Crocs??

So...I have always thought that Crocs are weird looking! I mean...they look like gardening clogs, right? But, recently while in Houston we decided to try them on. Now Chris and Micah are proud wearers of Crocs. I never thought I'd see the day. I'm sure I'll be the next to jump on the band wagon. Micah is in love with his and wants to wear them all the time. The holes in the top are shaped like Mickey Mouse. Pretty cute! Oh, well.

I'm a jerk!!

So this morning I was reading in Matthew 7 and it amazes me how the words that Jesus spoke are just as counter-culture now as they were then. Jesus is talking to us about judging others and focusing more on pursuing holiness for ourselves and not being so focused on making sure people are up to the level of holiness we deem necessary.

See we are all judgmental in some way, I know it hurts to hear it. We all judge people in little ways. I used to judge parents (before I was one), you know when the kid is in Chili's and they are whiny and all over the place. I used to judge those parents and tell people how I would do it different and that my kids would never behave that way. Well Jesus said, you judged buddy now the same is coming back to you. A month or so back we were eating at Johnny Carino's after church. Well we happen to sit down next the entire staff of our church-plant team somewhere in Asia (don't ask where). Of course here it comes...it is one of those days we should have gone home after church and not out to eat. Needless to say the boys did not do well. Now I am not saying my missionary friends were judging us but I was now that parent I used to judge. So all I am saying is we all do it, we judge, so we shouldn't be surprised when we become the people we wrongfully judged.

See I am one of the worst kind of judgmental people. I label me being judgmental as being "cynical"...I know what is the difference. We are in Houston this week and I think Houston is the mega-church capital of the world. There is nothing wrong with large churches, I just prefer something smaller. But I have a major tendency to judge those churches and definitely their leaders. I have pretended I was not judging for a while by hiding behind the title of being a "cynic". Well the Holy Spirit reminded me this morning that being a cynical jerk and a judgmental jerk are the same thing, ouch. So I am laying it out there I am a jerk either way, so if you are a pastor of a large church...I am sorry for how I might have possibly judged you or might potentially judge you as I work through my junk. Namely if Joel Olsteen, Dr. Ed Young, or any staff member of Fellowship of the Woodlands (those are churches I saw ads for in Houston yesterday and then I quickly judged them and ripped them apart in my mind), stumble onto my page I am very sorry for being a jerk to you.

I want to be like my dad in this matter (giving you props pop), He amazes me with his wisdom and wise judgements. He is not an optimist who only sees the good, but he sees the good clearly and is also able to give encouraging insights into flaws. Where I would just be a jerk and tell someone everything they are doing wrong (in my opinion). Way to go dad you are rad.

So my challenge to you and me is to be ruthless in removing the planks from our own eyes so that when we need to lovingly help remove a speck from our brother's eye we can do it correctly. Lord help us be a people who are radical about pursuing personal holiness in a way that causes judgmental hearts to fall to the wayside.

OK to Learn?

So I have this frustration and maybe nobody else feels it but I seriously doubt that is the case. Well for me I have lots of ideas in my head that I am wrestling through and most of them are about how I think, believe, feel, live, etc. Sometimes I like to throw those ideas out there and have them not be fully formulated so that others can contribute and help shape how those things look. The problem is that in our culture many times you need to have it nailed down or have some sort of certificate before you can comment on something or you are considered "that guy". You know "that guy", the one who always has a comment on something but they don't always make sense. I don't want to be free to be "that guy" but I also want it to be OK to put an unformulated thought out there without the fear of being ripped apart by those with the nice certificate.

So here is what I am going to start doing; I am going to put my dumb, interesting, wrong, confused, etc. thoughts our here on this page and I want YOU to help me find balance to them. See I am all about finding balance. Our world has become so unbalanced that it is frightening and I keep seeing how Jesus came and made things come back into balance. So I may say some things that you think are way off base but before you react, just stop and remember most of the stuff that Jesus said seemed way off base to everyone in his day and yet he was nailing it ( I am not saying I am going to nail it all the time...just saying let things marinate before you rip me apart for saying something off both of our grids). Lets enjoy and find balance...get off the swing, Jesus is the plumb line.

everybody is a missionary

So here we are preparing to move to England to be missionaries and to be perfectly honest many people don't get why we would go to England. I understand where they are coming from, I mean in England you have running water and no one lives in grass huts. See for most people we have grown up with the idea that if you were a missionary you had to live in some remote and primitive place, and the truth is that for years that was true.

But here is my argument to that....all Christians are missionaries. Over the years we have put values on various people and what they "do" for God. If you were a pastor then you were more special to God and therefore more important. It also meant that pastors and missionaries were the ones who built the church and the rest of us just came to enjoy it. Well the more I read and think about it I see that we as Christians are all missionaries. Paul talks about in 1 Cor. 12 that there are many parts but one body, so there are many different functions but essentially we are all the same thing. We proudly wear the name of Christians and to do that means to be like Christ. So if we all call ourselves Christians then that means we all want to be like Jesus. Jesus was a missionary, so therefore we are all called to be missionaries. Being a missionary or "church-planter" does not mean that you live in a mud hut in the middle of the jungle (although that's great too!), it just means that in your normal life, you keep the Kingdom of God in mind and grow it actively through prayer, evangelism, meditation, and discipleship, all for the purpose of glorifying God by building his Church.

So yes we are moving to another country to be "missionaries" but in reality what we do and what you do is not so different. The people we reach will be in England, and the people you reach will be in the cubicle next to you, your neighbor, your professor, your child's teacher, the waiter at the restaurant, and even the grocery store clerk. So like Jesus said, "...the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand..." lets all go live like it. Go and be a missionary!!!

We're getting in shape...

So Chris and I are determined to get into shape. We're tired of being tired and we're ready to look like our old selves again. So we were watching an infomercial about this workout program. I know...infomercial...I'm embarrassed to admit it! But, it looked like really great workout videos and it's a 6 week program, so if you commit for 6 weeks you're guaranteed results. So, we figured we could at least work out for the next 6 weeks and see what happens. With two small boys, the gym or working out somewhere besides home every day is next to impossible. So, we started the 6 week program about 2 1/2 weeks ago and we're amazed at how hard it is! My gosh! It's really tough, but we're already seeing results and we still have about 3 1/2 weeks to go. Supposedly you see the most results in the last 3 weeks! So, we'll keep you posted on our progress! We're working out for an hour, 6 days a week and of course eating healthy as well. We'll see what happens! Maybe if we get up the nerve...we will post our before and after photos! Umm....Maybe! I would definitely recommend this program though...it's a lot of fun and Chris and I are having a blast doing it together. Watching him do aerobics is one of the highlights of my day! (I love you, honey!)