Thankful for Facebook?? – Yep, Turns Out I Am – Thanksgiving Series – Post 4

I mentioned in an earlier post that I made a list of things I was thankful for. I know that sounds cheesy but I found it to be a helpful excercise. I started making sub-categories of things what I was thankful for and that included technology and eventually social-networking sites like Facebook. I thought about crossing that off. Reasons included that I’m in my 30’s and it felt a little silly. But then I started thinking about what the difference of not having Facebook would have made and I concluded that I really am grateful for it.

While there are a number of things that concern me about Facebook (privacy concerns, lurkers, numerous awkward experiences, the objectifying of people, the amount of time that can be wasted on the site), it has been among the best vehicles of connecting with people when you actually can’t be there physically. I compare the disadvantages to things like traffic and airline delays – they suck for sure – but they’re still worth it. While it also cannot substitute for a phone call, or receiving a hand-written note, it has its advantages such as:
It’s proven to make the difference between “never hearing from you/me again” to “staying in touch (at least somewhat)”
Like many, I too, have enjoyed rekindling old friendships.
It’s made my phone contact list lighter.
It’s proven to be a valuable tool in ministry. Writing on someone’s wall or sending a quick message saying “Hey…” has opened conversations that previously didn’t exist.
It’s helped me keep up with my family and friends, especially as they/we have begun our families.
Many more things to be sure – but my point for this post isn’t terribly profound. It’s simply to admit all this and maybe to get you to admit this too.

Now, I don’t want this post to simply be a homage to Mark Zuckerburg. I watched the Social Network, I still think it’s ironic that he (“allegedly”) stabbed his best friend in the back in the launching of this site.  But clearly, this has proven to be a game-changer.

But perhaps my favorite part of my Facebook experience has been the deepening of relationships. I have countless stories of messages sent, received, the timing of them and the care expressed inside them that leave me thinking this thing isn’t for kids, or just for fun, or for as the Social Network offered, for hooking up. It’s for a lot of things to be sure but there’s a lot of good here too and for that, I am grateful.

A Thanksgiving Reflection – Thanksgiving Series – Post 3

If you have been following this blog, you know that it’s been quite the year for us – new baby girl, moved to the Boston area for a new position and through the craziness, we’ve been enjoying a wonderful transition. In the big picture perspective, all is well, I cannot complain (but that doesn’t mean I won’t :) In truth, things are good but one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is gaining perspective from the tougher seasons of life and so this year, I’ve been reflecting on the virtues gained from those times.

As I said in my sermon last week, had you told me at the start of 2008 that I’d be driving a minvan home with 3 kids, I would have thought you had the wrong guy (to say it politely). Going through infertility did not just make Susan and I promise to never take children for granted. More so, it brought us closer together, which made for a stronger marriage and now a better home for our family. Initially this problem was a challenge for us to get through together, as the years went on, we saw it as something much more, this may be our reality which forced us to ask each other, “Are we enough for each other?” Through the years, we have met couples who have been through similar types of challenges and tragedies and they were encouragement to us and I hope these words are an encouragement for those who may be in need, especially during this holiday season.

Not only did Infertility make our marriage stronger, it also demanded that I confront some of my own issues. I remember being jealous of not being able to go Christmas-shopping for my own kids. I still went to Toys R’ Us and bought presents for others but there was a resentment that always needed to be confronted. There was nothing wrong with what I wanted, but as everyone knows, resentment gets rooted in the heart and reveals itself in other ways. While this isn’t a how-to post in overcoming that, I do find myself grateful for the encouraging words of friends, the soul-searching and the prayer. I’m still not sure I can honestly say that our infertility made me a better person, but the lessons learned have made for a healthier perspective.

Another aspect of life that I find myself thinking about these days is the idea that the first five years of my ministry eventually made me a s pastor. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger right? Well that’s only a half-true. This is a passing thought from another reflection that I have not posted but I mention it today because the Lord did taught us much from those years. As I mentioned in the first post of this series, I learned lessons of speaking, leadership, etc. But what I am really grateful for is that those years made it clear that ministry is about “other people” and if you can’t understand that, change careers. Without sounding overly-dramatic, I’d be in denial if I didn’t admit to considering that option (in fact, I was even presented with a more lucrative career-change) but as it turned out, I really believed in this calling. I find myself grateful for this experience these days.

