Two of my favorite guys

Two of my favorite YL Pinnacle Guys... JayZ and Garison!

Caleb at the game 2

Caleb at the game

Caleb the Transformer

Caleb saw a poster for Transformers and was
definitely interested. :) Here is his creative
"transformer" outfit. He puts the mask on his
head and lays on the floor to be a race car, then
moves the mask to his face and gradually
stands up to be the Transformer. Pretty good
for a kid who's never actually seen Transformers
in action!

Posters

These posters caught my attention. Humor has been defined as truth plus pain...

You can find more at: http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/posters.htm

Adventures with Captain Joe and Pirate Princess Binky

Caleb and Lilly play dress up just about every day. Caleb named himself "Captain Joe" and Lilly is "Pirate Princess Binky" (named after her dear pacifier which is technically only allowed in bed but has somehow made its way as part of her usual costume). Here they are searching for buried treasure! Notice Caleb's dramatic theme music during the hunt and Lilly's delight over finding a necklace amidst the treasure. :)

My weekly experience

I have this view often. Pretty much once or twice a week for the last 5 years. Less tha a year left...

Civil War Ministry

A note from my reading on Civil War Ministry...

I was happy to read that Christians and Christian organizations during the Civil War emphasized spiritual issues over ideological ones. Preaching focused on the spiritual needs of individuals and less on winning the war. It is encouraging to hear such a level-headed tactic in such a horrendous time. I would encourage American Christians to take a lesson from our past and put our focus on spiritual growth over ideological issues that seem to be the priority of so many well-known church leaders today (or at least those who end up on TV).

Christians viewed like Rent-A-Cops?

WARNING: This by no means is intended to belittle those who take their job as a rent-a-cop seriously and are doing the best that they can. It is just an analogy that plays on what I have found a common perception.

At a nearby mall around nearly every corner is a man who takes his job very seriously. His name is Mr. RAC (Rent-a-cop, or security guards for hire or something like that).


(This is a picture of a rent-a-cop threatening my friend)

I realized that there are several similarities between Rent-a-cops and the stereotypical view of Christians in our society (which is sadly true of many)

Rent-a-cops...

• Have uniforms... so do many Christians (i.e. their "pray hard" t-shirts and faith based "live strong bracelets")
• Are easy to make fun of... My friend took a cell phone picture of one and the rent-a-cop angrily responded, "I don't think it is funny to be invading people's privacy at the mall!" Just turn on the TV and you will see that Christians are very easy to make fun of (Ned Flanders?)
  
• Are experts in rules... they know the code of the mall. They keep a keen eye open for any infraction. They are particularly hard on younger people. Christians are rule keepers par excellence! Instead of loving (1 Jn 3:23) , Christians tend to like keeping track of failure, especially in young people.
  
• Aren't really that helpful... I'm not sure the last time I've seen a rent-a-cop hold the door open for a lady, carry out bags to someone's car, cleaned up a spill in the food court, etc. What if a mall was known for the amazing security people who were always helping everyone? I think sales would go up. Similarly, Christians do run to the scene in crisis (Hurricane Katrina for instance), but for everyday life few think, "I wish there were more Christians, they are so helpful!"
  
• Typically pretend to be experts in things they are not... In my experience Rent-a-cops are cop or FBI wannabes. I know that is harsh, but that is what I perceive. But you would never know it. I cannot count how many times I have seen a rent-a-cop lecturing a teenager in everything from the state law, to the First Amendment, to "what kids are like these days". Many Christians pose as experts in science, world religions and philosophy when they should really be a little wiser (James 1:19).
  

Thats it for now. There are certainly more. Rent-a-cops and Christians were stereotyped in this rant. I don't like stereotyping but I know there is something I need to learn from this.

Faces of Molly

These are some funny faces Molly makes. She sort of looks like she's praying one of them. One of my favorites is her "worried old man look" :) Sweet baby girl...

Family Picture

This is our family picture from Mother's Day. Lilly did not like our photographer very well and this was just going to be her "look" this year. :) Maybe we'll get a smile next time!

Reading Princess

Here is Lilly dressed in her princess outfit reading her new book..."Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses." She just got it yesterday but pretty much has the whole thing memorized. She has on one Sleeping Beauty shoe and one Jasmine shoe. The other Sleeping Beauty shoe broke a few weeks ago, but that is her favorite princess (along with Snow White) so we kept the one good shoe and she pairs it with whatever else is handy. :)

Ahoy, me harties!

"I am really into pirates right now," says Caleb, age 4 years.

Prayer Garden

The Prayer Garden is a good place.

