Mark chapter six has the account of Jesus feeding the five thousand.
Every time I've heard this preached, the preacher always emphasizes that it was five thousand men PLUS the women and children. It is always pointed that with the women and children the crowd could have been fifteen, twenty or twenty five thousand.
I don't get why we always take time to point that out...
Jesus was only working with a few fish and some bread. It was probably only enough to feed a dozen or so people anyway. So when the first twenty people got served it was unusual. After about thirty people it was amazing. Anything past forty or fifty was a miracle.
So is feeding five thousand men not a big enough miracle for us? Do we have to dress it up anymore than that? Are we thinking five thousand isn't flashy enough?
Now, full disclosure: I've done this before and I'll probably do it again in the future. I'm not saying it's wrong to do it. This just more of a random pondering.
Oct 15, 2010
Oct 11, 2010
Scott Phillips...
It was recently brought to my attention that I have never mentioned Pastor Scott in any of my blog posts. This is an unforgivable oversight.
Scott is the most sincere, honest, and genuine person I know. He deeply cares for others. And his concern drives him to action. If someone needs a hug, he is there to hug. Need some prayer? P. Scott keeps his hands folded and ready to go at all times. He'll weep with you, he'll laugh with you.
He is a lover of God first and foremost. He strives to be the best husband he can be. He is an excellent father and has raised some pretty incredible kids.
These last few years he has laid his life down to serve an army of world changers as the director of Master's Commission Wasilla Alaska. He doesn't use his position of authority to lord over the students and his heart's desire is to see them experience their full destiny as a beloved child of God.
Pastor Scott has been a true friend for almost 15 years. I've been privileged to walk along side him in many different adventures. He has maintained his integrity and determination through all kinds of troubles and trials.
Scott, I love you man... And now I've done a blog post about you. So get off my back...
Scott is the most sincere, honest, and genuine person I know. He deeply cares for others. And his concern drives him to action. If someone needs a hug, he is there to hug. Need some prayer? P. Scott keeps his hands folded and ready to go at all times. He'll weep with you, he'll laugh with you.
He is a lover of God first and foremost. He strives to be the best husband he can be. He is an excellent father and has raised some pretty incredible kids.
These last few years he has laid his life down to serve an army of world changers as the director of Master's Commission Wasilla Alaska. He doesn't use his position of authority to lord over the students and his heart's desire is to see them experience their full destiny as a beloved child of God.
Pastor Scott has been a true friend for almost 15 years. I've been privileged to walk along side him in many different adventures. He has maintained his integrity and determination through all kinds of troubles and trials.
Scott, I love you man... And now I've done a blog post about you. So get off my back...
Oct 1, 2010
30 Minutes of Television That Will Make You Hate Your Life
That's what famed blogger Jon Acuff calls the TV show "International House Hunters."
If you are not familiar with Jon, he's the author... nay, GENIUS who writes the "Stuff Christians Like" blog. He recently became a part of financial guru Dave Ramsey's team. And if you are not familiar with Dave Ramsey then you need to be. Now. (I was pretty thrilled about this... It's like the Easter Bunny & Santa Claus teamed up...)
Jon recently wrote an article on Dave's site talking about something you commonly see on the show. (I've seen the same thing on their sister show "House Hunters.") If you've not seen the it, the basic premise is a house hunting couple is shown three homes base on their shopping criteria (budget, size, neighborhood, etc). Typically, one of the three houses is price beyond the budget and the couple struggle to say no to the stunning home with the big price tag. I mean, who wouldn't bigger, better, nicer; regardless of the price.
Christy and I went through this in our 10 year long house hunt. We looked at some incredible homes, but they were out of our price range. Some were way out of our price range. Those were easy to say no to. But some were *just* out of our range. Just a bit. Just a teeny little bit. Those were the hard ones to say no to... We'd start looking at the budget to see if we could make it work. Three square meals a day? We could shift that to three square meals a week. If fig leaf clothing was good enough for Adam & Eve, shouldn't it be good enough for us? Fred Flinstone came up with a 100% fuel efficient car that would cut our gasoline budget.
But, the truth was they were out of the budget. We had run the numbers. We knew what we could and couldn't afford for monthly payments. The hard part was the bank had approved us for more than what we could've realistically afforded. But we had to ignore that and stick to the plan.
