I know that sounds weird, but looking past all of the sweating my butt off to break a fever fo 100°+ and trying everything possible to prevent a sore throat, it was much needed. Do you know what all you want to do when you’re all achy and don’t feel that great? NOTHING! You don’t want to get up to get a drink and you barely even want to move to attempt to take some meds. But there is something amazing that happens when you can’t do a whole lot. You begin to think, you begin to pray, you visualize dreams and sleep!

Today Denise and I spent some time before we both got going, now that I’m on the downhill side of being sick…we hope We talked about what God has done in the almost year of our married life together and how quickly it has passed us by. It puts so much more perspective on how we can fit into the story of God, His-story. It was good to take a break from going here and there and reflect on what God has done and what He wants to do next. We don’t know…we’re just following where He leads. We don’t have anything else to really go off of. So if you find yourself bedridden, find a way to slow down and as song #33 in the hmynal says “Count Your Blessings.”

Doesn’t the title seem to propose an oxymoron? Sense and money in the same sentence, in this economy?
For the next 2 weeks, financial guru, Dave Ramsey is speaking at Lifechurch.tv. You will not want to miss these awesome, biblically based financial principles that Dr. Ramsey is unearthing. Even if there isn’t a lifechurch campus near you, go online to lifechurch.tv and watch the messages. This week we are uncovering how to get out of debt. Phoenix campus experience times are Sat: 5:30pm and Sun: 9:30 & 11 am. Come join us and learn how to let God take control of your finances.

Ok, so we didn’t make it to that part, but it was fun for the 6 innings that we were there! On Wednesday, I decided that it would be good for Dayton and I to get out of the house for a while…too many movies! So I thought, what a better way to get out of the house than to go to a ballgame. I checked to see what teams nearby were having home spring training games. I was really hoping to be able to go to a Cubbies game, but since they’ve been in Vegas for the past few days, that wasn’t a possibility. So next best thing, the Angels vs. South Africa (WBC Team). I ordered the tickets online and 3 hours later we were in the ballpark watching some spring baseball! We also ended up with 2 baseballs. Note to anyone planning on going to a spring training game: take a 3 year old boy with you! We were walking down to the Angels tunnel and on the way we were stopped by a guy who asked us if we were hoping to catch a foul ball. To which we replied, “Hopefully a couple.” He then walked on and we went on our way. We got a couple of steps when the man turned around and said,”Hey!” reached in his pocket and pulled out a ball from BP and handed it to Dayton. Later on there was a hard grounded in foul territory that ended up in the hands of the field attendants. Who then bypassed 3 or 4 older kids just to throw it to me for Dayton. He was tearing it up on foul balls!  Here are some pics from our adventure:

At the Entrance	Getting Autographs	The View from Our Seats
Nothing Like Italian Ice!

This thought struck me today as I was making my drive to work this morning. I have heard it from various pastors in different ways and some even using the same phrase,”God is not your genie!”
But that’s not how most of us view God, or at least we aren’t willing to admit it yet. How many of us, if we were to be honest (calling things what they are), would say that at one point or another we’ve gone to our heavenly Father and asked him for something that we “had” to have, a necessity if you will? An example would be a new car, a new job, a new wife…ok the last one was just to see if you were paying attention, but seriously. So I am planning to start studying our relationship with/to the Father, God here over the next few weeks and I hope that you will join me on this journey. So for starters, here’s just something fun to get you thinking:

If God were a Genie…         

1. I’m pretty sure He’d look like the one in Aladdin.
2. I don’t think we’d get any freebies (another Aladdin reference).
3. We would be even lazier than we are now.
4. We could put him in a lamp.

Ok, I was really shooting for 5 there, but I just don’t have anything. If you think you might have something to fill in the #5 slot, let me know and I’ll plug it in.