Taking out the trash

I watched part of the "Jon and Kate + 8" the other night before sleepy time. I usually will watch from time to time to see how they handle stressful moments or issues with two 1st graders and six 3 yr. olds. They had there first planned movie night with popcorn and drinks in the basement to watch something the kids would enjoy. They love animals! So they watched "Planet Earth". My opinion.....HUGE mistake! They loved the monkeys, lions and goats. Until they saw one lion devour a monkey on the screen. It reminded me that I too have to be carefull what my son should watch. It is not out of trying to raise them like Quakers or to take away there rights. It is out of protection. Shouldn't I feel he would be ready before I allow him to view questionable stuff. They should be old enough to understand when you explain what is going on. Now I have the Gosselins in my memory as they are screaming and crying over the Lion eating the monkey. Now I am still terrified that they continued to allow them to watch the Lion eat the entire monkey. Every experience we’ve had is recorded in our memory (I wish I had the delete button for some of mine). If the sum of our life experience is negative and self-gratifying, that backlog of memory can have a powerful influence over our present circumstances. It’s important that we go to work eliminating the effects of those experiences.

One way to aid this process is what we could call the principle of diluting. If a truck carrying a toxic substance has a wreck on the freeway, a specialized crew is called to clear the toxins from the scene. To completely clear the contamination they’d have to get rid of the pavement, the dirt, and everything that’s affected. Instead, they spray a liquid on the contaminated area which dilutes the toxin, rendering it harmless. In a similar way, we can cancel the poisonous effects of the past by diluting them and covering them with God’s Word. Ephesians 5:26 says Jesus sanctified the Church, "having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…" As we meditate on the Word and act on what we learn, we receive cleansing and purifying benefits.

The disciplines of Bible meditation, scripture memorization are important tools and having company that will protect you from the trash this world dishes out will not only bring cleansing, but also help us remain wholehearted on this life long journey. This life is already hard enough....why make it harder! Take out the trash!

Who am I?

A very dirty little fellow came in from playing in the yard and asked his mother, "Who am I?" Ready to play the game she said, "I don't know! Who are you?" "WOW!" cried the child. "Mrs. Johnson was right! She said I was so dirty, my own mother wouldn't recognize me!"

Details...Details...Details!

In the new revolution of HD, could we be over simplifying our life. Yes, we want to see things clear but to what point. I know this may seem funny or obscene but there is a point. I was watching the synchronize divers from Olympics at a friends house who has HD 64inch TV. The divers do not appear to have their country flags on their rear any longer, now they are placed right of the Adidas symbol which places them on the crotch. So when a friend asked what country the divers were from, immediately the 10-12 viewers went to look at the flag and saw it with amazing detail! I just thought it was funny that some of us was squinting at the screen because the diver had moved a little to find the country flag on his groin!

At that time, I was actually thankful to have a normal TV at home. I do not need the latest thing. I have a friend that bought the new type of phone....you know the text buttons with I-Pod screen, dictionary, etc. He was excited to get this new product but 4 months later and the only thing he has used it for was as a phone. He still hasn't learned how to use it for texting. Sure it is great to have these nice products but are they needed. Many times we find luxeries a necessity. We could get by with what we have without spending the money or time with family. Yes, I could be seen as a old geezer. Telling the young people of today, "When I was a kid....". I am just simply saying that sometimes we do not need what we think we need. Maybe we should simplify our life with how we should spend our time, than look at how we can simplify our life. Sometimes the gadgets aren't worth it.

This comes from a blogger that was caught looking at the details!

The cruel disappearing Magic trick!

I have always had fun with the habit my parents had with me. I would misbehave and one of my parents would say to the other "Your son.....". The angry parent would dis-own me in seconds. One bad decision made me disappear! It was like one of my friend's magic tricks. "Watch me lose a child in one bad decision!". I found myself doing that again this morning. My 7 month old was having trouble staying asleep at 2:30 due to congestion. When my wife woke up this morning for work I told her "Your son kept me up all night!". Now anybody that really knows me would know that I was just kidding but that behavior was followed with the thought "What if....What if God (Papa) said this to me and meant it?"

Wow....what a jaw dropper! I know this may catch people off guard but before you take offense, Think about it! I was given the "License to sin". I have made a commitment to a relationship that in return I was given the license to sin. This is a huge insurance policy that I did not earn but accepted as a gift. How would it feel to be told "your not my child any longer". There would be some major abandonment issues. "But why...what did I do for you to dis-own me???". This level of behavior could domino into a world of despair and pain in no time.

I am thankful to have a father that will love me no matter what I do! I am not trying to test him but I enjoy having this insurance policy...It makes things easier when I do make bad decisions!

Like Sheep

Once you were wandering like lost sheep. But now you have turned to your Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls. (1 Peter 2:25)

On more than one occasion, the Bible compares Christians to sheep. I don't know if I'm really happy about that, because sheep are not the most intelligent animals on earth.

It would have been nice if God had compared us to dolphins. Now there's an intelligent animal. I once had the opportunity to talk to a man who trained dolphins. I asked him, "Are dolphins really as intelligent as they seem?" He said, "In some ways, yes, and in some ways, no. They are very intelligent in many ways, because a dolphin can read a symbol and understand what it means." That is amazing to me.

But Jesus didn't compare us to dolphins. He compared us to sheep. And sheep are some of the stupidest animals around.

They are easily spooked. They are vulnerable. They have no defense mechanisms to speak of. They can't run very fast. They are in constant need of care and attention. They have a horrible tendency to follow each other, even to their own death. It has been documented that if one sheep walks off a cliff, the others will follow.

The Bible says, "All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God's paths to follow our own" (Isaiah 53:6). Think about how many people have bought into the same lies, generation after generation. They fall into the same junk, the same addictions, and the same traps again and again.

We are like sheep. That is a fact. The question is, am I going to be a smart sheep or a dumb one? Smart sheep stay close to the Shepherd, and that is where we all need to be.