Day 1 – I read somewhere that people who don’t get enough sleep are typically overweight. So, I stopped setting an alarm. I’ve already lost like .8 pounds. Course, it might have something to do with the smoothies and the elliptical at the gym, but who’s complaining?

Recommended Book? – When Helping Hurts – I actually haven’t read this yet. But it’s caught my eye for some time now, and it’s on sale over at Westminster Bookstore for only $6 plus shipping and handling. I mean, really? Full Disclosure: This is a shameless plug to use my referral program with them. That also hasn’t seen much action in about 7 months.

If you honestly believe that statement, and you honestly seek out unity with all Christians, then I applaud you. Kudos. But if you are an independent, fundamental, baptist who would sooner smear Mark Driscoll and others like him as pray for him, them let me assure you, your hypocrisy is not unnoticed.

When you say “Disunity Among Christians” you’ve got to account for ALL Christians. Not just the ones you like. If all you’re trying to do is suppress negative comments about what’s near and dear to your heart, you’re actually doing more damage to the cause of Christ. At least those who are pointing out wrongs have truth on their side.

Hopefully, no one was disunited by reading this.

1) Christmas brings out the best in people. I saw an entire street come out and give their garbage-men either cash, home-baked goodies, or gift bags. And this part of Florida means there’s no automatic trash compactor. These guys sling these cans by hand. Merry Christmas!

2) And, it can bring out the worst in people. I’ m sorry, but jaywalkers deserve to be hit. I might just have to speed up unless you give me that little “courtesy wave.” Still, not the best place to cross 6 lanes of traffic on the 2nd busiest shopping day of the year.

3) A Chinese restaurant right next to the Animal Health Clinic. Coincidence? I think not.

4) Christmas in Florida is unique. Two old women dressed as Santa, driving a golf cart on a main road through a trailer park. Unique.

5) When did McDonald’s start becoming classy? I know, I know. I read the news article: They’re trying to compete with Starbucks. Hey, as long as I can get my processed-cheese cheeseburger and greasy fries, I’m happy.

6) Wedding definitely make Christmas more hectic. But I’m always happy to jump in. Besides, I think our work on the car makes us more than even.

7) Straight No Chaser puts on an AWESOME concert! I had an incredible time. But, it’s not for the faint of heart, or those unfamiliar with some of the pop music today. My favorite part? Their mashups. That shows some real talent. And not just the vocal variety.

As for me, I’ll be relaxing this year while reading Genesis 1-4. Check it out here: WTS Books.

1) Everyone is happy to get flowers. No matter what, people always say “Thank you!”

2) Except for the few Crankies out there. One lady grimaced and said, “Another one? We got one yesterday.” Excuse me while I take your unwanted flower arrangement down the street. I know of several shut-ins who would have loved the attention.

3) People drive like idiots. Especially around Christmas. If you see someone with a clearly marked delivery van, get off my bumper. Odds are, I’m looking for a street sign or house numbers.

4) Buy and Install some decent house numbers. Goodness people. Get big numbers, and put them in an easy to see location. Your next delivery person will love you.

5) I get queasy delivering “Get Well Soon” flowers. I’m kinda worried that the person in that house is contagious and I’m going to catch it.

6) People will come to the door wearing anything. Or, in some cases, next to nothing. Put some clothes on.

7) Finally, It really is okay to say, “Merry Christmas!” You just gave them a flower arrangement. They’re not going to take you to task for “forcing your religious beliefs on them.”

Looking for something good to listen to this holiday season? Try this!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Booksneeze recently provided me with a copy of “Sabbath” by Dan B. Allender. To be frank, it was a tough start. I already had my preconcieved notions of what the Sabbath meant to 21st Century Christians. The book seemed intent on bringing in a foreign concept.

But the more I read, the deeper Allender went into the biblical and historical basis for Sabbath. The realization hit me that I hadn’t really been doing Sabbath. Oh sure, I understood that “Ministry Sundays” weren’t restful, and I’d usually try and find another day in the week to spend some downtime. But the realization that Sabbath is about so much more had never hit me harder than it did in this book.

At 194 pages to the conclusion, with Study Guide, Sabbath is a great book to go through with your small group or to simply read on your own. Just be warned: You might need to change a few things once you’re finished reading.

Actually, it’s part of a suggestion from Michael Hyatt, 44 Things to Boost Your Energy.

I consider myself an “On-the-Go Professional.” If my phone vibrates and it’s my boss, I could have a new project within the hour. It’s the beauty and the curse of a flexible work schedule. Because of this, I went with, yes, the standard, iPhone 3GS. It’s great. And it allows me to stay connected and aware all the time.

All the time. Funny, it started out that I only checked it at regularly scheduled intervals. And when nothing was there, I put it away. All of a sudden, I noticed, “I’m out with friends at a restaurant and I’m glued to my iPhone.”

In all fairness to me, they typically have a similar problem. But after reading suggestions numbers 38 and 41 on Michael Hyatt’s Post: “Have dinner with a friend and be fully present.” and “Turn off your mobile phone.” I hit upon an idea. Combine the two. Turn off my phone and be fully present while at dinner with friends.

It’s really quite simple. I just use airplane mode.

So far? Results are great! Once you get over that initial “twitch” to reach down and check for new mail, it’s perfect. When I enter the restaurant (after I’ve found my party) I switch my phone over to airplane mode. When I leave, I turn it back on and get caught up with everything I missed. Or rather, everything I didn’t miss. Because I, unlike so many of you, enjoyed my meal and time to myself, with my friends.

