rejoicing in God's provision!

it's time to just thank Jehovah-Jireh for how He has faithfully provided for us.  i went down on the weekend of may 23 to wake forest, north carolina to scope out the area in preparation of our big move.  well, really i went down to candidate at a small church in franklinton (just a few miles north of wake forest) for a worship pastor position.  but i also took advantage of the opportunity to see the campus of southeastern baptist theological seminary and our little duplex that we'll call home for the next short season of life.  and on top of that i also spent a few hours applying for jobs around the area.

to sum up the weekend...the church was amazing!  i loved the people, really enjoyed leading worship, felt like i got fed from God's Word, bonded with the pastors, and sensed God's leading the whole time.  i think it will be a great fit...a place where we can immediately plug in and start serving!  so we're excited about that opportunity!!

and then a HUGE added blessing were my interviews with starbucks.  i walked in on friday (fresh off the plane) just to see if i could talk to the manager.  we talked for just a couple minutes and she asked if i had applied for the shift manager position and how much customer experience i had.  well, i had to be honest that i had none (and so no, i did not apply for the shift manager position assuming that i would need the entry level position to get my feet wet), but i told her what i do as a pastor and how some of that could be transferrable.  so she called up another store manager and set up interviews for sat. and sun., telling me that by just talking to me she wanted to see if i would be a good fit for the shift manager position!  needless to say, on tuesday (back in indiana) i got the call from mitch (the other store manager) offering me the job!

i can't tell you how awesome that is....we've been praying for months and months for God's direction and provision...and in one weekend He took care of it all.  He is absolutely incredible!!

and now...the week we've been waiting for has arrived...

mom s. is here, our room is ready, carlee is coming tomorrow...and judah is due friday!!!  God is good...

book #9: the tombs of anak

this is just a little blast from the past, and i'm only slightly embarrassed to be including this book on my list...about as embarrassed as i was to read a children's book on a plane from north carolina.  but i couldn't help myself...i loved this book as a kid.  it's one of the few books that i vividly remember my dad reading to me before bed, and i remember the thrill of emotions it evoked as we sat in the dim light and entered into a world that (for a kid) was pretty scary.  so thank you, Frank Peretti...again!  it wasn't quite the same or terrifying reading it the second time (now that my taste buds have grown up...and having delved into the mind of ted dekker), but i have to admit it was thoroughly enjoyable!

think indiana jones who still goes to sunday school (...i'm proud of you if you picked up on the movie line reference)!  The Cooper Kids Adventure Series recounts the exploits of jay and lila cooper who tag along with their archeologist dad, dr. jake cooper, and The Tombs of Anak was certainly the most thrilling of the original 4 volumes included in this series.  dr. cooper is the equivalent of the spiritually steady, almost grandfatherly mr. whittaker (adventures in odyssey...another blast from the past) who lives on the edge and fears no evil...not even ancient tombs or the eerie songs that emanate from the surrounding darkness.  he's the well-studied, quick-thinking, wise and experienced seeker of knowledge who's ready to spring into action the moment danger threatens to strike (especially his kids).  so throw in the Biblically inspired ancient ruins of Gath, the mystery surrounding the tombs, the strange local hill-dwellers, and the disappearance of a crew member and you've got a fascinating thrill ride for kids (...ok, ok...and for me).

peretti tries to base this mystery around another mystery that's briefly detailed in the early books of the Bible: the descendants of anak.  while i'm sure there are great liberties taken with his interpretation (and never wanting to be the plot spoiler to a good thriller), i enjoyed the ties into some of the strange genealogical records of the Bible.  and the message of the the tombs of anak is really a strong warning against greed and the love of power...enough to scare the desire right out of ya!  and the more i read, the more i would caution parents.  peretti has no problem writing thrillers with a touch of horror, and death is dealt with right out in the open.  so you may want to preview this one to make sure your little one's ready to handle the suspense and the issues that may arise.

