Bonus

I heard at great quote today at the coffee shop:

I wake up each morning breathing...

everything else is a bonus.

I would like to have this mindset everyday.

Cherokee Proverb

A Cherokee grandfather sitting with his grandchildren told them,
"In life there is a terrible fight- a fight between two wolves.
One is evil:
he is fear, anger, envy, greed, arrogance, self-pity
resentment, and deceit.
The other is good:
he is joy, serenity, humility, confidence, generosity, truth,
gentleness, and compassion." A child asked,
"Grandfather, which wolf will win?"
The elder looked him in the eye.
"The one you feed"

This proverb reminds me of Matthew 15 where Jesus reminds us that out of our hearts flow both the good and bad wolf.

My Favorite Prayers #1

Most powerful Holy Spirit

rain down upon us

and subdue us.

From Heaven,

where the ordinary

is made glorious

and glory seems

but ordinary.

Bathe us

with the brilliance of Your light

like the morning dew

on the flower.

Luczi and Chloe

Luczi and Chole have grown quite close recently. They like to slide down the slides together and do piggy back rides. While Lilly and Luczi are like oil and water, fighting over just about anything and everything, these two have found joy in each other and that of course makes thing just a bit more fun around here.

Observation

I was driving to work today and as I passed through my neighborhood and surrounding communities I noticed noticed the number of homes in foreclosure and businesses that "used to be". Now Michigan lags behind the rest of the nation in the economic recrovery since 911 and the war, so there certainly are some realistic factors involved in homes and businesses being vacant, but I did notice one other thing driving to work that day... Not 1 gas station was closed down. Isn't that interesting? Do you suppose that the homes of gas station owners are in foreclosure? Wanna bet on it? Agopolies are the way to thrive in new America. I guess I'm just greatful I don't own a Hummer lest my house go into foreclosure.

Luczi's Dedication

Sunday we dedicated Luczi at our church. For us this is a time of celebration as we draw from our community a unified commitment that all of will do our best to raise Luczi in the WAY of Jesus. It is a commitment that far exceeds religiousity. And while I've been a part of many "dedications" and "baptisms" in my years of following the WAY, never have I felt that a church has meant their vows as much as our family at Pathway Church. And just as I have vowed to help others raise their kids in the WAY, I know that I have their help and support. And that is truely something to be celebrated in our day and age.

For More Pictures of the Dedication, click "My Pictures" to the right.

Sex God

Pushing the envelope once again, Rob Bell is back with his new book Sex God. The title is certainly eye catching, but what I love about the book is the heart of it's content. Bell does a great job of communicating how our sexuality, our personal relationships, and our spirituality are intertwined and intermixed. In a style similar to his preaching he gives nuggets of information for us to process, ruminate on, and test in the scriptures.
Overall I like the book, but it is not without it's flaws. As to being being biblical I will let the reader decide. Sadly there are sections of the book that are under-developed. Many key ideas are thrown out like beach toys waiting for someone to play with them. While I understand that at times this is intentional by Bell, it seems less appropriate with the subject matter in this book than say Velvet Elvis (Bell's first book). And speaking Velvet Elvis, there are whole sections of Sex God that seem to have been copied and pasted right right of Velvet Elvis. This, in the writing world, is like wearing white before Easter.
Flaws aside, I still would recommend picking this one up. I highly encourage engaged couples, newly weds, and people struggling with sexual addictions to read Sex God. There is much that Bell has to offer in this book that would have been helpful to me early on in my own marriage.