Thought I would post a picture from my sister-in-law again. This was from Elaine's vacation with her sisters down in Tusla. Ain't she a beut?

Here are pictures of my kids. Ezra at top, Ella next, Emmeline, and Elise is last. My sister in law took the pictures several weeks back.

So today I went garage saleing 'cause I had to pick up a suit for a wedding. Yes, I bought a nice Burely for Elaine and I so we can take out kids with us so we can go biking. But what I wanted to comment on is how much stuff we have - how much stuff I have. As I walk through these garage sales (mostly filled with a bunch of useless junk), I can't help but think about all the money spent on them years ago and how little enjoyment was likely received from them (most people keep the stuff with sentimental value. Or, if they've used it enough, it is not worth being sold). And people have enough stuff to fill a garage, with tons more stuff still in their houses. It's incredible. And then I go by all the storage units filled with stuff we can't store in our homes, and it's almost more than I can believe.

So I'm thinking about the verse where Christ says "where your treasure is, there your heart is also' (Matt 16). How can we have this much stuff and our heart not be there also? I look around at my room and my house, and realize how much I've accumulated in just a few short years, and I wonder how attached am I to all of this, really? If I say I'm not attached to it, why don't I get rid of it already? I've seen in my own life, my kids life, and other children's lives how the more stuff they have, the less they value what they do have (that old law of diminishing returns), So why do we keep getting more stuff? My guess is that it's twofold: we are inherently comparative people, and we want to fit into our culture. The second is that we still believe the lie that having more things really will make us happy.

I've never been poor, so I don't know what it's like to have nothing. But I know what its like to have less than what I do have, and I'm no happier now than I was back then. Well, yes, I am happier now, but it's not because of the things I have. It's because of my family and what I've learned in my relationship with Christ.

Which gets back to what I was going to get to in the first place. If we are not attached to all this stuff, and we know what Christ says about it (that it tends to take our heart away from him), and we know that he says we can use it for heavenly good, then why not get rid of it now? It may be taken from me at any moment (robbery, fire, bad economy, death, etc), and then I won't get a reward for giving it away.

I really don't know what to do with these thoughts. I've thought about them for years, read tons about it, preached on it and talked to others about it. In some ways I think I'm closer to understanding it, and in other ways I think I'm farther away.

I do praise God that he is teaching me, and that he is opening my eyes to what the world is like and my own heart is like. In some sense I feel like Socrates - I think it was he that said he was indeed the wisest man on earth because he alone knew how little he actually knew (Tom's paraphrase there). God grant that I know more of my sinful heart and reveal to me where my love of material things have overshadowed my First Love.

If you are wondering why I am posting again after just a short time. It's because Elaine is on vacation with her two sisters down in OK. My mom is up here helping me watch the kids - she takes the morning and I work, and then I get home after the kids get up from their naps and watch them till supper and help with bedtime. It's been good in that I have spent much more time with my kids the past few days then I have in the past few weeks. But I sure to miss Elaine! I'm tempted to start a novel, but I know if I did that I would stay up way too late and not get up early to do my work. I have a wedding to do this weekend as well as the normal sermon, so my days are full even without having to be at home all afternoon. But, I'm finding time to do this, so it shows I'm not all that busy.

I'm trying to think of something thoughtful to say, so this is not merely some sort of online log. I guess I'll share something I learned from my study of 1 Timothy this morning. I hadn't pieced together before that Timothy had been with Paul for so long, and had already had at least three other "assignments" before going to Ephesus (where Paul wrote 1 Tim. to): Thessalonica, Corinth, and Philippi. So, he was no newbie to the ministry. He was in Ephesus to warn elders not to teach things contrary to sound doctrine - apparently the prophecy Paul gave in Acts 20: 30 (or some verse near there) had come true. Elders among them were leading them astray. In once sense this is encouraging to me - a place where the apostle Paul ministered for two plus years, had written letters to, and had prayed for and sent people to - this same city was still going through hardship theologically. How can I expect us to have any less of a fight? It's also good for me to know that there will always be false teachers - that seems to be a primary strategy of Satan. I must watch out for false teachers (even well-meaning ones) and keep the focus on the gospel. As I studied this book, it was also interesting how Ephesians and Rev. 3:1f ties in - in each of these passages and books, love is being emphasized so strongly as the evidence we understand the gospel. Right doctrine must lead to right love. I've thought about in the past how we have "orthodoxy" and "orthopraxy" - but should we also have "orthoagape" - the right way to love other people.

It's definitely enlightening to me that things that I have heard in the past (especially seminary) that I would agree to but not really "get" I'm "getting" now. What I mean is, I used to hear people talk about the centrality of the cross, and loving Jesus, and so on. I'd agree with them, but really not desire to think and talk about it - it was much more interesting to discover interesting facts about the Bible and theology and history and not think about the true fundamentals of the faith.

That leads me to another thought. Last night in our Growth Group we read 1 Peter aloud together. I was amazed at all the adjectives used - the "glorious" gospel, the "precious" promise, the "marvelous" things spoken about. I can tell how Peter was just enthralled with Christ and how he is the apex, the gravity, the shining sun of his life - everything revolves around Christ. I read books like 1 Peter, 1 Timothy, or Ephesians, and I see the constant doxology and realize how banal and course my prayers and thoughts of Christ are. And so, more and more I see the need to seep myself in the precious words of Scripture so that by meditating on it, I come to think and feel as they feel. The Holy Spirit has much to work in me, but I rejoice that I'm "getting" these basic things now even though I never "got" them a few years ago. Praise God that he works on us in the right manner and the right time so that he gets all the glory and we get the awesome pleasure of experiencing him.

Pachelbel Bedtime

Here is one other video I know you will enjoy - even if you don't have kids.

So here is one of the Pachebel video's I saw tonight. Love the guitar - what talent. Hope you enjoy.

So now is my third post here, I believe. I'm sitting here viewing some youtube videos on Pachebel's canon (love that song) and then reading some posts on other blogs I enjoy. Thought I might say something myself on my own.

Last week (Thurs-Sunday) I went with 5 other men from my church to the Boundary Waters. It was my 5th trip up there this year, and maybe the most memorable. What a great time of being with men, getting to know each other better, and enjoying the great outdoors. We went in at Ham lake (yeah, where the fire was this year) and began our travel to Long Island Lake. I was blessed by Jim, who let me use his kayak for the trip. It rained most of the way there, and rained several inches that afternoon and evening. I don't know exactly how much, but my best guess would be about 6 inches that afternoon. It was a great start to the trip - huddled under a tarp drinking coffee and eating steaks not only made it possible to have great stories later, but also to only get better from there!

We had some great discussions on the biblical basis for church membership, family integrated church, and being good fathers and husbands. We also told lots of stories about wilderness adventures. This may have been the most "spiritually oriented" trip I've been on as well - we set aside significant time for morning and evening devotions, and had good conversations out of those.

So, here is one picture of our time up there - the group that went. Sorry, the photos not that great - and I don't have Picasa loaded on this computer to make it better. I'd better add another picture to show you some of our fun: the one on the left is now of Chris in search of fish on Friday evening.

Well, enough for now. I'll have to post again sometime before the year is out!

OK, so this will be my second post. I'm thinking that now since we have DSL at our house, Elaine can be adding some posts to keep everyone up to date.

Ok, so I'm entering the world of blogging. I'm hoping that this doesn't become too time consuming. What are my hopes? Well, I want to used this as a way to keep my friends and family updated with my family. I also want to have a place to post some of my thoughts on books, the Bible, theology, and ministry. We'll see if I have any success.