Ghost Of Mediocrity

Daily Thoughts

2011-05-04T08:44:00.002-05:00

Daniel 2:27-28 Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these
Daniel had every opportunity to look great in the eyes of the king and yet he continually deferred to God. His whole point that he starts out with is that nobody can do what you are asking, but God can. Daniel knew what it really meant to give God all the glory. A great example of humility that we can all strive for.
God, may I never use any position you put me in to build up my own pride, but, rather, to glorify your name.
JM

Daily Thoughts

2011-05-03T10:39:00.003-05:00

1 John 2:3, 6 - And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which we walked.
Knowing Christ is so much more than being saved. Full-life commitment is what the scriptures command. We can't have a moment with God and expect that to warrant a different eternity. I've been thinking about bin Laden's death and how some have chosen to celebrate his demise, being thankful that he is in hell. Yet, when compared to God's standard, there is no difference between bin Laden and myself. We all fall short. I read this today on another blog:

There was something unsettling about watching giddy crowds bounce around beach balls and climb telephone polls last night, as if they were in the lawn seats at a rock festival. Solemn and somber appreciation that an evil man is gone seemed like the more appropriate reaction.

I think what's scariest to me is that if I'm really honest with myself, I'm a lot more like bin Laden than I care to admit. We all are.
JM

Daily Thoughts

2011-04-27T08:35:00.002-05:00

Psalm 97:10a - O you who love the Lord, hate evil!
I love God. I really do. But I don't hate evil. Not all the time. It should be easy to hate. Evil is what has separated me from God. Life is the journey back to restoration with God. Evil is what makes that journey difficult. But I tolerate evil. I accept it into my own life.
Psalm 115:10 - The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man.
I hate it when my kids abuse the gifts I give them. When they don't understand the value of it. They leave dolls outside, bang baseball bats on the ground, and generally have little to no concept of the value of things or the sacrifices made so that they can have things. I think that's how we treat the earth. God's gift to us, we abuse and use for our enjoyment with no thought as to how it makes God feel when we abuse it.
John 15:3-4 - Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
I'm already made clean, all I have to do now is rest in Jesus. Yet I'm constantly consumed with doing instead of being. Being who God made me to be. Being who I am. Being with Him. I focus instead on the doing. On behavior modification. On trying to do better instead of just be better.

God, may I see myself for who I am in You: clean. Whole. Restored. May I hate evil, respect your creation, and may I rest in your presence.
I love you.
JM

Adventure

2010-11-30T12:00:00.002-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about adventure lately. Part of it is coming from reading Donald Miller's book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, part of it is coming from what I've been reading in the Bible, and part of it is coming from just realizing how amazingly blessed I am. I think the danger we slip into when you get into your 30's is just the monotony of daily life. That's why so many people have mid-life crises where they go out and make dumb purchases, or get hair implants, or have an affair. They realize that their life has no element of adventure, and so they try to manufacture some.
I'd rather embed adventure into my life. So I'm planning out what that will look like for me. I'd like to make 2011 a year of pursuing adventure for me. I want to pursue my wife intensely. To demonstrate to her just how much I love her. I want to enjoy my kids intensely. To demonstrate to them just how much I love them. I want to know God intimately. To demonstrate to Him just how much I love Him. And I want to love people fully. To demonstrate to them just how much God loves them.
Because I'm a details person, I'm not sure how I'll quantify it yet, but I know that I want to journal the experience. To discover adventure within the monotony. To cast off the pressures of the consumer culture in which we live and instead follow the sermon on the mount and become less. To fully serve. And, hopefully, to fully live. Adventure awaits. JM

Being Like God

2010-11-30T11:58:00.003-05:00

If you want to be like God, then you have to be willing to sacrifice. Luke 6:35 talks about how we should love our enemies, do good to them, lend to them without expecting repayment so that we will be sons of the Most High because that's who He is. He loves me even though He knows that I will not love Him back. He blesses me even though He knows that I will not be able to bless Him back. JM

Teaching

2010-11-11T11:37:00.003-05:00

If I want to be a good Biblical teacher, and I so desperately do, then my teaching must have the authority of God (Luke 4:32). Anything else relegates me to the role that the Pharisees had where I present my ideas for discussion. Or my interpretation for debate. With God's truths there is no debate, just contextualization on how best to present them to the demographic of the audience that He has provided.
God, I pray that you would help me to constantly craft messages that are rooted in your authority. May I be a teacher and a leader who constantly strives to honor you with everything that I am and teaches/leads out of that striving.
JM

Keep The Peace

2010-10-27T15:22:00.002-05:00

Too often I find that I don't "call people out" because I'd rather keep the peace. I rationalize it to myself because I see the positive qualities in the person and fear creating a rift in the relationship where those qualities might not be used around me anymore. The root of it is selfishness. Rather than approach someone and lovingly try to understand why they are seemingly being disobedient, I hold it in so that things don't get awkward or uncomfortable. I read Galatians 1:18 and 2:11 today. In the first verse Paul spends 15 days living with Peter getting to know him. They built a friendship, we can guess. They trusted each other. Yet Paul doesn't hesitate to call Peter out in 2:11. And I think it's because of the friendship that he felt the freedom to do so. Relationships should give us the authority to speak the truth in love to people, not the tendency to ignore their faults. People can only grow when they are exposed to their areas of weakness. And if my closest friends are unwilling to expose mine to me, or vice versa, then nobody will and I will continue to go on with those weaknesses.
God, I pray that I will always speak the truth in love and that you would guide me through the difficult conversations that I encounter. Amen.

Galatians 1:6-10

2010-09-30T13:55:00.002-05:00

This is a battle I face all the time: pleasing other people or pleasing Christ. The main person that battles for the position that Christ should hold is myself. I try to please myself by wanting people to say I did a good job. I don't even care if I did a good job in reality, just as long as other people perceive me as having done well. God wants so much more from me, though. He wants me to seek to glorify Him in everything that I do. To be so focused on bringing Him glory that I don't care if anyone tells me I did a good job, because God is the only one who matters.
While other people's perceptions may be a fairly good metric of whether or not we have done a good job of communicating, that can't be my end goal. May God be glorified by everything I do, whether I am teaching His word or simply living my daily life.
JM

Galatians 1:1-5

2010-09-22T14:14:00.003-05:00

God has appointed me to do the work that I'm doing. I know this because I can sense that I am in God's will for my life. The Bible, prayer, circumstances, and wise counsel all confirm it.
Since this is true, and since God is all-powerful, then that means that I cannot fail. Things may have the appearance of failing from the metrics that I use, but God is using me in the way that He desires. If He desired something different done, He would either lead me to do that or would lead another person into leadership of the ministry.
The focus then becomes less about what is best for the ministry, and more about what does God desire for my ministry, my church, myself. How can God use me for His greatest glory. Whether 1000 students show up (in my context) or 1. May God receive the glory from every aspect of my life. And my I not be ashamed to ascribe Him glory from every area of my life.
JM

