had the whole thing. As he knelt to pick it up one one prisoner mocks him shouting "You fool! Why do you embrace your cross?!" You suffer with Jesus in all of this…you just want it all to stop.

Eventually Jesus doesn't have the strength to continue. And Simon the Cyrene is forced to help carry the cross. It is here that initially I related to the film. I wanted to be Simon. I wanted to help him carry his burden. Then I realized, although I wanted to be Simon I was supposed to be Jesus. It was for my sins not His own that he suffered. He died in my place.

1 Peter 2:23 says "When they hurled their insults at him he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."

I wanted to be Simon but was supposed to be Jesus.

Most of you I assume have not yet seen the movie...but you know the truth.
My word to you is “be grateful”. That was supposed to be you on that cross.

So this morning don't merely speak as you worship...let your worship say something

Well,
A few days ago Levi was running around the house goofing around. He chased Tyler. Tyler chased him. And he indulged in one of his favorite pastimes: running and sliding under my legs (which make a "bridge" from the couch to the coffee table). He has all these rules about style and how he can't touch me or he loses points. I believe he's looking for "the perfect slide". I think it was Monday night that he miscalculated his slide and WHAM!! hits his head on an eight spot Lego on the table. Of course his head bounces off the table like an over inflated brick and he grabs his head and the tears start to flow. I didn't realize he'd hit the Lego initially and figured I'd be making an omelet with his fresh goose egg. Not exactly. That Lego must have been a Ginsu in a previous life because it sliced his forehead open like a tomato after a tin can. At this point I was grateful for the first aid training I received as a requirement for coaching a H.S. sport. It was pretty apparent even at that point that this situation deserved a trip to the hospital. To make the situation a little stickier, the Cruiser was at the church and Wendy had the van @ the Birk, Sather, Davenport Financial doing our taxes. (we like turbo tax) Running back and forth between tending Levi's wound and searching for the phone I finally managed to call Wendy, giving her the cryptic message "You need to get home. Now."
in retrospect more information might have been prudent at that time but I had a very frightened 5 year old with blood streaming down his face.
I had the bleeding stopped by the time Wendy arrived and we loaded the boys up and headed for Mercy. We get there and Brent Cosens stitched him up. Levi ended up with 8 stitches just over his left eyebrow.

Everything was going pretty well until last night when the boys went to the gym to play and one of the other boys launched a purple rubber scud missile (a ball) at him and actually hit his target. BUllseyed the wound. Of course it started to bleed again and really kept oozing all night. It swelled up more and his eye turned even more purple that it already was. The color probably would have happened anyway but the bleeding and swelling concerned us a bit. He woke up this morning looking like Apollo Creed taught him a lesson on manners. His eye was swollen almost completely shut. Wendy took him to get the stitches out only to find out he has an infection...ewww. So we will have to wait to get the stitches out.

As a Dad this whole situation is different. The night it happened my emotions messed with me. It is an odd thing to have a child in pain. Something inside you snaps and makes you want to cry. It isn't a sadness cry, or a scared cry...it is an esoteric feeling one can experience but not describe. I don't cry every time he gets hurt. Just the opposite, I am usually one of those fathers who comforts his kid for a very short while then makes a joke to get him to move on. But everything changes when your firstborn experiences real pain mixed with fear. It is hard. Strange, but hard. It is a good thing Levi is a tough kid. I will make you a deal, pray for the infection to go down and I will keep you updated.

Latro

Just got back from the movie... ...wow...

...

...Emotional. Graphic. Moving.

I am Simon
I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

I want to carry the cross for Jesus but Jesus carried the cross for me.

Jesus carried the cross for me...

I'm leaving in a few minutes to go see a preview of "The Passion of the Christ". I've been praying about this for some time because I'm not sure how it will affect me. I have had daydreams where I stand up during the flogging and shout out "NO! STOP IT!". I guess I am expecting to be deeply moved and affected by it. I do believe the level of sin among believers who see this movie will take a dramatic plunge immediately after they view it. Here I go...latro

I am cleaning out my notepads and I came across an entry in one of them that is who knows how old? It is on the back of a page with video game notes (Riddle of the Sphinx) and it has an 800 number...hmmmm...and my in-laws phone number on it. Strange. Anyhow, here's the comment.
"Sometimes God invites us to tasks that are hard. Sometimes they get harder before they get easier. But they are always worth it in the end." end quote...end entry...latro:)

