Three Legged Stool

What is the most important leg of a three legged stool?  I have heard this addage time and time again, with the witty answer, "it' s the one you don't have!"  How clever, but if there is a leg missing, it isn't a three legged stool now is it?

 

I think the more reasonable and accurate answer is, of course, not any of the legs at all.  On the contrary, the seat is what makes the stool usefull.  After all usefulness is the original purpose of all furniture.

 

In our world of power and importance, everyone seeks to be the key role--the one that will make the headlines, but what we really need are some seats.  Don't strive to be important or powerful, but strive to be usefull.  Find a problem and provide a solution.   Don't do it for the results it can yield in your own life, but the usefulness you can provide for someone else.

 

Yeah I know that the picture is technically a 4 legged stool, but the seat part was really cool, and that’s the point of the story!

Switchfoot Rocks

Sandy and I are at the switchfoot concert tonight. I love these guys

So Talented

The girls were drawing on the white board after church last night and i saw the little curly headed people that Ava was drawing....pretty good for a three year old.

Snowflake Lane

We took the kids down to Bellevue on Friday after Thanksgiving to the
Snowflake Lane presentation. It was pretty fun with the fake snow and candy
and all. We saw a ton of people we knew down there--the whole McKenney clan
was down there to see Will, who is drumming in it this year again.

It came really fast but I am ready for the whole Christmas experience this
year.

I never knew....

That you could buy a neon stool cover at the mall. You gotta love this country!

I am so Original

I was just reading my friend Josh Hebert's blog, and wanted to repost a link that he put up. I am not too familiar with Tim Ferriss, but this video interview with him was pretty interesting. I think I might read his book.

You can read Josh's post here.

Faith and a New Blog

Well, I guess it has been a few weeks since I last made a post.....oh well. This summer has been amazing...great weather, great experiences travelling (around the country and around the world). We leave tomorrow morning for Montana for a few days. It should be fun.

I got a chance to preach here at Cedar Park yesterday morning. I had a lot of fun. It is one of the things that I get to do that I really love. There is just something about teaching from the Scriptures and knowing that people are being built up in their faith. I really love it.

Anyway, the text I spoke from was Hebrews 11. At the end of the message I offered what Hebrews 11 might look like if it were written to Americans today instead of Jewish Christians in the first century AD. Here is what I came up with:

By faith the stay at home mom cares for her children, teaching them the way the Lord cares for his children.

By faith the firefighter walks willingly into danger to rescue those in need, knowing that God will protect them.

By faith the computer programmer writes code knowing that from a single web page, or program, the Gospel can be preached a thousand times.

By faith the contractor builds houses, offices, marketplaces where people will live, work, and shop knowing that God is in these places.

By faith the manager looks after the people who are entrusted to her. She uses the gift of leadership that the Lord has given her.

By faith the retiree awaits God’s adventure every day…who’s path will they cross? With whom will they share what the Lord has done for them?

By faith the husband chooses to love and be faithful to his wife, just as the Lord chooses to love and be faithful to him.

By faith the teacher imparts sound instruction to every pupil trusting that God has already prepared the student to hear it.

By faith the student studies and learns every bit of wisdom, knowing that Jesus himself grew in wisdom and was required to study.

By faith the soldier fights the good fight, knowing that the freedom that every American enjoys is not free.

These are all commended for their faith.

Father's Day Parade

We're over at Lake Entiat for a few days celebrating the first days of summer for the kids..and my sister's birthday and my prents 35th anniversary...and of course Father's Day! After the customary breakfast ceremony we all decided to take a walk up to the Orondo Cider Works for smoothies and lattes. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised how great the lattes and stuff were. It is a cool little shop with homemade icecream, fresh donuts every day, and fresh pressed cider every Saturday.

Well as all of us were walking up the hill to the store (all 15 of us) it looked like a parade. Olivia and Holli were leading the pack with their unmatched energy, while Ava was bringing up the rear at a 2 year old pace. It was quiite the site to behold. One of the neghbors told us that she saw us coming and decided to wait a few minutes before she left so she wouldn't have to compete for road space...I love having and being a part of a big family.

It has been a great couple of days over here...it is good to remember how much you love your family because the pace of life and especialy ministry can distract you from the really important things.

We are about to have fresh baked brownies and watch Charlotte's Web together.
peacetoyourfather.

Little Man Blue

Just went over to see Pete and Heather and their new liitle dude Ethanol Christian. He is a cute little guy. I told Pete that we are so excited for them, but inside I was remembering how crazy it is those first few weeks and months after the first kid is born. There is a lot that you know about parenting before the kids come along, but none of it really compares to what you discover in the first days of being a parent! Pete and Heather are going to be great parents...and they will have a lot of support which counts for a lot.

peaceinthecrib.

Relationship vs. Friendship

The other day as I was contemplating the universe and all things deep, I had a profound thought. OK stop your little skeptical grin and hear me out. My thought was this--it seems that as a church and as leaders we are infatuated with developing and helping others to develop relationships, both inside and outside the church. We talk about the importance of relationships with other believers to help us grow in faith and accountability. We talk about the importance of developing relationships with unsaved people for the sake of leading them to Christ. There is so much talk of relationship these days, and it isn't just the church....political life, business life, pretty much everywhere you find people, relationship is talked about and pursued.

All this is great, but I feel the need to challenge our motive here. It seems that emphasizing the relationship puts too much focus on us as the recipient of the interaction. We have Christian friends because they help US grow in our faith. We have accountability relationships because they provide a safety net for us. You may think that I am arguing minutia here but keep reading. Not only does it seem so focused on us, but "relationship" is so impersonal. What exactly does it mean? If you say, "I have a relationship with Bill," that can mean a variety of things, or it can mean nothing. People can have relationships, churches can have relationships, businesses can have relationships, even dogs can have relationships!

