Day 24: July 6, 2012- Not too Yeasty Love Stories Leave the Nightlight On

Lots of content, fun, and good stuff to grow in Christ today, so stick around. Life with God should be fun and, though sometimes hard (especially when containing squishy greenish content that smells like danger Will Robinson), it should be simple too. So enter like a little child!

And maybe together we'll find faith like one a little easier.

Cousins!

This one's a couple days old, but sooo adorable (I hate people who draw out words). Luke meets his cousins, Sky and Lucy, on the play mat, and surprise, he actually looks like he knows what's going on! Or like he's trying to figure out what's going on.

Or like he's staring off into space in the direction that Sky happens to occupy.

But anyway, it's really cute, and you really should see it!

So see it (By the way, you've gotta see the little tussle at the end of the video- stick around to the end!):





Look at that Face.

Featuring, the face of the day:

 Wha does cute mean?

Cute means 24 days old and lovin' that hair-do, Lukey. 

Look at that Face, Part 2.

 

The close runner-up:

 

I think it's time for me to be put down

 

Or changed, buddy. And I'm goin' with number 2.

Stay tuned, more pics to come!

And even more content today, so stick around, cuz it's...

 

Keep it Simple Day (with Instructions).

In case you don't know, if you scroll down past the interesting, insightful comments on the readings below (four readings, four sets of comments), you will actually find something surprising. The readings.

That's right. You can listen in just fifteen minutes or so while brushing your teeth (you need fifteen minutes) or eating breakfast, and it'll keep you focused on the way to go, with a few extra notes so simple a child could get it (my child, anyway).

I hope you consider joining us for this year. Fifteen minutes a day and you'll have read the Bible, even if you've only been listening. You can read along in a new window through the link below, while I read, or you can just listen and reflect.

Also, these podcasts should be able to be downloaded to an mp3 player for listening on the go. Let me know if you can't get that to work and I'll look into it for you.

Enjoy!

Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 4:20-27

Israel gives the blessings before he dies. As the backwards sort of guy he is, he blesses Joseph's second son over his first. One has to wonder if this is God's foresight into their futures or Jacob doing what he does best: stirring things up. Remember, he was the second-born who stole the blessing from the first. So it's almost fitting that he'd pass along the blessing to the second. What way to go out. Not that Joseph has to be happy about it.
Anyway, it's lights out on this chapter of God's epic love story with mankind and on to the next. One would think after a seven year famine that leaves the land in servitude and barely saves the family, the worst is behind them. Unfortunately, they've got another thing coming. Stay tuned to tomorrow. If you thought Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were epic, wait til you meet this guy God flushes out of the reeds.

Jesus points out the Pharisees' hypocrisy. Possibly more importantly, he tells them to beware of the sly teachings that will sneak into the church. There are reasons in later books Paul tells Christians not to even eat with certain Christians; there is a danger their hypocrisy or theology will seep into the church. We have not done a good job of that. At times the church doesn't look too different than the world, and even when it is, it isn't always following God's Word. So let's get out the flour and keep it away from that nasty yeast!

And whose gonna come to save you? In whose arm do you trust? The Lord. Let's believe God is a victorious conquerer God, riding in like a general before all his troops. He has won and we can trust him.

And after a reading like yesterday, which really freaked those of us out that are afraid of the dark, it's nice to have one like today. It tells you where to walk. Not to the left. Not to the right. Straight ahead. Guard your heart and fix your eyes forward and you won't lose your way. Wisdom keeps us not only away from those who do evil and could make us slip up, but it keeps us ON the path of righteousness. That's right, we're actually going somewhere.
And if you get scared, you can keep a nightlight on.




Read along if you like:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2048:1-49:33,%20Matthew%2015:29-16:12,%20Psalm%2020:1-9,%20Proverbs%204:20-27&version=NKJV

Day 23: July 5, 2012- The Heart, Not Rules, and Rest in Arms of Love

Resting in God.

Beautiful. Both of them.

 

Resting in Mom's love

 

I wonder how much we can rest in God's love. The Bible says we are to find shelter under his wings. That we have entered into the rest of Christ. I think that's what it looks like. Resting on the chest of someone who will absolutely love, absolutely protect. There's no place for anxiety. No place for worry. Just peace, because there's no reason to mistrust Him.