And this concept applies to more than just buying a home. It really applies to all areas of spending. Studies have soon you spend less when you hit the grocery store with a shopping list and a specific amount of cash to spend.
Have you ever had a weekend with nothing planned? A friend calls and you head out to the movies. Despite the jumbo popcorn and bladder-buster soda, you're still hungry so you grab some Applebee's afterward. Then on Sunday, after church you grab some Chili's. Before you know it, you've spent $100 of unplanned money. In my world, that's a big chunk of change.
Is going to the movies and eating out wrong? Of course not. But it can be the death blow to your budget if you don't plan for it. Put it in the budget. If it doesn't fit in the budget, then you'll have to give up something somewhere to make it fit.
The biggest push back I get from people is "no one is going to tell ME what to do with MY money." And that is exactly right... It's your money. You can spend it however you want. That's the beauty of a budget. You write it. (You and your spouse if you are married...) You make the choices. You choose what you are going to spend on what. You are in COMPLETE control.
But, if you are wanting to spend more than you make, then you've got to make some hard choices. Either make more money or starting cutting stuff based on what is important to you. Your values are reflected in the budget you have set up.
A budget is the game plan where you tell your money where it'll go. It'll keep you from wondering where it went... Money is like a new puppy. You either train it where it'll go, or it's just going to go where ever it feels like and you've got little puddles all over the house. Yuck.
Have a plan. Stick to it. It's as simple as that.
Really, you should read Jon's article here... It's way better than what I write.
If you are not familiar with Jon, he's the author... nay, GENIUS who writes the "Stuff Christians Like" blog. He recently became a part of financial guru Dave Ramsey's team. And if you are not familiar with Dave Ramsey then you need to be. Now. (I was pretty thrilled about this... It's like the Easter Bunny & Santa Claus teamed up...)
Jon recently wrote an article on Dave's site talking about something you commonly see on the show. (I've seen the same thing on their sister show "House Hunters.") If you've not seen the it, the basic premise is a house hunting couple is shown three homes base on their shopping criteria (budget, size, neighborhood, etc). Typically, one of the three houses is price beyond the budget and the couple struggle to say no to the stunning home with the big price tag. I mean, who wouldn't bigger, better, nicer; regardless of the price.
Christy and I went through this in our 10 year long house hunt. We looked at some incredible homes, but they were out of our price range. Some were way out of our price range. Those were easy to say no to. But some were *just* out of our range. Just a bit. Just a teeny little bit. Those were the hard ones to say no to... We'd start looking at the budget to see if we could make it work. Three square meals a day? We could shift that to three square meals a week. If fig leaf clothing was good enough for Adam & Eve, shouldn't it be good enough for us? Fred Flinstone came up with a 100% fuel efficient car that would cut our gasoline budget.
But, the truth was they were out of the budget. We had run the numbers. We knew what we could and couldn't afford for monthly payments. The hard part was the bank had approved us for more than what we could've realistically afforded. But we had to ignore that and stick to the plan.
And this concept applies to more than just buying a home. It really applies to all areas of spending. Studies have soon you spend less when you hit the grocery store with a shopping list and a specific amount of cash to spend.
Have you ever had a weekend with nothing planned? A friend calls and you head out to the movies. Despite the jumbo popcorn and bladder-buster soda, you're still hungry so you grab some Applebee's afterward. Then on Sunday, after church you grab some Chili's. Before you know it, you've spent $100 of unplanned money. In my world, that's a big chunk of change.
Is going to the movies and eating out wrong? Of course not. But it can be the death blow to your budget if you don't plan for it. Put it in the budget. If it doesn't fit in the budget, then you'll have to give up something somewhere to make it fit.
The biggest push back I get from people is "no one is going to tell ME what to do with MY money." And that is exactly right... It's your money. You can spend it however you want. That's the beauty of a budget. You write it. (You and your spouse if you are married...) You make the choices. You choose what you are going to spend on what. You are in COMPLETE control.
But, if you are wanting to spend more than you make, then you've got to make some hard choices. Either make more money or starting cutting stuff based on what is important to you. Your values are reflected in the budget you have set up.
A budget is the game plan where you tell your money where it'll go. It'll keep you from wondering where it went... Money is like a new puppy. You either train it where it'll go, or it's just going to go where ever it feels like and you've got little puddles all over the house. Yuck.
