Boxes

I have this insane joy each time I empty a box, unceremoniously tear off the tape, and put the box in the garage.  Doesn't that seem odd?  You have to understand that 2 weeks ago our house was filled with boxes that came from Minnesota that were packed 6 months ago!  We packed up our world in the middle of the summer and haven't been able to restore that world since.  We have been living on the bare necessities for all of this time.  That is OK but it leaves us in an unsettled and rootless state of mind.

(The Game is "Where's Maria?")

And then as we open each box we get to look the contents and think of possible places it will work.  Sometimes it is easy to place the items in a fitting place to be used again.  Case in point: deodorant and razors.  Necessary.  Needed.  I know where to store them.  While other times we leave the contents in the box because the place is not readily known.  Our dining room is full of boxes for the pantry and will be for some time.

Dining Room Boxes

So each box gets emptied and placed where it is supposed to be.  I think that the boxes have multiplied since we packed them in MN.  How that happens is not known to me but it just seems that way.  So, we needed to upgrade our storage potential by putting up more shelves.  I am unsure whether this is good since that just means we can accumulate more stuff that we don't need.  But there is joy in seeing items come from boxes that used to be part of everyday life and have been missed.

This entire process reminds me of when I first came to know Jesus.  The first few months were a wonderful time of adventure.  God was unpacking the various areas (boxes) of my life and determining where they fit into the life we lived together.  We looked at the big issues like my music, my relationships, my parties, even my ethics.  We looked at small issues too. It is difficult to put into words how each day was a joy to unwrap.  Life was much more simple then.

To paraphrase Ecclesiastes, "Of the unpacking of boxes there is no end."  Today, there are many more areas to unpack and not every "box" fits nicely into my life.  The boxes are usually the same with minor variations but I have become better at unpacking them.  The more unpacking I do with Jesus, the better I get at knowing where things fit if they do at all.  It continues to be a joy to unpack an area of my life and figure out where it fits into my life with Jesus.  It is all the process of getting settled with Jesus.

Family Room

Be Like Caulk?

The special sanded oyster gray caulk came in today!  There was joy in my smile as the lady said, “Your order came in this morning.  You can pick it up whenever you want.”  This was the only thing stopping us from using our shower.  It took 2 weeks to get to Home Depot but wow was it fun to work with!  I am sure that this is boring for those who do not enjoy home work projects.  But if you have ever been in the middle of a home project that included caulk and that caulk was subpar at best, you know how frustrating it can be.

This caulk is amazing to work with!  It is smooth.  It blends in to the grout so that you wouldn’t even know the difference if I hadn’t told you.  It has a little grit to it from the sand which sets up nicer than plain silicone caulk.  Over all, it is a nice end to the 6 week shower remodeling adventure!  Great work Bobby!

I wish that I was as easy to work with as this caulk.  Don't be fooled.  This is not false modesty.  I know that in many areas I am rough around the edges and don’t always give a fine finished product.  My imperfections stand out quite easily even though I try to hide them.  I am certainly not as flexible!  Those who work with me do not always say that our work has been fun together. That is just an honest assessment.

I am a testimony to the way God chooses the things that are weak in our world to show his strength. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:9, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.”  Only God can take a person like me with all of my weaknesses and imperfections and make me useful to others.  If I am nothing else, I am a picture of God's power working in me.  This doesn't absolve me from becoming more refined and useful to God but it does show others that God is at work in me.

It seems weird to say but it is clear that I need to be more like caulk.

Moving Day!

Tonight we hope to move much of our belongings from Grand Haven into our new residence in Norton Shores.    Yeah!  Then, Saturday we will move the remainder from this mountain of boxes at church.  You are all welcome to help!  We may even be sleeping in beds by 10PM at night!


This has been a long process of making our home in MI.  There has been many moments of anxiety and lost sleep.  We have left many good friends in MN and have begun to make good ones in MI.  We have put in much effort (as have others from church) to make this house our new place to live.  I have missed too many family meals and bedtimes.  It has gotten very old to come home and hear, "Yeah, Daddy is going to eat dinner with us tonight!"  


We have been anticipating this next step in our MI journey for a long time.  Presently, Grand Haven is called home but it is merely a temporary residence, not our home.  We haven't unpacked much at this house because we have bigger plans.  We haven't put energy into beautifying the Grand Haven house because we plan to continue the process of making the Norton Shores house our home.  After all, it is all a process.  Someday this year I hope that I and my family will be able to call the Norton Shores house our home.


