Afterglow

So yeah, your face really does glow after that first kiss.

On May 23, 2008, I wedded the love of my life, Lana Marie.  Tonight we have completed the first of (Lord willing) many years together.  I praise my God for the love He has lavished on me and my wife.  Thank You, Father, for this good and perfect gift!

To my Lana, I say:

The springtime's arriving, the blossoms appear
The rain's gone away, and our love song is here
So come with me, darling, my beautiful one
'Cause the winter is over, and we've just begun

I love you.

Thank You

My lovely wife is lying in bed right now, not feeling good at all today, very tired and hurting (nearly) all over. Praise the Lord, I didn't have to go to work today and I get to stay home and be with her. She has been awesome this past week. Somebody was congratulating me last night on my role in our church's Easter program, and I told them the truth: Lana did the thankless work behind the scenes for it. Well, I say thankless, but I have thanked her for it and I wanted to do it publicly as well, because I'm proud of her.

So, my Lana, thank you...

• for patiently enduring eight consecutive evenings away from home (ending last night).
• for patiently enduring two and a half months of husband-beardedness, even though you would MUCH rather me be clean-shaven.
• for working hard to improve a horrid wig that turned out to be the only one usable for the part I was playing; a lot of people still heavily criticized the wig, not knowing how bad it originally was and how much you labored to make it work for me. You did a great job, love, and I was pleased with it!
• for testing out makeup on a willing guinea pig (uh, thank you also to my brother Caleb!) not once but twice.
• for going to Wal-Mart more times than we thought humanly possible, always to get some other thing we had just discovered we needed for the program.
• for constantly encouraging and blessing me with smiles, prayers, kind words, selfless actions.
• for spending over an hour before each performance, putting on my makeup and helping me with my costume.
• for helping me keep up with my various costumes and props, and making sure that we put them in the right places before each performance.
• for doing all this while also singing in the choir in the program.
• for scrubbing, exfoliating, washing, and tanning me at various points before and after the program.
• for cutting my hair and beard last night so I could shave the beard and you could feel my smooth face again!
• for being a loving, submissive, patient help-meet, which is nothing new; it just shone out even more brightly this last week.

All praise ultimately goes to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has created my wife, equipped her to love and serve me, and has begun this good work in her. And He will carry it through to the day of completion in Christ Jesus.

Thank you so much, my Lana; I'm so proud of you, and I'm so thankful for all you've done for me, especially with the Easter program! I love you so much! :%

A Father's Thoughts

The Baby Story Thus Far

A Father's Thoughts
I pray that God uses me in whatever way he sees fit. It excites me to look back on my life and be able to point out specific times when I can clearly see how he used me. In some cases I could see it as it was happening; in others I still can't see what he was doing through me. But I praise him that he does use me as his vessel, and pray that I will always be useful to him.

It's a strange emotion, then, to discover that my Lord has used me and my wonderful wife to create a new life. Over the past two days, I have meditated on this wonderful mystery. Lana and I have conceived, not a fetal blob, but a complete person, who will one day (if the Lord wills) burp and cry and dance, and run and chew and laugh, and ask and wonder and learn, and love and lose and weep, and listen and understand and believe. Out of the love of a husband and wife comes a new love - tenderly we will give it and slowly receive it.

Only eight and a half months have passed since I left my father and mother to cleave to my wife, and already I foresee the day when my precious child will leave Lana and me and join in marriage with another. Our task is to prepare him or her for that day, for that person, for that life. In the meantime, we will enjoy life with the third member of our family.

Praise you, Father, for the child you have granted me and Lana. May we never fail to remember that he or she belongs to you, and that you have entrusted us to raise him or her up in the knowledge and instruction of the Lord. May we one day send our child out from us, a flaming arrow to bring a little more light into the darkness of this world.

Readers, please pray for our three-person family. My new highest priority is doing everything I can to protect my wife and our baby during this fragile period of pregnancy. But ultimately it is the Lord's to give or to take away, to preserve or to extinguish. Pray that we will trust him completely and praise him in good time or ill.

