Merry Christmas

LeAnn, the kids, and I are enjoying some time with my folks as well as my brother and his family at my parents place in Pella, IA. We've enjoyed seeing my mom in the church's drama team on Sunday, taken in a candlelight service last night, opened up presents this morning, and eaten lots of butterhorns (a Bird family tradition).  It has been a very Merry Christmas.

Wherever you are, I hope today has been a very Merry  Christmas.  Even if you had to work today, or you weren't with the loved ones you wanted to be with, or something else that would be grounds to complain with, remember that a couple of thousand of years ago, a child was born who grew up for the purpose of dying for the sins of mankind.  And that means that you and I can have a Merry Christmas regardless of our circumstances.

To close, here are the words to one of my favorite Christmas songs written by Andrew Peterson:

While shepherds watched their flocks by night, 
All seated on the ground 
The angel of the Lord came down, 
And glory shone around 

"Fear not!" said he; for mighty dread 
Had seized their troubled minds 
"Glad tidings of great joy I bring 
To you and all mankind 

To you in David's house this day 
Is born of David's line 
The Savior who is Christ the Lord 
And this shall be the sign: 

The heavenly babe you there shall find 
to human view displayed 
All meanly wrapped in swaddling bands 
And in a manger laid" 

Hallelujah, Hallelujah 
Hallelujah, Christ is born 
Hallelujah, Hallelujah 
Hallelujah, Christ is born 

"All glory be to God on high 
And to the earth be peace 
Good will henceforth from God to man 
Begin and never cease"

The Adventures of the Birdnest (2007)

Another Christmas, another Christmas letter from the Birdnest. This year's creative twist? A comic!

Click here to read the PDF of "The Adventures of the Birdnest! (Issue 2007)"

Junky Car Club

I am part of a club that I haven't officially joined, but I've been unknowingly part of it the past few years. The club is called the Junky Car Club. To join, you simply have to have a car that is 10 years or older, and the money you would normally use for a car payment for something "nicer" goes toward some cause.

One of the causes mentioned is Compassion. LeAnn and I started sponsoring a Compassion child our first year of marriage, and now sponsor two sisters in Tanzania (looking to add a boy next year when my son, S, turns 5).

And I drive a 1996 Ford Taurus Wagon with 146,000 miles on it. Not exactly the kind of car I would normally pick, but it gets me from home to work everyday without too much complaining (the transmission slips a little, but nothing is screaming under the hood at me). So I guess without even trying, I qualify for the club.

I might join officially, but part of me doesn't really want to. I mean, the club is about giving up something to give something. I think that is awesome, but in all honestly I don't feel like I've really given up anything. I give to Lucia and Rosina through Compassion because they need it, not because I need to go without a nicer car. I give to my church because of our mission to share Christ with our community. I give to missionaries because they are sharing Christ with people I can't. I give to local charities because they are making a difference in people's lives. I guess I wouldn't think twice about it.

So I'm conflicted about joining. I want to join to inspire others to give up something in order to give something, but I don't want to make it look like I'm trumpeting my own greatness. I guess I prefer to fast in secret rather than let everyone know.

More Purging

Looks like I'm not the only one who has been purging things in his life.  Gordon MacDonald writes about how he recently purged his cell phone contact list.  Perhaps there is a lesson or two in here you and I can learn.

Coming out of the Closet

One of the many projects LeAnn and I didn't get to during my first week off in November (due to my illness) was purging our closets of old and unused clothes.  In our 13 1/2 years of marriage (as of today - I'd like to wish my wife a happy half-anniversary), we have never truly purged our closets.  We still had worn out clothes from our high school days sitting on our hangers.  While it was tempting to keep them preparing for the 80s fashion retro fad, we knew it was time to help our clothes come out of the closet.

I was eager to begin the project, but the first few items I was pulling out, I found myself hesitating.  I didn't want to part with these pieces of fabric!  So I compromised and created a "maybe" pile.  I was surprised at how I wanted to keep these things, even though I hadn't worn them for 2 or 3 years.  But once I got going, it became easier and easier.  In fact, I started having so much fun, I was even willing to take the risk as a husband and tell my wife what she needed to get rid of! :o)

Eventually, all of my "maybe's" went in to the bags destined for Goodwill.  And I was pleased at the sense of peace it gave me to have my closets cleansed.  The more I learn about myself, the more I realize how uncluttered I prefer my environments, so it feels really good to walk into a thinned closet, knowing I have everything I need and perhaps someone else will benefit from the items I no longer was using.

So give yourself a Christmas gift this year by getting rid of a few things out of your closet.  It might put you in the Christmas Spirit more than you expect.

A lesson from the Dr.

Yesterday marked 3 weeks that I have now been sick.  When we got back from Michigan, I decided to go to the doctor.  My doctor's office was too busy, so I went to a walk-in clinic not too far from my house.  The on-call doctor there listened to my lungs, said they sounded pretty rough, diagnosed me with "acute bronchitis", and prescribed some insanely expensive drug that is obviously not working.

So I called my doctor's office again yesterday, hoping to get in today.  Out of 5 doctors, the earliest they could get me in was on Monday afternoon.  There was an outside chance one of the doctors would have an opening today, so I was told to call this morning to see if there was an opening.  Turns out that doctor took the day off.

Thankfully one of my doctor's nurses called me, asked me some questions, got a prescription suggestion from my doctor, and called it in to the pharmacy for me.  I plan to pick it up on my way home.  I was told that if I wasn't better by Monday, to call and they would squeeze me in.  They seem to agree with me that 3 weeks is too long to go with bronchitis.

As I got off the phone though early this morning (before the helpful nurse called me), I couldn't help but feeling like I should switch doctor's offices.  Mine was apparently too busy for me.  Maybe I should switch to someone I can actually see.

Then the thought hit me - it's the same way with churches.  Often times the leaders of a church are too busy for their flock.  And the people get frustrated, feel like no one has time for them, and so they start thinking of leaving.

But if pastors, teachers, and other leaders work at reproducing themselves, no one gets left out.  There will always be someone available to help out.  That's why I was so thankful that the nurse called me and helped me get what will hopefully be the solution to this bronchitis (or whatever it is).  I couldn't get to my doctor, but she could and she helped me out.  My doctor had "reproduced" himself and had others available to help his patients out.

