Growing Up Online

I caught some of an interesting documentary tonight on Frontline:

The program is available online of course.  Just click the image above then click Watch the full program online.  Your kids live in a wired, online, always on world.  I’m still in my 20s, but I recognize that my use of technology in communication lags far behind many teens.  Case in point: email.  I use it all the time, your kids probably don’t.  Gosh, you might as well light a fire in the backyard and try to communicate sending smoke signals.  Text messaging, social networking sites, cell phones, and chat supplement and often replace face-to-face communicating.

My takeaway from watching for you parents?

• Be aware, and as much as possible be involved in the mediums your kids are using to communicate. Text your kids. Know their social networking sites.
• Don’t overextend privacy in this area.  Talk to your kids about what websites they upload personal content to.  Don’t allow unmonitored internet use.  If you’re interested to know whose home your child is hanging out at physically, why would you allow total freedom to the same child to communicate any time, with anyone online?
• Talk, talk, talk to your kids. (and text, and post to their myspace–how embarrassing!)

Here’s a couple clips our RevGroup leaders are playing as a conversation started on their study this week:

 

 

Why I want to be Eddie House

It’s Sunday afternoon [long sigh...] When you work for a church, Sundays are rarely a day of rest. This goes double when the church you work with is in the portable phase and every week teams of people work to transform a school gym to a worship center and back again. So, at the moment Bethany is off doing something, Eli is taking a nap, and I…ah yes…I am deep in the living room couch, watching game 7 of the Celtics/Cav’s series. I polished off some nachos, and am experiencing my own Sabbath moment.

Two quarters of play are now complete, Boston is ahead at the half, and I am reflecting on the play of Eddie House. The Celtics are at home working to closeout Cleveland to secure their spot in the Eastern Conference Finals. Paul Pierce wrapped up an two extrordinary quarters of play, and leads his team in scoring, but the hustle and passion of Eddie House motivated this post (sorry Pierce).

Swatting Flies and Lessons in Futility

I So I picked up my son from a friend of ours who watches him once or twice a week during our work days. Here he is sitting with some of his animals (which currently go everywhere he goes) and wearing “Daddy hat”

So when we got home we went to play in the backyard. Well, let me take you back about 30 minutes. On my way to pickup Eli, I went to get into my car. If you read my last post, I found out that while our Malibu doesn’t always start, the problem is that the manufacturer’s anti-theft system keeps forgetting that our key should be allowed to start our car, so it overrides it. Well there’s a workaround: you can turn the ignition to the on position and wait for 10 minutes. Then for reasons unknown to me the car will turn off the security feature and allow you to start the engine. I googled our issue and discovered this is a common problem.

So I go to get into my Malibu (hoping it will start) and I was attacked by about 15 flies which had apparently claimed my car as their own. I’m not sure if these were some Africanized killer flies or what but after battling through them, firing up the engine (yes) and picking up my son and taking him home we went out to play in the backyard.

Well apparently the fly swarm at the office was not an isolated event. While

trying to hang with my boy in the backyard flies were pestering the heck out of me. I’d had enough, so I went inside and grabbed a weapon. A man can only take so much pestering, and abuse before taking action and I’d had enough. I swung my weapon like a samurai defending his home. I swatted high, I swung low. Flies fell from all corners of my backyard as I released my fury. About 25-30 felled flies later I rested, satisfied that some good had been done, and that I should return to the point of the evening: hanging with my son.

Somewhere in the middle of my fly-killing spree I wondered two things:

1. Are my 2-Story Neighbors enjoying the show?
2. Is killing 30 flies really going to make a difference?

I not sure about the first answer, but for the 2nd? It made a difference to this one:

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the impact of my life, and what I spend my time on. I’ve been reminded lately to make every effort to transform the potential that God has given me into actual ability to do good in the world. We were born with potential, but we are not supposed to die with it. So much of life is spent “chasing the wind“, and skill is required to avoid futility and walk out in a life of purpose.

God help us to find and fulfill the good plans you have for us.

Did God provide for me or did I get jacked?

So we recently received our combined federal and state tax refund, direct deposited into our checking account. With visions of of new clothes, books, and backyard landscaping dancing in my head I had great plans for how we’d spend the free 1/3 of our bounty. We’d decided this year with extra money that we get outside our usual budget to save 1/3, give away 1/3, and spend 1/3.

Well, then our Mazda MPV (don’t call it a mini-van– it’s an extended hatchback) needed a repair. Cha-ching: $400. The following week our sweet 2001 Malibu wouldn’t start. Cha-ching: $850.

Good bye clothes, books, and much needed 24″ box California Pepper tree for the backyard. It’s like I’d rolled up at the mall with a wallet full of cash and been greeted by a friendly man with a gun who kindly relieved me of my now heavy wallet, helped me back into my beautiful (hubcap-missing) Malibu and sent me back home empty handed. I felt like I just got “jacked”.

I was thinking this all over yesterday while I sat in that Malibu with the engine off. I had a few minutes to think, because it wasn’t starting again. Hmmm, “that’s nice,” I thought. Luckily, I was sitting 20 yards from my wife’s car (the extended hatchback) since I had just driven to her office to pick something up. So, I had to admit that if my car was going to quit on me in the middle of my day, this was about as good a place as it could do it. Hmmm.

As I hopped into the Mazda, leaving my $850-later-and-now-not-starting Malibu behind, I wondered: was God providing for us, or were we getting jacked? Or were both happening at the same time? I have my opinion, but I’ll let you form yours.

I promise

I promise. Two words. Two words that should hold a simple and clear meaning, yet can be said and read may ways. I’ve made promises, kept promises, and failed horrendously other times to uphold them.

I’m reading in the book of Galatians from the New Testament. Penned at the hands of the apostle Paul who was hugely behind the spread of Christianity beyond its Jewish roots, Galatians tackles a question early Jewish believers in Jesus wrestled with: should Christians be expected to follow Jewish law to truly be Christians? Or to ask a similar question, are there certain ceremonies or laws that must be observed in order to experience true spirituality?

I’m just going to dip my toes into the theology of this one, mostly because I desire to point out a statement Paul makes caught my attention. The toe-deep summary I’ll offer Is enough (I hope) only to give a little context to the statement Paul makes. Paul wrote Galatians as a letter to believers in Jesus who were listening to others who would have them believe that one must do more than believe in Jesus to authentically know God. These Jewish Christians had a large body of knowledge and experience in the Scriptures (the Christian’s Old Testament) and that heritage had to amount to something. Surely, God had given them the law in order that it would be followed, and that in following His people would be right with Him, and would be in good standing with Him