Luke doesn't worry about whether we will hold him. He doesn't fret about whether we'll be there when he wakes up. Not when he's sleeping. He knows nothing other than to give in to loving arms that surround him. He finds rest there, because of the full trust he has, not in spite of it.

How many of us rest in God like my son above? That's what rest in Christ is. Total trust in loving arms that we have no reason to believe will not be there. Letting him do the protecting and the work and just falling asleep.

You have no reason to worry. God's an even better parent than Angela, above, is. He's perfect. He never slips. Never fails to clean up our mess or feed us when we need it. Heck, he turned a few loaves and fish into a meal for thousands the other day in the reading. He has a compassionate heart that doesn't say, "Send them out to get food." He says, "You give it to them." And then he breaks it and hands it to the person next to him. 'Til every last one is satisfied.

We don't have an incapable God. We don't have one on whose watch we need to stay awake to make sure nothing happens. We have one, like in the photo above, in whose arms we can fall asleep and in whose care we can forget where we are, forget everything, and just know that it will be all right.

Only, you may want to clean your own diaper from time to time.

Today's all about the reading!

Genesis 46:1-47:31, Matthew 15:1-28, Psalm 19:1-14, Proverbs 4:14-19

Mama...mama...I'm (not) coming ho-o-ome. Jacob leaves the place near where the promise was given to his descendants. He travels to a foreign land to stay for what would be 420 years. As a people. Israel's body would be taken home to rest with his ancestors. It's just another reason that God knows what he's doing. He leads his people to a place, for their survival, from which he will later have to liberate them. And eventually, mama...[they're] coming home.
(Or going. Going would be appropriate grammar. But, uh, it wouldn't fit with the _____ reference. Wouldn't you like to know what ____ is? *Sticks tongue out,* on a Christian blog, but quickly apologizes, so it's cool. Was imitating a frog. *Sticks tongue out* again. Because now we're friends and friends can do that.)

Jesus is all real. So real. He is the ultimate unhypocrite. He neutralizes hypocrisy in the world by his radical unhypocritical-ness. He chastises the Pharisees for following rules without the right heart. They don't care about the right reasons and therefore end up with the right rules for the wrong reasons or the wrong rules for the wrong reasons. It's a sliding scale away from godliness without the heart thing. Then, in a seemingly different example, he meets a woman to whom the right rules (God's) say Jesus isn't to minister. But guess what? She has the right heart. So he gives her what she asks. Is God saying do whatever you want by your own rules (with the right heart) and you'll be pleasing to God? No! That's not even possible when you're making up the rules. But he is saying your heart is what matters. If that's in the right place, the rules that should be bent will be. 'Cuz it ain't about them anyway. They aren't what God came to save. But the heart is precisely the heart of what is. And it's what God cares about. So where's yours?

Psalms serves up another sweet worship sesh. Things burst forth. Things proclaim. The glory of God shows up. The soul is revived. Hidden faults are cleansed. It's a might-uh pleasin' med-uh-tation of da heart and-uh word of ma mout' (Their Eyes Were Watching God style).

And if you want to be wise, if you've been following this year through the Bible just to become wise, Proverbs gives a simple plan: don't even go near the path of evildoers. They don't know what trips them BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE DARK. PSST! Who turned out the lights?? So...simple math. If you don't want to be asking later how that happened, what tripped you up, don't walk in the dark. It's only in the dark that they don't know. And you know that path. So stay away from it.




To read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2046:1-47:31,%20Matthew%2015:1-28,%20Psalm%2019:1-14,%20Proverbs%204:14-19&version=NKJV

Day 15: June 27, 2012- Boldness and Trust

Today's all about family.

The generations meet. A legacy is passed on. Luke meets his great grandmother.

Lukey and Great Grandma Hine

And great uncle.

 

Lukey and Great Uncle Dennis

And he'll always be our lovable little frog.

 

Angela, Me, and Luke the froggy

 

Let's read the Bible, little froggy.

