What makes a great vacation?
Location? "Gee I have always wanted to visit the women's, collegiate, left-handed, Dutch, ping-pong, hall of fame. How did you know?"
Remoteness? "Three weeks to everywhere? An no running water....mmmmm. We'll take it!"
Activities? "I would have thought the world's largest collection of belly button lint to be much bigger than that! Come on kids, let's see if we can break the record."
Food? "Yes, I realize that in some countries and cultures that roasted Yak stomach is a delicacy but really....can I just have the soup?"
Sleeping accommodations? "Really? The 1 millionth couple to sleep here on this very bed this month? A true honor. Thanks for the alcohol swabs."
Atmosphere? "So you see, the stuffed squirrels remind us that all of mother earth is to be loved and cherished...plus they stand guard over the compound at night while everyone else is asleep."
The interesting people you meet? "Sure, I would love to hear how you single handedly built your sewage removal empire from a coffee cup and a spoon to a trunk with a suck hose and a tank."
What about the many ways you get to communicate with your family? "No we are not there yet.....yes I do know where I am going....why in the world would I stop and ask?....again? You have to go again?.....one more time, just once more and I turn the car around!"
Safety and security? "Ok...that was a close one. The car should be ok once the swampy smell has a chance to air out. Listen...at least we didn't lose a kid...right?"
A time to reflect? "Why did we ever come here in the first place? Why do we even leave the house?"
What's your favorite vacation memory and why?
It is early in the morning as I type this post, 6:45 to be exact, here in our German Chalet retreat. The Grandparents graciously gave the wife and I a two night stay in a German Bed and Breakfast tucked away neatly in the mountains of North Carolina. No TV, phone, or children for two days. What are we to do with ourselves? I got up this morning and tiptoed downstairs, put on a pot of coffee, and stoked the fire. For most of my life I have been known in close circles by my Indian name as "he who puts out fires" yet this morning, surprisingly, I was able to get a nice roaring fire started. So now I sit here in the den of the chalet, all by myself, fire roaring, a cup of coffee, a stack of books, and two, very loud, ticking coo-coo clocks ringing in my ears.....silly Germans. I know soon the den will be alive with the footsteps of the other guests, but for right now I sit here typing, reading, thinking, reflecting on all the blessings of 2008 and am truly humbled by the goodness of Father God upon me and my family.
Flat
screen TVs, iPods, iPhones, cellphones, MP3 players, Gps watch, Xbox,
Wii, Nintendo DS, BlueRay DVD players, chocolate covered anything,
clothing, jewelry, watches, shoes, anything Air Jordan, books, books,
and more books, toy trains, dolls, board games, stocking full of candy,
gum, laptops, basketballs, footballs, ping pong, my little pony, and
easy bake ovens are all wonderful Christmas gifts and all have one
thing in common....the joy they bring is only temporary and eventually
will fade away leaving us hungry and thirsty for something else,
something newer, something faster, shinier, thinner, sleeker and more
chocolaty-er (is that even a word)?
There is nothing wrong in
giving gifts or in receiving gifts. In fact there is great joy in doing
both. There is nothing wrong in any of the toys, electronics,
technology, or food just mentioned as they are all wonderful in the
many ways they entertain us and bring joy to our lives, and what could
possibly be better than chocolate covered anything?
James 1:17
tells us that "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like
shifting shadows". God the Father gives us not just good gifts like
food, sex, material possessions, and chocolate covered goodness but He
gives us perfect gifts and He never changes...ever and the gifts never
change....ever. All of this means that the things we enjoy so much like
food, sex, material possessions, and yes even chocolate covered
anything are good gifts created by the Father given to us to enjoy and
there in lies the problem for you and I.
The gifts from God are
good and perfect and it is good to both give and to receive yet you and
I have a tendency and the capacity as fallen, sinful people to elevate
the gifts high above the creator and giver, Father God.
Instead of receiving food in gladness and eating out of enjoyment and to the glory of God,
1 Corinthians 10:31,
we receive food as our comfort and we eat to medicate, to soothe, and
we make food our priority, our savior, and we worship food, and we turn
to food instead of turning to Jesus and we do the same with sex, and
technology, and on and on and on.
