I wanna go!

Hey Church, here's the RULES

[Mariah, this post is largely for you]

On Tuesday during lunch, I read 1 Timothy. The whole book.

A few weeks ago I read The Year of Living Biblically (One man's attempt to follow the bible as literally as possible), by A. J. Jacobs. It's an awesome book, by the way. You absolutely should read it! I don't care if you're religious or not; this book will have both sides of the Aethiest/Believers arguments saying, "See? I told you so!"

Anyway, so I read this book by A.J. Jacobs. It was great, but he asks some hard questions to which I don't have any real answers. Mainly, "Where in the Bible does it say that Jesus abolished all the 'old' laws?" The answer? Well, like I said - if you were paying attention... "Pay Attention!" - I don't really have any clear ones.

Certainly, Jesus became THE sacrifice, so I suppose the laws regarding offerings/sacrifices are no longer exactly applicable. But what about the rest? Hmm? HHMMM??

Right. It seems we chose to just "lump them in there" because they're either kinda weird, or totally inconvenient... or kinda weird AND totally inconvenient.

So back to my first statement. I read 1 Timothy. The whole book. Don't know what it says? Well, don't be a lazy ass... pick it up and read it!

In short though, it's all about rules - specifically rules for the church. And (as you may have guessed) Paul writes them in a letter to Timothy. This should be wildly clear since - if you know your books of the Bible - Timothy is post-Jesus, but they definitely apply. In other words... no excuses people. We're totally screwed here, as there's no "easy out" for these babies. These laws aren't "lump-able"!

Actually, when reading them, they make a lot of sense. Furthermore - still with me Mariah? - they tell the church how to function, both inside the church, as well as with the outsiders.

(Ok, a bit of explaining the Mariah thing here. On Memorial Day, we were having a discussion about how many churches no longer seem to teach how we're to respond to other religions, or even what our "jobs" are as believers. Sure, they take offering, and perhaps have a "Global Missions" week/month... but the Bible has some pretty explicit declarations about our duties as the Church. Once again, don't be lazy... read the book.)

So 1 Timothy gives some very important (while rather logical) instructions. I think it's about time we do at least attempt to live according to the rules God put in place for us. I'm one who wholly defends the "spirit of the law" concept. (I have some serious issues with our judicial system and how the spirit simply gets ignored) However, in this case, I think the letter of the law applies too.

Decay from the Inside and God's Mighty Hand

For a time will come when all the earth will be filled, as the waters fill the sea, with an awareness of the glory of the Lord. Habakkuk 2:14

I had planned on writing this earlier, but haven't had a chance until today. I mentioned it at the beginning of my last post. This is topic #2.

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh on the radio. His conversation was regarding Abortion, and specifically Obama's speech at Notre Dame. Since it's been a day or two, I don't remember all that Rush was saying, but he did point out the fact that even churches and religious organizations are beginning to alter their point-of-view on Abortion in order to maintain a "welcoming" non-confrontational element to their church so that people will come. He mentioned a poll that stated that XX number of people who go to church are now pro-choice, and feel that it is right to be so. (I don't remember what the XX number was, but I do remember that it was ridiculously higher than I had expected).

Anyway... that's all not really the point. It just got me thinking. Thinking about churches. About how churches, in order to appeal to new believers are often focusing on the "Life Application" teaching of the Bible. How teachings are now just filled with "good thoughts" - almost like the teachings of Confucius - rather than real scripture. How those good thoughts are beginning to dangerously miss the point, and veer off the path of righteousness.

God does teach about love. Jesus, did say it was the greatest commandment. But since when did one commandment make the rest null and void? God is Love, but God is also a Jealous God. In other words, there's far, far more to God than many churches today are talking about, focusing on, or - shamefully - even believing in. There are rules, people... rules He expects us to adhere to.

The church is constantly hammered on by society. We get attacked everyday. However, I began to think that the loss of focus on real scripture - on teaching straight from the words of God - is what is ultimately the biggest danger. For those of us who have been at least partially paying attention; We're so focused on outward attacks that we're missing the fact that the battle is now inside our defenses. Our castle walls have been breached by diggers, and the very foundation of those walls is in danger of being sapped.

