Something isn't right here!

Been awhile since I blogged so let me catch you up on a couple events. 

Kids got colds, we got colds, rinse with lysol, repeat...

Dryer exploded in a burning inferno... or something like that...

Dryer vent was wrong size... frustration, the kicking of things, and a hole in my house you could fit a small dog through followed ...

Aiden decided that sleep is for girls... well all girls except his mom...

Yes, I know its thanksgiving weekend and I just taught a small group lesson about not grumbling and complaining, so let me get to my point.  As we walk through life we all have these odd moments where we seem to throw up our hands and say "something isn't right here!"  Whether it be in small moments when runny noses keep your family chained to your house for weeks on end behind a fortress of tissues or in bigger moments.  Whether we say it or not there is this feeling that these things ought not be this way.  Of course, the question becomes even bigger when we move on to deeper questions of why people suffer. Why the good aren't met with riches and the wicked with destruction.   

  Every system of thought from Christianity to darwinism deals with this question of suffering and tries to find the answer.  One of the earliest books of literature had a man named Job dealing with this question.  Why aren't things the way they should be? 

Now, much has been written and much has been said about suffering and I won't attempt tonight to deal with that huge question, but I will ask another question- why do we even ask the question?  Why do we feel out of place here?  Why do cry out in our deepest tragedies and smallest aches that something isn't right here?

Afterall, this is all I've ever known.  I've had approximately 27,000 colds and viruses in my life (I'm rounding here).  My dryer has never exploded but believe me, I've had plenty of things break!  I was born into a world full of aches and pains.  Why is it that I would expect anything else? 

N.T. Wright wrote in Simply Christian that all of us here the echo of a voice that calls to us and reminds us of another place.  Some call it heaven, some call it paradise, some call it home.  We here it clearly in our moments of pain and frustration  We all long for some place where wrongs are made right, where justice flows like a river, where all our groanings are swallowed up in perfection.  We long for a world that is so unlike our own as to be almost laughable if it wasn't so wonderful. 

Could it be we just made up an antithesis to our own world- but why would we? How could we? Or could it be, that one day all our longing will be fulfilled? 
 
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world." - C.S. Lewis.

What's in a Name

Exodus 20:7 “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain."

So Aiden and I were up this morning at 1:30 a.m. watching Oprah.  It was either Oprah or Carson Daily, and  personally I find Oprah the manlier show to watch- so we went with it.  She had a guest on who I honestly don't know, but Oprah was yelling at her (told you she was manlier than Carson Daily!)  The lady yelled back and said "I swear its true.  I swear on the grave of my dead child its true!"  The statement almost turned my stomach.  Here is a woman invoking something heart wrenching, just to prove a point.  Is anything sacred I thought?

Then I began to think of the way we use the most sacred of names- the name of God.  Some use it strengthen curse words.  Many use it when they stump their toe.  I would say its become one of the more casual words in our language. 

Just think about it.  Substitute something you hold sacred for all the time people use God's name.  Wouldn't it enrage you?  Wouldn't you cringe instead of laugh?  Wouldn't you shutter at the thought of using that word, that name, in anything less than a revered and honored way?  Shouldn't we treat God's name as even more holy than that?

Excess or Adoration?

I once had a pastor who wanted to put a baby grand piano in the new Church that was being built.  Not that anyone in that Church played that well but he wanted it to be a symbol of lavish love for God.  An over the top external example of our internal adoration.  After all, he said, idolaters and false religions have beautiful temples and gardens for their gods, doesn't the One True God deserve even more?

Now, I have spent a few years teaching God's Word and on numerous occasions have attacked the materialism of the Church, especially the Church in America.  We have huge building budgets, huge screens, and huge debt in many of our churches and often times the outreach is pitiful.  I was once at a Church that spent 40,000 paving a parking lot and to my knowledge, nothing on feeding the hungry of the community.  I think many of our Churches reflect the selfishness and materialism of our culture at large.  Now, I know that there are Churches (like ours!) that have their priorities straight, so obviously I'm speaking generally. 

But I don't think I'm alone in this disgust for Churches that do little to help the poor and do so much to make pretty buildings with good entertainment.  I think I am part of a generation that has grown tired of nice buildings full of uncaring people.  We would rather have giving people with simple buildings. 

