I just received my first book for review from Tyndale House Publishers as a member of their blog network. Be sure to stay tuned for book reviews and such every few months. This should be an interesting endeavor for me, someone who usually struggles to read, but it’s a challenge I hope I can rise up to ;^)>

For more info on becoming part of the Tyndale House Blog Network visit their website:

Today, I was given the task of stocking some Easter candy. A few weeks ago, I was doing just the same thing and this older gentleman came by and asked, “Where’s all the Christmas stuff? Haven’t got it out yet?” It was a sure jab at what most people would agree to be retailers making the push to move “seasonal” merchandise to the salesfloor as quickly as possible. Most people that I hear in passing have comments like, “Wasn’t it just Christmas?” or “They already have Easter candy out?” I couldn’t help, but think about why that seems to bother everyone. Here’s the only conclusion that I can come up with:

People hate to see the next holiday’s candy/merchandise a month early because it makes them realize how much time they’ve wasted and how quickly life has passed them by

Just a thought, but I can’t seem to think that it’s too far off. Don’t sacrifice the things that matter for things that are

Forgiveness is a curious thing, especially in today’s culture. It was the topic for this past week’s message at LifeChurch East Valley. As soon as the pastor announced that he would be speaking on forgiveness, God began to flood my mind with past thoughts on the subject.

The first story that came to mind is found in Matthew 18. Peter approaches Christ with this question,”If my brother sins against me, how many times should I forgive him. Seven times?” Jesus responds,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven.” I think in the American church we have changed Jesus’ words to say something more along the lines of,”No, not seven, but seventy times seven…and if their offense doesn’t put me in a position that would require me to forgive them again.”

So this is just something that I’ve been wrestling with after the message this weekend, not a concrete idea, but just that an idea:

Are we to forgive, but not forget?

That’s what it seems most of us think about forgiveness. But from what I’ve read, this story and others, I’m convinced that forgiveness has a bit to do with forgetting the offense. I’m reminded of the story of Hosea. Hosea, a prophet of God, is commanded by God to marry a prostitute. God tells him that she is going to cheat on you and leave you, but you are going to love her and forgive her and take her back. What a picture for us of unconditional forgiveness and love! In the message this weekend, Miles Paluden drew a relationship between one’s reaction to being wronged before Christ and the reaction Christ said was better. Here’s the gist of what he was pointing to:

It was an eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, but after Christ, our reaction is forgive because you have been forgiven.

In light of that, does Christ forgive and remember what we’ve done wrong. I know that we will be held accountable for our lives, but does Christ treat us differently (like we often treat those whom we “forgive”) when we’ve been forgiven? In all accounts of forgiveness I’ve read, never do I remember seeing conditions being placed on what is offense is forgive-able, or the offender treated differently because of the offense.

So, is it wrong to forgive and forget, or is it the only way to truly forgive? Thoughts?

OK, this post has a dual layer meaning. First, the obvious reading:

WE’RE HAVING A BABY!!! We are SUPER excited to share this with everyone. As far as commonly asked questions are concerned;
No we don’t know what it will be yet, yes we will find out, and no, we don’t really care which gender it is :^)>

Now for the second layer:
I’ve been reading through Francis Chan’s Forgotten God. It’s about the Holy Spirit and how He has essentially been forgotten in most churches today. In the first chapter, Chan provides a beautiful insight:

…if you or I had never been to a church and had read only the Old and New Testaments, we would have significant expectations of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

So far the book has been great…and extremely challenging (if you couldn’t tell already). So my question is, what are you expecting from the Holy Spirit. What is it that you expect the Holy Spirit to do in your life and the lives of those around you?

Later in the chapter, Chan has the reader ask themselves a very pointed question: “When was the last time I undeniably saw the Spirit at work in or around me?” So that is my question to you also. How has the Spirit undeniably worked in or around you? Francis Chan also challenges, “If you are having trouble recounting a time when the Sprirt was at work in or around you, perhaps that is because you have been ignoring the Spirit.” Take that in…mull it over. See you guys next time…oh, and GO GET THIS BOOK!

Go Get This Book!!!

So for those of you who didn’t know, the past two weeks Denise and I worked overnights to help “reset” the housewares, furniture, and domestics departments. It was a long and tedious process, but I think we did pretty well.

One thing I noticed while we were on nights was how much I slept. We would usually get home by 7:30 or so in the morning and get to sleep shortly after. I would from there sleep until about 5:30 or even 6 o’clock at night. For those of you would don’t want to do the math, that’s close to 11 hours of sleep…everyday…for two weeks! Crazy experience all the way around.

So, would you rather…

Get too much sleep or not get enough?

Having gone to both extremes on several occasions, I would have to say too much sleep. You can always work your way out of the funk. With not enough sleep, I just drag. At least until a beverage laced with far too much sugar and caffeine comes along ;^)>

So which would you rather?