but it was fun to take a stroll down memory lane...and only a little tricky to hide the "kids series" label from the other passengers on the plane.

book #8: the screwtape letters

C.S. Lewis is simply too fascinating and fun to ignore.  i hardly qualify as an expert on the great author and apologist, but i have been delighted for years by his beautiful way of capturing deep thought in simple words and pictures.  he eloquently and masterfully places complex philosophical ideas on the bottom shelf where they are attainable, practical and easily transferable to everyday conversation without laboring the mind to the point of boredom.  and it's often his starting point that sets him apart from other theologians.

like asking the question, i wonder what the demons talk about amongst themselves?

so instead of a rigorous and academic work on spiritual warfare The Screwtape Letters offers a refreshing, observant, and at times, eerie look into the mystery of the supernatural world.  it's a unique and unspoken plot that you follow as one demon (screwtape) writes letters to his nephew demon (wormwood) who's out on assignment and seems to need advice (whether wormwood would ever admit it or not)...a fascinating concept.  but i'd have to agree with lewis that it's probably a good thing the book didn't go on any longer than it did.  it was startlingly insightful but began to feel oppressive as i (unfortunately all-too-easily) twisted my brain to think like the enemy.  here's how lewis described writing this work:

"though i had never written anything more easily, i never wrote with less enjoyment.  the ease came, no doubt, from the fact that the device of diabolical letters, once you have thought of it, exploits itself spontaneously...though it was easy to twist one's mind into the diabolical attitude, it was not fun, or not for long.  the strain produced a sort of spiritual cramp.  the work into which i had to project myself while spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst, and itch.  every trace of beauty, freshness, and geniality had to be excluded.  it almost smothered me before i was done.  it would have smothered my readers if i had prolonged it."


there's also the caution to not place too much emphasis on the work of the devil.  as in all disciplines, the process of learning from screwtape comes in the balance.  don't neglect or underemphasize spiritual warfare, but do not swing to the opposite extreme and get carried away in demonic activity.

i would say the most enlightening aspect of this work was the frightening reminder of the subtle attack of the enemy.  "indeed the safest road to hell is the gradual one--the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts..."  and it has taught me to be all the more vigilant in renewing my mind in His Word (Eph. 4:22-24) and daily putting on the armor of God (Eph. 6:10-18) so that i can stand against the schemes of the devil.

the enemy is cunning.  but my God is greater!  and "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence" (2 Pet. 1:3).

The Contemporvant Service - What Can We Learn?

The Contemporvant Service - What Can We Learn?

definitely worth checking out...for a good chuckle and heart check!

a cigarette butt's a sweet sight!

no, i'm serious, it is!

walking out the doors of our church, i looked and saw a cigarette butt.  and it made me smile.  an assessment of the evidence seems to point to our celebrate recovery ministry that meets on tuesday nights, a ministry that incorporates scheduled "smoke breaks" as i understand it.

and i love it.

it means people are coming to lay their lives out for our church to see.  it means they're coming to hear the Truth.  it means their coming to Jesus.  and it means that He is working!

in fact, this sunday we're going to hear a testimony from a brother who's just become a believer...has kept his life clean from drugs for a couple months, heard the gospel through the CR ministry, trusted in Christ, invited everyone he could to come witness his baptism (in the creek in the pouring rain), has voraciously pursued getting involved at church, wants to grow, and is an incurably contagious follower of Christ!  love it!  (just heard this morning that his mom trusted in Christ for salvation last night!!)

so i hope we see many more cigarette butt's in front of our doors.

in fact, i'm gonna pray for it.  i don't want to butt against what God's doing!  Lord Jesus, keep drawing people to Yourself!

books #6 & 7: "the lost city of z" and "sherlock holmes and the hound of the baskervilles"

so, by the insistance of my wife i'm going to include The Lost City of Z in my list of 100 books by 2020...already reviewed it here.  i guess it's worth including...this reading list will most likely include a eclectic plethora of topics and genres....so why not!  now on to the next...

Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles was an instant favorite of mine as a child...well, at least the illustrated classics for kids version was!

ah...the illustrated classics for kids!  i'm indebted to whoever decided to make all these classics available to young readers, because i believe they were instrumental in developing my love for reading as well as giving me a broad layout of the land of classical literature (to which i'll also credit the old PBS show: wishbone!)  i remember first reading this particular book on family vacation, nestled into my captains seat in the back of our minivan.  it was my first encounter with sherlock, a hero who has evidently never lost his intrigue in my mind.  

i'll admit that i most likely felt inspired to revisit this old story after watching the recent hollywood adaption of sherlock, but, although i still thoroughly enjoyed the movie, i had to admit they've strayed pretty far from sir conan doyle's actual character.  baskervilles reveals the little nuances that makes sherlock one of the most beloved heroes in classic literature, but it also focuses a great deal on his counterpart, dr. watson.  there is a large section of the book where the reader is to believe that sherlock is completely absent and therefore must depend on dr. watson's point of view and assessment of the facts and circumstances.

it was interesting to me to see how the solving of the mystery removed all semblance of the supernatural. what made this particular mystery so intriguing at the start (the supposed presence of a supernatural hound) was tidily resolved by the collection of facts that could easily be explained scientifically (this twist was also present in the latest movie).  i can't help but assume that this was rooted in modern thinking (that everything could be explained by scientific fact using the scientific method), which played a huge role in liberal theology (the dismissal of the supernatural...and particularly the resurrection...because of the insistence that the scientific method was capable of explaining all life and phenomena).  so i enjoyed the mystery and the resolution, but couldn't help feeling that it was meant to numb my belief in the existence of miracles and the supernatural.

then again...in reading The Lost City of Z, david grann linked col. percy fawcett to sir arthur conan doyle, and even suggested that conan doyle, along with fawcett, delved into the occult.  i have not studied the life of sir arthur conan doyle, but it would be interesting to see if he was truly inundated by modern thought or if he had an unusual fascination with the supernatural.

at any rate, if you're looking for a classic mystery thriller...look no further!  head over to your local library and pick up your copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and maybe you too will find a new hero!

"deekoo deesus"

i was filled with joy last night as we were preparing to put jolie to bed.  we've been trying to stay disciplined in reading from her Bible before all the other rituals that go into the nightly routine, and the time that we spend looking through the beginner's Bible from zondervan has been a huge blessing to me.  we have many picture Bibles to choose from, but this one has become my favorite because of the huge emphasis on Jesus...lots of stories and parables that allow us to talk about Him over and over as we seek to impress on our little girl how much mommy & daddy love Jesus.  i also really appreciate that this version does not shy away from the cross, but handles it tastefully and allows us the opportunity to begin teaching our soon-to-be 2 year old the gospel!
so last night, she immediately started saying "deesus", as she handed me her Bible and crawled up on the couch to listen intently.  then we typically spend some time looking at pictures of pharaoh in the OT (due to her fascination with the song, "pharaoh, pharaoh...", to which she's also picking up the motions), and then we hit the NT and "deesus" is everywhere!  almost immediately after the manger she started saying, "coss"...which thrilled my heart to see her remembering, getting caught up in the drama, and wanting to read the account of his death on the cross as we moved joyfully into the resurrection!
then for the first time last night...jolie prayed!
we always pray together as a family before meals and before bed, and we've asked her on multiple occasions if she would like to pray, but she's always refused and differed to mommy or daddy.  but last night, after reading through the account of the Jesus' life and excitedly talking about Him, she willingly repeated a simple prayer.
"deekoo deesus"
(thank you Jesus)
that was it.  she didn't even finish with "amen" (which she often injects in the middle of daddy's lengthier prayers).  it was simple.  and yes, we spoon fed her the phrase.  but it was beautiful.  and it filled my heart with joy!
Lord, instill a love for Christ in the heart of my little girl.  Raise her up to know and love you, and use her for your glory!