Wednesday, June 30, 2010

"Clean The Shed"

Spent 2 hours this morning taking almost
everything out of my shed, cleaning it,
having the kids help clean it, and putting
almost all of it back in in a more organized
way.

Not quite spring cleaning, let's call it:
The Last Day of June Cleaning.

I found things in there I could not remember
why I was hanging on to them.
I found things that I hadn't been able to find
in some time.
I found things, well, let's just say stuff that I
have no idea where it even came
from (including dead things, nothing mammal :)

It was a good exercise, and was good to get the
heart beating a little more than it does while
I sit a the computer most of the time.

But it's clean. Spotless? NO.
Eat off the floor? NO. Workbench? NO.
But it's as clean as I can ever make it.

Much the same is my life.
The Master has made me clean, once for all time.
Yet, when left to my own self, my
life becomes my shed... it starts to lose it cleanliness.
I make a mess of it.

I do things, I never even remember them.
I do things that I never thought I would do again.
I do things that I had no idea that I was able to do.
Things.
Not nice things.
Selfish things.
Things.

And yet, I have this...

"How much more, then, will the blood of Christ,
who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences
from acts that lead to death, so that we may
serve the living God!"
Hebrews 9:14 NIV

I can clean my shed. But I have not the ability
to cleanse my life. Thanks be to God.

Friday, June 25, 2010

"SiMPLe"

Still can't see the bottom of the lake.
Still can't smell roses on the cake.

Still can't hear the truth in class.
Still can't feel the smoothness of the glass.

Can't seem to find the guy who knows.
Can't seem to know the river that overflows.

Some day, will I really ask?
Some day, will I truly seek?
Some day, will I dare to knock?

SiMPLe as it seems, I'm alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, I'm free.
SiMPLe as it goes, I'm free.
SiMPLe as it goes, I'm free.

Well, son, simply put, YES.
Don't focus on the way it's become a mess.

Well, son, I can truly say:
I have walked the road some day you may.

There is one who understands it all.
Just make sure you don't miss the call.

One day, You will ask.
One day, You will seek.
One day, You must knock.

SiMPLe as it seems, Be alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free.

SiMPLe as it seems, Be alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, Be free

Today, You need to ask.
Today, You need to seek.
Today, You need to knock.

SiMPLe as it seems, You will be alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.

SiMPLe as it seems, You will be alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.

SiMPLe as it seems, You will be alive.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.
SiMPLe as it goes, You will be free.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

"This Is Levi"


He might be the funniest of the four.

There is a comedian in our home.
Well, he thinks he is funny anyway.

He does seem to have a sense of humor
quite unlike the other 3 children roaming
the hardwoods of
Trimbleland.

And if the
platypus doesn't convince you that
God has a sense a humor, I invite you to come
to our house and spend a few hour with Levi...
the 3rd son of Jacob... the big funny ha ha...
THE BABY of the family.

But there is a seriousness to this character...
well, serious to everyone else and maybe not
him. See, Levi has a milk and dairy allergy.
And All of us at home are well aware of it
and are very cautious with what we eat and
how we handle our food... and Levi.

It's a major ordeal. It trouble me, but doesn't
worry me. It concerns me, but doesn't stress me.

But as this free spirit is growing older, he's starting
to notice that he eats different from the others on
some evenings. Hey, it's hard to give up milk
and cheese just to keep him completely away from it.

Not sure if that's fair to him... allowing him to exist
arms length from a disaster, but it's how we roll.
Vigilantly roll.

Some day, we pray, Levi will outgrow his allergy.
That's all we really can do. Stand aware,
be prepared, pray... the rest is up to our
Sovereign God.


O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
who shields my head in the day of battle
PSALM 140:7 NIV


Friday, June 18, 2010

"Father"

Sometimes I wonder...
when did I become my father.

The things I use to hate to hear...
now I utter them to my kids.

Actions I swore I would never make...
those same actions now I take.

When did I morph into the man...
who I said I would never be like.

Not 100% the same...
yet, somehow, more than 0%.

I guess all those times he asked if I was listening...
well, dad, I guess I was.

'Cause those endless lectures...
well, I must have memorized them.

Those silly to me then phrases...
I guess I stored them somewhere in my brain.

So as to not go on and on, I merely state...
"Pull my finger."

Monday, June 14, 2010

"Red, White, Blue"

US FLAG HUNG IN GALVESTON, TX AFTER HURRICANE IKE IN 2008

What does that Red, White and Blue mean to you?
Here's what it represents to me:
The United States of America.

That's it.
I see it. I think, "USA!"
Nothing else.

But yet, is that because it's everywhere?

Shirts, socks, pants, hats...
over buildings, on houses,
on the pole outside the school or
the post office...
Bumper stickers...
Billboards...
helmets, hard hats, heavy machinery...

I know why it appears on all of those
and many many many other places.
It represents something to someone.
American Pride? American made?
American honor? American sacrifice?

It's just a flag. Canada has one.
Israel has one. Trinidad and Tobago's got one.
It's a flag. It's just a flag!

There are certainly many of you
who view it more than that.
"It stands for ______"...
fill in the blank.

It unites... it unties...
"Old Glory"... pathetic.

I'm as patriotic as any American,
but when the symbol replaces the
ideal, then something is wrong.

SO, go ahead... burn it, tear it,
wipe your nose with it... I don't
care. It's just a flag. It's not
who America is. America isn't
a flag. America isn't a symbol.
The United States of America
is more than stars and stripes.

It's people who matter... not the
flag that represents them.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

"Who's Battle"

Then David said to the Philistine,
“You come to me with a sword,
with a spear, and with a javelin.
But I come to you in the name of
the LORD of hosts, the God of the
armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the LORD will deliver you
into my hand, and I will strike you
and take your head from you. And this
day I will give the carcasses of the camp
of the Philistines to the birds of the air
and the wild beasts of the earth, that all
the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.
Then all this assembly shall know that
the LORD does not save with sword and spear;
for the battle is the LORD’s,
and He will give you into our hands.”
1 Samuel 17:45-47 NIV

Suffering. Trials. Tribulations...
Some caused by poor choices,
Some caused by accident,
Some caused by someone else's actions...

You are in the battle of your life.

Against a foe so big you don't know
how to even comprehend the first
step to overcome.

Be Bold. See Bold. Read Bold.

You are not alone. And the battle
belongs to only One... the great I AM.

Finally, be strong in the Lord
and in his mighty power.
Ephesians 6:10 NIV

Tuesday, June 1, 2010