2012 In Pictures

In the grand scheme of things one year isn't very long, yet, when we reach the end of a year and think about all the things that have happened, it is easy to see why countless year in review lists are done at the end of each year.  Well, why should my blog be any different?  While I am pretty busy, I don't really consider my day-to-day life as being all that exciting or eventful.  However, there are several things that stick out to me from the past year, most of which has been documented on facebook and/or twitter, here are some of them;

 

  This year I was fortunate to baptize two of my three children.  More than just the fact that I baptised them, I am so excited to see them choose to follow Jesus, and even more so to see Jesus in their lives.

 



In the summer my son, JD, and I were able to attend a Mariner game with friends of ours and got to witness our first no-hitter which was thrown by 6 different Mariner pitchers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our favorite places to camp as a family is on Orcas Island.  This year we went the week of the 4th of July for some hiking, bridge jumping, swimming and fireworks

This is just a picture of a burger and fries simply because I love a good burger.  I enjoy good food (usually in the form of burgers and pizza) and love to go out with others to eat.  This picture is just a reminder of the good food eaten throughout the year, particularly that which was eaten with friends and family.

 

 

2012 was a big year for Crosswater as we celebrated our 5th anniversary and added a third full-time pastor when we hired Josh Moser as our Worship Pastor.  It is an amazing privilege to work with Aaron and Josh and I look forward to what God wants to do in and through us.

 

In the summer, my family took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park.  It was great to get away with some good friends and see some of God's amazing creation.  It is a little weird though going out into nature and seeing a huge crowd waiting for "nature" to happen (like this picture, on the left, at Old Faithful)

 

 

Before we got to Yellowstone, we were able to spend a couple of days with good friends near Boise, ID which included floating down the river.

Football is one of my passions, particularly college football and most specifically Husky football.  I was able to go to two games this year (both UW wins) due to the generosity of friends and was able to take my youngest, Halle, to her first game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November my wife surprised me with a trip to see a good friend of mine in Hawaii.  I hadn't seen him for almost a year and as it turns out, he moved to the Philippines just a couple of weeks after I left.  The warning signs to the right were at the start of a hike that we did but they are also a greater analogy for life.  We are faced with many hazards, obstacles and difficulties but if we let all of those stop us on our journey we won't get to experience much of the amazing things that happen.

 

 

 

 

This is my amazing family.  I am incredibly blessed  to have the wife and kids that I have and I look forward to the time that I have ahead of me with these four amazing people and wait with anticipation the addition of our 5th family member.

Waiting...and Waiting...

Nobody likes to wait.  Look at our society, and probably your life, and you know that statement is true.  We have microwaves, fast-food, instant rice, and many more time saving things.  There are few people above the age of 12 that don't have a cell phone, many of which are "smart" phones.  Does anyone really NEED a cell phone, especially one with the capability to check email, immediately post on Facebook and play games whenever we want?  Sure people always cite examples of "what if my car breaks down" or "what if there is an emergency and I have to get a hold of________".  How many times have you actually had either of those things happen?  We have cell phones (and many other time saving devices) ultimately because we want things now, we want convenience.

This is a problem in the church as well.  We want to go to church and get a quick fix to help our marriage or our finances.  We want our weekly "dose of the ghost" rather than truly seeking God and following Him daily.  I am generalizing with these comments but I think you get the point, we are not good at waiting.

I recently had the opportunity to spend a few days with friends of mine who have been waiting.  Almost exactly a year ago they were offered a position in India which they excitedly accepted.  The problem is, they are still in the states waiting to get into the country.  I too am waiting.  My wife and I started the process of adopting a baby boy from Ethiopia in January of 2011 and were officially put on a referral waiting list about one year ago.  We are still waiting and now at a point where we will need to start renewing much of our paperwork.  My friends have no idea how long their wait will be, it could be over next week or next year.  My wait is slightly more predictable but will likely be at least another year or more.

Obviously there is a huge difference between waiting in traffic or waiting for God's call to move to India or to adopt to be finalized, but, we are all waiting for something.  What do you do in your waiting?  Do you grumble and complain and dismiss God as too slow?  Or, do you seek Him, rest in Him and trust that His timing will be perfect?  I would like to say that I mostly do the latter of those options, heck, I would like to say that I was 50/50. 

As we come to the first week of advent this Sunday and as I think of waiting for my son's adoption or my friends' waiting to move to India, I can't help but but also think about Jesus' second coming.  That's what advent is after all, the anticipation, the waiting for Jesus' return.  So as you wait for whatever you are waiting for, consider what advent reminds us of; hope, love, joy and peace.  We can only partially experience those things now but someday, we can fully experience all of those things through the death, resurrection and return of Jesus Christ.  Waiting is hard, but if there were ever anything worth waiting for, that would be it!