John Piper says it this way in
his book, A Hunger for God, "The danger of eating is that we fall in
love with the gift..." The danger of sex, technology, chocolate is that
instead of partaking with gladness to the Father we partake and fall in
love with the gift and forget the Father and our appetites continue to
grow for more and more and more and we are forever hungry and thirsty
after the things of this world that do not feed us, quench our thirst,
or bring satisfaction to our souls.
Yet 2000 years ago, in the
town of Bethlehem, a baby was born. Jesus, God eternal, God come down
to us, God reaching down to us, God seeking us, coming to save us,
stepped down from His eternal heavenly kingdom, and confined His glory
into the frail, weak body of a baby so that He could live among us, be
tempted in every way as we are tempted and yet remained perfect and
sinless. Jesus is given to us by our loving Father,
John 3:16, as a perfect atonement for our sins,
1 John 2:2,
died in our place because you and I are unable and incapable of earning
God's favor, or earning God's love, and of earning our way into heaven.
Isiah 9:6 "For
unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government
will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
A
child has been born but not just any child, the Christ child!!! A Son
is given but not just any son, the Son of God, His only begotten, the
greatest gift ever given by the greatest gift giver ever. Jesus is
given to us, His blood shed for us to cover our sins, to pay the price
that you and I could not pay, taking our punishment for our sins so
that you and I would not have to and while some believe today there is
coming a day when every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. The government and everything in creation
and under heaven has been placed under His authority(
Matthew 28:18). Jesus is our wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, and He is our prince of peace.
Today
and tomorrow you and I will open gifts that will bring us enjoyment but
that enjoyment is only temporary and will never satisfy the unending
hunger and thirst of our souls. Gifts are good and are intended to be
enjoyed but never worshiped and never as a substitute for Jesus. Jesus
said,
John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
Enjoy
your iPod, flatscreen TV, and all the chocolate covered goodness you
can handle but don't love the gifts more than the giver, don't worship
that which will always leave you hungry for more and thirsty for more.
Instead turn to Jesus as the ultimate gift, turn to Him to quench your
thirst, to fill your hunger and never leave for only through Jesus will
you ever be satisfied, will you ever be happy, will you ever find
peace, and will you ever be forgiven of all your sins which is great
and glorious news to us all.
Merry Christmas and may God bless you and your family!
Ho ho ho, Merry Holidays, and a blessed New Year of tidings to you and your significant others from the compound of bjnotbk.
It's Friday and that means lots of randomness to go through with no clear cut objective or direction.
Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.
1.0 JonSpot - I can't get enough of Jon's photos. Of course I am biased since he recently did our family album [link], but I see Jon's work as real art.
2.0 Wafflehouse rocks! Everything is a la carte. I love their business model...."look cheap....charge by the item...make huge profits." I think this breakfast cost us a cool $1000.00 before tip.
It wasn't all bad though as the cook stopped by our table to say hi.
3.0 I received a phone call yesterday by none other than Brian Erlacher asking me to remove Old Spice from my top 5 list of all time worst gifts. It seems I may have offended he of huge swagger. Can't anyone take a joke anymore?
4.0 The Colts stink and that can only mean one thing....less Peyton Manning commercials. I remember two years ago or so when the Colts were red hot...during one game the announcer stated..."Peyton is 4 of 5 tonight and that is just the commercials." I do miss the better days of advertising when it seemed that Peton's image marked the majority of in between airtime. Oh I do hope the Colts can pull it together by season end.
5.0 Not one dime. Since reclassifying ourselves as "banks" we have yet to see one dime of bailout money. Next week we head to Washington not via the bjnotbk corporate jet, not via the bjnotbk corporate limousine, but by way of the bjnotbk yak caravan. The plan is simple...we wear old clothes, don't bathe for days, and beg like crazy for blog bailout money. Keep your fingers crossed. If this one comes through we might all be living in high cotton.
6.0 What are you reading right now? Me? I am going through A Hunger for God by Piper and I think I may dust off my copy of Mere Christianity by Lewis and browse through it. Anyone here have Mere Christianity in your library? Anyone else a fan?
7.0 What are you listening to? I am going out this morning to see if Tim Keller has a podcast on iTunes. No, my man crush on Mark Driscoll is not failing, true love lasts forever right?
8.0 Christmas decorations? Are you done? Do you decorate? We have our tree up and that is about it. No lights, no decorations, no tinsel..just a green tree sitting in the room. Baby steps...baby steps. Oh, we did replace the fall wreath on the door with a more wintry and festive wreath.
