sixfootnineandcounting

Yep, I named our fantasy football team the Daisies. Don't worry, I got Jackson's approval. Why? 1. I think Daisies are a cool flower. 2. We just got a dog named Daisy. 3. I'm rebelling against all the tough-guy fantasy names like "Devil-dogs" OR "Nail-eaters". Just one problem. I didn't think we would really win! I'm sure all the tough guys in my league really appreciate getting beaten by the Daisies . It was so cool though! Jackson and I got into the championship game. I purposefully didn't check my computer all night, but I knew it was close. Finally, I turn it on to see the score and it's a tie! The score was 88-88. Holy Cow! I never heard of such a thing before. It hadn't happened all season that I knew of! So I frantically check the rules. I scour over them looking for what happens in a tie. The rules state that if two teams play and the starters from both teams end the game in a tie, then the points for reserve players break the...

Just kidding. Wouldn't that be nice though? Maybe that's why so many book titles or new fads out there have "3 Easy Steps" in their title or tag line? It would just be so nice if losing weight or amassing a fortune were really that easy. So we fall for it again and again. Hey, maybe there really are "3 Easy Steps" to amassing a fortune: 1. Take some time off 2. Write a book 3. Call it "3 Easy Steps To Amassing a Fortune". Who knows? It might work. There might be "3 Easy Steps" to doing some things, but I'm pretty sure understanding the nature of the Trinity isn't one of them. But what is the Trinity? I get asked that all the time. Well, that's pretty easy, " It's the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit" I say, but it's never enough. It's true, it's biblically sound and theoligically correct, it's absolutely right, but the blank stares I get in return tell me I need more. The Trinity is a perfect ...

The truth is I really am a fairly well adjusted 39 year old male. I don't think I'm going through any kind of mid-life crisis or anything like that. But I am a sinner, and almost everyday I re-remember that stark reality, which is my day-to-day crisis. Something will happen or a series of somethings that will stick the reality of my sinfulness right back in my face again. I'm pretty sure it's God. Theologically I would bet it's actually God the Holy Spirit doing everything from a gentle and friendly whisper to a swift kick in the pants. It seems like lately it's been kicks more than whispers. I get that from time to time. I've been confronted by the Holy Spirit lately with a pattern of sin I'll call obsessions. Another word might be distractions. These would be any regular behaviors, not necessarily sin in and of themselves, that you focus on and participate in to the point of obsession, and that distract you from your life's mission. When I thought ...

It will be three years of working "the system" on January 7th. That date looms like a date for major surgery, or at least having a root canal. We're looking forward to it about as much as surgery or a root canal too. I guess it's because no matter how hard we try or how much we wait, we just can't seem to finish this and get our kids home. January 7th isn't just the three year anniversary of this crazy process, but it's also Jimy's birthday. Jimy is the little boy we're adopting, and he will be turning five. So I guess January 7th is also a reminder that this is all worth it. These two beautiful children (Eden is our little girl) will be getting here someday. We just hope it's someday soon. Sorry it's been so long for some of you since you've heard anything from us. We're just tired of saying, "not yet", I guess. But there have been a few key developments lately that bring us hope so I wanted to let you know about them. G...

Back in caveman days, the people saw the moon but had no idea what it really was. They probably wondered daily what secrets it held. Was it a god? "What the heck. Let's worship it just in case" they might have thought to themselves, and then they did. But as time went on, we figured it out. The moon is incredible, but it's not a god. We figured out that the moon is just one of billions of incredible worlds to explore out there. There was time when there were still untold numbers of worlds to explore on earth too. I mean, Christopher Columbus didn't sail the ocean blue til 1492, remember? The point is, we know incredible things exist out there, but we only learn more about them the closer we get. The same is true with truth. First, there is a truth to be found. It doesn't matter how much I want something to be true. It's either true or it isn't. It's not logical or possible for two contradictory ideas to be true at the same time. For example, I can...

What if we actually did some of the things we think about doing? Take a second to inventory your recent thoughts. What were they? Be honest. If you're like me, you probably break at least one of the ten commandments in your mind every day. And if you're thinking you're not like me in that way, I'll bet you just broke commandment #9 (see Exodus 20). It's amazing to me the actions in my mind I tolerate that I would never tolerate in real life. In fact, it's amazing what I'm free to do in my head that people get thrown in prison for every day because they act them out. Why do I do that? Why has that become okay? Can you relate? I mean, Jesus did teach that a sin in my mind is equally as sinful as a sin anywhere else. Lust in my mind really is a type of adultery. Anger in my mind really can be a type of murder. Check that one off today for me. I guess I killed that guy who tailed me into town. Well, I did imagine running him off the road. Coveti...

I was just thinking about what Christmas pageants today would be like without the baby Jesus. Now that would be a little weird. Christmas and the baby Jesus kind of go together, don't they? There was a time though when nobody knew about the baby Jesus. All anyone knew was that God had promised a Messiah to come. What would it be like if you knew you needed a Messiah, He hadn't come yet and you had no idea when He would finally get here? I imagine many people prior to the first Christmas morning longed for their Messiah in a way we've lost track of today. Today we have Christmas every year. We send Christmas cards every year. We sing the same carols every year. We get the tree, hang the stockings, maybe even read the Christmas story every year. But where's that longing? The repetition is fun and it's tradition, but is it necessary? Do we need Christmas to come? Do we long for it and for our Messiah like we were waiting for the first Christmas morning ever? Well I thi...