Have a plan. Stick to it. It's as simple as that.
Really, you should read Jon's article here... It's way better than what I write.
Sep 28, 2010
Curse You, Tom Botts!
Why am I so angry with Tom? He's actually a great guy. Tom is the author of the always entertaining and often inspiring Wilderness Blues blog. He is also the author of a book by the same title.
And that is where the problem lies... You see, yesterday I received an autographed copy of said book. It's published by the great people at Good Catch Publishing. I was giddy at the prospect of enjoying the book over the next few weeks as time would allow.
Tom is the father of one of my best friends when I lived in Hoonah as a teen. He and his family had been a part of a Christian commune of sorts not far from the logging camp where I grew up. It was near one of the best fishing streams and remember checking it out one time. Everyone called it "the farm". In the interest of being self sufficient they grew their own food and raised livestock. The farm was made up of buildings built from rough cut lumber connected by a network of boardwalks over the damp ground. Tom's book chronicles his time living at the farm and the struggle of dealing with the strict rules and ultra-conservative atmosphere.
It was Monday when the book arrived in the mail. The night before I had been up way later than normal. The boilers at the church were having issues and with temperatures dropping I helped Pastor Josh in his attempt to get them running. (And by helping I mean I stood around while Josh did all the work...) So I was operating on about 5 1/2 hours of sleep instead of my normal 7 or 8. The plan for Monday night then was to definitely be in bed by my bedtime of 10pm.
Amazingly enough, it was 9:43pm when I crawled into bed. The plan was to read a chapter or two if I could keep my tired eyes open that long. So I start reading. And reading. And reading.
A few times I had the thought that I should put the book down and go to sleep. But it would need to be after this page. Or after the next. Or the next. Or after a few more...
The conclusion of this long and pointless account: I finished the book at 12:34am. Stupid Tom. If you had wrote a book that sucked I could've gotten some sleep. Instead, I got less sleep last night then the night before.
So, curse you Tom. Curse you to heck. You are the reason I'm so tired today! The next book you write had better be a lot less engaging and entertaining. Oh, and it better be soon. Darn soon.
And that is where the problem lies... You see, yesterday I received an autographed copy of said book. It's published by the great people at Good Catch Publishing. I was giddy at the prospect of enjoying the book over the next few weeks as time would allow.
Tom is the father of one of my best friends when I lived in Hoonah as a teen. He and his family had been a part of a Christian commune of sorts not far from the logging camp where I grew up. It was near one of the best fishing streams and remember checking it out one time. Everyone called it "the farm". In the interest of being self sufficient they grew their own food and raised livestock. The farm was made up of buildings built from rough cut lumber connected by a network of boardwalks over the damp ground. Tom's book chronicles his time living at the farm and the struggle of dealing with the strict rules and ultra-conservative atmosphere.
It was Monday when the book arrived in the mail. The night before I had been up way later than normal. The boilers at the church were having issues and with temperatures dropping I helped Pastor Josh in his attempt to get them running. (And by helping I mean I stood around while Josh did all the work...) So I was operating on about 5 1/2 hours of sleep instead of my normal 7 or 8. The plan for Monday night then was to definitely be in bed by my bedtime of 10pm.
Amazingly enough, it was 9:43pm when I crawled into bed. The plan was to read a chapter or two if I could keep my tired eyes open that long. So I start reading. And reading. And reading.
A few times I had the thought that I should put the book down and go to sleep. But it would need to be after this page. Or after the next. Or the next. Or after a few more...
The conclusion of this long and pointless account: I finished the book at 12:34am. Stupid Tom. If you had wrote a book that sucked I could've gotten some sleep. Instead, I got less sleep last night then the night before.
So, curse you Tom. Curse you to heck. You are the reason I'm so tired today! The next book you write had better be a lot less engaging and entertaining. Oh, and it better be soon. Darn soon.
Sep 16, 2010
Wilderness Blues
I want to make a recommendation for a great blog. It's Wilderness Blues, by Tom Botts.
Tom is the father of a friend of mine when I was growing up in Hoonah. He's a great guy, and turns out he's a pretty good writer too.
I've enjoyed his blog. Not only does it give a window into life in Hoonah, he's funny.
