Training for Something

Reason

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:31:00 +0000

The San Diego Coalition of Reason recently used some of their advertising budget to purchase billboard space on I-8 around La Mesa. The billboard says: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."

As expected, there are a wide variety of reactions to the billboard. Read some of the local reactions on the San Diego 6 News website. Whether or not you think the billboard is appropriate, don't let the main question get lost: Does God exist? Your answer to that question means everything to the rest of your life.

If you are struggling with the question of whether or not God exists, I strongly encourage you to get a copy of The Reason for God, Belief in an Age of Skepticism, by Timothy Keller. Click this link to check out the first chapter. The book takes on two main themes. The first is addressing the common arguments of the atheist with sound logic on a level playing field. The second is presenting Christianity as the most plausible explanation for why things are the way they are. If you don't have access to the book, send me an email with your address. I'll mail you my copy.

Keller says in the first chapter, "Every doubt... is based on a leap of faith." Everyone comes to the intersection of belief and non-belief at some point and both positions require a leap of faith. Consider all of the facts. Choose wisely. Again, your decision means everything to the rest of your life.

The Christmas Conspiracy

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:15:00 +0000

The Christmas season usually brings the latest games, the hottest toys, name-brand clothes, and coolest electronic gadgetry into American suburbia. What if this year, you focused your giving on gifts that can bring light and hope to a dark world?

Enter The Christmas Conspiracy at EastLake Church. The Christmas Conspiracy is an opportunity to reach out to the local and global community with your gifts. EastLake Church is partnering with teams in 4 ways to make a difference:
* Church Launches - In 2010, we will support the launch of 4 new churches in the following areas: Parker, Colorado; Lawrence, Kansas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and locally in Imperial Beach/South San Diego.
* Homes - We will build 10 new homes, making a difference for 10 families in Baja California.
* Uganda - We will sponsor 27 kids. These kids lost their sponsorship from the current difficult economy. Your gift helps support their basic needs of shelter, food, and clothing.
* Rescue - We will provide funding to partner with WorldVision to rescue 100 girls from the sex trade in Cambodia.

Check out what Pastor Mike Meeks has to say about the Christmas Conspiracy in the following video:

Your gifts, together with the gifts of others, make a huge difference. Jon Acuff, of the hilarious blog Stuff Christians Like, launched a giving opportunity yesterday on his blog and raised over $30,000 in 24 hours to build a school in Vietnam. The response to give was so large and so fast, they're looking to raise another $30,000 to build a 2nd school.

I'm asking you to partner with me and EastLake Church in The Christmas Conspiracy. Click here to give big! If you feel more comfortable mailing a check, send it here:

The Christmas Conspiracy
c/o EastLake Church
990 Lane Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91914

10 Ways to be Better Than Yesterday

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

1. Plan. Every great effort starts with a plan to achieve a goal.
2. Read. An article, a chapter, a book.
3. Pause. Slow down, temporarily put things on hold, and reprioritize for the greatest gains.
4. Write. Get out pen and paper (or your laptop) and just write. Whatever is on your mind. Get it out there.
5. Stretch. More than a simple lean-against-the-wall calf stretch. Take 20 minutes and really stretch, working out tiredness and stiffness.
6. Simplify. Get rid of stuff that you no longer need or want. If you craigslist or eBay it, you might even recoup a little of your original investment when you simplify.
7. Invite. Never had those family friends over for dinner? Extend an invitation. It'll be fun and you'll grow.
8. Lift. You can't get bigger, stronger, and faster unless you put your muscles under a load. Consistently. And, beyond what you think you can do.
9. Do. Action is the catalyst to getting results. Analyzing it to death makes it safe. Actually doing it gets it done, or at least demonstrates what not to do in the next run-through.
10. Pray. The ultimate connection is to spend time with God, talking things out.

Prediction Confirmed

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:48:00 +0000

As predicted, my favorite local coffee shop is closing.

After telegraphing the move by removing their Ripple TV, the EastLake Village Walk Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is closing this Sunday.

Now where will I get an Blended Extreme Ultimate Mocha?

Gift Giving

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:45:00 +0000

Christmas is coming up fairly quickly, so a story of gift-giving is in order...

Living in the Seattle area, I was in charge of 9 restaurants, doing around $6MM in sales. I had a decent package of salary, car, phone, laptop, and bonus - all things that you would expect of that type of position.