Okay. HI. How is everyone? I am fine. Had F.U.N. tonight. Wasn't supposed to. Was supposed to be in K.C. Had a coaches clinic. Couldn't get help. So punted the clinic. Only had 9 M.S.'ers. Plenty. They were very loud tonight. Typical. about the same for H.S. we played alien. 1st time in a while. It was fun. Hi again. Kathy got injured. Beth and Abbie killed us all. Jon and I did too. big surprise. This blog drips with sarcasm. (inside joke) -now for the serious stuff---

went bowling Monday. Had fun. Bowled well for a sick guy. (sick 4 days) Noticed something though. When in a bowling alley (or gas station), you don't notice the smell after a while. It shocks you when you first arrive. But then not so much. You bowl. You sit. You bowl again. You sit. ( thats if you're good. if not, you bowl twice then sit, he he ) You pay. Turn in the stinky shoes. You leave. Then it hits you. You smell. (and that's no verb) Reminds me of sin. Not only is it yucky to have on you...but you don't realize how yucky you are till you emerge from the yuck. As long as you stay in the yuck. You don't seem yucky. Once you do...peeuwwwwhhh. Same with life.
God rules, being yucky drools.

Went bowling the other night...bowling is funny. about as much of a sport as golf (which I also do) you try to knock over inanimate objects that have no defensive abilities whatsoever. sometimes I feel like a bowling pin. just waiting to be knocked over...just to be set back up, to be knocked over..etc...etc...
life is interesting but it isn't always fun. But it is interesting. I have written several blog entries recently and deleted them because I was getting too serious. this should give me some balance.
latro

Well, I didn't make it back after the basketball game. Went home with the Fam instead. (I have cool boys and my wife is a hottie.) The game was pretty good... would have been a pretty big blowout if our boys could have hit all their shots. 20 point margin easy. I must admit though, even with my amazin' bball skills it would be hard to shoot over or around a 6'6" 280 lb opponent. (that guy was really big)

read my bible this morning. Nehemiah chaps were pretty boring...lists...blah...which pretty well describes how I feel today. blah...still sick...wah wah...poor me
-->throws personal pity party by himself for himself<---

will attempt decent entry another time...aren't you glad you came?

even though I feel pathetic, God still is cool.
:)

p.s. say hi if you stopped in. it will give me motivation to write more....

Hey all...don't know how long I will be able to write. Getting ready to head to a basketball game. But is is lovely to be back in the land of the living...having been out of comission due to sickness. I will write something more interesting after the game...I have a few things in mind...but my mind drools sometimes so they might not still be there when I get back...

latro

p.s.: ...what if snoop dog had used "oinget" instead of "fizzle"? would it still be cool?
---teleoinget doggyoinget?...?

(by the way oinget is french so the "et" is silent.) ...told you my mind drools sometimes...

:)

Okay...just got back from a True Love Waits conference and I have mixed emotions. Let me start with the bad because then it is out of the way and we end on a good note not a bad. Redemption leaves a much better taste in your mouth than judgment does :)

so here we go...the negatives.(keep in mind these are only the observations and experience of one particular narrow minded person who is spoiled by big, quality programs and so must be a bit more intentional about experiencing God in things that aren't the same "caliber" as he is use to. --as if God only moves in certain caliber events of a certain quality--. I am such a church snob.) >convicted<

...end rant...back to your regularly scheduled programming...

the negatives:
I went to this event with several presuppositions, my first mistake.
I attend many quality "rallies" or youth events, like Ozarks weekend stuff, Ambassadors Rally, Deeper Life, etc...not to mention CIY Summer Conference, and Believe. Every one of these events has gerat publicity, great order, excellent bands, high quality speakers (usually) hence the big draws they typically are. These are the types of events that youth groups thrive on because they are bigger and better than the standard fare at their church. most churches can't compete with such programs...(the entities that do these events can't sustain them either which is why they are usually annual events not weekly !) having said all that I was a little disappointed in the "show" part of the night. I am a small, and narrow man. But that is how I feel.
I found myself being naughty early into it and leaned to one of my upper classmen saying "Our band rocks".
Now, before you mentally rake me over the coals understand this truthfully wasn't as much a dig towards the band on the stage as it was appreciating what we have back home.
I have no idea how much time and effort that band was able to invest for the evening. But as a worship leader...one who is always considering how his own band can improve...I couldn't help but to notice the missed lyrics, wrong notes, watch checking, wrong keys etc...they may be a new band, a mixture of a couple of bands, who knows?...
I do know this...there are 2 perspectives to condsider here: one, that missed cues, percievedinsincerity, not knowing the lyrics to your own songs, can be a distraction...if the quality isn't good, the focus can very quickly shift from praising God to asking yourself...should the sound guy maybe turn him down a little? or is that speaker broken? are they playing the same song?

two that God converted an entire nation through the testimony of a donkey...I don't exactly know what that sounded like but considering a donkeys usual voice..I imagine it was not very pleasant.

obviously an impact was made tonight because kids went forward. I recognize that some kids are lemmings and go forward every time and any time everyone asks them to make a decision...it is like a "kick me" sign on someones back...you just can't help yourself. :)
but I had a few kids tonight whom I know to be pretty well rounded individuals...who were moved by the evening. They pealed back the layers of humanity and found a divine moment. Something, or some combination of things, brought them to the realization that they have yet to fulfill Gods ideal for their life. Something was either lacking, or needed "shoring up" for the storm they will surely face sometime in the future. Praise God for moments like that.

