how to celebrate a holiday

the thought has crossed my mind about the diversity of ways in which people celebrate holidays. of course, america's independance day is tomorrow, so i'm sure that's the prompter of such wonderings.
as i contemplate the usual trappings of this particular holiday, i'm just not sure what they have to do with celebrating or understanding (or promoting) our independance. i'm not coming down on our national traditions. i just can't see what fireworks have to do with the land of the free and home of the dollar value menu.
perhaps it is to remind us of rockets and red glares. i could believe in that theory. but, sadly the war on terror reminds me more often of the price that has been paid and is being paid and will continue to be paid. i don't need combustable chemicals to do that. they are pretty to watch. i guess that justifies the 900 million dollars ($900,000,000.00) that americans spent last year on fireworks.
i could do similiar sarcasm with other holiday feats: picnics, parades, etc.
i freely confess that i am a product of america--land of the free and home of the homeless (check america's stats on homelessness and you'll be thankful for your run-down shack). but, because we've been free for so long, we really don't have a point of reference of not having freedom. sure, we watch the news, we hear stories from visiting missionaries, we see pictures of various places around the globe. but, we've never experienced a lack of freedom. i confess this is who i am. i am often unappreciative because i know no different. i am so blessed but don't know it.
ever take breathing for granted? probably every single one you take is taken for granted (until you don't have one to take).
ever take food for granted? well, when in a contest based on taking food, we'll certainly win. then, we'll take seconds, and thirds and we'll most likely win the miss congeni-gluttony award as well.
maybe i'm waisting your blog reading time. maybe i'm just full of hot air. maybe i'm right.
as with all my blogging, it is simply my thoughts, placed before you, for my own benefit of putting them down on paper (or pixels--whatever!).
but, it seems to me that more than ever, hoopla is not what we need.

finally baby pix

we've always heard that "you take tons of pix of the first kid, but not of the rest." we're finding that to be generally true. we were under the impression that it was true because the cuteness had worn off, in initial wonder had passed, etc. this is not true in our house. we're not taking as many pictures because with two of them under two, we can't get a free hand to work the camera.

emmaus, at a month old, has obvious needs that we attend to.

israel, at 15 months old, has the makings of a great worker. he always wants to help, but his help needs more supervision to prevent catastrophe. "let me share my toys by dropping a truck into the pack-n-play while the baby is sleeping." (he didn't actually do that, but he tried.) he likes to shake the bottles for us to mix formula. the problem is that he likes to take it out of baby's mouth to shake mid-feeding to the disgust of the baby. he's a big helper when he takes used diapers to the trash. but, too often he brings the diapers back (and then some) as if to say, "see? this is the diaper i put in the trash!"

are you like other people?

while in a staff meeting at church this week, the question came up, "do other churches do things this way?" we kicked around some ideas and theories, but the conversation moved on quickly and we didn't really give it another thought.
well, actually, i have given it another thought--and a third thought--and i think i might be about 3 degrees south of "consumed" by it. well, let me clarify that there is a lot of things on my plate right now and so i haven't given it tons of thought, but when my brain finds a spare minute, i've pondered the question.
it seems that deeper, broader questions are at the root. are we like other people? how do we compare ourselves? is there an ultimate standard for measuring the human condition? and in the realm of humans comparing, we go way back to cain & able (if not all the way back to thier parents).
here's what i've concluded so far (so you can compare your answers to mine)

• to the initial question, i don't think it matters if we are functioning like other churches. i fully believe we are functioning within the Spirit's will and with the Father's blessing. i believe strongly that we are abiding by Scripture and we are being blessed because of it. there are certain things in this life that just don't have to be exactly the same. that's the dynamic of teamwork. we all have different gifts in different proportions, so obviously, the dynamic is different. i compare it to marriage: rhonda and i have a system that works for us. we assume the biblical roles for husbands/fathers and wifes/mothers. but, within that framework, we have our gifts and passions and talents and skills that give us a balance within our home. it works for us. but, if john and jane doe tried to do things exactly like us, one of two things would happen: a divorce or a death (murder or suicide).
• but, at the same time, some comparisons, some standards need to be made. when we look to the example of Christ, we need to do more than recognize the standard, we need to live up to the standard. Christ was fully human (and fully divine) and He was sinless. therefore, we see a standard that a human can live sinlessly. i know that the Bible says "all have sinned", but that doesn't meen we have to stay in sin. we have free will and we can always choose the right things; we can always choose to not sin. we need this comparison--we need to compare ourselves to it and then work to bring ourselves us to it.

that's all i got for now. i'll keep pondering it as my mind has moments to ponder. if you have thoughts, post a comment. i'm sure this issue is far from over in my brain.

the advantage of a blog

so, since i can type anything i want (cross-reference I Corinthians 10:23), why not post a want ad/help needed? good idea, i think, but my "available" and my "help needed" are sort of the same thing, so i guess i need to preface it and then post the ad.

we have a swingset in our back yard that is functional, but in disrepair. i believe it to be fixable, but the skills and tools needed are beyond my limited collection for such matters. but, as such matters go, we need to get rid of it as it poses a hazard to the young age of our children. by the time they are ready for one, it might be beyond help. so, i have two options:

