Summer youth ministry is in full swing this week with Work Camp. Our group has joined with 200 or so other teens from around the area to paint houses and serve the community. My kids have worked so hard this week. They’ve made me proud.

Thunderstorms have sent us running from the work sites twice this week and the rain washed off most of our work today but we are undeterred.

We finish tomorrow so I’ll try and post some pics of the house we worked on.

Please pray that tomorrow we won’t have to stop for rain. We really need to finish!!!

You want to know how I know that summer is here?

I awoke this morning to fresh baked banana bread.

I usually wake up to a big plate of jack squat because my wife has left for work about 45 minutes before I get up and I can’t make anything worthy of breakfast. Even though it’s summer and she could be sleeping in, my wife loves getting up and moving around and she put her homemaking skills into overdrive.

She really out did herself this morning. It was Mmmm, mmmm, good.

Thanks babe!!!!

Why I Love The Simpsons Pt.3: Homer Loves Marge

The Huxtables, the Keatons, and the Seavers were all happily married TV couples. They never fought. They never got sick. They never pulled out their hair after Theo, Alex, or Mike did something reckless. You never saw them second guess themselves. They never let down the facade. Their marriages were perfect examples of pretty perfectness.

Homer and Marge on the other hand don’t have the prerequisites for the “perfect marriage.” Homer and Marge rushed their marriage after finding out that Marge was pregnant with Bart. Their finances are shaky at best. Homers acts like an oaf at times and Marge files everything away so as not to make a fuss. Homer gets frustrated with “the boy” and often times loses his temper while Marge is selfless servant for her family putting everyone’s needs before her own. Homer spends too much time at Moe’s and Marge has a gambling addiction. There are even a few times where each have been tempted to stray from their marriage.

However, at the end of the day Homer loves Marge more than life itself and Marge feels the same way about Homer.

As a husband Homer has displayed a lot of poor judgement when it comes to displaying his love for Marge. He once bought her a bowling ball for her birthday. He engraved his name on it so that she would know who it was from. He spilled marital secrets to his Learning Annex class including the color of hair dye that Marge uses. Homer even missed going to the opera with Marge even though he promised her he wouldn’t forget. Of course his arms were stuck in two separate vending machines but that’s beside the point.

If you have any doubt whether Homer really loves Marge or not I would point you in the direction of episode 1F07, The Last temptation of Homer. Homer’s faithfulness is put to the test when a cute female employee joins the Springfield Nuclear Plant.

When the government accuses Mr. Burns of shady business dealings- like allowing Stuart the duck to pull nuclear waste around the plant in a little wagon- they tell him that they would be willing to look the other way if he would hire at least one female employee. Reluctantly Burns gives in and hires a beautiful redhead named Mindy Simmons.

She has Homer at hello. Homer is in deep smit from the moment that they meet. He even imagines Mindy as Venus from Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. Even after work he thinks that he is over his infatuation but it is soon revealed that he is driving backwards down the highway obviously distracted by his thoughts of this new employee.

Homer is troubled that he has feelings for Mindy but decides that what he needs is to spend time with his loving family.

When he arrives home he finds that Bart has been transformed into Lewis’ nerdy professor after his trip to the HMO, Dr. Hibbert’s Moneymaking Organization. The doctors have given Bart thick glasses to correct his lazy eye, a salve for his dry scalp, and arch supports for his feet. Turning to his perfect, beautiful daughter Lisa he finds that she has burned the fishsticks for dinner but says that all is ok because “the insides are frozen so they cancel each other out!” Homer tries to kiss his lovely Marge but she rebuffs him because she has a cold. Not exactly the “perfect family” Homer was hoping to encounter when he came home.

He decides that he a Mindy only have a physical attraction and probably have nothing in common. Unfortunately, Mindy also likes beer, eating donuts, watching TV, and sneaking naps before lunch. Homer finds out that Mindy is attracted to him as well when they share a cramped elevator together. Homer doesn’t know what to do and his gaurdian angel, Col. Klink, can’t help him either.

