The Simple Things

While seeking today I kept stumbling across one reoccurring theme. It seemed to keep cropping up in my path even though I would set it aside ever time. I mean, this is dangerous stuff; you don't want that just lying around. (Or is it laying? I have a tough time with that one.) The point is, I tripped over it a lot today. And the Bible warns against stumbling blocks, you know.

Anyway... At the end of the day (all be it too late) I decided to pay attention to it. And by decided I mean: I was forced to pay attention to it. As it turns out, it was the very thing I had been seeking.

The word for the day (it seems) was sacrifice.

Sacrifice in the simple things (for now anyway). I'm not talking about martyrdom or anything. (Though C. S. Lewis has some interesting thoughts on that subject.) Sacrifice in the things like do I do what I want or what she wants? Do I do what is easiest for me or best for him? What is the thing I want to do least tonight... I'll bet that's the right thing to do. You know.

These are simple things. But they're things. These are baby steps, bu they're steps. These are things we know and say to do but (I at least) less often do. These are little things, but they're kingdom things. I like the simple things. After all, to dream big think small.

Actively Waiting

Perhaps you have noticed a change in things around here. Wondering why? Well, here it is...

Curious thing: this waiting. We've been in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction as of late. Believe you me, that is all self-imposed. What is not entirely self-inflicted is this waiting. Don't get me wrong, I have a hand to play, but that get's complicated.

I have been in need of a change (a change in me as well as in my world around me). In many ways I don't know what I've been waiting for. Maybe for it to be easy or for it to be absolutely necessary. Who knows?

I'm still waiting, but it's a little different now. For so long I have been waiting... for a sign... to make a move. It's a little different now. Now, I'm not waiting on me.

I decided the other night that my plan is to ask God for these things that I want, these things I feel I need. I asked, and now I am waiting--not on me but on God. I hate waiting; I can't sit still. So, I'm not going to. The plan was to go seek what I want, but plans have changed. I have asked for what I want. Now I plan to seek--not what I want but what God wants--not my plans but God's kingdom.

Here's where I'm confused, though: where does the knocking part come in?

...to make more and be awake more...
...to give more and to live more...
...to cry more and to die more...
...to strive more and be revived more...
...to see more and finally be more...

Baby Breaths

It's after 4am, and I haven't been to sleep yet. My son (all of 15 months old) is sick, and tonight he has not been breathing too well. Honestly, it's probably pretty par for the course over the past few days. Tonight is a little bit different in that we didn't give him one of his meds before sending him to bed. My wife doesn't want to wake him to give him more medicine that may or may not do him any good. And she's probably right.

The only thing is: when I went in to check on him his little head was in the corner of his crib. It wasn't pressed up against the bumper of anything, but it made me uncomfortable. We moved him, and he is fine.

But, now I'm not. I'm wide awake and listening (through the monitor) for every breath. I would probably be fine except when he's sick he talks in his sleep (like his mommy). I don't know if you have ever heard a 15 month old speak Japanese in his sleep before, but it is the most pitiful thing you have ever heard. So every time I hear him moan my heart breaks and my fatigue vanishes.

So, here I am on hour 5 of the great baby-watch of '08. Anybody got any good sites to visit?

If I didn't know any better

While kissing...

Me:
Do you want me to give you a hickey?

My Wife:
No! Gosh I haven't had a hickey since I worked at the Law Office.

Awkward Silence.

Thou Shalt Only Sort Of...

I stole something tonight. But, I only sort of stole it. My neighbor had this great, old wooden hat rack. It wasn't an antique with any intrinsic value or anything. It was just an old hat rack. I happen to be a lover of all things ancient. My dad and I used to go antiquing quite a bit. I even have the beginnings of an if-I-hang-on-to-this-long-enough-it-will-be-an-antique collection.

Anyway, our neighbor died a while back, but most of his family lives out of town. Every once in a while a relative or friend will come and clean out the house little by little. He didn't have much of value, so most of it gets thrown away. Thus was the case for the hat rack.... sort of.

It was thrown away, but it was not put in the garbage can. Now, I'm not sure if you know this or not, but it is against a city ordnance of our fair town to leave furniture in your yard. Now, these out of towners didn't know that, and I took pity on them. So, protecting their good name I removed the hat rack from the yard and placed it in my guest bedroom.

Now, I guess I could have asked for the hat rack, but then again, I'm already trying to get his old motorcycle. I don't want to press my luck.

"He saves what others throw away. Says that he'll be rich some day."
-Cake

Many Times, Many Ways

I've been working on some new things recently. A little artistic endeavor, if you will. Though I know that there is nothing new under the sun, I have been hoping to blur the lines a little between painting, photography and design a little bit.

I used a picture taken by one of my wife's friend. Then I painted (in a rather expressionistic, somewhat contrived sort of way) what I was feeling. Then I put them all together and added a bit of design to guide the emotion. And this is what I've got.

Feel free to take it if you want. But, please tell me what do you think... even if you hate it!

Penetrating Question

If a Salvation Army volunteer stands in a parking lot, and no one is there to donate...
will he still make a jingle?

Misnomer of Nature

When I was young I would say, "Do you know what bothers me?" And my father would respond, "Many, many things." Here are just a few of them. These fall under the people incorrectly categorize animals section.

#3 Dolphins are not Fish
Living in the ocean doesn't make you a fish any more than living in Decator makes you a Democrat. Dolphins have no gills, give live birth and nurse their young. They don't come up to the surface to sing and dance (despite what Doug Adams would have us believe) it is to breath. You know why? They are mammals!

#2 Koalas are not Bears
Dolphins are mammals. So are bears. However, Koalas are not; they are marsupials. They give early births, have pouches and do other marsupial type things like... I don't know, have grasping forepaws or something. At any rate, they are not bears.

#1 Daddy Longlegs are not Spiders
The Harvestman (the Daddy's Christian name) is pure evil, but it is not a spider. It has eight legs, but so does an octopus, a scorpion and a tick. Most Harvestmen have only 1 body section where as a spider has two. They are moth arachnids, so it may not seem like a big deal. But, the harvestman is my arch nemesis, and he is not to be misunderstood.