Already & Not Yet

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

2008-07-17T16:31:00.003-05:00

The following is a poem from the pen of Oscar Romero. I calls me to evaluate the idols of self-importance and busyness that I've created. It reminds me of my place as worker, not master builder. I hope it will bless you as much as it has blessed me today.

Prophets of a Future Not Our Own

It helps, now and then, to step back and take the long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
Of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying that
The Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete,
But it is a beginning,
A step along the way,
An opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
But that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders,
ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

Extraneous Innings

2008-07-16T12:04:00.004-05:00

Anybody watch last night's 15-inning All-Star ~~marathon~~ game? Everybody was all up in arms a few years ago when the Mid-Summer Classic ended in a tie. In light of last night's yawner, that seems like an act of grace.

Here's an idea to keep us from someday seeing position players pitch in an All-Star Game: in the event of a tie, each team chooses one representative for a 5-out Home Run Derby contest to determine the winner. How great would it have been to see Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols duke it out after 9 innings? No bullpens get burned up, you don't further risk injury playing extra innings in a (practically) meaningless game...I'm no Bud Selig, but I don't see the problem here. It's better than a 15-inning slogfest that ends at 1:45am after half the crowd has long headed for the turnstiles.

And while we're at it, can we get rid of the silly "winner gets home field in the Series" stuff? Please.

I Believe: The Gospel

2008-07-16T10:45:00.002-05:00

What is the Gospel?

For too long, the Gospel has been reduced to a series of propositional doctrinal statements one must intellectually assent to in order to experience personal forgiveness of sin and receive the promise of going to some sort of ethereal, non-material, spiritual “heaven” after death. While it is impossible to ignore the implications of the Gospel on a personal level and it’s attendant benefits, this treatise is an attempt to recover a more holistic understanding of the Gospel in light of its corporate elements that have implications not only for eternity but also for the present reality of Christian existence.

Gospel Defined: The Gospel is the story of God’s activity in salvation history to reconcile creation to God as revealed in Scripture. From creation to the call of Abraham, from exodus to exile, from Christ to church to consummation, God has been at work in the course of human history to bring about salvation. Salvation occurs when the Gospel is both encountered and embodied in the life of the believing community.

The following core concepts contribute to this definition of Gospel:

Identity: Imago Dei. Imago Dei is our communal identity. Scripture affirms that God created humanity in the image of God. The telos of creation is the establishment of a community to image the eternal, relational reality of the Creator God. Prior to creation, there was relationship. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit exist in an eternal relationship with one another, the essence of which is love. In creation, God seeks to establish a covenant community to image God in the cosmos and share in this eternal, loving relationship. This relationship is demonstrated in the biblical narrative in the intimacy Adam and Eve and God shared in the Garden of Eden. However, God grants to humanity the freedom to choose whether or not to enter into covenant relationship with God. Creation is a free, loving act of God and as God’s image bearers, we are free to act in similarly loving ways. The human condition is characterized in part by freedom: freedom to love or not to love; freedom to choose God or “not God”. Human free will is a necessity in the loving community God wills.

Exile: Sin. Exile is our communal failure story. Scripture affirms that humanity willfully fails to image God in the created order. This failure, known as sin, constitutes the disruption of community and a violation of God’s covenantal desire for creation. Rather than choosing relationship with God, humanity chooses “not God”. This failure to image God corrupts the integrity of creation and the consequence of this corruption is a radical reorientation of the created order. Adam and Eve are cast out of the Garden of Eden into a world of their own creation, a world of toil, pain, suffering, and death. After shunning covenant with God, the human experience is characterized by exile and estrangement from the intention of the Creator God.