It made me feel that finding a new church... a church that focuses on God's teaching, and doesn't ignore that God has far more characteristics than the "mushy, soft, feel-good" one's... finding a new church is more important than ever. I love the soft side of God. I lean on it everyday. If God didn't love me like I believe He does, He certainly would have given up on me long ago.

That doesn't mean that God is single-faceted. It simply means that I play favorites with the parts of God I love the most. :) But I want to really, really know God. I want to know about the King, Lord and Ruler - the part of God that guides, commands and controls everything. I want to know about the Father - the part of God that loves me unconditionally, gently reprimands to keep me on track, teaches with His example, and is proud of me as His own when I succeed. I want to know about the Creator, and all-knowing all-powerful Alpha and Omega - the side of God that can do the impossible, that understands things to a depth I can't imagine, that is far more creative than all the minds of this earth put together, and that stands outside of (and actually forms) all bounds of understanding and thought. I want to know about the Savior - the side of God that sacrificed more than I ever will, for reasons I only partially understand. I want to know about the Friend - the side of God that longs to commune with me, also for reasons I only partially understand. And Especially, I want to know about the Holy Spirit - the part of God that is sitting here with me, as I type this very sentence.

So, I've been bothered by this fact that churches are very lost. Today, I prayed for scripture to read during lunch. God said, "Habakkuk". "Cool", I thought, "obscure, and different. I know the book exists, but do I even know what it says? Not likely."

So cool! So very, very cool. You must read it. And when you do, if I missed any important "lessons", please let me know. Here, in short, are the three things that God said to me:

1) "I'm in control. Not only am I in control, I'm active. I'm doing things that even you wouldn't believe if you were told about them. Simply watch, and be Amazed!"

2) "My timing is perfect, and My works are flawless! These thing I plan may not happen right away, but slowly, steadily, surely the time approaches when My vision will be fulfilled."

3) "When evil thrives, it is I who allow it, for nothing is outside My control. But do not despair, for I allow it so that I can show my power and be glorified. When I allow the wicked to raise up, I allow it so I can tear them down and diminish them. Then my power will be known and My glory revealed!"

Mark 14... strange inclusion

I have 2 topics which I want to write about, but I'll split them into two separate posts, so I'll simply being with the first one here:

Read: Mark 14. This is what I did during lunch today. I went to lunch alone, bought my Turkey Tuscany panini from Brueger's Bagels, sat outside (it was such an amazing afternoon), and prayed and read the Bible. I started with my prayer, and ended asking God what He wanted me to read.--

-- I'm still learning how to properly communicate with God. Don't get me wrong; I understand that God doesn't really care how I speak with Him... and yet at the same time, I think there's something to be gained and learned from understanding how to properly communicate with Him. There's a certain reverence that should be involved; an understanding of the many, many forms in which God expresses His relationship with me (King, Savior, Lord, All-powerful Creator, Provider, Father, Friend); a required understanding of God's makeup - the Trinity factor and how each element should be addresses and plays a role in communion with God; all these things that I'm still learning about, still trying to understand. Does it keep me from reaching out to Him, from talking with Him? Absolutely not. However, just because He allows me to seek Him - in spite of my lack of understanding about the complex Lord that He is - it doesn't allow me to be off the hook for learning. Ignorance is not an excuse, but through His mercy, He's allowed to "rules" to be ignored. But I digress --

So I asked God what he wanted me to read, and I felt like I was being told, Mark 14. Have you ever read Mark 14? As it turns out, I have. Or rather, more appropriately, I've had the "content", the story of Mark 14 (and likely even had the specific scripture itself) read to me.

It's a nice enough story: Pharisee's want to kill Jesus, but it's the Passover so they decide to wait. Judas agrees to betray Jesus. They eat the Passover meal; Jesus breaks bread and drinks wine; Jesus declares he will be betrayed. They go to the Mt. Olives where Jesus takes James, John and Peter further up ahead and then Jesus prays by himself. Judas comes and betrays Jesus. Jesus is tried before the Sanhedrin. Peter denies Jesus 3 times.

"So...?"
"So, What?"
"Exactly."
"Huh?..."

Don't get me wrong. This is powerful stuff. I just don't know what I was supposed to gain from it. So I decided to pick apart the things that stuck out to me. I don't really have explanations or solid ideas about what I'm supposed to get from it all, but I decided to share with you my "current" lasting-thoughts.

