"DO IT AGAIN...DO IT AGAIN"

"Do it again, do it again!!!... Do it again, DO IT AGAIN!!!" That's what I hear every holiday when I'm with my little 4 year old nephew.

You see, when he was maybe 2 years old I taught him how he could do a flip by walking up my legs while I held his hands. This took a considerable amount of time due to the fact that he was afraid of me to begin with. It took time just to coax him from behind his mommy's leg. I had to get down on my hands and knees and reach out my hand. I had to lay down flat and coax him with high pitched "c'mon's " before he would finally come jump on me and pull the hair on my chin. After more and more time playing he became more and more comfortable with me. He would hold my hand and I began to teach him to walk up my legs. He couldn't understand at first but eventually he caught on. He would take 1 or 2 steps up my legs and jump back to the floor. It took time and it took patience but finally he did it. He walked up the legs and I gave him a quick flip before he could jump back down to the floor. Once he did the flip and he experienced the thrill, and realized that I would hold on to his hands...well, he wanted to do it again.

Now, almost 3 years later, whenever he sees me he immediately grabs both hands and starts walking up my legs. He will do it over and over and each time he yells while giggling, "DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN!!!" Now there is no fear of me and no fear of flipping. He now likes to hang upside down for extended periods before he finishes the flip. Full confidence in his ability to flip and full faith I won't let go. Total trust.

Yeah, I'm that little boy doing flips while holding the hands of God. It took time, it took patience, and it took alot of coaxing. But I've done a few flips now and there is nothing like the thrill or excitement of putting yourself in a position where you are totally relying on God...where if He doesn't come through, your gonna fail BIG TIME.

Well God showed up again for the holidays and He was yelling my name. "Come here Son, it's time for something new." The flips were scary but it's been a couple years since I did the last one so I was getting pretty comfortable. Now it's time to get uncomfortable again. This time He is throwing me high in the air and letting go. I am praying I don't lose sight of Him. It's gonna take total trust and full faith that His hands will be there to catch me. I know they will be there because He is always faithful. Once I fall into His hands safely I'm sure I'll be quickly yellin, "DO IT AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN!!!"

Carlos and Danny

Go here and check out Carlos' words and an amazingly awesome video. Too cool. Immediately brought Hebews 13:2 to my mind. "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." I love it!

Chillin'

Tried to study tonight but last night was a late night in the basement with the bros and today was a long, busy, tiring day at work. As a result my mind was mush and I wasn't left with much focus. Decided to chill and find some mellow tunes that touched me. I'm feeling this right now.



Tonight the stars speak of your infinite love
And it serves to remind me
That what I have means nothing at all
Compared to your glory, Oh lord

How long till your voice speaks clearly?
How long till your arms envelope me?
I cry be my strength when I am weak
Oh Lord have mercy on me please

My spirit is willing but my flesh is so weak
I cry in your arms now
God grant me the strength to rest in you
I lift my hands and cry

Lord Willin'

I wanna be a part of something like this again.

That's My Boy

Yep, he is always the jokester. Couldn't find a picture where he's not making faces so today the jokes on him. Double deuces today for my only son. Happy Birthday Justin aka Bob!

Proud to be your Pops and I love you. I will always cherish those father-son moments when we were both little boys. Baseball, fishin', killin deer, and ridin 4-wheelers. Skippin stones, changin oil, carvin punkins, and building snowmen. Those many miles driving on vacation when I swore I was gonna kill you and your sister both. I miss lookin down at that little boy. I miss holding his hand when we crossed the street. I miss jumpin in the piles of leaves and pushin you in the wheelbarrow. I miss those never ending questions of why? and how come Daddy? I miss that little boy reaching up to me wanting to be held or wanting to set on my lap. I miss those bear hugs and the kisses goodnight. I miss that skinny little kid in his tighty whities running down the steps and flipping over the couch. Sometimes I think I wished those years away.

Now you are growing and maturing into a man and it is so tough to watch and allow you to go down your own road. It is hard to shut up and let you learn from your own mistakes, especially when they all seem to be the ones I have already made or continue to make. But man does my chest swell up when you make the right choice or the wise decision. I see you growing and maturing and being responsible in so many ways. I struggle with the tension of being there to help or support, as opposed to interfering or getting in the way. I guess that's part of being a Dad. I've learned as I went in the whole Dad thing and I continue to learn to this day. I know I have failed you in many ways as a father and for that I apologize once more, but know this...you have never failed me as my son. I love you more than you will ever know and I am proud to say, "Yep! That's my boy!".

