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]