i'm still here, here, here, here... (*echoing sound here*)

please don't give up on this blog and me. i know that i haven't posted anything for about 30 days, but things have been hectic. sermon writing has been a little difficult lately and i have been struggling with my prayer life (keeping it consistent). i also have had a lot of stuff that has come up at the church at the spur of the moment that has taken time away from sermon/bible study (people needing money for bills, counseling, etc...). i will write very, very soon about some stuff that is going on. talk to you all soon.

friday's feast

Appetizer
Who is the easiest person for you to talk to?

well, if you make me stick to a human being it would be my wife. if you don't limit it to that i would say it was God.

Soup

If you could live in any ancient city during the height of the quality of its society and culture, which one would you choose?

it would have to be spain.

Salad
What is the most exciting event you’ve ever witnessed?

the birth of both of our children.

Main Course
If you were a celebrity, what would you do for a publicity stunt?

i would shave my head and fast to raise money to help feed the people in the world who go hungry every day.

Dessert
What do you consider the ideal age to have a first child?

ideal age... to me it is more about how long to be married before you have kids. i would say that you need to be married at least 5 years before having kids. that way you can travel and do stuff that you can't do after you have kids.

gay funeral cancelled

here is something interesting that happened recently. apparently there was a funeral going to be held at a texas church, but when it was made public that the man was gay, they cancelled the funeral the day before it was to happen and basically said that you can't have a funeral for a gay person in this church... rev. gary simmons (the pastor of the church) said:

"This decision was not based on hate, or discrimination, but upon principle and policy, We cannot glorify homosexuality as a lifestyle. The Bible does say it's wrong, You wouldn't go to someones house who doesn't smoke and smoke there." (here is the official statement from the church)

so, there are some links at the bottom of this post about this, BUT first i want to ask you a question:

"so, does that mean they wouldn't allow funerals for fat people in their church because gluttony is a sin and a sinful lifestyle and the Bible does say gluttony is wrong?"

oh, and is there a difference between a gay funeral and a straight funeral?

just asking.

what do you think? comment on your thoughts... i am curious.

links:

here is a link to a news story about the cancelled funeral and this is another link from another news source

here is a link that shows some of the family pictures that the church called "in-appropriate"
(i do agree that the "crotch" shot was in-appropriate for a funeral, but it was not a "gay" shot... the two men are brothers, not lovers)

time carried away, now lost

the other day i was driving to the church and i was thinking about my kids. ginafish and i have 2 children, “E” (boy) who will be seven in september and “S” (girl) who will be 5 in december.

i know that over the years i have improved as a father, but i am far from perfect. i was thinking about time lost.

when E was about 4 i was very, very involved with another church (not the one we are at now), i was serving as an elder, youth committee chair and “youth pastor”… (i put that in quotes because this congregation did not have a youth pastor and i thought i could be one and work a 40 hour a week job on top of all of that.)

well, i thought right… i was able to work 40 hours and attend youth meetings every two weeks, teach on sunday nights, and attend/chaperone every single youth event that we had. the only reason that i was able to do all of these things was not because God supernaturally filled me with the Grace to get it all done. it was because i ignored my family. E was at that age where daddy is the greatest person in the world, daddy is the coolest and no matter what me and daddy do together we always have a good time. the problem was: i missed it. i didn’t know that was happening because I was so damn “busy” doing church work… not the Lord’s work, the church’s work… there is a difference.

and now i try hard (i could try harder i admit) to make it up to E, but i can’t. no matter what. i can’t do enough to make up for that. i love my children so much, and i have learned an important lesson from that and will not make the exact same mistake again. i know that God has forgiven me for not being there… he knows i have asked many times… i know that E has forgiven me, i know my wife has forgiven me, but now it is me who won’t forgive, myself that is.

maybe some day E and S will read this blog to see how my life was and to learn more about me and if they do i want to say:

i love you E and i love you S. forgive me for not being the dad i could have been… maybe if you have kids of your own you will understand and not make the same mistake i did.

one good post, from back in the day

i just want to link to something that "real live preacher" wrote back in 2005. i have been reading his blog since about 2004. this is by far one of my favorite blog entries ever... after you read the specific post that i am referring to then i invite you to read some of his other stuff... enjoy:

this is the link to the specific post called, "martin luther, diet coke and canned soup" (read this first).

this is the link to his main page

but, i would love for you to read the "martin luther" post and leave a comment on how you liked it or if you just want to comment on something else from his blog.

learned (pronounced learn-ed)

i am not a universalist (although some people think i am, but i am not), but it is nice to see some people of the christian faith understand that there are things that we can learn and take from other religions/traditions... also it is nice to see those folks understanding that as human beings we are very complicated spiritually and that God speaks in different ways to different people... i don't know a lot about these folks but i like most of what i have read so far...

click this link to go and see what i am talking about.