My Melon!

So, you know that thing above your neck??

more specifically than your head - your skull - well, last Thursday we spent some time being amazed at how God made our skulls just right for us!! It was a great time!

Ever thought about your skull? Maybe when you raised up into that sign you thought you missed or that cabinet you did not realize was there!!!

Well, the skull is a complex of bones that develop separately during infancy and are not fused until past 1 year of age. Even this is amazing because the fact that they are not fused is many times essential to allow the baby's head (which is the largest part of the baby) to come through the birth canal and actually fit. Plus, the brain grows a vast amount in the first year of life and the unfused bones allow for plenty of growth - after all, we wouldn't want to have our brains smushed by not having enough room in the skull!! How perfect is this???

Then, there's the part of how perfect the skull is for it's job for the rest of our lives. What is the job?

Protection - how many times have you bonked your head? Imagine if those bonks were straight to the brain!!! Not many of us would live past toddlerhood, but instead we have this hard head - which incidentally gets much harder right about the time we get much more mobile and daring - that absorbs the blows we give it and protects us!!

Just to highlight how strong the skulls is i wanted to share a story a patient gave me permission to share:

This young man was working on his car. He was working on something just to the inside of the tire area. His car was jacked up and he was working with his arms inside the tire and his head under the tire. Well, the jack slipped and the entire weight of the car fell on his head, wedging it between the tire and the ground. He was then able to keep his wits enough to reach for and find the slipped jack, slide it under the frame, jack the car up and slide himself out from under the car, only to call the 911 operator and have her think he was joking around because his story was so far-fetched. Well, long story short, after lots of tests and some major worry, he was fine. No harm done. Well, he had a small (too small to see on ct of the head) fracture of the bones, but nothing that won't heal on its own!!! Amazing - now, let me tell you, that young man is exceptionally thankful for his skull!!

Now it is nice to appreciate our skulls and be thankful that we have not damaged ourselves too much over the years, but that would only be part of what we need to do with this story - my advice? Take a minute the next time you notice your skull, or anyone else's for that matter, and give some credit to the God who made us so amazingly. Stop for just a second and thank Him for making you so wonderful! Invite Him into the moment with you, ask Him to be a part of your life...to join you in the moments of your life. You might just begin to see life in a little different way - maybe you'll notice the important things in life and life will become More than it seems now!!

If you are sick of life as usual and would like to begin to live for More, we would love to have you join us next Thursday night, July 14th, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. There will be free, excellent childcare, as always!

Hope to see you there!

Hugs

So, we had a great time 2wks ago and if you missed it, you missed out!

The best part of the time we shared was during the part of our time together when we share something amazing about God. So, while all stood up, Sophia, my 7 yr old who is famous for her hugs, went around the gave every single person a hug. Now, it was an amazing thing to watch people whi have been so hurt in their lives so touched by the love of a little girl. Some were even crying because of the way their hearts were touched to be hugged.

Now, i think it is safe to say that even if you weren't there, you can understand how cool it is to feel the warmth of another person's hug. It is safe and wonderful. We were made to feel this. Why? Because God loves this way and He wants us to have the joy of having this kind of love in our lives too and so He made us this way - this is no accident - in fact, He wants us to love Him too!

Consider how much a hug is worth - how much would you pay for a hug? What if it was from someone who you lost to death or a broken relationship? What if it was from someone that you always wished could love you and they just wouldn't or couldn't? What price tag would you attach to that?

See? A hug is beyond worth, but how many times do we rush right past them to get something done?

Well, the next time you get a hug, stop and savor, and then invite the God who made you enjoy it into the moment with you. Thank Him for making you that way. Invite Him into the moment and into your world with you - ask Him to join you in your day - it might make all the difference.

If you are tired of missing the really wonderful parts of life because you are caught up in the franticness of American life, we would love to have you join us tomorrow night - June 30th, at MCAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, from 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free and excellent childcare.

hope to see you there!

Forgiveness Followup

Well, I emailed the people who made the movie and they cannot allow us to give copies. So, if you are interested in having a copy, please feel free to post and i will get you the info.

We will be hanging out tomorrow night at McAllister Recreation Center - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - 6:45-8:00PM. As always there will be free, excellent childcare.