This is a great reminder for me.  I've been so busy this 2007, and I feel like lots of people have fell through the cracks.  But if I was "reproduced" and others were available to minister, listen, and help those in need, no one would get left out.

So if you are ministering somewhere in your church, who are you developing?  How are you reproducing yourself?

And if you aren't serving in your church or some ministry or making a Kingdom difference in your community, get involved.  Learn from someone who's already doing it.  Because we need you - we don't want anyone feeling left out and that the Church has no time for the very people that Christ died for.

Bird Christmas Gift Tradition

A friend has asked me to blog about my family's gift tradition. I once shared it with him and his wife, and as they have recently entered parenthood , he's asked if I would not only share it with him again, but with everyone through my blog.

Up front, I have to admit that this tradition is not original with me or my wife. A different friend sent me an email article years ago that talked about this gift tradition, and my wife and I liked it so much we have adopted it for our kids.

The tradition is based upon the 3 gifts the wisemen gave to the Christ child in Matthew chapter 2. This helps guide our decision making into what we give our kids, and it keeps us from getting caught up in the consumerism of the culture. It also helps teach out kids contentment and being thankful for the gifts they do receive, even though it is only 3 gifts for each of them (which means twelve presents this year- maybe we should stop having kids or change our tradition! :o)

The first gift mentioned in the Scriptures was gold. When we think of gold, we think of something precious or expensive. So our kids' "gold" gift is usually something very special, something we wouldn't normally give them everyday, but is something that will be precious to them. We often wrap this gift in gold wrapping paper.

The next gift mentioned is frankincense (or incense, depending upon which translation you consult). Incense is known for its aroma, something that smells sweet to the nose. The Scriptures tells us that our prayers are like incense to God. And so LeAnn and I use the "frankincense" gift to be something that will help our children grow spiritually, so their lives are a sweet aroma to God. Last year we gave the girls devotional books. This year we already have Salem's incense gift when we saw a sale a couple months ago at the local Christian bookstore. We've also given CDs with worship music, and even Bibles to the kids when they reach reading age.

The last gift is myrrh. Myrrh is used for embalming. This was a very practical gift since Christ would one day die on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and would have his body prepared for burial (because they didn't know he was going to resurrect!). So LeAnn and I make the "myrrh" gift a very practical gift for the kids. Often this gift has been clothes the kids have needed, or something else that would be useful for them.

LeAnn and I enjoy the creativity this tradition brings to our Christmas celebration, and it forces us to be very intentional in what we buy for which child. Each kid is honored individually, and yet they are equal with the rest of their siblings. And the best part is that our kids enjoy the tradition and they are very curious each year as to what their 3 gifts will be. This has been a wonderful tradition for our family, and if this helps some others out there with their own Christmas gift purchasing - great!

1 Post FOUR 2 Thoughts

I'm sitting at the Burger King in Ludington, MI, which amazingly has free Wi-Fi, enjoying a wonderful vacation.  My best friend Leo is sitting across the booth from me listening to my copy of Robbie Seay Band's awesome new album, Give Yourself Away.  The kids are enjoying the Playland.  And I'm posting a quick blog post with this rare opportunity at Internet.  And since I have just a short time to blog, I'm going to use this one blog to post a couple of different thoughts.

S Turns Four

I was rudely awakened yesterday when LeAnn shook me in bed saying "Erin, I need your help.  S wet his bed."  So I went into the bathroom to help with my son.  As he stood there on the bathroom rug while we waited for LeAnn to come with a wash cloth for cleaning him up, Sstarts to giggle.  And giggle.  And giggle.  I try to keep him quiet since the rest of the house is still asleep, but he just can't stop himself.  He's got goosebumps from being cold, he's waiting for dry underwear and pants, and yet he can't keep from giggling.  And that's when it hits me - he knew what day it was.

Yesterday we had the wonderful chance to celebrate S's fourth birthday.  He had been counting down for the whole month of November, and thankfully the day met all of his expectations (well, except for the way he woke up with a wet sleeping bag!).

As her present to her little brother, K planned a wonderful party with games, prizes, and cake.  The theme was "trains", so we played "The conductor says..." (instead of "Simon Says"), pin the steam stack on the train (instead of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey"), and ate a cake decorated by LeAnn with a train (and sprinkles for smoke - this picture was taken just after the candle as the cake is being cut).  The Bird and Anderson kids had a blast, and S giggled all day.

I am so thankful FOUR the years God has given us with S, and I pray he gives us many more together.  Although he is a four-year-old boy full of energy and lacking focus at times :o), he is a wonderful little boy who is very bright and loves to bring laughter to our household.  Happy B-day, S!

Thankful FOUR much...

With tomorrow being thanksgiving, there is much I could say about all the things I am thankful for.  My family.  My friends, the Andersons.  This vacation.  Overall, I'm thankful just to be alive and on this vacation with my family.  A little incident on our trip here snapped everything back into focus.  So here's the story...

Before we left last Saturday, I did my routine check of the van's oil, fluid levels, etc.  In that routine, I check the air pressure in the tire.  Each tire was a touch low, and knowing we were traveling in cool weather with a big load, I wanted to take the tires to the max pressure level.  So on our way out of town, I stopped at the local Casey's Handimart to use the air pump.  But something was wrong with the pump - I could only get each tire up to 32 lbs., not the 35 I wanted.  I spent 20 minutes trying to get the tires higher, but it just wouldn't pump anymore.  I finally gave up because we were already 30 minutes late getting out of town, and now we are even later.

So at a bathroom stop in Atkinson, IL, I found an air pump on the back side of the building.  I saw this as God's provision, so I pulled up the van while the rest of the family was finishing up inside.  While the pump in Cedar Rapids couldn't pump past 32, this pump could pump to 320 in less than a minute.  It was fast!

My now-four-year-old was "helping" me, take the valve stem covers off and holding the tire gauge for me while I placed the air hose on the stem.  The first tire I counted to 10, and ended up having to deflate 10 lbs out of the tire.  And as I pulled the hose off the stem, I noticed it "stick" a little bit.  Second tire, same story.  I did even less time on tire three and thought I had figured this thing out.  At that moment LeAnn walked out and I announced I just had one more tire to go and it would only take a couple of seconds.

