Rick Nier...Woo!

I have mixed thoughts on this book. I wanted to read it for a few reasons. Brian McLaren seems to generate some controversy and I wanted to see for myself what all the hype was about. The subtitle had the words life and simple in it and that sounds honestly refreshing. The main title included the word naked . Sorry. This book sold itself to me as something simple. At first I felt deceived. At first it seemed to me that something simple should not take so many words. It's simply complicated. Twelve simple words? That's like a sermon with 18 simple points. It could be that Brian does not write it simply. Or I could just be a lot dumber than I thought. Either option is on the table. I'll let you decide. But then I got past the introductory chapters. This may just be a me thing, but I prefer to see an author say what he's going to write about and then simply start writing about it. Because once I got into the heart of this book, I actually enjoyed it. The premise is actua

I was not happy, to say the least. My wife's words devastated me. What could she possibly mean? Was she trying to be hurtful or did she actually believe the words she was letting spill forth from her mouth? We may need to get a new alarm clock. I know, I know. I should have warned you so you could put the kids in another room to protect them from such filth. I'm sure you are feeling a bit woozy as I did when she uttered that despicable phrase. I gently reminded her that this alarm clock had been with me since August of 1987. That was the summer my dad decided that my sister and I were old enough to be getting ourselves up in time for school. Here's a picture... But I followed my wife, presumed guilty until proven otherwise, back to our bedroom to see what was wrong with this alarm clock. Sure enough, the numbers were not showing. I had a letter half-written to General Electric. Did this clock have a warranty? Would they be willing to replace it? Did anyone still believe in

Reading through the book of Leviticus is somewhat what I imagine listening to a full Justin Bieber album would be like. I can only imagine that, even given the opportunity, I would have to turn off Bieber’s music halfway through the first song. If I was told that God had something important to say to me through said pop idol’s music, I think I could will myself through it, but it would be difficult. Much like reading through the book of Leviticus. But maybe I’d find something beneficial, which is exactly what I’m finding in what can’t possibly be Moses’ most-read book. Yet if you move past hour of endless fun in reading which parts of the sacrifices the priests are supposed to eat and which parts they are supposed to poke and wave, there are some really great offerings (pun intended). A couple of weeks ago I blogged about Aaron’s sons offering a strange fire and God making an offering out of them with His own fire. Just as interesting as the ‘strange fire’ is the reaction of

When I listen to sports talk radio, I sometimes forget I don't like commercials and listen to a promo for adopting teenagers. The voice tells me that if I ruin the punch line of jokes, make runny eggs, or wear stripes with polka dots, I could make a great parent for a teenager who needs a family. That's probably true, which means I must be a super parent because I tell great jokes, make great eggs and I can rock those polka dots and stripes like nobody's business. But if you're looking for someone to be a bit more honest than I just was, you need to pick up a copy of Jonathan McKee's book, Candid Confessions of an Imperfect Parent . If you can see the cover you can see a plate with burnt toast on it. That plus the title gives you a decent idea of what you're in store for here. There's no happy family with pasted on smiles to make you give up before you even read what Jonathan has to say. It's burnt toast, which has to be about the easiest thing to make..

I wasn't sure I had actually heard her correctly. My 9-year old, Jacie, in a serious mood, said, 'I think I should have stricter consequences. Time-outs don't really bother me.' (Pardon me while I get up off the floor.) I'm actually going to skip on over any parenting thoughts today, but let it be noted that I realize punishments have to change as children grow older. Oh, and Jacie's consequences will be changing shortly. This comment initially put me on the defensive. It's one thing for other parents to judge my parenting style, but to have your kids call you out seemed downright bizarre. After checking to make sure she wasn't using my fave style of communication, sarcasm, I checked to see if she had a fever. She had to be ill, because what child is going to actually say this out loud? Sure, maybe you think it, but never say it! Then I started pondering it more. See, Jacie is a great kid. But she gets punished...frequently. So I wondered if the punish

