So, we got a little snow the other day and here's a shot of Norah out in it!



Seeing the Invisible

Have you ever pretended to see something that you really couldn’t? Like, remember when the big thing was those Magic Eye books? You know, the ones with abstract computer generated images that supposedly had other 3D images imbedded in them that would fly out at you if you looked at them in a certain special way? Yeah, well I tried for years to see the magic pictures in those books. I would focus and unfocus my eyes, turn my head, turn the book, stick my nose on the page, stick my eyeball on the page, concentrate, empty my mind, cross my eyes, stand on my head and I even tried praying a couple of times, but I never saw a blasted thing. To be honest, I think the whole thing was a big hoax… like the Emperor’s New Clothes of the 90’s where no one wanted to admit they couldn’t see the thing because seeing it was the cool thing to do.

Well, lately I have noticed something coming up a bunch in the Scriptures… and that is, the importance of ‘seeing’ God. This wasn’t a subject I went looking for during my time in the Word or anything, it has just sort of happened. In the past few months I’ve just been noticing what seems to be the huge importance of seeing Him and I don’t really get it. It’s actually been a bit troubling to me in my reading and thinking about Scripture because I’ve never actually seen God, and in fact, the Apostle John tells us three times that no one has ever seen God. So what in the world am I supposed to do with the fact that seeing Him is apparently super important and no one’s ever done it?

Check this out: Psalm 17 says, “And I in righteousness will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.” Psalm 25:15 says, “My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only He will release my feet from the snare.” Psalm 34:5 says, “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” When the writer of Hebrews gets all cranked up talking about Moses in chapter 11 and how he left riches and power to follow God and rescue Israel it says that Moses “persevered because he saw Him who is invisible.” And in the very next chapter we are encouraged to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

How can I see Him who is invisible?! How can I fix my eyes on a person I can’t see? “My eyes are ever on the Lord?!” What if my eyes are never on the Lord?!

Obviously we don’t have to physically see Him with our eyes, but what is seeing Him really all about then? For the answer to this question, I turn as usual to my resident theologian: my four-year old daughter… You see, whenever Anna is playing with little Lego people, one of them is Jesus and the rest are the ‘little children’ who came to Him in Matthew 19. When Anna wraps up a baby doll to mother and care for it, it’s almost always the baby Jesus. She loves to take care of Him. The other day we went on a walk and Anna picked up a little branch that had fallen from a pine tree. She stuck her arm above her head and started to wave it around like she was dancing. When we asked her what she was doing, she said, “I’m waving this branch to my favorite boy!” (a.k.a. Jesus) You see, Jesus just colors everything in her world. She doesn’t have one part of her life that He’s not included in… she sees Him everywhere, in that she sees everything through the lenses of His existence in her life, her love for Him and His activity in her life. Isn’t that how you do it? Isn’t that how you see Him who is invisible?

Unstoppable Nerdiness...

So, back in the day Charlie and I were on the same Young Life team and did a lot of skits together. One time we were these guys called Scotty and Shamus McFarlane, the Irish Samurai. While working on the sword-fighting choreography, we thought, "Why not make a lightsaber movie?"

I really miss those days! It was fun to do all that silliness with Charlie and to indulge our unparalleled dork-hood in the name of Jesus...

Anyway, here is our lightsaber test movie. Charlie did all the hard work. If you want to see his latest amazing creation, just go to his blog by clicking here.

Here's Anna listening to some rocking epic power-ballads on Christy's new iPod!

The Bridegroom

When I was 21 and a junior in college, I was ready to marry Christy. We had talked about it for years, and I felt it was time, so one January night I approached her dad, Bill to ask for his blessing. The following is an account of that meeting:

Let me just say that I was super confident about this whole thing until we actually sat down in a booth and I looked across the table at Christy’s dad. When I looked him in the face, I froze like a dear in the headlights. What on earth was I doing?! Who was I kidding? I felt like a fifth grader asking my dad for the car keys. I mean, I was no man! I still loved Lucky Charms and Legos! If I could have had one wish it would have been a real, working light saber! I was just a stupid little boy looking into the face of this man who had held Christy when she was a helpless baby… the man who had wiped her tears and carried her on his shoulders… the man who had baptized her and had loved her for every second of her life… what was I thinking?

Well, long story short, I spent that entire dinner jawing about everything under the sun except my plan to marry Christy. I just got scared and he knew it too. He spent that whole evening looking straight through me with this amused look that said, “Give me your best shot, little dude.” We actually ate all our food, got the check and left the restaurant without me mentioning Christy at all. No kidding. Finally, as we were heading toward the car in the parking lot I stopped and said, “Bill, I want to marry Christy, and I would like to ask you for your blessing.” He laughed and laughed, finally saying, “I wondered how long it was going to take you!”

Well, Bill joyfully gave us his blessing and after Christy accepted my proposal I became something that has been my favorite station or title in this life… And if I won a million Oscars and Grammys, if I earned a hundred PhD’s… if the entire world united to name me the Prime Minister, President, Caesar and Grand Sultan of Planet Earth, not one of those titles would mean as much to me as this: That on a chilly January Saturday afternoon when she said “Yes,” I became a bridegroom. More than that, I became Christy’s groom. And there is no greater honor this world could bestow on me than that of being my wife’s man. You see, she is the Apple of my Eye. She makes my very heart beat. I know this might be cheesy, but my wife has this one smile… I mean, she has a million smiles, but she has this one in particular that is like pure, untainted and child-like joy bursting from the depths of a contented heart, and when I make that smile happen, I’m home.

The reason I tell you all of that mushy stuff is because there is something extremely mushy about Jesus that I am all worked up about this week. There is something about Him that is so cheesy that it’s absolutely wonderful… In John 3, a bunch of folks asked John the Baptist why he was losing his crowd to Jesus, and this was his reply: "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete."

John calls Jesus “The Bridegroom.” Now, I know this might be kind of a hard thing to get your head around, but the reason that John calls Jesus ‘Bridegroom’ is that Jesus wants to be our groom… Yes, He’s our Maker. Yes, He’s the One who gave His life to save us, and yes, He is in control of all things, but here’s something else you should know about Him… He loves you like a Groom loves his bride. He came because of love for you and He wants to be yours and for you to be His.