The new boss had been in place for nearly a year and the region was coming up on the his first Christmas with his group of 7 Area Managers, which included me. The region had been performing well with a little over $40MM in sales for the year. My peers and I looked at each other with anticipation as we received a Christmas card with "a little something extra."

I opened it to find a lovely $15 WalMart gift card nestled inside.

WalMart.

Fifteen bucks.

I was in charge of over 6 million dollars in sales.

Fifteen bucks. At WalMart.

Gift giving is truly an art. It wasn't the amount, or even that it was WalMart. A thoughtful $15 is far different than a thoughtless $15. If he had bought a $15 football at WalMart, saying "I remember you talking about wanting to play football with your son since he's getting older now", it would have presented a much different feeling. A $15 bottle of wine, while not extravagant, suggests a bit of class. Even a card alone, with a note of appreciation would have been a significant improvement.

Three Years Ago

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Three years ago today I was taking my wife and kids on a flight back to our hometown. I had gotten a call that my mom was likely going to die very soon and it would be best if we came back. Our flight time was filled with the anxieties of what would be waiting for us when we landed. It didn't take long to find out. My phone buzzed to receive the text message that had been sent an hour before, telling me that mom had died during the flight.

My mom was a very determined woman. She had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 1990, endured a mastectomy and chemotherapy and had clean reports for nearly 10 years. Just before the 10 year mark, it was found that the cancer had metastasized to the bones. She was hurting, but she would rarely let you know it. She broke her hip and returned to work within 10 days. She couldn't tolerate not being busy with work and life because they kept her mind off of herself and the pain. She loved taking days with her grandkids and doing things like a butter making day, a pie making day, or going to see the Nutcracker. She was an amazing "Grammy" who delighted in her husband, kids, and grandkids.

Looking back, it's easy to find the times that I didn't honor my mom. I can think of times when I didn't give her proper respect, or didn't speak kindly of her. And, I can also see how she loved unconditionally, covering all of those mistakes just for relationship with me and my family. What a great example of loving how Jesus loved.

Seen at Costco

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:53:00 +0000

In a place where people normally buy cases of toilet paper and twin packs of half-gallon ketchup bottles, this woman's planned purchase seemed a little unusual. That is, unless she just brought her friend into Costco. Come to think of it, I never saw the aisle where stuffed ponies were sold. Hmmm.

Critics, Beware

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:37:00 +0000

Some people just don't like change. Who would want to use "an experimental pointing device called a 'mouse'" anyway?

San Francisco Examiner, John C. Dvorak, 19 Feb. 1984

The nature of the personal computer is simply not fully understood by companies like Apple (or anyone else for that matter). Apple makes the arrogant assumption of thinking that it knows what you want and need. It, unfortunately, leaves the “why” out of the equation — as in “why would I want this?” The Macintosh uses an experimental pointing device called a ‘mouse’. There is no evidence that people want to use these things. I dont want one of these new fangled devices.

See the rest of the article here.

Maybe I should stop hatin' on Mac and just get one already.

Bible Verse, Illustrated

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:20:00 +0000

Attention Bible scholars:

Check out the following image. What Bible verse does it illustrate?

Click this link to find the answer.

Image created by Wes Molebash via Stuff Christians Like.

Here's another link to Wes Molebash.

Chula Vista CERT

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 13:26:00 +0000

What will you do when disaster strikes? Your ability to respond well in a disaster situation will depend on your knowledge and training. Can you:
* Put out a small fire?
* Treat the big 3 medical killers by opening airways, controlling bleeding, or treating for shock?
* Give basic medical aid?
* Perform light search and rescue operations?
* Support professional first responders with disaster intelligence?

CERT is your community's Emergency Response Team. Volunteer team members are trained in basic disaster operations to be able to provide a response to each of the concerns above. Continuing quarterly training ensures a level of motivation and ability to stay involved and ready in the event a disaster strikes.

I was one of twenty-one new CERT members sworn in by Chula Vista Fire Chief David Hanneman yesterday after taking an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States and the constitution of the state of California. In the 24 hours of training led by Gary Breton, a 25 year veteran of the fire department, CERT trainees were taken through classroom instruction, light drills to build skills, and mock disaster scenarios to practice the skills with some live action pressure.

You may want to attend CERT training to simply be able to take care of your own family in the event of an emergency. Or, you might want to be trained so that you can help your neighbors on your block. Or, you may even feel motivated to support county-wide efforts to mitigate a disaster. Whatever your motivation level is, know this: The entire community will be much better off if you are able to provide basic disaster management at any level.

