Score more runs...still don't win

That's what happened to us last night. Here's how it went down. The night started off on a funny note in the first place. We only had 4 girls show up so we were only able to field 8 people (instead of 9), which means we got to play the entire game without a second basemen. But that didn't stop us! We rocked the house all night long! Caleb hit the first home run of our young season and Shalae had an amazing catch in the LF in which she ended up flipping over backwards and hitting her head pretty hard...But she still held onto the ball, and she didn't cry!

We were playing great, and at the end of the sixth inning and we're only down 7-6. We're the visiting team so we are up to bat in the top of the 7th. Everybody did awesome and we ended up scoring two runs to take an 8-7 lead! They finally got the third out against us when we heard the ump say "Times up, game over!". At first we all yelled with glee at our first victory...then the ump kept talking. "No, you're not going to like this", that's all she had to say to remind me of a "revert rule" that I had read in the league rulebook at the beginning of the season. Because the home team didn't have an opportunity to bat before time ran out the score reverts back to what it was for the last full inning of play...the sixth inning...when we were down by one run.

So in the words of Wesley Snipes, talking to Woody Harrelson in "White men can't jump"... "Sometimes when you win you lose and sometimes when you lose you win."
We lost last night...but it was the greatest win of our season so far!

Just because the scoreboard says you lost doesn't mean you didn't take something away from the experience.

peace,
glo

Answer God's prayer?

You don't have to hang around Christians for too long before you hear something about God answering prayer or someone wanting an answer for something they've been praying about...and this is a good thing. God likes it when His kids talk to him, just like a natural parent enjoys the relationship they have with their children.

But have you ever realized God prays for you? That you could actually be an answer to one of God's prayers?

In John 17 we see a glimpse of the heart of Christ as He prays for us. Yes, God is praying for us. What did He pray, well read it for yourself, but the just of it is that we "would be one". That we would walk in unity with each other as believers.

Jesus only gave one commandment, to love. To love God and to love others.

So how do you answer God's prayer?

love.

That's what we're going to talk about this Sunday...how do we genuinely love?

love is "the holy grail".

peace,
glo

perfection?

I hate to admit that I am a perfectionist, but I am. I hide it really well, but when things aren't perfect...it bugs me... a lot. Like last night in our weekly softball game. I went 3-4 with 3 RBI's which is pretty good, but the one time I didn't get a hit the bases were loaded and I made the last out. Two unacceptable deeds in one at bat! 1. Don't leave the bases loaded. 2. Don't make the last out. I did both! ARGH! It was a far cry from Mr. Henning's wrestling character.Passages like Romans 3:23 - "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," used to be very difficult for me to accept. Until I understood the context. The message of that passage isn't that we are all doomed. It's that we're all in the same condition and need the grace of Jesus Christ, which is readily available to us.

If we're not careful though we'll spend our lives focusing on the one or two negative things that have happened recently in our lives and forget about all the good things that God is blessing us with. If, no, when you mess up...don't dwell on it. If you did something wrong then ask God for forgiveness, ask others if they are involved and then look forward and thank God for all the good things in your life.

If we wanted to, we could all focus on the negative things that happen to us. But there is so much good, don't let the bad things in your life take the focus away from the opportunities you have to enjoy life and be a blessing to others.

Don't worry about the one at bat when you didn't get a hit, just have fun playing the game!

peace,
glo

Maturing to Childhood

“Unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” ~Jesus

Jesus never talked about spiritual "adults". He communicated that the pinnacle of our belief should be to mature into a childlike faith and live it out. This has some serious implications for those who want to be religious. Religion likes to "get someone saved" and then put a bunch of religious adults clothes (laws and rules) on them even though they don't fit.
I had always thought Jesus was talking about going backward to childhood, but He isn't at all. The phrasing that He used in the original language is very obvious that He is talking about a forward progression, not a "going back".

There is no such thing as a spiritual adult...outside of religion. There are only three classifications of spiritual existence in the New Testament that Jesus talks about, we're either spiritually dead, an infant or experiencing a fully mature child-like faith.

I don't have a problem with my 6 month old daughter being an infant. That's what she is supposed to be. Why do we get so uptight when we make mistakes in the "body of Christ"? Because we don't know what our true identity is. We're supposed to be like children. Does that mean simple? No, I believe that Jesus words are more accurately interpreted to mean that we should always be growing and maturing, never thinking we've "arrived".