Ok, I've got a great idea for another book-turned-into-movie. I can even hear the voice-over in the preview. We have survived war upon war. When the Nazi's attacked, they were defeated. When Communist Russia tried to take over the world, they were stopped. But now, we face a force that leaves them both looking like little toddlers who have just wet themselves. Prepare for....Global Warming! The musical score alone would be moving. But sadly this is an real story that we have to deal with, no matter what you believe to be true. Grant R Jeffrey has written The Global Warming Deception: How a Scret Elite Plans to Bankrupt America and Steal Your Freedom . For the sake of being totally upfront, let me say that I enjoy pondering about things like secret governments and cover-ups such as this. Having said that, I believe the book starts out a bit slow. Grant takes an extended introduction plus 3 chapters to really lay the foundation. I understand why he does it. If you are going to sh

I could have titled this post Why Leviticus is Awesome and Chapter 13 Alone Makes Me Think but that would have been really wordy. The fact is that Leviticus can be a really difficult book to get through. But I am doing just that, slowly but surely. And chapter 13 is making me glad I am. Here are my thoughts, in no particular order, as I read through this. 1. If the Old Testament ever takes over again, am I going to be forced to check out hairy moles on the people in my church? Or is that a job for the senior pastor? The Bible never mentions a 'youth priest'. 2. Weren't the priests busy enough with sacrifices? You know, the ones that involved sin. 3. Didn't the priests suffer enough? Now they have to double as medical professionals and check out infectious diseases. 4. How exactly do you examine an itch? And why would there be a black hair in it? But it gets worse... just read on... 40-44 "When a man loses his hair and goes bald, he is clean. If he loses his hair

If you've ever had a new job, then you'll understand the feelings that I am about to describe. I've been at my current job for 9 years, so it's been a while, but I remember that new-job smell. I can recall being slightly nervous, whether it was my first ministry job or the first day working at a Dollar General. (Yes, I did that.) Because of the new-ness of it all, I was always on my best behavior. Not that I have any other kind of behavior. My best listening skills came out as I learned the duties and schedules of my new job. I was always very aware of how I was treating people and doubly aware of the supervisor watching my actions. I believe I'm the type of person that continues to work hard, but being a super-worker seems to be the natural way to start out at a job. Ask questions before trying anything strange with a new employer. Always perform the task in the way it was taught. But apparently not everyone thinks this way. In Leviticus, quickly becoming a fascina

So I've been thinking quite a bit lately about organizing my blogging schedule. I've tried to start following a pattern, whether that has been noticed or not. But for anyone who wants to know what's going on in my head (scary, I know) this is what I'm attempting to do. Tuesdays - This is the day I'm going to take a personal look at some recent Bible reading I've done. I'll attempt a real-world application. Thursdays - It'll be somewhat the same as Tuesdays, except I'm making no promises on application. If I find it interesting, I'll post about it and hope you find it interesting as well. Fridays - Book reviews. Not every Friday, but when I have one to post, it'll be here. That way you can take your paycheck and purchase the book I'm raving about before you spend it all on pesky things like rent and food. I thought about posting random things I run across on the world wide web, but if you want to follow my randomness, you can connect wi

It's not that I expected my children to be clones of their mother and I. But my two little girls are as beautiful as my wife. But it's a little too soon to know if my son will be a triple-threat guy like me. But I was a bit surprised to hear our older two, both in elementary school, complaining about music class. Our house is always full of music. My wife and I love to sing. And around the house the children can usually be heard singing a tune, when they're not beating each other with a sharp stick. But days that have music class are not looked forward to. I guess it makes sense. How often can you sing about wheels on a bus? We teach them about farmers, bed-jumping monkeys, sheep and how to touch their heads and shoulders, their knees and toes. It can get a little old. But my son has it figured out. He told me he just moves his mouth to make it look like he's singing. Then he showed me. I'm sure his music teacher doesn't have a clue. That is, as long as she'