And yes, I am jacked about being a dad! Praise the Lord!!!

Reconstruction Continues

Hey folks,

Ahhh, so the format revamp isn't going like I wanted it to. I realize the "fix" probably didn't fix anything for those of you who don't have extra-long monitors. So...I'll keep working on it. When I have time, anyway.

Here's what I do have time to work on right now, because I'm getting paid sweet green for it:
http://www.wkusports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&SPID=2259&SPSID=28997
If you're wondering what in the world I'm doing poring over the men's basketball roster for Western Kentucky, well, it's my job. A small part of my job. Hopefully I'll get the chance to explain later.

Anyways, shalom out, and here's a Bible passage Lana and I have been chewing on recently:

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a "fool" so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight. As it is written: "He catches the wise in their craftiness"; and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile." So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

1 Corinthians 3:18-23 (NIV)

That snorkel's been just like a snorkel to me

OK, so I'm succumbing to the trend and using a quote as my post title. But life's too short to try to actually dream up an original title. Don't try to question that rationale...

Been reading (in very limited spare time) a terrific book called Culture Making by Andy Crouch. It came in on the stock cart at Solid Rock one day and caught my eye (I was working at Solid Rock then, for those who don't know). I picked it up, read a few pages, and immediately knew that it would be one of the most important books I would ever read. Bought it on the spot (with employee discount). Fantabulous book - if you're at all interested in culture, you must read this book. Gives a fresh yet biblical perspective. I haven't finished it yet, but I plan on reading it again many times once I'm done.

Another terrific book is Sinner by Ted Dekker, which released at the beginning of this month. If you haven't read anything this guy has written, you need to, but his stories are not for the faint of heart. His stories depict Darkness, but that just allows the Light to shine through them all the more brilliantly. This guy is one of my storytelling heroes and Sinner is another spectacular tale from him.
If you're interested in reading Dekker, I recommend starting with the Circle Trilogy. Three novels, two worlds, one story. After reading it, you may never look at the Gospel the same ol' way.
Enough about him...

I've been redesigning the blog, and working on getting it so it doesn't cut anything off. I think I've finally fixed that problem; if you're still seeing things cut off, let me know please. I like the wider format as it allows you more flexibility in putting things on the page, but I realize that some people have smaller monitors than I do and can't see it all at once. You SHOULD be able to scroll horizontally now.

Hoping to someday soon use this blog to share my thoughts about theology, "the church in America" (and why that's such a terribly un-useful term), telling stories, and much more. My wife and I have had some stimulating conversations, influenced by the writings of Piper, Dekker, Lewis, Tolkien, and many others; I'd love to share them on my blog. Right now there's just way too much to do.

God has been blowing my mind lately. Again, wish I had time to discuss it here, but since I don't, let me just throw out a word that my Sunday night class is growing to know well: assumptions. How many assumptions fill our minds and dictate the way we live, without us ever thinking about them? Are assumptions part of a godly mindset? What would happen if we (prayerfully) questioned even the most basic assumptions about our lives? about God? about the world?

On Sunday nights we've been looking at assumptions that are often held in Christendom. Stuff like "The Lord helps those who help themselves" and "Jesus looked like us (meaning WASP, that is)" and "We're not supposed to hate." We're taking these assumptions and holding them up to the light of the Bible. The question, ultimately, is not what has man said? or what have I always believed? or what makes sense to me? The question is what does God say? We're digging into the Word and coming up with some interesting and sometimes unexpected answers.

Ehh, I want to just break down and write a long post about assumptions now. But it's bedtime, and my wife and I definitely need the rest. Toodleoo and shalom out, my Hebrew homies, till then.

Stop, hey, what's that sound?

What's goin down, tell me what's goin down
You wanna know just what's goin down?
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's goin down
- TobyMac

You just thought I'd never post again.

You might be right.

Naw, I don't intend to call it quits on the blog just yet, but then again, this is my first post in nearly a month. It's a busy life, and I haven't had much time to be on the Internet, much less writing blog posts.

