In America…

There’s an 11.5% chance that you have a masters degree or higher.
There’s a 10% chance that you are left handed.
There’s an 8.3% chance that you have been diagnosed with diabetes.
There’s a 6.2% chance that you are a veteran.
There’s a 5% chance that you will never get married.
There’s a 3.3% chance that you are a citizen or *legal* resident born in Mexico.
There’s a 2.7% chance that you are a millionaire.
There’s a 2.3% chance that you are gay.

So why are we changing every facet of our culture to appease the gay agenda?

(This ought to give my site a good traffic spike! Everyone put on your wading boots. Here come the haters. *grin*)

I’ve been hinting around and promising a full explanation of my crazy life of late. Today, I’ve finally got some breathing room so I’m going to take a crack at telling you all “the long version” of the story before my lunch break is up.

Tammy and I lived in Colorado at the turn of the last millennium. We were forced back to Texas after I was laid off twice in 2001. (Between the tech stock crash and 9/11, it was a rough year all around.) It has been a dream of ours to get back to the mountains since then.

We’ve been fortunate enough to take several vacations up there and each time, we don’t want to leave. On multiple occasions, we’ve done the whole “what if” exercise. We bend financial numbers this way and that, trying justify the hope of moving. We pray for God to provide a way. Each time, God (and the math) has had one very clear answer: No.

Part of the “no” has been my involvement (my “mission” if you will) at Glenview Church. I just couldn’t leave my mission unfinished. Tammy and I have volunteered in varying capacities with the youth group for over 10 years now. At one point, I was even on staff in an interim role. We put a lot of sweat, blood, and tears into the youth ministry (and the youth) at Glenview. They really are our “chi’ren.”

But, Glenview’s youth department is finally stable. We’ve got two excellent leaders who, while still young, are taking ownership of their ministry, growing it in new directions. It’s passed time for the training wheels to come off. I need to get out of the way and let it fly.

God has made it clear that my role at Glenview is over. I’ve done my job. I’m now well into the “too comfortable” stage. I’m still there because it’s what I’ve done for so long I don’t know how to do anything else. And that’s not OK. God has been frustrating me, needling me to move, to get up and go.

Back in May, I was driving home from Wednesday night services and expressing my frustration to God. (I like to talk to God when I’m in my truck alone. We have good talks.) I asked, plainly, “God what do you want me to do?! Just tell me and I’ll do it!”

Then, in a moment of striking clarity, I heard it. “Put your house up for sale. Set the price as high as you think you need to move to Colorado, and watch me sell it.”

Wow. Hmm. That’s… kinda scary.

After bit of market research, a call to our realtor, and a bit of math, we can now see that this time it’s for real. We took a trip up to Denver to meet with a realtor there and check out the market. It’s steep. It will have to be a “God thing.” We live in a $180k neighborhood, but we need upwards of $210k for our house in order to move into a comparable (but $250k) neighborhood in Denver. Our Texas realtor says it’s possible. The house is nice. We just have to put in some work to make it “SHINE!”

So, for the last three weeks, Tammy and I have been sanding and painting baseboards, patching walls, etc. We’ve replaced a couple of doors. We’ll have some new carpet soon and a contractor coming this week to fix up an aged bathroom.

What’s really funny is how, as we are working our butts off to make our house “shine”, I’ve heard several news stories about how this is the hottest sellers’ market North Texas has seen in decades. Many of our friends tell us about someone they know whose house sold in days (or hours) after listing, bidding wars driving prices up.

None of this was news back in late May, when God and I were chatting in my truck. But I’m not surprised at all. I’ve experienced plenty of “God things.” When God makes a promise, you can bank on it. It may not work out like you expected. In fact, it often works out better than you could ever imagine.

Stay tuned as we are still in the midst of this adventure. I can’t wait to see how God works. But rest assured I’ll let you know!

First, this week’s white board quip:

The wages of sin are death, and the benefits package sucks too!

Ha ha! Get it? Because… like… a job. Haa… yep. Moving on.

My wonder wife, Tammy, finds herself in an uncomfortable position today. After 10 years working in the same building (off and on… it’s complicated), last week she found that building locked and dark. That place is done. Stick a fork in it. Shut down. Closed up. Space for rent.

I can’t imagine going to an interview for the first time in 10 years. The nerves mixed with excitement. The concern at watching the time stretch between the last paycheck and the first. The huge, dark, yawning chasm that is “the unknown!”

Thankfully, I still have an awesome job. (Best employer EVER! And I’m not just saying that in case my boss reads this. Oooh. Does my boss read this blog?! Yikes.) Financially, we’re going to be ok. And, thankfully, Tammy is awesome. She had her resume warmed up and sailing across the internet within hours. In fact, she has an interview today!

But beyond a comfortable savings account and good work ethic, the best thing we have is our faith in God. The coolest thing about real, true, tested faith is that you find comfort in that huge, dark, yawning chasm. Yes, it’s unknown, but unknown isn’t bad. In fact, it’s kind of exciting.

