Often truth grips us through song. It lingers for days on end until we must confront the reality of it and watch God do His work in our hearts to allow us to marvel at His glory all the more. Recently this happened to me while singing a song both at our worship service on a Sunday morning and during my commute later that week via the CD to which I was listening.
One word in particular grabbed my attention. Boundless. It means infinite, vast and unlimited. What comes to mind when you think of things without limit? Wasteful government spending? The number of items on your growing ‘to-do’ list? The stupidity and nerve of the other so-called drivers messing around on the road? What about the joy of watching your children grow in maturity? The pleasure of seeing the good guys finally win? Or maybe it’s the simple mind-bending exercise of contemplating the reach of the cosmos while looking at the stars?
Enter lines five and six of verse one. The song begins with a call to explore God’s grace by way of personal invitation to remember what Christ has done for us at the cross. What exactly happened there? The extremes of boundlessness met.
Where Your boundless love
Conquered my boundless sin
I think it is important, painful though it may be, to contemplate the absolute depravity of our situation as humans. We are indeed boundless in our ability to pursue sin and all of its destructive behavior and outcomes. If you doubt this in any way, just read through the words of Hosea or those of Paul in Romans 7. As you catch yourself identifying with any number of the items mentioned, consider where this thought process leads you. It doesn’t take long for me to go from “Wow, it’s as though this were written about me!” to “Well, at least they don’t know about…”. But my mind can still conceive of an end to this sinful reality. At some point, I console myself by noting that there are SOME things I wouldn’t do. Would I? Sometimes the truth stinks.
But all of this was conquered. This victory was not deserved. It was not possible for me. It was not even something I was looking for or trying to obtain. My limitless appetite for folly, especially the self-directed kind, was all that I knew. But God allowed His love to do battle with my never-ending waywardness. And that love always wins. It is not a love that needs to muster up strength to accomplish its plans and stake its claim. It is a perfect love that ever endures. It has never shown a limit in its power or reach. When one conceives of a way to push to the outer edges of this love, they find that they are still in the center of it. It has no beginning or end, so it always has been and always will be. Somehow it continually finds a way to grow, though it is continually fully mature. In a word, it is boundless.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Today's Profit
Well, if one is going to budget and save and the like, it seems that at some point in time, one should learn to make some money. I'd like to offer the suggestion of 'flipping' (that's what we industry types call it, anyway). Simply put, flipping is buying low and selling high. Easy concept with varying degrees of difficulty. Maybe I'm especially inspired today after having experienced a 67% profit on a recent acquisition and resale. I'll walk through the process and see if it might not shed some light on what to look for, timing issues, and applying that business acumen that sometimes comes naturally and sometimes is learned over time.
It started a few weeks ago when a neighbor was having a yard sale. I had waved to him a time or two and talked with him once, but thought it might be a good opportunity to get to know him a bit better. So the kids and I walked over for some chat time with a few shekels in our pockets. We shared a late morning chat and learned about this man's fascinating life. A retired chef, he now does many things to keep himself busy. Among them is his frequenting auctions and sales to find equipment, mostly electronic in nature, only to fix them up and resell them to a growing community of satisfied customers. I became one that day when I purchased a saw from him. I was working on a project that very day which required my cutting some lengths of board for a sqare foot garden we were hoping to enjoy this spring and summer (and hopefully fall too with the three growing seasons here in the Carolinas). A saw seemed the perfect tool for this inexperienced hand. Within hours, I was cranking out results befitting a real handyman. Best three dollars I spent that day.
Fast forward to today. Inspired by his success stories of sales gone by, we tried to organize a community yard sale, which took place this morning. He enthusiastically joined us in both trying to turn a small profit from our, um, stuff, and in reaching out a friendly hand to our fellow neighbors. He made the signs, we posted the free listing online. He spread the word in his circle of influence, we communicated the idea to everybody on the street. After all that, basically the two of us saw a few cars stop by over the course of five beautiful hours. Much fun and excitement (I put the kids in charge of finding 'community yard sale music' that we could play from our house to get people in the mood), and even a sale every now and then. Met a few more people and freed up some of our cramped storage space. But then he came.
