Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The Half Way Point- Did You Make The Report?

Morning! So today is the day of my 150th post for the blog, some of those posts are pre 2009, but this week is the half way point for the year, and I thought it would be fun to give you an update for the statistics for the blog. I thought you might find them interesting-

Here's the most glaring statistic of them all- on average, we're getting about 50 readers a day, which to me is a fantastic number. When I first started the blog, we were getting more of a 70+ number, so I'm not sure if I've gotten worse in my blogging? or people are getting busier are work.

So here's some numbers- Since January 2009

2,164 unique visitors
7,734 visits to the blog
12,190 pages visited
1:23 average time on blog
30 Different countries represented

Now here's the interesting part.. can you guess what the most read blog post was so far this year? Its, "I'm Building a shoe rack". How funny is that, its indexed pretty well on google, so when you type in something like "build a shoe rack" it comes up high in the engine. Number two? "we rolled the minivan". That day had the most visits of the whole year with 173 visitors that day.

Break down of states? Every state in the US has visited the blog except for these 5 states- I NEED YOUR HELP! If you know someone in these states, forward them the blog and lets see if we can get all 50 states represented, and they are Wyoming, Montana, S. Dakota, Delaware, and Rhode Island. I'm sure there has to be at least one person living in those states that you know, send them the blog!

Now.... (drum roll please) The break down of states that are reading the blog the most?

1. Washington- 1965 visits, top cities- Seattle, 1965, Renton 497, Auburn, 353, and an honorable mention of Medina with 135 visits... could Bill Gates be reading the blog?

2. California- 500 visits, top cities are LA- 138 visits, San Fran 50 visits. Buse, you're not even making the grade bro!

3. Texas 346 visits top cities Killeen 88, Bulverde 66. Not a strong showing, but getting there.

4. Alaska 187 visits, but here's the cool part, 182 of those visits are from Juneau! I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that my friend Case is single handedly carrying the great state of Alaska! Way to go Case! I might just forgive you for winning that Van Halen "Jump" 45rpm from me in the 4th grade.

One more honorable mention- someone in Gwynn Park Maryland has 138 visits. I'm curious who that is. You're a faithful reader! Thank you.

What's this all mean? Not much spiritual significance except the reality that people are reading blog. As long as you guys keep reading, I'll keep writing. I love writing it, and I love the feedback. Its a benefit to me, and you.

God bless you for reading the blog. I'll be back at the "nuggets" and "insights" tomorrow. Lets see how the numbers fall at the end of the year.

Bless you
matt

Friday, June 26, 2009

The King Of Pop

Unless you live in a cave, which is probably not the case, seeing how you're reading this blog on the Internet, you probably know that Michael Jackson died yesterday.

I liked MJ's music. The first album I ever got was "Thriller". Man, that thing had some jams didn't it? I can remember when I was in elementary school, and get this, went out side with the whole school, held hands and sang "we are the world" together.

However you felt about Michael Jackson, there is no doubting that he was a talented performer. That guy had sweet dance moves, fantastic music, and an amazing knack for one of a kind style.

Here's what's troubling- even with everything that he was able to accomplish and do, that guy was a weirdo. Very very weird. All that stuff with the kids, the monkey's, the hyperbaric chamber, the ranch, the plastic surgery, the one glove?

Michael Jackson lived most of his life a troubled soul. He seemed to live his life in a way that didn't make sense- a reclusive man, who loved to perform on stage in front of millions of people. Utterly talented with music, apparently not talented with people. From what I can see, the guy didn't have the ability to be comfortable in his own skin. He had money and fame, and he wasn't happy.

By the world's standards, he had it all, yet was never satisfied or content.

The scripture that came to my mind this morning was "what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?". I think its true with MJ and other people also, they can live their lives searching and longing for contentment in something or someone, yet not be able to find it.

The nugget for the day? By looking at the King of Pop, we can realize that the only thing in this world that can and will satisfy is the relationship we have have with the true King of Kings. Anything else, falls short and leaves us wanting.

Blessings
matt

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Sneaky Little Thing We Must Deal With

There is an part of everyone's lives that I don't think we talk about enough. Or at least, its not something that comes up as a topic of conversation in my circles that often, and its pride.

