Bible Tracks instead of Skittles!!!???

I have been a Christian for almost 5 years now, so that means I have had 4 Halloweens in the "bubble" and something I do not understand is the Christian Festivals or Bible Track instead of candy option. I see churches advertising these festivals all over the place during this time of year, like a somehow healthy alternative or something to skittles or 8 year old power rangers. What I do not understand is that we are called to be Christ's ambassadors right? (2 Cor 5:20). From my public school and private catholic school understanding of this is that we are to represent our King, not ourselves, we are to look at our King as how we should live in the world. I do not see Jesus seeing the "sinners" and telling his disciples "ok fellas let's go and do our own party so we do not get influenced". So how are we the "ambassadors" representing our King when we huddle together, have dark houses with no candy, or if we are at home we hand out bible tracks, how are we representing our King properly?

Are we not representing Him as a legalistic, anti-cuture, anti-neighbor moralist?? I understand that dressing your 7 year old up like Harry Potter can be an invitation to Witchery and the like and that could lead him down a path of debauchery or whatever, but seriously how about we actually look at our King! How about we represent Him by having a light on, maybe even, dare I say it, giving out good candy and loving the people coming to our homes. Maybe start living with others, actually living life with them, getting to know them, their names, their dreams, their faiths, this seems to be what our King did. Maybe start loving people in such a way that when we do share the glorious hope of the gospel it will be genuine love coming across, maybe this Oct. 31 instead of holy huddling it, or doing trick or track (as in bible track) evangelism, we start to know those the Lord has put in our neighborhoods, and just maybe we will see something happen in our hearts and theirs too!!

The Office!!!! It is coming soon!!!!!

3 Years till the 3-0!!!

Yesterday was my birthday, I remember people telling me that once you pass 21 it is all downhill. I could very easily at times agree with that statement. I think though moreso I feel I am more alive than ever, more aware of the present and the things of life seem to have more depth and meaning than when I was 20 or even 24. At this time 6 years ago I was freaking out cause the previous weekend I had been arrested for DWI, I was a week away from being 21, so I was underage to top it off!!! Yeah I was up a creek.. I had lost my license and had the threat of going to jail, and losing a lot of things including my job, my parents trust and my families view of me being a good kid...At that time I remember thinking, my life was over that this crisis would define me forever and that I would never recover from that.

Tonight I type this as my wife is up in Glorieta NM at a women's retreat with our church and place I work Desert Springs Church. My 18 month old daughter is asleep in the other room, and oh yeah did I forget to mention that Lauren my wife is pregnant with kiddo number 2?!? I am paying a mortgage, leading my own family as well as The Well College Gathering at DSC. SO needless to say my life did not end, I did recover from that crisis, but not on my own, only from the work of an outside source.

Between then and now, about 4 years ago I came to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior, as my hope for reconciliation between God and myself. I came to realize by God's grace alone, that I am a sinner, an enemy to the eternal, perfect Judge of the Universe and my trespasses against Him merited a eternal punishment!! I was facing Hell, I was facing what I deserved, But God saved me, by putting my punishment, the punishment I deserve on His only Son Jesus Christ!! and the perfect, holy life that His Son Jesus, who came down and was man and God at the same time, the life He merited was now credited to me, as if I had lived that life, as if I live that life now.

How does all this mesh together, well it is my life for starters, but now, through new eyes through a heart changed and focused on the cross of Christ I see a DWI, a family to lead, a house to pay for, a wife and daughter and baby to love as all things that have shaped me, and are shaping me in a lot of ways. But NONE of these define me, only what Christ has done is what defines me!!! Only His work on the Cross defines me. I am a slave to Christ, not a perfect one, far from that, I suck and still have a lot of crap in my life that does not reflect my new position in Christ, BUT again that is not what defines me, cause my definition of who I am relies on the work of another, it relies on the work of Jesus Christ!!!!

Life is going downhill??? It's just starting in light of eternity!!!!!

Awesome!!!!!

If you have a kid that likes Dora you will like this, if you do not, Thank God for that blessing!!!!!

A taste of old school, YO!

So my first blog in a while, it should be something deep, something that will make you think and really ponder. Maybe I will discuss the implications of the emerging church, or give a review of Michael Moore's new movie Sicko and give my take on the Health Care system here in America. I know I could discuss the upcoming elections and discuss the future of evangelicalism in America if Clinton is elected!!!!!

Or.....

Been Gone for a Minute, Now I'm Back...

New Blogs coming soon...

1 Week!!! The Office will be back!!!

Due to Fox's cancellation of "The O.C.", my family was in search of a new show to watch, so we had been told by many people to watch this show. My wife and I are now addicts of the show "The Office" during the past 4 weeks we have watched seasons 1,2 and caught up on season 3, thanks to Itunes. This show is amazing and painfully funny. Now we must sit and wait out for new episodes to become avaliable, but here is a preview of what awaits!!!