Something New

I travel a lot… I mean a lot.  This month alone I’ve been to Haiti (for missions) and the Bahamas for work, and everywhere in between.  I travel by plane most of the time and I’ve done every mode of ground travel you can imagine from Haitian Tap-Taps to chauffeured limos (very rare).  However, I’ve never travelled by Train before and upon receiving a last minute request to attend a meeting in New Jersey, I elected to take the train for a five hour ride.  I’m very glad I did.

Chaos Diffused

My route took me from Fredericksburg (about an hour south of Washington DC) to Newark, New Jersey.  As I spread out along my seat, I was able to plug in some music and settle in so that I could get some work done on my long ride – but very little work got done.  Instead I was mesmerized by world flowing past my window and carried away by the music roaring in my ear-buds.  And for the longest time, I didn’t care about the stack of work to be done, the never ending texts, emails and voicemails that were endeavoring to overcome my peace.  I took the time to look in awe at the images that were streaming past me with the only thought being “Look what He created and that which we neglect”. Amazingly, as if orchestrated by a master conductor, the music that was randomly playing on my iPad was creating a story for all of the visual stimulus that I was taking in.  It was beautiful.

Taking The Time

This time, that was so refreshing, was given to me.  It was not sought, it was not preconceived, it was not planned.  That type of gift is the best gift of all.  The gifts that weren’t given by duty or anticipation.  The Creator is amazing.  The time was treasured.  The miracle realized.

I realized that it wasn’t the train ride – it was the moment.  It was actually a series of moments.  And that series of moments could have been realized anywhere, since creation is all around us.  I pray that I will find more of those moments in the years to come.  I’m enjoying the wisdom that is coming through the maturation process and have become eager to see more of Him in my advance through life.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.  Ecclesiastes 3:11

I honestly try and stay away from politics on this forum, but this has got me baffled…

Ok, so… Apple has created 600 US jobs and pays THIRTY percent of their domestic income to US taxes. That’s 30 percent or almost 1/3 of every dollar in US Taxes so that the US can put it toward such important things as the development of a robotic squirrel….

According to news sources, Apple pays more taxes than any other company in the US.

John McCain and the Senate’s response? Apple is guilt of tax evasion by also being successful outside of the US and should be paying taxes on global gains.

When is enough; enough? If I were Tim Cook, I’d pack up my Apple company and move it to the Bahamas were you’d pay no taxes and have a much more beautiful window view. Oh…and all the people in the US who have iPhones would still buy your iPhones.

What I really get out of this story is that instead of doing the hard work of actually making common sense adjustments to the tax code and spending, Congress chooses to make political theater with successful companies. Typical. And we keep paying these politicians more money than we do God (not an exaggeration) to continue to do nothing.

I book-marked this awhile ago, and hadn’t listened to it until tonight.  This was one of the most spine-chilling; emotional nine minutes I’ve every spent online.  I’d love to see this be broadcast at a service and then just let people sit for awhile and dwell here.  Powerful.

This is a hilarious way to remember your adjectives, with our friends from Star Wars!

This is a great explanation!

We’ve been with Grace Church for a long time, but one of my favorite events has been the Alpha program.  For three Sundays, our church transformed the worship center into a fellowship hall where everyone was asked to invite friends and enjoy breakfast, a short sermon and then a chance to talk to one another about what they had just heard.  It was a great outreach.

Here’s a quick video with some snapshots of the event.

I was recently talking to a guy who is separating from his wife, because they “no longer got along”. He was explaining, with some resolve, that he was getting his kids every other weekend so that he could “keep being a dad”.

That’s not being a dad. Playing with children every other weekend makes you a Big Brother or Big Sister.

Taking care of their mother, showing them how to work through difficult times, being there at night so that they feel safe while they sleep, being there for every holiday, every special event and every step of their life – without the despair of knowing that their parents do not love one another… That is being a father. That is being a man.

I’m tired of culture coddling men who are too afraid to be men. Stop hiding behind the national statistics of divorce. Be courageous. Be a fighter. Do the hard things. Do walk away because “it’s hard”. Everything worth having is worth fighting for. Directly or indirectly your actions say something to your kids. Teach your kids to fight for their families. Teach them that parenting and a marriage are not part-time activities. Teach them that they are more important than your selfishness is.

I know I’ve posted this before, but it’s timeless and amazing!

On December 2, 2012 Grace Church of Fredericksburg modified their regular service to obey our calling and serve our community. After a brief worship service, we were given Angel Tree slips and left to gather a gift or two or three, bring them back and wrap them as a congregation. Then we all shared lunch together. It was one of the best church services I’ve ever been too!

For more information visit www.GCOFOnline.com. Video by J.P. Sieck.