You know, when I was talking to Christy’s dad about marrying her, he asked me, “Why do you want to do this now instead of waiting until you both graduate and have jobs?” Now, I probably could have come up with some reason that would have sounded really wise and well thought out, but the problem was, I hadn’t really thought it out, so I just answered honestly. “The truth is,” I said, “I just don’t want to live another day without your daughter.” It was about love! I just wanted a life with Christy. I wanted to take over responsibility for her. I wanted to provide for her and be the one who filled her heart and made her smile.

That’s the way Jesus feels about you. He wants to fill those empty places. He wants to take care of your needs. He wants to take over responsibility for your life, meeting all your needs and giving you true joy. He’s all the love you’re looking for and He’s the Bridegroom… He’s the One who longs to see you walking down the aisle toward Him, giving your heart back to Him. I can still remember my heart hammering when I saw her in that dress for the first time… my bride. Man, I loved her so much. Just think, that’s just an infinitesimal fraction of the way the God of the universe feels about you!


My Bride:

Norah got some sunglasses and a new bathing suit for Valentine's Day... she proceeded to wear them both right there in the house.


Smoke Rings and Sun Beams

So, the other day Christy got the girls a ton of library books and after reading this one awesome book about love, I asked Anna if I could borrow it, take it to work and then bring it back a day or so later… whoa! You would have thought I had asked her for one of her lungs! She became so sad and upset and then straight-up told me, “No.” I told her I was only going to borrow it for a little while and then give it right back, but my words were lost in a flood of hysterical tears. Her whole day was ruined by the prospect of that book leaving the house, and no matter how much I assured her that I would indeed bring it back very soon, no smile could break through that sad little face.

You see, as soon as I mentioned borrowing the book, Anna got it in her mind that she would never see it again… She was operating under a false reality, which in turn fueled an unnecessary sadness.

In Philippians 4 Paul tells us to “rejoice in the Lord always…” Now, if it’s possible to rejoice always, then is it fair to say that some of our sadness, despondency and depression is unnecessary? I don’t know… but one thing I’m fairly convinced of is the idea that a whole lot of our unnecessary sadness is fueled by false realities. We look at our overwhelming situations and say over them things like, “There is no hope.” “It will always be this way.” “They’ll never change.” Mike Mason says that the only problem you’ve never overcome in your life is the one you’re in right now… you’ve made it through everything so far and one day you’ll be out of this one too. But most people don’t really think that way. Mostly people think, “Look at this unbearable and impossible situation! I can’t believe I’m here… I can’t handle this!”

In my experience, when you try to talk sad people out of their sadness they don’t really want to hear it, or they’re ‘not ready for that yet.’ If you try to encourage them by talking about all the amazing truths and promises we have in Christ, many folks will blow you off. And hey, I’m the same way and have done the same things. It’s like you’re trying to blow sunshine up my nose or something and I just see all those promises as smoke and mirrors… Well look, I am not an advocate of optimism for it’s own sake or the power of positive thinking. I mean, when the glass is half empty or even all the way empty, I don’t want to say it’s anything else. I don’t want to tell you the sun’s shining when it’s dark outside, but here’s what I am saying: What if it’s a beautiful sunny day outside and we just won’t open up the blinds?

Right after telling us to rejoice always and be anxious for nothing, Paul says this: “Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” The cool thing here is that the word Paul wrote that we have translated ‘think’ really means to count on… in other words, it’s not just getting your happy thought… He’s saying that these true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy things are the reality; so count on it. It’s not optimism, it’s realism! Whatever you’re in, the promises of Christ are the reality! Count on it! The sun is shining, so open up those blinds and let it in!

Now there's a blast of pure joy...

Just to Sing

The other day I was just down in the dumps. I felt tired, frazzled and about a million miles away from Jesus. It was so weird because I know He promises to never leave or forsake us and all that, but I felt so spiritually alone and disconnected from Him. At this point Christian Cliché would say that, “It was I who walked away from Him…” I know, I know… but look, I was having my quiet time everyday, and I was even getting stuff out of it, but I just felt estranged from His heart. I was trying to disciple these high school guys on what it means to have a devotional life and time in the word everyday and I wound up feeling so confused and conflicted because it dawned on me that I didn’t know how to do it. I mean, the Bible doesn’t really have a quiet time planner or sure-fire devotional program… there is no specific instruction on how to be close to the Lord. I wanted to grow, but I felt like it just wasn’t happening.

The more I thought about it, the more stressed out I became. I actually started projecting my negative devotional life back through time thinking, “I’ve never known how to do this… I have a terrible relationship with the Lord.” I talked to Tom about these dark thoughts and he basically told me to relax. He said, “You know you love Jesus! Just don’t worry about it.” That was certainly true… I may not love Jesus as much as other folks have and do; and I certainly don’t love Him as much as I will one day, but I know for sure that I do love Him… I love Him tons. So I did what Tom said and just chilled out about it and went on with my day.

Hours later I took the girls up to church and let them just play around while I set up tables and chairs for this Bible Study. It was tangible and measurable work that felt good to do and when I was done and piled the kids back in the car to go home, I noticed something in the door of the car… it was a Rich Mullins CD I’ve heard about a billion times. Now, the car ride from church to my house only takes about two and a half minutes, but I was tired of the music that was playing, so I took it out and tossed Rich in. Without thinking about what I was doing, I started to sing along to the first song…

Sing your praise to the Lord, come on everybody
Stand up and sing one more “Hallelujah!”
Sing your praise to the Lord, I can never tell you
Just how much good that it’s gonna do ya just to sing…

When I somewhat mindlessly sang those words about ‘how much good it’s gonna do ya,’ something happened: my heart burst to life as if I had been resuscitated from days of flat lining… And there He was! It was as if the curtains were thrown back and light and life and joy flooded the room through the windows of praise. Psalm 22 says, “Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.” The King James says that He ‘inhabits’ His people’s praises. I found this to be true. He was right there! And as I sang, I told Him that I loved Him; and I told me too. I’m not trying to give you a program or anything, I’m just a guy saying, “I sang my praise to the Lord and it did me good.”



rich mullins...

