Stopping to Think

I'll make it short and sweet: Husbands: Actually listen to your wife. Talk with her, not at her. Listen to her concerns and talk to her about the things happening in your life. Communicate. Spend time with her. Act like to you really like her. Wives: Quit nagging your husbands and have sex with them instead. In all seriousness. Take a minute and actually talk to your spouse about their needs and how you could better serve them. Pray for your spouse and with your spouse. Read the Bible together. And put the other person first. I can't guarantee these will work. But I'd be willing to wager they'll help.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever. (Psalm 23 ESV)   King David here very clearly, and very beautifully, demonstrates the rest to be found in being known and loved by the Almighty God of all the universe. We read this Psalm and words like peace, tranquility, and assurance come to mind. Which to me begs the question- how do I reconcile this peace with my insanely paced life? Does my constant screen viewing, errand running, email sendin...

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...