Rick Nier...Woo!

I have a couple more days in this Best Of series. Today I bring one on a favorite topic of mine...space, the final frontier. Oh...and how small we are. I have new stuff coming back on January 2.  How Big Do You Think You Are? Last Friday, as a way of celebrating one last night of freedom before school started, my wife decided we no longer needed comfort. So we went way out...to our back yard and set up the tent. The kids loved the idea. I brought my laptop. I was checking the weather to see if we needed to put the cover up on our tent when I found that a meteor shower was expected. I looked up and saw a lot of clouds. But the children looked anyway for meteors that we wouldn't see. It led us to talk about space, a favorite topic of mine. I used the laptop to search pictures of space. I stumbled upon pictures of the size of Earth, like this one to the left. This was no big deal, as they've seen pictures of Earth before. But then I showed them this one. Now I had them intrigued

I am doing a best of series this week while taking a break. Today I am featuring the most popular book review I've posted. I review lots of books, but the author, Jonathan McKee, was paying attention to this one and drove some traffic my way. This also became known as the most exciting Wednesday I've had on this blog.  Oh, and it's still a good book that I would recommend to parents of teenagers.  Candid Confessions of An Imperfect Parent 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 hon

I'm posting some of the best of my blog from the past few years. This post came in second and I have no idea why. But since seeing the popularity I am hoping to get a patent on this idea and cash in on my kid's golden idea.  My Son: The Toymaker! I don't know what you talk about around the family dinner table, but topics at my house have a wide range. From discussing why southerners have an accent to how it would be if Phineas and Ferb lived with us we pretty much cover it all. So it shouldn't have surprised me when conversation turned to baby dolls and why some of them have ugly faces. After all, some real babies have ugly faces. (Tell me I'm wrong!) My son, always quick to offer a solution, though not always a great one, offered this. "What if the baby doll smiled when you picked it up to look at it?" Can't you see the possibilities here? How could you put back a baby that smiled when you chose it? And what if the baby had some pre-recorded

I've been blogging for a few years now and so I thought it might be time for a best of series. I've had some surprises looking back, seeing which posts got the most hits. But, it's not about me, so I'm re-gifting some of the best of for the next week. This first best post is more than double the next and I can only assume it's because of the title garnering Google search hits.  New stuff will begin again on January 2.  Enjoy!  Always Be Prepared Always be prepared. It's a lot more than just a slogan for the Boy Scouts. It's great advice for anyone hoping not to get caught off guard. Hey, it's even a command given by the Apostle Peter when he tells us to always be ready with an answer for the hope that we have. My senior pastor was prepared this past Sunday when he discussed being prepared. It would have just been ironic if he hadn't been prepared. But thankfully he was as he discussed the many ways that God prepared Mary for being the mot

There are lots of comments being made in regards to last week's tragedy. I would not want my name anywhere near most of them. But this, this I would be okay with. We need more people making sense.

This is part 4 of my God First, Man Second: Christmas Editions. You can find the other 3 here , here  and here . No matter what you do at Christmas time, no matter what your traditions, I hope that you will take some time to remember why we even get to celebrate this season. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” ~Luke 2:14 This is what it all comes down to. The whole heavenly host come out just to sing it. Glory is given to God. This is right, because God is deserving of our glory. In fact, God is the only One deserving. What do we get? Peace. This is beyond our undertanding. We can think we understand it. But we know, deep down, we don't. See, we come to this God-man relationship offering nothing. I could sugar-coat that for you since it's the holidays and all, but let's be honest. We're in a big heap of trouble and we have no actual solution. But God, planning as only He can, prepares and foretells and gi

Let me give you a typical conversation at the Nier household. Jennifer will be cooking supper and I will be calling the children to wash up, an activity that resembles herding kittens. I will go to our 4-year-old and say that it is time for supper. She will respond, 'I don't want anything icky.' The amount of trust that our children give us is mind-numbing. But since I know which foods get defined as icky and which foods get eaten, I measure my response. I will explain to her that she should trust that her parents will only give her good food to eat, but she has seen too much broccoli to believe that. She has her own version of truth and will not allow my perception to warp her reality. Such is the case with Jesus and some Jews that we're told 'had believed him' (John 8:31). The conversation starts out innocently, with Jesus offering them freedom. Jesus breaks it down for them, even telling them why they are ready to kill Him. 'You have no room for my word&#