Tom is a published author. I hear great things about his book, but have not read it yet. A certain person keeps promising to loan it to me so I can read it, but they've yet to deliver on the promise. You know who you are...
His latest post proposes a new diet that could be the newest weight loss fad. And his idea of the Taco Bell apron is genius... pure genius.
Thanks Tom for the fun. Keep it up!
Tom is the father of a friend of mine when I was growing up in Hoonah. He's a great guy, and turns out he's a pretty good writer too.
I've enjoyed his blog. Not only does it give a window into life in Hoonah, he's funny.
Tom is a published author. I hear great things about his book, but have not read it yet. A certain person keeps promising to loan it to me so I can read it, but they've yet to deliver on the promise. You know who you are...
His latest post proposes a new diet that could be the newest weight loss fad. And his idea of the Taco Bell apron is genius... pure genius.
Thanks Tom for the fun. Keep it up!
Sep 10, 2010
Despite my claims to become more consistent in my blogging, this is the first post in a while, and I'm really only posting so I can get this image on a website so I can link to it in a forum post.
There's quite a bit of stuff I could be blogging about... My parents came up this summer and we spent some time exploring Alaska with a trip to Valdez. My nephew & niece are both here locally now, so we spent a weekend with them and took them to the fair.
I've started another round of the Financial Peace class and this weekend I get to share on personal finance at a young adult retreat.
So, there's plenty I could talk about. Lack of content is not the issue. Lack of time has a lot to do with it. And lack of an audience. I'm pretty sure my mom (hi mom...) is the only one that actually reads this. And let's face it, she's my mom. She pretty much has to read it.
Aug 3, 2010
What is it going to take?
The sad truth is out there. Christianity in American culture is in decline. We are no longer a Christian society in this country. Yes, the Christian faith may have been the foundation, but today it is viewed at best as old fashion and irrelevant and at worst extremist and dangerous.
So, what is it going to take to see a change?
Will more good preaching help? My iPod is FULL of great sermons from great preachers. In decades past to hear a particular preacher you either had to wait for them to come to your area or you had to travel to them. But not today. You can watch them on TV, hear them on the radio, podcast them, listen to them over the internet or order their CD's & DVD's. We have unprecedented access to as much preaching as we want to hear. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more Christian books? Growing up in remote logging camps meant I had no access to Christian bookstores. When we would go into town, I would always make a stop at the local bookstore to load up. Today, through the convenience of the internet almost every Christian title is available. And there are more Christian books out there than ever before. Everyone has written their book. Every subject is covered in depth. And look at your own collection. How many books do you have? But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about good worship music? I remember in the '90's when a new Vineyard album would come ou, we would kill ourselves getting to the Christian bookstore trying to get it. Now iTunes is overflowing with great, inspired, anointed worship music. And there's more songs being added all the time. And it's great stuff. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more church services? Church calendars are packed with activities for all ages and interests. Or more conferences? Or more Christian magazines. Or more Christian T-Shirts. Or more bumper stickers that inform the heathens that in case of rapture this car will empty. Will all this make the change we need to see in our nation?
What is it going to take?
So, what is it going to take to see a change?
Will more good preaching help? My iPod is FULL of great sermons from great preachers. In decades past to hear a particular preacher you either had to wait for them to come to your area or you had to travel to them. But not today. You can watch them on TV, hear them on the radio, podcast them, listen to them over the internet or order their CD's & DVD's. We have unprecedented access to as much preaching as we want to hear. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more Christian books? Growing up in remote logging camps meant I had no access to Christian bookstores. When we would go into town, I would always make a stop at the local bookstore to load up. Today, through the convenience of the internet almost every Christian title is available. And there are more Christian books out there than ever before. Everyone has written their book. Every subject is covered in depth. And look at your own collection. How many books do you have? But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about good worship music? I remember in the '90's when a new Vineyard album would come ou, we would kill ourselves getting to the Christian bookstore trying to get it. Now iTunes is overflowing with great, inspired, anointed worship music. And there's more songs being added all the time. And it's great stuff. But, is that making a change in our nation?
What about more church services? Church calendars are packed with activities for all ages and interests. Or more conferences? Or more Christian magazines. Or more Christian T-Shirts. Or more bumper stickers that inform the heathens that in case of rapture this car will empty. Will all this make the change we need to see in our nation?
What is it going to take?
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