To those that find themselves in a tough season whether with family, ministry, vocation, life-trajectory, I hope these words offer some encouragement. There is still so much to go in life, indeed there will be tough times ahead (I know this will be true for us as well), but may we gain from them and may they lead to joyful times too.

Finally, if we can spend some time in our Thanksgiving offering prayers for those that are struggling today. May we pray for the grieving, the diseased, the depressed, the long-term unemployed, the heartbroken. Today my prayers are also with those in Egypt. Though I am thankful, I fervently pray thet God’s Kingdom be on earth as it is in heaven.

I’m Thankful For the Emerging Church Movement – Thanksgiving Series – Post 2

Last week I made a list of what I was thankful for. There were the obvious blessings like my faith, my family, our dear friends and our new transition here in MA to name a few. After that, everything seems trivia so I made sub-categories – what tangible physical things was I grateful for (hot water, being a 2 car family, the internet, which led to which technologies I was grateful for, cell phones, macbooks, Facebook (that’s the next post) to eventually what ideas/concepts/mantras I was thankful. The emerging church conversation was at the top of the list.

Now, many of us know that the “emerging church” is a bit of a fuzzy term and unfortunately I don’t have the time, space, ability or willingness to “define” it adequately so I’ll reference you to Scot McKnight’s “5 Streams of the Emerging Church” article that was posted on Christianity Today.

I am aware that others may have found these blessings below via another route. This is part of my experience.

1. The emerging church conversation was the first place that I felt that really appreciated and valued non-believers and the over-churched young people. As one in his twenties, new in ministry primarily serving the millennials, this was refreshing. It felt to me that until then, the answer was, “Well these kids are getting worse and worse, they need us to be even more forceful/adamant about Jesus!” I sensed a willingness to engage and contextualize with others that informed and shaped my soul and my ministry.

2. The emerging church conversation forced me to work on my theology. It was from Tony Jones that I first heard that we tend to see Christianity through the eyes of Paul rather than Jesus. That was a pretty arresting moment for me at the National Youth Workers Convention in 2003 in Charlotte. IN ALL HONESTY, this helped me discover and worship a “better Jesus” – a more Biblical one. There were a number of other moments that helped me to see the beauty and depth of Scripture and I know I am a better pastor, Christian, person for it. Still have a long way to go though. After i finished my MAR, I knew i wanted to go back to pursue my MDIV. It’s truthful to say that my experience at Biblical Seminary was truly enriched by all of this.

3. The emerging church conversation introduced me to the missional-church conversation. These years, I have resonated more with the MC but I would be in strong denial (and I believe others would too) if I didn’t acknowledge that this was emerging church conversation that introduced me to the concepts and virtues of the missional life. (Raise your hand if you owned a Brian McLaren book before an Alan Hirsch book – I see those hands :).

4. The emerging church conversation celebrated my appreciations for postmodernity and plurality. I’ve always felt that that I wasn’t conservative enough for the fundamentalists, progressive enough for the liberals and moderate enough for the moderates. Words like “conversation” and “friendship” have gone a long way with me. Not only have I felt welcomed to conversations where I previously didn’t, I welcomed others that I previously didn’t.

5. The emerging church conversation helped spiritual formation by emphasizing the importance of the ancient church. I’ll admit prior to the year 2001, my church calendar skipped from the second century to the start of the Protestant Reformation in 1517. I gained so much by celebrating and learning more about the history and practices of the Church.

So much more I could say, but this is enough. But if you would like to learn more about the emerging church movement through the lens of one of its biggest contributors, check out Tony Jones’ The Church Is Flat: The Relational Ecclesiology of the Emerging Church Movement. Kindle edition is only $2.99.

How about you? What have you gained from the emerging church conversation or if more relevant, what concepts and ideas have shaped your journey?