Pride is a two sided word. In on sense, we encourage people to have 'pride', as in pride in your work, pride in your self, and other positive pride. But there is another type of pride that can be a killer to relationships, personal growth and spiritual maturity.

This type of pride keeps a person from growing. Its a mindset that says, I refuse to admit my faults, I will never look at my own shortcomings, and there is never a day that I will ask for help.

This type of pride will ruin you.

Let me give you an example- lets say that you have a friend, and for some reason something goes wrong in the relationship and there comes a time when you have a disagreement. It happens, we've all been there haven't we? Well, when a relationship comes to that point, there has to be a confrontation of sorts, to deal with the problem.

Here's the options- 1. Ignore it and hope it either repairs itself or goes away. 2. Look inside yourself, find out what role you played in the interaction, and go the person and talk about.

I think number two is the more viable option. But here's the most important part about combating pride. You have to come to a point when you are willing to admit to yourself and to others that you are not perfect, and that you need to grow as a person. Its a difficult thing to do, because we all want to put our best forward, and to have everyone think that we've got it all together, but we cant.

God honors humbleness. In fact he encourages it. Many times in the Bible we are encouraged to be humble, and to be blessed in the process. Its a difficult point to come to, but its always beneficial.

Search your heart today. Ask if you are a prideful person who refuses to ask for help or admit fault within yourself. If you find it, start to face it, admit it, and ask God to begin to work on that in you.

You'll grow. You'll love it.

Blessings,
Matt

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

An Explosion- A Cell Phone- An Email- A Drive

I drove to Spokane Washington with a friend yesterday. He had something to do for work in Spokane, so I hitched a ride with him to Couer D' alene, to visit with my grandparents for a few hours.

You didn't know this, but yesterday, I wrote the blog en route from the vehicle we were in. My friend has a wireless card for his laptop computer, which enabled me to write and send the blog as I was traveling over Snoqualamie Pass. As I was doing it, I thought to myself, "isn't techmology amazing"?

On the drive back, I was talking to a friend from church, I think I was about at Moses Lake, and he said to me, "Matt, I gotta go brother, a 18-wheeler just hit a power pole". I got be honest. It seemed a little odd that he would use that as a means to get me off the phone. I've heard weirder things, but OK, I gave him the benefit of the doubt. What happened next was crazy. Not 5 mins later, I get an email, on my blackberry, from the Mayor of Auburn stating that there had been an accident with an 18 wheeler, that took out a power pole.

Are you getting all this? Driving, emailing, calling, explosions, news updates, drive to Idaho and back in one day with a hybrid car that has a GPS that talks to us.

My point? What a world in which we live that we can stay so connected to everyone and everything that is going on around us- but here's the hard part- sometimes we can stay so connected that its hard to disconnect.

Disconnecting with the world is important and let me tell you why- currently, as much as I can figure out, God is not using email, phone, TV, and or any electronic device to speak to you directly. Sure, he can speak through others through these mediums, but they are just that- a go between.

I want to encourage you to disconnect. To find time to unplug from the electronics and open your ears to what the man upstairs may be speaking to you.

Go for a walk, Sit in a chair outside. Lay on your couch in silence. What you will find that God Almighty, ruler of heaven and earth will speak to you in that silence, and it will be awesome.

Disconnect, and then connect, with Him.

Be blessed.
Matt

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Smacked In The Face With A Ball

A few months ago, my son Gabriel and I were at a Young Life event in Auburn. Gabe was there with me that night, and the kids were playing kickball, and he wanted to play.

It didn't start out well. We were in the outfield and this big 8th grader came up to the plate. Gabe was in the infield, and somehow that kid kicked the ball square in his face. Hard. It was loud, and there was like 50+ kids out there that were all watching my 9 year old son catch one square in the kisser.

When it happened, I was immediately concerned, not that he was hurt, but how would he react to this in front of all these kids? I wasn't standing right next to him, but I could tell it hurt. Man, everyone knew it hurt. you could hear that it hurt. But do you know what happened? Gabe kept his composure. It was easy to see that it was hard for him, but he did it. He didn't cry. He took the pain. It built some character in him that day.

I don't know why pain builds character, but it sure does. How you react when you are in pain can really let people know what kind of person that you are. Now, I'm not saying that we should put our kids through pain to teach them, as much as I am saying its a natural byproduct of painful situations.

