A Jesus Manifesto

Jesus Christ was not a social activist nor a moral philosopher. To pitch him that way is to drain his glory and dilute his excellence. Justice apart from Christ is a dead thing. The only battering ram that can storm the gates of hell is not the cry of Justice, but the name of Jesus. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of Justice, Peace, Holiness, Righteousness. He is the sum of all spiritual things, the “strange attractor” of the cosmos. When Jesus becomes an abstraction, faith loses its reproductive power. Jesus did not come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people live.

Wow! For more of this amazing manifesto from Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, visit http://ajesusmanifesto.wordpress.com/

It is ALL about Jesus!

Thoughts on Father's Day

In honor of Father's Day, I would like to introduce my very first guest blogger:  my wonderful husband Jeff.  The following is a message he wrote to encourage and challenge the dads in our church.  I hope this encourages you. . . please pass along to any fathers you know!

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THOUGHTS ON FATHER'S DAY

Husband sitting on the side of the bed, feeling a bit awkward.
Wife walks out of bathroom with a pregnancy test.                                                             It's pink.
Husband calls doctor friend to check to see if pregnancy tests can read false positives.       They don't.
Husband, a bit overwhelmed, turns to his wife: "So what do we do now?"
Wife, calmly: "Pick a name."

Over ten years ago Father's Day took on a whole new meaning for me.  I was about ready to graduate from college, Jen had one semester to go, we were living in a "borrowed" apartment, I was a part-time youth pastor...and we saw the pink line.  I thought, "God, there is no way I am ready to be a father."  After some tears (of joy of course) and some conversation with Jen we both remembered that our baby was a gift from God and that He must think it was the fullness of time for us.

I recently heard a parent talk about their kids.  The gist of the conversation was:  When the kids are eighteen...they're out on their own.  I can hardly wait.  My heart was grieved.  Don't get me wrong, I know that this parent loves their boys, but I wonder why their words are colored with these sentiments.  And they are not the first, nor the last that I will hear speak like this about their kids.

I also find it interesting to see the actual parenting goals of fathers for their sons and daughters.  Too often it boils down to: get them out of high school without having them hooked on drugs or pregnant or in serious trouble with the law.  If they don't get drunk, don't have sex, and get pretty good grades...that's a plus!  Sometimes it's a bit more ambitious: getting scholarships to college for either sports or academics (so don't blow the opportunity with any of the above).  At least this is where many fathers wind up.

I think most dads start off in the same place though.  We have hopes, we have dreams, we have belief that our sons and daughters will do great things.  Sometimes even great things for God.  Where do we take the wrong off-ramp?  I think our hopes and dreams are infiltrated by the misplaced priorities and low expectations of our culture.  I also think God wants so much more for our children...and so should we.  The deepest desire of my heart is that my children would whole-heartedly follow Christ and care for and raise families that would do the same.  Their career choice...doesn't matter.  Their "success" in the eyes of the world...doesn't matter.  How they perform in the sporting arena...doesn't matter.  The amount of money they make...doesn't matter (in fact Scripture talks about the love of money doesn't it?).  What matters is Who their lives are focused on and how eternity looks because they chose to live for Christ.

Dads, I need to be honest here: our children, especially our sons, will take their cues on how they live and for Whom they live from us.  I don't say this to beat you up because I am among you.  I am not always as intentional as I should be...to laugh, to talk, to correct, to hug, to encourage.  Let's look at how we are shaping our children and take advantage of each day.  Just tonight I raced my boys on a retro BMX scooter down the hill by our house while they chased me on their bikes and topped it off with a pillow fight (with cries of "I surrender" still ringing in my ears).  Let's enjoy our kids, hold on to God's hopes and dreams for them, and shepherd them toward our most loving, great, and glorious Father.  Amen.

On the journey,
Pastor Jeff

I love summer

 
 O.K., this is it, I promise.  I just got a new camera and I'm loving actually having pictures to post!

A new understanding

 I now know why having hair extensions put in costs so much money. . . 

 

90 braids, 12 hours, 4 movies, 2 coffees, and a bag of chocolate later,

 I am happy to post a picture of Little Missy's first official extensions. . . 

Done entirely by her mama and "auntie becky!" 

Isn't she beautiful?!

Little Missy

I couldn't resist posting just a few more of these great pictures my wonderful husband took of our "Little Missy."

 

 

 

 

Just a little more. . .

O.K., I know a few of you are wanting a little more info on our latest crazy adventure, so here's just a *little* more:

We are, Lord willing, quite possibly going to adopt a sibling group of 6 who are currently in the foster care system.  This is definitely quite sudden and a little unexpected, but we are just moving forward in faith and waiting on the Lord.  

It all started in mid-May when I emailed a state adoption agent about a sibling group of 4 who were on a state adoption photolisting.  I have emailed about many children in the past and most often I either get ZERO response or an automated response along the lines of: " that's nice, but we're looking for someone else even though we know nothing about your family. . . "  So, I wasn't necessarily expecting the personal and enthusiastic response of a very wonderful social worker whom we shall call "Miss K."  After a few email and phone conversations, we learned that these four children (aged 1, 3, 5, and 7) also had 2 older siblings (ages 9 and 11) who didn't want to be adopted.  

To make a long story short (well, I'll try), Jeff and I travelled to meet them last week and ended up meeting ALL of them!  Praise the Lord, because the older sibs. had really been on our hearts and we were very open to adopting them as well if the opportunity arose.  The meeting times went well but it is hard to get to know someone in a couple of hours!  We came away from the weekend feeling completely overwhelmed in every way but with PEACE in our hearts knowing that we are following the Lord's leading in moving forward in the process.  

On the way home (an 8 hour drive!) the "what if's" and "what abouts" began to fill my mind and JUST THEN, the song "The Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns came on the radio.  It was as if it was God's direct message to me:

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes 
To climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name 
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times 
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

Chorus: 
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
The voice of truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name 
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times 
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

O.K. Lord, here we go then. . . 

Jeff and Jen plus 10?

Well, what do you think?  It had your attention, didn't it!?

I wish I could share more but, in the interest of the children (as in, the 6 children other than our 4 who are on our sidebar. . . ), it will have to wait.  

BUT, 

will you PLEASE pray for us today and for the next week or so as we make a decision that will affect MANY lives in the very near future?  Thank you SO much! 

Our prayer is that God would be glorified through this whole process as we seek to serve and follow with our whole hearts!