Thoughts on Forgiveness

All of us have some things in our life for which we needed to ask forgiveness. We have hurt our friends, family, co-workers, etc... However, in the same vein we have all been harmed at one time or another and to one degree or another. While the extent of our harm varies we all share in that we are not perfect. We have both harmed, and been harmed. Hence the need for forgiveness.

It occurs to me that forgiveness is not for the person who has done the trespass. Forgiveness is for the person who has been harmed. Follow me for a moment here.

Have you ever been angry with someone for something they did to you? Did they know you were mad at them? If so, did they care? If they cared about your relationship perhaps they did, but what if they didn't. You could be angry and they would never know. You would sit up at night and they would sleep. You could let the harm shape the rest of your life, ruining relationships. You could even hate them. It won't matter. They'll sleep like a baby.

The only exception I see to this is when a person feeling guilt requests forgiveness. In that case however, the person asking for forgiveness often feels as thought they have harmed themselves while harming you. In the end whether you forgive them they must forgive themselves.

Do yourself a favor. Forgive the person who has hurt you the most because they aren't even thinking about you. Forgive yourself too. You deserve it.

Abortion Thoughts

I read a number of blogs of women who are ardently pro-choice. I don’t know why I read them. Perhaps it is just because I like to read the thoughts of people who have a radically different world view than my own. I am bored to tears reading the words of those who I agree with on most every subject. Especially if I disagree with the way the promote their ideas.

For some reason those who are pro-life have been labeled Super-Christians, murderers, haters, and so forth. I wish I could disagree with you, but when I look around I see much of the same even as a pro-life Christian. Here are some of my thoughts.

As a Christian you are called to love others. It is tough to do that standing in front of an abortion clinic holding a sign that calls scared teenage girls murderers.

As a Christian you are called to proclaim the good news of Christ, which is about forgiveness of sin. You are not called to convict others of their sin. That is the Holy Spirits job. You aren’t any good at it anyway.

Abortion is a sin…… So is hating someone. In fact it is the same as murder to God. I wonder if you are guilty of that. As you know, if you have broken just one of the laws you are guilty of breaking the whole law, hence the need for Christ and His good news.

Do I believe abortion is a good thing? No. But I believe as Christians we are fighting the wrong battle. Instead we should love those who are hurting, provide food for those in need. We should provide medical care for those in need, and show the lost world that there is a better way. Not doing so with an air of contempt, but with compassion and understanding.

Women who have had abortions have not done so on a whim, and many times they are hurting over the difficult decision. Standing in front of them calling them murderers is not what Christ would do. He would show compassion. Will you?

A Life All In

The first mission trip my wife ever took was to Mexico. Sponsoring that trip were Chris and Jackie Leggett. This was a transformational trip for my wife. Instrumental in that change were Chris and Jackie who truly exemplified living the life of a Christian.

Chris and Jackie were missionaries to Mauritania, Africa. Where they gave micro-business loans to locals to help build their economy, as well as teach the women trades such as sewing.

In addition whenever the opportunity arose they would share their faith in Christ with the people of this Muslim nation. As with most Muslim countries Christian proselytizing is strictly prohibited.

After marrying, my wife introduced me to the work of this couple, and suggested we support them financially whenever we could. A couple years ago they visited us in our home and spoke at our church. I’m sure we never told them, but they were a greater blessing to us in those few days than we were ever to them.

Chis was killed this June while arriving at his office in Mauritania. Apparently he was shot during an attempted kidnapping. Chris leaves behind a wife and 4 kids. Al Qaida has claimed responsibility.

Chris Leggett lived a life All In. He will be missed.

Racism.... Yee Haw!

This past weekend my wife and I held another fundraiser to help us gather the 30 thousand dollars we'll need to adopt a pair of kids from Ethiopia. It was a garage sale held at our church. On Friday evening we brought our goodies for the sale. My mother also came along with a number of great garage sale items including a small portion of her magnificent doll collection. (I was a little sad to see her selling these, but I also knew she would rather ad her 7th and 8th grand kids to the foll than continue to look at dolls gathering dust). Then suddenly trailers began arriving from parishioners, loaded down with items to donate to our sale.

I will say I hate garage sales, no really, I hate them. This on the other hand looked more like a swap meet. I believe I counted 6 televisions and 4 stereos. There were 2 dining tables, 1 couch, 3 recliners, 2 complete dish sets, and hoards of other pieces of merchandises strategically marked down to garage sale prices, including a small increase to create the necessary room for bartering.

