Snarf

I’m back! Thanks to Alli for filling in for me a couple of weeks ago!

A strange thing happened in my garden the other day. This is the same garden that is actually our small farm in the summer, and the same garden that becomes my deer hunting area in the winter. Well, a couple of months ago I got a new truck (as you might have read about in a previous post). One big difference between my old and new truck is that the new one has 4 wheel drive. The first thing I did when I brought it home was drop it down into 4 wheel drive and drive around my hilly yard and garden. It was sweet.

With the snow this winter, I liked to check for deer tracks down in the garden. Well, when I got the 4 wheel drive, I started driving down there instead of walking (what can I say, I’m lazy). I had done this 20 times, and the kids loved it. Well a strange thing happened the other day.

The snow had melted and it had rained a little bit. My family was with me and I said “who wants to go look for deer?” “YEAH!” they all shouted. As we get down to the garden, my wife utters words that would later sting like a bug bite; “um, that looks pretty muddy.” Of course I took that as a challenge to my manhood. “No problem, I have 4 wheel drive,” I responded. Famous last words.

I pull in, and instantly sink. I’m able to rock it back and forth, and get it out, so I turn around and head for higher ground. But I hit another soft spot. Same scenario, and I get out, but now I’m not sure how to get out of the garden! So I think if I go to the part of the ground that isn’t normally tilled that it will be stronger, I can build up speed and power my way through. But no, I hit the tilled area and it stops like someone lassoed me. And this time I am stuck. REALLY stuck.

I try to get out, but no luck. I call my brother-in-law, with a 4X4. He comes over, but the problem is that I am in the MIDDLE of the garden, meaning 70+ feet from solid ground for him to pull me on. We hook 3 tow straps and a tow rope together and he starts to pull, but nothing. Now it’s dark.

The next day I grab two come alongs, (if you don’t know what that is, ask your grandpa, or google it) and hook to a tree. Doesn’t budge. OH and I forgot to mention when I first got it stuck for good I got out and heard a loud HISSSSSSSSSS. That’s right, I punctured my front passenger tire. So anyway, I jack up the back end and dig out under the back wheels, and put cinder blocks under the tires…and the still just spin away.

Okay, I’ve done everything I can without admitting to someone other than family how big an idiot I am. So I call my farmer friend, thinking he can bring a tractor over and pull me out. He comes over and says there is no way he can take a tractor down there without getting stuck himself. SO I call my construction friend, thinking my last resort is a bulldozer. He sends over a backhoe. We hook up to the tow hooks and at first the backhoe comes toward me instead of me coming out of the hole. But a second effort lifted me right out.

Three days my truck was stuck in the mud. So what did I learn?

1. I should have listened to my wife in the first place. If I would have listened to her, I never would have gotten stuck.

2. You have to have the right solution, no matter how humiliating, before you can fix the problem.

Being stuck was a lot like me getting stuck in sin. First of all, if I would just listen to God in the first place, I would save a lot of heartache and trouble. I have to continually remind myself that the Bible is not a book of rules to make my life harder, but rather a book of instructions to make my life easier.

Second, when I am stuck, the only thing that can make it better is God’s forgiveness through my repentance. I have to realize that I’ve messed up and humble myself and ask for help. Nothing else can save me or rescue me. And just like my friend with the backhoe that came to my trucks rescue…God is always there to pull me out of my sin.

So that’s about it for now kiddos.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Christopher

hello!!
Well as you all know, road trip is coming up here in a few days. And if you didn’t know, well you should probably try to come to wave more often. But I’m really excited about road trip, I’ve been on it the past two years and it’s pretty amazing. If you’ve never been on it before, it may seem a little weird to just get on a bus and have no idea where you headed for a week, but that’s probably one of the best parts. You don’t have to worry about where you’re going, or whether or not you want to do some of the activities, because you have no idea what they are going to be. You just let someone else take control and get you to where you need to be. It’s pretty nice. Anyway, I have come up with a list of things you should probably do before next Wednesday to prepare for the road trip both physically and spiritually.

1. Have a good attitude. I think this is also one of the things Chris says to bring too. If you get on the bus thinking it’s going to be a horrible trip, then it probably will be for you, so be happy!

