by Tim | Apr 16, 2010 | God, My World |
It’s the day after taxes were due, and we’re ok for now. That shouldn’t be the case, but it is. When I resigned my part-time job in January, I had nothing lined up to fill the loss of income. Before my resignation, we were already living month to month, with very little wiggle room to adjust our budget. A few times, in fact, we had to borrow from the money we had set aside for taxes to pay for gas in the car or buy groceries for the week. This was the few months before I resigned. Regardless, we had felt a peace two months earlier (November) to resign, which was a little daunting to us on a financial level for many reasons.. First, Christmas was coming up, which was going to be a hard hit for us. Second, income taxes were going to be due in April, and we didn’t have nearly enough resources set aside for what we estimated our taxes to be (I am self-employed, so instead of a nice refund check this time of years, it’s a honkin’ check to the IRS instead). Third, our yearly homeowner’s association dues were due in March. Fourthly, we later found out in December/January that we were expecting another child, which although is a great joy, also introduces further financial strain for the next nine months and beyond. And then there’s all the unexpected stuff that you can’t budget for, but seems to pop up at the most inopportune times. It was our hope that the two months between November and January would give us time to locate supplemental...
by Tim | Apr 9, 2010 | My World, Youth Ministry |
H2O, the youth group at Wellspring Worship Center, invited me to speak this past Wednesday night. What a great youth group! Not so sure about the youth pastor, though… Actually Josh is a great friend of mine, and I appreciated him and his group inviting me. Josh, you guys have an awesome youth ministry! I was touched by the passion for God coming from the youth and the leaders. I had a blast–I hope everyone else did as well. When I arrived, I learned they made this video in honor of me, and I am honored to share it with you and the rest of the world. You guys are hilarious–and even somewhat talented in some twisted kind of way… This Wednesday, I’ll be speaking at Valley View Baptist Church youth group! I feel like a traveling evangelist. Now I just need a TV gospel show that takes old people’s money. Until then, enjoy this quality piece of...
by Tim | Apr 8, 2010 | My World |
That’s right–our third child due to arrive September 1 will be a girl, as confirmed by today’s ultrasound! I project that the estrogen levels at home these upcoming years will be quite a force for me to reckon with–I covet everyone’s prayers! 🙂 We don’t have a name picked out yet, so we are open to all suggestions! We received a DVD of today’s ultrasound that includes the determination of gender and the ability to listen to the heartbeat, among other things. So without further ado, for your viewing pleasure, enjoy nine tantalizing minutes of baby movements and ultrasound tech...
by Tim | Mar 31, 2010 | God, My World |
In a previous post about two months ago, I shared my struggle with holding out for God to come through, instead of complaining or worrying. I contemplated the possibility that throwing one’s hands in the air, giving up, losing faith, or doubting God might be the better approach, even if God rebukes me. That is, if He then comes through like He did for the Israelites when He provided water from a rock, or when Jesus calmed the storm for the disciples. Two months later, my perspective has changed a bit. God still hasn’t come through like I had hoped. My condition hasn’t changed. Yet, my thought now is–well, I’ve made it this far without supernatural water or without the supernatural calming of the storm…perhaps somehow this is where I need to be. If things indeed don’t change, that would mean things get tougher, of course, not better. But this week, I am reflecting on Christ’s last week. It was coming down to the wire. He knew He was about to face His greatest challenge yet. He had lived a life of perfection, resisting temptation all along even when it was tough, always doing the Father’s will. And now He must face the cross, and He prays, “If it is possible to let this cup pass from me, please let it be. But not my will, but yours be done.” And then, interestingly, Jesus says that He could call down legions of angels to rescue Him from the impending cross, but He was choosing to do God’s will instead (Matthew 26:53-54). This prompts an intriguing thought for me: Is...
by Tim | Mar 27, 2010 | God, My World |
Had a great time with extended family celebrating Rachel’s third birthday today. I can remember when Naomi turned three, and I thought she was becoming a “big girl.” Is she really turning seven this year? I’m very grateful to have such a wonderful family. The best wife and the two most delightful children in the world. No matter what life throws our way, it is always good to have days that remind you of the most important things. As important as my family is, they must be second-place to God. I’ve been reminded recently that we are not guaranteed to always have our families with us, as difficult as that scenario may sound. While today was a great day indeed, I remind myself that even if I didn’t have my family, I would still have Jesus. This is something I am always learning. Could I find joy if I lost everything but Christ? I try to avoid considering that reality, for fear that I might just have to face such a drastic loss at some point. I think about people around the world and throughout history who were separated from their family through persecution because of the cause of Christ. How did they manage sitting in a jail cell all alone for the remainder of their life? Did the rest of the family still cling to Christ after they watched their father/husband burned to death in front of their eyes? How? I realize how weak my faith is in comparison. I’m proud of who Rachel is becoming, even though the things she thinks make her such a “big girl”...
by Tim | Mar 23, 2010 | My World, The Church World, Youth Ministry |
I heard something great on the radio yesterday. The guy was talking about how us parents don’t effectively discipline our kids–except that he said he doesn’t like the word “discipline,” because it brings up the imagery of simply reward and punishment. Instead, he says it’s our job as parents to disciple our kids (same root word). He thinks that word better connotates the role and responsibility of parents. I agree with him. Over the years of serving as a youth pastor or being involved in youth ministry, I’ve realized that the vast majority of them do not know much of the faith by the time they reach youth group–even if they’ve grown up in Christian homes. For example, if I were to ask the average youth person, “Name me three things about the guy Abraham in the Bible,” they wouldn’t be able to do it. And Abraham isn’t a nobody in the Bible–he’s the father of the faith. The more I contemplated this, the more I realized that this was probably true for the vast majority of parents in the church too. The reason why their kids didn’t know Abraham is that their parents didn’t know who he was either. Or in some instances, the parents knew it but didn’t fully realize their role as disciple-makers. Instead, I think many parents and churches abdicate their responsibility to mentor children and youth, and simply dump that responsibility on the children/youth pastor. When I shared these ideas with Genesis, my former church, I was excited that they embraced the idea of addressing this problem and changing it. I drafted a proposal...
