The cold days have kept us indoors, but that hasn’t stopped us from having fun times together.  The photo above is from a party my daughter put together a few weeks ago.

I’m was seated at the bottom left (the backwards cap got me in a little trouble).  Good times were had by all.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been walking through the process of purchasing a house here in Knoxville.  Unfortunately, things haven’t gone quite as smooth as we were hoping, but there’s still a chance that we will close on the house this Wednesday.  If not, we’ll have to send new paperwork back through bankruptcy court (the house is currently owned by the bank), and that will delay closing by several weeks.

Through this time, a few things have become apparent:

• I really struggle with patience.  Once I have a thing planned in my mind, I struggle with any deviation to that plan.
• Being unsure of what’s going to happen is unmotivating.  For instance, even though I’m packing everything up, many things will have to be unpacked if closing is delayed.
• Its hard to enjoy living in a rented house once you’ve packed away all your decorations.  It feels like a barren shell of a place – not like home.
• There is some sick part of me deep inside that kind of enjoys packing (just a little).  Maybe my mom dropped me on my head as an infant, or something.
• This is a GREAT time to buy a house.  Both the soon-to-end tax credit and the extremely low interest rate sweeten the deal considerably.  In fact, my wife might just end up with new living room furniture for the first time in our marriage.

As a pastor, I really enjoy walking alongside couples as they transition from engagement to marriage. Recently, I shared something with a couple who is working through a few challenges.  I thought I’d post it here in case it might encourage others too:

[Speaking to their issue] …marriage is full of junk like this. If it’s not quality time, it’s sexual frequency, differences on how to spend money, communication problems, or family issues. Having a great marriage is not the absence of problems. It’s having a rock solid commitment to work things out, even when you don’t want to.

Nothing profound here – just a good reminder.  Everybody has problems, but in marriage, work, or any other thing we do, the process of working through these problems is what makes our relationships healthy.

At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, ”O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike…. (NLT) [emphasis mine]

This is a motivation check for me.  Why do I do the things I do and say the things I say?  Is it to please God, or is it to impress people?

Father, please save me from my selfish motivations and my silly attempts to feel good about myself.  Help me to place my identity in Christ and understand my worth through the cross.

I personally have converted to doing about 90% of my off-computer reading on my Kindle iPhone app and YouVersion Bible.

What do you think?  Will this kind of interaction win over any of you who have been sitting on the fence when it comes to digital reading?

I just started reading a book by Geoff Surratt called Ten Stupid Things That Keep Churches from Growing. It’s my first time to read a book by Geoff, and I’m really enjoying it.  He writes from the mistakes he’s made in the past, and it’s quite funny.

Right now I’m only on the first “stupid thing”, and he’s already nailed me.  It’s about pastors trying to do everything themselves rather than sharing the responsibility.  I’m not sure if it’s my insecurity, my perfectionism, or just a fear that others won’t enjoy being involved, but this is an area where I really struggle.

Fortunately, God has given me enough clarity to see that the things He has called me to do at Faith Promise are beyond my abilities.  Light years beyond.

I’m committed to kicking this tendency to the curb because there’s too much at stake.  Whether it’s our communications strategies, our church website, the Internet Campus, outreach campaigns, or anything else I’m working on, I want to get others involved.  I want to share the fun and the responsibilities.  I want to step out in faith to see what God will do when I and the other people I’m serving with come to the end of our abilities.

Just so I don’t give the wrong impression, almost everything I’ve done at Faith Promise has involved great teams of people.  People like Josh, Brad, Heather, Matt, Phil, and many others have been deeply involved in every successful thing that I’ve worked on at Faith Promise so far.  I’m deeply indebted to each of them, and I can’t wait to see new people join us in ministry and planning.

Barring any unforeseen complications, this is the house we’ll be moving into the beginning of next month.  We’re grateful for our time renting a home in Farragut, but it’s time to move on from here, and we’re excited to make this our new home.

At the same time, a lot of my reading over the past few days has been focused on the temporary nature of this life and our stuff.  It’s adding some great perspective as we make this transition.  The house and stuff that we own is cool, but it can never own our hearts.

Lord, please help me to value obedience to you over my possessions.  Protect my heart from being ensnared by temporary stuff.

So, what about you?  In the materialistic world we live in, what helps you to remember that it’s all temporary?  Any tips?

The second image below was taken several days after the snow had completely melted from the rest of the neighborhood.

I’m happy to report that even though it’s been over a week, there are still snowman remains in my front yard. He’s the toughest snowman I’ve ever built, no doubt.

Oh, I love my kids!  I love how they are growing and learning, and I love that I get to help direct their lives to Jesus and living for Him without reservations.

One thing that I’ve discovered is that it’s a little bit hard to come by resources that are really great for helping my kids learn about the Bible.  Either the stories tend to be poorly written, miss the point, or have lame illustrations.  Fortunately, Keri has a collection of books that she and her siblings grew up reading, and they’re fantastic.  I don’t personally know about newer editions, but these 1966 Arch Books are my favorite.  I read one with the kids every night.

Anybody else have kid resources that you’d recommend for teaching about Jesus and the Bible?

The other day I happened to have a phone conversation with the pastor and author Douglas Estes.  When I got off the phone, I knew that I needed to check out his book, titled SimChurch.  I finished the book last night, and I have to say that it took me by surprise.

Honestly, when I first came across the book, I thought it was just another debate about whether or not the church can really meet online.  I was very wrong.

This book has challenged me in a huge way.  He brings up so many important concerns and ideas that hadn’t crossed my mind before.

Here’s one of many quotes that really made a bit impact on me:

…a recent survey of virtual-world citizens found that 50 percent of people surveyed don’t even believe the virtual world has sin in it. Why? Because it’s not real. Here the church is poised to fail big-time – to drop a ball of monumental proportions. Here’s how it will play out. As tens of millions of people flock to virtual worlds, traditional Christians who fear change in the church at large will see alarmist headlines about the virtual world and will dismiss the virtual world as one big sinful fantasy, as being not real. They will turn the virtual world over to its own devices, and tens of millions of people – with no true ethical compass – will embrace greater free agency and then write their own rules on what is right and what is wrong. Before long, sin in the virtual world will start to redefine [people's perception of] sin in the real world; what’s permissible in the virtual world will start to seem less wrong in the real world. After a generation passes, new church leaders will ask, “How did we get into this mess?”

It’s a well-written book, and it has bolstered my passion for the Faith Promise Internet Campus.  I’m very grateful for Douglas Estes’ thoughtful observations, and I’d highly recommend it to any pastoral staff who are interested in making a greater impact online.