YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN

Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Periodically as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.

Well... it's not gonna happen. I'm behind. WAY behind. To be honest some of the reasons were factors beyond my control. But that's only a small portion of it. Here are a few things I've learned about myself during this process.

1) I prefer reading paper instead of iPhone. I can read faster that way.
2) I do however like the instant ability to 'bookmark' a verse for later discussion.
3) The Old Testament repeats things very often and it repeats things very often.
4) Reading the entire Bible in 139 days is harder than it seems. (Typically 5-7 chapters a day)
5) Chronological reading (while neat) is very confusing if you miss a day or two.

I'm not giving up. I'm going to recalculate my reading plan and probably switch to some other method but I'm pressing on!

When a complete stranger can take something like this...


And make it into something like this.

What makes for better communication? Comedy, Satire, Theology, Heresy, Parenting?

What should I write about?

Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Periodically as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.

MORE VERSES
Dt 30:19 - Classic verse. Don’t you wish life were this black and white all the time? I mean choosing life is an obvious choice but it’s never that plain and simple. Choosing life often results in a lot of trials and discipline.

Dt 31:16 - Upon my death bed, I want to hear about how effective my life has been on others. I’d prefer not to hear about how my influence will fade quickly after I’m buried. Sorry Moses.

Dt 32:47 - Great verse I had to memorize for my Old Testament class.

Dt 32:51-52 - Consequences for action is biblical. It hurts, it’s difficult, and it still falls under the banner of God’s grace!

Dt 34:5 - Many have argued that Moses could not have written all of the book because how can you write about your own death? This last chapter of Deuteronomy was added much later.

Dt 34:7 - Moses did not die a ripe old man, fragile and lame. He still had energy. Moses died as punishment based on the Israelites and in accordance to the age of man’s years set forth by God after The Fall (Gen. 6:3).

Dt 34:10 - Another proof that Moses did not write this last chapter. How would the most humble man in the world have written about himself this way. It would have been enough to disprove his humility.

Josh 1:2 - This would have been quite the introduction for Joshua. “Hey, guess what... Moses is dead and YOU are my next chosen vessel.” Wow.

Josh 21:45 - God always keeps his promises. When will I learn this? When will I believe this? When will I walk in this sort of way?

Josh 22:20 - The wrath of God fell upon an entire congregation because of one man?

Josh 23:14 - Another reminder that God keeps his promises.

Josh 24:14-15 - “Choose This Day...” Joshua is attacking the main problem of the people. They had been, were presently, and would continue to serve foreign gods. This would lead to many struggles and problems. Today we like to think “Choose this day...” mean choose to go to church. However the problem is the same. We serve other gods still. Why do we expect our outcome to be any different than the Israelites? Jesus doesn’t simply beat up idols in our life, He destroys them and removes them. This is painful.

Josh 24:27 - Having a stone set up as a witness against you seems harmless enough until there is no one left to worship God and the rocks begin to cry out.

Josh 24:31 - This verse seems very positive. If you quit reading here it would remain that way. However take this in context of Judges 2:10.

Judges 1:6 - Thumbs and Big Toes? Why is this important? See Leviticus 8:24.

Judges 2:10 - After Joshua, the faith of Israel died. Why? Surely that had passed down the stories of their grandfathers? The problem was in their stories, God was merely one of the characters and not the author.

Judges 2:15 - How would it feel to have the hand of the Lord constantly against you?

Judges 17:6 - A very repeated theme in Judges (and if were honest most of our lives today).

1 Sam 1:11 - This was a moving prayer for Shelly and I when we were struggling with having our first child. What does it actually mean (for us) to give our child (children) to the Lord all the days of their lives?

1 Sam 2:12 - One of the reasons we named our son Levi instead of Eli.

1 Sam 2:25 - This shows the need for a mediator or an intercessor (1 Tim 2:5-6).

1 Sam 3:11 - I want to hear stuff like this on a regular basis.

1 Sam 7:3 - Samuel is just continuing what Joshua challenged the people with... putting away foreign Gods.

1 Sam 9:9 - I love it when the Bible writes its own commentary on itself.

1 Chron 10:13-14 - Not having faith in God AND seeing a physic is a bad thing in the Old Testament. Probably isn’t much better these days.

