I don't know

Saraya and I were in the car, driving to her t-ball game yesterday, and out of the blue she says "Dad, are you thinking what I'm thinking?". I quickly thought to myself, It's highly unlikely that I am thinking the same thing a 4 year old is thinking, but what a funny question for her to ask. So I said to her, I don't know, what are you thinking, and she said "I don't know". So I guess we were kind of thinking the same thing.

A good Weekend

Lately our weekends have been at least as busy as our weekdays, but this past Saturday we got to have a relaxing day at the pool. Dana's parents only live about 5 minutes from us, and they have an in ground pool. That means that we can go over there just about any time we want and swim, and we don't have to take care of it. It's not as convenient as having a pool out in your back yard, but the fact that I don't have to clean it and fill it, and put chemicals in it more than make up for the 5 minute drive to get there. We spent all day there just lounging out on the deck and swimming. My mother came, and so did my brother Jason and his fiance Felicia and her 2 girls. A great time was had by all. Dana swam for a little bit and then decided she wanted to get some sun. I asked her if she put any sunscreen on, and she said no, that would defeat the purpose. She wanted to get darker. Well, she got darker, a darker shade of RED. She also did not think of the time she was going to spend on Sunday outside. She had already scheduled to take pictures all day long out at the park of church members, with the proceeds going to our vacation bible school. So she spent from 12 noon till 8 pm that night outside in the heat and humidity with a sunburn.
On another note, I have noticed that Saraya has been asking if she can have something by saying "should I". For example she will say "Daddy, should I have some M&M's?". First off, I think this is really cute, but I also think this is very astute. I am not sure what she is thinking when she asks this way, but by phrasing the question this way she is not assuming that she actually should have what she is asking for. She is actually leaving the decision on whether or not she should up to me. If she were to ask "can I" she is already assuming that she should have them, but still asking permission to have them. Can I?, is still a very good question and a very valid question, but to ask "should I" is so much better. I am trying to remember her example when I approach God with requests of my own. I have got to get it into my head that He not only knows what is best for me, but that He wants what is best for me, and equally important, that I always don't know what is best for me.

Punishment

I read a news story today that reported on some vandalism done by about 25 teenagers. The vandalism was done to the house of the famous poet Robert Frost, when one of the vandals decided to throw a party on the rairly used property. As often happens, word got around quickly, and the party swelled to about 50 people. After a few hours and $100 in beer, things got a little rowdy. A chair got broke, and that started a frenzy of destructive behavior. 25 young men and women were brought up on charges of vandalising this historic place. This story so far is non to far out of the ordinary. The sentence that was handed down however is. It seems that the court decided to make all 25 of them take a short course on the poems and the life of Robert Frost. The thought behind this is that by knowing some about the man, and the contribution he has made to society, might make them change their ways and think twice about damaging others property. As if knowing about the life of this dead poet will some how change these young people from the inside out. The reality is that it wont! I don't care how great a writer someone is, they can not truly change a life from the inside out on their own. It seems very sad to me that these people thought that making these teenagers study Frosts' poem The Road Less Traveled, is going to have some everlasting change on someones life. But maybe they were not thinking that. Maybe they were thinking that making these kids sit through a few lectures on poetry from a guy that died before any of them were born, poems that they have already slept through once in high school, might be a much better deterrent than making them pick up trash on the side of the road. I am all for it if that is the case. Besides, the worst thing you could have done to me when I was in high school was to make me go back to school on my free time, which I had to do on many occasions, only then is was called Saturday school. If that is not the case though, I wish I could convince them that the only mans story that can actually change a person truly from the inside out, is the story of Jesus. His words are the only words that can remake a person. They are the words of life that can change a persons heart. All they will do, if they are lucky, is change some of their behaviors. I guess if you don't know God, a change of behavior is the best you can do.

Embarrassing moments

I was on MercyMe's blog, and Bart had posted a blog that told of one of his embarrassing moments. I enjoyed reading it and I also had fun reading all of the responses he got from it. So I decided to do the same thing on my blog. So here is one of my embarrassing moments. I hope you enjoy it and comment back with one of your own.

I was in high school, and on a date with my girlfriend. We were sitting in my Datsun (Nissan) truck, out in front of her house saying goodnight. Saying goodnight meant that we were kissing. She was a really good girl, so all we did was kiss. In fact to make sure that is all we did, she had a habit of keeping her arm in front of her chest as kind of a buffer zone. Well I kind of got used to knowing that her arm would be there, so I went to place my hand on her arm only to discover that the buffer zone was not in place at that time. My hand landed, fully cupping her right breast. It took what felt like a full 20 seconds for the sensation of my hand to reach my brain, but when it finally did I pulled my hand away, at the same time she pulled her body away, and then I blurted out the only thing that came to my mind at that moment. No, it wasn’t I’m sorry!! Or even whoops!! But instead I said those magic words that every high school girl wants to hear after a moment like that. I said “I thought it was your elbow!” Luckily she had a great sense of humor and we both laughed it off, and never told her dad who was a very scary guy that worked for the LAPD and always carried a gun.

