Happy Easter! This video makes it rounds every Easter but with good reason. I always love hearing it so I thought I would pass it along myself this year.

One thing the boys do when going to bed each night is they turn the radio on to K-Love. They love listening to it and will ask to turn it on in the van or car. On Sunday nights K-Love does what they call A Closer Look, where they take a topic and talk about it with experts in the field and then with their staff pastors.

This past Sunday I was in Barbourville to go see a friend after his grandmother had past away. On my way over to my parent’s house, I was listening to K-Love down there when the show came on. Now Colby doesn’t like it when it comes on to begin with since they are not playing music but most of the time he will leave it on so when the show is over he can listen to the music. Well this night was a little different. The show was dealing with a mature topic that young kids shouldn’t be listening to. So when I heard this, I picked up my phone and called Misty. So upstairs she goes and meets Colby on the way downstairs. He didn’t mention anything about the radio but about something else different. But when Misty gets upstairs she notices that the radio in both rooms are off. Misty asked Gabe about the radio and he told her that Colby said it was going to be about something inappropriate and turned his and their radio off.

Talking about making a dad proud. Colby stood up for himself and for his brothers and did the right thing and turned both radios off so they didn’t hear what was being talked about. We have talked to him several times about stuff he shouldn’t watch and listen to but sometimes you have to wonder if he is really listening. I guess he is.

Sometimes all we can do is teach and just hope it takes. I think it is.

I still need to do some theme changes. Just have to find one I like. So if you have and recommendations, send them this way. If you are reading, please leave me a comment here so I can get some ideas. Just wondering who all is reading.

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The real meaning of the season is slowly being ripped away from us by people wanting things and companies pushing sales down your throat. Hey it’s our 1 day sale. Hey it’s our 3 day amazing Christmas sale. Well sale this. I’m tired of it.  You can’t watch tv or listen to the radio without hearing some kind of promotion for the next sale. Funny how if you add up all of the x day sales, you will end right at Christmas Eve. Now I know companies love Christmas time for their budget. I did live in a household that lived off of retail. I know what the Christmas season means to these companies. But I think we have reach a point where enough is enough. I mean people are fighting in Walmart for crockpots. People are willing to do just about anything to make sure little Johnny gets his new XBox.

Now I am also not against buying anything for people. In fact I love going after work someday and going shopping for Misty. I love taking a day and going out with Misty and going shopping for the boys. It’s just with so many people suffering in this world, fighting over a crockpot is just stupid. Hundreds of people are sleeping homeless tonight around Lexington but lets sleep over night in a tent in front of a store to get Johnny his Xbox. Families all over the US are homeless after loosing their jobs but lets get that credit card so we can save 10% on Aunt Sues sweater.

As I try and ignore the madness, I turn to the radio to listen to Christmas music thinking that will get me in the spirit. Nope, the radio station around here that plays non stop Christmas music started way before Thanksgiving and if you listen to it enough, you will get tired of it real quick. I bet I could list about 8 to 10 songs with the person who sings it and you would hear at least 1 or 2 within 15 minutes of turning the station on. And most of them are about how great Christmas is. Keep in mind that most of them don’t even mention Jesus at all.

Again I love hearing Rudolph and Winter Wonderland but not nonstop. Would it kill someone to hear Silent Night and Away in a Manger every now and then? I’m not going to go run around screaming don’t take Christ out of Christmas. It kills me to hear people scream that in December but never say a word the other 11 months.

So what am I going to do?  I’m going to start by doing what I think God wants me to do. I’m going to teach my boys that Christmas is not about getting gifts but giving them. I’m going to show them what it means to be the hands and feet of God. Our church on Christmas Eve is going to host a dinner for families that are less fortunate. But we will not stop in December. A couple of months ago we volunteered at the Lighthouse Missions in Lexington. The boys loved serving and so did me and Misty. I can see us doing that again soon.

So. What are you going to do? Are you part of the problem or are you going to be part of the solution?

13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.”t And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!”

16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.
17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine?18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?”

19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed you.”

Luke 17:11-19 (NLT)

Just wanted to take a minute to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and to list what I am thankful for this year. I sometimes feel like the 9 but I am working hard to be the 10th. Our Kidstuf service taught on this the other day. I am stealing the verse idea and this idea from a friend of mine so here is “My Gratitude List:”

1. Thanks for a God that loves me unconditionally and would send his Son Jesus to die on a cross for me so that I can spend eternity with him.