Ps 102:18 - That’s Visionary Parenting right there!

Ps 102:20 - Amen! and Amen!

Ps 75:10 - I remember people wearing Texas A&M shirts which depicted the Longhorns “sawed-off” and this verse was on the back. I can think of worse ways to misinterpret scripture.

2 Sam 11:1 - We’ve heard this before but it’s worth mentioning again. David should have been fighting! Not lounging around his casa.

2 Sam 12:14 - How many times have I utterly scorned the Lord? Thank you God for forgiveness and grace.

2 Sam 12:28 - David’s commander Joab did all the dirty work and King David got to get the glory. That’s a good leader to have under you.

Part 2 - The Day I Lost Lots of Money!

Back in 2003, Shelly and I had the opportunity to start a new chapter in our lives. One that looking back now, changed our whole lives drastically. I was working for a building products company in East Texas and had the chance to move to Oklahoma (Tulsa area) for a new position with the same company. We knew nothing about Oklahoma, Tulsa, or anything other than Texas. We knew no one there, knew nothing about the area, people, or anything. It was a completely fresh start. What made it more difficult was that we had a young daughter and would be leaving family, friends, and really a life of familiarity and security behind. So of course we were all for it! “Adventure is Out There!” is what I would have said had the movie “Up” come out sooner than it did.

We had tried for a few years to buy a house to no avail. For some reason every time we got close things fell apart. Plus, living on a single income makes it difficult to purchase a house (at least one that would not require lots and lots of attention). We decided that we wanted to buy a house in the Tulsa area. I visited a few times and Shelly flew up once and we looked at what seemed like a million homes. We finally found a house and placed a contract on it. A few days later the sellers decided not to sell. Strike! We were back to square one. But we were used to this pattern. We started to wonder if we’d ever live in a house that we owned. Then we found a house and it was not perfect but was going to work out for us. We placed an offer, negotiated, counter-offered, and accepted in the parking lot of the movie theater in Tulsa, OK. We were going to be home owners.

The process began and the day of the house inspection was approaching. I was unable to be present due to some training I was doing learning my new job and my new territory (I was the Sales Manager for Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. This would later grow to over 14 states but that is another story!) I asked our realtor Brenda to oversee the home inspection for us since neither of us would be there (mistake #1). Brenda called me later that day and told me, “The inspection looks good except one corner of the house needs some foundation work.” I told here as long as the current homeowners agreed to fix the problem that should be alright (foundation problems in OK are a given not an exception).

A few weeks pass. The house is apparently fixed and all is ready to go. It is Monday morning. All of our possessions were loaded on a moving truck and have already left for Tulsa. All we had was a couple of bags and 1-year old daughter. The scheduled delivery time for the truck was Tuesday afternoon, well after our Tuesday morning closing date. We would have plenty of time to close and then unload our stuff. We say good bye to friends, family, and Texas and head to Tulsa with all the pressure of a new life in hand.

That night we check into a hotel and make our way to the home to do a final walk-through with the realtor. Upon walking in the house and looking around I walk in the living room. I’m checking a few things out now that all of the previous resident’s furniture is gone. I walk over towards one of the corners of the room and trip over something on the floor. As it turns out there was nothing on the carpet after all. There was however something under the carpet. I bend down and feel the floor. It feels like there was a piece of pipe or something underneath the carpet and it was bulging up. “That’s weird” I thought to myself. It wasn’t far from the wall so I grabbed the edge of the carpet and pull it back (mistake #2). This process revealed a 1-inch wide gap/crack/cavernous hole in the slab of the house. Not only was the gap wide it was a different elevation on each side. To me it looked like an earthquake fault line or something. Worse, I could not see the end of it. I followed the crack all the way down that wall, under the wall, and into the next room (which was the Master bedroom). I quickly realized that there was about 2-3 feet of the side of the house that (from one end to the other) had broken off and settled. The whole house was affected. By ‘affected’ I mean ‘broke in half!’ The doors on that side of the house would not even shut because the slab was do badly cracked. Whatever had happened had happened after our initial walk through. At this point, my realtor looks at me and I look back at her with a look that says, “Stop everything. There’s not a chance (in you know where) we’re moving into this house.”

