Pass the bacon

I think bacon is God's way of saying, "I'm still here, and I love you. Everything's gonna be alright."

It's never the right time, but there's never been a better time

As I've continued to reflect on the journey that has brought us to this point in our lives and the life of Emmaus Road Church, I've become convinced of the following statement:

It's never the right time, because it's always the right time

A simple illustration to explain: As the Allied forces prepared for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, the element of surprise was their greatest weapon. Although they amassed hundreds of ships and thousands of well-trained soldiers, it was only a minuscule number compared to what would eventually be needed to break out of the beaches of Normandy and eventually liberate continental Europe.

The point is this, had they waited until they had every last ship, tank, cannon, soldier, and bullet they thought they'd need, they would never have landed and the outcome of the war would have been vastly different.

There are times in our lives, and I believe they are many, when God calls us to some great and difficult task. We sense it in our hearts and perhaps even long to respond, but the fear that we're underprepared holds us back. "I don't have the right training." "Who will go with me?" "How will I provided for, and how will I provide for my family?" Such questions, while legitimate, can become the antithesis to walking by faith.

I've recently met two women who have stepped out beyond the need for answers to these questions to the front lines of faith. They're an inspiration to me to continue in what God's called us to at ERC. They've chosen to walk at the edge of faith where only God knows the way ahead and He must come through for them.

From time to time, young married couples will ask Barb and I "When is the right time to have children?" I simply tell them that there's never a "right" time--there's nothing you can ever do to fully prepare yourself for the wonderful challenge of parenting; choosing to have children is something you step into knowing that it's a decision you have to grow into.

Following God's calling, obeying His voice, joining Him in reclaiming the earth for Him requires us to recognize that although it's never the "right" time, according to our standard of how things ought to work, there's never a better time than the present.

Now is the time!

Sucker for infomercials

Over the course of 13 years of marriage, Barb and I have picked up a few items directly from informercials or after they've shown up in stores (don't mock, I know more than one of you own a George Foreman Grill). So, if you're brave enough to admit it, I was wondering what items others of you have purchased and whether they've been crap or actually decent.

Here's my list:

My first purchase (I was in high school) of an infomercial product was the famous "Soloflex". You know, it looked less like a machine and more like a work of art. I didn't, however, buy it from tv, but snagged it (w/attachments) for $350 from an ad in the paper. It was sturdy enough and well designed, but I never liked the feel of pushing and pulling the rubber band weights. Used it more for chinups and dips than anything else. Sold it 10 years later for $200. I'd give it a grade of C.

"Sweepa" picked up at Ohio State Fair in late 90's. Still have it, and it actually works like it says. Grade: B+

"Salsa Master" also picked up at the Ohio State Fair. Makes a great fresh salsa. Also chops nuts well and cleans up quickly. We don't use it much though. Grade: B-

"Walk Fit" shoe inserts. After paying hundreds of dollars to a podiatrist and purchasing expensive inserts from his office that did nothing, I decided to try out these babies. Ordered about 7 years ago off of TV from a hotel room in Effingham, IL (funny name--say it aloud). Still wearing them today. A+

When we lived in Kansas City, one of our homes had Brown Recluse spiders, aka Fiddlebacks. Not something you want around unless you like huge, festering lesions on your skin when they bite you. So we tried the plug in pest repellers, which we bought at a store, to get rid of them. These absolutely did not work. Grade: F

"Magic Bullet" ordered directly from television (bad idea). Good product--we've used it a lot. Great for protien/milkshakes, smoothies, grinding coffee and chopping nuts and hard candy. Juicer does not work well at all. Grade: B

"Tempur-Pedic" mattress. Okay, no, we didn't spend $1500+ on a mattress, but we were convinced we wanted to try out the "memory foam". So, when it was time for a new mattress, we bought a really firm one, and then I found a foam supplier online and ordered a 3" memory foam mattress "topper" with a similar viscosity (that's important, fyi) as a Tempur-Pedic mattress for about $200. Truth be told, it is very comfortable (although hot) and I'm guessing the Tempur-Pedic would be great. I don't think you really sleep any better though. Grade: C because of cost.

The "Swivel Sweeper". So, if you have hardwoods or any other hard-surface flooring AND you have young children, you probably should run out and buy one of these now. This thing cleans up crumbs like the LAPD cleans up a crime scene. Parents purchased our first one from a box retailer. The second one we picked up new for $5 at a garage sale. The only down sides are that it's not as great as it says at working on carpets--not bad, but not great--and it's not as durable as you would hope for $35 new. Both are now defunct, and we're using the "Sweepa" again. Grade: B because of durability.

A year and a half ago, I was up late watching the 50-year-old Tony Horton doing the kinds of pushups and chin ups I could only dream about at 33. Ordering the P-90X DVD series wasn't far behind. Learned my lesson, though, and bought it off of ebay for cheaper and without all the hassles of S+H. The workouts are for real and the videos are great quality, but alas, I've yet to complete the 90 day routine. Grade: A+

Here are a few items I don't, and probably won't ever have, but would like if I could afford it.

#1 Fein Multimaster--Always need more tools, especially cool ones.

#2 Snuggie (just kidding)

#3 Chef Tony's "Miracle Blades"--Can you say "rock and chop!"?

So, what do you have, and how's it working out?

Rewind

Watched Paolo Nutini on "Austin City Limits" the other night. Can't stop listening to his songs. Here's "Rewind." You're welcome.

Things you may not want to do as a pastor #237

Tonight some good friends of ours invited us to join them for a night out. So, after the babysitter arrived, we met them at Blue Pacific Grill for dinner and then went on to the Funny Bone comedy club at Fat Fish Blue to catch some live stand up comedy.

We had a great time with our friends, but I learned something of great value tonight, and it's this:

"Pastoral Tip #237"--For future reference, it's probably best NOT to invite a neighbor or friend to a comedy club as a way of building a relationship with them--unless incessant profanity and vulgarity are elements of your approach to witnessing.

A word to the wise.