Let me see if I have this straight. God’s Son enters this world as a baby, the ultimate in a gift to mankind. We select a date of December 25 (though let’s not get into that), and we commemorate this gift of God. We celebrate each year by singing songs, giving gifts, and keeping in mind ‘the reason for the season’. Whether through history before or after Christ, we have added details of some jelly-belly bringing gifts, drinking eggnog, and having office parties until the New Year. Added to this in recent years, we have Christmas decorations sold before Halloween is here and, despite any economy, lists as long as our legs and retailers willing to sell us the items on that list. Don’t even get me started about the 362 different versions of The 12 Days of Christmas song. Is it just me? Or does just about everything around us scream for attention to be taken from Jesus? I remember as a child in my family that birthdays were important. You may be neglected the rest of the time, but on your

Do you think Mary ever gave Jesus a guilt trip over the pregnancy, labor and delivery? I know you're the Son of God and all, but I was in labor for 19 hours. And don't even get me started on the smell in that place, with all the barn yard animals.  And how does Jesus begin to answer that? Is that the time to remind Mom you are going to die for her sins as well as those of the whole world? Do you remind her that labor and delivery wasn't your fault, but Eve's? What about enlightening her to the fact that you've never done anything wrong? Have you ever tried to deliver a baby with the smell of goats? Have you ever seen the ways cows don't mind their own business? I have to say, being Jesus isn't easy. And don't get me started on Joe. He just sat in a corner while I did all the work. He tried to tell me he didn't do this to me, but I still blamed him.  Let's be real. The Christmas story is a messy story. In more ways than o

It's not the only time that I expected a call from a grocery store informing me that there was a strange lady wandering the aisles and perhaps could I help, but this time the phone call was real close. And the lady in question was my wife. Side note: I haven't talked with grocery store managers and put my name on some sort of 'counseling needed' list. So I really shouldn't ever expect calls from a grocery store. But I think the idea is worth exploring. But oh, my wife!  She's been going through a mighty struggle with allergies. But she's like a Norseman when it comes to illness. She'll just glare at the sickness and shrug it off. Or, at least, that's what happens in her mind. In reality she drags her body around while trying to keep up with our kids and her normal schedule.  The great thing about my wife is that she's not so stubborn that she won't get some medicine after being down for 2 weeks. The even better thing about my wif

This guy doesn't need any help directing traffic to his site. If anything, Jon Acuff of Stuff Christians Like  fame, is like a superstore that uses the other smaller store around him for extra parking. My blog, on the other hand, would be where you park when you just bought a new car and don't want to get it scratched. I digress. His post from yesterday is equal parts snarky, pointed and convicting. Oh, it's also good food for thought. You can check it out here . Woo!

It was 1741 when George Frideric Handel composed the Messiah. In the mix is the song For Unto Us a Child is Born . He used Isaiah 9:6. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. That's good stuff and hopefully you're humming the tune in your head by now. In case it isn't, listen here . And that's nice. It's got good stuff. But I like to look at the context of Bible verses. Especially the famous and popular verses, we can learn a lot by where they are found. I kind of wonder which groups might sing this song with such flourish if it began with verse 5 from Isaiah 9. Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. At least now you have something for the guys to look forward to as well. If you know the tune, I think you can hear how the hi

Most people that read my blog will not care about pro basketball but there was a nationally televised game between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. Gregg Popovich, the coach of the Spurs, chose to send his 4 best players home before the game. The Spurs as a team are older and he decided to rest his stars throughout the season so they will be rested and ready for the playoffs. Now, forget for a moment that sports mean way too much in our world and athletes are overpaid. Let's take it for what it is and allow me to give you a few more details. The Miami Heat are the defending champs and this game was highlighted on national television.  So, because people talk all the time about sports and decisions, much was made about Popovich's choice to seemingly throw this game. People argued that this was way too early to be worried about the end of the season. This was too soon to be resting players.  Really? Are choices we make in November and December too soon f

If you had told me there was a cookbook I would enjoy reading, I'd have asked if it was about bacon. Had you told me there was a book about communion that would leave me longing for the taste of wafers in my mouth, I'd have scoffed.  Keeping the Feast  is not about bacon and while I am not craving plastic wafers, I found myself riveted as I turned the pages of this book by Milton Brasher-Cunningham. In fact, I turned so many pages over and marked so many quote that you will probably see me referencing this book a few times on this blog.  Milton has taken communion, an admittedly oftentimes habit that we Christians have taken for granted and infused the readers, at least this one, with a sense of the more that it can be. In fact, on that very point, Milton agrees that we are creatures of ritual.  "Yes, we are. On purpose. Ritual is best defined as 'meaningful repetition' - repeating those things that help you remember, as the old saying goes, wh