Shelly and I know immediately that this spells disaster! Even if the problem was fixable, there was no way it could be fixed before tomorrow morning. It would have taken weeks. Shelly begins to cry. I get very upset. My realtor immediately gets on the phone but by this time it is about 7:00pm. We get back to the hotel room that night and our lives are a wreck. The crying, doubting, and questioning begin. “What have we done?” “God for sure doesn’t want us here.” “Are we stupid or what?” “How do we get our money back?” That last question began to ring in my mind...

The next morning (the same time we were supposed to be closing on the house) I begin a conversation with my realtor that borderlines a crazy man. At this point I am determined to back out of the contract 100%, get all my money back, and make people pay for this mistake. (What had happened is that the foundation people who were supposed to fix a small crack had done a poor job and actually made it worse and had not told anyone). I say to my realtor, “There’s no way I’m going to buy this house Brenda. We were lied to, deceived, and I want every bit of my money back.” I was mad and I meant it. I wanted it all: earnest money, inspection money, all the fees and bills associated with buying a house that we had already spent. I was going to get it all back or the world was going to feel the weight of a ticked-off Texan.

Now, remember the moving truck? The one with all of our stuff in it that was driving somewhere around OK with a couple of guys that had no idea our world had crashed around us? Yeah, that moving truck.

Yep, it was scheduled to arrive that afternoon with or without a house. That meant that we had just under 3 hours to find a place to live in order to unload our stuff. (This is another great story here but I’ll save that for those who are interested. By God’s provision, we did find a place and it ended up being wonderful).

Over the next couple of weeks I proved to all that I was a jerk and I had rights as a person. Plus, I did get my money back. In fact I had talked to enough people that I had gotten back everything from everyone (which is next to impossible I’m told) except our earnest money. If you’ve ever bought a house, then you know this is no small chunk of change either. The only way to get that money back was to file for mediation and appear before the homeowners along with both realtors. I was going to have to fight for it and fight I did. Like a big fat jerk, I fought for it with a bad attitude. I filed for mediation and it was scheduled for a Monday morning in downtown Tulsa.

During that time, since we were new to the area, we were church shopping. We had visited several churches and had not found one to call home. The Sunday prior to my mediation we visited a church and the sermon that morning was based out of Luke 6. This was the text. “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. {and this is the part that I hated to hear...} Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them."

I remember thinking that day, “I wonder what poor sap this message was for. It sure wasn’t for ME!” Like a fiery pit in the soul of your stomach I was hearing from the Spirit of God. It was not audible (but I wish it had been). “Robert, why are holding on to this? So what if you get it back? Will that make you a better person? Will that make you fulfilled? Happy? Will you have won? How many people will have been hurt in the process?”

Here is the part of the story that I hate telling because it shows how much of a jerk I was. The homeowners who owned the house were a young couple like us with a child. They had also just had a new child. The wife had to go back to work within a week or two after the birth because during the selling process, they had gone ahead and purchased another house. So when we backed out of the agreement they were forced to pay for two homes. I felt sorry for them I really did but my excuse was that I had been deceived and that I was in the right. They should have been more careful themselves.

So as I sit there, listening to that sermon, I felt God’s hand of love on me like a 10-ton wall resting directly on my heart. I was broken. We left that morning and ironically never went back to that church. However, God spoke to me there for sure that day. I told Shelly that I was going to cancel my request for the money and she was shocked at first but because she is a better person than I am she quickly agreed. It was too late to call off the mediation for the next day so I was going to have to go through with it. Except this time I had a different agenda.

That morning, in downtown Tulsa, I sat in a small room with my realtor; a very distraught just-had-a-baby - tired of all this crap-homeowner, along with her realtor, and an innocent mediator who was just doing this one more time that day. Like a person sitting next to you, I felt the sense of God’s presence around me. The five of us not sure what the next few moments were going to unfold. Since I had called the mediation I was given the chance to speak first. I saw the feelings of frustration on the face of that young mother and knew that she had probably practiced a thousand times what she would say to the man who had made her life a living hell for the past few weeks. So I offered her a chance to go first. I wanted to give her the opportunity to speak her mind. She deserved it. She bitterly said, “No, I want to hear what you have to say.” So I began...

