Burden, happy, end, angry

Ok, stupid title. But, I wanted to remember what I was going to blog about.

1. Burden - we weren't able to go to church today. My 2nd oldest boy had a 3v3 tournament all day Saturday and most of the day on Sunday. It was fun...they took 3rd place overall and received nice little medals. But, that's beside the point. Since we weren't able to go to church the wife and I watched our old pastor on DVD. We get them shipped to us because he's an amazing preacher. So, he was talking about "burdens" and how every christian should have one. He was talking about how self centered we have become and how sometimes preachers encouraged it occasionally. He cited Paul's writing of Romans 9:1-3 I believe and discussed why we should have a burden for others souls. So, after the dvd was finished Sandy and I had a long discussion about it. She immediately asked me who mine were. I told her it was the kids. One thing that pastor Dale discussed was, "if the kids are just carrying around your faith it'll fail them when they need it. It has GOT to be theirs." This is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I know there's nothing I can do to really seal that deal until now...just have a burden for them. Pray for them and be a godly example. I asked her, she said the kids too and her parents.
That brings me to point 2...

2. My wife found out that her uncle was getting divorced after being married for the 3rd time. (I think) This time however, it only lasted about 6 months. We were really encouraged when we found out he was getting married so it's very disappointing to here that it's ended. I guess the story goes that they weren't happy together. Forgive me, I don't intend this to be slanted toward her uncle, this is about happiness in general and how it's a crutch for EVERYONE. Too many people are concerned about being happy for themselves. I wonder what they think happiness is. Is it a warm fuzzy on the inside? Is it getting your favorite food all the time? Is it never fighting with you spouse? This really goes back to my question about "letting things go". What is happiness? Why is it the quest of all mankind to search for something that they really don't understand. My guess is that most would say, "I don't know what happiness is exactly, but it ain't this!". Why is it that the divorce rate of Christian's is just as high as non believers? Has America become a bunch of selfish quitters? Bailing out at a sign of trouble? How confident would anyone be marrying someone that's already had a divorce? I can hardly believe that I will be married for 20 years this year and it could all end because one of us loses focus on what happiness is or it becomes our quest and discover that it's apparently not attainable with the person we are with...but with a complete stranger, perhaps we could find it. To me, that doesn't make a lot of sense. My father in law invests a lot of money in cows and I think I recall him talking about how a proven mama cow is worth more since she has had success at having babies. Now, to me, that's happiness. Understanding what you have. Or, maybe not totally understanding, but having a general idea of what's to be expected. To start the mystery all over again seems like such a huge, huge, gamble. But, I'm rambling. Let's discuss what happiness is...And if you think you know what it is, what happens when what makes you happy changes? Anyway, my wife and I are trying to figure that one out and nip it in the bud before it spreads.

3. Luke 21:7 - 22 - Ok..I was just reading these passages. Eerily familiar with what's going on in the world right now. The funny thing is that I stumbled upon it looking for something else. Right before I read those verses of scripture, I read an article on MSN.com about how things are so horrible right now. You'd a thought that the guy read the same scripture I just did then put names, faces and events on it. When I read the MSN article I was pretty agitated, after reading the scripture, I felt...excited! Kind of weird, huh? What are your thoughts on the end times in relation to this passage of scripture?

4. Anger - So, the second half of date night was discussing my anger issues and where they come from. I think my wife has a better understanding of me than I have of myself. She stated that I have a control problem. Well, that was actually a, "duh". But, then she elaborated...and she tied it into my lawn. She said that a clean and manicured lawn shows I have control over those things and am able to "take care of it". (however, my lawn is a mess...but, I haven't finished yet!) When it's all green and nice and mowed, you can sit back and admire it...It's something that I "created, managed and refined". When the kids dig holes or leave dishes or a mess in the yard, it's like "I can't even keep anything nice because the kids aren't cooperating" so, I get angry about my lack of control. Well, after reading that, it probably doesn't make much sense to you. However, it's pretty spot on to me. So, if you can add me to your prayer list and pray for my control of anger, that'd be awesome.

Too long of a post. Please pick something out and comment away.