For more information, check the following resources:
CERT-LA, The Los Angeles website for CERT. It all started in LA.
City of Chula Vista, Emergency Services Management
CitizenCorps
Nixle.com, America's Community Information Service. Sign up for email and text alerts about things happening in your community - that's how I found out about CERT!

Makes You Wonder

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +0000

The picture shows where the TV used to be. See the dangling data cable?

The TV isn't gone because of a company-wide initiative to eliminate TVs from my favorite coffeehouse, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. According to the employees, it's gone because it was taken to open a store in Los Angeles.

It makes you wonder what's going on at the leadership level. After all, a TV like the one taken out has got to be about $700, tops. Here's my top 2 possibilities:
1. TV somehow not in on time from the supplier for the LA open. Leadership makes a poor decision to take from people that will notice to add to people that won't. All for the sake of a perfect open.
2. The store is going to close. No sense in buying a new TV when you can transfer the asset. Next thing you know, the furniture and fixtures will be missing for the same vague explanation.

I Can't Help You

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:25:00 +0000

The way a life is lived is usually a series of value statements.

Are you willing to change your consumption habits? Are you okay with cranking up the intensity and frequency of exercise? No? Then no one can help you improve your fitness level and you value eating whatever you want and exercising as little as you want above improving your fitness.

Are you willing to not touch a significant portion of your paycheck for the next 40 years? No? Then no one can help you wisely plan for retirement, and, you value living today over living well at retirement age.

You can't be helped unless you want to be helped.

Take this guy, for example:

On a site this video was posted on, one of the commenters said:

It is NOT a hilarious video. The man in the video has a very obvious alcohol abuse problem. We should not be laughing at him, we should be helping him.

- Hilary, France, 15/10/2009 16:25

What would it take to help him? Short of government-forced sobriety and detoxification through jail, he's got to be willing to change. He's got to be willing to say "never again." He's got to be committed to living in such a way that keeps him away from his struggle with alcohol (assuming that's why he was staggering around). He may need to be committed to accountability meetings through AA.

When Hilary from France makes the blanket statement "we should be helping him", I wonder what she's suggesting. Who's the we in her statement? Is Hilary willing to pay higher taxes to let the government take care of it? Is Hilary willing to give up her time after work to counsel people on the streets? Is Hilary willing to band together a group of volunteer workers and lead an organized effort to provide the help she's referring to? Far more common in a statement like Hilary's is that "we should be helping him" really means "you should be helping him."

I can't help you change unless you want to be changed. And, I can't help you change unless I'm willing to sacrifice some of me to do it. Maybe that's what Jesus meant when He said "love your neighbor as yourself." I need to make sacrifices and tough choices to show love toward myself. In order to show love toward you, I need to make sacrifices for you, too. Making those value statements isn't easy, but that's how real change happens.

Peace Prize

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:55:00 +0000

Exciting news! President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize!

For what? The nomination deadline was February 1st. Obama's inauguration day was January 20th. What could any president have possibly accomplished in less than 2 weeks?

Check out SNL's parody of Obama's accomplishments:

Not only has President Obama accomplished nothing, he now gets awards for nothing. What a deal!

Build the Culture First

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:19:00 +0000

From the food blog Eat Me Daily: Burger King Envisions a Shinier, Touchscreenier New Future.

Burger King announced a new design scheme for its restaurants that significantly updates their look. The pictures in the above link make it look really cool, and at a cost of $300K-$600K per unit upgraded, it should be.

I've never worked in a Burger King, but I have worked in fast food and I know this: You must build a culture before you build the building. For BK to be successful with the launch, there needs to be a plan to invest in the people and the supporting labor cost structure to maintain it. The remodel doesn't create the culture of excellence, the people that work there do. It needs to be very clear what the mission, vision, and values of the organization are. The mission, vision, and values need to be lived out in the workplace by every team member from the top executives to the people that clean the dining room. Team members that don't "get it" should be managed out. If BK doesn't think through the people, culture, and systems side of the remodel, a shiny half-million dollar upgrade becomes covered with a dull layer of airborne grease and fast-food litter run by Bon Qui Qui:

Advice

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 12:16:00 +0000

In a recent class I took, the instructor was talking about burn victims. The instructor then got off on a tangent and said, "If you're ever feeling really down, just go down to the local burn center and see the patients that are completely sedated because it's just too painful to be awake. I guarantee you'll walk out with a spring in your step without a care in the world."

