For some of you, reading that last sentence might have you thinking, “oh man, sorry to hear that.” Well, thank you, but honestly I didn’t really know my mom’s mom. I spent a few sporadic days with her as a child and maybe have seen her only a handful of times since I was little. It’s just the nature of my family situation but I was never really close with any of my grandparents. I was the youngest of many kids and my grandparents have always lived a good distance from us. Obviously, I’m a little sad. Death is never something you can just balk at, or at least you shouldn’t.

This might sound weird, but I actually think about my dad dying a lot. Not because I want him to, of course, but because I know it’s going to happen some day. I think about his funeral and what I want to say. I think about how much of the family will be there and what I would want them to hear. I assume I’ll be able to speak at my dad’s funeral? Thinking about death is something we should do. For me, it keeps me “numbering my days” and “making the most of the time.” I don’t know why, I just think about it a lot. Even this afternoon I was playing with my 2-year old Titus and wondering what I would feel if God somehow took him. I would definitely be in pain, but because I know God is sovereign over everything I would hope that would keep my heart above water. I guess I just don’t want death to surprise me. I want to be ready, at all times, for death. It’s hard enough as it is to lose a friend or relative, so maybe by thinking about it more often I can try and minimize the hurt? I don’t know — I just know what goes through my head.

When I think about dying I realize that the individual days matter. What I’m doing right now at this very moment matters. It all adds up to the whole. I don’t want to get to the end of my life and think “man, I wish I would’ve ____________.” What is that? That kind of regret starts today somewhere. Whether it be spending time with my wife, kids, family or other things like reading the Bible more or working out to stay fit. I remember my friend in high school asking his mom if she was going to make it to our soccer game. She had a pretty intense job in the medical world. But she said, “Of course I will be. I won’t be at the end of my life thinking ‘wow, wish I would’ve worked more’. I’ll want to have spent more time with my family.” That’s making the individual days count — that’s thinking long term.

It’s the 68th anniversary of D-Day today. This video is the prayer that President Franklin D. Roosevelt prayed that day. You can read the entire prayer here.

I’ve been thinking a lot about WWII the past few days. As I’m reading the biography on Bonhoeffer, it’s been leading up to the rise of Hitler in Germany and last night I came to the year 1933. This was the year that Hitler came in to power as the chancellor of Germany. Obviously, if you’re an American you have heard about WWII from our perspective, that is, as an Allied force that had to spend the lives of many men and women in order to stop Hitler. But in reading Bonhoeffer my eyes are being opened to what it was like over there during that time. In just the first few months of becoming chancellor Hitler turned a republic in to a dictatorship and then quickly turned the Germans against the Jews. I guess I always thought it took him more time than that, but it really was just a few short months and he was on a path that lead to murder of millions of people.

I’m thankful to God today for the people who willingly gave their lives to protect not just the German or Jewish people, but many others. They did not, and do not, bear the sword in vain.

Romans 13:1-4

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,for he is Godâ€s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out Godâ€s wrath on the wrongdoer.

If you’re interested in following my progress, I post regular updates on GoodReads.

If we want to see the fabric of American evangelicalism aligned to the heart of God, we have to go to the nations. We have to step outside of our individualistic, ethno-centric cultural grid and have our value systems shocked to the core, our perspectives wildly flipped upside down and our little worlds of comfort deeply rattled by the discomforting reality of a world population that desperately needs of Jesus. It will forever shift our affections, realign our priorities, and catalyze us to relentlessly pursue the exaltation of God among all peoples, counting as joy whatever cost, whatever personal sacrifice, and whatever American dream that must die in us along the way. Your going there will forever change how you live here.

Read the whole article.

Even though he shared this 30 years ago, it’s urgency is still relevant. It’s probably one of the best discussions on culture I’ve ever read and I commend it to you for your sanctification and growth. Here’s a snippet that I thought was worth sharing, but definitely take the time and read the entire thing (remember this is 1982):

The January 11 Newsweek has an article about the baby in the womb. The first 5 or 6 pages are marvelous. If you haven’t seen it, you should see if you can get that issue. It’s January 11 and about the first 5 or 6 pages show conclusively what every biologist has known all along, and that is that human life begins at conception. There is no other time for human life to begin, except at conception. Monkey life begins at conception. Donkey life begins at conception. And human life begins at conception. Biologically, there is no discussion — never should have been — from a scientific viewpoint. I am not speaking of religion now. And this 5 or 6 pages very carefully goes into the fact that human life begins at conception. But you flip the page and there is this big black headline, “But is it a person?” And I’ll read the last sentence, “The problem is not determining when actual human life begins, but when the value of that life begins to out weigh other considerations, such as the health or even the happiness of the mother.”

We are not just talking about the health of the mother (it’s a propaganda line), or even the happiness of the mother. Listen! Spell that out! It means that the mother, for her own hedonistic happiness — selfish happiness — can take human life by her choice, by law. Do you understand what I have said? By law, on the basis of her individual choice of what makes her happy. She can take what has been declared to be, in the first five pages [of the article], without any question, human life. In other words, they acknowledge that human life is there, but it is an open question as to whether it is not right to kill that human life if it makes the mother happy.

Read the whole thing here.