My son, S, removed the valve cover for me, and I placed the hose on.  I counted to 2 and pulled the hose off.  Or at least that's what I wanted.  But the hose "stuck" again.  So I pulled more.  And more.  The hose was still pumping in the air, and I started getting really concerned.  I started fearing the tire was going to blow and I've heard horror stories of injury and even death from blown tires.  I start pulling frantically and repeatedly yelling "No!".  This scared S, who ran away screaming and crying.  I kept pulling and pulling thinking that at any moment this thing is going to blow and I'm going to be seriously hurt.

Suddenly it gave!  I found myself on my rump holding the hose - with the valve stem still stuck in the hose end!  I had pulled the entire stem valve out!  All the air I had just pumped in escaped out the whole vacated by the stem, and I screamed "No!" one more time, this time out of frustration and not fear.

So an hour later we were back on the road with a spare tire, and I reflected on everything that took place.  I realized that rather than being frustrated that the valve came completely out, I should be thankful because it probably spared my life and any injury to my family.  While we lost a lot of time and didn't arrive at our destination until 3 hours later than planned, we made it alive and didn't have to have our friends visiting us in a hospital.

So on Day FOUR of our vacation, I find myself thankful for many things, but the first to mind is just the opportunity to enjoy being with my family and friends on this earth for a while longer.  May you find much to be thankful for, even in the midst of the inconveniences of life.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Murphy's Law of Vacations

So for the first time in my life, I am taking two weeks off from work.  Week #1 is for catching up on house projects.  Week #2 is for relaxation in Michigan with our good friends Leo and Michele.

But of course, as Week #1 is underway, I'm sick.  Sore throat.  Sore voice.  Aching back.  Aching muscles.  Bad cough.  Headache.  Yuck.  And so I have accomplished basically nothing yet.  I did mow the lawn yesterday, but my back and muscles were quite mad at me last night.  So the thought of climbing on the roof to hang Christmas lights or hovering over a sink to repair leaky faucets is not very appealing.

On the bright side - at least I'm not puking!

iPhone Surprise

[sarcasm] Gasp!  I'm SOOOOOO surprised by this article from Time about the Invention of the Year!!! [/sarcasm]

OSome

Has it really been a month since I've blogged?  I knew it had been a while, but not THAT long...

I'm here at East Iowa Bible Camp for the New Covenant Pastor/Deacon/Elder retreat.  I love being with these guys (and gals - we love you Colette and St. Pat Rieck!).  It is so inspiring to be with such servant leaders.

But while some of the presentations were going on tonight, I decided to let my computer do some work while I listened.  Yes, Mac OS X 10.5 (aka Leopard) arrived in the mail today.  The upgrade went absolutely flawless (under 50 minutes), and my initial "poking around" (after the presentations!) has left me with a very favorable impression.  It doesn't feel all that much different than Tiger, but that is totally fine with me since I absolutely love Tiger.  Tiger was the best and most mature OS I've ever worked with, and Leopard so far appears to take it to the next level.  It's "OSome" (that's my weak attempt at merging "OS" and "awesome" in case you hadn't figured it out...)!

Great job, Apple!  Once again, I'm a happy customer.

My boring blog

Finally I know why my blog is so boring.  I don't post frequently enough.  I don't post about enough current topics.  I seem to be more of a drive-by blogger.

But I'm content with that.  I blog for myself and any young adults (or perhaps their parents) that might actually be interested in reading one of my thoughts.  I know my blog doesn't contribute very much to the grand scheme of life and God's Kingdom, but sometimes it is the perfect format for me to just share my thoughts.  And (based on the very nice person who just stuck their head in my office moments ago (unbeknownst to what I was typing here) and said how much she enjoys my blog) it occasionally blesses others too.

So I think I'll just stick to the way I've been doing things.  Even if it is boring.

Misperceptions of Father

This afternoon while getting my kids a snack, my 3 and a half year old, S (pictured) said "Daddy, you are really big! You must be a hundred!" Now, you have to keep in mind that S's favorite number right now is the century mark. To him it represents a lot - the most he can possibly conceive. He often will say "Daddy, I love you 100!" So he was actually trying to complement me, not insult me. But my 5' 8" frame couldn't help but gently shake as I laughed at the misperceptions of my son.

As I laughed at S's misunderstanding of age and size, the thought hit me that I probably do the same thing to God. I underestimate His size. I miscalculate his wisdom. I misinterpret His ways.

I just hope that God can still smile and laugh at me because He can even see in my childishness that I still hope to grow up to be like Him. Even if S thinks I have to be 100 before that happens!

Razooing Blood:Water Mission

I got an email asking me to join Blood:Water Mission's group on a new action-oriented social networking site called Razoo. If Blood:Water Mission gets enough members, they could be selected as winner of the Change Your World Contest, which would award them $10,000.

Blood:Water Mission is doing great things helping Africans get clean fresh drinking water from wells right beneath their feet. I'd encourage you to join Razoo as well, and after you confirm your email address, click on http://beta.razoo.com/groups/bloodwatermission to join the group and help them out.

Waiting for Marriage

USA Today published an article about young adults and their "wait" for marriage.  I knew the average age of first time marriages was increasing, but this gives further evidence to this fact.

According to the article, "[t]he trend toward delaying marriage has emerged over several decades as economic and social forces have made it more difficult for those in their 20s to reach independence. Sociologists and demographers say other factors are also at work, including increasing numbers of cohabiting couples, more highly educated women who have fewer highly educated men of comparable age to partner with, and more choices open to women than in decades past."

I would personally add to this list:

• Looser Sexual Norms:   Each generation tends to move further and further away from the expected sexual norms of their parents' generation.  Media (both professional (TV and cinema) and self-published (such as YouTube)) seem to reflect this.  Why wait for marriage for sex when you are encouraged to enjoy it outside of a long-term marriage commitment?
  
• Pain of Divorce:  The children of the divorces of the 80s are now adults and have no desire to experience the pain they watched their parents go through (and that they themselves experienced).  So why rush into marriage when it appears it will only bring arguing, separation, and pain?
• Extended Adolescence:  Sociologists have been extending the age of adolescence to 26, and in some cases I've read, age 30.  We seem to be maturing slower, whether because of our upbringing, parental examples, education, or past experiences, and so we simply aren't ready for the responsibility of marriage.