Watching the news, my wife and I came across 2 interestingly timed segments. The first was of a woman, Lindsey Stone, who took a picture that went viral. She was standing next to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, near a sign that read 'silence and respect.' The pic showed her yelling and holding up her middle finger. What was interesting was how people were calling for her to be fired. She works at a nursing home, who separated her actions from their core beliefs very quickly after the pic went viral. My first thought was to ask how her job was connected to what she did on her own. I know this is a slippery slope and can be instantly asked of every president who made a crucial error in moral judgement that likely did not affect job performance. (Read:Bill Clinton) This question has been asked of sports stars as well. Tiger Woods, anybody? And while I wondered why others might feel the need to call for Lindsey to lose her job, I couldn't help but imagine that th

People won't always like what you say. The sooner you get accustomed to that idea, the easier the internet is going to be for you. Here's a case in point: People are all worked up over Bob Costas' recent comments regarding the Javon Belcher tragedy because of his views on gun control. Okay, I get that. But what's being missed is a great quote I discovered through a friend's blog, which you can find here . I'm choosing to highlight this because I want to argue about gun control.  I'm choosing to highlight this because I needed people to be angry with me. I'm choosing to highlight this because people often miss the main point. They get stuck on a detail they disagree about and then the main point gets ignored. So, to Howie Snyder, willing to face backlash if it comes, I say Woo!

It’s the story that never grows old. Filled with God’s special messengers, unexpected company from the field, unexpected gifts from special guests from afar. Tales of romantic twists and a marriage that almost wasn’t. Even the stars seemed to align themselves. And all of it centers in on a baby. Babies in our day are used to getting all of the attention. Company comes from all over to celebrate the new bundle of joy. Every little need they have is met with great attention by a mom or a dad. If it’s not, the cries come quickly. But this story of Christmas was more than the normal routine for a birth, even by first child standards. Yet, routine is one of the words that is unfortunately linked with Christmas. I find people can lean towards two categories when it comes to this holiday. They love it and begin to play Christmas music in late September or they will bemoan the fact that Christmas decorations pop up around the same time as Halloween stuff in all of our stores.

My family, like many others, has a traditions of busting out Christmas decorations as a way of shaking off the turkey-induced comas. That, and my wife knows I would put it off until the weekend before Christmas if it was left to me.  There I would be, on December 21, asking if decorating a floor lamp could count, since the light bulb at the top could act as the star. But the wife, joined by the children living with us (how many of them are there?) demand this tradition be carried out in its rightful time.  Getting out the Christmas decorations meant pulling out the nativity scene, which for us means a Little People version the kids can play with. At least it was one they used to play with when they were younger. Since it remains buried away for 11 months of the year, it still draws some interest.  They will divide the characters into 3 teams, causing the shepherds to be picked last, even behind the fuzzy sheep they were in charge of. Teams picked, the storyline begins, with my bo

Wm. Paul Young has done it again. Depending on how you felt about his book The Shack , it could very well determine if you are glad it  has happened again. His new book, Cross Roads , follows Anthony Spencer through his less than perfect life. If you liked the playful depictions of God from Young's previous bestseller, you're likely to enjoy this view as well. Some of this felt familiar, but that is far from a complaint. When a good reminder is given, it often is needed to be given again. You shouldn't fear that this is simply The Shack 2.0 , for new characters are introduced in unconventional ways, including an Irishman named Jack, who will feel like a welcome friend to many. Young does a good job of keeping the story moving, bouncing between several stories. I must admit there was at least one point where the story line felt forced in order to give Young a chance to stand on a soapbox. Readers can be sure that assumptions will be questioned and beliefs challenge