The Readings:

Genesis 31:17-32:12, Matthew 10:24-11:6, Psalm 13:1-6, Proverbs 3:16-18

God is always looking out for Jacob. No matter he goes through, even service to a relative that lasts for years. God is always there. So when things get sticky with the in-laws, it's no surprise that God is to the rescue. He helps Jacob escape.
And when the posse from another disgruntled family member comes after him, God will be ready...

Jesus calls his followers to be bold. In the readings today you'll find out just how much of a tough guy Jesus is. No Mr. Rogers character here. Don't expect to be liked. Don't expect to be listened to. Don't expect anything will be any easier on you than it was on Jesus. But it will be good.
And you always wanted to be a tough guy, right? Follow Jesus and you will be the boldest, strongest YOU, you can possibly be. There is no other way to truly live. Don't settle.

David is crying out to God again. You'd think the guy was holed up in caves for years, or something. Oh, wait...wups. David has absolutely good reason to be upset, worried, frustrated, all of the above. An outlaw. Hated by the king. Hunted down by the king's army. Starving, threatened, near death.
Never alone. David comes to the end of his troubles today to say he trusts God. Do you?

Proverbs is talking about wisdom. Yesterday it was more valuable than rubies. Today she's like a woman, delightful, satisfying. All who embrace her hold life; "happy are those who hold her tightly."
For all the company we can desire, none are more valuable than her.




Read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2031:17-32:12,%20Matthew%2010:24-11:6,%20Psalm%2013:1-6,%20Proverbs%203:16-18&version=NIV

Day 13: June 25, 2012- Moby's, Worrmbats, and Other Furry Magical Creatures

Moment of the Day:

Angela and I got the little scrumption into his car seat, rumbling down the road, and to the mall!!!

No, you are not allowed to take any lessons here, buddy. The mall is a bad place, filled with evil things called...price tags. There will be horror bedtime stories about such things coming, I think (it's amazing how his mind falls into my neat little traps).

Today is the day of the Moby.

I decided to wear one, a piece of cloth about as long as a first down (notice how I compared it to football, making it instantly cooler to the reader who is, once again, falling into my neat little trap). It wraps around one's body in a supposedly important method and then you tuck a baby inside.

After fighting with the contraption (at this point it's become one, which brings it into the realm of things I can be frustrated with), I finally redesigned it (aka, tied a knot in the back at a step of the procedure), making it a fine tuned machine (ok, a bit of a stretch for cloth, but I'm in the middle of boasting...read on to hear the rest of the boast), proving that a guy is needed to come and engineer a girl's product to make it work properly (slightly sexist remark while wearing what is the equivalent of Pontius Pilate's designer's evening cocktail gown), and thus preparing myself for walking around a mall with a baby in my papoose, er, pouch, er, man...satchel thingy.

Ok, I must admit, this thing is not made of camo or crossing gun bullet belts.

Round 2 went to the Moby at the mall, as we struggled to adapt to its strategy to dance around my body and wear us out chasing it around the ring.

Round 3 I won. The baby was asleep and the Moby fitting into my neat little trap to make it do its job.

Half way through Round 4, the match was called on account of poop, but not before I got some good unchecked hand shots in at Express and, well...a sweet technological gadget store much more sweet and technological than stupid Moby's a sorta girlie store Angela wanted to go to...

But I'm confident if the fight had gone on I would've won.

(If there is a Moby out there anywhere saying if the fight had gone on it would've won, I'm just, like, really upset right now. I just want to say it knows where I live. Anytime, anywhere tough guy. Except not tomorrow, I will be carrying the diaper bag tomorrow...and, um, ok nevermind...)

But seriously, I really like Moby's (@Moby not serious, not serious, bring it on #fisticuffs #hospital #athletic tape #spandex #every other elastic material better than a Moby).

And for no reason at all...

Picture!!

You could kill the world with cuteness, kid. Or at least small, furry magical creatures like worrmbats. Worrmbats hate cuteness.

A First Conversation Piece.

So today, Luke and I had our first conversation!

He always has to have the last word. Aka: I can't even win a serious debate with a 13 day old.  I think, and I really don't think I'm reaching with this, being his dad, that he's actually quite intelligent. Listen in to our adorable exchange!




And yes, there are readings!