Matthew 5:4

2010-06-16T22:11:00.002-05:00

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." This verse has always mystified me. I'm going to be happy because I'm going to be comforted? Doesn't seem to make a lot of sense. As I think about the times that I've mourned, though, the times when I've really been sorrowful, I can see that God comforted me. That His peace comforted me. That, even though it may not be clear, everything was going to be okay. That He would protect me.
That doesn't mean that all of my problems are going to be solved, or that I won't have sorrow, but that I will be comforted by God. Now that's a promise that makes me have hope. Sometimes life hurts, but God is willing to comfort. Desperate to comfort. I just have to rest in Him and accept it. God help me to stop trying to solve all of my problems for myself and to first accept your comfort, guidance, and love.
JM

Matthew 5:3

2010-06-14T22:58:00.003-05:00

The temptation is always to show off wealth. To spend what you have. Or more than you have. It's yours anyway, why not enjoy it. This verse says that I'll be most happy when I act as if I'm poor. Whether I'm poor in reality or not. That I should live my life as if I have little. Not seeking out having the best things for myself. But instead, just enjoying the life that I have. The truly poor people that I have met are some of the most giving people I know. They know the value of life and enjoying it. They don't judge everything by it's monetary value, but rather by the enjoyment that it brings them. I used to be like that. I'm hoping I can become like that again. To just enjoy the simple things in life. To have control of my finances and live simply. Jesus says it's the path to happiness.
God I pray that you would show me the beautiful happiness that exists when I am poor in spirit. I pray that I would not focus on what I don't have, but rather on enjoying what you have blessed me with.
JM

Love

2010-04-06T09:22:00.002-05:00

Two thoughts from the passage I read today (Exodus 20:1 - Exodus 22:15):
1. I think it's a beautiful picture of leadership that the judges that God set up to rule his people are referred to as "God". For instance Exodus 22:9 says "Both parties must come before God for a decision, and the person whom God declares guilty must pay double to the other." I think it reiterates what I was talking about yesterday, that when we are in leadership appointed by God, we just need to follow Him and not worry about any complaints.
2. Exodus 21:5-6 says "But the slave may plainly declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children. i would rather not go free.' If he does this his master must present him before God. Then his master must take him to the door and publicly pierce his ear with an awl. After that, the slave will belong to his master forever." I think that is probably the most accurate picture of sacrificial love that I can imagine. I have my freedom, but my family is enslaved. Rather than embracing my freedom I choose to remain enslaved because of my love for my family. It's kind of a picture of salvation. At any point, I can run away from God and be "free" from my commitment to him. Instead I voluntarily sacrifice because of my love. Because I realize my life within the confines of my voluntarily servitude is infinitely better than freedom apart from it.
May I constantly be drawn to devotion God because of my great love for Him.
JM

Exodus 16:7

2010-04-05T09:25:00.002-05:00

Being in leadership can be tough. People like to complain. To let you know how they would do things. How they don't like certain things that you do. Or how they have the greatest idea that they just want to share with you, but if you don't use it, then you're an idiot. People like to complain about leadership, until they are the one leading.
I hate leading outside of God's will. When you're leading within God's will, then you're really not even leading, you're just following and showing others how to follow you. When you're leading outside of God's will, you're forging the path on your own. Who knows where you'll end up then?
Within God's will though, leadership is just following and any complaints you receive are just complaints against God. Kind of removes you from the whole equation. God, I pray that I would be the kind of leader who follows you closely.
JM

Exodus 4:21

2010-01-27T12:41:00.003-05:00

There is this perception that if God calls you to do something that He will clear the way for you. That it will basically fall down in your lap with little to no effort on your part. God's doing the work and you reap the benefits. That's not always the case, though. In fact, I bet it's actually seldom the case. Just because God ordains something, that doesn't mean that it's going to be easy, or quick, or fun. Moses was going to get God's people out of Egypt, but nobody was going to like him or trust him. Not pharoah. Not the Israelites. Probably at times not even his brother or even himself. But God ordained it. So he pressed on. It's tempting to quit. To get frustrated and drop out. If God has ordained it, then he will see it through fruition. And nothing will stop it. God help me to have the strength to press on in the projects you have ordained for me and to abandon those you haven't.
JM

Galatians 1:1

2010-01-13T14:23:00.003-05:00

I know that God has called me to be doing what I'm doing: ministering to students at FBC Harvester. I know it without a doubt. But the problem is that I don't behave like it. I don't act as if I have God's authority on my life. Instead I focus on little things and let them distract me. I hope that I can say that I am called by God and be so confident in that fact that it convicts me to lead with the kind of determination that he requires of me. God, remind me of your power. Remind me of your presence. And help me to lead in your power, and your authority.
JM

Proverbs 1:19

2009-12-22T16:44:00.003-05:00

There is a certain pleasure to knowing you've earned something. That you worked to get it. There is a value to work besides just what it produces. An intangible benefit if you will. The problem is that so often I focus on what work earns me. I'm always spending my future earnings in my mind planning out how great having thus and so will be. But if the point is the product and not the process then I've missed what is truly important. To earn. To work. To know the true value of something. And not just enjoy things for being things, but rather enjoy the purpose of things, that they can enrich our lives. That they can help us. That they are tools to help our lives be easier or more enjoyable. But they aren't the point of our lives. Whenever that gets out of place, when we value the things in life over life itself, then we start to lust for more. We desire more things just so that we can have more. That lust can give way to ill-gotten gain. To stealing. To ethically dubious decisions. To cheating. To self-promotion at the expense of others. God, please help me to simply enjoy life and always be thankful for what I have.
JM

Matthew 16:16-20

2009-12-13T23:03:00.002-05:00

I know that Jesus is the Christ. I can proudly state that line in verse 16 with Peter that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. But there are problems in the next few verses for me. First, I act like verse 20 is still in effect for me. As if the great commission doesn't exist, I walk around and I don't tell anyone about the Christ. As I'm going I don't preach his name or teach others to obey everything that He's commanded. For whatever reason. I also think verse 18 is incredible to think about. Jesus establishes His church and authorizes it to grow under Peter's leadership and that "the gates of Hades will not overpower it". I doubt Hades is too worried about it. About the way I function in church. God's church. That He has put me in leadership in. I try to make it my church. To do it my way. To focus on what I want. My preferences. Peter was in leadership, but it was Jesus' church. God forgive me for thinking I can do it better. Help me to lead Your church the way You would desire.
JM

Philippians 4:9

2009-12-10T22:26:00.002-05:00

I think one of the scariest things for me would be if someone started patterning their life after mine. Not after who I say I am or how I say I should act, but after how I actually live it out. I can put on a good front, and can act great most of the time. But there are those moments. The ones of which I'm not proud. The ones that I don't talk about. Or even like to think about. Those are the ones that I hope nobody notices. When I'm impatient. Or selfish. Or covetous. I think praying Philippians 4:9 is one of the biggest prayers that I could pray. That I would be able to proudly and unashamedly say that people can pattern their life after how I've lived mine. That's only going to happen when God lives through me. God let it be so.
JM

