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messy love

I just read this......
"King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted."
What a crazy mess. I imagine that passage and see a crazy, wild, intense slaughter that was out of control messy. My first thoughts were very revealing to me of my heart. I thought, "why in the world would they do it like that? They could have done a certain amount of sacrifices and that would have been good. God knows the heart." Exactly that, God knows the heart. Sometimes I think of my giving a little as "well, God knows my heart and that I love Him or He knows that I care about others." People get upset when they read James, because he says people will know your faith by your deeds. No one is saying your deeds earn your place in heaven. Salvation comes by faith in Jesus and no other way. However, the people slaughtering like crazy, mad people knew the fear of God and the ark He was inhabiting. They remembered the story about the guy who dropped dead because he touched the ark. They remembered how they won battles when the presence of God was with them, and lost when He wasn't. Their hearts were wild with the fear and reverence for a Holy God. So, there were countless animals (think money and livelihoods) sacrificed before the ark. They had rules telling them how much and what to sacrifice for other events...but this time, they weren't going by the rules, they were pouring out the sacrifice with all they had.
Next time I think of spending my time, money, and love in a way that doesn't really put me out, I hope the phrase "well, God knows my heart" will in turn reveal my heart to me.

mark your calendar

Would like to know more about the genocide in Darfur? Would you like to know how you can help the Darfurians all the way over here in Indiana?
Please come to Common Ground Christian Church on August 13th at 7pm. We are going to get educated about the genocide and see some videos that will bring the message home.
Common Ground is located at 6151 N. Central Ave, Indpls, IN 46220 in Broadripple.

first boy cut

Today Spencer had his first "boy cut". Up until now I didn't know how to ask them to cut his hair. I'm familiar with girl terms like layer, bob, bangs, etc. Doug is only familiar with buzz cut. Not on my watch mister!

brown baby

Maegan has been talking a lot about me getting another baby in my belly. When Spencer was in there, she wasn't real interested at all. When he was born she didn't seem to notice. Up until he could walk, she would just walk around him and toss him a smile here and there. So, all this talk about me having another baby is interesting to me. Doug and I don't have plans to have another one soon (Doug doesn't have plans for us to have another soon or at all.)
So, yesterday Maegan said, "I need a sister, and her name will be Laura." We thought this was cute and interesting, I even started to think...maybe this is some kind of prophecy coming from our 4 year old. Doug just rolled his eyes at that thought. So she continued about the baby named Laura and went on to say she would be brown. ?.
The prophecy idea kind of went out the window. I asked Maegan what color Mommy and Daddy are. She said creamyish. I said creamyish + creamyish = some shade of creamy. So, a brown baby isn't likely to make it's way out my belly.
Maybe it's an adoption prophecy. ;)

do you want to join us

I've been part of Save Darfur for awhile. This has involved making phone calls and writing letters to politicians. I actually have 'Bush' as a contact on my cell phone. Yes, you can actually call the White House. You can call all sorts of legislators.
This past Monday the first meeting of the Indianapolis Coalition to Save Darfur took place at Common Ground. Eighteen strangers shared their desire to know more about what is happening in Darfur (and now Chad and Central African Republic) and we are going to plan some events in the community to raise awareness.
I will be posting our next event, which is coming in August. We are going to have an "educate ourselves" night at Common Ground, which will include screening the documentary "Darfur Diaries".
Please go to the following link to view a very good video about Darfur.
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid716091889/bctid716320015

i crazy

This past Friday Doug and I rolled into Chi-Town on the Mega-Bus. All the passengers had their faces plastered against the windows to get a glimpse of the Chicago people. So, as Doug and I observed the spectacles we both took notice of a line of men sitting along the wall of a building. In my mind I mused, this must be the likes of a Wheeler Mission. Then Doug said casually, "that must be the line for the iPhone." I stared at him for a moment waiting for enlightenment.......then I chuckled and said "this I must blog!"

Just in case you aren't aware, the iPhone price starts at $499.

Ironically, as we approached our hotel we had to make our way through a line of people who looked like they'd been camping out for awhile. We peered at these people from the 37th floor wondering if they were waiting for concert tickets, or waiting to get the autograph of someone famous. As we made our way out to get some Gino's Pizza (not worth the hour wait), passing by about 5 media trucks, we saw it.....the blackened windows of the Apple store. People were gathering to take pictures of their new line friends, random people stopped to take the picture of the first guy in line, Starbucks set up shop to pass out free coffee.

Well, I got caught up in the action and had to be there when Apple opened their doors to the fanatical techies. It was great! I wanted to want an iPhone. I would have loved to camp out all day, make new friends, get interviewed on TV, and drink free Starbucks. Doug and I stood amazed as people clapped for the consumers walking out with their little black bags. Other people took pictures of the people taking pictures of the people buying their iPhones.

All in all, we had a great weekend in Chicago. The only thing we didn't accomplish was eating at Fogo de Chao. It came down to fear for me. I was afraid of what I might do at a place where they brought me non-stop meat.

Seriously, this is why I avoided going. We cancelled our reservation Friday night, then we planned to go Saturday...but somehow I avoided it. I'm afraid of something that delicious.