Those were the first things to pop into my mind, and I'm not surprised one bit by the USA Today article.  And I don't necessarily see this as a bad thing - I would rather have people wait until they truly are ready for marriage than jump in to soon and wreak havoc upon a relationship through their selfishness and immaturity.

Thanks to Church Relevance for the link.

Losing Hymns for Him?

I may get in trouble for this post, but I've wanted to blog my thoughts on this subject for several weeks now and am finally carving out a bit of time to do so.

A while back I read a note in which the author, sharing his or her opinion about hymns, said that he or she was "afraid we are raising a generation of young people who will never be ministered to by these godly hymns."

First off, I want to say that I love the hymns.  But it isn't because I grew up with them.  I was raised in a church that reacted to the dead faith of the churches in our area by singing contemporary songs in our church service.  The adults in my church family had experienced life in Christ, and they didn't want to sing the same hymns the "dead" churches were monotonously droning out each Sunday.  Simple Scripture choruses were all I knew growing up.  In fact, as a kid I thought Keith Green had written "Holy, Holy, Holy" for his Songs for the Shepherd album.  So when I transferred my sophomore year of college to John Brown, I learned about all these great hymns I had never heard before.  And I still love to sing them today.

But with that said, I believe there is nothing "godly" about the hymns.  They are simply songs (tools) designed to help us in our worship of God.  They are not equivalent to Scripture.  They are not inerrant.  They are not God-breathed, designed to last forever.

If hymns were designed to be passed from generation to generation, then I would like for someone to teach us some of the hymns Jesus and his disciples sang.  If ever there was a godly hymn, it would have been the one Jesus sang with his disciples after the Last Supper before they headed out. (see Matthew 26).  I'd also like to learn some of the hymns Paul knew.  He mentions hymns a few times in Scripture (see especially Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16), and I think he even records the lyrics to some hymns in Scripture (as some say about Ephesians 5:14).  But where are the melodies to these hymns?  Where are the lyrics to the hymns Paul didn't quote?  Where are these hymns today?

I think the answer is obvious.  God uses the music of the time and culture to create and craft songs through his worshippers to exalt Him.  It isn't a tragedy to God to have these hymns "lost", because He is not tied to cultural forms of music.  The tragedy is when people hold the hymns (or any song or form of worship for that matter) higher than the things that truly last.

Now, if a hymn can take the heart and mind of a worshipper to the heavens and to the foot of God's throne - wonderful!  That is what it was designed to do.  But if other songs are doing the same thing and the hymn is lost, I believe God is just as glorified and the worshippers have lost nothing.  God wants our hearts, not our hymns.  Worship is about the One on the throne who died for us, not about the one in the pew longing for their own personal forms and traditions.

Blogging on Phrogging

A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the concept of phrogging.  According to Urban Dictionary, phrogging is the act of secretly living in another person's home.  This concept has been brought to the limelight by a documentary called Living With Strangers. and ABC's i-Caught.  Supposedly most phrogs are young adults who don't want to work a 9-5 job, but want the "pad" of a working professional, so they hop from place to place enjoying the amenities without having to pay the rent.

I watched a couple of the short videos on the Living With Strangers website.  A part of me was (and still is) very skeptical that people really do this (and skeptical that the documentary was true).  Another part of me was creeped out by the idea.

But then I had another thought.  I realized many people have been phrogging churches for a long time.  They attend worship services every week, but never make their presence known.  They consume from the church, but never contribute.  They want the conveniences of the church, but never join the family.  Then the jump to another church for whatever reason they decide.  In short, they miss out on the things that really matter and bring the greatest joy.

Maybe we should create a new entry on Urban Dictionary for "Church Phrogs..."

My 200th Post - MyPhone

Recently I was researching for a message I'll be giving in a month, and as I did so I read a guy's blog where he started it off by saying "The iPhone is now MyPhone". Well, those words are now MyWords.

To celebrate my 200th blog post, I'm going to admit to the world that I now own an iPhone. One of my friends who shall remain nameless (but his initials are Mike Goril) said "Erin, I'm a single guy who gets paid very well, and even I can't justify buying an iPhone.  How does a guy like you afford to get one?"

Well, Mr. Anonymous Mike and all those with similar thoughts, let me tell you a story that will hopefully glorify God in the purchase of a little gadget...

My church has asked that each of the Equipping Staff have a cell phone.  I was the last one to not have one.  I knew that I would function best with a smartphone - to have my PDA and cell phone combined.  I've used Palm OS systems for years, so I figured I would get a Treo 680, the least expensive Palm on the market.  But a "free" Treo 680 actually ended up costing $40 more after a 2-year contract than an iPhone did after its 2-year contract.

So I was surprised I was even considering an iPhone.  I mean it was too expensive, right?  But then Apple started selling "refurbished" units (which I now believe was actually a clearance of brand new units given their recent decisions concerning the iPhone) for $100 less.  So now I needed to come up with $400.

I happened to be on the Tapland forums (which I hadn't visited for probably a year), and someone in Uganda was wanting to buy a Zodiac 2, which was the PDA I was using daily.  So I offered to sell it for $100 and my new Ugandian friend agreed to it and paid the shipping.

So then I needed to come up with $300.  As I pondered this, I realized I am planning to close my web design business this fall, and in doing so, that frees up the almost $200 in that account.  So now I need to come up with $100.

Because I sold my Zodiac, I needed to go ahead and purchase the iPhone.  But I kept praying that God would somehow provide the last $100.  So when Apple announced on Wednesday they were dropping the price of the 8 Gb phone $200 and getting rid of the 4 Gb altogether, I was confused why God didn't lead me to wait until the price drop.  But then I "just happened" to see on a website that Apple has a 10-day price guarantee.  I quickly looked at a calendar, and lo-and-behold, I had purchased my phone exactly 10 days before.  I immediately called Apple, sat on hold for an hour and a half, and finally heard the good news that not only would I be refunded $100, but I would actually be refunded $150 because I had purchased a refurbished unit.