Homer knows that Mindy and him should never be together because he loves his family. Homer doesn’t want to be tempted to stray but as he is trying to tell this to Mindy they get word that they will be spending a weekend together alone in Capital City for the Energy Convention. While at the convention Homer again tries to tell Mindy that they shouldn’t spend time alone together but his plans a thwarted when they are named “King and Queen” of the convention and are given a romantic dinner for two at “the sexiest restaurant in Capital City.”

Homer feels resigned to his fate after his fortune cookie reveals that he “will find happiness with a new love.” Back at the hotel Homer begins to cry. He tells Mindy that he knows what’s going to happen,

Mindy: What’s wrong?
Homer: (sobbing) We’re gonna have sex.
Mindy: We don’t have to.
Homer: (still crying) Yes we do! The cookie told me so.
Mindy: Well desserts aren’t always right.
Homer: But they are so sweet!

Mindy tells Homer that she is in love with him but that the decision is his.

Cue Barry White’s “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love.” Homer is laying on the bed and there is a woman in lingerie standing in front of him. As she sits on the bed we find that it is Marge. Homer called her to join him in Capital City. As the credits roll Homer tells her how much she means to him in a song. Homer might have been tempted to stray but he never will leave his first love.

Yes, Homer Simpson loves his wife despite what the fortune cookie says.

Next Week: Part 4: The Flandereses Aren’t Geeks

You scored as William Wallace, The great Scottish warrior. William Wallace led his people against their English oppressors in a campaign that won independence for Scotland and immortalized him in the hearts of his countrymen. With his warrior’s heart, tactician’s mind, and poet’s soul, Wallace was a brilliant leader. He just wanted to live a simple life on his farm, but he gave it up to help his country in its time of need.
Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0
created with QuizFarm.com

Sunday was our Graduation Sunday.

Next weekend each of these students will be graduating in ceremonies all over the area and in a few weeks each of them will be moving from their homes and onto college campuses. There has been a lot of preparation for this moment by their parents and families. Lots of apprehension and a little bit of anxiety as these students take the big leap and head out into the world.

Life is full of transitions. Graduation from high school is but one of the many stages of life that we pass through. While Seniors are leaving for college their parents are having to transition into a new stage of life as well. The only constant in life is that things change.

The message I delivered on Sunday was on the life of Hannah.

I think Hannah has a lot to say to us today. Hannah transitioned from a life without children to having a child to dedicating that child to a life of service in ministry.

Here are some of the highlights from my message on Hannah:

I believe the story of Hannah speaks to those you who are parents. I think is Hannah were here today she would ask each of you who have been blessed with a child,

“Have you given your children back to God.”

Right off, let me say that Hannah is not telling you to drop your kids off here at the church office for me to raise!!! If you did that I would respond like Eli and ask you if you’ve been drinking!!!

No, by asking you if you have given your children back to God she is asking you if you have fully invested in your child’s spiritual life. Are you making real sacrifices so that your children can know God?

Are you praying for and with your child? Are you living in such away that your children know, without a shadow of a doubt, that the love of your life is Jesus Christ? What are you teaching them about the importance of growing and maturing in their faith?

Do they know that their relationship with God is the most important thing or is it something that they can work on only after their school work, sports team, or other extra activities their are involved in?

Samuel had a relationship with God because his mother had the courage to do something radical. She showed him true faith looked like.

What does radical sacrifice look like in your life? What sacrifices might you have to make to ensure that your children know God and have a deep, rewarding relationship with Him?

• Does it mean that you pull you child from one extra activity so that you can have a family devotional?
• That they see you or your spouse reading the Bible more?
• That you make a stand and keep a hedge of protection around Wed. and Sundays even if it means that they can’t participate in …. (you fill in the blank)?

I think I would have a hard time giving Hannah any excuses as to why I was letting the good things of the world get in the way of the greater things of God. Hannah shows us that faith and devotion often require radical sacrifices.

The story of Hannah doesn’t just speak to those who are parents.

Hannah speaks to everyone who’s life is in transition because she shows us what it means to grow up.

Growing up means…

• Making Decisions


Hannah made the decision to lay her broken heart and her broken womb before the Lord. In times of transition are you more apt to try and work everything out on your own or are you willing to ask the Lord for help?

