An Excellent Theology of Church

Caleb is lives on Vancouver Island....salmon, bald eagles and whales. I am friends with his family. Caleb has some really good thoughts about what church is all about. And that shouldn't be a surprise seeing the salmon he is holding! Here is a quote from a letter his parents sent out recently.

For home school literature, Caleb is reading through the New Testament. Upon coming to the Sermon on the Mount, he wanted to conduct a little experiment in our darkened bathroom with one of his candles (he also makes and sells candles to raise funds for various worthy causes).

As you can imagine, one small flame illumined our entire bathroom. Well, almost the entire bathroom. The far corners were still hidden in the shadows. Caleb, our budding theologian, said, Look at that Mom. There are two dark corners still. That's sort of like my friends."

Picking up the candle and moving toward the corner he said, "Isn't the best way to light up their darkness to take the light to them?"

That was the impetus for us to start a weekly neighborhood guys group in our own home... As weeks turned into months following our "bathroom incident," we realized it was time to stop inviting these youth to go to church and bring church to them. One young friend has put his trust in Jesus and is coming to out house for follow-up."

Check out Matthew 5:14-16. This story makes those verses come to life.

My Story

Back in October, I took up the challenge to write my story; specifically to tell the story of one change Christ has made in my life. I started this journey here. My next goal is to commit this to memory so that I will be able to share it naturally. As to the power of the story, I shared this with a friend a few weeks ago and it really connected with him. I don't think he is trusting Christ yet, but it is a good start. So here goes:


The biggest struggle in my life has been feeling like I need to prove myself to God and others. It is no fun and there is no freedom in my self-worth being indexed to my performance plus other’s opinions. The constant feeling of failure was like a chain tied around my ankle. It had a paralyzing effect on me.

But Jesus Christ has been intervening in my life and taking that chain off. Instead of feeling like I have to prove myself to God, He has given me a sense of worth apart from anything that I do. I am accepted and approved. God gives that to me not because of anything I have done, but rather based on His mercy for me. I am on a journey to fully experience the gift of worth in my life. So for me, Jesus has changed me from feelings of failure to a standing of worth.

Sad Day

Ron Santo

Cubbie nation is grieving today. Ron Santo died last night.

One of the best players to never to be elected to the Hall of Fame.

He and Pat Hughes were amazing. Whether it was talking about Ron's hairpiece or how an infielder should have played the last ground ball, Ronnie and Patrick were classic.

He will be missed. God comfort his family and help the Cubs.

I know you're gonna say no, but....

I forget which ManChild started it, but there is a new phrase in our home. It goes something like this:

"I know you are gonna say no, but can I....."

Like 10 minutes before dinner, "I know you gonna say no, but can I have a piece of candy?" Interesting strategy. Not sure if it's use is intended to soften the parent or pre-console the ManChild.

The strategy doesn't really work. However there have been a time or two when the request had merit on its own. So perhaps from the ManChild's perspective, the apparent 10% success rate is worth it!