Philippians 3:6-7, 15-16

2009-12-09T10:36:00.002-05:00

The church I work at has been going through a lot of changes recently. It's tough for a lot of people. We've made the building more secure, which means that people can't get into the building whenever they want. We've become more staff led, which means that people feel as though they have lost some control they had over "their" church. We've unified our worship styles, which means that one of the worship styles (traditional) is going away. Some people have had issues with this. They don't understand it. They're going after their preferences. Our job is to lovingly show them that they need to passionately pursue Christ and nothing else. Nothing else matters.
That's easy for me to write right now because I like all of the changes. But there will come a time when I don't. When my preferences are being catered to. And that will be when I see if I really love worshipping God, or if I just love worshipping my way. If I really love serving God or if I just love serving my way. I pray that I will just continue following the Truth that I already have and that everything else (the functionality of it) won't matter.
JM

Philippians 2:14-16

2009-12-08T10:55:00.002-05:00

The biggest detriment to the modern church's effectiveness is complaining and arguing within us. It derails us. It makes us focus on things that don't matter. There are people who have devoted all of their lives to the study of Calvinism at the expense of loving others. There are people who have devoted all of their lives to the study of eschatology at the expense of loving others. There are people who have devoted all of their lives to apologetics at the expense of loving others. All of these things are a subplot to the glorious story that God is writing through us. We are part of the redemption story of man, and yet we complain and argue about the most petty things. I complain about the music. I complain about the font used in our message series. All of that is worthless and reduces my "shine". How can we shine like stars in the universe if we are constantly trying to put out the light of other people. If I'm constantly just trying to outshine the guy next to me. Or snuff out his light. Imagine what we could do if we started working together. If we focused on loving others. If we stopped complaining and arguing and coordinated our efforts to shine the light of God to the world.

Philippians 1:27

2009-12-06T00:54:00.003-05:00

Live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. I've always struggled to see that Christ was fighting for me. That Christ sacrificed his life for ME. God in the flesh came down to earth and suffered FOR ME. I think the more that I can come to grips with the reality of that statement then the more I can live my life to bring honor to Him. It's not me earning his love, because that already happened. It's not me earning righteousness, because that is impossible. It's me living my life to bring honor to the Good News of Christ. Christ fought for me. He wanted to restore our relationship so badly He gave his life for me. My job is to earn it. To be so blown away by the lengths to which God went to reach me that I will do whatever it takes to earn it. To live my life in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. I pray that I never lose that desire to do something great for God. Not for my glory, but for the glory of God.
JM

The News

2009-10-13T20:01:00.002-05:00

People love bad news. They love to be shocked by the atrocious behavior of other people. I'm not really sure why. Maybe it helps us feel better about ourselves that we're not that bad. Maybe it's exciting for us to read about. Not sure. What's crazy is that we feed on it. We want to know about it and be shocked by it. I just read a story that shocked me. It made me angry and saddened me for humanity. I posted a link on twitter that linked to my facebook status.
Then someone commented on it and simply said "That's horrible". And it was. I thought about it and realized that I'm propagating the bad news. We like to complain about how all we hear about is bad news. But that's the only kind of link that people pass around. I'm never going to post a link like that again. And I'm not going to click on a link that talks about how horrible something is.
I know those things are happening whether I know about them or not. But I'd rather not know about them. I'd rather be positive. I'd rather have hope. I know that these are dark times and that humanity is evil, but I'd rather focus on the goodness of God and how I can be part of the solution, rather than focusing on how immense the problem is.
JM

Obama And The Media

2009-10-07T09:44:00.002-05:00

Obama has been great with mass media. They love him. He's attractive. He usually speaks fairly well. He's smart. He's young. For the past 18 months they have been overly kind to him. But, I think that is starting to change. The incredibly liberal SNL opened up last Saturday night's show with this skit talking about how Obama has not fulfilled his campaign promises. It's really pretty funny.

I think as people start to look more closely at what Obama is actually saying, they'll realize that yes, he's attractive, young and smart, but his proposals aren't really all that great, at least in my opinion. At least the media might start being a little bit more objective.
JM

Frustrations In Parenting

2009-10-06T10:27:00.002-05:00

I hate when I get frustrated with my kids. Well, not really. I hate how I choose to respond when i get frustrated with my kids. One thing that I'm constantly trying to develop is my level of patience with them. I hate it when I yell at them. I absolutely hate it. From now on, I'm going to try to work on venting that frustration in appropriate outlets. Yes, I'll still express my frustration to them and they will still be punished, but nobody deserves to be yelled at. Ever. I don't know why people feel that is appropriate just because it's your kids. Strange. JM

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11

2009-05-19T22:23:00.002-05:00

One of the reasons that I love Ecclesiastes so much is that it puts everything into perspective. So many times I get my hopes up about something. Sometimes those hopes are fulfilled. Other times, they are dashed. What's great about the perspective that Solomon gives is that the dude tried everything. And he learned from it. And he wrote about it. That's what's incredible to me. He goes out and tries everything there is to try to make himself happy - partying, women, drinking, work, wealth, planning, etc. But it all leads to the same meaningless existence here on earth. We're all headed to the grave no matter what we do here on earth. So the point of our lives must not be what we do here on earth, but how we plan for eternity.
And I love that he wrote all of this down. A lot of times people will get great insight from an experience, but they don't tell anybody about it. I've had close people in my life never tell me about themselves and what they've experienced and what they learned from those experiences.
That's what I get from Solomon. Live. Experience life. Keep things in perspective. And share your experiences. Help others learn. Life is best lived in community.
JM

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18

2009-04-22T14:50:00.002-05:00

I think we’re at our most joyful, our happiest when we’re doing simple things. When we take the time to enjoy the simple things in life: family, nature, friends, food, etc. Anytime I go on a long trip by myself, I listen to country music. I’m not really sure why, but it’s always country. Especially at night. I remember one night I was driving through the night from St. Louis down to Atlanta and this song came on while I was in Southern Illinois. I’ve only heard the song once and I don’t know the name (I’ll find it in a minute and post it below), but I could tell you several of the lines. It starts off with “If heaven were a time it would be twilight” and goes on to talk about hanging out on the porch watching the sunset and fireflies and spending time with family. That to me, is what we should be enjoying. The more we try to understand and know and succeed, the more we will ultimately fail. I want to enjoy the simple joy of being a child of God enjoying his creation.
I found the song. It's called "If Heaven" by Andy Griggs and it's definitely country.
JM

Ecclesiastes 1:1-11

2009-04-13T10:10:00.003-05:00

We painted our dining room last night. It's now like this really cool blue on top. We've got new furniture coming. A really nice square table with eight chairs and a nice buffet to put in there. We'll put down a nice rug, hang some curtains and put some stuff on the walls. When we're done the room will look really nice. But it will go out of style. Eventually this table that we bought will wear away. The kids will mess it up. The rug will have stuff spilled on it. New will become normal will become old. If my hope and my excitement are based solely in these types of things, then I'm going to be sorely disappointed every single time.
I don't think that means I need to sit around and just be sad or not try to accomplish anything. I think instead it just means to enjoy what I do and the time that God gives me. Enjoy the pursuit of God.
We're fascinated as a society with the accomplishment, but bored with the intricacies of the pursuit. We don't want to know about all of the work that went into it, we just want the finished product immediately. We don't want to work out in the gym, we want lipo. We don't want to date, we want to be married. We don't want to be pregnant, we want to hold the baby. We don't want to know God here, we want to know Him in heaven. How different would our lives be if instead we just enjoyed the pursuit. If we took the time not waiting for the accomplishment, but instead enjoying each moment that God gives me, not just the glorious ones.
We are slaves to our mortality. We try to hold off the advances of age. We try to place hope in tomorrow. But in reality, our life will always be meaningless outside of the passionate pursuit of God. Pursue Him. Enjoy it.
We painted our dining room last night. And I enjoyed it.
JM