The Pasteboard Placard

On Christy’s recommendation, I have started to read Charles Dickens’ classic novel, David Copperfield. It’s the story of an unfortunate boy whose father died six months before his birth and so wound up living the first part of his life with his mother and housekeeper. His happiness in this situation was short lived, as his mother soon courted and married a guy who could teach Satan a thing or two about what it takes to be mean… this horrible new step dad was actually a package deal that came complete with a sister who would be Davey’s new aunt and moved in to give a new definition to the meaning of torture. She was (if possible) worse than her brother. Soon the whole house changed and poor Davey’s life became a tightrope act where affection, love and laughter were traded for tyranny, fear and humiliation. One day Davey came downstairs to deliver his grammar lesson and found his new father holding a cane he had bound and fashioned out of switches. When Davey couldn’t remember his lesson, he was escorted upstairs to his room by his new dad and the cane… upon entering his bedroom, Davey bit his step dad’s hand out of desperation and self-protection and the next day was sent away from the house to go to a boarding school in London called Salem House.

After enduring many hardships to get to London and the school, young Davey was taken up to his new bedroom, which was empty because all the other boys were on holiday. As he walked to the end of the room, he looked on a desk and saw a ‘pasteboard placard, beautifully written’ which had these words on it: “Take care of him. He bites.” Upon reading these words, Davey immediately jumped onto the desk for fear of whatever rabid dog that sign must be talking about… the fellow that showed him to his room saw him on the desk and asked him what he was doing up there.

“I beg your pardon, sir,” says I, “if you please, I’m looking for the dog.”
“Dog?” says he; “what dog?”
“Isn’t it a dog, sir?”
“Isn’t what a dog?”
“That’s to be taken care of, sir; that bites?”
“No, Copperfield,” says he gravely. “That’s not a dog. That’s a boy. My instructions are, Copperfield, to put this placard on your back…” With that, he took me down, and tied the placard, which was neatly constructed for the purpose, on my shoulders like a knapsack; and wherever I went, afterwards, I had the consolation of carrying it.”

What if your worst moments were painted neatly on a sign you had to wear on your back? What if everywhere you went people were looking at a record of your most shameful sins? David Copperfield said that every time he leaned with his back to a tree or a wall or the house he was told to turn and show that ‘badge’ conspicuous… He said that wherever he went he knew people were reading it and even if he turned around and found no one behind him it gave him no comfort because it still felt like people were reading it. He said that he began to have a sort of dread of himself, “… as a kind of wild boy who did bite.”

There is a place in the darkest, most frightened and unsaved parts of my heart where I am afraid that meeting God will be like this… that I’ll get in, but before I do, all my friends and family will gather around and read the sign of my darkest days… but thanks be to God! I can put those fears to rest! In Colossians 2 Paul says, “God made you alive with Christ. He forgave all us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Whoa! Do you believe this?! Even if there was a sign fashioned for you, it was cancelled! It was nailed to the cross, and the only ones ashamed are the defeated, disarmed demons! We are free and clean and we can walk that way.

Here's a picture of Charles Dickens taken in 1850:



He was the man!

On Being Rich

This story starts twenty one years ago with a set of Christian kids albums called “Psalty the Singing Songbook.” Psalty was a big blue hymnal with arms, legs and a steady tenor voice that went around teaching kids what praising the Lord from your heart is all about. My wife used to listen to those albums when she was a little girl and when she was six years old and left Tennessee with her family for China and the mission field, Psalty had already left an indelible mark on her little heart. On their way to China, Christy’s family stopped off in Italy to visit her Uncle Tom, Aunt Tina and cousins who were already missionaries in Milan. Tom says he’ll never forget seeing Patty, Christy and his kids singing this one particular Psalty song… He said he cried because he thought they didn’t even know how much they were about to need those words in China. The song is called “Child of the King” and goes like this:

“Lord I don’t have fancy toys like other little girls and boys/ My clothes are faded and torn, my shoes are scuffed up and all worn/ Though the world might think I’m poor, I am rich ‘cause I have You Lord/ And I am a child of the King, if I have You, then I have everything/ Though the world might think that I am poor, I am rich ‘cause I have You Lord…”

Okay, fast forward to 2003 when we found out we were having our first baby… Christy jumped online and found the entire collection of Psalty albums on 10 CDs and guess what… now our little girls are learning to praise the Lord from the big blue talking book! Well, the other day I was reading 2 Corinthians 6 and came to the part where Paul said that he was “…sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.” I stopped, wrote it down and thought about those words all day and just wanted my heart to be confident with that perspective. I wanted to stop worrying about bills, taxes, plumbing and savings and just know what it is to be rich in Christ.

When I got home from work Christy said, “Oh man, Anna said the sweetest thing today… She said, “Mom, I am rich because I have my favorite boy down in my heart!” (By the way, “my favorite boy” is what she’s been calling Jesus lately) Psalty is still rocking our world all these years later!

Sometimes I get so freaked out about things my Father has already told me He’s going to take care of. What if I took even a fraction of the time I spend worrying and used it to just think about how much I have in Christ? Paul said that even if I sometimes feel like I have nothing, I still possess everything! I want the faith and heart of that four-year-old girl who lets her Daddy worry about provision and just spends her time thinking about her favorite boy.

On the Spot

With presidential election talk thick in the air it seems that so much of people’s conversation these days has to do with what they think of someone else… This week I’ve caught myself more than once asking that question, “What do you think of that candidate?” Every time this political process cranks up again, I am so thankful that I am a little-known dude in a little bitty town. I would croak if everyone in the country had an opinion about me! One thing that I find really interesting about the whole thing is just how freely people express their dislike of different candidates… of course this is made much easier by the fact that they will probably never have to say those things to any of their faces. It’s easy to crack on your math teacher when she’s up at the front of the room writing on the board, but could you say it to her face?