Now for the hook......I believe that a better way is to focus on building friendships. Did you know that in the Scriptures the word "relationship" only occurs 4 times? In contrast the word "Friendship" occurs over 170 times. Now I don't suggest we build our theology solely off of etymology or the frequency of word usage, but it helps to make the case.

I think we would have a greater degree of success in our lives (real success, not just bigger paychecks and nicer cars) if we made it our goal to build and facilitate real friendship. Relationship often has many strings attached (you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours), but friendship is unconditional. As Smitty put it, "Friends are friends forever...." (you're welcome for getting that oldie in your head for the rest of the day)!

Sorry for such a long blog, but consider the benefit of the challenge!

peaceonearthgoodwilltoallmen

Olivia is a big Kindergardener now!

Here she is...amost as proud as Mom and Dad.

PreSchool Graduation

Well, it was a crazy weekend with Graduation parties for all of the seniors, church services, a eagle scout ceremony for one of our youth, and an end of the year party for our kids choir. Wow, it was pretty much a blur of ation. The kids are out of school on Friday, so the pace will change a bit.
Anyhow, we are headed to Olivia's preschool graduation today. It seems pretty funny, but it is a cute thing to see....a bunch of 5 year-olds reciting the alphabet, counting, singing and just being cute.
I love being a dad. Having cute kids sure makes it a lot easier....I'm not sure how all these other people get by ;) Just kidding, I just happen to think my kids are the cutest.
peaceinfife.

Subduing the Backyard

Well, I spent a good portion of my day off in the back yard battling stickerbushes and vines. Armed with a pair of garden shears, and a golf club I set off to subdue the wilderness which is........my backyard. After a few hours and more than a few scratches on my legs and arms and one giant blister on my hand, I call it quits.

As I was swinging and chopping and hauling the rubble away, I couldn't help but thinking that this was good therapy (especially for a guy who basically talks for a living). When you look at an area that you have been working in, and at the end of your efforts it looks better....that's a good feeling. It reminded me of what God told Adam in Genesis 1, "fill the earth, and subdue it." God is pleased when we wisely use the earth to our benefit...in fact, that's why he put us here.

So as I type with my blistered, scratched up fingers, I reflect on doing the "Lord's work" in my backyard today, instead of at the church every other day.

peaceinpuyallup

I love my Ronco Showtime Pro

Tonight for dinner we are having london broil with a garlic and crushed black pepper rub.....all cooked in our Ronco Showtime pro rotisserie oven that we got for Christmas. I will be the first to admit that I was a bit skeptical at first when we opened the present...but once you taste that meat.....woah buddy lookout. Even a vegan would be tempted to re-think their ways. anywho that's all--just wanted to brag.

peacethatpassesunderstanding

The Power of the Calzone

Ok, just got back from lunch with my good friend Randy Bonds Jr. and wanted to give a quick shout out to the best Calzone on the Eastside: Romio's. In Totem Lake right across from the Olive Garden on 124th you will find Romio's (formerly Cuccina Presto).
Sometimes all you need is a good meal to make you happy!
peaceinmytummy

Kids and Their Candy

It's funny how kids go crazy over things like candy.....just thismorning after breakfast the youngest 2 Smith's broke into a stash of candy that they got at church last night. Before too long Olivia came into the kitchen crying and saying that while she put her bag of candy down to open a piece of gum, Ava had hijacked the whole bag and forcefully advanced her craving for a piece of double-bubble (grape flavored).

Many tears were shed and we reconciled the situation by putting the candy away on top of the fridge (don't tell the kids). Upon reaching to the the top of the fridge I found another identical bag of candy whereupon realizing that the bag Olivia was crying about wasn't even hers.....it was AVA'S!!!!!

Just a part of the drama of having all girls! I love it--I wouldn't trade any of them for smelly, mess-making, mud-tracking, flea-infested boys. Only princesses for me.

peaceinjerusalem.

Passing on what was Passed on

So yesterday I was reading in Isaiah (chapter 39) about a man named Hezekiah. He was the king that was supposed to die, but God spared his life and extended it another 15 years.....well the part that got me thinking was when God let him know that in a few generations all of the riches of his kingdom that had been passed along to him from his forefathers would be carried off to another land. Even his own sons and grandsons would be carried away to serve foreign kings. Hezekiah's reaction to this startles me. He said, "that's good.....at least there will be peace in my time."

Can you imagine knowing that future generations will be enslaved and impoverished and thinking that is a good thing, just because it's not you?

I think about my kids, and all that I want to give to them--how I want them to do better than I do, and accomplish more. I think about how my parents have done the same for me.

Time, money, relationships, careers, education, environment, politics, spirituality, attitudes toward the poor.....all of these we will pass on.

We need to pursue the best right now, but not at the expense of our children, and of those who come after us.

Just a few thougths....peaceinpakistan.

I'm not really a Blogger

Well...I guess the day has come when I have to stop making fun of my friends who are all chronic bloggers...you know the guys who carry their laptops with them everywhere chronicling every random and intensely boring detail of their day!

The problem is, I have been reading more lately than I usually do (thanks to a degree I started working on this past year through AGTS )....and wouldn't you know I started thinking a lot more too. I figured I might as well put some of my thoughts out there to help me work them out and see what others think about it.

A few of the books I have recently read were for a class that I took that was in the Washington DC area.

There were three others that I will post later. I think I will spend a little time later adding my thoughts onthese readings and what they did to my brain. In the meantime, I think each of you should get a copy of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. He is a great writer and the book will challenge you. The title is catchy and there is a great biblical story behind it. Although it is written from a spiritual perspective, it would be a great read for anyone.

Well now I have got to take care of some bills and a little "real work."

peaceinthemiddleeast.