Religion vs. Jesus

Surprise, surprise. All of a sudden I’m in the mood to write something on my blog. Maybe I’ll even get it going again and start posting on a more frequent basis than every 2 years!

At any rate, there is a recent video of a young man reciting a poem he wrote entitled “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus.”

Have you seen it? You can find it here:

What do you think?

I am encouraged that young people are rejecting the institution of religion that has been built up in this country and are desperately and earnestly seeking the truth of God.

Something is completely different and unique about this person Jesus, and the message and model he brought to the world.

So much so, that his closest friends were radically transformed and had their lives turned upside down. Their commitment to this message, this good news (Gospel) was so intense that they were willing to die for it.

Watch the video. See what you think.

In case you missed it…the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act was signed into law by the President (on my birthday!)

It was a truly wonderful birthday present to receive; particularly seeing the excitement and joy from so many young people literally across the globe that played a role in the successful passage of this bill.

Here’s a video summary of the event:

http://vimeo.com/12058039

Whaaa???? It’s been 3 months?

I was recently reprimanded for not having blogged in quite some time (to the tune of 3 months). A combination of things – lots of travel, busy at home, Mafia Wars addiction have all contributed to my tardiness.

I’m going to get back on board here and try to get the blogging juices flowing again.

Stay tuned (if you’re still out there…)

COBURN SAYS “YES”!!!!!!!!!!

**UPDATE: A COMPROMISE WAS REACHED AT 3PM ET ON TUESDAY, MARCH 9th. Barring a hold placed on the newly amended bill text by a different Senator, it will pass the Senate later this week. Thank you to each person that played a role in this absolutely historic effort! Now, our focus will be on the House of Representatives, which needs to pass the bill as well before it is signed into law by the President.**

It’s horrible, but how can I help?

Please consider writing or better yet calling your U. S. Senator and ask them to encourage Sen. Coburn to lift his hold on the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act. Go to www.senate.gov to find contact information for your own Senator.

Call Sen. Coburn’s office directly and add your voice to those asking for him to release the hold on the bill.

Sign the petition at www.coburnsayyes.com.

Consider financial giving to organizations that are committed to helping end the war, but also providing aid to the children directly affected by the war – such as www.exileinternational.org.

And of course, there is much to follow at www.invisiblechildren.com.

Check it out.

The focus is now on Oklahoma City

Hannah learned a new trick

My granddaughter recently learned how to play hide-n-seek. She typically hides behind the curtain in the kitchen…

Pretty good, eh? You’d never guess there was a toddler hiding behind that curtain!

Well tonight she decided to get adventurous and try a new hiding place. See if you can find Hannah in the next picture:

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Well? Did you spot Hannah? It took us nearly three minutes to find her (that is she stood there still as a statue for nearly three minutes!)

The Winter Gathering

Several years ago (2004) I convinced the family to take a long road trip out to Illinois for a summer music festival called Cornerstone. We were much more accustomed to attending “that other festival” up in Pennsylvania, but Cornerstone had Glenn Kaiser – one of the founders of Rez Band, and currently playing the blues! (Really – that’s what I wanted to see).

Cornerstone turned out to be a very cool festival and very (VERY) different from “that other festival”. There was much more diversity in music, heck – there was just MUCH more music. There was also several days of seminars that one could attend. Being the stalker that I was being, I discovered that Glenn Kaiser was going to be leading a discussion on church leadership and associated issues that church leaders experience I thought, “that’s cool – I’m a youth leader at my church…I’m in!”

Toward the end of the seminar, someone passed around a sign-up sheet for a moderated chat group that one could join to more or less continue the discussions, ask questions, vent, seek advice and support, and whatever. I signed up and joined a group called “Theophilus’ Journey” and have been involved ever since.

The member of this chat group – much like many in the blogging community – have become an extended family of sorts, and are very close brothers and sisters in the Lord. There is much diversity in terms of age, experiences, mission, and the like – but we (most of the time) get beyond all that and enjoy the fellowship of believers. So much in fact, that long ago it was decided that once a year at Cornerstone just didn’t cut it – so the Winter Gathering was born.