Also, want to let you know that any of you who are interested are welcome to join us on a community outreach night, next Tuesday night, the 21st. We will be helping to mulch someone's flower beds that we have been praying for for a long time. It will be a great time! If we only experience the goodness of God in our lives and don't share it with other people, we miss so much of the joy in life!!

If you want info, please post to the blog, or come tomorrow night!

Hope to see you soon!

Forgiveness...

So, we had a fantastic time last Thursday night at McAllister. We, you see, are tired of living life in the usual American way. Always get more stuff, make more money, more fitness, more health, more sex, more toys, more, more, more. Instead, we gather together every other Thursday night to talk about ways to change the way we live - we alter our focus intentionally - we choose to focus our minds and hearts on those things in life that really matter...

Thursday night we talked about Rwanda. We watched video clips from a movie called as we forgive - here is the web site for the movie http://www.asweforgivemovie.com/ - and heard from Cara and Josh, a couple who has just returned from Rwanda. They spoke of genocide - the killing of a million people in cold blood, just because of the type of family they were born into - and then of amazing forgiveness.

The lady in the film's husband and children were murdered and her sister and her family as well. It turns out that her sister was murdered by a family friend of this lady - he tells the story of what he did. He then feels intense guilt and remorse and comes to her to say how sorry he is and to ask her forgiveness. She, almost unbelievably, says that is God has forgiven her, then she will forgive him. she no longer fears death, or agony...it was humbling and intense and perspective changing.

The thing is, God made us this way. We find in our hearts the ability to forgive the most heinous. Now, let me clarify - forgiving does not mean that you are saying that what someone did is ok, or all right. It does not mean you forget, or even that you have some fluffy and healthy relationship with them, but you do make your peace with them, the most you can, right where you are. You choose to not hold tightly onto the reigns of revenge or bitterness. You do your best to see that person as broken and messed up and go on with your life. Now, i realize this is not easy and am not suggesting this - but the amount a human can forgive is absolutely amazing!!!

We went around the room, prior to the movie, and many of the people in the room had been wronged near to the lady on the screen, and had found it in them to forgive to the maximum that they were able at that time in their lives! And we don't live in Rwanda...but the midwest!

You see, as bad as things can be that are inflicted upon us from other people, as much pain as they can cause us, humans have it in their ability to forgive and go on. This is not natural - natural is to attack, to defend, to avenge. But, inside us is this deep seated God-likeness - You see, He made us in His image - meaning that He made us, at our root, to be like Him. We are made to have an ability to forgive, way beyond what it seems like we should be able to.

So, the next time you encounter that person who just really has hurt you (or even think of them)...the next time you see someone forgive past what is reasonable...notice. Pay attention not just to the peace, i am glad for that, but also to the fact that you are made that way. Stop for a second and thank the God who made you so amazingly that you could go through all that and still find the other side. Invite Him into your world, right there. Ask Him to join you in the moment and to begin to open your eyes to what's really important about life. It will not stop people from doing mean things, but it will change your world.

If this is sounding like it might just be a better way to begin trying to live your life, we would love to have you join us June 16th, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center. We will be continuing our journey together, and having some serious laughs. McAllister is just off 20th st and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always, we will have free, excellent childcare, and some exellent food.

Hope to see you there.

Jason

Tomorrow

Just a quick reminder to all of you that More than more will be hanging out 6:45-8:00pm tomorrow night at McAllister Cetner - just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette - we will have some friends of mine with us to share - it should be a good time.

Also, tomorrow begins summer hours at McAllister - which means that we will finish promptly at 8 - they stay open a hour late for us on the Thursday nights we are there.

would love to see all of you there!

So...you want to talk about politics...

Like i was saying in the last post, we had a great time last time, learning about fractals and appreciating how amazing God is. We also spent time focusing on people and both how amazing all of them (even the biggest pains in the butt ones) are and how broken and messed up and hurting they are. We truly care about each other and it is not because of what we provide to each other - there is nothing much we provide except support and acceptance - but because as we begin to look for More in life, we begin to see that what really matters...is people.


Ok, so after we spent some time focusing on each other and people in general and noticing them, we talked for a while about politics and bumper stickers - 2 topics that most wise leaders try to avoid - i guess that tells something about our leader!