Exodus: Jesus. Exodus is our communal redemption story. Scripture affirms that God is a faithful covenant partner whose love endures forever. Out of this great love, God wills to redeem God’s covenant community. In Jesus Christ, God works to liberate God’s covenant people out of exile and estrangement. Scripture affirms that the fully divine Second Person of the Trinity, God the Son, became flesh in the person of a first-century Jewish peasant named Jesus of Nazareth. As a fully divine person, Jesus is the embodiment of God’s covenant faithfulness to God’s people. This is love: not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10). As a fully human person, Jesus is the exemplar of human faithfulness to covenant with God. In short, Jesus fully images God. Through His death on the cross, Jesus atones for the sins of humanity and restores the broken image of God in us. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5). In His bodily resurrection, Jesus demonstrates God’s victory over death and emancipates God’s covenant people from the bondage of exile. The sacrament of baptism is our participation in the redemptive work of God in Christ by claiming His story as our story. By identifying with Christ in baptism, new creation occurs. Sins are forgiven. Imago Dei is restored. And community is made possible once again. These are characteristics of the Kingdom reign of God, which Jesus inaugurates in this exodus act of redemption.

Reconciliation: The Kingdom of God. Reconciliation is our communal ministry. Scripture affirms that God is actively reconciling all things back to God. As reconciled bearers of God’s image, we actively participate with God in God’s mission to reconcile creation. The Christian life bears witness to the goodness of God and the power of God to liberate from exile. As those who have experienced reconciliation, Christian engagement with the world is congruent with the mission of God. Christians seek to bring others into restored relationship with God. Christians also seek to embody the love and shalom of God in relationship with each other and the world. By doing so, the Christian community becomes the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God in the present realm. Although the Kingdom awaits consummation in the yet-to-be-revealed eschaton, the confessing community also embodies the principles of the Kingdom in the present. Christ’s church exists to embody the Kingdom principle of new creation and to reconcile the world back to God through acts of justice, mercy, discipleship, worship, and service. The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper identifies the confessing community with the death and resurrection of Christ and functions as a rehearsal of the Messianic banquet the reconciled community will enjoy in the eschatological new heavens and new earth. God is present in the confessing community through the indwelling of God’s Spirit until God’s reconciling activity is fully consummated in the coming Kingdom of God.

A Music Update

2008-07-15T09:59:00.003-05:00

Still spinning copious amounts of Old Crow and the Avett Brothers. I'm stoked to hear that Old Crow will release a new album in September. You can stream the great first single, "Caroline", from their MySpace page. I'm still hoping to catch them at the Ryman in October. Sunny's not a big fan, but she says she'll be my date ('atta girl!).

Also, the Avett Brothers announced last week that they're in the process of recording a new album with uber-producer Rick Rubin. Of course, Rubin produced all of Cash's American Recordings albums as well as the most recent Dixie Chicks disc, so you can imagine how excited I am about this news. Last year's "Emotionalism" has vaulted into the hallowed ground of my top 3 or 4 albums of all-time. There's literally not a song on there that I don't love. I'm eyeing their September 26 Nashville show.

By the way, tickets to either of these shows would make for a great early birthday present for someone!

2008 Home Run Derby

2008-07-13T22:41:00.003-05:00

Well it looks like my blogging hiatus lasted about as long as Brett Favre's "retirement". I have enjoyed taking a break for a couple of weeks and I've had a couple of ideas about things I plan on blogging about in the future. But for now, I can't resist a quick baseball post.

Every year, Sunny and I have a little competition when it comes to the Home Run Derby the day before the All-Star Game. We'll each draft 4 players from the pool of 8, and the one who picks the winner is declared the Bybee Family HR Derby Champ. My 2nd round pick last year, Vlad Guerrero, brought home the gold for yours truly. As the reigning champ, Sunny let me pick first this year. Here's how this year's draft went:

Round 1
Jason takes Lance Berkman
Sunny takes Chase Utley
I like Berkman hitting lefty in Yankee Stadium. Sunny wisely chose the only other first round consideration in this field.

Round 2
Jason takes Ryan Braun
Sunny takes Evan Longoria
We both surprised each other by taking right handed power hitters in the 2nd round. We'll see if it pays off. Sunny's a Longoria homer because a) he's on her fantasy team and b) his name sounds like "Eva Longoria".

Round 3
Jason takes Josh Hamilton
Sunny takes Grady Sizemore
I thought about Sizemore here, but I couldn't justify taking a leadoff hitter over the dude with 95 RBI. Hamilton is the feel-good story of the season so far; maybe he'll hit it big for me in the Derby.