Tammy and I have ridden out some pretty tough “adventures” in our 14.5 years and that’s not to mention those that we each had in our own lives before that. And, for each one there came a day (usually MUCH after the fact) when I would suddenly see, with perfect hind-sight, how God took all those broken pieces, swirling in a cloud of apparent chaos, and put each piece exactly where it needed to be. And every time that day comes, I’m blown away.

I don’t look into the dark unknown with fear. I smile, looking forward to the day when I get to look back on it and see the perfect plan that God had all along.

Now THAT is a great benefits package!!

It’s Monday! Time for a new White Board Quip of the Week. But this Monday is a little different. It’s my mom’s birthday. Today, she would be… um… 39 again. (Whew, almost messed up there!)

I just spent the last two hours (Eeesh… Don’t tell my boss.) reading through the blog we used to document my mom’s last year. (Here.) I started off thinking surely there had to be a good Sassy quote I could put on my white board. I ended up reliving some hard times and getting my eyes all sweaty. Good thing the office is near empty today.

Finally, I found my white board quip!

In December of 2010, after several life-threatening illnesses and accidents, the doctors told us she was on the last road. We all gathered to say good-bye. It was really tough. Little did any of us know, she would, in her Sassy style, defy the doctors and live on for several months (until March 2011).

But during that quiet night, laying comfortably and waiting to drift away, my mom smiled, looked at me, and said…

“It’s amazing how much stuff you can not care about. My house. My things. I don’t have to worry about what Obama’s going to do!”

So true! Remember, chi’ren: While we’re here, we should care about what’s going on around us, but only so much. This world is not our home. This is little more than the womb from which we will someday be born into eternity.

…

Wow! That was deep! Did I really just make that up?! I usually just say, “You’ll be dead a lot longer than you’ll be ‘alive’.” Same principle. Are you ready?

[Sorry. No humor today. This one is deadly serious.]

“The Arab Spring” is now the Christian Winter throughout the Middle East, and United States foreign policy is firmly on the side of the Jihad.

Somewhere between a quarter and a half million Coptic Christians (It’s hard to say for sure, because so many have been kidnapped and killed.) have fled Egypt in the two years since Jihadists overthrew the secular government (with Bronco Bomber’s* blessing). Those who remain face torture and death because of their faith.

After the NATO supported overthrow of the (admittedly corrupt) Libyan dictatorship, Jihadists have taken over the country. Now Libyan Christians are tortured to death for the crime of “proselytizing Christianity”.

Before the 2003 US invasion of Iraq and subsequent installment of a “democratically elected,” radical Islamic government, there were 1 million Iraqi Christians. Now there are fewer than 400,000. Many fled. Many were butchered in the name of Islam.

In October of 2010 Jihadists stormed a Baghdad church. The Iraqi military (with US overwatch support) barricaded the doors, essentially locking the sheep in with the wolves. Dozens of Christians, unable to escape, were slaughtered (including babies [warning: graphic video]). The official US account of the attack was a “robbery gone wrong.”

Sadly, many of the Christians fleeing Iraq when to Syria where the government, although certainly corrupt, was secular and thus tolerant of Christians. Now, however, the Arab Spring has spread to Syria. Much of the West, including Bronco Bomber*, are aiding the “freedom fighters” (actually Al Qaeda backed Islamist militias).

The Assad dictatorship in Syria is evil. But now; just as in Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and others; the world must decide the better of two evils: A corrupt dictator or radical Islam. Because the West has become completely blind to religion and religious persecution, they will inevitably side with the Jihadists yet again.

Syrian towns and neighborhoods that have been traditionally Christian for over 1000 years are now devoid of Christians (at least those openly professing their faith). The stories told by Christians fleeing their ancestral homes are chillingly reminiscent of Jesus’ own warnings of persecution.

“We left because they were trying to kill us. They wanted to kill us because we were Christians … Those who were our neighbours turned against us.” (18-year-old , former resident of Homs, Syria)

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another.” (Matthew 24:9-10)

“At the end, when we ran away, we went through balconies. We did not even dare go out on the street in front of our house.” (Noura Haddad)

“So when you see the abomination of desolation … flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. (Matthew 24:15-18)

Where will it stop? Syria? Lebanon? Jordan? Turkey? Chechnya? The Balkans? Europe? I’m not saying that this is the end of the world. And I’m not even sure I have an answer to the problem of choosing between dictators and Jihadists. I just want my readers to know that there is so much more going on that you will see on Good Morning America or CNN. And there are some things that you need to know. (If you haven’t before, please click the link in my side bar, “TheReligionOfPeace.com “)

Do you know what the Bible says about the End-Times? You need to. (What a convenient segue!) I’m going to teach an in depth study of Revelation at my house this summer. It’s something I’ve known for years I needed to do. I’m getting the word out on Facebook, but I’ll be sure to post dates and times here on SYNS too.

