Planning and wrestling...

Ah, financial planning. What a concept!

We're in the process of adapting our current financial plan to the current job situation. My employer has 401k matching (which Evant did not have) so we'll be diving into that for the "free money." We're also changing our college savings plans to 529 plans, which will be a better fit tax- and savings-wise, we think.

I am wrestling (a lot) with thoughts about stewardship and being Jesus to the world. Not so much from a perspective of "guilt" as much as from a perspective of, really, "What would Jesus do?" If Jesus had my income level, my family, my life - would He handle finances like I do? Specifically, this is being driven by thoughts about Christmas - what it has become and how I feel about the way we gift each other (lavishly, transforming wants into "needs"). Part of me is SHOUTING that we should get over ourselves and our wants masquerading as needs, to pursue meeting ACTUAL NEEDS of NEEDY PEOPLE. I loathe myself for wanting things, yet I also loathe the idea of not getting such things. I loathe the way I feel when I do not get something I am expecting - something that is clearly not an actual "need" but a want.

Lord, PLEASE give me wisdom and clarity of vision as I work out my submission to your Spirit in this aspect of my life, and as I try to lead our family in Your way.

Back from NC, back to work

We had a wonderful visit with my family in NC. Though some of our "Black Friday" shopping was not fruitful it was still fun. We enjoyed a great traditional Thanksgiving meal featuring Mom's cornbread stuffing and the favorite, Ambrosia (a fruit mixture). The traffic was mostly good heading home yesterday, until we got close to Atlanta. Before I-85 went to 4 lanes the volume was overwhelming the 2-lane stretch, so we crawled for a while. I figure it added about 35-40 minutes to our trip, but it wasn't so bad. We got to listen to two of the "Chronicles of Narnia" audio books on the way back, which helped pass the time quickly. Amazing stories. I am really looking forward to seeing the movie of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe."

So it's back to work tomorrow. I enjoyed the time away. Looking forward to Christmas in Jacksonville. Lots of work to do before then!

A Long Run and A Long Drive

Went for a long run with my new running partner Lee on Saturday morning. It was COLD! I wasn't quite 100% from my stomach bug, but we went 11.4 miles and I did okay. Lee is running in the Thanksgiving morning half-marathon, so this was his last tune-up long run. Hope he does well!

I was a last-minute (literally!) fill-in on tenor for the Praise Team yesterday. I hope we have a full squad for next Sunday (I'm leading). We're going to be teaching "Beautiful One" then - since it wasn't taught yesterday.

We'll be heading to NC tomorrow for "Thanksmas" with my folks. Hope all of you have a wonderful holiday!

The stomach thing and the job thing...

The stomach thing - Last week it was in my house. The past 2 days it has been in ME. Ugh. It is almost gone now. I'm thankful that I'm able to work from the house. It has been necessary to be RIGHT NEXT to the bathroom. I am thankful to have had this the week before Thanksgiving rather than the week of!

Things at work are... interesting. It all feels very "up in the air" right now. Not that I think I'm going to lose my job or anything - at least not soon. But MA has a significant presence in Bangalore, India. Our very small team will likely be adding headcount over there as well. And we will have a LOT of training and documentation to do to enable that. Somehow. While moving forward with the next release and handling all the customer emergencies that happen along the way. And then what? As part of the purchase of Evant, we were all given a financial incentive to stay with MA for one year. I will certainly do that, for my part at least. I am somewhat hopeful that other opportunities within MA will open up in that time frame. I prefer to stay rather than to hop around. I was with Circuit City for 10 years, and have been with this series of companies (SCS/Nonstop, Evant, MA) for almost 6. But the software industry (like many others) is in a state of flux. The "global marketplace" is changing the rules, and quickly! I am considering some "ongoing education" to position myself for other opportunities. Yet I also see the possibility of being trapped in the position I am in now, since there are so few with the technology and domain skill set that I have - in other words, MA may not be able to afford to give me those other opportunities because it will be difficult to backfill the position I would leave. (Not because I'm some gift to the Software Engineering world, but because I can solve the issues that come up more quickly than most due to experience.) I don't know - it's all very disconcerting, especially if I start to think that it's all up to me, that I'm "in control." I am not. My God is in control. He does allow "bad things" to happen, but almost always to His higher purpose, and He is always able to work it out for His higher purpose, even when there is no way to call the incident "good". He has a view of things that I do not have. He is GOD, I am not.

Lord, I do believe. Please help me in my unbelief!

The last 3 brackets...

This morning I had the last three brackets re-installed for my braces. When I first had my braces installed, my front left tooth was lower than the others. This tooth was colliding with the brackets installed on the lower front teeth. I could not chew. All the pressure of my jaws was concentrated on those 2 or 3 teeth. Ouch! So the very next (business) day I had them remove those lower brackets. Here 10 months later things have moved around enough that we can try it again. There is still a little bit of contact, but very little, so it isn't "too bad." I expect that things will move quickly enough that the lower teeth will be completely out of the way very soon.

I look forward to getting these things OFF!!! (oh, yeah, and having straight teeth...)

Which one are you (this time)?

I just listened to a sermon by Randy Harris where he described the parable of the Prodigal Son as a very dark story, in part because he finds himself often playing the role of the older brother. I have probably been all over the map as it regards the characters in that story. My most recent reflection on that story has me as the prodigal receiving the robe, the ring, and the feast.

Would you mind sharing - What character in that story represents you now?

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PBC 2006

We had our planning retreat for Palmetto Bible Camp this weekend. There are two primary tasks for the SuperWeek Retreat. We review the past summer's encampment from an operational perspective. We select a theme for next summer's encampment. I'm happy to say that the theme selected for next year is the one I proposed. Here is the overall theme and the proposed daily themes. (I'm sure the "final product" will look quite different from this. It always does...)

Upside Down – The paradoxes of Jesus

1 - First shall be last - Mark 9:35 And He sat down and called the Twelve and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.

2 - Slave to be free - 1Cor 7:22 For he who is called a slave in the Lord is a freed man of the Lord. And likewise, he who is called a free man is a slave of Christ.

3 - Die to live - John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live.

4 - Give to get (or "Poor to be rich")- Mark 10:21 Jesus looked closely at the man. He liked him and said, "There's one thing you still need to do. Go sell everything you own. Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come with me."

5 - Weak to be strong - 2Cor 12:9 And He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may overshadow me.

While there we came up with another paradoxical teaching but I do not have that one in front of me. I'll update this later. Nonetheless, I was very happy that this theme was chosen. The focus when I wrote this out was the counter-cultural message of Jesus must be conveyed AND lived! It will be a most challenging week/year for the staff as we attempt to model in our lives these teachings of Jesus. Please pray for PBC and the work there.

Cheap grace?

I don't think it exists. Grace costs, sometimes dearly, but every time it costs. (I understand how the phrase "cheap grace" is generally used. Don't like the phrase, though.)

The calling to be Jesus in this regard is high indeed. Certainly it is beyond me.

I am sorry for my need of it - because it costs so much. I am so unworthy. Yet I am thankful - beyond my ability to express it - for without grace all hope is gone.

Spiritual leadership

I'm wondering what all 3 of my loyal readers consider to be spiritual leadership in the home? What does it look like for the husband to be the spiritual leader? I'm wrestling with this, feeling convicted that I have not been effective in this role, yet not really clear on how to adapt. For now, I am stepping back from some commitments, in order to just be with my family more. I feel that I have been distracted - too often with them (around them) but not with them.

So, what are some of your experiences with effective spiritual leadership in the home?