Round 4
Jason takes Justin Morneau
Sunny takes Dan Uggla
No-brainer for me here; Morneau is a lefty and that short porch will be calling his name. 2nd year in a row he's been my last choice here.

There you have it. Your thoughts? How do you handicap this year's Derby? It's a more lackluster group than in years past, but you know I'll be watching nonetheless.

Important News

2008-07-12T22:16:00.001-05:00

We interrupt this blogging hiatus to bring you some important breaking news:

Jackson is walking!

Reprieve

2008-06-27T13:07:00.004-05:00

I performed a wedding last Saturday and with another one set for this weekend, I'm reminded about one of the more awkward moments in my line of work. After pronouncing the happy couple "husband and wife" and watching the entire wedding party leave the stage two-by-two, I'm often left standing at the front of the auditorium while the mothers and grandmothers and other family members are escorted out. Then I keep standing there until the music fades before I can finally dismiss everyone to the reception. I don't know; I feel like I ought to do more than just stand there looking at everyone while they're looking at me while we're all just waiting to get out of there. Maybe I could learn to juggle or something.

I continue to be disappointed with my blogging output these days. Time was I would use this blog as an outlet for some of my devotional writings. But these days it seems hard to find the time to write much of anything beyond random thoughts like the one above. It's not that I don't have anything to say. Actually, it's quite the opposite. I seem to spend so much of my time thinking about the things I have to say (whether it be preaching or teaching or whatever) that there's little time left for putting those thoughts down in written form. I guess that's fine, but it's still disappointing because I have these expectations for this blog but I never get around to meeting them. I've even thought about shutting the whole thing down completely. But then where would all of you get the wonderfully insightful commentary on Coldplay albums and Major League Baseball that you've come to expect from yours truly?

I guess what I'm saying is that I'll be taking some time off to think about the direction I want this blog to go in. Check back in a couple of weeks if you'd like; maybe by then I'll have something worth writing about.

National League All-Star Ballot

2008-06-26T13:37:00.002-05:00

Now the NL:

C - Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves. This one is really a tough call, as you could make a compelling case for McCann, Bengie Molina, Geovanny Soto, or Russell Martin. McCann boasts the most balanced stat sheet of the bunch with a .301 average, 14 HR and 44 RBI. I'm hoping Molina earns a backup role. I mean, what other Giant is going to make this squad?

1B - Lance Berkman, Houston Astros. Tough to argue with a guy hitting .360 w/ 21 bombs and 62 RBI. He's even stolen 12 bases. If the season ended today, he'd be pushing Chipper Jones for NL MVP honors. If you wanted to be ornery you could make a case for the Pads' Adrian Gonzalez.

2B - Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies. This one is probably even money between Utley and the Marlins' Dan Uggla. The numbers are remarkably similar. I'll give the nod to Utley, but you could really go either way on this one.

SS - Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins. This is yet another tough call, with Jose Reyes putting up great numbers, too. But Hanley's power numbers give him my vote.

3B - Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves. This one's a slam dunk. With apologies to David Wright, Chipper has put together an absolutely torrid first half and deserves the start. How can you not vote in a .400 hitter, people?

OF - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers; Carlos Lee, Houston Astros; Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis Cardinals. I admit that none of these guys has a chance of overtaking the current starters. For some reason, we'll be forced to watch Ken Griffey Jr. (he of the .245 batting average) gimp around and try to not pull a hamstring for 3 innings. But I think these three are the most deserving. Braun can absolutely mash as his .287 / 20 / 57 / 8 line testifies. Carlos Lee is an RBI machine. And Ryan Ludwick personifies this '08 Cardinal squad. He's come out of nowhere to boast a .292 average with 16 HR and 56 RBI. Moreover, he embodies the soul of a team that no one (not even this avid 'Birds fan) expected to be leading the NL Wild Card race at the midway point.

Since the NL has to employ a DH in the AL park, I'm hoping Adrian Gonzalez will get a much deserving start at that spot.