He looked like a bit more of a handyman than me, but then that's not saying much. A young twenty-something lad in a well-used small car hopped out by himself and started investigating our, um, stuff. He poked around a bit at my daughter's jewelry box filled with fifty cent wonders. He passed on all of it. But as he was turning to go, that same saw caught his eye as it sat on the blue oil-stained tarp in the middle of the yard. He kept clicking the, the, ...the sawing button, as if he was testing to see if it would work. Now I might be lean on useful knowledge, but occassionally I learn a little from experience. So I used the same lines as my neighbor did with me weeks prior. "It works", I said. "May need a new blade and a little re-wiring", I continued. By now I had broken key sales rules I learned in the telemarketing trade from my past. "Whoever talks first loses". Ooops. I had uttered three or four sentences before he grunted something about a plug in. Outlet, here we come. We walk over to the power source by the front door and I proceed to finagle what's left of the cord into the socket. A quick silent prayer regarding fire safety is tossed up and then I am in the midst of watching a test drive of this tool (a man's tool...no, a man's man's tool). I calmly assent as he reaches for his wallet. He starts pulling out ones and I start planning my dickering response. One, two...three (the investment is now covered)...four, five (bingo, we hit the asking price!). He turned away quickly to go, so I couldn't actually see the look of satisfaction in his face. But I am sure by now, he has completed a project for the afternoon, smelled the same wire-burning odor as did I just weeks ago, and stored it somewhere to remind him to pass it along to the next guy. If that is you, beware. Yes, the saw does work. And it could greatly improve with just a new blade and some re-wiring. But trust me, it's a three dollar saw. Five tops. But this guy might be wanting to flip it for a profit.
It started a few weeks ago when a neighbor was having a yard sale. I had waved to him a time or two and talked with him once, but thought it might be a good opportunity to get to know him a bit better. So the kids and I walked over for some chat time with a few shekels in our pockets. We shared a late morning chat and learned about this man's fascinating life. A retired chef, he now does many things to keep himself busy. Among them is his frequenting auctions and sales to find equipment, mostly electronic in nature, only to fix them up and resell them to a growing community of satisfied customers. I became one that day when I purchased a saw from him. I was working on a project that very day which required my cutting some lengths of board for a sqare foot garden we were hoping to enjoy this spring and summer (and hopefully fall too with the three growing seasons here in the Carolinas). A saw seemed the perfect tool for this inexperienced hand. Within hours, I was cranking out results befitting a real handyman. Best three dollars I spent that day.
Fast forward to today. Inspired by his success stories of sales gone by, we tried to organize a community yard sale, which took place this morning. He enthusiastically joined us in both trying to turn a small profit from our, um, stuff, and in reaching out a friendly hand to our fellow neighbors. He made the signs, we posted the free listing online. He spread the word in his circle of influence, we communicated the idea to everybody on the street. After all that, basically the two of us saw a few cars stop by over the course of five beautiful hours. Much fun and excitement (I put the kids in charge of finding 'community yard sale music' that we could play from our house to get people in the mood), and even a sale every now and then. Met a few more people and freed up some of our cramped storage space. But then he came.
He looked like a bit more of a handyman than me, but then that's not saying much. A young twenty-something lad in a well-used small car hopped out by himself and started investigating our, um, stuff. He poked around a bit at my daughter's jewelry box filled with fifty cent wonders. He passed on all of it. But as he was turning to go, that same saw caught his eye as it sat on the blue oil-stained tarp in the middle of the yard. He kept clicking the, the, ...the sawing button, as if he was testing to see if it would work. Now I might be lean on useful knowledge, but occassionally I learn a little from experience. So I used the same lines as my neighbor did with me weeks prior. "It works", I said. "May need a new blade and a little re-wiring", I continued. By now I had broken key sales rules I learned in the telemarketing trade from my past. "Whoever talks first loses". Ooops. I had uttered three or four sentences before he grunted something about a plug in. Outlet, here we come. We walk over to the power source by the front door and I proceed to finagle what's left of the cord into the socket. A quick silent prayer regarding fire safety is tossed up and then I am in the midst of watching a test drive of this tool (a man's tool...no, a man's man's tool). I calmly assent as he reaches for his wallet. He starts pulling out ones and I start planning my dickering response. One, two...three (the investment is now covered)...four, five (bingo, we hit the asking price!). He turned away quickly to go, so I couldn't actually see the look of satisfaction in his face. But I am sure by now, he has completed a project for the afternoon, smelled the same wire-burning odor as did I just weeks ago, and stored it somewhere to remind him to pass it along to the next guy. If that is you, beware. Yes, the saw does work. And it could greatly improve with just a new blade and some re-wiring. But trust me, it's a three dollar saw. Five tops. But this guy might be wanting to flip it for a profit.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
FREE! FREE! FREE! FREE ADVICE!