I hope that I can have the same focus on my heavenly home too.  This life is to be lived to the full but it is not our final destination. We should invest some energy and focus here but always remember that this is not our final home.  It should not be confused with the end of our journey.  It is only a taste of real life, a glimmer of what is in store for us.  


I want to have the laser sighting on this life like that of the last verse of "It is well with my soul".
And Lord, hast the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

That will be a cool moving day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjGZqp59RZg

Genuine Love

Mornings are an adventure.  It makes sense that I take the kids to school since I need to be to church not long after the kids need to be at school.  So we rush around and get all of the lunches made and clothes on.  Most mornings child #3 is the slow one because she can be and it bothers the others.  We all have our control issues and this one is hers at the moment.  Other than that, mornings have fallen into a quiet routine of which we have navigated safely so far and without coming to blows.

This morning Maria asked me if I would help her roll up her blanket with her.  Preschool is so cool these days. I just had hang time with mom.  I could have been a rocket scientist if I had preschool!  But I digress.  Maria brings her fun dog blanket pillow for rest time at school.  She wanted it rolled up well so that it is easy to carry.

We fold the sides in together and begin to roll it but it doesn't roll as she wanted.  I notice that she couldn't get it so I jumped in and did my daddy thing to fix the problem.  I rolled it up and stuffed it just right so that it looked like a cool dog blanket pillow.  I must say, it did look well done!

Then, the coolest part of the morning took place.  Maria realizes that she now is in possession of a cool looking dog blanket-pillow.  Her face changes from one of anticipation to that of "this is the coolest thing ever!"  She lunges at my neck and gives me the biggest hug and kisses me on the cheek.  Then she says thank you, picks up the pillow, puts it in her backpack.

Such a genuine display of love is maybe the coolest thing ever!  This girl showed me her deep appreciation for my efforts and her love for me as her dad.  As a dad, what else would be better than that?

I get moments like that with God too.  Hopefully you know what I mean.  God unexpectedly puts a person in my path to bless me.  God arranges a complicated set of circumstances into a perfect alignment that I thought impossible.  God inexplicably sends his comforting peace when I am frazzled and am most definitely in need of it.

When I am confronted by God's greatness and goodness, my attitude suddenly changes from one of deep concern to a response of wonder and amazement of my heavenly dad.  He blows me away!  I sit back and smile and say, "God you are so good to me!  Thanks!"  And if I could physically hug his neck, I would for the longest time.  Someday!

God Makes Me Laugh

I talked with Linda today.  She is the prayer coordinator from church.  We met at McD's to talk about ministry at church, an upcoming Pastor's retreat, and to get to meet her.  We talked about so many things but I remember the conversation about her journey with Christ over the years.  She told me stories of how God had always been faithful to her family through the ups and downs and the in between times.  The dry times and the times when she knew that she was doing God's will.  The mountain tops and the dark valleys.  After a few stories she stopped and said, "God.  He just makes me laugh sometimes."  

It so apparent that Linda was overwhelmed by God's faithfulness to her.  This woman's heart was completely filled with exuberant joy when she recalled how she was never lost or alone.  She was always in the presence of her heavenly Father and he was always directing her path.  More importantly, she knew this to be clearly evident in her life.  

Do I laugh with joy in my heart when I look back to see God's hand at work in my life?  Oh yeah I do!  It is a well spent and worthwhile moment when I trace the line of God's shaping the events of my life.  I don't hit pause and recall God's goodness as often as I would like.  But when I do pause, it is so easy to see how God has wired me, how he has prepared me, how he has led me to the place I am today.  It is clear that my God has been so good to me.  

God makes me laugh too!

Kick a Puppy!

We used to have a question book at church with the question: would you rather make a child cry or kick a puppy?  Never a good answer to that one.  Well today I kicked a puppy!

To tell the full story, I went running with Carla today.  Again, this doesn't sound like me but yes, I did run without a soccer ball but it was by the beach which was cool!  We were running down the street and out comes this little Pomeranian.  While technically I consider these animals as part of the rat species, I did get spooked when this ferocious sounding furry creature suddenly comes directly at my ankles.