We have made three filming outings for the most anticipated film of 2007, er, I mean, 2008 (it could even be 2009). The result: We have, in the director's estimation, completed over half of the remaining filming. We still probably have four or five days of filming ahead of us at least; don't even try to make my math match up, just trust that it does.

Three-fourths of the film is edited and I'm dipping my proverbial toes in the water with the score. Once the filming is finished, it's still going to be several months at least before we finally unveil Hunted to the world. But I believe that we will unveil it, and I'm excited about that.

FtF is less than two weeks away, and I'm pumped about what the Lord has for us this year. Pray for our group; there's a spiritual war going on and I pray that God, not Satan, wins this battle. And please come out prayerfully and expectantly on Saturday, August 23, and share this exciting day with us.

I have a new job, and hopefully I'll get a chance to post more about that later. Working on transitioning from The Solid Rock to this new thing. I'm slightly scared and really excited, because I know that it's what God has for me.

So that's a little bit of what's goin down, for now. Shalom out.

Hunted Strikes Back

Tomorrow

July 16

AD 2008

the most anticipated film of the year

2007 --

which has become

the most anticipated film of the year

2008 --

shall resume principal photography

after an eight-month hiatus

and there shall be much rejoicing

HUNTED IS COMING, BABY!!!

hee hee hee....

This is Luke's wife posting for him, before sister Nan starts to remind how wonderful blog posts are :P
And no, he didn't ask me to, but no, I didn't hack in :^D

Well, what's up with Luke: he's busy working 31-39 hours a week, exercising (almost) daily with his wife (at her request) eating a lot of homemade food (and raving about it), and doing various other things that married life involves.
He's learning to be the head of his own household, and doing a marvelous job. He's set up a budget that we're working with this month, he takes good care of his wife and makes sure she drinks lots of water and takes her vitamins and supplements. She needs a lot of reminding. Once this weekend, he cleaned up the mess after his wife gagged on her supplement drink (and it choked it up all over the floor). She nearly cried to see him bent over mopping it up, but then she laughed b/c she felt like a baby who'd spat out her formula.
Oh, I teased him the other day b/c 'we've got a teenager in the house', but he's a really strong, God-fearing man. and I love him a lot.
Other news... Luke got a raise last week! We were very excited. And we celebrated with pound cake, which was wonderful and also exciting :^)
He'll be home in about an hour, and of course we're both looking forward to it.
Miss you, my love!!!
You can delete this post if it bothers you, but I was trying to sign into my own account on your laptop, and it put me to your dashboard, so.... :^P

Married life

First off, got to go to AARON and MEGAN's wedding today!!! Kudos to the new Mr. and Mrs. A-Luv! Just watching his face throughout the ceremony was a fun experience; he looked, as my dad put it later, like a little kid on Christmas morning. He and Megan are such a blessing; it's been so neat to watch them come into our church, pray to receive Christ, grow in the Lord, fall in love, and now start a new life together as husband and wife.

We're kinda just chillin at home right now; Lana's lying on the bed reading Calvin and Hobbes (we got the complete three-volume collection as a wedding present from wonderful Uncle John and Aunt Angie!) while I post. She made the most awesome stuff for dinner tonight. I just asked her what it's called and she bravely made up the title of "Creamy...Rice and...Chicken Bake". Sounds good to me, love. Anyways, it is fantastic; all you cook-type people have got to get the recipe from her. She told me it's an old family recipe, dating back to about 5:00 this afternoon.

Married life is quite fun. I don't want to pretend that it's always easy; things like overflowing garbage and wrinkled pants and black bean soup that didn't turn out just right, do pop up from time to time. But we are so happy; God has blessed us so much, and it is so cool to be together as husband and wife.