Conspiracy

2008-11-19T16:17:00.001-05:00

Once again I have been cheated. Click here to see who got the award I should have received.
JM

Middle School Concerns

2008-11-19T13:16:00.002-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I met with a few of my 8th grade guys and talked with them about what they feel a middle school student wants/needs to know and learn about in the 3 years that they are a part of my middle school ministry. Here's the list we came up with:
Lifestyle Evangelism
Friendships
Dating/Sex
Church Family/Creating Community
Family
Revelation
Wise Choices
Genesis
John
Synoptic Gospels
Drugs/Alcohol
Self-Image
Knowing God's Will
Call To Service
Worship
Community
Who Is Jesus
What is A Christian
David
How To Study The Bible
Romans
James
Prayer
Acts
Holy Spirit
Jonah
Parables
I'm hoping to meld this into a 3-year plan where we focus on each of these at least once during that time for our large group series. JM

Reinforcing Vs. Revising

2008-11-19T00:26:00.003-05:00

The southern baptist convention has a new advertising campaign out called We Are Southern Baptists. The goal is to show people that Southern Baptists are doing good things. The whole thing seems like it's supposed to make southern baptists feel good about who we are (loss prevention) as opposed to breaking down the barriers that people have to the SBC. Here's the video from the site, seems basically like we're reinforcing what people already know - we're missions minded and care about people who have experienced tragedy in the United States and that we care about people who are sick and hungry overseas. JM

Bookmarks

2008-11-17T13:25:00.002-05:00

I bookmark (favorite) pages on the internet all the time. I probably have like 100 stored up. I try to move them over to this site so I have them all in one spot that's easily searchable and I don't forget about things. I haven't done it in a long time, so they're just stacked up. I'll start moving the links over in the next few days, but here's the first. It's a movie called The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. It looks fascinating to me because it shows how relationships can change mindsets and how hatred can destroy relationships.

Messianic Politics

2008-11-06T10:52:00.002-05:00

Everybody is talking about how great Obama is and how he is going to change America. It's sad to me. What I think is most sad is that people think their job is done now. They voted for their candidate and now they can just sit back and relax, let him do his miracle-working, and rest confidently because their voice has been heard.
When did my vote become my voice? I hope that's not my only voice in politics. When it becomes that way then we've slipped into dangerous territory. There are so many other ways that my voice can be heard: talking to my local government officials, state government reps, and federal government reps, protesting, civil disobedience, petitioning, etc. Making sure that they know what I want them to do as my representative. The government is supposed to work for me. I need them to be doing what I want, and if all I do is cast a vote once every 2 years, then how will they ever know what I want.
I've never cared about politics before, but I'm starting to now. I want my voice to be heard, and I'm glad that I know that doesn't mean just my vote.
JM

Sad

2008-11-05T00:54:00.000-05:00

If only...

JM

2 Samuel 19:1-8

2008-11-03T00:53:00.002-05:00

When you're in leadership you can't react to things the way that other people do. You have to be more concerned with the good of the whole. You have people serving under you that are looking to you to determine how they should react to things. The temptation is to selfishly show your emotions of regret, anger, disappointment, rather than showing the positive and encouraging hope. People don't want to follow someone who is a downer. They want to be inspired. They want to have hope. They want to feel a passion for something. I want to be that kind of leader. JM

Question Everything

2008-10-02T15:40:00.002-05:00

I constantly analyze my ministry and my work to try to see if there are ways to improve. I think one of my problems has been that my questions are too small. I mean, I've questioned ways to do things better, but haven't asked foundational questions about why we're doing certain things, what the end goal should be, what is the best way to get there. I think a good way to look at it might be: If I were to start from nothing, what would I do? Where would I want it to go? Then take that and apply it to my context and try to figure out how to get there from here. Questioning is difficult, maybe that's why so few people do it. JM

The Power Of Thank You

2008-09-23T10:41:00.003-05:00

The other day I was looking on my son's soccer league website to see at what age they start playing with more people one the field and with goalies and that kind of stuff. I noticed a contact us tab, clicked it and saw that I could send an email to the commissioner of the league. I figured that most of the emails he gets are ones complaining, so I shot him a quick email that said

Tom -
I just wanted to let you know that playing soccer is the highlight of my
son's week. He loves his team, his coaches, and his games. Thank you for
providing a way for him to have fun and fall in love with the game.

A couple of hours later I got this reply

Josh,

On behalf of the SCCYSA Board and Office staff I must thank you for the
e-mail you sent me regarding your son's developing 'love of the game'.

More often than not all we hear are the negatives and your response and
support is very much appreciated and quite frankly a breath of fresh air.

I hope your son continues to grow and develop not only his soccer skills,
but his social skills as well and we appreciate the time and effort you as a
parent are providing for your son to enjoy our services.

Then this morning I was copied (accidentally) on this group email that had two replies on it

Letters like this make it all worthwhile, Tom thanks for sharing!!

and

THAT'S AWESOME.

The email that I originally sent took me no longer than 60 seconds from start to finish. The thing is, nobody stops to say thank you. Nobody takes the time. So here are some guys working at trying to provide a quality product to their community, and because of their leadership level the only things they ever hear are probably complaints. They're constantly being bombarded with the things that are wrong, even though it is probably such a small percentage.
This kind of stuff makes me want to take the time to say "thanks" more often. It's not like it's hard.
JM

Noah Plays Soccer

2008-09-22T14:54:00.003-05:00

The greatest joy in Noah's life right now is playing soccer. It's really cute to watch him. They have no idea what they're doing, but they're 3-0. Noah has scored 7 goals already this season. It's pretty funny to watch. The team we played yesterday had a kid that just "flew" around the field the whole time with his arms outstretched in airplane fashion. Sorry, no video of that, though. Here's two short videos of his first game. Watch and be amazed. (He's the one with the big blonde hair)
JM

Formula

2008-09-17T14:12:00.002-05:00

This is easily the saddest story I saw today. Click through, but the article talks about how 3 babies in China have died and 6,000 are sick, some very seriously because of tainted formula. It makes me sad and mad. I can't imagine what that must be like to watch your baby suffer all because you did what you were supposed to do. Sad.
Processing that a little bit further, it kind of makes my stomach churn that I kind of go like, well, that's in China. As if it were here it would mean more to me. Like God values us more or something. Maybe it would just mean more because it's closer or more regulated in my mind. I hope so.
JM

Remake

2008-09-17T12:47:00.003-05:00

I really wish somebody would remake this song and make it more current. I'd love to use it sometime, but the sound is just dated. I really like the words and the overall feel of the song, though. The first time I ever heard it I was at a bible study in college. I was an atheist at the time, but I had grown up in church. I remember they played this song and had us like journal during it. It was weird for me to do, but God kind of used that song to speak to me, or at least try.
The video is great, though. Love the mullet. JM