• Making Sacrifices


Hannah made the ultimate sacrifice to make sure that the Lord was honored and that she followed through with her promise. Are you making any sacrifices to keep the promises that you’ve made to God?

• Making Connections


Hannah made connections with the Lord (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and with her son Samuel (2:18-20). Are you connecting with God and with the people in your care?

Yesterday we celebrated our Graduation Sunday. We honored our four graduating seniors with a breakfast, DVD slideshow, and a new Bible.

Rather than buying thinline, no-frill Bibles for these students I took them to a Bible bookstore and walked them through a few translations and editions.

I told them to choose a Bible that they could live with. By that I meant a translation that they can read, one that has tools that can help them understand or navigate through, and one that they can fall in love with.

2 (maybe 3) of these students will be attending Christian universities so I encouraged them to get a study Bible. I know that mine was indispensable during my freshman Bible classes and I wanted to get them something that would be helpful to them. The fourth student chose the new TNIV College Devotional Bible.

Again, I could have just picked up a catalogue or walked into a store and purchased any four Bibles that I saw. Instead, I spent the afternoon with the students presenting options and answering questions so that the students could choose something that they wanted and that they could see themselves using.

Tomorrow, I’ll post about the message I presented.

Why I Love The Simpsons Part 2: Homer Is Stupid

Salesman: “Well, sir, many of our clients find pants confining. Se we offer a range of alternatives for the ample gentleman such as yourself: panchos, muu-muus, capes, jumpsuits, uni-sheets, muslin body rolls, academic and judicial robes.”
Homer: “I don’t want to look like a weirdo. I’ll just go with a muu-muu.”

Homer has done a lot of stupid things over the past 18 seasons. He’s gotten into a fist fight with Former Pres. Bush, used Marge as a candy mule to smuggle confection out of a candy convention, brewed beer illeagally in his basement, and of course, he continued eating a sandwhich over the course of a few weeks until he got violently ill. Then he ate some more of it.

If there were ever an episode of the Simpsons that highlights just how stupid Homer Simpson is it would be episode 3F05, King Size Homer.

Like a lot of people Homer hates going to work. He describes the morning commute as, “Gas, Brake, Honk. Gas, Brake, Honk. Honk, Honk, Punch. Gas, Gas, Gas.” Not exactly idyllic. Homer wants to work at home but he just can’t figure out how. His ambitions to skip out on going to work become a dogged pursuit when Homer finds out that another co-worker has been allowed to work at home because he is on disability.

“Unfortunately” Homer doesn’t have a disability. But when Homer sets his mind to something there is no stopping him. Homer finds that he is only 61 pounds away from suffering the debilitating effects of Hyper-Obesity. Yes, that’s right. Homer decides that the best way to miss out on going to work is to gain 61 pounds. With Bart’s help, Homer quickly gains the weight he needs but due to a mishap in weighing himself Homer actually gains 76 pounds. That’s where the muu-muu comes in.

Homer finally realizes his dream but working at home isn’t what he thought it would be. His relationship with Marge and the kids is strained, the air conditioner has to work over time to keep him cool, and he is just as lazy at home as he was at the plant.

Oh, for those of you who don’t know Homer J. Simpson is a Nuclear Safety Technician. The fate of the entire town rest in his fat, lazy hands.

When Homer decides to skip out on monitoring the nuclear reactor and catch a movie he returns home to find out that the reactor is about to explode.

Homer ends up saving the day when he falls into the mouth of the exploding vent. His newly earned girth helps plug the hole thus saving the town of Springfield.

When I sat down to watch this episode this week I was struck by just how great the writing was but that the episode was completed by the visual. You have to watch the episode from start to finish. You can’t blink or you’ll miss everything. King Size Homer combines a great script, with perfect delivery, and flawless imagery.

Yes, one reason that I love the Simpsons is because Homer Simpson is reckless, boorish, and stupid. He routinely puts himself in danger and has just many brain cells as he has fingers. He consistently makes the worst decisions any man could make. However, as consistent as Homer is in his stupidity he is twice as consistent in how much he loves his family. Especially his wife, Marge.

Next Week: Part 3: Homer Simpson Loves His Wife In Spite of What the Fortune Cookie Says

The World Needs Your Help

Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has asked her supporters for some advice.