I'm a smoker

Sunday after church Dana wanted to have the band and their families over for a meal. We just got a new grill, so she asked if I would smoke some meat for the occasion. Of course I was more than happy to do it, anything I can do for the band, (the backbone of the church) I am happy to do it. Well I ended up smoking 3 Boston Butts because we needed 2 for the band luncheon, and my mom wanted to smoke an extra one so we could eat on it for the next week. Well, through all of this I have discovered that I like smoking stuff rather than just grilling it. Smoking takes a lot longer. I have to start the night before, and then I also have to get up in the middle of the night to tend to the fire and the meat. Maybe that's why I like it better. When you smoke something it's a longer more drawn out process that you have to plan for a little. Grilling you just get out there and do it, and it only takes about an hour. It seems that with grilling everything is rushed, and you are trying to get the fire right, and then you have to get the meat and put it on, and then you are having to do other stuff, and people are coming up and bugging you, and your wife wants something, and then the kids need you for something, or in my case, the kid. It's just a blur of stuff going on, and among all of that you are expected to fix the meat to the perfect temperature for everyone, "I want mine medium, I want mine well, I want mine medium rare". You see, I'm not that smart, and my brain can't handle all of that stuff at one time. Well at least not handle it and enjoy the experience at the same time. I can really enjoy smoking stuff on the grill. I can do one step at a time, and most of the time no one else is around when I'm doing it, so I can just relax and enjoy the process. I'm not a morning person. In fact, some of my most hated memories of childhood was when my Dad used to wake me up singing some lame "It's time to get up" song. It wasn't that I had to get up that bugged me so much, it was that he was so happy about it that really ticked me off. Being that as it may, I don't hate getting up at 4 in the morning to tend to the grill. Yes I'm a little sleepy, but there's no one else up, and I can spend about 30 or 45 minutes doing my thing and then go back to sleep. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like smoking on the grill. I just wish more stuff in life were like that. Where there was not a lot of other stuff going on, and I could just enjoy one experience at a time. Even the tough things are not so bad when you can just slow down and really work on it and get it just right. I love when the meat is smoked just right and is nice and juicy and tender. In the same way, I love when I preach and the message is just right. When the whole thing flows from the beginning to the end. When you are really able to get your point across. I love the process of writing a good sermon to. When I can get alone, without any interruptions, and craft it just right. When no one else is talking to me and asking me stuff. When the TV isn't on, and the radio isn't playing, and I can read and study and pray, and hear from God. I really need to make more times like that in my life.

exciting Sunday

Much has happened this last week. We finally had our first Sunday service in our new Church facility. It was super exciting. The morning was filled with all kinds of people coming in and looking in all of the classes. Looking at the new rooms that were built, the pictures that had been painted on all of the walls in the children's classrooms. Noticing all of the flooring and the updates that have been made to our new building. Then the service started and it felt like the excitement just kept on coming. I was really surprised that almost everyone was not just on time, but a little early. There was also several new faces in the crowd. Which just added to the excitement of the day. The music started, and the band and tech guys had put together a little video to go with a song the band did. The video chronicled the construction that has been going on over the last several months. The end of the song was met with much applause that seemed to just happen, not like at other times when one person starts it and then other join in. After the welcome was over and the band finished it's next song, the people clapped again, and again it was the kind of applause that everyone starts, starting and ending with the flow of the service. All in all the band did a great job in adding to the excitement of this special morning. The morning was made even more special because it was not just our first Sunday in the new building, but it was also mothers day. To sum it all up, we had one of our highest attendance Sundays ever, and the day went off without a major problem. Everyone went away feeling really good and excited about our new building and the future of our church.
I am hoping that when the excitement fades, as it always does, that the expectations and dreams of the people do not fade with it. It makes me think of when Moses came down from the mountain after seeing God. His face was glowing with the power of God. The people were amazed and even afraid. Soon after that Moses started wearing a covering over his face. Not so people would not be afraid of the glow from his face, but so that they would not see that the glow was slowly fading away. I think he was afraid that the people would think that God was leaving, or that He was no longer in favor of them. The reality is that the glow was going to fade. Moses was not perfect, and he did not live in a perfect world. The glow had to fade. The excitement of a new building is going to fade. Things are going to break and wear out. The shine is going to wear off of things, the building is going to get dirty and worn down. There is no way we can put a Vail over the building so the people don't see the shine slowly going away. I just hope that our people realize that even though the excitement may not always be what it was like on the first Sunday, that God is still with us, and His plan is still the same. Wherever God's people are, that is where the "church" is. That is because wherever God's people are, that is where God is. Emotion was never meant to carry us along, dedication and obedience to the Father was. No matter how we feel on any given day, we are to do what God tells us, and we should always remember that God is with us and for us.
James

mistaken identity

Well, I'm back! It seems after my very first blog ever, that I was shut down by the man. It seems that Blogspot thought that I was one of those automatic spammer programs that get on sites like these and spams everyone. I have no idea how or why this sites anti spam program picked me out, but we got everything worked out. I am not sure what kind of comment this situation makes about the current state of our society, but I am sure it is not good. When a real person can be mistaken for a program by another program, that was written to keep certain programs out, and then it stops the real person from gaining access to his own writings and information, then that can not be good. It sounds like the beginning to some science fiction movie where some kind of computer is trying to take over the world. I would probably be played by Will Smith.
Anyway, as I was trying to get back on my site, I realized that I have no rights concerning this blog. The site that I post on has all of the right to everything I put on here. All of the things I write, all of the pictures I post, no matter how personal, all belongs to this blog site. If they decide to shut it down and erase all of my stuff, there is nothing I can do about it. It makes me think of two things. First, we seem to be signing our rights away way to easily now a days. The computer makes all of it way to easy. All we have to do now is click a box and wham, it is done. I very rarely ever even read those agreements anymore, and I bet no one else does either. The second thing is that everything in this world is temporary. Nothing here is permanent, and some things can be taken away in a moments time. I need to make the best of the time that I have, and always be storing my treasures in Heaven.

James