Genesis 28-29:35, Matthew 9:18-38, Psalm 11:1-7, Proverbs 3:11-12

This is a cool moment for Jacob. God comes to him in a dream and blesses him. Jacob ponders it, then chooses to follow God with his life. We usually think of God as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's God. But this is the moment he becomes Jacob's God. There was a beginning. And this is it.

Jesus sees the people in their pain. Have you ever felt like no one knows what you're going through? Jesus looks out over the people and he sees one after another uniquely formed, infinitely special person. And he sees them hurting. It's enough to bring one to one's knees. Will you take on Jesus's heart for the people, my friend? Will you make healing their hearts foremost in yours?

David's not afraid. He knows who his God is.

And, ever thought you were being wronged when you were being disciplined? If you're in a difficult time now, better to not decide it's so awful just yet. Perhaps God is disciplining you, not necessarily for sin, but like on a sports team, to become much stronger. Sounds like he loves you.

Hope you enjoy the reading!




Read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2028-29:35,%20Matthew%209:18-38,%20Psalm%2011:1-7,%20Proverbs%203:11-12&version=NIV

Day 11: June 23, 2012- Part 2 of the First Love Story and the Two Brothers

Moment of the Day:

A cool thing happened today.

We successfully inserted Luke into the Fisher Price Swing that had been given to us. And he didn't cry.

He just looked around and reached out, trying to comprehend his surroundings.

As he swung, all of a sudden, I wanted to get his attention. I wanted to tell him I love him. At least to make eye contact.

So I got really close and swayed with the rhythm of the swing.

"I love you, Lukey."

But he continued to paw at the air and looked side to side to try to figure out where he was.

He wouldn't look at me. It was as though he couldn't.

I felt such love well up within me, as I saw him struggle with his surroundings, and all I wanted was for him to know how much I love him and that I'm right there.

But as I got closer, I couldn't get his eyes to meet mine.

He was too consumed by the movement of the swing.

And then I thought, this must be how God feels.

We sway back and forth, so caught up in our surroundings, pre-occupied trying to figure it all out, that he can't get our attention. He looks at us and leans in, so full of desire for us, just wanting to comfort us and tell us it's okay. You don't have to worry about the swing. Daddy's right here. Daddy loves you.

But we don't notice. Our eyes dart back and forth, and we miss what he so desperately longs for us to hear. What he so desperately longs for us to see. That he's right there.

If we could, we'd see the overwhelming love and compassion welling in his eyes, a Father who never stops watching, never stops trying to get our attention.

We'd see a Father who wants to enjoy the ride with us. Wants us to be able to enjoy this with him.

If we could just forget the craziness and movement for one moment, we'd see that he's right in front of us, following us with his eyes, hoping to catch ours. That we're not alone. He's been standing there all along, calling out our name. That he's swaying back and forth to the rhythm of our crazy pace, leaning in, hoping to share it with us.

And more than anything he just wants to say, "I love you."

 

I love you

 

Thank you (or...milk...)

 

I love sleeping on daddy...

 

 ...all scrunchled up

But there's nothing like mommy 

The Readings:

Genesis 24:52-26:16, Matthew 8:18-34, Psalm 10:1-15, Proverbs 3:7-8

Part 2 of Isaac's love story. Esau and Jacob come into the picture. There's a really good lesson why to honor what God calls important. This doesn't work out well for the guy who doesn't.

An interesting day when Jesus has no place to go. Will you follow him? To really love God, we must be willing to follow without reservation. Even by the end of this reading, Jesus is a loner without welcome.

David has questions. Do you ever? That's okay, so long as you take them to him. And you answer them with what you know is true, not what you feel. David is going through the process.

An ominous change of direction in Proverbs today. Solomon isn't recommending one to seek wisdom and learn; he's warning against being impressed with your own wisdom. This is a really hard one for us. Perhaps especially for us guys. But there is an answer, and man, is it worth it.

Overall, a great day. I hope you guys are enjoying this. God is really speaking to me through it! Nothing like drawing near our Father and learning from him as the Bible comes to life...



Read along:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2024:52-26:16,%20Matthew%208:18-34,%20Psalm%2010:1-15,%20Proverbs%203:7-8&version=NLT