This weekend Leah and I will travel to central Indiana to fellowship with our extended family of “theophilites.” We’ll be picking up a few folks along the way, and are looking forward to great fellowship and comraderie. The Gathering itself is graciously hosted by one of our members at the Hebron Center where he works. The Hebron Center is a residential recovery program that is dedicated to the spiritual rehabilitation of men in alcohol and drug addiction and their families. It’s always a very special time – the residents look forward to hosting us, and we look forward to spending time with them and hearing their stories of recovery. The highlight for many of us is shared worship with the men on Sunday morning. There is something very special about hearing the stories of people that have very literally been SAVED by God.

Stay tuned…I’m sure there will be stories to tell upon our return.

2009 in review

As most people likely do at this time of year, my wife and I have been reflecting on the past year and what has transpired in our lives. 2009 was a particularly exhausting year for me, and as I look back over the year I begin to see why…

My “day job” took me to Florida, Massachusetts, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky,  Washington DC, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and western Maryland.

We started the year driving to Indiana for a gathering of friends whom I’ve gotten to know over the past couple years through an online chat group. I was supposed to take my daughter Rachel to Chicago in January, but her best friend’s father died suddenly so we had to change our plans.

Then Leah hurt her shoulder…

Rehab, phyiscal therapy, and finally rotator cuff surgery ensued for her. She is getting better, but still has several months of PT ahead of her.

In April we celebrated Sarah’s 18th birthday and fulfilled her wish to have a moon bounce at her birthday party. Everyone enjoyed the moon bounce – we highly recommend it for all ages!

Both Rachel and Sarah had their wisdom teeth out. Sarah had surgery on her foot to repair a damaged tendon. Leah contracted MRSA while at the hospital for Sarah’s surgery, and she ended up in the hospital herself for five days – including surgery on her face to deal with the abscess that grew on her face. (That’s a total of five surgeries in the household – in a three month span).

Oxycodone has been flowing in my house for about 11 months now…

Our daughter Megan decided to become a day care provider, so we had to put the house in order which included building a fenced-in play area in the backyard. A retaining wall, several tons of fill dirt, and one picket fence later – we have “Hannah’s Playground.”

Megan had to go to court a couple times in Annapolis to secure sole custody of Hannah which was awarded in the summer.

Rachel and I did make it to Chicago finally – we hung out at JPUSA and got to see an exclusive Harry Potter exhibit at the museum.

We vacationed in Williambsburg twice (March and November)…

…and went to Ocean City twice (Labor Day Weekend and for the Alive 2009 Conference).

Over the summer we got to meet several of our blogging friends – and even had them over for a picnic lunch over the 4th of July!

In April, I helped the girls participate in “The Rescue” to raise awareness of the plight of child soldier’s in Uganda. The Rescue was coordinated by the group “Invisible Children” and we got to meet and hang out with Bobby (one of the founders).

My uncle died early in the year and was buried in the frigid cold at Arlington National Cemetery. My stepfather died unexpectedly in August, and my family mourned the loss of Grandpa George.

We finished out the year with everyone either healthy or on the mend. Throughout the year, our precious little granddaughter has been living with us. Hannah wakes Grandpa every morning and helps him to make the coffee. Her presence in our lives has truly been a blessing.

But wait! Before the year ended we got slammed by the 5th worst snowstorm on record for this area – not to mention the biggest snowfall ever recorded in December! The whole family (except for Rachel who was sick) got to enjoy some time in the snow – and we ended up having a white Christmas!

As we look forward to the new year we are praying and hopeful for an UNEVENTFUL year. Leah and I will soon make the trek to our winter gathering of friends in Indiana again, and we look forward to celebrating our 20th anniversary in July.

NT in a year

A college friend has invited me to walk with him through the New Testament in a year. If you are on Facebook you may join the cause and read with us – should be interesting.

Join the cause here:

http://apps.facebook.com/causes/421896