1) Pharisee's, while wanting Jesus dead, are worried about doing it over the passover because of fears of rioting, so they decide not to do anything yet. Then Judas comes to them and offers to "betray" Jesus. Suddenly - apparently - it's OK to take Jesus during the passover? Furthermore, the pay Judas to do what exactly? Show the guards who to arrest? Wasn't Jesus well known enough that he was recognizable by the religious leaders already? So how exactly did Judas betray Jesus? Why did the Pharisee's pay Judas to do what they could already do without him if it was simply saying "There he is! Arrest Him!"?

2) When Jesus says to the disciples, "You'll all abandon me", Peter says, "I'll never abandon you. I'll die first!" They then go to the mountain to pray, and James, John, and Peter fall asleep while keeping watch for Jesus... To which Jesus responds, "Try to stay alert and pray, otherwise temptation will overpower you. For your spirit is willing enough, but your body is weak." This hit home. How many times have I been disgusted with myself for continually falling prey to my own wicked desires... even after I've prayed over and over and over again, "Lord I give this to you. Forgive me and give me strength." And it's true. It's not that in my soul I'm a wicked person, but rather that my body is weak... thus giving up my wickedness is not necessarily a "Change of the Heart" - a phrase we so often hear in christian-ese lingo - but rather a "Preparation of the Heart."

Jesus doesn't say, "Peter, this proves you lack of loyalty to me. How evil of you! You have a lot of work to do to change!". Instead, Jesus acknowledges the weakness of the body, and gives the answer... "Keep alert and pray". The shame is not in the fact that the body is weak... it is what it is, and will always be... the shame is not not being prepared, since we have the knowledge that the body is in fact weak. Too often I come down on myself for not "being strong enough"; but that is misplaced energy. Rather, I simply need to accept the fact that I'll never be strong enough. Instead I need to take that knowledge of my weakness and compensate for it with prayer and the Armor of God.

3) Perhaps the most confusing thing that stuck out to me: Versus 50-51
"Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him, they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked."

Umm... yeah. I looked at this account in Matthew, Luke and John. None of these mentioned this account of the "young man". So I wonder... A) Who is he?, and B) Why was this deemed important enough to mention?


Young naked men aside, I still don't know why I was to read this passage.

A Chance for a Ministry - Using my gifts

So I wanna run something by you guys, and I want your input/ideas/comments. Yes this particular blog requires participation. I don't mind the normal "blog-stalking", but I request that you break the silence at least this one time. I also ask that you share this with people you think might also be helpful, so I can get their responses as well.

Y'all know I'm a programmer. As such, my "unique" skills don't often have a place when it comes to ministry as it relates to the poor, needy, and 3rd world countries. This has always bothered me because I'm called to use my gifts to "further Christ's kingdom", and I'm also called to help the poor, sick, widows, and children. I've wanted for a long time to be able to combine my skills with this need, and I think I've found a way.

This will be a long post because it contains an idea for a ministry. Those of you who may be reading that don't consider yourself "religious"; don't tune out yet. This is a ministry idea, true - but in reality it is just a good thing to do, and I think you'll still identify/appreciate the idea.

Ok, so here goes:

Wendy, Julie, Kirk, Wendy's bosses Anita and Jerry, and I just recently went to a Children's Hunger Fund (CHF) fund-raiser/sponsorship-awards banquet about 2 weeks ago. As I'm sure you gather by the name, this Charity feeds children/poor/needy people all over the world. They do more than that though. They also provide medical care, and clothing - I'm not sure if they also provide education, but it wouldn't surprise me.

While at this event, they awarded/acknowledged people and organizations that have provided significant contribution to their mission (even if the contribution was not directly through CHF but instead through a parallel charity). Two companies that they honored that do contribute directly to CHF were Dole Foods, and Nestle. They also honored the Chapman's (as in Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife) for their own personal ministry called Show Hope, and Focus on the Family for their contributions to society.


I make E-Commerce web sites for my "day job". In other words, I make online shopping cart systems. (Think shopping at bestbuy.com, or better yet, checkout one of the sites I've actually done: Swell.com or ActiveRideShop.com) This is what I'm employed to do... and I really enjoy it. However, I also have a bunch of personal projects that I'm trying to complete, all relating to programming. Given that my commute takes up approx. 2 hours of my day, and I work for 8, that leaves me very little time for my numerous other projects.

