• Archive for March, 2010

    Sweater Deal

    March 12, 2010 // 4 Comments »

    It’s not often I post about stuff like this — even less often that I am inclined to even think much of it, but I got a killer deal on a couple of sweaters that I really like yesterday.

    And truth be told, the real credit goes to Amy and her twin attributes of 1) an ability to spot a deal and 2) simply being in the right place at the right time.

    So, we’re walking into the store and knowing my wife’s insatiable desire to check EVERYTHING out, I cover her eyes with my hands and lead her, undistracted, through the store so that we can accomplish our one and only task, return an item.

    What I didn’t count on was that with her eyes covered, her superhuman powers were redirected to her ears and she made out an announcement over the PA about a free giveaway going on upstairs.  This announcement was barely audible to the human ear and nearly unintelligable on top of that.  How she noticed and discerned the message is beyond me.

    She left me to the return and as she sauntered away, shouted back over her shoulder, “Hey, you should check out those sweaters over there.”  I swear we walked by them when she had her eyes covered.  I hadn’t even seen the sweaters.  I finished quick and she was still upstairs, so I walked over to look at the sweaters.  $55 bucks!  “Yeah right,” I thought.  But then I looked closer.  They were marked down to $10 – more than 80% off.

    Now listen, I’m not one of those who’s fooled into believing that I could get a sweater that is really worth $55 for $10.  But $10 still seemed like a pretty good deal for how well the sweater fit and looked.  So I got 2!  But the story’s not over, oh no!

    We get to the register to check out and they have an offer for a Sears card where you can get $15 off your purchase.  So, between the 80% off sale, the small credit from the return, and the Sears card offer, I walked out of the store with 2 “$55″ sweaters for under 2 bucks.  Oh, and besides the sweaters, Amy came home with a couple kitchen tools that she got for free just for walking upstairs.  I think I’m gonna like shopping with Amy!

    Posted in Amy, random

    A Life Narrated by Love

    March 9, 2010 // 3 Comments »

    The life I live is one narrated by Love.


    The other day I was looking for something and when I couldn’t find it where it should have been, I was forced to consult “the box.”

    You know “the box” right?  It’s where you have stashed your odds and ends for years upon years.  You have no real idea what all is in there, but you also know equally well that there is no chance you would ever throw that box away!

    As I worked through the contents of the box, I was moved to tears.  I found collections of letters, notes, cards, and pictures that I had all but forgotten.

    A soccer ball that all my players signed for me when I coached.

    A scrap of paper with simple words of encouragement that a good friend tucked in my bag right before I boarded a plane to embark on one of the hardest journeys of my life.

    Letters from students with words of love and affirmation from my days as a student pastor.

    Today is my 31st birthday – the first that I celebrate with the woman who vowed to love me for the rest of my life.  And if the last 8 months are any kind of gauge, the rest of my life is looking pretty great!

    As I stop to think about how I have been loved for the last 30 years, how I am loved now, and how I may yet be loved in the future by people (and, Lord willing, children) that I don’t even know yet, I am overwhelmed with inexpressible joy and gratitude.

    May I have the courage to love others as I have been loved – to help narrate the lives of others with the sort of Love that has characterized mine.

    Posted in Amy, birthday, love

    God is as God Acts

    March 4, 2010 // 30 Comments »

    I once heard a story of a man who was speaking with Dallas Willard.  In the course of conversation, the man divulged a sin, but commented that it was, “completely out of character” for him.  To which Dallas replied, “No it wasn’t.  If you did it, that IS your character.”

    I listened to that and thought to myself,

    This expresses well why I love God so much.  Because God is as God acts.

    God doesn’t get to be called “loving” if God doesn’t love.  Nor does God get to be named “just” if God doesn’t act justly. We are as we act and God is as God acts.

    Instead of taking this in my own personal direction, I was wondering how others might respond to the idea that “God IS as God ACTS.”  What are your thoughts?  What does it mean for how you live your life and interpret your reality?

    Posted in God, questions

    Tending to Eden: An Interview with Author, Scott Sabin

    March 3, 2010 // 2 Comments »

    About a month ago I offered a book review of Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People by Scott Sabin.  Scott is the Executive director of Plant with Purpose.

    Plant With Purpose is an international environmental organization that transforms lives in rural areas where poverty is caused by deforestation. For over 25 years, Plant With Purpose has provided lasting solutions to heal the relationship between people and their environment by planting trees, revitalizing farms, and offering loans to create economic opportunity.

    Yesterday, I had the chance to actually interview Scott and ask him a few questions about the book.  Besides providing an overview of Plant with Purpose and the book, Tending to Eden, we spend some talking about the devastation in Haiti, one of the places where they serve, the vicious cycle of poverty and environmental degradation, and the relationship between creation care and the gospel.  The whole interview (~ 22 mins.) is worth the selection of the book that Scott reads toward the end.

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    Download.

    If you’re reading this in a feed reader and don’t see the audio player, click through to see it.

    If you buy the book through the Amazon link on this page, a portion of the proceeds will directly benefit the rural poor.

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    Posted in books, creation, environment, interview, justice, stewardship

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