My birthday

I am so blessed!
Thank you to everyone. I had a wonderful day, gifts, calls and experiences this year.
My children made me cards, which I will try to post.
My mom made me a neat bookmark that will help always keep me humble (it shows me as a portly little child)...that is assuming the picture of me goofing off above doesn't do it.
My wife was wonderful and bought me a new winter coat and took me to dinner with her. (see picture above)
I also received calls from family and many posts and messages from friends.
It was a great day and a good way to start a new year.

A recent fictional read...

The Most Important Little Boy In The World - A Novel - by Dean Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

First time I have read Dean Briggs and I thoroughly enjoyed the tale. Certainly the metaphor of Jesus sacrifice was explicit throughout (from his name to the blood metaphor at the end), not a bad thing...but I thought the story that supported this metaphor was fascinating. So from the beginning with the computer virus to the end, I was engaged in the story.
From a emotional perspective, I really appreciated the dynamics of the family as well as the father and son portion at the end of the book. Rarely do you truly think of God, the Father, regarding the story, but I liked the take that Briggs had on it with the father and uncle taking up the two sides of the argument. Anytime an author can get you to stop and think about things in a new way like that, they have done a good job.

Overall, I would certainly recommend the book as an enjoyable read, though it certainly could be emotional for some readers, and I am sure that I will pick up other Dean Briggs books based on the quality of this one.

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He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado

He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Max Lucado writes, "Much has been said about the gift of the cross itself, but what of the other gifts? What of the nails, the crown of thorns? What about the garment taken? What about the garment given?" and it continues. With that as an introduction, I will say that despite reading many books on Christianity, faith, Christ and so on, I had never looked quite at all of the things surrounding the cross, Jesus' crucifixion, and resurrection in the way that Lucado looks at them in this book.

With the simple analogy of his father writing some final words to him and his wife, a picture is painted around each one of the things that we read about in the Bible that speaks to much greater meaning and significance than we tend to give them as we read through the passages. But the premise made sense to me..."Knowing that his last deeds would be forever pondered, don't you think he chose them carefully? Deliberately?" I do. And I think that any of us can relate to that. Would you do any less for something that you knew would far surpass your life?

So, trace the path of these meaningful symbols in which Lucado writes, "God was never more sovereign than in the details of the death of his Son." It may change the way you look at those things every time you read those passages from here on out and help you marvel that much more at what transpired when Christ went to the cross.

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I did magic!

So, just a little story for memory's sake...

Jude picked up a small wood chip that for some reason or another interested him and, to him, looked like a key.  He calls it his key and uses it to start his car, or open doors and so forth.  We have simply tried to keep him from ruining anything while using the key.

Well, he was at the counter and dropped it on the floor and did not get down to pick it up as he was too preoccupied by his other activity and so I picked it up and put it on the counter.  Once Jude was done with what he was focused on, his mind did go right back to his key and he got down to look for it.  He was not happy as he couldn't find it and was practically in tears.  Now of course, I didn't want to see him sad, so I got ready to give it back to him...but I also thought this could be an instructive moment....so, I said, "Jude, you know what we should do?  We should pray that you find it.  It is always good to pray and maybe it will help you calm your nerves and help you find it."

Now before you go too far with it, I know...I know.  I was manipulating the situation...but I was hoping to help reinforce a good behavior.  Not trying to force things, but simply help him in a small way realize that we can and should take all things to God.  If he happened to have a positive experience, I hoped it would simply help promote things in the future.

So, we prayed, and then went about the search again.  Of course, we "found" it mere moments later and he was overjoyed.  Being the Dad who wanted to bring home the point, I said..."Well Jude, what do you think you should say or do right now?"  A simple connection point back to gratitude and God was what I was going for here....but Jude's response?

With a voice that rose in wonder as he expressed himself he shouted, "I...did...magic!"