American League All-Star Ballot

2008-06-24T16:10:00.001-05:00

It's time for my annual post wherein I reveal my MLB All-Star Game voting ballot. If you've not yet voted for the mid-summer classic, time is running out. Here's who you should be voting for, starting with the American League:

C - Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins. The whole Yankees / Red Sox bias is most evident in the All-Star voting where a Boston or New York player leads the votes at 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, DH, and one of the OF spots. Thankfully, Mauer recently edged out Jason Varitek at C. Because every All Star team needs a .231 hitting catcher, right? Isn't it enough that I have to watch Boston on every ESPN and TBS game? Do I have to see them represented en masse at the All Star Game, too? But I digress.

1B - Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins. Although you could make an argument for Kevin Youkilis here, I'll go with Morneau, who matches the Greek God of Walks in every category except RBI where he leads Youk by 15. And I don't want to hear anything about a Minneapolis bias here.

2B - Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers. This guy can hit and run circles around Dustin Pedroia. By season's end, he'll have put together a 25HR / 40SB season. He's the most deserving AL 2B.

SS - Derek Jeter, New York Yankees. A decade ago, this would've been a tough call between ARod, Jeter, Nomar, and Miguel Tejada. Now Jeter is the last man standing among that quartet of AL shortstops. There are really no deserving AL SS's, so Jeter's as good a choice as any, I guess.

3B - Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees. No matter how you look at the numbers, he's the class of the league here. No brainer.

OF - Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers; Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians; Milton Bradley, Texas Rangers. Hamilton has been an absolute beast for Texas with an eye-popping 76 RBI. Considering the long road he's taken to big league glory, he's a guy you just want to root for. On the other end of the spectrum, Milton Bradley is one guy that's easy to root against. But there's no denying his numbers (.332, 15 HR, 48 RBI). Sizemore's blend of power and speed (17 HR; 17 steals) has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise lackluster Indians offense.

DH - Jose Guillen, Kansas City Royals. I know you can't really vote for Guillen because he doesn't "play" DH (only "full-time" DH's qualify for the voting), but he's much more deserving of a starting nod than Big Papi David Ortiz. Toiling in relative anonymity in KC, Guillen has posted a .293 average with 13 HR and 60 RBI (good for 2nd in the league). I'm lobbying for him to start in place of the injured Ortiz.

Tomorrow, I'll preview my NL ballot.

Jackson's Birthday Cake

2008-06-22T23:11:00.002-05:00

Here's some video of Jackson eating his birthday cake at his party last week. As you can see, he had a unique way of bringing the cake eating time to a close!

Random Thoughts

2008-06-18T15:59:00.002-05:00

These days my blogging (and my thoughts) is pretty random and sporadic. Today, I give you a few of my random thoughts:

As if we needed further confirmation that Tiger is the best player on the planet, now comes this. Winning the U.S. Open with a torn ACL? And he's been hurt since last July?

I've always wondered, do you have to rotate the tires on a motorcycle? I'm thinking not, but then again....

Joshua learned this week that mosquito bites itch. Yesterday he said to me, "Daddy, why did God give me these skeeter bites?" What do you say to that?!

I had to teach Matthew 7 last Sunday, the part where Jesus says, "Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened unto you." We had a great discussion on prayer and faith. I'm curious to know what some of you think. How do we reconcile Jesus' statement with our experience. He doesn't qualify His statement by saying that if we ask for the right things we'll receive them. He simply says ask and you'll receive. Yet, my experience with prayer is quite different. How should we understand what Jesus says? I don't have an answer; just curious what you think.

I'm at IMPACT this week teaching from the book of Micah. I'm convinced that Micah's message of social justice is meant to awaken us from the doldrums of understanding our faith purely in terms of personal piety and to move us toward a pursuit of biblical justice and the righteousness of God. There is perhaps no more important message for the 21st century church to hear.

Hope you all have a great week.