“Lo, in the twilight days of the second year of the second decade of the third millennium did a great darkness descend over the wireless internet connectivity of the people of 276 Ferndale Street in the North-Central lands of Iowa. For many years, the gentlefolk of these lands basked in a wireless network overflowing with speed and ample internet, flowing like a river into their Compaq Presario. Many happy days did the people spend checking Hotmail and reading USAToday.com.

But then one gray morning did Internet Explorer 6 no longer load The Google. Refresh was clicked, again and again, but still did Internet Explorer 6 not load The Google. Perhaps The Google was broken, the people thought, but then The Yahoo too did not load. Nor did Hotmail. Nor USAToday.com. The land was thrown into panic. Internet Explorer 6 was minimized then maximized. The Compaq Presario was unplugged then plugged back in. The old mouse was brought out and plugged in beside the new mouse. Still, The Google did not load.”

Read the rest here: “In Which I Fix My Girlfriendâ€s Grandparents†WiFi and Am Hailed as a Conquering Hero”

If there’s one album that I’ve had on repeat the last few weeks it’s The Great Awakening by Leeland. It’s only $5.99 on AmazonMP3 right now and I definitely think it’s worth it. Leeland’s lyrics always bless my soul and challenge me to greater thoughts of God. After 4 albums I’ve found that Leeland hasn’t lost the wonder of Jesus. Seriously, buy this record–you will be blessed.

I don’t have a Kindle or any e-reader for that matter, but if I did I’d be buying this $0.95 (yes, 95 cents!) copy of The Pilgrim’s Progress. Not sure how long this deal will last, so go get a copy of this wonderful book for cheap.

Buy it here: Amazon.com: The Pilgrim’s Progress: From This World to That Which Is to Come eBook: John Bunyan, C. J. Lovik, Mike Wimmer: Kindle Store.

I sometimes forget how much fun photography is. It’s really easy to get caught up in the latest trends, the great photographers out there, blogs, equipment, etc. and then just simply forget the part about having fun. After I took the above photo I laughed out loud. It was one of those moments where I thought, “I love it!” It doesn’t always happen like that, but apparently it’s the little things in life that really get me going.

I shot this wedding at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica and I was second shooting (assisting) Jen O’Sullivan. I realized later that it was 6 years ago this month that Jen offered me a job shooting for her… geeze, time flies. Here’s a link to a few more photos from the wedding.

Christmas Tree 2011 from Shay on Vimeo.

You hear it all the time, everywhere, but you don’t always believe it. “They grow up so fast” you’ll hear parents say in the supermarket, the department store, and while you’re at Starbucks. There’s just something about the speed of life that dramatically increases when you begin to watch your kids grow up. I only have one, but as Titus turned 18 months old today it’s hard not to think he’ll be 18 years old in a short time. He’s got a mouth full of teeth, he’s saying new words every day, and he’s “growing like a weed” (as my dad used to say to me). The last year and a half has been a joy. I’m thankful for my wife and my son as we enjoy the journey called family together.

Dr. Christine Hoff Somers is the author of a new book called, “The War Against Boys.” While interviewing her on my weekly radio program, Generations, she told the listening audience that the modern school is dangerous for boys. It is producing boys that are feminized, awkward, rebellious, or otherwise ill-prepared for life. Only 43% of students attending college today are boys, and that number continues to drop. Schools are increasingly designed for girls. Meanwhile, boys are disenfranchised and disinterested. Removing a boy’s unique purpose and preparation in life, setting him in a girl’s world, and then putting him in competition with girls will only produce devastating consequences for our social and economic systems. Actually, it’s already happening. The number of children born without fathers, where the father is nowhere to be found, has risen from 5% to 35% just in the last 30 years.

Older article, but still relevant. Read the entire article here.

Believe it or not, I wasn’t shooting a wedding when I captured this. I was actually in a wedding as a groomsman for my best-friend Zach, and this girl happens to be one of the pastor’s daughters. They had a backyard wedding reception and there was a tire swing in the very back that the little girl’s were playing on. I couldn’t resist once I saw what they were doing so I grabbed my camera and ran back there. I took about 3 photos and got this one. I was stoked.

Found our son playing in the tub with all of his bath toys — sans water and pants.

I had the privilege of sitting under the teaching Paul Tripp this past weekend at a conference called “Back to Heart of Parenting”. It was a great reminder about the power of the Gospel in parenting and Paul Tripp is a fountain of wisdom and I praise God for his ministry.

He’s been blogging a bit more lately, which I love, and a blog he published yesterday is just a great reminder about the “10,000 moments” in our lives that mold and shape us. He writes,

…biblical Christianity, which has the Gospel of Jesus Christ at its heart, simply doesn’t rest its hope in big, dramatic moments of change. The fact of the matter is that the transforming work of grace is more of a mundane process than it is a series of a few dramatic events. Personal heart and life change is always a process. And where does that process take place? It takes place where you and I live everyday.

Later he adds,

What leads to significant personal change? 10,000 moments of personal insight and conviction, 10,000 moments of humble submission, 10,000 moments of foolishness exposed and wisdom gained, 10,000 moments of sin confessed and sin forsaken, 10,000 moments of courageous faith, 10,000 choice points of obedience, 10,000 times of forsaking the kingdom of self and running toward the kingdom of God, 10,000 moments when we abandon worship of the creation and give ourselves to worship of the Creator. And what makes all of this possible? Relentless, transforming, little-moment grace.

Read the rest.

I strongly suggesting following Paul Tripp on Twitter and adding his blog to your RSS Reader.