2. Pray. You can pray for anything, but you can pray for safety and that God will help you change and show you how to live your life for him.

3. Go open minded. This kinda goes along with having a good attitude, but on the trip you will probably have to do an activity you don’t really feel like doing. Last year, when Chris told me I had to try paint ball I really didn’t want to do it. But once I did, and I found that getting shot really didn’t hurt all that bad, it was a lot of fun and I got a pretty cool bruise too. It’s also important to be open minded during worship time. It’s possible that there will be some things in the sermons you don’t want to hear, but you have to accept it and be willing to try and change or better understand what God is trying to tell you.

4. Be prepared for anything. These may all seem to be a little redundant, but they’re all important and each a little different. This trip should change your life though. Whether it’s getting to try some crazy activity or if you decide to give your life to Christ, it’s all important.

5. It’s also a good idea to have some food for the bus. Sometimes the rides are 3 or 4 hours long, and unless its planned, it’s unlikely that the bus will stop for food.

6. Bring comfortable clothes and a variety too. You don’t know where we’re going so you won’t know what the weather will be like, plus some days we spend a few hours on the bus so you’ll want to be comfortable.

7. Try to be nice to everyone. If you’re mean to someone or have a fight or whatever, theres a chance you will end up having to share a room with them one of the nights.

8. Have fun!

Guest blogger, Alli Dulgar

Hello Wave fans,

I am sorry to report that as of 5:00 P.M. today, Seneca County is at a “Level 2″ snow emergency. Because of Christ’s Church policy, all activities will be canceled tonight.

BUT, some also very important news: The NEED-TO-KNOW ROAD TRIP sign-up deadline is NEXT WEDNESDAY! So spread the word, invite your friends, we have 20+ spots that we need to fill! Any questions, let me know.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Chris

I’m addicted. I feel like there should be some support group for me, maybe even court-mandated. Like all addictions, it started innocent enough. Just a little bit here, once in a while there. When I started, I didn’t REALLY like it. In fact, to be honest, I can’t say that I REALLY like it now. But the problem is, I can’t stop.

“Hello, I’m Chris. And I’m addicted to country music videos.”

I mentioned this “guilty pleasure” a couple of blogs ago. It all started when we got a treadmill. I don’t like running on the treadmill. I think it is unnatural, evil even. The problem is that for some reason God decided to make northwest Ohio 7 degrees from about October through April every year. That’s no big deal if you can be inside under a blanket, but if you consider yourself a “runner” to any degree, it causes a few problems. You have a couple of options: 1. Wear lots of clothes and cover your exposed skin with Vaseline so that you won’t get frostbite during your outdoor run. OR 2. Get a treadmill. So I opted for the latter.

Well the problem is that when you run multiple miles on a treadmill, you get bored. And getting bored is the biggest culprit to long distance running. When you get bored, you want to stop. So key to the success of my exercise program was finding something that would distract me from the fact that I was running in place for 30-45 minutes a day. So I set my treadmill up right in front of my TV. Now, 90% of what I watch is ESPN or sports-related. But I watch so much of it that it doesn’t really distract me. So I had to find something new, hence my experimentation with country music videos.

It started out as 70% ESPN, 30% country music videos. This morning it was 85% one country music video station, 15% the other country music video station (the 85% is the HD channel). So I am officially addicted.

Anyway, during my run this morning, I was watching country music videos. There were all sorts of videos on, fun videos, bad videos, crazy videos, and serious videos. Well, there were a couple of videos that seemed to be unique to country music. Maybe you know the type; they are the kind with with the singer reflecting back on life, thinking back about growing up, having a family, and growing old. 15 years ago I was into country music, and those songs made me laugh. The first word that came to mind when I heard them was CHEESE!! But, my friends, something has changed.

I noticed this morning that when those songs came on, it made my heart hurt at times. What do I mean by that? Well…basically they made me think of my kids, and how I don’t want them to grow up; my parents and how I miss them; and how I don’t want to get old and die. Nice huh? So what’s the difference? Age and perspective mostly. When I used to laugh at those songs, I was young, a lot more immature (if you can believe that), and ready to get on with life. NOW, however, I am older, a little more mature, and ready for life to slow down. So now I view life different. I used to hate it when people would say something like this, but if you are reading this and are young and don’t understand…someday you will.