So, ready to boost your energy? Enjoy a meal with no cell phone.

Apparently, the new key to dating is “Don’t be yourself.”

Every time I get a recommendation or a friend’s opinion, inevitably, what I want to do is wrong. Or at least, the friend finishes off with, “Well, you can do that. But I don’t think it’s going to work.”

At what point did dating become a gymnastics event in which I bend and contort myself into a random shape to avoid being thrown off the edge of oblivion?

If you’ve never seen this, it is apparently from a Japanese game show where characters do just what I’m saying. Only, in their case, the goal is to win a bunch of money, not some woman’s heart.

So here it is, in black and white (at least on my screen). My Resolution: Never to take dating advice ever again.

You’re right. That doesn’t sound good. I’d better back off. Because when you’re honestly looking for good ideas: favorite restaurant, fun night out, etc. friends, hers and yours can be incredible repositories for advice. Perhaps it must be a bit more nuanced.

My Resolution: Never artificially contort myself for the purpose of being what I think another person wants.

This means no more acting smart, quiet, shy, funny, outgoing, friendly, or serious when that’s all it is: acting.

No more second guessing asking her out, calling her up, texting her, or sending her flowers when it leads to self-doubt.

We’ll see how long that goes.

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

My knee-jerk reaction is that this statement is horribly wrong. But am I correct? Is God always doing GOOD things in our lives? Let’s take some Biblical examples:

Job – God is taking his children, his livelihood, and finally his health.

David – God allowed numerous people to chase him from his home to live in the wilderness. Not just in the beginning of his life, but later and through his own son, Absolom.

Elijah – God used him to send a famine into the land and then sent this prophet to the heathens on the backside of the desert.

Jesus – God sent his Son (himself) from a perfect heaven to a sin-soaked world where he would live with the man who would eventually betray him for 3 years before finally being horribly and painfully murdered.

Now before I provoke you to wrath and to pull out your Bible to read me Romans 8:28, please read the chapter yourself. The focus of Paul’s writing is not that bad things won’t happen, or to phrase it positively, that God is always doing GOOD things, but rather, that God’s election and our security FAR OUTWEIGH the bad things that happen to us.

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^[j]

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

If you want to say that God is always at work to glorify himself, I’m with you. If you want to say that God is always at work, redeeming his chosen people, I’m with you. But if you want to say that God is always at work doing GOOD things in our lives, I think you have a faulty view of God.

Too harsh? Perhaps. But I would much rather hold to what the text says, than what some cute phrase a preacher says.

The Credability Game may also be called the Trust Account. When you meet a person, they have a certain degree of credability. You trust them. Some people naturally have more than others. For example, I may trust the police officer with a uniform on to direct me through an intersection, just because of his position. I trust the financial advisor who sits behind a desk because that is his job. But what about the people with whom we interact on a daily basis?

Let’s take for example two friends, Chad and Phil.

Phil says “Let me borrow $20 to go to the movies.  I’ll pay you back later.”  Chad, being a friend, lends Phil the money which Phil quickly goes and spends.  Two weeks later, when Chad asks for his money back Phil replies “I thought you gave it to me as a friend?” and refuses to pay.  Now depending on the size of Phil’s trust account, he may never get another loan from Chad.  Phil had $20 dollars of trust in his account, and he spent it.  But perhaps they are closer friends, and Phil has $400 dollars.  Well then Chad will continue to loan money until he reaches that point.

Now carry this beyond mere money.  Chad and Phil agree to meet to go to a basketball game.  Chad is driving, but Phil has the tickets.  If they want to make it there for the 7:00 game they must leave at 6:30 sharp.  Chad is waiting outside Phil’s house from 6:25 (being the mature, time-conscience young man that he is) while Phil runs around the house hops into the shower, and emerges after a 15 minute shower, throws on clothes, grabs his wallet and run out of the house.  6:45.  Phil is dipping into his trust account.  If this is just another game, perhaps it’s only a $5 withdrawal.  But if they are going to see Michael Jordan’s final championship game with locker-room passes, that could be more like a $500 withdrawal.  As they speed off down the Road, Phil pats his pockets, checks his wallet, and then informs Chad that he has somehow managed to “lose” the tickets.  Back to the house again as Phil rummages through drawers, empty pizza boxes and couch cushions to find the tickets.  7:15.  By the time they get to the arena, it’s 7:50 (bad traffic) and half the game is over.  Phil has continued to dip into his trust account and makes withdrawal after withdrawal.

But suppose this is not the first time, nor the second, but the seventh time! (Chad is a very patient guy.)  Phil has been taking out various amounts from his account each time, and this time he overdrafts!  Frustrated, Chad drives Phil home and tells him point-blank, “I will never drive you to a game ever again!”  To Phil this is confusing; he’s been doing this every game for the last seven games and Chad had never indicated more than mild concern, and now he’s canceled everything!  Phil had been slowly siphoning off his trust account and finally overdrafted.

What can Phil do?  There is really nothing Phil can do.  As a Christian it is important to go to Chad, and ask forgiveness, seek the reconciliation between them, but reconciliation does not automatically mean another trust account.  Once that account is gone, it’s gone.

We all play the credability game. We all dip into our trust accounts. Every time we show up late. Every time we forget we were supposed to help with something and don’t show up. Every time we tell someone we can’t make it and don’t send a replacement. Maybe it’s time to consider who  you’ve let down and to go ask their forgiveness. It’s one of the ways to rebuild trust, and credability.