“I called this meeting with the full intention of getting my money back. I feel sorry for you guys and your circumstances but we were lied to and deceived. I feel as if I do have a legitimate argument and could probably make a case for getting my money back...”

{I paused here. Maybe for dramatic effect or maybe for prayer I’m not sure}.

I continued, “But I’m a Christian, and I feel that being a Christian causes a person to do some things that sometimes do not make sense. Things that maybe even feel awkward and foolish. I’m sorry about what you and your husband have had to endure and I’m sure you feel just as cheated as we do. So while we need that money ourselves, if it would help you guys out in your circumstance, I would like to give it all to you.”

[Silence] is too small of a word for what followed.

After a few seconds, the weeks of hurt, sleepless nights, and bitter feelings burst out in that young mother like nothing I’ve ever seen. She was crying. Her realtor began to cry. My realtor was crying. I was almost crying. The Mediator however... he was very much at a lost for words. He just sat there with a stupid expression on his face. He had never seen anything like this. He began slowly, “Uh... Uh...., so I guess... we’re uh... done here?” He looked at me with a look that said, “Please explain what I’m supposed to do from here.” I looked at him and said, “Yeah, we’re done. Let’s go!” Before that session was over the young woman’s realtor had invited us to visit her church (she had heard we were looking).

A few days later my realtor sent us a card and a cross (which we still have in our living room). In the card she said this, “I’ve never seen Christianity lived out like that before. We all preach it all the time, but it is refreshing to see someone actually trusting in it.”

As I drove back to our little two-bedroom duplex that day I felt a flood of emotions. Anger for allowing myself to get so wrapped up in ‘my rights.’ Compassion and pain for that young couple who still had a lot of difficult decisions to make. Humility because I had just been a part of something that was beyond me. However mainly I felt satisfaction for doing the right thing. Not because it was necessarily the right thing to do... but rather because it was what the Spirit had told me to do, and that made all the difference. That made it right.

Sometimes it’s just about obedience.

TOTALWASTEOFMYTIME

One day when I was in seminary I was taking a course on Evangelism. There’s nothing like taking a class on how to do something that you know you want/need to do and then having that class make you feel like a complete boob for not doing it or neglecting it regularly. Trust me if you don’t want to be convicted about your spiritual walk, don’t go to seminary.

Anyway, so one morning while I was making my daily commute into Fort Worth I stopped at a gas station that I liked to frequent for coffee (I had to have something to help me with my 10 hour days stuck in a chair). So I walk in to the store and I’m standing by the coffee bar getting my coffee. I notice a gentleman standing by the island where all the creamer, sugar, lids, & straws are located. I fill my coffee cup up and proceed to the island myself. As I approach the island, (and as I’m thinking about the freshness of my Evangelism class) I feel the need to speak with this individual. At this time many thoughts run through my head like, “I don’t even think this guy speaks English,” “I’m sure he doesn’t want some goober talking to him this early in the morning,” and “What in the world and I supposed to say to a man buying a coffee that turns the conversation towards Jesus?” After all, I wasn’t simply going to say hello. I was going to ask about his relationship with Christ because that’s what all good Christians do right?

So as I’m placing my coffee on the island my cup tips a little and spills the contents on my hand. Yes, it was hot... because coffee is hot! I then direct my glance to the gentleman and say, “Wow, that’s pretty hot.” At this, he turns to me and says (in English I might add), “Yeah, I like hot coffee, but my wife likes that cold coffee.” At this point (which was probably about 3 seconds long but it felt like 30 minutes), I think several thoughts. Again, was the thought, “how and I supposed to talk to this man about Jesus?” The other thought and sadly, my first idea as to how to witness to this guy went something like this in my head, “So you like hot things do you... well I hope you know Jesus buddy because if you don’t then where you’ll be going is hot for sure!!” I quickly determined that I did NOT want to be that evangelistic bully-guy. Seriously, how would you respond? This is how I responded.