Lately we have been talking about discipleship at Wave. We’ve talked about how when we give our life to Christ, we become “baby” Christians. To become true disciples of Christ, however, takes some real effort. We’ve been talking about what it takes to grow in Christ, and what characteristics you will have as a disciple. Well, I think my addiction has reminded me of a characteristic we will have. For me, my opinion of these dreaded country music videos is now filtered through the eyes of a family man. So things have changed.

As we become true disciples, things change. Maybe one way you can measure yourself as a disciple is to determine how your perspective has changed. When you become a disciple, life is now filtered through (or at least should be) the eyes of God. If you are a Christian, think about your perspective back when you gave your life to Christ, and think about it now. Has it changed? That change is the transformation that Romans 12:2 talks about. Check it out, and be transformed. It will change your world. For the better.

Well kiddos, that’s about it. I must give you a disclaimer for this blog post. If for any reason this post is sub-par to my normal posts you must understand one thing. Our friend Marthe Lou Barth was home on Spring Break from college and spent all day at the Church offices. One of Marthe’s glorious gifts is talking. She talked during the ENTIRE TIME of the production of this blog. Please direct all complaints directly to Marthe at myrtle_gotgod@hotmail.com. Thanks for your consideration.

That’s it for now kiddos. Thanks for your time.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Christopher

I sold my truck the other day. The red and white beast has been passed on to another master. I got this truck several years ago, because I loved the body style. It was just like the one I had in high school. Well shortly after I got it, the engine blew. Not blew up, but encountered so much mechanical damage that the engine was ruined. So I had a dilemma: get rid of the truck, fix the engine, or put another engine in it. After much deliberation, I decided to put a 350 cubic inch engine in it (insert manly grunts here). It took about a month, but with the help of a couple of other guys, we replaced the engine. And boy was it sweet. FAST, POWERFUL, (insert MORE grunts here). Well the problem is that if you have a big, fast, and powerful animal it eats a lot of food. A big, fast, and powerful engine drinks a lot of gasoline. So I didn’t get very good gas mileage. 8. I got 8 miles per gallon. I live a little over 8 miles from the church, so that meant that if gas was 3 dollars a gallon, it would cost me 6 bucks every time I went to the church and back. So it was time to part ways with the red and white beast.

Now the truck was in good shape…for a 1986. BUT, a 22 year old vehicle has some issues, even more so when you factor in that Ohio puts about 2 billion pounds of salt on their highways in the winter. But I put it in the paper, make it sound good and wait for the calls. Several people call, but no real interest. But after about 2 weeks, I had a buyer.

Now I am occasionally a bit of a pessimist. So after I sold it, but before I delivered it, I was worried about all kinds of things; will the engine fall out now, will the wheels hold up, will a tornado come and blow it away? I just had this feeling that something was going to go wrong. So I couldn’t WAIT until I got the cash for it and I put the keys in the new owners hands. Because then if something happened (like a satellite falling out of the sky and crushing it) it would be THEIR problem, and not mine.

Well the day had come to deliver it and I started to get a little nostalgic. I decided to drive it into town for them instead of them coming and picking it up. My middle child was sick, so she got to ride along. “Can you believe you will be the last Beard kid to ride in this truck?” I asked her. “REALLY?” she replied with big blue eyes. And then I thought back through all the stuff me and my truck had been through. “It’s sure been a good truck for us,” I thought out loud. And then my daughter replied with a statement that rocked my world. She said “Yeah it has, and I REALLY hope it’s a good truck for the new people!”

Wow. Now I know that may not seem like an incredible statement. But remember, all I want to do is complete this transaction so that if anything goes wrong with this TWENTY-TWO year old truck, it won’t cost ME anything. And there is my sweet, innocent daughter. And what’s on her mind? The well-being of people I only met the day before, people she only knew as “the people buying the truck.”

