Some good books and good coffee (UPDATED)

It's snowing up in the Smokies today. The view from my window is nothing but snow covered trees and mountains. Beautiful! What's even better is that I'm warm inside our cabin drinking fresh ground coffee. In case you were wondering about the view here you go.

One of my favorite places down here is a discount Christian bookstore. They have some great deals. I scored a few good ones the other day. Here's what I got (I hope to return and find a few more good deals).

I had to hit another bookstore down here and spent a little more money. Actually, I felt a bit like I was stealing these books because I got them for so cheap. Two of them are commentaries, one about studying the bible, and one on discipleship. You would be amazed at how cheap books are at these stores. It's awesome!

Back at it!

I'm trying to get back in the saddle after a week of vacation. I really don't have anything to report or share this week.

We had a blast up in Michigan. I really enjoyed taking Claire swimming in Lake Michigan. It was a great time.

We went to Mars Hill (Rob Bell's church) on Sunday. That was a quite an experience. I'll have to share more later.

I'm going to be preaching again this Sunday. I'm actually preaching twice, once out at our State Park for a service and then in our regular AM worship service. I'm still studying the book of Jonah and will be preaching from chapters 1 and 3 on hearing God. Some really good stuff in the book of Jonah when you really dive into it.

Vacation time!

I'm on vacation this week. Taking the family up to Lake Michigan to do a little swimming. I'll be back next week with a message from Jonah 3:10-4:4.

R & R

It's been an exciting week. New President of the United States sworn in. New season of Lost began last night (I'm a huge fan!). How can the human mind keep up with everything? I'm trying not to do too much thinking (that comes easy!), so this post will be short.

I'm on vacation this week down in Tennessee. You can't beat the beauty of snow covered mountains. Yesterday we took the fam to Ripley's Aquarium. Walking under the sharks was the fav. I was surprised my daughter wasn't more afraid than she was. I think I would have been. I was holding her most of the time, so that might have helped calm her fears a bit. I couldn't help but feel like the shepherd in Psalm 23. For most of my adult life I've been trying to see and feel His presence, yesterday I was helping somebody else feel His presence and calm. That's a huge change in perspective.

So, have you ever been the shepherd of Psalm 23 to someone?

Change I can believe in!

No, this isn’t a post about Obama’s campaign slogan. You hear and see enough of that these days that you’ll probably think something is wrong when the yard signs and TV ads come to an end in November. No, this is a post about facing change and believing in it. I don’t normally like to write too much in regards to personal matters, but I decided to face a fear and do something a little different. Anyways, getting a story out in the open can be therapeutic, you know?

My wife and I found out recently that our daughter is far-sighted (means she can’t see things up close). She is one and half years old and now has to wear glasses. Initially, I was bothered by the whole thing. I was irritated, even a little angry at God, over this. I was asking under my breath, “Why should a kid so young have to wear glasses?”, or “There’s no way she’ll keep those things on!”

It was change. Change I didn’t like. Change I didn’t want to like.

Seeing her in glasses for the first time was challenging. They changed her whole appearance. She wasn’t the same looking little girl I was used to looking at. Feelings of unfairness and frustration boiled to the top. This was such an injustice. To top it off, we had to hold our daughter down, and force the glasses onto her tiny head; all the while she screamed and cried. It was just too much. Before I knew it, I was praying Psalm 143,

O LORD, hear my prayer,
listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
come to my relief.
(Psalm 143:1 NIV)

If only God would touch her and heal her so she wouldn’t have to wear glasses anymore. That was my idea of how God could hear my prayer and come to my relief. Somehow God was able to help me see the bigger picture. This was about helping my daughter live a better life. God is not going to heal her, not that He can’t or won’t, but that is not the change He is bringing about in all of this. Actually, now that I think about it, in a way God did heal her by giving her glasses. She can see now. Apparently she can see pretty well too with them on, because she is now to the point where she lets us put the glasses on her. She has also been looking in between her toes for toe jam. I guess she can see that now and wants to take care of it herself. The glasses are working and I believe in them. The glasses did change her appearance, but for the better. She’s a cutie!

The glasses also changed me. They unmasked selfishness in my prayers and behavior, which led to the discovery of selfishness in my heart. This led to me praying verse 2 of Psalm 143,

Do not bring your servant into judgment,
for no one living is righteous before you.
(Psalm 143:2 NIV)

Gotta love outlet stores!

One of the great things about staying down here is the outlet stores. There are tons of them! Anything from Coleman to Nike, they have it. My personal fav is the Book Warehouse (kind of a pseudo-Christian bookstore with books 50-75% off regular price). They have a lot of clearance Christian books mixed in with secular books. I think they have more Christian books than anything. Sort of weird, but the good deals distract you from thinking about it too long. Needless to say I always take advantage of the low prices and find something worth buying. Thankfully, my wife loves reading too and enjoys spending time in the stores (there are 4 of them here!) with me. My daughter didn't seem to mind it either.

Relaxing

Down south things move a little slower and the air feels a little warmer (at least it's supposed to!).

Just a snapshot of what's going on our family vacation. We're staying at a cabin in the Smokey Mountains called "Amazing View".

Coming down to Pigeon Forge, TN has been a tradition our family has kept for about a dozen years. As the family has grown, so have the cabins. We used to get away with staying in a 2 bedroom. Then people got married and had children and now we need a 4 bedroom. The view is amazing and we're having a good time.

This is also the last time we'll get to spend some quality time with Shelly and Eric. They leave next Wed for Poznan, Poland. They have been called to be missionaries and this is their first assignment. They have to stay in the field for a year. as part of their training. We'll miss them. :-(