It was about 4 hours into the sale which opened at 6 am when I met an old codger we'll just call Hank. Hank approached us with a rack of some kind in one hand and a shiny new quarter in the other, Hoping I'm sure to work us off our 50 cent price tag.

Hank was wearing a US Navy Ball cap. I instantly thought I'd like this old guy. Then he asked why we were holding this sale. Promptly my mother holds up the donation can and explains that we are raising money to adopt from Ethiopia.

Immediately I see the old mans nose begin to curl.Perhaps I was wrong about liking this guy. Then from his mouth comes a word that sounded as though it had come from somewhere deep in his bowls. "You mean there gonna be "BLIICCK"." I think he meant black. After wiping the old man's spittle from my eye, I attempted to explain to him the orphan situation in Ethiopia. My attempt was for naught as he immediately interrupted me to launch into his tirade about having worked in law enforcement in the south. Where he had apparently "locked up" many-a-bliicck.

I've come to some of this with our interracial adoption, and the potential response from the ignorant, but experiencing it first hand was new.

All said it was a great yard sale. We raised over $1300. It was definitely more than I had anticipated. Tainted only by one old ignorant hack.

It was a good day.

My Friend Val a Long Time Coming

A friend of mine Val Geissler called to tell me this week that he couldn't run from a relationship with God any longer. I love this man, but had wondered if I would ever see this day. I could not have more joy than this news gave me.

Val is a charactor and America's Favorite Cowboy Entertainer. Val has since given up the show circuit but still puts on a funny show. If you have a few moments check out this link. It is about 15 minutes, but you won't regret it. It's the cremation of Sam McGee.

While I Wasn't Paying Attention in Church

While I would like to pretend that I am the ideal parishioner, I confess that often I am not. This past Sunday while the preacher was speaking on the topic of.... well I forgot that too, I was thinking of something else. Although this time I can say it was Jesus who was occupying my thoughts.

If Jesus were to arrive today in the United States, not to take us to heaven, but if His first coming were to be today, I would love to just sit and pick His brain. I found myself wanting to ask about what we as a nation should do regarding the "War on Terror". What we as a nation should do about our economy, or poverty or gun laws. If He came today, I would ask Him and surely he would tell me, and probably agree with what I believed all along.

It was then that it hit me. Those are exactly the thoughts the pharisees were having. They thought Jesus would come as a reigning king. He would ride in, destroy the roman oppressors and lead Israel back to her promised glory. Instead He came and spoke to individuals.

If Jesus were to have come for the first time, and I saw Him, maybe I would have asked those questions. If I had, I believe Jesus would have answered cryptically because I would have been asking the wrong questions.

The right questions are. What should I do about the killing in my town? What should I do about my neighbor who needs help? What should I do about the poverty around me? What should I do? That is the question.

Thankfully I don't have to wonder. He already told me.

Adoption Blog

My wife had asked me if I'd want to simply use my existing blog to become our adoption blog. Well the answer is no. I am far to indulgent to give up my home of political and religious rants to give this one up.

So, in light of that fact, Here is the link to our new blog where you can follow our adoption process, and find out a little bit more about us.

Getting Fired!

I never thought getting fired might be the best thing that could happen. Last fall I began working at a job that while I enjoyed, was extremely stressful for my family as my schedule was very hectic. Often times I would leave the house at 6am and return as late as 9pm. As you can imagine after scarfing down a meal I was soon off to bed. Apparently my wife was wanting a little more time than that.


I knew she was wanting more time, but who quits a job in this economy without one to replace it. Didn't seem smart to me. Long story short, on March 15th I was informed that my services would no longer be needed. That's how you say, "You're Fired!, when you don't want your former employee to arrive on the company doorstep with a gun. I was without a job. For the first time in my life I had been fired.


I had imagined I would be upset by the news. I wasn't. I had imagined that I would be worried about how I would provide for my family. I wasn't. Instead I found that I had peace about the situation.


I start my new job tomorrow. I didn't really even have to look. It fell into my lap. I will be earning at least the same amount, quite possibly more. I will have insurance that was previously unavailable. And I will have more time to spend with my wife... and this blog. Both of which have been neglected.

The word of the day boys and girls is providence.

I'm Still Alive...

I had the opportunity to fulfull a life long dream yesterday. As you readers are very astute I'm guessing you figured out I'm talking about skydiving. What an experience. My brother and sister-in-law called to let me know that they were going to jump, and my intention was only to go watch them land.