Running

2008-09-01T23:35:00.002-05:00

My wife said that she might want to run a half-marathon. She was talking to somebody at a party the other night and this girl was like we should totally get some couples together and go run the Country Music 1/2 Marathon. So I got really excited. I love to run, but have trouble focusing unless there is like something out there looming, like a race. The race is April 25, 2009, so I have 34 weeks until the race and tonight was my first run. I did 3 really slow miles, but it felt great. I figure I'll spend the first 10 weeks just getting my mileage up and then the next 24 training for the half-marathon. Should be fun.
I've run a half before, but it wasn't a lot of fun for me do to some intestinal issues, if you know what I mean. With like 8 months to train, I should be able to run it and do alright on time.
(This post dedicated to Kelly Stephens)
JM

Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-01T23:31:00.002-05:00

I love watching the weather channel when Hurricanes are making landfall. I find the information really interesting. What I don't like as much is watching the idiot stand there in the wind and rain trying to convince me that it's really bad out there. I realize that. I can see that the wind is blowing at 50 mph and that it's raining. Please don't yell at me over the wind and say it's getting really bad out here now while showing me video of branches blowing down the street.
What's even crazier is when they're disappointed at the lack of damage. I was watching tonight and the dude literally said "Gustav didn't cause the damage that was needed...I mean expected." Yeah, sorry you didn't have your flashy video moment that would make you feel more famous. JM

Hurricane Gustav

2008-09-01T23:19:00.002-05:00

The fear was that Hurricane Gustav would tear apart New Orleans again. New Orleans still hasn't recovered from Katrina. But New Orleans did well. It looks like they got minimal damage and flooding. They got 95% of the city to evacuate. That's awesome. What's great is that it totally shows that we learned our lesson from Katrina.

For now.

I bet next time they make a mandatory evacuation order, they get fewer than 90% of the city to evacuate. And the next time it will be less than that. Until eventually they either won't make a mandatory evacuation order, or under 25% of the city will leave. That can't really be our concern, though. We just need to do it right every time. Set up shelters, provide transit out of the city, provide emergency relief assistance, etc. The temptation will be to stop doing that as time goes on. To slack off on it because it doesn't get used. Or we feel like it's not needed, or a waste of time.

That's how we are. In ministry there is this temptation to slack off if we don't have big numbers. I see it all the time when I go to an event and they didn't get the number of people that they wanted. They slack off on the program. You can tell their disappointed. That they don't care as much.

But the thing is God gave them the people that are there. They're there for a reason, and they deserve the best that we can do. I hear people talk all the time about how it's okay for them not to focus on quality because they only have 12 kids or whatever. I think that makes God mad. Don't those kids deserve God's best. I could easily look at other ministries and be like, oh well, we only have 75 here today. Let's just get this over with. Or I could thank God for giving me the kids that are there and pray that he would use the event to impact their lives. Sorry this is so long. JM

Princess Missile

2008-08-31T22:29:00.002-05:00

So Ana is definitely a girly-girl. She loves to do girly things. But she has an older brother, which affects how she plays girly-style. Like she likes to dress up as a pirate, she loves to say she's a bad guy, all while holding her dolly.
The other day I caught her coloring on our walls. I went to investigate the damage and realized she wasn't really coloring. She was pretending to color...with a rocket. I guess it's good that she won't end up ultra-girly, but it's kind of funny at this point.

Paper Route

2008-08-18T23:08:00.001-05:00

I like this band. Go to their website and let the music play in the background while you surf around the internet. You may like them too. JM

Revival?

2008-08-18T22:50:00.002-05:00

I don't know if you heard about this florida revival thing that was going on down in Lakeland, FL. I talked to a couple people about it because they were curious what I thought about it, but I don't think I posted anything here about it. I was able to watch some of it on GodTV (which I don't recommend viewing).
Anyway, the point here is that the whole thing seemed weird. It seemed as though the guy thought that he was a rock star. Turns out that the leader of the revival was having an affair whilst performing healing miracles and pouring out the holy spirit.
Ed Stetzer has a great post about the gullibility of evangelicals. At root I think is that we're too trusting. We don't like to research things for ourselves. And most of all we want to be part of something special. Something unique. Something that can't be explained other than God.
The thing is, we'll never be part of something like that if we don't want to explore the Bible for ourselves and have it speak into our lives as opposed to having it filtered through a prophet. JM

Tropic Thunder

2008-08-14T00:05:00.003-05:00

Tropic Thunder looks hilarious to me. But it's getting some bad press because of degradation of the mentally disabled by using the term retard. It's interesting to hear the different viewpoints on it. I read two today, this one saying it's horrid and should not be shown because of its offensiveness, and this one explaining why they used the word retard. I agree with the second one. Basically he says that it's an R-rated film where hopefully mature audiences will get that it's not an appropriate word to use in a demeaning fashion. Also, he mentions the context in which the word is used

Adults should have the ability to process the jokes employed by "Tropic Thunder" within the context of the film and recognize that the joke doesn't target those with disabilities. It satirically takes aim at actors who exploit roles in which they play disabled characters in order to garner acclaim and win awards. Since children might not be able to make that connection or understand that context, the R-rating serves a strong role

.
The trailer looks hilarious, though. Can't wait to see it, but that probably means once it's on video. JM

Kid Songs

2008-08-13T23:53:00.003-05:00

I have to listen to a lot of kid music, either on TV as part of the daily noggin watching that occurs at my house, or in the car whilst transporting my offspring to random activities. If you listen to enough of these songs, you really start to appreciate some of them. Right now I'm totally digging this one Backyardigans song called "Nobody's bigger than a giant". While the lyrics may not necessarily speak to your soul or anything remotely meaningful like that, I think the tune is catchy and absolutely love the synth. Listen for yourself, if you think you can handle it. JM

What Inspires You?

2008-08-12T23:45:00.002-05:00

So the other day in a meeting we were asked "what inspires you?" I didn't know the answer. At least not the root of it. I like stories. Especially when they're well told. I derive a lot of inspiration from them. I specifically mentioned Rudy, which is close to being the most inspirational movie of all time.
The more I thought about it, the more that I realized that I like people who beat the odds. I've always described myself as a punk. If somebody says something can't be done, then I like to try to find a way to do it. I like doing things when they're improbable. When the odds are stacked against me. When I don't have all the resources. When all it takes is a lot of work and discipline. That's what inspires me. JM

Full Apologies

2008-08-11T00:01:00.003-05:00

Ran across this site tonight called fullapologies.com. It's got videos of kids who have killed somebody while driving drunk and they're apologizing to people close to the people who died. It's really interesting and moving. It looks like the site also has some tools to help kids not drive drunk. Worth looking at. Watch the one by "Ashley B" after you read the little bio about her. It's amazing the amount of grief that girl is feeling because she killed her best friend. Interesting line in her apology: "I'm the one that deserves to die." Deserves, not deserved. Sad.
Great idea to hopefully make the consequences of driving drunk more real. JM

Ana

2008-08-10T23:37:00.003-05:00

So last night we were over at a friends house. My daughter loves to dress up, so she put on an Alabama jersey and some pants. Then she put on these glasses and this little woolen hat. By the end of this process, she looked like an old lady. Here she is modeling her new duds. It's so stinking cute.