So my question is this- is there room for material signs of worship?  Think of the story of Mary anointing Jesus' feet with expensive perfume.  What is it her critics cried- shouldn't you have given that to the poor!  Oh, and that lone critic was Judas.  After all, the temple was quite lavish, wasn't it?  So, is there ever a time for spending money lavishly as a sign of adoration of Jesus?  We buy those we love expensive gifts, shouldn't we do the same for Jesus?

Please understand me correctly- I'm just asking the question, not offering the answer.  I don't even know what a lavish material sign of love would look like.  I know it wouldn't be a parking lot or nice chairs to make us more comfortable.  Maybe it is a heart matter for each individual.  Maybe for an artist its a lavish painting that glorifies Christ.  Maybe for a musician it just may be the baby grand piano that plays melodies pleasing to the Lord.  I think most of the modern critique of Churches is fair-I'm just trying to make sure I'm not in the company of Judas if someone really is worshipping God with a right heart. 

Lemons

Friends, let me give you some advice.

When life gives you lemons...

Rub them in the open wound of an enemy!

Busy and Blessed

Someone asked me today (well, several people actually) what it feels like to be a father of two now.  My reply to them was "busy and blessed."  The busy part is just kind of par for the course around here.  The blessing part though- that's what has really hit me over and over again this week.  I was studying Psalm 84 today and noticed the word blessings 3 times:

   "⁴How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
         They are ever praising You. Selah.
    ⁵How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
         In whose heart are the highways to Zion!
    ⁶Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;
         The early rain also covers it with blessings."
The last one especially is wonderful.  Baca means something like "weeping" or "arid."  The picture is a shower of blessings in the midst of a dry journey.  How great is our God!

So, I decided to count my blessings.
Here are just a few:

Aiden wasn't born early.  In fact, he was born late!  What would his little life had been like had he been 2 pounds instead of 10?

Considering what they went through- Aiden and Stephanie are both doing remarkably well.  Stephanie is up and moving around and even cleaned a little today.

Our Church family and physical family have overwhelmed us with love.  Our Church family has brought meals not once but twice.  They have completely understood when we had to drop everything and drop it quickly.  Our family has taken off days to help when Steph was on bedrest. 

Holland has adjusted so well.  She had to move to her big girl bed quickly since Steph can't lift her for a few weeks and she has done awesome.  I couldn't be more proud of her attitude towards Aiden.

Aiden's is nursing well and growing like he should.

And the last one- do you notice where Aiden's arm is?  Not at his side but right beside his other one!  We have a follow up in June to check on it but his pediatrician said it is "remarkable" how well it is doing.  I am thankful everytime he moves it!

Holland's Room Reno- Dots!

Holland's room is done!  So here is the surpise for the white walls:  DOTS!

Holland loves the dots and asks to go in her dot room all the time.  This is her big girl bed that also has dots as well as animals and ABC's.  Its like a toddler's all star combo.

This is where the cube and dresser ended up.  More dots!

Here is the orange wall with dots and a little arts and craft project.  Not sure if you can tell whats in the frames... but you can probably guess- its dots. 

This is Holland's reading corner.  She asks for her "corner" a lot too.

 

Holland's Room Reno- Paint Day!

So before I show some pictures of the paint colors I must say 3 things.  First off I have missed having my little wife painting alongside of me.  Spackle, sand, spackle, sand etc. can be kind of lonely by oneself.  Of course, she couldn't help with this project, you know being all pregnant.  Secondly, this will be Holland and eventually Aiden's shared bedroom.  We couldn't just go with pink or purple.  It had to be a neutral and we couldn't just copy the neutral nursery.  It made picking a color quite difficult.  Third, if you have never been to our house you need to understand that Steph and I have quite a reputation for our love for bright colors.  We have 3 different colors of green and 2 different kinds of yellow in our house!  These bright colors draw various reactions.  Some people say they love it (usually people trying to sell us stuff) and some say they hate it (usually people related to us!)  I think my favorite reaction so far was from Stephanie's grandfather.  After he saw our very bright green kitchen he said something like "I'd rather see the inside of a coffin every morning than have to look at your kitchen."  So with that being said the color we picked for Holland's room is...

WHITE!

Oh and bright orange!

Yep, 3 of the walls are white and 1 wall is bright orange.   I happen to love the paint (and the no strips!).There will also be a little surprise coming with the white walls soon, so stay tuned.