If you don’t think very highly of someone or the things they do, you probably only express it when they aren’t around to hear you, and if they straight up asked you, most people would probably lie and give a glowing report. And we get away with it, right? I mean, people can’t read our minds, so if we have to we say, “Sure… you look great with shaved eyebrows!” or “Oh man, that pickled zucchini and radish casserole was to die for!” or “No… I didn’t want anything for my birthday!” we play it off as truth and no one is the wiser. But what if people could ask you, “What do you really think of me?” and you had to tell the truth… like you were hooked up to a lie detector, or your nose would grow if you lied… wouldn’t that be the most awkward situation ever?!

There is a place in Matthew 16 where Jesus is with His disciples and He asks them who the people think He is. They told Him, “Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say one of the prophets…” And then Jesus turns to the guys and asks them straight up, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Whoa… I mean, it’s one thing when one of your friends sings for you and then asks, “Do you think I’ve got what it takes to be the next American Idol?” But what do you do when Jesus looks you in the eye and you look back into His and He says, “What do you think about me?” You see, they had watched Jesus read the minds of some Pharisees back in chapter 9 when He healed the paralytic… They watched Him read the minds of some more dudes in Chapter 12 who thought He was employing demons… He wasn’t just putting them on the spot, but He knew what was in their hearts! They knew that Jesus would be answered not only by their lips but also by their actions… by their lives.

You probably know how Peter answered that question, but that’s not really what I want to focus on… Here’s my question: What if Jesus had popped in on you at 4:15 PM yesterday and put you on the spot? How would you have answered? How would your heart answer? How would your life answer? Who do you say He is? He’s asking and whether you know it or not, you’re answering. If He’s not very important to you, He knows; but if you love Him (even if it’s way down there somewhere) He knows that too…

Norah's on the mend and felling tons better!


Enjoy It!

As I type these words, I am about to close up shop on what has been an awesome day. Now, it wasn’t exactly a perfect day… I didn’t get my way in everything that happened and I didn’t get all the things done that I intended to. I didn’t win the lottery or hear my favorite song by happenstance. It was just a petty run-of-the-mill, work on stuff and meet with people kind of day, but it was awesome. Why? Well, it was an awesome day because I don’t have the stomach flu!

I know that sounds super random and all, but on Sunday afternoon Norah exploded with the stomach flu out of nowhere and as soon as I saw it start I thought, “Oh no… here comes our family’s whole week!” I just knew that we would be passing that bug around through the whole house from one family member to the next just surviving and trying to take care of each other… at least, that’s how it’s always been in the past. We were doing all we could do to help Norah be as clean and comfortable as possible while at the same time getting our minds, hearts and laundry baskets ready for the doom that lay ahead… We prayed, hoped and watched the clock for over 24 hours, and praise the Lord, Norah got better and no one else has goten sick... yet! I thought we would be spending the week in our PJ’s wishing we could just go on to heaven, but instead we’re up and at ‘em and having a pretty normal (and awesome) week.

In the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 8 the teacher tells us, “I commend the enjoyment of life, because nothing is better for a man under the sun than to eat, drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany him in his work all the days of the life God has given him under the sun."

Just enjoy life… I think this is a great New Year’s verse for 2008. Ecclesiastes talks over and over again about how life is 'meaningless,' and when it says that, it doesn’t really mean that life has no point; it just means that life is hard to understand and there’s no way you can make sense out of all of it on this side of things, so just trust God, love the people around you and make the best out of what ever is in front of your face… This hasn’t been ‘the most awesome day ever’ or anything, but hey, I don’t have the stomach flu, and even if I did, it would be over in 24 hours.

So, how can you do this? How can you just toss up your hands and say, “I’m gonna enjoy this life!?” Well, you can’t do it by trying to make sense out of all your stuff. Why not just start out by thanking God? “For what?” you might say… Well, here are some awesome facts that I am going to try to carry around in this New Year: 1. God loves me more than I’ll ever understand and is working absolutely everything out for my good. 2. I will never, ever, ever be punished for my sins because of the mercy and grace of Christ. 3. I don’t deserve anything, but am outrageously blessed in so many ways by the tender kindness of God. 4. No matter what happens now or ever, no matter how terrible, I will be in heaven one day and all the troubles, pains, striving and tears will be distant memories like inside jokes from Middle School. I can praise my God and enjoy this day... and you can too.

Norah's 2nd Birthday!

Here she is feeding her new puppy with a bottle...

Norah and Trusty!

We took the kids to the Marina where it was approximately 743 degrees below freezing, but Norah had fun swinging in her new ski suit!

Michigan Coach Lloyd Carr went out on a win...



Blocking and Tackling

On New Year’s Day college football got a bit of an old-school shock… You see, for the past few years more and more college football programs have migrated away from traditional offensive schemes and have adopted the quick-paced and flashy spread sets where you might find a running back if you squint and you’re sure to see a shotgun quarterback throw for a billion yards and run for a bunch too. Like Rubik’s cubes and slap bracelets, the spread offense is a fad that will have its hey day and then eventually fade just like the wishbone and option have done… meanwhile you have crusty old teams like Michigan up in the snow and cold of the Midwest running the same old block and tackle, three yards and a cloud of dust they always have, and behind these worn-out systems you have crusty old guys like Lloyd Carr who just can’t bear to fix what they don’t believe is broken.

When Michigan drew Florida for their bowl game opponent, the nation collectively laughed out loud. I mean Florida kills opponents by forty points with their spread offense run by Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and Michgan has struggled with the spread all year. In fact, in our local paper 24 people made bowl picks and only one picked Michigan to win. It was Michigan coach Lloyd Carr’s last game and everyone knew it would be a blowout, but it wasn’t. In fact, the old-school Wolverines came down to the Gator’s home state and whipped them by blocking and tackling. The big boys stuck in the past showed Florida that maybe new ideas aren’t the best ideas just because they’re new… maybe the best ideas are the ones that work.