I guess you just can not force some lessons :)

What's So Amazing About Grace?

by Philip Yancey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, this took me a LONG TIME to read. Part of it is Yancey's writing. I can't quite place my finger on it...but it is just difficult to get through at times. I enjoyed the stories that he used throughout the book as illustrations of the various aspects of grace that he wanted to explore, but once those were through and he dove into the subject, it just seemed to stall a little for me.

As to the topic of grace. I thought it was a great exploration and discussion. I reminder of how easily we all fall into "ungrace". How often we as Christians exhibit the exact opposite of what we are supposed to and how that is perceived. I wondered how Yancey would spend so much time on it, but by the end, I felt like it could keep going....grace really does abound.

However, for a younger generation than those who are contemporaries of Yancey, maybe they will feel what I felt. I couldn't always connect with him because of what he has lived through. His examples pointed to times that I didn't live in. Issues that were addressed largely before my time. Not that they don't still exist today, or even transcend eras, but are just not as poignant for me. And I think that it showed as he tried to move into more current day issues as he spoke on homosexuality.

I know this isn't much of a summary this time as I am caught between what I liked and what I didn't with the book. Do I think it is worth reading...YES. And based on innumerable positive/glowing reviews from so many others, I think it is that much more so...because it may just be me that struggled in some areas of this book.

So, read it for yourself and see what you think. It will certainly challenge you in at least a few areas and open your eyes to God's grace in more than one way.

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Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Taking Your Church to the Next Level: What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Gary L. McIntosh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Our church leadership team read this book during the summer to help us think about where we are and where we are going. The book suggests that if you are not growing, you are dying and that you need to assess not only where you are in that cycle, but how the size of the church congregation, structure and other factors play into the ability to reignite the church.

To start, I will say that unless you are a consultant, subscribe to Barna or have other ways to get the information that is in this book, you very well might not know some of the things brought up in this book. How group dynamics work inside the church structure...how church management and leadership function and that there is reasonable consistency across organizations that we can learn from. That, by itself, can make this book worthwhile. However, if you take it a step further and dive in with respect to where you are as a church and think about how you need to challenge things to ensure that they don't stall or decay....if this book can help promote that engagement at the leadership level, then it is worth much more.

For me, I really appreciated the conversations that this drove and hopefully it will bless other churches in the same way.

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12,000 Pounds of Sand

How do you move it?

One shovel full at a time.

Of course....my back will probably not be happy with me tomorrow.

Found Ring!

My honey found the ring as we dug in the dirt this morning looking for it!  So happy to have it back and to NOT be in more trouble right before our anniversary.

Lost ring?!?!!!

I went outside this evening to do a little more work on my project as I am hoping to have the sand delivered early next week.  But, in the process of working I am pretty sure I lost my wedding ring in the dirt.  I am not a happy camper.  Kristen is not happy.  And I may have to see if I can rent or borrow a metal detector this weekend and find it!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Catching up on the rest of the week....

Friday
While it was gloomy and rainy outside, it was a very good thing as it gave us a down day...a day of rest, as it was leading to....

A Very Full Weekend!

Saturday
OK, my day started back in our backyard trying to complete the work I had started on Thursday.  Another several hours of work and I had the edging done.

Doesn't really look like that many hours of work, does it?

Now, I just need to reinforce the low sides and order the filler material.

For the afternoon, Kristen put together a bowling trip for the family with another family, the Conroy's.  It was the first time for Kevin and Ben, the Conroy's two boys, got to go bowling that wasn't candle pin variety.  We had a great time at PINZ, though I was so busy that I didn't even take one picture!  We then made it home for a late dinner and a little relaxation before bedtime.

Sunday
We started the day at church, of course.  Then, home to get ready for another get together at the house.  Kristen invited a number of friends and their kids to come hang out for the afternoon starting at 4:00.  So, we had lunch and let the kids have some down time, while Kristen put her ribs in the oven.  Then friends arrived and we had the whole front and side yard full of games, people and excitement.

We were exhausted by the end of the night and had enough energy to simply get the kids inside, wash their feet and get them and ourselves to bed.  A fun weekend, but tiring.  Hopefully a few good memories and time well spent for everyone.