So, my final verdict on courtship, now that I have forever left it? I am more convinced than ever that it is absolutely worth it. Wait on the Lord, wait, wait, wait, and He will bless you a hundredfold for it. It may not seem like such a big deal to dabble with that special someone now, to dip your toes in the whirlpool of romance and swirl them around. But I can tell you, after holding back and finally being freed to give my everything to my bride, that doing things God's way is infinitely better than doing what excites us at the time. Do not awaken love until its appropriate time, the Bible says. Do not, DO NOT, DO NOT!! There, I'm done preaching...for now.

As for the wedding, yes, I hope to post some pics at some point. I'm sure you've seen Lana's blog (if not, go check it out, for pete's sake!); she's got a lot of photos there. For now, all I'll say about the wedding is:
"Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind."

God bless ya'll, and I hope to post again sooner (and who knows, maybe I'll have some news on that elusive most anticipated film of the year!).

The Return to Narnia (or wherever)

Just a quickie for now as my lovely wife and I are about to depart and (finally) watch The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

I want to thank you guys so much for praying for us and encouraging us through the months of our courtship. It seemed like forever, but now the waiting is over, and we've just begun.

I'll try to provide a more detailed post about the wedding in the next couple of days, because of course I want to talk about it. No pictures yet, sorry, the only one I've seen is on my wonderful mother-in-law's blog (pursuingjoy.blogspot.com). If you have pictures, please please please send them to me (or post them on your blog); my wife and I (and quite a few other people) really want to see them!

Man, there's so much to talk about, but no time now, Narnia is calling us back!

God bless you all; no, we aren't abandoning our blogs; and yes, in case you're wondering (and I'm sure you are), MARRIED LIFE ROCKS MY FACE OFF!!!

Just over a day left...

I'm writing this post from my and Lana's apartment. Sitting on the black couch, listening to the hum of the air conditioner (well, along with Michael W. Smith on my lappytop). It's the home God has provided for us. What an incredible blessing; thank You, Lord!

Just chillin' here (and getting a few things done while I chill, I should add) before I head over to the rehearsal. Ahh...

I love my house. It's not really a house, I know, but I won't be able to stop calling it that. It's just...so crazy, to sit on the couch and see all the stuff we've brought in thus far. And to know that a week from tomorrow, Lana and I will be settling down here -- to live together.

And by that time, we'll have been married for a week -- AHHHHHH!!!!

I want to quote my song, man I do, but I can't, I'm saving it back. The world premiere for it is tomorrow night at 7 pm, if anyone wants to attend.

Wow, I'm getting married in about twenty-seven hours. And I still haven't really gotten nervous yet. I figured I would, I'm still expecting it to hit me at any minute. But so far it's just like, wow, wow, it's really happening and the greatest day of my life really is tomorrow. Wow. Praise God, praise God, praise God.

Thank you all for praying for me and Lana, and please don't stop now. Pray especially for the wedding, not for us (although we'd appreciate it) so much as for those who attend. I believe God wants our wedding to be a powerful testimony of His grace and love. Not everyone who will be there knows Jesus.

A thought just hit me. We do an Easter program every year in our church, and at times I've wondered what it would be like to play Jesus. I so respect Jason, the guy who currently does it; he takes it so seriously and lets God work through him.

But, um, wow, get this, this just occurred to me: Tomorrow night, I'm playing Jesus. Our wedding is a picture, an acting out of the Great Romance between Christ and His people. Lana represents the Church. And as the groom, I will be standing in the place of my Savior. What a thought!

OK, so now I'm a little bit nervous.

I'll try to post tomorrow, but in case I don't have time, God bless you guys, and thanks for the prayers!

HE POSTS

Hello chums, just a quick word from this side of the universe.

Sorry I haven't posted in a long long time. These days, usually the only time I have to write about what's going on in my life is when I'm penning e-mails to my beloved Lana. And, you can ask her, even those don't come everyday.

Busy busy busy...

But it is now one week until the biggest day of my and Lana's lives. Hard to believe; just another blink and we'll be married.

Unfortunately this blink still seems rather lengthy to me...

