My Guys

I walked out my front door today, and this is what I saw...my guys' shoes...and I just couldn't resist snapping a picture. I love them...the guys that is.

Cheap Date

Gracen looking at birds
Gracen screaming like a monkey, scaring kittens
Gracen looking at fish
I asked Gracen what her favorite colors were for the sake of conversation on our date. At this point in the date she knew we were getting ice cream so she said, "Um...pink and brown...ice cream!" So, we got pink and brown ice cream (i.e. strawberry and chocolate). Incidentally, pink and brown are Mary's favorite colors.

Kids love animals. That's why zoos exist and Shamu has a job. But the truth is going to the zoo or some other theme park can be a bit pricey. That's why, dads, when it's time to take your daughter on a date (while she's still under 13 yrs old) you need to take her to Petsmart. So, I took Gracen out on a date last night and we had a blast. Mary and I had been pumping up Petsmart to her for two days and she was absolutely stoked (do the kids still say that?). I mean, c'mon, Petsmart is a blast. We looked at lizards, we looked at birds. We watched kittens as they sat bored to death behind Plexiglas boxes and tapped on aquariums full of funky looking lizards. We watched dogs get disciplined in doggy day care and we put our hands in the open fish tanks. Actually just Gracen tried to do that, but I knew better. We watched hamsters and gerbils run in circles (that's a pet we'll never have). They call gerbils "fancy rats" and "fancy mice" now - don't ask me, but I'm sure the experts at Petsmart know what they're doing. And then after about twenty minutes of exhilarating fun we left. We were so worn out after a night at Petsmart that we went home and crashed. Not really, we actually went to go eat ice cream. But in all seriousness, dads, take your daughter out on a date.

And don't let them talk you into going to the zoo.

Levi's Banquet, Super Bowl Parties, and Gardettos with Chili

Last Sunday we had a Super Bowl party with our friends Jeremy and Ashley at their new home in west Austin (Lakeway). Because of the generosity of our home church, Hill Country Bible, we were given some funds to invest in people "missionally." We're planting a church in west Austin and we thought throwing a party would be a great way to meet folks. And, in fact, it was. It was like when Levi (Matthew) takes his first steps to follow Christ. He meets people by throwing a party for them. In the Gospel of Luke it describes Jesus and his disciples as mixing and mingling with the tax collectors and 'sinners' much to the Pharisees chagrin. That's bold evangelism.

When I reflect on my own life I realize that I'm usually not Matthew or the disciples (and definitely not Jesus) in this scenario. I'm usually a Pharisee. Granted, I'm not publically pointing any fingers but I'm generally staying away from people that make me uncomfortable. I'm scared of having an awkward conversation or even worse, being bored. I'd rather talk to someone who won't cuss too much or who has the theological astuteness to know what "perichoresis" means.

But anyway, back to our party. It was refreshing to reach out to people and simply get to know them. There was no gospel invitation and we hardly talked about planting a church. It was simple. It was a party. One thing I was amazed by was the diversity within the neighborhood. We had folks from India, Romania,Turkey and Lebanon all living on the same cul-de-sac. We even had some folks from California (how odd is that?). A friend I made from Romania, since he has only limited exposure to American food, topped his chili that Ashley made with Gardettos snack mix and M & M's. That's okay, he didn't know. And I didn't stop him. Although he probably thinks American food really sucks now. That's a silly analogy, but that's what happens when you mix and mingle with folks who are far from but in desperate need of the gospel. They do some strange stuff. But that's cool - that's what it's all about.

Now Entering the Blogosphere

Well, ladies and gentlemen you are reading my first blog - ever. This historical moment may come as a surprise to those of you to whom I never returned a comment on facebook or made any comments on your blogs, or even perhaps neglected to return your email. It's not that I don't love you (in most cases); it's just that I haven't entered into the blogosphere...until now. Much of this comes as the result of my wife's "encouragement" to catch up with "what the kids are doing." So here I am. And now I'm wondering what to write about. Just kidding. I'm writing today to give you the link to a great sermon we heard on Sunday entitled "Keep Hill Country Bible Church Weird." It was based on the Apostle Peter's letter (1Pet 2:4-12) about Christians' relationship to the world (And of course a play on Austin, Texas' mantra "Keep Austin Weird"). I thought it was such a good sermon because it really captured the essence of finding the balance between being set apart from the world but also being salt and light. It's a really difficult thing to do, but when we drift too far one way or the other, things get bad. So, thought I'd share it with you: http://www.hcbc.com/templates/System/details.asp?id=28485&PID=212443

But if you don't feel like listening to a sermon (and I don't blame you) here's an hilarious video from youtube for all you facebookers: http://youtube.com/watch?v=rSnXE2791yg