On Parenting

I saw this video on a show and thought it was hilarious. It is strictly to be funny. But since we are dog owners we could relate to most of the video. The end is just crazy and ridiculous...but what on the interwebs doesn't end all crazy like, right?

Baby HD from summer of tears on Vimeo.

The working mind-set

I listened to another Matt Chandler sermon yesterday as I was mowing the yard and he mentioned something that reminded me of how some people see/perceive Christianity to be. How it is viewed or how it is to act as a Christian.

He mentioned how in the "Bible Belt" the custom or basis for Christianity is to live by omission. That means having the listings of what , as Christians, we should not do. This life by omission is what draws me away from Fundamentalism and how it has warped into this list of things we should not do. It's no wonder young people say "Christianity is no fun" because with a list that makes it legalistic and bounding how can it be fun?!?

I'm not saying I don't consider myself a fundamentalist, but that stance has taken a huge hit by how it has been warped. I'm sure most of you who read this will also consider yourself a fundamentalist given the five points of it, which include:

• The inspiration of the Bible by the Holy Spirit and the inerrancy of Scripture as a result of this.
• The virgin birth of Christ.
• The belief that Christ's death was the atonement for sin.
• The bodily resurrection of Christ.
• The historical reality of Christ's miracles.

Those are pretty much the foundations for the Christian faith. When did the smoking, having long hair, dancing, enjoying an alcoholic drink, and proper baptism technique (dunking/sprinkling) get thrown into that list?

They are irrelevant to the Gospel as a whole if you ask me.

Being a Christian gives you freedom not limits to what you can do. But that freedom comes from Christ. Not freedom to go get drunk and fornicate freely, don't get me wrong here.

Ephesians 2:10 says it this way:

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

We have a life of commission that He has laid out for us! Lets freely work out the plans that He has for us without the fear of failing. I'd rather try working it out at the risk of failing anyway, than not try at all.

He doesn't call us to a list of things we should not do but calls us to a higher standard to know the difference in what He wants us to do for Him. Lets drop the life by omission and live a life by comission.

After listening to Chandler and reading I got worked up about this so I had to blog...I'll get off my soapbox now.

Also...check our my friend's blog about their work while out on the road on tour. I commend them for doing the work God has called on them (also a reason I posted today). http://loveautomatic.blogspot.com/

Hello Blogosphere!

Lets do some catching up:

-Amy has been pregnant for over 20 weeks now and is juuuuust barely getting over her sickness. It has been a long time coming for the both of us. She is felling much better and it has made my life a little easier. Now I can take a breather until the baby is here...and it's coming quickly!

-Amy's Mom and Grandparents were here over the 4th of July weekend. Amy's Mom and Grandmother cleaned practically our whole house for us...like the deep cleaning...the stuff you forget about. And it was very very much appreciated!!! We had beat them to the ceiling fans though before they got here...and those things collect dust like magnets! We went shopping for baby furniture and it looks like Amy has a set picked out for the baby's room. We also hit up Arrington Vineyards again and had a great time outside eating fruit, cheese, and crackers while sipping on some wine (Amy didn't drink, no worries). That is by far one of our favorite places to go relax.

-Fireworks freak dogs out! We did not go anywhere to watch a fireworks show but there were people with some in our neighborhood so we stepped outside to observe them. Well while we were in the house anytime there was a pop the dogs would start barking and growling. So when we went outside we made them go out there with us and they freaked out! Rupert got so scared he peed his pants! So they sat by the door the whole time waiting for someone to just crack it open so that could muscle their way into the house. Who's barking now?

-Pete Yorn / Wilco / Derek Webb

All had new albums drop recently and I am digging all of them. Pete Yorn goes back to his roots of this debut album and makes an instant killer album. I am a die-hard Wilco fan and any music they make I will enjoy, but if you are a Wilco fan this album will not disappoint. And then there's my boy Derek Webb (who's album is only on pre-sale but when you buy it you get a instant digital download)...he really ruffled the feathers with this album, not that he is a stranger to being brutally honest with his lyrics, but he had to go and drop the 's' word in a song. Of course INO did not want to release the album with that song but they finally reached an agreement to release 'clean' and an 'explicit' versions of the album. The album is totally different to his past recordings but I have really enjoyed the album as a whole. And I don't mind the 's' word he drops because I think it is a good lyric to a good song. Lyrically he is picking up where 'Mockingbird' left off.

-UAW members do not like me. Amy went to see a movie with some girls last Saturday so I ventured out to do some geocaching by myself in the area. I found 4 and then decided to head over by the GM plant in town because there is a park next to it with 3 caches located there. I had to take the road that enters the GM plant and so I was nervous because I had never been back here but I found the park without having to go through security. I parked and looked at the description of the cache and then as I was getting out of the car a guy was parked a few yards away and he said to me "This facility is for UAW members only. We paid to have this built and maintained. Since you drive a Japanese car you are not welcome here. People like you buying Japanese cars are the ones who have put me and others out of jobs." I was speechless. We were out in the parking lot alone. I did not want to say something I would regret on his turf. So I said "Sorry" and started walking toward the first geocache. After I got out of viewing distance from the car I realized I had forgot to lock the doors so in fear of him doing something to the car I decided to just leave.

So I am glad I did not aggravate the bitterness already within him but I wish I could have said something other than "sorry." Either way...makes for an interesting story. I'll go back to find those geocaches but I'll drive the Pontiac and not the Toyota next time.

-I got a new handheld GPS it is a Garmin GPSMaps 60. I got a killer price on eBay and got it in the mail on Thursday. Trying to figure it out with geocaching.com and GSAK (waypoint manager software) is a little overwhelming. I have been geocaching with my iPhone but I could only geocache in the urban areas and once I got out in the countryside I would lose signal on it. So this will get me the right signals for being out in the wilderness...I am pumped. Josh is coming into town today and tomorrow morning is dedicated to geocaching out in the woods. My new favorite quote "My hobby is using multi-million dollar space equipment to find Tupperware in the woods." That's me.

-Finally news you're interest about.

We are having a baby GIRL!!!

It is the year of the girl...I was pulling for a boy but I am of course still super excited! I was telling Amy that now I have to make sure I get my act together because I've read and heard that a girls father is the main influence they have on men, the ultimate first impression. So I'll be doing a lot of growing up with my little girl.