She has asked them to vote for a campaign song. Her husband had Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop” back in the ’90s and she is looking for the perfect song to help energize the campaign trail from now until November…2008. 20 Months From Now!!!

There’s just two problems: Both “City of Blinding Lights” and “Beautiful Day” by U2 are in the running. In fact, “COBL” is currently at the top of the list. Brothers and Sisters, this should not be.

I, for one, do not want to hear either one of these songs thumping from convention center speakers as Mrs. Clinton tries to be all things to all people. Sincere songs should be attached to sincere people. I can’t hear that old Fleetwood Mac song without thinking of the ‘92 campaign trail. Will two of my favorite U2 songs be resigned to the same fate? Something needs to be done!

So here’s what I am asking YOU to do:

Go to HillaryClinton.com and cast a vote for any of the other songs. I don’t care which one you vote for. I don’t care if your a Dem, a GOP supporter, or member of the Whig party. Vote for any of the other songs.

Then, tell everyone you know to do the same.

There are some great choices on the list:
“Right Here, Right Now” by Jesus Jones
“Ready to Run” by The Dixie Chicks
“Get Ready” by The Temptations
“I’m a Believer” by SmashMouth

Please help me out on this.

Together we can make a difference.

Zondervan took a giant step forward last fall in their marketing of the TNIV line by releasing the TNIV Study Bible. However, if you tried to find it on TNIV.com you would have come up short in your pursuit.

To put it succinctly, the TNIV web site was terrible. It was ugly. It was devoid of the newest products. It was the opposite of a user-friendly Bible website that introduces a new translation and invites the early adopters and readers into the world of that particular translation.

Now TNIV.com is much better-not perfect- but much, much better.

The all-new TNIV.com is up and running. You can check out samples of the different Bibles including the Study Bible and the Bible Experience. You can search your favorite verse. You can even buy a TNIV of your very own.

I would recommend the Study Bible but you might want to wait until September when Zondervan will release the TNIV Reference Bible.

Now, if Zondervan could just get their main site to play well with Safari…

For a great all-inclusive site on everything TNIV, check out TNIV Truth.

Don’t forget to vote for Nathan Petrelli tonight. Watch the election results at 8pm (CST) on NBC.

The summer is right around the corner. The last day of classes around here is May 24- which is a week from this Thursday. Crazy!

In the coming weeks I will be traveling on mission trips and to church camps. We will be painting houses and serving people in and around our community.

Summer is the bread and butter for youth ministry because students have free time and it is really when relationships can fully develop.

Growing up I had a great youth ministry experience while in high school. We did work camp, a camp at a Christian college, mission trips, late-night movies, sleepovers, cook-outs, service projects and a VBS.

Looks like that is close to what we’ll be doing this summer. It won’t be to much longer until…

(eerie voice) …it begins!!! (dum-dum-DAAAH)

As of today there are only 11 more Fridays until the Best. Episode. Ever.

The Simpsons Movie opens worldwide on July 27, 2007 and I can hardly wait. I have welcomed the yellow family from Springfield into my home for over a decade now. The show went from being banned by my parents, to slightly tolerated, to a nightly ritual by my wife and I.

Every Friday from today until the release of the movie I will be recounting my favorite moments, episodes, and things that I love about the longest running television sitcom of all time.

Today’s installment:
When I Fell In Love With The Simpsons Part 1

If I had to pick a favorite episode it would probably be I Love Lisa (9F13). Everything about this episode speaks to why I love this show. It has satire, a great story, wonderful gags, and, above all, heart.

The story begins on Valentine’s Day. Remember when you would spend the morning creating “mailboxes” for everyone to put their Valentine cards into? You would sweat and worry that you wouldn’t get one. You glanced around hoping to catch a glimpse of someone dropping a little card into your sack. You didn’t care about the cupcakes at the party. All you cared about was finding out whether or not someone cared about you.