Of course, she doesn't always like dressing up. Like today at lunch we were out at Moe's. She was wearing a pretty little pink dress. Then she decided to take off her diaper and lift up her dress to show the world how white her butt was. Hypocrisy. JM

Staff Meeting

2008-08-10T23:31:00.002-05:00

We have an all-day staff meeting tomorrow. This could be really good or really bad. If people talk and share and are open and honest, then it will be honest. But if people just kind of sit there and do as they're told and don't offer input, it will be extremely lame. We'll see how it turns out. JM

Nice Jugs

2008-08-09T23:33:00.002-05:00

I may regret that title later, but have you seen the new milk jugs that wal-mart is using. They're way more efficient because every side is perfectly flat. I think it will be huge and we'll all be using them within the next 18 months because of the savings in shipping. Here's a picture of the new milk jug next to a current one. JM

Out Of Sorts

2008-08-09T23:30:00.002-05:00

So I'm back from Romania. I still feel a little jet-lagged or whatever, but it's getting better. I'm hoping to get back to a normal schedule soon.
I'm so pumped about actually getting back into school year ministry again. The consistency of it is awesome. Also, I'm really excited about trying to pour into my leaders and spending time with them. Should be a great year. It's so cool that my job is something that I'm so passionate about. JM

Sad

2008-07-23T22:25:00.002-05:00

So sad right now. I leave for Romania tomorrow morning for 12 days. 12 days without seeing my wife, my son, and my daughters. Hopefully the trip will go by quickly. Pray for my wife as she'll have all 3 kids all by herself for 12 days. Pray for our team's safety and effectiveness. I'm tired now, but still have a lot of stuff to do tonight. JM

Home Run Derby

2008-07-17T22:33:00.002-05:00

I watched a re-air of the first round of the home run derby today just so I could see Josh Hamilton. It was incredible. Such an amazing story of how far he's come in such a short time. It was cool to see just how excited he was to be there and how much he was in genuine disbelief that God had blessed him that much. It was also amazing to watch the fans rally behind him and start chanting "Hamilton" as they watched him smash home runs into the night sky. Here's a video I found from the bleachers in the stadium. Amazing to watch it fly so far. JM

Suffering

2008-07-17T00:21:00.002-05:00

So two days ago I'm driving to work with my windows down. There's this wasp that decides to fly into my car while I'm sitting at a stoplight. I shoo it out and it lands on my left side mirror. I'm about to flick it off and hopefully kill it when the light turns green. I start to go and figure the guy will just fly off, but he holds on tight. Like really tight. I'm doing 60 down the highway and the dude is still holding on.
The weird thing is when I saw him trying to hang on, I started feeling sorry for him. I was rooting for him to be okay. I wanted him to make it. To succeed. To live.
30 seconds earlier I was going to kill this wasp, and now I wanted him to move into my house.
Suffering can change your attitude about people. It's tough to watch people suffer. The thing is, EVERYBODY IS SUFFERING. Everyone. They are experiencing pain. They are lonely, or hurt, or sad, or disappointed, or struggling. Whatever it is, they are experiencing some level of suffering.
I think if I saw people like that, then I might really be able to love. To sacrifice my wants for the benefit of others.
Maybe not for you, but I think it might work for me. JM

Big Picture

2008-07-15T23:20:00.003-05:00

This site is so cool. They show amazing photos from a different subject with each post. Here's a couple of photos recently on the subject of the California wildfires. JM

Sensitivity

2008-07-15T23:14:00.003-05:00

It's amazing to me how quickly we can become desensitized to something. The most abhorrent things can become acceptable when the frequency is increased. I've been kind of following the Drug Cartel War in Juarez, Mexico. So far this year they have had over 580 homicides. Then today I saw this article about how people are going to visit the sites of these homicides. Here's a couple of lines:

The Juárez police department is asking residents to stop taking children to view the murder scenes that have become a daily occurrence in the troubled city.
Parents, babies, children and even the family dog are regular visitors to crime scenes on Juárez streets. Children have even been spotted recording scenes with video cameras or taking photographs with cell phones

.
You get exposed to something enough, and it won't bother you anymore. The shocking becomes just part of life. JM

Rock And Roll

2008-07-11T23:45:00.002-05:00

So the guy that normally leads worship for my middle school time on sunday morning is gone for the next two weeks. That means that I get to do it, which I love doing. The problem is picking out a few songs that will be good for me to do. If I could sing a little bit higher, I'd do this one. (Sorry, it won't let me embed it) JM

Kindness

2008-07-08T00:28:00.002-05:00

One of the things that surprises me about God is that he's so kind. He doesn't have to be. He could be mean and still be just and fair and all that. But he's kind.
Many words could describe me, but kind is not one of them. Like I'm not super mean or anything, but I don't like to take time with people and really hear them and be with them. It seems like a waste of time (see, I'm a jerk). But I think kindness is taking the time and enjoying experiences with people. I'm just really bad at it.
I'm going to work on that kind of kindness. Not the whole fake, not funny, I'm holding the door for you and saying bless you kind. That's lame. JM

glory

2008-07-07T21:12:00.002-05:00

If you didn't get any credit for what you do, would you still do it? No praise. No affirmation. A lot of times I wonder if I'm serving god or just serving so that people will say nice things about me. I hope I always serve god so that he will call me faithful and tell me he's proud of me.

Youtube

2008-07-03T00:53:00.001-05:00

I love finding stuff that I remember on youtube. This was awesome. Too bad it's not the whole scene. JM

Inspiration

2008-07-03T00:36:00.002-05:00

I think you can learn something from every experience you have. Or, better said, I think you SHOULD learn something from every experience you have. A lot of times I'll show up for something and think I know exactly how things are going to go. I prejudge the experience based on what has happened before. Whether it be talking to a certain kind of person, going to an event, speaking for a certain kind of program, I have certain expectations.
Those expectations can rob me of education, though if I don't always look to learn from every experience.
One time I was watching stupid dating show on MTV where a girl goes in and chooses a date based on only seeing 3 prospective daters rooms. The show is nearly the stupidest thing I've ever seen on TV (I saw an episode of that My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad show once, which was way worse). So this girl is in this dude's house and she sees a picture of a hand drawn-ghost with an M on it. The guys are watching her go through the rooms and he explains to the other guys that it's the ghost of mediocrity and how they try to make sure that they always live life to the full instead of settling for mediocrity.
I loved it. Not the show, but that 8 second clip. Hence, the genesis of this blog's name.
Always be looking to learn from every experience you have.

Pride

2008-07-01T23:44:00.002-05:00

Pride will make you do stupid things. I was listening to NPR on the way home tonight and they were talking about Zimbabwean president Mugabe who was recently re-elected to his position amidst credible allegations that the election was rigged.
They played a quote of him from a meeting of African leaders and he said something to the effect that "we will work with the other party to bring about what is best for our country. UNLESS we are told to do it by outsiders."
They're willing to resolve their differences, unless they're told to do it. We're all like that though. We're willing to do a lot of things, so long as we're in control. We don't like to be told what to do, even when it's in our best interest.
If we did, then following God would be easy. We'd just do what he said. Love how he loved. Live how he lived. We're too proud. JM

New Dance

2008-07-01T00:25:00.001-05:00

I need to learn how to do this. Hopefully I can recruit my wife and we can be a mad duo.