Almost immediately a verse came to mind: At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:1-4)

No wonder Jesus said we must become like little children to enter the kingdom of heaven. We sure have a lot to learn, at least I do. At that moment I prayed that my heart would be pure like my daughter’s. I prayed that I would love people in the way she exhibited love at that moment. And I felt ashamed because of my selfishness.

Don’t get me wrong, my daughter is not perfect. She, like all of us, can be selfish sometimes. But maybe she is just a bit less tainted than I am, a little less messed up. And when it comes down to it, more pure. I hope you are like me in that you pray that God will restore that innocence to you…with faith like a child.

That’s about it for now kiddos.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Christopher Bill

The year is 1993. The setting, Northwest Oklahoma. The style was split between the Wrangler-wearing “cowboy” types and the American Eagle “preppy” types, among a few other minority styles. The music was also diverse, but in Northwest Oklahoma you either knew country music because you were a fan, or because there was nothing else to listen to. The High School dances would always have a couple of songs that everybody “line danced” to. It was this environment that was fertile for sudden and huge success.

I remember the first time I heard someone sing it. It was before choir and a kid named Jason was singing this tune somewhat loudly and obnoxiously. Then somebody else joined in. “What is that song?” I asked. “You haven’t heard that?” Jason replied sneeringly. “That’s Billy Ray! Achy Breaky Heart!” I soon became familiar with the song. It became an instant hit on the country radio stations, and it even had a line dance to go with it, so it became an instant request at school dances. People all over the nation were doing the “Achy Breaky Heart,” singing along with Billy Ray Cyrus; a mullet-sporting country singer who wore tennis shoes with his jeans!

Well it happens time and time again. Radio stations play a song every hour for a month and people get tired of it. Billy Ray Cyrus soon became the punch line in jokes (I heard one person call him Silly Ray Virus once, that was interesting) and his popularity faded. While he never really stopped performing, he no longer was known in the way he once was.

The year is 2008. I’m running on my treadmill because it doesn’t seem to get over 3 degrees in Northwest Ohio during the wintertime. I am not distracted enough by ESPN to keep me from realizing how much running on a treadmill sucks, so I flip the channels and land on a (GASP) country music TV station! Why not. So I start to watch these videos, mostly because I hadn’t seen them and they were just entertaining enough to distract me and help me run.

As I’m running, a familiar face appears on the screen…BILLY RAY!!! That’s right, he has a song out. In FACT, this song was in the top 10 video countdown I was watching. It’s a sweet (cough cough cheesy cough cough) song about his family and daughter growing up. I was a little surprised to see him at this level of popularity until my seven year old daughter chimed in. “Daddy, that was Miley!” Ah yes, Miley Cyrus of Hannah Montana fame. You know, Hannah Montana on Nickelodeon, Hannah Montana who sells out stadiums to do concerts, Hannah Montana who is so popular that moms lie about their children dying just to score some backstage passes (not making that up)? Well, I knew that she was Billy Ray’s daughter, and I even knew that he was on her show. But when I told my daughter that he was a singer from when I was a kid she replied; “that’s cool! Did you know he writes her songs for her?” No I did not. And that’s when it hit me. This washed-up superstar of country music, this punch line to one-hit-wonder jokes, this mullet-sporting, tennis shoe wearing wannabe, he’s FAMOUS again! And why is he famous? Because of his daughter. He disappeared into the background and help develop his daughter into something that could shine. And because of his daughter HE is once again relevant in the country music industry (no more mullet though). Because of his daughter he is once again receiving glory for his talents and abilities. In reality, whether people liked him or not, he DID have talent all along. But now he is able to shine again, because of his daughter.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to be alive when Jesus walked the earth? Don’t get me wrong, I prefer to have the Holy Spirit living in me, but I would have LOVED to be in the crowd that followed Jesus. The healings, the casting out of demons, the teaching, the raising people from the dead, the walking on water, all of that! Wow, that would have been cool. Because of who Jesus was, he received TONS of glory. The Bible actually says that people were amazed. But people (particularly the religious leaders) felt threatened by who Jesus was. So he gave his life. I don’t think many realized at the time that it was all part of Jesus’ plan to rescue us and give us eternal life after this earth and full life on this earth. But he did, and in a way, he faded into the background.

