Barney Want a Numma???

Facts:
Barney = my friend Tom Jones’ dog… not the purple kiddy dinasaur
Numma = doggy treat

Quick Background:
When I was growing up, my best friend was Tom Jones… He was middle class… loved sports… involved in my church… etc… and we had a lot in common… But one of the coolest things about Tom Jones was his dog named Barney… sometimes we actually called the dog “Barndles” because like all things you grow fond of, you tend to give it a nickname… and since Tom’s family was from the South, we chose the nickname “Barndles” for the dog… Sounds fairly Southern, right???

Barndles was a Beagle… fat and old… and pretty much moved slow all the time… EXCEPT when offered food… So, my best friend Tom coined this little phrase “Barney want a Numma???”… It was like magic… all you needed to do was say those words, and the old dog starting sprinting like Jackie Joyner Kearsey toward whoever was offering him the tasty treat… Perfect for getting the dog to come indoors when nothing else would bring in the rebellious runaway…

We loved Barney!!!

Disclaimer:
The only purpose of the above information was to introduce you to Barney – who’s doggy antics will be used to introduce my real point… and to add a little bit of humor to your day…

Barney Becomes Invisible:
One thing about Barney that always made me laugh was this – whenever he did something bad - like poop on the floor, or puke on the carpet, or chew on the couch end – Tom and his family members would verbally scold him… OK, it wasn’t the scolding that made me laugh… or the chewing, or puking or pooping (although they were slightly funny)… Rather it was Barney’s reaction to the scolding… He would always retreat to his little doggy bed… lie down… and intentionally cover his eyes with his paws… Tom told me that Barney had a reason for habitually doing this – it was because Barney believed that if he couldn’t see you, then you couldn’t see him… and that was his way of avoiding the issue at hand…

More to come tomorrow…

For some time, I’ve been asking myself the following question – “How do I actually share the gospel with people???”
As a teenager, I was dissatisfied with the gospel presentation that begins with the question – “if you died tonight, do you know where you’d go???”… Doesn’t the gospel of Jesus have just as much to do with living as it does with dying??? The four spiritual laws don’t seem to capture the essence of the story of Scripture… How can eternal things be summed up into 4 laws??? And the “Romans Road” is OK… but aren’t those six verses little pieces of longer chapters and more complex thoughts???

Searching For God Knows What has helped me understand the gospel in a way that doesn’t trivialize the fullness of God’s love or minimize the cost of following Jesus…

In a professional world where everything seems to be summed up in formulas, seven step plans, and propositional sales pitches (including our presentation of the gospel), Donald Miller presents a fresh look at the story of man’s brokenness and God’s redemptive plan His people… Using story, analogy, poetry, and narrative, Miller breaks the mold by recapturing the image of a relational God.

*** Side Note - For those who are skeptical of Donald Miller because of his association with the Emerging Church (whatever that is…), please read this book!!! You will find Miller to be quite conservative in his theology, and very well thought out in his systematic theology… Probably Reformed, Calvinists, etc… but he actually has a heart along with a brain… Different from most Calvinists I know…

Especially interesting are chapters 5-8… Perhaps the best human writings that explain the natural brokenness of mankind…

Was William Shakespeare an undercover evangelist??? Was the story of Romeo and Juliet actually the poet’s write of the gospel of Jesus??? After reading the last chapter of this book, you might think so…

until my bride walks down the aisle… I cannot wait!!!

Check out our new website - www.jachel.com. It is a wedding gift from our good friends Abs - Thanks man!!!

Written on Dec 31… 2005

I was text messaging back and forth with my fiancé… and, as couples who are in love tend to do, we started sharing our hearts with one another… not our daily schedule or our to-do lists, but our deep feelings and emotions about each others personality and character and the other things that draw us into an intimate relationship… The last text I received from her did something to me… I don’t really know how to explain it or put it into a precise formula, but it did something big… My eyes kind of teared up a little, and there was this feeling in my chest as if someone had just punched me in that spot where your rib cage comes together… but it wasn’t a painful feeling, really, it was more like my heart expanded inside to the point that it felt like it could burst out of my chest… and while it was swollen like this, it beat really hard for a few seconds… and it was like this feeling was something that seemed to strike the deepest part of my humanity… as if this feeling was what being alive was all about… I got so overwhelmed by this unexpected moment that I pulled out my laptop and had to type this out… I think this is going somewhere…

So why did these simple typed out words on my cell phone mean so much to me… Maybe it’s because I have some sort of insecurity problem about loneliness and not being loved, or feeling less than everyone else, or growing old and having lived an average life… I don’t know… that might be some of it – my need for affirmation… but if these words meant so much to me simply because they stroked my ego, then why haven’t the compliments I’ve received from other people throughout my life meant as much as this one??? I’ve had other girlfriends who have said nice things… and I have many friends and aquaintances that have acknowledged my talents… or wanted to have dinner with me… or have complimented my character… So what made this text message so significant???