Good questions and a problem with Pascal

In church Sunday, our pastor suggested asking a couple key questions when you want to dig deeper - especially when talking to people about religious issues.

#1 Ask: "What do you mean by that?" As-in... "I think reincarnation is true". Then respond, "What do you mean by that?"

#2 Ask: "How do you know that is true?" As-in... "I think that the Secret's message of the Law of Attraction is how everything really works." Then respond, "How do you know that is true?"

#3 Ask: "What difference does that make in your life?" As-in... "I think all religions all lead to the same end". Then respond, "What difference does that make in your life?"

#4 Ask: "What if you are wrong, what do you stand to lose?" (similar to Pascal's Wager)

I really like #1 and #2. They help us understand what people really mean without "correcting" or "preaching" at people.

I don't really like #3 or #4.

#3 Can be great, but runs the risk of placing experience over everything else. Then anything the makes a difference in your life (i.e. having a car, having a cell phone, going to Sedona) can be a legitimate basis for religious convictions.

#4 I really don't like at all because to agree with it, no faith is required (Rom 3:28, Eph 2:8-9, Mk 1:15, Acts 20:21). The Wikipedia article lists even more objections to Pascal's Wager. When I accepted Christ a person in my group suggested I should accept Christ because it is a "win-win", my leader (Dick Mason) said this is not faith at all. When he said that, it felt like the missing piece to the puzzle (faith) that I needed in my life. I needed faith, not a wager.

Crazy Little Bunny

Here's Molly after a nice cool bath...remember, we are in Phoenix where it is still 103 degrees outside at 9:15 pm! She's loving the bunny towel!

Pizza

McGevers really like pizza. Caleb's first word was 'pizza'. That's my boy! Molly has really taken to pizza crust as her first food obsession. That's my girl!

Erin and Molly at one of our favorite pizza spots, Oreganos. NYPD, Spinollis, BJ's Pizza in SoCal are some of our favorites. We even appreciate local cheapies like Hungry Howies, Peter Piper Pizza (the cardboard crust is classic!), and Barros. In Spokane we fell in love with take-and-bake pizza from Papa Murphy's. It is incredible. Don't dis take-and-bake until you try it. They know us by name there.

What are you favorite pizza places?

Here is a brief I response I wrote about George Whitefield, a minister in the 18th century...

During this reading, George Whitefield impressed me so much. His influence and sheer quantity of work is almost unbelievable, not to mention the impact it made in the 18^th century. Whitefield directed the message of salvation to common people neglected by the established churches. This description seems to picture him as a missionary to the unchurched in churched-America.

In the Fall of 1740, Whitefield addressed crowds of up to 8,000 people nearly every day for over a month. Even in today’s mega-rallies and uber-media opportunities, this would be unheard of. This might be able to be sustained for a couple days, maybe a week, but for over a month!

Whitefield was not a good organizer, as one might expect for a person that was the center of what we now call conferences. He is known as a person who how to address plain people in plain language. He did this by appealing to the heart. One way that he appealed to the heart was by not using notes. Many ministers of his century simply read their sermons. Not only did he refrain from reading, he refrained from referring to notes! Imagine the stark difference from listening to a long paper being read to a powerful plain-language revivalist looking into your eyes as he challenged you to submit to Christ. This delivery style is much more than a style. Whitefield must have had a passion and preparation that was vastly different from the traditional written style sermon writers.

The most overwhelming aspect of Whitefield’s ministry is the sheer quantity that he delivered. It is estimated that he preached 15,000 times during his 33 year career. This averages out to over 454 times per year, every year for 33 years! Certainly, this must have included instances where he preached the same message twice in a row, but the sheer number of sermons is still hard to imagine. In addition, like many ministers in the 18^th and 19^th century, he had a considerable amount of journals he left behind.

George Whitefield was known for his sermons. They were directed at the heart. They were in simple language. They were aimed at those who were neglected by the established church. They were extemporaneous, not from notes or a written sermon. Moreover, he did this often – very often. Could you preach 8 sermons this week? How about 40 this month? What about 400 this year? There must be something we can learn about communicating truth from George Whitefield. What kind of relationship with God would you need to have to be able to give a sermon today?

Erin with Molly

Lilly a year ago...

Lilly july 06. She has changed so much since then!

Lilly's book

Lilly found a book she thought was pretty at Barnes and Noble....

Caleb

my boy

A lot of homeless people

A lot of homeless people I've met know scripture more than a lot of church people I know. 2

Erin's new hair cut

This is a test blog with a pic

I like to play guitar in the dark.

[Jott from Sean McGever] This is my test blog for Jott, I think it's pretty sweet.

Jott From Sean McGever

This is my test blog for Jott, I think it's pretty sweet.

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