In the meantime, he gave mankind an opportunity to shine. But he knew that no light would shine brighter than the light from God. And for some reason, he believed that more people would come to know and love God if he used PEOPLE to shine his light. So he gave us a job. 2 Corinthians 4:15 states it well… “All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.”

You see, we are the Hannah Montanas in God’s plan to bring glory to him. No, Billy Ray Cyrus is not God, but stay with me. God’s plan is that WE are to live a life that reflects on the power and wisdom and love of God. Hopefully in this world, Christians are living a life that is different. Hopefully we are living a life that stands out. And hopefully the world who does NOT know God will WANT to know God because of who we (his children) are. In fact if you look around, a lost world mocks God. God has become the punch line of jokes to some. But it is up to us to spread the message of a God who is real and life-changing to others. And that starts with allowing him to be real in our lives and allowing him to change us. Who God is hasn’t changed, he is just depending on US to bring him back into the spotlight.

That’s about it for now kiddos.

There will be a SUPER BOWL PARTY on Sunday February 3rd at Camden Falls. The game and party start about 6:00 and there will be food, fun, football, door prizes, the whole works! Bring a friend or bring 30! Also, if you are in Grades 6-8, bring a finger food (chips, cookies, etc.). If you are in grades 9-12 bring a 2 liter of your favorite Dr. Pepper (or I guess another soft drink if you wish). SEE YOU THERE!!

Okay, now that’s it.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Christopher Bill

So it’s January 9th, 2008. It is hard to believe but almost a year ago I started exercising (check out Diets and Second Chances to read all about it.) I must say that I am proud of myself, because this is the longest run of my attempts to be healthy in my adult life. Unfortunately there was the month of November. It all started with my grad school work. Lots of research, big papers, all that glorious stuff led to me not having as much time for exercise. Then came the kicker. Vacation in the Land of Sonic. You can bet that I made up for lost time while I was in the Land of Sonic. I’m not sure how many times I went to Sonic, but it was more than a few. So what happens when you go on vacation, don’t exercise, and eat virtually nothing but Sonic cheeseburgers, tator tots, and Route 44 Dr. Peppers? It’s a little thing I like to call “abdominal weight gain.” Actually it wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I definitely took a couple of steps back in my efforts.

Join me in 2008 now if you will… I have actually been exercising off and on since some time in December, but I got serious about it recently. Then I saw the commercial that was made just for me. This product claims to be “the only FDA approved, over-the-counter, weight loss product.” What does that mean? Well basically the Food and Drug Administration (which is the big government agency that makes sure things are “safe”) said that this product won’t kill you! Okay, so what? Well if you know me at all, you might know that I am a bit impatient at times. So when I see this ad, I think to myself; “Christopher Bill, you could lose that extra Sonic weight a lot faster with that stuff!”

So I cruise on over to the website and read about this amazing new partner in weight loss. Apparently it blocks fat from your food (sounds good) and when you control your diet you can lose weight 50% faster. So if I lost 10 pounds in a month on my own, I could lose 15 with this product! Dude, I’m pumped. A safe way to hurry along my recovery from Sonic! Where do I order???

Well before I head to Wal-Mart for this wonderful product, I notice a link on the website that is titled “Treatment Effects.” Hmmm, that sounds a lot like “Side Effects” (you know, that stuff you hear on medicine commercials where the fast voice at the end says something like “women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not use this product due to the risk of your baby being born with three heads and unicorn horns). So I click on over to the “Treatment Effects” section and here is what I found (parental warning: the following section of this blog may include words referring to bodily functions. Viewer discretion is advised):

What are treatment effects? (NAME OF PRODUCT WITHHELD) works by preventing the absorption of some of the fat you eat. The fat passes out of your body, so you may have bowel changes, known as treatment effects. You may get:

* gas with oily spotting
* loose stools
* more frequent stools that may be hard to control

Okay, I can deal with a little oily gas if I can lose an extra 5 pounds or so! And I kept reading…

Start trimming fat from your diet now, even before you begin taking ___. Then pick a day to begin taking ___, such as a weekend day so you can stay close to home if you experience a treatment effect. Make the timing work for you. If you’re getting ready to travel or attend a social event, hold off on starting with ___ until the event is over

Okay, don’t want to be in the car or at a party. Got it!

