Merry Christmas

1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife,^[a] who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold,^[b] an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “ Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”^[c] 15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely^[d] known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Merry Christmas!!

We also had Alyx Emily on Thursday December 14, 2006. It was an awesome experience.

Here I Go Again!!

Two Things I Got From Luke 22 by Reading Between The Lines

1. Jesus desires fellowship with each of us.

15And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.

What made this meal so special? I mean the disciples were with Jesus day in and day out......think of some of the miraculous meals they had together; the feeding of the five thousand, the feeding of the four thousand.....there was also meals with Martha and Mary. I imagine those meals were extraordinary, but what set it apart from this meal?

The Greek work used here is "epitumia" which means a passionate longing. Jesus passionately longed for this meal.....but why? I have come to the conclusion that Jesus wanted to have personal time with the disciples....Finally they were away from the miracles, away from the masses, away from the everday drama they had been going through. They put everything else aside and it was just the disciples spending time with Jesus. I am not knocking church and the everyday things we have to do, but what it all boils down to is Jesus passionately longs to spend time with you......how bad do you want to spend time with him?

2. Jesus has faith in us.

31"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

We fail. God knows that, Jesus knows that. When I read this I think about Job. Satan asked to try and break Job and God was like go ahead. God knew Job would perservere. Satan's goal is to discourage us to cause us to fail and renounce our faith. I think God allows us to be sifted, because He knows His true children will turn back, even when we fail. God has faith in us, even when we are not perfect.


And for those of you who are interested, Melanie is still pregnant. The baby is due next Tuesday, but we are hoping she will be here by Easter....For those who do not know, her name is going to be Alyx Emily. Below is a 4d ultrasound of what she will look like.

Finally.....Rest and Relaxation

Ok, so finally we are on vacation! I have been waiting for this day since our last vacation. I am happy to report we are having a great time. After arriving yesterday, we took a nap and then went to eat at the Old Mill......yum....(Melanie says it is just as good heated up)after which we went riding through Gatlinburg.
The only thing I am sad to report is that Melanie keeps whooping my tail in pool...it's unbelievable.
At least there is air hockey here so I don't feel like I have completely lost my manhood.

Oh well, I hope everyone is well and here are a few pics to make you feel like you were here...

Are You in Tune?

I have been doing a lot thinking about doing the "will of God" lately. I have heard many thoughts and opinions on the subject, but I have this gut feeling that the "will of God" isn't that hard to figure out. Rob Bell makes the point in one of the Nooma videos "Rhythm" that God is a lot like music.....and we are all playing the same song.....everyone of us.....all 6.4 billion. I mean God is the conductor right? The question, then, is not if everyone is playing the same song, but if everyone is in tune to that song. Makes me wonder, if we are in tune to that song, then simply would we not be in or doing the "will of God."

So what defines me being in tune with God's "song"?

To live in accordance to "God's will" one needs to look no further than the Gospels. Jesus' life is the perfect example of how to live a life that is in "God's will". Jesus' life has all the answers. He was always doing one of two things.....praying or serving. To be in "God's will" is to serve as Christ did. Jesus didn't only serve others believers, but in all actuality he probably served non-believers more. Are we doing that today? I keep thinking of something I heard TD Jakes say a couple of weeks ago. He was preparing a sermon on the feeding of the 5,000 and he said he felt God kept telling him to read the passage again. Each time he was telling God that he understood and each time God said read it again. As many pastor's envision themselves TD Jakes saw himself as the Jesus/Shepard role and the congregation as the 5,000. However, God showed TD Jakes that isn't true. Although Jakes is the leader role, we are not the 5,000.....we are disciples. I keep hearing the church say "feed me, feed me" when we should be saying "who can I feed". We are in world that needs Jesus and we shun them as we try to draw closer to God. Hypocrites. I am talking to me.

Well, how can we serve others....better yet, feed them? We need to know what our spiritual gift is. Don't you find it ironic that the point of the gifts is to help others and glorify God. God gives us something to give others....

When we start living a life of service, instead of "feed me" we will see others wanting to know more about the God we serve.....Think about it.....how many times did Jesus approach people to witness to them. None I am aware, they all came to him. Start in Matthew 8, there are at least three instances in that chapter alone were people approach the Son of Man and it continues all throughout the book of Matthew.

Oh well, enough of my rantings John and Kirsten, I am sure you have read enough.....but if anyone else decides to read this I have one question:

Are you in tune?

PS. We are going to be having a girl......Alyx (no middle name yet). I am soooo pumped.

God Bless

Who is Creating Who........or is it Whom?

Isn't it funny how things happen? How we pray for our will in our lives instead of God's? I was thinking the other day how so many people pray for God to give them a better job.....to help make their days less stressful....to even heal them. I am not saying it is bad to pray for these things, I am saying it is dangerous to pray this way without acknowledging the fact that God has other plans. What if there is a co-worker at the job who needs a word of encouragement from you, or what if He is putting you through a stressful situation so you will depend more on Him.....or better yet, what if He has allowed you to have a diesease so that He will be honored and glorified, could you still do that? Honor and glorify him? What if God gave you that "better" job and it cost you your family? Would you be happy God granted your request? I think God knows best and maybe we ought to pray that way.....Jesus did. Think back to the Garden, Jesus did not want to die on the cross He even prayed "take this cup from me," but he followed that up with "not my will, but thine." He knew God's plans were the best, Do you?

Another thing I have been thinking about is how we try to rationalize sin.....Think about it, have you ever heard someone say "God didn't want me in that marriage", "It's ok to sleep with him/her we are getting married anyway.", "If God didn't want us to do drugs, why did He put them on the Earth?" You can do this with almost any sin. We want God, but we want God to want the things we want. It has gotten to the point where God didn't create us in His image, We created God in our image.....Wow, think about that, what if you didn't make God what you wanted Him to be, but actually listened to His word.....wow.

Ok, the pregnancy is going great for those interested.....Next Thursday we find out what we are having.......I hope it's puppies!

Well, we finally did it.....

Long time no post, but a lot has been going on. The most important thing is, we found out that Melanie is expecting our first child. Are we excited? Nah......Just kidding. I am enthused. I can not wait for the next eight months to pass by. The due date is December 5th. Just after college football regular season, but before the bowl games start. Did we plan this out perfect or what...... Our God is truly an Awesome God!!!