Photo: Lydia on 28JAN13

In a few years this might concern me.
For now though, it makes me very happy.

An Evening Well Spent

This past week, the temperatures in St. Louis dropped and it felt like fall was upon us. Saturday night we returned home from a day trip to visit Lisa's grandparents in Greenville, IL, which is where we held our wedding one week shy of 8 years ago. This was one of those trips where the time spent with the relatives is wonderful, but the hour plus car ride there and back proved exhausting, as our girls just seemed to be unsettled and wanting to whine and argue a lot.

We enjoyed dinner of grilled cheese and chicken noodle soup on the patio in our backyard and then I lit the fire pit for the first time this season and the first time at the new house. We roasted some marshmallows with the girls and made s'mores, and then proceeded to bath-time and bedtime for the girls.

Lisa and I returned to the fire pit and sat around it for an hour, as the small fire slowly died. I spent most of the time talking, as Lisa had asked me a question that I evidently had more to say about then I would have guessed. So there we sat, wrapped in blankets in our chairs, holding hands and enjoying our environment and one another's company until the embers began to fade and the temperature finally forced us inside.

It's an extreme understatement to say that we have been blessed.
We have two beautiful, healthy little girls that bring so much joy into our lives, as well as to others.
We enjoy our time with both of our families and live close to both sides that it is convenient.
We live in a wonderful home that we are thrilled beyond belief to raise our family in.
We lack for nothing and have more than we need.
We are blessed.

I thank God for all these blessings and more
I am so glad that I can sit with my wife in the cool of the evening, share a moment of conversation with her in our wonderful backyard, enjoy being in each other's presence and know that  there are many people who cannot honestly say that.
I am blessed.

400 Meter Dash in 4 Minutes

This video killed me with encouragement.
Watch the video, then read the story of Matt W's triumphant race.

The Marriage Commitment Reflects the Depth of Love

In contrast to how the world defines love and the importance of marriage:

"But when the Bible speaks of love, it measures it primarily not by how much you want to receive but by how much you are willing to give yourself to someone. How much are you willing to lose for the sake of this person? How much of your freedom are you willing to forsake? How much of your precious time, emotion, and resources are your willing to invest in this person? And for that, the marriage vow is not just helpful but it is even a test. In so many cases, when one person says to another, "I love you, but let's not ruin it by getting married," that person really means, "I don't love you enough to close off all my options. I don't love you enough to give myself to you that thoroughly." To say, "I don't need a piece of paper to love you," is basically to say "My love for you has not reached the marriage level."  - Tim Keller "The Meaning of Marriage", p78

REALMnotes - Relationships and Dating (Week 1)

Here is the basis of the brief introductory talk I gave last week for our college ministry.

At the foundation of all of our relationships, we have to realize and recognize that everyone is made in the image of God (this concept is theologically referred to as the doctrine of “Imago Dei”). This is evident in Genesis 1:26-27.

Because of Genesis 1:31, we know that at the end of the day, God was pleased with what He had created. However, if we continue reading, we see in Genesis 2:18, God declares that it is not good for man to be alone. God is not bipolar or misleading when in chapter 1 He declares what he created good and then in chapter 2 he says “It is not good for man to be alone.” What we see here is God, in His infinite wisdom, declaring the importance of relationships in a person’s life before Adam knew he needed them.

God is a triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He has always been a triune God and always will be. That means that within Himself, God the Father has always been in a perfect relationship with the Son and Holy Spirit. He was that way before He created anything in our universe and will remain that way long after He returns to Earth. Therefore, we should not be surprised by the fact that God understands the need for relationships in our lives and was determined to provide us with a means to experience a glimmer of what He Himself experiences.

The often-quoted-during-weddings verse of Genesis 2:24 tells us how God determined for our most intimate earthly relationship to be completely separate and unique from all of our other human relationships and that is lived out in a healthy marriage. However, before we can have a healthy marriage and before we can experience the sort of relationship that God calls most people to have in marriage, we have to sort through a bunch of misconceptions and lies we have been fed by Satan about every relationship we are a part of.

In our pursuit of a “significant other”, as well as any other relationship, we must always be mindful of the fact that God created us for His Glory. We were made to worship Him. We are commanded to love Him first and foremost above all else. It would be foolish to attempt to discuss relationships without first pointing out that the most important relationship we have in our lives is our relationship with God. Throughout the Bible we are reminded of this, time and time again. In Luke 10:27, Jesus summed up all of the commandments in the Old Testament by quoting Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18. We are commanded to love God and then love other people. In doing so, we will be fulfilling our created purpose, while building and maintaining healthy relationships at every stage of our lives.

Over the course of the next two weeks we will be answering questions about relationships and dating. We will attempt to answer some pretty typical questions on the topic, while taking time to specifically answer the questions you have submitted in the previous weeks. There are some things that we will say that may not be popular and may go against the culture in which we live, but we believe them to be True as stated in God’s Holy Word. Some of what we share may be informed opinion, but our intent and desire is to base our answers on our understanding of the Bible and what it says about relationships and dating. As with any topic of potential division, we plead and pray for an extra amount of grace and mercy to be woven throughout our conversations on this important topic.

