Stopping to Think

Earlier this week my wife and I welcomed our sweet daughter into the world. Surrounding this  I spent almost 15 hours with my wife while she labored, and because they had to do a c-section, there followed a two day hospital stay. This experience left me with some adivce for husbands and dads. 1. Do not crack jokes at a laboring woman. She will not appreciate the genius of your wit. 2. Make every effort not to laugh at your wife, regardless of what funny things she says and does. Again, her sense of humor at this point is somewhat off-kilter. 3. At the hospital, you have to pay attention to what doctors and nurses are saying, and be willing to say no for your wife. She may very well be drugged past the point of understanding a word they say. 4. Bring coffee money. Hospital coffee is something akin to paint thinner. Although that may be slanderous to the paint thinner. 5. On a serious note. Husbands, this is a life changing event. Obviously I have to say that b...

"Ministry is it's own worst enemy. It is not destroyed by the big, bad wolf of the world. It destroys itself." Those words open chapter nine of John Piper's book, "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals." I find them piercingly convicting and insightful. Even more so this morning after I read Luke 10. Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 ESV) Martha here is ministering in a very practical way. And she is not ministe...

And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’” (Luke 5:33-39 ESV) Just a quick note of something I noticed in my devotions the other morning. Many are familiar with this passage, and our typical "lesson" drawn from it, that being tha...

End of year lists seem a popular thing to make. Movies, music, books, video games, sports moments, news stories, nothing seems left untouched by such lists. After reading a few of these, I decided it might be kind of fun to go over my top 10 reads from 2012. Keep in mind, these sort of lists are ridiculously subjective, but isn't that what makes it fun? Bear in mind, unlike many such lists, mine is not of books published in 2012, but of books I personally read this past year. 1. The Man Who Was Thursday - G.K. Chesterton This book tops my list for one reason-it was simply the most enjoyable read I have ever enjoyed enjoying; and I don't care if that's redundant. I was glued to the pages, which is an affect fiction generally does not have on me. Good story, a gripping style of writing. 2. Radical - David Platt I had put off reading this book. Not for any reason other than it was very popular, and I am rather leery of the popular. I have never highlighted and und...

First things first. Before I make any remotely political statements I want to first say that my heart breaks for those families in Connecticut. As should that of anyone with a pulse. The fact that people on both sides of the isle started screaming about gun control before the day was out on Friday is profoundly disturbing to me. You don't blame murders on tools. You also don't question the sincerity of a father (who happens to hold our highest elected office) who is moved to tears by such a tragedy. This is part of why I hate the 24 hour news cycle. This is, first and foremost, a tragedy. It is not a news story. And yet all day Friday all we heard were reports (often conflicting) of this "breaking news." The only thing that ought to have broken that day was our hearts. I digress. The issue at hand is that of gun control. I intend to be rather brief. Many are calling for a reinstatement of the so called "assault weapons ban" of 1994-2004. While I am all for...

A poem dedicated to our dear government and our foolish spending habits. Little man up on the moon We shall all meet you soon Yes we will see your face As we invade your happy place Cause NASA'a flying everywhere Using our funds to get up there Our governement finds it wise Fiscal discretion to despise So we shall soar on up to you With wallets feeling rather blue Our debts shall climb up ever on And soon our money will be gone Note: I love the idea of exploring space. I don't believe anyone lives on the moon. Or anywhere else in space. I realize we've already been to the moon. My point is this-our government is spending money on a lot of things that, while good, are not the proper function of government. And it will be the end of our nation, perhaps sooner rather than later. So is space exploration good? Sure. Is feeding the poor and needy good, nay, vital? Absolutely. Do we want the economy to do well and businesses to succeed? Of course. However, is it ...

A young man went out into the world It was greatness that he hoped to find But as life’s pressures ‘round him swirled Those dreams crumbled in his mind Dejected by the “hand life dealt” Our friend’s thoughts did begin to waver And because great failure he had felt He hoped that drugs would be his savior “Just numb it all” he told himself As the needle slipped inside his vein He felt he fought the world itself For all that remained was pain He had lost both family and health Whilst success had been his chief endeavor But loss of job meant loss of wealth And he was without all earthly treasure He passed out one night beside the road And did not awake again on earth Could anyone have his end foretold? What would that warning have been worth? The tragic end of this man’s life Should cause each man to pause What do I value in my life? What has been my greatest cause? Will I come to the end and find That all I’ve lived for is but naught? To what h...