Be like a child. Don't ever stop growing.

peace,
glo

john brown hind parts

I think that's where I pulled a muscle playing softball last night. It's a very strange place to pull a muscle and to be quite honest, it's extremely uncomfortable.

The game was still a lot of fun though. We didn't win, but it was a good time hanging with everyone anyway.

Yesterday we talked about what it means to be a "good and faithful servant" in the kingdom of God. It's not exactly what you would think. It has a whole lot more to do with what you're doing with your life and what risks your willing to take than you would think.

The risk of loving others and maybe not being loved in return.
The risk of trying something and failing.
The risk of going out on a limb and the limb breaking. (metaphorically)

But none of those risks are as dangerous as the risk of digging a hole and hiding it for the rest of your life.

What risks are you taking to love God and love others?

peace,
glo

a good Friday

I'm sitting on my red carpet (not that kind)

in my living room, hanging with my daughter (Hailey Gwynn)
listening to Miles Davis...
on www.pandora.com and studying about Heraclitus...it's a good day.

I think too often I don't take time to just enjoy life for what it is. I was recently talking with a friend about how if we're not careful, we'll always find something to worry or complain about.

Whatever you're doing.
Whatever you're experiencing.
Wherever you're at.

Don't let it take the joy out of your life. There will be hard times, there will be difficulties in this life, but you don't have to let them dictate your life. You live in the greatest nation to ever exist.

Enjoy the now.

peace,
glo

commandments vs. promises

Promises always win.

What do you think of when you think of the ten commandments from the Bible? If you're anything like me you instantly get mental images like this...
I think this is very unfortunate. I realized a few years back that the ten commandments are really better understood if they are seen as ten promises from God. When He "commands" us to not forsake Him, what He's really trying to communicate is a promise from His heart to us that He will never forsake us. It's the same with all the other commandments as well.

It's the same with the "great commandment" in the gospels. Jesus said to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That's because it's exactly how God loves us, with everything He has. If we genuinely understand His love for us then if frees us to love Him in the way He wants us to...from a liberated heart. Don't love God because He told you to. Love God when you figure out how much He first loved you...only then will it really be the love that He is talking about.

Forced love isn't love at all. It's dictatorship.

God loves you. Not because He has to, but because He wants to.
If we truly get ahold of that we can't help but love Him in return.

Promises always beat commandments.

peace,
glo

Are Hybrids really worth it?

This is an article a friend sent me, it was written by "frugalTrader"
The article in it's entirety can be read here.
It's quite an eye-opener.

With record high gas prices due to the price of oil, I’m sure that most car owners out there have major concerns over their gas usage. Over the past 10 years, the cost of gasoline has grown 250%!

This got me thinking, with the newer “gas friendly” hybrid cars/SUV’s out there now, do the premiums attached to their price tags justify to extra mileage that you get? I did a little digging around the various car manufacturer websites to see the pricing of hybrids vs their gasoline versions and whether or not the gas savings added up.

From my research, this is the information that I dug up. Below is a table comparing some popular hybrids with their gasoline counterparts. The table calculates how long it would take the gas savings of a hybrid to pay for the difference in purchase price from their gasoline sibling.

Some notes about the data:

• The costs are the purchase price after taxes/levies/fees and with the ecoRebate applied if applicable.
• The comparison does not account for the extra maintenance cost (or depreciation) of the hybrids.
• Assumes the gasoline price of $1.30/L or around $4.91/gallon.
• The comparison is based on financial differences only and does not evaluate the “green” benefits.

Hybrid vs. Gasoline Vehicle Comparison

Car	Cost	yrs to payback
Civic LX	$25,170	–
Civic Hybrid	$29,200	6.33
Corolla LE	$24,665	–
Prius	$32,866	13.14
Ford Escape (fwd)	$30,226	–
Escape Hybrid	$35,119	6.72
Camry LE	$30798	–
Camry Hybrid	$36191	9.65

It seems that the best “value” out of the bunch is the Honda Civic Hybrid which would take over 6 years for the gas savings to make up for the difference in cost. Even though the Prius claims the best fuel mileage, it’s the worst value of the bunch. The Prius would take over 13 years to pay for it’s premium, that’s 13 years too long for me. With all the extra electronics involved with a Hybrid, it’s also bound to have extra maintenance costs also, which is not accounted for.

