Alex on the Matterhorn Blitz

Some friends of ours took Alex to a place called Europa Park which is an amusement park.  This is the picture they brought back.  All I have to say is that I think Alex likes roller coasters.

Pray about it but don’t get involved

When I was in a church youth group, we did this thing where the youth leaders had us come up with a “one line” answer to all of life’s situations.  We then split up into groups and thought about it for a while.  One group wanted to make sure they were very spiritual but also didn’t want people to feel a need to “fix” the situation so they came up with the one liner – “Pray about it but don’t get involved.”  So as the youth leaders came in one by one with their “situations” and it went something like this:

Leader:  I’m so upset.  Nothing’s going right for me.  I just don’t know what to do.  I could just die.

Group:  Pray about it but don’t get involved.

Next Leader:  My friends all think I’m totally square because I don’t party and drink.  What should I do?  (Remember, I grew up in the 80′s – era of cheesy sayings and cheesy youth groups)

Group:  Pray about it but don’t get involved.

Next Leader (female):  I’m 16 and pregnant.  What do I do now?

Group:  Pray about it but don’t get involved.

Ok, while the saying “Pray about it but don’t get involved” sounded good, the reality is it doesn’t work.  Not the prayer part but the “don’t get involved”.  Praying does get you involved. When we pray, we ponder upon what is God’s perspective of the situation.  When we pray for the 16 year old whose pregnant, we stop thinking about how she should have listened to us about abstinence and God reveals to us His love for her and how she’s a scared young woman in need of a hug rather than a rebuke.  When we pray for that man in prison, we stop seeing him as this wrong doer needing to pay for his crime but instead a person who has already been forgiven by God not by anything he did but by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.  Forgiven just like I am.  Now in viewing this guy in that way, don’t you want to help him understand how he can accept that forgiveness and help him to see himself as how God sees him!!!

As for the pregnant young lady and the man in prison, when they pray they too gain God’s perspective.  The reality is that God is bigger than their situations.  When they/you pray inside your situations, you put forth a trust that God is bigger than what we are having to deal with.  Will the young lady still have to deal with the situation that she’s pregnant and will the man still have to deal with the situation that he’s in prison – Yes.  However, through prayer they are actively looking to God to help them through the situation, putting their trust in Him and He is faithful and will see them through it.

So the next time you say you’re going to pray for someone, know that you are getting involved and look to God for the understanding of how.  Know that when you talk to God about your own situation, you are looking to Him to be involved in your circumstances and He will be!!  So let’s pray!!

Photos of late

I’ve been a little bad about not posting new photos lately.  Honestly, I haven’t pulled my camera out much lately as most of the places I’ve traveled to either I’ve been to before or didn’t have opportunities to take pictures.  Well, I did have a few times that I took pictures and so I finally got them uploaded today.

The first set was a family hike into the woods by where we live.  Its a narrow trail that Krista found that’s a lot of fun to explore.  Then there’s Alex’s first scooter ride with me.  And finally, a couple of pictures of when we were with the LFC India Team on their layover in Munich for Oktoberfest.  All of these and more can be found in the Photo Album.

Joke of the day – a Language Funny

A Swiss guy, visiting the U.S., pulled up at a bus stop where two locals were waiting.

“Entschuldigung, koennen Sie Deutsch sprechen?” he asked.

The two Yanks just stared at him.

“Excusez-moi, parlez vous Francais?” he tried. The two continued to stare.

“Parlare Italiano?”

Other than a glance at each other, there was still no response.

“Hablan ustedes Espanol?”

Still nothing.

The Swiss guy gave up and drove off. The first Yank turned to the second and said, “Y’know, maybe we should learn a foreign language.”

“Why?” the other replied. “That guy knew four languages, and it didn’t do him any good.”

[Note:  Provided by Mike at www.mikeysFunnies.com Also, I just have to say, I haven't met a Swiss person who didn't speak some English.]