9.0 Moment of Zen? I don't think so....how about Psalm 23..."still H20s"
I give you the Little People Nativity Set
That's it, that's all, I am out.
Shalom to you and your home.
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OK, so you got your top 5 best gifts, top 5 worst gifts...what's on my wish list? What's my top 5?
Glad you asked......
#5 Nikon D90 Digital SLR Camera W/18-105mm DX VR Lens 12.3MP -25448
Yeah, right....I can barely understand all the buttons, bells, and whistles on my point and shoot let alone trying to tackle the 3000 plus options this baby has. This is a true, entry level, professional SLR. I can dream can't I?
#4 iPod touch - I would say an iPhone but who wants to use the AT&T network? This baby has wi-fi and is sweet for watching videos.
#3 121 jigi-watts or not I still want a floating skateboard. How cool would it be to tool around the office on this piece of sweetness?
#2 Raiders of the Lost Ark box set. You can keep your crystal skull kingdom but give me at least the 1st episode.
#1 Electric Motorcycle/chopper. No, it isn't easy rider and it isn't loud. Truth is I am not very good with driving a real motorcycle..but maybe I could take this baby out for a spin?
There you go. No what are you doing here? You only have 7 shopping days left!
We are blessed to have a great friend who is also a wonderful photographer.
Here is a link to JonSpots photography webpage. If you look under portfolio and then check family album you can see pics of our family. These are the best pics we have ever had taken.
www.jonspotphotography.com or [link]
Yes, another list, also known as post fodder. Here are my top 5 worst gifts of all time.
#5 - Dentures. You think buying golf clubs for someone is hard try buying teeth for a loved one. True love means you know your love's overbite.
#4 - Pickled beets. Not only is this one of the worst foods spawned from the depths of the deep but it is a horrible gift unless it comes in a box filled with $100.00 bills.
#3 - Old Spice. You can get me English Leather, Aqua Velvet, or even High Karate...but don't bother with the Old Spice. I don't care how much swagger you put with it.
#2 - Underwear. I know, this made my top 5 list of all time great gifts but when you think about it....who really wants to open a pack of underwear in front of family and friends. This is a visual image we can all do without.
#1 - Explosives. I know each year there is always that one crazy uncle who remembers when he was a kid (and had all his fingers attached) and the joy he had opening boxes of amunition, Army surplus grenades, and RPGs...I mean nothing says Happy Birthday Jesus like a mortar round going off in your hand or a bazooka destorying the last bit of hearing you have left.
There it is...another quickly put together top 5 list.
What's the worst gift you ever received?
Stop for spell, take your boots off, kick up your feet, and have a tall, cool glass of what I like to call...The Week in Weird. Please note that women who are pregnant, who may become pregnant, or know other women who have either been pregnant, may become pregnant, or have known someone in the past or may know someone in the future who will become pregnant should not handle The Week in Weird without proper eye protection. Contact your doctor if you show symptoms of dizziness or if you have prolonged laughter lasting more than four hours.
Dude! Where's my photos?
1.0 Friday is for photos so here are a couple for your viewing pleasure.
I give you...."controlled chaos"
These next shots were taken at Ft. Kid which is one of the coolest and largest wooden playgrounds I have ever had the privilege of stepping foot on...unfortunately splinters are a plenty.
Check out these cool Victorian homes.
And I really like this shot with all the contrasting colors.
2.0 Moment of Zen? I don't think so....how about Psalm 23..."still H20s"
Earlier this week M, the kids, and I all went to granddad's and grand mama's for supper and to share the baby news with them. At one point during the evening we began discussing the election and the qualifications of being a president. To make a long story short we were stuck on definitions....What does it mean to be a natural born citizen? Does the president have to be born within the 50 states? Or can the president be born on a military base anywhere in the world? As the conversation continued I asked everyone to pause for a moment of "Zen". "Do you realize that we are sitting together eating dinner as a family, talking constitutional law, and fact checking from a set of 1950's encyclopedias?" I asked. Truly we were in the thinnest demographic in the universe that night.
3.0 What are you listening to these days? I haven't been into much lately. I keep meaning to update my iPod with some new sermons as well as create some new play lists but just haven't made time for it.
4.0 What are you reading right now? Right now I am teaching through the book of Jonah in our Bible Fellowship class so most morning you can find me coffee cup in hand reading through Jonah or consulting some commentary for insight. This is a great book! Here is some flashy artwork our designer at church put together for our study. I have thought about posting the lessons here?
