The Empire Is Killing My Blog

For the past two weekends I’ve been working on a pretty major project in our home, painting a room and hallway that turned out to be a much larger area than I originally thought.  And how can one room and hallway have 9 walls?   I thought rooms only had 4 walls?

My wife and I decided about a year ago, the “Formal” living & dinning room were not being utilized enough, so we decided to turn it into a game room.  Our theory;  as our son gets older he’ll want to have friends over and now we’ll have an area where they can hang out without our treading on their territory.  We also felt like it would make a great space to have friends & neighbors over to hang out, watch TV, play a little Rock Band, Foosball, or darts.  Sounds pretty cool huh? 

Well it is pretty darn cool and I do feel a sense of accomplishment after 20 hours of work and very sore muscles in my arms, legs, and back.  However, I’m feeling a little detached from this blog and all the other extra curricular activities I enjoy.  I’ve sacrificed time, money, family, and rest in order to complete this project, all for an increased opportunity to create community within our home.  Or are we just so trapped by the empire and listening so intently to it, we’ve lost focus and have used this as an excuse to spend more money?

I’m hoping it’s because we want to create community within our home, but if we really want to be successful in achieving this, our schedule for the remainder of this year shoud start filling up, as we plan dinners, coffee, and game nights with friends and neighbors from our community.  If we can do it, then the investment could pay off.  If we don’t do it, then the empire has been successful in sucking up more of our finances and time and we’ll probably continue to feel disconnected and distant from our friends and neighbors.

Are there ways in which you are working to create community within your home, so you can be better connected with your friends and neighbors?

One Degree of Separation

I struggle!  For more than a month I’ve had this title in my head and I’ve been procrastinating about writing this post.  Why?  Because it’s hard to share about the things I struggle with the most.

Everyone has heard the famous claim that anyone can reach anyone else through a chain of acquaintances no more than six people long.  This idea is know as “six degrees of separation.” 

So how do I arrive at the idea or concept my blog title claims of only one degree of separation? 

Because some days are extremely hard.  Temptation.  Sin.  Addiction.  Depression.  Fighting.  Hurt.  Pain.  These things cause me to ask the question…how am I different from the person living across the street from me?  From the person in the cubical next to mine?  From the person driving next to me on the freeway?  From any person out there in this small little world?  Sometimes I don’t think it’s a very long distance from me to any other person living in this world.  I often feel it’s more about one degree of separation.  “Jesus.”  He is the one degree separating me from the the world and the choices the world would like for me to make.

Please don’t take this idea the wrong way.  I’m not trying to make myself sound better or above anyone else in the world.  Actually just the opposite.  I’m actually trying to make the point that many times there’s little to no difference at all.  I’m not proud of this fact, it’s just reality.  Even though I know that Jesus is the degree of separation for me from the world, I still struggle.  I’m not exempt from the temptation, sin, addiction, depression, fighting, hurt, or pain.  No more than any random person standing right next to me.  There is however one difference.  I know Jesus has forgiven me of my sin and I’ve acknowledge his saving grace in my life. 

That certainly gives me hope.  That helps me keep going.  That makes me want to love, care, serve and help others regardless of the struggles I have.  I want the random person standing next to me to see something different.  I want them to see that I still screw up, but I also want them to see that I still accept God’s forgiveness.

Each and every day I let a little more go.  Some days are harder than others.  Today was better than yesterday.  Tomorrow could be really awesome.

I know my life is being reshaped and I have to continually trust in him for forgiveness, for his love, for his grace and for his peace.

Do you struggle?  Do you feel there’s a huge difference between you and the world, or is it just one degree of separation?

Autism and a Starbucks Cup

Yesterday morning was the last Saturday for my son’s (Wakeland) bowling league.  Wakeland bowls in the Miracle League and once again set a new high score with a 128, breaking last weeks high score of 116.  We are very proud of him and try to celebrate every moment he’s participating in.  We are very blessed as Wakeland, even with the severity of his needs, is a pretty normal child.  So we get to have great conversations with him and he’s always making us laugh.

There are however many kids who have extremely hard lives.  Many of them struggle with Autism, a condition that leaves them seemingly trapped within their own minds.

This morning we participated in our normal ritual of purchasing Starbucks coffee on the way.  When we finished, my wife read the side of her cup and we were amazed with what it said.  Here it is:

The Way I see It #264

Every 20 minutes – less time than it will take you to drink your coffee- another child is diagnosed with autism.  it’s much more common than people think, with one out of every 150 children diagnosed.  Learn the early warning signs of autism, and if you’re concerned about your child’s development, talk to your doctor.  Early intervention could make a big difference in your child’s future.  –Bob Wright Former chairman and CEO of NBC/Universal, co-founder of Autism Speaks.

COMPASSION BLOG MONTH

 

Everyone…HERE is the link to all the bloggers who are on the Compassion trip to Uganda.  If you are passionate about Africa, children, poverty, the world, then you should go and check these blogs out.  They will rock you to your core!  Peace!