I tried to ignore my feelings but this beast kept charging.  When the dog got close enough to lunge at my ankle I just reacted.  I swung my foot out to move the dog away and ended up kicking it in the snout.  It wasn't a driving soccer blast but enough to get a yipe and dissuade a dog from further intimidation.

What if sin and temptation was a fierce Pomeranian puppy?  One day my first reaction to temptation and sin in my life will NOT be to ignore it or to be afraid.  Rather, I hope that it will be a swift kick to the snout as I continue running on my journey of life.  Too many times I just don't have the correct attitude toward.  If temptation and sin was a dog would you not kick it as hard as you could and continue running the race?

My advice to everyone this year: kick a puppy!

I Love It! I Hate It!

I am so conflicted!  


Today was a great day and also a day where it was clear that my nerves were wearing thin.  During the day I got to talk with a plumber while he was installing our water heater. (It was covered under our home warranty so it is OK.)  It was cool to talk to him about the vast knowledge base he has about plumbing and just construction in general.  There are projects in the future that he helped us map out!  The bad part was that I was not able to get to work on time nor get all I needed to get done there.  Thus, I am still busy at 10:30PM!

Then, I got to go shopping with Carla.  This was the highlight of my day because in the stress filled world of trying to move to our home we sometimes rarely get to be near each other until late at night.  And by then we are just done.  But we went to Lowe's to shop for a washer and dryer.  (This is sad for a handy person like myself but I had never stepped into a Lowe's before!)  The sales man was so helpful in what we were looking for and willing to drop the price of a new washer to that of the scratch and dent model.  Yeah!  Then we got an additional 10% off because of a coupon we got in the mail.  Very fun!

Then we went back to the house and I saw all of the painting and little projects that need attention.  We are taking care of many large projects on Saturday but there are many walls that need painting!  I was so tired that I didn't even enjoy painting the trim in the upstairs bathroom!  Something is seriously wrong when that happens!  

I want to be moved into our home!  I want to have most of the projects completed or at least to a manageable amount!  I want to hang out with my wife and kids instead of racing to get these home tasks done!  I want to put more of my attention and energy into ministry!  I want to have people over so that we can invest in each others' lives!

Why must I so quickly lose my focus and grow impatient with God's timing and leading?  Today, even in the valleys or the stress filled frustrations of my life, I know that my God is there.  And in the fun and exciting times or mountain tops, he is there too.  How can I just be content to know that my God is beside me every second and gives me what I need and even more?  

I long to live with the perspective of Paul who says in Philippians 4, "I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do all things through him who gives me strength."  


Someday.  Not today but someday.

Snow!

Monday!  The first Monday of the year and a very snowy, windy Monday!  I have not settled into the pastor's day off on Monday yet.  I think that Saturday would be a much better day to take off so that I could be with the youngin's.

Anyway, I am sitting in Russ' Restaurant in Grand Haven, MI organizing my world.  We start a new sermon series on Sunday and many other details that need to put in order before then.  They gave me a corner booth right by the window with an outlet next to the seat.  Perfect!

The best part is that I can look out the window on 2 sides and see the snow coming down.  It is swirling a bit and is supposed to continue throughout the day.  It is really pretty but last night the wind was howling with gusts of +40mph!  Even now the wind is really blowing hard and the wind chill makes it feel much colder than it really is.  But for me inside Russ', I am toasty and warm, the waitress keeps bringing me hot coffee, and I don't have to worry about the swirling cold outside.

A comforting thought for me is that my God has his warm, strong hands cupped around me.  The terrifying and destructive winds of evil threaten but I am safe and secure, protected by my God in the palm of his hands.  I can hear the terrifying winds shriek around me and even shudder at their ferocity.  But I clearly hear that quieting voice in my heart telling me that nothing will ever happen to me that my God will not turn to my benefit.  The winds may whip in at times and cause me pain and discomfort but my God will draw me closer and warm me with his love.

Of course, it is much easier to talk about the freezing gales of chaos when I am comfortably indoors and safe.  For those who are being buffeted by these fierce gusts, this post seems totally wrong and even naive.  As one who has been chilled in these winds and then drawn back into the comforting peace of God, I know that there is peace in God's warm, strong hands even while the storm rages outside.  I pray that this frigid season will let up for you.  I pray that God's protection and peace might shine into your world and warm you as never before.  I pray that you will also stand confident and defiant against the chilling winds as you hear God's strong voice speak to your heart that you are indeed safe in his hands.