Maybe it was because it was natural…not forced… not the result of some major incident that occurred… I was just sitting at a coffee shop reading, and my fiance was just waking up on a lazy Saturday morning… We weren’t side by side, gazing into each others eyes, in some sort of romantic euphoria… In fact we were like 30 miles apart… We simply started sending each other text messages and suddenly this beautiful expression of feelings and emotions found it’s way out of her heart, and onto my cell phone screen…

Maybe it was because it was unexpected… You know how sometimes you have these moments where it’s almost a formality to express some sort of nice or romantic feelings for someone else… Like after a date has ended and you have to bring closure to the night… or in a birthday card… or after a big fight… After some time, you almost have an expectation for your loved ones to share something significant with you at these times… However, sitting in this coffee shop, I had no expectation… These words truly surprised me… sort of… which brings me to my conclusion…

I say that her words “sort of” surprised me because, as much as I didn’t expect to read them, I already knew that she felt this way… It’s like there was this perfect collision of what I knew in my head and what I felt with my heart… I knew her words were true, and honest, and authentic… and there was this deep appreciation for the time she took to carefully and deliberately and creatively express the feelings I already knew existed…

Sometimes, I wonder if this is the way God feels when we have those moments of honest relationship with Him… I’ve had a few of these moments… like the first time I prayed an honest prayer (where my exact words were “God, I’m really pissed off at you right now”… but that’s another story for another blog entry…) or like this first time I shed tears because I realized that the fullness of my sin was absorbed on the cross… or the night that I layed on a picnic table staring into outer-space verbalizing the fact that God is bigger than I can comprehend and that He will always be mysterious…

I wonder if He has moments where His heart pounds because someone He loves shares an honest, unexpected and natural moment with Him… where true feelings are expressed in vulnerable ways… Maybe this feeling I felt after receiving this text message from the one I love and desire and pursue comes from the core of being human… and maybe the very core of our humanity says something about the core nature of God… after all we are created in His image… whatever that means is still a mystery to me… and by no means am I saying that I am God… but maybe, just maybe, He gives us moments where we can catch a glimpse of His heart’s desire for intimacy with us… and if you could ever feel the way I felt about my fiance’ today, then you would want to be in a relationship with a God who feels that way about you…

Moments I’ve Experienced:
1. engagement to Ms. Rachel Hamilton-including first kiss and finally saying “I love you”
2. baptizing Ms. Rachel Hamilton in Oct. at APEX
2. birth of Gibson Jude Wing
3. stepping foot on the continent of Africa for missions work
4. living w. Mr. Abhinav Krishna
5. marriage of Mike and Gina Lacy
6. marriage of Neil and Kristi Rogers

Movies I’ve Seen:
1. Cinderella Man
2. Hitch
3. 24 - watched all 4 seasons in 2005… pathetic!!!
4. Lost - season 1

Albums I’ve Purchased:
1. David Crowder – Collide
2. Coldplay – X & Y
3. Michael Buble – It’s Time

Songs I’ve Heard:
1. True Light – Phil Wing
2. Majesty – Delirious
3. How Sweet It Is – Michael Buble’
4. Some Will Seek Forgiveness, Others Escape - Underoath
5. Marvelous Light – Charlie Hall
6. You and Me – Lifehouse
7. Old Dirt Hill – Dave Matthews Band

Books I’ve Read:
1. Blue Like Jazz - Donald Miller
2. Total Money Makeover - Dave Ramsey
3. Facedown - Matt Redman

Sermons I’ve Listened To:
1. Rob Bell – A Day of Atonement
2. Rob Turner - Sex for Dummies: Back From the Brink
3. Rob Turner - Deep Waters: Suffering - Conditioning for the Deep
4. Erwin McMannus - Ministering to Postmoderns
5. Harvey Carey - One Truth

New Friends I’ve Made… in no particular order, of course!!!
1. Tom, Lisa, Michael, and Rebecca Hamilton
2. Dan and Abby Garman
3. Chris Poteet
4. Jeff Dehart
5. Brian and Meaghan Whithoeft
6. Paul and Becca Whitacre
7. Tamara Steck
8. Katie Roe
9. Dan Thompson
10. Jon Wasson
11. Melanie Lane
12. Amanda Wagers
13. Scott Salsman
14. Matt Burgy
15. Curt & Debbie Cosenza
16. Dave ad Jenny Dorr
17. Jim & Eva Duddleston
18. Mark and Joan Eilers
19. Jeff Long
20. Maggie Reno