Thankful For the Lessons Learned While Serving in Youth Ministry – Thanksgiving Series – Post 1

This week, I am posting a series on some of the blessings I’ve been thankful for that I haven’t expressed before. So here we go:

First up, I’m thankful for the lessons I learned in youth ministry. Until this September, I had been serving in vocational youth ministry since the beginning of 2000. One of these days, I’ll try to intelligently post on my transition. But until then, know that I loved being a youth pastor.

As I have been enjoying settling into my new position, there have been moments that I’ve missed serving in youth ministry.  Like when the Montvale group (my previous church) shared about their mission trip experience at the end of September (was thrilled to watch my young friend Jorge’s video of our trip). Other examples include hearing about their fall retreat and seeing my new church’s youth pastors lead their respective retreats. Our middle school pastor, Andrew, told an incredible story of one student’s experience last month and among my thoughts were, “I used to tell that story.”

That said, I’ve been grateful not to be away these weekends now with our third child having just been born and two little ones wrecking havoc on our home. My dear wife is a trooper and since she’s taken that Mom’s class led by the Marine veteran, I think we’ve “taken back the beach” – Oorah! Still, I look at back at my time in youth ministry and here’s what I am grateful for:

1. Youth ministry demanded that I be a better speaker and taught me how to hold people’s attention. You think the adult listening span is short, try a 9th grader’s. There are countless lessons I learned by teaching young people over the years from reading body-language, to the way humor works, inflection, pacing, to “what’s in my head is not coming out right from my mouth, now what do I do …. just keep moving, don’t let them sense weakness or lack of confidence … must take back the beach!”

2. Youth ministry forced me to pay attention to practical theology. Many times, I was the first person to explain an essential doctrine like the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Not only did this mean that I had to explain these theologies in understandable terms, but I needed to truly think and live them out.

3. Youth ministry helped me to see the world of contextualization. Here I am as an X’er leading Millennials who are being parented and educated by Boomers in an ever-changing society. Add to it that I’m proclaiming a God, that among the things we say about Him is that He is “the same yesterday, today and forever.” Contextualization was the key for learning the balance between relevance and timeless truths.

4. Youth ministry taught me to be a better leader. It taught me how to deal with criticism from students, from parents, from volunteers, fellow staff members, from soccer coaches …. did I miss anyone? I learned the values of listening, decision-making, forgiveness, seeking forgiveness and the need to keep pressing on among other needed lessons.

5. Youth ministry made it clear that they key to ministry is loving people and showing them you care.

So it turns out, that I’m getting back in the saddle. This Sunday I’ve been asked to teach the 6th Grade Sunday School class on “something from church history that doesn’t suck.” I’m a little nervous but I feeling up for it.

Indeed, there were many more lessons gained along the way. If you’re a youth worker, feel free to post yours. If you’re not, feel free to post a lesson you are thankful for in your walk of life.
This week I am posting on why I am thankful for the emerging church movement, Facebook and … Donald Trump.

Why Does God Send the Poisonous Snakes? Blogging Through Our Sermon Series

I’ve been blogging through our sermon series, “Living God’s Story” and have found myself a few messages behind. Today’s post is about the story of the Israelites wandering through the wilderness in their rebellion. The central point of the sermon was God goes with us even when we choose to go into the wilderness. When we repent, He graciously leads us back to His place and purposes. You can listen to the message, “Wilderness Wandering” here.

One troubling aspect for many of us in the in the wilderness wanderings is when God “sends” poisonous snakes into the camp. “Sends” are in quotes because there is discussion on whether God “allowed” the snakes to enter the camp (as if they were previously registered and already on their way) or “send” as if God intentionally directed them there. As uncomfortable as it is to admit, I tend to think the latter. The commentators I trust have interpreted that word as “send” or with something that demonstrated God’s choosing. Further, this is not metaphorical, they are real snakes doing what they do, like biting people and infecting their prey with venom. God later provides a solution to this but not before some people perish.