This presents me with a very big problem as it pertains to ministry. Where do I get time to add a ministry to the list? I thought hard about this... and I was extremely reluctant to give up on any of my dreams relating to my personal endeavors. Then I thought, "What if I could turn my day job into one that meets the needs of charities like CHF, without quiting my job?" This would mean that I would have to find a need for 3rd world countries and the poor to make use of an ecommerce website... which doesn't make a lot of sense, since they aren't likely to have computers with internet access in these 3rd world countries...

... and then it struck me. I'm looking at my role in these ministies backwards. Maybe I should be looking to facilitiate the supporting of the charities by others, rather than directly supporting the charities themselves.

AnitaG, Inc. (Wendy's company) provides clothing and financial assistance to CHF. Major corporations like Nestle, and Dole also provide financial (and perhaps food?) assistance. Besides believing in the Charity's mission; Why do major corporations give?

Well, besides "feeling good about themselves", there are tangible benefits. There's a major tax write-off for charitable contributions (though there is a limit). Additionally, there's the public exposure and image - they can appear to be "good" companies, which can potentially drive people to pick them over their competitors.

In the case of the Tax write-off, there's a limit to how much the giving actually helps. Plus, they still have a company to run and be profitable, so there's only so much "direct giving" they can do before it just doesn't make financial sense. It perhaps isn't even that they wouldn't give more... they just hit a wall of how much before it doesn't make sense.

As for the public image... well, this only works if the public is aware of your giving. In the case of CHF, many of you might not even know about them, and I'm sure most if not all of you certainly didn't know that these companies were contributing. In other words, the opportunity was lost.

So I came up with an idea, to assist companies in capitalizing on both the tangible opportunities presented by giving. The idea is this:

Create a website "in the name of" CHF (or any other worthy charity). Like any other ECommerce site, there is a shopping cart, and a list of products. These products are provided to the site a very low cost by companies like Dole, Nestle and AnitaG. Perhaps they are provided "at cost", or maybe with a very small mark-up. The products have the companies brands extremely visible. Consumers can purchase from this site, and see the companies who's product they are purchasing. This breeds consumer awareness about the companies "good deeds", and potentially even makes a very small profit (or at least covers all production costs) for the company. Reporting tools are available (our system already has them) for tax/write-off purposes. Plus, the companies aren't out any costs, and thus it doesn't "hurt" them to extend the amount of giving they do.

Here's the thing... the product that is purchased is not purchased for the consumer, but rather on behalf of the consumer for the charity!

Example: AnitaG provides a girls dress for a cost of $5. It costs them $4 to make and ship. So if you, the consumer, purchased this dress, AnitaG makes $1 profit. Furthermore, you now have purchased a dress for the charity, and the charity will actually receive the dress to give away to the poor, etc. You know it was an AnitaG product you purchased, so it creates good-will with you toward AnitaG. Also, AnitaG has a charitable write-off (they normally sell the dress to retailers for $8), which is complied in a report for them by the Ecommerce system. In the same way, the consumer (you) gets reports for your tax purposes too (that's right, you get a write-off as well!). The Charity gets material to give away. Everyone wins!

What about the ECommerce system? It costs something right? Right... But at a reduced cost to the charity (thus a write-off for my company). Plus, these major corporations that are submitting their product??? EXPOSURE!!! That's right. Hopefully, they will see our system in action and like it (they still have consumer-driven businesses to run), and decide to use our system. In other words, the charities site becomes an instant relationship to these corporations, and hopefully will pay off in sales.

Even cooler: Our system has a Wishlist functionality. Ever been to church during christmas, and they have a "gift-drive" where you grab a gift request by some poor child, and buy that gift? Well now imagine the ability to go online and pick through wishlists (created on behalf of these kids by the charities on their site) and fulfill them... all online. Churches recommend/support these sites to assist the ministries they believe in and love.


I talked to my boss about this idea. I was worried he'd say, "that's a nice idea, but not really on the plate for any time soon", or "that doesn't really fit with our future", or something of the sort. Instead, he loved the idea. He thinks it's great! So there you have it. It's more important to me than ever, because I actually have an opportunity to turn my secular job into a ministry providing for other ministries!