Working on doing my part for the ceremony (which certainly isn't much at all, compared to what my bride and her mother are doing) and planning the honeymoon, which is fairly delightful. And, oh yeah, I have a job now (PRAISE THE LORD!); hopefully you've read about it on Lana's blog. Christian bookstores are the bomb, I love the atmosphere and the people and all the cool stuff that's lying all around the store.

Tonight Lana and I are going to a blessing party, just for us, put together by some dear friends of our families. Just having the party alone is a blessing to us, but they have invited our parents and a few other couples that we know, and they are going to bless us verbally. How awesome is that? Praise the Lord; it should be a wonderful evening!

Well, I'm going to go to bed now, then get up and go to work, then off to the blessing party and getting to be with my beautiful fiancee.

Shalom out, my Hebrew homies. See you next Friday (at least, I might see you before SHE enters the room).

The Birthday of My Bride!

Today was Lana Marie's birthday!!!

And it was wonderful and I got to be with her all day and give her presents and buy her lunch and take her to the park and other stuff.

Yay for birthdays and for my Lana! I love you! And I was so glad to be with you and make your 20th birthday even more special!

Eric O'Brien is running from his past...still...

Check out the first theatrical trailer for the most anticipated movie of the year! And let me know, in the comments section, if you find any theaters that are interested in playing it. ;-p

I'll post more later as I have time. But for right now, I'll just say that man, God is good! It's been yet another crazy week, full of highs and lows, but He loves me so much and He shows me so much grace. I love you, Father!

And I praise Him for the woman He has given me for life. There's definitely a double meaning there; not only will I have her for the rest of my life (unless the Lord takes her home), but she keeps my life going. My Lana Marie, I love you so much, and I can't believe we're now LESS than four weeks from lawfully wedding! ("Wedding" is a verb in the previous sentence, in case the rest of you readers are wondering.)

Life is good, because God is good!

Where I am right now

I really haven't posted in a long time, have I?


Going to Lana's church tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it; should be a pretty different style of service than what I'm used to, and that's a good thing. And of course, I'm just excited about getting to be with Lana and her family.

Then, that afternoon at her church, we have the second of our wedding showers! Yippee great and glorious joy! The one last Sunday, at my church, was a blast, and now we get to do another one! Pretty cool to think about getting presents from a bunch of people most of whom I've never met.

Heading into the home stretch with school; three weeks of class left. It's strange, the way semesters go by. You get situated in your new classes, then you get used to them and they just become a part of regular life, then before you know it they're wrapping up. Cannot wait to bid this semester farewell and head into what promises to be the greatest summer of my life.

Forty days left till marriage. Sounds very surreal, yet for some reason it isn't, to me. It just feels right, to know that I'm spending my last few days in my family's house, that I will soon leave it and not come back (except to visit, of course), that I will begin to live with Lana and continue living with her for the rest of my life.

As I prepare for that, I'm still looking for one key component -- my job. The company that I have been working for had to downsize this year and I probably won't be working for them again in the foreseeable future. So I'm exploring options and trying to find a job. My personal goal is to have a job by the end of this coming week, so please pray that God will guide my search and lead me to the job He has for me, in His time.

That's all for now. Sorry for the length of time between posts; hopefully I'll be able to post more frequently in the future. God bless all of you.

The Slow March of Time

Wanted to write one more post while it's still March. Especially while it's still March 31. Because as my lover wrote for a school assignment due today, "March 31 only comes once a year - celebrate it!"

Right now I am glad to be finished with March, mostly because it allows me to move on to April, and after April comes - well, you know. All sorts of people are now telling me how quickly May 23 will come. And well, yeah, it is - and I kinda feel bad that it's coming quickly for my dear future mom-in-law, because she has so much to do to get ready, and even though it's a special day for her, she's not the one getting married. I don't guess I've thanked you for all your work, Mrs. T - Thank you so much! It overwhelms me how hard you're working to make my and Lana's day even more special.

But I'm not the mother-in-law, I'm the groom, and May 23 seems so far away still. I miss Lana so badly. I even miss her when I'm with her now - not because her presence is lacking in some way; I'm missing something else, that we've never had and won't have until the wedding day. It hurts to not be able to hold her hand or kiss her or wrap my arms around her. But I know, however much of an eternity it may seem, the end is very near.