I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out the second or third greatest trick the Devil ever pulled on us… Read on if you care…

Have you ever been so caught up in some activity that you totally lost track of time doing it??? Have you ever enjoyed something so much that you completely lost all sense of the things happening around you??? Perhaps you’ve been so intently focussed on an activity that it was the only thing that mattered in your world…

Well, think about heaven for a moment… It’s going to last forever and that seems like a really REALLY long time… UNLESS we become so caught up in what we’re doing there, that we lose track of time… Maybe we will be so intently focussed on our worship that nothing else will matter… Maybe praising our Savior will be so enjoyable that time will become a non-issue…

Now think about this - If you believe that salvation starts now (not when you “die and get to heaven), then maybe it’s possible to think that God gives us little glimpses of heaven now… For instance, is it possible that we’re actually experiencing a little taste of heaven everytime we get so engrossed in praising our Savior that we forget the clock, the schedule, or what we’re having for lunch ??? Maybe we’re at a worship service singing praises… Maybe we’re studying the Scriptures in quiet time… Maybe we’re praying and pouring out our heart to the Savior… Whatever the case may be, I’m sure that all Believers have had moments like these… and maybe these moments are little previews of eternity…

Now think about this… What if the Devil could make a world where Christ-followers were so consumed with “what to do next” that they could no longer get “lost in the moment” of their worship??? What if he could develop an atmosphere or culture that was completely enslaved to the clock, the PDA, the schedule, or the “to do” list??? What if he could even trap Believers in this this little game of his??? Wouldn’t he be ingenius???

Well… If I’m not careful, I can be the sucker who gets caught in his little trap… Unfortunately, the Christian world at large (at least in America) is beginning to fall victim to this deception… and is essentially missing out on a little piece of heaven…

I do believe the Devil has pulled a good one…

In our culture, one’s “faith” is beginning to resemble one’s use of an ipod…

Here’s what I mean - You scroll through your iPod looking for the best song to fit your mood - perhaps it’s a Def Leppard 80’s ballad to reflect your broken heart… maybe you’re feeling like a gansta, so you drop a little riz-ap… you select some thrashing distortion when you’re mad at your boss… etc… I think you get my point - We pick the songs that we want based on our feelings… In short, iPods help us get the music we want - exactly when we want it - in the order which we most prefer…

Similarly, I’ve noticed how people tend to choose their religious beliefs based on their opinions, their feelings, their stage of life, etc… For instance, the person who loses his/her family may be drawn into the religious community that most treats him/her like family… The person who has made a really REALLY huge mistake may be drawn into the religious community that most offers a message of forgiveness… A person who is naturally inclined to participate in extreme behaviors will choose a religous system that emphasizes radical experiences… You get my drift, I’m sure…

Well, we wonder why we see so many people who bounce back and forth between religions and faith groups… It’s because decisions based off feelings never last… They don’t last because feelings always change…

All I know is that I want authenticity… consistency… TRUTH!!!

What if the iPod only played songs that told us the truth??? There would be no iPod… because our culture has slowly become more prone to conveniencies that meet our immediate needs… We make huge decision that have eternal implications based on our opinions…

Personally, I’ll take the TRUTH that may hurt for a minute, but ultimately sets us free!!!

On December 18th of 2004 had my first date with Ms. Rachel Hamilton…
On January 28th 2005 I knew that I was ready to fall in love with her…
On February 18th 2005 I knew that I wanted to marry her…
On June 28th 2005 I asked her parents if I marry their daughter…
On August 8th 2005 I asked her if she would live out the definition of love with me as my wife…

Yes it’s true… I’m ENGAGED to the lovely Ms. Rachel Hamilton!!!