I guess that's why it annoyed me when I found out that at Field Day yesterday they were playing Dodge Ball with Nerf balls, and they were, get this, rolling the balls on the ground at each other to try and hit the other person. I wonder what "Self-Esteem" guru at the elementary school decided that they would play the game in such a way to ensure that no one got hurt, no one got upset, and no one felt left out. Wow.

Seriously? Is that what we've become? A society that shields our kids from every bit of pain and discomfort? I can almost guarantee that 90% of the people reading this played dodge ball the same way I did, with a big red rubber ball, no restraint, and got hit in the face. Isn't it amazing that we all lived?

Again, I'm not advocating that we hurt people, or allow someone to hurt another person, but allow ourselves to experience some pain once in a while. This world is not perfect, and neither are the people in it. If we raise our kids shielding them from every painful experience, we will find that they are unable to withstand the rigors of everyday life that this world dishes out.

Next time you're in pain, thank God for it. Thank him for making you a stronger person. Thank him that you can withstand a little bit of discomfort. It makes you stronger.

Blessings
matt

Friday, June 19, 2009

PETA Strikes Back at Ninja Obama

Have you seen this video? I think its pretty funny. Its a video of our president doing an interview where there is a housefly buzzing around, and President Obama slaps him with an open hand and kills him dead. You can see the video HERE

Here's the crazy part- now, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is raising a stink because President Obama killed the fly and didn't treat it ethically. There recommendation is that he should have captured the fly, and then released it into the wild.

This is unbelievable.

Here's what's unbelievable- That this news story lasted longer than about 30 seconds. Yes, its pretty funny that the leader of the free world was able to swat a fly with his hands with ninja like accuracy, putting even Mr. Myagi to shame. But for PETA to now come forward with this complaint is nothing more than political correctness gone amok.

What's next, the President names a "Critter Czar" to the White House to stay abreast of the status of all things that fly and crawl in the white house?

Personally, I thought it was impressive what he did. It was superfly. But to have PETA make it an issue, well, it just chaps my hide.

This is the most unnerving part- there are actually people who care that a fly got killed? Flies get killed all the time. I fed a spider in my garage a fly the other day and watched him chew on that thing. It was awesome!

Here's the big question- do we coexist with Animals, or do we have dominion over them. As a Christian, I believe as the Bible says, in Gen 1:26 (KJV)And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth

I have dominion over every creeping thing, and if I, or President Obama choose to use that dominion to kill it with laser like accuracy, so be it.

Use your dominion today! Swat a fly!

Blessings
matt

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Why Thinking Ahead Can Be Bad

I'm not sure if other people do this, but I seem to always think ahead about things. It might be a meal, or an event, or a meeting. I usually have a thought in my mind as to what the event will be like, or what the food will be like. Its almost as if I play the event out in my head before it ever happens.

I guess I don't do it every single time, but I do it quite often. Let me give you an example. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet my friends pastor(s) up in Seattle. He had been telling me about them for about a year. We had talks over coffee about his church, the pastors, the plan for their church.

So yesterday, I happened to be in Seattle, and I dropped by the church. Now here's the interesting part- I had never met these guys before, but I already had an expectation in my mind of

1. What they looked like

2. What their personality was like

3. What our first interaction would be like.

Here's the score for the pre-emptive strike- zero out of three. Neither one of them looked what I thought they would look like. The personality wasn't anything like I thought and the interaction was nothing like I thought it was going to be. The good news is that it was a great first meeting!

What's my point? I think other people do this also. They set expectations for things before they ever happen. This usually results in being let down, or being angry, or not allowing the event to just unfold into what it is supposed to be.

For some reason people have this innate need to want to make sense of things. To want to understand and comprehend something prior to it happening. I think it gives us comfort knowing what we're getting into, but here's the problem- we end up putting people and God in a box and restricting what He may be trying to show us or give us.

When we set things up in our mind before it ever happens, it limits the ability for God to be able to move in the situation because we may have possibly predetermined a course of action that may not be what he had intended for us.

Lets quit trying to make it all make sense before we get into it, let it unfold, and watch what God will do in the midst of it. I think what you'll find is that God always works out the details, if we'll step back and let him.

