6 years...

Six years ago today, Shauna and I were married.
It is the best decision I have ever had the privilege to make. Our wedding was a lot of fun, but due to being in a car accident the day before, and doped up on some meds, I don't remember much (lol). However, I do remember we stayed our first night in an awesome bed and breakfast in Asheville, NC called The Beaufort House. We had the whole top floor. It was sweet.

The rest of our honeymoon was in the mountains of Tennessee. It snowed and we had so much fun.

Thanks for marrying me Shauna. You're my best friend. There is no one else that I would rather share my life with. God is so good.

So, to celebrate, we went to church this morning, played ORIGINAL Mario Bros., and are going HERE for dinner. Did I mention that this is our last anniversary without kids? Some would call it bittersweet...I look forward to the future. There's nothing bitter, here. Bring on the kids : )

What if your church were canceled?

I work in the church. It is my vocation. I am convinced that if I were not able to receive a salary for working in the church, that I would still have to do it. It is compulsory.

That being said, I understand that many of the things in church that I write about have bias. You see, I really believe the local church is the hope of the world. I am not talking about a building or even a cool brand; but the people that make of the church of Jesus.

I really love the church; I haven't always been able to say that. I love my church. I think we get a lot of things right. Every church (and the word every makes this statement inclusive of all) functions as an organization. Whether you like it or not, the church of Jesus Christ uses the same systems that organizations worldwide use: business principles, marketing, conflict management, etc. This is not a very popular statement with "would be" purists (I am talking about idealistic people who believe that money and economic stability should not be part of the conversation of the church). But, if you have ever led in the church setting, you understand. That being said, I really appreciate and love the way my church spends her money (and not just because I take a paycheck, for which I am grateful and I do enjoy).

At my church, our budget covers common things like: salaries (duh), facility stuff (like electricity and running water), insurance (because it is a public place, and it's like common sense legality stuff, ya know?), and the like. But unlike other organizations, my church pays for things like: utility bills for people on hard financial times, medical clinic establishment in third world countries, counseling for troubled marriages, teaching and training for life development, relationship enabling like groups of people that do life together, school facility renovations, food and boardning for the homeless, and the occasional gift card for the volunteer that has worked hard to enable mission and she deserves a full time salary (but, deep down, the fruit of her labor is worth more than any salary or gift card to her). Stuff like that.

There's a question that goes through my mind from time to time that I was first asked about ten years ago: if your church were taken off the map and didn't exist any more, who would notice? I love working for/with a church that matters. So much so, we shouldn't be surprised when we see God's faithfulness and providence in supernatural (don't worry...I'm not getting weird...think extraordinary and "this normally wouldn't happen" type of stuff) ways.

Case in point: we had to cancel our weekend services the first weekend of February due to 75,000 feet of snow being dropped on us multiple times (it was more like 3-4 ft overall, but ya know...). Now, understand that our services (we like to call them celebrations) are the most common source of income for our organization. We don't exist without the church (think people) buying into the mission of who we say we are (think giving money, time, energy, and prayer). We have online giving, and many people take advantage of that, but honestly, we were a bit concerned. To add to the concern, we already had 40 homeless men and women living at our facility, and dozens of volunteers taking care of them (we were spending money, time, energy, and prayer).

You know what happened? Not only did my church EXCEED our budgeted giving over the first weeks of February, the homeless guests decided to conduct a church service regardless of anyone else being able to be there. Many of our volunteers work on other teams, but this weekend, they preached, sang, filmed, recorded...why, it was as if they refused to allow the weekend snowstorm to stop them! Supernatural.

Just sayin...

Quotes by my pregnant wife (Pt. 2)

“How did you get to be such a dork?” (this is said to me quite a bit lol)

“You kill me.”

“I don’t think I could date someone while being filmed.” (granted, while she was watching a dating reality show on ABC)

“I was only in there for like, 20 minutes.” (66 minutes was the actual time in Wal Mart while I was in the car)

“You’re gonna be really outnumbered.” (this after finding out we were gonna have a girl)

My First Rated R movie experience

This post is dedicated to Fun Dip. I love Fun Dip. It was the premier candy for every 12 year old...and I would eat one of the candy sticks before I shotgunned the candy powder...and then I would eat the second candy stick.

It was 1992. I was wearing Reebok Pumps. I may have drank a Crystal Clear Pepsi that afternoon. I remember that Saturday vividly (well, ok not vividly).

My friend, Barry, and I wanted to go to the movies. I still love the movie theaters. There's something about getting lost for a couple of hours in a story. I love it. This particular afternoon, Barry's mom offered to take us to the movies. We both jumped at the notion. We didn't know what we were going to see, but it was the movies, right? Let's go!

So we load in their awesome Ford van (I think it was when the Windstar first came out?), drove down 24/27 in Albemarle to the Eastgate Cinemas (they actually have a website now LOL). Now, the Eastgate Cinema was the only option in Albemarle at the time. I don't know if they have another option today, but the one we had was run by a lady who reminded me of Kathy Bates in Misery (see right, and you can obviously see I have seen move rated R movies since 1992 LOL), but add about 30 years. She was mean. She was the lord over the 6 screen theater. She always wore a dark mid calf cotton skirt that made a "hissing sound" when she walked...that added to her meanness.

So we get there, and Barry's mom looks at us and says: "I am going to see The Last of the Mohicans. You two can come and see that or go see something else." The opportunity to see a rated R movie was both exciting, scary, and exhilarating to me, a 12 year old "churched kid." In fact, it was so scary, that I remember walking in the theater with my FunDip and Cherry Coke wondering if anyone would see me and tell my mom. I would have probably acted like I walked into the wrong theater or something stupid, but no one knew. I always wondered if mom knew, though. I figure now that she probably did, but I felt a sense of accomplishment nonetheless.

So we're there...watching Daniel Day Lewis and his brother and father continue the Mohican legacy. I remember the emotion and fear I felt when he shot the translator in the head so he wouldn't have to be burned alive (spoiler). I was in amazement. That movie was so good. Since then, I have watched it several times, and it still makes me reminisce of the "newness" of real movie magic for the first time.

I remember, at 12, thinking: "Man, that guy (the translator) saved everyone's lives. He actually sacrificed himself for everyone! He did something like what Jesus did!" No lie...I made that connection (like I said, I was a "churched kid"). I also thought about how awesome it was that the one chick threw herself off a cliff at the end (no redemptive thoughts there, but a spoiler if you haven't seen it).

Since then, I have seen, maybe over 100 different phenomenal movies. Tonight, we watched District 9 on DVD. It is always an experience and I am always a bit taken back when I see redemptive themes in art. I like to think that, even at age 12, I noticed some important things in the movies. It certainly makes me grateful for good art. Excellence in art can, most of the time, weave redemptive messages and themes in its message. Many times, these themes show glimpses of God's Kingdom.

I am grateful for folks like Tim Stevens who write books like Pop Goes the Church. They make me confident that I do catch glimpses of redemption (and the content of this book makes me feel that I'm not crazy). I can see God in all of creation. I always have a choice to make, a picture to interpret, and a journey to experience. So, I wonder...what have you seen lately, either in a theater or in the comfort of your own home, that has spoken to you? What music have you been listening to that stirs your soul to something big? Maybe your experience points to something deeper...Maybe you can find traces of redemption in your own movie history...