While no one likes experiencing treatment effects, they might help you think twice about eating questionable fat content. If you think of it like that, ___ can act like a security guard for your late-night cravings

Good point, it may actually help me to remember to eat better!

You can’t “save fat grams” from lunch and “spend them” at dinner. Spread your daily fat gram allowance of 15 grams on average per meal over the whole day

Makes sense, spread out your fat consumption. So far so good!

You may feel an urgent need to go to the bathroom. Until you have a sense of any treatment effects, it’s probably a smart idea to wear dark pants, and bring a change of clothes with you to work

Okay, so you are say…….WAIT, STOP, HOLD THE PHONE!!!!! “it’s probably a smart idea to wear DARK PANTS, and bring a CHANGE OF CLOTHES with you to work?!?!?!?!?! I can hear the questions at the office now; “Chris, why have you changed clothes 4 times today?” “Um, well, it’s part of my new diet!”

It was at that point that I quickly found the little “X” at the top right of the screen and CLOSED THAT SITE before I started experiencing any “treatment effects” just from reading about it! I decided immediately after that last point that once I knew the side effects this product was going to cause, the benefit I would gain was absolutely NOT worth it.

Ever wish life was that way? That every decision you had to make in your life, you could just go to it’s website and see what “treatment effects” might come about because of you making that decision? Well sometimes we do have that. God has laid out very clearly the “treatment effects” of sin. But isn’t it odd that we still choose sin sometimes anyway? I know when it’s me, it’s almost like I block out what those effects will be. I don’t look at the big picture and see that the side effects make whatever gain I think I will get from it totally not worth it.

In 2008, why not make a commitment to read God’s Word more? There is nothing better out there to show us the “treatment effects” of life. Chances are, you aren’t reading the Bible enough; I KNOW I’m not. Here is a link to Biblegateway.com that has several reading plans to choose from. Find one for you, and if you follow what it says, you can avoid those nasty “treatment effects.”

That’s about it for now kiddos.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Topher

Christmas, what a wonderful time of year, right? With the Christmas tree, and the mistletoe, and good ole Santa Claus, isn’t it
great? Actually, to be quite honest, it kinda makes me want to puke. Let’s take a look at some of the Christmas “traditions” and their origins:

The Christmas Tree - This household tradition began in Europe, where people regarded evergreen trees as a symbol of the essence of life and FERTILITY. That’s right. FERTILITY.

Christmas Lights - Neo-Babylonians started the tradition, commemorating the rebirth of Tammuz symbolizing the return of light and heat at the time of winter solstice, later transferred to Mirtha, a sun god. VERY nice.

Mistletoe – It comes from an ancient Druid ceremony celebrating the winter solstice. This once pagan tradition started when a girl would stand beneath the hanging plant and a boy would walk up, pick a berry and then kiss her. When the berries were gone…no more kisses!

Holly Wreaths - Did you know people used to worship evergreen holly as a sign of eternal life because it did not brown or die in the winter?

Santa Claus - Okay, I don’t know a lot about the origins of ole St. Nick, but don’t you think we need to get a restraining order against this guy? Talk about a classic stalker! He KNOWS when you are sleeping, he KNOWS when you’re awake! And THEN he sneaks in your house at night to leave you presents and eat your sweets. All I am saying is that if you had a former boyfriend/girlfriend that acted like this, you would have them thrown in jail!

When it comes to Christmas, not much of it has “Christian” origins. In fact December 25th was actually reserved for Mithra, the sun-god of the Romans, until the Christians took it over to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Christmas wasn’t even a popular holiday in the U.S. until the 1880’s. And don’t even get me started on how Wal-Mart starts playing Christmas music in OCTOBER!

I know, I’m a scrooge. And for those of you who love Christmas, let me apologize with no sincerity. Don’t get me wrong, some people do it right. And I don’t think you are a pagan if you have a Christmas tree. In reality, I don’t think those “traditions” are anything that will destroy what Christmas is supposed to be by themselves. It is simply a mindset issue. So light up the lights, hang the mistletoe, and sing your carols. Just let me suggest two things that we can do to save Christmas.