Within the past few years here in the states a bunch of new ideas have been springing up and becoming increasingly popular about what it means to be a Christian man. They are ideas about the spirit of masculinity and what God really has in mind when he thinks of a man. It has been said that men should lay aside quietness, gentleness and meekness and embrace the warrior spirit of the Christ. They say men are born fighters and that our culture is taming us to be “Mr. Rogers Christians.” At coffee shops, churches and conferences all over the U.S. Christian men are getting together to talk about all that they have lost in trying to be a tender and weak Christian when the thing they really need is to embrace strength and valor… in my opinion it’s the newest Christian fad and although it may stick around for a while, I can’t find it in my Bible.

This Christmas I got an audio Bible and the thing that is so cool about it is that I have been taking in tons of Scripture all together at one time without chapter/verse markings and without stopping to analyze individual verses… I’m just hearing the letters as letters and the stories as stories and the thing that has absolutely overwhelmed me in doing this is how much Christianity in the New Testament is all about everything Mr. Rogers was. As I have taken in huge chunks of Paul’s writings at a time I have been blown away by how sweet he was…

He is as mushy as a brother can be, gushing and doting on those he wrote to, reminding them over and over again the importance of humility, peace, gentleness, righteousness and of course love. The Apostle glories in weakness and talks of how he was mothering when he could have been assertive. He absolutely forbids retaliation, anger, arguing and arrogance. He prizes patient endurance, tenderness, quietness and singing! He would have loved Fred Rogers (who by the way loved Jesus like crazy!)

In Romans 14 Paul said, “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification.” In Ephesians 4 he says, “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” And by the way, our Lord Jesus only describes Himself once in the New Testament… remember what He said? “I am gentle and humble in heart.” Spiritual fads may come and go, but the old-school bread and butter… the blocking and tackling of the Christian life is all about tender, sweet, quiet, humble and patient love.

Anna and "Fluffy"

Just the Thing

A few weeks before Christmas Christy was on the computer shopping for presents for our girls when she said something along the lines of, “I think I found it…” She tilted the screen in my direction and clicked on the link for this little toy puppy called a “Rescue Pet.” It’s a cute little animatronic dog that you “feed” and “train.” The fuzzy little robot puppy actually sits, wags his tail, barks and lifts his leg… I’m serious. Anna has been pining for a pet dog or cat for some time and although none of us in the house are really ready for that, this rescue pet seemed a perfect fit. So, in full confidence that we know our girl, Christy clicked “add to cart” and then “proceed to checkout.” The mechanical golden retriever arrived a week or so later and was just waiting for Christmas day…

About a week before Christmas Anna, Norah and I were walking through Wal-Mart doing a little shopping when we just so happened to pass an aisle displaying a ton of rescue pets puppies. When Anna laid eyes on those dogs she freaked out with excitement. She said, “Dad! Dad! Look at those puppies! Dad, look at that doggy! Can I have one of those for Christmas!? Please Dad? Can I have one?” I played it cool and said, “I don’t know… we’ll see…” But inside I was as excited as she was because the very thing she wanted most was already sitting in our house waiting on her to open it up!

On Christmas morning Anna opened so many presents that by the time she go to her puppy she was almost over the whole thing. She even opened the box without much fanfare, but when she realized what it was she had, she got pumped! Soon she had named the dog ‘Fluffy’ and the two have been an almost inseparable pair ever since, sharing naps, meals and car rides…

On Christmas morning I read a really cool verse in the book of Zechariah, chapter 8 where the Lord was talking about how he was going to restore life and peace to Jerusalem and He said, “It may seem marvelous to the remnant of this people at that time, but will it seem marvelous to me?”

How amazing is it to know that, while we are in the midst of what may seem like the most insurmountable trials and challenges, our Lord has in mind for us amazing things… things we could only dream about, yet He has actually planned them out! And when He blesses our socks off with just the right word of encouragement, that extra money right when we needed it or the beautiful bright eyes of a brand new Christmas baby, He’s not surprised… We may find it marvelous when He gives us just the thing we needed most, but He doesn’t find it marvelous. Why? Because He’s known all along what He was going to do... He knows His children and He’s been planning ahead.

So, the next time you feel like you can’t make it and you’re drowning in your own life, just remember, He knows what you want. He knows what you need and He’s probably already ordered just the thing; wait ‘til you open it…

Merry Christmas!

Anna's first 'date' with Sam... they went to Alvin & the Chipmunks and then to "Old McDonalds"



Wish List

When I was a kid, I thought Christmas was the most magical and amazing thing in my whole world… I mean, once a year I got to make a wish list of the stuff I was really dying to have, and guess what? …I got it! I would wake up on Christmas morning (or in the middle of the night, rather) and head into the living room with my heart pounding wondering, “Did it happen? Did I get what I most wanted?” And then I would see it… a scooter, a gameboy, a bass guitar. Year after year, to my utter amazement it just kept on happening… I said what I wanted most (within reason) and lo and behold, I got it.

So this year I was thinking about Christmas and wondering just how magical it is for Jesus… in other words, is He getting the thing He wants most for Christmas? Does He wait with baited breath and heart pounding every year to see if that thing He wanted most is there, waiting on Him? Well, of course the thing about a question like this is that you have to find out what it is Jesus wants most… what tops His wish list? I don’t know about you, but that makes me think about the wise men… you see, even though they weren’t really there on the first Christmas, they did bring Jesus presents when they came, and I think those gifts were pictures of the thing Jesus wants most.

The magi brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, and the traditional view is that these gifts represented different aspects of Jesus… gold for royalty, frankincense for divinity and myrrh for death and burial. Now maybe this is exactly what the wise men had in mind when they brought Jesus these gifts, but what if these gifts were not meant to represent Jesus Himself? It could be that they were meant to represent that one gift that tops Jesus’ wish list. After all, as the wise men told the citizens of Jerusalem after their long journey west, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” -Matthew 2:1

So, how can these three gifts be pictures of worship? Well, I was thinking about gold and how it’s found in veins way down deep in the dark, hard roots of mountains, but when it is mined out and refined, it’s beautiful, bright, soft and ready to be molded. I know that sometimes my worship of the King has to be dragged out of a hard heart that’s been too dark, but when it’s mined out, it’s the best version of me... the one that’s soft and ready to be changed.