Of course, if I was God, I would have made sure no one perished. I would have provided even more sign posts in the wilderness. I would have spoken louder to them. Each night, I would have dazzled them with Disney-esque fireworks so not only would they know that there was a God, but that they would like me too. That’s right, I would have had the angels prepare analysis of what worshippers are looking for and then I would have marketed myself to them. You gotta give the people what they want. You just can’t trust people with so much free-will, they always squander it.

Ok, you get the point, I wouldn’t have made a good deity. And I find this is always the catch with such difficult passages of Scripture. Why send the poisonous snakes?

Here’s what I think we are to learn from the passages:
One, God does punish those He loves. Under this interpretation, the snakes are for punishment. This does not mean that every time there is an earthquake, hurricane, plane crash, or any other tragedy that God “sent” them. I think we need to be careful in our assumptions and so unless God declares, “Tim, I created the pothole that would flatten your tire the moment before you drove into it. Next time don’t tail gate the ladies headed to the Bible study – they are my servants.” If God said that, I would likely try to go to that Ladies Bible Study but you get the point.

Second and even more interesting to me, is that this does not become a reoccurring punishment system with God. He doesn’t say later, “You better knock it off or I’ll send the snakes back. Or maybe this time, I’ll send scorpions …” Though God does continue to punish those He loves as He deems necessary, He does not do so in what I feel is a predictable, systematic way. I think we have to be careful here because there tends to be a lot of bad theology that results from this. I hope I am not guilty of this as well. Not every bad thing is from God. In this case, He chose to do send the snakes, He chose to proclaim He that He did this and though I am “uncomfortable” with it, I trust His sovereignty.

Third, God is merciful. It’s incredible to me that the punishment is quickly provided by a solution. God instructs Moses to build a bronze serpent. Anyone bitten can look to it and be healed. Jesus later references this powerful scene and I find it incredible (John 3:14-15). Incredible, because it’s another example of God not only not giving up on us but offering a life-giving solution.

Check Out 58: A Film Focused on Ending Global Poverty & You Can Download It For Free

This past week, our church held two screenings for the film 58: as part of our Global Awareness Week. According to their website, it’s “the inspiring true story of the global Church in action. Witness bravery and determined faith in a journey from the slums of Kenya to the streets of New York. Confront the brutality of extreme poverty and meet those who live out the true fast of Isaiah 58 and create stunning new possibilities for the future.” Read more here.

First, let me say that missions films have come a long way. If A Thief In the Night scared the pit of death out of me (which was its intended purpose right?), most missions films bored me to death. Now when I hear there’s a Missions “something”, I’m pretty interested. (Please don’t pull out those slideshows, my trust is fragile).  Based on Isaiah 58, it tells a powerful story.

Here’s what I appreciated:
… that it was rated PG-13. They showed extreme poverty and there are parts that are uncomfortable to watch. No violence, no blood, nothing gratuitous but tough to watch.
(Side Note: There were more children in our screening than I expected, many under 10. I sat in the back and tried to gauge some of the children’s reactions which is hard to do with the back of their heads in the dark. I would say many of the little ones were bored, which was a relief to me in some sense but I imagine parents had some tough and hopefully powerful conversations with their children afterwards. Still, consider the rating.)

… the issues were discussed: In addition to extreme poverty, trafficking and bondage labor were addressed.
I loved the interview with International Justice Missions worker who found his anti-trafficking job so fulfilling. One of my favorite parts of the film.
Enjoyed the storylines of what some people in Western contexts   are doing to help. Fashion designer, coffee-shop owner, youth pastor – these people are showing us how we can be involved.

My heart broke for:
… Workitu (7months pregnant) said that her husband abandoned her and children because he didn’t want to die like this.
… one child born into forced labor said that he had dreams but wished he didn’t … because they can’t come true.
… the Images for the girls rescued from trafficking.

Is solving global poverty possible in our generation? It is possible to solve it ever?
This is a tough question. Indeed so much energy, time and money has been wasted (or resources ending up in the wrong hands). Indeed handouts are not sustainable or nor life-giving on a long-term basis. However, I did appreciate what Dr. Scott Todd from Compassion International said. Among the stats mentioned were the work has cut in half the number of children who are dying per day (was 40,000/day, now 21,000. Among the reasons is more access for more people to clean drinking water). If we can think through the gravity of that statistic, there is work to be done here.