I wrote an article for the upcoming CtB (which is, BTW, the last one, if you hadn't heard that yet) about waiting for my wedding and how it must parallel Jesus' waiting for His own wedding. Definitely something I'd never thought about before.

Well, I'm gonna go to bed now. Please be in prayer for me and Lana, especially Lana in the next few days; she has a lot of school assignments to do and not much time to do them. And also, we've been going through some...well, spiritual warfare, is the way she put it today, and I think that's right. So pray that God will focus our hearts on Him and that we will trust Him with everything.

BTW, I apologize for the title of this post. It's terrible, I know. I just couldn't resist...

Quote Time!

I love quotes. They're so...quotable. OK, OK, but I thought I'd do a postful of quotes, since I like 'em. This is by no means a list of my favorite quotes; don't even know where I'd start on something like that. But just a few that I like, or that I just remembered, or whatever.

Take the chance, in the comment section, to post any quotes that you like!

"Time to shred some powder!" - Granny Puckett, Hoodwinked!

"This is not a peace. This is an armistice for twenty years." - Marshal Ferdinand Foch of France, commenting on the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I in 1919

"Um, sir? How did we get out, and why is it dark?"
"STOP ASKING STUPID QUESTIONS, PRIVATE!" - Private and Sir, Sir

"You'll never find peace of mind in your former self
You'll never find peace of mind in a sea of wealth
You'll never find peace of mind in your rock 'n roll
You'll never find peace of mind if you sell your soul

You'll never find peace of mind in your lucky charms
You'll never find peace of mind on a hippie farm
You'll never find peace of mind in a one-night stand
You'll never find peace of mind in your Superman"
- dc Talk, "Like It, Love It, Need It"

"Btw, this post didn't have any point to it. I just wanted to say something." - Sir Tony the Clever

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground! Sons of Gondor, of Rohan, my brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me. A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day! An hour of wolves and shattered shields when the age of men comes crashing down. But it is not this day! This we day we fight! By all that you hold dear, I bid you stand, Men of the West!" - Aragorn, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

"I am the evil sorcerer. They call me Bubba." - T-Rev

"You can't go on writing epics all your life; but until you can do something else, you simply must write epics." - Christopher Wiseman

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." - Albert Einstein

"Last week, Japanese scientists explaced... placed explosive detonators at the bottom of Lake Loch Ness to blow Nessie out of the water. Sir Cort Godfrey of the Nessie Alliance summoned the help of Scotland's local wizards to cast a protective spell over the lake and its local residents and all those who seek for the peaceful existence of our underwater ally." - Napoleon Dynamite

"All my life flashed before my eyes! ...It was really boring." - Babs, Chicken Run

"You can't wait till you've arrived to start going somewhere." - Lady Lana the Adorable

"There was just...something about His eyes." - Tobias (Daniel's character in this year's The Glory of Easter)

"God. He's...wow." - Thomas Hunter, Black

Sickness, storms, spring break, and The Story

Yo all,

Thanks for the kind comments and for being quiet and all that jazz. I have been sick and rather miserable, but hopefully (wink wink, Lana) I'm getting over it. Yesterday was a horrendous day, full of high fever and upset stomach and barely being able to move. Today I've had a low fever, I'm still pretty tired, and I've had a splitting headache. But it's definitely better than yesterday. The strangest part of this whole thing is that even since my stomach settled down, I haven't had much of an appetite at all.

Anywayz, so that's my report, now that's enough about sickies.

I don't remember the last time we had this much rain. It rained most of yesterday evening and most of the day today. The most exciting part of it came early this afternoon when heavy winds swept through Branch. I was standing in the dining room, watching the storm rip branches off our neighbor's tree, and saw a huge something fly by the north window. What in the world was that? I shifted my gaze to the east windows, which overlook our front yard and the highway. Next moment, our trampoline soared past the neighbor's tree and onto Highway 41. The wind had carried it all the way from its place in the back yard, over the fence, past Dad's truck in the driveway, over the ditch, and onto the road. That trampoline is now famous in the Branch area.