Frankincense is actually a resin that comes from the sap of these amazing trees called ‘boswellia’ that can grow right out of the side of a bare rock face, and whose roots cling so tightly that the strongest storms can’t tear them away. The sap that runs slowly down the trunk and dries over a four month time period is called a tear. Harvesters collect these ‘tears’ and use them to make medicine and perfume, but mostly incense. In fact, frankincense is one of the most valuable and beloved fragrances in the world… You know, when my heart is desperately clinging to the Rock of Christ through my strongest and most terrible storms and crying out my tears to Him, He not only hears my prayers, but He smells them as well and there is no more pleasing fragrance to His heart than that.

Myrrh is also a resin collected from tree sap, but it’s different than frankincense… it’s dark, sticky and although its smell is strong, it’s not considered as beautiful as frankincense. Myrrh is actually one of the world’s best natural antiseptics and is used to clean wounds and remove infection. Back in the day it was commonly used in burial to cover up the smell of death… When I think of the thing that holds me back from worship the most, it’s myself… my own selfish thoughts, desires, worries and fears. Maybe myrrh was a picture of our need to die to ourselves… to cleanse our heart of all the selfish stuff that we might mine out that bright and beautiful version of us that is clinging to Him, crying out to Him and ready to be changed by Him. You see, I think that the thing Jesus really wants for Christmas this year is us.

More Than Love…

There is one nightly ritual we carry on in our house that was started by Christy’s parents… that is, when we’re putting the girls in bed we always tell them, “I love you, I like you and good night.” When Christy told me about this practice from when she was a kid, I instantly thought it was very cool. I mean, everyone needs to know that they are loved, but there is also this other thing in side us that wants to know, “Does anyone like me? Does anyone think I’m cool? Would you hang out with me if you didn’t have to or if we weren’t related?” I think it’s part of what was so terrifying about choosing dodge ball teams in middle school… “What if I’m picked last?” It’s part of what it means to be accepted. It’s the reason peer pressure exists at every stage of life… we want to be loved, but when it comes down t it, we want to be liked too.

This desire to be accepted, liked and cool is such a powerful motivator. It’s the reason people do half the stuff they do. It’s the reason little kids who are funny cut up in class. It’s the reason kids form little clusters of friends and become more and more like each other over time. It’s the reason kids at the high school want the coolest phone or just have to be listening to the right music, and it doesn’t really stop with age. It’s the reason some parents push their kids so hard in sports and in school. It’s the reason some families take the vacations they do or have the kinds of cars and houses they do. There are people late in life who are still asking themselves the same questions they did in middle school gym class… “Is somebody going to pick me?”

This is one of the reasons that I love Christmas so much… if there’s one thing that the Christmas story is saying loud and clear to anyone who will open their ears and listen, it’s this: “God loves you, but guess what… He likes you too!” In Luke 2 we read about those shepherds hanging out in the fields with their sheep when suddenly everything changed… They had always been the social rejects and outcasts… the kids of guys nobody picked for dodge ball, but on this night an angel appeared out of nowhere and told them (of all people) that a Savior had been born as a baby and while they were trying to process this, the sky was rent in two as tons of angels filled their vision and shouted out, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.”

This is one of my very favorite Christmas verses because God didn’t just send His Son to us as a last resort. It wasn’t some last-ditch decision that He reluctantly made against His better judgment, or simply to fulfill some covenantal obligation. This was God’s plan all along and it was the evidence of not only His great love for us, but of the fact that His favor rests upon us. It’s as if the angel’s message for them (and us) was, “Peace… chill out on all of the crazy stuff you do to get everyone to like you and think you’re cool. You see, He does like you!” It reminds me of that awesome verse in Psalm 149 that says, “Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him on the tambourine and harp. For the Lord takes delight in His people…”

He loves you, He likes you and good night.

Manger Hearts

One of my favorite lines in the Charlie Brown Christmas Special is when the ‘little red-haired girl’ asks, “Did the Inn-keeper’s wife have naturally curly hair?” I get such a kick out of that because the Bible never mentions an innkeeper or his spouse who (if she existed at all) may or may not have had naturally curly hair… We assume there was an innkeeper, and that there were three kings named Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar. We assume that Mary and Joseph arrived on a donkey and that everyone in our nativity sets were all gathered together for a nice silent night at the same time under the watchful eye of a pretty little princess angel, but the truth is, the Bible only mentions an inn where there was no room and a manger where there was.

Luke 2:4-7 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped Him in cloths and placed Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

I remember when Christy was pregnant with Anna and how we made her crib… how we decided on poplar and picked out the best we could find. How every cut was measured and re-measured and how we sanded and sanded the slats. We went over every square inch of wood a million times with different sand paper, and then with polyurethane. We glued the slats in place and clamped them down to dry. We then poured over the instructions as we assembled this beautiful crib… we picked out a great mattress and the cutest sheets and bumper pad. Everything had to be perfect to give our baby the safest and most comfy nights’ sleep.

And then I think about Jesus in the manger… the Creator of the world was wrapped up in random cloths and laid in a feeding trough. You know, when you make important furniture, you pick great materials and take lots of time and care to build what you had in mind, but it’s not like that with functional barn furniture… That manger was probably thrown together with mixed-up, stray and uneven scraps of wood that had been rejected from all other uses. Broken pieces may have been rigged up and haphazardly nailed into place. It didn’t matter what it looked like or what it was made of because all it was ever going to do was hold horse feed… that is, until that night. On the night that changed all other nights, that manger had the most important job in the world: it held Jesus, the King of Kings and Prince of Peace. That manger became the holiest place on earth.

The throne of God in the temple in Jerusalem was a place only one person entered and only once a year. Inside was the holiest piece of furniture in human history: the Ark of the Covenant, covered in purest gold and watched by golden angels. But that’s not what His throne is like anymore… When God came to earth He chose a manger for His throne and I think He still likes it that way. These days He looks for hearts where He can find a home, and He’s not looking for the spotless, untainted heart… He’s looking for hearts that are like His old manger crib… broken, scrapped, rejected and ill-used, but perfect for Jesus, and when He sits on that throne He makes it holy just like He did on that first Christmas.