So my "$500" iPhone actually ended up costing $250, and I won't have to spend a penny out of pocket.  While I've struggled to understand why God answered these prayers for me and hasn't answered others (lots of messy ministry situations right now that I am aware of, plus many messy situations around the world), all I know is that God clearly worked in this situation and I am SOOOO grateful.

Hopefully this was a worthy enough story for my 200th post...

The perfect church service...

“The perfect church service would be one we were almost unaware of. Our attention would have been on God.” (C.S. Lewis)

Back to the Blog

Long time, no blog.

The excuse? Busyness. Pure, unadulterated busyness. I've been so busy I haven't even READ blogs, let alone have time to write on my own. In fact, I started this blog 2 weeks ago on Aug. 24, and yet here I am two weeks later finally finishing the post.

But I hope to resume as I am sure all three of you out there are dying to know what's happened in my life and that the blogosphere has deeply missed my voice among the millions and billions of blogs floating around in cyberspace.

Rather than unleash all my thoughts at once, I will try to share some of the blog ideas I've had over the past several weeks over the next few days. We'll see how it goes...

Entering a Cult

Yes, it is true. This summer I joined a cult. I had heard of this cult for quite a while, and naturally I doubted this cult held the truth. But its adherents (some of which were other pastors on staff at New Covenant who evangelized me upon my return from the Czech Republic) seemed convinced of the veracity of their "theology", and I was desperate for help, so I drank the Kool-Aid. I read their "bible". I began to implement the principles. I'm an early convert and not quite ready to make disciples, but I'm giving this a true college try.

In case you are afraid for me, I want to assure you I'm used to these cult things - I am a Mac user, own a Tapwave Zodiac (at least DID own one until last week - more on that in another blog), have been a Nebraska Cornhusker football fan my whole life, and have been drinking Mt. Dew since childhood. So I am used to these sort of things.

So what is this cult? Why, it is the Getting Things Done cult, of course. The "messiah" of this cult is David Allen, author of the bestselling book by the same name. I am still only 75% of the way through implementing the GTD system (busyness has kept me from getting "Getting Things Done" done), but I can tell already it is going to help me in the long run.

It took a lot of time to begin the process of converting the whole organization of my office, task handling, schedule, and life, but I'm glad I'm giving it a try. Administrative stuff has always been a weakness of mine and I needed help. But it appears GTD has come to the rescue. Hopefully it will help me put in enough margin in my life to get back to blogging!

A Big Week of "Ds" at the Birdnest

A couple of important milestones are happening with the girls of the Birdnest, and as a proud dad, I thought I'd share them here.

A Double-Digits Daughter
It does not seem possible, but I am now the father of a 10-year-old daughter. My eldest, K, turned the big One-Oh yesterday. When asked by her Grandpa Bird on the phone last night if she felt different, she said "yeah, a little!" :o)

But she wasn't as excited about turning 10 as we thought she would - she told LeAnn last week that the bad thing about becoming double digits is that most people die in their double digits. Thankfully she isn't a pessimist most days...

I thanked God last night before our family celebration for choosing to place K in our family. Her laugh lights up our rooms, her creative mind is a blessing (most days!) to those around her, and her hunger for God is inspiring. She is a great big sister, a wonderful helper, a motivated learner, and an amazing daughter. K's name comes from the Greek word meaning "grace", and it truly was God's grace that has blessed us with K's presence. We love our little "venezolana" (who isn't so little anymore), and are thrilled she is part of the Birdnest. Happy Birthday, K!

A Duly-Dunked Daughter
While I was gone in the Czech Republic, my children watched video devotionals I made for the them. In one of the videos I made for M, I went out to Palo Lake to talk about fish (from Matthew 13:47-50). To help M know where I was, I mentioned I was at the spot where our church has held summer baptisms the past few years.

When the video was done, M turned to LeAnn and said "so when can I get baptized"? This led to a great conversation about the meaning of baptism, who gets baptized, and more. The conversation continued once I got back home from my trip, and much to my surprise, my shy little 7-year-old truly was ready to make her public stand of her faith in Christ.

So tomorrow night I get the honor of baptizing my second daughter at 7:00 pm out at the Pleasant Creek State Park. All on her own M decided that this was the right thing for her as a Christ-follower to do. And I couldn't be more proud (in the righteous sense of the word!).

I have a new hero...

I have linked to Eric Goodell's blog before, but I can't help but do it again. He has a superb (but mammoth) post about some of the things he has learned and experienced recently in Central America. His journal entry from June 21 is so good, that I'm posting much of it here for those of you without the time to read the entire online novel.

Pastor Bernabé is my new hero-on-earth. Thank You to Eric for sharing this:

I have learned a lot on this trip so far, but I can honestly say that the times that my eyes have been opened more than any have been with my conversations I have had with Pastor Bernabé [Ramirez] (pictured). Though much of my time has been spent here on the island has been spent in conversation with Bernabé, I think that more than anything, I have learned by watching this man’s life.

I mean, just two years ago Bernabé was a Doctor of chemistry making $204,000 dollars a year, had 14 employees, 3 chemistry businesses, a personal chauffeur, nice house and great recognition in the Latin American chemistry world. And simply because he wholeheartedly believed God called him back to his ancestors to preach the gospel, he abandoned it all and came.

He converted to Christianity 10 years back, literally saw a vision of him preaching the gospel to the Kuna people on these San Blas islands, and then fought it for 8 years before actually coming. Think about it, 40 years old, well established in his life, and yet he knew that he had to go. He said that it was like a feeling of anxiousness, a tingling in his feet such that he simply couldn’t resist it any longer. He just had to go. He forsook it all, packed his backpack, and came to the island not knowing anyone, nor having any training as a Pastor. He didn’t have a place to live or much of an income since leaving his profession. He has been supported by a church in Panama City but very little comes from there. And so there he was, one day a rich leader in the chemistry field, the next day on an island with an indigenous primitive tribe where the average salary is less than $5 a day.

Little by little, he took over an assembly of God church that had already been established on the island and gave it the name “Casa de Oracion Cristeana de Playón Chico” With the little he had, he began to fix up the broken down building, building benches and painting where it was needed. To this day, he is working day in and out to see the church raised up and the gospel message spread to the people of Playón Chico.

