…and have a shirt to prove it.
I stayed up with my wife yesterday as she worked on her blog which I believe she finally has up and running. In fact, aesthetically, it looks better than mine and now I’m jealous. Don’t be surprised if you come back here and see some new decorations. I’ve got to get on the ball.
Anyway, today was the 14th anniversary of her accident and she has written a moving reflection about her memories as one who used to be able to walk. Check it out.
Jamie and I have tried for years to get plugged into a Sunday School class or a small group but have always faced some sort of inevitable hang-up. Despite our record, having attended Oak Leaf as a family for about seven months now, we were anxious to get involved in a Journey Group (that’s what we call them). Tonight was a big step in the right direction. Though only half of our group was able to meet tonight, we decided to meet at Woodland High School, the soon to be new home of Oak Leaf Church, and pray over the campus and the performing arts building. We sat in the shade of a lonely tree on the band practice plateau adjacent to the auditorium and watched the sun rise as we talked about everything from Harry Potter to great Acworth restaurants (i.e. Henry’s). Just after dusk, we assembled outside the Performing Arts Center and split up to spend time praying against the negative rumors that are rising up and praying for the Potter’s hand to engulf the mission of Oak Leaf and mold a mighty work that will change the culture of Cartersville. Like I’ve said before, I am excited to see God move through this ministry in my life and the lives of so many other and am blessed to be a part of it.
Jamie, Ean, and I decided to wake Spencer up this morning with a light-hearted rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Maybe it was the three different keys or maybe the massive volume, but Spencer didn’t like it very much. While most parent’s choose to take their 3 year-old to McDonald’s or Chuck E. Cheese or some place where they can deplete their energy, we decided to take him to my parent’s house. He does love his Poppa and Baybeth, but the main reason we had it their is because they just finished their basement and it pretty much ridiculous for us not to throw every party we are thinking of having over there. Seriously, why don’t I have a house with a basement? The party was nice. We had been planning a small, intimate Superman party for a Friday night, but ended up having it on Thursday so both sets of grandparents could be there. As Superman as it was, about 90% of the gifts were Pixar Cars related – so we may want to plan better next year.
Now here is the deal: Friday night worked for everyone except my dad and he is the reason it got moved to Thursday. Thursday nights are the night I practice with the Oak Leaf band. My wife knows that but assumed I could cancel. She made that assumption without letting me know she had changed the date and already sent out the invitations. It was tough, but I was able to get it all worked out. Ironically, it is usually me who is begging for her to change her plans to help me out. And it got me thinking, has anyone every thought about making some kind of spousal calendar contraption that is always in sync with its counterpart. That would be nice.
My nephew prayed to receive Christ about a week ago. For those who are clueless to his story just need to know it is magnificent answer to prayer and a little bit surprising to tell the truth. He has always been one of those who related church with hypocrites in his family and blamed God for some tragic events in his past. Even in the youth group at First Baptist Church Woodstock, he would often argue and challenge the legitimacy of some of the students who claimed to be Christians yet acted different when they weren’t singing songs and talking to other Christians about spiritual matters. Ultimately, that meant the pressure was on us to try and be “perfect” around him to set a proper Christ-like example. And of course we failed…often. Ultimately, my goal became to not be such a bad witness that I too became another example he used against God and the church.
The biggest challenge we faced was something I thought would come much easier. How do you explain to someone who does not believe in God or the authority of the Bible why you choose not to cuss or drink alcohol or waited to marriage to have sex? I learned some very valuable lessons about my personal convictions and on what grounds logically and reasonably I hold them completely outside of scripture. The best part is, I was still able to clearly defend them in scripture so when he finally became a believer, it was extremely easy to make the connection within the confines of his newly discovered relationship with Jesus Christ.
To aid in this transition comes the God-ordained ministry of Oak Leaf Church. Michael, our pastor, speaks in such a clear and understandable way our nephew understood and related to most of what he spoke about long before he ever decided to believe God existed. This is just one of the many strengths Oak Leaf shoulders as it passionately pursues the lost and confused in the Cartersville community. Every Sunday there are new faces, many of whom do not go to church or have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. And there are many more out there who just need to hear about God’s love in an understandable way and witness authentic people living their life to please God and show Him love. That is Oak Leaf. That is my church.
I love my nephew like a son and am so proud of him. My wife and I are so pleased to know we are a part of a church that cares enough about people who don’t know God to do whatever it takes to introduce them to the savior of the world. My prayer is that many more like my nephew will be exposed to the goodness and relevance of Jesus Christ and the entire community of Cartersville will be forever changed by the ministry of Oak Leaf Church.
Turns out the automatic shut-off of our iron does not work. Of course, we don’t realize this until it falls off the iron into our dirty clothes bin and starts a fire. Normally, people are upset when their houses burn down, and don’t get me wrong – we are upset about losing all our possessions, but this is probably the best thing that has ever happened to us.
See, way back when Jamie and I first got married and moved into our first house, we filled out all this paperwork for home owners insurance and we thought it’d be fun to fantasize about all the things we wished we had and write it down on the list instead of the few things we actually owned. When it gets right down to it, we knew we were going to be adding stuff to our collection of stuff anyway and didn’t see the need to keep filling out more forms every time our stuff index increased or changed. Well, we never quite got around to getting all the items we put on our list, but apparently insurance companies never check to see whether you actually own what you say you do. And when it all goes up in flames, there doesn’t have to be any evidence of it so long as it was listed on your stuff list.
So…once the paper work has gone through, Jamie and I will be proud owners of some very nice material items sure to make the rest of our family jealous. Now before you go and start judging us, we have already sworn to sell at least 10% of it on ebay and give all the money to our church. After that we will probably sell the second and third 56″ plasmas that were in our two guest bedrooms (wink wink) to upgrade my wife’s car.
Life is sweet.
UPDATE: Don’t forget to check the date of this post just in case.
My boys are growing up fast. I pray every day for wisdom on how to raise them in a way that pleases and honors God. My oldest son is 4 and is just beginning to understand the concept of “do good and good things happen, do bad and bad things happen.” We haven’t been able to get much deeper than that, but we’re working on it. Truth is, that simple, fundamental principle is Biblical lesson. Deuteronomy 30:15-20 basically says, “worship God and you will be blessed, don’t worship God and you will be cursed.”
Our future rests in the choices we make today. The sooner I can get my son to understand that, the sooner I can stop giving him my long, sermon-like lectures. I like to think he enjoys sitting still and hearing me use words that are not yet a part of his vocabulary. Of course, his constant squirming and interruptions to point out spots on the wall seem to contend otherwise.
Choose to love God, worship Him, walk in His ways, and obey His commandments, and He will give you life.