Well, in Lisa Simpson’s class everyone but Ralph Wiggum gets a Valentine. Ralph is the weird kid. He eats glue and crayons. He’s annoying. He’s simple. He simply doesn’t fit in. When Lisa sees that he has been left out she quickly writes him a card and slips it on his desk. The card says, “I Choo-Choo-Choose You” and there’s a picture of a train on it. Her small act of mercy is taken by Ralph as a act of true love. Ralph soon becomes her shadow. While walking home he let’s her in on everything in his small, little life. I mean everything. He tells her, “The doctor said I wouldn’t get so many nose bleeds if I kept my finger out of there.” It is more than Lisa can stand. All she wanted to do was show a little kindness to poor Ralph. She doesn’t want to hurt his feelings but she can’t figure out a way to let him down easy. They even get paired up as George and Martha Washington in the upcoming president’s Day program. Her plans to distance herself from Ralph become even further complicated when Ralph invites her to the Krusty Anniversary Show, the event of the year.

During the broadcast Ralph introduces Lisa to Krusty as his girlfriend exclaiming, “This is Lisa Simpson and one day I’m going to marry her!” Lisa can’t stand anymore. In front of the cameras, Krusty, and the world Lisa revealed that the only reason she gave Ralph a card was because she felt sorry for him. Ralph’s little heart can’t take the pain. later that night Bart replays the video frame by frame so that Lisa can see the exact moment Ralph’s heart broke. It is a lesson we have all had to learn the hard way. Lisa tries to apologize but she isn’t able to before the President’s day performance.

Speaking of…

We are the Mediocre Presidents!
You won’t find our faces on dollars or on cents!
There’s Taylor, There’s Tyler, There’s Filmore and There’s Hayes
There’s William Henry Harrison: “I died in thirty days!”

Right smack in the middle of the episode is this little jewel. It’s President’s Day and the children of Springfield Elementary are performing a Broadway-style review of the history of America’s leaders. Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln are always center stage but in the twisted world of the Simpsons everyone gets their due. Even John Wilkes Booth.

After misbehaving backstage, Miss Hoover grabs Bart by the collar and flatly delivers a classic example of Simpson humor: “Do you want to play John Wilkes Booth, or do you want to act like a maniac?”

Awesome.

As Ralph takes the stage as George Washington everyone is rightly nervous. Will Ralph remember the lines? Will he embarrass everyone? Will he eat his wig? To everyone’s surprise Ralph is mesmerizing as our nation’s first president. As Washington lies on his deathbed, Groundskeeper Willie fights back the tears saying, “I didn’ta cry when my father was hung for stealin’ a pig but I’ll cry now.”

Ralph becomes a hero to everyone at Springfield Elementary that night. Lisa asks for an apology and gives Ralph another Valentine. This time there’s a picture of a bee on it. It says, “Let’s BEE Friends.” Ralph thinks that will be just fine.

Growing up, I was always told that I shouldn’t watch the Simpsons because it was rude, crude, and had a bad attitude. However, episodes like this are the rule rather than the exception. The episode also rang incredibly true to me.

Who didn’t have the weird kid in their class?
Who didn’t feel sorry for them?
Who hasn’t experienced a time where your kindness was pushed to the limit?
And after you blew up at them when didn’t you realize that your limit was set way too short?

In a day where most animated shows seek to shock and push the limits of taste and “humor” the Simpsons has at its core the one thing that “Family Guy,” “American Dad,” and “Moral Oral” will never have:

Heart.

Ralph Wiggum: Portrait of a Legend (Includes clips from “I Love Lisa”)

Next Friday: Why I Love The Simpsons Part 2: I Don’t Want to Look Like A Weirdo. I’ll Just Go With the Muu-Muu

The line up for this year’s Austin City Limits was released this morning in the wee small hours and I am completely blown away.

The Killers
Arcade Fire
The White Stripes
Damien Rice
Bjork
My Morning Jacket
Ziggy & Stephen Marley
Amy Winehouse
Amos Lee

and then there’s some new guy named….

Bob Dylan

How cool is that?

I have always wanted to see Dylan and now I get too. Sweetness is my weakness.

Hebrews 10:11-14 TNIV
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

What an awesome reminder that it isn’t us who save people. Yes, we can introduce people to God. We can focus people on Jesus Christ. We point beyond this world and peer into the kingdom with the help of the Holy Spirit.

But make no mistake- Salvation belongs to our God. May we never forget that.

I am so ready!!!