Here’s the story… I know you’re interested…

On Friday Aug 5th, Rachel and her family left for Myrtle Beach, SC to spend 9 days together on a family vacation… They graciously asked me to join them, so I gladly accepted their offer… However, I told them that I would have to catch a flight and join them after my Sunday church responsibilities were complete… So Rachel ordered my plane ticket and plans were set for me to join them Monday afternoon, Aug 8th, at their condo on the beach… Little did Rachel know that I had a trick up my sleeve…

On Friday Aug 5th, I called the airline and rescheduled my flight to arrive in Charlotte, NC at 9am on Sunday, Aug 7th… And so, my little ploy was underway… I spent the weekend preparing my proposal plan, rehearsing my lines, aquring the necessary “romantic” materials, etc… So Sunday arrived and I was leavin’ on a jet plane…

After arriving in Charlotte on Sunday morning, I got a rental car, and drove 2 hours into Hedersonville, NC to meet my more than gracious jeweler - Dr. Alan Monroe… We met at the Twin Dragon Chinese Restaurant and made the exchange - my life savings for the most beautiful engagement ring known to man…

See, months earlier, I had promised Rachel that I would always give her the very best that I could, and although it may not always be “much,” it would always be my best… So when I began to research rings, I knew that I couldn’t give her anything less than a perfectly flawless diamond… Little did I know the rarity of such a stone… I called about 20 jewelers and only 2 were able to acquire said stone… Dr. Monroe was able to meet my time, budget, and credibility requirements, so I went with him… I had a very unique custom design in mind, and he made it happen… Crazy thing was, all of our design arrangements were made over the phone, so I did not see the ring until the very day that I picked it up… When I saw it for the first time, it was perfect (much to my relief)… Anyways, we made the exchange and I hit the road for a 6 hour drive to Myrtle Beach, SC…

I had made arrangements to stay Sunday night in the Days Inn on Myrtle Beach - only 2 miles down from the condo where Rachel and her family was staying… risky move, I know, but I’m very sneaky… After arriving and checking into my room, I headed out to the beach to scope the premises and make plans for a romantic sunrise proposal on the Atlantic coast…

Very quickly I learned that all my preparations we for naught… Let me explain… I had planned on making a candlelight walkway on the beach… The walkway would consist of 25 pairs of candles and at each pair would be a scrapbook page highlighting a significant memory from our relationship… We were to take a “walk down memory lane,” and at the end of the walkway was to be a huge circular candle arrangement with a stool in the middle… As she sat I would read various Scripture to her about love, marriage, the role of a wife, the role of a husband,etc… Here I would “pop the question” … she would say “yes”… we would have our first kiss… say “I love you” for the frist time… and then follow up with a time of prayer at a candle-lit altar… God did not think my plan was appropriate… this I know because He decided to provide gusts of wind off the Atlantic that were strong enough to qualify as a small tornado… thus, nothing pertaining to candles and loose sheets of paper was going to work out… I was perplexed… What to do now???

While I was contriving plan B… I made arrangements with Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton to meet at the pier to show them the ring, have a final blessing, and then pray togther… We met at 10pm and our time together was such a blessing…

After leaving the pier, I stayed up til about 3am praying and making a contingency plan (which included minimal candles)… I slept for 1 hour… woke at 4am… After dressing rather dapper in suitcoat and all, I went out to the beach to prepare the atmosphere and set the mood… All was going well and I began my walk down the beach to Rachel’s condo… I would awake my future fiance’… we would take an early morning walk down the beach… I would propose at sunrise… and then God laughed at me again… He dedided to open the floodgates of heaven and let there be a torential downpour…

What’s a guy to do here??? Sunrise is only 45 minutes away… I’m sopping wet… My candle wicks are damp… my video camera is soaked… My plan is foiled… I nearly called it quits…

But no… I packed my supplies all into a bag… and decided to make things spontaneous… It’s about 5am now, rain is pouring down, as I drove the 2 miles down to her condo… Quickly I sent her a text message that said “Wake up babe, I have a suprise for you”… As I was driving the rain miraculously cleared up… We exchanged a few more texts and ended up meeting at my car our in front of her condo… She was very suprised to see me… not just because I was actually in SC about 12 hours earlier than she expected, but also because I was sopping wet in my suitcoat - looking like a fish out of water… We grabbed my duffle bag, a blanket, some of the candles that were still lightable, and headed out to the beach… We laid out the blanket, lit the 4 candles, set up a little boombox and a cd with some of our favorite songs… With music in the background, candlelight surrounding us, and the sunlight faintly beginning to show over the ocean, we reminisced our moments and memories… things were going so well… until… the tide decided to come in abnormally high and washed right up on our blanket and scrapbook pages…

so we moved inland a bit… once we were settled again, I proceded to read Scripture that reminded me of Rachel - her nature and character… once again things seemed to be back on track… until… the wind gusted up again blowing my scrapbook pages all across the beach, and the tide invaded my blanket for the second time…