So, i was out at the soccer fields the other day and saw this Chevy Suburban-type vehicle with 4 bumper stickers on it - here they are:










I will not be discussing the "Good Bush"/"Bad Bush" or the "Vegetarians Taste Better" stickers - i cannot speak to the validity of either of those...but it is interesting that they happen to be placed next to the other 2.

So, what do you think about "Religion. You can't start a war without it." and Religion is regarded by the common as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful?"

These 4 stickers struck me so powerfully, that i had to get pix of them.

Then, the next day i was driving home and came across Jeep Cherokee with this bumper sticker:





and just below it was:






How interesting! 2 vehicles, 2 days, 5 bumper stickers ( i guess you might be able to guess that the suburban did not have the "In God we Trust" license plate), 2 license plates.

Well, we had a serious discussion about all this Thursday night!

The truth is that I feel a wide range of emotions and have a broad range of thoughts about the suburban and their clear feeling that religion is at best foolish and worst evil. One of the things, just to start off, is not violence.

I look at those and i am saddened by the distorted view that they have of the God who made fractals and them and me and gives so much More to life than i ever imagined before i began following Him. He is the God of acceptance and love and forgiveness and reconciliation and peace and joy and purpose and meaning. He is the One who made you to appreciate the wonderful moments of life, just like He does and to grieve the painful moments of life, just like He does. He is not a God who loves violence and war. He is not a God who wants to detroy or hurt. He is smarter than the wise and way more powerful than the rulers who may use His "religion" in a corrupted form to oppress or harm people. To view say religion of my God is false because corrupt leaders mis-use it would be like saying that the American government was not real, just because corrupt politicians mis-use it.

But, i am more than sad when i think of all this...I am angry. Who am i angry at?

Not the vegetarian, who apparently tastes so good. I am angry at the Jeep driver who apparently thinks it is a good idea to malign the president (no matter what you think of him, we, as Americans, elected him) right above his "In God We Trust" license plate. You see, by driving with that combination of plate and sticker, he is saying that the one thing he wants you to know about him other than his trust in God is that he thinks his president is a huge mistake. These are the only messages on his bumper - not "Love your neighbor." not "Forgive when you are wronged" not "Do something wonderful with your life." not "You can have healing from the brokenness inside you." not "There's More to life than economics and money and stuff and work." not "I will gladly help you if you ask me." not "I love all people." and on and on i could go. These would be Jesus' messages (were his messages when he walked on this earth) if he drove a Jeep and had an "In God We Trust" plate on it (and honestly i think if Jesus lived now, he might not be able to afford a vehicle - he would probably ride the bus or walk or bike).

You see, what i see in our world is that the majority of the population that claims Jesus and his teachings (called Christians as a religion) are much more ready to assert their political sentiments than to love their neighbor...more ready to trumpet the cause of their agendas than to forgive when they are wronged...more ready to beat on those who disagree with them than to do something wonderful with their lives...more ready to assert their claim to their lot line and neighborhood rights than to let someone know that you can have healing from the brokenness inside...more ready to flap their giant steaks in the face of the vegetarians and yell at them for not supporting beef farmers than they are to let them know that There's More to life than economics and money and stuff and work...more ready to give &10 via text to Haiti than to say to any random someone who appeared, in need, I will gladly help you if you ask me or I love all people. It is this kind of pervasive neglect for the truth of Jesus' teachings that allows someone to deny the Truth of it. There is no question in my mind that if the driver of that suburban met Jesus and hung out with Him for a few days, they would become convinced that He was not a starter of wars and that He was absolutely true - it rings with the quote from Ghandi - "I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians"

The misrepresentation of the the Truth of God is so bad in our culture that when More than more began, we started because there were so many who, encountering our love for them, wanted to know more about this God we talked about, but refused to go to church. So, we tell people about how amazing He is...and we find that more and more of them are encountering Him for real and see that He is not the God of the suburban, or the jeep.

You see recently More than more went to someone's house to help them for a night and the gentleman who lived there told me how he was struggling with God and whether He could be real with all the pain that was in his life. My response? "Look around dude. You may not be able to believe in God, but you cannot deny these people who have come out on a Friday night, to your house, for no payment, for no reason, except that they choose to share the love in their lives with you. This, my friend is what God is like."