MyPod: Viva la Vida

2008-06-17T10:38:00.004-05:00

The likeliest disc to receive my annual "Album of the Year" title for 2008 just dropped this morning. Coldplay's Viva la Vida sounds like their strongest effort to date, at least at first blush. Whereas X&Y plodded in some places, the Brian Eno-produced Viva la Vida is a seamless blend of piano, guitar, and Chris Martin's falsetto. I've been loving the title track for a couple weeks now, but the entire album is great. Of course, I'm a Coldplay homer, so what do you expect?

Movie Duds

2008-06-16T07:26:00.002-05:00

Well, I should've listened to my friends. We saw Indiana Jones Friday night and it was terrible. Aliens? Really??

But I saw The Happening last night with some friends and I thought it was a little better. Of course, considering how putrid Indy 4 was, that's not saying much. Actually, I thought both movies suffered from lack-of-plot-itis. Throw in Mark Wahlberg's wooden acting and plenty of gratuitous violence, and The Happening just doesn't click. The best part about it for me was that, due to a movie listing typo in our local paper, my buddies and I were treated to a private showing of the film for free. So...it had that going for it.

All of which leads me to ask: what's the worst movie you've ever seen? When I was in high school, I went with some friends to see Joe vs. the Volcano and we pretty much agreed it was the worst movie ever. But I went in with minimal expectation and that has to count for something. I had high expectations for the Matrix sequels, but they were both terrible. As for ruining an otherwise flawless series, The Godfather, Part III has to rank at the top of the list. I watched The Phantom Menace the other day with Joshua; I'd forgotten what an awful movie it is (Jar Jar Binks....ugh.) Thankfully, I never saw Ishtar, so I can't speak from experience there.

Of course, there's "so bad it's good", which is a different category altogether. Battlefield Earth takes the cake there.

All Heart

2008-06-12T00:08:00.002-05:00

I can think of a few major leaguers who could learn a lesson in "hustle" from this kid. My favorite part is the slide into second. And how about the Mike Scioscia plate-block, too? Awesome.

Jackson's Birthday!

2008-06-11T09:29:00.005-05:00

One year ago today, our family received a precious gift of grace from God. Jackson Cash Bybee came into the world and came into our lives and today I want to give thanks to God for my youngest.

We named you Jackson because it means "God has been gracious." And that's what we feel when we look at you, Jackson. God knew our hearts to have another child and you are His gracious response to that request. Not only are you a constant reminder of God's goodness, you teach me that His goodness is lavish. You are grace to me, son.

We named you Cash after the great Johnny Cash, the long-time bard of the Bybee family and a figure that represents the myriad ways we struggle toward redemption. But your middle name also means "peace" and you've certainly lived up to that name. Your mother's pregnancy was a little turbulent and we had a couple of scares along the way. But since you've been with us, you've been nothing but a peaceful baby. Your laid back and even keel disposition has been such a blessing to me. I don't know that I've ever seen a happier baby. You are peace, son.

Finally, I'm proud that you carry my last name and the last name of your grandfather and your great-grandfather. I look forward to teaching you what it means to be a Bybee just as my Dad taught me. You are mine, son, and for that I am so very thankful.

All your days, 1 Kings 2:2-3 will be my prayer for you, son: So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the LORD your God requires. As you grow, I hope you'll come to know that your life is bound up in the LORD your God. You're already a strong little boy and it's a joy watching you grow into the man God wants you to be.

Happy Birthday, Jackson!

Media Roundup, June '08

2008-06-10T19:06:00.002-05:00

I haven't done a books / music / movies post lately, so here are my random thoughts about my latest media consumption.

Books
I read two books last week: William P. Young's The Shack and Three Nights in August by Buzz Bissinger. The Bissinger book takes an inside look at baseball from the perspective of a manager, specifically the skipper of my beloved Redbirds, Tony LaRussa. The narrative centers around a critical three game series the Cards played against the Cubs in the stretch run of the 2003 season. I try to read at least one baseball book every summer and this one didn't disappoint. Since Bissinger writes about my favorite team, I probably enjoyed this one more than most people would. But I think even the casual fan would have a greater appreciation for the strategic moves that are a part of managing. (Well, at least in the National League anyway.) I highly recommend Three Nights in August to fans of the game. Even Cub fans.

