Are you Surprised?

Yesterday morning my wife and I sat in our bedroom with our daughter climbing all over the place. She would hide under her "bankee" (translation: blanket) and thought that we were worlds away. Jess (wife) would lunge at Jada (daughter) when she would pull the blanket away from her face and Jada would make all kinds of faces. This picture represents a thought that has been plaguing me for a some time now: just as Jada was aghast when Jess would pull the blanket away and lunge at her...for the 10th time in a row, most Christians act surprised when they hear about the sin of someone they know.
Why this bothers me is something I have been thinking about for a while. I certainly do not want to reveal an ugly area of my life to an accountability partner who is going to make the same face as Jada in the picture. To me, it seems as though that type of response indicates a "tell me all the juicy details so I can pray for you" mentality.
As I look closer at the life of Christ I realize one thing, He did not toss someones service because of their sin. Peter chose to deny Christ 3 times, Judas was paid to betray Christ, Thomas doubted - and the list goes on. These were His "right-hand" men and He knew they would do these things, yet He chose to use them regardless.
What's the moral of the story Doug...cute picture - decent content, but what is the take away? The take away is this: never be surprised at what Satan can do in a person's life BUT we must also stop at nothing to restore and reconcile those who would desire it. II Cor. 5 talks about how each fully devoted follower of Christ has been given the task of reconciling all to Christ. That means even the ones who have an ugly sin by culture's standards...that might even mean you or me - for we are are ugly without the grace of Christ.

Why I love my Job

It was about 2:15 this afternoon when I realized that I LOVE my job. How many get to say this? Let me set the stage...I was shooting a video for a ministry I am blessed to oversee, its called "the Cabin." Anyway, the opening scene for the short film, was me taking my piece of junk 1991 Passat and ramming it through a snow drift...how's that for a 9 to 5?

Well, the fact of the matter is that I do not even consider driving a car through a snow drift to be the part of my job that, well, makes me write this. More than anything, it is simply the breakthrough in a teens life as they see hope in a seemingly hopeless battle against a poor home life. It's Christ conquering the besetting sin that absolutely discourages it's victim. Its victory, or as has been said before, "the Glory of God is man fully alive." I desire to see His children fully alive and living authoritative Christian lives.

Overall, I would say that it is a healthy mix that makes most people love their jobs or hate them. Me, however, I just love about all I do for my job. Sure there are frustrations that I could list regarding my job...but overwhelmingly, God has brought me to a spot where, daily, He unveils his faithfulness to me.

The uninhibited life of a 2 year with the love of a wonderful woman make my job at home that much easier as well...

Fly With Me

Giving new meaning to the old Frank Sinatra hit, "Fly with Me." I certainly would not like to be the man responsible for maintaining the spring board.

Looking to you

Oh be careful little mouth what you say... many times you let fly with an expletive which aptly describes your current situation. Well, try this on for size: people, whether you believe you are an example or not, are looking to you.

My wife and I sat playing in the bedroom with our 2 year old the other day when she (my daughter, Jada) chucked a toy at me, in lets say, an unfavorable spot. I quickly indicated that it hurt. My wife, always the woman of compassion, said, "daddy is a wuss Jada." To which Jada promptly replied, "daddeeee wusss," in her slightly slurred by very cute little voice.

If you are concerned no one hears or understands what you are saying - you can come to my house and I will let you talk with my daughter who will, no doubt, assist you in repeating your exact words. As I talked with myself later about the incident I realized this, 'Doug, they are looking to you.' Many times as a pastor I feel like my words fall on deaf ears (save those of Jada). However, the fact of the matter is that they are received, whether they are regurgitated or not.

Is my heart right with God? In Matthew 12:34 we are told that "...out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." If people are looking to you...and they are...then we should only hope that they hearing the overflow of our hearts.

The picture above explains a lot. Captain Aviator here did not want to be seen, nor posted on this blog...I might add, but, what happens when you put yourself out there and then hope no one notices, you get noticed. He was not trying to be flashy with his shades, He simply wanted to have protection from the sun on a ski-trip. The innocent onlookers noticed something slightly out of character for the young man and were caught, on camera, in a moment of gawking...embarrassing for both parties.