1. Forget every “spirit” except one. - The Christmas spirit, the holiday spirit, the spirit of giving, all of those aren’t real. Those are merely feelings and emotions. Sure, they may serve as motivators for doing things for others, but they are a WEAK substitution for the one Spirit that matters…the Holy Spirit. If we “get in” the Holy Spirit, generosity and love are not just a one or two month occasion. I don’t mean to rip off the Salvation Army (which has the slogan “need has no season”) but the Holy Spirit has no season.

2. Focus on the right “gift”. - Can anyone explain why the Bible NEVER mentions anyone celebrating Jesus birth-anniversary but talks about people celebrating his death and resurrection all over the place? I think it’s because while the birth of Jesus brought him into the world, his death and resurrection are what make me whole and restore me to a relationship with God.

Sure, Jesus coming to this earth is worthy of celebration, but we always must be focused on the greatest gift.

Okay, I’m done with my Christmas rant. Having said all of that, let me summarize with this thought: HOWEVER you celebrate Christmas, remember to keep the main thing the main thing. We have a God worthy of celebration 365 days a year!

That’s about it for now kiddos. Merry Christmas!

I love you guys, get outta here.

Chris

I’m back. As you may or may not know, the last month has been a whirlwind for me, including vacation, seeing family, deer hunting, Chiefs football live and in person, seeing friends (who are like family) and of course the ups and downs of my dad’s surgery. So I somewhat apologize for the month layoff, although you probably expected it. Anyway, my adventures have provided me with some valuable blog fodder, so keep tuning in.

I went “home” a few weeks ago. By home I mean the town I grew up in. Alva, Oklahoma, in all it’s glory. We were headed to the Taco Village to meet some friends for dinner, but our first stop was the Ampride. What is the Ampride? Well, when I was in high school I could get a 20 ounce Dr. Pepper there for 75 cents. Once in a while we would park our cars in the parking lot and talk about a lot of nothing. On a regular basis it would be the “decompressing zone” for me and some of my fellow Mc Donald’s employees. Every third Saturday I would buy breakfast for me and my dad after our country western band (yeah that’s right!) got done playing at the local supper club. Ampride was a lot of things to me back in the day, now it’s simply a gas station. Oh, it hasn’t changed, but I guess I have, and my life definitely has.

I pulled up to the pump and my heart skipped a beat. “Oh my gosh, Kerri. Do you know who that is?” At the next pump was an old classmate of mine.

Flashback to 1989. I was in 6th grade and there was this one kid who a few guys (me included) picked on on a regular basis. Finally he had enough. He agreed to fight me. He rode my bus home and we squared off in my front yard. It was the only real fight I was ever in, if it could be called “real.” In reality there were a lot of punches thrown that missed, and a lot of kicks that weren’t even close. But here is how it ended: he tackled me and jumped on top of me and grabbed my pinky finger, threatening to break it if I didn’t say that he kicked my butt. So I admitted defeat, he got up, and the cops showed up. I was humiliated. I squared off with a guy that was a sure loser against me! And a funny thing happened, I once was the bully, but now my defeat had given my classmate confidence to become the bully. I have never told anybody this, but for the next six years I was scared of this kid. Every time I saw him, I thought he was going to throw down on me. I would avoid him in the school halls. Sure, once in a while he would threaten me or whatever, but he never laid another finger on me. But I was scared.

Okay back to Ampride. There stood my bully, pumping gas into his four-door sedan. He had gained a little weight, and looked a little different, but it was definitely him. One thing was vastly different though; I wasn’t scared of him. Maybe it was the fact that I had been working out and am in much better shape now than I was in high school (when I was a freshman, I weighed about 100 pounds, and was about 5′9″ tall, you do the math). Or maybe it was the fact that I had come to realize that my “beat down” was simply the threat of a broken pinky and a bruised ego. But I wasn’t scared. In fact, I asked my wife if I could go beat him up for old times sake. (Her response; “Eh, better not.” She is always wise.) I had to chuckle to myself as he got in his car without recognizing me and drove away. This guy was at the center of my fears, and now he was nothing more than a funny memory. And while I always desired to “get back at him” I chuckled because I knew that I was different now. Even if he was the same old bully, I wasn’t the same old me.