As for The Shack...well...my review is less favorable. I'd heard several people rave about this book so I was excited when a member of our Honduras mission team let me read her copy on the way home. But I have to say...I don't get it. First of all, I thought the book was poorly written. I thought the dialogue was cheesy in many places and I hated the plot. Also, I thought the whole thing smacked of pop theology. It reminded me of when I tried reading the first Left Behind book. It also reminded me why I don't read Christian fiction. I predict we'll be seeing The Shack on the big screen in a year or two. Maybe it'll be the rare case where the movie is better than the book.

Music
Lately, I've been in this acoustic / bluegrass / country mood. Actually, that's pretty much all I've been listening to for the last 3 months. I've been absolutely wearing out my playlist of Old Crow Medicine Show and The Avett Brothers. I'm still kicking myself for not going to see them in concert when they were in Huntsville a month or two ago (although I'm seriously eyeing the Old Crow show at the Ryman on October 9). "Go To Sleep" by the Avett Brothers has quickly become my favorite song of the year. If you're into that kind of music, I've come across another great band called

I've also been listening a lot to a band called The Two Man Gentleman Band. My friend Scott told me about a free download of their album a few months back; I got a copy but I didn't have the chance to really listen to it until recently. It's really quirky stuff, but it's right up my alley. I particularly like "William Howard Taft" and "The Square Root of Two".

I'm stoked that the new Coldplay disc will be out next Tuesday. I know it's either love-'em-or-hate-'em with Coldplay, but I love 'em. I love "Viva la Vida". I'm a sucker for anything "new creation", though.

Movies
I haven't seen anything at all lately. Sunny and I are thinking about seeing something on Friday. I would go see Indiana Jones, but everybody I know says it's just awful. (How smart does Sean Connery look now for turning down the opportunity to be a part of this trainwreck?) I'd love to see The Happening, but no way does Sunny go for that. The movie I'm really excited about this summer is The Dark Knight, but it doesn't come out until July. So, any suggestions? Help me out, movie buffs, or I might be stuck seeing Kung Fu Panda.

Long Time No Blog

2008-06-09T22:07:00.003-05:00

Well, long time no blog, right? I was on a mission trip last week in San Marcos, Honduras, so I haven't really been around the computer for the past 10 days or so. Our group spent the week working with the folks at Mission Lazarus. Our church has been working with Mission Lazarus for the past 4 or 5 years, but this was the first time I was able to be a part of this mission effort. We had an awesome week. At some point, I'll probably post a few of the stories from last week. Suffice it to say, it was an incredible week, probably the best mission trip I've ever been on. I'll have plenty more to say about that later.

Here is one of my favorite pictures from last week. These children attend one of the ECDC's (Early Childhood Development Center) sponsored by Mission Lazarus. I think this little girl's eyes are captivating.

I Love This Picture!

2008-05-28T23:50:00.002-05:00

A pic of our family (sans Daddy) taken by our friend Amber at the beach.

Congrats!

2008-05-28T17:35:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to my buddy Lane and his wife Kristen on the birth of their daughter, Josie Layne Widick, yesterday. She's a beautiful little girl with dark hair, blue eyes, and long fingers and toes. Her Mom says she's already grooming her to be a volleyball player!

Lane is my oldest and best friend; we've known each other for nearly 20 years. It's been a real joy watching him prepare for fatherhood. I've been thinking all day of the phrase from Psalm 2:7, "Today I have become your Father." I know Lane will be a great Dad because he keeps his eyes on the Heavenly Father. Blessings to you, man.

Underage Drinking?

2008-05-26T21:36:00.004-05:00

Sunny and I and the kids have spent the weekend in Gulf Shores, Alabama. We've had a great time hanging out with some of the families from church and enjoying the beach and some great seafood. We're going to try to leave early tomorrow morning, so tonight we decided to get a leg up on our packing. Sunny and I were in the bedroom of our condo, putting clothes in the suitcase, when we noticed that Jackson wasn't with us. We figured he'd crawled into the kitchen to see what Joshua and Abby Kate were doing. So I called out, "What is Jackson doing?"