If the 180 degree turn in lifestyle weren’t enough of a challenge, the tests he faces daily are enough to make one throw in the towel. During the services, few adults come and when they do, it’s very inconsistent, and the children are running around making a huge scene throughout the whole service. It’s almost impossible to maintain a topic of doctrine two services in a row because the inconsistency in the attendance is so terrible.

He’s all alone and basically does everything by himself and gives his whole life daily for these people. He has to work hard in the hot sun and humidity in the fields trying to raise a little money to live on, to help feed his relatives on the island, the church, or works out on a canoe fishing for not only income but also to be able to understand what the people in the community experience on a daily basis. Imagine a Doctor, a prestigious, well known, educated Doctor of Chemistry out in the field covered in mud and sweat, sleeping in a hammock under a roof of palm branches, all to serve a people who don’t even seem to care? And it’s not just for a weekend or even a month long mission trip, but rather he is committed to doing this for the rest of his life if that’s what it takes to reach these people. Working, sweating, sacrificing, for what seems to be futile, and a waste of time, Bernabé is truly giving his life daily to serve God and these people.

When he came here, he had 15 acres of land passed onto him by his grandparents and had the option to sell them. But instead, he decided to become just like the people and farm the land himself. He spent an entire year alone in the jungle clearing land with his machete every day for 4 hours a day. He did this for two reasons: First, he didn’t want to have to be supported by the church. He wanted to work for his living and have food for his relatives on the island. Second, he wanted to experience what the Kuna people experience on a daily basis. He wanted to be able to talk to them about the things that interest them. Bernabé had an extremely formal and sophisticated education and could easily engage in a conversation of profound depth and philosophical topics with the brightest and wisest, yet with these simple Kuna people, he knew that he needed to master the topics that engaged these people’s daily lives; farming and fishing. He arrived to an island of people who had little if any education, with little understanding of the outside world, and a primitive lifestyle of farming and fishing. He wanted to better understand them, being able to sympathize with them, and build relationships with them even to his own pain and discomfort. Working out there for one day was hard enough for me, but it’s hard to imagine doing it day after day after day in the hot sun for weeks, months, even years in order to relate better to the people. It’s hard to comprehend that kind of sacrifice. But the amazing thing is that he doesn’t do it with an ounce of unwillingness or a feeling of superiority or obligation.

But the reason that I go into such detail about the life he has given up and the life he now lives is to give reason for my amazement when I see that this incredible man does it all with pure joy, and willingness, more than grateful to serve the Lord in even worse circumstances were they to come. Despite the apparent failures that daily plague his work, he never gives up hope, and keeps incredible faith that God is going to bring about the change in the hearts of these people and that God will finish the work He started on this island. Never have I seen such humility, such perseverance, and such faith in all my life and I can say that my life has been changed by the honor of spending 6 days with a person of such priceless and rare character. To sit there on a log in the middle of the hot, humid jungle with such an admirable man and to look into the eyes of someone whose love for God and for people drove him to such sacrifice was a real honor and privilege for me that day.

Sermonizing

I'm speaking at Encounter Christian Church this Sunday on 1 Samuel 14. I suppose I should get started with only 3 days to go...

If you don't have a church home, consider coming to Encounter this Sunday. Caleb, the pastor, is a really cool guy (who plans his sermons more than 3 days out) and they, as a new church, would love to have you part of their church family. Plus, they have church in a theater - how cool is that?!?! (My own church family is getting ready to do church-in-a-theater as well as we are starting a second location this September).

Leaving Teeth Marks in the Czech Republic

Long time no blog...

I've been itching to put some of my thoughts into this form of communication to help myself process all that took place during my time in the Czech Republic, and as a way to share what happened at the English Camp with some of you I might not get to talk with otherwise. So to begin, let me start in an unconventional way by talking about the book I took with me.

I knew we had some long stretches of travel, both by plane and train, to reach Hotel Malenovice, the location of the English/Business Camp. Being a bookworm who doesn't get to read as much as he wants, I wanted to take along a good book as a travel companion. I perused the stacks of unread volumes in my office. I knew I needed to pack light, so one book would have to do, but I needed something with some girth to last me the whole trip. I also decided I didn't want something too mentally challenging for travel, not knowing what state I would be in towards the end of the trip (I planned to get very little to no sleep to adjust faster to a different time zone), so something on the lighter side seemed more appropriate for my backpack. Then I saw it - after sitting on my desk for over two years (or was it three?), it was finally time to crack open flashBang by Mark Steele.

I have read articles by Mark before, and I find him to be absolutely hilarious. So I truly looked forward to reading a whole entire tome penned by him. And I was not disappointed. The book had me laughing to the point of tears at places (my teammates had almost as much fun laughing at my laughing...), which opened me up to the deeper points Mark was making. The subtitle of the book is "how i got over myself" and I enjoyed reading Mark's journey from showman for God to child of God. I would find much pleasure in handing this book out to many of the young adults I get to work with because I know they would enjoy the book and learn through it as I did.

But one of the chapter titles did not sit well with me. Each chapter title was intentionally a bit of a paradox, much like the book title itself. Chapter titles such as "slapHAPPY" or "dumbSHOW" didn't make sense until you read the chapter. But even after reading Chapter 2, I didn't like the title "teethMARKS".

Mark talked about how many of us think that love kisses. But Mark argued that true love leaves teethmarks. A kiss only flatters, but doesn't last. Teethmarks, on the other hand, leave an impression that stays with the person. Having a teething 10 month old son, I would argue from personal experience that teethmarks just hurt. :o)

So we arrived in the Czech Republic, enjoyed a day in Prague taking in the amazing sites, travelled by train out east the next day, and made it to the hotel. After a day of preparing for the arrival of the students, camp got started on a Sunday with English testing and getting to know names. I was so amazed how on Sunday these people were just faces with a name, but by Friday these people were friends we hugged goodbye. Here are some of the highlights of the week for me:

• My English class (pictured at the right). We laughed SOOO hard all week long. Man, did we have fun! They were such a great group to work with. I wrote in my journal to LeAnn that this group could take the worst of lesson plans and make the teacher seem like a genius. They had such a desire to learn, they had the most amazing attitudes, and they loved every moment we had together. It was such an honor to me that God would place me with that group. So Lumir, Tadek, Monika, Simona, Basia, Petr, Adam, and Roman - if any of you are reading this: thank you for letting me be your teacher for the week. You helped dispel every fear I had of teaching such high level English students and made it the most fun I've had in a while. And a special thank you to Adam for letting me be his English apprentice (sorry, inside joke there...)
• The change in my English Reading/Conversation Group. While I had fairly fluent English speakers in my 9:00-11:30 am English Grammar class, I had a new-to-English conversation group. It was fun watching and hearing their English improve all week long. But the bigger highlight to me was watching a group of mostly athiests or agnostics have little interest in our reading time on Monday (we would read a section of the Gospels in English each Reading time and answer questions about it to work on reading skills, comprehension, and conversation in English) have tons of interest and honest questions on Thursday and Friday.