So much more to say but check it for yourself – watch the trailer and here’s the link. from Wing Clips who have posted the full download, along with a study guide for free.

58: THE FILM Trailer from LIVE58NOW on Vimeo.

 

Reflecting on Penn State, Joe Paterno and the Pain of the Abused #Paterno

I cannot imagine how life feels like for these men (and their families) who were terribly abused nearly a decade ago by Jerry Sandusky. I’m guessing it’s a mix of emotions – perhaps satisfaction that the law is being enforced against those who violated and failed to protect. I imagine also that there is some anger and sadness from the complicated public reaction. If I understand it correctly, everyone grieves for the victims but I’m seeing a blame-shift taking place and that is terribly unfortunate.

Though I am not a Penn State Football fan, I am a sports fan and have always felt that Joe Paterno was an easy guy to admire. Through the years he’s carried an aura, he’s tough, he’s classy, I believe him to be a good man. it also seemed every season there were a set of stories where he went further than the game and challenged, disciplined and inspired his players to do the right thing. His discipline included public service, cleaning up the stadium after a game and benching star players on important games.

So I guess that’s why it surprises me that Paterno did not voluntarily resign therefore forcing his board of trustees to dismiss him. He’s already admitted that he regrets not doing more (“With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more”). I get that the authorities are not pressing charges against him and that he technically met the minimum legal action required of him but let’s be real here – he heard about a this evil act being done on his turf, told his athletic director, they told him they’d look into it and then he … went back to work. As a moral human being, he failed those boys. As a leader, he failed the great obligation that was warranted. It’s forgivable because all things are, but please, let us stop with the non-sense of coaching legacy, it’s now irrelevant to the conversation.

His supporters are saying that the trustees and the media have tarnished his long and amazing legacy but I tell you the truth, he tarnished his own legacy the day he didn’t follow up on a 10 year old boy that was being sexually abused in his shower room. Anyone can try to spin this whole legacy angle any way they want but regardless of the number of epic wins he had since then, the day he did nothing more was the day he forfeited this legacy.

Sports are microcosms of life, players and in this case, coaches, are the heroes (and sometimes villains) of the drama but we have to remember – we’re not talking about “games” here – we are talking about an aspect of our human existence. The role that sports plays in our lives is enormous and therefore these moments are of utmost significance. As spectators, we are reminded of our failures, our own moral shortcomings and perhaps now it’s appropriate that we should remember our own cover-ups. It’s amazing to me how many times sports reminds us of such things.

Now realize my anger is not just towards Paterno however – everyone who had knowledge and a voice is included. There was a culture of cover-up there in what is ironically called “Happy Valley”. They sold out those young boys to preserve their reputation, their brand, their revenue (which brings in approximately $72 million to the school and $24 mil to the Athletic Dept.).

To the Penn State family, alumni (some of them are very close to me, like my brother) and fans, realize that many are overwhelmed at the number of young boys who were abused under the Penn State flag. It’s not an attack on you or your loyalties, but many (including myself) are shocked and outraged (and that’s a healthy response under these circumstances).

To the victims of this scandal and to the many that arel still in silence, know people truly care about you and we pray that God will continue to give you the courage to stand up for what’s right, surround you with people who will support and that He would bring healing to your hearts.

To the rest of us, as these heated events continues to unfold for the next few weeks, let’s be wise in our outrage, patient with those who disagree, and humble in our prayers.

My Review of Resonate’s The Gospel of Matthew – God With Us

I was asked to review this commentary from Likewise Books which is a line of InterVarsity Press. As always, I am not required to write a positive review but an honest one.

What Is It and What Makes It Different From Most Commentaries?
The Gospel of Matthew – God With Us written by Matt Woodley is the new commentary in the Resonate series which is a commentary set. This series is trying to balance academic scholarship with culturally relevant illustrations, stories and ideas to connect today’s preacher with today’s audience. This is definitely a welcomed and long-overdue endeavor.

