the thing about having kids

Halle is 9 months old today. We're slowing reading some books on parenting... learning on the job i guess... we i'm not that great at it - but God is stretching us teaching us a lot!

Anyway, the question is asked why have kids?

Here is what i say

1.     Children are a blessing from the Lord (like arrows in a quiver)

2.     Raising Children in a godly way is an opportunity to build the kingdom of God & influence the world

3.     Being a parent will stretch my faith and cause me to depend on God more

4.     We’re commanded to be fruitful & multiply

5.     I want to love & enjoy my kids

6.   A family

7.     It will be fun to have kids

8.     A Legacy

i know a number of people who wait to have kids... and have heard some people say this society is so awful, they don't want to bring kids into it. And a lot who think a one-child policy is a good idea.

Baloney.

Kids are a good thing. They will stretch you. Your life will no longer be your own... your life will not be the same... and that will be frustrating. 

But... kids are a blessing from God... and we shouldn't try to manage our life so much to make it easy or convenient

Having kids is out of our control - as much as we may not try to control it. God is the giver of life. Each child is a gift, is grace. 

So many of my friends have struggled to have kids... so don't take your kids for granted.

There are a lot of bad reasons to have kids... and we won't be perfect parents... but i hope we will raise our kids to the glory of God and help them to love God and enjoy the Gospel.

My priorities

When people make their list of priorities, people often say God is their number 1 priority.

I don’t.

God is not my #1 priority...

because God isn’t something to be prioritized in life

 – He is life.

He is part of every aspect of life.

He is central to every aspect of life

Even to say my relationship with God is my number one priority- what does that mean?

Does that mean your quiet time?

Keep God #1 as in time doesn’t make sense because God should be central to everything you do.

I can’t say the same about my wife or kids. And shouldn’t say that about my ministry.

God ought permeate everything. Walking with God is in everything. Whether I am reading the Bible or watching tv. If I’m sharing my faith or talking with a friend.

God is not a priority, He is everything!

I listed my values earlier.

And thus what are my priorities?

Acknowledging God is in everything, and I walk with Christ moment by moment, I yield on the Spirit to lead me and guide me and I do everything for the glory of God- what are my priorities?

I hope to enjoy God & enjoy life, have fun, grow, etc

What needs to take highest priority in life? Which will yield to the next

In what ways can I most honor & glorify God? In what ways can I love God?

1.     Soo (my wife)

2.     My kids (right now just Halle)

3.     My team or community or church

a.     Co-leader

b.     Guys I’m discipling/coaching/training

c.      Other guys

4.     Spiritual disciplines/spiritual development activities/growing in understanding God’s Word

5.     The believers I minister to

6.     My best friends

7.     My relationship with non-Chirstians

8.     The other aspects of ministry

9.     Personal & Leadership development & growth

10. Physical health

11. My extended family

12. My other friends

Something like that... it can be a lil fluid... 

Oh Christ, be the center of my life

May i practice the presence of God in everything i do.

And may i keep the main things the main thing, prioritize appropriately, follow You, honor others, love well, glorify You.

mook on breakfast (The thing about breakfast)

Dad is so great, he gives us chocolate cake…

 (see this if you don't understand)

I don’t understand breakfast rules.

You can eat waffles, pancakes, muffins, poptarts, cereal, breakfast bars… but cake? Cookies? You’re the worst person in the world.

Jim Gaffigan does this well

The other day I saw cake sitting out, but I knew if I ate a piece, I’d never hear the end of it from my wife… if I waited 3 hours and ate it with lunch, I’d probably be ok….

Still, I love breakfast – it is the best meal of the day!

(Note: I didn’t see most important, though that may also be true).

It is the best, because it is the best tasting. I really should eat breakfast more often.