5.0 What do you want for Christmas? I still have one or two Top 5 posts coming next week but was curious....what is on your Amazon wish list?
6.0 This is what the week in weird looks like in Chess font.
7.0 Last week we scrapped our plans to change our names to "bank" in an effort to capture some sweet bailout cash. Please now refer to us and Mr. and Mr.s Big Three. Tonight we eat, we drink, we laugh, we light our cigars with $50.00 bills.
8.0 I am a little disappointed. Joe did not nor ever plans to change his name to catorce.....now I will have to send the personalized NFL jersey back.
9.0 Czar - sounds official doesn't it? We have a drug Czar, terror Czar, a food Czar, a economic Czar, and talks of the need for an auto Czar. What next? Why a blog Czar to distribute all the bailout money to the failing blogs. We cannot and must not allow the blogosphere to fail. Funny that a republic should have so many Caesars?
That's it, that's all, I am out.
Shalom to you and your home.
Sorry for the delay in getting out the news. We intended on holding a 2:30 EST press conference yesterday but our appointment ran long so I asked our PR team to re-schedule....plus, I had to let you, my extended family here at Steeple know first.
OK...boy or girl?
Drum roll please......
Looks like we are having another boy!!!!
One sweet, precious little girl and two boys.
OK, so you have already read through my top 5 gifts of all time, Kid edition, now make way for my top all 5 gifts adult edition.
#5 - Books, books, and more books and boy have I received some great ones over the years. Here are just a few of my favorites.
NIV Study Bible given to me by Granddad and Grand mama back in 1995? Over the years they have also given me works by C.S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, and one of my all time favorites The Cost of Discipleship...a must read!
#4 Underwear - Yes, underwear. I know most of you are groaning right now but real men don't buy underwear....we wear what we have until it evaporates or turns to dust. In fact, I still have a pair in circulation from 1982. Thanks for restocking my drawers...literally!
#3 Handcrafted ink pen - Several years ago my wife's aunt and uncle gave me the coolest ink pen I have ever owned. Someone had taken an antique silver, butter knife and used the handle and crafted a beautiful ink pen. I still have the pen but part of it is broken which makes me sad.
#2 Hand knit hat from Mrs. Napalm. Several years ago Mrs. Napalm gave me a hand knit hat either for Christmas or my birthday? Either way I sport this thing everywhere I go when the weather dips down below 72 degrees.
#1 My #1 favorite gift of all time is a series of gifts from my wife. We had just moved back to Knoxville, around 1999?, and were living in these really cool 1930s apartments in the middle of this historic neighborhood. M individually wrapped several gifts for me and with each gift was a hand written note. One of the gifts was a watch, the note stated that she loved spending time with me. One of the gifts was a CD and the note stated that when we first started dating I introduced her to some great music and that she still thinks of those times whenever she hears certain songs and another gift was a very nice leather journal and the note stated that she use to sneak and read my journal and was overwhelmed by all the beautiful things I said about her.
The family all loaded up in the Odyssey this morning for the big 20 week ultrasound on baby #3. Yes we did find out and no I can't reveal just yet what we are having, have to share with grandad and grandmama first. However, you can put your guess right here for tomorrow I will post the results.
boy or girl?
iPods, GPS units, laptops, digital camers are all pretty cool but what makes bjnotbk's top 5 all time greatest Christmas gifts? Here you go.
#5. The BB gun.
My entire kid life was spent wishing away my life as I coveted a BB gun. My dreams were filled with endless days of setting up coke cans and picking them off one by one as I honed my sharp shooting skills. Alas the dream was never realized as my parents deemed the bb gun to be one of the top 5 most dangerous Christmas gifts ever.
#4. The Bike
I remember it as if it were yesterday. My sister and I woke up very early that Christmas morning to find two sweet bikes parked in our kitchen. I can't remember what L's was but mine was a sweet red and white bmx bike complete with padded handlebars and knobby tires. I was so excited that I took off out the door in my pajamas as the snow came down.
#3. Ms. Pac Man Miniature Arcade Game
My mom told us we could open one present before Christmas, our incessant whining finally wore her down. The only catch was she would pick the gift, which to our surprise was a miniature Ms. Pac Man and Donky Kong game. Coleco had an entire collection of miniature games and I spent most of that Christmas break trying to break the high scores my sister set. I also dreamed one day of owning the entire collection and setting up my own mini-arcade as I charged the neighborhood kids to play.