“Say, I’d really like to buy your coffee and breakfast (he had some other stuff) for you this morning.” He looked puzzled and replied with a look that simply sent the message of “why would you want to do a silly thing like that?” Before he could accuse me of hitting on him or being attracted to his creamy caffeinated concoction, I simply said, “I believe in Jesus and that seems like something Jesus would have done for you this morning.” Still I was clueless as to what to say and was simply trying to find excuses for ending the conversation and getting out of there.

He said, “uh, alright.”

As we walked up to the counter (he still looking puzzled and me feeling stupid) I was again puzzled as to what to do. Now, we were surrounded by numerous patrons all buying their morning java and carbs. I paid for our coffee and we both headed to the door. This would have been a great time to ask him about his wife, if he had any kids, their ages, if they attended a local church, had a faith of their own, etc. It really would have been a great time to ask that but I had about 4 seconds before we hit the door. So I mustered up my strength and said, “Well, see you later. Have a good day.”

He thanked me for the purchase and walked away in the opposite direction towards his car. As I reached my car and sat down I quickly thought, “Hey I can at least pray for him today.” Except one thing. I never asked him his name... “argggh.” So I back up my car and drive to where he was parked. He still hadn’t gotten everything in his car so he was not in it yet. I block him in determined to find out his name but a little afraid he thought I was trying to car jack him or something. I ask for his name through my open window and he replies, “George.” So then I say, “Ok George, have a great day.” I may have told him “God Bless,” but I really don’t remember.

As I drove away that day headed to my very professional class on Evangelism I was ashamed. I felt embarrassed that I was embarrassed to strike up a conversation with a complete stranger when we had been talking all week about how easy it was to do in class. Here I was on a practical assignment and I had bombed. Was I a failure? Was I a bad student? What went wrong? Shouldn’t we have knelt and prayed in the gas station floor for George to receive Christ to which he would have drove straight home witness to his wife and kids? Shouldn't George’s life have been changed because he met Robert Conn that morning over a cup of spilt coffee? George should have become a pastor himself and led hundreds to Christ. Isn’t that how these testimonies are supposed to go?

I drove away with a cup of cruddy coffee and a defeated heart.

But then, in a quiet whisper, the Spirit of God revealed to me, “Robert, sometimes it just about obedience. Will you do what I ask you to do, when I ask you to do it?”

Today, George doesn’t represent for me a lost and dying nation of people who are need of the gospel of Christ. More than that, George represents to me a moment of my life, which is far too rare, when I swallowed awkwardness, fear, doubt, rejection, and embarrassment, and asked a man if I could buy him a cup of coffee.

I’m still praying for George and myself.

Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Each week as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.

WEEK 3-4
Ex 23:3 - We should love the poor but not to the extent that we forsake justice.

Ex 29:20 - This is just a little too much for me. I can just see God waiting for Moses to say, “Ok, God? Really? Isn’t that a little too much?”

Ex 32:14 - God relents (as in changes His mind). Don’t let this freak you out. It doesn’t prove God is not all-knowing. Get used to it. It’s not the first time (remember Sodom & Gomorrah)

Ex 32:19 - I can really relate to this act of Moses. I mean I’ve gotten mad too sometimes and whatever was in my hands came a flying out.

Ex 32:27 - Aren’t you glad God does not demand we do stuff like this today? Or does He? I’ve got a sword...

Ex 33:11 - Moses spoke to God face to face (this is probably idiomatic because he never actually saw His face because it would have been too much for him).

Ex 34:15-16 - I think the message is clear... Don’t whore after other gods.

Lev 4:3 - The sin of the priest was enough to bring guilt upon the entire group of people. I’m inclined to believe this continues today to some extent.

Lev 13:40 - It’s ok everybody... hair loss is not a sin.

Lev 14:2 - Luke 17:11-19 is brought into context by understanding this passage. Lepers were required to show themselves to the priest.

Lev 19:30 - Sabbath?? What’s that? Do we do that anymore? [insert sarcasm]

Lev 20:5 - A friend of mine once said that in the Old Testament parents sacrificed their children to Molech because they thought it was the best thing to do. Today, parents just allow their kids to go to Spring Break beach parties.

Lev 23:11-12 - It’s called a wave offering. Interesting.

Num 6:24-26 - Such a great prayer to pray over your kids or just about anyone.

