I was at the beach earlier this week camping with my family and two other families. A few things I noticed during this trip:

*Wal-mart has every material thing one needs to live
*Sunblock needs to be applied every two hours
*My children were transformed into kind and obedient little people.

It’s the last point that really surprised me. Trac and I were driving back and realized how good the kids had been. Then the correlation hit me. They had no TV on the trip (minus the American Idol in the restaurant). If only I had a beach in my backyard.

Kidding aside, the challenge now that we are home is to not use the TV as a default …

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I have been reading Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper again. I read it back in 2003. For some reason, this read through is crippling. Piper asserts that the purpose of all things in our lives should be to glorify God, found it greatest measure in Christ and have joy in it: work, play, relationships, eating, etc… I don’t deny the truth of his assertion. My struggle in this read is realizing just how far I fall short of it (see Romans 3:23). And in seeing how far I miss the mark, it seems impossible to rectify it, as I know the true things but don’t do them.

Now this is the …

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I still wonder at the mercy and grace God gives me through Christ, despite my efforts to own and control something that is not mine – my life. I have been bought at a price. I should live as such. Praise to our Heavenly Father for His patience.

My thoughts are best expressed by the song “Mystery of Mercy”. Follow the title of this blog to see the lyrics and back story of the song.

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As I was reading Psalm 9 today, I thought to myself, “I have never sung a song in church like this!” My next thought was “Why?” If we embrace all of God’s Character, then it would make sense to sing songs about His wrath, justice, judgement, and jealously along side the well numbered songs about His love and holiness. What do you think?

1 I will praise you, O LORD , with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

…

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I take things personally. Any comments pertaining to me – personally. Praise or constructive criticism – personally. I cannot separate what I do from who I am. Is this a fault? Yes. Is it a strength? Yes.

The fault: negative reactions that are born out of this integration. If someone offers me a critique about something I am responsible for I get defensive, because my output, in my mind, is tied to who I am.

The strength: I give much attention and effort to the things I do, because they reflect who I am.

Either way I want to be able to listen and hear people without getting defensive. It is not easy for …

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