Christmas brings up a host of questions, none the least of which was made popular by a song about grandma and some reindeer. Do we open up her gifts or send them back? But there are other questions as well. Who gets gifts and who gets cards? And who gets gifted an errand disguised as a gift card? Where are we spending Christmas? Do I have to share my eggnog? If only those were the hardest questions to answer. Instead, the young ones want to know what the word 'virgin' means and why Joe wanted to divorce Mary at one point in the story. I can only send them to their mother so many times before she gets upset with me. It reminds me of the awkwardness when the female kittens we had bought for our kids got a bit older. The cats started assuming a position of, umm..... uhhh.... expectation? And telling our midgets they were in heat didn't help matters any. All of these questions lead to a host of other questions. How are babies made? How can babies come around if a mom an

Given the fact that my schedule has been a bit busier than normal, my blog and article reading has taken a dive, similar to my exercise schedule when close to the holidays. Serious. Nose. Dive. This is not to say I haven't been reading. It's just been limited to books. So check out the blog on Mondays for all the recent reads. As for who to Woo!, this one goes out to all of you. It's quite difficult to go through a 6-week sermon series on thankfulness (including the one I praught) and not find gratitude for others. So, if you are connected to me somehow, I Woo! you. (Yeah, that feels a little awkward saying it like that. Oh well.) To the people who hold my heart, like family, thank you. To the people who share secrets and likes and dislikes, like close friends, thank you. To the people who work and worship and serve alongside me, like my church family, thank you. And yes, even to those who are sometimes a pain in my side, thanks for letting me work on patience and

This is [most of] something I shared with my youth group this past weekend. If we’re honest with ourselves, this world can be pretty hurtful. We may attempt to ignore it or be stronger than it. We can speak proudly of overcoming obstacles, but sometimes we feel pain. This world can feel pretty void of feelings. When we think of people at large, it seems like everyone is just trying to get what they want and feel good about themselves, even if it means making us feel like a loser. I’ve talked about my days of middle school and high school before. It wasn’t pretty. I was in the band. But to be clear, for those of you in band, I was mocked by others in the band. Without realizing what I was doing, I also joined the chess club. It wasn’t until I showed up that I realized what dagger I had put into any social aspirations I had. Or used to have. Names like dork, loser, and geek were not far from my daily life. And apparently bursting into tears and yelling, “I know you are but what am I?”

There is no separation of the practicing of our faith and the everyday matters we all have to attend to. Our Sunday best should be a reflection of our work week and daily routine. Because anything less is a depreciation of Christ. But when we exalt the name of Jesus as the name above all names, then we will fulfill this goal - “Whatever you do, do in the name of Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." ~Colossians 3:17 You see that the ‘whatever we do’ is based on a foundation of Jesus. But it is the last part that makes it difficult. It is doing the right thing with thankfulness in our hearts. We could do the right thing begrudgingly, and we often do. But this practice makes us no better than the ascetic, who punishes his body thinking it will please God. This is foolish thinking, as anybody who has been a parent for more than 5 minutes can attest. It works something like this. We become teenagers and come to certain conclusions about our parent’s rul

Do you want to be a rebel? Jonathan Fisk is going to give you lots of ammo to rage against the machine. In His book Broken: 7 "Christian" Rules that Every Christian Ought to Break as Often as Possible, he unloads and unpacks seven worldviews that should be argued against. I'll admit I wondered what I was getting myself into in the first chapter, as Fisk sounded more like an Old Testament prophet than a modern day writer. Not that I have anything against Old Testament prophets. When God calls you to be a voice, you gotta listen, right? Jonathan varied between waxing poetic and bringing needed wisdom quite admirably. By the end of the first chapter I was 2 parts intrigued, 1 part fearful, but all parts ready to continue reading. Each chapter has a subtitle that left me wondering which direction he was headed. His illustrations were thought out thoroughly, especially when he turned from prophet to fan boy and weaved a Star Wars comparison through an entire chapter. I

The week began with plumbing problems. Granted, they were plumbing problems that I created, but nevertheless, I had problems. The schedule continued to be thwarted by a sick spouse and a son in physical therapy to make his arm work right again. Although I have wondered what the point is in that, since he's probably going to hit his sisters with that arm? This is to say nothing at all of a normal week’s to-do list that needed to be done. And on top of all that, I had a sermon on thankfulness to prepare. (Sigh.) I suppose I should practice it before I preach it and this was as good a week as any to practice. What is it about us that makes thankfulness one of the last things we get to? Even as Christians, we sing about the amazing wonderful grace that we can't possibly earn and yet, we also get stuck in issues of entitlement. What is it about us that makes thankfulness one of the most difficult things we do? Even as Christians, we find ourselves complaining about first world probl