Num 14:24 - How I long to be considered by God a man with a “different spirit.”

Num 16:22 - Once again we see how God could possibly punish an entire congregation based on one man’s sin. Lookout people.

Dt 4:7 - God’s evidence of His chosen people. Reminiscent of 1 John 4:4.

Dt 7:7 - Love this verse. God proves to Israel that it was not because of anything they had to offer, the reason He chose them. He chose them because He wanted to choose them.

Dt 8:4 - Sometimes God’s blessings are not financial. Many times they are simple gifts like durable clothing and trouble-free appliances.

Dt 9:5-6 - God proves again that they were a stubborn and stick-necked people. They brought nothing to the table. He would allow them to conquer all because His name was at stake, not theirs.

Dt 11:19 - Are these strategic times or hyperbole for ‘always?’ Either way the call is the same. (See also 6:4-9)

Dt 12:3 - We get all in a foul mood if some Christian group tries to boycott somebody. Imagine God calling the Southern Baptists to something like this today? How would that go over?

Recently I was challenged to read the Bible in its entirety before the end of the year. That left me with 139 days. I decided to read it Chronologically (or rather historically by date). Each week as I’m reading I will bookmark some verses that I think are worth sharing.

WEEK TWO
Gen 12:17 - God is serious about marriage people.

Gen 17:17 - I think God waited on purpose for them to get past (way past) child bearing age.

Gen 20:12 - I used to think Abraham was being a punk calling Sarah his sister. However, she technically was his sister.

Gen 22:8 - God indeed did provide for himself a lamb in Jesus Christ several years later.

Gen 22:13 - This reminds me of Jesus’ self-sacrifice and the wearing of the crown of thorns.

Gen 26:7 - Apparently this pattern was a ‘learned behavior’ from his father Abraham (see Gen 20:12).

Gen 34:25 - I don’t know whether to say “Ouch!”, “Oh man that’s wrong”, or “Thanks for the great daughter-dating idea!”

Gen 39:5 - I should pray that the blessing of the Lord be on all that I have, in house and field. I really should.

Gen 42:21 - Imagine living life like this. Always looking over your shoulder waiting for God to pay you back, to get you! Oh wait, so many people still live this way.

Gen 49:10 - The scepter did not depart from Judah’s line. Christ came!

Gen 50:15 - These guys are still living with baggage from the past. Pity.

Ex 1:8 - We are all just one ‘king’ away from a generation who does not know God or His blessings.

Ex 2:22 - I guess Moses having kids escaped me. They really don’t get much of a spotlight while he is alive (see also 4:20).

Ex 3:13 - Reminds me of the line in C.S. Lewis’ Prince Caspian where Aslan tells Lucy to have the others follow her. “What if they don’t believe me?” Lucy says. “It doesn’t matter” Aslan responds.

Ex 6:9 - Everyone has a breaking point. The children of Israel had been broke after hundreds of years of slavery.

Ex 7:11 - Does this freak anyone else out but me? I mean the magicians we able to duplicate these miracles? Seriously spooky. Why would they want to duplicate these plagues? The plagues were a bad thing. Why add to it? (see also 7:22 & 8:7).

Ex 12:19 - It’s time to clean house literally. God was making (forcing) them to get physical when it comes to honoring and obeying Him. Interesting.

Ex 13:9 - Sounds very familiar to Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (see also 13:16).

Ex 20:17 - Not coveting a neighbor’s wife makes sense. It sounds like he’s saying you shall not desire to have your neighbor’s wife as your own wife. However, if you read the remaining examples of neighbor’s male servants, animals, etc. the context is not simply sexual. It is saying do not desire to have for your own anything that your neighbor has worked hard for or has been blessed with. Lust is an issue here but so is pride and greed.

Ex 21:17 - I think I’ll save this verse for my kids’ teenage years. Then plaster it all over the place.

WEEK ONE

Gen 4:7 - Strikingly similar to the woman’s curse in Gen 3:16. Her desire will be to have her husband’s role but he will (shall) rule over her. Here Sin is shown to have the desire to rule over us but Cain is called to rule over it.

Gen 4:26 - At this time in history people began to call upon the name of Yahweh publicly.