Fireworks or a Candle?

Do you ever have those moments where you wish you had different skills or talents?  Maybe you wish you could play basketball like Lebron James or sing like Alicia Keys or dance like...some dancer (I don't really know any dancers).

Lately, I have had thoughts like these.  I read books by amazing authors like Francis Chan and wish that I could take deep theological topics and make them easy to understand like he does.  Or, I hear someone like Matt Chandler give a sermon and wish that I could preach like that.  While it's not bad to have goals and to stretch ourselves in order to get better, it certainly can be bad to strive to be someone else.  Everyone is gifted differently and it is God's desire for us to use the gifts that He has given to each of us for His glory rather than wish we had someone else's gifting.

I was reminded of this today as I read an excerpt from a book called Mondays with My Old Pastor by Jose Luis Navajo while reading the newest edition of Leadership Journal.  In this book, Jose recounts a story from one of the conversations he had with his pastor where his pastor essentially asks the question above, Fireworks or a Candle?

If you have ever been to a good firework show or neighborhood 4th of July party, you have probably been awed by the wonder and beauty of fireworks.  But, have you ever gotten up on the 5th of July (or some other day after a firework show) and seen the mess left behind?  Scraps, charred cardboard, burn marks, etc.  "Fifteen minutes of glory and then burned cardboard."  This is a little like many of those people who awe and amaze us, many of the people that we want to emulate, but for one reason or another, they quickly fade into memory.  Some are just no longer able to "perform", some just become unpopular, worse yet, some "blacken with soot" due to some moral failure.

Too often our desire is to be like these spectacular people who awe and amaze, when really we should desire to be more like a candle.  A candle doesn't typically awe or amaze anyone but it does provide light in the darkness.  A candle burns steady for a long period not just for an amazing few minutes.  A candle may not be seen by thousands but it's long, steady burn can have a much longer lasting impact on the few that were touched by it's light.

"Don't focus on what astonishes, but rather what transforms.  Don't let yourself be impressed by fireworks that amaze people for 15 minutes and then leave them tarnished.  Look for something deeper.  Don't make your goal to amaze your audience.  Don't rest until you are sure that your ministry crosses the frontier of the soul and touches the spirit, the place where change is accomplished."

Connected

Is it possible to be truly connected when it is through a computer, smart phone or tablet that you are connecting?  Well, it depends on what you mean by connected.  If I am talking about truly connecting with people, then I would say no, it's not possible to truly connect through a computer, smart phone or tablet.  But, what if I am talking about connected to God?

We live in the most technologically advanced time in the history of the world and unless something happens along the lines of the new TV show "Revolution", our society is only going to get more and more advance technologically.

In the June issue of "Christianity Today" (yes, I am a little behind) there is a section talking about how technology can help us better engage the bible and therefore, connect with God.  As someone who frequently uses technology in that way, I thought it would make for a good post to hopefully help you do the same.

I am fortunate to have an iPad as well as an iPhone and I am happy to report that I use each of them for more than playing games, watching movies and browsing the Internet (though I have done all of those things on both devices).  In addition, to game apps, sports apps, and news/media apps, I also have several bible related apps.  While i'll admit that there are some that I really never use, the one I want to highlight to you is simply,  the Bible app.

The Bible app is published by YouVersion and is great way to always be just seconds away from the Bible.  If you have a tablet or smart phone, you simply must have this app.  YouVersion has 160 versions of the bible in 51 different languages making it virtually impossible not to find a version/translation that you don't like.  In addition, YouVersion allows you to set up all sorts of different reading plans.  Want to read the bible in a year, no problem.  In 90 days, piece of cake (at least when it comes to setting up the plan).  As well as many other plans.  One of the things I like the best about the app (other than simply having quick access to the bible) is the ability to share passage on Twitter or Facebook with just a couple of touches.  YouVersion makes it easy to get to a book, chapter and verse, as well as easily bookmark, highlight and make notes.  This is an outstanding app that everyone with a tablet or smart phone should have.

While there are many drawbacks to technology and our increasing dependence on it, technology can also be a great help in keeping us connected to God's word.  While you can certainly carry an actual bible around with you all the time, let's be honest, how many of us actually do that?  YouVersion and many other apps/technologies are a great way to stay connected to God by being connected to His word.

