Spiritual Dentist Visit

If I had any doubts that I was wacky, I have obliterated them all. I now know I am completely nutty!

I had my teeth cleaned a week ago, and found I only had one cavity. This was good news because I was expecting more. Well, today was my appointment for the filling. I had some nerves in the waiting area. The procedure was nothing to be scared about. However, my stomach was twisting and turning for a few moments. Then a verse from Songs of Solomon came to my mind. I don't think it was the Lord who sent this verse. I think I simply remembered the verse, and connected it to teeth health. If you haven't guessed already the verse is Songs of Solomon 4:2!

"Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes which have come up from their washing..."

How ridiculous am I??!! I was meditating on this verse while a dentist was numbing my mouth and drilling into my enamel. There is no help for me!

Not Ashamed

I believe in the miraculous more than I ever have before. I watched this video, and expected to be skeptical. Instead I was moved to tears, and pondered the extravagant affections of our God.

To the Fullness of God

My amazing brother in Christ, Brian Shilts, wrote a song with profound implications. He wrote and often sings these lyrics: "I want to feast, I want to fast, I want to get drunk, and I want a sober mind." Are those not hilarious, and yet at the same time true?

Recently, God has enlightened my heart to the truth of His complexity. He possess many dimensions and layers. Christians often quote the scripture that encourages us to grasp the depth, height, width, and length of His love. (Ephesians 3:17-19) This love surpasses knowledge, but we will have the power to grasp it.

God is eternal, we know this. In addition, this mean His many dimensions are eternal too. The height of His love goes higher than the heavens, and continues to no measurable length. His love goes deeper than the fires of hell. God's width has cast your sins as far as the east in from the west.

This is why we can meditate on Revelation 4- 5 for hours and still gain new revelation. Each thought is compounded by a billion thoughts offered by the Spirit of Truth. Open your small ears to hear His loud, majestic voice!

God you are full of layers and posses numerous nuggets of wisdom and insight! No longer will I limit You! God's wisdom is multifaceted, and helps us in every unique situation we find ourselves in.

Wedding Photos

My camera lost batteries too quickly. I have some pictures, but I don't even have a picture of the groom. Good grief. Apparently, Melissa has bought the rights to her wedding photos. I will probably update these pictures later with the professional ones. If I don't put them on my blog, I will at least put them on Facebook.

The Bride!


During the entire wedding, Melissa was sweet to her nephews. When others wanted them quite and respectful, she wanted them to have fun and act like kids. She is a loving, charitable person.


Here I am with my "date". Tara and I became good friends. We met at the wedding, and we are now lifetime friends.


I had Melissa's sister-n-law pose for a picture.

While 11 bridesmaids were preparing, we had trouble finding mirrors. Here Nicole, my high school friend, was using the decorative mirrors behind the glasses.

Here are three of my high school friends in their bridesmaid's dresses. As you can see the weather was beautiful!

Mirrors are a girl's best friend.

Here is Beth, another high school friend, applying make-up.

America, Blessed or Ill Prepared

The word "blessed" is a tricky word. Many people assume if you are blessed, you must be financially secure or rich. However, I find that this assumption is often false.

People assume most Americans are "blessed" with nice homes, fancy cars, a good paying job, a picket fence, and their 2.5 children. (2.5 is the average amount of children per household in America) However, these material possessions do not guarantee one is blessed. One must be content with their current financial situation to be truly blessed. You can be rich, and still be miserable.

Is America a blessed nation when compared to other impoverished nations? I will venture to say no. African children who are experiencing extreme starvation will most assuredly be more prepared for the end time plagues and destruction. Unlike Americans, who think they are starving if they miss one lunch.

China is full of persecuted Christians. These Christians worship in their underground churches, and have never experienced freedom of religion. Therefore, they are more prepared to experience the inevitable persecution of the tribulation. Americans want their complaint about the color of the church carpet to be heard, if it isn’t heard, they are being persecuted.

Islamic Extremists are considered nutcases for forcing their women to wear black robes for modesty. America is a breeding ground for pornography and sexual immorality. These evils are putting money into the pockets of wicked men. Remember some make their money through dishonesty and wickedness. Money in your pocket does NOT always translate into being blessed. Often financial abundance will nurture pride, covetousness, and false security.

My intent was not to judge America or demean our nation. I am simply using situations to describe how financial success does not always translate into blessing.

Cooperate Confession

The Bible clearly states that we should confess our sins to others. It; however, does not state this will be an easy task. I myself struggle to confess sins for a variety of reasons. Below are the three main reasons I love to hide my sin.

1. Too Personal: Often we think that our business is our business. We conclude our sins are too personal to share with fellow believers. However, this thought is contrary to the Word of God. We are in a fellowship of believers, and we are to be honest and open in this community. This confession is not only for our accountability partner. We should be willing to confess our sins to everyone in the church community.

2. Shame: When we confess our ugly sins to people, we will most undoubtedly be intimidated by the possibility of shame. We fear the judgements of others will intensify the shame we already feel. This is not true. Hiding sin in the darkness causes us to feel deeper pain and shame. We are cut off from our friends and support because we fear honesty. When we confess our sins, we experience release and forgiveness. People may judge you and ostracize you. Still, if God wants us to confess our sins, it is for our good. Those who abandon you are not truly your friends. Remember, the Apostle Paul confessed that he was the chief of sinners. Paul knew the power of the truth, even if that truth wasn't pretty.

3. Reputation: This barrier to confession is most prevalent among leaders in the church. Which is unacceptable because leaders should be more transparent than anyone. If you commit a sin, and confess this sin you may: loose your job, loose financial support, loose friends, among other things. There are consequences to sin. If you hide your sin, you may think you will retain your position and power. Eventually, the sin will catch up with you. David made numerous attempts to cover his sin; nevertheless, God was not fooled. Nathan exposed David's sin. If we don't confess our sins, Jesus will still bring them to the light.