I chose to review Chapter 12 which includes the healing on the Sabbath, the sign of Jonah and the healing of a demon-possessed man.

What I Liked
I think it does live up to its hope of being cultural relevant. As I read and flipped through other parts, I liked the movies that were mentioned, the songs that were quoted and the other references I came across. I know of no other commentary set using current cultural references as it engages the text. This matters to me because I spend a great deal of time contextualizing my messages to my audience and this is helpful (but of course not designed to be a substitute for the exercise).

Cultural references include:
popular movies like The Fellowship of the Ring and Avatar
references to current events – like the Iraq war.
popular (and some living!) thinkers like Tim Keller, Phillip Yancey, Wendell Berry, C.S. Lewis, and Dr. Seuss

I liked the size of the book. It saves space by not quoting each Scriptural text. The layout is clean and uncluttered too.

What I Would Have Liked to See
My only real critique at this point is that I would like for the commentary sections (and therefore the book) to be longer. My chapter did engage the text sufficiently, however a few others seemed a bit light and I felt that I didn’t get enough background and context overall. For what it’s worth, generally, I use three commentaries (sometimes more if the passage is “tricky”) but I think the true test for your commentary is if you only had enough room in your bag for one, which one you take? Well for me, it’s still going to be The New Interpreters Set which are huge and heavy but if I had a little more room in the bag, i’d squeeze this in too (Assuming Tom Wright’s Everyday Series was already in).

Which brings me to contrast it with Wrights’ series. Wright offers numerous personal anecdotes and generally, I can’t really use them. Not only because I’m not British but if we are honest, many of his are dated. Please don’t report me, Wright fans are similar to the Hauerwasian Mafia, only more passive aggressive but I digress. While I may end up preferring the Resonate Series illustrations more, Wright’s series offers more biblical context and background for the text. That said, I suspect Woodley realized this and this is the among the reasons he quotes Wright’s Everyday Series extensively.

Who I Think It’s Helpful For

I imagine the target audience is people like me – X’ers and Millennials who are teaching present-day pre/post-Christian audience.  I do think it’s also helpful for Boomers too who may want to update the messages they’ve had prepared for years.

It’s definitely worth checking out, this volume is under $15 and certainly worth the price – you can get it here and I will likely order the John Commentary (When Love Comes to Town) by Paul Lois Metzger and Ecclesiastes by Tim Keel in to be released in 2012.

Other bloggers who have reviewed this as recent as today include:

Ben Sternke – Great thinker with a great looking blog.

David Phillips – I love his tagline is “faith in a post-everything world”

Jesus Needs New PR – Matthew Paul Turner – The one and only.

Review of Brennan’s Manning’s Memoir, All Is Grace

I was asked to review Brennan Manning’s new  memoir All Is Grace by the publisher, David C Cook, and as always, I am not required to give a positive review but an honest one.

It’s easy to love this book. It’s been a while since I’ve read a memoir (Eugene Peterson’s Pastor is on the to-read shelf and I need to get on that). In Brennan’s case, it helped that I already liked his work, but I think when available, memoirs are an excellent place to start when you are coming to someone’s work late. (I remember reading books on Luther, Wesley and Lewis before reading their work, made a world of difference for me). My suggestion is that if you have never read/heard of Brennan Manning’s The Ragamuffin Gospel or Abba’s Child to read All Is Grace first,

Most of my readers are fellow Protestants and I’d like to encourage that our reading include those outside of our tradition. A few Catholic thinkers come to mind (Henry Nouen, Peter Kreeft) and Brennan Manning is an excellent choice.

It’s difficult for me to imagine someone entering into the priesthood. I’m sure some have a hard time imagine why anyone would want to go into the ministry at all but the Catholic priesthood is a difficult one for me to understand. Even more complicated, Manning entered just after he was finished with the Marines (yep, he enlisted, not drafted prior to college). In fact, soon into his priesthood training, he resolved it wasn’t for him, then as he was waiting to tell the head priest he was leaving, he prayed the stations of the cross and changed his mind again. Reading him tell the story was beautiful.