Thanks to Tim Challies, I came across this humorous look at a little something that plagues our society. Sadly, it even has gained a stronghold in our churches and among those who really are trying their best to obey Romans 12:2. So, what can we do about it? I think it’s beneficial for us to spend some time over the coming days trying to help each other along on the path to God-honoring economics. Here are some extremely simple starting points, some of which I’ve learned the hard way:
1. We are stewards of all that God has given us. (1 Corinthians 4:2) I think it really begins with a realization that all that we have has been given to us and has not merely come by our own hands. Imagine a great king or leader asking you to care for something of great value to him and in fact to use it for the purposes that he has in mind. That is your paycheck. The more we assume it is something we deserve, the quicker we can fall into our own selfish and, let’s be honest about it, sinful thinking.
2. A little order please (Proverbs 21:5) OK, it’s time for the b-word. That’s right, a budget is your friend. Especially when it really is a budget and not just a listing of where your money has gone or is going. Think ahead. What do I need to do with the money that is entrusted to my family and I? If the answer is ‘spend hundreds of dollars each month on eating out, stopping for a little something at the coffee shop, and buying stuff that I may potentially need/want at some point in time’, then more power to you. Make it happen. It shouldn’t be hard. But putting on paper what you have prayerfully thought through as right and honoring, and then sticking to it, will give you a weapon that can be used over and over again in the vicious war for not only the dollars, but your heart as well.
3. Little IS more (Luke 12:13-21) I can testify mightily to this truth. YOU DON’T NEED THAT MUCH STUFF! You can get by with much less. Trust me. This very evening, I went through some of what I would consider my ‘prized possessions’ and noted a few more of them for our yard sale for this coming weekend. You CAN get by with less. You CAN live in a smaller place. You CAN say ‘no’ to that tempting thing-a-ma-bob that everybody else seems to have. You CAN alter the very focus of what it is you desire. No, by yourself you can’t. But God can change our sinful and selfish hearts. Be willing to ask Him to do it. And then ask for the strength of obedience.
Well, this list is embarrassingly short and simple. It truly is only a start. As the days unfold, let’s see if we can’t make progress in this area. I’d love to hear how that is happening in your life.
1. We are stewards of all that God has given us. (1 Corinthians 4:2) I think it really begins with a realization that all that we have has been given to us and has not merely come by our own hands. Imagine a great king or leader asking you to care for something of great value to him and in fact to use it for the purposes that he has in mind. That is your paycheck. The more we assume it is something we deserve, the quicker we can fall into our own selfish and, let’s be honest about it, sinful thinking.
2. A little order please (Proverbs 21:5) OK, it’s time for the b-word. That’s right, a budget is your friend. Especially when it really is a budget and not just a listing of where your money has gone or is going. Think ahead. What do I need to do with the money that is entrusted to my family and I? If the answer is ‘spend hundreds of dollars each month on eating out, stopping for a little something at the coffee shop, and buying stuff that I may potentially need/want at some point in time’, then more power to you. Make it happen. It shouldn’t be hard. But putting on paper what you have prayerfully thought through as right and honoring, and then sticking to it, will give you a weapon that can be used over and over again in the vicious war for not only the dollars, but your heart as well.
3. Little IS more (Luke 12:13-21) I can testify mightily to this truth. YOU DON’T NEED THAT MUCH STUFF! You can get by with much less. Trust me. This very evening, I went through some of what I would consider my ‘prized possessions’ and noted a few more of them for our yard sale for this coming weekend. You CAN get by with less. You CAN live in a smaller place. You CAN say ‘no’ to that tempting thing-a-ma-bob that everybody else seems to have. You CAN alter the very focus of what it is you desire. No, by yourself you can’t. But God can change our sinful and selfish hearts. Be willing to ask Him to do it. And then ask for the strength of obedience.
Well, this list is embarrassingly short and simple. It truly is only a start. As the days unfold, let’s see if we can’t make progress in this area. I’d love to hear how that is happening in your life.
Monday, April 23, 2007
On Smiling and Laughing
I was sure that I was going to have the chills at some point. When I saw the length of those fingernails, and then realized that they would soon be touching me, I cringed. As our encounter went on, however, other characteristics came to the forefront. This is what happened when I went to the local haircut shop for a quick ‘#2-on-the-sides-and-back-and-get-me-my-money’s-worth-on-the-top’.
She was actually quite thorough, more so than others who have provided me service there. She did all the little things like vacuum all the cut hair after each step of the process so that they never had a chance to itch the back of my neck. And she blended her way up my head as she was going instead of doing it all then having to in essence start over when the slightest sign of one part being uneven unveiled itself. She was good, even with the long curly fingernails better kept to the likes of the Guinness Book of World Records. But it was what she said that really caught my attention.
