Found, Changed and Rearranged

Stuff Christians Like

For all you entrenched Christians and even more so, for those of you who think you are not entrenched:

I give to you my new favorite blog, StuffChristiansLike, that provides a fresh perspective to things we do and say without thinking. Read it. Be Convicted. Laugh.

Some Favs: Singing with our hands raised, The Tankini, Baby Crack and Veggie Tales, and for the church-marketer in me Sunday! Sunday! Sunday!

Mailbox update

Way back in Febraury, I wrote about our mailbox being blown into oblivion by a snowplow. About a week later we found the box along the street. Unable to attached it back to the post as it once was and needing to receive mail, we jerry-rigged the box back on with rope. Classy!

About a week ago, who showed up at our door? The Muskegon County Road Commision. Apparently it takes two months to send someone out to investigate.

The man was very nice and noted that they had lots of problems this winter. He asked if we would like to be reimbursed the standard cost of a mailbox (which would not cover the full replacement cost of ours) or if I would like them to try and fix it. In spite of my certainty that asking him to have it fixed would plunge this work order into some governmental blackhole, I relutantly I asked him to try.

They proved me wrong folks. This week, without fanfare or notice, the mailbox was fixed and it looks brand spankin' new! Good work fellas!

Lost and Found

Here's my deal. I know and understand to my very core what it means to be found. In spite of attending church my whole life (except for during the four years I attended a Christian college), I pretty much ignored God. The great thing is that He continued to pursue me until one day it all changed and I knew that I had been found.

Having the benefit of hindsight, I know that I was lost before that moment, but I would have never characterized myself that way. In fact, I might have laughed at the term, maybe even been offended. So why is it that we churchy people refer to others as lost? Having an "insiders" perspective, I know it's meant in love, but it may not be received in love. In fact, it could be a barrier to someone even hearing us. I hate barriers.

I continue to cringe every time I hear the word "lost", but have never been able to offer a satisfactory alternative name. Then I ran across this post and now I think I have my answer - the people Jesus loved.

Victoria Beckham Is A Unique Marketing Tool

My friend has a unique gift for pointing out hilarious things in the media. In a recent post, she questioned the marketing genius behind these ads.

These are Victoria Beckham’s new Marc Jacob ads.  And they are retarded.  I had no idea that Marc Jacob had his own line of dishwashing gloves, but apparently he does, and they apparently make you want to curl up fetal-like and suck your thumb and/or make out with frogs.

A New Earth: Wrap Up

Confession time. I couldn't bring myself to read the book. Honestly, I was really more interested in what people were saying about their experience than what the book had to say.

Browsing these two posts alone, I am honored to "go to Hell with Oprah." and Scared I'm replacing my religion, which I love, I found:

• Angry Christians damning people to the pits of hell
• People who turned away from Christianity because a Christian hurt them
• People who denounced their faith because of hypocritical Christians
• Confused Christians
• Christ-followers who could provide clarity and loving responses to all of the above

Back from the Beach!

The temps are above normal for MI, so I took the kids to Hoffmaster. We went to the Gillette Visitor Center (a nature museum) and hiked the trail out to the beach. If they can have this much fun when it's cold, I can't wait for the fun we'll have this summer!

Conversations with an "Un-Churched" Friend

I ran across this post a while back, tagged it and just found it again. Ah! I love the honesty this person brings. I most love the "Live It" part. Convicting isn't it? I've been working through the live it part myself for sometime and just recently became a Kid's Hope mentor. What makes Kids Hope so great, I'll save that for another post. As for today, let me ask you, how are you Livin' It?