Idea Generation

2008-06-30T23:57:00.003-05:00

I think the best way to generate ideas is to stimulate your mind with other ideas. Be around creative people, read creative things, look at creative things, etc. Whenever I find that I'm having a dry time creatively, I'll just start poking around the internet and eventually the ideas come flowing. Simply because you prime the pump of creativity.

I guess a lot of life is like that actually. JM

Priests

2008-06-27T23:36:00.004-05:00

I'm glad I don't have to dress up like priests. (this isn't a slam on Catholicism). I'm glad I get to wear like a normal outfit. Like in the catholic church, the more important you are, the fancier your outfit gets. It's the same thing in Baptist churches, it's just not a uniform. I'm sure if I was senior pastor at my church, there would be a lot of pressure on me to dress nicer.

Christians like to look different than the world. We like to make our differences obvious. The problem is that even though our externals are different, we're exactly the same underneath. Broken. Sinners. People who need God.

The only thing that makes me different from the rest of the world is the forgiveness that Jesus GAVE me. And no matter how good I look on the outside, it's Jesus that is the difference and nothing else. JM

Discipline

2008-06-12T00:37:00.004-05:00

It's amazing to me how if I organize and discipline one area of my life, then the rest start to fall in line almost automatically. I've been exercising for like 10 days now, and because of it I feel like I'm being much more disciplined in a lot of aspects of my life. I eat better, I live better, I can focus better, I sleep better, etc. JM

Be Realistic

2008-06-12T00:33:00.002-05:00

I think that God is a realist. He had the ideals in place for humanity - selflessness, holiness, patience - but we screwed it up. He knew that, though, and was always thinking ahead of a way out for us. Even after we screw up, he wants to protect us and help us.

The other day I was pulling up to a stoplight and passed a turtle who was crossing the road. I wanted to get out and help the turtle across, but there was somebody behind me. At the light, though, the guy behind me got out and carried the turtle across to safety in the grass.

I think God kind of looks at us the same way, he wants to see us make it. To make good decisions and live a holy life, but he knows we're going to screw up. So he provides a way out. Salvation. Redemption. Love. JM

Disney World

2008-06-11T00:55:00.002-05:00

We have some airline vouchers with american airlines that we have to use by 07.31. It totals like $470 or something like that. Eryn tossed out the idea tonight of taking Noah to Disney World. I've never been and I think he would love it. I'd also like just being with Eryn and Noah. Not that I hate my other kids, it's just that Noah is at an age where he will really start appreciating alone time with his mommy and daddy.

But I don't know anything about Disney World, like where to stay or what parks to visit that would be best for a 4 year old. Time to do some research. JM

Frequency

2008-06-11T00:53:00.001-05:00

I haven't been posting lately. I might be done. Not sure. I think I'm going to give it one last go for like 30 days and if I see benefit from it, then I'll keep going. My blog has always been for my benefit, so if it's not benefitting me, then I either have to change purposes or nix it. We'll see what happens. JM

Trust

2008-06-11T00:51:00.002-05:00

I really struggle with trust. I like to play it off as just one of my characteristics, but it's sin and it's a poor representation of Christ. What's sad is how trusting God is of me and humanity in general. He trusted me in the redemption story of the world. And I continually betray that trust and make him look like a fool. God forgive me. Forgive us. Thank you for trusting. JM

Forgetting God

2008-06-02T23:53:00.002-05:00

It's easy for me to forget God. It doesn't matter if things are going well for me, or if they are going poorly. I have a very independent spirit that tries to do everything myself. So if things are going well, then I kind of coast along and don't seek after God and His wisdom. If things go poorly, I look for solutions and ways to get out and implement them.
Rarely, if ever, do I earnestly seek God and His help in my life.
I think that's what will keep me from being remarkable. That's what will hold me to an ordinary life. When we refuse to seek God and ask for His help, we limit ourselves to our own abilities, and no matter how great they may be, they are nothing compared to God's infinite power. JM

Professionalism

2008-05-27T23:11:00.002-05:00

Anybody can make things look professional now. Computer programs can make anything you print or media you edit look really fancy and expensive with minimal investment of time and money. That's why sometimes it's nice to see something that's not quite perfect. Love this post by Seth Godin on getting noticed by not being so polished and profesisonal. JM

Abuse

2008-05-27T23:08:00.002-05:00

Why do people always abuse power. It's like as soon as we are in control of a relationship we feel the need to abuse it. Saw this article today. Here's the first sentence:

Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.

I shouldn't have read it, because it just made me angry and disappointed in the human race. Just a reminder of our fallen state. JM

Weezer

2008-05-27T23:07:00.000-05:00

I really like Weezer. You should too. JM

Meaning

2008-05-27T00:47:00.001-05:00

I want to be more than the stuff I own, but sometimes I'm scared that's all I am. JM

Church

2008-05-21T23:55:00.002-05:00

I really think that this post nails how we're supposed to "do" church. Unfortunately most churches would rather work on a flashy program. It's easier to do that. It's harder to be missional. Click-through to read the whole post, but this line will give you a good feel:

I would suggest that it is instead, the simple acts of closing the gap between people. The gap that is filled with hurt. The gap that is filled with pride - and silence.

Recovery

2008-05-21T23:45:00.003-05:00

I don't know how I could possibly handle losing a child. How do you move on from it? For some reason I thought about it this afternoon. It's unfathomable to me. Then tonight I read this:

Steven Curtis Chapman’s youngest child died Wednesday afternoon after being struck by a car driven by her teenage brother in the driveway of the family’s Williamson County home.

Fashion Vs. Me

2008-05-21T11:34:00.002-05:00

Fashion and I don't get along. I like to look nice, but I don't know a lot about it. I've always thought that it's dumb to spend a lot of money on your clothes when you can look okay without spending all of that money. Plus, it's lame that people would judge you based on what you wear.
But, the sad truth is that it's reality that people make decisions about you based on what you look like. If I continue to look the way I do, I will have fewer opportunities than I would if I looked differently.
All that to say, I think I'm going to have to start caring more about what I look like. It's a sad conclusion to come to, but I guess it's the right one, at least for now. JM

Sin

2008-05-19T23:56:00.003-05:00

We like to make light of our own sin. I'm not really sure why. Perhaps because Jesus already paid the price for it, and all that we have to do now is place our faith in him to have forgiveness of our sin (in the simplest terms at least).
I wonder if we would take it so lightly if we had to sacrifice things according to Levitical law. My sacrifice has already been made, but it's easy for me to forget about it. To forget what it looked like. Smelled like. Felt like.
Here's what they used to have to do according to Leviticus 4:33-35, in case you were wondering:

He must put his hand on the animal's head and kill it as a sin offering in the place where the whole burnt offering is killed. The priest must take some of the blood from the sin offering on his finger and put it on the corners of the altar of burnt offering. He must pour out the rest of the lamb's blood at the bottom of the altar. Then the priest must remove all the lamb's fat in the same way that the lamb's fat is removed from the fellowship offerings. He must burn the pieces on the altar on top of the offerings made by fire for the Lord. In this way the priest will remove that person's sins so he will belong to the Lord, and the Lord will forgive him.