#2 Atari 2600
Space Invaders, night driver, pac man, asteroids...need I say anything else?
and the #1 Christman gift of all time.......
The Ghetto Blaster
Anti-climatic you say? Not on your life! I ruled the world with my blaster. I made my own tapes, I had a microphone and conducted interviews, listened to the radio outside using all 65 D sized batteries. No, the ghetto blaster was more than music, it was my first taste of freedom, my first step toward independence.
Rock on.
It's not Thursday and I am almost certain that it is not Saturday which can only mean one thing....it is Friday!
This edition of the Week in Weird is brought to you by the cotton candy growers of America....purveyors and pushers of sugar since 1904 [link]. I love the CCGA's slogan..."We make your children jittery so you don't have to."
1.0 Friday is for photos so here are a couple for your viewing pleasure.
I love how the bicycle is centered perfectly between the two "no parking" signs.
Here is a great shot of my little lady one morning during breakfast.
2.0 Moment of Zen? I don't think so....how about Psalm 23..."still H20s"
I am told that the 21st century is on the other side.
3.0 What are you listening to? Me? I have a couple of play lists loaded on my ipod that include Cold Play, U2, REM, RHCP, Jane's Addiction, Queen, and a bunch of other heathen people that help me kick some tail when out on a run.
4.0 What do I want for Christmas? I am glad you asked. I have a couple of posts in the hopper or is it pipeline? Anyway, more due out next week but for now I give you this.
What is it? The prize for finishing the 100 mile Western States endurance run in under 30 hours [link]. You mean to tell me that the prize for running 100 miles in one day is a belt buckle? Now that is my kind of sarcasm and a worthy goal ambitious enough to think about.
5.0 What are you reading? My class is over so I now have some time, not much, but some for light, easy, entertaining reading. I give you Wayne Grudem's Bible Doctrine. This is a condensed version of his Systematic Theology. One of our pastors gave these to each of the Bible Fellowship teachers. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to better understand the Bible.
6.0 This is what "The Week in Weird 2.0" Looks like in "dingbat font".
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7.0 We wait....news on the street is that the 30 year fixed mortgage rate could drop as low as 4.5%. 4.5%!!! I have my paperwork in hand ready to re-fi should the rate go so lo.
8.0 IRS, Taxes, Socialism, Obesity, Television, Debt, Terrorism....what poses the single greatest threat to the United States today?
9.0 This morning M and I filled out the paperwork officially changing our names to "Bank." Tomorrow we make our way to the capital for our sweet portion of the 700 billion dollar bailout. I tell you I am a genius!
10.0 There is a rumor out on the web that Joe Napalm is changing his name to catorce or 14.
That's it, that's all, I am out.
Shalom to you and your home.
If "beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy." as stated by Ben Franklin then these five dishes are solid proof that Satan hates us and our taste buds and wants our digestive tracks to suffer while on earth.
These are the 5 dishes we won't be serving at our home during the holidays.
5. Pickled Beets - What satanist thought up this disgusting concoction? I remember my parents forcing me to"just try one" and promising me that I would like it. I still haven't forgiven them for it.
4. Brussel Sprouts - Don't try and be cute and call them "baby cabbages" that only reminds me of carnies. No, these are disgusting no matter how much butter and cheese you cover them with.
3. Liver - are you kidding me here? Let's see, this organ filters out all the impurities from our body so in essences it is a trashcan that you want to cook up and serve to me? No thanks.
2. Any food with the word "blood" in it or kidney for that matter. No kidney pie, no blood pudding, no stomach, no intestines.
1. Nutri-loaf. Never hear of it? Good, that means you have never done solitary confinement at any maximum security prison.
Here is the recipe:
6 slices whole wheat bread, finely chopped
4 ounces non-dairy cheese, finely grated
4 ounces raw carrots, finely grated
12 ounces canned spinach, drained
4 ounces seedless raisins
2 cups Great Northern beans, cooked and drained
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces tomato paste
8 ounces powdered nonfat or skim milk
6 ounces potato flakes
ummm, nutriloaf.
A couple of weeks ago we had a photographer and friend, JonSpot, take our family photos.
This is one of the cutest pictures ever of L.
This is a great shot of the family.
You should visit JonSpot's flickr page [link]. The guys is an amazing photographer.
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