I appreciated his honesty concerning his what I would describe, an almost loveless upbringing, particularly, his relationship with his mom. If you don’t read till the end of the book, you missed it – moving, powerful, Christian.

I appreciated his forthrightness on his falling in love (he was a celibate priest!) and getting married, and sadly, his divorce. I think most would find inspiration by how honest he was in telling these stories. Should I live to see my seventies, I hope I can be as honest.

And lastly, I was quite interested in how he dealt with his alcoholism and related issues as he was managing his speaking career. I am inclined to think that he left a few pieces out there (and I suppose that is implied when he says in the beginning, “This is not a tell-all”) but I couldn’t help but wonder about a few more of the details of how he was able to maintain his itinerant speaking. Undoubtedly there are countless Christian speakers/musicians that are able to control their demons for their talk/performance/etc. but it’s been my experience that these types of “cover-ups” are maintained by a handful of people. Which leads me to the what I think the real tragedy of his life was – although Brennan had people around him, some that even confronted him, he was so good at eluding their accountability and he had some enablement.

Given all that, this book is not about a talented man that got by and was able to look back at his life and be humble, repentant and thankful that God used him to touch so many lives  – It’s much more than that. It’s a true testimony of a man who desired to be devoted to God but was insistent on sabotaging himself and the will of God at every turn. Brennan seems to know two things in his life: Despite his talents, he is his own worst enemy, and two, he knows he must cling to the grace of God to get him through – hence the title, All Is Grace. If you could only be convinced of two things, I’m not sure you could find something better.

Again, it’s a beautiful easy read and I hope you can grab a copy.

Reflecting On Dylan Turning Two!

Primary Audience – Heads up here, this is a pretty sappy post written by a proud father. I imagine this will only appeal to my family members, special friends, and for the few who love either their parents or their children.

So our second just turned two this week and like I do typically do , I’m blogging my thoughts on these “milestone” birthdays. So here are a few bouncing around my head.

Dylan is a special kid – he’s the one we never thought we’d have.  We felt that God answered our prayers when we adopted Nathan and then after Dylan, we felt God saying, “I heard those prayers too.”

Though he doesn’t look like me, I know he has inherited a few traits of my personality, among them is mischief. He also has the loudest voice in our home (future preacher or football coach?). He’s a curious soul yet he finds contentment readily (a trait from my wife) and probably my favorite attribute of his – he’s joyful.

He also happens to really love me. Don’t get me wrong, our first loves me too, but I am definitely place second in the “Favorite Parent” contest. Dylan, on the other hand has brought a little equity to the imbalance here. (No verdict has been reached with our third yet but I keep buying her chocolate to win her over – worked for her mom).

Anyway, Dylan loves me. It used to just be one of the cats that greeted me when I came home and that was only if there was not any food in the bowl. Now, I get my own little homecoming celebration and a report on how “bad” Mommy and big brother have been that day.

After we had Nathan, I thought that we’d likely be a one-kid family and though we briefly speculated of the prospect of adopting one day, we were pretty overwhelmed with parenting on 3 weeks notice (while serving full-time in ministry, full-time in seminary and managing my fantasy sports teams. Still don’t know how those teams performed so well). Anyway, we didn’t have this conversation often because nine months into Nathan’s life, Susan told me she was pregnant. Two kids?

In the excitement, I quietly wondered if I had it in me to truly love another child. It turns out just about every parent wonders the same thing and I knew that but it’s quite the natural sentiment. Among the blessings of the second child is that they teach you new things about love. I imagine this was true for my parents when they brought home my sister (who in my estimation is the “favorite” ☺ and with my in-laws as they brought home Susan (who in my estimation, growing up was the favorite.)

Now I don’t believe in favorites and if I did, it would be the tiny 8 week old because she’s the only kid to have not poked me in the eye or stepped on my face yet. But Dylan turning two is a big deal for us. We are learning new lessons of love, family and marriage with him.

I’m excited for my children and this being Dylan’s birthday, I’m excited for what I pray the Lord will do through him. May he seek his own calling and I hope he continues smiling, “mischiefing”, and being joyful.