What if we all went counter-cultural this Christmas? What if we leveraged what we had in the name of a savior baby for those who don’t have anything?

I know these guys at Advent Conspiracy. They are solid people. My brother went on a trip with Living Waters this past summer to Central America. Go check them out. Make a conspiracy become a reality.

About a month ago I started feeling a little fried- not burnt, but a bit crispy- like you get when it’s late in the day at the beach and you start to turn a little pink and know it’s time to head in. Little things started bugging me. I was getting short with Kristen and the kids. I started seeing people as a pain instead of a gift (that’s a sure sign for an extrovert like me). I wasn’t creative and didn’t want to be.

So, I booked a little down time, and took it last week. We opted for one of those trendy “stay-cations”. Things started off with a bang, literally, when Gavin broke his arm. He thinks his orange and blue cast is pretty cool though. Ask him to sign it.

I did a little hunting and actually took thanksgiving dinner for us. That was really cool to do thanksgiving that way. My mom was out of town. So my dad came over to eat with us. He brought three homemade pies!

I preached at a friends church last Sunday. I love communicating. The church was an amazing 150 year old building. The people were great and engaged the talk. I met some friends of Access. But in the end, I missed my church. I was glad to be back this weekend.

Last week we decorated the house with lights and put up all of the decorations and tree. I’ll post pictures soon. We updated our Christmas imix and started the music playing.

All in all, I had a great week just being with the family and available for doing anything they wanted to do at any old time. What did you do last week?

I just thought I’d change things up here at OF. What do you think?

Do you like change? Does change excite you, scare you, drain you? What kind of change are you going through in life? Is there a constant amidst the change for you?

1 Timothy 1:15-17, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Wow! I’m humbled. I was just thinking the other day how I fool myself when I believe I bring anything to the table. It’s all Jesus, all the time. I don’t know how I could be more thankful for anything or anyone.

6:26am- kids are up and ready to go for the day
7:04am- eating platters for breakfast (Gavin’s choice every time)
9:13am- into the attic to get Christmas decorations down
9:31am- testing Christmas lights
10:07am- off to Sears to get some extension cords & power strips
11:02am- trimming bushes
11:44am- lunch break (I love Diet Coke)
12:15pm- Kristen & I scrub the kitchen floor (I tried to clean the grout last night and it left some sticky residue)
12:49pm- finish up yard work- mow, edge, blow
1:30pm- shower
1:41pm- play a game of miniature pool with Gavin
1:56pm- fill out my expense report
1:58pm- blog this

I wonder what the rest of the day will hold for us? What do you do on a day off?

When I was 11 years old, I was dirt bike racing with some friends. I took a jump, flipped over the handle bars, flew through the air, and landed with my left arm straight out taking the full force of the fall. I broke it so bad that the bones came out of the skin- compound fracture. And all I got was a dingy, white cast.

Fast forward to this week. Gavin broke his arm playing football with a friend after school. It wasn’t a compound fracture, but he did a pretty good job of breaking it. And it was his right arm to boot.

We went to the orthopedic surgeon today and they got him all put back together. I’m still in awe of how brave he’s been through all of this, not complaining once about the pain. First stitches a few weeks ago and now this. He’s a champ.

Anyway, look at the cast they gave him! They asked him what kind he wanted. He said orange and blue. That’s my little Gator! I can’t believe how cool casts are today. He even has his first signature on it already.

What color cast would you get if you could pick?

I had the chance to speak at a friend’s church on Sunday. I missed Access, but it was fun. Here is a thought from the message: Gratitude is not a reactive emotion, but a proactive discipline. “Give thanks to the Lord for HE is good, HIS love endures forever” 1 Chron 16:34

The passage doesn’t say, “If life is great, give thanks” or “If you get dealt a raw hand, then there’s no need to be grateful for anything.” It just says to give thanks. The passage doesn’t mention how I feel, good or bad. It doesn’t talk about events that turn out great or poorly. It doesn’t describe relationships that are loyal or betraying. It just says to give thanks.

The Apostle Paul, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Thes 5:18. He thanks God in every one of his letters and some are written from prison. He was a guy who had been the best of the best, top of his field, then beaten, falsely imprisoned, and shipwrecked.

And what that means practically speaking is it’s a proactive discipline rather than a reactive emotion because it is a command of God. Here and across scripture, we’re told to give thanks in all situations. We don’t like to talk about commands of God, but it with the command comes a principle that can change us and that is that we don’t have to be ruled by our emotions that are driven by our circumstances. We can be ruled by One who is always good and always loving.

It also means that hard times and potentially emotionally times can be the crucibles in which thankfulness can really be a spiritual discipline more than a reaction to emotion. It is a discipline that is not only a result of faith, but it is a tool that God can use to shape us.

How can we be grateful people as an expression of faith? How can we teach our children to lives their whole lives as an expression of gratitude?

Gavin broke his right forearm yesterday playing football after school. This makes two trips to the ER in three weeks (last time was because he split his head open). They xrayed his arm and put him in a temporary cast to let the swelling go down. We’ll probably spend most of the day with the orthopedic surgeons today.

I can’t believe how brave Gavin is. The kid has an incredibly high pain tolerance! We’re doing our best to have some fun with this- everyone in the family has to eat left handed now.

On a side note, when we prayed at bed last night, Gavin didn’t say a word about his arm, but went into a long list of people he was thankful for. Simply stunning. If we all could be so grateful in the midst of pain…

I totally ripped this video off from another blog, but I have to share it.

I love the quote, “Everything’s amazing, but nobody’s happy.” What are you thankful for today?

ps- I had a post a few days ago that I said you weren’t suppose to read unless you were going to comment. Hundreds of you broke the rules. Shame on you, blurkers!