Interaction

2008-05-19T23:45:00.002-05:00

I struggle interacting with people sometimes at work. I tend to be rather task-oriented, so I like to stay in my office and accomplish stuff. I have to remind myself everyday to float around to other people's offices to interact. Love this post by Seth Godin on how important relationships are. Love this part:

I've worked in three companies that had lots of people and lots of cubes, and I spent the entire day walking around. I figured that was my job. The days where I sat down and did what looked like work were my least effective days. It's hard for me to see why you'd bother having someone come all the way to an office just to sit in a cube and type.

The new rule seems to be that if you're going to spend the time and the money to see someone face to face, be in their face. Interact or stay home!

JM

Insane

2008-05-19T23:44:00.000-05:00

If this was how I had to get to work, I wouldn't go. JM

Redemption

2008-05-18T23:29:00.000-05:00

It's amazing to me how the storyline of redemption runs throughout the whole Bible, like a constant theme that never changes hidden just beneath the surface. I read part of Exodus tonight and noticed this verse at the beginning of Exodus 34 "The Lord said to Moses, "Cut two more stone tablets like the first two, and I will write the same words on them that were on the first two stones which you broke."
It's so awesome that God is always looking to forgive and to redeem the broken. To take our mistakes and turn them into distant memories. To make it as though it never happened. JM

Moving On

2008-05-18T23:11:00.001-05:00

The church that I left in December is about to hire their new youth minister. I'm really excited for the students there because I think they really need somebody, but it's kind of a sad moment because somebody else will be working with my students. I guess I gave up that right when I left, though. I'm just curious what the new guy is like. JM

Mistakes

2008-05-18T23:10:00.003-05:00

I screwed something up today. I hate it when I do that, although it happens quite a lot. It seems like most people like to hide from their mistakes and hope that nobody notices. I'd rather confront them, fix the current situation, and work on a strategy that minimizes the risk of future mistakes. JM

Crucible

2008-05-08T09:35:00.001-05:00

We do a big guys rite of passage this weekend called "The Crucible" so I'm in the final prep stages of that. It's weird seeing how they do it at my new church and then comparing that with how I did it at my old church. I feel like I'm constantly screwing everything up. So much fun. JM

No Respect

2008-05-06T23:46:00.001-05:00

Probably the worst thing about working with middle school students is that nobody gives your ministry any respect. It's tough to convince your coworkers that your ministry is important. It's tough to convince parents that your ministry is something more than babysitting. It's tough to convince your church that your ministry can change students' lives. It's extremely frustrating. JM

Saturday Night

2008-05-04T00:56:00.002-05:00

Saturday night is normally a pretty late night for me. Usually we go out and do something and don't get home until later on in the evening. Then I have to review and adjust my message for tomorrow morning. I love speaking weekly again in a large group setting, but Sunday morning is a tough time to do it. Although, I guess it just means I stay up a little bit later on Saturday night. Hence, it's 1:00 am on Sunday morning, and I just got done finishing up doing my final prep for tomorrow. Time for bed. JM

Internet

2008-05-01T16:30:00.003-05:00

For the first time in my life I'm on the internet and paying for it. I have mixed emotions. JM

Internet

2008-05-01T14:28:00.002-05:00

We may or may not have internet at my house. I'll find out this afternoon when I get home. I'm pumped. I'm sure you are too. JM

Tomorrow

2008-04-30T10:10:00.002-05:00

I get internet at my house tomorrow. Posting should resume shortly after that momentous event. JM

Stuff You Probably Don't Know About Me

2008-04-24T10:44:00.002-05:00

Okay, this one you may know, but I've never really explained how it really makes me feel. I hate being touched. When I say I hate it, I mean it is unbearably uncomfortable for me. There are reasons for it that I won't go into here, but it's like when someone touches me, then I have to touch that same spot to "fix" it or something.
Last night someone touched my arm. I tried for about 10 seconds to not care about it, but then I caved and smoothed out the hair on my arm and it instantly made everything alright. But it's not about the hair, it's about this weird feeling I get. Weird, I know. JM

How Different Would Your Life Be...

2008-04-21T14:40:00.002-05:00

If you grew up in this environment?

JM

Missing

2008-04-21T12:25:00.001-05:00

I think I miss my mom the most when I talk to my dad. It's sad to watch him. He has Parkinson's. He's lonely. He struggles to interact with people. He really needed my mom. JM

trees

2008-04-15T20:49:00.002-05:00

I love being outside. Today I was hanging out in the backyard of the house where we are vacationing and just stared up at the pine trees. One day I hope to move back to the south, live on an acre with some huge pine trees and lay around in a hammock.

Vacation

2008-04-14T22:29:00.002-05:00

So I'm on vacation in lovely Peachtree City, GA. It's freezing cold, but it's been awesome to get to see some good friends. Although, it's kind of weird being back. Walking around the church I left, seeing people that I left, and all of that. Makes me miss it. Yet God has confirmed to both my wife and I that we were meant to move on. And it's awesome to hear that they are close to having my replacement. JM

I Miss You

2008-04-09T10:18:00.002-05:00

I really do miss you - blogging and the kind readers that visit here. I shall return. I just can't say when. It will be soon. I work well off of deadlines, so let's say this blog will return to having regular posts again on 04.21.08. Posting will remain sporadic until then. Sorry. No internet at home and really busy right now. But I do miss you. JM

Lists

2008-03-25T21:42:00.002-05:00

I love making lists. I made a list tonight of my worst days ever in my life. Today came in at number 4. I'll describe more of the why later on and also talk about the other really bad days. Bad days definitely help you appreciate the good ones. JM

Stuff You Probably Don't Know - Part 3

2008-03-16T00:30:00.002-05:00

I think about my mom nearly every day. Probably at least 5 days a week. My wife and I were just talking about this, actually. And it's weird stuff that makes me think of her. Like I was thinking the other day about when I would get my hair cut. I started going to a nicer place for it (somewhere that you had to make an appointment) and my mom made sure that I knew that I was supposed to tip her and approximately how much. That's kind of something that a guy just doesn't intuitively know for some reason.
At first after she died I thought about her all the time. I thought about how she died and I really struggled to get that image of her dying out of my mind. For several weeks I carried around a picture of her with me so that if that image was stuck in my head, I'd pull out that picture and really try to focus on it. I wanted to remember her the way she was in that picture, and not how she looked as she died. That's actually the toughest part about losing somebody. You have to try to conjure up those memories, and they don't come easily. You have to think more situationally. Like remember moments when something happened, or that really meant something. And those are the memories that you have to hang onto. The good ones. I'm scared though that as I get older and I spend more time without my mom that I'll begin to lose those memories. That I might forget her.
So yeah, that's really rambling, but it's something you probably didn't know. I didn't know most of it until I just wrote it. JM