Be blessed today
matt

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Clint Eastwood- Gran Torino

I watched the Movie Gran Torino with Clint Eastwood last night. Yes its rated R. Yes I am a pastor. Yes I'm OK with that. Save the criticism- read the book of Genesis- its way more R rated than Gran Torino.

Anywho- If you haven't seen the movie, and don't want it spoiled, quit reading right now. Its about an old white guy who has been living in the same neighborhood for a real long time, and it begins to change into a much more multicultural area.

The story centers around the main character- Walt, and his interacitons with a Hmong family that lives next door. He befriends the young man, and eventually becomes the driving force for keeping this kid out of the gang lifestyle that is so earnestly trying to pull him in.

In the movie, Walt is a crass talking bigot who doesn't hold back anything he thinks. Eventually, the story comes to a head when the gang bangers who want the young kid next door, shoot up this young man's house, and beat up his sister. The young kid wants revenge, and is out for blood, but Walt locks him up in his basement and goes out for vengeance on his own.

The way the story is going, you expect the Korean war veteran to go to the gang bangers house and shoot it up, but its the complete opposite- He basically lets them kill him dead in their front yard. Walt falls on his back in a crucified position, dead. Walt portrays the "Christ" figure in this movie. He's the savior for this kid, and his family. Because the Gang members murdered him in plain view, when Walt had no weapon, they are all arrested and sent to prison. All because Walt was willing to ransom his life, so his friend could live and not have to face the wrath of these thugs.

Here's what amazes me- This movie completely portrays the Christian message- that Christ was willing to do whatever it took to ensure that we would could go to heaven and have a full life here on this earth. Of course in reality Jesus gave his life on the cross, and Walt gave his life through gunshot wounds, but the parallels are amazing.

I want to challenge you if you can stomach the harsh language to watch the movie with an open mind. Its a powerful movie about redemption, forgiveness, and selflessness. It was a fantastic movie.

Be blessed today.
Matt

If you've seen the movie, I'm curious what your thoughts are about it.

The Japanese Football Coach Named Fritz Otto

I played football in High School, not that well, but I did play. I enjoyed it, it was a fun thing to do. I started playing football because my friend Tyson wanted me to do it with him.

Our football coach was a short Japanese man named Fred Sato. He was a great guy, a good coach, and had a great sense of humor. He would tell us stories about how he used to train martial arts with Bruce Lee in Seattle and his days growing up in the Midwest playing football. He told me once how they used to announce his name over the loud speaker as "Fred Sato", but because he was in the Midwest, and there weren't any Japanese people there at the time, everyone thought his name was "Fritz Otto". Pretty funny if you think about it.

Coach Sato used to always give us nuggets of wisdom during football- 'no excuses- get the job done' and 'put your face in his numbers' were some of my favorites. What I remember him talking about the most to us in football was the idea of having 'pursuit angles'.

What does that mean? In football, if you're going after the guy who has the ball, you have to choose an direction to go after him that will result in you meeting him on the field at the right time to stop his forward progress. To have an 'angle of pursuit'. It enables you to ensure that you are going to get the other guy, and have a better chance of stopping the other team.

I was thinking about Coach Sato today and I thought about how true that is in most areas of our life. We should have intense direction towards our goals. To have a mindset that is able to look forward and decide where we need to be to be able to get what we want.

Is there something that you're trying to accomplish? Is there a goal that you're trying to meet? Look forward and think about where you need to be and go towards that point. Looking around, sitting around, and going different directions doesn't help. You have to have a very distinct angle of pursuit, and then go for it.

The Bible talks about this- I love that verse from Philippians 3:14-
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

That's a great pursuit. That's a powerful direction. That's a pursuit angle that we can all strive towards.

Thanks Coach.

blessings,
matt

Friday, June 12, 2009

I Got This Email and Had To Share It.

WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME

When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard....

..to listen to his kids whine about being bored.


....to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes and traffic.


to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.


...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.


..to be silent when people pray to God for selfish needs.


...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.


..to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.


....to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.

....to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.


....to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.


....to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.


.....to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.


....to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.


....to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.


The only thing harder than being a Soldier..

Is loving one.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

George Costanza- Complete Opposite

I love Seinfeld. Its a funny show. My wife and I usually end up watching it while laying in bed late at night. Its a great way to unwind after a hectic day. If you haven't watched the show before, I'll explain to you what its about- nothing. That's right, its a show about nothing. Kind of like my blog, it takes an every day thing that happens, and turns it into a show.