When I arrived I learned they had one extra spot available if someone wanted join in. While this wasn't exactly a cheap endevour I thought, "What the heck". I called my wife. She did not answer, I took that to mean, "It's okay dear, what ever you think".

I watched my family land and then it was my turn. You would think it might be a good idea to get more than a 1 minute breifing on what you are about to do. Aparently that is something you shouldn't really worry about as you prepare to dive head long out of an airplane.

The airplane took off and I was sitting in the tail of small plane strapped to the front end of a very large man. At least he asked my name before cinching down the straps that brought us closer than any first date should bring two people. As we reached 10 thousand feet, about 6 thousand off the ground the door was opened and before long the first set of jumpers were out the door. Do I really want to do this? It was my turn.

We waddled towards the door and I was dangling my feet out the door and under the plane. The wind was intense. I tucked my hands under my shoulder straps and put my head back on the shoulder of the big burly man named Jeff into whose expertise I was about to place my life. Three times Jeff told me to arch my body, and the next thing I knew, I was hurling groundward at 120 miles per hour.

I had wondered why they didn't prep me further as to what to do during the fall, and now I know why. Even the few things I was told in the 1 minute prep period went flying out the window the moment my body was falling out of the sky.

My heart was beating faster than I could ever have imagined, and I lost complete sense of my surroundings. I believe we did one forward flip as we exited the plane. This was the most unnerving portion of the whole experience. Following the flip we arched our bodys and began to fall straight down. Slowly spinning counter clockwise during the fall. I'm pretty sure my instructor was causing this intentionally. I freed my armes and allowed them to float next to my head as I fell. This was my favorite part of the jump. It lasted for about 30 seconds.

I had no warning, when suddenly the straps between my legs went taught and I quickly began to slow. I looked up and sure enough the bright green shoot was filling with air and was saving our lives as advertised.

During the fall Jeff placed us into a couple of tight spins. Amazing to feel as the g-forces once again pressed the harness tight against my body much like the carnival rides you experience that caused you to lose your lunch as a youngster. I watched the first jumper land flawlessly below me.

It was time for us to prepare to land. My instructor now told me to stand up on his feet much like a 6 year old girl dancing with her father. When I did he unhooked the lower harnesses which would allow my lower body to move independent of his. We were now on final approach, and the ground was closing quickly.

We were planning on doing what is called a sliding landing, where you land on your butts. At the last minute Jeff pulled the cords we slowed up and were able to simply place our feet back on solid ground.

As I recount the experience my hands almost begin to shake and I can feel the adrenilene once again pump through my vains. I checked to make sure all vital parts were still attached they were, then I realized, I should call my wife......

Coming Out of Darkness

As some of you know it has been a long time since I have opined here at "All In". I have missed it. Some of you have even called as to ascertain why I had fallen off the grid, only to find that I wasn't answering my phone either. Thank you for your thoughts.

I had been dealing with some very difficult things in my personal life and couldn't muster the strength to talk with anyone. It feels odd to write that as I know it is the strength of friends that will get you through the tough times.

I don't want to get into what the decisions were, but the long and short is that I had to make some serious and possibly life altering decisions. And for reasons I don't care to share, I couldn't use some of my most trusted counselors to make that decision.

Thank you to those who checked back with my blog on occasion to see if I was still writing. I look forward to getting back to my usual posts several times a week, if not daily.

Life... Taking a Poo on Me

Have you ever been driving down the city street and wished the vehicle next to you would, "do something" about that noise emitting from their vehicle. That was the thought running through my mind as I rode my motorcycle home following a wonderful dinner with friends.

After a couple of blocks though, I realized it was my vehicle making the noise. Not only was it making a noise, I began to smell fire. A scary prospect when riding on only 2 wheels. My wife and I quickly pulled into a nearby parking lot. That is when I discovered the most horrifying fact. Someone had "hit and run" me while I was enjoying my meal in the restaurant. They had backed into my bike, severely denting the fender and pushing it up against the tire, causing the noise, and the friction causing the paint to burn. I was not pleased. I called the authorities.

Now I don't know if you know it or not, but the police have more important things to deal with than simple hit and runs. Matter of fact, they won't even send an officer to take a report. I went from "not pleased" to very angry. I called my insurance company.

After going through the mind numbing prompts, I got an agent on the phone. She told me that I could pull the fender off the tire if I wanted to, but if I did, she couldn't guarantee they would pay for the damage. She could have someone out to look at the damage the following day. Due to the fact that I didn't feel much like walking the 5 miles home, I asked how in the world she expected me arrive home this evening. She asked if I was expecting a tow. Apparently she thinks a city wrecker can tow a motorcycle. If you are wondering... they can't. At this point I went from "very angry" to livid. I pulled the fender off the tire and drove back to the restaurant cringing at every bump.