Out of the vehicles compared, the price premium attached to the hybrid vehicles are just too great to be considered a cost savings relative to purchasing their gasoline counterpart.

lost thoughts

It happens to me more often than I'd like to admit. I'll be reading a book and will have read three pages but not comprehended any of it because my mind went somewhere else. Or I'll have the radio on in the car and not notice that a horrible song has been playing for the last 2 minutes because my mind was somewhere else.

Well, this happened on Thursday of last week and it actually ended up being a cool thing. I was driving home from work with the radio on when I realized the song that was playing was not the style of music that I would typically be listening to, but I realized it right as the chorus of the song was starting and when I listened to the lyrics I couldn't help but hear the truth. The name of the song is "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield. The chorus lyrics are...

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

The thing that caught my attention was the 4th, 5th and 6th lines. Feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you, only you can let it in.

We need to learn again how to genuinely "experience" life. We spend so much time hoping and waiting for the elusive "there" that we never actually get to enjoy the life we are living today.

Enjoy your life.

If you don't learn how to enjoy it today, no matter what your circumstances are, you will never enjoy your life. Genuine joy and satisfaction do NOT come from exterior circumstances and situations, they are attitudes of the heart. And you are the only person that can control them for yourself.

Enjoy
the
now.

peace,
glo

surpirsed to be loved

2 Samuel 22:17-20
But me he caught—reached all the way from sky to sea; he pulled me out Of that ocean of hate, that enemy chaos, the void in which I was drowning. They hit me when I was down, but God stuck by me. He stood me up on a wide-open field; I stood there saved—surprised to be loved! (MSG)

I read this passage this morning and the phrase that really stood out was the last four words "surprised to be loved". I think that would be the battle cry of our generation if we genuinely understood how much God really does love us.

It doesn't matter what you've done.
You'd be surprised by His love for you.

It doesn't matter how many times you've failed or doubted Him.
You'd be surprised by His love for you.

It doesn't matter how you feel.
You'd be surprised by His love for you.

Your past doesn't matter.
You'd be surprised by His love for you.

His love is so overwhelming and surprising...so now the question is what is our response to that love?

peace.
glo

Don't just do it.

No, I don't have anything against Nike. I do have something against the mindset that their marketing slogan can produce in a society such as ours though.

Last week God spoke to me out of Colossians 3, verse 24 where it says that we are working for the Lord and everything we do we should do with the understanding that we are doing it for Him. This week I read in 1 Timothy that this "faith" that we are living is something that has to be fought for. (1 Tim 6:12)

These are not terms and ideals that are synonymous with "just doing it". I am afraid I am part of a generation that has learned better than any before how to "get by" in life by "just doing the minimum" and when any opposition, attitude or just plain "not feeling like it" comes along, we quit. Or worse, we don't quit and we do it in a fashion that we know is not truly good enough.

I didn't intend for this post to simply be a rant against a mindset that bothers me...but it appears as though that is what it is becoming.

The real problem is that Jesus called us to love people and to love God...above everything else. And if we accept the attitude of "just" doing it, then we will not be fulfilling what Jesus commanded us to do when he said we should "love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength." If we're not careful we'll end up just loving others and God with our "leftovers, free time, our when I feel like it."

It definitely isn't an original thought, but have you considered the fact that if you truly want to "well done, my good and faithful servant" when your time is done here you might actually have to fight for it...you might actually have to not

just
do
it.

Don't just do it.

Do
it
well.

peace,
glo

whatever you do...

You know, if you follow Jesus seriously for long enough He'll challenge you with something that is hard. That may not be a very popular message today in our "microwave culture", but none-the-less, it's true.

I ran across a verse today that God used to encourage me and challenge me.

Col 3:23-24 Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.

It seems as though, if we're (or at least me) honest with ourselves, it's very easy to find reasons to not do something, or at least to not do it with all of our heart. But if we want to truly say we are followers of Christ we don't have that option.

Last weekend I had to go work on a couple rental properties for the majority of the day on Saturday. I didn't want to do that. But I did, and amazingly enough, God encouraged and strengthened my while I went about doing my business at the properties I was working.

There is a satisfaction in doing a job well. In genuinely accomplishing something we find a part of who we were originally created to be.

We are created to work. That was part of our original being in the garden.

Whatever you do...do it well.

Whatever
you
do
.

peace,
glo

Best Sound Ever

This is my beautiful daughter Hailey. She is a very happy baby. Last night my wife was playing with her on the floor and got her to laugh...so, of course, I had to get it on video and post it on my blog. It brightened up my day...I hope it will do the same for you!

peace,
glo

I fell over

This is my new bike. I got it this spring after saving up and drooling over it for 3 years. It is a Specialized Allez Triple. I like it.

