Saturday, January 24, 2009

ditching the idiot box...

We reached sort of a watershed moment in our house last week. A point that will hopefully serve as a turning point in our lives and will provide us with more purpose, more life, and more creativeness as individuals and as a family.

We got rid of our satellite TV service.

Now, before I go on, I should mention that we have not physically removed our TVs from the house. I honestly toyed with this quite a bit and decided that was slightly too radical for right now. In fact, we went ahead and bought a new digital TV converter box and hooked that up, so we'll still be receiving "over the air" broadcast signals. (And just a note here--I am really amazed at how clear the picture is, even with our old rabbit ear antenna. Almost all the major networks come in and, once we save up for and buy a multi-directional antenna, we should easily receive upwards of 30 channels very clearly, and, best of all, free of charge!) What's happened is we've now become more intentional about what we watch and how much of it we expose ourselves to. It is, honestly, a nice feeling to not "worry" about missing a show anymore. Funny how you don't really miss it when it's not there anymore.

We'd been praying and thinking about doing this for quite a while now, for two reasons: One, it's going to be nice having an extra $70 in our budget every month. Two, it's going to be even nicer to not be slave to mindless drivel nearly as much. I say that because, yes, there are a few shows we still like to watch and will plan to catch when we can (although I will definitely miss the convenience of the DVR. Turns out they used to make these things called "VCRs" that may work OK for that purpose, though!). But one of the things that bothered me about having literally hundreds of channels to choose from was I could easily, at any point, drop what I was doing, plop myself on the couch, and "channel surf" to my heart's content. And I found myself doing that often. It was way too easy to unplug from the world around me, in other words--and I'm at a point in my life where I definitely need to be plugged in and purposeful with my time. I guess I'm admitting here that I'm weak in this area, and needed to cut it from my life. And I don't mind telling you I don't have a problem with that.

Case in point: I found myself last month watching some show on MTV--you'll remember them;they used to show music videos?--and, about 10 minutes into this pathetic excuse for entertainment, I literally shook myself awake, verbally asked myself what I was doing, and clicked the "off" button. It had gotten that bad--I could no longer keep myself accountable and, therefore, couldn't justify the expense, both in money and time, that my television watching habits garnered.

So, an era ends. Personally, after just a few days, I'm loving it. I look forward to spending our time as a family finding other avenues of entertainment and growing together instead of letting mindless media dictate that for us.

At least until football season... (just kidding!)

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Happy Birthday, Jacob!!


Hard to believe it's been 365 days since we were introduced to our adorable, wonderful son, but it has! I clearly remember meeting him for the very first time, feeding him formula as his Mom recovered, holding him in my arms, and then the sheer elation I experienced as I handed him to Becki and to finally be together as a family. All wonderful memories that come flooding back one year later. I also remember thinking how tiny he was, and that I would never want him to grow up, but that we had plenty of time for all that.

And, yet, here we are at the milestone of his first birthday. I'm afraid to blink, lest I miss his first words (which, I'm convinced, will either be "Gators" or "moose"!), his first "real" steps, potty training, his first fishing experience, his first date, or graduating college!

Wow, does time fly...
Son, when you read this someday, I want you to know how profoundly you've changed the lives of your mother and I. We are so proud of you and count each minute we are allowed to spend with you as sheer joy. You have brought us such an incredibly wide range of emotions over your first year...from unbridled happiness to unmitigated worry and, yes, even sheer terror (though you won't remember your first ambulance ride, I'll always have it burned into my brain; ask me about it later!). You are truly a gift from the Lord above and I am absolutely humbled to be your Dad.

Happy First Birthday, Son!

To my own Dad: I don't say it often enough, but this year has taught me what an incredible father and person you are, and I love you very much. To have this experience gives me the utmost respect and adulation for you, and I pray that I can be half the father you were for me. Thank you for providing a shining example for me to follow as I raise my own son...and soon to be children!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

on vacation and prayer

We're on vacation this week. We rented a gorgeous mountain home in Blue Ridge, GA for our parents and my sister and we're enjoying the cold weather (and hopefully a little snow!), the "rustic/luxury" cabin, good food, and a lot of fun. Weird how a week can seem so long when you start your Monday off in an office, but so short when you're in this environment--I'm already mourning Saturday, when we have to leave.

On the way here, we were privileged to spend a couple of days with our good friends Scott and Carmen Copeland. Scott is one of my best friends and, although we never seem to talk all that much throughout the year, when we are able to get together every 12 months or so, we pick up right where we left off and have a blast!

Anyway, Scott joined the staff of Brookwood Baptist Church in Lawrenceville, GA recently, so, naturally, we tagged along on Sunday morning. Scott did his normal bang-up job of leading us in worship and then the pastor, Dean, gave one of the more simplistic yet thought-provoking messages I've heard in a long time.

Dean really challenged his congregation with the premise that, in order to be the community God had called them to be and, most importantly, make an impact on their surroundings, there were several things that needed to be paramount in not only the individual lives of the congregation, but the corporate entity, as well. To be honest (and Dean, if you're reading this, I apologize!), I forgot what the others were. But his last point was the sharpest and, at least for me, thought-provoking. Simply put, Dean felt (and I wholeheartedly agree here) that what was missing in their congregation was prayer. Communication with God.

Why is it that churches push programs and money and resources but seem to fall woefully short when it comes to the basic premise of communicating with the very One who sustains them? For that matter, why do those of us who claim to know Him intimately? Understand that I am implicating myself here, as well.

Pastor Dean shared several practical and powerful illustrations from the Bible on Sunday that pointed directly to the awesome impact of the saints' perseverance in the simple act of prayer. He talked of how Peter's companions, in Acts 12, "prayed very earnestly" and were rewarded greatly when he showed up miraculously at their door. He pointed out the incredible fact that Jesus, before He began His ministry here on earth, spent 40 days and nights seeking His Father in prayer. Remember that this is God Himself illustrating the importance of humble obedience in this area--I mean, if God not only says it, but practices it, how much more should we? Finally, Dean, of course, led us to Ephesians 6, where we are told to "pray at all times and on every occasion in the power of the Holy Spirit. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all Christians everywhere."

Finally, and probably most emotionally--at least for me--we were treated to a video story of a modern-day miracle of prayer named Danny Velasco. I present a similar story here, for your viewing pleasure. An incredible story of a man who was dying, a woman who prayed, and, because of her faithful prayer, a God who saved:



As I was listening to all of this on Sunday morning, I wondered why we don't take prayer much more seriously. And I wondered if it's because we simply lack the faith that God still answers prayers miraculously. I also wondered what would happen if we knew that the Thing we were praying for would happen. Would we clamor to hit our knees far more often? I think the answer is obvious. And, yet, God DOES promise to hear us and answer. He is faithful.

We look to so many things other than the power of prayer to change our world for Christ. May we be constantly reminded, on a daily basis, of the powerful, life-changing, awesome impact of the simplicity of communication with the One who created and sustained us. It is in this communication that we experience the miraculousness of His Power in our ordinary lives.

Friday, January 09, 2009

National Champions

Hey guys...as a couple of you have reminded me (and, seriously, thanks...), I have not blogged at all this week. Truth be told, I've been sick with a cold and we've been scrambling to try and get stuff done for our vacation this week, so spare time has been at a bare minimum lately.

But I did want to take a minute to say how proud I am to be a Florida Gator tonight! 2008 National Champions. Second in the last three years. It was a heck of a battle with the Oklahoma Sooners tonight, but we managed to pull out a 24-14 victory and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Just wanted to say that, as always, it's Great To Be A Florida Gator!!!