To my surprise there were some witnesses to the accident in the outside seating area. They identified the vehicle and license plate. Suddenly the police decided this was worth their time. They would send a patrolman. The anger barometer began to decline, I called back the insurance company.

This time I spoke to a very reassuring agent named Wes. Wes was very kind and assured me that though the adjuster would not be able to look at the vehicle until the following day they would most assuredly pay for the damage. Almost back to tolerable to be around. We drove home.

The accident happened around 6:30PM, at roughly 11:30 the police arrived to take a statement. They have tracked the offending vehicle to a rent-a-car company, and believe they can ascertain who was driving at the time. I am gleeful at the idea of putting behind bars whoever may be responsible for the damage to my precious motorcycle. If only the death penalty could be extended to hit and run.

Today's sermon was about forgiveness. Darn you preacher.

Only 53

The late Tony Snow with President GWB. Tony Snow was a great american. From his speech writing days with Bush 1 to his radio show or his serving as the White House Press Sec. He always seemed to be spot on. Even if it meant disagreeing with the administration, party or both. Tony Snow, you were a great father, patriot and Christian, you will be missed.

Reporter Doesn't Get It

The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has been called into question by a
radical new interpretation of a tablet found on the eastern bank of the Dead
Sea.
The three-foot stone tablet appears to refer to a Messiah who rises from
the grave three days after his death — even though it was written decades before
the birth of Jesus.
The ink is badly faded on much of the tablet, known as
Gabriel's Vision of Revelation, which was written rather than engraved in the
1st century B.C. This has led some experts to claim that the inscription has
been overinterpreted.
A previous paper published by the scholars Ada Yardeni
and Binyamin Elitzur concluded that the most controversial lines were
indecipherable.
Israel Knohl, a biblical studies professor at the Hebrew
University of Jerusalem, argued Monday that line 80 of the text revealed Gabriel
telling an historic Jewish rebel named Simon, who was killed by the Romans four
years before the birth of Christ: "In three days you shall live, I, Gabriel,
command you."
Professor Knohl contends that the tablet proves that messianic
followers possessed the paradigm of their leader rising from the grave before
Jesus was born.
He said that the text "could be the missing link between
Judaism and Christianity in so far as it roots the Christian belief in the
resurrection of the Messiah in Jewish tradition." -Fox News

What? This is the most ridiculous article I've ever seen. Really? "the missing link for the Christian belief in the resurrection of the Messiah in Jewish tradition." Hey Fox News, Next time let some one who has read the bible write the story.

Marriage Contracts In Saudi Arabia

Saudi marriage officiant Dr. Ahmad al-Mu’bi told Lebanese television viewers last week that it’s permissible for girls as young as 1 to marry — as long as sex is postponed.
Al-Mu’bi’s remarkable comments also included an explanation that “there is no minimal age for entering marriage.”
“You can have a marriage contract even with a 1-year-old girl, not to mention a girl of 9, 7 or 8,” he said. “But is the girl ready for sex or not?” What is the appropriate age for sex for the first time? This varies according to environment and tradition,” al-Mu’bi said. - Fox News

Close Encounter with 4 Gay Women

The vehicle rolled in slowly though it was still running. Just as soon as the Ford Explorer stopped people started hopping out. The first two were ordinary bubbly young ladies. The second two on the other hand gave away what this was all about. Not the flat tire on the rear drivers side, not yet visible from my vantage point, but that this group was in town for the gay pride rally.

With me were two other guys. We watched for a moment as these 4 women, 2 of which looked like women, made an attempt at solving the problem that ailed them. It was not going well. They quickly located the jack and a tire iron, but looked at them with bewilderment as it was one of those factory installed contraptions with many pieces which must be connected before use. They could not locate the spare tire, despite 2 of them apparently wanting to be men.

Off my companions and I went to the rescue. We quickly removed the spare tire from its neatly hidden location, and replaced the flat with its full size spare. Problem was the spare was low on air. Not an issue for us. As men are required to have at all times an air compressor within arms reach. The spare was inflated to its proper level and all in under 5 minutes.

2 of the women dressed in flowing sun dresses were grateful for our efforts, and thanked us sincerely. The remaining half of their party, dressed in baggy clothes to hide any hint of a womanly figure, scowled at us scarcely uttering a word.