Please let me know if you have questions about this app or other apps and please let me know if you know of any great apps that help keep you connected to God.

Purpose

I was listening to the radio recently on my way to work and heard the morning show host share a quote that she had heard.  Normally, this is when I would have changed the station or just not paid attention but for some reason, on this day, I actually listened to what she said and found it to be interesting.  The quote was, "If you were to judge a fish by it's ability to climb a tree, it would live it's life thinking it was dumb."

Now who in their right mind would judge a fish's ability to climb a tree, it obviously would be really bad at climbing trees.  Which, of course, is the point.  Fish weren't designed to climb trees, they were designed to swim and, as such, they do so really well.  We too are designed with a purpose.  Ultimately our purpose is to honor and glorify God but how we each do that is different.  We have all been given different skills and passions which are intended for us to use in honoring and glorifying God.  When we are living out of those skills and passions, life is more fulfilling and we are doing a better job of honoring God.

Too often we try to be like someone else.  While it is great to have role models and examples in our life, we shouldn't try to be someone else.  We all have gifts and abilities, some might be unknown to us and some might be undeveloped.  But, when we try to live out of someone else's giftedness, we are not being the person that we were designed to be.

Unfortunately there are some things that we need to do that aren't always what we are skilled at or passionate about (dishes, lawn care, vacuuming, etc.) but as responsible people, we still need to do them.  However, if you aren't using your skills and passions, you are like a fish trying to climb a tree.  God made you the way He did for a purpose, He has a plan for your life.  Are you living according to His purpose for you, or, are you living outside of that purpose?  My encouragement to you is to live how you were designed to live and stop trying to be someone or something else.

Humility

Have you ever listened to a sermon that you really just thought didn't apply to you?  You sit their and you think of all the people that you wish were hearing the sermon right then.  Or, you look around to see if the people who should really be paying attention are listening.  I've found that those are the times when I really need to be listening.

It so happens that last week as I was listening to my good friend and pastor preach about humility, I wasn't exactly thinking that I needed to work on it.  You're probably thinking two different things right now; first, it is pretty ironic to listen to a message on humility while thinking you don't need to work on it and, second, do you seriously think you don't need to work on it?

As I left church that day and went on with my week, it became much more apparent that I did in fact have some issues with humility.  I'm not necessarily talking about "look at how great I am" kind of issues but more motivation issues.  Some things happened during the week that caused me to look at why I am doing certain things and/or why I was upset with certain things.  While evaluating these situations, I discovered that while there were some legitimate reasons/motivations, there were also some identity motivations.  In other words, I was finding identity, value, etc. in these things which is a form of pride and therefore a lack of humility.

My identity should be found in Christ alone and seeking it in other places is a lack of humility.  So, next time you are listening to a sermon that you think would be great for 'ol so and so to hear, remember that it may actually be great for you to hear.

I Hope You've Learned Your Lesson

Have you ever heard the statement, "I hope you've learned your lesson"?  I am sure that most of  us were given that gem more than once growing up by our parents after we had done something we weren't supposed to and then suffered the consequences.  Well, this morning the tables were turned a little bit for me as I was laughing at Jesus' disciples and their failure to learn their lesson.

I've been reading through the book of Matthew and yesterday in my reading (Matthew 14) I came across the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people with basically a sack lunch.  Today in my reading (Matthew 15) Jesus and the disciples are presented with a similar issue (a large group of people and very little food to feed them with) and the disciples ask Jesus where they could possibly get enough food to feed all of the people. 

I am not sure how much time had passed since the events of chapter 14 but I know it wasn't very long.  That's why as I was reading this question from the disciples, I was completely dumbfounded as to how the disciples had already seemingly forgotten what Jesus had done to feed the 5,000.  Here they are with probably fewer people (4,000 plus women and children), actually more food, and someone who has done this before, yet, they are genuinely concerned about how these people are going to eat.

However, I quickly stopped by chuckling as I realized how often I have to learn the same lesson over and over again from Jesus.  Suddenly the disciples behavior wasn't nearly as funny.  It was deeply convicting though.  Why is it that Jesus can come through for me in amazing ways, reveal Himself in spectacular fashion, comfort me in times of doubt and I can so easily forget all of these things the next time I am in a similar situation?

It is easy to look at the disciples and even easier to look at those around me and wonder why they just can't seem to get it.  It is a lot harder to look at myself and realize that I am just as clueless, if not more, than everyone else.  I know that Jesus can be trusted, that He loves me and that His way is the best way, but, I don't always remember those things.  I am still learning my lesson!