It is necessary for me to learn the art of confession because hiding sin exposes a dark flaw. If we hide our sin, we deny the power of Jesus's forgiveness and blood. When we cover up our failings, we are merely trying to impress temporal man and feed our selfishness. Even though I can preach it, I rarely live up to it. Lord help us.

Judge Not

Matt 7:1-5
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

In my early Christian years, I was zealous without knowledge. I held to my strict Christian tradition, and constantly judged others. Saul (who later became the apostle Paul) persecuted the church out of a lack of revelation, and I preached out of a lack of compassion.

I was taught that judging others is acceptable as long as you were not participating in the same sin. My Christian circles emphasized that "if you take the plank out of your own eye, you can remove the speck in your brother's eye."

Let's use an example. Imagine a man (we will call him Jim) has been married to his wife for twenty-five years. Jim's friend (we will call him Luke) has decided to divorce his own wife. By following the earlier logic, Jim has every right to judge Luke. Jim has never divorced; therefore, he can tell Luke his actions are wrong.

However, Jesus said do not judge. Plain and simple. He even warned his followers that if they judged, they too would be judged. There is a flaw in thinking you no longer have a plank in your own eye. Jesus never said that a speck and a plank are the same sin. This means, if Jim has a bad habit of lying to his wife, he has no right to judge Luke for seeking a divorce. I strongly believe that Jesus is the only man without a plank in his own eye. He is the judge! He and He alone.

I will add to this train of thought later. I do believe there are moments when accountability, discernment, rebuke, and chastisement are needed. People need to know the difference between disciplining those we love and judging people's actions.

Blind Faith

I have had various conversations with atheist, agnostics, and seekers. There is a common thread in these conversations, the skepticism of blind faith. Certain people consider blind faith foolish. Why believe in something without evidence?
This skepticism doesn't stand. Everyone encounters blind faith even if they do not put their faith in God. When you wake up in the morning you have the faith that your bed will not turn to JELLO. When you turn on your water faucet, you have the faith that it will not spit fire. When you approach someone else, you assume they cannot read your mind-therefore you are free to think about them negatively. Most evangelist use this fact to sway and convince non-believers that they already use blind faith. Normally, the non-believer's rebuttal declares, "It isn't the same." Unfortunately, they are wrong. It IS the same. We use blind faith in every moment of our life.

I'm a Question to the World, Not An Answer to Be Heard

Do you avoid people who make you uncomfortable? Have you ever been approached by someone who has terrible social skills? Do you have a responsibility to love individuals who you find eccentric?
Jesus welcomed individuals who society shunned. Jesus mingled with tax collectors, prostitutes, and lepers. Jesus warned religious leaders of their pride and partiality.
Last year, on Palm Sunday, my mother had an episode at the church. A lady called to inform me that my mother was being disruptive. I drove to church, and then drove my mother to my house. On that day a seed of bitterness was planted.
One must admit that the Christian church has little power. The majority of believers have no faith or power to heal my mother. (Myself included) Instead of ministering to her, the church decides to ostracize her. Their fear overrides their faith in God.
I understand most people are not cruel. I am not suggesting these people aren’t compassionate and concerned. However, I disapprove of how the church deals with certain individuals.
People fear the unknown, and the organized church can’t deal with spontaneity. If a preacher prepares a sermon, he thinks he can’t leave it in his binder. May I suggest we become a house of prayer? Maybe then we can minister to a real need, instead of having our hospitals lock people up like animals!
Why do we discount liberty and freedom? If a mentally ill person begins to rant while everyone is sitting quietly in their pews-- that person is considered a nuisance. My mother hasn’t returned to church since that episode on Palm Sunday- a whole year. Now when I mention church to her I see insecurity in her eyes.
My mother has had plenty of experiences with handshakes and smiles. But, no one has really befriended her. No one has gone out of his or her way to minister to her. She has a shaved head; she talks to herself and doesn’t trust people anymore.
Recently, God has been bringing such individuals into the church. He will continue to bring them. We have two choices. We can make the church a place of healing, restoration, and love. If not that, than we will make our hospitals and pharmacies our present-day idols. Hospitals will take the place of God as healer.

Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.'"

Christian Music Preferences

One night I simply felt compelled to post this survey. I don't know why. I know Christian music is a strong influence in today's church culture. Here are some of my preferences. Each listed song has a link to the song so you can listen to it. Please forgive me if you don't like the version or the video. Youtube isn't the best resource for music, but it is free.

Favorite Christian Artist: Derek Webb
Favorite Worship Leader: Misty Edwards
Favorite Worship Band: Hillsong United
Favorite Christian Song: Wedding Dress
Favorite Worship Song: Amazed by Jared Anderson, Holy by Matt Gilman, and Revelation Song by Kari Jobe
Favorite Lyrics in a Worship Song: “He’s not a baby in a manger anymore, He’s not a broken man on a cross, He didn’t stay in the grave, and He’s not staying in heaven forever. He’s alive!” (From People Get Ready by Misty Edwards)
Least Favorite Christian Song: I Can Only Imagine and These are the Days of Elijah
What Christian Song is Overplayed the Most: How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin
Worship Song that God has laid on your Heart Recently: You Won’t Relent by Misty Edwards and How He Loves Us by Jesus Culture
Secular Song that You Sing to God: Every Breath You Take by The Police and Sting, Ready for Love by India Arie, You and Me by Lifehouse
An Oldie, but a Goody, Favorite Hymn: In The Garden
Four Worship Songs of your Best Worship Set: Lily of the Valley, Potter’s Hand, How He Loves Us, Gifted Response