Archive for February, 2008
Is it ok to register for a foot massager?
So Shannon and I like to go for walks in the mall. If you leave your wallet and purse in the car, it’s actually pretty fun. We get out of the cold and you can always stop for a fresh pretzel.
There is one thing that is mandatory in our walks at the mall. We have to stop at Brookstone and use the iSqueez. The iSqueez is a foot massager that does more than the usual moving nodules and vibrations. As the name states, it actually squeezes you feet.
At first this might sound like a cheap gimmick, but then you try it and you are stuck (literally and figuratively). There is a reason it is $399. Because people will pay that much for a few minutes in heaven (two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven). It has taken a lot of self control to not pony up the money right there on the spot (and from the look in the salesman’s eyes…he expects me to).
Shannon and I actually planned on buying it (on ebay for much cheaper) as our Valentines day gift. It didn’t work out though. So now I’m thinking about trying to register for it for our baby shower. We registered for a 50″ plasma screen TV (what else is the kid going to watch Baby Einstein on). Why not this?
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Lent - Tips for the Season #3
photo by: moriza
We are almost two weeks into the Lent season now. I’m sorry for the delay on this last post in my Lent series. Things haven’t allowed me to sit down and write it. But for those who have been waiting patiently (and I guess the impatient ones too), here is the final post.
Once again, I’m not the most generous person you’ll ever meet (that’s probably why this list is shorter than the other ones). I don’t even like to share candy. But I’ve realized my short comings and here are some things that I’ve learned that help me to be a little more generous with my time and money.
- Make it a priority
You’re not going to do it until you make it a priority. As I said in another post, I learned this from a wise friend when I was in college.I had a moment of enlightenment when I was in college. I was a poor college student (which for some is a load of crap statement…but that is another blog), and I went out to eat with a group guys. At the end of the meal, an older gentleman in the group paid for the meal. I remember telling him how I wish I could do the same. And he responded in the kindest of words, “If you aren’t generous when you have nothing, then you won’t be generous when you have everything.”
You have to make being generous a priority in your life. There are too many other shinny things that will take center stage if you don’t (this comes from the guy with the iPhone…I know about shinny things taking center stage…and I’m still learning). Make it a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly task to look for ways to be more generous in your life.
- Have a budget
You won’t know what to give until you know what you have. This works for both your money and your time. For your money, you should have a budget for every month. This takes away the excuse of saying, “I just don’t have any money to give.” You don’t have money to be generous with because you don’t plan.
When Shannon and I first started budgeting, it was like I got a raise. Before we budgeted, we just tried to keep an eye on our checking account and when it got to low we stopped spending (don’t judge you know you do the same thing). When we started budgeting, we were finally able to plan. We were able to make our money work for us instead of the opposite (check out DaveRamsey.com for more information on budgets).
You also need to budget your time. Some of us don’t have time to serve our fellow man because we never have any extra time. I’ll give you a tip…there is no such thing as “extra” time. There are 24 hours in a day and that is all you have. Just like you’re pay check only has a set amount of money, your life only has a set amount of time. You have to budget your time wisely so you serve those around you (check out ZenHabits.net for more information on budgeting your time). - Give first
This is has two implications. You can take the idea of biblical “first fruits.” This was the commandment given by God that everything that you received (animals, harvest, children, ect.), the first of it was to be given to God. The top line of your budget should have a line for a certain percentage of your money that you want to give away. When you get paid you should automatically take that percentage of money out of your check to give away. No questions. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just do it. Then budget the rest to live off. If you don’t do this…you’ll just make excuses and never be generous with the money you have. This will teach you to be generous.
The other implication is if you have the option to serve someone or to do something else with the “free” time in your life, serve. Give of yourself first. Generosity now has the priority. So skip the basketball game and go do a generous act. - Have a separate checking account
This is a little trick that Shannon and learned when we weren’t part of a local church for awhile. We didn’t have a place that we could write a check to for a weekly tithe. So we opened up another checking account and we transferred a percentage of our pay checks into the account every time we got paid. Then we knew we could use this account to be generous whenever the opportunity presented itself without having to worry about whether we were using money that was needed to pay the bills.
