The water's fine

I believe one of the hardest things for me to accept about Christianity is that it's free. To make matters worse it compounds that by saying that anything you attempt to do is as menstrual rags...no matter how "good" we think it is. One of the stories that, to me, illustrates this well is the story of Naaman in the bible. See, Naaman had it all. He was a man of valor and blessed. His servants appeared to actually love him. There was one small detail in his life that was not really considered good, he had leprosy.

Naaman was told of a great prophet that could cleanse him. He approached his king and letters were written and a road trip was planned. He grabbed gobs of money and fine clothes for a gift and eventually visited Elisha. When he arrived, Elisha didn't even see him in person but sent instructions for him to wash 7 times in the Jordan river. You probably already know the story.

The part I really like is the indignation of Naaman at the proposed solution. He brought pounds and pounds of gold and silver, but the solution would merely cost him some trust and potentially humiliation. Doubt had to be prevalent.

It's the same with grace, isn't it? You can't one up Jesus by offering him a "fair" trade for it. It's priced the same for everyone...free. The catch is you have to believe and that may seem humiliating for some...

The waters fine, come on in!

Nice quiet evening

Awesome project

A friend of ours at church is kinda related to our land lord...he found out that Jdude is really into gardening and they started a project for a raised bed. Here's what they ended up with. Great job guys!!! Thanks Mr. A!!

Routines

I really feel productive when I get in a routine. Things are predictable and can be anticipated and that sure does make one look smart and feel prepared. Additionally, planning is simpler since you know what's coming up. Yep...It's always refreshing when a routine starts up.

But, the distance between routine and rut is very short. Those scheduled events can become monotonous. The predictability of it all is such a killer of spontaneity. We all know that a little spontaneous action adds excitement to ones life. :-)

It's such a difficult balance to try to maintain. Especially, now that the sale of the house is complete. It seems that we all want to be "done with it"...that we want to be back in our routines again. The problem is that we've only just begun...

Lord help us adjust to this "chaos" and remember to keep things important that are important...and help us not long for the routine, but the adventure You have us on. In JESUS name!!!

The last thing you see...

I am under the weather today - having an eye funk of pink fashion and a mild sore throat and stuffy nose. I couldn't sleep last night so I got up about 430 and started some laundry since we are so far behind with it since the move action started. Speaking of behind, there are tons of things i can't get done due to this mess, I can't wait until it's all finished. Anyway, in my grouchiness, my wife blessed me with some good advice. She said, "why don't you go take a nap!". In as nice a way someone says something without pushing the grouchy person into an argument possibly could. So, heeding the advice, here I am. Staring at the ceiling. One thing about this rent house is there's no escape. Nowhere that's quiet. So a nap with everyone jostling about is a bit unrealistic. However, I laid there staring at the ceiling.
For whatever reason my mind drifted and I started thinking about folks in a hospital where the last thing that they may ever see on this earth are ceiling tiles or light fixtures. It's really kind of a sad thought.

Then, thinking of mortality in general my thought is, what is the last thing you'd want to see? What would you want your last words to be? How would you want people to remember you?

I realize for some those questions are insignificant and they don't care. But, leaving a legacy is important to me. I want to have loved well and worked hard when I am done. The important thing with that thought is that it can't just happen 2 seconds before your last breath. You won't be able to say the right words and everything fall into place. It's the culmination of life events that shape those kinds of things. It's the everyday.

Then, thinking of how I spend my days reveals a lot of why I have a bit of angst in this arena. Perhaps I'm a little too worried about entertainment. Or, maybe too worried about my time and stuff. Maybe I am a little too quick to anger. Maybe too many things are about me.

So, what about you? How important is your legacy? Is it important enough to make a change today? I hope I do.

Hard work blowing up balloons

Fun with Grandma!!

Playing Korean games.