Archive for December, 2009
two-thousand-ten
Dec 31st
I can’t believe it’s been 10 years since the world was coming to an end in Y2K. Now were debating on how we will refer to 2010. Will it be O 10? Or two-thousand-ten? Or twenty-ten? I don’t know. I’m still preparing my bucket list for 2012.
2010 is going to be one of the greatest years of my life. Here are my goals slash plans for 2010.
- Be a greater husband.
- Be a greater father.
- Move to Costa Rica.
- Fast for an extended period of time.
- Read the bible chronologically.
- Run a half marathon.
- Pray like a nun, minus the repetition.
- Get that picture at the top of this page tattooed down my arm.
- Write a book.
- Sin less.
Fasting for Wussies
Dec 29th
Yes, I said it. I’m a wussie. I mean we are talking about food people. You call me a wussie and you will get to experience what it will be like if I go without food for 21 days. I promise it won’t be pretty.
Just thinking about not eating for a day scares me. “Nope! Not me. I can’t do it.”
So I start poking around the internet and the bible. All the while, I’m hoping I find that fasting isn’t for everyone. But as I’m poking (I don’t know either.) I realize the answers I’m searching for aren’t answers to the question “Why should I fast?” No sir. I want to know “How?”.
I’m like an old man when comes to eating. My body does not let me forget. I work my ass off in the gym just so I can eat whatever I want. Oh my God, no coffee?!? No beer? No pizza? No fajitas? No grilled cheese? No cigars? Um, this fast officially ends tomorrow (These are thoughts that are going through my head.). So as I’m poking the interweb, I’m looking for tips and tricks. Like…How do you handle 21 days of water or juice? I see disaster. I predict a four-letter word. RUNS! What do I do at 9:30am when I have had no coffee (I’m sure I could be covert about it. What coffee?) and no breakfast? How do I keep from going medieval on the snack machine? And then the dreaded going to bed hunger! Someone will have to lock up the Fruit Loops. Cause at 2:00am, I will be hiding under the kitchen table pounding down the loops like a chipmunk.
And then I notice that I’m missing the point. Fasting isn’t a feat to accomplish. Fasting is an act of being totally dependent on the provider. I may or may not attempt to fast this new year. If I do fast, it’s between me and Him. Is there such thing as a 18 hour fast?
Sucky Parenting
Dec 28th
One thing I want to be better at in 2010 is being a great parent. I feel I suck at parenting at the moment. Parenting, I’m gathering, is a lot like a marriage relationship. It doesn’t matter how many books someone reads about marriage or parenting, it will always take practice, patience, and determination. I love both. Being married and a parent that is.
As a dad, I am great at the fun stuff. The sharing gummie worms at the movies. The tickling and laughing. The fixing ouchies. The making hot dogs. The saying “yes” to getting ice cream. But the parenting part, I suck at. My daughter is 2.5 and is starting to test what I thought I knew about being a father. Yes, my daughter has me wrapped around her finger. And in a way, I’m proud of that. I never, ever, wanted to have daughter (God, I can’t imagine the torment I will put her through when she is at “that” age.). But now, I would love every baby we make to be a girl. I know, I know, she is just fitting the part of the terrible twos or threes but I guess in this era, we label her as “sassy”. Sassy isn’t a good thing. It’s cute most of the time but it’s not a good thing. Then she is sweet. Like unbelievably sweet. Caring for our ouchies. Running to get an ice pack for momma at a moments notice. She is amazing. I swear to Dr. Dre, she can freestyle to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, Old McDonald, and Baa Baa Black Sheep. But, there is always a but. I see her, what I honestly have to label, sin. I DON’T want to do this. But when I acknowledge that what I label as sassiness, is actually a sin, then I believe I am on the right track. Sin is ugly but it must always be approached honestly. I’m amazed at how beautiful and intimate the moment is when my daughter understands she has done wrong.
Yup, it’s true! I now believe. Kids do as their parents do.
Hot Dogs
Dec 23rd
Genesis 7:7 And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.8 Pairs of clean and unclean animals, of birds and of all creatures that move along the ground,9 male and female, came to Noah and entered the ark, as God had commanded Noah.
I wonder why unclean animals were allowed on the Ark? I guess after God’s reaction to the fall of man, the possibilty of deleting the opportunity to sin didn’t matter. God could have allowed only clean animals to survive with the ark. I’m glad he allowed pigs to jump aboard because I like hot dogs.
Primal by Mark Batterson
Dec 22nd
My book review of Primal by Mark Batterson.
Primal is, “A quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity.”
We have a tendency to complicate Christianity. Jesus simplified it: Love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. If we are to live out the essence of Christianity, we must commit to being great at this Great Commandment. – Mark Batterson
This book is the ‘how’ as in the how to live the Great Commandment.
Mark must be a really smart guy because he brings in some really quirky yet perfect analogies to bring the reader along on this quest. Analogies from science to history, with a touch of his personal life, bring the purpose to the forefront with perfect timing.
How would I describe the book itself?
Well, do you remember that alter call? You know, that time when you went down to the front of a church, stage, tent, kitchen, or bed room, and you fell on your knees? You fell to your knees because you knew you were complicating your faith either with sin or with insignificant events. This desire to change came out of nowhere but you knew you had lost your purpose – Your desire to be great at the Great Commandment.
This is what happened to me when I read the book. So maybe this is a warning. If you are comfortable with your faith maybe you should head towards the “Feel Good” section of a book store, but if you have a desire to love God, this book is for you.
(Thanks for the free book WaterBrook Multnomah and Mark Batterson. Sorry if that last statement maybe caused some to pass on the book.)
Put this on your “books to read” list for 2010. But I would read Primal first, because it’s as good as, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day.