It’s November. And November is synonymous with inducing a coma caused by the tryptophan in turkey (the food, not the country). Or, as we in America call it, Thanksgiving. Ahh, that beautiful holiday when we gather together with family, eat too much, sleep through a Detroit Lions game and then go home. You know about the ride home, right? That is when you share with your spouse how her family bothers you. I have to confess I feel a tad guilty being snarky about Thanksgiving. After all, it is a legit American holiday. Thankfulness is something that is encouraged in the Bible. It’s even the topic of our theme at our church this month (and 90% of other churches as well). Shouldn’t I just write out my list of things I’m thankful for and then move on to writing some devotional for next month’s church newsletter, something along the lines of a great gift of shoes I once gave my mom? Everybody knows that when you're writing about Christmas, you have to include lyrics to at least one inspir

My kids love speaking Spanish. They only know 6 or 7 words, but for some reason it brings them great joy to speak Spanish. When Luke, my 7-year old, was first learning it, he insisted I have conversations with him in Spanish. Here’s how it would go; Luke: Hola! Me: Hola! Como esta? Luke: Y tu? When translated, it looks like this. Luke: Hi! Me: Hi. How are you? Luke: And you? I never said my kids were very good at speaking Spanish. When I pointed out where he went wrong, this only caused him to laugh uncontrollably and do it repeatedly. My children are quite stellar at repeating things, especially when those things are my bad habits. I got to thinking about this because we are on the verge of repeating another round of holidays; Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Christmas and New Year. And while I am not a bah-hum-bug, I don't exactly go running up and down the streets like Jimmy Stewart shouting 'Season's Greetings' to anyone and everyone. Just ask my wife how I react when sh

"What do you do for a living?" It's a question I dread. First, people act weird around a pastor. But when they find out I am a youth  pastor, it's all of the follow up questions I know are coming that cause me headaches. Chief among them is, 'When are you going to become a real pastor?' The question takes on different forms, but it does come down to this idea that every other form of pastor is merely a stepping stone to the real deal. So I thought I would do all youth pastors a favor everywhere and provide a guide of different ways to answer this question. Because if you haven't been asked this question yet, you will. Just wait until you have turned 30 and people assume you are ready to stop 'playing games with teens.' 'Do you want to be a real pastor?' 1. I took philosophy classes in college. Am I a fake pastor? Are you saying I don't exist? Can you prove that I don't from the perspective of Renee Descarte? 2. Does

This is written to youth pastors . But it should be written for anyone, anywhere. Because no one should go through life alone.  Woo!

We are not defined by our part of the body, but by being part of Christ’s body. It could be easy to read 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul talks about how each of us are members of one body, and assume that we are just parts of one finely tuned machine. And while I want us to understand that we are not the whole, I don’t want anyone to get all worked up over which part they are. Am I an eye? Am I a finger? Am I the middle finger? (Sometimes I think I would be willing to be the middle finger of the body of Christ.) How exactly does a spleen work for Christ? A kidney? If I was the appendix, does that mean I could be removed and nobody would notice a difference? Paul’s point, of course, was that the whole body works together and, just as a physical body is not as great without every part working together, so it is with the body of Christ. But I wonder if we sometimes miss the most important part of this. We are members of Christ’s body! Our treasure is that we belong to Christ. The

Granted, there are many stories in the Bible that cause me to shake my head and wonder what was going on. In fact, the Old Testament is downright entertaining for anyone who has ever channel flipped and landed on The Jerry Springer Show  and not been able to look away. Not that I have ever done that. But if there was ever a Top Ten Crazy Moments in the Bible, then I would like to submit Acts 2 for your consideration. Acts 2 is when the Holy Spirit is introduced to the Church and the result is a big party. It's the kind of party where a DJ just happens to show up with all of his equipment and pushes one button and instantly has a dance floor hopping.  The Holy Spirit unleashes in such a big way that outsiders start asking if the believers are drunk. And that's when the Church's first spokesman takes a mic. Peter stands up and says that 9am is way to early to be drunk. He didn't say that there might not be times that they would be drunk. Just not at 9am. Now, Pe

Admittedly, I work for an organization that doesn't always make sense. I am speaking of Church with a big 'C'. It's not that my local church community does everything right, but as long as we are casting blame, we might as well include everybody. And if I was somehow made Super-Ruler and Big-Time-Decision-Maker of the Church, there are a bunch of things I would probably do differently than are currently being done. I suppose everyone could say that. But Fred Antonelli really hots the nail on the head when he discusses our view of sin and grace . It's a bit of a lengthy article, if you're accustomed to reading tweets, but it's worth a look. Woo!

