I LOVE LA

Just returned from Los Angeles to spend a few days with my daughter. It was a really great time. It wasn't perfect as we still have communication problems. She goes to a prestigious school, is 21 and thinks she knows it all! I have a hard time keeping my opinions to myself and have a tendency to want to "over manage" her life!
Anyways for the most part it was a really nice visit. I miss her tremendously. She has been in LA for almost 4 years now and this was the first summer she didn't come home. I pretty much raised her and my youngest son by myself. It was tough for all of us after their mother left, but I was so thankful I had the opportunity. Her brother graduated from high school this year and has moved out and is now going to college himself. It's really hard sometimes having invested so much of my time and passion into raising them, and then having to release them!! Well anyways the week in LA was fun. We went to a Phil Wickham concert and it was amazing. I have never been a huge fan of christian music, but this concert was really amazing for me. It was so moving to sit in a crowd of around 500 mostly young people who were worshipping the Lord. Got to attend a chapel at the university, and went to her church New City Church which was really nice. So I just need to be thankful for how's she's doing. At 21, she is far far ahead of where I was at that age. I remember dropping her off her freshman year and having communion the night I departed the campus. I received a clear message from God that night that she would be okay and I didn't need to worry, so I guess I just need to trust that and not start worrying to much now! It was alot of fun to just have dinner with her and hang out in my hotel room. God bless you girl! Daddy loves you!

Why Marriage Matters

Why Marriage Matters

Michael Jackson and my daughter

It's been funny and concerning to watch my daughter deal with Michael Jackson's passing. My daughter is a senior at a prestigious Christian university in California. She grew up a huge MJ fan and loved listening and dancing to his music with her friends. I think when they had "mock rocks" in high school, her and her friends would do MJ stuff. My daughter is also a fairly mature believer in Christ (at least for being 20!) I called her the night I heard that MJ died and of course she had already heard. It's funny because she said I've been crying for hours!? Her and a few friends got together that night and watched MJ video's and a movie, and all cried together. She is in the LA area so her and a few friends went to MJ's spot at the hollywood walk of fame. Tonight they are at "neverland" the MJ property in Santa Barbara for some memorial service. I guess I worry a little bit by her over reaction (my opinion) to this whole MJ thing. I mean the guy didn't appear to lead a life of integrity. At best he was a strange dude, and at worst, he was much worse. He did not appear to be a believer or follower of Jesus, grew up in a cult, and supposedly converted to Islam a few years ago. So obviously I'm a bit bummed about my daughter's kind of strange obsession with his passing. She is young though, and as a Dad I don't want to be critical or "preachy" to her about this. So I leave it alone! It's all very bizarre behavior, and not just for my daughter though. In the midst of some of the greatest problems we will ever face as a nation......the economy, Iran's crushing of it's own people, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. etc., all we here about is Michael Jackson. Is that even "news" I heard a figure that 60% of the new coverage for the day of, and the rest of the week of MJ's death was about MJ. That's prime time news coverage and that doesn't include all the hour and two hour specials about his life. What is this bizzare fascination we seem to have with celebrities? We are a nation that is far more concerned with an individuals death, who has been accused of child molestation, who changed his skin color, struggled with drug addiction, etc. etc.s then the extremely important challenges that our nation is facing right now. It makes you wonder, is there really any hope for the United States. Are we like the many empire's of the past who fell because they became so bizzare sexually, they focused only on themselves and their own comfort that their empire crumbled around them. So anyways enough of my soapbox. I'll pray for MJ's family, and the children he adopted who were conceived by his Doctor and the Doctor's nurse, and lets also pray for all those who seemed to worship MJ as some kind of hero. You see we have a real hero. We have Jesus, and if we understood at all what he's done for us, any hero worship of humans would immedietly cease. So maybe this is a conversation starter, to talk about what really is important and about who really has done something for us. My confidence in this nation has long since past. I do pray for this nation that my children and grandchildren will live in, but I also know that we are merely strangers, and sojourners in this land. My citizenship is in God's kingdom, and I am an alien here.

