Treasuring Him - DWYL Sermon Jam Video

Philippians 3:7-11 "...I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord..."

Waking the Dead!

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

"There is a widespread belief among Christians today that the heart is desperately wicked-even after a person comes to Christ.

It is a crippling belief.

And it is untrue." John Eldredge - Waking the Dead

Oh, how this truth is setting me free!

7-24-02 - Rescued!

"Sleep, and dream of this Death angel's kiss

Brings final bliss Completely!

Empty they say, Death, won't you let me stay? Empty they say Death, hear me call your name? Oh, call your name!

Suicide, I've already died You're just the funeral I've been waiting for

Cyanide, living dead inside, Break this empty shell forevermore

Wait, wait patiently Your death-black wings Unfolding sleep Spreading on me

Empty they say Death, won't you let me stay? Empty they say Death, hear me call your name Oh, call your name!

Suicide, I've already died You're just the funeral I've been waiting for

Cyanide, living dead inside Break this empty shell forevermore"... Metallica

"He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God" Psalm 40:2-3

July 24th 2002 is my sobriety date, a day that I will not forget til the day I die...Perhaps, I'll remember it even throughout eternity....I hope I do!

It was the day that my father in heaven rescued me from certain death...literally! Towards the end of my love affair/addiction with drugs and alcohol I became suicidally depressed. The lyrics from Metallica's song, "cyanide" explain exactly how I was living and thinking in the summer of 2002. "Sleep and dream of this Death angel's kiss, brings final bliss completely!" It's almost surreal when I remember that in those dark days, I actually believed that embracing death was the answer! I'll never forget feeling the cold chains of a merciless addiction crushing my very soul. I can still remember the utter hopelessness of blackest, darkest night surrounding me as I helplessly sunk ever deeper into the pit of hell! Out of control, fear, no...terror! Oh, sweet death, please come, embrace me...

I'll also never forget the merciful hand of God reaching down from heaven and bringing me "up out of the pit of destruction" Life has not, and will not ever be the same! Since then, I see God as my Deliverer, my Rescuer, my Healer, my Redeemer, my Saviour...my only Hope. He's my Hero, He saved me!

I took the above picture in 2001 after getting high. I think something in me was hoping that one day I would look at this picture with several years of sobriety and say, "Thank God he set me free!" Today is that day.

Waiting for Orphans to Arrive

April and I have completed all our foster parenting classes through DHS and are now simply waiting for "the call" from DHS asking us if we'll take a particular child or sibling group into our home.

It's kind of interesting that we don't call foster kids orphans....they're "foster kids"

Definition of orphan:

A) A child whose parents are dead.
B) A child who has been deprived of parental care and has not been adopted.

"B" seems to describe foster kids perfectly. These kids have been deprived of parental care by parents who are checked out for one reason or another (often drugs/alcohol) and the kids suffer from neglect or worse....

Sometimes I wonder if we think that the biblical mandate to "look after orphans....in their distress" doesn't apply to foster kids. I think it does apply to them as much as the orphans in India or Africa or any other place in the world.

It's not that I take the view that "we need to take care of our own first" They're ALL God's children! In fact April and I are in the process of adopting a little girl from India. (More on that in future blogging) It's just that I think it's easy to think that the "real need" is overseas while we miss "real needs" right under our nose! If we take the view that foster kids in our communities...our neighborhoods are in fact modern day orphans, than doesn't James 1:27 take on more of a personal feel? "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Camping

Had a great time camping with Martin and Luke. We went to "Indian Henry" campground. With a little rock climbing and a fire, we had a great time. It was a reminder to me how important it is to get time alone with my kids, we had some great discussions.

Evian Roller Babies US

Something strange in that water!

Jim Gaffigan - Camping

I'm heading out camping with my sons. Martin thought this was really funny...Luke, not so much....