There are of course many other highlights, stories, and pictures to share. But let me skip to our debriefing on the Saturday after camp.

After a good breakfast and a few last goodbyes, our team gathered for a time of worship, prayer, reflection, and debriefing about the camp. As our team talked together and shared our experiences, I realized that through our love of our students, time with the campers, and just being ourselves, we had made an impact on the campers and they on us. It wasn't just a kiss that was nice in the moment and faded after the camp ended. We truly had left an impression on the campers - or to use Mark Steele's phrase, teethmarks. Guess I like Mark's chapter title after all...

Visual Consumption

What looks like pretty desktop patterns/pictures but is actually a visual representation of the amount of material consumption in America? Chris Jordan's latest series of art work.

(This one depicts 11,000 jet trails, equal to the number of commercial flights in the US every eight hours. Go to the website to see the close-up view, along with many others).

Lucky Number 13

Yesterday was my 13th anniversary being wed to the most wonderful woman God could have paired me with. To celebrate, we left the kids at Grandma and Grandpa Bird's house in Pella while we escaped for a night to the Stone Mansion in Oskaloosa. We enjoyed shopping together, eating together, walking together, and just being together.

It was so needed for LeAnn and me to get "us" time in the middle of all this busy-ness and impending separation due to my Czech trip. It was also wonderful to get 9 hours of sleep after many nights of 4-6! Yesterday was simply a great day.

I am so thankful for my wife and for my marriage. After Christ, LeAnn is the best thing to ever happen to me. Being married to her makes me feel like the luckiest man in the world!

Bad Communication Habits

As I wait while my computer imports or exports video for a project I am working on, I've been catching up on some reading - blogs, emails, forums, etc. I just read a post on Monday Morning Insight about communication, and boy did it hurt! I struggle with the first 3 "bad communication habits" more than I'd like to admit. Thankfully the last 4 in Todd's list aren't much of an issue for me, but still missing the mark on 3 of them is bad enough.

Do you struggle with any of these? If so, please join me in correcting them so that we can make sure that everyone we come in contact with feels valued.

Happy Birthday, M!

Today was my second daughter's 7th birthday. We had a great family celebration over breakfast with scrambled eggs and chocolate-iced doughnuts, and then got the joy of watching M unwrap her new scooter.

As we ate breakfast, K (the big sister) came up with a brilliant idea. "Let's each say some things we appreciate about M." And here are some of the wonderful comments we shared with our special "M Poema":

We appreciate M's joyful, comical spirit. We love how she makes us all laugh. We appreciate how she cares for her younger brothers. We appreciate how she cheerfully serves (most days!). We appreciate the art and cards she makes for all of us and others. And we are thankful that God put her in our family.

We love you, M! Happy 7th Birthday!

It's never too late

No matter what anyone tells you, it's never too late to seek your dream. And it is amazing how far perseverance can take you. Here is a lady proving it...

If I knew you personally and could shake your hand, Nola, I would. But a blog post will have to do. Congrats, Nola!

The greatest donation yet...

As I have shared on here before, I am going to the Czech Republic this June to help teach at an English/Business camp. As I shared in my letter I sent to friends and family, I need to raise some money in order to go.

I have been humbled thus far by the generosity of several people. While I haven't raised the full amount yet, I have received some VERY generous gifts, and I am extremely honored by these financial offerings.

But today I received the best donation yet. No, it was not the largest. But it was the most meaningful. My oldest daughter, K, baked cookies and brownies (with a bit of help from Mom) and made some Kool-Aid to sell outside. She spent most of her day in the front yard selling her baked goods and colored drinks to the walkers, bikers, and neighbors that passed by. At the end of the day, she had earned over $40 dollars. When she combined this with the money she had earned from jobs she's been doing the past month, my 9-year-old daughter will be donating over $50 so that Czech business professionals can see Christ in me and hear him in my words.

I am so incredibly humbled by my daughter's wonderful attitude and actions. Truly, this was and will be the best donation I receive.

The photo is of K and me after her piano recital two weeks ago.

Feed the Pig

My friend, Kim Pagel, has a great post about debt and young adults on his blog, with some amazing and sad statistics, most of which I think are provided by the Feed the Pig website. Take a look.

Buy a shoe, give a shoe

My dad worked in the art department (correction - he WAS the art department) for a small chain of retail shoe stores in the midwest for over 30 years before moving on to something new 4 years ago (which they just successfully sold this year to move into semi-retirement. Congrats Mom and Dad!). Because of Dad's job, I used to get to "shop" in the warehouse, having my pick of hundreds of name brand shoes at employee pricing. Oh, how I miss those days.

So while I don't have a fetish, nor a closet stuffed with footwear, I do like shoes (but I have to admit I don't understand women who go shoe shopping when they already have like 50 pairs in their closet - two everyday wear and one dress pair is enough, right?).

Because of this appreciation for a good pair of shoes, I really liked this site. TOMS Shoes combined the idea of footwear (important) with helping others (very important). While I'm not a huge fan of the appearance of the shoe, I love the idea, so thought I would share it!

The Habits and Joy of Holiness

I've been wanting to post this quote for over a week now, but am finally making time to do it...

"[A] definition of habit is 'a behavior pattern aquired by frequent repetition.' This is the principle underlying the fact that the more we sin the more we are inclined to sin. But the converse is also true. The more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to say no."

(From Chapter 14 "Habits of Holiness" pp. 181-182 in the 25th Anniversary edition of The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, copyright 1978, 1996, 2003)

And then today I read this one in the final chapter...