I've been riding it a lot the last couple weeks and finally, the inevitable happened. You see, I have those shoes that lock into the pedals and so when you come up to a stop you have to unclip your shoe and lean over to that side. I've been doing very well with this up until yesterday.

It was at the intersection of Belleview and Meyer Blvd. that it happened and of course there were plenty of cars driving both directions to see me, laugh and point.

I simply unlocked my left shoe and stopped (like usual), but then I seemed to ignore the fact that I needed to lean to the left side and, of course, the bike started leaning to the right. The next 1.5 seconds seemed to have lasted about 41 minutes. It was absolutely one of those "slow motion" moments in which I had the following line of thoughts go through my mind...
1. I'm leaning the wrong way.
2. Put your foot down.
3. I can't it's still locked in.
4. I'm falling.
5. UNLOCK YOUR FREAKIN FOOT!!!
6. I'm still falling.
7. Please come unlocked.
8. I'm still falling.
9. It's not coming unlocked.
10. Ouch. I fell...

silence

11. All those people driving by just saw that.
12. Maybe if I just sit here on the curb it will look as though I meant to do it.
13. Are all those cars finally gone?
14. Ok, get up and act as though nothing happened.
15. Ride home as quick as possible.

So I had all those thoughts in the course of about 4 seconds.

It was not my best achievement. But I did get an idea for a sermon out of it...

oh well.

peace,
glo

What are we eating?

I recently heard that it is recommended for average adults to watch 2 hours of television daily. That's a long meal.

We digest what we take in our eyes and ears, not just what we eat with our mouth. That's why the angel told John (Rev 10:9) to "eat the book". I've recently started to seriously question how I am spending my time in the Word. I read it regularly and enjoy it, but my attitude seems to be more toward the McDonald's experience, as opposed to the Melting Pot extravaganza.

I know McDonald's is cheap and fast and that's why I eat it, because it's convienient. I don't go to the golden arches to get my health fix for the day. The problem is when we let that type of "ingesting" get into our time we spend with the Word. I don't think we were intended to consume the word of God in a manner that would more closely replicate our fast food eating habits. It should probably look more like one of those meals that I take my wife to once a year that costs a bunch of money and lasts 2 1/2 hours. (she really likes those)

I hate paying that much for food, but you better believe that when we do have those fancy dinners that I enjoy every morsel because I associate value with it. I don't associate much value with McDonald's food...the way I eat it would be closer to inhaling it.

I think when God tells us that He wants us to "eat the Word" the association we make should resemble that of a well prepared gourmet meal...

It was prepared by the guy who invented food in the first place.

peace,
glo

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

You need to go see this movie.

they're back!

When I heard the Royals were bringing back the "baby blue" uniforms I was stoked. When I found out they're giving away a free replica jersey to the first 20,000 on Saturday...I was more stoked.

We'll be there Saturday. I'll just be wearing a plain white t-shirt to the game in anticipation of putting on the "baby blue"...

It's freakin awesome.

And to top it all off, the Royals actually look pretty decent this year. It's still early, but Royals fans are like Cubs fans, you'll take what you can get.

peace,
glo

A Beautiful Day...

Last week was tough. Real tough.

But today was amazing. My daughter was dedicated today.
After the dedication our family came over and we all had a late lunch together. Our nephews and nieces had a great time playing together and my brother beat me at table tennis. (some things never change)

It would have been a great day if nothing else had happened, but after everyone had left I got to take a wonderfully relaxing walk with Jen, Hailey and our dog, Daisy. It was beautiful.

To top it off I finally got to ride my new bike today, it was a short ride, but it was awesome.

a
beautiful
day.

peace,
glo

commentary on commentary

I think sometimes we get to wrapped up in reading commentaries and opinions about the Word. I'm just as guilty as anyone else, but sometimes we just need to let the Word of God speak for itself, directly into our hearts...

I read this passage yesterday morning and it brought me a lot of comfort and peace. I pray it will do the same for you...

Jos 1:8-9 And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. (9) Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take."



peace,
glo

allergies.

So I went to the dr. today. Last thursday I started feeling "not good" and thought it was probably allergies. Today I finally gave in and went. I don't like going to the dr. I don't like needles.

I didn't have to get a shot. But I do have...
a sinus infection
an ear infection
and bronchitis

not fun. not fun at all.

peace,
glo