Facebook Security

Social Networking is the communication of now, not just the future.  All around the world, people are gathering in online communities sharing their lives with one another and yes, they are in real community there.  One of the major online communities is at the site Facebook.  If Facebook was a country, it would be in the top 10 of largest countries (top five if you just take total number of accounts).  Now I am one of those people who communicates regularly through Facebook with friends and family back in the US (yes, even my dad is on Facebook!) and with friends that I have in Germany and around Europe.  I share a lot about myself through Facebook as there’s so many I keep in contact with there that I don’t have a chance to see face-to-face or talk on the phone with.

As people get more and more comfortable in a community, they begin to open up more and more – revealing more and more of themselves.  This is great!  Totally awesome as I believe people need to be free to share all parts of themselves with people who truly care for them.  However, the Internet is full of eavesdroppers.  People who listen in on these vulnerable conversations and take that information and use it for their own personal gain.  The biggest culprits are those that prey on the younger generations and the older generations.  For that reason, I just want to bring up the idea that all of us online just need to take a few steps to ensure that we can enjoy our communication online without worrying about being victimized.

If you are on Facebook, take a few moments and read this article about 10 Privacy Settings of Facebook and put into practice some or all of the suggestions they have there.  I really want people to enjoy being online but to do so in a safe manner.  God bless.

My Perception, God’s Reality

I started this post as a draft back in October 2006.  This is something that replays for me over and over again.  It’s the reality that I’m in a silo many times and am unable to see the world as it really is – that is from the perspective that God has.  I make many decisions based on the perceptions that I have.  For example,  I wear certain clothes because I think they look good on me (well, at least decent enough to wear in public) but then I’m given a reality check when my wife says “You’re really going to wear that?!?  Outside?!?”  That’s usually when I know my perception about clothing is wrong.

Here’s some of my perspectives with the contrasting of  God’s reality:

• I sometimes feel alone and isolated BUT the reality is that God is always with me and He has given me a great family, friends and co-workers.  I’m not always physically by them (well, except God) but they are there with me – praying for me, thinking about me.  If you’re reading this, then you’re “being with me” right now.
• I’m the only one who can do the work I do BUT the reality is that God could raise up anyone to do what it is He has me doing – but He wants me to do it.  For some reason that is beyond me, He has called me to do what it is I do.  I am blessed, not burdened.
• I’m tired and overwhelmed by what God has called me to do and don’t see how God expects me to do it all BUT the reality is that He hasn’t called me to do it in my own strength but by His strength.  This is the reason I have a sign in my office that says “It’s the Holy Spirit working – not YOU!!” which I try to read to remind myself every day.
• Sometimes I feel wronged by someone wondering how God could allow that person to do that to me BUT the reality is that that person is also loved by God (whether they’re a Christian or not) and that God may be looking to me to show some of the grace that He has shown me plenty of towards that person trusting Him that any wrong doings will be taken care of as God is the God of justice but that He will do it in His way and in His timing.
• I look to the future and can’t see a way for things to work out well BUT the reality is God sees (and is IN) the future and is taking care of it for me.  I’m just suppose to obediently trust and follow Him into that future.  Trust is the key factor there.

So sitting here today – here’s my perspective:  This is the longest I’ve ever gone without seeing my parents & sister and know that it will be a while before I will see them again face to face.  With the economy & spiritual situation here in Europe (and beyond), requests for help have multiplied considerably causing me to feel overwhelmed by the lists of “todos” that surround me and moving so fast is sometimes causing friction with the other people I work with.  I’m looking at our bank account and will have to make some serious decisions about the future.  Decisions that I don’t want to deal with.  This is my perspective BUT the reality is I’m in God’s hands and as I listen to Joan Osbourne’s “One of Us”, I’m reminded that “God is great, God is good.”

[Note:  If you are wondering how do you find out what is God's perspective? - talk to God, read the Bible and be a part of a community of believers.  Over time, you'll begin to see it too]