Sometimes, my hair stylist is far more talkative than I (this is usually the case). Other times, I tend to engage them a bit more and feel like I’m almost intruding. And then there are the times when coworkers are simply enjoying their shift together, while the guy in the chair next to me and I just try and stay out of the way. I believe this particular time, we experienced all of that and more. She received phone calls verifying her hours so that other patrons wouldn’t miss her (I’m telling you, she was good). She rifled questions at me, her fellow scissor-wielding colleagues, other customers, and passersby to their establishment. Then she got on the topic of laughing.
“We just need to laugh more”, she kept on saying. It is the lack of laughing that serves as our biggest problem. Everybody just needs to stop taking themselves and everybody else so seriously. Problems would be solved left and right if we could just learn to laugh more. She went on for a while and didn’t stop until I asked her what had made her laugh the most today. She didn’t really have an answer. She mumbled something about her friend next to her who is so silly had made her laugh today and gave a quick wink, nudge and chortle in her direction.
While I didn’t wax too philosophical at the time, I believe that there is an important difference between laughing and smiling. Laughing can be too outward at times. It’s volume can too easily be used to cover up inconsistencies that are inside. Games can be played far too much with the act of laughing. Smiling comes a bit more from the soul. Smiling speaks much more in reverse proportion to the number of people involved. Smiles are almost best when silence is involved. To laugh, you need to use your mouth and others their ears. Smiles can involve the eyes.
I thought on these things as she held nearly the entire room captive. We then shuffled our way to the door, where I paid her with a sizable tip and thanked her. After all, she had tremendously improved my appearance. A stylish cut and a reminder of a quote by Charles Gordy, “a smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks”.
She was actually quite thorough, more so than others who have provided me service there. She did all the little things like vacuum all the cut hair after each step of the process so that they never had a chance to itch the back of my neck. And she blended her way up my head as she was going instead of doing it all then having to in essence start over when the slightest sign of one part being uneven unveiled itself. She was good, even with the long curly fingernails better kept to the likes of the Guinness Book of World Records. But it was what she said that really caught my attention.
Sometimes, my hair stylist is far more talkative than I (this is usually the case). Other times, I tend to engage them a bit more and feel like I’m almost intruding. And then there are the times when coworkers are simply enjoying their shift together, while the guy in the chair next to me and I just try and stay out of the way. I believe this particular time, we experienced all of that and more. She received phone calls verifying her hours so that other patrons wouldn’t miss her (I’m telling you, she was good). She rifled questions at me, her fellow scissor-wielding colleagues, other customers, and passersby to their establishment. Then she got on the topic of laughing.
“We just need to laugh more”, she kept on saying. It is the lack of laughing that serves as our biggest problem. Everybody just needs to stop taking themselves and everybody else so seriously. Problems would be solved left and right if we could just learn to laugh more. She went on for a while and didn’t stop until I asked her what had made her laugh the most today. She didn’t really have an answer. She mumbled something about her friend next to her who is so silly had made her laugh today and gave a quick wink, nudge and chortle in her direction.
While I didn’t wax too philosophical at the time, I believe that there is an important difference between laughing and smiling. Laughing can be too outward at times. It’s volume can too easily be used to cover up inconsistencies that are inside. Games can be played far too much with the act of laughing. Smiling comes a bit more from the soul. Smiling speaks much more in reverse proportion to the number of people involved. Smiles are almost best when silence is involved. To laugh, you need to use your mouth and others their ears. Smiles can involve the eyes.
I thought on these things as she held nearly the entire room captive. We then shuffled our way to the door, where I paid her with a sizable tip and thanked her. After all, she had tremendously improved my appearance. A stylish cut and a reminder of a quote by Charles Gordy, “a smile is an inexpensive way to change your looks”.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cutest Things Ever Said
My kids. My life. My memories. Share yours.
1. “Papas don’t fall off.” - my younger daughter as she was swinging me as I lay on the hammock. Funny thing is, she never calls me ‘papa’, always ‘daddy’.
2. My younger daughter has words that we get a kick out of her saying. One of them is ‘things’ which comes out like ‘sins’. Examples: “Mommy and Daddy have their ‘sins’ in their bedroom”…”Daddy has lots of ‘sins’”…”What kind of ‘sins’ do you have?”…”Maybe I’ll get some ‘sins’ for my birthday!”
3. “Mommy, you’re my favorite mommy.” - my older daughter numerous times to my beloved Sarah, who is also my favorite wife.
4. “I’ve got ‘bless you’s’ all over my shirt.” – my younger daughter after she sneezed in her own general direction.
5. “I think he was on ‘CAH-vation’ (for vacation)” – my younger daughter (sensing a pattern yet?)