The kids at Thanksgiving.

Last-Minute Tactics

My dad coaches a high school football team in West Tennessee and they are currently plowing their way through the state playoffs, which is Dad’s favorite place to be in late November! Last week they were minutes away from losing the quarterfinal game when some drastic measures paid off in a big way…

There were only about two minutes left in the game and not only was Dad’s opponent up by a touchdown, but they also had possession of the football. Now, if you don’t know football, that basically means that this opponent was sitting in the driver’s seat to win the game. There’s not a whole lot you can do when you’re down by a touchdown and the other team is eating up the clock by running the ball a few yards at a time… In those waning minutes, the coaches decided to go for a long shot; an unprecedented play call that had basically no chance of doing very much good. They called a safety blitz, which means that the last guy in the line of defense would rush the offense to get into the backfield as soon as the ball was snapped to try to make the play fall apart in some way.

The teams lined up, and as the opposing quarterback began his cadence, Dad’s free-safety started running toward the offensive line, trying to time his blitz perfectly with the snap of the ball… BAM! It was over as soon as it started… the second the ball was snapped to the quarterback, this safety was in his face. The ball went through the quarterback’s hands, bounced off his chest and was pulled out of the air by the blitzing defender! After getting the ball, he was (as Dad always says) off to the races… Can you believe it?! This free safety stole the bobbled snap from the middle of the air right in front of the baffled quarterback and scored a touchdown while everyone on the opposing team stood around scratching their heads. Dad’s team kicked their extra point giving them the one-point lead that won the game! It was the kind of thing that only happens in the playoffs…

When you’re at the end of the game, (and the end of the season) you sometimes make the calls that seem crazy… the calls that seem like they won’t work, because you’ve got to do whatever it takes. I’ve been reading 1 Peter this week and one of the things he talks about a lot in this book is the fact that we are at the end of the game… there are only a few minutes left on the clock, so what plays should we call? How should we live in light of the fact that we’re almost done? Well, in chapter 4, Peter says, “The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Sometimes it seems like a long shot… a play call that has no chance of doing any good, but hey, we’re at the end here, so love each other. And not just love each other, but love each other deeply… For some folks, this is an unprecedented call… the one that has no chance of working, but Peter says it’s the most important thing. “Above all else,” he says, “love with all you’ve got.” Love the hard-to-love folks, the hateful folks and the folks who would never love you back. Love deeply. You never know… it may just be the play that wins the game.

Norah's typical afternoon outfit: A bridal gown, wings, and though you can't see them, rain boots...

The Gateway

Well, another Thanksgiving is gone and it was awesome! I think I’m still pretty full actually. They say the average American consumes around 5,000 calories during Thanksgiving dinner, and it feels like I definitely did my part to keep the national average up there… I ate piles of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, rolls and even some fruit! And not only was the food awesome, but the football was great too! We watched the ancient Brett Favre (he’s really only 38) throw 20 consecutive completions for 342 yards and two touchdowns on the day. All in all it was a great day of enjoying the three ‘F’s of Thanksgiving, which are, of course: food, family and football.

As we were driving to Nan’s house Anna said it felt like we were going to heaven… We thought this was pretty interesting, so we asked her why, and she said it was because we were going a long way… but, as Christy pointed out, we were going to a feast, so maybe Anna was onto something after all. The more I thought about it, the more like heaven it seemed: tons of food that is too good to be true, tons of family loving each other and a spirit of thanks in everyone’s heart… Now, I know heaven is going to be way better than any holiday here on earth could ever be, but there is something about Thanksgiving that is very heavenly.

Psalm 118:19-21 says, “Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation.”

I think that from an emotional standpoint, Thanksgiving is the most powerful holiday there is, and it may be the day when more people are closer to Christ than they even know. You see, gratitude has power. It has power to change a person’s emotions, to lift us out of our selves… out of self-focus and into a place where we can think about others. Saying thank you is a big thing because when a person says “thank you,” they are admitting that they needed help, needed someone else. It is admitting that we’re not self-sufficient and that we can’t make it on our own. Gratitude is an essential element in the Gospel… in fact, gratitude is the gateway to heaven.

You see, thankfulness is the difference between knowing Jesus and every other religion in the world. Everything else is about self-improvement and self-qualification but faith in Christ is different. See, the truth is that there is nothing we can do to improve ourselves or qualify ourselves to earn heaven or righteousness, but everything that is required has been done on our behalf by Christ. He offers all that we need for free. He offers us charity and all we do is accept and say, “Thanks.” This is the gate of the Lord through which the righteous may enter. It’s why Thanksgiving is probably the most like heaven of all of the holidays: a big family, gathered around a feast with thankful hearts… heaven.

Fussing

Norah is now almost two years old. One thing this means is that every day she gets a little better at talking. I love having a baby at this stage because they are always up for trying new words on for size, which means I get to tell Norah to say things like, “What’s up, yo?!” There is hardly anything in the world cuter than hearing a little baby voice say the words, “Peace out homies.” The bad thing about this stage is that Norah is not really used to asking for things in the English language… she is used to fussing and crying when she needs something. Whether she’s hungry, hurt, tired, sick, uncomfortable or just frustrated, all we hear is this “Waaaaaaaaaaah…” Sometimes it’s a low, slow and bothered whine and sometimes it’s a loud and proud scream. The problem is that when she does this we don’t know what she needs. As a result, we are constantly training her to use her words rather than fuss when she needs help.

Christy said it best: “It always seems like we are just trying to get her to come to us for what she needs rather than just throwing a fit.”

In Mark 10 when Jesus was leaving Jericho on His way to Jerusalem someone started screaming His name. It was a blind man named Bartimaeus sitting on the side of the road and when he heard that Jesus was passing, he just started screaming, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!” People told him to shut his yapper, but that just fired him up all the more! Finally Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over.” The other folks standing around grabbed Bart and led him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Time out.

