Coming Alive

Every year Kristan and I head to Myrtle with her family for Thanksgiving.  They (Kris and her fam) do a lot of shopping.  I do a lot of sitting around, reading, and watching football.  I love this week.  Unfortunately we only have a couple of days this year b/c Kris has to work on Friday.  

Regardless, I am really looking forward to it.  We are at an exciting juncture here at The Patio!  This time away will be good to get some thinking and praying done.  

Have a good time everyone!  Travel safe.

Nolan just pooped in the bathtub.  He was in there for the specific purpose of getting clean. 

When your high-energy, bouncy, splashy, grabby 17 month old is standing in…well, you get the picture…you learn how fast of a problem solver you really are.

My reaction = make a grossed out face and run out of ideas.  Thankfully I was not in charge.

Kristan wouldn’t characterize herself as a manager, but man she turned into a Apprentice style director of person’s when the stuff hit the fan…er, water.

I received a phone call recently. 

“Sorry”, the caller said

I didn’t know what this person was talking about (honestly I hadn’t programmed the number in and I didn’t even recognize the voice”…so I responded confused, but courteous:

“Im sorry?”

“You’re sorry?” they said.

No, you said you were sorry…who is this?” I replied.

Once the confusion cloud had cleared I realized this person was calling to apologize for something said earlier that day.  My response, or lack of response, suggested I might have been offended or hurt by the comment.  I hadn’t been, but instead my mind was on something else…apparently my “in a daze” look is very similar to my “I’m gonna punch you in the throat” look.  I told this person not to sweat it and it was no big deal.

Later as I reflected on this I was encouraged that someone would still venture into the awkward, vulnerable field of reconciliation.  I don’t have enough phone calls like that one.  Usually I assume that things are cool, like they were in this case, but I do it b/c I don’t want to take the gamble that things aren’t cool and end up having to talk about it. 

So what if we end up apologizing from time to time when we didn’t even offend someone.  It’s better than failing to reconcile when we do.

It made my day.  Almost made me wish I had gotten offended.

“There is happiness in the love of labor, there is misery in the love of gain”

I wrote “Wow” in the margin of the book I found that quote in.

“The higher goal of spiritual living is not to amass a wealth of information, but to face sacred moments”

“We must not forget that it is not a thing that lends significance to a moment; it is the moment that lends significance to things.”

“The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space.  Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time.”

- Abraham Joshua Heschel

I really love cold weather.  I’m a better person in the winter: more romantic (to my wife…not to everyone), healthier (I like to run in the cold), and more introspective.  

That being said, I’m sick as a dog today.  I do not feel like being introspective or going for a run, and, however much I would love to romance Kristan Im pretty sure a congested, whiny husband isnt the most attractive thing to a woman.  

Things I will do today:
1.  Eat large quantities of broccoli-chedder soup
2.  Stick a need into my head to relieve the pressure (I’m thinking I’ll do this around noon”
3.  Stay as far away from Nolan as possible (the only thing worse than me being sick is him being sick)
4.  Go do Barnes and Noble (The Patio gave me a gift card for Pastor Appreciation Month!)
5.  Take a long hot shower
6.  Cancel leadership meeting and spend that time eating more soup
7.  Obtain much sympathy from my wife.

You gotta have goals!

So I recently made an album of Nolan pics taken over the last few months.  That album, “August and Everything After”, can be found on my facebook profile.  However, I kept the best pic off the album in a cheap way to get some blog visitors from my facebook friends.

No question this was the clear cut winner of Best Pic!

look at that dog

So, The Patio is now a church that meets in a garage.  Yep, you heard that right…in a tiny, cold, cramped garage.  This is what it looks like:

We are moving in a very exciting direction!  The future of The Patio consists of multiple garages being renovated for this very same purpose.  Reedy Fork Ranch will have small worship gatherings located all over the neighborhood. 

It has been ONE MONTH since God gave us this direction.  In one month a completely packed out garage turned into one of the most intimate and exciting worship environments I have been able to experience.

Why is it that no matter when you start a big project there is always a ton of last minute (often critical) stuff to do.  I would say that it’s by design, but when God created the heavens and earth he managed to knock out all the big stuff in time to take a day off before launch. 

If we truly are made in His image how come every church that launches, renovates a building, or puts on a huge event is always scrambling at the last minute. 

What if God finished off Adam and thought, “Oh my Me…I forgot to create Oxygen!”

Anyway, tomorrow we are finishing off renovations of our BIG project.  If you don’t know what it is dont worry…I haven’t been blogging about it yet.  Two days before we kick this thing off we still don’t have power, flooring, or a way to keep warm. 

And we have worked real hard. 

Actually now is a great time for special thanks:  Kristan, Lindsay, Lowders, and Donahoe Joe…you guys have really made this thing happen.  To the rest of you who have contributed thank you as well for the hard work you put in!

This Sunday is going to be great!

Spontaneity.

Switch it up today.  Do something completely out of the ordinary.  Or, if you aren’t feeling that rambunctious, just change your schedule around.  Sometimes burdens become blessings when we simply reschedule them.

For example: Sleep -
11:30PM = I HAVE to go to sleep
2:00PM = I GET to go to sleep

See how it changes?!  The same action done at a different time carries a totally different feel.  I took a nap today…and it was glorious.  Naps are always glorious.  Something about sleeping when the Sun is up feels really good.

Ruts suck.  When you do the same thing over and over it doesn’t matter how much you are supposed to love it, how much you used to love it, or how much you want to love it – “IT” becomes burdensome.

I understand the importance of intentionality in approaching God.  Having a scheduled time to read your Bible, pray, or journal can be the difference maker for the procrastinating or undisciplined soul.  However, while the blessing of discipline is accomplishment; the curse is that it can become meaningless. 

It’s late – I’m gonna go eat breakfast and wake up Kristan…then she will know the blessing of spontaneity too!