Insignificance. It sounds easy, right? Well, yes and no. After all, being a nobody doesn't exactly take a lot of work. I happen to know from personal experience. On the other hand, it's not easy to accept until you understand that you don't lose like the world understands losing. When you come second to God, you end up fulfilling all the backwards sayings of Jesus. You know, the first being last and all that. But even this isn't as easy as it sounds. And why? Because we haven't added the suffering. A good example comes in John 11 when Lazarus dies. Much has been said regarding this story and what Jesus was doing. At two different moments, Jesus says it is for their belief and for the glory of God that this happened. Sop and let that sink in. Lazarus didn't die because he was healthy. He got sick. He suffered. He breathed his last (or so he thought). His sisters tried to help him. They even turned to Jesus for healing. When nothing changed, they mourned h

Greetings are important. What we say and how we say it will determine where the conversation goes. For example; If I say:                                                  "Hey!" very largely and with a smile, you might assume I’m very excited to see you. "Hi", mumbling and very softly, you might ask what’s wrong. "Oh, it’s you guys…again", you might assume I don’t like you. "Sup?" while coolly nodding my head, you might assume I’m cooler than I actually am. Greetings are important. Which is why I think Paul was purposeful when he began his letter to Tim. In the very first verse, we learn who Paul is and what he is about. 1 Timothy 1:1 “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,” An apostle  – this is not just any joe writing with some thoughts. An apostle of Christ Jesus  – you have to know who you work for. An apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God  – Paul didn’t

I like reading books because they make me think. Sometimes they make me think a lot. Sometimes they change my thinking. And sometimes all that thinking makes me uncomfortable. That's because sometimes it makes me stop and wonder just what I've been doing. That is what happened as I read The Radical Question / A Radical Idea  by David Platt. It's two books in one, which means more bang for your buck. The Radical Question  is an introduction to David's book Radical , which is just that, radical. It asks the question that every Christian should be asking themselves. What is Jesus worth to you? A Radical Idea  takes the main points from Radical Together . Here David contemplates "the force of a people who come together to enjoy God's grace in the church while the extend God's glory in the world." These books are just small portions of David's books on the topic. So reading these vignettes could cause you to want to read the whole thing. Just a

I have repeatedly asked my wife not to give me home projects. It's not laziness. It's a lack of experience and knowledge in the expensive areas. But does she listen? About as well a I do when she's talking about....about....whatever it is she's always talking about. So she asks me to take care of the seemingly small fixes. Like a bathroom drawer that fell off the track. I took it apart and discovered the inner parts were broken. Now this might have been a small afternoon project for most husbands. But maybe you haven't met me. For me, it meant taking a broken inner part to three different hardware stores, all to no avail, before realizing I would have to install a new drawer slide. For those inexperienced like me, that's the long thingy the drawer slides on. At least, that's how I described it to the hardware guys. While fixing the drawer, I pulled the bathroom counter top away from the wall so I could reach the wall easier. Every guy out there who h

I'd like to give a Woo this week to my son. I didn't name him Luke just so I could say I was his father, although that was certainly a bonus. But after wiating 9 long years, I finally convinced him that we should portray another, perhaps more famous father and son. I also convinced my wife I would find plenty of uses for a black cape from the costume shop. Win and win!

This week I deviated from my routine blogging schedule. Comment if you noticed. I did so because Bryan Allain gave me a book and asked that I post on a particular day. I'm sort of rules oriented, so I obliged. After all, the book was about building a tribe. In my case, the tribe consists of you, my readers. Many of the points in the book caused me to think about the purpose of my blog. After all, I'm trying to build it, but why? This train of thought has twists and turns, but it caused me to ask what I'm doing here. What do I want to give my community? What do I want in return? Some of these answers are simple, but some are not. The simple truth is my blogging is a creative outlet of my ideas. But my ideas are born out of my relationships. The most important of those relationships is with my Savior and Friend, Jesus. I understand that may limit my community, but perhaps that is part of the inherent danger of my message. Among the many random things I discuss, a cent