I'm pretty sure his advice would have the opposite effect on me. My problems may pale in comparison to a severe burn victim, but, I'd still have problems. I'd also add on a memory of seeing people that were in deep physical trouble, and that would add to my burden.

The instructor must not have finished his thought. Pastor Mike Meeks teaches at EastLake Church that the cure for selfishness is generosity. I'd add to my instructor's advice that a cure for feeling down is to build others up. There's little comfort in knowing that someone else's circumstances appear to be worse than mine. There is comfort in reaching out, providing care and relieving burdens.

What's YOUR Take?

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 15:07:00 +0000

For a class, I've been assigned to read Developing the Leader Within You by John Maxwell. It's not my normal practice to do any sort of book review from a 1993 read, but please check out these samples from chapter 7:

"As Andrew Carnegie said..."
"Guy Ferguson puts it this way..."
"Napoleon Bonaparte, a leader's leader..."
"Viktor Frankl said..."
"Henry Ford said..."
"Someone said..."
"Fred Smith says..."
"David Burns, a medical doctor and professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania says..."
"Robert Half said..."
"Dave E. Smalley records in his book..."
"Teddy Roosevelt said..."
"John Rockefeller stated..."
"Denver Bronco coach, John Ralston, experienced..."
"Benjamin Franklin learned..."
"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said..."
"Narvaez looked astonished and said..."
"J.C. Staehle found..."
"According to William J.H. Boetcker..."
and finally, "As Ralph Waldo Emerson said..."

Ironically, chapter 7 ends with an old Chinese poem with the last line "We have done it ourselves."

Between endless quoting and stories that read like bad email forwards, I wondered over and over what John Maxwell thinks about anything.

When I read your writing, watch your film, or sit down and talk to you. I want to know YOUR take. I want to know about YOU. I want to know what YOU think. I want to know how YOU feel.

What do YOU think about that?

Predator?

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:54:00 +0000

I've got a love/hate relationship with the tow truck driver. I love that there's a way to get my car to the shop if it breaks down. I love that someone was there outside of San Luis Obispo to tow my car and get me and my family off the highway after we were in an accident. I love that there's a way to get unwanted, illegally parked, or abandoned vehicles out of the way.

What does a tow truck driver do if they're not helping you? They're hunting you for cash.

A couple of years ago, I parked in a lot in San Diego that was clearly marked as "No Sushi Ono Parking." It was after hours and the only business within the strip center that was open was Starbucks. I saw no harm, parked there, enjoyed some sushi and came back to find my car gone. It cost over $200 to get it back.

Earlier this year, carpet cleaners came to the house and blocked our way into the garage. We parked on the street temporarily, a violation of HOA rules, and an hour later, discovered that our car had been towed. It cost $180 to get it back.

A couple of days ago, our neighbor parked in her driveway, a violation of HOA rules. A tow truck driver found the car and within a minute, drug her truck away with tires smoking and squealing while my daughter tried to intercede. The driver stared at my daughter blankly and sped away. $180 for the neighbor to get her truck back. The law states:

"(B) Upon the request of the owner of the vehicle or that owner’s agent, the towing company or its driver shall immediately and unconditionally release a vehicle that is not yet removed from the private property and in transit.

That is, my daughter, acting as the owner's agent had the right to stop the driver and demand the release of the vehicle. For the driver to look directly at her with the windows down and completely ignore her creates a misdemeanor.

When trolling for cash, a spotter car goes to a neighborhood to look for cars. Once a violator is found, the spotter radios the trucks parked outside the neighborhood. They swoop in and make easy money. If I read the DMV rules correctly, it sounds like this sort of practice is illegal. The spotter car is legal, however, if they work for the property owner and not the tow company, although the spotter car I saw was clearly marked with a towing company door magnet. Hmmmm.

I love the tow truck driver until I park illegally. Just like I love that the CHP pulls over the speeding car that passed my speeding car. The dilemma is a classic one. I don't want to be held accountable for my actions but I want everyone else to have consequences. Well, everyone except my friends and neighbors. Unless they really deserved it and needed to be taught a lesson.

When I break it all down, I feel okay with the idea that wrong actions lead to uncomfortable consequences. I just can't stand it when the person delivering the consequences acts like an unjust predator because God isn't that way. God doesn't hunt me down or set traps for me. God allows consequences out of love, not personal gain.

