So the so-called topless march is coming up sometime soon in Farmington. Everyone is in an uproar one way or the other. So I thought I would weigh in with some thoughts on the matter. The women who are doing this say it is a protest against inequality or something similar. I find it interesting that they are not protesting a law since going topless is apparently legal (imagine my surprise.) Instead they seem to be protesting the fact that society wants women to cover up. They think this is a bad thing. I don't see how women are wronged by being covered. I think men should probably cover up a bit more over all too. These women are fighting a fact of human nature they don't like. The term vulgar referred to that which was common, or for the masses. Sophisticated people had more refined tastes and standards than the "common" people, so stuff that tended toward the "lowest common denominator" was called vulgar. There was an understanding that special things are above common. We treasure the uncommon, the rare, the reserved. So why should we make women's bodies (or men's for that matter) common? My wife is special. Her person is special. So special in fact that I like to keep it all to myself. I do not want another man looking at her intimate beauty or thinking about it. It is all mine. This is not discriminating against her, it is valuing her more highly. I feel bad for these ladies who think that they have so little value that there is nothing special about showing it all to the world. And I have very little respect for any man who goes to Farmington to participate in devaluing these women.

Today was a fun day. Despite needing to adjust due to the sealing of the floor in the new addition, things went very smoothly this morning. It was a good time and good fellowship. We were successful in having the morning service be shorter so there was plenty of time for the quarterly meeting. It was so exciting to see such a great turnout for the meeting! Apparently there were just about the same amount as for the annual meeting. Having reports really helps make the meeting more meaningful too. I am thankful that Ross encouraged us to add them! Koinonia Night tonight also was a lot of fun. While there was a good turnout, it would have been nice to see some more people there. This is a holiday weekend though, so that may have been a factor. Still, it was a good crowd and a great spirit. Thanks to the social committee for such a great food offering and the game time seemed to really be fun. It is great to see all that good Koinonia fellowship taking place! Finally, I am a news junkie and collect links and stories. I often times make them the theme of a blog post. Well, I need to clean out my tabs, so I thought I would just post several links that I found interesting and wanted to share. I may make a small comment on some of them.

• Lawmakers Baffled by Health Plan-They passed it, now it may make them and many who work for them lose their coverage. Hilarious. Maybe they should read this stuff before hurrying to vote on it.
• New UV Tattoos- No, I don't think this is specifically the mark of the beast, but it is very interesting and I wouldn't be surprised if this sort of thing will eventually be what that is, when the time does finally come.
• George Washington owes a lot-This is just plain hilarious! I should print it out for our local library.

Ok, that does it. Enjoy.

Eleven years ago today I stood before God and 300 or so friends and family, and committed my earthly life to Sarah Olsson. I loved her, I meant it, it was great. In eleven years things have changed.

• I love her more.
• I have learned to serve her much much better than before.
• I have learned how selfish I can be and how to die to self more.
• I have come to understand just how much joy there is in dying to self.
• I have learned how hard it is to die to self in meaningful ways.
• I have learned that the primary ministry I am called to is named "Sarah" not "youth"
• I have learned that my other primary ministry is named "family" not "church"
• I have come to see that when I pour my effort into my primary ministry, those other ministries are more effective.
• I have learned that the world has no real clue on what real intimacy and the joy it can bring is.
• I have learned love in ways and depths that I could not fathom 11 years ago.
• I have learned that I have a long way to go and much to learn.

So there is my report on the first 11 years. I hope that it is an encouragement and a challenge to you. As a pastor, I feel it is important that I be transparent about the relationship Sarah and I have. There is plenty of room for privacy, but you need to know that we struggle, we grow, and we do not give up nor stop. God is faithful and a marriage that is built by Him, on Him, for Him is one that is still a lot of hard work, but one of incredible joy and fulfillment. If I love her this much more after 11 years, I figure I'll probably explode by the time we hit 22! :)

Well, it is Friday evening and time for supper but the week is not over. This has been a strange and challenging week for me. Perhaps the power of last Sunday led me to a let down this week. Perhaps I have not spent enough time really one on one talking to God. Maybe its just that I've been overtired and busy. Whatever the reason, it has been a challenging week. By midweek I knew I was struggling as I saw my patience deteriorate and my attitude slide some. Usually I have a plan and list to accomplish each week and while I have had a ton to do, I never got to a lot of it because things kept coming up. So much came up in fact that I wasn't even able to get to all the things that came up. So here it is Friday and the sermon is still being finished and there is still more work to do for Sunday. I was hoping to avoid having to do any work tomorrow because it is our anniversary, but I may have to do some. In some personal time I took with God today to try to revive, the lesson was on deserts and how God uses them to remind us of our need for Him and dependence on Him. The sermon I'm preparing is about the sorrow of God. I guess I get it. Well, I need to go spend some time with the family and then after everyone goes to bed, hopefully I can finish things up so that I can take the day tomorrow to spend with my family and my wife of 11 years. ***UPDATE*** My daughter just put on one of her "shows" for her mom and I. It featured her doing some dramatic Bible readings as well as an art contest, some music, and a display of a manger scene. That was awesome. Leave it to the kids! Thank you Lord!

At Men's breakfast last Saturday, Mac's devotional included the story of the man who crossed Niagra Falls on a wire/tight rope. The crowd cheered him on and when he asked if they thought he could do it again, they said yes, but no one wanted to ride in the wheelbarrow that he was pushing back and forth over the falls. They believed he could do great things, but they didn't trust him to take them with him. We believe God will do great things. We expect to see God do great things, but do we get in the wheelbarrow? It is easy to say we trust God. It is easy to sing His praises, to talk about how much we love Him, to cheer Him on. Getting in the wheelbarrow? That is hard. How about putting loved ones in the wheelbarrow? Harder. My big thing is my kids. It is hard to admit that I need to trust God to let the kids be in His wheelbarrow. I want to keep them safe on the shore with me. Of course, that isn't how it works, but it is one thing to say I believe and another thing to truly trust. That is hard. So, how are you doing with getting into God's wheelbarrow?