Are you kidding me Jesus? The guy is blind! He’s crying out for mercy… what do you think he wants you to do, tie his shoes?! I mean, to me it’s pretty obvious that the blind guy asking for help wants you to fix his eyes… on the other hand, how many people are really aware of what’s wrong with them? How many people out there could actually tell you where they most need help? If Jesus asked you, “What do you want me to do for you?” would you have an answer? Most people tend to think they’ve got it all together and don’t need anything, but when something bad happens they fall apart and don’t really know why…

I know that I have a tendency to do that… like Norah, I just whine and throw fits without using my words…the only problem with that is that I am not 21 months old! Lately I’ve started making a list every day or so of the four or five things I just can’t handle and want Jesus to take full ownership of and responsibility for. It’s my ‘weakness’ list. It’s me, using my words… telling Jesus exactly what I need Him to do for me, and you know what? He reads that list and is taking care of everything.

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “Your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.”

The Triple C crew chillin' at Cades Cove...



Watch and Learn

Last night Christy and I were watching a movie that had a middle school science fair in it… remember the middle school science fair? Why is it that they always have the same exhibits? You know what I mean… dioramas of the pre-historic earth complete with dinosaurs eating each other, foam board diagrams of the water cycle and of course, the mini-volcano. When I look back on middle school science class, all the projects and experiments we did were kind of like that min-volcano… small and manageable versions of something you can’t really get too close to, in order that you might understand it better.

Lately during my time with the Lord I’ve been reading about prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel... boy, talk about a tough job! Those guys had it rough! I remember hearing stories about some of the terrible things they went through when I was a kid, but I always assumed that all of those things happened because certain people who were in power didn’t like the prophetic message and punished them as a result. Now, this definitely did happen to them… like Jeremiah being chucked into a cistern filled with mud for a few days, but as I’ve read their stories, I’ve discovered a surprising thing: Tons of the really awful things those guys experienced were at the command of the Lord!

Those guys were kind of like science fair projects… their lives were living examples of what would happen to the entire nation if they didn’t turn and walk with the Lord. At certain times the prophets were like actors living out what would soon be for all eyes to see. It’s why God told Isaiah to take off all his clothes and walk around naked for three years in Isaiah 20… now, I’ve seen shocking and even awkward ministries, but nothing like that! This week I was reading Ezekiel 12 and the Lord gave him a strange ministry… “And the word of the Lord came to me: Son of man, eat your bread with quaking and drink water with trembling and anxiety.”

What kind of ministry is that? Can you imagine holding your double cheeseburger and just working up a good tremble before taking a bite? Before slamming a milk shake, Ezekiel would have to have a good bout of the shakes himself! God said that when people asked, he was supposed to tell them that he was a sign to them… a warning sign that troubled times lay ahead when meals would be eaten with fear and anxiety.

You know, we don’t have prophets quite like those guys anymore, but in a way, we can be like them. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” We are supposed to live our lives in such a way that we are like signs pointing not to impending destruction, but to the possibility of a joyful, hope-filled, beautiful life. When you walk with Jesus, just trusting Him for your stuff, thanking Him for His grace and love, you’re gonna look way different than most folks! I want to be like that… like a science fair project... an observable example of what life can be like when you trust in the love and mercy of Jesus, and how you really can have a sweet marriage, a peaceful home, a content heart and clean conscience before God.



Here's a video of Joe and Robert being... well, Joe and Robert. (with a little help from John Williams)

We took the kids trick or treating... Norah was a chicken and Anna wanted to be a duck... it was a foul Halloween...



Punishment

How many times has something bad happened in the middle of your day and the first thing you do is think back on your recent sins in order to figure out why this bad thing is happening? You know what I mean? You get a flat tire or get caught at a red light when you’re running late and as soon as you ask yourself, “Why is this happening?” You remind yourself of how you talked about so-and-so behind their back yesterday and you figure, “Well, this stinks, but you’re right God, I deserve it.” When I was in high school and found myself staring down at some pop-quiz I was clueless about and would surely fail, I went through my mental rolodex trying to figure out which sin I was being punished for.

The really bad thing about exercising this particular bit of whacky theology is when you reverse the process… Basically, that’s where you decide whether or not you’re going to commit a certain sin by trying to figure out in your head if this moment of rebellion will be worth the resulting punishment God will surely bring down upon your head. Now, not only is this impossible because we are incapable of appraising the value of our own sin, but it’s just downright anti-gospel! It is just another way for us to feel like we can do something to even out our record with the Lord… as if bad weather or poor driving conditions were an even trade with anger or lust.

The crazy thing is that I know the Gospel! I know I can’t earn credit with the Lord by suffering for my sins! I know He doesn’t owe me anything like sunny days and a big, fat tax return; and yet, when the new episode of House got canceled because of a stupid baseball game, I just knew I deserved this and my mind started searching the vast catalogue of sins for that one that roughly weighs the same as suffering through disappointing television… I don’t think I’m alone either. In fact, I asked our high school kids this very question the other night and a bunch of hands went into the air… we know the Gospel; and yet, there are times when we don’t… that’s why we need to hear it all the time.

This morning, I was reading Psalm 103 which says, “He does not treat us as our sins deserve, or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Isn’t that awesome!? See, if God punished us for our sins, we would be dead! Lost! Without hope! If God gave us what we deserved, we would be hosed! Getting your wallet stolen or breaking your wrist isn’t an equal punishment for telling a little white lie or complaining about your insurance premiums. The truth is that we could never pay for our wrong stuff and live to tell the tale! God paid for us in the person of Jesus. If you have believed in Him, He paid for all of your wrong on the cross so that the punishment for your sin has already been taken care of. Jesus was punished for my sin and because of that, God doesn’t punish me for it, and He never will.

We don’t know why bad stuff, frustrating stuff or even tragic stuff happens to us, but it’s not because we’re being punished for our sins. God isn’t punishing you and He never will! So, the next time you stub your toe, drain your battery or get a bad cold at just the wrong time, don’t think about your old sins… just pick your feet up when you walk, get out the jumper cables, grab some Sudafed and thank God for the blood of Jesus.



Here's a pic of Rosie at the zoo... sitting on a gigantic, painted stone frog