Insane Killer Field Trip Day!

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 08:16:00 +0000

The news article begins...

"A legally insane killer was on the loose in the state of Washington on Saturday, two days after he escaped during a field trip to a county fair, authorities said."

Read the entire article here.

Even the most casual observer couldn't possibly think it was good idea to take a legally insane killer on a field trip to the county fair.

I reviewed an old criminal conviction matrix file from a previous job. It turns out that if you've ever been convicted of murder, you can't even get a job washing dishes at KFC. Yet through Washington State's mental hospital program, you can believe someone is a witch, take murderous action based on the voices in your head, burn a deer carcass as a sacrifice and still take a fun trip down to the county fair for a delicious corn dog and perhaps a spin on the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Not enough people have been declared insane in Washington.

eDevotional

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 04:26:00 +0000

My wife and I are a part of a team of volunteer writers at EastLake Church that participate in writing devotionals tied to the weekend message. Last week, Dawn and I were up again, this time to close out the series Outside In - stepping toward authentic faith. If you don't attend EastLake Church, I encourage you to listen to the 3 part series done by Pastor James Grogan. You can find the message audio here, and you'll be blessed by his insights.

This eDevotional is based on James' talk in week 3 where he explores the question: "Who's on your team?":

Read: Philippians 2:1-11

Reflect: Some people make friends easily wherever they go. They're engaging, outgoing, super-friendly, tell great stories, and are awesome listeners. They see people not as strangers, but as friends they haven't met yet. I'm not that guy. I am independent and generally self-motivated. I work hard and I enjoy my time away from work. I like time on my own to quietly recharge. And, if I'm not careful, I can isolate myself and feel okay about it.

The problem I run into is that God didn't design me to live in isolation. We were designed for relationship. We grow through relationship with Jesus and through relationship with others. I have to work at developing friendships, because it's all too easy for me to think that I can be okay on my own.

If you've been around EastLake Church for a while, you've probably heard this: The cure for selfishness is generosity. I'd like to add another cure: The cure for isolation is being available. A great way to make yourself available is through serving on a team. In Philippians 2:4, Paul says, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Not long after joining EastLake Church in 2005, my wife and I served with 3rd and 4th graders on Easter Weekend. We had an awesome time with the kids and signed up to continue to serve. Through serving the interests of others, we met some really cool people who are great friends today.

React: Where have I blocked the development of relationships? How can I be more available to help my relationships grow?

Pray: Lord, help me to set aside my own comfort to allow new relationships to start and current relationships to grow.

Surveillance

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 05:48:00 +0000

In 2007, a construction project had left our site terribly exposed. A contractor had just been taken for about $3000 worth of equipment left at the construction site and we were concerned that more would be stolen, impacting the opening date of our auditorium. What to do? Sit in a trailer overnight doing periodic property walkthroughs and general surveillance.

Overnight surveillance is two things: very boring and very creepy. Boring because nothing really ever happens when you're watching for it. Creepy because the later it gets in the evening, the more isolated you feel.

Fewer cars drive by.
It gets darker as nearby businesses close.
It gets even darker as the lights go out at the neighboring parking lot.
Your heightened awareness assigns importance to every out-of-place noise.
You start to imagine movement.
Everyone you know is sound asleep.
You're exposed. Even moreso when you leave the comfort of your surveillance vehicle.

Surveillance is a thankless task. If your goal is prevention, you can never know if actually prevented a threat or not. If your goal is to catch a person in the act, you'll likely walk away disappointed. Not catching a bad guy seems like wasted time while lurking through darkened hallways and hidden parking lots looking for a bad guy seems crazy.

September 11th

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:40:00 +0000

Eight years ago today, I was preparing my final presentation decks for a meeting when the news came on about a passenger airline hitting the World Trade Center. While I numbly sat watching the story unfold, there were heroes in action risking and giving their lives to help others through the damage.

On your to-do list for today:
1. Pause to pray for your servicemen and women in the military, law enforcement, firefighters, and any other public service organization designed to protect and serve.
2. Investigate how you can be a part of a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in your local area.

Obama's Speech to the Kids

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:33:00 +0000

Obama's back-to-school speech for the kids doesn't look like anything to get upset about. Click here to read it.