From the kitchen, Abby Kate replied, "He's in here having a beer."

Turns out he was sitting on the kitchen floor working his way through a bag of Goldfish. How that was interpreted as "having a beer", I'll never know.

What happens in Gulf Shores, stays in Gulf Shores.

Indy 4?

2008-05-25T23:35:00.002-05:00

Anybody seen it yet? At first, I was excited; then I saw the previews and it just didn't seem right (that and the lousy title); but then I think, "It's Indiana Jones. It's gotta be worth seeing." I'm wondering if anybody caught it over the weekend. If so, what were your thoughts?

Tagged

2008-05-23T00:08:00.003-05:00

So I've been tagged by Sunny. Here goes:

*Maybe I should...learn Spanish. I think it'd definitely come in handy on the mission field. I'd also like to learn to cook.

*I love the smell of...almost nothing. I have virtually no sense of smell. I like the smell of gasoline, I guess. Probably because it's strong enough for me to smell it. I like to think this is some kind of superpower the Lord gave me since I've changed a couple thousand diapers in the last 4 years.

*People would say that I...I honestly have no idea what most people think of me. I'm sure some people think I'm a swell guy; and I know of several people who really aren't fond of me at all.

*I don't understand why...people think Will Ferrell is funny. I just don't get it. (Although "I Need More Cowbell" may be my favorite SNL skit ever.)

*When I wake up in the morning...I pop right out of bed and attack the day. I didn't used to be this way. I used to hit the snooze button several times before waking up. When I started working at Madison Academy, I had to wake up by about 6:15 every morning and somewhere along the way, I sort of lost the ability to sleep much past 7:00am. Two or three minutes after waking up, I'm thinking about what I need to get done that day.

*I lost my will power to...keep my 2007 New Year's Resolution to not eat fried foods and not drink Mountain Dew. I think I made it a couple of months before caving in.

*Life is wonderful with...the abiding peace of God. I know that even in the worst of circumstances, He is faithful and ever present. He promises to never leave me nor forsake me. And I believe Him.

*My past made me...realize that God never lets go. And He is more gracious than I was led to believe.

*I get annoyed when...people misunderstand me. Also when people read over my shoulder.

*Parties are not...a lot of fun for an introvert like me. I prefer smaller gatherings.

*Dogs are...my favorite! (I miss our cocker spaniel, Andy.)

*Cats are...arrogant.

*Tomorrow I am going to...attempt to drive 6 hours to the beach with three kids in tow. Pray for me.

*I have a low tolerance for...chick flicks. And meatloaf. And double standards.

*I'm totally terrified of...I don't really like to talk about the things I'm afraid of. So I'm not answering this one.

*I wonder why I thought my life would be...I've never had any assumptions about how my life was going to be, so I don't know how to answer this one either.

*Never in my life...have I been as content as I am right now.

*High school was something that...I really enjoyed. I had some great friends that made high school a blast. My only regret is that I didn't take my faith as seriously then.

*When I'm nervous...I don't really get nervous that much. On the weeks that I preach, I feel a shot of adrenaline just before I walk to the pulpit, which I guess helps combat nervousness.

*Take my advice...LOST is the best television show of all-time.

*Making my bed is...a myth.

*I'm almost always...reading.

*I'm addicted to...Mountain Dew. And books. Especially Bibles. Seriously, I have this thing for Bibles; I have them in all different translations, different sizes. NIV, ESV, TNIV, NASB, KJV, NRSV, NASB Update, CEV, NLT, The Message, Pocket Bibles, Study Bibles, Journaling Bibles, Thinline Bibles. I have some at my office at church, some at my home office, and I always have one or two in my bag. My thing now is I'm searching for a good TNIV / Message Parallel Bible. And anytime I'm at LifeWay or Barnes & Noble, I have to just walk through and see what Bibles they have.

*I want someone...to make fuel-efficient vehicles more affordable.

I'm supposed to tag someone else, so I'm tagging Lane.

Thirty!