"Jesus said, 'If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my FAther's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete' (John 15:10-11). In this statement Jesus links obedience and joy in a cause and effect manner; that is, joy results from obedience. only those who are obedient - who are pursuing holiness as a way of life - will know the joy that comes from God."

(From Chapter 17 "The Joy of Holiness" pp. 207-208 in the 25th Anniversary edition of The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges, copyright 1978, 1996, 2003)

No News is Good News

I have been wanting to post my thoughts about the tragic events that occurred at Virginia Tech ever since I heard about them (which was actually Tuesday morning - I've been a bit disconnected from the news recently). But what is there to post? I've been praying for the students and families affected by this awful tragedy, read the blogs of many who were in the building when the shots went off, caught some of the news programs about the event... but in the midst of this tragedy, does anyone really care what I think? Hopefully our thoughts are with those who have been devastated by these events, not with what general bloggers think about them.

But today I did have a thought I felt worth sharing. I saw online today that the gunman sent a package with video and photos to NBC after killing the first two people, before he headed over to the other building where he brutally ended the lives of 30 more. NBC did the right thing by allowing authorities to view the items for the investigation, but did the wrong thing by showing parts of it and distributing it to other news outlets.

This is exactly what the gunman wanted. He wanted to be famous. He had been starved for attention before his decision to take out so many, he hoped to at least get the attention after his suicide. He wanted to inflict all the pain he felt inside onto others, even beyond those who murdered and wounded with bullets. And NBC was his weapon of choice.

Rather than focusing on the gunman, which gives him the fame and might likely encourage future killers just as lonely, just as attention-starved, just as mentally messed-up, the attention should be solely on those whose life ended that day, or are in hospitals from Monday's events, or are related to those shot. Let's focus on the victims - make them the human interest story in all of this. Don't let someone with such deep depression receive the attention - he was starved for attention before the incident, it's too late to change that, so let's not try.

And yes, there is a reason I have not used the gunman's name in this post. Hopefully after reading you know why.

Uncreatively Creative

Is it just me, or is this an extremely uncreative idea? Everyone has a day - Earth Day, Mother's Day, Administrative Professional's Day, Nurses Day, Sweetest Day, Anti-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Day (ok, I made that last one up). So how creative is it to come up with a day for creatives?

If they really want to be creative, they should do something on the equivalent of February 30th every year.

Or celebrate creativity on every day beginning with "M' and ending in "Y" in every month that begins with "M" and ends in "Y".

Or celebrate creativity on the 11th of the 11th month at 11:11 (oh wait, that's Veteran's Day).

Or celebrate creativity everyday! Now THAT's a creative idea.

From CR to CR (Cedar Rapids to Czech Republic)

This June, I will get the privilege of going with 6 other people to the Czech Republic to help with an English/Business camp. My church has conducted this camp for the past 7 years, and I am thrilled to finally get to be apart of it. We partner with our sister church in Trinec (on the eastern side of the country) and with International Messengers, a missions agency that specializes in English camps. Rather than re-type everything here, I've made a PDF of the letter I'm sending to friends and family that you can read.

If you would like to support this trip financially with a one-time gift, please email me so I can send you the appropriate form to include with your check to International Messengers.

If you want to support me through prayer, whether you give financially or not, also please email me so I can send you updates of what I and the team will need prayer for.

Holy Bodies...

Read this hard-hitting "2x4" a couple days ago. Once again it is from Jerry Bridges, this time with help from Michel Quoist and Susannah Wesley...

Our physical bodies and natural appetites were created by God and are not sinful in themselves. Nevertheless, if left uncontrolled, we will find our bodies becoming "instruments of wickedness" rather than "instruments of righteousness" (Romans 6:13). We will be pursuing the "cravings of sinful man" (1 John 2:16) instead of holiness. If we watch ourselves closely, we can see how often we eat and drink just to gratify physical desire; how often we lie in bed in the morning simply because we don't "feel" like getting up when we should; how often we give in to immoral looks and thoughts simply to satisfy the sin-tainted sex drive within us.

Michel Quoist, in his book The Christian Response, says, "If your body makes all the decisions and gives all the orders, and if you obey, the physical can effectively destroy every other dimension of your personality. Your emotional life will be blunted and your spiritual life will be stifled and ultimately will become anemic." Over 200 years ago Susanna Wesley wrote, "Whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind - that thing is sin to you."

I needed this one today...

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society

A fresh approach

I appreciate it when people take a fresh approach to something ordinary. I think that is one thing (of many) that attracts me to Jesus. He was routinely taking the mundane things that people took for granted and breathed fresh life into them. Whether it was religious traditions like the passover or daily jobs like farming, Jesus had a way of making you think about these things in new ways.

In our day and age, websites are extremely common. So how do you make your site stand out? Here's one author's very creative attempt to combine humor, out-of-the-box thinking, and advertising into one website that will attract attention and readers. I have no idea if she is a follower of Jesus, but I can't help but think this site makes Christ smile.

(Thanks to Seth Godin for the link)

Will success change you?

I am not a golf fan. I understand the game from friends and in-laws who love the game, but I have no desire to take up the sport nor lose time watching it.

But today I was changed (if just temporarily). Cedar Rapids native, Zach Johnson, was surprisingly in the hunt. During a commercial break on another program I was watching with my kids this Easter afternoon, I flipped channels and noticed on CBS that Zach had a two stroke lead over Tiger and a couple other golfers with about 5 holes to go.

I was glued! My oldest daughter suddenly became a golf fanatic as I described the game and Zach's possible accomplishment. We cheered his shots, groaned over his bogey on 17, and held our breath while the last few golfers finished out. In the end, the Iowa-boy ended on top! (Or should I say "bottom" since it is the lowest score that wins?)

I got online tonight to find out more about Zach's accomplishment when I saw this excellent post by my good friend, Kim Pagel, who caught some of the post interview. What impressed me most is that when Zach was told how this would change him, Zach said "My professional life will change, but I will continue to be the same person as I was before winning the tournament. I've got supportive people around me who will see to that. I'm just a midwest boy from Iowa."

What a great response and attitude! Hopefully it will turn out true, especially if Zach finds more success on the links. And hopefully I will have the same response and attitude if the Lord brings success my way (obviously it won't come on the golf course!).

Photo from ESPN.com