Archive for the 'Church' Category

The Future

Published at November 27, 2009 in Personal Update, Church, Marriage, Being a Man, Family, Holidays and Spirituality. 1 Comment

I’ve been thinking & praying a great deal about it lately.  For the first time, it’s been so hard to see.  I’ve always known the next step, but that’s been easy. It’s only ever affected me.  Now I am part of a “we,” & “we” have to make a decision based on what’s the best thing for us.  Brooklynne is done with graduate school in May, & it is time to start figuring out where to go from there.  It’s easy to say that we should make this decision based on the most important things for us. Where can we find a community of believers to plug into that we can “jive” with?  Where can we begin putting down roots to build a family?  These & other things are our top priorities, but when we try to lay out possibilities to meet those questions, they are endless.  It’s hard to narrow down from endless possibilities.  I hate to make a life decision based on career opportunities, but what else is there to do when that is the only variable that can be known?  I hate being in places like this, where the questions are far more numerous than the answers.  Any advice from those further along the path of life is very welcome right now. 

 

On a side note, Thanksgiving has been wonderful.  I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am to have amazing in-laws that I truly feel like family around.  It has been a very welcomed break from all the pressures of Boston.  I am so thankful for a job that I love going to every single day.  I can’t wait to get back to see my little buddy.  I am unbelievably blessed to have such an amazing, beautiful, & gifted wife.  I love being here to spend time with her while she doesn’t have 20 thousand things on her schedule.  So anyway, please let me know if you have any wisdom to impart upon our decision making process for the future.

Random Things

Published at November 16, 2009 in Personal Update, Church, Fun, Holidays, Spirituality, Music and Humor. 3 Comments

Just wanted to cover a few tidbits of randomness today.

1. It’s time to get back into the habit of posting more often. I’m afraid that the allure of twitter to sum up my thoughts in 140 characters or less just isn’t the same as really having a place to put more important subject matter.

2. At the same time, I don’t feel the burning need to write about hot theological topics as much as I used to. It’s not that I don’t feel passionately about them anymore so much as it is that I feel like it’s just white noise now. It probably was then, too, but I was too arrogant to see that; A. there is nothing new under the sun, & B. I didn’t have it all figured out at age 24 anymore than anyone else ever has it all figured out. So, I may write about theological & spiritual topics from time to time because they are very important to me, but I’ll try my best to make it relevant & not just white noise.

3. I love my job so much!

4. I miss being home during college football season more than any other time.

5. If you are playing Christmas music already, you need to stop it. It isn’t Thanksgiving yet. Public Law 179 category 7 clearly states that;

“Christmas, or holiday, music shall not be played, listened to, bought or sold, be it privately or in the public arena, until such time as Thanksgiving Day of the year in question has reached 12:00 noon CST. At such time, Christmas, or holiday, music may be played, listened to, bought and sold until, but no later than 12:00 noon CST on New Year’s Day of the ensuing year. Anyone accused, tried, & convicted of doing anything other than what is previously stated shall be swiftly & firmly kicked & punched repeatedly & without prejudice by Samuel L. Peters in one of the following areas of his/her own choosing; 1. The shins. 2. The groin (or “balls” as it were) 3. The face, esophagus, and/or clavicle 4. The pancreas or 5. The shoulder blade.”

6. Thank you. That is all.

Passion

Published at May 19, 2009 in Church, Being a Man, Politics, Family and Spirituality. 2 Comments

I’m losing it. The only problem I have is figuring out whether or not it is a good, bad, or neutral thing. I used to think about things & get riled up about them. Whether positively or negatively, I had a well thought out opinion & a deep conviction about many very important things. On the one hand, I feel like this is a good thing. I spend my time thinking, praying, & feeling about my immediate life & surroundings. How can I be a Godly husband to my wife? How can I pursue excellence in my job? What is the best way for us to be a part of God’s church here & now? These are good things to be passionate about. However, I used to think & feel deeply about other stuff that has fallen away lately. I find myself feeling apathetic towards issues that have an impact on the bigger picture. Commercials for supporting starving children are fast forwarded. War headlines are skipped over. Talk of the recession’s impact make me roll my eyes. Thinking about God’s will for the mankind & the world just drains me & I get sleepy. I’d love to hear your input about this because I honestly don’t know whether this is a good thing or not. What do you think?

Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Published at September 11, 2008 in Church, Personal Update, Marriage, Being a Man and Spirituality. 1 Comment

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

-Jesus-

I think that this may be the most difficult command that Jesus ever gave. I have never been a worrier. I’ve always stayed on a remarkably stress free path, but I am finding lately that I am stressed more often than not & I don’t like it. I’ve always felt that I was in control of what happened to me, & that I was running a pretty good show. But take me away from my comfortable job, my family, my church, my friends & I find, as C.S. Lewis so eloquently puts it, that “my sturdy home was nothing more than a house of cards all along.” 

The positive in all of this is that God is showing me more than ever that He is the one who gives & He is the one who takes away. I must learn to take comfort in the knowledge that the Lord is good, His plans for creation are good, & that He loves me enough to allow me to be a part of those plans. Does that mean things will come up roses for me? Is God going to now bless me with wealth & success beyond measure if I will just have faith? As if God had nothing better to do than to grant my wishes. Is He some sort of genie in a bottle? Absolutely not, & to believe so would be a very self-centered & empty faith indeed. To be able to take part in God’s kingdom & His redemptive work on Earth ought to be enough. I want to be able to stand & say, as Paul did, that “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” 

I think that the Lord is trying desperately to whisper that secret to me. I only pray that I have the ears to hear. 

Christianity & Politics

Published at August 19, 2008 in Church, Politics and Spirituality. 5 Comments

The War on Terror versus Loving, forgiving, & serving my enemies:

Should we apply the teachings of Jesus to a national government? If so, how do we, as Christians, justify voting for officials who will use war & violence at some level against our enemies? If they do not apply, why not? 

I’ve really been wrestling with these & countless other questions with regard to the upcoming elections. The more I look at the life & teachings of Jesus, the less that this jives with American government & American life in general. I’ve never been one to desire Christianity’s teachings to be enforced by the government. I believe that church & state should remain separate. I believe that gluttony is a sin, & one of the big ones that the Lord hates, but I don’t think cops should start arresting people at their local Chinese buffets. So, obviously, I prefer the government to remain neutral on religious matters & I can certainly support a government that does so. But, what if the government doesn’t simply remain neutral but acts in a way that stands in direct opposition to the way of Christ. Can I participate in the democratic process of that government, thus lending my support to it’s actions? 

Understand, I’m not trying to bait anyone here. I am honestly struggling with these questions right now.

Any thoughts or advice?