* It occurred to me that I’ve been using the term “Bronco Bomber” for so long, some of you might not know what it means. Just say it out loud, fast, and you should be reminded of a certain political figure.

Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

Oh that I had in the desert a travelers’ lodging place,
That I might leave my people and go away from them!

For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men.
They bend their tongue like a bow; falsehood and not truth has grown strong in the land;

For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

– Jeremiah 9:1-3

“If it comes out, it comes out. Flush it.”

Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

– I Corinthians 6:9-10

“I’m not amazed because I’ve seen worse ads and websites than this.”

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

– Romans 1:24-32

“I hope that every player makes a decision that leads to their own happiness.”

Steven (high school youth minister) published the video from both middle school and high school mission trips. I went to San Antonio with the middle schoolers during spring break.

Rapper, poet, Christian, Jason Petty (a.k.a. Propaganda) spells it out. Share this!!

My favorite part is where he says our good works are like spraying cologne on a corpse.

If so, you are “objectionable and potentially harmful to others.” At least, that’s what Apple thinks.

The Manhattan Declaration is a short doctrinal statement that was put together by religious leaders from many, widely ranging Christian denominations. It is a “Call of Christian Conscience” that lays out three simple, but powerful statements: Regardless of our differences, Christians must stand up against government and cultural pressure and stand for 1) the sanctity of all human life, 2) the sanctity of marriage, and 3) the right of religious expression. I’ve posted about it before.

You can, via their website, sign the declaration to say that you too have those beliefs and are willing to stand up for them. They also created a free iPhone app that would allow you to read and sign the declaration as well as keep up with the latest news from the organization. Apple has twice refused to put the app on their App Store.

Their most recent rejection letter explained it thus:

“[The app contains] references or commentary about a religious, cultural or ethnic group that are defamatory, offensive, mean-spirited or likely to expose the targeted group to harm or violence will be rejected. We have evaluated the content of this application and consider its contents to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others.”

Without explicitly saying so, I believe Apple is objecting to “the sanctity of marriage” because that is, without explicitly saying so, anti-gay-marriage. But to say that you “consider its contents to be objectionable and potentially harmful to others” is flat stupid and bigoted at it’s roots. To say that I, as a Bible believing Christian, am potentially harmful is outrageously offensive. What is the difference between saying that a Christian is, by default, a violent gay basher and saying that a black man is, by default, a violent thief? To me, both of those sentiments are offensive and stupid.

I’m not a Mac man, never have been, and I’m not calling for boycotts or torches and pitchforks. But I feel it’s worth calling attention to this so that my many Mac friends can make their own decisions about it.

[ed. At the time of this writing, the Manhattan Declaration website is not responding. Either this news has prompted a lot of attention or they are getting a DOS attack. Neither would surprise me.]

Last Sunday (8/15/2010) was the last Sunday school class of the year. The 8th grade boys that I’ve taught all year are moving up to high school next Sunday. I had an unusually small class this year, but that turned out to be a blessing, because we were able to get pretty close and the boys really impressed me with their growth (both in spirit and in maturity). I’m very proud of these boys. One of them (Ben) posted the following note on Facebook.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not posting this to toot my own horn. In fact, the complete opposite is true. This was one of the most humbling experiences I’ve ever had. But I felt that I should share it anyway. This is not to bask in the spot light, but rather so that all my friends and family, who often get the short end of the stick because I give more time and energy to the church (more specifically, the youth at Glenview, a.k.a. my chi’ren) can get a glimpse of why I do what I do.

Today is August 15, 2010, a Sunday. Specifically, the last Sunday that I will be an 8th grader. My teacher is Trint Ladd, and this note is about him and what he has taught me, and what I hope to carry on for the rest of my life.

I first met Trint Ladd almost exactly one year ago at a promotion party. First thing he asked us was our names. We talked for a while, some about ourselves, some about him, about his shirt, about our schools, things like that. He intended on getting to know us. He told us his expectations of us. Bring our Bibles, read our Bibles, and learn something from what we’ve read. No other Sunday school teacher had ever set expectations before. So I tried to meet these expectations.

Another thing he did was he challenged me, to read more, to spend quiet times with God, to read not because he asked, but because I wanted to. He also had a points system that would be a motivation for us to read and remember what we did the week before. If we got 24 points at the end of the month, he would get donuts the first Sunday, if not, no donuts. After a few months, I didn’t eat the donuts, I didn’t want them. It wasn’t what I wanted anymore, I wanted to earn points because I wanted to learn, not because I get donuts at the beginning of the month, but because I wanted to learn. I remembered most of what he said, and I hope I come away with a lot. So many things changed because of Trint Ladd, I became spiritually mature, I read almost everyday, and I wanted to. Thank you very much Trint for being my 8th grade teacher.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, it has gotten really hot in this room because my eyes are sweating like crazy.