Gen 7:2 - Two by two... not so much. Try two by seven.

Gen 8:20 - How would you like to have been those birds? Rescued from the flood, caged up in the arc for weeks, and then once the sun is shining and all things look promising these birds get toasted.

Gen 8:21 - Truth: Bar-B-Q has always smelled good. (Yes, this is a little sacrilegious).

Job 5:17 - Great verse for me. Good verse for Job too!

Job 8:19 - Far too many people think like this. “Save all the Christians and let the lost go to Hell.”

Job 31:12 - Adultery is a fire that burns the whole house down. Recovery is difficult at best.

Job 32:8 - Old age does not equal wisdom. God’s Spirit in you equals wisdom!

Job 38:31 - I think it is cool that God uses the terms for two constellations (Pleiades or the Seven Sisters & Orion) both of which I assume were named by humans. Maybe not, I’m no astronomer. Yet leave it up to God to use our language to express His glory.

Amazing!

Found this on Netflix the other night. It seemed like a good documentary film so I gave it a shot. I was blown away. It is filmed well and reveals a side of pain I never knew existed. If you get a chance check it out.

You can see the trailer below.

Or you can watch the whole thing free here.

So Friday, I received an email from Bank of America. This email informed me that my Debit card had been shut down due to questionable activity. So I call BoA and they inform me that my card has been involved in a 'mass compromise.' I quickly assume this is not a good thing. Anything on a mass scale and furthermore compromising, cannot be a good thing. Sure enough my card had been canceled and I would have to get a new one. Not only that but Shelly's card as well. So we pack up the kids and head to our local Bank of America.

We get there and we begin unloading the kids. Something you should know is that our kids have iPods. Each time we upgrade to a new phone we pass the old ones down to the kids. Shelly & I recently treated ourselves with the iPhone 4 so that meant Ashlin got my old iPhone (though she doesn't actually use the phone features) and Claire got our old iPod touch (which we got free and then thought we lost but then found, except Carley threw it into the bathtub one day and it only plays music and a few apps and keeps a charge for 30 min). So there are our 4 kids and 3 of them were glued to an electronic gaming device. One was watching a movie, Ashlin was playing Solitaire, and Claire was learning Checkers.

I did feel rather spoiled and American at this point. I mean my kids are playing iPhones and well you know how I felt. But I considered that a better feeling than losing my mind with 4 screaming kids in a confined bank lobby with security and probably a gun-protected vault nearby.

We get called back and the guy immediately makes a comment about the number of kids we have. He says, "Did you guys just now get a TV?" This comment is a favorite of mine. Its intended purpose is to assume Shelly and I don't have anything else better to do than have child-producing sex. This has always bothered me. Not because I find the question offensive but rather at the ignorance of the question. Am I really supposed to assume watching television is a better option than having child-producing sex? That's a no-brainer for me. There's always reruns! That was probably too much information I know but hey I love my wife and that's what married people do.

So a few more minutes pass while he is getting his/our info in order and he tells us that he is the youngest of 4. This guys ought to know what it's like having 4 kids (after all he even commented how he wanted 3 or 4 of his own). A colleague of his walks over and proceeds to tell us how beautiful our kids are. Then he says, "This is the East Texas version of the Brady Bunch." I did not ask him what he meant but I'm curious as to what he really could have meant. After all, we have 2 less than the Brady Bunch, right?

I didn't think much about it really, other than it kind of made me want to punch him in his gut for being a moron. However, I assumed he just wasn't used to seeing that many kids at once in a bank lobby. However, is 4 kids really that big of a deal? I mean it's not like we're Jon & Kate or the Duggars. It's 4 kids. Why is that such a big fuss? Have we really fallen that far from honoring children as a blessing from God? I can't wait until we get the same looks for remaining married. I hate to think about it but there may come a day when explaining why you stayed married to the same woman will get just as many crazy looks as having 4 kids.

So thank you Bank of America for offending me twice in one day! If you didn't already own my whole life I'd probably sick my kids on you. Oh well, better get back to rustling up dinner, making denim clothes for the kids, and churning our own butter.

Sincerely,

Mr. Brady

Snore!