Questions

Had breakfast with a guy who used to mentor me yesterday. He was certainly one of the most Godly men I have ever met, and was a great influence, and a great friend to me. As I was thinking about it afterward I realized it had been 17 years since I had lived in Lansing. I've seen him a few times since but maybe once in the last 12 years. Shame on me. I have been praying for him over the years and wanted to call him but I am just not good at that stuff (no excuse). Our breakfast was a little disturbing to me. He seemed to really downplay the role of being in a local church. One good thing I guess, is it forced me to really do some research on the importance of the local church, so I have some biblical insight into the importance of being attached to a local congregation. The church he told me he attends sounded pretty weird, and it didn't sound like he really did anything there. This is one of the most gifted men I know, and if he's not sharing his gifts in a local congregation, that scares me. I also worry about accountability in his life. He said he continued to meet weekly with his old Navigator staff leader. (he used to be on navstaff).
When I asked him where Bob was going to Church he didn't know. He's known Bob for at least
25 years, how would he not know? One of he guys who he has now invested his life in for about 18 years he says is now a believer, but he does not go to Church?? I love my brother so much but I am really afraid he has gone off course, and it grieves me deeply. He talked about how happy is as he is forming a team to sell something called Mona Vie. It's odd how someone who was so on fire for the Lord, someone I believed had this amazing close relationship with the Lord, seems so off course. I don't want to make to many assumptions as I only spent about an hour and a half with him. He always had such a godly witness and was such a servant. Well I want to think about this one some more. I want to call one of his friends and try to see how he's doing, but just don't know if its my business? Well I do know that I can pray for him. I can stay in better contact in the future as this was a guy God really used in my life. I can also continue to
pray I Peter 5:8-9 and be on the alert and pray I don't get off course. I also need to examine and test myself to ensure I'm not the guy off course. Well more to follow as I continue to pray about and for my friend.

Discipline, Discipline, wherefore art thou!

Well I'm not quite the blogger I thought I might be. It's funny how one pictures ones self. I thought I would really enjoy putting my thoughts to paper (not quite!), but then never really have time to do it. I am often discouraged by my lack of discipline in various areas of my life. I love the word of God, and love doing morning devotions, but so often I'll be skipping along in life and realize its been a week or more since I've sat down with the Lord and spent time with Him.
I don't understand how that happens. Even in excersise which is important, but not nearly as important as my relationship with the Lord, I lack discipline. I can go two years of working out and getting in good shape and then I'll miss a week, and the next thing I know, I've missed six months, and I'm out of shape. As you get my age, thats just not a good thing. Even things like dating my wife, and focusing on her, I'll do good for awhile, and then I'm back sadly to what has become normal. I've committed to dating my wife at least twice a month, and I'd be to embarrased to tell you how many times that has happened. In I Cor 9:24-27 Paul tells us how
to run the race, how he disciplines his body. I get so frustrated sometimes by my lack of discipline. I guess my attitude is that I must keep trying, even after failure after failure. I must not give up. I just wish I could develop a habit of discipline.

Look Mom, I'm blogging!

Wow, so I'm gonna start blogging! I'm not really sure why. It's not like there is probably anyone
(well maybe a few!) who really care or need to hear what I have to say! I worry about becoming a blogger, because I don't wanna be that person who believes "I'm important, and people need to hear what I have to say". I guess I just want to have a spot where I can post random thoughts! Maybe my kids will believe me, and do what I say if they see it in print!! I really do enjoy reading other people's blogs. I'm kind of an information gatherer, and a naturally nosy person, who enjoys hearing whats happening in other folks lives. Actually I'm one of those supposedly rare people who love reading the "Christmas letters" that people send out. I don't mind people reading about what happened in the last year, or the writer bragging about their children, and their jobs, and their vacations!! I like to hear about that stuff! So anyways, we will see what happens with this blog. There probably are a million new blogs a year, and about 100 of them actually blog regularly. So hopefully you'll hear from me soon! Look Mom, I'm on the computer!