HMMM… Can you say frustration??? I began to laugh inside knowing that I’ve never been as cool as I’d like… and I took comfort in knowing that Rachel has never expected me to be perfect… So we moved inland again, and this time made sure we would out of reach of the tide… I continued to read more Scripture about the role of a wife and the role of a husband… I told her that that I had a journal entry that I wanted to read for her… It was written on June 28th and was entitled “The Day I Asked Your Parents If I Could Marry You”… Her eyes lit up as I read the first line of my entry - “I’ve been dreaming of this day since Feb 18th…the day I knew I wanted to marry you”… As I read the rest of the entry, it concluded with the phrase - “… and in the end, we will be confident of the definition of love that we have not only known, but lived”… It was then that I got on my knee, pulled the ring out of my suitcoat pocket, and said “Rachel, I love you with everything inside of me… and it would be my priviledge if you would live out the definition of love with me as my wife…” She pulled me close and kept saying “I love you… I love you… I love you”… We shared our first kiss… held each other so close… I placed the ring on her finger… and with the light of the morning sunrise, and the sound of the crashing waves, we simply enjoyed the stillness of the moment…

Immediately, we dashed into her parents condo to share the good news with everyone… All I remember is lots of screaming and lots of suprised faces… Mrs. Hamilton prepared a great breakfast for all the family and friends that were there… Most of the afternoon was spent catching up on some much needed sleep… Evening came and we all had dinner together and watched Father of the Bride (how appropriate???)…

After the movie, Rachel and I went out to the beach for late night time of prayer… We prayed that Christ would always remain first in our marriage, and that our marriage would be a human picture of Christ’s love for His people… We prayed that our relationship to one another would fall second only to Christ… that we would remain faithful and encouraging to one another… That we would always pray for each other… that we would support one another in public and in front of our children… We prayed for our future children, our parents, and extended family… we dedicated ourselves to Scripture, Prayer, the Church, and Sabbath Rest…

The night then felt truly complete as I headed back into the condo and said goodnight to my fiance’…

On Monday mornings at 11:30am, some people from our church gather together for an intentional time of prayer… Those participating come from various backgrounds – some are older… some are younger… some are retired… some are unemployed… some (like myself) are on church staff… etc…

As we gather, our prayers generally begin in a positive manner… We adore God’s nature and character… We praise Him for lives that are changing… We thank Him for meeting our needs… From there we may begin to pray with a more somber spirit as we voice supplications concerning specific needs, fears, and requests… Our modern-day Moses – Jim Schindler – usually closes our time by reading a Scripture and praying in regards to the text…

Now to the significance of all this…

Have you ever noticed the “Hmmm”??? You know what I’m talking about… It’s the noise we all crave to hear when we pray out loud… or share a thought in a group… or give a speech… the “Hmmm”… It’s that noise that people make when you say something profound or thought-provoking… the “Hmmm”… You get my drift…

Today, while in the prayer meeting described above, I noticed something very alarming… and if you stop to think about it, maybe you’ll notice it too… Sometimes I really need to hear the “Hmmm” in order to feel like I prayed really well…

Then I got really REALLY convicted… because I realized that I was becoming more concerned with hearing the “Hmmm” from the crowd than I was with authenitally pouring my heart out to my God…

Since when did public prayers become more like a public address… since when did it become OK for me to disguise a speech as a conversation with God… and since when did hearing the “Hmmm” from my people become more important the hearing from the voice of the God I claim to love…

Let’s avoid the need for the “Hmmm”…

to be a follower of Christ??? to obey God’s will??? to be a person of faith???

Hebrews 11:32-38
32And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

Have we been mislead into believing that the Christian life should be one of happiness, pleasure, and success???

HMM… In don’t know about you, but I often find myself desiring a “better” life… or at least an easier one: My desire for money and wealth is sometimes consuming - buy better house… drive better car… more investments… STUFF!!! My felt need for human recognition can be overwhelming… reward me… mention my name… notice what I did… AFFIRM ME!!! and an easy lifestyle quickly becomes something I deserve and expect…

but should this be the expectation of a person of faith in Christ??? It seems that Hebrews 11 (aka - the Hall of Faith) depicts the life and death of the faithful with terms of tragedy, difficulty, torture, and pain… this is not what I expect for the person who is a “good Chrstian”… To my knowledge, none of my modern day “role models” have experienced such difficulty… and when “tragedy” strikes someone who I hold in high spiritual regard, I respond with words like - “that’s terrible” or “no way” or “how awful”…

But maybe suffering is the mark of the faithful… not money… or maybe the faithful are those who couple suffering with endurance… not those who write the best-selling books…

I think I need some new modern day hero’s… Bring on the martyrs!!!