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life

My son likes to mess with the spring-style door stop on the wall between our rooms when he gets up in the morning.  It’s near the top of his to-do list every day.

6:35 AM: “boinggg.  boyoiinng…. boyoyoyoing.”

It helps me to remember that no matter how hard, messy, and difficult life is–he’s concerned about the neat noise that door stop makes.  And I think he’s onto something.  Life is stressful, MPD is difficult.  But God wants me to lay my head down beside LB on the carpet, and be amazed by the sound of a door stop.  I can’t think of a better use of my time.

When’s the last time you stopped to make funny noises with a door stop?  That big problem will wait.  In fact, in light of the joy you find laying in the floor with a toddler laughing at the wall, those big problems don’t seem so big anymore.

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The Best Video I’ve Made all Week.

June 17, 2010

First step: notice that elmo has been “eating” the yogurt. Second step: find something with which to record the process. Third step: upload video to YouTube.

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Gratuitous video for the sake of the grandparents.

June 1, 2010

I suppose others can watch it, too.  (I uploaded a few more today to our YouTube Channel)

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The time when I most want to punch another human.

May 25, 2010

Here’s a tip:  If a missionary calls you on the phone, and name-drops a friend of yours in trying to set up an appointment to meet and share more about their ministry, it’s really best to not treat that missionary like a telemarketer in a cubicle somewhere south of Jakarta. Heck, it’s not even ok [...]

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Terrific Twos: An Adventure in Parenthood.

May 24, 2010

Yeah, he’s got a terrible streak.  He’s impossible to discipline.  He will frequently “go boneless” in a parking lot to avoid being put in his car seat. But there are times like Saturday that make it all worth it. We went to “Monkey Joe’s” — which in the original Greek translates more closely to “How [...]

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Perspective check, 1…2…3?

May 20, 2010

I got three emails yesterday.  2 of them were people letting us know they are no longer able to partner with us financially–to the tune of -$125 per month. The other was from Piter. I was too busy wallowing in poor-me-land (or more accurately, trying to evaluate the situation to help to avoid wallowing there, [...]

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Potty Training in a Public Restroom.

May 17, 2010

When I first saw that positive pregnancy test roughly 2 years and 9 months ago, a lot of thoughts filled my head.  Throwing ball in a park with my son.  Teaching him how to ride a bike.  Tender moments before bed praying to Elmo. Here’s a bit that didn’t make the mental brochure: Trying to [...]

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Gideon was a bit of a Taunter.

May 13, 2010

I just read Judges 7:1, and was pretty floored by the nickname that Gideon apparently embraces.  The previous chapter translates the name Jerubbaal as “Let Baal contend with him.” Gideon had just destroyed a pagan altar to the god Baal.  The modern day equivalent might be burning down a mosque and a whorehouse next door [...]

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Mother’s Daze.

May 9, 2010

My wife is incredible.  She’s a great mom, and even in the midst of this crazy stage of life with a move and quasi-bedrest and an unwieldy (almost) tw0-year-old, she’s shone far brighter than the jewelry she got for mother’s day (yep, that’s a shout-out to me.  Thanks for noticing, move along). She’s not an [...]

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I used to be a Rapper.

May 2, 2010

No really. I wrote a rap (well, all but the first line or two, which I totally stole from my friend Steve) in high school.  I added a second verse in college for a poetry class (and got an A).  Finally, I added a 3rd verse a few years after I came on staff.  And [...]

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