Now, i don't want to give you any false ideas - we are soooooooo far from perfect. We screw up often, and we own it. We live broken lives and life has beat us up, one side and the other. We have addictions and bad habits and have made choices that we wish we could go back and change. We are mean sometimes and impatient and unkind. We are judgmental way more than we want to be. We are broken and hurting people. But, we will not deny it. And we are choosing to look at life in a different way. We are choosing a different path. Our lives will matter, not because of who we are - we suck - we will be very quick to tell you this - but because of the love that we are seeing in this God, this Jesus, this God of Christianity. Plus, we will accept you - we will help you - we will care for you - we will not make a war with you and by the end of it all, you may be able to deny God, but you will not be able to deny us!


So, to the people in the suburban, if you simply bought the truck with the stickers on it and could not get them off, then disregard the message, it is for the previous owner. If those are your stickers, i would love to have you join us at More than more, we will be hanging out again June 2nd, from 6:45-8:00PM

And to the people in the Jeep, we would love for you to join us too - we would like to re-introduce you to the God we trust - He is amazing and wonderful and i'm pretty sure He loves president Obama...

What is a fractal??

Well, we had a great time last Thursday! It was so cool to hang out and enjoy being with people who accept us as ourselves - and are all sick of the usual thing in this country of always trying to get more, become more, be more, buy more, achieve more, etc.

This time we talked about fractals.

What are fractals? Yeah, i had no idea until relatively recently either.

Fractals are shapes that when you split them into parts, there are reduced size copies of the original. They are amazing - allow me to copy a couple links to web sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_GBwuYuOOs

http://fractalfoundation.org/

The interesting thing (check out the 3rd of the web sites) is that fractals occur everywhere. In DNA, in weather, in geography, in math, in space - everywhere. Check out this quote from:

http://library.thinkquest.org/26242/full/


What is a Fractal?

Imagine flying in a space shuttle looking at the coast of Britain. From such a great distance the coast looks perfectly straight, going from north to south. But, as you approach the earth something tells you the coast is not perfectly straight... Of course! As you go into the upper atmosphere you realize that it has thousands of bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas that you could not see from a distance. Thinking that now you have a detailed picture of the coast, you turn towards one of the harbor beaches, which seems to be straight... However, as you get closer to it, you see that it too has thousands of smaller bays, harbors, capes, and peninsulas! Wondering if this will ever end you decide to get even closer... Eventually you wind up on the beach looking at the coast through a microscope. You can now see every grain of sand clearly, but, it too has thousands of indentations and extrusions!


No matter how close you get, you will
always see a similarly detailed picture


The fact that any small part of the coast will look similar to the whole thing was first noted by Benoit Mandelbrot. He called shapes like this fractals. Fractals are figures with an infinite amount of detail. When magnified, they don’t become more simple, but remain as complex as they were without magnification. In nature, you can find them everywhere. Any tree branch, when magnified, looks like the entire tree. Any rock from a mountain looks like the entire mountain. The theory of fractals was first developed to study nature. Now it is used in a variety of other applications. And, of course, beauty is what makes them popular!

So, here is this naturally occurring, amazingly complex shape system that seems to be everywhere. It is perfect and it is not understood! Why does this happen this way? What is the purpose of all this?

Well, the problem is that this unbelievable organization does not fit with the idea that the world just randomly evolved into existence - if it was random and naturally selected only, there would not be this much consistency. What is does scream is that there is a marvelous creator who is intelligent beyond our imaginations and made the world in a beautiful, organized way. His creativity was applied with reason and purpose!

Now, i know this is interesting and i hope you enjoy learning about it, but if all you do is read this and go, "Cool" and then back to your life, then it is not enough.

My advice?

When you read about fractals, thank God - invite Him into that moment with you and ask Him to be part of your life. When you see fractals in life (which if you look, you will), do the same - enjoy the fact that the very same God who made the world so amazing and complicated, made you and if He went to all that trouble, He will not abandon you - and plus there is More to life than the everyday!! Stop and notice it, let is sink in, maybe there is something besides work, sleep, and bills!


Hope this can encourage you this week when the week begins to overwhelm,