When we started going to City on a Hill we started giving our tithe to them. We still transfer the money into the account so we don’t get it mixed up with the rest of the money we have, but we enjoyed having the freedom of the extra checking account so much that we transfer an additional amount of money into it every month so we can be generous when the opportunities present themselves. - Give first ask questions later
Now this might sound like I’m say to give money to anyone on the street who asks you for it (in fact I would say not to do that…give them food, clothing, bottled water, a cup of coffee…but don’t give them money. Read “Under the Overpass” to see why). What I’m saying is that my tendency and I know some of your’s tendency is to ask the question “Why?”. Why should I be generous with my time and money. The reality of it is that I can’t answer that question truly. I could give you scripture. I could give you stories in my own life. I could paint a picture of a vision of bringing heaven to earth. But you won’t get it.
You won’t get it until you take a homeless guy across the street to Arby’s for lunch. You won’t get it until you mow your elderly neighbor’s yard for them without them asking or paying you. You won’t get it until you help your wife’s single-mother-coworker pay her rent. You won’t get it until you pay for lunch for you and your friends knowing that you might not be able to eat dinner.
If you decide that you aren’t going to be generous until you understand why, you’ll never be generous. The reality is you need to give first and then ask questions, because by giving you’ll find the answers.
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Big Spring Update
I just got an email from my mom:
These are pictures from the alley behind our house, Denny’s, and Jordan’s School. Just to let you know how close it is. The smoke is blowing away from the house so that shouldn’t be a problem.
Love you,
Mom
Here are the pics:
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I’m not Dead.
I must say it has been weird not writing over the past few days (this isn’t writing this is me giving an update…or something). But I wanted to give a quick update and let you know that I’ll be back in the saddle as soon as possible. I had a great weekend with my parents hanging out and painting the nursery. I’m all relaxed and ready to get back to my blog.
On a side note. If you hear on the news about a refinery blowing up in Big Spring TX (it’s Big Spring…not Big Springs…there’s only one spring and it’s big…kinda), that is where my mom and step-dad live. It is only about a mile from where they live. My mom said that it shock the whole house and when she first looked outside there was a mushroom cloud. Kinda cool. They evacuated all the schools too (my niece has to be happy). There is reports that only one person got injured in the explosion. Anyways if I get any further news, I’ll let you know.
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Parents in Town
Sorry for the lack of posts. My parents are in town until Sunday. Just thought I would give a heads up to all my loyal readers (all three of you…well wait….my mom is here with me…so all two of you).
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The Next Guitar Hero - Guitar Rising
My friend Dave Ortega (I’m telling you man…get a blog…or start posting on mine…or something) sent me an email with a link to a new video game that is coming out called Guitar Rising. Now I’m a huge fan of Guitar Hero (check out my stats…oh yeah). I’ve always said it is a way for mediocre guitar players (like myself) to play like rock gods. With this game, mediocre guitar players can now become a rock god. It even uses a real guitar. I must say. If the price is right, I’m going to be trying this one out (unless the company wants to give me a free copy….)
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Obama v. McCain - Let the Parody Begin
Ok..I don’t know if you’ve seen the “Yes We Can” video done for Obama. Whether you like him or not (I’m still weighing the options), this is one inspiring speech. If politics was based on inspiring people…I think Obama would win hands down, but that is besides the point. I came across a parody (kinda) that uses snipets from McCain’s speeches. I just had to say…I nearly wet myself. The first is Obama’s video and the second is the one of McCain. Let me know what you think.
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How to Beatbox in 5 minutes
Found this video on the web that gives some really simple instructions for “How to Rock the Kitchen Beatbox.” I know what I’m making for dinner tonight.
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Proposal
I just got done reading the account of my friend Chun-Yu’s proposal. It was pretty awesome how God worked things out for him. I think his closing line is something that we can all live by.
“Plan a little, pray a lot, be ready, act when He shows you.”
Great words CY and once again congratulations to both of you.