REALMnotes - Axiom (Week1) 02FEB10

Here are the questions we thought about and talked about last night at the REALM. This was the beginning of a discussion that will be carried on and expounded upon further by Chris and Bruce over the next two weeks. It would be beneficial for you to read through the questions and then look up the verses listed below, as preparation for next week.

Running and Slowing Down

As I began my run tonight, I passed several children who were out playing in the street (as is usual in our neighborhood). They glanced as I ran by and didn’t seem to pay much attention to me. I have passed these children before and said “Hello” a couple of times and received a greeting in return, but tonight I was trying to focus on my pace at the beginning of my run so I could finish strong, so I was distracted and didn’t greet them at all.

As I came upon the second mile of my run I glanced at my watch and decided that I would see how quickly I could finish up the remaining mile. I finished the 3rd mile basically running flat out for the last quarter mile and was pleased with my overall time. I now have a goal to meet or beat that time in each run and would like to lower my minutes per mile even more on race day. Given that the race day course is basically flat and my training course is made up of several sizable hills I should be able to achieve this goal.

As I walked up the hill into our neighborhood, a young African American girl, whom I have seen many times and greeted, said something to me. I didn’t catch what she said, so I asked her to repeat it.

“Aren’t you cold?” she asked, obviously noting that I was wearing shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt while she was wearing a thick coat and pants.
“It’s a little cold when I’m not running. The wind is what makes me cold more than anything.”
She nodded.
“Are you cold?” I asked.
“Yes” she replied as she turned and headed towards her front door.

I walked on.

At the crest of the hill there was a neighbor out on his corner lawn with two small dogs in tow. I was walking on the opposite side of the road but wanted to be friendly.

“Hello” I offered.
“Good evening” the man returned.
He appeared to be in his 60s.
“It’s a little breezy out tonight.” I said, as I was about to walk past him.
“Yes it is.” he stated. And then he paused with a look on his face as if he wanted to say something more.

So I crossed the street and asked him about his dogs. I learned that the dogs were his daughter’s who was in Spain on vacation with her husband. She is a helicopter pilot in the Marines and is getting transferred when she to San Diego when she returns. The conversation continued down a path of family and military service that was inextricably linked.

The man I was talking to had served in the Marines for 12 years, his daughter is a Marine, his son is in the Air Force and he has two nephews who are in the Army, one who just returned from Iraq and the other is in Afghanistan. His grandfather had served in the military and been deployed to Siberia at the beginning of the Bolshevik revolution. There were multiple family members who fought and died in the Civil War.

He spoke about how the military had become more family friendly over the years. He stated that when he was serving the approach was basically Corps first, family second and he is glad things have changed in that regard because it was too hard being married and serving at the same time.

Then, while talking about change, he mentioned the current political situation. He talked about how he is saddened by the fact that the campaigns these days are so incredibly negative. He spoke of a longing for a campaign that talked about its own virtues and beliefs versus bashing the other candidate and promoting hatred and animosity. He wished for a candidate that was passionate and spoke his/her mind about an issue on the fly, as opposed to the talking points, campaign speeches and polished image being delivered by “Madison Avenue Poster Children” – I believe that’s what he called them.

He stated that he has been a Republican all of his life. He talked of how he was excited to have a young man who spoke with enthusiasm running for President and then he spoke of his disappointment in learning where he stood on the issues. He wondered why the Republican Party has not had a truly inspiring candidate in decades and if that trend would ever been discontinued. He longed for the day when a candidate would speak with passion about what they believed, inspire people to be more than they are and promote fiscal responsibility in government.

He then stated “If there were a third party candidate running that stood in front of people and said ‘I want you to vote for me and when I become President I won’t remember you or anything you want me to do’, well I might just vote for that person because at least they are being honest with me.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

We talked about the lack of honesty and integrity in public office these days and he lamented the fact that there seems to be a void of character, passion and family values in the next generation of politicians. He spoke of past politicians that he felt had served their country well in their offices and then retired from them with dignity and respect. We spoke of the animosity between the Republicans and Democrats and both wished for something different, something more.

As the sun sank lower in the sky and the night air became cooler with each breeze, we ended our conversation. His little dogs were shivering with the cold as I introduced myself to him and shook his hand as he responded in turn. I thanked him for his service to our country and that of his family currently and through the generations. I wished him a good night and continued on my way home.

What I had thought was going to be a quick solitary run had turned into an opportunity to meet a neighbor. When I took the time to recognize those around me and focus on them for a few seconds, God gave me the chance to share an encounter with them. When I decided that the wind blowing against my exposed legs was worth enduring for a conversation with someone who appeared to need it, I was blessed with a wonderful experience that I would not have otherwise gained.

I need to be more aware of the possible conversations that I pass by every day.
Sometimes I run by them because I am focused on myself.
Sometimes I walk by and don’t hear them or I don’t respond for clarification.
Every once in a while, when I take a moment to respond as I feel compelled, I am blessed to meet a neighbor and share in a great conversation with them.

I’m glad that I stopped tonight and spoke with this man.
I’m not sure if he got anything out of our conversation, but I know I did.

And that’s how God works. He brings people into our lives, prompts us to interact with them and, when we obey, we walk away blessed.