Some of my favorite all-time meals are breakfast

1.     waffles

2.     doughnuts

3.     bacon

4.     choc-chip pancakes

5.     sweet rolls

6.     biscuits & gravy

7.     cinnamon rolls (Cinnabonn)

8.     cinnamon bread

9.     pancakes & maple syrup

10. pancakes and strawberry syrup

11. bacon cheese egg biscuit

12. scrambled eggs with cheese & bacon

Jim Gaffigan also tells the wonders of bacon quite well.

I love eating breakfast at all times of day. There is nothing more wonderful than eating a waffle in the evening… and I love going to dennys at 3am- it is special!

The question now becomes

How can I eat breakfast to the glory of God?

1.     Do I treasure the breakfast food more or God, the giver of the food more?

2.     Can I give Him thanks, and thank Him genuinely when I eat?

3.     Perhaps I can relish eat bite, and thus remind myself how God is more sweet than this.
Psalm 34:8 Taste and See that the Lord is good.

4.     Maybe I just need to recite verses about food
Your love is better than choice food
Man does not live on bread alone

While God is more important than food, I think He wants us to enjoy food.

Jesus did after all feed the 5,000. And not because He had to, or because it was expected of Him. He wanted to. He wanted to provide a feast.

And in Revelation when it talks of Heaven, it talks of it as being the feast of the bridegroom.

Yes, I can eat breakfast to the glory of God

Yes, Dad is great! Let's sing praises to Him!

The thing about facebook

i took Soo out on a facebook date tonight.
It included watching "The Social Network", talking about facebook and spending some time on facebook.

The movie was great! Great story-telling & great casting (but that is to be expected with Aaron Sokin & David Fincher).
It reminded me how much i liked facebook when it was clean & simple - and not the mess of applications it is now.
And how much better the facebook was when it was exclusive.
But yeah, it was an intense movie, great character development, fun.


It also showed me how much facebook has changed the world... i mean, we can know things about people we barely know at all...

i do often wonder what my life would have been like if facebook was around when i was in college. i'd have 500+ more friends... i think it would have made dating easier (knowing who was single and who was somewhat interested) but also more difficult (b/c i wouldn't know how to talk to people in person).
And would i have graduated?


I'm interested in seeing what people interaction's will be like in a few years- when all they've known is facebook. Will they really know how to talk with each other? Will they go out and make new friends? Will friends really be friends - or will they stay at superficial levels.
Will freshman in college have to go out and make new friends, or just stay in their room staying in touch with highschool buddies?

i am thankful for facebook now, i have reconnected with a buddy from college who i haven't talked to in a decade and a buddy from high school i hadn't talked to in 12 years... + i can keep up with people while living a continent away!


On our date, we discussed how can facebook be detrimental to our walk with God?
And how can we use facebook to advance God's Kingdom, serve God's purposes, glorify God?

Detrimental:
1. obviously wasting time
2. similarly: turn to facebook instead of God as a default
3. could keep from actually knowing people, initiating
4. could judge people w/o knowing what is going on

for glorify God:
1. pray for people- reminds us to pray, know better how to pray
2. write encouraging notes on people's walls
3. write notes, status updates that could encourage, challenge others by talking about God's Word.
4. make people aware of prayer requests
5. write praises, make people aware of God
6. post sermons, videos
7. contact old friends, build relationships, use for Evangelism


There were a few more things we did, could have done... We prayed for people on the date. We uploaded some pictures. we talked about stuff in our information section: tv shows, books, activities...
It was pretty fun.


Back to facebook: My first 2 fb friends: Nate Racklyeft & Laura Shunta... when i first started fb when i accepted friend requests i would write a note to them to say why i considered them a friend... that stopped pretty quickly. Paul Gustafson was the first person to write on my wall.
And being on facebook as a staff was a key insider move. When i left Michigan i i said "I'm not a student, but i am on facebook."


Go watch the movie.
Go spend time with your wife and/or friends, and don't waste all your time on facebook.
And spend your time on facebook wisely and to serve God's purposes.