6. “I think Joppa” – my son after a few rounds of ‘Miracles and Pitfalls’, which is a Bible trivia game. The first question of the night included this town and it was the answer to another question, so when he wasn’t sure, he thought he was on to something with the whole ‘Joppa’ answer thing.
7. “Daddy, do you have a pen?” – OK, this may need an explanation. I had put a date on the calendar for a special Daddy/daughter time with, you guessed it, my younger daughter. She constantly was asking about it, so three weeks or so ahead of time, I made a simple calendar for her so she and I could cross off each day as it passed with anticipation for the coming special excursion. This became part of our bedtime routine. So maybe fifteen times during the evening, starting from when I returned home from work, she would ask me if I had a pen for the ceremonial crossing off of the date on the calendar. Guess you had to be there.
8. It does my heart good to hear my son’s answer to the question, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’. It changes day by day. From ‘creation scientist’ to ‘football player’ to ‘pastor’ to ‘office worker’, he has quite a stable of possibilities and dreams. But then he always adds, “but of course, I also want to be a good husband and daddy.”
9. ‘the pewter’…just in case you ever talk to any of our kids and get the idea that we have stock in an alloy research firm or something. All three of our children have shortened ‘computer’. So when we are ‘working on the pewter’, we are NOT shining up the silverware!
10. Before we took her to the vet to get the official word, we thought our new dog was a Lhasa Apso mix. Insert any combination that comes to mind and we probably heard it…and chuckled.
11. “I fear we’re not going to my Walmart!” – my four year old daughter when running errands in another part of town. She was soon convinced that, yes, other Walmarts do exist.
12. There are many unique/cute things that come out of my wife’s mouth. I’ll limit myself to just this one for now. When talking about ‘being Jesus to people’, she noted that we can be “Jesus with clothes on”. I think she meant ‘skin’ instead of ‘clothes’, but it does sound safe and appropriate, doesn’t it?
1. “Papas don’t fall off.” - my younger daughter as she was swinging me as I lay on the hammock. Funny thing is, she never calls me ‘papa’, always ‘daddy’.
2. My younger daughter has words that we get a kick out of her saying. One of them is ‘things’ which comes out like ‘sins’. Examples: “Mommy and Daddy have their ‘sins’ in their bedroom”…”Daddy has lots of ‘sins’”…”What kind of ‘sins’ do you have?”…”Maybe I’ll get some ‘sins’ for my birthday!”
3. “Mommy, you’re my favorite mommy.” - my older daughter numerous times to my beloved Sarah, who is also my favorite wife.
4. “I’ve got ‘bless you’s’ all over my shirt.” – my younger daughter after she sneezed in her own general direction.
5. “I think he was on ‘CAH-vation’ (for vacation)” – my younger daughter (sensing a pattern yet?)
6. “I think Joppa” – my son after a few rounds of ‘Miracles and Pitfalls’, which is a Bible trivia game. The first question of the night included this town and it was the answer to another question, so when he wasn’t sure, he thought he was on to something with the whole ‘Joppa’ answer thing.
7. “Daddy, do you have a pen?” – OK, this may need an explanation. I had put a date on the calendar for a special Daddy/daughter time with, you guessed it, my younger daughter. She constantly was asking about it, so three weeks or so ahead of time, I made a simple calendar for her so she and I could cross off each day as it passed with anticipation for the coming special excursion. This became part of our bedtime routine. So maybe fifteen times during the evening, starting from when I returned home from work, she would ask me if I had a pen for the ceremonial crossing off of the date on the calendar. Guess you had to be there.
8. It does my heart good to hear my son’s answer to the question, ‘what do you want to be when you grow up?’. It changes day by day. From ‘creation scientist’ to ‘football player’ to ‘pastor’ to ‘office worker’, he has quite a stable of possibilities and dreams. But then he always adds, “but of course, I also want to be a good husband and daddy.”
9. ‘the pewter’…just in case you ever talk to any of our kids and get the idea that we have stock in an alloy research firm or something. All three of our children have shortened ‘computer’. So when we are ‘working on the pewter’, we are NOT shining up the silverware!
10. Before we took her to the vet to get the official word, we thought our new dog was a Lhasa Apso mix. Insert any combination that comes to mind and we probably heard it…and chuckled.
11. “I fear we’re not going to my Walmart!” – my four year old daughter when running errands in another part of town. She was soon convinced that, yes, other Walmarts do exist.
12. There are many unique/cute things that come out of my wife’s mouth. I’ll limit myself to just this one for now. When talking about ‘being Jesus to people’, she noted that we can be “Jesus with clothes on”. I think she meant ‘skin’ instead of ‘clothes’, but it does sound safe and appropriate, doesn’t it?
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