March was a month of madness (no pun intended). So much has happened, that I don’t even remember it all. Early in the month, we had Spring Break (during which we were still working in the IT office). I ran lights for a play produced by the Historical Society in Ellendale. We found a house to buy, and are currently in the loan application process. I also preached for youth group a week ago, and for church last Sunday as well. It’s always incredible to see how God can take a good sermon, and make it really impact people’s lives in a way you never expected.

I’m now down to 20 fish. No, they aren’t dying on me. People are finally asking for them, and hopefully they are doing alright in their new homes. On Sunday, we are going to Forman, ND to ‘interview’ at the church there. Last night the youth group t-p’ed our house. It also rained last night, and so we have a soggy mess of toilet paper all over the yard. Oh well, we still feel loved.

I’ll be going through some (around 200) pictures and posting them online, so you can check that out later.

Something we talked about in our youth leader’s meeting last night was devotion. And commitment. Far too often, we settle for less with God. We ought to devote our whole lives to Him. We ought to be committed to God above everything. Nothing else will have eternal impact. Nothing else even brings us fulfillment in life. Last night, I finally started settings aside a specific time for God. It was awesome just to enjoy God’s presence. Why is it so hard for us to devote time to something that is so incredible? It makes my head spin to think of it.

God is amazing. Let me tell you why. Before Christmas, money was tight. We were planning on going home for Christmas, and I knew we didn’t have the money to do it. I said ‘God, you gotta do something.’ By the time we came home, we had received over $300 from different family members.
The other day, I was trying to figure out what to talk about for Sunday School. God gave me a theme, and then our pastor confirmed it with both messages on Sunday.
My wife and I have been trying to figure out if we should stay here for a few years, or if we should find a church elsewhere. For a while we prayed and sought God. He answered us both within minutes of each other. We made the decision, and now all the right doors are opening up.

This is part informative, and part rant. Some people no doubt already wonder what sort of Christian I am for titling this entry ‘xmas’. Many people object to this practice, but have no idea where and how it actually originated. I’ll be brief for the sake of those who already know. The letter X is the first letter of the greek word for Christ. It was used frequently among Christians of earlier centuries as an abbreviation: Xians, Xianity, and Xmas. In fact, its use was so common, that it actually occurred in some manuscripts of the New Testament.

Now on to my rant. Christmas music, bah.
I wish people would put some effort into producing it, instead of simply grabbing a microphone, and chanting the same tired out tunes 84,000 times. I love Christmas music, but the problem is that we get stuck in this rut of singing the same songs, all the time, over and over again. Why can’t people write some new songs for us to sing? At the very least, we could come up with some new arrangements. Maybe it’s because we don’t care enough to expend the effort necessary for this endeavor, since it’s only ‘one day out of the year’. What??? Christmas is the day that our savior came to earth. Christmas is the day that God began his long awaited plan of redeeming mankind. It ought to be a day of hope and inspiration so incredible that new lyrics and tunes float out our ears. Well, that’s enough. You get the point. So go buy some original Xmas music, and blast it out for all to hear.

Human potential, it is often said, is a vast untapped pool of resources. While this is true, what is it that keeps us from realizing our potential. I was inspired last night by the Aphid. I don’t even know if this is what he inteded, but it hit me like a ton of lollipops this morning. Our crutches are what keep us from our full potential. His character relied on several crutches: food, beer, and swearing. It is not that we need these crutches to make it through life. These are the things that hold us back. It is not their nature to hold us back, but it is our nature as humans to use them for that purpose. Read more

Now, unless I seem entirely humanistic, let me clarify. The above diatribe is for the average american. It is not for the believer, the saint, the one who follows Christ. For us, there is an even higher standard, a greater motivation, a more pressing need. We must use our gifts for Christ. No call could be greater, and yet few of us really make the commitment. It is not our sin that people stare at. It is our lack of commitment to something that should enthrall every fiber of our being. If what we say is true; if the gospel is indeed the salvation for every man, it ought to be worth the commitment, the pain, and the suffering. But what we have shown the world is just the opposite. It is not worth much of anything. It is worth a little portion of our money, a few hours out of a week, and a few moments before each meal. That is all.

Let us not be guilty of this great hypocrisy. Let us show the world that our message is not filthy rags. That our faith is more than dust and ashes. That our faith is alive. And has the power to breathe new life into any man. Every man.

In Sunday School we talked about the passage where Jesus says something to this effect, “Get the plank out of your own eye before you attempt to help your neighbor with the speck in his eye.” The issue of hypocrisy is not new to the church. We have always had hypocrites in the church, and we always will. But God is calling us to get rid of our planks, not so that we can say we are perfect, but so that we can grow and build up others in the body of Christ. He is longing for us to take out our planks, and give them to Him, so that He can use them to build something incredible.

Sometimes one gets so disillusioned with this world. It seems so evil, so full of itself. So vain that it is blind to the peril that awaits. It’s enough to make one homesick. You long for just a taste of heaven. You can almost taste it, and feel it, and you almost can see it in your mind’s eye. And then you come floating down. Your face hits the earth, and you awake to find it was only a dream. Just a dream, because it is only an inkling of the paradise that awaits us. No dream could ever capture the reality that will one day come to be.
And so we wait, and we hope. We look out on this pitiful world, and one thought holds us on our course. We have to believe it can change. Even if it is only one person, we have to believe that they can come back to the truth. That there is a limit to the madness in the hearts of men that can be overcome by the infinite love of our savior. That there is still hope.

I like snow. I even like ice. I just think it should stay off the road and keep out from under my tires. Mandy and I left for Nebraska on Thursday afternoon, and hit the worst weather ever near Pierre, South Dakota. We drove 45 mph for the next eon, and finally arrived in North Platte on Friday at 3:00 AM. Almost went in the ditch once, and that was exciting. At least the bad roads kept me awake.
We spent the majority of the weekend doing wedding “stuff”. It wasn’t too bad, and I’m still alive. I was actually excited to get back to work this time. We got all the parts for our new storage server, as well as 2 Kodak DX7630’s. It was awesome, and we had lots of fun today playing with our new toys. The edn (sorry, edn killed end in a drive-by shooting on Saturday).