1. available to a good home: a swingset. you can have any or all of the pieces for free if you'll just get it out of our yard.
2. help wanted: i need someone with a sawzall that can help me disassemble and get rid of said swingset.

all inquiries can be directed to my email: jadamson@lovedtolove.org

to-do list

i'm sure we all have one in some form or another--a to-do list. maybe your is a set of personal goals to accomplish this week (like mowing the grass or dusting in the living room) or maybe it's a set of personal goals to accomplish before you die (like skydiving and eating raw oysters). maybe it's not a personal to-do list, but a honey-do list. all list of goals whether you set them or they are set for you apply here.
sometimes our lists seem easy and breezy. "i can get that done easily."
sometimes our lists seem too much to bear. "i'll never get that done."
personally, i'm not a list maker unless there are lots of details to account for. for example, for the christmas open house, we make a list because there are so many small things that need to happen or else we'll be unprepared. but, for the day-to-day stuff, i'm not so much with the lists.
well, i'm not so sure of where this blog entry is going. it's prompted by the fact that i'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that seems to need to be done this week. i've got the normal week's worth of work (plus that stupid exercise thing i confessed to all of you), plus a special project that will take me out of the office next week. that's double duty: prep for the project, but the extra work to be able to be out of the office for a week.
don't you feel frustrated when your to-do list doesn't align with, though depends upon another person's to-do list. i certainly do. i think that's part of my large list this week. my project for next week has been on the calendar since last july--that's right, a full year! and yet, the leader of the team gave me the materials just this past friday.
so, it comes to me that i'm just venting. sometimes that is helpful and cathartic; othertimes it's gossip. i checking myself, but i think i'm on the helpful side right now.

i need You, Wonderful Counselor, more today that ever before. while i suppose that is a true statement for everyday i am alive, i am overwhelmed today and i need a touch that will calm my soul. give me the diligence to get things done in an orderly and timely fashion. always keep my motives in check (am i honoring you in all things?) and, as the old prayer goes, grant me the serenity i need.
please bless my wife, my teenager, my older and younger sons. please keep the 3 women who bore my children in places of safety. forgive me for not more often bringing them by name before Your throne. i confess that i am all too often lacking in my gratitude to You for the blessings of my family. help me likewise to not be deficient in my duties to them as guide and guardian, provider, companion, lover, caretaker, disciplinarian and compassionate bulwark.
i lift to You Your church. i know of so many, yet so few of the total, needs and concerns, burdens of the hearts of this congregation. even if i tried, i could not name them all by name. i trust You to be present in each situation and to work Your will. i also ask that You listen to those closest to and involved with each situation to hear the desire of their hearts. take into consideration their honest expressions that they bring to You.
i pray for the leadership of this congregation: the elders and deacons, staff and ministry team leaders. possess them with Your Spirit this day and every day as they diligently work. i pray that the desire of each of these hearts if for true and authentic communion with You that leads to practical and tangible actions to be seen and applauded by all--not for their glory, but for Your alone; that is, let the results of our time with You be actions and attitudes that truly reflect us all back to You. You are might and faithful, Father, in all these requests.
i pray for my d-group. i thank You for their constant presence and encouragement in my life. i weep for the burdens we bear together and i am doubly blessed by the joys we share. though i cannot imagine that this is the fullest of Your plan for life together, but it's a good start and i know that it can only get better and better as You bless us and continue to give us glimpses of Your presence in our gatherings.
God, You are great--You are the definition of greatness; You are the epitome of greatness. in every way that the small human mind can conceive, You are more. i can't see it, but i know You are infinite. i love You.

life is hard

there is an old song (not old as "the history of western music" might be measured, but you know what i mean) that has a simple line "life is hard, but God is good."
i've been reminded of that simple truth this past weekend. no, there wasn't any particular tragedy or mishap that reminded me that life is hard. it wasn't because of my back/neck pain (which is doing much better - PTL) or because of stress. in fact, i had the kind of weekend that most people would consider a "life is good" kind of weekend.
but when i look at the blessings around me, i realize the ways God has brought me to them. my wife and i discussed the overwhelmedness (is that a word?) of the new life in our family. but, that overwhelmedness (it's working, so i'll keep it as a word) is cyclical: i'm overwhelmed by the extra effort, the extra expense, the extra responsibility, the extra work, etc--but then, i'm overwhelmed by the extra love in my life, the extra strength that God gives for the responsibility, the extra moments of rest that fit in a busy day to be able to stay rested.
maybe instead of cyclical as the image, it's more like a roulette wheel. things are spinning. we go back and forth very quickly between overwhelmed by the bad and then overwhelmed by the good and then back and forth again and again. life is hard to keep up with such a rapidly spinning wheel.
but, here's where i know that God is good: i have all confidence that He will work it out. He is working all things for our good. and so, even before the wheel started spinning (before emmaus came to us), He knew where the number would land; He knew that eventually, we will land and stop on the good and that the blessings will out outwit, outplay and outlast the stresses of it all. we will not survive this life, but by God's grace that's not the end. we hit the jackpot when we rely on God's goodness and when we are fully yielded to His will for us.
life IS hard--no one can question or deny that. but, God is good and that's enough.

(ps - for those who know and appreciate my weird sense of humor: in the roulette reference above, do you know the winning number? in our family, all bets are on the "black one")