So one episode, the character George Costanza, decides that his life is going horrible because he always makes the wrong decisions based on instinct. One day, he realizes that what he feels on the inside is completely counter productive to the type of life that he wants, so he decides that what ever his initial thought is when doing something, he's going to do the complete opposite. His theory being that if he is naturally completely wrong, if he did the opposite, he would be completely correct.

Its a funny episode to watch. He fights every urge that he has from ordering food, to talking to someone, to getting a job. The funniest part is that it works. His life is totally changed for the better in every single way.

I think sometimes we're a bit like George. Our natural instinct in some ways is completely counter productive to what we should be doing. Let me give you a few examples.

I'm sick and I feel like eating food that is bad for me, when I should be eating good food.

I'm having relationship troubles, I don't feel like talking about them, when I should be talking about them.

I'm having health problems, I don't feel like exercising, when that's exactly what I need to be doing.

I'm feeling lonely, so I don't want to be around people, when that's what I need.

I feel distant from God, so I don't want to be around the people of the faith, when that's where I need to be.

You get my point? Our natural tendency at times is to draw away from the exact thing that we need at that time. We need to realize when these times are and choose to do the exact opposite.

To begin to understand that God has given us everything that we need, through Him to be able to get through whatever it is that we're going through.

But sometimes, the greatest roadblock to a blessing, isn't because of something that God isn't doing, its because of something that we're not doing.

Be blessed
matt

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Short Jokes Are OK Sometimes

I got a chance last night to spend some time with a friend of mine, Kyle. He's a great guy, we've been friends for 20 years now. We've traveled the world together, went to college together, we've spent alot of time together in our life. He's shorter than me.

This isn't very odd, seeing how I am 6 foot 5, but the reason I bring this up, is last night, when we were spending sometime together, he told me that I was going to meet his neighbors dad, who was about 70 years old, who apparently in a very short period of time, decided that every time he saw Kyle, that he was going to make a short joke.

Kyle's a sport. He took it in stride. I have to admit, I thought it a bit odd that this guy would pick on Kyle like that. I thought to myself "this old guy is probably really crotchety" and "he probably has low self esteem, that's why he does it".

Then I met the guy and realized why he picked on Kyle, and then on me when I met him, and eventually our friend Jay for the rest of the evening. This guy was a 70 year old Sergeant Major in the US Army who had been serving for 39 years. THIRTY NINE YEARS. (Most people stay in the Army for 20 years, 25 at the most).

I'm not sure if you know the chain of command in the Army, but it goes, God, The President, and then every Sergeant Major is a tie for third. This guy was hilarious. So full of life and enthusiasm. He kept us in stitches the whole night. Sure, he made some light jokes, but do you know what I loved about this guy? He had been in the Army for 39 years, and still loved it. He was dedicated to it.

Sergeant Majors don't stay in for the pay, they stay in because they love the people, and the mission, and last night in this short period of time, it oozed out of his pores the love he has for people. It was infectious.

God wants to impart that level of passion for people in all of us.

It causes me to think, when people meet me, do they see the love of God coming out of me? Would people characterize me as someone who conveys enthusiasm and love for all people? What about you?

That's where we all need to be. On the front lines for the Lord. Committed to the cause because we love Him and want to serve him. We should have that same level of dedication to the mission.

Sure, he picked on Kyle, but when we met him, he picked on us. And it felt like a big brother pick that makes you feel loved and encouraged.

When you're a Sergeant Major, you can do just about anything you want, and last night, that Sergeant Major did, and I loved it.

Bless you
matt

ps. This doesn't mean you can pick on people to show love. Go and make the rank of Sergeant Major, then you can pick on people. Until then, find another way to show love. This way of love only works for Sergeant Majors.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Yeah, I Have to Admit, I Cried.

I cried yesterday. Not like blubbering, moaning weeping crying, but I had some tears coming out of the eyes, and a bit of a sniffle. I'm not afraid to admit I cry at times. What brought on the outburst yesterday? Free donuts down at the Auburn Donut and Muffin Factory on Auburn Way! I'm joking, actually, we watching the movie "Marley and Me" last night. I heard it was a tear jerker, so I was all set up to not let it get to me, and then it did. I cried.