2008-05-22T09:05:00.003-05:00

Today my sweet wife turns thirty years old. I know she's a little weirded out by the thought of entering a new "decade", but I've assured her that thirty is the new twenty. Or something like that.

Sunny and I started dating in the spring of 1995. She was a junior in high school and I was just finishing up my senior year. We began as friends and even through our dating and married years, our friendship has been one of the things I've appreciated the most about our relationship. Early on, I was drawn to Sunny for her warmth, her compassion, her purity of spirit, and her sincerity. I had dated other girls before; none of them made me want to be a better person. Sunny did.

As I look back over the years, it's clear to me that God brought Sunny into my life when I needed her the most. After both of my parents died when I was very young, I went through a dark period of time where I really doubted the love of God. By loving me unconditionally, Sunny became a conduit of God's love in my life. By doing that, she became an incarnation of the Gospel for me; I can honestly say that she has brought nothing but "Good News" into my life over the past 13 years.

Sunny, I hope this birthday is full of blessings for you. You deserve it, because you bless our family with such peace and joy and stability.

I love you.

Baby, you're the greatest!

American Idol: Final Performances

2008-05-20T22:49:00.003-05:00

Live blogging the AI final performance.

Weird, cheesy boxing intro. Although I like the Rocky theme music.

All right, enough with the boxing theme. It's a bit of overkill, don't you think? We get it. They're going to duke it out. Let's get on with it.

Archuleta chose to go last. I think that's a good move by him. You always want to be able to take the last shot.

Man, they're really not abandoning this boxing theme, are they?

Round 1: I think Clive picked some killer songs for these guys. "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is one of my all-time favorite songs and I think Cook owned it. Strong opening. Why did Randy just say this was "the duel of 2007"? Has he been drinking from Paula's Coke cup? Archuleta singing "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" was a great song choice, too. All I can say is "Wow". The kid absolutely nailed that song.

I think this round was a toss-up; I give the slightest nod to Archuleta. I'm surprised the judges so decisively ruled in favor of Archuleta.

Round 2: This is an interesting spin: taking a few of the best songwriting submissions and letting the contestants sing them. I think it's odd that they'd give these unknown songs this kind of platform. Cook's song was pretty good; not my favorite that he's done, but I love that he rocked it out. I have to agree with the judges that this was just an OK performance. Of course, Archuleta comes out singing a ballad. Sunny just made a good point: why does he always grab his stomach while he sings? Maybe I should try it next time I have to lead singing. This song is a yawner, but it's a good one for him.

This round was kind of a mediocre round for me. I didn't really like either song (too cheesy). But I think Archuleta gets another slight nod. This doesn't look good for Cook.

Round 3: Contestant's choice. Cook is going with Collective Soul's "The World I Know". I like the acoustic sound; I think this is representative of the kind of show you could expect him to put on. I might actually download this. (If I do, I'll probably get "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", too.) Man, Simon really has it in for Cook tonight. I like that he took a risk with this song, even though it's probably going to cost him. Big surprise: Archuleta's singing "Imagine". I'm sure this will bring down the house. His performance was pretty much flawless. That should pretty much seal the deal.

If Archuleta doesn't win this thing, I'll have to shave my head. He lacks the personality of a star, but the kid deserves it.

I would vote, but what's the point?

Jon Lester

2008-05-19T23:20:00.003-05:00

After watching last night's Yankees-Mets game and Carlos Delgado's homer that wasn't ruled a homer, I thought about writing a blog today about Biblical hermeneutics and the interpretive art of umpiring. But such a post would require more brain power than I feel like mustering up. If you're a baseball fan and a Bible student, you can probably figure out where I was going with that anyway. So let's just call it even.

Instead, I'll quietly applaud 24-year-old Jon Lester on his no-hitter tonight against the Kansas City Royals. You'll remember Lester was diagnosed with non-Hodgskin's lymphoma in 2006. He recovered last year, coming all the way back to win the clinching game of the World Series for the Red Sox. You just like to see good people do well. After beating cancer, taming the Kansas City lineup was probably small potatoes. Way to go, Jon.