In addition to rounding off my first year as a new dad, we have our second kiddo on the way! I have learned a lot in the past year, and will do a better job with baby #2, Maximus Excalibur. (Sigh... sadly, my wife keeps vetoing this name.)

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: I definitely have NOT done all of these things superbly, or even decently at times. I have learned a lot from my wife and others. By the grace of God, I am improving and growing. Nonetheless, you can file all of this wisdom away as near Gospel. You are welcome.

I don't know if I'm allowed to say this, but this first year has been really... well... weird, exhausting, annoying, frustrating, and wholly overwhelming. In a previous post I shared a couple major epiphanies about being a new dad: [Ponderings of a New Dad] God’s Love is Illogical and I Surrender All?.

For most guys, it is difficult to connect with babies. I am most guys. At initial, selfish glance... they just get in the way of life, marriage, sex, social activities, happiness, hobbies, and sanity. Side Note: Speaking of hobbies, say goodbye to those for the next couple decades. You have much more important things to do.

It DOES get better. It can be awesome. I have grown more than I could have imagined. There is a reason the word "exhaustion" appears many times throughout this micro-eBook of a post.

My love, appreciation, admiration, desire of and attraction to my wife has never been as high as it is now. It really is growing at alarmingly rapid rate, despite the inevitable tension that has occasionally flared up [more than the combined history of our pre-baby marriage ]. I am frequently overwhelmed by the stature, strength, heart, compassion, beauty, and innate motherliness of my wife.  I remain baffled at (and learn from) how easy everything seems to come to my wife AND the constant insecurity she feels regardless of how awesome she is. I feel like a bumbling buffoon...

Here is what I have learned...

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I don't feel led to try and write much about this to "set it up". Jesus speaks for Himself in word and action...

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The purpose of this post is to celebrate how the beautiful gospel can be preached and taught in widely varying ways and contexts. Another purpose of this post is to explore this idea by me asking questions for your contemplation. I also hope to expose my readership to a different context and the idea of contextualization.

Believe it or not... this is Part 1 of 2! There is another awesome specific correlation between John Piper and Lecrae's worship and teaching.

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Tonight, the post received a comment that I really appreciated. I really enjoy interacting with my few readers!

I started writing an email response to him, but it got pretty long so I thought I would just publish it as a blog post. In order to full appreciate the context, you might want to read the complete referenced post.

"Brandon" submitted the following comment:

Hi, this is in response to your post: "Lowly Woman: Cook, Clean, Make Babies & SUBMIT to Your Husband". My wife, we are both new too our faith, has taken the scriptures on a wife's role distressingly. There have been many times when she comes to me in tears and we seem unable to find "adequate" answers through praying or other knowledgeable Christians.

Her biggest issue is why God declares that women can't be spiritual leaders like pastors in a church and why did He deem that only men should have leadership roles? Honestly, it is a bit unsettling for me as well. I try to tell her and myself that it has nothing to do with superiority but I guess we are still blinded by our human perceptions of pride and worth.

If you have any input on this it would be much appreciated. Thank you.

First of all, Brandon... thank you for writing!! I really appreciate your thoughts, honesty, and the desires in your message. I sense a real "seeker's heart". Thirst for God's truth is awesome.

I hope this is not too disappointing, but I will not have a magical cohesive and conclusive answer for you. However, I am humbled to share some of the thoughts and considerations. Some of the thoughts below may seem like "cop outs"... but, I don't think they are....

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This teaching blew my mind and heart in many regards. It was the most heart-opening teaching on the Prodigal Son that I have ever heard.

Truthfully, this is now the 4th time I have listened to the lecture. I wanted the words to be emblazoned in my mind and heart, so I typed notes from the lecture for this blog post. I definitely want to encourage you to watch it, as the video teaching is much more dynamic than my text notes.

I am definitely challenged on many fronts with this lecture... but I am most penetrated by the following:

• The ultimate goal is not learning more ... but for heart transformation so we can glorify God and more people can come to know his saving Grace through Christ... because of Him changing us.
• The life of a Christian is one of repentance. This seems to be resonating in my mind like a distant gong.
• Religious Christians counter the sin of religion by intentionally seeking relationships with lost people. I desperately need to get out of my bubble.

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My heart was awakened as we sang the classic carol "O' Holy Night". I started picturing the classic nativity scene. Then, the Christmas sermon our pastor delivered recounted the birth of Christ... comparing the evil tyrant King Herod, with the loving, humble, powerful King Jesus.

During church, I started reflecting on my wife's pregnancy and the birth of our son. During my reflection, I started comparing and contrasting our experience with the experience of Mary and Joseph as new parents of Jesus.

I assume most new Christian parents think these things... however, it is new to me. My meditation on and experience of the miracle of Christmas is profoundly different than a year ago. So, here we go...

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It involved holding my baby son in my arms, while standing beside my sweet wife, as we sang "I Surrender All" at my church...

Before I share that moment, I'd like to set the stage a little.

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Having your a child is a profound and momentous occasion. You would think I would be glowing and gleaming with flowing blog posts about it the joys of fatherhood. However, I have found myself at a loss for words. Being a part of and observing the creation of life is so big and perplexing. I have found myself baffled and dumbfounded.

I really just haven't known what to say.

My fantastic mother-in-law has asked me a simple question a couple times that I usually would not hesitate answering. Though no fault of hers whatsoever, the question has annoyed me for weeks. She asked, "What has being a new parent taught you about God and His love?" It was a great question. I felt like a paralyzed deer surrounded by headlights. My head and heart responses were the equivalent of white noise. I could not figure out why, and it really bothered me.

The question was straight-forward, clear, and made plenty of sense. The entire Bible is about God's fatherhood and love, as shown through the offering and sacrifice of Jesus. Surely... with my loving Jesus, being a "spiritual" and ridiculously sentimental fella, and my being part of the miracle of life alongside my lovely bride and dream girl... I should be able to feel something magnificent and deliver a powerful, spiritual sounding, and deep soliloquy... or at least muster up SOMETHING. Anything!

Nope.

As I hold the tiny, precious, and helpless human that God has blessed us with... and look at his beautiful face... tears well up. I often have no idea why.

Yet... I have been unable to respond to the simple question, "What has being a new parent taught you about God and His love?" The question has been a dripping faucet in my mind. 

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

This week, I think I figured out  the reason...

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Today at church, our worship team introduced a new song during worship. The song is entitled "You Are More" by Tenth Avenue. The words below from the song really touched me and have been resounding in my head all day. The bottom of this post contains the complete lyrics and a the music video.

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

‘Cause this is not about what you’ve done,
But what’s been done for you.
This is not about where you’ve been,
But where your brokenness brings you to

This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you loved.

I thought this would be a fitting way to start your week... with a focus on who you are as a son or daughter of God and co-heir with the risen Jesus Christ. Below are some reminders of who you are in Christ. As you read this list... remember, this is true of others as well. How is your heart impacted as you look at your spouse, friends, and enemies through the lens of these truths?

Who you are in Christ... you are MORE....

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