If you don't know the movie, let me spoil it for you. Its about a young couple and their yellow Labrador retriever (Just like my Ranger dog), and the life they have with him.

It goes through their relocations, their jobs, their kids, it really paints a picture of the process of life for most of us, how it is always changing, always evolving. And how there are certain things that usually stay the same that we hold on to, and in this case, it was the dog.

(Spoiler Alert) The dog dies. Not a traumatic event, just an old age dog, who reached their point of death. It was sad. Sad because the movie got you to love this dog, and in the end, it died.

I was thinking this morning about what is says in the Bible, that there is "a time to be born and a time to die".

We don't like to think about death much.

Especially when it comes to those people whom we love the most.

In the movie, death was represented by this dog. In our own lives we sometimes take for granted that we have a lot more time to do what we need to do. That we can put off giving love to the people in our life who are the closest to us. The reality is that all of us, and those we love will eventually meet the same fate as Marley, and none of know when.

Sure. It was a predictable movie, but if it makes me hug and love those close to me this week a little more. That's fine with me. To be reminded every once in a while about the brevity of life and the joy of loving those around me is ok.

Hug em close
matt

Friday, June 5, 2009

I'm Buying Crystal a Gun

When I was in the Army, we used guns all the time. I'm not concerned with being around firearms at all.

One time when I was in the Army, I was talking with one of my friends, and we decided that we wanted to go tanning, so we could look better when we were going out to meet women. We ended up at this tanning place called 'Totally Tan'.

The first day we went to this place, there was this hot little number at the front desk, well seeing how I was there to get tan, to meet women, I figured that I could kill two birds with one stone, so I started flirting with her.

Most women don't respond well to this tactic, and this one was no different, I was young, full of myself, and in the Army, and she wanted nothing to do with me, my tan, or my antics.

Then one day I found an 'in'. She was on the phone with one of her girlfriends, and they were talking about something having to do with church, and when she hung up the phone, I asked her if she loved Jesus.

She looked at me funny, and said yes, so I asked her if she wanted to go and hang out sometime, and she said no. But she told me if I wanted to hang out with her I could hang out with her at Church on Sunday.

I guess she figured I wouldn't show up. This was her approach to every guy that asked her out, so when I showed up for church, I think she was surprised.

That was January of 1998. June 5th 1998, I married the love of my life and have never looked back. Today I celebrate this milestone in our marriage of 11 years.

So why am I buying her a gun? The 11th anniversary traditional theme is 'steel' so I figured, why not a gun? Its made of steel, right? What wife wouldn't love a wonderful gun for her anniversary?

I know, you don't have to tell me, I'm all heart.

Be Blessed today. I am. I have the most wonderful wife in the world, she's my best friend.

matt

ps. I'm not really buying her a gun.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Dirty Dirty Dirty- It Was SO Dirty

We have a pool in our backyard. Its a nice above ground 15 footer from Walmart. We've had it for 3 years now. I have to tell you, in this 80 degree weather we're having here in the northwest, its a Godsend to have it. We don't have any AC in our house, so having that pool to jump in at the end of the day makes for a real nice cool down.

The pool came with a pump that circulates the water to help keep it clean. The pump is supposed to circulate 1000 gallons an hour, and with a 4000 gallon pool, means it should circulate the whole pool in four hours.

Well, our pump wasn't working right. We put in a new filter and this thing just wasn't working. It was real loud, when usually its quiet, I would clean the filter and it wouldn't help, it just wasn't doing what it was supposed to do. Our water was cloudy, there was gunk in the water. It was just all around a dirty pool. I wanted to give up on the pool for the year. I don't like swimming in dirty water.

I gave in and bought a new pump this week. I got it in the mail yesterday and it works like a charm. It took Crystal and I all of about 4 mins to swap it out, and now we've got a sweet filtration pump that is keeping our water sparkling clean.

It made me think about our spiritual condition as people. I think sometimes we try to make something work for us longer than it is intended to do so, or we are using the wrong thing altogether.

The human condition is such that we like to be in charge and try to 'clean up' ourselves or 'filter' the junk out of our lives. As a Christian, I believe that's the work of the Holy Spirit, to 'clean up' and 'filter' the stuff out of our lives that isn't supposed to be there, that we don't need.