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Lent - Some tips for the season. #2
So Lent is centralized around three actions that are lived out through the season…prayer, fasting, and generosity. I’ve already covered prayer.
The idea behind fasting is two fold. The first is to deny yourself of something you like/need in order to drive/draw to you God. The second is to give yourself extra time to pray (which pours back into the first part).
Most fasts typically give up food for a season of time, but there are a lot of options for fasting during the Lent season. You normally start on Ash Wednesday and go until Easter taking Sunday’s off (adding up to 47 days). Sunday is suppose to be a time of celebration, therefore you don’t fast at that time.
In this post I hope to give you a few tips for fasting that I’ve picked up. Once again, I’ve only been regularly fasting for about a half-a-year, but hopefully you can learn from the mistakes that I’ve already made.
- Be honest with yourself
Forty days is a long time to go without something no matter what it is. For most this will be a life changing event. Be honest with yourself. Don’t say you are going to give up TV for Lent if you know that there is no way that you really will. You’re just setting yourself up for disappointment. Be honest with yourself and give up something that you know you will be able to go without for 40 days.
If you’ve already started a fast and are realizing now that you’ve bitten off more than you can chew (sorry I couldn’t pass up that pun), it’s ok to edit your fast. God won’t shot you with lightening bolts from heaven (or will He….hmmmm). - Start Small
If this is the first time that you are going to fast, don’t give up everything but water (by the way this is the hardest and most dangerous of all fasts and should only be done with a doctors supervision). Start off small. Give up meat or alcohol (for all my boozers out there). Then work your way up to harder fasts later down the road.
My first fast was a three day all juice fast. Since then I’ve done a three week juice fast and a three week fruits and vegetable fast. But the key is to start small and work your way up to more challenging fasts.
A side note though, make sure that the fast is still challenging, or else you’re not fasting. You’re just giving something up for a little while. - Check your calendar
This will happen every time you decide to do a fast. You will swear off booz for a week, and an hour later your best friend who you haven’t seen in four years will call you up out of the blue for a beer. These are the things you have to prepare yourself for. But you need to make sure in advance that you don’t already have something scheduled that will conflict with your fast. This might mean that you are going to need to reschedule your fast, alter your fast, reschedule your event, or be prepared for the temptation that comes with your event. - People will find out
Jesus tells us that we aren’t to proclaim to people that we are fasting, but the reality is that people will find out (unless you’re giving up some obscure thing that no one would notice anyways…even you). When people notice that you turn down their offer for a Starbucks run for the fifth time in a row, they will start to ask questions. I find this is a great opportunity to share the gospel with them in a simple and humble fashion. “Oh I’ve given up coffee for Lent so I can draw closer to God.” The key is to not make a big deal about it and most of the time they won’t either. - Don’t do it alone
Fasting isn’t a glamorous or easy act. So don’t go it alone. Team up with a friend or a group of friends. This way you have someone to pray with during lunch. You can also pray for each other during your fasts too. - It’s not a contest
This happened to me on my first 40-day fast. I had given up all food for forty days and I was doing really well…too well in fact. I was getting really excited. I was half way through the fast and was really starting to get full of my self. I was starting to think about how cool it was going to be to tell people that I had gone 40 days without any solid food (I was just having juice and smoothie every now and then). I knew I needed to edit my fast mid-stream and start a fruits and vegetables fast. This kept me from being prideful, but still allowed me to deny myself and drive myself to God.
If you find yourself getting prideful about your fast, it’s time stop and reevaluate your actions. Remember your purpose is to draw closer to God. - If necessary, STOP
There are times when you will just need to stop your fast all together. Your health is a really good reason for this. Any fast where you deny yourself of food can be dangerous to your health (do lots of research before you give up any type of food).
The main reason to stop is if your fast interferes with your relationship with God. I have a friend who doesn’t fast because he says that he ends up focusing on the fast rather than focusing on God. Remember the ultimate purpose of a fast is to draw you closer to God. If you find that your fast is doing the opposite, STOP! No fast is worth your relationship with God. Stop your fast and find other avenues to draw closer to God.
That’s it for now. Until next time, enjoy your chicken broth.
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