Committed to Marriage

Marriage is tough stuff. It takes hard work and sacrifice. I know of many marriages that are struggling and even falling apart right now. Some are much more public than others. I was in a marriage that was once crumbling and falling apart but God restored it. Going through that makes it even more difficult to see people wanting to quit or give up on their spouse and marriage. I KNOW God is in the business of bringing to life things that are dead. It takes work but God is faithful.

God uses marriage as an analogy of his relationship with Israel all throughout scripture. If you think you have been hurt or betrayed by your loved one, search the scriptures for how deeply and repeatedly our Heavenly Father has been betrayed by his bride. Actually take a look in the mirror and think of how we all have deeply wounded and betrayed our Creator. Not everyone has committed adultery against their spouses but I believe we all have committed adultery in our hearts when it comes to our relationship with God.

Jeremiah 2:2 "I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown."

The covenant people of God are his wife. They have often been unfaithful and broken the marriage covenant but would God divorce his bride or quit on his marriage? NO!

But what about her horrible adulteries that were committed against him? Ezekiel 16:32 "You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!" Surely divorce is legit in these circumstances! Nope...not in God's eyes.

Then what? Separation? Yep! Judgment? Yep! Ezekiel 16:58-59 "You will bear the consequences of your lewdness and your detestable practices, declares the Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you as you deserve, because you have despised my oath by breaking the covenant."

Then what? Is that the end? Does God just separate and pass judgment then end the marriage? Nope! Ezekiel 16:60 "Yet I will remember the covenant I made with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you."

But isn't it wrong to take her back after she has laid with so many others? Jeremiah 3:1b in the ESV says it best. (at least to fit in with the song I am putting at the end)..." 'You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me?' declares the Lord."

Ahhh...but what a husband he is! Amazing in his grace! So full of mercy! Jeremiah 3:12 - Go, proclaim this message toward the north: "Return, faithless Israel," declares the Lord, I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the Lord, 'I will not be angry forever." That sounds like forgiveness and reconciliation!

God will not divorce. Malachi 2:16 "I hate divorce," says the Lord God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the Lord Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.

God is wholly committed to saving and enriching his marriage. Are you?

Bittersweet

Tuesdays are always bittersweet. Bitter due to the fact that I will not see my wife all day and night because of work and her Bible study. Sweet because I will be hanging out with a bunch of friends one week or hanging with just one friend the next. This Tuesday the bitter and the sweet seemed stronger than ever but for different reasons.

When I arrived at work on Tuesday morning I was informed that a man whom I deliver packages to regularly had taken his own life. I was totally shocked and saddened. A man who seemed to be so happy and by the worlds standards had it all, suddenly decided to end it all. But why? I heard what was believed to be the primary reason but who could know for certain all that he was battling. My mind flashed back to six months ago, when another man I knew personally chose the same ending. What pushed them to make that choice? This made Tuesday morning a little more bitter than the norm.

The day went on and by afternoon my thoughts began to focus on the friends/brothers that were going to be gathering in my basement that night. By about 6:45 they start pulling in the drive. One car after the other. That is when the SWEET part starts. We chat, pray and within minutes one of the new guys shares his testimony of a restored marriage, freedom from addictions and a radically changed life. So powerful and so encouraging. Great discussions follow and then another man shares some of his deepest, darkest, humiliating, lifelong struggles. Things that he has shared with VERY few others. What courage to share and to be transparent. He made himself to be totally vulnerable to another 12 men, two whom he had never met before the evening began. That takes guts. That takes a man. By sharing his battle with us, another brother shares that he has also struggled with this burden and has carried it and hid it within him his whole life. Suddenly two men realize that they are not alone. Not only that, they realize there are other men who love and accept them regardless of their weaknesses, struggles, sins, or burdens.

Then another brother shares how he had confessed his sins months earlier at our group and how God has been faithful to His word in lifting that heavy burden off his shoulders. He expressed how healing had begun and stated that as hard as he tried on his own, he never experienced the freedom that he now has. All of this made Tuesday night a little sweeter than the norm!

We need to bring these burdens, sins, struggles and weaknesses into the light, not hide them in the dark recesses of our lives. When we confess our sins to one another and when we share those struggles and burdens with one another satan looses any stronghold he might have. The enemy lies to us and tells us we won't be accepted and tells us that we are all alone in our battles. That is such a lie! Satan is a punk and he is a liar!

We all have something in the dark recesses of our lives. The most difficult thing is finding a place where we feel safe to share these things. I am thankful I have a place and even more thankful for the men who share my safe place and use it!

All day today my mind couldn't escape these questions. Did the men that took their lives have a safe place to share their struggles, their burdens, their sins, or their weaknesses? And if they didn't could their lives have been different if they did have that place?

My Wednesday was equally bittersweet.