Sunday I’m going to the Bears game! A friend from church has season tickets and asked me to go with him. I wish he had invited me when it was warmer, but I’m still looking forward to it. Look for pictures from the game next week. Laterz!
I had talked a bit about the new series being preached at church, “Blink”. I guess I just wanted to share a little bit about my thoughts during the message. Most people probably thought it was rather depressing to hear about how little time we’ll be here on earth, but I wasn’t thinking about that. I don’t think leaving here to go to heaven for eternity is a bad thing. I guess I agree with Paul in Philippians 1:21 (NIV), “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” In other words, living here is good, but going to heaven is good, too.
Anyway, my thoughts were on what impact I would make on earth when I’m gone. For some, their impact is in their work or skills like Michael Jordan, Walter Payton, Bill Gates (founder of Microsoft), Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Alfred Nobel (inventor of dynamite and the Nobel prize), or Alfred Sloan (founder of GM). For others (probably most), it’s in their children. I have no children (although I hope to some day) and I haven’t invented anything or founded a company that has changed the world. Most will probably say that I’ve helped many children & youth and have impacted the world that way. That’s fine, but I guess it’s just one of those things where you don’t get a whole lot of feedback because you really don’t see the difference for years.
I look forward to my time with the children on Sunday and the jr. highers on Tuesday, but sometimes I wonder if it’s for naught. I love the little things I sometimes get as encouragement. The occasional thank you or holiday card. Even a simple “thank you”. Even though his mom apologized for it, I love it when one of the boys on Sunday insists on greeting me with a hug every single week. It just makes me feel appreciated.
I guess there wasn’t really much point to this post, but it was just something I wanted to say. Hopefully I have made a positive impact and will be remembered for it. Laterz!
We’re getting our first snow of the season! Adam, get ready for a snowball fight. 
Laterz!
So, they’re starting a new series at church called Blink. It’s actually pretty interesting as the original introductory video was posted on YouTube and you can post your questions on there, as well. I’m curious to see how it goes.
At any rate, the series began by talking about how short a time we are here compared to eternity. Compared to eternity, our 80 years is like a blink (hence the name of the series). It made me think, but not about how long I’m here. Rather, what I’m going to leave behind. I have a few thoughts on the whole thing, but I’ll wait until after the holidays to write my depressing post, though. 
Laterz!
As you know, Thursday is Thanksgiving. Hopefully, it will mean something more to you than eating too much food and watching football. It is supposed to be a day of prayer and thanksgiving. On October 3, 1863, with the Civil War tearing apart our country, Abraham Lincoln made the following Thanksgiving proclamation:
“The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies…No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People…I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.” President Abraham Lincoln, Washington, D.C., October 3, 1863.
Have a great Thanksgiving! Laterz!
This week in small group, we discussed Revelation 2:2-5:
2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. 5 Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
I was thinking about my own personal devotional time. Although I still spend time with God, it’s not nearly as consistent as it used to be. I remember when I found time for God every day, but as the verse mentions (“Remember the height from which you have fallen!”), I just don’t do it every day. Most of us are very enthusiastic when we first get saved, then we trail off. I pray that all of you return to your first love. Please pray that I am once again able to return to my former enthusiasm and a regular quiet time. Thank you. Laterz!
I know only one person’s going to understand this…Adam, you’re weird. Laterz!
Trying not to do too much to allow my back to fully heal. It’s getting better, but it’s still not 100%. I played limited minutes on Friday night and it felt okay, but it was sore afterwards and bothered me the next morning. I was planning to go to a high school play and dinner with a friend on Sunday, although I wasn’t looking forward to spending that much time sitting. I ended up not doing either. Something came up preventing me from attending the play and my friend canceled the dinner. Worked out well for my back. Work suddenly slowed down, too, as they’re waiting for the final details to give me for the next project. I’ve taken the opportunity to do some stuff around the house. I’m hoping to finish my home-made Tivo soon so I can stop paying for the service. We’ll see. Laterz!
Yesterday I was watching one of those “best videos” shows. They had this roller hockey game on there where a fight broke out (imagine that, a fight at a hockey game). Anyway, one of the players didn’t like to fight. Instead, he mooned the crowd. Well, police were called. The only one to get arrested was the one who mooned the crowd (indecent exposure). Now, he did break the law and as such deserved to be arrested. However, I’m pretty sure assault is also against the law. If the guy had punched somebody multiple times instead, he would’ve been fine. Since he refused to fight, he went to jail. Does that seem wrong to anybody else? Laterz!
I was thinking about the freedom we talk about in church the other day and figured I’d write about it. Awhile back I remember thinking about how we are taught in the church that we actually have freedom as a Christian. Seemed to me that the non-Christian would argue we don’t have freedom because there are things we can no longer do. Most Christians don’t even think about it. They just regurgitate the phrase like good little Christians. Being me, I actually thought about it. At first, I couldn’t figure out how I was more free by being told there were certain things I shouldn’t do. I think most would agree that would define less freedom, not more. I think I figured it out, though. Ready for my insight?
Let’s use a simple example so this doesn’t degrade into a discussion about what is or isn’t sin. I’ll start with drugs. Throw out the legal aspects of them (or rather, illegal) for the purposes of this discussion. We shouldn’t do drugs because they harm us physically, socially, mentally, and emotionally. The person in the world things he is free because he can do drugs. He quickly becomes addicted and his life falls apart. At that point, he is no longer free. He is now held hostage by the drug. Now, the free person is the one who did not do the drugs. You see, the freedom we have is not only in the freedom to do what we want (which we have, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Cor. 6:12 (NASB)). It’s the freedom to not have to deal with the consequences. If we follow God’s law and do what He asks, there are no consequences. No addictions, no jail time, no destroying our bodies or our lives. At that point, we are free to do what we want. Try playing sports with a smoker. You’ll have the freedom to play until you want to leave. Your smoker buddy will have to stop sooner than he wants to. He doesn’t have the same freedom you do.
Hopefully my rambling made some sense and helped you out, even if just a little. Let me know in the comments as I’m thinking of writing more posts like this in the future. If you read and don’t comment….comment (I know you’re out there)! Let me know who’s out there. Laterz!