But here's the kicker- we have to allow the Holy Spirit to do it. We can try to do it on our own (old filtration pump) or give in and let the Holy Spirit do it (new filtration pump). In the process, when the Holy Spirit does it, its cleaner, faster, better and easier.

Blessings!
matt

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

I woke Up Late This Morning

I woke up way too late this morning. I had set my alarm for 530 so I could get up, walk the dog, write the blog, and get to my 7am meeting.

It didn't happen that way. I woke up very refreshed at 635am, and wondered, "how did I hit the snooze for the last hour?". So I hopped out of bed, brushed my teeth, put on some pit-stick, threw some gel in my hair and headed off to my meeting.

As I was traveling to the place, I thought to myself that maybe I shouldn't have chosen shorts and sandals as the uniform of the day when being invited to a community outreach meeting with the Mayor, but be that as it may, I did get to the meeting a smidge before 7, albeit showerless, picking the gunk out of the corners of my eyes as I was driving.

This was the greatest part though- the meeting was fantastic. I am so glad that I made it and that I was there. This guy, Rick Cameron has started a Dream Center in Auburn. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the Dream Center concept of Ministry- but its quite simple. If you see a need, you meet a need. These guys are reaching out with tangible help to people in Auburn who most desperately need it.

Two great things I love about Rick-

1. He did this work with little to no support because God called him to it.
2. He wants to tangibly help people, and in the process help local churches.

Obedience, and the big picture. Most people are concerned with themselves, and their own, while this guy is concerned with everyone else.

We can all learn something from this- even if you wake up late, go, because you were probably supposed to be where you are late getting to, be obedient to what God calls, and help others and don't worry about when you're getting yours.

Rick is speaking at our Church this Sunday. We're partnering with him and what he's doing in Auburn. You can visit his website here.

Bless you
matt

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Live On A Commercial Plane for a MONTH?

Interesting story I found on the Internet this morning. This guy Mark Malkoff is going to be living on commercial airplanes for the next month. Wow. This is quite an endeavor to go through. Living on a PLANE for one MONTH? No way.

It brings up some interesting questions for me-

1. How will this guy shower? And how will his fellow passengers feel about sitting next to someone who hasn't had a shower in a few weeks?

2. Will he be able to bring extra food, or will he just be relegated to packets of peanuts and ginger ale?

3. Will he be clocking frequent flier miles, and if he does, after a month of continuous flying, when will he ever want to fly again?

4. I hope this guy isn't tall like me, because I can barely move after a 2 hour flight to LA.

5. I wonder if he will get violently ill from being in an enclosed place with so many people for a long time.

Do you know what I love the most about this story though? Apparently Mr. Malkoff has a fear of flying that he is going to face while doing this stunt.

That's superb. What a way to get over a fear. Get so immersed in it that you don't have any option but to overcome it. Good for you Mark. I wish you well.

I think we can all grab a bit from this guy- Facing our fears. Its not an easy thing to do, but sometimes its the best way for us to be able to grow as a person, to be able to come to a place where we no longer have to walk in fear, because of someone or something.

I like what it says in the book of Isaiah-So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

We don't have any reason to walk in fear. We should walk in VICTORY because God walks with us.

If you want to read the article you can read it here

Bless you
matt

Monday, June 1, 2009

Do Something Most Will Never Do

Good Morning!

I know I haven't been writing a blog post on Monday mornings, but today, I wanted to write you a quick post and let you know what some of the people of our church are doing. We have committed to reading the entire Bible in 90 days.

Tall order, I know. There is a bunch of hurdles that we are going to have to get over as we endeavor to read the most magnificent book in the history of the world.

Its going to take about 30-60 mins a day to complete it. I am sharing this with you, because I think it could really be a blessing for you if you'll agree to it. Don't be concerned with the size of the task, but realize that you will be blessed when you agree to do this.

What will it feel like at the end of the summer to look back and know that you've done something that most people will never do? You will accomplish in 90 days what most people will never do in their lifetime. Read and finish the Bible.

I am including a link to the reading plan here. Join us and many others who are going to be spending the next 90 days reading the 'good book'.

Let me know if you're taking part in the challenge. I'd love for us to stay connected and encourage one another.

It starts today. June 1st. Print out the reading list and start reading!

Bless you
matt