A New Adventure!

You will not find any new posts here (small surprise, since I have been SOOOOOOOO neglectful!). Instead, go to www.CluelessChristians.com, sign up for the newsletter (which we will have functional soon), and check out the He Said, She Said blog.

Life is good...

Staying up until early morning hours tonight watching an old Shakespeare movie and discussing it with my 17-, 14- and 12-year-olds. Could life get any better for a home-schooling dad?

Provision takes many forms

This process of transition into...whatever it is that Father is taking us to...has been a real trip. There are times He has spoken so clearly to me, I've turned my head expecting to see a physical manifestation or something. No...I'm not kidding! I've heard weird words from Him with a frequency and clarity I've not had since my Pentecostal days! (Yes, I -rather, we- went through a Pentecostal phase; but that's the subject of another blog). Knowing that He's leading us into a lifestyle of entrepreneurialism, provision is a BIG issue for me. Yes, I know lilies of the field and sparrows and all that, but how will I get my bills paid? You see what a hard head He's up against when He speaks to me? Maybe this is why He feels the need to speak so clearly: to get His word through my thick melon! Anyway, I want to share one weird thing He's doing right now to demonstrate His provision for me:

I've been at my job for seven and a half years now. Since my job pays a small hourly wage, but a substantial rate bonus, they almost treat us like subcontract labor; e.g., there are certain tools we are responsible for ourselves. Generally, these are hand tools; expensive power tools and consumable tools are provided by the company. I have one particular consumable tool that I use with regularity. I have two of this tool and I use both every day. On average, this tool lasts about a week before it needs replacing. Sometimes, I've had this tool last 6 or 8 weeks; sometimes only a few hours! The tools I have right now are different color, so they were not made from the same lot run, perhaps even made from different manufacturers, even though I obtained them on the same day.

Now, here comes the weird part: That day was sometime in February!!! Can you say, "Their shoes did not wear out in the desert?" Now, I want to reiterate: I do not pay for these tools, so the issue is not corporeal provision. It profits me nothing in the physical realm for these tools to go on working. God is doing this simply for my spiritual benefit!!! The only purpose here is to boost my faith! And what a blessing that He has opened my eyes to see this as a miracle on my behalf! How easy would it be for me to say to myself, "Huh! I haven't changed these tools in 9 months. How 'bout that.", and forget about it? And if it were not for the kindness of God opening my eyes, that is exactly where I would be!

Men, Father is doing the miraculous in your life every day! Look for it! Recognize it! Give Him the glory for it! And tell others (including me!) about it, so we can be blessed, too!

...In a handbasket!

Watching the news the other night, I was a little distressed. All evening the teaser had been: "Property taxes are going down; but there's a downside. Find out what it is at eleven." Good teaser! I couldn't think of a downside to reduced property taxes, so I resolved to stay up and find out what it was, despite my impending 3:45 AM alarm.

Lead story at eleven: Property taxes coming down! The foreshadowed downside? Reduced government services! Layoffs in government agencies! My fledgling Libertarian nerve started to twitch involuntarily...

How far we have fallen from our keep-the-government-in-check roots! Our Founding Fathers, almost every one of whom saw the wisdom of keeping the government small, would develop bleeding ulcers to see how many heads the government hydra has grown by 2006. When we hear a story about shrinking government services, we should rejoice! There should be champagne corks and high fives popping all around the room. More jobs returning to the private sector! More money in the hands of the spending and investing populace, instead of
the inefficient tax-and-burn bureaucracy. Services run by trained professionals, not paperwork-laden agencies!

The scariest part of this incident was not the "government, good/decentralization, bad" mentality of the Talking Head-THAT part I've come to expect- rather, the assumption of universal agreement by all involved in the story. No one challenged this point of view or offered any kind of opposing statements. Apparently it is unthinkable to not desire government to be as big as it can possibly get.

Men, are you firm in your convictions? Do you set an example for your children of a man who says without fear of ridicule, "THIS is right, and THIS is wrong." Even if you disagree with everyone else, even if you disagree with other men in your church, can you argue your position? Can you debate a roomful of naysayers and yet still keep an open mind, knowing that you may be the one in the wrong? Are you humble enough to admit you MAY be the one in the wrong?

Exemplify Christ for your family and stand firm for truth!

It's the Lord, Stupid!

Talking to the Lord (actually, more like whining to Him) on my regular fasting day today about direction for business, family, money, life...I mean, whining. "Lord, we don't have enough money for bills! Looooord, how will we get this business started, or that one, while we're working on the house? Loooooooooooord, we don't have enough time to add in something new, but if we don't we won't make enough money and blah, blah, blah, me, me, me, waah, waah, waah!!!"

...I think you get the picture. It was pretty pathetic. I worked myself into a headache by noon.

Sooooooooo, He says to me, "So what makes you think this is about you?"
I stopped cold. "Well, we are talking about my bills and my time and my family!"
God again: "What makes you think anything is about you? Your purpose is obedience. If I choose to bless you with a business, it's for the purpose of relationship, ministry and worship; not money. Relationship with clients, relationship with your family, relationship with Me! You work on the obedience part, I'll take care of the money."

There we go, men. All that we do is for the purpose of relationship. With Father first, our families second, everybody else third, and ourselves last. Why is it so easy to reverse that order?

Do not despise small beginnings

Entrepreneurialism ho!

Today the Lord granted us a $24 return so far on a $5 investment with the promise of much more! Hallelujah!

This is my prayer, men: That we would be able to add value to whatever Father brings us. That we would recognize opportunities to bring increase to His Kingdom. That He would bless whatever we turn our hands to that we might redeem these things for His purposes.

Several months ago, my son and I were discussing buying run-down houses and fixing them up for resale. We concluded that this honored Father because it is performing the same work that He performed at Creation. "In the beginning, the earth was formless and void." Father brought order to chaos. We participate in the same work when we fix the broken things of this world and make them valuable.

Father, as men who are operating as your hands and feet in this broken world, may we all step back from our work each day and proclaim with you, "It is good."

Maybe we could test it on politicians...

Here's a new twist for a political race: One of the candidates for Oklahoma State School Superintendent proposed last week that used hardback textbooks be placed under every student's desk. The purpose? To shield their bodies in the event of a classroom shooting! You think I'm joking? Read it here.

Honestly, could he have sent a clearer message that he is not the candidate for people searching for real solutions for problems? What does he want to be known as? The Band-Aid candidate? Actually, this may qualify him as the perfect man to run the government school system: Treat the symptom, not the cause. No real thinking allowed.

So, what do we learn from this? How is this relevant to men trying to lead their families in the ways of Christ? Weeeelll, how about encouragement to look at the decisions we make from an outsider's point of view. Aaaaand, maybe ask a few questions as well:

1) Did I make this decision out of anger at the situation? (Not among my most rational moments)
2) Does this decision address the root of the problem? (Assuming we KNOW the root of the problem!)
3) How will my family react to this decision? Will they feel encouraged and protected or will they surmise that Dad's just blowing smoke again?
4)Second most importantly: Will this decision increase or improve my relationships with my wife and children?
5)Most importantly: Will this decision increase or improve my relationship with Father?

I could tsk at political candidates all day long. Heck, I could probably make it a full-time occupation! My judgmental nature loves that game! A more fruitful exercise would be to do what we just did: Take other's mistakes to heart and discern how we can avoid the same.