March 31, 2010

Blog Header - March 30, 2010

It’s been a busy couple of weeks and I haven’t posted here very much lately. I apologize for that. I began to get inquiries into my health and mental well-being, so I thought I’d better post something so my friends know that I’m still alive.

I am alive. But if you look at the photo serving as the current blog header you’ll see the Francis Scott Key Bridge to the right. The building near the middle of the photo is the Key Bridge Marriott hotel. As I look up from my desk right now I am looking directly at the Marriott because it is directly across the street from my office, which from the vantage point of this photo is just slightly out of sight to the left of the photo. I took this photo from the Sequoia Restaurant on the other side of the Potomac River from my office. When I took this photo my firm was not leasing our current office building. If I had known I’d be working here I would have included our office building in the photo.

I will try to get back to blogging soon. The project I’m currently working on is expected to wrap up today. Perhaps my brain will recover enough to post something to the blog by tomorrow.

Or is intelligent thought not necessary? I guess I could ask Mary to post something if it’s intelligence you’re looking for.

Have a wonderful Wednesday! Hump-day! It’s all downhill from here. So go ahead and coast the rest of the week. You have my permission.

March 26, 2010

Baruch Ha Shem – and save your nation

O

ne of my favorite passages of scripture is the Shema—the command God gave to the people of Israel when he delivered the law to them. The Shema is:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9

Most of us have heard that command, but I don’t think we have taken it to heart. The promises God delivered along with the Shema are an integral part of it. In the following verses, Moses follows up the command with, “when the Lord your God brings you into the land ... then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear.”

We are so prone to forgetting about God when things go right. Prosperity, good health, business success; these things make us feel invulnerable and we begin to forget about God. So God gave the Shema to his people. These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. He’s telling them, “this is so important that I want you to talk about it all day long—every day. I want you to wear my commands as jewelry. I want you to decorate your house with this.” By doing this, God’s people would be less likely to forget about God and what he had done for them.

Knowing that we are prone to bypass requirements, in verse 20 Moses says, “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the Lord our God has commanded you?’ then you shall say to your son, ‘...The Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous ... before our eyes.... And the Lord commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God, for our good always.’”

God’s commandments are for our good. And when we forget to teach our children why his commandments were given, we are at least to be prepared to answer our children when they ask.

As I read in Deuteronomy this morning I was struck with the high tension levels in our nation at this time. And I fully understand the frustrations that are contributing to the vocal anger against our nation’s leaders. And I don’t condemn those who are speaking up in anger. Each person must get involved in our nation’s political process in the way they see fit.

But it seems that God’s people may need a different view of political action than the general public. Perhaps if we had done as God told his people; if we had proclaimed what God has done for us in the past; if we had spoken of these things when we rose out of bed, and when we walked down the street, and when we sat in our house, and when we went to bed.... Perhaps our nation would not be in the fix it is in now. Perhaps we should look at the current pain in our nation’s situation and think of it as a son asking his father, “What is the meaning of the rules God has commanded?”

Perhaps our political action should look exactly like evangelism.

 

March 25, 2010

Help Wanted - Position Available

Position

Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

Job Description

Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities! Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.

Responsibilities

The rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be a willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

Possibility for Advancement & Promotion

None. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

Previous Experience

None required unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

Wages & Compensation

Get this! You pay them! Offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

Benefits

While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth, unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for life if you play your cards right.

Footnote: There is no retirement ... ever!

Anyone can give without loving, but no one can love without giving...

 

Blog Header - March 25, 2010

I took this picture of my wife and son a couple years ago when we visited Natural Bridge, Virginia, for a conference on adoption. We had a wonderful time at the conference and thoroughly enjoyed Natural Bridge. When I look at this picture it really amazes me because our son is now a few inches taller than my wife. My, how time flies!

March 24, 2010

Serious skillage

This guy is good!

 

March 23, 2010

March 22, 2010

Just thought it needed to be reposted

Change is made at the ballot box

“Obamacare”s has been passed and the bill now heads to the president’s desk to await signing to make it the law of the land.

Out-of-touch Congress Sounds Our Clarion Call to Take a Stand

 

March 21, 2010

Blog Header - March 21, 2010

I created this image for the worship lyric projections at our church a few years ago. This is one of my favorite images that I put to that purpose. The texture on the bongo skins is wonderful and I love the way it shows through the church’s logo.

 

March 19, 2010

Dear World

I

find it so hard to empathize with those who are different than I am. Recognizing this common human tendency, the folks at Revolutionary Media (Website | Facebook) of Portland, Oregon, have published Dear World to remind us that we have brothers and sisters in Christ who are homeless. This book is available as a free download from now until April 11th as part of a greater call to action.

Dear World is full of stories, examples, thoughts, inspirations, and challenges of how the body of Christ can begin to live as Jesus lived, and reach out to those in our very own communities. The book contains excerpts of letters written by the street community to the world. Readers will meet:

  • Miranda—a former meth addict who has found healing and restoration.
  • Jeremiah, a young man who, like many Americans, misjudged the economic stability and lost it all
  • and others

Their stories are paired with their portraits, and readers are given an eye-opening view of what life is really like on the street—nd how we can help people stay off it.

What is the call to action?

  1. Download - Download Dear World and tell your world about it. Retweet the link, or place it in your Facebook status.
  2. Do Something - After you read Dear World, do something to help the homeless. The ideas are endless. Whether you take a homeless person to lunch and hear their story, write your senator, or volunteer at a soup kitchen, the goal is the same. Get out of your comfort zone to help someone else.
  3. Document your story – Document your story with words and or photos, then email it to info@TheRevMediaProject.com. Revolutionary Media will post all the stories that come in to encourage and inspire others to affect this issue.
  4. Discover - Revolutionary Media is offering prizes to 3 of the stories received. These three stories must encompass the heart of reaching out as Jesus' hands and feet. The 3 prizes include: a hard-bound copy of Dear World [valued at $65], a softcover of Dear World [valued at $45], and two Dear World posters [valued at $20].