2. An amazing wife, Misty, that loves me beyond belief. I in no way deserve a lady like her. I’m just thankful that she loves me despite my failures as a husband and father. The last almost 14 years have been great and I can’t wait to explorer our future together. Your love for our family is the glue that keeps us together.

3. My sons who I love. They are all unique in their own ways but all three love God and each other. I know sibling rivalry is real but in the end, those 3 boys love each other. God has gifted them each in their own ways and all three have been blessed with a great personality and intelligence.

4. An amazing church with an amazing pastor who is not afraid of teaching the Word of God for what it is and not sugar coat it to make someone feel better. Cameron, you are an amazing person and don’t ever change and don’t ever let anyone tell you that you are doing it wrong.

5. My parents who have been there for me through the good times and especially the bad times.

6. Great friends who I can depend on. I know I can call my friends to help me with what ever I need at any time.

So, what is on your list? Post it in the comment section below.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

So, I’ve went back and forth in my mind how I wanted to write a blog post to honor the passing of Steve Jobs. Did I want to take the path of you never know how long you have on this planet or what. That would be easy, especially with the quote from Steve above. And after seeing the movie Courageous, it would be even easier. But, I think that would be taking the easy way out.

I think I will take a different road. Fitting don’t you think? I mean the success of Apple is due to Steve taking a different road. Going places no one has ever been. Jobs and Steve Wozniak made personal computing a reality. I mean how many companies including IBM said no to personal computers? Sometimes if you want to make a mark on this world you have to take a different path. You have to be willing to take the road, not less traveled, but never traveled. You have to blaze a new trail and then have the leadership to take people down that road.

Now keep in mind that I don’t own any Apple products and probably never will. I am a Google/Android fan and will probably stay that way. But I have to honor what Steve Jobs has done for the PC and smartphone/table industry. He has pushed the envelope so far out that everyone has struggled to keep up. He has singled handily pushed RIM almost out of business. Google is being pushed by Apple and Apple is being pushed by Google. Both companies only get better with this which with Steve’s passing is the problem facing the world today.

Who’s next?

Who is now willing to step up and be the next great visionary? The federal government has already shut NASA out. Children these days don’t want to be astronauts. Why? We are taking the road always traveled. No more shuttle missions and nothing to replace it. Schools these days allow kids to take the easy way out.
If our children continue to take the easy road then we won’t have any more new innovations. We won’t have the wow factor anymore when it comes to new hardware or software. We must start pushing our children to be the next Steve Jobs.

Apple once ran an ad campaign title Think Different. Our kids must start thinking differently than we did. We must push them in that direction.

One of my biggest challenges in life is raising my boys. And not just raising them but raising them in a way that is honoring to God. Even with as hard as it is, I think we are somewhat on the right path.

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.t

43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”
Mark 12:41-44 (NLT)

The family of a classmate of Gabe’s lost everything in a house fire the other day. Gabe mentioned this to Misty after school one day and wanted to do something for him. Misty checked with Gabe’s teacher and sure enough, they lost everything they had. The teacher said they would be checking with the Family Resource Center and would be sending out a letter to the parents of the class letting them know about it and what they could use.

We got the letter today and Misty was reading it to Gabe about what his classmate needed. You know stuff like underwear, socks, books and of course money. Gabe stood up and took off upstairs. Misty was expecting him to come back with a pair or two of socks and some underwear. I mean he’s six right. What else would he think?

Well he came back with his bank and said “I want to give this all to my friend.” Every bit of it. Now there may have only been a couple of dollars in change but to a six-year-old, that’s a lot of money. When we started to pray over dinner tonight, I asked Gabe what he thinks he should pray for. Without missing a beat, he said his friend. He only prayed for him and didn’t mention a word about our food or anything else. Just his friend.

He also gave him a Dr. Seuss book which was on the list. He also gave him 2 pieces of candy and wants to invite him to the Easter Egg hunt at church.

Gabe has such a big heart and is always concerned for others. Gabe is also very smart. We somewhat joke that Gabe will become a doctor and go over seas and work for something like Doctors Without Borders and live in a grass hut all of his life. But sometimes I really think that he will. He is a very special little boy. I pray that he will change the world and at times I really think he will.