So, where do you come in? My boss likes the idea so much, he told me to write it up professionally. We talked about it again today, and he wants me to do something this weekend if I have time (In other words... "it's a good idea, so lets not waste time. Get it done!") I want to make sure I don't miss any aspects of this, because the better I make it, the more likely it is to happen. So I need your clarity of thought. What have I missed, both in opportunities, as well with hurdles to its execution?

Heck, if anyone of you has the "ins" with a ministry that could benefit from this which is big enough to drive the "promise" of this idea (so that the "business" minded people see the promise and want it to happen), that's also very helpful.

First ever Indy Caruana/Wilson Regatta

So, as you can read on Wendy's blog [ http://icouldeatandblog.blogspot.com ], we had a blast in Indiana with the Caruana's (and the Fitzpatricks during part of the trip). Anyway, it had been a plan of mine to do something "new, interesting, and fun with the Caruanas" - primarily the kiddos - and so I thought a great deal about what we could possibly do. Some of the ideas I considered were horseback riding, hot-air-balloning, visiting a random place, and paintballing, among many other good and not-so-good options.

In one moment though, I had a brilliant idea (ok, so it was perhaps not brilliant, but it was at least pretty stinkin' good)! How about spending some "craft" time making boats out of household items (which itself is pretty cool) and then racing them down the creek that is behind the homes across the street?! Pretty clever yes?

So we did exactly that. We found some red plastic cups in the cupboard, plastic knives, twine, ducttape and scotch tape, and chop sticks. Josh helped Hannah, while I helped Jonny design boats. Even Caleb got in on the action. We did much of the technical work, but we did allow them to be the decision makers, and help where possible.

I mean, as boring as it would be to do this; being the great uncle that I am, I was totally willing to sacrifice my personal desires in order to do something nice for the kids. And when they kids got distracted, or began to lose their fire for the idea during the craft part, I stepped in with my fun "uncle-ness" (that's uncle, and awesomness combined, in case you wondered) and made sure to keep the excitement up to ensure that they enjoyed their experience. and when Jonny grew tired of building his boat, and was convinced it was enough and ready for decoration; I was sure to support him by gentle and kindly showing him the error of his ways, and went the extra mile to "assist" him with making sure his boat was of the best possible build.

As you can see, not only did I have a great idea, but I worked tirelessly and selflessly to ensure a quality time for everyone. I know, I know... I know what you're thinking, but please no praise... I am "just a man" after all.

So back to reality. In the end, they were creations that they could be proud of... and I have to admit that it was pretty darn fun for myself (and I'm assuming Josh).

When all was said and done, the kids decorated their boats with stickers, and named them, while I made my own simple little boat.

Jonny's - Jon
Hannah's - Styla
Mine - Silver Bullet

Then it was time to put them to the test. We headed out to the creek with much excitement, posed for one last picture (thanks Wendy) and launched them! To our very pleasant surprise, they actually floated...

...at least at first. Jonny's went well at first, but on the first rapids, immediately capsized, and remained a "submarine" for the rest of the race. That said, as a submarine his ran very very well!

Hannah's worked so well, and the sail that she[read: Josh] meticulously worked on actually functioned!!! The problem? It functioned too well, and the wind - which was blowing upstream - kept her ship very slowly creeping upstream, then sliding down, then slightly up, etc. etc.

Mine actually ran far better than I expected (Because the bottom half was made of cardboard whith duct tape on it; I half expected it to just wilt and sink). It survived all the way to the end of the race!

Anyway, so Hannah's finally hit the first rapid, and also capsized, which destroyed her paper sail. This actually was a good thing since - now sail-less - her ship ran very well.

We followed them for a very long time, freeing them up when grounded, and each of us maintianed first place for a significant portion of time. Finally, Hannah's took over with a little help of a new-found power source (she found a stick with which she could push it along), and in the end she maintained her lead.

In all, it was a very very fun experience! Besides the fun, Josh left the competition with fresh ideas "learned" from the first experience, and is determined to scrap and improve on his - ehem, I mean Hannah's design. To paraphrase/quote him, "on the next one, I plan to get out the power tools". I think this might be a lasting tradition. I guess we're gonna need to come up with some sort of trophy.