Democrats are appalled that Republicans are making such a big deal out of an innocent speech. Short memories. Click here to be reminded of Democrats launching a congressional investigation of Bush's speech to kids.

If you pulled away any connection to President Obama and the Democratic party, the speech reads like a fine pep talk for current schoolkids. Anyone could deliver that very generic speech and come off sounding like a champion for children. So what's the problem with Obama's speech?

It creates an indoctrination event in the public schools, connecting the good feelings of a pep talk to President Obama, which in turn connects to Democratic party ideology. Ideology like this line:

"I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve."

This identifies very clearly that it's the government's responsibility to decide what the educational standards are - not the parents.

Is that what you want for your children?

Kids, Stay in School...

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:24:00 +0000

Spelling is a very important skill.

Click image to enlarge.

Crackers

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 14:46:00 +0000

This morning, as I gathered the materials to make a morning latte, I saw something unexpected.

Crackers. In the refrigerator.

I laughed to myself as I thought about what happened. My son (14!) had been asked to clear the table. He complied, but if you have a teenage son, you understand that their definition of done is much different than your definition of done. He had cleared the table. It didn't matter where things ended up. Task complete. On to other things.

I had to pause and examine my own actions. I saw the crackers and had left them there, in the refrigerator. The cupboard where they actually go is adjacent to the refrigerator, yet I was actually considering leaving them there. The battle in my brain went something like this:

"Heh. Crazy son. Putting crackers in the fridge."
"You should really put those away."
"But I didn't put them there."
"Yes, but, they're not stored properly."
"But I'm doing something completely different right now. I'm making a latte and putting biscuits in the oven."
"Seriously? That's your excuse? Put the crackers away. It's only 4 feet. "
"It's not that big of a deal. At least they're off the table."
"Save yourself. Do you really want to have this conversation when your wife comes downstairs and sees crackers in the fridge? Imagine that: "Honey, look. Crackers in the fridge. Crazy son." "Yeah, I saw that." "Really? You saw that and did nothing about it? Let's talk about responsibility.""

I moved the crackers.

I didn't move the crackers because I would called out by my wife for being lazy, although that makes for a funnier story, but because I realized that not taking care of it demonstrates a lack of care for her. She matters to me and I want to show it.

Paul talks about internal battles in Romans 7:15-25. Paul talks about constantly struggling to not do the very thing he hates, even though he wants to do right. The solution is found in verse 25: "Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me." Just like I want my wife to know she is loved by my actions, I want Jesus to know the same. I don't just want my wife to not be bothered by minor annoyances like crackers in the refrigerator, I want her to know she is loved. I don't want to just keep Jesus off my back by completing His holy checklist, I want Jesus to know that He is loved. When my heart to serve is in the right place, my actions reflect it through consistency and completeness.

Remembering

rkness16@gmail.com (Rick Knowles) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:36:00 +0000

In January 2005, my family relocated from Tacoma, Washington to Chula Vista, California. We didn't really know anyone in the community, so to help get plugged in and meet some people, we decided to host an EastLake Church small group DVD study at our house. We didn't have any idea who would come and we were pretty nervous. Fortunately, among all the people that God sent, an engaging, wise couple walked in and our comfort level immediately rose.

Jim and Peggy Lovewell turned out to be a tremendous help in our small group. One particular night, a member of the group began to derail the conversation by supporting New Age principles that focus on self rather than Jesus, like self-actualization and higher consciousness. We were very thankful to have Jim's support as he demonstrated how to live out "a gentle answer turns away wrath" [Proverbs 15:1] in answering the man. Jim's love for Jesus coupled with a mature faith came through in the conversation and it turned in to a powerful witnessing moment.

Over time, we got to know Jim and Peggy a little more, periodically enjoying small group dinners at the South Bay Fish & Grill or enjoying an invite over to their Glögg party around Christmas time. Their last name, Lovewell, demonstrated how they were at their core. Each week, they continued to take a day just for themselves to focus on each other, kayaking, hiking, or anything outdoorsy. They took trips to Europe and made friends wherever they went. Their lives were rich with experience together.

Last Monday, as Jim was going for his morning bike ride, he suffered a blocked artery to his heart and collapsed while riding. Paramedics performed CPR and brought him to the hospital where doctors performed emergency surgery to remove the blockage. Jim didn't recover, and died on Friday morning at 4:40AM. He was a very young, energetic, and active 61.

Jim will be greatly missed as he touched and influenced so many lives by living a life where he truly loved well.