Sometimes I feel bullied by sin. I think I can hold my own in the face of temptation, but when the time comes, I’m a weak 90-pound-sixth-grader who can’t win the fight. Once that sin beats me, it doesn’t seem to leave me alone. It’s always there reminding me “you failed once, you will fail again.” And quite frankly, I get scared.

But then I realize, that while sin never changes, I do. I change because God is constantly working on making me more like him. I change because I want to be molded into what God intended me to be. I change because the new life I live is much more than a life or satisfaction that any sin can offer. Don’t get me wrong, I still have an occasional sin bullying me. But I have to remember that satan is the accuser, not God. God will show me I’m wrong, but he will never tell me that I will fail. In fact, every time a temptation whispers “you failed once, you will fail again” God whispers “the blood of my son is more powerful than any sin.”

That is so important for us to realize. Nothing can defeat God. And with God on our side, when we run into temptation, we can look at that sin and laugh. Because it no longer has the power to bully us, we can chuckle because we know we are different now; we are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ!

That’s about it for now kiddos.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Topher

Rock City Rampage was last weekend. It was a totally sweet trip, and we had several accept Christ for the first time, which I am uber-pumped about. The trip was a blast; we got to see the Cavs win, partied at Chuck E. Cheese’s, skated around in circles for a couple of hours (some people fell…a LOT), I ran into a wall during Laser Tag (hey, lay off me, it was dark in there!) and I got beat at bowling for the first time in Rock City Rampage history (hey, lay off me, I forgot my bowling ball).

One thing that was different this year was that we took vans instead of a bus. This was mostly because all the buses were booked up for the weekend, but meant that we had to take THREE fifteen-passenger vans. That meant we played follow-the-leader all weekend. Now the main problem with vans is that we can’t all chill together on the way and on the way back, and the other main problem is getting everybody to our destinations in the Cleveland metro area without getting separated or getting lost.

We did a pretty good job until Saturday evening. Saturday night we went from Chuck E. Cheese’s to the Chagrin Falls Roller Rink, which was about a 30 minute drive. We had left Chuck’s at 4:45 to allow enough time to get there. Throughout the weekend we used Mapquest directions to get to where we were going, and it had worked out well so far. But this time it was different. When the trip that was supposed to take us about 30 minutes went over that, I sensed that something was wrong. We double-checked the directions, and while we knew we were not on track, we didn’t know how we lost our way. We soon deducted that we had simply missed an exit.

Well by this time, we were a bit confused as to how we should get to where we were going. So I pulled out my trusty cell phone. I discovered when I got my cell phone a few months ago that I could access a GPS navigator (for a fee of course) where you enter the address you are going to and a nice lady (or at least her voice) will tell you step by step directions on how to get there. So anyway, we entered the address and took off by her directions. At one point she said “prepare to keep right in point three miles” so we get closer and closer to the .3 miles and I see a road splitting off to the right. Once again she says “prepare to keep right in point one miles.” So I get to the corner and turn right. Of course the other two vans faithfully turn to follow me. It takes me about .3 seconds to realize that we weren’t supposed to turn, and now we have three huge vans to do U-turns with on this narrow street. After a few minutes of maneuvering, we make it back to the right road and get to the skating rink about 25 minutes late.

When we pulled in, I told the other drivers “Boy those maps and navigation systems work well…when you follow them anyway.”

How true is that? There is no question that God has laid out a destination for each of us, a purpose, a plan for our lives. We all have a general map of where we are going. That map is guaranteed accurate by God himself. If we follow that map, we won’t get lost. The problem is that we become distracted, and miss an exit, or make a wrong turn. Not only that, but God promises to guide us step-by-step, just like that little navigation lady, only better. And realistically once in a while, we may be confused and take a wrong road. We might even take a wrong turn on purpose. Bottom line is, God’s directions for our lives work well…when you follow them anyway.

The key to us making it to the skating rink that night was the ability to make a U-turn. Praise God that he is the God of U-turns, and allows them anytime!

That’s about it for now kiddos.

I love you guys, get outta here.

Chris