We moved to Tyler a couple of months ago now and I've had a chance to drive around town quite a bit. I'd like to make some observations about my experiences.

1. The majority of people drive slower than I would have thought.
2. Speed Limit signs have no rhyme or reason to them. (60-30-45-55-70-30...)
   
3. Many people in Tyler are not friendly drivers.
   
4. There are too many U-turns necessary in Tyler.
   
5. There are too many people who make illegal U-turns in Tyler.
   
6. Grocery store parking lots might as well be Crash-Up Derby because no one stays in their designated lane (probably because they finally don't have to follow the concrete medians).
7. To go anywhere in Tyler will take you 15-20 minutes. Count on it.
   

Make no mistake... we love Tyler and we love her quirky DOT regulations!

Claire rides her bike for the first time with no training wheels!

I've never wanted anything in my life like I wanted this girl 8 years ago. This girl marked the beginning of my greatest endeavor... fatherhood. She lights up a room when she's in it. She dances as if she is all alone when chaos is around her. She's gifted in ways I will never understand. She understands many of my struggles and sorrows and yet she is playful and childlike. This girl has my heart. I'm seeing her grow up before my eyes and I love what I'm seeing. She's turning into the person I want to be. She's learning to excel in areas I continually fail in. She has a heart which is unparalleled in compassion, mission, hope, and love. I learn from her daily and I am so very proud of who she is becoming.

She is my beautiful daughter Ashlin, and she is turning 8.

I love you Ashlin,
Daddy

I'm reminded by a lot of things lately.

Things like when TV stations used to go off around midnight. When gas stations actually had attendants that filled your tank for you. That checking the temperature outside your car was accomplished by putting your hand on windshield.

I don't want to sound all old and archaic or anything, and I'm sure not going to insist that the way things used to be was the only way they should be. No, that's nonsense. I mean back then I did not have an iPhone, a laptop, a TV that plays movies off of a disk, etc. Back then was cool, but today is better you'd have to agree.

No, what I'm remembering and lamenting is passion, eager faith, a willingness to go anywhere and do anything. You know that feeling when your life was less full of stuff that holds you back and keeps you tethered to the comfortable? Why is it that when I was single and didn't have bills that I would have dropped everything and moved overseas? However now it would be much harder. Is it simply because I have more kids now (alright, a lot more). Is it simply because I'm responsible for more? Because I have more roots? Or maybe, just maybe... I'm doing the thing I vowed never to do... get comfortable.


So I'm moving overseas!


No, I'm kidding. Truth is, I do have a family now (a large one). I have a lot of bills and responsibilities, and all that junk. Is it possible to still live out the passion I first had in the life I have now? Possible... I don't know. Worth the attempt?... you better believe it!

“When we don’t find the specific answer to a specific question in the Bible, we are not free to add to the commands of Scripture what we have found to be pragmatically correct. It is certainly possible that God will give us specific guidance in particular day-to-day situations, but we do not have license to place on par with Scripture any modern revelations, leadings, or other forms of guidance that we believe to be from God. Nor should we ever seek to impose such guidance on other Christians generally or on other people in our churches, since we can be wrong about such guidance and God never wants us to give it the status of his words in the Bible.”

Wayne Grudem

So for the past few weeks I've been remodeling a room in our Youth area. I asked a couple of guys in the church who are great carpenters and handy men to help (or rather oversee) the construction and they did a great job! Joel Bartlett & Ryan Dunn also got their hands dirty. We finished it today just in time for church tonight. Basically, we took an old Sunday school room that was only being used for storage and made it into an audio/video room. That move alone gave us some much needed additional space in the room.

Click on the pictures to see larger versions.

We sold over $1000 worth of shirts this weekend during Overflow Weekend. If you'd like a shirt please email me robert@fbcsanger.com.

We're not hi-tech enough to have online ordering so you'll have to mail us the order form along with your payment. Sorry about that. Here is the order form.

Adult Sizes = $15
Youth Sizes = $10

100% of the proceeds go towards Compassion International and Hope for the Hungry (two organizations directly affected by the earthquake).

Mail to:
FBC Sanger (Robert Conn)
PO Box 1700
Sanger, TX 76266

Make checks payable to FBC Sanger