I am only left to presume this look was intended as some sort of "man to man" intimidation. It is good to know that no matter how perverse our society becomes, no matter what gender a woman decides to see romantically, there will always be a place for a man when it comes to changing tires... and killing spiders.

Sin

Which sin is the worst?

Not Because You're Christian

I love politics. Really for me the presidential elections rival the Super Bowl in excitement, and the primaries are on par with playoffs. While the NFL playoffs come around every year like clockwork, presidential elections are so exciting that they are only allowed to occur every 4 years. This years' contenders, Barak Obama and John McCain.

You may think I'm just kidding but I'm not. If you talk to my wife you'll understand her misery. I subject her to various news channels day and night, and when the news is done it's time for analysis. It really is 24 hours a day with me. Some people yell at the TV during scary movies, others yell at the refs on television when they perceive a poor call. I yell at the TV when I see Olbermann or OReilly "miss a call". I've got a problem, no question about it.

You hear sometimes how as Christians you have an obligation to vote this way or that. How even has a Christian you have an obligation to vote. Really? I would disagree. As an American over the age of 18 you have the RIGHT to vote, not an obligation to vote. If you do vote you have an obligation to know the issues, but that is a topic for another post.

My point today is that if you call yourself a Christian you aren't required to vote, you aren't even required to be patriotic. In fact I would suggest that as a Christian we should be more concerned about individual people and their salvation on a global level rather than whether you are a republican or democrat. Rather than whether you are an American or Frenchman. Rather than whether you are for capitalism or socialism.

I know I'm stepping on some toes here, but would someone please show me where Jesus took a stance on a political issue. Sure, He caused a little riff between Pharisees and Sadducees, but he never took a position regarding roman occupation. He didn't address the national pride of the Jewish people. Instead He avoided the issue of taxes, and went straight to the heart of the people to whom He was speaking.

You might be a republican, you might be a democrat, conservative, libertarian, liberal, American, member of the military, but it isn't because you are a Christian.

Sure you may select your party based on biblical principals, but you are not commanded by God to join any political parties.

Vote Republican;)

Kennedy has Tumor

Senator Ted Kennedy has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Prognosis: Not Good. Survival rates are 1 year for advanced aggressive tumors and up to 5 for the slower kinds. Most pro-life, defend the border, cut social program conservatives have found Sen. Kennedy to be one of their biggest hurdles in the past. So I ask, is your compassion for this man bigger than your desire to see your political agenda come to fruition? I hope so.

Blood Sport

Let men be men. Lets face it, guys enjoy fighting. Most guys anyway. We enjoy the battle even if we lose. On May 24th I'll be watching the latest Ultimate Fighting Championship fights. Yes it is brutal and sometimes bloody. So what is wrong with that.

Stop feminizing men. Let us be warriors. Let us fight for what is right. Let us celebrate what it is to be a man.

To be a man you should;

Show love to your family sometimes through physical affection.
Support your wife if you have one.
Encourage your kids if you have them.

Some would like to end the list there. However, There is more to this story.

Be the provider for your family. (Shelter, food, clothing..etc)
Be the spiritual leader for you family.
Protect your family from harm.
Fight for what is right.

Usually fighting for what is right just means standing firm and using words. On occassion, however, it means using force.

This was not a complete list. Feel free to ad to it if you like.

Blast from the Past

I hopped into a vehicle recently with an associate of mine. It was a beautiful day, the top was down and a song from the above album was playing in his stereo system. A couple thoughts ran through my mind. The first was, "this cd has to be at least 10 years old". I had listened to this "way back when". Now let me say first and foremost that this is not a good wholesome cd. The lyrics are littered with sexual perversion, vile language and every sort of filth you can imagine. When I was 15 I loved it.

My second thought was, "What is a 33 year old man doing listening to this garbage?" When I called him on it, He said, "oh listen to that, It's about the beat". However, he knew every word. Just as I once did. And he seemed to relish the stories of sexual conquest in the music.

Soon I realized, this is what I could have been. This could have been me looking in the mirror, if it had not been for Christ in my life. It is tempting to judge when you see youngsters, or in this case middle-agers, listening to such filth.

Some would theorize that listening to such music transforms us into the fowl mouth hooligans that it is safe to say I resembled at that age. While I'm not saying it doesn't have an effect, I would argue that it is a symptom not a cause. As our minds are already in that vain we seek out that which will make us comfortable. Thus the answer is not in the breaking of cd's or burning of books. The answer is found in Christ alone.