Such are the thrills of a small town in Arkansas. It's still raining right now, and according to the local weather reports, it probably won't stop anytime soon. I'm just glad that, like my sickness, all this rain is coming in the early part of this week. Our church's Easter program is this weekend, and I certainly don't want to be sick -- or to have it rain this much -- then.

It's also nice that it's spring break and I don't have to miss class. But as glad as I am to have some time off from school, I'm pining for my Lana. She was supposed to get to come over today, but my sickies prevented that. I'll see her tomorrow, Lord willing.

The attempts at sappiness to her over on her blog made me chuckle. You guys have got a ways to go, but that's okay.

Easter Week is one of my favorite weeks of the year. Obviously it's exciting because of the Easter program, one of the biggest events our church does all year. But so much more than that, this is the week when we give special attention to the story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

It's such a fascinating story, and it never fails to hit me whenever I read it in any of the four Gospels. A spellbinding plot with twists and turns. Glorious love. Wrenching betrayal. A climax followed by a bigger climax. Memorable villains. And the greatest Hero of all time.

Take some time this week to read it in your Bible. Experience anew the crowd's Hosannas, Judas' treachery, Peter's tears, Pilate's dilemma. And rejoice for the King who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Praise forever the Name of Jesus.

A passion for the Word

My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you prosperity.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline
and do not resent His rebuke,
because the Lord disciplines those He loves,
as a father the son he delights in.

- Proverbs 3:1-12

I've been working through Proverbs lately, and these verses (among many, many others) have meant a lot to me. I'm so young, so green, so immature, and this book in particular is filled with stuff aimed directly at my life. I need it so badly. And it makes me realize anew that I need the Word, so, so badly.

As a preacher's kid, some of my greatest advantages can also turn into weaknesses, if I let them. For as long as I can remember, I've known a lot about the Bible. I used to get teased about it all the time in youth; I guess not so much anymore since I'm one of the leaders, and people are used to it. For a while, in my mid-teens, it became almost a joke in youth class to mention some Bible verse and then have me quote it word for word and provide the reference.

People would stare at me and wonder how I knew so much about the Bible. Well, it's really not that hard when it's been banged into you your whole life, from many different sources.

But I haven't been thinking much about knowing a lot about the Bible. The truth is, I don't know nearly enough. That's where this strength has turned into a weakness for me. For a long time, I've pretty much grown complacent about the Word. I've learned a lot about it, and I've begun to think that it was enough. That I didn't really need to diligently pursue the Truth of the Word of God like I used to.

As a result, I feel like I'm way behind, in a way. Sure, I spend time reading my Bible everyday, like I'm supposed to, but why do I do it? Just 'cause I'm supposed to?

That ain't good enough.

I want to have a passion for the Word of God. To be continually studying it, memorizing it, meditating on it, coming back to it, applying it to my life. I don't ever want to stop learning the Scriptures, going deeper into them. But it seems like I'm so far away from doing that consistently. Give me a hunger for Your Word, Father!

"The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life." - John 6:63

God is working!

God is working, and wow is it cool.

Tonight during our youth service I got to pray with three young men from our group. All of them are part of our core, and all of them have recently shared some of their struggles as God does a work in their lives. It was such a blessing tonight to be able to talk to them, pray with them, tell them I loved them.

The Lord is doing a work in our church right now. What do I mean when I say that? He's always working after all, isn't He? Well, yeah, He is, but I just mean that over the past few months we have seen His work show up in individual people's lives. Some of them had been lost, some had been backsliders, some needed to be baptized, some just needed to go deeper in their walks with God.

There is nothing like being able to see the hand of God working in a church. I praise Him so much for allowing me to be a part of this one. I know that ultimately, there's nothing special about our church. We're just a local body of believers that God continues to bless. It's all about Him, now and always.

Thank You, Lord, for my church family.