The Voice of God.

To the question, "Do you understand the language of the Almighty?" the best answer I can give is, "Not until I heard it."

Stupefying.

Normally Sara and I are giving high-fives when the Gunners score, but this one left us with our mouths hanging open, rooted to our seats in stunned silence...

Trying really hard to impress.

Durbs pointed me to this article.

Isn't it interesting how we seem to think the calling of the rich young ruler is meant for everyone? Is it our pride that makes us want to be the one who can take on that challenge and overcome it? I have a feeling Jesus' growth step for each of us is uniquely suited to where we are, how we are currently living/thinking, where we need heart-surgery... Honestly, I believe the story in the article above shares a rather humorous result of trying too hard spiritually. Bonhoeffer used this filter from Matthew 6: "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." He flips it and says we can measure what our treasure is by where our heart is. If that treasure turns out to be anything but God, then we need to spend some time really wrestling with God and ourselves about it. How can we get rid of the mentality of requiring impressive spiritual gymnastics of ourselves in order to feel like we're accepted by God?

Super fort!!

This weekend, while my wife was away for a few hours, the kids and I built a super fort in the living room. This involved the heavy-lifting work of moving two couches and a chair, piling pillow walls, balancing couch cushions to create a roof, spreading blankets to complete the shelter... It was massive. And, stuff it, I just realized I forgot to take a picture. Hey - I don't care if you don't have kids, I have an assignment for you. Build a fort in your living room in the next week and have a blast!

Oh, yeah! While we were constructing our modern marvel yesterday, I was keeping half and eye on the fussball match on the tele. We witnessed a highly bizarre moment during the FA Cup match between Sheffield United and Manchester City. The City fans had brought balloons with their club's colors to the match and released them in support of their club just before the kickoff. Check out the result...

Community.

Yesterday I read the following description of community: "A laboratory for disarmament." It's as though our beginning steps toward knowing others and being known lie behind this tangle of walls and weapons we use to hide and protect ourselves. It's such a long process of experimentation - dabbling in honest statements accepted, rejected, or ignored. Drawing a line for ourselves to cross over, then retreat. Testing the waters. I'm growing more convinced that this long road is the only road to real community. And even when our defenses come down with a few people, they are still liable to spring back up in the face of new threats to our sense of belonging and acceptance. I don't have any answers. Try letting your guard down somewhere and see how it works out. Let me know what happens.

Nothing to write...

Because there's too much to write. In the past 24 hours - good day, play time, football match, reading about grace, great conversation over lunch, tough questions, email about cancer in remission, prayer for a kid's tumor just discovered, letters of encouragement, checking off the checklist, urgent phonecall, talked with my brother twice, interesting stuff about neuroscience and how people connect, smiles, pouting, ideas, rejection, acceptance, quiet reception, conflict resolution, sleep, sinus problem, deeply cold, don't forget to smile, journaling, helping, serving, loving, planning, fearing, breathing, heart-beating... I'll stop there. How's your day?

Would you consider joining a movement?

The African Cup of Nations is now in full swing. Will you join me in supporting the Ivory Coast? What a great squad... Well, mostly because of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue from Arsenal. Second, the number of Bundesliga representatives on the squad. I can put up with Drogba and Kalou for their sake. It will be the only time, though.

The Elephants have begun their campaign in a strong way, beating the tournament heavyweights, Nigeria, 1-0 in the opening match of the group stage.

Something beautiful.

I'm absolutely enamored with this song...

Dear Lord, what was I thinking?!

Reading a book by Jerry Bridges right now. Something struck me today... He pointed me toward the story of the generous land owner in Matthew 20. You know the one - the workers hired early in the morning were promised a certain amotun of pay. Then the land owner hired others throughout the day, right up to one hour before the work was finished. Then he payed them, starting with the ones hired last. They received the amount promised to the first ones. So, of course, the ones hired early began salivating at the thought that their pay was going to be greater. Not so. The land owner kept his promise. In response to their annoyance, he challenges them with something like: I was not unfair to you, but I was generous to the others. Isn't that my prerogative?

OK. Bridges brings this into the modern day - a class full of university students all receiving top marks on an exam, whether they were studious or not, whether they invested time preparing for the test or wasted it on partying. Both the workers hired first and the students who studied are annoyed! Understandably so. We might pretend that we wouldn't be annoyed - just because we know it's the "right" answer.

Now, for the "what was I thinking?!" moment. My thanks to Mr. Bridges for pointing this out: I always - not sometimes, ALWAYS - put myself in the position of the workers who were hired first. I somehow have existed in this assumption that I am the worker who has toiled in the heat of the day and that my "lesson" from this text is to get comfortable with the fact that God will give others what I have earned through my day of labor. But could it be (I have to admit for me it is probably so) that I am actually a worker hired at the end of the day? I have been given so much. And none of it deserved.

God doesn't owe me anything. There is nothing - nothing - I have ever received that God gave me as repayment of some debt He owes me. Everything has been a gift given because of His unbelievably huge love for me. This brings an entirely different way of looking at all of life.

Thank You, Lord. I had no idea.

Strong, friendly, and a great swimmer... like a whale.

OK. Show of hands. Who wants to be a whale? [Are you raising your hand? OK. If you're jumping up and down, too, I want to know about it.]

So the title for this post is a description of me in the innocent, unfiltered perception of my oldest daughter. I was actually flattered by her evaluation. It was cool to hear what she really thought in that amazing little mind of hers. Wouldn't it be cool if we could grow toward giving each other this kind of unfiltered feedback in the average day? Not like a license to dog each other, but permission to point out what we really appreciate, value, or admire in another... I know a few who do it already. I love them for it.

Good way to start the day.

My five-year-old woke up Sunday and came out of the bedroom wearing the party hat she got at a friends birthday party the day before. What a way to start the day... She inspires me.

Superhero syndrome.

I know. The title is a bit confusing as Syndrome was a super villain in "The Incredibles". Anyway, I'll ask you to set that aside for a moment. I've had it brought to my attention recently that I am not a superhero. At least not in a feel-good-about-yourself-because-you're-so-necessary-to-humanity's-having-a-good-day sort of way. I know some of you out there have heard me teach about how we can be a superhero: rescuing others, pulling them back from the metaphorical ledge on which they're standing. I still believe that's true. This is more of a coming down from the vague sense that I can feel important because of what I do. I wasn't really aware of this syndrome until I found myself in a spot of wondering where the significance went. (Note that all of this sort of awareness is conditional upon the changability of our human emotions.) I know my life matters because of the value placed upon and into it by God. I guess it was cool to have the understanding shaken up a bit. It brings much sobriety when we see the gift-nature of everything we get to do in a day.

All of this is not to say we have no part in this cooperative thing of life with God. It's to say we (I) would be wise to never walk down the path leading to the sedituous thinking that God is getting a good deal having us (me) on His team.

A random side-bar: In the midst of all of this, Nathaniel's calling keeps coming up. (John 1:45-51) Anyone see the significance? I'd value your thoughts...