It never will cease to amaze me how often people with perfectly good eyes fail to see. >convicted<

I guess in my ranting I have truthfull covered the positives already, and since this entry is nearly a novel I will refrain from continuing.

I will leave you with this thought.

God can move anywhere, under any circumstances. He doesn't need fancy lights, and talented musicians...sometimes all he needs is a bush and a match, or someone with better eyes than mine.

God rocks.

well okay...that really rots....I just wrote a really long blog and went to publish it but the time had expired...no way to retreive it...even to cut and paste it. grrrr will try again later. God rules, the world drools

-latro

Hmm. Our church has 2 services. The early service is a "traditional" service, and the second is a "contemporary" service. To open the first service we (the staff), will give some sort of devotional thought as a sort of call to worship. Typically I would just find some interesting quote to springboard off of, say something cute or slightly profound and be on my way. Admittedly I didn't work very hard at it. Usually I found myself scrambling at the last minute...rummaging through my bible for some note in the margin I could use.

Recently though I found myself convicted about my disinterest in my roll of preparing people for worship. The little tidbits were definitely not my best offerings ( an offense to God) and were no different from the devo thoughts the members would give later in the service (making one of us redundant).

I did some thinking about the purpose of my role...and realized I can kind of set the tone for the service...kind of like a keynote speaker. Which led me to question my use of typical devo material for it. I came to the conclusion that one of the best ways to prepare people for worship (praise) is to remind them of how awesome God is. I am currently going through the "omni-" statements...God is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), immutable (unchanging), etc...God is revealing himself to me through these. If for nothing else it has renewed my appreciation for who He is. He is quite remarkable. Words fail and emotions are insufficient to capture all that He is.

His ways are higher, his thought deeper.

His word pure, his rulings just, His sacrifice complete.

He knows all there is to know about everyone and every place and every thing. Unbound by time, with immeasurable power.
...

I need to stop here...I want you to be impressed with Him... not my vocabulary.

I found myself this morning once again wanting to weep after giving my call to worship. I am not exactly sure what it is about giving these thoughts that moves me but I find myself overcome afterwards. I come to my office and fight back tears.

God is awesome. He is Awesome He is awesome.

Praise be to the Lord Most High.

In my reading lately I have been coming across a lot of stuff about the sufficiency of God's word. Some of it is in books I am reading...some in bible verses declaring God's word as "flawless", "perfect", "complete", "eternal"...etc...

As a result of this (combined with reading a book that renewed my fervor for context) I have been doing a lot of pondering about how we interpret the bible and how many truth claims can really be attributed as a bible truth, and not just a general truth...

I have always been irritated by misuses of verses like the Philippians 4:13 claim that you can do anything you want to do because God will help you to do it...hogwash....read the whole text...it is more clearly saying that God will help you SURVIVE any circumstances you get into....not so much OVERCOME them.THAT is the truth of that passage
I suppose a person could make a case that I am being petty here but ...I think this type of thing is harmful to God's image. People take a passage such as this...make a "spiritual truth" out of it, then when they try to accomplish something ridiculous and fail...a natural conclusion is that since they failed God is either a liar because He didn't help, not real (same reason), or for some undisclosed reason chose not to give the needed aid.
It frustrates me...because such misinterpretations give God a track record He doesn't deserve. and usually it is because we are too lazy to REALLY find out what He is saying...we love little scripture "snacks", little "sound bytes" that sound great when removed from their context...
the sad part is there really is true power to be found in these "bytes" when understood correctly...to hound again on Phil 4:13, it can be very beneficial at times to understand Gods promise to keep is from being overcome by circumstances. I mean honestly....who hasn't had a trial in their life that they couldn't survive without God's sustanance? (on the other side of that coin how many people do you know who live a bold enough of a life to even need a verse like Phil 4:13 as the world knows it???!!)
well enough ranting for now I suppose.
this is fun! :)

sometimes it is hard to understand how we can want two things at the same time...how does it make sense that we can argue with ourselves?...on the one hand we want one thing ...while at the same time something entirely different on the other...how? it is intriguing to know we are capable of multiple opinions at the same time...of multiple wills. even..but it is also frustrating. (am I making any sense here?...it is 2:40 in the morning...I should be in bed)

hi beth..have a nice day